What do you think?
Rate this book
Blind Faith
"I might as well tell you before you hear it someplace else...
My mother is dying. She has leukemia and she came here to die."
Nathan and his adorable little sister just moved in across the street from Liz Scattergood, and both of them could use a friend. Liz just isn't sure she's the right person. What do you say to someone whose mother is dying?
Liz has been coping with tough questions like this all summer. Ever since Liz's grandmother Bunny died, Liz's mother hasn't been the same; she's even started attending a spiritualist church that claims it can contact Bunny on the Other Side. Liz isn't sure she believes it, but she does know the service gives her mother comfort — something no one else can seem to do at all.
As Liz and Nathan become closer, and the summer draws nearer to its bitter end, questions of faith, mortality, and spirituality come to the forefront of their intimate friendship. There are no easy answers, but together they may nonetheless find hope, comfort, and love.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published June 20, 2006
18 people are currently reading
827 people want to read
About the author
Ellen Wittlinger
34 books270 followersEllen Wittlinger is the critically acclaimed author of 15 young adult novels including Parrotfish, Heart on My Sleeve, Love & Lies: Marisol's Story, Razzle, What's in a Name, and Hard Love (an American Library Association Michael L. Printz Honor Book, a Lambda Literary Award winner, and a Booklist Editors' Choice). She has a bachelor's degree from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, and an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop. A former children's librarian, she lives with her husband in western Massachusetts.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
February 20, 2016
Wittlinger is not as strong of an author as I thought she was when I first read Parrotfish. I doubt I would've given it five stars now. This is another book that I might've given five stars, had I read it a year ago. I'm not saying it's bad, but Wittlinger, as a writer, is far less unique and innovative than I would've liked to think she is. This is a fairly typical contemporary story, just a little better-done than usual.
There are many good parts to this novel. Liz is a very well-developed protagonist. Wittlinger does a good job of distinguishing her protagonists - unlike a lot of authors, I'd have trouble confusing Liz with any of Wittlinger's other protagonists - at least, not with the ones I've read so far. Her voice is a bit generic, being pretty similar to the voices Wittlinger gives most of her characters. But taken in isolation, it works. Her voice sounds like a teenager without being 'like a teenager', and Wittlinger's technique isn't bad.
The major problem in this novel had more to do with Nathan's interactions with Liz. Their relationship involves coming together and bonding over the loss that they both deal with, and the secrets that they both keep. But Wittlinger writes this relationship so heavily and with so little subtlety that I didn't buy it. We never see them talk about anything light - they never talk about school or TV shows or their favorite musicians. Instead, they seem to talk about nothing but the pain they're going through, and all of their conversations are incredibly heavy-handed. Nearly all of their conversations end with one or both of them angry and crying, from almost their very first interaction. It kind of makes me wonder why they continued talking to each other. Wittlinger seems to want us to believe that Nathan is being secretive and closed-off, yet Liz knows most of his secrets after only a couple interactions with him. They're all revealed with some kind of prelude about how Nathan doesn't normally reveal secrets like this, or that he's not telling Liz everything, but it becomes difficult to buy after a while. Essentially, Nathan's relationship with Liz was pretty poorly written - too heavy-handed and melodramatic.
The other relationships in the novel worked a lot better. There wasn't much more subtlety to Liz's relationship with her parents, but I still bought it for the most part. And these relationships contributed to the thematics of the novel, which is what really makes it tick. This is a largely successful exploration of religious faith and how it's seen in the wake of a death. Wittlinger shows a variety of perspectives, and no one is presented as right, or better than the others. It's not exactly the kind of thing you'd read for a theology class, but surprisingly few YA novels deal this extensively with religion. In particular, we see Liz struggle with her own faith a lot, and ultimately reject one particular kind of faith, something a lot of YA authors would probably see as too controversial. So I can forgive the fact that it's perhaps a bit simple - it's still thought-provoking, and it's something that not a lot of YA authors seem willing to do.
As I said, this isn't wildly unique, despite its somewhat unique topic. It's unlikely to knock your socks off. But it's still fairly solid, as far as contemporary YA goes. And with all the bad romances that fill the genre, it's nice to see something that makes an honest attempt to explore a topic like religion. It's not Wittlinger's strongest work - I'd still say that it's Parrotfish - but it's certainly not bad.
A slightly updated version of this review can also be found on my blog.
There are many good parts to this novel. Liz is a very well-developed protagonist. Wittlinger does a good job of distinguishing her protagonists - unlike a lot of authors, I'd have trouble confusing Liz with any of Wittlinger's other protagonists - at least, not with the ones I've read so far. Her voice is a bit generic, being pretty similar to the voices Wittlinger gives most of her characters. But taken in isolation, it works. Her voice sounds like a teenager without being 'like a teenager', and Wittlinger's technique isn't bad.
The major problem in this novel had more to do with Nathan's interactions with Liz. Their relationship involves coming together and bonding over the loss that they both deal with, and the secrets that they both keep. But Wittlinger writes this relationship so heavily and with so little subtlety that I didn't buy it. We never see them talk about anything light - they never talk about school or TV shows or their favorite musicians. Instead, they seem to talk about nothing but the pain they're going through, and all of their conversations are incredibly heavy-handed. Nearly all of their conversations end with one or both of them angry and crying, from almost their very first interaction. It kind of makes me wonder why they continued talking to each other. Wittlinger seems to want us to believe that Nathan is being secretive and closed-off, yet Liz knows most of his secrets after only a couple interactions with him. They're all revealed with some kind of prelude about how Nathan doesn't normally reveal secrets like this, or that he's not telling Liz everything, but it becomes difficult to buy after a while. Essentially, Nathan's relationship with Liz was pretty poorly written - too heavy-handed and melodramatic.
