50. The Shunning by Beverly Lewis

Heritage of Lancaster County #1
After I read this I realized that I had seen the movie to book #2 (The Confession?) and hated it....
listened on Audible
read by Marguerite Gavin
Unabridged audio (7:15)
originally 1997, currently Bethany House Publishers
288 pgs.
Adult "Christian Fiction"  (Amish Garbage)
Finished 6/6/2019
Goodreads rating: 4.14 - 23,280 ratings
My rating: 1
Setting: contemporary "Hickory Hollow," PA, Lancaster County

First line/s: "If the truth be known, I was more conniving than all three of my brothers put together.  Hard headed, too."

My comments:  Not my cup of tea in many, many ways....why do I keep doing this to myself?

Goodreads synopsis: The bestselling story of Katie Lapp, who longs for things forbidden to a young Amish woman. But an unexpected discovery reveals her true past.

Movie - Breakthrough

PG (1:30)

Wide release 4/17/19

Viewed Sunday, May 19th, 2019 in Chambersburg

IMBd: 4.5/10

RT Critic:  60  Audience:  83

Critic's Consensus:  Like its lead character, Breakthrough is fiercely focused on faith -- but its less subtle elements are balanced by strong performances and an uplifting story.

Cag:  4.5 Liked it a lot despite so many religious overtones

Directed by Roxann Dawson

20th Century Fox

Based on the book by the mom, Joyce Smith (not the Joyce Smith I grew up with....)

Topher Grace, Chrissy Metz, Josh Lucas, Mike Colter

My comments:  Interesting, well-done, and not too religious.  Based on a true story.  A faith-based movie about a young man who drowned and should've never lived, but did.  Without brain damage, without lung damage, and with the whole town pulling for him.  Definitely a miracle, but was open ended enough so that if you don't believe in "God" it gives you lots of food for thought.  I didnn't feel like faith or belief-in-God and Jesus was being shoved down my throat.  My favorite person to watch was Topher Grace, who played the pastor.  He was just terrific, as was Mike Colter who played the firefighter who finally found John and pulled him out of the water.  A solid 4...maybe even a 4.5....

RT/ IMDb Summary  BREAKTHROUGH is based on the inspirational true story of one mother's unfaltering love in the face of impossible odds. When Joyce Smith's adopted son John falls through an icy Missouri lake, all hope seems lost. But as John lies lifeless, Joyce refuses to give up. Her steadfast belief inspires those around her to continue to pray for John's recovery, even in the face of every case history and scientific prediction. From producer DeVon Franklin (Miracles from Heaven) and adapted for the screen by Grant Nieporte (Seven Pounds) from Joyce Smith's own book, BREAKTHROUGH is an enthralling reminder that faith and love can create a mountain of hope, and sometimes even a miracle.

64. Fields of Corn by Sarah Price

An Amish Christian Romance (believe it or not!!)
read on my iPhone
2010 published
272 pgs.
CRF - I have read that Amish Fiction is now considered a genre on its own
Finished July 18, 2018
Goodreads rating: 4.25 - 641 ratings
My rating:  2.5
Setting:  contemporary Lancaster County, PA

First line/s:  "The horse, a brown Morgan with a thick black mane, trotted down Musser School Lane, effortlessly pulling the black, box-like buggy."

My comments:  There's a fascination and pull towards the simplicity of the Amish life that more-than intrigues me, especially as I know live near numerous Amish communities.  But my sprirtual beliefs and those of the Amish are so very different that it makes books like these particularly difficult to digest.  The last quarter of the book pulled my rating way down, very hard for me to take.  Or understand.

Goodreads synopsis:  Shana Slater doesn't realize that her life is about to change when she pulls into the Lapp farm in Leola, Pennsylvania, to inquire about renting a small apartment over a mule shed. Yet, the price is right and the rolling fields of corn present a peaceful place for her to retreat when she is not working in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
          Her curiosity about the Amish way of life is piqued when she befriends Emanuel Lapp, the son of her landlord. As she learns about the Amish through his eyes, she quickly realizes that the Amish way of life is more than just religion and a plain way of living. She also discovers that the more she learns, the more she is unexpectedly falling for much more than their plain and simple lifestyle. When two worlds collide, which will survive and at what cost?
          Based in part on the author's experience living on an Amish farm, Fields of Corn presents a sweet and authentic love story.

