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Results 1 - 6 of 6
1. A Dream So Big review


After the death of their newborn son, Steve and Patty Peifer pack up their family and head to Africa for a short-term mission assignment as dorm parents, hoping to process their loss and begin to heal. Wanting to turn the pain they were experiencing into something positive, they set out on a journey of self-discovery that ended up completely changing their lives and having each one of them fall in love with Africa and its people. 


After being plunged into the depths of the poverty, disease, and hunger in Kenya and realizing they had an ability to truly do something about it, the Peifer family turned their short-term assignment into a full-time missionary life. Their children loved Africa, as did they, and through the Rift Valley Academy the family was able to begin providing daily lunches for Kenyan children -- ultimately working up to being able to feed 20,000 children. 

Not simply a book for Christians wanting to read about missionaries, this is a book we all could learn from. A regular American family set out to heal from a tragic loss and was able to change the lives of thousands and thousands of children born into poverty. Wanting to make a tiny difference in the world turned into a huge project reaching so many kids and families. 

Being the mother of a child in heaven myself, I loved that they turned their hardship into a great thing for the world. That being said, I did find parts of the book overly wordy -- stories being told that didn't seem to have a whole lot of connection to the main point of the book -- and it was definitely a little long for what seemed necessary for me. 

Still a great book, just needed a little extra editing. 

Thanks to Zondervan for the review copy!

1 Comments on A Dream So Big review, last added: 3/25/2013
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2. The Fairest Beauty (2013)

The Fairest Beauty. Melanie Dickerson. 2013. Zondervan. 352 pages.

I have loved Melanie Dickerson's novels in the past. I really enjoyed Merchant's Daughter and Healer's Apprentice. I was not disappointed with her third novel, third retelling. In The Fairest Beauty we have a LOVELY retelling of Snow White.

Sophie is a scullery maid tormented daily by the evil Duchess. But Sophie was born for higher things, she's the daughter of a Duke. The Duchess is truly her stepmother. Sophie doesn't remember, of course, her parents have always been dead. She's accepted the Duchess' story of her life. She's a peasant child--an orphan--taken in by charity; she should be grateful she's been allowed to serve the Duchess all these years. One woman who knows the truth about Sophie managed (at last) to escape...and news of Sophie's survival has (at last) been told... But Sophie's betrothed has a broken leg. Gabe, the brother, feels strongly that Sophie's situation is desperate. The Duchess is unpredictable, wicked, cruel. Every day Sophie spends there her life is in danger...so Gabe decides to go against advice and rescue her himself. It's dramatic, romantic, and lovely.

Read The Fairest Beauty
  • If you enjoy fairy tale retellings
  • If you enjoy the Snow White fairy tale
  • If you enjoy YA romance
© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

3 Comments on The Fairest Beauty (2013), last added: 2/27/2013
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3. A Girl Named Mister (YA)

A Girl Named Mister. Nikki Grimes. 2010. Zondervan. 232 pages.

Her mom may call her Mary Rudine, but everyone else calls her Mister. Mister's a good girl--a Christian girl--sings in the church choir, loves volleyball. She has a best friend, Sethany, she tells all her secrets to. But things change when she meets Trey.

Things start off safe--and pure. Trey and Mister go on group dates--often at the church, or with the church youth group. But soon that isn't enough for Trey. And well, Mister, has to admit being alone with Trey feels right. Yes, she knows that being alone with him might lead her to temptation. Might lead her to have second thoughts about her commitment for purity. But. She does it anyway.

One time. Mister has sex with Trey just one time. But that was all it took for a new life to form, and for one teen's life to change forever.

Mister struggles with the guilt and shame of being a pregnant teen. She struggles with the truth. She tries to deny the pregnancy--for a time. But she is relieved to find comfort and support not only from her mom but from others in her church as well. She also takes great comfort in reading a book of poetry--a book she borrowed from her mom. A book of poems about Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Readers read not only the contemporary story of Mister but Mary's story as well. It imaginatively examines what it might have been like for Mary. Yes, readers may be familiar with the Christmas story. But have you really, really thought about what it might have been like for Mary and Joseph?

A Girl Named Mister is a verse novel. I enjoyed both Mary's narrative and Mister's narrative. I loved how Mister finds grace and peace in the gospel, in the church. I loved how she was able to turn this experience into a growing one--growing closer to her mother, growing closer to God.

Soft
Soft as fleece,
God's forgiveness
falls over me
like a quilt,
and this time,
I let it smother
my guilt.  (145)

The book trailer:



© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

1 Comments on A Girl Named Mister (YA), last added: 9/30/2010
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4. A Matter of Character


A Matter of Character. Robin Lee Hatcher. 2010. May 2010. Zondervan. 352 pages.

Maybe it was time to kill Rawhide Rick. He'd served his purpose, the old rascal. He'd hunted buffalo and fought Indians and stolen gold from hardworking miners and sent men to the gallows. Now might be the time for him to meet his Maker. The trick was deciding how to kill him.

Should Daphne McKinley kill Rawhide Rick? Can Joshua Crawford save him?

The year is 1918. And Daphne is a dime novelist. Of course, at the beginning, when readers first meet her, no one knows she's a published writer. Dime novels aren't necessarily books to be proud of having written, or of having read, after all, whether written by a man or a woman. Her pen name is D.B. Morgan.

Joshua Crawford is an out of work reporter with an agenda. He is the grandson of "Rawhide Rick." His grandfather, Richard Terrell, went by that nickname and Joshua is so not happy with this "D.B. Morgan" for making his grandfather the villain in the McFarland Chronicles. The grandfather he knew was loving, compassionate, generous, kind, good. He's angry, and he's searching for the truth. But first he has to find this D.B. Morgan and have a few choice words.

A Matter of Character is the third (and final) book in the Sisters of Bethlehem series by Robin Lee Hatcher. However, each one can be read on its own. I have not read the previous two books, and I did just fine. The three books have overlapping characters, but each is narrated by a different character. It is a romance novel.

I liked this one. I did. It was interesting to see this hero and heroine clash with one another. To see their relationship slowly develop through the weeks and months. I liked the way these two challenged one another.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

1 Comments on A Matter of Character, last added: 5/29/2010
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5. Bible wins Gold at the Independent Publishers Moonbeam Awards!

Bible wins Gold at the Independent Publishers Moonbeam Awards!

Very pleased that the bible I spent a long time illustrating has won an award, (click below to read more about the awards). This coincides nicely with the book's 2nd print run, which brings the total number of books in print to 61,000!

Independent Publisher Moonbeam Awards



0 Comments on Bible wins Gold at the Independent Publishers Moonbeam Awards! as of 1/1/1900
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6. Scleroderma:Test after Test, Doctor after Doctor

medical-mondays.jpg

Rebecca OUP-US

Scleroderma is a rare chronic disease that manifests in many parts of the body making treatment particuarly difficult. Below, Maureen D. Mayes, M.D., author of The Scleroderma Book: A Guide For Patients and Families advises patients on how to navigate towards health while coordinating so many doctors. June is National Scleroderma Awareness Month, to get involved visit the foundation’s website.

(more…)

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