Waiting on Wednesday: This Side of Salvation

Title: This Side of Salvation
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready (Twitter)
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publish Date: April 1, 2014
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 384

Everyone mourns differently. When his older brother was killed, David got angry. As in, fist-meets-someone-else’s-face furious. But his parents? They got religious. David’s still figuring out his relationship with a higher power, but there’s one thing he does know for sure: The closer he gets to new-girl Bailey, the better, brighter, happier, more he feels.

Then his parents start cutting all their worldly ties in to prepare for the Rush, the divine moment when the faithful will be whisked off to Heaven…and they want David to do the same. David’s torn. There’s a big difference between living in the moment and giving up his best friend, varsity baseball, and Bailey—especially Bailey—in hope of salvation.

But when he comes home late from prom, and late for the Rush, to find that his parents have vanished, David is in more trouble than he ever could have imagined...

I've been dying to read a really strong contemporary novel from a male POV for a long time, and I have to say that this couldn't have come at a better time! I absolutely love powerful themes of family, religion and self-discovery, and it really seems as though this novel might just be the trifecta. Plus, the author is a proven powerhouse storyteller, so how can you go wrong with that? I'm definitely excited to get my hands on this. What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine.