Review of Seed of Seerling

Seed of Seerling (ISBN: 1933204656) by Amy Kennedy is a fairly new release (2008) by a Christian author. She's not new to writing, but this is her first published book (VMI Publishers of Sisters, OR). She has always enjoyed coming up with stories to entertain or to be used in her church.

(Please understand that I am not a professional at reviewing books. I read a book and I will either like it or not. What I will be writing is based solely on my own take of the book. )

Amy and I graduated high school together several years ago. As most teens do, we lost touch after graduation, each going on and pursuing very different lives. By the wonder of modern technology, we have found each other once again! Through this discovery, I also learned she had published this book. Without hesitation, I purchased it and just recently finished reading it. I must admit that at first, I wasn't sure this would be something I could "get into". Well, I was very wrong! Once I got used to her writing style for the book, I found it very hard to put it down.

Her writing style isn't difficult. I guess my point is that it skips a lot of time. I have read other books with elapsed time, but for some reason, I didn't expect it with this one. It begins with Astril as a young girl already struggling with who she is. She was born into a powerful Seerling family. Her great aunt was the High Priestess when she was born, but it wasn't long before she died and Astril's mother becomes High Priestess. When a child is born in this society, a "fortune teller" from another tribe comes to "see" what the child's destiny is. With Astril, she was "seen" as the Seed of Seerling. A person to lead her people to the light and out of slavery. Well, the way the "teller" says it, Astril's mother, Isilian, believes her to become a great priestess. So, throughout the story, there is a battle between Astril and Isilian about the path Astril is to take in life.

While Isilian is a very strong force in Astril's life, so is her grandmother, Sallian. Astril shows true love for her grandmother and her grandmother honestly returns the love. Isilian seems to be almost incapable of loving anyone but the goddess she worships. Everything she does is focused to her. She performs sacrifices and rituals and worships idols, all while being in a drug-induced trance. Isilian is the perfect example of evil and a representative for the Devil.

Sallian, on the other hand, knows of the One True God. She reads her scrolls quietly and is an example of peace and love to Astril. Through her quiet ways, Sallian plants the seed of knowledge of God in Astril. Even though it is a long journey for Astril, she eventually finds her way to the Lord.

While the turmoil goes on within the Seerlings, there is also a race of people called Harkonians. These people know of the One True God, but that doesn't always mean all of them have the best intent in mind. Ard happens to be one of those people. He's a general in the king's army and the cousin to the prince. He provides several surprises throughout the book with his character. He's one to watch. Then there is Prince Toren. He is a very confused young man. His grandfather is the king, whom is very stern and strict. His father is the prince and is the opposite. He's sickly and lets his decisions be made more with his heart. Toren becomes involved with Astril through a strange turn of events early in his life and then is reunited with her as adults. It turns into a love story between the two, but a complicated one!

There are lots of different characters within the story that play a role in how the events are played out. ( I won't describe all of them.) But the theme throughout is the same: good vs. evil or God vs. Devil. This is a very strong Christian based story and quotes scriptures from the Bible. The exact scriptures are all listed in the back of the book for the readers convenience. This way, you can look them up in the Bible to get more information. This book was an excellent and easy read. I never like a book that makes me struggle through it because of complicated words. It is easy to keep up with once you understand that there is some elapsed time. The only thing I noticed, and this may be because I am a teacher and tend to see these things, there were some words misspelled. Of course, that may come more from the editor or publisher, but it's not enough to ruin the quality of the book or detract from the story. Just enough for a teacher to notice!

I do recommend reading this book, especially for all Christians. For me, it renewed my faith in the Lord and reminded me that God is in charge, not me. I would also recommend those that are doubting or haven't found their way to God yet, to read it. With the quotes from the Bible, you can see how these scriptures fit into our daily lives. They may be ancient words of wisdom, but they are excellent words of wisdom to be reminded of.www.vmipublishers.com