A Different Kind of Courage

If you feel as if you have read hundreds of revolutionary war books, all that seem to sound the same, then you must read this one more. Sarah's thrilling and inspiring tale, based on true stories and the accounts of real people of the time, and with her special twists (one of my most favorite parts of the story), was a fascinating read that grabbed my attention directly from the moment I began!

William's unique character was by far one of my most favorite male characters in a fiction book that I have ever read. I loved reading his story, from the perspecitive of a young man newly arrived from London into the hotbed of Boston politics at the beginning of what would later be the revolutionary war. As Will tries to find his place among friends and family on opposing sides, he also struggles with his own inner battles. Trying to live up to his father's overbearing expectations and living in his brother's shadow takes it's toll, while trying to help both the British and the people of Boston leaves his faith and courage hanging by a thread. Can William seperate from the pressure of pleasing others, stand up for what he knows is right, and find the strong faith and peace he longs for?

“The cost of doing what is right is sometimes very high, but never doubt it's worth.”

Sarah's powerful faith messages, and portrayal's of Dr. Joseph Warren, among other historical figures, makes this a treasure, especially for homeschooling families. She shares inspiring quotes throughout from Dr. Warren as well as from many other important figures of the time, adding authenticity and meaning to a fictional retelling of one of the most important times in our nations history. This story brings the politics of both sides in the struggle during the revolutionary war and brings the heroes of the past to life. There is so much more I could say about this tale of heorism, faith, history and romance; so don't just take my word for it - read it for yourself and see! :)

*I reccomended for grades 6 and up.

LMA Challenge: Good Wives Review

June is at an end, and thus so is our Louisa May Alcott reading challenge. Of course, it doesn't mean we have to stop reading (thank goodness for that)! ;) Thank you to Tarissa for hosting this entertaining and useful challenge.

     These sorts of challenges are always good for me, especially during the lazy summer months when I find I need something new and fresh to keep me inspired and focused, and this challenge was just the thing. Through reading L.M. Alcott's writings, I've discovered a few things about myself that I didn't have during my younger years when reading some of these books, and it was fun to see a wiser, more mature me and see how far God's brought me in building up my character. :) I don't often stop long enough to recognize those things in my life, so it was nice to do so this month. Miss Alcott's writings also hit a correct chord in this season of my own life, in the area's I'm trying to work on in my relationships, so it was very encouraging and I have lot's of new wisdom to take away with me and put into practice now!

Good Wives

by Louisa May Alcott

     This treasure of a book may not be known to you, as it was not with myself, for if you've ever read Little Women, you may not have realized you could have already read this book yourself! Both my sister Jessica and I have actually read Good Wives long ago, as it was included as a “part two” in Little Women – a collection book that also included Little Men. I never new it by this title so when I picked it for the challenge, I hadn't known I had read it before! ;) Haha!

What is It All About?

     Good Wives picks up where Little Women left off – Meg is just about to be married to Brooke, Laurie's former tutor; Jo is writing away then away to nanny in New York, Amy is off to Europe, and Beth is still “recovering” from scarlet fever, while Laurie is back from college.

     The story weaves a sad, beautiful, moving story as the four dear girls take on their womanly roles and manage their trials and struggles of love and marriage and friendship and sorrow. It completes the picture begun in the first book, with the girls marrying off and beginning their own little families.

~ * ~

     Oh, the treasure trove of lessons there are to be gained by old books! It's been years since I last read either Little Women (or it's unknown-to-me-sequel), and I'm much ashamed for it. Oh what I have been missing all this time! But still, sometimes it's nicer to wait and discover so many more treasures for the waiting in the meantime.

     Now that I'm all grown up – but as yet still unmarried – I enjoyed reading how the Little Women grew up and seeing Meg's daily struggles as a young wife and mother, Jo trying to fulfill and work on her big writing dreams, and Amy pursuing dreams, romance, and building of her character. 

     As an older girl I feared perhaps I'd outgrown the little women and this author too, but in this book I discovered old friends grown dearer for their absence and still a host of lessons I can take with me and put to good use in the future. 

