“I woke up with the unmistakable sensation of drowning.
My charmed life had been interrupted by sudden impact with an iceberg. I cracked, filling up with the relentless rush of water until all buoyancy was gone. I spent the next year alone, unemployed and unloved, watching my life fall apart piece by piece until all of it fit into two black canvas bags.”
Harper Gray knows what the world looks like when you hit the bottom and that faith was the only lifeline that saw her through. Beginning with a simple prayer asking for “help,” author Chris Coppernoll tells the story of Harper as she lets God lead her through one open door after another in his third novel, Screen Play.
Harper Gray is going to New York. Her friend and previous roommate, Avril is starring in a resurrected Broadway play of Apartment 19 alongside the famous diva Helen Payne. Helen’s understudy had left unexpectedly and Avril suggested Harper would be perfect as a replacement understudy.
Throughout the book, the reader feels the tug between Harper’s desires to see God at work in her life, but confused by how His ways are mysterious. Faced with challenges in the secular world of Broadway such as a difficult and hostile stage production director and an insecure, jealous star leaves Harper feeling like an actress who doesn’t act.
“God is our architect, our Designer, and I have to trust that He’s building something out of so much rubble. Although, it’s not always easy being a project under construction.”
Harper’s roommate Avril introduces her to online dating. She eventually begins to find herself in love with someone she’s never even seen. Both the positive and negatives of living in a twenty-first century digital world is explored through Harper and Avril’s romances.
I was very impressed that a male point of view was so successful in bringing a woman and all her nuances together on the page. There was a point where I felt he was telling two stories without a strong enough story arc to tie them together but by then you cared enough about the characters to overlook that detail. I would have liked the story to have started sooner and showed our leading lady crawling out from underneath the despair she hints to in the beginning of the book. I also think the author could have taken a few more chances with his characters. However, his portrayal of the life of a stage actress was extremely well done and interesting. He didn’t fall into cliché stereotypes.
The pursuit of God is prominent and important to this story. Harper wants to see God moving in her life and sets a very good example in this for the reader. It encourages the reader to look for where God is working in their own circumstances.
As national speaker to singles, Chris Coppernoll is also the founder of Soul2Soul, a syndicated radio program airing on 800 outlets in 20 countries. It was very evident in this story that he cares for adults who desire for the Lord to bring them the love of their lives.
GENRE: Realistic Christian Fiction
Visit Chris Coppernoll’s website here!
Discussion Questions:
Suggested Book Club Questions
1. Do you know what it’s like to catch your big break? How would you relate your experiences with Harper’s story of success and brokenness reflected in Screen Play?
2. In our technologically savvy world, internet dating has gone from taboo to mainstream. Do you think internet dating is a good idea? Why?
3. We’ve seen so many celebrities mishandle success. What keeps a person grounded when they catch their big break?
4. When Harper finally gets her big break, she is faced with some very difficult choices. Do you think huge successes are accompanied by sacrificial decisions? Why?
5. How does the story of Harper Gray inspire you to a greater devotion to Christ?
6. What was the most memorable scene in Screen Play for you personally?
7. Could you relate to Harper’s need for “the Rescuer” and do you find it plausible that He would reveal Himself to her in the ways He did?
Julie’s Wolf pack is by Jean Craighead George and illustrated by Wendell Minor.
