Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Review: The Second Season by Heather Chapman

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Historical, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

second-season-blog-tourThe Second Season
Heather Chapman
Cedar Fort
Available September 1, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About The Second Season

Eleanor Hopkins has lived in disappointment for far too long believing that her husband only married her for fortune, and she determines to protect her own daughters from such misery by scheming to secure offers for both Lucy and Caroline based on mutual rank and reputation. When Caroline finds that the handsome and reputable Lord Searly desires her as his wife, she finds that no amount of planning or pretending can convince her to accept him. Instead, she is confronted with an unexpected and reluctant suitor in the respectable shoemaker Thomas Clark.

My Review

The story is a bit unusual in that it flips back and forth between the present, in which sisters Lucy and Caroline seek husbands in London, and the past, in which their parents enjoyed a whirlwind romance and a disappointing marriage. I liked the juxtaposition of the past and present and the fact that the story was told from so many different points of view. I wanted the parents’ story to have some kind of satisfying ending, but on the other hand, not everyone’s story does, right? So that kind of made it more realistic. I loved that Tom was a shoemaker. I don’t read tons of this particular genre, but I liked that it was the humble tradesman who had worked so hard to improve himself who got to shine.

The Second Season is a pretty quick read at under 200 pages. I kind of loved and hated that, too. Some parts felt rushed, and I wanted to linger especially in the budding romance phase of the tale instead of pushing through to the next bit. Overall, though, it was an enchanting, romantic story.

Cultural Elements
Important characters are English middle or upper class.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A couple of m/f kisses. At one point, a creepy guy plots to create a scenario in which the woman he desires to marry appears to have her honor compromised and will then be forced to marry him. All that still stays pretty PG.

Spiritual Content
Caroline discovers Tom having a private picnic and reading the Bible.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

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

About Heather Chapman

Being the youngest of four sisters (and one very tolerant older brother), Heather grew up on a steady diet of chocolate, Anne of Green Gables, Audrey Hepburn, Jane Austen, and the other staples of female literature and moviedom. These stories inspired Heather to begin writing at an early age. After meeting and marrying her husband Mark, Heather graduated magna cum laude from Brigham Young University and finally settled down in a small farming community in southeastern Idaho with her husband and four children. In her spare time, Heather enjoys time spent with family, volleyball, piano, the outdoors, and almost anything creative.

Visit the Other Stops on the Tour

September 13: Live to Read | Bookworm 2 Bookworm
September 14: Rockin’ Book Reviews | Robyn Echols Books
September 15: Bookworm Lisa | Fire and Ice
September 16: Megan Linski
September 17: Literary Time Out
September 18: Jorie Loves a Story
September 19: Katie’s Clean Book Collection | Julie Coulter Bellon
September 20: Geo Librarian | Jorie Loves a Story | The Dragon’s Nook
September 21: Mel’s Shelves
September 22: Getting Your Read On
September 23: The Things I Love Most | Singing Librarian Books
September 24: Hardcover Feedback | A Bliss Complete
September 25: Inklings and Notions | Blooming With Books
September 26: Storyweaver
September 27: Novel-ties
September 28: My Book a Day
September 29: Wishful Endings | The Story Sanctuary – You are here!
September 30: Writing Worm

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Review: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , ,

The One and Only Ivan
Katherine Applegate
HarperCollins

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Ivan has a small life within the glass walls of his domain in the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. He watches TV and spends time with Bob, a stray dog, and Stella, an elephant. He makes art using crayons and paper given to him by his owner, Mack. He doesn’t think of his early life or his far away home in the jungle. And then Ruby, a baby elephant comes to the Big Top Mall, and everything changes. The mall is the wrong place for Ruby, and it’s up to Ivan to make everyone see that. He must find a way to show the humans where he and Ruby belong.

