A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Books for Young Adults

The Hills Have Spies

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Some of the very first fantasy books that I read were the Valdemar books by Mercedes Lackey.  Last weekend hubby and I were out kicking about and stopped at a book store… because you know.. BOOKS!   I was browsing the discounted books section and came across “The Hills have Spies” and I immediately snatched it up.  Learning more about Mags and his family?  FANTASTIC!

The Hills have spies

Basic Details

Title: The hills have spies
Series: Family Spies, book one. A Novel of Valdemar.
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Chapters: twenty
Pages: 368
Genre: Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure
Publisher: DAW (June 5, 2018)

Author and Story

If you want to know more about Mercedes Lackey and her writing I would suggest you visit her website. Born in Illinois in 1950 she writes fantasy and music.   I have read so many of her works, the only series of her I’m not as keen on is her Elemental Masters Series.   But her world of Valdemar has always had me hooked solidly. 

Horses that are magical, a magical system that feels real and has consequences, and people being chosen to serve a higher purpose (they become Heralds).  And then we have Mags… an orphan boy that I got to watch grow up to be a Herald and he had a family!   This is book one focusing on the family of Mags. 

My Thoughts on The Hills Have Spies

One of the things I loved in The Hills Have Spies is that Mags doesn’t have all the answers.  This book truly emphasizes the unique skills of his son Peregrine yet shows him as a young adult needing help.

I have to admit that the help initially came from a source I didn’t expect, but in retrospect fit the character and gifting of Perry well.   This coming of age story takes place in the hills of the Pelagirs, a dangerous place for folks to visit.   Why is it particularly dangerous now with people disappearing?  Mags and Perry set out to discover why.  As they travel they meet individuals along the way that prove pivotal to solving the mystery and achieving a satisfactory end. 

The strange entity that was revealed is an intriguing character…and without Perry’s gift could have gone horribly wrong.  Instead, through Perry’s gifting and intelligent animals, all ends well. 

Is this a hard or complicated book to read?  By no means, its written at an easy level for teens and up.  The story flows well and Perry’s training at the start of the story bears fruit as the adventure unfolds.  

I’ve always known that the Heralds have their foibles, but seeing this clearly displayed in Arville, the Herald that initially alerted them to the problem in his area.  It brought a realness to the story.  It’s good to know that Heralds are not all-knowing and completely capable.  They are just people, albeit with their own unique giftings. 

I found it to be a nice way to kill a Sunday afternoon, delving into the world of Valdemar and watching a young man start his journey as a young adult.  The Hills have Spies is a good, easy read with believable magic and interesting symbiotic relationships. 

 

The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz

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I am enjoying a variety of WW2 based fiction lately.  None have impacted me as much as the story of Mala Zimetbaum as told in The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz.  I’m not saying other WW2 haven’t drawn me in completely, but this one drove me to learn more.  Let’s talk eh?  Oh… yes, must get the legalities out the way.  I’ll be linking to Amazon so you can find it easily should you wish.  The proceeds of that affiliate link help me bring you move reviews.  🙂

the girl who escaped from Auschwitz

The Basic Details

Title: The Girl who Escaped from Auschwitz: A world war II novel based on a true story
Author: Ellie Midwood
Genre: WW2, WW2 fiction, 20th Century historical romance, WW2 historical fiction
Formats: Kindle, Audio, Paperback
Pages: 390
Additions: Book Club Discussion Questions
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Intended Audience: Young Adult, Adult

Discovering the Author and the Book

Ellie Midwood can be found on facebook, and is an author of historical fiction.  A New Yorker, she lives with her fiancée and dog (Shark Bait).  Her grandfather fed her love of history with his stories of fighting as part of the 2nd Guards Tank Army.  A Jewess, she feds her love of WW2 and Holocaust History by collecting rare materials concerning it. 

After reading The Girl who Escaped from Auschwitz I urge you to learn more about Mala Zimetbaum.  You’ll see the cruelty and kindness of people during WW2 and life in the concentration camps.   The lies told, the truths seen, and how hope can live even in hard times.   This is the fictionalized story of Mala and Edward.  A love born in the hardness of Nazi extremism. Desperation leads to hope in escape.  Can it be done? Will it last?  We already know the story, but getting there… it’s worth the journey.

the girl who escaped from Auschwitz

The Girl who Escaped from Auschwitz

How does one find hope in horrible situations?

