2009 Whitney Award Winners

Best Romance

Counting the Cost
Liz Adair


Best Mystery/Suspense

Methods of Madness
Stephanie Black


Best Youth Fiction

The Chosen One
Carol Lynch Williams


Best Speculative

Servant of a Dark God
John Brown


Best Historical

The Last Waltz
G.G. Vandagriff


Best General Fiction

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Jamie Ford


Best Novel by a New Author
(tie)

I am Not a Serial Killer
Dan Wells

Gravity vs. the Girl
Riley Noehren


Lifetime Acheivement Award

Gerald Lund


Outsatnding Achievment Award

Dave Wolverton

Secret Sisters by Tristi Pinkston

"Ida Mae Babbitt, president of the Omni 2nd ward Relief Society, didn't mean to become a spy. But when visiting teaching stats are low and she learns that one family under her care is in financial trouble, she'll do whatever it takes to make sure they have what they need. If that includes planting surveillance cameras in their home and watching them from a parked car in the woods, well, isn't that what any caring Relief Society president would do?

With the help of her counselors Arlette and Tansy, Ida Mae soon learns that there's more to the situation than meets the eye. It's all in a day's work for the Relief Society." (from the back of the book)

Tristi Pinkston's new book Secret Sisters is a hilarious tale of a Relief Society presidency that takes the responsiblility of watching over the sisters in their ward a little too seriously. The main character, Ida Mae Babbitt, just wants to take care of people, and when her nephew uses his knowledge of electronic gadgets to help her find out more about the financial problems of a certain family in the ward, Ida Mae and her friends find themselves learning more than they expected. They can't convinice the sheriff to take them seriously and obviously they can't go to the bishop without explaining that they aquired the information through spying. So they take matters into their own hands.

It's interesting how Ida Mae, Arlette, and Tansy justify their actions. What is really funny is when reading the book, I couldn't think of a single Relief Society president who would go to the lengths Ida Mae did to "watch over" the members of her ward, but I could think of several women who wish they could. The story revolves around the characters and their antics. Tristi has developed lovable women who could be your next door neighbors and who you want to know more about. My only complaint about this book was that it was just to short. I can't wait for the second installment in the Secret Sisters series so I can find out what Ida Mae and her friends are up to next.

You can order the book here, and learn more about Tristi here.

I was given a copy of this book for review purposes.

I'll Know You By Heart by Kimberly Job

From the back cover: "The day Stephanie Roberts met Jared Wakefield, she didn't realize they'd met before. Running from an abusive marriage and trying to safeguard her children, she turns to Jared for support, but he needs more from her than she might be capable of giving. With her abusive husband looming in her past, the difficulties they must overcome to be together seem insurmountable.

Is it possible for love to conquer all? I'll Know You By Heart is a timeless romance that explores the possibility that relationships span the entire realm of eternity. A story about abuse, hardship, and betrayal, it is ultimately a story about the healing power of everlasting true love."

I've been looking forward to reading this book since I first read the back cover. Once I got over the eerie coincidence of reading a book about a woman with my name, who is in an abusive marriage, and who has a sister with the same name as one of my sisters, I was drawn into the story. There were moments in the book when I cringed and wondered at some of the choices Stephanie made, but her thoughts as she works through her decisions, seem to acurately describe the emotions and struggles that women go through when they are abused for extensive periods of time.

The story had enough suspense to keep me flipping the pages and cheering for Stephanie and her children, and enough romance to balance out the tension. I half expected the book to be similar to other LDS books I've read where the abusive relationship is glossed over and the abused wife recovers too quickly from her experiences. Instead, Kimberly doesn't shy away from the pain and suffering of her main character. She writes the experiences in a realistic manner and doesn't sugar-coat them in any way.

This is Kimberly Job's first novel and I'll be eagerly watching for her next book. You can purchase I'll Know You By Heart here.

Easter Break Score Card

Just day-to-day stuff:

• 1 easter picnic with the extended family
• 6 loads of laundry washed and folded
• 1 family home evening activity in the city with the kids
• 6 dinners cooked
• 1 grocery shopping trip in the city
• 1 date night in the city
• 1 blog written
• 1 migraine
• 1 sewing room cleaned
• uncountable hugs given
• 1 pair of pants hemmed for a neighbor
• 1 hoodie mended after a run-in with a band saw
• 0 school work
  

For the play:

• 1 play practice attended
• 6 skirts sewn (with help from my lovely assistants/daughters)
• 8 pairs of pants sewn
  
• 6 vests sewn
  
• 3 pirate shirts sewn
  
• 6 sashes made
  
• 6 eye patches made
• 1 felt pirate hat sewn complete with blood-red plume
• 40+ metres of fabric used

And writing/editing:

• 2 very short hours

Oh well, there's always next week, right?

