Book Review: Samara's Peril

Samara's Peril by Jaye L. Knight

Recommended for: Ages 14 to Adult

Rating: PG-13 (for violence and references to rape; one woman was attacked by a ryrik in the past and a young man tries to drag off a young woman. He is prevented from doing anything, but later accuses another of the same act. All very well handled.)

When news arrives that Emperor Daican has been in contact with his chief war strategist, it signals potential doom for the country of Samara. Determined to intervene, the resistance in Landale, headed by Lady Anne, embark on a covert mission in hopes of unearthing further information. However, a shocking discovery leads to complications no one could have foreseen.

Armed with their newfound knowledge, they set out for Samara to warn the king. War is inevitable, and they must face two desperate battles—one on the walls of Samara’s great stronghold, and the other on the battlefield of Jace’s heart, where victory might only be achievable through great sacrifice.

Available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks!

Samara's Peril. Book three of the amazing Ilyon Chronicles. Each book in Ilyon just gets better. I loved this book, every bit of it. It's intense and heartbreaking, but has such happy moments as well. There were parts where my whole body was tense, and there were parts where I'm pretty sure I was probably grinning like a silly idiot. Parts that I've reread many times, parts that make me very happy, parts that make me sad, parts that fill me with hope. I'm just going to go ahead and say that I highly recommend it.

Writing: 5/5

Yep, the writing is just as good as in previous installments. I really felt the intensity and sorrow, the happiness and hope. Jaye really gets into her characters' heads. I felt all of Jace's struggles, experienced his trials and successes, resonated with Kyrin's emotions. I look at the way Jaye does things to figure out how to write deep character point of view.

Setting: 5/5

And the new stuff. Because the old settings are consistent with previous books. We visit Ashwood, the home of Sir Rothas. It's kind of like a clean version of Downton Abbey, but it fits perfectly within the Arcacian worldbuilding. We also visit the country of Samara in this book. It's got a different feel from Arcacia, but it works very well. And the Biblical parallels. One after another stood out to me as I was reading. I don't want to give too much away, but the allegorical side of the story is very powerful, in my opinion. I thought it was very well done.

Plot: 5/5

The storyline includes finding out Jace's backstory as well as significant progress in Jace and Kyrin's relationship. Of course it's amazing. :) Jace finds out his backstory and it has both positive and negative effects. That part of the story is definitely packed with conflict, and is kind of stressful, but never dull. Then they go to Samara as Jace is on a downward spiral. Battles ensue, both on a spiritual level and on a physical level. I thought the plot was well constructed, flowed well, and made sense. There was a perfect balance of external conflict, internal turmoil, and sweet squeal-worthy moments. Loved it all.

Character Development: 5/5

Jace and Kyrin. <3 I love those two. Their relationship does take some stress in this book, but they come out better than they were before. I just love how three dimensional the characters are. I met my most hated Ilyon villain in this book. I cannot stand Rothas. I want him to die. Please, Jaye? ;) But Elanor is so sweet, Charles is awesome, and so is Rachel, James needs a good mentor, Balen is a great king...all the new characters add so much to the story. We get plenty of Kyrin's family, we see Rayad, some of Trask...oh, and Anne was fantastic in this book. Definitely some "Go, Anne!" moments. Leetra is softening ever so slightly, Timothy and Aaron have some roles. And there's Elon. I wasn't exactly expecting it in this book, but I can't see it happening any other way. He was exactly what Jace needed, and it was powerful.

So good. Because of some Ashwood details, I'd recommend it for mid teens and up, but definitely recommended.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

About the Author
Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Etsy.

Shameless backward plug:

To all you fellow Ilyon fans, my sister and I made Tyra plushies that we have for sale on Etsy. :) Go check them out.

Giveaway
Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed giveaway pack! Prizes include an autographed copy of Samara’s Peril, a John 3:16 necklace by FaithWearDesigns, and a green wire dragon bookmark by Wirelings! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Find the rest of the blog tour here! 