It’s not an easy thing to do you know.  When you are surrounded by death, bullying, and lies.  How does one find hope?  For Mala, being in a privileged position due to ability with languages, hope came in small things.  Finding ways to help fellow inmates, ways to change another’s fortunes, and ways to be beyond your present circumstances.  It’s not easy, and for hope to be overcome, is too often possible. 

And then Edward.  Unexpected, a fellow prisoner, finding courage to ask for help.  Discovering in each other a common ally. 

The clear writing pattern, and the personalization of Mala and Edward brought this story to life.  The gruffness of the Russian prisoners, the hopelessness of moms losing their children, the choice to believe despite smoke and stench, and betrayal of the photo op prisoners.  All the emotions out on a shirt sleeve for all to see, wrapped up with straight-forward depictions of being in prison just for being who you are. 

This is a well-written story to draws you in.   Definitely recommend. 

And it to your schooling?

Are you researching European History?  Or perhaps studying WW2?  Perhaps your study is more along the lines of understanding why people in confinement act they way they do.   The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz will add depth to those studies.  Showing you how people can live beyond religious lines, and find hope in the hard things of life.   Even if the story doesn’t end in roses, it shows that people can stand for more than you think when push comes to shove.  And THAT my dear readers, is worth reading about. 

Want to read other WW2 books?  Check out this list. 

The Boy Behind The Door

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (The Boy Behind the Door) through Ascot Media Group. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

For those who don’t know, I love history (it’s not the only think I love, but it’s up there eh?).  Anyways, books that tell a story, bringing history life… makes for a very good read you know?  The Boy behind the Door is a tale sending us into the life of a short Jewish Lad.  We take a front-row seat to his experiences as Germany swarmed over The Netherlands.  We see his bewilderment as growing restrictions are placed upon the Jewish population.  Learn how Salomon Kook escaped the Nazis in this short, historically-based, fiction read. 

The Boy behind the door

The Facts

Title: The Boy Behind the Door: How Saloman Kool Escapes the Nazis.
Publisher: Amsterdam Publishers
Reviewed For: Ascot Media Group
Pages: 194
Format Received: Softcover
Genre: History, WW2, Teen and Young Adult Survival, Jewish Literature, WW2 Fiction
Intended Audience: Teen, Young Adult

Author Information:

David Tabatsky is a writer, editor and performing artist based in New York City. David’s two passions have driven his career as a performer and writer. He has performed as an actor, clown and juggler around the world, in venues such as Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre, throughout Europe and Japan, and most notably at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The Story:

Inspired by a real boy and real events shares the story of a Dutch teenager who survived World War II by eluding the Nazis time and time again as German forces occupied the Netherlands.  Learn the story of Salomon Kool and how through the kindness of others, and his own ingenuity, he survived in Nazi invasion of The Netherlands.

Looking More Closely at The Boy Behind the Door

Short chapters and careful character development fill the pages of this quick read.  I won’t say the reading is always easy.  But it was very much eye-opening.  I had not considered the war from the perspective of a Jewish family, particularly that of a young man.  Seeing through the eyes of a just past childhood all the limitations and dislike Jewish families faced.  Seeing how the Nazis worked to destroy families.  Not always easy.  But then seeing, oh, seeing people willing to help.  People willing to risk everything for people they didn’t even know.  How careful they had to be, and yet, risks taken. 

Written from the point of view of Salomon so you get to understand the ramifications of Nazi “enforcement policies” on the Jewish population.  Imagine not being able to play in a park, or watch a movie, go to visit your favourite barber, or not being able to walk on the sunny side of the street.   Things that affected real children in a dangerous time in history.  So very hard. 

Should you read it?

Despite the plethora of WW2 literature invading the bookshelves lately making it hard to choose what to read, The Boy Behind the Door shows a different perspective.   Seeing the war through the eyes of a child-man is eye-opening.  Well worth reading, particularly if you want to learn more about the war. 

This would be a great addition to students learning about the war. I can see teens reading and then discussing or writing papers about various topics raised.  It’s not always easy, but you know what?  War and the brutalization of a people is NOT an easy topic.  Learning about how hard it was perhaps might open eyes and ears so it never happens again!  Wouldn’t it be good if we could prevent THIS history from happening again? 

