Personal Reading
The Calling of Emily Evans (Women of the West Book #1)
by Janette Oke
by Janette Oke
The first of eight standalone novels in Janette Oke's Women of the West collection. Emily Evans is going to Bible school and feels called to Christian ministry. The book doesn't give a date for the story, but it is a time when there are automobiles and horse & buggies at the same time. Apparently, Emily's denomination has no problem with women being preachers or leading a mission (though they are not allowed to marry, bury, or baptize), so she is sent out alone to a small prairie town to start a church. The story was ok, not great (not as good as the Love Comes Softly or When Calls the Heart series). I don't have an issue with women missionaries and teachers, but the New Testament doesn't allow for women pastors. In this book, there are several young women who become "preachers." Not one of my favorites by this author.
Julia's Last Hope (Women of the West Book #2)
by Janette Oke
The second of eight standalone novels in Janette Oke's Women of the West collection. Julia, her husband, and twin daughters live in a logging community in the Canadian Rockies. When the lumber mill closes permanently, the town is in danger of becoming a ghost town. Julia struggles to turn her home and the town into a tourist resort town. Spoiler: they have a few visitors, but eventually everyone in the town moves away. However, Julia realizes that God used the circumstances and experiences to give her and her family a chance to minister to and witness to some people they never would have otherwise.
A Woman Named Damaris (Women of the West Book #4)
by Janette Oke
Heart of the Wilderness (Women of the West Book #8)
by Janette Oke
The eighth of eight standalone novels in Janette Oke's Women of the West collection. Kendra is orphaned at 3 years old, then taken in by her trapper grandfather who lives in the Canadian wilderness (seems like it's north of Edmonton). Her grandfather isn't religious and doesn't put much stock in either the Indian gods and stories or the Bible. He equates them all as fairy tales and myths. Kendra enjoys living with her grandfather and has a hard time adjusting when he takes her in to the city to be educated. That doesn't last long and she goes back to home with him and educates herself by reading lots of books. Then she decides to go to Edmonton for a year of college. It is there that she finds truth about the God she's been searching for but didn't know anything about. As with all of these Women of the West books, the characters and their relationships are not as well-developed as in Janette Oke's other books (Love Comes Softly and When Calls the Heart).
Once Upon a Summer
by Janette Oke
The first of four books in the "Seasons of the Heart" series. Joshua is a twelve-year-old orphan living with his grandfather, great-uncle, and 18-year-old aunt. He likes things just the way they are and feels threatened when his great-grandpa comes to live with them and his grandpa & uncle start concocting plans to marry off his aunt. This was a delightful story, told in first person (unusual for this author). The audiobook narrator was pretty good.
Collie to the Rescue
by Albert Payson Terhune
A man comes back to his hometown to edit the local newspaper and to expose corruption in the local government. This puts him at odds with the girl with whom he's madly in love and also exposes him to increasing threats and danger from those he's trying to expose. The title is misleading: the collie does rescue the girl from an attack by a bull in the first chapter, but after that the collie virtually disappears from the story.
The Locket's Revenge
by L. E. Richmond
This is the satisfying sequel and conclusion to The Mermaid's Tale (reviewed in April 2024).
From the publisher's description: Locklyn Adair thought that finding the Sea Enchantress would lift her family’s curse. But the ramifications of her desire for a tail reach further than she could ever have dreamed. Now the entire Undersea Realm is in peril, as Circe, armed with the locket capable of controlling the Loch Ness monster, journeys to the North Sea in pursuit of revenge.
Darin Aalto’s specialty is tracking down treasure. When it looks as though a magical locket has fallen into evil hands, he joins Locklyn and her crew on an expedition to recover it, hoping to find a key to his past identity along the way. Despite having no memory of the Mermaid leading the quest, he wonders if she was more than a friend all along.
As a vengeful enchantress, fiery monster, and impending war threaten the Undersea Realm, Locklyn and Darin must decide what they are willing to sacrifice in order to stop the locket’s revenge.
It is a fascinating story, which I devoured in 24 hours. There are wonderful allusions to Biblical concepts, as well as worthwhile messages and lessons to glean (such as "the people whose opinions I care about never mind whatever it is that make me different or despised by others.")
Content considerations:
- There is danger and violence that might bother sensitive readers.
- There are allusions to unwanted advances by some male characters on some female characters.
- The main female character is very aware of the physical attractiveness of the main male character.
- There is a lot of relationship drama.
