Book Review: Vicious Cycle by Terri Blackstock

Vicious Cycle: An Intervention Novel by Terri Blackstock
ISBN: 978-0-310-25067-8
Publisher: Zondervan
Paperback, 324 pages
Retail: $14.99

My blog is “G” Rated. Due to the nature of this book, with it’s mature topics, I will not include an “About This Book”. You can read that at many sites; Amazon, Zondervan, and others. And I encourage you to do so if you do not already know it’s subject matter and are contemplating reading this book based on my review.

I understood this would be a tough book to read (for me anyway) because of the topic. I had agreed to read it and review it so that was what I fully intended to do. I keep my word. But this one caught me off guard right from the start.

This is the second Terri Blackstock “Intervention” book; I had not known about the first.

Blackstock doesn’t sugar coat what the problems are with the characters in this book but at the same time doesn’t portray them in a way that make them glamorous either. I appreciated that. The characters each have their own personalities- and problems. They are not cookie cutter characters.

Some of the scene descriptions in this book are done so well you can almost feel and smell the surroundings. *Shudder* For instance when two of the main characters, Emily and Lance, go to a rather decrepit and disgusting place, the words used make the reader (at least this reader) understand how gross and nasty it is. It isn’t a nice place. I felt this added to the atmosphere that the writer is trying to affix to the problems the characters face in the story.

In the end, everything isn’t all roses and there are still issues that must be dealt with (like real life, right?) but I had a sense of “Things are going to be okay.”

And this is a Christian book. When I started the book I kept thinking of Philippines 4:8; does this book match up with that scripture? Not exactly because of the issues that are presented in the book. I reasoned (not compromised) that life is not all puppy dogs and rainbows. If, starting from where we are already, we only focus on the great things, and neglect to realize the other side of the coin (and consequently, those who are living the ‘dark’ lives), what help will we be?

Just because people suffer addictions doesn’t mean they are not or cannot be Christians. It just means they need help. We cannot ignore those people; condemn the addiction, not the person. God is bigger than any problem. In this book, I felt that the possible ways God can use situations and people was well presented.

***Disclaimer: I received this advanced reader copy free from Christian Bookworm Reviews in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. See Disclosure/Policies.***