The Little White Horse

By Elizabeth Goudge

Maria Merryweather is a young girl who just lost her father. She and her governess must travel to the country to live with Maria's only living relative, Sir Benjamin of Moonacre.

Maria soon realizes that her new home has many secrets. Maria tries desperately to entangle the mysteries that lie on Moonacre Manor. Marie meets many friends that will help her along the way.
Loveday, a middle aged women with a sad past.
Robin, a young boy who wasn't supposed to exist. And many others.

This book was thoroughly entertaining. It is an easy read and would be perfect for the age range 10-13. Older than that it is a little cheesy at times but still a really good book.

There was nothing immoral about this book. It is a sweet, innocent story.

Review By Sweetie Pie

Princess Of the Midnight Ball

Review by Sweetie Pie

Twelve princesses all named after flowers have had to dance every night for The King Under Stone, an evil sorcerors who has twelve sons that are the suitors for the sisters. But no one outside of the sisters knows about the ball.

Princess Rose is the oldest at 16. Lily is next at 15. Jonquil, at 14. Hyacinth at 13, Violet at 12, Daisy and Poppy at 11, Iris at 10, Lilac is 9, Orchid is 8. Pansy is 7, and Petunia the youngest is 6.

Rose is one of the protagonist. The others is Galen, a young soldier turned royal gardener who strives to free the princesses from what ever is plaguing them.

Galen meets Rose in the garden, where she falls into the fountain, catching a cold. A cold that transfers into a fever in which she is not able to get up to go to the ball. One night Galen sees one of the suitors visit the Princess window. He is mystified by it.

Will Galen succeed? Will Rose and the others be fated to marry beasts? What will happen?

I enjoyed this book so much, it was so good.

Review by Sweetie Pie

Faith

By Lori Copeland

The phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover" is not one that I generally live by, but in this case it proved true. This book is not a shallow, simple, feel-good book that the cover portrays. Rather, it follows the heart of a mail-order bride and the trying family she is placed into.

Faith Kallahan travels to Texas in answer to an ad for a God-fearing woman. What she meets when she gets there is a man 15 years older than she who is moody, ignores her, and allows his mother to run his life. His mother, who lives with him, is ornery and neither care about Faith. Her wedding gets thwarted four times and she gets kicked out of the house, and all for what? Was she really following God when she answered the ad? Did He send her here, or should she go back home? Is this what He had planned for her?

I loved this book, and it's a wonderful quick read. It is the first in the Brides of the West series, and the rest of the series should prove as good. The writing was good, the characters sought from the Lord, and each chapter was from a different character's perspective. I personally liked this because then instead of seeing through Faith's eyes, one sees through her fiance's eyes and understand what he's going through and how he's struggling and thus acting out towards Faith. It was enjoyable and I never once got lost or had to slow down. There were enough characters to infuse merriment and variety, but few enough so that I never got confused. I loved it, and heartily recommend it.

Review by Beckyelsie

Catching Fire

By Suzanne Collins

This is the second book in the Hunger Games series. In this review there will be spoilers for the first book. So if you have not read the first book and want to keep the ending secret, then do not read this review. I will not be spoiling much, only things that could be discovered without reading the book.



Katniss and Peeta survived the Hunger Games but now the Capitol is furious. Who is the girl on fire that thinks she can defy the Capitol.
President Snow is considered that by what Katniss did in the hunger Games, people will start rebelling. Snow fears a Rebellion.

All Katniss and Peeta want to do is forget the Hunger Games and live a normal life in District 12. They haven't spoken to each other except when absolutely necessary. Katniss had to act as if she was head over heels for Peeta during the Hunger Games. She doesn't want to have to do that anymore. What is sad is that Peeta's devotion goes solely to Katniss.

Katniss and Peeta are preparing for the Victory Tour. Where the winner or in this case winners tour Panem. Before they leave, Katniss gets a surprise visit from President Snow, he tells Katniss to lay low a bit. Don't cause any uprisings.

Katniss is not thrilled bout the Victory Tour, she will have to face the families of the people she killed, and she will have to act as if she is head over heels for Peeta.
Katniss and Peeta leave to tour the other eleven Districts and the Capitol. At the Capitol, they are interviewed. And at the Capitol Peeta proposes to Katniss. Hoping the any fights would settle down.
Katniss fears walking down the aisle. She doesn't want to spend the rest of her life with Peeta, she wants to live her sister and mother.

