“The Sentinel’s Sight” by M.D. Osborne

The Sentinel’s Sight

M.D. Osborne
Quiet Watch Press (2026)
ISBN: 979-8996822096
Reviewed by Dawn Colclasure for Reader Views (09/2026)

Lillian Callahan is 13 years old, far too young to understand the terrible things that can happen to things she cherishes and loves. Things like family history, how much land can mean to generations of a family, and a tree that has been standing for two hundred years, keeping watch over the land and the family it must protect. So when she learns that her family will lose those very important things, her world shifts. Before these awful truths come to her ears, however, that 200-year-old tree offers up to her its secrets, giving young Lillian and her four siblings the ability to see the ancient Watchers assigned to them as they live their lives on Earth. For, you see, these Watchers act as guides for these five children, observing the choices they make and the lives they live. In this novel, told from the point of view of an ancient Watcher, The Sentinel’s Sight: The Watchwood Chronicles by M.D. Osborne tells the story of how Watchers observe a family’s battle to keep the things they love.  It also tells how one young person in that family must rely on her faith and her strength to help keep the family together.

Lillian also learns about her angel on her shoulder, as well as the gray-colored creatures that threaten the peace and happiness of her family and home. The longer the negative things are allowed to continue, the larger these creatures become. Lillian is unsure of what she can do to make them go away, and even after her siblings see the things as well, they, too, are lost as to what they can do to set things right. So they turn to their grandmother for help, as well as a groundskeeper of the park the tree calls home. These two wise adults, who know all about the Watchers, try to help the children however they can, but it is ultimately up to Lillian to save their beloved tree, their land, and their home from the greedy developers who want to build roads and buildings.

This story is very touching and sweet. There are occasional moments in which the narrator addresses the reader directly: “I am going to tell you what was standing in that park. Not to frighten you. Because you have a right to know what you are looking at, and because in about four hours a thirteen-year-old girl is going to find out the hard way, and I would rather you were not as unprepared as she was.” The writing is lyrical and descriptive, but may occasionally ramble a bit.

Overall, the story itself is written quite well and is a very unique story. The characters reflect the people that lived in the 1930s or 40s, and the gentle way that everybody treats everybody else was quite refreshing. It’s a small-town story told with a big heart, and the adults make just as good an impression in the lives of the children as the Watchers do.

If you enjoy reading small-town stories with strong themes of faith and family, The Sentinel’s Sight by M.D. Osborne is a book you are sure to enjoy.