Adventures In Odyssey Passages Series: Arin's Judgment
Gr 5-8-Inspired by C. S. Lewis's use of fantasy in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, this series retells stories from the Bible with names, details, and the setting altered to provide a new perspective. Children should have no difficulty connecting this story to that of Noah, and the messages of repentance and salvation are clearly presented. In the months following Japan's surrender in 1945, Wade Mullins and his mother wait anxiously for word of his father, missing in action in the Pacific. While recovering from a bout of flu, Wade goes down to the cellar and is suddenly transported to another world, called Marus, where his blond hair marks him as the final sign of a coming apocalypse. He finds himself in the home of Arin, who has been led by the Unseen One to build a shelter to preserve himself, his family, and a group of animals from the destruction of their world. Wade is captured by agents of a power-hungry politician whose henchman probes the boy's knowledge of World War II weaponry and ordinance and enables the chief scientist to develop a bomb that will shift the balance of power in Tyran's favor. However, it is the plague-Wade's flu-that ultimately leads to the predicted destruction of Marus. Strong characterizations and a fast-paced plot will catch readers' interest and draw them into Wade's adventure. McCusker is not Lewis and Marus in not Narnia, but the author has created a believable and coherent fantasy world and told an interesting and meaningful story.-Elaine Fort Weischedel, Franklin Public Library, MACopyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.