In The Blue Door, the first book of The Threshold Series, we are introduced to Prissie Pomeroy. Prissie discovers that she has a unique ability, she can see angels. Prissie struggles with the realization that people she thought she knew are angels living among the humans. With spiritual battles raging Prissie finds her faith tested as she learns of God’s plan for her.

I found the premise of the book intriguing and the characters well developed. However, I was disappointed to find it slow moving and hard to get through. I ended up not being unable to finish it. ( )

I expected so much more from this book, and I am a little disappointed with it. This is an older book, but it has been sitting in my Netgalley for a while, it is also the start to a series. I was hoping to love this book - as I do with most things I read but this one fell short.

The plot of this book is that Priscilla (Prissie) can see angels and there is a reason for it... sadly we do not find out what that reason is, nor is there ANY action what-so-ever involving our main characters. We meet a bunch of angels throughout the book but none of them really do anything. I guess this being the first in a series there is a lot more to come BUT I didn't like this installment enough to continue with the series - so alas I will never know.

Also, Prissie reads between a 10-14 year old and that is a big age difference for a character. I kept feeling like she was a lot younger than she was supposed to be. I couldn't get a good feel for her real age and only know it because of the synopsis.

I think that this book might be great for someone who enjoys the lore of angels but it was not for me. I think it spent too much time referring to the Bible and to the angels faithfulness rather than creating a plot that was engaging. There really was no plot to this- yes, Prissie can see angels and yes, she meets a good amount of them but the reader doesn't get anything other than that... the war the synopsis mentions is not in this book. ( )

I expected so much more from this book, and I am a little disappointed with it. This is an older book, but it has been sitting in my Netgalley for a while, it is also the start to a series. I was hoping to love this book - as I do with most things I read but this one fell short.

The plot of this book is that Priscilla (Prissie) can see angels and there is a reason for it... sadly we do not find out what that reason is, nor is there ANY action what-so-ever involving our main characters. We meet a bunch of angels throughout the book but none of them really do anything. I guess this being the first in a series there is a lot more to come BUT I didn't like this installment enough to continue with the series - so alas I will never know.

Also, Prissie reads between a 10-14 year old and that is a big age difference for a character. I kept feeling like she was a lot younger than she was supposed to be. I couldn't get a good feel for her real age and only know it because of the synopsis.

I think that this book might be great for someone who enjoys the lore of angels but it was not for me. I think it spent too much time referring to the Bible and to the angels faithfulness rather than creating a plot that was engaging. There really was no plot to this- yes, Prissie can see angels and yes, she meets a good amount of them but the reader doesn't get anything other than that... the war the synopsis mentions is not in this book. ( )

While I primarily read/review adult fiction, I am always on the lookout for books I can recommend for my friends’ children. To that purpose, I accepted the invitation to read Christa Kinde’s first book in the her Threshold series, The Blue Door. I think this book is perfect for middle school girls who are looking for a bit of adventure and for their parents who want to make sure there is a good message in the books they read.

Priscilla Pomeroy is an average fourteen year old looking at an uneventful summer spent working around her family’s farm. Prissie is a bit old-fashioned in her outlook, but suffers from the same things most young teenagers face — the desire to fit in combined with the desire to be a bit special. She gets more than she bargains for when she meets Koji, a boy most people cannot see. Prissie’s world is soon turned upside down.

Prissie receives an incredible gift — to see with spiritual eyes. Her world is opened to the invisible around her. But her sight is confined to angels, despite the fact that there is a spiritual battle surrounding her. Prissie is a character most young girls can identify with — not quite sure of herself, mostly focused inward, and facing changes in her relationships. The spiritual aspect of The Blue Door provides a layer of adventure and a starting point for exploration of what to believe about God and His Kingdom. The angels Prissie meets are not what she expected, but are good examples of how angels and people should be judged on their hearts toward God, not their outward appearances. The Blue Door can open up discussion with your teen about a number of issues — friendship, honesty, family values and spiritual warfare.

There are still a lot of questions left unanswered at the end of The Blue Door – but the next book, The Hidden Deep takes off where it ends.

Recommended.

(Thanks to DJC Communications and ZonderKidz for a review copy. The opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )

Originally posted on my blog.

Cover Talk: I love this cover. It is absolutely beautiful and completely goes with the book. The only part I don’t like is the angel silhouette with the fluffy, feathery wings. That does not match the angels in these books at all. Other than that, I think this cover is gorgeous and very eye-catching.

