Friday, July 15, 2005

Lessons in Reading Christian Fiction Books

By Marina Woods, editorinchief@goodgirlbookclubonline.com

 

 

It’s no secret that I looove a good book! But equally important is the message that the book leaves with me long after I am done. Have you ever felt that way? Read a book and it became so good and meaningful to you that you carried it everywhere you went and you couldn’t wait to wind down long enough to find enough time to finish it. Then, when you did finish, you realized the characters had become a part of you and thus a void of sorts was left in your life?

 

I was just speaking to a friend about this and we shared the same sentiment. She began to tell me the books that had impacted her reading time the most, and without a doubt they were all Christian fiction books. (Yippee!)

 

One in particular was That Faith, That Hope, That Love by Jamella Ellis,. Of course I couldn't  forget the sister-girl of Christian fiction, Victoria Christopher Murray when she released Temptation. (She had me up two nights in a row reading it!) And last but not least, there is a sweet lady I call the God Mama of fiction, the beloved Sharon Ewell Foster. I fell in love with historical Christian fiction with Passing by Samaria. The pages were overflowing with so much wisdom and love that I had to use two different color highlighters for passages I didn’t want to ever forget.

 

My, oh my, where has the time gone? These titles impacted me over four or five years ago, and yet they still live inside of me. I know there are many awesome Christian fiction books on the scene at present and I will surely share those with you next time.

 

I hope you find a good book that you won’t soon forget either. You’ll meet unforgettable characters and discover lessons that the characters learned which you can apply to your own life.  When you do, don't forget to share with a friend!

 

Happy Reading!

Marina

© Marina Woods

Dee's Reviewed: Purple Hibiscus

Purple Hibiscus
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
2003, 307 pages (hard)
ISBN # 1-56512-387-5
+++++ Star Rating


Fifteen-year-old Kambili barely breaths, speaks or exists in her privileged, but suffocating Nigerian home with her brother Jaja and her parents. Kambili’s father’s dominance is felt not only in her home, but in all of Nigeria except for her Aunt Ifeoma. When Aunt Ifeoma persuades Kambili’s father to allow the children to visit her in Nsukka, while they are on holiday. Kambili and Jaja’s minds blossom into free spirits. JaJa learns the beauty of life, while Kambili falls in love with a handsome young priest. How will these two go back to such a strict and abusive home when they have been surrounded around love and the beauty of the purple hibiscus?

Adichie writes so effortlessly that you find yourself transported to Nigeria, smelling the rich soil and tasting the flowers. It is enchanting and engaging all at once. One of my favorite lines in the book is:

“It was what Aunty Ideoma did to my cousins, I realized then, setting higher and higher jumos for them in the way she talked to them, what she expected of them. She did it all the time believing they would scale the rod. And they did. It was different for JaJa and me, We did not scale the rod because we believed we could, we scaled it because we were terrified that we couldn’t.”


From the first page, you know the conflict, the characters and a hint at the ending all at once. After the third page, I was excited to know the end. It was a page turner, which forced me to either stay up late at night or throw the book on the floor, to make myself go to sleep. This book will haunt you for months after you have put it down.

Adichie does an excellent job at fleshing out her characters. She makes them real at an instant. Kambili is so shy and afraid to live that you want to take a flight to Nigeria and remove her from that mansion. JaJa is so strong and silent that you want to shake him to make him scream. Their mother, Beatrice is such a caterpillar. You wait for her to become the butterfly and I can see Father Adami’s clay colored skin and brilliant smile in my mind, behind my eyes. Adichie makes these characters so likable and so real.


This book reminds me of Olympia Vernon’s Eden, but it is set in Nigeria not Mississipi. Both books brilliantly tell the story of people of African descent in such a magical way that you feel power in every page. You feel this undying will that manifests the struggle of African people, their struggle to be heard, recognized and loved. Purple Hibiscus is as timeless as the sand and as beautiful as the flower it is named after.

Dee's Reviewed: Flippin' the Script

Flippin’ the Script
Aisha Ford
Warner/Walk Worthy Press
2004, 324 pages
ISBN # 0-446-53182-0
++++ crosses rating

Sabrina Bradley, production assistant for the Daily Dose, needs a makeover and a chance to cultivate a new relationship with the show’s producer, Avery Benjamin. Then a window of opportunity opens for her. Her boss asks her to produce and star in a segment on whether people keep their New Year's resolutions. There's only one hitch. She has to keep all her resolutions---one of which is not falling in love.

