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Feb 20, 2011

Bre rated it:

Kaleo Steele is unsure if he has a testimony; in fact he believes that Joseph Smith made everything up, including the Book of Mormon! Everything changes for Kaleo when he is caught with a beer in his hand by his seminary teacher. He is sent on a wild adventure 200 years back to Joseph Smith's time. Along the way, Kaleo sees for himself who Joseph Smith really was. Subsequently he gains a true understanding and testimony of Joseph Smith, as well as The Book of Mormon. I really liked this book! I More...

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Aug 05, 2010

Brenda rated it:

I really loved this story! Kaleo is a refreshingly honest and brave character (a teenage boy nonetheless) who has traveled back in time to see first hand the events surrounding the life of the Prophet Joseph. He has been sent back to learn this lesson as punishment for a bad decision, yet he embraces it and is able to learn from it. I was nervous when his life intersected with the Prophet and his family, but it was so tastefully done, I had no problem with it in the end. (I loved dinner at the More...

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Jul 28, 2010

Melissa rated it:

Interesting! Happily I received this book as an advance reader copy and read it aloud to the kids. It will be published in late August but you're invited to read my copy! It provided some good points for conversation. Although I don't seem to enjoy time travel books, I'm so glad we read it - particularly because of the perspective it gave my children concerning the value of scriptures.

Some parts of the book seemed to drag on needlessly but that is probably my opinion of time trave More...

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Nov 10, 2010

Heather rated it:

4.5 stars

Every once in a while a book takes me completely by surprise and I close the pages with a smile on my face. The Fourth Nephite Series is one I now have my eye on, awaiting book two. Here are a few of the many reasons I loved the first book, The Fourth Nephite:

1) The cover. The top half of the front page is gold metallic paper with rusty holes, like the golden plates and the rest of the cover illustration is perfect.

2) The author. I have met Jeffrey a More...

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Jan 16, 2011

Anna rated it:

Since I was expecting this to be another time-travel-into-Book-of-Mormon-times-kind-of-a-book, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a time-travel-into-Church-History-kind-of-a-book. Okay, so really I was just glad that it wasn't quite a Chris Heimerdinger take of, although it was getting fairly close.

The Church History facts seemed pretty accurate for the most part, but I didn't appreciate Joseph and Hyrum Smith being portrayed as having the manners of 11 year old boys. Havi More...

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May 15, 2011

Michelle rated it:

Two stars because the book was not very well written. Harsh, I know, this is a successful published author I'm snarking! I even heard him speak at the 2009 LDS Storymakers conference. I've never read any of his other books and, I'm sorry, but after reading this one I'm not sure I want to.
See, when I can skim through an entire book in just one hour and know upon reaching the ending that I didn't miss anything important or add any new words to my own writing vocabulary, or that I've alre More...

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Nov 02, 2010

Beth rated it:

I'm reading this outloud to the kids. We've been reading it for a few weeks--with lots of missed nights--but they are "into it" now and reminding me each night to read. I expect to finish it before the weeks end....We've only got about 4 more chapters.

Oct 31---We finished the book tonight. I kids enjoyed it. I don't think it was the greatest book ever, but I gave it 4 stars because I liked it message so much. It was nice having a story incorporating Gospel messages and t More...

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Jul 18, 2010

Karleneb rated it:

Just finished an ARC of The Fourth Nephite. Jeff Savage has done it again! I loved this book. Great action. Filled with suspense that kept me turning the pages. Good characterization. He talks about gospel concepts and testimony without being preachy--which is very hard to do.

The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is I'm not sure how I feel about the fantasy mixed with LDS Church history. In other books, I've definitely NOT liked it. But this one was handled very well. It wasn't More...

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Aug 25, 2010

Heather rated it:

A story of a Mormon teenager, Kaleo Steele, who is about to play the biggest football game of his high school career. College scouts will be in the stands, watching and deciding if Kaleo is good enough for a scholarship. But the night before the game, he gets invited to an after-school party, where some temptations seem too hard to resist. When his seminary teacher catches him doing something that jeopardizes Kaleo’s ability to play in the football game, they strike a bargain--a bargain that wil More...

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Feb 22, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

I must have really liked this book, it only took me two days to read it, amongst work, life, etc. Fun read for youth and since I am a "youth" at heart, I really enjoyed it.

It is the first in a series and I am looking forward to the next book by Mr. Savage.

Savage lives in Spanish Fork, Utah, where I attended high school many, many years ago, so it is kind of fun thinking of that area and a wonderful author living there.

I am sending this book to my te More...

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Oct 06, 2010

Rachelle rated it:

I'd like to recommend this book to kids and adults who enjoy a bit of mystery and adventure sprinkled with humor and awesome LDS church history facts.

The main character, Kaleo, is remarkably well-written with believable character attributes that keep the story spinning and those pages turning--I was excited to see what role Kaleo would play in helping to protect the gold plates.
I loved how Jeff included so many answers to "popular" questions about the LDS or Mormon fa More...

