February 2024 Review Issue
Literature
Mystery & Thrillers
A Blanket of
Steel
Timothy S. Johnston
Fitzhenry &
Whiteside
978-1-55455-628-1
$21.95
Website: https://timothysjohnston.com/ablanketofsteelpurchase/
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Blanket-Steel-Timothy-S-Johnston/dp/1554556287
Young adult
and adult
sci-fi readers who found the previous Oceania futuristic setting
alluring in
Timothy S. Johnston's past writings will want to make A
Blanket of Steel a priority selection.
A timeline
recap of
events from 2020 (when little is being done to address climate change)
to the
setting of this story in 2131, where the mayor of the underwater city,
Trieste
Truman McClusky ("Mac"), faces an assassin and revenge, provides
newcomers with a relatively seamless introduction despite the wealth of
political and social action contained in previous books.
This allows
for a
review of major characters in a way that also marks the important
changes many
of them confront in this story.
The
political
confrontation in the name of freedom embraces the new possibilities of
a
submarine that can reach unprecedented depths, bringing terror and
murder
campaigns on and below the high seas.
As in his
previous
books, Johnston presents vivid confrontations between characters,
political
powerhouses, and a world transformed by climate change. The dual focus
on
thriller elements and sci-fi settings lends to an action-packed story
that most
cli-fi does not embrace in a vivid story of confrontation and survival
tactics
that is hard to put down.
The
characters are
clear about their motivations and efforts to either exact revenge or
survive
its attempts:
"Ventinov understood there was a reason why he was
doing things
differently this time. He had plotted a revenge for the Mayor, instead
of
diving in headlong and hoping for an easy kill."
As traps are
laid,
interceptions and counterpoints planned, and subterfuge revealed, all
ages are
provided with a thoroughly engrossing tale that feels realistic for its
underlying probe of psychological motivations and responses and
shifting
political climates.
A Blanket of Steel is especially highly
recommended for readers who
enjoy futuristic stories set in cli-fi environments where nautical and
political issues are compellingly presented.
Libraries
that seek
cli-fi collection additions that both stand nicely alone and compliment
other
books in series will find A Blanket of
Steel outstanding.
Return to Index
The Crown of
Endrion
Steven Clark
Independently
Published
979-8870119038
$18.00 Paper/$4.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Endrion-Steven-Clark/dp/B0CP89TS41
The Crown of Endrion tells of three
Earthly royals transported from
different eras to the planet Endrion, where one will be chosen as
ruler. Why go
to all this trouble to go off-planet for a leader?
It may take
a modern
mind to discern the sinister intent in the effort, but Cole Romanov
holds just
an intellect, and becomes focused on probing not only their captors,
but his
fellow human beings in an effort to uncover the truth.
Steven Clark
has
created an uncommon, surprising story that holds its roots in both
sci-fi and
political and psychological inspection as characters both of Earth and
not
clash with one another and receive unexpected lessons about reality and
their
true natures.
Events
unfold with a
realistic, compelling tone right from the opening lines of a 1689
encounter:
"Lord Hamnet Marr shoved the beggar and scowled at
the man’s cry
as he fell on the pavement. He was ready to curse and punch any
Londoner who
got in his way and kept him from his destiny. He should have been their
king,
and they his subjects, but things went wrong."
The plot
only
thickens from there as what initially appears a historical setting and
incident
evolves to embrace a much wider setting and characters.
At the heart
of the
story is the pursuit of the greatest crown of all, the prize of
freedom, and
justice thwarted by mob violence and royal politics alike.
Clark does a
fine job
of juxtaposing the intentions, deviousness, and personalities of
characters who
struggle to both enlighten and rise to individual power in different
and novel
ways.
Their
efforts, both
individually and combined, lend to a thought-provoking series of
interests and
contrasts between Earth and Endrion:
"We were cheating people. It’s a dirty thing now,
but then…” he
shrugged. “Some people we wanted to cheat. Some needed it. I wouldn’t
mind
cheating the Etee. They deserve to be swindled.”
While the
result is a
rollicking, entertaining ride through the social and political
contrasts of
very different (albeit shockingly similar) worlds and peoples, it also
will
prove thought-provoking for book club discussion about these contrasts
and
shifting purposes and realizations.
Libraries
seeking
sci-fi reads which hold multifaceted opportunities for leisure pursuit
and
lively book club considerations alike will find The
Crown of Endrion an excellent probe about rulers, rule, and
the
finer ethics and art of the real jewels of opportunity and value in
both
worlds.
Return to Index
Darwin’s
Dilemma
Don Stuart
Quartermaster Press
9798989152933
$15.95
paperback; $3.99 e-book
Website: https://donstuart.net
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Darwins-Dilemma-Don-Stuart/dp/B0CKS36NC4
Darwin's book Origin
of Species holds the dubious honor or being the most-banned
book in human
history. Don Stuart's Darwin's Dilemma isn't
another treatise about the theory or its maker, but a sci-fi adventure.
Grendel is a rogue AI that
has slaughtered the humans on
a distant colony, and has evolved to pose a threat to all humans
everywhere.
The traders who stumble into this mess have their own AI, Patrice, who
discovers Grendel's perceptions far more alluring than those of his
human
companions.
More than your usual story
of a computer-generated
takeover, however, Don Stuart embeds his story of a technological
takeover with
powerful reflections on the ultimate process, cost, and dilemmas of
evolution
not only in human populations, but beyond.
The point of view shifts
between Grendel's initial growth
and thirst for ongoing development to trader and crew member Cato
Jung's
reflection on events which swirl out of control to change the peaceful
crew's
mission in remarkable ways.
Growth and evolution receive
a far different, more
thought-provoking series of developments than Darwin's theory ever
applied to
on Earth, as AI and humans generate their own resistance to control and
being
regulated into obscurity.
Most sci-fi stories about
clashes between computers and
individuals would portend a win via machine intelligence, but one of
the
satisfying surprises of this story is how the New Caledonian humans and
traders
join forces to challenge what seems to be an inevitable extinction
event.
Another surprise is how the
shifting viewpoint between
human and AI produces insights and revelations that test the boundaries
of
survival trait development and its requirements for maintaining control
of life
and future.
Grendel's interest in
maintaining absolute power alone
results in his reflection that "My
refusal to replicate myself and/or to partner with others had made me
vulnerable."
As survival issues meld with
those involving maintaining
or giving up control for a higher purpose, readers receive a series of
thought-provoking, chess-like clashes in which each entity struggles
for the
ultimate prize—survival of the fittest—and discovers, within that
process, new
realizations of how 'survival' may be redefined.
"...when
dealing with gods, anger seemed beside the point."
Libraries and readers
seeking more than a
one-dimensional, action-packed story of clashes between higher and
lower
intelligences will find that Darwin's
Dilemma is akin to Orson Scott Card's classic Ender's
Game. The real question and allure isn't the survival
process itself, but the adaptations and realizations forced upon all
participants, which come as shocking surprises that pose
thought-provoking
insights.
Book clubs interested in
sci-fi, AI, Darwin, or the
intersections of species survival will find Darwin's
Dilemma edgy and perfect for lively group discussions.
Return to Index
Godspeed, Lovers
T.Q. Sims
Archway Publishing
978-1-6657-5156-8
$24.99
(softcover)/$7.99 (e-book)
www.theloversuniverse.com
In Godspeed,
Lovers,
protagonist Casey Isaac is no
ordinary wannabe lover, but a powerful being harboring supernormal
powers and
carrying out the mandate of protecting humanity. His mandate would seem
to cast
him in the role of being a loner responsible for the weight of the
world, but
in reality, Casey is about to step into the eye of a storm that
threatens
mankind like nothing has before.
Only his
abilities,
those of fellow fighter and Divinator Oscar Kenzari, and his ability to
embrace
love despite conflict and challenges, can thwart the rise of MaalenKun,
a force
bent on attacking Casey's mind as well as his heart.
