Do you have a C.S. Lewis fan at your house—or are you, or an older teen, reading Surprised by Joy? If you’d like to learn more about Lewis’s early life and his time in Belfast, Giant by Judith McQuoid is a lovely introduction.
Told through the eyes of fictional Davy, a boy based on Lewis’s longest friendship, this gentle historical novel imagines the early years of “Jacks,” the young C.S. Lewis.
As I read, I kept thinking about the parts of Surprised by Joy where Lewis describes making Boxen with his brother and his especially close relationship with Warnie. Narnia was one of the first novel-length series I read as a child, so I loved learning more about the childhood seeds that may have grown into those beloved stories.
If you enjoy discovering the inspirations behind your favorite authors, I think you will enjoy this one.