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Oct 25, 2010

Sheila rated it:

This is a great new book from Jeffrey S. Savage. LDS teens and their parents will love this book and so will adults who love YA books. I love the concept of going back in time, especially to meet the Prophet Joseph. This will be another great series by Jeff.

I always read his books so quickly. He is an awesome writer. He knows how to create wonderful characters that you love to care about. The main character,Kaleo, learns a lot on his adventure. At first you think he is another sass More...

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Jun 03, 2011

Catherine rated it:

This book was pretty decent. I enjoy reading time travel books, so it was neat to see him go back to the early 1800's. In the back of the book, the author tells what really happened in history and what he just made up in the story. I like it when authors explain that. This is a part of a series, and at first I thought that I wouldn't want to read any more of the books, but naturally, the ending left me wanting to know more.

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Mar 25, 2011

Connie rated it:

That was fun. I bought this book for my son; neither of us having read a fictional 1840 Mormon history before. The story started a little slow, since Kaleo was in denial about what was happening to him. Though, I loved reading the quotes from Joseph Smith. Those words indeed reaffirmed my testimony of the Book of Mormon. We are so blessed to have it today as a spiritual guide for our lives. There is some violence and yes - kissing, though it would be fine for a mature 12 year old to read.

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Oct 25, 2010

Susan rated it:

Good young people's time travel book. Kaleo, high school football hero, gets caught at a beer party under the bleachers by his seminary teacher. The agreement is that the teacher won't turn him in to the coach so he can't play ball, if Kaleo will visit with Ladan, a mysterious, old, blind man. He ends up traveling back to the time of Joseph Smith. Interesting. Set up as the first of who knows how many.

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Sep 26, 2010

Crystal rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Oct 18, 2010

Anita rated it:

Fun concept except for the idea that an unbeliever would be numbered among such a holy group; annoying main character and attitudes. I have to say, my biggest issue that bothered me the entire read was just over a name--Ladan for one of the 3 Nephites? What's up with that? We know the names of the 12 Nephite apostles the 3 were pulled from (3 Nephi 19:4), and Ladan's sure not on that list...

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Jul 03, 2010

Graham rated it:

Some of Savage's best writing came out in this book. I don't normally read or enjoy LDS fiction but "The Fourth Nephite" managed to mix historical/fantasy/YA elements and blend them into a message that actually means something. On top of that, it wasn't super heavy-handed, which was a big plus.

He also dispensed some cool historical facts about the early 1800s that lent legitimacy to the setting of the novel. Teens will benefit from what Kaleo Steele, the main character, le More...

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Mar 17, 2011

Karolinde (Kari) rated it:

I'm really happy this is the first book in a series. While the story does end, I also felt like I wanted more. This series in similar to Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites and so a lot of the character development is based around finding faith. As an aside, my favorite character was probably Hyrum Smith.

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Feb 03, 2011

Cheri rated it:

This book was so fun. I'd never really taken that kind of look at the life of the Smith family before, and I'm so glad Jeff took us there in the 4th Nephite. I can't wait to see what happens in the next one. And now, to convince my kids to read this book...;)

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Feb 13, 2011

LuAnn rated it:

I read this book aloud to my 10-year-old son and he loved it! Honestly, so did I. Who would have thought a fantasy novel about a boy who travels to the time of Joseph Smith would have strengthened my testimony of the restored gospel, but it did.

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Sep 29, 2011

MaryAlice rated it:

I really liked this book. A kid struggling with his testimony is sent back in time and meets Joseph Smith. I'm sure this is the beginning of a fun series.

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Oct 21, 2010

Danielle rated it:

I LOVED this book! It keeps you on your toes until the last page, and even then you want to know more!! I hope there is a second one to this!! It really makes you love the characters whether they were real or fictional! AMAZING book an EXCELLENT read!! I totally recommend it to anyone!!

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Feb 03, 2011

Marnie rated it:

I was nervous to read this book because I was worried it might be sacreligious somehow, but it wasn't; it was a great story, made me think and was funny too!

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Aug 29, 2011

Desi rated it:

The writing wasn't great, but the story was fun and entertaining and we enjoyed reading it together as a family.

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Sep 23, 2010

Kathleen rated it:

I learned that experience, which gives us knowledge, only lasts for a short while, but when our hearts are touched with burning testimonies, through the witness of the Holy Ghost, that knowledge can help us gain faith which can last forever. :)

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Apr 06, 2011

Camillia rated it:

this book had my 3 favorite things in it: time travel, romance and being a witness of what you belive!

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Feb 16, 2011

Darren rated it:

I think this is the best book I have read yet. It is gospel related and there is a lot of action in it.

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Apr 16, 2011

Mary rated it:

I liked this book. The reading level was below what I expected, but it was a good story.

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Aug 03, 2011

Heather rated it:

liked ok, but followed the same format as tennis shoe books too much.

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