Book Review: The Turning by Davis Bunn

by Sandra Ardoin

HOPE IS DEAD!

Or is it?

 

Take the turning and walk the unlikely road.

I have to admit, when I was contacted about reviewing Davis Bunn’s The Turning, I had to think long and hard. Based on the description, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just knew it wasn’t my typical read. However, it only took a few pages to draw me in.

The story revolves around a handful of people from various walks of life who hear the same voice and the same command: “Take the turning.” While they don’t really know what it means, it leads John Jacobs, Alisha Seames, Jenny Linn, and Yussuf Alwan to face an unpleasantness in their lives. They need to forgive before they can be of use in the battle ahead. Then, along with a variety of others in their group and around the country, they take on the heads of a giant corporation whose goal is to convince the world God doesn’t exist.

The antagonist, Trent Cooper, wants to get ahead in his job with the Mundrose Group, a large and powerful communications corporation. He wants to be a part of the inner sanctum and devises a campaign he believes will get him there. That campaign is to start a “trend” with the slogan “Hope is Dead.” 

Most of the excitement in the book came from Trent and the evil surrounding him, and he was my favorite character. I think it was because there are various POV characters on the “good” side and only him on the “bad” side, so we get to know him a little better. He’s smart, bold, and bitter. He’s also conflicted. At one point, he’s faced with the opportunity to change, and I was pulling hard for him to see the proper path. But I won’t give any more away there.

The downside of the book, to me, was the climax. I felt the last twenty pages could have been stronger—more of a physical and emotional bang. 

Perhaps the tension is greatest in the premise, the encouragement for the reader to think, to ask themselves questions. What would I do if I heard God’s call to travel an unfamiliar road, to leave my comfort zone, to take on a secular culture? Would I obey? Do I have the confidence that “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called.”? When was the last time I prayed for my enemies? Do I have the strength to stand for what I believe in? Do I still believe in the hope of the gospel?

We’re living in a world that is quickly changing and challenging us to be that beacon of hope. That’s the inspiration of the book. Simply for the questions it raises, I highly recommend The Turning.

Are you prepared to answer the questions above?

 

As an added bonus, here’s the trailer:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1XXU6sRnwo&w=560&h=315]

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: This book came to me free from the publisher, River North, with the hope that I would mention it on this blog. There was no requirement for me to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.