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Relevant Fiction Reviews: Classics I

Published by CAstfalk on 08/15/2016

Relevant Fiction Reviews

I enjoy reading books by contemporary authors, but now and then I like to pick up a classic. There are so, so many I haven’t read. These are three I had been meaning to read for a while. Interestingly, at the crux of each of these vastly different novels is the sin of adultery. And in each case, its ramifications are played out.

O Pioneers! (Great Plains Trilogy, #1)O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The depth and grandeur of O Pioneers! didn’t catch up with me until the end. I’d read My Antonia in college and Death Comes for the Archbishop a decade ago, and loved both. O Pioneers! only confirmed my appreciation for Cather’s writing.

I was struck again by the beauty of her prose and imagery.

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Re-Envision Jane Eyre TODAY with Unclaimed

Published by CAstfalk on 07/14/2016

The Unclaimed Virtual Book Tour stops HERE today!

Unclaimed by Erin McCole Cupp
Unclaimed by Erin McCole Cupp

Born not in a past of corsets and bonnets but into a future of cloning and bioterror, could Jane Eyre survive? This Jane is an “unclaimed embryo,” the living mistake of a reproductive rights center–or so her foster family tells her. At age ten she is sold into slavery as a data mule, and she must fight for freedom and identity in a world mired between bioscientific progress and the religions that fear it.

“Jane Eyre does not need to be updated.  It needs to be read and re-read and treasured for its timelessness.  But too often, the people of a world obsessed with progress refuse to remember the wisdom of the past.  Sometimes, an author must dress the eighteenth century in futuristic salawar kameez to remind the present day that the human story never changes. Whether in Georgian England or the global community of a technocratic future, there will always be orphans who can teach the rest of us how to love, if we will only take the time to learn.  This is the reason we need books like Unclaimed.”

–  Karen Ullo, author of Jennifer the Damned

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Faith, Family & Freedom: Fight For Liberty Available Today!

Published by CAstfalk on 07/04/2016

When the sparklers have fizzled, the grill has cooled, and even the lightning bugs have taken to their beds, I have the perfect book for you! The final installment of Theresa Linden’s Liberty Trilogy is available today. You’ll want to start with the first book, Chasing Liberty. (I interviewed Theresa about the book when it was first released.) Now that the series is complete, you can read straight through Testing Liberty and then Fight For Liberty, because, believe me, you’ll want to!

Because it’s a holiday and your concentration may be sapped from fun and sun, I’ll make this simple.

Top 5 Reasons You Should Read the Liberty Series:Fight for Liberty cover

  1. Liberty. She’s strong, brave, and bursting at the seams with heart and integrity. Which makes up for her tendency to be impatient and impulsive.
  2. Dedrick. A gentleman through and through, he’s had his eye on Liberty for a long time. Chivalrous, courageous, and can also kick some butt when the situation warrants.
  3. The Evil Villain. Dr. Supero is the guy you love to hate as he doggedly pursues Liberty. [Insert maniacal laugh.]
  4. Edge of your seat. That’s where you’ll be throughout this fast-paced dystopian series.
  5. American as apple pie. Rather than letting that burst of patriotism dim with the last flickering firework, take a little time to reflect on the foundations of the United States. Good fiction deepens your understanding of concepts and values in a personal way. Let Liberty remind you of the importance of faith, family, and freedom by showing you what a world without them might look like.
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Relevant Fiction Reviews: Troubled Childhoods

Published by CAstfalk on 06/20/2016

Relevant Fiction Reviews

Without intending to, I read a lot books in a short period of time in which the main characters either endured or were removed from traumatic childhoods. (Except in the case of The End of the World, in which the characters moved from bad to worse in moving from home to foster care.) I suspect fictional characters experience rough childhoods at a higher rate than the real-life populace. At least I hope so! After all, childhood trauma makes a great back story and provides the motivation needed for a strong character arc. The older I get, however, the more I see what profound effects a family origin has, even well into adulthood.

You may notice I removed the stars from my Goodreads ratings below. Truth be told, I hate star rating systems. I get that they’re a simple snapshot that indicates the reader’s satisfaction with a book, but, most of the time, I struggle with assigning stars. And looking at the books below, I don’t think my assigned stars correlated to how well the books were written when you look at these books side by side. (I had assigned them all four and five stars, but still . . . ) I’d rather let the written reviews stand on their own.

In looking over this list of books, I have to say, months later, the one that still makes my heart clench is The End of the World.

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