Starred Review Hallelujah doesn't want to be at her church's youth group campout. The kids giggle about her; she isn't speaking to Jonah, one of her best friends; and Luke, the pastor's son who spread the nasty rumors, is still in control of everybody and everything. For a year, Hal has been silent, ashamed, and resentful, and she can't see things getting better. Then everything gets much worse. Along with Jonah and Rachel, a girl new to the group, Hallelujah gets lost in the Tennessee mountains. What follows is an intense story of survival that brings the trio close as they learn whom they can trust, what they believe, and whether they can endure. First-time author Holmes stretches her material a little, but she writes with the skill of a far more experienced writer as she plots the teens' struggles to keep going, and offers vivid descriptions of nature and its sometimes terrible beauty. Equally well-handled are the story's personal elements: letting people in, reconciling mistakes, and showing how standing up for oneself can be the hardest stand to take of all.

Gr 7 Up-When high school sophomore Hallelujah attends a church camping trip in the Great Smoky Mountains, she does not expect much. Over the past few months, her life has been reduced to a series of negatives. She used to have friends. She used to be confident. She used to sing. She used to be good friends with Jonah. She used to have faith in God. Now she is sad, quiet, insecure, and lonely thanks to the ruthless slandering and bullying campaign headed by the handsome and seemingly perfect preacher's son, Luke. When Hallelujah, Jonah, and another girl, Rachel, become separated from the group while hiking, the trio become lost. As hours pass and then days, the teens find that staying alive is only part of their struggle. In addition to the cold weather, torrential rain, hunger, and sundry health crises, the characters deal with a host of emotions involving their pastsguilt, resentment, fear, forgiveness, hate, and love. Into the story of survival are woven the protagonist's flashbacks that reveal in poignant detail the eviscerating effect of unremitting bullying on the human psyche. Hallelujah is Everygirl. Her physical appearance is never described, so it is easy for readers to see themselves in her. Hallelujah is likable and believable. Readers will come to care for her and cheer her on her journey. This is a perfectly balanced novel wherein the heroine wrestles with survival of not just her body but of her spirit as well. Jennifer Prince, Buncombe County Public Libraries, NC

One terrible night has made it a difficult year for Hallelujah Calhoun. Luke, the most popular boy in her youth group and her supposed boyfriend, spreads rumor after rumor about her purity and character after she is caught in his room after hours at a youth group retreat. No one, including Hallelujah's parents, will listen to her side of the story, so she retreats into silence and accepts her punishments and status as social outcast. When her youth leader recommends that she return to the youth group, her parents send her to a one-week camp in the woods, where she and two other teens end up lost during a hike. Lost in the wild, she must reckon with what really happened that night and what she has lost because of it.This is a novel of trauma, faith, and hope. Branded a slut, Hallelujah loses her friends, the trust of her parents, and the support of her youth group. This story chronicles her emotional processing not only of the event but also of the fallout: its effect on her self-esteem, her relationships, and her belief in God. Readers are left with the message that faith and hope are everyday struggles and that belief in oneself is crucial to survival. Lost, with only enough food for two days, the teens must rely on one another to survive in the wild. Because the novel strikes a nice balance between the deeper philosophical issues and adventure, it will appeal to a diverse audience.Courtney Huse Wika.