Limelight

a novel
by Melody Carlson

Claudette Fior is an elderly widow who returns to her hometown because she can no longer afford the Hollywood lifestyle she is used to. She is afraid that she will be bored and lonely. She manages the move with a great deal of help from her step-son but when he leaves her on her own, she is almost helpless. She eventually makes friends and learns to do things for herself.

I truly enjoyed this book. It was a glimpse into a world and lifestyle that is far removed from mine. I liked the fact that the main character is old and I found it enlightening to see things from that point of view. The story was easy to follow, interesting, and alternately poignant and hilarious.

Unbound

A true story or war, love, and survival
by Dean King

This is the story of the "Long March" of Mao Zedong's Chinese Red Army in 1934-35 and especially the 30 women of the First Army division who walked the 4,000 mile journey. It tells of the incredible hardships of the trail, the horrific battles they fought, and the heartbreaking decisions made along the way.

This is the most fascinating book I have read since Baby Catcher; I was absolutely riveted. Before I read it, I knew almost nothing of Chinese history and geography. What an interesting way to learn! Because it is factual and written from old records and interviews with survivors, it is not a smoothly flowing narrative, but I did not find that in any way took away from the story. I very highly recommend this book.

Crafty activities

over 50 fun and easy things to make

by Judy Balchin

This book has dozens of projects to make, all arranged under the categories of printing, creative lettering, mosaics, papier mache, origami and handmade cards. The instructions are clear and there are many step-by-step photos.

Since I am homeschooling my children this year, I borrowed this book from the library for art class, and we did a couple of the activities. We had fun and they turned out well. I would recommend this book.

Predator

By Terri Blackstock
Ella Carmichael has been killed by someone who found her through her social networking site and her sister Krista is determined to find the killer. In her quest to bring changes to the networking site, Krista becomes friends with the CEO of the company. Her attempt to lure the online predator into a trap seems to have no results, but in reality had led her into danger.

This book was hard to put down; the story was captivating and realistic. Predator will certainly help people realize the danger of posting personal information on social networking sites. It also reminds us that while God allows evil, He is still a God of love.

White Roses

by Shannon Taylor Vannatter
Pastor Grayson Sterling is a widower who loved his wife dearly and is having difficulty moving on with life after her death in a car accident. Adrea Welch is a florist with a standing order for white roses for Grasyon's wife's grave every Valentine's Day—which would have been Adrea's wedding day if she hadn't been jilted two years earlier, coincidentally on the day of Sara Sterling's death. They meet and are immediately attracted to each other. But will they be able to get over the difficulties of their pasts to begin something new together?

This story included romance and a bit of mystery, which I found made it more exciting. The book was very interesting and it was nice to see how the details fit together in the end to answer the unsolved questions. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian romance.

Thanks to the author for sending me a copy to review. Visit her website at http://www.shannonvannatter.com.

Julie and Julia

365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen: how one girl risked her marriage, her job, and her sanity to master the art of living by Julie Powell

This is the true story of Julie Powell's project of cooking all 500-something recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. She started a blog and chronicled her journey, gaining many blog followers over the weeks.

While I found the story itself interesting, I cannot recommend this book because of the profanity in it. Julie herself even writes in the book of blog comments objecting to it.

Miserly Moms

by Jonni McCoy

This book has tons of tips and instructions for living frugally. There are ways to reduce expenses in almost every area of your life without being cheap or stingy. Jonni suggests ways to cut back on the price of groceries, travel, furniture and many more things. Each chapter covers a broad topic and there are a number of recipes at the end of the book.

I loved this book! The money-saving ideas were great and I really liked some of the recipes. Find out more at the author's website.