REVIEW: Why did I love this book? First of all, because it's rare to find a book my son has not read. (I LOVE having authors as friends!) To give you an idea, da boy read THREE books the other DAY. I have no way to keep up with his reading list. So when *I* hear about a book before *he* does, then it goes on the the-only-way-you-can-read-this-book-is-if-listen-to-Mom-read-it list. (And if the book is good, I get a captive audience!)
My kids were hooked from the beginning with The Kindling. They hated to have me declare bedtime (and usually were able to weasel an extra chapter out of me...yes, I'm a pushover for a little more cuddle time with the kiddos).
But the children weren't the only ones who loved it. I read on the way home from our family vacay and my hubby was joking about turning the car around and driving back to our destination so he could hear more. I really enjoyed it, too. Besides loving the time we spent together reading and enjoying the story line, there were several spots that really resonated with me in terms of just plain ol' truth. I couldn't resist a few moments of momma-commentary here and there as I read, an opportunity I always appreciate. And I confess to getting choked up at a particular point.
Some parental notes: It's a story, as teen fantasy books often are, about the battle between light and dark. As such, it's got some intense moments (it's definitely at the teenish level in that way). It's got a little crush-variety "romance" that elicited some giggles from the kiddos (which elicited smiles from the parents)...enough to acknowledge the normal-ness of crushes at this age without having them do anything crazy or inappropriate. Lastly, a couple of us are pretty sensitive to language, and while he never uses profanity, he does use a few 'substitutes' that my daughter wishes he wouldn't have used, and I'd tend agree with her (I think reading it out loud made those stand out more than they might have otherwise, and I skipped over a couple of them).
But when all is said and done, this book gets my momma thumbs up (and I consider myself a pretty picky momma).
I always like to see my kids' reactions to books like this, and even before we finished it, they were declaring: "He'd better do a sequel!" I should note that Braden is a middle-school teacher, so you can tell he *gets* and *loves* the youth. That shines through in this book.
One last note from my well-read son: He did start to feel like the good vs bad back-and-forth at the end was getting to be almost too much, so after we finished, I wondered if he would give it his thumbs up (he's not afraid to be honest, obviously)...and sure enough, he did. With gusto.
We had a great time with The Kindling. We look forward to Book 2! [Actually, there is now a review forthcoming on Book 2, Penumbras!]
~by The Mom
