The Falling away

The Falling Away by T.L. Hines

Run, do not walk away from this book! Captured by the back cover synopsis promising supernatural suspense, well-crafted characters, spiritual insights, and etc., I checked the book out. My mistake.

For the next 3 days I struggled through the book. Now for someone who generally finishes a book in one evening, this says volumes. The book was confusing. I have read a number of books in the supernatural suspense genre and this did not deliver. The book jumped around and the thread was hard to follow.

The allegory of a virus to describe how demonic activity infiltrates humankind was poorly developed. The scriptural references seemed misleading. In addition, the subject of cutting oneself to relieve anxiety seemed acceptable. Would I recommend it? No. Would I discourage people from recommending it? Yes.

Kathy Stutzman
Public Relations Manager

Madden 11 Xbox 360

Madden 11
This weekend I went over to my
friend's house to play the new and
anticipated “Madden 11” video game
on Xbox 360. I found this line of the
series to be quite similar to the other
Madden games, but at the same time
there were many more new features
that I would know of once I started
actually playing. The graphics on the
new Madden 11 are much improved
and also the kicking style of the game
is much different. For the kicking, one
has to now press the “A” button for
how much power and accuracy they
want. (Unlike previous Madden
games). Audible play calling is also
different on the new Madden 11, which
is one thing I did not like, but on the
upside I loved the new “gameflow”
option you can choose from if you
don't want to pick the play.
“Gameflow”, which applies to both
offense and defense, lets the computer
decide which play is best for you to
run rather than you scouting out what
play to choose on each possession. This
speeds the game up. I hope you
enjoyed my review of the new Madden
2011 video game. It is a great game to
buy if you are a football fanatic like
me! :)

by Viraj Gokhale

Any Minute

Any Minute by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford

The story plot is similar to the Christmas Carol. The main character has too busy of a work life, forgetting family and being rude to people. Priorities are in the wrong order. She is in an accident and is taken to past, present, and future. In the end, she makes changes. Joyce Meyers is an excellent non-fiction writer. This is her second attempt at fiction. She still needs to hone her fiction writing skills. Too much of the book was spent building the background and too little spend after the main character comes back to life. It seemed like she realized she was getting close to her allowed # of pages or words and rushed through it. Although she teamed up with an accomplished writer, it fell flat.


Reviewed by

Kathy Stutzman
Public Relations Manager

The Savage

There is a savage in each of us. Innocent, pure, or not. We are capable of ________ (fill in the blank).
When one young boy, Blue Baker, is left confused and in pain, he taps into that very savage, creating an artistic reality where his savage alter ego is capable of the things this boy can only dream of. Blue, a gentle kid, is connected to the savage he's writing about and is able to face his bully and take out his anger through his writings. The Savage becomes so real to Blue, that he begins to question his existence.
Getting to the core of human emotion, David Almond isn't afraid to get a little dirty, "If anybody ever seen him he chased them and cort them and killed them and ate them and chucked their bones down an aynshent pit shaft. He was savage. He was truly wild." With wild tri-color illustrations of the savage with his empty eyes and animal movements, Dave Mckean makes Almond's story as real as Blue's Savage was to him.
Loved loved loved this quick read! Recommended! For Sure!

Reviewed by Erin Reifsnider
Young Adult Coordinator