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Get your FFRREEEEE Moody book......


Justme

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Damn, I haven't finished this yet—don't know if I will—but the whole thing makes me incredibly sad, especially given the amount of work Sarah put into and the amount of input she had from others. She MAY have some real literary talent, although we'll never really know, but if she does it certainly isn't evident in this book or in her other writing either. I actually think it's cruel of her family to tell her otherwise. This is middle-school level writing at best. Zero imagination—everything is taken directly from daily life in the Maxwell compound. It reads like a Dragnet script. "The story you are about to read is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." Her storytelling is all over the place. Things come out of nowhere and then disappear. And the dialog…oh, the dialog. Who talks like this in real life? Stilted, formal…she's just got a tin ear when it comes to believable conversation. Even when she tries to approximate colloquial speech she gets it totally wrong.

When Steve says his children write, they don't read, it's pure arrogance. Even those with an overload of natural, (god-given?) inborn talent need to be nurtured and guided. They need to learn the rules so they know how and when to break them. They need outside influences to inform them so they can develop their own style. It's just cruel to delude this poor woman into thinking that she's a writer. No, she's not. She writes, yes, but that alone doesn't make her a writer.

It is possible to teach life lessons to kids, to introduce important concepts like conflict and resolution without fearing that you'll set them on a path to hell. You start by respecting them, by not dumbing things down. I remember, for example, reading Louis Sachar's "Holes" and thinking what an incredible story it was, how imaginative and intelligent. I was enthralled by it, as was my daughter. It kept us hooked from beginning to end and we spent a lot of time talking about it afterwards, even years later. It made a lasting impression, as kid and YA lit is supposed to do. Unfortunately, for the Maxwells, it all begins and ends with Jesus and nothing else matters—including good writing, good storytelling, and a good imagination.

The only saving grace here is that the intended audience for these books is probably as sheltered and unaware as Sarah is, so they can't possibly know any better.

Amen, sparkles. If you've ever seen an interview with an author where they specify five/ten tips for budding writers, high on the list is read read read. They also advise to work from experience, which Sarah definitely does, just in a very boring way.

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Umm, has anyone read the reviews on it yet?

Sorry for the double post... I just checked the link on the first page, and they all seem to be stellar reviews. Having said that, they are all from homeschooling Christians. They, as well as brave FJers, are the only ones who'd actually buy these.

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I just bought this and I'm starting to get concern for my sanity. Why am I going to read this? I hope it improves my sleep patterns.....s

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Sorry for the double post... I just checked the link on the first page, and they all seem to be stellar reviews. Having said that, they are all from homeschooling Christians. They, as well as brave FJers, are the only ones who'd actually buy these.

Exactly. Everything was very positive, which I found amusing. I hope no FJers rip her a new one but heavens to Betsy, this book is something else.

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Even though she can now boastabout sorry, mention how God has blessed her with more readers, I'll download it. I'm still working on the Castleberry's mind-bending Courtship books. I've had them over a year and can't bring myself to post on them. Too many ridiculous things to count. Off to make burrito filling for my precious blessings....

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So much for conversation skills. Poor Sarah doesn't even know how people are supposed to talk. I imagine a conversation with her in real life would just end with Sarah being confused and me feeling sorry for her.

How can that be?? They sell a book on raising kids to be great conversationalist!

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Kindle lover and Kindle Unlimited subscriber. I got this free under my Unlimited subscription.

My experience with KU and with sites like BookBub that offer free books is they offer you the first book in a series hoping you'll get hooked and purchase the rest of the books. I've been tricked a few times finding out they are taking a single book and breaking it down into serial form, #1 is free, #2 is .99 number 3 is 1.99 then the final offering is 3.99. I read an author's blog where she talked about purchasing an ad on BookBub and how it increased exposure for her and was already paying off. There was probably a cash outlay of some type to be this book offered for free.

When I saw this thread, I immediately thought that there'd be a big swell in downloads, but it's going to be a dead end for them because we're not their target, they want return buyers and none of us are that demented.

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"They write, they don't read"

That makes me so sad. I love reading. I'm one of those people who are constantly learning new things, mainly by reading. I'm surprised his kids aren't all chronically depressed. Or maybe the are and they're not allowed to show it.

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"It's possible the state has some restrictions on selling baked goods, so we'll start with that."

"Mollie looked at the empty seat and sighed, "I sure do wish we had a baby. Mom, do you think Jesus will give us anymore babies?"

"I don't know, Mollie. We've been praying for more, but it is in the Lord's hands." Mom tried to smile but felt a sad tug at her heart.

Wow, that took a turn for the crazy really quickly.

I am not impressed that the reproduction-Jesus side of things made it into a children's book. Here's to hoping this is all foreshadowing that the kids get a dog and the mom has a baby so we don't have to hear this kind of nonsense again.

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I just downloaded it. I'm waiting to get an email from Amazon that says, "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!?"

Customers who bought this item also bought

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Evidently being a Christian is a requirement for agreeing to dog care in Sarah Maxwell's world.

This damn rabbit hole is too funny and as previously noted...sad.

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This book is just so boring. I have read the backs of shampoo bottles that were more interesting than this. I keep waiting for a plot. Is there a plot? Have I missed the plot because I started skimming? Is this book about nothing but not in a funny Seinfeld way? And nobody talks this way! Nobody!

