Never Saw You Coming

August 1, 2021

Gr 9 Up-Eighteen-year-old Meg and 19-year-old Micah share much in common: they are both dealing with complicated family situations that have made them each question their previously untested faith in the church. So it is no surprise that when their paths cross in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, they soon become friends and then a couple. Their relationship allows them a safe space to navigate their emotions regarding the adults who have failed them. It also allows them to explore their growing physical attraction to each other, which is complicated by the church's teachings about premarital sex. Told in alternating first-person narratives, the voices of these new-to-adulthood characters are authentic. This is not your standard coming-of-age novel, though, as the church plays a significant role in aiding and hindering Meg's and Micah's maturation from adolescents to adults. In an author's note at the end of the novel, Hahn describes her novel as "alternative Christian fiction" and explains in moving detail her decision to call out the church's hypocrisy about sex, body image, and sin-especially as they relate to females-much like her characters do in the book. All characters are cued as white; some secondary characters are gay or bisexual. VERDICT A well-done, engaging read that can serve young people grappling with their faith. Highly recommended.-Melissa Kazan, Horace Mann Sch., NY

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2021
Two teens questioning their faith find love together. Meg was supposed to go to a summer church camp to start off her gap year but decides instead to spend time with her newfound biological family in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Her life was turned upside down after accidentally discovering that her strict, controlling Christian mom actually got pregnant with her following a one-night stand at a church youth group event and then hid the identity of her biological father, who died before learning she was pregnant, for 18 years. While visiting her paternal great-grandmother and uncle, she meets a boy called Micah who has his own issues with faith after his pastor father engaged in sexual misconduct and then went to prison for embezzling church funds. While Meg and Micah fall for each other, a sweet dog, a high-stakes rescue, and exploration of complicated family relationships complement their emotional journey. Alternating chapters showing Meg's and Micah's perspectives provide a close look at their views on faith and relationships with God. The characters affirm a belief in God and love of Jesus as the nuanced narrative includes their frank questioning of their religious communities' treatment of the vulnerable and stances on modesty and purity culture, abstinence education, and homosexuality. Readers of Hahn's More Than Maybe (2020) will remember Meg as a secondary character, but this work stands alone. Main characters are White. A powerful coming-of-age story about growing in faith and self-awareness. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)

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