Darkness is spreading through Zoura. Beyond the borders of the heathlands, innocent animals are being turned into monsters, and good men into pawns of the Dark One. Father has vanished after joining the Mighty Mercenaries and mother has gone missing in search of him.

Alone on the farm, twelve-year-old Lauren and her brave little brothers, Aiden and Ethan, must guard the Tower of Light that will guide both parents home. But when a hooded stranger is caught trespassing the farm, and a new bishop claims the church, confusion pervades their close-knit community. Will the children be able to recognize who is a threat to the Tower and who is there to help them protect it?

With little else but the aid of a trio of blessed pets, three mysterious weapons, and their growing faith, Lauren, Aiden, and Ethan find it is up to them to stop the agents of The Dark One from putting out the Light and dooming the heathlands to Darkness.

Book 1 of the Towers of Light series.

Farm life can be idyllic when everyone pitches in. But for a fragmenting household, farming is a struggle that requires strong faith. Allen Brokken’s Light of Mine tells the allegorical tale of three children, Ethan, Aiden, and Lauren. Their lives in nineteenth-century rural America get upended when their dad leaves to fight approaching Darkness. Then, when their mother leaves to rescue Dad, the kids must decide whom they can trust, and how they must work together to use the weapons of faith their father left for them. How-to descriptions of building and cooking are interspersed with moral instruction: other characters see and remedy the children’s mistakes, and the story conveys a sound faith lesson.

Best for: Homeschooling families and other young readers.

Discern: Low-intensity fight scenes as well as the people of Darkness using a ritual involving pentagrams to call up spirits.