The Comic Book Story of Video Games Review

I love gaming (board and video) and I love non-fiction comic books like Maus, so I was excited to have the chance to review this book. I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting into. I hoped for good artwork and well written information. I was very pleasantly given both! My favorite part of this book was how the video game characters are plugged in throughout the whole history. It keeps a lighthearted view on some of what could be fairly boring bits of information. I love this book and would love to see a comic book history of board gaming from them...just a suggestion.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Carve: a Book Review

Carve A Simple Guide to Whittling is absolutely gorgeous. I fell in love with it the moment I looked at it. The cover is stunning. The paper within is very high quality and is full color from beginning to end! Melanie Abrantes does a phenomenal job of writing. The instructions are clearly written and are also shared through photographs. I had hoped I would enjoy this book, but I was blown away instead. I don't have a lot to say except that it would make a lovely gift and will look great on your coffee table resting on top of your newly carved tray.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

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The Box of Awesome Things Memory Game Review

Wee Society has made a cute little game. My son and I set it up without looking at the tiles to start with and it was so much fun being surprised by the awesome things that popped up. The box is of great quality. The one thing I would say I dislike about it is the fact that the lid is just a flap. It has nothing to help it stay closed. I do like to store my board games vertically, but this one will have to stay flat unless I rubber band it. The tiles are high quality and have a very nice matte finish. The artwork is modern and fun. My favorite picture was lightning. My son really liked the s'mores. A couple of the pictures seemed overly simplistic, but overall the illustrations were very nice. 

I have been wanting a memory game for our family for a while now, so I hopped at the opportunity to review this one. I am glad I did. It is a high quality board game and the pictures are great for all ages, not just small children, i.e. cartoon characters. I would definitely recommend this one, especially if Wee Society can come up with a solution to take care of that box flap in future prints.

I received this game from Blogging for Books for this review.

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Seasons of Tomorrow: A Book Review

Seasons of Tomorrow by Cindy Woodsmall is the fourth and final book in her Amish Vines and Orchards series. I was so happy to have the chance to review this last book. Back at book one I wasn't sure I would like it till about 75% of the way through the book. With the series complete I must say that this was a fantastic series. I had just a sliver left of the book and I didn't think it could be enough space to finish it off, but Cindy did finish it, and well.

As far as Amish fiction goes, this book is like no other. It is by far to most "worldly" Amish book I have read. As I described some of the exciting plot twists in this last book to my husband, he said, "I thought you were reading an Amish novel." Yes, yes I was. I was riveted from beginning to end. I would definitely read more from Cindy Woodsmall in the future and highly recommend the series!

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I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

Girl at the End of the World: a Book Review

"Elizabeth Esther grew up in love with Jesus but in fear of daily spankings (to “break her will”). Trained in her family-run church to confess sins real and imagined, she knew her parents loved her and God probably hated her. Not until she was grown and married did she find the courage to attempt the unthinkable. To leave.
In her memoir, readers will recognize questions every believer faces: When is spiritual zeal a gift, and when is it a trap? What happens when a pastor holds unchecked sway over his followers? And how can we leave behind the harm inflicted in the name of God without losing God in the process?
By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Girl at the End of the World is a story of the lingering effects of spiritual abuse and the growing hope that God can still be good when His people fail."


This is such an interesting book from beginning to end. Elizabeth has a writing style that is very fluid and easy to read. I found myself relating to many of the small stories in Girls at the End of the World. I learned a lot about fundamentalism too. It is a word I hear thrown around once in a while, but I never really understood it.


The back of the book includes discussion questions which are fantastic. There are many ideas in the book that this religious group took too far, such as disciplining children and gender roles. I was concerned that the questions would be biased against those things. In actuality the questions ask you to think about the pros and cons of such topics and ask you to determine for yourself where the lines should be drawn.


There was also a great interview in the back with Elizabeth Esther. She goes into some detail about what fundamentalism is and her experience writing the book. I don't know that I would say that I enjoyed the book. It isn't the kind of story that you "enjoy". It was very much worth reading though and I do recommend it. It was well written and the bonus goodies at the end were a great addition.

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I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

You Can't Make Me: Book Review

I have been reading You Can't Make Me (But I Can Be Persuaded), Revised and Updated Edition by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias. I was excited to get it, as my little guy is quite the "strong willed child" much of the time. I got about half way through and I was sort of feeling iffy about the stories written and advise given. Then I got to a section where a man tells the author that Bible tells us to be obedient to God and our parents. What I took away from her response was that God made most people strong willed and so He most likely doesn't want us to go against our nature. A red flag popped up for me right there. Strong will is a matter of trying to exert your dominance over someone else and not let them win no matter what. Determination and drive are valuable, but I agree with the man, God doesn't want us to be willful and stubborn. We are born as sinners and many things, such as strong will, are passed off as "the way we were born" and we are told to embrace it. God clearly says in His word that they are being tempted by a sinful nature and need to turn to him for guidance and correction.

