Squidoo Hopping 1/9/14

Hey hey hey!  I actually did build a new lens this past week.  It's a book review lens and is on the first book that I am done reading for my own challenge of reading 52 books in 52 weeks.
You can check out my post about my challenge over on bubblews if you would like.
52 Books in 52 Weeks 2014 Challenge

Waiting to hear back on Monday if I am chosen for one of those niche groups to build a lens in.  That could be fun....and motivating to get them done too. 
I do wish they would have had one just for any book reviews though.  I will be doing a lot of those throughout the year.

I have to admit that I love the ease of building with the new formats.

What have you been up to with squidoo this past week?

Sorrowed Souls by Brenda Youngerman--Book Review

Sorrowed Souls by Brenda Youngerman

ISBN  978-60860-733-4  Published by Eloquent Books

After reading Hidden Truths, I wanted to read all the other books that Brenda Youngerman has
written.  I was fortunate to win a copy of Sorrowed Souls in a blog giveaway.

Brenda didn't disappoint me with Sorrowed Souls and her writing style. 

In Sorrowed Souls Brenda went inside the Missionaries of Charity and really got to know the
homeless and their stories.  With this better understanding, she proceeded to write this book.

In the book we meet Bryan, Amy (Amber), Gus, and others who touched their lives.
The story starts with Bryan who wakes up on the streets, and a loss of memory.  He meets Gus,
who helps him learn the way of the homeless. Bryan does get his memory back slowly, finally
realizing who he is, and being reunited with his family.  Along the way he's learned about Gus'
life and how he ended up on the street, as have we.  It's not a pretty story, but he wants to
see Gus off of the street and with a real life again.

As you read, you find out the history of Bryan's life.  You find out the history of Gus' life.
You find out the history of Amy's life.  How all of their lives intertwine and how all of their
lives are truly miraculous.  The end will make you want to stand up and cheer!

You don't want to stop reading once you start.  You want to know what happened, why it
happened, and just what happened next.   This is the reason I love reading Brenda's books.  You
can laugh and cry with the characters in her book.  You smile and cry with their heartache, and
their triumphs.

I don't want to tell too much of the book.  I do want to say that you will not be sorry if you
pick this book up and start reading.



P.S..   This is my 4th book review for the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge.  You can find out more about the challenge by clicking the link at the top of my blog.

Ghost of Spirit Bear Book Review

Ghost of Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen

Recommended for readers ages 11 to 17. Hey, I'm 44, and I really enjoyed it. My 14 year old got right in to it too.

Cole was a violent kid. He beat up Peter, causing permanent brain damage. His punishment was exile to a remote island off of Alaska. Peter was invited to be on the island with his. Yes, the same boy he beat up.

While on the island Cole learns a lot about himself and his heart. Being attacked by a spirit bear his perspective really changes.

Cole and Peter head back to the city after their time on the island. They are met with a high school that is full of violence, bullies, vandals, etc.

Cole and Peter are told to fight from their heart, not their fists. Besides, if they get in to a fight, they will go to jail. One group of 5 boys is especially hard on Peter. Being handicapped due to his beating makes him a prime target.

Together, the boys try to do things as close to how they did them on the island. Things like sitting in a store freezer to clear their minds. They bought used bowling balls and went to an abandoned building to throw them down the stairs.

It was at this building that they ran into an old homeless man. He never realy spoke to him. They were a little afraid of him. Throughout the story, this homeless man pops in to a lot of places where they are, and then disappears. They compare him to the spirit bear, in fact, at one point they see him lay something in the grass before he disappears. When they go to investigate they find it's a small carved statue of a bear.

When things go from bad to worse at their school....Peter gets beat up by a gang in the school bathroom, and one girl that is constantly being called a slut commits suicide.....Cole takes a stand with the principal and tells her that things must change.

She agrees, no longer afraid of losing her job, that the students come first. They put together some things and the students seem to warm up to the ideas. One of the ideas is to change the school mascot from the Raging Bulldogs to The Spirit Bear.

Changing the school mascot becomes a fight for Cole as he has to take on the school board and angry parents. In the end he does get the approval for the change.

Wondering what ever came about with the homeless man? I was wondering too as the book came to an end. It's a nice surprise ending with that (and no, I'm not telling).

I hope I've told you enough about the book to spark an interest in reading it. It's a touching tale of making the world a better place, one person at a time. This is where I agree with the recommended reading for ages 11-17. I'm not sure that it shouldn't be required school reading!

Buy the book here:
Ghost of Spirit Bear

Or buy it in audiobook here:
Ghost of Spirit Bear, Narrated By Jason Harris, 3 Cds [Complete & Unabridged Audio Work]


This review is part of the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge that I am taking part in.

The Last Apprentice Clash of the Demons Book Review

The Last Apprentice  Clash of the Demons by Joseph Delaney.

The Last Apprentice Clash of the Demons is a great book for fantasy fans.  I picked it up at the public library, actually on audio.  It comes on 6 CD and is 7 hours long.

Fantasy is not my usual genre of books.  I picked it up thinking that my teenager and my boyfriend would enjoy listening to it with me.  My teenager did listen in and tried to keep up with the story for me.  My boyfriend was never around while we listened to it.

In Clash of the Demons we find Thomas Ward, who is apprentice to the County's Spook.  As I listened it took me awhile to realize that the Spooks were the good guys.
Thomas is charged with protecting the land from the boggarts, witched and all other supernatural threats.  His training will be put to the test.
Tom's mother, Mam comes on the scene wanting Thomas to help her fight a dire threat--the Ordeen.  The Ordeen is returning to the dimension with a horde of more bloodthirsty demons.
Mam helps put together a force to battle the demons, which includes Tom's friend Alice.  We find out that Alice is the devil's daughter, but that doesn't mean that she is evil.

The book is very grphic is what is happening.  I lost track many times as I was listening to it.  Hey, there was even a feral something or other names Marsha.  Oh oh!

The end is great and will leave you wanting to get the 7th installment.  (This one is the 6th in the series.)

As I said, fantasy is not my chosen genre of reading, but for those that love to read fantasy, this is a must read.

You can buy your copy here: The Last Apprentice: Clash of the Demons
 

(This review is part of my blog challenge to read 52 books in 52 weeks.  Please click the link at the top of my blog to find out more.)

WIP Wednesday 1/5/11

Welcome to WIP Wednesday in conjunction with Every Day Crochet.  Please click the button at the end of my post to join in on the fun, or just to see what others are working on this week.

I have been making a few dish scrubbies, but decided to fill the jar some more before putting in another photo of those.  I'm getting a purple set into my etsy store when I am done with this post.

I've been working on my current quilt.  When I took the photo I still had 3 more rows of squares to sew together before starting to put all the rows together.  This morning I have sewn those 3 rows.  Hopefully by next week I will have the top sewn and have it pinned to the back and middle.

I've also been working on a new toothbrush rug this week.  I'm liking the colors so far.

Another WIP is a new blog challenge I am doing.  52 Books in 52 Weeks.  You can click the link at the top of this page to learn more about it.  You are free to join in the challenge any time.

And, my good friend Ruthi has started a Saturday Blog Hop called Shop Hop.  I know most of you that read my WIP posts each week have online stores.  I would love to see you join in on sharing your shops with this blog hop.  You can see my orginal post here:

Shop Hop Saturday!!