The Atonement

From the Back Cover:

The mistakes of the past haunt Lucy Flaud, now twenty-five and beyond Amish courting age. Instead, Lucy focuses on volunteering in both the Plain and fancy communities of Lancaster County.Yet no matter how hard she strives, she never feels she's doing enough. Then her father strikes up an unexpected friendship with an Englischer in search of a simpler way of life. Lucy forms a connection of her own with the thoughtful young man even as she rejects courtship with her longtime Amish friend. Is it too late to embrace redemption… and the power of love?

The Atonement is Beverly Lewis’ newest book, it was released in March 2016. It is a stand alone, and probably one of my favorite stand alone books by Beverly Lewis. I enjoyed the characters and the story-line. I also really like Beverly Lewis' writing style. I would recommend this book and most of her other ones to anyone who enjoys Amish fiction. 

I give this book 9 out of 10 R's

July Highlights

July was a great month! It wasn’t too busy, which was really nice. :)

This is actually the view out of one of my bedroom windows.

--For the 4th of July my family and I went over to some good friends of ours' house and had a wonderful time visiting, eating dinner, and just having a great time. After it got dark some of us older kids drove down to a park where fireworks were being set off. They were all super pretty. All 11 of us kids who went and watched the fireworks crowded up on top of a firetruck and watched the show from there. (And yes, we did have permission to be up there. ;) ) 

--Towards the middle of July three of my friends and I had what we call a girls night. We stayed up super late watching movies, playing games, eating snacks, and having a wonderful time. :)

--My family and I have been having a fun time watching America’s Got Talent. It has been so fun. :) There are some acts that are not good to watch so we just skip those ones, but for the most part they are all good. 

--Last week some friends came over to our house and all of us kids went swimming in our pool. It was a ton of fun! :)

This past month I read:

Love Finds you in Valentine, Nebraska by Irene Brand 

Julia’s Last Hope by Janette Oke

The Quieting by Suzanne Woods Fisher

The Princess Club by Catherine Marshall

When Breaks the Dawn by Janette Oke

Dare by Tricia Mingerink

Deny by Tricia Mingerink

Family Secrets by Catherine Marshall

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura’s Victory by Veda Boyd Jones

The Silent Blade by Jesseca Wheaton 

Mountain Madness by Catherine Marshall

August is going to be a little busier than July was, but still fun. :)

The Silent Blade Blog Tour

Today I am participating in Jesseca's blog tour for her book The Silent Blade that came out today! This is my first blog tour, so I'm super excited.

Today I will be doing a book spotlight!

Synopsis

Dromiskin, Ireland. 925 A.D.

Eira has no greater desire than to see her life returned to what it once was—before her older brother Kevin's sudden disappearance four years earlier. But the simple life she hoped for seems unattainable; on the contrary, her life is about to get all the more complicated.
When she suddenly finds herself and Willem, her twin brother, taken captive by someone who claims to be Kevin’s enemy, things go from bad to worse. It soon becomes clear that she and Willem are to become bait in a trap set for Kevin, and Eira knows she must try to warn him. But how, when she herself is a captive?
As mysteries of the past are unveiled, and loyalties are revealed, Eira realizes how precious her friends truly are. And when mortal danger threatens those nearest to her, will she be able to trust God with the lives of her friends and family?

About the Author

Jesseca is an 18-year old daughter, sister, and a child of God. Her days are spent reading, cooking, spending time with siblings, or playing piano.  And writing, of course! At an early age words fascinated her, and her love for the printed page has only grown. She lives with her parents and seven siblings in the sunny state of Kansas, and she’s convinced there’s no place like home. 

Visit Jesseca's blog, Whimsical Writings. 

Here is a list of all of the other bloggers participating in this fun tour!

Wednesday, July 20th

Mikayla H.at The Bubblegum Ballerina --Review

Blessings Counter at Counting your Blessings One by One --Author Interview

Ivy Rose at  Lakeside Publications --Review, Spotlight

Mallory Beth at Renewed by Grace --Review

Thursday, July 21st

Lydia Dyslin at Through the Wardrobe --Review

Rebekah Eddy at Rebekah’s Remarks --Review, Interview

Abigayle Allison at The Left-Handed Typist --Review, Spotlight

Friday, July 22nd (Publication Day!!)

