Publisher: ZonderKidz

Publication Date: March 2012

Reviewed by Josh Olds

Check the shelves of any Christian bookstore and you’ll find Bibles of all shapes, sizes, translations, and prices. Past this, you’ll find that modern Bibles are often themed for the audience in mind. Those interested in prophecy can undoubtedly find a Bible that includes commentary on prophetical sections. Others may emphasize apologetics or women’s issues or men’s issues or any other section of the Bible-reading audience seeking to have their Scripture readings tailored to their needs.

In the middle of all this is the NIV Boy’s Bible. It’s a fairly descriptive title. Utilizing the popular New International Version, this Bible seeks to appeal to boys in their attempts to read the Scripture. One thing of note to begin is that this particular version uses the NIV update in 2011 rather than the wording seen in older NIV Bibles. In my opinion, some of the changes to the NIV are a good thing. The contextualization of Philippians 4:13 is one example:

Old NIV: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

New NIV: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Before the change, this verse was one of the most misapplied in all of Scripture, taking what Paul said about his specific circumstance and applying to whatever context the believer wanted to apply it to. The new revision does justice to Paul’s actual meaning, that he can “do all this”—be content no matter the circumstances (v. 11-12). However, there are some troubling changes as well, most notably in the area of gender neutrality, that have led organizations like the Southern Baptist Convention to reject the update and state they cannot commend it. This is intriguing to me as the chair of the Committee on Bible Translation for the 2011 NIV was Douglas Moo, who holds a complementarian viewpoint. While I’ve not exhaustively analyzed the old NIV to the new NIV, it would seem to me that, like any Bible translation, some things are done well and some things are done poorly.

I hesitate to even include this discussion of translation issues in a review of Bible geared toward boys, but I feel it is important for parents to understand how this NIV Bible may differ from the NIV you’re carrying around. For some the gender-inclusivism is a major issue, so readers need to be aware of that. But let’s move on to the actual feature of this boy’s Bible.

Unfortunately, boys often don’t like to read. I am and always have been an exception…to the reading part, not the boy part. The Bible may not always interest boys, especially if they don’t see the relevance to their lives or are unaware of the seriously awesome stories the Bible contains. The NIV Boy’s Bible features inline articles like What’s the Big Deal? where portions of Scripture are further explained. Check it Out recounts interesting and funny facts (ex. Jacob was mummified at his death). Makin’ it Real brings applicational and devotional paragraphs to certain Scripture passages. My favorite, Grossology, is certain to engross (pun so very intended) boys of all ages. While I didn’t read the whole Bible for this review, I did read all the Grossology sections. Boys are going to be incredibly enthralled and weirded out by all the gross things they never knew. (Did you know God told Ezekiel to cook food by burning human poop? He did in Eze. 4:12.) With introductions to each book of the Bible that succinctly address the authorship, date, major themes, and important sections, this Bible does a good job of not just presenting the Biblical text but also putting it in context using accessible language and terminology. If the translation issues aren’t an issue for you, and you’ve got a boy who struggles in his Bible reading, this may just be the thing to kickstart what will be an excellent life-long habit.

Publisher: Tyndale

Publication Date: May 2012

Reviewed by Josh Olds

Time is the universal Constant. It doesn’t pause, doesn’t stop, moments come and go, measured but never really captured, experienced once and gone forever. But through those fleeting moments come life, here and gone more swiftly than we ever realize. Each of us comes to the end of life, the moment of Death, in our own way but not always in our own time. What if we were given more time? What if we were given Seven Hours?

Thomas Constant, Time personified, has made a deal with Death. Seven people get a chance to relive the last seven hours of life, live for seven more hours in the future, or simply refuse and die. The choice is theirs, but whatever the results at the end of seven hours they will be taken to their final moments of life. The Seven Hours omnibus is truly a unique and inventive approach to storytelling. Seven novellas, seven authors, seven explorations of what men and women would do if they knew their death was imminent. Read one or read all seven, but if you allow yourself just one I think you’ll find yourself hooked.

For the next seven weeks, Life is Story will be running a weekly review of one of the seven novellas that includes a quick Q&A with each of the authors. During that week, the highlighted novella will be on sale at Amazon for only $1.99. It’s quite the deal, but given that the novellas are only $2.99 at regular price, you can probably afford to not be patient and scoop all of them up now.

REARVIEW by MIKE DELLOSSO

Escapement by Rene Gutteridge

Teardrop by Travis Thrasher

Recollection by Tom Pawlik

Whole Pieces by Ronie Kendig

All of Our Dreams by James Andrew Wilson

The Last Night of Alton Webber by Robin Parrish

Dan Blakely’s life isn’t charmed by any means, but neither is it terrible. He’s a college professor on the edge of a promotion, has a wife and kids who love him dearly, and a job he absolutely loves. But life is fragile and after Dan discovers just what that means, he is offered a choice by the mysterious Thomas Constant. With a life that had turned to shambles in Seven Hours, Dan chooses to go back, make a different decision, and maybe—just maybe—change his fate.

