Official Review: The Christian Woman Trapped in Sin

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Kdonegan91
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Official Review: The Christian Woman Trapped in Sin

Post by Kdonegan91 »

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Christian Woman Trapped in Sin" by Zodian Howell Nolan.]
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1 out of 4 stars
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Have you ever done something you knew was wrong just because it gave you temporary satisfaction? That is exactly what the protagonist, Zodian, is dealing with in the non-fiction book The Christian Woman Trapped in Sin by Zodian Howell-Nolan. Even though the author was introduced to God at a young age, she was not taught about His love and grace. She was only educated about the commandments and the rules to follow to be the ideal Christian. Since Howell-Nolan did not have a real relationship with God, she quickly fell away from the Christian religion once she turned twenty-one years old mostly by the persuasion of her friends and family. During this time, she starts to lead a double-life: the perfect Christian on Sunday and the shameful temptress during the rest of the week. Fortunately, the story transforms when God intervenes.

Unfortunately, there is not much I enjoyed about this book. Due to the fact that I am a Christian woman, I definitely understand how tempting sin can be and how my transgressions can create difficult dilemmas. However, I could not relate to the author's predicament because the book contained a faint amount of character development. Also, the style of writing the author uses is rudimentary, contains simple errors, and repetitive. One example is how profuse the word “job” is used in one paragraph, such as follows:

“I decided to do some thinking about what I wanted to do academically. I decided to attend the University but first I needed a job to do so. At the time, I was still living at home and dependent on my parents. I knew they would not be able to support me for long so I had to get a job. I sent out many resumes but didn't get called back. I was becoming impatient and annoyed at the whole situation of not getting a job.” - Zodian Howell-Nolan

On the other hand, I did appreciate how the author used Bible verses in the book to help the reader better understand her convictions. In addition, Howell-Nolan thoroughly explained the power of prayer throughout the book which can be helpful to others needing God's help. Another thought, the basis of this book has potential considering the plot is unique and inspiring.

I rate The Christian Woman Trapped in Sin by Zodian Howell-Nolan a rating of 1 out of 4. I believe the book deserves at least a rating of one because she did include Bible verses to validate her beliefs. However, I would not give it a rating of two since it does contain spelling and grammatical errors, is repetitive, and lacks main components of a well-written book.

I would not personally recommend this book to anyone on the grounds that I did not enjoy reading its seventy-four pages. I do not believe this book was written for a specific audience and it does not contain any mature content.

******
The Christian Woman Trapped in Sin
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

That was a very honest review. The premise sounds very promising and something I would be greatly interested in. However, it seems like the book is not as good as you hoped. Good job on the review.
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Post by Kdonegan91 »

Thank you for the post. I enjoy non-fiction books especially when they are based around religion but I was very disappointed. The review was difficult to write because not only was the book very short but it only contained 3 characters. I could not write about the other two characters without spoiling the book.
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Post by bookowlie »

Great review. You gave a lot of constructive criticism while still pointing out the positive points. I also find some reviews difficult to write, no matter whether I liked or didn't like the book. When a book is short, sometimes there just isn't a lot to say about it.
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Post by Kdonegan91 »

Thank you! I completely agree that the shorter the book the harder the review is to write.
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Post by bookowlie »

Kdonegan91 wrote:Thank you! I completely agree that the shorter the book the harder the review is to write.
I have learned the hard way that short children's books are often the hardest to review. :)
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Post by LifeTimeBookAddict »

Great review you wrote about this non-fiction book. From it, I too wish it was better; then I'd be interested in reading it as well. My favorite book was Joni Eareckson-Tada's story about her accident when she was seventeen and her search for God. Not to mention the amazing artwork she has done even though she is paraplegic!

I've often tutored writing students and found they have a lot more to say about their topic or story when I ask them the questions remaining after reading their piece. I would always suggest they embellish their work with the details left out--how they felt, what they thought about when they were experiencing those things, and who they attributed to their successes or shortcomings and the strategies used.
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Post by Kdonegan91 »

LifeTimeBookAddict wrote:Great review you wrote about this non-fiction book. From it, I too wish it was better; then I'd be interested in reading it as well. My favorite book was Joni Eareckson-Tada's story about her accident when she was seventeen and her search for God. Not to mention the amazing artwork she has done even though she is paraplegic!

I've often tutored writing students and found they have a lot more to say about their topic or story when I ask them the questions remaining after reading their piece. I would always suggest they embellish their work with the details left out--how they felt, what they thought about when they were experiencing those things, and who they attributed to their successes or shortcomings and the strategies used.
Do you know the title of the book? I would love to read it also. That would be such a rewarding job. Not only do u get to help the students but you get to read about their lives.
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Post by rssllue »

Good job on the pointedly honest review. It seems like the story is engaging, but it just was not translated well onto the written page.
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Post by LifeTimeBookAddict »

Kdongan91, the title of that book is Joni, An Unforgettable Story by Joni Eareckson Tada, 1976. My copy was printed by Zondervan Publishing House and it's the 20th Anniversary Edition. It's 211 pages and has lots of photographs of her and her family and some of the pictures she's drawn! My favorite is probably the one of the fisherman. I hope you enjoy it! I've been a huge fan of her for as long as I can remember. I was born in '75. ;)
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Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

Kdonegan91 wrote:Thank you! I completely agree that the shorter the book the harder the review is to write.
Shorter books are definitely hard to write reviews for..... add in not liking it and it gets even harder.
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Post by AA1495 »

I wish the book was edited better. Thank You for your honest review!
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Post by LivreAmour217 »

Great review! You summed up the book's strengths and weaknesses very nicely. I really hope that this author takes your words to heart and makes the necessary changes, because this story had so much potential!
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Post by Rachaelamb1 »

Shame that it had so many technical errors as the premise sounds promising!
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Post by erasmus »

I'm pretty surprised at how detailed your review is for a book that's so short. It does sound like you covered pretty much everything without giving spoilers. I enjoyed reading your honest review. I also liked that you had something positive to say with the constructive feedback. Fantastic review!
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