Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)
Lewis, born and raised in Indonesia by missionary parents, shows that he knows that world well when he writes of the life of Isaac Williams. When the story opens Isaac is twelve and secure living on the compound of his doctor-missionary parents and attending a boarding school where his intelligence keeps him from fitting in. He is happy in friendship with his Muslim friend, Ismail, or looking out over his beautiful world from a Flame Tree admiring the beauty and the vitality of his world in Java. And yet, all is not perfect, in the background there is rumbling that make his parents watchful, guarding his whereabouts. Tension grows until finally it erupts in a series of events that grow more and more horrific. Isaac proves himself a hero several times over as he saves the hospital when a dead amputee arrives with a bomb planted in his belly, and when he survives the crash of a helicopter lifting Christians to safety. He is bright and plucky and lucky...until he is captured by terrorists who cruelly beat him and circumcise him without medication. The view of Java is rich and amazing and the way Lewis plunks the reader down in that world is terrifying. 2004, Simon and Schuster, $16.95. Ages 12 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 14))
In this uneasy mix of thriller and didacticism, 12-year-old Isaac, son of American missionary doctors in Java, finds his life in danger after September 11, 2001, when fundamentalist Muslims rebel against Americans. Although Isaac and his parents have made friends among the locals, no one helps when Isaac is taken captive and treated brutally. The physical setting is well-conveyed, but readers get almost no political or historical background to put the Muslim's angry actions in context. Negative imagery describes the Islamic fundamentalists; one's smile curves as sharply as "a scimitar's blade," and his "long narrow tongue flickered as he spoke." Even a seemingly kind Islamic scholar and a wise religious leader do little to protect the boy from physical violence. The climax, with its scenes of Isaac and his mother forgiving those who harmed him, are unconvincing and heavy-handed. The author, who lives in Indonesia, clearly knows the culture and presumably hopes to build a bridge between the two religious traditions, but both emerge tarnished, especially Islam. 2004, Simon & Schuster, 288p, $16.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 13 up. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Katie Nedli (The ALAN Review, Winter 2005 (Vol. 32, No. 2))
Twelve-year-old Isaac is struggling to remain loyal to the Christian faith and values with which he was raised. In the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, while living a mission life with his doctor and nurse parents in Wonobo, Indonesia, Isaac is taken hostage by anti-Christian Muslims after an attempted evacuation of all Americans goes terribly wrong. He undergoes a transformation throughout this horrible ordeal and discovers more about the driving forces of the Islamic people and, in the end, finds the faith in Jesus that he had lost. Richard Lewis dynamically explains the faith journey of Isaac Williams in a creative and unique way. He takes his young readers on a journey of their own through the Christian and Muslim faiths, with gruesome yet truthful detail. This book is rich with description, and despite violence and heartache throughout, readers who stick with Isaac will be rewarded. Category: New Age/Islamic Fundamentalism. YA--Young Adult. 2004, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 272 pp., $16.95. Ages young adult.Elgin, IL

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 2004 (Vol. 58, No. 3))
In August, 2001, the fictional Javanese town of Wonobo is gathering support for Nahdlatul Umat Islam, a group (also fictional) branded by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization. The local imam is an outspoken advocate of NUI, and as anti-Western sentiment burgeons, twelve-year-old Isaac Williams, son of doctors at the Union Baptists' Immanuel Hospital, loses his closest friend, Ismail, who aligns himself with radical Islamists. In the wake of the September 11th attacks, Americans are evacuated from Wonobo, but Isaac's helicopter crashes and the boy is taken into custody by NUI adherents, who school the boy in the Qur'an and then, in a televised event, "invite" him to profess Islam. Isaac refuses, but rather than face any of the possible dire consequences he feared, he is promptly released to his parents in a public demonstration of NUI's commitment to Islamic belief in free-will submission to Allah. Lewis clearly intends to explore the boundaries between Islamic faith and Islamist politics, and to suggest that organizations decried as "terrorist" may have more diverse membership than that damning label implies. However, centrist voices that speak here in quiet, instructive, often preachy cadence are swamped by searing images of extremist activity--a booby-trapped corpse that detonates on the hospital grounds, graphic description of a beheading disseminated over the Internet, brutal details of Isaac's forced circumcision. Moreover, the disconnect between the level of violence depicted, the complexity of issues presented, and the relatively young age of the protagonist makes it difficult to pinpoint a target audience. Lewis begs for a sophisticated, open-minded readership, and one can only hope that's what he gets. Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Simon, 288p, $16.95. Grades 9-12.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2005)
Set in the weeks around September 11, this convoluted but intriguing novel seeks to explore the conflicts and commonalities between Christian and Islamic fundamentalism. Isaac and his friend Ismail (the Biblical parallels are explicitly outlined) are torn apart when an extremist group targets Isaac's Indonesian missionary school. Unfortunately, graphic scenes of torture alternating with long-winded theological explanations may lose many readers. Glos. Category: Older Fiction. 2004, Simon, 276pp, $16.95. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.

Matthew Weaver (VOYA, October 2004 (Vol. 27, No. 4))
Lewis's novel is a tour de force right from the start. It is haunting not so much for plot but for the ideas that the story juggles. A modern day allegory, it is the tale of Isaac, whose parents are missionary doctors in Java, Indonesia. Isaac's best friend is Ismail, a Muslim boy. Together they get into all sorts of youthful mischief and trade insulting banter back and forth. But trouble comes as the air around town is rife with unrest, and threats of violence against the Americans escalate. Eventually all the unease is going to have to explode, and when it does-aided in large part by the attacks on the World Trade Center-Isaac is thrust into the middle of a very dangerous situation. Isaac serves as the eyes of the reader as he ponders the matter of religious belief: What do the Christians believe? The Muslims? Is common ground between the two faiths possible? But rather than creating a yawner of a discussion-based philosophical novel, Lewis presents these questions in scenes brimming over with anxiety and tension. A Muslim captor with goals of converting the Christian heathens attempts to pass along his knowledge and worship of the Qur'an with lessons. Perhaps the most disturbing circumcision scene in young adult literature further illustrates the tension. The book is an intense thriller that tries to give voice to different ideas and sides of a centuries-old debate, and the result is haunting, sad, scary, and even a little beautiful. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2004, Simon & Schuster, 288p., $16.95. Ages 12 to 18.