Daisy Meadows Books and Series

These books are all published by Scholastic and available from their website, Amazon.com, or Barnes and Noble.

Author and Illustrator info:
Daisy Meadows is a pseudonym used by the writers of Rainbow Magic, who are all hugely talented and successful authors in their own right. Under this name, there are more than 100 books published. Georgie Ripper is a talented young illustrator who won the Macmillan prize for illustration.

The Rainbow Fairies
When Rachel and Kirsty arrive at Rainspell Island for vacation, they have no idea what kind of magical adventure awaits!

Fairyland is home to seven colorful sisters. Together, they are the Rainbow Fairies! They keep Fairyland dazzling and bright. But when evil Jack Frost sends them far away, the sisters are in big trouble. If they don’t return soon, Fairyland is doomed to be gray forever!

Ruby the Red Fairy
In the pot at the end of the rainbow, Rachel and Kirsty come across Ruby the Red Fairy. Can they keep her safe and find the rest of her Rainbow sisters…before it’s too late?

Amber the Orange Fairy
The girls have already found one Rainbow Fairy, but now Amber the Orange Fairy is trapped in a seashell! Can they rescue her, too?

Sunny the Yellow Fairy
A trail of sparkly yellow dust lands Rachel and Kirsty in a very sticky situation! Could Sunny the Yellow Fairy be at the bottom of it?

Inky the Indigo Fairy
A magical book sweeps Rachel and Kirsty away to the Land of Sweets. Could Inky the Indigo Fairy be waiting there for them?

Heather the Violet Fairy
In the conclusion to this series, Rachel and Kirsty have one final fairy to find. Will they find Heather the Violet Fairy?

Sky the Blue Fairy
The beach means bubble trouble for Sky the Blue Fairy. Can a special friend help Rachel and Kirsty track her down?

Fern the Green Fairy
A garden maze just might lead to Fern the Green Fairy.

Full Tilt – My Review

About the Book
What Good Can Become of Psychotics, Meth Users, or the Mob?

In this sequel to Dark Star, rock star Everett Lester is eager to share the redeeming power of Christ’s love with the world through his music. But reaching his family in their twisted lives is another issue altogether. His gambling-addicted brother, Eddie, and the rest of his deteriorating family greet Everett’s attempts with disdain and hatred. When the Mob gets involved, dangerous threats become a haunting reality. And when Eddie’s son, Wesley—who blames Everett for his brother’s death—hooks up with psychotic Tony Badino, the two meth-using antichrists will stop at nothing to bring Everett down and secure his demise!

About the Author
Talented storyteller Creston Mapes graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1983 with a BA in magazine journalism. Since then, he has written for major corporations, colleges, and ministries. He has written for Coca-Cola, TNT Sports, Focus on the Family, Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, and The Urban Alternative. His stories have been featured in magazines including Private Colleges and Universities, In Touch, Leaders for Today, and The Hockey News. Creston makes his home in Georgia.

My Review
This is a strong sequel to Dark Star. It starts out after the trial and Everett Lester’s marriage to Karen, the girl who never gave up on him. His life has changed for the better, but his brother’s life and family are falling apart, even headed for explosive destruction.

While it was a little hard for me to imagine a heavy metal rock star using the same style of music to spread the word of faith in God. The message was a little strong at times, but even Everett explained it to himself that the zeal of the newly converted can be overbearing to their families who had not yet accepted Christ.

Mr. Mapes tells a good story with plenty to keep the reading deeply involved. The family of his brother was well developed, likable and pitiable at the same time. The dangers they were exposed to by the poor choices they made were real to life as were the consequences. I was endeared to Everett’s niece who felt she had to be responsible at the age of 17 because no one else in the family was making wise choices.

The dangers of meth and drugs in general were clearly spelled out, as well as the joys and comfort of placing Christ in the center of your life. There was much good to take away from this story.

