A Light So Lovely by Sarah Arthur, 2018

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Bestselling and beloved author Madeleine L'Engle, Newbery winner for A Wrinkle in Time, was known the world round for her imaginative spirit and stories. She was also known to spark controversy - too Christian for some, too unorthodox for others. Somewhere in the middle was a complex woman whose embrace of paradox has much to say to a new generation of readers today.

A Light So Lovely paints a vivid portrait of this enigmatic icon's spiritual legacy, starting with her inner world and expanding into fresh reflections of her writing for readers today. Listen in on intimate interviews with L'Engle's literary contemporaries such as Philip Yancey and Luci Shaw, L'Engle's granddaughter Charlotte Jones Voiklis, and influential fans such as Makoto Fujimura, Nikki Grimes, and Sarah Bessey, as they reveal new layers to the woman behind the stories we know and love. A vibrant, imaginative read, this book pulls back the curtain to illuminate L'Engle's creative journey, her persevering faith, and the inspiring, often unexpected ways these two forces converged.

For anyone earnestly searching the space between sacred and secular, miracle and science, faith and art, comeand find a kindred spirit and trusted guide in Madeleine - the Mrs Whatsit to our Meg Murry - as she sparks our imagination anew.

(224 pages)

When I was young and tearing through every children's book I could find in the house, I stumbled across my mother's childhood copies of Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet. I picked up A Wrinkle in Time with absolutely no preconceived ideaas about it . . . and I absolutely loved it.

There's something so grabbing about the way those books take reality and flip it inside out, challenging our ideas of how the universe works. It's been many, many years since I last reread any of the books, but there are so many things I still remember so vividly from them.

One thing I do not vividly remember? Any references to God or Christianity, or any indication that L'Engle was a Christian. I mean, it seems obvious reading A Light So Lovely, but as a little girl reading the books I just found them to be interesting and exciting with no more religious subtext than any of the other books I was reading at the time (though I also didn't notice the symbolism in the Chronicles of Narnia until someone pointed out to me that Aslan is Jesus, so take this with a certain grain of salt). It doesn't surprise me at all that some Christians denounced the series as being too new-agey, and in fact my mom was just as surprised as I was that L'Engle was some big Christian writer. She thought the books were just science fiction.

Anyway, all this buildup is to say that I found the discussion of L'Engle's life and faith in A Light So Lovely very interesting. I suppose it adds something to the series, though I admit I was just as happy when the books were just fun adventures without all this subtext. A Light So Lovely makes a lot of interesting points about L'Engle's faith and life, though I have to say that it's fairly disjointed and feels almost disorganized at times. It's organized into topical chapters like "Truth and Story" and "Religion and Art," each of which bring in lots of quotes from different people. But they often jump around in the timeline, so it's quite confusing. And I honestly don't really care that much about Madeleine L'Engle herself, so reading a bunch of quotes and conversations with other people I've never even heard of talking about her was not exactly exhilarating.

Above all, I think I would have much rather read a straight-up biography of her life than this slightly meandering discussion of her perspectives on religion and her habit of basically only seeing/remembering things in a way that fit her narrative. My mom tried to read it and stopped halfway through, similarly stating that she'd rather have just read a biography.

The book does include so many great quotes from L'Engle herself, though, so I'm going to end this review with a couple of my favorites:

"If it's bad art, it's bad religion, no matter how pious the subject."

Like it or not, we either add to the darkness of indifference and out-and-out evil which surround us or we light a candle to see by." 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Project Inspired by Nicole Weider, 2015

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Nicole Weider is on a mission: to help young girls avoid the traps that culture sets. The trap that baits you into thinking you must sacrifice your self-worth in order to be beautiful and popular. Nicole launched Project Inspired in 2010 (www.projectinspired.com), a website for teen girls that analyzes pop culture and explores ways girls can live in their authentic beauty.
In Project Inspired, Nicole shares tips for you to stay true to yourself--to how you were created to be--as well as how to dress modestly yet fashionably, how to make a positive difference in the world, and how to enjoy your teen years while standing firm in your faith. With photographs, real behind-the-scenes stories from inside the fashion world, and an honest look at living a life that looks great on the outside and feels great on the inside, Project Inspired is a book you'll turn to time and time again.

(176 pages)

This isn't really what I was expecting. I requested it from a Christian book catalog, but the synopsis doesn't really sound that religious so I thought it was going to be mostly more general advice, not Christian-specific. That doesn't mean I'm not the target audience (after all, I am very much a Christian teenage girl!), but it does mean my blog isn't quite the target I thought it would be - I try not to stray too far into Christian books when I do my reviews, but oh, well. Non-Christian readers, just skip over this one, I guess.

Anyway, on the whole I really liked Nicole's tips. At times they seemed kind of random (and in the beginning I thought the entire book would be full of outfit tips!), but she makes a lot of great points. I can't say that all of the fashion terms really registered with me (what the heck is a "studded cross body" purse? And who actually worries about the oils in her hands being bad for her face?), but I think that's just because I'm not nearly as dressy as a lot of my peers. A few days after reading Project Inspired I was sorting through all of my clothes, getting rid of those that don't fit or that were too heavy for summer (yes, I waited until August to put aside my winter clothes). I found myself thinking about some of her tips as I considered what outfits I could make with the leftover clothes, and whether I needed to buy any more (the answer: yes. After getting rid of all the winter clothes, I have like ten tops, five skirts, and four pants. I put them all on hangars and they didn't even fill up my closet).

With the life and faith advice, I appreciated that Nicole was very nonjudgemental, and very focused on God's forgiveness. I didn't agree with her on a few points (for example, she believes gender roles are necessary in healthy relationships), but on the whole she had a lot of strong advice about staying pure, actively cultivating strong friendships, and looking for good boyfriends/husbands. I checked out her website very briefly, and found a lot of really great advice (and some I, again, was a little meh about) couched in very loving terms. I believe Nicole honestly has a passion for helping girls "enjoy [their] teen years while still standing firm in [their] faith."

So yeah. I might refer back to Project Inspired in the future for some clothing tips as I work on sprucing up my wardrobe, but I don't think I'll be frequenting the website with any regularity. I love the idea of it, though, and may check back now and then just to see what sort of things people are talking about. I don't know if I'd really recommend this to anyone, but I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it, either - and if one of my friends is interested by my copy, I'll probably just give it to her.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through the BookLook Bloggers program in exchange for an honest review.