Courting Miss Lancaster

Courting Miss Lancaster by Sarah M. Eden

'Courting Miss Lancaster' is the sequel to 'Seeking Persephone'.  I was given this book and read it without knowing there was a volume preceding it.  I did not find that I needed the previous volume to understand this one.

Harry Windover has fallen for Athena Lancaster.  Poor Harry can never be thought of as an eligible match for her though because he is nearly penniless.  To make Harry's suffering even worse, Harry's best friend is Athena's guardian, and he asks Harry's assistance in finding Athena a suitable gentleman.  Harry decides to show Athena what she doesn't want in a suitor.  Gentlemen with alarming characteristics are introduced and quickly turned away.  With every debacle, Athena needs Harry's comfort more.  What she doesn't understand is that love isn't always like a lightening bolt, sometimes it grows quietly.

Clean, sweet romance!  Even though there must be some...misunderstanding.....to wrench your heart and make you cringe in agony, it's not so bad that you start to hate the story.  Fun, super fast read.  I think I am convinced to find its predecessor and read it too.

Rating 3.5  Sweet, cute, fun, cuddly if necessary......just like you think it would be.
Rating G Pretty darn clean.

The Sugar Queen

   The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

Josey Cirrini exists in a small town that holds it memories and judgements like iron fetters.  Everyone remembers what a beast of a child she was.  Everyone knows now that she lives with her harsh elderly mother and does nothing but care for her.  Everyone knows she is plump and alone.  Josey knows she loves sweets and Adam the mailman, and no one else can know.  In a totally bizarre and magical twist, Josey opens her closet one day to find Della Lee......a local waitress.  Della Lee refuses to leave the confines of the closet, saying only that she won't be there for long before she moves on.  In her rough and caring way, Della Lee helps Josey open up to life.  Soon she isn't going to her closet for sweets but to see Della Lee.  Josey finds friendship and possibly LOVE?

This book didn't seem that interesting when I heard about it.  It came with good recommendations and I did like the author's other book 'Garden Spells'.  What do you know?  I loved it.  I read it lickedy split.  The book was magical and a little mysterious.  Josey was able to make a friend after years of being alone.  Many times I don't like books that lend to a 'sisterly' theme because they tend to cut everyone else out of the picture.  This book wasn't like that.  The girls met and became a great support to each other right away.  There were also some really great quotes in this book.  Allen has a beautiful way with words.

----------

"It feels like he's taken your heart, doesn't it?....Like he's reached in and pulled it out from you. And I bet he smiles like he doesn't know, like he doesn't know he's holding your heart in his hand and you're dying from him."


"You'd be surprised how easy some things can be, things you never thought you'd do, when you take self-restpect out of the equation."


"Sometimes you weren't supposed to share pain. Sometimes it was best just to deal with it alone."



"She'd always known he didn't love her. But it was easier to bear when he didn't know she loved him. That way they were even. Now he knew he had all the power."


Rating PG  domestic abuse, an affair, murder, ghosts
Rating 4.5  Only because I probably won't read it again soon, but I loved the magical qualities and Allen's descriptiveness.

First Love Second Chances

First Love Second Chances by Anita Stansfield

Well it seems I wasn't quite finished with being sentimental.........and I took in the second book. 
Clean, romantic, foreign, struggle with emotions and problems unique to the LDS culture.  Sigh.  I felt fulfilled.

This is the second book put out by Stansfield YEARS ago.  Loved it maybe a hair less than the first one.

Hopefully I am now able to move on to other literature.
Rating 5
Rating PG

First Love and Forever

First Love and Forever by Anita Stansfield

This was the first book I ever read by Stansfield and that is when I fell in love.  After my last read of hers, I was feeling a little sentimental so I reread First Love and Forever.

