Closer Than Ever

Sierra Jensen #11

by Robin Jones Gunn

As Sierra and her friends celebrate their graduation from their Christian high school and their acceptance at Rancho Corona University, she worries about the fate of her friend Paul, who may have been lost in a plane crash

Genres: Christian Fiction, Young Adult, Christian, Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Teen

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1999

About the author

ROBIN JONES GUNN has written more than 100 books with over 6.5 million copies sold worldwide. Her Father Christmas books have been made into three Hallmark Christmas movies. The timeless Christy Miller series now continues in Christy & Todd: The College Years, Married Years, Baby Years, and the Haven Maker series. Robin's novels and non-fiction works include Before Your Tween Daughter Becomes a Woman, Victim of Grace, Praying for Your Future Husband, and Before You Meet Your Future Husband co-authored with Tricia Goyer. Her books have received multiple awards and are a favorite with book clubs and study groups. Many of Robin's books are in eBook, audiobook, large print, and foreign editions. Robin does a weekly Podcast called "Women Worth Knowing" with Cheryl Brodersen. Robin and her husband have a grown son and daughter and live in California.

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sierra graduates from high school.

She and all her friends are going to Rancho.

She is super-excited to see Paul again after him spending a year in Scotland but his plane crashes. Everyone thinks he's dead. However, he missed the flight and instead got mugged and is walking barefoot through London. He sends Sierra a silver daffodil necklace. She never even gets to see him.

Amy finally turns her life over to Jesus.

I despise the message in this book that anyone who is not a born-again Christian is going to hell. First, with Amy. Second, with everyone who died in a plane crash.

Also. When everyone thinks a certain important character has died in a plane crash, Margo says this:

"Sierra, you should be ready to accept the worst because the worst is really the best. I mean, if [Character] is dead, then he's with God. He's in heaven right now, and we're the ones who have to go through a lifetime of trials before we get set free the way he is.

This is a horrible, cruel, bizarre thing to say to someone who has just heard about a plane crash and their loved one might be dead. I can't even tell you how insensitive and brutal and hateful this is. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. "Your loved one being dead is really the best thing that could happen." What a coldhearted, sadistic, evil thing to say. This interpretation of Christianity is beyond my understanding.

Side note: Can't help the thought that Jones Gunn might be foreshadowing Randy and Sierra ending up married because in this book she has them walking down the (graduation) aisle, hand-in-hand.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've seen my previous reviews, you might expect me to say that this is just more of the same...but that's not the case. In this penultimate Sierra Jensen novel, serious emotional intensity dominates at least the last third of the book, and it might prove quite worrisome for those who have experienced similar circumstances and/or feel an emotional connection to the characters in this series. It's still just as good as the others; it's just different, and those who are fans of Sierra and friends might be surprised by it.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Closer Than Ever, Sierra and her friends are graduating. Paul is also coming to visit. They plan a party to celebrate their graduation and Sierra is expecting Paul to arrive in time to join them. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the party they learn that the flight he was supposed to be on has crashed and there are only a few survivors. Eventually we find out that he was never on that flight because he was mugged before he reached it. Sometimes bad things happen but it might be protecting you from something worse. I loved the necklace he sent her!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sierra and her high school friends are graduating and make plans to have a fancy dinner party together to celebrate. Sierra is expecting a special guest and is excited to finally reconnect. It was fun watching them plan the party and celebrate getting accepted at their #1 college choice. But as usual things never go smoothly and the book takes a shocking turn - Sierra receives word that Paul's plan crash landed and almost everyone on board perished. Needless to say, this changes the mood of the party. Her friends were all supportive and there for her. While waiting to learn if he's one of the victims, Sierra suddenly had a thought that he could've missed the plane...and he did, because he was mugged. But he's alive and that was a relief.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why does heavy Paul storylines make me roll my eyes a little? I don't know, this one is understandably emotional but her (slight, at time) obsession with him makes me a little exasperated. Although probably rather on point for her age.

[Karina (Karina's Christian Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Number of pages: 139

Genre: Contemporary YA

Series: Sierra Jensen Series #11

Age recommendation: High School (15/16)

Summary: Graduation is just around the corner, and Sierra can’t wait to be done with school. Paul is even flying in and said he’d come to the celebration. Then Randy gets his acceptance letter to Rancho Corona and everything seems to be lining up perfectly - that is, until the plane crash.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this book. I found it really relatable; all the finishing up high school stuff and having to make decisions and go out into the real world. I completely understood how Sierra felt at the end of the school year, not really having the energy to care about school, but still wanting to do well and setting high expectations for herself. I also understand the wanting certain people to be around for graduation. When I graduated, I really wanted my grandparents to be there and I was so glad they could all make it (even though most of my graduation consisted of watching other people walk across the stage).
I was glad for Randy when he got his acceptance letter to university, although I found the whole process seemed a lot more complicated than what I went through. Myself, and most people I know, applied to a couple of schools and was accepted at all of them. I never went on any big scouting tours, and I didn’t need to fill out that much paperwork. There was an online application, and then a few months later you could apply for scholarships from the school (assuming you were accepted). The process for the US sounds a whole lot more complicated and I’m glad I didn’t have to go through it.
I kind of guessed about Paul he’s not on the plane. I figured he was likely one of the survivors or something else happened because he was definitely Sierra’s guy, but I still felt her stress over the whole situation. It was too bad their party got ruined because of it though.
I also loved Amy in this book she turns back to God after realizing the fragility of life with the plane crash. She didn’t want to be among those destined for hell but among those going to heaven to be with Christ when they died.
Overall, it was a good book that I really enjoyed and would recommend!

My personal rating: 4/5 stars.

Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...

[jaymee 💌 · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good!!! i love how these books show the reality of life in a appropriate way for the young readers!! they also show a good example for the young on how a Christian lives & struggles but turns back to God for strength and joy amidst the trials.

[Jess Ketchum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Storms come, but the gentle calm comes too.

[Gathoni Mwangi · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is that this book took quite an unexpected turn and for that, 5 stars.

[Rachel Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

God works through hard things.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - Some extra drama as Sierra and friends finish up high school. The story was ok.

[Rhys-Marie]

Re-reading this book as a senior about to graduate is quite an experience.

[Cadee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I gasped out loud while reading this book. So much suspense! I'm glad to see some connections back to Christy's characters from the other series." -Cadee, age 13

[Beth Branstetter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dang. That was a roller coaster of emotions.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pretty shocked with how things were going in this book. I hadn't really expected something this drastic, but I was still interested to see how Sierra would handle everything. I enjoyed reading this book and was glad when it ended nicely after all. I would recommend to people who had read the Christy Miller series.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2008...

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F GUN sj bk.1

[Keri Murcray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last read May 2011

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

July 2013 re-read.

[Claire Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

One more book and it is done. Noooooo