The Girl Behind the Red Rope
Based on the previously mentioned books, I kind of knew what to expect: dystopian-ish setting, tangible evil (here- the Fury), a seductive evil person, a bunch of references to light and darkness, a Jesus-like child character who is either smiling, singing, or laughing, a green water experience, the seeming death of a 'savior'-type character, and a supernatural showdown. It had all the elements, and…
What They Meant For Evil
Rebecca's hardship begins at the tender age of 4 when her village was attacked. As she recounts the events throughout her childhood she maintains childlike innocence in her writing voice which I found very effective in understanding the world through her eyes. She lost so much, but her faith was strong and she didn't allow her pain and suffering to taint her view of God.
Beneath A Scarlet Sky
A story of courage, espionage, love, and loss. What I liked about this story, was first that it is a true story, but second that it…
Bloodlines
Part passion for the cross and diverse, biblical unity, part bearing witness to the freedom he experienced from racism, and part responsibility to shepherd God’s church, Piper lays out in his book the ways the gospel is essential to racial reconciliation and seeing the church look more like the diverse church reflected in Scripture.
You Were Always Mine
A little more slow-moving than I generally prefer, but I wouldn’t call it boring. Really interesting subject matter. Having experienced adoption and loss herself, the author exposes the raw emotion and honesty involved with both and lets us…
Divided By Faith
I’ve been trying to challenge myself and really consider what I think about racial inequality. I’ve realized that I largely avoid it. I’ve been coming to terms with the fact that it’s more prevalent than I realize, which as this book points out, stems from my own and my friends’ lack of personal experience. I wanted to read this book because…
Smoke Screen
I've always liked Terri Blackstock's books. This was no exception. She captures the emotional wreck (what I imagine is pretty realistic) of divorce, a custody battle, and what plays into Brenna's depression and alcohol abuse. Nate, the other main character, is the…
Synapse
He gives you a lot to think about- spiritually, ethically, philosophically and technologically. The main plot involving terrorist attacks focuses on Artificial Intelligence in a world where AI is more human-like than ever before. It's not far-fetched to think about it becoming…
Girl, Wash Your Face
Hollis writes that she never reads reviews anymore, so she probably won’t read this, but I hope she can recognize her mission for herself is pushing God out of her life. Don’t let this be true of you.
You Who?
"If you are looking for a book that will gently pet your bangs and soothe your worried brow, telling you how beautiful you are, this is not it."
Talking to Strangers
This reminds me why I minored in Psychology. Studying people is just so fascinating! I've read Outliers, and was equally as interested in that. Here Gladwell explains a lot of interesting social experiments done in the journey to better understand why…
Strands of Truth
Romantic suspense is not a genre I typically go for so I’m not exactly her target audience, and to her credit, I didn’t have the ENTIRE thing figured out by the end so that was good. It wasn’t as…
The Great Alone
No, it was not a thriller, and yes, the dysfunction in the family was angering. But after finishing, I think it painted a good picture of the struggles and psychology behind domestic abuse situations. Although…
Mrs. Sherlock Holmes
Lots of information! Which is what I liked and didn't like at the same time. The TV show Timeless did an episode featuring Mrs. Sherlock Holmes and that was when I was first intrigued by this historical figure. So when I saw this book I knew I needed to read it! It gave me…
How Languages Saved Me
An incredible story! After reading so many WWII novels, this story seemed so unbelievable that he could evade capture for so long and escape authorities several times! Overall it was a fairly positive story…
A Single Light
Intense. Tosca starts out by letting us in on the happenings inside the bunker. When Noah’s daily messages stop coming the people are left wondering what is going on outside the silo and what the world be like when the door finally opens? Tosca captured my attention right away with the mystery and suspense. The added deadline of…
Everybody, Always
So many people rave about this book. I don’t. But maybe you should still read it. So what was the problem? After each time I read part of this book, I came away thinking…
The Storyteller
Why are there so many WWII books? And why do I keep reading them?! Every time I read them my heart is broken in new ways. It is just unfathomable to even experience the Holocaust secondhand through the written word. This quote from the book is…
Killing Kennedy
”Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment, that was known as Camelot.” If you like history and don’t already know everything there is to know about JFK, this is an excellent book! It is similar to…
The Good Liar
Fast-paced psychological thriller. Which woman is the good liar?