"Samson: A Savior Will Rise" by Shawn Hoffman

This book is highly gripping, and the best and worst part of it is that it is based on real-life events.  Samson is a family man with a beautiful wife and children.  Problem is he's Jewish, the Third Reich is in power, and it's the onset of World War II.  Living in a ghetto, Samson and his family are deported to a concentration camp.  This is after Samson--a boxing champion--assaults Nazi guards who are beating up a young Jewish boy.  This one decision to intervene in someone's life will eventually cost Samson everything.  Once in the camp, Hoffman goes into detail following each member of Samson's family as they are tortured.  Mengele is a crazed Nazi scientist--if you could even call him that--that is enraged at Samson's sheer defiance and bravado.  When Samson is called to box for Nazi entertainment, he talks smack and challenges the notion that Jews are inferior.  If he is so inferior, Samson argues, why is he always winning boxing matches?  Eventually, Mengele rips Samson's family apart in an effort just to cause Samson emotional pain.  Based on thorough research, Hoffman describes some of the brutality inflicted on Samson's family.  The sad part is that these acts were committed on many Jews in the Holocaust.  An interesting side character is Kolbe, a Polish Catholic monk.  He is in the concentration camp because he hid Jews.  Kolbe often speaks of God and faith while Samson either listens intently or openly questions Kolbe.  This book will really get readers thinking.  It's easy to have faith in God when things are going well.  But for victims of the Holocaust, we see in this book how it is not so easy to tell them, "just have faith."  This book has a happy ending and a sad one all at once.  Starved, ill-rested, beaten to the point of death, and hanging on by stitches and scabs, Samson is both a victor and a loser.  Free and living in South America with illegal papers, Mengele is both a victor and a loser.  But all of that depends on what your definition of winning is.  I highly recommend this book as an eye-opener to all.  I just don't recommend that you read it right before going to bed--it will haunt you.  

"Return to Me" by Lynn Austin

This book was a superb read that was immensely well-written.  Starting off with a scene where the Babylonian king consults Daniel, the story hits the ground running.  After the reader understands that the Babylonian empire is about to crumble, the story quickly transitions into the Persians taking over.  Readers follow Babylonian exiles Iddo, Zechariah, Dinah, Yael, Yeshua, and others--some characters biblical and some fictitious.  When King Cyrus declares that the Jews can return to Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple, there is indecisiveness.  Some Jews stay and some Jews leave.  Zechariah leaves his father behind as he follows his grandfather Iddo to the forsaken Promised Land.  There is drama between Iddo and his wife as she does not want to leave Babylon.  Yael is a prime character as she is a young girl that is friend to the young Zechariah.  I should point out that Zechariah and his family age throughout the book--readers see Zechariah go from a young boy to a full grown man.  Anyway, Yael is ensconced in sorcery and eventually begins to mingle with the Samaritans neighboring Jerusalem who are incredibly hostile to the Jews.  Yael is an insider of sorts because the Samaritans honor her for her abilities as a "seer" who can tell the future "by the stars."  Tension grows as religious Zechariah--training to be a priest--falls in love with Yael, a sorcerer condemned by the Torah.  I liked how Austin wrote about pagan ways but kept it relatable.  In the 21st century, not many readers can relate to the thought of multiple gods, but people can certainly relate to the danger and temptation of psychics and astrology that is still popular today even in America.  I won't give the entire book away, but the suspense will keep you turning the pages as you wonder what Zechariah will do--what he will compromise and what he will not when it comes to his faith.  You also will wonder what will happen to Iddo and Dinah's marriage.  Many important faith questions come up as dialog goes back and forth between characters who support and oppose the work of the Jews.  On a side note, readers will understand much better exactly who the Samaritans are that are mentioned in the Bible as this historical book gives a good backdrop to the history of the Samaritans and the Jews.  Also woven into this story are Zechariah's dreams written in the Bible.  What I loved is how Austin wrote the book to relate some of Zechariah's dreams to troubles going on in his life.  Now, when it comes to dreams and prophecy, it's hard to know what is really meant.  However, the American public sometimes goes overboard trying to over-spiritualize everything while ignoring context.  This book puts context to a lot of what is written in the Bible while adding some literary freedom, of course.  While characters like Ezra and Nehemiah aren't mentioned in this book, it packs a lot of time and history into its pages.  I can not recommend this book enough.  There is drama, romance, action, redemption, spirituality, and so much more.         

