MANY A RIVER By Elmer Kelton

While I wouldn't have thought that one of my favorite book genres would be "western novels", I've discovered that I really do enjoy a good old western adventure!

MANY A RIVER is a story is about two brothers, Todd and Jeffrey. As their family heads West, their camp is attacked by Comanche raiders, leaving their parents dead. The younger boy, Todd, is taken captive by the Indians, while the older son, Jeffrey, manages to hide and is rescued by militia men. But each boy thinks the other has been killed! In actuality, Jeffrey is taken in by a home-steading family, while Todd is sold, for a rifle and gunpowder, to a Comanchero trader named January.

However, the young brothers are destined to be reunited after a few years. And since they've both been caught up in the turbulence of the Civil War, we wait to discover if they will meet as friends or enemies. As we read, we go with them through every experience that makes each boy older than his years.

And yeah, I was teary-eyed at their reunion. The only thing I wish was that more time was given to to their reunion - it was covered in the last nine pages of the book.

MANY A RIVER was published in June 2008, so it's a pretty new book. Upon looking at Mr. Kelton's website, I see he's written quite a lot of books (over 50 novels) in his 50 year career as an author! It was also quite charming to see that the bio on the book jacket was a short paragraph, yet mentioned his 60 year wedding anniversary as one of his worthy achievements! Good book - I enjoyed it!

RIGHTEOUS KILL

Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro. Could there be bigger names billed together for a movie? They play Rooster and Turk, two seasoned cops in the NYPD who are on the trail of a serial killer. What I keep saying to anyone who asks me if the movie was good, is this: It was a good old-fashioned rated-R movie.

There was violence, but nothing too graphic. There was brief sex, but no nudity (as far as I can remember...and my Dad was sitting next me, so I think I'd remember...). It was suspenseful, and regardless of some reviews I read that said otherwise...it kept me guessing til the end. Or almost the end. Well, at least 3/4 of the way in.

John Leguizamo plays an abrasive cop who is competing with Rooster and Turk to solve the crime. Carla Gugino, who you may remember as the Mom from SpyKids, plays the crime scene/forensic investigator who also happens to be involved with Turk. Other notable appearances are Donnie Wahlberg as Leguizamo's partner, Brian Dennehy (who has lost a lot of weight) as the Lieutenant, and 50 Cent as "Spider", a notorious drug dealer.

Here's what I thought made it such a great film, and there's definitely a SPOILER ALERT attached to this paragraph: All along, you're led to believe that you know the story, because you see the confession at the beginning of the movie. At a certain point, you realize that the killer has not been shown in any of the murder scenes - it's very subtle. So are things as they appear? Believe me, it is worth your time to see these two hard-breathing legends together in Righteous Kill. Great talent, great movie!

BLESSINGS, By Anna Quindlen

This is the story of Lydia Blessings, a feisty, crabby woman in her 80's who lives in a beautiful estate, which is also called "Blessings". Widowed when she was young, she never remarried. Her only daughter is married, herself 60 years old with no children. Lydia's family is long gone, her only brother dead as well. So she lives alone in her childhood home, with only her memories to keep her company. She's not entirely alone: her daughter visits every so often, she has a housekeeper that comes on a daily basis, and she also has a property caretaker who lives above the garage. The caretaker, Charles "Skip" Cuddy, has his own story - he's an ex-con, and he had a miserable upbringing. But even though he has a shady past, he's a good, hardworking young man.

The story opens up with a teenage couple dropping off a "package" in the middle of the night at Skip's door. When Skip finds it, he realizes that someone has abandoned a baby there. He tries to keep it a secret, but soon Mrs. Blessing finds out and surprises him by helping him keep his secret. The baby, who he names "Faith", brings a lot of joy and laughter to Skip and Lydia. Faith gives Lydia a way to remember her youth, and she gives Skip a feeling of finally having family to love. Together they plot to keep this baby a secret until they can figure out how to keep her permanently. But then a situation one night turns Skip and Lydia against each other, and soon after that, the birth mother appears on the scene.

The story is simple, but it's made interesting by the details of each character's life. We find out the whole truth about Skip's past crime, and we also find out about Lydia's own indiscretions in her youth. Also told are the Blessings family secrets, some which Lydia had known about for years, and some which come to light during the story. In her old age, she looks back and sees things a bit more clearly than when she was a young woman. She also realizes that some things she thought were secrets, were actually known, but just not discussed "in those days".

BLESSINGS was a bit of a slow read. At first I struggled to get into the story. Once I did, I enjoyed it, although it was not quite the page turner I expected. I read a few reviews that complained about "jumping" around in time: Lydia is in the present, then she is in her past, then we're in the present, but a day later. I was sometimes confused by that, but soon got the hang of it. Also, I was able to guess some of the family secrets ahead of time. But still, it was enjoyable. It was a story about family, secrets, and the effects that generations have on each other. The ending was realistic - which unfortunately, made it sad.

THE BUCKET LIST

I was not prepared for what a touching movie this would be. I don't know why..I knew the subject matter. Two men meet in a hospital room, with terminal diagnoses. So they compile a list of things they want to do before they "kick the bucket". Their "bucket list".

Morgan Freeman plays Carter, and Jack Nicholson plays Edward. Carter is a family man. His kids are grown, but he's always been there for them - a loyal husband and father. He's worked 45 years as a mechanic to provide for his family. Edward, is a corporate billionare. He's been married four times, and he owns the hospital in which he is now a patient. His trusty assistant Thomas, is played by Sean Hayes. These two men are different as night and day, but they find themselves at the same place in their lives - in a hospital bed, facing death. After a few days as roommates, Edward finds Carter's bucket list in the trash, and begins to add to it. He offers Carter the opportunity to accomplish the things on his list. At first, Carter is hesitant, but Edward tells him that he's "got nothing but money" and wants to do this while they still feel good enough to do it. Much to the frustration of his wife, Carter accepts the offer. So they go off, around the world, slowly but surely crossing things off the list. (Thomas comes along with them to handle the details) But the fun comes to an end when Carter adds a particular item to the list - for Edward to reconcile with his estranged daughter before he dies. Edward throws a tantrum and leaves Thomas and Carter standing on the street as he drives away, furious.
They go back to their lives, but as we know their time is limited, the story takes the turn that we have been expecting all along. The death, the funeral - it was very heart wrenching, but it was the last scene that got me. Have your Kleenex ready.

As I mentioned, I didn't think this was gonna be as good of a movie as it was. I figured I'd enjoy it - after all, how can you go wrong with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman? But wow, it was a really really great movie. (note: there is bad language - especially from Edward) There was a lot of contemplating life and death. Carter was a man of faith and Edward just...was. But as their friendship grew and death lurked around the corner, Edward hoped he was wrong.

One of the lines in the movie is: You measure yourself by the people that measure themselves by you. So consider this: who aspires to live life the way you do? As a Christian, this is a very important question. We live in the land of the Christian Lifestyle - but is it enough to be happy and live a clean life? Paul said, Imitate me as I imitate Him (Jesus). A study of Paul and Jesus will tell us that there was more to their lives than just random acts of kindness. Both gave their lives to make sure that we were assured of what awaits us after this life is through. So do we imitate Paul as he imitated Jesus? Do we risk all to make sure that others know the way to be saved? Or do we live a good life and hope that someday, someone will ask us what it is that makes us happy? That doesn't seem to be the way Paul lived, or the way Jesus lived. They laid it out on the table in truth and love. I gotta tell you - I am not doing that. I'm failing miserably in that area. I am afraid, of what? I don't really know. The prayer of the believers in the Book of Acts was for boldness. They got persecuted, and instead of asking for safety, they asked for boldness. Ouch. Lord, give your children boldness to speak Your Word to those who are perishing in this world.

Whereas you do not know what [will happen] tomorrow. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
James 4:14

ADAM By Ted Dekker

First, I'd like to say that I hope you'll go to the link above and click on the video in which Ted Dekker talks about this book. He explains it beautifully - that this book is about the very real supernatural world.

It's about an FBI agent, Daniel, who has been in pursuit of a serial killer. Actually, he is obsessed with the capture of this killer, to the point that it's destroyed his marriage. Finally, Daniel comes face to face with the deranged murderer and is killed himself...but is resuscitated. Now he's desperate trying to remember the killer's face, as well as tormented with horrible panic attacks. While he has no memory of what he saw, he knows it must lurk deep in his brain...if only he could go into his mind to retrieve that memory...but how? And now the killer is threatening to come after Daniel's wife. He wonders if re-experiencing his "death" could somehow bring those memories to surface.

