My 9-year-old and 7-year-old boys loved this fantasy series that’s loosely based on the early life of King David. In this final book, Aidan Errolson must come out of hiding in the Feechiefen to face the impending downfall of King Darrow. The only question is will Darrow take down Corenwald with him? Well, we know that Aidan won’t let that happen without a fight, and we know that he has what it takes.
This book has some of the best Dobro moments in the series. He’s such a funny character, and my boys have now incorporated a new inside-joke phrase into their repertoire: “Time to leave these neighborhoooooooods!” For whatever reason, that one stuck.
This book also has a few very touching moments that made me choke up. No spoilers.
A few thoughts on the series overall:
1. There are almost no girls in the series. My boys did not comment on this or bat an eyelash. They are boys and love reading about boys. Girl readers, though, may notice. This book contains a few girl characters—rich ladies from Tambluff, including one spirited young woman who can match Dobro stride for stride.
2. The series focuses so closely on Aiden that the worldbuilding and external plot feel rather loose. It’s rather like the first Narnia book. We don’t get a lengthy deep-dive into the lore of the land, nor do we get our specific questions answered. We just take things as they come at us. This is largely the same. Although it’s a fantasy, don’t expect the granular detail or tightly woven fabric of a series like HP.
In fact, Rogers seems to intentionally go in the opposite direction, dedicating whole chapters to tree-chopping contests, feechie ballads, and other seeming side notes. Often, these colorful scenes were favorites of my boys. They are young and always up for a laugh.
3. In case you’re wondering, as I did, how far into David’s life this series goes, it focuses on David’s early life: facing Goliath, King Saul’s paranoia, Jonathan’s friendship, and going on the run with his followers. There is no Bathsheba character nor any intentional murders. Also, it’s not a beat-for-beat retelling. It’s inspired by King David, not based on him.
A SMALL SPOILER: I will say that I find it incredibly interesting that Rogers chose to make the feechies and civilizers long-lost relatives. They both descend from the same mainland tribe. The feechies came to the island first, and the civilizers came much later—so much later that they didn’t recognize any shared history with the feechies. Far from being two separate peoples, they discover that they are, in fact, one. I find spiritual significance in this.
One small book for moms. One giant leap for momkind.
Abbie is so encouraging—even when she’s serving up scriptural truths that taste more like cabbage than candy. She is solid, and this book is solid. I wasn’t sure how much she could possibly say on this topic, but I knew that I needed to read it because I loved M Is for Mama so much.
This was a quick listen on audio and a total shot in the arm. I will say something: Even though I listened to this on audio straight through in maybe three days flat, I think that I would benefit greatly from reading a page or two a day in print. The book (as well as MIFM) is so fantastic and necessary that I’d benefit from a daily dose.
Abbie (homeschool mom of 10) proclaims that hard is not the same thing as bad. Just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad and you should remove it from your life.
On the other hand, just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s good and sanctifying and needs to stay.
Abbie doesn’t minimize the truly hard things. She describes growing up with her dad who was undiagnosed bipolar for many years. She talks about mom friends who weren’t true friends. She talks about the very real challenges of having newborns, toddlers, and teens—even when they’re perfectly healthy and happy, they are hard!
Sometimes, we cannot do anything about the “hard” except patiently wait and hope for the day that God lifts the burden from our shoulders (or the day when we realize that we have increased in strength to the point where the load doesn’t feel heavy anymore). Other times, we can prayerfully take action to ease unnecessary hardships (or trade the “hard” of disobedience for the “hard” of obedience).
I love the chapter where she makes a distinction between “hard things” and “suffering.” They are not the same thing. Often, hard things we face as moms are “challenges” that we tackle and overcome with a hopefully positive result. Suffering is something else altogether. Abbie refuses to accept that motherhood is suffering. That mindset may FEEL true, but it’s NOT helpful, and I couldn’t agree more. I’m saying this from the perspective of someone who does often feel like I’ve sacrificed a lot to stay at home and homeschool my boys. I can make an idol of my so-called suffering, or I can put it into proper perspective and increase my joy and peace.
This book is high on inspiration and mindset—the whole book is about shifting perspective so that we, as moms, can invite God more fully into our hard days and even into our suffering. But, as always, she offers some practical action items to consider (but not too many that it’s overwhelming).
