Book Review: Hiding in the Light

Do your parents ever have books for you to read for them? Like they’ll say, “I don’t have time to read this, but you like reading, so here! Read this book and tell me about it!”? My father does that to me all the time! This was kind of one of those books: He told me about it, and it sounded interesting, but I wasn’t really planning on actually reading it…until he bought it for me to read! Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, in a way that I highly suggest everyone to read it because of how important it is.

Book: Hiding in the Light
Author: Rifqa Bary
Rating: PG-13 – this is non-fiction, people. It’s intense. It’s got religion and some sensitive incidents.
Score: 10/10

Summary:
This is the true story of Rifqa Bary. She grew up in a Muslim family, but converted to Christianity at 12, secretly. This is her story of how she came to follow Jesus, how she had to run away once her family found out she was a Christian, and what God has done in her life.

Review:
Ohhhh, this is definitely one of the best books I have ever read! Ms. Bary’s story is absolutely captivating and convicting, from cover to cover. It is an absolute must-read if you’re a Christian, and I would still strongly recommend it to anyone, no matter their religion! It is such an inspiring story, and addresses topics that are, in my opinion, not addressed enough. She truly sets an example of how much we, as Christians, give up, or should want to give up if the situation came up, to defend our faith and follow Jesus.

Please, please, please read this book! This is a message you need to read; this is one of those life-changing books! And if you ever want to talk about this book or Christianity (or just want to talk about anything!), please comment or send me an email!

Book Review: Zoe Letting Go

This is the first book review from my summer books 🙂 During vacation, we went to the dollar store, and I bought this book because, hey, why not, if I don’t like it, well, it was only $1. But O.M.G. it was SO intriguing!

Book: Zoe Letting Go
Author: Nora Price
Rating: PG-13 – eating disorders
Score: 8/10

Summary:
Zoe protests when her mom sends her to a mysterious retreat for girls. There are only six girls there, and they kinda creep Zoe out. Through her suspicious, Zoe learns that the retreat is a rehab center for girls with eating disorders. Each girl has a different way of coping with the program. Zoe writes to her best friend, telling her about the odd program and reminiscing about their past. But still, Zoe can’t figure out why she’s there; she doesn’t have an eating disorder, right?

Review:
This is definitely not the type of book I would just pick up and read on a whim. I read this book because I had nothing other to read, but once I started it, I could not put it down for a minute! It is so captivating! The story was extremely interesting because it really shed some light on the rationale behind eating disorders. I understood and sympathized with the girls’ thoughts, and was taken on an emotional roller coaster. I normally hate [teenage] drama, even in books, but I felt that the drama in this book was well written, and only added to the stresses of trying to recover from an eating disorder. Lastly, you will not believe the ending!

I strongly recommend this book to teen girls (boys will probably not relate to most of it). I think it would actually be a really good book to read in school to begin to understand how people with eating disorders think of themselves, because it is really eye-opening.

Have you ever read a book about eating disorders? How did you like it? What are your thoughts on eating disorders?

Summer Reading Adventure

I love summer for a bunch of reasons. First, my family loves to explore, so we try to go on exciting day trips as many times as we can. Also, every summer, we travel east to visit family that we only see during the summer! This year, we drove there! (And I’m talking full on, 12-18 hours of driving a day here) it was so fun! But generally, my favorite part of summer is simply having more time to do what I love, which mainly includes reading and crafting!

Here are the books I read this summer:

Hiding in the Light by Rifqa Bary- Wow. Oh my goodness this book was amazing! More on this one in another post but wow. It’s a must read!

Zoe Letting Go by Nora Price- Not really my “type” of book, but so well written and captivating. This is one that surprised me in terms of how much I liked it. More on this one in another post, too.

Fable by Chanda Hahn- Book 3 in the Unfortunate Fairy Tales Series. If you enjoyed the first two, you will definitely like this exciting and quick read!

The Heir by Kiera Cass- A continuation of the Selection Series. Maxon and America’s oldest daughter, Princess Eadlyn, goes through her own Selection in this book. Wonderful storyline and plot, but Eadlyn left much to be desired in a heroine.

Michael Vey Hunt for Jade Dragon by Richard Paul Evans- Book 4 in the Michael Vey Series. Every bit as exciting and surprising as the rest of the books, Hunt for Jade Dragon was over much too quickly and left me wanting more, more, more!

Kingdom Keepers Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson- The first book of the Kingdom Keepers Series, Disney After Dark introduces a new and thrilling side to Disney World that all fans will love reading. I haven’t finished the series, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this Disney story doesn’t have a happy ending.

Maximum Ride Forever by James Patterson- As always, Patterson expertly toys with our emotions, leaving us crying, laughing, and praying for the fate of our favorite characters all at once. But finally, FINALLY, this is the conclusion all MR fans want and need!

These are the books I remembered I read during the summer, hahaha. I bought some more books over vacation that I still haven’t read! Hiding in the Light and Zoe Letting Go will both be featured in upcoming book reviews, so stay tuned!

What books did you read over the summer? Comment below!

