It was like a great heavy weight inside me that I had to drag along. Later Will reflects further, “My sadness grew heavier as the end came closer. And it made my heart feel heavy as lead to know that I wouldn’t, that everything in this world was over for me now, everything here was finished.” (108) This is a beautiful articulation of the sentiments of a Christian Humanistic appraisal of the goodness of life in the here and now. I wanted to live–I wanted to live so badly. I wanted to meet my wife and my children. I wanted to grow up and go to college and get a job.

I didn’t want to miss all the stupid ordinary things that happen in life: you know, just playing games or messaging your friends or going to the beach or whatever. I didn’t want the new school year to begin without me. Sure, in church we talk about an eternal life in heaven and all that, but I wasn’t in church now–and I was so, so sorry that this life was coming to an end.

One political lesson is that if it is a heavy handed government bent on controlling the people of a militant cause desiring to redistribute the wealth, freedom is oppressed. One young lady is a remarkable, but not overly idealized example of fearlessness and how she came to be that way is well told. Without giving away too much, by the end of the novel, everyone is changed.įacing death, a key character gets a glimpse into the meaning of it all, not fear, “But instead, I felt sad. There is a typical range of characters, including one of the teens who is sympathetic for the revolutionaries and has the opportunity to see behind the curtain and get a glimpse of what really motivates the revolutionaries he has read about, including some of their manifestos. The plot line is simple as it tells of four teens who become trapped in a Central American country as a communist revolution unfolds. Klavan is interviewed by National Review online and speaks insightfully about moral reality and the universe. The extra benefit of this enjoyable read is that it may indeed have an additional application in light of our political and economic times. In truth, Klavan is a fine popular contemporary novelist. While this may be a bad move for some writers, Klavan has navigated the move very well.

Andrew Klavan has started writing young adult fiction and for a Christian publishing house.

If We Survive by Andrew Klavan