My Review: Entertaining Angels

It isn't often you start reading a book with absolutely no idea of what the book is about; without even a cover image to give you a feel for the book. Today, however, when I started Entertaining Angels, I truly had no clue. It was a plain-covered ARC, one of two books sent to me this week by Nancy Berland, the other being Don't Bargain with the Devil. A bookmark in the book showed a park scene, but was from another book by the same author, Judy Duarte. I wondered if it was a romance, chick-lit, or what. When I opened the book and saw a scripture quote, I wondered if it was Christian fiction. I'm still not sure what genre the book is, though I guess it would be considered inspirational fiction; but I know I enjoyed it.

Have you ever read the Joshua books by Joseph Girzone? This book reminds me of them. An apparently homeless man named Jesse interacts with all the main characters and while he doesn't do much more than listen, and then say a few things, those words become powerful agents of change in their lives. Who are the main characters? Well, there is Renee, a pregnant teen who begins the book by leaving her relative's home rather than aborting her baby. There is Kristen, a single mom who is raising her son alone, and taking care of her grandmother, who was disabled by a stroke she had the same night Renee snuck out, got drunk, and got pregnant. There is Craig, the new assistant minister at the community church. Originally he had hoped for a career in professional baseball but after a rotator cuff tear and making a bargain with God in prayer, he gave it up to follow in his grandfather's footsteps in the ministry. Daniel and Cassandra are members of the church. Since the home the church was to provide for Craig wasn't ready, he was staying at their house. Daniel is a successful attorney and they are well off financially, but Craig realizes that not all is right in the house. Shauna is their daughter. She just told them that she is engaged to a guy from a wealthy family, but she's not thrilled. Dawn and Joe are the couple who run the food kitchen at the church. They love each other, but their greatest sorrow is that they were never able to have a baby. Jesse enters each of their lives briefly and helps point them on the road to happiness. It is a sweet feel-good read and can either be taken only at that level or the reader can realize that much of the advice Jesse gives can be for all of us. Also, the book has a strong pro-life message so that's another factor in its favor. This is one I'd definitely recommend.

You may have noticed that I used the word "inspirational" rather than "Christian" to describe the book. While it is rather easy to see Jesse as a Jesus figure, he could just as well have been an angel, and really the book points more to him as an angel than as Christ. While God is mentioned a few times, and much of the story revolves around the church, we don't attend any services and I don't remember seeing Jesus' name in the book.

Thanks Carol Smith at Nancy Berland for the chance to read and review this book.
Check out Judy Duarte's website.

My Review: Don't Bargain with the Devil

In case you couldn't tell by the picture on the cover, this book is NOT Christian fiction and it contains no faith elements. It also contains explicit sex scenes and sex between unmarried people.

Now that the disclaimers are out of the way, I 'll tell you I really enjoyed this book and would like to thank Nancy Berland for sending it to me.

Don't Bargain with the Devil is the fifth book in a series called School for Heiresses, which are all set at a girls' English boarding school in the 1800's. The heroine in this one is a young woman who is a recent graduate and now a teacher at the school. She is the adopted daughter of an English colonel. The hero is a Spanish magician who moves into the estate next door with the stated purpose of turning it into a pleasure garden (kind of a show house from what I gather; not immoral on its face, but likely to attract unsavory folks). His ulterior motive is to find the kidnapped granddaughter of a Spanish nobleman and to return her to her grandfather. The two meet, sparks fly....

Yes, this is a happily ever after romance, and no, there is no real deep meaning to be found in the story. However, the characters are well-developed and the resolution is more than just them getting together.

As noted earlier, this book is part of a series. I haven't read the rest of the books, but judging by a few clues in this book and a preview of the next one, the owner of the school, widow Charlotte Harris, rents the building and grounds from "Cousin Michael" at far less than market rent. The only proviso to this arrangement is that she is not to know his real identity; she communicates with him through his attorney. Each chapter beings with a short note from one of them to the other. Charlotte is becoming curious about Michael's identity, and it sounds like she'll discover it in the next book Wed Him Before You Bed Him, which will be out in July. I'll certainly add it to my list of books to be read. Don't Bargain with the Devil will be available in June.

The Moment Between: My Review

I'm usually one to talk much more about plot than writing style, but this week I have read two books in which the writing style was extraordinary. The first was Silver Birches, about which I just finished writing. The second is The Moment Between, the story of a young woman who found her sister's body after her sister committed suicide. Nicole Baarat threads three time periods throughout the book. Each chapter includes a section in italics which describes Abigail finding her sister's body and dealing with the immediate aftermath. Each chapter also includes a section telling about the sisters' relationship with each other and with their parents, starting with Abigail's birth and ending shortly before Hailey's death. The third thread is today's story--what is happening in Abigails life now, as she attempts to deal with the death of her sister.

After the death of her sister, Abigail tries to find her sister's boyfriend. Though they lived in south Florida, she tracks him to vineyard in British Columbia. The owner of the vineyard befriends her and gives her a job. The vineyard is one of those that not only grows grapes and makes wine, but also caters to tourists. After spending the summer there, and going through some experiences, some of which I'll talk about below, Abigail gains some peace about her sister.

Until I got about 2/3 of the way through this book I was ready to give it five stars, which I very rarely do. Since I finished the book, I'm going to give it three stars--a good story, great writing, but it misrepresents the Catholic faith. At first, I thought maybe it was just a matter of incomplete research, or not quite getting it right. That's what struck me when someone said the Lord's Prayer and ended it with "For the Kingdom, the power and the glory are Yours, now and forever, Amen". At mass, we say that after the Our Father, but another prayer is said in between them by the priest "Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ." At that point the people say "For the kingdom...." However, when Catholic say the Our Father outside of mass we say "...and deliver us from evil, Amen." and from what I know Protestants generally end it with "for thine is the..." However, if this was the only problem with this book, I'd still give it five stars.

The owner of the vineyard and Abigail start talking about religion. Abigail is, she admits, a lapsed Catholic. Her family was never terribly devout, though she was made to attend "Sunday School" (a term Catholics rarely use). Her sister, when it is time for her to be confirmed, becomes very devout, attending mass and confessing weekly (the Church requires once a year; many spiritual directors recommend monthly). Her sister is mentally ill and self-injurious. Anyway, the owner of the vineyard asks Abigail about purgatory. She tells him it is a place where you have to make up for your sins. One nice thing about the Catholic church is that you don't have to take my word, or my pastor's word, on what it teaches. The teachings are written down and freely accessible. Upon searching for purgatory in the Catechism of the Catholic Church I find:
1472 To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church,
it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin
deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal
life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the
other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures,
which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called
Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal
punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of
vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature
of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the
complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would
remain.84

1473 The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with
God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal
punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all
kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive
to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works
of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance,
to put off completely the "old man" and to put on the "new man."85

In other words, the purpose of purgatory isn't to punish us, it is to change us, to convert us to God's way--because for most of us there are sins that we are more sorry are sins than we are for committing them.

Also, Abigail and the vineyard owner get talking about Hailey's suicide and you definitely get the impression that Abigail is worried about Hailey's soul since she committed suicide. You also get the impression from the book that the Catholic church would condemn her. Here is what the Catechism says about suicide:

2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law. Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.
2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.

In short, contrary to what might be believed after reading this book, the Catholic church does not encourage penance for the sake of punishing yourself for sins, but rather to lead you away from sin. Purgatory is not for punishment but to eliminate attachment to sin. Abigail's sister was a mentally ill young woman with a major stressor in her life at the time she took it. While none of us can know the state of another's soul, we trust in a loving and merciful God.

I realize the author is not Catholic, and I realize this book is marketed primarily to non-Catholics. However, as my mom used to say, "If the only way you can make yourself look good is to knock someone else, then you must not be very good". Hailey and Abigail's Catholic identity was not crucial to this book. They could have just grown up in a home of little faith, with Hailey becoming really religious in some generic church as a teen. As a generic Christian not really a believer, Abigail could have worried about Hailey's soul and sought to avenge her death.

Also, the climax scene in this book is unrealistic. The vineyard owner is sitting in a barn, with the door open and bread and wine on the table. She notices the door open and checks out the area. He says he's been here every nite waiting for her. They share bread and wine and he describes it as communion--with her making the Catholic comment, quickly quashed, that they don't have a priest. Sorry, I just can't see a guy sitting alone in a barn like that for months waiting for her to come. I know he is a metaphor, but when people are metaphors they also have to work as people, and in this scene, he doesn't.

I've rarely felt so let down by the ending of a book.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Welcome to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. This meme, which is a replacement for the Catholic Carnival run by Jay at Living Catholicism for many years, is a place for Catholic bloggers to direct others to their posts and a place for us to meet other Catholic bloggers. Some partipants blog exclusively, or almost totally about Catholic topics; others, like me, periodically have such posts. Both are welcome here. To participate, go your blog and create a post titled "Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival". In it, summarize and link to at least on of your posts from the last week, which post should have a least a little to do with Catholicism (even if it is just showing off the cute Catholic kid). In your post, link to this post. Then, come back here and add your name to Mr. Linky. You may also leave a comment. Visit the other blogs on the list and enjoy.

If you would like a weekly reminder to participate in Sunday Snippets-A Catholic Carnival, click here to subscribe.

If I wasn't hosting, this would be a week where I did not participate, since none of my posts related to Catholicism. However, you are invited to peruse my book reviews and enter my contests.

Addendum: I think I picked the wrong Mr. Linky widget, and since folks have already signed, I'm not going to change it this week. To use this version of Mr. Linky, click on the button. You have to click it not only to sign, but also to see who else has signed. Sorry, I'll make sure I get the right one next week.

1. MissJean aka J Balconi 2. Renee 3. Moonshadow

4. Evann @ Homeschool Goodies 5. Karin@Daughter of the King 6. Nod

7. Luuk Dominiek OP 8. J Pieters 9. womanatwell

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