∎ [PDF] Doon A Doon Novel Carey Corp Lorie Langdon Books

Doon A Doon Novel Carey Corp Lorie Langdon Books

Download As PDF : Doon A Doon Novel Carey Corp Lorie Langdon Books

Doon A Doon Novel Carey Corp Lorie Langdon Books

I have a confession: I love the recent plethora of young adult fiction. Not Twilight - I have standards, after all, but it busted the floodgates wide open and now we're swimming in some great, thoughtful and provocative YA Lit. From Katniss Everdeen and Percy Jackson to the Pure trilogy, the YA world is delighting young adults (and some of us not-so-young) with creative and original fantasy.

Another confession: I don't often hold Christian art in high regard (at least not since the Renaissance). We tend these days to be derivative. And I say this as a guy who had a Christian Music Recommendation Poster on my bedroom wall in high school. So after the Christian Harry-Potter-Haters had their 15 minutes, I felt sure we were destined for a glut of bad Christian knock-off fiction.

I'm pleased to report that DOON by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon breaks the mold.

Doon is the retelling of the legend of Brigadoon (yes, the one from the Gene Kelly musical). It's one of the launch titles for Blink, a new YA imprint from Zondervan. If Doon is any indication, Blink is publishing books that have a distinctively Christian worldview but tell stories for their own sake (not to preach or teach). But enough about that. How is Doon?

Doon introduces us to Veronica and McKinna, two girls who plan to spend the summer in Scotland. As they prepare to embark, Veronica begins to have visions of a man in a kilt. Since this is a YA novel (and, you know, there's a sweet castle on the cover), we're not surprised that they're transported into a magical kingdom shortly after they arrive in Scotland, or that the eternal fate of said magical kingdom rests squarely on their shoulders.

Doon is a great YA book. But is it good Christian fiction?

Fair warning: minor Doon spoilers follow.

Neither Veronica nor McKenna is a Christian. But the kingdom of Brigadoon is, explicitly. They attribute their continued existence to the Protector, a clear allegory for the Christian god (and since they're sort of medieval Scottish, what else would they be?) Though the point of the story isn't just to talk about God, the mystical nature of Brigadoon forces Vee and Kenna to confront their (lack of) faith.

But their spiritual journeys aren't artificial or forced. Nor do they resolve clearly (of course, we have been promised three more books). This is the power of fantasy: by putting ordinary teens into an extraordinary scenario, these conversations feel organic.

Since Doon is fantasy, teens thinking deeply about God is probably the most realistic aspect of the story.

More generally, the best part of Doon is the girls themselves. Vee and Kenna feel like real teenage girls. They have real insecurities and a real, strong friendship. As the Doon series gains popularity, we're going to see their friendship celebrated: far from the frenemy relationships we see in most depictions of teen girls these days, Vee and Kenna are each other's biggest fans. Far from exploiting each others' weaknesses, they complement each other, forming a team that's stronger together.

Speaking of which, Doon also deserves to be commended for its girl-power ending. Despite the fact that they're telling a modern fairy-tale, Vee and Kenna are no damsels in distress. They drive the plot, they resolve the conflict. They even save the beautiful dudes in distress.

Why should Christians celebrate Doon?

Because it's got strong female characters who model healthy friendship. Because it has believable, relatable teens thinking honestly and seriously about God. And because this is a story written by two Christians who put the story first and trusted the power of story (and their faith) to be compelling enough. Let's hope for plenty more where Doon came from.

Bottom Line: If you like YA, you'll like Doon. Let's hope it sets a new trend for thoughtful, engaged Christian literature.


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Doon A Doon Novel Carey Corp Lorie Langdon Books Reviews

So, I was flying to Scotland, my first time there, and thought a nice Scottish setting for a quick flight read would be a perfect idea and get me on the wavelength of my destination. Well, "Doon" did just that and, unfortunately, sort of didn't. The story line with a magical kingdom, princes in kilts, soulmates and magic are definitely wonderful mood setters for the land of Jamie Fraisers, but the story itself was disappointingly weak and juvenile.

Basically, the story didn't surprise me in any way, neither did it distract me enough with positive aspects for me to close one eye for the glaring cliches and seen-a-million-times-already tropes. The latter mostly followed their typical mold and didn't upgrade or offer any new perspectives. As I said, the book had potential and it seems almost impossible to go wrong with sexy Scottish guys and wonderful highland castles, but setting alone doesn't make a story, characters, their relationships, dialogue and the basic outline of the plot also have input. I'm genuinely sad, because all the latter aspects were lacking a bit or quite a lot.

Surprisingly enough, I quite liked Veronica and Mackenna, even though they kind of blended into one a lot and I got confused on who was currently narrating. There just wasn't satisfactory differences between them that I could constantly feel and that would help me to tell them apart. Yes, one liked theater and the other dancing, but that was basically where the major pinpoint-able differences ended. Also, Veronica was a bit too troubled, with her alcoholic mother, sleazebag future step-dad, cheating boyfriend, druggie father, etc. Dual narrating by the two main female characters was a fresh idea, though. Also, having two romances in one story is always a bonus in my eyes.