The story starts out with part one of a magazine article about the serial killer, who has been caught. It tells the life story of this murderer, and how he came to be who he is. But then it switches back to the actual story, in which Daniel is trying to find the murderer. We go back and forth throughout the book. So while Daniel knows nothing about him, we are given a glimpse to who he is, before he even appears in the main story. It was a fascinating angle to take.

One of the reasons I want you to go hear Ted's own explanation of the book, is because he feels its one of the most important books he's written to date. It is about demon possession. It is about the reality of the spiritual realm. It is about how the greatest danger is to not believe in evil at all. Which is how I see the world going now.

Ted Dekker is one of the best. His books hook you from the first sentence, and while they are riveting in their own right, he also manages to include some profound spiritual truth or lesson.

MILK GLASS MOON & HOME TO BIG STONE GAP By Adriana Trigiani

MILK GLASS MOON and HOME TO BIG STONE GAP are the last two in the Big Stone Gap Series by Adriana Trigiani. I've previously reviewed the first two: Big Stone Gap and Big Cherry Holler, the first which I loved, the second, which I didn't love. The entire series (4 books) spans 20 years, and we get to see many ways in which Ave grows as a person, and many ways in which she continues to struggle with the same weaknesses and fears. As I mentioned, I didn't love BIG CHERRY HOLLER, but I'm glad I continued reading, because these two definitely captured the magic of the first book!

MILK GLASS MOON finds Ave and Jack, happily married now, having grown a lot since the marital troubles they endured in the previous book. Their daughter, Etta, is ready to graduate, and Ave is excited for her to go to college and begin her young life! But Etta seems to want to plan her own life! So Ave's journey of letting go begins.

We also continue to read about the lives of various characters we love: Pearl, who was just a high school girl at the beginning of this series, is a grown woman now - a very smart business woman at that! Fleeta, the crusty cashier at the Pharmacy is still there, providing a lot of comic relief; and Iva Lou, Ave's dear friend, faces a life or death health crisis.

HOME TO BIG STONE GAP is especially a bittersweet story. Ave learns to appreciate the things in her life and to love people for who they are, and not for who she thinks they should be. She has matured a lot, as one can only after they have been through joy and sadness. As Ave and Jack age, their mortality becomes more of a reality, especially after Jack has a health scare. Ave is learning to savor life, and to accept the past and her shortcomings, as well as those of others. She learns to live each day fully, because you never know how much time you have with the people you love. There is a lot of real life going on in these books - and there were definitely parts where I had to wipe the tears off my face as I read.

At the beginning of this series, Ave had just turned 35, and after 20 years, she is definitely retrospective of all she's been through. The final book wrapped things up beautifully, with more time given to what Ave was thinking and how she looked back to evaluate all her life's experiences. One touch that the author added was to include recipes of dishes that were made at various events (although they are old-fashioned full-fat recipes, with heavy creme or lard, or Crisco, or butter as ingredients!)

A very enjoyable reading series!

BIG CHERRY HOLLER By Adriana Trigiani

This is the sequel to BIG STONE GAP, which I reviewed at an earlier date. There's a couple of different angles I wanna take on this. First I'll tell you what the book was about, and how interesting it was, and then I'll comment on what happened in the story.

BIG CHERRY HOLLER included many of the same characters that I loved in BIG STONE GAP. In this story, we pick up 8 years later, after Ave Maria and Jack Mac have married (they fell in love in the previous book) They now have a daughter, Etta, and they had also had a son, Joe, who passed away when he was four. So Ave finds herself in a marriage that has grown a bit routine, but also a little cold and distant since the death of their son. She grieves, but cannot fully share her grief with Jack. He is quiet, never quite talking about his feelings. Jack suggests a trip to Italy to visit Ave's family, and then at the last minute, he tells her he's not going. He wants her to go alone, so she can decide what she wants to do about their marriage. While she's gone, she is tempted with a handsome stranger. But she finds out when she returns that Jack has also had his share of temptation while she's been away, and it appears that he has given in to it. SPOILER: The story ends with Ave realizing that she has never fully given herself to Jack. Instead of sharing her grief with him, she shut him out. Because of her behavior, he had felt lonely and rejected. Once she realized that she never fully loved him as he deserved to be loved, it was easier for her to forgive him for his indiscretions. He never admitted what he'd done, but in Ave's mind, it didn't matter, since she knew she had never been the wife she should have been anyway.

It was a little corny at times, and some things just didn't make sense. For example, Ave suspects Jack is cheating on her, but when he tells her he's sending her to Italy alone, it doesn't even cross her mind that he will be home...alone...and free. Another thing that didn't make sense is that Ave's friend, Iva Lou, kept telling her that she had to have a "plan" if she wanted to keep Jack. So I was expecting this elaborate "plan" that would be entertaining and clever. But no plan ever materialized. It seemed strange that it was emphasized, and then never a part of the story. Some of the conversations also seemed "stiff" and a bit contrived - without the natural flow of people talking to each other.

As for what happened between Ave and Jack, I came away with a bad taste in my mouth. While it was unclear what Jack did with the other woman, it did infer that he cheated. But it was made to seem like it was all about Ave's problems. I was also disappointed by Ave's reaction to Jack's cheating. It almost seemed like she felt she deserved it for been so disconnected. But who wouldn't go through a hard time after the death of a child? Even though she had experienced her own temptations in Italy, she did not cheat. Yet her friend Theodore told her that she had only restrained herself for "self righteous" reasons. I was so annoyed at the way Theodore spoke to her when she told him that Jack had cheated - it was like he was excusing Jack and condemning Ave. This was one of the conversations that seemed contrived. He is hard on her, and she immediately agrees. I didn't buy that Theodore would say those things, and i didn't buy that she would immediately see his point. I also felt that Jack planned his little tryst by sending Ave away, with the justification that he was letting her figure out what she wanted. He was already being tempted by the other woman, so the timing was just too convenient. He was made to be a man of integrity in the previous book, but I felt like he was a jerk in this book. In the end, it seemed that Ave, who endured the death of her child and her husband's infidelity, was the only one willing to look at herself and consider that she had done anything wrong.

I will continue reading this series because I am invested in, and love these characters. I also hope that the books that follow will be more like BIG STONE GAP. I really wanted to love this book, since Ms. Trigiani was so kind to send me the whole series, but while it was "ok", and semi-enjoyable, it just didnt have the magic of the first one.

THE PENNY, By Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford

This is Joyce Meyer's first novel, even though she's written a ton of books. It was written with Deborah Bedford, who at one time wrote some "Harlequinn SuperRomance" books, but now writes inspirational fiction exclusively.

THE PENNY is the bittersweet tale of Jenny Blake, a young girl growing up in the 1950's. She lives with an abusive father, a fearful and passive mother, and a sister who is chomping at the bit to leave the troubled home. One afternoon, Jenny finds a penny on the street, and when she picks it up, a chain of events occurs, which she attributes to the penny. Immediately after that occurrence, she is offered a job working for Miss Shaw, who everyone in the area thinks is a strange and mysterious lady. Jenny's best friend is Aurelia, a black young girl, in who's friendship she finds much joy, confusion, pain and finally, hope.

I felt sad as I read Jenny's story. It's told from her point of view, so we get to see how she understands the things she endures. Her defense mechanism is to act like she doesn't care. She learns to hide her feelings - to keep secrets. Her sister, on the other hand, left home the first chance she got. But when she returned for a visit, she told Jenny that even though she had left, she really couldn't escape it. It still affected the rest of her life.

Also mixed in this story is the Civil Rights struggle. Jenny knew her father was a very hateful man, but she never dreamed that others could feel the same way towards black people as he did. When Jenny and Aurelia become friends, Jenny is forced to keep it a secret. But their friendship becomes one of the things that changes Jenny's life the most.

The story is based on true events from Joyce Meyer's life. She has spoken in the past of the abuse she endured as a child, but more recently, of how her father eventually accepted Christ as his savior and how she had the privilege of being the one to baptize him.

One of the themes in this book is having grace on others. When you meet someone, chances are, you don't know their whole story. I heard someone say once that many times we look at people and think that they have a long way to go - but we should always remember that we don't know how far they've come already. I saw this truth in Miss Shaw's character. Jenny's character reminded me that angry people quite often are hurting. The main thing I took away from the story was that many things happen in our lives, and we need to hold on to Jesus through the good times as well as the bad.

THE FIFTH MOUNTAIN, By Paulo Coelho

This is a story about the biblical prophet Elijah. I've read about Elijah in the Bible at various times, and I would have guessed that I knew his story - but once I got into this novel, I found that I wasn't sure which parts of The Fifth Mountain were embellished details, and which were based on the biblical account. When I finished reading it, I went to the bible and read everything I could find about Elijah.

