Atonement ~ Ian McEwan

Robbie and Cecilia grew up together in a manner house in England. He being the son of one of the servants and she the privileged daughter of his mother’s employer. And as usually happens in stories the two fall in love, despite their circumstances in life. But fate decreed that the two lovers should not be together, and Robbie is falsely accused of a crime the very night he professes his love. Robbie is sent to prison for several years, and after his release he joins the military to help fight the second World War. Cecilia joins the war effort as well, as a nurse. They meet up with one another before Robbie leaves for France, and they vow that they will be together when he comes back. But both will become victims to the war, and their love will be unrequited.

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I watched this movie a year ago, and I was so moved by the story that after it ended I sat staring at the television while the tears flowed down my face. I watched the DVD extras and discovered that the movie was based upon a book of the same title. Naturally I put the novel on my “must read” list.

Well…it’s NOT a must read. I couldn’t even finish this book. It was excessively wordy and descriptive. McEwan gives the reader so much back-story, and it was just unnecessary information. I tend to like to skip ahead to the dialogue, but there was very little conversation during the first seven chapters. I put the book down to take a break from it, and even two weeks later I dreaded the thought of picking it back up again so much that I decided not to. I already knew the entire plot so what was the point?

This was one of those rare instances where the movie was better than the book. Skip it.

Monday Morning Faith ~ Lori Copeland

40-year-old Johanna is comfortable with the life she's built for herself. A librarian who lives at home to take care of her aging parents. The only thing that bothers her, an aunt who thinks Johanna should be married and makes her opinion known.
But when "Tom Selleck" appears and steals her heart, she's beginning to think maybe her life has turned around and she's not sure if she likes it.
The only thing "wrong" with "Tom Selleck" is that he's headed to Papua New Guinea to be a missionary Dr.
Johanna tries to convince herself she's not in love with him. But when he asks her to go with him, she knows she does actually love him.
Rather shocked and unsure, she finds herself on her way to Papua New Guinea, even though she's 100% sure God's will for her life is not to be a missionary.
Life there, for three weeks, is so totally different from everything she's ever known, reassuring her (or so she thinks) that God's will for her isn't for missions and she starts to question why she's there. She is so far from her comfort zone.
Struggle after struggle tests her faith and when an unexpected tragedy strikes, she knows what she must do ... even if it means "Tom Selleck" is not for her?
Can she really trust and follow the God these missionaries love so dear?
This is another one I enjoyed. Maybe not as much as "A Mile in My Flip-Flops" but it was a good read. There were a couple parts in this one that had me giggling, as well.
I recommend this one, too.

Stranded in Paradise ~ Lori Copeland

Is it possible for almost everything that could go wrong to actually go wrong? It is if you're Tess Nelson.
Tess is a successful, in control of her life business woman.
But when things start to crumble and things she can't control happen, she panics.
She decides she needs a break and flies to Hawaii.
But problem after problem is piled onto her stressful life.
Then to top it off, a handsome, kind of annoying man, also on vacation in Hawaii, keeps crossing her path.
Event after event pushes them together and she keeps seeing that this man has something she does not, a true reliance on God.
When a hurricane that is headed straight for the island throws them together again, she realizes just how strong his faith is and the peace and joy God brings.
Can she truly give up control of her life and trust this God to take control?
I enjoyed this book. Copeland did a good job of keeping the story interesting and exciting. I would recommend this book.

A Mile in My Flip-Flops ~ Melody Carlson

Gretchen, abandoned a few weeks before her wedding by her fiancée, is depressed, gaining wight, eating ice cream to her heart's delight and learning everything about house remodeling and construction ... or that is, everything that one can learn from watching reality T.V. 24/7 in her cramped little apartment with her over sized dog who loves to eat expensive shoes.
Deciding something has got to change, she decides she's going to buy a house, fix it up and sell it. A house flip! Just like on T.V.!
Everything goes great ... at least, that is, until the loan goes through on the house and she starts to work.
Maybe things aren't as easy as they look on the T.V.. Her father, a retired contractor, helps in anyway he can, but things happen and he calls a buddy of his to help out.
Gretchen isn't sure about her father's friend but the deadline on the house is inching closer and she seems to have no other option.
Can she finish the house in time and overcome the ache and pain in her heart at her failed "happily ever after"?
There was one scene that could have been left, but over all I just loved this book! I liked the way Carlson wrote in this one. I thought it was sweet, but also funny. Several times it had me laughing right out loud.
I recommend this book.

The Atonement Child ~ Francine Rivers

One dark evening, as Dinah is walking back to college from work, her mind and heart are thanking God for His goodness to her. A child of God, she praises Him for saving her. For giving her wonderful parents and a godly, amazing fiancée.
Her life seems perfect, until that night she's raped and to her greater horror, she becomes pregnant.
Will she have the abortion her family and friends are pressing her to have? Does God care about her any more?
This well written book is full of surprises in the form of secret after secret that are revealed in the characters.
This book is overly descriptive in some parts, but nothing tragic.
I was getting frustrated with the character's "faith" in the beginning and middle of the book, but was relieved and happy with how they all end up responding to God in the end.
I enjoyed this book the first time I read it and also this time through as well. Definitely a book for adults, however.

