Book reviews for the young and the old. This site reviews children, teen, and adult books with a few interesting things thrown into the mix. Check out the labels on the right hand side for specific genres or topics.
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult Source: I won a copy
Across the Tumen is one of those stories you start reading and can't put it down until you finish it. This is a fictionalized account of one North Korean boy's escape across the Tumen River into China. Although this is a fictional account the author has made it clear that this continues on today. Most of my students here in America have no idea how wonderful their life is. They have no idea how the children of other countries suffer. Through Yeong-dae's story we watch a family torn apart by starvation. We see the depths members will go to for each other and the price it will cost them. Most importantly we see what lengths someone is will to go to, the dangers they are willing to accept when they realize their country has lied to them. If you are a teacher wanting to get across the point of propaganda and its effect on a people, then this is definitely the book to read. This book will make you sick to your stomach, make you cringe, definitely make you cry both tears of sadness and joy. But most importantly this book will make you feel lucky you live in America. It will make you wonder what you can do for others out there. After all, isn't that what a great book does? It makes you feel. I definitely recommend this book to everyone young and old.
Want to know more or see some pictures of places mentioned in the book? I recommend this website here.
Source: I received a copy in exchange for my honest review. Genre: Adult, Short Stories
Alert: The book is full of the use of the F-word and talks a lot about sex.
From Goodreads: Caught is a collection of short stories, literary sketches and vignettes---each capturing a moment in the life of someone a lot like you. Each story delves into human themes: expectation, desire, hope, loss, fear, joy, peace, suffering, redemption. The narrative is filled with subtle irony, humour and touching observations. The stories highlight our era of increasing social disconnection, in which technology is replacing intimacy and life occurs at a pace that challenges people’s ability to stop, observe and interpret their own existence and its relationship with those around them. It highlights the everyday moment and provides nourishment for the harried soul.
The overriding message in Caught is that any moment in every life can be viewed as worthy of treasuring. Whether that moment is filled with despair or joy, they provide entertaining relief and nourishing benefits.
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed most of the stories in this book. We get a glimpse into pieces of lives that often mirror our own. We read the story of a lady who sits next to an elderly couple in the theater only to spend less time watching the movie and more time glancing at the woman and remembering her own Nana.
We have the story of a woman who discovers her husband didn't marry her for love but because he wanted to "be" her. As a woman of faith she finds a solution, even if it is one I would not condone.
As much as I enjoy short stories, the use of the f-word and reference to sex throughout most of the stories meant I didn't enjoy the as much. It also meant that it was a book that I would have trouble recommending to a lot of my friends. If you like short stories that will evoke memories from your own life, and if you can get past the language and references to sex then you might enjoy this book.
Source: I won a copy from the author. From Goodreads: Pam’s divorce broke her heart. The cruelty of her ex-husband broke her spirit. A bottle of sleeping pills almost took her life. Four years later the scars of Alan Archer’s emotional abuse are beginning to fade under the love of her new husband. When Alan returns to Garfield, Pam must learn that buried secrets and carefully cultivated indifference do not equal forgiveness.Alan Archer has returned to Garfield with a new wife and a terminal heart condition. His mission? To leave a Christian legacy for his children and to gain Pam’s forgiveness for the sins of his past. Two hearts hang in the balance waiting for the delicate touch of God’s healing hands.
My Thoughts:
One thing I really like about this book was how the author didn't try to make her characters perfect in their Christian walk. This often happens in Christian fiction. I know as a long time Christian that I have often slipped up. I was definitely able to connect with Pam. I went through my own divorce and remarriage. Just because you "say" you forgive someone, doesn't mean you did so in your heart. However, it is the first step to forgiveness. There is so much that can be learned about forgiveness from this book, whether you have gone through a divorce or not. This was actually the first book I had read by this author. I did purchase the first two in the series , "Callie"and "Terrie". I look forward to following the next one. I will gladly recommend this series to my friends.
Genre: YA, Fantasy Source: I received a copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.
Blurb
Her parents’ marriage is falling apart. Fifteen-year-old
Posy feels her life is falling apart with it. Retreating to an old library down
the street, she selects a mysterious book in a secluded corner and is magically
drawn into its story…
Posy finds herself in a kingdom ruled by a cruel and
manipulative king and queen who have attempted to usurp the role that belongs
only to the Author of their story. The princess has fled and the kingdom is
teetering toward rebellion. Posy is joined by the Prince Kyran as they fight
with the characters of the story against their slavery to the Plot.
Posy and the prince search beyond the borders of the story
for the runaway princess. They visit mysterious places, face horrifying
monsters, and fight fierce battles. They make both friends and enemies as their
journey leads them into many dangers. But some of the worst dangers, Posy soon
finds, lie deep within her own heart.
