Saturday, April 23, 2011

REGGIE by Reggie Dabbs with John Driver

REGGIE
You can't change your past, but you can change your future
Thomas Nelson publishing

Born to a 16 year old teenage mother, who already had 3 other children, he was adopted and raised by his mother's high school English teacher and her husband, as their own child.  He was about 7 or 8 when he found he was not their birth child.  Reggie now goes to schools all over, telling young people that they are worthy of love, and that they are important to him. He tells them they can call him Daddy, that he cares for them, and is there for them.  He tells his story, and tells them that YOU CAN'T CHANGE YOUR PAST, BUT YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR FUTURE.  There is no telling how many lives this man has saved, with his ministry to these kids.

This is a book I would recommend to anyone, especially teachers and pastors, who deal with kids who need some self esteem. 
I was given this book to read and review by BookSneeze, no other compensation was given.  I'm not required to give a favorable review

.http://my.barnesandnoble.com/communityportal/review.aspx?reviewid=1632562

THE FIRST ESCAPE, the Dopple Ganger Chronicles by G P Taylor

http://my.barnesandnoble.com/communityportal/review.aspx?reviewid=1632554

Tynedale House Publishers

This book, while not my normal reading, is an interesting book for the age group for which it was written. I am thinking my 11 year old grandson will love the style of the writing, and the cartoon like pages that are interspursed through the book. Living in an Orphan's Home, Isambard Dunstans School for Wayward Children, 14 year old twins, Sadie and Saskia Dopple get into all kinds of trouble, but when Saskia gets adopted, and has to leave her sister, things go from bad to worse. Sadie, and Erik, a former thief, escape the home, and go looking for Saskia, and are pursued by a gang of enemies.

I was send a free copy of this book, to read and review.  No other compensation was given.  I am not required to give a favorable review.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

I Won I Won!!! (not a book review)

I went to the mailbox today, and had a package...I was kind of expecting a package, a dress I ordered last week, but when I picked this up to get it out of the mailbox, I realized that it was either the heaviest dress I'd ever lifted, or it was something else.  Sure enough, it was not my dress, and when I saw who sent it, my wonderful Sister in Christ, I had to laugh, it is EASTER so what could it be!  Nothing less that an Easter Egg, 14 ounces of pure Heaven (Chocolate Fudge)  and it's mine, all mine.
Thank you Sis, I did have to offer to share a little of it because hubby was standing there when I opened the box.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Beside Still Waters by Tricia Goyer

This book is scheduled for release about April 1, 2011
Published by B&H Publishing Group, Nashville TN

Marianna Sommer is 18, her birth date is the same date as the death of 2 of her sisters, when their buggy was hit by an 18 wheeler. Raised Amish, she's always known about her sisters deaths and feels as if she doesn't quite replace them, so she has been a dutiful, and industrious daughter her whole life. She plans to join the church in the fall, and hopefully marry Aaron Zook.

Her older brother, Levi, has left the Amish life, and works and lives in a community nearby, to the shame of his family. When a younger brother mentions that he will go live with Levi, when he reaches the age of Rumschpringe, Abe, their father starts talking of moving to Montana, with the family.

Marianna at first plans to stay in Indiana, but when her father tells her that her mother is expecting another child, and will need her, she agrees to go with them, for 6 months, to help until the baby is born. They pack their belongings, including the quilt that she plans to give Aaron, when it is finished, and board a train to Montana.
The Amish community is quite small, and things are very different for Marianna, and the whole family. She meets Ben on their arrival, who is not Amish, so she tries to keep him at arms length. Before long, she decides to finish her quilt, and sell it to get the money to go back to Indiana, before she becomes to attracted to Ben.

This is a very good book, not like most Amish stories, that I have read. I liked that it tests the boundaries and asks why things are the way they are. Tricia Goyer has done an excellent job of writing, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good story.

I was given a copy of this book to read and review.  No other compensation was given.  All opinions expressed here are my own.

PARADISE VALLEY Dale Cramer

Historical Fiction
Bethany House
a division of Baker Publishing

5 stars

A must read for anyone who likes Amish novels, Historical Fiction, or just a book that you don't want to put down. Dale Cramer has done a wonderful job of weaving a real incident that happened in the 1920s, into a story that is very intriguing.   I would never have known this book was written by a man, had I not read his notes after I finished reading the whole book.

In 1922 Ohio, when Caleb Bender and 4 others in his Amish community were arrested for not sending their younger children to the public schools, he started thinking about what he could do to get his family and friends out of this mess in which they'd found themselves involved.
Seeing a flyer about fertile land in the mountains of Mexico, he starts investigating, and soon decides that he will go, with his family, to check things out, and if it turns out to be land they can farm, the rest will follow over the next year or so.
This is the story of that move, and the year they are there alone, learning to farm this new land, and to communicate in the new language of the people they've chosen to live among
Family of Caleb and Martha Bender:
 Barbara, 11,
Leah, 13
 Rachel, 16, had to leave behind the boy she loves, Jake Weaver,
 hoping he'll follow in the next year.
Mariam, the 18 year old, fears that she won't find a husband already, and what are her chances in the wilds south of the border.
Emma, newlywed, and her husband, Levi, are looking forward to the move, to help hide their secret.
Aaron, 21, unmarried.
Lizzie, 23, remains behind with her husband and 3 children.
Mary, 24, and Husband Ezra, with their 2 sons.
Ada, 27, unmarried, and mentally challenged.

I was given a copy of this book to read and review.  No other compensation was given.  I am not required to write a positive review.

Monday, April 04, 2011

PLAIN PROPOSAL by Beth Wiseman

Plain Proposal
A Daughters of the Promise Novel
by Beth Wiseman
Best Selling Author of Plain Perfect
Published by Thomas Nelson


Miriam Raber was in her rumschpringe, the Amish running around period, before joining the church.
She is in love with Saul Fisher, and has been for years.  She hopes to join the church, marry Saul, and raise a family in the community where she grew up.

Saul though he loves Miriam, has other plans, he wants to move away from Paradise and become a chef.
He has a secret that he doesn't dare share with anyone else in the community, only he and his two younger brothers know this secret.  He tells Miriam that he is leaving Paradise, and she should forget him. She vows to follow him, wherever he leads.  Will she follow him, or will she join the church and marry someone else?  What will it do to her parents, if she leaves?

Miriam's cousin, Shelby, comes to visit, for the summer.  Her parents have divorced, and felt that Shelby should be somewhere else while they try to get her life straightened out.  Shelby isn't Amish, so the life she is thrown into, is completely different from anything she's ever seen. 

This book is different than any other Amish story I've read.  A lot of twists, and everything doesn't work out like most would.  I really enjoyed the book, and would think that anyone who likes Amish stories would also enjoy it.

I recieved a copy of this book to read and review, from Thomas Nelson, through their BookSneeze program.  I recieved no other compensation, and I was not required to give a favorable review.