Marshmellows for Breakfast

Marshmallows for Breakfast, written by Dorothy Koomson, centers around the life of Kendra Tamale, a young woman who is trying to escape her difficult past in Australia by secretly returning to her native England to make a fresh start in her life. She rents an apartment from Kyle Gadsborough, the floundering father of beautiful six year old twins, Summer and Jaxon. While Kendra hopes for peace and solitude to sort through her difficult emotional issues and move ahead with her life, the twins, and eventually Kyle, have other ideas. The twins “adopt” Kendra in their mother’s drunken absence, and Kyle soon realizes that he needs Kendra’s help in coping with single fatherhood. Each of the characters is dealing with a secret in their life, from an assault in Kendra’s past, to Kyle’s impending divorce and the twin’s mother’s alcoholism, each is afraid to confront their secret because of the devastating consequences that will likely result. With every crisis faced by Kyle and the twins, Kendra is pulled deeper into the Gadsborough family and forced to confront issues from her past that she has tried desperately to forget. The book, while dealing with fairly serious issues, was never heavy and depressing reading. The emotional issues dealt with throughout the book caused alternating tears of sadness and joy, and left me constantly caring about what happened to each character. Dorothy Koomson does an incredible job of bringing the characters to life, whether their nature is good or evil. The twins are adorable and crave the love and attention of a “surrogate” mother which eventually makes them blossom. Kyle is frustrated and floundering, looking for someone he can depend on that will love his children and that can possibly love him as well. The twin’s mother and Kyle’s wife Ashlyn tries to drink privately but ultimately always gets discovered because of her negligence and inconsideration towards everybody in her life. Kendra, dealing with deep emotional scars, believes that solitude is what she needs to heal, but quickly learns that her constant involvement with Kyle, the twins, her best friend Gabrielle, and even Ashlyn, is what finally brings healing to her wounded soul and spirit.

Marshmallows for Breakfast is a touching story of what can happen when love demands that we confront the past and embrace the future. It also provides a deep look at relationship failure and how little it takes to bring a glimmer of hope where there appears to be none. It truly is a story of hope, redemption, and finding love in the most unexpected places.
After finishing the book, I found myself still wondering about the characters and imagining how their lives would ultimately turn out. An interesting observation I made about the story was that each character was afraid to share their secret with another person to whom they were otherwise very close, leading me to wonder further what that tells us about the role of secrets in relationships.
I would definitely recommend this book to other readers.

The Sacrifice

The story I chose to blog about was The Sacrifice by Kathleen Benner Duble. I was very interested in this novel the moment I saw it. Not too long ago, our English class read The Crucible, and I enjoyed that book very much. This novel, The Sacrifice is also centered on the unintelligent and immature accusations towards women of being witches. Abigail is the main character and she is a young girl who does not want to follow the strict rules of her fellow Puritans. Abigail refuses to conform to unrelenting rules and their severe punishment. Abigail’s father is ill and he throws random fits, but no one can find the reason why. When Abigail and her sister, Dorothy, are called to the town of Salem she believes they are going there to help the Puritans accuse women of witchery. Little did they know Abigail and Dorothy were sent there because they were accused of being witches? The girls are told that they are accused because of their father’s illness; it is believed that the girls put a spell or curse on their own father. Dorothy and Abigail are put in a jail cell for three months. Their mother does not like seeing her daughters in this kind of condition. The mother decides to convince her daughters to accuse her of being a witch. Luckily for Abigail’s mother she is pregnant, so that will postpone her trial. Thankfully, Abigail and Dorothy are freed from the jail and sent home. Their mother was not released when the girls were but Abigail knew she would be soon.

I was very fascinated with this book. The Sacrifice was a very appealing book to me. While reading I learned about things such as the punishment towards a girl if she were to commit a “horrible sin” such as racing a young man while lifting your skirt and liberating yourself from such a strict lifestyle. I felt these consequences were very ridiculous and uncalled for. When Abigail was caught racing her cousin she suffered from six hours in the stocks. That severe of a punishment is totally uncalled for.

The contents of this novel interested me greatly. I am mesmerized and shocked by the beliefs of the Puritans. These girls were in danger of death because someone assumed they put a curse on their father. During this period the accusations did not need evidence to support their statements and that is unfair. I loved the way this book represented the actual experiences of these people and what could happen to them because of one person or a group of people.

