BOOK REVIEWS

Book Bingo has me reading like a crazy person.  :-)  And I LOVE it!  Here's my review of the last two books I just finished reading:

Despite an abundance of natural history and the syrupy style, "Freckles" by Gene Stratton Porter is a sweet book, with some fun, surprise plot twists.  My little brother recommended this book to me and I'm really glad I read it.  The hero, Freckles, is an orphan who lost his hand as a baby.  The story is about how he determines to prove himself despite the missing hand, no family and low self worth.  Through determination and hard work he comes to love the wild limberlost where he works as a guard for the trees the logging company will later remove.  His relationships with his boss who unofficially adopts him, the MacLeans with whom he boards, and the Swamp Angel who loves the wilderness as much as he does makes the story come to life.  This book reminds us not to judge people by the outside, but to let their actions reveal their true nobility.  It was a good and easy read.

Although  C.S. Lewis published "The Screwtape Letters" in 1942, its theme is every bit as appropriate today.  I read them as a teenager when my father lent me the book.  And now I am re-reading it with my daughters this summer.  Lewis is an imaginative writer.  This book is a collection of correspondence from a veteran devil to his apprentice nephew.  Throughout this work of fiction, real advice is present.  Simple tidbits such as Screwtape's simple statement that "the safest road to hell is the gradual one" should serve as a gentle reminder for many readers.  This book has wit, ingenuity, reverence and humor.  It is a timeless classic and very much apropos to today.  The only problem with "The Screwtape Letters" is that there is so much thought provoking stuff packed into every paragraph in this book, that I frequently had to stop reading and think about what I've just read, then go back and re-read.  It made reading this SHORT book take a lot longer than it should have.  C.S. Lewis is a genius!