Fun Reads Friday: The Door by Lorilyn Roberts

Seeking a Christian novel for young teens? Check out The Door. Not only is it a clean read, but its main character witnesses Jesus’ ministry.

Lorilyn Roberts independently published The Door, the first book of six in her Seventh Dimension fantasy series, using Vellum and Amazon. Kudos to Ms. Roberts for taking the courageous step of indie publishing. I imagine the main reason she chose that route is because most traditional publishers steer away from overtly Christian books. And this book is overtly Christian.

Ironically, the publishing industry has recognized The Door with the following awards:

• 2013 International Book Awards Finalist
• 2013 Grace Awards Finalist
• 2013 Selah Awards Finalist
• 2013 Readers’ Favorite Finalist
• 2014 Book Goodies Best Cover Contest Winner, YA Category

A cross between C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, this novel drops the main character, Shale Snyder, into the King’s garden after she passes through a strange door. Shale soon learns that she has the ability to speak with animals and befriends a donkey (Baruch), a bunny (Cherios), and a dog (Much-Afraid). When evil beings invade the garden and chase the friends into the past—to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry—Shale must choose to help those around her or return to her time period, 2012.

She stays . . . and meets Daniel, a Jew from 2015. Together, they witness Jesus’ miracles and teachings. Both learn valuable lessons of forgiveness, judgement, and using gifts wisely. It’s interesting to read familiar stories from the Bible through the eyes of teenagers.

Shale records her journey on a scroll that serves as her diary. To confuse her stepmother, she writes to “Dog,” which is “God” spelled backward. There are some funny parts to the story that only adults might appreciate, like what happened in politics between 2012 and 2015.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the author’s writing style. The first half of the book is a little disjointed and there are some typos, so don’t give up. Trust me, she finds her rhythm, and the ending has a nice twist. I look forward to reading other books in the series. The books are earmarked for young adults, but I recommend them more for middle graders.

Are there any overtly middle grade or young adult Christian books that you’ve read that you’d like to recommend?