Swimming with Faith - The Missy Franklin Story

Publisher:  Zonderkidz Biography
Publication Date:  May 10, 2016
Pages:  144

About the book...

Missy Franklin is one of the most talented swimmers in the world. She is a four-time Olympic gold medalist and currently holds the world record in the 200-meter backstroke and American records in both the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke. She was Swimming World’s World Swimmer of the Year and the American Swimmer of the Year in 2012. This story tells of her rise in fame and humbleness in the sport.

My thoughts...

This is a book that was at the top of my list to review.  With the Olympics coming, and both our daughters in swimming, I knew this would be a popular title at our house!  I was not disappointed (after all, I was a swimmer growing up as well).  

I loved the simplicity of the reading, it was something kids could read on their own, or have read to them by their parents. At just 144 pages, it's the right length for short readings or an easy sit through for one reading.  Being a paperback, it's not too heavy to tote around with you either.

I love that Missy subtly shares her faith throughout the pages, and doesn't shy away from letting readers know how she feels and what she believes.  Full of details and information, this is definitely a book a swimming enthusiast would be interested in reading!

I give this book 5 Stars

**I was provided a copy of this book for my honest review**

NIV Bible for Teen Girls

NIV Bible for Teen Girls:  Growing in Faith, Hope, and Love
Published by Zondervan
1728 Pages
Product Dimensions:  8.8x5.5x1.8 inches

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From Amazon:

The NIV Bible for Teen Girls, designed specifically for girls ages 13 to 18, is for real teenage girls with real lives. Packed with daily readings, highlighted promises of God, challenging insights, smart advice, and open discussion about the realities of life, this Bible is designed to help teen girls grow in faith, hope, and love. The NIV Bible for Teen Girls is as sincere about your walk with God as you are, helping you discover his will for all areas of your life, including relating to your family, dealing with friends, work, sports, guys, and so much more. Features include: Daily readings for teen girls by popular Christian female authors (Annie Downs, Bekah Hamrick Martin, Christine Caine, Crystal Kirgiss, Bethany Hamilton, Nicole Weider, Elsa Kok Colopy, Denise Van Eck and more) - Character profiles of women in the Bible - Book introductions for each book of the Bible - Highlighted promises of God: verses worth remembering - A concordance for help in finding verses - The complete text of the bestselling New International Version (NIV) of the Bible.

My Thoughts:

Let me start out by saying I LOVE the cover of this Bible!  The colors, the wording, the layout...it's absolutely beautiful and perfect for a teen (or tween) girl.  I actually have 2 tween daughters (twins), and was concerned that they would fight over this Bible.  I mean really...who wants their children fighting over a Bible?  Thankfully, I let them work it out and they decided they could share this one at home since they both had others of their own.  They were as in love with this "grown up" Bible as I was!

The hardcover book insures durability, and the NIV version is easily understandable for the tweens (or teens).  I also like how it has devotions built right in, no more carrying around several different books and taking the chance of losing one of them.  Our girls recently went to a 3 day retreat with their youth group at church, and this was the Bible they took along for reading and doing devotions!  Such a great addition to their reading lists.

I give this Bible 5 stars and would highly recommend it for that tween or teen in your life!

**I received this item in exchange for my honest review**

Hiding Places - Erin Healy

Hiding Places by Erin Healy
Genre: Mystery & Suspense, Inspirational Fiction, Contemporary Women
Published by Thomas Nelson
Pages: 368

From Amazon:

The Harrison lodge is full of hiding places where young Kate can discover all the secrets no one wants her to know.

Eleven-year-old Kate keeps her knowledge to herself—one sister’s stash of marijuana, the other’s petty cash pilfering, her grandfather’s contraband candy bars. She protects her mother and Gran, too, screening out critical comments from the hotel suggestions box. But suddenly the stakes are raised; her grandfather’s best friend is murdered the day after Kate heard the two men arguing.

