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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

What Is a Love Riot & Why Should You Want One?

by Chautona Havig · 6 Comments

If you wonder what on earth a love riot is, well... Sara Barratt will tell you. She'll do more than that, she'll inspire and challenge you to start your own. via @chautonahavig

This month’s TBR pile featured something I’ve never seen before. Two books by authors from the same family—The Barratt Sisters. Is it just me, or does that sound like a 1940s singing act? I expect to see them in victory rolls, chunky-heeled t-straps, and sensible suits. Red lipstick, if you please.

Oh, and can they sing “As Time Goes By?” Just in case not, I’ll stick one of my favorite renditions below. Gotta love good ol’ Jimmy Durante. The guy really can’t even sing, but you love to hear him anyway.

Here’s that picture of my pile, by the way.  Top book and bottom.  That wasn’t even planned!

love riot picture

But while Amanda Barratt wrote about the resistance group in Hitler’s Youth, her younger sister wrote a nonfiction call to the sold-out life for Christ.

For teens.

And I think every American old enough to read and comprehend half of it should read this book. Say age eight to a hundred eight. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

You know, Sara Barnett reminds me so much my #3daughter. That relentless passion for Jesus, the questioning of everything and holding it all up to the lens of Scripture. The why that came with not understanding how we could just accept status quo in the church. How we could just take what someone said at face value instead of comparing it to the Word of God and seeing if one person’s teaching aligned with the ONLY Person’s teaching that mattered.

I wrote a blog post about fifteen or so years ago.

Shocker, right? I need to post it over here. Bug me about that, will you? Anyway, in that post, I outed a phenomenon among young people—that tendency toward what I call being a “thunderpuppy.” You know, the all-knowing young person who is passionate about truth without care or concern for the people trampled under the weight of how that person wields said truth. For reference, thunderpuppies tend to be young people who are considered wise beyond their years and full of zeal. “On fire for the Lord.” They’re the ones other parents point to and say, “You should be more like…” Talk about a kick in the teeth to those other kids and a really good way to puff up the puppies.

A whole lot of adults applauded that post. I got tons of emails shouting support. Or, maybe it was just because I admitted to having been the “chief of the thunderpuppies” and was still battling the tendency. Maybe they thought there was hope for me…

Anyway, I got discouraged by that rally cry from adults. Because, you see, there’s a lot of good in what is behind “thunderpuppyitis.” Remember how Paul said, “Let no man despise your youth”? Yeah. So, I wrote a rebuttal to my own post—a balancing act, so to speak. (Need to move that one over here, too). Here’s the point of all this.

That book by Sara Barrett that I read (and reread last night)? 

The one I have filled with notes and highlights on every page? Love Riot? Yeah. Well, Sara is that balance. She has the zeal, fire, and wisdom of a thunderpuppy, but she also has the gentleness and humility we all need in the face of the hard truths she is so beautifully passionate about. She’s everything in her presentation that I never was.

I learned a lot while reading Love Riot. And I’ll be reading it again. As of right now, I’m trying to figure out how to convince the publisher to give me a discount on a case of them. I want to hand out several to every youth group in town. It’s simple. If the kid will read it, I will give it.

love riot

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. Additionally, while I have already purchased three of copies of the book, I was provided with a review copy from the publisher and chose to share my very biased (but not because of the extra copy given) opinion. 😉

What Is a Love Riot & Why Would You Want One?

With the United States still reeling from devastating riots, this is not a frivolous question. Neither does author Sara Barrett give a frivolous answer. In fact, she couldn’t have known that her book would release in the midst of such chaos.

And yet, this book offers the very answers to the problems that rioters and opponents to those riots alike are protesting.

Love.

That’s it, pure and simple.

On the other hand, there’s nothing simple about the all-encompassing, life-changing, world-transforming love of Jesus. And yet, that’s exactly Miss Barratt’s point.

While written directly (and literally) to teens, I am of the opinion that there isn’t a Christian out there who could not benefit from the very real kick in the butler that this book is.

I’ll be honest. I half-expected several good nuggets and a lot of self-righteous “dos and don’ts.” Or, just as bad, a series of platitudes and buzzwords without any strength behind them.

She gives us none of that nonsense.

Instead, with refreshing honesty and humility, Sara Barratt lays out a vision for what she calls a “love riot.”

