Imani All Mine

Book Description

"With authority and grace" (Essence), Imani All Mine tells the story of Tasha, a fourteen-year-old unwed mother of a baby girl. In her ghettoized world where poverty, racism, and danger are daily struggles, Tasha uses her savvy and humor to uncover the good hidden around her. The name she gives her daughter, Imani, is a sign of her determination and fundamental trust despite the odds against her: Imani means faith. Surrounding Tasha and Imani is a cast of memorable characters: Peanut, the boy Tasha likes, Eboni, her best friend, Miss Odetta, the neighborhood gossip, and Tasha's mother, Earlene, who's dating a new boyfriend. Tasha's voice speaks directly to both the special pain of poverty and the universal, unconquerable spirit of youth. Authentic in every detail, this is an unforgettable story. As Seventeen declared, "Porter's candid narrative will have you hooked from the opening sentence."

Customer Reviews:

AMAZING!!.......2007-06-18

I ahve read this book 10 times, and each time I have wound up bawling at the end of the book.

I am 15 and I go to school with girls just like Tasha every day. The voice is perfect, and I could imagine Tasha in my mind as the girl who sits next to me in math, or was on my team for PE, or anything.

I love the fact that this book isn't sappy either, and there isn't a cute little 'everything gets worked out' ending. It's not sentimental and it's not like 'Annie's Baby' or any of the unrealistic teenage mother books.

THis book is my new favorite book. You have to read it!!

Very Good Book.......2006-08-22

This book belongs in the high-schools maybe even in middle-schools. It was a well written and powerful book.

Great Read!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-08-18

I read this during my high school years (5 years ago) & I loved it then and I love it now. This book is so REAL and well written from this child's point of view that its crazy. I remember crying uncontrollably at the end of the book. Yes its that good and I recommend it to readers of all ages.

KEEP THE FAITH!.......2006-06-01

I liked this book it was sad . I love the title of this book too. Imani is a beautiful name. The story makes you think, and I really felt bad for Tasha. She went through a lot for her age, but there are a lot of young girls today that go through horrible things. Somehow she still kept her faith, and that's great.

Simple yet complex.......2005-06-29

"Imani All Mine" is a frank, realistic tale of 15-year old Tasha's struggle in parenthood, love, life, and death. It's not an easy story with the perfectly wrapped up plots and predictable characters--it challenges you to think deeply about what growing up with her circumstances must be like. Although a large part of this book is about being a teenage mother, it also explores the complicated relationships between mothers and their daughters, and how two people living in the same household can still be perfect strangers.

Don't let the somewhat jarring dialect stop you from immersing yourself in a beautiful piece of literature. "Imani All Mine" teaches a powerful lesson in faith, in more ways than one.

Average customer rating:

Wonderful Book: Hope There is a Movie

Good Plot Idea But ...

Texas, Oil, Women, WWII and Con games...what more do you need?

Burton Stacks the Deck

Going into the past in "The Rogues' Game"
The Rogues' Game
Milton Burton
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Poker | Card Games | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0312336810
Release Date: 2005-06-16

Book Description

'Milton Burton writes with a ruthless charm rivaling the great Raymond Chandler. The Rogues' Game is as rich as a pan shot in Giant, as human as a closeup of a narrow mind. It deals with poker, crime, love, oil, and Texas-and finding what you like and letting it kill you. Hard to believe it's a first novel.'-Kinky Freidman 1947. An enigmatic man driving a fine Lincoln convertible and accompanied by a beautiful blonde, arrives in a small West Texas town. Ostensibly, his purpose is to get into a poker game that had been going on at the infamous Weilbach Hotel. But as the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that he has a darker motive, one that centers on a sinister local banker named Clifton Robillard. Aided by an old-time hood named Chicken Little, the protagonist maneuvers Robillard toward a shatter-ing climax in which we discover that nothing is what it seems to be.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Book: Hope There is a Movie.......2007-10-06

I just read The Roque's Game in two sittings. It takes place in Texas, the oil booms and big poker games, right after World War Two. The foreshading and plotting are just fantastic. You suspect what might happen but you are turning those pages in a hurry to find out. All the behind the scenes descriptions of oil leasing and the oil booms are totally authentic. My Dad was a geologist/landman. I was the Director of Petroleum Land Management at Texas Tech for many years. The detail and obvious historical research make this one fine book. You will love this book!

Johnny Hughes, author of the upcoming novel Texas Poker Wisdom

Good Plot Idea But ..........2006-08-21

Backdrop for story in post WWII Texas is intriguing as is basic plot but story becomes too predictable & the characters are caricatures. The result is a below-average page turner.

Texas, Oil, Women, WWII and Con games...what more do you need?.......2006-07-10

This is a great first book. As a native Texan I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of old time Texas in the 40s, oil wells, greed and con men. Plus a little dose of WWII intrigue. Looking forward to Mr. Burton's next effort.

Burton Stacks the Deck.......2006-02-20

Kudo's to first time author Milton T. Burton for pulling it off - a slick and immensely satisfying read told with the flair and sophistication of an author you'd think had been doing this for a career.

