The Missouri river had to be carefully navigated because of the shallowness in some places and because of the debris in the water in other areas…this was not the only danger.  Steamboats themselves had the potential for fires and explosions…not to mention, gamboling and violence by those very passengers who had little to do while they traveled.   You had to be prepared to make many stops to find wood sellers who could keep the steamships supplied in enough wood to keep the boilers operating or the steamers would become disabled on the river.  Today, we take travel for granted…but to those who had limited choices in getting to their points of destination…traveling the Missouri river was a necessity.

Murders that took place both before the steamship took off, and once the trip was underway, needed to be solved for the well-being of those said passengers.  How did Captain Culpepper and his crew protect the passengers and get to the bottom of the crimes that were taking place?  This is a story that David E. Unruh tells with style and grace, weaving into the plot little tidbits about steamboat travel; and a time, in our nation, when law and order were still being defined.  This book was copyrighted in 2011 and published by Avalon Books.

Gabby Fairbanks starts rebuilding her life at work and by establishing a new home for her sons.  Her husband gets addicted to gamboling and starts loosing…owing money to some very unsavory characters who threaten him and eventually cause him bodily harm.  Phillip the husband has backed himself into a corner financially by borrowing money from his business without his partners knowledge.  He owes the loan sharks, his mother…and his business alot of money that he can not pay back.   As he is severely injured from an encounter from the loan sharks enforcers…he can’t work, he can’t take care of himself and he has no one to depend on …but his wife.  The same wife that he showed no mercy to months ago when he kicked her out of their home.  Gabby the wife is a Christian…one who is conflicted about her role as a soon to be ex-wife…but one who is struggling with compassion for her husband and a desire to continue to rebuild her life.

She works with homeless women in a shelter and has discovered a passion for helping women get back on their feet.  She has a decent home with her sons…but she feels compelled to help her husband.  Her friends and co-workers get involved as well as some of the women she has helped along the way.  The book really is about God’s power to give restoration to those who seek it in their lives.  Although the plot is a bit predictable in one area…it really does a very fine job of depicting the struggles that a Christian feels in finding their way through the word of God, encouragement from their church family and friends and the power of prayer.  Learning to trust God in times of challenge is the real story behind all of the back story in this novel…Gabby, her husband Phillip and even many of Gabby’s friends learn that God cares about what they are going through…and he even has them covered.

I enjoyed this book very much.  It was written by Neta Jackson and is a Yada Yada House Of Hope novel.  It was published by the Thomas Nelson publishers and copy written in 2011.

Solomon’s Oak dives into death, marriage, weddings, dogs and foster care not to mention teaching and police work.  It is a combination of subjects and personalities that is hard to put down.  A woman recently widowed redesigns her life and her life’s work and is successful in carving out a new mission in life.  A foster daughter who has been suffered loss and indifference and exhibits behavior that causes her to pile on more angst and social trials that threaten to derail the rest of her life…is she worth the high maintenance or should the girl be passed along to avoid the added stress during an already stressful time in the life of Glory Solomon?

Woven into the fabric of the story of a woman who is grieving the loss of her life before widowhood, mixed with the chaos of a young girl’s life interrupted by loss of family and emotional trauma due to a missing sister in her early childhood.   You  begin to be a believer in the idea of the hand of God who is the master artisan of all of our lives; choosing the colors and the fibers that go into his masterpiece tapestry that tells the story of how we really connect to one another.  Fill in the design with a man who is healing from wounds associated with his former career as a police officer and you see life experiences come together to build up and encourage one another when individuals feel lost in their own struggles. Historical places and natural places of beauty that seem almost a witness to the lives that are lead, one generation to another, add a bit of intrigue to the back-story in Soloman’s Oak.

There is something spiritually healing in meeting individuals who instinctively draw people and animals who are discarded, hurt, abandoned and broken in some intrinsic way; watching them strive to understand and support those individuals by helping them achieve a  successful purpose in life.   It is inspiring and  joyous to see them discovering that they are worth the time, effort and emotion that is required to unlock their worth.  Often they themselves do not understand their own value; able to only see their own areas of hurt and destruction.  As each of these individuals  finds the strength and bravery to reach out and trust someone you see them start to heal the wounds that life has scarred them with.  These characters of Solomon’s Oak are everyday over-comers that teach us the importance of looking past a person’s rough exterior to find a person worth coming to know and appreciate. 

Often times, the news reports that we hear are only surface versions of what really takes place when human beings are being killed for political reasons.  These situations illustrate that power tends to corrupt those who sit in authority over others and serve to meet hidden agendas that average citizens are unaware of…even though, those same citizens are the first to suffer the consequences when conflict arises.

