Crazy Dangerous

Crazy Dangerous is an interesting mix of spiritual struggles, mental instability, temptation and danger. Those things all mixed together could make for a horrible story, however I was impressed with the way Klavan ties all of these issues together. Sam (the main character) is struggling to fit in at school, and life in general. He has taken up running in order to join the track team, the most popular sport in the area. He did not know that running would begin the craziest journey he had ever been on. After being beaten-up and chased he begins to defend himself, as well a girl named Jennifer. As the story continues we find out that Jennifer has schizophrenia, but it seems that some of the visions she is having are turning out to be true! The story has many twists and turns and is relatively engaging. I enjoyed the story overall, and thought the topics and plot twists made the story original and well worth reading. I would rate Crazy Dangerous 4 out of 5. I would read the story again, however it was not my favorite.

Confessions of April Grace: Chocolate Covered Baloney

K.D. McCrite writes a wonderful story of a 12 year old girl from Arkansas and all of the experiences she has. April Grace (the twelve year old girl) is faced with many problems that youth face today, but the story is set in the 1980's. April Grace's biggest struggle is with change. Over the past few months her life has changed tremendously. In the opening chapter she lists off a few things that have changed including her grandmother, a new baby brother and her mother being sick. As the story continues we see how April Grace deals with the change that has already occured and how she is getting used to it, and we also see how she handles change that is continuing to occur. Throughout the story there is typical sibling interaction, family stress and struggle as well as the conveying of delightful family interactions.
This story rings true to my experience as a young girl and reminds me of stories I read when I was young, like Judy Bloome (one of my favorites). I enjoyed  reading the story and remembering what my childhood was like, including the sibling rivalries. I felt like this book was an honest portrayl of many things that youth today face, and it was a very enjoyable read. I would rate this book 4 out of 5, remembering that the story is geared for youth and kids. :)

Hope Springs

What a beautiful story of relationships, reconciliation and love. Hope Springs is a story of reconciliation as a family that was torn apart is slowly pieced back together.
As a broken relationship and the loss of a husband lead to a budding new relationship a call to follow God is given, and a difficult decision must be made.
A seperation by color of skin is taking place in the town of Hope Springs, North Carolina and the pastors of the churches are faced with the problem of reconciling it.
As a young woman runs from man to man because she fears commitment, she is faced with the fact that she is really running from God.
As a grandmother struggles with a dibilitating lung cancer she is able to see her family drawn together in a new and magnifacent way.
All of these stories are housed within this one book Hope Springs. I would reccomend this book to people who enjoy reading about lives coming back together, grace, reconciliation and building new realtinoships. This book had just the right amount of romance mixed with faith as well as real life situations. I would give this book a 4 out of  5. It would be 5 out of 5 but I struggled with sompe of the writing style, so it was not my favorite book ever. A great read and I would highly recommend it.

The High Calling Newsletter

The High Calling Newsletter had interesting articles by various authors, as well as video and audio interviews and  "talks". I found many of the articles to be interesting and understandable. Most of the articles we geared particularly for the laity in the church. Some of them were encouragements and challenges to grow in your faith, while others were meant as a form of education on various topics. I read through an article from October that was about micro-management, and I found it interesting as i have been employed by people with many different leadership styles and am myself a leader. The other articles I scanned and the audio I listened to were also very interesting.  I would give the newsletter a 4 out of 5 stars for interesting and applicable works.

Red letter revolution

Red Letter Revolution was an interesting read. I did not agree with everything the authors were saying, in fact most of it I did not agree with. However, I did find many of their ideas thought provoking, and I worked through the many different topics addressed in the book as I read.
Campolo and Claiborne present arguments for various aspects of our life, addressing them by looking at the teachings of Jesus and explaining how that determines how we should live.
Personally I am not sure they approached the different teachings of Christ in a good way. I often felt like the teachings were taken out of context and explained differently than I have ever heard them be explained.
Overall I liked reading the book simply to give me a new perspective to think about and a new way to address different issues in our world today. I enjoyed the thoughts of Campolo more tha those of Claiborne. I felt that he presented many issues but without a very practical way to approach those issues. My favorite, and most thought provoking chapters in the book were the chapter on the church and Hell. They proved thought provoking and I still find myself mulling over the ideas presented. Overall I would rate the book 3 out of 5

