Do Hard Things by Alex & Brett Harris

MOST PEOPLE DON’T…
A different kind of teen book

A TEENAGE REBELLION AGAINST

LOW EXPECTATIONS -

FOR TEENS

AND ANYONE ELSE THAT CONSIDERS

THEMSELVES A CHRISTIAN!

Janna's REVIEW:

I had to put this book on my Top 8 of 2008 list because of how awesome this book is. Some people would say it should be on my Most Awesome YA list, but no. This is not a book just for Young Adults. Every Christian should read this book - who of us does not revert back to that "teen part" of us that will do the bare minimum in our lives and then we're miserable because of it. It is time to break out of that and to start exceeding the low expectations placed on us!

I was absorbed by this book when I started it and was blown away by it when I was done reading it. I told our church's youth pastor about it and made mention that as wonderful as it is geared towards teens, I think this is the kind of book that every Christian should read to encourage all of us living for God to rebel against low expectations. I loaned him my copy of the book and he put it off for a few months... when he finally read it he finished it in a couple days and then went out of his way to tell me how amazing it it. He plans on buying about 6 copies and circulating them among the youth. I plan on making this my standard graduation gift for people I know. But no matter what you decide to do with it, this is a book that I would strongly suggest getting your hands on, for you and everyone you know :-)

I was not able to reach Alex and Brett with them being away at college now and the Christmas holidays and everything, so I don't have an interview and giveaway - but I wanted to get the word out one more time on this great book!

ABOUT THE AUTHORs:

Alex and Brett Harris founded TheRebelution.com in August 2005 and today at age 19 are the most popular Christian teen writers on the Web. The twins are frequent contributors to Focus on the Family’s Boundless webzine, serve as the main speakers for the Rebelution Tour conferences, and have been featured in WORLD magazine, Breakaway, The Old Schoolhouse, and the New York Daily News. Sons of homeschool pioneer Gregg Harris and younger brothers of best-selling author Joshua Harris (I Kissed Dating Goodbye), Alex and Brett live near Portland, Oregon.

Finding Hollywood Nobody

Janna's REVIEW:
I can't tell you enough, how much I love this series of books by Lisa Samson. I've already talked about the first book, "Hollywood Nobody", and I'm so pleased that I've gotten to read this second one.
"Finding Hollywood Nobody" is an excellent follow-up to the first book, but I think you could enjoy this book without having read the first one. Lisa takes us back to Scotty and Charley and walks us through what happens as Scotty continues to grow and mature. Scotty goes on a spiritual journey and some amazing things happen along the way. The writing style is engaging and refreshing and the storyline is so original. When this one arrived in the mail - I dropped everything and read it (in an afternoon). As soon as I was finished I passed it on to my M-I-L and she said, "Oh, good! I've been waiting for this one!" She returned it to me by the end of the night because she couldn't put it down.
I recommend this series for anyone that likes a great, original and absorbing book!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lisa Samson is the author of twenty books, including the Christy Award-winning Songbird. Apples of Gold was her first novel for teens

These days, she's working on Quaker Summer, volunteering at Kentucky Refugee Ministries, raising children and trying to be supportive of a husband in seminary. (Trying . . . some days she's downright awful. It's a good thing he's such a fabulous cook!) She can tell you one thing, it's never dull around there.

Other Novels by Lisa:

Hollywood Nobody, Straight Up, Club Sandwich, Songbird, Tiger Lillie, The Church Ladies, Women's Intuition: A Novel, Songbird, The Living End

Visit her at her website.

Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith

Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith

Creation House; 1st edition (May 5, 2009)

MY REVIEW:
Every once in awhile a really good series comes out that you can read aloud with the family or read to yourself and you just get swept away into another world. I have been fortunate in some of my reading lately to discover some gems that I otherwise might not have been able too... Mike Hamel's Matterhorn series, Robert Liparulo's Dreamhouse Kings series, Lisa Samson's Hollywood Nobody series... and now I've been fortunate enough to have discovered Eric Reinhold's Ryann Watters series.

In book #1, Ryann Watters and the King's Sword, we meet Ryann and his best friends Terell and Liddy. Ryann is visited by Gabriel who gives him a special staff, ring and horn and tells him that he will need to find the King's Sword. He is taken to a world called Aeliana where the animals talk and humans are few. It has a very Narnia-esque feel and is captivating. The beauty of this book to me is the way Eric shows spiritual warfare in such a way that it is easy for kids to understand. Searching the scriptures for answers, praying for wisdom, leaning not unto his own understanding... these are the ways Ryann finds answers on his quest against darkness.

Now in book #2, Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith, Ryann, Terell and Liddy are back and sent on a second mission - for the Shield of Faith. It is back to Aeliana, but everything is not as it was. The passage of time, dragons, unicorns and evil. Ryann must renew his pursuit of the scriptures to find out what The Word says. Adventure reigns supreme in book #2 and I just love this series. It is a read aloud series for our family and is taking its place among the classics as far as I am concerned.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Eric J. Reinhold is the president of Academy Wealth Management and a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. His passion is to write youth fantasy novels that incorporate strong moral character and biblical values. Eric teaches Sunday school at First Baptist Sweetwater Church in Longwood, Florida, where he attends with his wife, Kim, and three children.

