Title: Theodora's Children
Series: Tales of Hope (Book #2)
Year: 2016
Author: Rick Nau
Summary: Gretchen is her name. She’s the heroine of the story. Some people call her Gretch the Wretch. Not a very nice thing to say about someone, especially if they suffer from a loneliness so intense it could blow the roof off the sky. Certainly she’s not the only person in the world who’s felt this way. You might have felt this way yourself. Or you might feel this way at this very moment, just as Gretchen felt at the beginning of her story. This isn’t to say she’s not a wonderful person. If you get to know her, you’ll find out how wonderful she is. If you don’t, you’ll never know. (from Goodreads)
Main Characters:
~ Gretchen
~ Gretchen
Review: This book, honestly, is very hard to describe. In some ways it felt like a fairy tale; in others, an allegory. It was a family story; it was a Christmas story. It was a story about loneliness; it was a story about companionship.
The beginning for me started a little rough. We're introduced to an older gentleman who loves to tell his grandchildren stories - and that's the whole book. Him telling the two grandkids a story. I was a bit skeptical how that would work for an entire novel, seeing as the entire content was dialogue, but I think once you got used to the idea, it wasn't bad. In fact, I kinda forgot he was still speaking as I got caught up in different parts of the story.
The story he tells is of a young girl named Gretchen. She's really not Gretch the Wretch because she's got everything she could ever want - a fancy house, a big room, books, candies, a pony, toys, yada, yada, yada. Anything a child would ever dream to ask for, Gretchen already has. Except the one thing she's always wanted: a brother. She even asks for a brother for her birthday. And, even though she's not a drama queen, she dissolves into tears when a brother doesn't appear in all of her birthday gifts.
When she finally comes to terms about not getting a brother, she decides to make one up. And that's where the main portion of her adventures start. There's a definite Christmas feel as a big portion of this novel takes place in the snow and involves the dreams of little children.
The ending, though I won't reveal any spoilers, was not expected. Realistically, it took me by surprise, but it was truthfully right in the tone of the book. This is a fantasy world of sorts. I will say that I loved the final big moment at the end when everything culminated into a wonderful boil. *grins* Read it and find out.
One thing that I would complain about was the author's style. While definitely story-teller-like and fun, I thought it was often too wordy. When three sentences would suffice, the author used three paragraphs and sometimes three pages to give an explanation. A few places also were awkwardly worded with multiple adverbs.
Overall, I'd recommend this book to families, kids, and anyone looking for a quick but sweet read. I think I finished the entire book in one evening and enjoyed it. But I also think that it's definitely something you'd opt to read-aloud to story-hungry kids.
The beginning for me started a little rough. We're introduced to an older gentleman who loves to tell his grandchildren stories - and that's the whole book. Him telling the two grandkids a story. I was a bit skeptical how that would work for an entire novel, seeing as the entire content was dialogue, but I think once you got used to the idea, it wasn't bad. In fact, I kinda forgot he was still speaking as I got caught up in different parts of the story.
The story he tells is of a young girl named Gretchen. She's really not Gretch the Wretch because she's got everything she could ever want - a fancy house, a big room, books, candies, a pony, toys, yada, yada, yada. Anything a child would ever dream to ask for, Gretchen already has. Except the one thing she's always wanted: a brother. She even asks for a brother for her birthday. And, even though she's not a drama queen, she dissolves into tears when a brother doesn't appear in all of her birthday gifts.
When she finally comes to terms about not getting a brother, she decides to make one up. And that's where the main portion of her adventures start. There's a definite Christmas feel as a big portion of this novel takes place in the snow and involves the dreams of little children.
The ending, though I won't reveal any spoilers, was not expected. Realistically, it took me by surprise, but it was truthfully right in the tone of the book. This is a fantasy world of sorts. I will say that I loved the final big moment at the end when everything culminated into a wonderful boil. *grins* Read it and find out.
One thing that I would complain about was the author's style. While definitely story-teller-like and fun, I thought it was often too wordy. When three sentences would suffice, the author used three paragraphs and sometimes three pages to give an explanation. A few places also were awkwardly worded with multiple adverbs.
Overall, I'd recommend this book to families, kids, and anyone looking for a quick but sweet read. I think I finished the entire book in one evening and enjoyed it. But I also think that it's definitely something you'd opt to read-aloud to story-hungry kids.
Advisory: Some violence directed towards children; nothing graphic, but basically child abuse. Some scary situations.
Rating: 4 stars
*Please note: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.*
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