Movie Review: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Recommended for: Ages 8 to Adult (younger if familiar with book)

Rating: PG (for battle sequences and frightening moments)

Join Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter, four siblings who step through a magical wardrobe and find the land of Narnia. There, they discover a charming, once-peaceful kingdom that has been plunged into eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Aided by the magnificent lion Aslan, the children lead Narnia into a tremendous, climactic battle to be free of the Witch's glacial powers forever!

This will ever and always be my favorite movie. Since I first saw it about ten years ago, I have seen it enough times to unintentionally memorize the entire film, and yet it never gets old. The magic of Narnia is always new, always beautiful, and the depth of the story, the true meaning behind it, it always fills me with awe, no matter which format of the story I'm experiencing. Last weekend, watching it because the snow we received reminded me all day of Narnia, was no different. I love every second, and I always come away with something new.

Technical: 5/5

This film was excellently made. It was Disney. They do the best work. The attention to detail is amazing. The roots of the lamppost, the carvings on the wardrobe that tell the story of The Magician's Nephew, the costumes (all of which I absolutely love), how real and lived in both Mr. Tumnus and the beavers' houses are, the way the White Witch's ice crown melts throughout the movie, it's brilliant. The acting is fantastic. Something that really stuck out to me this time around was the interaction between Peter (William Mosely) and Lucy (Georgie Henley). It was just so real. Will made you believe that he really was Georgie's big brother. The little gestures, like how he takes her hand to help her along, how he is always taking care of her, pay attention to that next time. You can't beat acting like that. It was very well written as well. While I could complain about forced dialogue in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010), there is no call for that in this film. There are a few changes I wish they hadn't made, but even so, it is quite a faithful adaptation, one of Disney's best. Gotta mention the music. I love it to pieces. After all, it's the soundtrack that started my continuing addiction to film score.

Setting: 4.8/5

I personally think they did a superb job of creating Narnia for the screen. I only deducted a bit of a point because I decided I didn't like the way they did the dryads. It's cool having them materialize out of flower petals, but it's not how they're described in the book, nor is it consistent with their portrayal in Prince Caspian. And while someone inevitably says that the White Witch's castle wasn't that close to Beaversdam in the book, they didn't really condense it all that much. According to the map, it's not as far as you would think. It's all in Lantern Waste. Knowing the history of Narnia, they were able to really dig in deep and portray it, like with the lamppost. The Stone Table, Beruna, the breathtaking Castle of Cair Paravel, it's all perfect. Faithful to the book. 

Plot: 4.8/5

As I said before, there are a few things I wish they hadn't changed, though overall, I think they did a spectacular job of adapting the book. I don't mind them adding more battle, I don't mind Lucy first entering Narnia during hide-and-seek, I don't mind the added river scene, I don't even mind the upped tension. I do wish they hadn't cut so much of Aslan breathing life back into the statues at the Witch's Castle, I think having them run after breaking the window wasn't such a good idea, and having the Witch sit down after Aslan roars at her isn't nearly as effective as having her run out of the camp. But even with the changes, it is a most powerful story. I've talked about it before, in my Friday Favorite about the book. It never ceases to amaze me. All the parallels! Edmund was so nasty. He was cruel to Lucy, he betrayed his family without a thought, and yet, Aslan gave up His life to save him. It's such a picture of the True Story. Just as Edmund had to die for his treachery, we have to die for our sins. Just as Aslan gave up his life that Edmund might live, Jesus gave up His life that we might be redeemed. And just as Aslan came back to life to bring hope and salvation to Narnia, Jesus came back to life to bring hope and salvation to us. And as Aslan says in Dawn Treader, "This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."