My Utmost for His Highest ~ Oswald Chambers

A devotional for one year, this book is a quick read each day. Although Oswald is sometimes hard to understand with how He writes, most of the time he's fairly easy to understand.
I will say, although I learned quite a bit from him, there are many things that I disagree with him on.
But over all it was a good book.
I would recommend reading this book, as long as you are careful to not swallow everything he says without knowing what the Bible says.

Elizabeth Prentiss 'More Love to Thee' ~ Sharon James

Reading "Stepping Heavenward" made me a fan of Elizabeth Prentiss. So when this biography of Elizabeth Prentiss, by Sharon James, was given to me, I was excited to get started.
It was well written and very educational. The one thing that kind of was interesting to me was that James was not afraid of showing a few points where Elizabeth missed the mark. She showed that Elizabeth was, in fact, human.
Reading about Elizabeth was hard, as sorrow upon sorrow seemed to be heaped upon her, but also very encouraging because James made sure to point out Elizabeth's unending, strong trust in Jesus.
Quoiting many things from Elizabeth, James gently shows us the heart of Mrs. Prentiss. I highly recommend this book.

Eight Cousins ~ Louisa May Alcott

Orphaned as a young girl, Rose goes to live on the "Aunt Hill," the hill endearingly called so by those in the area. Her six aunts live on this hill, each with their own family. Each, also, have their own ideas of how to raise her and as she has no parents, and her guardian uncle is on his way back from across the seas, she is subject to obey them.
But soon, Dr. Alec, her guardian uncle, comes and blows her aunts ideas out of the water.
Adjusting to the new care instructions underway she also is trying to figure out how she, an only child, feels about her 7 rambunctious boy cousins.
I really enjoyed this book. I was quite taken with all the characters. I wholly recommend it to any one. I think a young child could even understand it, if it was read to them. It's just a sweet story.

A Christmas Carol ~ Charles Dickens

I’m sure most of us are familiar with the story of Ebenezer Scrooge: the miserly, selfish old fellow who doesn't care about mankind except if they aid in his business of making money. As to his feelings towards Christmas? Well, “Bah. Humbug!” he eloquently declares when his nephew mentions the holiday. Because of his faulty attitude towards others, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts: the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Together they will take him on a journey through events from his life and present to him what kind of death awaits him if he continues on his current course. Ebenezer cannot help but be horrified by what he sees, and he learns a moral that alters him, and his enjoyment of Christmas, forever.
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Let me state for the record that I am NOT a Dickens fan. I have read several of his novels (albeit a few were the Reader’s Digest Condensed Versions), and I haven’t found one that I enjoyed…until now. From the very first paragraphs I found I liked the story. I can only describe Dickens’ writing in this book as easy and cheerful. Even the more morbid parts were still beautifully described. Maybe it was because the book was so short that I found the story so easy and engaging; one could read this book in a few hours. And what I liked best about the book was that it ended happily, but the reader didn’t have to endure chapters upon chapters of depressing events in the main character’s life like in Dickens’ other novels. If you’ve ever thought of reading this popular Christmas story I would encourage you to do so.

Arch Enemy (Looking Glass Wars Series #3) ~ Frank Beddor

This is the third and final book in The Looking Glass Wars Series. What’s that you say? You’ve never heard of them? Well then let me give you a synopsis: Remember the book Alice in Wonderland? Young Alice Liddell has a fantastic dream about falling into a world where rabbits can talk but can’t keep adequate time, odd men wearing hats perpetually have tea, and queens are vile women who try to have their disobedient subjects murdered at every turn. Great story.

Now, take that fantasy world that Alice imagines, and pretend for a moment that it is a real place called Wonderland. Alyss Heart is a princess and is the next in line to the throne. But her mother’s reign is cut short due to a coup by Alyss’s aunt, Redd Heart. Redd wants to rule Wonderland, and she will use her gifted imagination and her lethal army of Card Soldiers to achieve her dream. First on Redd’s agenda: kill Alyss Heart. Accompanied by her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, and through the protection of an army of Chessmen, Alyss escapes Wonderland through a magical portal of mirrors. She ends up in our world, in London, where she must live for the next decade of her life. But all the while Alyss retains a hope that she will one day return to her home world and claim the throne that is rightfully hers.
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This series is decent overall. The books are geared towards young adults so they are relatively easy to read, but they are interesting enough to enthrall older readers as well. I really like the premise of the book--Wonderland being a real place, etc. It was fun to read how Beddor borrowed characters and ideas from Lewis Carroll’s books and tweaked them for this series. I enjoyed books one and two, and I was looking forward to this final novel and the conclusion to the whole story. I was disappointed though. Book three wasn’t as good as the other two, and it seemed rushed; as if the author didn’t put as much effort into the writing. In trying to tie up all the loose ends from the previous novels Beddor jumped around a lot, and he included events that just didn’t seem to fit with the previous books. But I liked the series as a whole, and I would recommend them to teen and adult readers who enjoy the fantasy genre.