Let me preface this review by first telling you the reason why I bought the book. I had never heard of this book or Josh Riebock until a few months ago. He was to be our speaker for high school winter camp for our church. I did no research, and showed up to camp with no expectations. Well, even if I had had high expectations, I believe they would have been met. Josh is an outstanding communicator and has a great way of communicating a story in a funny, yet relevant way, and still hammer home the truth of the gospel message. But the best part of him speaking was his transparency and honesty. I do not recall hearing that much honesty from a speaker before, and it wasn’t a “too much information” type of honesty. So if you are looking for a camp or retreat speaker, he would be a fantastic choice.
That being said, I picked up mY generation after camp and immediately began to read it. It is written in such a way that can capture your attention with some great stories, humor, and some “laying all the cards on the table” moments. It is written so anyone from high school age on up can get something out of it and apply it to their own lives.
The takeaway for me is that it is ok to be honest. In fact, it is more than ok, it should be encouraged strongly to be honest with myself, and those around me. I think Josh does a great job of connecting the dots (if that can be done) of the Y Generation. There are many things that complicate that particular generation, but the search for honest, love and belonging are at the core. Actually, I think it is at the core of humankind, not just the Y Generation.
I love the raw emotion of the book and the way that Mr. Riebock draws you right into the illustrations with his outstanding way of depicting a story. I feel as if I were in the room with him at times. I feel like I can connect with him on many levels in this book, which is a good thing, because now he has my attention.
I also loved the way he tied the judgmental aspect of Christianity into the book. It is hard task to try and be honest in life about struggles, temptations, shortcomings and sins. But it is a much harder task to fit the mold of what some people believe you should be. We couldn’t be like God, so He became like us so that we have a way to be with Him; So even the soapbox and judgmental people (NOT just Christians) have a way to be with God.
Great book, not bad at all for a debut from Mr. Riebock. Can’t wait to pick up Heroes and Monsters which will be out in March!
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