Jaime

“'I’m Jaime,’ he said quickly and quietly, ‘and I read the Book of Light this summer.’ He quickly sat back down. He hoped that he had spoken quietly enough that no one even heard him and Mrs. Hanson would just move on to the next person. But from the looks on all the faces, everyone had. Some people looked confused. Others seems to be stifling a laugh. Still others were looking at him like he had flowers growing out of the top of his head. Jamie slumped down in his seat. So this is what it means to be a warrior, he thought to himself.

Book: Jaime by B. K. Miller, Xulon Press, 2007

Genre: Allegory

Target Audience: Boys and Girls 11-14

Subjects: Salvation, Spiritual Warfare

Summary: Being a warrior of Espiritu means putting up with a lot right? You have to be kind to people, especially those that are your friends. So when Christopher asks Jaime to lie and take the blame for him, Jaime does so. But the more time goes on, the less it seems like Christopher is really his friend anymore. Jaime just keeps keeping into trouble for decisions Christopher made. Is this really how Espiritu wants him to live? Meanwhile, Sara is having a similar problem. It seems being a warrior of Espiritu means compromise or a lot of time spent alone. Her problems begin with a teacher who wants her to accept that Espiritu did not create the world and that humans are no different than animals. But when she’s invited to a special club that practices some things that make her uncomfortable she learns that witchcraft is not just make-believe but is actually a religion called Wicca that encourages the seeking of spirits – demons – to indwell you. This is going to be a long and miserable year for Sara and Jaime if they can’t figure out how to fit in without compromising their beliefs!

Notes: Jaime is the second in a two book series about a young girl who gets to visit an allegorical Heaven, become saved, and start receiving parts of the armor of God to fight against the demons around her. The book is a mix between using allegory to represent a concept and simply keeping it the same but giving it a Spanish name. It is speculative – the Bible does not allow room for people to visit Heaven and come back, but nearly everything in the book could be found in Scripture. There are figures representing all three parts of the Trinity, there is a book representing the Bible that uses light to show how powerful it is and to represent the concepts of the armor of God it has physical armor appear on Sara. The book does a good job presenting a picture of someone’s faith journey – of hearing the Gospel, choosing to respond to it by putting trust in God for salvation, growing spiritually through learning more of the Bible and sharing faith with others.

In this book, Sara’s story continues but there is also a focus on her younger cousin, Jaime and his experience with faith. The story begins with Jaime getting to go to Paraiso and learning what it means to be saved and making that choice for himself. Then Sara makes a huge trial – her dad is in the same place she lost her mom – the hospital. And he’s not coming out right away. He’s facing heart problems and will be there for a time. So Sara will be going to Jaime’s school this year. During the year both face the temptation of peer pressure – Jaime’s friend wants him to break school rules and lie for him. Sara’s new friends want her to become Wiccan and her teachers want her to accept the lie of evolution as truth.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 4.5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

James 1:2-5 - Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Thank you to the author for providing me with a free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion. I appreciate it!