"The Promises She Keeps" by, Erin Healy

This book entitled “The Promises She Keeps” by Erin Healy is a very creative book. It weaves together the lives of five very interesting characters; an autistic artist named Chase, Chase’s caregiver and twin sister Chelsea, a singer named Promise that has cystic fibrosis, a witch named Porta, and Porta’s substance abusing son and aspiring artist named Zack. This book shows the struggles of following the things of the flesh and that everlasting life is only given because of Jesus Christ.

When reading the description of this book I didn’t think that I was going to particularly like it because there were too many “interesting” characters involved but, I ended up really liking this book and not wanting to put it down. Although the characters in this book are extreme, you can also find that you relate with one or several of them. Chase sees life for what it really is, Chelsea is career oriented, Promise is always looking for greatness and fame, Porta is seeking lasting youth, and Zack is trying to avoid life. It had enough quirkiness to be very interesting and to make you think about and re-evaluate your own life and goals.

The one and only critique that I would give is that the author didn’t know enough about cystic fibrosis (CF) to know that there would not be two friends with CF living together. Although individuals with CF can sometimes be around other people, it is deadly for them to be around another person with CF because of the harmful bacteria that is likely to be passed back and forth to each other. I received a free copy of this book for an honest review through the publishers at BookSneeze.com.

"Little Star" by, Anthony DeStefano

The book “Little Star” is a children’s picture book that captures the Christmas story through the eyes of a star. This story begins with a little boy looking out the window asking his father where the little star is that shone brightly to announce the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The father tells the story of the little star being too small and lonely that he got ignored just like Mary and Joseph got ignored when they were searching for an inn. The little star, although smaller than the others, spent all of his power to shine brightly so that Jesus could stay warm and others could find him to worship. It ends by describing that even though that star is no longer in the sky, that it is remembered when we put the star on the top of our Christmas tree every year.

This book was cute and showed a different interpretation than the typical Christmas stories, from the eyes of the star. It was a very creative idea but, I didn’t necessarily like all of the book’s wording. Although it did tell the story of Jesus’ birth, it also said that the star was meant to warm Jesus when really it was a sign that he was born and allowed a way for people to find him and worship him. All in all, this book was just alright. I am sure that I will read it to my daughter when she gets older but I don’t think that it will necessarily be a favorite Christmas story. I received a free copy of this book for an honest review through Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers.

"God Loves Me More Than That" By, Dandi Daley Mackall

This an adorable, rhyming children's book about how God's love is higher, deeper, wider, bigger, louder, and softer than even the highest, deepest, widest, biggest, loudest, and softest things possible on earth. When I was reading this book it brought to my mind the verse "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:17-19).” This book has wonderful illustrations and captures even my one year old daughter’s attention. This is definitely a book that will be a family favorite for years to come. I received a free copy of this book for an honest review through Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers.