I was so excited yesterday. My book to review, Take Your Best Shot by Austin Gutwein, came in the mail. I have been like a kid on Christmas morning ever since I ordered it and read the first chapter online. Finally, I had the book in my hands. I finished it last night. It was a quick read as its target reader, like the author, is a teenager, but frankly the message is universal.
The book tells how and why Austin founded Hoops for Hope, an organization that has now built a school and is working on building a clinic in Zambia. But the book is more than just an story of what someone else accomplished, it is a guidebook for the reader to find his or her passion and do something equally as marvelous. Austin explains that while Hoops for Hope is a secular organization, he himself is a Christian. he is fearfully and wonderfully made to serve God through his actions and he encourages the reader to do the same.
Austin uses concrete imagery that will help teenagers understand better the Biblical foundations of his mission and his writing touches on many "teenage issues": being dismissed by adults, not feeling good about yourself, fitting in. His story would be an inspiration to anyone but particularly to teenagers. t would be a wonderful tool in youth groups, Sunday schools, Confirmation Classes. If the readers follow Austin's guidance and welcome the Spirit to work through them, then truly the world may be changed one person at a time.
Note: Although Thomas Nelson sends the book to be reviewed for free, I am not otherwise compensated for my review and I am under no obligation to give a "good" review.
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