Sanctuary

So....I grew up on Christian YAish fiction.  The Christy Miller series, the Elizabeth Gail Dobbs series...super girly, wholesome and admittedly, I still re-read them from time to time.  However...alien shisa & zombie-like victims were never a part of that.

And that is why I think Sanctuary by Pauline Creeden is awesome.  It's totally not what you'd expect from "religious" fiction!

Alien spaceships have been hovering for months, dimming the sun, and poisoning the water supply.  People are dying left and right, no one is safe.  After killing 1/3 of the population with the water contamination, alien beasts that look like shisa are sent out to attack people.  They don't kill them, but the victims wish they did.  Jennie, home from college, tries to find the strength to protect her brother.  The journey to safety is a hard one, full of colorful characters and horrible situations.  Will she find (dun dun dun) sanctuary?

I really enjoyed this.  Like I said before, it's not your typical, preachy religious fiction.  Faith absolutely comes into play, but it isn't shoved down your throat.

The story is action-packed, and told from three different perspectives: Jennie, our main protagonist; Hugh, a science teacher from her old high school, aka "Hot Mr. Harris;" and Brad, Hugh's playboy younger brother, who's kind of a douche canoe.  Other characters that come into play are Jennie's 5-year old brother Mickey, and Pastor & Mrs. Crawford- who take everyone in.

I'm trying to think of the best way to describe it...Walking Dead meets X-Files meets Left Behind? Coincidentally, I finished this just before my hubby and I watched This is the End.  It made for some interesting dreams last night...

All in all, great YA religious horror fiction (I still love that "religious" or "Christian" and "horror" are in the same description).  






Sanctuary is published by All Night Reads.  Digital ARC provided by NetGalley.
Release Date: 10.10.2013