“Deep beneath the surface in the dark world of the Underground, best friends Fin and Sky risk everything to uncover a mysterious light that could shatter the darkness forever.
Perfect for readers who love the heart-driven friendships of The Green Ember and the imaginative worlds of The Wingfeather Saga and The Chronicles of Narnia, Fin and Sky spend their days hunting for glowstones—until strange encounters push them far beyond the familiar tunnels of home and into an extraordinary journey.
Armed with cryptic maps, improvised ziplines, and courage, they survive wild chases and encounter unforgettable allies: roly-molies, lidless lizards, giant lettuce farmers, and a bright-eyed truth speaker who challenges them to seek the light that can change everything.”
Series: Book #1 in “The Lightseekers” series.
Spiritual Content- Some of the discussion questions at the end of the book have references to Scriptures; Some 'H’s are capital when referring to the “All Mighty” (God); A handful of prayers/requests to the All Mighty (including Fin and Sky asking for Him to help them if He is real); Fin hears a voice “deep within” tell him negative things like he is trapped in the darkness forever and that everything is hopeless, but also another voice tell him that “I am with you” and he feels comfort from it; Fin and Sky meet a man who is called “crazy” because he believes in the “Old Way” and the “All Mighty”; Those that follow the All Mighty are called “Seekers of the light” and those that do not call those people “crazy” and “superstitious”; It is forbidden to believe in the All Mighty (Fin tells Sky that all he knows about it is that He is “some sort of god” that “helps [those who believe in Him] or something”); Sky and Fin call out for the All Mighty to help them to see if He is real (*Spoilers* and they have their request answered plus feel something good when asking *End of Spoilers*); Sky believes that she’ll see her deceased parents again one day; Sky feels peace when singing a song that mentions light shining in the darkness; A man tells Fin and Sky about a frequent dream he has had, how he asked the All Might for wisdom regarding it, and it was referencing him helping them out of a situation; Someone says that the All Mighty has “all kinds of ways” of getting someone’s attention (such as through a dream, a still small voice, or even an animal sometimes); Mentions of the All Mighty, trusting Him, & seekers of the light; A couple mentions of the place where “the All Mighty takes you when you die”; A mention of praying (used more of liking wishing or hoping for something than praying to God);
*Note: Fin, Sky, and everyone they know live underground and there are two versions of how their people originally started to live underground: 1- their ancestors always lived underground since the “dawn of time” and came from stone or 2- people used to live above ground, but at some point the world up there became dangerous so everyone moved below (this is often deemed a myth or fairytale); Fin tries to fight against the dark thoughts in his mind and wonders if there is more to life than what he knows; Some believe there is an “eternal stone” out there that can restore the light to any other “glowstone”, but others say this is a myth or fairytale (*Major Spoilers* At the end of the book, Fin finds a stone that could possibly be this “eternal stone”, but calls it a “lightstone” for the time being because of the strong light it has *End of Spoilers*); *Major Spoilers* Towards the end, Fin finds a stone that casts extremely bright and pure light; When he touches it, he feels a “wave of energy and lightness” go through his entire being, making him feel strong and confident; He brings it to Sky and when she touches it, it heals her major wound and brings her break from the brink of death and she thanks the All Mighty for helping her; When Sky holds the stone and sings a song about the light, a waterfall stops moving and a room behind it that is full of paintings (with implied Christianity references) is discovered; Sky feels peaceful when holding the stone *End of Spoilers*; *More Major Spoilers* When trying to leave the abandoned mine, Fin and Sky fall in a way that takes them above ground and they see the sky for the first time in their lives *End of Spoilers*; Sky crosses her heart when making a promise; Talks about luck & being lucky/unlucky; Sky later says that she doesn’t think that luck helped her and Fin out of a dangerous situation, but that they are getting extra help (from the All Mighty); Sky refers to Fin as a “map wizard” because he is good with maps; Mentions of luck & being lucky/unlucky; A few mentions of things possible being “magic” (not confirmed or denied); A couple mentions of superstitions; A mention of someone seeming to have a sixth sense for finding something.