"Above" by Isla Morley is a Page Turner! (UPDATED)

Above by Isla Morley is a book that is about a scary time and a girl, Blythe, who hangs on to hope to help her survive a terrible situation she is in.  She is kidnapped at age 16 by a man she trusted, held prisoner in a silo underground for 15 years!   Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, they do!  This book really had me feeling sorry for Blythe and brought up emotions of sadness, anger, disgust and finally relief.  It has a twist I did not expect at all and really caught me by surprise.  It is written from the girl’s perspective so the reader only gets to see what the girl sees, feels and thinks.   If you like novels about survival in tough situations with surprises along the way, I recommend this one.  This is a page turner that kept me reading because I had no clue what would happen next and wanted to see how it was going to end.  It reminded me a little of In the After.
(Karen's review 11/1/14, 4 stars)

Above by Isla Morley is about a young teen girl named Blythe.  She is taken captive and held by a man in a silo for 15 years.  What happens in that silo makes for very interesting reading.  When she finally escapes, she finds that lots of things have changed.  This is a real page turner.  The first part of the book was my favorite but the second part, although not as good, kept me reading to find out how it will all turn out.  Worth reading for sure!  

(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Similar reads:  Room 

                        Life in the After

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Children of The Day" by Beth Moore is an Interesting Bible Study

I enjoyed Beth Moore's Children of the DAY Bible study on I and II Thessalonians very much.  I learned some new things and love how she applies the scripture to modern times.  I also like how she brings in scripture from other books related to the same topic.  This study seemed a bit less time consuming than some of her other ones because there are fewer fill-ins and questions to answer.  Much is just reading her commentary about the book.  I loved it!

I highly recommend that you also get the DVD that goes along with the study.  I did this with a group at church and the DVD enhances the experience--she's pretty funny at times.   
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

3 Tuesday Teasers

Gerard's:
  
He surprised all of us that week, actually.  It really was a remarkable buildup to an amazing moment. 

From page 3 of The Remaining by Travis Thrasher. (Just finished this Saturday, click link to see my review)

At one point just after Daisy pulled me off balance in her eagerness to become best friends with a placid black Lab across the room, I looked around at the other dogs sitting peacefully at their handlers' feet, and realized that Daisy was the worst behaved in the class, which is to say I was the student least in control of my dog.  It was humiliating, but a small part of me felt kind of proud of Daisy's fearless socializing.

From page 99 of Weekends with Daisy by Sharron Kahn Luttrell.

Karen's:

I am about to make the next turn when he grabs me around the neck.  He drags me down, whistling happily.

From page 35 of Above by Isla Morley.



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.

Happy Reading!

"The Remaining: After the Rapture, There are Fates Worse Than Death"

The Remaining:  After the Rapture, There are Fates Worse Than Death by Travis Thrasher is a thriller.  The first part of the book sets the scene--a picture perfect day with an outside wedding that goes according to plan, but . . . then a trumpet sounds, the sky goes black and people begin to die.  Is it the rapture as predicted in the Bible or something else?  Soon only a few members of the wedding party are left.  Will they find a way out?  Do they have long kept secrets to tell before the world ends?  Once that trumpet sounds, this book gets very good! 

I loved the ending and the message it sends.  This book is a movie too!  So do both or just one but give it a chance.
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Big Little Lies" by Liane Moriarty is GREAT! (UPDATED)

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty is realistic contemporary fiction about school politics, parenting, bullying, secrets, friendship, and domestic violence.  The novel primarily focuses on four couples and one single mother who all have children starting kindergarten at Pirriwee Public School.  The mothers are all very involved at the school and have a lots of interesting interaction.   The whole book leads up to the climax at the School’s annual Parent Trivia Night when one of the parents is killed.  Here is a teaser from pg. 637 that really sums up this whole book spoken by one of the mothers:

It occurred to her that there were so many levels of evil in the world.  Small evils like her own malicious words.  Like not inviting a child to a party.  Bigger evils like walking out on your wife and newborn baby or sleeping with your child’s nanny.  And then there was the sort of evil of which Madeline had no experience:  cruelty in hotel rooms and violence in suburban homes and little girls being sold like merchandise, shattering innocent hearts.

Right from the start the reader finds out there is a murder investigation and interspersed throughout the book are snippets of different people telling the detective what happened.  The writing is outstanding and cleverly done with a surprise ending, at least for me.  This is a page turner that I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys family drama and a good mystery.  I think this would be a great book for a book club!

If you have read this one, who were your favorite characters?  Gerard liked all the mothers in the book.  I liked Ed most and Celeste second.  I loved how generous she was with her husband’s money!

(Karen's review-10/24/14, 5 stars)

Gerard's review, 5++ stars:
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty is told by three women:  Madeline, Celeste and Jane.  They all have children attending the same grade school.  This is a fantastic read!  I loved all the women and their different story lines along with plenty of action!  This novel builds up to one night when all the story lines finally come together.  I LOVED the ending!  Do not miss this one--it's a must read!  It does not get any better than this.  This is my new book of the month without a doubt!

We both liked The Husband's Secret by this author, but this one is way better than that even!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!