Snippets from 2011
In order to deal with a backlog of finished but unreviewed books, as well as some I didn’t finish (DNF), I’m going to do a first ever “snippet review” on Hardkover. Get ready, here they come!
The Betrayal: A Novel on John Calvin
by Douglas Bond. 383 p. Published by P&R Publishing in June 2009. Received through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Verdict: ★★☆☆☆
This is one of my DNFs – I got half way through and was uninterested and unimpressed. This historical fiction about John Calvin is told through the eyes of his frenemy, Jean-Louis Mourin. I don’t know if it was the forced feeling of the “old English” style of speaking (which doesn’t make much sense, given that the story is set in France), the slow plot, or the heavy-handed characterization of the narrator (I felt constantly bludgeoned with foreshadowing) – this book was not for me. I liked the concept, as my favorite way to read about historical people is through historical fiction (I find them much more engaging than biographies). I saw many good reviews for it on Amazon, so give it a try if you find it interesting. Just wasn’t my cup of tea.
Debt: The First 5,000 Years
by David Graeber. 544 p. Published by Melville House Publishing in July 2011. Received through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Verdict: ★★★★☆
This is my other DNF. I got about one-third through this monster – it was actually a very interesting and fascinating read. It’s only downfall was that it felt like one of those books where you get the gist after the first couple chapters and the rest are just repeats with different examples (I could be wrong . . . but I guess I’ll never know!). Graeber’s discussion on our concept of debt is definitely worth reading – and if you’re really into anthropology, sociology, or economics, you might make it to the end! (And if you want someone to blame for the “Occupy Wall Street” Movement, Graeber just might be your man.)
Long Trail Home (#3 in the Texas Trail Series)
by Vickie McDonough. 304 p. Published by Moody Publishers November 2011. Received through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Verdict: ★★★★☆
Picked this one off NetGalley because I liked the first two in the series, Lone Star Trail and Captive Trail. It was as good as the first two and I’m looking forward to the remaining three. This book featured the story of a young man who went off to fight in the Civil War and came home to find his parents dead and his fiancée married to someone else; the female protagonist is an abandoned child who managed to survive by pretending to be blind (so she could stay at an orphanage for the blind). As was true with the first two books, the interesting historical setting was my favorite part about the story. The romance was a little predictable, but its hard to escape that in this genre.
The Winters in Bloom
by Lisa Tucker. 288 p. Published by Atria Books September 2011. Received through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Verdict: ★★★☆☆
Half mystery, half drama – this reminded me in ways of Diane Chamberlain’s The Midwife’s Confession in genre and style. A couple’s only child goes missing and each one thinks that it is someone in his/her past that is to blame. The story flashbacks to previous relationships and how the couple met to explain their fears and eventually introduce the kidnapper. This book has decent character development (although I didn’t think the characters were quite as realistic as in The Midwife’s Confession) and a good plot – I found myself fairly hooked all the way through. However, I thought it petered out at the end; the denouement was very anti-climatic and you don’t get the satisfaction of participating in the inevitable reunion.
The Promised One: Seeing Jesus in Genesis
by Nancy Guthrie. 288 p. Published by Crossway Books July 2011. Received through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Verdict: ★★★★★
This was a FANTASTIC bible study! I love the format – each chapter begins with a list of questions and scriptures to read and contemplate before Guthrie “lectures” in the teaching section. The chapter concludes with a pointed description of how that chapter’s topic points to Jesus and discussion questions for facilitating a group study. The chapters highlighted primarily Creation, Fall of Man, Noah, Babel, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. I used this book for my own personal devotion time and found it very enriching. I liked it so much that I’ve talked my small group into using it for our next study! Highly recommended.
Rules of Civility
by Amor Towles. 352 p. Published by Viking Adult Books July 2011. Checked out from my local library using my Kindle!
Verdict: ★★★★☆
I vacillated on whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars – when I think about the writing, I want to give it 4 and when I think about the plot I give it 3. Overall, the characters are pretty decent, so I think it deserves the higher rating. I wasn’t blown away by the plot of this book; however, when Amor Towles puts together words, he doesn’t just make a sentence — he makes magic! I found myself stopping to re-read parts aloud, just to see if they sounded as beautiful out loud as they did in my head. He manages to find that perfect balance of writing vivid prose without it being flowery or ridiculously over-the-top. The book itself is very Great Gatsby-ish – not only because it is set in Manhattan in the 1930s as people are struggling to recover from the Great Depression, but the writing has that older Fitzgerald style. I liked the female protagonist and thought she had an interesting narrative voice for this time period. If the plot had been more poignant, it would have ranked 5 stars. Definitely recommended.
The Princess Curse
by Merrie Haskell. 336 p. Published by HarperCollins September 2011. Checked out from my local library in old-fashioned hardback binding. Recommended by the BookSmugglers.
Verdict: ★★★☆☆
I loved the idea of this book – the tale of the Twelve Dancing Princess, with the heroine being an apothecary‘s apprentice who tries to lift the curse. The book just never quite lived up to its potential, however. The imaginary world Haskell created didn’t seem to materialize and charm me the way other fairy tale worlds have (I’m thinking of Ella Enchanted and The Princess Academy in particular). Perhaps that is why the plot felt a little choppy and the characters just a little too far from reach to join my cast of literary friends – it was hard to truly fall under the magic of living in another world and allowing them to be real. Although I don’t think this one will join Ella and The Princess Academy on my classics shelf, I would still give it to middle graders or young adults who like a good fairy tale.
Mine is the Night (sequel to Here Burns My Candle)
by Liz Curtis Higgs. 464 p. Published by WaterBrook Press March 2011. Checked out from my local library on my Kindle!
Verdict: ★★★★☆
This was the first book I’ve picked up in months that I simply could NOT put down! I’ve long owned and loved Higgs first Scottish trilogy beginning with A Thorn in My Heart, which is based on the biblical story of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah. Mine is the Night is the sequel to her second Scottish series, this time adapting the story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz in the setting of the Scottish Jacobite rebellion. Each one is well written, engrossing, and always pointing to underlying story of faith and redemption from the original biblical version. Not only is this a great time period to read about (Scotland! Rebels! Bonnie Prince Charlie!), but Higgs’ amazing depth and breadth of research combines with her clever writing to bring the heather hills and thick Scottish brogue alive. Highly recommended!
Has God Spoken?
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Hank Hanegraaff. 380 p. (Actually, 290 without the appendix, endnotes, and index). Published 2011 by Thomas Nelson. Advanced review copy provided by Thomas Nelson’s “Booksneeze” program in return for my honest opinion.
Verdict: ★★★★☆
Who Cares? Adult Christian Non-Fiction / Religious Apologetics
Short Bio: Once of the most frequently voiced criticisms of Christians is that they believe a book written some 3500-2000 years ago is not only divine revelation given to man at that time, but that it has remained virtually unchanged since then.
The “Bible Answer Man” responds to these criticisms with four main categories of evidence: the reliability of the manuscripts we have, archeological finds that corroborate biblical accounts, the fulfillment of prophecy, and finally the “art and science of scriptural interpretation”. He presents his evidence in the form of pneumonic devices that help the reader remember the main points of each (i.e., for “Manuscript C-O-P-I-E-S”, one has a device to remember that Copyist practices, Oral tradition, Papyrus & parchment, Internal evidence, External evidence, and the Science of textual criticism are the supporting facts for how we know we can rely on the biblical manuscripts we have today).
Eyewitness Account:
Overall, I thought this was an extremely interesting book and a good read. This is the second book I’ve read this year that appears to be written mainly as a response to some vociferous opponents of the authors and both are about the Bible (See “The Book That Made Your World”, responding to criticism that Christianity was an imperialistic and oppressive force in India, for the other). Hanegraaff’s book contains numerous rejoinders to several Biblical critics (most often to Bart Ehrman, who is a religious studies professor at UNC Chapel Hill). It contains a wealth of information about the science of manuscripts, archeology, history, and whether the skeptical arguments against the veracity and authenticity of the Bible hold any weight. It’s organized fairly well, and the pneumonic devices he gives are actually very useful (I found myself trying to recall them at the end of each section to cement the points in my memory).
A few weaknesses are that the book could have used some better editing (I repeatedly had a feeling of “deja vu” as I read sentences that had been used almost word for word in an earlier section – you really can’t use phrases like “the story is interesting as well as instructive” or “the land vomited out the children of the promise just as it had the Canaanites before them” more than once without someone catching it) and that Hanegraaff gave too much text to his opponents. Its one thing to briefly mention an opposing viewpoint that you want to counter, but to give whole paragraphs or pages to their writing makes it seem like the author is obsessively aggravated. Overall, you get the feeling that Hanegraaff was writing more of a reference resource than a book designed to be read straight through, as there were not only exact phrasings that were repeated, but also examples and evidence used in multiple sections that are introduced as if for the first time.
However, I found that I could dismiss my irritation at those points for the meat of the book. The manuscripts and archeology sections were really fascinating (and gave me a HUGE appreciation for how God has preserved the Bible over time). The prophecy section dragged a bit for me, but did have some gems; my favorite part of the book was Hanegraaff’s discussion of types in the bible, particularly “typological prophecy” in which the event that you are connecting to the prophecy is not the “predictive fulfillment” but the successive and more complete antitype to the first fulfillment (as in the case of Isaiah’s virgin birth prediction). Having heard of types and antitypes before, it was new information to me that this idea applied to prophecy as well as people and events.
Well worth reading.
Notable Quotes:
Amazing but true, today in the city of David you can step into the very Pool of Siloam in which the blind man “washed, and came back seeing.” (John 9:7 NKJV). You can traverse the Siloam tunnel that almost three thousand years ago provided the precious commodity of water to the inhabitants of Jerusalem during the siege of Sennacherib. You can see the Siloam inscription in the Istanbul Archaelogical Museum commemorating one of the greatest engineering feats of ancient history. You can rest your arms on the guard rail overlooking the excavated ruins of the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus cared for the physical and spiritual needs of a man who had suffered the ravages of sin for thirty-eight years. And you can be amazed at the grace that what was once secreted in soil accurately reflects what which is sealed in Scripture.
