Book Review: The Vanishing Half

She hadn’t realized how long it takes to become somebody else, or how lonely it can be living in a world not meant for you. ― Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half Most of us experience a time in our lives when we feel like we don’t belong, that we’re impostors in our own reality. Author Brit Bennett vividly portrays those feelings in her brilliant new novel, The Vanishing Half. It’s about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white. The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical, but after growing up together in a small, southern black community and […]

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Book Review: Along the Broken Bay

  I am a huge fan of World War II historical novels whether set in Europe or elsewhere. For the first time I stumbled upon one based in the Philippines and I loved it. Here is a brief synopsis (without too many spoilers): December 1941. War has erupted in the Pacific, spelling danger for Gina Thorpe, an American expat living in Manila. When the Japanese invade and her husband goes missing, Gina flees with her daughter to the Zambales Mountains. Desperate for money, medicine, and guns, the Resistance recruits Gina to join their underground army and smuggles her back to Manila. There, she forges a new identity and opens a […]

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Book Review: The Paris Library

  I read quite a bit of WWII historical fiction and consider myself to be something of an expert in this genre. Imagine how excited to find a novel about a librarian (like me) during this tumultuous time in history! Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet has it all: a handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into Paris, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. But when the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes […]

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Book Review: The Switch

  The last book I read was about the Vietnam War, so I opted for something a little less daunting and a lot more fun this time around.  I just finished reading a delightful book titled The Switch by UK author, Beth O’Leary. I breezed through it with a smile on my face; it’s a quirky, feel good book and I highly recommend it. Here’s a quick synopsis: When London-based overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen’s house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She’d like a […]

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Book Review: The Mountains Sing

“Human lives were short and fragile. Time and illnesses consumed us, like flames burning away these pieces of wood. But it didn’t matter how long or short we lived. It mattered more how much light we were able to shed on those we loved and how many people we touched with our compassion.” – The Mountains Sing I was in junior high when Saigon fell. I remember little about the Vietnam war, other than that our black and white television droned statistics while I played with my Barbies. I don’t remember knowing anyone directly affected by the fighting, probably because my parents worked hard to insulate me from the ugly […]

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Sky Full of Stars: Book Review

    Synopsis A Sky Full of Stars: Learning to Surrender to God’s Perfect Plans is about blogger Meg Apperson’s poignant journey of pain and loss. As a young person, her suffering took the form of sexual abuse, a teenage marriage and divorce. As a mother, she watched two of her children fight rare diseases that nearly stole their lives. Meg Apperson grew up trusting God, but it wasn’t until her daughter was born with a litany of life-threatening birth defects that she began to truly comprehend what it means to trust Him with everything. Amid heartbreak, she not only discovered her own voice, she discovered that God is faithful. […]

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Light in the Darkness

We are living in an epic time in history, a time when fear has grabbed us by the throat and is holding fast. I’m trying hard not to obsess about coronavirus all day long, but it sure isn’t easy…. everywhere we turn there is bad news. It’s like driving past a car accident without gawking. Our only hope is to cast our cares on God’s broad shoulders because His perfect love casts out fear. Without faith, we will become paralyzed. There is still light in the darkness if we just look hard enough.

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