To The Heights: A Novel Based on the Life of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (TAN Books)

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is a saint who has been receiving a lot of attention in the Catholic world as of late. Perhaps, it was because he didn't live that long ago (from 1901 to 1924). Maybe it was because he died at the very early age of 24. Or it could be that he was just an "ordinary" man, and not a member of the clergy, thus we see someone we can relate to and identify with. No matter the reason, he is a special figure who we could all benefit to learn more about. Brian Kennelly looks to provide us this knowledge in his latest book To The Heights.

To The Heights begins not with the birth of Pier Giorgio Frassati, but his death, more specifically a funeral procession. Two boys living at the Provincial Institute for Children are pretending to be sick. However, they are not doing it just to get out of classes or to raise mischief. Instead, they are pretending to be sick so they can sneak off to see their friend. Their friend isn't some boy from another school, but Pier Giorgio Frassati. He had passed away recently, and they wanted to attend the funeral procession of a man, a friend, who had stopped by to visit them many times and always made them feel important. This theme of Pier's love for mankind presents itself many times over in this book.

After this surprise opening, we are then taken back to the life of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. We see him first as a young boy born into a household of privilege. A drunk man comes to his household looking for food. How many of us have not experienced a very similar scenario before? To Pier's dismay, his father turns the homeless man away empty-handed. Pier begs his parents to reconsider and the next day they take him a loaf of bread. However, the man was drunk when they found him, so they didn't leave him the bread, and his father rubbed it into Pier that he was right.

We see other touching stories about Pier visiting the sick or connecting with some of the outcasts of society. However, we also see amazing stories that speak to the fire and passion of people in their 20s standing up for a cause they believe in, like when Pier fought against the Black Shirts. The most amazing story of all in this book happened in the last chapter. With Pier's death, thousands of people from all walks of life showed up to honor him. His parents finally realized how special their son was, and what an impact he had on the world. It took his death, but Pier finally accomplished his greatest challenge...bringing his family to Christ.

Like the subtitle says, To The Heights is a novel based on the life of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. It is not a biography per se (If you are looking for that, check out A Man of the Beatitudes by Blessed Pier's sister, Lucianna Frassati), but instead would fall into the category of historical fiction. That means some minor details required creative liberties to be taken by the author, so that he could paint a captivating picture of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. I highly recommend this book to all Catholics, young and old. Be sure to check out Brian Kennelly's other book Two Statues.

This book was provided to me for free by Saint Benedict Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Back to School Blog Tour with Nicole Lataif (Pauline Books and Media)

Today, I have the pleasure of participating in another blog tour. This one is sponsored by Pauline Books and Media. Children's author Nicole Lataif is posting today, and is going to share a little insight on what she was like as a child reader. Nicole is a talented children's author, and her book Forever You was one of the first children's books I ever formally reviewed. It's great if you haven't checked it out yet. She also has recently written a new book called I Forgive You, which I (thanks to Pauline Books and Media) will be giving away three copies of at the end of this post. So without further ado, here's Nicole! 

True Confessions of a Children’s Book Author: I Once Hated Reading

By: Nicole Lataif

I was in the second grade sitting in my room on a pink beanbag chair…reading.

My father came into my room after thirty minutes.

“How many pages have you read?” he asked me. “Two,” I said.

Thirty minutes after that he came back in. “Now how many pages have you read?” he asked.

 “Just three,” I sighed.

Although I have always loved writing, that was the day that I learned to hate reading. I learned that I wasn’t very good at reading, my pace of reading clearly perplexed adults and that even if I had two full days, I still wouldn’t have finished that boring, enormous book.

For years, “reading” meant so many things to me other than enjoyment. It meant embarrassment, arguments, frustration, and sadness. So, so many things.

Until…

Fast-forward a few years later.

I was in seventh or eighth grade and had just finished reading R.L. Stine’s entire mystery series in a month. A month! I couldn’t read his books fast enough. I read Beach House, Hit and Run, Blind Date…every last one of them. (Reading those book titles still gives me the creeps!) I LOVED mystery stories, which led me to love the show Law and Order, which led me to becoming an adult who is constantly scared that she’s going to get mugged (but, I digress)...

My point: I found out what I loved to read, and only then did I start to love reading.

Kids do need to learn to read about topics that do not interest them. As adults, they will inevitably need to read important material that they don’t find appealing. I’ve been there. However, some little second graders need an advocate. They need the opportunity to grow into a love of reading. Some kids can’t see past their frustration or fear of reading. Those feelings snowball into a kid who abhors the idea of picking up a book.

I wonder what would have happened if someone had asked me:

• Do you like the book that you are reading?
• What do you like or dislike about it?
• Are there parts of the story that you don’t understand or find boring?
• Do any of the characters remind you of someone you know?
• Do you want to try reading another book and coming back to this one later?
• Do you want to put that book down and hop a plane to Disney World right now? (Just kidding!)

I’ve obviously grown up and over my struggles with reading. I write children’s books; (one book even won an award!), for Pauline Books & Media, the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul.  I am a reformed reader turned writer and I love helping kids to do the same.

So, I petition you—if your child hates reading, find out why. It may not be that they hate reading, but rather, they haven’t yet found that perfect book.

Nicole Lataif is the Founder and Editor of KidsFaithGarden.com and Author of the 2013 Catholic Press Association Award and 2013 Christopher Award winning book Forever You: A Book About Your Soul and Body, published by Pauline Books & Media. Forever You is also available in Spanish as Siempre Tu. Her second book, I Forgive You: Love We Can Hear, Ask For and Give teaches kids 4-8 what forgiveness is all about. Nicole is available for speaking engagements, school visits, interviews, and guest blogging. Media inquires may be sent to kidsfaithgardenonline@gmail.com

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Philosophy 101 by Socrates (St. Augustine's Press)

Today, I am pleased to share with you my review of Philosophy 101 by Socrates. This is my first review of a book from St. Augustine's Press, so I am very excited about that. For those of you unfamiliar with this publishers, their mission is to publish "outstanding scholarly works, principally in the fields of philosophy, theology, and cultural and intellectual history." With no university backing them, they are able to stay true to this mission. They also are the publisher of the St. Austin Review, which is a journal of Catholic culture, literature, and ideas. Without further ado, here is my review.

Philosophy 101 by Socrates is one of the first book in Dr. Peter Kreeft's "Socrates Meets" series. It was originally published by Ignatius Press, but St. Augustine's Press has republished it. For those unfamiliar with this series of books, Dr. Kreeft assumes the role of Socrates and argues against philosophers such as Kant, Freud, etc. I would argue that Philosophy 101 by Socrates is a prequel to this series and should be read before reading the rest of the series, but to each their own. There are three introductions in this book - 1. Introduction to Socrates, 2. Introduction to Philosophy, and 3. Introduction to this Book. I already knew who Socrates was, but in this first introduction, I learned that there were three great introductions to philosophy, Hortensius by Cicero, Protreptikos by Aristotle, and the Apology of Socrates by Plato. Only the latter text survives, and it is the basis for Dr. Kreeft's book.

After the introduction, the book is divided into three parts - 1. Philosophy Defended (based on the Apology of Socrates), 2. Philosophy Exemplified (based on Euthyphro), and 3. Philosophy Martyred (based on Phaedo). In Part One, Dr. Kreeft discusses forty things that philosophy is, i.e., ignorant, selfish, countercultural, agnostic, etc. One doesn't often describe philosophy in these words, but Dr. Kreeft uses the Apology of Socrates masterfully to argue his case. In Philosophy Exemplified, there is about 25 pages of the Euthyphro included, Dr. Kreeft provides commentary throughout the text, and then presents us with questions of God and morality. He concludes this part of the book with reactions of an atheist; theist; agnostic; and religious Jew, Christian, or Muslim would have toward Euthyphro. In the last section, we read Phaedo, where Socrates dies, Dr. Kreeft explains that even if Socrates was just a figment of Plato's imagination, philosophy does not die. This is different than if we were to find out if Moses, or Muhammad, or Jesus were fake. The respective religion (Judaism, Islam, or Christianity) would cease to be.

Overall, I found this to be an excellent introduction to philosophy. The advanced high schooler or freshman in college would benefit greatly from reading this. The curious adult, who was sorely disappointed with his Philosophy 101 class, like myself, would benefit from reading this book as well. I truly believe if I had this book as a reference in college, I would have done better in my introductory class, and perhaps even minored in philosophy. I can't wait to pick up another one of the books in this series.

This book was provided to me for free by St. Augustine's Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!