Emily is in an unhappy marriage to the man that she felt compelled to choose after much prayer.  Ryan was able to give her the one thing that the 'other' man couldn't, a temple marriage.  The 'other' man is Michael Hamilton.  A published Australian nonmember author that Emily met at BYU.  And as far as I can tell besides being an nonmember Michael is nearly perfect.  That aside, Ryan and Emily aren't making happy memories when, after ten years Michael comes back into the picture asking Emily to leave Ryan and marry him. 
What will she do?  Even though all works out in the end..........it is a painful process.
Stansfield at her best.  This is probably my number one top pick out of all of her books....actually her first five were great.
So if you either haven't read this particular Stansfield or you just need to revisit the Hamiltons......it is a nice cozy, romantic escape.
Rating 5 I've read it at least half a dozen times.  I love Michael Hamilton.....I will admit after this reading Emily started to wear on me........but then there was Michael.......
Rating PG   Kissing, reference to marital sex.

The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry

One of my all time faves!  I just read this to my 9,7,4,and 2 year old.  The kids couldn't get enough.  We zipped through in a couple of days.  This book spurred great discussion.

In a futuristic utopian society, Jonas knows nothing about suffering, hunger, anxiety, choice, color, or love.  His path is laid out for him by the age of twelve.  He has a family unit that he was assigned to.  His job will be chosen for him.  His food is provided by community workers.  Everything is the same for everyone.  Choice is made nonexistant so that a wrong choice can never be made.
When Jonas reaches his year of twelve, he is assigned the job he will train for and work in until he is taken to the House of the Old.  Jonas becomes the new Receiver for the community.  Memories from 'back and back and back' are given to Jonas by the aging Receiver turned Giver.  Jonas will hold these memories as an honored Elder.  He will abide the joy and suffering that the community will not be allowed or burdened to know. 
Jonas begins to realize that his utopian community is clearly not as ideal as he once thought.  In fact there is no choice, no emotion, no love.
One part that clearly struck me in this novel was the lack of color.  Many times I have read the same description from those speaking about the oppression of communism.

Rating 5  Everyone should read this.  Very 1984 but cleaner.
Rating PG  Some inferences to sexual feelings that they call 'stirrings' and take pills to squelch.  Also a shocking scene which I won't *spoil*.

This Lullaby

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Remy is a bit caustic about love.  Her father wrote her a lullaby that turned him into a one hit wonder.  The lullaby was the only thing he ever gave her.  Her mother is a romance novelist on her fifth marriage. 
Remy just graduated from high school and this story is about the summer 'between' before she heads off to Stanford.  She has always been the mother in the relationship with her mother.  She has always taken care of everything.  Remy has always protected herself from love by having a formula by which she picks up a guy and dumps him within a short amount of time.  This summer she is ready to have another fling and then head off empty handed to college.  Then she meets Dexter.  He is a musician that eats in her car, doesn't tie his shoes, make his bed or even have food in the fridge.  Dexter is quirky and a much freer spirit than Remy.

I picked this book up determined to hate it.  I thought it was going to be like all of the other teen lit that I have seen lately.  Way over sexualized and without a point.  Well the book was meh.  I did not like the constant drinking and smoking.  The underage drinking did lead Remy into trouble which was only touched on.  Remy was able to acknowledge that she was heading down a bad path because of the way she acted.  She was also able to realize that she was wrong about many of the things that she thought.  She was willing to change when she learned something about herself. 

Rating 3  Not bad.  I did like that the character was able to she her errors and change.  I also liked that despite what I thought........there wasn't sex.
Rating PG 13 to R  Potty potty potty mouth.  Underage drinking, smoking and sex. (The sex is not explicit.  It is indicated that the character has had many sexual relationships during high school.)

Eve A Novel Of The First Woman

Eve A Novel Of The First Woman by Elissa Elliott

Elliot takes poetic license as she delves into the mysterious lives of Adam and Eve.  The story is told by Eve and her daughters; Naava, Aya, and Dara.  Eve tells about the Garden, her relationship with Adam and her children and the undoing of Cain.  Naava is a self centered beauty.  Aya is the caregiver.  Dara is young, sweet, easily swayed and somewhat overlooked.

