While it is very unique, this book really takes out minds to the Chronicles of Narnia series, and it feels very much like it is meant to. Those of you who love that series will certainly want to consider this book that starts a series that is up to 3 books at the time of this writing.

This very well written tale revolving around a 14-year-old girl Eva and a large mysterious English manor starts off with some interesting, attention-grabbing quotes and keeps it until the very last page with just the right amount of mystery and suspense.

Most of the Christian content is symbolic in nature. The most important of these is a powerful, but mysterious Aslan-like creature. His appearance in the story and especially his relationship with Eva’s grandmother and his call to Eva herself is the highlight that will capture the interest of the most mature believer. We read great lines like “But if you follow him, he’ll take you there, to the door… to the call of the horn from the high mountains. Follow that horn wherever it leads. It’s a fearful thing, but it must be done”. Awesome. Those “high mountains” appear multiple times and we are told “In that country, all are queens and kings”. There is some content that is more direct, like when we see those in the grand house head into town to church. We also hear a servant family say things like, “On Sunday we worship, then we rest”.

A key theme here is dealing with loss and the book does a great job of wrestling with it well from a Christian perspective. The author’s note at the end wraps this up well when it says, “We can trust that the Author is ultimately good and just”. Amen. We have this one as a HIGHLY Recommended option for your family.

A quick note… while we heartily recommend this book, books like these and even the aforementioned Chronicles of Narnia will always be just a step under our very favorite titles we have reviewed for the sole reason that, while the trained Christian mind will almost certainly catch the symbolism and see Christ and be encouraged, it is also possible (likely) for a child or unsaved person to read it and never catch on. You could make the case that the lessons here are quite a bit nearer the surface here than in the Narnia series and therefore easier to catch, but we feel it is still true. Books like this are an excellent candidate for read-togethers so you can ensure your child catches all of the Christian content.