Matters of Faith

by Kristy Kiernan

From the author of Catching Genius , a novel of a young man's search for faith-and its unintended consequences.

At age twelve, Marshall Tobias saw his best friend killed by a train. It was then that he began his search for faith-delving into one tradition, then discarding it for another. His parents, however, have little time for spiritual contemplation. Their focus has been on his little sister Megan, who suffers from severe food allergies. Now Marshall is home from college with his first real girlfriend, but there is more to Ada than meets the eye-including her beliefs about the evils of medical intervention. What follows is a crisis that tests not only faith, but the limits of family, forgiveness, and our need to believe.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Contemporary, Christian Fiction, Chick Lit

321 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2008

About the author

Kristy Kiernan was born in Tennessee and raised on the beaches of southwest Florida.

She is the author of CATCHING GENIUS, published in 2007 and an Ingram Book Club selection.

MATTERS OF FAITH was published in 2008 and was chosen as an IndieNext Notable Title and won the Florida Book Award bronze medal.

BETWEEN FRIENDS was published in 2010 and was a featured selection for the Literary Guild, Doubleday, and Rhapsody book clubs, and was also chosen a Best Summer Beach Read by Women's World.

Reviews

[J.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kristy Kiernan has many gifts as a writer (and as for her gifts as a person, well, there's not enough room to write about them on only one Internet).

Two of those gifts shine the most brightly in this, her second book:

1. Characterization: Kristy writes characters so complex, so multidimensional, so REAL, that you feel that any moment they're going to step out of the page and strike up a conversation. When they suffer, you suffer along with them. And when they find their moments of redemption and healing, you feel redeemed as well. The people in this book: Cal, Chloe, Marshall, even (or maybe especially) the Grandma, are going to haunt me for a long time.

2. Setting: Kristy clearly loves her home, the places where she was raised in South Florida, and that affection shows through in all of her description of the settings here. The closest comparison I can make is to Pat Conroy, but with a lighter, more graceful touch. The word "grace" keeps recurring in reviews I've read of Kristy's work, and it's an apt one.


Full disclosure: you may have guessed from this review that Kristy is a friend of mine. True enough. But trust me, this is an amazing book, and I'd be recommending it even if Kristy Kiernan was a total stranger.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote a book review on my blog about this wonderful book. You can read about the full review here:

http://redladysreadingroom-redlady.bl...

This book is about a family that has a child with life-threatening food allergies but it is also about so much more. You see, it is especially meaningful to me as , I too, have a child with life-threatening food allergies and know from first hand experience what it is like to raise a child with severe food allergies. My son is now 9, but we knew from the age of 1 that he had severe food allergies. Most parents who have children with food allergies like this are always on alert and cautious and our worst fear is that our child will be exposed to something that could literally take their life.


It was challenging to read parts of the book as they hit so close to home and were so realistic. This did not take away from the book for me at all. I loved the book and had trouble putting it down! I found the strength of the writing and characters extremely well done. The author alternates the narrative between the mother Chloe and the son Marshall which was very effective to delve into their deepest thoughts. After I finished the book, I felt like I knew the family. The author was able to describe their thoughts and emotions in a way that the reader felt connected to them in a personal way. It was painful at times to read about Meghan and her anaphylactic reaction and the situation that caused this. I could relate to Chloe on so many levels as a mom, as a mother of a food allergic child. The overprotectiveness I have in wanting to protect my own child but wanting to allow him the freedom to explore the world without fear. To me, Chloe's character was extremely realistic to a mother's feeling towards her children and keeping that in balance when you have to protect both children.

This book is not just a book about food allergies it is about so much more. It addresses the issues of Faith...forcing the reader to examine what the meaning of faith is to the characters in the book as well as challenge their own definition of faith as faith has many meanings and interpretations. It brought to light the theme of faith related to religion as well as medical science and healing.

