XII

I grew up with the stories from the Bible. Not so much as strict rules I had to follow or as warnings for severe punishments when straying from the designed path, but more because the lessons in these stories are actually quite beautiful. Mostly the stories speak of kindness and forgiveness and being humble. When I saw this book on Netgalley I was therefore quite curious to see how this would turn out and how these stories would sound in a young adult voice.

This collection of twelve stories, where a few stories are actually different parts of one longer story, didn't present me with something new. These stories are the well known stories, the stories I grew up with and knew by heart when I was a child. Although I think that there are lesser known stories deserving more recognition and although I do think one of the core stories is missing (Cain and Abel) I do believe this book is a great introduction to the Bible if you're not familiar with it.

In no way is the story trying to convince you to believe in God. In no way is it trying to make you follow the set of rules some Christians follow. This book is telling the important stories from the Bible and they can be read however you want. If you want to read them like you read fairytales that's totally possible, but if you are looking for the deeper meaning it's there too. In that way it's accessible for people who don't believe in God while not being disrespectful to people who do.

However, what makes reading these stories worth it, even if you already know them quite well, is the heart and soul Bennett adds. Mary, Jesus, Noach, Japheth, Adam, Eve, they all really come to life in these stories. And while they are all still very special people, they also come across as human and real. They have doubts, they have fears, they cry and they laugh, they make mistakes and they learn and grow and most of all they allow us to really live the story through their eyes.

There is a lot to commend this book as the story is well-told and draws the reader in. However, I think it should be aimed at a younger audience partly because my daughter would not have been interested in the stories by the time she was ten.

Some of the most known stories of The bible rewritten in a incredible way of storytelling. I liked a lot the narrative and the easy and clear structure of the text to makes us be involved with the story.

I always enjoyed reading Bible stories as a child and reading them to my children, but wonder if that habit has gone out of fashion.

This is A great retelling of stories from the Bible in a way aimed at a younger, more modern audience.