Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Welcome back after the holidays! I hope you all had a lovely time spent with friends and family. You'll be happy to know, I hope, that my holidays were happy in spite of the emotional turmoil I was experiencing at the start. Thanks for any and all prayers you may have sent my way during December, they were greatly appreciated and very much felt.

Now. STAR WARS.

Do you ever wake up to realize that you've had a void in your life for years only to find that it's been FINALLY filled? That's me and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

I'm going to make a terrible confession to all of you. I don't like the prequels. I never have, never will. I tried to fool myself into tolerating them for a good many years, but, well, I might just as well admit my distaste for them. So my Star Wars life has been solely limited to the original trilogy for almost the entirety of my life. And it was chock FULL of unanswered questions. I mean, what happens after Vader dies and the new death star explodes and Luke is reunited with Leia and Han? I wanted, no, needed desperately to know more. True, I could have read some of the countless Star Wars novels that have been published over the years, but I never trusted them to be canon and it turns out that I was right. . . they're not canon. Big surprise there.

So I kept hoping and praying, impatiently I might add, that someday George Lucas would come to his senses and make movies about the story I wanted to know, what happened AFTER The Return of the Jedi. I'll admit, I didn't really hold out all that much hope he would do it justice if he ever decided to try sequels to his original trilogy, which is why when I heard he gave up the rights to the franchise and Disney took them, well, let's just say gleeful is a good word to describe my reaction. Because Disney doesn't just sit with a good idea, it runs with it. And I trusted that Disney would run with Star Wars before Mark Hamill got very much older. Because, let's be honest, Lucas was a fool to make prequels when his actors from the original trilogy were still young enough for him to make decent SEQUELS.

But, all Lucas bitterness aside, my dream was realized, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was born, and then came the mind-numbing panic that maybe I had built up my hopes for this movie too high. That NOTHING could be as good as the original trilogy and that I was setting myself up for stinging disappointment. NOT SO! 

The Force Awakens is hands-down my favorite movie of the last 5 years!

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Book Review: The Memoir of Johnny Devine by Camille Eide

The Memoir of Johnny Devine
Camille Eide
Ashberry Lane Publishing
2015
✯✯✯✯✯

Official Synopsis

In 1953, desperation forces young war widow Eliza Saunderson to take a job writing the memoir of ex-Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Devine. Rumor has it Johnny can seduce anything in a skirt quicker than he can hail a cab. But now the notorious womanizer claims he’s been born again. Eliza soon finds herself falling for the humble, grace-filled man John has become—a man who shows no sign of returning her feelings. No sign, that is, until she discovers something John never meant for her to see.

When Eliza’s articles on minority oppression land her on McCarthy’s Communist hit list, John and Eliza become entangled in an investigation that threatens both his book and her future. To clear her name, Eliza must solve a family mystery. Plus, she needs to convince John that real love—not the Hollywood illusion—can forgive a sordid past. Just when the hope of love becomes reality, a troubling discovery confirms Eliza’s worst fears. Like the happy façade many Americans cling to, had it all been empty lies? Is there a love she can truly believe in?

Go to my Historic Fiction page to find all my Christian historic fiction reviews!

My Take in 3 Parts

The Plot
Ms. Eide had me at 1953, and really won me over with the reality of Eliza's plight and her determination and pluck to continue writing, even though her topics about racial, ethnic, and gender oppression were considered subversive for the era. The Memoir of Johnny Devine superbly captures the raw emotions and fears bubbling so near the surface in the early 1950s, all because the 'red scare' was sweeping through the US like a flash flood, snatching at the innocent along with the guilty. 

Communism and social issues both play a large role in this novel, perhaps uncomfortable to some, but also very real and necessary to understanding how events like the Salem Witch Trials and the 'red scare' could ever happen. Fear is a great motivator and paranoia is often birthed from that same fear.

However, don't suppose that just because Ms. Eide's latest deals with such somber topics that it's a book without humor, because it is awash with good humor and entertainment. I love the 1920s through the 1950s and so I loved the realism of the era captured on the page. But also, I admit this novel also chipped a little of the rose colored lenses I wear regarding earlier eras. Life wasn't perfect, neither were the people. Perhaps those happy little lives and marriages we see captured in such shows as I Love Lucy and Father Knows Best really go only skin deep, not even scratching the surface of reality.

