Books and Needlepoint: 2009 ARC

Showing posts with label 2009 ARC. Show all posts

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunee (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love and the Search for Home
Author: Kim Sunee
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir

First sentence: Let me start by saying where I am.

From the cover: Kim Sunee was abandoned in a Korean marketplace at the age of three and raised by adoptive parents in New Orleans. But by the age of twenty-two, her life was totally transformed - she found herself the companion of a French mogul, and mistress over his homes in Paris and Provence. Yet despite the glamorous trappings, Kim never felt quite at home. It was only in the kitchen, where she encountered exotic ingredients and fed crowds of friends, that she felt she truly belonged. Trail of Crumbs is a compelling personal narrative of the search for home pursued among the tastes, aromas, and sensuality of food across three continents.

This book was beautifully written! It led you through Kim's life - most of it centered in her 20's after she had moved out of the United States. It showed such a deep yearning to try to understand where she fit in, where she belonged, that you just wanted to reach into the book and take her in your arms to let her know that it would all be okay. By being "lost" by her mom, she grew up always searching, never quite feeling "at home."

I interpreted the title "Trail of Crumbs" to be a metaphor for two things. First, she used to have a dream about her and her brother as Hansel and Gretel, just waiting for the moon to come out so they could see the trail of crumbs - only to find out that they had been eaten by the birds. Secondly, how she seemed to feel most comfortable in the kitchen, regardless of where she was, cooking wonderful dishes for friends. So as she traveled, she left her own 'trail of crumbs'. Her book is doctored with tales of wonderful foods in exotic (to me) places. At the ends of many of the chapters are recipes of what sound like delicious dishes. I hope someday to have the courage to try some of them. (There is an index in the back of the book listing these recipes.)

You must read Kim's story of loss and loneliness as she loved, in her way, Olivier, but could not come to accept the life he created for her.

"Somehow, I thought, he'll never realize that the everything he wants to give me will never take away the nothing that I've always had." (p66)

Join her as she searches for acceptance and family and discovers a strength to let go of what cannot be changed and move forward.

About the author: Kim Sunee has been featured in the New York Times, Ladies' Home Journal, People, Elle, and Glamour. She is the founding food editor of Cottage Living and the host of "Local Flavor with Kim Sunee" for MyRecipes.com. You can visit her website at http://www.kimsunee.com/.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The Spring of Candy Apples by Debbie Viguie (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: The Spring of Candy Apples (Book 4 in Sweet Seasons Series)
Author: Debbie Viguie
Publisher: Zondervan
Genre: Teen Fiction/Christian

First sentence: Candace wondered how every couple of months she managed to wind up seated across the desk from a Zone executive.

The Spring of Candy Apples is the 4th book in the Sweet Seasons series, but it read well as a stand alone, as I have not had the opportunity to read the first three books.

We catch up with Candace during her interview for The Zone's college scholarship to Florida Coast College. The interview is with John Hanson, the owner of The Zone, an amusement park in California. Candace was entered into the running by her friend, Josh, for her rendition of a new amusement park ride called Balloon Races. During the interview, Candace also gets promoted from a seasonal employee to a regular part-timer working at The Candy Counter.

Candace's life is getting busy. She enjoys working at The Zone and is also involved in a talent show that is coming up there. Add to that the lead in her school play, Man of La Mancha, boyfriend, best friends, and her church youth group.

Over the course of the book we meet Tamara, her best friend and fellow castmate in Man of La Mancha. She and Tamara have been best friends for a very long time and have planned to go to UCLA together. Candace does not know how she is going to tell her friend that she is considering going to Florida Coast.

Kurt is her boyfriend whom she met after she started working at The Zone. He used to be Lisa's boyfriend, another Zone employee, and this has brought out a host of problems and animosity in Lisa.

She also met Josh working at the Zone and he quickly became a good friend. It also benefited her friend Tamara as she is seriously dating Josh's brother James. Josh always seems to be around when Candace needs reassurance or someone to talk to - and he is also a Christian.