You could shelve this under Christian fiction, but it wouldn’t exactly fit in with its peers there. This is a coming-of-age novel set in the ’60s. Frank, a 13-year-old boy, must come to grips with several tragedies that happen over the course of one life-changing summer. His father is a pastor, but his mother is barely a believer, and Frank must decide what he thinks about God.
Because Frank’s father is the pastor of a small town, and because the book deals with a series of tragic events, many of the characters question God, reach out to God, and fall on the mercy of God. I appreciate how beautifully this is done. Kreuger deals with this honestly, but (spoiler) the verdict falls in favor of Jesus Christ and his grace. It’s rare to find this in a dude book, and this is most definitely a dude book. Think Leif Enger.
It’s hard to discuss the plot without spoiling it. Kreuger said in an interview in the after-matter of the audiobook that he wanted to write a novel that didn’t follow the tight mystery plot pattern that he uses in his Cork O’Connor series—I’ve only read the first one in that series, and it’s good (if gritty). So, this book has a mystery element, but it’s not a classic mystery. It’s more open and fluid. Frank encounters a loss of innocence, and he must figure out how to move forward in a world where bad things happen to good people and where we can’t simply run away from our problems—because sometimes our problem is “who we are” and we can’t run from who we are.
One of the best things about this book is the wide range of men that Frank is exposed to. You’ve got bullies, drunks, wifebeaters, rich guys, preachers, homosexuals, loners, and artists—and Frank realizes that there’s more to each of these men than the stereotypes they portray to the world.
I did feel like the plot was a tad predictable. I didn’t gasp at any twists. And I felt like the characters were a tad slow to figure things out. But, the book isn’t about the plot. It’s about Frank and his family, and it’s good to know that going in.
I enjoyed this book more than The Green Ember and On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. This swampy fantasy was just as entertaining for me as it was for my 7- and 9-year-old boys. After we finished this one, they immediately asked if we could start book two in the series.
I must say this upfront. I obtained the NEW, redesigned hardbacks. They are gorgeous. The cover is lush. The interior black-line illustrations are wonderful. This new edition is worth buying in print, just FYI.
This is a middle-grade retelling of the story of King David. Aiden Errolson is the David character, and when this book opens, he’s 13 (I could be wrong). He’s the youngest son of a lord, but he spends most of his days tending sheep. He longs for adventure and greatness. But…when Aiden has greatness thrust upon him, it doesn’t look or feel as grand as he dreamed. But, as the feechies say, Aiden has what it takes.
Ultimately, this is a story about having what it takes. It’s aspirational for kids. Can they rise to the challenges that everyday life throws at them? Aiden’s example can inspire them to do so. Aiden is flawed, but he’s also heroic and worth looking up to.
This book parallels David’s early life and culminates in the defeat of a giant and the thwarting of an invading enemy. (Just in case you want to know the basic roadmap.) But, there’s a lot more here than a beat-by-beat retelling. The feechiefolk add a lot of color and humor, and I’m interested to see what role they end up playing in the trilogy.
Overall, I think this is an amazing book for young readers, and we’re already a handful of chapters into the second book and enjoying it just as much.
This was solid Christian historical fiction with a heavy helping of romance. You’ll like this book if you enjoy Francine Rivers.
This book is titled The Pesant King, referring to Cyrus, the historical leader. But the book isn’t about him as much as it’s about a young Jewish woman and a half-Jewish, half-Gentile young man and the people associated with them. They find themselves wrapped up in the warring of nations, and they do great deeds to influence the outcomes. Not in the background but very much in the forefront, they fall in love.
Like I said, this was solid. I enjoyed it, and there was plenty of action. I wasn’t crazy about it. I feel like it might’ve been a good book at the wrong time for me. I did feel like the book needed one more editing pass. Just a few nuances of wording, repeated words, etc. that jarred me.
How big of a role does the romance play? Big. It’s not spicy or distasteful at all, but it’s the driving force behind the story for sure. The good news is that there’s a lot going on in the background behind the romance—plenty to keep things interesting!
My sister-in-law is a huge Terri Blackstock fan, and I remember when she told me about this series after she first read it years ago. The premise is fantastic. One day, electricity doesn’t work. Nothing electric/electronic works. Planes fall out of the sky. Cars die on the road. All the lights go out. City water pumps fail. Generators won’t operate.