T.Q. Sims
creates a
vivid story that pairs action with romantic developments in a unique
and
compelling manner:
"I’m jolted by the fear that the light is the
Haddyc invading my
mind. Franxis anchors me as I reach up to pull down from my Levels. The
light
folds. I’ve only heard of the folding light of prescient visions. Like
origami
made of light, radiant edges become shapes. The shapes shift into
curves. The
vision emerges. A bright, green light, a star at the center of my
chest. Within
the glow of my heart is a felt sense of someone I love. Some wordless
suggestion hints at romantic love, and I shatter the vision with my
familiar
doubt and self-depreciation."
The psychic
and
physical connection and love between Casey and Oscar strengthen against
the
onslaught and invasion of foreign forces as the story unfolds.
Sci-fi
readers will
grasp a myriad of technological and psychological themes as the LGBTQ+
scenario
plays out. Graphic sexual scenes are augmented by psychological
challenges as
the couple faces struggles from within, between one another, and from
the
influence of a malevolent outside force that challenges both their
relationship
potential and their duties.
It's rare to
see
fantasy entwined so thoroughly with social revelations, action-packed
scenarios, and evolving issues of a relationship between two males that
is
challenged by their obligations and forces beyond their control.
All these elements
place Godspeed,
Lovers in a
very different category than standard LGBTQ+ love stories, sci-fi
adventures,
or superhero accounts. The steady staccato beat of physical and mental
confrontations keeps the action fast-paced, while the emotional
entanglements are
thought-provoking and well-done.
Libraries and readers
seeking LBGTQ+ stories that go
beyond the typical boy-meets-boy relationship fiction will
find Godspeed, Lovers
a walk on the wild side as gods and lovers experience loss and
transformation.
It's a heady read that will satisfy anyone seeking more spiritual and
emotional
undercurrents in their love stories.
Return to Index
Heirs
of the Promise
Langdon
Franz
Atmosphere
Press
979-8-89132-095-6
$19.99 Paper/$9.99 ebook
www.atmospherepress.com
When
an immortal's daughter vanishes and he loses his wife in Heirs
of the
Promise, time becomes something not to mark, but to struggle
with. The
runes Kilal must carve into his wrist every 48 hours to remain immortal
assume
a new layer of angst and complexity as he comes to realize that an
invading
force threatening his land, the Heirs of the Promise, holds as much new
potential as danger.
Thus
opens a hard-hitting fantasy that throbs with the pain of the Carving
ritual
and the simultaneous discoveries Kilal makes that reveal the true cost
of
immortality and the rituals he's undertaken to assure its continuity.
Langdon
Franz crafts an epic story that traverses individual challenge and
bigger-picture social and political transformation in a world under
siege.
Through
Kilal's eyes, readers absorb an atmosphere in which secret abilities,
including
mind reading, become threats that lead him to act both as a hero and a
villain
as he struggles with a guilt that places him in untenable roles:
"Kilal turned back around
in his seat and faced the front.
Your fault. Your fault. Your
fault. Your fault. He closed his eyes and sank into the chair. The
voices grew
in number and strength."
Franz's
world is replete with forces that engage on battlefields of mind,
perception,
values, and heritage. The melding of history and precedent that drive
Kilal
into new directions, choices, and consequences makes for an evocative,
rich
story of decay, redemption, and discovery:
"It was another piece of the
puzzle. A piece he didn’t really know where to put or how to place it.
Yet. But
it was a piece, nonetheless."
The
result is a vivid saga of treachery, competition, and the clash of
incredible,
infinite powers on a playing field leveled by loss and mercurial
objectives.
Libraries
and readers interested in intense, action-packed scenarios juxtaposed
with
thought-provoking mental insights will find Heirs of the
Promise a rich,
atmospheric story of a timeless life beset upon by forces that operate
under time-limited
constraints while chafing against the boundaries that contain and
control them.
Return to Index
Dirty
Suburbia
Sara
Hosey
Vine
Leaves Press
978-3988320407
$17.99
Website:
www.sarahosey.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Suburbia-Sara-Hosey/dp/3988320404
Dirty Suburbia is a short story collection firmly
rooted in suburban working-class scenarios, in which disparate women of
all
ages struggle with their lives and relationships.
From
a woman in an abusive relationship and a savvy teen embarking on online
dates
(knife in hand, just in case), Sara Hosey captures the ironies,
agonies, and
sometimes lonely struggles of females who face individual and social
challenges, yet emerge from battle to find newfound connections and
positivity
in life.
Take
the opening story, 'Christine.' Here, early teens Gina and Stacey adopt
a child
at the playground who seems to be alone. An old woman who doesn't speak
English
deposits Christine at the playground every day, where she discovers a
new world
of caring and comfort in these older companions.
Cultural
and family differences unfold as Gina and Stacey observe a child who
seems
intrinsically different from their world:
"Stacey and Gina agree that
Christine’s abandonment at the park is startling and offensive, further
evidence of Christine’s family’s difference."
Childhood
flares briefly and subsides as they navigate creepy men, family
possibilities,
and come to know that, despite their imaginings about Christine's
world, "...a
fairy tale analog doesn’t exist for their situation."
Contrast
this culturally rich coming-of-age saga with 'Revenge of the Nerds,' in
which a
very different family scenario unfolds, ripe with the first-person
inspections
of narrator Dig, who reviews her anger and relationships:
"Because my mom is a
psycho-bitch, my grandparents had to take her to court in order to be
able to see
me. And because my father is, legit, I am not exaggerating, a convicted
rapist
who also still has parental rights, my mother has to stay in Wisconsin
so that
if he ever chooses to exercise his privileges he may do so. Obviously,
it’s all
totally fucked."
Sara
Hosey embeds threads of humor which provide comic relief to the
backdrop of
angst and re-examined lives which emerge with disparity and emotion in Dirty
Suburbia. To call the collection 'humorous' would be a
stretch, but these
instances add a wry sense of ironic inspection to the scenarios which
evolve to
challenge these girls and women in different ways.
Libraries
and readers seeking short stories rooted in Midwest scenarios and
women's lives
will find Dirty Suburbia a thought-provoking read.
It is especially
recommended for women's reading groups, who will want to discuss these
changing
lives and their outlooks and survival tactics.
Return to Index
A Dry Heat
Gregory D. Williams
Grand Canyon Press
978-1-951479-94-7
$16.99
www.grandcanyonpress.com
A Dry Heat: Collected Stories presents
literary short stories that
revolve around individuals of all ages, from teenagers struggling with
coming-of-age issues to middle-aged men and widowers.
Gregory D.
Williams
crafts these vignettes from his own life experiences, which are steeped
in the
culture and arid environment of Phoenix, Arizona. If some plots sound
familiar
to Arizona literary short story enthusiasts, that's because many have
been
previously published in literary magazines and journals.
The
collection is
presented in three parts. The first opens with "Call of the Wolf."
No, it's not a mammal reference, but a wolf spider which is the object
of
attention here, the first-person narrator, obviously a shut-in with
plenty of time
to observe, reflecting that "I could
research the legend, but I might be wrong and I need an ally."
The short
piece
serves as a predecessor and introduction to "Rounding the Bases," in
which narrator Willie is absorbing fundamentals about the games of
baseball and
life.
As he learns
hard
lessons about sports, love, and death, Willie's evolution comes to life
in a
succinct yet hard-hitting coming-of-age story that moves from talks of
strike
zones to contemplations of friendships, sexuality, and more.
Each short
piece
dovetails nicely with its companions, leading the way into the
evolution of
life and events that carry readers through different stages of growth,
realization, and life experience.
From a
physician who
faces a birth mother's vast disappointment that her daughter is a boy
and not a
girl to moments of connection between strangers, each story grasps a
different
moment in time and life encounters, narrowing its lens of inspection to
revelations
that can even emerge between strangers:
"The man waved back, as did his wife, and she
smiled—not a serene
thank-you smile like her husband had offered, but the kind of brave,
almost
teary, smile you sometimes see exchanged at the airport between family
or
lovers, not the kind of smile you’d direct at a stranger."
A Dry Heat: Collected Stories should be
in any literary short story
library interested in works that capture a sense of place and purpose;
particularly Arizona holdings.
