Kinda cute, but

Little Star by Anthony DeStefano

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


*Spoiler Alert*



This is a story about the special star that showed the way to find baby Jesus. I like the parallels the author draws between a tiny, seemingly insignificant and overlooked star and the birth of Jesus. The illustrations are very nice with depth even in muted colors and does a fair job of differentiating between fantasy (more cartoon-like drawings of the stars) and real life (more life-like drawings of people). I also like the parallel of the tiny star giving its life for Jesus. However, like other reviewers, I don’t care for the fact that the star burns out by dawn. The Biblical star did not burn out after one night and we as Christians do not burn out when we are shining with God’s light. The book says there was to be “a special reward … given to the star who could shine the brightest on the night the baby king was born.” If the reward is that some people put a star on their tree at Christmas, I’m sorry but that’s a let down. I could see where some children would be very sensitive to this ending. Biblically, I think the ending should have been different. I would not recommend this book and I don’t know if I will keep it.



I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review





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Forget Me Not by Vicki Hinze

Forget Me Not: A Novel by Vicki Hinze

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


We begin with an unidentified (her name changes three times through the story) main character who loses her identity. She was carjacked, beaten, kidnapped and dumped. She’s left with a spotty memory, gut feelings and her faith in God.



She was dumped in a town with plenty of drama. She looks a lot like Ben Brandt’s late wife. Three years and he’s still not over it. Mayor John Green and local philanthropist Gregory Chessman aren’t who they seem. And Vickie Hinze’s main character is still being followed, shot at, and hit. She doesn’t know who she is or why anyone would want to hurt her. She does believe God loves her and will take care of her through it all.



Hinze does a great job of building suspense and creating mystery. She knows how to create cliff hangers that make the reader keep turning pages. However, the romantic and Christian dialogue seemed forced and a bit preachy. Sometimes the point of view jumped around so quickly I didn’t know who was thinking, speaking, or where I was supposed to be in the scene.



Overall, it wasn’t bad. In fact it was good except for a few parts that dragged (the romantic and Christian dialogue, but I’m not much of a romantic).





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Looking back

Not more than two years ago, I was thinking that reading was unproductive. All my life I have loved reading, but after I had kids I somehow convinced myself that my precious time could not be wasted with useless reading. Then I researched becoming a writer and found “good writers are avid readers.” Uh-oh. So I read books 5-7 of Harry Potter and wasn’t sure where to go next. I tried Debbie Macomber, but I’m just not a Chick Lit girl.

Thankfully, Facebook had the answer. As I reconnected with old friends, I discovered I really enjoy military and police thrillers (Clive Cussler, James R. Hannibal, Michael Angley). Thus began the resolution to read a book each month and post a review—to prove I had read the book, tell friends about great new authors, and to hone my writing skills.

If I read one book each month over the last year, I would have read twelve books. I reviewed my blog and surpassed my goal with fourteen books read and reviewed! Ok, I read a couple that I didn’t review, but I have definitely rediscovered my love for reading. Military and police thrillers, nonfiction, children’s, middle grade, and fantasy—it’s been a lot of fun. I also discovered that some publishing companies (Thomas Nelson Booksneeze.com, Water Brook Multnomah Bloggingforbooks.com) will give you free books if you will blog your review. After getting a new phone this year, I downloaded the Kindle app and enjoy free books through the Vessel Project. Thanks to these resources, I think my love for reading is on the verge of obsession.

I’m looking forward to another year filled with reading and writing. You can also find my reviews on Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Goodreads.com under Jenny Rose.

I Quit!: Stop Pretending Everything Is Fine and Change Your Life by Geri Scazzero

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I Quit! Stop Pretending Everything is Fine and Change your Life by Geri Scazzero



This book is for those who think they have to live two lives: the Christian one and the other one. This book is for those who think they have to put on a Christian façade. This book is for those who think the Christian life is all about sacrifice. This book is for those who think the Christian life is fake. I also think this book is for adults with self-esteem issues.



I originally saw this book advertized in a MOPs magazine. When it became available free on Kindle, I downloaded it. While the things Scazzero was doing as a pastor’s wife and mother, she did them because she had to and she felt should “rather than a gift freely given. [She] mistakenly believed [she] didn’t have a choice.” All of us can get burned out doing things we think we should, because other people think we should, or because we think we have to. This book is about identifying falsehoods, errors in thinking, while identifying God’s call on our life and reclaiming our identity in Christ—the person God has called us to be.