The other relationships in the novel worked a lot better. There wasn't much more subtlety to Liz's relationship with her parents, but I still bought it for the most part. And these relationships contributed to the thematics of the novel, which is what really makes it tick. This is a largely successful exploration of religious faith and how it's seen in the wake of a death. Wittlinger shows a variety of perspectives, and no one is presented as right, or better than the others. It's not exactly the kind of thing you'd read for a theology class, but surprisingly few YA novels deal this extensively with religion. In particular, we see Liz struggle with her own faith a lot, and ultimately reject one particular kind of faith, something a lot of YA authors would probably see as too controversial. So I can forgive the fact that it's perhaps a bit simple - it's still thought-provoking, and it's something that not a lot of YA authors seem willing to do.
As I said, this isn't wildly unique, despite its somewhat unique topic. It's unlikely to knock your socks off. But it's still fairly solid, as far as contemporary YA goes. And with all the bad romances that fill the genre, it's nice to see something that makes an honest attempt to explore a topic like religion. It's not Wittlinger's strongest work - I'd still say that it's Parrotfish - but it's certainly not bad.
A slightly updated version of this review can also be found on my blog.
July 20, 2012
Perfect summer fare: angsty themes of death and divorce counterbalanced by bright themes of quasi-sisters and the sweetest young romance ever. This book knew exactly what I wanted at every turn, and delivered it as such.
December 10, 2007
This was a really good book. It was very sad in some parts, but it taught you how fragile life is and it taught you to make the best out of what you have. I really liked it.
February 4, 2011
This book is amazing. The story of both of Liz and Nathan's tragic losses somehow winds into a perfect story of love and tragedy. Liz is a down-to-earth narrator who uses music as her way of escaping from her run-of-the-mill life. As it is with most books of this genre, at least one of Liz's parents is slightly scatterbrained and nonchalant when it comes to caring for Liz, and this explains her extreme independence and the need she feels to always be at peace with her mother.
Nathan's character is addicting, but not in a romantic way. This story is more a story of friendship and tragedy than a story of love.
I recommend this to anyone in the mood for a good read with love, family angst, and a good cast of characters.
Nathan's character is addicting, but not in a romantic way. This story is more a story of friendship and tragedy than a story of love.
I recommend this to anyone in the mood for a good read with love, family angst, and a good cast of characters.
August 8, 2009
Favorite book ever.
October 3, 2012
This is a teen book that I read to see if it was appropriate for my 14 year old daughter. (It was.) After her grandmother’s death, 15-yr old Liz has to deal with her mother’s inability to cope and the fact that two kids have moved in across the street whose mother is dying. Deals with questions of faith, mortality, friendship and spirituality. A good read for young adults.
October 29, 2008
oh my gosh this is one os the greatest books i have ever read.
May 19, 2013
This did a magnificant job of juggling the many different issues in the book. Terminal illness, grief, spirituality, interpersonal relationships, etcetera etcetera etcetera. More later
October 19, 2014
I liked this book more than I expected. Makes you think a little.
June 21, 2020
I am not a regular reader of YA novels, so I wondered what I would think of this one.
I can easily and confidently say that it was a highly enjoyable read, with really well developed characters. Personally important to me, I wanted a non-cliched story about a couple of serious subjects ... death and faith. Actually a bonus, there are other themes in this book that are well handled ... mother/daughter relationships, possible divorce, and beginning romance. ALL were dealt with in a supremely realistic and simple way without pretense, often with humor that made me laugh out loud. What a breath of fresh air.
Liz is a fifteen year old girl who is dealing with the death of her beloved grandmother as the story begins. She lives across the street from a real curmudgeon of a grandma who is the polar opposite of Liz's grandma, and into that house moves that grandma's daughter and her son and young daughter. The interaction between Liz's family and this family across the street provides most of the plot, and we ride along as readers. It's definitely a pleasant ride, and one that I will look for again in a different book by the same author.
I can easily and confidently say that it was a highly enjoyable read, with really well developed characters. Personally important to me, I wanted a non-cliched story about a couple of serious subjects ... death and faith. Actually a bonus, there are other themes in this book that are well handled ... mother/daughter relationships, possible divorce, and beginning romance. ALL were dealt with in a supremely realistic and simple way without pretense, often with humor that made me laugh out loud. What a breath of fresh air.
Liz is a fifteen year old girl who is dealing with the death of her beloved grandmother as the story begins. She lives across the street from a real curmudgeon of a grandma who is the polar opposite of Liz's grandma, and into that house moves that grandma's daughter and her son and young daughter. The interaction between Liz's family and this family across the street provides most of the plot, and we ride along as readers. It's definitely a pleasant ride, and one that I will look for again in a different book by the same author.
May 8, 2020
Still my favorite book to this day. So relatable and full of raw and real emotion
September 27, 2020
I revisit this book every few years. A simple read but such a great story.
March 8, 2021
This was a great book, I loved how the main character showed that you didn't need to know what you believed in all of the time, nor did other people have to except that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2013
21 April 2006 BLIND FAITH by Ellen Wittlinger, Simon and Schuster, July 2006, ISBN: 1-4169-0273-2
"Believe in me
Help me believe in anything
Cause I want to be someone who believes."
