Millie Maven
Trilogy by Ted Dekker and Rachelle Dekker
Last week, I discussed the 4 books that I’m reading, and the Millie Mavenseries was one of those that I mentioned. Wait...I said that I was toward the end of the first book, and now I’m saying that I’m done with the series? Yes, I read this series rapidly! I read all 603 pages in just under 2 weeks! I guess that means that this was an excellent series, but I do actually have some critiques of this series. I am going to try not to be too harsh since this series is more under my age level than I realized when I picked it up. Let’s just say, it was an easy read, and that is why I finished it so fast!
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Millie Maven, written by Ted Dekker and Rachelle Dekker, is the story of a poor orphan girl, Millie, who is mistreated by her aunt and uncle. Until she is visited by Aggie, who tells her that she is loved by the Great Teacher and can have a new way of life. She chooses to get transported to the world of FIGS (FarPointe Institute for Gifted Students). In this series, Millie goes through many trials to work together with friends and enemies to discover the love of the Great Teacher. Through these trials and her time at FIGS, she discovers that she isn’t like the other students.
The concept of this series is great, and I think the series is worth reading. I obviously really enjoyed it just because of how fast I read the series! It is also a really great series because it teaches kids (and adults) many great values of life, like courage, love, and kindness. Even non-Christians can appreciate these values presented in these books. I think this aspect of the book is great! But I do have some critiques of this series that I would like to share, both concerning the plot. First, the plot was very predictable! I just about knew within the first few chapters what would happen in the rest of the series. Let’s just say that I was right, and nothing that happened surprised me! Now, like I have already said, this series was below my age level, so it may have been easier for me to discern what was going to happen. My second critique, which may seem silly, is that it was far too similar to Harry Potter. It was basically a shorter and Christian version of Harry Potter. I mean, this could be a good thing. If you have younger children who want to read Harry Potter, I would definitelyrecommend this book because it is very similar! Having read both series, I found countless comparisons between the two series. If I hadn’t read Harry Potter already, I may have enjoyed this series more. Besides these two critiques (the second being personal preference), this series was great in all other aspects.
Overall, I found both good and disappointing aspects of this series. While I wouldn’t recommend it to people my age, I would mostly recommend it to kids 8-12 (especially if they want to read Harry Potter), as it fits that age level much better. I will say that it was nice to have an easier text to read since I’ve been reading some harder texts recently. Really, I wish I had read it a few years ago because I would have enjoyed it much more! So really, if you (or your kid) wants a series like Harry Potter, but without as much violence, magic, etc., then this series is perfect! You can buy this series at teddekker.com, where it is $25 off right now!