Strange Skies

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Ø Title: Strange Skies

Ø Author: Matt Marinovich

Ø Genre: Adult Fiction

Ø Rating: 2/5 stars

Ø Why I read this book: I found it in a bookstore and found the description to be interesting.

Ø About the Book: Strange Skies is a book about a man that lies to his wife about having cancer in order to get out of having children with her. Later, after cheating on his wife several times, he finds a woman and her child that changes his mind about children. That's about it to this book.

Ø Recommendation: The main character in this book is, to put it lightly, a Jerk-Face. Which made it hard to enjoy the story. Even until the end of the book, he does everything for himself. I did not like this book, and don't think anyone really would.

While I was Gone

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Ø Title: While I was Gone

Ø Author: Sue Miller

Ø Genre: Adult Fiction

Ø Rating: 5/5 stars

Ø Why I read this book: It was another bookstore find in a hurried "Grab something! The store is closed!" day. 

Ø About the Book: While I was Gone is a book about how a person's past can affect a person's present and future. Jo is a older woman as the book starts out, a veterinarian. One of her clients is owned by a man that she used to know. This encounter brings back memories of a past that Jo had tried to forget. Because sometimes the past hurts. The two of them then meet up several times, Jo attracted to the man that reminded her of her past. However, the encounter doesn't go the way she expected it to. In the end, her marriage of over 25 years is strained and put to the test, all because of a single encounter with this man from the past.

Ø Recommendation: I enjoyed this book. I could feel Jo's pain, her desperation, her loneliness. Her character is believable, a well rounded mess of an individual. And the book wraps up nicely.

A Lifetime of Secrets

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The Post Secret Website

Ø Title: A Lifetime of Secrets

Ø Author: Frank Warren

Ø Genre: Non-Fiction

Ø Rating: 5/5 stars

Ø Why I read this book: Was on my employer's bookshelf.

Ø About the Book: Post Secret is an amazing online phenomena. Individuals from around the world send Frank Warren their secrets on postcards. The pour out their soul, and he collects them in these beautiful books. A lifetime of Secrets starts out with secrets sent in from children. A memorable secret in this section was about how an individual waited for their Hogwarts Letter all day on their 11th birthday. Then the secrets started aging, college and young-adult secrets, mid-life secrets, finally moving on to secrets about individuals in the late stages of life. Each secret means something different to each person reading them. Some of them are sad, some of them complete a portion of you that you didn't know was missing. 

Ø Recommendation: I am starting to find this portion silly. I will recommend just about every book I read. "A Lifetime of Secrets" is a moving collection and is worth your time to peruse.  

The Door Within

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Ø Title: The Door Within

Ø Author: Wayne Thomas Batson

Ø Genre: Teen Fiction--Fantasy

Ø Rating: 4/5 stars

Ø Why I read this book: Another used bookstore find.

Ø About the Book: The Door Within is a typical story about a boy finding his way to another realm. I find many parallels to Christian beliefs in this story, but they are subtle. Adian joins the 12 knights of Alleble and goes on a quest. During this quest he gets separated from his group, goes into battle, and does some very cunning plotting. There is Dragons, some cow-looking things, and some interesting spiders. The first book in a series usually doesn't answer many questions, but this one wraps up it's own plot while just giving hints at the next book. 

Ø Recommendation: Yes. Read it. It is fantastic.

Massive

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Ø Title:Massive

Ø Author: Julia Bell

Ø Genre: Teen Fiction

Ø Rating: 4/5 stars

Ø Why I read this book: Found it in a used book store.

Ø About the Book: Massive is about a girl, Carmen, who lives with a mother that suffers from anorexia and bulimia. Her mother is constantly calling her 'Piggy' and is making fun of her size 10 body. Carmen struggles with choosing between food and listening to her mother. It is a horribly true-to-the-times story that can strike a cord with all young girls trying to fit in. The end kind of leaves the reader hanging, but it also answers a lot of questions... it is heartbreaking.

Ø Recommendation: This book is for anyone who has a mother who is overbearing. It is perfect for a teen who has issues with her image.

Bloom: Finding beauty in the unexpected

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Kelle Hampton
Ø Title: Bloom: Finding beauty in the unexpected

Ø Author: Kelle Hampton

Ø Genre: memoir

Ø Rating: 4/5 stars

Ø Why I read this book: I stumbled across her blog and thought her story would be something good to read.

Ø About the Book: Bloom is a novel about celebrating differences. Growing as an individual and finding beauty in the unexpected. Kelle Hampton shares her beautiful, emotional, and downright real story with the world. Her love for her daughters shines on every page of the book. Illustrated with pictures that take you back to the moment and show you what was really happening, this book touched my heart.
I found this book a little bit hard to follow, the story was not linear, instead it jumped around between the birth of her daughter and things that happened before then.

Ø Recommendation: I believe that this book should be read by everyone. It shows that the world is what you make of it, and lets you know different is not always a bad thing.

The Shack

The Shack Website

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Ø Title: The Shack

Ø Author: William P. Young

Ø Genre: Christian Fiction

Ø Rating: 5/5 stars

Ø Why I read this book: I found this book in a used book store/warehouse at the bottom of a large box of books.

Ø About the Book: The Shack is a tale of loss and of love. It is a story about finding God in the hard times. It is a story about trust. This is the story of Mack and his daughter Missy. This is a story about God.
On a family vacation Mack's daughter, Missy, was abducted. Four years later, in the midst of a great depression, Mack gets a letter in the mail telling him to go back to the place where it all happened. Against his better judgement, he goes... and his life is changed forever. This book answers the question: "Where is God in a world filled with so much unspeakable pain?"

Ø Recommendation: I am not a fan of Christian stories, they usually shove religion down the reader's throat. However, this story is beautifully crafted. Leaving the reader with a deep fulfillment in the end. I recommend it to anyone that wonders where God is in their life.