--Counting Crows, "Mister Jones"
"Why did people get so crazy about what other people believed? Entire countries fought wars over it. That seemed to be what most wars were fought over--that somebody had different beliefs than you had. It was insane. Couldn't we all just believe what we wanted without forcing everybody else to think the same way? Yelling at people, or shooting at them, didn't usually convince them to believe you, anyway."
A war breaks out in the home of teenager Liz Scattergood when, in the wake of her maternal grandmother's death, her mother becomes deeply involved with a spiritualist church whose members believe in communicating with the dead. Due to events in his childhood, Liz's father has no use for organized religion, not even the more mainstream varieties. Liz, whose curiosity leads her to accompany her mother to the unusual church by the creek, fears she'll be forced to choose one side of the battle or the other.
"Once we got outside, I took a deep breath and tried to unscramble my mind. I could hear the whistling creek, the thin place, burbling over the rocks. Was it really magical? How could I believe what I'd just been told? But how could I not believe it? It would be wonderful to believe it!
"If only there were some way to prove it, to make sure the ministers weren't making the whole thing up. Of course, if you could prove it, it probably wouldn't be a religion. Religions were all about things you couldn't prove. If you could just chat with your dead relatives whenever you wanted to, people wouldn't get so hyped up about it."
Meanwhile, Liz becomes seriously interested in a boy for the first time when her mom's friend Lily returns to town after a twenty year absence. Lily, who is dying of leukemia, and who has been estranged all that time from her own mother (the neighbor Liz has nicknamed "Crabby"), has a son Liz's age (Nathan) and a younger daughter. Lily will need her children's newly acquainted grandmother to raise them when she is gone. Nathan is struggling with the imminent death of his mother and his difficult life with Grandma/Crabby. As a result of getting to know and trying to comfort him, Liz begins to learn the language of relationships.
It is this developing relationship between Liz and Nathan that is the beating heart of BLIND FAITH. As with John and Marisol from the author's acclaimed Printz Honor book, HARD LOVE, and Kenyon and Razzle from another of my favorites, RAZZLE, Ellen Wittlinger does a brilliant job here of developing the teen characters as well as probing the interpersonal complications.
"In a minute or two we were kissing, very softly and uncertainly, as if kissing were something new we'd just invented. Even though I'd never kissed a boy before, it wasn't scary like I always thought it would be. Of course, I never imagined my first kiss would be with a boy whose mother lay dying across the street. It was a very strange thing; I felt remarkably happy, and at the same time terribly sad, as if the kiss had infected me with Nathan's sorrow. Or maybe, I thought, some of his pain had transferred to me, and now he wouldn't have to carry all of it by himself."
You'd better believe that BLIND FAITH is one of the YA highlights of 2006.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
"Believe in me
Help me believe in anything
Cause I want to be someone who believes."
--Counting Crows, "Mister Jones"
"Why did people get so crazy about what other people believed? Entire countries fought wars over it. That seemed to be what most wars were fought over--that somebody had different beliefs than you had. It was insane. Couldn't we all just believe what we wanted without forcing everybody else to think the same way? Yelling at people, or shooting at them, didn't usually convince them to believe you, anyway."
A war breaks out in the home of teenager Liz Scattergood when, in the wake of her maternal grandmother's death, her mother becomes deeply involved with a spiritualist church whose members believe in communicating with the dead. Due to events in his childhood, Liz's father has no use for organized religion, not even the more mainstream varieties. Liz, whose curiosity leads her to accompany her mother to the unusual church by the creek, fears she'll be forced to choose one side of the battle or the other.
"Once we got outside, I took a deep breath and tried to unscramble my mind. I could hear the whistling creek, the thin place, burbling over the rocks. Was it really magical? How could I believe what I'd just been told? But how could I not believe it? It would be wonderful to believe it!
"If only there were some way to prove it, to make sure the ministers weren't making the whole thing up. Of course, if you could prove it, it probably wouldn't be a religion. Religions were all about things you couldn't prove. If you could just chat with your dead relatives whenever you wanted to, people wouldn't get so hyped up about it."
Meanwhile, Liz becomes seriously interested in a boy for the first time when her mom's friend Lily returns to town after a twenty year absence. Lily, who is dying of leukemia, and who has been estranged all that time from her own mother (the neighbor Liz has nicknamed "Crabby"), has a son Liz's age (Nathan) and a younger daughter. Lily will need her children's newly acquainted grandmother to raise them when she is gone. Nathan is struggling with the imminent death of his mother and his difficult life with Grandma/Crabby. As a result of getting to know and trying to comfort him, Liz begins to learn the language of relationships.
It is this developing relationship between Liz and Nathan that is the beating heart of BLIND FAITH. As with John and Marisol from the author's acclaimed Printz Honor book, HARD LOVE, and Kenyon and Razzle from another of my favorites, RAZZLE, Ellen Wittlinger does a brilliant job here of developing the teen characters as well as probing the interpersonal complications.
"In a minute or two we were kissing, very softly and uncertainly, as if kissing were something new we'd just invented. Even though I'd never kissed a boy before, it wasn't scary like I always thought it would be. Of course, I never imagined my first kiss would be with a boy whose mother lay dying across the street. It was a very strange thing; I felt remarkably happy, and at the same time terribly sad, as if the kiss had infected me with Nathan's sorrow. Or maybe, I thought, some of his pain had transferred to me, and now he wouldn't have to carry all of it by himself."
