This was an amazing book, I'm sad it's fiction.
Six Christian teenagers find themselves on the same team for a mission trip to Seram, Indonesia to build a church for a small village on the island. After a week of being there, a holy war breaks out among the Muslims and the Christians. The teenagers witness as the pastor and his wife are killed from the hidden safety of the jungle. Along with the pastor's two children, they hike with what food and goods they can carry for two weeks through the jungle, facing malaria, hunger, massive fatigue, animal attacks, a voyage to another island resulting in a shipwreck and near drowning, among other things. Their faith is tested as they see the horrors of war and escape near execution themselves in a Muslim village. When they're finally rescued by the very same army that is causing some of the chaos and death and taken back home, they use the photos they took and the interviews they performed and notes they kept as well as their haunting story to let the world know what is happening in an attempt to stop the terrifying acts of inhumanity. They build bonds that nothing can break and begin the journey to healing by the end of this captivating tale. I couldn't put it down once I began. I can't imagine what it would be like to face such trials... the author definitely did her research when she put this story together. The details she relays sound so real it's almost like she got them from real survivors who had to face something like this. It was a wonderful book and I recommend it highly.
