The secret box Book

Really I would give this book 3 1/2 stars. I liked it.

In my daughter's review, she said this book was "gruesome" so I felt compelled to read it to find out what that meant to her. I would not use that same word to describe it. It is a story set in Viking times, and a historical event was used as background to this story - when Lindisfarne, AKA the Holy Isle was destroyed by Vikings in 793 AD. Although this is a story about Vikings, that is only one aspect of it. And for this story to be believable and for the reader to feel the proper amount of fear and dislike for the Vikings as the main character Jack does, the Vikings need to do "Viking" things like pillaging and plundering. These acts are not overdone, in fact, they are equal to or less than other books like Enna Burning.

One other thing about this book to be aware of is the mixing of religions. The main character, Jack, was raised Christian, but it is the fearful form of Christianity where the monks teach that everyone is sinful, etc. Jack's mentor believes in something called the "Life Force", and the Vikings, of course, believe in all the Norse gods and Yggdrasil (which is the same thing as the Life Force only in the form of a tree). Jack finds himself believing in all three. This did not bother me (as a devout Christian), nor did the negative view of Christianity as it is historically accurate. But I thought I would mention it. I think it is a great topic of discussion for children.