The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson (Review by Ashley Nikole)

This young adult, historical fiction book is amaze-beans. Melanie Dickerson (for me personally) is a bit of a hit & miss. Some books I like, others...not so much- but this one I loved for multiple reasons...

The PLOT... 

wasn't mind blowing in it's uniqueness, but it flowed well & was pleasant. The twist about Lord Hamlin's betrothed was pretty cool, and while I wouldn't say this book was fast paced- it didn't lag either. It flowed pretty smooth & consistently throughout. 

The Characters... 

were unique and I felt as though their personal struggles were relatable & not the usual surface level stuff one normally reads about in YA Fiction. 

The Spiritual Content... 

was not your average for YA Christian Fiction, with sprinkles of God's name here or there, or a bullet prayer. There was some pretty heavy demonic crap floating around with the bad dude (closer to the end of the book)- Moncore (who's a sorcerer). At one point he puts curse on someone, proclaiming that they will be tormented by demons forever & essentially end up insane from it. So, that aspect makes this book heavier overall from the bad stuff present...& for that reason I'd more recommend it for readers 16+ 

But I appreciated the angle about spiritual warfare against evil, and prayer etc. that the character's used to combat Moncore's curses & power. Spiritual warfare is not something I've read a lot of in Christian fiction, but I enjoyed seeing Dickerson displaying the power of prayer & warfare.

The Sexual Content...

There's character's falling in love...some creepy dudes who don't have good intentions toward Rose and the like. At one point someone asks Rose to become his mistress.

Conclusion...

Very much enjoyed this read. It was more mature than most YA books, just given how the characters dug deeper and had a stronger sense of sacrifice & duty than most characters I've read about in other YA fiction. 

The witchcraft in the last portion of the book definitely had me feeling heavy and a tad disturbed afterwards (just since I know how real the dynamics of spiritual warfare are in real life)- but at the same time I appreciated the light shed upon the spiritual warfare aspect of things. So it was heavy, but I appreciated, and thoroughly enjoyed this book. 

4 Stars & I would recommend this one for ages 16+