Wildfire Run

Bookworm's Ranking - 4 Worms

Storyline - When Luke, the son of the President of the United States, is on vacation at Camp David with his friend and father, a wildfire begins eating up the forest and is heading right to them. But when an accident strikes, Luke and his friends, Theo and Callie, are own their own to survive and escape before the fire claims the camp with them still inside.

Author - Dee Garretson

Publisher - Harper, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers

Age Group - 12 or 13 and up

Content - Even though the characters were at odds with each other at first, they came to support one another and tried to help those who were hurt. The came to see what was important and really grew up. Luke even put others before himself when everyone wanted him to just go and save himself because he was the President's son.

Personal Opinion - This was an enjoyable book which I was able to read in just two days. There were some unbelievable stuff that happened but it was an exciting book with lots of action and a fire coming around every corner which made the characters work together to find a way out of the 'secure' camp. The ingenuity of the characters was great and supported imagination and inventiveness. I wish the ending had been a little longer and had more to the adjustment after the fire had been covered because it didn't seem like enough for them to recover but perhaps you are just suppose to see them start to come around from the terror. Anyways, good book and I might look into the new book this author has coming out.

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Links - Learn more about the book and author at: http://deegarretson.wordpress.com/

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River of Time: Torrent

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

Storyline - Book 3 - Returning to medieval times once again, they find it has been longer than they wished since they departed their men but they are happy to see each other again and quickly celebrate. But that happiness soon ends when an opportunity comes to save Fortino, Marcello's brother, who was captured by Firenze. Unfortunately, that cost for Fortino is Gabi and Lia. They devise a plan to rescue him, the Bettarini women as bait. When things go wrong, Gabriella finds herself potentially being forced into marriage with someone she does not love. Can she escape and return to Marcello? And will she be able to convince her family to stay with everything life threatening that has happened and the plague only a few years away?

Author - Lisa Bergren

Publisher - David C. Cook

Age Group - 15 and up

Content - All of the character defend each other and try to save others even at the cost of themselves. Gabriella and Lia are willing to put themselves at risk to save Marcello's brother and Gabi is willing to be with the one she loves and to protect others from harm. A priest had some good advice in the book. There was some sexual stuff from the bad guys and Gabriella hinted at being together before marriage.

Personal Opinion - It was good but I was disappointed about the representation of the priest in the story. He was excommunicated and performing duties that he could no longer do and which would not be recognized by the church, such as marriage.  Considering that Marcello is suppose to be the guy who really follows his faith and loves God, this was strange that he was okay with it and would be going along with it. As a family member pointed out, though, in the situation where the priest was administrating at the wedding, it could be argued that it was an extreme circumstance and it was going to be made valid later but I still see holes from what I read about excommunication.When you add this to the one time Marcello complained about the Pope and one man said that his father was a priest, I wasn't very happy, feeling every example was in some way negative to the Catholic Church. I will not deny that there was abuses within the church but that is still not an accurate picture of the Catholic faith. There were good along with bad. Another thing that I wish had been different in the book was Gabi's faith walk. I thought she would grow more in her faith since she not use to going to church except on Christmas and Easter and didn't really pray. All that happened was she prayed a bit more. It didn't seem that she grew that much in her faith or came to any big connection with God. This was all unfortunate because it was an exciting book with some fun time travel. But I will hesitate in recommending this series from here on out because of the excommunicated priest. If the view of Catholicism had been balanced and the priest had been faithful to his superiors, no matter their decision, it would have been better to me.

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the author.

Links - Learn more about the books and author here.

Books 1 and 2, Waterfall and Cascade, Review.

Special Notes - Book releases September 1, 2011.

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Updated - May 13, 2012

Quest for the Truth: Taken

"Five-Four-Three-Two-One!

We're Out of Here!"

Bookworm's Ranking - 4 Worms

Storyline - Book 1 - After  Oliver, Tiffany, Mason, and Austin's parents are kidnapped by the Ubel who believes they know where to find the Ursprung, the origin of mankind, which has been lost and sot after for generations, it is up to them to discover where they were going and what they were up to. It is a race to the prize. But they must make a stop for repairs as well as find their parents' partner. Waylaid on a planet, the two younger Wikks have a run in with strange natives whose skin is blue. And intent on keeping them on their planet.

Author - Brock Eastman

Publisher - P & R Publishing

Age Group - 13 (give or take) and up

Content - The kids care about one another but they do hide a lot and fight with each other often. Oliver (the oldest) wants to do the right thing like his parents taught him to and use the skills he got from the Academy. Each of them (except one) thinks highly of themselves but I think this is an issue among the siblings that will be covered later.

Personal Opinion - Good start to the series but I wish it had gone deeper into the story of what the parents were after and what Ursprung was. Also, I wanted to go deeper into the kids' motives, wants, and feelings. It seemed they went from one feeling to the next too quickly without enough happening to change those feelings except for taking a deep breath. But then you would think he/she would ruminate about it more in his/her mind or it would keep coming up. But, I see much promise for this series and it prepares you for what happens next (by the way, I don't know what that is but I want to find out). I enjoyed the sci-fi parts of the story like the ships that travel from one planet to another, what the character's e-reader look like (I want one), and the mysterious blue people. This book promises a great futuristic adventure building upon the mysteries of man's origin, the Alliance and how it started, and multiple planets with different life forms (kinda like in Star Wars). Much truth is still to be found and many exciting things are promised. Having left me with wanting to know what happens next, I for one will be getting book 2. Just have to find out when that one will be out.

