SECOND WORLD by RM WAGONER

Title: Second World
Author: R.M. Wagoner
Publisher: CreateSpace (September 20, 2011)
Pages: 170

As I started SECOND WORLD by RM WAGONER, I didn’t know what to expect. In the beginning I wasn’t sure where the story was going, but it was so well written and intrigued me enough to keep me turning the pages. When I realized what direction it was headed, I was hooked.

Clare’s family is anything but normal. Her father is temperamental, her mother emotionless, and her older sister bossy. Young Clare escapes her dysfunctional family while encountering supernatural forces, and embarks on a journey that will forever change her destiny.

For a book with only 170 pages, it packs a powerful punch. It’s beautifully crafted and filled with wisdom. Two books came to mind while reading SECOND WORLD, The Shack, by William P Young, and Hind Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard.

It takes more than just good writing to produce a great book. It takes a well carried out plot, three-dimensional, fully developed characters, writing that is paced well, words that flow naturally, believable action, consequences, and dialogue that work. One that makes you forget you’re reading a story, so emerged in the pages you’ll be. SECOND WORLD was all of that and so much more.

I was speechless as the story neared the end. I was jolted into tears and left deep in thought, needing moments to absorb the story that unfolded in the course of only a few short days. The insight to good and evil that is in this world, along with God’s goodness and grace is astounding. The author pulled off faith woven in such a natural way you don’t feel preached too.

SECOND WORLD would make a wonderful addition to the classics in most schools now days as part of their curriculum. What a refreshing read for young adults as well as any age. I fear my words will fail do this book justice. If this is MS WAGONER’S first published book, I can’t wait to see what she has in store for the future.