Hi, everyone, I'm back! After a month of limited Internet access, it feels great to be posting again. The uprooting process is over, and the planting process (which will take considerably longer) has begun. Which is to say, we've moved and are settled into our new house now, so hopefully I'll be able to post regularly from now on.

Well, I finished The Lord of the Rings for the fourth time about two months ago. What can I say? It was spectacular - again. I've read it four times now, and I'm pretty sure I'll never get tired of it. That being said, I'm not quite sure how to review it. How do you critique a work of genius - especially when you don't fully understand it yourself? All I can do is try my best and see what comes of it.

Hopefully all of you are at least somewhat aquainted with the story of The Lord of the Rings. For those who aren't, it can be summarized like this: a hobbit named Frodo Baggins (Bilbo's younger cousin, if you remember my review of The Hobbit) inherits a magic ring that Bilbo found on his adventures. This ring turns out to be the Ring of Power, the most precious possession of the Dark Lord Sauron and the source of his power. Frodo must destroy it in order to keep Sauron from enslaving the world.

When I first read that story, I was ten years old. I didn't know much about writing then and had only just discovered my passion for doing it myself. In fact The Lord of the Rings was what finally rescued me from the benighted world of Left Behind: The Kids and Frank Peretti books. But I didn't need much experience or knowledge about writing to appreciate this masterpiece. The story, the characters, and the detailed world they were set in enchanted me at once, and I never recovered.

Now I know enough about writing to say that J.R.R. Tolkien's is some of the best I've ever seen. The Lord of the Rings has so many characters and so many subplots that it could get very confusing in less skillful hands, but Tolkien ties everything together perfectly. His descriptions of people, places, and events are so vivid that I can see the story as if it were happening right in front of me. The language he uses is much darker, deeper, and grander than it is in The Hobbit - perfect for an epic as vast as this one. But it's his imagination that truly marks J.R.R. Tolkien as a genius. Middle Earth is, by far, the most three-dimensional fantasy world ever created. Every place that the members of the Fellowship pass through has its own atmosphere of wonder, terror, melancholy, or homeliness - and, thanks to Tolkien's detailed descriptions, it all seems incredibly real. Plus, if you look at the appendices at the end of The Return of the King (I highly recommend doing so, they're quite fascinating), you realize that Middle Earth has a history, geography, mythology, a timeline, a calendar, multiple languages complete with alphabets and grammar, and detailed geneologies of every character. It boggles my mind that any human mind could think of it all!

But even though it's these kinds of details that show J.R.R. Tolkien's brilliance, I don't think it's what has made his books so enduringly popular. It's the story, and the characters, that captivate us. Which leads me to begin discussing the worldview of The Lord of the Rings.

Before I say anything else, let me make it clear that The Lord of the Rings is not an allegory. Probably because J.R.R. Tolkien was a Catholic, and a close friend of C.S. Lewis, some people seem to interpret his stories allegorically. This is a mistake, because Tolkien himself said that he disliked allegory. In fact the only serious blot on his character that I've ever heard of is that he tried to persuade C.S. Lewis not to publish The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. (I'm not positive whether that's true or not, so don't get too mad at him yet.) However, there are many parallels that can be drawn between The Lord of the Rings and the Christian life.

Several times during the story, things happen which appear to be astonishing coincidences - such as Bilbo "just happening" to be lost in the goblin tunnels when the Ring leaves Gollum, and to pick it up in the dark. Yet J.R.R. Tolkien consistently gives us hints that there is more going on than just good luck. About Bilbo's discovery of the Ring, Gandalf says, "Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case you also were meant to have it." Though this is the most obvious, there are many other examples of this throughout the trilogy. The lure of the Ring can also be compared to the temptation of sin. Almost every character, from the smallest to the greatest, has some sort of encounter with it, and although their characters are most clearly revealed by how well they resist its power, no one is strong enough to ultimately overcome or destroy it on their own. Several characters also display different aspects of Christ-likeness; and the overall themes of courage, loyalty, and hope in the face of impossible circumstances, as well as the clear distinction between good and evil are very consistent with a Christian worldview.

Overall, The Lord of the Rings is a beautiful, epic story that takes place in a fantastic world, yet tells about things that everyone - particularly every Christian - can relate to. And isn't that what fantasy books are all about - getting us to look beyond the surface of our everyday lives to see the same ideas we all live by in a new way? J.R.R. Tolkien does this better than any other fantasy writer I've ever read - except C.S. Lewis, of course. If you read The Lord of the Rings from a Christian perspective, you might be surprised at how much you can learn.

Now I know a lot of people who haven't read this trilogy, or haven't finished it, because it's too long and full of detail. Some say it's tedious. I've never found it to be tedious, and I happen to like all the details, but I do agree that it's very long, and it might be difficult if you're not used to reading books like that. Even so, I would encourage you to read it. Get it on tape (unabridged), or ask a parent or experienced reader to go through it with you if that makes it easier. Whatever you do, I can almost guarantee it'll be worth the effort. Also, if you don't think you need to read The Lord of the Rings because you've seen the movies, you're wrong. I'm not saying the movies are bad. They're actually my favorite movies of all time, and I think the film-makers did an amazing job with them. But they don't do justice to the books, simply because no movie can ever do justice to the books. There's just too much good stuff in them to pack into a movie. If you haven't seen the movies yet, I would recommend watching (and buying!) the extended versions, but only after you've read the books all the way through.