Character Development: 5/5

Spectacular. Fantastic. The characters were well developed in the books and, while they strayed from the book in this department as in others in Prince Caspian, they were quite accurate in this one. Susan is, perhaps, slightly more skeptical than in the book, and the beavers are a bit more, um, interesting, but the children and Mr. Tumnus and Aslan and the Witch, they were so well done. I could go into each character individually and their characteristics and how they were portrayed, but I'm not here to write a book on the subject, and I need to finish this review. But Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy were so real and accurately portrayed and well acted. Also worth mentioning is the Professor. There's a bit more to him than in the book, but considering we know his backstory when C.S. Lewis had yet to make it up when writing this book, I'm very glad of the little things they threw in to the way he reacted to what the children said about Narnia.

I will always love Narnia. It will always touch my heart. It will always help me to see and understand things I haven't before. It will always have a special place in my heart.

Friday Favorites: The Chronicles of Narnia

The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

Recommended For: All Ages

Rating: PG

Four adventurous siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie—step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change . . . and a great sacrifice.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the first book in the magical series The Chronicles of Narnia, a wondrous fantasy adventure for all ages. The next book in this amazing series is titled Prince Caspian.

When I was four and I had just recently started listening to stories at night with my older two siblings, my parents decided to introduce us to the wonderful world of Narnia, and we read all seven books out loud at night (not the same night, many multiple nights until we finished them). Ever since, The Chronicles of Narnia have been a beloved favorite that the movies never have lived up to. It is my humble opinion that either you love Narnia, you read them in the wrong order (I know quite a few people who have done so), or you haven't been introduced.

Let's see, what can I say about The Chronicles of Narnia? They're awesome, they're wonderful, they have great scope for imagination...did you know that it never says in the book that Edmund was stabbed in the stomach by the White Witch's wand? (I guess we all just assumed...)

But for all you non-Narnia fans out there, you need to go read them. Now. Start with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or you probably won't love them. I don't care what everybody including the publishers say: you cannot start with The Magician's Nephew. End of story. I could give you a dozen reasons, but I will refrain. Still, though...

If you asked me what is my favorite Narnia book, I really couldn't tell you. They all have such wonderful memories and are just so awesome...but if I had to pick, I would probably pick The Last Battle. Not just because everything's (literally) perfect at the end, but because...it's so awesome. (I know, I'm using that word a lot. Bear with me here.) Shift infuriates me, and yet, he is part of what makes me love the book so much. He's so much like men of today, and how they triumph over him...it's just awesome.

Who's my favorite character? I don't know. Aslan? I love him, but...maybe Lucy, or Peter. Possibly Shasta or Aravis, Eustace or Jill, Rilian, or perhaps Caspian. I love Tirian, and you can't forget Reepicheep. And then Digory and Polly... They're just all so wonderful.

These books are a classic for a reason. Nobody, and I mean nobody should miss out on them. And you can't just watch the movies, either. The Wonderworks version is not very well made, and while The Silver Chair is a mostly faithful adaption, they...probably aren't worth it. (Except The Silver Chair, maybe.) And plus, the beavers in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe are seriously creepy.



See? Creepy.

The newer movies...The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is enough like the book to be good, but Disney ruined Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader wasn't very well made and the screenplay definitely wasn't well-written. Basically, if you want to be perfectly happy with them, sick to the books. And please read them. In the proper order. Now I'm off to work on a fanfic with Jace from Ilyon Chronicles in it.

Book Review: The King's Scrolls

The King's Scrolls by Jaye L. Knight

Recommended for: Ages 12 to Adult

Rating PG-13 (violence, injuries, and dangerous situations)

Following the harrowing events that brought them to Landale Forest, Jace and Kyrin have settled comfortably into their new lives and the mission of protecting those under the emperor’s persecution. The fast approach of winter brings with it the anticipation of a quiet few months ahead. That is until the arrival of four mysterious, dragon-riding cretes who seek aid in a mission of great importance—not only to their own people, but to all followers of Elôm.

Hidden in the vast mining valley north of Valcré, a faithful crete has spent years sharing his knowledge with the destitute miners and their families and is known to possess what may be Arcacia’s last surviving copies of the King’s Scrolls—the Word of Elôm. Joining the cretes, those in Landale must find the crete teacher and bring him to safety, but it is a race against time. Should Daican’s men find him first, execution and the destruction of the Scrolls is certain.

