What Happened When Lightning Struck Martin Luther?

You know, I had never learned much about Martin Luther before reading this book. I knew about the thing he nailed to the door of the church. But I didn’t know much about the back story or anything. When Lightning Struck by Danika Cooley was so interesting I read it straight through from start to finish. Did.not.want.to.put.it.down.

Then I gave it to my 12-year old daughter over Thanksgiving break. She couldn’t put it down either! In fact, when she was done she asked me if I had another one like it! Sadly, my answer was no – for now. I am certainly hoping that author Danika Cooley will write more books about heroes of the faith like this.

If lightning struck a tree right next to you, would you consider it an act of God and a call on your life? When exactly are we supposed to take God’s call on our lives to BE HIS seriously? I love that this book will encourage our teens and tweens to be all in for Jesus.

Let me tell you a few of the things I really loved about this book written for tweens and teens.

1. When Lightning Struck was thoroughly researched. From beginning to end, I could tell that the author took her time to research and get the important things correct in this account of Martin Luther’s life. Lots of detail!
2. Danika (the author) didn’t pull any punches or hide any flaws. The main character (Martin Luther) was revealed in both his strengths and weaknesses. For instance, he was well known for his temper.
3. When Lightning Struck reinforces the truth that God uses ordinary men to accomplish extraordinary things through His strength and power.
4. When Lightning Struck portrays this time period in history (the Middle Ages) from a different perspective. It’s not all knights and castles and glamorous stories of a princess.
5. When Lightning Struck includes an important part of church history and covers the Reformation Movement from a very personal point of view from the man at the forefront of change.
6. Danika made the story – the history – interesting and fun to read. It’s fictional in style and is not purely biographical. I don’t normally read books straight through without stopping.