Ismael: coming of age in ancient times. Sam: coming of age in modern times. The lives of these two young men parallel during the breakdown of their relationships with their fathers and as more comes afterward in Dark Sons by author Nikki Grimes.

Man. It's likely I wouldn't read 300 pages of a YA novel this somber and painful, as that kind of journey can be too long and depressing for this fiction lover. But stripping such a story down into free verse like this, raw but straight to the point, makes for one way someone like me can dive in and swim right through without getting too weighed down in the middle.

I can appreciate a read that asks tough questions and isn't afraid to show human flaws, including those of a patriarch such as Abraham. I further appreciate that Ismael's and Sam's related stories offer compelling hope without resorting to too-easy answers or fairy-tale fixes.

Now, the book includes some language my quasi-conservative self wouldn't use. It's something ChristFic fans may want to be aware of, though the language is minimal and nothing that would have to be bleeped-out on network TV.

I'd recommend this inspiring book to fans of split-timeline fiction and contemporary poetry enthusiasts alike. ( )

I enjoyed this book. It was a bit confusing in the beginning because it jumps between the stories of Ishmael and Sam but once I got the flow of the book I was hooked. I really liked that Nikki Grimes used different fonts for each boy it made it much easier to keep up with the stories. ( )

In theory, I love this book.

As an adult with an appreciation for poetic structure and narrative methodology, I love this book.

As a teacher working with frustrated, male students who feel immense pain from their family situations, I love this book.

I'm not sure how much I would love the storylines themselves, though. Her work is flawless, but I felt it dragged on a bit.

That being said, if I were a strict believer in Biblical stories, or I believed or wanted young people to believe that Jewish Scriptures told stories worth knowing, then I may really love this.

Grimes uses the Biblical story of Ishmael first, then she analogously tells a story about a guy named Sam. Both Ishmael and Sam are frustrated by their fathers' choices, and each feels as though his father is not loving him adequately. Both sons deal with pain similarly, and both learn to trust and love their fathers in the end.

The second half about Sam I liked more than the beginning, but I imagine that has everything to do with my lack of interest in reading Biblical stories in such a taken-for-granted-as-moral-code manner. ( )

Bible story retold in verse. ( )