"First Date" by Melody Carlson

This short book really surprised me.  I thought it'd be superficial and a quick boring read designed for teeny-boppers.  I was wrong.  As the pages kept turning, I found myself engrossed in the story.  The plot was detailed while not being too complex; I could put the book down for a couple days and come back without missing a beat.  I also liked how this book was culturally relevant and current.  References to iPads and Facebook were made, and you could not really tell that this book was not written by a teen.  It's not an easy task for a middle aged writer to write a teen story that seems real.  Anyway, Carlson accomplished that.  I also like how this book is not graphic but does not shy away from serious topics.  The issues of date rape, chastity, peer pressure, and more are addressed.  There is real life drama as we learn about the characters' families--from divorce to racism to death.  I also liked how when discussing makeovers, Carlson weaves into the story how everyone has a different type of beauty.  For instance, one character wants to look like another girl with long hair.  However, when she goes to a stylist, she is encouraged to get a short haircut because not everyone looks good with long hair.  This is just a small thing, but it gets the point across to young readers that they don't have to look like everybody else to be beautiful.  I recommend this book to others.     

"True Love Dates" by Debra Fileta

The title of this book is a play on words of sorts to the famous book entitled "True Love Waits."  While this book is an interesting read and quite the page-turner, I still think "True Love Waits" is a better book in many regards.  That book is deeper spiritually and literally.  This book is simple.  However, I do not mean that as an insult.  This book goes over many basic principles of how to date inward, outward, and upward.  So, in other words, the author encourages getting to know yourself, getting to know others, and getting to know God.  With a bit of practicality thrown in, there are discussion questions at the end of each chapter, as well as a section towards the back of the book where Fileta goes over common counseling questions.  I think Fileta's experience as a professional counselor make this book a bit more appealing.  Sure, she may not be saying anything that other books on "Christian dating" don't say.  But, her background gives her opinions a bit more credibility.  Due to the nature of some topics discussed in this book, I would say it is for mature readers and not youngsters. 

"Why Still Care About Israel?" by Sandra Teplinsky

Wonderfully written and researched, Teplinsky does a phenomenal job of articulating the swirl of controversy surrounding Israel.  She uses Bible verses from both the New and Old Testament to show that the Bible in no way supports the idea that God is done with or doesn't care about Israel anymore.  She touches upon replacement theology as well as Antisemitism.  There is even a section of the book that goes through Church history and how there have been countless edicts throughout the years that have tried to rid Christianity of its Jewish roots--sometimes killing Jews in the process.  Another interesting part of the book dives deep into how the media does not portray Israel accurately.  There is even a vague reference to a Italian photojournalist who, in 2011, did an expose on how much media from the Middle East is staged (Google Ruben Salvadori).  Teplinsky also goes in depth on fundamentalist Islam and what the Quran says on eradicating Israelities.  This is an eye-opening read for people of all faiths that will make people think twice before demonizing a persecuted people who is currently fighting for its right to exist.  I also liked how the author threw in Yeshua and Yahweh in her vocabulary of this text.

"Wounded by God's People" by Anne Graham Lotz

Following the story of Hagar, Lotz elaborates on how an Egyptian slave was hurt by the great patriarch Abraham.  From having to leave her home in Egypt to having to act as a concubine to having to be cast out into the wilderness, Hagar's life was not easy.  Interwoven with this story is Lotz's own stories of how she has been wounded by Christians.  The chapters are divided into segments that align with the Genesis story.  Lotz has a lot of wisdom but is a bit lacking in the knowledge department.  In one part of her book, she talks about "Jehovah."  For those that don't know, Jehovah is the result of rabbis stripping YHWH of its vowels and trying to make it have the vowels of Adonay (means "lord" in Hebrew) in favor of their man-made traditions.  This gets us Yehovah, and when the letter "j" came around about 400 years ago, the name "Jehovah" stuck thanks to a king by the name of James.  "Jehovah" is not God's Name.  His Name is YHWH.  Additionally, at one point in the book, Lotz alludes to Christians not working on Sunday and makes them out to be "obedient."  The Sabbath never is or was on Sunday.  It is Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset.  The Sunday Sabbath is a result of Constantine's pagan edicts in the 360s AD.  

