Category Archives: Nonfiction

Review: Liked by Kari Kampakis

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Nonfiction, , , , ,

Liked by Kari KampakisLiked: Whose Approval are You Living For?
Kari Kampakis
Thomas Nelson
Published November 15, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Maintaining an online presence through social media can be tricky to navigate no matter your age. Author Kari Kampakis presents advice to teen girls about using social media in a way that’s godly and healthy, too. She discusses ways to keep priorities straight—making sure life doesn’t become about how many “likes” you accrue on a post or photo. She discusses how to handle relationship issues that can arise from miscommunication or thoughtlessness on social media. Through each page, Kampakis shares her wisdom like a cheerleader, making the reader feel like she’s totally on your side and wants the best for you.

We haven’t quite crossed the kids-on-social-media barrier yet in our house, but it’s fast approaching. I found this book as I began to look for resources on good guidelines and recommendations for keeping a balance of freedom and supervision as well as something that my girl and I can read and talk about before starting that wild foray into the online community. Okay, that sounded bad. I hope it won’t be a wild foray. She’s a good kid, so I’m not worried, but it’s a lot of responsibility, you know? In just a few seconds you can post something that can lead to massive regrets later. So yeah, I definitely wanted someone who has been through the trenches (Kampakis has four daughters of her own) to offer some counsel and wisdom.

Which is exactly what I found in this book. Each chapter has bulleted lists exploring some of the ideas, like twenty ways to grow an active faith, or eight ways to be a world changer. They’re big ideas, but the author breaks them down into bite-sized, practical steps. Each chapter also features discussion questions and highlighted Bible verses. The book would make a great small group study or a one-on-one resource for accountability partners or a mom and daughter team to share.

The only thing that occurred to me about the book is that it’s so clearly meant for girls, and I didn’t think it necessarily needs to be that way. A lot of the concepts really come down to identifying insecurity and good friendships versus bad ones, and all that information seems relevant to boys, too. If it had been less girl-geared, it would maybe made a good resource for mixed groups.

Other than that thought, I really enjoyed this book and have already talked to my daughter about studying it together. I definitely recommend this for parents and especially younger teens who are beginning to explore the social media world.

Recommended for Ages 11 up.

Cultural Elements
No race information given in the snippets of stories about girls that open each chapter.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
There’s one very brief and gentle mention that references girls having regrets about posting compromising pictures online afterward. Kampakis also recommends having someone check any photos uploaded to be sure there’s nothing inappropriate in them. She uses the example that someone wanted to share a picture that had, in the background, a girl who was changing clothes. The girl taking the picture hadn’t noticed it.

Spiritual Content
The book focuses a lot on how a girl’s relationship with God should shape the rest of her life, including her social media presence. Uses NLT version for Bible references.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Save

Review: Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

Book Review and Content, Memoir, Nonfiction, , , , , ,

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things
Jenny Lawson
Flatiron Books
Published September 22, 2015

Amazon | Barnes & Noble |  Goodreads

It doesn’t seem possible to write a hilarious book about depression and anxiety, but that’s exactly what author Jenny Lawson has done in Furiously Happy. Her wacky adventures fill the pages and her unique view of herself and the world around her challenge readers to embrace their own weird. She has a keen sense of irony and writes in a rambling-yet-engrossing way. She takes readers through the highs and lows of book tours, a trip to Australia, and the challenges of depression and anxiety in daily life.

I think I read this book at exactly the right time. I’d seen it on several blogger’s Top Ten Tuesday lists for various reasons, and had it on my wish list. This fall, as my own anxiety levels rose, I felt like maybe the time had come to read something funny and perhaps to add some additional coping skills to my arsenal.

Reading the book challenged me to think about my own life and the areas in which I pressure myself to be perfect or to perform a certain way. There are a lot more than I realized. I love the openness in Furiously Happy and the way Lawson sort of throws things out there, acknowledges her shortcomings but embraces even the difficult parts of who she is. I think we all need more of that in our lives.

