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Showing posts from August, 2012

The Gap Year

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Book Description   Cam has raised her daughter Aubrey alone ever since her ex left to join a cult. But now the bond between mother and daughter seems to have disappeared. While Cam is frantic to see Aubrey, a straight-A student, at the perfect college, on a path that Cam is sure will provide her daughter success and happiness, Aubrey suddenly shows no interest in her mother’s plans. Even the promise of an exciting gap year saving baby seals or bringing clean water to remote villages hasn’t tempted her. She prefers pursuing a life with her wrong-side-of-the-tracks football-hero boyfriend and her own secret hopes. Both mourn the gap that has grown between them, but Cam and Aubrey seem locked in a fight without a winner. Can they both learn how to hold onto dreams . . . and when to let go to grasp something better? Sarah Bird’s trademark laugh-out-loud humor joins with the tears that accompany love in a combination that reveals the fragile yet tough bonds of mother and daughter.  

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Messages from Heaven

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Book Description   When our loved ones leave this world, our connection with them does not end and we often receive signs from the other side. These true and touching stories of will amaze and support all readers -- religious or secular.The 101 true and miraculous stories in this book of signs and messages from beyond show that death may take away the physical presence of our loved ones, but not their spirit. This book is for everyone, religious or secular, as regular people share their amazing experiences with the other side. Book Review   First off, have lots of tissues when you read this one.  I generally cry while reading books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.  However, this one really got to me.  The stories in this one were all touching and heart-felt.  It doesn’t matter what religion you are, you cannot refute that we all want to believe that our family and friends who have passed on are there waiting in the wings to greet us to wherever we go after we pass

The Scary Places Map Book

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Book Description   Take a tour of seven spooky places, among them the Wicked Woods, a Ghostly Galleon, and the Western Terror-tories. Along the way, avoid booby traps, search for hidden objects, and learn basic map reading skills! A map key, items to look for, and points of interest, such as Dracula’s Castle and Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory, are included for each eerie region. Tips for touring (never take the Transylvania tour during a full moon) add to the fun. Kids who love to mix the ghoulish with the humorous will pore over the atmospheric pictures time and again, transported to strange, mysterious, very scary places. Book Review   This was a fun find!  The kids truly enjoyed this book.  To be honest, so did I! There are seven different places that you “tour”.  Each place has a picture of the place and a description.  It even has a list of dangers to avoid while touring that location.  It’s almost like it’s a travel guide for fictional creepy locations. Then there

Maisy at the Beach

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Book Description   Maisy and company have a full day of fun in Maisy at the Beach, collecting shells, building a sandcastle, and feasting on tasty snacks. Young readers join in the fun as they complete the scenes with more than 25 full-color, reusable stickers. Book Review   Truly an adorable book that kept the kids engrossed.  It is a great early reader book that is interactive.  As the story progresses it asks the child to put stickers in certain parts to complete the pictures.  What’s great is that the pages allow for the stickers to be put on and taken off repeatedly.  I am sure that eventually the adhesive on the back will start to wear off after while.  Maisy at the Beach: A Sticker Book (9780763659080): Lucy Cousins: Books ISBN : 0763659088 ISBN-13 : 9780763659080

Go Out and Play!

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Book Description   Go outside and play! Here, at your fingertips, are how to's for more than seventy best-loved games, all set to spread the fun of active play to kids of all ages. Do you know how to draw a hopscotch grid? What’s the silliest challenge in the game of sardines? How do you keep from being "out" in SPUD? Is there any way to escape the blob? This lively, infectious guide to games runs the gamut from classic to contemporary: kick the can, freeze tag, blindman’s bluff, red light green light, four square, duck duck goose, and so many more. It’s all sparked by KaBOOM!, a nonprofit with a passion for creating outdoor play spaces nationally and around the world. For KaBOOM!, play is serious business! So this guide also includes tips for adults on how to encourage and facilitate outdoor play as well as a wealth of resources on how to help create more play spaces in your own community.   Book Review   There were tons of great outdoor games to play

