The Blue Door by Christa Kinde

While I love fantasy and angelic stories, I don't tend to read them very often because I'm afraid of the author mis-representing them (just compare the description in the Bible and popular depictions and you'll see). But previously, I wrote about book one of the Halflings series by Heather Burch. Now, thanks to Zondervan (again!), I got to read and review The Blue Door, the first of the Threshold Series by Christa Kinde.

And if you remember how much I loved Halflings, well, I loved this more!

Halflings was a really good book, but it had the love triangle that seems compulsory in YA fiction. The Blue Door, on the other hand, is for kids, so there's no such thing (whew!). Instead, there's a thoughtful story that explores what it might be like if you could see Angels.

And while these angels all looked human, it's frequently said that this isn't their true form - to see them in their radiance would be too much for humans. But they have different roles to play (Messenger, Observer, etc), and they're loyalty to God is admirable. Plus, they stick to their Biblical description - they are indeed fear-inspiring.

Into this comes Prissie, a girly fourteen year old with a house full of brothers. One day, she finds that she can see Koji, an Observer, and from there, she's pulled into the world of Angels. Most of the book focuses on her struggle to accept angels as a reality, especially as it means changing her opinions of quite a few people near and dear to her. At the same time, there's drama on the friend front, as she feels further from her friends (especially with the new stuck up girl). With her nemesis determined to apprentice himself to her dad's bakery, Prissie has a lot of things to handle.

While this sounds like a lot, the book is mostly world-building and character building. The goriest scenes are hidden from us (and Prissie), although we do get hints (hint: think of King Lear and one of the most disturbing  and difficult scenes in stage history). Personally, I would have liked to see a bit more plot, but since the book ends on a really nice cliffhanger, I expect that the pace would pick up from the next book onwards.

All in all, an amazing start to a new series. I'm looking forward to Book Two!

Disclaimer: I got a copy of this book from the Publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.