And in the end…there is love.

It’s 2 in the morning, but my mind is racing. Snow swirls outside my window, and it would be the perfect time to crawl under my quilts. But I can’t. My mind is filled a fantastic land called Skree.

I don’t read many fantasy books. My bookshelves contain few otherworldly volumes, besides The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. I’m a realist (not to be confused with a pessimist), and I tend to be drawn to books grounded in reality. But when I found out one of my favorite singer/songwriters, Andrew Peterson, was writing a book, I decided to give it a try.

I took On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness with me on a trip to Boston. I started reading it as we rose through the clouds high above Chicago. And from the first page, I was hooked. Andrew Peterson writes with a wit and humor that I cannot even fathom. And I’m a writer. His style makes me swing wildly between wanting to write RIGHT NOW and throwing my pen aside, moaning that I’m surely the worst writer in the world.

In On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Andrew Peterson does more than chronicle the story of the Igiby family. He creates an entire world. One rich with songs and stories and characters. I cared deeply about Janner Igiby, the oldest of the Igiby children, as he is thrust into a position of care for his younger siblings. I squirmed in my seat is I read about the Fangs, villians in the book. I chuckled at Podo, the grandfather, as he protected his family, and his totatoes, from the creatures of Skree. I slid to the edge of my seat as Peet the Sockman emerged as a hero. I pumped my fist when the Igibys escaped the toothy cows. I slowly lowering my fist when my seatmate on the airplane looked at me oddly.

While I was in Boston, I developed an evening ritual of reading another chapter of Andrew’s book before bed. I had to know what happened next. If the chapter ended in a cliffhanger, I apologized to my roommate, begging her to let me leave the lamp on for just a few more minutes.

As On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness neared its end, I tried to reign myself in. Like someone savoring a meal, I didn’t want the last bite to come. I didn’t want my time with the Igiby family and their friends to end.

But it did finally end. I sat on a runway in Colorado, the snow swirling around our plane, and finished the last words. I won’t tell you the whole sentence. Just the phrase.

…shone like the sun.

What a stark contrast to the dark, frozen world that lay outside my window. But what a perfect ending to a book that taught me about love, family, grief, loyalty and triumph.

The one thing that kept me from turning right back to page one and starting again? The promise of a sequel. And even if I have to drive from Colorado to Nashville, and camp out in Andrew Peterson’s front yard, I will read that sequel.

I don’t make a lot of heavy-handed recommendations around here. But I would like to encourage you to buy this book. It’s a beautiful story, wrapped up in beautiful language, containing a beautiful message. If you have any questions about it, about whether your child would like it, or more information about the plot, please don’t hesitate to ask. You can either email me at bcgal80 at yahoo dot com (put in proper format) or simply leave a comment here and I’ll respond.

And if you come back tomorrow, you’ll learn how you can enter a snazzy contest by yours truly–with the prize being your very own copy of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. Hurry back!