Category: books

Title: Heart of a Samurai

Author: Margi Preues

Publisher: Amulet Books ©2010

Summary: In 1841, a Japanese fishing vessel sinks. Its crew is forced to swim to a small, unknown island, where they are rescued by a passing American ship. Japan’s borders remain closed to all Western nations, so the crew sets off to America, learning English on the way.

Manjiro, a fourteen-year-old boy, is curious and eager to learn everything he can about this new culture. Eventually the captain adopts Manjiro and takes him to his home in New England. The boy lives for some time in New England, and then heads to San Francisco to pan for gold. After many years, he makes it back to Japan, only to be

Title: Prophet of the Pentacle (also availble for the Kindle)

Author: Marilyn D. Privratsky

Published: Outskirts Press, Inc., ©2009

Summary: Long ago, there was a battle between evil Lord Jarden, and a sphinx named Berecynthia.  The sphinx won and imprisoned Lord Jarden, but during the encounter Berecynthia was wounded mortally, so was unable to destroy the evil fully.

Five ages have passed,

Guest Post by Amber Litke

The Wolf of Tebron is a tale that brings back the fantasy allegory themed of the Chronicles of Narnia.  Thisheart-felt story is 240 pages long, written by C.S. Lakin, and published by AMG Publishers.

The plot for this book follows a young man named Joran, who lives in a small village called Tebron.  After sending his wife away because he believes her unfaithful, he learns the distressing news that she’s been kidnapped by the Moon.  These claims are backed up by the troubling nightmares he experiences, and he eventually and grudgingly, sets out to save her.

Along the way he

It’s the program that shatters all the myths: Fit for Life is the international bestseller that explains how to change both your figure and your life.  Nutrional specialists Harvey and Marilyn Diamond explain how you can eat more kinds of foods than you ever ate before without counting calories…and still lose weight!  The natural body cycles, permanent weight-loss plan that proves it’s not only what you eat, but also when and how, Fit for Life is the perfect solution for those who want to look and feel their best.  Join the millions of Americans who are Fit for Life and begin your transformation with:

On a summer day in 1946 Sally Werner, the precocious young daughter of hardscrabble Pennsylvania farmers, secretly accepts her cousin’s invitation to ride his new motorcycle. Like so much of what follows in Sally’s life, it’s an impulsive decision with dramatic and far-reaching consequences. Soon she abandons her home to begin a daring journey of self-creation, the truth of which she entrusts only with her granddaughter and namesake, six decades later. But when young Sally’s father–a man she has never known–enters her life and offers another story altogether, she must uncover the truth of her grandmother’s secret history.

Ravens by George Dawes Green

Shaw and Romeo are heading down to Florida hoping to catch a fishing boat to Trinidad and leave their boring tech jobs in Ohio far behind them.

On a stop in a Georgia, Shaw is presented with the information that in this small town of Brunswick, a lotto ticket for $318,000,000 has been sold.  Shaw hatches a plan to come in to some of that money for himself and Romeo is, for lack of a better word, the back up plan.

Prepare to be

Guest Post by Amber Litke:

“Healer” is a 351 page book, written by Linda Windsor and published by David C. Cook.  The novel is set in 6th century Alba, or Scotland.  Its plot is centered around the warring of two clans, the Gowrys and the O’Byrnes, the cause of the conflict, and how it is all settled.

While reading this story I was completely amazed at

Most people who want to eat healthy and control their weight already know that sugar is a no-no. Many also know that processed flour is not nutritious. But what they don’t know, and are surprised to learn, is that to the human body, most flours – especially refined flour – are digested in almost the same way as sugar, carrying with it the same health risks.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Flour-Free Eating has all the information readers need to easily stick to a healthier way of life. It explains to readers what they can eat and what they should avoid, including important guidance on how to identify hidden flour in processed foods and how to stay flour free while eating out.

Readers will learn how to:

His Princess Girl Talk with God: Love Letters & Devotions for Young Women

Through 40 devotions Shepherd brings Biblical insight to some of the biggest hardships teen girls face.

Young ladies in the teen years are at a point in their lives where they have decisions to make, but sometimes are unsure of how they should choose.  Peer pressure often collides with God’s Will, and they are left feeling like they don’t measure up to their friends, family and/or God.

Sheri Rose Shepherd has written

The Jaguar Stones Book One: Middleworld
Author: J & P Voelkel
Publisher: Egmont USA
Publication Date: Revised edition (April 27, 2010)

Action Alert!

Middleworld has been called a Percy Jackson meets Indiana Jones story.  While I’ve not ever read a Percy Jackson book, this adventure set in the Mayan jungle is somewhat reminiscent of a young Indiana Jones chronicle.

The story is