Finding God in Anime #3 - Moriah Jane and Laura A. Grace

Genre: Christian, Devotions

Source: I received an ARC. The opinions expressed here are my own.

These Devotionals  are just as good as the first two volumes. I am so impressed that God has used people who love anime to reach out to others through these devotionals.  God can and does use us and anything he desires to get his message out.

Let me tell you a few things I love about this new volume. In  A Willing Change of Heart by Miya Sae she speaks about trying to force someone to change as opposed to leading them and letting them make the change on their own. It has to be their own free will or it is just lip service. I know what it is like when you think you are leading someone to God and they tell you they accept him because they feel that is the only way they can get something they want. If there is no fruit you truly won’t know if you will see them until you get to heaven.

Noor: Stupendously Simple by Hannah Mae reminds us that no work we do for Christ is useless. God uses all of us where we are needed. Purposeful Rest by Kathleen Bird  shows us the importance of quiet time.  My husbands number one complaint is that I am always on the go. Sometimes it is to the point that I tell myself I will read my Bible when I finish just this one thing because it has to be ready for work.  Then I finish and realize I have to leave for work and didn’t spend time resting with God.  Then I wonder where my strength, physical, mental and spiritual went. This is such an important lesson to learn

How Do You Live  by S.E.M. Ishida caught my eye from the very beginning when mentioning the cliché, “He’ so heavenly minded that he’s no earthly good.”  Sometimes we are so set on making sure that we do everything the way WE think God wants it done we forget about what he actually did for us.  This is actually a turn off to those we are trying to reach.

These devotions use Anime to show the themes of forgiveness, second chances. These devotions are messages of hope and shining our light even during the darkest times. These are messages of hope in a time when our world seems determined to stamp out hope.  I highly recommend these devotionals.

 

Getting Better by Will Carter

Genre: Adult, Memoir
Source: I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I have known three people with traumatic brain injuries in my life. All three were involved in terrible car accidents. My cousin was thrown from the car her boyfriend was driving and the car landed on her. She had to learn to walk and talk again.  A guy I dated in high school was hit when a drunk ran a stoplight on New Years Eve. The third was an sixth grader I taught.  He had been in an accident the year before. He wasn't wearing a seat belt. The accident threw him from the backseat, through the windshield onto the roadway. Every day I would meet him in the office.  He was embarrassed with having to use a walker. His grandfather asked if I would talk to him. He was endangering himself. So I showed up the next day with a walker. His eyes got real big. I told him we were in this together. I informed him that I was going to have to have both of my knees replaced and I was running a risk each day NOT using my walker. So I told him I need to learn to be brave like him and use my walker. We walked to class each day.  No I had not lied to him. I had fallen twice at school when the knees just gave out. I asked him about his therapy and encouraged him. I was to miss the last three weeks of school for my surgery. All of my students gave me hugs and gifts for the rehab facility I would go to. They gave me words of encouragement. This young man stepped up and said the following: "This is going to be the toughest thing you have ever done. It is going to hurt, but you work through the pain. Don't lie, if they ask you what your pain level is, tell them, they know how to help you better. Most important don't give up.  You can do this. It is a mental game you have to play until you believe it. Don't worry, I will be here to support you next year like year like you did me."  Both he and his grandfather came to visit me in rehab. So much love and support from a young kid who had to learn to read, write, walk and talk again. I was told before the accident he had an extremely high I.Q. and was in the gifted program. His story of recovery  is one of the reasons I wanted to read Will Carter's book.

This is Will Carter's story. His senior year in high school he was involved in an accident. With all of his sever injuries he was put into a coma to give his body a chance to heal. With such a traumatic brain injury he had to learn to walk and talk all over again. He tells you right from the beginning that these are his memories of that time and he can't be one hundred percent sure how accurate they are. This is a story of perseverance and becoming a new and best you.

The majority of this story takes place during Will's senior year. He talks about his different therapies. He talks about the challenges of going from a straight A student to someone who has trouble remembering what was said just a few minutes before.  The theme that ran throughout this book and is a part of the title is the theme of getting better, and what exactly that means.  At what point  do you realize and accept the definition of  getting better?  This is a very inspirational book and one I will proudly put on my shelves at school.

10th Anniversary Special Edition via Kickstarter

 

It’s Anniversary Time. No, not my anniversary. It has been no secret that Kandi J. Wyatt is one of my favorite authors. She is the one who started my love of reading about dragons. We are celebrating the 10 year anniversary of her book Dragon’s Future.  Check out her Kickstarter where you can get the boxed series with a beautiful dragon across the spines.

