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In this article:
Little House on Rocky Ridge by MacBride
Revolutionary by McGee
The Cowboy’s Runaway Bride by Ford
The Highly Sensitive Person’s Guide to Dealing with Toxic People by Arabi
DNF: A Tangle of Dreams by Adair
Little House on Rocky Ridge (The Rose Years #1) by Rodger Lea MacBride
5 STARS, Juvenile Historical Fiction, My format: read-aloud to 9-, 7-, and 5-year-old girls
Goodreads Synopsis | Buy on BookShop
Rose and her family leave South Dakota to discover what adventures await them farther south.
Personal Review:
I think this may be the best of the Little House series yet. The Rose Years are the only ones we have left to read aloud together as a family, and this first of the series was excellent. We were sad to say goodbye to South Dakota, we loved traveling by wagon, and we were enamored by the new landscape and unfamiliar animals of the south.
The adventures were fun, but the writing was fantastic. We can't wait for the rest of the series!
Content Warnings:
a few moments involving scary weather, unknown people groups, and wild animals but every situation ends well
Revolutionary (Anomaly #3) by Krista McGee
5 STARS, Christian YA Dystopian, My format: paperback
Goodreads Synopsis | Buy on BookShop
Thalli, Berk, and Alex are taken back to the State and use the opportunity to try to fight back against the tyranny.
Personal Review:
I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this series. Each book started out a little slow and jilted, I think because the language is intentionally kind of robotic in nature, but the adventure and quests grew with each one and this was my favorite of the three.
Even though I wasn't as bothered by the love triangle in this book as I was in the second, I still wasn't really happy with how Thalli, the main girl, was handling it. I wish she would have communicated much better than she did.
But I loved the friendships; I think my favorite characters were Berk and Rhen, from the original generation from the State, because of their growth and steady presence. I love the deep and growing faith of the characters and how the wisdom passed down from older generations permeated the story.
I am not a fan of all the death. But I suppose that's the nature of a dystopian setting. And the deaths were always laced with hope. But I would still prefer to not have to read about it so much.
Content Warnings:
a couple of kisses that are not detailed, several murders - often done in front of loved ones, torture and manipulation - always portrayed as evil
The Cowboy’s Runaway Bride (Hope House Brides #1) by Malory Ford
4 STARS, Historical Christian Romance, My format: YouTube audiobook
Goodreads Synopsis | YouTube Audio
Kate is happy to escape a misunderstanding when Samuel writes and asks for a mail-order bride.
Personal Review:
What a sweet and unexpectedly lovely book. I listened to the YT audio and enjoyed it a lot. This story has "Redeeming Love" vibes so I'm curious if it was meant to be based on the book of Hosea. But, UNLIKE Redeeming Love, it was completely appropriate with great faith content while still maintaining a beautiful redemption story. I even felt comfortable listening to this with my young daughters wandering in and out. Beautifully clean and sweet.
I loved Kate's strong personality, even though it gets her in trouble. And I love Samuel's growth and attempts to really show Kate love and safety. Well done and I'm looking forward to the next book!
P.S. I really disliked Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, you know the book that was released as a movie last year, and I do not recommend it. The Cowboy’s Runaway Bride has a similar story line without all the sex and rape found in Redeeming Love.
Content Warnings:
a couple of non-detailed kisses, suggestive (light language) comments from other men, mention of starting to share a bedroom (the couple is already married), difficult past childhoods with grief and trauma
The Highly Sensitive Person’s Guide to Dealing with Toxic People by Shahida Arabi
3.5 STARS, Secular Self-Help, My format: Libby e-book
Goodreads Synopsis | Buy on BookShop
Personal Review:
There was a lot I appreciated about this book, particularly the chapters towards the end that gave some very clear ways to identify narcissists and how to exit relationships before you get too far into them. But in general I felt a little overwhelmed by all of the acronyms and explanations.
I was also very shocked by the first couple of chapters, in which the author shares several stories of narcissists leading double lives and murdering their wives to the shock of everyone they knew. As a highly sensitive person (as are many people who read this book I assume), I found the stories very unnerving and I was unable to even read this book at night because it heightened my anxiety. I think some of the details could have been diluted for the sake of the HSPs reading the book.
I’m not sure if I recommend it to everyone, but if you are interested in learning how to recognize true narcissists and other toxic people, this book could be very helpful for some people.
Did Not Finish
I stopped reading the contemporary magic realism YA A Tangle of Dreams. The teen characters weren’t mature enough for my liking but were kissing like adults. The kissing didn’t happen until about 60% when I decided to stop reading. The premise of the book was interesting and the parents were great characters, so there is potential if you are interested in this type of story.
Have you or your kids read any of these books? Do any sound interesting to you?