Author: Kristie

I am a former schoolteacher from Los Angeles now living in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and 5 kitties. My alma mater is Brigham Young University, which I visit as often as possible. I love the written word, photography, music, technology, and history. Thank you for being here!
Memoir, Nonfiction

Small Fry, by Lisa Brennan-Jobs

Kristie

Small Fry cover

Once upon a time, before marrying and having two children, before Apple was the iconic company that it is today, Steve Jobs fathered a daughter. He briefly lived with her mother, Chrisann Brennan, then his eccentric restlessness took over. They broke up before the child was born and Jobs refused to acknowledge paternity for several years.

Lisa Brennan-Job is that daughter and this is her story. It is the story of a struggling single mother on state assistance whose child’s father was worth hundreds of millions. It is the story of a daughter searching for some normalcy, which was difficult with two highly volatile parents. It is a story of a constant roller coaster of love, hurt, redemption, and forgiveness.

I was riveted by Small Fry. Lisa’s position as Steve Jobs’ daughter may seem enviable, but your opinion will change after reading her story. She never plays the victim, nor the princess. Jobs was ridiculously controlling while Chrisann was often emotionally unstable. The only real closure Lisa received was a deathbed apology which, I suppose, is better than nothing.

9/10 Stars

Fiction, Historical Fiction

Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks

Kristie

Year of Wonders cover

I had no idea when I listened to (75%) and read (25%) this book about the plague in the 17th century that, a few months later, we would be seeing the global panic we’re currently experiencing with the Coronavirus. The main differences are, of course, that the people then had greater cause to panic and medical technology was drastically inferior to what it is today.

Year of Wonders is about a young widow and mother named Anna. Like other books by Geraldine Brooks, the central female character possesses a quiet strength during a time when women were expected to be passive and mild. Anna does her best to support herself and her two young sons by working on her small farm, working at the parsonage, and bringing in a boarder now and then.

Over the course of the book Anna’s challenges and losses continue to increase, yet she never wavers, relying on her faith that she will see loved ones again, and her devotion to helping others in her social circle.

Geraldine Brooks has a talent for writing books in this Puritan setting, almost making them sound as if they were written in that time period. There was, sadly, a major misstep in the ending of Year of Wonders which led me to agree with other reviewers on Goodreads who stated that the ending felt like a completely different book. After investing so much time and energy into Anna’s story, hers is an odd and disjointed conclusion.

8/10 Stars

Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult

The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill

Kristie

The Girl Who Drank the Moon cover

After some very demanding months in 2019, I can now return to my beloved book review blog! I’ve read and listened to quite a few books over the last few months, but I narrowed them down to a handful of my favorites to include on this site.

A few weeks ago at a “Favorites” party I won the Young Adult book, The Girl Who Drank the Moon. The fact that it is a Newbery Award winner gave me hope. And, despite its fantasy genre, I decided to give it a try.

I’m glad I did.

Set in a gloomy, dystopian society, The Girl Who Drank the Moon is full of symbolism that spills over into our modern world. A government who swears it is protecting the people, even though they insist that one child must be sacrificed to the forest’s witch every year. Characters include a child who escapes the sacrifice, the aforementioned witch, a dragon, a swamp monster, a madwoman in a tower, and a young apprentice trying to figure out what is true and what is not.

I devoured the book in two days, then loaned it to a friend who is a high school librarian. She loved it too.

Do not be put off by the genre, as I first was, or by its target audience. Younger people may not understand every layer in this the book, and that’s OK. But they will still enjoy it. As an adult, I found the symbolism very powerful, worthy of a college paper.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon is most definitely the best book I’ve read in a quite a while. There are some unexpected surprises, which I found very satisfying. And I’ve done my best not to include any spoilers here so that you can experience them for yourself.

9.5/10 Stars

Fiction, Historical Fiction

Moonraker’s Bride, by Madeleine Brent

Kristie

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It is a joy to read a book that I know will make the “10 Star” list on my site. Moonraker’s Bride, by Madeleine Brent, is such a book.

In much the same way as the protagonist in The Blue Castle (another 10 star favorite,) main character Lucy Waring’s life begins in one place and situation before making a dramatic shift to another. Lucy is a 17 year old British orphan living in China, knowing no other life than the impoverished orphanage run by a well-meaning, but sickly, Miss Prothero. Miss Prothero’s ill health forces Lucy, as the orphanage’s oldest resident, to take on all of the daily responsibilities, including the most basic–finding the means to feed the children in her care. Despite the mounting obstacles, Lucy loves being needed and has learned to be a quick-thinking, courageous, resourceful young woman.

