Mandie and the Secret Tunnel Review

Mandie and the Secret Tunnel by Lois Gladys Leppard is a Christian children’s historical story and the first book in the Mandie Mysteries series about a young girl named Mandie. When her father dies, her world is thrown upside down and she tries to find out where she belongs now. With the aid of her Native American Uncle Ned, she will find the place God has prepared for her.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. It was a lovely read. The writing style reminded me of a mix between Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables. I really liked the flow of events and how Mandie grew in her faith through them. I was surprised by how much I liked the mystery element to the story and how it hooked me. I was even more impressed with the ‘big reveal’ of the mystery and how I never would have predicted it and loved it.

I think this is a fantastic story for young girls. It has many real life elements (especially historically) to discuss and lessons about life and God that will be meaningful to them. The only element to the story I wasn’t too fond of was the romance. I didn’t feel that it was needed, especially as Mandie was only 12 (and many of the readers I imagine are that age and younger). I felt it was just addressed prematurely. The whole young crushes thing I don't really mind, but I feel it would have been better to hold off on them confronting feelings until future books.

That being said, I still think it is a wonderful story for young girls and look forward to seeing what is to come for Mandie in the coming books.

Cheers to the Diaper Years Review

Cheers to the Diaper Years: 10 Truths for Thriving While Barely Surviving by Erin Brown Hollis is a Christian non-fiction book on the topic of motherhood. 

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. It was okay. I am sorry to say that I found her voice to be choppy and often like she is trying too hard to be “our friend.” I also found myself frequently confused by how she phrased things. On top of that, sometimes it felt like she was making references (maybe to movies? music?) that I just didn’t get.

However, the main content was helpful, encouraging, valuable and timely for me. I needed reminders like it not being a mistake that I am mother to my kids and that God cares more about the state of my heart than the state of my house. Hollis had some very important truths here; some that we either forget to apply to our motherhood status or we kind of know in the back of our mind but never stopped to really dwell on, etc.

Overall, I appreciated what she had to say, just didn’t mesh well with her voice.

Mary Poppins Review

Mary Poppins by P L Travers is a children’s chapter book about a magical nannie that shows up at the house of young Jane, Michael, John and Barbara Banks. And thus begins a series of unusual doings.

I am sad to say that this book only got a 2 out of 5 star from me. The story really took me by surprise and not in a good way. I enjoyed the familiar magical adventures and wonderful oddities, but must say that I didn’t like Mary Poppins herself. She was vain, arrogant and moody and not a very nice or pleasant person. I didn’t understand why the children and others seemed to like her so much, there didn’t seem to be any ground for it. I suppose a child wouldn’t notice that and would simply enjoy the mystical and unusual things happening, but it put me off. The other characters were all a bit flat and / or we only saw them in one story (one chapter) so couldn’t build that likeable connection to them.

The plot was definitely different than the movie. It was a fairly random series of events and stories that didn’t really teach lessons or pull together to tell a specific “story” other than: these things took place because they had a magical nannie. I have to say that I miss an overarching plot, but don’t know that it is strictly necessary here (especially for the young intended audience).

Overall, I didn’t feel like we learned anything or that the children grew (character-wise). It is just a collection of unusual things taking place because Mary Poppins happened to be there. I found it disappointing and with messages about behavior that I wouldn’t want my children taking away from it (rudeness, vanity, and arrogance being okay in adults, misbehavior to be okay from kids). I may read the second book to see if it gets any better, but I haven’t decided yet.

A Wind in the Door Review

A Wind in the Door by Madeline L’Engle is the second book in her middle grade science fiction Time Quintet. It picks up with Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace shortly after Charles has begun first grade. Things aren’t going well for him. He is being bullied and there is a serious problem with his health. Then they encounter a supernatural being who calls himself their “Teacher” and sets them all assignments with a fellow “student”(a cherubim) with the goal of saving Charles Wallace.

I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars. It was okay. The story is kind of interesting, but I found it to be very slow and some parts overly scientific (especially with terminology). The scientific content doesn’t seem to fit with the intended age group (too complex). Besides that, It took me forever to figure out what the plot is supposed to be. I did like some of the thoughts presented, like the nature of love (and it not being a feeling) as well as the concept of what is “real” being real regardless of what we think or have experienced. And there were some good lessons in here about patience and understanding others.

It didn’t help my level of enjoyment any that Meg was the character we follow the most; the other familiar ones just weren’t present as much. Not to mention how obnoxious she was. She was whiney and constantly being contrary and obstinate. She showed no real character development until like the last chapter. None of the other characters were very likeable either, except Calvin (who we didn’t see a great deal of). However the cherubim grew on me by the end.

As for the Christian elements, they were definitely there (ex} Biblical creatures). Just like in the first book, L’Engle’s faith is clearly present in the book and I liked that. However, some of the ideas put forward might be a bit over the heads of children and too much for them to try to wrap their minds around.

