Plucked Right Out of the Headlines

Separated by the Border by Gena Thomas is a raw and transparent, personal experience plucked right out of the headlines. Thomas shares her personal experience fostering a child from Honduras who was separated from her family at the border. However, Separated by the Border also includes the back story of the child's mother, why she decided to attempt to immigrate, and what happened to cause the separation.

Thomas does not shy away from telling the story about not only the situation in Honduras but also the harrowing experiences both the child and the mother experienced. As such that are parts of the book that are difficult to read and are definitely not sunshine and roses. Most enlightening is her explanation of the cultural and legal differences between the two countries that played into the child being separated from her step father. Thomas also is transparent about her own journey, both spiritually and living abroad, and the struggles she has faced as a foster parent.

Separated by the Border is highly recommended for anyone who is interested in the current immigration crisis. Regardless of your political viewpoint, reading this book will help you to better understand the desperate situations that lead to immigration attempts. Anyone who is a foster or adoptive parent or is interested in these issues, particularly internationally or cross-culturally, will wish to read the book as well. Book clubs will find this a wonderful book to read and discuss.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Separated by the Border from InterVarsity Press via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Horses! Librarians! The Great Depression!

Horses! Librarians! The Great Depression! Any one of these three aspects would make me favorably disposed to pick up a book. When all three are present, I'm definitely going to read the book. Readers who enjoy historically based fiction with strong female characters will enjoy The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes.

The Giver of Stars focuses on two main characters, Alice and Margery, who are polar opposites in upbringing and background. Alice grew up in England and ended up in the hills and hollers of eastern Kentucky while Margery hales from the area. The daughter of a scalawag, Margery continuously battles against her upbringing and the baggage associated with her last name. Alice battles quite different situations while trying to find her place in her new community. These two disparate characters and several others bond as pack horse librarians. Although Alice and Margery are the main characters, each of the women overcomes a variety of circumstances as well.

Moyes does a good job of depicting the conflict between the various elements of community the librarians serve. The conflict between the well-to-do and downtrodden and the powerful and powerless are highlighted. The powerful and well-to-do attempt to be seen as the keepers of morality and Christianity when in reality they are preserving their power and way of life. Moyes effectively shows how life and attitudes were changing in this time period and how access to books and resources was a key aspect of these changes.

Being a librarian and enjoying history and horses, The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes completely caught my attention from the description. Particularly as I had recently enjoyed The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek I wanted to read more about this period of time. While there are some similarities between the books, they are definitely unique stories. The similarities are unavoidable simply because of the similar setting and the need to retain some historical accuracy.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received The Giver of Stars via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Everyone's Goal is to Write Better!

If you read any non-fiction from Christian publishers, you are most likely familiar with InterVarsity Press (IVP). If that is the case, you have also unknowingly benefited from Andrew Le Peau's talents. Andrew Le Peau has distilled his years of working with and advising writers at IVP into his newest book Write Better: A Lifelong Editor on Craft, Art, and Spirituality.

As the sub-title suggests, Le Peau divides his book into three parts. In Part 1: The Craft of Writing, Le Peau tackles 10 topics which even the most experienced writers struggle with such as opening sentences, writer's block, and re-writing. I found Le Peau's chapters on "The Character of Persuasion" and "The Craft of Persuasion" particularly useful. In these chapters, he addresses topics related to research, finding reliable sources, and bias in sources as well as how to write persuasively. As I teach how to research, I found this section quite useful and will be referencing it frequently.

Moving to Part 2: The Art of Writing, Le Peau emphasizes that all writing needs to be creative writing in order to present content in a new way that will connect with your audience. He then proceeds to discuss tone, metaphor, and other topics. I quite enjoyed his admonition that it's OK to break the "rules" particularly when it serves your purpose.

Part 3: The Spirituality of Writing sets Writing Better apart from all of the other books about writing. Le Peau emphasizes that writing is a spiritual act and can be a ministry. He particularly cautions that those who write and publish in any format are looked up to by others and given authority. This authority must be handled carefully--especially so when dealing with spiritual matters. Le Peau also skillfully addresses the important questions of promoting your work as a writer.

Le Peau concludes this marvelous book with numerous appendices. These 5 appendices include words of wisdom from his years of editing experience regarding topics such as coauthors, copyright, and self-publishing. I will admit that given Le Peau's long history in publishing his comments about self-publishing were a bit surprising but made sense. Le Peau has also posted additional resources online that can be downloaded as well.

Anyone who writes in any capacity or who desires to write should add Write Better to their bookshelf. While focusing on non-fiction writing, many of Le Peau's suggestions apply to fiction as well. While reading the book straight through is wonderful, Write Better will be most useful as a frequently referenced text to work on specific aspects of writing. Writing groups may find it useful to work through each chapter in a workshop setting. Writing teachers will find Le Peau's work a useful resource as a textbook or minimally as a resource in preparing lessons on these topics. His downloadable instructor resource Questions and Exercises for Students and Others is most useful.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Write Better via NetGalley from InterVarsity Press. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Bible and Breakfast

I recently finished reading the new book Bible and Breakfast: 31 Mornings with Jesus--Feeding out Bodies and Soul Together by Asheritah Ciuciu. The title caught my eye as one of my goals as we started this school year was to have a homemade breakfast as a family every morning. Let's say we didn't get much further than the first few weeks although we still have something homemade every once in a while. Back to Bible and Breakfast, Ciuciu does a great job of providing a variety of breakfast recipes but the Bible aspect is definitely the selling point. For each day she includes two devotions. The first she calls a "snack" which is a quick devotional. The second she calls a "feast" which is more of a full-on Bible study. In these studies, Ciuciu has readers using several different parts of the Bible, has questions to think about, models different Bible study methods, and encourages a variety of prayer prompts. There is a lot of good content here that is not just a Bible study but teaches individuals how to study the Bible. Each "snack" and "feast" is interesting, but I did not discern a topical theme that goes throughout the entire month of studies.