I recommend this book to any who enjoy a good read with a look at the good in even those who seem lost to God.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=agodatore-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B0066DKLJU

From Gulag to Freedom, A Review

Today I am reviewing Sigrid Weidenweber‘s book, From Gulag to Freedom. This is the third book in a trilogy of historical fiction. My copy was provided by MediaGuests.net.

About the Book
In my darkest hours, when worry and despair about the future of my family blankets my soul, I hear my father’s voice, giving me hope. On the day they dragged him to the gulag, he had looked at my mother with courage in his eyes, and said, “We are eternal; our faith, like the Volga, flows forever.”

The heroine of this powerful work, Katya, is a bright, energetic and resourceful Volga German girl, a worthy descendant of those first pioneers of the steppe we learned to know in the second volume. Katya is free to reveal, through her feminine creator, thoughts and circumstances often hidden to men. Sigrid artfully illuminates dress, colors, textures, foods and challenges as Katya embarks upon an adventurous escape from a gulag on the arctic tundra.

About the Author
Born in Germany in 1941, Sigrid Weidenweber remembers the horrific aftermath of fascism. At the end of the war, she found herself living under communism. After the Berlin Wall was built, she managed to escape the repressive environment with the help of friends and a French passport. To this day she does not speak French.

She holds degrees in medical technology, psychology and an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Concordia University of Portland, Oregon for her trilogy “The Volga Flows Forever.” In her trilogy she brings to life Catherine the Great in her multiple roles as monarch, woman–lover, mother, grandmother and head of the general staff of the army, in Volume one. The following two historical volumes deal with the Volga Germans brought to Russia by Catherine’s edict.

Three years ago she moved to Santa Rosa Valley, California from Portland Oregon. She has passionately embraced California together with her family that also resides here.

Visit the Author’s Website

My Review
I have truly enjoyed this trilogy of historical fiction. There is such richness in the telling that I feel I am there, witnessing the beauty, the expanse, the realistic hardship, the fear, and most vividly – the cold.

Katya is a wonderful heroine with an unbeatable spirit who does her very best to survive in whatever conditions she finds herself in. I love her strength – both in body and mind, as well as deeply embedded character. This is a woman who is a survivor, one to be proud of and model after. Her faith, and her memories of her parents’ faith, give her strength when she truly needs it.

Sigrid Weidenweber has written a true masterpiece in this trilogy. Each book is around 560-580 pages, but every page is worth the time to read. I found myself learning about the hardships we can only guess at from the freedom and comfort of our homes today. I gained a respect for peoples I never knew of before. There suffering at the hands of fellow countrymen is astounding and heartbreaking. But it seems that it has always been like this in the former Soviet Union.

The story is well written and told. I can highly recommend this book, and trilogy, to anyone who wants a deeper look into what made the Soviet Union, and what would ultimately break the USSR. This story goes much deeper than Dr. Zhivago and is a better story, hands down. Get your copy of the book today!

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&npa=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=agodatore-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B00580JPEEhttp://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&npa=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=agodatore-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B005N49Q2Ghttp://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&npa=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=agodatore-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B006JT88KU

Rock Star Chronicles: Dark Star – Shining Bright!

This is a review of Dark Star, the first book in The Rock Star Chronicles by Creston Mapes. The e-book copy was provided by MediaGuests.

About the Book
Dark Star: Confessions of a Rock Idol
Can Fame, Wealth, and Power Buy Happiness?

Everett Lester and his band, DeathStroke, ride the crest of a wave to superstardom. But the deeper they become immersed in fame, wealth, and power, the more likely they are to be swallowed alive by the drugs, alcohol, and discontentment that have become their only friends. Everett is headed down a perilous road of no apparent return when he’s charged with the murder of his personal psychic. The only hope he can cling to comes from Topeka , Kansas , and the letters written by a prayerful young lady who lives there. Consistent and persistent, the notes cut straight to Everett ’s empty heart, offering a fulfillment he’s never grasped before. But what if he’s found guilty of murder? Will he recognize the spiritual battle that’s raging for his soul?

About the Author
You can see the bio of the author, Creston Mapes, here.