Other Books Read by This Author: none
What are other people saying? Shades of Intrigue, Finding Jesus, God-lovin’ Mama
Rating:
★★★☆☆ Writing Style
★★★★★ Organization
★★★★☆ Original Idea
★★★★☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★☆
Captive Trail
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Susan Page Davis. 272 p. Published Sept 2011 by Moody Publishers. Advanced copy provided for review in electronic format, courtesy of the publishers (through NetGalley) in return for my honest opinion.
Verdict: ★★★★☆
Who Cares? Adult Inspirational Historical Fic
Short Bio (from Amazon):
The Captive Trail is second in a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896. Although a series, each book can be read on its own.
Taabe Waipu has run away from her Comanche village and is fleeing south in Texas on a horse she stole from a dowry left outside her family’s teepee. The horse has an accident and she is left on foot, injured and exhausted. She staggers onto a road near Fort Chadbourne and collapses.
On one of the first runs through Texas, Butterfield Overland Mail Company driver Ned Bright carries two Ursuline nuns returning to their mission station. They come across a woman who is nearly dead from exposure and dehydration and take her to the mission.
With some detective work, Ned discovers Taabe Waipu identity. He plans to unite her with her family, but the Comanche have other ideas, and the two end up defending the mission station. Through Taabe and Ned we learn the true meaning of healing and restoration amid seemingly powerless situations.
Eyewitness Account:
I picked this up because I liked Lone Star Trail. The sequel is written by a different author, but had all the same elements I appreciated about the first – interesting historical setting (this time dealing with the Comanche, Texas settlers, and French nuns who had set up a “mission” and school for girls), decent plot, and empathetic characters. Many children were captured and raised among Native Americans during Westward Expansion, and this story is a compelling snapshot of what such a situation must have felt like to a captive.
Still loving this series, and would recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction and interested in this era!
Other Books Read by This Author: None.
What are other people saying? Reviews from the Heart, This That and the Other Thing, Sandra Ardoin
Rating:
★★★☆☆ Plot Development
★★★★☆ Characterization
★★★☆☆ Writing Style
★★★★☆ Original Idea
★★★★☆Page Turner
Overall ★★★★☆
The Book That Made Your World
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Vishal Mangalwadi. 464 p. Published May 2011 by Thomas Nelson. Advanced copy provided for review in electronic format by the publisher (through NetGalley) in exchange for my honest opinion.
Verdict: ★★★☆☆
Who Cares? Adult Non-Fiction (History, Christianity)
Short Bio:
Discover how the Bible became the West’s source of human rights, justice, heroism, optimism, compassion, capitalism, family, and morality.
In the 1960s many from the West went to the East in search of spiritual wisdom. The Book That Made Your World reverses the journey. Vishal Mangalwadi, an Indian philosopher, takes readers on a historical journey through the last millennium, exploring why and how the Bible reformed Europe and made the West a uniquely thinking civilization: technical and tolerant, scientific and free, just and prosperous. Readers will learn:
- Why an American president puts his hand on the Bible to take the oath of a secular office
- What forced British monarchs from Henry VIII to James I to submit to the Bible’s authority
- Why Bible translators Wycliffe, Luther, and Tyndale became history’s greatest revolutionaries
- How the Bible globalized western education
Eyewitness Account:
This book was a fairly interesting treatise on how the Bible has influenced all aspects of our civilization (for the better). You’d expect something like this to be written by a someone of Western Judeo-Christian background, but the author is actually a native Indian who writes the book as a response to a national Indian movement claiming that the Western Christian influence impacted India negatively rather than positively. Mangalwadi juxtaposes the kinds of behavior, motives, and priorities that result from the Christian faith with the mindset of those from Buddhist/Hindu faiths. He covers a rather diverse set of subjects to explore his theory that the best parts of all civilization are the result of Christian influence – the development of science and education, the protection of life and the rights of women, and the liberty and prosperity that characterize the West.
This is one of those books that you kind of get the gist of within the first couple chapters – I found it hard to keep my interest past the second half of the book. However, it is very well written and very thought-provoking. Mangalwadi includes some personal anecdotes to make his point about the effect that other worldviews have on a society that are very provocative; the most poignant is one in which a neighbor girl is not only neglected to the point of death, but her parents refuse to let Mangalwadi and his wife offer their free help and resources to nurse her back to health (as a result of a worldview that says life is suffering and everyone has the life they deserve).
If you like history and broad discussion of civilizations, you’ll probably love this book.
Other Books Read by This Author: None.
Notable Quotes:
“When a husband is forbidden extramarital affairs, taking a second wife, or divorcing a difficult wife; when he is not allowed to hate or be harsh with her; when he is required to love and honor his wife; then his wife is empowered. She has the security to seek her dignity and rights.”
“When we believe truth is unknowable, we rob it of any authority. What is left is brute power wielding arbitrary force. Whether a person or an ethnic minority is guilty or innocent becomes irrelevant. Their right to life depends exclusively on the whims of whoever has power. Any nation that refuses to live under truth condemns itself to live under sinful man.”
What are other people saying? Christianity Today, The Biblical Bookshelf, BreakPoint
Rating:
★★★☆☆ Writing Style
★★★☆☆ Organization
★★★★☆ Original Idea
★★★☆☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★☆☆
Speaking of Jesus
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Carl Medearis. 187 p. Published 2011 by David C. Cook. Advanced review copy provided by Speakeasy in return for my honest opinion. (Book excerpt read by Carl here).
Verdict: ★★★★★
Who Cares? Anyone who loves Jesus but finds Christianity frustrating.
Short Bio: Carl does his best to offend just about anyone who is attached to all the trappings of Christianity – but he does it with a sense of humor, a touch of reality, and with the obvious filter of being one of Jesus’s number one fans. He challenges the traditional ideas of evangelism and salvation by pointing out not only their lack of scriptural foundation (especially when looking at Christ’s example) but also by laying out what most of us know to be true – they are terribly ineffective and often get the opposite result!
Carl makes the case that our current idea of “evangelism” is the result of believing we “win” people to Team Christian by convincing them logically that all the elements of Christian doctrine are true, but in the process end up having to defend a whole history of sinful and misguided actions committed in the name of Christianity. He advocates that we have moved away from the heart of the gospel – that Jesus said he himself was the only way to come to God (relationship, not logical belief). If you simply and joyfully point to Jesus rather than try to defend man’s religious version of Jesus’s message, you’ll witness some amazing things.
Eyewitness Account: I LOVED this book. I’m ashamed to admit that I could relate all to well with Carl’s many examples of how we can we get so distracted with Christianity (ooh, shiny!) that we sometimes miss Jesus. In fact, although I would call myself a Christian, I found that Carl was definitely “evangelizing” to me – because I needed the reminder that it always boils down to how you respond to Jesus’s call to “Follow me”.
I loved how accessible and readable this book was – I could give it to a 5th grader, to my grandpa, or to my pastor. Carl’s humor and humility are sugar that helps the medicine go down (I’m sure I annoyed my fellow bus passengers at several points by laughing out loud). Ultimately, I finished the book excited and energized to know Jesus more and follow him more closely – which I think Carl would appreciate! (Apparently Carl and I are BFFs and on a first name basis – try reading his book and see if you don’t feel the same way).
Highly recommended, and I think that people of other faiths would also like this book!
Notable Quotes:
“When we preach Christianity, we have to own it. When we preach Jesus, we don’t have to own anything. Jesus owns us. We don’t have to defend Him. We don’t even have to explain Him. All we have to do is point with our fingers, like the blind man in the book of John, and say, “There is Jesus. All I know is that He touched me, and where I was once blind, now I see.”
“We have an unfair advantage. We know the Creator. We’re friends with the King. We know where truth is found and its name. We know what brings life and what gives life and where eternal life resides. It’s not fair. While others are explaining and defending various “isms” and “ologies,” we’re simply pointing people to our friend. The One who uncovers and disarms. The beginning and the end of the story.”
“There is a place for doctrines and dogma and science and history and apologetics, but these things are not Jesus—they are humanly manufactured attempts to make people think that having the right ideas is the same thing as loving and following Jesus.”
” . . . Jesus can go toe-to-toe with anything. There is no person in human history who holds a candle to Jesus. When we make sharing our faith a war of ideals, we create casualties on both sides of the boundary. We fight an “us versus them” campaign trying to show that our religion, our logic, our reason, our theology is better than everyone else’s.”
Other Books Read by This Author: None, but Tea with Hezbollah is on my list.
What are other people saying? CNN Article on Carl’s Book (and its 73 pages of comments), Will’s Blog, Sister Chat, Rick Love
Rating:
★★★★★ Writing Style
★★★★★ Organization
★★★★★ Original Idea
★★★★★ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★★
River’s Song
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Melody Carlson. 288 p. Published August 2011 by Abingdon Press. Advanced review copy provided courtesy of the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
Verdict: ★★★☆☆
Who Cares? Inspirational Fiction
Short Bio: Anna Larson journeys through a mid-life crisis of sorts when she returns to her hometown for her mother’s funeral and takes care of her late parents’ estate. She finds that living by the river helps her to deal with the disappointment of wanting a deeper relationship with an uninterested teenager daughter and the trauma of living under a manipulative mother-in-law. In her old hometown, she rediscovers her Native American heritage through the research of a doctoral student, Hazel, and gains the help of Hazel’s contractor son to transform her parents’ local mom-and-pop store into a riverside inn.
Eyewitness Account: Although I have been a Melody Carlson fan in the past, this book was a bit of a disappointment. It just might not have been my particular brand of tea, but I thought that the plot moved very slowly, the main character seemed oblivious and wimpy, and the relationships rather stereotyped (teenage daughter who is bratty and disinterested, overbearing and manipulative mother-in-law, etc.). Anna’s relationship with her mother-in-law is complicated by her dependence on the woman, and that situation is resolved much too quickly and easily. Similarly, for such a shy mouse of a person, her new romance blooms into marriage far too quickly. However, I did like a few things – at the top of the list, I really enjoyed the emphasis on Anna’s Native American heritage and exploring the idea that we often come to value later in life what we despised when we are younger. Anna’s mom and grandmother were the most interesting characters in my opinion, but got much less development than the other living characters. If the book had been centered around them, I probably would have liked it more. Anna was just a hard person for me to like since she just came across as a naive doormat to me. I thought this series would have the same warmth and charm that Carlson’s older Whispering Pines series, but it didn’t have the same feel to me.