People sold out to Jesus—crying out to Him for the ability to love Him as He deserves.

Christians praying with effectual fervency even when they have no words.

Christ-followers doing just that. Picking up their crosses and following.

Could anything be more beautiful?

She begins by showing us the problem—apathy in the church at large and how it is driving our young people away from Christ. After that, she shows us the underlying problem of that—a lack of love for Jesus. Then, she gives us tools… not teens tools, but every Christian who has the humility to allow (forgive me the analogy, Miss Barratt…) “a little child [to] lead them.”

If you flip through my copy of Love Riot, you’ll see every page highlighted—sometimes half a dozen on a page. Several times, I wrote notes in margins. To be honest, a tiny part of me felt guilty. I mean, that’s what I do with my Bible. And yet should this surprise me?

After all, Sara Barratt is just pointing us to Scripture. Almost every single assertion she makes is backed by Scripture, used in context, and supported by examples of other Christians who have lived their faith in similar ways.

Seriously, most the very few, tiny places that I half-disagreed, aren’t worth noting.

I’ll only throw out one as an example to show you what I mean. She makes a strong argument for beginning your day in Bible reading and prayer. Not as a “checklist” but because she advocates cultivating a life that feeds on those things. My only itty-bitty caveat is that when she argues for “even if you’re not at your best,” she ignores that for some of us, we are absolutely never at our best first thing in our “morning” (mine is at 2 p.m. and I’m not really coherent and able to really dig deep into something before 9 p.m. It’s how my brain works). Still, the principle is there, even if she holds a little firm to her method. And I don’t fault her for that.

Frankly, the very vast majority of people do best doing exactly what she advocates. I just know the guilt and shame a lot of “not morning people” feel because they can’t possibly concentrate on anything right when they wake up. Ever.

The writing style is intelligent but casual. Never do I, as an adult feel talked down to. Also, I cannot imagine a teen feeling anything but comfortable reading the book.  Except that it will make you anything but comfortable—where it counts.

In fact, if Christians could only read one book in the next three years (outside the Bible, of course—gotta throw out the caveats in case the obvious isn’t obvious), I’d say Love Riot should be that book. It’s that good.

It’s that important.

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Comments

  1. James Robert says

    July 18, 2020 at 12:56 am

    Thanks much for sharing your book and a giveaway. Sounds great!

    Reply
  2. Caryl Kane says

    July 17, 2020 at 1:05 pm

    Wonderful review! Thank you for sharing this timely book.

    Reply
  3. Sara Barratt says

    July 17, 2020 at 10:11 am

    Chautona, I started reading this blog post laughing at your hilarious anecdotes about Amanda and I (believe me, the victory rolls and red lipstick are not just in your imagination! ;)) but I ended reading it crying, so extremely humbled and blown away that God could use my small offering to bless you! All glory and praise to Jesus! Thank you, thank you for your kind words! They truly mean so very much. I’m beyond grateful and I’m praising Jesus. <3 God bless you abundantly!

    Reply
  4. Emma says

    July 17, 2020 at 2:03 am

    This sounds like one I should get.

    Reply
  5. James Robert says

    July 17, 2020 at 12:35 am

    Your book sounds like a great read and thank you for sharing it with us.

    Reply
  6. Florence Wright says

    July 16, 2020 at 1:32 pm

    I really HAVE to check this out. My husband and I have been talking about this a lot recently. A couple weeks ago, the Lord started healing my grief and deep sadness about many things, including the death of my dear mommy last year, and most recently, the death of my number one favorite cat, who was my loyal friend and “shadow” for most of her nearly 18 years. Her death kind of brought to the forefront even more, all the hurts and sadnesses of losses I have had over the past 5 years. BUT one sweet morning, the Lord reminded me of how loved I am by Him and how He has loved me through my family and friends and people who may never have expressed love for me. If someone asked me if I knew God loved me before that morning, I would have said “Of course”, but something was disconnected, “unplugged”. That morning, He plugged it back in.

    I look forward to check out this book. BTW – there is another term called “cage stage”, usually relating to the “young, restless and reformed” movement. I think it’s part of what you are calling thunderpuppies

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

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Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 145: A Chat with Debut Women's Fiction Author, Sara Brunsvold
byChautona Havig

Debut Author, Sara Brunsvold, is bursting on the Christian Women’s fiction scene with an amazing book, The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip. With characters who have captivated my heart from page one (and enough quirkiness to keep my attention to the last), Sara Brunsvold is sure to become a favorite author, and this book is already on my top five of the year before it’s even released!