Well, there are still a million great things about these books I haven't mentioned, but to keep you from getting too bored with this long post, I'll let you find them out for yourselves. But I can't end this review without saying something about Sam Gamgee. He's Frodo's gardener, the first person to be added to the Fellowship of the Ring, and the only one to accompany Frodo all the way to Mordor. And he's not only my favorite character in The Lord of the Rings, but probably my favorite character in all literature. He's not wise or majestic or good at fighting like many of the other characters, but he's incredibly brave and loyal. He sticks to Frodo no matter what, and he keeps him going even when all seems lost. He never completely loses hope, not even when the circumstances seem hopeless. I could go on and on, and I still wouldn't adequately describe his character. You'll have to read the books to see just how amazing Sam is. Sorry, I just had to praise him in front of you.

Well, my author-of-the-month idea isn't going well apparently. There aren't too many modern authors to choose from. Oh well; hopefully I'll think of something by the end of the month. In the meantime I'd like to share a poem with you that I wrote today. It's mainly about what I'm going through right now, but maybe some of you can relate. Here it is:

Moving

  Walls finally freed from scorings and stains,

Clutter-less floors looking too plain;

Blinding white cupboards, a missing old couch;

Thus is a home turned into a house.

Belongings awaiting new rooms, new lives;

Sealed in their boxes, they seem to sigh:

'I wonder what waits at the end of the road.

Will the next house ever become a home?'

In this life we're always moving, leaving;

Morning changes into evening;

Sometime we lose all that we had;

Our future is always written in sand.

I need a home that can't be packed away;

That won't be sold and left one day.

I need a friend who won't say goodbye;

I need a joy that will never die.

O God, You're the rock that never changes;

You stay firm throughout the ages.

Loosen my hold on the shifting sands;

Help me grip tighter to Your strong hands.

Well, it's time for me to make a new author of the month, but I'm having trouble thinking of one. I'm trying to do a modern author every other month, but there aren't many to choose from. So this month I'm letting you decide: if you know a good author who's still alive, please comment and tell me who it is. I'll choose the one I like the best. I'm not going to accept Christopher Paolini or Bryan Davis, so please don't suggest them.

I'd also like to apologize for not posting very often lately. My family is going through some tough changes right now, not the least of which is selling our house and buying a new one. So if I seem to be slacking off in writing lately, that's why. Hopefully things will settle down in the future, and then I'll get back on track. In the meantime, though, bear with me and I'll try to post as often as I can.

This summer I am being forced to read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings for school - against my will, I assure you.  Actually I think it's one of the coolest school assignments I've ever had. So I just finished reading The Hobbit for about the twentieth time (that's an estimate, I lost count after the tenth time), and I still enjoyed it. That should already tell you something about J.R.R. Tolkien's writing.

For those of you who don't know, The Hobbit is the prequel to the more famous Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's the story of a hobbit named Bilbo and an adventure he had with thirteen dwarves and a certain grey-cloaked wizard. It's a fun, exciting story all by itself, but it also contains information that becomes very important in its sequels. It explains how Bilbo found the Ring, for example, and why Gollum hates the Bagginses. The Hobbit, the first book that Tolkien published, was written for children, so it's written in a simpler and more light-hearted style than The Lord of the Rings. I first read it when I was nine and not quite ready for darker books.

I went to Middle Earth for the first time when I read The Hobbit, and I haven't returned since, so that makes it a very special book to me. But it's a great book even without that feeling of nostalgia. Who wouldn't want to read about high adventures involving goblins, giant spiders, elves, dwarves, dragons, and an unlikely hero - especially when it's written by a genius who can make his fantasy world as real and close as your living room in just a few sentences? I highly recommend reading this book, before you read The Lord of the Rings, if possible. I would also recommend watching out for the movie that is coming to theatres in 2010!

                      The Author of the Month for July is....Charlotte Bronte!

I really have a soft spot for Charlotte Bronte. Not only did she write one of my favorite books of all time (next to LOTR and the Chronicles of Narnia, of course), but one of my best friends is named after her. If I ever have a daughter, I'm planning on naming her Bronte too.

The original Bronte, though, had a sad life. Her two older sisters died at a boarding school which probably inspired her description of Lowell Academy in Jane Eyre. Although both her father and her husband were ministers, I'm not sure whether she was a Christian. She died when she was 41, but she outlived every member of her immediate family except her father. However, Jane Eyre, the novel she published in 1847 under the pseudonym of Currer Bell, is a great book which is extremely popular to this day. If her life had been easier, she might not have written it!

Some other interesting facts I've picked up about Charlotte Bronte: Her two younger sisters, Emily and Ann, were also great writers. They wrote the classic books Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey, under the pseudonyms Ellis and Acton Bell. Charlotte worked as a governess for six years before trying to open a school with her sisters; the school was a failure. Charlotte met Elizabeth Gaskell, the author of North and South, who later wrote a biography about her. Charlotte Bronte wrote three books altogether, as well as a collection of poems that she published with Emily and Ann.