Parts of the book made me laugh out loud—actually, much of the book did exactly that. Sometimes that’s all we can do, right? Laugh at the difficult times and find the irony or bizarre humor in the way events unfold around us. Life’s too short not to enjoy the quirks and weirdness that makes us tick. I definitely needed that message, and I recommend this book for anyone struggling with similar feelings.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
Jenny receives a small handmade model of a vagina with a doll inside that’s meant to be used as an educational aid for kids learning about childbirth.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Several mentions of drinking alcohol or being drunk.

 

Save

Save

Review: Girl Talk by Lois Walfrid Johnson

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Nonfiction, , , , ,

Girl Talk: 52 Weekly Devotions by FaithGirlz
Lois Walfrid Johnson
Zonderkidz
Published May 4, 2010

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

A while back I reviewed a girls’ bible study that left me disappointed—both in the appropriateness of the subject matter for the age group and in some of the teaching. Since then I’ve been on the hunt for a devotional or study that my eleven-year-old and I could do together, something that addresses some of the issues she faces on a daily and weekly basis.

Girl Talk is set up in chapters, one for each week. Each chapter begins with a story in which the main character faces an obstacle or choice. Sometimes the story ends with the dilemma unsolved, and the questions instruct the reader to share what she thinks should happen next and why. Other times the character makes a choice (good or bad) and the reader is asked to evaluate the outcome.

The issues raised definitely fall within the kinds of things my daughter and I frequently discuss. The girls in the stories face issues with friends at school or bullying. They struggle with family situations and challenges with parents or siblings.

Each Girl Talk story is followed by a series of discussion questions meant to be tackled over each day through the rest of the week. The chapters begin with a scripture that addresses a key issue from the story and end with a written prayer also relating to the topic from the chapter.

If you do the devotional this way, it should only take a few minutes to read the story and answer a question on each day. If you wanted to use the book for a more concentrated study, I think it would make a great source for a weekly meeting, as the questions all relate to each other and gradually lead to a conclusion.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with this book, and I’ve already talked to my daughter about doing the lessons together. She’s really excited. The only thing I can think to say that I wish was done differently was the fact that culturally it felt very bland. I think it could have been cool to see more of an ethnic feel and some diversity to the characters featured in the stories. Other than that, I loved it and definitely recommend it to girls looking for gentle but grounded, practical devotions.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12

Cultural Elements
A few of the girls featured have ethnic names. One is Chinese, a couple are Spanish. Beyond this, the stories read pretty generically in terms of race or culture. It would have been cool to see them infused with a more diverse feel. I recognize they’re really short stories, and there’s not a lot of time for developing setting and character, but I think it could have had more of a diverse feel than it did.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
See review. The devotional explores real life situations and girls who want to behave in a manner consistent with Christian values. The lessons instruct girls using Bible verses and prayer.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
In one of the stories, a girl’s mother drinks too much and neglects her younger sister.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Review: Irena’s Children by Tilar J. Mazzeo

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Memoir, Middle Grade 8-12, Nonfiction, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Irena’s Children: Young Readers Edition
Tilar J Mazzeo
Translated by Mary Cronk Farrell
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available September 27, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

During World War II, Irena Sendler worked with an underground network to rescue 2,500 Jewish children from Nazi occupied Poland. Her unwavering commitment to human rights began long before the war, and endured through her own incarceration and torture. She worked tirelessly to save as many as she could, and through it all insisted that she was not a hero. She’d only done what any ordinary human would do.

Though it’s nonfiction, I could not put this book down. I was so captured by the life of this incredible woman and the way her life affected so many people. I love that there’s a young reader’s edition of this story, especially because it was a group of students whose research drew community interest in Irena’s largely untold story.

This may be one of the most inspiring stories I’ve ever read. I think what touched me most was the fact that throughout her life she insisted she wasn’t a hero. That anyone could do what she’d done. And I believe that is true. That we can each make an incredible difference in the world if it’s what we pursue.

