READ: Review, There You’ll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones (YA Friday)
I want to end my second year of READ.WRITE.PRAY and semi-regular blog posts with a bang and a blessing. Today’s book makes a great choice for both. I’ll add an additional blessing tomorrow. Disclaimer: I know some of the authors whose books I review. Jenny B. Jones and I were roommates this past summer on a SUSIE Magazine missions trip. She sent this book as a gift to my teenage daughters and urged me to ignore the review invitation. But after all three of us loved the book, I had to disobey. I figure the worst Jen (a high school English teacher) can dish out is a detention. Unless she decides to mail me one of her cats. And now, for your end-of-the-year pleasure, the review: I found plenty to love in There You’ll Find Me (Thomas Nelson, 2011) by novelist Jenny B. Jones. But I also loved it for what I didn’t find. Please indulge my explanation. WHAT I FOUND: Winsome Characters: I loved even the ones I didn’t like. From bit players (Sister Maria, piano teacher and part-time philosopher) to superstars (Finley Sinclair, exchange student and wounded heart) and Beckett Rush (vampire-portrayer and Hollywood hot topic), all added value to the story and helped keep me reading. Humor: If Jenny B. Jones writes it, I’ll laugh at it. Awkward-but-true things happen to her characters. Because awkwardness overflows my own life, I can’t help but smile. I bet you will, too. Compelling Plot: Finley’s on a journey that takes her further than her planned destination of Ireland. After the death of her beloved older brother, Will (read Save the Date for his story), she retraces his steps in search of personal healing. And somewhere in the process, she finds much more. Layers of Meaning: This book reveals Jones’ growth as a writer. Perhaps no one would label it “literary fiction,” but the bursts of beauty that shone from its pages left me longing not only for my own trip to Ireland, but for more from this gifted author. WHAT I DIDN’T FIND: Preaching: Throughout the book, Finley carries on a constant-but-interrupted dialogue with God. The faltering nature of her faith makes it all the more real. And in faith as in writing, real is good. Lectures: Beckett, Finley, and the other characters have choices to make. Sometimes they choose wisely. Other times, not so much. Believable, real, and right. Period. Final Answers: At the story’s end, Jones leaves us with more questions than answers. This again displays her skill as a novelist and sets the stage for what I hope will be more of Finley, Beckett, and the God they’re learning to love. Artificial Sweeteners: Christian YA can come across as pablum-bland or sickly sweet. The challenges addressed in There You’ll Find Me make it anything but. Any honey-like elements contain enough ants to make readers choke (and giggle). Have some Christmas gift cards sitting around unused? Grab this and all things Jenny B. Jones. Then watch for more—because there, you’ll find some great reading. Find a local Christian bookseller: http://cba.know-where.com/cba/ Purchase this book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Christian Book Distributors (FTC disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free from the publisher....
read moreREAD: Review, As Good As She Imagined by Roxanna Green with Jerry B. Jenkins
I admit it. Books written with a collaborative- or ghost-writer have a special place in my heart. That’s because when I’m not leaping tall buildings in a single bound, I’m often the words behind others’ stories. The task of capturing someone else’s heart is a terrible, beautiful challenge. So when the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian WritersGuild offered the opportunity to receive an ARC (Advance Reader’s Copy) of As Good as She Imagined (Worthy Publishing, 1/2/2012), I responded right away. One of the special challenges of writing (and reading) the story of “the angel of Tucson,” Christina-Taylor Green, is that we already know how it ends. When news of the shooting broke this past January, we watched and listened in horror. Regardless of political affiliation, we prayed for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and mourned as the death and injury toll mounted. Other than Ms. Giffords, the victim whose death sparked an outpouring of compassion was nine-year-old Christina-Taylor. Born on 9/11/01, her life was bookended by tragedy but bathed in significance. In As Good As She Imagined, her mother and Mr. Jenkins pour intense effort into making that message plain. The book combines a strong narrative thread with italicized comments from Christina-Taylor’s father and others who knew this bright, confident child. The additional perspectives add credence to her parents’ claim that their daughter was born for greatness. The news-like feed that fronts each chapter adds a powerful, creative element without glorifying either the killer or his crimes. As expected, raw grief makes its presence known, tempered by a strong faith that seems natural rather than forced. I applaud both Mrs. Green and Mr. Jenkins for their work to complete this book so soon after the tragedy that birthed it and for sharing the personal truth behind the public reports. Only God knows the potential for good cut in the lives cut short by a misguided marksman. But as President Obama challenged those who heard his memorial tribute to Christina-Taylor, we have potential of our own. Read this book and receive a challenge to become “as good as she imagined.” Watch the book trailer here: Find a local Christian bookseller here: Or order the book on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, or Christian Book Distributors.(FTC disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reading Copy of this book free from the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild. I was not required to post a review or a positive response.) Do you have a memory of either 9/11 or the day of the Tucson shootings to share? Is God urging you to new challenges for 2012? Please share your thoughts in a comment below. Also, the winner of my Christmas prize pack is reader Judy B, who serves as her mother’s caregiver. May the books provide a refreshing break from her ministry of love and...
read morePRAY: A Christmas Prayer
My gift for this season of joy is this Christmas adaptation of the Lord’s Prayer (Disciples’ Prayer). I’m praying it for you today. Also, if you would like your name entered n the drawing for my Christmas Prize Pack (details here), please leave a comment below or on one of the previous two posts. Merry Christmas! Our Savior, who came from heaven Emmanuel is Your name Your kingdom come to earth as a baby, Your will complete at the cross, That we might live on earth With heaven’s power and mercy. These Christmas gifts we ask of You: The meeting of our needs, The cleansing of our wrongs, The grace to keep our relationships right. Keep us on the Bethlehem way And turn us from darkness to follow Your light. For Yours, our Messiah, is the reign, the rule, and the forever-renown...
read moreREAD: Review, When Someone You Love No Longer Remembers by Cecil Murphey
It’s hard to find a family untouched by Alzheimer’s or dementia. Your neighbor’s forgotten how to feed himself. Your co-worker’s wife becomes agitated when she can’t recall the word she needs. And the man at church slips further into silence every day. With firm yet compassionate words, author Cecil Murphey comes alongside caregivers to offer empathy, understanding, and advice borne of experience. When Someone You Love No Longer Remembers presents a treasure chest of caregiver wisdom in gift book format. Tender illustrations, true stories, and real-life examples end in the aphorisms that have become Murphey’s trademark. A brief section about laying aside our dreams ends with the bolded statement “I didn’t ask for this assignment. But as I serve my loved one, I’m also serving my loving God.” Any of the books I’ve featured this month would make excellent gifts. I’ll share today’s review copy with a friend who’s struggling to balance work, church responsibilities, and caring for her mother. Bless the caregiver in your life this Christmas or New Year’s with the gift of this tender, touching, and to-the-point publication. Do you know someone who could use this book? Have you been or are you a caregiver for someone suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia? Leave a comment below or on any of this week’s other posts and receive one entry in a drawing for my CHRISTMAS PRIZE PACK. This book selection includes Christmas Miracles (another Cec Murphey title); They Almost Always Come Home by Cynthia Ruchti, an award-winning novel I reviewed earlier this year; and two of my own projects: Rite of Passage Parenting by Walker Moore and I Would Die for You by Brent and Deanna Higgins. I’ll choose a winner at random on December 26 and mail the package out before 2012! Merry Christmas! (FTC disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free from the publisher. I was not required to post a review or a positive...
read moreYA Friday: READ Review, Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis with Beth Clark
“Jesus wrecked my life.” These powerful words from Katie Davis provide a beautiful portrait in miniature of today’s YA Friday feature, Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption (Howard Books, 2011). Katie’s 22, which explains the “YA” connection, but her story has a much broader appeal. Jesus wrecked Katie’s comfortable, loose-ends-tied up, American teenager life because she chose to listen—and obey. Like the biblical Philip on the way to Gaza, she took the road less traveled in response to God’s call. At first, that road led to a short-term missions trip in a Ugandan orphanage. Katie’s parents no doubt thought that would take care of her little missions kick. But they didn’t count on Jesus. And they certainly didn’t count on Katie. Kisses from Katie, like the author’s popular blog, details her adventures as first mission volunteer, then kindergarten teacher and ultimately adoptive mom of fourteen, founder of a nonprofit organization, and long-term missionary to Uganda. No, Katie doesn’t preach a social gospel. Instead, she lives the whole gospel, the one that compels us to wash our neighbor’s feet and to love those neighbors as we love ourselves. She lives out that gospel day after day amongst a hopeless people in a desperate place. You see, this isn’t a book you read. Collaborative writer Beth Clark combines a narrative thread and Katie’s journal entries with such skill that you experience Katie’s story alongside her. You pick hundreds of jiggers (burrowing insects) from a child’s inflamed skin. You prepare meals for your family without benefit of microwave or fast-food restaurant. You dance and hug and laugh at the center a circle of children who may never have known a loving touch. Above all, you hurt as Jesus hurts. You love as He does. And, like He does, you stay. You stay because you can do nothing else. Put this book at the top of your must-read list for 2012. People matter to Jesus. It’s our privilege, responsibility, and message to carry that message in ways that cost. Read it. Live it. And allow Jesus to wreck your life, too. Katie says it better than I do. Watch the trailer for her book here and feel free to leave a comment below. Have you served in missions? Did others’ stories help move you to go? Fill me in! CHRISTMAS CONTEST: Leave a blog comment and you’ll be entered in my drawing for a Christmas prize package. It contains several of this year’s review books along with a bonus or two. I’ll share more about this next week, but link or list your email address so I can contact the winnner. One entry per person per blog post, please; US addresses only. (FTC disclaimer: I received an electronic Advanced Reading Copy of this book free from the publisher via NetGalley.com. I was not required to post a review or a positive...
read moreWelcome
I've asked God to use my writing and speaking to count for eternity. I'm passionate about relationships and creativity.