At the same time, far from the quiet mountain resort, a homeless man sees a robbery gone wrong . . . a gang member seeks revenge for the death of his son . . . and a boy chooses the worst time to wield spray paint on a store window. In a strange and spiraling sequence of events, their disparate worlds collide at Harrison Lodge.

Kate offers shelter to one of them, unaware of the terrible consequences to the family she loves. But people can hide in all kinds of ways, sometimes even in plain sight . . . and some secrets are just waiting to be exposed.

My Thoughts:

I am a huge fan of Erin Healy.  I requested this book the moment I heard about, and could not wait for it to arrive!  I've tried on several different occasions to read the book, with this last time getting the furthest through it, which is equal to about 1/3 of the book.  I wanted to like it...I really tried.  But for some reason I just could not get in to the story-line, or connect with any of the characters.  It could be everything I have going on in my life right now, or maybe I just wanted to like it too much (does that even make sense?).  Regardless, this is a very well-written book and my feelings toward it have nothing to do with Healy's writing. Sometimes a story connects with the reader, and sometimes it doesn't   I still would recommend this book to others to try, but would suggest borrowing it from your library first.  With that said, I give this book 4 Stars and look forward to Healy's next novel!

**I received this item in exchange for my honest opinion**

Miracle at the Higher Grounds Cafe - Max Lucado

Book Description

What if you could ask God anything? What would you ask? And how would he answer?
Chelsea Chambers is on her own. After a public split from her NFL superstar husband, Chelsea takes a bold step out of the limelight and behind the counter of the Higher Grounds Café, an old-fashioned coffee shop in dire need of reinvention. But when her courage, expert planning, and out-of-this-world cupcakes fail to pay the bills, this newly single mom finds herself desperate for help. Better yet, a miracle.

Then a curious stranger lands at Chelsea's door, and with him, an even curiouser string of events. Soon, customers are flocking to the Higher Grounds Café, and not just for the cupcakes and cappuccino. They've come for the internet connection to the divine. Now the café has become the go-to place for people in search of answers to life's biggest questions.

When a catastrophe strikes and her ex comes calling, Chelsea begins to wonder if the whole universe is conspiring against her quest to make it on her own. After a shocking discovery opens her eyes to the unseen world around her, Chelsea finds the courage to ask, and heaven answers in a most unexpected way.

About the Author

More than 120 million readers have found comfort in the writings of Max Lucado. He ministers at the Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, where he lives with his wife, Denalyn, and a sweet but misbehaving mutt, Andy.

My Thoughts...

I'm not going to lie, the title and cover are what drew me to this book.  Anything having to do with a cafe and/or coffee has my name written all over it!  My other admission?  My most familiarity with Max Lucado is in thanks to his "Hermie" DVD series for children.  I'm not sure I've ever read (or paid that much attention) to anything else of his, so his name on the book was not the draw for me either.

With that being said, this ended up being an okay read.  While it started out a little slow in the beginning, it picked up the pace along the way.  The writing is good, the story line is okay. Another thing it has going for it?  It's relatively a short read.  It's definitely something you can sit down in an evening or two and read from cover to cover!

We also have this book at the library where I work, and it has checked out several times in the short month we have had it.  Those that have read it seem to like it as well, which is always good to hear! It's a bummer to check something out, waste your time reading it, then regret you ever took it home. That's not the case here, so I give this book 3 stars!

**I was given a copy of this book for my honest opinion**

Remnants: Season of Fire - Lisa Tawn Bergren

Book Description

Season of Fire is bestselling author Lisa T. Bergren’s second book in the Remnants series, continuing the story of Andrei and her knight Duncan, two teens trained since birth to restore peace and order to a world in chaos.

After tackling her first mission and coming to terms with her power of empathy, Andrei and her fellow Remnants discover their first battles were only a taste of what is to come. As the Sons of Sheol continue their assault on the world, planning to keep all hope dead, the Remnant finds itself battling within its ranks. With everyone pursuing what they feel is the best course of action, trouble mounts—and Andrei finds herself in terrible danger at the hands of Keallach. The Remnant must travel to Italy and find a way to fight as one before it is too late.