Visit the author's website and blog.

Product Details:

List Price: $19.99
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Creation House; 1st edition (May 5, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1599796260
ISBN-13: 978-1599796260

The Big Picture by Jenny B. Jones

The Big Picture


(NavPress Publishing Group April 15, 2008)


by


Jenny B. Jones

Janna's Review:
I really enjoyed this book by Jenny, and I am happy to say that even though this is book #3 in the Katie Parker series and I have not read the first 2... I didn't feel left out at all! Jenny does a great job keeping you in the loop as the book goes on so that it is not a necessity to have read the books in order, although after reading The Big Picture I would like to go back and read the first 2.
Katie is a fun heroine, one of my favorite types - her heart is in the right place, but she's human and has flaws (and they show, alot!). She is surrounded by quirky characters who support and love her and then the unthinkable happens... her messed up, druggie mom gets out of jail and wants Katie back. Katie struggles to leave behind her wants and needs and be a good daughter and tries to find God in the middle of such a mess. Such an original story and Jenny's writing style made it so fun too! I would highly recommend this book - especially for the teen set, so if you are looking for good reading for your teen - then check out this series!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jenny B. Jones is the author of A Katie Parker Production series. The other books in the series are In Between and On The Loose. Though now an adult, she still relates to the trauma and drama of teen life. She is thrilled to see her writing dreams come true, as her previous claim to fame was singing the Star Spangled Banner at a mule-jumping championship. (The mules were greatly inspired.)

Jenny resides in Arkansas, where, as a teacher, she hangs out with teens on a regular basis.








ABOUT THE BOOK
Sometimes there’s a fine line between comedy and tragedy—and Katie Parker is walking it.
School is winding down for the summer but Katie Parker is having a bad day. After leaving the drive-in, where her imploding love life was the main attraction, Katie arrives home to a big surprise on the Scott's front porch.

Her mother, Bobbie Ann Parker, a former convict and recovering addict, wants to take Katie away from her family, friends, and church. Now Katie's life will be changed by a series of dramatic choices as she struggles to understand what family and home really means.

Katie is forced to walk away from In Between, leaving behind a family who loves her, a town drive-in to save, and a boyfriend who suddenly can’t take his eyes off his ex. When the life her mother promised begins to sink faster than one of Maxine’s stuffed bras, Katie knows she needs to rely on God to keep it together.

But where is he in all this? Can Katie survive a chaotic life with her mother—and one without the Scotts? And if God is there, will he come through before it’s too late?

A Katie Parker Production series offers teen girls real-world fiction balanced by hope and humor. The The Big Picture helps us realize that the difficult chapters in our journey are only part of God's big story for our lives.

You can read the first chapter HERE

"A heroine to love. Jones just gets better with every book, and The Big Picture is her best one yet."
~BARBARA WARREN, author of The Gathering Storm

"Such inspiration in a package of fun and faith!"
~EVA MARIE EVERSON, author of the Potluck Club series

Sarah's Long Ride by Susan Page Davis

This book may be listed as a 9-12 year old read, but that doesn't begin to do this book proper justice! I read it by myself with the intent of going back and reading it with my 11 year old daughter. I enjoyed it so much that it will be a family read instead as all 5 of my children ages 3-11 will love getting to know Sarah, Uncle Joe, Junior, Miss Rose, Aunt Becky and Eric. Susan Page Davis takes us inside Sarah's world - a 14 year old girl who is suddenly left all alone after a tragic accident takes her mom away from her and her dad died 8 years previously. Uncle Joe, a quiet, solitary bachelor takes her in on his horse farm which allows her to keep her horse and her mom's horse. As they settle into a routine, Uncle Joe finally agrees to ride with Sarah in the Bandicoot 100, which her mom had previously registered to do with Sarah. This leads us inside the world of distance horse racing which turned out to be fascinating! This is Sarah's first time to do a 100 (100 miles in under 24 hours) though she and her mother had completed a 50 mile race shortly before her mom passed away.

God's provision is the phrase that kept coming to mind as I read this book, God's provision for Sarah (and Uncle Joe) even when they didn't know what they needed.

This was just a really great book and I can't wait to see what Susan brings us in the next installment of The Piper Ranch Series!

Homeschool families - let me point out that Sarah is actually homeschooled by her mom and at the end of the book Uncle Joe has to make a decision about whether to put her in public school or allow her to continue homeschooling - this is a great aspect of the book as Sarah is an intelligent, lovely, polite, Christian young lady who gives homeschoolers a good name (her best friend Eric has been homeschooled his whole life as well). If you are studying horses in your homeschool, you could actually work this book in because it is packed with interesting information - especially about the distance riding!