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Rachel King (13 KP) rated The Lightkeeper's Daughters in Books
Feb 11, 2019
This is the first book I received from Thomas Nelson for reviewing, and because of shipping problems, by the time I recieved it I had forgotten why I originally picked it. I started reading the book out of obligation, and at first, had a hard time actually enjoying what I was reading. It felt a bit like a school assignment for the first 80 pages, which is generally how far I will go in a book before I decide whether or not I want to finish it. Luckily, at that point the book actually started to get interesting as Addie became snoopy around the house and began unearthing clues about her mother. I am not much for the mystery genre, but I found the detective-like aspects of this novel much more entertaining than the chaste romance between Addie Sullivan and Lieutenant North, which led up to a climax that was so exciting I chose finishing the novel to sleeping when I was sick with a cold.
Regarding the more religious aspects of the novel, I thought that the depiction of Addie's faith in God to be somewhat watered down and simplified with possibly not enough attention given to its place in her life. Often I find ithis is the case with literature in the genre of Christian fiction. The single time that scripture from the Bible is quoted, it's merely a few lines out of Psalms, and each time that we see Addie praying, she only spends a few moments in prayer before something else requires her attention. This is not to say that all Christian fiction - categorized works do this, as I have read some truly excellent portrayals of faith in Jesus, but this book certainly did.
Overall, I would recommend the book more for its plot elements of mystery and intrigue, not for its religious aspects.
Regarding the more religious aspects of the novel, I thought that the depiction of Addie's faith in God to be somewhat watered down and simplified with possibly not enough attention given to its place in her life. Often I find ithis is the case with literature in the genre of Christian fiction. The single time that scripture from the Bible is quoted, it's merely a few lines out of Psalms, and each time that we see Addie praying, she only spends a few moments in prayer before something else requires her attention. This is not to say that all Christian fiction - categorized works do this, as I have read some truly excellent portrayals of faith in Jesus, but this book certainly did.
Overall, I would recommend the book more for its plot elements of mystery and intrigue, not for its religious aspects.
Rachel King (13 KP) rated The Hidden Flame (Acts of Faith, #2) in Books
Feb 11, 2019
I loved this book as much as I loved the first one in the series, The Centurion's Wife. I felt I could easily relate to the doubts and fears that Abigail dealt with on an almost daily basis, even though her world is far different from mine. Her humility and compassion are something for me to admire and aspire to, and I sympathized with her feelings of helplessness both in her struggle to work and her imminent betrothel. This book helped me to understand better the differences between the Pharisees and the members of the Sanhedrin, as well as the political climate of that time. I cried twice while reading the book, first while reading about Peter's shadow healing the sick and mamed as he walked and then at the point of Stephen's death. Despite the runny nose, I count this as a mark of well-written literature.
It's exciting to see how all of the names I know so well from Bible scriptures are introduced into the plotline of the novel, and it feels like taking a fresh look at events that I have read and studied over and over again, such as what happened to Ananias and Saphira. I feel like I am looking behind the scenes to what happened in between the lines of scripture, such as the events that led up to Stephen's death, the daily tasks of the members of the fledging church, as well as how the Apostles went about their daily lives, manifesting miracles as easily as shaking hands but still never taking for granted what Power worked through them. I appreciate the delicate nature of interpreting these Scriptures in a fictional text, and while there are some I know that would consider doing such as verging on blasphemous, I feel that such works serve a purpose in the "grand scheme" and hold merit.
It's exciting to see how all of the names I know so well from Bible scriptures are introduced into the plotline of the novel, and it feels like taking a fresh look at events that I have read and studied over and over again, such as what happened to Ananias and Saphira. I feel like I am looking behind the scenes to what happened in between the lines of scripture, such as the events that led up to Stephen's death, the daily tasks of the members of the fledging church, as well as how the Apostles went about their daily lives, manifesting miracles as easily as shaking hands but still never taking for granted what Power worked through them. I appreciate the delicate nature of interpreting these Scriptures in a fictional text, and while there are some I know that would consider doing such as verging on blasphemous, I feel that such works serve a purpose in the "grand scheme" and hold merit.
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Abby Finds Her Calling (Home at Cedar Creek, #1) in Books
Feb 11, 2019
This is only the second Amish book I have ever read, but I really like the setting for fiction literature. The romance is clean, the majority of the characters have conservative values and traditions, such as the importance of God and family, and the language is clean. I love the way that the Amish community supports one another in business endeavors, or is so willing to lend a hand when tragedy strikes. One of the characters, Zanna, actually makes a business out of rag rug making, which intrigued me enough to try my hand at the craft myself.
Zanna does something completely out of character for the typical Amish young woman, but manages to fight for what she wanted despite the consequences of her actions, finding support in her oldest sister, Abby. Abby is more of a side character to the main plot of what is happening to Zanna. Abby nurses unrequited love for another character throughout the entire book, which is never really answered to, though there were hints of this changing in the next book in the series. Many of the characters are memorable in their own unique way, such as James's skill with making carriages that earns him employment to make a princess carriage for Disneyland, of all things. One of the older married couples also struggles with dementia throughout the book, which makes for some interesting and poignant scenes.
