Search This Blog








2023 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (5)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (1)
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (2)
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (4)
- North Carolina (3)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia
- Washington (2)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (3)
- Canada (6)
- England (11)
- France (1)
- Ireland (2)
- Scotland (1)
- South Korea (1)
- The Netherlands (1)
-Vietnam (1)





2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge







Saturday, December 31, 2016
Mormon Mention: Laura McNeal
6:52 PM
If you're not sure what a Mormon is, let alone a Mormon Mention, allow me to explain: My name is Susan and I'm a Mormon (you've seen the commercials, right?). As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly known as the Mormon or LDS Church), I'm naturally concerned with how my religion is portrayed in the media. Because this blog is about books, every time I see a reference to Mormonism in a book written by someone who is not a member of my church, I highlight it here. Then, I offer my opinion—my insider's view—of what the author is saying. It's my chance to correct misconceptions, expound on principles of the Gospel, and even to laugh at my (sometimes) crazy Mormon culture.
--
In The Incident on the Bridge by Laura McNeal, police officer Elaine Lord says this about her partner:
"Skelly was just like her nephews. Money was for buying nice cars, plain and simple. She hadn't wanted to work with him at first because of his various childlike views and because he was a twenty-five-year-old Mormon the size of Sasquatch. It had turned out, though, that he gave her a little of the old hope and ardor. Not a lot of hope and ardor, but a little" (38).
-- Not only did I not expect a Mormon Mention to crop up in a YA mystery novel set in California, but I was surprised by its positive nature. After a little sleuthing (including an email to the kind and patient Laura McNeal), I discovered that the author grew up LDS. Although she now considers herself a secular humanist, she respects her Mormon family and friends and "the grace and strength their faith gives them." This respect is definitely reflected in her portrayal of Skelly.
--
In The Incident on the Bridge by Laura McNeal, police officer Elaine Lord says this about her partner:
"Skelly was just like her nephews. Money was for buying nice cars, plain and simple. She hadn't wanted to work with him at first because of his various childlike views and because he was a twenty-five-year-old Mormon the size of Sasquatch. It had turned out, though, that he gave her a little of the old hope and ardor. Not a lot of hope and ardor, but a little" (38).
-- Not only did I not expect a Mormon Mention to crop up in a YA mystery novel set in California, but I was surprised by its positive nature. After a little sleuthing (including an email to the kind and patient Laura McNeal), I discovered that the author grew up LDS. Although she now considers herself a secular humanist, she respects her Mormon family and friends and "the grace and strength their faith gives them." This respect is definitely reflected in her portrayal of Skelly.
Labels:Laura McNeal,Mormon Mentions
2 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)




Reading
Zero Days by Ruth Ware

Listening
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
-
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig8 hours ago
-
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin9 hours ago
-
Camping Ch 1510 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Ibrahimi, Anilda "Red Like a Bride"15 hours ago
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday17 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
How I Select Books to Read21 hours ago
-
cleaning wins!1 day ago
-
-
-
-
Audiobook: Soil2 days ago
-
-
-
Review: Family Baggage by Ilsa Evans4 days ago
-
The Guest House by the Sea by Faith Hogan4 days ago
-
-
-
-
I have been reading...1 week ago
-
-
5/20/20231 week ago
-
A Couple of Recipes!1 week ago
-
-
This feed has moved and will be deleted soon. Please update your subscription now.2 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
Dotty Beanie with Ears3 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
New Clean Young Adult Books 20232 months ago
-
16-Year-Old Blog Post Deemed to Be Offensive3 months ago
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?7 months ago
-
-
HEARTS OF BRIARWALL by Krista Jensen9 months ago
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ▼ 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
I'm wondering if you've read "The Practice House" yet?
ReplyDeleteNo, I still haven't. It's definitely on my TBR list, though. Have you read it? What did you think?
Delete