Here and Gone: A Novel by Haylen Beck

I knew that Here and Gone was billed as a thriller, but I naively thought mystery and suspense, not terror.  This book was extremely intense.  I actually thought I was going to have to quit reading it, that's how scary it is!  That being said, I did push through and finish it and all I can say is, wow!  If you love a good thriller, with many twists and turns, you'll thoroughly enjoy Here and Gone. Haylen Beck (aka Stuart Neville) is a masterful storyteller.  He sucks you right in and then takes you on the ride of your life, so hang on!
While this book was indeed exciting and certainly a page turner, I do have to warn the reader of two things. One: the subject dealt with in this book is very dark and evil, and two: the author uses quite a bit of profanity.  If you can't handle either of those, this may not be the book for you. I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The Road to Paradise: A Vintage National Parks Novel by Karen Barnett

I thought this was such a fun summer read!  It was fascinating to go back in time to when our National Parks were new and to imagine what it would have been like to tour one in your brand new Model A. The Road to Paradise is set in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington and although I've never visited the park, it was lovely to read about the beautiful scenery and the grandeur of the mountain.

The author, Karen Barnett, does a wonderful job with character development.  I loved each of the main characters and loved to hate the villain.  The story is completely clean and not cloyingly sweet.  The main character, Margaret (Margie) Lane is especially interesting.  A young socialite, she loves nature and longs to spend time at the park studying botany.  She was raised in the lap of luxury, but is ready to set that aside and get her hands dirty.  After a donation from her wealthy father, Margie secures a position at the Park as a naturalist.  She soon meets Ranger Ford Brayden and romance blossoms.  I won't give any more away, but there are all sorts of obstacles to their romance, including the aforementioned villain.

If you're looking for a something good to read and enjoy Christian historical romance, then I definitely recommend this book.  I'm hoping it will be a series about different characters in different National Parks.  Karen Barnett is a new author to me, but I will surely check out her other work. I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams along a Shanghai Road by Rob Schmitz

Journalist and NPR correspondent, Rob Schmitz, has written a fascinating firsthand tale of life on a busy road called the Street of Eternal Happiness in Shanghai, China. He, his wife and children live there and have befriended many people on the street. Schmitz tells the story of Uncle Feng, who cooks and sells scallion pancakes to passersby on the street.  Feng's wife, Auntie Fu, is constantly making poor investments in get-rich-quick schemes and drags Rob to sales meetings. Uncle and Auntie bicker constantly and have 2 TVs in their bedroom so they can each watch their own shows.

Schmitz also gives us a portrait of the lives of other business owners and residents on the street.  CK owns a cafe called Your Sandwich and sells accordions on the side.  Zhao owns a flower shop and spends her spare time trying to find wives for her sons, Big Sun and Little Sun. Mayor Chen's home was seized and destroyed by the government and he pored over law books by the hour, looking for ways to petition for compensation and resettlement.

Rob Schmitz also takes the reader along on visits to a secret Buddhist monastery, a rural wedding, and a service at an underground Christian church. The book is a blend of these personal tales and interesting historical details about the history of China.  It is a book that almost anyone who wonders about China and what really goes on there, would find telling.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for my honest review.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson defines just mercy as mercy that is "rooted in hopefulness and freely given."  He goes on to say "Mercy is more empowering, liberating and transformative when it is directed at the undeserving.  The people who haven't earned it, who haven't even sought it."  That is in essence, the heart of this book. 

Mr. Stevenson, a lawyer with the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), tells not just one, but many stories of justice and redemption.  Stories of men, women and even children who have been unjustly imprisoned, many of them on death row.  Some are stories of blatant racism, some are tales of a flawed justice system, others speak of a broad misunderstanding of people with mental health issues. 

The main story that Stevenson shares is of Walter McMillian, a young black man wrongly sentenced to death for murdering a white woman named Rhonda Morrison.  The truth of the matter is that there were multiple witnesses who vouched for Walter's whereabouts during the murder and there was no physical evidence to point to him, but the local townsfolk were anxious for an arrest and the local law enforcement wanted to comply. They found a felon who was willing to risk perjury by lying on the witness stand and railroaded an innocent man.  I won't spoil the book by telling you how the story ends, but it is indeed both a fascinating and horrifying case.

