J.C. Buchanan

** This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.**

Title: The Word Changers

Author: Ashlee Willis

Published By: Conquest Publishers (2014)

Synopsis: Escaping from the turmoil of her home, fifteen-year-old Posy finds herself at her usual haunt … the library. When she chooses an unfamiliar book from the shelf, she does not devour its words as she usually does…
Its words devour her.
Posy is pulled into the pages of a fairy tale in turmoil. Characters whisper of rebellion against their Plot. And Posy must find a lost princess whose role in the story is crucial, before her own role in the book comes to a horrible end.
With the haughty Prince Kyran as a reluctant companion, Posy ventures past the Borders of the Plot, into the depths of the treacherous Wild Land forest that lie beyond. Secrets are buried there, dangerous and deadly.
Yet the darkest secret of all is the one Posy carries within herself.
Soon it’s clear that finding the lost princess is the least of Posy’s concerns. The Author of the book must be found. His Plot must be put to rights again, his characters reminded of who they were first created to be. Only then will the True Story be written, both for Posy, and for the tale she has now become a part of. (Taken from Goodreads)

Review:

What an incredible story! This beautiful book was fully an allegory and fully its own tale at the same time. I was very impressed! I loved it, especially because I myself am an author, but anyone really could love this story.

First of all, the allegory. I’ve not read a Christian book as good as this in forever. It doesn’t read like an outreach, but the themes are right there. Doubtlessly it will make the unbeliever think, and makes the believer grin at the amazing way such truth is portrayed. So simplistic. So cleverly. Readers will gawk at what they think is the character’s stupidity at not believing in an Author, while in reality they are doing the exact same thing that character is doing when they say there cannot be a God. I thought the allegorical themes were perfectly in tone with the story, flowed naturally, and captured wonderfully the essence of God’s love for us. So many quotes I felt derived directly from scripture, but not once did it sound preachy or cheesy; rather, like a part of a beautiful story. I thought the author captured perfectly the character’s rebellion and enhanced it to compare to the sins of humankind, all while retaining true to the plot—no pun intended—of the story. While some may argue that there is too much fantasy and magic in this story for it to be truly Christian, I’d say it’s because the author was truly trying to paint the absolute fairy tale example. The premise of this book—the allegory—would not make sense if it were simply a real life story. It has to be a fantasy, a magical world, a different world, an obvious “fictional” world  in order for the premise to make sense.

The one thing that doesn’t fit into the allegory was the idea of the Reader, granted–or I just haven’t figured it out yet– but I don’t necessarily think it’s revelent, rather I think it could just simply be an aspect of the story to enhance the idea they are in a book, essentially to just have fun with that idea. I could very well be missing something, however.

One other thing I’ve seen mentioned in reviews is the romance, but I’ll say, it was all sweet and completely appropriate. There was some sweet love scenes, but nothing intense or unclean. And yes, the characters are young, but they’re in a fairy tale and all fairy tale characters fall in love young. The author of this story was simply trying to elaborate on the fairy tale world, to make the world as fictional, so to speak, as possible. You can’t put modern life into a fairy tale and still have the story make sense and seem like a fairy tale, and well, if the story doesn’t seem like a fairy tale, then the premise the author is trying to reach becomes weak—again, the story wouldn’t have the effect it did with the Plot and the Author if the story had been a “real-life” modern story. It just wouldn’t.

The characters were well done for the most part. I had a bit trouble connecting with some of them, and on the same note as my paragraph above, while I did like the romance between Kyran and Posy I felt in a way it came out of nowhere and was kind of forced at the beginning. By the end, however, I had come to love them; the beginning was just a little rocky.

The writing was good enough, a little amateur maybe but still done skillfully enough for me to feel hooked. The plot of the story—not the Plot, but the plot—was well structured, thought out, and without flaws. Everything tied together well. There were a few scenes that seemed to drag, but for the most part, the scenes and chapters were concise and to the point, moving the story forward well.

I thought Posy’s flashbacks to her real life were awesome, and I loved the way it tied into the story without seeming—to me anyway—cheesy or unrealistic. While to an extent I suppose I wish we had seen more of Posy’s real life, I absolutely LOVED the way the story ended and wrapped up. It was beautiful.

