Slave Boy in Judea

It started slow for my 10 & 11 year old’s but once he arrived at the centurion’s home, they were hooked! I loved how many cultures and unique situations were presented. And I loved how it helped my children understand how wonderful serving one God who loves you is compared to the many “uncaring gods” of the cultures in the book. Very eye opening in a good way for my kids.

Read this in 15 page increments to go along with our history unit on Ancient Israel. It was just enough each time but also very hard to stop reading because it was so interesting and I always wanted to know what happened next. I’m not sure I’ve read historical fiction set shortly after the life of Jesus Christ and it brought a lot of interesting perspective and thought to me as I read and discussed this with my 9 yr old. The idea of a Roman centurion hearing about Christianity and this “new way” that is so different from the many gods of the Roman religion was very interesting. Also the way slavery worked. I ached for Madoc and his deep desire to just let his mother know he was ok and to have hope and yet to not fight against his situation unnecessarily. I thought it was realistic that he tried the “new way” and yet doubted it too when things didn’t work how he expected in his mind they should. A well rounded story with lessons, insights, and events that make you want to keep reading to see how it will turn out.

It is one of the best books my kid has ever read! A huge Adventure that comes all together at the end!

I enjoyed this book very much and had a difficult time putting it down. My middle school son enjoyed it, but not as much as I did.

We are learning about the greeks and roman Gods in history and this was a wonderful tie in on how persecution spread the gospel in Jesus’s day. I highly recommend this book. My children loved it.