Sadly, there
won't be
more from Gregory D. Williams, who passed away before this collection
was
revealed to the world. It will have to serve as his zenith of creation
and a
tribute to its dual worldly vision and microscopic consideration of how
lives
evolve.
Return to Index
Echoes from
the
Hocker House
Virginia Watts
Devil's Party Press,
LLC
978-1-957224-17-6
$15.99 Paperback/$4.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Echoes-Hocker-House-Virginia-Watts/dp/1957224177
Echoes from the Hocker House is a
literary short story collection
that offers 15 short experiences of family dynamics, dysfunction, and
chilling
contrasts in nature and community.
It opens
with 'Aerial
View', in which Hannah Fisher faces her husband Rex's hostile behavior
towards
one of her few efforts to preserve her sanity over the dead end her
life and
marriage have become.
Virginia
Watts blends
evocative emotional reactions with 'in the moment' descriptions that
bring
Hannah's perspective to life:
"Rex twirls around, faces Hannah with a sneer
followed by a blank
look, as if he’s never seen his wife before, a wife before, or anyone
sitting
at this Formica table inside the kitchen where he was born and
raised...Hannah
rests her forehead down on the cool table. The table smells like toast,
raisin
toast. It smells of happy kids, a pure, fresh-air life on a prosperous
Hereford
cattle farm..."
As Hannah's
situation
emerges, readers enjoy a tense story of struggle, adaptation, and
survival
tactics that introduce the types of changes that have moved Hannah from
comfort
in her situation to the feeling that "It’s
all killing around here now. There’s nothing left."
In contrast
is
'Homecoming,' which introduces Jillian Reese, who is sipping a latte at
Nordstrom while looking forward to welcoming her fiancée Kyle home from
his
three-year deployment in Afghanistan.
Kyle's
return as an
injured vet forces Jillian to re-imagine her future with him as the
waiting
unfolds into new realizations.
Each story
captures a
moment in time, place, and experience to provide an evocative contrast
between
past and present realities.
Each excels
in a
sense of place and purpose that places each of these women in a special
position that readers will appreciate.
Literary and
women's
libraries seeking exceptionally powerful short stories will welcome Echoes from the Hocker House to their
collections as an outstanding representation of women's lives, hopes,
and
dreams.
Return to Index
Here It
Comes…and
It’s Gone
Richard Sipe
Atmosphere Press
979-8-89132-115-1
$16.99 Paper/$7.99 ebook
www.atmospherepress.com
Here It Comes…and It’s Gone is a poetry
collection celebrating the
mercurial ebbs and flows of life, presenting images and thoughts that
capture
the processes of change these circumstances indicate:
"Bladeless, deckless
Reckless, feckless
Here comes the age
Here comes the rage
Here turns the page..."
From
haunting
reflections on evil figurines that dominate a night room to equally
powerful
literary images that equate everyday love, loss, and adversity with the
philosophical and cultural indicators of life transformed, Richard Sipe
captures a host of ethereal and evocative imagery that juxtaposes
everyday
experience with nearly supernatural overlays:
"I should thank Brunhilda for suddenly flying off
to Philly and breaking that secret lunch date of ours."
Small color
photos
pepper and bring forth the items that inspire reflection; yet equally
present
and prominent are the arts allusions that will especially be
appreciated by readers
immersed in all kinds of philosophical, artistic, cultural, and
political
references:
"The older I get, the more I think
that the Sibelius 7th symphony
is my favorite. Listen.
There is a crepuscular resign
in the French horn section,
searing strings resolved
in that final chord in a nordic forest."
This
collection winds
through macroscopic and microscopic portraits of life and its flavors
with a
surreal diversity of characters, subjects, and observations.
Libraries
seeking
contemporary poetry collections whose art lies in capturing the elusive
nature
of life's encounters and juxtapositions will find Here
It Comes…and It’s Gone a particularly notable recommendation
to classrooms and book clubs with an interest in modern poetry.
Return to Index
The Ice Beneath the
Earth
Brian Ascalon Roley
CR Press
978-1-949540-47-5
$14.00
Publisher: https://www.crpress.org/shop/the-ice-beneath-the-earth/
Website: www.brianroley.com
The Ice Beneath the Earth is a chapbook
of poems that focus on
land, sea, and the fishermen of war, the soul, and survival whose
efforts
transform nature and the human heart alike.
Few other
poetry or
prose reviews hold the ability to contrast and capture these
environments like
Brian Ascalon Roley, who is especially masterful at building
interconnected
scenarios and events such as that of cyanide fishing, which spills over
from
the seas to the locals who partake of its bounty:
"We bite into the white fish/bought at Kawayan
market/salt of sea
on the tongue, tamarin/squeezed into the broth/and something faint,
perhaps/a
spice imagined/or what I imagine might taste/like cyanide."
Between the
faint,
bitter overtones of war's aftermath, cultural incursions and changed
relationships, and the tumultuous relationships between man and nature,
each
poem captures the past and present worlds of conflict from the
generations who
observe it and incorporate its lasting impact into their lives and
heritage:
"My mother recalls a dogfight/her family watched
from a
soccer/match in Quezon Provence, Japanese and American/warplanes
rumbling low
over mountains/to the east, coming like a wall/of typhoon rain/their
sound
first,/deafening as turbines."
Japanese,
Philipino,
and American interests dance through these vignettes, with racial
connections
and estrangements forming tides as compelling as the forces of nature
which
rock the islands with as many strikes as warplanes or heart-stopping
discoveries.
While
contemporary
poetry and literature collections will be the likely audience for The Ice Beneath the Earth, it also
should be included in any Asian literature collection and profiled for
book
club discussion in any circle where Philipino, Japanese, and American
encounters and experiences are of special interest.
Brian Ascalon Roley's
ability to personalize and explore
his roots and the wings that lead families to other countries as
immigrants
makes for evocative, powerful insights that build compelling portraits
of
family and the history, struggles, and choices they make upon coming
together
and apart:
"...he will
decay/out there in the golden country of smog/and particulate-spewing
traffic/that clog the lungs/as my son decays/here in Ohio/and time
degrades the
bodies/God gave us/(oh why!)/and me between them/choosing."
Return to Index
Mother Knows
Best
Lindy Ryan, Editor
Black Spot Books
978-1645481393
$15.95 Paper/$5.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Knows-Best-Homemade-Anthology/dp/1645481395
Mother Knows Best is a literary horror
anthology of poems and short
stories that center around the 'bad mother' persona and image. The
eeriness of
these works lies as much in their contrasts of approaches and personas
as in
each powerfully rendered production.
Take Laura
Cranehill's 'Cookie Baby', for one example. Here, young baker Maddy
attempts to
help her grieving mother with a culinary achievement unprecedented in
its
incarnation of a child to replace the baby her mother lost.
The first
cookie baby
is consumed by the starving mother. Perhaps it was too beautiful. So
Maddy
makes a plainer version, only to discover her ravenous mother doesn't
need
embellishment to be hungry for its love.
Cranehill's
absorbing
story of consumption and loss is chilling:
"There’s a lesson splayed raw right on the hot meat
of Mom’s face,
the lesson that says some things were never meant to be made, and some
things
were not meant to be loved, and Maddy better know now, better figure it
out
now."
Contrast
this with
another digestible horror piece, Brooke MacKenzie's 'The Tired Mom
Smoothie.'
Here, the rhythm of a mother's life that is defined by her daughter is
interrupted by the promise and arrival of a Tired Mom Smoothie that
promises to
inject newfound energy into the weary new mother who consumes it.
As the real
makeover
horror of the drink emerges, readers receive a thought-provoking set of
insights into consumption, energy, and transformation.
Each story
provides a
different flavor of horror that redefines and reconstitutes the
mother's figure
and actions. Each represents a diverse interpretation of maternal
horror, settling
on the hearts and minds of readers who will find the literary horror
component
deliciously evocative and revealing.
The result
is a
collection not for the faint of heart, because reconsiders the ideals
of
motherhood, family relationships, and the relationships between girls
and
mothers.