Check out all the things on her kickstarter. It goes 7/15 - 8/4.

Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kandijwyatt/dragon-courage-10th-anniversary-special-edition

Blurb:

In a world where dragons and humans live in peace with each other, it is a privilege to be a dragon rider, but riders, like everyone else, must find their purpose.

In this series, twins Ruskya and Duskya fight for their dragon’s futures and their lives! Braidyn struggles with balancing justice and mercy as he searches for a stolen nestling. Kyn and a new friend, Ben’hyamene, discover a breed of wild dragons which have been at war with humans for four hundred years, and the two learn that peace is better than revenge.

Kyn helps Duskya and her daughter, Carryn, search for a young rider who stumbles upon a slave trade. Carryn learns that bitterness leaves a person in bondage as much as being a slave. And Mere learns there are some things even better than being a dragon rider!

Follow along the riders’ quest in this exciting middle grade fantasy series by author Kandi J Wyatt.

 

Dragon's Future by Kandi J. Wyatt

 

This is copied from my post on July 8. 2015.  Check tomorrow's post to Celebrate this special anniversary.

From Goodreads:

Every child of Woolpren dreams of becoming one, but only a few are chosen. Now, ten-year-old twin brother and sister, Ruskya and Duskya, have been selected to join an elite group of riders: dragon riders. Full of awe and excitement, the twins leave their mother, and their home, to train for their new lives.

Fifteen years later, dragons are becoming extinct and riders are rare. One day, Ruskya is at the general store in town when a man announces that he is recruiting new dragon riders. Ruskya goes undercover, and discovers that there is another colony of riders with their own agenda—a quest to find a mysterious plant that could restore the dragon population, or destroy it. When a battle erupts between the two colonies, it’s up to Ruskya and his friends to fight for their dragons’ future, and their lives.

Follow Ruskya’s quest as he finds courage and friendship in this exciting middle grade fantasy series by new author Kandi J Wyatt.

My Thoughts:

Not since reading Christopher Paolini’s “Eragon” have I read a book about dragons that made me want to be a part of that world.  I felt myself wishing I could be in the procession and chosen by a dragon. The book is full of adventure, danger and courage.  All of these are qualities I look for when searching for books for my students to read.  The author has given special gifts to these dragon riders and used simple plants to create the magic that makes all of this work together.  I read this book much slower than I usually read because I wanted to savor every word and didn’t want it to end.  The world the author created was so well described and authentic I could visualize it.  There are subtle lessons and themes throughout the story about friendship, trust, courage and the abuse of power. This would fit right in with my first or second teaching unit on adversity because the characters face some of the most adverse situations ever.   It is at times an emotional read as you feel the pain the twins feel as the story of what happened to their father is slowly unfolded.  This author is truly gifted at feeding in back story a little at a time in just the right places to keep it flowing. She never creates an information dump.  The book ends with so many possibilities for future books I the series.  I can hardly wait for the next book.

Kandi Wyatt has created a story that keeps you flying high like her dragon riders, making this a story for everyone from the reluctant middle school reader to the adventure seeking adult. This is a book that should be on every fantasy shelf, in every school.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Genre: animals, dystopian, fables 
Source: I own a copy

Some of our students read Animal Farm in their history class last year. I felt it was time I reread the book since I plan to teach it in my English class this year.  George Orwell gives us a book that on the surface seems like a simple book of animals rising up against their owner due to his cruel treatment. If you actually read and analyze the book it is a mirror of a totalitarian society. This was Orwell’s way of protesting.

We have the story of Mr. Jones, a drunk who doesn’t feed his animals when he is drunk, which is often. Before Old Major the head pig dies he tells the animals that humans are evil. They take what they want and they don’t produce anything. He tells them they need to ban together. He dies and that is what they do. Unfortunately Napoleon and Snowball are the smart pigs. They begin twisting Old Major’s ideas to benefit themselves.  You can see where this is heading.  Orwell has shown what happens when people, or animals like Napoleon do things for the “good” of the people/animals, then become power hungry.  I hope my students like this as much as I did rereading this.

