Queen of the Tearling - Book Review

I picked this book out from our local library because I needed to read a "400 page or more book" from my book list. I took a look at some of the things some critics were saying and decided to give it a try. 

The book takes place in the very distant future, but time seems to have reversed and gone medieval. Not because of time travel, but more because I believe something awful happened that set humanity back into the dark ages. The book mentions something called "The Crossing" that I am somewhat curious to know what happened. The garb the characters wear involves armor, crowns and head pieces; and there are also swords, horse travel, and primitive homes. There does seem to be some form of technology still around, but it is very rare. There is an evil Red Queen that rules her kingdom and other surrounding kingdoms with terror with the help of the "dark thing". That's another angle the book has, there is a mixture of magic and human sacrifice in the book. 

There are some very evil characters, and a lot of human depravity in the book. The Queen of the Tearling is a young woman (Kelsea) that was raised by foster parents that trained her to become the next queen of a kingdom called Tearling. Kelsea's mother was not a very good queen and left it to her brother as regent until Kelsea came of age. Both Kelsea's mother and the regent did a horrible job as rulers allowing their people to be sold as slaves to the Red Queen through a lottery in order to keep her from attacking.  Kelsea does her best to cement her rule with the help of a really likeable guard named Lazarus aka The Mace and the magic of her sapphire necklaces. She is destined to become a queen of legend.


To the Christian: I don't usually read these kinds of books, but regardless it was still a well written book. The author does well in developing her characters, and the plot is okay. I really don't like how the author represents the church - which she makes out to look very Catholic, and that somehow has returned to pre-Reformation days. Either the book is fantasy or it is not. There is a lot of magic in the book which I don't mind, but placing it in a dystopian-post American-era and then adding on top of that the Catholic church really didn't jive with me. Kelsea is an adamant atheist, the Church is obviously one of the bad guys, and the Bible is another religious book that only has good advice in it. I usually wouldn't mind reading some things like this if I am reading historical fiction set in the Renaissance, but in a sci-fi/fantasy book, come on! I get it, you hate religion - specifically the Christian religion. There is  profanity and the violence and gore is descriptive. The Red Queen is an  awful and evil woman and she sacrifices children to a dark force known as the "dark thing". There are several sexual references that are demeaning and shameful. If this was a movie, it would be rated R.

This book is the first book of a trilogy, but at this point I am not sure if I am that interested in reading what happens next. According to IMDB this book is in development in becoming a movie starring Emma Watson as Kelsea and as executive produce. 

I really can't recommend this book. But if you like science fiction, dystopian or fantasy books with very strong female roles you may like it. I wouldn't like any of my teenagers reading this book.

The Alchemist - Book Review

If you are looking for a good book on audio, then this is a great book!  I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it! I had never read a Paulo Coelho book, but had heard of him. This book came as a recommendation from some of my family members, and I am so grateful to them for it.

The book is about a young man who is looking for his treasure and his personal legend. Throughout the book the reader is unaware if the treasure is actual gold and jewels or if it's a person or if it's some form of knowledge. The young man sets off to find this treasure and meets several very interesting characters along the way. The story is set in southern Spain and North Africa and there is a lot that I learned from that part of the world in regards to their culture and customs. The book also provides a bit of magic in the book that is just enough to make for a great story. 

The book is easy to understand and at the same time it is very deep and profound philosophically. There are a lot of life lessons and positive perspectives that could be learned from this book. The boy in the book is a natural optimist and that was very attractive to me. He learned a lot on his travels and we learn with him as he journeys to find his treasure. 

Recommendations: I recommend this book to the wanderer or traveler at heart, to the person who loves stories about wonder and adventure, and to those who may want something easy and fun to read. I also recommend it to anyone who has an unfulfilled dream that they may still aspire to accomplish one day.

To the Christian: The book is clean and at its center it reveals a God in control of His creation. Knowing the history of southern Spain and northern Africa, you would assume that there is a lot of mention of the Muslim faith, and there is. There is even mention of some Hebrew practices. I had a slight problem with God and Allah being interchangeable in this book, but I took all this very lightly due to the magical and fantastical subjects found in the book. For example, one of the characters found a way to change any metal into gold; and the sun and wind can literally speak. There is also transfiguration and immortality is attainable. So I didn't take his interpretation of God too seriously. The alchemist in the book does cite Jesus' words several times as words of wisdom, and unlike a devout Muslim, he even mentions Jesus as the Son of God. There are also dreams and visions that are important within this book and the author references back to Joseph the son of Jacob and his ability to interpret those dreams and visions. My only caution would be that Mr. Coelho does have a universalist leaning, but again, to me that wasn't a problem due to the fantastical prose of the book. There are some beautiful things written about God. If you have a young reader this would be a good book for them to read. You could discuss with them later about who God truly is and what God's Word has to say about man and the nature of his heart. Mr. Coelho believes that God can be found if we look within ourselves. I would argue that we, ourselves, are found if we look within God. 

