TBR-ia: October 8, 2026
This Week’s Wisteria:
A rather dull and dark color palette this time - that will match the setting of the story of this week’s book!
This Week’s Book:
Shiloh, by Helena Sorenson
Quick Summary: Four young people learn about keeping one’s own light while living a world shrouded in shadow.
Recommended for ages 13+
In Shiloh, letting your light shine is a literal thing, and not many people do it well.
In this tale, our main characters, Amos, Simon, Phebe, and Isolde, grow up in a fallen world covered continually in shadow, a world where the people are born physically radiant and gradually lose their shine as the hopelessness of life overcomes them. Very few people retain some of their radiance into adulthood, and those that do often only shine in particular moments.
The people have heard stories of things called “the sun” and “stars” but have never seen such things for themselves. Not many people believe these heavenly lights even exist. Most people willingly allow fear to rule and welcome forgetfulness by taking their drinking water from the nearby river whose contamination dulls the drinker’s memory, especially of difficulty and hope.
Amos’ father is one of the few who still believe, and he teaches Amos and his sister, Phebe, never to drink from the river, never to choose to forget. Amos walks proudly in his father’s teachings and in his own self-confidence that grew out of his rare ability to summon fire - a very useful skill in a dark and dangerous world.
But pride comes before a fall - my, does Amos fall, and his fall affects all those around him, especially his sister Phebe and his best friend Simon.
Amos, Simon, and Phebe’s paths eventually cross with that of a young woman named Isolde, who was born into a remnant of a clan that once went searching for the stars.
I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series. I really enjoyed the lore of the world, as well as the Christian parallels in the story. It was a lovely reminder that God’s people are “Children of the Morning” who have been reminded of their glory, which is to reflect their Father and His light.
Overall:
Shiloh was a lovely young adult fantasy with Christian themes deeply woven into the world and its lore. I was left encouraged and actually wanting more, in terms of reading future books, wishing I could have seen even more of the characters met in this story, and wanting even more development and understanding of the world itself.
I would recommend it, especially to anyone wanting a recommendation for a young person seeking to understand this part of the calling of a child of God - radiance.
Wishing you goodness without end,
Jess