Making Choices: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Moral Decisions by Peter Kreeft

Goodreads: Making Choices

Series: None

Published: 1990

Summary: Rather than focus on abstract or theoretical moral questions, Kreeft offers practical advice the readers can apply to the moral choices they face every day.  He provides a brief overview of morality and its necessity before explaining how morality encompasses more than the labels society tends to associate with it.  Finally, Kreeft addresses the large moral issues currently facing America and lists concrete steps readers can take to improve their lives and the decisions they make.

Review: Kreeft’s concise and personable style makes weighty philosophical issues accessible to the everyday reader.  In a manner reminiscent of C. S. Lewis, he elucidates the main problems he perceives as facing modern society, beginning with the root issue: moral relativism.  He then narrows his focus, managing to argue for the existence of an absolute moral law, offer evidence for the existence of God, address the historicity of the Bible, and impart good advice about how to live all in about 200 pages.  The book thus serves both as a mini apologetics lesson and as a sort of morality how-to.

Though readers can no doubt find many similar books at the store, Making Choices asserts its claim to uniqueness by pointing out that it, unlike many works on morality, does not deal in theory but in practice.  Kreeft gently mocks philosophical exercises that require students to solve such dilemmas as whom they should throw off the life boat if they have to kill someone in order for the rest to survive.  He notes that most readers will never face such a choice, but instead struggle with less abstract moral questions.  His advice on making everyday decisions neatly combines practical suggestions with an overall guiding philosophy, so that readers have concrete steps to implement, but also enough flexibility to adapt the steps to their own circumstances.

The book stands well on its own as a guide to morality, but the wealth of introductory material on Christian philosophy and belief will serves as a convenient gateway for readers to learn more.  The conciseness of the material means that readers get the most important points of Christian philosophy in a general overview.  Since such topics can prove difficult to grasp immediately, these chapters provide the groundwork necessary for readers to understand the substance of an argument before they continue on to more detailed explanations.

This handy little book works well both for those who wish to begin educating themselves in apologetics and for those who wish for guidance simplifying their lives, making good decisions, and learning to recognize the will of God.  Its friendly tone makes both activities seem pleasant.  Readers will likely find themselves desirous of learning more about the topics presented.

Guest Post at The Day Dream!

I have a guest review of Baroness Orczy's first novel, The Emperor's Candlesticks, at the Scarlet Pimpernel fan site The Day Dream!  Go check it out, as well as all the Pimpernel-related fun!

Waterfall by Lisa Bergren

Goodreads: Waterfall

Series: River of Time #1

Publication Date:

Source: Borrowed from a friend

Goodreads Summary: Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives among the romantic hills with their archaelogist parents. Stuck among the rubble of the medieval castles in rural Tuscany, on yet another hot, dusty archaeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds...until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

Suddenly Gabi's summer in Italy is much, much more interesting.

Review: Waterfall is a fun read focused on the adventures of a modern girl who inexplicably finds herself in medieval Italy—scandalously clad in skinny jeans and a cardigan.  Most of the amusement of the book comes from watching Gabi attempt to navigate the two very different worlds.  On one hand, she knows she needs to conform and behave like a believable and proper young noblewoman, particularly if she wants to catch the eye of a certain young nobleman.  On the other, she is fiercely free-spirited and wants to distinguish herself as a confident woman with more skills than these men could have imagined.

The idea of the modern woman travelling back in time and griping about the lack of feminism is becoming a little cliché, a little tiresome.  Bergren mostly manages to make it work, however.  The medieval characters are not instantly won over by Gabi’s behavior.  In fact, they are suspicious and accuse her of being either a witch or a prostitute.  The process by which they slowly begin to accept Gabi has something to offer the medieval world is actually fairly believable.

Interestingly, most of the modern parts of the book are not.  Bergren’s idea of how the average teenager talks is interesting, to say the least.  Gabi employs a number of rather embarrassing phrases such as “the whole enchilada” and terms that Bergen clearly believes qualify as teen “lingo.”  It all comes across as stilted and uninformed, and the merits of her story are often lost behind the awkwardness.

Bergren’s explanation of the medieval/modern Italian relationship is equally questionable.  First, Gabi decides she is magically able to speak this old version of Italian because she has just read so much Dante it has become ingrained in her mind.  This is highly unrealistic.  I read a lot of Middle English, but I have yet to start speaking it.  Worse, however, are the “corrections” characters make to Gabi’s speech.  She uses terms like “tomorrow” which evidently confuse others, and then they explain that they say “on the morrow” instead.  These explanations would make far more sense if Gabi were actually speaking medieval English, not medieval Italian.  This is a minor part of the book, but like Gabi’s strange teen dialect, it proves immensely distracting.

