The Privilege of Youth Book Review

The Privilege of Youth

By: Dave Pelzer

Book Review

This is the third book that I've read by Dave Pelzer. The first was The Boy Called It and the second was The Lost Boy (follow the links to my reviews of both books). Of the three this book was the most dry and the least emotionally challenging. Of course it also covers a chunk of time that is relatively small and details exploits of youth that seem a bit radical (either that or I wasn't as wild a youth as I thought that I was lol).

It's a good read though. And taken with the other two books it goes chronologically through this young man's life from trauma to drama, from pain to love, and from isolation to inclusion. You can't help but pump a fist in the air as this young man gets stronger and stronger throughout his life and it's many challenges. 

It's a book I would not hesitate to read again and again, along with the two books that proceeded it. Although, due to some of the stunts he pulls in his youth, it IS a book that I might hesitate to hand my teenage son. Only because I cannot fathom allowing him to get these ideas of wild things to do because I handed him this book. In all other ways it's a perfectly good book for him to read, just not so much with all of his neurons not firing correctly and his choices to do reckless things to begin with. 

I really don't want to get too detailed with this book as it's specific to an age and time and each thing that happens will make you either gasp, laugh, or cringe. Check it out for yourself!

A Man Named Dave is the next book in this series and I do not own it so I will have to either purchase it or borrow it from the library. It is a book that I will make sure to read before the end of 2017 though.

The Lost Boy - Book Review

The Lost Boy

By - Dave Pelzer

Book Review

This is the second book in this series (check out my review on the first book here). This one is a much easier book to read emotionally. You find yourself pulling for the boy to do the right thing and chuckling a bit at some of his antics. You learn something about the foster care system and how well it can work even when it shows that there's still problems with the system.

Up and down in the world of a teenage boy. This book is amazing in that it never slows down. You can always tell just what mood you should be in and even when the boy is acting out you willingly relax and say to yourself, "He's just a kid." You find yourself amazed at some of the situations that he finds himself in ... wishing that you could do something to get him out of a couple of them. Noticing that his drive was strong even as a young man.

This is a book that I can recommend that everyone read, even if you haven't read the first book. It's an uplifting tale of overcoming adversity on a grand scale and a good read on top of that. I think that I'll be having ECJ check this book out after he's done with the one he's currently working on.

The Boy Called It - Book Review

The Boy Called It

By - Dave Pelzer

Book Review

Honestly, I didn't look into this book before I began reading it. I read the back of the book, took a big gulp, thought to myself how bad can it really be? ... and began reading. I wasn't even two chapters in when it brought tears to my eyes. This poor child! How could anybody, let alone someone's mother, do this to a child? And it got worse from there! 

The book itself is written well and reads well but emotionally this book is a stinker! It'll make you cry and get angry by turns over and over again in every single chapter. And just when you think there can't possibly be anything worse that happens to this child you find out that you were wrong! The horrors just keep getting heaped upon him and it makes it worse for you to realize that this is a true story. This happened to this little boy. His mother was truly a monster. And it makes you weep.

I couldn't get through the book in one sitting, though some morbid part of my brain kept pushing me to read more. I set it aside right before I went to bed and I had nightmares all night long. I was an outsider trying to help this poor boy and nothing that I did was enough to help and I had to watch as the woman who should have been protecting and loving him tortured him. I had the same nightmare over and over again and each time it ended the same way.

I did finish this book in two nights. Not because I wanted more nightmares but because I needed to get through it ... there's more books after this one and I'd never get to the good parts of this poor boy's life if I couldn't get through the worst parts. The last two chapters I read in a frenzy to finish. To get beyond what had happened to this poor child. To grasp just how truly evil some people are and that they do indeed live in this world with us.

You never truly know what goes on in other people's houses. This book is a sad reminder of that fact. And I'd like to applaud the brave people who risked their jobs to save this boy from the torture that he went through in his young life.