Note links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

This Novel Isn’t Even Available Yet, and It’s in My Top 5!

If you’d told me that I’d fall so in love with two chapters of a book that it would push that book into my top five of the year so far, well… I’d have laughed.

The joke’s on me because it happened with Sara Brunsvold’s The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip. This debut women’s fiction novel has a bit of a split-time element and is set in Kansas City. Trust me when I say that meeting Clara was one of the most fun introductions to a character I’ve ever had. I just love this woman, and I’m drumming my fingers to get to read more about her.  Not surprising considering it won the ACFW Genesis’s award a couple of years back. 😀

Sara says her passion is intergenerational stories, and you definitely get this with Aidyn and her “assignment,” Mrs. Kipp.  But you also get inter-cultural and ideological influences in this book as well.

And then there’s that next book she has coming out.  You know, the one about a gal cooking her way through her grandma’s German cookbook?  Yeah.  The one we have to wait until early 2024 for?  Yeah. That one.  Sigh.

When Sara told us about her favorite authors, a lot of things made sense.  Just sayin’. Find out which of Katherine Reay’s books are her favorites and how she fangirled over Reay’s response to an email (and why you should email your favorite author!).

The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip by Sara Brunsvold

Aidyn Kelley is talented, ambitious, and ready for a more serious assignment than the fluff pieces she’s been getting as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. In her eagerness, she pushes too hard, earning herself the menial task of writing an obituary for an unremarkable woman who’s just entered hospice care.

But there’s more to Clara Kip than meets the eye. The spirited septuagenarian may be dying, but she’s not quite ready to cash it in yet. Never one to shy away from an assignment herself, she can see that God brought the young reporter into her life for a reason. And if it’s a story Aidyn Kelley wants, that’s just what Mrs. Kip will give her–but she’s going to have to work for it.

Debut author Sara Brunsvold delights with this emotional multigenerational story that shows that the very best life is made up of thousands of little deaths to self. You’ll want to be just like Mrs. Kip when you grow up!

This book is 40% off with free shipping from Baker Book House. That’s less than the Kindle version if you like paper!

You can learn more about Sara at her WEBSITE (and sign up for that newsletter so you can get Mrs.Kip’s 8 Rules to Live By). Oh, and if she does those videos of her cooking through that book, you’ll want to know when/where to find them.

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Episode 145: A Chat with Debut Women's Fiction Author, Sara Brunsvold
Episode 145: A Chat with Debut Women's Fiction Author, Sara Brunsvold
May 20, 2022
Chautona Havig
Episode 144: Chatting about Restored Grace with Kathleen J. Robison
May 17, 2022
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Episode 143: A Chat with Romantic Suspense Author, Mary Alford
May 13, 2022
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Episode 142: A Chat about A Promise Engraved by Liz Tolsma
May 10, 2022
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Episode 141: A Chat with Elizabeth Goddard about Critical Alliance
May 3, 2022
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Episode 140: A Chat about When the Meadow Blooms by Ann H. Gabhart
April 29, 2022
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Episode 139: A Chat with Middle-Grade Author, RM Ruiz
April 26, 2022
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Episode 138: A Gush about a Good (more like GREAT) Read & GoodReads
April 22, 2022
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Episode 137: A Chat with Contemporary Romance Author, Mandi Blake
April 19, 2022
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Episode 136: A Chat with Middle-Grade Historical Author, Marie Sontag
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Reposted from @beckylewis345 Life can be hard. Ent Reposted from @beckylewis345 Life can be hard. Enter cozies like A Sprinkle in Time by Dana Mentink. Clean, with a sweet romance, whose amateur sleuth runs a delectable shake shop. A dog, a child, precocious twins who work for the shake shop, and lovable Papa Luis. Plus, of course, plenty of suspects. “Murder, mayhem, and milkshakes. Who’d a thunk it?”

Trinidad Jones becomes someone I truly care about in this book. I am amazed at how she and Gabe’s two other former wives forgive each other and actually become friends. Not just friends, but family, as thick as blood. Now there is a small cluster of characters to follow and enjoy in this town of Upper Sprocket. Fun!

