This time, I am reviewing a DVD as opposed to a book...

I was excited to receive a copy of Gigi’s Big Break from Thomas Nelson. The DVD includes two stories about Gigi, God’s Little Princess. The first “episode” involves Gigi breaking a vase and then lying to her parents about the cat breaking it. Her lie was so fabricated that it was funny. The second episode involved her dealing with the fact that her mother is going to have a baby. The shows are cute, and in Gigi’s imagination, her cat speaks. Gigi’s voice is entertaining and incredible. The stories, however, were not as religious as I had hoped. Gigi seemed very materialistic. There was a bible quote at the end and the family said grace at the table, but that was all. The guessing game at the end of the first video seemed a little unrelated. I felt that again it was materialistic as the words to be guessed were crown, thrown and boa. At first, when it said the guessing game, I thought it would be religious verses or commandments. I also did not get why she was called God’s Little Princess. The Bonus material was fun. The trivia game at the end was good and played back parts of the show to reinforce the answers to the questions. The lessons on drawing the characters were also good. Overall, I liked the video and thought it was entertaining and catchy, I was just disappointed that it seemed to show Gigi in such a materialistic light and there was too little religion.

Not a Sparrow Falls

Sorry for the delay in writing, but here it is, another book review!

When I first received Not a Sparrow Falls by Linda Nichols from Bethany House Publishers, I was not sure what to expect. The cover is very intriguing, but the back cover explained a story that I normally do not read. However, I am glad to have read the book. The storyline stuck with me long after I finished. The prologue began a little slowly. I was confused as to how the characters applied, and even more confused when the following chapters never referenced them (the two beginning characters did not return until a final chapter). The story involves Mary, who later changes her name to Bridie. She makes drugs along with two men, but hates that lifestyle and runs away. In her new town under a new alias, Bridie encounters a Reverend and his family. The wife and mother died a few years before, and they are still recovering. Bridie recognizes her own youthful turmoil in the Reverend’s daughter. When she tries to help her, she is hired by the Reverend’s sister to become the nanny/housekeeper for the Reverend. Her life seems to be getting better when Bridie discovers that one of the drug dealers she used to work for is coming after her, she decides to run away. While getting on a bus, Bridie is captured by the drug dealer. He believes that she has hidden his money at her grandmother’s and takes her there, holding them at gunpoint. The grandmother is the woman from the prologue. The pages are heated, turning quickly, and the resolution arrives at Bridie turning herself in to the police and discovering that the Reverend cares for her by posting bail. They are married. He decides to give up his church and they move in with her grandmother. The story was interesting, but the middle dragged. The end and beginning were fast paced, however, and I recommend the book for rainy day reading.