Two reviews (and a giveaway)

I first saw Matt Logelin on Oprah Winfrey many years ago. I have since, occasionally, followed his blog. If you don't know his story, his wife Liz died the day after giving birth to their daughter Madeline. She never got to even hold her little girl.

I have had Logelin's book Two Kisses for Maddy on my wish list on www.paperbackswap.com for a long time, and I finally got my turn at it.

A turn I wish I hadn't gotten.

The book is written well enough. Especially considering that Matt was not a writer to begin with. However, while the story was incredibly heartfelt and sincere, I could not get past the language. I thought it was just me, but I googled the book and found a bunch of reviews and reviewers who said the same thing. One reviewer even said that she has a potty mouth, and yet the language was too much for her. 

I agree. I can handle a few pieces of language here and there, but nearly every single time there was dialogue, there was language. And bad language. I almost quit reading but truly wanted to see if the book redeemed itself.

It didn't.

As a Christian, I also had issue with the author's complete and blatant loathing on anything religious. He insisted that God not be mentioned at his wife's funeral. How many books on Jesus in a play area of a daycare influenced his decision in putting his daughter in or not. However, it is his biography, and if that is truly he is, that's one thing, but when you write something that is so littered with the "F" word, it truly clouds your ability to appreciate it.

Like I said, it isn't just me. Check out the reviews on any website and you'll see that I am not alone in that feeling. I just cannot recommend this book, whatsoever.

I can, however, recommend: The Vow. Talk about a complete reversal of messages. The Vow was first written over a decade ago. But when Hollywood finally put out a movie, based on the book, demand escalated and the book was reprinted, with Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum's face on the front. 

Written by Kim & Krickitt Carpenter, it chronicles their courtship and whirlwind romance. This led to marriage and a vow, as Christians, to love each other forever. They had no idea that would inclue a terrible accident in which Krickitt would lose her memory, and any memory of her relationship with her husband. Instead, they must vow to make it work and fall in love all over again.

The book is short and an incredibly easy read. There is no amazing writing. Just an amazing story. A story that will make any problems you might feel like your marriage possesses, pale in comparison.

I saw the movie first -- when I was home in the USA. While it was good, it was absolutely NOTHING like the book. Honestly, other than the fact that there is a car accident and memory is lost, the movie was nearly entirely Hollywood. Kim Carpenter put a note at the end of his book. He said that they saw the movie. That they liked it and believed it shared their message. I don't agree. I think the Hollywood film did not come close to representing what a vow really is.

Thank you to blog reader Rachel for sending it to me. You are right. I LOVED it. And I plan to give it away. I'll put the first book back on paperbackswap. But this one needs a new home. Leave a comment, and I'll choose a winner next week!