"A Christmas Carol" for Mormons

For me, Doug Thayer's Will Wonders Never Cease was like watching "A Christmas Carol"

with a teenage boy instead of Ebenezer Scrooge and the boy's stream of consciousness instead of the ghost of Christmas past. Caught in a freak accident and left to fend for himself for nine days under a massive avalanche, the weight of the snow presses down on Kyle with simultaneous guilt we would expect from an introspective Mormon teenager coming to terms with himself in the face of death. Kyle's thoughts, while at time's frustrating and somewhat repetitive, reflect those of a teenager quite well, as he grapples much like an Alma the Younger to redeem his fifteen year old soul through powerful and imposed meditation and self-reflection. 

Reading this novel, I couldn't help but think how badly my parents would have wanted me to be trapped in an avalanche and rethink my life at the age of fifteen. In fact, they might not even be opposed to the idea now. But what was interesting to me was the type of parents that were portrayed through the innermost thoughts of the panicking boy. His mother, Lucille, reminded me a lot of my own mother. She seems to have employed a more hand's off style of parenting in which parents instruct and aid their children while hoping that the example they have set is sufficient reason for their children to make correct choices. However, teenagers will be teenagers, and more times than not, we were able to justify our actions as to live however we wanted to. It made me think about the lessons my parents taught me most effectively, and the lessons that I have realized only with a great many years of hindsight to appreciate.

While the novel is more overtly LDS than the other works we have read (maybe with the exception of Added Upon), I felt that it was realistic to how I probably would have thought if I were put in a similar situation at the age of sixteen. Young members of the church have little other context that they could reflect in, and perhaps we are the same now as we were then. So I enjoyed the novel, but more thoroughly appreciated the challenge of contemplating my own life and the consequences of my actions.

Stream of Consciousness Strengths

I've always been a fan of stream of conscious. It's such a unique, rich genre. However, I usually read it, knowing that I'm about to read stream of consciousness. Doug Thayer's Will Wonders Never Cease novel caught me off guard at first because I wasn't expecting a stream of consiousness-esque writing style. At first it really bothered me, but I'm now convinced that this writing style was the most successful way he could have told this story.

First of all, his story was more blatantly LDS than other novels such as Seventh Son and Dispirited. The problem with being overtly LDS, is there's a lot of LDS background that's required to understand the context of the story. It can be challenging to explain LDS beliefs or culture without distracting from the story, but Kyle was able to think about missions, spiritual experience, and other aspects of the LDS subtext in a more natural way because of the writing style of the novel.

The stream of consciousness flow of the story is also helpful--not just because Kyle is alone and hsd no one to talk to--but because it relates closely and realistically to real-life experiences where we take intense mental and emotional journeys that outweigh in importance the physical action around us. For instance, since we were in Kyle's head throughout the novel we could relive his memory of Trace with him and how it related to his vision of how his death would be handled. This is more powerful than "I almost died, but didn't. The end." The avalanche was certainly notable, but it would have just  been a crisis averted had Kyle not undertaken his inward journey as he struggles to survive.

Physical survival was certainly important, but it wasn't the most important aspect of the story. And I loved that.

Resources in Will Wonders Never Cease

I've enjoyed reading my classmates' opinions of Doug Thayer's Will Wonders Never Cease. They've noticed several themes in the book and how they relate to other books we've read in our class. Another motif I noticed in the book is that of using and appreciating one's blessings and resources. 

At the novel's start, Kyle spends most of his brainpower whining to himself about pretty much everything--how strict and strange his mom is, how much he hates school, and all the stuff he'd like to have but doesn't. After finding himself buried in the avalanche, however, Kyle has to take an inventory in several ways. 

Physically, Kyle finds and uses everything from orange peels to empty soda cans to keep himself alive. Emotionally, he takes time to acknowledge and deal with his grief over his older brother's death. Spiritually, he ponders what he's been taught about the Gospel his entire life and reaches out to God and his deceased grandfather. For the first time, he realizes how much he has and chooses to use it. This changes him in a realistic and profound way.

This theme of finding and using your talents and resources also shows up in other works we've read in our class. In Dispirited, the protagonist learns she can talk to the spirit of her stepbrother and works to help him. Similarly, the protagonist in Seventh Son finds he has powers and hones them. The LDS faith focuses a lot on our spiritual gifts--talents God has blessed us with--and how they can help us improve the world around us. So it's little surprise that this idea shows up in so much LDS fiction. As well as LDS lives. 

