Surrendered
Neston by Tess Adone is a powerful Christian historical Young Adult novel with life lessons for us all.
The action is set in 1964 in Neston, a small town on a lakeside in Vermont. We follow eleven-year-old Ette over one glorious summer. It is to be a summer of discovery as Ette learns about loving unconditionally and having a heart surrendered to Jesus.
Neston welcomes a new face for the summer – teenager Dieter who is training for the swimming event in the Tokyo Olympics. He befriends Ette, teaching her how to swim more efficiently, but more importantly, he introduces her to Jesus and shows her what it means to be a Christian. “I thought I was a Christian just because I went to church… It’s not church membership, it’s a personal relationship.”
To live the Christian life, is to live a life of love, fully surrendered to Jesus. “Swimming for the glory of God.” Everything we do should point to the Father and bring Him the glory – because without Jesus, we are nothing.
Ette has a baby brother, Gabe. She adores him and loves him unconditionally. There is nothing she wouldn’t do for him. “The moment I took him in my arms, I realised that Jesus loved me the way I loved Gabe… He wanted the best for me.” This is her epiphany – as much as she loves Gabe, Jesus loves her far more.
We learn about the fragility of friendships as Ette navigates the choppy waters of playground relationships.
Ette learns about the power of forgiveness and the heavy burden of unconfessed sin. Whilst being only eleven, she has not led a bad life – but there has been an event where her heart realises that her actions could have been better. As God opens her eyes and speaks to her heart, Ette listens and acts on what is important.
We can meet God anywhere. Ette finds herself communing with God in a homemade stick hut. Wherever people gather, God meets them there.
Prayer is important. Prayer is talking to God. A prayer journal is a great idea as we can track our prayer requests and the subsequent answers, because God always answers prayer – Yes. No. Wait. Or something else. “Writing to God was like I was talking to Him, like He was right there.”
When we know God, we have our true North, our guiding star. We need to keep our eyes fixed on Him. “I was starting to think that I couldn’t make it without Jesus.” Life without Jesus, is nowhere that I want to go.
We see the history of Neston. History is important as we see where we have been. The actions of yesterday are the building blocks of today.
I thoroughly enjoyed Neston. It is a beautiful novel about small town life and God who loves us unconditionally.
I received a free copy from the author. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON
