Worlds Collide

Worlds Collide by Alison Strobel

Worlds Collide is the fictional story of Jack Harrington, the famous Hollywood actor, and Grace Winslow, an average Christian girl. They share their memories with Jada Eastman who will be writing their biography of how they met each other and Christ, and how their trials helped shape their life.

This book really didn't grab my attention like I hoped it would and there wasn't any unpredictable twists in the plot. It was just one of those books that didn't bore me, but at the same time, didn't have me dying to turn the pages. Even though later on in the story, it showed the negative results of pre-marital sex, I still didn't like how much it focused on it and how much alcohol references there were. Also, there were a lot of typos that I found very distracting.

I did enjoy the writing style of Alison Strobel though. The way the chapters switched from Jack's and Grace's different views was very interesting and added more depth to the characters.

I can't see myself recommending this book to anyone and only give it two out of five possible stars.

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Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review. All expressed opinions are uncensored and uninfluenced by them.

Dug Down Deep

Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris

I have never read any books on theology before Dug Down Deep, so I wasn't real sure what to expect. But since it was written by Joshua Harris, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.

"Dug Down Deep is my revealing theology in my own simple way -- not too polished, sometimes awkward, less than scholarly, hopefully gracious and faithful. Even though these are deep truths, I don't pretend to be swimming in the deep end of the pool. I'm splashing in the shallow end. But if my splashing can inspire you to dive in, I will have succeeded."

Joshua humbly teaches his readers to build their lives on truths that last, along with many other lessons by giving examples from the Bible and his own personal stories. I was motivated by many things that I read and found the book very interesting. Some of my favorite things were how he explained that we're all theologians, how we need to look past our mirror-faces and stop treating God as a Divine Butler (even if we don't mean to), and how just the way we pray can reveal how we view our relationship with God.

With the down-to-earth writing style, Joshua makes his book understandable and easy to relate to. Though, there were a few concepts that I personally didn't agree with, you don't pick up a book on theology and expect to see eye to eye with the author on everything. Overall, I enjoyed Dig Down Deep very much and would recommend it to almost anyone (because of some topics covered, I feel like the reader should be a bit mature). I would give this book four stars out of five.

"I've come to learn that theology matters. And it matters not because we want a good grade on a test but because what we know about God shapes the way we think and live. What you believe about God's nature -- what he is like, what he wants from you, and whether or not you will answer to him -- affects every part of your life.

Theology matters, because if we get it wrong, then our whole life will be wrong."

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Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review. All expressed opinions are uncensored and uninfluenced by them.



The Canary List

The Canary List by Sigmund Brouwer

Summary: 

Jamie Piper is a twelve-year-old foster child who wants a normal life and family. But she can't feel safe when she can sense the evil in people around her. So on one June night, she turns to her teacher, Crockett Grey for help.

"...the feeling of Evil was still so real she couldn't shake it. She wanted -- no, needed -- to talk to someone about it. Wanted -- no, needed -- to feel safe. Somehow."

But Crockett never wanted to be a part of the mess and never imagined how quickly things take a turn for the worse.

"Surely the man had to be exhausted, but he wasn't showing it. And most surely, the man had to be bewildered. A week ago, his life was that of a schoolteacher at the beginning of summer break. Now he was in Rome, Thrown into events far beyond his comprehension."

My Thoughts:

"The Canary List" was definitely a fast paced and suspenseful novel but it wasn't very gripping. It was a bit confusing and I found myself more than once having to re-read parts because I felt so lost. Also, the story followed many different characters (some of them only playing minor parts) and so it was hard remembering who they were later on.

Most likely, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It was nothing like I expected and I wasn't really able to get into it. I was pretty disappointed (especially in how much it was focused on Satanism) and only give it two out of five stars.

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Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review. All expressed opinions are uncensored and uninfluenced by them.



Dream of Night

For me, it's sometimes hard to find books that I think are interesting and still clean. So when I was first thinking about starting this blog, I knew I wanted to write reviews. The idea was still floating around in my mind but it took me this long to read a book that I wanted to review.



"Dream of Night" by Heather Henson

Summary:

Dream of Night is a Thoroughbred born to race. But when his leg starts hurting, he starts losing, and no one wants a racehorse who doesn't win. After being sold and re-sold more than once, he gets kept chained to a stable wall without food, water or fresh hay. Even after all the abuse, he would stay strong and fight back.

Shiloh is a twelve-year-old girl taken away from her home after being abused by her mom's boyfriend. She never stayed in a foster home for long because she was "...too angry...". She still wanted to live with her mom again, so she would stay strong and fight back.

Night and Shiloh share the same story and they both end up at the foster home of Jessalyn -- she's their last chance before the state takes over. But Jessalyn is strong too. Even though she knows that Night and Shiloh will be hard to take care of, she's determined to make things work.


Thoughts:

The story is definitely a good one about love, trust, and hope. I really liked how it was told from the main characters' different perspectives since you can understand each of their feelings, thoughts, and history much better. But the plot for a girl and horse friendship has been used so many times and in the same way, it seemed a bit unoriginal.

Even though the suggested age is 8-12, I still liked it and would recomend it especially to someone who likes horse stories.

Rating:   G -- It does have some references to alcohol, tobacco, and abuse, but the language is completely clean.


Star Rating:  3 1/2

"Dream of Night."

 She says it out loud, and the black horse raises his head from the ground.

"That's your name."

The black horse blasts air out his nose. A dragon breathing fire. A monster. He definitely looks like a monster. She will scream back if he tries to scream at her.

"Dream of Night." She says it again, and then, "Not bad."

The name is perfect, really.