Strong women come from the Desert: Bookbabe reviews A.D. 30 by Ted Dekker

A.D. 30 was my first experience reading a Ted Dekker novel, and the first real historical fiction novel I can say I really enjoyed. The book takes us into the life of Maviah; who is the daughter of a tribal leader. However, she is so much more than that. Maviah is a woman that has been thrown away by her father; sold into slavery, and sent back to her father in disgrace. She lives in a time where women are seen as property and have no rights. Its is during this story that we watch Maviah grow into a powerful woman who is fully willing aware of the fact that she is the daughter of a King. The most powerful part of this book is that Maviah is forced to help a father that does not care for her. She could be bitter, hateful and only look out for herself but she wants to be honored in the eyes of a man that cast her aside. 

So when he father is taken captive, and even though she loses her child, she decides to take a dangerous trip across the desert to meet with Herod. She walks into Herod's presence completely unsure on how she will be perceived or even if she will get the help that she seeks. It is there that she meets Phasa; Herod's first wife. It is through this meeting that things really begin to shift. As Maviah is waiting on Herod to come back from Rome she and Phasa become close; so much so that she feels comfortable enough to ask the young queen to help her in keeping her traveling companions safe. Phasa agrees to help, after Judah (one of Maviah's companions) kills a guard. It is only after this happens that Judah, Maviah, Saba and Phasa partake in a journey to meet Yeshua. It is during Maviah's first experience with Yeshua that I was reminded of how deeply personal and beautiful following Yeshua can be. It was during her experience with him that you are reminded that Yeshua is caring and deeply interested in the lives and well beings of his followers. He had the power to make every interaction personal; even though he was in room full of people. It is after this meeting that something in Maviah begins to shift. She begins to think about herself differently and she begins to think about life differently. After there journey and upon their return to the palace Maviah is entrusted with information that can drastically change the course of everything; especially since she now knows Herod had no interest in helping her. This change is circumstances sets her on a journey that takes her directly into the heart of the home of her fathers enemies. It is here that she slow emerges as the Queen that Judah always thought that she was.

What I loved the most about this book: I enjoyed the way Dekker wove the beauty of Yeshua's words into the story of a lost woman. This book truly is about the power and importance of faith. Its also about the struggle to stay the course and hold tight to your faith through even in the hardest times. 

I gave A.D. 30 5/5 stars on goodreads.com.

Quotes that I loved:

"The Stars do not lie"

"I was plunged beneath the waters of the Galilean sea a dirtied slave and emerged a queen fit for a king"

"You must understand...to have faith is to let go of knowledge as the means to salvation. To do so, one must embrace trust and mystery rather than make knowledge one's God...It is not where that matters so much as simply following? Faith, you see? Trust, like a child"

"You have heard me say, Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy...but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"

"The eye is the lamp of the body, if your eye is clear, you whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness"

"Put your faith in me, not the storm, nor the boat. I and the Father are one. You can not truly forgive until you surrender your belief in this storm and trust me instead"

Moleskin notebooks = Trouble: Bookbabe review of Finders Keepers by Stephen King

Wow just wow. Stephen King really kept the action going with Finders Keepers and tied this book very artfully into the first novel of the Hodges series. This novel is really about obsession; one guys obsession with an author and his work of fiction. Just like the first novel the villain is identified quickly; his motives are identified quickly and we also get the feeling that the guy is way way way off the reservation. Complete nutter. (And won't King have fun with that). The book even opens up with a in your face home invasion and murder. King really held no punches in the beginning and the deep dive into the book was very necessary. 
It takes a while to get to the point where Hodges (now four years older) gets into the story. 
The story revolves mainly around Peter Saubers and his family; whose father is on the survivors of the attack as City Center. At the beginning of this story Saubers and his family have fallen on very tough times. Having to had to move to a low income neighborhood, the kids losing friends; then drowning the debt from medical bills and having to deal with the pain of living off a teachers salary. Peter is hoping for anyway to help his family and it comes; in the form of a trunk buried in an abandon field. 
Of course, we all know that sometimes something good can turn into something very bad very quickly. And this happens just a few years after Peter has found the trunk. You could say that opening that trunk was like opening Pandora's box - Peter had no clue what danger awaited him or what the consequences of his actions would be. What  I loved about this book was the growth and depth of the main character; Peter was well written and fully flushed out. We saw the good in him; along with his selfishness. And it was this selfishness that seemed to link him to the villain. It was his; as well as, the obsession of the villain that could have destroyed them both and for a while I thought that it would.
What's amazing about this book is that our previous villain plays a small role; mostly towards the end of the book - but his reintroduction is sinister and seems to foreshadow that something truly scary is coming in the next installment of the series. I really can not wait to start it. 
I gave Finders Keepers 5/5 stars on goodreads.com.

Quotes that I loved:

"You created one of the greatest characters in American literature, then shit on him...a man who could do that doesn't deserve to live"

"The critical eye should always be cold and clear"

"A good novelist does not lead his characters, he follows them. A good novelist does not create events, he watches them happen and then writes down what he sees. A good novelist realizes he is a secretary, not God"