The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

Light, amusing, well-written glance into America in the 1960s. The Wednesday Wars is about the mishaps and misfortunes of a young teenager who loves Shakespeare and goes to high school in Long Island, New York. The author ushers the reader into the story so well, that eventually, I couldn’t wait for the book to be over because I didn’t feel like going to middle school any longer. 😀 The wording gets repetitive after a while, which was a little tiring. Also, his parents’ lack of involvement makes me sad.
Even though I’m not a middle-grader, I might check out the author’s other books.

A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-18 by Joseph Loconte

Sounds super interesting, right? The pages were packed with war history and parallels, and I had trouble absorbing it. I found it a little *checks both directions* boring. This is nothing against the book — I’m sure it’s user error. But I also thought the comparisons of the Great War to the Last Battle or the Battle of Helm’s Deep a little forced. Anyway, you should go read this for yourself, and tell me what you think.

Yours, Till Heaven: The Untold Love Story of Charles and Susie Spurgeon by Ray Rhodes Jr.

Awwww, such a sweet book about a power couple! This was my first biographical glimpse into Spurgeon’s personal life, and I enjoyed the perspective of his marriage and love for Susie. Susie, a remarkable woman, with strength like Sarah of old, inspires me to be a better pastor’s wife. She was an avid writer as well as Charles and always wanted him to read what she wrote even though Charles trusted her (this resonates with me since I almost always insist my husband read what I write. 🙂 Thanks, babe!)

Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar

To be honest, I was completely engrossed in this book and couldn’t hardly sleep until it was finished. Maybe this speaks most to my curiosity. Maybe I hoped for a redemptive end. While Jinger’s book focused on disentangling the wrong theology of the IBLP movement, her sister Jill’s book is more of a tell-all. You can google her name, and you’ll see the hay-day the media is having with the sensational content. I’m saddened and surprised at all that Jill has had to endure. I’m reminded anew how silly it is to assume anything about anyone. What a lot of hypocrisy she’s had to process! And all in the spotlight.

I hope Jill finds peace. It sounds like nothing she’s done to right the wrongs has worked yet, so I truly hope she finds healing, peace, and the truth that sets us free — but I don’t think writing this memoir will fully achieve this satisfaction. From what I saw of the TLC episodes many years ago, it seemed like a cute show about new babies, tator tot casserole, and trips to China. But, as Jill details, the cost to exchange the privacy of their family for the show is still being paid.

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

All I want for Christmas is to string together words like Leif Enger does. Reuben Land, and 11-year-old boy, narrates the story, and you’ll feel each asthmatic breath he takes. He and his faith-filled father and word-smith sister embark on a journey to find their fugitive brother. The threads of justice and childlike narration gave me a To Kill a Mockingbird vibe. The story is slow, but each sentence matters. It’s full of truisms like this one: “I succeeded in worrying about this … for a good day and a half before worry died as usual, at the hand of routine.” The first time I read Peace Like a River I had trouble getting into it and felt weird about the miracles, but the second time I read it just for the taste of the words, and the story’s beauty grew on me. I now own a hardback, and it’s definitely on my rotation to read again … and again.

Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace

Where do I start? *don’t gush, don’t gush*

Betsy Ray is like an old friend. The series starts when she’s five and ends after she’s married, and I think you should start at the beginning of her life (here is the full series list). I recently read the four high school books about Betsy, Heaven to Betsy, Betsy in Spite of Herself, Betsy Was a Junior, and Betsy and Jo. These delightful books are set in the early, early 1900s, and the author draws from her own diaries and experiences to authenticate the fashion, music references, current slang, and other aspects of the CHARMING “Deep Valley” setting. Just as many of us might cringe at some of our own high school journals, I cringe at some of Betsy’s learn-the-hard-way pitfalls. She obsesses over both her looks and boys, at all costs. Her heart gets broken a time or two! The books focus, too, on her childhood friends, Tacy and Tib, and her dedicated aspirations to pursue writing.

Lovelace writes with clever beauty. I marvel at her ability to thread themes, and circle back to the beginning in a realistic way. Other Betsy-Tacy fans — did I begin to do justice to these books in this review?!