North! Or Be Eaten

It's time!

I am excited to review for you here Andrew Peterson's latest book, North! Or Be Eaten. In case you're wondering, Andrew Peterson the author is the same guy as Andrew Peterson, the Christian singer-songwriter. I do count Andrew as one of my favorite musicians, and now I am also a fan of his writing!

First, a short summary for you. This is a quote from the publishers:

Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby thought they were normal children with normal lives and a normal past. But now they know they’re really the Lost Jewels of Anniera, heirs to a legendary kingdom across the sea, and suddenly everyone wants to kill them.

Their escape brings readers to the very brink of Fingap Falls, over the Stony Mountains, and across the Ice Prairies, while villains galore try to stop the Igibys permanently. Fearsome toothy cows and horned hounds return, along with new dangers: a mad man running a fork factory, a den of rockroaches, and majestic talking sea dragons.

Andrew Peterson’s lovable characters create what FantasyBookCritic.com says made Book One “one of the best fantasy novels in a very long time,” and Book Two contains even more thrills, exploring “themes universal in nature, ranging from the classic good versus evil, to the importance of family, and burdens of responsibility.”

You should know that my husband, Todd, and I stayed up way past our bedtimes reading this book together. The further we read, the less we wanted to put it down. We were literally taking turns reading at the table, during household chores, and just before turning out the lights at night!

North! Or Be Eaten is not only suspenseful, it is beautifully written. In fact, I read some sentences twice because they were like reading descriptive poetry.

I kept imagining the author writing this book for his own children (and maybe he did). I wondered if certain dimensions reflected his children's personalities, faults and interests.

Woven throughout the book are lessons about growing up, loyalty, courage, love, and sacrifice. It is not an overtly spiritual or Christian book, but The Maker is mentioned many times, and strength of character is encouraged.

My vocabulary has officially been expanded from reading North! Or Be Eaten - toothy cows, quill diggles, bomnubbles, and snickbuzzards, to name a few of the critters. (By the way, there are some lovely illustrations to help your poor, overtaxed imagination...either that or to give you nightmares.) The first chapter was a bit rough to read because I had to get comfortable with learning a new word every paragraph or so. After that, it was just part of the territory!

A little bit of a disclaimer: if you are wanting to read this book aloud to your children, be aware that some sections are frightening and obviously not meant for a three-year-old's bedtime story (but a ten-year-old would beg you to keep reading!). Todd and I also noticed that stealing and picking pockets could possibly be seen as glamorous survival skills since they were never discussed as otherwise.

We are happy to be getting more sleep now that we're done reading North! Or Be Eaten, but we are already eagerly awaiting the next installment. We could hardly bear to leave Tink as he was at the end of the book. I have also decided that it's a lot of fun to read something not entirely meant for adults! I am looking forward to reading North! Or Be Eaten to my children and grandkids someday. Lord willing, it's going to be on my bookshelf a long, long time.