6 Heart Review: Izzy's Pop Star Plan by Alex Marestaing

Izzy's Pop Star Plan
Alex Marestaing

Page Count: 229
Release Date: 29 December 2010 (first edition)
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (MacMillan)
Source: Complimentary copy provided by BookSneeze in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Izzy Baxter has big plans—popstar plans.

Ever since she was six, she's dreamed of becoming the world's next singing sensation. Now sixteen, her singing career is on the rise, and she's been selected to compete on the hit TV show "International Popstar Challenge." As Izzy performs in far off locations such as Tokyo and Paris, it seems as if her plans are coming off without a hitch. But God has plans of His own, and Izzy will soon discover that living for Him is "way cooler" than megastar fame.

Presented like a daily blog, set up like a devotional, and read like a novel; this book will be an instant hit with tween girls. This cutting edge new product will meet girls where they are, and girls will love following Izzy on her incredible adventure. Plus, they'll get daily spiritual food to equip them on their own incredible adventure with God.

Buy the book at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Christian Book | Sony eStore | Kobo

Review

Hollywood native Izzy Baxter has come far with her pop star dream. As a contestant of "International Pop Star Challenge," she travels to Harajuku, Paris, Buenos Aires, and New York to finally make that dream come true, but she's going to have to overcome life's obstacles before she gets there. Izzy's Pop Star Plan is a 90-day devotional with strong Christian approaches on dealing with jealousy, anger, grief, sadness, moving on, helping others, disappointment, intimidation, good tidings, displaying faith, companionship, abandonment, staying true to yourself and your faith, dating, teenage rebellion, heartbreak, standing out, and worship and praise.

The story isn't that exciting; I wasn't exactly excited to see what happened next. It just describes day-to-day things, and I definitely saw the "happily ever after" coming, but the few dramatic twists and turns in the middle are worthwhile. Izzy's discoveries and personal dilemmas are well-portrayed and the way she faces her fears and makes tough decisions is moving and affecting.

Izzy as a narrator is likable enough, but the main problem I had is how UNCHARACTERISTICALLY she acts for a 16-year-old. She's way too mature and her thinking process is literally that of an adult's; I don't care how "Christian" she is... teenagers just don't act that way. On the other hand, sometimes she acts like a baby, crying every time her father leaves the house, refusing to date guys because her dad told her not to (hello???), and being too dependent on other people. And yet she discovers, on her own, God's messages? The character is just unrealistic and contradictory to me. She doesn't act like an adolescent; she acts either childishly and immaturely, or like a boring adult, so I couldn't quite place her as a real person. However, I was proud of her because she overcomes her homesickness and the challenges thrown her way, in order to pursue her lifelong aspirations; she's a dynamic character and Marestaing did a great job demonstrating her growth through gospel.

Overall, her, her family, and her friends are living in a naïve, blind Christian world that doesn't realistically depict real life, but then again this is a juvenile novel so I guess Marestaing was aiming for the grossly oversimplified and positive outlook.

Izzy's Pop Star Plan is a Christian-tinted self-improvement devo set to an agreeable tune. As a devotional, this book is very heavy on God-this and God-that—way too preachy for me—but as a debut novel, it's sentimental and promising.

Pros

Blog format with comments—felt like a real online journal // Evocative of countries Izzy travels to // Solid Christian approaches to everyday human emotions and difficulties // Lots of character growth

Cons

Not very exciting or fun // Very predictable // Izzy doesn't act like a 16-year-old... she acts like she's 30 one day, and 3 on another. There's sadly no in-between // Competition results are way too idealized; nothing disappointing ever happens to her career // Preachy

Verdict

Touching and full of the honest emotion only found in a teenager's diary, Alex Marestaing's first novel is an entertaining daily devotional about finding yourself through friends, family, new experiences, new people, good music, and of course, God. Izzy takes readers with her on her adventures around the world, giving fascinating glimpses of the reality show industry, pop star fame, and Christian lifestyle. I personally didn't enjoy the cheery storyline that seemed to always be favorable to the main character, but I do think middle-grade girls (ages 9-12) will like it 

6 hearts: Satisfying for a first read, but I'm not going back (x)

Snow by Kathryn Hewitt Promo and Giveaway!

Brought to you by Virtual Book Tour Café...

Snow by Kathryn Hewitt

From WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson...

How do you know, at fifteen, what love and affection really mean? Ruth learned all too soon that love is commitment, and affection has a price. But who will ultimately make the commitment, and who will pay the price? At fifteen, Ruth thought she had her life planned out. That is until she met Luke, a charming new cadet from the local military school. After entering into a seemingly harmless teenage romance, Luke's possessive attitude and subtle remarks begin to undermine Ruth's confidence, sending her into an emotional tailspin. A beautiful young girl is suddenly lost in a grown-up world, trying desperately to hang on to a love she thought would last forever. Shattered dreams and hopeless tears become the bricks that build walls around Ruth; yet just below her broken heart, a beautiful vessel is being formed. Join Ruth on her wedding day, five years later, as her childhood friend helps her journey back to face the demons of her past.