You'd better believe that BLIND FAITH is one of the YA highlights of 2006.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
February 14, 2024
cute book, easy read
March 31, 2012
One word that I would use to describe Blind Faith would be hope. Hope of not wanting to lose love ones. Hope that it is all just a horrible dream that one might wake up from.
Ellen Wittlinger is just such an amazing author. All her books, well the one other book I read of hers, Sandpiper, talk about teenagers going through tough sitautions and that not just adults have problems to deal with.
Blind Faith is about Lizzie and the struggles that she has to go through after her grandmother "Bunny" passes away. The pain that she has to endure all by herself because her mom has become a total mess and can't seem to care about others people suffering except her own. It doesn't help that her father decides to take a "break" from his wife because he can't handle the craziness that's going on with her. Everything seems so out of control for Lizzie until she meets her new neighbor from across the street, Nathan, who's sick mother is dying from cancer. Together they deal with the unfairness of the world and the pain that both are going through. Questioninng if there truly is a god and that if there is a god, why would he choose to take those whom with love away from us.
I liked Blind faith for many reasons. I could relate to the story with personal experiences. I understood the pain of losing the people you love because of cancer, well just in general. It's hard to get over the loss of someone you loved and extremely difficult to just be expected to get over it. People wanting you to just move like if it were just that simple. It's not. It's hard, lonely and frustrating to feel like everyone else doesn't give a damn and feeling like you were the only one that ever truly cared. Of wanting to believed that even if our love ones might be gone in the flesh, that their sprities still linger in the human world. That they watch over us even if we can't see them. Who doesn' want to believed that there are ways to communicate with the dead. That we can somehow tell them all the things that we couldn't say to them when they were still alive. Another great reason why I loved the book was because it wasn't like a made up story. It wasn't like a fantasy made up story. It was about things that could and do happen in real life even if we aren't aware of. Things that happen every minute of every hour. The realness of the story. Of bonding with people that you wouldn't have met if you didn't share the same grief. I think that losing someone, as bad as it might sound, often brings people together than any other occasion. It shows us that life is to short to live in hate and resentment.
I really recommend this book to anyone who is getting tired of supernatural shit.:) A really good book worth reading.
Ellen Wittlinger is just such an amazing author. All her books, well the one other book I read of hers, Sandpiper, talk about teenagers going through tough sitautions and that not just adults have problems to deal with.
Blind Faith is about Lizzie and the struggles that she has to go through after her grandmother "Bunny" passes away. The pain that she has to endure all by herself because her mom has become a total mess and can't seem to care about others people suffering except her own. It doesn't help that her father decides to take a "break" from his wife because he can't handle the craziness that's going on with her. Everything seems so out of control for Lizzie until she meets her new neighbor from across the street, Nathan, who's sick mother is dying from cancer. Together they deal with the unfairness of the world and the pain that both are going through. Questioninng if there truly is a god and that if there is a god, why would he choose to take those whom with love away from us.
I liked Blind faith for many reasons. I could relate to the story with personal experiences. I understood the pain of losing the people you love because of cancer, well just in general. It's hard to get over the loss of someone you loved and extremely difficult to just be expected to get over it. People wanting you to just move like if it were just that simple. It's not. It's hard, lonely and frustrating to feel like everyone else doesn't give a damn and feeling like you were the only one that ever truly cared. Of wanting to believed that even if our love ones might be gone in the flesh, that their sprities still linger in the human world. That they watch over us even if we can't see them. Who doesn' want to believed that there are ways to communicate with the dead. That we can somehow tell them all the things that we couldn't say to them when they were still alive. Another great reason why I loved the book was because it wasn't like a made up story. It wasn't like a fantasy made up story. It was about things that could and do happen in real life even if we aren't aware of. Things that happen every minute of every hour. The realness of the story. Of bonding with people that you wouldn't have met if you didn't share the same grief. I think that losing someone, as bad as it might sound, often brings people together than any other occasion. It shows us that life is to short to live in hate and resentment.
I really recommend this book to anyone who is getting tired of supernatural shit.:) A really good book worth reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2008
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
It was bad enough when fifteen-year-old Liz Scattergood's grandmother, Bunny, died. It's even worse now that her mother seems to have gone crazy. For weeks her mom wouldn't get out of bed, wouldn't eat dinner with Liz and her father, wouldn't even brush her hair. Although Liz understands that her mother and Bunny had a special bond, were more like sisters, in fact, than mother and daughter, Liz doesn't understand the extreme depression. That was almost preferable, though, to what happens when her mother snaps out of her funk and finally leaves the darkened comfort of her bedroom. Because now she's found religion--or, in this case, Spiritualism, where the congregation and leaders believe they can communicate with the spirits of the dead.
After her mom's first visit to Singing Creek, the Spiritualist Church, she comes home acting alive for the first time in weeks. Liz is curious enough to agree to accompany her the following Saturday, but Liz's dad is none too pleased with the developments. For him, religion is filled with hypocrites and fools, and the crazies that attend Singing Creek are the worst of the lot--they hold out hope to those who have lost someone they love, convincing them that they can really "talk" to the dearly departed's spirit.
For Liz, these new arguments of her parent's is shaking up her once comfortable life. Added to that is the new family who has moved in across the street. There's Courtney, [...:]and a total joy, and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who always seems so angry. Their mother, Lily, is dying of leukemia and has come home to spend her final days with her mother, dubbed by Liz as Mrs. Crabby. As Liz enters into a tenuous friendship with Nathan bordering on a first love, and takes Courtney under her wing, she's confused by her father's anger, her mother's obsession with communicating with her dead mother, and the fact that life in Tobias isn't as calm and easy as she'd always believed it to be.