"The Rogues' Game" refers to, at least on the level closest to the surface, a weekly poker game held in an aging hotel of a backwater post-World War II Texas hole of a town. In classic noir fashion, we learn neither the name of the town nor our narrator whose story rolls as easily across the pages as our hero rolls into town in a grand convertible with an even grander blonde babe on his arm. From there Burton artfully leads us down what appears to be an oft-traveled path of a pair of grifters on the con, but soon we find that the author and his narrator have a much more important score to settle than a simple heist in a local high-stakes poker game. Braced by a strong supporting cast of memorable thugs with names like "Chicken Little" and "Ice Pick Willie", the author weaves a tight mystery told in dusty Texas roadhouses and smoky (...) fight galleries, settings which he knows well and relates with authority. With oil boom in truly Texan scale and murky allusions to Reinhard Heydrich and other Nazi war criminals, the initially simple block thickens deliciously on the way to an unsuspected jackpot.

Well paced, gritty, and authentic, both Milton T. Burton and his debut novel are the real deal. I'm looking forward to his next hand - you'd be wise to place a bet on this one.

Going into the past in "The Rogues' Game".......2005-09-07

Like the small west Texas town that is never named, the man with no name is not what he appears to be on the surface. He drives a beautiful car and appears in town with a beautiful woman named Della. It isn't the first time he has been in town as he was here before in 1942. This time he is back to seek some revenge and no one remembers him or suspects that he is anything other than what he appears to be-a flamboyant gambler.

Revenge for what isn't clear nor is his plan. His plan does involve a weekly high stakes card game that has been going on for decades at the Weilbach Hotel. It also isn't really clear which of several players is his target. It also isn't clear on how Della's interest in a recent oil strike is going to help or for that matter hurt his plan. Like his cards, he keeps his plans close to the vest and adjusts for changes. He does have a plan, he is flexible and he just needs a little help from friends like Chicken Little and Icepick Willie.

What follows in this novel by Tyler, Texas resident Milton T. Burton is an intriguing and deeply twisted tale of a great con. The author opens a portal back into a different time and pulls the reader deeply into a Texas of the recent past. Told through first person point of view he spins a rich and complex weave that pulls the reader deep into his world where only slowly does the shape and scope of the plan come tantalizingly clear like the mirage on a West Texas highway during the heat of the summer before disappearing again. Heavily atmospheric both in place and in style of writing, this is the kind of novel that starts slowly, moves slowly and pulls the reader in so deep that when one looks up from the book there is that splendid moment of disorientation between the past that might have been and the present.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2005

Average customer rating:

Great romance!!
Good read; Best one from Heath that I've read
Predictable
Another Time, Another Place...?
Very, very good!

A Rogue in Texas
Lorraine Heath
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0380803291

Amazon.com

Setting: Texas, 1865
Sensuality: 7

The bastard son of an English duke, Grayson Rhodes agrees to travel to America with a group of young rakes and rogues to make his fortune. Although he's surprised to learn that their leader's get-rich scheme involves hiring them out as Texas cotton field workers to replace men lost in the Civil War, Grayson is determined to succeed. Assigned to widow Abbie Westland's homestead, it isn't long before Grayson is as attracted to her strength and beauty as he is to the Texas landscape. The hard manual labor makes Grayson stronger but he soon loses his heart to the widow and her lovable children. However, Abbie's past haunts her and threatens the hope of a happy future with Grayson.

A Rogue in Texas is rich in memorable characters, with a hero who is strong enough to survive and thrive in a new world and a heroine who finds in her man a depth of love she was unaware existed. The Texas landscape and 1860s farm life come alive in vibrant colors. Just when you think the ending is a foregone conclusion, Heath surprises you with a new twist in the plot, making this a historical treat on many levels. --Lois Faye Dyer

Book Description

When was the last time you read a love story that touched your heart and soul? When you open a book by Lorraine Heath you'll experience the amazing joy—and tender heartache—of falling in love. Come discover what so many readers already know, that Lorraine Heath is a rising superstar of romance...

A duke's son, Grayson Rhodes was a maverick who had left London's suffocating upper class world to earn his own fortune. So he seized the chance to work Abbie Westland's land...and from the moment he first saw Abbie, he was determined to use his arms to work the farm by day and to soothe her through the nights in his strong embrace.

Abbie, with her fiery determination, was different from the fragile beauties he'd known at home. In her Grayson found an honest passion he'd never experienced before. But could their growing love survive the surprising reminder of her past that comes to haunt them?

Customer Reviews:

Great romance!!.......2007-01-03

First in this series by Lorraine Heath. The premise is a little hard to believe, but it is a great book nonetheless. A great start to a very good series.

Good read; Best one from Heath that I've read.......2006-11-13

Good, mushy story. Some parts could be better but over-all, I give it a 5. I will not share the "iffy" parts and spoil the story for you. Happy reading.

Predictable.......2006-02-02

I enjoyed the first 3/4 of this book. The characters were finely written and the plot was unique, but the ending and plot resolution was thrown together too predictably. I agree with the reviewer who said Abbie's actions were somewhat illogical when her husband returns. This book was like eating cotton candy...sweet and tasty for awhile, then too sugary and doesn't leave you feeling full at all.