"Chasing Hope" by Kathryn Cushman

At first I thought this would be a boring sports novel.  Was I wrong!  This story sticks with you from beginning to end and will pull at your emotions.  Sabrina is an honor student who used to be heading to the Olympics to “run for God.”  Her plans changed when she was diagnosed with a juvenile form of arthritis.  Dreams crushed and friends gone, she is a bitter young lady.  After losing her ability to run like a pro, she constantly thinks poorly of herself.  Even when her boyfriend showers her with attention, she pushes him away because she feels he is out of her league.  Sabrina’s well being gets even worse when she encounters a young woman who has star running potential but who wastes opportunities by drinking and getting mixed in with the wrong crowd.  As Sabrina eventually begins to coach the young hooligan—you’ll have to read and find out how THAT happens—both women begin to admire the other and eventually become friends.  The friend parts takes a long while, of course.  Overall, this book is very inspirational and will make you wonder about your place in this world and how you can make a difference in someone’s life. 

“A Home for My Heart” by Anne Mateer

I read through this book in 2 days—not just because I’m a book reviewer and am used to that but because I really enjoyed the story.  The premise for the book is that Sadie works in an orphanage and gets promoted to head matron.  Then, her long time beau suddenly proposes to her.  Sounds great, right?  The only problem is that the head matron is not allowed to be married.  Sadie’s boyfriend Blaine wants her to quit her new job and marry him.  Drawn to her own dreams, Sadie tells Blaine to wait.  Hurt and impatient, Blaine leaves Sadie behind.  As I’m sure you can gather from even such little information, there is a lot of emotion leaking through the pages as we enter Sadie’s mind.  Things get further complicated when she meets a new man named Earl who showers her with attention.  Meanwhile, her new assistant at the orphanage constantly flirts with both Earl and Blain.  With some good old 1900s drama, this book will keep your interest.  When you get to the end, you will be surprised by who you judged and what characters’ motives really were. 

"Trapped" by Irene Hannon

Full of suspense and wonder, this books will keep you turning the pages in anticipation of both good and bad news.  As Laura's step sister goes missing, she begins to develop a relationship with the PI she has hired.  At the same time, Darcy--the runaway teen--ends up staying with a new friend.  Most stories that focus on runaways or kidnaps are pretty one-sided.  In other words, you know right away who the "bad guy" is.  However, Hannon managed to pull of a literary feat by not immediately letting the reader know who was good and who was bad.  Until you make sufficient headway in the book, you really don't know whether you admire or hate Darcy's friend.  When the story goes sour for Darcy (I won't tell you who is the "bad guy"), it gets serious.  In many stories where women are kidnapped, there is usually some rape involved.  In this story, there is none of that, but it does not seem any less real.  Hannon paints a picture of a criminal who is obsessive compulsive and who has control issues, planning on eventually raping Darcy.  However, that never happens.  The reason why I bring this up is because most people want the suspense of a kidnap story but don't want the depressing and graphic details of a young girl being violated.  While there is some violence in the book, I would not classify it as R rated.  Overall, this book is appropriate for women of all ages and will be a good teaching / discussion tool for young women to teach them the dangers of who they trust.  As you will find out, the "bad guy" doesn't always seem that bad at first.

"She's Twelve Going on Twenty" by Kim Camp

Divided into three main sections--body, mind, and spirit--this book tackles the many ways in which young women struggle to find their identities.  Each chapter covers an interesting topic from both a spiritual and a real-world approach.  There are even stories thrown in to give the reader more depth into each circumstance.  Things such as fashion, friends, influences, media, video games, relationships, and more are expounded upon.  There are discussion questions at the end of each chapter for daughter and mother to go through either together or separately.  Also interesting is the fact that the author touched upon divorce and how that can impact young women.  Food issues are also discussed.  While this book is intriguing enough to be read on its own, I would recommend it more as a reference for mothers.

