Stephanie Sullivan: Review - Once Upon a Wardrobe

TITLE: Once Upon a Wardrobe (audiobook)

RATING: ★★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): 1950: Margaret Devonshire (Megs) is a seventeen-year-old student of mathematics and physics at Oxford University. When her beloved eight-year-old brother asks Megs if Narnia is real, logical Megs tells him it’s just a book for children, and certainly not true. Homebound due to his illness, and remaining fixated on his favorite books, George presses her to ask the author of the recently released novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe a question: “Where did Narnia come from?”

Despite her fear about approaching the famous author, who is a professor at her school, Megs soon finds herself taking tea with C. S. Lewis and his own brother Warnie, begging them for answers.

Rather than directly telling her where Narnia came from, Lewis encourages Megs to form her own conclusion as he slowly tells her the little-known stories from his own life that led to his inspiration. As she takes these stories home to George, the little boy travels farther in his imagination than he ever could in real life.

Lewis’s answers will reveal to Megs and her family many truths that science and math cannot, and the gift she thought she was giving to her brother—the story behind Narnia—turns out to be his gift to her, instead: hope.

REVIEW: As a librarian, C.S. Lewis is a name I hear quite often, and I've checked out his books countless times to patrons young and old alike. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a favorite for them all. I've never read the book, but after listening to Once Upon a Wardrobe, I have added the Narnia series to my growing to-be-read list. In all honesty, the main reason I chose to listen to this book is because it's read by one of my favorite narrators, Fiona Hardingham. She has the most beautiful voice, and I intentionally seek out her audiobooks, no matter what the genre might be. This was my first time reading Patti Callahan's work, and I truly enjoyed it. Although the premise is sad, I loved learning more about C.S. Lewis through the main sibling characters, George and Megs. Having two younger brothers myself, I felt Megs pain watching George's health decline, and I understood her urgency wanting to get answers for him about Lewis' book before it was too late. Overall, I would recommend Once Upon a Wardrobe to everyone, and I look forward to reading more of Patti Callahan's work in the near future.

(DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this title from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own).