Elliot had some great nuggets of wisdom interspersed with eh.  I didn't really like any of the characters except maybe Aya.  By the end I finally came to appreciate the Eve that the author set out in the book.  At the end, Elliot did make note of the obvious reasons she had to use such depths of literary license.  Also she explained where her ideas came from.  I appreciated that.

Rating 2.5  The book didn't do it for me.  I think it had great potential and I am really rating it poorly because Eve didn't fit the mold I had for her, which really isn't the author's fault.

Rating R murder, incest, sex,

Crashed

Crashed (Skinned trilogy #2) by Robin Wasserman

In the follow up to Skinned, Lia Kahn has left the home of her former family and is living in a compound/mansion with other mechs. Rights of the mechs' are in question as the Brotherhood become more vocal about how dangerous this new breed of people may be. When Lia's former friend Auden begins speaking out for the Brotherhood against the mechs, Lia is devastated.

Even though she has had no contact with her family in months, when things get tough, they pull through for her.

While living in the compound and trying to figure out or forget what she has become, Lia finally lets someone get close to her. She gets to know Riley.

Although I love the 'idea' of these books, I felt like this one was pretty flat. It took about three hundred pages to feel like I had finally reached the heart of the book. Before that there was too much emotional turmoil........you know the kind.........where you just keep rehashing something you can't seem to get over.

I was glad to see Lia finally have a friend. She felt much more angry in this book and I wasn't going for it.

I did however like learning more about the society after the big wars, and how the caste system had placed people in cities, corp-towns or rich suburbs.

Rating 2.5 I did like the book. It just took a lot of time to cover little ground.

Rating R For language, sex, some homosexuality, drug use (even though it was more like a download, you still understood that it was drug use).

The Silence of Snow

The Silence of Snow (Jayson Wolfe series #5) by Anita Stansfield

Jayson is just ready to release a new album. Times should be wonderful but he is about to learn the lesson of opposition. Tabloid rumors, rumors in his own ward, and illness bring him to another breaking point.

As always Stansfield has great core subjects. I was pleased that she chose to broach opposition. Jayson and his family come through clearly and without so much emotional turmoil that you can't understand what is happening anymore. This book also delved into dealing with chronic illness. Jayson began suffering debilitating migraines and a family member was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

The Celiac Disease part was great. I was happy that she showed what a rigid, life/world changing disease this is and how little it is acknowledged by food companies.

The book was sweet, clean, fun and fast. She dropped most of her 'words' that I always look for. She picked up a few others....'glorious', and 'joyous'. Kind of funny.

I want to hear the music created by this character........I may also want to marry him. Mostly because he works from home.........

Rating 4
Rating PG The family talks to their teen about chastity. The ex-wife is abusing drugs.

Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

The spanking new book following the fabulous Hunger Games!

Katniss and Peeta have outwitted the Capitol and returned triumphant from the Hunger Games. But the Capitol didn't take their embarrassment lying down. They have now devised a way to get back at Katniss, especially since her bold move at the games created revolt in many of the districts. In an unprecedented move............Katniss and Peeta are put back into the Hunger Games.

Wow. The book took turns that were surprising. I really didn't see what Collins had coming in Catching Fire. It did seem to start out slow and didn't really get to the MAIN point for quite some time.

I am still rooting for Peeta and I can't wait for the next book. I hate reading a good series bit by bit.

Rating 4.5 Didn't hold the same shocking thrill for me that book 1 did.

Rating PG Not quite as gory as the previous book. There is killing but it wasn't as violent.

