This second volume in the Threshold series stands, as did the series debut, with one foot in the clouds—amid an epic battle of angels and demons—and another planted firmly on the Earth, entrenched in the ordinary lives of the Pomeroy family.
In this relatively slow-paced sequel, 14-year-old Prissie Pomeroy learns that an angel has been kidnapped right from her family’s apple orchard. The other angels she knows—some of whom are members of her community in human guise—are trying to locate and rescue him. The angels are also concerned with protecting Prissie; she is important to the mission of the angels in some way and is in serious danger, but the nature of her role is not made clear. Scenes of angels and occasionally demons going about their mysterious, ethereal business are woven into the more commonplace story of a young woman dealing with complicated friendships and family dynamics. While the angels-and-demons subplot is a bit baffling, the more realistic elements of the narrative, such as the scenes that describe Prissie’s struggles with jealousy of the time and attention her father devotes to his bakery assistant, are well-executed and resonant.
A slow but ultimately successful installment in a serviceable Christian fiction series aimed at middle-grade readers. (order of angels, discussion questions) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: April 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-310-72489-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Zondervan
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT RELIGIOUS FICTION
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A spiritual adventure balances strong Christian messages of family and faith with the challenges of being a teenager on a farm.
This first installment in the Threshold series introduces 14-year-old Prissie Pomeroy, the only daughter in her family (she has five brothers). Life for Prissie on her family farm is pretty mundane: The highlight of her week is a visit from the friendly letter carrier, Milo. However, one day a heavenly visitor changes everything, especially her interactions with Milo, who turns out to be an angel sent to help deliver her a message. This revelation rocks Prissie’s world, with the appearance of angels testing her deep faith and opening her eyes to the many ethereal beings that surround humankind, including her own guardian angel. Kinde dedicates much of this first volume to laying the foundation for the series and clearly defining the hierarchy of angels, which range from protectors to messengers. Although the tale is short on adventure, the majority of chapters open with a short snippet of text featuring fallen angels that hints of great danger for Prissie in future installments. In tandem with Prissie’s attempts to reconcile her new ethereal companions are her struggles to maintain friendships and deal with growing pains.
A Christian fantasy with a wholesome message and down-on-the-farm twist. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-310-72419-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT RELIGIOUS FICTION
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Travels in time give a middle-class girl the courage to fight for both women's suffrage and her own dreams.
Sixteen-year-old Miriam, lover of typography, wants nothing more than to train at her father's print shop. But respectable, well-to-do girls don't work with heavy machinery in 1912 Portland, Ore. Miriam's immigrant Jewish parents, proud of the future they've built from poverty, intend an advantageous marriage for their only living child. If befriending a lovely pair of poor young suffragists isn't enough to make Miriam rebel, what is? Perhaps time travel is what she needs. Miriam is visited by her biblical relative, Serakh, who begs Miriam to travel back in time to help her ancestors. The daughters of Zelophehad seek a favor from Moses, and Miriam is needed to provide them with courage. Miriam pops back and forth between worlds: well-to-do Portland, where she makes morning calls and attends fancy-dress parties; biblical Moab; and the equally exotic, alien environment of suffragist marches and working-class neighborhoods. It takes all three to help her find the initiative, empathy and common sense to help push her toward adulthood.
In the spirit of Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic (1988), with a mix of historical details about the women's-suffrage movement and early printing, tied together with a very Jewish thread of historical continuity . (Historical fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-932010-41-1
Page Count: 296
Publisher: Ooligan Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
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