Other Books Read by This Author: These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking, Whispering Pines Series
What are other people saying? A Mom with a Blog, Emmegail’s Bookshelf, Book Nook Club,
Rating:
★★☆☆ Plot Development
★★☆☆☆ Characterization
★★★☆☆ Writing Style
★★★☆ Original Idea
★★☆☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★☆☆
Lone Star Trail
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Darlene Franklin. 272 p. Published August 2011 by Moody Publishers. Advanced review copy provided in electronic format by the publisher in exchange for my honest review, courtesy of NetGalley.
Verdict: ★★★★☆
Who Cares? Adult Historical/Inspirational Fiction
Short Bio:
The six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896 begins with Lone Star Trail. Judson (Jud) Morgan’s father died for Texas’ freedom during the war for independence. So when the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas (the Verein) attempts to colonize a New Germany in his country, he takes a stand against them. After Wande Fleischers’ fiancée marries someone else, the young fraulein determines to make new life for herself in Texas. With the help of Jud’s sister Marion, Wande learns English and becomes a trusted friend to the entire Morgan family. As much as Jud dislikes the German invasion, he can’t help admiring Wande. She is sweet and cheerful as she serves the Lord and all those around her. Can the rancher put aside his prejudice to forge a new future? Through Jud and Wande, we learn the powerful lessons of forgiveness and reconciliation among a diverse community of believers.
Eyewitness Account:
The last four fiction novels I’ve read have not been page turners, so it was nice to finally pick something up that I didn’t want to put down! Not only did I love the setting (Texas settlers, both “American” and German, just after the state joined the U.S.), but I loved the characters and their own personal journeys. I felt like the relationship conflict was more realistic, with just the right amount of communication struggle vs attitude hang-ups (pride, anger, jealousy, insecurity, bitterness, etc.). Some books make relationship conflict all about a lack of communication, but the characters in Lone Star Trail acted much more like my own friends and family do. I admired the way Franklin perfectly wove in the themes of prejudice and forgiveness. I finished it the day I picked it up – very well done!
Other Books Read by This Author: None
What are other people saying? Reader’s Roundtable, Along the Way, Ausjenny
Rating:
★★★★☆ Plot Development
★★★★☆ Characterization
★★★★☆ Writing Style
★★★★☆ Original Idea
★★★★★ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★☆
The Week-By-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Ron and Jennifer Kujawski. 200 pages. Published in 2010 by Storey Publishing. Received as a gift on my birthday this year.
Verdict: ★★★★★
Who Cares? Adult Nonfiction – Home & Garden
Short Bio:
“Timing is everything,” they say, and vegetable gardening is no exception. Knowing exactly when to start seeds indoors, what day to transplant them into the ground, when to pinch off the blossoms, and when to pick for peak flavor is the secret to enjoying bountiful harvests all through the gardening season.
In Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook, authors Ron and Jennifer Kujawski take the guesswork out of gardening with weekly to-do lists that break gardening down into easily manageable tasks. Suitable for all gardening zones, the book offers easy instructions for setting up a personalized schedule based on your last frost date. The Kujawskis are an inspiring father– daughter team who share their own triumphs, mistakes, and misadventures over many years spent together in the vegetable patch. Readers will enjoy the friendly direction and advice these veterans offer. Easy-to-read boxes, bulleted lists, charts, and detailed how-to illustrations make each week’s activities clear and doable. Spots for record-keeping encourage readers to track their own successes and fine-tune their weekly schedules from year to year. Inch by inch, row by row, week by week, gardeners will move confidently through the gardening season. Whether it’s planting the strawberries, pinching off the pumpkin blossoms, checking for tomato hornworm, or harvesting the carrots, they will know exactly when and how to do it for the most bountiful harvests and the most enjoyable vegetable-growing experiences ever.
Eyewitness Account:
My husband and I ventured out into the great world of gardening this year, planting squash, tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe, beets, radishes, artichokes, and herbs. We stumbled through the internet looking for advice on when to plant, which seeds to start inside and which to plant in the ground, what kind of soil they need, how often to water . . . OVERWHELMED! If you can relate, then GRAB THIS BOOK!
The book is organized into small, bite-sized clips of information and steps to take each week of the year. You start in the winter by planning your garden, researching and ordering seeds, and sharpening/repairing gardening tools. The book tells you when to start indoor seedlings, when to harden and plant, what diseases to watch for, when to fertilize . . . all in digestible chunks! I actually didn’t mean to just sit down and read it (it’s supposed to be weekly, right?) but I got sucked in (and finally discovered what the leathery brown stuff was on the bottom of my tomatoes and how to prevent them!). This book is invaluable, and I plan to re-read it at least twice more as well as use it as a reference. I can’t wait until winter to start planning next year’s garden!
Other Books Read by This Author: None
What are other people saying? The Retro Housewife, Publisher’s Weekly
Rating:
★★★★☆ Writing Style
★★★★★ Organization
★★★★★ Original Idea
★★★★★☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★★
Lonestar Sanctuary
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Colleen Coble. 320 p. Published in 2008 by Thomas Nelson. Listened to audiobook narrated by Aimee Lilly, borrowed from my local library.
Verdict: ★★★☆☆
Who Cares? Adult Inspirational Fiction
Short Bio:
In the quiet safety of the Bluebird Ranch, old promises resurface and unexpected love brings new hope. Though tragedy has wrecked her life, Allie Siders holds on to the hope that her five-year-old daughter, Betsy, will speak again. But with a stalker out for revenge, all Allie can think about now is their safety. She must sever all ties and abandon life as she knows it. She heads to the peaceful Bluebird Ranch, nestled deep in Texas hill country, and to the only person who can help them. The ranch is a sanctuary for abused horses, and also for troubled youths: the perfect place for Betsy to grow and recover. Ranch owner Elijah DeAngelo eagerly welcomes the duo. But Rick Bailey—the ranch foreman and DeAngelo’s right hand man—hasn’t decided to let his guard down… yet. Promises made long ago soon force Rick and Allie to work together to escape danger. Will they discover love along the way?
Eyewitness Account:
I’ve been grabbing audiobooks from our library to listen to on my phone while commuting to work, and this was the second one I picked up. Texas ranch, single mom stalked by a murderer . . . sadly, it wasn’t quite as gripping as I thought it would be. If it hadn’t been something I was listening to while doing other things, I probably would have had trouble finishing it. It was a little too predictable to be really engaging – the characters were okay, but not terribly distinct from most Christian Fic heroes and heroines. It would make good summer beach reading for those who like Christian romantic fiction, seems like there are a lot of other readers out there who appreciated it more than I did.
Other Books Read by This Author: None
What are other people saying? Cindy’s Book Club, Kel Mel Blog, Romance Readers Connection
Rating:
★★☆☆☆ Plot Development
★★★☆☆ Characterization
★★★☆☆ Writing Style
★★★☆☆ Original Idea
★★★☆☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★☆☆
Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Tony Reinke. 208 p. To be published Sept 30, 2011 by Crossway Books. Advanced review copy provided in electronic format by the publisher in return for my honest opinion, courtesy of NetGalley.
Verdict: ★★★★★
Who Cares? Adult Nonfiction – Christian Growth
Short Bio:
A call for Christians to reclaim the priority, privilege, and practice of reading.
Christians are identified as people of the Word—submitted to the authority of God’s written Word, called to center our lives on it and not on the image-driven world that vies for our gaze. But how do we build such lives, and what do they look like?
Tony Reinke’s answer is that we are to be readers of the Word of God and of the many other books that reflect God’s truth, goodness, and beauty in the world. In Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books, Reinke lays out a theology of reading built around the gospel, developed from Scripture, and corroborated by church history. He offers guidance for exercising discernment in what we read, and practical advice on how to read regularly and well. Reinke also explains how to foster a culture of reading in our churches and homes. The book stresses that we may find truth, help, insight, or beauty in many different forms of literature, from theology to fiction to fantasy to business. Reinke reminds us that God is the author of all knowledge, and we read every book under his illumination.
Eyewitness Account:
The book blurb on NetGalley immediately intrigued me – someone wrote a whole book on why Christians should read (and written by an admitted “non-reader”)? I snatched it up quick and wasn’t disappointed. Reinke has a great writing style that is engaging, yet succinct (I didn’t do a whole lot of skimming because he moved from point to point fairly quickly himself). The content was great; the first half of the book is Reinke’s “theology of reading”, his own thesis on why any Christian (or any person, really) who wants to grow and mature should read. I was most struck in this section by Reinke’s discussion of how when we rely more and more on visual media to communicate, we lose out on the precision of meaning found in words.
The second half is pure nuts and bolts – how to find time to read, how to highlight and annotate so that you get a lot out of your reading, how to make personal priorities for choosing what to read, and how to pass on a love and discipline of reading to your kids (to name just a few). His chapter on priorities was so timely for me – I have been feeling overwhelmed these last few months with the sheer volume of what I want to read and how little time I have to read it in (as my backlog of NetGalley manuscripts can attest to!). I took his advice and made a list of the goals I have for reading and it was so helpful to approach my TBR list with actual priorities and criteria for picking the next book!
The only thing that seemed odd about this book is the fact that he is really writing to people who don’t read – and it made me wonder how on earth he would get his message out to such people using a book? (Christmas present from those who do read? My spouse just might get this one in his stocking . . .!) However, they aren’t the only people who can find some juicy nuggets in this book – I loved it, and would highly recommend it to anyone.
Notable Quotes:
My priorities help me determine the value of a book. My priorities set the highest value on the rarest books (like theologically sound books on the person and work of Christ) and place the lowest priority on the most abundant literature (like best-selling secular fiction). This prevents me from allowing the abundance of literature in a category to dictate my reading diet. The categories prove valuable when I walk into a bookstore.
