Gone Girl
By: Gillian Flynn

Challenge:  RIP VIII

Published: 2012

# of pages: 415

Official description:  Marriage can be a real killer. 
One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work "draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction." Gone Girl's toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn. 
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer?
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

My opinion:  I thoroughly enjoyed this book!  I definitely neglected my children at times while reading Gone Girl.  The book moved at a good pace and constantly kept my attention.  The characters were both likable and unlikable at times.  When I wasn't reading the book I'd be wondering "What happened to Amy?"  And I started rooting against Nick, hoping he'd "hang for his crime," and changed my mind over time.  And can I just say - I know someone who is eerily similar to Amy.  I think that made me enjoy the book even more.

I do have to warn readers - this book is full of foul language.  It is also fairly sexually graphic.  The good parts of the book outweighed the bad in my opinion, but be warned.

And I'm excited that the novel is going to be made into a movie!


Why I gave this book 4/5 stars:  Interesting/unique plot, well-written, complicated characters, lots of language and not so great (as far as morals go) characters.

Other reviews:
S. Krishna's Books

Have you reviewed this? Let me know and I'd be happy to post yours as well.

Last Light
by: Terri Blackstock

Series: Restoration Series, Book 1

Challenges: 1st in a Series Challenge

Published: 2005

# of pages: 381



My grandma gave me this series when I visited her for Christmas. Like I mentioned in a previous post, I rarely read Christian fiction these days. However, this series looked like it would be easy to read, so I decided to give it a try.

However, I wasn't terribly impressed with the first book. I'll go ahead and mention what bothered me about the book and then what I liked. Last Light follows a family of 6 who live in the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama. I can't remember all of their names, but the mom is Kay and the 21 year old daughter (the oldest of the 4 kids) is named Deni. The story begins with a city-wide electrical and power outage. Planes fall from the sky, cars stall, watches stop, and mayhem ensues. The family struggles to survive as they realize that the power won't be returning anytime soon.

What I didn't like was the repetitive sermons that are (unfortunately) all too common in many Christian fiction novels. Also, the characters aren't well written. They aren't consistent or realistic. The parents are Christians and yet they are unwilling to help their neighbor, a young single mom of 3 toddlers. Seriously, what kind of "good" people (people who wouldn't automatically prey on others in these circumstances) would be that selfish that they couldn't even spend a little time helping out or spare something that they weren't even using to begin with? I mean, I can see that some people would act like that in a life threatening situation, but I don't know too many people who would behave that way in the situation this family is in. I believe Blackstock was going a little too far with the selfish stereotype and that she should have either found another downfall for the family to be involved in, should have made the progression to selfishness more natural, or had the situations be more dire (like the family having to give up their last bottle of medicine or the rest of their food, etc). She wants to show that the family changes for the better and so makes them unnaturally selfish to begin with.

The thing I liked about this novel - the concept of the storyline. It was neat to think about what I would do if put in that situation. How would the world be if all of our power went out? Also, the story was very suspenseful. I kept reading to find out what would happen next. I plan on reading the next book in the series. Even if I didn't already own it, I'd probably go out of my way to get it because I am interested to see how the story continues.

I recommend this to Christian readers or people who don't mind Christian fiction. I would like to say this is a book non-Christians could enjoy, but I think there are too many sermons and vague Christian phrases.



Have you reviewed this? Let me know and I'd be happy to post yours as well.

In Search of Eden
by: Linda Nichols

Published: 2007

# of pages: 443


First of all, I thought the cover of this book was really cute. :-)

I received this book for Christmas from my grandmother. When I was in jr high and early high school I used to read Christian romance novels all the time. That and Christian historical fiction were my favorites. There's a lot of great Christian fiction out there, but it got to a point where I felt like I had exhausted the well written Christian novels and series (except that a couple years later I discovered Ted Dekker, who wrote some great books!). Now I rarely take the time to read Christian fiction, but my grandma gave me this book and a few others for Christmas, so I'm reading and reviewing them along with the books I normally choose for myself. Anyway, I have to admit this book is nothing special as far as the writing quality, but it was an easy, nice read.

The story follows Miranda as she moves from place to place in search of home. Her life has been rough so far: her father left, her mother is overbearing and critical, and she has a baby at 16 years old and is forced to give it up for adoption. 11 years later she is still wondering about her baby: if it was a boy or girl, if it is happy, if she should try to find it. A series of events happens and she decides to track down her child...even though she still hardly has any information about it.

She ends up in a small Virginia town and everything (miraculously) comes together. She learns about her parents' past (which explains a lot about her own past), meets a nice family (including a certain 11 year old girl named Eden), meets a great guy (of course!), and finds a home.

