Left Behind: The Kids

Title: Left Behind: The Kids: 1: The Vanishings

Authors: Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins

Rating: ****

Review: According to the copyright dates, the two Left Behind series debuted about the same time. I had trouble deciding between the kids' and adult books when I found them in high school. I ultimately chose the adults, because they were longer and looked more interesting. The characters were decades older than me, but I found them easy to relate to.

A couple of years ago my aunt started reading the kids' books for fun. She was amazed at how the stories entertwined. Given the current world state, I decided to re-read the original series on audiobook. I also decided to read the kids' books at the same time, and see if they fit together. I skipped Left Behind when I first read the series, and I skipped it again, so I don't want to use this first book as an example. However, there are links to the other characters.

I gave this book four out of five stars for two reasons. First, it is not clearly targeted at any age group. It falls into the same trap many books about high schooler's face. It tries to make the "bad" kids loveable and turn them "good". It's just not written in a way high schoolers would appreciate. The larger downfall is there is no set audience. Young teens might pick up the book. Older teens, who form the primary cast, scoff at the small size and Kids' marketing.