I was also very interested in Abigail’s character and how she lived her life. Abigail was very strong and she would not let her congregation see her weakness. Abigail is very similar to her mother. The title of this novel is The Sacrifice, and I believe that Abigail’s mother made the ultimate sacrifice by telling her daughters to accuse her of being a witch so they could be freed. Her mother’s action shows unconditional love and that was greatly present in this novel.

If you are interested in historical events, such as the Salem Witch Trials, I suggest you read this book because this novel really gives a personnel point of view of daily situations during this time. This book was wonderful and it really helped me look at this time period and these occurrences from a different angle. This book is a magnificent work of literature and can also be a history lesson. I greatly recommend this book.

Desiring God - by John Piper

Desiring God is one of the most popular books written by Pastor John Piper. He is a reformed theologian known for his life-long ministry and the many other books that he has written. John actually grew up in Greenville and went to Wade Hampton High school. He is now currently the senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. The reason that this is one of his most popular books is that in it he basically sums up his entire worldview into one book. The beliefs he explains in this book are the basis for his entire ministry and the way he lives his life. He is best known for his idea of “Christian Hedonism”, which he talks about in Desiring God.

The basis of his beliefs is composed of this Christian Hedonism. At first, the term “Christian Hedonism” sounds very self- contradictory, but Piper explains just the opposite. Christianity says that man’s chief end is to glorify his Creator, God, but the word “Hedonism” generally has the opposite connotation. Hedonism is the practice of seeking only pleasure in life, generally physical, and in hedonism, God isn’t glorified, man is. John Piper’s point in Desiring God is that we should seek to find pleasure and joy, but that we shouldn’t seek to gain it from a fleeting world; we should find our satisfaction and happiness in God and glorify him by doing so.

In Desiring God John Piper goes even as far as to challenge the Westminster Catechism. The Westminster Catechism says that man’s purpose in life is to “Glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Piper’s view of Christian Hedonism says that man’s purpose in life is to “Glorify God by enjoying him forever.” Piper says that God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him. John Piper reveals that a Christian’s conflict between duty and delight doesn’t truly exist. Delighting in God is our duty. This book is amazing because it tells about how we don’t have to give up joy in life in order to follow Jesus, but in fact He is the only one who can give us joy. Desiring God addresses one of the biggest problems that most people have with living a life for God. We often have a view that Christianity demands that we be miserable and not partake in any of the things in life that we think that will make us happy. Piper’s views show that God wishes to fulfill our desires to be happy, but He doesn’t want us to try to fill those desires with the world, but rather with Himself. Throughout the entire book Piper focuses and elaborates on one main idea: being satisfied with God and finding ultimate purpose and happiness in him.

John Piper clearly illustrates all of his points and gives great insight one biblical truth. I would definitely recommend any of John Piper’s books, but I would especially recommend Desiring God. This book has made me ask myself some great questions and has personally encouraged me.

The Silver Chair - by C.S. Lewis

The Silver Chair is another one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis. This novel is just one of the tales in The Chronicles of Narnia. Narnia is a magical land filled with mythical creatures and talking beasts, and is ruled by the mightiest of lions, Aslan. The story starts out by introducing the two main characters, Jill Pole and Eustace Scrubb. Eustace and Jill attend the same school and make their way into the land of Narnia one day in an attempt to escape being bullied by their classmates. Once in Narnia, the two are told to look for signs as they are given a quest that they must complete. They soon encounter many situations that are quite peculiar to them, such as their run-in with Puddleglum (a marsh-wiggle). The three continue on to experience many more interesting encounters with Gentle Giants and Gnomes. The trio is soon taken across the “Sunless Sea” and arrives in an underground city belonging to a maiden known as the “Lady of the Green Kirtle” The silver chair comes into place as they find a man in the underground city. The man says that every night, by the Lady’s order, he must be locked into a silver chair so that he cannot escape on his nightly fits of insanity. At night, the man seems to turn into a completely different person, and begs the three to let him loose. The same man earlier had told them not to release him in the night, no matter how hard he begged, but the three did so anyway as they recognized from the fourth sign given to them that that was what Aslan had meant for them. The man turned out to be the long lost Prince Rilian who was being imprisoned by the evil “Lady of the Green Kirtle”. The Prince and the Lady then fight until the evil woman (now transformed into a serpent) is killed. The story ends with Rilian’s return to his kingdom and the return of Eustace and Jill back to their school where they manage to give the bullies waiting for them a good beating. They were returned only after they had successfully completed the task the Aslan had set for them.

