Top Reads 2013: Gold Medal

Home Run
By Travis Thrasher
David C. Cook

BACK COVER:

Baseball star Cory Brand knows how to win. But off the field, he’s spiraling out of control. Haunted by old wounds and regrets, his future seems as hopeless as his past.

Until one moment—one mistake—changes everything. To save his career, Cory must go back to the town where it all began. His plan is simple: coach the local baseball team, complete a recovery program, and get out as fast as possible. Instead, he runs headfirst into memories he can’t escape ... and the love he left behind.

Faced with a second chance he never expected, Cory embarks on a journey of faith, transformation and redemption. And along the way, he discovers a powerful truth: no one is beyond the healing of God.

MY REVIEW:

I'm not into sports. I wouldn't know a touchdown from a hole in one. Okay, so maybe that's exaggerating, but reading a book about a baseball star and his messed up life is seriously NOT my first choice in fiction. But here I am, recommending a novel about a baseball supernova who's an alcoholic deadbeat dad. Why? Because Home Run has a powerful message of redemption (and the writing is drool worthy).

The plot centers around main character Cory Brand. I won't call him a hero, because for most of the book he's not. He's a jerk...but a lovable fella who you'll root for because of his past. Yeah, he runs away from his problems in more ways than one, but eventually he's saved by an amazing grace that only God can provide.

Whether you're a sports fanatic or not, the gritty issues dealt with in this book will connect with pretty much everyone. Author Travis Thrasher hits these issues head on, exposing the ugly sides, then bringing them all to the throne of Grace without whapping you upside the head with a Bible.

Two thumbs up.

Top Reads 2013: Silver Medal

Anomaly
By Krista McGee
Thomas Nelson

BACK COVER:

Thalli has fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds left to live. The toxic gas that will complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream. But she is not afraid.

Thalli is different than others in The State. She feels things. She asks questions. And in the State, this is not tolerated. The Ten scientists who survived the nuclear war that destroyed the world above believe that emotion was at the core of what went wrong—and they have genetically removed it from the citizens they have since created. Thalli has kept her malformation secret from those who have monitored her for most of her life, but when she receives an ancient piece of music to record as her community’s assigned musician, she can no longer keep her emotions secreted away.

Seen as a threat to the harmony of her Pod, Thalli is taken to the Scientists for immediate annihilation. But before that can happen, Berk—her former Pod mate who is being groomed as a Scientist—steps in and persuades the Scientists to keep Thalli alive as a test subject.

The more time she spends in the Scientist’s Pod, the clearer it becomes that things are not as simple as she was programmed to believe. She hears stories of a Designer—stories that fill her mind with more questions: Who can she trust? What is this emotion called love? And what if she isn’t just an anomaly, but part of a greater design?

MY REVIEW:

We've all read them. You know. The ol' nuclear bomb destroys civilization as we know it except for a handful of survivors. This is one of those...and one worth reading.

Anomaly explores not only what it's like to be different, but to know you're different, way down to the marrow of your bones. We've all experienced this. Just think back to junior high. What's great about this book, though, is that it ends on a note of hope--and a cliffhanger. For yes, indeed, this is only the beginning of Thalli & Berk's adventure.

This story has elements of Logan's Run mixed with the teenage angst of The Outsiders. It's a quick read, yet a challenging one, forcing the reader to question their own self image. It's set in the future and somewhat technical, yet not science nerdy enough to turn off a non-techhie like me.

I loved the relationship between Thalli & Berk. It's a little slow to ripen, but overall believable. I look forward to seeing what develops between the two in the next book, Luminary.

Overall, Anomaly is a definite thumbs up.

Top Reads 2013: Bronze Medal

Nobody wants to come in third. I get it. But (and I've always got a big but) taking into consideration the amount of books I read in 2013, to make it to the top 3 is indeed an honor. This year, the bronze award goes to...drum roll please...

The Dancing Master
By Julie Klassen
Bethany House

Back Cover Copy:

Finding himself the man of the family, London dancing master Alec Valcourt moves his mother and sister to remote Devonshire, hoping to start over. But he is stunned to learn the village matriarch has prohibited all dancing, for reasons buried deep in her past.

Alec finds an unlikely ally in the matriarch's daughter. Though he's initially wary of Julia Midwinter's reckless flirtation, he comes to realize her bold exterior disguises a vulnerable soul--and hidden sorrows of her own.

