Book Review of Oscar and the Mystery of the Glowing Orbs
The Children’s Book Review
Oscar and the Mystery of the Glowing Orbs
Written by Don Everts
Ages: 10+ | 320 Pages
Publisher: IVP Kids (2026) | ISBN: 9781514012185
A young high schooler with a secret physical disability and a passion for fantasy discovers a mysterious superpower that pulls him into a secret society and a high-stakes journalistic investigation at his new school.
Oscar Owens is a freshman with a noticeable limp due to a childhood accident. When he is dragged across the state by his parents to the small town of Centerville, he must learn to navigate an intimidating new high school and a creepy old Victorian house. Convinced the house is haunted, Oscar is terrified when he begins seeing glowing, floating silver orbs that play silent, exaggerated scenes of his worst fears.
When he realizes these orbs (“ghost bubbles”) are manifestations of his deepest thoughts, he is drawn into the orbit of the school newspaper, the Argus, and a secret group of students with similar metaphysical abilities known as Sensates; joining their mission to expose a shocking act of vandalism and the corruption of a popular teacher, forcing Oscar to confront his fears and find the courage to fight for justice.
Author Don Everts’ conversational and accessible writing utilizes sharp dialogue and a unique, well-developed concept to effectively capture the turbulent internal monologue of a self-conscious teenage boy who uses fantasy metaphors to process his reality, making Oscar’s emotional journey from struggle with insecurity to eventual triumph over the school bully, Chester, genuinely satisfying.
Thanks to a compelling blend of contemporary social commentary and urban fantasy, Oscar and the Mystery of the Glowing Orbs is an engaging, ultimately uplifting read about finding your voice, accepting your flaws, and realizing that your greatest weakness can become your greatest strength—an ideal read for anyone who enjoys character-driven narratives, secret-society tropes, and stories that use the fantastical to explore real-world issues of identity, courage, and social justice.
Buy the Book
About the Author/Illustrator
Don Everts has served as a campus minister on college campuses and an ordained pastor in the local church since 1994.
Whether in the church or on campus, Don has walked with curious folks as they ask the big questions of life and explore the person of Jesus. Don has also worked with thoughtful Christians who want to fruitfully do the same in their own relationships. An award-winning author, he has written books for seekers who want to understand Christianity and for Christians who want to grow in their faith.
Don has also partnered with a team of writers, thinkers, educators, and leaders at the Hopeful Neighborhood Project and Lutheran Hour Ministries to create cutting-edge, research-based resources that inspire neighbors to pursue the common good of the people and place right around them and equip Christians and churches to spread the good news in winsome, fruitful ways. Don is currently serving as the Senior Pastor at First & Calvary Presbyterian Church, a church that values the life of the mind and the beauty of the arts and sits in the middle of a large college campus.
Don and his wife, Wendy, have three grown children and live in the Ozarks in a Victorian home that was (very well) built in 1887.
