A Little Faith (Ocean Beach book 1)
By Emma James
Reviewed By Karen Lee
Faith had hung around
her older brother, Chance and his friends, for as long as she could remember.
They never seemed to mind the little girl who idolized her brother following
them places; in fact they were very cool with it. When Faith was 11 years old
and her brother Chance went off to college, it was hard, but even if her
brother wasn’t home, his friends would return home on break and stop in to see
her. She always felt close to them.
When a tragedy strikes while the guys are on vacation, Faith
at 15 years old closes herself off from friends and even her parents. The grief
of losing her brother too painful to deal with, she couldn’t even visit with
his friends, it was just too painful. Her brother had spoken in the past about
his wish to be cremated and his remains brought to San Diego. He loved to surf while
spending time with his friends and he wanted his ashes to be released into the
waves. But the thought of losing another part of her brother was too painful
for Faith, so her parents decided they would wait until Faith was stronger and
ready to finally let Chance go.
It was 6 years after the death of her brother that Faith
felt strong enough to grant Chance’s final wish. She made arrangements to stay
with his best friend, who was more than happy to visit with the girl he had
always referred to as short stuff. For six years Faith had closed herself off
from Chance’s friends, and soon after her arrival, she realizes his 5 friends
are still struggling with the past. They paint smiles on their faces, joking
around with everyone but occasionally some of the horror of that night surfaces.
Faith is ashamed for not being there for these amazing men, for not helping
them with the pain and the survivor’s guilt they have. The guilt they have that
their friend is no longer here with them. Faith is determined to help each of
them emotionally recover, to go on and lead happy lives. To find someone they
love, like they deserve to be loved, to just be happy. This is what her brother
would really want her to do for them, and she has made it her mission to
accomplish this, for Chance.
OMG, what a fantastic read! Such an original idea, and great
story, that pulls you in and makes you read the whole book in one night!
Outstanding descriptions of the guys and I loved them all, especially Text. This
is an incredible debut book from a very talented lady. 5 stars