Soul's Gate, by: James L. Rubart

Wow! what a great story. Rubart presents an exciting, nerve-racking, and emotional view of the spiritual battles that go on around us. The story is about four people who come together in order to fullfill a prophecy given many years before. As the group grows together they learn about the spiritual realm that empowers them through the name of Jesus Christ. In His name they can understand the leadings of the spirit, teleport, and most importantly enter someones soul to battle for them. This premise sounds far-fetched and a little ridiculous, but when you think about all of the movies and comic books about superheros this storyline becomes a delightful story of action in the spiritual realms.
Although I do not think that the many things that take place in this book are real, I did enjoy the story for the fiction it was. Just like C.S. Lewis' Narnia, or Dekker's Circle series, the story Rubart paints is of a world seperated, and yet connected to our world. This story was action packed and entertaining through the entire book. I enjoyed reading Soul's Gate and I look forward to the next book in this series coming out in print. I would rate this book a 5 out of 5, it was a great story.

Beginners bible app

I was asked to review the Beginners Bible App. The app itself was decent, however I only got the free version, so I was not able to review every story or aspect of he app. I thought the app itself was well done and interactive. My nieces loved to play on it after I read them the corresponding Bible story. They especially enjoyed the puzzle and coloring pages. I thought it was nice that each of the pages was interactive, including the ones with the story written on them. Overall I was very satisfied with the product. I would give it a four out of five stars.

Fix By Force, by: Jason Warne

Fix By Force is a story of loss and addiction, but it also speaks to forgiveness, redemption and new life. The themes are strong throughout the book, and a Christian emphasis can be seen at some points but is not blatant or a focus of the book.
Shane, a senior in high school, has lost his father in a car accident and his mother to a drug addiction. Feeling alone and insecure has lead to issues throughout his life, but many of his problems stem from bullying at school. One boy in particular, named Zack, consistently attacks him (physically, emotionally and verbally). Shane's relationship with his mom is tenuous, and often results in fights. And he is struggling to  continue work at the grocery store where he is employed.
After a long fight with his mom he discovers some things that his dad left behind. Unsure what the glass bottles contains he runs from his house with them and takes them to school the next day. When he is ratted out by one of his "friends" Shane gets expelled from school for bringing drugs with him to school.
If being expelled was not enough, his mom is arrested on drug charges and he has to go live with an uncle that he hardly knows. He is also given the ability to attend an "expelled school" where his life drastically begins to change.
An addiction to steroids, a relationship with a girl and the death of a dog lead Shane to the climax of the story, where he must make some decisions about who he wants to be and who (or what) he is going to let control his life.
The story was novel for me, and I enjoyed the first person style the book was written in. I thought the portrayal of the steroid addiction was well written. I also felt like the relationships and the people throughout the story were given emotion and connection to Shane, making them an intricate part of the story. Overall I would give the story a 4 out of 5, and it would be highly recommended.

The River

The River is a very well written book by Michael Neale. The oopening chapter catches the readers attention hook, line and sinker. THrough a tragic accident a boy loses his father and is left with a lifetime of fears and worries. The story of Gabriel Clarke and his battle with fear, fitting in and a desire to know his father follows in the next chapters. There are stories of his childhood, and we see him conquer many of his fears and find a way to live with the loss of his father. When Gabriel is around 20 years old he is invited to go on a spring break trip with oen of his steadfast friends. He accepts the invitation, but is nervous about what the trip will hold for him. On this trip he meets a girl named Tabitha who is adventerous and spunky, and begins to develop feelings for her. Little did gabriel know that this trip would change his life forever. The last chapters include a story of redemption and forgiveness when Gabriel is introduced to the man responsible for the death of his father.
The River was a beautiful story of pain, struggle and heartache; but it also told a wonderful story of redemption, forgiveness and happiness. I would recommend this book to anyone. An engaging story that Neale wrote in a way that made you feel like you were connected with Gabriel. The emotion of the story felt as if they were my own. I would rate The River 5 out of 5.

Garden of Madness By:Tracy L. Higley

Garden of Madness is a story of the life of Tiamat, the daughter of Nebuchadnezzer. The kings daughter desires to make change in the world, she wants to impact something. Throughout the story we see the struggle for truth, even when the truth is not something nice. In the opening chapters we find Tiamat being given away in marriage, and her father going mad. The story then picks up almost seven years later. Tiamat's husband is now dead, and there is talk of her being given in marriage to a Mede in order to make an alliance. Wanting her freedom, and desiring to stay with her father in Babylon Tiamat engines to search for a way out of the marriage. But her quest for freedom continually leads to more questions.
Throughout the story the readers see Tiamat growing in maturity as she begins to e concerned for more than just herself. She grows wiser as well, understanding that people are not always who they seem. And finally she grows in her faith in God, and begins to turn away from her polytheistic heritage.
The story was well written. I found some parts to be dry, but most were scenes were engaging. If you love Biblical historical novels then I would highly recommend this book, however if that genre is not your favorite then you might find the book a little slow. I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the plot. Overall garden of madness was a good story.

