The book arrived at our house on Thursday, and is making its way down the line. My oldest son read it Thursday, I read it Friday, and now boy number two is on it. I believe the wife is next, followed by oldest daughter, and last the runtiest son. The four-year-old daughter is trying to convince us that it wouldn't be too scary for her.
I would say that Strays is geared to boys 9-12, but I think pretty much anyone who can read would enjoy it. It's a fast-paced adventure story that starts off with an appropriate amount of mystery and deliberate pacing, but once things start to happen, things start to happen. There are traitors, and saints, and traitor saints. There are angels and demons and rabbits and chickens. The Lord of the Bees makes an appearance, as does Leviathan. One of the characters knows where Jupiter is.
At no point did I consider putting the book down. I had one of the boys fetch me my second glass of wine.
My son and I loved this book, as mentioned before. We did a video review/discussion of it. We hope you enjoy it. If you decide to pick up the book you can do so here.
(Please find below the embedded video an excursus on baseball.)
Pretty much my only problem with the book is that it continues the strange engagement of Christian writers with baseball. Baseball is kind of dumb, guys. I don't mean it's easy; golf is difficult and it's dumb too. Of the major American sports, baseball ranks penultimate in holiness, just after hockey but before soccer. The disregard Christian writers have for the sanctifying power of basketball is disheartening. But I hear Peter Leithart has a major work on the topic coming out, and as he's a devotee of roundball, I hope this tendency will begin to change.
But that is by the way. In Strays the presence of baseball is limited to a honey-glazed bat and a weird uncle who occasionally threatens to play catch.
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