Review: Circle C Beginnings. Early Chapter Books You Won't Want to Miss!

Little girls and horses just seem to go together like . . .well . . . little boys and puppy dogs. I know that I was a horse-crazy kid, and now I have three young ladies of my own that adore all things equine. If you can’t have adventures on your own horse though—oh, what a cross to bear!—the next best thing is to READ about adventures on a horse!

Author Susan K. Marlow has delivered another wonderful series that will have your littlest horse lovers jumping in with both feet. “Circle C Beginnings” is the prequel to Susan Marlow’s other successful series, “Circle C Adventures.” I reviewed Trouble with Treasure, one of the books from the latter series, earlier this year. I just loved the wholesome fun it offered. So much so, that I bought the entire set for my 12 year old daughter. She inhaled every book and proclaimed them to be the best stories her voracious reading appetite had consumed!

When I received the first two “Circle C Beginnings” books recently, my daughter snatched them up and read them as well (even though they are aimed at an audience of 6-8 year olds). There’s something about Andi Carter, the main character of all the Circle C books, that is so endearing. She just seems to find trouble like a flea finds a dog. And it’s always with such good intentions that you can’t help but become a fan! 

In Andi’s Pony Trouble, Andi is tired of her pokey, hand-me-down pony, Coco. She is almost six years old, for Pete’s sake, shouldn’t she be ready for a full-grown horse? Her family doesn’t think so, but Andi is sure she can prove how mature and ready she really is. 

Andi and friend Riley go riding on Coco and Riley’s horse, Midnight. Riley let’s her take a turn galloping on Midnight and Andi feels like she can conquer the world! She certainly doesn’t want to ride boring old Coco anymore. In fact, why can’t the two of them ride double on Midnight and let Coco follow them back to the ranch? Good plan, until they realize Coco is no longer behind them. Andi knows that losing Coco will mean big trouble. If she can’t take care of a pokey, hand-me-down pony, then it proves she really isn’t ready for a full size horse! Maybe if she can find Coco on her own . . . (yes, it’s a bad idea!).

Andi’s Indian Summer finds Andi and friend Riley (or maybe “partner in crime” is a better description?) between a rock and a hard place. A dime-novel about Indian’s taking white men captive has planted some pretty scary images in young Andi’s mind. What could be worse than being kidnapped by a tribe of wild Indians? The children find that getting lost in the vast, unsettled wilderness proves to be a close second. When real Indians come across their path, Andi and Riley are sure they are goners! 

All of the Circle C adventures are set in the late 1800’s, in the untamed Sierra Nevada’s of California. A perfect place for a young tomboy to find trouble and adventure galore! There’s enough rough and tumble fun in these stories to ensure that boys will enjoy them as well. Although Andi makes bad choices at times, she also learns wholesome lessons through the natural consequences of her actions. Important concepts for young people to grasp!

These delightful early chapter books have a “New Words” list to help readers navigate the tale. Illustrator Leslie Gammelgaard has liberally sprinkled her charming sketches throughout the pages, serving to enhance the story that much more.The author also has a few questions and historical facts at the end of each book to add to the experience. You’ll also be glad to know there’s a definite Christian worldview woven into each story that's never preachy, just a natural part of Andi’s life.

Furthermore, on the Circle C website (visit it here), there are activity and coloring pages (related to each book) that can be printed out for FREE, serving to make these chapter books a truly educational experience. If you’re ready to add some Circle C fun to your Christmas gift list, then you can order books by visiting the Kregel Publishing website here.

It has been a pleasure to get to know Andi Carter and crew through the various Circle C books! I know you won’t be disappointed in the quality of writing and integrity of character that Susan K. Marlow serves up with each tale. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future! 

Review of a Beguiling Romantic Mystery!

Chick Lit is not my favorite genre, but I did enjoy A Bride in the Bargain by Deanne Gist when I reviewed it last year. So, when given the opportunity to review Ms. Gist’s latest novel, Beguiled, one she collaborated on with mystery writer J. Mark Bertrand, I was expecting good things. (And, it doesn’t hurt that mystery is my favorite genre when reading for sheer escapism). 