"What Once Was Lost" by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Set in the late 1800s, this story revolves around many interconnected lives that are quite fluid.  Relationships blossom and relationships become distant.  But I'm not just talking about romantic relationships--I also mean friendships and business acquaintances.  Sawyer did an excellent job of fitting the others characters in.  You had just enough to know how they felt but not so much that you were distracted from the protagonist.  Also, there was not much romance in this book.  There is some, and the protagonist does end up marrying the other leading male character in the book (come on, is anyone surprised?).  However, what Sawyer managed to pull off was making the reader really fall in love with the people in the book.  Instead of some frilly historical fiction book where the characters act all 1800s flirtatious, her story was laced with plausible life circumstances, real life emotions, and not so pleasant travesties.  But the book felt real and you could feel yourself immersed in the story, in the small Kansas town.  I also enjoyed how the life of a little blind boy was tied into the plot.  The spiritual connections drawn based on his are truly deep and will hit you when you get to them.  I could go on, but, in essence, I highly recommend this book.  I had an advanced reading copy.  The only thing I was not too fond of was the protagonist would often say she felt things "in her breast."  I'd prefer the expression "in her heart," but that's just me.  Other than that, I enjoyed the book.

"Icing on the Cake" by Janice A. Thompson

There’s an overweight baker who happens to catch the eye of a muscular heartthrob.  Baker Scarlet may consider herself too fat, but Armando’s cultural background causes him not to view her as heavy (to him, she’s “normal”).  Also, Scarlet has another gentleman caller in her life called Kenny.  This book gives a good lesson to girls that their weight won’t necessary keep guys away.  That isn’t to say women shouldn’t strive to stay healthy and eat their vegetables.  Readers learn from Scarlet’s life how true diet and exercise are better than any “crash diet” out there.  Girls who may not be a size 2 will know that they can still be viewed as attractive.  Another interesting part of the book was how real life events—from other characters—were woven into the story.  This wasn’t just some cute love story with 2 characters being the center of the universe.  No.  In Thompson’s book, we learn about the struggles and joys of Scarlet’s friends, her extended family, and even Armando’s family.  This makes the book more connectable to the reader.  Not everything in the book is realistic, but there’s just enough plausibility to make you want to keep turning the pages.  J     

"Sticking Points" by Haydn Shaw

As someone who works with a variety of coworkers from different generations, this book stood out to me.  I found it interesting how Shaw broke up most people into a couple generational groups and then delved deep into what makes those people who they are.  Shaw focuses on what he calls ghost stories, which are essentially historical events that shaped each generation.  From financial changes to terrorism to technological updates, this book explains how and why each generation is different than the others.  Shaw also gives readers steps for overcoming generational differences, along with stories of both good and bad examples of conflict resolution.  This book is great for companies, managers, employers, and just readers in general.  Besides being applicable to the workforce, this book will also help friends and family better understand each other.  As you will learn from this book, we're all speaking the same language.

“Pepper Parrot’s Problem with Patience” by Carole P. Roman

“Pepper Parrot’s Problem with Patience” by Carole P. Roman is a delightful book about learning and overcoming difficulties in life.  Out of all of Roman’s pirate books, I have to say that this one is my favorite.  Besides being full of great artistic pictures, this book really hits home on handing emotions.  Pepper the Parrot doesn’t know his left from right.  This subsequently gets him embarrassed in public.  Then, he gets frustrated, angry, and even cries.  Now, adults may know their left from their right, but we can all identify with not knowing something and getting embarrassed / upset over it.  The book also emphasizes kindness in teaching others, along with some humor thrown in for good measure.  There is even a tip included for little ones to remember their left from their right.  All in all, this is a great book. 

"Captain No Beard: An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate's Life" by Carole P. Roman

"Captain No Beard: An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate's Life" by Carole P. Roman is the introductory book in the Captain No Beard Series.  It introduces the main characters—animal and human alike.  Those familiar with Roman’s books will notice a slightly different style of art in this book.  It looks less like watercolor paint and more like marker.  However, the art is still detailed and nice.  One picture is even repeated twice in the book.  This book has good literary lessons for children.  Besides using alliteration, there is a scene where the characters look up a word in the dictionary and appear to be having fun doing so.  In terms of teaching kids the value of chores, there is also a part in the story where the “crew” works together to clean the pirate ship.  Towards the end of the book, there is a part where the children eat cookies before dinner.  How early before dinner is not specified, but I can only hope is it in the afternoon during some sort of snack time as opposed to directly before supper. 

