The HeartWord Way

Book One: The Magician’s Nephew

I think this was my second favorite book. I loved this book, from cover to cover. I think it was one of the best ones in the series. My favorite part was when Narnia was being created. There is such beautiful imagery, and I love the way it parallels to when God created our world. To be honest, I liked everything about this book. Not any dislikes, except for Digory’s uncle. I really just didn’t like him.

The book starts off with Digory and Polly meeting each other. They become friends, and soon Polly shows him the secret tunnel in her attic that connects all the houses on their street. They end up trying to get inside a house that they know is abandoned, but they end up in Digory’s attic instead. They find their Digory’s uncle and he offers Polly a ring. Polly accepts and as soon as her hand touches the ring, she vanishes. After Digory’s uncle gives a long explanation of what happened, Digory grabs a ring to go and save Polly. Once Digory finds her, they end up deciding to explore a bit. They find another world with an evil queen who woke up at the sound of the bell. They try to get back to their own world without her, but she follows them and starts to take over Earth. Digory and Polly use the rings to try to take her back to her world, but they end up in Narnia. Aslan, the lion who created the world lets them go home, but the witch ran away.

Book Two: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

This was probably my favorite book. My favorite part was when all of the children meet Aslan. It reminds me of when we will meet God, in heaven. Some of us He will smile upon, and some of us He will be disappointed in. I didn’t necessarily have any parts that I disliked.

In the beginning, Edmund, Susan, Peter, and Lucy Pevensie are going to go live with Professor Kirk in the countryside. Since this book is set during World War Two, their mother has sent them away from London to escape the bombing. Lucy, the youngest of the four, discovers a wardrobe. Inside the wardrobe, she finds Narnia. She tries to tell the others about her adventure, but they don’t believe her. Finally, they all go into the wardrobe and find Narnia. They try to find Mr. Tumnus, Lucy’s friend she had met in Narnia before, but he is gone. Edmund runs away to find the White Witch and the others are set on a journey to find him. Aslan sacrifices himself so Edmund won’t have to die at the hand of the White Witch. Aslan comes back to life and arrives at the battle between good and evil just in time to save Edmund. Aslan kills the witch, and the battle is won.

Book Three: The Horse and His Boy

This was probably my least favorite book. I didn’t find it as interesting as the first two, and I was disappointed that the four Pevensie children only show up briefly. My favorite part was probably when the two boys find out they are brothers.

Shasta is raised by Arsheesh, whom Shasta believes to be his father. When the boy learns that Arsheesh is planning to sell him, he and Bree, the talking horse, decided to run away. On their journey to Narnia, they meet Aravis, a young Calormene aristocrat, and Hwin, another talking horse. They decide to travel together, and when they begin their travel through the capital of Tashbaan, trouble begins. Shasta is captured because Narnian visitors mistake him for Corin, the prince or Archenland. Shasta overhears their plans to escape a forced wedding between Queen Susan and Rabadash. Shasta escapes when the real Prince Corin returns. Shasta warns Archenland and Narnia of the approaching Calormenes. Shasta finds out he is really the brother of Prince Corin, and they all live happily ever after.

Book Four: Prince Caspian

This was my third favorite book. My favorite part was at the very beginning when the four Pevensies find they are back in Narnia once again.

While waiting for their train on a British railway station, Edmund, Lucy, Susan, and Peter are whisked off to Narnia close to a ruined castle. They discover the castle used to be their castle during their previous visit to Narnia. Although only a year has passed on Earth, over a thousand years have passed in Narnia. The children rescue Trumpkin, a dwarf, from several soldiers who were trying to drown him. Trumpkin reveals the trouble in Narnia: Telmarines have invaded Narnia. When Miraz killed his brother, the king of Narnia, he became king. Miraz’s nephew is Caspian, whom Miraz tries to kill when his wife becomes pregnant. Caspian fled and was rescued by several dwarves who wanted him to help them gather an army to fight the Telmarines. Meanwhile, Trumpkin and the Pevensies arrive to help. Once the Narnians have won, Aslan appears and he takes the children home.

That’s it for today. I’ll continue this review next week. If you haven’t noticed, I have had some trouble getting my posts out every Thursday. I apologize for this. This is mostly due to school work and other things that are just making my life busy. After next week’s post, I will be taking a break from my blog. I will probably start back sometime in June, after school is out. I will definitely have more time then. Thank you for understanding.

Thanks for reading! Happy writing!

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

Sorry for the delay again! I was super busy with school this week, so I didn’t have much time to write. In case you’re new, this a part two to a story I have put in a previous post. Read it in my February Monthly Recap.

“How much longer, doctor? When will she wake up?”

“It depends. It could be in the next few days, or weeks from now. It will probably be a few days. I’d be surprised if she woke up either today or tomorrow.”

“Weeks?”