But this book takes place during the three years of Elijah's life that are not mentioned in the bible.

In the bible, Elijah is a prophet at the time where Ahab is king - the most evil king up to that point - and is married to Jezebel. She is big time into Baal worship, and stirs up her husband's heart to worship Baal and turn his back on God. Elijah goes to Ahab and declares that there will be a drought for years because of this. Then God tells Elijah to hide in the wilderness. There, God directs him to go to Zarepheth, (which, in the novel, is referred to as Abkar). God tells him that He has commanded a widow to care for him. The widow has a son, and after she takes Elijah in, the son gets sick and dies. But Elijah prays for him and he comes back to life. The bible then says that "in the third year" the word of the Lord comes to Elijah and tells him to go back to Ahab, and that He will send rain on the earth. So it appears that Elijah is in Zarepheth(Abkar) for three years. But it doesn't say anything about those three years.

This is where The Fifth Mountain begins.

In The Fifth Mountain, Elijah arrives at Zarephath and meets the widow. It does mention that the widow's son gets sick and dies, and it tells how Elijah prays him back to life. But in the course of the three years, much happens there. Elijah falls in love with the widow, and even though she returns his feelings, their love was not to be. There's also a lot of political turmoil in the city - with the high priest, the governor and the commander of the army. It seems that there was a new system of communication starting to emerge, called the "alphabet", and the high priest was threatened by it. Then the Assyrians attack and almost destroy the city. Elijah spends his time caring for the widow's son after her death, and he is instrumental in rebuilding the war-ravaged city. He struggles greatly with doubt, and fear, and wondering what God wants him to do. Also, from time to time, Elijah's "Angel" appears to him and speaks to him. Eventually, Elijah becomes governor of the city.

That's the synopsis of the book - now here's what I thought about it.

As I read it, I felt as if the story didn't "flow". It seemed the author was just listing facts, as opposed to storytelling. I didn't ever feel I was a part of the story, nor did I feel involved in the character's lives or their feelings. To be fair, I noticed that the author is from Brazil, and the book credits Clifford E. Landers as the "translator". It's possible the flow of the story got lost in the translation.

Another thing that I didn't really care for was that Elijah's "Angel" spoke to him in the King's English. So I found myself reading it, then re-reading it because I didn't quite get the gist of what was being said until I went through it more carefully.

Elijah doubted a lot, which is normal for a human. But he was really angry at God, and even decided to turn his back on Him. (Which, again, is not that far-fetched for a human) But here's a prayer that Elijah prayed to God on page 218:

"O Lord, today is the Day of Atonement, and my list of sins against Thee is long...I have been weak, for I have forgotten my strength. I have been compassionate when I should have been firm. I have failed to choose, for fear of making the wrong decision. I have yielded before the time to do so, and have blasphemed when I should have given thanks.

Still Lord, I have also a long list of Thy sins against me. Thou hast made me suffer more than was just, by taking from this world one that I loved. Thou hast destroyed the city that received me. Thou hast confounded my search. Thy harshness almost made me forget the love I have for Thee. For all that time I have struggled with Thee, yet thou dost not accept the worthiness of my combat.

If we compare the list of my sins with the list of Thy sins, thou shalt see that thou art in my debt. But, as today is the Day of Atonement, give me Thy forgiveness and I shall forgive thee, so that we may go on walking at each other's side."

Yikes.

After this prayer, Elijah's "Angel" appears to him and says:

"Thou hast done well, Elijah. God hath accepted thy combat".

Huh?

I know that Elijah was human. I know he must have doubted and feared. I know sometimes we feel anger towards God at stuff that happens. But I don't think that prayer would be pleasing to God. Let's just pretend for a moment that Elijah really did pray that - I find it hard to believe that God would say "Hey, good job!".

Now, it does seem that Elijah's faith in God is eventually restored. And the book tells us that King Ahab and put an end to the drought.

At the end, it tells the biblical story of Elijah calling the prophets of Baal to Mt. Carmel, and mentions the fact that Elijah never dies, but is "taken" to heaven in a chariot of fire.

To sum it up, I didn't think the writing was that good (which again, might have been the translation). The story was not that engaging - even though it was an interesting premise. I wasn't sold on the fact that Elijah would have been so boldly disrespectful to God when he knew Him as he did. Also, the last line in the book is:

"Maria conceived without sin, pray for us who call on Thee. Amen"

Ok, well, what does that mean? Is that an ending prayer to the writing? Or is it part of the story?

I guess I have to say that I wouldn't recommended this book. Maybe I should have read Coelho's more famous and highly praised book, The Alchemist first - but I can't say that I will. This book did accomplish a good thing, though. In discussing it with my friend, we sat and dissected the scriptures on everything they had to say about Elijah. There is a prophecy regarding Elijah the book of Malachi; He is mentioned in the gospels (John the Baptist had the spirit and power of Elijah); and it is believed that Elijah is one of the two witnesses that are mentioned in Chapter 11 of the Book of Revelation. (Fascinating - and a worthy study if you have the time!)

PRINCE CASPIAN

My husband said it was like BRAVEHEART without the blood.

And indeed, we found that Narnia was a more savage place than we remembered.

In PRINCE CASPIAN, the Pevensie children return to Narnia a year later to find that hundreds of years have passed in the land. The old Narnians are in hiding, waiting for a day when they will be freed from the tyrannical rule of the Telemarines. Prince Caspian, who is the true king, is also in hiding, and calls on the four children to help him restore Narnia to it's proper order. So begins the fight for Narnia.

I was excited to see PRINCE CASPIAN because I knew it'd be just as good as THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. And it truly was a beautifully made movie and mostly true to the book. Ben Barnes does a great job as Prince Caspian (he kinda reminds me of Keanu Reeves back in the day). Reepicheep is just as I imagined him! But the movie is all about the fight for Narnia. It's a movie about war, and it seems, not much else.

That was disappointing to me because I left regretting that I had taken my 8 year old. It was violent, and I think it was difficult for a young child to follow the plot. I really wanted to love PRINCE CASPIAN - But it was...OK.

I only just read the Chronicles of Narnia a couple of years ago. I never read them as a child. I believe they are some of the most beautiful and inspired stories I've ever read. The next movie will be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and is scheduled to be released in 2010. I really look forward to it and think this story might be a better choice for the big screen.

THE CHOICE By Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks is probably a familiar author to you - if not, I'll just mention a couple of movies that were based on his books and you'll know him for sure - A WALK TO REMEMBER and THE NOTEBOOK. While I didn't see A Walk to Remember, I did see The Notebook (loved it - sniff, sniff!)

But this was my first Sparks book. It was very reminiscent of The Notebook, in that is was a love story that started out in the present, and then went back to the past and worked it's way forward. The description on the jacket gives nothing away, and I loved that I read it without any preconceived idea of how the story would unfold. In fact, it's kind of a challenge to review it without spoiling the beauty of the story!

It begins with Travis and Gabby meeting, and falling in love, although she is involved with another man. But we get to see how they are first drawn to each other, and how she is torn with the decision she has to make regarding the two men she "loves". At that point, we shoot to the present again and the story of what has happened all these years later unfolds.

I always look at things in life and think to myself, "what would we have done if we could have looked in the future and seen this ahead?" That's what Sparks seems to do as well in this story and in The Notebook. It makes me wonder what his other books are like - are they all like this, or was it a coincidence that I've saw and read the two similar ones? I don't know - but I know that I will be looking for more of his books to read so I can find out!

The Choice was a good book - a very touching love story. Enjoyed it and recommend it!

BLACK OLIVES By Martha Tod Dudman

It starts out in a grocery store, as Virginia sees her ex-boyfriend walk in. She's in a panic - trying to look natural, hoping she looks good, wondering if he's seen her. Eventually, she manages to walk out without being seen. But as she walks to her car, she sees his Jeep. And for some unknown reason, she gets in his car! As she sits there thinking of him - Surprise! He walks out of the store, and heads for his car! Not knowing what to do, she covers herself up and hides in the back seat!

We spend the entire day under the sweaters in the backseat with Virginia. She wonders how she's gonna get out of her predicament. She ponders their relationship from start to finish. She recounts their break up on New Year's Eve, and how she's coped miserably without him for the past nine months. She imagines what he felt while they were together; what he's been doing since they've been apart; what she should have said when he broke up with her; what she'd say to him now - all the while, going back and forth between her thoughts of the past and wondering how she'll escape. And you really feel like you're in her head, feeling her memories, thinking her thoughts. The writing style was sometimes choppy and scattered - but it's great because she speaks her thoughts just like we think our thoughts - choppy and scattered!