Rearview is an apt title for the novella as its theme focuses on what can be done with the knowledge of hindsight. Knowing his eventual fate, Dan determines to make things right. Dellosso covers the story well, introducing readers to the recurring character of Thomas Constant and doing a good job of setting the stage for the novellas that follow. Family is at the core of Dan’s relived seven hours and Dellosso’s story is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Though brief, it packs a punch thematically. I won’t give anything anyway, so suffice it to say that in addition to a good story, Dellosso subtly asks some very good questions. If the reader puts himself in Dan’s shoes, he’s in for a wild yet contemplative read.

Q&A with Mike Dellosso

LiS: How did you get involved with the Seven Hours project?

James Wilson approached me with this bold, outside-the-box idea for seven authors to write seven novellas about a single topic. From the start he envisioned these being e-books, downloaded directly to the consumer’s e-reader. At the time I think it was just him and Travis Thrasher. I’ve always admired Travis, his work, and his work ethic and the idea intrigued me so I agreed. At first, I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into but as the other authors joined and the project developed I knew we had something special here.

LiS: How do you approach a story of this size and nature in comparison with a full-length novel?

With much trepidation. I was shaking in my chair, to be honest. Not just because I’d never written a novella before but because I was teamed with some outstanding authors and the project got picked up by Tyndale, an outstanding publisher. I wasn’t sure I was up to the task. Writing a novella is much different than writing a novel and not much different at all. Confused? Yeah, so was I. It’s tough because you have a complete story to tell with a plot and characters that need to be fully developed . . . but you just don’t have the word length to do it in as you do a novel. You have to more concise, focused, and get to the point pretty quickly.

LiS: Where did the idea for this story come from?

I wanted to do something different, to put a spin on this whole idea of someone being given a second chance at the moment of death. I thought it would be interesting to have the protagonist not be a victim of circumstances or someone else, but a victim of his own regrets, of his own dark thoughts and demons . . . to have him doing the unthinkable. At first I had him diagnosed with terminal cancer since that was something I’m somewhat familiar with (not the terminal part, though) but then my wife suggested a different angle. I like it and went with it. It’s straight from the headlines.

Mike is the author of 5 fast-paced suspense novels. In addition to his writing, he is a popular writers conference presenter and workshop teacher. A husband, father, therapist, and cancer survivor, Mike often draws on personal experiences for his stories. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and four daughters. Follow him at www.mikedellosso.wordpress.com and www.facebook.com/mikedellosso. Mike also writes contemporary fiction under the pen name Michael King. Follow Michael at www.michaelkingbooks.wordpress.com.

Also, when one can barely draw monkeys as it is, one should probably know better than to take on the challenge of drawing a monkey wearing a suit of armour.

The plot thickens…

Music Box is a short story by Estevan Vega, the author of Arson and The Forsaken. At around 7,000 words, it’s a quick read and flows well, focusing on one scene. This is both and highlight and the lowlight. Readers get a glimpse into Esther and Jacob’s life, but perhaps not quite enough. A lot of questions are raised; very few are answered. It lends an aura of mystery to the story, but the lack of any definite resolution to many of them means the end is still a mystery. Is that Vega’s intent? Probably so, but I felt readers still needed a bit more of the story resolved.

The characters are complex for such a short story, Esther’s outlook on beauty and self-image are very well written and compelling. The contrast between her and Jacob and their views of the life they’ve lived interesting and thoughtful. The writing itself is descriptive and flowing, a bit different than that seen in his longer works, but befitting a story this size.

All in all, it’s a good scene, but it doesn’t come across as a complete story. I liked it, but there’s so much that refers to what the reader doesn’t know, it distracts a bit from what the story is telling. Unanswered questions, a bit of the dark side, twisted yet beautiful? That’s Vega’s style though, and I must say he does it well.

Music Box is $2.99 on Kindle or free if you’re a Prime member.

Any struggle with bringing together a group of superheroes is giving each character, and each actor, adequate screen time. Marvel does a great job not letting any character fade into the background, even those who haven’t had their own movies (Hawkeye, Black Widow, Nick Fury)…yet. I’m sure this contributed significantly to the actor’s willingness to reprise their characters in a movie where there really isn’t a lead role. Enough time is devoted to the beginning of the movie to set the stage for each of the characters, but the plot manages not to get bogged down in details, which is just a reminder to viewers that full comprehension will only come with a reviewing of the previous movies.

Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner/Hulk steals the show with the stark contrast between the diminutive and quiet Bruce Banner and the utter rampage that is the Hulk. One of the best parts of the story is Banner’s eventual acceptance that the Hulk—“the Other Guy,” as he terms it—isn’t necessarily a bad guy. As Banner, the character shows depth and viewers really feel for this guy who has a monster raging inside of him. As Hulk, the character shows the benefits of both the controlled and uncontrolled monster, which leads to the film’s most intense and most hilarious moments. While the core of The Avengers is about a group of diverse superheroes who manage to come together to fight evil, this subplot on the Hulk finally made this character not just interesting, but the most compelling member of the Avengers.

Then of course we’ve got the main plot line. Can these superheroes figure out how to work together? At first thought, the fight between Iron Man and Thor seemed petty and unrealistic, but on reflection, I’d say that covers the characters well. Captain America stepping in as the voice of reason also fits his character. RDJ is at his Tony Stark best with witticisms and narcissism, his reprisal only further proving why an Iron Man 3 is in the works. Chris Hemsworth as Thor is okay, he has a personal connection with the villain, his brother Loki, and that makes for a good storyline, but nothing really stands out in this movie. Chris Evans as Captain America does a great job playing the superhero who hasn’t quite figured out this new world. Cap comes with an idealism that the other members of the Avengers lack. The ultimate source of his strength is his character, and thus makes him a nice foil to Stark.

Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye are the dark horses of the movie. We see a bit of Black Widow in Iron Man 2 and Hawkeye makes an appearance in Thor, but these two characters have yet to earn their own movies. As such, I’m sure some folks (but of course not the comic geeks) knew a bit less about the origins. Black Widow gets her screen time and story told, but I would have liked to have known a bit more of Hawkeye’s back story. Their finesse and style provide a nice contrast and stylistic difference to the rest of the Avengers more heavy-handed method of fighting.

Despite saying this, I felt that the one part where the movie lagged was in setting up the back story. It came across as episodic rather than integrated and needed a bit more action between scenes.

In all The Avengers is one of the best superhero movies ever made. It has flash, but not at the expense of story (too much). It has humor, but not at the expense of serious moments. And best of all, it leaves us with the promise of more. The Avengers is an excellent movie. If you haven’t seen it already, go and check it out. If you have seen it, tell us your thoughts below (but watch for spoilers).

ooo?

Gotta say, personally, my favourite pick-up line was “So I’ve been trying to get my hands on a copy of The Priest’s Graveyard…”
…But that’s a long story.

What’s your favourite Christian pick-up line?

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: May 2012

Reviewed by Jacob Ortega

QUICK HIT – Love Does. Simply that. Love. Does. You should read this.

I first heard about Bob Goff through an appearance he made in a book by Donald Miller awhile back. Miller’s description Bob and his unconventionally loving family was incredibly delightful and awe-inspiring. No offense to Don or his fantastic book, but reading that chapter, I couldn’t help but think Why isn’t this book about this guy? Well, a few years later Bob Goff has finally released a book of his own. Needless to say, I was intrigued to read what this ultra-friendly, whimsical guy had to say.

The book’s thesis, and you could say the author’s life, is summed up in the title: Love Does. A simple enough idea. But one that it seems so many take for granted. Many would rather read and study the Bible and go to church believing they are hearing the word of God, which is of course important, but still very few actually do anything with that. There are few risks taken anymore. It’s easy to think that the big tasks God calls his people to are best left to those more equipped than us. Many are busy waiting for God to point them, or trying to plan out their next step, or make sure they’re in the right place. But love, claims Goff, isn’t planning or believing or choosing or waiting, though it may lead to those things, and wonderful instances of them. Love is about saying yes and doing. And in his book, he gives an abundance of (rather convincing) reasons why he thinks so.

Who is this Bob Goff guy anyway? Bob runs a non-profit organisation called Restore International working against injustices committed against children in Uganda and India. He’s also the owner of a law firm and a professor of law. He must be smart, right? But it wasn’t his below-average grades that got him into law school. In fact, the only way he could possibly get into the school he wanted was if the dean personally told him to go buy his books so Bob sat outside his office, bugging him until he did. Bob and kids once invited world leaders to come visit their house for a sleepover on a whim and they did. An eighty-year-old woman once collided with Bob on the road, and the impact threw him out the top of his Jeep. He thought it was so awesome (even if the Jeep didn’t explode) that he sent the lady a bouquet of flowers. The republic of Uganda was so pleased by the work Bob was doing there, that they invited him to be their American consul. Bob heartily agreed, the whole time convinced he was humoring a friend who was pranking him, right up until the time he signed the document and became a diplomat. If anyone knows what it means to be an ordinary person living an extraordinary life, it’s Bob Goff.

