In Between by Jenny B. Jones: An Old Theater and a Second Chance

Hey, all, it’s Alexa! So, a couple months ago, the lovely Sofia over at Teens Live 4 Jesus wrote her own review on this book, and, since it was free for the weekend and I wanted to read more about Christian foster care for my own WIP, I picked it up and tried it out.

Description from Author Website:

Katie Parker is about to get a new life—whether she wants one or not. With her mom in prison, and her father AWOL, Katie is sent to live with a squeaky-clean family who could have their own sitcom. She launches a full-scale plan to get sent back to the girls’ home when she finds herself in over her head…and heart. When Katie and her new “wrong crowd” get into significant trouble at school, she finds her punishment is restoring a historic theater with a crazy grandma who goes by the name of Mad Maxine. In the midst of her punishment, Katie uncovers family secrets that run deep, and realizes she’s not the only one with a pain-filled past. Katie must decide if she’ll continue her own family’s messed up legacy or embrace a new beginning in this place called In Between.

Plot:

The drama in this book is mostly external: Katie getting into trouble, Katie struggling to get out of trouble, Katie sniffing out the trouble brewing in and around her foster family, haha. It was interesting to watch the different ways she stumbled in and out of these situations, and how each one grew her, a bit at a time, into the person she had to be at the end. Each piece of her journey was pivotal to the outcome; there was not a single wasted instance or unnecessary scene. All were either directly involved in the ending or grew the characters and their relationships into something lovely.

Plot: 3 ½ stars out of 5

Characters:

It took me a little while to get to know these characters, but once I did, I rather enjoyed them. While not the most complex I’ve ever read, none of them were flat, and those who seemed to be so at the beginning always had something underlying their personalities, some strong motivation driving every action Katie saw them take. Plus, the whole family was so cute at the end: the last scenes with Katie and each of her foster parents were perfection. It was absolutely lovely to see how they’d all grown together.

Characters: 3 ½ stars out of 5

Writing Style/setting:

Katie has a lot of voice, making even her most troublesome situations both intriguing and entertaining. Also, I liked the central location of the old theater, driving both plot and character development to the very end. I enjoyed watching, in bits and pieces, as it and everyone else came back to life.

Writing style/setting: 3 ½ stars out of 5.

And so, we come in right at 3 1/2 stars out of 5. I didn’t absolutely LOVE the story, but it was a sweet way to pass the time. If you’d like to pick up a copy for yourself, you can find it here for $10.83.

Have you read any fiction for your own books recently? What’d you think of them? Hope you had a Happy New Year, and I’ll see you in the comment section!

~ Love, Alexa ❤

 

Notes: Lessons and Values: This is a new section I’m adding to my reviews: alongside Content Warnings, I’ll also mention the positive values and lessons that were in the book.

Lessons and Values: Second chances, families learning to deal with old brokenness, and looking deeper into people you thought you already had pegged.