(G) Ages 16 and up

The Martian: Classroom Edition by Andy Weir

A snarky, totally believable science fiction narrative for teens. The Martian: Classroom Edition by Andy Weir. Broadway Books, 2016. 400 pages. Reading Level: Teens, ages 15-18Recommended ...
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The Queen of Katwe: Book and Movie Review

This is a featured title in our Beauty and the Beast Adventure. Redeemed Reader is not affiliated with or endorsing the new Disney Beauty and the ...
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Beauty and the Beast – Devotional #2: the Beast

See our first Beauty and the Beast Devotional if you missed it! This is part of our Beauty and the Beast Adventure which is focusing ...
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Exploring Ugliness

As part of our “Beauty and the Beast” focus this month, our staff got together and brainstormed books and other resources (such as movies) that ...
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Movie Night: Penelope

What’s a girl to do if she’s born with a pig’s nose?  If her family has money, that’s some consolation, but Penelope’s family is also ...
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Beauty and the Beast – Devotional #1

Me and My Mirror Is there anyone reading this who has never, in their lives, spent time staring into a mirror seeking out all the ...
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Devotion by Adam Makos

It is Korea, 1950, and Jesse Brown, first African American carrier pilot in the Navy, has just crashed over enemy territory . . .   ...
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March, Books One and Three by John Lewis

John Lewis recounts his role in the Civil Rights struggle in this series of graphic nonfiction histories that vividly portray the difficulty, agony, and ultimate ...
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*Under Our Skin by Benjamin Watson

For Christians of all colors who are concerned about racial tension, Benjamin Watson shows the way to reconciliation. *Under Our Skin by Benjamin Watson.  Tyndale, ...
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Spindle by Shonna Slayton

New England mill girls, fairies, suffragettes, and a curse reaching across the years blend together in this retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Spindle by Shonna Slayton.  Entangled: ...
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Teaching Discernment: Bad Words in Books

True Story: We're getting in the car after a park date with our homeschool friends, and one of my 9-year-old sons says: Mom! We learned some ...
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Farewell to Richard Adams

The last week of the year was an unusually intense news cycle, with a presidential transition, annual wrap-ups, and two prominent celebrity deaths back to ...
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The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry

The Passion of Dolssa is a frank and honest portrait of religious devotion that is true both to religion and to history. a review from ...
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*Visual Theology by Tim Challies

Visual Theology presents the primary disciplines of the Christian life in a highly accessible form with attractive graphics. *Visual Theology: Seeing and Understanding the Truth ...
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2016 Winter Book Fair: Books For Everyone!

2016 Winter Book Fair Books for Everyone On Your Christmas List! We have chosen the best of the best, our personal favorites, and plenty of great ...
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*Ugly: a Memoir by Robert Hoge

In this true story, a boy born with a hideous face learns to not only accept himself, but help others see him for what he ...
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*The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz

This one-of-a-kind novel blends medieval history, fantasy, humor, adventure, and philosophical questions that have vexed the ages. *The Inquisitor’s Tale, or, Three Magical Children and ...
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Pastor, Blogger, Author, Editor: More Church History Recommendations for the Whole Family!

We've spent all month reading and learning about church history. It's been such a rich study with interviews and book reviews, but we are not ...
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Trial and Triumph/ *Radiant by Richard M. Hannula

Church history anthologies of men and women from all over the world in story format for middle grades and up! Trial and Triumph: Stories from ...
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*The Book of God by Ben Avery

This comprehensive, accessible guide to the history of the Bible in graphic-novel format will have young readers referring to it again and again. *The Book ...
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The Revolt by Douglas Bond

The England of John Wycliffe is vividly portrayed as a crucible of revolution in this new historical novel The Revolt: a Novel in Wycliffe’s England ...
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All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

A rich historical fiction work that offers hope in the midst of war-torn France. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Scribner, 2014. 531 ...
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Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

A compelling--and ultimately hopeful--crossover title for teens and adults about Hitler's evacuation of Germany and the biggest maritime disaster in history. Salt to the Sea ...
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We Will Not Be Silent by Russell Freedman

Russell Freedman covers the White Rose student movement, a German anti-Nazi protest during World War II, with an emphasis on the organizers’ Christian faith. We ...
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*Calvin by Martine Leavitt