I could not have predicted how Zanna's predicament would impact another family so much for the better, or even how the book would have gathered all the lose ends at its finality, but the book came together very well with a sweet ending. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Zanna does something completely out of character for the typical Amish young woman, but manages to fight for what she wanted despite the consequences of her actions, finding support in her oldest sister, Abby. Abby is more of a side character to the main plot of what is happening to Zanna. Abby nurses unrequited love for another character throughout the entire book, which is never really answered to, though there were hints of this changing in the next book in the series. Many of the characters are memorable in their own unique way, such as James's skill with making carriages that earns him employment to make a princess carriage for Disneyland, of all things. One of the older married couples also struggles with dementia throughout the book, which makes for some interesting and poignant scenes.
I could not have predicted how Zanna's predicament would impact another family so much for the better, or even how the book would have gathered all the lose ends at its finality, but the book came together very well with a sweet ending. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Felicia (44 KP) rated People Kill People in Books
Sep 23, 2018
Contains spoilers, click to show
This book first interested me when I read it was a book written about guns and gun control by a person who grew up in a household that supported guns. This is a voice that I had not really heard from in YA literature. Sadly what was given to me was a book that lacked depth for the characters and was quite predictable.
The story follows a group of teen to early adults. 2 of them are white supremacists, 2 are married with a young child, 1 is a homeless teen, 1 is a victim of gun violence who has epilepsy and is also homosexual, and 1 is the greatest person ever. The group itself is so entwined by siblings, marriage, relationships, friendships it isn't weird to wonder just how big of a town it could be they are living in.
The book is full of poor choices, dealing drugs with a toddler present, constant fantasizing about killing a certain person, a lot of time spent in the minds of white supremacists.
The whole book we know someone is going to die. Most of the book is framed to make you think it will be the homeless youth at the hands of the white supremacists. But it is actually the great girl that is anti gun and everyone loves because a toddler got a hold of a gun his parents couldn't be bothered to properly store. The end murder affects the lives of everyone else so they mostly die or want to, to demonstrate that guns aren't the problem. Too bad the gun and people's selfish nature was an unaddressed problem in the whole book full of problems.
The plot was too weighed down for anything to stick and the characters fell very flat despite Hopkins best efforts.
The story follows a group of teen to early adults. 2 of them are white supremacists, 2 are married with a young child, 1 is a homeless teen, 1 is a victim of gun violence who has epilepsy and is also homosexual, and 1 is the greatest person ever. The group itself is so entwined by siblings, marriage, relationships, friendships it isn't weird to wonder just how big of a town it could be they are living in.
The book is full of poor choices, dealing drugs with a toddler present, constant fantasizing about killing a certain person, a lot of time spent in the minds of white supremacists.
The whole book we know someone is going to die. Most of the book is framed to make you think it will be the homeless youth at the hands of the white supremacists. But it is actually the great girl that is anti gun and everyone loves because a toddler got a hold of a gun his parents couldn't be bothered to properly store. The end murder affects the lives of everyone else so they mostly die or want to, to demonstrate that guns aren't the problem. Too bad the gun and people's selfish nature was an unaddressed problem in the whole book full of problems.
The plot was too weighed down for anything to stick and the characters fell very flat despite Hopkins best efforts.
ClareR (5996 KP) rated Valkyrie (2008) in Movies
Jun 23, 2019
Surprisingly good!
I will hold my hands up and admit that I can be very critical of films set in Germany and particularly during the Second World War. I’m a bit of a germanophile - I studied German language, literature and history at university. I read into the furore that surrounded the making of this film: the Germans didn’t want Tom Cruise to play the main part because of his affiliation with Scientology (Germans believe it’s a cult, and therefore want nothing to do with it), and Claus von Stauffenberg’s eldest son even asked Cruise to stand down from the role. They all had a rethink though, and decided that it was more important that this story was actually told. And I have to agree with them. There’s a belief that all Germans were complicit in the actions of Hitler and his National Socialists, but this isn’t true. What might be true, is that people were terrified that they would be killed for any opposing thoughts or actions - and they were right.
I was really surprised (pleasantly!) by Cruises acting in this. After my initial horror at the opening sequence where he was talking in German (my children asked if he would be speaking German throughout, and were fully prepared to go to bed early - they didn’t want to read subtitles for a whole movie, I didn’t want to hear the shocking pronunciation!😆), it really picked up! The British actors really made it for me (I could well be accused of bias, but well, I don’t care 🤷🏼♀️), and Eddie Izzard was the most surprising - I really need to stop being surprised that he can act well!
It’s a good film! We had a good family film night anyway, and I think it’s worth watching.
I was really surprised (pleasantly!) by Cruises acting in this. After my initial horror at the opening sequence where he was talking in German (my children asked if he would be speaking German throughout, and were fully prepared to go to bed early - they didn’t want to read subtitles for a whole movie, I didn’t want to hear the shocking pronunciation!😆), it really picked up! The British actors really made it for me (I could well be accused of bias, but well, I don’t care 🤷🏼♀️), and Eddie Izzard was the most surprising - I really need to stop being surprised that he can act well!
