When I received "The Jericho Deception" I was not sure at all how I was going to feel about reading this. The description sounded very highbrow and I was sure that the subject matter was going to be a struggle to read. However, I loved this book. It was a fascinating subject about the possibility of producing religious visions and ecstasy and as in all good thrillers the misuse of this knowledge. I had been looking for a 'can't put down read' and this was it. It would make for a great beach or vacation read. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I really tried to like this book and I see that many people did. However, I simply could not get my head wrapped around the ridiculousness of this situation. Being in the social work field the idea that this circumstance of the duality of sexes would continue into adolescents was just not realistic. I can't see any parents allowing this to happen to their child. As far as young adult fiction I would say maybe but only if it is categorized as a fantasy or very unrealistic.

I really enjoyed this book in the beginning but I have to say it started to wear me down. While the author obviously has pulled herself out of some very difficult life experiences, I was exhausted with reading about the horrible childhood she experienced with her mother. By the time I finished the book I was waiting for a positive resolution and I felt like it never came. I can only assume that she has become successful by her biography on the back cover. I certainly hope she is still in recovery and can redeem her life so it is not as tragically wasted as her mother.

I was not excited when I received this book but when I first started to read it, I thought Ok this is going to be very interesting. I really didn't know very much about self-mutilation and I was interested in the obsession with it. That continued until about halfway through the book and I had to say enough. This guy had a tough time, no doubt about it but I'm really not sure that I needed to be dragged into it. It was very detailed and draggy. It is important for some people to express their ability to overcome huge obstacles but I didn't really enjoy his way of expressing himself.

I have read many wonderful reviews of this book but unfortunately I can't agree. The plot developed very slowly and the slang they used was very unfamilar. I normally enjoy this type of novel immensely but this one just wasn't for me.