{"id":691,"date":"2008-10-21T12:23:15","date_gmt":"2008-10-21T17:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/\/?p=691"},"modified":"2008-10-21T12:23:15","modified_gmt":"2008-10-21T17:23:15","slug":"ripple-effect-by-paul-mccusker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=691","title":{"rendered":"Ripple Effect by Paul McCusker"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s the 21st, time for the Teen FIRST blog tour!(Join our alliance! Click the button!) Every 21st, we will feature an author and his\/her latest Teen fiction book’s FIRST chapter!<\/p>\n

Paul McCusker<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

<\/strong><\/div>\n

and his book:<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/strong><\/div>\n
Ripple Effect (Time Thriller Trilogy, Book 1) <\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

Zondervan (October 1, 2008)<\/p>\n

\n

<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>Paul McCusker is the author of The Mill House, Epiphany, The Faded Flower and several Adventures in Odyssey programs. Winner of the Peabody Award for his radio drama on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer for Focus on the Family, he lives in Colorado Springs with his wife and two children.<\/p>\n

Product Details<\/p>\n

List Price: $9.99
\nReading level: Young Adult
\nPaperback: 224 pages
\nPublisher: Zondervan (October 1, 2008)
\nLanguage: English
\nISBN-10: 0310714362
\nISBN-13: 978-0310714361<\/p>\n

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:<\/span> <\/strong>
\n<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m running away,\u201d Elizabeth announced defiantly. She chomped a french fry in half.<\/p>\n

Jeff looked up at her. He\u2019d been absentmindedly swirling his straw in his malted milkshake while she complained about her parents, which she had been doing for the past half hour. \u201cYou\u2019re what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou weren\u2019t listening, were you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen what did I say?\u201d Elizabeth tucked a loose strand of her long brown hair behind her ear so it wouldn\u2019t fall into the puddle of ketchup next to her fries.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were complaining about how your mom and dad drive you crazy because your dad embarrassed you last night while you and Melissa Morgan were doing your history homework. And your dad lectured you for twenty minutes about .?.?. about .?.?.\u201d He was stumped.<\/p>\n

\u201cChris-tian symbolism in the King Arthur legends,\u201d Elizabeth said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, except that you and Melissa were supposed to be studying the .?.?. um?\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrench Revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight, and Melissa finally made up an excuse to go home, and you were embarrassed and mad at your dad?\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs usual,\u201d she said and savaged another french fry.<\/p>\n

Jeff gave a sigh of relief. Elizabeth\u2019s pop quizzes were a lot tougher than anything they gave him at school. But it was hard for him to listen when she griped about her parents. Not having any parents of his own, Jeff didn\u2019t connect when Elizabeth went on and on about hers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen what did I say?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

He was mid-suck on his straw and nearly blew the contents back into the glass. \u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did I say after that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said .?.?. uh .?.?.\u201d He coughed, then glanced around the Fawlt Line Diner, hoping for inspiration or a way to change the subject. His eye was dazzled by the endless chrome, beveled mirrors, worn red upholstery, and checkered floor tiles. And it boasted Alice Dempsey, the world\u2019s oldest living waitress, dressed in her paper cap and red-striped uniform with white apron.<\/p>\n

She had seen Jeff look up and now hustled over to their booth. She arrived smelling like burnt hamburgers and chewed her gum loudly. \u201cYou kids want anything else?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rescued, Jeff thought. \u201cNo, thank you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

She cracked an internal bubble on her gum and dropped the check on the edge of the table. \u201cSee you tomorrow,\u201d Alice said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you won\u2019t,\u201d Elizabeth said under her breath. \u201cI won\u2019t be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she walked off, Alice shot a curious look back at Elizabeth. She was old, but she wasn\u2019t deaf.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake it easy,\u201d Jeff said to Elizabeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to run away,\u201d she said, heavy rebuke in her tone. \u201cIf you\u2019d been listening?\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, c\u2019mon, Bits?\u2014?\u201d Jeff began. He\u2019d called her \u201cBits\u201d for as long as either of them could remember, all the way back to first grade. \u201cIt\u2019s not that bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou try living with my mom and dad, and tell me it\u2019s not that bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know your folks,\u201d Jeff said. \u201cThey\u2019re a little quirky, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cQuirky! They\u2019re just plain weird. They\u2019re clueless about life in the real world. Did you know that my dad went to church last Sunday with his shirt on inside out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd wearing his bedroom slippers?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff smiled. Yeah, that\u2019s Alan Forde, all right, he thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you dare smile,\u201d Elizabeth threatened, pointing a french fry at him. \u201cIt\u2019s not funny. His slippers are grass stained. Do you know why?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he does his gardening in his bedroom slippers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elizabeth threw up her hands. \u201cThat\u2019s right! He doesn\u2019t care. He doesn\u2019t care how he looks, what -people think of him, or anything! And my mom doesn\u2019t even have the decency to be embarrassed for him. She thinks he\u2019s adorable! They\u2019re weird.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re just .?.?. themselves. They\u2019re?\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

