The Words Between Us

 

    BOOK REVIEW:   Robin Windsor has spent much of her life under an assumed name to avoid association with her infamous parents. She thought she'd finally found sanctuary running her used bookstore in quiet River City, Michigan. But when she receives an eerily familiar book in the mail on the morning of her father's scheduled execution, Robin is thrown back to the summer she met Peter Flynt, the perfect boy who ruined everything. Why would Peter be making contact now? And why does she have a sinking feeling that she's about to to exposed all over again? 

     With evocative prose that recalls the classic novels we love, Erin Bartels pens a story that shows that words--the ones we say, the ones we read, and the ones we write--have more power than we imagine. 

     MY REVIEW:   This book has depth that a lot of fiction lacks, but for a Christian book, God is pretty scarce. Thus my opinion is, I really enjoyed this book, but I wouldn't recommend it as a deep inspirational story. It is a good fiction story that gives a warm feeling, but if you're looking for a good inspirational story it will disappoint. And I was disappointed in the language. While not profane, it could have been cleaner. 

     The book switches between 14-year-old Robin in a new town trying to adjust to her parent's crimes and avoid recognition, and 33-year-old Robin still trying to avoid recognition while attempting to keep her charming bookstore in business. Not able to trust easily, she only had one friend in school whom she left when she thought he turned on her, and now has only two who try to keep her from being completely hermited away in her little shop. Out of the blue her friend from school begins to send her the old books she had returned to him when she left, books that had forged a bond between them and gave Robin something to live for. Through this and the crazy scheme cooked up to try and save her store, Robin slowly begins to forgive her parents and release the tension in her past and forge a new future for herself. The storyline is different and unique which alone makes it refreshing. 

     I was a little disappointed how the story ended. We basically know what's going to happen, but we still want to read it. I know books can be hard to end, but I think this one could have been better. Restoration was made so we can close it happily, but it's a little open-ended. But all in all a nice story. 

I received a copy of this book from REVELL, and was not required to write a positive review. 

   

Forged Through Fire

     BOOK REVIEW:   When Mark McDonough was a teen, a catastrophic fire claimed the lives of his mother and younger brother. It also left Mark with burns on over 65 percent of his body. During a long and painful recovery, his faltering faith in God was strengthened by a remarkable near death experience. Numerous reconstructive surgeries and postoperative rehabilitation motivated him to become a physical therapist. His work with burn, disease, and trauma patients inspired him to become a reconstructive surgeon, working to help those who suffer as he has. McDonough has overcome numerous other adversities on his journey, including addition and a stroke. Now he shares his incredible true story of survival and perseverance to bring hope and healing to those dealing with great physical and emotional pain.

     MY REVIEW:   Some people have easy lives and don't appreciate it; after reading this book I realize I am one of them. I cannot imagine surviving the immense suffering Mark endured, both by his burns and the loss of his mother and little brother. And if that wasn't enough, throughout the years he lost another brother, suffered a stroke and numerous other afflictions, and battled addiction. Yet through it all he kept his faith in God. He certainly had lows in his relationship with God, but was always able to find his way back.
     The first half of the book especially flipped between past a present frequently, and was done well to avoid confusion. It gave the backstory without requiring many long chapters, which kept the story moving. The first two-thirds of the book cover Mark's time in the hospital recovering from his burns; the rest covers his adult life til present. I really enjoyed the book, especially the first portion of it. After he left the hospital, the story seems to skim over the next years. I don't know how it can really be avoided without giving numerous and cumbersome details, but the feel of the book changed a little. And a lot of that would be due to Mark's moving on with life and not only recounting his hospital experiences.
     A challenge to me in this book is Mark's career change. He had pondered becoming a surgeon but went the route of physical therapist instead. Later he decided to pursue medical school even though he would have to take college classes around his full-time job, pass his medical test, get accepted into medical school, and would be nearly 40 by the time he could establish his own independent practice. But his thought was this:  "Then again, I acknowledged that if I nixed the idea altogether, I'd still wake up at forty wondering what might have happened had I taken the first step toward such a goal."  Often we feel we've missed the time to realize our dreams, but all it takes is one step forward followed by others and we can still get there.

  I received a copy of this book from REVELL and was not required to write a positive review.