Book Review: 180 Devotions for When Life Is Hard: Encouragement for a Teens Heart

 

180 Devotions for When Life Is Hard (teen girl)

Encouragement for a Teen Girl's Heart

by Rae Simons

Pub Date 01 Jun 2023 | Archive Date 01 Jul 2023

 Barbour Publishing,  Barbour Young Adult

 Christian  |  Teens & YA 

Barbour Publishing has provided me with a copy of 180 Devotions for When Life is Hard for review:

As a result of reading this book, we are reminded that we should praise God not only when life is good, but also when it is difficult:

If everything is going well in your life  your grades are improving, your friendships are blossoming, and every day is smooth sailing  why is it so difficult to provide genuine praise when things are not going so well?

With 180 Devotions for When Life Is Hard, you will find comfort and encouragement for the areas of your life that matter most to you, such as family, friendship, fitting in, health, faith, self-esteem, trust, and more. In this delightful devotional, you will find words that uplift and inspire your soul no matter what life throws at you. 

I give 180 Devotions for When Life is Hard five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

I'm 

Book Review: Bram Stoker:Author of Dracula

 

Bram Stoker: Author of Dracula

An Illustrated Biography

by Neil R Storey

Pub Date 30 Jul 2023 |

 Pen & Sword,  White Owl

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  History  |  Nonfiction (Adult) 

A review copy of Bram Stoker: Author of Dracula has been provided to me by Pen & Sword and Netgalley:

Bram Stoker: Author of Dracula is an affectionate and revealing portrait of the man who invented the vampire novel that defined the genre and led to a new era in Gothic horror literature.

Using decades of painstaking research in libraries, museums, and university archives as well as privileged access to private collections on both sides of the Atlantic, this book presents not only new information about Stoker's ancestry, his life, his loves, and friendships, but also reveals more about the places and people he was inspired by, as well as how he researched and wrote his books. There are numerous articles, short stories and poems that Bram has written for newspapers and magazines. He has published eleven novels and two collections of short stories during his lifetime, but he is best known for one of them: Dracula. Sadly, he did not live to see the success of his work.

As Acting Manager for Sir Henry Irving at the Lyceum Theatre in the West End of London, Bram was a well-known figure during the golden age of British theatre. With his large frame, ebullient nature, red hair and beard, he possessed a soft Irish brogue, was blessed with wit, and could tell a host of entertaining stories for any occasion. Described as having the paw of Hercules and the smile of Machiavelli, he knew what it meant to be a loyal friend above all else.

I give Bram Stoker: Author of Dracula five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: My Sunday Best

 

My Sunday Best

Pearls of Wisdom, Wit, Grace, and Style

by La Verne Ford Wimberly

Pub Date 21 Mar 2023 | Archive Date Not set

 Nelson Books,  Thomas Nelson

 Christian 

Netgalley and Nelson Books have provided me with a copy of My Sunday Best for review

She made us smile with her hats.

It was her smile that gave us hope.

Early in her career as an educator, Dr. La Verne Ford Wimberly helped desegregate the Tulsa school system, served as its superintendent, and had a high school library named after her. It was her determination to remain positive and stay connected during the first year of the COVID pandemic that made Dr. Wimberly a household name.

As a result of posting selfies in her Sunday best for fifty-two consecutive weeks during one of the most difficult periods in our country's history, Dr. Wimberly became a viral sensation-for her hats, her smile, and most importantly, her joy.  

Underneath Dr. Wimberly's elegant church finery lies a wise, warm, and witty octogenarian who is still committed to the values she learned as a child:

Having faith in God and in our country

Family devotion

Having a positive attitude

Living a life of service

 

This book contains color photographs of all Dr. Wimberly's famous selfies (no repeated outfits! ), fascinating true stories, words of wisdom, and prayers of devotion and gratitude. In this beautiful book, we are provided with an insight into the life and spirit of a woman who inspired an entire nation. Dr. Wimberly reminds us that a life well lived is characterized by loving God, loving people, and having fun.

