Interesting story. Not a typical romance novel. Janet and Jake are in love, but must struggle with Janet’s life-threatening illness. As their romance unfolds, Jake’s backstory is also told. Janet and Jake are both very likeable, but not larger than life. On the whole, I enjoyed the book, although the ending was confusing to me.

This book stands out in stark positive contrast to Kingsbury’s A Thousand Tomorrows, which is about a similar theme. Merullo’s story, while sad, seems to be about real people dealing with tragic events. Kingsbury’s story was written purely for the emotional effect, and the characters do not act like any real people I’ve ever met.

I heard about this book on a Focus on the Family broadcast, and filed it away as a book I should maybe read someday. Then my current group of students walked in my classroom door, and I realized that the day had come to read up on strong-willed children! Aaron’s Way was interesting because it was written by Aaron’s mom (mother of a strong-willed child) and by Aaron (the former strong-willed child). The dual perspective was very insightful. Especially important for me were Aaron’s recollections of his teachers–some were good and some were terrible.

This book convicted me in several ways. First, it reminded me of the importance of consistent, calm discipline. Second it pointed out the importance of picking your battles with kids, but especially with strong-willed ones. Finally, it outlined some strengths of strong-willed children (resolve, fortitude, stamina) and reminded me that it’s my job as a teacher to channel these into positive areas. I’m also planning on reading Dobson’s The Strong-Willed Child to learn more on this subject.

I was intrigued by the concept of a book about cleaning and organizing. Although it makes sense that there are books written about every topic imaginable, I hadn’t considered looking for a book to help me organize my home.

This book was an easy read, and offered many practical tips for organizing and cleaning your home. It also gave a way to plan your decorating which I thought was interesting. The best part of the book was the re-printing of one of my favorite Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle stories-The “Won’t Pick-Up Toys” Cure. This was given as an example of someone who learned that having a neat and organized house is beneficial in life. Unfortunately, I enjoy reading about cleaning and organizing more than actually doing the work.