book reviews , Catholic teachings , Christian writing
Review: Catholic Philosopher Chick Makes her Debut
Disclaimer: I rec’d a review copy of this book from the publisher, Chesterton Press, with a request to post a review. I rec’d no other compensation. The following review is my honest opinion of this work of fiction.
An occasional indulgence in chick lit is a real pleasure to me — I enjoy just reading light fiction, especially after a hectic deadline or school week. When the book is well-written, with enjoyable characters and a good plot, well that is just icing on my no-carb diet! And Catholic Philosopher Chick Makes Her Debut is just such a read!
Co-authored by Rebecca Bratten-Weiss and Regina Doman, this novel has Catelyn Frank (recent Catholic convert and philosopher) travel to fictional Dominican University in Houston, TX “in search of Truth, Beauty and the Perfect Guy”. Frank takes you along on her first year of graduate work — a former fashion writer who is not quite at her “ideal weight” who lands in a male-dominated philosophy course on Aquinas and his Summa. In the midst of disputations and debates, Frank also has to deal with her eclectic mix of new friends, her frisky undergraduate roommate and generally trying to keep her love of Aquinas alive.
One thing I particularly enjoyed about this book (aside from the believable and likable characters) was the philosophy tutorial — I learned enough about the Angelic Doctor to want to read more about his Thomistic disputations and to refute the accusations that he was a misogynist. The Summa quotes, banter in the classroom, and Frank’s own logical process all help to spark my interest in learning more about Aquinas and his philosophy.
This is a well-written, fun read with wonderful characters and a good story. I’m looking forward to Frank’s second year of grad school! Well done Bratten-Weiss and Doman … y’all have created a real gem here.
And go ahead and check out Regina Doman’s latest venture: Chesterton Press is a new Catholic publisher of Doman’s Fairy Tale series, the JohnPaul2High series, a Catholic manga series and other books to delight the reader.
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