Sarah's new book is out.

[Justme]

Apparently, she tools the Maxwell products in her stories. A commenter who got an advanced copy commented about the use of the "chore packs" and "scheduling".

 

Good going, Sarah, get the kids to nag their parents to buy more Maxwell crap!

[fundiefan]

Look at the titles. They're almost painful. Winter Days with the Moodys - how is that any different than Winter with the Moodys?

One line in the sample for this book..."I was meaning the tortilla chips". Um, what? The couple of pages put up as a sample are just as painful, badly written, and just...wow. The Maxwell SOTDRT failed, in so many ways.

Poor Sarah, believing she can write and tell a story. It's merely regurgitating Daddy's Steve's ways. It's so sad.

[Guest Anonymous]

Mitch had been patiently waiting for Mom. “I have a question on spelling. I thought availability was spelled a-v-a-l-ab-a-l-a-t-y. But you marked it wrong.â€

“Let me see your paper.†Mom looked at it. “It might help

you if you think of it as avail, as in James 5:16, ‘. . . The

effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,’

and ability put together. Avail and ability. I’ll write it out:

a-v-a-i-l-a-b-i-l-i-t-y.â€

“I get it! Thanks, Mom!â€

:doh:

[clarinetpower]

Oh dear. It's really wretched, isn't it? I would expect this type of writing from an 11-year old, but not from a young adult. And the bean burritos make an appearance, too. :roll:

Who thrusts water?

Who refers to snow accumulating in normal conversation?

How many babies proclaim?

How many young children procure?

And apparently, Sarah does not know that water-drenched smoldering chips would not release tendrils of white smoke.

If you're going to use your thesaurus, you need to understand the usage of the words you substitute for the usual choice, and whether or not they flow in the work. Picking the fanciest, most Godly synonym is not going to cut it.

Anybody notice that all the Moodys have M names? I'm thinking it's one of the names listed in the thesaurus under "Duggar".

[AnnoDomini]

Who refers to snow accumulating in normal conversation?

*raises hand* Ever since I was a kid I knew that word meant 'snow that stays around'.

[clarinetpower]

I realize that, and have used it, but what I am referring to is her use of big, overblown words to make her sound more educated or literary or something. Used on its own, fine, but when you add procurement of chips and proclamations by babies, it borders on the ridiculous.

Also, I hate that they put the comma on the next screen on this phone. Annoying.

[zcccrv]

The Maxwells always use big, pretentious words, I don't think it's exclusive to writing.

But the horror of:

:shock:

I don't think I can recover from that one.

[library_youth]

At least Sarah gets to sit by herself in the bus while she writes. It's probably the only time she is allowed to spend truly alone. As a person who enjoys spending time by myself, I can't imagine being with my parents and siblings 24/7, at the age of 30 no less. I'd snap.

She should grab the keys and drive that thing off into the sunset.

[divadivine]

Love how SIL Melanie's name is used for Momma Moody's SIL.... I wonder if the Maxwell children get super excited to have chips with a meal?? They do say "write what you know" so I think the books imitate the Maxwell's life. BORING................

[genericJname]

Pretty awful! Really couldn't put anything more exciting in the sneak peak than a kitchen fire?

[Black Aliss]

Why am I not surprised that the books are really just dead-tree infomercials for the Maxwell line of fine household management products. Buy our chore packs and your family will be as perfect as the Moodys!

[Jinger_Cat]

Mom grabbed a hot pan holder and snatched the pan out.

She apparently doesn't even have the proper vocabulary for everyday household objects. FYI Sarah, what you call a "hot pan holder" is called a "pot holder" or an "oven mitt" in the real world.

Apparently, they're so sheltered that they don't even know what to call things.... :roll:

I understand the in the Moody series, they're telling the story in a "slice of life" style, much Laura Ingalls Wilder, but they fail on so many levels. Laura was a talented writer who was also very well read. She had also traveled as an adult and lived in many different places, interacting with and learning about many different types of people. It's really unfortunate that this young lady lacks the skill and experience to write an enjoyable story about preparing lunch. :cry:

[divadivine]

Curiosity got the best of me and I had to check out the other books in the Moody series. In a word.... BORING! You'd hope that Sarah's writing would improve as she writes more books, but no, same old stuff, just a different season. Sarah named one of the characters "Max" short for Maxwell- A family name..... direct quote from the character summary from Summer with the Moodys. GAG!

I think Steve must have told the Maxwell children that Momma shouldn't talk on the phone to her SIL when she puts lunch in the oven because that is how fires start. Also, Momma shouldn't leave the room when food is on the stove or in the oven. Momma is irresponsible and should be punished for not using that time to teach her children about Jesus or big vocabulary words which have a godly connotation for talking with other homeschool families (when playing broomball at the local hockey rink). Maybe Momma Moody is actually talking with her SIL on the phone planning her escape from Fundie Land?? That will be the final book in the series and Sarah will steal the keys to Uriah and ride off into the sunset.

[Guest Anonymous]

“Remember that time we

had burned beans, and Maddie put her beany hand on Dad?â€

They laughed over the thought.

Hilarious. Like when Mom ate some of the processed cheese wrapper. Biggest laugh all year.....