Another Time, Another Place...?.......2005-08-23

* Spoiler Alert* The central characters, Abbie Westland (`Abbie') and son of the duke, Grayson Rhodes (`Gray') want different things: Abbie wants to be self-sufficient and to be able to take care of her kids. Gray wants to be able to hold his head up, to earn respect and love. Abbie needs help to keep her cotton farm going, and Gray needs to escape England, the stigma of being labeled a "bastard" and end his life of debauchery. So, Abbie pays a man 300 dollars to hire workers from England to work her land, and furnishes the means of Gray's unwitting escape.

Abbie and Gray find themselves feeling things for each other that they would never have expected. The fulfill each other in ways they could not have imagined. And just when they think they have the love of their dreams within their grasp, their hopes are cruelly deflated by the unexpected. The question is, have they come so close to happiness for nothing?

And this brings us to the part that made me give A ROGUE IN TEXAS a rather low rating. .... Somehow, Abbie turns around and gives us the most unbelievable version of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (Clint Eastwood & Meryl Streep or Robert James Waller)--wife giving up true love, because she's been committed by vows--that I've ever had the displeasure of reading.

Author, Lorraine Heath, writes the following about Abbie's husband, John Westland (who is presumed dead): "The farm had always come first with John.... He had fed her body, but never her heart [though he certainly had `nudged up' her nightgown and rolled over on her, expressing his present `need'], never her soul...." (A ROGUE IN TEXAS). According to Abbie, it was her husband's behavior that had made her fear men's touch--he was never satisfied with her, he never expressing gratitude for her work, and he took from her sexually, as if her body were a vessel, as if it were owed to him. The man didn't even recognize her when he got back from the war--he was the one who had become gaunt and been changed so drastically--and when he did, the first thing he talked about was their farm. Oh, and the next words out of his mouth were: "See about getting supper on the table, woman." And yet, Heath expects us to believe that Abbie would turn around and welcome the man in any way other than `dutifully'?

Abbie is glad he is back--??--on what planet and for what reason? She certainly doesn't need him to put food in her belly anymore. By Abbie's own admission, Gray--a stranger-had given her beloved children "more attention than their own father ever had." Abbie's supposed to be a woman of simple desires, not a simpleton. However, I can find no other excuse for such a poorly-explained and inconsistent change-of-heart on Abbie's behalf. Or maybe, I just have to accept that this story takes place in another time, and women back then would have been DE-lighted to have a man like John back. Maybe, but I don't think so.

John's resurrection was a twist in the story that I could see coming, and yet hoped wouldn't. It kind of reminds me of the movie SOMMERSBY (with Richard Gere and Jodi Foster), but that was just so much more believable and developed: the entire movie was spent with the husband who hadn't been so lovable trying his darndest to make his wife be with him for more than duty--for love. In A ROGUE IN TEXAS, all this estranged husband had to do was take his estranged son fishing, and he was golden: "You were a good husband, John Westland, a good man." Abbie tearfully claims to LOVE the man who thought her name was `woman'--"not as powerful a love as [he] probably deserved, but love all the same." Search me.

And finding closure with the story--one of the most difficult thing for many, many writers to do--was a little clumsy and corny. Often an otherwise good story is ruined by an ending that doesn't match. Usually, I've found that it's too light-hearted for the rest of the book and its characters. Or it happens too quickly and is abrupt. But then, it is hard to wrap up a story and give readers the happy ending they're usually looking for....

The other cast of characters--Harry, Kit, Jessye, etc., were either in the book to much or too little: I say, either give them a story and develop them, so I care about what they're saying and want to know what happens to them, or keep them out, so they don't irritate me and slow the story down.

Overall, A ROGUE IN TEXAS was pretty okay. Heath obviously has talent. It had some great, sentimental lines and was based on a good idea. The character of Gray was a little too forgiving and the character of Abbie was a little too devoted to John; I could understand her choosing to stay with him, but falling in-love too? Farfetched, if you ask me. 3 ¼ stars.

Willing To Give It Another Go With Lorraine Heath.

Very, very good!.......2005-04-05

This book has mature, well-rounded characters, and a plot that doesn't strain credulity much; a real bonus! I also enjoyed that the heroine's three children are realistically portrayed, & are not sugary-sweet little angels; so many romance authors make the mistake of portraying children as little gods who have the knowledge of adults & are just too good to be true.

I might have sacrificed a love scene or two in favor of some deepening of the issues between the English gentleman, Grayson (the hero) and his father; I might have liked to see what it finally was that drove his father to send him to America, but this is a minor quibble, all other factors considered.

I've been reading some pretty bad romances lately, so this novel was like a breath of fresh air. I recommend it to all those readers who'd like a change from Regency England or medievals. Take it from someone whose enjoyment of Western-themed historical romances is usually low -- I think this one will pleasantly surprise you.