Standing For Something

Standing for Something by Gordon B. Hinckley

This is not a first time read for me. If this book were ever timely when first published, is now extremely timely. President Hinckley lays out the road less traveled. A road that he professes can save humanity if we will all begin the journey in our own lives and homes. Only can we change the world if we start with ourselves.
Although written by the former President of the LDS church, the book is one that should hold great value for all Judeo/Christian sects. Hinckley simply lays out ten virtues that he believes should be our ground work. These virtues may seem to many of us, now lay by the way side in modern society. The ten virtues are love, honesty, morality, civility, learning, forgiveness and mercy, thrift and industry, gratitude, optimism, and finally faith. He goes on to talk of the guardians of these virtues which are marriage and the family. Hinckley has it right when he says that 'we can save our nation by saving our homes'.
Standing for Something is uplifting although it speaks of serious topics and brings to mind our duty to make life better in a time where virtue and morality seem to be quickly fading from our forethought's.
I would recommend this book to anyone whether LDS or not. I didn't feel like any religious sect was at the forefront, only basic Christian principles.
Rating 5 I spent a lot of time underlining thoughts since this was not my first reading.
Rating G

Evermore

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Ever's family is swiftly taken from her in a tragic car crash. She is the only one to survive. Along with the guilt she also walks away with psychic power and the ability to read auras. She is whisked away to live her her rich lawyer aunt in Laguna Beach. Ever has a hard time dealing with the psychic noise and her changed life. She befriends the kids on the fringe knowing they are the only ones to accept her strange behavior.
Ever's life falls into a predictable pattern......go to school in hoodie/ipod to drown out psychic noise, sit through classes full of information she now already 'knows', go home to empty spacious house and wait for visit from dead little sister Riley. Even though it isn't what it used to be, Ever's life is as calm as she can make it. Then Damen arrives. Hot and lusted after by the whole student body for his Italian good looks. And despite the hoodie and mood swings he still likes Ever.
Damen seems hot and cold toward Ever. The touch of his hand makes all of the psychic noise go away and she feels normal again. Eventually Ever learns Damen's story. He is immortal and he has been searching for her.....his lost love. Ever is faced with letting Damen go and resuming her life...making it as normal as possible or sticking with Damen and choosing to possibly never see her family again in heaven.

So.......I was sucked in. I am now officially obsessed with immortal love of all kinds. I now really want to read the next book in this series......Blue Moon which will be released on July 7th.

Rating 5 Yes I will read this again........and now I have to buy it because I borrowed it from my neighbor. Love true/soul mate love.........I really do. I am in love with love.

Rating PG 13 Ever takes to alcoholism for a brief time when she realizes that when she is toasted she can't hear the thoughts of others or see their auras. Also she and Damen get frisky but don't go all of the way. I wouldn't be really happy to have my teen reading something like this that gave them the same kind of desires however it is probably clean compared to many teens real lives. So even though this is a young adult series I would hesitate to recommend it to a young teen..........but mom's go right ahead and get your fix.

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

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

Shelter From The Storm

Shelter From The Storm by Anita Stansfield

This is the fourth novel in the Jayson Wolfe series. Previously things seemed happily wrapped up. This time Jayson and Elizabeth are happy and progressing nicely when Jayson has some mental drama over a nosy ward member. She believes that Jayson is Hell bound because he plays rock and roll. She refuses to let her son have any contact with him. Jayson is released from his Young Men's calling because of this. Jayson spirals downward emotionally. He used to think that his musical talent was a gift from God. Now he is not so sure.

I always profess to be a Stansfield fan. I still am. Does it sound like I am about to say but? I am. I do adore her and will read her books over and over. However (but) there are some that are better than others. I loved the first three books in this series. This one seemed like a stretch and somewhat pointless. Also as Stansfield tends to do at times.........very mentally harrowing. One person wants to keep their feelings bottled up and the other one won't stop nagging them to just dump their emotion all over the floor like Kool-Aid. This gets tedious. By the end though, Jayson sees his former counselor and she actually wraps up the trauma with a great and concise explanation.