Shimmer - Book Review

Shimmer

By - Alyson Noel

The book Shimmer is the second in Ms Noel's series starring the main character Riley, the young woman who's passed on to the Here and Now. You can read my review of the first book in the series Radiance here. In this book, even though Riley and her partners are technically on vacation, she gets herself into a rather big puddle of trouble that she drags her friends into as well. She learns from having to deal with this trouble just exactly what she's actually made of and helps not only herself and her friends but also several lost souls in the process. But, will she be rewarded for her efforts ... and if she is rewarded will it matter?

I cannot say how much I love this book and the one before it. They're short reads but well written and something that even my teenage boy doesn't mind reading (and doesn't realize that there's character lessons in them). Several more of Ms Noel's books, from this series and others, can be found on Amazon here. I'm sure that you can find them several other places as well and before I buy the next books in this series, and perhaps other books that she's written in other series, I'll be looking at my library to see if I can borrow them. Of course this means that I have to pay my library fine so that we can check books out of the library again (somehow a movie got lost in translation between us and the library and it can't be found at either place so we have to pay to replace it). 

I really need to get to the next book in this series though because I really want to know if Riley does get rewarded for her efforts or not!

I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

Radiance - Book Review

Radiance

By: Alyson Noel

Book Review

Have you ever sat and wondered what happens to you after life? What Heaven is like? Just what do you do for eternity? This book just might be for you! In a wonderfully written short novel Alyson Noel tells us through the eyes of the main character, a spunky recently dead preteen, what happens after you pass on.

Part of this book takes place in what the author calls the Here and Now (aka the spiritual plane). We start with this head strong preteen taking us through her experiences of what has happened to her since she's passed away. She's not confused as to if she's dead or not but the rules of her new reality are a little hard to get used to right away.

She's given a job of having to help wayward souls to cross the bridge into the Here and Now instead of lingering on here with us on earth where they're not fulfilling their destiny. Follow her on her trip and smile at each success she has.

This little novel is just a short read and one that I really enjoyed. Pick this book up or borrow it from the library and enjoy yourself a good little read!

Island of Lost Girls - Book Review

Island of Lost Girls

By - Jennifer McMahon

Book Review

I started reading this book with a little trepidation. I don't usually like books with children being missing ... speaks to a deep seated fear of mine. But, once I began reading this book I was quickly drawn into the story line. How did the missing girl from now have anything to do with the missing girl from the main character's childhood? Who was the mysterious Peter Rabbit who kidnapped the little girl right out of her mother's car in the middle of the day? Where was Rabbit Island? All these questions kept me reading the next chapter and the next until suddenly all was revealed and the book was finished.

There are plot twists and questions throughout this book and it will keep you guessing at what is coming next. Follow the twists and turns of a small town girl's childhood, watch as the newly kidnapped girl eats at the main character until she gets to the bottom of the mystery, and just when you think the book is finished be astounded by the secrets revealed from her childhood.

There's a couple of scenes that include mild sexual content and one in particular that will have your blood boiling in indignation for the victim. Neither are so explicit that I wouldn't allow my teenage son to read the book. But, perhaps ... since the book is so real to life ... it's not a book that I would hand him to read at the moment. He's well aware that our world is not all sunshine and rainbows and he knows of most of the terrible things that can happen to people when others prey on them. I just don't think that he's quite ready for some of the stark reality that this book reveals.

All in all this is a wonderful book and I will be reading it again. But, for now, I have so many more books to read on my reading list that it'll be more than a year before I return to it. Perhaps then I'll allow my son to read it as well.

Promise Not to Tell - Book Review

Promise Not to Tell

By: Jennifer McMahon

Book Review

This is one of those books that you read the first couple of pages of and think about setting down. There's just not much in those first couple of pages that instantly grabs you ... especially if you have read the back of the book. Boom! Murder happened ... well, if you read the back of the book you knew it was going to and relatively quickly too. BUT ... I kept reading. Not because I was truly interested at this point but because it was a book I'd never even heard of before by an author that I wasn't familiar with.

