It's Monday...Must be time for an Author debut Bye for Now {review}

Title: Bye for Now
Author: Kathleen Churchyard
Publisher: Egmont USA
Available: 8/23/11
Source: netgalley

About the Book:

What 11 year old girl (or boy) has not wanted to change places with someone else who is cooler, better looking, better athlete..etc. Robin has a horrible 11th birthday and wishes she was someone else and something amazing happens. She finds herself in England in another 11 year old girls' body named Fiona and then things really start getting weird. After finally contacting herself, who is really a girl from India, she finds that this can only happen when 2 girls wish at the same time and there are more (Wishers) out there. They have to find a way back to their own bodies or do they? Maybe this life is the one they deserve.

My take:
This was a fun read. Great for that age group...first chapter books. The story was a bit confusing as the reader has to figure out who traveled where and who is really who...but once that's down, it's cute. There are a lot of moral points along the road that could have been condensed a bit more, but definitely will help your child think a little about what is good about their own life. The travel to another country was a great idea to engage young readers into other cultures...hey even I learned a little something! (now I'm probably all toady or something) I will probably be getting this for my own ten year old. It seems to be the first in a series called The Wishers, but I haven't seen any blurbs about any future books, but since the book left us with a cliffhanger I know more are coming. Great start for this debut author.

About the Author:
Kathleen Churchyard currently lives in North Carolina but has called many places home over the years, including London (the main focus of the book). She was a screenwriter for Hollywood studios, sorry don't know what she wrote, before she tackled this new area of a young reader author. I can't find any website or blog or FB or twitter or anything about this author...so if you know anything..please let me know!!!







6 out of 7 thumbs! Great chapter book for early reader's (probably 3-5 grades).

Received this from netgalley as a courtesy for a honest review. No other compensation and all thought here are mine!

In My Mailbox (6)

Wow...the week flew by! Almost the end of August already. Here's the weekly Mailbox post meme... Thx to The Story Siren as always!

I actually went to a brick and mortar store this week and bought:
Supernaturally by Kiersten White
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

For Review:




Misfit by Jon Skovron

Bye For Now by Kathleen Churchyard
Tankborn by Karen Sandler


So...tell me what you got!!! Include your IMM and I'll come and visit!

Saturday Shorts

I've been doing a ton of reading and have a lot of reviews..but most books aren't due to be released for awhile, so I thought I'd give you a sneak peak with the publisher's words into the future.

Lily Renee, Escape Artist
In 1938, Lily Renée Wilheim is a 14-year-old Jewish girl living in Vienna. Her days are filled with art and ballet. Then the Nazis march into Austria, and Lily's life is shattered overnight. Suddenly, her own country is no longer safe for her or her family. To survive, Lily leaves her parents behind and travels alone to England. Escaping the Nazis is only the start of Lily's journey. She must escape many more times—from servitude, hardship, and danger. Will she find a way to have her own sort of revenge on the Nazis? Follow the story of a brave girl who becomes an artist of heroes and a true pioneer in comic books.
Available: 11/01/11

Southern Fried Sushi by Jennifer Rogers Spinola

Ride the rollercoaster of Shiloh Jacobs’s life as her dreams derail, sending her on a downward spiral from the heights of an AP job in Tokyo to penniless in rural Virginia. Trapped in a world so foreign to her sensibilities and surrounded by a quirky group of friends, will she break through her hardened prejudices before she loses those who want to help her? Can she find the key to what changed her estranged mother’s life so powerfully before her death that she became a different woman—and can it help Shiloh too?
Available: 10/01/11


Cherished by Kim Tate
Kelli London once dreamed of being a songwriter. As crazy as it seemed, she hoped that God would use the lyrics that came to her while she slept. She dreamed about Brian too, that the love they shared would be a forever kind of love. But choices she'll forever regret upended her hope . . . and turned her dreams to dust. When those dreams come knocking once more, she's forced to deal with the pain of the past.

Heather Anderson's life has spun out of control-first, an affair with a married man, then a one-night stand with the drummer of a popular Christian band that left her devastated. Broken and alone, she cried out to the only One who can save her. And He did. But that's just the beginning, because now she must leave behind the only life she's ever known.

Two women with shame-filled pasts form an unlikely friendship. What does God's forgiveness look like for them? Will they ever believe that He loves them . . . and can still offer them a life where they are cherished?
Available: 8/30/11

Horse Dreams by Dandi Daley Mackall

Fourth-grader Ellie James has a great imagination. She spends a lot of time daydreaming of owning a black stallion show horse and winning trophies in the horse show. But when the answer to all her dreams and prayers gallops into her life, will Ellie be able to recognize it? Join Ellie and her quirky family in their exciting, horse-loving adventures.

Available: 9/01/11




Chomp by Carl Hiaasen


Wahoo Cray lives in a zoo. His father is an animal wrangler, so he's grown up with all manner of gators, snakes, parrots, rats, monkeys, snappers, and more in his backyard. The critters he can handle. His father is the unpredictable one.

When his dad takes a job with a reality TV show called "Expedition Survival!", Wahoo figures he'll have to do a bit of wrangling himself—to keep his dad from killing Derek Badger, the show's boneheaded star, before the shoot is over. But the job keeps getting more complicated. Derek Badger seems to actually believe his PR and insists on using wild animals for his stunts. And Wahoo's acquired a shadow named Tuna—a girl who's sporting a shiner courtesy of her old man and needs a place to hide out.

They've only been on location in the Everglades for a day before Derek gets bitten by a bat and goes missing in a storm. Search parties head out and promptly get lost themselves. And then Tuna's dad shows up with a gun . . .

It's anyones guess who will actually survive "Expedition Survival". . . .
Available: 3/25/12






There's a taste of what's to come...one of the above books is AWESOME!!!

