Crossroads in Jerusalem is brilliant! In fashion of Choose Your Own Adventures, kids are able to picture themselves in Bible times and see what would happen with various decisions made. We find ourselves questioning what would make a person do something, but this book helps us see that things aren’t so cut and dry sometimes.

I just finished reading Crossroads in Jerusalem. Wow.

As with the last one, this Crossroads adventure does a great job of putting the reader IN the story, making the decisions. Will you follow Jesus? Be greedy? Choose safety over what’s right?

I’m so happy for this faith-based choose-your-own-adventure series. The section in the back with all of the scripture references, definitions, and “who was” “what about” sections is great! That information is presented in a way that really helps you connect the verses, adventures, truth, and practicality all together.

I enjoyed being the servant girl, but the two boys’ stories were amazing. The lawyer’s assistant, in particular, brought new insight for me on the Pharisees. There were important details tucked casually into the story, which will make them stick better when studied.

I received a copy of this book from @NetGalley and chose to review it here. All thoughts are my own.

In Crossroads in Jerusalem, Elizabeth Raum weaves an exciting choose-your-own adventure novel for middle readers. The novel gives readers a taste of life in Bible times while helping them to imagine what it might have been like to encounter Jesus on “Crossroads in Jerusalem.” Readers can choose to begin as a boy of Jerusalem, a servant girl, or a lawyer’s assistant, making choices as they go and weaving their own adventures as they encounter Jesus from various perspectives. Then readers can go back, start again and choose different options for an entirely different adventure.

Readers are sure to enjoy this interactive novel that’s well-researched and guarantees they’ll see some familiar stories with completely new perspectives. At the end, Raum includes some special features including a section titled “Real-Life Decisions” helping them understand the importance of the decisions they make every day. Raum also includes a glossary of terms as well as lists of Bible stories in each of the three “journeys.” Additionally, she includes some historical information about various characters like Chuza, Joanna, and Nicodemus, and about slavery in Bible times.

Crossroads in Jerusalem promises to be a fun, interesting and exciting read as middle readers choose their own adventures. The book would also make a great family read-aloud. It’s a book I plan to recommend to nieces and nephews and others looking for a good way to help their children enjoy reading while also engaging with the Biblical narrative. I highly recommend Crossroads in Jerusalem.

* Note: I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for this honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

I love choose your own adventure books! This was an amazing adventure for my children and I. This book had my children on the edge of their seats waiting for what would happen next! We have had many wonderful conversations because of this book!

I love the concept of this book. The reader can pick one of three characters to start the story with. As he or she make different choices, the story unfolds. The plot can literally be different every time you read the book. That being said, this really does not work on Kindle. The way the document is formatted when it comes from NetGalley does not allow the reader to see pages (only number of location). The actual pages don't even have page numbers to navigate by! I spent too much time to try to find the right page. I only finished half a story before I gave up.

I love choose your own adventure books. I do. Elizabeth Raum has written several biblical choose your own adventure for young elementary-aged readers. Others in the series include Crossroads Among the Gentiles, Christmas Crossroads, and Crossroads in Galilee. Each book offers a series of journeys. In the newest Choose Your Journey, the three journeys are: Journey with a Boy of Jerusalem (and witness Jesus overturning the money-changing tables at the temple), Journey with a Servant Girl (and witness Jesus healing the man at the Bethesda Pool), and Journey with the Lawyer's Assistant (and witness Jesus telling the parable of the Good Samaritan). Of course those are just a tiny selection of the events you may witness in this one. Each story has multiple endings, of course--as all choose your own adventure books do--and readers can reread the book until he/she has read them all.

First sentence from Journey 1: It’s spring in Jerusalem, time for Passover. Passover is the greatest of the Jewish feasts. It occurs every spring and lasts for a week. Jews from all over the world come to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Exodus from Egypt and the barley harvest.
First sentence from Journey 2: Now that you are eleven years old, you can be a great help. You are a member of Chuza’s household. Chuza is an important man. He works for Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee and Perea.
First sentence from Journey 3: The lawyer calls you his assistant. Servant is a better title. You’re actually a slave. Your mother was a slave, which makes you one too.

I love how the back matter includes references for all the events in the book. Readers can choose to read the biblical accounts for themselves in their original context. The choose your own adventure books do tend to rearrange things quite a bit!

I definitely enjoy the series.

My twelve-year-old son is a voracious reader. He will read anything and everything in front of him. I’m always on the lookout for good books for him. I especially like to give him historical fiction that reinforces and enriches what he is learning about in school. This book caught my eye since it helps the time of Jesus’ birth come alive. When you grow up in a Christian home, the Bible and the stories within it can start to feel ordinary. A good historical fiction book will help the Bible come alive again.

Here is what my son had to say: I read this book and it was interesting. I really liked that it showed the time of Jesus from the perspective of a young Jew; I liked the boy of Jerusalem's path best. I also liked that they copied the speeches of Jesus almost exactly. Overall it was an interesting book. There were too many of “thees” and “thous” but other than that it was good.

After reviewing the GoodReads rating system, my son chose to give this book 3-stars. Please note that this system means even the 3-star books are ones I liked.
1 star – didn’t like it
2 stars – it was OK
3 stars – liked it
4 stars – really liked it
5 stars – it was amazing; I’ll read it over and over.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.