Rating: Needs Parent Supervision

Reading Level: Early Elementary, Mid Elementary, Late Elementary

This is the story of a clever and persevering brother who follows after his feisty, reckless, and creative little sister. From a secular perspective, on the far side of the mountain is more appealing; it has a lot more substance and suspense than its prequel. While the sister’s behavior is an annoying turnoff to me, for others she might be appealing (“She sounds awesome!” my buddy Heather said. )

So let me give you the scoop. Then you can decide for yourself if it’s right for your family. I will also give suggestions how you can help make it more meaningful and positive.

Possible Concerns:

  • Potential Anti-Middle Eatern Sentiment. Unfortunately, the villains are deceitful and dangerous Saudi Arabians who are conducting illegal activity. If you are reading the story out loud to your children I would highly recommend simply replacing the country of origin with something fictional (never- never land!) to prevent the story from perpetuating cycles of fear that plague our country regarding folks from the Middle East.
  • Lack of Respect for Authority. From a biblical perspective, the way that Alice, Sam‘s younger sister, behaves is inappropriate. She is under his authority when his parents leave them together in the woods, however, she decides to run away and lead Sam on a wild goose chase. Sam must use his tracking skills to find her to make sure she is safe. In the process, she lies about her name, and uses other tactics that would put her in danger if her brother were not persistent, astute and lucky! While this adds suspense and interest to the story, it could be dangerous if the idea falls on little ears that they too could run off and their caretakers would surely find them. The little sister is frankly irreverent and irresponsible: the Disney princess from hell! She has fairytale expertise expectations and perpetuates the sort of “reckless so as to be rescued” approach to life. Her behavior is in contrast to Sam’s in the first book; he is perfectly honest with his parents about where he is going and was not playing games for them to track him along the way.

A few other points for you to know:

  • Romance. Sam shows interest in a girl. It is subtle but he clearly likes her and his loved ones comment on how she seems like a nice girl wink wink.
  • Peril. There is a dangerous moment when Sam enters a cave to spy on the villains
  • Guns. There are guns. No one is hurt, but they are there.
  • Stranger Danger/ Safety. At one point, Sam opts to walk along the highway alone at night instead of hitching a ride from the new local acquaintance. Getting a ride from a stranger isn’t good, but I’m not sure if it’s that much better for him to go for a stroll on a mission in the dead of night. This might be a good springboard for discussion about other options he might have had.
  • Animal rights issues and endangered species. This could be the diving point for some great conversations about what real love is. Instead of keeping his falcon for himself, Sam lets her go free. This could be the start of a really great conversation about selfish desires vs selfless love. This leads perfectly into the ultimate selfless love described in John 3:16.

All in all, I enjoyed the story. You might as well! But it is not as innocent or wholesome as the original My Side of the Mountain (see my review here). Nevertheless, it might be a great fit for your family.