Emily Bain Murphy

Book Review: A Kingdom of Shadows

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A Kingdom of Shadows
Lightseekers #1
by Emily Bain Murphy

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fantasy

The light is disappearing and shadows are increasing in the world that 12-year-old Finn inhabits, along with his best friend Adrion and little sister Lydia. They have a plan to escape their town and try to make their way in the dimming world, but that plan is derailed when they meet Ehrit, an older teen who promises that he can take them to a lake of light. It won’t be an easy journey, but just maybe it will be worth it.

This book is stated to be similar to both The Wingfeather Saga and The Chronicles of Narnia, which is a tall order on both counts. The first is one of my favorite series (and a big deal in my family in general) and though the latter series isn’t as meaningful to me, it’s obviously a well-loved classic series. And unfortunately, to me at least, it doesn’t really live up to any of that hype. The story isn’t bad, but it felt like it rambled along to me and things that happened were kind of random. I didn’t get into the story very much, at least partly because of the lack of cohesion, so it wasn’t as enjoyable as it might have been. The characters overall were fairly bland, except Finn himself, who at least had a decent arc. 

A lot of people see this as a Christian (or at least generally religious) allegory, and I can see why they do, especially considering the 2 series it’s compared to. However, I don’t see any indication that it’s meant to be such. I don’t see it listed as Christian fiction anywhere (except on Goodreads, but I’m pretty sure those labels aren’t official), and the author hasn’t written other Christian fiction that I can see. It has obvious themes of good vs. evil or light vs. dark, but felt much more mystical than faith-based to me, maybe even bordering on New Age, especially considering the bizarre “inner forest” sensing that Finn has. If it is supposed to be a Christian allegory, I can’t say I care for it. The expectation of any Christian themes aside, the book was decent enough to make me interested in continuing the series. I think that readers around the age it’s meant for (maybe 12-14) will probably enjoy the adventure more than I did, too. (For anyone like me with arachnophobia, be aware that there is a scene that might be an issue. I survived, but it wasn’t fun.)

Thank you to Netgalley and WaterBrook Children’s for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: The Disappearances

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The Disappearances
by Emily Bain Murphy

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: YA historical fantasy

When Aila’s dad is drafted to fight in WWII not long after her mom’s death, she and her little brother Miles are sent to live with an old friend of their mom’s in the small town where their mom grew up. The siblings quickly begin to notice some strange things about their new home, like the lack of mirrors in the entire house. And how the flowers in the backyard don’t have any smell. As it turns out, every seven years, the people in the town lose something, like the ability to smell or dream. It’s been happening for 35 years and no one knows what made it start or what might make it stop. And the next Disappearance is only days away.

This is one of those books that leaves me struggling to figure out where to start with my review. I was so caught up in the story that I had a really hard time putting the book down and ended up staying up an hour later than normal to finish it. The Disappearances, the way the town reacts to them, their attempts to counter them—all of it comes together in an intriguing story. Add to that Aila’s and Miles’s grief over their recent loss, worry for their endangered dad, and difficulty in settling into a new town, which is all really well done and feels authentic. 

As the main story is unfolding, we get glimpses of another plot that seems to have connections to the main story, though it isn’t immediately clear what those connections are. But as the story goes on, more and more hints are dropped. I actually looked something up online based on a clue from the book and made a connection before the book brought it up. I had no idea why it was significant, but the excitement I felt at my realization was just further proof of how invested I was in the book. I can’t say a lot due to not wanting to spoil anything, but I already mentioned how caught up I was in the last quarter or so of the book. There are some details that aren’t explained in the end, but nothing that was left unexplained bothered me. I don’t need to know how the “magic” worked. I just loved the way the author worked everything out. It actually reminded me of Holes, which is not really touted as fantasy, yet has a curse-related overall arc that is similar to this book. I also have to admit that the book doesn’t feel particularly historical, even though it’s set in 1942, but I just didn’t care enough to be bothered by it. I don’t give 5 stars easily, but I haven’t enjoyed a book of this genre this much in a while. If the book interests you at all, I strongly urge you to give it a read!

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