Book Review: Graceling

Hello, sorry I didn’t post Friday; I was sick the entire weekend and just was not up to posting. Unfortunately, I was also not up for seeing Avengers: Age of Ultron. 😦 I must see it now!

book cover image from kristincashore.blogspot.com

Book: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Rating: PG-13- fighting action, adult content
Score: 9/10

Summary:
Within the Seven Kingdoms, there are only a few people graced with special skills and abilities, called Gracelings. Katsa is Graced with killing. Her uncle, King Randa, gives her royalty status as long as she does what he says and threatens the people he tells her to threaten. When Katsa and her friends secretly rescue the Lienid king’s father, a Lienid prince shows up at Randa’s court. The Lienid prince, Po, is a Graced fighter, and soon Katsa and Po form a friendship out of their brilliant sparring matches. After hearing some disturbing rumors, Katsa and Po travel to Monsea together to stop an evil more dangerous than they ever thought.

Review:
This book was amazing! I was a little confused about what they were doing, like what Katsa and Po’s goals were by traveling, but that’s okay, I just kept going and enjoyed the story. The protagonists are so likable and fun to read about. The fight scenes are actually pretty fun to read about, and Cashore’s scenery details are amazing! It is inferred that Katsa and Po do *the thing* because Katsa needs to eat special herbs after, but this doesn’t detract from the story and if it bothers you, you could easily skip over that part.
I could not get enough of the Graceling world, so I had to read Fire and Bitterblue, the companion/sequels within the week!!! Even Fire, a good monster, is relatable! The Graceling books are perfect for thrilling, action-packed, suspense-spotted, romance-sprinkled reads!

Have you read Graceling? Tell me your thoughts and opinions in the comments!

Book Review: Where’d You Go, Bernadette?

Today’s book review is going to be slightly different, only because it’s a type of collab! Simi at BrokeNYC recommended this book to me, and I recommended a book to her, so go check out her review, too!

book cover image from goodreads

Book: Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
Author: Maria Semple
Rating: PG-13– language & adult topics
Score: 9/10

Summary:
Bernadette Fox, the young, brilliant, promising female architect of the future, has moved from LA to Seattle, where she’s no longer an architect and spends her days holed up inside, corresponding with a virtual assistant from India. She loves her family dearly though, so when her daughter, Bee, gets perfect grades, she has to keep her promise of any family vacation, even to Antarctica. Bernadette lets her virtual assistant plan the whole trip, but the overprotective moms of Bee’s classmates won’t leave Bernadette alone. They want her to be involved, but Bernadette has absolutely no inclination to socialize, especially not with those gnats. One thing leads to another, and soon, Bernadette’s husband is looking to send her to a psychiatric ward, but then Bernadette disappears and makes her great escape. For the rest of the book, Bee uncovers information about her mother and tries to get her back.

Review:
Wow! I wasn’t expecting much out of this book, because I usually read YA fantasy-type books, but this was so good! Yes, there is some swearing and some discussion of adult topics because it is adult fiction, but it is so little that I barely noticed it, and it didn’t detract from the story. The format is very unique, comprising of emails, billing statements, letters, and narrative from Bee’s point of view, so it takes some getting used to, but I grew to love it! All of the documents added to the profile of Bernadette, to see her from every viewpoint. I especially loved Bee’s commentary because she shed light on all the great things about Bernadette and established the strong mother-daughter relationship. I blew through this book- it was interesting, funny, and like nothing I’ve ever read before. I highly recommend “Where’d You Go, Bernadette,” for a seriously fun summer read!

And I want to thank Simi for recommending this book to me, because otherwise I probably wouldn’t have read this book, and I am so glad I did!!! 😀

Have you read Where’d You Go, Bernadette? Are you interested in doing a book swap or just recommending a favorite book to me? Comment below!

Book Review: The Program

How do you guys like the book reviews so far? If you ever have any book recommendations for me, or thoughts about books, don’t be shy in the comments! I love to hear from you!!!

book image from suzanne-young.blogspot.com

Book: The Program
Author: Suzanne Young
Rating: PG-13– language, mature content
Score: 7/10

Summary:
When teen suicide becomes an epidemic, The Program is created. It’s supposed to cure teens of the depression that causes them to commit suicide, but it does this by taking their memories. Sloane has lost her brother to suicide, and her friend to The Program. She has her boyfriend, James, now, but how much longer can they hide their depression, even when they’re together?

Review:
Such an intriguing concept! The topic is really interesting, and the protagonists are realistic and easy to connect to. However, I thought it was kind of watered down. I think the book could have been so much more exciting; I guess I understand that because the book is about depression, the tone is low-key, depressed, as well, but I think that element of depression could still be in the tone of the book without sacrificing some of the excitement, suspense, or quality. I’m not sure if I will continue reading the rest of the series. That being said, overall it is a good book that I would recommend for an all-day weekend read, preferably during a storm or a cloudy day, because it’s definitely not light-hearted!

Have you read The Program? Tell me your thoughts and opinions in the comments! And if you’d like to know what some upcoming book reviews are, subscribe to the monthly email newsletter!

Hey, we could start a book club!!! Yeah?