Willie's Redneck Time Machine by John Luke Robertson and Travis Thrasher

My 6-year-old son was so excited when I got this book in the mail. He likes Duck Dynasty and was excited to go on an adventure. He carried this book with him everywhere and insisted that only he read this book to us. He did just that. It was fun to see such enthusiasm over a book.

I listened to this book read to me, so my opinion is more from my son's viewpoint. He really liked the "choose your own adventure" at the end of each chapter. I remember liking these type of books when I was younger, too, so I wasn't surprised that appealed to him so much. I think it also made the book go faster for him and he can still re-read it and have a new story each time.

I'm looking forward to getting him the whole set soon so he can read them all. It'll be the perfect present for him.

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I received this book free from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not? by Thompson Square with Travis Thrasher

I really like the cover of this book.  I think that it very clearly states what the book is about and it is very eye-catching and appealing to me.  I also like the shorter hardback books, like this one, because it's much easier to carry around than the longer hardback books.

I read Paper Angels with Travis Thrasher and I really have come to enjoy his books.  The only criticism that I have is that at one point later in the book, the repetitiveness of the plot became a little old, but as the book neared the end I felt as though it was moving once again.  Casey and Daniel are both very strong characters who haven't necessarily had the best luck in life.  They both love to write songs, but can't seem to do so without the other one.  I'm glad with who Casey chose in the end because I would have been mad had she made a different choice!

Casey's mom annoyed me for most of the book until the very end.  Her confession made me see that she wasn't the woman I pictured in my head for the entire book.  I had a reason for why she acted the way she did.  She finally made it into my good graces!

I look forward to reading more with Travis Thrasher.  I like how he has taken music artists from all different music genres and formed these books with their songs.  I think it is also giving the artist publicity.  I have only listened to Mark Schultz, so the artists of the past two books sent me looking up their songs.  Very clever!  I can't wait to see what song inspires him next.

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I received this book free from Howard Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Paper Angels by Jimmy Wayne and Travis Thrasher

This book needs to be noted as a life-changing fiction book  that everyone should read before Christmas.  The principles of this book obviously reach far beyond Christmas time, but the setting is Christmas which is perfect for this time of year.  It's not often that I read a fiction book that challenges me.  Several times I would set the book aside to go finish cleaning or something and I would find myself thinking about how much I lack in giving.  I wasn't prepeared for this book to challenge me.

Written from experience, Jimmy Wayne knows what it means to be a recipient of the Angel Tree program from the Salvation Army.  I imagine that Thomas is a character patterned after Wayne in some ways.  I had never heard of Jimmy Wayne or Travis Thrasher but now I want to read more about them.  The writing of this book was excellent and was a story that was beautifully told in a challenging way.

My heart broke reading about the challenges that both Kevin, the one who chose to take Thomas' name off the tree, and Thomas' families faced.  I hated to hear of the conditions that Thomas lived in, but loved seeing the generosity and answered prayers that each family received.  Thomas had such a sweet spirit and was able to turn seemingly bad things, like bullying, into a blessing for someone else.  I couldn't believe the ending when I read about Thomas' presents.  I was amazed and kept wondering if I would have done that.  In my selfishness, I'm sure I wouldn't have. 

I'm really glad that I read this book.  I tend to be a bit on the stubborn side and like it when messages are subtle in a story not directly telling me how I need to change.  It made me see for myself that I still have a long way to go to be what I really want to be.  In all honesty, I thought I was a giving person.  I know now that materialism has seeped it's way into our families without us really knowing it.  I'm very appreciative for this eye-opening fact and this thought-provoking, hopefully life-changing book.

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I received this book free from Howard Publishers, a division of SimonandSchuster Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.