Book Review: Mark of the Lion Trilogy

I recently read A Voice in the Wind, An Echo in the Darkness, and As Sure as the Dawn all by Francine Rivers. I really enjoyed these books, staying up into the wee small hours to finish them. The books are much to complex to go into much, but I'll try to give a small preview. The chapters rotate between characters, so that makes it a little more difficult to review too. However, here are the individual reviews of each book:

(Spoiler Alert!)

• A Voice in the Wind: The touching story of a young Jewess and Christian named Haddassah. All of her family is either killed by the Romans or die of exhaustion and starvation. Haddassah alone is left alive, and even she is taken as a slave. She is bought by a Roman family as a maidservant for their young daughter, Julia, who is wild and ambitious. Haddassah ends up falling in love with Julia's brother Marcus. Near the end of the book, Julia agrees to release Haddassah and let her marry Marcus. But Haddassah refuses because Marcus isn't a Christian. Julia is furious and sets Haddassah up to be taken to the arena and eaten by lions. Marcus goes to the games that day and is sickened by what Julia is done, but he's too late to stop it. Thus ends Book 1.
• An Echo in the Darkness: As it turns out, a doctor waiting for the bodies when the lions are finished rescues Haddassah and treats her. Haddassah works with him, and God blesses her with healing power. She becomes know as Rapha, or healer. Through a twist, she becomes helper to Julia again without revealing her true identity! During Haddassah's ordeal, Marcus has gone to Judea to search out why Haddassah so steadfastly stuck to her faith. Marcus becomes a Christian on his journey. At the end of the book, Haddassah reveals herself, and after another twist, Marcus proposes again. Haddassah accepts.
• As Sure as the Dawn: This book is a follow-up of a sub-plot in A Voice in the Wind. A former gladiator named Atretes pursues his lost son and struggles to return to Germania, his homeland. But a young lady named Rizpah complicates matters...

These were among some of the most well-written books I've read in a long time. The faith of Haddassah and Rizpah is astounding. These books were so encouraging! There was a lot mature content, though, so just use wisdom and discernment when reading. What have you been reading lately?

October Reading List

I have seen this done on another blog (link), and I thought it looked like a nifty idea. Every month, I'll post and give small reviews on books I have read during that specific month. Some months will obviously have more than others, since school keeps me pretty busy. So, I now present my reading list for the month of October (thus far).

• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. An interesting remake of the traditional story, Cinderella. This book is well-written and fast-paced. Mrs. Levine does an excellent job of creating believable characters, while still including the small amount of magic necessary for any fairy tale.
• Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene. I've been reading various books in this series, both from the new and the old. Although not the best writing, reading Nancy Drew gives me a break from other more studious requirements.
• The Bible (NIV). In Spiritual Life I, we do three Bible readings a week. Right now, we're going through Philippians and Psalms.

Not much else, but then, it's only October 15! What are you reading?

Adventures in Odyssey!

One of the fun points of each day is to sit down after school and listen to the new episode of Adventures in Odyssey. With good morals and no bad language, they're a pleasure to listen to. If you would care to check it out, just follow this link.

~Movie Review - "Crossfire Trail"~

My mom recently joined Netflix, so we've been getting some interesting movies. We got one this week, Crossfire Trail, a western, which is about a man named Rafe Covington who promises his dying friend that he will watch over the dead man's ranch and his wife. What Rafe doesn't count on is that the town hotshot is also after the ranch and the wife. The movie ends in a showdown where the good guys ultimately win. After every book and movie I read/watch, I've been trying to assess/review them. I would give Crossfire Trail probably a 3-3.5 out of 5 stars. I think the main problem of the movie was the fact that they did not, in my opinion, develop the female lead enough, so it lacked some emotion. I would still recommend it as a good movie to anyone who enjoys relatively clean (we did need the "fast forward" button once.) westerns, where good triumphs over evil.

Christy

I finished reading Christy by Catherine Marshall recently, and I would highly recommend it. The book is set in 1912 rugged Tennessee. Christy travels from her city home in Asheville, NC to be a school teacher in the Appalachian mountains. She is in a time of struggling to find out what she really believes in her heart, as well as who she really loves. The book portrays vivid characters and descriptive language, and if you like historical, biography type books, you would enjoy Christy. If you read it, please leave me a comment and tell me how you enjoyed it! It is a goal of mine to post ALL my favorite books on here to share with you and let you know about excellent literature! If you take the chance to read Christy, you won't regret it!