CLOSER THAN EVER
Sierra Jensen Collection: Volume Four, Book Eleven
Robin Jones Gunn
Multnomah
Fiction
ISBN: 9781590525913
139 pages

It’s the spring of her senior year, and Sierra Jensen’s life could not be any more perfect. In CLOSER THAN EVER, the 11th book in Robin Jones Gunn’s Sierra Jensen series, Sierra has been accepted to Rancho Corona University, where she already will have a close group of friends. When best friend Randy gets his acceptance letter, Sierra knows that college will be great. But as Sierra and her pals go out to celebrate, they can’t help but worry that Vicki still hasn’t received her acceptance to Rancho and that they will soon be leaving behind the only lives they have ever known.

However, Sierra tries to temporarily place these worries aside as she is finally graduating, and plans for a big graduation party are underway. Sierra is ecstatic when she receives the news she has long been hoping for: Paul is coming home, and he will be back in time for Sierra’s graduation. Paul and Sierra have been writing deeply personal letters for months (although the actual status of their relationship is quite undefined), and getting to finally see him is a better gift than she ever could’ve imagined. Instead of thinking about her own graduation, Sierra spends most of her time making elaborate plans for his visit and daydreaming over his beautifully written letters.

When graduation day finally arrives, Sierra’s thoughts have nothing to do with the momentous day, but with Paul’s imminent arrival. She waits and waits, until her father receives an awful phone call. Paul’s plane has crashed, and only three people survived. With limited information and horrific images on the news, what should have been the happiest day of Sierra’s life turns into an unimaginable nightmare. Paul is nowhere to be found, and Sierra must begin to rely on her friends, family and faith in God like she has never done before, as the hours pass and more information is learned.

CLOSER THAN EVER begins as a very happy, upbeat book. Sierra finally seems to have everything going for her, and it looks as though the long, drawn-out saga between Sierra and Paul will begin to reach some conclusions. However, the tone quickly changes when the plane crash occurs, and the book becomes extremely dramatic and solemn. The plot will certainly keep the pages turning, and a very unexpected and open ending will leave readers anxious to find out what happens in the final installment of the series.

    --- Reviewed by Jennifer Crosby

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