This one has me thinking on the nature of imagination, the supernatural, and reality, and how all three are needed.
The author goes through great pains to show that the father's POV of reality is cold and hard. Yet at the very end, the MC and the Wonder Leader are confronted with not a fantasy portal where girls are whisked away to fantasy lands to become princess, but the cold, hard reality of death. It shakes them both up, perhaps with the adult moreso. On the other hand, if the MC hadn't gotten involved in his fantasy play, those girls would've never been found. The Christian part of me would say "This is God using that boy's gift of imagination", whereas the skeptical part would say serendipitous coincidence. It could be both. It could be neither. Then again, it's not real anyway. It's just a story....right?
Ah, I would love to bring this story to my next Bible study. :-D
Anyhoo, I liked it. It reminded me a lot of the initial wonder I had as a child. We had a backyard that had a slice of forest in it, which is pretty impressive considering it was on the South Side of Chicago. I would go tromping around looking for fairies or sprites. There was also a forest preserve nearby that had a big hill--if you searched through the trees, you'd find a staircase with a canal next to it. Because it was hidden, I always thought it was magical, not that it was just really hard to get to. I haven't been back in years, but I still consider it a pretty magical place.
I'm now introducing my 7-year-old son to the Narnia Chronicles, which was my first real foray into fantasy. Listening to it again, there's so much stuff that I'm questioning and having a hard time with (A Horse and His Boy--really? All brown skinned folk are savages? Reeeeeeally?!). But for my boy, he is absolutely charmed and delighted and wants to hear more. I miss having that wonder sometimes.
::looks under her desk to see if there's a magic portal. Nope. Sigh.::