Join Candace as she decides if Kurt is "the one", which college to choose, and how Josh figures into all this!

This was a very cute story and a quick read. It was definitely not preachy, but was able to get across the story of salvation through it's characters. It was a light read but covered romance, touched on family issues, values, and handling important choices. I would recommend for girls 14-18 years old.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Simple Wishes by Lisa Dale (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Simple Wishes
Author: Lisa Dale
Publisher: Forever/Hachette Book Group
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Available: Now

First Sentence: For her twelfth birthday, a classmate gave Adele a book of New York City in photographs.

Adele Matin is a woman with a problem. She made a careless mistake that cost her job in New York City at an art gallery. Without a job, her apartment soon followed. She returned home to Grumble Knot on Notch Lane (don't you just love these names!), a house which her mother Marge had left to her in her will. She hadn't been back to rural Pennsylvania since she was seventeen - when she had left with these thoughts - to make it in New York City and be rid of her past and her demanding and unloving mother for good. So her return to Grumble Knot seemed to her the worst possible thing that could happen, but she had no where else to go.

Jay Westvelt had been taking care of the cabin in the years since her mother had died. He was a recluse and an artist who lived in a cabin called Tarpaper - next to Grumble Knot. He and Adele soon become close, even though they both seem to have issues from the past that are threatening their future.

Beatrice is Adele's Korean neighbor who was also Marge's friend. She knows the secret that Marge did not want her daughter to find out. She also has a secret of her own. She does her best to keep Adele from digging into the past.

As Adele and Jay grow closer, Adele also begins closing in on the secrets that she is sure everyone is keeping from her. When she finally uncovers the truth, will it send her back to New York City where a new job in a new art gallery awaits? Or will she finally learn to trust and believe in love?

I enjoyed this book very much. It had conflict, romance, mystery, heartache. The characters were great and I felt like they were people I could actually meet! They were dealing with issues that are relevant today - conflicts between mothers and daughters, teenage sex, family skeletons. As for the romance factor, I enjoyed reading a book that wasn't "love at first sight - sparks flying" and then "happily ever after". Jay and Adele had to learn to trust each other and had fights and misunderstandings along the way. This was a good read for right before Valentine's Day!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

John's Quest by Cecelia Dowdy (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: John's Quest
Author: Cecelia Dowdy
Publisher: Heartsong Presents
Genre: Christian Fiction/Contemporary Romance

First sentence: The loud banging at Monica Crawford's front door awakened her.

Monica's life changed when her younger sister Gina dropped off her seven-year-old son Scotty in the middle of the night. She claimed she was going on the road with her circus boyfriend and needed Monica to take care of him while she was gone.

Monica didn't have a choice. She was a Christian and had always been the more responsible sibling. She had thought that at her age she would be married with children of her own - but it hadn't worked out that way. Kevin, her last boyfriend, had dumped her 2 years before, and was already married to someone else and had a baby.

Scotty, her nephew, was blind and Gina hadn't made it a priority to see that he attended school regularly. Monica soon found out that he was behind. She promptly hired a tutor.

John was an agnostic, but had spent most of his free time during the last 10 years working with blind children. Scotty immediately took to him and Monica also felt a pull towards him.

As their friendship grows, Monica is torn as she knows she cannot date a non-believer. John is struggling with his beliefs also. His parents had raised him to be an agnostic, but then they had accepted Christ six months before they were killed in an auto accident. He had never gotten to talk with them about why they changed their beliefs.

Can Monica handle raising a blind child? How will she deal with her growing attraction to John? Will John come to understand and accept Christ? And when Gina comes back in the picture, will she take Scotty and run?

