Go Bravely by Emily Wilson Hussem | Book Review

Title: Go Bravely
Author: Emily Wilson Hussem
Publisher: Ave Maria Press
Published Date: April 27th, 2018
Genre: Non-Fiction, Inspirational, Guidance
Page Count: 160
Format: Kindle

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Goodreads Summary: 
As a young Christian woman, do you struggle with insecurities and feel bogged down by the pressures and expectations of society? Do you find it challenging to take care of yourself and be a faithful daughter of God?

Emily Wilson Hussem used to feel the same way. In Go Bravely, the Catholic musician and speaker offers twenty bits of advice that will equip you to tackle your deepest concerns about relationships, self-esteem, and dating while strengthening your faith at the same time.

"Sometimes even the smallest acts of living out faith require great bravery."

In Go Bravely, Wilson Hussem offers readers warm and friendly encouragement as she shares her experiences with other young women as their youth minister as well as her own struggles with insecurity, relationships, loving and forgiving herself, and living her faith. You’ll feel right at home as she challenges you to be a light in the world while simultaneously offering you easy-to-digest advice on your most pressing questions.

Fresh off figuring out who she is as a daughter of God, how to cultivate healthy friendships, how to save sex for marriage, and how to develop a prayer life, Wilson Hussem gives you advice about what she learned in the midst of becoming a young woman. Aware of the information overload that young people face today, she shares simple wisdom for bravely living your faith, such as:
Always be kind to other women.
Work hard at what you love.
Recognize God's plan for your life.
Remember that nobody is perfect.
Cultivate authentic friendships.
These are basic ideas, Wilson Hussem says, but taking care of yourself and loving others are easy tenets of our faith to forget. A book that can be read in short snippets or in one sitting, Go Bravely offers you the encouragement and tools you need to live out your Christian faith with purpose and zeal. 

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 My Review:

Thank you to NetGalley and Ave Maria Press for a free e-arc in exchange for my honest review

Go Bravely is broken up into chapters with each one showing a different part that we are all struggling with. At the end of each character is a Think Critically portion where Emily poses questions or affirmations for us to do or remember as we are finding our way in the world. 

Nujeen One Girls Incredible Journey from War-Torn Syria in a Wheelchair by Nujeen Mustafa and Christina Lamb

Title: Nujeen One Girls Incredible Journey from War-Torn Syria in a Wheelchair
Author: Nujeen Mustafa and Christina Lamb
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published Date: October 11, 2016
Genre: Non-fiction,
Format: Audiobook
Audio Time:  6 hr 42 min

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Goodreads Summary: 

Prize-winning journalist and the co-author of smash New York Times bestseller I Am Malala, Christina Lamb, now tells the inspiring true story of another remarkable young hero: Nujeen Mustafa, a teenager born with cerebral palsy, whose harrowing journey from war-ravaged Syria to Germany in a wheelchair is a breathtaking tale of fortitude, grit, and hope that lends a face to the greatest humanitarian issue of our time, the Syrian refugee crisis.
For millions around the globe, sixteen-year-old Nujeen Mustafa embodies the best of the human spirit. Confined to a wheelchair because of her cerebral palsy and denied formal schooling in Syria because of her illness, Nujeen taught herself English by watching American soap operas. When her small town became the epicenter of the brutal fight between ISIS militants and US-backed Kurdish troops in 2014, she and her family were forced to flee.
Despite her physical limitations, Nujeen embarked on the arduous trek to safety and a new life. The grueling sixteen-month odyssey by foot, boat, and bus took her across Turkey and the Mediterranean to Greece, through Macedonia to Serbia and Hungary, and finally, to Germany. Yet, in spite of the tremendous physical hardship she endured, Nujeen's extraordinary optimism never wavered. Refusing to give in to despair or see herself as a passive victim, she kept her head high. As she told a BBC reporter, "You should fight to get what you want in this world."
Nujeen's positivity and resolve infuses this unforgettable story of one young woman determined to make a better life for herself. Told by acclaimed British foreign correspondent Christina Lamb, Nujeen is a unique and powerful memoir that gives voice to the Syrian refugee crisis, helping us to understand that the world must change—and offering the inspiration to make that change reality.

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 My Review:

Nujeen is one of those people that the world needs more of.
She talks about her life before they became refugees and we really get to see what has helped shaped her into the person she is now. How even though she wasn't able to do what her siblings were, she was still learning.
Did I ever think soap operas would help someone? No, but I am so glad now that they did. No matter how someone learns English or about the world doesn't matter, what does matter is that they do. That everyone has something they're good at and that it is important. Also because of the way she learned things about the world, she was also able to help her family when it came to getting into other countries.
As a fellow wheelchair user, it's always been a question for me of how do you escape when handicap accessible transportation isn't available? The ways that her sister and some of their family members just modified things on the fly and didn't even bat an eye was so nice to see. It was still scary, but the strength that her sister had and the fact that she was also able to stay calm during it all was amazing.

