General Books – Page 12 – Kristin Houlihan, Writer

Book Review: Heaven Shining Through

39704566 Heaven Shining Through is a short, novella-length book written by Joe Siccardi. It tells the story of Samantha’s life in the context of a journey home to visit with her mother, with whom she has always had a rocky relationship. It is fundamentally a Christian story — it is a story of Samantha and her faith journey throughout her life and, ultimately, her ability to see “heaven shining through.”

It’s a quick read but a powerful Christian witness to dealing with life, love, loss, and forgiveness. I liked how the author was able to integrate so many elements of real life – difficult family dynamics, the waning and then revival of faith, coping with tragic loss – into a story that makes life seem blessed despite (or maybe even because of!) the difficulties encountered throughout.

There was one little aspect that I didn’t love: I sensed a little anti-Catholic sentiment in Samantha’s journey. She is raised Catholic but joins a different church when she returns to faith as an adult, where she finds the community she’s been seeking. I’ll be the first to say that Catholic churches are typically not warm and fuzzy kinds of places, and I think, unfortunately, that Samantha’s experience is reflective of what so many fallen-away Catholics have experienced. It only made me a little sad because I felt, as a Catholic, that it missed the beauty of the Catholic faith. (I know – this sounds crazy to a lot of readers given what we are all bombarded with in the news right now re: the Catholic Church. Believe me – I’m struggling with it. But the presence of Evil does not negate the presence of Christ, and that’s what I’m holding on to.)

The book, as a Christian witness, serves its purpose well! As a stand-alone book I would’ve liked to see more – due to it’s short format, there’s a lot that feels glossed over; I think the book has the potential to be a full-length novel and engage the reader on a deeper level. Some of the most beautiful writing in the book is actually in the dedication, where we see Siccardi’s love for his late wife shine. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to read this book (thank you, Joe, for contacting me and offering a review copy!), and I wish Joe all the best in his ministry.

3 stars!

Let’s talk about homophones

First, let’s define “homophone” so we’re all clear on what we’re talking about. According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, “homophone” is defined as:

one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling (such as the words to, too, and two)

There are LOTS of these in the English language, and they’re really, really easy for writers to mix up; they’re also really, really easy to miss at the editing phase, especially the self-editing phase. (This is why my husband and sister are invaluable in editing my blog posts…though usually after I’ve published. So I look stupid for a day or two until one of them points it out and then I fix it. Imperfect system, I know).

Here are some common sets of homophones:

Two, to, and too (as mentioned above)
Ate and eight
Ant and aunt
There, they’re, and their
Bare and bear
Night and knight
Tale and tail
Through and threw
Its and it’s (this one is mixed up SO often)
Etc….

While I was thinking about this, I had a momentary mental block and did some googling – there are so many of these (usually pairs) that I hadn’t even thought of! I stumbled upon this really interesting site that has a bunch of worksheets for teaching kids how to choose the right (write? hehe) homophone, check it out!

Not on my short list above and probably not often taught to children is the following set, which also happens to be the one that has prompted my current rant about homophones:

Peek, peak, and pique

Now, most people are probably taught the difference between “peek” and “peak,” but I’m going to venture a guess that “pique” is not commonly taught – because I rarely ever see it used correctly; typically I see “peak” used in its place. However, I just read a novel in which I’m honestly not sure any of the three homophones was used correctly even once (eek)! So, I’m going to try to clear up the confusion with some definitions and sentence examples – and then make a plea for authors to utilize the services of a good copyeditor!

For starters, definitions (all from Merriam-Webster online):

Peek (also peeked; peeking; peeks): 1a: to look furtively (A little girl peeked around the corner of the chair at him.); b: to peer through a crack or hole or from a place of concealment —often used with in or out (peeked in through the window; peeked out at us from behind the curtains; 2: to take a brief look: glance (peeked ahead to the next chapter to see what would happen)

Peak: 1: a pointed or projecting part of a garment; especially: the visor of a cap or hat (The cap’s peak shades his eyes.); 2: promontory (a steep rocky peak); 3: a sharp or pointed end (the peak of a roof); 4a(1) : the top of a hill or mountain ending in a point (the fog hung … heavily on the peak of the hill), (2): a prominent mountain usually having a well-defined summit; b: something resembling a mountain peak (Beat the cream until it forms stiff peaks.); 5a: the upper aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail; b: the narrow part of a ship’s bow or stern or the part of the hold in it; 6a: the highest level or greatest degree (a singer at the peak of her popularity); b: a high point in a course of development especially as represented on a graph (The graph shows that murders in the city reached a peak two years ago.); 7: widow’s peak

Pique (also piqued; piquing): 1a: to excite or arouse especially by a provocation, challenge, or rebuff (sly remarks to pique their curiosity); b: pride (he piques himself on his skill as a cook); 2: to arouse anger or resentment in: irritate (what piques linguistic conservatives)

So, here are some ways you can NOT use the above words:

A collared shirt cannot “peak” out from inside a sweater. (Correction: “peek”)
A subject cannot “peak” the interest of a character (Correction: “pique”)
One cannot reach the “peek” of anything – be it a mountain, a social hierarchy or anything else. (Correction: “peak”)

And now my plea: Writers – PLEASE find yourself a good copyeditor to ensure your work is free from such easily preventable errors – this could be a friend, spouse, parent, etc. It doesn’t have to cost you money but WILL bolster your reputation as an author.

Book Review: Twenty-One Trees by Linda Cousine

30331041 I honestly can’t remember how I acquired Twenty-One Trees by Linda Cousine, but I do remember devouring it pretty quickly! I think it was another I “bought for free” on Amazon after seeing it advertised on Twitter. I have a book-hoarding problem, and I know it. At least e-books don’t take up space in my house…the books are getting displaced by children!

In any case, it’s a story of a husband and wife, Birdy (James) and Savannah Johnson and the path their lives and the lives of their four children take after Savannah ends up with dissociative amnesia; her memory of the past seven years–their entire marriage–is completely gone, and the last she remembers is being a rich beauty-pageant star engaged to her high-school boyfriend. She has no recollection of marrying Birdy, of having had their four children, or that they were quite poor.

I have to be honest and say that I didn’t particularly care for Savannah. I found her spoiled and selfish and sometimes just downright mean. As the story unfolds, however, I gained a respect for her efforts to embrace motherhood and a greater empathy as more is revealed about her past; I certainly can understand her battles with post-partum depression. Birdy is an admirable character and so often I thought that Savannah didn’t deserve his love and devotion.

It becomes clear, however, that they are both broken people (who isn’t, really?), doing their best to live life while accounting for the burdens of their pasts. Ultimately the book is a story of love and life; of how adulthood brings unforeseen challenges in life; of how important personal growth and emotional well-being are for the health and strength of a marital relationship. It’s not a “light” romance by any means, but I would definitely call it a realistic love story.

The story is well-crafted and I was very invested in the outcome, despite my dislike for Savannah. Overall, I’d say I liked it, not loved it, but it’s worth a read if you’re up for something that’s often emotionally heavy but speaks to the power of enduring love. I’d also be up for reading another of Linda’s books in the future!

4 stars!