Ms. Wittlinger has penned a beautiful story in BLIND FAITH. This is the story of hope and faith, of love and loss, of life and death. As Liz fights to understand why she doesn't have the same type of bond with her mom that her mother had with Bunny, as Nathan and Courtney learn to live without their mother, and as everyone involved learns how important it is to always have hope, these two families will be forever entwined. A very heartfelt, tender story, you won't go wrong reading BLIND FAITH.
It was bad enough when fifteen-year-old Liz Scattergood's grandmother, Bunny, died. It's even worse now that her mother seems to have gone crazy. For weeks her mom wouldn't get out of bed, wouldn't eat dinner with Liz and her father, wouldn't even brush her hair. Although Liz understands that her mother and Bunny had a special bond, were more like sisters, in fact, than mother and daughter, Liz doesn't understand the extreme depression. That was almost preferable, though, to what happens when her mother snaps out of her funk and finally leaves the darkened comfort of her bedroom. Because now she's found religion--or, in this case, Spiritualism, where the congregation and leaders believe they can communicate with the spirits of the dead.
After her mom's first visit to Singing Creek, the Spiritualist Church, she comes home acting alive for the first time in weeks. Liz is curious enough to agree to accompany her the following Saturday, but Liz's dad is none too pleased with the developments. For him, religion is filled with hypocrites and fools, and the crazies that attend Singing Creek are the worst of the lot--they hold out hope to those who have lost someone they love, convincing them that they can really "talk" to the dearly departed's spirit.
For Liz, these new arguments of her parent's is shaking up her once comfortable life. Added to that is the new family who has moved in across the street. There's Courtney, [...:]and a total joy, and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who always seems so angry. Their mother, Lily, is dying of leukemia and has come home to spend her final days with her mother, dubbed by Liz as Mrs. Crabby. As Liz enters into a tenuous friendship with Nathan bordering on a first love, and takes Courtney under her wing, she's confused by her father's anger, her mother's obsession with communicating with her dead mother, and the fact that life in Tobias isn't as calm and easy as she'd always believed it to be.
Ms. Wittlinger has penned a beautiful story in BLIND FAITH. This is the story of hope and faith, of love and loss, of life and death. As Liz fights to understand why she doesn't have the same type of bond with her mom that her mother had with Bunny, as Nathan and Courtney learn to live without their mother, and as everyone involved learns how important it is to always have hope, these two families will be forever entwined. A very heartfelt, tender story, you won't go wrong reading BLIND FAITH.
Read
January 20, 2017Blind Faith is a great book that shows you not to take things for granted because you never know when its going to be the last time you see one of your loved ones. Ellen Wittlinger writes an amazing story over a teenage girl who has to coup with struggles that she has to face. Her grandmother Bunny dies. Bunny was the closest thing she had because her relationship with her mother doesn't exactly count as a good relationship. Christine Liz's mother is more concerned about her pottery and spends her time with Bunny, but now that Bunny is dead she has nothing to turn to. Christine decides that she wants to contact Bunny but this brings a lot of tension for everyone.
At the beginning of the story Ellen Wittlinger starts the story off with the funeral of Bunny. For Liz Bunny's death is heartbreaking. Even tho Bunny was just her grandmother she meant more to Liz than anyone. Bunny was the life to the party and everyone loved her young and carefree spirit. Christine goes into a depression face after her mothers death. Bunny and Christine shared a relationship that was one of a kind so to Christine her mothers loss killed her inside leaving her
Ellen Wittlinger puts a twist to the story to give it life. Monica comes up to Christine, Liz and Jack which is liz's father and she explain to them that she can contact Bunny. When Christine hears this she wants to contact Bunny and decides to go to the meetings. Threw all of this there is new neighbors Nathan and Courtney which are losing their mom to leukemia. Liz thinks that if she goes with her mom to these sessions her relationship with her mom will grow but as a conflict Jack is no accepting the decisions being made causing his wife and his relationship to fail. Threw it all Liz is finding she has feelings for the boy next door which makes the readers sit on the edge of their seats wanting to know what comes next.
At the beginning of the story Ellen Wittlinger starts the story off with the funeral of Bunny. For Liz Bunny's death is heartbreaking. Even tho Bunny was just her grandmother she meant more to Liz than anyone. Bunny was the life to the party and everyone loved her young and carefree spirit. Christine goes into a depression face after her mothers death. Bunny and Christine shared a relationship that was one of a kind so to Christine her mothers loss killed her inside leaving her
Ellen Wittlinger puts a twist to the story to give it life. Monica comes up to Christine, Liz and Jack which is liz's father and she explain to them that she can contact Bunny. When Christine hears this she wants to contact Bunny and decides to go to the meetings. Threw all of this there is new neighbors Nathan and Courtney which are losing their mom to leukemia. Liz thinks that if she goes with her mom to these sessions her relationship with her mom will grow but as a conflict Jack is no accepting the decisions being made causing his wife and his relationship to fail. Threw it all Liz is finding she has feelings for the boy next door which makes the readers sit on the edge of their seats wanting to know what comes next.
