6/9/2020
There are so few middle-school fantasies that have anything like a loving God watching over his people and responding to them.
Whenever I submit a book to my publisher, I am supposed to come up with 3 recent, widely-read books that are similar to mine. I always use one of C. S. Lewis’ Narnia books even though they’re not recent. I’ve used books by Lynne Jonnell, which I’ll probably use again, and I’ve stretched things to include E. D. Baker, Andrew Peterson, and S. D. Smith, but I really wanted to find a new one before I submit Benk and the Ugly Princess—the last of the Montaland series.
So I have been desperately reading and have ACTUALLY FOUND ONE. Jessica Day George’s Castle Glower series that begins with Tuesdays at the Castle and ends with Saturdays at Sea isn’t a Christian series, but it does have a castle that is alive and watches over its people, responding to them when they ask for help. Each of these stories has its trauma and upsets, but there’s that overarching presence of something living that is kind and good and powerful.
It’s not exactly the same. The Christian God is much more powerful and good than the castle, which has weaknesses and limitations. However, it’s similar and I am delighted to have found these books.
