Snakehead

Recently I finished Snakehead, so far the last book in the Alex Rider series. I liked these books because they were a different genre for me, with lots of adventure and interesting characters. This book however, bought a new development to the series. Alex, whose parents were killed in a plane crash caused by his dad's spy work, has a godfather named Ash. He did not know of this until then, and he was eager to meet him. However, Ash is not as ready to tell Alex his father's story as Alex is to hear it. Yet still, they work together to try to infiltrate the infamous snakehead, which is made up of some Scorpia members. Scorpia is Alex's foes grouped together. He thought he had heard the last of them, but suddenly-here hey are! Their plot, concocted by old, feeble Major Yu, is to create a tidal wave that will destroy the island, and the people on it, that is set aside to help solve world hunger and poverty. Eight famous people are on the island, working for good, and Scorpia intends to kill them all. Also, along the way, the tsunami will probably end up killing thousands more than just those eight- a minor number to the Scorpia group. Alex and Ash partner up against the, but Alex is captured. The in my mind personally disturbed Major Yu sends Alex to a hospital of sorts, to have his organs taken out one by one, including his eyes, while he is still alive, and given to others. Disgusting. The doctors there assure Alex there is no means of escape- which proves to be false, along with the help of a few gadgets. Will Alex get to the bomb intended to create the tsunami in time to stop it? He meets up with some friends from his past, and they join in the fray. However, in one final battle between Scorpia and Alex, Alex discovers that Ash is not who he says he is. And yes, he does stop the bomb and save lives. This surprising twist on Ash made a good situational irony in the story, which I thought was a well written page-turner.

The Phantom of the Opera

After someone recommended this book to me I finally decided to check it out. It was a very well written book, and aside from being a horror/romance classical book, I found it to be a page-turner. It was written by Gaston Leroux and inspired the musical "The Phantom of the Opera", which was a play that Champlin Park put on at one point in time. The book is about three main characters: The beautiful, gentle, lovable opera understudy Christine Daae who seems to have lost her musical talent after the death of her father, but still is the back-up for the opera singer Carlotta. Then, there is the young M de Changy, who is Raoul. He is 21 and was Christine's play date when they were younger, and now he has fallen in love with her. Christine loves Raoul, but there is one person, if he may be called that, who is preventing an eminent announcement of their engagement. This being is known as the "Phantom of the Opera". At first, most dancers and audience members believe him to be a ghost, because he wears a white mask and is "as thin as death". However, he has a captivating voice and speaks to Christine without letting her see him. She believes that he is the "Angel of Music" that has come to help her regain her talents. Despite all of these identities given to him, the "Opera Ghost" is really a human by the name of Eric. He wears the mask to conceal a horrible dis figuration from birth. He lives on a lake under the Opera House where he sings and plays his organ, composing. He is an amazing singer, but despite all of his musical talent, not even his mother really loved him because of his face deformation. He falls for Christine as well, and takes her down to his house and plays the organ as she sings, inspiring her to redevelop some of her evasive talents. Eric then arranges for Carlotta to be "sick" to let Christine sing. She does, receiving a thunderous encore for her incredible singing. She becomes an illustrious opera singer. Eric, however, is driven mad with jealousy that she loves Raoul and kidnaps her. She has already seen his face; she tore off his mask while he had captivated her with his music, and he wants her to love him. When Raoul and a mysterious Persian come to save her, they are locked in a torture chamber of sorts, with hallucinations in a deadly hot desert forest mirage. Also, when Raoul's brother comes to try to save them, he dies "accidentally". Eric, with his cunning mind, set up rigged scorpion and grasshopper figurines- the scorpion symbolizing yes, the grasshopper no, for whether or not Christine would marry him. If she turned the grasshopper, the Opera House, with them in it, would blow up. She turns the scorpion to save everyone. However, Eric falls into remorse, and lets Christine go to marry Raoul. Sobbing, Eric watches her go after she cried with him in pity for him. He had one request: that she would take his dead body and bury it by the Opera House; he would die of a broken heart. And he did, within weeks. I felt so sad for him, despite the murders he committed, because no one ever really loved him. I found that to be something that would drive a person mad, which probably explains most of his actions. Although it is an old read, it is extremely well written (better than I described it), and I have heard some of the songs from the play and they are pretty awesome as well! I would recommend this book to anyone who does not mind a more challenging, classical read...or sad endings.

