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Thursday Sales plus the First Two Books are Free
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The Susan Pevensie Problem
A new teen fantasy novel draws inspiration from Susan Pevensie’s rejection of Narnia to spin a similar tale. In the almost 70 years since C. S. Lewis published The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the series has attracted heat as well as love. Uniquely so: Tolkien, his friend and colleague, gets no barbs for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, nor J. M. Barrie for Peter Pan or P.L. Travers for Mary Poppins. The problem with Narnia, say critics, is that it’s too obviously Christian, too colonialist, too sectarian. White Narnians are the obvious good guys; brown Calormenes obviously bad—racist much? Progressive ideas are mocked, repressive gender roles sustained. …
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New World Order: Signs of the End Times
We can discuss the Book of Revelations in the Bible allegorically in a hundred different interpretations. It makes for a good film premise. The film New World Order released in 2013 used the mark of the Beast as its focal point. The story opened with a van containing seven Christians who got captured for alleged treason against the New World Order. Officers brought them to a facility so each person can decide whether be marked or sentenced to death. These scenes gave us a glimpse of what will possibly happen during the reign of the Beast as foretold in the Book of Revelations. Main character Demi knew that receiving the mark means losing her soul…
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New Hope: Facing Transitions in Life with God’s Guidance
The film New Hope released in 2012 deals with the aftermath of teen suicide. It boldly tells a story about the depths of guilt and hurt in the lives of those affected by this tragedy. Main character Michael and his family moved to a small town called New Hope. Being the son of a preacher, he is already accustomed to moving from place to place. What bothers him this time is adjusting to his new school in his senior year. Throughout the film, Michael showed us what it is like being a preacher’s son. Like any other teen, he confronts a dilemma of fitting in. The difference is that he…
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Soul Surfer: A Girl’s Determination to Beat Her Odds
The film Soul Surfer tells an inspirational story about Bethany, a 13-year-old surfer who enjoys the waves of Kauai Island in Hawaii. Her parents Tom and Cheri were both surfers and equally supportive of her passion. She and her best friend Alana vie for a regional surfing competition, and that is all that mattered to her at that time. The opening scenes showed us how idyllic life is by the waves and by the shore. Young as she is, Bethany valued her passion for surfing and knew that it was her source of joy. Her character reminds us to identify our God-given talent and make good use of it as…
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Reconciliation: A Father’s Selfless Love
The film Reconciliation released in 2009 takes us into a heartbreaking story between father and son Jeff and Grant who have lived separate lives in the last 24 years. The movie started with a scene of the father and son playing cards. Grant was happy and he loved his father. Fast forward to Grant’s adult life, his wife Sara complains about his being distant during her pregnancy period. Unknown to Sara, Grant had apprehensions about facing fatherhood. He hid from her about Jeff’s existence because his father is gay. These scenes show us how an unpleasant childhood affects us when we become adults. Grant and Sara’s confrontation scene teaches us that marriage…
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The Cut Out Girl by Bart Van Es
An Encounter With History The Cut Out Girl by Bart Van Es is a remarkable true story of Lien, a Jewish girl who was eight years old in 1942 when she went into hiding in the Netherlands. Her life intersected with the author’s as she lived with his grandparents for part of the war. This […]
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New Release from Alexa Verde plus Wednesday’s Free and Sale Books
ul.body { margin: 0; text-align: center; } ul.body li { list-style: none !important; display: inline-block; } @media screen and (min-width:768px) { ul.body img { width: 15%; margin: 0 2.5% 35px; } } @media screen and (max-width:767px) { ul.body img { width: 45%; margin: 0 2.5% 25px; } } //If it’s code-free, leave true — if not, set false var codeFree = false; var serial = []; serial.push(“B074RWYM9W”); //1 serial.push(“B073SHS8WZ”); var imageLinkPart1 = “https://images.weserv.nl/?url=images.amazon.com/images/P/”; var imageLinkPart2 = “.02._SCLZZZZZZZ_jpg”; var buttonLinkPart1 = “https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/”; var linkPart2 = “/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=”; var linkPart3 = “&tag=tholstwa-20”; //This is finding the right blog posts ‘body’ tag. It just looks for one that hasn’t been populated yet. //This is…
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Mystery, Time-Travel, and Fantasy Free plus Tuesday Sales
ul.body { margin: 0; text-align: center; } ul.body li { list-style: none !important; display: inline-block; } @media screen and (min-width:768px) { ul.body img { width: 15%; margin: 0 2.5% 35px; } } @media screen and (max-width:767px) { ul.body img { width: 45%; margin: 0 2.5% 25px; } } //If it’s code-free, leave true — if not, set false var codeFree = false; var serial = []; serial.push(“B01BLX4LB8”); //1 serial.push(“B015EI2E1U”); serial.push(“B00K1LNA1O”); serial.push(“B008G5GFF0”); serial.push(“B07BFN7F2P”); serial.push(“B00L88VID6”); serial.push(“B006UALXR8”); serial.push(“B00GXEDB8K”); //8 serial.push(“B00N3FPEDM”); serial.push(“B003Z9KACG”); var imageLinkPart1 = “https://images.weserv.nl/?url=images.amazon.com/images/P/”; var imageLinkPart2 = “.02._SCLZZZZZZZ_jpg”; var buttonLinkPart1 = “https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/”; var linkPart2 = “/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=”; var linkPart3 = “&tag=tholstwa-20”; //This is finding the right blog posts ‘body’ tag. It just looks…
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Sports Books That Pack a Punch
Are you watching the Superbowl this weekend? Do you have young football fans at home? What about baseball? soccer? basketball? track? Sports books are a distinct sub-genre, a definite “hook” for many reluctant readers. A good sports book offers more than just a sports story, though: it often offers insight on character issues, relationship conflicts, teamwork, perseverance, and more. Sports Books That Pack a Punch Though the books below are all sports books, even non-sports lovers will find them engaging and thought-provoking. Unless otherwise noted, books are for middle grades (~ages 10-12). Titles linked to reviews for more information. Soar by Joan Bauer (Baseball) Plunked by Michael Northrop (Baseball)The Only…