The Memoir of Johnny Devine will make you think, if nothing else.

The Characters
I'm drawn to damaged characters. Eliza Saunderson was deeply scarred by her husband's infidelity and cruelty. When he died in the war, her first reaction was relief, followed by guilt. Now she spends her days writing articles about oppression and struggles with serious trust issues, especially when her older sister keeps pushing her to remarry because she's not getting any younger and marriage is the only respectable occupation for a woman. She's a sympathetic character with strong passions toward the downtrodden and I can connect to those things.

As for Johnny Devine, I believe firmly that anyone can be redeemed. John hides nothing while he's writing his memoir. He was a louse and a scoundrel with more sexual partners than you can shake a stick at. But that's not the man he is now, and I loved seeing how God changes lives. I've found throughout my life that a lot of Christians try to pretend that their lives are perfect, when in reality, we're all sinners, neither better or worse than Johnny Devine and his string of lovers and self-indulgence. He has no arrogance about his salvation because he knows Who did the raising up and renewal of his life. His is a beautiful and heart-rending story of redemption.

Millie and Duncan, John's servants, are both dear souls, especially Millie who reaches out to Eliza and helps her realize the compassion and forgiveness of a heavenly Father. All of the characters, even the ones I despised, even the ones like Eliza's sister Betty who is one of the naggiest women on earth, felt genuine.

The Writing
I am absolutely over the moon when it comes to Camille Eide's writing! Her work is fresh and original, with an authentic voice of realism that makes me feel all the things I should be feeling, without the sensation that I'm being prodded there by artifice. I wish all writers possessed her same mastery of voice for truly, Ms.Eide's work is a cut above the rest in my book!

My Final Thoughts

Every time I pick up one of Ms. Eide's novels, I'm reminded anew of how much I love her work. I never imagine it possible for me to love her next book more than the one I just read, but it always happens! Crazy, I know, but there you have it. She is now of my favorite authors, who I will continue to treasure and whose works I will continue to read for as long as she writes. I encourage anyone who loves "real" fiction and who yearns to be divinely touched by an author's writing, reminded of God's faithfulness, to give Camille Eide's books a try, be it this one, or Like There's No Tomorrow or Like a Love Song (review to be written at some point).

Also, I must mention that the end of The Memoir of Johnny Devine happens at Christmastime, which is why I'm adding it to my Christian fiction list. :)

And I'm adding my casting choices for this story just for kicks! James as John, Joan as Eliza, Louise as Millie, and Bette as Betty (funny how that one just sort of fell into place). :)

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Book Review: A Daring Sacrifice by Jody Hedlund

A Daring Sacrifice
Jody Hedlund
Zondervan
March 1, 2016
✯✯✯

Official Synopsis

In a reverse twist on the Robin Hood story, a young medieval maiden stands up for the rights of the mistreated, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. All the while, she fights against her cruel uncle who has taken over the land that is rightfully hers. Forced to live in the woods and hide with the poor people she's grown to love, she works to save and protect them, but she never anticipates falling in love with the wealthy knight who represents all she's come to despise.

My Take in 3 Parts

The Plot
The plot is precisely what the synopsis promised, a reverse twist on Robin Hood. Juliana's father was deposed from his land and then murdered when he attempted an uprising to reclaim it. Juliana herself is left alone, confused, and extremely bitter about the injustice done to her family and also the poor, helpless peasants who her uncle now keeps in cruel bondage. Juliana, an expert huntress and bowman, does what little she can to sustain the people in her care, even it means robbing from the rich.
  
Being a thief, however, has its distinct disadvantages, especially when you get caught, as inevitably happens to Juliana. But the man caught her is more intent on winning her heart than turning her in as a thief. Lord Collin Goodrich, a character from Ms. Hedlund's previous novel An Uncertain Choice, has finally met a woman worth wooing, and while his original intentions may have been simply to woo Juliana, he quickly learns that to win Juliana must also mean defending the weak and the helpless right alongside her.

Together, Juliana must learn that thievery is not always the best choice and Collin must learn that despondency and apathy towards the peasantry have no place in the heart of a nobleman.

