Claiming Mariah - A Review

Published - Tyndale Books, December 2012
Title - Claiming Mariah
Author - Pam Hillman
Format -ebook, paper

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Mariah Malone is struggling to hold onto her father's ranch. When Slade Donnovan and his brother show up in response to a letter she sent on behalf of her father, Mariah knows that she must pay the consequences of her father's actions. Slade Donnovan is determined to take the land and the ranch that he feels rightfully belongs to his family. As much as he tries to fight it, he finds himself drawn to Mariah, her gentle grandmother, and their quiet faith. Will he let her go or will he fight for her?

I've never read anything by this author before, though this book has been on my reading list for a long time. I was thrilled to discover it was part of Tyndale's Summer Reading Program, as that meant I could actually get it read. Since I spent the 4th of July weekend doing absolutely nothing BUT reading, this was a fairly quick read for me.

I really enjoyed both Mariah and Slade. I loved how they interacted with each other. I also really enjoyed Buck. I hope to read more of him. Maybe a story with him and Amanda?

Still, the story line moved along very quickly and I was engrossed the entire time.

I'll be looking for other books by this author.

I read this book for pure pleasure as part of Tyndale's Summer Reading Program. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of historical fiction, Jody Hedlund, Karen Witemeyer, Julie Lessman

Rating - 4 stars

Battle for Cannibal Island - A Review

Published - Focus on the Family, October 2012
Series - Adventures in Odyssey Imagination Station book 8
Author - Marianne Hering
Title - Battle for Cannibal Island
Format - paper, ebook

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Cousins Patrick and Beth love going to Whit's End. There are always so many exciting things to do there, and one of their favorites is the Imagination Station. When Beth goes looking for Patrick, she finds him inside the Imagination Station. Next thing they know, they've been whisked off onto an adventure and are aboard a ship. Patrick and Beth soon get separated and they'll have to survive a storm, cannibals, and sharks and pray that they will get a chance to return home. Will they be successful? Or will they be stuck on island with cannibals forever? And what lesson will they learn?

I've never actually read an Imagination Station adventure before. I found it quite enjoyable.

Like everything I've either read or listened to regarding Adventures in Odyssey, there are always truths that the kids learn. I've grown up on Odyssey and will some day own the cds for the radio series. But that's a someday dream.

This book captured my attention from the first. I felt a little bad for Beth at the beginning when Patrick was being so mean to her. Yet as their adventure continued, they learned how much being kind and having a strong faith worked in their favor.

This is a perfect book for fans of the Magic Tree House Books. I'd say it would be targeted at ages 7-9 specifically. While it is a part of a series, it easily stands alone as each book is a different Imagination Station adventure.

I rented this book from the library to read for pure pleasure as part of the Tyndale Summer Reading Program. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of Magic Tree House, Adventures in Odyssey, I Survived Series, Josh Ladd Series, ages 7-9, and librarians.

Rating - 4 stars

Death Trap - A Review

Published - Tyndale Kids, 2009
Series - Robot Wars book 1
Author - Sigmund Brouwer
Title - Death Trap
Format - paper, ebook

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Tyce Sanders is like most kids. He's got interests like robots, and has a wonderful mom. The biggest difference is that he lives on Mars. Tyce keeps a journal of his adventures. The first journal details the lack of oxygen and the plans taken to figure out a way to save as many of the community as possible. The second journal details the adventures in finding some aliens.

I really wasn't to expect when I started this book. Yet as I got into it, I soon found myself captivated with Tyce and his adventures. Tyce is searching for answers and as much as he loves his mother, he's a little wary of her faith in God. What I found really interesting was that each journal picks up immediately at the conclusion of the one prior. So yes the second journal leaves it open for the next book.

I think that middle aged boys, specifically ages 8 and up, would really enjoy this book. It's full of adventure, perilous situations, and robots.

I read this book for pure pleasure as part of the Tyndale Summer Reading Program. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of middle readers, robots, science fiction, Harry Potter, Nicholas Flamel, adventure

Rating - 4 stars

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Blog Confessions

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly theme that is hosted by the Broke & the Bookish.

I know I've missed the top ten lists the past couple of weeks. Sorry about that. One topic didn't interest me. The other one I just forgot about until Wednesday.

This week's topic is the Top Ten Blog Confessions.

1. I am horrible at remembering to mail the books for giveaways. I have been know to mail a book MONTHS after the giveaway has finished. Terrible I know.

2. I try not to do more than one post per day so as not to flood the inboxes of my followers who follow via email.

3. I used to typically schedule the posts to go live at a semi-early time. Then one of my readers asked if I could schedule them at a time for when she wasn't sleeping.

4. 99% of my posts are written at work before I clock in for the day. The other 1% are written at home in the evenings or on weekends.

5. I've disabled the comments on  my most popular post (2200 pageviews and counting) because it's on Pinterest. It's the one where I give instructions on how to make a baby shower diaper cake out of receiving blankets. You can find it here.

