The Missing Link: Found (The Truth Seekers Mystery Series, Vol. 1)

Wow, how exciting!!! OUr Family has just read, The Missing Link: Found, By Christina and Felice Gerwitz. This is a mother/daughter team from Media Angels. Christina was a 12 year old homeschool student when she sat down to write this exciting adventure story, with some assistance from her mother. We started reading this book as a read aloud for our whole family. I wanted to hear the story, as well as have them hear it as well. However, getting reading time in with all them was difficult. So we began to read on our own. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!! And I am so glad that my chidlren were reading it on their own as well. My teenaged son, who *hates* reading has been loving this story. He could not get enough of it. The story is full of suspense, action, adventure, and with the 2 main characters being Christian Homeschooled kids, it was easy for my kids to relate to. There are several things that I loved about this story. 1st, it is set around a Christian Homeschool family. What really touched my heart, throughout the story, was everytime there was a crisis or a struggle, this family, always turned to the Lord in prayer. Exactly what we would want our children to remember. This story did a great job at modeling that. Futhermore, they prayed around people who were not believers, showing a very strong faith. Next, there was some awesome dialogue on Creation vs. Evolution. There were many many facts included. Both sides were presented fairly. They also include in the back of the book a glossary of terms. Which was very helpful for some of my readers! And on the last page, were Creation Science Resources. It was an aawesome way to reinforce learning, while reading something so entertaining! And the last thing would be that there are 2 more books in the series! Yahoo! That means my kids will be able to continue to follow the adventures of the Murphy family! I don't want to give away any of the story! But I will include one little blurb that Media Angels included on the back of the book: "In the Truth Seekers Mystery Series, you'll experiene adventure, mystery, heart stopping suspense, and faith playedout first-hand by the Murphy family. This action adventure mystery will keep you guessing to the very end!" Please visit Media Angels and check out all of their awesome resources for parents and kids alike! J. Southern @ www.homeschoolblogger.com/creativelearners/

I have had a love for reading for as long as I have had the ability. I remember practically living at the library during the summer breaks from school. I would sit on the floor in the stacks reading parts of my small mountain of checked out books. Some of my favorites, I'd say at around age 9 or 10, were books from the Nancy Drew mystery series. They were such page-turners!! Each story centered around three close friends sharing adventures together while they used their smarts to solve some mystery in which they became involved. Are there modern day fiction books for the preteen/teen audience with the same kind of draw? The Missing Link: Found!, written by Christina and Felice Gerwitz (a daughter-and-mother team) and published by Media Angels, is the first of three books in The Truth Seekers Mystery Series. The story begins with the Murphy family on a boat enjoying a bit of deep sea fishing. By the fifth page adventure erupts as the charter fishing boat is boarded by armed FBI agents from a helicopter hovering overhead! After a high speed boat chase, an exchange of bullets, and an explosion, Dr. Jack Murphy receives a strange email from his brother Mike. The troublesome message leads the teenage Murphy's, Christian and Anna, and their father to an archaeological dig. A 30-year-old mystery of stolen treasure is retold, and someone goes missing. Why are certain individuals coming down with a mysterious illness, and has the first real transitional form skeleton been unearthed--giving support to the theory of evolution? My final verdict: Should I be embarrassed to say that I really, really like this book? I'm nowhere near the age group for which it was written, but the book drew me in because, just like the Nancy Drew books from summer times long ago, it has great action, mystery, and suspense from beginning to end! The added bonus is that it is about a Christian family! Throughout the story the Murphy's demonstrate their love for the Lord and acknowledge His hand in the events in their lives. The father has chosen his family over pursuing a self-absorbed career. The Murphy's pray together frequently, both in thanksgiving to God and for help in times of need. The teenagers wish to see others come to Christ and desire to be good witnesses for Jesus. The main topic of the book, evident by the title, is the discussion between those who believe in Biblical Creation and those who believe in Evolution. The dialogue is calm and is presented as rational and balanced conversation between Dr. Murphy and his children on the side of Creationism, and Cousin David and an archaeologist at the dig site on the side of Evolution. Both sides bring in science to support their points of view: Carbon-14 age dating, site chronology, and fossilization. In the back of the book is a Letter From the Editor explaining that even though the book is fiction, facts were used to write the majority of the story, and a helpful Glossary is also included to define scientific terms u

The book was obviously written for teens. This can make it hard for an adult to review. Written by then-seventeen-year-old Christina Gerwitz, her lack of experience leads to the overuse of adjectives in the story as well as the unbelievability of some of the story line. At first, this kept me from wanting to go further into reading the book. I prefer to finish a book once I start reading it. And I am glad that I finished this one. What started out as difficult to read turned into a pretty good story, especially when considering the age of the author. This story follows brother and sister, Anna and Christian, and their father, Dr. Jack Murphy, as they uncover the mystery surrounding the finding of the supposed "Missing Link." As the story progresses, one finds that they are learning arguments from both sides of the Evolution and Creation viewpoints. This makes this story more than the average teen book. The story continues and you often find the children and their father petitioning our Heavenly Father in prayer. Written from a Christian perspective, you will not have to worry about inappropriate language. The children are homeschooled and are part of a family that has more than the usual American family's two children. And frankly, I find that quite refreshing. This story presents an interesting, easy read for Christian teens and blends together fiction and actual facts. By clicking here you can read more about the story and the author behind it. I also suggest you visit the website Media Angels for other books in the series as well as resources for home education. As with anything, I do encourage you to research for yourself the facts presented in this book. You can find this review at:[...]

The Gerwitz family has a heart for equipping homeschooling, Christian families with the tools necessary to teach their children Creation Science. This family's Creation Science materials have been widely recommended by prominent Christians such as Cathy Duffy and Kent Hovind. Growing up in a home filled with God's truth Christina Gerwitz began writing The Missing Link: FOUND at the age of 14, finishing at the age of 17 with her mother Felice's co-writing assistance. The completion of The Missing Link represented the first in what would become a quartet of novels that combine mystery, adventure and Creation Science to form wholesome reading for teens. Three novels have been published to date with the fourth in progress. In The Missing Link we find the Murphy family swept into an adventure beyond their understanding. FBI raids, kidnapping and conspiracy take the unsuspecting family by surprise as they work together to solve the mystery of fossilized human-like remains that Uncle Mike and Cousin David are working to excavate. These remains may prove to be the oft discussed but not yet found "missing link", holding the potential to become the first conclusive transitional form. Against this backdrop the scene is set for the Gerwitz's to introduce arguments for and against creation and evolution. As scientific facts are absorbed by young readers the Murphy's reliance upon God and their clear Christian character traits will shore up traditional Christian values. As the first self-published effort of a young girl, it's unsurprising to find the writing style and punctuation to differ from what an established author would produce. From a perspective of literary analysis the character development could have been much stronger; the clues and connections could have been spread more evenly throughout the story rather than being held tightly until the end. With no other such novels available to homeschooling families I can see these titles playing an important supplementary role in Christian education; some schools have already selected this series of novels as required summer reading. Families with reluctant teenage readers will want to incorporate these books into their science studies to provide easily digested factoids. Once captivated by the story the accompanying literature study guides for each novel can be introduced as a language arts supplement. While we don't all have archaeologists in the family, this tale of a large, Christian homeschooling family who relies on the Lord and seeks His truth throughout challenging situations provides the sense that we are not alone on our journies.