You can get the book here. 

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

I have a confession to make. This is my first C.S. Lewis book. I cringe to write that, but it is true. I have had the best of intentions to read Lewis, but never got around to it. Countless of times I have read so many beautiful quotes from him. So many pastors who I admire have quoted Lewis in their sermons. The quotes being full of wisdom and intellect in their distinctly-Lewis way. I loved the Narnia movies (well the 1st one and 3rd one, not the 2nd one so much) and fell in love with Aslan and Mr. Tumnus. But unfortunately, I had never read an entire book by him.

With that being said, it was with great joy for me to get this audio book. I really do not like fantasy that much, but this particular book was fairly short and I thought it would be a good start where I could cut my teeth in regards to this genre. 

The book was okay. It had some good quotes here and there, but the story was just too fantastical for me. At the beginning of the book there is a warning that the story is not meant to be theologically accurate, and it wasn't at all. And I think that is where most of my problems were with the book. It's not like Narnia, where everything is a fantasy. Everyone is made up and certain characters allude to Jesus or to God. In "The Great Divorce", the ghosts are experiencing Hell and working to get to Heaven whilst being in Hell, and I just couldn't get past that as I read. I know the story is meant to help the reader understand sin and repentance and ultimately the joy of Heaven, but I just couldn't stop thinking about how death didn't seem so final in this book and that all were technically given a second chance after it. But I continued with the story despite my reluctance. 

Lewis did have some good imagery regarding ghosts who struggled with sins we tend to overlook like: manipulation, gossip and vanity. But I just wished they would not have been "dead already" dealing with these sins.

A quote I really liked from this book was:

 There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ 

I do believe I am a bad judge when it comes to the fantastical. I usually don't read it. I wanted to like this book, but I really didn't. I do want to say though that Lewis was still profoundly effective in explaining sin and the ugliness of it. His word imagery to analyze and clarify the problem with man and the love and joy of God was paramount. (SPOILER ALERT) And then it was somewhat compensating at the end when all of it was just a dream for the narrator of the book. Somewhat . . 

Recommendations:  I recommend this book to those who like metaphors and allusions. Also those who are more philosophical in their theology and who do not mind thinking "what if" on things dealing with the afterlife. 

To the Christian: The book does well in further explaining what sin does to us and how repentance leads to joy. The recurring sin in our lives affects us and those we love more that we could ever imagine, and Lewis does a great job in portraying that with the different characters the narrator meets on his way to Heaven. 

You can buy the book here.

The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory

This book is about Henry VIII's last wife, Kateryn Parr. Again Mrs. Philippa Gregory does a superb job in telling us the story of yet another queen. Besides telling us about the life of Kateryn Parr as queen, Mrs. Gregory also reveals to us the tumultuous times of the first baby steps of the reformation in England. As a Christian, this book really helped give a great amount of insight of the Biblical battles happening during this time.  The Church in England had separated from Rome, and the Bible had been translated into English. 

It was refreshing to read about how much this queen contributed to learning and Biblical scholarship. She was an author in her own right and someone I really grew to love in this book. Her faith and the love she had for the Word of God gave me a renewed passion to study mine even more. A lot of people died to translate the Bible into English. Even she came close to losing her life over her love for the new faith. 

 Most of the history I knew on Kateryn Parr was after the death of King Henry, so for most of the book I kept waiting for King Henry to die and then read about the second part of her life. But I was very grateful that Mrs. Gregory focused mostly on Queen Kateryn during her reign because there is just so much about her that I didn't know. 

The book also mentions the martyr Anne Askew. I had read about her before, and I was pleased to see her interact with Queen Kateryn and her ladies. 

King Henry was a gluttonous monster and as always, Mrs. Gregory depicts and develops this character so well. I found myself hating him and then feeling sorry for him and then hating him again throughout the book. 

Recommendations: I recommend this book to anyone who loves the idea of women learning, especially learning about God's Word. Also to the person who appreciates the Reformation and all the sacrifices made by both men and women for their faith. If you have read Philippa Gregory books before, you will not be let down with this book. It is gripping and it is suspenseful. Even though I knew Kateryn survived, the book still leaves you fearing for her death and rooting for her as she courageously faces the bully, King Henry, over and over again. 