She also knows that the Annual Hunger Games are approaching. This one will be one of the Quarter Quall.  Ever since the Hunger games began 75 years ago, every twenty five years there was something slightly different.  To mark fifty years, the doubled the amount of tributes.
She and her sister and her mother watch the announcement of what i to take place at the 75th annual Hunger Games. The Reporter says "That the Tributes for 75th games will be chosen from the existing pool of Victors."
That means only one thing to Katniss. There are only three victors from District 12, two male, one female. Katniss is going back to the Hunger Games.

This was an excellent sequel to The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss with a twist. Katnis has become the Face of a Rebellion, and she has to decide which side she is on. This book along with the Third are much more political than the first book. But I did not feel drowned out by politics, it still a very entrancing story. The books are very violent too. The Third one is the most violent, stay tuned for my report for it. I read this book in twenty-four hours or less. I would suggest the series to everyone who enjoys action.

Review by Sweetie Pie.

Pride and Prejudice

By Jane Austen
This book is considered to be one of the classic books of English Lit. and with good reason. Most people think that Pride and Prejudice is a romance but more importantly it is about family, friends, and that people are not always what we thought at first. In fact the original title was "First Impressions." Austen can skewer silly, rude and mean people with very little trouble and without losing her beautiful prose.
  The story revolves around the Bennett family of five girls and their mother who is determined for them to marry rich men. The problem is that she and three of her daughters are vulgar and stupid. Jane and Elizabeth are the only sensible daughters and the story is mostly about Elizabeth.
  Mrs. Bennett finds out at the start of the story that a rich man named Mr. Bingley has moved into the neighborhood. Of course she immediately decides that Jane must catch his attention, which she does easily. His best friend Mr. Darcy is not so impressed with the Bennett family and makes a slightly remark about Elizabeth. So starts one of the most famous of love stories, one that manages to be real without being anything but completely pure.
  If you have only watched the movies of Pride  and Prejudice than you probably think that Mr. Darcy is something like a Mr. Rochester. Someone with an unsavoury past who looks depressed and angry all the time. The truth is he is a bit boring at the beginning, someone very proud and ill tempered but not someone you would think has a crazy wife upstairs. Nor does he rant and rave and act homocidal. You would not be afraid to get caught with him in a dark alley. Jane Austen is not a Bronte and don't expect crazy plot twists.
  Elizabeth is the real main character and someone you can't help but like. She is a bit saucy and impish but she is always in good taste. She likes to go on walks in the country and is not afraid of speaking her mind. But she does it in a way that is quite in keeping with the times.
  There are a whole host of other characters who all add a bit of humor or intrest to the plot. I was always curious to know exactly who Mr Darcy really was. For that matter who Mr. Bingley was. Many of the characters are not what they seem at first and others change as the story moves along.
  This book is perfectly suitable for any child but I don't think most children under ten would wish to read it as it has rather complicated language and a slow moving plot. But if you enjoy period stories this is a book worth reading.
Reviewed by Elizabeth

A Hope Undaunted

By Julie Lessman

This was a very enjoyable book, but it must be read with a bit of caution. This is a Christian book, and a well-written, entertaining read, but there is a great deal of love and description of the love and physical attraction that the characters have towards each other. Lessman is a good writer and the book was fun, quick, and easy to read. There are many characters to keep track of at first and can be confusing.

One tends to sympathize with Katie as she struggles with independence and breaking out from under her dad's thumb. When she finds out she must work for orphans all summer she is reluctant, but she is horrified when she finds out that her boss during the summer is her old childhood rival. Will they be able to reconcile? And will Katie be able to find God in her sought-after independence?

I recommend this book, but only if you're ready for a lot of romance. This is definitely a romance novel, but is a very fun one that may leave you guessing as to the ending.

Review by Beckyelsie

The Wrong Box

“The Wrong Box” by: Robert Louis Stevenson is a rather old book written by a classic author. This book is a rather ridiculous, hilarious look at what happens when a naughty young man switches all of the labels on boxes in a train. The contents of all of these boxes include a classic sculpture that is worth a great deal of money and a dead body. As everyone knows everything is more interesting when there is a dead body involved.

The plot revolves around a Tontine an organization in which many young men, including two brothers, subscribe money. By chance the last two surviving members of this organization are the two brothers; Joseph Finsbury and Masterman. Whoever lives the longest will inherit all of the money that was put into the Tontine. When the book opens they are both old men with sons of their own.

