The Purple Door

Exotic plants…doors leading to other places…a cat who can disappear and reappear in sections…people who disappear and reappear…Wow, this is some antique shop, that’s for sure.

Book: The Purple Door by Janifer C. DeVos, Multnomah Press, 1990

Genre: Supernatural Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 11-14

Subjects: Faith, Compassion, Right from Wrong, Angels

Summary: Erin’s old playhouse has been converted overnight into an antique shop! But that’s ok because it’s still really cool and they gave her a job working there. It’s not an ordinary antique shop, it’s run by a Guardian, who asks Erin to be Guardian as well – someone who has taken a pledge of obedience and service to the King. They serve Him using the gifts and abilities He gives them. They even wear a ring as a symbol of that pledge (pg. 87). This mysterious antique shop also has a few doors in it – doors leading to other worlds! There is one door that is not used though – the Purple Door. And there is a bad guy who wants nothing more than to gain access to that door. And inside that door Erin will face her first test as a guardian.

Notes: This starts out simple, as a story of a couple kids playing, just a normal day in the life of a couple of eleven year olds. But enter the antique shop, the guardian and the doors and it reads like a fantasy novel! I gave it the genre supernatural though because the “Guardian” sounds like an angel. I’m not sure how it works – some are portrayed as angels, some guardians are portrayed as humans who have died and gone to heaven and some, like Erin, are people still living. But it isn’t a book that takes place in a fantasy world. It’s in a place on earth with un-normal things happening. They are all connected to the Almighty though, so the best term for this is supernatural. Much of it reads like an innocent adventure story, but there are some good lessons intermingled throughout it. And at the end we see a theme developing for the series – Erin’s faith being tested.

Recommendation Scale: 4/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Colossians 3:12 - Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.