IgniteLit

The Edge of Belonging

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The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox

Title: The Edge of Belonging
Author: Amanda Cox
Major Themes: Adoption, Homelessness, Emotional Abuse
Synopsis: When a homeless man finds an abandoned baby, she becomes a lifeline to connect him with other humans; when Ivy tries to find answers to her past, she finds mysteries instead.

Sometime last year, my daughter read the book The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery. She raved about it, and made me want to read it. I still haven’t, but she gave me, for my birthday, The Edge of Belonging by the same author. I started reading it almost immediately, and three days later had devoured the whole story. What a book. Now, I want to read the first one she told me about!

This is a dual-timeline novel, but the two timelines are only separated by about 24 years, and both are about the same people. For the most part, chapters about each time alternate. First, we get a chapter from 1994, and then the present-day. The chapters from 1994 are told from the point of view of Harvey, a homeless man. Harvey didn’t belong to anyone and no one belonged to him, and he didn’t trust or connect with anyone. Then one day, he stumbled across an abandoned newborn baby girl. Suddenly, he had a human connection. How could he possibly care for this baby, though, since he was homeless? When two people tried to help him, he just knew he had to keep this baby a secret, or he would lose the only person he loved.

Ivy Rose, the heroine of the present-day timeline, has to return to her hometown after breaking up with a controlling fiancé. As she cleaned out her grandmother’s house, she found clues to her own past and the mystery surrounding her adoption. How could she find the pieces of truth about herself that were missing?

I love the way The Edge of Belonging is told. Each character feels very real and I fell in love with all of them. Watching Harvey, and Ivy Rose, struggle to find or to be able to expose the truth, was heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time. Amanda Cox has written a beautiful story here. Watching each of the six main people in the story struggling to know what to do with truth is heartbreaking and at the same time beautiful. I especially liked watching Ivy grow and change from the beginning to the end of the story. This is an author I will be watching for; if she did this well with a debut novel, I have a feeling that subsequent books will be superb.

WARNING: Sex trafficking is mentioned, as happening to a minor character, in a few paragraphs. There is a kiss in chapter 47.

Age levels:

Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged) | Audio CD
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
Book Depository: Paperback | Hardcover

A Whisper of Peace

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A Whisper of Peace by Bertin, Seilstad, Davison, Meyer, and Monson

Title: A Whisper of Peace: A Mosaic Christmas Anthology IV
Author: Eleanor Bertin, Lorna Seilstad, Sara Davison, Angela D. Meyer, and Stacy Monson
Series: Mosaic Christmas Anthologies
Major Themes: Anthology, Christmas
Synopsis: Four novellas and a short story, all set at Christmas time, show God bringing peace in people’s lives.

This is the second Mosaic Anthology I have read. I enjoy collections and anthologies because, although I love long books, there are times when I want short stories, and there is such a variation in writing styles. These anthologies are a good way to read something by an author I have been hearing about, to see if I like their works. Some of the stories in A Whisper of Peace are very good; I didn’t appreciate others. That is to be expected in any collection, however.

The first story in this anthology is Christmas at the Crossroads. This is a short story about two girls who were school friends. One was from a Conservative Christian family, the other was raised by a single mother who had no interest in Christianity or church and the girl knew nothing about the Bible. When both girls got into trouble, how did each one respond? I love the mother in the story and how she handled a child acting up during Bible-reading time.

The Magic of Christmas, like all the others in the collection, is a novella. In this story, an occupational therapist discovers that the young man she is working with is the nephew of a former boyfriend, Dante. When the two accidentally find themselves spending time together helping Luca, what happens? How can they get past past hurts? Will Dante ever be able to get past his need to control people and events?

I liked a lot of A Single Spark of Light. One night on a bridge, a stranger met Tyrone who was thinking about the hopelessness of his life. The stranger sent Ty on a quest in which he ended up having to be forced to think about whether God could possibly love and forgive him. I loved his quest and what he did on it; what I did not like about this story was the sudden jump into romance. It felt like that was there just because a story has to have romance, which I don’t think it does. Another thing I really liked in this book was the way Ty learned that he couldn’t do anything to gain favor with God.

Reclaiming Tomorrow was my least favorite story in this collection. Josie had gotten away from an abusive husband, and run away from a man who was determined to destroy her. She was making a new life for herself and her son when an old threat resurfaced and she had to make herself trust her new friend Daniel and learn to defend herself.

I really liked the last story, Whispered Miracle. In this story, a girl who was aging out of foster care and felt herself abandoned by her only relative, her older brother, was sent to a camp in the mountains. She was dealing with guilt over having accidentally killed her foster mother, and faced an uncertain future alone. Little by little, with the help of an understanding dog and camp staff who accepted her, she started to feel a little ray of hope. I loved the way the story worked out. It felt like something that could easily happen in real life.

I will be looking for more books by Eleanor Burtin, Sarah Davison, and Stacey Monson. I was sufficiently impressed with their stories in this collection, the first I have read by them, to want to read more of what they have written. I also really like the Mosaic Collection and I’m looking forward to reading more books published by them.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

WARNING: Christmas Magic, chapter 8: kiss. A Single Spark of Light, chapter 2: suicidal thoughts. Chapter 10: kiss. Reclaiming Tomorrow, chapter 9: kiss.

Age levels:

Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com

Tricked on the Tracks

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Tricked on the Tracks by Katrina Hoover Lee

Title: Tricked on the Tracks
Author: Katrina Hoover Lee
Series: The Brady Street Boys, book 4
Major Themes: Trains
Synopsis: Terry, Gary, and Larry are still searching for the doctor who cut off Gary’s leg—this time, their search leads them into a hobo jungle and a train yard!