[Jill · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't ALWAYS hate the book group book, but this one... Based on the book blurb, I thought this was going to be a story about a well-meaning person who follows her conscience but turns out to be wrong. Instead, that person, Ada, isn't treated sympathetically at all and maybe didn't even mean well. We find out she's a member of a cult that harbors at least one child abuser. OK, that could be interesting, but wait, we don't mention it again. Or the book could be about the search for faith and what faith really means. Marshall has been searching for something he can believe in for several years (he's now about 19), picking up bits of world religions and abandoning them quickly. Ada convinces him to try putting his faith in God to save his sister. The experiment ends with the sister in a coma, presumably because Marshall doesn't have enough faith. "Presumably," because that story line is quickly dropped. No one asks whether a God like that is worthy of faith or if faith means total dependence on God or helping oneself. Then Marshall confesses to readers that he really just wants to sleep with Ada -- it would be nice to find God, but really, he just doesn't have the attention span. What the book is really about, I think, is childish adults who compete over who makes more money and who loves their children more. The children are oblivious. The adults should just grow up. Too bad this author didn't write another draft.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chloe is feeling the effects of a slightly strained marriage and the discomfort of her son, Marshall, bringing home a new girlfriend who is part of an odd group of a small religious sect who has sent her to college on scholarship. Marshall has been searching for some kind of faith—any kind, really, since he saw his friend die at age twelve. But the entire family is thrown into a nightmare when Marshall’s girlfriend, Ava, sneaks peanut butter to Chloe’s younger daughter, Meghan while out on a boat and Meghan goes into severe anaphylactic shock with only one epiPen along; not enough to make it back in time, she ends up in a coma.

We see the family struggle with two points of view; Chloe’s in first person, and Marshall’s in third. There are praises for this novel from writers such as Jacquelyn Mitchard (The Deep End of the Ocean) and Sarah Gruen(Water for Elephants). I think, though, that Tasha Alexander (Only to Deceive) says the most helpful thing, and I’m merely summing it up; this is a book for fans of Jodi Picoult and Anita Shreve.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this one on my "Want to Read" list for a while, and recently ordered it from the library, but did remember what the story-line was going to be about. Written from the perspective of a mom and a son as their family works through a tragedy-- it was a page-turner that I could not put down and finished in 24 hours. It was worth the lost day of productivity. This is the second book by this author I have read and I plan to do more.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, the reason I decided to read this book is because of my son’s food allergies (click here to read more about this); I thought than any book touching on this topic deserves a chance from me. Of course, this book isn’t a novel of food allergies (thankfully!) – it’s an intimate look at one family dealing with multiple crises all at once.

As I thought about this book and how to explain it – without too many spoilers! – I found myself thinking of the recent tragedy in Steven Curtis Chapman’s family. The situation in Kiernan’s book is not the same, but the parents in both situations are facing the same reality: harm has come to one of their children as direct result of another of their children. How you deal with life from that point on is one of the main ideas in Matters of Faith.

Kiernan’s real strength is in her description of the emotional issues the characters – but mostly Chloe - face. As I read through the book I found myself over and over saying “yes! I know exactly how that feels!” The way a mom looks at her children and is both proud and heartbroken over the way they’ve grown up so quickly, how a married couple can “read” each other after so many years of being together and expect their spouse to respond appropriately, how what we see as patience with our spouse can often in reality be a passive battle to see who outlasts the other, the recklessness of being a teenager in love believing that THIS love can see you through anything … all this and so much more is what Kiernan makes you feel in this book.

I read recently that readers are looking for one of three things in a book: to think, to learn, or to feel.* Matters of Faith is definitely a book that will make you feel.

Please drop by my blog (www.age30books.blogspot.com) for an interview with Kristy (coming in late June '08).

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This goes on my "ehhh..." list - quick, pretty fluffy read (fluffy in the Jodi Picoult/Anita Schreve kind of way, not Danielle Steele) that has some good parts, but also some really silly parts...like who can really get all fired up about a peanut allergy??

It's the story of a husband & wife who have hit a distant spell in their marriage, and a peanut-allergy related incident, propelled by their son's crazy biatch of a girlfriend, that tears the family apart.

If you're looking for a no-brain activity required little read, this is a fine book. Just don't expect to be blown away...unless your allergic to peanuts.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story tugged at my heart. While it wasn't what I envisioned in regards to reading a book with the title "Matters of Faith" - it had its own subtle way of showing the importance of faith, whether you believe in something certain or not. I am now determined to read Kristy's other book, "Catching Genius" because this one was THAT good that I'm really interested in reading her other work. They were not kidding when they said that they will leave readers of Jodi Picoult and Anita Shreve clamoring for more from this talented author. This goes beyond family bond, love and strength.

[Lois Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read CATCHING GENIUS by Kristy Kiernan. I found her a good writer, but I didn't get caught up in the story. I thought I'd give her another try, and so I read MATTERS OF FAITH. The subject itself was extremely interesting and I learned a lot about food allergies, but then it's as if the story sort of ran out. I think the problem is that she gives us everything up front, leaving no room for surprises.

