Journey to Almighty by Tina Klinesmith

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Journey to Almighty was definitely a different kind of Christian fiction than I was used to. Michele is a drug abuser and alcoholic who doesn’t really seem to have anything going for her. After she finds out she’s pregnant, and gets beat nearly to death by her boyfriend, she actually gets some chances to change herself and give her baby a chance. The big question in the book though is will she really take full advantage of this chance? Will she give God a chance to make her whole again?

The book description was intriguing to me, and I think it lived up to my expectations. Journey to Almighty was well written and the story moved along at a pretty good pace. There was a good story line, and for the most part it was believable. There were a few things I would have liked to see differently, but these are more personal preferences than anything else.

For one, I felt like the boyfriend’s role was not given as much attention as it should. We do see that he is dangerous, but then for a good portion of the book you don’t hear anything from him. I feel like if he was as dangerous as the book implies he would not have been quiet in Michele’s life as long as he was. He left her alone for a several week stretch, and I personally don’t think that would have happened.

I also felt like towards the end of the book, Michele’s new friendship with her first real girl friend needed some elaboration. Several times in the book, you find Michele worrying about what her friend would think of her if she knew her past. Once Michele’s past can’t help but be brought to light, you don’t hear anything about the friend’s reaction. I just feel that with the importance placed on Michele’s concern regarding this issue, it should have been addressed.

My only other concern with this book is doctrinal based, but I was not surprised to find this. This has to do with the plan of salvation. I believe salvation comes from baptism, and most Christian books these days encourage saying the “sinner’s prayer” as the tool for salvation. Without becoming preachy on the subject, this is the main reason I gave only 3 stars rather than 4.

All in all, Journey to Almighty is a good read. This book gives you a look at how powerful God is by what He can do to transform a broken life. This book is definitely worth a read.