Some of my favorite books these days are in the YA or middle grade categories, so let me be clear from the start of this review: you don’t have to be a young adult to read this book. And you don’t have to be any certain age to enjoy it.
Shawn Smucker’s The Edge of Over There is the long-awaited sequel to The Day the Angels Fell. It’s hard to talk about one book without talking about the other, and without revealing any spoilers, but I’ll try. (The cover is SO pretty. I love a good book cover!)
This is YA fiction with spiritual themes at its best. Page after page, I couldn’t stop reading. Smucker’s stunning writing drew me right into Abra’s adventure to find the next Tree of Life and the story was over before I knew it. This follow-up is even better than the first book in the series. (Your really need to read them both, so pause in your reading and go order TWO books for your summer reading!)
Smucker explores themes of good-and-evil, life-and-death, and what happens after we die. And it’s definitely an exploration, a creative and hopeful imagining of what’s to come rather than a firm declaration. I can’t say enough about this book! (I read an advance digital copy provided by the publisher. Review reflects my honest opinion.)
Here are a couple of my favorite lines that illustrate why I think it’s for young or older adults.
“Can those of us facing the winter of our lives somehow gather the courage to believe spring will come again?”
And:
“Maybe children are the only ones brave and true enough to save the world.”
Anne Bogel, of Modern Mrs. Darcy and What Should I Read Next, has described Smucker’s writing as “Neil Gaiman meets Madeleine L’Engle,” so if you like what those authors have to offer, I’m going to strongly encourage you to check out this series.
Buy it for your kids if you must, but make sure you sneak a read for yourself when they’re finished.
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