It’s a good film! We had a good family film night anyway, and I think it’s worth watching.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Green Zone (2010) in Movies
Aug 8, 2019
Taking you into the depths of the controversial Iraq conflict is the new thriller “Green Zone”. Matt Damon, stars as chief warrant officer Roy Miller. Along side Damon are a number of well crafted characters such as the shady operations lead, Clark Poundstone, played by the ever snarky Greg Kinnear and the eager journalist, Lawrie Danye, played by Amy Ryan. However, the strongest support both within the plot and story telling came from the local informant “Freddy” played by Khalid Abdalla.
Based on the 2006 award winning book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone” by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, the film focuses on the duality of war. The plot covers both the obtuse role of US military within Iraq and the multitude of complexities a soldier faces in the pursuit of what is right.
“Green Zone” presents a compelling take on the Iraq conflict by pursuing a variety of perspectives and maintaining the intensity of a good thriller. It is a film that manages to enjoy the fruits of a novel basis while avoiding the boring dragging out that so often happens when films try to maintain literary accuracy.
In fact, the beginning was more like playing a good level of Call of Duty Modern Warfare (starring a main character who happens to have once been Jason Bourne) than an adaptation of a famous piece of literature. Partially due to Damon’s acting skills, “Green Zone” manages to walk far from the identity of Bourne and quickly catches viewers up in an entirely different character.
An interesting perspective on a conflict that is still fresh in the minds of US citizens, “Green Zone” proves to be thought-provoking while at the same time creating an enjoyable film-going experience.
Based on the 2006 award winning book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone” by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, the film focuses on the duality of war. The plot covers both the obtuse role of US military within Iraq and the multitude of complexities a soldier faces in the pursuit of what is right.
“Green Zone” presents a compelling take on the Iraq conflict by pursuing a variety of perspectives and maintaining the intensity of a good thriller. It is a film that manages to enjoy the fruits of a novel basis while avoiding the boring dragging out that so often happens when films try to maintain literary accuracy.
In fact, the beginning was more like playing a good level of Call of Duty Modern Warfare (starring a main character who happens to have once been Jason Bourne) than an adaptation of a famous piece of literature. Partially due to Damon’s acting skills, “Green Zone” manages to walk far from the identity of Bourne and quickly catches viewers up in an entirely different character.
An interesting perspective on a conflict that is still fresh in the minds of US citizens, “Green Zone” proves to be thought-provoking while at the same time creating an enjoyable film-going experience.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated My One and Only (2009) in Movies
Aug 9, 2019
“My One and Only” is the 1950’s story of Anne Deveraux (Renée Zellweger) wife of two-timing Dan Devereaux (Kevin Bacon) who has decided to leave her husband and move to another city in pursuit of a better life. Anne soon learns that the process of enticing men has grown increasing challenging with time and that she now must raise her two sons George (Logan Lerman) and Robbie (Mark Rendell) on the road and on her own or face the defeat of returning to her unfaithful husband.
Beautifully shot, the film immediately sweeps viewers into another time in American history. The use of detailed sets and props, from the varied homes the family lives in to the light powder-blue car, creates a visual dynamic ripe for the telling of this 1950’s gem. Additionally, the use of literature, film, and music throughout “My One and Only” make it a delight to watch even without the somewhat well crafted plot.
As characters go, Zellweger delivers again, this time as the likeably flawed heroine Anne. Yet it was maturely acted roles of Anne’s sons, George and Robbie, stood out as undeniably honestly and direct.
Majority of the plot is solid covering the ups and downs of Anne’s attempts to secure a new home and husband for her family. It was only the rushed and disjointed ending that lessened the caliber of film.
“My One and Only” touches on themes of respect, feminism, aging, and security. A good film overall, filled with laughs and moral realities of the time, I enjoyed getting to know Anne’s family.
A visually strong, well cast film with a less than satisfying ending, “My One and Only” is an entertaining and spirited story of a non-traditional family growing up during a time of change in America.
Beautifully shot, the film immediately sweeps viewers into another time in American history. The use of detailed sets and props, from the varied homes the family lives in to the light powder-blue car, creates a visual dynamic ripe for the telling of this 1950’s gem. Additionally, the use of literature, film, and music throughout “My One and Only” make it a delight to watch even without the somewhat well crafted plot.
As characters go, Zellweger delivers again, this time as the likeably flawed heroine Anne. Yet it was maturely acted roles of Anne’s sons, George and Robbie, stood out as undeniably honestly and direct.
Majority of the plot is solid covering the ups and downs of Anne’s attempts to secure a new home and husband for her family. It was only the rushed and disjointed ending that lessened the caliber of film.
“My One and Only” touches on themes of respect, feminism, aging, and security. A good film overall, filled with laughs and moral realities of the time, I enjoyed getting to know Anne’s family.
A visually strong, well cast film with a less than satisfying ending, “My One and Only” is an entertaining and spirited story of a non-traditional family growing up during a time of change in America.
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