- best friends find their mundane underground life transformed into an adventurous quest for truth
- fun fantasy elements, such as unique creatures and broccoli as big as trees
- biblical themes especially seen in retrospect: light conquering darkness, perseverance & hope in the midst of trials, trusting in a sovereign God (they call “All Mighty”), being responsible stewards of our minds & knowledge
- convo: a few intense scenes with giant snakes in dark tunnels, a character hears in his mind “I am with you” a few times*, luck mentioned a few times, gossip encouraged in one scene to glean information (minor), public floggings mentioned in a list of punishments
- language: x4 darn
Type: chapter book
Ages: 8+ (9+ for more sensitive readers)
Author: Daniel J. Atkins
Illustrator: Aedan Peterson
This story will capture your attention from page one! I’m so pleased when new authors emerge onto the kid lit scene with creative stories. Out of Darkness is Atkins’ debut novel, and he expects the second one later this year (2026).
Fin (the boy) and Sky (the girl) make a great team–he is very smart with creative abilities and she has relentless optimism and courage. Their typical days are spent as diggers–a dangerous job mining for glowstones. These are the undergrounders’ only source of light.
But things aren’t adding up as they discover details about missing persons and schemes of their community leaders. I don’t want to give away much more!
Regarding the voice Fin hears in his head (see * in bullet points), you likely know I closely watch things of this sort. Ultimately, I am comfortable recommending the book as it never strayed into the realm of extra-biblical revelation. Besides “I am with you” (which is in Scripture many times), the book mentions All Mighty’s “still small voice,” which also is in Scripture (see 1 Kings chapter 19). As always, I will update this review if I learn later books drift, but please know this book is great!
If you read this aloud (a wonderful option, by the way), be sure to read the footnotes. There are only a handful, and they add fun texture to the story. The author/narrator also speaks to the reader a few times to explain something. There’s a comical air to it and those few interjections are well-placed.
Overall…it’s a yes from me!
See the series’ website: lightseekerseries.com
Buy the book on Amazon.