[Jessica Mauk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and nice character development. This isn't a live changing read, but was fun and light and easy to get through.

[Penny Sitler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kiernan has a knack for character development mirrored by few authors. The Tobias family develops on these pages... We never know what our children will pick up from us. They can be raised in the same environment yet experience completely different things and be so different from each other. The biggest influence on Marshall was witnessing his best friend's death by train; Meghan's was her deadly allergies. And there their paths diverged. What a story!

[Sherry Laskowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A family's bonds are tested to the extreme. When a son, who is always searching for a faith, brings home his girlfriend and blindly follows her lead, it leads to dire circumstances for his younger sister. Chloe and Cal (the parents) find themselves not in total agreement in how to proceed, they are at odds with each other, the only thing they can seem to agree on is getting their daughter better. In the end family bonds are strong. But it was not exactly the ending I thought it would be

[Janeene · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars -

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. I was frustrated with one of the main characters at times, and I wanted the author to get to the point. Maybe 3.5 stars??

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book 3 stars. It was an easy read. It was an interesting journey reading about their problems and how they dealt with it. The ending could've been more detailed.

[Marcy Eret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read! The plot was unique and heart-wrenching and had me hooked until the end!

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not quite sure how to rate this book. I can tell you that it had me crying, laughing... thinking. I could not put the book down and finished it within a day.

This book is perfect for anyone who wants to know "a day (or more)in the life of" a child with food allergies. This book is a "food allergy mother's" worst nightmare. It talks about the unending battle of keeping a child with life-threatening food allergies safe and alive. Every single minute of every single day is a minute that you have to worry that this could be the day that something terrible could happen because someone makes a mistake or does not take the allergy seriously. I know because I live that life. This book is very good at portraying the "allergic" lifestyle. I am so similar to the protective mother in this book in so many ways. Her attitude/comment to the doctor after he told her she broke her arm was priceless to me... exactly how I feel some days. I think I will always love this book because of the issue it deals with.

On the other hand, as far as my religion goes it wasn't so great, but it wasn't the worst either. I did wonder, at some point, if the author did not like Christians. Other times it didn't seem like that at all. The character who starts out looking for God, does not find Him and the characters who were not looking found Him. There was a strange religious character who had quite a few things wrong (due to her upbringing), a religious but angry/mean grandmother (who obviously had issues), a son who was so very confused about finding God (and what finding God is), and then there were also typical church-going, helpful, (and very sweet) characters, etc... this book had a wide range of characters. In the end, I decided the author just tried to stay nuetral and let the reader take what they wanted out of it.

Overall, I did like this book. I will keep this one and read it again later.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would be tempting to write this book off as one of many “just another” novels. With family drama as the structure and religion as the conflict, it would be easy to shelve this book right alongside an Anita Shreve “failing marriage” novel or a Jodi Piccoult “my child is dying/arrested/pregnant” novel. Husband/wife, mother/son, and father/daughter relationships always generate complicated, interesting stories; the problem is that most of them have already been told this way using this mother’s voice.
Still, what I find particularly interesting is that when Kiernan chooses to switch POV so that the son, Marshall, is telling the story, she keeps the POV in the third person (whereas the rest of the novel is told in the first person, from the mother Chloe’s POV). However, no one other than creative writers or English majors are likely to notice, much less appreciate this tactic. It keeps readers somewhat removed from Marshall and his account of the story, at arm’s length, which allows them to judge him the way every other character is judging him throughout the story. Conversely, readers are in the story with Chloe and therefore cannot help but empathize with her plights, even if they may disapprove of her emotions or her actions.
What is particular and interesting to this book is the way Kiernan addresses faith and religion separately, yet in parallel. Some of her characters can separate the two and some cannot, but she as the author draws a clearly divisive line between faith and religion and thus allows her readers to explore both simultaneously and objectively, while in the context of a family drama.
This is no work of literature in either the formal or the artistic sense, but it is a fun, fast, mildly thought-provoking read and certainly a nice addition to the literary conversation surrounding faith and religion.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good summary:

At age twelve, Marshall Tobias saw his best friend killed by a train. It was then that he began his search for faith; delving into one tradition, then discarding it for another. While his parents were at odds over his behavior, they found common ground with his little sister Meghan, whose severe food allergies required careful attention.