Riley Monroe is a dogwalker in the charming city of Charleston, South Carolina. Though she once hailed from the old money that now pays her bills, Riley is content to live meagerly in order to afford a quality nursing facility for her grandmother that raised her. Her Nonie is all the family she has since her dad walked out at age 5 causing her mother to swallow a bottle of sleeping pills, a few days later, in grief.

Riley values her client’s trust and is dependent upon their steady income to take care of Nonie. So, when a series of break-ins begin in the homes of her clients, she is angry and a bit paranoid, especially when she returns from walking a dog to discover the burglar is upstairs committing his crime! The peculiar thing about this criminal’s mode of operandi is that he only takes one item, (of lower monetary value-- but high on the sentimentality scale-- compared to other items in the home), and then donates his item to charity. Obviously, this guy is trying to make some sort of statement.

A local reporter, Logan Woods, dubs this dude the “Robin Hood Burglar” and begins to snoop around, trying to get into his head. One of the obvious connections is the beautiful dogwalker, Riley, who just happens to have keys to nearly every mansion that has been burglarized.  The police have noticed the connection as well and begin to wonder if the Robin Hood Burglar may be a she rather than a he. After all, this struggling young woman used to be one of the very elite that she now works for...could she be harboring some resentment about how life has turned out for her? Logan Woods doesn’t think so, at least not when he’s around the girl, the occasional red-flag eclipsed by her beauty and innocent personality. 

For the most part, Beguiled offers a good read, providing a nice balance of romance and mystery. The characters flesh out and the authors let the story unfold at a pace that keeps the reader turning pages. I will say that I did not care for the first several chapters of character development, in which the descriptions of the opposite sex, when encountering one another, were littered with unrealistic, rather gratuitous adjectives that were a bit over the top (not licentious, mind you, just quixotic). Frankly, I don’t think total strangers, no matter how attractive they are to one another, notice every little rippling muscle and toffee flecked glimmer of the eyes that the author’s felt necessary to include. Those descriptions felt forced and as if they were solely threaded in to attract a certain female audience that lives on the shallow side of vain. These descriptions, along with designer “name dropping”, kept me from believing the characters for who they were and made me feel like I was being advertised to: this is a cool and relevant book with beautiful characters, all wrapped in a clean-cut Christian package!  Thankfully, that changed as the book progressed, which made the the early encounters seem that much more unnatural.

I know my little blog doesn’t stir much dust in the realm of the world of publishing, but it is my hope that someone at Bethany House publishing will read this and take note that it’s readership doesn’t need to have character’s cheapened in such a way. 

Overall, Beguiled is an intriguing mystery that causes you to care about the characters as you try and connect the dots to figure out what all the subtleties could mean. I know a collaboration must offer it’s own unique set of challenges but the authors really complimented one another well and I hope they will consider another book together, down the road!

The Good, the Bad, and the Gruesome...Review of The Knight by Steven James

There is nothing like watching a good psychological thriller. You know…the kind of movie that ends with such a twist, you feel the need to watch it again, with your newfound knowledge, and see how all the pieces actually fit together.

Well, The Knight by Steven James plays the same sort of mind game with your brain. This who-done-it, or --more accurately-- “who-is-doing-it”, intertwines the nominal details with the vital in a way that makes it hard to discern between the two. When you finally make it to the “a-ha!” moment, your mind races through the particulars in the story to see if it can make the revelation work with that last puzzle piece. I am always amazed and impressed with such complicated and clever plots.

Agent Patrick Bowers is an incredibly gifted Geospatial Investigator: a criminologist studying the timing and location of crimes. Working for the FBI in Denver, his unique set of skills led to the capture of a notorious serial killer 13 years prior. Thanks to his expertise, Special Agent Bowers is called in to investigate a new series of bizarre murders.

With the help of other agents working the case, Bowers determines that the slayings are actually reenactments of a string of disturbing stories from a collection of tales written in the 1300’s. This discovery gives the murders context and, in fact, details on what will come next. However, even with this knowledge, the killer stays just out of reach, anticipating the FBI’s next move and literally using the agents as part of his macabre story. Agent Bowers turns out to be the unwilling star, and, apparently, the most sought after victim.

Using a variation of first person (Agent Bowers) and third person narrative, Mr. James weaves his suspenseful tale in real time. The character development brings into believable focus the juxtaposition of a man with a dangerous job who is also a loving stepfather and faithful friend.

