The Sheepish Scribe

Witness by E. G. Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Unique is the best way I can describe this story. Part love story, part historical, and part spiritual, it wraps together to make an intriguing read. The main characters, Rivkah and Shemu'el, are both likable and believable. Mr. Lewis does a wonderful job with the setting, enough information to put you in the scene without slowing down the story. While a wonderful glimpse into the past, both the good and the bad, I wouldn't recommend this book for younger readers. There is quite a bit of adult content, not in an obscene way, but the Roman lifestyle, for instance, is not sugar-coated. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in Mr. Lewis's series.

Yes, I'm feeling a little next in line.

Yes, I want someone to find the cure.

Yes, I need your help.

And so do the 5.4 million people currently dealing with Alzheimer's.

Please donate to my Walk to End Alzheimer's.

Red Ink by Kathi Macias

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A powerful story and well worth reading. An interesting perspective on how God calls Christians to intercede in prayer as well as how He works through Christians "on the front lines". Some of the front lines are in countries where Christianity is outlawed, and some are found in nice neighborhoods all across the U.S. This book does a great job of showing that evil knows no boundaries.

I had a hard time with the names for the first quarter of the book, just because they are so foreign to me. Kathi Macias provides the pronunciation of each following her acknowledgments, which helps.

This book leaves you with the ultimate question, what are you willing to sacrifice to be obedient to your Lord?

Fayette: A Time to Love by Donna Winters

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Undoubtedly the best self published book I've read so far. Donna Winters does a wonderful job of telling the story of young Lavinia while giving us insights into the lives and times of upper Michigan in the 1860s. I've been to the ghost town of Fayette and through her writing Mrs. Winters brought the place to life. She told about the pig iron furnaces and life in the shanty cabins without interrupting the flow of the story. She does an exceptional job of combining accurate history with a sweet romance. The character of Lavinia was so accurately portrayed that at times her actions annoyed me, and then I would remember that she was a 16-year old girl. Mrs. Winters did an excellent job of writing that character for her age, social position, and time in history. This is a book suitable for any age with a clear and yet unobtrusive Christian spirit. I highly recommend it.

McKenzie by Penny Zeller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


McKenzie is a sweet story with a wonderful character arc for the female lead. McKenzie learns about life, love, and most importantly about the Lord through her adventure to find her sister in 1880s Montana. Zack Sawyer, the rancher who advertises for a mail order bride, reminded me of the male lead in Francine River's "Redeeming Love". He is a man of character, faith, and steadfast in his relationship with the Lord. This book is very appropriate for young teens and still a page turner for adults.

I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars mostly on how it's billed. Whitaker House calls it Fiction/Christian/Historic. It delivers on the first two but misses on historic. Details of the Montana Territory in the early 1880s are sparse and non-specific. The story is set just five years after the Battle of Little Bighorn and there is no mention of the continuing unrest with the non-reservation Indians that ended at Wounded Knee. Montana ranchers in this era were on constant alert to the danger and several forts were constructed during this time to ensure their safety and stability in that area. Starving Indians and rustlers were a constant threat during this time. Okay, so I'm a history geek, but if they're going to bill it "historic", they ought to deliver the history!



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Decision Points by George W. Bush

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What I liked best was the way this book is laid out. Instead of being written chronologically, it's laid out by topic. I read the book all the way through, but one could just as easily take it topic by topic as desired without losing any of the context.

President Bush's humor shines through in the opening chapters where he talks about his family. I found that the best part of the whole book. The love and reference for his dad is incredible. Oh, that my son would ever write the same way about me some day! I enjoyed that glimpse into his family and was surprised at how comfortable such a powerful figure was/is at sharing it. Good stuff!

I'm very glad this was not a "tell all" type of book with "gotcha" moments against political opponents. There was none of that. I felt there were areas where things were not said, but that's okay. As my mom used to tell me, "If you can't say something nice..." He was frank about some issues and named everyone who was involved in whatever the topic was. He made very few disparaging comments about the actions of others, there were a couple, but only on issues well covered by the media already.

The foreign policy stuff was both fascinating and boring. That's probably sums up foreign policy in a nutshell. I found the players fascinating but struggled to keep an interest up in the more mundane political maneuvering between countries. This may be why I've never been tempted to work in a foreign policy field.

His insights into Iran and Afghanistan were compelling for me, as were his thoughts about our soldiers and the welfare of our country. While I didn't learn anything new, I will look at those situations in a little different light now.

Overall I'm giving this one a 4 star rating. It's well written and worth reading, but not a light or quick read by any means. Read it when you have time to digest a plethora of foreign names and weighty issues.




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