Review by Jill Williamson I can’t stop thinking about this book. First let me caution you, this book is graphic due to the subject matter, but I believe all older girls would benefit from reading it. The Road to Lost Innocence is not a fiction novel. It’s a memoir, which is a true story… Continue Reading
White by Ted Dekker
Review by Jill Williamson Thomas Hunter has his hands full with his men trying to explain who Justin really is and why one needs to die to truly live. Mikil, one of his female soldiers, claims to be having dreams about Kara Hunter, Thomas’ sister from the other world. Mikil tells Thomas that he… Continue Reading
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Review by Jill Williamson Leo Borlock hears the rumors first. A new girl. Previously homeschooled. Weird. Even weirder: her name is Stargirl. Then he sees her. She looks like she’s wearing her grandma’s wedding dress, and she carries around a ukulele and serenades anyone unlucky enough to have a birthday. Leo’s first goal:… Continue Reading
Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo
Review by Jill Williamson Charlie bone had a special picture blown up for his best friend’s birthday present. His mom picks it up from Kwik Foto, but when Charlie opens up the package, it’s not his order. He stares at the photo of a man holding a baby, mesmerized. Then a conversation floods his… Continue Reading
House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo
Fifteen-year-old Xander King is not happy to be moving away from Pasadena, California to live in the tiny town of Pinedale. Everything he’s always wanted was in Pasadena: his friends, his girlfriend, Hollywood. An amateur filmmaker, Xander wants to make movies someday, and living in Pinedale isn’t going to help. When the Kings… Continue Reading
Red by Ted Dekker
Review by Jill Williamson Thomas Hunter lay sleeping in a hotel room in Bangkok. Just as he’d predicted, the deadly The Raison Strain virus had been released into the world. His sister lets him sleep, though, for now. In another reality, Thomas rides a black steed over a sandy valley, leading his Forest… Continue Reading
Diamonds in the Shadow by Caroline B. Cooney
Review by Jill Williamson Jared is annoyed. He gets that people like to be do-gooders in the world, but why his family? And why dangerous African refugees? As he understands it, there are no good guys in a civil war, so how was he supposed to get excited about sharing his bedroom with a… Continue Reading
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
Asta’s son has never had a name. But now that his mother has died, a priest tells him his name is Crispin. Accused of a crime he didn’t commit, Crispin flees his village home. On his journey he meets a juggler named Bear, who teaches him the ways of entertaining, self defense, and snaring… Continue Reading
By Darkness Hid: Chapter One
Achan stumbled through the darkness toward the barn. The morning cold sent shivers through his threadbare linen tunic. He held a flickering torch out in front to light his way, clutched a wooden milking pail at his side, and wove between dark cottages in the outer bailey, mindful to keep his torch clear of the… Continue Reading
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Review by Jill Williamson When Rachel Lynde sees Matthew Cuthbert wearing his best suit of clothes and driving his buggy out of Avonlea at three in the afternoon she knows something it going on. Why, Matthew should be out in the fields sowing his turnip seed. She hustles over to her neighbors’ house immediately… Continue Reading
The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner
Review by Jill Williamson Lauren Durrough, the only daughter of a privileged family, is looking to find her own way in the world, at her own expense and without her father’s help. She takes a part-time job from Abigail, an eighty-three-year-old woman who needs the diary of her ancestor transcribed. The diary belonged to… Continue Reading
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The only mouse baby to survive the litter, his mother names him Despereaux, for all the sadness and despairs in the world. His ears are too big, his body too small, and his eyes too bright. “There’s something wrong with him,” his father claims. “He will be dead soon.” But little Despereaux didn’t… Continue Reading