What would happen to the average American if an outage like that went on…indefinitely?
The Branning family is going to find out. This book is the first of four, and it focuses primarily on Deni Branning, the oldest daughter in a family of four kids. She is home from college just long enough to plan her wedding to an aspiring politician in D.C. She is on the fast track to a job in broadcast journalism. Her future looks bright. Until the lights go out. She’s stuck at home in Alabama with no way to communicate with her fiancee.
It’s not long before the Brannings find themselves hauling lake water to their house, catching fish to eat, and saving half their trash and composting the rest. Their lives change drastically.
Their quiet, affluent neighborhood is rocked when one of the families is found murdered in their home. Who is the killer? Everyone starts suspecting everyone else, and emotions run high.
This is a Christian novel, so the Brannings have to face the fact that they are Christians in name only, and not practice (both inner and outer). The family chooses to rely on God to provide and guide. The Jesus aspect is tastefully done, not cringey or contrived.
Deni escalates the conflict with some truly dumb choices, which bring her and her family close to peril.
This was a great book—perfect for anyone who enjoys Christian mystery-thriller.
If you love Hallmark (or GAF) movies, then you’ll adore this short, sweet book. Blackstock uses dual narrators. We’ve got Finn, the crabby cabby (a cab driver with a bad attitude) and Sydney the stressed-out lawyer who needs to win a no-win case in order to keep her job. No pressure, Syd.
So, fun fact. In her author’s note, Blackstock describes how she was sitting in the waiting room at her actual doctor’s office when a man wheeled in an elderly lady and then headed toward the door. She asked if he was just going to leave her, and he responded: “Lady, I’m just the cab driver.” That was her inspiration for this book.
Finn gets a call to take elderly and disoriented Callie to the doctor. Who hires a cab to take Grammy to her appt?? Well, it turns out that Sydney does—on a day when she must attend an important work meeting or risk getting fired. That gets the ball rolling, and it’s sweet as figgy pudding front to back.
Callie is spicy and determined to get her way, no matter how sick she is. Finn is prickly on the outside and jello on the inside. Sydney looks like a successful attorney, but she’s broke and hanging on by a thread.
Worldview means a LOT to me when I’m reading a light book like this one, especially a romance. Why read a candy book if the author is saying things about life and love that you can’t stand? I can tell that Blackstock and I share a lot of the same beliefs, and it’s great to see those reflected here. I didn’t have to cringe at anything…you might, but I didn’t. There are a few moments that some people will find politically incorrect, but I actually agree with the author on most things, so I, uh, mentally high-fived her when I read those bits.
Blackstock is a Christian author, but this book does a great job of not getting preachy. There is no contrived altar call moment. We see both Finn and Sydney rethink their spiritual lives, going from dormancy to just waking up. They are on the brink of starting something good with Jesus, but the book isn’t about that. It’s a side effect of their interactions with Callie.
A short piece of much-needed truth in our age of selfie syndrome
I listened to this audiobook in one day, and then I turned around and listened to the last chapter again, and I’ll probably listen to it again.
My husband and I are teaching a seminar for 20-somethings next month, and the subject is “the change,” as in Christian transformation, living as a new creature, undergoing the renewal of the mind. This was beautiful food for thought in developing the seminar content.
What does it look like to live a Christ-transformed life? One HUGE indicator is that mature Christians don’t think about themselves all that much. They don’t think less of themselves. They don’t think more of themselves. They think more about God and others than they do about themselves. This, Tim Keller says, is blessed freedom. I couldn’t agree more.
We are constantly looking for signs that we are important and valuable. We live good, Christian lives in order to achieve our “righteous” merit badges. We look to others for validation—I’m reminded of the tortured Anna Karenina asking her sister-in-law, Dolly, again and again, “What do you think of me?” Keller compares this to being in a neverending courtroom, where we are on trial, and we are looking to others (or to ourselves) for a verdict, an answer to the question: Am I a good person?
Keller says we have to get out of the courtroom. How? We accept God’s verdict of us.
When we believe in Jesus as our Savior, then we are beloved children of God. That is our identity. This verdict comes before any “performance” on our part—the act of faith, the choice to believe in the gospel results in God’s final verdict on our identity and worth. We are His children, loved, and accepted. THEN the transformation happens. The verdict OUTFITS us for the performance to come, the “enduring to the end.”
