Archive | August 2019

Meet The Misfits by Melody Carlson

Aug31

Knowing God

Meet The Misfits by Melody Carlson is a fabulous start to a new Christian series aimed at girls aged ten and over. There are powerful lesson on forgiveness to be learnt by us at any age.

Zoey is an eleven year old girl and the voice of the story. We ‘hear’ her fears and worries about life. She is not a Christian but after going to a Christian camp she sees just what it means to live as a follower of Jesus.

Pre-teen girls are not always the nicest and the reader witnesses the underhand bullying that occurs. We see how friendship rivalry plays out and the struggle between the flesh and the spirit response.

Being given a Bible for the first time is special. We want to write our names in it. This reminds the reader that God thinks we are special and He has written each one of our names on His heart. We are all ‘misfits’ who belong in Jesus’ eyes.

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Odd Girl Out by Melody Carlson

Aug31

Puppet On A String

Odd Girl Out by Melody Carlson is a contemporary Christian novel aimed at girls aged ten and over. It is the second book in the Being Zoey series but can be read as a stand-alone.

Once again the reader sees the action through the eyes of eleven year old Zoey. The book focuses on the first few weeks at a new school where friendships are being established. The reader sees how easy it is to feel lonely in a crowd.

Zoey, as a new Christian tries to balance her responses to situations as she wars between the spirit and the flesh.

Bullying is a major theme. It has always been a problem but today we have the added pressure of cyber bullying through social media. There seems to be no escape.

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A Dog Named Beautiful by Rob Kugler

Aug27

The Road Home

A Dog Named Beautiful by Rob Kugler is the true story of Rob Kugler and his chocolate Labrador named Bella. Bella has cancer and this book tells of her final road trip across America. It is a time of bonding, of loving and of making the most of the time that Bella had left. “We can’t stop death… but we can change the way we live.” Rob Kugler is a caring, loving owner who wanted to make Bella’s last months memorable for her and for him. He wanted Bella to truly live. “When life isn’t all about yourself, it’s actually much easier to live.” Life was about Bella and celebrating all that was good.

Bella did not let cancer get her down. After all she did not know she had it. She lived life with gusto, vigour and enthusiasm in spite of losing her front leg to cancer. “The cancer is eating away at her body but it is not dimming her light.”

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The Sleeping Angel by Margarita Morris

Aug27

The Blue Butterfly

The Sleeping Angel by Margarita Morris is a beautiful contemporary and historical novel that had me engaged and enchanted from the start. The action is set in present day and 1870 in the form of a diary. It revolves around Highgate cemetery.

Grief takes many forms – to lose a parent is awful, to lose a child is devastating. The living need answers. Unfortunately there will always be people who prey on the desperate. This links in to the theme of trust. What happens when you suspect someone of wrong doing but no one believes you? There are also secrets that must be kept. Knowing who to trust requires discernment.

To be a single mum in 1870 was a social taboo, no matter how the child was conceived. Unmarried mothers were hidden away in homes run by Sisters. These were places of hard work at best and downright cruel at worst.

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