I loved the themes. The allegory obviously, but that was more the storyline than the theme. There were so many themes hidden in the words of this novel that I don’t know where to start. Forgiveness was a prominent one which I felt was portrayed perfectly. Faith was another, which I loved the way it translated back into Posy’s real world. It incorporated the truths of Christianity without directly saying so, things that believers won’t be able to overlook and things that will have non-believers thinking, really thinking.

Negative Content:

None.

Rating: 5.0 / 5.0

Recommended to:  I’d highly, highly recommend it for probably ages 13 and over.

** This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.**

Title: UnEnchanted (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, #1)

Author: Chanda Hahn

Published By: Chanda Hahn (2011)

Synopsis: Mina Grime is unlucky, unpopular and uncoordinated; until she saves her crush’s life on a field trip, changing her High School status from loser to hero overnight. But with her new found fame brings misfortune in the form of an old family curse come to light. For Mina is descended from the Brothers Grimm and has inherited all of their unfinished fairy tale business. Which includes trying to outwit a powerful Story from making her it’s next fairytale victim.
To break the fairy tale curse on her family and make these deadly occurrences stop, Mina must finish the tales until the very Grimm end. (Taken from Goodreads)

Review:

I have a hard time deciding what I thought about this book. While the plot looked very promising and in of itself was very interesting, it lacked so much in every other aspect that the fact it had a good plotline was almost completely irrevelent.

First of all, the grammatical issues. To say it plainly, the editing was AWFUL and it drove me absolutely nuts. It wasn’t bad enough that you couldn’t figure out what was going on, but there was an enourmous amount of missing punctuation, run-on sentences, awkwardly structured sentences, missing commas, commas where there shouldn’t be commas, typo upon typo, missing words and wrong forms of a word. I recall once instance where it was written that something was “drug” across the room—apparently an attempt at a form of drag, which should had been “dragged”. This kind of stuff filled the entire book from cover to cover and drowned out the story, making the book feel entirely amatuer and also making it nearly impossible to truly read and enjoy it.

On the same note, the story and writing weren’t all that well off, either. There were piles upon piles of irrelevent descriptions and irrevelent scenes. I say irrevelent whole heartedly. So many tangents that led nowhere and proved to be absolutely useless in moving the story forward. It was ridiculous!

The plot: while the idea, perhaps, was good and thought out, it flopped once it hit the page. Reveals that were supposed to be breathtaking weren’t done well at all, simply brushed over without emotion. Twists and plot turns weren’t explained—expecting the reader to understand while in reality, leaving the reader floundering for answers and trying to read admist their confusion. The setting changed all the time and sometimes without warning or explanation; the scenes were jumping all over the place and most of the time made no sense. Other times, the same scene dragged (or should I say, drug?) on for ever. Cliffhangers at the end of a chapter picked right back where they left off immediately upon the start of the next chapter, making for an incredibly amatuer feel.

The characters were unrealistic and kind of unknown, maybe even to the writer. Nan was incredibly hard to grasp and I don’t think I ever actually got to know her. She’s all over the place, very abstract, and often contradictory to her own character—and other times she’s so predictable she’s boring. Mina was also incredibly unrealistic as well. She had no real emotion or fear—or when she does, it’s because the boy she likes offers to drive her home in his car, and not because a random stranger attacked her in the alley. When faced with small, dramatic events, Mina’s emotions are all over the place, but when someone’s trying to kill her she walks away calm, with the only thought on her mind—you guessed it—being the boy she likes and NOTHING about the fact she almost just died. This happens reoccuringly throughout the story, and it drove me crazy: every time she escapes danger, she’s thinking about something Brody did that bothered her, and NEVER about how she almost got killed.

Overall:

To put it all in perspective and to wrap it up, this book read like a first draft of a book. I mean, the grammatical errors, the tangents, irrevelent scenes, unknown characters—it felt like a writer’s first try at getting to know her story, not like a final version of the story, almost as if the writer accidentally published the first draft and not the final one. This could’ve been a fabulous story—but as it was, I’m really not sure I appreciated it at all. The storyline was interesting enough, but was overshadowed by the other things I’ve mentioned.

Negative Content:

None.

