The Shadowed Onyx

Ghostlike memories haunted her around every corner. She darted in and out of rooms, before the bells rang or after classes started so she could avoid Austin. A spirit wolf followed at her hells most of the day. Was this her life, or was she acting in some twisted made-for-cable movie? Escape.

Book: The Shadowed Onyx (Diamond Estates) by Nicole O’Dell, Barbour Publishing, 2012

 

Genre: Realistic/Supernatural fiction

Target Audience: Girls 16-20

Subjects: Occult, Suicide, Depression, Death

Summary: Melanie is dead. Doesn’t even “cast a shadow” anymore as she shouted to her dad. With her death comes Joy’s death it seems. She barely eats anything anymore. She barely smiles. She barely functions. Melanie was her best friend! It shouldn’t have happened this way! It wasn’t worth it! He wasn’t worth it! Joy would have given up her boyfriend in an instant if it meant keeping her best friend alive. But it’s too late. So now Joy has to find a way to cope. Nice “chuchry” sounding answers aren’t doing it for her. She needs serious hope, and now! So when a friend introduces her to ojjua boards and Melanie speaks to her, Joy is hooked. At last she’s found a way to get peace again and not have to be so afraid all the time. Or has she?

Notes: This is the third book in the Diamond Estates novels, a series about a kind of rehab and healing center for teen girls. Each book takes a young girl with a serious problem and shows how only through finding Jesus and getting support and making changes in their life, can they find the healing they so desperately need. In this one, a girl has just had her best friend commit suicide over her guilt for pursuing Joy’s boyfriend. Desperate for answers, she turns to the occult, getting deeper and deeper into it. She receives a “spirit guide” who goes everywhere with her, to protect her from her fear. She soon realizes that the occult is a very dangerous thing and that the forces of evil will stop at nothing to control you once you have given them power. This is not a good book for a younger teen. The main character actually witnesses the forces of evil killing a person, convincing her for a time that they are more powerful than God. The workers at Diamond Estates explain that they are protected due to their salvation, but that Joy is not, nor was the person whose death she witnesses. It has a few scenes that are very disturbing. However, I recommend it for any who are old enough and mature enough emotionally to start learning about the struggle between God and the powers of evil.  It’s a good series for someone who needs to see a realistic portrayal of the struggles a teen girl faces and where hope can come from.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale:  5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Ephesians 6:11-17 – Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.