God's Smuggler

Reviewed by: Emily

Title: God’s Smuggler

Author: Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill

Primary Audience/age group: 12+

Genre: Autobiography

# Of pages: 255
Publisher: Chosen Books
Year of Release: 2007
Rating: 3, for violence (View Scale)
Recommend? Yes

Description: In this suspenseful, awe-inspiring narrative, Brother Andrew relates his thrilling story of evangelism behind the Iron Curtain. Called by God to encourage the struggling Christians behind the Iron Curtain, Brother Andrew risks his life again and again to provide his fellow Christians with the two things they need most– fellowship and Bibles.

Review: Brother Andrew’s story will leave you amazed at the power of God. The book is well written, infused with humor and sincerity. As you read, it feels as if Brother Andrew is in your living room telling his story to you. Throughout the book, his deep, passionate love for God shines through. In addition to being spiritually uplifting, the story is just plain exciting. Brother Andrew moves from one dangerous situation to the next, compelling you to read just one more page to find out how God delivers him. This is a book you will want to have in your personal library so you can read it again and again.

Rating: 3, for violence

Positive: Brother Andrew has a wonderful relationship with God. With his great faith and willingness to devote his entire life to God’s service, he is an excellent role model. His excitement for reading the Bible, prayer, and serving God is infectious. Love for family and friends, frugality, and generosity to the less fortunate are continuous themes in the book. While presenting the story of a courageous man of God, first and foremost God’s Smuggler draws attention to God’s power, goodness, and love.

Spiritual Elements: The entire book centers around Brother Andrew’s relationship with God as well as the amazing work God did through and for Andrew and his fellow missionaries. Andrew also describes the negative opinion he held of God before he became a Christian. Other religions such as Islam are addressed.

Violence: Young Andrew and his friends hitting each other with their wooden shoes. During the Nazi occupation of Holland, young Andrew plays practical jokes on the soldiers involving fireworks. Andrew also describes his experiences in the army, including the horrors of battle, in some detail. He performs surgery on his pet monkey twice, once after a fellow soldier brutally abused the animal.

Language: None. When people swear in the book, it is noted, but the actual words are not included.

Sexual Content: At the chocolate factory where Andrew works, some girls make bawdy jokes. Andrew describes his relationships with his first girlfriend and his wife, but not on a sexual level.

Recommendation: I heartily recommend this book to anyone age 12 and up. The suspense, violent scenes, and other mature subject matter may not be appropriate for younger children.