Sunrise Point: My Review

Sunrise Point (Virgin River)

About the Book:

Tom Cavanaugh may think he wants a traditional woman, but in Virgin River, the greatest tradition is falling in love unexpectedly... 

Former marine Tom Cavanaugh's come home to Virgin River, ready to take over his family's apple orchard and settle down. He knows just what the perfect woman will be like: sweet, decent, maybe a little naive. The marrying kind.  

Nothing like Nora Crane. So why can't he keep his eyes off the striking single mother? 

Nora may not have finished college, but she graduated with honors from the school of hard knocks. She's been through tough times and she'll do whatever it takes to support her family, including helping with harvest time at the Cavanaughs' orchard. She's always kept a single-minded focus on staying afloat...but suddenly her thoughts keep drifting back to rugged, opinionated Tom Cavanaugh.

My Comments:

If you are familiar with the Virgin River books, you'll note that this one stays pretty close to the formula--ex-military guy meets and marries a pretty girl.  This was one of my favorites.  I enjoyed watching these two actually get to know each other before they ended up in bed, close to the end of the book.  Yes, there was attraction, but these two actually talked, and considered what they wanted in the future.  Comedic counterpoint was offered through the widow of Tom's military buddy.  At first you wanted to feel sorry for her, but by the time she leaves the scene I'm sure you'll be rejoicing along with Tom.  I loved Tom's grandmother and want to be just like her when I grow up.

Some of the Virgin River regulars make appearances but you don't need to have read the other books to enjoy this one.  There is also a character who seems to appear for no reason so I suspect we'll see him in an upcoming book.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  I was not obligated to write a positive review (or any review).  Grade:  B.

Review: The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids

The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids: How to Plan Memorable Family Adventures and Connect Kids to Nature

About the Book:

For parents of young children looking for a supremely economical family vacation, camping is the way to go: no matter where you live, you can pack up the car and drive to a campground, often in less than an hour—with a week's worth of campsite fees totaling less than one night in a nice hotel. But while today's generation of parents may have backpacked through India and shot class IV rapids in Idaho (or seldom strayed from their office cubicle), when it comes to the thought of changing a diaper in a tent at midnight—much less amassing, organizing, and packing the requisite kid gear—anxiety and trepidation can easily set in.

This book, by a seasoned camper and a mother of three, is a humorous and often irreverent introductory guide to camping with kids, from babies to pre-teens. Eschewing the encyclopedic, author Helen Olsson writes from a parent's point of view, giving readers a clear plan—and plenty of encouragement—for an enjoyable family camping experience.

The book covers basics like choosing a destination, packing gear and food, setting up the campsite, planning menus, and keeping safe, all with an emphasis on the needs and concerns of parents with younger children. Each chapter features checklists, including "Little Tykes" lists dedicated to items for babies and toddlers. Other features include stand-alone tip boxes and sidebars on topics like renting gear, the best high-tech and natural clothing fabrics, "Top 5 Ways to Curb Whining," and the ever-important etiquette for pottying in the woods. A section on camping activities includes detailed arts and craft projects for kids, with materials lists and illustrated step-by-step instructions. The book focuses on car camping, with the last section covering alternate ways to camp: backpacking, canoe/kayak trips, hut camping, and trips with pack animals.

Like a trusted friend (albeit one who can haul a 30-pound toddler in a sled on a winter hut-camping trip), Olsson shares first-person anecdotes and lessons learned over years of camping with her family. With its authentic, can-do voice and contemporary design, The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids will appeal not only to first-time campers but to veteran campers befuddled by the challenges of carting their brood into the woods.

My Comments:
I'm a Girl Scout leader and I love to take my girls camping.  That being said, I love Girl Scout camps--they come equipped with cabins and platform tents and fully equipped kitchens.  It makes for a lot less stuff to haul.  However, when NetGalley offered this book, I thought I'd take a look, hoping I could find some ideas to use with my girls.  I got a few ideas for campfire desserts (mostly different versions of s'mores) and for games.  I despise crafts but could probably even pull off some from this book.

In short, if you have every considered tent camping with your family, this book is just the encouragement you   need to take the plunge, or the reality check you need to convince you that the money for the hotel room is well spent.  Grade:  B+

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

I'd like to welcome everyone to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other. To particpate, go to your blog and create an entry titled Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. In it, highlight one or more of your posts from the past week that you believe would be of interest to Catholic bloggers---whether they are posts reflecting on spiritual matters or posts about antics of Catholic kids, or anything in between. Come back here and enter the URL of that post below. Finally, go visit other participants, and leave comments! 

If you want a weekly reminder to post, join our yahoogroup. I'm glad to have everyone here, and just want to remind you that posts linked below should contain a link back here.

One book review this week:  Wherever Lily Goes, which is Catholic fiction about a family with a member who has Down's Syndrome.

Catholic Company Book Review: Wherever Lily Goes

Wherever Lily Goes

About the Book:

Terry Lovely isn't expecting any great rewards for her decision to uproot her family, move halfway across the country and take care of her sister Lily, who has Down Syndrome. What Terry will eventually discover, however, is that Lily will give more than she will ever take, including a certain something Terry doesn't even know is missing.

My Comments:

I loved the first book in this trilogy, Until Lily (see my review) so I grabbed this one when The Catholic Company offered it for review.  While I enjoyed it, I found it more preachy and less well written than Until Lily.  

Terry's family consists of her and her husband, along with their three girls, the youngest of whom is about ten.  The oldest is a troubled teen.  When Lily needs a caretaker, Terry and her husband decide to uproot the family and move across the country to be with Lily, rather than disrupting Lily's life and bringing her to them.  They quickly become friends with Lily's favorite priest who becomes Terry's spiritual mentor.  Though  Terry has not been much of a churchgoer, she joins a mom's group in Fr. Fitz's parish and studies Pope John Paul II's On the Dignity and Vocation of Women which is quoted in many places throughout the book.  

This whole trilogy is set in the future,which is a little confusing and hard to remember at times.  There are just a couple of references to the past, which remind the reader that the story is set about 30 years in the future.  In this book Terry remembers the Swine Flu year and how everyone was always carrying hand sanitizer.  In another scene a mom tells Terry that due to socialized medicine the bureaucrats, not the parents, got to decide if premature babies were treated or only given "comfort care".  

Conversations with Fr. Fitz deal with forgiveness of others and forgiveness of self.  He urges prayer as the first step in helping a troubled child.  Still, for all the conversations with Fr.Fitz, Terry herself never comes across as terribly religious; in fact she readily admits that she doesn't pray and doesn't feel anything when she  does--which gives Father an opening to talk about the dark night of the soul. 

All in all, it was an enjoyable story, a little heavy-handed on the religion but still a good read.  Grade:  B.  

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Wherever Lily Goes. They are also a great source for a baptism gifts or first communion gifts.