I am so glad that I kept reading! After what I considered to be a nonstarter start of the book it really did pick up. With each new chapter another bit of the story came out. With each new chapter a new bit of what seemed to be paranormal evidence came to light. It truly was gripping. I read the first two chapters one day and the entire rest of the book the following evening. I simply couldn't put it down. And while there are some sexual overtures throughout the book that brought some questions to mind (part of the book is set in the 70s where there was a more relaxed view of sexuality and it shows in those sections of the book) they weren't to the point that it interrupted the story. Instead it lent a more real aspect to the entire book.

Even up to the very last two chapters where you're fairly certain that you know what is going to happen it keeps you guessing. While I wouldn't recommend this for a teenager or young reader ... murder, mystery, paranormal, sex ... I would recommend it for the average adult reader. There are parts of the book that I morally do not agree with but that my logical brain understands exist and simply add to the reality of the book.

If not for this book being an obvious work of fiction you could almost believe that it really was a true story. The plot twists will keep you coming back for more. 

You can purchase this book from Amazon here. No, I am not an affiliate of Amazon I just shop there a lot.

House of Night Series - Book Review

House of Night Series

Book Review

Burned and Awakened

By: P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

I read these two books of this series, thinking to review them before I gave them to ECJ to read. They're about vampires, one of the topics that ECJ loves to read about. Well, although these books are marketed towards teens (as shown by the ages of the main characters) this is not a series that I want my teenage son to read. It's a good series, from the two books of it that I actually read, in that it engages the reader fully in the story. There are just some sexual content that I don't find appropriate for my teenager to read.

Both books were engaging. The idea of the mix of vampires, magic, the battle between good and evil (Light and Dark) ... all of it is done very well. It caught my imagination and kept me entertained through the reading of both books. To the point that I wouldn't mind reading the rest of the series ... I sort of jumped into them near the middle to end of the series. You can get the entire series on Amazon here for a pretty decent price. The mixture between how teenagers normally feel and the magic and mysticism of these books is a great blend. And the sexuality that is included in the books isn't very graphic so could be overlooked by a lot of people. As I said, I wouldn't mind reading the rest of the series but I don't find it appropriate for my teenager.

Even in just the two books from this series that I read you can get a good feel of the battle between Light and Dark, good and bad, and the struggle that the characters face trying to find a balance in their choices. There's major points earned when you realize that some of the characters choose darkness after following the light, some never stray from the light, and others choose light even though they've been touched by darkness. It shows a humanity normally not shown in vampire books. We all have to choose between right and wrong and these books show the characters facing these types of decisions.

Overall I think that it is a good series and perhaps I'll read more of them. I bought these two books at the thrift store so if I can find a good deal on the rest of the series I probably will read the rest of them. Perhaps, even save them for ECJ for when he's a bit older and not just newly turned 15 ... if his interest in vampires remains.

The Homeschool Reader - Book Review

The Homeschool Reader

Collected Articles from

Home Education Magazine

1984 - 1994

Book Review

Do you remember Readers Digest? You know, that collection of short stories and articles that you could pick up and read all different kinds of things in one book, never feeling as if you were being overwhelmed, or getting too bored because the next one started in just a page or two? Yeah, that's the feeling that you get with this book. Each article has it's own rhythm and pace and only lasts a few pages. Get a couple paragraphs in and feel like you don't need to read that article? Fine! Just turn the page a time or two and reach the next article.

From why to homeschool, how to homeschool, and each subject that you can teach... This book is laid out in a logical and friendly manner. Getting stuck on social studies or history? Just flip to the articles that deal with that. Want another point of view on how you're teaching math? Or maybe you've just wondered exactly how do you teach math as an unschooler... It's all covered in this book.

I keep telling y'all that most of my reading is done in the bathtub (and just where else can a homeschool mom catch more than half an hour of silence I'd like to ask) and most of the time I read the books in a couple of baths over the course of a week or so. This one took me a bit longer. Not because it is a slow read, not because I was bored with it, and not because it's a very long book ... but because I was enjoying myself with the meat of each article.

I did learn how an unschooler might teach math by the way ... and honestly I do most of what an unschooler does without even knowing it. We do math while cooking, at the grocery store, in the car. I just hadn't thought about it being "real" math even though it's the math that all of us adults use on a daily basis. Mind blown! 

