Customer Reviews

The Way Home: A Princess Story

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Way Home by Max Lucado is the story of redemption told in a colorfully illustrated fairy-tale form.

Anna, the adopted daughter of the king, has everything she needs and more, but she hears stories of the Lowlanders. They never work. They play all the time. The forest where they live looks so inviting.

Her tutor, Sir Henry, tries to warn her of the evil that dwells in the forest. Edward, the king's strongest knight, pleads with her to avoid "these servants of Olbaid." But Anna is only half listening. When invited to visit the woods by an old woman, "For just a peek," Anna follows. When Anna finds she has been tricked, she is hopelessly lost among the trees.

Only the king can rescue her--she is his child. He knows what Olbaid really wants. You will find examples of Mr. Lucado's humor as you read the various characters' names. The story is wonderful read by the child alone, but even better when a parent reads and explains it as a picture of God's redemptive love.

This is a book a child will treasure and want to read over and over. And, it's meaning will only deepen as he grows. -- Linda Demorest, Christian Book Previews.com

Princess Anna had not always been a princess. She had been abandoned when a baby, and the King had found her in the great forest, and brought her up as his daughter. When she grew older, she became discontent at home in the castle. She had to work at her studies. It had been a good life, until she heard about the Lowlanders, who never had to work, and played all day. She knew her father the King loved her, but she began to think it wasn't too much fun to be a princess. She was warned that the Lowlanders were enemies, but Anna thought longingly of the fun they had, and reflected on how hard her life as a princess was.

One day she is lured into the dark forest, and when she turns back, the way had grown up, and she could not return. The Lowlanders were the minions of Olbaid, and did not, after all, spend their days in fun. Olbaid desired to have the princess under his control to spite the King, and under his power, she began to wilt, becoming like a Lowlander herself.

The King's love for his daughter caused Him to go to Olbaid for her. He offered Himself, which was what Olbaid really wanted, as a ransom for Anna. He seemed to die, but He told Anna that they could never kill Him. Anna was unhappy under the dominion of Olbaid, but she could not see a way out before, and she knew, everyone knew, that she herself had chosen to enter the dark forest. After the King conquered death and Olbaid and his Lowlanders had fled, the King told Anna He would take her home. In her hopelessness, she said she did not know the way anymore. The King told her that was why He had come for her. He had made a way for her return home, to be His daughter, His princess. He was the Way.

I cried when I read this beautiful allegory. Truly we have each chosen to go our own ways, literally despising what God has given us. But He has made a Way for us. John 14:6

When I first read this book, I too, was disappointed by the princess' wishy-washy character. Then I realized this is an allegory. The princess represents everyone before they trust God to rescue them when they got lost.

WE are that flaccid, lukewarm character. We don't see how much God's kingdom rocks. WE think the 'bad guys' are having so much fun. We ARE dull characters because we are spiritually dead before Jesus rescues us. WE acquiesce when satan whispers "you can't go to God now." We COULD call the devil a creep and march right back to God- but we don't.

The princess never really *does* anything the whole story because we are the same way. Our rescue doesn't come from our own heroic abilities. God defeats satan (no contest) with His sacrifice, then simply calls us to come home with Him.

Then just like in the story, people always think they can't go with God because they don't know how, or they can't make themselves good enough. That is OUR *duh* moment because God tells us in the Bible he takes us as we are and we just need to follow Him- like any child would know that the grown-up who just rescued her will know the way to safety. From the outside, it seems so elementary to us, but when we are in the story, we are just as slow as that princess.

Really, this tale is not about creating a perfect princess heroine that all the little girls want to be, like in Disney movies, but about showing us the truth of our own lives. We hope we are ultimately the hero of our own story and save the day, but really, we need God to do that and He IS the perfect hero.

As to it not living up to its epic potential, I, too, would love it to be a meatier, epic tale. However, it is clearly aimed at those very young children who are obsessed with princess movies, and as such, is a simple tale they can understand, and then open up the opportunity for parents to share about God's love with their kids! Even I as an adult was surprised and humbled by the message of this tale when I figured out who the princess represented and how the human story parallels it! No humanistic "we can do it ourselves" ego-stroking here.

It was only after realizing all this that I decided I was totally buying the book!

Athough I've never read his Hermes kids' series, I've always loved Max Ludado's adult-aimed books and had high hopes for this story. It is beautifully illustrated, but the parable just doesn't pack the emotional whollop of, say, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."

The story starts off (slowly) in a castle where a princess has been adopted by a king. More than half of the book is devoted to this flacid character mooning out the window, wondering what it'd be like to visit the "Lowlanders" (Lion King II, anyone?), whom she suspects have all sorts of fun. Odd, because she's such a dull character throughout, I can't imagine her enjoying herself too much, anyway.

Finally, toward the end, one of these imp-like characters (Satan's minions, whose names of "Ima," "Gunna," and "Getcha" sound like someone's trying too hard to be clever) tricks the princess into following him into the woods. Instantly, he tells her she can't go back because she's one of them now. She aquiesces, for reasons unknown to the reader, since she could just as easily call the guy a creep and turn right around and be out already. But she doesn't, because she doesn't ever actually *do* anything the whole story, anyway.

Meanwhile, back at the kingdom, the King learns what has happened and goes to the forest to get his daughter. Yes, that part makes sense. I get it. But the story is so poorly woven that it doesn't do the epic justice. The King just waltzes into the forest, lets Olbiad (Get it? Again with the straining to be clever) kill him, then stands up and tells the princess it's time to go home.

On the last page, the princess tells the King she can't go home because she doesn't know the way. He says he does and for her to take his hand, and that's the end. Seriously! Why would a child tell a grown-up who just rescued her that she doesn't know the way? Duh.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but this had the potential to be such a rich tale, and it falls quite flat. I returned it.

This is a beautifully written and illustrated book that provides the message of love and redemption for girls. BEST if given to a girl who has a trusted, wise father.