Besides Jane Eyre, she wrote The Professor - which was rejected at first but was published after her death - and Villette. I haven't read either of those books, so I can't vouch for them, although I've heard Villette is good. As I've said before, however, Jane Eyre is one of my favorite classics. Charlotte Bronte did an excellent job of getting inside her heroine's head, and all the other characters are very well-developed, too. What I really like about the book, though, is Jane Eyre's character. She has enough flaws and emotional struggles for me to relate to her, but I can also admire her for doing the right thing, even when it's painful. I can't say that about many heroines in modern books. Charlotte Bronte was a great writer, and I'd really like to read her other books sometime. I'll be sure to review them on here if I ever do.

I recently finished reading my second Jane Austen book, Persuasion, and it's made me wonder how much longer I'll be able to continue saying that I don't like romance. I've liked all the romantic books I've read lately, and this one was no exception.

Interestingly Persuasion was the last book Jane Austen wrote before she died. It's the story of a woman named Anne Elliot, who was once in love with a sailor named Captain Wentworth, but was persuaded not to marry him by her friend Lady Russell because of his inferior position in society. He returns eight years later as a rich man, while Anne has become relatively poor and full of regrets. Both must overcome their guilt and bitterness, as well as several obstacles thrown in their way by others, before they can be together again.

As with Pride and Prejudice, as well as all the Jane Austen books I've heard of, this one contains a lot of humor, mostly at the expense of Anne's vain, silly father and sisters. All the characters are developed extremely well, and they are both hilarious and convicting. Jane Austen was definitely an amazing writer. But the story also has a sort of melancholy feel which Pride and Prejudice didn't have. Anne isn't a very happy person at the beginning of the story. Although she is by far the most intelligent and sensible person in her family, they usually pay no attention to her. She has given up the only chance she ever had at love and happiness. Of course all that changes by the end, but it adds something to the story. Part of the reason I didn't like Pride and Prejudice so much was that it was too cheerful. Not many things went wrong in that book, so it got a little boring at times. I've stated my preference for happy endings before, but happy endings are much more powerful if things weren't going well to begin with. The ending in Persuasion affected me far more than it would have if Anne's life went as smoothly as Elizabeth Bennet's did.

I still have four more Jane Austen books to read, but Persuasion is my favorite so far. If you're a girl who appreciates good writing, I'd highly recommend this book.

                     The Author of the Month for June is....Jeanne Birdsall!

I'm sorry it's late again, but this is seriously the first opportunity I've had to write on my blog for the past two weeks. June has been extremely busy so far.

Anyway, about Jeanne Birdsall. She grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and decided that she wanted to be a writer when she was ten (just like me! :). However, she didn't publish her first book until she was forty-one. Before she became a writer, she was a photographer, and some of her works have been put in museums such as the Smithsonian. Now she lives with her husband in Northampton, Massachusetts. Incidentally she's the only writer I've ever heard of who actually likes math.

My family has read both of Jeanne Birdsall's books, The Penderwicks and The Penderwicks on Gardam Street together. The target audience of these books is nine- and-ten-year-old girls like my sister Shannon, but my whole family enjoyed them. They focus on the lively adventures of four young sisters: Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty Penderwick. The girls share little in common except their tendency to get into trouble. Their adventures are always hilarious and often heart-warming. What I love most about Mrs. Birdsall's style of writing is her character development. I feel like I've made friends with all the Penderwicks. While I can sympathize with the oldest sister - Rosalind - as the oldest of five siblings myself, Jane is a girl after my own heart (she's the writer of the family ). The Penderwicks is pretty nearly flawless, and The Penderwicks on Gardam Street is almost as good, although towards the end there's some romance between twelve-year-olds that got on my nerves. Other than that, though, they're great books, and they're good for some laughs no matter how old you are. They're the beginning of a series, so be watching out for more books by Jeanne Birdsall in the future!

Since I started this blog, I've written a few posts with suggestions on how to write, and more than a few on how other people have written. Now I'm going to take a look at the purpose of writing.

In this post I'm going to assume that most of my readers are among the happy few who actually enjoy writing. I'm going to assume that you write stories, poetry, plays, and/or essays for fun, and are maybe even interested in pursuing writing as a career. If that describes you, let me ask you a question: Why do you write?

For me, the answer has changed a little bit over the years. When I first realized, at age ten, that I wanted to be a writer (and always had), I thought I was doing it for fun. To this day, there is nothing quite as enjoyable to me as sitting down at a keyboard or a notebook and watching my ideas flow from my head to my fingers to the page. I love writing, and at first I thought that was a good enough reason to do it. But as I've written more during the past few years, I've realized more and more that there is a higher purpose for writing than just having fun. Or at least there should be.

Of course, it's impossible to be a good writer unless you love writing. But no matter how much you love it, there will be times when you hate it, especially if you make it a career; or so all my writing books tell me. Writing can be very fun, but it's also very hard. All writers get stuck sometimes, no matter how good and experienced they are. I know I've gotten stuck plenty of times. And even when you get great ideas and really pour your heart and soul into your writing, that doesn't mean other people aren't just going to laugh at it. Good writing also seldom brings much material reward, since most writers end up relatively poor and anonymous. So what keeps us going when the going gets tough? What motivates us to keep writing when it's not fun anymore? 

