The Boy Named Lucifer

by Christi Kari
American Book Publishing

When a son is born to MaryAnn and Levi Tyre, he is christened Lucifer Beelzebub Tyre by his father. As a boy, innocent Lucifer didn't fully understand why he would get looks and dirty stares from others. So when Abba renames him "Jedediah" meaning "loved of God" Lucifer finally feels loved. Beaten and abused by his father, all he knows is anger and hate. But he clings to the Lord's promise to be with him always, even when his loving mother cannot protect him.

As he grows older, his home life does not improve, but escalates. Unable to truly defend himself because of poor nutrition and years of living in the closet, Jedediah is weak in body. But his mind is strong, and his love for God stronger still. When tragedy strikes and forever changes his life, Jedediah still has questions. Will God keep His promise of setting him free from the past of hurt and abuse? Or is Jedediah forever trapped by circumstances he will never be able to change?

While the premise for this story was very promising, I found myself distracted with the somewhat child-like narrative. It was worth it to read the story, I just felt that Kari was doing so well, then it was back to simplistic sentence structure and stilted paragraphs.

In the end, you can't help but feel sympathy for the little abused boy who becomes a man. Jedediah has so many reasons to become bitter and angry with life, but the choices he makes forever change his life and eternal destiny.

I won this book through First Reads by Goodreads, so a big thank you to Christi Kari for signing and sending me a copy of her book!