I enjoy the inclusion of dogs, children, and special-needs people, and Dana Mentink brings them all to our Shimmy and Shake Shop story. Noodles is old, but what a loyal companion, and, wow, does he have an amazing ability or two! Little  Felice adds warmth and vulnerability to the tale. Doug, the special-needs brother of Trinity’s love interest, Quinn, adds reality and complexity to the novel. 

Mentink has a good sense of humor and I laughed out loud several times. Just what I want out of a cozy. Mystery, romance, great characters, laughter. A fun occupation that the sleuth actually works at. I am happy to report I made it through the book without indulging in ice cream! But, can you?

I am looking forward to more murder and mayhem in Upper Sprocket! Plus more Freakshakes! 

———————————————————————
I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. (I also bought my own copy.) No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
———————————————————————
Notable Quotables:
“He was merely a friend the way a Ming vase was just an old pot.”

“There’s your plan and God’s plan, and your plan…” “Doesn’t count,”

“Maybe it’s one of those weird small-town happenings.” “A body in your trunk isn’t a happening, it’s a horror movie,”

“It wasn’t an easy thing to command the heart to feel what the brain ordered.”

“Rumors carry so much more weight than the truth, sometimes.”
Giveaway on blog in bio.
#celebratelit
#danamentink
#frozendesserts
#justdeserts 
#justiceforsprockett
#amreadingcozies
Reposted from @celebratelit Did you know that When Reposted from @celebratelit Did you know that When the Pilot Falls by April Hayman from the Ever After Mystery series is 25% off with the Celebrate Lit Summer Sale? 

More about the book: 
In 1923, there aren’t many pilots, but Willie Labeau didn’t let that stop… her.

A bear of a man, Hugh Taylor, needs a stunt plane pilot, and despite their rocky introduction, Willie sets off for golden California and a new life as his pilot. There’s just one little thing she has to do in addition to flying.

Leave his past alone. Period.

When the flame of her own curiosity becomes fanned by encouragement from Willie’s sister, the feisty pilot can’t help but do just a little investigating.

And Hugh vanishes.

Friends rally around her, and with all the information she can find in hand, Willie sets off to rescue Hugh and battle the evil family holding him hostage.

A fierce air race, a sincere act of humility—are they enough to free Hugh and give Willie a chance to be with him… forever?

Find out in this next book in the Ever After Mysteries, combining beloved fairy tales and mysteries. When the Pilot Falls offers a retelling of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” that will keep you gripped to the edge of your seat as you watch hearts soar and daring dos.

Link in bio! 

#aprilhayman #whenthepilotfalls #everaftermysteries #celebratelit #christianfiction #historicalfiction #bookstagram #bookloversofinstagram #readersofinstagram
Dial W for Wrangler: Vi's just trying to sell used Dial W for Wrangler: Vi's just trying to sell used recliners and old, broken wagon wheels.  She can't help it if folks keep asking for help with their love lives... can she?
See the lengths Wade goes to in his quest to behave like a rational guy.
Releases Tuesday, May 24. Available on 
#Kindle
#KindleUnlimited
#PaperbackBooks

#ChristFic
#YouAreOnTheAir
#ContemporaryChristianSweetRomance

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Ready for giveaways and fun? I sure hope so, beca Ready for giveaways and fun?  I sure hope so, because I'm planning on loads!
Win books (mine and others'), fun swag (Do you see those cute pins and reading list bookmarks?), and more!
Starts off Tuesday morning! (or maybe tomorrow... or this evening... depends on how much willpower I actually have!) Join us in the You Are on the Air Reader group!
#booklaunch
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Link to group is in my bio!
And tomorrow the GoodReads Giveaway begins!
How does this author celebrate a finished book? By How does this author celebrate a finished book? By reading someone else's finished book. 😀 
#amending
#needicecream 
#onthemenu
#freakshakes
"Murder, mayhem, and milkshakes. Who'd a thunk "Murder,  mayhem,  and milkshakes.  Who'd a thunk it?"
@dana_mentink 
#shimmyandshakeshop
#cozymystery 
#needicecream
Love it when publishers use plays on words. #amend Love it when publishers use plays on words.
#amending
#cozymysterybooks 
@dana_mentink
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