Get your FFRREEEEE Moody book......

[Palimpsest]

I'm actually putting a bit of thought into the Amazon review. I have no idea when I will post it because I do believe in struggling through a whole book before writing reviews. I did read it once before but recycled (as in paper recycling) rather than donating the book and my memory is not that good.

I also read Amazon reviews and I think it would be wrong to steer people toward this book with overly constructive reviews. Sarah won't be allowed to see negative reviews anyway.

Rough Outline:

1. Brief paragraph. Do not recommend because: badly written kid lit, grade level uncertain, no plot, and not my kind of Xianity because a) overly sheltering, b) Patriarchal omnipresent Dad and really twerpy mom and c) overly controlled over-worked kids.

2. But because I am nice and want to encourage new writer --

Strengths: hope I can find some.

Weaknesses: sock it to them but be and sound constructive.

Thoughts?

[blessalessi]

I don't recall exactly, but I think Steve had a theological difference with gigi and that is why the illustrations were redacted. I could be wrong but I don't think I am.

I don't think grandma was capable of having theological arguments as she had alzheimers and lived in another state?

I think they changed the illustrations to make all the books look the same for marketing purposes? They probably bring in good money at conferences and would sell well as a set to people who like that sort of thing.

[theologygeek]

Go for it. But did you notice he replied with the exact same comment to both?

I only saw one comment that he made.

[theologygeek]

I always read the reviews on anything I'm getting from Amazon so I can make a good choice on which book/brand/model/whatever to get. I consider the reviews as written for other would-be customers, not the author. I would be pissed if I spent actual money for this book because people didn't leave honest reviews.

I feel the same way you do. Someone on my facebook tagged some friends (me included) and asked for us to review this who knows what kind of pill that he was selling on Amazon. I said that I was not going to review a drug that I knew nothing about. What if it was dangerous or made people sick? He called me a bitch. I told him to go fuck himself. He blocked me.

[PrairieGirl]

Gigi is Teri's Mom. She lives next door.

Grandma was Steve's Mom. She was the illastraitor.

It's a shame that Steve is such an ass. Maybe Sarah, THE AUTHOR, might have wanted to leave in her grandma's illustrations to honor and remember her.

[nelliebelle1197]

I don't think it matters if it is constructive or not. We are not talking criticizing a child who is selling lemonade in their front yard. Sarah is an adult who is advertising a product on a large corporate internet site. If you bought any product on amazon that turned out to be horrible you would write a bad review. You wouldn't think twice about posting an honest and bad review. Just because we know Sarah hasn't been given the chance to learn to write, doesn't mean she doesn't deserve bad reviews. She has a bad product and if she chooses to put it on amazon she has to accept honest reviews. When I finish the book I may choose to review it in a nicer way- because that is my personality- but I don't think anyone who chooses to post a brutally honest review should be ashamed.

Urgh. The point is, that was not an honest review- it was posted the same day of the free download and it was obviously posted just to be mean. There is a difference between the two. I don't get why that subtlety is escaping everyone.

[nelliebelle1197]

I only saw one comment that he made.

There were two, both under negative reviews, both saying the same thing.

[Phoebe]

Firstly: Comic Sans? Oh, Sarah honey, no.

Secondly: The last time I checked, insulin isn't measured in cubic centimeters (in itself an obsolete unit of measurement since milliliters are what the medical and veterinary fields use these days). It's measured in units...and units are much smaller in volume than milliliters or cubic centimeters. Five mL of insulin would do a number to a human being, much less a ten pound cat. Veterinary websites can't be SO ungodly that Sarah wouldn't be allowed to research at least that little bit...

Thirdly: I am 65% done with this ebook, and I am still unsure if the whole "petsitting for the summer = a dog for the family" is the entirety of the plot, or if there is simply no plot at all.

Fourthly: Not since little Pearl in The Scarlet Letter has there been a child who speaks in such a strangely formal and incredibly stilted manner.

Stevehovah, you should be ashamed of yourself.

[Brittany15]

Urgh. The point is, that was not an honest review- it was posted the same day of the free download and it was obviously posted just to be mean. There is a difference between the two. I don't get why that subtlety is escaping everyone.