You get a whole picture of what's in her heart and mind as she thinks - and over thinks - the whole thing. I sometimes felt she was selfish and self absorbed, and sometimes I thought she was absolutely right about him. We wonder - will she finally show herself and shock him? Will she be able to escape without being seen? She considers the various things she should do. If you've ever been dumped and been left wondering what in the world happened, you will most undoubtedly relate. In the end, I believe she finds closure. Throughout the book we feel that we've gotten to know her so well, that we think we can predict what she'll finally do...but she surprises us.

This was kinda like reading someone's diary!

SOUL CATCHER By Michael White

Just finished the last page of this book.

Wow.

I just don't even know where to begin to review this book.

One thing I kept thinking as I was reading it - this should be a movie. What a beautiful, terrible, complicated, deeply emotional, violent, romantic, and sad story. The inside jacket says : "a profoundly moving story of love, freedom and a country on the brink of war". Yes, it was profoundly moving in the stories of the characters as well as the condition of our country, as it headed towards the Civil War.

Our main character, Cain, is from Virginia, and has made a career of catching runaway slaves. A "soul catcher" is what his profession is called. As he contemplates giving it up and starting a new life, a gambling debt caches up with him. But since he doesn't have the money to pay it, the man he owes, Mr. Eberly, makes him a deal: If Cain can find and return his two runaway slaves, Henry and Rosetta, he will consider the debt paid. But Eberly says he especially wants Rosetta back. So he hooks Cain up with three of his own men and off they go to find the pair. The tale that ensues is one of the most riveting I've ever read.

To begin with, tension mounts between Cain and one of Eberly's men, called Preacher, who keeps promising Cain that when this is all said and done, they have a score to settle between them. Then there's the difficulty they have once they cross to the North, with Abolitionists looking down at them because they are "Southerners". They also encounter hostility with "blackbirders", who are groups who steal slaves and re-sell them. These in particular eye Rosetta, wanting to steal her at every opportunity. At every turn, Cain needs to watch his back. In addition, throughout the journey, Cain is haunted by memories of his past - of his estranged family and his lost love.

Cain, having been raised in the South, views owning slaves as a southern way of life. He has been taught his whole life that blacks and whites are different. And while he doesn't mistreat or despise slaves, he does see them as property. Of course, he's been taught to respect and take care of his property, such as cleaning his guns, resting his horse, and treating the slaves well. Still, once he left his home, he never owned any of his own. But he understands his fellow southerner's view of having the right to own them.

That's why he feels tormented and conflicted when he meets the beautiful Rosetta. Once the two slaves are captured, Cain, who has always kept a "professional" distance between himself and the slaves he's brought back, begins to know Rosetta as a person, and he discovers the shocking secret that Rosetta hides regarding Mr. Eberly. He understands why she would risk beatings and even death to run away. Now he sees her more than just some man's "property". But Cain isn't the only one who has been raised with a particular outlook on life. Rosetta, who was raised a slave and endured so much under her master, also undergoes a change in what she feels towards white men. But can something so deeply rooted in a person be changed? The epilogue reveals that.

On his website, the author says:

"Soul Catcher came to me several years ago when I was reading Russell Banks’ novel Cloudsplitter, in which he mentions slave catchers going north to capture fugitive slaves. I think we are all fascinated by the nature of evil, and slavery, arguably, has been America’s supreme manifestation of evil. With this as a starting point, I wondered how someone could make a living hunting people down and bringing them back in shackles to bondage. More than this, I wondered how such a man could justify his life, to others but more importantly, to himself. So began the idea for Cain. The next part of the story followed from this: what would happen if a slave catcher were bringing a runaway back to slavery and during the weeks of their journey together an emotional bond developed between them. With that the idea for Soul Catcher was born."

I have to say that it is pretty violent in a few places - although the violence was warranted. And there is some bad language - which I can usually tolerate - But I HATE seeing God' name taken in vain.

But all in all, I would highly recommend this book - it's a story that will stay with you for a long time.

LADY IN THE WATER & other M. Night Shyamalan stuff

This is one of those reviews that isn't really a review since I've seen the movie a few times. I caught LADY IN THE WATER tonight and just wanted to write something on it.

It's a story...a bedtime story that comes to life for an apartment complex manager, Cleveland Heep, played by Paul Giamatti. I gotta add here that Paul Giamatti is one of the finest actors around right now. Love him. Anyway, his character was a doctor who's family was tragically killed. And so he has come to be the building superintendent as a sort of escape from his life. One night, he finds a young lady, Story, that has been living in the swimming pool. As it turns out, she is a mystical character from a story, and according to the story, she has come from her world to "inspire" someone specific - she only has to look at him to impart the inspiration. After this, she must wait for the big eagle to come take her to safety. However, there are evil, vicious creatures, called scrunts, who live in the grass and who want to devour her. The story also says that various people have been drawn to this place at this time to accomplish the task of getting Story to safety. The catch is, these humans don't know who they are yet. The roles they must fill are: the Guardian, the Healer, the Guild, and the Interpreter. Cleveland enlists the help of various people in the building to try to figure out who fits these roles. Once they think they have it figured out, they find that things are still not falling into place. And time is running out, for if the eagle comes and they can't deliver Story safely to him, he will not come again. This is quite a scary bedtime story for younger kids, but it is an awesome story. Each character is so different that you get caught up trying to figure out who fits which role. It's definitely a movie that you have to watch again once you know who's who. My favorite part is in the end when they realize that one of the roles is actually someone they never dreamed it would be! It was funny and scary and dramatic and sad all in one movie. There's one particular scene where I felt like sobbing...it was where Story tells the one whom she came to inspire, what his future holds.

M. Night Shyamalan always seems to make a cameo in his movies, but in this one, he was one of the lead roles, and did an excellent job.

If you don't recognize the name M. Night Shyamalan, I'm sure you'll know his movies: SIGNS, SIXTH SENSE, UNBREAKABLE, THE VILLAGE. He is a master of storytelling. I'm not really one for horror flicks, so it took me a long while before I got around to seeing SIXTH SENSE. when I finally did ..it was nothing that I expected. It was...shocking. After that one, I was hooked on Shyamalan

SIGNS is also one of my favorites. On the surface, a movie about aliens, but to me, it was a movie of loss of faith, sorrow, despair, hope...and yeah, about God.

I also loved THE VILLAGE. Just a scary movie...no, more than that. It's a story of man trying to escape evil, but he can't because it is his very nature.

In June, Shyamalan has a new movie coming out - THE HAPPENING with Mark Wahlberg. And you know I will be there on opening (M.) Night!

THIRD DEGREE, By Greg Iles

This is my first time reading this author - and it was very good - very suspenseful. A real page-turner, if I may use that corny cliche! The story is about Dr. Warren Shields and his wife, Laurel. She has just found out she is pregnant. However, since she's been having an affair, she's not sure who the father is. Warren's medical practice is being investigated for medical fraud by the IRS and the FBI - due to his partner's shady practices. That storyline is a whole drama to itself, but it is connected to what's happening in the Sheilds' household, because someone has tipped Warren off that there is something incriminating hidden in his house. So when he tears the place apart trying to find this mysterious evidence, he discovers a love note from Laurel's anonymous lover. Thinking that he's found what he was supposed to, he stops looking and takes his wife and kids hostage at gunpoint. However, that's not what the tip is about, which is where the drama at the office comes in. But Warren won't be convinced that there's more, because now he is insanely obsessed with finding out just who's been his wife's adulterous lover. And the more that is revealed, the more you understand why Warren has fallen to this depth.

It was an intense story - I was glued to the book. Mr. Iles writing gave me a great picture of each character and of each scene.

(WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD!)

But with all that happened, the ending seemed just a little too neat. I won't tell you what happened to Warren - you'll have to read to find out how this day ended. But in the end, the two adulterers live happily ever after - feeling that they had Warren's blessing. What about the kids? What about the trauma they endured? They'd never accept this guy after all they saw that day. Maybe it could happen, but what bugs me is that this feels like it was supposed to be a happy ending. Yuck.

I still think the book was great. I mean, you can't always have the ending you want, even in real life. That's what I love about reading (and watching movies). You can't always predict what's gonna happen. Excellent book anyway!

THE ULTIMATE GIFT

The ULTIMATE GIFT is a movie about a rich, spoiled young man, Jason, played by Drew Fuller. His grandfather (James Garner), who was incredibly rich, just passed away, and the movie starts out at the death, funeral, and reading of the will. One by one, each family member is disappointed as they receive their inheritance. The last one there is Jason, who finds out that whatever he receives, he will get only after he completes a series of steps. This angers the spoiled Jason, but he reluctantly decides to go along with it. After completing each step, he is to return to his grandfather's lawyer, Mr. Hamilton (Bill Cobbs) and his secretary, played by Lee Meriwether (yes, I mean, CATWOMAN!) and report his experience. If they are satisfied with the results, he can move on to the next step.

