The Fire Children by Lauren Roy

Throughout history people have worshiped different faiths and carried out acts such as human sacrifice and temple building to appease their gods.  What if a god actually came to earth?  What if you could talk to the god or dance with him?  Lauren Roy explores just this in The Fire Children.

    Set in an ancient civilization in what I am guessing is somewhere in the Middle East, Yulla lives with her older sister Kell and their loving parents. The girls work hard to help their parents with the many chores. There is another reason too...the Darktimes will soon be upon them.

True to its name during this time the people go below ground after leaving offerings for the gods. Yulla gets tired of living in utter darkness and begins to explore the underground caverns. She discovers something she is not meant to see and she meets a fire  child called Ember. They don't get long to make pleasantries for they soon find themselves working together to rescue the rest of his siblings from an evil force.

The teenage years are usually when we begin to look at the world differently so I think it is no coincidence that Yulla meets Ember at this stage of her life. She is too old for the stories her elders tell but she is still a firm believer in the codes of conduct. Thus at first she is unsure of just how to interact with this being who is made of heat.  He is a child of the sun but he is not invincible however for there are some evil people who want to annihilate all of his kind.

When I picked this book up I was wondering if a story about children made out of fire could go well and I was pleasantly surprised. Roy does a fantastic job of creating a world that draws you right in and the mythology is entirely believable. This book is not as action-packed as some others but it is still a very good read. The Fire Children is a story of redemption, forgiveness, family and first love. I recommend it for tweens and above.