Sons Of Texas: Rogues And Ranchers (Harlequin by Request: Sons of Texas)

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Sons Of Texas: Rogues And Ranchers (Harlequin by Request: Sons of Texas)
Annette Broadrick
Manufacturer: Silhouette
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0373483368

Customer Reviews:

:|.......2001-03-31

I almost give this book five stars simply because I love the Sons of Texas series. I did not, however, give it five stars for one reason-the three angels at the beginning of the story. Annette Broadrick decided for some odd reason to have three guardian angels that decide to 'help' Clint, Cade, and Matt Calloway to see love and accept it. By doing this it felt like the author was not as serious about the stories of Clint, Cade, and Matt the same way that she was for the first four stories.

Anyway, with that said, it was fun to read about the Calloways again. Clint is an undercover agent like his uncle Cody. Cade works at the ranch much like his brother Tony decided to do. Matt followed his adopted fathers footsteps and became a lawyer. All three men are good looking bachelors, and not a one of them thought that they would settle down any time soon. Of course, all it takes is the right woman. I enjoyed Matt's story the most because it shed some light on a character that has become very familiar through out the Sons of Texas series-Aunt Leittia. I will not give anything away, but I will say that it gives us a whole new perspective on who she was and why she did the things that she did. I liked that all of the characters from previous books were joined together at the end of the book.

This is not the best book in the series, but it was nice to read about the Callaways again.

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Rogue River (The Texas Anthem Series)
Kerry Newcomb
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Westerns | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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War Path

ASIN: 0312981228

Book Description

Cole Anthem had chased a bad man down. Now, he was paying the price.The captain was a madwoman with a scattergun. The soldiers were a whore, a surveyor's assistant, a writer, a crusty old Irishman, two murderous brothers, a criminal, and a bounty hunter. And the only way out of the mountains was on a frigid river that flowed toward the Missouri-a river running with blood.Texas born Cole Anthem was the bounty hunter. He had followed an outlaw right into the middle of a major Indian uprising and a battle that turned into a slaughter. Now Cole and the other survivors of a raging Cheyenne war are taking the only chance they have: riding a woman's keelboat toward safety. But up and down the Rogue, a glory-mad chief hasn't given up. His warriors are armed and waiting-to spill the white men's blood....Rogue River is Kerry Newcomb's classic, action-packed tale of war and pursuit in his acclaimed chronicle of the Texas Anthem family-and their battles on a breathtaking frontier.AUTHORBIO: Kerry Newcomb was born in Milford, Connecticut, but had the good fortune to be raised in Texas.He has served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and taught at the St. Labre Mission School on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana.Mr. Newcomb has written plays, film scripts, commercials, liturgical dramas, and over thirty novels under both his own name and a variety of pseudonyms.He lives with his family in Ft. Worth, Texas.

3 PBs by Lorraine Heath: As An Earl Desires, A Matter of Temptation, A Rogue in Texas

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3 PBs by Lorraine Heath: As An Earl Desires, A Matter of Temptation, A Rogue in Texas
Lorraine Heath
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VI8DJ6

Product Description

Paperbacks

3 Titles By Bryant - Texas Rogue - Sweet Texas Fury - Arizona Vixen

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3 Titles By Bryant - Texas Rogue - Sweet Texas Fury - Arizona Vixen
La Ree Bryant
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000QJBTX2

Product Description

Multiple books shipped as one item. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.

I and Claudie (Double Mountain Books--Classic Reissues of the American West)

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A Wonderful book!

I and Claudie (Double Mountain Books--Classic Reissues of the American West)
Dillon Anderson
Manufacturer: Texas Tech University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful book!.......2006-07-28

"Treasure depends." This lapidary phrase (a treasure in itself) comes from one of the short stories in I and Claudie written by the unknown (to me) Dillon Anderson, who ought to become instantly famous for this little jewel alone.

The small joys of a 1940's short story collection are a tough sale, but this one is worth the bandwidth. See, there's these two guys, Clint Hightower and Claudie Hughes (the titular I and Claudie) who flee legal entanglements in late 1940's New Orleans and go to Texas, where they get into the mildest, sweetest, tenderest scrapes ever, all narrated with crooked innocence by Clint himself.

My favorite two stories are "The Auction" and "Fixing Windmills" (these titles hint at the gentleness of their adventures). In the first one, Clint utterly fails to be an auctioneer, and in the second one, no windmills are fixed at all. The introduction to the 1999 edition points out that the key to writing about rascals is to have them never win, which is true of Clint and Claudie. However, in this book, the right side still always wins, and, now, in the year of Oh!Lord! 2006 there's something charmingly prelapsarian about having the good guys triumph.

I convey my highest recommendations.

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A Rogue in Texas
Lorraine Heath
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739404199

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A Rogue in Texas
Lorraine Heath
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UG8B0A

Average customer rating:

The rogue's daughter (Forever classics)
Molly Noble Bull
Manufacturer: Guideposts Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

Innkeeper's daughters Adele and Eleda are “mirror twins”—identical twins whose looks are reflections of each other's—and their special talents are like mirrors, too. Adele is a Safe-Keeper, entrusted with hearing and never revealing others' secrets; Eleda is a Truth-Teller, who cannot tell a lie when asked a direct question. The town of Merendon relies on the twins, no one more than their best friend, Roelynn Karro, whose strict, wealthy father is determined to marry her off to the prince. When the girls are seventeen, a handsome dancing-master and his apprentice come to stay at the inn, and thus begins a chain of romance, mistaken identity, and some very surprising truths and falsehoods.

