The Faith of Ashish, by Kay Marshall Strom

Ashish's name means blessing, yet he is an untouchable.  He was born to parents who are untouchables in the early 20th century India.  When Ashish drinks from a cup that is not meant to be touched by an untouchable, his entire world changes.  He suffers a terrible beating, and the only way his family can get medical assistance is for them to become the slaves of a wealthy landowner.  Will his family lose their faith in all that is good?

Having very little knowledge of the caste system in India, I found this book to be fascinating.  I had no idea that the social rules were so rigid among this culture. One thinks of India as what we see in Bollywood movies.  I adored the fact that this portrayed such a honest, realistic story about a social class rarely shown or talked about in art.

I really loved the characters; Ashish is just a child in the book, so his faith is that of a child.  He has no idea what it means for his life and future, the fact that he is an untouchable.  He simply has faith that the world will continue to work the way it always has within his experiences.  An ugly brutal act shows him how little he knows of the world.  Later, when he meets the Christian missionary doctor and nurse, he sees just how little he understands. 

The familial relationship between Ashish and his parents is so tender and heartfelt, the emotions leap from the page. I felt conflicted about the Christian landowner.  In some ways, he is cruel, and greedy.  Yet he tries, in his own mind, to be a good Christian.  Is he a villain, or simply another product of the system into which he was born?

I enjoyed the story immensly, and am anxious to see where the rest of the series will take me.  While this is not the type of story into which I could disappear, it is certainly one which captured my heart.

I received a review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Every Me, Every You, by David Levithan and Jonathan Farmer

Evan was Ariel's best friend, and now, he is part of the reason she is gone.  So, when he begins finding mysterious pictures clearly intended for him, he has to wonder, is it possible she came back?  The pictures lead him on a wild goose chase that has him, and others, questioning his own sanity.  In the end, the bigger question is, did he ever really know Ariel at all?

Everything about this book was incredibly intriguing to me.  The picture and print on the cover tipped me off that this was no normal book.  The book is a combination of pictures and and plot, but instead of the pictures complementing the plot, they actually drive it, and I found that to be incredible.  The pictures have a haunting quality that is equally matched by the shadowy nature of the writing.

I like Evan's character a lot, because he reminds me of someone I would befriend.  I find it fascinating the pull that Ariel has over so many people, yet we know so little about her.  In fact, we do not know what actually happened to her until near the end of the book, although I had some suspicions.  In terms of literary techniques, this book took some getting used to.  The author uses the strikethrough a lot in the writing, to allow us to see the thought of Evan's character that he is not quite willing to reveal yet.  So they are struck through like this.  That felt weird to me at first, but you adjust quickly.

The novel has a dark feeling to it, not sinister, but still dark.  I personally love that, it reminded me a lot of my teenage love affair with Twin Peaks.  I think the book is so unique, it will appeal to a lot of young adult readers, and many adult ones as well.

I received a review copy of this book courtesy of the Amazon Vine program.

The Predatory Kind, edited by Joe McKinney

Some readers just love to be scared.  Fear is a funny thing that way, how it can bring so much pleasure and so much dread all at the same time.  And our world is full of things for us to fear, predators both seen and unseen.

Once again, we have a book full of frighteningly fantastic short stories.  Why do I love horror shorties so much?  Because I can read a story, get scared silly, take a break, and start all over again with a new tale of terror.  And trust me, some of the stories in this book are that scary.  The book starts off with a bang, a story about how and why roadside memorials, which I find terribly creepy anyway, really come into being.

My favorite story in the book is titled How the Wind Spoke at Madaket, by Lucius Shepard.  In this tale, the wind is personified, and boy is he pissed.  We learn the dangerous power of the wind, and the reason behind the anger.  It had echos of "The Mist" by King, only we learn more about the reason behind the wind's destructive nature.  I loved it.

If you are a fan of horror, check this out, I think you will like it.  New monsters, new myths, new horror.


I received a review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Out of A Far Country, by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan

For years, Chris struggled with the fact that he way gay, mostly because he knew how his parents would respond.  When he is home from dental school for a visit, his parents confront him, and he confirms their suspicions that he is gay.  He turns away from his family.  His mother goes to visit him, preparing to say goodbye before she commits suicide.  Instead, she finds new faith, a faith that saves her, and may one day save her son.