Is this the be all end all homeschooling how to book? Nope, but you won't go wrong with reading it. You might not enjoy every article and you might not agree with some of them. But, it's not going to load you down with a bunch of doubts and fears about homeschooling. It breaks the whole process down into bite sized chunks that we all can handle.

While I wouldn't buy this book for my collection I would recommend seeing if you can find it at your local library and giving it a looky-loo. It's not going to captivate your interest like that page turning who done it book we all have come across from time to time but it will keep your mind turning and maybe even give you some insight into an area of homeschooling that you just didn't understand before. 

Survival Guide - Book Review

Magic Tree House

Survival Guide

By: Mary Pope Osborne

and

Natalie Pope Boyce

Book Review

The Magic Tree House Survival Guide is a pretty awesome little book to read. It pulls in bits and pieces from the Magic Tree House book series as it walks you through some basic tips on survival, like what to do if you get lost, and some more complicated survival tips, like how to survive a lion attack! While most of our children don't need to know what to do if a lion attacks or tigers, we all want them to know what they should do if they were to become lost. One of my worst fears as a parent is that one of my children will become lost on a hike and not know what to do.

I love this whole series! It's great adventure books for boys and girls with a dash of magic and easy to read chapters. Each book, including this one, can easily be broken up by chapter or section and read bit by bit each day. They're able to drag you into the story quickly and keep you interested which is just what's needed for young readers in my opinion.

ECJ and YCJ both read this book without me and I read it to Peanut. No one took longer than a week to read it and each and every one of us enjoyed it. Did you know that experts say hugging a tree when you're lost will help you calm down? I didn't either until I read this book. I also didn't know that tigers attack from behind! The things you can learn from a book!

Honestly, I picked this book up on a whim from our local library. It wasn't on my "books to read" list, I hadn't noticed it before when looking into the series, and had no clue that it even existed! But, I am so very glad that I grabbed it off of the shelf! I didn't grab it because we were doing any survival skills for science (although, we will be next summer), I didn't grab it because someone suggested it to me knowing that my family reads the series, and I didn't grab it for the facts it contained. I saw it and thought to myself, "Oh, this could be fun to read!" And it was!

If you have a fan of the Magic Tree House series I would suggest you pick this little gem up as well. You can get it relatively inexpensively on Amazon here (no, I am NOT an affiliate). There's also puzzle books and journals and so much more that I didn't know existed with this series to be found on Amazon here. And I often use the lesson plans for each book that can be found here.

Yes, I love this series! And I cannot wait for Peanut to begin reading them on her own and enjoying them as YCJ and ECJ did. I will be purchasing the whole set, even if it's book by book, for Peanut starting this upcoming spring. We'll begin by reading them out loud together and I know eventually she'll take over the reading from me. I just may get the journal and a few puzzle books as well! But one book that will be gracing our shelves here is the Magic Tree House Survival Guide, because I know that it's a book we'll return to again and again while we go through our lives. Who knows, maybe one of the campers will go to Africa one of these days and need to know what you should do in case a lion attacks!  

The Christian Home School Book Review

The Christian Home School

By: Gregg Harris

Book Review

This book is a great how to start, and maintain focus, of your homeschool in a Christian way. It begins with reasons why the authors think that homeschooling is the best option and gives tangible examples. Throughout the entire book the Bible is referenced in conjunction with their opinions and really makes you realize that indeed homeschooling can be a calling from God.

There are eleven well written chapters in this book, as well as a complete introduction and conclusion. You will never find yourself lost as you read this book. I'll admit that it took me nearly a week to finish reading it, but in my defense I only read when in the bathtub soaking and I only soaked my aching back three times in the last week. A homeschooling mom needs to get her breaks where she can ya know!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and not just because of it's Christian nature. There are great pointers on how to get ready to homeschool. Looking into the laws of your state, getting and choosing curriculum, looking for support groups or co-ops in your area, and joining the Homeschool Legal Defense Association.  There's plenty of other books and periodicals that the author mentions might be a good place to look for more information or read.

I really don't want to go word for word through this book with you as I think you should either buy yourself a copy online or borrow a copy from your local library and you'll soon see why I enjoyed this book so very much.