The reason I love Stansfield is because her characters have great character and grit. They abide on a spiritual plain that will take me eons of eternity to reach. So they give me things to think about. Her message.....however long it takes her to reach it......is always worth considering. I like that she is willing to broach timely subjects unique to the culture. I do love that many characters are independently wealthy.......truly helpful, but I would love to have a good juicy story about a daddy cop that has to work 7 jobs to keep the family fed, therefore not truly able to hold most callings where dependability is needed.....nor can he make it to every FHE or scripture reading. I wonder how he would ever make it on such a lofty spiritual plain. Please consider writing this and giving me some ideas. Just a thought.

Rating 4 ish.........love you Anita.
Rating G

As Long As I Have You

As Long As I Have You Hearts of the Children Vol. 5 by Dean Hughes

The end of the war finally comes for the Thomas family. Everyone except poor sweet Gene returns home to Utah. Even the Stoltz family is brought to America. At first the book seemed to be wrapping up nicely. Then we come to find that the boys (Alex, Wally and Richard) have varying degrees of PTS (post traumatic stress).

Wally makes it home first. He is shipped around to different hospitals. He is fattened up, checked for diseases, and vaccinated. When he returns home he quickly learns to enjoy life again. He seems even better than the old Wally. Much deeper. Lorainne by some miracle is only engaged, not yet married. Once she sees Wally, she knows that she still loves him. Wally and Lorrainne are engaged and married quickly. Wally begins working for President Thomas as the family parts plant. His life seems set and happy.

Bobbi is the next to return. There are moments that are incredibly tense and weird feeling between Richard and Bobbi. She wants him to want her. (Who doesn't?) He is still suffering with feelings and flashbacks from being blown to high heaven by a Kamikaze pilot. They finally marry and they still have a stiff, strange relationship. At one point Bobbi has a miscarriage. Richard has been working for President Thomas so that he can give Bobbi the lifestyle he thinks is important. Finally Bobbi can't take anymore weirdness and confronts Richard about his pent up feelings and the fact that she thinks he does not enjoy his job. Richard tells Bobbi about some things during the war that he never wanted to share with her. He also agrees to go back to college and do something with his life that he will truly enjoy.

Peter shows up in the same German LDS branch that Alex has just been given a calling in. He finds that Alex is now his brother-in- law and that his family is still alive. It may have been a little contrived and tightly wrapped up at this point, but I am glad that Peter was able to reconnect with his family. Peter is reunited with the Stoltz family and moves to America with them. They live in Salt Lake where President Thomas has made jobs for Heinrich and for Peter. He has also provided a house and a car for them. Peter does not like America as much as the rest of his family. He does not learn the language as quickly either. He wants to return to Germany and help rebuild it. He also has fallen in love with the young daughter of the family that took him in and saved his life.

LaRue is growing up and becoming more serious. She doesn't date and she doesn't seem to care for clothing as much as she did in the past. High school is ending for her and she is able to receive a scholarship to a college out East. President Thomas is concerned for LaRue. He is afraid that once she leaves the valley, her faith with subside and she will be brainwashed by the liberal thinkers she meets. LaRue wants to leave for this reason. The more she ponders, the more she wonders if her faith is really strong enough. She has many doubts which become strikingly more evident when she talks with her friend Cecil and her younger sister Beverly. LaRue hopes that leaving the family will make her rely on her own faith more.

Alex is the last to return home. He has a very hard time adjusting to being a father of a one year old that he has never met. He realizes that he has hardly spent any time with Anna. President Thomas wants to put Alex right back at the head of the family business but Alex has other ideas. Alex suffers with anxiety and anger from the horrors he saw and feels like he committed while in the Army. He refuses to say anything about what occurred while he was away. He is angered that anyone would think he is a hero. Finally Wally and Richard help Alex begin talking about some of the things that are plaguing his mind after Alex freaks out at the plant where he works. Alex realizes that they do understand him and that he can speak to them frankly about his fears and regrets. He gets closer to Anna and his baby Gene. He and Anna are soon expecting another baby. Alex decides that he may stay with his father's business and later enter politics.