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No, it really is that boring. I was also expecting it to be a short chapter book, but that appears not to be the case. I was thinking maybe 6-8 chapters, but I have a feeling it's going to be longer. I'm midway done with chapter 4 and my Kindle says I'm only 21% through. :roll:

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Everyone post a RESPECTFUL, but honest review on Amazon. That should be "helpful".....

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If that's not a prompt to download this book, I don't know what is. :lol:

I had to wrap my granddog's pill in a slice of special lunch meat the other day because he doesn't like Borden cheeses slices. He prefers Kraft Singles aka dog cheese in our house and others. The lunch meat covered up the cheese taste. The special meat was pickle loaf; in other words somewhat glorified bologna.

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Mollie's first batch of cookies does not come out because she forgets to put in baking soda so Mom says everybody makes mistakes.

"But first I want to tell you my story. When Dad and I got married, I didn't know much about cooking or baking.

"

Dad was surprised when we we were eating all kinds of packaged food: from frozen pizza to hot dogs to macaroni and cheese to canned soup. One evening, after our third night in a row of overcooked macaroni and cheese, he encouraged me to learn to make things from scratch.

"He even went out and bought two cookbooks to help me learn."

Oh Teri. Really he was surprised? I guess you guys didn't know each other very well or else he assumed that once a woman got married she automatically learned to cook. I love the phrase "he encouraged me to learn to make things from scratch." "Teri, you can do it! You can learn to cook and bake! Go girl! Here are some cookbooks. I'll just stand by and judge the outcome."

Of course I'm sure he never went shopping with her and suggested things they could try to prepare together or had his mom come over and show her how to make his favorite foods or even show her how HE made his favorite foods. Which makes me wonder what the hell was Steve eating before he met Teri? Pizza? Hot Dogs? Canned soup? Maybe she thought that's what he liked to eat.

And speaking of the "special lunch meat" (which in my head always reads as "special luncheon meat") that's something I would never feed my dog. She gets stuff like hamburger, chicken, eggs, yogurt, and ground turkey but lunch meat seems like a bad idea-- too high in salt. Ham, in fact, can be deadly for dogs.

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I've barely started this :sleeping:

The dialog between the characters is so stilted. Most people just do not talk that way.

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I'm more worried that these were actual conversations had in the Maxwell house.

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I'm more worried that these were actual conversations had in the Maxwell house.

I think that's a pretty safe bet.

And the phrase "special lunch meat" is truly gagworthy. Nitrates and nitrites, anyone?? [emoji88]

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I'm just squicky about anything that includes the word "special". You call your "special friend" on your "special phone" about going on a "special date" to have "special lunch meat". BLECH.

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How can that be?? They sell a book on raising kids to be great conversationalist!

I know, lol. Steve doesn't get it. You cant teach good conversation skills from reading about it. That only comes from experience. He needs to look closer to home when it comes to poor conversation skills-its not our problem that normal people's speech confuses the hell out of his precious sheltered adult babies. Its his for not letting them get experience with talking to people.

I get the feeling that Sarah barely gets to hear human speech at home. I think that they do their chores in silence, and the only conversation during most of the day is things like "Please can you help me lift this out of the way so I can clean under it?", and they probably only get time to hear eachother speak during family Bible time (which is just Steve talking with no conversation at all), and at scheduled times of the day like around the table. But I bet it is all awkward small talk. What exactly do they talk about. They spend all day together, so don't need to update eachother on what they did. They have no friends, so they cant talk about what their friends are up to and what they are doing with their friends. They have no hobbies except for the ones Steve tells them to, so no need to update them on that, they already know. They all have exactly the same opinions on everything, so they cant debate. They don't keep up with news or anything like that, so they cant talk about that.

That's probably why what some would call a vacation, and extra special family time together is so important. They seem to see it as important, but we cant understand why they find it so special when they are together every day...but I think that the adult babies emotional needs are being neglected. Even if they are together, unlike most families where everyone has hobbies, jobs and friends, they don't make quality time together like we do. It must be a sad, lonely hell of a house. I cant imagine what it would be like to be deprived of love and human contact like that, their entire family's interaction seems so sterile and cold. I don't see love in the house. Not between parents and children anyway, there is occasional bits of affection between siblings, like the photo album Sarah made for her brother. It just seems so cold and uncaring. They must feel so unloved, if they can even comprehend what is wrong. How can someone neglect their children's emotional development in such a way, to leave them just so delayed compared to others their age. Not a single one of those adults seems like adults, and it is awful, Steve and Teri did this to them, they are neglectful and are supposed to have homeschooled their children.

Its very shitty homeschooling. Even academically, their writing and stuff is awful, but worse is how their emotional and social needs have not been met. They aren't thriving in that house. They are simply existing.

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Congratulations, Jingers!!! You've put it at #1 on the Childrens free list. Sarah is so excited! She probably has so little to excite her in her life. She is going to be so disappointed when her book sales go back to their normal range next week.....

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Wow, that took a turn for the crazy really quickly.

I am not impressed that the reproduction-Jesus side of things made it into a children's book. Here's to hoping this is all foreshadowing that the kids get a dog and the mom has a baby so we don't have to hear this kind of nonsense again.

Why are they praying for more babies??? Aren't they suppose to trust God and be happy with what he gives them? Asking for more isn't very "trusting".

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