I read her story and think about some of the things happening in our own country now. While I don’t want to draw a comparison between our nation and Nazi occupied Warsaw, there are injustices happening around us. I think about the courage with which Irena Sendler faced each day, and the resolve she must have felt as she set out to rescue each child. It didn’t begin with the Nazi occupation. She stood up against prejudice during her time in college, and it nearly cost her education. It would have been easy to sit down quietly and ignore what was happening around her. To just worry about herself and her own life. Instead she protested along with her Jewish peers.

It’s easy to look back at history and say we would have been among those who fiercely opposed Nazi ideas. How many of us really would have done it, though, at risk to our own lives and the lives of our families? This is the kind of story that really challenges you to think about those things. And they’re worthy things to think about. In the end, I want Irena to be right that she’s not a hero, that her faith in us, in humanity to stand up for one another, is well-placed. That truly, ordinary people reach out to help and protect others, no matter how different from us they may be.

Recommended Reading Age: 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Follows the story of Jewish and Polish historical figures.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Irena and her network save some children by having them baptized into the Christian faith. Some families and members of the Jewish community object to this practice and some refused to let their children participate

Violent Content
Disease and starvation plague the Jewish ghetto. The story talks briefly about the terrible cruelty of the Nazi soldiers toward the Jews, even toward babies. Few details are given, but it’s tragic and awful to think about it.

Drug Content
Irena visits a club in the wealthier side of the ghetto to hear a famous singer. Doctors perform operations with limited medical means. Irena smuggles vaccines into the ghetto.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: 30 Days of Goodness, Love and Grace by Susie Shellenberger

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Nonfiction, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

30 Days of Goodness, Grace and Love: A Faithgirlz Bible Study
Susie Shellenberger
Zonderkidz

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

This Bible study contains three parts. Part one explores the power of goodness through the book of Colossians. In part two, the author explores love via the story of Ruth. Part three teaches about the power of grace through the book of 1 Peter. Each part is broken down into sections, one for each chapter. Each section contains “bites,” smaller, more focused portions. The author suggests completing one bite per sitting. Each section closes with a review to complete with a friend or Bible study group.

I’m not sure why the title says 30 Days. I expected the book to be broken down into thirty chunks, but it isn’t. Each section contains roughly eight or ten bites, so even that works out weirdly for use with a weekly study group. If there were seven bites per section, that would break down perfectly. And then it would be a simple thirteen week study. But it’s not. The way it’s mapped out, while confusing, isn’t my biggest issue with the book.

Let me start with what I liked. My absolute favorite piece was a short article about how to choose a Bible that’s right for you. It followed a study on the importance of reading the Bible, which made it very well-timed. The advice was practical (do you want a big Bible or something you can slip inside your purse?) and thoughtful (consider a study Bible, here’s why…). Overall, I found it impressive. Great moment.

I love the story of Ruth and Boaz. It’s one of my favorites, so I was really excited that it’s included in this study. Some of it I really liked and thought was insightful. Other parts were a bit confusing. One such thing was a long passage explaining how mortgages and the Year of Jubilee worked. While it was fascinating to me as an adult, I don’t know that it translates well for girls in the study’s target age and it never really tied to the study in a critical way. I think it could have been left out entirely.

I requested to review this book because my daughter is eleven. The description suggests this study for eight to twelve year-old girls, and I was really hoping my girl and I could work this study together. There are several reasons why that’s not going to happen:

  1. Some of the content is too mature for her age. There are examples about girls sexting and a lot of focus on dating and preparing for marriage (I’d say about 1/3 of the content of the book focuses on this). That’s just NOT where we’re at, and I have to wonder how many families with girls this age are looking for a study with this type of content.
  2. The section on goodness largely focuses on outward behavior. It seems to imply that being a better Christian means talking about God all the time, to everyone, including your Facebook community. While I think spiritual transparency is a good thing, I don’t feel that the true meaning of goodness was deeply addressed in the section. It was more like, here’s a list of things that good people do. Make sure you do all of them.
  3. One the author comes back to several times is that ideas and curiosity can be dangerous. I had a really hard time with this. I want my daughter to ask questions, to think about things. Now, I want her to take her questions to trusted sources: me, other mentors, the Bible, etc. But I don’t want her to grow up thinking that curiosity or questions are bad. Questions are a part of life. My favorite Bible heroes often questioned God in pretty bold ways!
  4. Some examples used to support or explain scripture don’t really fit. For example the author talks about Revelations 3:16: “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” The example that follows is the story about placing a frog in lukewarm water, then heating it, and he dies once the water gets hot. Whereas, if you put him in hot water, he’ll jump out. I just don’t see how those two things connect in a parallel way. The frog stays in lukewarm water. He jumps out of the hot water. It’s the opposite of what the scripture is saying. I get the point, I just don’t think this story supported it.

Overall, I find myself disappointed. I think this would be a better study (if edited for consistency) for girls ages fourteen to sixteen.

I’m still on the hunt for a good study for my daughter and me. If you’ve done one you love, please comment below and tell me about it! I’ll be sure to post about it if I find a good one.

Cultural Elements
Some references to differences in culture in Jews vs. Gentiles in Biblical times.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Conversations about dating. One quiz question asks about a girl who has been “sexting” boys.

Spiritual Content
See above. The introduction to the section on Colossians talks about how combining ideas outside Christianity into faith (adding bits of Buddhism for instance) makes one no longer a Christian. (I do agree with this, but I wish she’d clarified that finding common ground between belief systems is different than adding outside beliefs to one’s own.) There’s a comment later about how Satan will use curiosity to destroy, and the example given is like, people who got curious about Satanism end up in over their heads. I kinda get what she’s saying, but it was a really extreme example that probably doesn’t apply to most kids.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
One quiz question features a girl tempted to smoke a cigarette.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Save

Save

Review: Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee and Susan Elizabeth McClelland

Book Review and Content, Memoir, Nonfiction, , , , ,

Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea
Sunju Lee and Susan Elizabeth McClelland
Amulet Books
Published September 13, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Every Falling Star

EVERY FALLING STAR, the first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, is the intense memoir of a North Korean boy named Sungju who is forced at age twelve to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly re-creates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, his “brothers”; to be hungry and to fear arrest, imprisonment, and even execution. This riveting memoir allows young readers to learn about other cultures where freedoms they take for granted do not exist.

My Review

Intense is a great word for this book. I’ve seen a couple of documentaries about North Korea, but nothing is more personal and moving than the story of someone who lived there. Sungju describes his early life in Pyongyang and the fierce national pride he felt for his country. His beliefs are challenged when his family is forced to leave the capital for a small impoverished city where food shortages cause many people to risk trips into China—an offense punishable by execution if they’re caught.

While EVERY FALLING STAR is a difficult story, Sungju shares so much hope. Ultimately it’s a story about the bonds of love, both within family and between close friends, and redemption. To read the end of the tale and learn what the author has accomplished can’t help but be inspiring, and to make us grateful for the freedoms we have, and the ability to share them with others.

I highly recommend this book. EVERY FALLING STAR was so good, would read it again. It would make a great resource for a current events class or a world cultures class.

Cultural Elements
Most characters are North Korean.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
At one point, the boys work as runners for a brothel, helping recruit customers.

Spiritual Content
A few references to Chilseong, a deity and shan-shin-ryong-nim, good spirits thought to live in rocks and mountains. Sungju’s family shared these beliefs with him and they bring him comfort during his life as a street boy.

Violent Content
Sungju and his schoolmates have to attend public executions. Sungju describes them briefly. Later, his gang must battle other street boys for the right to stay in a particular city.

Drug Content
The boys in the street gang drink alcohol and smoke.

Note: This post contains affiliate links which do not cost you anything to use but which help support my blog. I received a free copy of EVERY FALLING STAR in exchange for my honest review.