Each gift is a specific task that sends him on a journey designed to help him figure out what is important in life. While I don't want to spoil it for you by telling you what all the steps are, I will tell you that the first one teaches him the value of hard work! And each gift that follows teaches him integrity, gratitude, friendship, giving, and more. He begins with the attitude that he's just going to get it over with so he can receive his inheritance. But something begins to change inside of him with every assignment. The experiences he has, both good and bad, alter his perspective on life.

Along the way he meets a young mom and her daughter, Emily, played by Abigail Breslin. Emily is a spunky little girl who befriends him, and soon he discovers that Emily has Leukemia. This is the beginning of his change.

It's an inspiring story. I laughed and cried while I watched it. It's rated PG, and it's simple enough for even young kids to follow, but adults will love it too. You'll want to share the story with others - especially teens and young adults. In fact, you can go the Ultimate Gift website and download discussion guides and tools for helping create family traditions to reinforce the importance of the "gifts". It's an important message and a very good movie!

SPEEDRACER

Maybe if I'd ever watched the original Speed Racer cartoons, I might have liked the movie. Instead, I was startled by the frantic, futuristic, sensory overload that was Speedracer, the movie. It was cartoony...which could have been charming, yet I felt was corny. And for the first 10 or so minutes, as they set up the scene for us, we get jostled back and forth between the past and the present while Speed has flashbacks to his childhood. I was totally confused. First we see Speed as a kid...then he's grown and driving...then he's a kid with his big brother, Rex....then we hear announcers saying that his brother was killed awhile ago...then he's a kid watching his brother leave home...then he's driving again, and we see his family in the stands...but wait, now there's another kid with the family...is he Speed's kid?...or maybe that's Speed and this isn't a flashback after all..And so it went until I finally figured out what was going on. Maybe devoted Speed Racer fans will like it..I did read that the cartoon was kinda like that - kinda quick and quirky. Or maybe it's just a guy thing, because my 8 year old son and my husband liked it.

It stars Emile Hirsch (Alpha Dog, Into the Wild) as "Speed"; John Goodman as Pops, Susan Sarandon as Mom, Christina Ricci at Trixie, and Matthew Fox as Racer X. It was directed by the Wachowski brothers, who directed the Matrix movies. Here's the plot in a nutshell...money hungry guy offers Speed a contract to join his team...Speed is tempted but turns him down...money hungry guy gets mad...We find out that the races are "fixed" by the guys with money and power....the final race will settle things. As Racer X said..."we may not change racing, but the important thing is..will racing change us?" Or something like that..I'm not sure, since I was visually overstimulated. (I thought I had read it was 1 hr 35 min running time, but I discovered I had misread that...it was actually 135 minutes!!! Thats' over two hours, people!!!)

It was rated PG - yet I heard the following words: Damn, Ass, Sh-t. There was also a scene where the bad guys are roughing up a driver, and they show his bloodied face. That wasn't so bad, but then some other guy gets his finger eaten by piranhas. While we don't see the actual finger-eating...we do see the guy from behind as it happens, and we get to see the water in the fish-tank turn swirly-red. Kinda harsh for PG, I think.

So, in the end, I can't figure out if this review is useless or not. I guess I can say I didn't like it...but maybe it did a good job of reproducing the original. So I'll just say this: if you remember and love the original...go see the movie. BUT...if you've never seen the original, and if your favorite childhood shows were Loony Tunes or Gilligan's Island, then you can probably skip it.

ENCOUNTERS OF THE HEART: THERE'S MORE TO THE STORY THAN MEETS THE EYE, By Cathy Heiliger

This book takes a few stories from the Gospels and gives a more intimate account of some people who had encounters with Jesus. The stories include:

• The woman with an issue of blood who touched the hem of Jesus' garment
• Jairus, who's daughter died and was healed by Jesus
• Mary, Martha and Lazarus
  
• Mary anointing Jesus' feet with oil.
• The leper who Jesus healed
  

The stories are told in first person, with the person telling their own story about their encounter with Jesus. I've enjoyed Christian fiction about biblical stories before, and in the Introduction, the author addresses the fact that she is very careful to not add to the scriptures, but simply "colorizes" the scriptural accounts. There were things about the book I loved, and also things I didn't love. If you can hang in there with me through the negative, I'll quickly get to the parts I loved, because I felt that those parts made the book worth reading. So here goes...

The first story was the woman with the issue of blood. This was my least favorite - one of the reasons being that it made me a little nervous to read "quotes" by Jesus that were not in the bible. The woman tells her story about suffering for many years. Then, she touches Jesus' hem and gets healed. When He asks who touched Him, she falls before Him, and begins to confess everything in her life, which included shameful things that were done to her in her past. It was interesting to consider that this woman could have had many more things that she suffered - it brought her story more to life. What I didn't like were things we were to imagine Jesus saying. He told her to go in peace. But then, he tells her, "Stop beating yourself up! Be made whole from the suffering plague of self hatred and shame for whatever you have done that has contributed to your condition." I'll just be up front and tell you that I don't think the current trend of feeling good about ourselves is what we should be focusing on as believers. The truth is, we are not good. I think a lack of self esteem is the least of our problems. So I guess I couldn't appreciate the "stop beating yourself up" line. However, I acknowledge that there are people who have been through abuse of many kinds that do need to be pulled out of that pit of despair, and they could benefit from this story.

Now, with that said, let me tell you about the good parts...

First, I loved how she tied the stories together. As I said, the woman with the issue of blood tells her story, and when she tells of seeing Jesus, she mentions that she saw Jairus with Jesus, and it was odd that he looked like he had just gotten out of bed! Then, in the following chapter, when Jairus is telling his story, he tells us that when he is leading Jesus to his daughter, Jesus all of sudden stops and wants to know who touched him! That was beautifully done - I loved it!

But the stories I loved most, were those about Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. First we hear from Martha's point of view when Mary sat at Jesus' feet while Martha did all the work. Then we hear about how Lazarus fell ill and died. We hear about how they were desperate for Jesus to come and heal him, but Jesus delayed His coming! They felt so confused and abandoned! It was a beautiful, moving story that gave me chills and choked me up a bit. They wondered how He could leave them alone when they needed Him the most. Also woven into their story, was the story of Simon, the leper who Jesus healed (the 1 of 10 who returned to thank Him!). I was really able to imagine the scene as it may have been!

The book is short - 111 pages. It's sort of a "workbook" since every chapter has a "Reflections" section at the end, with questions to ponder. (I didn't linger over the questions very long, as I was anxious to keep reading) Encounters of the Heart was good food for thought, and drove me to my bible to double check the actual stories! I enjoyed it!

AT HOME IN MITFORD by Jan Karon

In this, the first book of the Mitford Series, Jan Karon introduces us to Father Tim and the small, quaint town of Mitford. The book takes us through Father Tim's daily happenings, as well as through the lives of all the residents of Mitford. While there was not a lot of drama or suspense, it was truly a charming story. Actually, there were a few incidents that were a bit dramatic - like the discovery of stolen diamonds in an old urn in the church! Then there's more drama when the diamond thief is revealed! There were also other interesting tidbits in the book - such as the troubled, angry young man of whom Father Tim became a guardian when the boy's grandfather became sick. And then there's the beautiful and friendly woman that moves in next door. Everybody in Mitford seems to have a story! You get to know all the characters and all their little small-town quirks. Father Tim, although he is not perfect, has such a good heart and really loves all the people in that town, and is thoroughly involved in their lives! He seems to really take to heart what the bible says about everything - not in a legalistic religious way - but just as a simple way of life.

There are nine volumes in the Mitford Series. The author has also begun a new series, with her latest book, "Home to Holly Springs", which is the first in the Father Tim Series.

This was such a cozy book - it was kinda like sitting and chatting with an old friend.

FOOLS RUSH IN

Last night, I caught one of my all-time-favorite movies, FOOLS RUSH IN. I've seen it at least 10 times, but I always love to "accidentally" catch it on TV! It's a romantic comedy with Salma Hayek and Matthew Perry, about two people who meet, have a one night stand, end up pregnant, and get married - because they actually really do like each other and want to be together. Of course, marrying someone you don't know very well can have its challenges.