A schizophrenic teen embarks on a quest for self-discovery and truth that becomes a struggle for survival. Calvin by Martine Leavitt.  Farrar Strauss and Giroux, ...
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Bible Review: *HCSB Essential Teen Study Bible

The HCSB Essential Teen Study Bible presents 99 “Essential Doctrines” with extensive scriptural backup and application. *The HCSB Essential Teen Study Bible.  B&H Kids, 2016, 1312 ...
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Back-to-School Backpack List (2016)

Just in time for the start of a new school year with new pencils, new protractors, new textbooks: our Back-to-School Backpack Booklist! As is our ...
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All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

Rashad (a black guy) and Quinn (a white guy) take turns narrating this timely and moving young adult realistic fiction story about police brutality and ...
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Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

In Under a Painted Sky, the events of one day change Sammy from a moody teenage girl to a fugitive striking out into the west. ...
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Allegiant: It Was a Book First!

 The Divergent series by Veronica Roth, a self-avowed Christian, lives on as Allegiant hits theaters this week. Below, Hayley reflects Allegiant in book form. Allegiant, by Veronica Roth.  Katherine ...
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The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

In most science fiction, technological advances are not shown to advance humanity.   However, it would be tough to find a more negative view of ...
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Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George. Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2009. 352 pages Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages 16-up ...
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Red Rising by Pierce Brown

 This review is brought to us by Ann Rees Berry, who has now finished an internship with Redeemed Reader.  Thank you, Ann!   Red Rising by ...
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Illusionarium by Heather Dixon

Illusionarium by Heather Dixon.  Greenwillow Books, 2015.  368 pages.  Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages 15 and up Bottom Line: A darker steam-punk fantasy, Illusionarium ...
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tortoise and hare by jerry pinkney

The Tortoise and the Hare by Jerry Pinkney

The Tortoise and the Hare by Jerry Pinkney. Little, Brown, 2013. 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8 Recommended For: All Ages Slow and ...
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cover of Through Gates of Splendor

*Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot

*Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot. Tenderly House, 1981 (reprint, orig. 1957). 274 pages. Reading Level: Young adult (ages 12 and up)Recommended For: ages 10 and ...
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The Well-Gifted Grad

Our favorite graduation gift is, of course, books—whether timely, practical, inspirational, or scholarly. We would never recommend sending a young person off to college (or ...
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*Finding Truth by Nancy Pearcy

*Finding Truth: Five Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes by Nancy Pearcey. David C. Cook, 2015. 383 pages Reading Level: Young Adult, ...
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Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman. Random House, 2015. 610 pages. Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 15-18 Bottom Line: Seraphina, a half-dragon, half-human ityasaari, is desperately trying to rally ...
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Cinderella Read-Alikes for Boys and Girls of All Ages

Cinderella Read-Alikes for Boys and Girls of All Ages A few of our favorite picture books, chapter books, middle grade titles, young adult reads, and ...
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An Uncertain Choice by Jody Hedlund

An Uncertain Choice by Jody Hedlund. Zondervan, 2015. 249 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 15 – 18 Maturity Level: 6 (ages 15 – 18) and up Bottom Line: A ...
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*Pioneer Girl: the Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder

*Pioneer Girl: the Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder (edited by Pamela Smith Hill). University of South Dakota Press, sale 2014. 400 pages. Reading Level: ...
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Running Lean By Diana Sharples

Running Lean by Diana Sharples.  Zondervan/Blink, 2013.  400 pages. Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 15-18 Recommended For: ages 16 and up Bottom Line: Running Lean ...
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The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis: an Introduction

This thing called “love”—what is it? Something we long for, feel vague stirrings about, idolize, draw inspiration from, and abuse left and right. It’s unpredictable, ...
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Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Fairest by Marissa Meyer. Feiwel and Friends, 2015. 220 pages.  Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 15-18 Maturity Level: 6 (ages 15-18) and up Bottom Line: In an originally unplanned prequel, readers are given ...
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*Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi

This book is a "Best of the Best" pick from our Winter Book Fair. CLICK HERE to see more gift ideas! *Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim ...
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*Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt’s masterpiece first published 40 years ago, is as timeless as its title characters. *Tuck Everlasting (40th Anniversary Edition) by Natalie Babbitt, ...
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*Rise by Trip Lee