The Characters
Juliana is an average teenage heroine, spunky, rebellious, and reckless. She wasn't entirely to my liking, but I knew she wouldn't be before I was even 2 pages into the novel. As for Collin, I liked him fine, just as I did in An Uncertain Choice. His character suffers from apathy, certainly, but he overcomes it and discovers that he genuinely wants to help those less fortunate than himself, which is practically everyone. He's quite the dashing, heroic figure that is sure to make many feminine hearts flutter.

The Writing
As always, Ms. Hedlund's writing lacks nothing. I've enjoyed a good many of her books for years, and always seek out any new titles. While this particular novel is more simplistic than most, it's also written for a younger, YA audience, and it's quite a lot shorter than the majority of her work so she couldn't be too descriptive. She successfully managed the time and space allotted for this novel.

Final Thoughts  
I'm reluctant to admit this, but A Daring Sacrifice just didn't sit well with me. The same issue I had with An Uncertain Choice arose again here. I abhor torture, be it in film or on the written page, and I think Ms. Hedlund goes too far with her mention of torture methods employed in the Middle Ages. Especially considering this is a YA book. If it were simply a secular YA novel I might feel differently, but I hold Christian authors to higher standards of ethics than I do secular authors, and so I should. It's why I don't read all that much of Ted Dekker's works, because they're too gruesome.

So I'm left with a conundrum. On the one hand, I feel that A Daring Sacrifice didn't quite reach its full potential as a Robin Hood re-telling, and on the other, I found it distastefully violent. So long as readers know what they're getting in for, they should be fine, but I don't want to start dreading to pick up one of Ms. Hedlund's novels for fear that she's going to start mentioning someone being drawn and quartered. I hope for any other YA books in her future, that she tones down the violence. 

Note: I received a free ARC of A Daring Sacrifice from Zondervan in exchange for an honest review, which I have given. 

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Book Review: Radio Girl by Carol Brendler (2013)

Radio Girl
Carol Brendler
2013
✯✯✯✯✯

Official Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Cece's dream of a career as a radio star gets off to a bumpy, hilarious start in this engaging historical novel marked by mix-ups and misunderstandings that culminate in the panic surrounding the 1938 broadcast of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds. 

My Take in 3 Parts

The Plot
The synopsis is such a simple sentence for such an non-simple book. Radio Girl is one of those novels that handles so many things, like teen rebellion, infidelity, treatment of women in the 1930s, and the callousness of those in show business. It is complex and engaging, especially for someone like me who actually KNOWS about Orson Welles' broadcast of War of the Worlds and the ensuing chaos that erupted.

What might seem like a teen novel, actually doesn't fall under any specific genre. Radio Girl's plot downfall, if it has one, is that it doesn't fit anywhere, not in children's, not in YA, and not in adult. It merely fits in with those few who are addicted to 1930s fiction and don't mind reading a comedic yet solemn novel from the perspective of a 14-year-old girl who really is a bit snarky and underhanded to get what she wants.

The Characters
It's almost impossible to say that I love Cece Maloney. But I empathize with her, even while not agreeing with her decisions. She rebels against what she views as the harsh rule of her mother, a mother who is simply trying to protect her only child. Cece does a lot of lying to get what she wants, but thankfully, she learns from her choices and a few important relationships that were damaged during the course of the book end up being healed at the end.
As for the rest of the characters, love the sensitivity and protectiveness of Cece's mom, found Cece's 17-year-old aunt with fanatical Catholicism to be fascinating, and enjoyed getting to know some of the staff at the broadcasting station where Cece found a part-time job on Saturdays.

All of the characters felt authentic and true to the era, right down to the snappy dialogue constantly in use by Cece and her friends.

The Writing
Carol Brendler is a comedic genius. While yes, Radio Girl is a serious bit of fiction, it is also crammed to the gills with light-hearted humor that only comes from an equally light-hearted individual. I would give anything, literally anything, for her to write another book in the same era!

My Final Thoughts
I'd already read Radio Girl last year, and was absolutely tickled to unwrap it as a Christmas present this year, giving me an excuse to re-read it! Like I said before, it's a complex little book that doesn't quite fit in any fictional genre, but I love it, every page of it.

If I were to warn readers of anything, it's to not follow in Cece's footsteps by utilizing her type of subterfuge. Fortunately, consequences are a necessary part of life, and she suffers the consequences for her actions without them being too serious, and learning from her mistakes. Plus, any novel that presents the great Orson Welles as a secondary character is bound to be a hit in my book!

