Title: The Canary List: A Novel
Author: Sigmund Brouwer
Publisher: WaterBrook Press, 2011
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Rate: 3/5 – It Is Okay
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing
Group for this review
A young troubled girl named Jamie Piper has been thrown in
and out of different foster homes her entire life. She gets blamed for all kind
of trouble, and is therefore sent to a school for troubled kids. Here she finds
comfort in her teacher Mr. Grey, who got her into reading. One night when Evil
is out to get her, she flees to his house to seek cover.
Jamie has the gift of sensing
‘Evil’ or ‘darkness’, and due to her ability the Catholic Church wants her.
However, some people from the church wants her dead rather than alive, and they
will by all means do everything to get to her. Due to all the scandal lately,
about the abused forced upon children by the Catholic priests, some believe
that they are demon possessed. Meaning they do not fight their inner demons,
and what if the next pope is demon possessed, what will happen then?
The Canary List by Sigmund Brouwer captivates the reader by
changing the point of view of his characters in very short chapters. The whole
conspiracy against the church is very fascinating, because like Mr. Grey keeps
asking himself, WHY? Why does the Church want a little girl like Jamie? Why is
he, a schoolteacher involved in a conspiracy against the Catholic Church?
My personal opinion of the Canary List, is that there is too
much telling rather than showing. This is, however, difficult to master.
Another thing that slightly annoyed me during the book is that many little
details are repeated too many times. We got it the first time, and if we missed
it – we caught it the second time, but something is mentioned around ten times
(yes, I counted it). However, I really enjoyed the characters, and I was
especially fond of the chapters from Jamie’s point of view, as the narrative
seemed like something a twelve-year-old would say!
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