HEARTLAND

As a Hollywood studio prepares to fire the unruly star of a wholesome TV show, a move that would end the series, churches across the country are praying for a miracle. They get one in the form of JayJay, a TV character from the series who comes to life, in this Christian novel about Hollywood amorality. When the nation's heartland falls in love with JayJay, Hollywood finds itself on a collision course of conflicting values. Tim Lundeen makes the melodramatic aspects of Bunn's plot work to his advantage, giving the cardboard character of the studio head a voice that oozes villainy while the hero has a voice straight out of a classic TV Western. Lundeen also makes the tension in two sequences that involve fire realistic. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 08]