Old Joseph Finsbury is kept under lock and key by his two sons Morris and John, who only think of their father as an investment. They are determined that he will outlive his brother, their uncle, so that they will inherit the whole Tontine. Morris keeps a strict watch on his father, making sure that he always dresses for the weather, and visit’s the doctor often to make sure he is healthy. Joseph Finsbury resents his son’s efforts though. He views Morris as confining his freedom.

However, everything changes when Joseph and his two sons Morris and John are traveling and are in a deadly train wreck. When Morris and John wake up they find themselves in the midst of chaos and their father is nowhere to be found. Both search around briefly only to find a dead body that they think must be their father, Joseph.

Morris and John decide to hide the body so that they can still win the Tontine by concealing their father’s death and waiting for their uncle to die. But of course, somewhere along the way the body is mislaid when the labels are switched on the train. Morris and John are afraid that the body will be found. The body meanwhile is being passed from hand to hand in a chaotic manner each owner more panicky than the one before.

Little do Morris and John realize, though, that the body that they so painstakingly concealed is not even their father. Joseph Finsbury survived the accident, and saw his chance to escape the unhappy and oppressive life that his sons forced upon him.

Many things happen and by the end you feel very confused. Overall I would label this book rather silly and eccentric. It lacks the polish and suspense that Stevenson usually employs with his work. The plot seems carelessly thought out and the characters although well thought up are clumsy and confusing. You never really get to know them or find out how they all intersect. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book. Although written by a classic author it definitely is not Stevenson’s’ best.

The Hunger Games

By Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games has been getting a lot of attention lately. With the movie coming out early next year, the books have been in the hot spot. Teens have been ripping these books apart.

The story takes place in a fictional world of 12 districts and one capitol. The Capitol controls everything. To make sure everyone knows they are in control, they have these yearly games called The Hunger Games, where two teens, between the age of 12 and 19, from every district, one female and one male, compete for survival. They are made to kill each other in order to make it out alive. But the deal is that only one person makes it. Out of 24 people one survives.

Katniss is sixteen and a expert bowman, and from District 12, the poorest district. She is the sole provider for her sister and mother. Her father died in the mines when she was eleven, and ever sense then she has had to find food for the three of them. Usually she and her friend Gale go out into the forest right out side the district.

This Hunger Games is different for Katniss because her little sister Primrose is now eligible as tribute to the games. When the tributes for District 12 are being picked, Katniss worries that she will be picked because her name is in the drawing 32 times, she isn't that scared about Prim because her name is only in there once.
But when Primrose is called, Katniss is shocked and quickly volunteers to take her place. Katniss doesn't have much time to think about it but she knows that she can't let Prim got to The Games.

I love this book. It was so good. I read it in 24 hours, And that includes sleeping, eating, and going to church.
It is not a children's book.  It is very violent, and at times disturbing. I see this book being more of a teen to young adult book. I would suggest this book to anyone and everyone.

Review by Sweetie Pie

Lady in the Mist

By Laurie Alice Eakes

I loved this book. It was well-written, very descriptive, imaginative, and had an interesting link with history and different cultures. It was interesting enough to keep me reading, but it's not one of those couldn't-put-it-down books. It's a romantic Christian novel but had mystery sprinkled throughout the book, and had my favorite: the happily ever after. :) This is a good book for leisure reading, but isn't a must-read fiction.

Tabitha Eckles is a midwife but is single and had lost her lover. So when a stranger comes to town and she starts to fall in love, what could be wrong? Except that he's English, and has strange mysteries that shroud who he is. Will Tabitha go with her heart? Will her heart split in two?

Review by Beckyelsie

The Snow Goose

By Paul Gallico

This short novella was very sweet. It was a little story of love. I enjoyed this short book. It had the light heart-ed feeling about it that was enchanting.

It is about this cripple who lives in a light house all by himself. He is a lonely, ugly man.
One day a little girl comes knocking an his door hold a white bird. She says that the bird is hurt, and asks the man to help. The man takes the bird into his care, and the girl continues to visit him. She is the one friend he has. One time when the girl comes, the man sees her and is slightly shocked, she has grown up. She is no longer a little, she is a young lady.

This was a sweet little book. I enjoyed reading it. It is a very easy read and very sweet.

