Personal Reading
When Hope Calls Series Book 1: Unyielding Hope
When Hope Calls Series Book 2: Sustaining Faith
When Hope Calls Series Book 3: Unfailing Love
by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan
Wow! Just wow! This is an EXCELLENT trilogy of books by Janette Oke and her daughter. This rivals Love Comes Softly and When Calls the Heart which have long been my favorites by this author. A great cast of characters dealing with realistic life circumstances that test and try their faith in God. A satisfying, but tear-jerking ending. The story is set in Alberta, Canada and deals with the lifelong issues that children face when they lose their birth families, either through death, abandonment, or forced removal. Lilian Walsh lost both her parents and a younger sister when she was just a young child. She was adopted and raised by a loving family. But now her adoptive mother has died after a long illness, and twenty-something Lilian is trying to find her place in her. Then she discovers that her sister is still alive; after they meet, Lilian is thrust into her sister's world of caring for orphans -- specifically, ones who have been relocated from England to Canada and whose first placements haven't worked out. The three-book series follows these two sisters and various children through many trials on their way to finding permanent homes. The audiobook was excellently narrated! The dialect & accents might have been hard to read or imagine without the narrator.
The Light Between Oceans
by M. L. Stedman
Back cover blurb: After four harrowing years on the Western Front [in WWI], Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day's journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby's cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a "gift from God," and against Tom's judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.
This is a powerful, heart-wrenching novel -- if you can get past the language (cursing) and the many misuses of "Jesus" and "Christ". It shows the twisted rationalizations people can make when they've been through deep emotional trauma. It shows "what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive" -- whether we are deceiving others or ourselves. It shows how the choices we make can have a ripple effect that touches many other lives. And it shows how telling the truth and doing the right thing is the best thing, even if it seems that it will deeply hurt us or those we love. Up till almost the end, I was wondering if the author would bring this heart-breaking tale to a redemptive conclusion or if it would end up being a sad, sordid, and broken story like Wuthering Heights. Though there cannot be a "happily ever after" for everyone, I was satisfied with the resolution and the bittersweet conclusion of the story. I admire the character Tom and his determination to make things right and to take the brunt of the consequences on himself in order to protect his wife. Although he listened to his wife and did the wrong thing (like Adam did with Eve), he didn't throw the blame on her but took it all on himself. The language is the main thing that would keep me from recommending it.
The Perfect Rom-Com
by Melissa Ferguson
From the Amazon description: Aspiring author Bryony Page attends her first writers conference bursting with optimism and ready to sell her manuscript with long-shot dreams of raising awareness for her grandmother's financially struggling organization where she teaches ESL full-time. What she doesn't expect is to get tangled up with Jack Sterling, a jaded literary agent who will change everything. Their partnership begins with a devil's bargain: Bryony will ghostwrite for his talentless bestselling client if Jack will represent her real novel. But as deadlines loom and sparks fly during a traveling book tour that's always one breath away from disaster, Bryony realizes she's not just rewriting romance novels--she's living one.
Loved the look into the ghostwriting and publishing world! I couldn't put this book down. This quote explains why I've enjoyed Melissa Ferguson's brand of rom-com: "Laugh and fall in love and resolve some of your existential crises while you go." Another great quote: "But as often happens in life, the greatest joys and greatest struggles tend to be delivered to your doorstep in the same basket. And it's up to you to dissect the two and embrace the good without letting the bad overcome."
Honor's Mountain Promise
by Misty M. Beller
A sweet, clean romance set in Montana territory (before it was a state). Aaron Long is a former outlaw, now a freight wagon driver with a strong faith in God. On one of his last runs before winter, he encounters a young widow, heavy with child who is stranded along the road. He rescues her, ends up helping to deliver her baby, and falls in love with her.
Biography
Children of the Storm
by Natasha Vins
From the Amazon blurb: Young, school-age Natasha receives pressure from her teachers to give her unquestioning allegiance to the Soviet State. Anti-Christian sentiment dogs her family's life as well. The Vins family faces imprisonment, humiliation, court trials, and loss of jobs as part of the persecution waged by their government. In her teen years, Natasha begins to see that doors close to those who remain faithful to Christ. Now she must count the cost and decide for herself whether she wants to pay the price. It's a fairly short book recommended by our history curriculum. Makes me appreciate the freedom I've always had as a Christian and admire those who stay faithful in the midst of persecution.
Historical Fiction
Otto of the Silver Hand
by Howard Pyle
From the Amazon blurb: Young Otto is born into a warring household in an age when lawless chiefs were constantly fighting each other or despoiling the caravans of the merchant burghers. He is raised in a monastery, only to return to his family's domain and become painfully involved in the blood feud between his father and the rival house of Trutz-Drachen.
It's a fairly short book recommended by our history curriculum, designed to be read during a study of the Middle Ages. It's an ok book, but there are some gaps in the story that left me wondering what happened. It was explained later, but it seemed like it should have been explained sooner to prevent reader confusion.
Non-fiction
The Cost of Discipleship
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer expounds on Jesus' sermon on the mount (Matthew 6-8) to explain the difference between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." He details what being a true follower (disciple) of Jesus Christ really means. It was convicting from the introduction on. I listened to the audiobook, but also bought the paperback book for further reading and pondering.
Middle Grade Fiction
The Golden Road of Tumbleweed Thompson
by Glenn McCarty
Amazon blurb: In the nine months since Tumbleweed Thompson left the town of Rattlesnake Junction, Colorado, for life on the road with the Coyote Pete Frontier Show, Eugene Appleton has found himself yearning for a taste of the adventures he imagines his new friend having on the American frontier. Life at home changes in an instant when Tumbleweed once again finds a way to interrupt Eugene’s life to ask for his help in solving the sudden disappearance of his father. And so, the two set off on a life-changing quest in search of the fabled treasure of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Filled with pulse-bounding adventure, suspense, humor, and moments of rich beauty as Eugene and Tumbleweed explore the American West in all its ruggedness and splendor, The Golden Road of Tumbleweed Thompson will take readers on a remarkable journey.
This is the second book about Tumbleweed Thomspon and his friend Eugene Appleton (told from Eugene's first-person point of view). Just like the first, The Misadventured Summer of Tumbleweed Thompson, this is a great read for middle-grades. It does use some "darn" and "heck", but otherwise it's pretty clean.Dead-Eye Dan and the Cimarron Kid
by Glenn McCarty
Dead-Eye Dan is the hero in a series of western books that Eugene Appleton (The Misadventured Summer of Tumbleweed Thompson) loves to read. This is one of those novels referenced in The Golden Road of Tumbleweed Thompson.) Great adventure for middle grade boys especially, but many girls will like it too. There are some noticeable editing mistakes that are a little distracting.
Dead-Eye Dan and the Secret of the Swamp
by Glenn McCarty
A second novel about the famous law-man Dead-Eye Dan. Sequel to Dead-Eye Dan and the Cimarron Kid. Great, clean adventure for boys. There are some noticeable editing mistakes that are a little distracting.
Junction Tales
by Glenn McCarty
A collection of short stories set in Rattlesnake Junction, Colorado. A companion to The Misadventured Summer of Tumbleweed Thompson. Best read after that one and before The Golden Road of Tumbleweed Thompson. Another clean adventure book for middle grade boys.
Giant
by Judith McQuoid
A fictional account of C. S. ("Jacks") Lewis' boyhood in Ireland. A short, delightful novel for middle grades, appealing to both boys and girls. Listen to Sarah McKenzie's interview with the author or watch it on YouTube. Or read another review by Sherry Early.
