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?

Rocky Mountain Oatmeal

Last month, I went to a great breakfast place with my family. Something that caught my eye on the menu was quinoa cooked in coconut milk, with fresh fruit. Um, yum!

Naturally, I HAD to recreate it at home and dub it Rocky Mountain Oatmeal, even though it’s not oatmeal…

Ingredients, makes 2 servings:
-1/2 cup Quinoa
-1 cup Coconut Milk
-Sugar to taste (omit if using sweetened coconut milk)
-Fruit (fresh is preferred, but dried works too)

1. Rinse the quinoa according to the directions. Rinse it good, because it takes away the bitterness!

2. Bring the coconut milk and quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan. Lower heat, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is cooked like normal (about 10-15 min)

3. Remove from heat, spoon into two bowls, and add sugar and fruit. Enjoy!

And that’s it! Seriously! A delicious breakfast recipe that’s easy and healthy! Yay!

Do you guys have any suggestions?