     I have a feeling Good Wives will be pulled off the shelf and dusted off quite more frequently the older I get, and if I ever have the pleasure to court, marry, and have children someday, then the dear little women will be there to comfort, laugh and cry with, and teach all over again through every season of my own life. :)

     I actually found I loved this sequel story all the more now in my older years, then I did when I was a young girl of 15 or so... and perhaps if you felt the same way in reading this book the first time as I did, then maybe you'd like to give it a second try now or when you are a bit older too! :)

My Rating

     ***** 5 out of 5 stars

     If you've enjoyed these little reviews, please stand by for more this summer, as I have plans of joining Sarah Holman's Homeschooled Authors Read-To-Win challenge. Each week till the end of August, there is a new book on sale for only $0.99 written by a homeschooler, and then you can read it and review it and be entered to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card! And if you don't win, then at least you have a bunch of new books to read this summer. ;) Go take a look!

Right now I'm reading Family Reunion (Six Cousins book 1) by Kelsey Bryant and enjoying it immensely!

Everyone have a blessed 4th of July weekend - we'll be celebrating with my brother Nathan's 21st birthday! :)

LMA Challenge: Rose In Bloom

This is another review for the Louisa May Alcott Challenge! Rose in Bloom was a popular choice by the readers of this challenge so be sure to hop In The Bookcase to see the reviews from the rest of the girls on this classic story. :)

Rose in Bloom

by Louisa May Alcott

      Rose in Bloom is the sequel story to Eight Cousins, told 2 years later. Rose, Phebe, and Uncle Alec come home from their European travels with the girls all grown up into womanhood, to find the boy cousins to also have grown into full manhood and each in their own occupations and ambitions of the world. Rose comes home to the temptation and struggles of love and romance, fashion, and all the pleasures of youth. After the many years of serious study, she decides to try a little experiment of “leading the life other girls lead, just for a little while”, only to run into a series of troubles and very long nights. “I gave up gaiety because I valued health more.”

      With the new year upon her, Rose sets aside her fancy gowns and chooses to put both her time and her fortune to good use, helping those less fortunate; the widows, the poor, and the orphaned. 

      Meanwhile Phebe leaves to pursue her music and to make a way for herself, Charlie has become quite the rogue, Mac studies a great deal, and Steve has fallen for the becoming Phebe.

     It's a story of love and romance, family, and the forming of character.

Take It Away!

      One of the wonderful things about Miss Alcott's books is you can always find a moral to the story and something to learn from them.

“It is the small temptations which undermine integrity, unless we watch and pray, and never think them too trivial to be resisted.”

“Read the best books first or you may not have a chance to read them at all.”

“Remember, my girl, that one may read at forty was is unsafe at twenty, and that we never can be too careful what food we give that precious yet perilous thing called the imagination.”

Just a Thought...

      I found later on as I was reading that I had in fact read this book in my past, as well. So some scenes became more familiar to me as I read along. That was fun, because it's intriguing reading a book at different ages and finding if your opinions or style have changed at all. :D I think I'm a little more critical of my books now as a woman of 29 than I was of a girl at 16 though. ;) My opinions vary quite a bit from those of my sisters in Christ, so another look, I found Tarissa's lovely post to be a bit more well-rounded than my own.

      Once again I found Miss Alcott's heroine to be a bit too pious, and again too powerful over the men in her life. It's a wonder to me that these books were published after Little Women, with it's strong female characters and vibrancy, yet the women in her later books are pious and are portrayed as “godesses” by the heroes of the stories. However, at least in this tale, Rose admits her fears on this respect:

“It is not good for you to depend on any one so much for your happiness, I think; and I know it is bad for me to feel that I have so much power over a fellow-creature.”

     I can't help but picture Miss Alcott scribbling away at a desk, adding in her own opinions and moral beliefs....and perhaps it's a shame that we shrink so willingly now in fiction writings from sharing any opinions at all. That is one reason to highly value old classics such as these.

      My one other sorrow was just a matter of taste, I suppose, for it was quite sad, moody, and highly romanticised in many spots – just as a piece of poetry, or a dramatic tragedy on the stage. And I did not care for a semi-love-triangle scenario between Rose and two of her cousins. I cannot share more on this without giving the story away, but suffice it to say, in my opinion, the way Miss Alcott chose to tie up the loose ends in the romance between Rose and Charlie was too “convient”, sad, and depressing.