Elizabeth threw herself against the back of the red vinyl bench and groaned. \u201cYou don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure I do!\u201d Jeff said. \u201cYour parents are no worse than Malcolm.\u201d Malcolm Dubbs was Jeff\u2019s father\u2019s cousin, on the English side of the family, and had been Jeff\u2019s guardian since his parents had died five years ago in a plane crash. As the last adult of the Dubbs family line, he came from England to take over the family fortune and estate. \u201cHe\u2019s quirky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s different. Malcolm is nice and sensitive and has that wonderful English accent,\u201d Elizabeth said, nearly swooning. Jeff\u2019s cousin was a heartthrob among some of the girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t get yourself all worked up,\u201d Jeff said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents just go on and on about things I don\u2019t care about,\u201d she continued. \u201cAnd if I hear the life-can\u2019t-be-taken-too-seriously-because-it\u2019s-just-a-small-part-of-a-bigger-picture lecture one more time, I\u2019ll go out of my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again Jeff restrained his smile. He knew that lecture well. Except his cousin Malcolm summarized the same idea in the phrase \u201cthe eternal perspective.\u201d All it meant was that there was a lot more to life than what we can see or experience with our senses. This world is a temporary stop on a journey to a truer, more real reality, he\u2019d say?\u2014?an eternal reality. \u201cLook, your parents see things differently from most -people. That\u2019s all,\u201d Jeff said, determined not to turn this gripe session into an Olympic event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re from another planet,\u201d Elizabeth said. \u201cSometimes I think this whole town is. Haven\u2019t you figured it out yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like Fawlt Line,\u201d Jeff said softly, afraid Elizabeth\u2019s complaints might offend some of the other regulars at the diner.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s so .?.?. so oblivious! Nobody even seems to notice how strange this place is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff shrugged. \u201cIt\u2019s just a town, Bits. Every town has its quirks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that your word of the day?\u201d Elizabeth snapped. \u201cThese aren\u2019t just quirks, Jeffrey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff rolled his eyes. When she resorted to calling him Jeffrey, there was no reasoning with her. He rubbed the side of his face and absentmindedly pushed his fingers through his wavy black hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Helen?\u201d Elizabeth challenged him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich Helen? You mean the volunteer at the information booth in the mall? That Helen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean Helen the volunteer at the information booth in the mall who thinks she\u2019s psychic. That\u2019s who I mean.\u201d Elizabeth leaned over the Formica tabletop. Jeff moved her plate of fries and ketchup to one side. \u201cShe won\u2019t let you speak until she guesses what you\u2019re going to ask. And she\u2019s never right!\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur only life insurance agent has been dead for six years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but?\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there\u2019s Walter Keenan. He\u2019s a professional proofreader for park bench ads! He wanders around, making -people move out of the way so he can do his job.\u201d Her voice was a shrill whisper.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen Hearn only pays him to do that because he feels sorry for him. You know old Walter hasn\u2019t been the same since that shaving accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I heard he just got a job doing the same thing at a tattoo parlor!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure tattooists want to make sure their spelling is correct.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elizabeth groaned and shook her head. \u201cIt\u2019s like Mayberry trapped in the Twilight Zone. I thought you\u2019d understand. I thought you knew how nuts this town is.\u201d Elizabeth locked her gaze onto Jeff\u2019s.<\/p>\n

He gazed back at her and, suddenly, the image of her large brown eyes, the faint freckles on her upturned nose, her full lips, made him want to kiss her. He wasn\u2019t sure why?\u2014?they\u2019d been friends for so long that she\u2019d probably laugh at him if he ever actually did it?\u2014?but the urge was still there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not such a bad place,\u201d he managed to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had enough of this town,\u201d she said. \u201cOf my parents. Of all the weirdness. I\u2019m fifteen years old and I wanna be a normal kid with normal problems. Are you coming with me or not?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff cocked an eyebrow. \u201cTo where?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo wherever I run away to,\u201d she replied. \u201cI\u2019m serious about this, Jeff. I\u2019m getting all my money together and going somewhere normal. We can take your Volkswagen and?\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, Bits,\u201d Jeff interrupted, \u201cI know how you feel. But we can\u2019t just run away. Where would we go? What would we do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd who are you all of a sudden: Mr. Responsibility? You never know where you\u2019re going or what you\u2019re doing. You\u2019re our very own Huck Finn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot according to Mr. Vidler.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Vidler said that?\u201d Jeff asked defensively, wondering why their English teacher would be talking about him to Elizabeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe says it\u2019s because you don\u2019t have parents, and Malcolm doesn\u2019t care what you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff grunted. He didn\u2019t like the idea of Mr. Vidler discussing him like that. And Malcolm certainly cared a great deal about what he did.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth continued. \u201cSo why should you care where we go or what we do? Let\u2019s just get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Bits, it\u2019s stupid and?\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo! I\u2019m not listening to you,\u201d Elizabeth shouted and hit the tabletop with the palms of her hands. Silence washed over the diner like a wave as everyone turned to look.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep it down, will you?\u201d Jeff whispered fiercely.<\/p>\n

\u201cEither you go with me, or stay here and rot in this town. It\u2019s up to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff looked away. It was unusual for them to argue. And when they did, it was usually Jeff who gave in. Like now. \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth also softened her tone. \u201cIf you\u2019re going, then meet me at the Old Saw Mill by the edge of the river tonight at ten.\u201d She paused, then added, \u201cI\u2019m going whether you come with me or not.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

MY REVIEW:<\/h3>\n

Ripple Effect<\/a> is another tale of alternate worlds. The town of Fawlt Line has a history of unexplained disappearances and strange happenings. Ripple Effect<\/a> chronicles what happens when Elizabeth suddenly finds herself in a very different Fawlt Line than the one where she resides. Even the people are not the same and they think she is someone they know as Beth.<\/p>\n

Ripple Effect<\/a> is an engaging story of what happens when a girl’s world is turned upside down and nothing is as it is supposed to be. Filled with mystery, danger, and suspense, it takes the reader through several twists and turns before reaching a satisfying conclusion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s the 21st, time for the Teen FIRST blog tour!(Join our alliance! Click the button!) Every 21st, we will feature an author and his\/her latest Teen fiction book’s FIRST chapter! Paul McCusker and his book: Ripple Effect (Time Thriller Trilogy, Book 1) Zondervan (October 1, 2008) ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul McCusker is the author of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=691"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":707,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691\/revisions\/707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}