Now to the guys. Duncan was lovable and cheerfuly charming, so I liked him. Jamie was a little difficult to warm up to, mostly due to his hostile treatment of supposed soulmate Veronica. He treats her bad, for all the noble reasons of course, and she takes it like a champ or, in common language, doormat. I didn't in any shape or form get the impression that they were destined to be together. I didn't buy it. Their ending was kind of sweet and Cinderella-ish, though, so there's that. Needless to say, I preferred Duncan and Mackenna's love-dance. Firstly, it was cute, teasing, less angsty and believable. Secondly, their story wasn't finished, so there's time to develop their relationship and not solely rely on the word "soulmates" to explain their romance.

The setting as well had it's issues. It simply didn't feel real, which, of course, it isn't supposed to, being a magical parallel world and all, but it came across superficial and fake. They had sushi, their own local pizzeria, modern toilets, etc. Good plumbing is always a win for the characters, but not for me as a reader, because adding these details made it difficult to take the setting seriously. It helped loose the mysterious cursed magical kingdom charm. It also made a lot of things too convenient. Adding here the rings, the journal and other factors, convenience was at times a real issue, even tough, some of the artifacts were quite intriguing (eg. the rings). Also, I would have preferred less time spent of having the girls be tourists, because a lot of time was spent on so called excursions.

Now, for some good parts, which contrary to my previous tone, weren't completely lacking. I really liked the twist in the end and the choice the girls had to make. One of their decisions I was very satisfied with, because it was realistic and didn't make things too easy. The final act was also pretty intense. Finally, I genuinely liked the premise, which could have been executed considerably better, but it was a promising idea.
I have a confession I love the recent plethora of young adult fiction. Not Twilight - I have standards, after all, but it busted the floodgates wide open and now we're swimming in some great, thoughtful and provocative YA Lit. From Katniss Everdeen and Percy Jackson to the Pure trilogy, the YA world is delighting young adults (and some of us not-so-young) with creative and original fantasy.

Another confession I don't often hold Christian art in high regard (at least not since the Renaissance). We tend these days to be derivative. And I say this as a guy who had a Christian Music Recommendation Poster on my bedroom wall in high school. So after the Christian Harry-Potter-Haters had their 15 minutes, I felt sure we were destined for a glut of bad Christian knock-off fiction.

I'm pleased to report that DOON by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon breaks the mold.

Doon is the retelling of the legend of Brigadoon (yes, the one from the Gene Kelly musical). It's one of the launch titles for Blink, a new YA imprint from Zondervan. If Doon is any indication, Blink is publishing books that have a distinctively Christian worldview but tell stories for their own sake (not to preach or teach). But enough about that. How is Doon?

Doon introduces us to Veronica and McKinna, two girls who plan to spend the summer in Scotland. As they prepare to embark, Veronica begins to have visions of a man in a kilt. Since this is a YA novel (and, you know, there's a sweet castle on the cover), we're not surprised that they're transported into a magical kingdom shortly after they arrive in Scotland, or that the eternal fate of said magical kingdom rests squarely on their shoulders.

Doon is a great YA book. But is it good Christian fiction?

Fair warning minor Doon spoilers follow.

Neither Veronica nor McKenna is a Christian. But the kingdom of Brigadoon is, explicitly. They attribute their continued existence to the Protector, a clear allegory for the Christian god (and since they're sort of medieval Scottish, what else would they be?) Though the point of the story isn't just to talk about God, the mystical nature of Brigadoon forces Vee and Kenna to confront their (lack of) faith.

But their spiritual journeys aren't artificial or forced. Nor do they resolve clearly (of course, we have been promised three more books). This is the power of fantasy by putting ordinary teens into an extraordinary scenario, these conversations feel organic.

Since Doon is fantasy, teens thinking deeply about God is probably the most realistic aspect of the story.

More generally, the best part of Doon is the girls themselves. Vee and Kenna feel like real teenage girls. They have real insecurities and a real, strong friendship. As the Doon series gains popularity, we're going to see their friendship celebrated far from the frenemy relationships we see in most depictions of teen girls these days, Vee and Kenna are each other's biggest fans. Far from exploiting each others' weaknesses, they complement each other, forming a team that's stronger together.

Speaking of which, Doon also deserves to be commended for its girl-power ending. Despite the fact that they're telling a modern fairy-tale, Vee and Kenna are no damsels in distress. They drive the plot, they resolve the conflict. They even save the beautiful dudes in distress.

Why should Christians celebrate Doon?

Because it's got strong female characters who model healthy friendship. Because it has believable, relatable teens thinking honestly and seriously about God. And because this is a story written by two Christians who put the story first and trusted the power of story (and their faith) to be compelling enough. Let's hope for plenty more where Doon came from.

Bottom Line If you like YA, you'll like Doon. Let's hope it sets a new trend for thoughtful, engaged Christian literature.