Snow is a fiction novel, based on true events, about the struggles of a teenage girl and the consequences of a devastating mistake. Whether readers are young adults, exploring their sexuality for the first time, or an older adult, struggling to understand their teenage daughter, everyone will have a character in which to relate.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥: Save the Date by Jenny B. Jones

Save the Date
Jenny B. Jones

Page Count: 320
Release Date: 1 February, 2011
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Source: Complimentary copy provided by BookSneeze in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)

You are cordially invited to the wedding of the year with the most unlikely bride and groom.

Save the date... and say your prayers.

When the funding for Lucy's non-profit job is pulled, she is determined to find out why. Enter Alex Sinclair, former professional football star and heir to Sinclair Enterprises—the primary donor to Lucy's non-profit organization.

Both Lucy and Alex have something the other desperately wants.

Alex has it all... except for the votes he needs to win his bid for Congress. Despite their mutual dislike, Alex makes Lucy a proposition: pose as his fiancée in return for the money she desperately needs. Bound to a man who isn't quite what he seems, Lucy finds her heart—and her future—on the line.

Save the Date is a spunky romance that will have readers laughing out loud as this dubious pair try to save their careers, their dreams... and maybe even a date.

What Stephanie Thought: Who said Christian fiction had to be boring? Certainly not Jenny B. Jones. Her acclaimed novels may not contain the spice most romance novels nowadays do, and yet Save the Date is probably now one of my favorite books ever.

The initial plot is a little stale: handsome rich man, beautiful lower-class girl. The two make a contract to "marry", only to fall in love with each other en route. Basically the storyline for any Harlequin Presents book.

But what separates Jones's writing from trashy romance novels (aside from the obvious—the sex) is how she unbinds the cliché, making Save the Date nothing like I expected it to be.

Growing up and going to high school with Charleston's toniest elite doesn't sound too bad. That is, if you aren't Lucy, whose mother cleaned the houses of her classmates. Taunted and scarred from the memories of not fitting in, not being one of them in high school, Lucy Wiltshire is an independent woman. She doesn't need a husband (because fittingly, her boyfriend dumped her on the day she thought he would propose), and she doesn't need rich friends—her true friends stick with her and love her no matter what her socioeconomic status. What she does need, is for her charity organization, Saving Grace, which helps house and assist homeless girls and young women by giving them shelter and a second chance, to keep its head above the water. But without enough funding, that doesn't seem very likely. For the first time ever, Lucy is forced to admit her weakness, finding refuge within none other than the son of her (former) biggest benefactor: Alex Sinclair.

It all makes sense for Alex. When he is seen with Lucy one platonic night, the paparazzi goes crazy, and the polls top the charts. If he creates a little relationship, nothing harmless, just a make-believe story that he and Lucy are to wed soon, wouldn't that help his numbers drastically? Of course.

And it does. Until news bearing the tragedy of his missing twin brother Will, the good one, the kind one, the one everyone loved, strikes. Along with the struggle Lucy is going through to keep Saving Grace alive, both she and Alex realize that maybe life can't be so perfectly planned—at least not by deceit. 

I loved Lucy and Alex's journey to find their true selves because of how real, how heartwarming, and how giggle-out-loud-on-the-bus (note to self: do NOT read on the bus or else fellow passengers will stare at you bizarrely) funny it was.

What I love most though, is the characters. Lucy is delightfully charming and self-sufficient. She's the kind of woman I want grow up to be, with the snappy comebacks and headstrong ambitions, and all. Alex... don't get me started. If there was such thing as Mr. Perfect, it would be him. Sure, he's a little confident, but that's so entirely sexy. No one wants to date a wimp. Julian is the adorable gay guy friend every girl needs. And Clare, the presumed antagonist aka snooty rich woman who I started off hating for the aloofness and malice she presented towards Lucy, is just the funniest character ever. A 70-something year old woman SPOILER (who is Lucy's grandma!!) who gets fussy about losing a round of Guitar Hero and who has only just discovered the magic of Mac&Cheese; too cute. Too funny.

My final verdict? You MUST get to reading this book as soon as you can. Jones has such a brilliant way of crafting words to make them interesting, but not over-the-top flowery.

You'll certainly enjoy Alex and Lucy's hilarious banter throughout the novel, as well as the moving values Jones emphasizes, including family, love, and friendship. You won't want to put this one down, and you'll read it cover to cover within a matter of hours, making you wish in the end, you yourself, were in Lucy's shoes.

Stephanie Loves: "Closing her eyes, Lucy cursed her stupidity. She adored a man who would never love her back. One who had an agenda that didn't include a wife and family. 'Is something wrong?' Yes, she thought miserably as Alex pulled her close. Something was wrong. She had gone and fallen in love with her fiancé."
 
