Name: Vilandra's review of Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry
Item: Once Upon a Wardrobe
Rating: 4
Author: Vilandra

Patti Callahan Henry

Patti Callahan

From the bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis comes another beautiful story inspired by C. S. Lewis's ability to change the world and captivate hearts---including those of a terminally ill boy and his logic-driven sister.

Once Upon a Wardrobe

Patricia Nelson

Vilandra

It was an enjoyable read. A little simplistic but that’s part of its charm. I liked the characters and the setting.

Cheri McElroy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A poignant, sweet read. If you took out the insta-love romance, it would be perfect.

Celeste Richardson

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

As soon as I saw the title Once Upon a Wardrobe, I knew I needed to read this book immediately. I have Callahan’s 2018 novel, Becoming Mrs. Lewis, sitting on my bookshelf. I bought it immediately because I love all things C.S. Lewis, but for some reason I’ve never gotten around to picking it up. But Once Upon a Wardrobe sounded like it would have a bit more Narnia between the pages than its predecessor might, so I started reading it a week after I found out it existed. There’s a charm, a nostalgic quaintness to the story and the setting that is immediately inviting. This is the very definition of a cozy novel. Though it is also a sad one. There’s a poignancy here, where sorrow and hope and joy intermingle. 

But something about Callahan’s prose falls flat for me. It feels both youthful, almost to the point of juvenile, and outdated, as though she is trying to capture the magic found in the written voice of her inspiration, Lewis, without access to a key ingredient. The result is unfortunately stiff, in my opinion, to the point that I couldn’t fully connect with the truly lovely story being told. I think this is in part due to Callahan’s propensity for telling instead of showing what is going on through the eyes of her characters. It felt too directed, too forced. There were moments of beauty and brilliance, but that made the failings of the writing in other areas even more jarring.

However, the story made up for the writing. I knew the core story, the tale of Lewis’s life told through vignettes. I’ve read about his life in his own words, though that was long enough ago that I very much enjoyed becoming reacquainted. But the framework story, the tale of Megs and George, was heartachingly lovely. George is a young boy with a failing heart. He fully expects this Christmas of 1950 to be his last. George is utterly enchanted by a new book recently published for children: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Megs, George’s older sister who loves him dearly and would do anything for him, actually attends Oxford, where the author of the aforementioned novel teaches. George begs Megs to find Mr. Lewis and ask him one single, buring question. “Where did Narnia come from?” The answer isn’t what Megs expects. Lewis tells her the story of his life, stories that Megs writes down afterward the best she can so she can share them with her brother. This leads the siblings on some marvelous adventures together, through the stories Megs has been told. But where in all of these stories is the answer to George’s question? 

I did not initially like Megs, though I loved George from the start. I think this is in large part due to my issues with Callahan’s writing. At first, Megs was giving off hard “I’m not like other girls” vibes, which is a trope that always drives me to the brink of madness. But as Megs took this journey for the sake of her brother, as she learned more about herself and about life outside of the tangible and rational, she grew on me. She dealt with impending grief in believable, sympathetic ways. The love she had for her little brother was palpable, and Callahan did a wonderful job on their sibling dynamic. 

While I had my issues with Once Upon a Wardrobe, my opinions by the end were mostly positive. Callahan told a powerful, moving story in a sweet, gentle way. While there is sadness here, this book would be perfect for sensitive readers who still want to think about some harder topics. The overall tone of the novel was uplifting. I might not have loved her writing style, but Callahan told a brilliant story here.

Elise Eanes

Beautiful. Tears flow from my face that taste bitter and sweet at the same time. Both longing and understanding open up in my heart and set to work in making it their home.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this arc and e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Once Upon a Wardrobe

Author: Patti Callahan

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4.5/5

Recommended For...: biography, historical fiction

Genre: Historical Fiction Biography

Publication Date: October 19, 2021

Publisher: Harper Muse

Pages: 275

Recommended Age: 13+ (Sexism, Religion, Parent death)

Explanation of CWs: Sexism is seen and mentioned. Religion is discussed and there is general disagreement with atheism in the book. There is a parent death mentioned.

Synopsis: Megs Devonshire is brilliant with numbers and equations, on a scholarship at Oxford, and dreams of solving the greatest mysteries of physics.

She prefers the dependability of facts—except for one: the younger brother she loves with all her heart doesn’t have long to live. When George becomes captivated by a copy of a brand-new book called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and begs her to find out where Narnia came from, there’s no way she can refuse.

Despite her timidity about approaching the famous author, Megs soon finds herself taking tea with the Oxford don and his own brother, imploring them for answers. What she receives instead are more stories . . . stories of Jack Lewis’s life, which she takes home to George.

Why won’t Mr. Lewis just tell her plainly what George wants to know? The answer will reveal to Meg 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: Overall, I thought this was a pretty good book. The book reads like a love letter to CS Lewis and Narnia. The story was fairly compelling and the character development was pretty good. I really loved how the author did the World building with CS Lewis's past and with the world that were in when Meg is telling the story. I also think this is a good read for fans of Narnia.

The only issue I had with the book is that the POV switching during the chapters was a bit off-putting and confusing at first. It took me out of the moment and the first couple times that happened I was very confused about what was going on.

Verdict: It was good!

Krystal Campbell 

This book was just as magical as Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, but in a completely different way. 

My heart sung and tears were shed. I loved the characters in this story and I was so invested. 

Thank you so much to the author for giving me an insight into the life of such a creative and intelligent mind.

Patricia Nelson &
Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry

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