The Secret Bridge from Lamplighter Publishing: A TOS Crew Review

   I love classic literature. My favorite authors growing up were writers of the classics. Much of what I read would have been considered advanced compared to what my peers were reading. I loved reading the dialog of bygone eras and exploring the significantly more complex sentence structures. I strive to push my girls in this direction as well with their reading for school. While I also enjoy modern literature and jump at the opportunity to learn about new authors I continue to circle back to the classics. I was excited to have the opportunity to read The Secret Bridge by Amy Le Feuvre from Lamplighter Publishing. Our family has enjoyed many of the dramatized stories from this company, but have never read any of their books.    Before we get to the actual story I just have to comment on the beauty of this amazing piece of literature! When we opened up the package my girls exclaimed over the cover, how it looked, how it felt, and the color. The embossed design on the front drew me into the story before even opening the pages. I know the old saying, "You can't judge a book by its cover..." but this is not an accurate description for this novel! By all means, judge the novel by its cover. You won't be disappointed!  

For this review I chose to read the book because my oldest daughter is 11 and is not yet interested in novels which involve romance. I think girls who are interested in light romance and are preteens or older would enjoy this. While this is not a book which I would consider heavily romantic as such, it does center around a young married couple, so I doubted my daughter would find this interesting yet. I certainly did not mind taking this one on myself! We follow our heroine, Bridgett Channing, as she begins a new life journey. We meet her in the opening as she is first introduced to her future-groom on a voyage. She is grieving her father's death and Godfrey Bullingham is a kind distraction for her. I found myself cheering for them both as the story unfolded.  

 The wonderful thing about this novel is although the love of these two characters is integral to the story-line, the central theme of the novel is Bridgett's search for God. She initially states she does not believe in God, yet her quest for God is the central, driving force of the story. Watching a fictional character seek the Lord when she had no desire to do so when we meet her is a beautiful thing. The author does a beautiful job of creating a natural growth and progression for Bridgett. I get the sense she fully understands the journey of one genuinely seeking the Lord.  

  While I enjoyed watching the author artfully weave the love story in a tasteful way, something many modern romances lack, the skillful way she tells Bridgett's love story with God is masterful. This author clearly desired to honor the Lord with her writing and did so in a way which challenges us to seek God more fully ourselves. One of my favorite classic authors had this same goal in mind when she wrote and I am thrilled to find another author who strives to honor the Lord with her writing. This will definitely be on a list for my daughter when she is a bit older!   See what my Crewmates have to say!