Blessings Counter at Counting your Blessings One by One --Review

Rebekah Ashleigh at Rebekah Ashleigh --Spotlight

Amanda Tero at  With a Joyful Noise --Review, Interview, Spotlight

Deborah O’Carroll at The Road of a Writer –Review, Spotlight

Kaitlyn K. at Prairie Gal Cookin’ --Review, Spotlight

Bethany R. at A Great God and Good Cocoa --Review, Spotlight

Deborah C. at Reading in June --Spotlight, Review

Emily at A Purpose and a Promise --Spotlight, Review

Saturday, July 23rd

Kellyn Roth at Reveries--Review, Interview

Jason McIntire at Elisha Press--Interview

Natasha H. at Looking Through my Lens --Review

Faith P. at Stories by Firefly --Review, Interview

Monday, July 25th

Jesseca Wheaton at Whimsical Writings --Blog Tour wrap-up post

Also go here to enter a giveaway! :)

By The Book Tag

Faith from Stories by Firefly tagged me for this fun book tag. Thanks, Faith, it was a lot of fun! :)

1. What book is on your nightstand now?

I don’t actually have any books on my nightstand right now, but the books I’m currently reading are Deny by Tricia Mingerink, Laura's Victory by Veda Boyd Jones, and Family Secrets by Catherine Marshall.

2. What was the last truly great book you read? 

I really don't know. I recently read The Quieting by Suzanne Woods Fisher and it was better than I thought it would be.

3. If you could meet any writer - dead or alive - who would it be? And what would you want to know? 

If I could meet any author I would want to meet Beverly Lewis. I’m not exactly sure what I would ask her, but I do know that I would love to get some of my books by her signed. 

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves? 

Umm...I don't know. Maybe the American Girl Minute Mysteries.

5. How do you organize your personal library? 

Well, on my bookshelf in my room I don't really organize it any certain way, except that my A Life of Faith and Circle C books are on the top shelf because they're my favorites. ;)
The rest of my books are downstairs on the family shelf. Those books are in alphabetical order.

 6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around yet? 

Several years ago I did a summer reading program at a local bookstore and for finishing, I got to choose a book. They didn't give me a very big selection to choose from, but I ended up choosing The Silent Stranger. I still haven't read it, but I'm sure I will one day. ;)

7. Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read? 

I don’t really feel embarrassed not to have read any certain book, but I can’t believe that I’ve never read all of the Little House books. When I was younger my mom read Little House in the Big Woods to me and I just re-read it, but I haven’t read the rest in the series. Although I do plan to.

8. Disappointing, overrated, just not good: what book did you feel you are supposed to like but didn’t? 

When I was in 6th grade one of my reading books had a small part from the book Understood Betsy by Dorthy Canfield Fisher in it. That story was so fun, so when I found out that it was only a part out of a book I started looking for the book. They library didn’t have it so I didn’t read it until a couple years later when I came across the book and bought it, but it actually ended up not being all that fun. I was a little disappointed.

9. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing? 

The last book I put down was The Stout-hearted Seven: Orphaned on the Oregon Trail by Neta Lohnes Frazier. It wasn’t my most favorite book and at the end there was an Indian massacre and it got to be a little too much for me at the time.

10. What kind of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of? 

I am drawn to Amish fiction. I really enjoy a good Amish book.

I mostly stay clear of fantasy. I prefer more “real life” stories. 

11. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be? 

The Bible.

12. What do you plan to read next?

I would like to read Anchor in the Storm by Sarah Sundin.

I tag:

Blessing Counter

Jesseca Dawn

Jonathan

Hannah E.

James

An Exotic Bird....Or Not

Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful Friday! :D

Okay, first off, does anybody know what type of bird this is?

If you said a heron that is correct! If you weren’t exactly sure, no worries because I didn’t either. ;) 

I alway thought I knew what a heron was, but several weeks ago I found out that I obviously didn’t. I had never actually seen one. Little did I know that I was the only one in my family who hadn’t.

We have a small pond in our front yard with some fish in it and our fish population wasn’t what it had been before. I heard my family talking about that they’d seen a heron around lately and that it was stealing fish from our pond. So when it would come by someone would run out to chase it away. Like I said before, I hadn’t seen this heron that my family kept talking about, but I was pretty sure I knew what it looked like.