Love Does is unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s not a deep, theological argument and the ideas presented aren’t necessarily revolutionary or controversial. But the stories and experiences Goff uses to illustrate the idea that love simply does cut right to the heart in a humbling and awe-inspiring manner. Bob explores what it’s like, what it could be like, to wake up every day and make the conscious choice to die to yourself and love as Christ loved passionately, abandonedly, availably. Love Does invites you to stop and look at life for a moment through the eyes of someone who has learned to simply say yes. It’s challenging. It’s electrifying. More than once, this book had me laughing til tears came to my eyes. Not necessarily from humor (although there is plenty of that to be found), but because I couldn’t believe that some of these experiences actually happened, that people who could create such profound demonstrations of real heavenly love actually exist. These stories illustrate love so nakedly and recklessly that I was tempted to think Bob was just making it up. But ultimately, I don’t think anyone could make up stuff like this if they tried.

I really can’t say enough about this book, or this guy. For anyone choosing to follow Christ, or anyone who’s a fan of love, this is one you have to read. This is a guy you have to meet. Which isn’t hard as he even gives out his personal phone number in his book. (It’s 619-985-4747, by the way. Give him a call, he’d love to talk to you. Just don’t be creepy and tell him I sent you. I don’t want to weird him out.) (Madman’s Note: But if you do, tell us about it in the comments.)

Publisher: Orbit

Publication Date: May 2010

Reviewed by Nick Murray

Quick Hit: Mira Grant raises the bar for fiction and sets a new standard for zombie stories with the first installment of the Newsflesh series.  Tightly written and highly intelligent, Feed should be the next read of anyone interested in Adult Fiction.

Every zombie story I have encountered boils down to two types of narrative.  Most stories start with a world, city, or science lab that suddenly suffers an outbreak of the undead.  The characters try to figure out what happened, and you can predict almost every cliché that’s going to happen miles before it does (I’m looking at you, budget films and Resident Evil franchise).  Secondly, there’s the in medias res approach: protagonist wakes up to an apocalyptic world where zombies have already cleaned out the bulk of humanity, and now life is little more than trying to survive the end days (see 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead).

However, none of these tales really tries to answer the question, “What happens next?”  The story always focus on the war between living and dead; they assume that the story ends with either zombies or humanity completely wiped out.  But what if a zombie story wasn’t just about fighting hordes of infected?  What would we have then?

Mira Grant does an excellent job of providing an answer in Feed.  In the summer of 2014, the infection hits, wiping out a third of the world population. Standard fare so far, but here Grant deviates from your typical zombie story.  Instead of starting with the initial outbreak, we fast-forward twenty-five years to 2039. Zombies aren’t dead, but neither is society.  Humanity once again has demonstrated its ability to adapt to new problems.  However, the undead bring their own issues to the table.  People are now paranoid about infection.  Contamination checks are required to enter any building, public or private.  Bleach has become a personal hygiene product.  Red meat is now riskier than Russian Roulette.  Fueling the fear is the fact that many areas are still overrun with the undead; no place is truly safe from the next potential outbreak. Despite all these precautions, zombies are far from With people so wary of the outside world, the Internet becomes all the more important.  People now turn to bloggers for information on the outside world, be it news, survival tips, or the pure escapism of watching someone else taunt zombies and live to tell the tale.

Georgia Mason is one such Internet reporter.  She and her brother Shaun have managed to steadily rise through the ranks of journalism when their big break finally hits: their team is hand-picked to report on the upcoming presidential campaign.  It’s the job opportunity of a lifetime, one that will boost their news site to the top ratings percentage, the dream of every blogger.

But not everything goes as planned on the campaign trail.  An outbreak hits a political rally with tragic results.  Before long, signs point to sabotage.  Something sinister is afoot, and Georgia is stuck in the crossfire.  Can she discover the truth without becoming another casualty?

Mira Grant has put a considerable amount of thought into this book, and her efforts can be seen in every page.  Every consequence of a zombie outbreak has been carefully thought out and woven seamlessly into the story.  The result is a fleshed-out setting you can practically sink your teeth into.  Of course, a setting means nothing unless there are characters to fill it.  Georgia is an excellent narrator with a rich personality to boot.  Her voice creates an air of familiarity to the world that makes her easy to invest in. Our narrator is not alone, either; a wide variety of deep supporting characters lend Feed a great sense of life and scale, yet not once do these details become overwhelming.  Everything works together to create a story that feels real and draws the reader into the world.

This elaborate setting supports an excellent plot.  The narration is tight and addictive, and the pacing balances escalation and information perfectly.  This is a book that will become impossible to set down as the tension rises to near-unbearable levels.  I was unable to put the book down around the 80% mark.  Good luck.

Overall, I would recommend Feed to just about anyone.  Whether you love zombies or the undead make you moan, this is an exceptional read and now a personal favorite.  May you find yourself equally infected with excitement.