Literature is life. If you want to know what, deep down, people feel and experience, you can do no better than read the stories and poems of the human race. Writers of literature have the gift of observing and then expressing in words the essential experiences of people . . . The rewards of reading literature are significant. Literature helps to humanize us. It expands our range of experiences. It fosters awareness of ourselves and the world. It enlarges our compassion for people. It awakens our imaginations. It expresses our feelings and insights about God, nature, and life. It enlivens our sense of beauty.
This is a matter of conscience for each believer. And while there are no rigid rules for what Christians should or should not read, we must each be sensitive to our own conscience and the consciences of those around us. As we establish our own understanding of what books we will and will not read ourselves, we must respect the parameters that other Christians have chosen to set for themselves and for their children.
“Literature and art are God’s gifts to the human race,” writes literature scholar Leland Ryken. “One of the liberating effects of letting ourselves ‘go’ as we enjoy literature is to realize that we can partly affirm the value of literature whose content or worldview we dislike. If God is the ultimate source of all beauty and artistry, then the artistic dimension of literature is the point at which Christians can be unreserved in their enthusiasm for the works of non-Christian writers.”14 This point is critical for book readers. Our freedom to enjoy the aesthetic beauty of non-Christian literature does not require us to first endorse the author’s worldview or personal ethical choices.
Other Books Read by This Author: None.
What are other people saying? The Biblical Bookshelf, Tom Farr’s Blog, Thoughts on Theology
Rating:
★★★★☆ Writing Style
★★★★☆ Organization
★★★★★ Original Idea
★★★★★ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★★
The Postmistress
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Sarah Blake. 336 p. Published 2010 by Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam. Listened to audiobook published by Penguin Audiobooks and narrated by Orlagh Cassidy.
Verdict: ★★★★☆
Who Cares? Adult Historical Fiction
Short Bio (from publisher):
Those who carry the truth sometimes bear a terrible weight…
It is 1940. France has fallen. Bombs are dropping on London. And President Roosevelt is promising he won’t send our boys to fight in “foreign wars.”
But American radio gal Frankie Bard, the first woman to report from the Blitz in London, wants nothing more than to bring the war home. Frankie’s radio dispatches crackle across the Atlantic ocean, imploring listeners to pay attention–as the Nazis bomb London nightly, and Jewish refugees stream across Europe. Frankie is convinced that if she can just get the right story, it will wake Americans to action and they will join the fight.
Meanwhile, in Franklin, Massachusetts, a small town on Cape Cod, Iris James hears Frankie’s broadcasts and knows that it is only a matter of time before the war arrives on Franklin’s shores. In charge of the town’s mail, Iris believes that her job is to deliver and keep people’s secrets, passing along the news that letters carry. And one secret she keeps are her feelings for Harry Vale, the town mechanic, who inspects the ocean daily, searching in vain for German U-boats he is certain will come. Two single people in midlife, Iris and Harry long ago gave up hope of ever being in love, yet they find themselves unexpectedly drawn toward each other.
Listening to Frankie as well are Will and Emma Fitch, the town’s doctor and his new wife, both trying to escape a fragile childhood and forge a brighter future. When Will follow’s Frankie’s siren call into the war, Emma’s worst fears are realized. Promising to return in six months, Will goes to London to offer his help, and the lives of the three women entwine.
Eyewitness Account:
Although this was simply the next book that appeared on my audiobooks hold list from the library, it is strikingly similar to the last book I read – the main characters are women, set during World War II, full of rich historical detail, narrated by Orlagh Cassidy . . . the titles are even similar, each the occupation of one of the main female characters. However, I was struck by the fact that where The Piano Teacher had a very strong plot with weak characterization, I felt like The Postmistress was the opposite with incredibly sympathetic characters and a slightly weaker plot (though still not bad!). The pages didn’t turn quite as easily for me this time as the story seemed to drag a bit. Overall, though, Blake’s writing style was more than eloquent and a pleasure to read (or listen to, as the case may be!).
I loved the three women who formed the core of the story, each one so vividly constructed with personality and strengths and struggles; they held the story together for me, because even when the plot seemed to drag and I wondered when Emma would ever get her deserved news, I held on because I cared about them. Perhaps I cared less about the plot because the overarching setting of Americans in pre-World War II is something I’ve read a lot about and didn’t give me something new like The Piano Teacher did. Those who don’t mind a slower moving plot if they get great characters in return, or who haven’t read a lot of WW II fiction, will probably enjoy this book.
Other Books Read by This Author: none
What are other people saying? New York Times, She is Too Fond of Books, Literary Corner Cafe
Rating:
★★★☆☆ Plot Development
★★★★★ Characterization
★★★★★ Writing Style
★★★★☆ Original Idea
★★★☆☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★☆
The Piano Teacher
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Janice Y. K. Lee. 328 p. Published 2009 by Penguin Publishers. Listened to the audiobook published by Penguin Audio and narrated by Orlagh Cassidy.
Verdict: ★★★☆☆
Who Cares? Adult Historical Fiction
Short Bio (from the publisher):
In the sweeping tradition of The English Patient, a gripping tale of love and betrayal set in war-torn Hong Kong
In 1942, Will Truesdale, an Englishman newly arrived in Hong Kong, falls headlong into a passionate relationship with Trudy Liang, a beautiful Eurasian socialite. But their love affair is soon threatened by the invasion of the Japanese as World War II overwhelms their part of the world. Will is sent to an internment camp, where he and other foreigners struggle daily for survival. Meanwhile, Trudy remains outside, forced to form dangerous alliances with the Japanese—in particular, the malevolent head of the gendarmerie, whose desperate attempts to locate a priceless collection of Chinese art lead to a chain of terrible betrayals.
Ten years later, Claire Pendleton comes to Hong Kong and is hired by the wealthy Chen family as their daughter’s piano teacher. A provincial English newlywed, Claire is seduced by the heady social life of the expatriate community. At one of its elegant cocktail parties, she meets Will, to whom she is instantly attracted—but as their affair intensifies, Claire discovers that Will’s enigmatic persona hides a devastating past. As she begins to understand the true nature of the world she has entered, and long-buried secrets start to emerge, Claire learns that sometimes the price of survival is love.
Eyewitness Account:
While the story gets kudos for having a complex, engaging plot and diverse characters, it was overall a “meh” for me. I’m finding that I like stories with firm endings, and this one just kind of petered out for me. I liked how the story was actually two stories, 10 years apart, told parallel with the narration switching from one time period to the other (although its odd how the older story is told in present tense and the more recent story told in the usual past tense.) My favorite part of the book was the time period and setting of Hong Kong during the Japanese invasion of WWII – all the war literature I’ve read, and not one has been there! It’s always nice to find something totally new to learn about.
In some ways, this novel felt a lot like The Great Gatsby to me, with all the high society parties and Claire being a newcomer who doesn’t feel like she belongs. However, even though the characters were unique and different, I had a hard time really empathizing with them. I couldn’t relate to their thoughts or actions or feelings, they always seemed to think or act or feel differently than I would have. I probably would have liked this book more if I had connected with the characters more deeply. The writing style and plot were really above par, so I would definitely try other books by this author.
Other Books Read by This Author: none.
What are other people saying? New York Times, A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore, S. Krishna
Rating:
★★★★☆ Plot Development
★★☆☆☆ Characterization
★★★★☆ Writing Style
★★★☆☆ Original Idea
★★★★☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★☆☆
Sweet Sanctuary
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Sheila Walsh and Cindy Martinusen-Coloma. 352 p. Published August 2011 by Thomas Nelson. Advanced review copy provided by the publisher in electronic format through their BookSneeze program in return for my honest review.
Verdict: ★★★★☆
Who Cares? Adult Contemporary Fiction
Short Bio (from the publisher):
“Without the storm, how would we know the sweetness of shelter?” -Ruth
Out of the clear blue, Wren’s Grandma Ruth arrives on her doorstep, dreaming of a grand party to celebrate her 95th birthday. Wren and her young son Charlie love the idea, but it quickly gets complicated: Ruth wants Wren’s estranged siblings to attend and she wants Wren to sing her all-time favorite song: “His Eye Is On The Sparrow.” It’s the very song Wren sang one fateful day during her childhood . . . and Wren hasn’t sung a note since.
Though she’s glad to have Grandma back in her life, Wren’s sleeping on the couch in her own house now . . . and worried about the expenses piling up. After all, her job at the community library is in jeopardy after budget cuts, and the fancy music program she wants for her son is getting farther and farther out of reach. What’s more, Paul—the guy she’s drawn to yet avoids—ends up being a major part of an important library project.
With family arriving and old wounds resurfacing, Wren’s about to fly when she discovers something special—a gift of grace beyond her wildest dreams.
Eyewitness Account:
Sweet Sanctuary is the story of a single-mom who fights all the usual battles – bringing home the bacon for her little family of two, delving into the ultra-emotional question of what role her ex-husband should have in their lives, moving beyond the relational failures of the past for new dating opportunities, and carrying the great burdens of parenthood alone. Because no (wo)man is an island, Wren faces all of this on top of the emotional scars of her childhood. The family tragedy of long ago not only created deep psychological wounds, but has left Wren without the support and presence of her mother and siblings.
Wren’s story is engaging and real, relatable even to those who aren’t in her particular situation. She’s easy to empathize with, partly because she makes the same mistakes that we probably would. I liked that her struggles were the usual daily life ones of figuring out how to help her son when he has trouble with his friends, how to handle the difficult family relationships in her life, and how to make life-changing decisions like where to live and what job to take. I also liked that her journey of faith was authentic – there were times when she remembered to turn to God in faith and times when she didn’t. Wren’s story emphasized the importance of having faithful friends to remind us to look toward God in all things instead of worrying.
I really loved the writing style throughout (see the excerpt below!) but the plot development at the end felt a little heavy-handed and was followed by a tidy wrap-up. However, the characters and topics covered made it a worthwhile book to read. This book had the definite plus of not being a solely “romance” novel – although Wren has a love interest, her potential relationship with a guy is not the crux of the story and blends in much more realistically than many contemporary fiction novels. I’d recommend this anyone who likes contemporary Christian fiction.
Sweet Sanctuary was not an incredibly original, fantastic, or mind-bending book – but it was definitely an enjoyable escape and a good reminder that God is into the fixing-up-our-messed-up-lives business.
