The Gospel of Winter Audiobook By Brendan Kiely cover art

The Gospel of Winter

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The Gospel of Winter

By: Brendan Kiely
Narrated by: Nick Podehl
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A fearless debut novel about the restorative power of truth and love after the trauma of abuse.

As sixteen-year-old Aidan Donovan’s fractured family disintegrates around him, he searches for solace in a few bumps of Adderall, his father’s wet bar, and the attentions of his local priest, Father Greg—the only adult who actually listens to him.

When Christmas hits, Aidan’s world collapses in a crisis of trust when he recognizes the darkness of Father Greg’s affections. He turns to a crew of new friends to help make sense of his life: Josie, the girl he just might love; Sophie, who’s a little wild; and Mark, the charismatic swim team captain whose own secret agonies converge with Aidan’s.

The Gospel of Winter maps the ways love can be used as a weapon against the innocent—but can also, in the right hands, restore hope and even faith. Brendan Kiely’s unflinching and courageous debut novel exposes the damage from the secrets we keep and proves that in truth, there is power. And real love.

©2014 Brendan Kiely (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Bullying & Abuse Difficult Situations Literature & Fiction Sexual Abuse Winter

Critic reviews

"'We live in a world of consequence and effect,' says the 16-year-old narrator of The Gospel of Winter, a book that will be as satisfying to literary readers as it will to young adults. This is a novel that captures the pulse of a contemporary wound, a truth that needs to be told about the shameful issue of abuse within our society. It is also a novel that examines the faultlines of love, family, adolescence, faith and belonging. Brendan Kiely has written a novel that is both unflinching and redemptive." (Colum McCann, NYT Bestselling author and National Book Award winner for Let the Great World Spin)
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I enjoyed the story but found the ending lacking. the main characters mother is a horrible parent but this is never addressed, which was disappointing. otherwise I found this an interesting portrayal of the issue of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church (as someone who was raised Catholic)

i also (as a gay woman) had issue with the portrayal of the main characters gay best friend, who is shown as desperate for the main character's affection. it would've been a fine gay character otherwise, without resorting to the "gay man falls for his straight best friend" trope.

Mostly good, but...

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