Collectively, the suspenseful writing and intricate plot are all part of the “good”…quite good! Overall, an excellent mystery that keeps the reader guessing until the very end.

So, what of the “bad”? For me, the Patrick Bowers character, though very likable and human in general, comes off a bit too “Jack Bauer meets MacGyver”-ish. Always physically able to do about anything, always expediently able to maneuver around obstacles… at times it was over the top. I thought he might whip out a cape. He all-too-conveniently has an audiographic/photographic memory, which comes in pretty handy when he gets anonymous phone calls and can recall them word for word, or checks out a crime scene by the beam of a flashlight and remembers tiny, important details later.

So that leaves us with the “gruesome”. As a Christian author, Steven James certainly crossed the line at times into grisly voyeurism, apparently looking for some shock value (and getting it). Don’t get me wrong, I am not into prettying up sin and acting like the real world isn’t quite so ugly. However, I am not comfortable with reading in great blow-by-blow detail, the murderer’s pleasure in watching people die, or how he tends to eat certain body parts. These images often crossed the line into “too much information.” Though such details may be common in secular thrillers, there is an expectation in reading a story from a Christian Worldview that such in depth descriptions would be avoided.

While reading this, I was reminded of a time when my young, artistic daughter wanted to draw a picture of wolves tearing apart and devouring a deer. I explained to her that, just because she thought up the idea and was able to draw such a scene, it did not mean that she should. She had a gift from God and therefore had a responsibility to use that gift wisely and in a way that was edifying. She could certainly portray the story of wolves hunting their prey without showing the end result. One can lead an audience to the idea, letting their minds fill in the inevitable, without rendering every detail for them.

This is not to say that we all should live in a bubble and only draw or write about butterflies and rainbows. However, a Christian novelist, in my opinion, must hold to a higher standard than sensationalism for the sake of readership. There must be more worthwhile content than what the world has to offer. The Knight dished up a great, clean, psychological thriller and not much more. Though there was an excellent anti-abortion theme presented, the in-depth accounts of murder were not justified in any way but merely served to be gratuitous, and at times, repulsive.

I think Mr. James could have taken us into the mind of a killer without dragging us so far into its dark, insidious pit. Though I realize books are ultimately published to be sold, I hope in the future that Steven James and crew will remember whom their targeted audience is and tone down the horrific details.

Overall, the storyline and writing was cutting-edge and excellent. But there were times I just had to put the book down and shudder.

Available August 2009 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Christian Fiction Review: "How Sweet It Is."

"How Sweet it is," by Alice J. Wisler is a Christian fiction novel that did not satisfy my sweet tooth. Though the book is targeting those that want to have a fairly light-hearted read, I felt the book lacked anything inventive in the story line and was extremely predictable.

Deena Livingston is a young woman that recently survived a serious car wreck that left her body, as well as her heart, severely scarred. Leaving a promising career behind as a chef, she tentatively looks for a fresh start in a small mountain cabin that her grandfather willed to her when he passed away. She moves from the big city to a small, close-knit community, hoping to begin a cake-decorating business of her own while ditching her past.

Much to her surprise, there is a stipulation in her grandfather's will. He would like for her teach cooking to troubled kids at an after school program for six months in order to enjoy ownership of his cozy cabin. This is something way out of her comfort zone (especially now that her heart is so relationally raw; all she wants to do is insulate herself from any emotional pain). But day by day, she finds the strength to move ahead, even though it feels like baby steps... and often like she is moving backwards instead.

There are many poignant moments: Ms. Wisler writes in the first person, present tense, and she keeps you inside Deena's thoughts as she tries to move on and forget her past. Using flashbacks, it is evident that rather than moving ahead, she is nursing her wounds with the balm of unforgiveness. It takes learning of her grandfather's faith (faith that she once had but presently lies dormant), stretching herself to reach out to the troubled kids she must teach, and allowing herself to trust some new relationships for her inner turmoil to begin to heal.

If you are looking for a lighthearted read, this book would certainly meet that need. Personally, I felt much of the thought life too neatly packaged and the story line blatantly obvious. I like a little twist or some sort of surprise along the way. This story, though charming in parts, generally falls flat and tastes bland. During the process of reading the book, I began to have my own nickname for it: "How Predictable It Is."