Category: Guest Reviews
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OCDaniel: A Guest Book Review
OCDanielBy: Wesley KingReviewer Rating: Five out of Five StarsBest for: 10 and up Normal is exhausting for DanielGuest book review by Julie Q: What’s the book about? Daniel tries to fit in by being a kicker/bench warmer on the football team. His best friend, Max, is popular and helps him. He’s doing ok hiding some…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Looice
LooiceBy: Ben Goldstein and Phillip NamanworthReviewer Rating: 5Best for: 10 and under Easy, Fast ReadGuest book review by Christal M. Q: What’s the book about? The book is about a man who uses his imagination to create different things. From Goodreads… Looice (pronounced Lewis): A surprising, magical, fun filled day at the beach with the…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Girl in Cabin 13
The Girl in Cabin 13By: AJ RiversReviewer Rating: 3Best for: 18 and up Not for the Faint of Heart(which was almost me)!Guest book review by Julie H Q: What’s the book about? Emma Griffin is an FBI agent Undercover in a small town where people keep disappearing. It’s a definite page turner! I even started…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Secret Power Within
The Secret Power WithinBy: Chuck NorrisReviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 18 and up Zen Power and BalanceGuest book review by Julie H Q: What’s the book about? Partly an autobiography but mostly how Zen works in everyday life. Lessons like how to win by losing can totally change your perspective on what’s…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Camel Club
The Camel ClubBy: David BaldacciReviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 14 and up Conspiracies and more conspiraciesGuest book review by Julie H Q: What’s the book about? Oliver Stone–not his real name–has three real friends. They are all rather eccentric in their own special fields. They call themselves The Camel Club and meet…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Patriot Games
Patriot GamesBy: Tom ClancyReviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 14 and up Don’t make the IRA angry . . .Guest book review by Julie H Q: What’s the book about? Jack Ryan, before he became a famous analyst! On vacation he impulsively jumps into the chain of a bombing and saves the Prince…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Summer of the Monkeys
Summer of the MonkeysBy: Wilson RawlsGuest Reviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS10 and up Just as good as when I was 10!Guest Review by Julie Hilton A boy grows up fast one summer with a bunch of monkeys, some hard choices, and great lessons. A classic coming of age story I loved as a…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Beneath a Scarlet Sky
Beneath a Scarlet SkyBy: Mark T. SullivanGuest Reviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest For: 16 and up This WWII Hero Will Change YouGuest review by Catina Haverlock How did we not know of this TRUE WWII story? How did it remain untold for SO long? Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the inspiring true tale…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Just Mercy
Just MercyBryan StevensonGuest Reviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 18 and up Just Inspiring. But Just Heartbreaking. Just NOT Surprising.Guest Review by Catina Haverlock When Bryan Stevenson, the author of this true story was asked by Rosa Parks just exactly what it was that he did, he couldn’t contain his passion for his…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Boys in the Boat
The Boys in the BoatBy: Daniel James BrownGuest Reviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 14 and up This story’s going to stay with me a long, long timeGuest review buy Catina Haverlock Spoiler: The University of Washington’s 9-man varsity rowing team comprised of poor and blue collar boys, shocks the world by winning…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Her Last Breath
Her Last BreathBy: Hilary DavidsonGuest Reviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for:14 and up Was it her heart? Really?Guest review by Julie Hilton Diedre’s sister died suddenly. It was ruled unknown heart problem but after her death, Diedre received an email from her sister saying if anything happened to her to know it was…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Murder at Tophouse
Murder at TophouseBy: Clair M PoulsonGuest Reviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 12 and up LA to NZ murder and mayhemGuest review by Julie Hilton A detective in Los Angeles suspects his partner of all sorts of bad behavior but he’s in for a huge surprise when he’s the one who gets suspended.…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Swords of Joseph
Swords of JosephBy: M R DurbinGuest Reviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 10 and up Moses Mystery Historic FictionGuest Review by Julie Hilton Joshua and Caleb are troublemakers when they can’t handle the Egyptians anymore!! Their troubles come to the attention of Moses who has recently returned to free the slaves from Pharaoh.…
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A Book Club Guest Review of West with Giraffes
West with GiraffesBy: Lynda RutledgeGuest Reviewer Rating: Four out of Five StarsBest for: 12 and up Historic Fiction embellishedGuest Review by Julie Hilton An aged veteran (105!) tells a story looking back at his youth of when he talked his way into helping drive a couple Giraffes from the East Coast to San Diego, California.…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Touch