Now Marshall is home from college with his first real girlfriend. Meghan is thrilled to have her around, but there is more to Ada than meets the eye — including her beliefs about the evils of medical intervention. What follows is a crisis that tests not only faith, but the limits of family, forgiveness, and our need to believe. This book is not just a book about food allergies it is about so much more. It addresses the issues of Faith…forcing the reader to examine what the meaning of faith is to the characters in the book as well as challenge their own definition of faith as faith has many meanings and interpretations. It brought to light the theme of faith related to religion as well as medical science and healing.

One of the many issues the book addresses is marriage and how it can change over the years for better and for worse. It also looks at how a husband and wife can handle a tragedy and what that can do to a marriage and a family. The book isn't a downer, although parts are sad. Ultimately, you get to watch the characters journey to find strength within themselves and to to accept responsiblity for their failures and actions.

[Alessandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The turning points in my life have always arrived disguised as daily life. I never get the opportunity or have the sixth sense to stop and examine them, to time-stamp them on my soul, whisper to myself that this, this thing, this simple boat ride in the Everglades, this phone ringing, this drive home twenty minutes late, was the thing that might do me in.

I won Matters of Faith by Kristy Kiernan a while ago at a giveaway hosted by Heather at Age 30+... A Lifetime of Books. I read it today during the Read-a-thon. It was a great book, perhaps the best I've read during the Read-a-thon. The style reminded me a bt of Jodi Picoult, which in my eyes is a big compliment.

At age twelve, Marshall Tobias saw his best friend Ira killed by a train. Then he began his search for faith - delving into one tradition, then discarding it for another. His parents, however, have little time for spiritual contemplation. Their focus has been on his little sister Meghan, who suffers from sever food allergies.

Now Marshall is home from college with his first real girlfriend. Meghan is thrilled to have her around, but there is more to Ada than mettes the eye - including her beliefs about the evils of medical intervention. In a time for dire crisis, the Tobias family have to face npt only the limits of faith, but also those of family, forgiveness, and our need to believe.

This was a great book. I'd recommend it for sure.

[Stacia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished the book, and I can't rate it right now*. I'm conflicted, which is the emotion I felt while reading. It's a well-written book. It's interesting. Once I started reading, I really couldn't stop. I thought the characters were well-developed, but I couldn't relate to any of them. I think this is my main barrier to being able to rate this book right now. I understood, intellectually, why certain characters would make these actions or hold these beliefs, I just couldn't relate to any of them. I don't usually need to see myself in the characters of a book I'm reading, but I think a connection to any one of them could have helped me given the sadness of the main plot. Although I'm happy with how the plot resolved, I am still left with the sadness I felt while I was reading.

*Edited 6/4/11: I finally decided that since I didn't dislike the book, and though it doesn't quite meet my 4-star criteria, it gets a 4-star rating (because it's better than what I've been rating 3-stars). I will still add that I am still conflicted about the book.

**Edited 12/31/11: Readjusted my rating in the light of the fact that this book can't stand up to my other 4-star books, and after reading through my reviews, I have put some 3.5 star books (which this is for me) as 3-star books because for me, 4 stars means I really liked (and in some cases loved) the book.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, you were right Janet... this is VERY Jodi Picoult! I thought that Kristy was great with her character development and she kept me guessing as to what was going to happen then entire time. I really had a hard time putting it down. As I mentioned before I had a HUGE struggle with the wife/mother, I felt that she truly was self centered and focused on how these things affected her. I was thankful that the ending (without spoiling of course) gave me some hope. I wish that I had some closure with Ada that is the only part of the story that I would have liked a little more info. The title of course "Matters of Faith" struck me many times throughout the book... with Cal and his upbringing, Chloe and her indifference really, Marshall and his quest for anything he could attach to... and what really ends up bringing them together in the end? Church and a faith they could ground in. I do believe that I could sit with you and banter this back and forth for awhile... thai anyone? :)

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this well-written novel very much. The author effectively explored how people can go wrong in the name of faith/religion, how unscrupulous people can prey on the faith of others to further their own agendas, and how we can mistake other emotions and motivations as "faith," but how ultimately true faith can sustain us (and may be the ONLY thing that can sustain us) through the worst of life's events and carry us to a new and better life. Big issues, addressed in an interesting narrative with plenty of action and memorable characters.