God is the one who gives us the ability to write well, and I believe He expects us to use it to bring Him glory. God is most glorified when we point others toward Him. We can do this by using our writing skills to point to the beauty of God's creation, or to the difference between following Him and following our own desires, or to the truth of His Word. Not every story has to have a sunday-school lesson at the end; not every poem has to mention Jesus. But there does need to be a difference between what we write and what all the secular authors out there are writing, and the difference has to go deeper than just talking about God once in a while. Everything we write should point to the truth in one way or another. This could be as simple as clearly showing the difference between good and evil. Even that would be pretty counter-cultural, whether the story mentions God or not. But if you can write a book about the gospel without being preachy, go for it. The world needs to hear that message more than any other.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that our society needs good books. If you don't believe me, just browse through your local library or bookstore. I think it's probably safe to say that for every good book in a secular bookstore, there are twenty books that are either so morally bad that no Christian would ever want to read them, or so badly written that the morals hardly matter. But that's just our ungodly culture. What I find even more saddening is that the state of Christian bookstores isn't much better. In a Christian bookstore you might not be able to find books that openly encourage sinful behavior, but you will find sloppily-written books, bad copies of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, and watered-down versions of the gospel aplenty. I wasted three or four years of my life when I was younger reading books from my old church library (our new bookstore is much improved, by the way). I thought: if a book is in a church library and mentions God on the back cover, it must be good, right? Wrong. Some of the worst books I ever read fit that description. By now I have read a few good Christian novels, but most of them were written for adults, and none of them were anywhere near reaching the standard set by C.S. Lewis.

I think there are two big problems with modern Christian literature. The first is that most of the books just aren't well-written. It seems like some people think they can get away with bad writing if they have a good "Christian" message. But no matter how good your message is, no one's going to pay attention to it if your book is boring or cheesy. The second problem is that these books often present an unbiblical view of God. I've read so many books, especially ones written for kids and teens, where God is presented as a nice friend and father who's just there to comfort you when you need it, sympathize with you, and overlook your mistakes. Of course, God is our friend. He is our heavenly Father, and He does love us. But He isn't only a friend or a father. He is also God. He's the holy and sovereign King of the universe, and that's what a lot of Christian books seem to forget. They focus on God's love and mercy and downplay His other attributes. At the same time they often emphasize human goodness, telling characters to "follow their hearts" and feel good about themselves. These "Christian" books rarely mention the gospel, and if they do it's usually very brief and glossed over. This isn't the way Christians were meant to write.

I think that our culture needs more Christian writers who are passionate about good writing and passionate about the gospel. Whether we're writing fiction or nonfiction, for believers or unbelievers, this should be our greatest goal as writers. When the books that fill the shelves of both Christian and secular bookstores are written well and carry powerful, gospel-motivated messages, then Christian writers will be making a profound impact on the culture. I must confess, I'm a long way from reaching that goal myself (at least as far as the writing goes), but here's my humble advice on how to reach it. Number 1: Pursue excellence in writing. Learn as much as you can, and practice as often as you can. Don't settle for mediocrity in your work. Edit your mistakes relentlessly, and get feedback - unbiased feedback if possible. Number 2: Read the Bible a lot, and try to get to know God better. Most of my inspiration has come from those two sources. And nonfiction theology books can help you make your fiction better, too. A lot of them aren't as hard to read as they sound, and I've found them really helpful.

Writing is hard, but it's very rewarding, especially when you're doing it for God's glory. I hope that, with God's help, I and all my fellow aspiring writers will be able to reach this goal someday.

At last! After waiting two years, five months, and nine days, I have finally seen Prince Caspian on the big screen! I was so excited I was almost shaking when we went into the theatre. I went in a 1940s outfit, too.  I have to admit, for the past few months, I've been worried about this movie. From the time when I read an interview of the costume designer, Isis Mussenden, where she said the script was much better than the book, to that TV spot in which Susan is shown kissing Caspian, there were a lot of very bad signs. So even though I was excited to see Prince Caspian, I was a little nervous too. However, I am happy to say that my worst fears didn't come true, and it was a good movie overall. I'm not as good at reviewing movies as I am at reviewing books, so I'm just going to list its main good and bad points, as I saw them. I'll give you the bad news first.

*Warning: this list may contain spoilers.*

Bad Points

1. Susan: I never liked Susan in the books, but she was ten times worse in this movie. She seemed stuck-up, she fought in the battle despite being called 'the Gentle', and - well, I'll tell you what else she did in the next point. Rather than feeling sad for her when she was told she couldn't return to Narnia, I was glad that I won't have to endure her in the next movies.

2. The Kiss: Yes, sadly, that TV spot was accurate. Again, it's all Susan's fault - although Caspian didn't need to encourage her. That scene was completely unnecessary and corny. It came pretty close to ruining the ending for me. My only comfort is that Lucy and Edmund seemed almost as disgusted as I was.

3. Aslan: He could have been much better. I liked that he was bigger in this movie (just like the book!), but he wasn't in it for very long, and a lot of his lines were dumbed down to make him seem less like a Christ-figure. But what can you expect when you have non-Christians telling a Christian story?

4. Lack of Character Development: Although I liked all the action and battle scenes, it sometimes seemed like they were focusing too much on that and not leaving time for the kind of character development that there was in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

5. The Credits: This is just a little thing, but it bugged me that they changed the Switchfoot song "This is Home" at the end of the credits. I love that song, so I didn't really like the shortened version.  

