Blair, Jamie. Leap of Faith.

Blair, Jamie.  Leap of Faith.  Simon & Schuster  2013  240p  ISBN 978-1-4424-471-34 hs    G     Realistic fiction

This reads like a Hallmark Channel lifestyle movie.  Leah has only an older sister to share her concerns with, since her single mother is an addict with numerous men coming in and out of her life.  When Leah’s mother agrees to bear a baby for $10,000 for another drug addicted couple, Leah vows that her half-sister will never grow up in the ramshackle environment she has had to survive for 16 years.  With no long-term plans, she steals her mother’s car and cash, takes the baby, and drives to Florida seeking a better life.  Wonder of wonders, she meets up with a kindly extended family who has had their share of grief. Leah rents a room in their comfortable suburban home.  The focus of the story is how Leah covers up her former life and comes to tell her truth, as well as the fact that she is a good person even though she is wanted by the law.  Things fall into place too easily for Leah for the sense of harsh reality that should accompany a high-school dropout with a newborn to care for (for example, the baby is not born addicted).  Leah’s problems are only momentary, and they do not reflect reality, considering she is living without a safety net.  But for lovers of a happy ending, this book provides a whirlwind ride of events that all magically end happily.  It’s a feel-good story that would rarely end so well in real life.                 

Summary: Leah vows her newborn younger sister will never live in the drug-addicted environment in which she has spent sixteen years. She takes the baby and flees, not knowing their future.  She meets up with kind people who show her another way of life. Grades 9-12.    

Romance-Fiction                                        --Lois McNicol