September 2024 Books

 Personal Reading

Love's Abiding Joy

Love's Unending Legacy

Love's Unfolding Dream

Love Takes Wing

Love Finds a Home

by Janette Oke

The continuing story of Clark and Marty Davis as their children grow up and find their own places in the world. I started the series in July with the first three books (reviewed here) and finished the series this month. My feelings are the same...very satisfying stories, full of characters struggling in realistic ways with their faith amid the trials of life and finding hope in the true gospel of Jesus Christ. The male characters are admirable (not perfect), God-fearing, and honorable.

The Tender Years

A Searching Heart

A Quiet Strength

Like Gold Refined

by Janette Oke

These four books make up the Prairie Legacy Series, the sequel to and conclusion of the Love Comes Softly series.  They are the story of Virginia, one of Clark & Marty Davis's grandchildren as she grows up from a self-centered thirteen-year-old to a mature mother of four being tested and tried through many trials and heartbreaks.  There are some chronology glitches in relation to the previous series -- some ages and timelines that don't seem to quite add up correctly, but they are minor. The more I read of Janette Oke, the more I like her.

Barnaby Rudge

by Charles Dickens

One of two Dickens novels which were set in a historical time period. (The other was A Tale of Two Cities.) This one is less familiar and less popular, probably because the history is less familiar.  The story is set against the backdrop of the Gordon Riots of 1780, when mobs were stirred up by certain Protestants to riot against Catholics and legislation that was proposed to repeal some legal discrimination against the Catholics.  Mob behavior hasn't changed in over 200 years -- people riot and loot and burn and lynch without really even knowing why.  There's also a kind of Romeo-and-Juliet romance woven throughout the story, though this one ends more happily.  The title character isn't really the main character.  The audiobook narrated by Simon Vance was excellent.

Gray Dawn

by Albert Payson Terhune

A series of stories about one of Terhune's collies, Gray Dawn, who starts out as a rambunctious puppy always getting into one scrape or another. Even as an adult, trouble and mischief seem to find him now and again, making for some humorous and interesting stories.

Young Adult Fiction

Mark of the Thief

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

From the cover description: When Nic, a slave in the mines outside of Rome, is forced to enter a sealed cavern containing the lost treasures of Julius Caesar, he finds much more than gold and gemstones: He discovers an ancient bulla, an amulet that belonged to the great Caesar and is filled with a magic once reserved for the Gods -- magic some Romans would kill for. Now, with the deadly power of the bulla pulsing through his veins, Nic is determined to become free. But instead, he finds himself at the center of a ruthless conspiracy to overthrow the emperor and spark the Praetor War, a battle to destroy Rome from within. Traitors and spies lurk at every turn, each more desperate than the next to use Nic's newfound powers for their own dark purposes. In a quest to stop the rebellion, save Rome, and secure his own freedom, Nic must harness the magic within himself and defeat the empire's most powerful and savage leaders.

The main character reminds the reader of the Sage in the author's False Prince series -- same voice, same attitudes. The magic elements remind the reader of the author's Traitor's Game series, though this one is set in a real historical period rather than a fantasy world. Like all of Nielsen's books, it's 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.

Newbery Medal Books

Dobry

by Monica Shannon

A rather plot-less story about a young peasant boy growing up in Bulgaria with his mother and grandfather in a farming village.  There's nothing really objectionable (except perhaps a brief encounter with fortune-telling gypsy), but there's nothing really compelling either.  I tend to agree with one reviewer, who wrote, "So many Newbery Medal winners from this time period are designed to try and expose child readers to other cultures, in this case the peasant and gypsy culture of the Balkans, but the story, today, drags...we sort of watch the lead character Dobry grow up with few real challenges... Unlikely to be read or enjoyed by modern-day children." And another reviewer who said, "I am beginning to think my quest to read all the Newbery winners is a colossal waste of time. I'm not sure if children were really boring in 1934, or easier to please than today's children, or if the Newbery committee just did an awful job choosing the books back then..." This isn't the most boring Newbery book I've ever read, but it's certainly not the most interesting either.

Genre: Historical Fiction.  1935 Newbery Medal winner.

Read Aloud

Iceberg

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

From the library description: Twelve-year-old Hazel Rothbury stows away aboard the Titanic and, with the help of a porter named Charlie and a first-class passenger named Sylvia, she sets out to explore the great ship, uncovering a haunting mystery until the ship hits an iceberg and she must fight to save herself and her friends. A clean book; no romance or violence.  A lot of historical information. Audiobook had a good narrator. I listened to this by myself in May, and again with the kids this month.

Words on Fire

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Another fantastic historical fiction novel by this author who is a master at unexpected plot twists! 

From the library/book cover description: Danger is never far from Audra's family farm in Lithuania. She always avoids the occupying Russian Cossak soldiers, who insist that everyone must become Russian - they have banned Lithuanian books, religion, culture, and even the language. But Audra knows her parents are involved in something secret and perilous. When Cossacks arrive abruptly at their door, Audra's parents insist she flee, taking with her an important package and instructions for where to deliver it. But escape means abandoning her parents to a terrible fate. As Audra embarks on a journey to deliver the mysterious package, she faces unimaginable risks, and soon she becomes caught up in a growing resistance movement. Can joining the underground network of book smugglers give Audra a chance to rescue her parents? New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen transports readers to a little-known corner of history with this extraordinary and inspiring story of a girl who discovers the power of language, the magic of words, the strength of her people united in resisting oppression, and the remarkable courage she holds within herself.

Based on the true story of Lithuanian book smugglers of 1864-1904, this book powerfully describes the struggle of the Lithuanian people to retain their identity and regain their freedom from the occupying Russian government which was claiming they were "Russian". Hmmm.  Sounds like current events with a different country.  An excellently written story about a time period with which I was unfamiliar.  When I saw it was about Lithuania and Russia, I first assumed it was about the Soviet Union, but this was a generation or two before that.  I highly recommend this book!

Content considerations: there are some violence & war & persecution themes