I liked this book and it was very quick to read. I wish that it would have dug deeper into John's issues with Christianity and how/why things ended the way they did with him (not going to spoil it for you!) It was fun to read a Christian romance though!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Lessons From San Quentin by Bill Dallas with George Barna (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Lessons From San Quentin: Everything I Needed to Know in Life I Learned in Prison
Author: Bill Dallas with George Barna
Publisher: Tyndale House
Genre: Nonfiction/Personal Growth

First sentence: When I entered San Quentin for the first time, I was only thirty-one years old.

This is the story of Bill Dallas' journey from high-flying real estate magnate to prisoner H64741 in San Quentin. Bill Dallas was a "boy wonder" in the real estate market in the late 80's, but when the market crashed in the 90's, so did his life. He was found guilty of commingling of funds (using money from one project to fund another one without the investor's knowledge).

During his legal battles he started to question his faith - or lack thereof. In 1991 he even asked Jesus into his heart. But he tried to "earn" his salvation by memorizing scripture and reading the Bible rather than having a real relationship with Christ.

Upon his conviction, he was sent to a minimum security prison where he learned fire-fighting techniques - with the plan that he was to finish his sentence at a fire camp. Due to circumstances out of his control he was sent to maximum security at San Quentin.

In San Quentin he had to hit rock bottom before he could start his climb out. With the help of the Lifers at San Quentin he discovered what faith in God really means and begins to discover what he calls his "transforming principles".

I loved this book and found so much that I can apply to my life - and my own "prisons". My plan is to copy down his transforming principles and hang them somewhere in my house where I can read them often! I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a deeper relationship with Christ and more fulfillment in their life. You can go here to read the first chapter.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

The Valentine Edition by Robin Shope (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: The Valentine Edition (2nd book in Turtle Creek Edition series)
Author: Robin Shope
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Available: Now
Genre: Christian/Romantic Fiction

First sentence: Jodi Williams sighed for the hundredth time as she waved goodbye to the Chicago skyline, catching the last of the city in her rearview mirror.

Robin Shope has done it again with The Valentine Edition(and I just love the cover!) It follows on the heels of The Christmas Edition which came out last fall (see my review here). We get to travel to Turtle Creek, Wisconsin and visit the Turtle Creek newspaper staff. In addition to Lucy, Joe and Ullila - we are introduced to Jodi - a new reporter from Chicago, Josh- the town's veterinarian, and Della - Josh's secretary/assistant.

On Jodi's first day in town, she stops to assist what appears to be an abandoned dog, just in time to see him get hit by a car! As luck would have it, the next vehicle by is the town vet, Josh. He helps her take the dog (which she names Cupid) to his office. Thankfully, he is not seriously hurt (Cupid - not Josh), but does need some recovery time. Well, actually Josh needs some recovery time also because he is instantly smitten with Jodi!

As the sparks fly, Jodi helps the Turtle Creek newspaper plan their first matchmaking Valentine's Day dance, Cupid continues to recover, and Della puts her "make Josh mine" plan into motion!

Can Jodi get over past heartbreaks to let Josh in? Can Josh stay strong and win Jodi over - or does Della get her man? You have to read The Valentine Edition to find out! Great read just in time for Valentine's Day! You can read the first chapter here!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Scrapping Plans by Rebeca Seitz (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Scrapping Plans (Book 3 in the Sister, Ink series)
Author: Rebeca Seitz
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Genre: Christian Fiction
Available: Feb 2009

First sentence: I've tried to be happy.

This book is about 4 adopted sisters, Kendra - who is currently planning her upcoming wedding, Tandy -who is newly married, Meg - who is married with children, but experiencing frequent headaches, but mostly it is about Joy and her journey with her husband to conceive a child.

Along the way we meet their widowed father who is the pastor of Stars Hill Church. He is currently dating Zelda and the sisters aren't too happy about this.

Whenever there is a conflict, the sisters call for a "scrapping night" so that they can hash out ideas and figure out what to do. In the beginning of the book I was left feeling that these conflicts were being resolved too easily and unrealistically- but stuck with it only to see the conflicts rear back up - so they were not fully resolved!

