The Actor and the Housewife

by Shannon Hale

Sigh. Shannon Hale REALLY needs to stay away from writing about the 21st Century.

This book bugged me so much. I desperately wanted to like it, but it was ridiculous. The cheesy and predictable cliches about Mormonism, the preachy, holier than thou attitude made it necessary to read next to a garbage can in order to keep the puke off my rug. Don't get me wrong. I'm active in the LDS church and I think it's admirable that Hale gives voice to fictional characters in "real" life without compromising her values. However, she went the easy route and offered the often perceived self-righteous within their imperfection Mormon, which is really quite sad as she could be using her acclaim to stomp on those stereotypes. Ugh.

The characters were one-dimensional, the plot laughable, and the writing itself was hardly sub-par.The whole thing was so contrived! Near the end of the book, when the alleged point of the relationship between the actor and the housewife comes to light, I literally rolled my eyes. The entire relationship was ridiculous; the person she portrayed as the goody-goody Mormon housewife would, in my humble opinion, never demean themselves by having such a personal relationship with the actor. (Don't miss the sarcasm there.) At this point, I can't even remember the names of these lackluster characters.

The Shack

by William P. YoungThe Shack, although on the bestsellers list, is not a book that I would randomly pick off the shelf at the library. I read it on the recommendation of a co-worker that is a self-professed non-reader. It took me a few chapters to really get into it, but I ended up riveted by the story.

This book is the story of a grieving Father. His family has been torn apart by tragedy and he is wracked by guilt and sorrow. He receives a letter from God inviting him back to the scene of his daughter's murder and, despite his confusion and skepticism, returns to the shack.

The story continues as Mack comes face to face with God and gains valuable insight into himself and his relationship with deity. The Shack is a really hard book to thumb down into a review~ at least for me. It contained startling and poignant ideas about religion and the relationship between God and his children. There was ideology that I'd never considered that made perfect sense and, being Mormon, I had to wonder where these things might fit into the doctrine of the church.

The book was touching and painful and extremely tender. Mack was such a genuine character, very real and his struggles and flaws and thought processes seemed very true to human nature. The stereotypes and preconceived notions about God were turned on their head a bit in this book. He appears as a plump black woman and Jesus appears as a young Semitic man, whereas the Holy Spirit appears as an Asian woman who's form is more like an impressionist painting and who appears more like the wind than an actual person. Mack spends time with each of these individuals, learning about trust, coming to terms with his guilt and grief, overcoming his anger at God and finally being able to heal.

The writing was beautiful, the complexity was as straightforward as possible and I thoroughly enjoyed Mack's journey.

Lonestar Secrets

by Colleen Coble

Lonestar Secrets is the story of a single mother who moves back to the hometown she swore she'd left behind forever. The book incorporates mystery, suspense, and romance as Shannon Astor finds a way to make a new life for herself and her family against unlikely obstacles.

The elements in this story were interwoven successfully, although the plot was not very realistic. I enjoyed the dilemma centered around Shannon's twins. However, I think that could have made up the bulk of the plot line instead of being solved so easily. I was bothered that she was so hung up on Jack's supposed betrayal. I was expecting a huge scandal or an accidental murder and was met with a very silly and immature act which should have been left in High School.

Coble has an easy way of writing, but does give in to some cliches when developing the romance. She took a lot of random things and made them into a huge, interlinking conspiracy of sorts and there were a few details, like Mary-Beth's involvement with a certain man of note in Shannon's small community, that were a little too perfectly lined up.

The characters all seemed to be very uninteresting without the extraordinary events. That being said, Shannon's sass and confidence were very appealing in a heroine, especially one that let the reader glimpse some vulnerability behind her very genuine strength. Jack was also a likable, if predictable, character.

Overall, this book was an easy and enjoyable read, if not taken too seriously.

Rewind

by Jeff Downs

After the belated realization that I had plowed through all of my library books, I went in search of something to read and descended upon the two boxes of novels given to me by an Aunt. Thus, the next two hours flew by, cuddled up on the couch with Rewind.

This was obviously a very quick read and the writing left something to be desired. The story was nothing new; a reinvention of A Christmas Carol. I loathe novels that have a story totally unrelated to religion, but have undertones or elements of religion randomly thrown in. This is especially prevalent in LDS novels, which is the reason I tend to stay away from them unless the story is fully based on religion. Rewind was especially annoying in that respect and I think Downs overplayed the Poor-Me-I'm-So-Pathetic-And-Depressed-And-It's-Making-Me-An-Ungrateful-Douche card.

That said, the last three pages of the book kept those two hours from becoming a total waste of time. There was a sweet surprise at the end, which I really should have seen coming, and an insight that left me pensive long after I turned the final page.

The I Believe Bunny

by Tish Rabe

Recently I signed up to be a Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger. My first read was The I Believe Bunny, a beautifully illustrated children's book.

The I Believe Bunny is the story of a bunny that is feeling a little down during a rainy, gray day. He hears a cry for help and finds a small mouse stuck in the river. He tries desperately to help her and prays to God that he can help the little mouse. Suddenly, his friends arrive to help him save the mouse and the bunny learns a valuable lesson, summed up by the last page:

You CAN make a difference, even a bunny...your size.

I am usually wary when I read something that is classified as Christian Literature, only because, while lovely and mostly congruent with my beliefs, there are sometimes phrases that are used that I would not choose to teach my daughter. This book, however, was more non-denominational Christian and the principles were general and basic. The focus was on prayer and asking for help, two things, the importance of which I would like to impart to my daughter.

The rhythm Rabe uses is lively and effortlessly fun to read aloud, unlike, for example,Dr. Seuss which becomes quite tiring for the tongue. The illustrations by Frank Endersby are colorful and charming. The story captivated my daughter and that in itself made me enjoy it even more.

The Princess

by Lori Wick

I don't even want to write about this book. The story was fine, but it was just lacking all the way around. It read like a 102 page juvenile fiction novel.

The language and dialogue were very stiff and I felt that the characters were TOO good. A Christian faith was the central theme, which I don't normally mind. However, it was just a little too much in this book. Nothing seemed natural or genuine. Also, there were four active generations and it was quite confusing at times.

As love stories go, this one was predictable, but sweet. It was overshadowed by Wick's need to force everything instead of just letting things flow. I liked the philosophy of choosing to love someone and making room in your heart. The characters were likable, but as I said, they didn't seem to have any faults. I did not enjoy that Wick made up a country within the real world. For some reason it just didn't work for me and there was nothing truly original or unique about the imaginary country that made it necessary; it could have been England.

The Princess is one I might skim through again, but definitely not a favorite.

The Devil and Miss Prym

by Paulo Coelho

The Devil and Miss Prym is the story of temptation and the rediscovery of faith. It was very well written and the conversations between characters had depth, but Coelho managed not to be patronizing.

This book approached very controversial ideals and yet the book was pretty simple and easily read in a few hours. It was a very interesting examination of humanity and it was startling to realize the justification a person can make in doing evil. The depiction of God was one I did not completely agree with as the religious tone and the beliefs held by the characters were, in many ways, different from my own, but even these thoughts incited new perspectives, which I appreciate.

Overall, I liked the book, but may not ever read it again.