Waiting For Morning by Karen Kingsbury

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  Book Description   As Hannah Ryan waits for her family to return home from a camping trip, she realizes she has everything going for her—a husband other women admire, two charming teenage daughters, and a loving Christian home. As the sunny afternoon turns into twilight, her uneasiness grows along with the shadows. Then a car pulls into Hannah’s driveway, bringing two police officers...and devastating news that shatters her life forever. In the days that follow, Hannah struggles with unspeakable feelings of sorrow and rage—feelings that fuse into one chilling purpose for living: revenge against Brian Wesley, the drunk driver who has caused all her pain. In her fury, Hannah shuts the Lord out of her life. She’s determined not to forgive Wesley or the God who allowed this tragedy to happen. Can two caring people help Hannah rediscover her faith...before bitterness destroys her? Book Review   This was a quaint little story.  It was a quick read.  The characters were r

The Fire Starter Sessions

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Book Description   The Fire Starter Sessions is an apathy-kicking, integrity-infusing guide to defining success on your own terms. As the creator of DanielleLaPorte.com--deemed “the best place online for kick-ass spirituality,” Danielle LaPorte’s straight-talk life-and-livelihood sermons have been read by over one million people. Bold but empathetic, she reframes popular self-help and success concepts: : Life balance is a myth , and the pursuit of it is causing us more stress then the craving for balance itself. : Being well-rounded is over-rated. When you focus on developing your true strengths, you enter your mastery zone. : Screw your principles (they might be holding you back). : We have ambition backwards. Getting clear on how you want to feel in your life + work is more important than setting goals . It's the most potent form of clarity that you can have, and it's what leads to true fulfillment.   Book Review   This book is life changing! 

Religious Right: The Greatest Threat to Democracy

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Book Description   This book is a timely expose on the Religious Right that gives insight into the network's blueprint for America. From Christian Reconstructionists, Dominionists, Quiverfull, Seven Mountains Mandate, the attacks on public schools, to birth control becoming a hot button issue, find out the leaders of the movement and their tactics. This book explains, and documents, a stealthy hijacking of the government, courts, schools, even our history, and popular culture. This work includes interviews, research, and a bibliography. The presentation is organized and systematic, while in plain English. It shares how to get involved and make a difference in your community to protect your rights and preserve democracy. The book is written by an insider who left the Religious Right, and now shares why they believe they are mandated to have dominion over every aspect of life in the United States. The author details how their vision for America is not a democracy at all. A must

Alexander, Spy Catcher

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Book Description   A seemingly normal October turns into an exciting and terrifying adventure for Alexander and his brother, Ben, when they discover that their uncle Charlie may be in danger because of a secret government project he is working on. The boys notice strange happenings around their family's home; for example, why is there a clandestine protected Wi-Fi network on their forest covered property? When Alexander and Ben suspect that their uncle is being spied upon, they agree to warn him about what they've discovered. But on the same night that they tell him about their endings, he disappears without a trace. Now, it's up to Alexander, Ben, and their family to solve the mystery about what happened to their uncle and bring him home safely. But although they are determined to rescue Charlie, they don't realize the dangers that lie ahead for them on their journey. Book Review   This is a really great juvenile fiction book.  If you are wanting to get

A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis

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Book Description   The fates had been perversely mischievous of late—case in point, Raphael Lewis. . . When Fanny Greyville-Nugent’s father suffers a gruesome death in the clutches of his own machine, mourning his loss is not the beautiful heiress’s only heartbreak. Scotland Yard is convinced he was targeted in a plot to halt the rise of industry, and Fanny’s former fiancé, dashing and dubious detective Raphael “Rafe” Lewis, has been assigned to the case. For the estranged ex-lovers, bringing the notorious assassins to justice proves as tumultuous as quelling pent-up desires. Fighting peril and passion at every turn of a dangerous journey from Edinburgh to London, they are pursued by an anarchist group hell-bent on destroying her father’s mysterious entry into the London Industrial Exposition. When an astonishing discovery about the couple’s failed engagement surfaces, the sleuthing duo realize they can trust no one. Rafe confesses new details about his infidelity and Fanny

Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War

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Book Description   The ashes of the Cataclysm have settled across Azeroth’s disparate kingdoms. As the broken world recovers from the disaster, the renowned sorceress Lady Jaina Proudmoore continues her long struggle to mend relations between the Horde and the Alliance. Yet of late, escalating tensions have pushed the two factions closer to open war, threatening to destroy what little stability remains in the . . . Dark news arrives in Jaina’s beloved city, Theramore. One of the blue dragonflight’s most powerful artifacts—the Focusing Iris—has been stolen. To unravel the item’s mysterious whereabouts, Jaina works with the former blue Dragon Aspect Kalecgos. The two brilliant heroes forge an unlikely bond during their investigation, but another disastrous turn of events looms on the horizon. . . . Garrosh Hellscream is mustering the Horde’s armies for an all-out invasion of Theramore. Despite mounting dissent within his faction, the brazen warchief aims to usher in a new era o

Raising Wild Ginger

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Book Description   Parenting is hard. That's what Edward Rosenberg has always assumed, although his only experience with children has been as the drunken uncle. Now the love of his life, Sam DaCosta, is yearning for fatherhood. Edward's been sober for years. He and Sam are in a good place. Why rock the boat? On the other hand, how can he deny Sam his dream of a family? Then they meet Ginger. At twelve she's been through more than either Edward or Sam can imagine. She's seductive, secretive and dishonest. But somewhere between stealing his cash and alienating Sam, Ginger manages to wind herself into Edward's heart. Can the three of them create a family? Or will Ginger blow them all apart? Book Review   This is one of those books that really changes how you view life.  Poor little Ginger lived through absolute hell.  And of course, she doesn’t know how to cope with what she has been through.  So she did the typical kid thing and acted out.  Of course, th

A Leprechaun’s Lament

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Book Description   A stipulation of the Patriot Act gave Chief Sam Jenkins an easy job; investigate all the civilians working for the Prospect Police Department. But what looked like a routine chore to the gritty ex-New York detective, turned into a nightmare. Preliminary inquiries reveal a middle-aged employee didn’t exist prior to 1975. Murray McGuire spent the second half of his life repairing office equipment for the small city of Prospect, Tennessee, but the police can’t find a trace of the first half. After uncovering nothing but dead ends during the background investigation and frustrations running at flood level, Jenkins finds his subject lying face down in a Smoky Mountain creek bed—murdered assassination-style. By calling in favors from old friends and new acquaintances, the chief enlists help from a local FBI agent, a deputy director of the CIA, British intelligence services, and the Irish Garda to learn the man’s real identity and uncover the trail of an interna

The Sweetness of Forgetting

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  Book Description   At thirty-six , Hope McKenna-Smith is no stranger to bad news. She lost her mother to cancer, her husband left her for a twenty-two year old, and her bank account is nearly depleted. Her own dreams of becoming a lawyer long gone, she’s running a failing family bakery on Cape Cod and raising a troubled preteen. Now, Hope’s beloved French-born grandmother Mamie, who wowed the Cape with her fabulous pastries for more than fifty years, is drifting away into a haze of Alzheimer’s. But in a rare moment of clarity, Mamie realizes that unless she tells Hope about the past, the secrets she has held on to for so many years will soon be lost forever. Tantalizingly, she reveals mysterious snippets of a tragic history in Paris. And then, arming her with a scrawled list of names, she sends Hope to France to uncover a seventy-year-old mystery. Hope’s emotional journey takes her through the bakeries of Paris and three religious traditions, all guided by Mamie’s fairy tal

Good People Everywhere

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Book Description   A colorful picture book that will warm the hearts of children and adults alike, each of its pages contain endearing examples and vibrant illustrations to inspire children to grow into grateful, caring, and giving people. It provides a wonderful way to calm children before sleep, ease their fears, and help them develop an appreciation for good work. Also included are activity pages to help children practice skills for creating gratitude, compassion, and beauty in daily life.   Book Review   This book teaches kids to stop and appreciate those people around them.  Whether it’s the people who pick the fruits and vegetables they eat or the teachers who give them the knowledge in school, there are people in the kids’ lives that help to enrich them. The book is fairly easy to read.  The pictures are bright and cheery.  I even love that at the end of the book it asks the kid to look at what he does that is good.  It also asks the kid to draw their own award t