The sisters are very close, more like best friends and are very involved in each other's lives. They share all the joy as well as the heartache with each other. They are also very protective of their father and are not ready for someone new in their mother's place! This book did a wonderful job of showing the care and respect that they have for one another. It is not too preachy, and would be a good book for a non-believer to read. It might not lead them to Christ, but might show them that when bad things happen, that God will be there and maybe it is because He wanted you to go down a different road.

This was a good book and a quick read - but I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous two books in the series! You can go here to read the first chapter!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Lost in Las Vegas by Melody Carlson (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Lost in Las Vegas (Book 5 in the Carter House Girls series)
Author: Melody Carlson
Publisher: Zondervan
Genre: Christian/teen fiction
Available: Feb 2009

First sentence: "Remind me to never, ever star in another high school musical again."

The book starts out with the 6 girls getting ready to go to the Winter Ball - this preparation includes actually confirming their dates, shopping for new dresses and accessories, and for Taylor and DJ (roommates, but not necessarily BFFs) a day at a posh new day spa.

DJ and Rhiannon are the Christian girls of the bunch with Eliza and Taylor being the self-professed party girls. Kriti and Casey fall somewhere in between. DJ and Rhiannon have the best time at the ball, without the alcohol offered to them and without compromising their beliefs.

Christmas break is on the horizon and DJ is looking forward to "alone" time, away from the other girls. They are leaving soon to travel to various places to stay with family and friends. DJ is staying at Carter House with her grandmother. She as decided not to go to her dad and stepmom's house, as she feels she will just become the babysitter for her twin sisters. When Taylor calls from Las Vegas (where she is spending Christmas with her mom who is performing there) claiming she is lonely and could use some company, DJ prays that if that is where God wants her to go, then he will clear the way. She is ready for some company herself!

Once in Vegas, DJ questions why God has brought her here. Is she supposed to keep Taylor out of trouble? And when Eliza arrives, will she be able to? DJ questions why she is in Vegas at all and Taylor puts her faith to the test.

Lost in Las Vegas is Book 5 in the Carter House Girls series (Mixed Bags; Stealing Bradford; Homecoming Queen; and Viva Vermont). It read okay as a stand alone, but it was hard to keep the girls straight at first. I am going to try to find the first 4 so that I can get caught up - because books 6-8 are coming out soon!

This was a very quick read for me and I would highly recommend it - especially for teen girls struggling with their faith in the real world!

Monday, January 26, 2009

For the Love of Pete by Julia Harper (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: For the Love of Pete

Author: Julia Harper

Publisher: Hachette Book Group

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Fiction

First Sentence: Things finally came to a head between Zoey Addler and Lips of Sin the afternoon he tried to steal her parking space.

Special Agent Dante Torelli (Lips of Sin) has been assigned to watch over mob informant Ricky Spinoza and his family, which consists of girlfriend Nikki and baby daughter, Pete. Zoey Addler is Nikki's sister, and though she isn't supposed to know where the family is hiding, has moved into the same apartment building to be close to her niece.

When the FBI agents on duty are killed and baby Pete is kidnapped, Zoey and Dante team up to find the little girl. Throw in the Gupta sisters, some grade 1A very, very fine mangra kesar, a mob hitman and his baby son and what you have is a fast read with lots of adventure and some romance.

For me, this book was just okay. I didn't feel the chemistry between Dante and Zoey, some of their thoughts and actions seemed a little immature. Their characters also seemed a little flat. I was put off by the language of the hit man -- I get it, he is a hitman -- but in one paragraph it seemed like every third word was **** this or that. I felt it just went a little overboard. The Gupta sisters did grow on me as I read on, and their bickering and stubbornness provided some comic relief. It was a cute story and had some twists, especially near the end, but it wasn't one of my favorites. Since this is a new author for me, I will try her again.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Scream for Me - Karen Rose (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Scream for Me

Author: Karen Rose

Genre: Romantic Suspense Fiction

Publisher: Hachette Books - Thanks Renee and Hachette!