Notable Quotes:
(Excerpt)
Working in a library was similar to bartending or sitting in the confessional box. She’d see library patrons at the Friday film nights or around town and many treated her as if she knew all their secrets, based on the books they read, the ones they hated and the ones they loved.
Wren especially enjoyed when a child carried off a new library card, holding his or her head high as if some rite of passage had just occurred, which was exactly how she saw it. The books the patrons borrowed told their stories for them. Wren wondered how the changing of the library would change the people who came searching for books.
In one year at the Cottage Cove Public Library, she had fallen in love with the community like they were the family she longed for.
There were layers here, stories alive in the patrons who visited the library and stories through the characters of the books. The books breathed love, places, stories, cultures, mysteries, evils, beauty, the divine, the humble . . . everything of life was found here.
Other Books Read by This Author: None.
What are other people saying? Small Kucing, Christian Fiction Addiction, Maria’s Handmade Love,
Rating:
★★★☆☆ Plot Development
★★★★☆ Characterization
★★★★★ Writing Style
★★★★☆ Original Idea
★★★★☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★☆
Hyperion
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Dan Simmons. 481 p. Published 1990 by Spectra. Listened to audiobook, narrated by Marc Vietor , Allyson Johnson , Kevin Pariseau , Jay Snyder , Victor Bevine.
Verdict: ★★★☆☆
Who Cares? Adult Science Fiction
Short Bio (from publisher): On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it.
In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope – and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.
Eyewitness Account: I tend to the enjoy the Fantasy end of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy spectrum, so my review of this book is a bit colored by the fact that I don’t find as much enjoyment out of the advanced technology-cool gadgets side of Sci-Fi. I liked this book, but not enough to rave about it (perhaps I’d like it better if I finished the sequel, Fall of Hyperion, as these are really one long book published into two novels).
Thumbs up: the frame story format in which each person tells their own story (very Canterbury Tales-like), the gradual unravelling of mystery surrounding the Shrike and the motivation behind each character’s trek toward doom, the beautiful writing style, and the haunting nature of each individual story. The strength of this book is that it’s composed as six short stories that fit together like a puzzle. The stories in and of themselves are each beautiful in a bleak, melancholic way. This is no happy tale; each story is one of tragedy and sorrow. However, they all explore (in the great Sci-Fi tradition) the ideas of what it means to be human – to love, to suffer, and to have hope.
Thumbs down: the book opens with a BARRAGE OF TECHNO GOBBLEDY-GOOK that left me wondering when the narrator would get around to speaking in English (this feeling drops off fairly quickly though, but not the best first impression), the first pilgrim’s story was agonizingly slow to get into (I finally looked up a synopsis on Wikipedia and read just the summary of the first pilgrim’s story before deciding it was worth ploughing through), and all the stories have a rather lengthier-than-they-need-to-be feel to them. Not sure if the characterization really depended on the amount of detail that Simmons goes into.
If you like imaginings of our universe in the 30th century and all the cool techno-gadgets we’ll be using as well as the great lengths we will have exerted ourselves to destroy our limited resources, then you’ll love this book. If you like Sci-Fi that explores the deeper underpinnings of our humanity through melancholic tales, then you’ll appreciate this book. If you can’t stand Star Trek, then try Connie Willis instead.
Warning: this book includes offensive language and some adult content (both violence and mild sex scenes).
Notable Quotes:
“For those who do not write and who never have been stirred by the creative urge, talk of muses seems a figure of speech, a quaint concept, but for those of us who live by the Word, our muses are as real and necessary as the soft clay of language which they help to sculpt.”
“I now understand the need for faith–pure, blind, fly-in-the-face-of-reason faith–as a small life preserver in the world and endless sea of a universe ruled by unfeeling laws and totally indifferent to the small, reasoning beings that inhabit it.”
Other Books Read by This Author: none.
What are other people saying? Keeping the Door, Sandstorm Reviews, Inverarity is not a Scottish Village
Rating:
★★★☆☆ Plot Development
★★★☆☆ Characterization
★★★★★ Writing Style
★★★☆☆ Original Idea
★★☆☆☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★☆☆
The Spoils of Eden / Hawaiian Crosswinds
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Linda Lee Chaikin. 341/350 p. Published 2010/2011 by Moody Publishers. Advanced review copy provided to me courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Verdict: ★★★☆☆ (Really, I’d give it 3 1/2)
Who Cares? Adult Christian Historical Fiction
Short Bio: Chaikin’s newest saga, “The Dawn of Hawaii Series”, debuted The Spoils of Eden in 2010, and was just recently followed by the second, Hawaiian Crosswinds, in June 2011. The series follows the third generation decendants of the first Hawaiian missionaries, families who by now have vast land holdings as well as great political influence. Although the plot centers around Eden Derrington’s struggle to fulfil a long-held dream to work with her much-absent father on the leper colony Molokai, finally meet her leprous mother, and hang on to her hunky and hardworking fiancée (Rafe Easton), the saga involves all of the Derrington clan and most especially Eden’s cousins – Candace, Zachary, and Silas.
Eden’s personal quest to build relationships with her absent parents, as well as with Rafe, is set in the middle of high political tension in Hawaii. Her grandfather and fiancée both support the annexation of Hawaii by the United States in order to have the protection of both U.S. Navy and U.S. laws at a time when Queen Liliuokalani is pushing for restoration of an absolute monarchy. The increasing need for manual labor on large fruit and coffee plantations has brought an influx of Chinese and Japanese families who not only threaten the demographic balance of Hawaii, but also bring the corrupting influence of drug and gambling cartels from the Orient. Eden and her cousins set about the difficult task of following God’s path for their future amidst these warring influences, family pressure to make strategic marriages, and internal doubts and fleshly weaknesses.
Eyewitness Account: First, I must say that Moody Publishers has a great Public Relations department – I had originally requested the Hawaiian Crosswinds galley on NetGalley, and when I received it, the formatting was illegible. Moody promptly responded to my email by sending me hard copies of BOTH books in the mail (which was great, I hadn’t realized it was the second book in a series!).
I’ve long been a fan of Chaikin’s because of her Heart of India trilogy, which I read several times as a kid (it was published about 20 years ago), so I was super excited to read this series. Chaikin did not disappoint – this new Hawaiian series has all the same strengths that her Indian series has: interesting and well researched historical period, full cast of diverse characters, interesting and complex plot, and strong undercurrent of spiritual truths.
I was a little taken aback throughout the first book because it felt like Chaikin was info-dumping a whole lot of backstory about the characters – and then I remembered that she had published a Hawaiian book a few years back, and sure enough For Whom The Stars Shine was supposed to be the first book in this series (perhaps you could consider it a prequel)? I’d read it long enough ago that I didn’t remember any of it, so the backstory helped and I was less annoyed knowing that she was actually referring to a previous novel. Unfortunately, Shine was published by Bethany House and the Dawn of Hawaii series is under Moody Publishers, so they don’t connect the two at all (leaving me rather confused and put out for most of the first book about the backstory dump). You might want to pick up Shine first if you’re interested, but it isn’t necessary.
The first two books in the Dawn of Hawaii series are full of complex characters and plot development that take patience to get through, but are worth the effort – most of the advancement takes place through dialogue, which can drive action-lovers bonkers. It’s a technique, though, that allows Chaikin to focus on the characters and their relationships to one another and provides the medium through which she develops many of her themes, such as Eden and Rafe learning to trust each other enough to confront each other about secrets and concerns. Chaikin also explores the idea that faith is not something you can inherit like you can a sugarcane plantation, but that you must claim as your own. Her characters struggle with personal sin and weakness in very human ways, like jealousy of step-siblings or anger towards abusive parents. They also battle to determine what God’s path for their future is – Candace trying to decide whether she is free to marry for love or obliged to accept her grandfather’s choice of husband, and Eden’s dilemma of putting off her fiancée in order to work with her father and meet her mother.
Another major theme of the book is the plight of the lepers, personified in Eden’s mother and in Kip. Kip is a young, orphaned boy who is rescued from Molokai by Rafe. He himself does not have leprosy, but would be banished to a life on the leper colony under the current Hawaiian rules. Eden and Rafe clash over the question of obeying the local law that Kip must be isolated and perhaps returned to the leper colony, even though he shows no signs of the disease. Rafe reluctantly allows his own appointment to the legislature on behalf of an absent assemblymen with the sole intent to change such laws that persecute those who are merely associated with, but do not have, leprosy. Eden’s father, Dr. Jerome, had dedicated his whole life to finding a “cure” for leprosy after his wife contracted the disease and was exiled to Molokai. Chaikin shows that at this time in Hawaii’s past, leprosy was greatly feared and its victims severely stigmatized. Several of the characters (including Eden, Dr. Jerome, and the local lay pastor, Ambrose), display compassion for those with the outcast disease and work to give the victims hope and give the fearful peace.
My only real quibble was that this series was eerily similar to The Heart of India trilogy – large dynastic non-native family, central conflict over an orphaned boy of questionable origin, tyrannical and manipulative uncle, mysterious fires, etc. There are no characters that are “exactly” the same, but there are enough plot devices in common to make the work feel not entirely original.
If you like well-researched historical fiction in the tradition of Alex Haley, James Michener, and Herman Wouk, then you’d probably enjoy this series. I’m eager for the third one, hopefully coming out soon!
Try it for free – grab the first chapter of The Spoils of Eden here and Hawaiian Crosswinds here, or just head over to Amazon.com to pick it up!
Notable Quotes:
Two men, two legacies, Rafe mused. “My father knew how to multiply the land’s produce. My grandfather knew how to look up at the stars and see the Lord’s footsteps moving silently through eternity. I am the restless heir of both men, and God will hold me responsible for the pathway I’ve taken. I can’t live any way I choose, then expect special treatment to be handed to me from God just because [my grandfather] lived a godly life.”
Other Books Read by This Author: The Heart of India Trilogy, The Everlasting Flame, A Day to Remember Series, Endangered, For Whom the Stars Shine, Desert Rose
What are other people saying?
Spoils of Eden: Just One More Paragraph, Christian Daily Blog, Once Upon A Romance
Hawaiian Winds: Read Great Fiction, R Bartel,
Rating:
★★★★☆ Plot Development
★★★☆☆ Characterization
★★★☆☆ Writing Style
★★★☆☆ Original Idea
★★★★☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★☆☆
Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Moody Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Roots
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Alex Haley. 729 p. Published 1976 by Dell Publishing. Bought used at a library sale.