One day, when Lucy’s luck (seemingly) runs out, she meets political prisoner, Nick Sabine. Nick’s own future is grim, but this unlikely meeting changes Lucy’s life forever. Suddenly she is immersed in a myriad of adventures that include a puzzling riddle, a lost treasure, a family feud, and numerous other twists and turns.

The story, the writing style, and, especially, the character development in Moonraker’s Bride are glorious. The time period invites some suspension of reality, but it is forgivable. What makes the female-centric novel even more interesting is that author Madeleine Brent was actually a man named Peter O’Donnell (1920-2010) writing under a female pseudonym. I knew this going into the book, but was even more impressed while reading it. Lucy Waring’s sentiments and reactions “feel” female, without being insulting or stereotypical.

I highly recommend Moonraker’s Bride. This was a book I could not put down. It was also a book I immediately missed when I completed it. As an FYI, it is out of print, as are all of the books by Madeleine Brent (a tragedy,) but used copies are available on both Amazon and alibris.com.

10/10 Stars

 

Faith, Religion, Self-Help

Christ In Every Hour, by Anthony Sweat

Kristie

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Anthony Sweat, a BYU professor and popular Education Week and Time Out For Women speaker, is one of those talented communicators who can “dial up” a presentation to include heavy doctrinal insights or “dial it down” to make it relatable to the masses but still very powerful.

His most recent book, Christ In Every Hour, is somewhere in the middle. It is both readable and deep, sharing examples of people who have endured great crises with faith and scriptural examples (often from the life of Christ) to instruct us in how we may become more like the Savior, our Ultimate Teacher.

At its core it is a teaching book, and I came away having learned many things I either did not know had not pondered in depth. One of my favorite explanations was the idea of Christ as the “bridegroom,” a term often used in Christianity. Despite numerous times hearing this in Catholicsm and in the Church of Jesus Christ of Letter-day Saints, the whys and wherefores escaped me until reading about it Christ In Every Hour. Another terrific explanation was about the importance of the Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine, why it was so significant and what it symbolizes through the ages for all of us. (I hope I have the opportunity to work it into a church talk one day! But I probably just jinxed myself for writing that.)

The book culminates into a clever acrostic:

Christ…

Cleanses

Heals

Restores

Identifies

Strengthens

Transforms

Overall, this book is excellent and I highly recommend it. It’s audience is wide and beyond the scope of Latter-day Saints, appealing to anyone who wants to nurture their relationship with the Lord and make Him a part of your every day life.

9.5/10 Stars

 

Faith, Nonfiction, Religion, Self-Help

Faith Is Not Blind, by Bruce C. and Marie K. Hafen

Kristie

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I recently heard an interview with Bruce and Marie Hafen and I was so impressed that I decided to find their book, Faith is Not Blind. Bruce Hafen has been dean of the Brigham Young University Law School, president of Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho,) and is a long-time General Authority. He and his wife, Marie, have co-authored several books together.

A short but very powerful book, Faith is Not Blind speaks mainly to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but like Sheri Dew’s Worth the Wrestle, it is for anyone (or anyone related to someone) suffering a faith crisis or someone merely “going through the motions” who wants more. In other words, it casts its net fairly wide.

Because many questioning their faith, whether it be faith in God or their particular organized religion, feel a tug-of-war between logic and belief–opting for logic–the Hafens approach faith from a logical view. They know their audience.

Main points, upon which the book is built, are these:

  • real vs. the ideal
  • early innocent simplicity
  • bewildering complexity
  • mature enhanced simplicity

The last point, mature enhanced simplicity, is the ultimate goal for anyone who wants to break the confines of their struggles and rediscover faith. This usually only comes as the result of complexity. The complexity stage, however, is where many people get stuck, often for a lifetime, often leading to “intellectual apostasy.”

The Hafens assure the reader that emerging from complexity and progressing to mature enhanced simplicity with both faith and individuality intact is a very attainable goal, but it requires work and participation. There is no getting something for nothing. Understanding the ways modern society tries to prevent reaching the goal of mature enhanced simplicity is also key and something they discuss in depth. Personally, I found the idea of the “burden of proof” shift over recent years amazingly accurate.

Without being preachy, the Hafens accomplish a great deal in fifteen brief chapters. The reader will find himself holding up the figurative mirror and self-examining his own faith, as well as feeling more compassion and understanding for loved ones still stuck in the mire of bewildering complexity. At the very least, we learn that faith and logic do not need to be mutually exclusive, but can build upon each other to create one great end result.