Darci Oliver is the host of the Daily Dose, the Midwest’s hottest daytime talk show and the soon to be fiancée to Avery Benjamin. When television critics berate her show and Avery diverts his attention from her to her comely PA, Sabrina Bradley she has to turn up her Diva-devilish ways.

With a sweet voice and an even sweeter underdog character, Alicia Ford shares the struggles of contemporary Christians seeking God’s message for unconditional love.

Dee's Reviewed: Casting the First Stone

Casting the First Stone
Kimberly Lawson Roby
Dafina Books 2000
ISBN # 0-7582-0179-6
384 pages (pbk) first trade paperpback
++ crosses rating

Tanya Black abhors her husband, Curtis. Every thing he now stands for disgusts her. Regardless of Curtis’ very powerful position as the head pastor of a prominent black Chicago church, Tanya can’t stand the sight of him and starts to think about not only ending their relationship, but also Curtis’ tenure as senior pastor, since Curtis had to maintain his marriage in order to keep his position at the church.

Kimberly Roby churns out another formula story about a woman’s self-discovery.
This novel begins promising, but turns into this poorly written, attention grabbing, cookie cutter. When Roby describes church activities and rituals in very stereotypical ways like “Sunday go to meeting clothes,” she turns her characters into caricatures instead of three dimensional very human people who struggle with their faith and their marriage. Why Tanya Black continues to live in this dead marriage never comes to full view. If there is a Christian message it is clouded by cliché plot points and cliché characters.

For those whose guilty pleasure is reading super dramas; then this book is for you. If you’re looking for a book that will help you understand how your romantic relationship relates to your spiritual relationship with God, pass.

Dee Y. Stewart

Dee's Reviewed:For love and Grace

For Love and Grace
Kendra Norman-Bellamy
BET Books (October 15, 2004)
ISBN: 1583145494
Paperback: 261 pages

+++ crosses rating

Kendra Norman-Bellamy brings southern charm and grace to inspirational romance fiction with For love and Grace, her debut novel. Set in Atlanta, Georgia we are introduced to two male friends who've known each other since both of their mother's shared a maternity ward room at their births.

Dr. Gregory Dixon, one of the brightest stars in brain medicine, finds his professional duties at odds with his best friend, Derrick Madison, esquire, when the patient Gregory has committed to save has supposedly killed Derrick’s mother in a hit and run accident. To make matters worse, Gregory rehabilitates the patient, Grace, behind Derrick’s back. During these late night treatments he falls for the patient, Grace, although she is in a coma most of the time. Gregory is torn between his allegiance to God and his childhood allegiance to Derrick, as well as his mounting love for Grace, a romance that he questioning himself.

Attorney Derrick Madison is on a mission to make Grace pay for his mother’s death. He uses his legalese and work allies to help him punish Grace once she is fit for trial, despite the fact that he has been forbidden to stay away from the criminal in

vestigation. Derrick's grief turns into unjustified hatred and he struggles with what he knows about forgiveness and what he feels inside. When he finds that his wife has sided with Gregory his own relationship is in jeopardy.

Although the story is sweet, there are many challenges in the novel. It is hard to understand why Gregory falls for a sleeping Grace. What does that say about God's ideas for marriage? What does that say about God's definition of a true romance? What does God say about the role of women in marriage? Are we just Sleeping Beauties waiting for our Prince Charming to show up or are do we have our own God given purposes in this world?

Although the characters are not perfect, some of their actions are a bit unbelievable. Gregory spends his nights rehabilitating a patient. When does he have time to record his medical notes? Gregory is a gorgeous Christian man, who has women falling at his feet. Yet, he picks a person that he cannot participate in any real dialogue with, because she is in a coma.

The most realistic character in the story is Derrick, who struggles with his faith and changes for the better.

If you are a hopeless romantic, this book is for you. If you want to read a book about black men who aren’t keeping secrets and having baby Mama Drama, then this book is for you. If you are a christian woman and you want to find a good read that nurtures your soul, this book is for you, too.