Okay, now it's time for the good news.

Good Points

1. Lines from the Book: The first Narnia movie left out several of my favorite quotes, or else changed them so that they weren't as meaningful. But this movie left in all my favorite quotes, and a lot of them were almost word-for-word with the book. As I said before, Aslan's lines were changed for the worse, but most of the other ones weren't.

2. Aslan's Return: Even though his lines aren't great, what Aslan does is still pretty good. One of the things I disliked the most in LWW was how they made it seem like the kids were the ones saving Narnia, and Aslan was just helping them. In this movie Aslan is clearly shown to be the one who saves Narnia, and all attempts to save it by any other means fail miserably.

3. Reepicheep: He was perfect! The same valiant, chivalrous mouse that I loved in the books - not to mention very cute and funny. I loved Caspian's reaction when he first saw him!

4. Lucy and Edmund: I like Edmund the best in Prince Caspian, and they definitely let his character shine through in the movie. Lucy was just as wonderful as she was in LWW.

5. Miraz: He was perfectly evil, just like he should be. All the Telmarine soldiers were very good at being bad, and Miraz was the best.

6. Peter's Struggle: When Peter comes back to Narnia, he's become proud and doesn't think he really needs the help of Aslan - or Prince Caspian, either. He has to learn how to be more humble and have faith in Aslan. At first I wasn't sure if I'd like this (it's not in the book), but I felt it actually gave some depth to the story. It also helped to show how much the characters needed Aslan, which is always a good thing.

7. The Battle Scenes: Even though they sometimes took away from the character development, they were extremely cool. I think the night raid on Miraz's castle was actually my favorite - surprisingly, since it's not in the book. But it seemed like an important element in the story, and I liked Edmund and Reepicheep's roles in it.

8. The Movie-Making Skills: Overall the movie seemed very well-made to me, though I'm a poor judge of such things. The soundtrack was totally awesome, the acting was good (Ben Barnes is quite satisfactory as Caspian), and they did some really neat things with the camera. I loved the opening shot of Tarva and Alambil! The dialogue (when there was any) also seemed a little more convincing than it was in the first movie.

On the whole, I liked Prince Caspian a lot. I didn't mind most of the departures from the book as much as I thought I would, partly because I had prepared myself for them beforehand. Isis Mussenden was wrong; it doesn't even come close to being as good as the book. But it was a decent adaptation, and I even liked it slightly better than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. If you're not an absolute purist, I'd highly recommend seeing this movie. It's worth the wait!

I found this article on someone else's blog. It's by a woman who writes columns for a Christian magazine my family gets, called World. I found the article to be insightful - and funny. You can read it here. Have a good day!

             The Author of the Month for May is....C.S. Lewis!

I chose the month of May to make him the author of the month because, as I'm sure most of you know, there's a movie coming out this month based on his book, Prince Caspian. It'll be out on May 16, and I can't wait!  Once I see it, unfortunately not until May 19, I will review it on here. But right now I'd like to focus on the man who wrote the original book, as well as many other great books.

C.S. Lewis's full name was Clive Staples Lewis, but, not surprisingly, he preferred to be called Jack. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on November 29, 1898. He attended school in England for most of his life, and ended up attending Oxford University. He fought in World War 1 and afterwards became a professor at Oxford. Although he believed in God as a child, he became an atheist while in his teens. However, in 1931,  he became a Christian, partly as a result of his close friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien. From that point on, he began to write a great deal. He wrote books in almost every genre: fantasy, science fiction, myth, theology, apologetics, and poetry, to name a few. Many have now become classics, like The Chronicles of Narnia.

C.S. Lewis is my biggest role model, at least as far as writing goes. Like J.R.R. Tolkien, he was a genius, but unlike Tolkien, he was an approachable genius. His writing style is so simple and casual that I often don't realize how much it has affected me until after I read his books. My first encounter with him was when I first read The Chronicles of Narnia at age eight. I left half my heart in Narnia, just as Rilian left half of his in Bism. The land of Narnia and its characters, though not as detailed as Middle Earth, just seem so real to me that I feel like part of me lives there all the time. But the best thing about those books is that they accomplish what Aslan says is the reason the Pevensies were brought into Narnia: "that by knowing me for a little here, you may know me better there [that is, our world]." The Chronicles of Narnia have helped me grow closer to God in many ways. They have helped me see the beauty of the gospel more than I would on my own. C.S. Lewis was so gifted in this way that nearly all his books accomplish it in one way or another. Besides The Chronicles of Narnia, I have also read Surprised by Joy and Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, and I'm going to start The Screwtape Letters next week. Although those books are more complicated, as they're written for adults, they still taught me more about God and the gospel. My greatest ambition in life is for someone to be able to say the same about my books someday. If that dream ever comes true, the thanks will be partly due to C.S. Lewis.

It's not usually my habit to review non-fiction books, but I just read one for teens that was so good I had to share it with you. It was written by two 19-year-old twins named Alex and Brett Harris (you may have heard of their older brother, Joshua Harris, who wrote the book I Kissed Dating Goodbye, as well as several others). For the past few years, they've been writing on a blog called The Rebelution, which you can visit at www.TheRebelution.com . Their book is basically an expanded version of the blog, with more details but the same message.