Your Best Life Later

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Your Best Life Later) through Ascot Media Group. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

Andy McQuitty shares his personal life as he writes to his children to encourage their spiritual growth.  He wrote each a journal over their years of maturing. The end result is his book Your Best Life Later, a compilation of scripture, images, and scripture. A journal that speaks to how to live out our Christian faith.

Your Best Life Later, is a compilation of five journals author Andy McQuity kept for each of his five children. McQuitty talks about child-rearing issues that cross generations. His goal: provide wisdom for parents and Godly messages.  These are intended for readers to learn from and share with their own children.

Published by Leadership Books, you’ll find it’s a hardcover with a textbook feel to it. Five parts for each of the author’s children along with an afterword.  This tome runs at 392 pages. 

Looking Deeper into Your Best Life Later

Six parts make up Your Best Life Later, each part is a separate journal written with each specific child in mind.   Journal entries include such topics as self-esteem, motives, handling big changes, character, the sabbath, and independence.    Each entry to centred around God and is very much directed toward each of his children. 

His goal in sharing these journals is to enable parents help their children mature into their faith and learn to live it out.  He’s very open about using real-life examples to show Christian living.

His long-term view is preparing our sons and daughters, for a future life in heaven (thus the, your best life later title).  We need to build spiritual maturity in those we love most. This is what these devotional journal entries are all about. 

You’ll find scattered pictures throughout. These pictures included images of the American Flag, items from his children’s lives, and personal notes. 

We are urged to see these journal entries as a quiet devotional time to encourage our faith and to help us with our spiritual maturity.  This will help us share our faith in tangible ways with our children, helping them see God’s impact on their lives.  This will help out most loved ones gain spiritual maturity themselves.

Scripture verses that fit each journal entry were added in 2021 as he was putting these journals together for publication. 

Should you get it?

Well, I don’t know.

I have to admit that I struggled with Your Best Life Ever.   I felt to me like I was reading a personal journal and I really didn’t know what to do with it.  Kinda like you are bumping into a private conversation you shouldn’t be butting into.  But that was my struggle AND it might not be yours.

The journal entries I read were packed full of wisdom and godly advice.   I love his heart and how he so willingly showed it to each of his children (and now to us, a greater audience).   He pointed out their strengths (like a gentle heart, or leadership) and how they can be both strengths or weaknesses.   I think he met his goal of providing godly advice to his young adults. 

I think it’s well worth adding to the shelves of my church library.  Depending on the person reading, this will be a helpful parenting tool.   Certainly makes me wish I had done this for my lad through his formative years… perhaps it’s not too late?  

June 2022 reads

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Hey!  I read (and listened to) some books this past month.  Want to know what my June 2022 reads were?  Well, then read on.  Some of them were very good!   I will either link to reviews I’ve written or to the Amazon link if you want to seek it out for yourself.  🙂 

June 2022 reads

Books on Audible

Collegium Chronicles (all three books).  Mags!  I can’t tell you how much I love the world of Valdemar.  Are the characters super good and nice?  (as one reviewer complained), yes. yes indeed they are.  But that doesn’t change how much I enjoy reading a story about the good guys defeating the bad guys.  It’s not always easy, it’s sometimes really hard and good people are lost. But still… good winning out in the end with a well-told tale is worth something to me.   I listened to Foundation where we are introduced to Mags and his white companion Dallen.  Then Intrigues where Mags figured out a problem with foreign assassins and his parentage.  Then I listened to Changes before I got distracted and listened to a different series… I’ll come back and listen to books 4 and 5 at some point.

Dragonsdawn.  I’ve gone back to the world of Pern. Anne Mccaffrey has long been a favourite author of mine.  This first book talks about how Pern came into being.  This is not the first book I read when I initially met this world, but it’s a good place to start to get a good grounding.  Dragons and being able to ride them while fighting to save your world?  What more could you ask for?  🙂 

Calling.  I had to wait for this third book in the series to come out and then I had to relisten to the first two books so the whole story would flow together for me.   A world of magic with strong female characters and the guys come along nicely too!  Very victorian feeling with proper dress and all, but well done I thought. 

