I posted this review on my blog, Rachel Reading. If you'd like to see more like this, check it out.

I really love Liz Curtis Higgs. Like a lot. "Bad Girls of the Bible" is one of my favorite books and I'm actually planning on leading a life group at my Church about that book. And I really really loved this book, the way she writes, all of it.

The only reason this is getting a three star rating instead of a four star is because of one part of the book. I know, maybe it's harsh, but that one paragraph actually made me skim the rest of the book.

Christians come from all sorts of backgrounds, and have all sorts of beliefs. Convservative, liberal, moderate and everywhere in between. This is why it frustrates me when Christians jump on beliefs and speak about them like it's easy.

Higgs makes a comment about "Why should you choose abortion because it's legal when God's word says another thing?" and "Why choose a same sex partner because you think it will make you happy when it's clearly against God's word". And stuff like that just really really bothers me.

I get how easy it is to make assumptions that all people who follow Christ see social issues the same, especially when you intentionally surround yourself with people who see social issues similarly. I happen to be a progressive feminist pro-choice and pro-marriage equality Christian.

So seeing something so heavy handed, and thrown around like abortion is an EASY choice for a woman, or that people who enter into same-sex relationships choose to be attracted to someone of the same sex is just...aggravating, and not loving. This left me disappointed in this book, and not really wanting to read more in it, sadly.

Other than that, this book has Higgs's typical flair, and relatability that I really loved. I learned a ton about Ruth and Boaz, and had no idea Boaz was my fav Rahab's son. This book is thorough and easy to read, and was so close to four stars from me.

Vivian Divine Is Dead   Check out my blog for the full review at Rachel Blogs.This book wasn't much, it's easily forgettable and not something I'll go out of my way to recommend, and the synopsis was super misleading. This was much more "privileged white girl goes and experiences Mexican culture because someone might want to kill her" than a thriller with twists and turns. I never really felt like her life was in danger, and I was never really concerned that she would make it out alive. I figured out the majority of the "twists" ahead of time, but I really thought this was going to be a way more suspenseful book. It wasn't that witty either as the synopsis says, it just was kind of blah all over.

This and 100+ more book reviews can be found at my blog, Rachel Reading! If you like this and want to find more like it, come check it out.

First off, I would like to say please stop comparing books and saying they’re the next TFIOS or Eleanor and Park. Mostly because I really liked TFIOS and didn’t really like E&P. Thank you!

This book was not what I was expecting. I, like a few of my other friends who read it, were not expecting what was happening in the third act, and the first few acts I was bored. I hate the constant comparisons to things being the new TFIOS because…it was so unique and had such a fresh perspective on YA lit. Holding this to that standard and then also being unsure considering the comparison to Eleanor and Park, I wasn’t sure what to think.

“Say What You Will” follows Amy, a girl with a disability that has prevented her from walking and living what we call a “normal life” and her adventures into having a peer assistant, specifically Matthew who is dealing with his own OCD. When I first started reading this book, I wasn’t all that thrilled about it. I figured it was going to be exactly what so many of these books are where two flawed people meet and it’s just all perfect and then someone dies. It was like that for the first two acts to be honest, but then it changed.

The third act redeemed this whole book for me. I enjoyed watching these characters grow, although I was really concerned through the whole book that they wouldn’t be addressing the real issues but McGovern seemed to do that well. It still felt lacking for me, but it wasn’t terrible. Not sure if I would readily recommend it, but the third act was strong. I found myself wishing the rest of the book was just as strong.

Also, when did I stop crying at books? I think I’m going to need to reread Harry Potter just to prove to myself how emotional I still am.