H.A. Pruitt’s latest novel, Elores and Sipora, is a companion novel to her Anelthalien series, but it stands on its own very well. While reading the related series beforehand will certainly allow a greater appreciation and faster grasp of certain world-building details, it’s by no means a requirement to enjoy the story. This novel is a prequel, centering on the parents of one of the protagonists of the main series, so most of the characters and information involved is new even for existing fans. It’s also aimed at more mature readers, covering heavier themes and topics, and more centered around the evolving relationship of the two titular characters rather than fantasy adventure.

Overall, Elores and Sipora is a wistfully sweet story. I won’t call it bittersweet, because Elores and Sipora refuse to be bitter about any of their circumstances, but I also won’t deny that their story is often a hard one. At times it called to mind titles like Bridge to Terabithia, Stand By Me, or Where the Heart Is; not necessarily because of any plot similarities, but the feelings it evoked and the juxtaposition of moments of innocence, nostalgia, and hope with dark realities, hurt, and trauma.

The novel begins with Elores and Sipora meeting as young children in the sea of tall grass between Elores’s home and the nearby forest. Elores is an imaginative boy, often creating songs and stories to entertain himself or work out bits of the world he doesn’t understand, but most people, aside from his mother, discourage these musings as nonsense, and Elores is delighted to find a kindred spirit in Sipora, who eagerly listens to his stories and participates in his imaginings. What the two children don’t realize is that because Sipora is a witch and Elores is an elf, their friendship is one the outside world would seek to destroy if they were discovered.

Elores and Sipora tackles some big issues: racism, injustice, paranoia, corruption, sexual assault, abuse, and more. Pruitt is never overly graphic in her descriptions, but any reader sensitive to these topics should be aware the characters are deeply impacted by them and grapple with them throughout the novel. Being a fantasy setting, this story could have waved a magic wand and defeated all of these evils before sending the characters off to a happy ever after, but it isn’t about the characters defeating evil, as much as they might want to; it’s about them grappling with how to live in a world full of evil without losing hope or losing themselves. This message, and how it relates to where the story ends (no spoilers!) may impact readers of faith differently than others.

Speaking of, faith is a major theme in this book; over the years, Elores pieces together bits of what he’s learned of history in school with the power and influence he has felt at work his own life to identify what he calls “the Planter,” the source of life and his ability as an elf to help things grow and heal, and Sipora’s ability as a witch to manipulate fire. Their faith in the Planter sees them through some truly terrible experiences, guides them as they mature, and gives them hope of someday reaching a home where all is truly well. These sorts of metaphors are where Pruitt really shines; the way she can present principles of Christianity in these slightly altered contexts to allow readers to see it with new perspective continues to impress me.

And while Elores and Sipora are the driving characters of the story, the supporting cast is well-drawn and complex, adding to the story. They all have their flaws and fears and make mistakes because of them, some worse than others, but because of the use of multiple POVs, we get to see not only the struggles that lead to those mistakes, but we also get glimpses of how Elores and Sipora’s example through the years provides breadcrumbs for these other characters leading to opportunities to reclaim bits of hope and illustrating that you never know the way the simplest things you do or say might make a difference to someone else.

All in all, I give this one 4 stars out of 5. It can be a hard read, given some of the experiences certain characters go through, but it is a good read, and ultimately one that I think is good for you too. I was fortunate enough to get an ARC from the author, but anyone else interested in checking this story out can do so starting this Tuesday, July 28th!