IF I COULD FLOAT ON A CLOUD, WHERE WOULD I GO?

A hospital-bound child offers messages of hope in a Christian novel by debut author Smith.

Kipper is about 6 years old and has never known life outside of a hospital. When that young narrator first appears in this inspirational novel, he is in the intensive care unit, and his future on Earth is anything but certain. Yet Kipper is not one to fret. He has a penchant for drawing (his artwork appears throughout the book), a love of clouds, and, after a chance encounter with a young Chinese girl, a personal relationship with Jesus. Kipper’s body may not have much mobility, but his mind is free to roam. And roam it does over topics like the beauty of nature, the free will of humans, and the importance of trusting completely in God. Even as Kipper becomes weaker physically, his spiritual self grows. He learns not to worry, and he encourages readers to do the same with statements such as, “Everything, good and bad, happens for a reason, beyond our own understanding through life.” Kipper’s spiritual progress, though largely predictable, provides a force for reflection. If someone with so little, whose entire life has been so confined, can find so much reason to rejoice, why can’t everyone else? Certain parts of this tale lack much in the way of substance, however. A toy sailboat race has him describing every sailboat and its construction. Kipper also describes every child who participates in the race. This information is no more enticing or motivational than it sounds. Nor is the event made more exciting by the reader’s being told: “It was so exciting to watch, as this race unfolded!” In the end, though, Kipper’s lesson is as lasting as his circumstances are difficult, and some readers might learn much from a boy on the brink of death who finds no reason to give in to despair.

A simple yet potent message from a child who’s a sometimes-bland messenger.