Yes, you read that correctly. I’m only half-way through Divergent, but I feel I need to review it so far. I’ve read a lot of YA Dystopian novels ever since my Barnes&Noble insider turned me on to The Hunger Games in 2009 — Matched, The Maze Runner, Delirium… And of course nothing really compares to The Hunger Games in my mind, but each of these stand alone in their own right. Since last year, I’ve seen several author friends of mine recommend Divergent and even say it is better than The Hunger Games (gasp!). Here is the premise of Divergent: “In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five...
Movie Review: The Hunger Games
“Hope is the only thing stronger than fear.” – President Snow Overall impression – “The book is always better than the movie.” The old adage holds true, but The Hunger Games movie stands on its own and does the book justice. Yes, there are differences between the book and movie – the book as an audiofile is more than 10 hours long – so to be boiled down to 2.5 hours, there are a lot of elements that have to go. The music is incredible. The scenery (North Carolina forests for the arena) completely captured me. The attire rang authentic in District 12 and the costumes of the Capitol thrilled. (Check out Capitol Couture if...
Book Review: A Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
Description: Los Angeles, 1941. Violinist Maddie Kern’s life seemed destined to unfold with the predictable elegance of a Bach concerto. Then she fell in love with Lane Moritomo. Her brother’s best friend, Lane is the handsome, ambitious son of Japanese immigrants. Maddie was prepared for disapproval from their families, but when Pearl Harbor is bombed the day after she and Lane elope, the full force of their decision becomes apparent. In the eyes of a fearful nation, Lane is no longer just an outsider, but an enemy. When her husband is interned at a war relocation camp, Maddie follows, sacrificing her Juilliard ambitions. Behind barbed wire, tension simmers and the...
Book Review: The Maid of Fairbourne Hall
Description: Pampered Margaret Macy flees London in disguise to escape pressure to marry a dishonorable man. With no money and nowhere else to go, she takes a position as a housemaid in the home of Nathaniel Upchurch, a suitor she once rejected in hopes of winning his dashing brother. Praying no one will recognize her, Margaret fumbles through the first real work of her life. If she can last until her next birthday, she will gain an inheritance from a spinster aunt–and sweet independence. But can she remain hidden as a servant even when prying eyes visit Fairbourne Hall? Observing both brothers as an “invisible” servant, Margaret learns she may...
Book Review: A Whisper of Peace
Description: Ostracized by her tribe because of her white father, Lizzie Dawson lives alone in the mountains of Alaska, practicing the ways of her people even as she resides in the small cabin her father built for her mother. She dreams of reconciling with her grandparents to fulfill her mother’s dying request, but she has not yet found a way to bridge the gap that separate her from her tribe. Clay Selby has always wanted to be like his father, a missionary who holds a great love for the native people and has brought many to God. Clay and his stepsister, Vivian, arrive in Alaska to set up a church...