INSPYS Review: The Blackberry Bush - David Housholder

Publisher:  Summerside Press
Pages:  208
Source:  Review copy from publisher for INSPYS
Genre:  Adult, General Fiction


From Goodreads:

Who are You, and what are you doing here?

Two babies—Kati and Josh—are born on opposite sides of the world at the very moment the Berlin Wall falls. You'd think such a potent freedom metaphor would become the soundtrack for their lives, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Despite his flawless image, Josh, an artistic and gifted California skateboarder, struggles to find his true role in the world, and his growing aggression eventually breaks him.

Kati, a German with a penchant for classic Swiss watches and attic treasure-hunting, is crushed with disappointment for never being “enough” for anyone—most especially her mother.

Craving liberation, Kati and Josh seem destined to claim their birthright of freedom together. After all, don't the “chance” encounters transform your life…or are they really chance?

My Thoughts:

First off let me say I didn't dislike this book.  I just never found the love for it I usually find.  At times I felt lost in the story and I don't mean that in a good way.  I don't mind switching POV in a book.  the change of POV and time period often left me re-reading to try to figure out what was going on.  The character's were believable, yet they almost seemed to be a contradiction.  Kati never felt loved or accepted except by her Opa.  She felt ugly, yet she tattoos and pierces her body.  Josh only feels balance when on a skateboard or surfing yet almost ruins it for himself and his friend.

One thing I did like was this book could be read by a Christian and they would see a Christian message and yet I could recommend this to my non-Christian friends and they would see the "good" or "inspiring" message.


The questions at the end did make me question how I justify things I  do in my life. Out of all of the books this was my least favorite one. I know there is someone out there who would just love this book.  I've read other reviews and many people do.  It was just not written in a style that  made it pleasurable for me.  I didn't feel the message I hoped to glean from it. 


About the Author:  David Housholder

David Housholder, Fulbright Scholar (University Bonn ’88–89) and international conference speaker, speaks three languages. An avid philosophical-spiritual influencer and surfer, he currently leads an indie-warehouse California beach church, where he dreams and works for a better world.

INSPYS Review: The Reluctant Prophet - Nancy Rue

Publisher:  David C. Cook
Pages:  496
Genre:  Adult, General Fiction
Source:  Received from Publisher for review for INSPYS

From Goodreads:
The first in a new trilogy from seasoned writing team Nancy Rue and Stephen Arterburn, The Reluctant Prophet shows how one person's response to God's call can change a community forever. Forty-something Allison Chamberlain is still halfheartedly trying to figure out what to be when she grows up. It's a surprise to everyone when she feels a divine nudge to buy a Harley motorcycle and go wherever it takes her. Soon Allison finds herself in the darkest corners of society, bringing home drug-addicted prostitutes and pointing out the narrow fears of her church group. Along the way, she learns the heartache of the very poor—and how healing can come through the voice of God and those who follow it.


My Thoughts:
Allison Chamberlain has received "The Nudge".  This voice in her head has told her she needs to buy a Harley.  Then the Nudge sends her on a mission to reach out to those most of us would not go near.  We travel with her as she begins to collect what the world would consider "undesirables".  You know the type, drug addicts, prostitutes, the ones that we would not give the time of day.  The main message or theme is "don't judge a book by its cover".  How many times do we look at someone and make a decision about that person without  knowing them on their story.  This is a reminder of what can happen if we truly listen to and follow God's calling.  I would definitely recommend this book.


About the Author From Her Website:

Because her name is easy to mistake with that of a certain blonde amateur sleuth in a little blue roadster, Nancy Rue often finds more name recognition than she expects. This is somehow fitting, because it was partly her childhood admiration for Nancy Drew – in the days when she read everything she could get her hands on – that made her dream of becoming a writer.

At first, daunted by the criticism of well-meaning high school English teachers, Rue majored in English at Florida’s Stetson University in order to become a high school English teacher herself. “There was so much damage I wanted to make up for in my own classroom,” she says. She earned her master’s degree in education at the College of William and Mary and returned to college at the University of Nevada, Reno, after eleven years of teaching English, to earn a degree in theatre. She and husband Jim founded Nevada Children’s Theatre, and Nancy taught high school theatre for five years.

Rue’s teaching experience fanned her dream of writing as she attempted to make writing more relevant and fun for her students. Every assignment they had to do, she herself did as well, and both her love for writing and her confidence that she could be good at it grew.