Labels

"hold out" (1) 1question (4) 1questionMay (2) 1questionspring (3) 1questionsummer (2) 1questionwinter (7) 2011 (2) 30 Days to Build a Better Blog (5) 30 Days to Build a Better Book Blog (17) 9/11 (2) a good man blog watch (2) aaliyah (2) about me (1) Academy award (2) acfw-vip (2) Africa (1) african america (3) african american christian fiction (19) african american history (8) altartainment (1) amazon (9) american heart (1) american idol (1) amish (4) amy grant (1) Amy wallace (1) andrew carroll (1) angela bassett (1) Arts (2) atlanta (3) atlanta journal (1) atlanta tornado (1) audition (1) authentic creation (1) author (1) author interview (12) author read-in (3) authors (6) authors read in (2) authors read-in (1) awards (11) barbie (1) Basketball (1) bath luxe (2) bational wear red day (1) bbaw (1) bea (2) best of (8) bestsellers (2) bethany house (4) bible (3) bible study (3) bill gates (1) billie jean (1) birthday (3) black authors (2) black authors network (1) black christian novel (1) black christmas plays (4) black hawk down (1) black history (1) black in america (2) black men in america (1) black spiritualism (4) blacklitchat (2) blog alliances (1) blog talk radio (22) blog tour (14) blogalicious (2) blogcatalog (1) bloggers unite (9) blogging (7) bloglight (1) blogtalkradio (6) blythe (1) book (3) book arts (1) book awards (12) book blogging (5) book chat (3) book club (6) book cover (4) book deals (1) book events (9) book fun (2) book marketing (51) book pick (1) book pr (1) book preview (9) book promotion (7) book proposal (2) book release party (2) book review (52) book review submission form (5) book signing (4) book tour (4) book trailer (21) bookbyte (3) bookclub (2) books (3) brook promotion (1) bubble bath (1) bynum (1) c.s. lewis (1) camy tang (2) career (1) carl weber (1) carleen brice (1) casting call (9) cba (2) cfba (4) children books (7) chip macgregor (2) choir (1) chris well (2) christian (2) christian comedy (1) christian detective novel (1) christian ethics (7) christian fiction (13) christian fiction blog alliance (2) christian fiction news (28) christian fiction online magazine (26) christian living (2) christian movie (1) christian novel (4) christian publisher (2) christian retailing (2) christian romance (4) christian summer book (9) christian writer's carnival (1) christian writer's guide (1) Christianity (4) christmas (14) christmas story (14) Christy Award (4) christy awards (3) chronicles of narnia (2) chuck holton (1) chuck palahniuk (1) church news (1) cindy (1) cindy woodsmall (9) civil rights (1) claudia burney (10) clown girl (1) cnn (2) coco brother (2) contest (20) contests (6) controversy (1) convention (3) copyright (1) craft (1) creston mapes (1) cupcakes (2) cyndy salzmann (1) darfur (2) dargur (1) david c. cook (4) David Talbert (1) deanne gist (2) deborah raney (1) decaturbookfestival (1) dee and marina (4) dee stewart (19) dee stewart hezekiah walker (1) dee stewart linda beed (1) deegospelpr (11) dekker (5) denzel washington (1) denzel washington. (1) Derek Fisher (1) designer shoes (1) devotions (1) DiAnn Mills (1) digital publishing (2) disney (2) domestic violence (1) don hoesel (1) doodle (1) dwan abrams (2) e-reader (4) e. lynn harris (1) Earth day (2) eartha kitt (1) easter (4) ecpa (1) editing (2) ella curry (2) England (1) eric wilson (1) essence magazine (3) ethics (3) excerpts (9) facebook (3) faith and fiction retreat (11) Faith anf fiction retreat (1) faith*in*fiction (3) fashion show (1) father's day (1) fictin in rather short takes (1) Fiction (1) fiction in rather short takes (33) flag of our fathers (1) followthereader (1) fox faith (1) frank peretti (1) friday afternoon club myster (1) friday afternoon club mystery (1) friday fest (8) fuge recipes (1) genesis awards (1) George Jackson (1) giveaway (8) Golden State Warriors (1) good reads (4) gospel dream (1) gospel fiction (3) gospel music (19) gospel play (13) Grace (1) guestblog (9) haiti (1) haley kilpatrick (1) hank stewart (1) harper collins (1) Harriet Beecher Stowe (1) harry potter (2) Hawaiian Islands (1) heart disease (2) help wanted (1) historical (9) hope for women (1) horror (3) house of faith (1) human trafficking (1) I Dream of Jeannie (1) ibook (2) imprints (1) inciting incident (1) infuze magazine (1) inspirational monday (2) inspys (1) interviews (12) iThink (1) itw (3) jeanee damoff (2) jeff gerke (1) jena 6 (3) jill