Converting Kate
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Kate was raised in the Holy Divine Church—it influenced everything from her homeschooling to her handmade clothes. But ever since her unbelieving father’s death last year, she has suspected that there’s more to life than memorizing scripture.
Taking advantage of their move to a new town, Kate—to her devout mother’s horror—quits Holy Divine. She joins the cross-country team, wears shorts to public school, and even tries a traditional Christian church. As she struggles to come to terms with her father’s death and her mother’s unquestioning beliefs, Kate discovers there’s a big difference between religion and faith—and that the two don’t always go hand in hand.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In her first novel, Weinheimer explores the unhealthy influences religion can wield. The Holy Divine Church's strict requirements for members include weekly fasting, daily bible readings, limited contact with nonchurch members and exposure to popular culture. For 15-year-old Kate, it means no trips to the mall, no movies or video games, and no books that are not pre-approved by the church. While Kate's mother fully embraces this church doctrine, her father, who died the year before, did not. After her father's death, Kate refused to attend church ("It was the first Sunday I had not fasted"). Kate and her mother then moved from Phoenix to the small coastal village in Maine where her father grew up, to live with her father's Aunt Katherine and help her run a B&B. Knowing people who knew her father as a boy helps ground Kate and gives her the courage to start fresh. Kate narrates in a sometimes angry voice. Faced with daily situations that challenge what she's been taught, Kate questions her views about religion, and her inner conflict shows the great effort it takes for her to disentangle herself from the church's teachings, which intrude into her thoughts unbidden (often represented by italics). Despite her sheltered upbringing, Kate emerges as a strong, self-reliant young woman who is not afraid to question authority. Her plight will likely strike a chord with any teen who has struggled with a belief system that has been handed to them. Ages 12-up.