The following section is titled Rules are basically guidelines, in which she gives this example:

"If I drive into the school parking lot for an evening PTA meeting and the closest parking places are marked "Bus Zone - No Parking," I interpret that sign to mean, "if the buses need those spaces, you can't park here. However, if the busses don't need them, you can park here." It's a guideline! On the other hand, you won't find a stronger advocate than I am when it comes to making sure "Handicapped Only" parking is strictly enforced twenty-four hours a day."

I have a huge problem with the thinking behind this.  If I park in that bus zone it shows my kids that we only need to follow the rules when someone is watching. How am I to know that there isn't a sporting event that is out and will need that space in the evening. Picking and choosing what rules to follow is part of the reason that so many followers of Christ are confused about what the Bible teaches. It is a slippery slope to slide down and it is where I stopped reading the book.

If you want to raise your children in a Biblical way, I do not recommend this book. If you want a quick fix to "tolerate" your strong willed child, then this will help. It will not however, get you to the root of their will and help them to grow to maturity as Godly young men and women.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

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I recently did a review for the book A Season for Tending (you can find the review here). Well, I got an e-mail to let me know that book #2 is coming out! Plus I have embedded below the first chapter for all of you to read. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next in King's Orchard!

The Winnowing Season by Cindy Woodsmall (Sneak Peek) by WaterBrook Multnomah

A Season for Tending: a Book Review

I am a huge fan of Amish romance novels! I was so excited to have gotten a free copy of A Season for Tending by Cindy Woodsmall from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing to review. My copy was on my kindle, so my review will be based on the e-edition.

I actually had a very hard time getting into this book initially. It wasn't till I was half done with the book that I started getting interested at all. It did not have the feel of the Amish books I am used to. My favorite are Beverly Lewis' books and books that have a similar feel to hers. This book is not rich in the tradition of the Amish but instead has a very unique cast of characters. Rhoda is an Amish woman who has premonitions and is rumored to be a witch. Jacob is an Amish man that has a dark past and is a whiz at mental math. Leah is an Amish teen who starts the book getting sloshed at a party and wakes up in Rhoda's garden, thus tying the families together.

About halfway, things start to tie together really well. It peaked my interest and kept me moving forward. By the end of the book, I couldn't put it down. When I reached the end, I was sad there wasn't more! I wouldn't put this book at the top of my favorites list, but I would happily read the next book to find out what happens in King's orchard. I expect that book 2 would leave off where book 1 ended and there would be no need for the slow start.

On a technical note, The kindle version had terrible formating. Many of the speaking portions are grouped together in the same paragraph. That makes it very hard to keep track of who is speaking. If this were fixed it would be much easier to really be absorbed by the book as I wouldn't have to come back to reality to decipher who is reading. Out of 5 stars I give this a 4 because it left me wanting more, but I have to take a star off for the weak start and technical issues.

Upside-Down Prayers for Parents - A Review

Upside-Down Prayers for Parents by Lisa Bergren is a wonderful parent's devotional. Inside its covers are 31 devotionals. Each devotional starts with something you should pray for your child. These are not your run of the mill prayers for happiness, safety, and wonderful spouses. These are prayers that will result in great spiritual growth, for example:

I pray you will...

• suffer loss so you can see how God can use all things for good
• face hardships so you can see how the Lord provides
• get so weary that you will give up and learn that through submission to God comes great strength

After this short prayer suggestion is a short bible verse. Then it gets to the meat. Lisa spends roughly 2-3 pages discussing the reasons behind the prayer. She writes in a way that is completely relatable and I saw myself in nearly every page of this book. Next is a prayer to pray. I noticed right off that these prayers are just as much for the parents as for the children, if not more.

God put this book in my hands today. It could only have been His timing as it has been sitting on my dresser for about a week.. It was a rough weekend and Monday. God used this book to speak to me today. That's right, today I went through the entire book. Nearly all of the devotions and prayers related to the specific difficulties that I have been struggling with over the past 3 days. I needed this book today and am grateful to have had the chance to read it. It may have made its way onto my exclusive list of books to bring on our mission trip.

That is not were the devotion ends though. There is a small area to record your thoughts on the questions about the theme of the day's devotion. Also, there are questions to ask younger kids or older kids to help them understand the topics and help apply them to their lives. This is a book I plan on returning to time and again. I highly recommend it!

I would like to thank Water Brook Multnomah for providing me with a free copy of this book to review as a part of the Blogging for Books program.