My Book Reviews

Category: Christian Fiction

This category contains any posts published in reference to books of Christian Fiction genre.

  • Maurice and His Dictionary by Cary Fagan

    Maurice and His Dictionary by Cary Fagan

    Maurice

    Maurice and His Dictionary by Cary Fagan
    Release: October 15th 2020
    Format: Ebook
    Publisher: Owlkids Books
    Source: Netgalley

     


    Synopsis:

    This is the story of one refugee family’s harrowing journey, based on author Cary Fagan’s own family history. The graphic novel follows a young Jewish boy, Maurice, and his family as they flee their home in Belgium during the Second World War. They travel by train to Paris, through Spain to Portugal, and finally across the ocean to Jamaica, where they settle in an internment camp.

    All the while, Maurice is intent on continuing his education and growing up to be a lawyer. He overcomes obstacles to find a professor to study with, works toward a high school diploma while in the camp, and is ultimately accepted to university in Canada. His English dictionary becomes a beloved tool and beacon of hope through the danger and turmoil of the family’s migration.

    Moments of lightness and humor balance the darkness in this powerful story of one refugee family’s courage and resilience, and of the dictionary that came to represent their freedom.

    Maurice and His Dictionary Review:

    A BIG Thank You to Netgalley and Owlkids Books for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of ” Maurice and His Dictionary” for my review.

    This was a wonderful children’s book. Firstly, what struck me was how the author kept the author realistic in lines to what his father had experienced. The author talks about his father’s life in the end, with real life family pictures. There, he explains how the the graphic novel came into being. The author could have easily added some fictional elements and villains to make the graphic novel more adventurous. However, I loved that he stuck to what happened in real life in the story. This made the characters more real and gripping to read about.

    Also, the illustrations by Enzo Lord Mariano are amazing! I loved the simplistic feel and the color palette used. In fact, the character’s look reminded me of the 90s Nickelodeon cartoons which I adored. No offense to the illustrator, but I enjoyed reading this story so much that I would have preferred the author released it as a fiction book with more details. I would have loved to read more adventures and challenges Maurice faced. For example, things that he came across as he stepped away from camp to go to college. Moreover, I would have also liked to see more of his interactions with his family. I loved reading about his siblings and his parents, and wondered what they would have been going through.

    Therefore, even though I loved this book, I felt a lot happens in this graphic novel, and it felt rushed. I hope that the author releases similar graphic novels and makes this as a series. I would love to read more about Maurice’s family and other things that he went through.



  • Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! by Sarah Kapit

    Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! by Sarah Kapit

    Vivy

    Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! by Sarah Kapit
    Release: February 25th 2020
    Format: Hardcover
    Publisher: Dial Books
    Source: Amazon

     

     

    Synopsis:

    In this epistolary middle grade novel, Vivy Cohen won’t let autism stop her from playing baseball–not when she has a major-league pitcher as her pen pal.

    Vivy Cohen wants to play baseball. Ever since her hero, Major League star pitcher VJ Capello, taught her how to throw a knuckleball at a family fun day for kids with autism, she’s been perfecting her pitch. And now she knows she’s ready to play on a real team. When her social skills teacher makes her write a letter to someone she knows, she writes to VJ and tells him everything about how much she wants to pitch, and how her mom says she can’t because she’s a girl and because she has autism. And then two amazing things happen: Vivy meets a Little League coach who invites her to join his team, the Flying Squirrels. And VJ starts writing back.

    Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen Review:

    Firstly, I love reading stories in epistolary format because it makes the characters closely connected to the reader. By reading the letters between VJ and Vivy, I immediately started to like both of them and could relate to what they were going through.

    Mainly, I found the story-line to be unique about an autistic girl wanting to play baseball.  Vivy is an adorable, fun and charming protagonist. I loved how positive she stays throughout and doesn’t pity herself for her shortcomings. There are some scenes where you don’t know how she is reacting in person, but you understand her feelings through her letters with VJ. Alex is a wonderful supporting character and really roots for Vivy and supports her like a true friend. Kyle is OK as an antagonist but we really don’t get to see much of him. In fact, all the supporting characters were very down to earth and fun to read.  

