phyllish
Written on Oct 29, 2018
My rating is 4.5 stars
“Trust me” Levi encouraged Abrielle, again and again. And though she continued to try, doubts would creep in. She’d trust him for a little while and then something would happen. She was probably wise for that, after all, he was a total stranger to her.
I loved the way that Abrielle was such a normal girl. She didn’t feel particularly brave. She didn’t have any idea how to fight. And, like me, she had a terrible fear of heights. All of which combined to make her very relatable. She discovered the strength that comes from necessity and the courage that comes from love.
As Abrielle and her twin brother, Brogan (oh how I loved him!) searched for their younger brother, they learned a lot about the importance of hope and faith. And to not rely on what they could see.
Emerald Illusion was an interesting blend of The Wizard of Oz (actually containing bits of several of the Oz stories) and the Chronicles of Narnia. While the events took place in Oz, the spiritual aspect made it seem much more like C.S. Lewis’ works, though that could be simply because I have read those stories about a million times and have only read the complete set of the Oz stories a few times each. But don’t think this means you are going to feel like this is a re-hash of the familiar works. The author used the place and some of the details but made the story her own.
The spiritual aspect of this tale is wonderful! Not many fantasy authors have the ability to translate the truths we know from the Bible into an imaginary world and have it work well, yet that is exactly what was done here. Dealing with issues such as the despair and divisiveness that can come from a lack of hope, learning to trust in what you cannot see, and not giving in to the glittery allure of the world.
This review was originally posted on Among the Reads
I was given a free copy of this item. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.