[photopress:4988539.jpg,full,alignleft]Rachel Fletcher is a normal 9th grader, but her life changes in an instant on a dark, February night when her father is killed in a tragic car accident. Suddenly, her life feels like it’s spiraling out of control, and the one who should be listening to her – Heavenly Father – doesn’t seem to be there.

Kay Lynn Magnum is quickly becoming one of my favorite new novelists on the LDS scene (check out my review of her last book A Love Like Lilly here, and her latest novel When the Bough Breaks doesn’t disappoint.

Rachel Fletcher’s life is thrown for a loop when her father dies in a tragic car accident – an accident that wouldn’t have happened had he not been on the way to pick up Rachel from her friend’s house. With her father gone, Rachel’s mother seems to pay attention to her own grief and nothing else, and Rachel’s brother, Ryan, plunges into the dangerous world of alcoholism. With her life spinning out of control, Rachel leans on the only person she knows will understand – Heavenly Father. Surely He can make everything better, and He does – just not in the way that Rachel would have planned.

The things that impress me about Magnum’s writing are that she seems to have a good grip on the teenage psyche, and she explores topics that haven’t previously been written about, like the dangers of alcoholism in When the Bough Breaks. Her books are not just written for the teenage crowd, either – as a 20-something wife and mother, these books not only entertain but have a good message. It’s a gift that Mangum has for being able to reach out to people of all ages.

You can find When the Bough Breaks at DeseretBook.com or at LDS bookstores near you.