The idea of Bible and Breakfast is great. I really like the two devotions per day format as I can see someone reading the "snack" in the morning and then completing the "feast" later in the day during nap time. I also liked that although the tags line is "31 mornings with Jesus" the book could really be used for two months or if you skip weekends, even longer. I think the target audience for this book is young moms or moms who are at home, are self-employed, or otherwise have schedule where they don't have to be in the office at 8. As such, this book is a great option for Christmas presents for the women in your life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Bible and Breakfast via NetGalley from Moody Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

A Harrowing Journey

Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris follows a young woman who literally goes from one hellish experience directly to another. In brief, Cilka, a young Jewish woman, survived the horrors of Auschwitz only to find herself in the Soviet Gulag prison camps in Siberia. However, she is a survivor and endures all of the mistreatment that is endemic to both camps. As the camps were horrific, hard places, the story is hard. Morris does not sugarcoat these experiences. The language is at times coarse and the book does not hide the frequent instances of rape the women of the hut endure nightly. These items are necessary in order for the reader to fully grip how difficult Cilka's life was.

Cilka's Story is the sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz. I have not yet read the earlier book (although I certainly intend to!) but found I was easily able to jump into the story. Author Heather Morris provides enough background for those who are meeting Cilka for the first time as well as sufficient connections to the earlier book to tie them together. An amazing aspect of this book is that it is based on a true story. Morris provides information on the research she did concerning the real-life Cilka and a brief synopsis of her life after the book. Knowing that this wasn't just fiction but real makes this story even more memorable. Readers who enjoy World War II fiction or other historical fiction will enjoy this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Cilka's Journey via NetGalley.. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Learning to Engage in Civil Discourse

In the current politically charged climate, discussing any issue is difficult and can sometimes feel dangerous. The lack of civil discourse in society is concerning. In the book I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening): A Guide to Grace-Filled Conversations, Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth A. Silvers tackle this issue and provide readers with skills and resources to discuss issues in a productive manner. The authors not only write about how to discuss issues productively but also live out these concepts in their podcast Pantsuit Politics.

The two co-authors both identify as people of faith but are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. However, they do not let that stop them from fruitfully discussing a variety of issues. Throughout their book, Holland and Silvers emphasize researching and discussing actual issues and to engage in nuanced conversation. They encourage individuals to focus on what we can agree on and to look at the larger picture instead of just taking sides. Readers will enjoy the introduction to civil discourse but also the civics refresher.

I particularly enjoyed how Holland and Silvers remind readers that you can't make knee-jerk assumptions about anyone's beliefs or viewpoints simply because of their political persuasion or their view on one issue. We have bought into a strict two-party political system where individuals are strait-jacketed into one slate of opinions and not allowed to express opinions that may fall "in-between." While reading I Think You're Wrong, I found myself cheering and agreeing with the authors frequently and yearning for the opportunity to engage in civil discourse with others. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is civic-minded and cares about our country no matter your political persuasion. Book clubs would enjoy reading and discussing this book and then engaging in practical application of the content.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening) via NetGalley from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Under Moonlit Skies

I recently finished Cynthia Roemer's newest book Under Moonlit Skies. This book is the most recent in her Prairie Skies series which includes Under Prairie Skies and Under This Same Sky.

Under Moonlit Skies focuses on the story of Esther Stanton who had been a minor character in the previous books. Esther takes center stage as life circumstances bring her back to the familiar Illinois prairies. While helping her sister's family, she becomes familiar with the hired man "Stew". Life situations take them far from each other physically although they are never far from each other's minds or hearts. Esther soon finds herself resigned to following the rules and expectations others have placed on her. However, a a change of circumstances occurs when Stew uncovers evidence of wrong-doing by her high-falutin' fiance.

Readers who have not yet read the previous books in this series will have missed some background insights into the relationship between Esther and her sister and Esther and her mom but not enough to keep from enjoying the book. In this title, I enjoyed that Roemer effectively pulls in social issues of the time period which provides the opportunity for Stew to show himself worthy even though he lacks in material possessions. This addition adds adventure and depth to the prairie romance. I also enjoy the colorful prairie language the characters utilize. The addition of some varmints and victuals bring about a smile while reading and fond recollection of hearing family members use the same terms. I found myself enjoying this book even more than the previous titles. I can't wait to find out what new stories we can expect from Cynthia next!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I purchased this book via Kindle of my own volition. I am slightly favorably disposed to the author as we are alumni of the same high school and thus have many friends and acquaintances in common. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”