Cassidy

Now I have read the first book in the Big Sky Dreams series by Lori Wick. It is called Cassidy. It takes place in the same town as Sabrina, Token Creek, Montana Territory. Cassidy is a small blond with a stubborn determination to focus on others. She owns a small sewing shop, and works as its main seamstress. She is kind and brings a smile to every one's face, so the towns match-making couple begin to wonder why no one has married her yet. Most people suspect Chandler, the towns banker, will be the one to marry her. However, Cassidy charms an older gentleman, who, after ordering a few shirts from her, asks her to marry him. Cassidy gives him a definite no, because he is an easily angered man, who, despite his riches, wants everything to go his way. After an argument about the topic, Cassidy asks him what he would get out of the marriage, and he replies unflinchingly, sons. She turns him down time and time again, but is forced to continue to deliver clothing to him, because business is bad and he is a regular costumer. On top of this growing issue, Cassidy also has a secret. Her name is not really Cassidy Norton as she claims. Her name is Cassidy Sinclair, but she conceals this from her town because her brother is the famous bank robber Edson Sinclair. He has swindled many out of fortunes, and Cassidy does not want to be seen like he is. When Edson turned to gambling at a young age to get money, he became addicted, and soon ended up a robber. Cassidy left her shameful home to start fresh, and set up her shop in Token Creek. Her life is going well until her brother enters town after being released from jail.
Bringing a dangerous man named Neal and with Cassidy's hidden past in tow, Edson arrives at Token Creek in hopes of money. He starts to blackmail Cassidy into giving him the names of rich people he can swindle from the town, stating he will tell the whole town of her real family. However, she steadfastly refuses, positive that she can handle the situation without anyone getting hurt. When Edson carries out part of his plan and tells the banker Chandler about Cassidy being his sister, he puts a twist on things, saying she helped him steal and that is how she set up her seamstress shop. Chandler believes him and confronts Cassidy angrily about the subject. Stunned, Cassidy does not try to defend herself as he stomps away. When her pregnant friend Meg's brother, Trace, comes, he can tell it is bothering her. Under his comfort, she tells her story. Trace has a secret of his own to tell her- he loves her, as she had hoped, but he thought she loved Chandler. When she assures him this is false, he asks her to marry him. This squashes the rich man's hopes of marrying her once and for all, but Chandler really did like Cassidy, and, upset, moves out of town to Trace's disappointment. Edson leaves town after ordering Neal to beat up a local reporter for information. Cassidy is sure he will not return, but he does, anxious for money and penniless. His desperation drives him over the edge of logic and caution, and he breaks into Cassidy's dress shop. He directs Neal to hold a knife to Cassidy's friend Jeanette's side. With the threat looming over their heads, he tells Cassidy to go to the bank, withdraw all her money, and give it to him- or Jeanette dies. Kicking herself for believing she could handle the problem, she runs to the bank and withdraws the money. However, on her way back Trace sees how distressed she is and comes with her to the shop with his rifle, hoping that will cause Edson and Neal to surrender. Neal stabs Jeanette in the side, forcing Trace to shoot him. Jeanette heals after being nursed, and Cassidy and Trace marry and all that mushy stuff. Anyways, the message of the book was to never think that you can handle all of your own problems, you need God and other help from friends. I thought it was a pretty good book.

Sabrina

I just finished reading the book Sabrina, by Christian author Lori Wick. Set in the times of the Wild West, in Token Creek, Montana Territory, and Denver, Colorado in 1880, this book kept my attention. It is the second book in the Big Sky Dreams series, the first being Cassidy, which I am currently reading. I suppose I should have read that book first, since it is the first in the series, but oh, well. The book Sabrina is about a lonely young woman of about the age of 18. With no parents, she and her sister turned to prostitution for their wages. A police officer sees her at the scene of a death, and takes her under his wing. He brings her home to his wife, who takes pity on her. Astounded by their kindness to her, Sabrina Matthews begins to see God's love in their care for her. She starts reading the Bible they lend to her, and soon becomes eager for God's love. But how?, she wonders, studying the verses in the Bible, how can this holy God love me after all I have done? With some help from the police officer, Danny, and his wife, Callie, Sabrina finally understands that God loves everyone, no matter what, and she gives her life to him. However, just because she has left her past behind does not mean the men that paid her for her favors will. They continue to find her when she leaves the protection of Danny and Callie's house. Finally, Sabrina is forced to move, and with help from Danny and Callie, she chooses Token Creek, Montana Territory. It is a small town in the wide open.
When Sabrina arrives, she is instantly welcomed into the home of Jeanette and her friends and family. However, the uncomfortable resemblance of Jeanette's home to that of her sister, who abandoned her on the streets and lied to a rich young man to marry him disturbs Sabrina. Not wanting to trespass on Jeanette's kindness, and also partially due to the house, Sabrina begins a search for a home of her own. She finds an apartment in the rough side of town, but takes it anyways. She moves in quickly, but her beauty unfortunately draws the attention of many men with bad intentions. She tells them off, and meets new friends of better minds, such as Cassidy and Trace, Brad and Meg, and the town pastor, Rylan Jarvik. With their help, she gets acquainted with the town. Also, she takes pity on prostitutes like she was once, and befriends them, hoping to save them. One prostitute, Eliza, has a baby, and is being beaten when Sabrina steps in a joins in the fight, saving Eliza and her baby, Mirabel. Sadly, Mirabel dies of fever despite prayers. Sabrina is devastated, but comforted by Rylan. With his help, she learns to care for herself better in the rough part of town and works on helping another prostitute, Crystal. Just when she thinks she is safe, the man that was beating Eliza comes after Eliza goes to her family, and when Sabrina won't tell him where Eliza is, he beats her unconscious. After spending time recovering, Sabrina finds a new home with Rylan, whom she marries. At first, she is worried he won't have her because of her past, but he forgives all of it, and asks her to marry him.
I enjoyed this book a lot! It was well written. It's overall message was one of belonging, knowing that God forgives pasts and so do people who care about you. I found the story touching, so I would recommend it to any readers. It had a strong message of leaving pasts, however dirty they may be, and trusting God and moving on. I loved it!