Well, back in late April (the 28th to be exact) I was standing in the kitchen by the window talking with my mom. I happened to look out the window and there, in our yard, I saw this huge bird. It was quite tall with a very long neck and a long beak. I was so shocked. My mom on the other hand, was not mesmerized by this bird like myself. She looked out the window too and seeing that this strange bird was a heron ran outside to chase it away. I was still standing in the kitchen shocked! I had never seen a bird like that before. It seriously looked like a strange, exotic, bird from a tropical island or maybe even some bird that flew over from Hawai’i! But I soon found out that that was the bird that had been eating our fish and that it was the heron. Not some exotic bird.

It came back a few days later and I tried to get a good picture of it, but it didn’t stand still that long so I couldn’t get the greatest picture and that’s why the above picture is a tad blurry.

Well, I hope you enjoyed hearing about my bird adventure. Even though it was’t anything special, it sure does make for an interesting story! 

A Woman Named Damaris

From the Back Cover:

She was almost fifteen on the night she dared for the first time to think of what life might be like away from the home. Pa again had come home drunk and mean; the trauma of the subsequent scene had been repeated as long as Damaris could remember. The idea that she no longer needs to tolerate this, that maybe she's old enough to manage on her own, is planted in her mind and begins to grow. She must plan her escape carefully, but she must get away from him.

When the opportunity comes, Damaris carries with her the strength of her mother's love. Two treasures hidden for years from her father--her grandmother's lacy golden brooch and her grandfather's lovely watch--are Damaris's only legacy from her past. That and her name. Her mother said it came from the Bible and had a special meaning that she can't remember anymore. What difference might it make?

But Damaris can't escape the "aloneness" that haunts her life of the bitterness she feels when she sees others suffering, particularly children. Ultimately, she must come to terms with her past, learn to live in her present circumstances, and trust her future to another Father.

"A Woman Named Damaris" is really good! This is one of my favorite Janette Oke books, although I haven't come across one yet that I haven't liked. ;) I read this book with a good friend of mine, which made it even more fun! If you haven't read anything by Janette Oke, then I encourage you to! Her stories are always very good and enjoyable with a good Christian message. :)

I give this book 9 out of 10 R's

June Highlights

Hi everyone! I can’t believe how fast June went by and that we are already three days into July! 

This has been another busy, but fun month for me.

--The beginning of this month my mom and I sold some books at a used curriculum sale. I sold about half of my books, which was pretty exciting. I also found a couple books too. ;)

--In the middle of June two of my brothers, two friends, and I went to a carnival that our town puts on each year. We had a lot of fun riding all of the rides. :) We rode the rides from 1:00 in the afternoon until 10:00 in the evening. We did take about an hour break to come home and eat dinner, but then we went right back. When we did go back it was actually raining so all of the carnival rides were wet, but we still kept on riding. By the time we got home we were all cold, but it was a super fun day! :)

--My brothers and I have been swimming in our pool quite a bit lately.

--Last week I went whitewater rafting with two of my friends. I was super nervous, but after I survived the rapids it was really fun! :)

--Last week my cousin came to visit for the weekended. We all had a fun time visiting and catching up with her. :)

This past month I read 9 books. They were:

June Bug Chris Fabry 

The Bridge to Cutter Gap Catherine Marshall

Silent Superstitions Catherine Marshall

The Angry Intruder Catherine Marshall

Sierra Jensen volume 1 by Robin Jones Gunn 

Midnight Rescue Catherine Marshall

The Proposal Catherine Marshall

The Mystery of the Midnight Trespasser by Hosanna Emily

Christy’s Choice Catherine Marshall

All of the books were really good. Well, except for June Bug. It was actually pretty good and I was enjoying it and it definitely kept my interest, but it did not end the way I wanted it to. Everything was going great until about the last chapter and some things happened that made me not like it so much anymore. There has been a couple of books before that I have almost cried through, but I actually did cry at the end of June Bug. 

But the rest of the books I read in June were great! :)

How was your June? Have you read any of these books? 

I’m looking forward to more fun summer days in July! :)