Newbery Medal Books
Roller Skates
by Ruth Sawyer
A meandering little story about a ten-year-old girl who lives in New York City. She stays who two single ladies for a year while her parents travel to Italy for the sake of her mother's health. She meets all kinds of friends and has adventures that she never would have while living with her strict parents and governess. This one is more interesting than some of the Newbery winners of this era, but it might be considered a bit slow by those who are used to more action-packed stories with tightly woven plots. (Ie. if you've been on a steady diet of Jennifer Nielsen books, this one will be a let-down :-)
Content considerations: there is a scene where the girl finds one of her adult friends murdered by her husband; and another where a younger girl dies from illness.
Genre: Historical Fiction. 1937 Newbery Medal winner.
... and now Miguel
by Jospeh Krumgold
A 12-year-old boy in New Mexico longs to join the men in his family as they take the sheep to the Sangre Christo mountains each summer. The story is about his efforts to convince his father that he is old enough. He works hard but also wishes/prays to his patron saint to do whatever it takes to make it possible. Finally, something happens (that he didn't want or expect) to make it possible for him to go. There is a lot of discussion about the belief that saints answer prayers and make things happen in this world (rather than the one and only true God). It was kind of an interesting story, except for the false theology.
Genre: Historical Fiction. 1954 Newbery Medal winner.
Young Adult Fiction
The Scourge
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Another page-turning, thrilling, non-magical fantasy novel by Jennifer Neilsen (author of The False Prince series). From the library description: Sent to a quarantine colony for plague victims where she anticipates a short and painful life, Ani Mells uncovers sinister truths about the plague and the colony as well as her own unwitting role in a devious plot. This has all that you'd expect from a Jennifer Nielsen novel -- wonderful characters, snarky dialog, wry humor, impossible dilemmas, non-stop action, and plot twists galore. There are powerful themes of friendship and loyalty, overcoming divisive prejudices, and not blindly following government authorities and narratives. If I hadn't known it was published in 2016, I would have thought she was writing about the events of 2020. And that's one thing that makes it so powerful -- it so eerily mirrors what happened with the pandemic.
Content considerations: No language issues. No sexual content beyond a kiss. Work camp type torture and beatings threatened. A few cuts. Also threat of poisonous snakes. No one is super seriously hurt on page.
Rise of the Wolf
Wrath of the Storm
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
The second & third books in the Mark of the Thief trilogy. As I said in my review of the first book, these, like all of Nielsen's books, are fast-paced and full of twists and turns and impossible situations and choices. The audiobook was excellently narrated by McLeod Andrews. If there is a word for "better than excellent," I would use it.
Content considerations: magic is a very strong element in this story, as is the mythology of the Roman gods. There is also some romance, with one kiss.
Lines of Courage
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Library description: From the assassination that triggers World War I in 1914 to Armistice Day in 1918, the story follows the fates of five young people on both sides of the conflict--each facing their portion of the war with courage, until the end of the war brings them together. Includes information on the history of the war. An excellent book about a war that is lesser known in literature than World War II. The author did a great job of exploring the lives of people on both sides of the conflict and makes the point that although the leaders and governments of countries may be evil and fight against each other, that doesn't mean the people of those countries are all evil, nor that they need to be enemies just because their countries are on different sides of a conflict. The audiobook is excellently narrated. I highly recommend this one.
Rescue
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Resistance
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
From the library description: In 1942 sixteen-year-old Chaya Lindner is a Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied Poland, a courier who smuggles food and documents to the isolated Jewish ghettos in southern Poland, depending on her forged papers and "Aryan" features--but when a mission goes wrong and many of her colleagues are arrested she finds herself on a journey to Warsaw, where an uprising is in the works.
An excellent account of the lives of Jews in Poland in WWII and of the Warsaw ghetto uprising.
Content considerations: the violence and atrocities committed by the Nazis is described, though not too graphically. Younger and sensitive readers may want to wait till they're older to read this one.
Uprising
by Jennifier A. Nielsen
From the library description: Twelve-year-old Lidia's life is forever changed by the Nazi occupation of Poland, leading her to join the resistance movement to fight against the Nazis and aid Jewish people in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII. This is another fantastic historical novel about the resistance in Nazi-occupied Poland. This one is about the Warsaw uprising (not to be confused with the Warsaw ghetto uprising). And this one is based on the true story of the main character. Highly recommended, though the usual cautions about WWII books apply for young and sensitive readers. Read this one after Resistance (mentioned above).
