About the book, from the publisher:
From the author of Catching Genius, a novel of a young man’s search for faith—and its unintended consequences.Among the early praise for Matters of Faith:
At age twelve, Marshall Tobias saw his best friend killed by a train. It was then that he began his search for faith—delving into one tradition, then discarding it for another. His parents, however, have little time for spiritual contemplation. Their focus has been on his little sister Megan, who suffers from severe food allergies. Now Marshall is home from college with his first real girlfriend, but there is more to Ada than meets the eye—including her beliefs about the evils of medical intervention. What follows is a crisis that tests not only faith, but the limits of family, forgiveness, and our need to believe.
"Kristy Kiernan's "Matters of Faith" was so good and true and real that I forgot I was reading a book. I felt as though I was standing helplessly beside good people whose ordinary family life is slowly, inexorably tumbling into the darkness of the unknown."Read an excerpt from Matters of Faith, and learn more about the author and her work at Kristy Kiernan's website and her blog.
—Jacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean and All We Know of Heaven
"Kiernan's stunning second novel explores how one family reacts to a devastating tragedy. Cal and Chloe Tobias have two children: 18-year-old Marshall, who witnessed the death of his best friend in childhood and has been exploring religion ever since, and his younger sister, Meghan, who suffers from severe food allergies. Marshall comes home from college for spring break with his girlfriend, Ada, a religious zealot who doesn't believe in medical treatment, in tow. Ada immediately expresses doubts about Meghan's allergies, and when she and Marshall try to "cure" Meghan by exposing her to the very thing she's most allergic to, the results are disastrous. As Meghan lies in a coma in the hospital, Cal's rage at his son boils over, and the district attorney decides to charge both Marshall and Ada with child abuse. Marshall and Ada choose to flee to Cal's estranged mother, leaving Cal and Chloe to face the rift growing between them over Marshall's actions. Unforgettable and moving, Kiernan's novel is an achingly real portrait of a family in crisis, one readers will react to passionately."
—Kristine Huntley, Booklist
"In this tense, well-paced novel about belief, Kiernan explores what happens when faith and love test the limits of family fealty. In southwest Florida, college student Marshall Tobias is in search of something to believe in. He thinks he’s found God and the woman he’s always dreamed of when he falls in love with fundamentalist believer Ada Sparks. But Ada’s against medical intervention for illness, and tragedy results when she sets out to “help” Marshall’s 12-year-old sister, Meghan, overcome her life-threatening allergies. Switching points-of-view between Marshall and his mother, Chloe, Kiernan (Catching Genius) movingly portrays a 20-year-old marriage gone flat and torn apart by crisis, a troubled son, a daughter hovering between life and death, and the hard-to-discern boundaries between true faith and unhealthy fanaticism. She handles her difficult material respectfully. Most interesting is her portrayal of the well-meaning traps parents fall into when encouraging open-ended exploration of faith without context, or choosing to remain silent. The thoughtful themes, interesting characters and page-turning drama of this novel will likely make it a book club favorite."
—Publishers Weekly
Kristy Kiernan's first novel, Catching Genius, was published in March of 2007 and has become a book club favorite.
The Page 69 Test: Catching Genius.
My Book, The Movie: Catching Genius.
The Page 69 Test: Matters of Faith.
--Marshal Zeringue
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