First sentence: A bell dinged.

This was book 2 in a series with Agent Daniel Vartanian, but it read well as a stand alone. The first book, Die For Me, I have on reserve at our library, so that should tell you that I really enjoyed this book!

Daniel Vartanian is a Special Agent with the GBI, Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He has just returned from a case which involved his parents and his brother (I have a sneaky suspicion that this is what Die For Me is about...) He isn't even home a day before a murdered girl is discovered in a ditch and the investigation lands in his lap. It appears to be a copycat murder from 13 years earlier.

Alex Fallon is the twin sister of Alicia Tremaine, who was killed 13 years ago. She has received a call that her stepsister, Bailey, is missing and she is listed as the emergency contact for her 4 year old niece, Hope. This comes as quite a shock, as she didn't even know she had a niece. The last time she saw Bailey was to get her into a rehab program 5 years earlier.

Daniel's investigation and Alex's missing stepsister lead them on a collision course to each other - and the sparks start to fly. As the bodies pile up, will Alex ever find Bailey? Can Daniel catch the murderer? And can they both confront the ghosts of their past so that they can move into a better future?

This was a quick read for me, even at 569 pages! It was great the way all the suspects fell into place one-by-one. It was like watching dominoes fall in slow motion. I almost just typed a spoiler here - so I will just end on that note! Great book!

Grace for the Afflicted by Matthew S. Stanford, PhD (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Grace for the Afflicted - Viewing Mental Illness Through the Eyes of Faith

Author: Matthew S. Stanford, PhD

Publisher: Paternoster Publishing

First sentence: The Scriptures tell us that in Christ we have everything we need for life and godliness, correct?

It is always hard for me to review a non-fiction book. I am not quite sure why this is. I requested this book for the First Wild Card Tour because I have a daughter with ADHD. I was hoping that it could give me some perspective on how to help her as she is growing up. (She is currently 16). This book was able to give me encouragement as a parent and in the gift that she is as my child, but I think it is more orientated to those who might actually be called upon to counsel people or families with different mental illnesses.

Grace for the Afflicted starts out detailing how we are created and that we embody body, mind and spirit - and that any illness, whether physical or mental, needs healing on all levels.

There are then a series of chapters going into more detail on different mental illnesses including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, dissociative disorders, eating disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, substance use disorders and borderline personality disorder. Each of these disorders are broken down even further, giving us specific types of each disorder and their symptoms. Causes of them, psychological, environmental, physical, biological are all listed as well as possible treatments. Each chapter is summed up with what the Bible says about the disorder, if anything and reminds us of how are faith can play a role in supporting the person afflicted.

I grew up with an older sibling that has had many labels, include schizophrenia as an adult, so no one had to convince me that mental illness takes more than just praying for person to be healed - or that the person just needed to want to get better. Now as a parent with an ADHD child I have seen first hand the effects that correct medication can do to ease some of the symptoms. Like I said, I did get encouragement that it was not something that I did wrong as a parent that "made" my child have ADHD, but reminded me that my child was given to me as a gift from God for a reason, and while I might not know what that reason is yet, He has equipped me with the ability to love and raise her as a believer in Christ. He will support me in whatever trials still lay ahead.

I think this book would be good for any church member who may or may not struggle with accepting mental illness as "true" illnesses and the best way they can council other believers. This book would actually be good in pointing out to ANY person that mental illness is just as serious and just as real as physical illness.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

The Red Siren by M.L. Tyndall (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: The Red Siren (Charles Towne Belles/Book 1)

Author: M.L. Tyndall

Genre: Christian fiction/Romance

Publisher: Barbour Publishing Inc.

Available: January 2009

First sentence: This was Dajon Waite's last chance.

