Book review: Blurring the Lines

by Jerry Zehr

★★★

Fun, short little book! Thomas, a naive young man from an Amish heritage, moves to Los Angeles hoping to pursue a career in acting. The Amish connection isn't overplayed; Thomas is a pretty normal fellow, but breaking into this business is tough, and earning enough money on the side to survive proves difficult. He falls in with the wrong crowd, and his innocence plays against him until his experiences begin to bring more than shame; they land him in danger, both for his life and with the law.

Thomas is lucky, though, to have developed a special friendship with a man who encourages and provides spiritual guidance, while downplaying Thomas's mistakes. We can assume Thomas would drift ever deeper into darkness were it not for this mysterious acquaintance. The ending is surprising and memorable, though in retrospect, I really should have gathered enough clues during the story to guess the climax. 

This is Christian literature, though Zehr's outlook is not conservative and the language is a bit rough. Part of Thomas's growing-up includes learning to look at God differently. Nothing monumental or overly deep, though, and the story's brevity prevents a fully-developed plot. This is a good book for teens.

On the downside, the book starts out in quite passive prose, so it doesn't grab you from the opening. Do keep reading! Also, I was given a pre-edited version, and a few editing and formatting corrections would be expected for the published version.