Calling

Seventeen-year-old Michael Westphal’s life fell apart when his mother died. Moving to a new town seemed a good way to get away from it all, especially when pretty Claire Williams arrives. It’s too bad she’s so far out of his league he’d need a telescope to make out the speck. After an accident nearly takes his life -- deer are so stupid; that’s why we shoot them -- Michael must face his feelings about his mother’s death and Claire and learns life can and does go on . . . but there’s always a catch. With Claire, his best friend, Alex, and the three strange newcomers living in a rundown farmhouse off Highway J in the small town of Friendship, Michael’s world evolves into a new kind of normal with a touch of weird and getting weirder all the time. The bizarre vision glitch that seizes him every time he looks at Claire soon extends to everyone in an array of colors and sensations not his own, the worst being the unseen force bent on beating the crap out of him every time Claire gets upset. If that were all the excitement Friendship had to offer, Michael might be okay; but weird isn’t satisfied when you’re dealing with destiny and Michael is about to learn the truth. Angels walk among us. They look like you and me. They are here for a purpose. Calling is a young adult paranormal fantasy that leaves vampires, werewolves and zombies behind to follow one young man’s return from the apathy of “I’m okay” to become whole again. However, for Michael, being whole means accepting a destiny he never asked for, involving a father he never knew and a choice he cannot escape. We don’t choose our calling; we only choose how we answer.