In 1980, Rue took a leave of absence from teaching and took on writing as a nine-to-five job. Although it quickly became apparent that she could starve to death that way, that didn’t stop her: she spent fifteen years getting up at 4:00 a.m. to write before going off to teach school, until she was finally able to pursue freelance writing full-time in 1995.

“I am living a God-directed life,” says the author: “doing what I was meant to do, what I love to, what allows me to give what I’ve been given. I spend as much of my time teaching, filling my well, hanging out with the people I love, as I do writing, and that has made all the difference."

Nancy travels the country speaking and teaching at schools, churches, home school groups, and for groups of ‘tween girls and their moms. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, Jim. Their daughter, Marijean, son-in-law, Brian, and baby granddaughter Maeryn, live in nearby Nashville. The Rues’ two yellow Labs share (and eat) Jim and Nancy’s home.

Rue has become a successful, best-selling author of books for ‘tweens and adults. Over her career she’s written more than 100 books.

The Wolves Among Us - Ginger Garrett

Publisher:  David C. Cook           

Pages:  304

Source:  I purchased for INSPY

Genre:  Historical Fiction

From Ginger Garrett's Website:

Dinfoil, Germany, 1538. In a peaceful medieval village, a double murder stirs up festering fears. Father Stefan, the beloved village priest, secretly calls for an Inquisitor to solve the mystery.  But the charismatic Inquisotor who answers the call brings a deadly mix of spiritual fervor and self-deceptive evil. Under his influence, fear guilt, and suspicion of women take a deadly turn. Pious and heretic alike becoe victims of witch-burning zealots.  his beloved priest, Father Stefan, will face death and find God, and Mia, a devoted but lonely wife, will face truth and find freedom, and a mysterious killer will face his accusers and find justice.Discover the power of love over fear.

My Thoughts:

This book was hard for me to read.  I kept finding myself getting angry.  As a teacher I know how women in history were treated.  I know that the church in the 1500’s in Europe held so much power that they felt they could do whatever they wanted and people had to obey or suffer the consequences.  I would not have survived long in their time period.

The book starts off  in Germany during the 1500’s with the murder of  a couple.  The church immediately, along with the men decided that Catarina, the murdered was having an affair. They decide her husband found out and that the jealous lover killed them both.  So what does Father Stefan do?  He brings in an Inquisitor.  When he suggested doing this to the Sheriff, the Sheriff advised against it.  Once the inquisitor arrives things go from bad to worse. 

I felt extremely sorry for Mia, the Sheriff’s wife who stayed home and took care of not only her sickly child, but also  her aged mother-in-law.  What thanks did she get?  None.  Her husband constantly accused her of evil thoughts.    He called her such vile names and constantly put her down.    Mia is alone.  The only friend she had no longer talks with her.  It wasn’t just the sheriff who did this.  The church had the men convinced that women were the reason for all of the evil things they did.  Somehow they bewitched them and this caused them to do bad things.  Mia prays constantly for healing for her daughter.  She even goes so far as going to confession.  The priest pretty much tells her that she is the reason that this stuff is happening to her daughter.  It is the evil within her, the pride that causes her daughter’s illness.

It is clear from the beginning when the story opens with the discovery that a wolf has killed two of the village’s sheep that this story is not about physical wolves.  Yes they do catch and kill the wolf killing sheep.  This is really about evil being all around us.  During this period of time when most people were illiterate they had no way of truly knowing what the scripture said.  They had to believe what the church “told” them the scriptures said.  Women had it even worse.  They were not allowed to read the scriptures even if they knew how to read.  This is an excellent book to read to see how far we have come in church history.  There are plenty of twists and turns in this book to hold your attention.  I am happy that I was allowed to read this as an Inspy judge.

From Her Website:

Ginger Garrett is the author of the Chronicles of the Scribes series (In the Shadow of Lions, In the Arms of Immortals, In the Eyes of Eternity), Dark Hour, and Beauty Secrets of the Bible. Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther was recognized as one of the top five novels of 2006 by the ECPA.

Focusing on ancient women's history, Ginger creates novels and nonfiction resources that explore the lives of historical women. A frequent media guest and television host, Ginger has been interviewed by Fox News, Billy Graham's The Hour of Decision, The Harvest Show, 104.7 The Fish Atlanta, and many other outlets.

A graduate of Southern Methodist University with a degree in Theater, she is passionate about creating art from history. Ginger resides in Georgia with her husband and three children.