Finally! I was delighted to receive a copy of the fourth book in the Brady Street Boys series. Tricked on the Tracks is every bit as absorbing as any of the previous books in this series. Once again, the three boys find themselves in a predicament—but this time they have an adult along, which makes a huge difference.

At the end of Noise in the Night, the boys had just figured out that the doctor they were trying to find had caught a train, and become a hobo. Now, the boys were more than ever determined to find Dr. Jefferson. They began by checking out the hobo jungle near the train station in Elkhart. There was no sign of the doctor, but eventually they got some information from two other hobos.

Dean, the boy who tormented them and then gave them a clue in Noise in the Night, promised to help locate Dr. Jefferson. Now, Dean is missing too. Suddenly, Terry, Gary, Larry, and their uncle find themselves in quite a predicament. Will they end up accused of kidnapping—or will they die of thirst first? I’ll have to admit that this part of the story is a bit far-fetched. It sure is exciting, though!

I know my boys will enjoy reading Tricked on the Tracks as soon as we get a physical copy of it. They have enjoyed the other three books very much, and they are looking forward to reading this one, too. I like the way the boys’ parents teach them about God and how to live. The theme that runs through this book is long-suffering. While that topic is not mentioned as much as the fruits of the spirit they studied in the other three books, it is illustrated very well. The family had a good discussion about longsuffering near the end of the story, and the boys understood what it meant. If you want good, clean books for your, especially, 8 to 12-year-olds, be sure to try out the Brady Street Boys series. These are high-interest stories with good morals but not in a preachy way. These books are also fun. All the way through this one, there is a refrain pointing back to a statement near the beginning that “Larry reads too much for his own good.” You will have to read the book to find out what exactly this is referring to.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

WARNING: One or two references to drug trafficking, and a baby in a precarious situation.

Age levels:

Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8, 8 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 7 – 9, 8 – 12

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com

Stories That Jesus Told

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Stories That Jesus Told by Patricia St. John

Title: Stories That Jesus Told
Author: Patricia St. John
Major Themes: Parables, Bible Stories
Synopsis: Eighteen of the parables of Jesus have been retold for children and illustrated with beautiful, colorful paintings.

Every morning as part of our homeschooling day, I read aloud a Bible story or a page from a children’s devotional book. The book we just finished going through is Stories That Jesus Told, by Patricia St. John, one of my favorite authors. I first came across this book some 25 or 30 years ago, when I had a small bookstore. This was one of the books I sold, and at some stage, I kept a copy for myself for my family.

The subtitle explains this book’s purpose: The parables retold for children. There are 18 stories in this book. They include The Busy Farmer, The Discontented Son, The Missing Sheep, and The Surprised Friends. Each story is retold and expanded just slightly from the way it is recorded in the Gospels. The author has stuck very closely to the words of the Bible, but made it so much more understandable that even I picked up a few new things I hadn’t noticed before in these parables.

Every page is illustrated with beautiful, colorful paintings. They are the realistic style that I really enjoy, although not so detailed to be almost like a photograph. Each picture helps to bring the story to life.

Stories that Jesus Told is a wonderful book to read with children. This is the kind of Bible storybook that will benefit adults as well as children while they read it together. I also like that it is not as big as many Bible stories; it is a nice size to hold and read.

No warnings!

Age levels:

Listening Level—Ages 3 – 4, 5 – 8, 8 – 12
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Hardcover
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com

Henry Huggins

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Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary

Title: Henry Huggins
Author: Beverly Cleary
Series: Henry Huggins, book 1
Major Themes: Oregon, Children, Dogs
Synopsis: Henry’s life was very boring—until the day a dog chose him!

Have you ever read Henry Huggins? If not, you are missing out! Henry has been a favorite book character of mine ever since I was around 10 years old and found Beverly Cleary’s books at the library. Henry is just an ordinary boy living an ordinary life in an ordinary city in the United States in the 1960s. 

Henry considered his life to be rather boring. He wished something exciting would happen, but nothing exciting ever happened on Klickitat street. Then one day, when he was going home from swimming, something exciting did happen! A dog found him. Henry immediately fell in love with the dog and knew he had to have him. Just getting the dog, who Henry named Ribsy, home, became quite an adventure in itself. Suddenly, Henry’s life was no longer dull and boring.

Now that Henry had a dog, he had to go to the pet shop every week. That led to gallons and gallons of guppies in his bedroom. Then Ribsy inadvertently forced Henry to need to make money in a hurry, which was an adventure in itself. Not everything that Ribsy got Henry into was problematic though, in the end. He got Henry out of doing something Henry didn’t want to do—although Henry’s mother was not pleased with what happened. Then there was the day that Henry turned his dog pink. With that, a disaster turned into a fun triumph—though not without stress.

Henry Huggins is a great story for children who like to read about other children who have ordinary lives. Beverly Cleary has made ordinary life into a fun adventure that children can relate to. Though this book is not Christian, it is one I highly recommend. It depicts a family of a father and mother, who are married. The father works to support the family, and the mother stays home and cares for the house and family. In this way, family values are upheld in a way that many modern children’s books do not show.

WARNING: Chapter 1: golly twice, I’ll be darned, I’ll be doggoned twice. Chapter 2: jeepers, gosh, golly twice, gee. Chapter 3: golly three times, gee twice. Chapter 4: gee whiz twice, golly, jeepers twice. Chapter 5: gee twice. 

Age levels:

Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8, 8 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 7 – 9, 8 – 12

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audio CD (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
Book Depository: Paperback | Hardcover