Life as a Leach

Having never reviewed a Bible before, this was a new experience.  But this Bible was a special one because it was made especially for breast cancer survivors.  Zondervan donated a portion of the proceeds to breast cancer research. There were 9 pages of reflections written with the survivor in mind, offering practical advice and encouragement.  I was disappointed that there weren't more of these pages, given that there were no other devotional pages.  I really would have liked to see more of a focus on encouraging survivors throughout the entire Bible, rather than just 9 pages. What drew me first to the Bible was the beautiful Italian leather cover.  It's a two-toned pink cover and has just enough embellishments to make it pretty and feminine.  I also really love cherry blossoms and was pleased to see that they were included on the reflection pages instead of just on the box. One of my favorite quotes from the reflections was this:  "However yo...

I just love Veggie Tales!!  What's not to love about little vegetables that teach the Bible and good morals?!  As always, Bob is the serious one in the book while Larry gets carried away with his antics.  While trying to lay low in order to figure out who keeps slamming doors, Larry keeps doing things to irritate Bob.  Finally Bob just loses his temper and starts yelling.  Larry lovingly reminds him that it's not good to lose your temper. Written for young children, this book shares its message very simply.  But that doesn't make it any less important.  The verse, "A foolish person lets his anger run wild.  But a wise person keeps himself under control" (Proverbs 29:11) is shared several times throughout.  Bonus:  the boy remembered when we discussed this verse together last year when he was having some anger issues.  I love when life lessons of reinforced!! Very cute, simply stated, clear message.  Love it! I received ...

12 Days in Africa  is a memoir of a mother's journey with her teenage son to Uganda.  While there, she experienced grief, suffering, and a simplicity that would change her life forever.  From the joy she felt holding a little girl's hand to the anguish of holding a dying boy, Lisa shares it all. While I enjoyed some of the stories shared in this book, I really had a hard time getting past the lack of structure and the many grammatical errors throughout.  I felt like I was reading her personal journal rather than a published book.  Considering this is not a pre-publication copy like others I have received, I was really surprised at the way the book jumped around.  The numerous grammar mistakes were distracting and took away from the overall beauty of the book.

Sarah's Choice  is a book for today's society.  It is a story of a girl who finds herself having to decide between the career of her dreams and a baby she didn't know she wanted.  Sarah has people in her life on both sides of the abortion debate who aren't afraid to share their opinions.  Ultimately, she has to make the choice of whether to have the baby or abort it. I have to admit that I didn't have very high hopes for this book when I chose it.  Rebecca St. James was a singer, not a writer!  I was pleasantly surprised at how well the book was written.  It kept my attention and I loved how she managed to be relevant to the young women of the day while keeping it appropriate and without crude language. I really actually liked it quite a lot! Disclaimer:  I received this book from Book Looks Bloggers in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.

I'm on a kick about reading books about medically complex children recently.  Perhaps it is because I have one myself?! Standing Tall  is a memoir about Joel Soukup's journey with Osteosarcoma.  Because of the location of his cancer, it was necessary for doctors to amputate Joel's cancer at the hip.  Even with this drastic measure, his cancer returned in his spine.  Currently, Joel is in remission and enjoying a normal life. While I appreciated Joel's journey and struggle his mother Kathy shared, I struggled with the quality of the writing.  It seemed to jump around quite a bit and repeated itself often.  The lack of a smooth timeline made it difficult for me to get into the book.  I did like the insights from Joel, and I think showed bravery for that young man to share the emotions he felt during that time.  I do wish that the font for Joel's thoughts had been different.  It was just slightly smaller and it was hard to tell which t...

  Every now and then, I read a book that makes me feel like I'm actually getting a glimpse into the writer's mind and heart.   Fly a Little Higher  is one of those books.  But to call it merely a book seems so trivial.  It's a memoir, a way for a mother to tell the world about her amazing son who wrote a song and changed the world. The book journals the Sobiech family's journey of Zach's diagnosis with Osteosarcoma.  Eventually, Zach is diagnosed as terminal and has a choice to either wait quietly to die, or live his life.  Zach's message of living each day to the fullest and choosing joy in the midst of trials comes through loud and clear in his mom's writing.  He died too soon, but I think he did an awful lot of good work in his 17 years.  He was a boy filled with faith, courage, and joy.   This was a beautiful, inspiring book to read.  Just keep the tissues handy! Here is the song that started it all: (All proceeds from ...

I'd read a few reviews on No Place to Hide , and they all commented on how wonderfully this book was written by a first-time author.  I decided to check it out, although I am usually not too interested in present-time war books (I'm typically more of a WWII girl!) I simply could not put this put down!  I had the iPad with me constantly, trying to get in a few more pages in between tasks.  It helped that we traveled 14 hours for vacation, so I had lots of time to read in the car! Warren's account of life as a military neurosurgeon in war-torn Iraq was eye-opening and heart-wrenching.  He not only shared his day to day tasks; he also pulled the readers into the story and stirred up emotions as he shared the tragedies.  His writing style kept my interest and I never felt like I got to a "slow" part of the book.  It was excellent from beginning to end! Disclaimer:  I am a Book Looks Blogger and am given free books in exchange for honest reviews. ...