It is a brilliant book.

9.5/10 Stars

Bonus Link: Bruce and Marie Hafen discuss stages of faith in the ALL IN podcast.

Part 1: Click HERE              Part 2: Click HERE

 

Faith, Memoir, Nonfiction

Carried, by Michelle Schmidt & Angie Taylor

Kristie

Carried

Most parents would agree that having a child predecease them is the worst possible thing they could imagine. While the majority will not have to experience this devastating trial, John and Michelle Schmidt were not so fortunate. In 2016 their daughter, Annie, an avid hiker, went missing and lost her life in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge. Despite John’s fame as a member of The Piano Guys, the only thing that could immunize them from the excruciating pain of Annie’s death was their faith.

In Carried, How One Mother’s Trust in God Helped Her Through the Unthinkable, Michelle Schmidt chronicles the heartbreaking events of this difficult time.

The reader should be prepared that only about 30% of the book actually focuses on the search for Annie. The larger portion is a memoir of John and Michelle’s life leading up to the event, a life fraught with the ups and downs of marriage and a growing family while navigating decades of John’s music career. Clearly the purpose of this background information is to provide the reader with a foundation of the faith-building experiences the family endured that sustained them all during the hardest moments of their lives. That being said, Carried almost feels like two books in one and can be a bit misleading in what the story is truly about.

I appreciated the details of John and Michelle’s early life and have great admiration for their faith, but most readers gravitate towards the book for a different reason, which is to read about Annie’s disappearance and the events surrounding it. Still, it is comforting to see a family recover, albeit slowly, from such a loss and to use the experience to help others.

8/10 Stars

Bonus Link: John and Michelle Schmidt discuss the search for Annie in the ALL IN podcast. Click HERE.

Faith, Nonfiction, Religion, Self-Help

All These Things Shall give Thee Experience, by Neal A. Maxwell

Kristie

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One of the most beloved apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Elder Neal A. Maxwell. Known for his compassion and his intelligence, Elder Maxwell passed away in 2004 after an eight year battle with leukemia.

At the time of his passing I was in the middle of a self-imposed “hiatus” from Church activity and, although I feel it was something that I, personally, needed to go through in order to shape who I am today, I do not recommend it. It was, in retrospect, both a waste of time and time wasted (not the same thing.) There are so many things I do not know but want to know and so many things I want to learn that I could’ve pursued years ago.

One of those things about which I’ve felt a recent desire to become better acquainted with the lives and teachings of Church leaders, past and present. Elder Maxwell has always been in my peripheral vision but it wasn’t until recently, while in the midst of several exhausting weeks of different trials and challenges, that I decided to read this particular book. It had been sitting for years, unopened, in my Deseret Bookshelf app. I read about two thirds of it and listened to the last third, read by Elder Maxwell himself in that fatherly voice of his, one that exudes both care and concern.

My immediate impression was that Neal A. Maxwell crafts his thoughts with the same quality as Mozart writing a symphony or da Vinci creating the Mona Lisa. This is not an exaggeration. He is one of the most masterful, exquisite writers I’ve ever encountered. But, like any masterful work, appreciating it requires focus and study. This is not a book you can skim or listen to in the background. While I did do some multi-tasking while listening, those tasks had to be fairly mindless in order to pay attention and ponder the messages.

If I had to choose 3 favorite chapters it would be these:

  • The Omniscience of an Omnipotent and Omniloving God
  • Prayer and Growth
  • Follow the Brethren

All of these chapters resonated with me for different reasons. Going into great detail about God’s omniscience helps us to understand that challenges help to shape us to become like Him one day, which should be our ultimate goal. Learning how to pray in a way God can answer has been a recent personal pursuit, so I was happy to learn more on the subject. Following the brethren (leaders) is a strong pep talk of a chapter, but sometimes tough love is the best course, especially when the only agenda behind that pep talk is to help the reader self-reflect and improve.

I learned a lot of things that I need to consider in my own life, especially when things are difficult. I also understand, more than ever, why Neal A. Maxwell was so revered. He KNOWS people, how they tick, how they function, how they act and react. I was amazed at his perception. This book is a treasure.

10/10 Stars

Biography, Faith, Nonfiction

Insights from a Prophet’s Life: Russell M. Nelson, by Sheri Dew

Kristie

Insights_from_a_Prophet_s_Life_-_Russell_M._Nelson_580xWhen you have an incredible subject like Russell M. Nelson and a gifted writer like Sheri Dew, you have the recipe for success. This was, hands down, one of the best biographies I’ve ever read (heard as an audiobook.)