Overall, I wasn’t that impressed by this one. It wasn’t nearly as good as the first. I do think I will continue with the series to see if it improves, but if it doesn't I may have to drop it. 

One Thousand Gifts Review

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp is a Christian non-fiction book on the topics of joy and gratitude through a partial memoir format.

I was really anticipating this book, but was sad to find it didn’t rise up to my hopes. I ended up giving it only 3 out of 5 stars, it was just okay. I found Voskamp’s voice difficult to read. Her writing style just didn’t work for me, it was often confusing and / or unclear. Sometimes it was like she was trying to write in a thought process or in a dialogue like manner, but it was just frustrating to make sense of. I found myself many times wishing she would just write in complete and clear sentences.

This is especially sad, since I think Voskamp has something important to say here. Not only on the topic of gratitude itself, but also a practical application that could have an immense impact on our individual walks of learning to be grateful and accepting the gift of joy. Furthermore, she discusses the effect of gratitude on trust, anxiety and fear (which is an area of my own life that I have struggled with for years).

Overall, I have learned a number of valuable messages and tricks to set myself on the right path to finding joy and full trust in God. However, the writing style just bogged me down and made it so much harder to get through.

After I Do Review

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid is an adult contemporary romance. It is about a woman named Lauren. She has been with her husband since she was 19, but lately things have been falling apart. So, in order to try and save their marriage, she and her husband agree to a year apart (with no contact). So begins a year of growth and learning what love and marriage are really all about.

I gave this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It was a very interesting book. I appreciated this look into marriage, love, etc. from the world’s perspective. Having grown up in the church and being raised with a Biblical viewpoint on marriage, I have never been able to understand or relate to non-believers on the topic. Throughout this story it seemed so clear to me why God has made marriage the way He did. This seemed to show in clear detail how hard it is if we don’t have, or I imagine keep, God at the heart of our marriages. Even though I disagree with the worldview and ideology expressed in the book, I find it helpful in understanding the people around me who are not believers and beneficial to how I can interact with them (especially in dialogue about marriage).

One thing I found fascinating was that the main character turns 30 in this book and I am turning 30 next month (so I have a unique perspective with her). I was really able to see the parallels, or lack of, from Biblical living compared to world living, etc.

There was some cursing in the book and I found that distracting whenever it came up, but thankfully it was only occasionally present. The sexual content was also a bit more than I am normally comfortable with, but it wasn’t overly descriptive. I was able to appreciate that Reid only got as descriptive as she needed to for context within the plot (it played a role in the development of the story). Not that the sex was needed, but the level of description varied based on necessity. So I wasn’t totally okay with it, but can understand it’s presence.

Overall this was an interesting and thought provoking read (especially coming at it from a Christian perspective). Because of the content I wasn’t able to “really like” or “love” this book, but it is still a good read. It would probably be a great book to dialogue in a group setting.

The Orphan's Wish Review

The Orphan’s Wish by Melanie Dickerson is a Christian historical fiction set in Germany during the Holy Roman Empire. It is the 8^th book in the Hagenheim series and is a retelling of Aladdin. The young Aladdin is rescued as an orphaned child on the streets in the Holy Land and taken to Hagenheim where he befriends the Duke’s daughter Krystin and sets out to make something of himself.

Like all of Dickerson’s books, this was a wonderful, quick, easy and fun read. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars. The writing style flows so well and moves things along at a swift pace that keeps you turning the pages. As with her previous books, Dickerson is so clever in her retelling of this fairytale. I love how creative she is in molding the story to fit into a specific place and time in the real world, and make it so realistic that you would think that it could possibly have happened.

I was pleasantly surprised that Aladdin was the main character (usually the female is the main character or it is fairly equally split between the male and female leads). Predominantly following Aladdin’s perspective was different and lovely and I really enjoyed the change. All the characters were so well done. They were multifaceted and felt quite real.

The overall plot was captivating and thrilling. I felt so many different emotions as I read and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. There were a few times when the pacing felt like it was slowing down, but it always picked up again. I especially liked that there was one chapter after they were married and an epilogue. It is a unique perspective to see after a couple gets married and I always love getting a glimpse of the future of a couple that I become invested in through the story. This was even more of a pleasant surprise as all the other books in the series end with the wedding day.

As with her other books, the faith of the characters in God was portrayed so realistically (especially within the context of the time). Some had strong faith where as others seemed more “Christian” because of society expectations than because they actually had a relationship with God. It was nice to see those people with true faith lean on God and learn from Him in all that they go through.

The romance was sweet and heartwarming. I liked the childhood friends to lovers theme with all the memories they shared and the growing of love. It was also nice to see them learn to see themselves through the others eyes. As for the sexual content: there was kissing and hugging, but nothing too descriptive.

Overall I was not disappointed with this book. I had fun reading it and think it is a wonderful addition to this series. Only now I am eager for her next book to be released and don’t know when that will be.