MOVIE - Same Kind of Different as Me

RPG-13 (1:59)

Wide release 10/20/17

Viewed around 10/21/2017 

RT Critic: 33   Audience:  87
Critic's Consensus:  

Cag: 3.5

Directed by Michael Carney

Paramount Pictures

Based on a true story

Greg Kinneer, Renee Zellweger

My comments: Stupid, forgettable name for a movie.  Having no clue what this movie was about, I went.  It was probably a good thing I had no clue, because I probably would have never gone if I'd known its premise.  It was OK.  A tearjerker, which I'm not crazy about.  And I felt I had to take a couple of stretches of imagination, "liberal license."  I think what they wanted to say was that the wife, Debbie, had a very strong link to Denver, when the movie made it appear that the stronger link, all along, was the husband, Ron.  It was based on a true story, I'll have to look up if it was from a book or not.  Acting was fine, I don't think I've seen either Greg Kinneer or Renee Zellweger in a movie recently, they've both aged well.  Lots of religion without being preachy.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME is based on the inspiring true story of international art dealer Ron Hall (Greg Kinnear), who befriends a homeless man (Djimon Hounsou) in hopes of saving his struggling marriage to Debbie (Renée Zellweger), a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the most remarkable journey of their lives. Jon Voight plays Hall's father, with whom he reconciles thanks to the revelations of his new life. Based on the New York Times bestseller.

27. Twisted Innocence - Terri Blackstock

Audio read by Nan Gurley

6 Unabridged cds (&;28)

2015 Zondervan/Brilliance Audio

320 pgs.

Adult Mystery - Faith Based, I think you'd call it....

Finished 4/14/15

Goodreadsrating: 4.32

My rating: 2/It was okay

PBS trade

Setting; contemporary Panama City, FL

My comments: Three sisters - and three brothers (though one is deceased) - still trying to put away the drug lord that has paralyzed the family.  Cops, investigators, and lawyers, all rally around youngest sibling Holly as she tries to distance herself from her 4-week old daughter's father; Kathy as she tries to get her fiance a pardon from prison; and Juliet who is recovering from a bad marriage.  Then, all of a sudden, God is introduced, then slowly but surely the story includes talk of God and faith and gets a bit preachy - at least for me.  I actually don't think this was Ms. Blackstock's intention, but it became too overwhelming for me.  I believe there are a book or two that preceded this one, but I understood what was going on very well.  Some of the storyline just was a little unbelievable, but..... 

Goodreads book summary:  When Holly s secrets backfire, is the mess too big to unravel?
          Holly Cramer has worked hard to keep the identity of her daughter s father a secret, shamed and embarrassed by the one-night stand. But when the police knock on her door searching for Creed Kershaw, she realizes his identity isn t as hidden as she thought. The fact that Creed is a person of interest in a recent drug-related murder only increases her humiliatioWhen Holly s secrets backfire, is the mess too big to unravel?
          Holly Cramer has worked hard to keep the identity of her daughter s father a secret, shamed and embarrassed by the one-night stand. But when the police knock on her door searching for Creed Kershaw, she realizes his identity isn t as hidden as she thought. The fact that Creed is a person of interest in a recent drug-related murder only increases her humiliation.
          When Holly s and Creed s paths cross, Holly is unsure whether to be terrified of him or trust him. His tenderness with their daughter makes her want to believe his story that he had nothing to do with the murder. Then she discovers that Creed has a connection to Leonard Miller who killed both her sister s fiance and her brother-in-law, and kidnapped her nephews and things only become more complicated.
          Will Creed lead them to the man who has plagued her family, or become another of his victims?"
When Holly s and Creed s paths cross, Holly is unsure whether to be terrified of him or trust him. His tenderness with their daughter makes her want to believe his story that he had nothing to do with the murder. Then she discovers that Creed has a connection to Leonard Miller who killed both her sister s fiance and her brother-in-law, and kidnapped her nephews and things only become more complicated.
          Will Creed lead them to the man who has plagued her family, or become another of his victims?"

Through the Evil Days - Julia Spencer-Fleming

Rev. Clare Ferguson & Russ VanAlstyne Mystery #8

I ABANDONED THIS BOOK 

audio read by Suzanne Toren

2013 Macmillan Audio

368 pgs.- I only got through a little more than 50

Adult mystery, quit reading on 3/19/2014

Goodreads Rating: 4.09

My Rating: 1/Didn't Like it

TPPL

Setting: Contemporary upstate New York

My comments:  I guess I should have read these in order, but the first books in the series were totally unavailable (or extinct) in audio, so I jumped into #8.  I made it through almost the first two cds.  Too many bigoted church people. Too much talk about church and church-related "stuff."  And one of the most unlikable protagonists I've encountered in a while (Russ). Totally negative, pissed about his new wife's pregnancy, temper easily triggered.  I spent a 35-minute ride without even turning it on - that's when I decided I didn't like it and didn't want to listen to another word. (In 50 pages, the mystery was barely even touched upon!)

