Adventures in Odyssey: Cause & Effect Review

Cause & Effect is the 52nd volume in the Adventures in Odyssey series.  For those of you who don't know, Adventures in Odyssey presents original audio stories brought to life by actors who make you feel like part of the experience. 

I have always heard of Adventures in Odyssey but this is the first time I have ever listened to one of their Cd's.  From what I understand, volume 51 introduced some new characters and voices.  Since this is the first time I have ever listened to their Cd's, I can't compare the old to the new, but I can tell you what I think of volume 52.  

Strange and unexplained events are taking place in Odyssey.  Most of the stories held both my attention and my daughter's.  We would listen to them while in the car, and it was hard to turn some of them off if the story was not over by the time we arrived at our destination.  Once we even stayed in the car an extra few minutes so we could find out how the story was going to end.  

Cause & Effect has 12 stories, which run over 5 hours.  We listened to each and every one so here are just a few highlights: 

The Mystery of the Clock Tower (Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out):  I had mixed emotions about this one.  Eugene and Matthew investigate why the Odyssey clock tower is counting down to a mysterious deadline.  We were both on the edge of our seats and the suspense was killing us!  It was like a real life mystery, which kept us wanting to hear more.  

My problem was with the back story.  Black flowers with a card that read "time is running out" was left at the clock tower.  There is talk that the black flowers could mean unrequited love (someone really likes her but she rejected him).  When asked, the florist states that this particular black flower is called "The Jilted".  The black pedals symbolized the death of love and the dark red on the inner pedals is symbolic of the blood spilled from a broken heart.  WHOA...kind of deep for an elementary child to me!  I thought they could have used a different back story and kept it just as exciting.  As much as my daughter loved that story, I will not let her listen to it again.

The Owlnapping (Only God Has True Power):  This story has a good moral and overall it was cute.  A team's owl mascot gets stolen and they can't rub it's head for good luck before the game.  They lose game after game and are convinced that it is because they can't continue their tradition.  The moral that worshiping idols over God is not a good thing, is excellent!  What I didn't like is that in the beginning of the story, one child meets with another child in an alley and pays him to make the Owls loose their next three games.  The result is the owl mascot getting stolen.  Again, I wish they could have used something different to make their point.

An Agreeable Nanny (Responsibility):  This was a very good story and had a great moral.  The children have a nanny, who seems to be a bit of a pushover, and very naive.  There is a surprise ending that teaches the children a good lesson. 

My Thoughts:  I would definitely purchase an Adventures in Odyssey Cd again; I would just preview it first.  Most of the stories were fine for our daughter to listen to, there were just a couple things I had a problem with.  I like the lessons they teach and that they can reveal how much God can do in our lives.  

Thoughts of a 7-Year Old:  Adventures in Odyssey is really fantastic. It has really interesting stories that really make me think I'm there. If I'm doing my homework in the car, I can't focus on my homework, so I don't do it and just listen to Adventures in Odyssey! ;o)

Find Out More:  Adventures in Odyssey: Cause & Effect can be purchased through one of Tyndale House Publishers partner websites. 

Disclosure: This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes by Tyndale House Publishers, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.