Parenting and Oblivion in Will Wonders Never Cease

Doug Thayer’s new book, Will Wonders Never Cease: A Hopeful Novel for Mormon Mothers and Their Teenage Sons, tells the story of Kyle Hooper, a go-with-the-flow teenager with a penchant for writing and a remarkably lucid sense of self. The book is a modern retelling of the story of Alma the Younger, as Kyle is struck by an avalanche (just as Alma is struck by an angel) and as his confrontation with despair causes him to contemplate his life choices.

          Thayer's book exhibits a profoundly Mormon anxiety on every page: the question, “How do I get my kid to choose the right?” and its haunting shadow, “If my kid chooses the wrong, is it my fault?” Through Kyle’s inner monologue, the reader meets Kyle’s mother, Lucille, a woman who clearly wants her son to live righteously, but who parents him in a non-traditional, laissez-faire way, using sarcasm and candor where Victorian parents would probably use restraint and subtext.

          Does this book teach “the right way to parent”? Lucille seems at first to be the master parent, but Kyle’s narrative quickly shows that she is haphazard and frantic, probably doing parenting by the seat of her pants, and much less self-possessed than she appears. Moreover, the subtitle of the novel is not “How Mormon Mothers Should Teach Their Teenage Sons” but “A Hopeful Novel,” which suggests that this is only meant to be an example of parenting working out, not a paragon of how it has to happen.

          What I find more interesting is the subtextual moral of this book, which is that human beings need to have avalanches dropped on them before they take anything seriously. Are we really that obtuse that we can’t actually choose righteousness until death is right in front of us? I would take offense at this, except that I was exactly the same way when I was a teenager, and honestly, am often just as oblivious now. If there is anything positive to get out of this book, I think it must be this message: Wake up, and don’t make God send you an avalanche before you get smart about life.

In the mind of a stereotypical teenage mormon boy . . .

This book was hard for me to get through. When stuck in the mind of a character for the duration of a book, it helps to enjoy the mind that one is getting so intimately acquainted with. And Kyle was so over the top for me. Part of me admires the fact that Thayer was willing to show the reality of a teenage boy stuck in the snow, cycling through the same type of thoughts constantly for nine days. And then the other part of me was so annoyed that Kyle couldn't think of anything new, instead plaguing every chapter with redundant thoughts, giving Kyle very little breadth or depth, unless of course that's all there is to Kyle and then I don't care anyway. 

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At the same time though, the situation Kyle was placed in was fascinating. His lack of maturity and rather shallow being was sharply contrasted with the dire circumstances he had to deal with. His communication and remembrances of his Grandpa gave him a greatly-appreciated depth to his character and his smart thinking was interesting as he raced against time and the symptoms of death to be more than he was and survive more than his seeming time allotted. 

Overall, I can't tell if I just couldn't stand the actual character or if the book was actually problematic for me. I don't think it was written poorly, it was just unfortunately the type of story I feel no reason to read because it offers me no enjoyment, enlightenment, challenge, or intrigue. 

Thayer did provide some refreshing and "liberal" views when Kyle remembered scenarios regarding his mother, but even that wasn't enough for me to enjoy the characters Will Wonders Never Cease provided.

Will Wonders Never Cease: Attempts at Something New

In his novel, Will Wonders Never Cease, Douglas Thayer tells the story of a fifteen year old boy named Kyle. At the beginning of the novel, Kyle gets trapped in his car underneath an avalanche and the rest of the novel focuses on how he changes he struggles to survive. This story was very unique due to its use of stream of consciousness, not to mention its interesting concept. (I mean, personally, I've never before read a story about a kid trying to dig himself out of an avalanche over the course of a week and a half). Almost the entire story takes place buried in an avalanche. It revolves around one character and his thoughts about himself, his actions, and the people who will miss him if he dies. This combination of details makes for a very unique story.
Because of its uniqueness this novel was a bit difficult to get into. I'd never read anything like it before and didn't know what exactly to expect. The story got a bit repetitive as Kyle reflected again and again on the same issues and people, mostly girls and his relationship with his mom. However, it was an attempt at something new, a fact that I can respect.
This novel isn't the first original attempt that we've read in this class. Nephi Anderson's plan of salvation novel, Added Upon, was the first of its kind, making it a unique, original story unlike anything that had previously been written. Luisa Perkins' novel, Dispirited, was a combination of young adult, LDS, paranormal, fantasy that made it impossible to categorize in terms of traditional genres. These attempts at originality can be hard to get into and they have some kinks to work out, but at least these authors had the courage to try something new. And each found some degree of success within their attempts.