Customer Reviews:

Another Safe-Keeper's Secret.......2007-03-23

The Truth-Taller's Tale (2005) is the second Fantasy novel in this milieu, following The Safe-Keeper's Secret. Adele and Eleda are mirror twins, born at the same time, but opposite in many ways. They look much alike, but one parts her hair on the left and the other on the right. They grow up to be a Safe-Keeper and a Truth-Teller.

In this novel, Adele is the secretive one, who is able to lie at will. On the other hand, Eleda is always honest, unable to tell a lie under any conditions. Woe be to anyone who mixes the two and passes on a story to the wrong twin.

Adele and Eleda are the daughters of innkeepers, so there are always chores to do. The inn is quite successful due to its location and often full of guests. The family's favorite guest, however, is the Dream-Maker Melinda, who stays there every Wintermoon.

Melinda is very popular wherever she goes, but the inn is among her own favorite places. Every year Melinda asks Hannah -- the twin's mother -- what dream would she want and Hannah answers that she has everything she wants. But one year Melinda points out the nature of the twins and Hannah is both surprised and pleased; Melinda gave her a dream that Hannah never knew she wanted.

In this story, the twins have a best friend, Roelynn, the daughter of the richest man in town. Her father Karro has a dream that he is convinced will come true; he believes that Roelynn will marry Prince Darian and become Queen. Karro has business interests with Queen Lirabel and visits the capital quite often, taking Roelynn, but somehow the prince is always elsewhere when he visits.

Roelynn is very satisfied with that situation and continues to have affairs of the heart with the most unsuitable males she happens to meet. Since Karro almost has apoplexy many time over Roelynn's casual romances, something is bound to break sooner or later.

Eventually, Eleda has an affair of her own, which would have turned out badly if Adele had not meddled. Later, Eleda learns of her sister's secret love and keeps this secret safe, which only her sisterly love makes possible.

Once again, the author tells a heartwarming and personal story about two sisters, but this time more about sisterhood, friendship and romance than state secrets. Naturally, this story also has a surprise ending; to everyone, that is, except Adele, who knew all about it from the first. Another Safe-Keeper's secret.

Highly recommended for Shinn fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of ordinary people, extraordinary situations and true love.

-Arthur W. Jordin

A subtle gem of a story.......2006-02-01

This lovely tale works both on the surface and at a deeper level. Sharon Shinn deals with the sexuality and yearnings and dreams of young people in such a subtle, yet insightful way, that I found myself translating Truth-Teller and Safekeeper into metaphor, searching for the hidden import--and not being disappointed. This is a fantasy world, but it works as a model for the real world, for the conflicted personality of the adolescent, with a happy resolution that doesn't subtract the weight of the message. I loved it. I hope every young girl of my acquaintance reads it!

Lived Happily Ever After.......2006-01-26

This book is good for kids that like a story that follows the same plot line as the traditional fairy tale with a few twists. Happy endings all around, and mixed up identities told in a way that isn't too funny that it destroys the tale, but makes it interesting. This is different than the first book (the Safe-Keeper's Secret), but has more characters and depth to the story, making it a much better book than the first.

A magical book.......2005-09-21

"The Truthteller's Tale" and its prequel, "The Safekeeper's Secret" are both wonderful books and, although they are targeted to a young adult audience, I hope that doesn't stop adults (I'm almost 50) from picking up these gems. I've read some of Shinn's other books and, while they are very good, I don't think they have the magic of her young adult fantasy. She creates a world that is absolutely real and the pictures she draws with her words can break your heart (her writing reminds me of Alice Hoffman at times). I find it difficult to read a book where the characters are not sympathetic, no matter how well written. That is definitely not a problem with "Truthteller's Tale." Shinn has populated her little world with the most charming people imaginable. Adele and Eleda are twin sisters, one a Truth-Teller and the other a Safekeeper. They live in the small town of Merendon, and this book describes their friendship with a local merchant's daughter, Roelynn, her brother Micah, and their experiences with various characters, savory and otherwise, who pass through their small town. There are enough plots twists and little mysteries and romances to keep your interest throughout the book. Sharon Shinn must remember her own adolescent years very well, because the emotions and words of her characters ring true. They're enormously likable and very real.

For many years, I never even looked at young adult or children's books because I thought I had "outgrown" them. Then one day I heard an interview with Lois Lowry, which prompted me to pick up "The Giver." From there, I went on to J. K. Rowling, Jonathon Stroud and Libba Bray and returned to some of my favorite authors from childhood (Kate Seredy, Jack O'Brien, Chad Oliver, Madeleine L'Engle). I was reminded of how magical these books are, and how a good book never has a limited audience. "The Truthteller's Tale" is such a book. It deserves a place on the bookshelf with your other treasured books, to be savored and read again and again.

A satisfying stand-alone fantasy.......2005-09-12

Twin innkeeper's daughters Adele and Eldea find their special talents are mirrors: Adele is entrusted with secrets while Eldea cannot tell a lie if asked a question. A handsome dancing master and his apprentice come to stay at the inn evoking romance, mistaken identity, and many secrets in this wonderful sequel to Sharon Shinn's The Safe-Keeper's Secret, which needs no prior introduction to prove a satisfying stand-alone fantasy.

