Grateful Review

Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks by Diana Butler Bass is a Christian non-fiction book on the topic of gratitude. Bass claims it to be intended for all people, not just Christians, but her use of Christian faith and scripture is so heavily present and used to define gratitude as well as a common element in the stories and examples presented that it really can't be classified as anything else.

I only gave this book 2 out of 5 stars. I was very disappointed with it and downright didn’t like it. I did like how in-depth she defined gratitude. Sharing many aspect of what it looks like as well as the benefits of it. Her four part model of gratitude (me/we and emotions/ethics) was very fascinating, but I didn’t feel that she elaborated enough on it.

The first half of the book was interesting and I could see so much potential for it being a really profound, helpful and practical book. However, it just went down-hill from there. My first issue is that she uses the “we” portion of the book to push her political platform. She seems to be using the book to emotionally deal with the results of the 2016 US election. I didn’t feel like she was still talking about gratitude, I didn’t see the connection and it didn’t even appear that she was practicing gratitude amidst what were trying times for her.

Secondly, she seems to have a habit of impressing her view and ideas onto what she reads, making them say what she wants them too. One example is her use of the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She has impressed her view of gratitude over the story to make it say and teach what she wanted us to learn. I’m not saying that her ideas about the book are necessarily wrong (there may be some truth to them), but she puts it forward as obviously the case no doubt about it when I have never heard anything like it in an analysis of the book. Furthermore she does make at least one completely incorrect statement about the book.

What was even worse is that she treated scripture the same way. She took the story of Zacchaeus and put her own spin on it to say and teach what she wanted in complete disregard for all past exegesis on the passage. Again, there may be some historical truth to her interpretation, but not in disregard to what is being directly said. It is always dangerous to look at a piece of scripture with our own views in mind first (looking to prove our theory correct instead of looking to see what God is saying). We need to first look and see what it says, who it is speaking to and in what context it is speaking, etc. and then we can extrapolate from that basis. But that is very clearly not what she did.

Furthermore, she would randomly pull individual scripture verses out of context to use as support for a point she was making in other parts of the book. But she never addressed any scriptures that very clearly say the opposite of the idea she was putting forward. All this was just too much for me. With it I felt she lost all credibility and reliability, let alone any authority to speak into the topic. This was just a bad book. I don’t hate it, but nor would I ever recommend it.

Nevermoor Review

Nevermoor : The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend is a middle grade fantasy book, first in the Nevermoor duology (with possible future books to come?). It is about Morrigan, a young girl who was one of the “cursed children” who were to die at the end of the age, which happened to be on their 11^th birthday. However, a mysterious man arrives on the eve of her “death” to whisk her away to the magical land of Nevermoor and sets her on a path of trials to join the lands most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. It was such a fun and fascinating read. The writing style flowed well and was enjoyable. I found the characters delightful and cleverly done. They fairly jumped off the page and made the journey a pleasant one. Even the bad characters were a pleasure to read (made you dislike them or cringe, etc. in just the right way). Morrigan was a wonderful person to live the story with, she was very “real” and “honest” and relatable as a person. There were so many characters with such differing personalities, that I liked for different reasons, that I couldn’t possible mention them all here.

The plot was wonderfully done and interesting. I was eager to continue reading and see what would happen next, or what mystery would be resolved. The “big reveal” came as no surprise, but that made it no less enjoyable. There is only one hole in the story that I wish she had cleared up before the end (or at least at the end of this book).

Overall this was a lovely read and I look forward to the next book. The only hitch being that the next book doesn’t come out until later this month and I won’t be able to dive right in to see what happens next now.

Top Ten Tuesday: Platonic Relationships

I thought it might be fun to try the top ten Tuesday weekly post. I don’t know if I will do this every week, but I might just throw one out there now and then. All of the books that I am including in this list (and of course any future lists) got at least 4 stars. So todays topic is some of my favorite platonic relationships in books. 

1.       Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austen – The main character, Caroline, has a pseudo-paternal relationship with an older black servant, Eli, that is so beautiful read. Their relationship influences her in so many ways and affects the decisions that she makes as we move through the story. (Christian historical fiction)

2.       Unshaken: Ruth by Francine Rivers – This was such a beautiful retelling of the Biblical story of Ruth. I love how she fleshed out the relationship between Ruth and Naomi, her mother-in-law.  (Christian Biblical retelling)

3.       Nightmare Academy by Frank Peretti – This book follows teenage twin brother and sister, Elijah and Elisha, who end up in a dangerous situation with no one else to help them. The way they rely on each other and stick by each other to make it out is very fun to read. (Christian young adult thriller)

4.       The Beautiful Pretender by Melanie Dickerson – Here the main character, Avelina, a servant sent to masquerade as a nobleman’s daughter forms an unlikely friendship with Lady Magdalen. How they connect and become so dear to each other (as well as what they do for each other) is so sweet. (Christian fairytale retelling)

5.       Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay – In this book is a lovely relationship between the main character, Samantha, and a young boy, Kevin. They form this unique friendship based on mutual experience where they are able to help each other deal with the traumas of their respective pasts and move forward into better things. (Christian contemporary)

6.       The Hawk and the Jewel by Lori Wick – I love the relationship between Sunny and her niece Holly and nephew Miles. Because they are all around the same age, they are able to form a type of relationship that is closer than just friends, but  not quite siblings. How they relate to each other and interact with each other is fascinating and fun. I also really liked looking at the brother / sister relationship she had as her brother was old enough to be her father, but of course he isn’t. (Christian historical romance)

7.       Entwined by Heather Dixon – The main character, Azalea, is part of a large family of girls who have a distant and slightly dysfunctional relationship with their father. I love seeing how they learn to understand each other and relate to each other in a loving and health way. Of course we also get to see the sibling dynamic with sisters both close in age and where there is a large age gap. (Young adult fairytale retelling)

8.       Winter by Marissa Meyer – This is the final book in the Lunar Chronicles and has a fantastic group of friends dynamic. These people are all very different, in personality and background, but they bond together to accomplish their goal and become truly wonderful friends. They complement each other in the best way and it is because of their uniting together that they succeed. (Young adult sci-fi)

9.       The Host by Stephanie Meyer – I love the relationship of the main character, the parasitic alien Wanderer, and the human host, Melanie. This is such a unique relationship to look at and I found it fascinating and cleverly done. (Young adult fantasy/ sci-fi)

10.   P. S. I Like You by Kasie West – Lily, the main character, and her best friend have such a strong relationship. I loved seeing how they grew closer to each other and learned the value of their friendship. It was also really nice to see them go through something that could have torn them apart, but to rise above it and stick together. (Young adult contemporary)

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.