Photo from Washington State Department of Transportation Flickr

Unavoidable Grief

"Will Wonders Never Cease" told an intensive story of a fifteen year old named Kyle on the brink of starvation and hypothermia stuck beneath a freak avalanche. He struggles between longing for relief from his suffering and desiring to experience more of life like dating, school and even a mission. A large, if not the most present, concept in the novel is the inevitability of death and its contemplative nature. However, I was drawn to another inevitable concept: grief. The workings of grief have been at the forefront of my mind lately. Within in a year, my hometown has suffered three unexpected deaths, all of whom attended my church building. One was a middle-aged mother who had a brain aneurism, the second was a 19 year old boy who was hit by another boy and fell back at hit his head and the third, happening two days ago, was a member of the neighboring ward's bishopric who had a heart attack. Each time I was told about these deaths, I felt overcome with grief though only personally knowing one. How does one deal with the grief when it is your child, spouse, sibling, etc.? I honestly do not know, it is hard for me to think about. This question is addressed in the character of Lucille. She allowed herself to grieve. She allowed herself to cry. Yet, she endured. She endured through her faith, her family, and her love for her son.

Most of the literature we have read deals with some degree of grief. In "Dispirited", both Blake and Cathy have suffered the loss of a parent. In "The Seventh Son", the Alvin's family loses a brother and a son. Yet the story of their lives continues. Because life always continues, right? I think Kyle realizes this. Life will continue when he dies bringing him a degree of sadness. I think Lucille realizes this as well. Life will continue with her son gone and she can either endure with it or not. How you choose to endure through that kind of extreme grief I don't know but my deepest respect extends to those who do.

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out of the snow.

Doug Thayer’s novel Will Wonders Never Cease is very ‘stream of consciousness’ novel from a 15 year-old boy who gets stuck in an avalanche for 9 days. Kyle is able to survive by using what skills his grandfather had taught him (reaching into a Latter-Day Saint theme of family) and by eating the food he had been driving up the canyon with at the time of the avalanche. The majority of the book is simply inside of Kyle’s head, his thoughts and feelings as he is fighting off hunger, hypothermia and frostbite, and despair. Because of this style, Thayer is writing in a stream of consciousness, the ideas flowing out of each other and never seeming to end. This type of style has its pros and cons, mostly depending on the reader. It sometimes can get confusing to follow the plot and there are many times where Kyle’s thoughts leave the reader with way too many questions and not nearly enough details. But because of the continual returns to the same ideas and topics, most questions the reader might have about Kyle and his life are, more or less, answered.

It is rather heartwarming to read as Kyle changes, somewhat, in his attitude and perspective, especially on his family and his religion. Even though he may not have matured as much as maybe he could have, he comes out of the snow a different young man than the boy who cruised up the canyon.

The Reality of Death

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I really enjoyed reading Douglas Thayer's "Will Wonders Never Cease." I wasn't sure what to expect going into the novel, but I was pleasantly surprised. Thayer tells the captivating story of a 15 year old kid who gets trapped in his car during an avalanche. He is very smart and resourceful and works hard to get himself out, but the most interesting part of the account is who he is becoming as a person as he works through the possibility that he might not survive this ordeal.
I think that a turning point for Kyle (and for me as the reader) was when Kyle turned on the radio and heard the announcement of his own memorial service. He had thought before that people couldn't possibly still be searching for him but now that it was confirmed, he really had to decide if he wanted to live or die. Many teens are not faced with such a question at such a young age, but Kyle had had many experiences with death already. As he works to save himself, he thinks about kids at school that have died, his grandparents, and his brother Trace, who passed away from cancer. At various points, the experiences of these other people give him strength but also present various fears. Reading a first hand account of someone so close to death really makes readers take a second look at life and death and what is most important in life.
As his condition gradually grew worse and worse, Kyle continued to think about his mom, Lucille. It was fascinating to me to understand in part the relationship between mothers and sons. Kyle felt that his mother was very restricting and seemed to be constantly butting heads with her. But the longer he remained in his potential grave of ice, the closer he grew to his mother. He came to recognize her as his mother, not just as "Lucille." This drives home the importance of nurturing good relationships while we can. Who knows how much longer each one of us has on this earth?

