Passages: Darien's Rise, Paul McCusker

So you're a city kid who've been sent out to an exile in a small town named Odyssey- obviously when you hear about an old abandoned mansion you go to explore it. And when you hear mysterious voices behind a closed door, you go to investigate those voices. Kyle thinks this is OBVIOUS. Anna thinks they should go home.

Kyle kinda gets his way. It's hard to tell, since he fell through the floor into a bright light, and Anna opened a door to find the same bright light swallowing her up. Now he's running across the country side with a dashing young officer, and she's been charged with spying and sold as a slave.

Those people who've read 1st Samuel will find the plot of the book to be rather familiar. That would be because it's the same plot, just in a different setting, with several added characters, and technology, and points. And stuff. *cough*

I have mixed feelings about this story.

There are several points against it. A Con would be that it's very sexist. Kyle is going on adventures and saving lives all around the country for most of the book, as said, while Anna gets rescued from the slave market and then does chores in the house of the Old Prophet. Then they send her on a mission- which is to go hang out in a convent. That doesn't go well, but the pattern continues. Kyle does stuff, Anna stays home. She's even the one with the natural mystical faith, which faithful-girl trope I am SO OVER. I was also quite bothered by the reaction the characters have to deaths of other characters. One "main" character dies, offscreen, and everyone is devastated. That's fine. I support devastation. The fact that some minor characters died, ON SCREEN, and they got one line about the (girl) character praying for them? That bothered me.

But on the Pro side, it's a very funny book. I laughed quite a lot, and not in a mocking way. Okay, a couple times it was mocking. Like when Darien is paying for his bride with enemy metals? In the original it was the foreskins of his enemies. Had to update that one a bit, did they? Though they didn't really have to update the one where Darien steals part of the king's clothes while he's sleeping, and it's hilarious all ways. :D The book is also a rollicking good adventure, at least on Kyle's part. And while Anna's story arc is less satisfying at the end, she gets to witness some good parts, and have the most human reactions to her situation.  (You know, like : I'm seeing things in the mirror that aren't there- I MUST BE CRAZY.)

Overall, it was a successful book, and I would feel quite sanguine about lending it to my smaller siblings. It's one of those that has nothing to pollute young minds in it- but even with that handicap it manages to land a solid "fun read." I gave it three stars out of five.

P.S. ONE MORE THING. Why does no one accuse them of being crazy when they say they're from another world? I feel strongly that there should have been more allegation of insanity. AUGGGGGGGGH.