To be honest, a lot of times Christian fiction frustrates me because of all the sermons that take up so much of the text. I feel like those sermons shouldn't be there. If you are a Christian, the last thing you should want to read is the same repeat sermon that is in every other Christian fiction novel. If you aren't a Christian you don't want to read a stuffy sounding sermon full of words and phrases that aren't familiar and that takes up an entire page. Either way, you skip it. The secret to writing good Christian fiction is to put encouraging and informative things about Christianity in there without having to make it in a sermon form. Just talk about a Christian character living their life. You don't have to use specific Christian terms and you don't have to make it a sermon. It can be simple, which is what people in this day and age need!

Anyway, I think I only skipped a few paragraphs of this novel, so it really isn't that bad. Would a non-Christian enjoy this novel? I think so if you are interested in the story. Like I just said, it isn't overwhelming and the story is interesting. I recommend this to all adults who like a good sentimental story or who enjoy the Christian romance genre.


Have you reviewed this? Let me know and I'd be happy to post yours as well.

The Shack
by: William P. Young

Challenges: TBR Challenge, What's in a Name?

Published: 2007

# of pages: 248

Quote: "Trying to keep the law is actually a declaration of independence, a way of keeping control."
"Is that why we like the law so much - to give us some control?" asked Mack.
"It is much worse than that," resumed Sarayu. "It grants you the power to judge others and feel superior to them. You believe you are living to a higher standard than those you judge. Enforcing rules, especially in its more subtle expressions like responsibility and expectation, is a vain attempt to create certainty out of uncertainty. And contrary to what you might think, I have a great fondness for uncertainty. Rules cannot bring freedom; they only have the power to accuse." -Sarayu & Mack pg. 203


Well I finally read the very famous novel, The Shack. Emphasis on novel. After reading it, I have a hard time seeing what the controversy among Christians is about. It's a fiction novel, a man's opinion on how a weekend with God might go. I don't think he's claiming that anything in it is gospel, I think several of the statements that "God" makes in the book are ones that can be interpreted in different ways. I'm conducting this review from a Christian viewpoint since that's what I read it with and how I think of it, even though it is just a novel.

That being said, I didn't enjoy reading the book, it wasn't fun or even terribly interesting to me. It was a lot like going to hear a sermon, minus the jokes that the pastor at my church throws in. However, I'm glad I read it because at least now I can participate in the conversations about the book and know what all the hype is about.

I'm sure most of you know what the novel is about, but here's a brief plot summary. Mack's daughter, Missy, is abducted and evidence of her murder is found in a shack in the middle of the wilderness. Several years later Mack receives a note from God inviting him to spend a weekend at the shack with him. Mack arrives and meets God. God has taken the form of a black woman for Mack at first. Jesus is there and so is the Holy Spirit in the form of an Asian woman named Sarayu. The 4 spend the weekend together and Mack learns about God's true nature.

Unfortunately, I imagine that some people find this book controversial just because God takes the form of a black woman and the Holy Spirit takes the form of an Asian woman. Too many people I grew up with would probably find this "wrong." However, God is not a black woman, he's taking the form of a black woman because at that point in time, that's what Mack needs in order to accept God and what he has to teach. As a matter of fact, God asks Mack to call him "Papa," even while he's in the form of a woman. Same with the Holy Spirit, it's just a form that is comforting to Mack, it doesn't mean the Holy Spirit has a set form or really is an Asian woman.

There were a few things here and there that I thought, "Ah ha! I don't think that's Biblical!" but then after thinking about it for awhile realized that it could be interpreted differently and therefore not contradict the Bible. For example, at one point God talks about hierarchy within human institutions and relationships and how it's not what he wants for us. My immediate thought was if God doesn't agree with hierarchy among the human race, why does he assign different people different levels of authority within the church in books such as Ephesians (ch 4) and 1 Timothy (ch 3)? However, one interpretation of the novel is that God's original plan for humans (before the garden of Eden) didn't include any kind of hierarchy. But our sin and the evil that followed makes some sort of accountability structure necessary, even within the church. Unfortunately, humans will never allow equality in any system, including the church, but I'm sure God would prefer us to all be equal and not have to be forced into institutional structures. Also, in a church the pastor has the gift of being able to lead, but that doesn't give him more power. He's still accountable to the entire congregation. We are all different parts of the same body, we're all supposed to be working together, no one is more important than another because one part cannot function without the help of all the other parts (Ephesians). Also, I think many parts of the modern church have taken church structure, rules, and traditions too far, forgetting that a relationship with God really doesn't take that much work to maintain and that the church body should be more equal than they allow it to be. That's just my way of interpreting it, but Young could very well have meant something else. I just think there's no reason to get too upset or defensive when it could mean anything.