First Impressions: I’m honestly not sure why I asked for this book on NetGalley. I just read Angel Eyes and didn’t care for the pushy religious tones, but here I went asking for another religious fiction teen book. Something about this one though just sounded different.

First Few Chapters: I started this book yesterday morning and finished it before I went to bed last night. The first few chapters drew me in and introduced me to wonderful characters. I really loved seeing all of the angels being revealed to Prissie and seeing her reactions.

Characters: Prissie is the only character that confuses me. Looking at the cover, I’d say the girl is, what? 15? 16? So in my mind, I wanted Prissie to be older. But Prissie is supposed to be 14. I have a couple of cousins who are around that age, so I tried to picture them as Prissie to help me understand her character. That being said, I really do like her character. She is incredibly girly, family oriented, and is very good at resisting tempation. My only frustration with her was her refusal to believe in angels. And I guess it wasn’t so much as a refusal as she just pretended they didn’t exist, even when she saw them.

Milo is such a sweetheart. I have no idea how old this guy is, or appears to be rather, since he is an angel. He has been a part of Prissie’s life since she was little, she always waits for him at the mailbox (he’s the mailman). Milo is incredibly friendly and always has a smile to share with everyone.

Koji is my favorite! He is an Observer and was very shocked when he realized that Prissie could see him. His relationship with Prissie is adorable. I don’t know how else to describe it. He gives her advice many times and is always there for her, even when she doesn’t necessarily know that she needs someone. I am very intrigued as to where his character will go, because at the end of this book, something weird happens. But we have to wait until the second book to find out what….

As for the rest of the angels, Harken, Baird, and Kester, I adored them all. None of them are how I would have pictured angels and that is exactly why I think Kinde did perfectly at the portrayal of angels in this book. They are all as different as humans are different from each other. They have their own styles and personalities.

Also, I love Prissie’s Guardian angel. But I don’t want to give too much away on him.

Plot: I desperately wish this book would have been longer. I’m not sure of the target age for this series, but I would imagine it’s for younger teens so that may be why the book is only 250 (208 for the hardcover, finished copy) pages long. But anyways, this is a brilliantly paced book and I cannot wait to read more.

If you read my review of Angel Eyes, you know that I did not care for the pushy, religious tones. I was a little weary going into this book that it would be the same way and while there were many religious tones, it didn’t feel pushy. It felt natural, sweet, and caring. I think it honestly has to do with the characters who delivered the religious messages in this book. Koji, Milo, Harken, Baird, and Kester each has a ridiculously wonderful personality, they are how I want angels to really be. The did not push religion onto Prissie, though she already believed in God and angels, etc. But they did help guide her and were there to comfort her when she needed it.

*SPOILER ALERT*

My favorite scene in this book is when Prissie goes on the Ferris wheel with Milo, Baird, and Kester. Prissie is terrified of heights, but after having the willpower to not do something she didn’t want to do, she wanted to have the willpower to do something that she wanted to do. Milo sat next to her and held her so she felt save, Baird and Kester distracted her with conversation while Kester held her hand to calm her down. It was the sweetest thing ever.

*END SPOILER*

There are a couple of things that frustrated me. The first thing is that there are no female angels. This is just me being picky, but I have always found that to be the most frustrating thing when it comes to portrayals of angels. At least in religious books. I was under the impression that angels have no gender, so to make it fair, shouldn’t there be both male and female angels being portrayed? But that has no bearing on this book and does not detract from my enjoyment. I just wanted to point that out.

The second thing that frustrated me a bit with this book was the focus on Prissie’s circle of friends. There are a handful of chapters dedicated to Prissie meeting up her friends only to find out she has essentially been replaced by someone more interesting. Her friends are kind of lousy and while I commend the character for trying to reach out to them, they really didn’t seem worth it to me. And I honestly don’t see how that fit into the grand scheme of things, because according to her angel friends, she has a very important role to play soon and she has been Chosen. But for what?

I’m warning you now, if you don’t like cliff hangers, you will not like this book. I yelled at my computer when I realized that I finished the book and there was nothing else to read. I don’t mind cliff hangers too much as long as the second book is on it’s way soon, but

Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. So much. I honestly can’t believe that I did because I really don’t like pushy, religious books, but I just did not get the pushy from this book. At all. This is a brilliant start to what I’m sure will be a wonderful series. I think the best part about this book is how safe, but exciting this book is. This is one book that I will have zero hesitation handing to a parent for their children. ( )