One last thing that I really liked about this book was how Nujeen doesn't just talk about how they escaped, she also brings other people into it as well, and really talks about the crisis that happened and caused them all to have to escape. She's using her voice for so much good and I can't wait to keep learning more about her and seeing what she does in the future!

A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson #BookReview

Title: A Walk In The Woods
Author: Bill Bryson
Narrator: Rob McQuay
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published Date: September 25th 2012
Genre: nonfiction, humor, memoir
Format: Audiobook
Audio Time: 9 hr 47 min

My Rating: ★ ★ ★.5

Goodreads Summary: 
The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America–majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaing guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way–and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).

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 My Review:

“There is no point in hurrying because you are not actually going anywhere. However far or long you plod, you are always in the same place: in the woods.”   

Not going to lie, if I hadn't seen the movie first I wouldn't have even given this book a second glance.

Bryson decides one night that he is going to walk the Appalachian trail. The problem? He doesn't hike and his wife doesn't want him to do the trail alone in case he would get injured. So as he does some research he calls up all of his old friends he knows. And as to be expected they all think he is crazy, and pass on the opportunity to do it with him. That is until one day he gets a call from Stephan Katz who he hasn't talked to in years, nor does he really like. Katz wants to do the trail with him.

Now I know what you're thinking they why would you do the trail with someone you haven't spoken to in years and don't even like. Well simple Bryson wants to do the trail and he needs a partner to do so. So even if that person is Katz who is slow as all can be, and makes some questionable choices throughout the whole experience. He is determined to make it through with him.

As time goes on and the two become friends they learn a lot about each other. As well as learning to dislike a certain other hiker who is rather annoying to hike with all day. They learn how to survive the long days, and sore feet. In the end they actually end up making  a pretty good team.
The things they get up to in the towns they passed through were hilarious to read, as well as Katz questionable idea of what was necessary to bring on the trail and his ability to throw certain things away that were actually needed!

Overall I did enjoy this book, and getting to learn a little bit more about both Bryson and Katz. At time though I'm not going to lie the little bits of random information about the trail itself got to be a little bit much as time went on. I just wanted to hear more about Bryson and Katz not so much about the creator of the trail.

For me personally the movie was better, it took all of the funny and interesting parts of the book and put them into a condensed version that still told the same basic story without ruining any Bryson's & Katz experiences

Rise Of The Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt #BookReview

Title: Rise Of The Rocket Girls
Narrator: Erin Bennett
Author: Nathalia Holt
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Published Date: April 5th 2016 by
Genre: non-fiction, history, space, feminism
Format: Audiobook
Audio Time: 9 hr 45 min

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Goodreads Summary: 
The riveting true story of the women who launched America into space.

In the 1940s and '50s, when the newly minted Jet Propulsion Laboratory needed quick-thinking mathematicians to calculate velocities and plot trajectories, they didn't turn to male graduates. Rather, they recruited an elite group of young women who, with only pencil, paper, and mathematical prowess, transformed rocket design, helped bring about the first American satellites, and made the exploration of the solar system possible.

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 My Review:

“In this job you need to look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, and work like a dog.”

The women of JPL were amazing. Not only did most of them have engineering degrees, but they were also amazing mathematicians who did everything by hand very quickly in order to make sure they got the rockets where they needed to go in real time. It's absolutely amazing when you think about it. Because not only were they working, they were working as 'computers' and gained the respect of the men they worked with very quickly.

 From just making military weapons, to making rockets and eventually the stat of NASA we see how they helped make so many things possible. Eventually some of them were able to get there names put onto the work that they were doing for a change. As NASA took over and changed things as well they were finally able to be called Engineers instead of 'computers'.

Most of their families were very supportive with their choice to work and use the knowledge they had. For the most part the husbands were also supportive, with some of them even helping make sure the women could go back to work after having children!
I loved hearing about these women and the struggles that they faced in this very changing time in the work force for women.
The support they gave each other was so refreshing to see, and how they all really were a little family always connected even as they started to retire.
I would suggest if you don't think you can physically read this book, then please get it from your library and listen to it on audio. It made the experience so enjoyable for me and probably the only way I was able to finish this book in 4 days.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie #BookReview

Title: We Should All Be Feminists
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Publisher: Anchor
Published Date: February 3rd 2015
Genre: NonFiction, Essay, Feminism
Format: Audiobook
Audio Time: 45 minutes

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Goodreads Summary: 

In this personal, eloquently-argued essay—adapted from her much-admired TEDx talk of the same name—Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, award-winning author of Americanah, offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century, one rooted in inclusion and awareness. Drawing extensively on her own experiences and her deep understanding of the often masked realities of sexual politics, here is one remarkable author’s exploration of what it means to be a woman now—and an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists.
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 My Review:

“The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our true individual selves, if we didn’t have the weight of gender expectations.”   

Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee & Susan McClelland : ARC Book Review #2016DeAuthC

Title: Every Falling Star
Author: Sungju Lee & Susan McClelland
Publisher: Amulet Books
Published Date: September 13th 2016 by
Genre: YA, Non-Fiction, North Korea
Format: Kindle

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Goodreads Summary: 

Every Falling Star, the first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, is the intense memoir of a North Korean boy named Sungju who is forced at age twelve to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly re-creates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, his “brothers”; to be hungry and to fear arrest, imprisonment, and even execution. This riveting memoir allows young readers to learn about other cultures where freedoms they take for granted do not exist.

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 My Review:

"Freedom Isn't Free"

We follow Sunju Lee from his time in the capital city as a young child to his family being sent away due to something his father did. We never learned what his father did though because:

“You see, my father was in the military. He and his story are known by the regime. Disclosing the reason would identify him and put the few relatives of my family still in North Korea at risk. I will say that if he had done what he did in a free country, such as as the United States, his actions would be viewed as merely part of the democratic process. But in Pyongyang, they resulted in my family’s explosion from the capital city and eventual separation.”

 Once they got to there new home they are able to survive somewhat like they had in Pyongyang with both parents going to work and putting good food on the table, to Sunju going to school and becoming a leader there. But it was also not like the capital at all. We see an execution happen, children dropping out of school because they don’t have parents anymore and most search for food and money instead. The factories don’t pay anything anymore and there is hardly any food for anyone. Then we see the family being torn apart because his parents went in search of food leaving Sunju alone and scared. He eventually has to rely on himself and his friends. The form a gang that end up stealing, performing, fighting, drinking,& smoking in order to survive.

"At twelve years old, I now had to look after myself. I had no one to rely on to guide me to make the best decisions for my life. I had no one to come home to who would hold me and make me feel the world was safe."

At the end we do get to see some some good things happening to Sunju. He finds some of his family, he gets a new start at life, and he gets to be a teenager. We also get to see a little bit of his new life in South Korea and how he adjusted.

"My grandfather told me that love burns brighter than any star, so bright that love can be seen and felt from one end to the other. One day, when those children on other planets see our dead earth, it will be your light they see, not Kim Il-sung's or Kim Jong-il's. But the light of people like you" 

While I was reading this book, I was constantly scared for Sunju and his friends. Not only were they barely surviving most of the time, but they were also taking part in extremely dangerous things that could kill them/ get them killed if they were caught. The life that Sunju has lived truly shows how strong of a person he is. I hope one day he is reunited with the rest of the people he loves and is able to help those still in North Korea.

Sunju Lee takes North Korea that we are hardly taught anything about because it is a hermit kingdom that is so secretive that it doesn’t let anything out, and makes it into understandable for the western world. This was what his real life was like while he lived there. Without him having stated that though you won’t believe this is real, because it’s a dystopian country that is happening in the 21st century. While I was reading this I kept thinking why is this allowed to be happening? Why aren’t all the other countries trying to stop this awful dictator from ruling? Well because he has a huge amount of nuclear power and it goes against agreements made by the UN (I think, I could be wrong on this and if I am please educate me on it.). Also because of how secretive North Korea is no other country know what is fully happening there, besides from accounts made by people escaping.

Plus we also have the fact that North Korea threatens to nuclear bomb us every year that is becoming a serious problem.

This book was so eye opening and terrifying that I couldn’t help, but go and look up more things about North Korea to see what other refugees that had escaped thought of it.

These are my favorite so far of what I found

Tourists trip to North Korea - My Daily Life (Mysterious 7 day trip) I liked how before we saw what he was able to do, he talked about how this was what had been the controlled environment he was allowed to show.
The Author SungJu Lee Statement at the International Human Right Subcommittee This was before he had written this book and he talks mostly about what was in the book, but also about how he wants to change things in North Korea.
Life As A North Korean Defector This documentary talks to three different defectors and how they've managed to get to South Korea and how they've changed since then and how they want to help other North Koreans.

If you have any other that you think I should watch please leave the links down below, thank you.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amulet press for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai : Book Review

Title: I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
Author: Malala Yousafzai , Christina Lamb
Audio Narrator: Archie Panjabi
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Published Date: November 5th 2013
Genre: Non-fiction, Biography
Format: Audio 

My Rating: 

Goodreads Summary: 
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.
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 My Review:
“I don't want to be thought of as the "girl who was shot by the Taliban" but the "girl who fought for education." This is the cause to which I want to devote my life.”