April and May Book Reviews

 

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Uncovering the Love of Jesus: A Lent Devotional by Asheritah Ciuciu  ★★★★★
This is a beautiful and Biblically sound devotional for the days leading up to Easter. It is comprised of forty devotionals that each reflect a different aspect of Jesus' love for humanity that led to His death and resurrection. Some of the daily reflections in the seven-week devotional include: Jesus loves perfectly, Jesus rejects no one, Jesus pays attention, Jesus honors the dishonored, Jesus drives out fear, Jesus loves the least of these, Jesus seeks out the lost, Jesus is patient, Jesus love the unlovable, Jesus offers hope, Jesus' love forgives, and Jesus sacrificed everything. On each  of the seven Sundays of Lent, there is a special devotional with a Scriptural passage to read, questions to discuss, and a hymn to listen to or sing. The Monday through Friday devotionals includes a Bible story,  a devotional  that is two to three pages long, followed by a challenge (practical application), a prayer, and list of Biblical passages to study to dig further in that theme. Saturdays are for activities, and she offers a plethora of fun and creative ways that a person on their own or a whole family can celebrate Lent and Easter.  She starts off the book with a chapter on the history and intentionality of observing Lent as Christians and how this devotional can be a resource to prepare hearts for Easter. Asheritah's love and knowledge of Scripture is clearly evident in this devotional.  Her Advent devotional, Unwrapping the Names of Jesus,  was just as wonderful. 

Silas Marner by George Eliot (audiobook) ★★★★☆

I enjoyed George Eliot's Middlemarch, so I knew I would have to try another of her novels. This one was incredibly different, but still retained Elliot's thoughtful and skilled writing. Silas is a recluse in the village, known for his stinginess and grumpiness, until a toddler ends up in his care and his heart of stone melts to a puddle. The story of his redemption (within his community but also with God) is endearing. I wasn't as invested in this novel as Middlemarch (I just gravitate towards female protagonists since I feel I can relate to them more), it was still a good read, especially since I followed along with the hosts from The Literary Life Podcast as they dove into history, philosophy, and Christian application of this classic.

Content rating: G

Classics Club' Reading Challenge:  - 37th book (out of 75). See my whole list HERE

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (audiobook) ★★★★☆

Wow, this was a door-stopper of a book, clocking in right under fifteen hours. It is a dystopian novel mixed with historical fiction as well as contemporary storyline to boot. It's a whirlwind that took me a while to find my placing and orient myself to each different storyline, but once I did, I was hooked. All of the five storylines are woven together by an age-old (imagined) Odyssey-like story of a man searching for a paradise in the clouds. From 15th century Constantinople to the 22nd century in a spaceship far from Earth, this story has connecting threads of characters looking for home, connection, and the power of stories. Anthony Doerr, known best for the incredible WWII historical fiction, All the Light We Cannot See (which is my favorite WWII novel), does not disappoint in his creativity, atmospheric writing, and suspense. 

Content rating: PG to PG-13 (I think I remember a bit of language and mild, very subtle sexual references)

Kilmeny of the Orchard by L.M. Montgomery (audiobook)  ★★★★★

I am on my way to reading all of Montgomery's novels and I have to say, I am loving all of the lesser known ones just as much as I love the beloved Anne books. Kilmeny is mute, secluded from society, and has a sad family history, yet when he stumbles upon her beautifully playing her violin in an apple orchard one day, she captures the heart of a young man who moves to the Prince Edward Island village to teach at the local school. He endeavors to woo her as she battles her own insecurities of her disability. This was such a sweet story with all the idyllic charm of Prince Edward Island's lush landscape paired with an endearing female character, an honorable young man, and a story of emotional healing. It was a delight!

Rating: G

Classics Club' Reading Challenge:  - 38th book (out of 75). See my whole list HERE

The Montessori Toddler Activity Book: 60 At-Home Games and Activities for Curious Toddlers by Beth Wood ★★★★☆

I randomly found this at the library and was later surprised to find that I follow the author on Instagram for her Montessori ideas, which was a fun surprise. This is a great resource for parents who want to implement easy activities for their toddlers (1-3 years old) using the Montessori method. Each activity is clearly explained and alternatives are mentioned if a parent doesn't want to purchase a specific toy/material and wants to DIY with what they have at home. I have already used a lot of the activities on my own due to my exposure to Montessori the last 1.5 years, but I still bookmarked many pages with new activities to try out. 

Content rating: G

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (audiobook)  ★★★★★

The Queen of Mystery has done it again! A thrilling, suspenseful mystery set on the Nile River with a group of people from around the world, all who become suspects when a passenger on board their cruise is murdered. This was the first time I ever correctly guessed the murderer, but that is not to say it was obvious. I just had an inkling and stuck with my original thought even after evidence seemed to point toward several other possibilities. This novel recently was adapted to the big screen, so I am looking forward to watching it and comparing it to the novel since it is fresh on my mind!

