The Judas Ride by Peggey Sue Yarber - Brief review

About the book:
"An unwed (and unwanted) teen pregnancy with two possible fathers. Abusive relationships. Drug and alcohol addiction. Rape and molestation. The struggle to understand grace, forgiveness, and free will versus predestination. The Judas Ride hits the road running in the opening pages, where Sonia and Xavier argue explosively about whether Sonia should have their unborn child and about who the father is: Xavier, a struggling Christian, or Vader, an abusive and abused drug dealer. As the pages turn, readers continue to meet a hodgepodge of troubled teens and eclectic characters, including Pastor Manny, a quirky immigrant pastor infatuated with John Wayne. Pastor Manny desires to help the tortured souls in his community but finds that it takes more than unconditional love to reach them. Secrets literally kill in The Judas Ride, an edgy, in-your-your face Christian novel that boldly explores the struggles of modern-day young people."

My Thoughts:

Peggy Sue Yarber is one thing – she is persistent. She continues to write her stories despite the fact that her writing skills are neither polished nor compelling. I never made it past the first chapter of Tare, yet the premise of The Judas Ride seemed to promise a better story so I gave it a try. I was wrong. This story is incoherent, profane and badly written. The point of view is not consistent, the characters are not believable and if Manny is a pastor of a church, then I’m one of Santa’s elves. Nothing rings true in this story. It is a blatant series of shocking scenes that have no redeeming message. There is spiritual content, but it is not believably woven into any of the character’s lives – including the so-called pastor – and thus it seems even more profane.

My greatest desire for Peggy Sue Yarber is that she take her writing seriously enough to go to school and learn her craft. I admire her persistence, but her stories leave a lot to be desired.