Book Review: Unsigned Hype

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Esmé's Mommy here.

One of the things I love about the book reviews I'm doing is I'm getting introduced to books I would probably never pick up otherwise, and I'm enjoying them!

Unsigned Hype by Booker T. Mattison would be one of those...

The Storyline

Terror Tory, a 15-year-old urban kid with a great mom and incredible talent, makes it big on the hip hop scene. Along the way, he discovers being big has its own set of problems. And he acknowledges that The Man Upstairs just might be the only answer.

The Author

"Booker T. Mattison is a writer and filmmaker whose films and music videos have aired on Showtime, BET, MTV Europe, the Gospel Music Channel, and TBN. Mattison lives in New York. This is his first novel." Back cover, Unsigned Hype.

My Review

I started this book not sure what I was getting myself into. I'm not into hip-hop; the vernacular was unfamiliar, and the city life described was totally different than anything I've experienced.

Pretty soon I was hooked, though. And I would highly recommend it for Christian teens, but even more for any teens who might need convincing that God is real.

There is much to like. First, the educational factor - I feel like I've learned a whole new vocabulary and music genre.

And the book is engaging. It keeps moving and grabbing the reader's attention.

There is play on names. Terror Tory's name, for starters, gets used in all kinds of creative ways. And the main girl of the story was named Precious Lord. (Reminds me not only of the song, but also of Precious, a Zimbabwean lady who worked for us in Mozambique...)

It is down to earth. It doesn't create some idyllic view of Christians having all the answers.

It may be a little idealistic in that most kids reading this will never be famous artists by the age of 15. But the storyline clearly shows that even achieving our dreams will leave us still searching if God is not a part of our lives.

For more, check out Tory's website: www.unchartedterrortory.com.