The Edge of Over There

Author: Shawn Smucker
Genre: YA/Fantasy

Abra Miller carries a secret and a responsibility she never expected.

Before the Tree of Life, everything in Abra Miller's life had been predictable. Safe. Normal. But after the Tree, everything has felt fragile . . . like holding a soap bubble in the palm of her hand. After years of fruitless searching for the next Tree, she begins to wonder if it was nothing more than a vivid dream.

Now sixteen, Abra finds a clue to the whereabouts of the next Tree of Life when an ominous woman--who looks exactly like a ghost from her past--compels her to travel to New Orleans where she'll find one of seven gateways between this world and Over There. But she's not the only one interested in finding the gateway. There's also a young man searching for his father and sister, who escaped through it years before. As Abra enters the Edge of Over There and begins her pursuit of the Tree once more, she doesn't know whom to fear or whom to trust. 

She's also starting to think that some doorways should never be opened.

---

Reviewer: Hanna Anderson

Shawn Smucker's The Edge of Over There is the second book that follows The Day the Angels Fell, a series geared toward young adults. Other than a few biblical elements scattered throughout I would not have classified this as a Christian book. This work includes characters that are angels, demons, humans, and the offspring of angels/demons. If you are looking for a good book to strengthen your walk with Christ or to help teach you biblical truths this is not the book for that. This is purely an action fantasy.

That being said, I could not put this book down! After discovering it's lack of Jesus-centeredness I proceeded reading it for the entertainment value. Because of my own personal preferences, it had been a very long time since I had read a book so rich with description. Mr. Smucker writes with the kind of descriptive language that can make the reader "feel" the spring breeze or "taste" the lucious fruit. The adventurous tone combined with fantastic settings and memorable characters kept me heavily engaged into the story as it unfolded.

The book follows Abra, Sam, and Leo, each on a different path and in some cases in different times, as they are affected by the appearance of a Tree of Life and Abra's mission to destroy it with the help of light angels and the hindrance of dark angels. Although this book makes fantasy out of some biblical passages it does touch on themes including heaven, hell, God's provision, courage under fire, and the consequences of the fall in the Garden of Eden.

I do not recommend this as a Christian book because of how far removed it is from biblical truth, like no mention of Jesus Christ anywhere. However, this book is so exquisitely written and had me so engrossed into the journey of Abra that it left me wanting more. I gave it a high rating of 5 stars because anyone who can write as well as Mr. Smucker definitely deserves it.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing.

---