Average customer rating:

The Chick Flick that Would be Thriller
She just keeps getting better and better.
Great novel. Very well written and engaging
No amt of money can ever buy truth. Ask Sloan
Not Just For Christians

The Truth Teller
Angela Hunt
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1595540474

Book Description

A five-year-old boy can sense who is telling the truth...and who isn't. It's a gift some will do anything to silence and a mother will do anything to protect.

Lara Godfrey desperately wants to have a child--a living legacy from her late husband. Placing her life in the hands of a doctor she believes she can trust, Lara doesn't relize a web of deception is being woven around her. An unseen voyeur, with dreams of immortality, plans to use the child for a test--an unbelievable experiment that could have genetic consequences not only for Lara's baby, but for the entire human race. In the face of danger, Lara must make impossible choices. That's why she flees the clinic before the baby's birth. It's why she changes her name and hides. She knows she must protect this gifted child who can see through lies and identify truth. Yet how can an innocent truth-telling boy survive in a world that wants to destroy truth at any cost?

Customer Reviews:

The Chick Flick that Would be Thriller.......2007-09-19

Although I wasn't bored with this book, I felt that it missed a lot of potential and ended anticlimactically. What could have become a story of international intrigue was ultimately just another Christian romance novel. It's too bad the Christian book world rarely dares to be more.

She just keeps getting better and better........2006-12-28

Angela Hunt is one of my favorite Christian authors! THis book keeps you going to the end.

Great novel. Very well written and engaging.......2006-03-30

"The Truth Teller" is a great novel. The characters are very believable and the dialogue is well done. The story involves a young widow who wishes to have a baby. Her late husband has left a sperm sample, but he died of cancer. Should she risk the pregnancy? Complicating it all is an evil and rich man. This smooth operator with a hidden agenda plans to use and exploit Lara, by having her become pregnant with DNA from an "iceman" who froze to death thousands of years ago.
The story is GREAT! Many plots twists and turns. I loved it.

No amt of money can ever buy truth. Ask Sloan.......2006-02-24

Lara is a young woman who just lost her husband to cancer. She desperately wants to have HIS baby. So, after a few months have passed, she approaches her doctors to use frozen sperm and fertilize her egg so she can have this dream child. Unknown to her, a billionaire who wants to live forever, has bought his way into the lives of those around her, and she ends up deceived, used and humiliated.

On the run, Lara never forgets the neighbor man who delivered her baby and she returns to him for help. A high profile trial is probably the peak of this book.

Angela Hunt certainly knows how to write a mystery book!!!

Not Just For Christians.......2005-08-05

This is a fun read for everyone. The fight of the "regular man" against the rich-and-above-the-law is similar to the style of John Grishm. The science fiction resembles a mix of Jurassic Park and Charmed. Theologians are given many deep levels and thoughtful questions to ponder. Christians will appreciate the positive representation of the Bible-believing faith.

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The Truth Teller
Angela Hunt
Manufacturer: Bethany House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Product Description

"Imagine John Grisham meets Robin Cook meets Madeleine L'Engle, and you'll have some sense of the pacing, suspense, high drama and powerful spiritual message found in The Truth Teller. Couldn't put it down is an understatement-couldn't breathe is closer to the truth! Angela Hunt is one of the premier fiction writers of our generation, and The Truth Teller proves it." Liz Curtis Higgs Author of Mixed Signals "Angela Hunt is one of the premier storytellers of our day, never failing to deliver a wonderful read. But her talent shines as never before in The Truth Teller. Thought-provoking and suspenseful, this book grabbed my interest on page one and didn't let go for an instant." Robin Lee Hatcher Author of The Forgiving Hour "This is one of the best books I've ever read!Powerful and well-written, The Truth Teller is fast-paced and filled with living, breathing characters." Diane Noble Author of The Veil "Angela Hunt delivers another winner. The Truth Teller is a fast-paced, thought-provoking race to outrun evil and discover truth. Tension mounts with every page." Bill Myers Author of Blood of Heaven

Alfred the Great,: The truth teller, maker of England, 848-899

Average customer rating:

Good for someone just getting into Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great,: The truth teller, maker of England, 848-899
Beatrice Adelaide Lees
Manufacturer: Lemma Pub. Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Customer Reviews:

Good for someone just getting into Alfred the Great.......2000-07-06

Alfred the Great lived in a time where information is very scarce, very hard to come by. This book gives information about the only English monarch with the word 'Great' added on to his name. If you are just getting into this king, just beginning to study him, and what he did, this book is a good way to begin, if you can find it anyway. And although it was written almost a hundred years ago, it's still very readable.

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Fortune Tellers

Manufacturer: Pace Products
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1582950245

Product Description

What can you do with a folded square of paper? Not much, unless it's a Fortune Teller!

