• Christian Parent Reviews Cross
See what's concerning. Find better books.
"I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless."
Psalm 101:3

The Last Resort

VERDICT: Avoid

Concern Level: High

Book Cover for The Last Resort

Christian Parent Reviews Cross

Christian Parent Review

Concern LevelHigh
Concerning & Potentially Concerning Content

The book cover invites readers to “talk to ghosts”.

The front and back cover have disturbing images.

The very first thing kids see is a note telling them “If you’re reading this, it means you can communicate with ghosts. Something’s terribly wrong and we need your help. Can we count on you?”. This then gives a QR code for them to scan to take them to be able to hear and “experience” this deeper, even interacting with ghosts.

This is one of the very few books we decided to intentionally stop and not list out the lengthy list of concerning content on. Read those first few lines. Should we as Christian parents really need any more information than that?

VerdictAvoid
Our Thoughts

This entry stands less as a “review” and more as an encouragement to Christian parents when it comes to books like this to not compromise… especially when it comes to their children. Honestly, we as Christians should know from the scriptures as well as our understanding of God’s heart and what pleases Him not to fill our hearts and minds with books, shows, movies, etc. that use darker subject material for entertainment purposes… especially for “entertaining” children.

There are so many verses we could reference, but check out this sample:

1 Thessalonians 5:22 - "Abstain from every form of evil."

Leviticus 19:31 - "Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God."

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 - "When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations..."

Leviticus 20:6 “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.

Instead, we are called to do the opposite - Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Do not cave or give in to the “what’s the big deal” mentality. Pursue holiness (i.e., being set apart for God).

As for this book, it and others like it are ones we hope Christian parents see as clear Avoids.

Plot Summary

Note: This information is typically from the publisher.

Use with caution

Twelve-year-old Lila has two goals:

  • Win back the friends who ditched her for being "too dramatic"
  • Stop being so dramatic

But then Lila's estranged Grandpa Clem dies, throwing a wrench in her plans. Now she'll have to spend the summer in Ohio while her parents decide what to do with Grandpa Clem's creepy Victorian Inn. It's supremely unfair. How can she show off the "new and improved" Lila from so far away?

Even worse, strange things keep happening. En route to Ohio, the family gets into a scary car accident. No one's hurt, but the remainder of the trip is... odd. At every rest stop, Lila sees people in weird old-fashioned clothes. People no one else can see or hear...

Lila convinces herself it's just her overactive imagination until the day of the funeral when she spots an old man sitting in her grandfather's favorite chair. She does a double take -- it's him, Grandpa Clem. He tells Lila that he didn't die of a heart attack, he was murdered. Possibly by someone who wants to control the inn. Because it's not a normal bed & breakfast; it's a portal between the land of the living and the realm of the dead. A hotel for ghosts passing onto the afterlife.

With the help of her skeptical brother, Caleb, and their new ghost-obsessed neighbor, Teddy, Lila -- the girl who's vowed to be less dramatic -- must uncover her grandfather's killer AND stop the evil spirits desperate to make their way back into the human world.

Purchase Link

Above Reproach: We intentionally do NOT use referral links on this site.

No purchase convenience link provided for 'Avoid' books

Other Reviews for this Book

Secular Review (use with Caution!)
Common Sense Media
Warnings

We include examples like this to implore Christians to seek out Christian review sources (CSM is a secular site)!

Read Review

Scripture Reflection

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

— 1 Peter 5:8-9

--- See More Christian Parent Reviews ---

More Christian Parent Reviews