The Shack

The Shack by William Paul Young

The Shack is a book about more than one story I would say. First there is the story......and then there is the theology. The story intrigued me. I was drawn in by the cover of the book and then I read the back. A child kidnapped and then the father's healing by spending a weekend with God in the 'shack' where the child was held.

I should have known that I wasn't going to love this book like the zillions of other people that read it because......a) zillions of others liked it.........b) I had to put it down when I realized what was happening to the child..........c) zillions of others liked it.

I hate to say that I don't like this book because I feel like it was a truly faithful and heartfelt endeavor by the author. However I do not like this book and would caution against reading it. If you already have a religion.......you are going to be upset by the messed up theology. If you don't, I would hate for you to read this book and think that it held truth.

On the flip side I am happy that this book has touched so many because that means that there are people out there searching for a personal relationship with God. And that relationship can only bring good to their lives.

The story did make some good points. That God, Jesus and The Holy Ghost are three separate people. The are only one in the sense that they basically have the same mind set about everything. Also I did feel like it did a great job of explaining free agency and its vital importance to everything. God explained that He cannot stop people from making choices because if He stopped one choice He would have to stop all choice..........that making everything pointless. He also explained how he does not create 'bad' things but He will use them to His advantage in bringing to pass 'good'. These were great explanations and I hope that any one that reads this book concentrates on these things.

Also I did like the magical quality and the beauty that was described. The 'story' was a good story.

The things that were clearly horrible were the way that Adam was made to seem like he messed up the whole 'plan' by the choice he and Eve made. This is not so. Without choosing to become mortal the 'plan' had no where to go.

Also the Commandments or basically any rule was made to seem foolish. I believe God actually told Mack (the main character) that he did not have to follow any rules. There was a confusing explanation why this was so.

It also seemed like Jesus was the good guy and God was the bad guy. But then the book really never gave Jesus credit for everything he did. Which if you are a Christian means EVERYTHING.

A huge thing for me also was the way that God was portrayed. I did not like the 'character' he was given to play. If that is what God really was I would not have a problem. But it isn't.

There were surely touching and poignant scenes and some great bits of truth but they were so mixed with untruth that I cannot recommend this book.

Rating 2 I wasn't gagging but I also didn't have a very good feeling when I read this. Many of you may now laugh because I admit to reading unsavory things now and then. However they are put out as unsavory.......not as gospel. I cannot give this book a 1 because there were some points made that were really really good. I am mostly certain that I will throw this book away instead of passing it on.
Rating G

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


Katniss Everdeen lives in the not far off future. North America is divided into 13 districts and the Capitol. In order to keep the peace and remind the population of the Capitol's control, the Hunger Games are staged every year.
The Hunger Games are like a freaky spin on reality T.V. (I'm pretty sure something like this could happen.) Each district has a lottery. They pull the names of one boy and one girl. These 'tributes' go to the Hunger Games and fight to the death........until only one victor stands.
Katniss has been illegally hunting game outside of her district in order to feed herself, her broken shell of a mother, and her little sister Prim. There is not much food to be had in District 12...the Coal District. Katniss teams up with a boy she meets out in the forest. She and Gale help each other hunt.
When the lottery rolls around Katniss is worried that she or Gale could be drawn out. You can receive more food for your family if you allow your name to be entered more times. As the whole district gathers for the drawing of the tributes..........amazingly Prim with only one entry is drawn as the girl tribute. Katniss knowing that Prim will die puts herself forward in place of Prim.
Katniss and Peeta (the male tribute) are quickly whisked away to the Capitol to have make overs and interviews where they will be rated and try to pick up sponsors for the games.
The games are different every year. This year luck is with District 12 and Katniss as the arena is a forest.
Peeta and Katniss become friends. How will they be able to fight to the death? Will they even make it to the end of the games? I desperately want to give a blow by blow so that I can relive the book......but I don't want to spoil.

Good gravy I loved this book. I loved that Katniss was such a good provider and that her love was so great she sacrificed herself. I loved the relationship between Katniss and Peeta. Peeta turns out to be a great guy. Neither character wants to be a killer. They strive for a way to live through the games but not let the government turn them into cold blooded scheming killers.

I highly recommend this book for teens up. Book two should be out in September of this year.....yippee!

Rating 5 I WILL read this again........in fact I borrowed it and I will buy it now.
Rating PG There is killing...that is the point of the games, but I didn't feel like it was too graphic or unwarranted.

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt

I grabbed this quick little read at a book sale. I thought it seemed intriguing because it had won a National Book Award. It was a quick read but I wouldn't rate it with any awards.

Toby's summer in Antler Texas has just begun. Zachary Beaver, billed 'the fattest boy in the world' has just rolled into town in a tiny trailer. Zachary is abandoned by his legal guardian and handler in small town Antler while he looks for other acts to add to the side show. Toby's life also revolves around sadness. His mother just left under the guise of winning a singing contest in Nashville. Toby soon finds that she has gone searching for adventure without him. Dad is quiet and likes the quiet life. Cal, Toby's best friend loses an older brother to the war in Vietnam. Toby's crush Scarlet gives her heart to another boy. Zachary, Cal and Toby become friends before the sideshow pulls out later in the summer.