Review By Sweetie Pie

Warrior

By Bryan Davis

This is the sequel to Starlighter, in the series Dragons of Starlight. It has more answers than it's predecessor, but opens up more questions as well. Koren and Jason are both separate from the other, but both end up in the Northlands, where the White Dragon dwells. Taushin also grows more powerful and wraps Koren more firmly into his grasp. His character was well drawn, making me confused as to whether he is a bad guy or a good guy, with me deciding in the end that he is bad. But the third book, Diviner, will decide whether or not he is as evil as he seems. Also, there is more traveling between the worlds. I found this book more gripping than the first, but leaving me desperate to read the third one, which just came out in August. Overall, this is a fantastic must-read, but must be read after Starlighter or it won't make any sense at all.

Review by Beckyelsie

My Father's Daughter

By E.L. Konigsburg

E. L. Konigsburg is an author I have been reading for some years. My mother read one of her most famous books to me "From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler". And so far that has been the best, but I am impressed by her other books.

My Father's Daughter was a very intriguing story. It follows a young boy by the name of Winston. Winston lives in a rich family and he has pretty much anything he wants, but he feels trapped. He has overprotective parents, and a sister who is not normal. Something isn't right with her.

Then when a lady shows up at his door claiming to be Caroline, his father's daughter from another marriage, Winston's whole world is thrown upside down. This Caroline knows everything that the Other Caroline should. She has a back story and everything. But is she really Caroline.

 Winston' sister Heidi is not doing so well but when Caroline starts helping her, it leads Winston to think she might not be his stepsister after all.

This book was an interesting read. I did enjoy it, but at times it was a little confusing to what was going on. But I would suggest this book to people who enjoy E. L. Konigsburg books, but for someone who has never read one of her books start with "From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" and then come to this book or "The View From Saturday".

Review By Sweetie Pie

Through the Postern Gate

by Florence Barclay

I really like this book. I will admit to reading it two times in the last few months. Probably more than I should considering the fact that it is a very sentimental and old fashioned. But I just love it and I have good company because I have heard that the last Empress of Russia also liked it.

  The plot of the story revolves around Guy Chelsea and Christobel Charteris, the main characters. Guy is rarely referred to by his given name; mostly he is called "Little Boy Blue."
  The story starts out with Guy proposing to Christobel. There is a problem though, she is ten years older than he is. This age gap is made even more awkward by the fact that she knew him when he was six and she was sixteen. The age gap is super obvious at first and it is not until the very end that the story loses the strangeness of such a plot. It is a plot twist not often seen, we think nothing of a ten year gap if the man is older than the woman but I have never seen one the other way around.
  I really like Christobel because she is serious and Christian but she is also pretty liberated for her time. She lives alone with an old house keeper and she is not only very well educated she has also went to college and is a star tennis player. Guy is totally different, he is a pilot, quite ordinarily educated and not at all serious. Then to add further conflict Christobel is sort of committed, though not engaged, to the "Professor." By that I mean that his sister has talked about the fact that he loves her and that he as been waiting to ask her to marry him for twelve years because he did not have the money.
  The romance between these two seemed pretty real although it was super clean. That is something I am always thankful for. I really liked how Florence Barclay made the characters grow throughout the book and how their feelings gradually changed and developed.
  On the whole, if you like old fashioned romances with unusually plot lines I would definitely recommend you pick it up.
Reviewed by Elizabeth

Brave New World

By Aldous Huxley

Well where do I start. Beckyelsie wrote  a review for this a while back and you can view it here.
I agree with her review. This book was disturbing and wrong. People were not conceived in the normal way, people are raised in hatcheries. Each person is assigned a rank; Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta,and Epsilon. Alpha is the highest and are able to live as you and I do. Beta are also able to live as you and I do. But the rest are inferior. They have no rights and are pretty much the servants. And the head of the hatcheries decides were the "eggs" go, whether or not the will be Alpha or Beta and so on.
That right there sounds very wrong to me. Everyone was created equal, so hatching the "eggs" into different ranks is wrong.

Then another thing that bugged me was the thought that "everyone belongs to everyone". Now that means there is no marriage. There is no love. There is no pregnancy. And women and men sleep with many different people. There is no sanity. These people are on a drug called soma, the use it whenever the feel grim. It is disheartening.

I would not suggest this book to anyone. I did not enjoy it. I did dislike it though. You don't need to know anything about the plot(which is a little confusing) just know its disturbing, and you should avoided this book.

Review by Sweetie Pie

God Spoke Tibetan

By Allan Maberly

This book follows the progress of the Bible being translated into Tibetan.