So what is the message? Well, the title of the book sums it up pretty well: Do Hard Things. That might sound like a weird title, especially for a teen book, but that's the point. The Harris brothers explain how teenagers are often the victims of what they call "the myth of adolescence" - our culture's idea that teens are just out to have fun and can't be expected to accomplish anything worhwhile. They talk about the fact that, a hundred years ago, there were no teenagers. Once kids grew into adults physically, they were expected to be able to take on adult responsibilities, like getting a job (which usually meant a lot more work than making burgers at McDonald's!), getting married, and supporting a family. The most some people expect of modern teens is to make their beds every morning - and a lot of us don't even do that!

The rest of the book talks about how teenagers are really capable of doing a lot more than this, and what we can do to defy the culture's low expectations. They list five kinds of 'hard things' that can help us prepare for adulthood, make a difference in our culture, and ultimately give glory to God. They also give dozens of true examples of ordinary teenagers who are going above and beyond the low expectations of our culture and doing extraordinary things for God's glory. Most of them are around 14 to 17 years old, and they are having an impact on thousands of people in America and around the world. The Harris brothers call their readers to join them and give some practical examples of how to do that.

Do Hard Things convicted me, challenged me, and inspired me. I used think sometimes that I was expecting too much of myself. For example, how can a 15-year-old expect to write a book that is better than most of the modern books she reads by adults? But now I think I expect too little of myself most of the time. I tend to do just enough to get me through math, or my chores, or the things I'm involved with at church, without really trying my best or aiming for excellence. This book showed me that, by God's grace, I can succeed in everything He has asked me to do. I just have to be willing to step outside my comfort zone once in a while.

If you're a teen or pre-teen who's at all like me, you need to read Do Hard Things. Reading the book is not a hard thing in itself - it's fairly short and the writing is clear, simple, and casual. But I'm convinced it will change the way you look at the teen years and challenge you to avoid wasting them. So don't wait too long - go buy Do Hard Things!

I just finished a book called North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. No, it's not about the civil war - in fact, I think it was written before that took place. It's a romance set in England during the industrial revolution.

I'm not as big a romance fan as most of my friends are. Unless they're extraordinarily well-written, romances tend to bore me because they're so predictable. They can only end in one way - a marriage, or at least a kiss. There are a few exceptions, of course: Jane Eyre, one of my favorite books, for example. Pride and Prejudice was quite good, too, although it was a little difficult to read. North and South is definitely another exception.

The main character, Margaret Hale, is the daughter of a minister living in the southern countryside of England. Her life is changed drastically when her father decides to leave his parish because of some disagreements he has with the Church of England. Her family moves to Milton, a factory town that is the complete opposite of everything Margaret loved about her old home. There she befriends a poor factory girl and her family, and she also meets John Thornton, the young owner of a large cotton mill. She quickly forms a bad opinion of him because of the plight of his workers, while he dislikes her because of her prideful nature. Of course all that changes by the end, but the two protagonists, especially Margaret, have to go through a lot of tough experiences first.

The book had a slow beginning and got a little depressing in the middle (several characters die - I won't say who), but things got much more interesting later on, and overall I liked it a lot. As usual, what I liked the most about it were the characters. I especially like Margaret. She's easy to relate to, and she certainly has her faults, but she's also strong and brave. She always tries to do what she thinks is right, and she's not afraid of admitting she was wrong. In our culture telling a lie might not be seen as wrong, especially not when it's told in order to protect a family member. But when Margaret does this, she doesn't make excuses for herself, even when other people do. It's also interesting to see how she and Mr. Thornton grow throughout the story. They both have to overcome their pride before they can be together, and this is only achieved through several trials and misunderstandings.

North and South also provides an interesting look at the differences between the factory workers and their masters. Both sides dislike each other for various reasons. Some of their reasons are just, but they always try to work things out in the wrong ways, resulting in violence and conflict. The way to peace between the two groups is shown to come through learning to understand one another. Elizabeth Gaskell seems to have had a similar view of religion, too. Several characters have very different worldviews, but it doesn't really affect their relationships or behavior. Everyone who is willing to make sacrifices for their beliefs is portrayed in a good light, no matter what those beliefs are. Based on the story, I wasn't too surprised to learn that Gaskell was a Unitarian. But even though her worldview was a bit messed up, it's still a very good, interesting book. And just like Bleak House, it has a good movie based on it, too.

This is completely off-topic, but I thought I should mention another good movie that came out in theatres today. It's called Expelled:No Intelligence Allowed, and it's about the clash between scientists who support Intelligent Design and Darwinists (scientist who believe everything evolved through natural processes). It's a documentary, but it's also very interesting, and they bring a lot of humor into it, too. It's worth seeing if you're interested in science, or if you've ever had doubts as to whether evolution might be true or not.

                                       The Author of the Month for April is...     

                                                N.D. Wilson!

Well, to those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, this author hardly needs an introduction. As you can probably tell from my reviews of his books, he's one of my role models. Both his stories and his style of writing are incredibly creative. I love his books, and I really hope he writes a lot more, if only so that I can have a modern author to imitate.