May 28, 2009
Liz was in a state of shock after Bunny, her grandmother, died. Bunny was active, interesting, and lively. Everyone found it unbelievable that her life ended so abruptly. Liz's mother, for one, became severely depressed, and when she was offered the chance to speak to Bunny spiritually, she jumped at the offer. Liz didn't know what to make of Spiritualism. She found it disconcerting that her mother spent so much more time with her dead mother than her living daughter. This new religion, welcomed by her mother, opposed by her father, brought troubles into the home.
Roxanne, Liz's best friend, was busy with her boyfriend, and Liz didn't have many other friends. Without support from Roxanne or from her hostile and inattentive parents, Liz was basically on her own during the worst time of her life. Then a miserable-looking boy and his family moved in next door and life began looking up for Liz. The boy, a sixteen year old named Nathan, was counting the days until his mother died of leukemia. He had his own set of problems, very different from Liz's, but together they were able to find comfort. They were the one good thing in each others' lives.
This book presented several religious questions. Many were about spiritualism: whether or not souls linger in the afterlife. Other questions: What is God? To Liz's dad, nature is God. To Bunny, God is passion, found in everything you love. One of the best questions is best summarized by this quote:
Why do you think we're alive, anyway? To be happy? Or to help each other? I mean, the whole thing doesn't make much sense when you step back a little and think about it.
Roxanne, Liz's best friend, was busy with her boyfriend, and Liz didn't have many other friends. Without support from Roxanne or from her hostile and inattentive parents, Liz was basically on her own during the worst time of her life. Then a miserable-looking boy and his family moved in next door and life began looking up for Liz. The boy, a sixteen year old named Nathan, was counting the days until his mother died of leukemia. He had his own set of problems, very different from Liz's, but together they were able to find comfort. They were the one good thing in each others' lives.
This book presented several religious questions. Many were about spiritualism: whether or not souls linger in the afterlife. Other questions: What is God? To Liz's dad, nature is God. To Bunny, God is passion, found in everything you love. One of the best questions is best summarized by this quote:
Why do you think we're alive, anyway? To be happy? Or to help each other? I mean, the whole thing doesn't make much sense when you step back a little and think about it.
October 10, 2015
I can't really decide how i feel about this book, there was just a lot of issues that weren't really worked out.
The whole plot revolves around death, and God. This is a touchy subject for me, it's not that i think the idea of God is stupid, it's just that i have a hard time getting around it, and watching these people literally devote their whole lives to it made me find it difficult to enjoy the story. Liz's mother just made me angry in so many ways, she just disregards everyone else's feelings, i couldn't stand her character at all!
The insta-love was also a huge problem for me. I felt like i never got to know either of the main characters. Both Liz and Nathan were these enigmas, we never knew about their likes or dislikes, we just knew that they were grieving. They fall in love after 4 days or something, and Liz is only 15, I feel like that's way to young to be feeling the things she was.
Although i was quite annoyed with certain aspects, the whole idea of religion was portrayed brilliantly. Not once did the author disregard the idea of God, now did Wittlinger support it. The ideas presented about religion were thoughtful and extremely well written, not once did i feel like i was being forced into a religion. The plot really did make me think about how God affects people's lives, and the way he/she is used to support bad events as well as good ones.
The ending was very anti climatic, and extremely rushed. I was quite disappointed with it, however the whole novel was fairly though provoking, as well as tear jerking. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in grief, and the way religion touches our lives.
The whole plot revolves around death, and God. This is a touchy subject for me, it's not that i think the idea of God is stupid, it's just that i have a hard time getting around it, and watching these people literally devote their whole lives to it made me find it difficult to enjoy the story. Liz's mother just made me angry in so many ways, she just disregards everyone else's feelings, i couldn't stand her character at all!
The insta-love was also a huge problem for me. I felt like i never got to know either of the main characters. Both Liz and Nathan were these enigmas, we never knew about their likes or dislikes, we just knew that they were grieving. They fall in love after 4 days or something, and Liz is only 15, I feel like that's way to young to be feeling the things she was.
Although i was quite annoyed with certain aspects, the whole idea of religion was portrayed brilliantly. Not once did the author disregard the idea of God, now did Wittlinger support it. The ideas presented about religion were thoughtful and extremely well written, not once did i feel like i was being forced into a religion. The plot really did make me think about how God affects people's lives, and the way he/she is used to support bad events as well as good ones.
The ending was very anti climatic, and extremely rushed. I was quite disappointed with it, however the whole novel was fairly though provoking, as well as tear jerking. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in grief, and the way religion touches our lives.
April 4, 2016
Blind Faith is about a young girl named Elizabeth who had just lost her grandmother. Elizabeth's family had a hard time getting over her death. The person who had the hardest time getting over the death was Elizabeth's mother. When her mom was at her lowest point she found a program that would help her connect with her mom(Bunny the deceased grandmother). Also a friend of Elizabeth's mom friend that she had known since high school would come back into the picture. When Lily told Eliazbeth's mom that she had cancer Elizabeth's mom was determined to get a lot of things accomplished with Lily. Also Elizabeth learned that Lil had two children Courtney and Nathan. She and Nathan are the same age.
I like Blind Faith because it made you read something that you are somewhat related to the main characters. The main characters have the same feelings ad you do whenever you lose someone you love. I had a strong emotional reaction because for once I read a book that actually had related to me. The book made me realize the other people have the same feelings as me. I could relate to the main character because when I lost my grandma I felt as if I were to alone, and no one would understand me. The main character feels the same. Then we have to realize that the person we love is in a batter place and they are now pain free.
