There are multiple stories occurring within the scope of this novel. We have Charles Hazelius Sternberg (a real life historical figure), a fossil hunter, creeping closer to the end of his career, possibly losing his mind in the Alberta badlands, in 1916. We have Sternberg's young assistant, Scott Cameron, in the trenches of World War… Continue reading Book Review: The Bone Sharps by Tim Bowling
Royce is sixteen and has just moved with his mother across the country, from Nova Scotia to Vancouver Island. He's bored, lonely, and biding his time until he can escape back east to his former life. In the meantime, his mother convinces him to take on the job of caring for her 95-year-old father. Arthur… Continue reading Book Review: Death Benefits by Sarah N. Harvey
We have this terrific early literacy program here on the Coast where each month an age-appropriate book is sent to your home for your child. (It's done in partnership with Dolly Parton's reading program.) I love it and Pearl's already received several fun board books. (I always knew board books were great at this age… Continue reading Book Review: Peek-a-Zoo (Reading with Pearl)
This is a book with a surprisingly tight plot. I say surprisingly because there are a lot of plot lines going on here and yet each one is compelling, thoughtful, and well fleshed-out. There's a murdered French trapper, a remote Hudson Bay Company fort, a Norwegian religious community, the twenty year disappearance of two young… Continue reading Book Review: The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
Whether or not you agree with Tolstoy that all happy families are the same, it's generally true that they're not very interesting to read about. Helen Edwards and Jenny Lee Smith alternate in telling the stories of their lives. While they grew up near each other in England, they had drastically different childhoods. Jenny was… Continue reading Book Review: My Secret Sister by Helen Edwards & Jenny Lee Smith
Nothing so reminds you like the sea that the enemy of life is not death but loneliness. For some reason, the names of the men who vied to reach the South Pole are far better known than those who competed to reach the North. I know about Scott and Amundsen and, of course, Shackleton, but… Continue reading Book Review: The Navigator of New York by Wayne Johnston
Grace is a small word with a big meaning. It deserves to have an entire book devoted to the subject (or multiple books) and Yancey is an excellent choice to tackle the subject. He delves deeply into grace here. What is it? What does the Bible say about it? Why is it important? And what… Continue reading Book Review: What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey
Here's what I read this month. Reviews are up or coming. 1. Beijing Confidential - Jan Wong (Doubleday Canada, 2007) My review is here. 2. The Curse of the Viking Grave - Farley Mowat (McClelland & Stewart, 1966) Read my review here. 3. What's So Amazing About Grace? - Philip Yancey (Zondervan Publishing House, 1997) 4. The… Continue reading What I Read – September 2015
I've had this book - a copy that my dad apparently received as a Christmas gift in 1966 - on my shelf for years and never read it or realized that it's a sequel to Lost in the Barrens. Fortunately, you don't need to have read that more famous novel to follow the plot in… Continue reading Book Review: The Curse of the Viking Grave – Farley Mowat
It's hard for me to believe that it's been almost ten years since I last set foot in China. It's been even longer since I've been to Beijing - all the way back to the summer of 2002. Since then, the city has hosted the Olympics and, no doubt, changed drastically. Jan Wong details many… Continue reading Book Review: Beijing Confidential – Jan Wong
Karissa Reads Books 