The Christian Book Report

  My Rating: 5 Stars Following an explosion at an airport, Stella the beagle is retired from her service as a security dog, only to be passed from home to home. Just when it seems that Stella has no hope of a happy future, a dog trainer named Esperanza decides to take Stella in so she can help Stella heal from her psychological trauma. The true healing comes when Stella bonds with Esperanza's daughter Cloe, who needs Stella just as much as Stella needs her.  This was a very cute book, and perfect for children and youth from late elementary through middle school grades. The story is told from Stella's perspective and you see how she yearns to love and be loved following the traumatic incident in the airport where she used to work. Her perspective is fairly naive, but very sincere. I think young kids would connect with her and her new owner, Cloe.  Content Guide: Sex & Affection: None Language: None Drugs, Alcohol, Substance Abuse: None Crime & Violence: Some delinq...

  My Rating: 5 Stars "I AM INTELLIGENT" Charity is 13 years old, loves strawberry milkshakes, learning new facts about animals, and hanging out with her dad and grandpa. She also cannot control her body,  cannot speak, and, although people on the outside don't realize it, she cannot stand that she receives constant judgment and pity from everyone around her. She wants to be seen as the  real person that she is. When she enrolls in public school, she must choose to either be defeated by the judgement of peers and faculty, or persevere to show them how she, despite her physical challenges, is real-- just like them. Wow. Wow! This book was incredible. It's a short read, but it conveys a powerful message! I found myself re-evaluating how I interact with people who are physically and neurologically different from me. Charity has so much soul, and yet people assume that she is mentally inferior and incapable of learning because, despite all her efforts and willpower, she ...

 My Rating: 2 stars Cadence Piper longs to belong and to be needed. When the war between the North and the South breaks out, she answers the call for nurses. At first she is dismissed from the relief effort because she is far too young and pretty. She finally gets her wish when she is asked to help a local army hospital when they are short-staffed and at full capacity. Dr. Joshua Ivy, brooding and passionate, oversees an army hospital in Washington, DC during the war over slavery. His life is full of secrets and he feels a deep sense of duty to help abolish the slave trade and the evil that it breeds. He doesn't care to have the pretty, altruistic nurse Cadence help him in his hospital, but realizes he needs her help, even if he doesn't want it. Over time, Cadence and Joshua develop a bond, both in their professional and personal lives, that helps them find the hope that comes from Jesus' love amidst horrors of war, personal shortcomings, and evil men intent on destroying a...