THE HUNT FOR THE KRAKEN

An interactive adventure told in the second person that immerses readers in a tale of faith, fantasy, and time travel as their choices drive the story.

The book opens in the present day on a Massachusetts beach, where a father and son are fishing on a jetty. The boy—the “you” in the story—is the only angler who hasn’t caught anything all summer. Standing beside the water, the boy is surprised to see a bright blue light that no one else seems to notice emanating from the 200-year-old lighthouse on the nearby rocks. As Dad works to untangle the boy’s fishing line from a lobster trap, readers are prompted to choose: head over to investigate the lighthouse alone or ask Dad to come along? Later, the blue light transports the boy and his father back in time to the post–Revolutionary War era. The excitement ramps up as they find themselves aboard a ship in the North Sea, and the shady Captain Blackviper reveals that they aren’t hunting whales but searching for the Kraken. The brief chapters open with Bible verses related to the book’s theme. Readers are given a range of choices that demonstrate obedience, friendship, and forgiveness, among other traits, allowing them to see how their choices align with Scripture. Occasional black-and-white illustrations show characters who present white in the historical timeline, and names cue ethnic diversity among the protagonist’s contemporary community.

Well-executed and action-packed; a great choice for Christian action-and-adventure story readers.