Now Posy must find the courage and forgiveness needed to
save the story and, most important, heal the heartache she knew in her own
world
My Thoughts:
The main character Posey lives in a home where her parents are constantly fighting. One day while they are having a really bad fight she storms into their room and says some pretty hateful things. She storms out and goes to the library. At the library she finds a mysterious book she's never noticed before. The next thing she knows, she has fallen into the book. She is the replacement for Princess Evanthe who has run away. She goes along with this for a while. Soon she realizes how much she wants to go home. She joins up with Prince Kyran to find his sister. Along the way she learns so much about herself. There are themes of forgiveness and healing throughout the book.
The author has done a wonderful job of building up this world. It is created so artistically well that you travel along inside the story just like Posy. This book reminded me of "Storybound" by Marissa Burt. It too had a story where a person entered the story. One of my favorite lines in the book was found in the first chapter. The owl tells her "We are characters living within the Plot." Since this is allegorical there is so much, as a Christian, that can be read into the meaning of it. I like many others often dreamed of going into a story and living the life that they lived. I can't wait to read more by this author. Just think, this is only her first book. She can only get better with each book.
About Ashlee
Ashlee has a
passion for three things: God, family, and books, and is happiest when all
three can be enjoyed together. Ashlee graduated from Central Christian
College of the Bible with a Bachelor of Science in Christian Education. She divides
her time chiefly between homeschooling her young son, reading about fantasy
worlds she wishes she could visit, and dreaming up fantasy worlds of her own to
write about. She loves taking walks in the woods, drinking tea with friends,
and spending time with the ones she loves most. Ashlee lives in the heart
of Missouri with her husband, son, and cat, where she is busily at work on her
next book, also a fantasy for young adults.
Source:I received a
copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.
As I started this book I wasn’t really sure what to
expect.The book is written in such a
way you must continue to read.You have
multiple story lines throughout that are all intwined. We find Cat, a young
scarred woman who has recently married.She has never told her husband of her past for fear he will find her
hideous.As a child she watched herparents constantly fight. It culminated in
her father killing her mother and then taking his own life.Her younger sister who was only two at the
time never spoke again.
Then we have the glimpses into her life after her parent’s
death.She and her sister are taken from
the orphanage to live with a couple.You
get from the short clips of memory that they were treated no better than
slaves.All these things she’s kept
hidden from her husband Gray.But hers
are not the only secrets. Things take a drastic turn whena man named Rance steps up on her porch.
There is so much I could tell you but don’t won’t to.I’ve left out so many things so that you the
reader will need toread the book.The book is written with such great emotion
that you are Cat as that young child, hiding while her parents fight.I felt Cat’s pain, fear, isolation, and
lonliness.This is one of those books
where you feel such emotion and want things to turn out well for her.Barbara has once again taken the reader,
thrown theminto the middle of a
situation letting them fend for themselves for a while before throwing them
life saver.Well done.
You can learn more about Barbara from her website here.
Genre: autobiography Source: I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.
The Zero Years were the years 1975 – 1979 in
Cambodia’s history. This is when the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh the
capital. The author lived those years. He was one of eleven children in his
family. Most of his siblings did not survive. His father was a professor. When
the Khmer Rouge came in, Seng’s father had already heard rumors of what was
happening to professionals and those considered the upper crust of society. The
first group of soldiers came into their village with white flags claiming to
bring peace. The next group came in bringing death.They were taken out of their homes and forced
to walk for days with little rest or food. They were loaded on trains where
they were packed so tight many died. Through all of this I kept thinking it
reminded me of the holocaust trains. Seng had seen so many dead bodies that he
eventually became numb to it. Seeing a body hung from a tree was just an everyday
occurrence. This was just the beginning of the horror he would live.
This was the first I had ever really heard
of the Khmer Rouge atrocities. It is sad to say this considering my age
now.However, at the time this was
starting I was 17 and really sheltered from all of this.We know of all of the people killed by
Hitler.How is it that we don’t teach
about the millions of Cambodians exterminated? How many more stories like this
will we need to read before we finally learn to value life?
The book was well written.I felt like I was on that walk with him.There is so much more to this story. Some of
it happy and some of it not.If you want
to find out what happened to him and his family you will need to read this
book. You definitely won’t regret it.You
might even learn quite a bit.
SENG
TY was born in the Kampong Speu province of Cambodia, the son of a respected
physician who taught him to value life, aspire to humility, and seek the good
in people. He was thirteen when he made his way alone to a refugee camp in
Thailand in 1981. His story was featured in TIME Magazine’s article “Children
of War”, and was read by an American family in Amherst, Massachusetts, who
adopted him a year later. Now he is a citizen of the United States, a husband,
a father and an educator in the Lowell, MA School System.
