Kindle Book Review: "The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow" by Joyce Magnin

"The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow" by Joyce Magnin
3 Faerie Points

Joyce Magnin's Bright's Pond series, which "The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow" is the first book of this particular series, interweaves faith, death, and love all within the pages of its cover. This particular book is told from the viewpoint of Griselda Sparrow, Agnes's sister. The majority of the story deals with the fact that Agnes is seen as a miracle worker whose prayers often go answered by God. This story takes you on a journey through what it means to have actual faith.

My main gripe with this book is the sheer shock that happens during on particular part of this book. There was no real indication that this was going to happen in the book, but sometimes this is how life is. I don't feel that Magnin wrote any redeemable characters in the series for the most part, each of them are flawed. Here the flawed nature of the characters feels a bit undercooked because in many spots it feels like someone should be saying something to these characters that simply is not being said for some reason. "Why didn't someone ever truly speak up until near the end of the book?" is what the reader is left wondering. It doesn't leave a refreshing taste in the mouth.

This book had a lot of potential to be the first christian fiction book that I have actually enjoyed, but because of many of the holes contained within the story I simply didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped based on almost the first 3/4ths of the book. The tail end of the book just came out of almost no where for me and because of this this book lacks a lot of what should have been there. The lesson of faith and trusting who we are. It is also about letting go of our past and moving on from sin, but these elements are overshadowed by the sheer hatred that some of these characters spew at the ending of this book.

Even though there were parts I didn't like in this particular book I do intend to read the next book in the series called "Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise". It sounds like it will be interesting in a way that this book was unable to live up to.

Challenge Read (from Shelf): Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies
by William Golding
3 stars

Golding's "Lord of the Flies" was a book that I was never required to read in school for whatever reasons my high school felt. As a result there was always a mild curiosity about the title lingering in my mind thus I felt it was time to finally put it to rest.

I entered into the book with no real expectations other than what I had heard from others of it being a literary classic and one that everyone should read, but as I started reading it myself there was a part of me that wondered what was the point of this book. For the majority of pages I lingered hovering on the pages wondering why I decided to read it. It wasn't until I got about 60 pages from the end that I started to grasp what the book was. This book reflects what could happen to society in many aspects, but it doesn't do it well. The book doesn't work for me, but some books don't work for everyone.

I probably would have given this only 2 stars if it wasn't for the fact that I started to understand and enjoy it by the ending. I grasped that there was a more human undertone that I wasn't grasping as fully as could be, so I have to give it three stars for what it is trying to accomplish and I believe for many other reasons it actually does accomplish. Would I recommend this book to others? I would because it is still considered a literary classic and also it is a book that speaks to human nature, so others may be touched in a way that I wasn't by the story. It may help them to understand why as humans we need to learn to help each other and ultimately that we need to work together for the betterment of society at large.

First Challenge Accepted: Get Ready! Get Set! Read! Summer Reading Challenge 2012

I have been looking around for the first book challenge that I would accept to put on this blog and I have decided to go with this summer challenge since I am currently off school. This challenge can be found at the following link: http://readingwriters-pet.blogspot.com/2012/05/getready-get-set-read-summer-reading.html

The criteria of the challenge is as followed with my selections if available:

Choose any title in the following categories:

1. A book in an unfamiliar genre [Read outside your comfort zone!]

The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow by Joyce Magnin- This book is considered christian fiction, which is a genre that I have never read in the past because of my deep-seated loathing of Christianity. I figured though that I shouldn't always judge before I have read something out of the genre thus I am giving this book a chance. One of the big reasons for choosing this is that it has a central female character directly in the title, which the focus of a female character sometimes makes it easier to read a book for me. We shall see if it is true in this case.

2. A book that is part of a series-

More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin- This is book 2 in the Tales of the City series, which I have been meaning to read for years now. This challenge seems like a good time to knock it off my list.

3. A book that your friend or wider society has been raving about!

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer- This is a book that I personally never thought I would read, but the fact is a friend of mine talked me into it recently, so this seems like a perfect time to actually kill two birds with one stone.

4. A book that ‘could’ [This category is open to your interpretation*]

Effective Grant Writing and Program Evaluation by Francis K. O. Yuen- I am selecting this as my "could" book because this is a book that could help me graduate because it is one of the required books for a class I am in this summer. If I read it and get an A in the course I could graduate down the road with my bachelors in Social Work.


5. A book from the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels List.

I am going to read from this list number 33 "Sister Carrie" by Theodore Dreiser. I heard about this book a few semesters ago in a history course and based on the description it always sounded like something I would enjoy reading at least once. I recently found a copy of this book at my local used bookstore and hadn't gotten around to reading it. Now I have a reason.

6. A book that reminds you of your childhood.

The Wakefields of Sweet Valley from Francine Pascals's Sweet Valley High Series. This series is one that I always enjoyed reading when I was young, but my grandmother who raised me was always telling me the series was for girls. This eventually caused me not to be allowed to check out the books, but now that I am adult I have numerous books in the series that I haven't gotten around to reading. This is the one that I have wanted to read the longest, thus this would be the perfect opportunity to knock it off my tbr shelf.

7. A banned or contested book, OR a book that lied to us*

Lord of the Flies by Willam Golding. This is a book that I was actually never required to read as a kid (I hear the bibliophiles gasping, but tis true). I found from various sources that it has been banned numerous times due to the use of a particular old-fashioned word. This is another book that I have always meant to read, but simply never got around to.

8. A book you judged by the cover. [For whatever reason, the cover attracted you.]

Family Pieces by Misa Rush. The cover of this book has a green background. A weirdly designed female with a necklace on. This cover for some reason just dragged me in based on a purely aesthetic level. If I ever made a book I would want my cover to look that beautiful. I guess I have discovered a simple cover is what I like best.

9. Bonus: A blog turned book [OR a book turned blockbuster movie]

Going to go with the book turned blockbuster here and read Nicholas Sparks "A Walk to Remember", which was a book made into a movie featuring Mandy Moore. I have never read the first Nicholas Sparks book, so this will let me know if I like him or not as a writer.

10. Bonus: Free choice!

Wicked by Gregory Maguire!!! This is another book that has been on my shelf for far too long, thus it is time to actually get it marked off.
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When I finished one of these selections I will strike it out, so that there is a cohesive collection of what I have read. I will also mark my postings with the correct label for this particular challenge to make it easier for your finding. I look forward to completing this challenge!!!