shelfreflectionofficial's Reviews (844)

I recently read Orphan Train and there are some similarities in the content and themes. As with that book, it made it more interesting yet horrifying that this fictional person’s story was a reality for someone else. There’s not a lot of mystery to this book as it flashes back and forth between past and present so you kind of already know where you’re heading. Nonetheless it was a captivating read. A bit unsatisfying in the end. And lastly and most prominently, this book will make you want to punch a lot of characters in the face. I will never get over the cruelty and pure evil in this world. Evil is the only explanation for how any person could do these things to people- especially children! At least one silver lining was the consequential adoption law reforms to protect families from this again. Yet again, a good, yet sad read.

I had the mystery aspect of this book figured out fairly early on, but it didn't take away from the suspense or quality of the story. It was an interesting and unique plot, a page-turner. A couple times the characters made some questionable choices given the circumstances, but I still enjoyed the book and will definitely read more of her work. I read more about the author after I finished. Her multiple adoptions and work through her non-profit no doubt add to the reality of her stories and characters and an understanding of the psychological journey people go through in these circumstances.

Sidenote: Turns out Baart also lives near my old stomping grounds which is kind of cool. The Midwest references are fun- especially being one of the few who will know what a Hy-Vee is! :)

I think the main reason this didn’t get a 4 star rating is just how long I took to read it. I ended up reading another novel at the same time and kept forgetting what was going on so the storyline wasn’t as cohesive as it could have been and the suspense not as effective. But it was a good book and I plan to continue to read the Camel Club series.

This was an awesome Bible study! I’m always hesitant to do studies because I get tired of busy work where the answers require no critical thinking. This study forces you to wrestle with questions you’re unsure about and makes you realize how much you ‘skip over’ or assume you understand when you read Scripture. Jen will ask what certain words and phrases mean and it’s like- ‘I know what all those words mean but I haven’t thought about how they work together.’ The homework is a bit time-consuming but it truly is essential to understanding 1 Peter and connecting all the themes. The teaching videos were helpful as well and that’s where she would answer some of the harder questions you end up leaving blank. This is solid biblical teaching and I look forward to doing another Jen Wilkin study!

*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

First of all, I know nothing of the steampunk genre so my review will be without regard to genre. In short, I liked the book, but I didn’t love it.

It took me awhile to get pulled into the narrative at the beginning of the book. I wish the setting and time period would have been more clearly described or explained so I could better picture the context of the happenings. For example-there were distinct races set within some sort of economic tier or caste system but we were not given any background or explanation of this. Or how this was incorporated with their monarchical government. I wanted to know more of the context of what led these characters to be where they are or why people were viewed a certain way by others.

I also felt like some of the plot movement seemed to drag in some places and change too abruptly in others. I think the author missed out on some opportunities to play up suspense in some parts of the story- though maybe suspense was not her intent in writing this book.

I did find her adaptation of the Esther story intriguing and liked the way she incorporated it into a different setting than the biblical account. I enjoyed the middle of the book the most and ended up reading the book fairly quickly- which I take as a good sign. Some books take me forever because I just don’t feel like coming back to it. This book, though it had areas of improvement, did continue to bring me back to see where the author would take the story. And I did enjoy the variety of characters.

This genre is not something I would typically pick up and I have never read something from this author before, but if you enjoy reading adaptations of true stories, definitely give it a try!

This is my second time reading this book. I had read it previously on my own over a longer span of time, but this time I did it as a Bible study with some high school girls over the course of 5-6 weeks.

Why I would continue to recommend this book and probably read it again in the future: The content in this book is so vital to our walk with the Lord. Being a woman whose God is enough means that regardless of your circumstances, regardless of what you have or don't have, regardless of who you think you are or aren't- as long as you are trusting in God- it is enough. What this book does is reminds us of who God is. Faith is only as good as the object it is in. We studied all of the reasons why we can know that God is enough for us- and there are plenty. We learned how to identify when we are thinking or behaving as if God is not enough so we can catch ourselves and remind ourselves of the power, sovereignty, love, justice, truth, provision, and restoration that we find in our Lord, Creator and sustainer of all things. The truths you encounter in this book are ones you will need daily because as humans we are constantly battling our desire to be our own god, to do things our own way, to doubt God, to question his love and his purposes. Every single day we need to wake up saying- "No matter what happens today, God, you are enough for me because I know who you are, and I know that you love me. And I choose to walk in those truths today." There is nothing more important than that- it gives us the correct view of God and our relationship to Him and reminds us that we need him and we can trust him. It also provides us with the appropriate lens to see and process our world through. We can live in confidence and in hope because our God is enough for us.

How it was set up: The study has several questions for each chapter with Scriptures to look up- which I liked and didn't like. I like that it gets you in your Bible, the girls commented that they became more familiar with their Bible. I didn't like that some of the verses didn't seem like the best choices for the particular questions or we had a hard time seeing a connection. The author included lots of thought provoking and encouraging quotations from well-known theologians. There was also a section detailing a Biblical example relating to the chapter of a time when God was enough and when the person acted in a way thinking he wasn't enough. Then the author included her own thoughts more in narrative form at the end of each chapter. There were several further discussion questions to wrap up each section.

What we thought: We didn't always use all of the questions in our discussion time but there were plenty of questions to choose from that brought on good, meaningful conversation. We liked the quotes she included throughout. All of the Scripture-looking-up made the study a little more time-consuming and tedious. And of course the content was important and relevant for both myself as well as the younger girls.