Seng will never rid himself of his
ghosts, nor will he forget the blood-chilling atrocities he has witnessed and
experienced. However, he doesn’t crave revenge against those who carried out
these atrocities. He desires to share his story of survival and courage only in
order to give hope to others. He was one of the children of war tour in the US cities
in early 1984, he shared his story through the Phil Donahue Show, many major newspapers, and CBS 60 Minutes
in 1999.
Seng’s wish is that The Years of
Zero will give him a platform to expand his message beyond the circle of his
students in Lowell, to people all over the world who are in need of a little
hope.
This review is written by Grant Fire Prophet by Jerel Law
This book was very interesting. It had a lot of detail and had a very modern setting. In thebook there were a few different settings; Johah's house, his school, and New York City.
There were three main characters in this book. the main character was Jonah. He is very strong and is a good leader. Jonah has a sister named Eliza. Eliza is very kind and faithful. Jonah's brother Jeremiah is very curious and is not afraid to tell the truth.
In the beginning of the book, fallen angels attack Joh=nah, Eliza and Jeremiah at school and they go to New York to hide in a convent with other quarterlings Johah has visions and starts training at night school at the convent. Soon they get atacked and Jonah sneaks out of the convent tohelp save the quarterlings.
This book has a lot of connections to the real world. One of them is to the Bible. This connects to the Bible because a small character int his book is God. The three main characters pray to him for help and guidance. Another connection is that I have a brother just like Jonah and I am in middle school.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy with a taste of the modern world in it.
Well another Spring Reading Thing Challenge has come and gone. I hope you read a lot of good books.
I seemed to get multiple requests for picture books over the last few months. This is great because I have a lot of grandchildren. I had 27 books on my original list. They are denoted below with an *. I read 54 picture books, 11 Middle Grade/YA Books, and 15 Adult/Misc. books for a total of 80 books. Books on my original list that I did not get two are highlighted. As always I enjoyed this challenge. However as I said in my last post, I will not be able to host this or the Fall Into Reading Challenge next year. I am looking for someone willing to take it over. I will still participate. However, extra duties, changes in school and the school district has made it difficult to do this justice as a host. Please let me know if you would be willing to carry the torch for these two wonderful challenges. Please write a wrap up post and put your link to your blog in Mr. Linky. You will have until midnight on the 24th to do so. I will pull and post the names of the two winners the next morning. I will also send out an email. You will have 48 hours to reply or I will pull a new name. Picture Books
6 Activities for Children –
Eitan Hana
A Journey Into Imagination - Anat Umansky
*All
Sheep Love to Sing – Paula McBride
All the Baby animals in the Wild
– Emily Thompson
All the Baby Animals in the
Woods – Emily Thompson
All the Baby Animals on the Farm
– Emily Thomson
Bear and Bunny Go To Dreamland - Emily Thomson
Ben's Day - Mark C. Collins
Blue Baboon in the Big Balloon –
Sarah & Steven Mostyn
*Bob and
Larry in the Case of the Missing Patience – Karen Poth
*Casey and
Bella Face Their First Bully – Anna Stover
Cat Cabby – Christina Tran
*Chickens
In Birthday Suits – Nancy Mauerman
Counting From Creation - Tracy Wainwright
Dirty Bumble and clean Bumble - Anat Umansky
Don't Think You Can't - Anat Umansky
Easy as 1-2-3 Come Learn About
Bugs A-Z-Kathry L. Novak Exodus From Egypt - Anat Umansky
Foxy the Fox and the Vineyard –
Eitan Hana
Foxy’s Birthday – Eitan Hana Go Away Scary Thoughts - Anat Umansky
Goat and the Terror Birds – P. J.Gilbers
*Goodnight
Farm Animals – Sharlene Alexander
Grandma Stinks Mark C. Collins *Hero Cat
– Eileen Spinelli How Babies Are Born - Anat Umansky
*It
Stinks to be Pink – Kathryn L. Novak
Joey and the Net – Amos Ordan
Magical Toys – Uncle Amos
Maya & Filippo Look For
Happiness in Tauranga – Alinka Rutkowsks
Maya & Filippo Look For
Whales – Alinka Rutkowska
Maya & Filippo Play Chef at
Sea – Alinka Rutkowska
Meet the Bugs! - Mark C. Collins
*Mia’s
Tooth Fairy – Yosifia Porat
Momma Bird and Her Chicks - Anat Umansky
Mommy – Sergey Nikolov – Sergey
Nikolov
My Brother is My Best Friend –
Nicole Weaver
Not Another Boring ABC Book –
Sharon Cohen
One Bear – Emily Thomson
Princess Rose and the Golden
Bird – Sergey Nikolov Rainboy Full of Joy - Eli
*Queen-a-Bella
Finds a Best Friend – Lisl Fair & Nina De Polonia
Queen Vernita Visits Gator Country - Dawn Menge
Stinky Fumes King of the Wild –
Mahamad Ali Elfakir
Tani's Search For the Heart - Keith Egawa
Ten Busy Brownies – Talia Haven
The Ancient Secret of the
Leprechauns – Mahamad Ali Elfakir
The Legend of the Black Sea –
Sergey Nikolov
The Secret Kingdom - Michele & Richard Bledsoe
The Ten Commandments - Anat Umansky The Very Best You - Kathryn L. Novak
*Truthy
Ruthy – Sari Barel
Why Blue? – Josh Tuininga Why Did the Leaf Fall - Anat Umansky
Why the Giraffe is Crying - Anat Umansky
Wizard Bill's Secret - Anat Umansky
Middle Grade/Young Adult 84 Ribbons – Paddy Eger
*Across
the Tumen – Moon Young-Sook
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Julie C.
