Book Review: The Boy at the Back of the Class

The Boy at the Back of the Class
by Onjali Q. Raúf

Random House Children’s

Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Children’s Fiction

Pub Date 06 Aug 2019

I am reviewing a copy of The Boy at the Back of the Class through Delacorte Books for Young Readers:

There was an empty chair at the back of Mrs Khan’s classroom, but on the third Tuesday of the new school year it is filled by a new kid, a Syrian Refugee named Ahmet.

Everyone is curious about the new kid in class. He doesn’t seem to smile and he doesn’t talk much! After learning that Ahmet fled from a very real war and ended up being separated from his family along the way a group of his classmates come together to concoct the Greatest Idea in the World, a magnificent plan to reunite Ahmet with his loved ones.

This book tales the Refugees story with humor and heart, sharing the story or the Refugee crisis in the way kids can.

I give The Boy in the Back Of the Class five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Long Ride

The Long Ride
by Marina Budhos

Random House Children’s

Wendy Lamb Books

Children’s Fiction

Pub Date 24 Sep 2019

I am reviewing a copy of The Long Ride through Random House Children’s/ Wendy Lamb Books and Netgalley:

Jamila Clarke, Josie Rivera and Francesca George are three mixed race girls are close friends whose parents all immigrated to the U.S working hard so they could settle down in a neighborhood with the best schools. The girls are outsiders but they have each other until In the tumult of 1970s New York City, seventh graders are bussed from their neighborhood in Queens to integrate a new school in South Jamaica. Jamila and Josie get bussed to the same school but Francesca is sent to a another school.

At the start of the seventh grade the girls learn they will be part of an experiment, taking a long bus ride to the brand new school whose goal is to mix black and white kids. Their parents do not want them to be experiments so Francesca parents send her to a private school. Jamila and Josie find themselves having to take the bus without Francesca.

While Francesca tests her limits, Josie and Jamila try to establish their footing at a school they really don’t belong in.

I give The Long Ride five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Storm Rising

Storm Rising
by Ronie Kendig

Bethany House

Bethany House Publishers

Christian

Pub Date 02 Jul 2019

I am reviewing a copy Storm Rising through Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley:

The Book of the wars was mentioned in the pages of the Septuagit But was lost to history. But the Book of the Wars has resurfaced its pages hold secrets and dangers never before seen on eart.

Leif Metcalfe is a former Navy Seal who has been given the task to capture the ancient text. Leif has finally been given command of his own team. Their best efforts are thwarted when a notorious Bulgarian Operative Known as Viorica snatches the volume right out from under them.

Iskra Todorova aka “Viorica” is determined to use the book to secure the thing that matters most–freedom. A series of strange storms foretold in the book threaten crops and lives worldwide leaving Iskra having form an uneasy alliance to thwart impending disaster. However, the truth hidden in two-
thousand-year-old text could unleash the storm causing their destruction.

If you are looking for a powerful action packed novel I’d highly recommend Storm Rising!

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Yellow Lantern

The Yellow Lantern
True Colors: Historical Stories of American Crime

by Angie Dicken

Barbour Publishing, Inc.

Barbour Books

Christian , True Crime

Pub Date 01 Aug 2019

I am reviewing a copy of The Yellow Lantern through Barbour Books and Netgalley:

Josephine Clayton is considered dead by everyone in her Massachusetts Village In 1824 especially the doctor she has assisted for months. But she is still very much alive.

Josephine awakens as the next corpse for his research after the doctor illegally obtains her body from a body snatcher. The doctor tries to kill her to cover up his crime, but Josephine somehow convinced him to spare her life. They come up with a deal Josephine will leave her village and work at a far away Cotton Mill. While waiting for her true mission to pose as a mourner and help the body snatcher procure her replacement.

Josephine is praised for her medical remedies with the other female workers at the factory, even gaining the attention of handsome factory manager Braham Taylor. When Braham Taylor’s own loved ones becomes prey for the next grave robbing. Josie must make a decision that could bring her dark past to light and take away her chance from any promise at a future.

I give The Yellow Lantern five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Bethlehem

Bethlehem
A Novel

by Karen Kelly

St. Martin’s Press

Historical Fiction

Pub Date 09 Jul 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Bethlehem through St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley:

She arrives at the Grand Ancestral Home of her husband’s family, she was hoping to strengthen her already falling apart marriage. What she finds though is not expected, tragedy haunts the hallways, whispering of heartache and a past she never knew existed.

Bethlehem is a multigenerational saga that weaves together the lives of two prominent families during the historic steel boom era of Bethlehem, Bethlehem is a mystery, a love story, and a tragedy. It is a story of temptation and regret; a story of secrets and the cost of keeping them; a story of forgiveness.

This book is a powerfully written sags of two families, a love story, and a tragedy that will captivate you from the first page to the last.

I give Bethlehem five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Shades Of Light

Shades of Light
A Novel

by Sharon Garlough Brown

InterVarsity Press

IVP Books

Christian , Religion & Spirituality

Pub Date 20 Aug 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Shades of Light through InterVarsity Press and Netgalley:

I couldn’t turn of the dark thoughts no matter how hard I prayed. I was desperate!