Anyway, I haven't done all the research and I'm not going to. It's just a book to me, I only thought deeper about some sections because I've known some people who have claimed it's very contradictory to the Bible and I wondered how exactly. Some things can be interpreted in different ways, so how can we feel strongly that it means just one? I don't know exactly what Young was thinking, but does it really matter? It's all fiction and his opinion anyway, even if it does contradict the Bible. I think the book is great for people who are struggling with loss. Different people need to hear and believe different things during times of deep loss, and this could be just what some need. I think it really brings home the fact that following Jesus isn't work, we can all do it. If you aren't familiar with a true relationship with God then this book can be very inspirational and share new concepts (and will be more interesting than if you already know or understand this relationship).



Other reviews:
Booknotes by Lisa

Have you reviewed this? Let me know and I'd be happy to post yours as well.

Hood
by: Stephen R. Lawhead

Challenge: First in a Series

Series: King Raven Trilogy, Book 1

Published: 2006

# of pages: 496


Hood is a retelling of Robin Hood, a legend that typically takes place in Sherwood Forest in England. Lawhead changes the story in several ways, but without taking away from the quality and excitement of the typical tale. Lawhead has a talent for retelling famous legends, such as the story of King Arthur in his Pendragon Cycle. He changes the stories to make them unique, but keeps the core values and overall feeling so that we still love them just as much.

Bran is a prince whose father is killed by Norman invaders. His land, located in Wales, is also taken and his people are forced into slavery. Bran, his large friend Iwan, and a tubby friar join forces to "earn" the money to buy back Bran's inheritated land. They find that the only way to acquire the money is to take it from the very Normans who are ruining the kingdom. Sound familiar?

I thought this book was well written and enjoyed the historical contexts (I found the author's defense of placing "Robin Hood" in Wales fascinating!). I still can't figure out if it's technically a Christian novel or not, because while there is mention of God (mainly by the clergy that are in the story), there are other parts that aren't your typical Christian novel material. I was glad to see that there isn't a preachy tone and that the religious parts are short, to the point, and fit in naturally with the story. The main characters aren't goody goody or even very religious. I can hear sermons at church on Sunday, I don't need to read them in books too! So I think this novel is appropriate for Christians and people who aren't religious. The book is violent, but clean, making this appropriate for older teens and adults alike.

The book seemed a little slow in some parts. I think that since Lawhead knew he would turn this into a series, he took his time drawing the story out. It wasn't slow enough to bore me, but I think it could have been improved with a faster pace. However, this was worth reading and I'm already looking forward to reading the next in the series, Scarlet.

Heaven's Wager by: Ted Dekker

Series: The Martyr's Song

Published: 2000

# of pages: 369

Quote: "The phone began burping loudly in his ear. An electronic voice came on and told him in a roundabout way that holding a dead phone to the ear was a rather unbrilliant thing to do." -Kent p. 101


I started reading this book and didn't realize until I was a few chapters in that I've read it before! I remembered some of it, but I had forgotten other parts, so I kept reading it. This is one of Dekker's better novels. I love his books Blink, Three, and The Circle Trilogy. I also enjoyed Obsessed and Saint. I like how almost all of his novels connect to each other. However, I feel that some of his books were written in a hurry. Many of them don't concentrate on character development, so I feel like I don't really care what happens to the characters and it's harder to get through. But Heaven's Wager has great character development and spends a lot of time on the storyline and although it isn't one of my favorites by him, I still enjoyed reading it (both times) and recommend it to others.

This is one of the novels in The Martyr's Song Series. The series doesn't have to be read in any order, but Dekker recommends reading The Martyr's Song first, which I did. Heaven's Wager is the story of Kent Anthony, a motivated programmer, whose life drastically changes throughout the course of the novel. The changes set him on a new course as supernatural powers struggle for his soul. I liked that Dekker really shows Christianity as a lifestyle instead of preaching it as a religion. As a matter of fact, I think that this is a book that non-religious people can enjoy. It is a little more "in your face" than some of his others, but like I said, it isn't overboard. Also, I enjoyed this book because of the storyline, the "almost perfect crime, interwoven with a tale of bittersweet love" (back cover). It was pretty fascinating and I recommend this to people who want an easy read that still has depth. I also enjoyed Dekker's writing style, he has unique points of view and ways of expressing thoughts and emotions that readers feel everyday.

The only negative points were that I didn't really like the character of Helen all of the time. I felt like she was unnecessarily pushy and eccentric. So sometimes she got on my nerves, but other times I liked her just fine. Also, I thought that the pace of the story of Kent and Lacy was a little too fast. Others may not agree, but it just bothered me and I wish more time went by during the novel to make me feel better about it. Other than that, I enjoyed the experience and will definitely be reading more in this series.