Book Review: Dear God, You Can't Be Serious

Dear God, You Can’t Be Serious
by Patti Maguire Armstrong
Liguori Publications, 2014

“Dear God, You Can’t Be Serious” is the sequel to Patti Maguire Armstrong’s "Dear God, I Don’t Get It", but one need not have read the first one to enjoy the second. While the first book focused on older brother Aaron, a sixth grader who had to move to a new state and make new friends despite having prayed with all his heart to not have to move, this book puts the spotlight on Luke, the second child in the family.

Luke has just finished fourth grade and loves school. He enjoys hanging out with his friends and can’t imagine life any other way. Then, his parents decide they are going to homeschool the following year. Luke is beyond upset by the idea. As he says, “Homeschoolers are weird, and I don’t want to be one of them.” He prays for God to change his parents’ mind. 

Once again, as happened with Aaron, God does not seem to be listening, and his parents go ahead with their plan. Luke comes up with an idea to make the best of both the school and homeschool worlds, but gets himself in a heap of trouble in the process. In the end, it all works out and both Luke and those reading this story gain a valuable lesson.

Armstrong is a homeschool veteran herself and offers a wonderful perspective on homeschooling which would make this book ideal for a child whose family has decided to pull him or her out of school but who isn’t quite on board with the idea. “Dear God, You Can’t Be Serious” is geared for grades 3 – 6 and makes a great addition to a Catholic family library.

Book Review: Frozen Footprints

Frozen Footprints by Therese Heckenkamp Arcadia, CA: Tumblar House, 2012 Reviewed by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur "Frozen Footprints" is the latest contribution to Catholic suspense by Therese Heckenkamp, author of "Past Suspicion." I freely admit, suspense is not my genre of choice, but Heckenkamp once again managed to keep me interested and invested in this story.

Charlene and Max Perigard are twins, raised by their grandfather, a wealthy oil tycoon who wants little to do with them. When Max is kidnapped, their grandfather thinks it is all a scam and wants nothing to do with it. Charlene then goes after Max on her own and soon becomes trapped as well.

The vast majority of the story takes place in a cabin in the woods and centers on the relationship among Max, Charlene, their captor Abner and his brother Clay. It also, as one might expect given the Catholic fiction designation, focuses on each of the character's relationship with God. Each struggles with God in his or her own way.

Abner, the evil one, is a former seminarian who has since rejected God and now worships the devil. He is truly terrifying. Clay would like to believe in God but, after he accidentally caused his father's death when he was seven years old, feels that God has abandoned him. Max and Charlene have both been turned off of religion by their grandfather, yet in their hour of need turn to God and ask for help, even when it seems God is ignoring their pleas.

 Interestingly, I found a very minor character in the story - the mother of Abner and Clay - to be the one that intrigued me the most. She is a devout Catholic, and has remained faithful despite a rash of horrible events in her life. She also teaches Charlene an important lesson at a time when she needs it the most. I think that a story from this mother's point of view would be very compelling.

Overall, if one enjoys Catholic suspense, this would be a good read. It is especially well-suited to teens and young adults.

Book Review: Elizabeth: A Holy Land Pilgrimage

Elizabeth: A Holy Land Pilgrimage
by Cheryl Dickow
Waterford, MI: Bezalel Books, 2012

In honor of the Year of Faith, Bezalel Books has rereleased Elizabeth: A Holy Land Pilgrimage. This inspiring novel by Cheryl Dickow focuses on Beth, a woman in the midst of a mid-life crisis. She is the mother of teenagers, her marriage is struggling, and being a middle-school teacher is no longer offering any inspiration. “Her ache for what life hadn’t yet held was becoming almost unbearable at times.” What middle-age woman can’t relate to that pain? 

Beth goes on a journey to Israel to help her sort out what she wants out of life. Sitting on the plane to begin her journey, “she was already getting deliciously lost in the silence that surrounded her and felt as if she could, for the first time in ages, hear her own thoughts. There were no televisions on in the background, no kids arguing with each other, no one calling her name. If there was a still, small voice wanting to speak to her, she would finally be able to listen.”

Upon arriving in Israel, she meets the Goldfarbs, her hosts for the duration. During her two-week stay, they welcome her as family, introduce her to the culture, and she will suffer with them as they experience unspeakable pain. By the time she returns home, her life is forever changed, and she does indeed find what she needs. 

