Book reviews from TanniaEOrtiz-Lopes

"The new book from Robina Williams, Angelos, will keep you reading beyond your bedtime! I was unable to put it down. The author has an entertaining way of embracing complex topics such as time-traveling, life after death, Greek mythology, legends, and Catholic theology braided with philosophy and mysticism. She also uses two famous paintings to bring the book to its climax! This Young Adult book is suitable for teens and adults. I do not, however, recommend it for children under 13 years of age, since they are not mature enough yet to understand some of the book�s themes. The book begins with the sudden departure of Father Fidelis and his close encounter with a ginger cat named Leo. However, the sudden departure of Father Fidelis came as a surprise to all the friars and it started a chain of speculations and some admiration among them. Some of them admired his sense of obedience while others wondered, why? But the knowledge of their newly assigned guardian, Father Aidan, brought joy to the friars. They all knew him. He has been their guardian before. He was flexible and understanding. Upon his arrival, however, Father Aidan�s behavior appears somehow changed towards the other friars. Now they are not so sure if it was indeed a good trade. Perhaps Father Aidan is just tired from his long journey, or is he? The day is still too young�time will tell! Leo is not an ordinary cat. He is able to travel from �this time� to the afterlife easily. He also has a pair of �mystical eyes� that inspire awe and fear in those who see them. Leo�s real name is Quantum, but he is known in the afterlife as Quant. Between the departure of Father Fidelis and the arrival of Father Aidan, Leo and Father Peter have a closed encounter, too. Leo�s eyes change to gold while looking at Father Peter, then return again to emerald green. This puzzles Father Peter. He wonders what type of cat this is! He feels unease and very nervous around Leo, so he keeps him at a safe distance. The deceased Father Jerome, however, is fond of Leo. After all, Leo was his pet when he was alive! He, however, has not yet accepted his deceased state and the world of the dead. So he wanders often around the orchard at the friary. Some of the friars were not pleased with his presence there since it challenges their beliefs about death and life after death! During one of Father Jerome�s visits to the friary, he is violently catapulted from a hut near the orchard to another place, which appears to be a cellar or a Dungeon. He is confused and perplexed! Where is he? He looks around and explores the place. He finds some human bones and becomes frightened. There is something�or someone�living in this place that eats humans! He cries out for Quant�s help, who doesn�t immediately arrive, and grows tired. He takes a nap while waiting for Quant. Meanwhile at the friary, the Minotaur is equally puzzled and annoyed. He also explores the small room and searches for something to eat. He finds some jars on top of a shelf and after several attempts, manages to open one of them. He tastes its content and concludes that whatever was inside was not edible. He goes to sleep, hoping it�s all just a nightmare! Quant finally appears, of course, to sort everything out and show Father Jerome around in this new world, known to the good priest as the world of Greek Mythology. They visit some of Quant�s old friends, including the Deiphobe, the Sibyl of Cumae, St. Jerome and his lion, St. Anthony of Egypt, and St. Paul the Hermit, among others. Father Jerome is fascinated and intrigued and asks tons of questions to Quant. During their traveling in this world, the reader will be exposed to a combination of philosophy, mythology and mysticism from Quant�s point of view. The combination of these topics is essential to the understanding of God�s Creation beyond human comprehension. The end of the book will leave the reader saying, WOW! It echoes Jesus� parable of the �Good Servant� and St. Paul�s words of encouragement about finishing the race and fighting the good fight. "

"Help! My Husband Has Sexually Abused Our Daughter by Debra L. Butterfield is a book of reflection and healing while going through turmoil of emotions and family issues. Debra chose the Book of Psalms as her path to find comfort and deepen her relationship with God. Every day start with the reading of five recommended psalms to help the reader to relax and be prepared to walk in her shoes for more than a mile. You will get a close look at her story, understand the lesson learned, a recommended course of action, and end the devotion with a personal prayer. You will experience Deb�s emotions and ride the rollercoaster of her family during this journey of faith and total surrender to the Father�s plan for our lives. I recommend this book for individuals and families who are dealing with problems of incest and/or sexual molestation. The book is written in a very personal language which makes it easier to read and understand without judging those involved in this type of situation. It is a great tool for counselors working with Christian patients who need the assurance of God�s loving arms around them in such a time like this. �He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps� (Psalm 40:2) "

" Storm is the first published book of author Joyce A. Anthony. This Young Adult book is suitable for teens and adults, but not for children under 13 years of age, since they are not mature enough to understand some of the book�s themes. The book starts with the mysterious appearance of a baby inside a basket during a stormy night. A lighthouse keeper named Sam, who is a childless old sailor, finds the baby and names him Storm and raises him as his own son. The day of his death, Sam tells Storm to seek his destiny which will be found in the whirling rainbow. Storm leaves the comfort of the island and starts his quest in search of the whirling rainbow as he meditates on the questions: Who am I? What is my destiny? Storm takes a boat and arrives at a port. Soon after his arrival, he finds a wondrous creature with amethyst eyes, which he names Maggie. Maggie will become his companion and together they will encounter life challenges and help other people, too. Storm is very na�ve with respect to human evil and has an innocent heart, since he was raised in a very protective environment removed from the wickedness of the world. In some instances the conflicts and situations in which Storm is involved helping other people get resolved almost instantly, taking the excitement away from the reader. The rushed resolutions to the conflicts in the book give the impression that the author was writing under an enormous amount of time pressure This book could have greatly benefited from the services of an editor to help the author keep the conflicts and situations momentums going to a point of resolutional climax. The end of the book is very disappointing because it does not belong with the elements described through the storyline. From the beginning and through almost the entire book the story has many elements of an Indian legend. The reader is led to believe that Storm is some type of re-encarnated Indian God coming into a world unknown to him. Then toward the end Storm�s quest is over. He finds his identity; however, this revelation brings an unexpected end to the whole drama. Reviewed by the author of The Window to my soul, My Walk with Jesus (ISBN 0975393359. Author�s websites: http://www.myspace.com/tanniaortizlopes and http://timewithtannia.tripod.com. "