elizabeth nelson (1) job announcement (1) juanita bynum (3) juanita bynumemkm (1) juneteenth (4) karen kingsbury (3) kathy herman (1) kim brooks (1) kim cash tate (1) kimani press (1) kimberla lawson roby (2) Kindle (1) kristy dykes (2) laura bush (1) lent (11) leny (1) librarything book reviews (2) lifetime tv (1) lifeway (2) linda hargrove (2) links (1) lisa samson (3) literacy (1) literary agent (3) Literature (2) love (1) M M (1) madea girl talk (1) marcher lord press (1) marilynne robinson (1) marilynnn griffith (5) marina woods (2) marines (2) marketing (5) marketing christian fiction blog (1) marriage (1) mary demuth (1) mary hart (1) media candy (10) medical fiction (2) melody carlson (2) meme (1) Memorial day (3) michael jackson (1) mike duran (1) ministry (3) miranda parker (26) mochareaders (1) mombloggers (2) mommyfest (5) monday mention (3) monika drake (1) morgan freeman (1) mothers (3) motivationmonday (6) movie (14) mtv awards (1) myspace (1) nanowrimo (7) Nat Turner (1) National Basketball Association (1) national book month (1) NBA (1) networking (1) New York Times (1) Newsletters (1) nicole seitz (5) non-fiction (2) novel (2) novel writing (10) ny times bestseller (1) obama (14) off-topic Thursday (3) offf-topic Thursday (2) olympia vernon (1) online bookstore (5) oprah (2) ott (2) Pacific War (1) pam perry (1) parenting (2) party (1) pat simmons (1) pay it forward (2) Pearl Harbor (1) people magazine (1) Philippines (1) play (2) plug and play (1) po bronson (1) politics of the mass media (1) poll (1) prayer cell (4) prayer request (3) preorder pick (2) prince caspian (1) princess dominique (1) publishing (14) race and religion (3) radio (1) radio talk show (4) rawsistaz (4) reading series (4) rebeca seitz (1) reflections (1) relief journal (1) Relief Journal christian writing (3) Religion and Spirituality (3) renovating becky miller (1) reshonda tate billingsley (5) retreat (1) rhonda bowen (5) rhonda mcknight (9) richmond (1) romance (6) romantic times (2) romantic times magazine (8) rt convention (2) saint patrick's day (1) sally e.stuart (1) saturday christian carnival (3) Science fiction (3) secret life of bees (2) selah (3) self-publish (2) shana burton (8) sharon ewell foster (6) sharon hink (3) shawneda marks (1) shelfari (1) sher (1) sherri lewis (12) shine in 09 (5) shoes (1) Shopping (1) short story (2) Sidney Sheldon (1) single women (1) sistahfaith (1) skype (2) Slave ship (1) social media (7) social network (2) social network problogger (7) social networking (2) social networkingh (1) sormag (1) South Carolina (1) specfiction (3) speedlink (8) spiritual autobiography (3) Sports (1) spotlight (2) stacy hawkins adams (6) star wars (1) steeple hill (1) storytellers (3) stranger than fiction (1) sudan (1) summer (8) sunrise (1) survey (2) sxsw (1) t.l. hines angela hunt (1) tavis smiley (2) tavis smley (2) teen (4) the first lady (3) the master's artis (2) the master's artist (56) the masters artist (6) the shack (2) the spirit of your story (1) the stones cry out (1) the trouble with publishing (2) theology (2) thomas nelson (7) thriller thursday (7) tia mccollors (1) tiffany warren (7) titletrakk (1) to (1) tolkien (1) top ten (25) tosca lee (1) tours (1) trailer park tuesday (61) trailer park tuesdaycngdkvb (1) travis Hunter (1) tribute (12) tricia goyer (4) tuesday (2) tv (1) twitter (22) ty moody (3) tyler perry (55) tyler pery (1) tyler play (1) United States (3) urban christian book (5) Utah Jazz (1) utterz (10) valentine (2) vanessa davis griggs (1) vanessa miller (2) veteran's day (2) video (2) wachooreading (2) walmart (1) wanza leftwich (1) warren buffet (1) WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group (1) weakend read (2) wedding (1) wednesday wrap (11) weekend chat (29) weekend chatter (17) weekend read (11) westbow (1) what i'm reading (3) what's done in the dark (1) why fiction matters (9) widcard (1) wiki (1) wild card (12) wildcard (32) Wings of Glory (1) womanist thought (1) women (1) women of faith (2) women's ministry (1) workshops (4) world aids day (1) World War II (1) write-or-die chick (3) writer's call (3) writer's conference (8) writer's prompt (2) writing (4) writing conference (8) writing contest (8) writing journey (2) writing life (38) writing opportunities (2) writing project (5) writing tip (3) writing workshop (2) x-files (1) yolanda king (1) young adult (5) youtube (4) zondervan (5)