I read this book back when I was in grade school in the mid-'80s. It was the first book I ever read that I just couldn't stand. The ending made me very indignant, even at that tender age, and as time has passed, this book's message has become even more passe.

The book is well written and great fun. My three children and i all enjoyed it very, very much. We are fans of all of Jane Langton's children's novels....

Not as convincing or as powerful as her other work.

Every person can identify with some feeling, some remark in this collection. The poem "The Circle Game" itself is heavy with emotion, and it makes the reader feel. This is one of my favorite collections from Atwood.

Not one of GLH's better efforts. This is a silly story with very few spiritual elements.

It keeps me up late at night reading it. I haven't finished reading it, yet, but I started it a couple of days ago and I will finish it soon. It's about a young girl named Dawn who grows up without much love in her life, and spends most of her growing up away at a boarding school. When a man decides to marry her, she doesn't know what to think. She doesn't like the man very much, but she likes to think of having her own home to take care of. Without having much say in the matter, she is all set to be married to the man (his name is Harrington Winthrop). Harrington's evil scemes are unknown until just before the wedding. Harrington's loving brother decides to marry young Dawn... But Dawn doesn't know about the quickly-formed plan! She runs away after the marriage because of confusion and her mother-in-law's anger. She becomes a much-loved teacher in a small town. ...But Harrington is still after Dawn. I like the excitement and emotion of this book. All of Grace Livingston Hill's books are good!

Don't bother with this one. As a huge GLH fan, I couldn't even make it through the first half of this book. Hard to believe it was written by the same author who produced so many of my favorites. Not her usual style at all.

Although one of the author's earlier books, Duskin's heroine is atypical of the author because she is a business woman. There is no "love at first sight." A fun read for anyone who enjoys Grace Livingston Hill books.

The other customer review said this was a book worth reading???? There is no text inside this 15 page book. There are a few of Jerry's illustrations, however it is definitely not worth purchasing. I was frustrated because I bought it as a biography and it is a picture book.

this book seems like it will be a very cool and interesting book to read. in my opinion this would be a good book for any dead head out there. if your a garcia fan you should really think about reading this book and learn a little more about the great legend Garcia himself.

Very tiring to read through all the trials and problems. It's a long book and the difficulties seem to be never-ending. Don't know why I'd want to read this again, but may try sometime.

My idea of a perfect book is one that will relax me in the evening before I retire. The Challengers is a great book for just this purpose. For anyone who enjoys Victorian novel as a genre, and Grace Livingston Hill in particular as a novelist, this book is a definite "thumbs up", full of pathos and hardships off-set by the heroine's grit and upright standards. Charming romance.

In this book, we learn that the Theotokos (the Virgin Mother of God) is a radical feminist made in the image and likeness of Megan McKenna. Our Lady is dehumanized by being compared to spiders and pencils; she is slandered by insinuations of an erotic relationship between her and her own cousin Elizabeth (a divinely felicitous typo in this part of the book: "the mysery overwhelms them completely"). This book is an almost criminal affront to the Catholic and Orthodox believer. We learn from the oracular Ms McKenna that being white is a mortal sin, praying the Rosary is a mortal sin, and believing that Soviet Communism was evil is a mortal sin. Anyone who loves Beauty and Truth (and the Mother of God) will feel violated in the most intimate depths of her soul as she reads "Shadow."

First of all I ought to congratulate Megan McKenna for the lovely portrayal of Mary in this book.She appears not as an icon, not as a person who is far removed from our sufferings etc, not as someone who is holy-holy, and not one of us.She is portrayed to be a common woman, who shares with us all her trials and sorrows just as an ordinary human being ..... like you and me. Even she didn't have all the answers on Day 1, but she believed....and she invites us to have faith.It is lovely to be able to relate to her as a human being and not an icon.She seems (and is) so much a part of our life that it's a fabulous feeling to have her as a part of our life.I commend Megan heartily and if she reads this (somehow) I'd like to tell her that I'm waiting to buy some of the other books she's written to enhance my knowledge of her vision of Mary,Jesus and Joseph.

I am an avid reader and Grace Livingston Hill is among my favorite authors. I love her work, but was disappointed in this book. The characters were okay, but the plot could not hold my intrest. This was not one of her best works.

This book was much shorter than most Grace Livingston Hill (GLH) books. I read it in one sitting. I am a big GLH fan, and enjoyed it. I was pulled right in by the story line, and I loved the romantic hero who saved Mary from her plight. There is mystery, adventure and romance... Although I can't say this is one of my favorite GLH books - I still give it 4 stars.