As someone who has loved biographies since I was a child, my standards are fairly high, and Insights From a Prophet’s Life not only met those standards, but exceeded them. What a fascinating man!

I was prepared to be impressed, but I was left amazed. Yes, he is a brilliant and well-respected heart surgeon; yes, he is a devoted husband and father; yes, he is a faithful servant in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but there are many, many stories between these milestones. And, despite his gifts, hard-work, and humility, he has not escaped tragedy. The chapter on his first wife’s passing is heartbreaking. The chapter on his courtship with his second wife is optimistic.

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Russell M. Nelson and his first wife, Dantzel
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Dr. Russell M. Nelson, heart surgeon

All of his experiences, including adapting to the changing world as a surgeon and spiritual leader are inspiring. Everything he does is with an enormous amount of faith and discipline.

By the end I was entertained, motivated, impressed, delighted, and honored to learn more about our dear President Nelson.

10/10 Stars

Bonus Link: Author/Deseret Book CEO, Sheri Dew, discusses writing about Russell M. Nelson in the ALL IN podcast. Click HERE.

 

Faith, Religion

The Coming of the Lord, by Gerald N. Lund

Kristie

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I’m a newcomer to the world of podcasts, and one of the very first ones I heard was a fascinating interview with Elder Gerald N. Lund, well known in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for his prolific writing of historical fiction, such as The Work and the Glory series.

The podcast series ALL IN was interviewing Elder Lund about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, a subject on which he is very knowledgeable. The Coming of the Lord, Elder Lund’s very first book, was referenced several times and, since a 30 minute podcast episode can only cover so much, I sought after the book.

The subject is gripping, dramatic, and very interesting. The book is well-researched, using many quotes and prophecies from scriptures and the prophets of old and in the latter days. It is interesting to think that it was written in the early 1970’s because many of those prophecies have already been fulfilled.

I learned a lot, but the writing is a bit cumbersome. My rating is based on the writing, not the subject. Elder Lund did mention on the podcast that he is in the process of writing a revised version of The Coming of the Lord. I would be curious to compare it with the original.

8.5/10 Stars

Bonus Link: Gerald N. Lund discusses “signs of the Second Coming” in the ALL IN podcast. Click HERE.

Biography, Nonfiction

The Stranger in the Woods, by Michael Finkel

Kristie

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Once upon a time there was a young man from Massachusetts named Christopher Knight who walked into the Maine woods and away from society…for 27 years. He didn’t tell his family, he had no friends, and he abandoned his car.

This is the beginning of the strange but true story of the North Pond Hermit, a man who shunned society but was still dependent on it. While living in a tree-covered clearing deep in the forest, Knight subsisted on food and supplies from twice-monthly raids of nearby cabins. His burglaries numbered into the hundreds.

Besides food he also stole clothing, bedding, a TV, watches, batteries, propane, and reading material–lots and lots of reading material. Meanwhile, the nearby residents didn’t know what to think. Some felt sorry for him, some wanted to help him, but many were enraged.

Knight’s nighttime escapades culminated into one final burglary of a summer camp kitchen, where he was finally apprehended and came to the attention of the author, Michael Finkel, who was determined to write Knight’s story.

The writing style is entertaining and economical, much like Knight himself (whose legal issues continue to this day.) Like the local residents, I was conflicted about Christopher Knight. Living off the grid is one thing, but breaking the law and violating peoples’ property and sense of security is something else. One thing that’s undeniable, however, it’s a fascinating story.

9/10 Stars

Faith, Religion

Almighty, by David Butler

Kristie

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I recently heard the author, David Butler, interviewed on my favorite podcast show, ALL IN and knew I had to read this book. He is one of those people who speaks like he’s always smiling and the tone of his writing is no different. I loved this book! Feeling unhappy? Unloved? Marginalized? Life got you down? Read Almighty.

It is written for anyone of any Christian faith. It is like a booster shot of sunshine, reminding you that life is more than a parade of challenges. David Butler personalizes our Heavenly Father into a loving, approachable celestial parent. A celestial parent who is waiting for you to have a relationship with Him. This book is like wrapping a warm blanket around the aching heart, the heavy mind, the broken spirit.

I highly recommend it.

9.5/10 Stars

Bonus Link: David Butler discusses his book, Almighty, on the ALL IN podcast. Click HERE.