I was invited by Amy of My Friend Amy to participate in a Faith-n-Fiction Roundtable discussing Travis Thrasher's novel Broken. Our discussion occured via email and the following is a portion of our conversation. Be sure to check the other participating blogs to read the rest of what we had to say about this supernatural thriller! Amy: I've read Travis Thrasher's two earlier thrillers and really enjoyed them, but I have to admit that I had a harder time following the plot with this one. What did you think of the way we were thrust into the story? In some ways, I found it quite masterful that we were immediately sucked into the broken, fearful heart of Laila with no sense of history to guide us. We just knew immediately how much she had come to dread her life and the ...
Category Archives: Fiction
Travels with Gannon and Wyatt
I mentioned in my post after BEA that I picked up a copy of Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana (which releases in June of this year) at their booth. I spoke with their mother, and the author of this book, Patti Wheeler at the Expo and was sold on the concept in very short order. It is now my pleasure to introduce Gannon and Wyatt to you! The concept behind the book is this: Gannon and Wyatt are twin fifteen-year old boys that explore the world with their parents. (They are homeschooled which makes such travels a possibility.) They research various areas of the globe and travel together as a family. Each of the boys spend their morning doing "math and stuff" and then their afternoon ...
The Mailbox
Reading a book set in a beach town seems like such a perfect fit in the summer months (and maybe even more so if you actually are hanging out in a beach town). There are times when I purposefully reach for a lighter novel, for a quick satisfying read. The Mailbox by Mary Beth Whalen is this kind of book. It is a great selection if you enjoy Christian women's fiction. It's not always my number one go-to genre, but I found it to be quite an enjoyable read. The mailbox in the book is based on a real life mailbox in Sunset Beach, North Carolina where people leave letters that are collected by the anonymous Kindred Spirit. In the novel, the mailbox and the beach town is a place that grounds Lindsey and with ...
The Iron King
I've just spent an enjoyable few days with Julie Kagawa's The Iron King. Her inventive fey (faery) world pulled me right in. It's one of those imagined worlds that has you amazed at the detail and the thought that went in behind it. This book seems to be marketed to girls (from the cover and the fact that it's published by Harlequin Teen), but I think that this book would appeal to young men or women who are interested in fantasy. In fact, there's a good bit of battle, which was one of the factors that reminded me a lot of The Lord of the Rings. While we are on the subject of the publisher, don't let the "Harlequin" label fool you. Just as you probably did if you haven't read ...
White Picket Fences
I've been a fan of author Susan Meissner since I read The Shape of Mercy, (review here), so I was excited to have an opportunity to read Meissner's newest book, White Picket Fences. In Fences, the Janviers are the perfect family with the beautiful home and "white picket fence" lifestyle. Neil is a financial advisor who spends his spare time making exquisite furniture that he gives away. His wife, Amanda, is a reading teacher. Their children, Chase and Delcey are All-American teenagers. Yet beneath the perfect facade, secrets are weighing down on Neil, Amanda and Chase. Their family foundation is beginning to crack. Enter Amanda's niece, Tally. Tally's father has disappeared. Amanda agrees to take Tally in to their home, not expecting that the girl's visit will change her family forever. Meissner has crafted another touching ...
Secret Daughter
Shilpi Somaya Gowda's first book is excellent. I'm already looking forward to her second. Her writing is rich and descriptive and beautiful -- yet not overly flowery at all. Secret Daughter is a lovely story that takes place in two countries -- U.S. (San Francisco) and India -- and spans 25 years. Kavita and Jasu are living in a small Indian village. Girl babies are expensive since they have to be married off with a dowry, and they can't help with the farming, so they are highly undesirable. Kavita's first pregnancy is a girl, which her husband takes away to be disposed of. When she has her 2nd daughter, she is determined to save her by taking her to the orphanage. Somer and Krishna are both doctors -- he an emigrant from India ...
Books on Screen: Presumed Innocent
In the 1990's the legal thriller was king. There probably aren't many people who were reading in the 90's, whether confirmed bookworms or summer vacation readers, who haven't read a John Grisham book. But before any of John Grisham's bestsellers then movie blockbusters, there was a 1987 book and 1990 movie -- Presumed Innocent. I won't give the movie away, because I know that there are some of you reading this who were weren't old enough to watch a rated R movie in the early 90's, but I still remember the hype -- this suspenseful story of murder and betrayal with a surprise twist at the end. I recently watched the movie to prepare to read the brand new Scott Turow novel Innocent, which revisits the same character Rusty Sabich 22 years later. This movie keeps ...
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Jennifer Donovan
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