"I used to think that [adventures] were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them... But that's not the way of it with with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually-their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn't." -J.R.R Tolkien, The Two Towers

This book is the reason why I decided to start truly reading again after years of half-heartedly trying books and never finishing them. I was an avid book girl when I was younger but in high school, I lost my love for reading completely. Maybe it was because I had to read such boring books in school or maybe it was because I had forgotten how powerful and amazing books can be. Whatever it was, Sarah Clarkson ignited that forgotten love of books I had when I was a child and showed me what it truly means to be a book girl now as an adult. She showed me that books are more than just words. They're the spark that ignites your imagination, the teacher of wisdom and love, and the comfort in a stormy season. They can also corrupt and influence our lives. One of my favorite parts of this book was when Sarah explained the art of discernment and how it is a skill that is learned over time as our relationship with God grows. We must learn what we can and cannot handle in content and understand that everyone is different.

I am so grateful for Sarah's honesty in this book. She took me through some of the most joyous and most painful parts of her life and how books shaped her thoughts and taught her how to cope with suffering. I am so glad that I read this book at nineteen years old, my life as an adult just beginning, so that I may use her words and her wisdom to guide me as I become a book girl once again.