The Tallest Watchtower

I got this "book" with the understanding that it was only a twelve page document with two stories contained in its pages. I thought that if it got through publishing that the stories inside would be well written and thought provoking. However I was disappointed, the grammar was poor and the sentence structure was less than admirable. The stories themselves were not entertaining, they were simple and random.
The first story is called "Lucy" and is a story about a family who adopts a little girl, and the girl then dies of leukemia. The family then decides to adopt another child.
The second story is if a man who works at the trade towers on the day that they are attacked. The man gets out of the building and runs home to his family, but his family doesn't even know he is there. He travels with a friend back to the towers and realizes he is dead.
The stories both have a good premise, and could make for interesting stories, but because of the poor grammar and ideas that are not completely thought out they seem simple, and almost silly. They would be good works to use in a classroom for practicing grammar, but otherwise are not the best stories ever.

Babylons Falling

Babylons falling is a novel about the life of Daniel after Jerusalem was invaded and the people taken captive. The story begins on the road from Jerusalem to Babylon. It tells of the struggles and worries of the people on their journey, and moe directly tells the story of Daniel, Mishael, Hananiah and Azariah. The story continues as they are brought before the king as seers and asked to explain his dream. Daniel and his three friends become well known in the eyes of the king for being able to give meaning to his dream. The story of the fiery furnace and Daniel in the lions den are also told in this story.
I would give the book a the out of five stars if  I were rating it. The writing was well done, but the book was not as engaging as I would have hoped. Seem places seemed slow and difficult to read, and some of the more exciting parts of the story lacked detail to keep the reader engaged. I thought the love story part of the book was very well written. The author speaks of Daniels wife and the love he has for her, but does not make it inappropriate or inaccurate. I thought he wrote the affections and love of marriage very well.

The Choice (by: Robert Whitlow)

I found this story to be inspiring, captivating and exciting. Throughout the story there are examples of trust, love and passion. Selflessness is shown in a way that many other books fail to capture. I would highly recommend this book as a must read.
The story begins with a young girl going to the doctors office in 1974 and finding out that she is pregnant. The question then becomes, what is the expecting mother going to do with the baby. Whitlow does an excellent job portraying emotions and situations that the Sandy (the mother) has to face. In the story Roe vs. Wade has recently been ruled on legalizing abortion. Sandy struggles with advice from many different people and all their varying perspectives, but in the end decides to not terminate the pregnancy and give the babies up for adoption. As her pregnancy progresses she finds out that she is having twins, and decides to send them to separate families.
The second section in the book is about Sandy a sixteen year old girl named Maria, who comes to Sandy fearful of her own pregnancy. In her desire to help Sandy has the joy of being reunited with her two sons in an interesting, and exciting way.
I was surprised and pleased with the way Whitlow wrote his female characters and portrayed their struggles. The author also made things interesting and engaging without making outlandish. I will be reading more of Whitlow's books in the near future. I would highly recommend The Choice, as and entertaining and thought provoking read. 

The House On The Corner

The House on the Corner is a story about a young boy who travels to his uncle's house (on the corner) and is whisked away from danger and into a life of confusion and secrets. This book by Michael Rains was written for youth, and the story has great potential, however I was sorely dissappointed with the writing. When I was reading the book I felt like the writing was sub-par.
The book contained many sections that where the writing was redundant and elementary. The story was told from a young boys point of view so I understand wanting to simplify thoughts, vocabulary, etc. However I do not think quality discription needs to be forgone because of this simplification.
The story was also difficult to follow, and I felt very confused through the whole story. Pieces of the story, such as a corrupt government, hiding from the police, and being on the run from danger have potential of making a great story, however I think vital details were not given, and the story became confusing. I found myself completing this book for the sake of reviewing it, and not for the story itself.
Although the book contained many threads that would make an interesting story, the writing did not develop the story in a way that kept it interesting and understandable. Overall this book had great potential, but poor application.