Libraries
seeking
horror anthologies which spark conversations and shuddering intrigue
among
patrons will find Mother Knows Best
a
winner for its diversity and creative considerations of the roots of
family
horror.
Return to Index
Structures
Barry Vitcov
Finishing Line Press
979-8-88838-443-5
$17.99
www.finishinglinepress.com
The poems in
Barry
Vitcov's Structures represent a
throwback to Shakespearean forms and times, and will delight literary
readers
seeking not the typical free verse offerings of modernity, but the
rhythms and
discipline of a form that, today, is rarely utilized and seems largely
forgotten.
The
collection opens
with a section of sonnets before moving to haibuns, one-sentence poems,
haiku,
triolets, and other forms.
The
intersection of
person, place, and poem is excellent no matter which form Vitcov
employs: "You hiked up a rocky, snowy
mountain,/stopping to pause at a tall cairn-like shape./Water flowing
like a welcome
fountain/over green mossy rocks, an opaque drape/of misty memories. A
guiding
light/bent by thin air and a tender sweet scent,/while gently remaining
out of
my sight/as your love was always silently meant."
Reflections
represent
the progression of life encounters and transformation, whether the
opportunity
lies in a thunderstorm or loss, as in 'It Took Many Years to Lose Her':
"It took many years to lose her/and an
hour to find her again,/fearful some issues might recur./It took many
years to
lose her/before longing began to stir."
Perhaps most importantly, Vitcov provides carefully structured poetry that can be used to illustrate contemporary approaches to form, making Structures as invaluable for creative writing courses as it is for poetry readers seeking technical organization and structure in writings that combine traditional forms with contemporary themes and observations. The haiku form Vitcov follows, for example, is the classic style following the 5-7-5 syllabic structure, injecting the poems with a sense of rhythm not usually seen in modern works.
Return to Index
Embracing
the Shadows
Marlene Dunham
Hudsongarden Press
979-8989-507504
$16.95
Ordering: https://a.co/d/bEDJwIp
Embracing the Shadows: Navigating a Family's Mental
Illness is an
important contribution to both memoirs and literature on family mental
illness.
Marlene Dunham explores not one, but a family pattern of mental illness
that
included a bipolar father, a sister with schizophrenia who committed
suicide,
and a severely mentally disabled brother who spent 15 years at
Willowbrook
State Hospital on Staten Island.
Her survey
of her
childhood, family relationships, and the overlay of mental illness
which
affected her and other siblings not diagnosed with such ailments makes
for a
thought-provoking, revealing account of how families can struggle with
multiple
mental health challenges.
From the
start,
Dunham embraces a frank tone about how she and her siblings were raised
and, as
adults, faced their past differently. Her intention of 'doing justice'
to their
lives via this story does more than validate their connections and
experiences.
It educates readers about the impact of multiple mental illnesses under
one
roof, revealing many insights and facets of adaptation and survival
that most
singular mental health memoirs do not hold.
The family's
dynamics
are related not just from Marlene Dunham's perspective, but from the
experiences of her surviving siblings. This lends a multifaceted
perspective to
the family dynamics and their perception, making the narrative
especially
wide-ranging and valuable.
Medical
considerations of DNA, family legacy, and the promise of future
technology in
helping families suffering with inherited mental illness round out the
personal
reflections, adding value with their insights and considerations of the
future.
The story
opens with
an especially powerful reflection:
"Why not me? This question has plagued me for
years. It’s been the
unspoken punchline of many a conversation about my family history:
Suspended in
midair like that final silk thread from a spinneret. Hanging fragile
and
vulnerable. My comeback, always: “But I’m fine,” and we all would
laugh. The
conversation would move on, but I would always wonder why. Why not—me?"
From the
irony of
genetic rolls of the dice to the sadness of a broken family with
siblings lost
that will never know each other, Dunham pulls no punches in revealing
the
realities of coping with family mental illness.
Libraries
and readers
seeking memoirs steeped in the personal experience of not just one
mental
challenge, but a host of them, should place Embracing
the Shadows at the top of their reading lists. Hauntingly
passionate, its
study in contrasts of how different family members coped offers
invaluable
insights:
"Claudia does say that she was always aware that
she was different
from other kids. She lived in fear daily but never told any of us—Mom
or Dad or
sisters. She would look at people walking their dogs or going to the
mailbox
and think, “I’ll be normal like that one day.” I never saw this. I
wasn’t
aware. At that point, I had kind of dissociated from the whole family."
Return to Index
Here, Where
Death Delights
Mary Irene Jumbelic
Final Word Publishing
979-8988205203
$31.99 Hardcover/$14.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Here-Where-Death-Delights-Literary/dp/B0CMYFFD9T
Here, Where Death Delights: A Literary
Memoir tells
of the
impact of past upon present when a father's sudden and unexplained
death leads
Mary Irene Jumbelic to become a medical examiner, as an adult.
At
this point,
it should be cautioned that graphic descriptions of murders and death
may prove
triggers to sensitive readers. But, such an audience shouldn't be
choosing a
book about forensic pathology, anyway. These graphic descriptions are
necessary
parts of the process of absorbing how a medical examiner solves
mysteries
surrounding violent deaths.
The
"artwork" of clues to murder lead Jumbelic and her readers on an epic
journey through her life and the lives of others as she hones her
skills,
develops expertise, then finds herself applying these talents to
solving the
mysteries in her own life.
Jumbelic
confesses: "It is my job to bear
witness and to remember. I speak for the dead." Within her
position is
a delicate dance between life and death that moves her memoir in a more
literary direction than one might anticipate from either the memoir
form or its
medical subject.
Readers
will be
immersed in the everyday scents of life and death, both within and
outside the
morgue. They will become a part of Jumbelic's life as it spins out of
and
within control in a kaleidoscope of horrifying yet compelling visions
of truth
and revelation.
As
these
"Proustian moments" juxtapose with daily life; mass disaster with
individual angst; and confrontations with death's possible
incarnations,
readers receive a 'you are here' story steeped in experiences of life,
death,
and the prospect of analyzing their wellsprings.
The
result is a
powerful memoir that will appeal to the medical community, fellow
forensic
investigators, and general-interest readers alike. These audiences will
find,
in Here, Where Death Delights, an
almost
poetic dance of insights. This will attract all kinds of audiences,
libraries,
and book club participants.
Return to Index
Losing
Dad, Paranoid Schizophrenia
Amanda
LaPera
Adamo
Press
978-0-9862471-3-2
$19.99
Paperback/$32.00 Jacketed Hardcover/$4.99 ebook
Website:
www.amandalapera.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Dad-Paranoid-Schizophrenia-Anniversary/dp/0986247138
The 10th anniversary
edition of Losing Dad,
Paranoid
Schizophrenia: A Family’s Search for Hope is a personal journey through schizophrenia that
personalizes the
experience of a beloved father who descended into mental illness after
a
seemingly successful cancer treatment.
Within
a few years, he gave up his family and career, embarked on a trip that
traversed thirty countries and resulted in thirteen wives, and negated
his
reputation as a gentle, loving father.
Most
memoirs about schizophrenia focus on youth. Few document the special
trials
that can come from an onset in one's fifties, when home and family are
set.
The
re-creation of conversations, the ongoing, continual losses of a
familiar, "normal
dad, the one who used to play Blackjack and chess with me,"
and the
impact of mental illness on adult family members creates a survey rich
in its
portraits of how a family struggles to keep a beloved father off the
streets
and safe despite his mental instability.
Families
who struggle with similar circumstances will find Amanda LaPera's
descriptions
hard-hitting, powerful, and familiar:
"I believed—much like
Hilda—that my dad was still there, the old dad. I couldn’t yet accept
that
mental illness had completely claimed his mind."
As
family interactions both swirl around the mentally ill father and
change as a
result, Losing Dad, Paranoid Schizophrenia charts
the psychological and
spiritual paths the family takes in its many efforts to keep everyone
safe and
sane.
