Becoming Me by Melody Carlson

Becoming Me by Melody Carson follows the story of Caitlin, a teenage girl who has just decided to pick up a pen and diary and record the events of her life. Immediately, we are transported to a world of youth groups and high school, friendships and cliques. She struggles with each new relationship and many old ones, and in the midst of everything, she searches for the answer to her existence.

I haven’t finished a book that quickly in YEARS! It arrived in the mail on Wednesday. Even while juggling homeschooling, laundry, and dishes, I still managed to finish it on Thursday. The author has amazing insight into the mind of a teenage girl. So many of the topics and feelings she brought up seemed to come straight from my own teenage thoughts and experiences. It was great to revisit some of these feelings, looking back on them with a little bit of humor and a whole lot of contemplation. I kept wishing that the diary were a real one, instead of fictional. The story meant a great deal to me, and the characters seemed like living, breathing people. I yearned to be able to shoot Caitlin an email to see how she’s been doing lately.

If you want to find out more, check out the product page for this book. Or you can preview it here.

Note: In exchange for an honest review, the publisher provided a complimentary copy of this book through Glass Road®.

In the Aerie of the Wolf

Imagine your arranged marriage to a secluded and secretive man. I just finished devouring In the Aerie of the Wolf by Leonora Pruner. The story focuses on a young woman whose financially struggling parents send her to the estate of a wealthy man in exchange for freedom from their debts. As Anne settles into her new home, she is anxious to meet her fiancé, but the mysterious master doesn’t seem interested in introducing himself to her. Will Anne be able to find love in these strange new surroundings?

To tell you the truth, I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I’ve only read just a few Christian fiction books in my whole life; however, this book reveals how much I’ve really missed by ignoring the genre. The story was compelling and full of intrigue. From the first chapter, I was totally hooked. What’s going to happen next? As a matter of fact, I was reading it when I should have been doing other things.

I found myself empathizing with the young woman over and over as she struggled with each new turn of events, and each emotion that accompanied it. While my own experiences have been somewhat different, I have still faced many of the same feelings: doubt, betrayal, and despair, and have received more than my share of grace and redemption.

If you want to find out more, check out the product page for this book.

Note: In exchange for an honest review, the publisher provided a complimentary copy of this book through BookCrash®.

I wanna go back.

I was reading a book review about a book set in the forties. There were 47 comments, and most of the women mentioned that they often wished they had lived in that era. And here I thought I was the only person who longed for “the olden days!”

So many times, I’ve wished that I had been a young married woman in the 40s. I’d like to emulate that lifestyle even now. I’ve even looked online for old sewing patterns so I can dress like they did! But then, it dawned on me one day, as I sat there wondering why God saw fit to place me in the 21st century, that it’s probably a good thing that we’re not all satisfied with how our lifestyles are now. It’s probably good that some of us are looking backwards, trying to bring back the good things from eras long past, seeking out the old paths.

If we were all pressing forward all the time, where would we be today?

Our Last Great Hope

Last week, I finished a wonderful book by Ronnie Floyd, titled Our Last Great Hope. It was a thought-provoking read, albeit a somewhat painful one. Although written in a friendly manner, it was painful because Mr. Floyd is straightforward and doesn’t coddle the Christian who is just “not ready” to witness to the lost and dying world that surrounds us. In the book, he exhorts, encourages, and inspires us to do just that – since that is the true heart of God, and our duty as followers of His Word.

This book really spoke to me. It seems that I always have some excuse why I cannot move from “living out loud” to becoming a witness that actively pursues salvation-related conversation. When I was younger, I thought: when people start taking me seriously, I will. Then I wanted to get my theology just right. (Which, when I finally got serious about it, took me just a few moments to look up key verses and organize my thoughts on paper.) Now, I find that being home most of the time is just another excuse. This book challenged me to see the world through Jesus’ eyes. The cashier, the mailman, the guys with the street department just outside my window. He also makes clear that we should be simultaneously focused on our own neighborhoods, and the on uttermost parts of the earth.

If you want to find out more, check out the product page for this book. Or you can preview it here.

Note: In exchange for an honest review, the publisher provided a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®.