*Rise: Get Up and Live in God's Great Story by Trip Lee.  Thomas Nelson, 2014.  240 pages.  Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 and up Maturity ...
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Avalon by Mindee Arnett

Avalon by Mindee Arnett, Balzer + Bray, 2014. 415 pages. Reading Level:  Young Adults, (ages 12-14) and up Maturity Level: 6 (ages 15-18) and up Readers meet ...
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The Dawning of Indestructible Joy by John Piper

The Dawning of Indestructible Joy: Daily Readings for Advent by John Piper.  Crossway, 2014,96 pages Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Maturity Level: 6 (ages ...
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cover of Every Valley

Every Valley by Albert L. Blackwell

Every Valley: Advent with the Scriptures of Handel's Messiah by Albert L. Blackwell. Westminster John Knox Press, 2014. 160 pages. Reading Level: Adults (16 and up)Recommended ...
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The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes

The graphic edition of Amity Shlaes' acclaimed history presents a different view of the effectiveness of government action during the Great Depression. The Forgotten Man: ...
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We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Delacorte, 2014. 242 pages. Reading Level: Young Adults, Ages 12-14 Maturity Level: 7 (Ages 16-up) Then he pulled out ...
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The Finisher by David Baldacci

The Finisher by David Baldacci.  Scholastic, 2014, 497 pages.   Reading level: Young Adults, 15-18 Maturity level: 6 What do you get when you blend a ...
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Through Middle-Eastern Eyes: I Am Malala and Hidden Girl

Two real-life memoirs of girls living in a turbulent time and place: Hidden Girl: the True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave, by Shyima Hall, ...
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genesis in space and time book cover

Genesis in Space and Time by Francis Schaeffer

This review was originally written by Valen Caldwell as part of the 2014 Summer Reading Challenge.     Genesis in Space and Time by Francis ...
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The Story of Owen: Review and Discussion

It's officially an off-week here at Redeemedreader.  But we've put together one "extra" post for your holiday weekend: a review of The Story of Owen: ...
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To Say Nothing of the Dog (Summer Reading for Grown-ups!)

This post originally appeared in a different format as part of our 2014 Summer Reading Challenge. The content has been adapted slightly to fit our new ...
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Gifts for Grads, 3rd Edition

If you have a high school or college graduate, you’re thinking about how fast time flies and how bittersweet the occasion of this very special ...
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Thinking Christianly–about Everything

Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition series, by various authors. Crossway, 2012-2016, 110-140 pages each. Age/interest level: 16-up. This fall, bright, committed Christian students will pack ...
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Boys of Blur and Beowulf: Like Father, Like Son

It's not often that we are privileged to read literary gems from both father AND son. But that is indeed the case here; to make ...
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Portrait of the Fantacist as a Young Man: Carpet People

The Carpet People, written and illustrated by Terry Pratchett.  Clarion, 2013, 261 pages.  Age/interest level: 11-up Sir Terry Pratchett, grand old man of fantasy/science fiction, ...
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Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer.  Square Fish, 2012.  387 pages.   Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12 – 15 Recommended For: 6 (ages 15 – 18) and up Bottom ...
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The Spiritual World of The Hobbit + Giveaway

(Giveaway is now closed) The ever-increasing popularity of Middle Earth has brought a profusion of books written about both J. R.R. Tolkien and his created ...
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C. S. Lewis at War: Radio Theatre for Teens and Adults

C. S. Lewis at War: The Dramatic Story Behind Mere Christianity (Radio Theatre) by C.S. Lewis and Paul McCusker.  Tyndale Entertainment, 2013.  Ages 12 and ...
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History in Graphic Format

As we conclude our History Month here at RedeemedReader, I hope you've enjoyed learning about historical fiction, church history, picture book biographies, general history, and ...
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How God Used a Thunderstorm by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn

*How God Used a Thunderstorm and Other Devotional Stories  by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn, illustrated by Jeff Anderson (Building on the Rock Series). ...
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Ender’s Game Read Along: A Galactic Giveaway and Contest!