Content rating: PG (non-gruesome details of murder)

Classics Club' Reading Challenge:  - 39th book (out of 75). See my whole list HERE

The Montessori Baby: A Parent's Guide to Nurturing Your Baby with Love, Respect, and Understanding by Simone Davies and Junnifa Uzodike  ★★★★★

I loved The Montessori Toddler, and use it frequently as a reference with providing fun and independence-promoting activities with my toddler. Now that I have a second baby on the way, I knew I needed to get my hands on the recently released second book to the series, focusing on the first year of a child’s life. Similar in scope and structure to The Montessori Toddler, it was like a familiar friend, overflowing with helpful information about preparing a home for a new baby, ways to promote movement from early on (limiting “containers” like swings and rather, letting them get a ton of floor time), developmentally appropriate activities and toys (made from natural materials like wood, void of any flashing lights or battery-operated sounds or movements), and so much more. The portions about preparing the parent was helpful as were the many prompts for observation (things to observe while your child is playing, eating, moving, etc. to better change the environment to suit their changing needs and desires). I’m not a Montessori purist by any form. For example, while I see benefits of a floor bed, we won’t be using one in the infant stage and will instead use a crib again. But there is still so much that I love about Montessori and I enjoy the freedom of picking and choosing what works best for my family and being okay with leaving the rest. This book may feel a bit like drinking out of a fire hydrant (who would do that anyway??) but it helped to have that mentality (of only taking what I want) and I appreciate having it all there as a reference for later use, if and when needed. 

Content rating: G

Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne (audiobook)  ★★★★★

A great resource for parents who want to simplify their home and lifestyle to encourage less stress, more connection, creativity, and relaxation. The four areas discussed are 1) simplifying the home environment (de-cluttering toys and clothing), 2) creating a dependable rhythm to your day/week, 3) simplifying your schedule (taking a very critical look at whether all the play-dates, sports, music lessons, parties, etc. are necessary or helpful and how to balance it with rest and relaxation and even boredom at home), and 4) the benefit of unplugging children (from TV, social media, the news, consumerism). Lots of great research, anecdotes, and insight from his many years counseling families. I definitely won’t follow his recommendations perfectly, and we have already implemented many of these things prior to ever hearing about the book, but there was still plenty to glean and discuss with my husband about how we can limit unnecessary and unhelpful clutter in our lives. 

Content rating: G

The Marriage You've Always Wanted by Gary Chapman ★★★★☆

Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages was pivotal for our dating and eventual marriage, so I have been curious about his other books. In this marriage book, he uses Biblical insight and examples as well as personal and professional anecdotes as a marriage counselor to tackle common marriage issues. Some questions he addresses include “why won’t my spouse change?”, “how can we stop arguing how about finances?”, “how do I get him to listen to me?”, “what if I’m the only one working on the marriage?”, “who takes care of what?”, and “you mean we have to work at sex?” There’s also a great (convicting) chapter on loving your spouse as Jesus loves us. 

Content warning: PG (specifically the sex chapter, though there’s nothing crude or inappropriate).

The Montessori Home: Create A Space for Your Child to Thrive by Ashley Yeh  ★★★★★

I love watching Ashley’s informative Montessori and positive discipline videos on YouTube, so I was excited to hear of her first recently published book. This is an excellent guide for anyone interested in starting any aspect of the Montessori principles with their newborn through preschool children, but also offers great ideas for more seasoned Montessori parents as well. After a brief but concise  intro to Montessori, she dives into application of the variety of areas in which a family can adopt Montessori ideas, including how to set-up a home for promoting independence (low-hanging hooks for jackets, child-size furniture like tables and chairs, and furniture like learning towers that can help young kids be more involved in the kitchen. She includes a myriad of ways to promote self-care (brushing teeth/hair, dressing self), care of environment (watering garden, washing windows, etc), and household tasks they can begin to help with (matching socks while you fold laundry). The section on the play space was excellent, with lots of helpful tips on choosing and rotating toys and books, arranging work trays, presenting activities, and explanations of a ton of activities organized by age. She also discusses how to promote appreciation of the outdoors in young children. I was familiar with everything in the book, but I still loved it because it was all in one place, explained well, and included helpful photographs.

I Must Betray You by Ruth Sepetys (audiobook)  ★★★★★

As a Romanian-American who immigrated as a 3-year old a few months prior to the Romanian Revolution in December 1989, I have heard details of how horrible it was to live under Ceausescu’s tyrannical  communist government from family, sermons, and a few books I’ve read. I was familiar with some of the details of day-to-day hardships, like waiting in line for hours to get meager rations, and even heard about some of the gruesome violence exhibited by the Securitate (Ceausescu’s secret police), but this book still broke my heart as it opened my eyes to more of the tragedies endured during the three decades under Ceausescu’s rule. The novel follows a teenage boy in 1989 as he is forced to become an informant for the Securitate. Trying to outfox them, he slowly uncovers more about the lies they’ve been fed through propaganda, truths they’ve been kept from because of Ceausescu’s isolation of the Romanian people from the outside world (it was illegal to talk to any non-Romanian, read or watch anything in English, or handle any non-Romanian currency). This book is suspenseful, heartbreaking, and infuriating (the Ceausescus were enjoying the high life in their gigantic palace while Romanians were dirt poor, all the while he was touting the benefits of communism to the rest of the world.) It’s such an important book to read about the little-known history of Romania’s three-decades nightmare.