In The Field of Grace by Tessa Afshar

 

Tessa Afshar 

ISBN: 9780802410979

Net Galley Synopsis:

Two women. Alone. With no provision.

 Can a woman who has lost everything, except her beloved mother, find hope in a foreign land?

Ruth leaves her home with a barren womb and an empty future, after losing her husband. She forsakes her abusive parents and follows the woman she has grown to love as a true parent, her husband's mother, Naomi.
Ruth arrives in Israel with nothing to recommend her but Naomi's, love. She is destitute, grief-stricken, and unwanted by the people of God. Her loftiest hope is to provide enough food to save Naomi and herself from starvation. She is reduced to gathering leftovers once the harvesters have finished collecting grain from the field. A job only for the lowest of the low.
But God has other plans for her life.
While everyone considers Ruth an unworthy outsider, Ruth is shocked to find the owner of the field-one of the wealthiest and most honored men of Judah-is showing her favor. Long since a widower and determined to stay that way, Boaz finds himself irresistibly drawn to the foreign woman with the dark, haunted eyes. He tells himself he is only being kind to his Cousin Naomi's chosen daughter when he goes out of his way to protect her from harm, but his heart knows better.

Obstacles. Heartache. Withered dreams.

 How can God forge love, passion, and new hope between two such different people?

MrsK's Review: 

The book of Ruth is one of my favorite biblical truths.  Naomi is such a strong woman of God.  She is kindhearted, wise, loving, compassionate, and such a positive role model.  Ruth is a young woman and wife whose mother-in-law provides such love and acceptance that she wishes to follow her home to Bethlehem.  Ruth is a dedicated daughter to Naomi, she is committed... with a servants heart... to live with, provide for, and walk with Naomi and her God forever.  Today, those qualities are so rare.  Consider this, in our past... when our daughters married... their life became focused on their husband, children, and being the helping hands for their mother-in-law.  I was blessed with a mother-in-law in which I loved so dearly that I willingly did what I could for her.  Unfortunately, I missed the biblical truth in being her "helping hands" on a daily basis.

The book of Ruth and Esther witness faithfulness, wisdom, love, and devotion.  Tessa Afshar has presented Ruth's life with grace and enduring strength.  Her re-telling is gentle, inspiring, and worthy of discussing with all women.  Her characterization of Ruth, Boaz, and Naomi brings to light the depth of walking in faith.  The settings are beautifully detailed.  The conversations have such smooth transitions, that as a reader, you are included in their daily life as if you were in the scenes vs. being an outsider looking in.

"Ruth held the callused hand of her mother-in-law, withered before its time, withered with loss. "Let's go home, Mother. Where your husband took you as a bride and you birthed your sons. You will feel better once we are settled there."

With those loving and compassionate words, Ruth begins her new life.  Their travels are difficult.  Their return to Naomi's homeland has meagerly beginnings until... from their determination and faith begins paving the way for a new season of blessings, joy, and eternal truth.

Read, enjoy, and share...

MrsK

Inspiring read, one meant for sharing, discussing, and pondering.

Meet the Author:

     Dear Reader,
I was born in Iran to a nominally Muslim family, and lived there for the first fourteen years of my life. When my parents divorced, I moved to England where I survived boarding school for girls and fell in love with Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. I've always enjoyed reading, but in my teen years in England I became a true lover of fiction.
I decided to go to college in the United States, where I have lived most of my life, and have the privilege of calling this country my earthly home. My conversion to Christianity in my twenties changed the course of my life forever. But that's a story for another time...
Through all these losses and changes, God has taught me some precious truths, and this, in part, is why I write.

"I received this ebook for free from Net Galley for this review."

 

 

The City by Dean Koontz

 

Dean Koontz

ISBN: 9780345545930

Good Reads Synopsis: 

The city changed my life and showed me that the world is deeply mysterious. I need to tell you about her and some terrible things and wonderful things and amazing things that happened . . . and how I am still haunted by them. Including one night when I died and woke and lived again.