When disaster strikes, all seems lost. Could Elôm have a plan even in the enemy’s triumph?

Available on Amazon!

Buy Now 

Remember back to last year when I said how amazing Resistance was? I still hold to all that, but you know what? It pales in comparison to the awesomeness of The King's Scrolls. Seriously, every book I've read by Jaye/Molly has been better than her previous book. And with Ilyon Chronicles...well, I think C. S. Lewis may have ceded first place. I can't recommend Ilyon highly enough. In case you were wondering, I am still a beta reader, but that has nothing to do with my being a part of this small but wonderful fandom. (And, yes, we do claim fandom status.)

Writing: 5/5

TKS is just as well written as Resistance. Jaye really gives the reader insight into the characters' thoughts. This book is a lot more emotionally painful than the last one (warning, if you cry over books, have a box of tissues ready), and she does an extremely good job of showing it to the reader. I've only cried over one book, and I've now read this one three times, and I was still on the verge of tears multiple times while reading it. I like the pacing. It's not zoom through the plot like my books are (I'm working hard to fix that), nor does it drag like (I'm sorry) Lord Of The Rings sometimes does. It's terrific. And even though the one I just read was an ARC, it was already free of typos. At least I didn't notice any, and they usually stick out to me.

Setting: 5/5

Arcacia is the same Arcacia it was before...only Daican is taking things further. The events of Resistance have made things even more dangerous for followers of Elôm. We get to see a little more of Ilyon in this book, mining towns where some new characters are introduced. Also, cretes are introduced in this book, which means the introduction of a new culture. It's certainly very different. I hope some of the characters someday get to go to a crete village EDIT: since writing this, I've learned they will go to a crete village sometime! because it sounds pretty cool, even if cretes are generally kind of unfriendly. And dragons! The dragons are amazing, and I love the way Jaye handled them. I love Gem especially. Jaye's worldbuilding is solid, and the reveals are steady and realistic as the characters learn more about the world around them. Also, some old settings are revisited, and of course camp is a part of it.

Plot: 5/5

The plot is pretty awesome, and terrible at the same time. Jaye's pretty mean to her characters. There were plot twists that left me gasping, events that made me just about cry, and tense situations that made me not want to put the book down. Something I really liked about this one was that Jace and Kyrin were together for pretty much the whole book. It was great. There is a separate storyline, that of Timothy and Aaron and Josan, but it converges with that of the old characters before the midpoint is reached. There's a lot more of Kyrin's family in this book, which I loved. Really great.

Character Development: 5/5

Lots of Jace and Kyrin. They have grown quite a bit since they were first introduced, but in a completely natural way. I loved seeing how their friendship deepened, and how much they care about one another, though I wouldn't call it a romance yet. And I love Jace more the more I read about him. I've always connected to Kyrin, and I still do, but I've come to really love Jace. He's such a great guy, but so tortured by his past. And tortured in other ways. He's collecting fangirls, and it's not hard to see why. I loved seeing more of Kaden with his love of flying. Besides the fact that I still just love twins. Kyrin and Kaden are the perfect set of twins. I was able to get to know Marcus and Liam a lot more in this book. It took me a while to like Marcus, but I do now. We also get to meet the rest of Kyrin's family. Some new characters are introduced: half-crete brothers Timothy and Aaron and the crete Josan, cretes Captain Darq, Talas, Leetra, and Falcor. All are quite well developed. Leetra is especially well developed. She can be kind of prickly, but she also goes through some tough things. They further fill out the cast and add just what the story needs. I still like Jace and Kyrin best, though. :)

The King's Scrolls is an excellent next installment in the Ilyon Chronicles, and is better than the first. I highly recommend it.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Blog Tour

Today is more than just a review, though. It's a part of the blog tour celebrating the release of The King's Scrolls! And so we have some extra goodies to go along with it.