I thought twice about giving you more than the first sentence - but I want you to read the book! So now you are thinking... last chance for what? Love? Life? the Lottery? (ok.. so that last one is a little corny.. I was going for some alliteration.. )

The Red Siren is the name of a pirate ship, and also the lady pirate that commands her. She has a dual identity as the daughter, Faith (1 of 4) of an Admiral by day - and the captain of the Red Siren whenever there is a ship to plunder.

After her father married off her older sister Charity to a vile man, and Faith's mother died, Faith vowed to protect her 2 remaining sisters Hope and Grace from the same fate. She feels that she needs to acquire enough wealth, so that they will not need to rely on men to take care of them. So Faith becomes a pirate.

One of her first conquests is a ship captained by Dajon Waite. Not only does she take all of his goods, but his ship as well. This changes the course of Dajon's life and puts them back on a collision course 5 years into the future.

Can Faith save herself and her 2 sisters from Charity's fate? When Dajon reenters her life, as a captain in the British Royal Navy, will he be forced to arrest her for being a pirate? Or can the God-fearing Dajon Waite help the faithless Faith Westcott rediscover the God she thought had abandoned her?

I really liked the way the author named the daughter's Charity, Faith, Grace and Hope. We don't learn a lot about Charity in this book - just that she has been married to someone the other sisters do not like (for good reason.. ). Faith is the main character in The Red Siren, and is the one that has lost her faith. Grace is full of God's grace and does much to help the less fortunate. Hope is the youngest, and though she has been through some terrible travesties, she still has hope that there is love for her - either the love she is yearning for from her father, or from Lord Falkland.

I enjoyed reading The Red Siren - it grabbed me quick, kept up the pace throughout the book and wrapped the main story up nicely, but also left a hanger for the second book - The Blue Enchantress coming in the fall of 2009! For a peek at the cover of the Blue Enchantress - visit the author's blog here.

Come back on Monday, Jan 19 for the First Wild Card Tour!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Walking with Wolf by Kay Chornook & Wolf Guindon (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Walking with Wolf
Author: Kay Chornook & Wolf Guindon (can contact the author at kchornook(at)rogers(dot)com)
Publisher: Wandering Words Press (2008)
Genre: Biography/Memoir

First Sentence: "I'm out here looking over the treetops, across the old clearings to the ridge and the Continental Divide, thinking about those early years."

At first, this book was hard to follow – it has so many people and places, many with unfamiliar names to me, that I was not sure how I was going to keep up. The style was also a little hard to follow –but I kept with it, and am glad that I did.

The narration of the book jumps back and forth between Kay and Wolf – and this was confusing in the beginning. As I read, I learned to watch for the “quotes” – as Wolf’s stories were “quoted” and Kay’s were not. I would also recommend that you allot enough time to read complete chapters at a sitting, as they are each like short stories.

Like chapter 4, Stepping Stones, which tells how the Quakers from America were accepted by the people of Costa Rica and how together the started building their community and businesses. From page 49:

“Monteverde felt like it was to be our home right from the beginning and it has continued to feel that way. The economics of it were and still are bouncing on the borderline. There have been opportunities to go into something better economically, but we’ve made our choices and feel very satisfied with them. I remember thinking, ‘Well, if the dairy plant fails and if Monteverde fails,’ and under the circumstances they very well could have, I felt I’d enjoyed the experience and could always start over and survive. Besides, at the time to me it wasn’t work, it was just part of the project of the community we were living in.”

