Yada Yada

Yada Yada Prayer Group by Neta Jackson
Review by Lisa Norsworthy


I get absolutely giddy when I find a series I want to read! It means, for at least a few weeks, I don’t have to search for a book or, worse yet, start a book that I end up leaving because I can’t get interested. So, because I know many readers feel the same, I asked John if I could review a few of my favorite series.

The Yada Yada Prayer Group Series by Neta Jackson has seven books so it will keep you busy for awhile. Jodi Baxter, a 40-something school teacher, has just moved to urban Chicago from the suburbs. Her husband, Denny, has gone into the city for years helping with an urban ministry, but has decided that the Lord wants the family to live in the community where he ministers which proves to be quite an adjustment. Jodi goes to a women’s retreat where prayer groups are formed randomly. In her prayer group, she meets women of every age and ethnicity. They decide to keep the prayer group going by meeting bi-weekly at each other’s homes and so the Yada Yada Prayer Group is formed.

While this book is a first-person account of Jodi’s life, the reader gets to know the tribulations and joys of all the women in the group. Jackson does such a great job with character development, I caught myself wondering what happened to Jodi a couple of times as though she were a real person! All of these women are born-again Christians but they come from different denominations and have different styles of worship, and I enjoyed reading about these differences.

If you like books that are full of action and intrigue, the pace may be too slow for you. This is definitely a series for readers who like books about people and relationships. If that is you, you have a good series to read at the beach this summer!

Susan Meissner

A Seahorse in the Thames by Susan Meissner
Review by Lisa Norsworthy


This book had a little of everything I enjoy: a little romance, a little mystery and quite a bit of family relationship drama.

Alexa Poole is recovering from minor surgery when her world gets turned upsidedown. First, she falls in love with the handyman, Steven, who is severely injured while working on her apartment roof. Secondly, her older sister, Rebecca, who is mentally challenged from a severe car accident disappears from the residential center she calls home. And thirdly, her twin sister, Priscilla, who left the United States to live in London and has been estranged from her family, announces she is coming for a visit. All these events meld into a very interesting, well-paced story.

These crises serve as a catalyst for Alexa. She begins to see that her tendency to be the peacemaker in her troubled, broken family has disrupted her own sense of peace even as she is intrigued at the way Steven’s faith gives him peace in the face of terminal illness. She also begins to understand that her sister, Rebecca, didn’t need her as much as she needed to be needed.

These complex issues are pretty relatable to the average woman. It’s also these issues that make Alexa a sometimes annoying character, but I ultimately didn’t mind because that is what made her real; real people are, at times, annoying!



Books by Susan Meissner at Amazon




Seahorse in the Thames is $4.99 on Kindle

Speculative Fiction: Len Du Randt

Son of Perdition by Len Du Randt
Review by Lisa Norsworthy

Son of Perdition is a speculative fiction book about end times, reminiscent of the wildly popular book Left Behind. As the title suggests, this book is about the rise of the Antichrist, the rapture and the tribulation.

Trevor is a call center rep in South Africa. The son of missionaries who were martyred, he has grown to be a bitter atheist. He avoids his brother Norman who takes every opportunity to talk to him about God. Norman and Trevor have a mutual friend, Andrew, who professes Christianity, but when the rapture takes place and Norman is gone but Andrew is still here, it only serves to deceive Trevor into denying that the event was the rapture.

Malcolm is a husband and father of two and a devout Jew who lives in Jerusalem. Imagine his shock when Elijah shows up at their Seder feast shortly before the rapture happens. His young daughter disappears in the rapture and he denounces his rebellious teenaged son for exploring Christianity.

The author does an excellent job describing how the world is so ready for the deception of the Antichrist, and the blind devotion that will pervade the world. Trevor’s conversion is very slow to happen as he struggles with deception and doubt. Malcolm struggles with the blindness of tradition. The excitement builds as the tribulation saints gather to stand against the Son of Perdition.

Usually, I don’t recommend speculative fiction for a new believer because I am not sure they will be able to differentiate between what is in the Bible and what is the author’s imagination. Although you may disagree with some minor elements of this story, they shouldn’t be a major stumbling block to anyone new in the faith. In fact, I would recommend this to an unbeliever because the author does an excellent job describing their doubts and conflicts. He also convincingly depicts the horror of the tribulation, but also the excitement and hope of the Lord’s return. As a believer, I was reminded that my life is very short in light of eternity, and I need to be ready!


AVAILABLE AT AMAZON

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Review by Lisa Norsworthy

The Hunger Games is a hugely popular triology that is written for young adults, but there is nothing childish about this story!