Here is the riveting, soul-stirring story of Jonah Kirk, son of an exceptional singer, grandson of a formidable “piano man,” a musical prodigy beginning to explore his own gifts when he crosses a group of extremely dangerous people, with shattering consequences. Set in a more innocent time not so long ago, The City encompasses a lifetime but unfolds over three extraordinary, heart-racing years of tribulation and triumph, in which Jonah first grasps the electrifying power of music and art, of enduring friendship, of everyday heroes.

The unforgettable saga of a young man coming of age within a remarkable family, and a shimmering portrait of the world that shaped him, The City is a novel that speaks to everyone, a dazzling realization of the evergreen dreams we all share. Brilliantly illumined by magic dark and light, it’s a place where enchantment and malice entwine, courage and honor are found in the most unexpected quarters, and the way forward lies buried deep inside the heart.

MrsK's Review:

I was first introduced to this author by my daughter many years ago.  She collected every signed hard cover book he ever wrote.  She promised me that there would be unexpected twists and turns, deep characters that enticed to look deeper, and in-your-face descriptions that might cause you to shiver and tremble.  She was spot on!  Koontz does not disappoint.  Although there are moments where you really don't want to turn the page... moments when you have to walk away... and those moments when you spend the entire night reading.

Prelude:

Malcolm says, "People need to hear it." 

"What people?"

Malcolm says, "Everybody. These are sad times."

"I can't change the times... So when I'm done talking about the you know-then what?"

Malcolm says, "You make it a book."

The story begins with Jonah (born in 1957) retelling about the year 1967 when his mother and him moved into his Grandpa's house, and yet it really began with him meeting a lady (known to us as Miss Pearl).  Jonah uses a tape recorded "as if its a time machine" to record the "uncanny" ways his life began twisting and turning (for 57 years) into his "future."   Jonah has a rich musical heritage and would like to be a "piano man" like his Grandpa.  So he searches about himself, about his musical roots, and about his moments "seeing" his city:

"...but I couldn't see myself in anyone I read about. 

Nevertheless, I intended to keep reading a thousand such books, if I had to, 

until I figured out how they did what they did."

This novel is not fast-paced, a new dimension for Koontz readers.  However, it is deeply layered causing you to read-ponder-digest and re-read for the soul of Jonah Kirk.  Each of the "city" lives are revealed as needed.  Each character is multidimensional which leaves it up to us to decide which soul is good or evil.  Miss Pearl is wise, very compassionate, and with a mission (Jonah).  Jonah seems to be a reflection, a reflection that flickers in our mirrors... if we are willing to look within.

" What matters is the day at hand and what we do with it, one day at a time, some butter-side-down days, some butter-side-up.  And what should we do with the day? What direction is the one to take, which choice wrong?"

Interesting, multi-faceted, thought-provoking read

About the Author:

Dean Koontz was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Shippensburg State College (now Shippensburg University), and his first job after graduation was with the Appalachian Poverty Program, where he was expected to counsel and tutor underprivileged children on a one-to-one basis. His first day on the job, he discovered that the previous occupier of his position had been beaten up by the very kids he had been trying to help and had landed in the hospital for several weeks. The following year was filled with challenge but also tension, and Koontz was more highly motivated than ever to build a career as a writer. He wrote nights and weekends, which he continued to do after leaving the poverty program and going to work as an English teacher in a suburban school district outside Harrisburg. After a year and a half in that position, his wife, Gerda, made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: “I’ll support you for five years,” she said, “and if you can’t make it as a writer in that time, you’ll never make it.” By the end of those five years, Gerda had quit her job to run the business end of her husband’s writing career.
Dean Koontz lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Anna, and the enduring spirit of their golden, Trixie.

"I received this ebook for free from Net Galley for this review."

 

 

The BTC Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook

 

Alexe Van Beuren

ISBN: 978-0-385-34500-2

 “Be the Change” has always been the store’s motto, and that’s just what it has done. What started as a place to meet and eat is now so much more, as the grocery has become the heart of a now-bustling country town.

