Author: Bergers Book Reviews

Author and book reviewer.
children, nature, science

See Inside the Dinosaur: An Interactive 3-D Exploration of a Triceratops

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: Michael Bright
Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books
Genre: Children / Science / Nature
ISBN: 978-1-62686-566-2
Pages: 48
Price: $21.95

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Millions of years ago, many different kinds of dinosaurs roamed the earth. See Inside the Dinosaur features some of these fascinating creatures and explains a little about them. Focusing on dinosaurs individually and in groups of like beasts, it shows when they might have lived, whether they were plant-eaters or carnivores, if they were able to fly, what kind of skin covering they had, and other interesting facts.

A dinosaur guidebook is provided, along with a Triceratops model with 33 removable body parts, and a 7-piece card stock T. Rex model. Assembly instructions are included for both.

It’s so much fun to learn about dinosaurs, and kids will really enjoy working with this kit.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

finance

Winning With Money

Bergers Book Reviews

Winning With Money
Author: Aaron Coleman
Publisher: Elevate
Genre: Finance
ISBN: 978-0-9829300-3-8
Pages: 128
Price: $14.95

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Running out of money before the month is over is a common problem. But working with a budget can be difficult and cumbersome. Winning With Money was created as a simple alternative to budgets, and it really works.

In a step by step process, Coleman walks the reader through this unique method of controlling spending each month. He provides worksheets and guidance in ensuring that this simple system can help everyone. After determining the reader’s monthly fixed costs, he explains how to determine the amount left over for spending each day. Follow the plan and never run out of money again.

I was really impressed by how easy and effective this system is for those who don’t want to be bothered with creating and sticking to budgets. The only trouble spot I see is those pesky unexpected expenses. Although saving as a general rule is covered, a “leaky roof” fund might also need to be encouraged. I highly recommend Winning With Money.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

animals, children, nature

Super Animal Powers: The Amazing Abilities of Animals

Bergers Book Reviews

Super Animal Powers
Author: Ryan Jacobson
Photographer: Stan Tekiela
Publisher: Wildlife Picture Books
Genre: Animals / Nature / Children
ISBN: 978-1-59193-648-0
Pages: 32
Price: $12.95

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Some animals can do amazing things. In fact, you might even say they have super powers. For instance, a Peregrine Falcon can fly more than 200 miles per hour. A Dung Beetle can lift and carry 1,141 other Dung Beetles. And a Northern Raccoon is the smartest and sneakiest thief, when it comes to food.

But these aren’t the only animals with super powers. This unique book describes the amazing abilities of 14 different animals with powers like super strength, super vision, and invisibility. Each two page spread describes the featured animal’s super power, and includes several photos of each in their natural habitats.

Kids really enjoy reading about our natural world and the fascinating animals that inhabit it. Super Animal Powers: The Amazing Abilities of Animals is sure to be a big hit.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

mca_logo_color_722_web-1
Gold Winner of the Mom’s Choice Awards Honoring Excellence.

Christian, health

Journey to 50: How to Live with Gratitude, Grace and the Effects of Gravity

Bergers Book Reviews

Journey to 50
Author: Laurie Russell
Publisher: Elevate Faith
Genre: Women / Health / Christian
ISBN: 978-1943425310
Pages: 272
Price: $16.99

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Turning 50 is not something most women would willingly choose, but the alternative just isn’t all that terrific. So the best thing she can do is accept it gracefully with a sense of humor. Journey to 50 is a lighthearted look at the “joys” of aging and how to cope with them.

Beginning with her thoughts on redefining aging, Russell guides the reader through family and health issues she can expect during these middle-aged years. Focusing on faith and having fun round out the five sections. Each chapter provides a series of mini-meditations of Russell’s own experiences and words of wisdom. Poking fun at herself and the aging process, she leads us on a journey filled with laughter.