Gilbert
Championship Expectations – Jim
Pransky
*Eye on
the Iditarod Aisleys Quest – Hope Irwin Marston
*I Don’t
Wanna Be an Orange Anymore – Hank Kellner
*The Take
Back of Lincoln Junior High – Roseanne Cheng
*This
Star Won’t Go Out – Esther Earl
*Time Square: The Shift – S.W. Lothian
*Touch
Down Tony Crowne and the Mystery of the Missing Cheerleader – Peter Guy George
Adult
A Bridge Unbroken – Cathy Bryant
Call Me Clumsy – Matt Weinrich
*Dancing
in Rhythm with the Universe – Barbara Miller
Fantasyland – D.J. Starling
*First
Light – Alec Frost
Keeping Score – Marc bracket
Life Lived Twice – Sherrie
Wouters
Mommy’s a Mole – Eve Carson
Morgan Kane Without Mercy –
Louis Masterson
Orenda – Ruth Silva
*Pilgrimage
of Promise – Cathy Bryant
Retarded Girl Raised in Dog Pen
– Lauren Leigh
The Hitler Dilemma – Carolyn
Twede Frank The Last Confession of the Vampire Judas Iscariot - David B. Vermont *The Savage
Murder of Skylar Neese *The Way
of Grace – Cathy Bryant
Miscellaneous
How to Promote Your Children’s
Book – Katie Davis
Simply Delicious Amish Cooking –
Sherry Gore
Please Link your wrap up post with Mr. Linky Below.
Genre:
Fantasy Source:I received a copy in exchange for my honest
review.
From
Goodreads:
Of all the people who ever
lived, surely Judas Iscariot, history’s most notorious betrayer, must be in
hell. Or maybe not.
After watching the crucifixion of Jesus, Judas despairs over what he has done
and fumes that the Messiah he put his trust in has turned out to be just
another pretender like all the rest. The toxic mix of emotions is too much for
him to bear and Judas commits suicide by hanging himself.
He is restored to life by the Devil and made into a vampire apostle. The Devil
teaches Judas to manipulate men and history. He becomes a king, a general, a
teacher and a blacksmith, whatever is needed to effect the outcome of history
and move it towards the goal of his new master.
Each time he is ready to move on to his next incarnation he must drink the
blood of an innocent victim to be restored to his youthful vigor. But despite
his many powers and abilities Judas knows there is one thing he desires and
cannot have. Finally Judas meets a laicized priest, Raymond Breviary, and tries
to steal from him what he was denied two thousand years before.
My
Thoughts:
This
was definitely different from what I am used to reading. After Judas hangs himself,
the devil brings him back to life. To stop the burning and torment from hell he
is told he must drink the blood of a human.This gives him power. Satan takes him from that time period and through
many more to present day. He uses Judas to bring down those loyal to Christ.
Judas is fueled on because he believes Jesus betrayed him by allowing himself
to be crucified. However, you must read this book to see if Judas gets what he
actively seeks for years. This is one of those books that as you read it you
can’t stop. It has a great twisted ending.
About the Author:
David B. Vermont began writing when he was asked to author a series of articles explaining the Catholic faith on the popular blog 52 Prayers. He now writes regularly about his faith as the leader of an online Bible study group. The Last Confession of Judas Iscariot is his first foray into fiction.
He is also an attorney and accomplished litigator. He has a wife and four children and lives in Fairfax, VA.
