Children of Nature by Joseph S. Coy

What a treat to get to read and review this book! The author is one of my former students at Plainview Christian Academy in Plainview, Texas. And the book is good, folks--I kid you not. I am so proud of him.

The book has not yet been published; Scott (his high school name) has just finished it and sent me a manuscript copy to get my feedback. I'll admit I was a little nervous about the whole process. What if it turned out to be terrible or just trite and unoriginal? Could I tell him the truth? I certainly would not have reviewed it here if I did not have good things to say. I would have kept my comments between the two of us.

Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I am pretty tough on books. I found faults with The Help, which was a best seller. I criticized Catching Fire, which has sold millions of copies. I am being entirely honest is this review, so you know if I find faults I will report them!

Children of Nature is a so-called young-adult book, targeted to about the 10-16 year-old market. But as with all really good "young-adult" books, it can be read with pleasure by adults. Taking place on a post-nuclear apocalyptic earth, it tells the story of children born with special powers of control over earth, fire, wind, water, plants, and animals. As with all people who are markedly "different," they often suffer fear-induced persecution. But, as is skillfully revealed, they have a purpose, a "mission." They just don't all agree about what that mission is.

We have suspense. We have unexpected plot twists. We have some characters we really care about. We have the added interest of age-appropriate sexual attraction. Everything is logical and, within this created world, possible.

What makes this book better than the average is the underlying philosophical allegory of what it means to be human. These children all have love and hate, good and evil, inside, as do all. And what makes them human is that they have the power to choose.

I'm going to be giving Scott some suggestions about improving the book, mainly additions I think he could make to give the story more "punch," so to speak. I know he is also getting feedback from other sources. But as it stands now, I believe it is extremely worthy of publication.