Keep in mind, this isn't a Christian book, so you have a little bit of swearing (very little), mild thematic elements, and some adulterous relationships going on, always with negative consequences, to say nothing of Cece's lying. But please, don't let any of these things stop you from giving Radio Girl a try! After all, people aren't perfect, and Carol Brendler does a stupendous job of conveying that truth!

The Late, Great Orson Welles!

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Book Review: A Winter Dream by Richard Paul Evans (2012)

A Winter Dream
Richard Paul Evans
Simon & Schuster
2012
✯✯

Official Synopsis

From wonderful storyteller and author of the bestselling phenomenon The Christmas Box, a new holiday novel based on the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors.

Joe is forced out of the family business by his jealous siblings. Moving on to another company, he soon becomes chief advisor to the CEO. But when the economy turns, Joe’s siblings need his help to save the family business.
Based on the Old Testament story about Joseph and the coat of many colors and including a love story, A Winter Dream can be embraced for its message of forgiveness by believers and nonbelievers alike.

My Thoughts

I've already determined that I like Richard Paul Evans' writing style. He has a fluid and relaxed way of engaging the reader's interest that makes his books so easy to comprehend and digest, perfect for the holiday season.

That being said, his use of the Old Testament story of Joseph in a modern setting just didn't work for me. Other readers have complained that it feels rushed, and I agree with them. Combining the rushed feel with the absurdity of circumstances and it just didn't work. The characters are nice enough, Joe especially. He really is a nice guy, pretty much a guarantee in one of Evans' Christmas stories, at least from what I've noticed so far.

If Joseph's brothers wanted to throw him out of the family, why set him up with a halfway decent job doing what he does best, even if it is halfway around the country? What was up with the character of April being an escapee from a bigamist cult? Joe handled that part of the story surprisingly well considering its absurdity. And how about the ease with which Joe rose up through the ranks of the marketing firm? Nope, none of these elements worked for me. The story felt entirely too slipshod and erratic.

Plus, it's really not a Christmas story. The book, being all of 260 pages, took place over 3 years time. In other words, poor use of planning and timeline. There are a few Christmases within A Winter Dream, but nothing to actually make it a "Christmas story" despite Joe's dream about himself being a Christmas tree and other trees bowing to it. While the concept of dreams worked for Joseph, dreams from God I might add, they didn't work here simply because I never sensed Joe had any semblence of faith. Why in the world would he be blessed with prophetic dreams when he doesn't really have any faith?

So this one was a miss for me.

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Book Review: Finding Noel by Richard Paul Evans (2006)

Finding Noel
Richard Paul Evans
Simon and Schuster
2006
✯✯✯✯

Official Synopsis

"There are stories, Christmas stories that are stored away like boxes of garlands and frosted glass ornaments, to be brought out and cherished each year. I've come to believe that my story is a Christmas story. For it has forever changed the way I see Christmas."
 
The Christmas season is supposed to be full of joy, but not for Mark Smart. Life had dealt him one blow after another until one snowy November night, when he finds a beautiful young woman who will change his life forever. Macy Wood has little memory of her birth parents, and memories she'd rather forget of her adopted home. A Christmas ornament inscribed with the word "Noel" is the only clue to the little sister she only vaguely remembers, a clue that will send her and Mark on a journey to reclaim her past, and her family.

My Thoughts

As you can tell by now, I love Christmas books. They inspire and uplift me spiritually. And I really loved The Mistletoe Promise, another of Richard Paul Evans' works. But Finding Noel just didn't fully click with me. Oh, don't get me wrong, I liked the heroine fine. Macy is a survivor, in and out of foster care, a terrible adoption experience, and she's still a compassionate soul.

I really didn't care much for Mark until the very end and a good portion of the book is written in the 1st person from his perspective. He has some good insights, yes, but overall he seemed whiny and, well, young and foolish. Which he was, but my patience with that type of character minimizes the older I become. Honestly, since the title of the book is really about Macy's life, it should have focused more on her. If it had been solely from her perspective, I probably would have loved it.

After all, the book is called Finding Noel, but that really wasn't the entire focus of the story. And it should have been. Instead it sort of wanders here and there, touching a life, having an experience, falling in love, to the point where the character of Noel felt almost like an after-thought. It just didn't work.

