Lullaby Road by James Anderson

Lullaby Road by James Anderson is the 2nd in the Ben Jones series.  Ben Jones is a truck driver delivering in the winter desert land of Utah.  Ben is getting ready to take another delivery out to his faithful though not always trustworthy hardy customers who lived a hard scrapple desert life in Rockmuse.  Ben who lives in Price is a man of few words and so are his customers.  As Ben is filling up his truck with diesel, Cecil who runs the tire shop informs him that Pedro had left him something and that it was important that he get it.  Ben almost left  for his run to Rockmuse but curiosity won out and he found a small child out in the cold snowy day protected only by a few scant clothes and a big dog.  Ben couldn't leave the child there-he would die and went back to take him back to Cecil or Pedro but conveniently no one was in the tire shop.  Ben had no choice but to take the kid with him--it was either that or let him freeze in the snowstorm.  Ben then looks up to see his teenage friend Ginny slam the door on her ancient car and then reach in to grab her baby, Belle out of the car still strapped in her infant seat.  A short discussion passed on the reasons why he couldn't take Belle with him so that Ginny that could go to take 2 tests and then on to her job at Walmart.  Ginny won and soon Ben is headed out into the desert in his truck with his possibly illegal alien child who turned out to be a girl, her over protectant dog  and Ginny's baby girl.  This begins Ben's adventure out on this snowy day delivering to Rockmuse's hodgepodge of criminals and ne'r-do-wells mostly hiding in this town. 

This book is peppered with satirical jokes and an occasional curse word.  If you are bothered by that don't read it but if you want to read a book which is back and forth funny and sad read this one. If you want to read about the western desert read this book.  You will easily learn the people of the desert and appreciate them for their tenacity.   I had not read the first Ben Jones book but it is not needed to understand this novel.  I enjoyed it and read it easily in just a few days. 
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

The Crooked Path by Irma Joubert

The Crooked Path by Irma Joubert is this authors next novel.  I loved reading Ms Joubert's  Child of the River and also enjoyed reading this book.  This novel is not a part of a series though it has some of the major characters in Child of the River as minor characters in this one.  This novel begins as World War II starts to unfold.  Italian, Marco has fallen in love with Rachel who is Jewish and though Marco is not Jewish but rather Catholic he choses to help hide Rachel and her family in a mountain cave and live with them to keep them safe and also when they need food he sneaks down the mountain to find it for them and himself.  Eventually they are found and taken to a concentration camp where all but Marco dies of starvation and he is very emaciated and a constant cough.  After the war Marco gets back to his home and his parents and brother help him restore his health both mentally and physically.  Marco's health is so bad that his mother must find a way to heal his stomach in order for Marco to eat without constantly vomiting.  In addition Marco must find a way to heal his lungs which were weakened in the concentration camp.  Marco finally gets over the pneumonia but the cough continues.  His brother Antonio moves to South Africa and convinces Marco that the climate is much better for him there  since it is warm all the time there.

Lettie has followed in her father's footsteps and become a physician.  Marco is sent to her by Antonio to try to heal Marco's lungs.  Lettie has been having difficulty getting patients since African's didn't accept females as physicians. In fact Marco was Lettie's only male patient other than children.  Lettie cures Marco's pneumonia using the new antibiotic, penicillin but his lungs are forever damaged and every winter he gets pneumonia even with the warm weather.  Marco and Lettie fall in love but that does not end the trials that the two must face in their life. 

I recommend this book for any who love reading of WWII, who love reading of living in South Africa, who love reading Christian love stories or just historic novels.  This book is well written and Irma Joubert is a wonderful author.  I look forward to reading any novels that she writes.

When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner

When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner is a wonderful children's book for any child who is a little bit different from all the rest of the children---oh yeah that is every child.  Every child created by God is unique and this book tells that story.  It tells the story of  that great love God had for each child as He created them.  It tells of the joy that God has when He created this special child.  This little book tells the child just how important they are in the world and how there never has been a child like them nor will there ever be another child just like them.  The book tells the story of how God knew them before they were born and was an important part of God's story in the world.  This book tells how God gave them special talents so that they could do important work in the world that only they could do in that special way. 

I love the way that this story tells the child how important that they are and how important they are to God.  It tells the story that they each are different and that is part of their specialness.  It would be a great baby shower gift as well as any birthday gift.  It is wonderfully illustrated.  It tells of how God thought about it before He made this great creation of this child.  It will teach the child to look for their specialness and use it in a way that will improve the world around them.  I would never hesitate to buy this book for a child so that they would be aware of just how important they were to God and the world as well as their family.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

A Place at Our Table by Amy Clipston

A Place at Our Table by Amy Clipston is the first book in the Amish Homestead series.  In this Amish love story Kayla and James meet at Kayla's family's burning barn.  James is an Amish fire fighter volunteer.  Kayla's little brother Nathan is 14 and wants to start volunteering with the firefighters group but Kayla is against it since she is grieving the loss of her firefighter brother, Simeon, in a fire.  Nathan is grieving that loss also but feels closer to his brother when he is around a fire trying to help.  Unbeknownst to James he starts to tell Nathan how to train as a firefighter greatly angering Kayla. 

Nathan is very busy working the family farm as well as volunteering at the local fire department.  Nathan says he has no time for dating but this extremely mad and beautiful Kayla has him interested.  Kayla Dienner's brother died a year ago at the same time that her fiancé dumped her and so not only distrusts the firefighter, James, but distrusts all men---but Jamie's good looks do hold her interest longer than she would like.  Then James who had been putting off fixing that railing guarding the basement steps hears the tones go off for his address and recognizing the description of his mother knows that his mother is gravely injured even before he sees her.  His mother has died all because of him and his sister will never forgive him nor will he.

This novel introduces that reader to the Riehl and Dienner families and walks us through how these 2 families cope with death and tragedy within the Amish faith.  This books tells how their must forgive everyone who wrongs them both comfort as well as challenges them as they go through life.  Read this book if your love Amish love stories, read this book if you just love love stories.  This is well written as all of Amy Clipston books are and this one is the beginning of a new series which is always more enjoyable when you start at the beginning reading them.  Usually her books are stand alone novels and this one is no different but still leaves the reader anxious to read the next installment.
I received this book from Booklook for this review.