Torture, death, rape, starvation, violence and lack of medical provision is sure to follow when one group tries to influence others to riot and go against government leadership.  Violence triggers a violent response…this is natural.  What is not natural is an indifference to those who are caught in the crossfires.

I think Lisa Harris has done a great job of portraying the powerless feeling of the victims to prevent the effects that these kinds of conflicts inflict on the people who are victims of those warriors who are called “ghost soldiers” in this book.  She also does a great of inspiring the reader to a compassionate desire to help those in need around the world.  The characters in the story show a realistic evolution of thoughts and actions during the progression of the story.   It creates an awareness of the need for taking action to minimize the devastation of people who are in crisis by getting involved.

This story, Blood Covenant, underscores the work that men and women must endure who go on humanitarian trips of mercy to provide medical care to those suffering in these types of situations around the globe.  It takes a special kind of person to put themselves in harms way to try to help people who are trapped in the crisis of war.  Those same people benefit from the prayers and donations and advocacy of others who live in relative safety and comfort; without prayer partners and sponsors their compassionate work would be compromised.  Read of the main characters situation:

Dr. Paige Ryan experiences a whole range of emotions when she finds herself in the midst of chaos.  She is overworked and under supplied to meet the needs of the people in the refugee camp in Dhambizao.  She wants to do her bit and leave…on schedule;  yet, her mission is clear.   Her heart goes through a spiritual transition when she changes her mind about leaving.  She finds encouragement and inspiration through the sacrifices of others who are working alongside of her.   It is hard to put this book down because you feel like you are abandoning those who are in the story if you put the book down for even a second.

Lives are changed in the story and the reader will never watch a news report, in the same way, that tells the story of people of Africa who live this scenario day in and day out in actuality.

Lisa Harris is a wonderful writer who knows of what she writes about.  She lives with her family in Mozambique and works with missionaries.   She and a fellow author started a group called the ECHO Project which helps people with education, compassion and health opportunities.   You can find out more here about the ECHO Project .  You can learn more about her in several other places as well.  Learn about her book, Blood Covenant at her publishers site:  Zondervan Blog .   Or you can visit the author’s website here .

I do have to mention that this book was provided as a review book from Zondervan.com .  Other than that, I have not been compensated for this review.  Enjoy Blood Covenant…it is a very good read with a purpose of educating the reading to the need for compassion and hope.

Anna is a young woman of the Amish background who had left her family and her friends in her search for freedom.  This is her time of rumspringa or period of rebellion that many young Amish individuals experience before they commit to being baptised into their church. 

She left the known culture of her religious foundation for the English world.  She adapted well enough but soon discovered that she only traded one set of responsibilities and rules for another.  Anna formed relationships in the English world that once again tied her down…but this tying was her choice.  She became a mother when her friend gave birth to a daughter.  Her friend had cancer and asked her to adopt her child which she does.  Anna feels she must abandon the English world in a hurry because the biological father is a drug addict and he is making demands to have his daughter after having given her away by signing legal papers.  He is violent and attacks her.  Anna runs back to the life she knows…a place where she can blend in and disappear from the world.

What Anna doesn’t understand is all of the personal and social changes that must take place.  Fences need mended and spiritual hurts must be healed.  Will Anna stay or will she merely visit her past?

I love that Anna discovers things about herself and her community that she really never explored before or perhaps even took for granted.  Forgiveness, peace, life and death…these are all issues Anna has to come to terms with.  This book is a wonderful read and is a gentle introduction into the differing worlds that both Amish and English society finds themselves sharing. Anna’s Return was published by Berkley Books in 2010.

There is action and a perfect blending of characters who have skills and knowledge which blend to bring the story to an exciting climax.  Many aspects of the story could have been taken off of the evening news with biological agents, modern day travel, historical excavation, military secrets and knowledge that is kept from society for it’s own good.

The Ark explores many areas of science and technological advancement that is fascinating to consider.  Does it change my personal religious beliefs about the biblical version of the story?  No.  However, I will say that I found the book to be very interesting and to be well worth my time reading.  The book was copyrighted in 2009 by Gordian Fiction, LLC.  Published by Touchstone a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

I have special needs children myself and therefore have had relationships with many children who are affected by Autism.  I have also had the dubious honor of being in the circle of influence of those with special needs who are often at odds with those in authority from everyday encounters with bus drivers, to school officials (who you would expect to be trained effectively in dealing with challenges), to legal authorities in the criminal justice system.   I’ve worked with young children, as well as teenagers, who have developmental disabilities, some with Autism and others such as those who have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder; individuals who may physically appear in such a way as to have normal development…but in all actuality; their ability to communicate and operate in a world full of contradictory signals is greatly impacted.

