PASSIONATE ABOUT SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Tag: Addiction

Book Review: Some Mistakes Were Made

 

Some Mistakes Were Made

– Kristin Dwyer –

Harper Teen

Published 26 April 2022

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I knew that Some Mistakes Were Made would be gut wrenching. And it was. It was also incredibly hard to put down, tear-jerking and made my heart ache. In a good way. Such a delicious, agonising way.

For all the readers who love books about brothers, this one is for you. For all the readers who love resilient, angry and strong survivors who have to face so much more than is imaginable, this book is for you. And readers who love tortured, broken relationships romance, you need to read this book RIGHT NOW!

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Book Review: Where The Road Leads Us

Where the Road Leads Us – Robin Reul – Sourcebooks Fire –  Published 6 April 2021

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Synopsis

Jack is on the verge for leaving for college, but before he does, he wants to track down his estranged brother, Alex and find some closure in the wake of their father’s death. Meanwhile, Hallie has just found out some upsetting news about a friend in Oregon, and she has a small window to go see him before it’s too late.

Jack and Hallie are practically strangers. They shared a class together years ago and haven’t seen each other since, though they have more in common than they’d ever imagine. And when fate puts them into the same rideshare to the bus terminal, it kicks off an unconventional and hilarious adventure that may lead them to their own true selves…and maybe to each other.

My thoughts

Should you follow your heart and if so, how do you decide what your heart is telling you? That’s what Jack and Hallie must both answer in this road trip novel about finding forgiveness, finding your voice and finding your path in this world.

I love road trip novels. I love contemporary novels that combine hope for the future with hurts from the past. That’s exactly what you get in Where The Road Leads Us. Jack has a plan for the future – graduate, internship in New York and follow in his father’s footsteps to become a doctor. But when his girlfriend breaks up with him on graduation night and he spends his birthday alone, he decides to follow the clues in a note from his late father to his estranged brother and finally try to reconnect with his brother.

Hallie knows nothing in her future is certain, not going to college and not her health. When she is given one last chance to meet and say goodbye to an online friend, she decides to follow her heart. Even if it means going on a road trip with two guys she might have just met or sort of know from school.

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Book Review: Cross My Heart

Cross My Heart – Robin Lee Hatcher – Legacy of Faith #2 – Thomas Nelson – Published 28 June 2019

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Synopsis

Ashley Showalter and Ben Henning have so much in common. Both were raised by single moms. Both want to help where they see a need. And both work with horses in the Boise valley. Ashley runs a horse rescue operation, while Ben has started an equine therapy barn on his great-great grandfather’s farm—and both Ashley and Ben have the feeling that there could be something more between them.

But they share something else that may drive them apart if the truth is ever revealed. Ben is a recovering alcoholic with ten years of sobriety behind him, while Ashley’s brother, Dylan, is an opioid addict, currently residing in court-ordered rehab. Ashley has promised herself she would never walk knowingly into the chaos created by addiction—because in her mind, addicts can never be fully cured. But with God, all things are possible. Will Ashley find it within herself to give love a chance, or will her brother’s mistakes jeopardize her future with Ben?

My thoughts

Cross My Heart is a beautiful story. The second book in the Legacy Of Faith series, Cross My Heart follows two new main characters but also continues the historical story of the Henning family. This modern-day story is woven together by threads of the past and the history and faith of a family across multiple generations. Cross My Heart is a relaxing and restorative read.

Ben Hennings is starting a horse farm, hoping he can help others through equine therapy, just as he was once helped. When looking for horses, he is directed to Ashley Showalter, who helps rescue horses. They both have a love of horses and helping others in common. What they don’t know is that they also share a history touched by addictions, Ben personally and Ashley through her brother’s addictions. When this is revealed, Ben and Ashley must decide if their pasts and fears should determine if they have a future together.

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Book Review: Sons of Blackbird Mountain

Sons of Blackbird Mountain – Joanne Bischof – Blackbird Mountain #1 – Thomas Nelson – Published 3 July 2018

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Synopsis

When Aven Norgaard leaves Norway to serve as housekeeper to her late husband’s cousins in Appalachia, she expects lads in need of care, not three grown men—each in need of a wife and bound by a powerful brotherhood. As the men carve out a living by brewing artisan liquor, young Haakon’s pursuit tempts Aven’s lonely spirit . . . but it is his deaf brother, Thor, whose silent strength shows her the depths of real love.

Unable to speak to any woman, Thor Norgaard never anticipates Aven will befriend him, let alone treat him as her safe harbor. Though hard cider is their livelihood and his greatest talent, he fights his way to sobriety with Haakon’s help, defying the bottle for Aven’s hand—only to face a battle of the heart that tests even the strongest bonds of brotherhood.