If you like A Chance in the World, you'll love Blind Faith! The type of reader that will enjoy this book is a reader who is interested in something like family drama. Also who loves to hear about how families work together to become a stronger, healthier family. A reader also must be able to show emotion and care for all of the characters.
I like Blind Faith because it made you read something that you are somewhat related to the main characters. The main characters have the same feelings ad you do whenever you lose someone you love. I had a strong emotional reaction because for once I read a book that actually had related to me. The book made me realize the other people have the same feelings as me. I could relate to the main character because when I lost my grandma I felt as if I were to alone, and no one would understand me. The main character feels the same. Then we have to realize that the person we love is in a batter place and they are now pain free.
If you like A Chance in the World, you'll love Blind Faith! The type of reader that will enjoy this book is a reader who is interested in something like family drama. Also who loves to hear about how families work together to become a stronger, healthier family. A reader also must be able to show emotion and care for all of the characters.
Read
May 17, 2012I will admit this book was actually really good for me just picking it up in the library. What I didn't like was the fact that it was somewhat of an easy read but I did like the characters. This book is about a girl who gets new neighbors after her grandmother passes. The neighbors move in with the cranky old lady accross the street and Liz later finds out that its her daughter and her grandchildren. Later in the book she starts handing around with Nathan who is her age and his little sister Courtney. She learns that their mother is also dying. Liz's mother who is going through a tough time from losing her mother hears of a place called singing creek which is this religious church where they think they connect to the deceased. Throughout the whole book there are many different situations and conflicts with Liz and her mother. Liz the whole time is trying to figure out why her and her mother don't have the type of relationship as her mother and grandmother. This is one of my favorite quotes because it applies to many different situations but more importantly in this book it applies to death and saying that you can't just not see it and focuz on the little things; it will take time to getting used to.“when there's an elephant in the room, you can't pretend it isn't there and just discuss the ants. ”
December 20, 2007
My overall impression of this book is one of calmness, despite its depiction of family upheavals resulting from the sickness and death of loved ones. I think it's because Liz, despite her own struggles, is the dependable one in the story (along with her dad - I liked him too), trying to support her grieving mother as well as her new neighbors across the street whose mother is dying of leukemia.
This sounds like a heavy plot, but Ellen Wittlinger balances the sadness and confusion with hopeful enthusiasm and budding romance. And a lake. Who wouldn't want to live a walk away from a lake?
Part of the confusion in Liz's life develops when her mother decides to go to a Spiritualist church in order to try to communicate with her mother, Liz's grandmother, who died suddenly. Liz's dad is strongly averse to all religion, and while he is glad that his wife's interest in the church seems to bring her out of her depression, he resents her efforts to give Liz and the neighbors what he sees as crushingly false hope. When the mediums seem to be actually communicating with her dead grandmother, Liz suddenly finds she doesn't know what she believes anymore.
I enjoyed all the characters and appreciated how Wittlinger gave each one a moment (or more) to shine.
This sounds like a heavy plot, but Ellen Wittlinger balances the sadness and confusion with hopeful enthusiasm and budding romance. And a lake. Who wouldn't want to live a walk away from a lake?
Part of the confusion in Liz's life develops when her mother decides to go to a Spiritualist church in order to try to communicate with her mother, Liz's grandmother, who died suddenly. Liz's dad is strongly averse to all religion, and while he is glad that his wife's interest in the church seems to bring her out of her depression, he resents her efforts to give Liz and the neighbors what he sees as crushingly false hope. When the mediums seem to be actually communicating with her dead grandmother, Liz suddenly finds she doesn't know what she believes anymore.
I enjoyed all the characters and appreciated how Wittlinger gave each one a moment (or more) to shine.
February 17, 2012
Death and dying seem to be fairly common topics in young adult literature. It's as though authors everywhere have decided that teens do not have the skills to cope with death and dying and that these skills are best taught through novels that the teens may or may not check out of the library.
Liz is coping with the loss of her grandmother, Bunny, and her mother's insistence that her Spiritualist church helps her to stay in contact with Bunny. Enter Nathan and his little sister, who move in across the street from Liz so they can live with their grandmother while their mother is dying of leukemia. Liz and Nathan both question what they believe about God, about heaven, and about life and death as they wrestle with a slough of difficult emotions.
The plot in this story wasn't super interesting, even though I was intrigued to see how the author would choose to end everything. The story is much more emotion-oriented than action-oriented. The characters are believable enough, though, and I did find myself feeling sorry for the teens as they faced death a lot sooner than they likely would have chosen.
Liz is coping with the loss of her grandmother, Bunny, and her mother's insistence that her Spiritualist church helps her to stay in contact with Bunny. Enter Nathan and his little sister, who move in across the street from Liz so they can live with their grandmother while their mother is dying of leukemia. Liz and Nathan both question what they believe about God, about heaven, and about life and death as they wrestle with a slough of difficult emotions.
The plot in this story wasn't super interesting, even though I was intrigued to see how the author would choose to end everything. The story is much more emotion-oriented than action-oriented. The characters are believable enough, though, and I did find myself feeling sorry for the teens as they faced death a lot sooner than they likely would have chosen.
June 17, 2008
I think that the author was trying REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY hard to sound like a teenager, which sort of took something away from the story. I mean, it was a great premise and I would have loved it a lot more if the woman just let go of her inhibitions and written naturally. Everything that was said was very forced.