I thought that The Silver Chair was a fascinating book. The many different and odd encounters of Jill and Eustace were very interesting. Another thing that made this book near impossible to put down was the idea of Aslan’s quest. I simply had to find out whether or not the two ended up fulfilling their task. That is what made me want to finish this book.

Also, one of the biggest dilemmas in the story was whether or not Puddleglum, Eustace, and Jill should free the man in the silver chair. The “right-minded” side of the man that they saw in the daytime said one thing, and the “insane” side of the man during the night begged them to let him go, in the name of Aslan. This problem was very interesting and it made the plot. Shortly after followed the climax in the battle between the “Queen of the Underworld” and Prince Rilian. This was one of my favorite parts of the novel.

C.S. Lewis is definitely a very creative writer with loads of imagination. Not only does he write great plotlines and adventures, but he also incorporates biblical allusions into many of his stories, including The Silver Chair. This book is not hard to understand and is great for anytime you want to relax and be captivated by a great story.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

In the novel The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins encounters Gandalf, a wizard, and suddenly is on an adventure that takes him all over the land and makes him realize how he is a hero. In the beginning of this novel, Bilbo is a quiet hobbit who lives in his burrow in a comfort zone, but then he meets his friend, Gandalf; and, before he knows it, he is leading a band of dwarves to go steal treasure guarded by the great dragon, Smaug. In my opinion, this book is a book that is a true page turner and worth your time to read. It has a very good plot, good description of the characters and setting, and there is never a dull moment in this book. While reading this novel, I always felt like I was right there with Bilbo Baggins, either when he was battling spiders, wolves, or orcs. A major part of the novel that I found very intriguing is how Bilbo Baggins goes from living in his comfort zone to become an adventure hero and how you see the transformation through out the story. I believe if you compare Bilbo from the beginning of the novel and Bilbo from the end of the novel, you will see major differences how he looks at the world and in life in general. The use of the diverse characters     in this tale is also another reason why it is not only a page turner, but one of the best selling books of its time. With all the literary devices found throughout the story, it makes it have a high rereading value! One example of the literary devices is foreshadowing, when the narrator is telling about Took, Bilbo’s mother, and how she has adventure hero “blood,” Gandalf always tells Bilbo that there is more to him than meets the eye, and when Gollum is introduced into the story, he refers to his “precious.”  The use of symbols is another example of the literary devices that J.R.R. Tolkien uses to make the novel thought-provoking. An example of symbolism is the naming of the swords because it symbolizes how they help out the dwarves as much as another “person.” In my personal opinion, there is not many ways that this book could perfected in any way. There is a perfect balance of dialogue and action that you, the reader, will never lose interest and want to stop reading the novel. Another major part of the novel that is very compelling to me is the point of view from which the narration of the story is told. It is narrated in third person from the opinion of Bilbo, which helps demonstrate the transformation that he undergoes throughout the entire story. In my opinion, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is worth your time to invest and read and if you like to watch the Trilogy, then you will definitely enjoy reading this novel because it explains the first movie completely and it helps give you a better understanding of the first thirty minutes of the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring.    

Bet Me by Jennifer Cruise

An awkward and unpredictable love story, Bet Me has a series of twists that keep the readers interested. The story opens with Minn Dobbs and her current love interest, David. The relationship they share is superficial, causing many insecurites for Minn. Throughout the book, Minn comes to the realization that she can find better people if she simply branches out and becomes more outgoing.