More on Jesus Freaks

After reading more on Christian Heroes, which is an array of short stories arranged by Dave and Neta Jackson, I have decided to update my blog once more. I have found the overall theme of the book to be courage, bravery, and endurance. Every story told can be seen as a subplot in the whole plot, which is that there are Christians around the world being killed for their beliefs. The theme of all of these stories is to stay fast in your faith. This book, published in 2005, is a recent account of over 200 short stories of a martyrs. The dates of the deaths in it range from BC-AC. It gives a short history of why people believe so strongly in the BC times. It also includes a scripture passage after each story. The short clips are all true. Most are taken from direct accounts, but with some that is impossible. Take the story of John from BC times for instance. There is no account of how he felt lying in prison before he was beheaded, so the authors put themselves in his shoes and imagined how he must have felt as accurately as possible. Although they may have had to do a little play-acting, every event is a fact.
This book is a great non-fiction read for those that find books that recite information to you rather boring. Personally, I do not enjoy a non-fiction book unless it is about something of interest to me. This book kept my attention, while other informative books may not. I would give it high marks on being exciting and page-turning, although it still gives facts. The stories are all the truth, yet they are written in a way that seems exciting and emotional. The story I have found the most impacting so far in the book is one about a missionary and his uncle. The missionary was a strong, hearty man who was kind to the tribes he helped. He was delighted to hear that his nephew Gabriel was coming to help him. However, Gabriel was frail, so he had to be careful of any diseases. Still, he helped his uncle teach about God. One night, both of them were dragged out of their homes by enraged tribe members and tied to stakes. After being brutally tortured, surprisingly, it was the hearty missionary who died first, telling Gabriel to hold on. Feeble Gabriel lived to see the light of the next day. Then (this part horrified me), the tribe members, awed by his endurance and courage, took out his heart and ate it, hoping to absorb some of his courage. Stunning, but yet it is still a true story. That particular story, along with one about a man at a holocaust camp who gave up his life for a man with a wife and kids, has been burned into my mind. It surprised me to learn that this stuff goes on in our world! I had been oblivious to it until now. This book is well-written and eye-opening.

Jesus Freaks

I just finished reading the book Jesus Freaks and am halfway through a similar book called Christian Heroes. Both books are about martyrs for the Christian faith. The stories are astonishing and are eye-opening to the outside world. The faith of the Christians in the stories are amazing. Take Cassie Bernall for instance, the girl from the tragic Columbine shooting. When a crazed classmate held a gun to Cassie's head and asked "Do you believe in Jesus?", she bravely said "Yes". That answer cost Cassie her life. Another example is a soldier in the Communist army who refused to follow the Communist religion. He was ordered by a captain to stand outside in the frigid cold for every night in his summer uniform until he relented his faith in Jesus. The soldier dutifully stood in the freezing Russian air in his thin uniform, praying and praising God. After many nights, the man still refused to give up his faith. Though taunted by fellow soldiers and beaten, he still praised God. Theses martyrs give high examples of faith. Other stories are even deeper. These books were intense and impacting. Some brought tears, others brought laughter. Every single story sets a high standard for Christians. I think these books were amazing samples of Christianity. Though some stories were sad, I would recommend these books!