I did think the book was flawed in that it did not examine what differentiated true, sustaining, life-affirming faith from false faith as well as I would have liked. It was disappointing to me that the author seemed to equate "good" faith to a great degree with "peace" and "forgiveness." I thought that was overly simplistic, although the novel did hint at (but not fully analyze) assertive acts that faith requires. But no novel can accomplish everything and this one contained lots of great food for thought.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Jodi Picoult, you will probably like this book. A boy experimenting with different religions as a result of his trauma in witnessing a friend being hit by a train meets a girl at college with some interesting religious views. One is lack of medical intervention. When the two are out with his younger sister, who has severe food allergies, he allows the girlfriend to give his sister a small amount of peanut butter cookie while they are out on a boat miles from anyone. As the little girl gasps for breath, they pray for her instead of giving her an injection from her Epi-pen. The book is about the consequences of that decision, how it impacts the the parents' relationship with each other, their son, him, and his relationship with the girlfriend. I really liked the book, but had a hard time trying to sympathize with the son at all. His actions, and the way he acted following the incident were incomprehensible to me.

[Swiftyjess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm guessing I stumbled on this book at one out of the thirty or so food allergy awareness sites I read. My daughters each have a severe peanut allergy so I could relate, in part, to some of this story.

This is also a story about a teenager needing to find himself and going through several common (and some not so common, I'm guessing) religions to define who he is. I can relate in part to this, also. During the course of the book, a marriage wavers on divorce, striking a chord with me that I'd not expected.

Yet, I wish there had been more character development. Who are these characters really? I felt that the author was in such a rush to get through the peanut-allergies-are-really-life-threatening piece of it that she didn't take the time to pull out the nuances of each character.

Kiernan is reminiscent of both Jodi Picoult and Anita Shreve so in that regard I fully enjoyed it. It was a quick read. But I definitely wanted something more.

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My third novel in a row with religion--personal faith and its moral, social, and cultural consequences--at the very heart, but all three very different. This one is a very plot-driven, Jodi Picoult-like family drama. Each chapter is divided into two parts: the first narrated by the mother; the second focusing (in third person) on the son. The son is a seeker who has long experimented with various religions in his search for truth and comfort after the death of a friend. At the beginning of the story, he brings home from college a girlfriend. Their "putting out the fleece" faith experiment has tragic consequences for the daughter in the family, who has a severe peanut allergy. The rest of the novel relates how the family deals with the fallout. The effectively drawn characters seem authentic, and the story has some emotional punch, but the issues are a little stale.

[Pamela Pickering · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is faith to you and how much power should you give it? If you're a fan of Jodi Picoult this would probably be a good choice for you. Again, uncomfortable subject matter that leads to a difficult situation to be in (i.e. "what would I do or how would I feel if this were me" type of cunundrum.) Although the characters are not as well developed as Picoult's the story was still riveting. I only gave it 4 stars as the father's perceptions/feelings were not given, we only see the story through the mother and the son. Hmmm... maybe this is why I liked the father most in the story, he didn't come off as self-centered as the others. (My take only, I'm sure many mothers out there would disagree with me though!). This would make an excellent discussion book.

[Donna Jo Atwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I read this book, I kept checking the cover--thinking it might have been written by Jodi Picoult. The book explored the family dynamics of a young man who has been searching most of his life to find a spiritual home. In college he meets a girl who leads him to vegetarianism and a "no doctor" policy. When he brings her home with him, they try the no medicine part out on his little sister who is highly allergic to peanuts.
As I read this book, I kept checking the cover--thinking it might have been written by Jodi Picoult. While the book presented some important issues, especially of faith and belief, I felt the ending was really contrived. Well, the whole second half was very contrived and a little to full of coincidence.

[ShareStories · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm loving this book! I stayed up until 2am reading it last night.

This book traces a family of four (mom, dad, college age son and 12 year old daughter) during a very tragic time in their lives. It is not about faith in the traditional sense but really about life.

The author goes back and forth between a first person pov of the mom in the story, and a third person perspective from the pov of the son. Quite interesting and completely believable, this book shows what trauma can do to an already struggling family and how, bit by bit, they navigate the ever expanding ripple of pain that has become their lives.

In spite of that premise, it is not completely unhopeful while at the same time, not sickeningly sweet.

Very realistic.

[Cbpax · Rating 4 out of 5]

What might happen if you raise your child to just try out different faiths to find your own (note I say MIGHT)...Dad is dead set against religion having had legalistic parents who turned him against God and Mom is well "flightly". Son meets a girl (he thinks she is holy and wonderful and of course he is in love) and follows her faith...but she is in a cult. Girl decides little sister isn't really allergic to peanuts and can handle a "taste". Little sister goes into a coma...and the story begins. It is one roller coaster of a story too so hang on. You don't know who to feel sorrier for (except for cult girl). Another book I could NOT put down. I look forward to reading many more from this new author!