To the Christian: I have always loved the first of Henry's wives the most. But reading this book, I really have grown to love Kateryn. She is a fellow sister in the faith and was a true Reformer. In the book, she does struggle with adulterous thoughts, but that in itself is the beauty of her because there is an actual struggle. She doesn't let these thoughts overtake her though. She fights them with prayer. There is a love scene at the beginning of the book, but it is not long and it is not graphic. There are several love making flashbacks that she has, but they are not more than a sentence or so long. There is a somewhat long scene of King Henry abusing her that is graphic and quiet horrible. There is a recurring dream that Kateryn has that is pretty spooky and another dream describing the interrogation of Anne Askew that is also quite terrifying. 

You can buy the book here.  

Playing with Fire - Book Review

Our family seems to always be traveling somewhere, so on a short trip to southern Illinois to spend some time with my husband, I found this audio book at our local Cracker Barrel. I have never rented from them, but in case you are wondering how it works, it is fairly easy. You pay for the actual audio book, and are charged $3.57 for a week rental. Once you are finished, you return the audio book and are reimbursed for the whole charge except the $3.57. It's not really convenient for non-A types like me, because I frankly don't like returning things to begin with. Things get really complicated for me so very quickly.

About the book: Tess Gerritsen is just a superb storyteller and you are left wondering what is going on until the very end. If you are a music lover, you will just be enraptured by this book. The book begins with a violinist who finds an old piece of gypsy music in an old book store in Rome - specifically it is a waltz. From there, the history of the waltz unfolds and the bizarre behavior of the violinist's daughter just mystifies the story even more. Like the mysterious waltz, the book is haunting with an overtone of sadness. In this book, there are two stories which Mrs. Gerritsen unravels perfectly. One story takes place in 1930's Italy and details the history of the musical piece and the other story takes place in modern times discovering the violinist and her family's past. The book ends too quickly and not how I thought it would (which makes me love it even more!). I waited an extra day to finish listening to the book because I didn't want to part with it, but alas, all things do have to come to an end.

I strongly recommend the audio book because Mrs. Gerritsen actually plays the violin in it and was the one who actually composed the somber waltz! She is just so talented! The lone violin playing in the background just adds to the depth of the book.

To the Christian: (I will leave this part vague as to not spoil the book.)The atrocities in this book remind us of the sin of man and the hope we have in the return of Christ. The physiology of the mind is just a small picture of how magnificent God is in the creation of the brain. God lavished beauty for our eyes, for our taste, for our ears and for all of our senses. In music we get a foretaste of the majesty of our Creator.

After reading this book, I did indulge in listening to some classical violin music and all I could do was just listen in awe at how fallen man can create such beautiful things - an imprint of our Creator.

There is nothing in this book that is coarse or tasteless. I would allow my tween or teen to read it.

You can buy the book or audio book here

Angel of Darkness - Book Review

I read the Alienist several years ago and absolutely loved it. Mr. Carr did an excellent job building the twisted character of the abuser and murderer of the most vulnerable. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about his second book.

The Angel of Darkness is a sequel and there is a new mystery to be solved. A high profile little girl has been kidnapped and the trail begins. But it is a very long trail. The book completely feels like most sequels do. And the style it is written in, gets very frustrating especially in a 700 page book! It was very difficult to finish this book and where Mr. Carr's first book was very realistic, this one was almost silly - in one scene, Theodore Roosevelt comes to save the day along with his shipmates!

There also seems to be an agenda. It feels like Mr. Carr is fighting for women's equality, but going about it in a very disturbing way. He tries to persuade the reader that women are equal to men but not in mind or intelligence, but in how evil they can be. Frankly, that is not the equality I would like championed for me.

I really don't recommend this book to anyone. It really was a bore and the writing style made me ache.

To the Christian: Mankind is depraved to the core. If any of us has any good in us, I believe, it is a grace from God. This book highlights just how depraved a human being can be, even a woman, even a mother. Psalm 14:1b says . . . "there is no one who does good"

There is some gore in the book, and detailed beatings. There are innuendos of sex, but nothing graphic.

Book Review - Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

Pinocchio by C. Collodi

I love old books! I love the way they smell and the way they feel. I love the fonts they used and the color the pages have turned. Everything about old books just brings about a sense of assurance for me, that things can last generations and still bring about strong feelings of wonder and fascination. 

