Book Review: The Justice Game by Randy Singer/5 Stars

About the book:

After the target of an investigative report storms a Virginia Beach television station, he kills one of the anchors before the SWAT team takes him down. Following the victim’s funeral, her family files a lawsuit against the gun company who manufactured the killer’s weapon of choice. The lawyers for the plaintiff and defendant—Kelly Starling and Jason Noble—are young, charismatic, and successful. They’re also easy blackmail targets, both harboring a personal secret so devastating it could destroy their careers. Millions of dollars—and more than a few lives—are at stake. But as Kelly and Jason battle each other, they discover that the real fight is with unseen forces intent on controlling them both.

My thoughts:

It is so enjoyable to read books that can be paralleled to real life. Not that reading books as a way of escaping real life is bad, but sometimes, it’s a big help to have things put in real-life perspective. Randy Singer’s newest book, The Justice Game, is such a book. He deals with an issue that I have never before read in any other Christian fiction book—guns. And I don’t mean, someone dies from a gunshot wound and that’s the only place the gun is mentioned. No, this book is all about the gun debate, and it looks at the whole picture.

I was not raised in a home with guns. My husband, on the other hand, was. Growing up, I had an irrational fear to guns simply because I had never been exposed to them. In the last couple of years, thanks to my husband’s patience and teaching, I’ve become more comfortable holding one and firing one. In spite of my personal history, I found myself going back and forth between sides throughout this book. It’s somewhat hard to explain that without giving away something crucial. Even though going after a gun company to seek restitution for a death caused by one of their guns sounds a little crazy, I have to admit that I probably would’ve thought to do something similar. But on the other hand, how in the world can a gun company be held responsible for people’s actions? Mr. Singer explores both possibilities, and he tells the story from both sides of the argument very well.

There is no doubt in my mind that I will be looking for more books by this talented author in the future. I will admit that it was a little slow through the first 100 pages or so, but hold on to your hats for everything else that follows. You will not be able to put this book down!

5 Stars

Southern? Yes
Sass?  No

Book Review: This Side of Heaven by Karen Kingsbury/4 Stars

About the book:

Annie Warren always wanted the best for her son, Josh. But years of failure and bad choices created a heartbreaking distance that has grown far worse since the day Josh was hit by a drunk driver. Now on medical disability, Josh has put his life on hold for years, waiting for the insurance company to send a settlement that never seems to come. Worse, he believes the story of a scheming woman who claims they have a seven-year-old daughter named Savannah.

Despite the unlikelihood and complete lack of evidence, Josh dreams of being a father and is determined to one day claim the child. His family doesn't know the full story. They don't know what happened the night of the accident that was worth the chronic pain Josh suffers every waking minute, or that his is turning his life around. They haven't seen that Savannah's eyes are his, and they don't know how desperately the little girl needs her family.

When the settlement that rightly belongs to Josh is threatened, Annie sets out to defend her son. But she might find a treasure more valuable than money, one she never expected, one that is the greatest gift her son could ever give her...this side of heaven.

My thoughts:

I have very mixed feelings about this book. For one, I've grown a little weary of Karen Kingsbury's lack of new material. Everything she writes anymore seems to be identical. When she wrote the Redemption series with Gary Smalley, I was so impressed that I couldn't stop talking about her books to anyone and everyone. But since then (and I've read all but maybe 5 or 6 of her books), I just get bored. Where it used to only take me a couple of days to read one of her books (I won't leave a book unfinished), it now takes a week or more simply because I lose interest.

But on the other hand, God must have known that I needed to read this book right now. (Stop reading now if you don't want to read any spoilers.) Halfway through this book, the main character, Josh, dies. And it was just so unexpected that I was truly shocked that the story was about to take that turn. The strange thing is that I read that portion of the book a couple of days before my husband's family got a terrible phone call. It turned out that my husband's cousin, Justin, was killed in a car accident. Even more unusual was that Justin and his family had just been up to our town for a visit a week before his death. When I heard the news, all I could think of was that I'd just seen him. Even more heartbreaking is that he leaves behind a precious 5-week-old baby girl, Palyn. Personally, I didn't know him that well, and only got to see him a couple of times a year, but I knew him to be a sweet guy who cherished his family and would do anything he could to help you out.

