The Crossing

A Novel

By: Serita Ann Jakes

Narrated by: April Parker-Jones, Ann Marie Lee

Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Imprisoned by memories, Claudia Campbell lives each day in the shadow of a ten-year-old murder. Who can set her free?

On the way home from a football game, a decade earlier, a masked gunman opened fi re on a Texas school bus. Cheerleading coach B.J. Remington was killed, but her murderer was never found. Claudia, who had a close friendship with the young, spirited teacher, constantly relives the anguish of that day, caught in one moment in time. When her husband, the assistant district attorney, becomes determined to uncover the mystery of that tragedy, the secrets buried over the years threaten to tear their family apart.

Officer Casio Hightower will never forget the day his dreams were destroyed. A star quarterback with a promising future, Casio was on top of the world - until one bullet changed everything. He is eager to help Victor Campbell find B.J.’s killer, the man who shot him. Maybe solving the case will help silence the demons driving Casio to hurt the woman he loves.

As the Campbells and Casio teeter on the brink of losing everything, will they be able to discover that what begins at the crossing ends at the cross?

©2011 Serita An Jakes (P)2011 Random House Audio

Refreshingly different

Would you consider the audio edition of The Crossing to be better than the print version?

equal

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Crossing?

The realization that no one is what they seem

Have you listened to any of April Parker-Jones and Ann Marie Lee ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Live each day as if it were your last.

Great Read

This book was an awesome surprise. We are usd to Bishop Jakes writing wonderful books but I was not sure what this book would be like. I could not put it down. I hated for snything to interrupt me because I wanted to know what each of these characters were going to do next. Great read.

Awesome!!!

I enjoyed every word. So profound and mind boggling. The plot to the characters were believable and relatable. Just awesome.

Endings and Beginnings

Jaw dropping from start to finish! Left me in a state of shock for the most part

Wow

Would you listen to The Crossing again? Why?

Yes, going to listen again and again. I use to listen and read books all the time as a child, and just got out of the habit. So glad I started again especially with this book. Serita Jakes did an outstanding job. Looking forward to many more books from her.

Who was your favorite character and why?

BJ, although she knew she had a small secret inside, she knew she would be able to hold her baby in the end. Seem like it gave her something else to look forward to.

Have you listened to any of April Parker-Jones and Ann Marie Lee ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this is the first time listening, I enjoyed them.

Who was the most memorable character of The Crossing and why?

BJ's crossing over. She had so much to say but couldn't.

Loved it

Story was very compelling. Made me think. Could not stop listening. Definitely wish there was a second book.

It takes courage to face Domestic Violence!

Where does The Crossing rank among all the audiobooks you???ve listened to so far?

I was surprised this book tells the gut-bucket truth without being churchey.

What does April Parker-Jones and Ann Marie Lee bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

The uniqueness of voice.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Thou shalt not hurt!

Any additional comments?

Awesome effort!

enjoyed

Best narration of all I have listened to. Very sad story. So glad the Claudia was ok in the end.

Long Story Made Longer

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Stronger characters. Everyone except for the husband and the nurse were so weak emotionally. i totally understand going through a tramatic experience but at what point do you pick yourself up and move forward? No one in this book did that except for the student that became a nurse. Also, the end was the PITS!

What was most disappointing about Serita Ann Jakes’s story?

On top of the emotionally weak characters, the ending made me want to through my iPod across the room. My thoughts, "I went through all of that and this is what happens?" UGH!

What aspect of April Parker-Jones and Ann Marie Lee ’s performance would you have changed?

I thought it was very creative to have the view point of the dying gun shot victim but to have drug that out through the entire book almost drove me insane! Maybe if we would have gotten her point of view at the beginning and then allowed the secrets to unfold throughout the investigation, it would have been better but I found myself saying, "OMG, would you just die already!" That is such a horrible thing to say, but my goodness EVERY CHAPTER? It became like listening to nails on a chalk board.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Crossing?

The end... I won't give it away but I would have done that in a whole different way. It was more than sad. Not just because of the events that unfolded but because it didn't make sense. Maybe Lady Jakes should have consulted with a dective or watched a couple more episodes of CSI or something because there were holes in all of what went down.

Any additional comments?

I'm not big on Christian novels and it is because it seems that the characters seem so weak and that is hard for me to relate to. It's like they just allow life to happen instead of creating a life for themselves. The only example of that characteristic in this book was the young nurse. She was my favorite and I wish she would have rubbed off on her peers.

Anemic

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

There was too much going on with too many weakly developed characters whose stories also never developed within the context of the novel and seemed to have no real connection to each other. Never made any sense why Claudia left Victor or whose parents had affairs with each other. Too many social issues with no real focus. The only thing to make this novel a 4 or 5 would have to be a complete rewrite.

What was most disappointing about Serita Ann Jakes’s story?

The entire story was disappointing, especially the agonizingly drawn out death of BJ with the ineffectual and implausible resolution of whodunit. Didn't make sense.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrators were monotone and whiny, with no real distinctions in the voices of the female characters except the whining of BJ as she was dying. They would be droning on and I would find that I had no idea what was going on or who was speaking, I will usually rewind but they made you not care what was happening making my only thought to just try to get to the end.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None, only forced myself to finish because it was my book club read for the month.