Review: The Struggle: Mom and the Summertime Blues by the Smith family

The Struggle is Real.

Or so my teenage daughter informs me. And as I inform her, she has first-world problems. Patrice Smith has four teen and pre-teen daughters who also suffer from first-world problems, and any modern parent will recognise the “issues”. They will also know how difficult it can be to keep children entertained during the long summer holidays without taking out a second mortgage to pay for entertainment.

The Struggle is one of Patrice Smith’s solutions to that problem. She got her four daughters to co-write a book as a summer project. While the four daughters in the story are supposedly fictional, I suspect a good part of each daughter comes out (especially in their comments about their sisters!) That’s one of the best parts of the book—the authentic and original voices of each daughter.

The other best part is the content, which I found hilarious (from my point of view as the mother of teens. I suspect teens might have quite a different view). The sisters share their frustration at being forced to participate in horrific summer activities as math homework, weeding the garden, and running! In the morning! Basically, not having a vacation as it is defined by Google.

Mom makes things even worse by requiring that they eat healthy food, not eat junk food, and use natural remedies (which I mostly agreed with, but I do have to side with the girls when it comes to homemade sunscreen). As if things couldn’t get worse, Mrs Smith insists on punctuating these horrors with teachable moments (I’d insert a winky emoticon here if I could. But I’m not a teen, so I can’t).

Okay, so the plot wasn’t as cohesive as most fiction I read and the English often had that high school flavour … but that’s appropriate and to be expected in a book written by students aged 10 to 14 and published by their parents.

Mrs Smith, keep up the good work.

Girls, listen to your mother. One day you will wake up and realise you sound just like her … and that’s something to be proud of.

Homeschooling parents—this could make a great project for the year.

Other parents—kids refusing to help out? I’m sure they’d rather clean their rooms/the bathroom/the entire house than be forced to write a book.

Thanks to Patrice Smith for providing a free ebook for review, and for providing me with some amusing inspiration through the words of your daughters.

Review: Mystery at the Hot Pond by David DeVowe

Book Description

IT WAS THE LAST DAY OF OUR LIVES, AS WE KNEW IT.

Very little had changed at Stoney Creek for eleven-year-old Arthur (Shoe) Makinen until MaryAnne DuPree upset his school year in 1924. Shoe discovers evidence that a double drowning at the sawmill may have been murder. MaryAnne’s faith is a mystery to Shoe as he suspects MaryAnne is intertwined in the investigation. What is she doing here? Was it an accident or murder? Will life ever be the same?

My Review

Mystery at the Hot Pond is an enjoyable middle grade adventure story, set in the 1920’s in the small mill town of Stoney Creek. The story is narrated by Shoe, an engaging child who doesn’t like change but does enjoy a good puzzle.

These two things combine in Mystery at the Hot Pond, when Shoe’s pleasant life is disrupted by MaryAnne, the new girl in school, and a mystery at the mill where his father works, and which involves MaryAnne’s father. Neither Shoe nor MaryAnne expect to get mixed up in this, but their uncanny knack of being in the wrong place at the right time (or is that the right place at the wrong time?) means they become key to solving the mystery.

I found the beginning a little slow, as it was more around Shoe’s conflict with MaryAnne than the promised mystery, but once the story got going it was a good read, sure to appeal to young readers (the writing was definitely more suited to younger readers than a more sophisticated teen audience). I especially liked the way the author wove the Christian themes into the plot.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: The Trespasser by Karen Cossey

One of my freelance editing clients!

As some of you know, I’m a part-time freelance fiction editor, and I edited The Tresspassers which makes this a slightly biased review.

It’s set in England, near Plymouth, where Logan trespasses on an exclusive country retreat to climb a cliff … and is caught by the imaginative Meeka, who is escaping from the Mines of Certain Doom and Death, and her father, Captain Blackbeard. Logan is pleased to make a new friend, especially one as interesting and adventurous as Meeka, but they soon find themselves getting a little more adventure than they had bargained for. Well, the West Country has long been known as pirate country. There are secrets hidden in those caves …

The Trespassers is a fast-paced adventure story with a healthy dose of comedy (illustrated by Meeka’s extensive vocabulary and penchant for made-up words). There is plenty of conflict, with a good balance between the external adventure conflict and Logan’s internal journey, and an underlying theme of family belonging. It’s not specifically Christian fiction, but it’s definitely written from a Christian world view and would make a great read-aloud story for school-aged children, or a read-alone story for middle grade readers.

ARCBA Blog Tour: Swallow Me Now! by Melissa Gijsbers

2 - 6 March 2015

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

is introducing


Swallow Me, Now!
(Lilly Pilly Press, October 2014)

By

Melissa Gijsbers

 

About the Book

All Sam wants to do is to fit in at her new school. Feeling alone, and desperately trying to find her place in the world, she concocts an AMAZING story - BUT it backfires on her, and she becomes known as the 'Evil Genius's Daughter!' Can her life get any worse?