The TouchBy: Randall WallaceGuest Reviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: No content concerns Have read this one several times!Guest Review by Julie Hilton Young surgeon Andrew had “The Touch.” He was brilliant and skillful. One car accident and death later he gave it all up, taken over by fear. When Laura comes around…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Double Eagle Double Cross
Double Eagle Double CrossBy: M. R. DurbinGuest Reviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 16 and up Indiana Jones meets Jim CheeGuest Review by Julie Hilton Ancient Indian ceremony combined with Confederate gold. Knights of the Golden Circle clash with modern day students who get unknowingly mixed up in a search for lost treasure…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Truth about the Gospel of Judas
The Truth about the Gospel of JudasBy: Richard Neitzel HolzapflGuest Reviewer Rating: Three out of Five StarsBest for: 16 and up Judas really like Snape???Guest Review by Julie Hilton This book is a discussion of Gnostic apocryphal text found from 2nd or 3rd centuries. In the texts, Judas is shown to be a hero, requested…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Book of Lost Names
The Book of Lost NamesBy: Kristin HarmelGuest Reviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 12 and up Lost people of the Holocaust foundGuest Review by Julie Hilton An old woman with a boring history suddenly decides to take a trip to Germany after reading about Berlin librarian’s attempts to return books to rightful owner…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Deadly Secret
Deadly SecretsBy: Frank RichardsonGuest Reviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 14 and up From Homeless to Hunted to HelperGuest Review by Julie Hilton Rick, a guy who’s bounced around the foster care system, is now a homeless man. He’s a good guy and helps a woman one night but it gets him mistaken…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Beyond the Shade of the Mango Tree: Reflections on What God sees in Us
Beyond the Shade of the Mango Tree: Reflections on what God sees in usBy: Edward DubeGuest Reviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 10 and up Autobiography of an amazing African manGuest Review by Julie Hilton Edward Dube shares about his growing up years, his finding God, his subsequent service as a missionary and…
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A Book Club Guest Review of My Name is River and Hope Girl
My name is River (River, Book 1)Hope Girl (River, Book 2)By: Wendy DunhamGuest Review Rating: Four out of Five StarsBest For: 12 and up Tough subjects done wellA Guest Book Review by Julie Hilton River is a girl with a mysterious parent situation, a friend who dies in suspicious circumstance, an ill grandmother, and feelings…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Just Mercy (YA Adaptation)
Just Mercy (adapted for young adults)By: Bryan StephensonMy Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS!Best for: 12 and up Just Mercy or Miraculous Mercy?Guest Review by Julie Hilton A new lawyer wants to help people who were wrongly convicted and on death row. The major story about Walter McMillian, accused of murder and his road to…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Floating Twigs
Floating TwigsBy: Charles TabbReviewers Rating: FIVE out of FIVE STARSBest for: 16 and up Justice, delayed, and lots of MercyGuest Review by Julie Hilton A boy rescues a dog and must find a way to feed and get vet care. Trying to find work makes him some enemies and some friends: an older man, and…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Cold Sassy Tree
Cold Sassy TreeBy: Olive Ann BurnsReviewer Rating: Three out of Three StarsBest For: 14 and up Much Ado About N-O-T-H-I-N-G, NothingGuest review by Catina Haverlock It’s 1906 and the town of Cold Sassy, GA is in an uproar when Rucker Blakeslee, the town’s general store owner, and highly respected citizen of the small community, marries…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Serafina Series
Serafina and the Black Cloak (Serafina, Book 1)Serafina and the Twisted Staff (Serafina, Book 2)Serafina and the Splintered Heart (Serafina, Book 3)Serafina and the Seven Stars (Serafina, Book 4)By: Robert BeattyReviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS!Best for: 10 and up Looking for an exiting fantasy mystery? You HAVE to read Serafina!Guest review by Gisele,…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Lost and Found Bookshop
The Lost and Found BookshopBy: Susan WiggsReviewer Rating: Four out of Five StarsBest for: 16 and up Except for three pages… Wonderful!Guest review by Julie Hilton A woman returns to take care of her grandfather and his Bookstore under traffic circumstances. She has friendships with two intriguing men through a series of humorous and sad…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Other Side of the Stars
The Other Side of the StarsBy: Katherine KingReviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 12 and up Beautiful and unexpected love story set in and after WWIIA guest review by Catina Haverlock After the sudden death of her parents, Gita finds herself alone on the family farm in post WWII America. She has absolutely…
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A Book Club Guest Review of One Life to Give: A Path to Finding Yourself by Helping Others
One Life to Give: A Path to Finding Yourself by Helping OthersBy: Andrew BienkowskiReviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 16 and up Find Yourself by Helping Others—Life Lessons from an Extraordinary Story of Sacrifice and Survival In the winter of 1939, five-year-old Andrew Bienkowski was exiled to Siberia with his family. The two…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Infinity Ring Series