N.D. Wilson was born in 1978, and he's the son of Douglas Wilson, a pastor and writer who created the classical history/literature/theology program that my brother and I are - somewhat painfully - working our way through right now. He graduated from college with a master's degree in liberal arts in 2001. Since then, he's written some short fiction and essays, in addition to Leepike Ridge and 100 Cupboards. And he's planning on releasing the sequel to 100 Cupboards next month....I wish.  Well, I can dream, can't I?

He uses words in ways that I never could have thought of, yet that seem to convey his point better than any other phrase would have. For example, you don't hear the verb 'ghosting' used very often in other books, but it's the perfect way to describe how a curtain moves in a breeze (especially considering the context in 100 Cupboards). That's just one small example of N.D. Wilson's creativity. Both of his books are completely original, exciting, and funny; and it's so seldom that I find a really original book nowadays. They also contain important, if subtle, lessons that modern kids need to hear. Wilson is an example of a writer who uses his talents well for God's glory, and that's an example I want to imitate.

I mentioned this book in the miscellaneous category of my book recommendations. We just finished reading it as a family, and I loved it. Sometimes it made me laugh so hard I could barely breathe - although that was also partly due to my dad's skill at reading aloud.

The title character is Jimmy Crocker, a rich, lazy, and thoughtless young man given the name Piccadilly Jim by the newspapers that cover his antics. While living in England, he meets and falls in love with a spunky red-haired American girl. He decides to give up his rowdy life in London and follow her to New York. In order to impress her, however, he has to assist her in her plan to kidnap her uncle's spoiled stepson and send him to a dog hospital for the 'treatment' he so badly needs - all the while pretending to be the son of a British butler. What follows is a complicated and hilarious sequence of events involving hidden identities, role-playing, detectives, baseball, and explosives.

The most important thing I learned from reading this book is that humor is just as much an art as any other kind of writing. It takes a special kind of talent to make people laugh without spoiling the plot or being too corny. That's a talent that I'm afraid I don't have yet. But the author of this book, P.G. Wodehouse, had it in abundance. The great thing about Piccadilly Jim is that, even though it's funny, it requires just as much thinking as any other good book. Practically all the characters end up pretending to be other people, which makes the plot pretty complex. It's also full of big words and references to famous classics such as A Tale of Two Cities and Hamlet. But if you're willing to do the thinking necessary to make sense of it all, it makes the story even funnier.

Piccadilly Jim even has some positive messages. Two meek husbands who have allowed themselves to be dominated by their forceful wives stand up for themselves in the end and regain their places as the heads of their families. And Miss Trimble, the one feminist in the book is portrayed as a singularly unpleasant and un-feminine character - as well as the one we laughed at the most.  All in all, it's a hilarious, well-written book that I highly recommend. P.G. Wodehouse also wrote about thirty other books that I haven't read yet. If they're as good as this one, they'd be worth checking out.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

I hope everyone had a great day celebrating Jesus' resurrection!

This last category is made up of all the books that don't fit into any of the other categories. I haven't read enough good funny books to make a whole humour section, or enough adventure books to make a whole adventure section, so this list will contain those. Some of these books are so...unique that I don't know what genre they would fit under. So I'm including them here.

1. Leepike Ridge

Author: N.D. Wilson

Summary: See my review.

What I Like About It: See my review.

2. Till We Have Faces

Author: C.S. Lewis

Summary: In the imaginary kingdom of Glome, an ugly princess named Orual's beautiful half-sister Psyche is taken away by the god of the Mountain, and Orual is determined to get her back and have vengeance on the gods.

What I Like About It: The symbolism that forced me to think deeply, and the writing that made me admire C.S. Lewis even more than I already did. This book could be classified as fantasy, but it's really more of a myth/allegory.

3. Piccadilly Jim

Author: P.G. Wodehouse

Summary: A rowdy young man named Jimmy Crocker falls in love with a red-haired girl who is plotting to kidnap her uncle's blobby stepson and send him to a dogs' hospital. Jimmy decides to help her, after which things get far too complicated to explain.

What I Like About It: It's the most hilarious book I ever read, because it's also very well-written.

4. The Pushcart War

Author: Jean Merrill

Summary: In New York City the truck drivers hatch a plan to drive the pushcarts off the streets in order to make more room for themselves. But the pushcart drivers fight back.

What I Like About It: Also a very funny book. It's even better as an audio book, though.

Now that I've gone through all the categories, I realize how inadequate this list has been. I forgot to include The Tale of Despereaux in the fantasy section, Black Beauty and Around the World in 80 Days are missing from the classics section, I neglected to list The Bronze Bow among the historical fiction books, and I'm sure that tomorrow I'll think of a dozen more that I forgot. But I hope this list gave you some ideas, Princess Gracpian. These are all great books that I enjoy very much. I hope you enjoy them too.

I am now continuing my list of recommended books with another genre that I love: historical fiction. Sometimes I think I've learned more by reading fictional books that take place in the past than I have from my history textbooks. That said, I probably wouldn't have read most of the books on this list had they not been assigned to me in school over the years. See? School does pay off!

1. Mara: Daughter of the Nile

Author: Eloise Jarvis Mcgraw

Summary: A proud slave girl in ancient Egypt tries to earn freedom and wealth by playing a dangerous game as a double agent in the court of Queen Hatshepsut.