Several years ago my husband and I were at an antique store and found an old copy of Pinocchio. The copy we bought was written in 1914. So being a pretty cherry red book with bold black letters, I placed it among other old books and stared at it for a while. About three days ago, after finishing up a very serious book on culture and the degradation of American Christianity, I decided to take a break from the moribund and picked up Pinocchio and read it. I loved it!

Now, I do love the classic Walt Disney animation, but it pales and is outright tame compared to the revelries found in the book!  I mean, Pinocchio squashes the Cricket in the first couple of chapters! The fairy is a shape-shifter. The Cat gets his paw bit off by Pinocchio. Pinocchio is hung, drowned, burned alive, starved, robbed, humiliated, sent to prison, eaten alive, beaten and so much more! All the animals speak in this book and some give good advice while others cajole and lie. The morals in this book scream at you and you just can't believe how naughty Pinocchio is.

This book would be a fantastic book to read aloud to our children. It speaks on the importance of education, honesty and hard work. And it is outright entertaining. There is not a moment when things get a little boring. Not with Pinocchio. The story coaxes the imagination to come alive in a fantasy where the consequences of idleness, dishonesty, and entitlement have "interesting" repercussions.

Obviously this is an older book and older language is used. There is a term that I probably wouldn't use if I were reading it aloud to my kids, especially the older kids. When Pinocchio is taken away to a place where there is no school and only play. That place is referred to the "Land of Boobies". Clearly, it is not speaking of a woman's breasts, but speaking of a "Land of fools". So I would used "the land of sillies" if I read it aloud.

The book is a little morbid. But I think it is to cause a shock to the reader and imprint Pinocchio's consequences into the reader's mind. In the beginning of the book, Pinocchio sits too close to a fire and his feet are burned off. Also when he turns into a donkey, he is bought by a peasant that is going to skin him and turn his hide into a drum. If that wasn't morbid enough, the peasant ties a large rock to his neck and drowns Pinocchio at sea in order to get his skin. While under water Pinocchio the donkey has his flesh eaten up by fish and as the fish keep eating, they only leave behind Pinocchio (the wooden puppet). Also Pinocchio hides 4 golden coins in his mouth and the Cat and Fox try to pry open his mouth to no avail. They then try to kill him by hanging him in hopes that when he is dead, his mouth will open up thus releasing the coins he is hiding. It is apparent in the book that Pinocchio could have prevented all of these things from happening, if he had just obeyed his father or the good advice given by the Fairy. And that "fear" that is generated from these scenes are meant to be remembered and to then to hopefully steer a bad decision into a good decision.

Although a fantasy, the book speaks a lot of truth regarding behavior and work ethic. Pinocchio continually spends a lot of time wishing he would have made a better decision. People he loves die and suffer because of his bad and selfish decisions. Isn't it so in our own real life?

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a break from serious books. I also recommend it to read aloud to older children.

It didn't take long to read and if I hadn't had seen the animation first, I think it would have been even a more exciting read! Disney (understandably)  left out a lot of parts from the book so it was still entertaining. I giggled and was amazed at what predicaments Pinocchio got himself into. In the end, he does learn his lesson, but at a huge cost to himself and those he loved.

Last To Die - Book Review

This book is part of a series involving the main character Jack Swytek. If you love mystery and intricately woven plots, you will enjoy this book. This is a classic, "who done it" kind of book and it left me guessing until the end.

The story unfolds with the story of a woman (Sally) who loses her daughter in a brutal murder. She is also attacked. Years later, fate and a rich inheritance, allows her to take matters into her own hands to find the murderer of her daughter and in order to do that, she has herself killed. The tale slowly unfolds as the puzzle pieces come together as Sally names the people who have hurt her the most as heirs to her 46 million dollar inheritance. But there's a catch - only the last person alive can inherit Sally's money.

Jack Swyntek is a lawyer who represents one of the "murder" suspects. The suspect is a contract killer with a shady past that everyone warns Jack about. He is also the brother of Jack's best friend, Theo. To thicken the plot, this suspect is also named as an heir to Sally's millions. Tatum (Theo's brother and Jack's client) claims his innocence and Jack takes on the case to represent Tatum.  Soon one by one, the heirs start to die. 

The story is fast paced and Grippando does an excellent job keeping the story fluid and believable. He develops his characters very well and the ending has several climaxes as all is finally tied together. I will definitely be reading more of his books!

I recommend this book to the classic mystery lover.