No Time to Die; A Mali Anderson Mystery Grace F. Edwards Doubleday 1999 ISBN 0385492472 H.C.

This is the 3rd installment in the Mali Anderson mystery series.

Harlem Sleuth Mali Anderson is back and on a case that is personal to her. Mali is a brave person who knows her neighborhood and easily connects with its residents whether she is in beauty shop or a playground basketball court. Expect an in your face heroine. Abizarre and brutal killer is on the loose in Harlem and he has killed malis best friend, Claudine Hastings. It becomes clear that the killings are in Malis own neighborhood. As the bodies continue to pile higher, Mali fears for those close to her, not realizing that she is to be the next victim. This book has very colorful characters and it leaves you wondering if Mali will ever catch this guy. Ms Edward's style is free flowing and very easy to follow.

I thought this was a decent read but not great. I loved the authors discussion of Harlem but found the storyline was predictable. In all fairness to the author however, this was the first Mali Anderson mystery novel that I have read. I have subsequently ordered her other novels. I think that I was at a disadvantage because I am sure that much of the stuff referenced in this book went back to her 2 previous Mali Anderson novels. I look forward to reading those novels next.

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Punishment (Book Notes)

T. Richard Snyder, the author of this first rate challenge to our nation's "spirit of punishment," is a seminary professor/administrator who has also led a Master's degree education program for 18 years in Sing Sing prison. He argues persuausively that our treatment of offenders is fueled by our thirst for vengeance, and that addiction to "getting even" is "a cancer within the national culture that has the potential to destroy us" (p. 1).

If the soul of a society can be measured by its prisons, as Dostoevsky claimed, then we have major work ahead to "convert" our thinking from vengeful punishment that aims to "get even," and replace that with commitment to comprehensive healing and "holistic redemption." Restorative justice will more readily reach our goal of a peaceable society than will the prevailing retributive justice.

So what does the Protestant ethic and its theology have to do with this drive to punish rather than to rehabilitate? If one major value of this book is its challenge to our criminal justice system, the other major value is its answer to that question.

Creation and redemption have been split apart. So have grace and nature. "Because of the strong emphasis upon the fall, original sin, and total depravity, it is difficult to find within Protestantism an affirmation of the beauty, goodness, and worth in all creation" (p. 12). Further, God's grace "is understood almost exclusively in individualistic, internalized, non-historical terms" (p. 12).

It becomes easy, then, to split humanity apart as well, and draw a dividing line between superior and inferior persons, between those who have "fallen" and those who are "graced," or between those who "broke a law" and deserve what they're getting and, on the other hand, those who have followed "the straight and narrow" and "deserve" to prosper. All that is to forget that the dividing line between good and evil runs through each person. The saying "so long as there's life, there's hope" is true only so long as "grace is present and at work within all of human experience" (p. 41).

"Restorative justice alternatives" take up the second half of the book. Using a grant from the Association of Theological Schools that was funded by the Lilly Foundation, Snyder spent research time in both South Africa and Sweden. Restorative justice in both countries "emphasizes repairing all the injured parties, including victims, offenders, and the community" (p. 76).

The "Ubuntu philosophy of Africa, which affirms the essential connection of all living things" (p. 81, and see pp. 105-08), guided the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. The commission for financial reparations, however, has too few resources to accomplish economic justice. "Only when economic justice is joined with political justice will healing be possible. Healing is a circular process, and all dimensions of the circle must be attended to in order for healing to occur" (p. 82).

Sweden has discovered that the longer the imprisonment, the greater the probability of recidivism: "24% recidivism for those not imprisoned, 52% for those imprisoned from one to two years, and 86% for those imprisoned more than ten years" (p. 85). Respect and rehabilitation are the emphases in Sweden's prisons. Many prisoners there "regarded prison as a place of grace, forgiveness, and healing rather than punishment. One chaplain summed it up well: 'It is impossible to be a prison chaplain and not think this way theologically'" (p. 87).

Snyder is especially persuasive in lifting up "Judeo-Christian roots" of restorative justice (pp. 109-125). Here "amazing grace" "looks to the future rather than to the past" (p. 101).

Resisting punishment, and cultivating restorative healing (of offenders, victims, and society), do not mean going soft on crime. Restorative healing means being effective in holistic healing, in restoring torn relations, in working toward a hopeful future for all of us. It is a means of initiating and nourishing mutual accountability between offenders, victims and community.