6. My posts that are not book related are typically about Mary Kay. Because I love my Mary Kay.

7. I admit, I copy and paste my reviews from my blog onto amazon & goodreads.

8. I've recently (like back in January) started using a different format on presenting book information.

9. I sometimes wonder if people get tired of reading all of my book reviews and nothing of my life.

10. Top Ten Tuesday is the only meme I follow. I just don't have time for any others. 

So what about you? What are your blog confessions?

Annison's Risk - A Review

Published - Focus on the Family
Series - Passages Book 3
Author - Paul McCusker
Title - Annison's Risk
Format - paper

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Maddy Nicholaivitch was playing a game of hide and seek when she suddenly finds herself no longer in Odyssey. She soon finds herself in the court of a beautiful princess and learning about this Unseen One. When she uncovers a plot to have the king killed and informs the princess, she wonders if her fledgling faith in the Unseen One will be enough to save her.

I first read this book years ago. I grew up on the Adventures in Odyssey radio series and still enjoy listening to them as an adult. I've a few books in the various Adventures in Odyssey series over the years, but the Passages stories have been my favorite.

One of the things I love about this book, and the others in the Passages series, is that Biblical stories come to life in a fun way. This particular book is based on the book of Esther. I loved seeing Maddy figure out that she needs to put her faith and trust into the Unseen One. I also loved seeing how Annison decided to take a chance and step out on faith.

There are so many truths in these books. I highly recommend them.

I read this book for pure pleasure as part of Tyndale's Summer Reading Program. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of Narnia, Tolkien, Adventures in Odyssey, ages 8 and up, fantasy, parents

Rating - 5 stars

Vanishings - A Review

Published - Tyndale House Publishers
Series - Left Behind: The Kids, book 1
Title - The Vanishings
Author - Jerry Jenkins & Tim LaHaye
Format - ebook, paper

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Following the success of the main series, Left Behind, Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins have crafted a series targeted at middle grade readers. This series chronicles Judd, Ryan, Vicki, and Lionel, four teens/preteens, that suddenly find themselves faced with the startling facts that their parents and loved ones have either disappeared or fell victim to accidents as a result of the disappearances. For these young people, life as they know it will never be the same. They soon find themselves under the tutelage of Pastor Bruce Barnes and a fight for their very survival.

This was a fast reread for me. I remember reading these books concurrently with the adult series. It helped that at the time I was working in a bookstore and could easily read them quickly. What I also found interesting was that each book in the main adult series covered about 4 books in the youth series.

Still, for the most part, what I looked forward to the most in reading of these books was the appearances of the adults from the main series. I think that my favorite character among the teens was Ryan. He's the youngest member and he has such an innocence about him.

I think this is an excellent book for middle grade readers. Events are explained in such a simple way that the story is very easy to read and would easily hold the attention of a teen.

I read this book for pure pleasure as part of the Tyndale Summer Reading Program. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of middle readers, adventures

Rating - 3.5 stars.

 

Left Behind - A Review

Published - Tyndale House Publishers, reprinted 2011
Series - Left Behind Series book 1
Author - Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins
Title - Left Behind
Format - ebook, paper, hardcover, mass market paperback, audio

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In a matter of minutes, millions of people across the globe have disappeared. For the rest of the world, they are trying to make sense of these disappearances. Captain Rayford Steele, his daughter Chloe Steele, journalist Cameron "Buck" Williams, and pastor Bruce Barnes each have to decide for themselves if the Bible is true and what they witnessed was the Rapture. In the political world, there is a new face on the rise. Unknown Nicolae Carpathia has captured the attention of the world. This fast paced adventure has the characters searching for answers and seeing prophecy lived out.

I first read Left Behind at least ten years ago, probably more. I've read it several times since. While it's not my favorite of the series, I did enjoy the adventure and the thrill of recalling events that I missed the first several times I read the book. I think that if this book gets people to read the Bible, than that's a great thing to have happen. If it promotes discussion of end times events, then that's even better. I know that there are three generally accepted schools of thought regarding the end time events in the Bible among the Christian community. I know, too, that these groups may disagree with each other. I'm not going to say which school of thought I fall into, because my opinion is just that - my opinion. Still I recommend reading and researching for yourself the events in Scripture.

From the first moment he appeared on the page, Buck Williams became my favorite character. I love how he's so determined to find answers.

Still while it was a pleasure to read again, I found just ok. Maybe that's because I've changed as a reader over the years. If I'd rated ten years ago, I'd have probably rated it 4 or 5 stars. But now, for me, it's not a 5 star book. Like I said, I think I've changed as a reader over the years.

I read this book for pure pleasure as part of the Tyndale Summer Reading program. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of adventure, end times, prophecy, contemporary fiction

Rating - 3 stars - My reading tastes have changed since first reading it. Full explanation is above.