It was a very intriguing book. Learning about Tibet was pretty cool.

There were many set backs to the Bible being translated into to Tibetan. It took over  hundred to complete the task. It went through many different people. It took a long while to get it in production. And then the effort to get back into Tibet was long.

If you enjoy reading about things like missioners. I don't really enjoy books that don't have a protagonist. This was one of those books. It followed the Bible not people who helped with the Bible. Which is good. But it made the book a little boring for me.

Review By Sweetie Pie

The Metamorphosis

By Franz Kafka'

The question that came into my mind after reading this book was "Is it really a master piece?" This book is thought highly by many people, what people that would be I have no idea. I did not enjoy this book. It is disturbing, it is creepy, and just wrong.

As a christian girl was truly disturbed by the ideas of this book. It follows a young man who wakes up one morning as a insect. A big insect.

Its as disturbing as it sounds. I really disliked this book. And would suggest that you stay away from it.

Review By Sweetie Pie

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Well this book is some what of a classic. The writing style of this book is really fascinating. I enjoyed that part of the book.

The story itself was not what you should base your life on.

Jay Gatsby is a wealthy man who lives in New York. The Narrator becomes his neighbor. (The narrator is not Mr. Fitzgerald, it is a fictional character, as long with all other characters).

Nick's cousin Daisy knew Gatsby way back when. In fact they almost got married.

This book was not the best morally but the way it was written and the style was terrific. I did enjoy this book. I would suggest it to young adults and adults not young children. They would not really understand whats going on.

Review By Sweetie Pie

You want WOMEN to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?

By Jean Fritz

This is a book I had to read for school. It was a really easy book. But interesting. Elizabeth Stanton was one of the major influences in the Women Rights Movement way back when.

This is a small little Biography about her. It was a really easy read. I had read some of Jean Fritz books already and they are not hard books. Sometimes when your reading deep books its nice to have a break with an easy book. And it was. I did like this book. If you need a light-heart-ed book than this is a good one.
Review By Sweetie Pie

Fablehaven; Keys to The Demon Prison

By Brandon Mull

The fifth and final book to this amazing series is no disappoint-er.  I loved this book, it is my favorite in the series.

Kendra and Seth continue with there friends to try find the last of Artifacts and stop the Sphinx. Danger and threat keep rising. And Time is running out.

On an attempt to recover one of the last Artifacts that is not is in Shinx's custody, Seth gets taken hostage. He is taken to the last Secret Preserve which is under the control of the one and only Sphinx. Well in prison Seth meets Bracken, a powerful ally.

Meanwhile Kendra and the rest of the team confront Vanessa about her secret. Once the secret it known, a plan is set up to rescue Seth. the plan backfires and everyone is captured. And the Demon Prison is almost ready to be opened.

Will Kendra and Seth escape? Will the Demon Prison open? Will the Sorensons and Friends Die? What will become of Fablehaven?

All will be answered in this final book of the Fablehaven series.

Starlighter

By Bryan Davis

This is the first in the series of Dragon of Starlight series and it is an excellent read. It has suspense, a bit of romance, and plenty of mystery. When you reach the end of the book, you still have plenty of questions, a lot of which are cleared up by the second in the series, Warrior. You meet a lot of characters in this book and the fact that it happens in a fantastical world makes it a bit difficult to understand, though more fun. Bryan Davis is an excellent writer and makes the reading very enjoyable and intriguing. It easily gets you hooked and it's hard to pull yourself into reality after reading it. One of the stranger elements of the book is in the relationships that the main guy, Jason, has with the females. The romance and falling in love with someone is downplayed a good deal. It's almost looked at as no big deal when Jason falls for Koren. The interesting thing about Bryan Davis' writing style that makes it an intriguing and mysterious book is that he never gives a proper introduction to this fantasy world - the readre is just dropped into it and must learn about the world through the character's eyes and thoughts. This is a Christian book, but there is little reference to God (the Creator) in the book. However, underlying Christian themes and worldview come through shining brightly - for instance, the conviction that we all here for a purpose and can make things better with our gifts and talents is an enormous part of the plot.

Finally, this book could make some people queasy because it's about dragons and humans; however, the dragons are portrayed about as dastardly as any human villain in other books (with the exception that there is a hint about them eating their victims...).

Overall, I love this book and highly recommend it to fantasy-lovers.

Review by Beckyelsie