If felt like the story wrapped up fairly neatly. I am sure some people find that not really true to life, but there is another series to follow this one. I like feeling like most things have been resolved. I really loved this series and felt like I learned a good deal of history while coming to love the characters.

Rating 5
Rating PG war stories of the violence that occurred to the soldiers.

To A Child Love Is Spelled T-I-M-E

To a Child LOVE is Spelled T-I-M-E by Mac Anderson & Lance Wubbles

Super short read, which I will probably pick up now and again just to keep me focused on being the right kind of mom. Anderson and Wubbles have compiled great thoughts on parenting along with some fabulous quotes. As I was reading it, I immediately had it pointed out to me that no matter how tired or hurried I am I need to give time to my children. So I let the baby fall asleep on my bare stomach as he is prone to desire, and I read the whole book. Then I promptly got up this morning to read to one of the other little ones.

A favorite quote: "Our greatest danger in life is in permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important. -Charels E. Hummel

I was reminded over and over where to keep my focus. I think I will keep this next to my bed to read frequently. Topics range from responsibility, time, love, listening, marriage relationship, traditions, and discipline.

Quote: "At every step the child should be allowed to meet the real experiences of life; the thorns should never be plucked from his rose." -Ellen Key

Rating 5

Rating G

Ready or Not

Ready or Not by Meg Cabot

This is the follow up novel to American Girl. Sam is still dating the First Son and being a teen ambassador. This time Sam's conundrum is whether or not to have sex with boyfriend David. She is also publicly supporting the Presidents new Family agenda. The agenda includes ratting out young girls to their parents if they are seeking contraception. Sam mistakenly announces that she has said yes to sex during a televised town meeting held at her high school. Although Sam has not agreed to be sexual with David, everyone including their families think she has.

Sam is called a slut at school. The popular girls try to ostracize her. Sam's popular sister Lucy stands up for her. Many others in the school join in and Sam finds that she has more friends than she thought.

Sam has been invited to Camp David with the First Family for Thanksgiving. She thinks that David has invited her in order to have sex with her for the first time. She decides that she is not ready. She then finds that David truly invited her just to invite her and had no other plans. Let down and a bit angry she then decides she is ready for sex and 'jumps his bones'. She feels that she has come to the realization that sex did not change their relationship. She also learns that her popular sister, although having had a steady boyfriend for a long time......has not had sex.

I was a bit surprised to have this book revolving so much around the choice to be sexually active as a teen. While I am semi glad that someone as broached this subject, I was not thrilled with the outcome. Sorry Sam, but sex changes everything. Also as a book geared toward young teens I was not at all happy about other sexual tips garnered in this read.

Rating 2 I did have fun reading it, but I didn't like the message to the target audience. I know that is a totally personal opinion.......... but that's the whole point of posting.

Rating PG 13 contraception, sex, sexual acts, language

When We Meet Again Children of the Promise Vol. 4

When We Meet Again Children of the Promise Vol. 4 by Dean Hughes

WWII is nearing it's end. The Thomas family anticipates reunion.

Alex is sent to army intelligence. He must drop in to enemy territory with a German ex patriot to find landing zones and heavy artillery that must be destroyed. He is successful, but when he tries to return to the Allies he is taken captive and his partner is shot and killed. Finally the Allied troops believe Alex and he is released. The war ends in Europe. Alex is sent home to Anna on leave. He cannot stay until their baby is born. He returns to Germany because he is fluent in German. He is to seek out Nazi and Gestapo leaders to be turned over for their war crimes. His son Gene is born in London. Alex is able to find Anna's father. He tells Papa Stoltz that he will continue looking for Peter, but that he should return to London and care for Anna and her mother and the new baby. Papa agrees but is reticent to give up on the search.