      Having read Eight Cousins last year, it was nice to see how everyone was paired up in the end and see the family all grown up. No one likes loose ends to their books! :)

My Rating

     *** 3 out of 5 stars

      I was happy it all ended well, but there was too much drama throughout the book for my own tastes. :)

~ ~ ~

      My last book of this challenge is Good Wives, the sequel story to Little Women. As I was beginning this book I realized that of the books I'd chosen to read, 3 of them were re-reads from my highschool days that I'd quite forgotten I had read before. I was quite mistaken when I'd said they were books of Miss Alcott's that I'd never read before. Those were pre-Goodreads days, so now it will be “official” that I've read them, and hopefully I'll remember better next time. ;) {I am certain I've never read Under the Lilacs, so perhaps later on I'll share a review of that after I've read it, once this challenge is complete.}

Have a blessed day!

LMA Challenge: Louisa May's Battle {A Picture Book!}

Thank you for stopping by today! This is my third book so far for the In The Bookcase challenge for June. The Louisa May Alcott reading challenge rules said we were allowed to read books about Miss Alcott, so when I saw this treasure, I quickly added it to my reading list.

Louisa May's Battle: How the Civil War Led to Little Women

by Kathleen Krull

illustrated by Carlyn Beccia

      Louisa May's Battle is a beautiful children's picture storybook filled with colorful full-page artwork. The story begins with a brief, half page history of women and nursing during the great American Civil War. Miss Alcott's burden and passion to serve her country in one of the only way's available to women in this time, as well as a desire to earn an income for her family at home, leads Louisa to serve as a nurse at the age of 30. Her long and strenuous train ride to Washington, D.C. are only the beginning of the new experiences she will need to endure. Among some of the challenges are difficult living conditions, prejudice male doctors, the emotional and physical strain of caring for the wounded men and boys at the hospital, and her own health risks.

      Though Louisa was writing before she began her nursing work, it was not until after her return home in 1863 that she started to become a success. Her letters sent back home to her family were printed in the newspaper and then collected into a thin book entitled Hospital Sketches, filled with accounts of the conditions of hospitals and the effects of war to the men. These were popular for people on the home-front who were longing for news of their men and the war. Then in 1868 she at last wrote her Little Women, a story of four sisters set during the Civil War, which is well-read even today. :)

      Kathleen Krull shares a glimpse into the past with some of Louisa's own words quoted here and there throughout. And there is even a short history in the back of the book of other famous Civil War nurses such as Dorathea Dix, who hired Miss Alcott, and Hannah Ropes, who was head nurse at the hospital were Louisa worked. Included is also a map and information about the battle of Fredricksburg, a major battle fought around the D.C. area during Louisa's service as nurse and the basis for the setting of this book.

My Thoughts:

      I found history to be concise but very informative about Louisa Alcott's family and life as a whole, and very insightful of her time as a nurse. Most of the book covers her nursing, with only brief moments sharing on her writing career throughout, and a little more shared about writing Little Women after the war was over. All of the information I've shared above was actually from the book, so you can see how much the author has included in this short picture book!

      The illustrations were well done, with some not-too graphic hospital scenes. There is some “blood” shown, mostly through bandages or on clothing, but no actual wounds are pictured so most children shouldn't be too troubled with that.

This storybook is a good introduction to Louisa May Alcott and her life, and of general nursing in the Civil War, for young ones. It shares just enough information for children without bogging them down with uninteresting facts.

My Rating:

      **** 4 out of 5 stars

Next up-- Rose in Bloom! 

This was a popular book for the challenge, so be sure to stop by In The Bookcase to see the reviews from the other challengers!

LMA Challenge: Jack and Jill

Welcome to book review #2 for the Louisa May Alcott challenge! I had fun reading this one, first published in 1880 after Miss Alcott's successes with Little Women, Eight Cousins & Rose in Bloom (review for this last I'll share later this week!). I hope you enjoy this review. Thank you for stopping by today! :D

Jack & Jill

by Louisa May Alcott

      Neighbors and friends Jack and Jill (who's real name is Janey) begin their tale of adventure and woe one great sledding day, and take you along their year-long journey of physical recovery after the accident, growing up, responsibility, and friendship. Each chapter takes you on a new adventure with the children and teaches a new lesson. Come along with Jack and Jill, their mother's, and a host of creative characters and children as they travel by bike and by boat, practice their lessons and make May baskets, travel to the seaside, create a telegraph system, go to the fair, and a host of other marvelous activities!