Elizabeth: A Holy Land Journey offers an education in the sights, sounds, and holy places of the Holy Land as well as Jewish traditions. It also speaks to the universal restlessness in a woman’s heart. It is a novel well-worth spending some quality time with.

Reviewed by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur

Book Review: Catholic Philosopher Chick Makes Her Debut

Catholic Philosopher Chick Makes Her Début by Rebecca Bratten Weiss and Regina Doman Front Royal, VA: Chesterton Press, 2012

Catholic Philosopher Chick Makes Her Début is the intelligent Catholic woman’s beach read. This book is so much fun that you won’t want to put it down until you have turned the last page with a blissful sigh of contentment! Rebecca Bratten Weiss and Regina Doman bring Cate Frank to life and make her a heroine you would want to share a slice of cheesecake with.

Cate, a former fashion writer, has struck out on a new path in life. A Jewish convert to the Catholic faith, she is headed to the Dominican University of Houston in order to immerse herself in the works of Thomas Aquinas and to find the perfect guy. She convinces the intimidating Dr. Hastings to allow her to take the famous “Suminar,” devoted to the study of the Summa Theologica, even though she is a first year graduate student and therefore not eligible, but when she walks in the door she finds herself to be the only woman in a group of men. Among those men, of course, is Justin, “the perfect man,” and Sean, who is anything but.

Cate manages to balance weight issues, her love of good food, fashion disasters, a party-girl roommate, parents who think she has gone off the deep end, and her own natural inclination for getting into difficult situations, along with heavier philosophical concerns. On her journey, she will make some valuable friends and learn a few lessons about herself and her place in the world. One of my favorite lines in this book is when Cate muses, “Whatever God wants me to be, it must be something as unique as a snowflake.” Any woman who has struggled with what it means to be a Catholic woman today and what one’s individual vocation is will appreciate and sympathize with Cate’s inner turmoil.

While having studied St. Thomas Aquinas in depth is not necessary to appreciate this book, it helps to have a nodding acquaintance with his style of writing and philosophical thought. Also, if you are like me and your Latin has gotten a bit rusty over the years, you will want to have a Latin/English dictionary or your favorite on-line translator handy to fully appreciate the wit of the chapter titles.

 “Catholic Philosopher Chick Makes Her Début” is a great addition to the genre of Catholic fiction. Weiss and Doman make an incredible writing team, and one can only hope that more books of this quality will be coming our way in the future from this talented duo.

Book Review: "Rachel's Contrition"

Rachel's Contrition

by Michelle Buckman
Sophia Institute Press, 2010

Every now and then, a novel comes along that is so powerful and so well-written that it will stay with you forever. “Rachel’s Contrition” by Michelle Buckman is that kind of novel. Part of the Chisel and Cross imprint from Sophia Institute Press, it is Catholic fiction at its finest. If you are looking for light-hearted escapism, this is not the story for you. Rather, this is a story that delves into the deepest and darkest parts of humanity. Throughout the course of this book, the reader must face the evils of jealousy, murder, rape, and the inner workings of a mentally ill mind.

Rachel is a mother whose small daughter has died tragically. She is buried in her grief, unable to see any light at all. She has lost everything. Her husband has sent her away and her surviving son, whom she sees only sporadically, seems to hate her. She lives in a drug-induced haze where memories from both past and present come to haunt her. Into that haze walks Lilly, a young teen suffering from her own secrets and pain. With Lilly’s help and some divine intervention in the form of St. Therese’s autobiography, “Story of a Soul,” Rachel begins the long road back.

One interesting feature of this novel is that Buckman focuses on the dark side of St. Therese. Her little way is there and Rachel does learn from that and attempts to put it into practice. But that is not what comforts her. Rather, in St. Therese, she finds someone who understands the darkness. St. Therese wrote, “But it was night, the dark night of the soul. Like Jesus during his agony in the garden, I felt myself abandoned and there was no help for me on earth or in heaven. God had abandoned me. . . I wish I could express what I feel, but it is beyond me. One must have passed through this dark tunnel to understand its blackness.”

Buckman writes of that darkness with such realism. One can only presume that she herself has walked through it. “Rachel’s Contrition” is a novel for all who have been deeply wounded by life. It is a painful story with no easy answers, but it offers the promise of healing. It is a glimmer of light in the midst of the dark. It is a novel that will twist your heart and leave you breathless. You will not want to put it down until you reach the final word at which point you will once again be able to exhale.

Reviewed by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur
http://spiritualwomanthoughts.blogspot.com