Thursday, July 26, 2012

Book Review: When David Was Surprised

by: Anne Kelleher

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
David - a young man with Down Syndrome - continues his pursuit of Sarah, the young woman with Autism who he's sure is the girl of his dreams. Things get complicated, however, when a rival appears for David's affections.

Thanks Anne for letting me review this! I was dying to read it since finishing How David Met Sarah. And I was not disappointed.

It has the same fluid writing. Simple, yet fast paced. I think David is a wonderful guy. David's parents took David out for a surprise on a Sunday and it turned out he was the date of one of the young ladies from his socialization class. She keeps getting mad at him and he is thoroughly confused. Every man on the planet has been there, and his pops told him as much.

Sarah has competition in this story. And honestly, I found myself cheering for the new girl. Mariah's not really new, David has known her for years. But she's got a new haircut and a new wardrobe and she did catch David's eye.

I have a ton of respect for him because he doesn't forget Sarah. And I love Mariah because she's willing to wait for him. The reason I'm cheering for Mariah is that she loves to do all the same things David loves to do, like going to the theater and drama classes. Sarah has autism and doesn't like to be around large groups of people (something I totally understand), and while David adores her, they don't share much common ground.

But I suggest you read this book and come to your own conclusions. I'm happy there's another one coming out, Where David Went. The 1st chapter is included at the end of When David Was Surprised. I haven't read it yet, because I know I'll just want to keep going. I would say Anne's writing and David's story are like warm comfort food.

Book Review: Finding Emma

by: Steena Holmes

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Megan sees her daughter Emma everywhere. She's the little girl standing in the supermarket, the child waiting for the swings at the playground, the girl with ice cream dripping down her face. But it's never Emma.

Emma's been missing for two years.

Unable to handle the constant heartache of all the false sightings, Megan's husband threatens to walk away unless Megan can agree to accept Emma is gone. Megan's life and marriage is crumbling all around her and she realizes she may have to do the thing she dreads most: move on.

When Megan takes a photo of a little girl with an elderly couple at the town fair, she believes it to be her missing daughter. Unable to let go, she sets in motion a sequence of events that could destroy both families lives.

~~~

Proceeds from each book sold will be donated to Missing Children's Society of Canada - www.mscs.ca - an organization dedicated to reuniting families.
Until April 1, 2012 - 100% of the proceeds of any ebook purchased through Goodreads will be donated.


I knew I'd enjoy this book, but really I loved it. My heart broke for Peter and Megan, whose marriage is being held together by a thread. It's not a surprise that many relationships don't survive this kind of tragedy. Your heart breaks over and over again, it would be hard to not take out some frustration on the person nearest you. And the other problem is devoting so much energy to finding your missing child that you completely ignore your family that is still there.

The story also goes into the elderly couple. It's so sad because Jack still loves Dottie so very much, that he doesn't see the woman she has become, or he doesn't want to. Honestly, the characters are so rich that you don't really dislike anyone, not even Emma's kidnapper.

The story is well told, and well written. I had a hard time putting this one down.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Guest Blog by Cinnamon Crow

I have been an intuitive all my life and an oracle card reader for years. Teen Oracle was my first published work.

It was created when my then twelve year old step-daughter, Lindsey, asked for a card reading. Oracle cards typically have a word or phrase printed on the top of the card. When I would lay out a spread for Lindsey, I found that I spent more time explaining basic concepts such as Spirit Guides, intuition and Law of Attraction than reading her cards. Each question I answered led to a dozen others. I never did give her a reading.

There are many books on teen spirituality on the market. Lindsey, being an Indigo child with a short attention span, would never sit still long enough to read one. So I decided to buy her a teen or beginner’s oracle deck that would explain some of the basic spiritual concepts to her. After searching the internet for a deck to purchase, I found that there were not any at all on the market, so I wrote my own.

At this time in my life, I was surrounded not only by children but also many newly awakened adults. I found myself answering the same questions from the young and the old. When I first began my spiritual journey, I read every book I could get my hands on; so, while writing Teen Oracle, I tried to include as much of this basic, beginner information as possible. My goal was to have a deck that anyone, no matter where they were on their journey, could use from the very experienced, to the newly awakened.

I kept the meanings short and to the point mainly for my Indigo step-daughter and my oldest Indigo son. Neither would read a long explanation, but both will read the meanings in Teen Oracle. If they will read it, your child will too. Now Lindsey doesn’t ask for readings from me. She does it herself.

I have had many adults contact me that use this deck. They say if you take out the references to parents and teachers, it is a great beginner deck. That was my goal! My brother, ten years my senior, leaves the cards out on his coffee table so he can wow his friends with his accurate readings. He just hides the box so they don’t know that it is a Teen deck!

Cinnamon Crow is the creator of the Chakra Zodiac Healing Oracle and the Teen Oracle decks. You can learn more about Cinnamon and her Oracle decks at her website http://www.cinnamoncrow.com/.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Product Review: Teen Oracle

by: Cinnamon Crow

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
Teen Oracle is an oracle deck comprised of 44 cards with a booklet specifically designed for teenagers. Teen Oracle explains basic spiritual principles and concepts in easy to understand terms. The booklet also includes exercises and meditations designed to develop psychic skills. Teens can learn to be psychic, meet their spirit guides and give accurate readings the very first day. With this deck, teens can answer questions about love, life, school and future outcomes.

I actually like these more than The Chakra Zodiac Healing Oracle. They are simple on a white background. The cards are also pulled more from day-to-day life. Direction, Meditate, Relax, Transformation, Stop. Simple black images adorn the pages are silhouettes and simple to interpret.

The booklet also comes into play here. Geared toward teenagers, I like the simple question and answers in the beginning. After that there is a description for each card. There are questions to ask yourself, guiding you to the meaning of the card drawn. Take Vampire, it talks about energy vampires and describes what being around an energy vampire can feel like. It also offers the additional meaning that you may just need to rest.

Again, easy to use, great to couple up with daily meditation. I always ask, whichever deck I use, "what will my day hold?" I hope it leads me to make better starts to my days.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Product Review: The Chakra Zodiac Healing Oracle

by: Cinnamon Crow

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
Cinnamon Crow has developed the only divination system of its kind, one that combines the Zodiac and the Chakra systems. Learn the relationship of the planets to the body's chakras. Crow has created an easy-to-use system appealing to both those who have worked with decks, the chakras, and the Zodiac and those who haven't.

Beginners will learn the basic functions of the chakras, characteristics

of the Zodiac signs, and the ruling planets and their functions. Those already familiar with these two systems will learn the ruling planets of the chakras and how to channel planetary energies into specific areas for maximum healing and balance.

Working with this oracle will help harness the energy of the planets for all matters of healing--individual and communal, physical and metaphysical.


The cards are quite large, but nothing I haven't seen before. There seems to be an unwritten rule that the oracle cards are wider than tarot cards. I guess so we don't confuse them? lol

This deck is truly easy to use and lovely to look at. Not really any heavy details, but nice colors and soft touches on the art. The writing has an italic lilt to it, but I find them comforting to read. Ease comes from the name of the card and what it represents. The Libra card is all in purple on a black background and says "Peacemaker" at the top and "Libra" at the bottom. "Gypsy / Sagittarius" and "Intuition / Third Eye Chakra"

In the beginning of the booklet, which is really a small book, she takes the time to clear up the zodiac confusion. The the book goes on to share different spreads you can use with the cards. And of course each card gets an explanation.

I like the idea of using them in meditation at the start of my day.
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