Screen Play: A Novel

Chris Coppernoll
David C. Co9781434764829ok (2010)
ISBN 9781434764829
Reviewed by S. G. Smith for Reader Views (03/10)

 

Chris Coppernoll walks a fine line in having “religion” as a main character in his writing.  However, “Screen Play” is not an attempt to convert every single reader, but instead shows how God affected one girl in her quest for acceptance and love.  Coppernoll does a good job through his characters of showing how the cross-section of America generally reacts when God is mentioned -- while some characters turn away, others join in prayer. 

Harper, Coppernoll’s lead in “Screen Play,” is an aspiring actress who has hit rock bottom.  Through prayer and highly unlikely circumstances, she is thrust into a world she fought years to be included in.  Just as one door closes in her life, God opens another.  Will He open the door to love this time?  She attempts to help her situation along by joining an online dating community, only to seriously question the results she receives.

“Screen Play” is a fun read.  It is easy to follow the characters and become concerned about how their lives will end up, despite the predictable ending.  I found my heart racing along with Harper’s when she catches her big break, rejoiced with her in her triumphs, and understood the depths of her sadness and frustration.  Coppernoll neatly wraps up the lives of his characters by the end leaving few questions as to their destiny after the book is closed.   

The main frustration with “Screen Play” is that it is difficult for the reader to get lost in the characters and the story due to Coppernoll’s overzealous use of imagery in the first few chapters.  However, once he stopped using the formula from his “Novel Writing 101” class, the book began to flow and it was easy to become immersed in the life of Harper, her friends, and her make-believe world.

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