Review: Losing Faith by Denise Jaden

A terrible secret. A terrible fate.

When Brie’s sister, Faith, dies suddenly, Brie’s world falls apart. As she goes through the bizarre and devastating process of mourning the sister she never understood and barely even liked, everything in her life seems to spiral farther and farther off course. Her parents are a mess, her friends don’t know how to treat her, and her perfect boyfriend suddenly seems anything but.

As Brie settles into her new normal, she encounters more questions than closure: Certain facts about the way Faith died just don’t line up. Brie soon uncovers a dark and twisted secret about Faith’s final night... a secret that puts her own life in danger.

My Review:

Losing Faith was a gripping book with amazing characters that I sped through quickly.  I loved the mystery and I needed to know what had really happened the night Faith died.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Brie is a great main character.  She is clearly very upset at the death of her sister, and she finds herself lost and alone when everyone at school basically stops talking to her after Faith's death. Her parents don't want to talk about Faith at all, and they also begin to ignore Brie.  Brie realizes she wants to know what really happened when Faith died.  Many think the death was a suicide, but Brie is sure that Faith would never kill herself.  As the story unfolds, Brie realizes there were many things about Faith that she did not know. 

Two of the great secondary characters in this were Alis and Tessa.  Alis is the brother of Faith's friend, Reena.  He is homeschooled, and Brie sees him at Faith's funeral, and then at her school one day to take a test.  She decides she wants to meet this boy to see if he knows more about Faith.  The relationship between Alis and Brie progresses well and seems natural.  Tessa is a Goth girl who seems very tough and has been given the nickname Terrible Tessa.  Brie's locker is next to Tessa's locker, and soon after Faith's death, Tessa is the only person who will really talk to her.  Tessa and Brie become friends, and Tessa helps Brie to find out information about her sister.

The religious aspects of this book are well done as well.  From the beginning of the book, it is clear that Faith was very religious.  She and her friend Celeste were always going to youth groups.  After Faith's death, Brie discovers that her sister had not gone to youth group for a while.  She discovers that Faith and Celeste had joined a dangerous, cult-like religious group led by Reena and Nathan.  This group was quite interesting to read about.

If you like YA contemporary, read this book.  

Katie