Love Find You in Last Chance California

When the Bluebonnets Come
by John Dwyer
ISBN: 978-0976822417
Amazon.com

Reviewed for Armchair Interviews

Katie Shanahan loves her daddy, Ethan. Ethan is the pastor of one of the many churches in Cotton Patch, Texas and is fighting the coming of a 'family entertainment complex'...also known as a gambling and horse-racing complex. Churches are burned and people are hurt. Money seems to be driving force.Katie shows us the way events occurred from her point of view as an 8-year-old child. Sometimes her knowledge is firsthand, sometimes it is what she figures happened. But the end result is the same: her daddy isn't happy with the situation, the town, or the people, and he struggles to find peace through it all. Katie sees how all men fail and fall and make mistakes, and how the same men can make restitution for those mistakes. God is there for all of them and offers grace to repentant hearts. Ethan Shanahan included.

Hearts are softened by the one man who stood up to the rich men--and for what was right. Ethan never wavered, but was gentle in his argument against the new complex. Finally everyone involved sees the light and has a change of heart. In the end, Katie is still living on the family farm with her children, riding horses and showing them the bluebonnets of Texas.

I struggled with this book for several reasons. I find it hard to believe the view of a child seeing or knowing so many conversations. There was so much assumption on her part about what took place that it makes the truth of the story almost unbelievable. Also, it was hard to have a male author writing from the perspective of a little girl. However, the story itself was great.

One of the best things emphasized through the book was that Katie was homeschooled, which is just not seen in many fiction books these days. My favorite line in the book is something Katie said, "When I make it to the upper sanctuary, one of the first things I'm gonna ask God is why He only let me figure out so many things later when I could've used them earlier."

Armchair Interviews says: It is very clear that the point Dwyer makes here is to learn from life's lesson and accept God's grace.

Courage the Monkey
by Mark Jordan
ISBN: 978-0971701373
Amazon.com
Reviewed for Armchair Interviews

On the very tip of a mountain lives Jonathan the spider monkey. As Jonathan eagerly awaits his special birthday (special because he will get to climb his first tree), he becomes very afraid when he sees how big his tree will be. All the monkeys made fun of him because he was the first monkey to ever be afraid of climbing a tree. Jonathan had a wonderful brother, David, who kept encouraging him, telling him he could do it. But still Jonathan was afraid. He began to seclude himself and not play with friends. He told himself that one day, he would climb a tree.That one day came sooner than he wanted. While resting in the grass one day, Jonathan heard a cry for help. It was David. He had fallen and landed on a ledge of the mountain. Jonathan wanted to help his brother, but was scared. After mustering all of his strength, Jonathan was able to climb a nearby tree and save his brother! All the other spider monkey's cheered as they saw this. Soon after they renamed Jonathan "Courage" because of the courage he showed that day.I loved this book! After reading it to my two boys, we discussed what courage was and how we can encourage each other to do things we're afraid of doing. They told me I had to keep this book forever so they could read it again and again!Mark Jordan has done a wonderful job capturing with words and pictures a character trait that many parents want instilled in their children.

Armchair Interviews says: What a great message for children.

The Dark Room
by Minette Walters
Amazon.com
ISBN: 978-0-307-27709-1

Review for Armchair Interviews

Jinx Kingsley wakes up in a strange room only to be told that she’s been in a head-on collision (with a concrete pole, no less) and is now in a hospital. Apparently, they say, she tried to commit suicide. But Jinx doesn’t believe this. She doesn’t remember anything, but simply can’t make herself believe that she is the type to kill herself. Even though her best friend and her fiancé just ran off together is no reason to off herself. She was happy about it! Wasn’t she??But then the police come to question her and she finds out that her two friends are now dead…and the police suspect her or someone in her family. How can Jinx clear her name when she can’t remember anything? All she knows is this sense of panic and fear. Who could have done this? Who would want to set her up? Can she figure it out before it’s too late? Dr. Alan Protheroe is at the clinic with Jinx and works to help her regain her memory. But in the process, an attempt is made on his life as well and he realizes just how serious this situation is. Can he protect Jinx? He knows she didn’t do it, but can he figure out who did? There has to be more to this than meets the eye.

Minette Walters does a great job of twisting the tale to keep the reader from figuring out the real killer.

Little Earthquakes
by Jennifer Weiner
Amazon.com
ISBN: 978-1-4165-2863-0

Jennifer Weiner has done it again with another great novel! Four women are bonded together by their pregnancies and birthing experiences, and continue their friendship during the hard months after. Ayinde deals with a cheating husband while Kelly's husband lost his job and refuses to get another one. Becky has a mother-in-law that just won't quit and a husband who won't stand up to his mother. Through all of this, there is Lia. A woman from Hollywood who follows Becky around, Lia eventually learns to deal with the death of her 10-week old son, Caleb. Can these women be true friends? Can they get through their problems? Follow them all as they discover their own indivual crises that present themselves as Little Earthquakes.