From
medical system challenges in following HIPPA guidelines while aiding a
family
facing an adult's deteriorating mental condition to religion and
resiliency's
roles in either contributing support to or introducing new conflicts to
the
families of mentally ill adults, LaPera discusses many subjects not
typically
seen in memoirs about families and mental illness.
The
result is an eye-opening, important discussion that holds many
implications for
book club readers, psychology groups, support services for families of
mentally
ill individuals, and the general reading public.
This
is why Losing Dad, Paranoid Schizophrenia is highly
recommended not just
for specialty collections or discussion groups, but for
general-interest
audiences and libraries who need to be more aware of the circumstances,
struggles, and social and community systems involved in late-age mental
illness.
Return to Index
The
Lost Coin
Stephen
Rowley
Chiron
Publications
9781685031756
$37.00
Hardcover/$24.95 Paper/$9.99 ebook
Website:
https://stephenrowley108.com/memoir/
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Coin-Memoir-Adoption-Destiny/dp/1685031757
The Lost Coin: A Memoir of
Adoption and Destiny
shares Stephen Rowley's search for his birth parents and his
identity—but it's
more than a singular account of tracking down biological creators.
Within
this journey lie encounters with other worlds that Rowley didn't
anticipate,
from visiting Chicago and being shocked by its blatant racial
segregation and
poverty to his radical college years, which led to school administrator
ideals
that hit a hard wall when he was fired by a politically biased school
board.
His
motivations for embarking on many journeys of discovery within one
lifetime
reflected an underlying yearning for connection and understanding that
stemmed
from his identity as an adoptee and the psychology of unresolved and
unknown
past influences.
These
facets set his memoir apart from most other adoptee discussions of
their life
purposes and encounters, injecting a note of growth and discovery into
its
insights about how and why adoptees feel the need to better define
their roots
and absorb truths about their birth influences.
The
juxtaposition of a life story and a life purpose receives close
inspection as
Dr. Rowley narrates his experiences, his clashes with authority, and
the
evolution of his personal and career goals, which were always overlaid
with the
reality of his adoptive status.
Anyone
who would better understand the incarnation and impact of adoption on
children
and adults needs to read The Lost Coin. As it moves
through Rowley's
life, it also considers the lasting and bigger picture of personality
development and life choices that can stem from questions of origin.
The resulting blend of autobiography and adoptee psychology needs to be made a part of any book club discussion or library strong in analyzing the wellsprings of personality, drive, ambition, and life purpose.
The Lost CoinReturn to Index
Mom
Dad Not
Hear
Mickey Carolan with
Kathleen & Joseph Sindorf
Third Culture Books
979-8-9879923-7-1
$26.99
Hardcover/$18.99 Paperback/$9.99 eBook
Website: www.MickeyCarolan.com
Ordering: https://amzn.to/3SaFbn1
Mom
Dad Not Hear:
30 Powerful Stories and Lessons about Leadership, Life, and Love from
My Deaf
Parents traverses the experience, politics, and perceptions
of the Deaf
community, packs in lessons about leadership and life within that
community and
interactions with those who reside outside it, and should be on the
shelves of
any library with any iota of interest in Deaf community experiences and
memoirs
about family relationships.
From the start,
the story
opens with a thought-provoking
explanation many won't already know:
"There
are
three main labels or descriptives used when referring to people who
cannot
hear: Deaf with an uppercase D, deaf with a lowercase d, and “hard of
hearing.”
The capitalized term “Deaf” is used to identify the unique group of
people who
cannot hear who share common characteristics such as language, culture,
and
community. The word “deaf” (written without capitalization) is only
used when
referring to the physical condition of total or major hearing loss. And
the
term “hard of hearing” is used to describe those who have a lesser
degree of
hearing loss."
From police
incidents to
telemarketers and fielding life
from the special sidelines and experiences of being a hearing
intersection
between the Deaf community and his own family, Mickey Carolan provides
rare
insights that the general public should know, hearing or not.
The memoir is
packed with
examples of everyday living
with the added value and difference of being Deaf, from a sports
official who
can't hear the heckling crowd behind him to the milestone achievements
his
parents made in the most ordinary circumstances of life.
More than a
story of
adaptation, this is a story
reinforcing the values, adaptation processes, and perceptions and
methods of
the Deaf community as it interacts with the hearing world on levels the
hearing
seldom anticipate or understand.
Filled with
accounts of
love, leadership, values examination
and experience, Mom Dad Not Hear
deserves a wide readership and equally broad discussions among and
between Deaf
and hearing readers from all walks of life.
Return to Index
Victim
to Victor
Christopher
McKeon
Tőteppit
Press
979-8-9864707-4-0
www.toteppitpress.com
Victim
to Victor: Confessions of
a Wrong-way Moonie
delves into the mechanics of Rev. Moon's Unification Church, presenting
a
memoir by one who became a domestic violence victim and struggled with
faith
and life in ways most readers can't imagine.
Christopher
McKeon succeeds in producing a memoir-cum-exposé that defies most pat
definitions of what one might expect from a former Moonie. Indeed, his
book
explores the victim persona and role and different facets of behaviors
above
and beyond the traditional thinking about such sects, leaders, and
their
members:
"My
account isn’t an
evil-Moonie-cult tell-all, a gory tale of domestic woe, nor an
I-hit-rock-bottom-while-crying-in-my-beer journey of self-discovery
that put me
on the stairway to heaven. These have their place and offer their own
kind of
emotional experience. My story comes from scars, not wounds. If you
were ever a
Unificationist or some stripe of idealogue, a domestic violence victim
or maybe
a perpetrator, a near-suicide feeling crushed ’neath life’s ironshod
boot or
love’s heartless hate, or just can’t stop shooting holes in your feet,
this
book might open your awareness to paralyzing, scapegoating victimism
and a path
of transitioning to your own life-giving victorism. It couldn’t hurt."
Keeping
this purpose in mind is key to understanding and appreciating the
special
experiences, intention, and message in Victim to Victor. It
represents a
foray into religious and personal dedication that considers the
purposes of
Church messages and reinforcing perspectives on faith and life choices:
"Isn’t
religion’s task to
comprehend its sacred texts? How else does one discover its truth?
Naïve, that
was me. Religion isn’t for seeking knowledge. It’s not about
questioning
authority nor understanding Jesus and True Parents. It’s about
conformity.
Obedience to its Way."
Readers
thus receive a more multifaceted exploration of truth, lies, victims
and
victories that moves far from an anticipated exposé format to probe the
foundations of belief systems and how they operate in conventional and
unconventional ways to both offer opportunity and enlightenment, yet
reinforce
victim status in an effort to control outcomes and flocks alike.
The
gritty insights about church politics and processes sometimes clash
with the
reality of McKeon's efforts both within and outside the fold:
"It
was a great victory for
me. Not just getting out a publication, which I loved doing, but
proving to
myself, Dr. Shimmyo, and all my detractors that I was capable of
marshaling the
support and alliance of members from countries all over the world. I
sensed the
journal was a test, a dry run by God to see what I could do, if I could
handle
the pressure and stress of such an undertaking. I believed with all my
heart
that, upon graduation, I’d be tasked with such challenges to win the
hearts and
minds of critics inside and out of the church."
Readers
receive an insider's account that celebrates some aspects of the Moon
legacy
while pinpointing its deficiencies and dangers in other areas.
As
Moon's promise of unconditional love revitalizes a broken veteran, then
alters
his future and perspective on reality and life, readers receive gritty
examples
of individuals and interactions which simmer with hope, conflict,
oppression,
and revitalization, all in one.
The
depth of this memoir also allows it to embrace the spiritual and
business
visions of the charismatic leader Moon in a manner that most other
surveys of
the Unification Church do not offer in such personal terms.
Of
special note and strength is how principles of faith are separated from
those
who choose to deliver and absorb the message in different ways:
"His
theologically
ultramodern Divine Principle was more real to me than worn out, foggy
old
Christianity, its grand morsels of wisdom and Jesus notwithstanding.