In a small town twenty-five minutes outside of beautiful Oxford, Mississippi, there’s been a revival of food and community. Bucolic small-town Water Valley wasn’t the most logical place to start a grocery and cafe, but that’s just what Alexe van Beuren did, in a historic building that her husband had saved from demolition. The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery opened in 2010 amidst a cloud of hope and dreams, full of glass-bottled milk, local produce, and Cora’s fried pies. Trouble loomed when hope and dreams proved insufficient for the daily realities of running a small business when lo and behold, Dixie Grimes, a five-star chef, walked through the door in need of a job. Within a few months, Dixie’s food had folks lining up at the window, and the two women discovered that after all, this small town in rural Mississippi was exactly where they needed to be.
 
The B.T.C. quickly cemented its place as the center of town life, serving hearty breakfasts and comforting lunchtime meals, as well as selling prepared foods like casseroles, salads, and spreads to take home. With vibrant storytelling, 120 recipes, and 60 evocative full-color photographs, The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook (Clarkson Potter; March 18, 2014; $29.99; Hardcover) shares the inspiring story of how dreams can pay off in a small-town tale of food, friendship, and tradition.
Some recipes featured in The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook include:

• BREAKFAST: Skillet Biscuits, Sausage Gravy, Honey Goat Cheese Frittata with Prosciutto and Arugula

• SOUPS FOR EVERY SEASON: Spinach Artichoke Bisque, Hotty Toddy Beer Chili, White Bean Chicken Chili, Mississippi Catfish Gumbo

• SALADS: Dixie’s Famous Chicken Salad, English Pea Salad, Vetra’s Three-Bean Salad

• SPREADS AND SANDWICH FIXINGS: Tex-Mex Pimento Cheese, Sriracha Coleslaw, Ham and Horseradish Spread, Kagan’s Dill Pickles

• CASSEROLES: Southern Yellow Squash Casserole, Hoop and Havarti Macaroni, Chicken Pot Pie with Parsnips and Roasted Leeks, Oyster Casserole

• MAINS: Home-Brined Corned Beef Brisket, Honey Pecan Catfish, Crab Cakes with Dill Tartar Sauce, Coulter’s Red Beans and Rice

• SIDES: Creamed Cabbage with Sherry, Yellow Squash au Gratin, Corn Bread Dressing

• SOUTHERN SWEET THANGS: Cora Ray’s Fried Pies, Steel Magnolia Cake, Mrs. Jo’s Banana Pudding, Peach Icebox Pie

The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook shares some of the store’s best recipes, giving home cooks everywhere a taste of the food that brought a community together, sparking friendships, reviving traditions, and strengthening an American Main Street.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
ALEXE VAN BEUREN is the owner of the B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery. Raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, she now lives with her husband and their two children in Water Valley, Mississippi.
DIXIE GRIMES is an Oxford, Mississippi, native who has cooked for more than two decades in many fine restaurants. She has helmed the kitchen of the B.T.C. since 2011.

 MrsK's Review:
Excited, yes excited!  This cookbook has been a delight to browse, to cook with, and to talk about.  Small town living has always been dear to my heart.  Going home to Grandma's meant going home to Silverton, OR.  A small town in the Pacific NW.  A small town in which everyone new me because of my Grandma.  A small town with a one lane road in and out.  A small town where the store-owners were inviting, always ready to chat, always smiling, and always safe.  Now that I am living in a small town up in the mountains, I adore everything about small town owners. Conversations are sweeter, life is slower, and community is invested.

Meeting Alexe and Dixie has been like going home for a short visit.  Even though our towns are on opposite sides of our nation, we are related.  Alexe's voice keeps you smiling while you browse through these scrumptious and enticing recipes.  Dixie is quick witted, very frank, and doesn't add any "fluff" to her discussions or recipes.