***THE GIVEAWAY PART OF THIS POST IS OVER. *** ENDER’S GAME POSTS: Introduction, Week 1: Sci-fi and Orson Scott Card, Week 2: Ender vs Peter, ...
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Beowulf: Legend, Worldview, and Contemporary Narratives

When I used to teach high school British Literature back in the day, Beowulf was always our first big study. It's first chronologically, and it's ...
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Rose Under Fire: Sequel/Companion to Code Name Verity

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. Disney, 2013. Age: 14 and up. Last year, I read one of the best books I've ever read: Code ...
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Words for Life: Bibles for Teens and Graduates

In an earlier post I wrote about beginners “Bibles” and Bible storybooks.  That was followed up by a post on the methods and merits of ...
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Poetry Anthologies

A good poetry anthology is like going to a friend's house with a basket, and being told, "Oh, you must read this one, and this one, and ...
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The Real Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Conan Doyle published the first Sherlock Holmes story in a British periodical in 1887, to moderate interest.  Three novels and fifty-odd short stories later, ...
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Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield.  Crown and Covenant, 2012.  154 pgs. An Anomaly In the 1990's, Rosaria Butterfield was ...
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Identity and Revolution, part 1

“We will triumph with our tongues.  We own our lips—who is our master?” Psalm 12:4 We live in an age where reality can be easily ...
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Grace and Law and Two Silver Candlesticks

I love musicals—always have, ever since my sister and I sang along to original cast recordings and movie soundtracks for Rogers & Hammerstein and Lerner ...
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Other Lives: Reading and Watching Anna Karenina

The latest movie version of Anna Karenina is not for family viewing, because it deals with "adult" themes more graphically than it needs to.  The ...
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O Come, Emmanuel

Every year advent takes me by surprise--otherwise I would have posted this last week!   Family advent readers come down from the shelves this time of ...
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Burdens of the Past

Seventy-three years ago, on September 1, German tanks rolled across the border of Poland and the conflict that soon became known as World War II ...
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Running for My Life & Other Hopeful Sports Books

A Few Recommendations Last year Janie and I put together a post on football books for kids and young adults, Tim Tebow to Justin Tuck: ...
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Hard Science

God particle, Higgs boson—it's been news since Independence Day (no relation to said holiday) and most of us scratch our heads.  It’s too hot to ...
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Thriving at College: An Interview with Alex Chediak

A handbook of practical wisdom for the would-be college student. Essential summer read for every incoming freshman.--Dr. Gene Veith, provost of Patrick Henry College About ...
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The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

As Jesus takes us to the cross this week, I’d like to spend some time looking at recent and classic children’s literature that addresses the ...
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Blue Like Jazz

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts On Christian Spirituality, was published in 2003 by Thomas Nelson.  Since then it has become a staple of Christian college ...
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Kingstone Part 1: 2048 and Echoes of Eden

Today's reviewer, Jack Mertens, is a 17 year old high school student living in Louisiana where he is, among other things, an avid reader and ...
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Pleasures and Distractions

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, by Alan Jacobs.  Oxford University Press, 2011, 150 pages.  Age/interest: adult. Heads-up: Watch for our interview ...
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He’s Coming!

In the fundamentalist church where I grew up, we never did advent.  I never even understood what the word meant until well into my twenties, ...
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Lord of Light

They had guessed before that this was an island: clambering among the pink rocks, with the sea on either side, and the crystal heights of ...
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Homelanders Series by Andrew Klavan

Homelanders, by Andrew Klavan.  Published by Thomas Nelson in four parts: The Last Thing I Remember (2009), The Long Way Home (2010), The Truth of ...
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That Hideous Strength 3: Climax

Previous posts: Introduction, Part One: Setup, Part Two: Development. Climax?  Isn’t it a little early for that?  Most of us have the idea that the ...
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That Hideous Strength 2: Development

Previous Posts: Introduction Part One: Setup Almost all the main characters have been introduced and the potential conflicts are in place.  Now development: that phase ...
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That Hideous Strength 1: the Setup

Beginning our first-ever Readalong: here's the Introduction. The action takes place at three fictional locations: Edgetow, a university town similar to Cambridge, but smaller; St. ...
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That Hideous Strength: An Introduction

In the summer of 1945, George Orwell wrote a review for the Manchester Evening News, beginning, "On the whole, novels are better when there are ...
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‘True Grit’ and True Grace

“Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for ...
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THe book thief cover image

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

The Book Thief, a literary novel for teens and adults, explores Nazi Germany and the Holocaust through the eyes of a child, in prose that ...
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