Review: 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.'
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 20, 2014
This is the second novel for Pacific Northwest author Nancy Allan, the first being WINTER'S DESTINY, and her affinity for concise and meaningful phraseology and dialogue has been the result of her background television broadcasting and communications and television production. Reading her novel SOUL FIRE the reader is impressed with her knife shape manner of observation and creation of characters and situations that seem as real as an incident a television reporter would be discussing. In this book she places her microscope on the problem with bullying that is prevalent in the school system toady. Perhaps her manner of presenting all sides of this abuse will aid changes that simple must be made.Popular High School Junior Ashla Cameron seems to have it all - she is captain of the swim team, a straight A student, volunteers at a hydrotherapy center, and is an all-around great girl. She seems immune to bad things until a freak accident changes the picture for her. In a skiing accident she collides with the High School lead hockey star and Seattle's pick for the NHL, Justin Ledger - an incident that leaves Ledger with both legs broken resulting in his becoming severely handicapped. Deep in remorse Ashla has an encounter with Delta, one of the Tarantulas  (the losers) who mocks Ashla for no longer being the popularity girl after her unfortunate involvement with the accident with Justin. Things take a turn as Ashla and her friends endure the trials by fire that threaten friendship and Delta transitions in a way few would have expected. The speed of the tale never lets up until the fascinating resolution of the story. This is a tale of personal endurance when stressed by classism, peer response, and the permutations of bullying that can either destroy young people's lives or make them stronger. `We just take the ride. We don't build the train.' Grady Harp, January 14