Fallen Leaves by Tessa Emily Hall

~Saturday Stories~

 Selena couldn't be happier about staying longer at Lake Lure and attending the Art Academy. Yet problems keep following her. The competition at her school seems unbearable, especially from Renee, who seems bent on not only winning her competition but doing it with Austin. Selena can't in the least figure out what her relationship with Austin is, anyway. Are they dating? Friends? Casual acquaintances? And then her mom is planning on graduating the rehab program earlier than planned and moving right back to New York, to the exact place and job where a lot of her problems were caused. With all this happening, the almost-peaceful feelings Selena has now seem unstable. Selena can see only one way to fix things: Reunite herself and her mom with her long-lost father and brother.

 In Fallen Leaves, Tessa Emily Hall writes a complex, intriguing story of a girl longing for acceptance. Although at times I felt annoyed by Selena's slow, peaceful, unhurried moments I felt extremely interested every time her long-lost family was brought up. Hall did an excellent job at that narrative, making the story both suspenseful and something everyone can empathize with. Slowly, Selena learns to trust God with whatever plan He has, even if it means having to be patient or even getting a "no."

This is the second book, following Purple Moon. For more on Tessa Emily Hall, visit her website, Facebook page, and blog.

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

In Between by Jenny B. Jones

~Saturday Stories~

Katie Parker is terrified of living with her new “picture perfect” foster family. But when your mom is in prison and you’ve been in a home for girls for six months, you do not really get to pick. Settling into In Between, Katie’s choice of friends quickly makes everything hard for her. Will she be able to survive the year without getting a mug shot? Can she help her foster family address serious questions instead of always pretending to have it all together?

In Between is quite a fun novel. Katie has an amazingly sarcastic voice that I absolutely loved. Still, the novel addressed serious questions. Katie tries to free herself from her mom’s legacy and is quite disappointed with herself when she fails every once in a while. She also deals with other people judging her because of her mom’s history and her own previous school offenses. Her foster family also deals with family issues, making their daughter’s story into a secret and arguing about it. 

I loved that the book showed the struggles of Katie’s foster family, even though they lived a picture-perfect life and had a strong faith. Throughout the series Katie is told many truths about God, but she is not sure about it all yet.  

In Between (currently free via kindle) is the first in the Katie Parker Production series. The rest are On the Loose, The Big Picture, and Can't Let You Go. 

For more on Jenny B. Jones, visit her website and Facebook page. 

His love, your love

~Saturday Stories~

"The most important thing that you must understand is that God loves you both. The Bible says that He cares about you so much that He even has the very hairs on your head numbered." - Megan, The Masquerade

"Oh, dear God, please help your children. Please hold them in your hands. Please feed them and show them how much you love them. Amen." - Caitlin, It's My Life

"The most important thing we can do is to love God (and others too), but we need to love God more than anything (more than our family or friends or even our own lives!). Now, loving God may sound simple enough, but it's not that easy to love him above all else." - Caitlin, Becoming Me

How about you? Do you know that God knows and loves you? Do you love God more than anything else? Do you love others?


There is a poll on the left sidebar that I would love if you checked out. It's about how often you think I should post, something I have been thinking about lately and would love your opinion on.

Please help (a prayer)

~Saturday Stories~

Dear God,

My thoughts are scattered. 

The to-do list is huge.

I don't know what I'm doing.

I haven't been reading

The Bible consistently.

You still hear me, though, right?

I don't have too much time

Left with my family.

I feel so torn. Again. Again.

I feel so happy sometimes 

Then I cry in the bathroom

Because there is a lock there  

Dear God,

I have nothing figured out

No matter how hard I try

Please help

I know you are with me

You hug me so tight

Even if I don't see it right now 

And in the middle of my ache 

You will never leave 

Thank you. I can't thank you enough

How about you? Have you ever felt utterly helpless? How has God made His presence known to you lately?

There is a poll on the left sidebar that I would love if you checked out. It's about how often you think I should post, something I have been thinking about lately and would love your opinion on.  

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

~Saturday Stories~

After years of reading countless quotes from Mere Christianity, I finally read the book myself. It was for a church small group, which was fairly enjoyable and pleasant and full of serious conversations.  

