Review of "Aurora of the Northern Lights," by Holly Hardin

 Review of

Aurora of the Northern Lights, by Holly Hardin ISBN ‎ 9781432724399

Three out of five stars

A path too unpleasant for children

 When the male resident of a warm climate (William) and the female resident of a cold climate (Mistletoe) meet and fall in love, something must yield. However, after a short time in the cold climate of the north, William grows ill and must return to the warmer lands of his birth. Mistletoe agrees to go with him and together they build a happy home, although Mistletoe sheds some tears during the departure. When their daughter Aurora is born their happy home becomes a joyous one, although it only lasts for seven years. An illness strikes down William and Mistletoe and Aurora is left wandering the streets looking for a new home.

 The search yields her nothing as all the residents of the town reject her as an outsider, so she must leave.  Aurora wanders out into Woodland Fey, where the sprites also reject her. Fortunately, the queen of the sprites gives her a thick cloak and an oak staff before telling her she must trek back north so that she can reunite with her people. Aurora sets out on a long journey and shortly before she would have been frozen, she encounters a castle amidst the snow and ice. It is the castle of Santa Claus and Aurora is reunited with her grandmother and she has a home once more.

 Reading this book will be a scary experience for young children as one of their greatest fears is what will happen to them if their parents die. Making this one even more frightening is the rejection of Aurora by all the people in the town and then having it repeated by the sprites in the forest. Children will read of this rejection and be concerned that such a situation would also be their fate if their parents die. Fortunately, there is an eventual happy ending, but the path there is one that I would have been very hesitant to take my daughter down when she was young.