Thursday, March 14, 2013

Book Review ~ Quest for Celestia



Book Title: Quest for Celestia
Author: Steven James
Publisher: AMG Publishing

Type of Book: Fantasy, Inspirational, YA

I received this book: for free through www.netgalley.com from the publisher for an honest review

My interest in this book: Steven James in an INCREDIBLE storyteller. Though his adult series' are too much for my "safe little world" that doesn't diminish his craft in my eyes at all. For more on him, please visit: http://www.stevenjames.net/   his blog: http://www.asktheauthor.net/ or follow him on twitter: @sjamesauthor

Ideas expressed/massages/plot: A reimagining of the Pilgrim's Progress. Faith, Challenge, our Christian walk. 

Favorite characters, quotes/lines: My oh my there are plenty of quotes and lines to choose from! It is not the characters that drive this story, it is the plot line so do not be disappointed by the depth of  characters; that is not the point of this story. And had James taken more time to develop characters, it would diminish this beautiful storyline. 

In the world: "God is muted, evil is hidden."

As we get set free: "Even the air here seemed richer, fresher, more substantial....I did like how mysterious and inviting the world was beginning to appear." 

"Faith doesn't mean knowing the answers but trusting your way through the question."

As an artist, this last quote was most moving to me: 
"'We aren't given dreams so we can define them, Kadin, but so that we can see truth from another angle.'   'But how can we know truth if we can't define it?'   'I heard a story once about a musician, a flutist. She was truly magnificent, inspired, and one day she performed before the king. After her performance, he was stunned and said to her, "Your song, your music--it moved me. It was powerful. But I have one question: what did it mean?" And the flutist replied, "Your Majesty, if I could tell you what the song meant, I wouldn't have had to play it."'"

When I finished this book I felt: Good. Moved. Shaken. It makes me think and process. It is not a "feel good" book but rather a wonderful teaching and growing tool. Jesus taught using parables to make the people think and change and process what was important and what was not. Steven James does that well through his story telling.

Overall: This is an excellent book I would recommend be on every Christian's book shelf. 5 stars. Recommended for teens+




No comments:

Post a Comment