That is true. However, none of the things said were totally off base. While I myself would not post something with that wording, this person was well within their rights to do so. If you are willing to put yourself out there and put your book on amazon you have to be open to mean comments. If you look at any book on amazon, even the really good ones, there are so many negative and just mean reviews.

[SPHASH]

There were two, both under negative reviews, both saying the same thing.

I went through all the reviews and couldn't find Steve's comment.

[nelliebelle1197]

I went through all the reviews and couldn't find Steve's comment.

www.amazon.com/Summer-Moodys-Moody-Fami ... op?ie=UTF8

There are comments under two 1 star reviews. And replies to the comments

[nelliebelle1197]

Any on think NR Anna wrote this one? :nenner:

5A BREATH OF FRESH AIR FOR CHRISTIAN PARENTS LOOKING FOR BOOKS FOR THEIR CHILDREN THAT GLORIFY GOD!

ByConservative Christian Momon May 8, 2015

Format: Kindle Edition

I am quite shocked at some of the reviews. My family found this book to be wonderful and refreshing. No, you will not like this book if you are looking for an entertaining book that tickles your ears. The point of this series is to offer something different...something that is not too often offered, even in the world of Christian books.

My children (4 and under) enjoy reading this book with me. They are NEVER bored. I enjoy the book, as well, and I believe many older children would enjoy it too.

This book is written for a certain age level, so as far as it being simplified, that is part of reaching out to multiple ages. The important thing is comprehension.

As a Christian mom, it is so refreshing to have a book that is not filled with teaching my kids the wrong thing to do, then having a short moral at the end of the story. This book is filled with encouragement of what we should be striving for.

The fact that people give these books one star because they find grammatical errors (which I did not find any), shows that their values are more focused upon those types of things. My family chooses to give it five stars because our hearts are focused more on the character qualities this book brings out as opposed to any errors.

I have never met the Maxwell family, but I am encouraged by many of their books. I hope that Christians reading these reviews will get the book and determine what is most important in your family.

For our family, this has been the only children's series we have found to be acceptable in our home (if you know of more like these, please leave a comment as we would love to check them out).

The stories in this book will not teach your children to fight with their siblings, but to be each other's best friends. They seek to help one another and their community. It may not be a drama-filled book, but it does have twists and turns that are glorifying to God!

[Coco]

Urgh. The point is, that was not an honest review- it was posted the same day of the free download and it was obviously posted just to be mean. There is a difference between the two. I don't get why that subtlety is escaping everyone.

that's... a completely valid amount of time for the poster's kid to have formed an opinion about a children's book. :lol:

We've all agreed that gentleness is necessary in reviewing Sarah's work, considering her fragile state. I don't understand why it's so important to you to keep slamming the honesty or sincerity of that one star review.

[nelliebelle1197]

Yeah, I don't know why, either, to be honest. I suddenly felt so sorry for her and that review hit me in the wrong spot. Honestly, it is probably completely misplaced but the idea of people over here just posting reviews to bring down her ratings for fun hit me in a really bad way. I am sick. Maybe the drugs?? I felt sorry for Zsucifer and Jill Rodrigues at different times, so maybe I am sucker?? Of course, I do get over it! Sarah is probably a self righteous, smug little twit. But I just felt so sad for her.

[Coco]

Ouch...

I wonder what Steve tells her about what people think of her book. It seems cruel to set her up to fail by telling her she is good when it really is not, and then actually selling it on Amazon and opening her up to negative reviews.

That is really sad in a way, that its all out of curiosity and pity, but I hope it made her smile. Until she realises she is happy and proud of herself, realises pride is a sin, and then starts crying and praying for forgiveness.

and hopefully completes that circle by telling herself that her talent, such as it is, can be brilliant and still glorify God because it came from Him in the first place. Nothing she has or is, is from herself. She can be PROUD and own that pride because God is the reason.

signed, another survivor of the fundie-think mental torture chamber :lol:

[Coco]

Yeah, I don't know why, either, to be honest. I suddenly felt so sorry for her and that review hit me in the wrong spot. Honestly, it is probably completely misplaced but the idea of people over here just posting reviews to bring down her ratings for fun hit me in a really bad way. I am sick. Maybe the drugs?? I felt sorry for Zsucifer and Jill Rodrigues at different times, so maybe I am sucker?? Of course, I do get over it! Sarah is probably a self righteous, smug little twit. But I just felt so sad for her.