The Found Boys
by S. D. Smith
A new book by the author of the Green Ember series. From the back cover: The mission was supposed to be fun—even funny—but things got serious quick. What follows is a daring journey with narrow escapes, attack dogs, deadly fires, and a friendship forged in shared peril. Three friends embark on an intrepid quest to retrieve a priceless treasure guarded by a menacing villain. But this is no fantasy. For Scott and his friends Tommy and Dooley, the danger is all too real. Unlikely heroes will emerge. Enemies will become allies. Powerful truths will be revealed. This is a short book (I read it in about an hour) about three boys (two white, one black) separated by skin color and misunderstandings. It is set in 1980 and there are many references or allusions to things that modern day kids may or may not get. I was an '80s kid, so they made sense to me. :-) It exposes both the innocence and naivete of children and the way they mis-hear and misunderstand things, yet it also shows how quickly kids can forgive and make friends (especially when modeled by the adults in their lives). The ending is sweet, but maybe a bit simplistic. This story came out of the author's own experiences growing up in West Virginia and has his own trademark humor and wackiness. I think the story could be even more powerful if the characters were more fully developed in a full-length novel Jennifer-Neilsen style.
Beneath the Swirling Sky: The Restorationists Book 1
by Carolyn Leiloglou
From the cover description: After an experience he'd rather forget, Vincent is determined to be done with art. So when he and his little sister, Lili, spend spring break with their art conservator great-uncle, Vincent's plan is to stay glued to his phone. That is, until Lili disappears into one of the world's most famous paintings and Vincent learns his parents have been hiding something from him: Their family is the last of The Restorationists, a secret society with the power to travel through paintings--and a duty to protect them from evil forces. With Lili's safety on the line, leaving art behind is no longer an option. Vincent must team up with his know-it-all second-cousin Georgia, wrestle with why his parents lied to him, and confront both his past and a future he never wanted. Young readers are invited into a captivating universe where paintings become a portal--and adventure and danger lurk beyond every canvas. An interesting story, with some art education. One character is public-schooled and quite involved in Minecraft and other online video games. Another character is homeschooled. This is the first book of two (so-far).
The Wonderland Trails
by Sara Ella
From the library description: All Alice Liddell wants is to escape her Normal life in Oxford and find the parents who abandoned her ten years ago. But she gets more than she bargained for when her older sister Charlotte is arrested for having the infamous Wonder Gene--the key to unlocking the curious Wonderland Reality. Soon, Alice receives a rather cryptic invitation to play for Team Heart in this year's annual--and often deadly--Wonderland Trials. Now she has less than twenty-four hours to find her way into Wonderland where nothing is impossible . . . or what it seems. The stakes are raised when she discovers players go missing during the Trials each year. Will she and her team solve the clues and find the missing players? Or will betrayal and distrust win, leaving Alice alone in a world of her own? Follow the White Rabbit into this topsy-turvy fantasy where players become prey, a sip of the wrong tea might as well be poison, and a queen's ways do not always lead one where they ought to go.
This was an interesting twist on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. You need to have at least some familiarity with Carroll's story, or this one will make no sense at all. If you love Alice in Wonderland, you'll probably enjoy this one. If you hate Alice in Wonderland, you won't like this one. I've never really understood Alice in Wonderland (perhaps because I'm a very logically-minded person), but I did find this book interesting enough to inspire me to go back and take a look at the original. This book does contain some romantic elements, including a first kiss. If you are familiar with the Biblical story arc, you will recognize some important parallels in this story. This is the first of two books, and it ends on a cliff-hanger. So be sure you have the next book, The Looking-Glass Illusion, on hand as well.
The Puppets of Spelhorst
by Kate DiCamillo
From the library description: Shut up in a trunk by a taciturn old sea captain with a secret, five friends ; a king, a wolf, a girl, a boy, and an owl, bicker, boast, and comfort one another in the dark. Individually, they dream of song and light, freedom and flight, purpose and glory, but they all agree they are part of a larger story, bound each to each by chance, bonded by the heart's mysteries. When at last their shared fate arrives, landing them on a mantel in a blue room in the home of two little girls, the truth is more astonishing than any of them could have imagined. A short, quick, fun read. Probably best enjoyed by elementary and middle school age.Read Aloud
By Right of Conquest: With Cortez in Mexico
by G A Henty
In the early 1500's, Roger Hawkshaw journeys to the Spanish-controlled Caribbean territory with his father, an English sea captain, and becomes stranded. He makes friends with the natives in what is now Mexico and then becomes involved with Hernando Cortez and the Spaniards who conquered Montezuma and the Aztecs. We listened to the audiobook, narrated by Jim Hodges, after learning a bit about Cortez and other explorers in our Texas history course. (BTW, Jim Hodges personally answers emails when you have any questions about the books from his site. I had an issue with ordering this book, and he kindly and patiently worked with me to get the issue resolved.)
Content considerations: violent, bloody battles; discusses the Aztec practice of human sacrifice.
