Blog - Alena Mentink

May 14, 2024May 14, 2024

Abounding Hope: A Story to Make Your Heart Race

About Abounding Hope

Poland’s looming defeat forces an American teacher to escape with children wanted by the Nazis.

It’s late August, 1939, and the world is on the brink of war. The Nazis are threatening Poland, but American teacher Irena Simmons refuses to flee to safety. She’s dedicated her life to serving in her church and school, and she’s watching over the little German boys she whisked to safety the year before. When her former classmate, Jonathan, surprises her in Lvov and insists she leave with him before the war starts, Irena balks. Nothing will interfere with her work—especially a man making demands.

May 10, 2024May 11, 2024

Tennessee Wildcat: Not What You Might Expect

About Tennessee Wildcat

Mr. Edwards … that colorful Tennessee Wildcat Laura Ingalls Wilder so deeply loved. He helped Pa build the family’s cabin, saved Christmas by carrying presents across a raging creek, and spit further than Laura thought possible. Though he was a little rough around the edges, Laura simply adored Mr. Edwards. Through her vivid, heartwarming stories, we came to love him, too.

May 3, 2024May 3, 2024

The Thing About Series

It was a Friday night. My family had made the rare decision to watch a movie–a process that takes some hassle. We haven’t owned a T.V. for years, so when we do choose to watch something, we drag the computer from the office upstairs to the dining room table.

Movie night is a big deal. Everyone sits very hushed and still. We focus on every detail of what we’re seeing.

This particular night followed the same routine as always. We were absorbed in the movie, startled when it ended on a cliff hanger.

April 25, 2024April 25, 2024

Earning the Mountain Man’s Trust by Misty M. Beller: A Book Review

About Earning the Mountain Man’s Trust

In the wild mountains of the Montana Territory, the Coulter ranch is a place of family, second chances…and a hidden fortune.

Naomi Wyatt has finally given up on the man who once promised to love her for the rest of his life—then disappeared with no way to contact him. She’s now a single mother with a beautiful baby girl to provide for, a daughter whose red hair reminds her daily of the man she gave her heart to. She has to move on though, so when Jonah Coulter asks for her hand in marriage, she knows she would be hard-pressed to find a better husband for herself and father for her sweet daughter. He’s a Coulter, after all, and he’s proven to be a good friend during her darkest hours.

April 18, 2024April 18, 2024

A Book Review for Streams of Courage by Sandra Merville Hart

About Streams of Courage

In a world turned upside down by war and betrayal…will his role as a spy bring them closer…or tear their future apart?

The war that Julia Dodd prayed to avoid is now reality, and with it, her world has been turned on its head. Her fellow citizens, who stood with her in their support of the union, have crossed firmly to the side of the south. And her mother, lost in her grief over the loss of her husband and children, can think of nothing but protecting Julia’s brother’s inheritance. She insists that her daughter seek a wealthier husband than Ashburn Mitchell.