I spent the whole weekend in bed crying. The crying was constant, I couldn’t stop it.

I’ve dealt with bouts of depression before. A kind of dark cloud I have learned to live with. This time it was different. It felt like I was going under, I felt that I would never feel hopeful again. It only made my anxiety worse.

Wren Crawford a social worker, finds herself overwhelmed with the troubles of the world. Her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression are starting to take over her life. She seeks solace in art, spiritual formation, and pastoral care along with traditional therapeutic interventions. But a complicated relationship from her past also threatens to undo her progress.

I give Shades of Light five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Until Every Child is Home

Until Every Child Is Home
Why the Church Can and Must Care for Orphans

by Todd R. Chipman

Moody Publishers

Christian , Parenting & Families

Pub Date 06 Aug 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Until Every Child Is Home through Moody Publishers and Netgalley:

Your Church is probably doing a lot already so trying to convince people to either take part in Foster Care or to Adopt can seem like a daunting and impossible task. It can be hard to get volunteers for Children’s church let alone to foster or even to adopt a child.

What if we are thinking about this in the wrong way though? What if caring for Orphans actually has a positive impact not only on the adopted or Foster Parents life, what if in fact increases your churches ability in various ministries? What if this one Ministry can help open the door for many others?

In this book you will discover how Orphan care can impact six key aspects of ministry. We will meet dozens of families and churches who have experienced the transformative power of orphan care, and learn how you can get involved even if you’re not ready to foster or adopt.

I give Until Every Child is Home five out of five stars.

Happy Reading!

Book Review: I Give Up

I Give Up
The Secret Joy of a Surrendered Life

by Laura Story

Thomas Nelson–W Publishing

Thomas Nelson

Christian

Pub Date 30 Jul 2019

I am reviewing a copy of I Give Up through Thomas Nelson Publishing and Netgalley:

Most of us long to be in control of our schedules, our relationships and our future.

Laura Story a newlywed, thought she had control over the great life she believed lay ahead of her. She followed Jesus after all and even had a promising new job as a worship leader. Why would God not want to fulfill her dreams?

When Laura and her husband, Martin, faced a brain tumor, infertility, as well as son’s birth defect, she realized she’d been looking for a happiness that comes from circumstances, rather than a deeper joy that comes from God. Laura came to realize that she had to surrender the vision for her life so she could embrace God’s vision for her life. Again and again even in the midst of shattered dreams she learned she could embrace God’s vision for her life. Laura learned God’s plan for her life would bring her greater joy than she could ever imagine.

I Give Up would be a great book for anyone wanting to know more about what it means to live A Surrendered Life!

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Beverly Right Here

Beverly, Right Here
by Kate DiCamillo

Candlewick Press

Candlewick

Children’s Fiction

Pub Date 24 Sep 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Beverly Right Here through Candlewick Press and Netgalley:

Beverly wanted to get away, it was what she always wanted, to get away as fast as she could and to stay away.

Beverly Tapinski has run away plenty of times when she was a kid, but now that she’s not a kid, she figures it is not running away, it is leaving. Beverly finds a job, she finds a place to live, and she tries to forget about her dog Buddy now buried under Orange Trees back home. She left her friend Raymie without a word, and her Mother Rhonda who has always only cared about herself. Beverly doesn’t want to have to depend on anyone and certainly doesn’t want anyone to depend on her. Despite her best efforts, she can’t help forming connections with the people around her — and gradually, she learns to see herself through their eyes. In a touching, funny, and fearless conclusion to her sequence of novels about the beloved Three Rancheros.

If you are looking for a powerful young Adult, coming of age novel, Beverly Right Here is just the book!

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Renia’s Diary

Renia’s Diary
A Holocaust Journal

by Renia Spiegel

St. Martin’s Press

Biographies & Memoirs

Pub Date 24 Sep 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Renia’s Diary through St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley:

Renia Spiegel was born in 1924 to an upper Middle Class Jewish Family living in Southeastern Poland, near at what the time was bordered with Romania. She began her diary in 1939 a diary that she considered a friend that she could share everyday worries and joys with. A friend she knew could not be human. By the fall of 1939 Renia and her younger sister Elizabeth (née Arianna) we’re staying with their grandparents in Przemysl, a city in the south, just as the German and Soviet armies invaded Poland. Cut off from their mother, who was in Warsaw, Renia and her family were plunged into war.

Renia much like Anne Frank, used her diary to record her daily life as the Nazi’s spread throughout Europe. Renia tells of her mundane school life, falling in love with her boyfriend Zygmund, as well as the pain of missing her Mother. They were separated by bombs and invading armies.
Renia like Anne Frank had dreams of becoming a writer, and often included poems she had written in her diary. When Renia was forced into the Ghetto with other Jews Zygmund wasable to take Renia and his parents out, but ultimately it was not to safety Renia and Zygmund’s parents were murdered by the Gestapo in July of 1942 when the diary ends.

I give Renia’s Diary five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!