Do you know which saint sat on Jesus’ lap as a child?

Corinna Turner first caught my eye years ago when she won several prestigious awards and received a Carnegie Medal nomination for her brilliant dystopian fiction series, I Am Margaret -- a book Eoin Colfer (the author of Artemis Fowl) praised highly, saying it is “reminiscent of the best-selling book, Hunger Games.” My teens concurred with Fowl's compliment but took it a step further, saying I Am Margaret is a “Catholic Hunger Games.”

Thankfully, my picky readers were not disappointed with Turner's latest release A Lion for a Tomb, a Young Adult fiction book about a Muslim teenager supporting his Catholic friend through his battle with cancer while at the same time wrestling with his own faith. The book appears on Aleteia’s 2024 Summer Book List for Teens.

The summary on the book's back cover reads: 

Razim’s family are Muslim. His best friend, Daniel, is Christian. It’s never mattered before. But now Razim’s brother has become a crazed Islamic extremist and Daniel has turned into a total Jesus freak—and Razim is caught in the middle.

When Razim stumbles across a prayer card of an old man with brown skin just like his, who seems mind-bogglingly happy that he’s being eaten by lions, Razim’s curiosity overflows.

What could possibly make a man happy to face his own death?

Intriguing -- right?! My teenage sons (ages 14 and 16) thought so. They read the book aloud, taking turns passing it back and forth as part of our religion and language arts instruction during our last homeschooling year. I'm certain a teenage girl would really enjoy the book too; I just don't have any daughters, but I loved it.

I read the book again on my own, because it's such a rich, entertaining and spiritually enlightening tale. The author has seamlessly woven whole passages of St. Ignatius of Antioch's letters into a gripping, modern-day narrative about two teenage boys who face struggles applicable to us all. I had to study her work to figure out how in the world she did it.  

Thankfully, the Oxford-educated author was gracious enough to chat with me via email:

Sarah: Wow! A Lion for a Tomb was amazing! What inspired you to write this book?

Corinna: I have found St. Ignatius of Antioch inspiring ever since I first read his letters many years ago. He has always really challenged me in the strength of my faith, so when I was looking for a heavenly friend for Razim he was one of the first who came to mind. He is a really powerful witness and Razim needs that to overcome the fear that is beginning to stifle him.

Sarah: How did studying St. Ignatius' life affect you? 

Corinna: What struck me most deeply was realizing just how closely connected to Jesus these early Christians actually were. St. Ignatius and St. Polycarp, for example, were probably disciples of the Apostle John. So, they’re second-generation Christians, as close to Jesus as you can get without actually being one of the disciples. And reading what they wrote down, it’s clear that so much of what is normal in the Church today was also normal then, in fact, it was considered very important — bishops, the sacraments, Church hierarchy, and so on. So, that really made me think: If the Church is wrong about all that, then the Church went wrong really, really, really soon after Jesus. Which, personally, I think unlikely!

Sarah: If your readers could have only one takeaway from A Lion for a Tomb, what would you hope that to be? 

Corinna: Truth is real, and it’s worth giving up everything for it — or Him.

So, check out A Lion for a Tomb! Either this summer or perhaps as part of your next academic season: Buy a copy for your teens if they study at home or give a copy to their teachers if they're in school!

While I enjoyed reading the book on my own, I'd encourage folks to read it aloud to or with their teens as it's certain to produce a lively discussion. My 16-year-old son’s feedback made my head spin: "The early Christians sang hymns when they were being eaten alive by lions. We should do the same thing -- hum a song -- when you're suffering for your faith." 

A Lion for a Tomb is the fourth book in Turner's “Friends in High Places” series, which is rated PG by the author as it contains some mature themes. She further describes it as "short fiction that presents saints' biographies in the context of imaginary teenagers' lives. The stories are written primarily to entertain, with inspiration and education thrown in for free."

A Lion for a Tomb and the entire “Friends in High Places” series are available exclusively here.