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blah, blah, blah’, a ‘holy smokes’, a ‘stinkin’’, and four forms of ‘darn’; Sky exclaims “jumping jackhammers!” once; A few mentions of people cursing at others or anything that annoys them (some are written out as insults like “you clumsy giant mole-rat”); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Lying (to protect a secret); Fin thinks he might die in a few dangerous situations, Being chased by giant and deadly snakes (one illustration shows this), Nearly being eaten or killed by giant snakes, Being trapped in collapsed mines/tunnels, Falling through the floor of mines and into rapid waters, Being chased by authority figures, Going into forbidden/locked-up areas, Pain, Injuries, & Blood/Bleeding (semi-detailed); Helping someone who was bitten by a poisonous snake & Fear that the person might die (up to semi-detailed); Seeing a giant snake eat sheep (barely-above-not-detailed); Grief (Sky and her grandparents for her parents; Because of this grief, Sky longs to hear and learn more about her parents); Sky goes up to talk to a man who is deemed “crazy” by others to find out if he really is crazy (she doesn’t think he is dangerous after talking to him and quickly trusts him, follows his words, and goes to talk to him again); Sky and Fin follow the advice of another man and run off to another underground city for more answers about the things he told them about (Sky leaves a note telling her grandparents where they will be; Fin isn’t sure about this plan as they barely know these “crazy” men, but Sky wants to know more about her parents and believes they are connected to this); A woman tells Sky that a “crazy” man did something worse than killing someone, explaining that the man tried to disturb the peace by “poisoning the minds” of others (the man was previously arrested and the government-like officials warn others about him and anyone else that talk about similar things); Fin doesn’t tell her mother about his and Sky’s dangerous, near-death moment (the narrator notes that moms don’t “particularly enjoy hearing about the dangerous escapades and near-death experiences of their children”); An older boy bullies/taunts Fin, so Fin and Sky try to ignore the boy; An animal sacrifices himself to protect the main characters (no details); Many mentions of collapsed mines/tunnels, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of deaths and possible deaths & grief (including Sky for her parents that were killed in a mining accident); Mentions of giant snakes, their poison, someone being bitten by one, & attacks by them (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of punishments given from the government-like officials (such as jail, banishment, public floggings, or “worse” which is implied to be death); Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A couple mentions of stealing & thieves; A mention of Fin previously stealing books for information; A mention of eavesdropping.
Sexual Content- N/A.
-Fin, age 12
-Sky, age 12
P.O.V. switches between them & the narrator/author
286 pages
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My personal Rating-
That was interesting! I wasn’t sure about the writing style at first because of the author/narrator breaking the fourth wall by talking to and explaining things to the reader and adding footnotes throughout the story. As the book continued, though, I found these parts helpful to understand about the world and setting. Some of these breaks felt a little quirky or strange timing, but they were mostly helpful and added to the story.
Like many Christian fantasy books, this one had a major emphasis on Light vs Darkness. It was done in a more literal way with the main characters and everyone they know live underground, never seeing actual light. This book ends on a cliffhanger, so I’m curious to see what happens next for Fin and Sky as their adventure still has more to come, I’m sure! I liked seeing their friendship—even if the big sister in me was panicking at all the near-death scenarios that kept happening to them! This wasn’t my favorite type of a middle-grade story because of those many perilous parts, but the concept of this world was interesting and I liked the main characters, so I was curious to see what would happen. I really appreciate that there was no romance or anything like that in this book as most days it feels rare to find that!
I do want to note for parents that Fin and Sky run off, talk to, and trust men they’ve just met who their town leaders call “crazy” because of their beliefs in the “Old Way” (ie. Christianity). Thankfully, these men aren’t dangerous and are good guys, but my strange danger radar was concerned at these two kids running off and trusting “crazy” men! Also, another note: there is a special stone that emits light and when touched, can heal and give peace. One of our main characters believe it’s from the All Mighty and thank Him. I’m nearly positive that this will be tied back into the All Mighty in the next book and explained more then. I don’t think a New Age concept of healing stones/gems was meant, but because it’s not explained yet, I want to give a heads up about this element so potential discussions can be brought up with a young reader if needed.
While there is no technical “magic” in this book, there are unexplained fantasy elements like creatures that do not exist and a lizard that changes colors and grows in size. I personally would consider this book to be a true fantasy rather than magical one.
See y’all on Wednesday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.
