Shepherds & Kings
by Christina Minoli

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s Christmas story

Though apparently Ishan has beat up other kids plenty in the past, it’s not pre-meditated when he punches the most gentle kid in school. And since he’s been told that one more infraction will cost him some awards that are dear to him, at first, he’s just devastated over the loss of the rewards. But then the boy doesn’t return to school for a while and there don’t seem to be any consequences for Ishan. What follows is an internal battle that opens the door for a lesson that Ishan would never have been open to before.

The bulk of this story is Ishan grappling with himself over the violence he’s committed on a fellow student and the lack of any kind of backlash. He spends his days constantly dreading the hammer that is sure to fall. Then his grandfather gives him something of a Bible lesson using an old, apparently creepy, nativity set as the vehicle. The lesson hits home with Ishan, though I have to say that this scene went a little strangely for me. The lesson is fairly messy or shallow to start with, though maybe that’s just because Grandpa isn’t intending to deliver a gospel message, but Ishan understands these concepts a little too easily to me. I’m not sure if Ishan’s age is ever given, and the book seems to take place in India (though I got that from context, because I don’t remember any indication being given), so I can only guess that the grade he is in means he’s around 10 or 11 years old. Between that and the fact that he doesn’t seem to have been brought up in a Christian household, some of his thought processes just felt far too advanced. Not that a kid at that age can’t understand Christ’s sacrifice and his/her need for a Savior, but it’s how quickly he picks up on it and the wording that is used that seems a little farfetched to me.

I think the story could have used some fleshing out, especially for some of the side characters. The new teacher that starts the upset that leads to Ishan lashing out, for example, seems more involved at the beginning than she ends up being. I’d have liked to know a little more about Ishan’s grandfather—he seems actually kind of grumpy or strict when he’s first introduced, and then he pulls out this Bible lesson like he’s a completely different person. And probably the biggest is Anton, the kid that Ishan punches; I really felt that he was short-changed as a character, only being used as the foil for Ishan. I would have liked more. And though Ishan himself is the most developed character, I have to say that I would love to know how a kid who is clearly widely known as the school bully, who is only one step away from losing his end-of-year awards, is a house captain? Aren’t those generally kids of better standing in the school than Ishan could possibly have? On the other hand, apparently he’s really smart, gets good grades, and even participates eagerly in various school activities…yet he’s the school bully. So maybe more development would have been good there after all. It should be noted that a desire to know more about some of these characters is a good thing, though, because it means I was invested in the story enough to wish for more.

So all of that being said, the story is touching and would make for a great read around Christmas time. I had to look up a couple of things to understand what was even being referenced (like “string hopper” and “baba”), which is what led me to deduce that we were in India for this story, but that didn’t bother me. It’s difficult to really say whether kids around the age this is meant for (10-12?) would follow it well and enjoy the story, since it’s more introspection than anything else. However, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t recommend it to those kids. I think that parents reading it with them or before them, so they can discuss any questions along the way, would be a great way for families to read this story during Christmas time.

I received a copy of this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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