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The Festival Shoes
The Festival Shoes
Tolulope Okudolo | 2017 | Children
6
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Layout (0 more)
A literal fairy story
This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Festival Shoes by Tolulope Okudolo is a fairy story (literally) for young children. Although referred to as “pixies,” the illustrations provided by Eric Scott Fisher look like typical western imagery associated with the magical, winged creatures. The main character, Drumlo, is an ebullient pixie who is about to embark on his first trip to Earth in order to deliver a very important gift. With so much relying on his success, it would be absolutely awful if something went wrong.

Weaverton, the name of the land of fairies, is an invisible world that lies above the Earth. Whenever a child has a good thought or does something virtuous, a colourful string, unseen by the human eye, snakes its way up to the hidden land. Collected by pixies, these threads are woven into magnificent presents, which are delivered to the children as rewards on the day of the Great Festival. In order to prove himself as capable, Drumlo has been charged with safely transporting a pair of shoes to a truly deserving girl. With an effulgent thread as a guide, Drumlo sets off on his exciting mission.

The author is the founder of the publishing company Magnifying Children’s Horizons, which aspires to inspire children physically, mentally and spiritually about the natural world. Tolulope Okudolo’s author biography implies she is a Christian and likes to bring this aspect of her life into her writing. Although, as far as we know, fairies and pixies only exist in folklore, Tolulope retains the idea of the existence of God by referring to an unseen High King who lives above Weaverton. In this respect, the Great Festival and gift giving become similar to our Christmas tradition.

The Festival Shoes, however, is not intended to be a Christian book. Its purpose is to enhance children’s creativity and character by showing them the impact of their good and bad behaviour by emphasising the idea of receiving rewards. Whilst Drumlo is on his journey to Earth, he passes through the land where all bad thoughts and actions go. Compared with everywhere else, this place looks dull and gloomy, which goes to show what happens when nature is neglected and not cared for.

Another important message The Festival Shoes shows children is to have faith in themselves to do something for the first time. Drumlo had never been given such responsibility before, but he believed he could do it. Even though something goes wrong, his faith sees him through. He does not give up, everything works out in the end.

Reading the book as an adult, The Festival Shoes is not all that interesting. The ending comes about too quickly and, although the author is trying to emphasise that Drumlo’s faith saves the day, he does not physically do anything to fix what goes wrong – slightly misleading, perhaps?

The coloured illustrations that appear on every other page are pretty but do not help to tell the story. It is not a picture book for very young children; it is the next stage up. With discussion questions at the end of the book, The Festival Shoes is for parents and children to read together and think about their own impact on the world and nature.

Unfortunately, the book does not look professionally produced. The choice of typeface is uninspiring and the illustrations do not always slot into place well, leaving awkward layouts. As an eBook, this does not matter too much, but if it were to be printed, sales are unlikely to rocket.
  
The Festival Shoes
The Festival Shoes
Tolulope Okudolo | 2017 | Children
6
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Festival Shoes</i> by Tolulope Okudolo is a fairy story (literally) for young children. Although referred to as “pixies,” the illustrations provided by Eric Scott Fisher look like typical western imagery associated with the magical, winged creatures. The main character, Drumlo, is an ebullient pixie who is about to embark on his first trip to Earth in order to deliver a very important gift. With so much relying on his success, it would be absolutely awful if something went wrong.

Weaverton, the name of the land of fairies, is an invisible world that lies above the Earth. Whenever a child has a good thought or does something virtuous, a colourful string, unseen by the human eye, snakes its way up to the hidden land. Collected by pixies, these threads are woven into magnificent presents, which are delivered to the children as rewards on the day of the Great Festival. In order to prove himself as capable, Drumlo has been charged with safely transporting a pair of shoes to a truly deserving girl. With an effulgent thread as a guide, Drumlo sets off on his exciting mission.

The author is the founder of the publishing company Magnifying Children’s Horizons, which aspires to inspire children physically, mentally and spiritually about the natural world. Tolulope Okudolo’s author biography implies she is a Christian and likes to bring this aspect of her life into her writing. Although, as far as we know, fairies and pixies only exist in folklore, Tolulope retains the idea of the existence of God by referring to an unseen High King who lives above Weaverton. In this respect, the Great Festival and gift giving become similar to our Christmas tradition.

<i>The Festival Shoes</i>, however, is not intended to be a Christian book. Its purpose is to enhance children’s creativity and character by showing them the impact of their good and bad behaviour by emphasising the idea of receiving rewards. Whilst Drumlo is on his journey to Earth, he passes through the land where all bad thoughts and actions go. Compared with everywhere else, this place looks dull and gloomy, which goes to show what happens when nature is neglected and not cared for.

Another important message <i>The Festival Shoes</i> shows children is to have faith in themselves to do something for the first time. Drumlo had never been given such responsibility before, but he believed he could do it. Even though something goes wrong, his faith sees him through. He does not give up, everything works out in the end.