I am sure this book was supposed to be about not judging by appearances. I didn't think it delved into that far enough. Also it was just strange the way things went with Scarlet. Yes it was plausible, just sort of pointless for me. The whole mother abandonment was glossed over and made to seem okay because she just needed something different. Toby spent a lot of his time wishing to be Cal. He wanted Cal's brother to be his and I think he wanted to be part of Cal's loving intact family. Basically he just had to suck it up that he was nothing but Cal's friend. The book was fine. I wouldn't mind if my kids wanted to read it. I question it as an award winner though. It didn't feel deep enough, nor did it feel resolved in anyway.

Rating 2.5 I struggle with this rating. I don't want to go higher because I felt like the book bordered on pointless but it was still an okay book and I felt for the main character. I would recommend it, I would just say be prepared for good but not great.

Rating PG Nothing too bad, just his desire for Scarlet was not really meant to be understood by the younger crowd.

Freakonomics

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Ha ha! Where to even start. I actually heard of this economist a few years ago on the news, then I stumbled upon the book the other day. I knew I had to pick it up. I love math, numbers and statistics and even though this book is chock full of that, it is not by any means boring.

The book begins by telling how the two authors came together and decided they had enough interesting material to make a book on economics. Then they go on to explain why conventional wisdom is many times completely wrong.

The authors put forth some strange questions and then mathematically or economically answer them. Seriously........I love this. 'What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?' 'How is the KKK like a group of real estate agents?' 'Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?' 'Where have all of the criminals gone?' (You will never guess where they went. Fascinating!) 'What makes a perfect parent?' (Harsh findings here. Although they quantified this, I still have doubts about some of it...that is at least the quality part.) 'Perfect parenting, part II; or would a Roshanda by any other name smell as sweet?' (This is about baby naming. These two guys have even put a number on naming trends in correlation with ethnicity, education and socio-economic status. I would seriously use this as a baby naming book.)

Some of the findings are shocking, even down right revolting and hard to swallow. Some of them I figured out on my own before I read the complete chapter. The two authors are hilarious and charming. I am certain if I were a better hostess/cook or enjoyed social gatherings.....I should have them over for dinner.

Rating 4.5 I am sure I will reference this book in conversation for a very long time!!

Rating PG 13 Even economists run into potty mouths while researching. Multiple uses of the F word while deep in gang territory.

The Hourglass Door

The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

Wowie! I am so glad I found this book! I had so much fun with it.

Up until recently Abby has had a very predictable life. She is dating her next door neighbor Jason. She is planning to go to the state college and room with her friend. Then Abby begins to feel like she needs something different. She applies to a college in the East that cares more about 'living without limits' that her grades. She also meets Dante while she is helping direct her schools production of 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Dante is hot, mysterious and Italian.

Before long Abby finds that Dante may also be dangerous. Dante came from no where and is somehow connected to a hot new band Zero Hour. The band seems to be hiding a secret and bewitching everyone that hears them.

Abby falls for Dante and has a rather smoothe breakup with Jason. Dante and Abby fall head over heals for each other. Dante feels that Abby is able to accept truth. He tells Abby that he has really come from the 1400's and that he was an apprentice to DaVinci. DaVinci made a time machine and Dante was one of the test subjects, chosen because he was fingered for a crime he did not commit. Zero Hour's band mates have also arrived from the same time period and they happen to be the reason Dante was put through the time machine.

I was a little thrown off by 'keeping the balance' thing that Dante has to do in order to stay in the present without going insane. It grew on me the longer I read. Very imaginative.

I love the romance parts......I am such a sucker. All I want is for Dante and Abby to be together! My biggest complaint is that I found this series while only the first book has been published. I wish I wouldn't have stumbled upon it until there were more.

Rating 4.5

Rating G

Spies, Lies and a Pair of Ties

Spies, Lies and a Pair of Ties by Sheralyn Pratt

Rhea (Ray) Jensen is a 24 year old P.I. (Not my favorite subject already). Rhea is cute, smart, athletic and crushing on an old boyfriend that she professes to be 'emotionally married' to. Rhea is working on an important embezzlement case that could endanger her life the closer she comes to the truth. While on a stake out, Rhea runs into a pair of missionaries.

Rhea reminds me a lot of Kinsey Malone of the Sue Grafton novels (minus the sex). She is spunky and brilliant and I loved her. She also has her own moral code in which her dead mother played a large role. I really like finding characters that live a moral life because it is healthy and makes sense even though they may not have a religious reason. Religion did not play a large part in this book. When Rhea had to deal with it, she did it like she does her job. I like the way she looked at issues and brought them up in a manner that didn't seem like this was just an LDS author popping in some religion just for her publisher.

