Falling to Heaven: A review

Falling to Heaven: The Surprising Path to Happiness by James L. Ferrell gives some  perspectives on age old troubles.  I found it very useful and a good exercise of my thinking and state of mind.  It repeats the same principle of forgiveness I first read in Ferrell's book called The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Hearts and Homes.  (That book was life-changing for me.  I wish I could give a copy of it to everyone I know.)  The basic idea is that we all sin and are all equally deserving of not being allowed to return to Heavenly Father.  Whether one sins more than another is irrelevant in the fact that we all need Christ's atonement.  We shouldn't judge or condemn others because they sin more than we do.

Falling to Heaven is written by an LDS author with some content the average LDS churchgoer would understand (including references to scripture stories from the Book of Mormon), though there are plenty of references to the Bible other Christians could relate to enough to get the idea.  It reads something like a good church talk.  It is easy to read, unlike a textbook, though by the end of the book I found it hard to give a synopsis.

This book was well worth the time I spent reading it.  I give it a four star rating.

Twilight: A Book Review

When my aunt suggested I read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, I checked the book out from the library. After reading the back cover to see what it was about, I sent it back to the library without reading it. Really? A teenage girl falling in love with a vampire? I don't have time for this. Some time later, I kept hearing about Twilight. Rave reviews were everywhere. My friend showed me the first movie at her house. I thought a couple hours invested in a silly story was better than how long it would take to read the book. I enjoyed it well enough, though I wasn't crazy about it like some people. She said the book was much better than the movie, as they usually are. This friend is what is now called a "Twi-hard" (like diehard for Twilight). She named her firstborn daughter Bella after the character in the book. I have a few other Twihard friends who wear the t-shirts and buy the dolls. One is nicknamed Renesmee after a character from the fourth book. They convinced me to read. I also am friends with a Twi-hater, who is ready to stage a book burning. I figure that this cultural phenomenon was worthy of my review.

Here is my opinion.

Twilight is intoxicating. The writing is emotional. I found myself still thinking about the story when I wasn't reading. I had trouble putting the book down to do my chores and to go to sleep at night. I couldn't wait for the next books to come in at the library, so I actually bought them. I was drawn in by the story, as I was able to feel the emotions of the characters as I read. That's one of my favorite things about a book--when I can feel what it is like to be in it. I didn't care for the second book so much, as Bella is mostly miserable through the whole thing. So was I. Book three picked up and was exciting again. Book four, well that one was just bizarre. Don't let your tweens read it. It's a little risqué.

I think the reason the books have affected so many people so strongly is because of the nature of Edward and Bella's relationship. He is deeply romantic, the epitome of a gentleman, and fiercely protective. He has in inordinate amount of self-control. His love for Bella is so strong, that he is willing to sacrifice his own happiness for her sake. Real women will never find a man to love them like this since he can only do it with supernatural powers and decades of experience. But to read the book is to live it vicariously. It's a thrilling experience. Hopefully women will not rate their husbands against Edward, since he is a fictional character, and the poor guys will undoubtedly fail.

I give Twilight five stars, New Moon two stars, Eclipse four stars, and Breaking Dawn one star.

A Separate Peace

A Separate Peace by John Knowles was on a recommended reading list I looked at recently, so I picked it up. The back cover gave rave reviews.  I have to say that the book was exceptionally well written.  I can only aspire to be able to paint such vivid landscapes with words like Knowles does in this book.  The descriptions were impeccable.  Often the action, though, would come so abruptly that I would have to reread a paragraph or a few sentences to be sure something so dramatic could happen in such a little space.  The foreshadowing was interesting, though it made me feel a bit anxious through most of the book.

The story is about a young man in college during WWII and his odd relationship with his roommate.  Since I have often been curious to know how a man thinks, I enjoyed stepping inside this young man's psyche for a while.  Still, there were moments when I just couldn't understand his motives.  At the end of chapter twelve, I admit that I broke down crying.  I sort of knew what was bound to happen because of the foreshadowing from chapter one, but it still was upsetting.  (I don't want to blow it for you if you haven't read it.)  All in all it was an emotional story, but emotions I'm not accustomed to feeling.  Maybe it's a boy book.  This book is hard to rate. I want to give it 5 stars for the skill of the author.  But it wasn't really very pleasant.  At times when I was angry in the book I wanted to say I hated it and give it a one star, but I kept reading...  I suppose to be able to invoke the emotions is power in a book.  It really deserves much more than one star.  I can see why it is a classic.