My Thoughts:

      This is just the sort of story my mother would have read to us growing up. Like Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder and many other wonderful stories for both girls AND boys, this book shares many interesting tales filled with wonderful lessons to be learned. The stories feel real, as if the boys and girls actually lived, and the lessons learned are those young ones can glean from and even laugh at, bringing comfort and encouragement for those tumultuous growing up years. Jack and Jill and all the other children are good role models, even with all the scrapes they get into, and their adventures are certain to set the imagination soaring.

I love when Jack's mother encourages Jill on her longer road to recovery after teh sledding accident, helping her to bare her trials patiently, without complaining, and to learn all she can during her injury. It's not something every young person deals with at such a young age, but I'm sure it's from reading many stories such as these that has given me strength in my own trials in my older years, and I'm thankful such beautiful stories exist. :)

      One trouble I had, however, was determining what ages the children in the story were. It was a bit confusing to figure out, but didn't detract too much from the actual story itself.

      One thing that did detract from the story, in my opinion, was a lack of overall plot and purpose to the story. Perhaps it's the time period it was written in, and thus not the style of writing in that era, but it was very slow reading for me in the first half or so, as much of what is taking place surrounds the invalids, and the end didn't share a very large overall lesson at all, though there is much to take away from this book. It's more of a collection of short stories that connect by the characters more than the events themselves. No biggy though. :) I still loved it, and think this one will soon find it's way into my book collection at home.

My Rating:

    **** 4 out of 5 stars

      I hope you've enjoyed these reviews of Louisa May Alcott's writings so far, and perhaps you've even found something new to read for yourself. Tomorrow I'll be sharing a short picture book about Louisa herself, so please stop by again. I'd love to have you visit! :D

An Old Fashioned Girl: Book Review! {LMA Challenge}

     Since joining the Louisa May Alcott challenge for this month I've been steadily reading away so as to get a good start on my 5 books. It has felt so nice to do something in the blogosphere again and join with friends in a challenge. I'm happy and really excited to be able to share my few reviews with you all. And, it's afforded an opportunity to read many of Miss Alcott's wonderful writing works that have idly been sitting by, waiting to be checked off of my to-read list. ;)

And if you'd like to join us, please go to In The Bookcase for more on this fun reading challenge for June.

An Old Fashioned Girl 
by Louisa May Alcott

     Our heroine, Polly, is a sweet-spirited, country minister's daughter come to visit her wealthy cousins in the city. Polly has been taught many wonderful life lessons from her parents about modesty and good character, and isn't used to the upper class fashions and lifestyles of her cousin's and their acquaintances. The girls snub Polly for her old fashioned ideals and she has a difficult time staying true to the young girl she is, without allowing herself to be influenced by peer pressure.

“I think you are right dear, but you have lived in the country, and haven't yet learned that modesty has gone out of fashion.” ~ Fanny

“Women can do a great deal for each other, if they will only stop fearing what other people think.”

      Polly is such a hard little worker, and years later when she is almost all grown up she takes work as a music teacher, once more near her cousins in the city. There she faces many trials of another kind and must bare them all as cheerfully as she may. But her cousin's family has come into some trouble, and now the shoe is on the other foot. Polly is now the one giving the advice, serving and helping the Shaw's in their time of need without any bitterness or resentment.

“[Polly] had learned this secret. She loved to do the 'little things' that others did not see, or were too busy to stop for; and while doing them, without a thought of thanks, she made sunshine for herself as well as others.”

Behind the Story

      Miss Alcott first published her story as six chapters in a magazine in 1869. She later added to them for a full story, which she began from the chapter “Six Years Later” by sharing from the children's more young adult years, partway through the book.

Take It Away!

      I found this a very sweet story with many moral-character building idea's for young ladies. There were many things I agreed with, as I'm pretty old fashioned myself, so I enjoyed the encouragement to young ladies to be naturally who they are, to aim for kindness and gentleness in their behaviour, and to not give in to peer pressure.