My family and I listened to an audiobook version of this story on our way home from vacation. We had listened to Flora and Ulysses a few days earlier, which was a tough act to follow. As The One and Only Ivan began, I wasn’t sure I’d like it. The beginning contains a lot of descriptions of where Ivan lives and who else lives there. It felt like not much was happening. Not much does happen until Ruby comes into the picture. Suddenly Ivan has a goal, a mission, and he won’t stop until he succeeds. For me, the story was much more entertaining at that point. My favorite character was Bob, the stray dog who always has some smart-aleck comment but who has a sweet heart underneath.

At the end of the story is an author’s note describing how Applegate was inspired by a real gorilla’s tale. Ivan was a real gorilla in captivity who spent later years of his life at the Atlanta Zoo (which I really want to visit!) I thought it was really cool to bring a real story into a novel like this.

Though the overall pace was a little slow for me, I did enjoy reading this book. It has been on my To Read list since it came out in 2012, so I’m glad to finally be able to say I read it. If you like stories featuring animals as central characters, this is a definitely must-read.

Cultural Elements
Most of the characters are animals. I can’t remember any race descriptions.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Ivan mentions that he sometimes flings dung at rude visitors. (He’s in a glass enclosure, so it’s ineffective.)

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

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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: The Last Messenger of Zitol

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

If you’ve been following the blog tour for author Chelsea Dyreng’s novel The Last Messenger of Zitól, you’ve made it to today’s stop! I’ll be sharing my review and some information about the author.

The Last Messenger of Zitól
Chelsea Dyreng
Sweetwater Books/Cedar Fort Press
Available September 1, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Rishi longs to visit the grand city of Zitól described in her grandfather’s stories. When her peaceful village is attacked, Rishi finds her path set toward the city, but whether she’s caught in an adventure or a nightmare is uncertain. The city has changed from her grandfather’s time, and now the people of Zitól believe in pursuing pleasure and in human sacrifice to please the gods. Rishi vows to protect her virtue, her most valuable treasure, in a city bent on destroying it. When she’s tasked with bringing a message to the gods, she embraces the honor wholeheartedly, longing to bring a change to the people and most particularly to the man she loves.

I thought it was interesting that the story is narrated by the ruler of Zitól. His story begins early in the tale and drops off for a time before reappearing. I liked his character. I liked Rishi, too, and the fact that she valued learning and virtue.

Her village shares a ceremony in which girls are given a white bead to symbolize their purity as virgins. They remain so until they marry and their husband gives them a turquoise bead in place of the white one. This definitely places a high value on virginity, and when one of the girls is attacked and raped, her bead is replaced with a brown bead, and she feels horribly ashamed. Rishi tries to return the girl’s white bead to her, explaining that since the attack wasn’t her choice, she should still be considered pure. The girl refuses to accept the bead.

The message about how pursuing pleasure leads to pleasing only oneself versus how pursuing love leads to a willingness to sacrifice for the good of others is admirable and well-integrated into the story. I also liked the way Dyreng uses dreams to play a role in the way the story unfolds.

While I loved that the story celebrated purity as a desirable thing (not a popular value so much in our culture today), I thought it was harsh on the girls whose lives didn’t match that ideal. This might be a confusing story for someone who has experienced abuse or trauma or is dealing with feelings of shame over sexual activity. See the notes below for other details on content.

Cultural Elements
Rishi’s village is attacked by a wild tribe of men described as short with flat noses. Her people are islanders. There aren’t many racial details given about many characters or the people of Zitól itself.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Because of the very strong value placed on purity, this might be a confusing story for someone who has experienced abuse or trauma or is dealing with feelings of shame over sexual activity. Rishi and her friends are kidnapped and brought to a woman who intends to sell them. She believes men can be controlled with sex, and uses the tribal men who work for her as examples by offering one of the girls to them as a reward for doing her bidding. They rape and brutalize her (not shown) before returning her to her friends.

The woman hints that she intends to sell the girls for sex in some fashion. Keeping concubines is popular in Zitól.

One of the leaders in Zitól tries to convince a girl that because he is a holy man, sleeping with him will not compromise her virtue. When this fails, he attempts to starve her into submission. At one point he tries to touch her and she stops him.

