Tom L
This last book seemed to move on from the “school” aspect really quickly and focus on the main cast of characters. It was good, but seemed to really divert from the rest of the trilogy.
I really loved the interactions and personal growth without situations or personalities seeming to be contrived.
Another great entry to the series. This feels much more like an intermediate book to build on something larger. But we definitely find some closure in certain areas.
Who would have thought Glynn could make parliament and administration so exciting?
I went in not sure what țo expect, and wondering about the prose. I came out loving it and thinking about each character all night.
Great story. Felt a little too patriarchal, where the man is saving the woman to an extent, and definitely the lead character was larger than life. I didn't feel like I could relate.
But it was a great book, and interesting story. I'm interested in the second.
I loved the skating details and competition and show stories. I felt like I was with them throughout the training.
The story is pretty straightforward and overall positive. While you're not really going to wonder how it ends, I did find myself really interested in the stories progression and light touches of Christianity without shoving a message.
The Smuggler's Tales continues the stories which I immediately fell in love with in Quarter Share. These stories certainly have more action going on. It's always been difficult to tell people they MUST read Quarter Share, it's a story about some characters you'll love, even though not much goes on. You just can't explain how drawn in you'll get to someone who hasn't read Lowell before.
Smuggler's Tales has significantly more action and side characters which continue an ongoing story-line while itself being a self-contained event. As with all these books, I read through it within a few days. This is essentially another story of innovative minds helping look at problems from another angle, though this also includes mystery, suspense and action.
Oh, and of course, coffee.
As with every book Lowel has written, I can't recommend this enough.
This was a great book describing the lives of each disciple based on scripture. [author: Dr. John F. MacArthur] stuck almost exclusively with scripture and mostly relied on the gospel accounts to describe the disciples. This does provide a firm foundation, but in many cases gives very little understanding into the disciples.
In some cases there are disciples who are only known because of their name being mentioned in a list. At this point some loose connections are made to essentially create an understanding of the disciple in question without convincing facts to back up the understanding.
That being said, there is a clear message that even in the lesser known disciples, they were all ordinary people just as we are today. They had faults and were used because of those faults.
The descriptions are engaging and will provide some solid background when discussing the disciples in a group.
I went into this curious, and came out loving it. Essentially we're following the life of a bee that is different from the others, and seeing all the different threats.
The book does an incredible job guiding the reader to recognize that being pushed into unfamiliar territory can be a good growing experience, especially with other more experienced people guiding the way.
Quick story with a great narration. I certainly enjoyed how the characters changed in how I saw them throughout the book.
It's a decent description of how the Bible came to us, and what some of the terms mean and how they might apply to our lives. I found myself disagreeing with some of the core tenants and authors beliefs, making the book a little harder for me to love.
I found this book at An Unlikely Story nestled among the authors signed editions of books. The back reminded me a little bit of Ender's Game, a book I loved while growing up, and I figured I'd give it a try. While the depth and darkness of Ender's Game isn't in here, the relationships and character building are incredible. I quickly bought the next two books, and have gone through all of the within a few days.
I figured it was a fluke, so I gifted a copy to a friend who was going on a trip. She came back and agreed at how surprised she as that this book was incredible.
There is significantly more going on which is built out in the future books. Tesler has really created an excellent, lively universe which I can't wait to read more.
From almost the beginning I realized where the story was going and what the big reveals might be, so I had a harder time staying focused. But I still loved some of the real character and lifestyle flaws and the underlying systemic issues.
This is certainly a Young Adult type of story, with a budding romance between characters throughout.
A great closing to the trilogy. I was pretty confused about halfway through the book, but everything really came back together. The entire premise was not what I expected, and yet still incredibly interesting and mostly plausible.
I think the history and issues of the time were the most engaging. But really this is a solid Young Adult romance book.
This book helped me understand some of the issues my brother had in the past, back when we were both too young to understand or support each-other.
I used this curriculum with our youth every Wednesday night for 40 days as the students spent each day doing something for other people without expecting anything in return. All of the teens who went through this curriculum came out changed and far more aware of the people around them. Others within their school saw the change and began helping others.
I loved the other books, but there was something cot this one I couldn't get into
Mark Steele's book is very funny with a lot of different life stories to keep you laughing and get a point across. His main goal is to let the reader see how he used to do things to gain popularity and for his own benefit, under the guise of working for God.
Instead we see how he learns to take changes and really give up himself for others. Most of these epiphanies come during mission trips where he's completely out of his comfort zone.
The book is very entertaining. The message is decent though I would have preferred more practical ways that we can change our own lives. Instead we see how his own life experiences have changed his life. It's much closer to an autobiography with a message of humility and taking chances.
