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When 12-year-old Basil's mother forces him to transfer to a new school, Basil is miserable. But there is one glimmer of hope in his seemingly dreary future - the school has a newspaper in need of a reporter. Basil has always dreamed of being a journalist, so he's thrilled when he's awarded a coveted position on the "St. Norbert News" staff. But then Basil is given an overwhelming challenge -- to report on religion for the parochial school's paper. After Basil sees a weeping icon, meets with people who have been miraculously healed of deadly illnesses, and hears about other bizarre mystical occurrences, he begins to put the faith he is exploring in motion in his own life, trying to get along better with his overworked, stressed-out mom and befriending the social outcast of the school, a troubled boy named Anthony. Basil must decide what to do when he learns that Anthony isn't only a victim of bullies at school but of a much bigger bully in his own home – his alcoholic father. Illustrations by Abigail Halpin.

REVIEWS

"Basil's Search for Miracles is truly a page-turner. Heather Zydek has done a remarkable job of exploring complex relationships and at the same time introducing Orthodox Christianity to readers who may have had little or no contact with any church. The kids in her story emerge as very real young people. The issue of parental abuse is brought into the narrative effectively and in a challenging way." —Jim Forest, author of Praying with Icons, The Wormwood File: E-mail From Hell "Basil's Search for Miracles is the third-best basic primer on the Orthodox Church that I've read (after "The Orthodox Church" and "Becoming Orthodox"). But it's not full of facts about Orthodoxy. Rather it's a slim novel about a 12-year-old boy working on an assignment for his middle-school newspaper. This makes it typically Orthodox: no bottom line, just a narrative; not lots of doctrine or dogma, just bits of wisdom swirling around."— Adela McKay, religionandspirituality.com "Basil's Search for Miracles is an engaging, well-paced and richly-textured story. Mrs. Zydek's treatment of the miraculous is sensitive and rings true for the Orthodox context. I would heartily recommend Basil's Search to any young person who is struggling to make sense of life and wants to better understand weeping icons, relics and healing. Ultimately, this book is not just about the supernatural--it also speaks to the gift of compassion and how it can transform us from within and bring healing to the broken lives around us." —Jenny Schroedel, author of The Blackbird's Nest: Saint Kevin of Ireland

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Heather Zydek  is a novelist, book publicist and English teacher who lives in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin with her husband and three daughters. She served as editor  of the books The Revolution: A field manual for changing your world and The Relevant Nation: 50 Activists, Artists and Innovators who are changing their world with faith (Relevant Books, 2006). Learn more about her work at www.heatherzydek.com.