The Maze Runner: A Review

Yesterday I finished reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner.  It is a sci-fi book for teens, the first of a trilogy.  I'm giving it a 2 star rating, but let me explain.  James Dashner obviously has a great writing talent.  The book was very well written with plenty of mystery and excitement.  It had that blasted sentence or paragraph at the end of each chapter that makes it impossible to close the book and move on with real life.  It was a gripping story, and I was guilty of letting my chores go a bit too much.  But as well as it was written, I simply did not like the story.  Thomas is a teenager who gets deposited into a community of boys who've all had their memories wiped.  They are trapped in an artificial world where their only hope of escape is through a maze that changes daily and where giant slug robots try to hurt and kill the "Runners" of the maze.  It wasn't pleasant.  I don't enjoy reading for hours about young men being tormented and traumatized.  The end of the book didn't resolve the feeling of angst I had for Thomas and his friends.  I don't intend to read two more books full of this stressful stuff to try and find a happy ending.  Dashner also included his own made-up curse words which are generously slathered throughout the book.  That bugged me.  If you like blood and horror, then this book is great for you, but it's not my thing.

Magic Tree House Series

My daughter has started reading the Magic Tree House series.  There's somewhere around 40 books in the series.  Basically some kids happen upon a tree house with a library in it.  When they look in the books and wish they could be there, the world around them changes to match the story.  I read the first one, Dinosaurs Before Dark.  I give it my parent's approval.  It is a good transition from picture books to chapter books.  The plot line is simplistic, but exciting (well it was for her, but not for me).  There were a few science facts about dinosaurs in the first book, and I imagine there would be something to learn from each of them, but I don't know.
I'm not going to give this book a star rating because I didn't really enjoy it very much, but Belle (age 7) reads them in one sitting and asks for more.

Fablehaven: A Review

I love reading children's and young adult literature.  It isn't so much because the stories are better, but because they are short!  Being the busy mom that I am, I have trouble committing to a huge novel.  When I sit down with a good book, I find it very difficult to put it down.  I love the altered state of consciousness I get into--I am transported into someone else's life for while.  I enjoy the escape.  But when the book is too long, either my productivity suffers, I have to exercise a lot of self control to put it down, or I end up putting it on the shelf and never finishing it because the story gets cold over time.

Anyway...

I finished Fablehaven by Brandon Mull yesterday.  It did not disappoint.  I certainly love a good story that involves fairies.  My mother and daughter and I all share an affinity to sparkles and tiny things.  I loved the description of the preserve and wish that I could visit the garden.  (I am reminded of an exquisite garden I once visited in Malaga, Spain...)  The story is almost a mystery, so I will not divulge many details here, or I will spoil the ride should you choose to pick up this book.  I found myself getting emotional over Seth's deliberate disobedience and all the trouble he caused (it struck a chord I could relate to).  I liked that there were discussion questions listed at the end of the book.  Wouldn't that be fun to actually be involved in a book discussion?  I haven't done that since I was in college.  Unfortunately, my book club meets at a bad time for me.  I read all the books on the list, but have never attended a meeting!

Fablehaven receives my four star rating.
(No foul language, but some vivid descriptions of scary stuff)

Fatherhood by Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby is such a funny guy.  I've been enjoying his humor since I was in grade school.  Does anybody remember Picture Pages?  I can still hear the song in my mind: "Picture Pages, picture pages, time for fun with picture pages, time for me to draw another picture for you!"  I don't recall being wildly entertained by the show, but his pen would make noises as he drew on the board.  The Cosby Show, though, is one of my top ten all time favorite TV shows.  Funny stuff. 
Anyway, I have just finished reading Fatherhood.  The humor doesn't disapoint, and I found myself laughing out loud several times, especially when I recognized the behaviors he described from my own children.  He describes some of the joys and struggles a father may expect from his children from birth to adulthood.The commentaries at the beginning and end were a little dry, but interesting to note how views on psychology and parenting transform over time.

Here is my rating system for books I read:
one star = didn't like it (I won't be reading books to completion that would rate lower than one star)
two stars = it was okay
three stars = it was enjoyable
four stars = really liked it
five stars = couldn't put it down, can't get it out of my head now that it's over

For Fatherhood, I give it three stars