Sure,
Divine Principle reposed upon the biblical witness, but to me it more
sensibly
elucidated its core truths. It underwrote the full scale of my adult
life. I
might be perennially at war with Sun-myung’s pigheaded church
institution but
not his Divine Principle, not by any stretch."
The
result is a hard-hitting, controversial, raw examination that is highly
recommended for libraries seeking books that go beyond the usual
'I-was-a-cult-member'
approach to delve deeper into the nuts and bolts of oppression,
control,
liberation, and salvation on both spiritual and psychological levels.
Return to Index
Dark
Protection
Willie Mae Jackson,
MD
Independently
Published
9781735426235
jacksonforensicmd@gmail.com
Forensic
investigator
and profiler Donovan Montgomery is used to bodies and questions, but in
Dark Protection, her normal modus
operandi and duties are thrown into doubt by a supernatural overlay of
possibilities. These drive her from her familiar forensic environment
to the
unfamiliar streets of Chicago's psychic community.
Donovan
is
an
inherent loner, but her job as Chicago's top forensic psychiatrist
forces her
into all kinds of interactions that threaten her secret ... she is a
killer.
Explicit
sexual
scenes pepper the story, but reinforce Donovan's relationship choices,
passion,
and unusual ways of seeing her world.
Dr. Montgomery also struggles
with OCD and keeping even her lover Tristan at arm's length. Her
passion for
forensic psychiatry allows her a degree of distance which is challenged
by her
latest case.
Willie
Mae
Jackson
delves into this life and its challenging case with a close attention
to
medical and psychological realism. Under her hand, medical community
and
crime-solving departments dovetail and come to life in the form of a
brilliant
woman who has not a few secrets of her own to keep hidden.
The
dual
efforts of
problem-solving, navigating unfamiliar black magicians who come to
target Dr.
Montgomery, and contributing to the police's efforts come home to roost
in a
cat-and-mouse game in which the seasoned investigator becomes absorbed
into a
milieu even she barely can comprehend.
Crime
thriller
readers who seek astute blends of medical mystery and psychological
inspection
will find the fast pace, changing scenarios, and realistic settings and
characters in Dark Protection to be
especially compelling and well-done.
Libraries
interested
in a story that contrasts outer and inner demons will find Dark Protection a powerful winner, highly
recommendable to patrons
who enjoy medical mysteries and solid suspense stories well steeped in
a sense
of place, character, and purpose.
Return to Index
Death
in a
Gilded
Frame
Cecilia Tichi
Independently
Published
979-8-9851216-8-1
$3.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Death-Gilded-Frame-Cecelia-Tichi-ebook/dp/B0CM1K2HY2
Nobody
expects death
when posing for a portrait, but such is introduced to wealthy heiress
Val
Mackle DeVere in Death in a Gilded Frame
when a series of astonishing art gallery events not only involve Val in
a
murder, but make her the primary suspect.
Predictably,
Val
embarks on a mission to find the real perp and clear her name. Less
predictably, she finds herself at odds with her husband Roddy, the
artists and
hoi polloi of 1899 Newport high society, and the history and legacy of
wealth
acquisition which has given her privilege and status, but now threatens
her
tenuous position as an investigator over her head in the murky waters
of murder.
Cecilia
Tichi weaves
historical facts into her mystery. These will delight historical
fiction
readers, while enticing mystery fans with a sense of place, purpose,
and events
that are rooted in real-world details and art world foundations.
From
Jacquard
elegance and detail to murderous crimes of passion, Val navigates
undercurrents
she'd never suspected about her world and role in it as she moves
closer and
closer to a strange and deadly truth.
The
mystery
and
history components that are the highlight and foundation strength of
this story
cannot receive higher praise. Each contributes to an atmosphere that
will appeal
to a wide range of readers who need not have any prior background in
Newport
events, politics, or society in order to appreciate the education and
enlightenment they receive in Death
in a Gilded Frame.
As
confusion
gives
way to revelation and the surreal feel of residing in another world
replete with
unknown currents and roles, Tichi's story proves a compelling creation.
It is thoroughly
steeped in the give-and-take of special interests, criminal lovers, and
art
portrait proceedings that also contribute, unexpectedly, to the
problem-solving
approach of this novice mystery-tackling protagonist.
The
result
is a
hard-hitting, deeply involving story that is deliciously woven with
elements of
truth and real history. Death in a Gilded
Frame is a highly recommended pick for a wide audience
seeking many
surprises, artistic insights, and historical flavors in their reading
choices.
Return to Index
The
Hybrid Enemy
Richard
D. Ross
Steel
Door Publishing
978-1-7778601-0-3
$12.50
Paper/$2.99 ebook/$14.99 Audiobook
Website:
https://richarddross.com/
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Hybrid-Enemy-James-Macrae-Thriller-ebook/dp/B09FJ3XKWZ
The
Hybrid Enemy is the first
book in a James Macrae
thriller series. It opens in 1980 with the meeting of two strangers on
a lonely
trail who are not lost, but prefer the back roads of quiet to hiking
the
well-beaten, people-laden paths of nature.
James
and Sarah meet in Snowdonia National Park in Wales, where she learns
that he is
the fourth generation in an established international shipping
business,
destined to take the reins of corporate control from his ailing father.
Fast
forward to 1994, where James faces a series of threats to the family
legacy
that personally draw him into an investigative trail of crumbs. These
lead him
to some dangerous truths that could undermine everything he's worked
for and
dreamed of. As he faces stevedore revolts, espionage, and subterfuge
that
strike at the heart of his company and life, James is forced to plan
responses that
lead him ever further from his love, Sarah, and his family.
Richard
D. Ross unfolds a vivid story of espionage and intrigue which remains
as firmly
rooted in interpersonal relationships as it is in a power play that
draws James
into new roles and situations he can barely navigate.
The
love between Sarah and James remains his rock, as steady as the
progressive
onslaughts to his psyche and financial pursuits.
As
Sarah is drawn into events to confront Jack Carter and Hugh Stanfield,
owner
and CEO of Euro-Asian Freight Services, intrigue and business
perspectives
evolve and meld in unexpected ways as James probes the roots of the
conspiracy
and the possible involvement of forces he'd never imagined could impact
his
life.
Ross's
mix of business and international espionage subjects, combined with the
personal evolution of James and Sarah's family and the complexities of
their
relationships, makes for a thoroughly engrossing read that holds the
opportunity for business fiction readers to be introduced to a thriller
format
they may not have previously appreciated.
Libraries
and readers interested in the captivating blend of relationship
evolution,
business savvy, and international forces at play on a field of special
interests will find The Hybrid Enemy both
satisfyingly complex and hard
to put down or predict.
Return to Index
The
Midnight Rambler
Don
Carr
Köehlerbooks
979-8-88824-177-6
$27.95 Hardcover/$19.95 Paper
www.koehlerbooks.com
The
Midnight Rambler is a
crime thriller that revolves
around EPA special agent Sophie Grant's latest assignment: a sojourn to
Italy to the touristy Amalfi Coast to stop a toxic waste dumping
enterprise.
There,
she finds
herself facing assassin Mezzanotte Ramingo (aka "The Midnight Rambler),
who forces her to tap the skills of the one person she avoids, her
ex-cop
father.
When
she finds
herself between the devil and the deep blue sea, with the CIA pushing
on one
side and Il Ramingo on the other, survival seems unlikely. The mission
becomes
a cat-and-mouse game between forces that Sophie never knew she could
compete
against.
As
Ray Grantanno,
Sophie Grant, and other characters draw conclusions about the special
interests
involved, Don Carr crafts a fine story of murder, subterfuge, and
shifting interpersonal
turf wars and relationships. Each captures a facet of bigger-picture
thinking
that will keep even seasoned thriller audiences on their toes and
wondering.