The Scarlet Cord (by: Joan Wolf)

The Scarlet Cord is the story of Rahab from the book of Joshua in the Old Testament. In Joshua there are five paragraphs dedicated to Rahab's story, Wolf takes those paragraphs and expounds on them creating a novel.
In Wolf's book Rahab is kidnapped as a child and saved by a boy. When she meets this boy later on in Jerhico she falls in love with him. However they cannot marry because he is an Isrealite and she is a Cannanite. However their love continually pulls them together.
Rahab is a very beautiful young girl, and is required to be the heirodule for the king. This means that she is required to sleep with the king in a religious ritual so that the crops will grow. During this encounter Rahab begins to pray to Elohim (the God of the Isrealites). She is saved from being the heirodule and begins to serve Elohim by harboring Isrealite spys without her families knowledge, once the spys are safe they promise to save her whole family during the destruction of Jerhico. Because of Rahab's allegience to Elohim her whole family is saved and her love with Sala can continue.
I found the book to be moderately entertaining. I did enjoy the story itself, however some of the details were annoying to me. We tend to take our worldview, and our culture and place it on the world thousands of years ago. For example: Rahab's mother is sitting on the floor folding clothes with the children. In reality there would not have been any clothes to fold, they would not have had extra. Also things like disrespect for parents would not have been tolerated, and "love" was not the most valuable thing.
Overall the story was well written, I just took issue with a few minor details.

House of Mercy, By Erin Healy

House of Mercy is a story of, well mercy. The main character Bethesda (or Beth for short) makes a terrible mistake that she cannot undo and throughout the story must face the consequences of her actions. A law-suit is filed against her, her family is going to lose their ranch (the Blazing B), and the family is being torn apart.
In another city called Burnt Rock a man named Garner has suffered the loss of his daughter for 25 years. Even though he has a new life in Burnt Rock the thoughts of his daughter haunt him.
The two stories collide after the death of Beth's father and her encounter with a friend called Mercy. She travels to the town in search of her grandfather Garner Remke who she has never met with the hopes that he can save the Blazing B.
I thought the story was very well written, and it kept me engaged the whole time. I constantly wanted to know what was going to happen next. It took me less than three days to finish the book because I wanted to know how the characters struggles were going to work out. I enjoyed the breakdown of what mercy is throughout the storym, and also the aspects of love and family that ran throughout the book.
Although the story was good I felt like there were a few loose ends that were not tied up. I do not know if the author intends to write a sequel or not, but I had a few questions about the saddle, Nova's story and the history of a man named Jacob.
I thouroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anybody who enjoys a good suspense novel.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Peace Be With You

As I read this monastic approach to the events that occured on 9/11 I was intrigued. The author David Carlson takes a different approach than any I have read. He looked at the events that occured through a monastic lens, using interviews and then applying those thoughts to our daily lives. The book was intriguing, but at times slow. I thought the best part of the book was the call that Carlson made for us to live differently. We must look at our enemies and desire to see what they face, not simply be stuck on ourselves. This book made me consider different thoughts concerning the events of 9/11 but also throughout other areas of my life. It was an interesting read.
Disclosure Note: Thomas Nelson has given me a complementary copy of this book to write a review. The views expressed are my own.

Fresh Brewed Life

This is a book that I ordered so that I could expand my reading selection (I tend to choose mostly fiction pieces). This book was both refreshing and at the same time slightly frustrating. I found that throughout the book I was connecting and appreciating what the author was saying. I enjoyed reading it and found the various content (of relationships, emotions ect) to be practical. However after I finished the book and considered what it had talked about, I felt that it was all rather surface level. This can be healthy, because sometimes I want to think way to complicated, but at the same time I was to be cautious of not thinking deeply enough. Overall the book was enjoyable, but I would not recommend it as a must read, however to refresh and think over the basics I found it enjoyable.

Love You More

The book Love You More paints a great picture of the story of adoption. Grant tells the story of the adoption of their little girl from Guatemala. As the story progresses she expresses anxiety at waiting for the adoption to take place, and the excitement at the knowledge that they had the opprotunity to adopt. Overall the book was well written, and as a person who intends to adopt I found my heart joining in the emotion of the story. However thorughout the story there were times that Grant veered away from the story she was telling, and focused on things that seemed secondary to the purpose of the story. At times the book felt slightly disjointed, but was overall a good read, and I would recommend "Love You More" to anyone who has adopted or is considering it.