Two male voices, one that was strangely familiar and one that I was sure I had never heard before talked back and forth. They kept fading, so I wasn’t really sure if I was hearing them right.

Someone sighed heavily, and the silence that followed was deafening.

I thought about trying to let them know that I was awake, but I was afraid. Afraid of the pain. How hard had I fallen? Had I broken anything? Was Chester ok?

That was the thought that made me realize I had to try to wake up. I braced myself for pain and forced my eyes open. The light above me shone right in my eyes so I squeezed them shut again and groaned.

“Don’t move,” warned the unfamiliar voice, “just sit still. Hang on, sweetheart. Let me get you some water.”

How had he known? My mouth felt so dry I was sure I wouldn’t be able to even open it.

Someone pressed a glass against my lips and gently pulled my them apart, allowing the water to rush in.

“Slowly! Just a little at a time,” said the same man that had warned me not to move. After I had had enough water, he said, “Alright, you can open your eyes, but give them time to adjust.”

I slowly opened my eyes a crack. Then, after a second, I slowly opened them all the way. It was Derrek who had given me the water. He stood beside the bed I was laying on, holding an empty glass. His blue eyes were clouded with worry and concern, and his hair wasn’t carefully styled like usual. “You’re awake.” He looked like he was in shock.

“I am. Where are we?” I squinted as I looked around. Then it dawned on me. We were in the hospital. And I was the one laying in the hospital bed. “How long have I been out?”

“Six weeks.” There was a cold tone in Derrek’s voice, as if he was mad.

I swallowed. Then I remembered why I was here in the first place and sat up quickly. “Where’s Chester? What happened? Is he ok? What-“

“He’s fine!” Derrek snapped as he slammed the cup onto the small table beside my bed. Then he turned and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

I turned to the other man. He was obviously the doctor. He was wearing a white coat, a blue collared-shirt, and black pants. He frowned.

I frowned back. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I suppose it’s just been a rough few weeks. What about you? What did you feel when you sat up?” He was now sitting at the computer sitting on a table against the wall, typing.

“Pain. A lot of it.” I winced. “My chest feels like it’s about to burst, it feels like my leg’s been cut off, and I’m sure my head is . . . well, I’m kind of dizzy and nauseous.”

He nodded. “Ok. Want to see you mom?”

“Sure.” This was going to be interesting. Hopefully it would go better than it had with Derrek.

The man left the room and, several minutes later, returned with Mom.

“Oh, honey!” she wailed as she ran forward to give me a hug. But the doctor put his hand out to stop her.

“I said no hugging!” he hissed.

She didn’t answer. She was busy weeping into her hands, unable to speak.

Her short blond hair was sticking out everywhere, her clothes were rumpled, and it looked like she hadn’t washed her face in days. That was saying something. Mom was a model, so she always looked perfect. My injuries must be pretty bad. The thought turned my stomach. I cautiously cleared my throat.

“Mom, why don’t you go sit outside for a while and calm down while I talk to,” I paused and squinted to see his name tag, “while I talk to Doctor Smith. Please?”

She nodded miserably and, still sniffling and crying, turned to leave.

When the door had shut, I asked, “What are my injuries?”

Doctor Smith picked up his clipboard. “Two cracked ribs, serious head concussion, and a severely broken leg.”

I winced. “And I’ve been in a coma for six weeks?”

He nodded grimly.

I sighed and leaned back against the pillows. “Do you know anything about Chester?”

He waited several seconds to answer. “I think I’ll let your dad answer that,” he said as he turned back to the computer and began typing again. “It’s nothing serious,” he added quickly when I sat up. “He’ll be ok.”

“I want to talk to my dad,” I said as I crossed my arms across my chest and glared at him.

He pursed his lips together and said, “Fine.”

He left the room and returned a few minutes later with Dad.

Dad came and sat on the end of my bed, his green eyes glistening with tears. “Hey, honey,” he said as he took my hand. “How are you feeling today?”

“Fine.” I took my hand away and crossed my arms again. “What’s wrong with Chester? He,” I paused to turn and glare at Doctor Smith, “wouldn’t tell me.”

Dad sighed and ran a hand down his face. “He . . . he broke his leg, just like you.”

I frowned as my heart began to pound. “I’ll still be able to ride him in races, right?”

He sighed again and waited several seconds to answer. “The vet isn’t sure yet. We’ll have to see how well he recovers. He doesn’t have much hope.”

“No, he’ll be fine; I know he will!” I couldn’t stop the tears from coming. I couldn’t hold back the huge sobs. For several minutes, I cried as Dad rubbed my back.

When I stopped, he said, “I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s a fighter.”

I sank back against the pillows and sighed. Within seconds, I was fast asleep.

Thanks for reading! Happy writing!

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1 ESV)

The Chronicles of Narnia Review

Book One: The Magician’s Nephew

Book Two: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Book Three: The Horse and His Boy

Book Four: Prince Caspian

Story of the Month: March