I read another book by Nancy James that was absolutely fantastic! Her writing style is so futuristic and very exciting, so I decided to give The Boy Who Walked Away a try. This book had me from the very first page and I found it very difficult to put down. I loved how the book took me to unexpected places and encouraged my mind to think about new things. The entire book was interesting and I loved all parts of it.
The book is set in the future and is about Jal Valhyn and his country is going through war. He meets an invisible being and goes on a 7 day journey. Jal is trying to seek peace and wants to bring it to his country. On his journey he meets new people and friends. This brings him to the conclusion that each day is new and that he needs to fight for what he believes in. I found Jal to be an inspiration. For someone so young, he really understands life's concepts. I was impressed by how ambitious he was and what he was willing to do to bring peace to his country.
I felt as though this book brought out the young child in me and helped me to remember my childhood days. I feel that everyone who reads this book would be able to connect to Jal and his journey. It was very special and impressive after everything he went through to see how much he cared about the needs of others. I would honestly recommend this book to anyone! This author has given us another classic novel that is a true gem.
Nancy Janes’ young adult novel begins with an interesting prologue: future Earth had been wracked by war then saved by the countries coming together in a peaceful confederation. Unfortunately, however, human nature rears its ugly head when various of the countries break away (for power and parochial reasons) and eventually the world descends into war and chaos again. This is the world our young protagonist Jal lives in. His parents have been called into military service, and he is left to basically fend for himself. He decides to journey away from the city and life he has known to find his grandfather, and that quest is both literal and metaphysical. As he walks, he meets up with and is aided by two spiritual (imaginary) guides, and they encounter all kinds of things along the way.
Overall, it’s a great idea, and Jal’s innocence and hopefulness stands in contrast to the disintegrating world and seemingly hopeless nature of constantly warring humanity. The writing is vivid, but my one issue with the book is the odd attention paid to banal detail. Sometimes the details are super important for symbolic reasons, but the over description of meals kept jarring me. Perhaps the author was establishing Jal’s reality (in contrast to the spiritual world), but I found it problematic. However, not enough to stop The Boy Who Walked A Way from being a four star book, and one I know my daughter will enjoy when she’s a little older. (She’s 6 now, but I can see this working for her when she’s 9 or 10 or up from there.)
He Jal) really does take a journey of faith when he decides to go away on that walk. Don't we all have those moments especially with how things go in today's society where we would like to do the same? I think no matter where your core values are based this book will appeal to you on a faith level. Nancy Janes created a story that is both complex and simple and interesting.
I would recommend this book to adults and young adults who like to think while they read and enjoy a good story. Kathryn Bennet -Readers' Favorite