About the Author

Lisa T. Bergren is the author of over forty books, with a combined count of over two million copies sold. She has written bestselling children’s books, award-winning YA (River of Time Series: Waterfall), popular historical fiction, contemporary fiction, women’s nonfiction, and gift books. She is a writer and editor residing in Colorado Springs, CO, with her husband and three children. You can find out more about Lisa at LisaBergren.com.

My Thoughts...

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but the past couple years I have been drawn into the Science Fiction genre, which I never really read before.  And what better mix than to have a top selling Christian Fiction author write Science Fiction!  I love reading Bergren's books...they are full of excitement, adventure, and pure entertainment.  She is an excellent author with great writing skills, the works flow across the pages, which in turn lets me fly through them as I'm reading.  Definitely not a slow read!

I give this book 4 stars and highly recommend the series for teens and older!

**I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion**

10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know - Kari Kampakis

From Amazon:

These 10 simple truths can build one big change in your daughter's life.

When Kari Kampakis wrote a blog post titled "10 Truths Young Girls Should Know," the post went viral and was shared 74,000 times on Facebook and pinned 20,000 times on Pinterest. Obviously her message strikes a chord. This nonfiction book for teen & tween girls expands on these 10 truths and can reach the hearts of both mothers and daughters.

Teen girls deal daily with cliques, bullying, rejection, and social media fiascos. Kari wants girls to know that they don't have to compromise their integrity or their future to find love, acceptance, and security. Her 10 truths include:

• Kindness is more important than popularity.
• People peak at different times of life. Trust God's plan for you.
• Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Otherwise, you'll never stick to your guns.
• Today's choices set the stage for your reputation.
• You were born to fly.

Fans of Kari's blog and newspaper column will not want to miss her first book. Filled with practical advice, loving support, and insightful discussion questions, 10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know is a timely and approachable list of guidelines that will help young girls navigate a broken world and become the young women God made them to be.

My thoughts:

This is a great book full of helpful information, and I love the sprinkling of scripture throughout the chapters.  The book has an attractive cover, and the inside pages are so pretty.  White pages with mint green accents, teen and tween girls may be drawn to this book for that reason alone! 

Straight talk, yet told in a helpful/gentle way, Kampakis tells girls how it is and what to expect.  This would be a great book for mothers and daughters to work through together, or in a small group setting.  I give this book 4 stars and highly recommend it!

To purchase the book, visit Amazon.

**I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion**

Plush Bible Collection, NIV

From Amazon.com:

The Plush Bible Collection, NIV has the same convenient size and readability as the incredibly popular NIV Thinline Bible—now in fun and furry designs for kids and teens. Features include the words of Christ in red, an easy-to-read font size, and measures less than one inch thick.

Interested in purchasing this Bible?  Click here.

My thoughts: 

First of all...when I opened the box containing this Bible, one of my twin 10 year old daughters squealed and grabbed it out of my hands.  She was absolutely in love with the cover of the Bible, in her words, "It feels so squishy...kind of like memory foam!".  She came up with a concoction to try to talk her sister in to letting her have the Bible (btw, it worked). 

Cover aside, it is a wonderful Bible.  With red letter printing, the text is the right size for reading, for young and old alike.  To be honest, you're not going to find much difference on the inside of this Bible compared to others, it's all on the outside packaging.  But tween and teen girls will absolutely fall in love with the soft (lightly padded), furry, fun outside of the plush Bible.  What a great Christmas gift this item would make!  I give this Bible 5 Stars!

**I received this item in exchange for my honest review**

Book Description:

With this NIV Once-A-Day Bible for Women, you can read through the Bible in a year... or at your own pace. Now you can practice the spiritual discipline of daily Bible reading at your own pace. Want a reading plan that will take you through the Bible in a year? You got it---and check boxes too. Don’t want the guilt of falling behind in your daily reading? You won’t---each daily reading is numbered, not dated, allowing the flexibility you need as you strive to engage God’s Word every day. Looking for a Bible with insights about what you as a woman most need to hear? These are included as well in the intuitive, hopeful devotional thoughts located at the end of each daily reading. The NIV Once-A-Day Bible for Women organizes the clear, accessible New International Version Bible into 365 daily readings. Each day’s reading includes a portion of Scripture from the Old Testament, the New Testament, and a Psalm or a Proverb, followed by an encouraging devotional thought specifically written for women.