Verdict: ★★★★★
Who Cares? Adult Historical Fiction/Autobiography
Short Bio: Kunta Kinte grows up from a young tyke into a strapping young “man” of 16 when he is suddenly captured and taken via slave ship to Maryland. After three escape attempts, he finally resigns himself to his new status as property but determines to pass on the pride and dignity of his African heritage to his daughter, Kizzy. The author traces the oral history of Kunta’s descendants six generations until he reaches his own birth. The history of Haley’s family includes such extraordinary characters as Gran’mammy Kizzy, preacher-girl Mathilda, Chicken George, blacksmith Tom Lea, and lumber mill owner Walter Palmer.
Eyewitness Account: At the beginning of the year, I made a list of about 20 classics that I hadn’t yet read that I’m trying to get through in 2011. This is one I was really excited about – and it didn’t disappoint. Haley’s perfect combination of rich detail with gripping plot and fantastic characterization make for an excellent (though sometimes heartbreaking) read. He spends a good majority of the book on Kunta Kinte – about half of that in Africa (I nearly died of anticipation, I kept expecting him to get snatched and he didn’t leave Africa for at least 160 pages!). At the end of the book, Haley explains how he backtracked to find where his ancestors came from and located the very village – how incredible!
Don’t be intimidated by the length – Roots is jam-packed with interesting historical/cultural detail among a suspenseful plot and colorful people. I practically felt myself the incredible pain and humility that Kunte experiences as he crosses the Atlantic in a crowded ship, the desperation that drives him to attempt escaping multiple times (despite severe beatings as punishment), and the utter bewilderment he feels toward his fellow slaves who accept their shameful lot so willingly. By the time I read through most of Haley’s family history and got to the end of the Civil War, I was ready to whoop with glee when Tom and all his brothers finally got to live as free men. But my favorite part of all is the end, where Haley describes his own journey of discovering just where his great ancestor Kunte Kinte was from and how he got to America. Well done, Haley! This is probably one of the only books I’ve given all 5-stars to.
Notable Quotes:
“In his hut after the moro had gone that night, Kunta lay awake thinking how so many things–indeed, nearly everything they had learned– all tied together. The past seemed with the present, the present with the future, the dead with the living, and those yet to be born; he himself with his family, his mates, his village, his tribe, his Africa; the world of man with the world of animals and growing things– they all lived with Allah. Kunta felt very small, yet very large. Perhaps, he thought, this is what it means to become a man.”
“I sat as if I were carved of stone. My blood seemed to have congealed. This man whose lifetime had been in this back-country African village had no way in the world to know that he had just echoed what I had heard all through my boyhood years on my grandma’s front porch in Henning, Tennesse . . . of an African who always had insisted that his name was “Kin-tay”, who had called a guitar a “ko” and a river within the state of Virginia, “Kamby Bolongo”; and who had been kidnapped into slavery while not far from his village, chopping wood, to make himself a drum.”
Other Books Read by This Author: None.
What are other people saying? The Book Haven, Serendipity
Rating:
★★★★★ Plot Development
★★★★★ Characterization
★★★★★ Writing Style
★★★★★ Original Idea
★★★★★ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★★
Doc: A Novel
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Mary Doria Russell. 416 p. Published May 2011 by Random House. Bought from Amazon.com for my Kindle because I LOVED The Sparrow.
Verdict: ★★★★★
Who Cares? Adult Historical Fiction
Short Bio (from Publisher’s Weekly): Russell (Dreamers of the Day) brings lethal Dodge City to life in a colorful group-portrait of famous frontiersmen years before many of them would pass into legend at the O.K. Corral. After a tense childhood in Civil War–torn Georgia and the loss of his beloved mother, young John Henry “Doc” Holliday moves west in hopes of ameliorating the tuberculosis that would eventually kill him, relocating in the late 1870s to Kansas, where he divides his time among his poorly paying vocation of dentistry, lucrative gambling, and his fractious relationship with Kate Harony, a cultured, Hungarian-born prostitute. In a tale notable more for a remarkable cast than orderliness of plot, the rising tension between the corrupt, carousing, and well-armed inhabitants of Dodge and the forces of law represented by the moralistic Wyatt Earp and his brother, Morgan, makes a spectacular background to a memorable year-in-the-life tale of a fiery young Southern gentleman whose loyalty to his friends and love of music outshine even his fragile health and the whiskey-soaked violence of the western
Eyewitness Account: The only criticism of this book I can truthfully give is that it ended too soon! Russell managed to do what she did so expertly in The Sparrow – she introduced me to a cast of characters that I did not want to say goodbye to. Forget your brawny Fabio romance heroes; I’ll take Doc over them any day! Doc Holliday was the epitome of a southern gentlemen driven to survive his debilitating tuberculosis – and he has the wittiest and most charming lines in the whole book. Wyatt Earp steals your heart with his illiterate sincerity and desire to serve unilateral justice. Kate Harony, Bessie Earp, and Belle Wright are, each one, very different and yet very independent women trying to tame a wild country full of unreliable men. I even fell in love with a young black boy who would have been cast as an extra if the story were a movie set, he had so few of his own lines. And the writing – oh, the writing! There are some authors who make music with their words, and Russell leads the pack. Doc is one of the wittiest, engaging, and heart-breaking novels I have read all year. It’s a book that I’d recommend to my dad as easily as to my grandmother, the themes are so universal. This is one of the few books that I’ve actually bought this year and it was COMPLETELY worth it! I’m just sad I didn’t get a physical copy so I could start handing it out to my fellow book-junkies.
Notable Quotes:
“Yes, sir! Yes, they do,” Doc said, suddenly hot. “Every one of them has a story, and every story begins with a man who failed her. A husband who came home from the war, good for nothin’ but drink. A father who didn’t come home at all, or a stepfather who did. A brother who should have protected her. A beau who promised marriage and left when he got what he wanted, because he wouldn’t marry a slut. If a girl like that has lost her way, it’s—because some worthless no-account—sonofabitch left her in—the wilderness alone!”
Doc sat back in his chair and stared out of the window for a long time. “Bein’ born is craps,” he decided. He glanced at Morg and let loose that sly, lopsided smile of his. “How we live is poker.” Doc looked away and got thoughtful again. “Mamma played a bad hand well.”
Sit in a physician’s office. Listen to a diagnosis as bad as Doc’s. Beyond the first few words, you won’t hear a thing. The voice of Hope is soft but impossible to ignore. This isn’t happening, she assures you. There’s been a mix-up with the tests. Hope swears, You’re different. You matter. She whispers, Miracles happen. She says, often quite reasonably, New treatments are being developed all the time! She promises, You’ll beat the odds. A hundred to one? A thousand to one? A million to one? Eight to five, Hope lies. Odds are, when your time comes, you won’t even ask, “For or against?” You’ll swing up on that horse, and ride.
Other Books Read by This Author:
What are other people saying? Cleaveland.com, Washington Post, The Magic Lasso
Rating:
★★★★☆ Plot Development
★★★★★ Characterization
★★★★★ Writing Style
★★★★★ Original Idea
★★★★★ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★★
The Ninth Wife
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Amy Stolls. 488 p. Published May 2011 by HarperCollins. Advanced review copy provided courtesy of the publisher, through NetGalley.
Verdict: ★★★★☆
Who Cares? Adult Contemporary Romance
Short Bio: Bess relies on the vigor of her karate class and the antics of her gay neighbor, Cricket, to keep her 35-years-old-and-single life interesting until she’s talked in to throwing a big singles bash for her birthday. There, she meets Rory – a hunky Irishman with a secretive past. As their relationship gets serious, Rory confesses to Bess that he’s had eight previous wives. As Bess attempts to navigate her emotional turmoil from hearing this news, she determines to contact Rory’s ex-wives to see if she can’t find some reason to either accept or reject Rory’s marriage proposal.
Eyewitness Account: I was surprised at how much I loved this book – it’s not very impressive at the beginning (the writing is a little awkward, as it’s written mostly in present tense. “Bess goes to the fridge and takes out a glass of milk.”), but once I got about a third of the way through, the characters hooked me. Every single one of them, from Cricket to Bess’s bickering grandparents to Rory’s past wives, somehow managed to rise above the general stereotypes that you tend to see in supporting characters and made for very believable people. Although a little slow at first, the plot really picks up momentum about halfway through and I couldn’t put it down!
My favorite part about the book is the personal journey that Bess goes through. At the beginning of the story, she is a somewhat content, independent women who generally plays it safe – even the 10-year-old kids at her karate studio aren’t afraid of her because she lacks the bold confidence of someone who takes risks. She yearns for the satisfaction and security that marriage is supposed to provide, but is then challenged by the notion that marriage can really give that – by her bickering, unhappy grandparents and by the revelation that her boyfriend had been eight previous marriages. It is this challenge that finally provokes her to take some risks – to seek out Rory’s past wives and try to figure out what her own decision should be. I really liked the conclusion of Bess’s search and thought it exceptionally fitting for her story. The author explores the intricacies of relationships, the expectations of marriage, and a the sometimes plaguing question, “How much of my past defines me?”
My advice – push through the first half, it’s worth it!
Notable Quotes:
Gaia is that perfect skimming stone one searches for at the edge of a lake, smooth and shapely, unadorned and peaceful among the other stones but capable of soaring out across the surface as if defying the laws of nature. She is beautiful, but then maybe all new mothers are beautiful, or all onlookers in the immediate aftermath of birth see a kind of beauty they didn’t see before.
How does one wrap one’s mind around eight wives? It could have been worse, he could have murdered someone, her interior voice whispered. If he were a murderer, she answered, she certainly wouldn’t be sticking around. But isn’t that the response she should have to a serial spouse? To run fast in the other direction?
“Whatever I could say, I’d say, Bess. Whatever I could do, I’d do. I love you. Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic, but I do. I want to be with you.” “You’ve said that now eight, no—nine times.” “Not exactly, but yes, that’s too many times, I agree, and I’ll be paying for it for the rest of my life, but can you honestly tell me that’s worse than not saying it enough? I never lied, Bess. My crime is that I love with too much hope.”