About the Author

Melissa Gijsbers started writing when she was in High School during the 1990s, even winning some awards for a short story and a script. For many years, life got in the way of creative writing, however she did start blogging around 2006.

She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia with her two sons and a pet blue tongue lizard.

My Review

I think Sam is a character most children can relate to—starting a new school (or job) can be a scary experience. Sam has grown up in a missionary family, so isn't prepared for some of the behaviour of the children in her class, which leads to her making some bad decisions ... like not telling her parents when she has a problem, and lying to the other children in an attempt to fit in. 

I found myself getting frustrated with Sam at times, and had to remind myself she is only ten (or thereabouts—although we were told what grade she was in, I don't know exactly what age that is in Australia). 

Swallow Me Now! makes interesting points about school bullying—I think what impacted me the most was the different types of bullying, and how Sam didn't see the way the other girls were treating her was actually bullying. She put up with it for a long time before saying anything, which I guess is because she didn't know. But I knew, and I was getting cross with her, wishing she'd make better choices!

This would be a good story to share with primary-aged children, to help them understand what bullying is so they can tell a grown-up if it happens to them or to a friend, and hopefully show them that sometimes not doing something (like making friends with the new kid in class) can be just as bad as being mean. 

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review. 

Review: Mason Wilson and the Dead Bird Debacle by M P Jones

It’s the end of term, and Mason Wilson has been assigned an unusual homework project for the holidays: research a conspiracy theory. Normally he’d just leave it until the last minute then cobble something together from Wikipedia, but this project is different: his teacher will submit the best project to the competition being run by a national newspaper—a competition which has a GBP 20,000 prize, a prize his family needs.

Mason knows that to win the prize he’s going to have to do something special, so he starts researching. Two ideas catch his attention: why do you never see dead birds, and what is the secret ingredient in Coola Cola? He decides that might be too difficult to find out, and when he sees a strange cat in the neighbourhood with a bird in its’ mouth, he decides to follow it …

There were quite a few English jokes that foreigners (or children) might not get, such as Clifford Machs, the public relations guru. I enjoyed the writing style and the characters, there was just the right amount of humour, the plot was well thought through, and the story had a clear Christian message without being preachy.

Children, especially boys, will be intrigued by the mystery of where dead birds go, the idea of the secret ingredient in Coola Cola … and the slightly disturbing way in which the two come together. Mason Wilson & The Dead Bird Debacle has echoes of Roald Dahl and new children’s fiction such as Diary of A Wimpy Kid. It’s enjoyable Christian fiction for 8-12 year olds who enjoy the slightly quirky nature of an English setting.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Fire Prophet by Jerel Law

Despite being one quarter angel and having succeeded in rescuing their mother from the forces of evil (in Spirit Fighter, the first book of the Son of Angels series), Jonah and Eliza are almost regular kids, just starting eighth and sixth grades respectively. But their lives quickly change when they are victims of a coordinated attack by Abaddon on worldwide Nephilim and their families, and this time, their younger brother, seven-year-old Jeremiah, is also involved. The angels decide to move the quarterlings to New York for safety—and so they can be trained in battle.

Cue a fast-paced and very visual story with a well-executed if basic good versus evil plot and some good battle scenes where Jonah and Eliza have to exercise their faith. The scenes where Jonah and Eliza were rapidly moving between the physical world and the spiritual realm had the potential to be confusing, and would certainly be more effective on TV. But they certainly made the point that the physical world and the spiritual world are both equally real, even if we can normally only se one.

Fire Prophet is aimed at children aged nine and up, so it does feel a little juvenile at times to the adult reader. But I liked it. It makes no apologies for the fact that we are in a spiritual battle, something us grownups and too easily forget. Yet Fire Prophet gets these truths across in an interesting and exciting manner. It is fiction, like Percy Jackson, but with a Biblical foundation. Recommended for boys, but girls will probably enjoy it too.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Jerel Law at his website.

Review: Sneak by Evan Angler

Sneak follows Logan Langley in his search for his sister, Lily, after she disappeared during her Pledge five years ago. In Swipe, the first book in this series, Logan is coming up to the age where he must Pledge and receive the Mark. But he is drawn into the world of the Markless and the Dust and, with the help of Erin, manages to escape his own Pledge. Now he is on the run from DOME (the Department of Marked Emergencies) as he attempts to find his way to Beacon City, where he believes Lily is being held.