Reading the book as an adult, <i>The Festival Shoes</i> is not all that interesting. The ending comes about too quickly and, although the author is trying to emphasise that Drumlo’s faith saves the day, he does not physically do anything to fix what goes wrong – slightly misleading, perhaps?

The coloured illustrations that appear on every other page are pretty but do not help to tell the story. It is not a picture book for very young children; it is the next stage up. With discussion questions at the end of the book, <i>The Festival Shoes</i> is for parents and children to read together and think about their own impact on the world and nature.

Unfortunately, the book does not look professionally produced. The choice of typeface is uninspiring and the illustrations do not always slot into place well, leaving awkward layouts. As an eBook, this does not matter too much, but if it were to be printed, sales are unlikely to rocket.
  
AU
After Us (Before & After, #2)
Amber Hart | 2014
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review

After Us is the second book in the Before and After series by Amber Heart. The story follows on from the events in the first book, Before You, and how the characters are coping in the aftermath. I have not read the first book however that was not a problem as After Us was written in such a way that made it easy to understand what had happened previously.

The story alternates between 18 year old Melissa and Javier's point of views. Melissa is hiding her scars from the operation to remove the cancer cells from her body and living with the fear that it may not have been successful. Since her best friend Faith has moved away she has kept this to herself, worrying that other people would be repulsed by her. Javier, on the other hand, is wearing a metaphorical mask to hide the pain he feels at the loss of his cousin and best friend Diego. Instead of laying the past to rest he is determined to avenge Diego's death.

After Us is essentially a love story about characters who hide the raw pain they feel from everyone, including those closest to each other. As well as these problems they also have to deal with racial discrimination. Javier's family originate from Cuba and only moved to the US for a better life. Javier's mother, however, has a "only-date-Latinas" rule as she believes American girls are not good enough for her sons. This is somewhat like the famous story of Romeo and Juliet where the families want nothing to do with each other.

As well as a love story, After Us deals with other themes from medical problems to drug dealing. Heart, rather than writing about the affects of taking drugs, concentrates on the people behind the dealing. Drug Gangs can be just as dangerous as the substances as they involve violence that often result on fatal injuries.

On the whole the storyline could have delved deeper into the characters individual stories and the ending could have been stronger. Although there was a surprise plot twist, the book finished rather quickly with everything suddenly being resolved and no repercussions.

As already mentioned it is not vital to read the previous book in order to understand After Us however, from what I understand, Before You is written from Faith and Diego's points of views. Overall this book was ok for a quick read but I would not label it as anything special.
  
Warriors with Holy Hands
Warriors with Holy Hands
Peter Toeg | 2017
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Warriors With Holy Hands is the story of a young woman who finds herself lost in time and whose life over a period of three years is spiraling downward. Ruth Falk is stricken with an inexplicable illness and then orphaned. With only a distant relative in her life now, Ruth faces a life of debilitating pain and infirmity. She determines to look to the past for answers she believes her bloodline may reveal.



Searching through diaries and records, Ruth discovers blood relatives and others who lived far away over the course of a century. We follow their lives across three generations culminating in the revelation of indisputable connections that are created—words and actions with lasting results.



Ruth learns that a curse spoken by one ancestor may have had a devastating domino effect, one whose beginning also engaged her prayer-warrior grandmother in a pitched spiritual battle to break. A challenged believer herself, Ruth grows in the faith of her predecessors who faced ominous situations.



The rich symbolism of Judaism provides a backdrop for the saga with traditions and meaning sprinkled throughout the story.



When she faces increasing paralysis, Ruth and a birth friend in the faith journey to the Southern Highlands of Tennessee where it all began. Here in the span of seven days—over ten months—all that has unraveled in recent years comes together. Life as she knows it will never be the same.



God reveals himself to Ruth and others in remarkable ways along a tortuous path that comes full circle.


Warriors is a mystery that is finally, stunningly, revealed as serendipitous fruit from the branches of a family tree. It is a story of encouragement and life that empowers those who seek God and believe.



My Thoughts: This is a story about Ruth, a woman who is injured while deployed. As she recovers from her injuries, including PTSD and other physical injuries, she learns about her past through journals that her aunt gave to her. The author has done a skillful job of intertwining the history from the journals to the present time to Ruth. The author Peter Toeg, presents us with a good picture of how we can be affected by our past relatives whether it's good or bad.


I love history and journals. We cal learn so much through our past. This is a story about healing, both physically and of course, spiritually. The author has done a brilliant job with this storyline and I believe that others will enjoy this book also.
  
