Review: The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker

Every single week I get a bunch of books in my mailbox or on my doorstep. Some of them I have agreed to review but most are just sent on the off chance that I might choose to review them. It is a little like Christmas every day, which is fantastic. Some of the books I receive are not books in genres that I like or about subjects that interest me, so they go into the "giveaway or read when I have nothing else left (HA HA!) pile. Many are historical fiction, which I love, or other types of fiction that I might muster up an interest for eventually...they go into the ever expanding to-be-read piles that clutter up my house.

Very, very rarely does a book come in that I did not ask for, have never heard of before, but that catches my attention immediately. For me to take it out of the package, sit down and start to read it? Seriously, it has happened maybe two or three times in the last two plus years. This one, happily, was one. By page seven I was laughing so hard that tears were running down my face. Here's the dedication:

Mom and Dad,

I could never have done this without your faith, support, and constant encouragement. Thank you for teaching me to believe in myself, in God, and in my dreams.

This book....aside from the nine F-words, thirteen Sh-words, four A-holes, page 257, and the entire Warren Beatty chapter....is dedicated to you.

You might want to avoid chapters twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, anything I quote Mom saying, and most of the end as well.

Sorry. Am I still cute as a button?

Love,

Elna

How, I ask you, could you resist reading on after an opening like that? In her first book, Elna Baker takes you along with her on her life since she moved to New York at age eighteen. She grapples with big questions: religion, faith, sex, love and life in an endearingly honest and frequently hilarious way. I think she's cute as a button, too. And I loved this book!

But don't take my word for it...here are some clips of the author herself, telling some of the stories that are included in the book. Bet you'll be hooked, too.

You can visit Elna's webpage and blog for more information about her! The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance is published by Plume/Penguin, ISBN 978-0-452-29649-7. Many thanks to Penguin for randomly sending me a wonderful book!!

Review: In the Shadow of the Sun King by Golden Keyes Parsons

Book One in the Darkness to Light Series

Madeleine Clavell lives happily with her husband, Francois, and three children in seventeenth century rural France. King Louis XIV has determined to unite France to one religion, Catholicism, and the result has been the rampant persecution of Protestants. Though Madeleine and her family are Protestant, they have been left alone due to her father's previous service at court and her own youthful dalliance with the King.

Everything changes when the King's Dragoons burst into their lives, demanding housing and wreaking havoc. Protestant children have been forcibly removed from their parents for raising by the Catholic church, so Madeleine and Francois manage to help their two small sons escape with the aid of their Uncle Jean.

In an attempt to stop the tyranny of the Dragoons, Madeleine journeys to Paris. She hopes that she can call on her prior relationship with Louis to prevent the destruction of her family's lives. She manages to meet with him, but he demands a price that she is unwilling to pay. When she returns home she is dealt a terrible blow and it will take all of her faith and fortitude to face the future and the coming trials.

"When your homeland, the hills and trees and rivers where you have built a home and a life and raised a family, is snatched away, where do you go? When the tapestry of your life that you have woven together through the years with the threads of laughter and tears is rent, what patch is used to mend the tear?"

King Louis XIV

The author based the idea for this book on a crumbling family diary that she happened to inherit from a relative. I love that this story is based on her own family's history and their journey, both geographical and spiritual. As was so often the case in our history (and, sadly, not entirely unheard of today) they only wanted a place to live simply and practice their religion freely. It is a vividly imagined, captivating novel full of adventure. The lovely thing is that, throughout the trials, a sense of hope and deep faith is maintained. I can't wait for the second installment in this series, A Prisoner at Versailles, coming out in the fall of 2009.

For more information, you can visit the author's website.

In the Shadow of the Sun King is published by Thomas Nelson. ISBN 978-1-59554-626-5.

Take a look at some other reviews of this book:

A Reader's Respite

Novel Teen

Nancy Famolari's Place

The Koala Bear Writer

Bookopolis