As Minn is growing and learning to show herself to others, she meets Cal. The circumstances in which they meet are less than desirable; Minn was approaching him as David is attempting to make a crude bet with Cal. To make things worse, the bet is all about Minn. Cal declines the first bet, but consents to another; one which involves taking Minn out to dinner.
In the first few dates shared by Cal and Minn, the reader tastes the hostility, but, as Cal forces Minn to become more confident, she relaxes and comes to trust him. Just as she becomes more confident, Cal's former girlfriend of nine months comes into the picture. She is a successful psychiatrist who is known nationwide as the consultant of love. She is convinced that Cal was ready to marry her, but when she provided him with an ultimatum of marry me, or i'm leaving, Cal honestly and modestly lets her go.
Cal's girlfirend will not accept Cal's infatuation with Minn; the fact that he has started to quickly fall in love with Minn forces her to get in contact with David and try to sabotage the growing relationship. She and David plant seeds of doubt in the lovers' heads, try to make them jealous, and even bring the families into the picture.
Cal comes from a rich family who looks down on him for his dislexia, while Minn comes from a middle class family who looks down on her for her weight. The two help with the other's insecurities and they both become able to live with their families. Without the guilt of being a less than desirable child.
After only two months of this mutual support, Minn realizes that she is in love with Cal; a fact that she can not cope with because she still thinks that Cal only dated her as a bet. Cal attempts over several more weeks to try and convince her that they should be together, but, not knowing why Minn will not see him anymore, all his attempts fail. At Minn's sister's wedding, the truth comes out, and Cal explains that he had declined David's attempted bet, and would never have done anything that crude.
Now that Minn knows the truth, she is forced to let go of all the doubt she has been holding onto, and must accept that she is in love with Cal. The only battle left for their relationship is showing Minn's parents that Cal is, indeed, an acceptable partner. As soon as the pair do that, they are able to relax and, in the end, get married.
Bet Me is a hilarious and unique novel and I recommend it for any optimist who likes to laugh and can appreciate a new type of love story.

Spitting Image

Twelve-year-old Jessie K. Bovey has a lot to worry about. She doesn't know who her father is; her old biddy of a grandmother keeps interfering in her life; her best friend, Robert, desperately needs new glasses that his family can't afford; and mean Dickie Whitten teases Robert until Jessie has no choice but to punch him out. When some New York City reporters show up in Beulah County to research a story about the War on Poverty, Jessie sees a way to solve one of her problems. She can charge money for showing the reporters around town so they can take pictures of the "local color" and use it to help pay for Robert's glasses. But her plan backfires spectacularly, and Jessie learns some big lessons and some big secrets as well.


Jessie begins to wonder about the identity of her own father during this time. Her mother has said for years that she would tell her who her father was when Jessie was older. Well, the time has come and Jessie finds that she's still not getting any answers. She decides to take matters into her own hands and writes a young doctor who was a friend of her mother's. The doctor comes to town after receiving the letter to let Jessie know he isn't her father, although he cares about her very much. As the story progresses you learn that the doctor's friendship with her mother was not well received by many prejudiced people in the southern town. In fact, their friendship was the reason Jessie's mother's home was burned down while she was pregnant with Jessie. In the end, Jessie does find out who her father is, but she finds that knowing his name isn't as important as the family that she already has now.


Author Shutta Crum does an excellent job of taking you into Kentucky during the "War on Poverty". The dialects and dire situations appear quite authentic and almost painfully realistic. Crum deals with difficult topics such as racism and rape very delicately, yet realistically. The book is informative and builds up to a suspenseful conclusion when the father's name is finally released. Although Jessie may not get the father she desired, she does get the family she needs. The grandmother's character is also a very intricate part of the plot as you learn about her many past marriages and how she ends up with a car from each ex-husband after each divorce. Although Jessie and her grandmother don't see eye to eye, they find that they do have a deeper understanding of one another after going through a traumatic event. This is well written novel that tackles serious subjects in an introspective and thought provoking manner.


I believe this is a good novel to read if you are going through hard times with your family or if you just need some excitement. I've read this book before and I just had to read it again. These lines spoke to me: "Finding your place in the world isn't easy. Sometimes you have to push out and clear a space you can claim for yourself. And sometimes, when you're not even thinking about it, a space just opens up and you walk in and meet the outside world that's come looking for you."This book is easy to read and doesn't have very many big words. It also has a sort of historical side to it when it discusses the "War on Poverty". It mentions people such as Dorthea Lange and Walker Evans. I always asked myself "How did Shutta Crum come up with such an enticing novel?" Well I decided to look more into. I found out she based it off an incident in Kentucky in 1967 with some reporters. I was also wondering what exactly a "close-knit" community would be? They are all very close to each other location wise and many of them are good friends, but others are very rude and mean to each other. This would be an excellent novel for someone to read and I highly recommend it.