This one took a bit to capture our interest, but it really did pick up as the book went on. This is very true of the Christian allegory content as well. Once the story settled in the reader sees many parallels to this Christian journey we find ourselves in (we will say it is in the format, not unsimilar to the Chronicles of Narnia and others, where only Believers will likely see it… still very thankful for it!). It starts with references in passing to things like Monks over a manuscript or knights bowing down at an alter, but later moves into characters that remind us of Jesus, satan and others. We see some neat dialog along the way, such as when one character says, “Mankind is a race of creators, young lady. It’s in your nature, because you bear the mark of the one who crated everything”. When talking about prayer we are told that “the key is to ask for help and know it will come… you’re asking, but you’re not believing… you have to know that the answer will come, even if it’s one you don’t expect”. Late in the book the young reader is told, “You are made new, brave scout. You need not fear your past any longer”. Great stuff.

There are aspects of this story that have the potential to really get kids' imaginations going. There is action, but the majority of the book doesn’t feel scary (see exceptions above). We also really like small things, such as this book not making light of the impacts of divorce and its impact on families like we see in so many secular books today.

This one has the type of sweet ending we expect from a Christian author (author’s bio mentions writing for Gospel Coalition, desiringGod.org). It ends with a great teaser for the next story, which is always fun.

Note that the convenience link below to the publisher’s purchase page has a free discussion guide so make sure to check that out.