I give My Sunday Best five out of five Stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: I, Julian

 

I, Julian: The fictional autobiography of Julian of Norwich

The fictional autobiography of Julian of Norwich

by Claire Gilbert

Pub Date 13 Apr 2023 

 John Murray,  Hodder & Stoughton

 Christian  |  Historical Fiction  |  Literary Fiction 

Netgalley and John Murray have provided me with a copy of I Julian for review:

It is in 1347 that the first pestilence rages across the country. In the early years of Julian of Norwich's life, she is confronted with the strangeness of death: first her father, then her husband and her child. She experiences mystical visions when she becomes ill herself. Julian is at risk, however, when the Church actively condemns heretics amid suspicion and menace. 

A medieval woman dares to tell her own story in I, Julian.

In spite of grief, plague, the church, and societal expectations, Julian finds a way to live a life of freedom - as an anchoress, bricked up on the side of a church. Assisted by Thomas, a Benedictine monk from Norwich Cathedral, she writes of her experiences and offers advice to others. As Julian's manuscripts are protected by trusted sisters and passed from hand to hand, it becomes the first book to be written in English by a woman. 

A sensitive, luminous, meditative and powerful fictional portrayal of the life of Julian of Norwich - the mother, mystic, and radical.

I give I, Julian five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Forgotten Girls

 

The Forgotten Girls

A Memoir of Friendship and Lost Promise in Rural America

by Monica Potts

Pub Date 30 May 2023 

 Random House Publishing Group - Random House,  Random House

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  Nonfiction (Adult) 

Random House and Netgalley have provided me with a copy of The Forgotten Girls for review:

The two women became fast friends while growing up gifted and working class in the foothills of the Ozarks. 

Even as they navigated the challenges of their tumultuous family lives and declining town - broken marriages, alcohol abuse, and shuttered stores and factories - the girls bonded over their shared love of reading and learning. As they examined the giant map in their middle-school classroom, tracing their fingers over the world that lay ahead, they vowed to escape it as soon as possible. At the end of the day, Monica left Clinton for college and fulfilled her dreams, but Darci, along with many of her friends, could not.

Years later, while working as a journalist covering poverty, Potts discovered what she had always suspected about Arkansas women: their life expectancy had declined precipitously - the sharpest drop in a century. The decline has been attributed to "deaths of despair" such as suicide, alcoholism, and drug overdoses. However, Potts knew their causes were too complex to be identified through a sociological study. She had grown up with these women, and when she saw Darci again, she found that her childhood friend-addicted to drugs, often homeless and a single mother-was now on the path to becoming a statistic.

This compelling narrative skillfully pinpoints the choices that sent Potts and Darci on such divergent paths, and then widens the lens to explain why these choices are so limited. In The Forgotten Girls, we see an intimate, compassionate portrayal of a population in distress, and we gain a unique insight into the way larger forces shape individual lives, including inheritance, education, religion, and politics.

I give The Forgotten Girls five out of five stars!

Happy Reading! 

Book Review: In the Shadow of the River

 In the Shadow of the River

by Ann H. Gabhart

 Revell 

 Christian  |  Historical Fiction 

Revell and Netgalley have provided me with a copy of In the Shadow of the River for review:

If all the world is a stage, then Jacci will play her role.

Her only hope is that her story does not turn out to be tragic.

Five-year-old Jacci Reed is kidnapped from the steamboat her mother, Irena, works on in 1881. As a result of her wounds, Irena takes Jacci aboard the Kingston Floating Palace, a showboat that is moored nearby. It is here that Jacci's actor grandfather tends to her, and it is there that Jacci gets her first taste of the life she is soon to lead.

15 years later, Jacci is an actress aboard the Kingston Floating Palace, largely content with her adopted family of actors, singers, and dancers. Especially Gabe, who has always supported her, and her gruff grandfather, who she has come to know and love. It has been years since Jacci's mother died, but the memory of the altercation that ultimately resulted in her death--and the cryptic things Jacci has heard about her past--are always present in the back of her mind.

When someone on the showboat attempts to kill Jacci, it is evident that her questions need to be answered. Secrets, however, tend to remain hidden, and she will have a difficult time finding the answers she needs. It is Gabe's only hope that they will arrive in time for him and Jacci to be able to begin their future together.

I give In the Shadows of the River five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!