The Giant’s Fall(Imagine.. #4)

Matt Koceich

3.5 stars

Synopsis:

The last thing fifth-grader Wren Evans remembers (before the world as she knew it disappeared) is getting off the school bus to discover her house engulfed in flames. What happens next can't be explained as Wren finds herself in a beautiful valley with a shepherd named David—in ancient Israel! Imagine. . .The Giant's Fall is the fourth release in an exciting epic adventure series for kids ages 8 to 12 written by schoolteacher Matt Koceich. The Imagine series brings the Bible to life for today's kids as they ponder what it would be like to live through a monumental biblical event.

My review:

This is one of the cases where I should have paid more attention to what the book was about before requesting it. This is definitely a book I would not have chosen, since I don’t really get into religious material. Keeping my own personal thoughts out of this, I reviewed based on story flow and how I feel the target audience would receive this.

This essentially is Wizard of Oz meets Bible Stories. I could understand the emotions and thoughts that Wren was experiencing at the beginning of the book. I feel that a child processing grief could potentially benefit from this book.

Now onto my critique. I feel the pacing was off. At times I felt ‘lost as to what was going on. I also feel good vs evil was portrayed a little too much as black and white. For the target audience that may be a good thing but evil isn’t always obvious nor is it always easy to escape. I also feel as though Wren accepted things too easily. 

To sum up: Plot receives a 4 star review. Execution receives a 3 star review.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley to review.