Women of the Book of Mormon by Heather B. Moore

Explore the lives, circumstances, and choices of women in the Book of Mormon in this uplifting and inspiring volume that illustrates the parallel between the lives of the women of the Book of Mormon and LDS women today. With new insights on practically every page, author Heather B. Moore explores the written and unwritten stories of the prominent women in the Book of Mormon—taking familiar material and providing vivid details about family dynamics, domestic practices, and other aspects of daily life. By applying historical and cultural contexts to the situations of women like Sariah, Abish, Eve, Mary and the faithful mothers of the stripling warriors, you will peek beneath the surface of the scriptural accounts to better understand both the righteous women of the Book of Mormon—and the women who didn’t use their agency wisely. (Taken from the back cover of the book).

Rarely do I find a non-fiction book that really holds my interest so I didn't expect to find this book so engaging, but Moore's writing held me captive from the first word. She focuses on twelve women mentioned in the Book of Mormon and what their lives may have been like. This book is backed up by extensive research and is full of rich details about everything from what childbirth would have been like to a woman's role in the home and family. It is interesting to read about the lives of these women and compare them to our own.

Each of the twelve chapters begins with a beautiful picture which makes this more than just a reference book. This is a book that can be treasuered and consulted often. Women of the Book of Mormon is a quick read with only 96 pages and would make a lovely Mother's Day gift.

From Women of the Book of Mormon (pg 8): "The women of the Book of Mormon are our sisters, and their stories lie within those sacred pages. Not only can we learn from the messages of their husbands and sons, we can discover how much the Savior loves us through the experiences and enduring faith of these women."

*Heather gave me a copy of this book to review.

A Student Again

I've had a few people ask me to clarify what I meant when I mentioned the university courses I've signed up for. University is something I've been thinking about for years, but the timing just never seemed right.

More years ago than I want to admit to, I started college with big plans. Ever since kindergarten I'd dreamed of being a school teacher, more specifically, an English teacher. But well meaning individuals talked me out of it. They insisted that there was no call for someone with those skills and talked me into elementary education, arguing that it would give me more opportunities. I should have stood my ground, but I was still young and easily swayed by older and more seasoned family members. But after one year of this I knew I couldn't spend the rest of my life with little kids.

The advice I received when I announced I would be changing my major was varied, but most of it focused around the need to be able to be a mom and have a career I could do from home. What can I say, I come from a very traditional family and I still believe that is the best option when possible. I entered the fashion design department and discovered I had skill and talent that I could put to good use. After I finished two years of college, I quit school to be a stay-at-home mother.

The year I spent learning behind a sewing machine has served me well, and I've made countless prom and wedding gowns. Sometimes I enjoy it and sometimes not, but because of the area I live in, it has never brought in the kind of income that can support a family. And even though I figured I would be a working seamstress for the rest of my life, the knowledge that I didn't finish school always bothered me.

Over the last two years I have been thinking more and more about returning to school and getting a long-overdue degree. I've had to convince myself and my husband that it is the right thing to do. One of the biggest reasons I kept coming back to was the uncertainty of our future. Several different things have left us with no retirement savings and we often joke about working as Walmart greeters until we die. I always tell my husband that I am his retirement plan. With twelve years difference in our ages, I should be able to work well after he retires. If I had any sort of training.

I know there are places that probably would hire me, but that nagging desire for a formal education keeps kicking around in the back of my mind. I want that piece of paper to prove that I did it. So this January, I signed up for a correspondence course, just to get started. The long term goal is to get that English degree I originally planned on. At some point I will transfer to the local university and get my teaching degree. By doing correspondence, I should be able to stay home at least until the two oldest leave for their own university experiences. Once I get into the groove of papers and tests again, I'll do more than one course at a time, but for now this one course is reminding me how far away those college days are and how much I need to do to catch up. It feels good to be taking action though. I'm not really sure where this all will take me, but it should be an intresting ride.

Reading and Writing

I have been reading like crazy lately. Out of the 30 books nominated for the Whitney Awards, I've read 22 1/2 but I'll get them all done, I think. It is always amazing to me the variety of books out there and the amount of really good writing. Doing all this reading affects my own writing as I look at the different ways other authors approach a story. It is all part of the learning process. Sometimes I wish the learning process wouldn't take so long, and I could say I did it and I'm published. Compared to some of my author friends, I feel like I am coming to the table very late in the game. But better late than never. Keep watching for me, because I will get there someday. Meanwhile, I have a little more reading to do.