Vicious Cycle by Terri Blackstock

MY REVIEW

Terri Blackstock is a New York Times bestselling author, and she has tackled one of the leading problems our teenagers face today, actually two of the leading problems. Teen pregnancy and teen drug addiction.

Her sensitivity and love for those caught in this vicious cycle makes this story shine. I found myself praying for the young girl even though I knew this was "just a story". However, I know that so many girls fall into this trap and the web tightens until they strangle. Blackstock also brings home the point that anyone caught in addiction must actually want to be free from it before they can do anything about it; and that it is not just possible but doable when the outstretched hands of hope and help are grasped.

Blackstock also delves into the realm of environment shaping the behavior. I'm not convinced it is solely environment, although I strongly resist the thought environment never influences behavior. I've seen it too often the results the smoking parent, the alcoholic parent, the abusive parent create in their children. Not that it cannot be overcome or the lifestyle is not rejected, that happens very often as well. The psychology of it is extremely interesting to me, although Blackstock only subtly touches on it, so never fear that it interferes with the storyline because it only enhances it greatly.

Excellent read. I give five out of five stars.

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Vicious Cycle Zondervan (February 22, 2011) by Terri Blackstock



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Terri Blackstock is a New York Times best-seller, with over six million copies sold worldwide. She has had over twenty-five years of success as a novelist. She sold her first novel at the age of twenty-five, and has had a successful career ever since.


Besides entertaining her readers, Terri tackles issues that she hopes will change lives. Her recent book, Predator, was inspired by her experiences on Facebook and Twitter, and her concern that people posted too much personal information about themselves. The book deals with an online predator who uses social networks as his playground. She hopes the book will change readers’ online habits. Her New York Times best-seller, Intervention, was inspired by her own personal struggles with a daughter on drugs. In the book, a mother hires an interventionist for her drug-addicted daughter. But on the way to treatment, the interventionist is murdered, and the daughter disappears. Barbara, the mother, sets out to search for her daughter. Terri modeled Barbara after herself, and poured many of her own emotions and experiences into that character. As a result, many families experiencing drug addiction have written to thank her for telling their story and giving them hope. Vicious Cycle, Book Two of the Intervention Series, releases February 22, 2011. She’s currently working on Book Three.


Other recent books include a stand-alone novel called Double Minds, as well as Last Light, Night Light, True Light and Dawn’s Light (from her acclaimed Restoration Series). She is also known for her popular Newpointe 911 Series and Cape Refuge Series. Terri makes her home in Mississippi, where she and her husband Ken are enjoying their empty nest after raising three children.

Terri has appeared on national television programs such as “The 700 Club” and “Home Life,” and has been a guest on numerous radio programs across the country. The story of her personal journey appears in books such as Touched By the Savior by Mike Yorkey, True Stories of Answered Prayer by Mike Nappa, Faces of Faith by John Hanna, and I Saw Him In Your Eyes by Ace Collins.


ABOUT THE BOOK

When fifteen-year-old Lance Covington finds an abandoned baby in the backseat of a car, he knows she's the newborn daughter of a meth addict he's been trying to help. But when police arrest him for kidnapping, Lance is thrust into a criminal world of baby trafficking and drug abuse.


His mother, Barbara, looks for help from Kent Harlan---the man whom she secretly, reluctantly loves and who once helped rescue her daughter from a mess of her own. Kent flies to her aid and begins the impossible work of getting Lance out of trouble, protecting a baby who has no home, and finding help for a teenage mother hiding behind her lies.


In this latest novel of suspense and family loyalty, bestselling author Terri Blackstock offers a harrowing look at drug addiction, human trafficking, and the devastating choices that can change lives forever.


If you would like to read the first chapter of Vicious Cycle, go HERE.


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