A society that includes structural systemic injustice and many tyrannies of the status quo is in no position to combat crime with self-righteousness and self-defeating efforts to get even. "We are all one and we must resist all attempts to divide us into 'us' and 'them,' upright citizens and bestial criminals" (p. 156).

To those who object that this " restorative justice" is an idealistic approach that will not work, Snyder responds that the present "spirit of punishment" has been proven not to work. The increasing costs of our present approaches, financial and social and psychological costs combined, are themselves so impractical that we must learn from practitioners of restorative justice, and undertake the arduous work of "converting" our whole attitude from reactive punishment to proactive healing.

-John G. Gibbs, PhD

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Punishment (Book Notes)

T. Richard Snyder, the author of this first rate challenge to our nation's "spirit of punishment," is a seminary professor/administrator who has also led a Master's degree education program for 18 years in Sing Sing prison. He argues persuausively that our treatment of offenders is fueled by our thirst for vengeance, and that addiction to "getting even" is "a cancer within the national culture that has the potential to destroy us" (p. 1).

If the soul of a society can be measured by its prisons, as Dostoevsky claimed, then we have major work ahead to "convert" our thinking from vengeful punishment that aims to "get even," and replace that with commitment to comprehensive healing and "holistic redemption." Restorative justice will more readily reach our goal of a peaceable society than will the prevailing retributive justice.

So what does the Protestant ethic and its theology have to do with this drive to punish rather than to rehabilitate? If one major value of this book is its challenge to our criminal justice system, the other major value is its answer to that question.

Creation and redemption have been split apart. So have grace and nature. "Because of the strong emphasis upon the fall, original sin, and total depravity, it is difficult to find within Protestantism an affirmation of the beauty, goodness, and worth in all creation" (p. 12). Further, God's grace "is understood almost exclusively in individualistic, internalized, non-historical terms" (p. 12).

It becomes easy, then, to split humanity apart as well, and draw a dividing line between superior and inferior persons, between those who have "fallen" and those who are "graced," or between those who "broke a law" and deserve what they're getting and, on the other hand, those who have followed "the straight and narrow" and "deserve" to prosper. All that is to forget that the dividing line between good and evil runs through each person. The saying "so long as there's life, there's hope" is true only so long as "grace is present and at work within all of human experience" (p. 41).

"Restorative justice alternatives" take up the second half of the book. Using a grant from the Association of Theological Schools that was funded by the Lilly Foundation, Snyder spent research time in both South Africa and Sweden. Restorative justice in both countries "emphasizes repairing all the injured parties, including victims, offenders, and the community" (p. 76).

The "Ubuntu philosophy of Africa, which affirms the essential connection of all living things" (p. 81, and see pp. 105-08), guided the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. The commission for financial reparations, however, has too few resources to accomplish economic justice. "Only when economic justice is joined with political justice will healing be possible. Healing is a circular process, and all dimensions of the circle must be attended to in order for healing to occur" (p. 82).

Sweden has discovered that the longer the imprisonment, the greater the probability of recidivism: "24% recidivism for those not imprisoned, 52% for those imprisoned from one to two years, and 86% for those imprisoned more than ten years" (p. 85). Respect and rehabilitation are the emphases in Sweden's prisons. Many prisoners there "regarded prison as a place of grace, forgiveness, and healing rather than punishment. One chaplain summed it up well: 'It is impossible to be a prison chaplain and not think this way theologically'" (p. 87).

Snyder is especially persuasive in lifting up "Judeo-Christian roots" of restorative justice (pp. 109-125). Here "amazing grace" "looks to the future rather than to the past" (p. 101).

Resisting punishment, and cultivating restorative healing (of offenders, victims, and society), do not mean going soft on crime. Restorative healing means being effective in holistic healing, in restoring torn relations, in working toward a hopeful future for all of us. It is a means of initiating and nourishing mutual accountability between offenders, victims and community.

A society that includes structural systemic injustice and many tyrannies of the status quo is in no position to combat crime with self-righteousness and self-defeating efforts to get even. "We are all one and we must resist all attempts to divide us into 'us' and 'them,' upright citizens and bestial criminals" (p. 156).

To those who object that this " restorative justice" is an idealistic approach that will not work, Snyder responds that the present "spirit of punishment" has been proven not to work. The increasing costs of our present approaches, financial and social and psychological costs combined, are themselves so impractical that we must learn from practitioners of restorative justice, and undertake the arduous work of "converting" our whole attitude from reactive punishment to proactive healing.

-John G. Gibbs, PhD