Throughout the movie, she talks about believing in "signs". At least she calls them signs, but actually, I think the real meaning is "destiny". As in - was their meeting destined? He is not a believer in signs. He believes in "grabbing the brass ring" when you see it. In other words, life is what you make it. When they split up, he begins to see signs that are leading him back to her. She, on the other hand, starts to question whether or not they were destined to be together. She begins to doubt the validity of signs. So she runs away to her grandma in Mexico and gets wise counsel about being afraid. Grandma says you must risk heartbreak for the chance to know true love.

Are there signs in life? Of course, if you are looking to be led in a particular direction, you can find signs that accommodate your desire. Sometimes, you can look back and see that you were led in a particular direction, even though you didn't know it at the time. Some believe in fate or destiny. I believe in God - but even then, I sometimes wonder if He has led me in a particular direction, or if He just made the best out of where I chose to go.

But still, in this movie, does the fact that this New York guy was in Las Vegas at that particular time, and the fact that they coincidentally met, mean anything? Does the fact that she was intimate with him, even though she was not the kind of girl to do that, mean anything? And does the fact that she got pregnant mean that there was something greater bringing them together?

I think we can't know those kinds of answers until we look back and reflect on our lives. Then we can clearly see which was the road we were destined to be on, and which things happened when we got off track. But Grandma was right, sometimes you just have to take risks.

COLLEGE ROAD TRIP

My little guy is on spring break this week, so today, we headed off for the movies. I thought he might want to see Horton Hears a Who, but he said, "We could see College Road Trip!" Ok, I thought, why not? Might be kind of a funny movie!

This is story of an over-protective father (Martin Lawrence) who's having a hard time letting go of his "little girl", who is heading off for college. (It kinda made me think of Father of the Bride). The daughter, Melanie - played by Raven Symone - wants to attend a college thats far from home; but dad wants her to stay local. Symone is adorable - of course she makes me feel OLD, since I used to watch her as little "Olivia" on the Cosby Show. Anyway, the movie is about the road trip that Dad takes her on to check out different colleges. For one, he can't stand the thought of her going by herself. PLUS, he thinks he's gonna talk her out of going to the college of her choice. The sum of it is, that he has to let go of his baby, and the movie is his journey to get to that place. It's a clean (rated G) film, kinda silly, and a little funny. We both had some out-loud laughs, and I had a few tears in the end. Donny Osmond plays the goofy father of a goofy daughter; a couple of characters that Dad and Melanie keep running into on their trip. (Kinda like the Gornicke's from RV!) While I enjoyed Donny's character, the daughter's part was like nails on a chalkboard! Ugh! And there were plenty of dumb scenes, too. Like when Symone sings Double Dutch Bus on the tour bus - it seemed kinda thrown in to showcase her singing. Or the scene where the pet pig ruins a wedding reception (think cake in the face; sliding across a reception table trying to catch the pig, the pig running into a pig-on-a-platter, etc).

Still, it was a light- hearted comedy, and a good clean movie to take your seven-year-old to. Don't bother buying the DVD when it comes out, but if you have nothing better to do when your little ones are on spring break, go ahead and see it!

MR. MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM

Dustin Hoffman is one of my favorite actors - so I was glad to buy this DVD for my son! It didn't really hold his attention all that much, but I enjoyed it! I had already heard from a couple of people that it was "a nice, believe-in-yourself" kind of movie. And that's exactly what it was.

Hoffman plays Mr Magorium, who runs the Wonder Emporium, a "magical" toy store. I mean, it's not just a cool toy store, it really is "magical", with live fish mobiles, a door with a dial that changes which room you're about to step into, and a store book that contains the specific toy a customer is looking for...no, not a picture of that toy, the actual toy! (Mr. Magorium has been running it for over a century, if that helps drive the point across!)

Natalie Portman plays Molly Mahoney, the store manager, who is also an aspiring musician, but feels like she just doesn't have the "sparkle" to do anything really great. But she loves Mr. Magorium and believes in the magic of the Emporium.

Zach Mills plays Eric, a hat-collecting little boy who doesn't make friends too easily, but enjoys hanging out at the Wonder Emporium.

Jason Bateman plays Henry, the accountant who is hired to get Mr. Magorium's affairs in order, because he is ready to move on. To die. And he wants to leave the Wonder Emporium to Mahoney. (Henry, by the way , does not believe the toy store is "magical".)

But Mahoney isn't ready for Mr. Magorium's departure. (And neither is the store, we discover, because it's throwing a "tantrum"!) So she sets out to show Mr. Magorium that he cannot just leave! She shows him all the things he'll miss if he leaves. He thinks she's just giving him a great "last day".

He talks about departing for heaven, but it's handled in a simple enough way for kids to understand. (rated G) And he departs happily, knowing he has lived a wonderful life. Mr. Magorium says its time for his story to end, and time for the next one to begin.

One of the cutest parts was when Eric decides to try to make friends and he goes to Henry, who is busily "accounting" in the glass office. Eric holds up a sign that says "Hi". Henry replies with a wave. They continue to show each other "notes" back and forth until finally Eric asks if Henry wants to play checkers when he's done working, to which Henry replies, "I never stop working".

It's a cute story, one that says that magic will happen when you believe it exists, and when you believe you can make it happen. MR. MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM didn't make me laugh out loud nor did it make me cry. But it was a nice, cozy movie to curl up and enjoy with my family!

ATONEMENT

Set in England in 1935, ATONEMENT is the story of a 13-year-old girl, Briony (Saoirse Ronan), who changes her family's lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. It is a beautiful and tragic film, filled with so many lovely elements. The dramatic musical score (which, by the way, won an Academy Award) lent an air of storytelling by incorporating the rhythmic clicking of a typewriter in various scenes. An important element, since Briony was an aspiring writer, and also since it was a typed letter that changed the course of many lives. Visually, the film was elegant and dramatic, with the country estate giving us some of the most beautiful shots, and later, the war images that were very graphic and gut wrenching. Masterfully done, ATONEMENT made me feel a quiet sadness when it was over.

The pivotal scene of this tale is the one by the fountain - first shown from Briony's perspective, then again, as it actually happened. Briony observes her sister Cecilia (Keira Knightly) and Robbie, the housekeeper's son, (James MacAvoy) arguing by a fountain. She then sees Cecelia strip to her underwear, at which time Briony looks away. When she looks again, Cecilia is climbing out of the fountain. Cecilia and Robbie exchange words, then Cecelia storms away. Because of her youth, and maybe because she possesses the vivid imagination of a writer, Briony is confused by what she sees, so she misunderstands. In her naivety, she can't possibly know the sexual tension that exists between Robbie and Cecilia. What actually happened at the fountain was much different. Later, Robbie writes a note of apology for what really happened. But as he goes through several drafts trying to word it just right, he writes a sexually explicit letter - not meaning to give it. When he finally pens the perfect apology, he gives it to Briony to give to her sister. However, soon he realizes that he's given Briony the the wrong letter - the explicit one. But it's too late - she's gone. Briony, being curious, reads it. She pieces that together with the fountain incident, and decides that Robbie is some kind of "pervert". That evening, at the family's dinner party, Robbie and Cecelia meet, and admit that they are in love with each other, which leads to a passionate rendezvous in the library. As luck would have it, Briony walks in on them. Later at dinner, the family discovers that two young children are missing, and the guests all set out to search for them throughout the estate. In a remote corner, Briony stumbles upon her cousin Lola being raped by someone. She isn't sure, but thinks it must be Robbie - because of the letter, because of the fountain incident, and because she saw him on Cecelia in the library. She accuses him, he is arrested, and their lives are forever changed.

As I was watching James MacAvoy, I was thinking that he looked like a young Russell Crowe. Just then, Macy leaned over and whispered, "He looks like a young Russell Crowe". We couldn't place what movie we'd seen this young man in before, but soon discovered he is Mr. Tumnus! Yes, he played the fawn in NARNIA! (By the way, Macy recently went to see PENELOPE and he is in that too!)

At the end of the movie, we see Briony (played by Vanessa Redgrave), as an aged woman, living with the guilt of what she's done. We discover how she is "atoning" for her wrong. Does this final action redeem her? I go back and forth on it. Nothing could make up for what she did. But there was nothing she could have done to change things at that point in time. Maybe it was the only kind thing to do, since there was nothing else she could do.

I highly recommend this movie, which was based on an Ian McEwan novel of the same name. It was 2hrs and 3min long, rated R for language; some sexuality (no nudity); and graphic war scenes (the wounded soldiers in the medical unit).

Beautifully done, beautifully told.

THE HOLIDAY

Cute movie - except for the fact that Cameron Diaz sleeps with Jude Law five minutes after she meets him.

