Look What I Found

I've told you before that I thought I had read more books and written reviews on them before I had my surgery. I was right. I had to go in yesterday to meet with my assistant principal. Since I was there I figured I would go to my room and go through some of the things I literally stuffed in my closet my last week of school. I didn't want to leave a mess for my sub to clean up. I figured I would  go in over the summer and clean it out. My physical therapy prevented me from doing that. I am happy to say that while going through a handful of papers that I had put in a folder labeled "sort when I return", that I found these jewels. So here are these reviews for you to check out.

Stereo-Realism/The Hidden World: Motion in Stillness, Stillness in Motion by Milton R. Trice
Genre: Art Book
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I very seldom give a book three stars, especially if it is a book I requested to review. The reason I gave this book three stars is simple. Although the artist is very knowledgeable about "three dimension sight", his ability to explain it in a simplified manner was lacking. I am not an art student, even though I have taken a couple of basic art classes. I guess, I needed more explanation and guidance than what this book gave me. The book itself is well written. For someone who is a gifted artist, or who "gets this, it would be the perfect book. My three stars is a reflection not of the author's writing ability but of my ability to understand what he was trying to explain. I would therefore recommend this book to those who really are into studying all aspects of art.


Second Chance Friends by Jennifer Scott

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Adult
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is one of those books you will need a box of tissues as you read. This book shows that people who know nothing about each other can become friends and help each other through a tragedy.

One morning three women sitting alone in a diner witness a terrible accident. They witness a school bus plow into the back of a car. They rush outside to help by pulling children from the bus. They go to the car where they find a woman and her husband. They are unable to do anything to save him.  A week later upon a visit to the diner, they see each other and join together to discuss the accident.  They each want to find the woman to see how she is doing. In doing this simple act, they set themselves on a path to help themselves. Each of them are dealing with their own issue. Could it be that the simple act of becoming friends can help them all? This is a great story with great characters. It has a plot that everyone can relate to.

Cool Magic Tricks, You Can Do! by Steve Black
Genre: Miscellaneous
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a cool book of twelve simple magic tricks any young or older person can do. They are fun and simple. They would be perfect to perform for a young child's birthday party.

A Light Shining in the Darkness by Karen A. Cooper

Genre: Adult, Christian, Memoir
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Not everyone has a great start in life. For Karen Cooper she lived life with an abusive father. Unfortunately her past problems shaped her adult life. She found herself pregnant and gave up the child, and shortly thereafter found herself pregnant again. Marriage to the baby's father doesn't fix anything, it makes things worse. A few weeks after her child is born he dies of SIDS.  Karen continues to show how she kept a part of her life a lie and hidden while still making the same kinds of mistakes. This seems like such a dark and troubling book until Karen reaches a point where she lets God into her life. Things begin to change. That doesn't mean her life is all roses. She still struggles and forgets like so many of us during trials, to lean on God.

Although this book starts out dark and tragic, the ending is completely the opposite. Karen has shown through her memoir that no matter how low we get, God can lift us up out of the darkness to higher places. This is a definite must read.

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction
Source: I received a copy from Netgalley to review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

As a teacher, this book touched on so many of my emotions. This is reality condensed into a book. We hear of school shootings every day. This book looks at the confused life of a teen, who holds his school hostage.  He randomly shoots teachers and students as he rants and raves about the injustices done to him. The problem is he feels like he has lost everything, including his sister. We see how much his sister loves him, willing to sacrifice her own life to save her friends and the students she doesn't know. We witness the agony of those outside the school  who have siblings inside. We witness the heroes who do what they can to save as many as they can.
I sat on the edge of my bed reading this late into the night, putting it down only because I had to teach school the next day. Normally I would read a book like this in one sitting. The emotions it brought out in me made that impossible.  I could only read for so long before I had to put the book down and deal with the emotions I was feeling. It was like having to decompress so that I could function once again.  This is a book that I will definitely recommend. It is not for the faint of heart and should only be read with a box of tissues.