Once the reader gets past these flaws, the plotline is rather interesting.  There are battles, intrigue, sicknesses, and more—everything one would expect to make a book in medieval times exciting.  Gabi does give a fair amount of her attention to these occurrences, but she is also very much focused on developing a potential romance.  In fact, she has rather an obsession with medieval men because they are just so much more “manly” than modern guys.  Her swooning over their masculine smell and physiques and how primal they are is rather intense.

It also overshadows whatever Christian message this book is supposed to have.  Occasionally Gabi stops to wonder why she was sent back in time and what God wants her to do there.  No answer is forthcoming.  She does help her new friends out in a fairly large way, but her ultimate goal always appears to win over her guy.  Here, “Christian fiction” translates fairly well as “clean romance.”

Waterfall is an entertaining read with a lot of promise.  It has its flaws, but is ultimately captivating enough to leave readers wanting the sequel.  There are also a number of unanswered questions that one can only hope will be explored in the following books.

In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden

GoodReads: In This House of Brede
Series: None
Published: 1975


Review: Written by a Catholic laywoman in the 1970s, In This House of Brede provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives of cloistered Benedictine nuns.  The protagonist, Philippa Talbot, is a 42-year-old businesswoman who, upon discovering a calling to religious life, sacrifices her successful career and bids farewell to those she loves in order to allow her life to truly begin.  When Philippa enters the abbey, readers are given the opportunity to meet the rest of the sisters, each of whom is a rich, multifaceted character with a distinct personality.  Extraordinary detail and troubling circumstances allow readers to come to know the individuals who daily interact with the now Dame Philippa Talbot.  Whether confronting a severe debt due to the late Mother’s mishandling of funds, welcoming new postulants from the isle of Japan, or surviving an outbreak of the chicken pox, the sisters strive to fulfill their supernatural vocations as brides of Christ while remaining flawed human beings of this world. 


While Dame Philippa’s past remains a mystery throughout the majority of the novel, the various circumstances she encounters forces her gifts and traits to emerge and allows her to transcend some of her shortcomings.  This transcendence of character fulfills in Dame Philippa the Biblical adage of losing oneself in order to find it.  Furthermore, the development of Dame Philippa’s understanding of selflessness is fascinating and applicable to modern society.  When the novel begins, Dame Philippa hopes to lose the prestige she had garnered in the world and instead become a simple, obscure nun.  However, she soon learns that selflessness is fulfilling one’s duty and using one’s gifts regardless of one’s personal wishes or tastes.  This understanding leads her to various leadership positions and eventually to Japan, where she will use her fluency in Japanese to found a new monastery.

Rumer Godden creatively and masterfully paints a realistic picture of monastic life that helps readers gain both an understanding and appreciation of the often misunderstood vocation.  I would recommend this book to all who wish to expand their conception of religious life, as well as to those who simply wish to enjoy a good, interesting book.

Content Reviews: YA Paranormal with Angels

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Goodreads: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1

Publication Date: Sept. 29, 2011

Source: Purchased

Summary:

Karou has always been interested in drawing.  Her sketchbook his filled with half-human creatures that only she knows are real.  One of them, the trader Brimstone, raised her as his own, sometimes taking her on his journeys to collect the teeth that he pays for in wishes.  Karou’s secret life and her normal one as a student in Prague suddenly come together when black handprints start showing up on all the portals that lead to Brimstone’s shop.  And an annoying but sometimes charming angel starts asking Karou questions as if she is the key to everything.

Conclusions:

There are some obvious mentions of sex in this book.  In the beginning, the reader learns that Karou slept with her ex-boyfriend.  Her guardian Brimstone tells her: “I don’t know many rules to live by.  But here’s one. It’s simple. Don’t put anything unnecessary into yourself. No poisons or chemicals, no fumes or smoke or alcohol, no sharp objects, no inessential needles – drug or tattoo – and… no inessential penises, either.”  Pretty decent advice, actually.  Later in the book, two main characters have sex.  Nothing graphic.

Another one of the opening scenes takes place in Karou’s art class with a nude model.  This is generally a more amusing scene than an offensive one, however.