Julia is quickly attracted to the handsome dancing master--a man her mother would never approve of--but she cannot imagine why Mr. Valcourt would leave London, or why he evades questions about his past. With Alec's help, can Julia uncover old secrets and restore life to her somber village...and to her mother's tattered heart?

Filled with mystery and romance, The Dancing Master brings to life the intriguing profession of those who taught essential social graces for ladies and gentlemen hoping to make a "good match" in Regency England.

My Review:

I’ve long been a fan of Julie Klassen, so I may be a little biased when I say THE DANCING MASTER is a must read. Not that her previous titles are wimpy by any stretch of the imagination, but this one is my all-time favorite thus far (and no, I don’t say that for every book she releases).

What’s so great about this one? The intrigue. I didn’t figure out the twisty-turny plot until towards the end. Every time I was sure that I had, the story would take another turn and prove me wrong. I love that! It’s a rare author, indeed, that can keep me guessing like that.

Hero Alec and heroine Julia are complex and definitely main character material, but the fella who really stole my heart was Johnny Desmond. While secondary in reference to Alec and Julia, he’s the one who will live on a long time in a reader’s heart after the book is shut.

There are many themes played out in the story, but the message of grace shines the most clearly—a truth that can never be taught enough. Don’t worry. You won’t get beat over the head with a Bible in this one, but all the same, your heart will take a bruising from the fresh realization of God’s great love portrayed in the story.

Do yourself a favor and cough up the cash for this one. You won’t be sorry!

Top Non-Fiction Book of 2013

Traditionally here at Writer Off the Leash, I use the last few days of the year to highlight some of my favorite reads of the past year. That doesn't necessarily mean those books were published in 2013. It simply means that's when I read them.

Non-traditionally, I'm adding a non-fiction pick. Before you freak out because you know that I'd usually rather stab myself in the eyeballs with a crooked-tined fork, allow me a disclaimer...

It is true that I don’t like non-fiction. It makes me think too hard, like re-read the same sentence over at least four times to figure it out kind of hard.

However, The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer mixes profound with easy-to-understand. My copy is now dog-eared, highlighted, and has little sticky notes on just about every page. It’s so good, I bought several copies to give out as Christmas gifts.

All that being said, I think the best way to review Tozer is to just step back and give the man the stage. Here are a few of my favorite direct quotes from the book…

“We are often hindered from giving up our treasures to the Lord out of fear for their safety. This is especially true when those treasures are loved relatives and friends. But we need have no such fears. Our Lord came not to destroy but to save. Everything is safe which we commit to Him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed.”

“In our desire after God, let us keep always in mind that God also has desire, and His desire is toward the sons of men, and more particularly toward those sons of men who will make the once-for-all decision to exalt Him over all.”

“God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, pre-destination and the divine sovereignty. The best and safest way to deal with these truths is to raise our eyes to god and in deepest reverence say, “O Lord, Thou knowest.” Those things belong to the deep and mysterious profound of God’s omniscience. Prying into them may make theologians, but it will never make saints.”

What's the Big Deal About Christmas?

Okay, so the wise men part is totally Hollywood, but give the whole thing a chance and see if your eyes don't water at least a little...even if you are a stoic Viking.

What Do You Know?

It's the big show tomorrow. Christmas Day. Are you ready?
I'm not talking presents, or pickled herring, or planning a seating arrangement that won't beget a Maury Povich style knock-down drag-out yo-mama kind of fight between the relatives.
I'm talking about your heart. Where's it at in relationship to the Creator of the Universe? Because honestly, nothing else matters.

"Be still and know that I am God."

Psalm 46:10

Make it a priority to take some time out today and tomorrow to be still. Know Him. He's everything He says He is.

Gifts for Writers

Freedom
Free up the ol' schedule to give said writer some actual butt in chair time. Be creative. Offer to make a meal or do some yard work or something.

Encouragement
Rejections are like suffering repeated kidney punches. Simple validation via a note (how the writer's words have been important to you) is the gift that keeps giving because this is one present that won't get returned.

Shout Out
Post a review on Amazon or Goodreads for one of the author's books.

Natural Writer's Block Remedies
That'd be java and chocolate...preferably dark.

Create Space
When writer's block hits, sometimes the physical act of writing words on paper with a pen gets the juices flowing. Did you catch that? Journal. Pen. Yeah.

Piece of Quiet
Writers need to get away to a cozy place to write...even if that place is just a closet with a desk shoved into it. Candles are a good idea.