The Beginning of Better Days

This review originally appeared on my personal Facebook wall for a giveaway. I have made some edits to fit in this context of being a stand-alone book review. ~the Mom

I thought a lot about what I would want to share about The Beginning of Better Days. I read the book in early August, but life has gotten the better of me and I haven't been able to give writing about it the time that it deserves. I opted for a brief reflection here because I didn't want to delay any longer.

I will say this: As many who know me know, for years now, I've been studying, pondering, discussing, blogging, speaking about, planning and speaking on panels, etc. etc. etc. about the power of womanhood in God's plan. There are few things I'm more passionate about, actually.

In our world that seeks for equality based on tangible, measurable data points (such as salary or head count in the top spots of an organization chart), the structure of the Church can often leave questions about how women do fit into God's plan. 

This book touches on some of these very common questions.

There are many wonderful quotes and thoughts shared throughout the book (I have highlighted much of the book -- I thought there was so much profound truth throughout). However, in my mind, the book to me is ultimately not meant to be a solution or answer to the questions, but to be an invitation to seek personal revelation. I see this book as a valuable tool for reflection in the "study it out in your mind" portion of the process of seeking such revelation. I would call it a must-read for any woman (or man) who is mulling over these things.

What Sisters Virginia H. Pearce and Sheri L. Dew do is share some of their personal experiences and reflections. The last part of the book includes minutes of Joseph Smith's words to the Relief Society, as recorded by Eliza R. Snow...again, with the invitation to feast on those words and seek for God's help in discerning truth within them. Sisters Dew and Pearce do a beautiful job pulling out some of the truths they saw and sharing how they relate to and connect with the teachings and efforts of current leaders (male and female). 

But they are also clearly inviting each of us to experience our own reflections and revelation. They don't attempt to give all the answers. They, as many of our leaders have done, point us toward resources such as the Relief Society minutes that can help us gain more insights about important gospel truths such as priesthood, the temple, and more.

There is power in patterns, and to me, this was a book that reinforced patterns that reflect my own personal experiences with seeking more understanding and light about the role of women in God's plan and work. I absolutely loved it, and can't wait to read through it again. 

The Kindling by Braden Bell

Braden Bell's The Kindling

REVIEW: Why did I love this book? First of all, because it's rare to find a book my son has not read. (I LOVE having authors as friends!) To give you an idea, da boy read THREE books the other DAY. I have no way to keep up with his reading list. So when *I* hear about a book before *he* does, then it goes on the the-only-way-you-can-read-this-book-is-if-listen-to-Mom-read-it list. (And if the book is good, I get a captive audience!)

My kids were hooked from the beginning with The Kindling. They hated to have me declare bedtime (and usually were able to weasel an extra chapter out of me...yes, I'm a pushover for a little more cuddle time with the kiddos).

But the children weren't the only ones who loved it. I read on the way home from our family vacay and my hubby was joking about turning the car around and driving back to our destination so he could hear more. I really enjoyed it, too. Besides loving the time we spent together reading and enjoying the story line, there were several spots that really resonated with me in terms of just plain ol' truth. I couldn't resist a few moments of momma-commentary here and there as I read, an opportunity I always appreciate. And I confess to getting choked up at a particular point.

Some parental notes: It's a story, as teen fantasy books often are, about the battle between light and dark. As such, it's got some intense moments (it's definitely at the teenish level in that way). It's got a little crush-variety "romance" that elicited some giggles from the kiddos (which elicited smiles from the parents)...enough to acknowledge the normal-ness of crushes at this age without having them do anything crazy or inappropriate. Lastly, a couple of us are pretty sensitive to language, and while he never uses profanity, he does use a few 'substitutes' that my daughter wishes he wouldn't have used, and I'd tend agree with her (I think reading it out loud made those stand out more than they might have otherwise, and I skipped over a couple of them).

But when all is said and done, this book gets my momma thumbs up (and I consider myself a pretty picky momma).

I always like to see my kids' reactions to books like this, and even before we finished it, they were declaring: "He'd better do a sequel!" I should note that Braden is a middle-school teacher, so you can tell he *gets* and *loves* the youth. That shines through in this book.

One last note from my well-read son: He did start to feel like the good vs bad back-and-forth at the end was getting to be almost too much, so after we finished, I wondered if he would give it his thumbs up (he's not afraid to be honest, obviously)...and sure enough, he did. With gusto.

We had a great time with The Kindling. We look forward to Book 2! [Actually, there is now a review forthcoming on Book 2, Penumbras!]

~by The Mom