Goodreads Review:  On a frigid January night, Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne and Reverend Clare Fergusson are called to the scene of a raging fire, that quickly becomes a double homicide and kidnapping. Which is the very last thing Russ needs...Currently he's struggling with the prospect of impending fatherhood. And his new wife is not at all happy with his proposal for their long-delayed honeymoon: a week in an unelectrified ice-fishing cabin. The vestry of St. Alban's Church has called for the bishop to investigate Clare's "unpriestly" pregnancy. She has one week to find out if she will be scolded, censured, or suspended from her duties. Officer Hadley Knox is having a miserable January as well. Her on-again-off-again lover, Kevin Flynn, has seven days to weigh an offer from the Syracuse Police Department that might take him half a state away.

     As the days and hours tick by, Russ and Clare fight personal and professional battles they've never encountered. In the course of this one tumultuous week the lives of the Millers-Kill residents readers have come to love and cherish change forever. Readers have waited years for Through The Evil Days and Julia Spencer-Fleming delivers with the exquisite skill and craftsmanship that have made her such a success.

The Sparkle Box - Jill Hardie

Illustrated by Christine Kornacki

"A Gift with the Power to Change Christmas"

2012, Ideal Children's Books

HC $19.99

32 pages

Goodreads rating: 4.51 (41 ratings)

My rating: 4.5

Endpapers:  Evergreen

Title Page: 1-inch red frame, 4 x 4 illustration of the Sparkle box (without the actual sparkle, here) in the middle.  The cover has great "real" silver sparkle on the box.

Illustrations:  Full page, realistic, colorful....large, bold, lovely.

1^st line:  "Snowflakes swirled through the air as Samand his mom stopped to look in the toy store window."

Opening page:  "Dear reader, you are the light of the world - make it sparkle."

My comments:  What a super - fantastic idea -- keep a special box (in this case, sparkly, glittery silver) on the mantle and jot down things you've done for others during the Christmas season. Open it and share on Christmas morning. This book explains that Sam's family does it as a birthday gift to Jesus (this is the first "religious" mention in the book, and the only mention, on the last page, other than two quotes from the book of Matthew in the "Notes from the author.")  This book will definitely take away some of the commercialism of the holidays. I LOVE the idea! (I wish it wasn't limited to Christian kids, thus my lowering of the rating by a half point.)

Goodreads: During the Christmas season, Sam and his parents participate in various acts of kindness to others and record their good deeds on slips of paper to be placed in a sparkly box, as a gift to Jesus.

Brother Sun Sister Moon – Katherine Paterson

Saint Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures

Illustrated by Pamela Dalton

Handprint Books/Chronicle, 2011

$17.99

28 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.07

My rating:  4  (The illustrations are a 5+, Paterson's words are beautiful, just a little too religious for me....I know, I know, that shouldn't impact my rating, but it does....)

Black background instead of white, cut paper and watercolor!  Magnificent illustrations.

Truly one of the most gorgeous books I know.  And they’re all watercolored PAPER CUTS !  All on a black background.  All spectacular.

The words, based on Saint Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures, written around 1224, translated from the Umbrian text of the Assisi codex by Bill Barrett and now “reimagined” by Katherine Paterson, are extremely religious.  They praise god as creator, caretaker, comforter, and sustainer.  Although this is not at all my own personal cup-of-tea, removing some of the words and referring to the air – winds – sun, moon, stars – water – fire – earth – courage … and death ---as brothers and sisters, suits me just fine.

“We praise you that in this world of hatred and war, you still give us courageous brothers and sisters who offer their lives to the making of peace.  They are indeed your beloved children.”

Moses - Carole Boston Weatherford

When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, 2006
$15.99
48 pages
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: bright yellow-orange
Forward and Author's Note
2007 Caldecott Honor Award
2007 Coretta Scott King WINNER

Kadir Nelson is a master at creating mood in his illustrations., I can smell the air. I can hear the crickets. I can feel her intense sadness.

I know well the story of Harriet Tubman and her many trips between the south and the north guiding slaves to freedom. I know of her bravery and perseverance. I did not know about her deep spirituality and belief in God, although I guess I'm not surprised. This book is the story of her first journey - a lone journey - and the talks she might have had with God. The same kind of conversation that the original Moses might have had with God. Those words - God's answers to her questions, his guiding advice, are written in a larger, paler font and twist and turn in and around the pictures. Quite beautiful. But we're talking Kadir Nelson here....

I like the way this shows the relationship Harriet Tubman felt with God. It doesn't matter whether or not you're a believer - it tells of HER beliefs. And it's apparently those beliefs, that relationship, that pushed her and gave her the bravery to succeed.

1820-1913. I've been to her grave. I have a photo somewhere. I'll look for it.