Other Books Read by This Author: None.
What are other people saying? My Books My Life, Reading Through Life, Book Club Classics
Rating:
★★★★★ Plot Development
★★★★☆ Characterization
★★★☆☆ Writing Style
★★★★☆ Original Idea
★★★★☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★☆
The Art of Romance
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Kaye Dacus. 320 p. Published May 2011 by Barbour. Advanced copy provided in electronic format courtesy of the publisher, through NetGalley.
Verdict: ★★★★☆
Who Cares? Adult Inspirational Romance
Short Bio: The matchmaking grandmothers are at it again – and this time they have their eyes on english lit professor Caylor and artist/professor Dylan. Caylor and Dylan must survive the loving meddling of their grandmothers, Sassy and Perky, as well as regret from past mistakes that could cloud both of their futures.
Eyewitness Account: Since the last several books I’ve read have been either deep theology or bizarre speculative fiction, I decided it was time for something light-hearted and fun – and this book did not disappoint! I haven’t read the first Matchmakers novel, Love Remains, but it didn’t take long to catch up with the characters and get pulled into a good story of two people learning to move forward after making poor choices in the past. Dacus developed a fairly complicated plot that, while comfortably predictable, did not depend on conflict caused by uncommunicative characters making rash assumptions (as so many romance stories do). The love story conflict was developed realistically, which helped me overlook some rather hefty plot contrivances (I thought the past connection between the two main characters a bit of a stretch). One of the best parts about the novel is that Caylor is an author who uses her daily interactions as inspiration – reading about her idea gathering and writing habits was like getting a sneak peek into an author’s brain and made me wonder if most authors have a similar creative process.
This lovely novel would make a great summer read for anyone who enjoys inspirational romance!
Notable Quotes:
Caylor perched on the edge of the credenza. “Look, I know you mean well, but I really don’t need my grandmother acting as a matchmaker for me. I don’t have time in my life right now for a man.”
“You would if you met one you wanted to spend time with. Love is something you wait for.” Sassy stood. “Now, I know you’re supposed to be getting ready to go out with the girls, so I won’t keep you any longer. But just think about what I said, and try to enter this house remodel with an open mind.”
“Open mind about the house or about the people coming in to rip it apart and rebuild it?”
“Both.” Sassy waggled her finger at Caylor, raising it above her head so it was the last thing Caylor saw as she disappeared down the stairs.
Other Books Read by This Author:
What are other people saying? No Ordinary Moments, Heidi Main, Writer, From Dawn ’til Dusk
Rating:
★★★★☆ Plot Development
★★★★☆ Characterization
★★★☆☆ Writing Style
★★★☆☆ Original Idea
★★★★☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★☆
The Greener Grass Conspiracy
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Stephen Altrogge. 144 p. Published April 2011 by Crossway Books. Advanced review copy received in electronic format courtesy of the publisher, through NetGalley.
Verdict: ★★★★★
Who Cares? Adult Christian Non-Fiction (Spiritual Growth)
Short Bio: Stephen Altrogge delves into our society’s most commonly found malady: discontentment. How could residents of the richest nation in the world, of whom most are in the world’s top 1% wealthiest, be so discontent? Altrogge examines what this discontentment looks like in our lives, what’s at the root of it, and how we combat it.
Eyewitness Account: Moment of truth: I expected this book to bore me. It had “yeah, yeah, I know all that” written all over the blurb. If you looked at the five-star rating above, you can imagine just how surprised I was to find these short 144 pages a down-and-dirty, “in the trenches” look at the battle for contentment. Altrogge examines the nature of discontentment (which is ultimately a form of idolatry – finding or believing that true satisfaction is in something God created rather than in God himself), the lies we believe when we’re not content (“God owes me”, “God is holding out on me”, “If I could just get this one thing then I’d be truly happy”, and finally, “I know what’s best for me”), what we truly deserve from God (punishment for being the rebellious idolaters that we are), what we actually get from God (not only forgiveness for our death-causing sins, but also a place in God’s family as his children and inheritors of his kingdom), and the root of what we are truly longing for – the Heaven we were created to enjoy.
When I read books on my Kindle, I like highlighting good quotes so that I can peruse them later when I write my book reviews or when I want to share good parts with my friends. I went back into my highlighted quotes for this review and found FIFTY-THREE PASSAGES that I had marked (my average for a really good book is about 20)! With just the right mix of personal anecdotes, too-true illustrations, and scriptural backing for each of his chapters, I found this book enjoyable, humorous, well-paced, deeply thought-provoking, and extremely practical to apply. Two thumbs up and a big gold star sticker for Stephen Altrogge!
Notable Quotes: (remember, I had FIFTY-THREE quotes to pick from!)
“He displays his glory in some people by allowing them to suffer and then gives them incredible amounts of grace in the midst of that suffering. He shows his glory in others by abundantly blessing them and then giving them a heart that overflows with generosity. To some he gives a large family, so that they might raise their children to the glory of God. To others he gives the gift of singleness, so that they might pour all their energies into serving Jesus. God is God, and he will display his glory in us as he chooses.”
“Discontentment is the result of misplaced worship. It’s the result of giving our heart to someone or something that should never have it. When we stake our happiness on anything other than God, we’re going to be miserable. Why? Because we were made to worship God and find all our joy in him.”
“The world is full of good things, wonderful things, all made by a generous and good God. Deep friendships are wonderful. A day to ourselves is refreshing. Good health is a blessing. But God has designed these gifts to be windows through which we see him. The gifts are meant to point us to the Giver, not to be an end in and of themselves. And so God has made us in such a way that we can’t be satisfied in anything other than himself.”
“Marriage isn’t the ultimate. Deep friendships aren’t the source of eternal joy. Being in heaven in the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the ultimate. Being face-to-face with and talking with, feasting with, and serving Jesus is the end-all. Throw away your ideas of a boring heaven with nothing to do. We’re going to be with our Creator, the one who invented gladness and created fun. Heaven is going to be ringing with joy and laughter and excitement.”
Other Books Read by This Author: None.
What are other people saying? Blogging Theologically, The Unwasted Life, Sharper Irons,
Rating:
★★★★☆ Writing Style
★★★★☆ Organization
★★★★★ Original Idea
★★★★★ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★★
Napier’s Bones
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by Derryl Murphy. 320 p. Published March 2011 by ChiZine Publishers. Advanced review copy provided in electronic format courtesy of the publisher, through NetGalley.
Verdict: ★★★☆☆
Who Cares? Adult Science Fiction / Suspense
Short Bio: (from ChiZine Publishers) Dom is a numerate, someone able to see and control numbers and use them as a form of magic. While seeking a mathematical item of immense power that has only been whispered about, it all goes south for Dom, and he finds himself on the run across three countries on two continents, with two unlikely companions in tow and a numerate of unfathomable strength hot on his tail. Along the way are giant creatures of stone and earth, statues come alive, numerical wonders cast over hundreds of years, and the very real possibility that he won’t make it out of this alive. And both of his companions have secrets so deep that even they aren’t aware of them, and one of those secrets could make for a seismic shift in how Dom and all other numerates see and interact with the world.
Eyewitness Account: This is the second ChiZine galley I’ve read (I read both this last weekend) and, like Eutopia, it has a very unique and intriguing plot. Murphy posits a Matrix-like world in which a few select people can not only see the “numbers” that make up our world, but they can also manipulate them to defy normal physical laws (a la Obi Wan and The Force). Dom, the main character, is thrown in with the ghost-like shadow of a former numerate and a newbie who is just discovering her mathematical gift. As they are hotly pursued by the most powerful numerate in history, Dom gets a whole new education in the nature of numbers and how numerates can use and abuse them.
Although the books are nothing alike, I found myself comparing Napier’s Bones to Eutopia – perhaps because they both bore the distinctive ChiZine mark of somewhat bizarre plots. However, where Eutopia was strong on characterization but slightly weak on plot and setting, Napier’s Bones is much the opposite. The “numerate” world was very believable and engaging – something I could see Hollywood picking up and exploiting for its awesome special effects and endless possibility of plot lines. The fast-paced storyline kept me turning pages from the beginning, and the author deftly walked the thin line of describing the “rules” of the numerate world without info dumping. The only major weakness, in my opinion, was the character development – they all fell a little flat and never managed to take on any real personality (I couldn’t picture which actor would play them in a movie adaptation – which is how I know they could have been fleshed out a bit better).
The long dead mathematicians and poets that Murphy pulls into the present numerate world are kind of fun and I learned a few things I didn’t know. If you want a great explanation for how John Napier’s “Bones” actually work, check out this website.
This would be a great summer reading pick, especially for readers who like action, math, or science fiction.
Notable Quotes:
“You came to the city where I was sent, to the artefact that I was sent to watch, and at this moment I choose to believe that maybe Fate does exist, the hand of God rather than the serendipity of numbers.”
“The further she travelled the easier it was to focus on learning from the numbers and to use less of her attention on the actual travel. Less focus on the travel and therefore her surroundings meant less focus on time, which paradoxically meant that less time actually changed for her.”
Other Books Read by This Author: None.
What are other people saying? Fantasy Book Critic, Missy’s Reads & Reviews, The Crow’s Caw
Rating:
★★★★☆ Plot Development
★★☆☆☆ Characterization
★★★☆☆ Writing Style
★★★★☆ Original Idea
★★★★☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★☆☆
Eutopia: A Novel of Terrible Optimism
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by David Nickle. 259 p. Published April 2011 by ChiZine Publishers. Advanced review copy provided in electronic format courtesy of the publisher, through NetGalley.
Verdict: ★★★☆☆
Who Cares? Adult Historical Science Fiction (What the heck? Yeah, I’ll explain below)
Short Bio: (from ChiZine Publishers) The year is 1911.
In Cold Spring Harbour, New York, the newly formed Eugenics Records Office is sending its agents to catalogue the infirm, the insane, and the criminal—with an eye to a cull, for the betterment of all.
Near Cracked Wheel, Montana, a terrible illness leaves Jason Thistledown an orphan, stranded in his dead mother’s cabin until the spring thaw shows him the true meaning of devastation—and the barest thread of hope.