I really wanted to dislike this book, because I thought it was going to be one of those "let's reprogram the gays and make them straight" types of books.  I was shocked to find something entirely different.  This book is written in such an honest manner, and while the parts from the mom's point of view may come across as homophobic, it becomes clear that she is merely confused, dealing with Asian cultural norms, and trying to love her son as best as she can.

I really liked that we got the story from both the mom and Chris at the same time.  I found the chapters in Chris' voice painfully honest, and heartbreaking.  I like that this book did not shy away from him talking about his actively gay lifestyle, nor was the message that Chris needed to become straight in order to become a good Christian.

This is a delicate and private topic for many Christian families, and while this book may not mirror every experience out there, it certainly could be a good resource, or at least a starting point.

I received a review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Holy Ghost Girl, by Donna M Johnson

Donna was raised on the tent revival circuit.  For many years, her mama was the right hand to Brother Terrell.  It soon became clear that mama was also a bit more... Donna grew up watching miracles and sin, holy men and hypocrits, and trying her hardest to make sense of it all.  This, to her, was normality.

I am a huge fan of memoirs, and this has to be one of my favorites that I have read in some time.  Donna does an excellent job of weaving her story in such a way that you are totally transp
orted; you are in that tent with her.  I have never read a memoir that is so vivid and creative in its storytelling.  This would was written better than many fiction books I have read.

I have been around some people who were parts of the Holiness, Charismatic, and Pentecostal movements, so to me this book was a comfortable read.  For those not familiar with this type of spirituality, or not comfortable with organized religion, the book may feel foreign, or far fetched, but I believe the book can appeal to readers across many genres.  I have seen many of the things Donna talks about, which is why the book came so alive for me.  Having never been to an actual revival, however, I was fascinated by the nomadic subculture the revival team developed for themselves.

All in all, this book was fantastically written.  It really captured the reader.  For me, it made me want to learn a whole lot more about David Terrell, and it also made me wonder what happened in the lives of his other followers.

I received a review copy courtesy of Crazy Book Tours and the publisher.

      

Live Out Loud, by Heather Wardell

Amy has always been a big dreamer, not just her own dreams, but the dreams of her childhood friend who tragically died.  But never in her wildest dreams did she think she would become a singing sensation, yet that is exactly what happens.  Amy becomes the pop princess Misty Will.  But the biggest question is.... Misty will what?

Once again Heather Wardell gives us a winner.  Wardell has a way of creating characters and situations to which her readers can relate wholeheartedly.  I just love watching Amy's character catapult to fame, and to watch her flounder when fame is a little too much for her to handle.

I liked that this story has a modern feel to it.  Typically, I dislike a lot of pop culture in literature, but in this story it just fits.  This is a story that we can imagine happening in today's world of pop music.  I could totally imagine a singer like Misty rocketing to fame thanks to youtube.  And as a lover of social media, I really enjoy how it factors into Misty's situation.

I was a little surprised at some of the more serious themes at work, dealing with abortion, teen death, and teen sexuality.  I liked that this story had this meat to it, yet was still able to remain so positive.  Well done.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author.

Writing Fiction for Dummies, by Peter Economy

How many people dream of being a famous writer?  But how in the world do you get from plunking away on your laptop to actually getting published?  There are lots of things you need to do to get from point a to point b, and this book will tell you most of them.  Discussions on character development, plot, story line, and theme are just a few of the tools this book contains.

This was the first time I actually read one of the "for dummies" books, because I had a chance to get a good deal on it, and it pertained to an interest of mine.  Which, lets be honest, is probably why anyone would read any of these books.  No one reads about how to write fiction out of sheer curiosity.  And good thing, because they would probably be a little bored.  There is a reason I do not read much nonfiction, and that is because I find it incredibly boring, through no fault of its own.

I thought the book actually contained a ton of great information, was well organized, and easy to read or use as a resource.  It just is not my kind of book, which is absolutely not a flaw.  I am sure I will refer to this book  as a resource if I ever get around to writing.  A bit of the information regarding publishing was a little dated, since self publishing of e-books and small publishers have really changed the market over the past few years, but still the information was valuable, and hopefully will come in handy for me some day.

This book is from my personal library.