What I Like About It: It's a very exciting, edge-of-your-seat type of book that really made ancient Egypt come alive for me.

2. The Shakespeare Stealer

Author: Gary Blackwood

Summary: In Elizabethan England, an orphan named Widge is apprenticed to a man who wants him to steal Shakespeare's new play, Hamlet.

What I Like About It: Again, the excitement and the fascinating history that surrounds it, as well as the humor and enjoyable characters.

Warning: This book has two sequels: Shakespeare's Scribe and Shakespeare's Spy. DO NOT read them! They will only ruin the perfectly good ending of the first book. I speak from experience.

3. The Eagle of the Ninth

Author: Rosemary Sutcliff

Summary: Marcus, a former Roman officer living in ancient Britain, sets out with his servant to find the eagle standard that represents the honor of his father's lost legion.

What I Like About It: The writing - Rosemary Sutcliff was a great writer - and the adventurous story. One of the sequels to this book, The Lantern Bearers, is also quite good.

4. The Great and Terrible Quest

Author: Margaret Lovett

Summary: A young boy named Trad finds a wounded knight in the forest who has lost all memory of his past and knows only that he is on a quest. Trad decides to go with him to the City, little knowing how involved he will become in the knight's mission.

What I Like About It: The plot twists, the characters, and the courage and self-sacrificing nature of the knight. I'm not sure if this could be strictly classified as historical fiction, since it takes place in an imaginary kingdom, but the setting is pretty similar to medieval Europe, so I'm including it anyway.

5. Banner in the Sky

Author: James Ramsey Ullman

Summary: Sixteen-year-old Rudi Matt, a boy living among the Alps in Switzerland, dreams of reaching the peak of an unconquered mountain known as the Citadel, the mountain his father died trying to climb.

What I Like About It: The tense climbing moments, the excellent writing, and the message that shines at the end.

These books might be harder to find than any other ones I've mentioned, since at least one of them is out of print and none of them are exactly best-sellers. But they're all worth the trouble it might take to look for them.

The Author of the Month for March is...Alfred, Lord Tennyson

 Sorry this is so late. March is half over already! But anyway, I thought I'd do something different this time and make a poet the author of the month. Tennyson has written some of my favorite poems, so I picked him.

He was born on August 5, 1809, in Somersby, England. The son of a clergyman, he started writing poetry pretty early in life. When he grew up, he married a woman named Emily Sellwood. He wrote many famous poems, such as 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', but he wrote several plays too. In 1884 he was made a baron. He died on October 6, 1892.

I haven't read nearly all of Tennyson's poems, but I love all the ones I have read. Some are simple, and others are grand and epic, but all of them are richly beautiful. He has a way of making his words come to life. In 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', I can feel the rhythm of the horses' hoofbeats as they charge into "the valley of Death". In 'The Eagle', I can see the eagle falling like a thunderbolt from his mountain walls. And in 'Bugle Song', which is probably my favorite poem of all time, I can hear "the horns of Elfland faintly blowing" as if they were really there. If you love poetry, you should definitely read some of Tennyson's poems. If you don't love poetry, this might be the introduction you need. I think that every writer should read good poems, because prose is never interesting enough unless there's some poetry woven into it.

As much as I enjoy some books by modern authors, it's just a fact that most of the best books in the world were written by people who are now dead. That's why I try to read all the classics I can get my hands on. It's almost always worth it, even if they're long. Here are some of my favorite classics:

1. A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Charles Dickens

Summary: Follows the story of two men - one French and one British - who look alike but are very different in character, during the turbulent years before the French Revolution.

What I Like About It: The amazing writing, particularly in the way he portrays his characters - and the ending.

2. Jane Eyre

Author: Charlotte Bronte

Summary: Jane Eyre, a young English woman, becomes a governess at Thornfield Manor and begins to fall in love with her eccentric employer, unaware of some dark secrets in his past.

What I Like About It: Jane's character and the way she models integrity and self-control.

3. To Kill A Mockingbird

Author: Harper Lee

Summary: A black man is wrongly accused of a crime in a small town in Depression-era Alabama. A young girl tells the story of how her father, a lawyer, defends him in court and what comes of it.

What I Like About It: The humor, the memorable characters, and the compelling message.

4. The Scarlet Pimpernel

Author: Baroness Orczy

Summary: During the French Revolution, a band of daring Englishmen who rescue aristocrats from the guillotine is led by a man known only as the Scarlet Pimpernel. A French spy and a young noblewoman become involved in a race to discover his identity.

What I Like About It: The suspenseful plot and the cleverly masked Pimpernel.

5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Author: Mark Twain

Summary: Told in his own words, it's the story of an independent-minded Southern boy who decides to help a slave journey to freedom. The sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

What I Like About It: The hilarious jokes and the amazingly good use of first person narrative.

6. National Velvet

Author: Enid Bagnold

Summary: An ordinary English girl wins a horse at a raffle and dreams of racing him in the Grand National steeplechase.

What I Like About It: The beautiful writing - and of course the fact that it's a horse story.

Once again, these aren't the only books I like in this catagory, but they're certainly my favorite. Even if you don't like all the books I've listed, there are plenty of other classics out there. It'd be a good idea to try a few of them.