Diaz plays Amanda Woods, the owner of a movie trailer company (trailers, in this case, meaning previews of movies). She's a high stress, successful kind of girl. After breaking up with her boyfriend (Edward Burns), she decides she's gotta get away. On the other side of the globe is Iris Simpkins, played by Kate Winslet, who has recently found out that the man she is in love with, is engaged to be married. Iris decides she's gotta get away. So she puts her London home up for rent as a vacation home, and Amanda answers the ad. They talk, and decide to swap homes. The night Amanda arrives in London, Iris's brother, Graham, (Jude Law) drops by, totally unaware that Iris has rented the place out. Graham and Amanda immediately feel chemistry. When he kisses her, she throws caution to the wind and asks him to stay the night. The next morning is awkward. He explains that he's kinda "complicated" (he keeps getting calls from females). She tells him not to worry because she "will not fall in love" with him. But you can see they both want to be together. One evening, Amanda decides to stop by his place...and gets a surprise. (don't worry - the surprise makes you fall in love with the guy!)

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Iris is loving Amanda's fancy big house. She ends up meeting Miles, (Jack Black) a film composer that works with Amanda. They become good friends and spend a lot of time together. He is seeing someone, but soon finds heartbreak in that relationship. Together they help each other work through their pain.

It was a cute movie that wove the lives of all these characters in a funny, touching way. One of the funniest parts is when Iris is on the phone with her brother and he tells her that he "met" Amanda. Amanda calls Iris on the other line and Iris goes back and forth between the two calls. As she begins to "reprimand" Graham about hitting on her "renter", Amanda says, "Um...Its still me".

THE HOLIDAY definitely had an all-star cast. I love Jack Black in everything I've seen him in, even though he usually seems to play himself. So maybe it's because I'm too used to his usual characters (School of Rock, Nacho Libre, Saving Silverman, etc.), but in this movie he seemed a tiny bit out of place playing the suave sophisticated music composer. It came across as if he was trying hard to be on his best behavior. This seems to be the first romantic comedy roles for Kate Winslet and Jude Law - but they were well cast in this.

Maybe it was the cast that carried it, but I thought this movie was fun! A feel-good romantic comedy with a happily ever after ending!

BLESSED CHILD by Ted Dekker & THE GIFT by Richard Paul Evans

THE GIFT by Richard Paul Evans, reminded me of BLESSED CHILD by Ted Dekker, (and even a little bit of the movie, THE SIXTH SENSE ). They are both tales of boys with remarkable gifts of healing.

THE GIFT is the story of Nathan, a lonely guy with a tormenting secret from his childhood. He meets a young family - Mom Addison, daughter Lizzy, and son Collin. Collin has a gift of healing people, yet this gift comes with a cost; the more he heals, the more life drains out of him. In fact, Collin has Leukemia. Those who love him struggle to protect him from his "gift", while wondering if stopping him from helping people so that he can survive is the right thing to do. After Nathan meets Addison, Lizzy and Collin, his life is changed in ways he could have never predicted.

BLESSED CHILD is the story of Caleb. This little boy survives an attack on the monastery where he lives in Ethiopia and is brought to the U.S. by Jason (a peace corp worker), and Leiah (a red cross nurse). They soon discover how special this little boy is, and also that his enemies have continued to pursue him. We gradually learn who his enemies are, and why they want him, but that's only one problem. The other problem is that Caleb has powers - he heals people, and this has everyone who meets him debating where his powers come from. Millions of people want a piece of this boy - some for their own healing, and others for their own selfish profit. In the end, Jason and Leiah have to take extreme measures to keep him safe from all who want to harm him.

Both stories have similar characters. In THE GIFT, Nathan has scars from his childhood; In BLESSED CHILD, Leiah has physical scars - her body is disfigured with burn scars. But both of these characters struggle with feelings of inadequacy, and an urgency to help the helpless. In THE GIFT, Collins' deadbeat dad comes back when he finds out that he can profit from his son. In BLESSED CHILD, the minister who becomes Caleb's guardian organizes "events" at which people can buy high-priced tickets to come receive healing.

BLESSED CHILD is based on this scripture: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Caleb has his gift simply because he has unwavering faith in God his Father and in the fact that God can heal. His relationship with God is very real to him.

THE GIFT is based on this scripture: God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. Collin crosses into the afterlife, and returns to this world with his remarkable gift. He also sees and speaks to dead people - hence my comparison to the SIXTH SENSE. Although you get the idea that the author is referring to God and heaven, he doesn't quite come out and say it.

Both books were great - I read both quickly. THE GIFT especially seemed to go fast. The chapters were short and it felt like I kept turning pages. BLESSED CHILD was non-stop action from the first line, as is Ted Dekker's style. His books are always hard to put down.

Despite the similarities, both books are worthy reads on their own merit, although I am a big Ted Dekker fan and would favor his book if you asked me which I 'd recommend more. Not that THE GIFT is not as good - it's just that I have been a Ted Dekker fan for a few years. As a matter of fact, I would definitely pick up another book by Richard Paul Evans now that I've enjoyed THE GIFT. While Dekker's book has action, suspense and plot twists - Evans' book was the kind that makes you ask yourself what choice you would make if you were in that situation. Similar themes, yet different experiences!

CATCH AND RELEASE

I caught the ending of this movie one day. And then, a couple of weeks later, I caught the beginning, and of course, had to sit through the whole thing. Both times I kept thinking...who is that guy?...he looks familiar. I'm not even sure I've seen him before, but he looks like someone... who? The guy I was wondering about was Timothy Olyphant, who plays "Fritz" in CATCH AND RELEASE. (It finally hit me that he looks like a young Lorenzo Lamas) When I looked him up, I realized that I'd seen him before in LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD. Quite a different role in that movie - he plays the bad guy. So in DIE HARD, I hated him. But in CATCH AND RELEASE? Loved him!

Jennifer Garner plays "Gray", a young woman who's fiance, "Grady", has suddenly died. After his death, she temporarily moves in with his buddies since she cant afford her place anymore. Together they mourn and help Gray get through her loss. First she mourns the loss of the man she loved. Then she mourns the loss of the man she thought he was, because Gray soon discovers that she didn't know everything about Grady. Like, he had a child that he'd been supporting for a few years. And this child has existed for less time than Gray and Grady had been together. The "other woman", "Maureen", played by Juliette Lewis said, "I'm sorry. You could've just missed him and loved him and not known". To which Gray answers "Not known him".

Kevin Smith plays Sam, the funny sarcastic guy; Olyphant is Fritz, the playboy; and Sam Jaeger is the responsible guy, "Dennis". They are all likeable guys - but Dennis - hate to say it - was totally unnecessary to the story. The other characters' stories go somewhere by the end of the movie. But Dennis is just there. It would have been the exact same movie without him.

But all in all, this is actually a sweet love story of Gray and the man she is finally drawn to as she comes out of her mourning. It's probably predictable, and most probably a date flick. But CATCH AND RELEASE is also sad, funny, and romantic.

27 DRESSES

Did another Thursday morning movie with "Macy" - we went to see 27 DRESSES. Everyone said, "That looks likes such a cute movie!" And it certainly was a cute idea for a storyline! But Macy and I both agreed that it didn't reach its full potential.

When you see the previews to a movie like this, you already know how it's gonna go - boy meets girl, they endure a bit of conflict, but by the end of the movie, you know you're gonna walk away smiling! And so it was for this movie. But still, even for a romantic comedy, it was lacking a bit in substance.

One of the biggest flaws was that there was NO chemistry between the two main characters, played by Katherine Heigl and James Marsden. They are both adorable - but nope, didn't feel it with them. I never felt "caught up" in their relationship - throughout the film, I felt fully aware that they were two actors acting.

Heigl plays a woman who LOVES weddings. She plans all her friends' weddings, engagement parties, etc. She also works as an assistant to the man she is in love with, played by Edward Burns. Marsden's character writes the wedding column for the New York City Journal. He writes under a pseudonym, of course, so when he and Heigl meet, she doesn't realize that he is her favorite columnist. Instead, he comes across as a guy who is cynical about the institution of marriage. Which of course, really annoys her! They meet at a wedding one night, share a cab, she drops her planner in the cab, he sees that her social life consists of nothing but weddings every weekend, and he gets an idea for an article for his column! Since he thinks she's kinda cute, he proceeds to pursue her. But she despises him! In the meantime, her sister (who's a model) waltzes into town and falls in love with the boss - the one that Heigl is secretly in love with - who also falls for her, and they get engaged. The story then continues with all the complications of those circumstances.

But it seemed that there was so many details to this story that much of the plot was diluted . Her relationship with her sister, for example. Their childhood and how they felt about each other as adults - all that history was explained too briefly - and the information always seemed "rushed" - as if had to be included - it didn't flow naturally. And her sister wasn't too likable, nor too hate-able - so you just don't know how to feel when she gets what's coming to her, or when they reconcile. Might have been better to have Burns fall in love with a stranger so that the complicated history of the sister relationship didn't have to be written in.

