Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Book Review

 

Title: Once Upon a Wardrobe
Author: Patti Callahan
Publish Date: November 2nd, 2021
Publisher: Harper Muse
Source: Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC for review

“Where did Narnia come from?”

The answer will change everything.

Megs Devonshire is brilliant with numbers and equations, on a scholarship at Oxford, and dreams of solving the greatest mysteries of physics.

She prefers the dependability of facts—except for one: the younger brother she loves with all her heart doesn’t have long to live. When George becomes captivated by a copy of a brand-new book called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and begs her to find out where Narnia came from, there’s no way she can refuse.

Despite her timidity about approaching the famous author, Megs soon finds herself taking tea with the Oxford don and his own brother, imploring them for answers. What she receives instead are more stories . . . stories of Jack Lewis’s life, which she takes home to George.

Why won’t Mr. Lewis just tell her plainly what George wants to know? The answer will reveal to Meg many truths that science and math cannot, and the gift she thought she was giving to her brother—the story behind Narnia—turns out to be his gift to her, instead: hope.

Penelope's Review

I initially picked up this book because I love The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in particular, of course. I hadn't read anything by Patti Callahan before but I heard great things so I decided to give it a shot. And wow. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. There is hope, love, and fierce imagination woven into every word. There is something in this book for everyone, regardless of age or proclivity. 

George is an 8 year old boy with a fatal heart condition, who loves to read and wants to know how C.S. Lewis created Narnia. Where did it come from? His older sister Megs, sets out to find answers and ends up asking Mr. Lewis and his brother directly at their home. Instead of a direct answer, she gets stories. Stories about C.S. Lewis's (aka Jack's) life. She writes these stories down and then brings them home to George. While she initially thinks she is doing this only for George's sake, she soon realizes that she is getting much more out of these stories than she could have possibly imagined. 

This book is magic in a way that I find difficult to describe. It made me feel more mature and more like a child simultaneously. It filled me both with sadness and with joy. But hope, most of all. I highly recommend this book to all who feel like they've been missing something recently. It may help you find what you're looking for. 

Rating: 5/5 Devils!