[clibbyjo]

Yawnfest. My 9 year old wouldn't even read something that boring. He prefers the action of Garfield.

[devilsadvocate]

I don't agree with how the Maxwells live, but I sympathize with Sarah. I don't want to criticize Sarah's writing because I don't think I would do any better if I had grown up in the sort of environment she did. It's hard to be a great writer if you're not allowed to read a wide range of books and not even allowed to interact with normal society. Another issue, of course, is that even if she somehow had the desire to write a challenging, interesting, and controversial book, I'm sure that Steve would never allow that.

I have met people in mainstream society who managed to graduate high school yet are barely literate (I hear a lot of bad stories from folks who teach college freshmen about the abysmal preparation many college kids have received). From that perspective, her writing is really not all that bad in my view.

If nothing else, I do give her credit for having the aspiration of wanting to do something creative that will affect others. She probably has a lot of potential to be a better writer, if only she was allowed to interact with society and could meet people who could give her honest advice about how to improve her writing.

Really, I just wish I could give her a few good classic books to read. :)

[Fun-Dee]

I agree that the word usage is just, odd. Almost like a non native English speaker. The thing I noticed, other than the other examples already mentioned, was "I was meaning the tortilla chips" rather than "I meant the tortilla chips." That may be a regional thing, though.

[lilwriter85]

I don't agree with how the Maxwells live, but I sympathize with Sarah. I don't want to criticize Sarah's writing because I don't think I would do any better if I had grown up in the sort of environment she did. It's hard to be a great writer if you're not allowed to read a wide range of books and not even allowed to interact with normal society. Another issue, of course, is that even if she somehow had the desire to write a challenging, interesting, and controversial book, I'm sure that Steve would never allow that.

I have met people in mainstream society who managed to graduate high school yet are barely literate (I hear a lot of bad stories from folks who teach college freshmen about the abysmal preparation many college kids have received). From that perspective, her writing is really not all that bad in my view.

If nothing else, I do give her credit for having the aspiration of wanting to do something creative that will affect others. She probably has a lot of potential to be a better writer, if only she was allowed to interact with society and could meet people who could give her honest advice about how to improve her writing.

Really, I just wish I could give her a few good classic books to read. :)

I also wish I could give Sarah a variety of books to read and learn from. I agree her writing isn't that bad and she could improve a lot more through interacting with more experienced and educated writers.

[Witsec7]

I wonder how likely it is that her writing will improve over time? The followers don't read any of their stuff critically, and with the mindset of the SODRT I can't envision any higher level of expectations from her readers, vis a vis content and composition.

[ElphabaGalinda]

I wonder if Sarah would be allowed to read her own book. Or is it too much "fun" and would become and idol? I can definately see how she's basically just writing about her own life. It's so boring that it's sad. I do have to commend her for writing more than one book on the same boring topic...she must have had to stretch minimal material. But I guess when the Maxwells can write a lengthy blog post about burritos...This book also makes me realize that she will enver be able to escape. Most fundie families don't make me this sad, but the Maxwell family really does. When eating chips is exciting, you have a major problem.

[fundiefan]

I wonder how likely it is that her writing will improve over time? The followers don't read any of their stuff critically, and with the mindset of the SODRT I can't envision any higher level of expectations from her readers, vis a vis content and composition.

I don't think it is at all likely. People improve their skills through experience, learning, struggling, sharing, exploring - trying new things. Sarah will not, unless and until she marries, every have an experience that isn't thoroughly controlled by her father. She doesn't read to learn language usage and nuances; she doesn't communicate without anyone outside her family and those closely chosen, and monitored, by her father. She doesn't watch movies or television or go to the theater to hear language in action in the world outside her father's control.

She writes...fine. She would have no trouble passing a high school exam or an English 101 entrance exam. But, she's 30 years old and has not passed the level of basic competency. To write well you need to read well; to write fiction you need to read fiction; to tell a story you have to have a story. None of that comes through in her writing because it isn't there.

You can't be a 'writer' when the only things you ever read are the bible, censored religious material, technical books and cookbooks.

[LilMissMetaphor]

Sarah hun--you're perfectly snarkable but I'm going to be serious for a minute here and BEG you...Stop "feeling the Lord's Hand" in everything and do not ever use the word "penetrate" again.

[NurseNell]

Who refers to snow accumulating in normal conversation?

Everyone in Minnie-sota you betcha! ;)

[JesusFightClub]

I agree that the word usage is just, odd. Almost like a non native English speaker. The thing I noticed, other than the other examples already mentioned, was "I was meaning the tortilla chips" rather than "I meant the tortilla chips." That may be a regional thing, though.

As I said before, that is Scots - er, not "tortilla chips" but the construction "I was meaning". They are the only fundies I've seen do that so I reckon you are right and it's dialect where they are.

[Rachel333]

I hear people say "I was meaning." I probably say it myself occasionally, though I would never write it (I do think it has a slightly different meaning than "I meant", though). I don't worry much about speech, but it sounds uneducated in writing. I doubt it's a dialect thing, though I suppose Arkansas is close enough to Kansas for it to be possible.