    Sarah Kapit has done a wonderful job in her debut novel! She has a very smooth style of writing and I enjoyed how charming she made the characters. Even though you want to hate Vivy’s mother for treating her like this, you can also understand her perspective of wanting to protect Vivy. Moreover, it was interesting how she made a character homosexual but did not steal the focus away from Vivy. Another thing which I liked was how the author doesn’t step away from the format even when Vivy is not sending the letters to VJ. It in heartwarming to see how she writes her feelings in email drafts and then deletes them in the end. I am not even a fan of baseball and I still liked reading the sports aspect of it!

    Overall, this was an adorable middle grade novel, and I cannot wait to read the author’s future releases!



  • Small Spaces (Small Spaces #1) by Katherine Arden

    Small Spaces (Small Spaces #1) by Katherine Arden

    Spaces

    Small Spaces (Small Spaces #1) by Katherine Arden
    Release: September 25th 2018
    Format: EBook
    Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
    Source: Netgalley

    Spaces



     

    Small Spaces Synopsis:

    After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn’t think–she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with “the smiling man,” a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price.

    Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. However, there she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she’s been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn’t have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: “Best get moving. At nightfall they’ll come for the rest of you.” Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie’s previously broken digital wristwatch, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN.

    Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver’s warning. As the trio head out into the woods–bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them–the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends: “Avoid large places. Keep to small.”

    And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.

     

    Review:

    Watch my video review of Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

    [embedyt] https://youtu.be/cUZmaHVT3fU[/embedyt]

    I received an e-copy of this book from the publishers at Netgalley in exchange for my review and opinion and I absolutely loved it. Firstly, the characters are unique, witty and endearing. The plot is well defined and creepy, not in a gory way, but in a psychological atmospheric way. Moreover, the author covers some relevant topics like realistically coping with the loss of a loved one, and bullying. I also loved the story within a story concept and how we switch between Ollie and Beth’s tales. Overall, this is a great Halloween like story and I enjoyed it.

  • Watch Hollow by Gregory Funaro

    Watch Hollow by Gregory Funaro

    Watch

    Watch Hollow by Gregory Funaro
    Release: February 12th 2019
    Format: Ebook
    Publisher: HarperCollins
    Source: Amazon

    Watch



     

    Watch Hollow Synopsis:

    Deep within the enchanted woods in the town of Watch Hollow stands the once-grand Blackford House, whose halls hold a magical secret: a giant cuckoo clock that does much more than tell time. But when the clock’s gears cease to turn, an evil presence lurking among the trees begins to come out of the shadows.

    When Lucy and Oliver Tinker arrive in Watch Hollow, they have no idea that anything is wrong. A mysterious stranger has made their father an offer that’s too good for him to refuse. All Mr. Tinker needs to do is fix the clock at Blackford House and fistfuls of gold coins are his to keep.

    It doesn’t take long, however, for the children to realize that there is more to Blackford House than meets the eye. And before they can entirely understand the strange world they’ve stumbled into, Lucy and Oliver must join forces with a host of magical clock animals to defeat the Garr—a vicious monster that not only wants Blackford House for itself, but also seeks to destroy everything the Tinkers hold dear.

     

    Review:

    Watch my video review of Watch Hollow by Gregory Funaro!

    [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFznmiR1c-8[/embedyt]

    This was such a fun an exciting book to read. It has the perfect touch of adventure magic, mystery and suspense while not being too scary to scar younger readers.

    Lucy and Oliver are nice main characters who have their own positive traits. The two are complete opposites, where Lucy is young and her dialogue is straight forward, and Oliver is older and tries to be the head of the family and more complex. But I like how Lucy is braver than her brother, even though she is younger than him, and it feels like she is protecting the family. The characters are charming and lovable, and I especially fell in love with the Torsten the Dog. The villains are also very eerie and powerful, and you don’t know what they would do next. The author maintains the suspense well where even I couldn’t figure out how the crow was related to the villain.

    There are a few minor aspects in the story that I felt could have been better. For instance, as there are not many characters, I could easily figure out who the giant monster was. In terms of the magical clock creatures, the story only focuses on the dog, cat and the rat but we really don’t get to interact with the other creatures. It also seems a bit unrealistic how the dad suddenly accepts everything that is going on in without much questions. But, overall, the story is so enjoyable that you don’t really focus much on these things.

