Shaking the Nickel Bush (& More March Reads)

I finished reading four books last month, including another installment in the Little Britches series: Shaking the Nickel Bush. Read on for reviews of all four.

Texas had an unusually cold, wet, icy March. We even got a little bit of snow the first part of the month. All this means we had to leave our summer clothes in storage a little longer than we normally do this time of year.

But the weather was perfect for cuddling under quilts and reading books in front of a blazing fire. Which is precisely how our family has spent many an evening together this winter and early spring.

Our favorite reads from the month of March:

Shaking the Nickel Bush by Ralph Moody

Newly diagnosed with diabetes, 19-year-old Ralph Moody heads west in search of fresh air, sunshine, and some sort of a job.

But jobs are scarce, so Ralph ends up risking life and limb to ride horse falls for a motion picture company. He makes good money doing it, though, and uses his earnings wisely.

Eventually, he sets himself up in a less perilous business sculpting plaster busts. Known as the “Cowboy Artist of the West,” he is soon working steadily on commissions from lawyers and bankers. Shaking the Nickel Bush provides a fun and memorable lesson in grit, determination, and resourcefulness.

Adam and Eve after the Pill by Mary Eberstadt

Although I didn’t read this book aloud, it certainly spurred some lively discussions at our house! In it, Mary Eberstadt examines many devastating consequences of the sexual revolution, including the erosion of the nuclear family, the rise in production and consumption of pornography, and the disturbing social trends on college campuses across the continent.

For a more in-depth review of this book and others in the same genre, check out my post here: Kirsten Dunst is Simply Stating the Obvious.

Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer

The boy genius, minus all memory of his past interaction with fairies, finds himself entangled in one dire circumstance after another as the egocentric pixie Opal Koboi tries to exact a ruthless revenge on all who foiled her dastardly plan to take over the Lower Elements Police.

This installment in the Atemis Fowl series had our children begging for “just one more chapter, Dad? Pleeease?”

Confessions of a Boy-Crazy Girl by Paula Hendricks

I was given several signed copies of this book by the author (for your chance to win one, enter here: a rafflecopter giveaway
). It was written with teen and tween girls in mind, but its invaluable lessons and godly wisdom would benefit many twenty-somethings (and their mothers!), as well.

If you’d like a great discussion book to read with your daughters, look no further. I assigned it to my girls as soon as I finished reading it myself, and they devoured it even more quickly than I did.

So that wraps up my March reads. For book reviews from previous months, follow this link: Flanders Family Recent Reads.