My Thoughts:

First of all...I love the pretty cover of this Bible.  I know, a Bible doesn't have to be pretty and some might think that's not very important.  But I just can't help but smile whenever I look at it and go to open it!  

Each day is clearly labeled with the day number...also very important to a busy mom like me. In the past, when trying to read through the Bible in a year, I tended to get discouraged when I fell behind and would have the incorrect date staring me in the face as I tried to play "catch-up".  No longer does that happen!  If (ok, when!) I fall behind, I don't have the date as a guilty reminder, I only have the day number (day 181) to tell me which section I am on!

I also enjoy the "reflection" section that is included at the end of each day.  A short and easy "devotional" that ties it all together.  I give this Bible 5 stars and think it would be a great gift for the special woman in your life!

**I received this book in exchange for my honest review**

Book Description:

You've probably heard the words 'Live out your faith' dozens, if not hundreds, of times, but what does that phrase really mean? And how do you really follow Jesus in today's world? In this student adaptation of his book Thrive, Casting Crowns' Mark Hall explores exactly what it means when your faith and your life collide, and how you can take the next steps in making that faith real and evident to those around you. Using relatable stories, applications you can use, as well as some life lessons, Hall shows how you can root yourself in the truth and grow strong in your beliefs as you become the person God designed you to be.

My Thoughts:  

I requested this book with my 13 year old son in mind, and I was not disappointed!  Set up in 30 chapters, this book can be read all the way through, or broken up and read a chapter a day.  Written and target straight at teens, this book does a great job of reaching out to them, adding a little bit of humor to keep them on track.  And for those that may not be big readers?  The chapters aren't overly long, and they even restate the main point at the end of each chapter.  I would highly suggest this book for your teen for Christmas...I give this book 5 stars!

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion**

NIV Teen Study Bible

From Amazon:

This Bible keeps up with you, to help you keep up with God! As an on-the-go teen, you’re moving fast. God is moving faster! The NIV Teen Study Bible will help you keep in step with all he has done, is doing, and will do in the world—and in your life. This bestselling Bible will also help you discover the eternal truths of God’s Word and apply them to the issues you face today. Features include:

• “We Believe”—Unpacks the Apostles’ Creed to reveal the biblical foundation of faith
• “Panorama”—Keeps the big picture of each book of the Bible in view
• Topical indexes—Help with in-depth Bible study
• Book introductions—Provide an overview for each book of the Bible
• Bible Promises—Highlighted Bible verses worth memorizing
• Q & As—Test Bible knowledge
• 4 full-color pages—Includes a presentation page and information about the Apostles’ Creed
• 8-page, color map section
• Biblical advice about friends, family, school, and other issues
• Easy-to-read font size
• Complete text of the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible.

With over 3.5 million copies sold, the Teen Study Bible continues to be a teen’s top resource for discovering the foundational truths of the Bible.

Our thoughts:

We've been looking for a new Bible for our 13 year old son for a while now, and just couldn't decide what kind we should get.  We did know one thing; it was time for him to graduate out of his little boy Bible.  Up until this point, he had been using a Bible app on his Ipod Touch, but we really wanted him to get into the habit of using a physical, hard copy Bible.

From day one, he loved this Bible!  Not only does he take it to church with him on Sundays, but we rarely see him using the app at home during his devotions also!  This edition seems relevant to his age, and the layout and "extras" that are included seem pleasing to him also!

I would definitely recommend this Bible to anyone looking for one for a teen or even a tween.  I give this Bible 5 Stars and highly suggest it!

**I was given this item in exchange for my honest review**