Empowerment by Catherine Parks

I have to admit, I’m very tired of constantly seeing blog posts and T-shirts and books and articles and advertisements about “girl power”. (It’s not that I think girls aren’t equal to boys; this isn’t the place for a full discussion on that.) So, when I saw the selection of books offered for review I was afraid this would just be more of the same stuff. It’s NOT! This book is exactly what true female empowerment should be about: living a life of total surrender to God—being who He wants them to be. True freedom...true worth...will only be found in finding His strength and power in our weakness and allowing Him to work through us. Through the stories of eleven women Catherine Parks encourages girls to do amazing things. Faithfulness and dedication are the keys to true success, and this book makes that clear. It’s a beautiful, well written collection of mini-biographies that will draw the reader in from the very first page. It’s a book that is very needed right now, and I highly recommend it for every girl on your life.

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review. 

Other Bodies by Joel Ohman

Abortion is a hot topic these days, as it should be. How anyone can justify the murder of innocent children, no matter how small, is beyond my comprehension! Somehow, no matter how many attempts are made to get through to those who excuse it or outright celebrate it, the results are usually the same: nothing changes. For this reason, I was excited to find out about the opportunity to review a new book that approaches the abortion debate from a completely new perspective. Other Bodies, a dystopian novel by Joel Ohman, is written from the perspective of a teenage girl named Hattie who finds herself in an unthinkable situation and has to choose, of course, between having an abortion or allowing her baby to live. 

While I enjoyed the writing style, I found the futuristic setting to be a little too imaginative and unrealistic. Also, there were aspects that were confusing and just didn't make sense. I wish certain points had been better developed; for instance, some things were described as extremely high tech and imaginative, while others obviously hadn't advanced at all in this future world. The ending seemed rushed. Still, it was a pretty good book and I look forward to reading more from this author. 

Overall, Other Bodies is an easy read and I think it will raise necessary questions and, hopefully, cause readers to reconsider if they are pro-choice or considering an abortion. A few situations were a little bit too suggestive, in my opinion, so I wouldn't be comfortable allowing my child to read this book until at least 13-14, if not older. But maybe that's just me. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.