I couldn't wait to try the sausage gravy recipe, not only is this considered "comfy" food... its "pow" to your taste buds satisfies your morning.  I am looking forward to our first Fall day just because I want to try the loaded baked potato soup.  Now I have always had a yummy potato soup recipe, but I have never added Tabasco sauce or heavy cream to the soup (are your taste buds talking?).  When I asked my son to choose a recipe, he chose the Hotty Toddy Beer Chili... he is such an amazing "down home" cook that I have no idea why I would be surprised by this choice but this could be "what's for dinner" over our 4th of July weekend!  Do you enjoy salads?  You must experience the watermelon with Feta salad or what about an asparagus and strawberry delight?  I have not tried any of the deserts, not because I don't like desert but because I am not good at creating deserts... so my daughter is in line for making the peach ice box pie (don't you love that title...I know what an ice box is...perfection for what you will devour).

All ingredients are easy to grow or find at any grocery, the directions are easy to follow with full color shots of how it should look (not how my recreations might look).  The history of their town, their friendship, and their life as small town owners will add a "dash" of sparkle to your eyes as you serve up any of these recipes.  This is not a "check-it-out" cook book, this is a must "own" and "gift it" type cook book for any one who just loves "home" cooking.

***My invite to Alexe and Dixie... I know of a small town in the west that would be thrilled for you to franchise your BTC specialities in... come on home to us... we will welcome the early morning coffee and Christian fellowship!***

Amazing read, yummy recipes, excellent discussion for book clubs!

 

 Read Chapter One

"I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review." 

   

Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor

 

Jon Scieszka

ISBN: 9781419712180

Net Galley Synopsis:
Frank Einstein loves figuring out how the world works by creating household contraptions that are part science, part imagination, and definitely unusual. After an uneventful experiment in his garage-lab, a lightning storm and flash of electricity bring Frank’s inventions—the robots Klink and Klank—to life! Not exactly the ideal lab partners, the wisecracking Klink and the overly expressive Klank nonetheless help Frank attempt to perfect his Antimatter Motor . . . until Frank’s archnemesis, T. Edison, steals Klink and Klank for his evil doomsday plan! Using real science, Jon Scieszka has created a unique world of adventure and science fiction—an irresistible chemical reaction for middle-grade readers.

MrsK's Review:

I first met this incredibly chaotic author when the book The Stinky-Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Fairy Tales was first published.  Which proved to be such a delightfully zany evening.  My daughter was so opposed to the re-telling of The Really Ugly Duckling that both Jon and Zane Smith (illustrator) made their dedication to her.  A story by the way that I continue to share with all my grandchildren and students.

 In this zany story you will meet Frank, a young sci-guy and inventor.  He is currently working on a "robot that will be able to think, learn, and become smarter and smarter..." which was only needing some lightning power for it to come alive.  Oops... a power outage brings Grandpa Al down into Frank's laboratory. Given that power surge and the robot blowing up, Frank abandons his science project for the evening not knowing that the robots hands would be energized and capable of completing Frank's design, with additional design components and modifications.

The next morning, Frank awakens to the smell of pancakes and enters into the halls of science. Scientific areas of study and innovations which his Grandpa Al designed for a more scientific minded decor.  Once breakfast is completed... Frank heads into his lab only to hear an electronic voice answering his self-talking inquiries.

Klink is a self-assembled artifical-intelligence entity, with in the design of a shop vacuum.  Whom by the way has also created and programmed Klank (a metal trash can) now to be known as Klink's assistant. These characters are creative and intelligent, yet they are quite without training, if you can imagine what a toddler set loose would be like... that would be the type of "zest" for new discoveries these two have. I don't know for sure, but I think Klink is a bit like his creator Mr. Scieszka.

The interchanges between sci-fi innovations, witty conversations, zany twists and turns, and references to scientific resources is a winning combination.  Humor and science ignites a desire to be creative and start designing your own inventions... 

Enjoy reading and re-reading this great new series...
MrsK


Is one of the sci-fi connections that Frank has been reading.  Isaac Asimov
Random House Synopsis:
I, ROBOT turns the world of science fiction literature on its head. Rather than telling the typical tale of a humanoid machine run amok (e.g., Terminator), SFWA Grand Master Isaac Asimov asks readers to imagine a world where robots protect us from our own worst nature. Beginning with a simple story about the relationship between a little girl and a limited-function robot, I Robot moves on to explore, in subsequent stories, increasingly sophisticated thoughts, questions, and moral complexities. In the process the book reveals Asimov’s overarching vision of a future that entangles inextricably the humans and the machines.

