Out of the Silent Planet

This book is the first in C. S. Lewis' Space Trilogy, consisting of the books Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength.  It is the story of Dr. Ransom, a professor, who is out in the English countryside on a "walking tour" during his vacation.  Through a series of events, he ends up at a house called "The Rise" for the night, one of the occupants being an acquaintance of his.  Little did Ransom know that this night would change his whole life!  Although I can hardly write a proper review of the book without telling more, I would hate to give away what happens to him.  Of course it has something to do with space travel, and Lewis manages to make it very deep and very intriguing at the same time.  So, I would encourage you to read Out of the Silent Planet.  I enjoyed it immensely, and I am very eager to continue reading the trilogy!

The Black Arrow

I read this book for Mother of Divine Grace and, as is usual with their suggestions, I enjoyed it very much!  The book was the story of Richard (Dick) Shelton, a young man who is the ward of Sir Daniel Brackley.  As time goes on, Dick begins to wonder who was really his father's murderer.  Eventually, he gets into a group of outlaws whose leader was a friend of Dick's father and begins, with their help, to formulate a plan to save Joanna Sedley, the girl to whom he has been promised in marriage.  Of course, with so many dilemmas the rest of the book is very exciting and interesting, but to tell much more would be to give away more of the plot than I would like.  So, I encourage you to read the Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson.

A Philadelphia Catholic in King James's Court

It took me about three to four days to finish this book, and, no matter what I was doing, I was always also wondering what would happen next in Philadelphia Catholic.  The main character is a Catholic teen named Michael who moved to his uncle's (a protestant minister) farm for a summer.  Inevitably, it did not take very long before their differences came up, Les trying to save Michael and his family from Catholicism.  At first Michael didn't know the answer to questions like "Why follow papal authority?" and "Why do you worship Mary?", and his uncle's 'flock' was so different from the parishioners he had known back home that Michael began to wonder about the faith in which he had been brought up.  Using only the Bible, Michael had to prove why he believed what he believed and hope that his listeners took his words to heart.  I would recommend this wonderful beginning apologetics book to any Catholic who wants to know more about their faith or just wants a good read!

The Story of King Arthur and His Knights

I loved this book! Before this year I had never read anything on King Arthur, and I wish that I had time to read more.  The Story of King Arthur and His Knights is split into two books: The Book of King Arthur and The Book of Three Worthies.  The first book, naturally, is all about King Arthur; his famous episode with the sword in the stone, how he won Excalibur, how he won the hand of Lady Guinevere, and much more.  The second book is divided into three parts (The Story of Merlin, The Story of Sir Pellias, and The Story of Sir Gawaine) and the content is self-explanatory.  This may not seem very exciting; however, I can honestly say that this was the best book that I have read all school year.  Five stars!

Son of Charlemagne

An exciting book set in the Middle Ages, Son of Charlemagne  is a story about the reign of Charlemagne from the perspective of his children.  It is interesting to see Charlemagne not only as a great king, but also as a loving father.  He had to make many decisions which seemed to affect his children cruelly, but this book gives you his perspective on it.  With such a large kingdom, this great king had to be harsh as well kind.   Charlemagne's children all learned at an early age that rulers have to make sacrifices, but this only made them admire their father the more.  I read Son of Charlemagne for school, and, in addition to being very entertaining, it really gave me a different perspective that my textbooks did not provide.

Augustine Came to Kent

This was another book that I read for Mother of Divine Grace.  It is a Bethlehem book by Barbara Willard, and meets the high standards which everyone has come to expect from those names.  The main character is a boy named Wolf, a Saxon living in Rome.  He and his father travel with St. Augustine and his monks to England to spread the gospel.  The trip to England is long and dangerous, however, and more trouble awaits the monks when they finally reach their destination.  Naturally, the English people are suspicious of these foreign characters, even when King Ethelbert, the king of Kent, gives St. Augustine permission to preach in his land.  Even with the prospect of never getting their message through to the stubborn people, the monks continue to work and eventually plant the faith deep in the roots of England.

Fingal's Quest

This book is set in the time when monks were flourishing and bringing religion and education around Europe. Their monasteries were places of learning, and many a boy was sent there to learn, and eventually to become a monk like his teachers.  One of these boys was named Fingal.  He was a "poor scholar", one who works around the monastery to pay for his education.  Despite this, however, Fingal shared a hut with a king's son, Diarmid, and a cheiftan's son, Cahal, for in the monastery there was no distinction between those of high and low birth.  He and Diarmid became fast friends, but Fingal and Cahal got off badly from the start, and soon hated each other with a passion.

Diarmid was not the only person who Fingal loved, however.  Their teacher, Brother Columban, inspired an intense filial love in the heart of Fingal.  When Fingal finds out that Brother Columban would rather be a missionary to another country he begins to make plans to travel there himself, if Brother Columban should ever be able to leave.  Eventually, however, Fingal must ask himself the question, "Am I really trying to follow God's plan for my life?"

This was a book that I was required to read with Mother of Divine Grace, but I highly recommend it and I think that I would have read it whether or not it was required.