C. S. Lewis's logic, I believe, does not get enough credit. It was beautiful to see solid reasoning behind all of his claims. One of my favorite quotes that I had found before I actually read the book is this:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” 

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I enjoyed the simple everyday conversation that Lewis pulls us into and in which he shows us what Christians believe. Because that is the reason for the book.

It sets you free

~Saturday Stories~

"And what exactly are you thinking about the truth?"
"I'm thinking it sets you free. If you're brave enough to look for it." -Brielle and Jake, Angel Eyes

"I would rather live like that (sold out for God) than the way I've been living these past few weeks. I'd rather know that I totally belong to God and that He's in control of my life than to feel like I'm running or hiding or whatever. Because God's way is better. ... I feel so free and happy and secure." - Caitlin, It's My Life

How about you? Have you had the truth set you free? Are you sold out for God? Have you given Him the reigns of your life?

Swimming through Clouds by Rajdeep Paulus

~Saturday Stories~

Typical Talia: “My arm is where Dad prefers to write.”
“‘Yes, sir.’ Because that’s the best response to Dad’s rules. The lawyer makes the laws. Breaks the laws. Then rewrites the laws so he looks innocent. That’s how Dad roles.”

Talia does not know any reality but this. Rules, lists of housework, limited access to everyone outside the house, punishments for the slightest disobedience. Somewhere along the line she understood that this was not the world her classmates lived in, but she could not do a thing. She and her brother are trapped screaming for help with silent voices. Until a boy from class suddenly starts breaking down the barrier Talia was forced to put up. While hope slowly brews in her heart, Talia wonders how long until discovery and another punishment.

Swimming Through Clouds is a beautiful tragic story that tells of the reality of too many boys and girls. Rajdeep Paulus portrays the story very bluntly, with hope and despair trying their best to push the other one out of Talia’s heart. The mutual care that Talia and her brother had for each other was one of the most heartening parts of the book.

Talia is helped not only by the caring classmate but also by a book in which she reads about the Gardener and the woman who bled for twelve years. This story is, very clearly, the story of the woman who had bled for twelve years. Talia sees herself in that woman and gleans hope from her healing. Altogether, this is a beautiful genuine heart-hurting book that does not lack in either reality or the promise of a future.

Swimming Through Clouds is the first in the Swimming through Clouds series. The second is Seeing Through Stones and Soaring Through Stars.

For more on Rajdeep Paulus, visit her website and Facebook page.

God makes the call

~Saturday Stories~

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” I repeated. ...
 “Me neither.” He started up the stairs. “But God gets to make the call on that one. Not you. Not me.” -Heather and Bryce, Counted Worthy

"...it starts with trusting that you don't know everything. That God does. That His decisions are better than yours, even when they hurt. You do that for a while, and you realize that regardless of what He allows, God's our best hope. Our only hope." -Jake, Angel Eyes

"Just remember that, no matter how dark life becomes, there will always be a reason to hang on 'til tomorrow. ... Always." -Cassie's grandpa, Unwritten Melody

How about you? Have you experienced hurt lately? Have you had a time when it was hard to trust God's choices? Would you mind sharing? 

Picture-Perfect

~Saturday Stories~

Do I look like I know what I’m doing?
They tell me I have more confidence now
When I’ve just become a better actress
It’s fun sometimes to pretend that life’s okay

Other times I just wish no one saw my life
As picture-perfect
Because it’s not even close
And I go to bed praying I don’t wake up

How about you? Have you ever felt that nobody really saw the struggle behind you nice-looking life? Have you given all your cares to the One who will always be there for you? 

Found in Translation by Roger E. Bruner

~Sunday Stories~

My weekend has been full of people and socializing and not going onto the computer much not to appear rude and great bunches of great food. And I missed yesterday’s post. But I want to make up for it! So, here we go: Sunday Stories. 