My thoughts

Sons of Blackbird Mountain is an utterly charming and beautiful historical novel. Set in the heart of the Appalachian mountains, it combines the complexity of brotherly relationships and finding a place to belong, with the sweet joy of finding a true love connection, despite many challenges.

Aven Norgaard has faced many challenges in her short life. Having escaped from the workhouse, her husband then died. Travelling from Norway across the oceans to Appalachia, America, Aven hopes to find a home with her late husband’s relatives. Upon arriving, Aven is surprised to discover that her cousins-in-law are not the boys she expected but grown men – each with their own demons and attractions. Thor Norgaard has loved Aven from a distance for years, but having her in his house is a new and unsettling feeling. Deaf, Thor is touched that Aven seems to truly hear him, yet his relationship with his brother Haakon -already strained – is stretched further and Thor’s own battle with alcohol addiction is a challenge he must overcome if he wants to court Aven.

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Book Review: My Unexpected Hope

My Unexpected Hope – Tammy L. Gray – Waterfall Press – Published 23 June 2017

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Synopsis

After a year of grieving her divorce and living a life permanently stuck on pause, Laila Richardson is finally ready to have her own happy ending. Then a listing for a quaint cottage in another town answers her prayers for a fresh beginning—one that will bring her closer to her new boyfriend, Ben. Unfortunately, in her small town of Fairfield, Georgia, letting go of the past is virtually impossible. No one wants to see her move on, including the man who destroyed her heart to begin with.

Chad Richardson has spent years in misery but finally has his life on somewhat stable ground. When he learns his ex-wife is dating, he knows it’s time to go back and fight for the life he abandoned. Bolstered by his newfound sobriety, Chad has every intention of winning back the woman he loves, even if that means facing old demons that are waiting for him to fail.

Passions run deep as two souls searching for a second chance find the courage to let go of old patterns. Can they recognize that their dreams are still possible, even when forged from a broken past?

My thoughts

My Unexpected Hope is a realistic and enjoyable Christian contemporary novel. Strong characters and tough life situations combine in this story of love, broken marriages, second chances, addiction and recovery, and faith.

Laila is trying to put her life together and move on from her past. She is planing to move and has a new and wonderful boyfriend – embracing anything that puts her far from the small town of Fairfield where she has lived all her life and the hurt of her broken marriage. Chad Richardson knew that this was his last chance to get sober and stay sober. When he learns that Laila is starting to move on he knows it is time to return home and try to save his marriage. But his return home does not go as smoothly as he plans and he will have to give everything he has to start over and convince Laila he is a new man.

My Unexpected Hope is the companion novel to My Hope Next Door. They have crossover storylines but can both be read as standalone novels. I really enjoyed My Hope Next Door, and My Unexpected Hope brings the same mix of relateable, realistic, and flawed characters who are desperate to overcome their mistakes and create a new life for themselves.

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Book Review: Cure for the Common Universe

Cure for the Common Universe

Cure for the Common Universe – Christian McKay Heidicker – Simon and Schuster – Published 14 June 2016

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Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Jaxon is being committed to video game rehab . . . ten minutes after he met a girl. A living, breathing girl named Serena, who not only laughed at his jokes but actually kinda sorta seemed excited when she agreed to go out with him.     Jaxon’s first date. Ever.

In rehab, he can’t blast his way through galaxies to reach her. He can’t slash through armies to kiss her sweet lips. Instead, he has just four days to earn one million points by learning real-life skills. And he’ll do whatever it takes—lie, cheat, steal, even learn how to cross-stitch—in order to make it to his date.

If all else fails, Jaxon will have to bare his soul to the other teens in treatment, confront his mother’s absence, and maybe admit that it’s more than video games that stand in the way of a real connection.

Prepare to be cured.

My thoughts

Cure for the Common Universe takes common YA tropes and turns them on their heads with humour, a million gaming references and an anti-hero who is truly awful (but only too identifiable).

Jaxon is being sent to video game rehab. Just moments after almost winning the latest game with his guild and asking a girl out on a date – for the first time ever. He is determined to get out of v-hab as quickly as possible. He has just four days to accumulate one million points by attending group therapy, winning competitions, eating healthy and (really?) running. But don’t worry, he’s got this and nobody’s going to stand in his way.

Jaxon isn’t your typical, loveable nerd. He’s lazy, rude, oblivious to the people around him and yet totally realistic. Surrounding Jaxon at v-hab are an assortment of characters from the bullying jocks to his own weirdly wonderful guild members – girls who are strong and stand up for themselves and what they believe in, a heroin addict, a group leader who is a master gamer himself and a young boy who hangs off Jaxon’s every word (or command). They are at once stereotypical and yet push outside of what we expect from YA characters.     Continue reading

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