    So, finally, Watch Hollow is a wonderful novel which has a creepy mansion, scary villains and a lovable protagonist, and I would give it a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.

  • Everlasting Nora by Marie Miranda Cruz

    Everlasting Nora by Marie Miranda Cruz

    Everlasting

    Everlasting Nora by Marie Miranda Cruz
    Release: October 2nd 2018
    Format: Ebook
    Publisher: Starscape / Macmillan-Tor/Forge
    Source: NetGalley

    Everlasting



     

    Everlasting Nora Synopsis:

    An uplifting young reader debut about perseverance against all odds, Marie Miranda Cruz’s debut Everlasting Nora follows the story of a young girl living in the real-life shantytown inside the Philippines’ Manila North Cemetery.

    After a family tragedy results in the loss of both father and home, 12-year-old Nora lives with her mother in Manila’s North Cemetery, which is the largest shantytown of its kind in the Philippines today.

    When her mother disappears mysteriously one day, Nora is left alone.

    With help from her best friend Jojo and the support of his kindhearted grandmother, Nora embarks on a journey riddled with danger in order to find her mom. Along the way she also rediscovers the compassion of the human spirit, the resilience of her community, and everlasting hope in the most unexpected places.

     

    Review:

    Watch my video review on Everlasting Nora!

    [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqusGADpR0w[/embedyt]

    A big thank you to Starscape for providing me a copy of Everlasting Nora by Marie Miranda Cruz in exchange for my review via Netgalley.

    Firstly, I enjoyed reading this book and encourage others to read it as well. It provides awareness on the poverty situations that countries like the Philippines face. Moreover, the main character Nora is someone you want to root for, and the story is also very gripping. Overall, I think this is a very sweet story of hope and friendship that people of any age would enjoy.

  • Serafina and the Black Cloak (Serafina #1) by Robert Beatty

    Serafina and the Black Cloak (Serafina #1) by Robert Beatty

    Serafina

    Serafina and the Black Cloak (Serafina #1) by Robert Beatty
    Release: July 14th 2015
    Format: Kindle
    Publisher: Disney•Hyperion
    Source: Amazon

    Serafina


    Serafina and the Black Cloak Synopsis:

    “Never go into the deep parts of the forest, for there are many dangers there, and they will ensnare your soul.”

    Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of the Biltmore estate. None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina exists; she and her pa, the estate’s maintenance man, have secretly lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can remember.

    But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is: a terrifying man in a black cloak who stalks Biltmore’s corridors at night. Following her own harrowing escape, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt, the young nephew of the Biltmore’s owners. Braeden and Serafina must uncover the Man in the Black Cloak’s true identity before all of the children vanish one by one.

    Serafina’s hunt leads her into the very forest that she has been taught to fear. There she discovers a forgotten legacy of magic. In order to save the children of Biltmore, Serafina must seek answers that will unlock the puzzle of her past.

     

    Review:

    I’m a bit late in reading this series, but better late than never, right? Having said that, I really enjoyed reading this book.

    Serafina is a great character that you want to root for from the first page. She has such an innocent yet brave quality in her that you cannot help but like her. Serafina believes in herself even though she knows she is different from others. She is independent and takes charge to do what is right without depending on anyone else. There are so many qualities in her that make her an inspiring role model. I also enjoyed Braedan’s character, and liked the friendship between the two. Also, I loved Serafina’s father and felt that he was an underrated character. Moreover, I was fascinated and scared by the Man in the Black Cloak. There are hardly any memorable villains in recently published novels, and I think that’s one of the main reasons this book held my interest.

    However, there were two aspects that bothered me a bit while reading Serafina. The first reason is the number of characters. The author introduces a lot of characters in the beginning and it takes time to get used to it. Due to this, I found the story to be initially slow at times, but it picked up as soon as Braeden and Serafina meet. The second reason that had me rolling my eyes was how Serafina managed to escape unbelievably fantastic situations and came out barely scratched. True that this is a magical fantasy novel, but I just couldn’t connect to the character during these scenes. There are so many instances where you feel that she should be breaking a few bones from her actions, but seconds later, she is perfect with just a few minor bruises.