"On Distant Shores" by Sarah Sundin

“On Distant Shores” by Sarah Sundin is set in the World War II era.  Georgie is a nurse, and Hutch is a pharmacist.  Both have fiancés—“sweethearts”—back home.  However, while both are away from their significant others, they develop a relationship with each other that starts out as friendship and grows into something more.  Georgie misses Ward but is frustrated when he doesn’t support her goals.  Hutch misses his fiancé but is frustrated when she seems too distant.  Both remain loyal to their fiancés until drastic events in the book take place.  What drastic events are these?  Read the book and find out for yourself.  The detail in this book was sufficient for a historical fiction novel taking place in the 1940s.  Readers will see the sights of Rome as they follow the war torn characters.  There is a bit of astronomy discussed, along with Greek mythology.  Both characters are religious in the book and religion comes up every now and then with regards to quoting Bible verses and trusting in “the lord.” 

"Is College Worth It?" by William J. Bennett with David Wilezol

This book is an excellent resource for all young student considering their future plans.  The authors take a good look at our current post-secondary education system and offer some practical advice.  They lay out the black-and-white numbers of tuition and debt, as well as the likelihood of getting a job upon graduation.  What I especially enjoy was how the authors suggested people give a second look at community college, associate degrees, and trade schools.  While these alternatives tend to be looked down upon, the authors demonstrate how they are very lucrative and require great amounts of skill and hard work.  Also interesting was how this book dives into the political direction of many schools and the biases that are taught in some institutions.  While this book gives a list of some schools that they recommend, I must stress that this is just a resource for students and should not be their only reference.  The schools listed in this book are few and do not cover all of them.  While this school put a slight emphasis on evangelical and Christian learning institutions, I was a bit sad they did not include Jewish learning institutions.  After all, Jews highly respect the Tanach (known to Christians as the Old Testament) and are known to have high levels of both intelligence and work ethic in education.   

"The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good" by Peter Greer with Anna Haggard

With all the books out there on charity and "doing good," it was interesting to read one on its apparent dangers.  While this book covers stuff like financial ruin, volunteer betrayal, and family crises, it focuses much more on the heart of the do-gooder.  Readers come to understand that doing good works does not guarantee blessings--Christian karma as the book calls it.  Readers will also grasp how they can be incredibly selfish even when they are serving others.  For instance, if you have a charity organization named after you with your face plastered all over media, pride can start to slip it...if it has not already.  This book was a fun read that held my attention.  What I didn't like so much was one nuance in the book where Pharisees were discussed.  The book gave the impression that the "heavy burdens" the Pharisees placed on people were related to biblical law.  However, historically speaking, the Pharisees pushed man-made tradition on people.  Yeshua (Jesus) promoted the Torah (Matt 5) and did not consider it a burden.  However, I perhaps I am being too harsh.  Very few mainstream Christian teachers know the difference between the Torah and the Talmud.  

"A Simple Change" by Judith Miller

I'm not going to lie--this book started off a bit slow.  However, once I got a good hundred pages in, things started to get really good.  The protagonist is torn as she has several men competing for her attention, the stress of moving to a new place, and the sadness associated with her dying mother.  As a city girl coming to Amish country, the woman does not fit in exactly.  Things get complicated when an unexpected family friend visits her.  Add in the drama of thievery and fires and you've got once suspenseful novel.  This book was full of twists and turns.  Set in the 1800s, there was enough details to understand that time period but not so much detail to make readers want to fall asleep.  I also liked the psychology of this book.  It had a happy ending (surprise, surprise) but was also filled with real-world problems that aren't so fairy-tale.  This includes abusive men, dangers of walking alone, and others.  While the dangers in this book aren't horrifying or graphic, they do help paint a story that is realistic and not just fantasy. 

“Prairie Song” by Mona Modgson

This book is set in the post civil war time period.  The main protagonists are moving across America to venture out west for a brighter future.  One is a widow, while the other is a woman who just abandoned her soon-to-be-husband at the altar.  The drama between the woman and the man she abandoned at the altar could have been played upon, but unfortunately it wasn’t.  The two left on good terms, closing the door on any readers’ expectations for conflict.  A captain has his eye on the widow, but she is cold to him since he delivered the news of her late husband’s death.  A trail hand worker and Miss Cold Feet both think ill of each other and find the other detestable.  However, that doesn’t stay that way for long.  There is also drama when certain characters are accused of stealing and when certain characters are fighting the deadly addiction of alcohol.  What I liked about this book was how it paralleled two love stories.  So many books just focus on one.  My only complaint about this book is the binding.  The margins are not wide enough, so you have to bend the book extra far to read certain parts.  However, overall, this was an entertaining read that held my attention.