My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife {review}

Title: My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife: A One-Year Experiment...and Its Surprising Results

Author: Sara Horn

Publisher:Harvest House

Available: 09/01/11

Source: Netgalley




About the book:
Sara Horn wanted to be the Proverbs 31 wife. Full of wisdom and wealth, able to take care of the house, her job and her family and be pleasing to God, but she wasn't sure if it was still applicable to today's woman. Join her through her year long journey on what it means to be a woman of God and how to manage it all.
My Take:
This book was engaging and fun to read. The author took a year to develop each of the virtues of the Proverbs 31 wife. While they all didn't go exactly the way she had planned, she had a year of some deep thought and very funny outcomes that you don't want to miss. Learning to hear God is sometimes the hardest thing for a Christian to do, but Mrs. Horn has shown us that it can be done. This isn't a Bible study, but more of a diary of sorts. I heard that there should be a Bible study on the author's website closer to publication date....I'll update then if that is the case. If you are not Martha (Proverbs 31 woman or Stewart) pick up this book for a realistic look into another not Martha. I really liked the book and it was a fun quick read and showed that I may be imperfect but God is willing to work with me.
About the Author:
Sara Horn has helped many military wives through her Wives of Faith ministry and is now helping to relieve those frazzled wives with the Proverbs 31 saga. She is currently living in Louisiana with her husband and son. She encourages women to seek God's plan for their lives. Her main ministry site is located here.


6 out of 7 thumbs up. Read it!

Stumbling Into Grace {review}

Title: Stumbling into Grace
Author: Lisa Harper
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Available: Now
Source: Netgalley

Book Synopsis:
I usually like to write my own synopsis, so you can get another view of the book so to speak. But, in this case...I'm not coming up with adequate words to describe the book so I'll let the publishers speak:

Humorous yet poignant stories from Lisa's life help readers relate to spiritual truths found in the life and ministry of Christ.
Stumbling Into Grace is the diary-devotional of one woman's honest, ongoing, bumbling journey of faith and how she finds encouragement through a deeper understanding of Christ's time on earth. Within each chapter she alternates her often humorous memoir with stirring portraits of Jesus and his own encounters as recorded in the New Testament.
Both intimately relevant and refreshingly inspirational, this book will help readers to jettison the theological misconceptions, guilt, shame, and hypocrisy they struggle with, exchanging them for a vibrant, passionate relationship with Christ that results in a more abundant, joyful life

My Take:
Lisa takes all of our fears and concerns and puts them together with real life stories and relates them to the Biblical stories and truths and a prayer and appropriate scripture to help the reader tackle these issues one by one. She includes the humorous stories along with the poignant ones. She even takes a few Biblical stories and gives them a makeover for the current times. Every chapter has journaling questions to help you along in your spiritual journey. It is written like Ms. Harper is sitting across from you chatting over a cup of coffee. Simple to understand, she quotes many well known authors and theologians to further get the point across. This would be a great small group discussion book to get even more insight out of the content. It can work for individual devotion as long as you can be totally honest with yourself. It did seem to jump quickly from story to truth to scripture at times, but after you get used to the format it is a very easy read.
About the author:
Lisa Harper is a well known speaker and author, currently speaking with Women of Faith tour. She has written nine books, including A New Spin on Hebrews. She can be found on her website where you can check out her extensive speaking calendar and see if she is coming near you soon.
6 out of 7 thumbs up.. read it

It's Monday...Must be another Author Debut!

Starting a weekly meme here.. I have been reading some great Debut Authors for 2011 and thought I would showcase them a little with a special blog! So without further ado....Here's Week #1!



Title: Double Crossing
Author: Meg Mims
Publisher: Astraea Press
Available: Now (ebook only)
Source: Won in a giveaway


About the book:
Lily's father committed suicide, but Lily knew the truth, even if no one believes her. She takes off on the newly opened transcontinental train with a man who wants to marry her, but it's 1869 and traveling alone with a man is frowned on. But Lily knows the puzzle is in CA and has to have something to do with the deed to the mine that was stolen during the murder. She realizes that she needs more protection and hires Ace, a Texan (ex-army), and not sure who or what she needs protection from. The race from IL to CA is filled with mystery, pain, love and uncertainty as Lily races to get to her uncle before even more bad can happen.

My take:
Fast paced and thrilling to read. The history angle is so well developed and researched that I found myself lost in the train from another century. Even though Lily knew who the killer was there was still so much intrigue from other mysteries that the book kept moving. There were so many smaller added details that made this book leap off the page. A definite page turner as I had to finish it after I started (made for a late night or early morning). The minor characters, from her long lost aunt and uncle and her new found female friend are all developed to not overshadow the major characters, but enough to make us want to know more. It is classified as a historical romantic suspense, but I found much more suspense than I did romance...which because of the era the book is written in, it makes sense. Plus I talked to the author and there will be a book 2...so maybe the romance will pick up a little for Lily. Meg Mims had originally written a Gone With The Wind esque type book about the transcontinental railroad and she was told to find the story in it. I think she did that and very well!!

About the author:
Meg Mims is located in MI and this is her first published book with hopefully books 2 and 3 on the way. She can be found on her website that not only showcases her books but also her awesome artwork. Another debut author that seemed to rock her genre!

7 thumbs up... buy it now!

In My Mailbox (5)

A weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we share what we got this week and what we're excited about... Sorry...no pics...my camera wasn't working!

WON
Double Crossing by Meg Mims ...

Library:
Divergent: Veronica Roth
Nightshade : Andrea Cremer
The Digital Mom Handbook

Netgalley:
Southern Fried Sushi by Jennifer Rogers Spinola
The Orchard: Theresa Weir
Chomp: Carl Hiaasan
Pearl in the Sand: Tessa Afshar



What did you get this week?