Rishi and her love exchange kisses. He wants to share more, but she refuses.

Spiritual Content
Rishi’s people believe in multiple gods. She also believes that the stars are the spirits of those who’ve lived before her. In Zitól, the people also believe in many gods as well as human sacrifice. Their ruler is said to be half-god.

Violent Content
Rishi’s three older brother’s play pranks on her. Tribal men attach Rishi’s village and later, rape one village girl and attempt to rape another. One of the leaders in Zitól keeps a starving jaguar which threatens to attack. A man cuts another man with a knife.

Drug Content
None.

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

About Chelsea Dyreng

web site | facebook | twitter

Chelsea Bagley Dyreng is the author of “The Cenote.” She was raised in Wyoming and Idaho and earned her BA at Brigham Young University. She worked for several years as a librarian before moving to North Carolina where she and her husband are raising five God-fearing, book-loving, adventure-seeking kids.

Check out the Other Stops on the Tour

September 12: A Bliss Complete | Compass Book Ratings
September 13: Rockin’ Book Reviews | Bookworm Lisa
September 14: My Reading Spot
September 15: Bookfever
September 16: Kristin Smith | Wishful Endings
September 17: Hardcover Feedback
September 18: Geo Librarian
September 19: Singing Librarian Books
September 20: Mel’s Shelves
September 21: My Book a Day
September 22: The Things I Love Most
September 23: Writing Worm | Reader Girls
September 24: The Story Sanctuary – YOU ARE HERE
September 25: Bonding Over Bindings | Kindle & Me
September 26: Joy in the Moments
September 27: Crossroad Reviews
September 28: All About Baby’s World
September 29: Reidhead Random-ness
September 30: Tastes Like Joy

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.”

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Review: This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, ,

This Adventure Ends
Emma Mills
Henry Holt & Co
Available October 4, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When Sloane’s family moves from New York to Florida before her senior year, she doesn’t feel she’s left much behind. A party brings her within the gravitational field of Vera, a social media starlet, and Gabe, her intensely serious twin brother with a justice complex. Without meaning to, Sloane falls into twins’ social circle, and ever deeper into their lives. When a beloved painting by their late mother goes missing, Sloane makes secret plans to bring it back. This is a problem she can fix, she knows it.

At home, Sloane’s family begins to feel more and more fractured, and finding the painting, freeing the twins from their grief, becomes an all-consuming project for Sloane. Too soon she’s forced to ask the question she can’t bear to face. What happens if she can’t bring the painting home?

Earlier this year I read First & Then by Emma Mills, which totally charmed me. I still like it, and I was nervous but also excited about reading another book by this author, because once you have those high expectations, it can be really awful if the story doesn’t live up, you know?

Well. This one blew me away. I laughed. I bawled. I sneaked out of my room in the middle of the night (after my husband was like omg, would you please go to sleep??) because I could NOT rest until I knew the ending of the book.

This book is like a list of my favorite things. Witty dialogue. An emo boy (I know, but it’s really a thing.) A deep and surprising emotional journey. True friendships from unexpected places.

I love it with all the sweat of all the babies. (Nevermind. Just read it. You’ll understand.)

Cultural Elements
Vera and Gabe’s mom is from the Dominican Republic. One of their friends is Indian. Vera and her girlfriend are lesbians.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Sloane stops a bully from picking on another boy and makes a comment about him belonging at home masturbating alone. A couple boy-girl kisses. Vera dates a girl named Tash. The vampire TV show Sloane’s dad is obsessed with features two boys who are star-crossed lovers. Sloane reads a bit of racy fan fic. No details.

Spiritual Content
Sloane’s dad becomes obsessed with writing fan fic based on a TV show featuring vampires.

Violent Content
Boys get into a fist fight.

Drug Content
In the opening scene, Sloane is at a party where teens drink alcohol. Later, a drunk friend asks her to pick him up and give him a ride home.

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

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