Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson

Scotty Dawn leads a life of carefree abandon traveling the highways of the U.S. and life with her mother Charley. Unfortunately for Scotty, she'd rather lead a normal life with a mom and a dad, a house with a yard, go to regular school (instead of homeschooling herself), and have regular friends instead of coming into contact with celebrity brats on a daily basis.



But for reasons she can't explain and Charley's not talkin, Scotty Dawn is kept on the road and moving from place to place with little or no warning. In the process, however, she meets some fantastic people and gets great material for her "Hollywood Nobody" blog. She wonders if she will ever get the answers to her most basic questions: Who is my father? Why are we always on the run? How will I ever lead a normal life without the answers to these questions?



Lisa Samson does it again--Writes another great novel, this one for young adult readers, and takes us behind the scenes of life on a movie set. In Hollywood Nobody, Samson brings us a world fairly unusual for most of us but dealing with everyday teen issues : uncertainty, insecurity, identity, and homework. She combines the bizarre with the normal and carries us along for a novel ride. Hollywood Nobody kept me guessing from the minute I opened the book.



Click on her picture to find out more about Lisa Samson and all of her other great reads. If you're tired of the predictabel novels, pick up one of Samson's books and be transported to worlds peopled with unique characters in tough situations searching for the One who can bring peace in a chaotic world.


If your thinking of getting Hollywood Nobody, I recommend you also get Finding Hollywood Nobody and Goodbye Hollywood Nobody as well. I wanted to get my hands on the follow up novels to see where Scotty Dawn goes from the Outer Banks.



*As a little side note, Lisa Samson was the first to critique my novel and tell me I needed some real problems for my characters. After reading her novels, I understood completely what she meant. Thanks Lisa for your honest feedback and keep writing novels to challenge the common horde. :) Keep up the God work.



Just another thought from the tub.

Lori

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

The Pirate Queen By Patricia Hickman

Saphora Warren wants for nothing materially. Her palatial home graces the cover of Southern Living Magazine and her friends dress like models for Southern Woman, but for all she can get her hands on; she cannot grasp the love of her husband. His wandering eye has kept him roving since early in their marriage and she has had enough. With her bags packed, Saphora prepares to make a clean start, alone, in Oriental on the Neuse.

Her trip to Oriental takes on an unexpected turn when her husband meets her at the door of their home pale and perspiring telling her only that he is sick and that they will be going to Oriental and commute to Duke where he will be getting treatment from a friend.

In the process of caring for those around her, she discovers the value of what she has to offer others and more importantly the One who made her who she is.

Patricia Hickman captures life on the coast through vivid word pictures and compellingly complicated relationships. In The Pirate Queen, Hickman has peeled back the foil of the glamourous life of the rich and famous and revealed the same hard battles we each face day to day: learning to love one another for who they are, searching for God and the meaning of life through the filter of his love, making sense of the cruelty in the world and what we can do to make it right.

For more information on Patricia Hickman and her other books, click on her picture.

Just another thought from the tub,
Lori


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook/Multonomah as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

Chasing Francis by Ian Morgan Cron

Chase Falson, pastor of a megachurch in the Northeast, hits the proverbial christian "wall" head-on, during a Sunday morning service, no less. With his congregation wondering what has happened to the self-asssured, answer man they've all come to know and love, Chase visits his Uncle Kenny, a Franciscan monk in Italy.

Despite serious misgivings about the Catholic Church, Chase begins a pilgrimage to find his lost faith and what it meant to Francis of Assisi to follow Christ centuries before and how that can influence his faith today.

I found this novel fascinating (something I don't find in many novels these days.) Cron successfully wove the life of a modern day pastor, three Franciscan monks, a reformed junkie, and St. Francis of Assisi into a tale that not only captures the imagination, but challenges the spirit as well. As I traveled through the historics sights of Italy with Chase, I also learned of a monk who transformed modern Chritianity several hundred years ago. Chasing Francis gives the reader just information to whet the appetite for more. I will be checking out the books cited as being given to Chase to read. The most important reminder I gleaned from this book was to follow Christ...no matter what. With the media and modern thinking pulling my thoughts continually away from my first love, this will be a challenge at the least...an all out battle at most. But like, Chase, I'm ready to fight the good fight through grace and peace in Christ.
Check out Ian Morgan Cron for more information on his writings and wha they mean to him.

Just another thought from the tub,
Lori

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising