Shadow Children

Well, it's summer, and that means summer reading programs!

Got to admit, they were pretty much my life as a kid. And a teen. I read and read and read. And read some more. I've found my lists from back then, and I would often read multiple books a day, the shorter ones.

I don't have that kind of time anymore. I snatch bits of books throughout the week and binge on Saturdays and Sundays. It's sad.

Recently I've been making my way through the Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix...again. {I read them several years ago.} They are so wonderful! I'm just in awe, honestly, of what she managed to do.

• Here is a series of dark, bleak, hopeless novels that don't feel hopeless. They are so full of hope and courage! This isn't like The Hunger Games, where all you want to do is hide at the end. This is an encouraging story...even though the plot isn't.
• It's intense. Heart-pounding. With kids. This is tricky, because if you do too good of a job, parents will ban you. And if you're not good enough, kids will find you lame. She is able to put twelve-year-old kids in TERRIBLE situations without making it disturbing.

There's more, but maybe I'll save it for after I truly finish the series. I would just like to note that I think this series is the best, most believable dystopian I've ever read. You read this and think, "This could happen." Despite the technical plausibility of The Hunger Games ever happening, it's hard to believe. Not so the Shadow Children.

Anyway, just a little author-gushing for you. If you write a) dystopian or b) middle-grade fiction or c) secular Christian fiction...you need to read this series. And all of her other books, too. Actually, that goes for everyone. :)