More June 2022 reads

Redemptor.  This is the second book in the Raybearer Series.  Thoroughly enjoyed this series even though it took me a while to get used to the importance of drums, and I occasionally found the other-world a bit confusing in how it worked.  Decent fantasy novel. Again a book with a strong female character, but one where a team kept saying “let us help!”. 

Women in White Coats.  I did enjoy this book of history.   It’s not the normal type of book I listen to but since I like listening to lectures on Wondrium (formerly great courses) as I work I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised to enjoy listening to history as I worked as well. Learned alot about the battles women needed to fight against the good old boys club. 

The Chrysalids.  I wish I had read this book years ago, but it was a fun listen.  A good story about how we treat the different in society and what makes a person a person.  

Physical Books for Reviews

The Lost Dreamer.  Thoroughly enjoyed this read, want to read the next in the series.  Learning about the world of the dreamers and the changes they needed to deal with.

Front country.  A counseling trip that turns out with unexpected problems. The teens felt real, the situation that arose very plausible, and the help realistic.

Lolo’s light.  A sad read, taking us deep into the heart of grief. 

Build your own Science Museum.  I have to admit, I love these books.  I find them well done with interesting builds. 

Decrypting Cryptocurrency.  A good book to introduce people to the terminology of Cryptocurrency and how to invest in it. 

slow growth equals strong roots.  A mindset growth book from a Christian perspective.  A gorgeous book that reads like sitting down with a good friend. 

Becoming Beatrix. A good history of Beatrix Potter.  Well worth reading if you’d like to know more about her and her life.

The Souls of Lost Lake.  I needed to read the last chapter before I could finish this read as it was just a touch too suspenseful for me.  The answer intrigued me enough that I had to see how it all fit together and made the story enjoyable. 

Physical Books for Fun

Daughters of the Occupation.  What a fantastic experience to read a book about WW2 that isn’t predominately a romance.  This was a story about family and about what hatred does and how it hurts even past its immediate action.   I enjoyed reading it over several lunchtimes at work.  It is not a very easy read, it’s hurtful to see how mean people can be. 

I still haven’t finished Gentle and Lowly Finish it, I will, but it takes time. I’m enjoying it and learning more and considering more the heart of Christ. 

On the Kindle

I’m reading another WW2 novel, but it’s slow going as my tablet seems to be dying and runs out of juice very quickly.  From the Ashes by Marion Kummerow.  I’m not very familiar with the story of how Berlin was handled by the various governments post- WW2 so I’ve been enlightened and occasionally startled.  I wasn’t expecting some of the brutality.  This is the first of four books, and contains some romantic elements but not as the focus. 

How about you?   What books are reading?  What type of books grab your attention?

The Lost Dreamer

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (The Lost Dreamer) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂 

You know how some books grab your attention from the time you start reading them?   The Lost Dreamer grabbed my attention right from the start. AND if Raincoast Books doesn’t send me the sequel when it comes out I’ll be sorely disappointed!  You have a little bit of everything woven together into a realistic world of colour and dreams.   

The Lost Dreamer

Brief Highlights

The Lost Dreamer is written by Lizz Huerta.   She has Mesoamerica in mind as she introduces us to a lineage of seers defiantly resisting the shifting patriarchal state that would see them destroyed.  This is a world of drums, dreams and colour. 22 chapters fill the 378 pages written with youth 14-18 years old in mind.  That age range feels right, I don’t know if I’d want a 10 year reading this novel as some of the themes are heavy. 

My copy came as a hardcover complete with dustcover. Farrar Straus Giroux Books for young readers is the publisher.   I have to say it’s a nice, solid feeling book.  This is the first of a duology of the lost dreamer series.  Reviewing on behalf of Raincoast Books. 

Taking a more in-depth look at The Lost Dreamer

I won’t tell you that I loved all the characters found within The Lost Dreamer, or that I even understood them all.  Some of the individuals in this fantasy novel were most decidedly not particularly nice. And others were such an interesting mix of emotions, character, and intrigue.  🙂 

Indir was probably my favourite person in this story, with Saya a close follow-up.  Part of the draw was that I wanted so much to know if these two were connected, and if so, how.  I suppose that makes sense though since the chapters alternated between their tales.