However, the final few chapters of the book are very inspirational and uplifting, which is why I give it four stars. Mark does grow through encountering Macy, just as she grows, and he admits that the season when they looked for Noel taught him perspective, about himself, about others, about resentments he had once held, and about forgiveness he needed to extend. That was an important lesson he needed to learn, and it was a very satisfying moment in the book when he reconciles with his estranged father.

Even though I wasn't 100% sold on Finding Noel, I still recommend it to people who might have experience as a foster child, an adopted child, or perhaps you find yourself struggling to forgive someone who has wronged you in the past and you're holding onto resentment. My not loving this story simply means that it wasn't meant for me. Maybe it's meant for you.

The following quote is by Mark, the last paragraph of the book.

And perhaps, after all the songs and poems and stories of the season, Christmas is really no more than that - humanity's search for the familiar. Every year we bring out the same songs, partake of the same foods and traditions, and share the things that make us feel that there's someplace we belong. And in the end all any of us are looking for is home.

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Book Review: Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball by Donita K. Paul (2010)

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball
Donita K. Paul
Waterbrook Multnomah
2010
✯✯✯✯

Official Synopsis

Can mysterious matchmaking booksellers bring two lonely hearts together in time for Christmas?

In a sleepy, snow-covered city, Cora Crowder is busy preparing for the holiday season. Searching for a perfect gift, a fortuitous trip to Warner, Werner, and Wizbotterdad’s (a most unusual bookshop) leads to an unexpected encounter with co-worker Simon Derrick. And the surprise discovery of a ticket for a truly one-of-a-kind Christmas Ball.

Every year, the matchmaking booksellers of the Sage Street bookshop host an enchanting, old-fashioned Christmas Ball for the romantic matches they’ve decided to bring together.

This year, will Simon and Cora discover a perfect chemistry in their opposite personalities and shared faith? Or will the matchmakers’ best laid plans end up ruining everything this holiday?

My Thoughts

Did you read the synopsis? Assuming that you did, let me give you fair warning that the "enchanting, old-fashioned Christmas Ball" is actually termed a "Wizard's Christmas Ball" in the book. Which doesn't bother me a bit. In fact with all the fantasy I enjoy reading, some that involve wizards, I thought it was a fun bit of genius. But not every reader feels the same way about magic and wizards, so just be aware this book has some of both. As for me the addition of the magical street that's only there sometimes along with the the special Christmas Ball with only the vaguest information on how to attend or where to find it really made Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball shine.

It's funny how a decidedly magical book also has a decidedly Christian flavor. The magical elements were so much fun! I loved the old booksellers and the costume sellers who were working so hard at bringing Cora and Simon together. The mysterious element of Sage Street where sometimes it's there and other times, POOF, it's gone. The Wizard's Ball and all of the elements that come together to get Simon and Cora to attend. Even the dress Cora purchased to wear that literally disintegrated off someone else who was not intended to wear it. It was all so magical! Like reading a mellower version of Harry Potter.

And then you have Christian faith. Every character in this book except for Cora's family is a Christian. Cora's family ostracized her for getting uppity when she became a Christian so now she's trying to find her way, make her own traditions, celebrate Christmas the way Christ would have her celebrate it. That's all well and good, but I know many unsaved people who know how to love their families and celebrate Christmas. Being a Christian does not necessarily make one nice, just as not being a Christian doesn't make one underhanded and mean. The typecasting in Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball did bother me, as did the excessive amount of preaching. I don't like too much preaching in my Christian novels anymore because you're literally preaching to the choir, and so this was too much.

Overall, I'm combining my rating, which would be a 3, with my mother's rating, which would be a 5. Mom read this book and absolutely loved it. She'd never read anything like it before, found it unique and utterly enchanting, and I think wants to own it. Really, it comes down to a matter of taste. I think Ms. Paul could have done slightly more with the magical element of the story and less with the Christian preaching, and my mom thought it perfect the way it was written. Two different opinions, neither of them wrong. What I will say is that you won't find a more unique Christmas book out there. It is enthralling and engaging, and if you enjoy fantasy and magic and don't mind being overdosed on Christian preaching, then you're pretty much guaranteed to love it!

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