Firsthand Experience

In Doug Thayer's novel Will Wonders Never Cease, we are brought back through time and into the thought processes of a young adolescent teen. This is rife with all the characteristics of a teen, from not really knowing who you are or what you want to do, to being curious about girls and your own body.


Specifically in this novel, you are thrown into Mormon culture in a way which most outside of Mormonism has not had a chance to experience. The main character, Kyle, is immersed in it. And this brings up a series of challenges and choices. 


How will he act? Will he believe everything that is said? Doug Thayer effectively brings the reader through 
Kyle's thoughts and the reasons behind his choices and beliefs.

Photo from: berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk

The reason why this novel is important is because of the honesty that is put into Doug Thayer's perception of Kyle. Kyle is able to critique the culture he is immersed in through a humorous way that is not condescending or overtly negative. 

This is unique because it shows the thoughts and feelings of a person in the Mormon culture itself. 


In other words, the experiences of Kyle could be considered first hand and possibly a much better example of what Mormonism is than someone living outside of the religion trying to critique what they have not lived themselves.

Fictional Avalanche

Fictional literature has always been very interesting in its ability to bring your mind to new places and create characters that may or may not be possible in non-fiction. I think Douglas Thayer does well in his novel, "Will Wonders Never Cease" in depicting common Utah LDS culture through fictional literature.

In Thayer's novel, he depicts a young man's spiritual and physical struggles of being trapped in under an avalanche. It would be hard to use the few non-fictional examples of young men being trapped in an avalanche to illustrate the Latter-day Saint culture as he did. It would be especially difficult to find a young man who lived to tell the tale with such detail as Thayer has.

Generally, I believe that non-fiction has an excellent role in a Mormon setting. We find "testimonies" and lived experiences to be strengthening. Reflecting on this past General Conference, I remember several fictional anecdotes that were used to teach principles in ways that perhaps non-fiction couldn't have. In my opinion, there is great value in both fiction and non-fiction within LDS literature. Thayer could create both a setting and the character that allowed for a very personal interaction with a young man raised in the environment of a Utah LDS home. It may be difficult to reveal the true feelings, concerns, or secrets of a non-fictional character. In this light, fiction could be the best way to bring up sensitive topics with great tact.

The Trap

In non-fictional form, many may find it difficult to just let it all out. Imagine sitting down with a stranger--or even a friend--and having them dish out their deepest fears and regrets. You'd eventually think less about how you can relate, and more about how this person's got some serious problems. When we sit down to share our real-life stories--as we've done in our personal essays--honesty is something we might dance around or only brush up against when convenient.

In the can-do, never-faltered, keep-it-on-the-down-low culture of Mormon member life, many of us find it difficult to take our deepest thoughts and slap them on a table for all to see. Some don't struggle with this, and have no problem sharing their transgressions to anyone who will listen, but for many it becomes a struggle--or a trap even--between being real and being not seen as less of a member.

When considering fictional writing, honesty can take any form. It can be an antagonist who bears striking resemblance to your horrific 4th grade teacher who was terrible and awful and is the direct cause of any educational problem you've had since. For Douglas Thayer, it appears to be taking the form of inner monologue. Kyle waxes on about his thoughts, flowing in and out of memories and ideas that have clearly been hand-picked by Thayer for different purposes.

Stream of consciousness writing, as found in The Catcher in the Rye and Ulysses, is an easy and effective way to be honest with your audience, or at least let your character be honest with them. I don't imagine Kyle is Douglas Thayer and that he's just barfing out his own life story through another character, so he's most likely using Kyle to be honest about his own personal thoughts and about what he thinks teenage boys think about. Doing this in the non-fiction form would be very difficult.

By avoiding the nasty trap of how much honesty is too much honesty, writers can use fiction to breach any number of topics with greater efficiency.

The Candor Experience

In Doug Thayer's novel Will Wonders Never Cease, we're able to learn what it's like to be a 15, almost 16, year old Mormon boy growing up in Utah.  Kyle doesn't grow up in your "typical" Mormon house hold and that helps shape him into who he becomes.  He talks about his Grandpa Hooper not going to church and swearing often.  He talks about his experience when he got a little intoxicated.  He talks about when his brother smoked marijuana that burned down a barn and his mom, Lucille, followed his brother around 24/7 for about two weeks.  These experiences aren't experiences people usually share in the Mormon culture.  That is something that I thoroughly enjoy about this fiction novel, the blunt honesty from all the characters.