Radical Rating: 10 hearts: I'm speechless; this book is an extraordinarily amazingly wonderfully fantastically marvelous masterpiece. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥: Lies the Government Told You by Andrew P. Napolitano

Lies the Government Told You
Judge Andrew P. Napolitano

Page Count: 368
Release Date: 2 March, 2010
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Source: Complimentary copy provided by BookSneeze in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)

You've been lied to by the government.
We shrug off this fact as an unfortunate reality. America is the land of the free, after all. Does it really matter whether our politicians bend the truth, here and there?

When the truth is traded for lies, our freedoms are diminished and don't return.

In Lies the Government Told You, Judge Andrew P. Napolitano reveals how America's freedom, as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, has been forfeited by a government more protective of its own power than its obligations to preserve our individual liberties.

With emphasis both on government and on U.S. history, two topics I take interest in, this book thoroughly awed me. Using laws present in our own U.S. Constitution, as well as accurate historical information acknowledged by most American citizens, Napolitano criticizes and picks apart the flaws present in a government that to say in the least, is hypocritical.

Many of Napolitano's examples include Obama, the current war, and today's problematic economic system. I found both positive and negative aspects in this. Positive: the book was easy to comprehend and relate to, since it discussed stories I hear everyday from peers and on the news. Negative: the economy and government can change swiftly, so I don't expect this book to be considerably timeless.

The only reason my rating isn't higher is because of Napolitano's writing style. He didn't have poor grammar or anything, but reading Lies the Government Told You felt like reading a cross between a self-help book and a history textbook, which personally is not my cup of tea. For a nonfiction constitutional law and social politics title, it was pretty satisfactory, though.

Stephanie Loved: Below, are the seventeen lies Napolitano presents. Take some time thinking about how they are said but unjustified in the American government. Your mind will be blown:

1. "All men are created equal"
2. "All men ... are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights"
3. "Judges are like umpires"
4. "Every vote counts"
5. "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech"
6. "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"
7. "Your body is your temple"
8. "The federal reserve shall be controlled by Congress"
9. "It's only a temporary government program"
10. "I'm from the government and I'm here to help"
11. "We are winning the war on drugs"
12. "Everyone is innocent until proven guilty"
13. "The Constitution applies in good times and in bad times"
14. "Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars"
15. "We don't torture"
16. "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, shall not be violated"
17. "America has a free market"

Radical Rating: 7 hearts: Not without flaws, but overall enjoyable. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥: Living Life in the Zone by Kyle Rote Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew

Living Life in the Zone
Kyle Rote Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew

Page Count: 352
Release Date: 29 December, 2009
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Source: Complimentary copy provided by BookSneeze in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)

Power. Grace. Strength. Fearlessness. That's living life in The Zone. For many men, there's nothing more exciting than seeing an athlete elevate his game to another realm. Quarterbacks thread passes through impossibly tight creases. Golfers sink pressure-packed putts. Sluggers park baseballs ten rows deep in the cheap seats. Afterward, these athletes all say one thing: The dominance was easy. Everything came into focus. Against all reason, time slowed down.

If only we mortals were so lucky. Between the stresses of work and the pressures of parenthood and marriage, our time—our life—flies by faster than a major league heater. Can we hope to elevate our game and enter The Zone?

Living Life in The Zone is a 40-day spiritual journey for discovering abundant life. Filled with inspirational scriptures and real-life stories of playmakers such as Tony Dungy, Allan Houston, Kurt Warner, and John Wooden, this game plan will teach you what God has in store for men living In His Zone.

This is the book for men. Not just a book, but the book. Though I am not a man by any means, I was able to get through it and enjoy it immensely—I honestly cannot say I've ever read a book quite like it. It captures forty days of a man's life—your life—connecting one to both God and sports.

Starting from Day One, it accounts you to your spiritual and mental well-being. Included, are uplifting quotes and scriptures to help you through your own self-identity and self-preservation, and fantastic stories from athletes we all know and look up to. The connection to the celebrity sports figures is really want helped me realize the potential of the motive of this book: to discover "The Secret" for happiness in life, and to lead a successful one.

What I found difficult is some of the concepts used—naturally, I didn't completely comprehend the "male" aspects of the narrations. But the overall message was universal and it was this: You can be greater than you think you are; you can aspire and attain higher goals thank you think to be; and the world around you can be helped to achieve a higher degree of perfection.

Rote uses a combination of inspiring words and concepts that are easily related to, to advocate spending more time with God and finding connections within oneself in sports. The 40-day game plan is very step-by-step and self-explanatory; it doesn't feel like reading an overwhelming self-help book... it feels like reading your own journal. It is not one of those books where you can read it and voilà, your life is perfect; it's one of those books you read over and over again to tweak and orient your life as you know it until you achieve that satisfying perfection. Keep this one close to your heart because the more you read it, the more improvement you'll see. 

Radical Rating: 7 hearts: Not without flaws, but overall enjoyable. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