Sam's mother died when he was twelve. Years pass, and Sam's desire to get her back leads a mysterious stranger to console him with Biblical tales of the Tree of Life and a message: "Death, like life, is a gift." Sam and best friend Abra search for the Tree, but dark forces are searching, too. An original premise plays out predictably in this Christian grief narrative.

When he is twelve, Sam loses his mother to a freak lightning strike. Thus begins a long, strange summer as he searches for the Tree of Life, whose magic can bring his mother back. His journey of discovery thrusts him into an epic battle between two angels, one determined to achieve dominion over the mortal world and the other just as resolved to stop him. Smucker’s debut is an unusual and unique young adult novel as the protagonist is an elderly man telling the tale while looking back on his childhood. The tone, subject matter, and allegorical elements hearken back to older books for young readers, like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or A Wrinkle in Time. While the angels take on human characteristics, they obviously represent good and evil, while Sam is a more complex, nuanced character. Though he is the “good guy,” he falls under the spell of darkness in his overwhelming desire to bring his mother back, no matter the consequences. The true hero is not the protagonist; that role instead falls to Sam’s best friend, Abra. The language and writing style are beautiful, fully worthy of a topic steeped in reverence. Given the age of the protagonist, this is most likely going to appeal to middle school readers, although readers interested in religion, good versus evil, grief and loss, and life-after-death issues may be drawn to it as well.—Cheryl Clark.