Race Against Time (Land of the Midnight Sun #2)

Title: Race Against Time (Land of the Midnight Sun)

Author: Kimberley & Kayla Woodhouse

Genre: Suspense

Publishing Date: Nov 1, 2011

Publisher: B&H

Length: 352 Pages

About the Book:

Anesia Naltsiine has made mistakes that have cost her-and her 13-year old daughter, Zoya-dearly. But no more. She will prove her worth as a mother and as a breeder of champion sprint racing dogs. Her kennel is so successful that buyers come from all over the world. So why does she still feel so worthless?

Zoya misses the dad she never knew. All she wants is to follow in his footsteps as a champion sprint dog racer. But when she witnesses a murder in their town of North Pole, Alaska, she finds herself thrown into dangers and emotions she can’t begin to understand.

Enter Sean Connelly, a new employee at the kennel with demons of his own. When he discovers macrochips bearing military secrets implanted in the Naltsiine’s dogs, a puzzle tracing back to the murder unfolds. Then strange “accidents” start happening; clearly someone wants Zoya silenced. Anesia tells her daughter it’s not safe to race, but Zoya, angry with the world- and God-takes off across dangerous Alaskan terrain alone. Anesia and Sean must race against time to save the girl-and themselves.

My Review:

I don’t even have the words to say how amazed I am that this book was written by a thirteen year old with her mother. The amount of maturity and spiritual wisdom that was required to make Zoya who she was was nothing short of phenomenal to come from such a young author. Her character really goes through the ringer physically, emotionally, and spiritually in a way that takes the reader on one vivid and intense ride.

I admire the amount of faith content that was able to be seamlessly woven into this story in a way that came off as genuine without being preachy or cheesy. I appreciated that the authors weren’t afraid to have Zoya’s character wrestle with some deep struggles in her faith without the other characters jumping down her throat with a “Bible thumping” answer. It wasn’t a “you just need to do this” or “you just need to pray that” or even the dreaded “maybe you should re-evaluate your faith.” Instead of being made to feel that her struggles were invalid, she was encouraged to share her heart and what she was wrestling with. The Bible wasn’t thrown at her but Jesus was offered in love. I can’t even say how much I loved how this was all played out.

With a whole heap of action and moving character Arcs, this was a book not easily put down. I recommend reading No Safe Haven first because it will help you understand some of the back story behind the action in this one. I know this is a series that will stay with me for a long time and I’m glad I took the time to read it. If you haven’t read it yet I highly recommend you change that!

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