Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

shawn smucker

Don’t let the genre keep you away: Review of The Edge of Over There by Shawn Smucker

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.

 

Second time as captivating as the first: Review of The Day the Angels Fell by Shawn Smucker

A lot has changed since the first time I read this book, back when it was Kickstarter funded and self-published. I mean, the story itself is mostly the same, but my appreciation for young adult and middle grade fiction has grown.

So, it’s no surprise that I enjoyed my second read of The Day the Angels Fell by Shawn Smucker even more than my first. (I gave it 5 stars years ago, I wish I could give it more now. Also, I received a copy of the book from the publisher.)

What I said before is true: The Day the Angels Fell is a captivating debut novel from a talented author and blogger who takes time to see the world in a way few others do.

Part bedtime story, part fictional memoir, part adventure story, I loved this tale of Sam and Abra and what happened after Sam’s mother died. I kept turning the pages because I had no idea what was going to happen next or how things were going to work out. (I didn’t remember all the details from the first go-round this time, either.) As with Lord of the Rings, I couldn’t be sure Sam would make the right decisions (or the ones I thought he should make) until the very end. And I liked how we got two perspectives on Sam’s life–what happened when he was a boy, and him as an old man about to attend a funeral.

This is not an action-packed kind of page-turner but more like a walk through the woods with bends and curves and hills and valleys and you’re never quite sure where the story is going but you keep following the path because the scenery is so beautiful and you’re curious to discover where you’ll end up.

Even though it’s a young adult book, adults should be quick to scoop this one up because the themes are just as important for us to consider. I am now more eager for the sequel, which releases next summer, and just love how this book has blossomed in the hands of a traditional publisher.