I didn’t know what to expect when I first read this book, wary that it would be overly religious from the blurb.
The book starts strong, we are thrust right into action, and it’s easy to read. There is a murder in what seems like a peaceful small town where crime is unheard of and everything is meticulously orderly. At least that was what I was prepared for a few chapters, then something, a very weirdly worded proposal, threw me off.I will try to keep this vague and brief, but warning not to read ahead if we want to experience this book fully.
There are times when I thought the book ventures around the territory of Louis Lowry (The Giver), which I am not a fan of. Fortunately, it has a much more satisfactory conclusion, and the journey to get there is both fascinating and weird in a good way. I didn’t expect the span of the period, the way characters come and go, and what I thought would be a repetitive circle turns out to be different. I like how it’s built up, the mystery behind everything, and how the story is told. Even though I don’t have answers to all my questions, and there are some questionable things, they don’t interfere with the reading experience. I would say that there is realism, despite how unlikely, in the tale. The diversity and religion touches are not over the top, yet the author is daring enough. Jewel is something very realistic in our current world as a unification metaphor. It may or may not last long.
Overall, this is an unusual read, but I really enjoy the creativity and everything that is put together until the last page.
5 stars
