Gilead
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 16+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
An old pastor knows he will die soon. He writes a long letter to his little boy about God, family and the beauty of the world. He learns to forgive a troubled young man and to bless him. This is a quiet, beautiful novel for older teens and adults. It loves Scripture, prayer and the goodness of creation, and it ends with an act of blessing. It is Protestant, and a Catholic critic notes that its idea of grace leaves out the cost of the cross and the weight of sin. Read it for its gratitude and its tenderness, and supply the missing half. The shown age is 16, set by Lumen's own reading age, since Common Sense Media and the publisher give none.
For parents
Not a read-aloud. Independent reading from sixteen. This one age is Lumen's, because no Common Sense or publisher age was found. It is slow and has no chapters, so it suits a patient reader. Know before you hand it over: a mother and baby die, there is grief and old family conflict, and Ames struggles with jealousy toward Jack. Years ago Jack fathered a child with a young girl, abandoned them, and the child died. Ask: what does Ames want his son to remember? Why is it hard for him to forgive Jack? What does it mean to bless someone? Make sure a teen hears the plain teaching: grace is free but it cost Christ the cross, and the sacraments are God's action, not only our way of seeing.