Giveaway

Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed Epic Winter giveaway! Prize pack includes an autographed copy of The King’s Scrolls, a CD by Future World Music (some of Jaye’s favorite writing music), a dragon bookmark, a stone hawk pendant (much like the ones mentioned in the book), and a few packages of Twining’s Winter Spice tea to sip while you read! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Find the rest of the blog tour here!

About the Author

Jaye L. Knight is a homeschool graduated indie author with a passion for writing Christian fantasy and clean new adult fiction. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Etsy.

Friday Favorites: The Silver Chair

The Silver Chair

 

Rating: PG

Recommended for: All Ages

Jill and Eustace must rescue the Prince from the evil Witch.

NARNIA...where owls are wise, where some of the giants like to snack on humans, where a prince is put under an evil spell...and where the adventure begins.

Eustace and Jill escape from the bullies at school through a strange door in the wall, which, for once, is unlocked. It leads to the open moor...or does it? Once again Aslan has a task for the children, and Narnia needs them. Through dangers untold and caverns deep and dark, they pursue the quest that brings them face and face with the evil Witch. She must be defeated if Prince Rillian is to be saved.

Out of all of the old Narnia movies, this one is my favorite. The technology is not the greatest and some of the animals are abnormally large but it is still a great movie. There are some parts that are cut from the book but other than those couple parts, it is a faithful adaptation. I'm pretty sure that at one time this was my favorite movie and we watched it several times. I loved Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum and I loved the parts with the giants. The man on the cover was always creepy no matter how many times I watched it. I have even seen this movie in German, and it was funny when they talked about falling in the E in "mir" (which is German for me). There are many parts that I loved and thought were funny. I was first introduced to Narnia with the movies so I am more likely to like them when they are not like the books. I hope that they do make a new version of The Silver Chair but even if they do, I will still like the old version, which I have probably seen too many times. One thing that makes it my favorite is that the characters go on a quest, which is also one of the reasons that  The Fellowship of the Ring is my favorite of  The Lord of the Rings.

I would recommend this movie, especially if you're a Narnia fan.

Book Review: Resistance

Resistance by Jaye L. Knight

Recommended for: Ages 12 to Adult

Rating: PG-13 (for violence, torture and threats of torture, and dangerous situations dealing with persecution)

“Don’t you know? Animals like you have no soul.”

Could God ever love a half-blood all of society looks upon with such fear and disdain? Jace once believed so, but when a tragic loss shatters the only peace he’s ever known, his faith crumbles as the nagging doubts he’s tried to put behind him descend on his grieving heart. With them come the haunting memories of the bloodstained past he longs to forget, but can never escape.

Taken from home at a young age and raised to serve the emperor, Kyrin Altair lives every day under a dangerous pretense of loyalty. After her unique observation skills and perfect memory place her into direct service to the emperor, Kyrin finds herself in further jeopardy as it becomes increasingly difficult to hide her belief in Elôm, the one true God.

Following the emperor’s declaration to enforce the worship of false gods under the penalty of death, many lives are endangered. But there are those willing to risk everything to take a stand and offer aid to the persecuted. With their lives traveling paths they never could have imagined, Jace and Kyrin must fight to overcome their own fears and conflicts with society as they become part of the resistance.

I have been a fan of Molly Evangeline/Jaye L. Knight's books since I first read The Pirate Daughter's Promise. I absolutely loved that book, and was pleased to see how her writing improved in later books. In fact, when I first started reading Resistance, I was blown away by how much better her writing is. I mean, Pirates & Faith and Makilien are awesome, loved, and highly recommended, but Ilyon Chronicles is above and beyond those two series put together. So excuse me if I rave a bit. Resistance is amazing. And, if you've been to my writing blog, especially earlier this year, you probably already know that I think that. You should get used to it. I'll probably be saying it again.

When I first received it, I was riveted to my kindle, even reading it in the car in the middle of door to door campaigning. Backing up, I probably made my sisters sick of hearing how excited I was to read it when I finally got the timetable on getting it. As a disclaimer, I did beta read the book, but I loved it tremendously then, and love it even more now that I've read the final version. I'm no more biased toward it than I am towards C. S. Lewis, or Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time.

Writing: 5/5

Pretty obviously, I think the writing in Resistance is fantastic. The character point of view is well done and adds a whole new dimension to the storytelling, the settings are well described, it made me feel the emotions...The writing really pulled me into the story and kept me there, making Ilyon and it's inhabitants a permanent part of my imagination. The book was also extremely well formatted, which pleased me much.

Setting: 5/5

Even before I read Resistance, I got the impression from Jaye's Pinterest boards that the Ilyon worldbuilding was intricate and well developed. It really is. Ilyon is a magic-free fantasy world, but it takes more from Ancient Rome than from medieval times and has a somewhat dystopian feel to it. It is a harsh world, where people are in danger for believing in the one true God rather than in idols. And, I don't know, it just feels very real. You can tell Jaye put a lot of effort into developing the different races and cultures, and it definitely paid off.

Plot: 5/5

The plot of Resistance isn't exactly what one would expect from a fantasy story. It's not a quest, nor is it a battle to free a land from an evil king. It really deals more with things one would expect from historical fiction and futuristic stories: Christians trying to survive in a pagan world, and what happens when they can no longer stay undercover. It really follows two stories which come together towards the end. It has many ups and downs and dangerous situations and a few moments to relax before things just get worse. Resistance has a lot of action. It is clean, but it can get pretty intense at times, which is why I probably wouldn't recommend it for anyone under twelve.

Character Development: 5/5

I'll take the main characters in turn. First, Kyrin. Kyrin Altair is the main girl. She has a perfect memory and a lot of insecurities. She really leans a lot on her twin brother Kaden, and it's hard for her to be without him. It was interesting to see how having a perfect memory might affect someone. I related to her best of all the characters. While my memory is really rather opposite of hers, in almost every other way, I'm like her. Her personality, her shyness around strangers, her timidity about sharing her faith, even her headaches! Seriously, when it described her headaches, I would think, "I know exactly how that feels!"

Kaden. Kaden really really made me wish I had a brother. He has always been there for Kyrin. He wants to protect her and take care of her, and she really needs him, just as he needs her. He's really close to his twin sister, and, to be honest, made me jealous of the close sibling relationship they have. I know, they're fictional characters, but there's a good reason why my favorite character I made up based on me has two triplet brothers.

Jace. The general consensus seems to be that Jace needs a hug, and I agree. Thankfully, he eventually gets a few. He grew up as a slave where people constantly told him that since he was half ryrik he was a soulless animal. It's terrible to see how much this hurts him. He's tortured with doubts, and has a really difficult time not condemning himself as a dangerous animal. He's not, not by a long shot. He's a really great guy, if only he would see it. I only wish I didn't have to wait until book 3 for Jace and Kyrin to fall in love. Yes, that will be book 3. No, I never miss a series Facebook post.

Other honorable mentions. Emperor Daican was a very well done villain. He really was made to be human rather than evil incarnate. That being said, he's still the villain of the story. His son Daniel was a particularly interesting character, and my sister's favorite. I was glad to interview him during the blog tour. Rayad was great as a mentor, Holden made an interesting minor antagonist, and I loved what we get to see of Kyrin and Kaden's family.

Wow, this is probably the longest book review I've ever written. Resistance deserves it, after all, the book is about 500 pages long. If you haven't picked up on it already, which I'm sure you have, I highly recommend Resistance, Ilyon Chronicles book 1. It's exciting to know there are still 5 more books in the series, all bound to be better than the last.

Friday Favorites: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

Recommended for: All Ages

Rating: PG (mild action)

They open a door and enter a world.

NARNIA...the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy...the place where the adventure begins.

Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first, no one believes her when she tells of her adventures in the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund and then Peter and Susan discover the Magic and meet Aslan, the Great Lion, for themselves. In the blink of an eye, their lives are changed forever.

I'm a huge fan of The Chronicles of Narnia, so it seemed appropriate to kick off Friday Favorites with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I also firmly believe the original published order is the best reading order, so don't try to tell me I'm starting with book 2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is really the introduction into Narnia, with all the wonder of describing a whole new world through the wardrobe door. It also sets the foundation for the whole series. So don't start with The Magician's Nephew. I've had too many people tell me they tried to start with it and thought it was boring. (Okay, not all that many, but still.) It's place is later.

At the surface, it's a beautiful tale of discovery, a world frozen by an evil queen, waiting for deliverance. It's a tale of heroism, of ordinary children who deliver a land to freedom, but it's so much more than that, and it's so much more than that because of Aslan. C. S. Lewis said that he didn't know where to go with the story until "Aslan came bounding in." And it's so true.

Without Aslan, the winter would never be destroyed.

 "Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again."--LWW Chapter 8

Without Aslan, the White Witch would never have been defeated.

"Or have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch, Peter?"--Lucy, Prince Caspian (2008 movie)

Without Aslan, Edmund would not have been redeemed.

"...when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward."--LWW Chapter 15

There's so much about Narnia to love...the characters, the worldbuilding, Lewis's way of telling a story...but Aslan is the best part. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a glorious tale of adventure and redemption and that's why I love it so much.

Book Review: The Door Within Trilogy

The Door Within Trilogy by Wayne Thomas Batson

Recommended for: 10 and up

Rating: PG (for violence)

Aidan Thomas is miserable. Within two weeks, Aidan’s life is completely uprooted as his parents move the family across the country to care for his ailing grandfather. The quiet but imaginative Aidan is struggling with attending a new school and fitting in with a new group of friends. But when he begins having nightmares and eerie events occur around his neighborhood, Aidan finds himself drawn to his grandfather's basement—where he discovers three ancient scrolls and a mysterious invitation to another world.

No longer confined to the realm of his own imagination, Aidan embarks on an adventure where he discovers a long-fought war between good and evil. With the fate of two worlds hanging in the balance, Aidan faces Paragory, the eternal enemy with unfathomable power. Will Aidan be willing to risk everything and trust the unseen hand of the one true King?

 I read this trilogy, and though I enjoyed it there were some things that needed work. It was through discussing this trilogy that my sister came up with the idea for a review blog.

Writing: 5/5

The writing was pretty good at telling the story and the descriptions were also well done, though it annoyed me that the different parts of armor were put in italics. There was a sentence that didn't make very much sense, but overall the writing was pretty good.

 Setting: 4/5

The worldbuilding was good and each city and region was unique. The characters from each place reflect where they're from. However, the maps in the books were not consistent. In the first book the Blue Mountain Provinces are east of Paragory and in the third book the Blue Mountain Provinces are west of Paragory. I thought the concept of the fantasy world was unique. The two worlds are connected, since they split from one another in the Great Schism. Everyone from this world has an identical counterpart in The Realm, called a Glimpse.

Plot: 3/5

The plot is unique with the Mirror Realm. The plot was exciting but in the first book they are trying to get to a city quickly, and even though they own dragons that they ride, they take unicorns instead. In the second book they use their allies' dragons. It is not until the third book that they start using their own dragons. Another thing was in the first book when they're marching toward enemy territory, they don't leave a watch. I liked the parts in our world and I wish that he had put stuff about the Glimpse twins being on Earth. The ending wasn't cliche at all.

Character Development: 3/5

The characters were unique, but it took the whole first book to get attached to Aidan. In the second book there is a different main character for the majority of the book. Wayne Thomas Batson also tries to focus on too many characters and the character guides don't always put in the minor characters from earlier parts. This made it hard to remember who they are.

Even though there are some problems with the story, it is still worth reading and I am glad to have read it.