The Fortune Tellers: Unlocking the Doors To Hidden Truths

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The Fortune Tellers: Unlocking the Doors To Hidden Truths
Yvonne Deutsch
Manufacturer: New York: Black Watch (1974).
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RO7YY4

From The Old Green Porch Swing (A Story Teller's Humble Offer Of A Truth Or Two)

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From The Old Green Porch Swing (A Story Teller's Humble Offer Of A Truth Or Two)
Ronald R. Willis
Manufacturer: Green Porch Swing Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: B000V3X4W2

Product Description

The Old Green Porch Swing: A story teller's humble offering of a truth or two on the road to becoming less arbitrary, egocentric and mean spirited. On two audio cassettes.

Jesus Christ the Truth-Teller: A Sermon Preached in Christ Church, Hartford, on the First Sunday after Trinity, June 4, 1893 Before the Graduating Class of Trinity College

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Jesus Christ the Truth-Teller: A Sermon Preached in Christ Church, Hartford, on the First Sunday after Trinity, June 4, 1893 Before the Graduating Class of Trinity College
William Reed Huntington
Manufacturer: The Case, Lockwood and Brainard Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UDHVSG

Average customer rating:

A STORY-TELLER TELLS THE TRUTH
RUCK
Manufacturer: HUTCHINSON
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RZDIPW

Average customer rating:

Professor Continues Myth that It All Began in America

Primal spirituality surfacing under pentecostal inspiration

Will You please correct my former review?

A poorly researched and truly terrible book

Worthy of being read....but not fully representative of "us"

Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the 21st Century
Harvey Cox
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Protestant | Church History | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Pentecostal | Protestantism | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Charismatic | Worship & Devotion | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Salvation on Sand Mountain : Snake-Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia

ASIN: 0306810492

Book Description

The New York Times Notable Book about the fastest-growing form of worship on earth: the vibrant, primal spirituality of Pentecostalism.

It was born a scant ninety-five years ago in a rundown warehouse on Azusa Street in Los Angeles. For days the religious-revival service there went on and on-and within a week the Los Angeles Times was reporting on a "weird babble" coming from the building. Believers were "speaking in tongues," the way they did at the first Pentecost recorded in the Bible-and a pentecostal movement was created that would by the start of the twenty-first century attract over 400 million followers worldwide. Harvey Cox has traveled the globe to visit and worship with pentecostal congregations on four continents, and he has written a dynamic, provocative history of this explosion of spirituality-a movement that represents no less than a tidal change in what religion is and what it means to people. Daniel Mark Epstein, the acclaimed biographer of the evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, calls Fire from Heaven "a breathtaking story [written] with a novelist's feel for history, a philosopher's clear insight, and a reporter's eye for detail." And the Boston Globe hailed Harvey Cox as "an ideal guide for a pilgrimage through an unfamiliar religious world...able to demystify without desanctifying."

Customer Reviews:

Professor Continues Myth that It All Began in America.......2006-10-24

Harvey Cox, the former head of Harvard Divinity School, does some magnificent work giving insight to pentecostalism and putting it into context with information I have not seen elsewhere. He traveled the world speaking to academics and attending services on almost every continent. He pushed his ten page list of citations to the back to make it more accessible to the non-academic and provides a fourteen page index.

He successfully explains the uniquely hidden power wielded by women in pentecostal churches in Latin America and the intricate historical relationship between American fundamentalists and pentecostals. He also does well describing the neo-pentecostal and how all three fit into the Religious Right's political agenda. The history he provides on the degeneration into racism and gender bias is well researched. But his best work is exposing the American pentecostal automatic acceptance of government policies that armed dictators who then tortured a commonly targeted group - their own fellow pentecostals. These pentecostals were in essence murdered by their own sisters and brothers in America.

But there are at least two serious errors in this work such that it must be read with caution. He continues that Anglo-centric myth that pentecostalism took off in 1906 on Azusa Street in Los Angeles from which it spread to the world. And he totally misrepresents pentecostalism in Africa - particularly Zimbabwe.

As early as 1925, author Frank Bartleman who wrote "Azusa St" published by Bridge Publishing alluded to the idea that perhaps the "Fire from Heaven" had not originated in America. Had Cox followed this lead, he would have learned that Fire(s) had started in India in 1860, Korea in 1903, and another one in India in 1905 before Azusa missionaries had reached the continent. There are many instances of the Fire appearing in various locales untouched by pentecostal missionaries - such as the Ivory Coast and parts of China. Accepting the murky history of pentecostalism in favor of the Azusa myth is disappointing in a scholar with such a great reputation.

His interpretation of pentecostalism in Africa is also a disappointment.
In Zimbabwe the author witnesses several different services and common to them was the confession of sins against the earth "...These include any activities that lead to soil erosion, fouling the water supply, or chopping down trees without replacing them." This awareness in African communities certainly pre-dates the current Christian Anglo wakeup to proper stewardship of the earth. Here the author slips into the stereotypical view of African Christians as essentially primitive by connecting this ecological awareness to "the throbbing universe of African primal religion."

Cox basically views pentecostal African Christianity as syncretistic even using drumming and dancing as evidence instead of seeing it as a common indigenous practice incorporated into the church. This is in spite of mentioning in the same sentence the command from the Psalms to praise God with timbrel and lyre and then describing King David dancing at the ark. One needs to add that King David was known to even dance in the nude in public- and not to God's displeasure according to the same Psalms.