Links - Learn more about the books and author at: http://thequestfortruthbooks.blogspot.com/ and http://www.brockeastman.com/

Special Notes - Won this copy on the publisher's website. It is also signed, which I didn't realize until I got it. You can order signed copies off the author's site.

Updated - December 28, 2011

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Stained Glass Hearts

"Seeing Life From a Broken Perspective"

Bookworm's Ranking - 3 Worms

About - Life is tough, leaving you broken and wanting. But, if you shine some light through the broken pieces of your heart, they are like stained glass. You can find light in many things, be it books, art, poetry, or nature, you just have to find it and accept yourself for who you are, even broken. And God can make it beautiful.

Author - Patsy Clairmont

Publisher - Thomas Nelson

Age Group - 16 and up (but would be appreciated by an older age group)

Content - There were stories to show the beauty all in the world and a section at the end of every chapter called the Art Gallery that had picture, poetry, scripture, and/or music suggestions to further the point.

Personal Opinion - Good but could have been better. There were good stories throughout that were interesting but not much advise on how to incorporate this stuff and view it in your own life. It was mostly telling you to see the beauty in everything and even things broken, like stained glass, can be beautiful when put together and looked at and have light shinning through it but very little advise on how to go about doing that. Certain chapters might mean more to some people than others because they have an interest in that particular thing. I liked the "book" chapter because I like books but some might like the chapters about "nature" (I like this one too) or the "poetry" or one of the others more. The last few chapters did seem a bit more helpful in a way and brought the books concept together better than the other chapters. I wish, though, that there had been an epilogue to bring all the information together. It was good but didn't speak to me as much as others have. Perhaps fans of Patsy Clairmont might like it more.

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the publisher through Booksneeze.com.

Links - Learn more about the book and author at: http://www.patsyclairmont.com/

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Destruction Series: Imperial Hostage

Bookworm's Ranking - 1Worms

Storyline -Book 1 - "From the moment 12-year-old Prince Erechtheus docks in Poseidia, capital of the Empire, to be a hostage for 13 years, nothing in his life is easy - or safe. An unexpected and foreboding prophecy, uttered by a blind seer, puts the prince immediately in the crosshairs of Al-Jinn, the powerful and paranoid High Priest from the Temple of Bel. Only last minute intervention from Kul-Kan, High Priest of the rival Temple of One, saves the prince from a gruesome fate. Erech gains exceptional fighting skills and an understanding of the natural world as he matures, but he suffers a series of crippling, heart-breaking losses - most as a result of the many attempts on his life. At the twilight of his captivity as a hostage, the 25-year-old prince encounters one last trial, a trial that could very well lead to war between his native land and the Empire."
(Took this from the back of the book)

Author - Phil Cantril

Publisher - Journalstone

Age Group - 17 and up

Content - The good characters help Erech out a lot and looked out for him as attempts on his life was made. One even helped him learn to fight to protect himself. Unfortunately, this book had a lot of stuff that contradicted what I believe such as saying there is no God and we are all connected. Once when the prince proclaimed something as a miracle, someone said there are no miracles and it was just science.  And this is from the good guys. The bad guys believed in a god and were very creepy. There was also some sexual content that made me uncomfortable but it was mostly from the bad guys but about two things from the good guys. I don't believe that it is natural for two men to be together and yet two from the good guys were. It was strange how the the good guys said we are all connected and yet they had priests and ceremonies and had spirits.

Personal Opinion - Creeped me out in first chapter and didn't go away. It didn't help I miss read the back and thought it was something other than what it was (also for some reason I thought this was a young adult book, probably because the main characters are like 12 when the book starts). The book taught stuff I don't believe are true such as the good  temple that saved the main character didn't believe in a god, they actually say there is no God and we are all united as one, and the guys who did believe in a god were evil and gross. The bad guys also used words and phrases that I am familiar with my own religion so that made it uncomfortable. There was some good behaving characters who did good things, knew right from wrong, and protected and cared for someone who couldn't protect themselves but it wasn't enough. They also kept harping on the bad thing that happened at the temple to the main character and it was made clear what happened with this word they used in a later chapter (I like to think of this blog as PG-13 if not PG so I wont repeat it). This book upset me so much that, even though at first, because I won the book through a giveaway, I tried to force myself to read it, but couldn't do it any more. Didn't even make it to 100 pages before decided to just stop reading it. There are too many books I want to read that I know I will like more than this one to spend time on it since I wasn't enjoying it. Did learn one thing though; be careful of the giveaways you enter.
Disclaimer - I received this book for free from Goodreads First Reads.

Links - Learn more about the book and author at the publisher's website at: http://journal-store.com/fiction/imperial-hostage-book-1-of-the-destruction-series/

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