I struggled with understanding the threat of the Fire Warriors other than their battle readiness and hardness of spirit.  This is where a prequel to this world would be handy or spending a bit more time explaining the history.  I often felt like I was missing a part of the story.  This of course, didn’t stop me from enjoying the story and the world-building that happened.  I just wanted more!

This young adult read takes us through a change in the society of Dreamers.  It’s a story where we get to watch two girls come of age.  Through different times, and in slightly different worlds due to the time difference, yet, you’ll discover they are indeed connected. 

And easy read with good breaks between action.  There is some love interest but nothing out of the ordinary.  Just young love learning to be something more. 

Should you read it?

Other than the fact I would have liked to linger in the kingdom before the change…. so that it would make what his son did more apparent, or perhaps more threatening, this read was well put-together.  It would be fun to read a prequel and of course a sequel! 🙂 

Despite taking my time reading, I feel like I should read it again, as I’m pretty sure I missed a few details. Between the dreams, the colourful world, and the feel of African drums throughout…The Lost Dreamer offers up so much for the senses.  It’s good to take your time to savour this world, to take in the colour and the noise.  In some ways, it put me in mind of Jordan Ifueko’s work with the Raybearer series.  I do have to note that the author has Mesoamerica in mind rather than Africa…but I don’t know a whole lot about Mesoamerica or how it should feel. 🙂

The Perfect Rejection Resume

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (The Perfect Rejection Resume) through Ascot Media Group.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂 

Well okay, The Perfect Rejection Resume is a reader’s guide to building a career through failure.  Written by Dr. Eli Joseph you will find persistence and self-reflection to be a huge part of the journey.   Let me take some time to walk you through this paperback self-help book. 

The Perfect Rejection Resume

The Basic Details for The Perfect Rejection Resume

Author is Dr. Eli Joseph, an American academic with a doctorate in Business Administration and speaker through TedX. The Perfect Rejection Resume: a Reader’s Guide to Building a Career through Failure has been published by Elisee Joseph.  It runs at 162 pages with 6 chapters, each broken into subsections.  Illustrations were done by Creative Designs by Alifian Saputra.  Janice Gassam wrote the foreword, and I’m reviewing it on behalf of Ascot Media Group.   I received an ARC for my review.

Digging Deeper

You will find the Perect Rejection Resume to be a fairly straight-forward read.  Within the 162 pages you’ll find Joseph using examples from his own life to demonstrate the principles he’s teaching.  Over and over you’ll see demonstrated the power of persistance. 

Textually it’s set up to be easy to read, with bold texting, point forms, lists etc.  This makes it very easy to highlight/bookmark to revisit sections for review. 

Case studies in the form of resumes (all the various rejections) of various people were included.  When you consider that some people got rejected 63 times before they made it through… The persistence just amazes me.  

It makes me think of Thomas Edison who said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”   Each of these rejection resumes makes me think, each of these people found something that won’t work, and so they tried again. 

You will be given ample time to reflect on what you are learning.  After each case study you’ll discover these exercises.  But within the overall text you’ll often discover questions to ask yourself. A chance to think through what you may have done wrong and what you could do better. 

Add it to your shelves?

As I was talking about The Perfect Rejection Resume with my lad I said “It felt like the author was too young to have written this book.  He needs more experience behind him to give weight to his words”.  I went on to say that it makes it harder for me to read the book with the audience I think he has in mind.  My perception is it is geared for 20-somethings in mind, not over 50-year-olds!

It appeared to me that Dr. Eli Joseph repeatedly wanted the ultimate goal throughout his entire life without doing the work needed FIRST to meet those goals.  Ergo he would get rejected.  He needed to find a different way of reaching his goals, and he did.  He didn’t let rejection stop him, which I find admirable. At the same time, if he had written the book a bit differently, like “how to let rejection teach you new skills” I would have been more receptive. 

All that said, are there useful takeaways from The Perfect Rejection Resume?  For sure!   He has great exercises for self-reflection, good questions to ask yourself, and challenges to fulfill.   He includes a variety of rejection resumes for using as case studies.  In those resumes you see persistence, and a refining of their career paths, just as I would expect. 

How to Use?

Now I can see using this as part of a careers class, to help youth/young adults see that sometimes being persistent is exactly what you need to win through the day.  The reflection questions alone are most excellent to teach criticial thinking skills.