I also liked chapter 6, The Path to Extinction, which tells the story of the golden toads and the part they played in helping bring awareness to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

I cannot do justice in trying to give a complete overview of this book, as it encompasses so much time and important material, so I am going to cheat and include the words from the inside cover:

From the lush, windy cloud forest of Monteverde in Central America comes the story of pioneering conservationist Wolf Guindon. Jailed in the United States in 1949 as a conscientious objector, Wolf and his bride Lucky were among a small group of Quakers who left Alabama a year later in search of a new life and found it on a wet mountaintop in Costa Rica. For the next twenty years, Wolf labored to transform the land to make it habitable and productive, even as he was falling in love with the flourishing jungle around him. In 1972, he found a new purpose when he helped establish the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Since then he has worked relentlessly to secure the protection of the surrounding wilderness so that the flora and fauna of this vast, incredibly beautiful and biologically diverse region will be intact for generations to come.
In 1990, following her first experience of walking with Wolf for several days through the rainforest, Canadian social activist Kay Chornook gave Wolf a tape recorder. She encouraged him to record his many remarkable tales of cutting trails through the dense vegetation, following tapir tracks across the ridges, discovering the wonders of the wild abundance, and sharing innumerable cups of coffee with homesteaders, biologists and fellow adventurers. Walking with Wolf is a personal memoir, but it is also the history of a place and a movement as well as a celebration of lives lived amongst the trees of both Canada and Costa Rica.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Be Strong and Curvaceous by Shelley Adina (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Be Strong and Curvaceous (an all about us novel)
Author: Shelley Adina
Publisher: Faith Words a division of Hachette Books
Genre: YA/Christian Fiction
Available: January 2009

First sentence: Be careful what you wish for.

I read this book for First Wild Card Tour and I loved it! I am hoping (and praying) that my daughters will read these books. I have requested the first one in the series from our public library's interlibrary loan service. But I am getting ahead of myself - let me tell you a little about this book.

Be Strong and Curvaceous is the third book in the 'all about us' series - but it was also very good as a stand alone. The hardest thing about reading it first was just getting the cast of characters set in my mind. Carly, Lissa and Gillian are all students (juniors) at Spencer Academy in San Francisco. They have just started the spring term and upon arriving back at school, Carly discovers that she has a new roommate - "Mac" who we later discover is Lady Lindsay MacPhail, daughter of the Earl of Strathcairn. Mac isn't at the school long before she publicly humiliates Vanessa Talbot (the "it" girl at the school) and puts up a wall that Carly isn't sure she wants to negotiate. Adding to Carly's confusion is that she just became a Christian and is sure that this isn't the Christian thing to do! Mac could also help her reach her goal of designing a dress in the Design Your Dream Event - if only she hadn't taken on Vanessa. To make matters worse, in seems like Mac also has her eyes on Brett, Carly's crush!

This book has romance, rivalry, responsibility, friendship, adventure, and most importantly God! I want my daughter to read it so that she can see that she can talk with God in any and all circumstances - even boys! This would be a great read for a teenage girl. I can't wait to get the first book!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Gatekeepers by Robert Liparulo (Book 3 in Dreamhouse Kings series) - Book Review

Shared by Kristi

Title: Gatekeepers (3rd book in the Dreamhouse Kings series)
Author: Robert Liparulo
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: YA fiction

First Sentence: Xander's words struck David's heart like a musket ball.

I am so very glad that I was able to read the first three books in this series so closely together. My only gripe is that I have to wait until July for Timescape - the 4th book in this series!

In Gatekeepers, we again join Xander, David, Toria and their father, Edward, in the search for their mother, G(ertrude). As they discover more rules about the portals, they also encounter more danger - both in their own world and the world behind the antechambers. Men - warriors - are now coming through the portals and are after the children! Come see how Xander, David and Toria fight off three of these men in the mysterious clearing in the woods - how they are able to fly out of the way of danger!

We also meet Jesse, a very elderly man who has a gift of "feeling" when history has been changed. He also has a link to the mysterious King house, as well as to the King family themselves. He is able to help the children with their knowledge of the portals - but will he have the time to share all of his secrets, or will "time" want him back.

The children may not be able to rescue their mother during this book - but come and find out who they do meet in the other worlds along the way. I guarantee you will not want to put it down!

See my other reviews for the first two books in the series: House of Dark Shadows and Watcher in the Woods.