My best book of 2006 dates clear back to April: THE BOOK OF STORY BEGINNINGS by Kristin Kladstrup. Nothing else has come close since then. —Mary Lee @ A Year of Reading

Like Inkheart and Inkspell, it delves into questions of self-determination and whether characters have lives independent of their creators, although it’s lighter than that series. —Sheila Ruth @ Wands and Worlds

It seems many childrens’ books these days are written about books. In other words, it’s as if writers are trying a last-ditch effort to revitalize reading among youngsters by writing books that are all about how wonderful books are. Tales like the aforementioned Inkheart, specifically, focus on the “magical” way that books “come to life” by having books within the tale literally do so. Such is the main theme of The Book of Story Beginnings, but unlike Cornelia Funke’s trilogy this book takes a theme that is nearly bursting with potential and downgrades it to a simplistic plot device. What could have led the reader to ponder our ability to “create” and to what degree a creator can claim ownership over his creation… was used merely as the rabbit hole for Alice to fall down.

And while I’ve read Lewis, Tolkien and Rowling, I’m not a big fan of sorcery and magic, so some of the key story elements in the book made me a bit uncomfortable. Reminiscent of the final pages of Blue Balliet’s Chasing Vermeer (and unlike the Harry Potter series), Kladstrup’s tale treats elements of sorcery and witchcraft as real—which is to say, characters employ them exactly as sorcerers and witches “in the real world” would. Because of that, while I enjoyed the story as a story, I would have trouble recommending it to the younger audience it was intended for.

(This is the first of many posts intended to replace Squidoo lenses I’ve created… so if it looks familiar to you, that’s probably why.)

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Quick, Travis… think of something quick!

Well… um… I’m finally going through that Blogathon-surfing page I mentioned earlier…

We’re about to have supper — Nicole’s made some yummy meatballs in the Crock Pot® that are about to fill up some hoagies… and then our tummies.

Katie’s all dressed up like a princess. I’m the “King Papa” and Nicoles’ the “Queen Mama.” (It’s about the only thing she retained from when I read her The Princess and the Goblin last year.)

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Landon Snow is my kind of kid. He wants to figure things out; to "know the reason why." He’s not content to let things be; no, he is uncomfortable with mystery.

"Landon liked to have reasons for everything. But he tried not to ask too many questions. Instead, he came up with reasons on his own. It felt good to explain things, at least to himself. If he knew the reason for something, he was happy. If not, he was uncomfortable. For instance, even though he would have preferred to sit by a window and even more than that would have liked to ride in his mom�s SUV, he understood the reasons for his current situation. These were that his mom�s car was in need of repair and he had been too slow in remembering to call for a window seat. The first reason wasn�t due to anyone�s fault, really. And he could only blame himself for the second."

I can identify with Landon. Things that don’t make sense bug me… a lot. So needless to say, when I read the above, I was hooked. I’ve never felt so much like I was the character I was reading about.

Landon Snow is a young man who is given two gifts for his eleventh birthday — two gifts which send him on a whirlwind adventure into the "Book of Meanings" much like Alice’s trip down the rabbit hole. As with Alice’s adventures in Wonderland, the places Landon discovers are strange (and sometimes frustrating). It’s a crazy trip, and by the time Landon had met his first Odd, my head was spinning.

That would be my main point of dislike with the Auctor’s Riddle: we spend chapters upon chapters on what seems, in the end, to have simply been the "rabbit hole." Hopefully there will be a return to these landmarks in future books, because there seems to be quite a universe waiting to be fleshed out there; but it felt more like weak editing.

My other "huh?" moment was at the end of the book: I was left unconvinced at how the "Grandpa got hurt" thread got "resolved"; it’s essentially, "I’m back now… and oh yeah, Grandpa was at the hospital. Oh, he’s here now, and we’re going to the library later. Okay, I’m happy."

Even with those gripes, though, I absolutely fell in love with this book! The characters are written well, the plot isn’t corny, and (surprise, surprise) the distinctive Christian elements came across cheese-free! As another blogger noted, it’s like Alice in Wonderland, but with a point. (Shoot! I knew I should have kept that window open. For the life of me, I don’t know who said that! Sorry!)

The theme of the book is coincidence… chance. We so often live as if the universe is guided by chance, but what if there is a God, and He is sovereign over the affairs of the universe (let alone man)? What does that mean when life gets crazy? What does it mean when loved ones are hurt?

As I said in my pre-review, I give Landon Snow and the Auctor’s Riddle 4½ stars. I recommend it for anyone between 10 and 30, and fans of Alice in Wonderland, too.

You can find out more at the official website, or by checking out the author’s profile on Barbour’s web site and the illustrator’s blog.

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Welcome to a world of action, adventure, honor… and thinly veiled Christian allegory.

I’ll admit, for the first few chapters I couldn’t get past the hokey allusions… “Oh, okay, so the king (whose title is always capitalized ‘King,’ in case there was any doubt who he’s supposed to be) is named Eliam. El-I-Am. So, like, his name means ‘I am God’? Wow, thanks for so deftly slipping that in there.” (See EDIT below.)

But man, am I a sucker for a story. Once I dropped the whole “cocky editor” schtick, I actually started enjoying the story. Really enjoying it. Like, “staying up way past my bedtime to read just one more chapter” really enjoying it. As Larry the Cucumber from VeggieTales once said, “I laughed, I cried… it moved me, Bob.” I was surprised how much I’d gotten into this book.

My recommendation? If you can handle the Left Behind novels without too much eye-rolling, you will probably see this as our generation’s Chronicles of Narnia (which like The Door Within had lots thinly-veiled Christian theology), but all others approach this book like you would a popcorn flick. In other words, don’t expect much more than a fun ride, and you’ll love it.

So… I’d give three (out of five) stars. Cheesiness aside, it was alright.

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Read this book.

If you can afford to, buy it. If you can’t, root through every library in your state until you can get your hands on a copy.

Seriously, folks. If the sequels hold up, this series is like Harry Potter meets The Chronicles of Narnia. Or even just The Chronicles of Narnia set in 16th-century England. I dunno, it’s just good.

You can read all sorts of reviews, so I won’t repeat their efforts. The best I can do (without ruining the best parts) is to highly recommend it!

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