Me too. I understand. Her disabilities are not her own doing. Even perpetuating them is not really her choice. It's sad.

I hope she breaks out.

[Queen Of Hearts]

On another note, now is probably the only opportunity that FJ'ers can say what they feel to Steve Maxwell without him being able to censor. He posted on those comments and will get notifications of responses. It will be out there for the whole world to see. I am debating giving him a piece of my mind.

Excellent point. And in a somewhat relate issue, this reminds me of when Jill Zarin (of Housewives of New York fame) completely went off the deep n after someone gave her a bad review on Amazon. I believe she was caught using sock puppets to threaten the reviewer, even! Anyone else remember that? It was quite the hoopla! I could see Stevie getting caught doing something similar.

[16strong]

that's... a completely valid amount of time for the poster's kid to have formed an opinion about a children's book. :lol:

We've all agreed that gentleness is necessary in reviewing Sarah's work, considering her fragile state. I don't understand why it's so important to you to keep slamming the honesty or sincerity of that one star review.

Agreed. Kids can be quite opinionated, and most know early on in the book if they're interested enough to keep reading. Do I think this reviewer was telling the truth? Maybe, maybe not. But the reviewer was expressing their honest opinion about the book. It's hard to know where to draw the line on babying Sarah. On one hand, she is essentially a prisoner, and likely does not possess the ability to understand why people are saying mean things about her books. On the other, she is technically an adult who should accept consequences for her actions. Should we treat her as an adult, or as the lifelong child her parents have set her up to be?

[Boogalou]

Any on think NR Anna wrote this one? :nenner:

The bolded is so sad. Those kids are missing out on so much.

What is so objectionable about Green Eggs and Ham, Press Here, That's Not a Stick, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon?? What's wrong with classic nursery rhymes? Why do people have to suck all the fun out of life? Who wants to read a book with no plot, no story, no rhymes, and no fun?

You may as well just read stock prices, at least that would be informative.

[Trynn]

The Very Hungry Caterpillar teaches gluttony.

Green Eggs and Ham encourages children to try new things, they might find they like them.

I don't know what those other 2 books are, and I barely remember what Goodnight Moon is, though I'm sure I had it read to me as a small child.

But you should know that the messages of the first 2 books I mentioned are very very harmful to children.

[PearlKrabs]

Has anyone else reading the book noticed there is daily alone time for the mom? Sometimes she does bible study alone, or her husband 'blesses' her by saying he'll watch the kids for awhile. While moms definitely need time to themselves, it's more than I've seen before and it's come up a few times now (I'm 30% through the book). I think Terry needed a lot of time to herself when the kids were growing up. Some of it was normal mom breaks, but some of it was probably the depression, too.

I kind of see this book as an observation of the Maxwell's through the eyes of Sarah. It's definitely a sanitized and simplified version, but I feel like this is a true detail of their daily lives.

[Dru]

Has anyone else reading the book noticed there is daily alone time for the mom? Sometimes she does bible study alone, or her husband 'blesses' her by saying he'll watch the kids for awhile. While moms definitely need time to themselves, it's more than I've seen before and it's come up a few times now (I'm 30% through the book). I think Terry needed a lot of time to herself when the kids were growing up. Some of it was normal mom breaks, but some of it was probably the depression, too.

I kind of see this book as an observation of the Maxwell's through the eyes of Sarah. It's definitely a sanitized and simplified version, but I feel like this is a true detail of their daily lives.

That's interesting because back in the moms' board days Teri said moms don't actually need time to themselves. Of course she and Steve keep saying moms shouldn't work (even from home) because it takes time away from her family. Meanwhile Teri has been writing books for how many years now?

[twin2]

Any on think NR Anna wrote this one? :nenner:

So this reviewer is admitting this book isn't entertaining?

[iknowright]

The five star reviewer named "Mario"....does he realize that no one "MUST BUY" the book as it is now FREE?????

[PearlKrabs]

I've noticed that quite a few 5 star reviews have appeared for "Summer with the Moody's" in the last day or so. Some of them are very enthusiastic and except for the BREATH OF FRESH AIR review, none of them are particularly long.

I smell a rat... and it ain't Snickers.