Since Doug Thayer wrote his novel from the perspective of Kyle a 15 year old boy, he was able to get away with being quite honest throughout his novel.  Not only was Kyle honest about everything, but he clearly got it from his mother, Lucille.  Lucille is the Mormon mother every child should have.  She says it how it is and it's quite refreshing to hear.  In Mormon culture, most things pertaining to "scandalous" topics are hushed and not talked about or discussed.  Lucille is quite the opposite.  She is very open and honest about everything from sex to homosexuals to drugs and alcohol.  By Lucille being very open and honest about everything, it doesn't give the best depiction of how Mormon culture really is like in Utah, specifically.

I think overall Doug Thayer did a good job in portraying Mormon beliefs.

Portrayal Needs the Perfect Audience

"Will wonders never cease." That's what Kyle Hooper's mom, Lucille, would say to him whenever he did something surprisingly good in the new LDS novel from Douglas Thayer. Will Wonders Never Cease is about a fictional teenager named Kyle, who gets himself in a predicament, and has to realize what he believes to find the strength to survive.

I think representing Mormonism through fiction can be done quite well and accurately, but not all of it is going to be exact. What an author may create in their mind as to which LDS rituals should be insanely overdone in their novel may turn the reader away from the LDS faith. Especially if it was someone who is unfamiliar with Mormon culture. The same goes with the way Kyle Hooper sees his religion. I know that he is really starting to learn what he believes in this book and he's very sarcastic about everything, but there were many times that I felt like I should defend my religion. This book has to have the correct audience; the way that Kyle Hooper seems to make fun of it.

Personally, I would rather read a fiction novel over non-fiction more often than not. But take "Meet the Mormons" for example. If the stories in that movie were expanded with more details into a non-fiction book, I would instantly read it. Non-fiction would be a better way to portray the "Mormon experience" because it can provide real insight of real people and their lives. Sheri Dew also writes great non-fiction books on how the LDS religion works, her most recent one titled, Women and the Priesthood: What One Mormon Woman Believes. Non-fiction would be more accurate because of the ability to tell real stories, real experiences, real emotions, real solutions. Not just a scenario that was made up in someone's head.

Depending on the audience and the way they represent LDS culture, both non-fiction and fiction books can accurately portray Mormon experience. Will Wonders Never Cease needed a Mormon audience, who could recognize the sarcasm of Kyle Hooper's religious experiences.

Authenticity Liberated by Fiction

            LDS culture is portrayed throughout society in a variety of ways. Fiction is one of those mediums that LDS authors use to portray this culture in a new light. In “Will Wonders Never Cease” by Doug Thayer, a refreshing portrayal of this culture is shown through the eyes of a 15-year-old boy.

            Through the use of candor and honesty, we have a unique view and perspective on the LDS culture, and how this culture handles real life issues and situations. Because of this candor, the story shows an authentic representation of Kyle and his life, and how the mind of a 15-year-old boy works.  For example, like we discussed in class, things like same-sex attraction and sex education are spoken so openly and discussed amongst the characters, that it shows a different way to show the LDS culture and beliefs amongst other people.

            Fiction I believe allows for this authentic representation to flourish over other mediums like nonfiction. Nonfiction is restricted to the facts and portraying the events and thoughts of a story according to something that already happened, and doesn’t leave much room for branching out. While in fiction, the author has the liberty of creating characters and the setting where the story will take place. Then they can show ideas and situations that interact with these characters that show an authentic representation of the character’s lives and beliefs. Fiction, I believe, has more leeway in allowing the author to engage the reader in different ways compared to a personal essay. In my opinion, LDS fiction allows the best medium for authors to deliver an authentic representation of one’s lives and beliefs in the most engaging manner to the audience.

The Sneaky Way

I think sometimes it is very difficult to share personal experience and personal opinion.  Maybe it is because we are afraid of being judged, ridiculed or analyzed.  Maybe it is because there is such a thing as "over sharing"- T.M.I. and the whole casting-pearls-before-swine thing.  Regardless, today is the age where information can be shared and spread very quickly and it can become "viral" instantly, either in a good way or a bad way.  In no time at all, you can be praised or maligned by people around the world. Because of this, political or personal subjects are risky to share and have to be shared in the right way...maybe from the viewpoint of someone else.


