Skip to main content

Fun Fiction

A few years ago I started reading Jen Turano's Christian fiction novels and reviewing them.  I still remember how much I enjoyed the first one because it made me laugh.  Her novels have continued to do that for me.  Her latest one is the second in a new series she's written, titled In good Company.

The first book in the series told the story of Harriet Peabody (After a Fashion).  This second book
tells the story of one of good friends Millie Longfellow and her adventures being a nanny.  Millie has this peculiar habit of liking big words, carrying a dictionary with her, and often using those words incorrectly.  It's very funny, really.  My eleven year old daughter read the first two pages and told me, "Mommy, I like this one."  She's not going to read it, but she did appreciate the humor of it.  She hates romance and I wouldn't let her read it because it's not a kids book.  But, I did really enjoy it.  

Millie is a nanny who loves kids.  She's also a nanny living in a culture where kids are to be seen and not heard.  So, she regularly runs into conflict with her employers because she wants the kids to have fun.  Her employers don't see it that way.  In the story, she comes to be employed by the best friend of her friend Harriet's husband, Everett, as a nanny for his 3 wards.  Everett is set to marry a shrewish woman well situated in society.  The story follows their adventures and misadventures caring for these 3 kids.  

This novel is a melodrama, but a very fun one at that.  The writing flows, the plot moves, and you can easily imagine the characters in the setting of the book.  The cover looks extremely fake, but you just have to overlook that.  Usually covers like this are better done, but for some reason I don't like this cover.  Since the book is fun, I can definitely overlook the cover!  A few books ago, Ms. Turano lost some of the humor.  But, it seems like she really recaptured that part of her writing in this book.  I'm glad she did.

If you're looking for a light, humorous Christian fiction read I'd check this one out.  It will probably make you smile.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Bethany House Publishers.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Grieved

Why is it that my generation (I belong to Gen X) and generations after us always seem to think that they know more than the generations that have come before us? Why is there such a lack of respect in our generation for our elders? Why do we think that the liturgy of the church and hymns are irrelevant? It is ironic to me that the emergent movement is saying that the seeker sensitive movement is irrelevant. It seems as if it was only a few years ago when it was the seeker sensitive movement that said to the traditional church that it (the traditional church) was irrelevant. I'm reading a book with all of these big words and I want to be honest--I didn't understand a lot of it. I'm not dumb. I understood most of it, but the author was assuming a lot of background knowledge on the part of the reader. Most of the time I learn deep theological concepts and then I have to store them in my "attic" (as Autumn would say) because there isn't enough room in the ...

Missing Pieces

The other day I was discussing a book with my mom and explaining to her my concern about how "blame" is cast upon the child in the story.  My mom commented about how deeply I read and consider what is written. Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard.  Am I questioning too much?  Am I overreacting? Why am I reacting this way? I come back to knowing that God wired me this way.  But, I also reflect on how God has guided my path through the maze of books I've read over the past few years and what I've learned from the books themselves and from reading them.   Recently, I read a book that troubled me.  The book I finished reading was  Guiltless Living  by Ginger Hubbard.  When I began reading it, I found myself puzzled and then disconcerted. And in the end, I cried. But, I cried for a different reason than one might suspect. I'd like to explain. I did not read Ms. Hubbard's previous book “ Don't Make Me Count to Three ”, but I knew from f...

ESV, NIV, or NASB and then there's the ICB, ESV or NIrV...which should we read?

I am so thankful for my friend's question about the ESV vs. NASB and NIV. I couldn't remember the difference so I went to look it up. I knew that John Piper and Tim Keller, both pastors and authors that I deeply respect have switched over to the ESV. All of the churches that we have attended over the past few years PCA or Reformed Baptist have also switched to the ESV. I did find a blog that explained the differences and that helped me ( http://thefoolishgalatian.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/niv-vs-esv-and-why-piper-switched/ ) I knew why I didn't like the KJV--it was written in the days when writers were paid by a patron and that often slanted the translation. The NKJV, from what I understand, is a revision of the KJV that uses more modern language. Most churches I have attended used the NIV until the ESV came out. The blog I found explained that the ESV is a more literal translation---like the NASB. The NASB is a very literal translation. The ESV has come to be consid...