"The MoneySmart Family System" Review

The next book I reviewed for Thomas Nelson’s blog book review group, Book Sneeze, was “The MoneySmart Family System” by Steve and Annette Economides.  This couple has written several books, and is known as America’s Cheapest Family.  The book is a non-fiction, 250 page guidebook to almost every area of raising children you can think of.  In a society where the adolescent stage is being stretched in both directions (kids are growing mature too quickly, but then not ‘growing up’ fast enough!), this book gives great, age appropriate, guidelines for how to encourage your kids to be smart with their (your) money.  Each chapter has a section at the end that addresses how the idea could be handled for different age groups. (0-5, 6-11, 12-17, 18-23, and 24 and beyond)  This structure really helps, as a parent, to see what things you should implement now with the age child you have, and what things would be helpful as they grow.  This family has 5 children, and they give lots of good examples to back their suggestions.  I found some of the information to be so detailed, that it almost was too much to remember and take in. Other than that, I would highly recommend this book as a practical guide to teaching children about handling money in a wise way!

"Heaven In Her Arms" Review

The next book I reviewed for Thomas Nelson's book review group, Book Sneeze, was "Heaven In Her Arms" by Catherine Hickem.  The author is a licensed psychotherapist, wife and mother.  This is a non -fiction book that details ‘why God chose Mary to raise His son and what it means for you.’  I was curious about this book, as a mother, and didn’t know what type of material to expect. Each chapter is clearly labeled with a subject matter, how it relates to Mary, and a scripture.  I thought the book held a good mixture of stories and information from the Bible about Jesus and Mary’s relationship, stories and experiences from the author’s daily life, and practical advice for mothers.  There were a few points in the book that I found myself wanting to scan the chapters instead of reading it in depth.  Some of the material can seem slightly repetitive.  I do think the author does a wonderful job of helping the reader ponder the story of Jesus and Mary instead of just reading over it as we typically do.  There are many things that we, as mothers many years later, can relate to, and learn from. 

"Beyond Molasses Creek" Review

The next book I reviewed for Thomas Nelson’s book review group, Book Sneeze, was a fiction novel. I read “Beyond Molasses Creek” by Nicole Seitz. I was unfamiliar with the author, and hadn’t read any of her books before. It took me several chapters to feel like I was ‘into’ the book, but once the storyline caught my interest, I really enjoyed it. The story is written from the perspective of several individuals. It is a little over 300 pages, and very intriguing. Although some things in the storyline seem to be a bit predictable, for the most part the book has twists and turns that leave you wondering what will happen as the story progresses. The main character is a woman in her 60’s, Ally, who comes back to her childhood home once her father dies. A secondary character is a young woman living in Nepal who is trying to figure out her past. Another secondary character is Vesey Washington, a man also in his 60’s who had a friendship in the past with Ally. The three characters stories are intertwined, and it is very interesting to find out how their lives are linked. Although I might not seek how further novels from this author, this book was a fairly good read.