Growing older will never be fun, but with friends and family as support systems, good self-care, and a positive attitude, women can conquer their fears in facing this challenging time in their lives. Journey to 50 provides an enjoyable guide to not only surviving these years, but even actually thriving.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

mystery

A Fatal Twist (A Downward Dog Mystery #4)

Bergers Book Reviews

A Fatal Twist
Author: Tracy Weber
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Genre: Cozy Mystery
ISBN: 978-0-7387-4878-8
Pages: 312
Price: $14.99

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Kate first meets the philandering fertility doctor while assisting a doula as part of her training course. Soon after, she realizes the man is married to her yoga student, Rachel. When Kate finds his lifeless body at a hospital event, Rachel has just fled the scene. Kate has no intention of telling the police what she saw, but soon finds out they have their own agenda.

In her heart, Kate knows that Rachel is innocent, no matter what the evidence shows. So she tracks down anyone who might have been affiliated with Dr. Dick, as he was less affectionately known. Some of her methods are unorthodox, and she leaves quite a few encounters after having made a new enemy. But in the process of her investigation, she develops a grudging respect for her new assistant who intentionally smashed her car in Karma’s a Killer, and is now working off the damages.

A Fatal Twist is a laugh almost from the word go, as Kate gets into trouble with her best friend, her live-in boyfriend, her dog, and the two puppies her boyfriend has decided to rescue and bring home. And Kate’s investigative technique is hilarious, as she pokes and prods her way to one annoyed response after another. If you enjoy zany cozy mysteries, you’ll love this one.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

mystery, teen

Code Red (Faith Flores Science Mystery)

Bergers Book Reviews

Code Red
Authot: Janie Chodosh
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Mystery
ISBN: 978-1929345281
Pages: 298
Price: $10.95

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After solving her mother’s murder in Death Spiral, Faith Flores is off to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for a summer internship in science, working with genetically modified chiles. She’s never met her dad, but knows he grew up in Santa Fe, and plans to look him up while she’s there. Soon after arriving, Faith learns of a dangerous teen drug on the local market called liquid gold, which has suddenly become more plentiful.

Family matters quickly get out of hand as her search for her dad takes an unexpected turn, but they’re not as complicated as Faith’s romantic life. A new boy in the internship program, Clem, rivals Jesse back home, and she needs to sort out how she feels about both of them. And when a girl Faith meets at a party dies from an overdose of liquid gold, Faith’s antenna goes up. After watching her mom battle addiction, Faith is determined to stop others from being traumatized by this deadly drug.

Faith is a tough-minded teen who’s not afraid to tangle with the bad guys. Nothing holds her back from her investigations, even when trouble is lurking all around her. But in Code Red, we also see Faith’s softer side, as she grapples with her family discoveries. I really enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait to see the next installment in this series.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Christian, fiction

The Sisters of Sugarcreek

Bergers Book Reviews

The Sisters of Sugarcreek
Author: Cathy Liggett
Publisher: Tyndale House
Genre: Christian fiction
ISBN: 978-1-4964-0489-3
Pages: 400
Price: $14.99

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A deadly fire strikes Faith Community Church in Sugarcreek, killing Henry, a young Amish husband, and Rose, the owner of Rose’s Knit One Quilt Too Cottage. Jessica inherits Rose’s cottage, but struggles to run the shop. Liz is mourning Rose, her best friend and co-conspirator in the Secret Stitches Society, and recruits Jessica to join her. Liz and Jessica figure that Lydia, Henry’s widow, will be the perfect candidate for their first mission.

Now Jessica suddenly finds herself with unexpected help in running the cottage, along with two brand new friends. Tragedy may have brought the three women together, but the bonds of friendship run deep, as Jessica sees just how far Liz and Lydia will go to help her. And as they all discover their changing roles in the community, they also find new opportunities for love.