A Mutiny in Time (The Infinity Ring, Book 1) by James DashnerDivide and Conquer (The Infinity Ring, Book 2) by Carrie RyanThe Trap Door (The Infinity Ring, Book 3) by Lisa McMannCurse of the Ancients (The Infinity Ring, Book 4) by Matt de la PenaCave of Wonders (The Infinity Ring, Book 5) by Matthew J.…
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A Book Club Guest Review of A Haunting at Havenwood
A Haunting at Havenwood (Seasons of Change, Book 6)By: Sally BrittonReviewer Rating: Four out of Five StarsBest for: 14 and up Cute regency mystery with a touch of romanceReview by Charity Bradford I’m not usually a regency fan, but I liked that this woman’s change of circumstance brought her into her own. It was really…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Daybreak
Daybreak (Girl From the Stars, Book 1)By: Cheree AlsopReviewer Rating: Four out of Five StarsBest for: 16 and up Surprisingly clean military science fictionReview by Charity Bradford A girl that’s been basically tortured her whole life finally gets the chance to be part of a group that is more family than crew. There is an…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Orphan Train
Orphan TrainBy: Christina Baker KlineReviewer Rating: Four out of Five StarsBest for: 16 and up An eye-opening and moving story about a forgotten spot in American historyReview by Catina Haverlock Between 1845 and 1929, more than 250,000 orphaned, abandoned and homeless children (mainly Irish immigrants) were scooped from the streets of New York and transported…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Short Stories from Hogwarts : of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies
Short Stories from Hogwarts : of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies (Pottermore Presents Book 1)By: JK RowlingReviewer Rating: FIVE out of FIVE StarsBest for: 10 and up Behind the scenes at HogwartsReview by Julie Hilton This is a collection of short stories about Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Sybill Trelawney and Silvanus Kettleburn. Behind the scenes…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Boy Between
The Boy BetweenBy: Amanda Prowse and Josiah HartleyReviewer Rating: Four out of five starsBest for: 18 and up Interesting Mother and Son writing about difficult subjectReview by Julie Hilton This is a tough book but also hopeful if you hang in there. This mom writes self help book for parents but doesn’t realize what is…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Code Name Camelot
Code Name Camelot (Noah Wolf Book 1)By: David ArcherReviewer Rating: Four out of fives starsBest for: 16 and up If you like Bourne…Review by Julie Hilton …and lots of details. Hard to tell about this one without giving away some serious storyline, but it’s basically about a guy named Noah with PTSD and feels no…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Story of Awkward
The Story of AwkwardBy: R. K. RyalsReviewer Rating: FIVE out of FIVE Stars!Best for: 14 and up Wonderful look inside the world of AwkwardReview by Julie Hilton Peregrine Stork is awkward. Because of it she has been bullied her whole life. She has found a great way to deal with it. She carries a sketchbook…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs
Letters from a slave girl: the story of Harriet JacobsBy: Mary E LyonsReviewer Rating: Four out of Five StarsBest for: 12 and up A Good Picture of Slavery Pre Civil WarReview by Julie Hilton I think if this weren’t a re-write of the original book by Harriet Jacobs (Incidents in the life of a Slave)…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Star Darlings Series
The Star Darlings SeriesBy: Shana ZappaReviewer Rating: 5 (000,000,000,000…) Stars!Best for: 10 and under THE STAR DARLINGS by Shana Muldoon ZappaReview by Jessi, age 11 An AMAZING group of 12 star-charmed starlings (people/girls?) Who secretly save there planet many many… times, by granting wishes from Wishworld (earth) to give starland (there planet) much needed energy,…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Five Kingdoms Series
Five Kingdoms seriesBy: Brandon MullReviewer Rating: Four out of five StarsBest for: 10 and up The Five Kingdoms Series by Brandon MullReview by: Russell, age 12 It’s about a boy who goes after his friends who was kidnapped on Halloween. And he ends up in the world called the outskirts. It’s not like any world…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Huckleberry Finn
Huckleberry FinnBy: Mark TwainReviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 10 and up The boy who became a hero by doing what he thought was wrong.Review by: Kirsten Johnston Huck is wise in some of the dangers of life, such as alcoholic parents. He is a smart, smooth lier. But in other ways he…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Where the Forest Meets the Stars
Where the Forest Meets the StarsBy: Glendy VanderahReviewer Rating: FIVE out of FIVE STARSBest for: 12 and up A Five Star Read!Review by: Julie Hilton A post grad student is recovering from a death, and a serious medical condition, and a breakup. She is working in a remote area, secluded and using work to both…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Babbling Brook Naked Poker Club
The Babbling Brook Naked Poker ClubBy: Ann WarnerReviewer Rating: Four out of Five StarsBest for: 10 and up A fun mystery with a sea of complicated people!Review by: Julie Hilton A woman gets shuttled off to a retirement home by her son after an inheritance. She has other plans and other resources. She gets tricked…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Billy Cannon: A Long, Long Run
Billy Cannon: A Long, Long RunBy: Charles N deGravellesReviewer Rating: FIVE out of FIVE StarsBest for: 12 and up A Story of Success, Pride, a Fall and RedemptionReview by: Julie Hilton This book is the only time I am aware of that Billy really opened up about his life story. Since he is my cousin,…
One Man Book Club 