This is fertile ground for misunderstandings large and small.  In a situation that has the power to affect them legally…this can be extremely harmful.  The very systems that run our society from the medical communities, to the educational system, to the legal system…they are all in need of specific training when it comes to understand and effectively working with people who have different ways of comprehending and communicating in the world we live in. Police officers need to learn how to question and analyze behaviors in the context of a challenged individual and their easily led responses.

It is considered contrary to teach a child (teen) not to “talk” to a police officer…we teach our children to respect the law and it’s officers.  However, when their very freedom and civil rights are at risk because of their lack of comprehension of the consequences of being misunderstood…it is often recommended that they be told not to talk without a lawyer present.  That is easier said than done because most often children (teens) who are challenged believe that everyone is their friend and has their best interest at heart.  That is not always the case.  Jodi Picoult’s book teaches some very practical things regarding this…especially if those individuals are 18 or older.  This is vital information for any parent or guardian of a challenged individual.  Society’s perception of an individuals behavior is important when it comes to so many crucial areas of life.  A parent or guardian is not always with a challenged individual and that is frightening when there are consequences such as those depicted in this work of fiction.

House Rules does a great job of portraying the isolation of families who are affected by the everyday challenges that others don’t understand and are not willing to deal with.   The financial struggles, the physical and emotional demands that tax caregivers in the position of the characters that Jodi Picoult so expertly created here are vibrant and truly impact the reader.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to find someone who understands what they go through; or perhaps, wishes to educate others who could function as a support to a caregiver in this kind of situation.  Many times, well meaning people will say to a caregiver that they “just couldn’t do what you do” .  This book truly shows what commitment and dedication and love can accomplish.

House Rules was published in 2010 by Atria Books which is a division of Simon and Schuster, Inc.

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is the story of a young girl named Francie who struggles to survive in a world of poverty and hard knocks.  She has an inner strength that was born through maternal example and through an unwillingness to be held back.  Education and creative ways of earning money were Francie’s ticket to success.  Even still, the emotional turmoil of the underpriveledged individual is a rough road.  Loneliness and hardship cannot be underestimated when it comes to forming a person’s inner character.

Family and the complex interpersonal relationships that are forged because of a person’s past mold a person’s future.  I loved that the author, Betty Smith, did not hide her head in the sand with all of the social aspects of poverty and it’s far reaching influence not only on an individual person but on a community as well.  This book was an amazing testament to a condition that never goes away…poverty and it’s influence.

The publisher of this book is Harper Perennial Modern Classics.

Each person struggles to hold on to their sanity in different ways.  A teenaged daughter blames herself because of the circumstances surrounding the actual taking of the child.  She morphs into an unknown personality as her guilt takes her places emotionally that no one can reach.  She acts out and eventually she hatches a place to replace her young brother as a way to make things right.

The father hides himself in his work.  The mother tries to deal with her loss by throwing herself into the world of missing children by volunteering at an agency that tries to help families find their children.  The eventual strain of the relationships within the house and those individuals relationships with others in their circle of influence threatens to burst as they all try to come to a place of healing.  Will the child be found?  Are things as they really seem?  Was this kidnapping a stranger abduction or is there an evil more bizarre at work behind the scenes?

For anyone who has ever wondered how someone survives such an ordeal as having a child kidnapped this book does a fine job of simulating the lengths to which the devastation can reach.  I recommend this book written by Karen Young and published by Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc in 2010.

In the story of Listen, a little quiet town named Marlo suddenly becomes a hotbed of intrigue and crime because of an anonymous poster who writes words taken right out of people’s mouth…private conversations not meant for public consumption.  No one seems to know how it is being done or why.  Yet, words meant for private conversations are suddenly being posted online and wreaking all kinds of havoc in relationships in the small town of Marlo.

How does this change the environment when trust is removed between two people having conversations?  Is the line between online life and real live being blurred?  How can partial conversations taken out of context cause such emotional misery?  Crime takes on a whole new face when people words are used against them in an online forum.  Why are people drawn to the misery of others and how do they avoid becoming a victim of such a violation of trust?  Is this a form of bullying?

I think reading this book is important for those who don’t necessarily understand how words and actions online can be misdirected.  Listen was published by Center Point by association with Tyndale House Publishers, Inc in 2010.