The Glass Castle

My oldest daughter, Mikaela, loves to read. She has always been a voracious reader, and I have the hardest time keeping her supplied with books! It's an expensive hobby, but one I don't mind funding! She and I were both excited when we were chosen to read and review the first book in a new series  from Shiloh Run Press.

The book is titled "The Glass Castle" by Trisha White Priebe and Jerry B. Jenkins. And, seriously, it's one of the best books Mikaela and I have read! This book is 251 pages packed with suspense, action, and mystery, starting with the first paragraph and ending with a huge cliff-hanger in the last paragraph.

The main character is a girl named Avery who has just turned 13 years old. Avery is captured on her 13th birthday and taken to a mysterious place, which she eventually figures out is the king's castle. All of the prisoners with her are 13 year old orphaned boys and girls, who perform most of the behind-the-scenes work for the castle, like cooking, baking, sewing and cleaning.

Avery is intent on escaping, finding her brother, Henry, and getting home to her father. But when Avery finds out that the king had a child 13 years ago with his first wife, she concludes that the new queen is trying to rid the kingdom of all 13 year old children to ensure there will be no other heir to the throne. Avery and her new friends, Tuck and Kate, decide to help all of the imprisoned teens find their homes again.

Avery remembers much about the castle from stories her mother told her before she died. She wonders how her mother knew so much about the castle and the royal family, and she resolves to find the "underworld" - the underground colony of tunnels and passageways that hopefully hold the answers she is looking for.

My daughter read this book in about 2 days! She couldn't put it down. When she was finished reading it, I wondered if it was as good as she said it was, so I read it, too! I also couldn't put the book down. Mikaela wants to read the next book in the series, "The Ruby Moon", which releases October 1st of this year. I have to admit, I'm excited about it, too!

This is the perfect book series for teenage girls {and their moms!} - an interesting, mysterious, suspenseful book that has no adult themes, language, magic, the occult, or glorified sin {which is hard to find in books geared toward teens these days}. This is definitely a book series you can feel about your kids reading!

Here is Mikaela's review:

"The Glass Castle had a very interesting plot. When I read the back of the book, I wasn't sure if I would like it or now, because it sounded like a kid's book. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down! It was amazing! I made my mom read it, it was so good. The characters had really good names and personalities. I can't wait to read the next in the series."

Check out Shiloh Run Press on their website or on Facebook.