Gretchen has everything in the world she could ever want except the one thing her parents can’t give her–a sibling.  But when circumstances align to grant her greatest desire she must decide if she is willing to risk everything to keep them.

Theodora’s Children by Rick Nau is a short and simple tale of hope, faith, and perseverance.  Told using a story within a story format, Nau presents the reader a lovely allegory with strong Christian themes.  While the author occasionally belabors the descriptions, for the most part he provides a vivid picture of the settings of both Gretchen’s world and the world of our storyteller, Jesse, and his grandchildren.  Combined with a heroine somewhat reminiscent of Anne of Green Gables the reader gets a truly enjoyable read.  Theodora’s Children would make a wonderful addition to any Christmas Library.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by the Author

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  Reference to a pony that likes to nip; reference to sibling’s fighting; girl goes into a catatonic state, some fear dead; reference to girl possibly starving to death; girl burned; girl rescued from fire; a few references to girl possibly freezing to death; discussion about children being abandoned, vague references to possible deaths; facetious reference to dying from exhaustion; reference to an old woman dying; avalanche buries pursuers; vague threat; reference to boy being spanked; references to child neglect.

Sex/Nudity:  None

Mature Subject Matter:

God/Christianity, family, child abuse/neglect/abandonment.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None