“The least of us have some influence in this big world; and perhaps my little girl can do some good by showing others that a contented heart and a happy face are better ornaments than any Paris can give her.” ~ Polly's Mother

      Here are some of the many character-building topics referred to throughout An Old Fashioned Girl: to respect parents and elders, not to be give in to vanity or pridefulness, to have charity and forgiveness to our “enemies” and those who are cruel to us, never to grow up too fast just because “it's the fashion” or “the thing to do”, to work with a cheerful attitude, to love and help our brothers instead of fighting with them, to reach out to those in need regardless of past transgressions toward us, and that men's heart's are not something to be trifled with flippantly.

“When you feel out of sorts, try to make some one else happy, and you will soon be so yourself.”

Just a Thought...

      While I greatly admired Polly's character and steadfastness, she was a bit too pious at times. I was troubled that she was always being compared to girls who were “lesser” than she was in character, setting Polly up as the good example and the one always in the right. I had wished there would be at least one or two girls of similar upbringing around, or at least who would have seen that some of what Polly said was true, then try to implement them into their own lives.

      It can be a very dangerous game to play with oneself. To compare yourself with girls of lesser character or faith adds to your vanity and stunts your spiritual and character growth when you have nothing to stretch you from girls around you. It also could make you a bully if you constantly tell other's they are in the wrong when it may be just a personal belief and not a biblical “standard”.

I agreed with much of what Polly said and stood for, I just wish Miss Alcott had written more than one “good girl” amongst Polly's friends so she wouldn't seem so alone for much of the book.

      The romance was light, and only a little bit of a love triangle. Polly handled it well, non-coquettishly and honestly. Though I understand the qualities and inspiration a young woman can possess over a man in helping him to grow in character (and vise versa too!), I didn't like that the author wrote the ending with the idea that Polly could change the young man that she liked the most. And The ending was sweet and a happily ever after for all though, and I did enjoy Miss Alcott's little finishing off of what happened to the main characters in their grown-up years.

My Rating

   *** 3 out of 5 stars

Next on the List...

     Jack and Jill - a fun story about two next door neighbor children who get into all sorts of scrapes. ;)

Thank you for stopping by! 

Happy reading, y'all!

Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge {My Choices}

 Although I've been reading a variety of books this year, I haven't had any real reading goals for the summer months coming up. Since I was a girl our library's in the area have hosted reading programs of which I've been a part of, so I guess it's just part of who I am to do something fun with my reading come June.

I was so excited and happy to see several friends with reading challenges starting, and one is a Louisa May Alcott challenge to read one or more of her books, or books about her life in the month of June. So easy - and I'm a fan of her books {The Inheritance is my favorite!}. :D There will be lot's of fun posts about Louisa May Alccot and her life and writings, and even a giveaway!

So I've joined this little group {and hey, maybe you will too!} and thus here are my few selections to read through this month: 

Good Wives

Rose in Bloom 

  Jack and Jill 

An Old Fashioned Girl

Louisa May's Battle: How the Civil War Led to Little Women 

 None of the above have been read by me before, so this should be fun! The last selection supposedly has some lovely illustrations, and looks like it's more of a children's book, but I won't have time to read anything thicker for this challenge {this one looks great for later though!}.
 

Day-in-the-Life #3

I have a lot of catching up to do, so I'd best get started, I guess. :)

My summer's been pretty splendid thus far, and I'm not usually a summer person, so that surprises me that I'm enjoying it so much. We haven't gone on any family vacations, and nothing really “new” has come up for me to share, but there's this feeling of overall peace that excites me and leaves me room to breath at last. The only thing I miss is chatting with all my friends, keeping in touch with them and sharin gin their joys and sorrows. That's kind of hard to do sometimes these days, but believe me...I keep them covered in my prayers!

A couple weeks ago we girls (i.e. Mom, Jessica, and myself) went to visit an hour away at my Aunt/Uncle and Grandmother's house for a few days to do some cleaning for them. My aunt and uncle work, and my grandmother isn't able to do heavy-duty cleaning, so we always do a sort of “spring” clean every year for them. With the added pleasure that whoever goes gets to use their cable and internet, as well as visit with Nan. ;) Yeah! This time we also were very much blessed to be able to babysit and watch my second cousin, Guy (sounds like “gee”) - is he not adorable!! He was such a good boy for us, and didn't cry when we each took our turns holding him. We love him like crazy now.

