On the fourth day of giveaway...

Okay, you know the drill by now...

And the winner of “601 Spanish Verbs” is...

Linda C.! Congratulations! (And I'm so sorry, Kriston! You were so quick on the draw, too!)

Today's giveaway is a young adult fantasy novel called "A World Away: The Quest of Dan Clay, Book One," by T.J. Smith. It was sent to me by the author. I ended up not reviewing it for two reasons.

First off, it doesn't have to do with homeschooling per se, nor is it educational. I've reviewed books and products that push those boundaries a bit (witness my fondness for Fluxx games), but I would have to be head over heels screamingly in love with a novel in order to review it for SHM. This book looks fine, but it simply didn't grab me by the throat the way it would have to in order for me to justify spending the time reading and writing about it.

Second, on glancing through it, I can see that it's written from a religious vantage point, specifically Catholic. I do run reviews of religious books and educational products, but they have to be either extraordinarily good or unexpectedly religious to make it worthwhile. This simply seems to be a fantasy novel that takes place in a Catholic universe in the same sense that the Narnia books spring from a Church of England source.

It's a beautiful book -- a matte paperback with gorgeous cover art. I know that SHM readers aren't necessarily nonreligious; they just don't want to have a specific worldview preached to them when they're trying to figure out what sort of homeschooling would work best for their families. As I was unable to review this book, I'd like at least to find a good home for it. Let me know if you'd like a shot at it. (And speaking of preaching, don't forget to bore everyone around you to tears by droning on and on about SHM.)