The angels and demons in Taylor’s world have some interesting relations to those of Christian theology—basically humans saw these paranormal creatures and built religion around them, trying to explain what they saw.  But the angels and demons really are not in any way close to the divine, nor do they have any sort of mission relating to humans or their spiritual welfare.  Expect interesting species, but little theology.

               

Marked by Kim Richardson

Goodreads: Marked

Series: Soul Guardians #1

Publication Date: March 18, 2011

Source: Free e-book

Summary:

Kara Nightingale is dead.  But when she woke up, she was not in Heaven, she was in Horizon, where the elevators are run by grumpy monkeys—and she is supposed to train to become a guardian angel.  With the roguish Petty Officer David McGowan as her supervisor, she takes on the job with some success.  Yet more demons show up on their missions than is normal, and David suspects that Kara herself is calling them.

Conclusions:

Relatively innocuous, if a little weird.  Kara briefly laments the fact she is flat-chested, using such fun expressions as the “boob-fairy had never visited” and “her feminine curves had been flattened by a giant spatula.”

 On the angel-side of things, these particular beings have little relationship to those of Christian theology, barring the fact they have appropriated a few terms like “cherub,” “archangel,” and “guardian angel” to classify themselves. (God here is the “Chief” and only really high-ranking angels even get to see him.)  In fact, the angels tend to be quite human, including experiencing emotions like selfishness, anger, and hatred.  They also occasionally swear, employing mild works like “crap.”

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Goodreads: Unearthly

Series: Unearthly #1

Publication Date: Jan. 4, 2011

Source: Purchased

Summary:

A few years ago, Clare Gardner discovered she has angel blood.  Now, as she strives to uncover her life’s purpose, she is dreaming of a boy in a forest fire—a boy she assumes she must save.  Her family  packs up and moves to Wyoming, where they believe this mysterious boy lives, but discovering what Clare is supposed to do with him or even becoming friends with him proves harder than she would have thought.

Conclusions:

This book is effectively clean and has a very sweet romance!  It is also the only one of these three novels where the angels are very obviously called to a higher code of conduct than humans. Angels have a link with God and are supposed to fulfill a “purpose.”  When they start doing questionable things, their white wings begin turning gray and can eventually be completely black.  The angels have been somewhat humanized for the purposes of the story, of course, but Hand does a nice job blending this with the divine. 

The Shadow of the Bear by Regina Doman

Goodreads: The Shadow of the Bear

Series: Fairy Tale Novels #1

Published: 1997

Source: Borrowed

Summary: Years ago a priest was murdered and the Church vessels he collected were stolen.  The story passed into rumor and few remembered what had really happened that night.  When eighteen-year-old Blanche and her younger sister Rose welcome a stranger into their home, however, they unwittingly allow the past to enter, as well.  Known only as Bear, the young man has a dark history and a secret he refuses to share.  The girls learn to trust him, but his friendship may cost them their lives.  A retelling of “Snow White and Rose Red”.

Review: The Shadow of the Bear speaks to a type of reader often ignored in contemporary young adult literature—one who does not relate to the students at preppy boarding schools, does not condone a fast and loose lifestyle, does not feel represented by all the protagonists who treat chastity like a disease.  It offers heroes and heroines actively concerned with leading good and holy lives even though they remain flawed and presents a picture of teenage life that some might find unbelievable, but that reflects the realities of many young Catholics.  Lovers of books and beauty will relate to the protagonists who discuss literature, faith, and philosophy all while trying to figure out how these topics fit into their day-to-day experiences. 

Doman seamlessly incorporates the themes discussed by the characters into her plot, thus revealing how the extraordinary and the ordinary often intertwine.  She clearly agrees with the philosophy of G. K. Chesterton who argued that fairy tales reflect the true reality beyond what we can see.  The dragons her characters face, however, are not mythological, but ones many readers struggle with themselves: drugs, death, date rape, and temptation.  The recognition of the characters that they are engaged in a battle that is more than physical imparts to the story its power.

The Shadow of the Bear combines the magic of a fairy tale with real life and, in the process, reminds readers that every day is full of wonder.  It provides a refreshing alternative to the “edgy” contemporary young adult books currently on the market and reminds readers that they are not alone in valuing purity or in seeking beauty.  The sympathetic characters combined with the hint of mystery make this a worthy addition to the bookshelf of any lover of retold fairy tales.