Cheesus Was Here

Title: Cheesus Was Here

Author: J. C. Davis

Publisher: Sky Pony Press, 2017

Pages:  242

Genre: young adult, realistic fiction

Obtained: from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Summary: Delaney Delgada has not believed in miracles since her family fell apart after the loss of her younger sister.  When religious signs begin to appear in the small town where she lives, Del is determined to prove the "miracles" are a hoax.

Thoughts:  This was an excellent book!  What stood out the most to me was the author's ability to present such deep, emotional subjects and tragedies lightly.  J. C. Davis just had the perfect balance in her writing so that the reader felt all the sadness and anger, but countered these subjects with her witty writing style to achieve an emotional equilibrium. Even though some terrible things happened, it was not a depressing book. It was a deep complex book with tragedy and grief, but was told in an easy to read way.
The author's writing brought the reader right into the story- into the setting and into the characters minds and hearts. The memorable characters, both teens and adults, had layers that were peeled away as the story unfolded to reveal secrets and hidden pain. This was a book about friends, family, love, loss, change, tragedy, grief, right and wrong, healing, and miracles. Although the book is about seeing religious images and struggle with faith, I would not call it a religious book. It does not take a position on God or miracles being real. This is left for the reader to decide.
This isn't a book for just young adults. It is a book for any adult. The book is recommended for ages 12 and up, but I would recommend it for ages 14 and up due to the mature topics. This is the author's debut novel. I sure hope she continues to write!

                                                                      

Company: Tea Forte

Tea: Black Cherry

Obtained: gift










   
     Today I sampled the last tea from the Noir Single Steeps Sampler that I received as a Christmas gift.  Although Tea Forte is not one of my favorite tea companies, I have to say I have enjoyed this robust collection of teas.  Every time I needed a pick-me- up, these teas did not let me down.  There was also a nice variety of teas in the collection, my favorite being the Caramel Nougat.  The teas came in a pretty gift package and included 5 blends of pan-roasted black teas with 3 pre-measured packages (for 12 ounces of water) of each.  The pouches were easy to open, kept the tea fresh, and had beautiful pictures on them (as seen above).
     The Black Cherry tea was a blend of organic black tea, organic licorice root, natural vanilla flavor, natural berry flavor, natural cherry flavor, organic strawberry pieces, organic raspberry pieces, and organic vanilla pieces.  I opened the pouch of tea and and put the leaves into my tea infuser.  The leaves were thin and black with small chunks of red fruit mixed in.  The scent of the leaves reminded me of Robitusson Cough Syrup.  I poured 12 ounces of water over the leaves and let this brew for 3 minutes.  The liquid was an amber color and had the scent of warm, sweet fruit.  The taste was of robust black tea with a subtle cherry flavor.  The aftertaste was of sweet vanilla with a slight astringency.  I could not taste the strawberry, raspberry or licorice flavors.  It did not taste like cough syrup, and I did like it.
     Although I have not found Tea Forte's teas to be special, I do believe this collection makes a nice gift for someone that enjoys bold, full-bodied black teas.  Their teas are not the kind where I will sit down and savor every sip as I relax, but this collection was good to sip while I worked or to help get me going in the morning.