The Sisters of Sugarcreek features great characters and an engaging plot, and will appeal to women of all ages. I highly recommend this enjoyable Christian fiction novel.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

mystery

Dying to Tell (A Gumshoe Ghost Mystery #3)

Bergers Book Reviews

Dying to Tell
Author: TJ O’Connor
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Genre: Cozy Mystery
ISBN: 978-0-7387-4207-6
Pages: 378
Price: $14.99

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Police detective Oliver “Tuck” Tucker has been dead for two years, but he still keeps tabs on his wife, Angela. When she goes to visit William Mendelson at the bank in the wee hours of the morning, he’s understandably concerned. And when a robber nearly kills her, he wants to know why. Soon he finds out that William Mendelson wouldn’t have been able to meet with Angela anyway – he was already dead.

Investigating William’s murder leads him back in time to WW II and Cairo, Egypt. His grandfather’s ghost arrives to help him untangle the scenes he witnesses, hoping to figure out what really happened and what it means now. As the case progresses, other people at the bank begin acting suspiciously, often finding themselves in danger. Can Tuck solve the case before Angela uncovers trouble and joins him in the afterlife?

Although a ghost, Tuck can talk to his police partner and Angela. And since they are the only ones who know he’s there, he can sneak in and out of places without being seen and report back to them on what he finds out. But because he has no physical form, he can’t touch anyone, most especially Angela. As Angela’s longing to be held grows stronger, they both wonder how long they can continue their relationship as it is.

I absolutely love the Gumshoe Ghost Mystery series, and this book is even better than the previous two. I can’t wait to read the next installment!

Reviewer: Alice Berger

mystery

Karma’s a Killer (A Downward Dog Mystery #3)

Bergers Book Reviews

Karma's a Killer
Author: Tracy Weber
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Genre: Cozy Mystery
ISBN: 978-0-7387-4210-6
Pages: 288
Price: $14.99

Author’s website
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While working at a fundraiser for the local animal shelter, Kate overhears two animal rights protesters arguing. The following day she finds out that one of the women, Raven, has been murdered – the other, Dharma, is the prime suspect. Now Kate has no choice but to help Dharma, who claims to be her estranged mother.

What appears to have been a random protest turns out to have deeper meaning, as Kate discovers Raven had ties to the local community. Her motives for targeting the animal shelter created problems for someone, who obviously wanted her dead. Investigating the murder puts Kate in danger, as her property is vandalized and her dog, Bella, is targeted. And when her live-in boyfriend is called out of town, Kate needs to rely on her very-pregnant-with-twins best friend for assistance. Kate needs to solve this case quickly, before she becomes another victim.

In the midst of her investigation, Kate also needs to know what happened all those years ago when her mother left the family. Although she initially wants to turn her back on Dharma, she listens to her story with an open mind, hoping to find answers to some of the mysteries in her own life.

Yoga Can Be Murder is an enjoyable cozy mystery and I look forward to seeing more of this series.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Christian

Finding God in the Ruins

Bergers Book Reviews

finding-god-in-the-ruins
Author: Matt Bays
Publisher: David C. Cook
Genre: Christian
ISBN: 978-0-7814-1383-1
Pages: 256
Price: $16.99

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Matt Bays had a very difficult childhood, suffering abuse by his own family members. When, as an adult, he suddenly finds himself unable to cope with life, he turns to substances to dull the pain. But as a church pastor, he knows this can’t go on, and finally finds a competent therapist to help him deal with his past.

As Bays works through the painful memories, he relives the feeling of being abandoned by God, the very One he expected to protect him from the abuse. His feelings lead him to search the scriptures for others who also felt abandoned, and he finds solace in some of David’s psalms. But first he needs to come to terms with his own expectations of God, trying to determine if God might have actually been with him throughout his troubled childhood.

Reading in many ways more like a journal than a spiritual self-help book, Finding God in the Ruins offers hope to others who have suffered from traumatic experiences. At times Bays expresses his anger with God, reminding us that God can handle our anger better than we think He can. But ultimately, he reinforces the truth that God is always with us, even when we go through trying times. We may never know why we suffer, but God never leaves us alone, and that’s good news we can all relate to.

Reviewer: Alice Berger