Official Review: The Journey of Onna

[ciecheesemeister]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Journey of Onna" by Diana Black/ pin name LM Phelps.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Journey of Onna is a novelette by L.M. Phelps. It is the story of a little girl named Onna, whose abusive mother abandons her in a hotel room. The hotel manager calls the police, and a pair of kindly officers take Onna to the station. The officers call social services, who take Onna to the county orphanage. The people who run and work at the orphanage are kind but sometimes strict. They have a limited budget, and sometimes the children do not get enough to eat. The bedding is worn. However, they try their best to ensure that each child gets some food and has a blanket and pillow.

The Journey of Onna is categorized as a children’s book, but I don’t think it’s appropriate for children. Although the descriptions are not overly detailed, the story discusses the abuse that Onna suffered at her mother’s hands, and younger readers may find the descriptions of the conditions at the orphanage distressing.

The author is a devout Christian, and this factor may discourage some readers, as the Christian faith plays a strong role in the story. The people who run the orphanage are Christian, as are Onna’s potential adopters, and Onna has a guardian angel who guides and comforts her.

Although I am an agnostic and am critical of organized religion, I did not find the religious aspects of this story particularly obtrusive. I liked the fact that the book pointed out the limitations of the orphanage (the child welfare system) while recognizing that many of the people working within this system are trying their best without adequate resources. Often society’s most vulnerable members, i.e. children, the disabled, and the elderly, and those who care for them, are marginalized. The book does a good job of pointing this out.

The thing that I disliked most about the book was the fact that it was not professionally edited, which detracted from the story’s readability. There were several minor errors in the text. There were multiple sentence fragments, which I did not count as errors, but I found them distracting. The paragraphs tended to be too long, and some sentences, such as the following, were confusingly worded.

“Alice explained to the lady, Mrs. Len, one of the helpers what was going on.”

This is not a criticism of the story itself, but the angel on the book’s cover is female. Onna’s guardian angel is male. I kept thinking of the angel in the story as female because of the cover image. It isn’t critical to do so, but the author might want to consider changing the book’s cover to depict a masculine angel.

I give The Journey of Onna three out of four stars. The young protagonist’s plight brought tears to my eyes and I found myself enraged at a system that makes vulnerable children a low priority. The book has a worthwhile message and is a good choice for teen and adult readers who enjoy brief, dramatic stories.

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The Journey of Onna
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Ada Ling]

It seems is a moving story. Thank you for the introduction.

[Harty Muli]

I think the story is appropriate as it exposes a bigger problem of destitution in our society which I think parents are largely to blame. Thanks for an interesting review.

[Ify_Reviewer]

I agree with your view of the book cover. I hope the author works on it. Nice review.

[Menace Crypto]

The book is definitely worth reading, and as a Christian I don't think I'll find any reason not to read it. I loved your review though.