You can buy this book by clicking here. 

To the Christian: This book is of this world. There is no mention of God unless the author is making the reader aware than the character doesn't believe in Him. Several times throughout the book people swear. The lawyers are greedy, the main character is selfish and the women are all "hot" and "beautiful".  (I am always surprised by the lack of ugly women in some novels.) There are sexual innuendos but nothing graphic.There are some graphic murder scenes. There is some interesting over-seas humanitarian work that is mentioned quite extensively.

This book allowed me to see life outside my little Christian world. I, like many other Christians, have Christians friends, usually read Christian material, listen to sermons and Christian music and mostly interact with my family or others from my church. So it is always a bit shocking when I read secular books of fiction. As I read, I am constantly thinking, "he needs to pray, I can't believe he didn't call out to God to help him, they are worth more than that, I hope she makes it to Heaven, why doesn't she seek God, etc). My Christian life is not the norm and it's not supposed to be (Matt. 7:13-14), but books of fiction have allowed me to remove my "blinders" to see "normal" people, acting and behaving "normally" as the world would behave. It sounds a bit silly, but these kinds of books have helped me understand people better and hopefully help me in better serve my fellow man and bring glory to my God some way.

 

White Princess Book Review

The White Princess is written by Philippa Gregory and is the story of Elizabeth of York and her rule as Queen of England. Elizabeth of York is the mother of Henry VIII; the grandmother of Queen Mary I, Queen Elizabeth I and James V of Scotland; and the great-grandmother of Mary Stuart Queen of Scots.

The book begins with Elizabeth becoming the wife of Henry Tudor who has become Henry VII King of England. It would be a great advantage to the reader to have read "Lady of the Rivers", "The White Queen" and the "The Red Queen" previously as to understand just how incredible the players of this book are. There are so many names and tangles in the lineage and they are so closely related that it is best to be prepared with foreknowledge of these incredible characters. There is a curse that is spoken of quiet often in the book, and if you do not know the lineage after Henry VII,  you might want to do some research on it. Reading "The Constant Princess" and "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory would help.

The book itself was really well written. Philippa Gregory does an outstanding job in developing the characters in the book. Her history is impeccable and her "theory" of the missing princes makes sense. I love her depiction of Henry Tudor and his mother Margaret Beaufort Countess of Richmond (she is the Red Queen). Although King Henry's anxiety does get a little old by the end of the book.

Queen Elizabeth of  York is a peacemaker and soother. In the book, she deals with a suspicious husband that still has his umbilical cord attached to his mother. She has a mother-in-law from hell and a mother (The White Queen and former Queen of England) with a rebellious heart and spirit that puts her and many others in danger. Throughout the book, Elizabeth of  York is second-guessed, mistrusted, and shamed; but she continuously is dutiful and faithful to her new allegiance.

To the Christian: This book is sexually tame compared to other Philippa Gregory novels.The love scenes (about 4 of them throughout the whole book) are usually no more than a paragraph long and deal mostly with Elizabeth of York's heart than what is happening physically.
                           Like most books written about this time period, the Church and God are involved in the majority of medieval royal life. Prayers, fasts, feast days, confessions, God's sovereignty are sprinkled throughout the book.

Glory to God: I really enjoy reading about these times in history. Everything - life, death, weather, children or lack thereof, sickness, health, war, and so much more are all attributed to God. So much was left to God and the people respected His decision making. These days, we really pat ourselves on the back more than we should. And the day things don't go as we wanted we blame God, never thanking him for the 364 days that things went well.

Scriptures: Our God is in the heavens, He does all that He pleases. Psalm 115:3
                  Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ~ Romans 13:1

If you are interested in this book, you can order it via Amazon by clicking here

Parshah- Judah and Tamar

Last night I read my son the story of Judah and Tamar. We are a little behind in our reading and I thought I would skip this one due to its "graphic" content. I decided not to because Judah and specifically Tamar are mentioned in the New Testament and are Jesus' ancestors. Again there is more sex and death and my son by now is immune. (I survived explaining Hagar, and all of Jacob's 4 wives and children, I can handle Tamar). I obviously skipped some very graphic parts and mentioned Onan's mishaps as just "he didn't obey God". But the wonderful part of last nights parshah was that my son couldn't believe that Judah and Tamar were Jesus' ancestors. He couldn't believe that another sneaky person was related to Jesus. It's been a blessing reading to him these other stories that are not so popular. But this again points out that we can have some really messed up relatives, but still have a chance to not be such screwups.