I think we all have sought advice by saying "So my friend (insert controversial topic here)" to someone we trust or value their opinion, really referring to ourselves.  It is because we don't want to be judged or we want to gauge the reaction of others before spilling the beans.  This takes the personal connection out.  They can't be disappointed or angry at us because it was "our friend" who believed in such-or-such or got in trouble with so-and-so.

This is why it is a good tactic to share beliefs, strong opinions, politics and all other controversial topics through fiction. The blame or praise can all be placed on someone who doesn't actually exist.  I think Douglas Thayer does a fantastic job of this in his recent novel, "Will Wonders Never Cease" in which a mother talks about taboo subjects like sex, masturbation, same-sex attraction, and political correctness.  The mother essentially tears into her son for calling someone "gay" which arises thoughts on accepting people in the Mormon community who have such affiliations.  She affirmed that they can be strong, active and completely worthy members of the church if they continue to live the same commandments everyone else does.  There has been much controversy about this recently in the church, and it is a good way in narrative form to sneakily bring in Thayer's thoughts on the subject.
 I think if Thayer wrote it from a personal narrative, he might get a lot of hateful comments as being blatantly pro-gay or maybe affiliated that way.  But, like I said, opinions coming from fictional characters allow for people to be a little more un-attached and not necessarily attack ideas they don't believe in because those ideas could be fictional.

Finding Your Place Among the Stars

Every person no matter their religion must at some point go through some sort of rite of passage. Mormons are no different. Part of being human is questioning things around us and trying to find our place in the universe. Kyle in Will Wonder’s Never Cease is a perfect example of this occurring in young people which I feel was very accurately portrayed since I was able to connect with and relate to his thoughts and experiences.

Right off the bat Thayer has names, and not titles which would be more expected, flying around for anyone and everything. The most startling of which is that Kyle even thinks of his parents by their first names. This shows that he feels out of place, or isn’t quite sure where he fits in and at times he feels others don’t give him enough credit for what he knows and what he is capable of. He is smart enough not to actually call them by their first names to their faces, but you can tell a lot about who someone really is when you can get in their head which is a advantage of works of fiction.

However is all of this truly fiction? I feel that despite the fact that the actual events of this story never happened, all of the other aspects have elements of truth in them that we can all connect with on different levels. Whether Thayer had similar experiences, had them form from his imagination, or has had others share their similar experiences with him, the feelings and thoughts that are discussed and felt as a result in this novel are real to any human being, especially during our coming of age phase. So despite Thayer having Kyle in a Mormon culture, with lots of discussions surrounding Mormon life, I feel that this larger theme of coming of age is more of a universal human experience and not one that is mutually exclusive to Mormons or even Mormon teenage boys.

Authenticity and Tricky Topics

Any time we write, paint, sculpt, or use any medium to portray actual life, it will not be an exact replica. There is no way to translate every nuance and detail into the art. This is the case with fiction and nonfiction, one may try to be as genuine as possible but there will often be something missing. Nevertheless, a writer does not need the exact words or the very emotions to convey his/her message.  Using the magic of imagination, an author can allow the readers an experience, which can be better than actual life.

In Douglas Thayer’s novel Will Wonders Never Cease the author portrays a family with a teenage son. Contrary to the typical Mormon stereotypes the son; Kyle has not embraced the life that his family or his mother especially promotes.  Since this novel is fiction, Thayer could explore the doubts and fears of a teenage boy in the church without the burden of it being a true story.

I think sometimes we handle hard topics better when they are set in a fictional setting, instead of taking things so seriously we can empathize and allow the characters to grow without judgment. Often authors do not want to share all the difficult true stuff because they do not want to be judged. The next best thing is to make up a character and give him the experiences or background that need to be shared. So that through fiction authors are able to be more authentic with their thoughts and characters than with perhaps a nonfiction story. 

This type of literature is very refreshing as we watch Kyle change from a boy that is not sure about much to a young man that has faced death and has come back with strong beliefs.  It is serious but with a touch of humor that keeps a reader going.

I believe that the audience for such a novel benefits from the authenticity that the author gives to the characters and also the situation. Although the circumstan 

ces that Kyle overcomes are very extraordinary, it takes nothing away from the believability.