Sneak is apocalyptic Christian fiction. As Christians, we can recognise that the Mark is the Mark of the Beast spoken about in Revelation, and that prophesied the one world government is about to be formed. But this is a world where religion has been outlawed, and owning a Bible—especially as a Markless person—is grounds for a prison sentence.

Although the author gives a brief reminder of what happened in Swipe, the early part of Sneak is still a little confusing due to the number of characters. But I quickly remembered who was who and settled into the story. It’s written in omniscient viewpoint, which can sometimes feel distant, but the author has a real talent for bringing the reader right into the story.

It’s fast-paced and well written, with both a clear closure of this story and a clear lead-in to the next instalment (which is very good, because I really don’t like cliffhanger endings). Sneak doesn’t have any supernatural elements, rather it is a solid adventure story based on an imagining of the events predicted in Revelation. It’s written for ages 9 and up, but is a good read for any age. Recommended.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and Booksneeze® for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Evan Angler at his website.

Review: Evan Burl and the Falling by Justin Blaney

Evan Burl, age fifteen, is the oldest of a group of orphans who live and work in the isolated castle of Dǣmanhur under the brutal supervision of Uncle Mązol and his goons, Ballard and Yesler. The orphans are always hungry, are punished severely for breaking the rules, and are forced to work from sunup to sundown. A mysterious message in the Book predicts that Evan will become an evil sapient when he turns sixteen, and that he cannot be turned from his destiny.

Each chapter of Evan Burl and the Falling begins with a header specifying how long until the mysterious 'Falling'. This is important to note, as the story moves back and forward in time. I think this was meant to be a literary device to enhance suspense. Personally, I found it irritating. One flashback is one thing, but this felt more like telling a story in two timelines at once.

One of the skills in writing a novel in a sci fi, fantasy or speculative genre is to ensure that the reader is provided with the information they need to understand the plot at the right time. Sometimes Evan Burl managed this; sometimes it did not. And the fantasy world has to present a consistent illusion of reality to the reader. Including items like French doors broke this illusion, because they are part of our world, and Evan is not.

The other thing I found annoying was the spelling. Many of the names had little curlicues (e.g. Peąrl, sąpience, which I hope display properly on your screen). On the Kindle, the strange letters are merely annoying. But reading the epub version of the book on my Kobo was impossible, because the file conversion process had changed all the strange letters to boxes, rendering it almost unreadable.

It takes a while for the story to really gain its stride--at first, it seems as though it is trying too hard, with the melodramatic evil uncle, the punishments and the affected spelling of character's names. But once it settle in and gains pace, it improves… only to finish with a ‘to be continued’ cliffhanger ending, with no resolution to any of the questions raised. What are the orphans manufacturing? What is the ‘falling’? Where did the orphans come from? Is Evan really evil?

Evan Burl and the Falling could be the start of something good. But it finished too soon and left too many unanswered questions for my liking. I personally prefer each book in a series to have a partial resolution that gives more clues about the final climax, which completes the overall story arc.

Thanks to Inklis Marketing for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Swipe by Evan Angler

Swipeis set in a technologically advanced near-future dystopia, in which all those over the age of thirteen Pledge their allegiance to the unified world government and receive the Mark, which enables them to vote, purchase goods, hold a job and a range of other ‘privileges’. The Markless, those who have chosen not to Pledge, are forced to survive on the edges of society.

Logan Langley will soon turn thirteen and take his Pledge. Most kids his age are excited, but he is nervous – his older sister, Lily, never returned from her Pledge, and he has had the feeling he is being watched ever since. As a result, he feels increasingly isolated at school, although the new girl, Erin, catches his interest. Although she is already Marked, she resents her new home, a result of her father’s promotion. He does Government work – for the Department of Marked Emergencies (DOME), who control the Mark programme and associated problems. Little do Logan and Erin know that their combined problems are about to bring them together…

As dystopian fiction, Swipeplays homage to authors such as John Wyndham. John Christopher and Lois Lowry, as well as the more obvious similarities to the Left Behind series based on their common base in the Mark of the Beast prophesied in St. John’s Revelation. Swipe’s futuristic world is well-imagined, with a combination of the new, the familiar and the adapted (e.g. the children playing rock-tablet-laser instead of rock-scissor-paper). I found that the early development of the world of the Marked detracts from the development of the characters and the plot, but the book improved and picked up pace as the story progressed.

Swipehas been described as “the Christian alternative to The Hunger Games.”

It isn’t.

Although I have purchased The Hunger Games trilogy, I have yet to read it (long story). But I know it is clearly aimed at a teenage (Young Adult) audience, both in terms of the themes and the age of the main characters. Logan, the central character in Swipe, is just twelve, which suggests its target audience is younger (Middle Grade). My view is that the level of peril is just too low to attract the typical teenager, although future books may well ‘grow’ with the reader, as the Harry Potter books did.

