"This Scarlet Cord" by Joan Wolf

Here is the book description: Within one of the Old Testament’s most famous battles lies one of its most tender love stories.

Hidden within the battle of Jericho is the story of Rahab, a beautiful and brave young Canaanite woman who aided the Israelites by hanging a piece of scarlet cord from a window. This act of faith changed her life by placing her in the genealogy of Christ.

Rahab is the beautiful youngest daughter of a Canaanite farmer, taken to Jericho for the pagan New Year celebration so that her father can find her a wealthy spouse. Sala is the only son of an Israelite merchant, in Jericho as a spy for Joshua’s army. Their love would have been destined for heartache, were it not ordained by God.

When Rahab finds favor with the king, and is to become his ritual bride, she abandons the pagan gods who have abandoned her and pleads with the One True God of the Israelites for deliverance. With her prayer answered, she vows to deliver Jericho to Joshua, risking her life to do so.

Motivated by love and empowered by a new faith, Rahab saves her family, and secures her future as one of the most important women in the Bible.

"This Scarlet Cord" by Joan Wolf is a beautiful book that I think would be a good book for just about anyone to read. This book itself is in the format of more of a love story perspective on the story of Rahab and the Battle of Jericho. What really drew me into this book is that the book is mainly done within the perspective of Rahab herself, allowing us to get a clearer picture of her personality and what it looks like to be a true Woman of God today. Though the story is fiction, it placed a desire in my heart to not only learn more about Rahab, but to desire to be more like her in my personal walk with God. There were times in this book that I could really relate to Rahab and the fear that she experienced at different points in this story. But I loved watching her learn more about God and grow to trust him more.  For me, this book was a great reminder of God's love for me regardless of my past mistakes. I hope that when you read this book you will not only take from it the beautiful fictional story of Rahab, but that you will also take with it a better understanding of God's never ending love for you and his desire to draw you closer to him. I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars, it's a really well written book that I would read again if given the chance. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers 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 Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

"The Searchers" by Joseph Loconte

Here is the book description:


Never before had they known such hope.

In a world drenched in violence and oppression, here was a man armed with a message of peace and freedom. Into lives nearly overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, he brought compassion and healing and the deepest joy. To people who felt like outcasts and aliens, he showed the way home. And then, in one devastating night, all their hopes collapsed.

This is where our story begins—in the valley of despair. It is a tale of two friends, a stranger, and a search for truth in a world gone mad with doubt.

Historian Joseph Loconte unlocks the meaning of their exchange, set in the chaotic days following the execution of Jesus of Nazareth. Drawing from literature, film, philosophy, history, and politics, Loconte shows how this biblical drama is an integral part of our own story.

Sooner or later, we will find ourselves among the searchers.

This is going to be one of those books that is just really hard to review. I guess I should start off with saying that I do not recommend this book to anyone under the age of 20 as it can be a very difficult book to understand based on the way it is written. For me personally, this book discussed different things all while trying to tie them back to the encounter between Jesus and the two young men that were with him on the road to Emmaus. I think this book contained a lot of guess work. It has a lot of opinions in it of what might have happened or what might have been thought by the different men there that day and I think the book should have been a lot more factual. There were lots of things that were said in this book that I personally didn't agree with and they didn't match up with my views on God and the Bible. This book also tried connecting a lot of Biblical references to a lot of things that are related to today's world. Normally, this would be fine and even encouraged, but I found myself having to re read different sections and try to figure out how something related to "Where the Wild Things Are" has anything to do with scripture. Honestly, I wasn't even able to read through half this book. It was hard to understand from the beginning and the parts that I did fully understand, I didn't agree with the viewpoint. I'd encourage you guys to pick up this book and explore for yourself, but I'm going to have to go ahead and rate this book 1 out of 5 stars. It was not at all what I was expecting and I was rather disappointed in this book. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers 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 Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

"Angel Eyes" by Shannon Dittemore

Once you’ve seen, you can’t unsee.
Brielle went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She’s come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and an incredible, numbing cold she can’t seem to shake.
Jake’s the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.
Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what’s going to happen. And a beauty brighter than either Brielle or Jake has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices begin.
A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.

"Angel Eyes" by Shannon Dittemore is a great fiction novel for teens that has a little bit of everything for everyone. This book has fast paced action, angels, demons, romance, and the transitions from pain to healing. In the begining of this book, Brielle is broken and in pain after dealing with the death of her best friend. She blames herself and lives in constant shame and guilt from the experience. As she starts trying to live in her home town that is everything but cheery, she has this constant feeling of cold that surrounds her continually. It wasn't until she met Jake, that everything started to change. As you follow Brielle into her journey of forgiving herself, learning to love again when all feels lost, and learning more about a God that loves her, you will fall in love with each and every one of the characters along the way.

In my opinion, this is one of those books that all teenagers should read. It's very well written and has something for everyone. If you've ever had questions where you wondered why God would allow so much pain in your life or allow so much suffering in the world around you, then this book is a must read. I would easily give this book 5 out of 5 stars and recomend it to my friends. :)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers 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 Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising"

"Don't Check Your Brains at the Door" by Josh McDowell & Bob Hostetler

“Seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30—both evangelical and mainline—who went to church regularly in high school said they quit attending by age 23, according to the survey by LifeWay Research.” (USA Today)

Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door gives teens answers that make sense, even for the toughest of questions. Internationally known defender of the faith Josh McDowell and co-author Bob Hostetler offer clarity laced with humor to expose common myths about God, the Bible, religion, and life to show how Christianity stands up to the test of fact and reason. Teens will be better equipped to stick with their faith as they begin to understand why they believe and why it’s important to make a lifetime commitment to Christ and the church.

The book, "Don't Check Your Brains at the Door" was a book that was created with teens in mind. These days, so many teenagers have a lot of different questions when it comes to God, religion, and who created what. This book was created to try and target those teens with questions, and get those questions answered in a very fun and biblical way. The book is broken up into bite-size chapters that cover topics such as: Myths about God, Myths about Jesus, Myths about the Bible, Myths about the Resurrection, Myths about Religion and Christianity, and Myths about Life and Happiness. For me personally though, this book was really hard to read through from cover to cover. I would say that if you have a lot of questions, pick up this book at the library and scan through to the sections that you may be wondering about. But I think when this book really comes down to it, it would not really be worth buying. It has good intentions, but I found myself getting annoyed with the layout and just wanting to set the book down. Overall, I would give this book a 3 out of 5 though, because the book was informative, just needed a different way of presenting the information covered. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers 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 Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”