This is not a Christian series. It contains violence but no vulgarity.

The first book, The Hunger Games, introduces us to Katniss Everdeen, a 17-year-old living in Panem a few hundred years in the future. Panem is what used to be the United States but is now divided into thirteen districts under the strict control of the Capitol. In the Capitol, conspicuous consumption abounds, but in the districts, citizens are kept on the brink of starvation and have very few modern conveniences. They have limited electricity and heat, no cars, and all media is strictly controlled by the Capitol.

Seventy-five years earlier, District thirteen rebelled, and after squelching the rebellion, the Capitol instituted the Hunger Games to punish and control the remaining districts. Annually, there is a lottery for all twelve to seventeen-year-olds where one boy and one girl are chosen from each district. These children are sent to fight to the death where everything is documented on a wildly popular “reality” series on television which every citizen of Panem is required to watch.

I don’t want to reveal too much, but this series is absolutely riveting. I was told it was dark, but that is too simple. It is a story of contrasts: evil and goodness, cruelty and kindness, and cowardice and courage in the hearts of humans. It is a warning of what can happen when we don’t appreciate and fight for liberty.

A word of advice: If you read book one, you won’t be able to stop, so make sure you have all the books available!

The Hunger Game Series at AMAZON

The Sweetest Thing: Elizabeth Musser

The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser
Reviewed by Lisa Norsworthy


The Sweetest Thing is set in Atlanta in 1933 when the Great Depression was at its worst. It’s a first person account of Perri, a wealthy Atlanta socialite, and Dobbs, the daughter of an extremely poor, itinerant preacher. Dobbs is sent to live with her wealthy aunt in Atlanta and to finish her education at a prominent private school.

The day Dobbs arrives in Atlanta, Perri’s father commits suicide, and the family quickly learns that the family’s wealth is long gone. During this horrific grieving process, Perri forms a strong bond with this other-worldly girl that she can’t understand. Dobbs has no stylish clothes, no money and no other friends, but seems rich in faith and joy.

This story has interesting plot lines, with a bit of a mystery in the mix. With Dobbs’, Musser explores issues like the temptation of riches, faith in trials, compromise and legalism. As Dobbs struggles in her walk, Perri experiences a gradual metamorphosis from being carnally-minded to being spiritually-minded.

While I really enjoy a happy ending, a saccharine-sweet formula can be very annoying. This book explores hard issues and resolves them in such a way that doesn’t seem unrealistic or corny. I highly recommend it and I’m going to look up Elizabeth Musser and try some of her other titles!


Other books by Elizabeth Musser at Amazon.com

A World Apart by Lynn Austin

While We're Far Apart
by Lynn Austin
Review by Lisa Norsworthy


A World Apart is the latest novel by Lynn Austin, whose most popular work was the Gods & Kings series. The Schaffer family includes Eddy, a recent widower and his two bereft children, Esther and Peter. Their mother, Rachel, was killed by an out-of-control vehicle at the local vegetable stand along with Miriam Mendel, the landlord’s wife who lives in the downstairs apartment of their Brooklyn duplex. Miriam’s husband, Jacob, not only has to cope with the enormous loss of his wife but also with the lack of communication from his son, Avraham, who has returned to their homeland of Hungary to study Torah. Since going to Hungary, Avi has married and has a daughter but, with Hitler conquering Europe, their fate is unknown.

Meanwhile, Ed Schaffer decides to enlist in the army hoping that fighting for the common good will help him to deal with his pain and grief assuming that his aging mother will care for the children. He is shocked when she refuses to care for them but Penny Goodrich, the proverbial “girl next door” that has had a crush on Eddy since childhood volunteers to care for them with two motives: to make Eddy fall in love with her and to escape her unloving and stifling parents.

The children, who are already heartbroken from losing their mother, resist this plan with hostility. Many events throughout the book serve as catalysts for growth in all of the characters’ lives. One heartwarming change is the growing relationship between the children, Mr. Mendel, and Penny. The love that develops between them softens their bitterness and makes them willing to be open and vulnerable again. There are also many difficult changes for Penny, but through these changes, she realizes that she is a capable and independent woman.

The main theme, however, focuses on Jacob’s and Esther’s anger at God and their inability to reconcile God’s love for them and the fact that He has allowed such devastating tragedy in their lives. This is an issue that causes struggles for many people, and I was especially pleased with the way the author reconciled this in these character’s lives.

Though this wasn’t my favorite of Lynn Austin’s works, it was a very satisfying read, and I would highly recommend it.

BOOKS BY LYNN AUSTIN AT AMAZON