Attorney Stevenson spent years working on McMillian's case.  As one of his first cases after founding the EJI, it impacted him greatly.  He is today one of the most influential lawyers in America and has numerous humanitarian awards for his efforts. It's a pleasure to know that sometimes the good guys still win!

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

The Moth Presents All These Wonders

The Moth Presents All These Wonders is a compilation of stories told at The Moth storytelling events all over the country.  They are true stories told by a variety of people, different ages, colors, nationalities. Each one is relatively short (five minutes or less if you heard them told), so they can be read easily in one sitting or could easily read several at a time.  It's nice to be able to pick the book and read one or a few and then put it back down again for another day.

The stories vary greatly but all fall under the general theme of Facing the Unknown.  The unknown could be anything from a new home, to a medical diagnosis, to war, to a new job, or anything in between.  Some of the stories are by or about famous people, but to be honest, those were my least favorite.  I enjoyed the tales of ordinary people in ordinary circumstances the most.  Folks I could relate to and feel for.

The stories are not all clean, so be warned about that.  There is language or subject matter in several that might be offensive to some readers or that would not appropriate for a younger reader. I received this book from Crown Publishing (Blogging for Books) in exchange for my honest review.

The Women of Easter: Encounter the Savior by Liz Curtis Higgs

I always enjoy Liz Curtis Higgs.  She is both humorous and a great Bible teacher.  I previously read her book The Women of Christmas, and this book follows the same format. Liz takes an in depth look at the women in the Biblical narrative of Easter, Jesus' path to Calvary, his death by crucifixion and his resurrection three days later. The three women we study in the story are the Marys: Mary of Bethany, Mary of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene.

The first Mary Jesus interacts with is Mary of Bethany, the sister who sat at Jesus' feet in the story of Mary and Martha.  Liz talks about that story, as well as the death of their brother Lazaraus, whom Jesus raised from the dead after four days.  Finally we see Mary anointing Jesus' feet with perfume in a public act of adoration.

Next we learn of Mary of Nazareth, Jesus' mother. We read how Mary was a witness to her son's crucifixion, an agony I can't even begin to imagine as a mother.   Standing with her beneath the cross was our third Mary, Mary of Magdalene.

Mary Magdalene was a walking miracle and a testament to Jesus' healing power.  Jesus had cast seven demons from her and she became one of his most loyal followers. Mary was also one of the women who went to the tomb where Jesus body had been placed, intending to prepare it for burial. And then, on the third day, Mary is among the group of women who are the first to discover the joy of Easter, that Jesus is alive! A little while later, she is first again as she encounters the resurrected Christ in the garden.

Liz does a wonderful job of digging into these women's personalities and helping the reader feel what they must have felt and see what they saw.  If you'd like to dig further into the Easter story and see it in a new light, this is the perfect book for you.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Spaceman: An Astronaut's unlikely journey to unlock the secrets of the universe by Mike Massimino

Spaceman is an autobiography of Mike Massimino, an astronaut who twice flew a mission to space.  Once on the space shuttle Columbia (which later exploded upon re-entry to Earth, killing the seven crew members aboard), and once on the shuttle Atlantis to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

Being the same age as Mike, I too remember at seven years old watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon, wearing my pajamas and marking history on my family's black and white TV. Likely multitudes of American children watching that night dreamed of becoming an astronaut and going into space.  Mike was one of them, but his was a dream that never died.  He chased and fought for it until it became a reality. 

Massimino takes us with him on his journey to NASA, helping us to feel all the excitement as well as all the trepidation that he felt on each step along the way.  When he got into Columbia University, when he want on to MIT, when he was at first rejected by NASA, when he was selected for his first mission and then his second.  Mike has a true talent for making his reader feel a part of it all.

My favorite part of the book is from Mike's first trip to space.  He and astronaut Jim Newman were assigned the task of installing a new camera on the Hubble.  Massimino caught a glimpse of the Earth far below him and it was so beautiful he had to look away.  He writes, "My thought looking down at the Earth was Wow.  How much God our Father must love us that he gave us this home.  He didn't put us on Mars or Venus with nothing but rocks and frozen waste.  He gave us paradise and said, 'Live here.'"
Whether you are interested in science and space, once dreamed of being an astronaut yourself, or just enjoy a good adventure story, Spaceman will satisfy. Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for my honest review.