3.5 stars (rating shown may vary depending on whether site allows half star ratings)

I started out this boxed set thinking it was a concept that I hadn't read often in fiction, so I really wanted to be able to recommend it. The first and fourth books were average (3) for me. The second and third books I would rate 4's--so averaging them out, I came to a 3.5 rating.

I have no idea if the first book in this series is the first one the author ever wrote. I can tell you that though I wanted to like it, there was something that kept me from from being fully engaged until late in the book. To me it felt like either the author was in the process of finding his writing "voice" or that he was adhering too much to the real-life event that inspired his story. Though I did appreciate the changes that the main character, Kim, experienced in that book.

Those changes continue in other books in the series and also spill over onto Kim's two best friends, Aleesha and Jo, and other people in Kim's life. Though I do question how many mission trips get taken in the short amount of time (vs. what most people would be able to do) and how neatly everything wraps up in a "happily ever after" fashion for most.

The first mission trip is to Mexico. It's a trip Kim and Jo were supposed to go on together. If they had, I don't know if Aleesha and Kim would have become friends. The second trip (in the second book) is to California to help with the finishing of a hostel type complex designed to serve the prison across the way. The third trip (in the third book) Jo and Aleesha go to Nicaragua, and in the fourth book, Kim returns to Mexico.

We aren't really told how the Zambrano situation is resolved. Aleesha agreed to sing with them--sometimes alternating with Stephy, but then (apparently when it's convenient for the author's timeline), Aleesha returns to Baltimore and no further mention is made about what happens with the Zambranos's group. ( )