I rarely find debut novels truly great, but The Age of Miracles surprised me. The Age of Miracles is Julia's recollection of the day everything changed. It was disturbing and the voice of the young protagonist, Julia, was haunting. I highly recommend this book for adults …more and young adults alike. (less)

Although many readers may at first think this book is an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of The Da Vinci Code, The Book of God and Physics is in many ways a better and more philosophical read.

The main character and narrator, Father Hector, a science teacher at a …more Catholic school, continually grapples with issues that many people still face today including whether faith and science can ever truly coexist. Discouraged by the lack of interest of his students, Father Hector finds intellectual stimulation through an online community studying the mystery of the Voynich Manuscript a real manuscript which is now housed at Yale University. The manuscript is believed to have been written in the 1400s and contains a manufactured language that has never been translated.

Through his juxtaposition of the historical figures of Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler and the modern-day Hector, Joven skillfully blends truth and fiction to create a top-notch scientific thriller. (less)