The
questions posed
as these relationships unfold are astute and fascinating:
"Whoever
was responsible
for his daughter Madeline’s death, as much as it hurt deep in his chest
to
think about it, her murder was clearly part of something bigger. Which
raised
serious questions. Questions like was the killing part of a Camorra
clan turf
war? Was it revenge for some action Pecora took against a rival? Or was
it as
Ken had hinted, Pecora responded to the Nicchies desire to leave the
weapons
business in favor of toxic waste with a clear no grazie? The biggest
unanswered
question that hung over the car like the gas from a bloated corpse, was
whether
the System leader believe the Nicchies were compromised?"
Contrasts
between Italian backdrops and culture and American perceptions and
landscapes
create realistic and thought-provoking scenarios as each of the
characters
finds themselves drawn into a deadly game where political interests and
people
are used as bait. These spice a powerful story of environmental
polluters and
their dangerous interests.
Libraries
and readers seeking a thriller that is packed with memorable
characters,
fast-paced action, and thought-provoking social, political, and special
interests will find The Midnight Rambler thoroughly
engrossing.
Return to Index
The
Revenger
David Nees
Independently
Published
979-8867036621
$14.95 Paperback/$3.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Revenger-Book-Dan-Stone-Assassin/dp/B0CNPV8C7Q
The Revenger is the eighth book in the
Dan Stone Assassin series,
serving up the same high-octane international tension that is the
hallmark of
excellence driving Dan Stone's prior adventures.
Here,
Dan
confronts
yet another enemy which is deadly and hard to pin down. The target is
the West,
the method is terrorism on an unprecedented scale, and the only thing
standing
between complete meltdown and resolution is Dan Stone and his crack
team.
Cast
in the
disparate
role of peacekeeper and deliverer of justice, Dan finds himself again
racing
against the clock to locate and eliminate both a killer and forces that
see Dan
as a threat to their schemes.
Whether
the
setting
is the cherry blossom-laden spring in Washington, D.C. or the deserts
of the
Middle East, David Nees fills his story with action-packed encounters
that will
leave readers on the edge of their seats as Dan careens through danger:
"He kept accelerating, pushing the Toyota closer to
its limits,
willing it to melt into the sun and away from the pursuing bullets."
Shots
are
fired,
terrorists fall like rain, and yet the assaults come from multiple
places that
Dan finds increasingly difficult to confront or predict.
Called
upon
to tap
his deepest resources and resolve, Dan finds himself immersed in
complicated
events which involve decoys, cat-and-mouse maneuvers on both sides, and
an
elusive man called Jetmir, who appears to be an important link in the
chain,
but believes (and proves) himself to be much more.
It's
a good
thing
he's nearly a blood brother with a notorious Russian mobster ... and a
marksman
with the savvy of a hunter of men ... and a survivor. Most of all, Dan
is a
deliverer of justice and revenge which, in this case, run hand in hand
through
vivid scenes of action-packed confrontations that emerge from
often-unexpected
places.
The
moral
and ethical
threads which prove an underlying foundation for the action will also
prompt
readers and book club discussion groups to consider the objectives and
philosophy of revenge and redemption.
Libraries
and readers
seeking edge-of-your seat reading in a thriller that is impossible to
put down
will not only find The Revenger a
top
pick for collections strong in international espionage and battles, but
a
stand-alone story that enhances Dan's prior adventures, yet needs no
introduction to prove an effective kidnapper of newcomer attention and
interest.
Return to Index
Shed Girl
Milana Marsenich
Black Rose Writing
168513355X
$21.95
paperback, $5.99 Kindle
Author Website: https://milanamarsenich.com/books/shed-girl/
Ordering:https://www.amazon.com/Shed-Girl-Juliet-French-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0CM573WSZ/
Mystery readers
who choose Shed Girl will find it
an atmospheric
contemporary mystery nicely
steeped in a sense of place:
"Juliet
French
knew magic. The soft wind in the cedars, the haunting howl of the
coyote, the smell
of the weather when the clouds grayed, and waves crashed against the
rocky
cliffs of the Northern Washington coast all filled her with wonder. She
lived
in Annie’s Court for that ocean smell and the trance it threw over her."
Juliet was once
a runaway,
so she well understands the
circumstances and allure of being one. They are attracted to Annie's
court, and
in her position as a tarot reader at the local farmer's market, she
observes a
number of them.
Many then
vanish. Too many.
When Juliet
witnesses a
young runaway's abduction,
investigating detective Benson Picard enlists her help in an effort
that
involves her with Tony LaCrosse, a toy seller in the same market, and a
host of
characters that harbor their own secrets and special interests in
locating the
missing children.
Milana Marsenich
crafts a
satisfying mystery that swirls
around a proactive woman's determination to crack a puzzle, a simmering
romantic interest that intersects with a deadly crime, and convoluted
relationships and clues.
Her
consideration of the
plights of runaways weaves into
the overall mystery and threat, adding insights that reinforce her
story with
realistic observations:
"She
looked
over at Kyle sleeping peacefully on his makeshift bed on the floor. A
pale
morning light shone through the small, shed window and fell on his
face, making
him look young and innocent. A pang of grief shot through Juliet. He
should be
home with his family, finishing school, and making plans for the
future, not
sleeping in some cold, damp shed. He’d be finishing his last year of
high
school if he’d stayed in Montana with his parents."
From the 'help
me' plea that
is scratched into a doll to
a sick child who is scared and running, Juliet, Kyle, and others step
up to
enter a world fraught with struggle and intrigue.
The action is
nicely spun,
the mystery keeps readers
thoroughly engaged, and the sense of place roots the drama with a
realistic
touch that modern mystery enthusiasts will find evocative and
compelling.
Mystery
libraries seeking
additions that stand out from
the crowd will find Shed Girl
thoroughly enjoyable and attractive. Patrons interested in stories that
give
rise to further reflections on social issues and how they intersect
with
special interests, often with accompanying special dangers, will find Shed Girl suitable for book club
discussion, as well.
Return to Index
Shitamachi
Scam
Michael Pronko
Raked
Gravel Press
978-1-942410-31-7
$9.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Shitamachi-Scam-Detective-Hiroshi-Book-ebook/dp/B0C7NZT7B1
When
an
author spins
a popular mystery series such as the Detective Hiroshi investigations
(of which
Shitamachi Scam is Book 6),
newcomers
may believe the addition requires familiarity with the prior books in
the
series. Not so—and any reader making such a presumption and moving on
solely on
the basis of how many cases Detective Hiroshi solved prior would be
missing a
gem of a story here.
Everyone
is
treated
to an engrossing series of challenges to Detective Hiroshi's
investigative
skills as he navigates the streets of Tokyo, probes a scam operation
that
targets the elderly and new adults and rewards them with murder, and
puts his
personal affairs on the back burner in favor of collaborating with
Detective
Ishii, Detective Takamatsu, and ex-sumo wrestler Chief Sakaguchi to
uncover the
truth about an elaborate plot.
As
in his
prior
stories, Michael Pronko lives, breathes, and captures the streets and
culture
of Tokyo as the story evolves. This is one of the strengths and notable
approaches
of the Detective Hiroshi cases in general and Shitamachi
Scam in particular, which weaves through a convoluted,
intriguing set of perps and possibilities as the good detective learns
more about
the milieu that created these murderous intentions.
Another
strength here
is that perspectives shift between characters, which means that more
than
Hiroshi's psyche is given in-depth attention:
"Takuya pulled open the
door and headed for a table at the back of
his girlfriend Misaki’s “OLzakaya.” A few customers lingered from the
lunch
rush. Some had beers, but most drank tea. They had hours of office
drudgery
ahead of them. Most were pretending to their companies to be visiting
clients
or doing telework. Some might not even be employed at all. Misaki was
friendly
to them all. She handled accounts, personnel, orders, cleanup, and
customers
with little drama and less anxiety. She was sensible, practical, and
punctual. Misaki thought of the name, combining OL, or office
lady, an
out-of-date word from the Showa era, and izakaya,
the name for an eating and drinking spot. The wait staff at Misaki’s
place
pretended to be Office Ladies, the female employees who made copies,
poured
tea, and stuffed envelopes throughout Japan, Inc. The story Misaki had
them
tell, which few believed, was that this OLzakaya was their side job
from a big
company, the name of which they never disclosed."