This Tender Land
This Tender Land
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Thank you to Libro.fm and Recorded Books for letting me listen and review this book. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would and it has a lot to digest from it. I've been thinking about it to try to formulate a review for a couple of days since I finished it.
This story is about 4 orphans on a life-changing journey during the era of the Great Depression in 1932.
In Minnesota, they are at a horrible place called The Lincoln School, where Native American children that have been separated from their families are sent to get an education. It's also where Odie is, who is the MC/one of the 4 orphans in this story. After getting in a lot of trouble and gaining the school superintendent's attention and wrath, Odie, his brother, Albert, their friend, Mose, and Emmy all run away together in a canoe they stole, going to the Missippi and to find a place of their own.
What follows is the telling of their journey during the summer, an adventure where they meet others who are wandering and on their own journeys as well. They meet all types of people like pig farmers, faith healers and others who are lost and trying to find their own way in life and to their own places to call home as well.
It's a coming of age tale, where they come across and are deciding and figuring things out for themselves like religion, belief in God, first crush/love, what's right and wrong, how to treat others with respect and love and so many things.
This story kept sucking me back in whenever I listened to it so I felt like I was there on the banks of the river watching their story or in the school or in the faith revival tents or towns along the way. I was a bit overwhelmed at times from the bigger picture they were showing and talking about along the way, but it also resonated with me a lot and reminded me a lot of Mark Twain's writing with his books about Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer that I remember loving and connecting with when I was younger.
The only thing that bothered me some was that if like me you try to go for clean reads, there's a little bit of language throughout the book, but other than that it was a really good story and the audio was great.
  
YO
Year of Wonders
10
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Even though I don't usually read historical fiction, this one peaked my interest. I had no idea that the village of Eyam actually existed when I read it, but the idea of a village instituting a self-imposed quarantine seemed both plausible and intelligent. Watching the village through the eyes of Anna was a bit like the morbid attraction of a massive car crash. In addition, I knew so little about the Black Plague that I thought this would give me an imaginative recounting of living during such a tragic time in history.
I found the opening to the book to be confusing and seemingly irrelevant to the main plot - only at the end is the opening scene explained, but the complete scenario still seems disconnected from main plot and an added tool to simply move the main plot along by giving Anna a way to leave the village. At the same time, the faith and endurance that some of the characters exhibit is both profound and inspiring. I don't know that I could have had the same courage to face almost inevitable death as these characters did, or even with the same attitude of complete acceptance that Anna displays.
  
I
Indivisible
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
As a former military brat, I love to read anything about the military. As a long time fan of Travis Thrasher's this book was a double bonus for me. I loved every second of this 5 star worthy novelization of true events.

PTSD is a very real, very scary thing for many folks. This story is about that. I felt every emotion of Heather and Darren as if it was my own. Every pain filled moment, every tear filled scene was my own. That is powerful when a novelization can do that to me. The beautiful story of Heather and Darren become a part of me and I won't soon forget them.

If you are looking to read a book that will fill you with hope, understanding, mercy and faith, then grab this book now. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I imagine it will be just as powerful as this book is. Five stars just doesn't seem like enough praises for this. Hats off to Travis Trasher for creating a beautiful, emotion filled novelization of Darren and Heather's story.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under not obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
  
MT
Mouse Trapped (Mirage Mysteries #2)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Phoenix Robbery detective Marsha “Mouse” is shot in a meeting with an informant gone wrong. All the police have to go on is part of a name and the original tip that the thieves were targeting a collection of Native American silver jewelry. Homicide detectives Joe and Tom are pursuing some of the tangential leads, which brings them into the Robbery side of the case. Can the two figure out what happened without inciting a turf war within the police department?

It’s nice to have a mystery that involves another crime as well, and I enjoyed tracking down the thieves as a way to find the killer. Since the only clue is part of a name, we get too many suspects with similar sounding names, meaning we have to work hard to remember them all until we really get to know the characters. New Christian Joe is trying to grow in his faith, something I enjoyed seeing. I first read this book over 25 years ago, and it’s nice to see it stacks up to my memories of the series.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/03/book-review-mouse-trapped-by-sandy.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
40x40

Gail (4 KP) rated Fisher of Men in Books

Jun 4, 2018  
FO
Fisher of Men
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fisher of Men by Phoebe Alexander

Four Stars

What an interesting read. I was not expecting the twists the author put in this story. The main character Leah was a pain. The whole I'm a good girl act was just tiring. She used her “faith” as an escape and it was annoying. I know we shouldn’t judge how people choose to live but it just seemed so reckless. I did however keep an open mind about it. This book was full of things that were out of my comfort zone. The story was well written. The characters were flawed and it seemed like something that truly happened to someone. Cap was a mystery to me. I couldn’t figure him out. Did he want the lifestyle or did just want Leah. I was truly confused on the end game for them both. She was always running away and getting mad. It’s not like the man didn't say what he was into. Anyway if you choose to read this book keep your mind open. And don’t judge how some people choose to live and they do what makes them happy. We all need to learn how embrace our differences and just live.