At the edge of the utopian mill town of Eliada, Idaho, Doctor Andrew Waggoner faces a Klansman’s noose and glimpses wonder in the twisting face of the patient known only as Mister Juke.
And deep in a mountain lake overlooking that town, something stirs, and thinks, in its way:
Things are looking up.
Eutopia follows Jason and Andrew as together and alone, they delve into the secrets of Eliada—industrialist Garrison Harper’s attempt to incubate a perfect community on the edge of the dark woods and mountains of northern Idaho. What they find reveals the true, terrible cost of perfection—the cruelty of the surgeon’s knife—the folly of the cull—and a monstrous pact with beings that use perfection as a weapon, and faith as a trap.
Eyewitness Account: So, ChiZine is a new publisher for me and I’ve just read two of their galleys this weekend (look for a Napier’s Bones review soon). They are admittedly a publisher of “weird, subtle, surreal, disturbing dark fiction and fantasy” and Eutopia certainly fits that bill. I don’t know if it was the cover, the title, or the blurb, but I had expected this book to be a futuristic dystopian novel – and was instead plopped down in a historical novel with some bizarre sci-fi/fantasy twists.
The plot jumps between two main protagonists – Jason Thistledown, the sole survivor of a plague in his small Montana town, and Andrew Waggoner, a black doctor invited to work in a logging town in Idaho. Both are confronted with the plans of others to make a “perfect” society – through Eugenics (“culling” out the weak in society, which means killing or sterilizing them) and through the creation of a “Garden of Eden” in the isolation of Idaho. The two men soon find that they are entangled in more than just the cruel working of man when encounter Mister Juke, who doesn’t seem to be quite human and proves that he can manipulate the minds and wills of the local hillbillies.
Perhaps it was the dichotomy between my preconceptions and the reality of the novel that made me confused for the first half of the book, but it took me a while to really get into the plot. However, the wait was worth it – the second half of the book really picks up some plot momentum and has a fairly smashing conclusion. The novel deals with a wide range of topics, from racism and the Eugenics movements to faith and the quest for perfection. Nickle’s main characters – Jason Thistledown, Aunt Germaine, Andrew Waggoner, and Mister Juke – were the best part of the novel, as each one is very distinctly and uniquely drawn (no mixing up characters in this novel!). Nickle gets two thumbs up for originality, as I’m fairly certain there isn’t another story like this – you might find yourself turning the pages of Eutopia just so you can see how he pulls all these diverse plot threads together.
I would like to caveat this book by saying its gets an N-17 rating from me; there are some graphic scenes that, while not necessarily containing violence, are slightly disturbing. This is certainly a book to try if you like the Twilight Zone or somewhat twisted/strange stories.
Notable Quotes:
“Did any of them ever mark the day, he wondered, when they fell from reason into madness?
And then he wondered: Did I?”
Other Books Read by This Author: None.
What are other people saying? I ❤ Reading, Feeding My Book Addiction, Curiosity Killed the Bookworm
Rating:
★★★☆☆ Plot Development
★★★★☆ Characterization
★★★☆☆ Writing Style
★★★★☆ Original Idea
★★★☆☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★☆☆
The Affinity Bridge
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by George Mann. 336 p. Published July 2009 by Tor Books. Purchased eBook through Amazon.com because my book club picked it for June’s selection.
Verdict: ★★★☆☆
Who Cares? Adult – Zombie Steampunk
Short Bio: The first “Newbury and Hobbes Investigation” book finds agents for Queen Victoria, Sir Maurice Newbury and Miss Veronica Hobbes, in Industrial Age England trying to discover the mysterious circumstances behind the crash of the airship Lady Armitage. As Newbury and Hobbes investigate the crash scene and airship company, they are drawn into the interesting world of clockwork men, the seemingly unrelated serial killings of “The Glowing Policeman”, and (of course) the underlying spread of the zombie-creating plague.
Eyewitness Account: Seriously, a ZOMBIE STEAMPUNK novel? What a way to mash genres! I have to give kudos to Mann for pulling it off way more convincingly than I expected an author could. Unfortunately, that was what he did best in this novel – mesh together the automaton and zombie plots in a rather clever way. The actual writing style and character development suffered so much that I struggled to get to the rewarding climax of the book. Newbury was a poor carbon copy of Sherlock Holmes (replacing an opium addiction with laudanum), and Hobbes was a confusing feminist character who held oddly modern suffrage ideas while concurrently distrusting progress and technology. I would have liked to see them developed more dynamically than serve to mirror past literary characters – and perhaps Mann will have the opportunity to do that in future installments of the series.
I must also admit skimming through the drawn out fight/chase scenes that really befit a movie more than a book and wondering what purpose the Jack Coulthard plot served at all – any enlightment on that front would be more than appreciated!
If you’re really into Steampunk, Sherlock Holmes mysteries, or anything with zombies in it, then you’ll probably enjoy this book; it has a twist that’s well worth wading through the rest of the book for.
Notable Quotes:
“He wanted to stay in that moment, for time to stand still so that he could lie there, basking in the firelight and watching the pretty girl who had come to his rescue – without having to face her when she woke and explain his failings. He imagined watching the light dying in her eyes as he revealed the truth: that aside from his more salubrious pursuits he was a habitual opium-eater and a dabbler in the occult.”
“And with genius comes a certain amorality that is sometimes difficult to judge. Genius is, in many ways, akin to madness. Both states of mind demand a disconnection from reality, from the real, physical world, an ability to lose oneself in thought.”
Other Books Read by This Author: None.
What are other people saying? The Book Smugglers, Strange Horizons, Flames Rising
Rating:
★★★★☆ Plot Development
★★☆☆☆ Characterization
★★★☆☆ Writing Style
★★★★☆ Original Idea
★★☆☆☆ Page Turner
Overall ★★★☆
Radical
Reviewed by Brittney
Just the Facts: by David Platt. 240 p. Published May 2010 by Multnomah Books. Book received as a gift.
Verdict: ★★★★★
Who Cares? Adult Christian Non-Fiction
Short Bio: Platt challenges Christians in the United States to examine one of the fundamental components of their culture: The American Dream. He builds a convincing case that the elements of the American Dream (with hard work, achieve all your potential and enjoy the resulting reward of your labor) inherently conflict with the biblical gospel (God calls the weak and powerless to rely on His strength to fulfill the mission to see His name glorified by all people on earth). Platt evaluates the way the Christian church and our individual Christianity look in America and compares them to the examples of the church and Christians in the Bible. He compares our common strategies with those of Christ’s example. He lists Christ’s instructions to his disciples alongside our expectations of what Christian commitment entails. Finally, Platt calls readers to join him in an “experiment” to test out the theory that we might be missing out in our American Christianity – he charges readers to (consistently, for one year):
1. Pray for the whole world (using Operation World),
2. Read the whole Bible,
3. Give sacrificially to a specific purpose in a specific context,
4. Go serve someplace out of your normal context (for one week of the year), and
5. Participate in a faith community.
Eyewitness Account: This book is certainly one of the most challenging and engaging reads I’ve had in a while – and I read almost all of it in one day because I was so interested in it! I’m not usually big into marking up books, but my copy has underlines and notes and exclamation marks all through it (hopefully those will amuse whoever borrows it from me) because I wanted so much to engage in the author’s discussion. I completely resonated with the struggle of fleshing out what it means to be a disciple of Christ in an American context – what exactly is our purpose in life? Is it to climb up our career ladder and work for the comfort and security of our family’s future? Is it even to regularly attend church and ensure that you give to good charities? Or is it to radically hunger and thirst for God’s word and presence in your life in a way that causes you take ridiculous risks?
I enjoyed Platt’s honesty about his own spiritual journey and the times when he himself has fallen victim to the American Dream. I was left challenged with the idea that even having been a Christian for many years, I still think with my American brain. When I am excited or touched with a need that I sense God asking me to step up to fill, I immediately start thinking “How can I fulfil it? How can I accomplish that task? What resources do I have?” I’ve slipped into my American mindset already – and if I were to succeed, who would get the credit? Would anyone look at what I’d done and praise God? No – they’d praise me. God chooses to use the weak and the powerless and asks them to do ridiculous, impossible things because He knows that’s how He gets the credit!
I LOVED the examples of hard-core disciples that Platt gave – people like George Muller, Jim Elliot, and John Paton who did seemingly crazy things that ended with God getting praise from people who were definitely against God before. I also found this book to be exceptionally well organized for something of this content – I really appreciated how Platt walked the reader through Matthew 10 to discuss how Christ sent out the disciples, what he told them to expect, and how he equipped them. I also found his walk-through of the Romans Road a very provocative and logical exposition on our status before God and the need to share the message of Christ with others.
Although I already have portions of his “experiment” imbedded in my daily life, I was challenged to be more consistent and intentional about them. I found this book though-provoking and and look forward to re-reading it again soon (hopefully I can talk my book club into it)! If this book really intrigues you, I’d urge you to check out the insightful review done on the Gospel Coalition’s page (linked below) – it has some thought-provoking questions about the content of this book and Platt’s response.
Notable Quotes:
“The dangerous assumption we unknowingly accept in the American dream is that our greatest asset is our own ability. The American dream prizes what people can accomplish when they believe in themselves and trust in themselves, and we are drawn toward such thinking. But the gospel has different priorities. The gospel beckons us to die to ourselves and to believe God and to trust in his power. In the gospel, God confronts us with our utter inability to accomplish anything of value apart from him.”
“In direct contradiction to the American dream, God actually delights in exalting our inability. He intentionally puts his people in situations where they come face to face with their need for him. In the process he powerfully demonstrates his ability to provide everything his people need in ways they could never have mustered up our imagined. And in the end, he makes much of his own name.”
Other Books Read by This Author: None.
What are other people saying? Another book review from Lets Eat Grandpa, a book review and dialogue with the author at The Gospel Coalition, and a reader who evaluates her progress on the “experiment” on year later at The Coffee Shop.
Rating:
★★★★★ Writing Style
★★★★★ Organization
★★★★★ Original Idea
★★★★★ Page Turner
Overall ★★★★★
brittneykp
chaticath
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hardkover 