This is my favorite picture my mom took of Guy and his great-grandma, Nan (my grandma).

  I've been sewing, sewing, and quilting a lot too this summer. I needed some new skirts so I've been using up our fabric stash as best I can {I hope to post something about that later}. I've also been creating new pillow covers for my room and a few other things here and there. I finally took the pictures, and now have them mostly edited, so maybe I can get that post ready and posted at last! I can't wait to show you all some of the things I've made. I'm pretty proud of them, if I do say so myself. And since I'm always inspired when other girls share their creations, I hope you'll be inspired by mine, perhaps. :)

 Here's a sneak peak: Bows! 

  Books, books, books! Where would I be without them? *sigh Our library is hosting a summer reading program for adults, with a reward of FREE books as well as entries to win a new Kindle, so since I'm reading a lot anyway, why not join?! ;D I always read a great deal, always have ever since I could, well, read. This year I've read a good many more nonfiction than I'm used to doing, so that's been exciting to learn more in-depth about my favorite people or times in history. Right now on my shelf I have a book on Napoleon's travels in Quebec, and TWO world war II books. I can see the rest of my year will be spent in the 1940's with all the books I have next to read, including Enemy Brothers, and the very last Anne book about her daughter Rilla. (Can you believe this Anne-loving girl has NEVER read through the entire series until now? Shocking, I know).

Ooh, I MUST tell you all of a new-to-me authoress I've discovered. Her writing is exquisite and her characters are charming, with no hint of modern feminism anywhere (hurrah!!) and they have all been the cleanest non-christian books I've read in quite some time. Her name is Jennifer Chiaverini and so far I've read 4 of her lovely books. My favorite so far has been Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker; it's all about a freedwoman living in Washington, D.C. during the great civil war, making clothes for the prominent women of the city, as well as Mary Lincoln, and dressing the First Lady for many an occasion at the White House. It's fabulous and so filled with facts that's it's more like a historical biography than a fiction. I can't even tell you how much I learned reading her book, as Jennifer's insightful retelling's are marvellous and filled with truth, unlike most civil war fiction these days. ;)

The other was The Giving Quilt, about a group of ladies coming together and creating quilts for charity at a beautiful lodge in Pennsylvania. You will discover that many of Jennifer's books focus on this lovely state, and since I practically grew up in PA, I know she tells truthfully of all it's charms. :) The book went through the story of each lady in attendance and her purpose and need to come to the event, while also sharing the overall storyline and by the end, the ladies have made quite a few beautiful quilts, and found much-needed healing and rest from new friendships formed and time away to reflect. Each of Jennifer's Elm Creek books tell a story around the making of a quilt (or two!), yet it's not so focused the quilts that it overtakes the beauty of the story itself. It was the most charming book I think I've ever read. And as you can see, it made me hungry to read even more of Jennifer's excellent works. :)

* * *

For a couple months I've been wanting to put together a blog post sharing what I'm learning this year about surrendering to the Lord and all the healing that is taking place in my broken heart, but I can't seem to put the words together in my mind, or when I type. How do you put feelings into words in a way someone else will understand? For now, let's just say I'm so thankful for God's patience with His children, watching over them and gently guiding us in the way He wants us to go. :) I can be so hard on myself, so to see His love for me in the way He teaches and instructs me, waiting until I'm ready to listen means a great deal.

I'm slowly learning to let Him have more reign in my life, letting Him love me, letting go of my own idealism of how I wish things would be and instead accepting how they truly are...at least for now. There is such peace in accepting that you are right where God wants you to be. When I lose sight of that promise of His care over me, even now and even in the future, I become so consumed with fear that it's all I can see.

I don't have to understand, I don't need to understand, all I need to remember is He's a loving and Sovereign God and to lean back and trust Him. 

A dear friend of mine shared this song by Mercy Me called Greater, and it was so perfectly wonderful, and spoke so much to my own heart that I wanted to share it with you all, just in case you've never heard of it before either. The words are impactful, and full of grace and being real. Hope it blesses you!

"There’ll be days I lose the battle
Grace says that it doesn’t matter
‘Cause the cross already won the war
He’s Greater
He’s Greater

I am learning to run freely
Understanding just how He sees me
And it makes me love Him more and more

He’s Greater 

He’s Greater"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdQ0vCGDGag