Out of the Shadow World by Colleen Chao

Ten-year-old Pax Jackson is sick. So sick, he doesn’t know if he’ll make it to his next birthday. Then Pax and his best from Jayni stumble into a magical world filled with new creatures and embark on a journey to find a mysterious healer.

Children stumble into a secret fantasy world. They face tests of bravery, allegiance, and sacrifice. A magical adventure has clear spiritual connections. There is no shortage of middle-grade Christian fantasy, so what sets Out of the Shadow World apart? It certainly checks the boxes for lovable and charming characters. Chao also weaves spiritual themes, some obvious and some subtle, throughout her story. Anyone can read this title and find joy in her storytelling, but a Christian will walk away seeing glimmers of the Truest Story, with plenty to unpack and mull over. However, what truly sets this book apart is the heartbreaking but very real interweaving of illness and the uncertainty of our time on this earth—even for a child.

I would not press the story too hard as theology; it is not an allegory (like The Pilgrim’s Progress) where everything in the narrative has a spiritual equivalent. However, Chao’s story offers so much to the willing reader. This book aches with her personal experience with Stage 4 terminal cancer but points to the truest reality, where sadness and sickness are no more. This book does not end tied up in a bow, but it is a beautiful story that can aid children (or anyone) dealing with suffering and help them gain an eternal perspective of their true life “out of the shadow world.” A beautiful title.

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