Typical Kim: "I didn't regret having to pay seventy-five dollars for the overweight extra suitcases, though. I needed everything I'd packed: a professional-quality hair dryer; enough matching shoes and purses to have a fresh look every day; a treasure chest of my best cosmetics and toiletries; enough clothes to wear separate day and night outfits for the next fourteen days; a steam iron and travel-sized ironing board; and a small, high-power portable karaoke system with dozens of accompaniment CDs and tons of extra D-cell batteries. Oh, and I'd packed a thick Spanish-English Bible I hadn't taken out of the box yet."

Kim is ready for her mission trip. Except for being late to her plane, that is. Then it turns out she missed a few important emails about the trip. Changes were made, and they are now headed to the middle of nowhere to help a small community after a windstorm. What?! With most of her stuff now useless and herself confused, Kim sets out on a trip only God could make anything out of. A trip where God uses her to an immeasurable extent, even if in unusual ways.

Found in Translation is a great book where Kim learns to trust God in all circumstances and with all plans. No matter how unlikely the plan, God can work miraculous things out of it. She learns about forgiveness and giving others second chances. Although somewhat predictable, this is was still a story that makes one rethink how we use our lives.

This is the first in the Altered Hearts series. The second, third, and fourth are A Season of Pebbles, Overshadowed, and The Flowers of His Field For more on Roger E. Bruner, visit his website and Facebook page. 

There is only God's love

~Saturday Stories~

"Love isn't about what you do or don't do. It's about who you are. They love you because you're their daughter and sister. Your actions aren't going to change that." -Renee, The Masquerade

“You may have had some small part in setting the events of that night in motion, Kirsten. There are things you could have done differently so perhaps the accident wouldn’t have happened. More than likely it still would have. But whatever your share of the blame . . . why do you think we celebrate our communion and pray in the garden and go on with the work we’ve been given to do? Because we’re all forgiven. There is no shame, Kirsten. There is only God’s love.” -Frankie, The Merciful Scar

"Fighting isn't going to give you true, lasting happiness. Only knowing that God loves you can really do that." - The Fight

How about you? Do you easily forget that you are loved unconditionally - by God? Can you give God your shame and accept his love? 

Captives by Jill Williamson

~Saturday Stories~

"Otley sighed. "Remember what I said, men." He turned in a circle, pointing and panning his finger over the enforcers. "One kill each. Sleep the rest of the village.""

It is 2088. Just outside the walls of the dangerous and deadly Safe Lands, three brothers live in a small village. Levi is a great hunter and a well-respected man but with a temper; Mason is a doctor-in-training within a community who thinks his job is feminine; Omar is an amazing painter whose weak body is always looked down on. While living in the village suits most, one of the villagers will turn everyone in to the enforcers of the Safe Lands so that he himself can live there. With so many dead and captive and surrounded by people with the thin plague, is there a way that they will get out of this alive? Or maybe the Safe Lands are not as dangerous as they were taught to believe...

I  enjoyed Captives tremendously, especially the last quarter or so. I read the book on my kindle device and literally have 151 notes and bookmarks throughout the story. Jill Williamson did a great job of building the story world into something both believable and amazing. The concept of the thin plague, that so many had it, and that it was hard to have an uninfected baby was genius. I also enjoyed her portrayal of the city's mentality: so much was fixed on pleasure. It was at the same time fascinating as a concept and absolutely sickening when you thought about it. I am so glad that that is not quite what reality is for us!  

Throughout their village life and later their captivity, the characters lean on God and trust Him. Jill Williamson weaved faith in beautifully, especially when talking about Shaylinn and her struggles with accepting herself for who she is.

One of the central problems in this book is the Safe Lands nationals not being able to conceive. That is why they needed the people from the village in the first place. That being said, there are many - many! - references to this problem. While the only actual sexual encounter in the whole story is not given in detail, there are many references to getting pregnant (through scientific means, not through sex) and to making out (part of the "pleasure" of the Safe Lands life). I do not recommend this book to anyone under 18 for that reason.

This is the first book in The Safe Lands series. The next two are Outcasts and Rebels. 

For more on Jill Williamson visit her website and Facebook page. She also blogs regularly at Go Teen Writers.

Have you read this book? What do you think of Jill Williamson's style? Which other books would you like to see me review? Comment below!

