I’m a little confused after finishing this book. I liked parts of it and couldn’t wait for other parts to get over. Mostly, I’m a little annoyed with the deception I felt while reading this book. I got no warning about what the majority of this book would be about and I feel like I could have saved myself the read.

Most of this book was great, and it was a very well-written book that did an amazing job of showing character development. The growth and maturity the main character exhibits throughout the book was fantastic, and if you don’t mind religious themes, then this is a great character-driven book for you to read.

It boils down to me having faith, but not practicing a religion. And religion is a large part of this book. I don’t look down on others for what they believe, however, I tend to avoid books that rely heavily on religion to get a point across because it makes me very uncomfortable and occasionally frustrated. Despite how amazing the writing was, it was hard to look past the religion, especially when it started to get into the hell and damnation and greatness of Christ and God. I didn’t like how Phillip started his search for religion because of a girl and tried so hard to completely cover himself in it all that he started to lose who I thought he was.

Basically, this is a wonderfully well-written book about something I can’t really handle reading about. If you don’t mind the reliance on religion to drive the plot, give this book a read. However, if you’re like me and prefer a more secular book, I’d pass on this one.