Drinkwater by Eric Hopkins

Drinkwater - Eric Hopkins


From the cover: Drinkwater was originally an English word given to someone who abstains from drinking alcohol. As a family name it represents sobriety, dignity and self-control.

Nineteen-year old Amber Drinkwater knows that when life presents hardships, a responsible person meets them fairly, with a clear head and the willingness to work. Her plans to start a new life in Toronto with her brother Guy are interrupted when their uncle fails to meet them at the train station, but she resolves to abide until he turn up - and when it seems their caretaker is gone for good, she accepts it as an unexpected but timely call to independence and adult responsibility, inspite of her dearth of money or friends in the city.

The sprawling city of Toronto represents a shining opportunity for Amber to prove herself through an old code of grim endurance and bold resignation, but she will find her simple work ethic is no match for its modern towers, dark streets and disjointed neighbourhoods. Drinkwater is a provocative story that blurs the borders between teenage empowerment and helplessness, between experience and naivety, and between optimism and blind hope.

I am not sure that this is a good summation of this book - when I read this, I pictured a young girl, though facing what seems to be insurmountable odds, valiantly strives forward to success, however small. Maybe this was just the optimistic/romantic in me. This was not this book.

Amber and her brother, Guy(just a teenager), arrive in Toronto expecting their uncle Ian to meet their train - then they would begin their life there - Amber by transferring to the college in Toronto, and Guy by finishing high school. Never quite sure what happened to the parents, but the way things are phrased you get the idea that they have died. (So in all respect, maybe the point of this book was that these two were in shock over the death of their parents). The two kids never really do discuss their parents. What follows is about a week in the life of Amber as she proceeds to try to find them a place to stay, first until their uncle gets back - and when she realizes that isn't going to happen, a permanent place to stay. She also tries to get a job and get her brother enrolled in the local high school.

She bums lodging off of a tour guide (Carrie)she had meet the spring before, and when she wears out the welcome in her dorm, she stays with Carrie's boyfriend. She gets two jobs, one for which she never shows up for, and the other one at Tim Horton's (coffee shop) for which she is late, but does manage to work a few night shifts.

The book was somewhat disjointed - didn't really always follow where the characters were supposed to be. The kids do get separated and we learn very little about where or what happens to Guy after that. I didn't like the story and didn't like the ending - but it has stayed with me which I guess, in itself, says something. It does a good job of depicting how tough it is to get a start in life - especially as a young adult - if you do not have any sort of a plan or savings or just help in general. I am sure not everyone would feel the way that I do about this book. I want my reading to be all about what is good and right in the world so this always plays into my feelings. I would give this a 3/5 stars.

Publisher: Crackjaw Publishing http://www.crackjawpublishing.com/

Assaulted by Joy

Title: Assaulted by Joy - The Redemption of a Cynic
Author: Stephen W. Simpson
Publisher: Zondervan
Copyright: 2008

Assaulted by Joy is my first ARC that I am reviewing. What an exciting book! The question that was posed when I was asked if I would review this book was "Is this the perfect gift for the man in your life?" and I must answer with a resounding "YES!" I have already asked my husband if he would read it. But let me back up a little here. The author accepted Christ at the age of seven - (I love it when he says that this is where the story begins.) "When I walked down the aisle of a Baptist church as a boy to receive Christ as my Saviour, nobody told me that being a Christian is difficult, dangerous even. . .the closer you were to God, the happier you would be. The less you sinned and the more you followed God's Word, the more your life would be meaningful, happy, and complete. In my years as a follower of Christ, however, I've discovered that the opposite is often true. Don't get me wrong - the most ecstatic, victorious moments of my life resulted from having a relationship with Jesus, but so have the most aggravating and painful ones."*

His story, about his sometimes painful high school years (can everybody relate?), to college, losing a close friend, and meeting his wife and starting a family is engaging, humorous, in many instances I caught my self shaking my head in agreement - and is full of insight and wisdom that touched my life. I would like to share two of those nuggets here.

From chapter 3: What we don't realize is that we teach one another wisdom even when we hurt each other. We learn how to love in the midst of brokenness and imperfection. Those who hurt us sometimes teach us far more than those who love us. Sometimes they're even the same person. Those we care about have the greatest capacity to hurt us. Love creates the possibility of pain like nothing else. It's just like our relationship with God.*

From chapter 6: We could only make the best decision in a situation where there was no obvious choice. He told us that either choice involved potential guilt and loss. We might have to ask forgiveness from God regardless of what we chose.*

Now -for the question about a perfect gift for my husband. I would hope that this book would bring him a little closer to accepting Christ. He has been on the journey for awhile now and I have hope that letting him see someone else's walk with Christ (other than mine..) would open his heart even more.

I highly recommend this read for where ever you are in your personal journey -

*any quotes from this book are from an Advanced Reader's Copy and may not reflect the final published version.

This book also fulfills a book for the following challenges: What's in a Name, From the Stacks, Unread Authors, Countdown Challenge.