"Gideon's Gift" by Karen Kingsbury

I liked Gideon's Gift by Karen Kingsbury.  This is the first book I read of hers and is part of the Red Glove series.  An 8-year-old girl with cancer befriends a homeless man (Earl ) at the mission and gets him to believe in God. He in turn gives her family a “perfect Christmas.”   I liked it and recommended it to Gerard.
(Karen's review) 


Here's what Gerard thought of it:
Gideon’s Gift by Karen Kingsbury is a good story about a little girl, a homeless man and Christmas miracles.  You could probably read it in one sitting.  It’s perfect for a snowy night with some hot chocolate.  This is a warm, feel good story that I liked more than I thought I would.  I give it  5+ stars.

 Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Check out our two giveaways: Hard Cache by Charles Neff (Suspense/mystery) and You Already Know How To Be Great (Self-help) by Alan Fine.

"In A Hearbeat" Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy

If you read The Blind Side and saw the movie, then you have to read In A Hearbeat by Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy.  What I loved about In A Hearbeat is that each member of the family told their story and the actors who played their parts in the movie told their story too.  The true stories are very interesting!  It is a fast read and an amazing story about an ordinary family who helped out Michael Oher, a homeless teenage boy who became an NFL football player, by letting him live with them.  An example of Christianity in action!


Here's our thoughts about the movie, "The Blind Side" about Michael Oher.

Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Street Lawyer" by John Grisham

I liked Street Lawyer by John Grisham because I work for attorneys so found the main character to be interesting and quite realistic. I was pulling for him throughout the book and admired him for giving up his cushy job at the big law firm to help out the homeless and down and out people. It made me rethink my priorities some and realize how bad off some people are. This is the first Grisham book I ever read and liked it very much.  I highly recommend this.
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Breakfast At Sally's" by Richard LeMieux

Breakfast At Sally's is an excellent book about being homeless, written by a homeless person.  He was once a very successful, wealthy business man who even had traveled abroad but when his business failed, he lost everything.  His wife left him and his grown children didn't want anything to do with him.  All he had was his van, some clothes, an old typewriter and his dog, Willow. 

It's an inside look into the homeless way of life and their community.  I will never look at the homeless in the same way again after reading this book because it showed how it could happen to anyone and how much a little help from someone can make a difference.  Richard also suffered from depression and fortunately got some help.  What stood out to me was the willingness of the homeless people to help out one another.  Richard said the other homeless people became like a family to him.

It's a very interesting book about the 18 months this man spent living in his van which he was fortunate to have.  Reading this certainly made me thankful for the things I have. The day I missed my bus one rainy, cold morning and had to wait an extra 20 minutes, I thought about the poor homeless people who slept outside the whole night and who would be outside today, looking for a place they could hang out for awhile just to warm up.
(Karen's review 11/08)

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Can't Get There From Here" by Todd Strasser

Can't Get There From Here by Todd Strasser was good book about a homeless teen girl who lost her street family one by one and finally chooses to get off the streets. I feel for bad for homeless people and this book made me think about even more problems the homeless have.  This book really opened my eyes to what some youth go through and I was pulling for the girl to finally trust someone who could help her.  Although his is fiction, there are many kids who are in this situation and face these problems every day.  I highly recommend this book. 

(Karen's review 6/04)




Charities I support monthly that deal with helping teens get off the streets:
Covenant House, Boys Town (they take girls in too now) 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Joseph" by Shelia Moses

I did not care for Joseph by Shelia Moses.  It is teen fiction about Joseph, a high school boy who was a good student but had a tough home life.  His mom was a drug addict who only wanted him to get the child support checks to pay for her wine and drugs.  His dad was a soldier in Iraq who wanted to be there for Joseph.  Joseph was ashamed of his mother and the fact that they lived at a shelter, but felt he had to stay with her to take care of her.  His aunt took him and his mother in, but his mother left with some guy. 

This was sort of a depressing book without any closure.  I was very disappointed in the ending because nothing was really resolved except Joseph I guess came to the conclusion that he was not responsible for his mother and just prayed for God to help her.  The only thing I liked about this book was that Joseph was on the school tennis team and he felt good when he saw people come out to watch his match and support him.
(Karen's Review)

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?