We step out of the courtroom, no longer trying to prove our goodness, and we are free to stop obsessing over our self-worth and turn our precious focus upward and outward, where we find joy and freedom.
Meet a couple of spinsters who will change your life forever and ever amen.
“Can I weep openly right now?” That’s the question I had to ask myself every time before pressing play on this audiobook. I shed many a tear into my family’s dinner as I was cooking it, into the pavement around my neighborhood as I walked, onto my clean laundry as I was folding it.
It’s been 10 years since my last reading of The Hiding Place, so I was due.
First and foremost, this book is a testament to the power of God, and it’s also a tribute to Corrie’s sister, Betsy, and her faith. This time around, I was struck by how many times Corrie described Betsy as an otherworldly being. “Who is this sister of mine?” When she prayed for her enemies, thanked God for fleas. I think this is what it means to be a new person in Christ, to have a new heart. It’s something that the unbelieving spirit of the world cannot comprehend.
Indeed, this book does not diminish the power of God. Every step of the way, Corrie demonstrates with evidence (tangible and intangible) how God gave them everything they needed to do everything He asked of them. Many times, they didn’t see His hand until after undergoing a test of faith, and only afterward did they realize He’d been at work.
I love everything about this story, and I think everyone should read it. It’s a WW2 memoir that is almost never a downer…ever! It’s edifying and uplifting while also not shying away from the horrors and atrocities.
I’m amazed by how readable and riveting the writing is.
Great for kids who are starting to read on their own
This short book came with our homeschool curriculum, and my little boys enjoyed it. They easily could’ve read it themselves. It’s perfect for early readers (big font, few words on a page). And it has a strong Christian message.
Our protagonist, Kuri, is a young boy who lives in an African village where missionaries have converted his father to Christianity. It’s customary to pray to the spirits when planting your yearly yams, but Kuri’s father prays to Jesus instead. He gets pushback from the village Head Men, who warn him that the spirits will blight his crop.
The book is about what happens to Kuri and his family. Does God come through for them?
I like that this book shows that, after becoming a Christian, your life isn’t perfect, but you have God to turn to when tough times come. I also really liked how Kuri’s father prays for the Head Men instead of expressing hatred.
This wasn’t overly satisfying in the plot or character departments, but for a Christian kids’ book, it stands above the crowd.
When a young woman in regency-era England is forced to flee home, where will she turn?
This is the second Julie Klassen book that I’ve DNFed since the beginning of the year. I tried listening to Castaway in Cornwall on audio first, and then I got bored at the 35 percent mark. I decided to start this one, and I find that I’m forcing myself to go back to the audiobook…I have no desire to continue, so I’m going to just stop.
I don’t know if it’s the audio format or if it’s just not the right time for a regency romance. The books aren’t bad, but I think they’re lacking the conflict and emotion that I’m craving right now.
There are times when a relatively sedate and buttoned-up story is just the ticket. But, that’s falling flat for me at the moment.
Not giving up on you, Jules! I’ll be back.
Content warnings: Nothing graphic, but there was one scene when a man made unwanted advances toward the protagonist, and she got away.
This would make the perfect high school graduation gift for a Christian kid. This is a short, practical method to getting things done that comes from a Christian perspective. It wasn’t earth-shattering for me, but I can imagine it would be super helpful for my teenage nephews who are about to embark upon Real Life after high school.
This is my first interaction with Challies, so I don’t know him in any other context besides this book, but I liked what he had to say about centering life on loving God and serving others. We’re not getting more things done just so that we can amass wealth and accomplishments and fame. We’re trying to steward our lives in a way that will honor God because we love and revere Him, and we acknowledge that He is in charge of our plans and path.
I think this book would’ve felt more “new” if I hadn’t read Mystie Winkler’s planner book. She draws on several of his frameworks, including a weekly review. I liked the planner book a lot because it’s specifically for moms, and it felt more relevant to my situation right now.
I’m not a big app person. I do much better with paper and ink, but I can apply the general principles attached to the digital tools (Todoist, Google Calendar, and Evernote) to my paper planner. I did enjoy the section on Serve and Surprise. I like the idea of surprising people by going over and above.