My Review
DeathStroke is a band much like KISS and other hard rock bands of the ’70s and ’80s. They climbed to fame and fortune with kids screaming their names while parents felt the influence in their children’s lives. DeathStroke is the bad of the BAD: they did what they felt like doing and were untouchable. Then things changed for one member of the band when the consequences of his actions were before his eyes – in a hospital bed with tubes and machines attached to a young girl’s body while she struggled for life.

This book is filled with Christian quotes, beliefs, symbolism, and hope. If God can find the bad boy, Everett Lester, worth saving, what does He have in store for you…and me?

Creston Mapes wrote this book from the heart. The darkness of being famous and constantly in the limelight is tangible in his writings. The pressure felt by the band members was felt by me as the reader. The beacon that was Karen Bayliss shone out of her letters. The story was engaging and drew me in. I couldn’t seem to stop reading as the court trial unfolded as well as the back history. Mr. Mapes did a great job alternating between the past and the present to create an enticing timeline that left me breathless to the last page. There are many quotes from the Bible and the Christian beliefs are those of a Born-Again Christian. These may seem a bit heavy in the text to some, but I felt they are crucial to the story.

The conversion of Everett Lester to Christianity rocked the world and has left me anticipating what his influence will be in the next book, Full Tilt. You will see my review here soon.

The Volga Germans – A Review

Today I am reviewing The Volga Germans by Sigrid Weidenweber. This is book two in a trilogy, The Volga Flows Forever. My e-book copy was provided by MediaGuests.

About the Book
The Meiningers had set out for Russia seeking to improve their lives, to escape the political and religious turmoil often surrounding their otherwise picturesque German homes and villages. They dreamed of the faraway place awaiting them. They colored the soil beneath the vast steppe rich and black in their minds ready to be tilled. And there would be a neat little house ready to receive them. In their wildest dreams, they could not have imagined what actually awaited their arrival. There were no houses, no fields nothing but grass as far as the eye could see. It was almost evening; they were hungry, wet and cold and felt like orphaned children.

These German immigrants and their descendants civilized this bleak Russian frontier, converted the harsh steppe into fields of waving grain dotted with wind-driven flour mills, and in this isolated place, developed a culture that was uniquely their own. They survived savage attacks of marauding tribes, the unpredictable often harsh climate, and the vagaries of tsarist edicts. Sigrid tells the fascinating story of these remarkable people in The Volga Germans.

The Volga Germans is the second volume in Sigrid Weidenweber’s trilogy The Volga Flows Forever. Catherine, the first volume, brings to life the fascinating historical character of Catherine the Great who invited her native countrymen to settle the Russian frontier. In the final volume, From Gulag to Freedom, she follows the Volga Germans through the hardships of collectivization and deportation during the Soviet years to finally immigrate to the San Joaquin Valley of Central California.

About the Author
You can read about Sigrid Weidenweber in her biography page here.

My Review
As I stated, this is the second book in a trilogy. I read the first book as well, which centered on Catherine the Great and her reign in Russia. This second book focuses on the Germans she brought from their war-torn homeland to settle the Russian frontier along the Volga River.

This is a book that is rich in history. The Germans were promised fertile lands, theirs for the taking, to farm and start a new life. What they found was vastly different. It was a wild area of the steppe with extreme conditions in both winter and summer, making farming a daunting challenge. They were resented by the Russian peoples of the areas, especially the native tribes who used every opportunity to attack them. The Russian government was far from their reach and so they relied on each other as they fought to survive and love their new land.

Ms. Weidenweber weaves a tale based on extensive research into the area, people, and happenings of the Volga River. The flavor of the story is true to life and gives one a taste of the hardships and joys found by these German pioneers of the Steppes. While the books in this series are large, they are well-written and engaging. They are worth every moment spent “curled up with a good book.” In fact, you can count on coming away with a new respect and knowledge of the history of this brave group. I can highly recommend The Volga Germans to any who have an interest in historical fiction or German ethnic stories, or just have a passion for a great tale.

You can purchase a copy of the books at Amazon.com
.