Never Be Alone by Paige Dearth

 

Genre: Adult, Realistic Fiction
Source: I Own A copy

This is a story for those who love a well written story about real life. I am not talking about the feel good, everything is wine and roses good.  This is another book in the Home Street Home series.  Be forewarned, it is a tough topic to read about.  It is a story in all of its hopelessness about looking for hope in the most dire situations. Joon is just eight years old when her parents die. She placed in a foster home. As she nears the door she becomes very afraid. She can tell something is just not right. The lady at the door talks a good game to the social worker, but Joon knows she doesn’t want to be there. It isn’t long before she find out how true her thoughts are. The moment the door closes the verbal abuse begins. The woman introduces her to her two new “brothers”.  Then the verbal abuse begins. The longer she lives with Aron and the boys the worse it gets. She is starved, beaten, and verbally abused.  She longs for school to begin where she can feel some normalcy. This isn’t going to happen.  Deen, the older boys sets her up at school to be hated, made fun of and lies about her at home.  Her bedroom is there only for use when the social worker will be paying a visit. Most of the time she is forced to sleep in the basement.  If she is lucky the dog sleeps with her. She is made to clean the house and then bow to Arons every cruel wish. When Deen makes it clear he is going to rape her she makes a decision that she feels is the lesser of two evils. She runs away.

This is a story where we learn so much about Joon and all that she is lost. Through it all there is that one tiny thread of hope that she holds onto.  I sat and read it through in one sitting, because it was that good.  Warning, it is graphic and full of violence, language and sexual situations. It is one of the most realistic things I have read. I am not sure I would have been a survivor like Joon.  I am definitely reading more of this author’s work.

Finding God In Anime Volume 3 Cover Reveal

 

Finding God in Anime volume 3 will be releasing July 21st.  You can pre-order the eBook on July 14th!

Here is a short synopsis of the book.

Have you ever wondered if you're the only Christian who loves anime? Wonder no more! Finding God in Anime is a devotional anthology series designed by Christian otakus for Christian otakus. Author Moriah Jane and YouTuber Laura A. Grace have collected a myriad of bite-size devotionals, penned by writers and anime fans, that are designed to equip, encourage, and help anime lovers grow spiritually through their favorite media: anime! within this anthology you'll find a selection of devotionals inspired by anime across many genres.

So, mark your calendars to pick up this wonderful devotional.

Finding God in Anime Volume 2

 

Genre:  Inspirational, Devotions

Source: I own a copy

When I read and reviewed the first book in this devotional series I was surprised that there are Christians out there that see Anime as evil.  I am not sure why.  But saying that, I actually had a parent tell me that Poe’s stories were evil because they showed the evil side of man.  To each his own.  I shared this devotional with my grandson who was excited because they love Anime as does their mother.

Many of these devotions resonated with me. Daddy’s Girl by Kandi J. Wyatt. Fullmetal: Brotherhood was not something I was familiar with. However, the way she describes Commander Hughes and his interaction with his daughter is something every parent can understand.  This has been a tough year. I often spoke with the author and asked for prayer. She always had scripture leading me back to relying on God.  I have to say. There were days I prayed he would hold me in his hands.

This book impressed me from the very first story. We have two brothers. One is drawn through a portal into the afterlife. The other brother sacrifices part of his body to get his brother back, even if not in his original form. The point is made that the ultimate sacrifice was willingly made by Christ for us. It was done out of love for us.

This book is not meant to be read in one sitting. However, it just means I will read it again slower.  I figure each time I read it, God will show me what he wants me to learn from each one.  It is also another book I recommend to anyone seasoned or new to Anime.

Sneak Peak - Finding God in Anime 3

Coming later this month the third book in The Finding God in Anime Devotionals. 

I have read book one and will be posting the review of the second  one this week.  Check back for a review of the third book later this month.

Skimmer and Finn: The Circle in the Sky by Christopher Francis

 

Genre: Children, Middle Grade, Graphic Novel

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinion expressed here are my own.

This was so much fun to read. This is the third book in the Skimmer and Finn series.  Trapped on a planet with two other humans and a host of other creatures, Skimmer and Finn meet another robot similar to Skimmer, only with upgrades.  He knows where the human kid's parents are waiting for them. They are on Othello 13. Finn steps up to be the hero to find a way to get them there. I laughed and laughed at Finn.  The questions he asked as he was on his quest were hilarious. I read some of them to my husband. His response was, "You're laughing because you can picture some of your students asking questions like that." He was correct.  In my opinion, Christopher Francis, the author, has never grown up. That is great for readers everywhere because he writes books that kids and adults can relate to in one way or another. I have loved all of his books.  This series makes my sides hurt from laughing.  Need a quick, light, fun read?  This is the book for you.  Literally one of the best things I've read all summer.