The fate of empires depends on the education of our youth.

Aristotle

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Home Schooling: Parents as Educators (book review)

Home Schooling

Parents as Educators

By: Maralee Mayberry

J. Gary Knowles

Brian Ray

Stacy Marlow

BOOK REVIEW

(I received nothing to review this book. The opinions written here are my own and are unsolicited.)

Let me begin by saying that I didn't even read the back cover of this book when I picked it up from the library. I didn't glance at anything but the title. As soon as I opened this book I knew I was in for some trouble. This is a very research based book and was written by professors and assistant professors who received a grant from the government to study homeschooling from different angles. It is, by it's nature, a very dry read. The authors sampled home educators and school superintendents from three different states, with varied results, and limited replies to their questionnaires. They are very up front about this.

Reading through just the introduction to the book you quickly come to realize that you are in for a very dry read highlighting the differences between home education and "professional" educators. Research was done in the early 90's to preface this book and so is also slightly out of date. 

I found I was forcing myself to finish each page, chapter, and finally the book. Like stereo instructions, it's something that you might not want to read and therefore are only reading it because it MAY contain information that you will find useful at some point in the future. The text is littered with what I call hundred dollar words, or to put it another way ... words from a literary dictionary that aren't widely used in conversation. Even though I pride myself in my vocabulary and have some college education I stumbled over a few or the words here and there simply because I come across them so infrequently. 

Scattered throughout the book are stories and quotes from home educators who responded to the initial questionnaire and were later interviewed for further information. There's also several tables of statistics in the book based upon those initial questionnaires. Most of the information that I gleaned from this book I did not previously know ... in that one way it was educational and enlightening. 

Perhaps having this book in your home library would be a good thing (it's relatively short, only seven chapters). I suppose it could be used as something to present to a local superintendent that may be unresponsive to homeschooling. Certainly it doesn't take up much room and if you've read it once I seriously doubt you'll go back to it unless you find that you have a need to reference some of the data given. I honestly think that you would be better served with just about ANY other homeschooling book no matter how dated it's information may be. 

Just because this book isn't for me doesn't mean that it's not for someone. 

Homeschool Highway Book Review

* I received no money, promises, nor anything else for giving this review. It is my honest opinion, given freely. The link to the book on Amazon is right in it's title just in case you want to purchase it for yourself as she's re-releasing it!*

Homeschool Highway

By - Amy Dingman

Oh my God, y'all!!! This book! This book right here! It's awesome beyond words! Seriously I read this book in two sittings (well, technically two baths since as a homeschool mom of three I basically only get time to really read in the tub) and although I was pleased with how it ended I was left wanting more to read because it was just that good!

This is NOT a how to from A - Z book of homeschooling. You're not going to pick it up and know what your state requires (remember that all states have different requirements and laws and you should know what your states laws are), the ultimate 100% foolproof curriculum (there is no such thing y'all), nor are you going to find a schedule or set of rules to follow each day to make your homeschooling day perfect.

What you will find is the truth about homeschooling. As Mrs. Dingman puts it the pot holes in the Homeschool Highway (or in other words the challenges you'll face on your homeschool journey) and her suggestions on how to face them. She is truthful with how she presents herself as well, she doesn't sugar coat it ... homeschool is NOT all rainbows and sunshine. But, she reminds us that it is our choice to be on the highway ... we made the choice to homeschool, no one forced us into it.

In just nine short chapters she'll have you chuckling and nodding at nearly every page. It's insightful and helpful in more ways than one. Have that family member that continuously quizzes your children? She covers that. How about that feeling that you're failing because so and so down the road at the co-op has children who are fluent in Latin and have perfect penmanship? Yup, she covers that too. Feeling like a failure because you just need to get away from the kids once in awhile? That too is covered.

So, order this book (hard copy or Kindle) and grab yourself a glass of wine. Break into that secret stash of chocolate you hide from the kids and settle in for a good read. As Mrs. Dingman would put it (paraphrasing here), "Pull you Minivan of Awesome onto the Homeschool Highway and enjoy the ride."