Overall, Swipeis a good read, set in a world where there is no war, no conflict and no religion. It’s a sound debut novel in a popular genre. Readable, interesting even, but not original or memorable like the dystopian fiction I read as a teen.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dame by L L Samson

Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dame, fourteen-year-old twins Linus and Ophelia Easterday have been left to live with their aunt and uncle (also twins) in Kingscross, home of the famous (fictional) Americal university, while their parents go on a five-year research trip to do something important (well, something they think is important, anyway).

While exploring the old house they are now living in, Linus and Ophelia find a hidden attic filled with the belongings of the mysterious Cato, who used to own the house before he simply disappeared one day. The attic has a lot of strange books and bottles, and a large circle has been drawn on the floor. An ‘accident' with a magic circle brings the fictional Quasimodo out of the classic Victor Hugo novel and into the Real World.

The twins find that Quasi will be with them for sixty hours, and that if they do not follow instructions exactly, he might end his days fizzing down to a pile of dirty rags. As they befriend the fictional hunchback, they find someone else knows about him, and wants to harm him. So, they join with Walter, their new neighbour, to protect Quasi and return him unharmed to fictional Paris (and providing the reader with the formulaic two boys-one girl mystery-solving trio that has worked so well in other series for this age group).

I don't read a lot of Middle Grade fiction, so I'm not entirely sure what represents the best of the genre (although having read a few of the High School Musical, Hannah Montana and Mary-Kate and Ashley books, I have a good understanding of how shallow and trite Middle Grade fiction can be). I enjoyed Facing the Hunchback of Notre Damefor what it was: a fun adventure story for 8-12 year olds, with a little classic literature and a few thoughts on good writing thrown in for educational value.  For example:

“It is within my nature to explain a bit of the writing process as I proceed. You may choose to either use these tidbits of information to increase your knowledge of English and the fine art of writing, or ignore the opportunity to learn literary technique from an expert and simply skip over my explanations. If you choose to ignore the input that I have so generously provided regarding the writing craft, then you may also choose to ignore the simplified definitions of some of the rather advanced words I’ve used within the story— words that I’ve explained at the request of Linus, who seems to think my vocabulary rather too advanced for the average reader.”

Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dameis a humorous and enjoyable story that would be a good book for reading aloud, and I can see it fitting well into a home schooling curriculum. There is even the odd interjection for the sake of the parents, and this humour, combined with the distinctive voice of the narrator (Bartholomew Inkster, janitor at Kingscross University) reminded me of Roald Dahl. There are a few too many exclamation marks for my taste, but I suppose it is the distinctive voice of the narrator and the age group the book is targeting.

Although it is published by Zondervan, Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dameis not an obviously 'Christian' novel, but it is a fun read, with a plot device that is well set up for a series (it is Book 1 of The Enchanted Attic series). Thanks to Zonderkidz and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Spirit Fighter by Jerel Law

Jonah Stone is thirteen when he flunks the school basketball tryouts but notices something strange about the way he can kick a soccer ball. He tells his parents, who not only believe him but tell him a family secret – Jonah’s mother is one of the Nephilim, one of the half-human, half-angel beings referred to in Genesis, and Jonah and his siblings are quarterlings, which gives them special powers and the ability to see angels.

But then his mother goes missing, and it seems that others of the Nephilim have also disappeared. Together with his sister Eliza, Jacob must fight the forces of evil to rescue their mother and the other missing nephilim before the captives can be forced to work for the Destroyer. In their search, they learn to put on the armour of God (from Ephesians 6), to walk by faith and to trust in the name of the Lord.

Spirit Fighter is well written and fast paced. Many of the ideas are reminiscent of Frank Peretti's books, but with a strong youth focus and not so frightening. There are parallels between Spirit Fighter and some of the popular secular fiction available for this age group – the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson books spring to mind.

Jonah can see the fallen angels and feel the despair they exude, similar to Harry Potter and the dementors. Like Percy Jackson, Jacob is part-human and part-superbeing, which gives him extraordinary powers. The difference is that in Spirit Fighter, these elements are given has a sound basis in the Bible. (And, at the end of the day, this is fiction. But it will introduce children to the concept of the spiritual realm and the battle being fought).

An adult might find elements of Spirit Fighter simply too fantastic and criticise it for being too plot driven with insufficient focus on the development of the characters. While this might be true, I don't see that the target audience of middle school boys will be bothered. They just want to see the bad guys get wasted, and should therefore be well satisfied. Despite the presence of Eliza, I imagine Spirit Fighterwill be more appealing to boys than girls, and will be enjoyed by fans of TV shows such as Bibleman and Angel Wars.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. Jerel Law speaks about his inspiration for Spirit Fighter at A Novel Bookshelf.