Eilinland: Through the Wall
This is Davenport’s debut novel as a Christian YA fantasy author. I was very excited when she contacted me for a review on The Rebel Christian; YA fantasy happens to be one of my favorite genres so when its Christian and Indie, I’m hooked!
Eilinland is a unique story; it takes place in a world that’s split into two regions—the north which is beyond the wall and filled with darkness, and the south which is where our four heroes live. The world-building was probably my favorite part of this story; I really enjoyed the dynamic between the north and the south, the very literal line that was drawn across the globe that divided light from darkness. It was almost like a metaphor for the life we live as Believers—living a life away from the darkness around us—but when our heroes step out of their comfort zone, they realize there is more to their world and their way of life than they thought.
Characterization is the word of the day for Eilinland! With the adventure our heroes take—going beyond the wall, testing the limits of their abilities, their endurance, and even their beliefs—you know there’s bound to be a few moments of self-reflection. Besides the troubles that stir within the group of protagonists, there’s also a big mystery surrounding a girl seen in a vision. As readers, we are not given much more information about this vision or this girl than the cast so reading through the story is like slowly peeling away all the wonder, mystery, and suspense.
In all honesty, I really did enjoy this book and I look forward to future releases from this author. But I do have one complaint; I felt the writing wasn’t as strong as it could have been. Obviously, the story was perfectly readable, and the world was well put together, but I think emotional scenes and suspenseful moments could have been elevated with stronger writing. I don’t want this to sound like the story was bad or written poorly—that’s not what I’m saying at all. I enjoyed the book and the concept of the plot, but I think as time goes on and Davenport continues to write, her next releases will get better and better. There is a lot of potential with this series, I look forward to seeing where it goes.
I would recommend this to YA and middle-grade readers, Christian fans of fantasy will also appreciate this.
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*