Anna is used by Allied intelligence to translate recordings of Allied spies from German to English. She hears Alex's voice. She fears for his safety and is angry that he would risk so much when he has a child on the way. She and Alex are reunited for a short time before the birth of Gene. She knows that the end of the war for Europe will not be the end of the war for Alex. With his skills, he will be left behind to attend to much of the damage and rebuilding.

Bobbi is on the Naval hospital ship The Charity. They are sent out to the Pacific Islands as the war there rages on. Her ship is bombed by a Kamikaze pilot. She and Richard are engaged but Richard is home in Utah having reconstructive surgery on his hands. He seems concerned that President Thomas has big plans for his family involving money and production plants after the war. Richard is afraid he will not be able to give Bobbi the same kind of life. Bobbi is upset because she wants Richard to fight for her and not care about income. Richard meets the Thomases.

Wally is still a POW in Japan. He works the Japanese mines. When Hiroshima has an atomic bomb dropped, the war ends in the Pacific soon after. The POW's are released. Many have built up anger towards their captors. Wally begins to feel bad for the general public of Japan. Once he has been able to get food for himself, he begins traveling around sharing what he has with the Japanese. Eventually Wally is able to make it out of Japan and home to America. He finally learns of Gene's death as he contacts his family. He and the other men wonder how deep the scars from being held captive and abused will run. They wonder if they will ever be able to act normal again.

LaRue befriends a boy in her class that is intelligent and easy to talk to but he doesn't keep up on current fashion. She leads him on with her friendship knowing that he could never be more to her because of his "coolness" factor. LaRue and President Thomas continue their power struggle. LaRue thinks that her father doesn't like her.

Once again I am loving this series. I feel like I have learned so much about this era. My favorite is the way that Wally still has such a deep urge to remain humane and spiritual despite the horror he is shown by his captors.

Rating 5

Rating PG war

Love Comes Softly

Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke


I am learning that this author and these books are quite popular and from the picture I assume they are also movies. This series was recommended to me and so I thought I would give it a whirl.

Marty (Martha) is a young bride, in love with her husband Clem and pregnant with his child. They have moved west to settle and make their way. They have no land or home, just a wagon. Clem is killed in an accident with his horse, leaving Marty alone on the frontier. As the neighboring homesteaders come to help bury her husband, Marty sits in shock.

Clark, one of her new neighbors, bashfully and with great price, asks Marty if she will marry him. He knows she is all alone and he cannot offer her shelter if they are not married. Clark as a one year old daughter that he needs a mother for. If Marty agrees they will be married by the visiting preacher before he leaves the settlement. She will be the mother to Missy. Clark will move from the house into a lean-to. He will let Marty leave in the spring and take Missy when the time comes, if she decides not to stay.

Marty of course struggles with the loss of Clem and becoming an instant mother and wife to a stranger. Clark is a good and kind man that is supportive and positive. He is soft spoken and gentle with Marty as she learns about running a home and farm. He teaches her about God, whom she comes to love.

Marty meets the neighbors and learns to love and rely on them. Clark finally realizes that Marty is pregnant with Clem's baby and makes arrangements for her to be cared for when her time comes. Clark takes the baby as his own just as Marty did for Missy. Clark and Marty become increasingly comfortable with each other as they struggle on the western front. They make it through the destruction of their barn and much of their grain. They see through the death of a dear neighbor. Clark and Marty plant a garden and care for their children, adding more rooms onto their home. Finally when their new son nearly dies by accident, the two realize that love has finally come to them.

Sweet story. I can see why they are popular. I sometimes felt like Marty didn't give Clark a chance and thought poorly of him when he was trying to be supportive of their predicament. My biggest complaint is the speech. I'm not saying Oke made a mistake in the way she chose to have her characters talk, but it was very distracting for me to read.

Would be very interested to see the movie version.

Rating 3.5 Sweet
Rating G Great clean read