Saturday, June 5, 2021

About the Book

Book: Ablaze

Author: M. Liz Boyle

Genre: Christian YA

Release date: February 25, 2021

This summer the Stanley sisters and the Miles boys are excited to hike together again, and now they have the unique opportunity to help two of their ranger friends with an outdoor program in the beautiful Montana mountains.

Marlee has always considered herself a willing follower. Give her a direction and she’s happy to help. Her older sister Ellie is a natural leader, and Marlee is content in her role as assistant.

Marlee and her sisters have been assigned to help with Ranger Rose’s team, and they are savoring the adventure. But in a heartbeat while the group is divided by a few hundred feet, fire breaks out between Ranger Rose and Marlee’s group. In this enthralling finale to the Off the Itinerary series, Marlee must face her fears with courage that only God can provide.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Liz is the author of the Off the Itinerary series, the wife of a professional tree climber, and the homeschooling mom of three energetic and laundry-producing children. Liz once spent a summer in Colorado teaching rock climbing, which she believes was a fantastic way to make money and memories. She resides with her family in Wisconsin, where they enjoy hiking and rock climbing. Liz and her husband have also backpacked in Colorado and the Grand Canyon, which have provided inspiration for her writing. She makes adventurous stories to encourage others to find adventures and expand their comfort zones (though admittedly, she still needs lots of practice expanding her own comfort zone).

More from Liz

After sending my five teenage characters through an avalanche and subjecting them to a lunatic with handcuffs (during a flash flood), I decided that a wildfire was the next disaster they should endure. From a plot perspective, a wildfire allows for much excitement; but I especially love the character refinement that takes place as my cast faces this natural disaster in the finale to my Off the Itinerary series. I hope your family will find encouraging entertainment in Ablaze.

MY REVIEW

We find ourselves joining the group again on another hike. This one has a bit more detail about the forest and I learned a lot from the author. I knew what this story was going to be about but I knew the author had a few surprises in store. Marlee and her sister are teamed up with Ranger Rose to lead a group through the forest. I love the outdoors but I really don’t care to hike at all. It sounds exhausting and dangerous at times.

Marlee was interesting because she was wrestling with her fear of being a leader. One girl in the group intimidates her and causes Marlee to hold back. Will she miss her opportunity to grow as a leader? Seems that someone is going to have to face her fear and God is about to test her. Isn’t it funny the things we fear are the very situations we find ourselves in. That moment defines our faith and trust in God.

I did like the part about an emergency that happened with one of the girls. The author does a great job of teaching readers about allergic reactions and what to do when it happens. Poor Marlee is right in the middle of the emergency which causes her to doubt herself even more. I can relate to Marlee as she is very insecure about herself. It is hard when everything seems to go wrong around you. It sure doesn’t help that one of the hikers is mean to Marlee. Shelby has an attitude and I think she may be a little jealous of Marlee.

There is a lot of adventure in the story but the lessons are more valuable to me. The author does an amazing job of showing us how to trust, forgive and follow our dreams. Having confidence in yourself helps you to achieve your dreams. Most importantly we need to always invite God to be with us on our journey through life.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.