    However, apart from these small details, I really liked this middle grade novel. Robert Beatty has a beautiful style of writing and it reminded me a lot of JK Rowling. There are so many wonderful messages and themes included to make this an engaging read. It’s one of those books that readers of any age would enjoy. I also think it would be a great adaptation to a movie someday. Overall, “Serafina and the Black Cloak” is a wonderful start to the series and I cannot wait to pick up “The Twisted Staff”!

  • The Heart Between Us: Two Sisters, One Heart Transplant, and a Bucket List by Lindsay Harrel

    The Heart Between Us: Two Sisters, One Heart Transplant, and a Bucket List by Lindsay Harrel

    Heart

    The Heart Between Us: Two Sisters, One Heart Transplant, and a Bucket List by Lindsay Harrel
    Release: March 13th 2018
    Format: Ebook
    Publisher: Thomas Nelson
    Source: NetGalley

    Heart



    The Heart Between Us Synopsis:

    Megan Jacobs always wished for a different heart. She spent her entire childhood in and out of hospitals, sitting on the sidelines while her twin sister Crystal played all the sports, got all the guys, and had all the fun. But even a heart transplant three years ago wasn’t enough to propel Megan’s life forward. She’s still working as a library aide in her small Minnesota hometown and living with her parents, dreaming of the adventure she plans to take “once she’s well enough.” Meanwhile, her sister is a successful architect with a handsome husband and the perfect life—or so Megan thinks.

    When her heart donor’s parents give Megan their teenage daughter’s journal—complete with an unfulfilled bucket list—Megan connects with the girl she meets between the pages and is inspired to venture out and check off each item. Caleb—a friend from her years in and out of the hospital—reenters her life and pushes her to find the courage to take the leap and begin her journey. She’s thrown for a loop when Crystal offers to join her for reasons of her own, but she welcomes the company and the opportunity to mend their tenuous relationship.

    As Megan and Crystal check items off the bucket list, Megan fights the fears that have been instilled in her after a lifetime of illness. She must choose between safety and adventure and learn to embrace the heart she’s been given so that she can finally share it with the people she loves most.

     

    Review:

    A BIG Thank You to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for providing me a copy of “The Heart between Us: Two Sisters, One Heart Transplant, and a Bucket List” by Lindsay Harrel in exchange for my review. “The Heart between Us” is a very sweet heart-warming book. The two main aspects I liked about this book is the characters and the travel log.

    Lindsay Harrel has defined the characters wonderfully well and they are all likable. The author has written their development in such a smooth and moving manner. I love how Megan progressively transforms and gain the courage and confidence to fulfill Amanda’s dreams. Not only this, the author also focuses on the relationship development between the two sisters, with her parents and with her loved ones, giving equal importance to all of them. Megan and Crystal’s personalities and story-lines are unique, yet, the author does a good job in blending them at times. I loved how both the sisters are fighting their own battles, but seek help from each other to overcome them. More than Megan and Crystal, my favorite characters in the book were Amanda’s parents. The way they remain so positive and hopeful for Megan even after losing their daughter is touching and inspiring.

    Although I enjoyed reading both Megan and Crystal’s journey, I felt more emotionally attached towards Crystal’s story-line. This is mainly because I could relate to the difficulties she faces in managing her personal and professional life. From whatever I have experienced, it is not possible to allot equal time if you want to progress in both. I hoped the story would show that she can achieve all her goals (personal and professional) in a positive light. Unfortunately, Crystal has to choose between one over the other. The story also doesn’t become too preachy or religious even though it is termed as a Christian Fiction book.

    Moreover, the author has vividly highlighted some gorgeous locations in this book. Ms Harrel has described these places so beautifully that I felt I was experiencing it with Megan. Whether it’s Paris, London or Egypt, the author has showcased all the important highlights worth visiting. After reading this book, I want to do the scavenger hunt in London and run with the bulls in Pamplona. I have longed to see some of these places and hope to tour them sometime.

    The only reason I gave this 4 out of 5 stars is because the book seemed a bit predictable. It was also a bit monotonous at times. During the first half of the book where the sisters travel to a new destination, nothing really much happens other than Megan gaining her confidence. It is only towards the end of their travels that the story-line progresses. However, apart from this, I loved everything about this book! Overall, this is a charming, heart-felt book that I would recommend reading if you are in the mood for one.