In addition, Heigl's disdain for Marsden felt "forced" - like it was necessary to have some sort of conflict leading up to the happy conclusion. Moments that could have really been dramatic - like when she realizes that this man she hates is really the writer she loves - seemed glossed over quickly and not very climactic. Another such moment was when he admits that the reason he is so bitter about marriage is because of his own experience. That could have been an emotionally charged moment - but the moment arrived, and then it left, with no lasting impact.

This is not to say that 27 DRESSES was terrible - It had its cute moments! Judy Greer plays a good character as Heigl's friend who "tells it like it is" (she plays a similar character in 13 GOING ON 30!). I did laugh a few times! The scene where Heigl tries on the 27 dresses is pretty cute. And the bar scene where they sing "Bennie and the Jets" is pretty funny! I wouldn't avoid 27 DRESSES, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it!

3:10 TO YUMA

I love westerns. Grew up watching them with my Dad - a big John Wayne fan. My sister and I have watched every episode of The Big Valley that there is. Even though they're a bit more bloody these days, I always look forward to a good western!

3:10 TO YUMA stars Russell Crowe as the bad guy, and Christian Bale as the good guy. Bale plays "Dan", a struggling farmer, who is in danger of losing his farm to a banker who wants to sell it to make way for a railroad. His marriage is strained, his relationship with his oldest son is difficult, and his youngest son has chronic respiratory problems. Through a turn of events, he becomes instrumental in the arrest of outlaw "Ben Wade", played by Crowe. A posse is formed to transport Wade from Bisbee to Contention to put the outlaw on the train to the Yuma prison. Dan, in order to secure $200, joins the posse. So with the outlaw's gang close behind, they set out through Apache territory. During their journey, we learn a lot more about Dan and Wade. For example, Dan needs the money, but he also needs to prove to his family that he is man enough to handle this task, as well as save their farm. Wade frequently quotes the bible, and we learn that the ruthless outlaw knows it because he read it cover to cover at the train station where his mother abandoned him as a child. A lot of things happen on this trip through the wilderness - and they arrive at Yuma with less men than they had when they set out.

Russell Crowe has been in a lot of movies - and he is really a great actor. The roles he's played - Cinderella Man, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind - are really diverse and complicated characters! Other notable performances include Peter Fonda, who I hardly recognized at first, but who played a great - but quick - part. And Ben Foster...oooooh, I hated him. He was the second in command of Wade's outlaw gang. He was a great bad guy. He also played very hateable bad guys in Alpha Dog (which was a horrible true story - it haunted me for a while - I wish I'd never watched it), and Hostage. He kinda reminded me of Bruce Dern, who always played a great villain! And of course, Bale did an excellent job of playing Dan Evans - I could feel his inner turmoil as he fought for his dignity at being the man his family could respect.

The story was set in Southern, Arizona - which I always enjoy, as I grew up there! But when they showed the town of Bisbee, I thought, "Huh?" They showed a town in the middle of a plain. In actuality, the little town is nestled in the mountains. Which has nothing to do with the story told in the film, but I thought I'd throw that fact out anyway! (See, you learn things on my blog!)

3:10 TO YUMA was a great movie - (although the ending made me yell "NO!!! WHY??????")
If you can overlook some violence and bad language, I'd recommend it!

THE BRAVE ONE

Jodie Foster's movie, "The Brave One", came out on DVD this week. The tagline is: How many wrongs to make it right? My DH, who always enjoys seeing the bad guy get what he deserves, ran right out to buy it! The storyline goes like this: Foster's character, Erica, is a talk show host who is about to be married. Her fiancee is played by Naveen Andrews, of Lost fame. One night as they stroll through the park, they are brutally attacked, and her fiancee is killed. Erica is left alone to recover from the horrific experience she survived. Surprising herself, she proceeds to hand out "justice" as she sees it unfold on the streets. But she doesn't start out with that agenda; her fear causes her to react, and then, well, it just becomes habit. Terence Howard plays the cop who's investigating these "serial" crimes, and in the course of the story, they become friends.

Throughout the movie, it's obvious she wants to get caught. And you get the feeling that the cop (Howard), is a good cop, and that even though he cares about her, he cares more about doing the right thing. You know that eventually, he'll have to make a difficult choice - once he finds out Erica's little secret.

The funny thing is that this movie made me think of another movie I had just seen - "Mad Money". Which sounds insane, but in that movie, Diane Keaton says, "The truth is we’re all capable of anything. We don’t realize it. But it’s true". In "The Brave One", Foster's character says, "Inside us is a stranger". These statements are true. Each one of us is capable of anything, given the right situation. We don't know how we'd react in situations like these - a brutal random attack, or in the case of "Mad Money", if we're in a situation where we're desperate for money. Do these situations change us, or do they bring out what is already inside? I guess that's what Foster's character contemplates when she says that we have a stranger inside of us.

The movie was very suspenseful - along the lines of "Panic Room" & "Flight Plan". I was a bit disturbed by one particular scene - when the couple was being worked on in the ER after they had been attacked, the scenes kept flashing back to a love scene. This went on for the duration of the ER scene: gentle touching...then bloody bodies...flash back to clothes being removed lovingly...then clothes being cut off in the ER. I'm sure they were trying to show the contrast of love and gentleness, against violence and brutality, but it was kind of creepy.

On one hand, it's a well made film. The acting is great, the characters believable. On the other hand, its quite bloody and violent. And I think the ending was unfortunate, as it made it seem like all the wrongs were somehow "OK". I walked away from "The Brave One" feeling like the good guys got suckered into being the bad guys.

THE SHACK, By William P. Young

I listen to a podcast regularly called "The God Journey", and I had heard those guys talk about a book called "The Shack" every now and then, but I didn't really pay that much attention to it. One day, I was talking with a girlfriend about different books we'd read, and she mentioned that she had just read a book called "The Shack", and that it was possibly the best book she had ever read. So that kinda grabbed my attention, and I went to the "God Journey" website to see what they had to say about it. In the meantime, I ordered it from Amazon to read it for myself.

I finished reading it last night at around midnight, and thought about it a lot this morning when I woke up. So what can I say about it if I don't wanna give the story away? I'll do my best.

I can't say that I would have read "The Shack" if I had just stumbled across it in a bookstore. The back-cover description says that the character's daughter had been abducted and brutally murdered. I generally steer away from books with those kinds of topics, but I was so curious as to why this was such a "life-changing" book - A novel at that!

The story starts four years after Mack's daughter has been murdered. Her blood-soaked clothes were found in a shack in the mountains. As you would guess, life has not been the same for this family. Mack lives with what he calls "The Great Sadness". One day, he gets a note in his mailbox, an invitation, to go spend the weekend with God at the shack. Mack wonders why in the world God would meet him there, of all places - the place of his greatest pain and despair. So Mack goes...and he is taken on a journey where he is confronted with the truth of who God is.

I'll have to admit, at first I was a little thrown off by the forms in which God appeared to Mack, but as He explained why He had done so, it made sense. He was what Mack needed, when he needed it. As Mack changed, so did the form in which God appeared to him.

"The Shack" isn't some religious "how-to" book. It is very honest, and will take you by surprise with its honesty. The dialog between God and Mack uncovers what many of us really think of God. And it also shows us that He is not how we think He is. It exposes our deepest and most hidden misconceptions of Him, even the ones that those of us who have been "religious" for a while may have. As Mack was shown things about himself, I found that they were things that I also had buried deep inside of me. Things that I never realized I felt until I saw it in print in front of me. At one point, God says to Mack, "You don't trust me, because you don't know that I love you". Simple, but true. We don't trust God, because we can't comprehend how He loves us. We're suspicious of what will come our way if we trust Him completely. That means we don't really know that He loves us.

One of my favorite parts was when the Holy Spirit, represented as "Sarayu", works on Macks' "soul". It was a beautiful analogy, but that's one part that I can't give away. It was the surprise element that gave it it's power.

As for the ending, I felt bittersweet about it. But it ended just the way it should have.

This novel has much truth about God, about life, about us, and especially about our preconceived ideas about God. But it's important to keep in mind that because it is a work of fiction, it's probably not an infallible representation of God. While I did see a lot scriptural truth in it, I wondered about certain details, such as God making sarcastic comments from time to time. But keeping all that in perspective, this is a beautiful story. It made me cry in a few places; it made me laugh in a few places; It made me repent in a few places. It showed me how God loves each one of us individually. The line on the front cover says "Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity", and that is a perfect description of this book.