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Valkyries: Some Through the Fire tells the story of a Roman Catholic teen age girl, Tracey Jacamuzzi, who wanders into a tent meeting and hears the Gospel. After she comes to Christ, she is sent away to a boarding scool by her abusive father. At the school, Tracey is initiated with a brutal hazing from a ring of school bullies known as the "Deep Six." But as she continues to resist them, she is befriended by the school's star basketball player, Liz Lukas, who warns Tracey not to preach religion at her. Liz teaches Tracey to play basketball, and Tracey---still strugglng to understand why God has done these things to her---finds herself a rising star on the basketball team.
Peopled with real and believable characters, VALKYRIES presents no cliches and no easy answers. The characters are complex and realistic, and the issues of faith and grace that Tracey confronts speak to all Christians about their own doubts and struggles. In Volume One, Valkyries: Some Through the Fire, the story sets up the most pressing questions that all Christians must address about why God brings tragedy and suffering into their lives. At the same time, the book provides a fast-paced, lively story that rings with both sorrow and hilarity.
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Valkyries: All Through the Blood continues Tracey's journey in her faith. Though beset by her own failings and often doubting the goodness of God, Tracey continues to rise as a star basketball player. With the addition of new friends to the team, Tracey finds a nitch for herself. But the struggle of her faith continues as she encounters the divorce of her parents and the death of a friend. Now under the guidance of a Christian Evangelical woman who is a graduate of the school, Tracey bgins to find the answers for which she has searched. As she begins to understand the Grace of God, her own life changes.
The pace of the book picks up even greater speed as the team prepares for the championships. Established characters leave the story and new characters enter. As it continues with both stark drama and vivid comedy, the narrative of Valkyries: All Through the Blood pulls the reader into a true account of Grace at work in us. Told in a transparent, honest and direct style that mirrors the hard driving action of a basketball game, this book depicts the real victory of God's Grace in justifying and sanctifying sinners.
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Comments from Readers:
- "I am blessed and encouraged after reading this story. I feel - I remember why I believed in Jesus when I first did. Thank you for reminding me of what is good and true in the Lord."
- "I'm speechless. I just finished it, and I know I have to write to
you, but I truly have no idea what to say. What an amazing story!
The way you wrote it made me feel as if I was there watching it.
- "I have just finished reading your Valkyrie series. It was a
work of the very highest standard. Rarely have I read at
story that has engendered such a range of emotions in me or
moved me in such a spiritual way."
- "I VERY much enjoyed reading that book. I think it's Christian fiction at its finest."
- "I just wanted to thank you for your work in writing it and
making it available.... The message of God's grace in light of our own failures was not lost on this reader, and I hope it reaches many more people in the years to come."
- "I genuinely feel...that apart from the undisputed classics like NARNIA and the CURDIE books, VALKYRIES is the best Christian novel for young people that I have *ever* read."
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Review from Rebecca Anderson:
The two-volume story VALKYRIES has been billed as "a hard-hitting novel about the grace of God". The description is indeed apt, because this story pulls no punches. It is by far the most honest, compelling, non-stereotypical, and thought-provoking Christian novel for young adults that I have ever read.
The heroine, Tracey, is not some paper saint -- she is a fully believable character whose struggles and doubts are very real. Nor are the challenges that she faces as a young believer downplayed or oversimplified. As Tracey seeks to grow in her newfound faith and take a stand for Christ in a hostile environment, the errors she makes and the failures and disappointments she experiences teach important truths about God's mercy, grace, and love. Yet the story is far from preachy, and the lessons are never glib.
One of the most remarkable things about this story is the richness and depth of the characterization. Although Tracey's conversion from Catholicism and her subsequent opposition to Catholic doctrines and practices are central to the book, the Catholic characters are not demonized, nor the evangelicals glorified. Neither can any one of the characters be reduced to a mere stereotype -- not even the apparent villains of the piece, like Tracey's abusive father or the harshly dictatorial principal of her Catholic school. Each person Tracey meets, regardless of their beliefs, is portrayed as a real human being, with virtues as well as faults. As such, the story rings true to life.
The dialogue in the book flows easily and naturally from the characters, without any of the golly-gee hokiness or wooden diction that infects many Christian novels. It also shows real wit -- some of the quips made by Tracey's schoolmates are laugh-out-loud funny -- yet the humour is never forced or contrived. The narrative style of the novel is highly readable, clear and straightforward, providing just enough detail to create a picture in the reader's mind while spare enough to keep the action moving right along.
Although Tracey's story unfolds slowly, each scene advances the plot, adds interest and depth to the characters, and none of it feels superfluous or wasted. I am a non-athlete and have no interest in team sports as a rule, but Tracey's high school basketball career -- an element which is crucial to the book, and not presented merely to add excitement or to glorify sport for its own sake -- is so skilfully described that I was captivated by it.
Reading VALKYRIES, I was moved to both laughter and tears -- a rare experience for me. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading a forthright, uncompromising, and deeply moving portrayal of what it really means to be a Christian and a child of God.
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