Arena, by Karen Hancock

Review by Jen Nofziger

While we lived in Goshen, I had a very tried and true scientific method for picking out books for the WoW Connect! columns. I would walk into the Sugar Grove Church Resource Center, scan the spines of books, and grab one that caught my eye. Being behind schedule, in a hurry and having a deadline would be variables that helped perfect this technique. Now that the SGC Resource Center is no longer an option, my technique has been tweaked . . . a little bit.

So, it is off to the "new" public library for me.  My tried and true technique gets a little tricky here. Ideally, I would walk into the library, head to the Religious Fiction section, pick up a book that catches my eye, and be done. I have a good reason for picking "the one that catches my eye."  If I do too much reading of back covers and reviews and such, then I might pick only books that seem interesting and/or potentially good (in my opinion) and therefore won't get the variety necessary to make this column more interesting for everyone.

Here is where my "technique" breaks down:  There are 10 libraries in our "system" and, as far as I can tell, they are not organized in any fashion that makes my life easy. Some branches (but not the most convenient for me) separate the religious fiction from other fiction, others sometimes use stickers on the spine to differentiate in the general fiction, but, as far as I can tell, often times no distinction is made (depending on the branch). Obviously, as far as libraries go, I can't complain. I mean really, 10 branches, one of which is three floors full of books, glorious books? (And an 'old fashioned' typewriter, which is kind of cool.)  You might be thinking all my troubles would be solved if I just did some research ahead of time, determined a book, looked online for which branch or branches carries it and where in that library that book would be found. I'll let you know how that works  . . . someday . . . hopefully!

That being said, the book I found for this month (quite miraculously) was located in the general fiction section of the main library, with a "science fiction" sticker on it. You can find it at the Goshen Public Library in the Youth section (hmmm) or in the Inspirational Fiction section of the Main and Cleveland branches of the Elkhart Public Library. (Maybe categorizing library books isn't as easy as I think!) And, of course most bookstores.

Arena, by Karen Hancock was a thoroughly enjoyable book. I wasn't too sure I would like it when I picked it up off the shelf because it was 'stickered' as "science fiction," but Karen Hancock was an author we had read once in the WoW book club. Science fiction might be an interesting area to delve into, so I checked it out.

This allegory reminds the reader of how God can and does use all sorts of circumstances to reach His people. While the circumstances for the characters in this story would be quite outlandish, it is science fiction after all, it still points to this basic truth, which is applicable to "real life".

Callie and her friend Meg are pulled into a world beyond imagination where they face amazing trials and adversity while trying to get back home. They meet many people along the way that may or may not be there to help. There's adventure, there's love, there's aliens . . .

The story is an account of faith, a reminder to have faith, have faith, have faith (and then keep the faith).  And a story of how that faith can grow. And fail. And be questioned.  And then there is forgiveness. In their new world there are boundaries that exist not to keep people out, but to encourage people to make the right choices before they find their way out.

This book was just so well written. A wonderful story that I am glad I "happened" to come across when I was wandering around the library.