Liz's grandmother, Bunny, has just died and has driven her mother into a fit of depression. To get rid of her sadness, Liz's mother decides to go to a weird Spiritualist church that claims to be able to have contact with the spirit world. This drives Liz's father, an athiest, away. Meanwhile, a family moves in across the street - a boy, Nathan, about Liz's age, a younger girl, Courtney, and their dying mother, Lily. The fact that Lily's leukemia is terminal is a secret from Courtney, and various bonds ensue between Liz and Nathan and Liz and Courtney and Liz and Lily.
But it would have been a lot better if this woman wasn't trying so incredibly hard to be fantastic.
Liz's grandmother, Bunny, has just died and has driven her mother into a fit of depression. To get rid of her sadness, Liz's mother decides to go to a weird Spiritualist church that claims to be able to have contact with the spirit world. This drives Liz's father, an athiest, away. Meanwhile, a family moves in across the street - a boy, Nathan, about Liz's age, a younger girl, Courtney, and their dying mother, Lily. The fact that Lily's leukemia is terminal is a secret from Courtney, and various bonds ensue between Liz and Nathan and Liz and Courtney and Liz and Lily.
But it would have been a lot better if this woman wasn't trying so incredibly hard to be fantastic.
December 16, 2013
This book has a main character named Liz Scatergood. In the beginning of the book, Liz's best friend/grandma, Bunny, passed away. It was very upsetting to her family and friends. Her mom is the one who dwells on this and can't get over it that easily. The whole book is about the family coping with that situation, and a few other tragic things that happen in their lives. New neighbors arrive right across from the girl's house and it's a teenage boy and his younger sister and their mom. The sad thing is that their mom is dying, because she is very sick. The teenage boy starts opening up about his feelings, to Liz and they sort of become friends.
I wouldn't recommend reading this book. I got bored while reading it. It was a very negative book. Most of the book had negative things being said, or negative things happening. If you like sad stories or stories that represent faith and hope, then you should read this. This book is more for the teenage group, more than anything else.
I wouldn't recommend reading this book. I got bored while reading it. It was a very negative book. Most of the book had negative things being said, or negative things happening. If you like sad stories or stories that represent faith and hope, then you should read this. This book is more for the teenage group, more than anything else.
July 29, 2012
Liz’s beloved grandmother Bunny has died, and her Mom isn’t dealing with it at all well. She can’t get out of bed, or get dressed, much less eat or make a meal. Then she finds a Spiritualist church, where they claim to be able to communicate with the dead. Liz doesn’t buy it, at least when she's away from the church, but her Dad is furious with her Mom over it, and leaves her. And Nathan and Courtney move into mean old Mrs. Crosby’s house across the street. She’s their grandmother and their mom is dying of leukemia. Liz and her family have no religion, I get that, but I could wish someone she knew had some religion, some faith, to turn to when her mother goes off the deep end.
I enjoyed this book more while I was reading it. Now that I think about it, it doesn’t hold together as well as Wittlinger’s other novels.
I enjoyed this book more while I was reading it. Now that I think about it, it doesn’t hold together as well as Wittlinger’s other novels.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2012
I really enjoy Ellen Wittlinger's books and this one is no different. Liz's grandmother, Bunny, has just died, and Liz's mom copes with this by attending a Spiritualist church in hopes of reaching Bunny on the other side. Liz spends most of the story battling with her mother, wanting to be her daughter as much as her mother was Bunny's. It's an interesting relationship where the teen seems more adult than the mom.
Adding to the mix is a neighbor, dying of leukemia, who has brought her two kids back to her mother -- the crotchety old lady that Liz has always hated. These two mother-daughter relationships, plus Liz's new friendship with the kids (one of whom is a boy her age), make an interesting tale of familial love. Liz's piano-playing adds even more sparkle. Very well done.
Adding to the mix is a neighbor, dying of leukemia, who has brought her two kids back to her mother -- the crotchety old lady that Liz has always hated. These two mother-daughter relationships, plus Liz's new friendship with the kids (one of whom is a boy her age), make an interesting tale of familial love. Liz's piano-playing adds even more sparkle. Very well done.
June 18, 2023
After Ellen died this year I went back and started reading all her older books (this one I read in 2012). Time has not reduced the impact of the story line of a teen with a dying mother finding her way. One of her best in reviewing the hard questions (which was her wheelhouse). Here is the blurb describing it:
"I might as well tell you before you hear it someplace else...
My mother is dying. She has leukemia and she came here to die." ...
...As Liz and Nathan become closer, and the summer draws nearer to its bitter end, questions of faith, mortality, and spirituality come to the forefront of their intimate friendship. There are no easy answers, but together they may nonetheless find hope, comfort, and love.
"I might as well tell you before you hear it someplace else...
My mother is dying. She has leukemia and she came here to die." ...
...As Liz and Nathan become closer, and the summer draws nearer to its bitter end, questions of faith, mortality, and spirituality come to the forefront of their intimate friendship. There are no easy answers, but together they may nonetheless find hope, comfort, and love.
September 21, 2014
I saw it several times at the library, but I didn't really want to read this book. The blurb described it as exploring "how a loved one's death impacts those left behind." Not a very fun read. But I ended up picking it up once I'd read all of Wittlinger's other books at the library. And I ended up enjoying it a lot — not the torture and sorrow I expected. Wittlinger's characters are complex and engaging. She mixes serious themes — here death, parent-child relations, religion — with funny moments and writing that never takes itself too seriously, as well as a pretty cute romance that develops. Books like these are the reason I read YA lit.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews