Genre:
Fantasy / YA
Fantasy / YA
Emerald Illusion
by J. Rodes
| -From Goodreads- Abrielle finds herself in the middle of a realm everyone had heard of but no one believed existed. When she meets a boy named Levi, she finds out there is nothing safe about Oz. However, there is something beneath the darkness… something she needs to grasp. If only she has the courage to believe. ASIN: B07MTRCBB6 It was a simple walk in the woods...or was it? I'm going to just lay it out there right off the bat. As a Christian YA fantasy novel, I liked Emerald Illusion. As an Oz story, I didn't care for it. To be honest, even though I am a Christian and like Christian fantasy I am not a fan of older stories being Christianized, especially when the originals were definitely secular and could be quite political. While it's been a number of years since I read nearly all of the Oz books from L. Frank Baum, I do remember enough that placing Jesus in that particular fantasy realm kinda bothered me. Don't get me wrong, I have seen a select few different takes on Oz, from the old 1939 movie, the Tin Man miniseries, and the 2013 Oz The Great And Powerful movie. And I really enjoyed the first two I mentioned. But... |  This Book received a 3.5 Bark rating.
 J. Rodes |
When I mentally separated J. Rodes's Christian fantasy tale from the Oz theme, studying it for its own merits, I really liked the book. It's a definite allegory so there is a surprising amount of theology in there while still entertaining. Abrielle's struggles, well pretty much all of the main characters too, with anger, bitterness, temptation, and lack of hope, are something that I think readers of all ages can understand. I also really appreciated author J. Rodes's simple but effective world building skills. Each place came to vividly to life without being overdone, and the variety of peoples and creatures was very good. I actually think that my favorite part of the book was the talking mice, which, like in Narnia, are just a bit larger than your average earthly mouse.
I listened to the audiobook version of Emerald Illusion, all 10 and a half hours in about 3 days. Every time I set my phone aside I found myself wondering about the characters and I would find an excuse to turn it back on. I loved the narrator! She had the right voice and imaginative reading style that perfectly captured 17 year old Abrielle. She had quite an arsenal of accents and different voices for all of the characters which made the listening even better.
So, all in all I did enjoy this audiobook and would easily recommend it for a YA audience. Got a long ride or just a long day? Keep your kids busy with some Christian fantasy just for them.
Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Emerald Illusion by J. Rodes a 3.5 Bark rating.
I listened to the audiobook version of Emerald Illusion, all 10 and a half hours in about 3 days. Every time I set my phone aside I found myself wondering about the characters and I would find an excuse to turn it back on. I loved the narrator! She had the right voice and imaginative reading style that perfectly captured 17 year old Abrielle. She had quite an arsenal of accents and different voices for all of the characters which made the listening even better.
So, all in all I did enjoy this audiobook and would easily recommend it for a YA audience. Got a long ride or just a long day? Keep your kids busy with some Christian fantasy just for them.
Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Emerald Illusion by J. Rodes a 3.5 Bark rating.
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