I'm not a soccer mom.  My kid watches other kids play plays soccer, but I usually don't have any idea what is going on.  I may have been caught a time or two cheering for what I thought was something good that our team did when it actually wasn't.  Now I wait until everyone else starts cheering before I join in. With that being said, I got Defending the Line  because I thought my nephew would really enjoy it.  He's a great soccer player and it sounded like David Luiz had a lot of character both on and off the field.  Sadly, after reading this book, I was disappointed that the focus really wasn't on David Luiz's faith and character.  Most of the story was simply a play-by-play of his major soccer games and a timeline of his rise to stardom.  Mentions of his faith were thrown in as almost an after thought. What drew me to this book was the phrase "Fueled by Faith" on the cover.  Unfortunately, the story came across as the story of David ...

Have you ever read a book whose story is so familiar, but the author has such a fabulous take on it that makes it very entertaining?   Noah and the Mighty Ark  is most definitely one of those books! While it does follow the basic well-known biblical story of Noah and the Ark, what I like about it is all of the onomatopoeia and text features the author uses to engage the reader.  Here's one of my favorites (with attempts at similar font sizes!) The tiny gnat, The BIG, BLACK BEAR. From far and wide, he called each pair That crept or crawled Or hopped or flew Or stomped or tromped, or s-s-slithered too. While I wouldn't be able to read a story like this to teach literary devices in the public school, this would be an awesome book to use if you home school or work in a Christian school!  For now, this will be a fun one to read to my daughter and a great group of little ones in the nursery! I'm a Book Looks Blogger and receive complementary books in exchange...

We drove home to see a package on our front porch.  Abby is beginning to recognize the packages my Book Looks books come in, so she ran to the porch to retrieve the package.  We opened the door and she immediately asked me to open the package.   (Good thing this book was for her!)  When she saw it was a board book, she begged me to read it.  I obliged.  :) With a title and cover picture like this , you can expect this to be a sweet book about the love between a mother and daughter, and it doesn't disappoint. You know the phrase, "Having a baby changes everything" that Johnson and Johnson coined a few years ago?  That's the basic premise of this little book.  Each page shares something the mom used to do before her daughter was born, and then what she does now with her.  While each activity is done a little differently now than before the little girl was in the woman's life, it's obvious that the mom wouldn't change any of it for the wor...

A story about a typical teenager who loves hanging out with his friends, playing golf, eating pizza...all that stuff that teen life.  Except...Jake is blind.  He lost one eye very early on as a result of cancer, then doctors were forced to take his other eye when he was 12 to save his life once again. I think the most poignant part of the book for me was the description of how Jake rode to the hospital the day of surgery with his face pressed against the glass, taking in every single thing he could while he still had his sight.  To think that this would be the last time he would ever see the corner coffee shop, or his middle school, or the tree he used to love to climb, was heartbreaking! The honesty and transparency of every perspective (Jake, Mom, Dad, McKay) is refreshing.  They never pretended all of their struggles were easy, but their strong faith that God would carry them over every hurdle has helped them to carry on.  And that is beautiful! I'm a B...

Pups of the Spirit  is a book written for preschool-aged children, and my kids loved it!   Through rhyme and a pack of lovable dogs, kids can learn about the nine fruits of the spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  I read this to the kids before bedtime and it is now a new favorite!  In fact, Abby was very disappointed that I took it out of her room to write my review.  :)  Both kids had their favorite dog...Abby's was Joy, of course! The illustrations were bright and cheery, and the details included in each picture were noticeable.  I especially loved how this book sparked conversation about the fruits of the spirit.  It was a really good way to introduce the concept, and I'm sure that I will be able to refer back to the book in future conversations.  The explanations of each "fruit" were simple enough for young ones to understand, so I even plan to bring t...

Given the most recent "storm" we are in, I Will Praise You in the Storm was a very timely book for me to read.  I found myself really identifying with the author, Danny Deaube.  He is the father of two children who had rare liver diseases, and this book is all about his experience with raising two medically fragile children. It speaks a bit of the frustration and stress that is a part of the daily life a special needs family, but most of the book is a recount of the medical experiences and surgeries his children had.  Both children underwent liver transplants at young ages, and while Deaube's son survived the transplant and lived to be in his thirties, his daughter died from complications. As I said, I really could relate to a lot of what the author said.  Like him, we live a life full of hospitals and doctors, while trying to keep our daily routines as normal as possible.  But what I feel was lacking in the book was the raw emotion that comes along wit...

I am starting a new venture on my blog!  My sweet neighbor (who is also a blog reader!) saw that I was enjoying reading again and she recommended Book Looks.   Basically, I choose books each month to read and write reviews about them on my blog.  In exchange for my honest review, I get to keep the books!  There are some that can be downloaded as e-books and some that can be mailed to you as hard copies.  The company has TONS of books from which to choose, and it is constantly adding new ones.  This is a Christian publishing company, so it has everything from Bibles, to devotionals, to fiction, to biographies, to commentaries.   I will probably be reading a lot of different types of books over the next months! My first book is I Will Praise You in the Storm .  I just downloaded it, so stay tuned for my review!