Rating: 1.5

Recommended to: Not recommended.

** This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.**

Title: The Letter (Hills of Innocence, #2)

Author: Willowy Whisper

Published By: Willowy Whisper (2016)

Synopsis: First it was just a letter, maybe a joke, a coincidence. Now it was more than that. Now it was a living nightmare, threatening everyone he loved, pulling his greatest fear into a reality . . . As the letters keep coming, Brock Sumner watches his world shatter at his feet. Building a wall around his heart seemed like the only answer. Is there any other way to protect the woman he loves?
A drunk, with no incentive to change; a runaway, with a price on his back; a young child, afraid in the dark . . . Will the letters, perhaps, pull their lives together? Or will the killer find a way to destroy them all? (Taken from Goodreads)

Review:

I cannot wrap my mind around this book.

This book was amazing.

I mean. Seriously.

It’s a Western murder mystery, with strong pulls of romance, and a positive, strong Christian message (not at all cheesy, either). It’s right up there with all the other great works of literature in my opinion—and get this: it’s written by a 17 year old! This book is easily one of the best written books I’ve ever read in my life. It had me in tears, had me laughing, had me shouting “No!” at times…The author did a phenomenal, phenomenal job.

The characters were well developed down to the last detail, and so, so amazing and loveable. The distinct character arcs of each character show such growth, with not one character staying the same throughout the course of the story, but instead changing and learning and growing; and of course, it was done beautifully, skillfully, and with elegance. Not one character is unlovable; and even the characters that are, in theory, more unlikeable the reader still cares about. Each character’s thread is a strong pull on the story and each character contributes in an important way. Not one character do we not know, not one character do we not love, not one character do we not understand; it’s as if we were right there in the story, living it out and understanding the characters just as well as we understand people in real life. Granted, some of the characters we know better than others, but the way it came together leaves no doubt that the author not only put lots of thought and development into each character, but also loved the less important ones just as much. I get the feeling you could ask the author about the most insignificant character in the book and she could tell you their birthday and their family and everything about them—that’s how well rounded the characters were and how much thought seemed to be put into this book.

The storyline flowed so naturally yet so astoundingly, pulling together so many seemingly unconnected stories together to form one bigger, greater story. What the author is able to bring together—the most unrelated stories, without being cliche or cheesy, but still being well written—is truly stunning and I am in awe. There’s the drunk who doesn’t want to change. There’s the guy who’s determined never to love again. There’s the friend who’s facing his own awful situation. There’s the sweet girl who’s in love and also struggling with feeling loved. There’s runaway with a terrible secret. And there’s the young child who lives in fear. And every one of their stories is distinct and beautiful, unique in its own way, yet somehow, all of them tie together to form a beautiful picture and an incredible story. I was worried that the book would end pathetically—there was so much going on and so much to pull together—but I could not have been more wrong. Willowy Whisper did not only just do a good job, but an incredible one.

And then the themes: can we talk for a minute about the themes of this book and how well they are done? The things woven in this book are well above the author’s age and deserving of adult recognition. She’s right up there with other famous literary works, and I was stunned by the amount of mature topics she was able to weave together at her age. I will note that everything was wholesome and positive—but it definitely ranked a higher reading level in my opinion, not just in the writing but in the content.

As well, there are so many positive Christian messages, and nothing at all cheesy about it. They were natural and graceful and flowed easily with the storyline, causing you to cheer and smile every time it showed itself. The love and romance remained wholesome and sweet and had me laughing giddily every time a love interest I’d been rooting for occurred. Though I will note there is a lot of romance in this book—almost every character falls in love—it does not come off unnaturally or forced, but rather in a gentler, sweeter way, causing the reader to root for the match rather than groan at yet another love interest.

The author has a marvelous way with words—I’d say that’s what it comes down to. Her ability to tell a story is far above her age and I was completely blown away. Her books never cease to amaze me, and in the case of The Letter, it not only amazed me, but also captivated me. I enjoyed every word of this book, which had me crying, laughing, shouting and much more as I navigated the pages of the characters’ lives. They truly came alive.

Negative Content:

None.

Rating: 5.0

Recommended to: I’d highly, highly recommend this book, which has taken its place among my other favorite books of all time!

** I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**