Of one of the African pentecostal church founders mentioned, John Maranke is lumped in with other leaders and is exalted as a Mandela type figure leading Zimbabwe to independence. But his church "The Maranke Vapostori", founded in 1932 is considered by common African pentecostals to be cultic both origin and current practice. This is one example of where African Pentecostals appear to have the spiritual and intellectual wherewithal to distinguish syncretism from indigenous practices - but Cox fails to acknowledge this.

This is likely caused in part by Cox's almost exclusive reliance on historiography written by the educated- a method that is now being challenged as the sole method of retrieving history. Oral historiography, deconstruction of myths and other methods are considered necessary to more accurately capture a complete history - if such a thing is possible.

Perhaps if Cox had spent more time listening rather than reading, he would have gained a more complete insight into the history of pentecolstalism.

Primal spirituality surfacing under pentecostal inspiration.......2006-07-26

What is the source of the enormous appeal of pentecostalism? When William Penn founded Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, the Quakers were an ecstatic sect. Pentecostalism is the experiential brand of Christianity. It may account for one in four Christians. It proliferates in gigantic cities. It is a kind of ecumenical movement. Pentecostalism, the Azusa Street revival, arose among the disenfranchised. Religions struggle with order and chaos. The Azusa Street revival lasted for three years. William Joseph Seymour had no formal education. In Houston he saw a woman speaking in tongues. He was introduced to Charles Fox Parham. Seymour was invited to settle in Los Angeles to preach by Julia Hutchins.

Los Angeles was cosmopolitan and had a high tolerance for spiritual innovators. The congregation of the Azusa Street revival was interracial. A rival group organized the Assemblies of God. The Church of God in Christ became a pentecostal denomination. A conference at Cleveland, Tenn., caused another group, Church of God, to become pentecostal. Mainline churches disliked the pentecostals and fundamentalists loathed them. In the disputes it was a case of the spirit versus the letter. The movement did not gain adherents between the wars, but rose up again following World War II.

While a college student, the author attended a service at the New Order of the Latter Rain. Speaking in tongues has a theological purpose. Speaking in tongues is taken as evidence of spiritual baptism. Speaking in tongues is an example of ecstatic utterance. Aimee Semple McPherson drew on popular culture in the work of her International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, (Jesus as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King). Pentecostals believe in direct revelation through vision. Testimonies are a kind of folklore. Women are the principal carriers of pentecostalism. The author is taken with the parallel development of jazz, he plays the saxophone, and pentecostalism. Both depend upon heartfelt enthusiasm.

In South America the pentecostals tell people they need to change and can change. Some followers are political activists. Pentecostalism counteracts the anomie produced by rapid urbanization. It supplies coherence and a new set of rules for living. The faith forbids drunkenness, carousing, infidelity. Despotism in the leadership of some of the groups in South America should be of concern. On the other hand, some groups practice democracy. Pentecostalism is paradoxical.

Attendance at the traditional churches in Europe is low, but pilgrimages to sites associated with apparitions and other mysteries have increased. Sicily has a large number of pentecostals. Pentecostalism in Korea incorporates many elements of shamanism. Many of the independent African churches are pentecostal. Indigenous churches insist the gifts of the spirit are still available.

Will You please correct my former review?.......2000-09-11

I have sent my review on "Fire from Heaven"by Harvey Cox, which you have put on the column.I am very thankful for this.But I am sorry there are some misspellings in my review. Will you kindly replace the former review by the following one which I have corrected?

I highly value this book mainly for three reasons. First this is the first and only significant research on the Pentecostal spirituality so far published. Based on his own "field work" method, the author both encourages and warns concerning the future of the spiritual movement. Secondly he is keenly aware that the movement has potential power to overcome racial discrimination (at least in its origin). Thirdly as myself one of the tongue-speaking people in Japan, I agree with the author who envisages this spiritual movement will eventually develop into various types of Christianity and will enrich the general trend of world religions.

A poorly researched and truly terrible book.......1999-03-19

Those interested in either Pentacostalism or Comparative Religions would do better to look elsewhere. This is truly one of the most morely researched and speciously written books on any subject, let alone religion, that I have ever read. Cox's work is filled with so many examples of inaccuracy and simple foolishness that I wouldn't know where to begin.

This is definately a book to avoid

Worthy of being read....but not fully representative of "us".......1998-02-15

Professor Cox has, indeed, contributed to the ever-widening area of Pentecostal/charismatic studies with "FIRE FROM HEAVEN." His breadth of experience, reflected in the book, is to be admired; but it wasn't wide enough. As a life-long Pentecostal, I could identify with only a few parts of his "experience" and have wondered why the "main-line" denominations weren't included more than they actually were. Why did Cox not visit Times Square Church, or the Brooklyn Tabernacle, or any number of other biblically-sound congregations, and see what effective Pentecostal churches are all about? After reading, and re-reading the book, I felt that I was getting a treatise on the "fringe" elements of Pentecostalism, and not the "mainstream." It is worthy of being read...but not very balanced,in the light of world-wide Pentecostalism.

Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the 21st Century

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Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the 21st Century
Harvey Cox
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSIT74

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