Tuesday Teasers

Gerard's:
"It's all over.  My life's over," Devon said, looking up at Katie, her hand shaking slightly as she pushed back a stray strand from her ponytail.

From page 33 of You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott.


'Do I detect a renewal of your fighting spirit?  I'm so glad.  To tell the truth, I've been getting quite bored.' 

From page 66 of Behind Close Doors by B. A. Paris.
Karen's:

Sometimes I told my boyfriends about her from the beginning, sometimes--if I liked them a lot--I said that I had a younger sister who was away at school but only mentioned that she had Down's syndrome a few weeks into the relationship.  Some, when I told them, didn't know what to say and didn't stay around long enough to say anything much at all.

From Page 21 of Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris.

 Yvette was twenty-four, teaching college composition, alone in the world until she met Devin a few months later.  She supposes she never had to grow a backbone, because she went from living in the start shadow of her mother's tyranny to the easy, pampered wife of a successful businessman--that is, until they had children and her life became a whirlwind, a spinning hamster wheel.  

From page 37 (Loc. 498) of The Mystery Box:  The Mystery Book Collection by Eva Pohler.  (reading on Kindle)

For two thousand years most people haven't quite been able to figure out the answer.  But the whole world is intrigued.

From page Loc. 104 of Jesus, an Obedient Son by Michael Phillips. (read on Kindle)


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

Jesus, an Obedient Son by Michael Phillips

Jesus, an Obedient Son by Michael Phillips focuses on realizing and appreciating the humanity of Jesus and surrendering our will to God’s as Jesus surrendered his will to the Father. Michael Phillips rapidly gives the reader an overview of the life of Christ through the unique perspective of putting himself into the gospels and viewing the events as another disciple. Then he continues in a more preachy mode to emphasize the need to deny oneself and follow God’s will every day. He lists specific things Jesus told his disciples to do and also talks how Jesus came to be an example of how we should live our lives. It emphasized that we are to be obedient children of God by submitting our will to His, asking what He wants us to do and then doing it.

The first part of the book was written in an interesting way. This is a quick read that is very thought provoking and challenges the reader to search his own heart in regards to following Jesus. (Karen's review, 3 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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Ruby--Between the Cracks" by P.D. Workman

In Ruby--Between the Cracks by P.D. Workman, you will meet a young girl named Ruby.  From a very young age, she had to make choices; unfortunately, most of them were wrong ones.  We follow her as she grows up and there is never a dull moment with this girl!  I also found the people in her life interesting.  Some tried to help while others tried to take advantage of her.

I enjoyed this book because the story moved along well and the characters were very believable!
(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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Harmony" by Carolyn Parkhurst is About Living in Harmony With Special Needs Kids

Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst is about the Hammond family, Josh, Alexandria and their two daughters, Iris and Tilly. Tilly is a 13-yr-old somewhere on the autism spectrum whose “special interest” is statues and who has a quick temper, no filter and is fairly smart with a good imagination. When the mother is near wits end from daily episodes with Tilly, she attends a workshop by Scott Bean for help. She starts listening to his tapes and even arranges a personal consultation. When Tilly gets kicked out of the school for special needs children, the mother suggests to Josh that they consider helping Scott Bean run Camp Harmony – a new endeavor for families with a special needs child. Scott is an educator who gives parents advice and through the summer, different families can attend the camp for a week. Three families agreed to help Scott run it and help with all the chores that need to be done.

This is an interesting and sometimes funny read. I liked it overall and was able to overlook the foul language which was part of Tilly’s problem. Most of the book is told from Iris’s perspective with some chapters interspersed showing Tilly’s thoughts and some that give the background on their family, particularly the mother’s dealings with Tilly, before leaving DC for the camp in New Hampshire. This gives insight into some struggles families with special needs kids may have, but also shows the tender moments too. The ending was sad and quite a shock—not what I expected. My favorite part was the interaction among the kids at the camp and between Tilly and Iris.
(Karen's review, 4 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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"The Dog That Whispered" by Jim Kraus

The Dog That Whispered by Jim Kraus centers on Wilson Steele who is a professor who likes living alone.  One day he has to take in his mother's black Lab rescue dog because of a "no pets" policy at her retirement center.  little does he know how much the dog will change his life!

I got a free copy in exchange for an honest review and was pleasantly surprised when this book was so much better than I thought it would be!  This is a people book, but the dog does play a role in it too.  I enjoyed all the characters and it has a very realistic story line.
(Gerard 6/11/16, 5+ stars)

Karen's review:

The Dog That Whispered by Jim Kraus is a heartwarming story about Wilson, a Vietnam vet who is filled with guilt and loneliness.  His mother, Gretna Steele, is feisty and lives nearby in a retirement community.  Gretna is worried about him and has been praying for him for years, but he refuses to listen to anything she has to say about God.  When Gretna discovers she can’t keep Thurman, the black lab she adopted, she takes him to Wilson who reluctantly agrees to temporarily take care of him until she can find him a good home.  Of course, Thurman and Wilson develop a very special bond.  This is actually a talking dog who helps Wilson find peace.

This story moved along very slow but was entertaining.  It deals with guilt, family, forgiveness, pets and faith.  I liked Thurman and Gretna best!  If you like dogs, or stories about veterans, I would recommend this one. (3 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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!