I don't have a lot of experience with Adventures in Odyssey, which is loosely tied to this series of books. In Darien's Rise, the first installment of the Passages series, a couple of adults discover and read an old story one of them found in a trunk from an estate sale. The story is about two kids who find an old house in the woods and are supernaturally transported to another place and time.What's cool about this story is that it's based on a story from the Bible. In this case, it's based on parts of the life of King David.I haven't read a lot of middle grade fiction, but I really enjoyed this book. It is well-written and the parallels are not obvious but also not so subtle that you have to have studied the Old Testament in depth to know it.The books are promoted as a fresh look at familiar stories, and I would agree with that label. I'm looking forward to reading more of these.
I read this series as a child, and enjoyed them immensely, and recently started reading them to my younger brother- who, incidentally, is named Kyle. That made the experience ten times better, I must say, to narrate a story while giving pointed looks at my brother whenever the character did something juvenile or awesome.I love the story, and when reading out loud I sometimes found myself acting out the scenes, instead of just reading them. It's engaging and entertaining, and the story is a well done parallel to the Biblical story of King David. It's always refreshing to find a gem like this; an interesting children's book, with a good Christian message, that's easy to read. I would recommend to any Christian, though even those who don't follow Christianity could enjoy the book. I think it's a good book for a kid to read on their own, but also a good one to be read aloud.