After all this has happened, and while reading this book at the same time, I have not been able to get over how precious our lives are, and how much that I want to make of the time that I have left on this earth. God has not promised us tomorrow, and even though all of us won't have a "hero" label attached to us like Josh does in this book, we need to do our best to make sure that every day counts. I was so touched by the things that Josh did in this book, things that no one knew about until after his death. He was friends with a neighbor with Down Syndrome, and he bought groceries for an elderly neighbor who was homebound. Reading that just put the urge within me to find ways to make a difference for others. I don't know how I'll do it yet, or what I'll do, but I do know that I don't want to leave this world one day and have regrets.

4 Stars

Southern?  No
Sass?  No

Booking Through Thursday: Preferences

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly bookish meme held every Thursday. I've missed out on the last couple of weeks, so I'm jumping back in... This week’s question asks:

Which do you prefer? (Quick answers–we’ll do more detail at some later date)

• Reading something frivolous? Or something serious?
• Paperbacks? Or hardcovers?
• Fiction? Or Nonfiction?
• Poetry? Or Prose?
• Biographies? Or Autobiographies?
• History? Or Historical Fiction?
• Series? Or Stand-alones?
• Classics? Or best-sellers?
• Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose?
• Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness?
• Long books? Or Short?
• Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated?
• Borrowed? Or Owned?
• New? Or Used?
  (Yes, I know, some of these we’ve touched on before, and some of these we might address in-depth in the future, but for today–just quick answers!)

So, here are my answers.....

• Reading something frivolous? Or something serious? A little of both
  
• Paperbacks? Or hardcovers? I own more paperbacks than hardcovers, but it doesn't matter what they are when it comes to reading them.
  
• Fiction? Or Nonfiction? fiction, all the way
  
• Poetry? Or Prose? prose
  
• Biographies? Or Autobiographies? don't read too many of either
  
• History? Or Historical Fiction? historical fiction (quickly becoming my favorite genre)
  
• Series? Or Stand-alones? both
  
• Classics? Or best-sellers? best-sellers
  
• Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose? straight-forward and basic
  
• Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness? plots
  
• Long books? Or Short? either
  
• Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated? non-illustrated
  
• Borrowed? Or Owned? I visit the library about as frequently as my own bookshelf, which is quite often.
  
• New? Or Used? doesn't matter
  

Book Spotlight: Across the Wide River by Stephanie Reed

This week, the Christian Fiction Review Blog is featuring 2 books by Stephanie Reed--Across the Wide River and The Light Across the River. Today, I'll be giving you some info about the first book, Across the Wide River, as well as some info about the author.

About the book:

Freedom- Some take it for granted. Others consider it worth dying for. Lowry Rankin knows all too well the cost of freedom; after all, his family's red brick home is the first stop on the Underground Railroad north of the Ohio River. He's seen friends beaten for the color of their skin. He's watched simple farmers make a difference. He's even risked his own life transporting escaped slaves. But will Lowry be able to conquer his greatest fear when he's called to speak out?

'This novel captures the excitement of the period, its dangers and moral dilemmas. There is romance and adventure. And, essential to the traditions of the Rankin family, there is witness to the role of God in mankind's affairs, both great and small.' -James B. Powers a Rankin family descendant

'Across the Wide River plunges young readers into the life and death drama of the pre-Civil War Underground Railroad.' -Peter Marshall Author, The Light and the Glory and From Sea to Shining Sea

During her childhood, Stephanie Reed's family would often pass through Ripley on their way to her grandparents' home. The signs she read there about the Rankin house were what prompted her to write this story. After working for nearly a decade with the Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, Stephanie is currently a volunteer spotter for the National Weather Service. She lives with her husband and two children in Dublin, Ohio.

Watch the book trailerVisit Stephanie's WebsitePurchase The Light Across the River at Barnes and Noble, Christianbook.com, and Amazon.Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.