This book was an accidental find. I wasn't sure it was up my alley but I couldn't pass it up for the awesome sale it was on. (Woo Hoo I love library book sales!). I am so glad that I picked it up. I can't wait to read the follow ups 'Welcome to Stalk Lake City' and 'Idle Playgrounds'. I am desperate to know about what happens with Rhea's old crush.

Rating 4 Loved it and loved the character.

Rating PG There was a moment of intense desire that Rhea didn't give in to even though she wanted to (and frankly I did too there for a minute).

Maybe Baby

Maybe Baby by Tenaya Darlington

The blurb on the front said, "Made me laugh out loud....". I did not laugh out loud. Just so you know I don't think the book was so funny.

Judy and Rusty have three grown children and a depressing life. They come home to beer and T.V. They do not interact. The three children have split and are now estranged from their parents. #1 Henry left to join a rock band. #2 Carson is suspiciously fem and leaves as it is becoming more obvious. #3 Gretchen goes to college, majors in women's studies while her parents presume she is majoring in something else. She is enlightened and breaks off contact with her parents.

Out of the blue, Gretchen calls to say that she is pregnant. She is living with a performance art, long haired, unitard wearing guy named Ray. Ray and Gretchen have joined a community in which the children are raised in a gender neutral manner. When the baby is born, only Ray and Gretchen will know the sex. The baby will be dressed in black. Said baby will have blobs of foam to play with so that he/she will not be repressed or brainwashed by gender expectation. If Judy and Rusty want to have any part in He/She's life, they will cooperate with the parenting theory.

In the beginning I did NOT like the characters. They were sad and living without meaning. Judy and Rusty had parented to the best of their ability and their children hated them for it. The children were experimenting with life at an age where they should have known where they were going.

Ray's parent's, or rather mother and boyfriend seems to be open minded (read.....living a pointless life but in an acceptable manner because they were cooler). Ray still doesn't like them. What is a parent to do? It seems you can never make the kids happy.

By the time baby arrives things are changing. Rusty and Judy have begun to morph into living breathing people with feelings that don't feel gray and black and brown and ugly. They have begun to see the ways that they can change and repent of their past........although their past was only lived without understanding of the damage they were doing. I began to see a bright spot.

The family reunites and love and understanding seem to bloom from the desert of their former lives together. They love each other. Judy and Rusty, even though at an age where most people are set in their ways, are able to make some life altering changes. It was surprising and beautiful. Can it happen for other people? I don't know. But it gives hope that we can all see the importance of family and love and relationships and do what we can to foster them and keep them alive.....even if that means admitting we were wrong to things we didn't know were wrong when they happened.

Rating 4 Didn't realize I was going to like it as much as I did.

Rating PG 13 Sex and some language

Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Chiyo was not born to be a geisha. She was sold into what basically seems like prostitution even though that isn't what geisha is supposed to be. Chiyo's mother was dying and her father was aged. A man from a nearby village takes Chiyo and her sister. Chiyo thinks the man will be adopting them. Instead Chiyo is sold to an okiya to be a maid and someday geisha. Her sister is not as lovely and is sold into prostitution.

The story is a lovely one. I am not at all familiar with Eastern history or the life of geisha. I am not sure how truthful this story is. I do wish that it contained more history or maybe the psychology of Eastern tradition because I still don't understand why there are geisha instead of just prostitutes.

Eventually Chiyo is able to begin training to be a geisha though it didn't look promising for quite some time. When she begins her training she receives her new geisha name which is Sayuri. Through most of the book Sayuri is in love with the Chairman. Everything she does is so that one day he may love (I'm not sure that is the right word, but I guess it is.) her in return. Sayuri becomes one of the most successful geisha in Kyoto. She has a danna (sugar daddy) by the time she is eighteen, which is not common.

During WWII all of the geisha are put out and must find some other form of work. Sayuri is lucky enough to have caught the eye of a man that has wanted her for years. He is wealthy and powerful enough to get her into a home in the country where she can live and work. Once the war is over, Nubo (the man that wants to be her new danna) tells her she must return to Kyoto and resume her position as geisha. He tells her if is business is successful enough in the future he will become her danna. This is a huge blow to Sayuri. The Chairman is business partners with Nubo. If Nubo becomes her danna, she and the Chairman can never have a relationship. It would not be honorable.

By the end I am desperate for Sayuri to get the love she desires so much. I do not however like the way she went about trying to achieve that. On one hand I have to give her credit for taking her life into her own hands and not letting other people tell her what she must do. But it was so dishonorable I cringe.

I don't love the lifestyle that Sayuri had to live. I did find the book some how lovely to imagine though. I liked that Sayuri rose to the top despite the odds. I didn't like that geisha seem to be owned by everyone except themselves. I did like that she finally freed herself, or at least saw herself as free because she was willing to make her own choices.

Rating 4 Although I give it a 4, I will probably read it again. I don't want to give it a five because I feel like geisha is beautiful slavery.
Rating R Child abuse, prostitution, sex, violence