A Light in the Castle by Robert Elmer

The sixth book of Robert Elmer’s The Young Underground book series, A Light in the Castle, illustrates how important it is to give Yehovah the glory for his blessing and not simply account them to luck or chance. This is a fictional story set in 1945 Denmark. The main characters, twelve-year-old twins Peter and Elise Anderson, have just returned from being captured on a German U-boat. When a reporter asks Peter how he made it through such adventures, Peter just says, “We were pretty lucky.” (pg. 10) After receiving an invitation to visit King Christian the Tenth in Copenhagen, the twins and their family hurry to the capital city. On the train, Elise asks Peter why he never says what really happened on the U-boat: prayer and faith. Peter replies, “Okay, so what was I supposed to say?” (pg. 19) As soon as they arrive in Copenhagen, their adventures begin. They find Johanna, a little German orphan, and decide they will watch her until they find her a home. Then two mysterious men follow them everywhere and try hard to steal the antique key that Peter found in his hotel room, making Peter very nervous. Then they go to visit the king. Once again, the king asks them how they made it through all of their crazy adventures. Elise says the truth, that it was God who helped them and protected them. Then the king quotes Revelation 3:8– “…For you have a little strength, have kept my word, and have not denied my name.” Peter begins to realize that he should not deny God the glory He is due. The next day, Peter finds out that the two mysterious men that follow them everywhere are planning to hurt King Christian! The ending chapters are a flurry of activity as Peter and Elise, along with Johanna, rush to help the king. At the end of the grand adventure, another reporter asks Peter what happened. Peter declares that is was not luck. “King Christian was right,” Peter says. “Only God could take care of Denmark. And he took care of us too. Me and my sister, Elise. Little Johanna. Everybody.” (pg. 169) A family takes little Johanna as their own, and Peter and Elise get awards for bravery from the king, thus ending a wonderful story of how we should not be ashamed of or deny God. Elmer does an excellent job of making his characters life-like and enjoyable. I highly recommend this book, one of my very favorite books, to anyone who wants a to read a well-written, morally-uplifting book

~A book report by Faith Williams, July 2018