“‘Do you remember the hospital, Colton?? Sonja said. ?Yes, mommy, I remember,’ he said. ‘That?s where the angels sang to me.'”

This quote from the novel, Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo, is a real account of four-year-old, Colton Burpo’s experiences in heaven.

I am not a fan of Christian novels in general, so I was a little hesitant to start reading this book. However, I began to think otherwise when I saw that the book was a New York Times Best Seller. Then it caught my eye that the novel was accounting the divine experiences of a previously ill 4-year-old boy. I doubted the reliability of this 4-year-old, which motivated me to read further.

Burpo’s sickness begins when Pastor Todd Burpo takes his wife Sonja and their two children on a vacation to Greeley, Colorado, and it takes a turn for the worst. The children, Colton and Cassie experience intense flu-like symptoms. Cassie heals but Colton?s condition worsens. A doctor?s diagnosis rules out the possibility of appendix problems despite family history. However, Colton soon has to have an emergency appendectomy.

The surgery proves to be successful, and within weeks, Colton is back on his feet. However, he exhibits strange, cherubic behavior. On a long car ride, truth comes to light: Colton had died and gone to heaven.

This book reaffirms Christians’ hope for the future and it prompts non-Christians to seek a better life. It pushes people to seek the treasures of heaven so they will be able to experience life after death.

The poignant experiences in this book are profound and life-changing. Colton’s accounts give Christians something to look forward to, but also to fear. Colton recounts witnessing the battle between good and evil, taking place during the end-times.

Colton’s innocence and raw knowledge make his experiences believable for me. He saw the scars on Jesus’ hands where he had been nailed to the cross and believed they were “markers.”

It was a very beautiful book and depicted heaven in an amazing way. This book made me not so much fear death, but fear not being able to prosper in heaven after death.

The book spoke to me in unique ways, making it believable. In one chapter, Colton claims to have met his miscarried sister, whom he had known nothing about until he went to heaven. It was a girl, and she possessed no name because she had never been given the chance to be named. The girl was also excited and couldn’t wait for her parents to be in heaven.

I have a sibling who was miscarried and I have held the belief that I will meet him or her some day for a long time. This particular occurrence with Colton and his little sister make me ecstatic to know that I’ll meet my little brother or sister one day.

The book’s mere 163 pages makes it a quick read and flowed easily from the start due to all the commotion coherent to Colton’s illness in the early chapters.

Most things about this book were great. I loved how it was written from Colton’s father’s perspective, who just so happens to be a pastor. Todd Burpo was able to connect Colton’s incidents with Scripture, which was important. The Scripture helped me to believe Colton’s experiences because his accounts are beyond the understanding of a 4-year-old.

This book was very engaging and I actually finished it in a few hours. The climax is right in the beginning of the novel and lasts a few chapters afterwards; keeping the reader hooked. The author is able to keep focus directed on the current events and the events that lead up to a confession from Colton over a period of a year-and-a-half without getting sidetracked with the happenings in between.

A negative about this book is that the ending is not as conclusive as I would have liked, and made me want to know more about Colton’s experiences beyond what was stated in the book.

I am, as well as others who have read this book, excited to know that heaven will be a wonderful place. This book makes me want to prophesy His name to those who aren?t already His children so that they will be coated in the peace and love He gives us.

I would recommend this book from ages thirteen and up due to the need to understand the importance of Colton’s experiences and not just the fact that it was a good read.

Heaven is for Real is available on Amazon and at most local bookstores.

For more book reviews, read the April 8 article, Captivating story, defined protagonist drive ‘Tarzan’ classic.

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