Some have commented that this book does not show a balanced view between sacrifice and putting others first while saying no when necessary and appropriate. Some have commented that this book is too personal and the author vents and rants too much like a therapy session. I will agree that some of her examples and comments seem a little over the top. But rarely can you take 100% of a self-help type book and apply it exactly as the author describes. We are different people with different circumstances. Glean what you can and apply as best fits your situation.



I could relate to many of the examples Scazzero cited as well as the warning signs she mentions. Bottom line—the author is trying to communicate that we shouldn’t be so worried about what others think of us to completely ignore all our wants and needs and be fake just to make others happy. If we are unhappy, we need to identify why—this alone could be difficult and be a bigger, deeper issue than what it would seem.



I also think this is the best book I have read that can help adults with self-esteem issues.





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If you liked A Wrinkle in Time

On the Run by Bill Myers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


On the Run by Bill Myers



Sixteen year-old Zach Dawkins and his thirteen year-old sister Piper are on their way to school with their six year-old little brother Elijah when they witness an accident. A little girl chasing after her run away puppy are both hit by a car. While all eyes are on the little girl, little Elijah picks up the puppy, sits on a curb rocking and whispering. Piper realizes Elijah is not with them and sees him on the curb with the puppy. She’s not the only one. A TV news van arrives on the scene and captures, to Piper’s horror, the lifeless puppy get up. It’s happened—again.



Thus begins an adventure of three kids on the run from an organization that has been tracking Elijah. In the process, they are separated from their parents who are kidnapped by the same organization. The henchmen chasing the kids are comical almost to the point of cartoonish. Throw in a bus ride, crazy inventions and hot-wiring an RV and you have the makings of an exciting adventure.



This is a hard-to-put-down read. If you enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time, you will love this as well.





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Christian Children's writing has improved in 60+ years

Newspaper Caper by Max Elliot Anderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Newspaper Caper by Max Elliot Anderson



Tom Stevens is a twelve-year-old ambitious salesman in Rock Island, Illinois. He recruits his two best friends to assist him with not one but three newspaper routes in order to help them train for football tryouts in the fall and to save up money to buy a car to distribute more papers. All this during summer vacation. Ambitious. Salesman. Yep.



In the wee hours of the morning before sunrise, the three boys stumble across some suspicious activity. A tow truck begins to hook up an expensive car in someone’s driveway along the paper route. But when the tow truck driver sees the boys, he drives off in the truck, leaving the car behind. Later, Tom reads of a string of car thefts around the area in the papers the boys prepare to deliver. He begins to see a connection between the local car repair shop and the thefts. Developing his detective skills, Tom and his friends piece clues together. Where are the cars going? Why don’t the cops see the clues the way Tom does?



This is a fun, easy read for kids ages 8-12. Though Christian, the message is subtle and not heavy at all. There is excitement, adventure, with a few twists and turns for added fun. I will definitely recommend Newspaper Caper by Max Elliot Anderson to my daughter, nephew, and my friends with kids in the age group.





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Keep in mind this book was originally pubbed in 1940

The Swamp Robber by Paul Hutchens

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Sugar Creek Gang: The Swamp Robber by Paul Hutchens



William Jasper “Bill” Collins and his five friends are growing up in a small rural town. Bill and his friend Roy “Dragonfly” Gilbert discover a hidden disguise while out fishing one summer afternoon. The next day, police report a bank robber on the loose and possibly in the area. Bill and Dragonfly get together with their Sugar Creek Gang—Little Jimmy Foote, Big Jim, Leslie “Poetry” Thompson, and Daniel “Circus” Browne—to discuss what they can do about it. Mix in a missing old man from the hills, his long-lost nephew, and the resident drunk and it adds up to quite an adventure for a group of boys, all but one under the age of twelve.



Overall, this is a fun and easy read. I realize this is a Christian book, but still I think it weighs a little heavy on the preachy side. I would recommend The Swamp Robber by Paul Hutchens to any of my friends with boys or girls ages 8-12.





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