Knowing for sure (that you're loved)

~Saturday Stories~

In my room I sit alone 

Wondering what it feels like 

To know for sure that you're loved 

Because in my mind there's always

The possibility of them just being polite

I'm polite sometimes 

Who is to say my friends

Don't simply feel sorry for 

The girl with the dry humor 

Who does not know when to shut up

Who is to say that the times 

I hug my friends they are not wishing

That I go away and leave them alone

Maybe it would be better for everyone  

If I left before they asked me to

I was told today

That that wasn't true

That when he talked to me

It was because he wanted to 

And not because of duty 

God, I don't even know if I can

Believe that anymore. Open my eyes 

And remind me that Your love is incredible 

And You can use others 

To show me that love on earth. 

A New Birth through the One who Conquered Death

~Saturday Stories~

"You asked why I would make such a big deal about promising my life to Jesus if He were dead like Buddha or Mohammed. Well, that's the thing! Jesus isn't dead. Yes, He died on the cross, but then He came back to life and He's still alive today. I can't explain it, but He's living inside me. He's as real as any person I know. I don't know Him as well as I want to, but we're getting better acquainted. I've always prayed - you know, talked to God. But now I'm starting to read my Bible, which is like listening to Him." -Christy, A Whisper and a Wish

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," 1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

Our God is alive! Whether it is Saturday or Sunday for you now, can't you feel that anticipation, that delight in the fact that God has risen? Christ has risen! Amen!

It's My Life by Melody Carlson

~Saturday Stories~ 

 

I have had the great privilege of having this book review posted on Rayleigh Gray's Literature Approved blog. Please head over to her amazing website to read my review of Melody Carlson's It's My Life.

Special to God

~Saturday Stories~

"You’re special to God, aren’t you? So you’re special to me." -Aleesha, Found in Translation

"He'd tell me I have so much potential and so much to look forward to because God has incredible plans in store for my life." - Unwritten Melody

"You are special in so many ways. You are kind. And you're so sweet with our children. You always put others first. ... But the most important reason is that God made you special, and he loves you so much." -Gloria, The Fight

How about you? Is it easy for you to forget that you are special to God and that He has great plans for you? Can you encourage someone with this truth today? 

Here's Lily by Nancy Rue

~Saturday Stories~

 

I have had the great privilege of having this book review posted on Rayleigh Gray's Literature Approved blog. Please head over to her amazing website to read my review of  Nancy Rue's Here's Lily.

"It was Your picture"

~Saturday Stories

“I taught you to look at the special gifts and qualities God gave you. ... Actually, we shouldn’t call it self-confidence. We ought to call it God-confidence.” - Kathleen, Here's Lily

"It's not about being good or living a good life. It's about believing that God is God, that he's good and he loves us, and that we need his forgiveness. That's it!" -Gloria, The Fight

"I couldn’t see the whole picture. You did, though. It was Your picture." -Kim, Found in Translation

How about you? Have you remembered that you are in need of God's forgiveness and that He loves you? Have you placed your confidence in God? Have you trusted Him with His picture? 

My Name is Chloe by Melody Carlson

~Saturday Stories~

I have had the great privilege of having this book review posted on Rayleigh Gray's Literature Approved blog.

Please head over to her amazing website to read my review of  Melody Carlson's My Name is Chloe. God bless!

Majoring in faith

~Saturday Stories~

“I think I can trust God’ll take me where I need to go ... I guess I better major in faith first, huh?” -Kirsten, The Merciful Scar

"Dear God, please help me to know how to handle this. I think you're telling me to break up with Josh. But a big part of me is struggling with it. Please, show me somehow what I need to do. Thank You." - Caitlin, Becoming Me

"My life was a mess. It still is - I mean my family is all messed up. But I don't feel all that agony inside anymore. I feel like I'm part of God's family. He really, truly is like a father to me. For me, it was like my heart melted when I asked Christ to come inside and pick up the pieces. I don't think I'd want my life to continue if God wasn't in it." -Katie, A Whisper and a Wish

How about you? Have you ever asked God what His plans are? Have you received an answer? Can you trust God to lead you to right where He wants you? Has God relieved some of your agony? Do you feel like a part of God's family?