The stories grew from Asimov’s opinion that anyone smart enough to create robots would be smart enough to make sure that those robots wouldn’t attack their makers. Conceived by Asimov as the Three Laws of Robotics–essential laws built into the robots’ inner workings–these Laws freed science fiction writers to develop robots as characters instead of portraying them as monstrous things.

Enjoyable read... funny... a must for every classroom and library shelf!

"I received this ebook for free from Net Galley for this review."

 

Samantha Sanderson at the Movies

                     

Robin Caroll

ISBN: 9780310742456

Book Look Synopsis:

The first book in an exciting new series about a girl with dreams to become an investigative journalist, each book promises to touch on a crime straight from the headlines, while also tackling tough issues faced by middle-schoolers everywhere.

A new addition to the Faithgirlz! trusted brand of books introduces readers to Sam Sanderson, an independent, resourceful, tech-savvy cheerleader and aspiring journalist, and Sam's best friend Makayla. They're ordinary 7th graders who enjoy shopping, texting, and going to the mall-along with sniffing out the next big mysteries to report in the school paper.

In this first book of the series, Sam gets the lead on a developing and controversial story when an explosive device is discovered in a local movie theater-controversial because this movie theater has recently come under attack by a renowned, outspoken atheist, for allowing a local church to show Christian movies at the theater. Sam's family has always been strong in their walk with the Lord, and Sam knows what she believes, but for the first time her faith is really put to the test, especially when she compromises her ethics as a journalist when she reports on the case her father is overseeing for the police.

MrsK's Review:

"There was just something right about popcorn so covered in butter that you had to lick your fingers."

Perfect "hook" for me.  What is going to a movie without the comforting joy of a tub of buttered popcorn?  If you attend church and/or youth groups, it is not a new concept for theater's to close for a special viewing of a faith-based movie.  What was surprising was the fact that "others" would be so opposed to the idea that there would be a possibility of violence.  Unfortunately, this is a reality for our teens, as well as the reality for Sam's night out before school begins.

Sam is a "scoop" artist.  With a father as an investigative detective and the added opportunity for Sam to be the lead "reporter" for the school's blog... well you know that Sam will get herself in and out of some "murderous" situations.  Many of which is putting pressure on her father and unnerving some students who would like to see her blog "crash and burn."  Sam knows that this blog could get her into the running for being the editor next year, so she convinces her father to let her blog the facts.  The challenge for Sam will be stating the truth and not prejudging what she perceives as the truth.

As Sam uncovers the truth, she is faced with an inner truth:
 "...that the fear of the Lord that's talked about in Scripture is a reverent fear and awe, not a scared-of-the-boogeyman type of fear."
"Reporter's shouldn't editorialize or sensationalize... just report the facts."  Can Sam report just the facts and leave out the investigative truths that are coming together like pieces in a puzzle?  As a field reporter, her mother warns her to be very careful "...Even most journalists don't truly have a grasp on freedom of speech."

Sam's reporting steps on toes, creates many headaches for the school's principal, causes her father to make some decisions that he doesn't want to make... and in the end, helps Sam to weigh "how" to report without hurting those she is talking about.

This storyline is quite the surprise.  I was thrilled with the delivery of the plot.  The characters are dedicated Christians who are finding their path while attending middle school (definitely a hard enough walk in and of its own). This is such a refreshing read, it can be so difficult to find literature that will satisfy the quest for middle school readers.  So many of today's options are not books which resonate with Christian teens.  This is a book that will provide a bridge for many of our students.

Born and raised in Louisiana, Robin Caroll is a southerner through and through. Her passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others. Robin’s mother, bless her heart, is a genealogist who instilled in Robin the deep love of family and pride of heritage—two aspects Robin weaves into each of her books.

Enjoyable reading for everyone... Will be adding to our Library shelves!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. 

I was not required to write a positive review. 

The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> :

 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”