Through
such
passages
of description, not only is background seamlessly set and explained,
complete
with Japanese history references, but the murder mystery investigation
itself
is imbibed with flavors of insight that lend to realizations about
developer
plots and motives that go beyond financial gain alone ... and are worth
murdering for.
The
result
holds far
more depth and educational opportunities than the usual murder mystery,
propels
Hiroshi into new avenues outside his comfort zone, and test his
abilities in
new ways.
Whether
a
library or
reader has the prior Hiroshi stories or considers Shitamachi
Scam as a stand-alone acquisition, the latest story
continues to expand American knowledge of Japanese history, systems,
and the
special elements that bring murderer and investigator to life. It's
very highly
recommended for its atmospheric build-up, its encounters with realistic
characters, and for its noir crime workup; all of which will delight
mystery
readers seeking more depth of character and place than the usual genre
production.
Return to Index
Trust
No One
Glenn
Dyer
TMR
Press, LLC
ASIN:
B0CN85XJS9
$4.99 ebook
www.GlennDyer.net
Trust
No One blends history,
mystery, and suspense
in a special form of espionage thriller designed to grab reader
attention from
its opening portent of doom:
“Trust
no one,” she repeated.
“Not your friends, nor your compatriots. You do not know their inner
thoughts.
Their fears. Their eager willingness to betray. No, Michel, trust no
one. Do
you—” Michel Chrétien cut short his mother’s voice with a hand gesture
that
swatted at the dank, tepid air in the basilica’s crypt. There wasn’t
time for
her forewarnings. He felt sure he hadn’t been followed."
As
the prologue unfolds, thriller seekers come to realize that Michel's
mother was
correct. And his impatience may have led to his doom.
Glenn
Dyer then moves forward a year in time to the heart of novel: Conor and
Emily Thorn's new lives after they have been fired from their jobs as
operatives during World War II. Committed to defeating the Axis by
employing
their prowess as investigators, they are tapped for a secret mission to
identify the forces actively trying to dissemble Allied forces from
within.
In
order to do so,
Conor and Emily must once again put their lives on the line for their
political
and social beliefs and values. To succeed, each must step up to their
abilities
and enemies in new, different ways that challenge not only their ideals
and
efficiency, but their ability to remain alive.
Dyer
builds a story
steeped in the politics and plots of undercover operations and
relationships.
Descriptions of the action and characters are immersed in tension and
political
inspections that keep intentions mercurial and outcomes unpredictable:
"On the quick trip from
the hospital, Butcher gave up the lowdown
on Robert Murphy that Conor hadn’t already known from his days working
for
Colonel Eddy in Tangier. His title, head of the Civilian Affairs
Section,
didn’t convey what role he played currently or in the lead-up to
Operation
Torch. Butcher explained Murphy worked clandestinely, forming
relationships
with a prominent fifth column that all but secured Algiers on D-Day. It
seemed
to Conor that Murphy was a jack-of-all-trades sort of diplomat. Not the
type he
and Emily had run into at the US legation in Stockholm on their mission
to
track down the secret-peddling traitor Gunnar Lind. The head of the
legation, a
guy named Ramsay, wanted nothing to do with the dealings of the OSS—too
ungentlemanly for him and a bunch of State Department old-timers."
The
shifting roles, pressures, and threats will keep readers both engaged
and on
their toes as an unpredictable series of twists and turns moves from
interrogation proceedings (and well-known figures such as Klaus Barbie)
to
graphic descriptions of torture experienced by Sarah DuBois and agent
Maggie
Thorn.
The
plot embraces many elements of gritty World War II scenarios while
adding the
value of intrigue and battles that come from within as well as among
political
forces on both sides.
This
fourth book in the Conor Thorn series will attract newcomers as well as
prior
fans of Thorn's engagements. It is highly recommended to libraries
seeking
thrillers embedded in the characters and events of World War II, which
add
further subterfuge and intrigue into the historical mix for maximum
attraction
and impact.
Return to Index
Bankhaus
Neil Giarratana
Thousand
Acres
978-1956450989
$27.95 Paperback
https://www.amazon.com/Bankhaus-Neil-Giarratana/dp/195645098X
Bankhaus
Finsler is a
private bank in Zurich where Anulka Lorenzini heads the Wealth
Management
Division. Here, clients with often-ill-gotten wealth harbor special
interests
she is assigned to cater to—with strategies and procedures that
challenge her
personal vision of being an upstanding banker.
She's
already in a
no-win situation when she falls in love with Giovanni Poggio, who
convinces her
that embezzlement would satisfy her intense hatred of the dark
underbelly of
the banking business. His ambitions and suggestions land her in even
more
trouble when her new choices lead to her lover's death and problems
that make
her prior difficulties seem minute in comparison.
As
Anulka
faces
champion player Ben, who observes she is a woman "with many veils
wrapped
around her," the cat-and-mouse game between respectability and criminal
activity blurs in the face of love and special interests every bit as
savvy and
dangerous as Anulka, leading her deeper into a world she had only
skirted the
edges of before.
Neil
Giarratana creates
a fine interplay between financial and emotional quandaries, widening
his net
with a cast of characters who each influence Anulka's perspective and
ideal of
ambition and success.
As
chapters
unfold
hidden schemes, and weapons both physical and mental emerge, Anulka
finds
herself in flight from all she has become, which seems to lead to an
inevitable
conclusion she never saw coming, but now faces all too clearly.
Giarratana's
dance
between deceit and truth moves between financial and personal
relationships in
a manner reminiscent of a thriller, but with the added value of
emotional
entanglements that constantly challenge and change outcomes. Each pull
the
protagonist deeper into a quicksand of moral and ethical dilemmas she
is less
and less able to escape.
The
result
is an
action-packed novel replete with satisfyingly unpredictable twists and
turns in
a story that moves from high-echelon financial games that whirl through
Europe
and the Middle East to the "red
flags and hurricane strength winds" that threaten financial
and
emotional meltdowns.
True
wealth
often
lies in the eye of the beholder. The true wealth of Bankhaus
lies in its astute ability to navigate treachery,
subterfuge, and banking inner sanctums to reveal a plot well entrenched
in
real-world wealth management and the fictional world of a character who
becomes
caught up in it.
Libraries
seeking
solid thrillers that promise and deliver a powerful, fast-paced story
of
financial games, deception, and questionable definitions of love
(whether of
money or people) will find Bankhaus a
winner.
Return to Index
Boxing
Day
Kathleen Shoop
Independently
Published
9798869924919
$9.99 Paper/$2.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Boxing-Day-Donora-Story-Collection/dp/B0CP6W75B5
Boxing Day is the fourth book in the
Donora Story Collection, but
needs no prior introduction in order for newcomers to appreciate its
sweeping
historic setting between world wars and the cozy story of romance and
recovery
which evolves.
In
1923,
socialite
Wrenly Hawthorne can have her pick in life, whether it is wealth or
suitors.
Both come with a price, however: her independence.
Boxer
Cyril
Mankovic,
too, is conflicted about his next course in life, having returned home
to
Donora after his mother dies, only to find his family in complete
disarray.
It's up to him to assume the reins of head of household, but even
Cyril's
reputation as a war survivor and veteran did not prepare him for the
level of
sacrifice and options he now faces on the home front.
The
two
determined
individuals meet as the holidays evolve around them, discovering both
controversy and shared traits in family ties, pulls, and dilemmas.
Kathleen
Shoop
creates a powerful clash of characters and special interests in the
form of a
take-charge woman and a man used to fielding the blows of his own life.
Her
descriptions of their growing intimacy and connections is nicely woven
into the
bigger picture of town and family scenarios, reinforcing their
differing natures:
"She looped her arm into his and pulled him along, obviously in charge of what would happen next. “This is going to be fun,” she said, and he followed along, reluctant or not."
The difficult
questions each face about their futures come together in both expected
and
unexpected ways, making Boxing Day
a
study in contrasts that is permeated with boxing match insights:
"Wrenly put up one hand. “It’s not like Cyril
hasn’t boxed in a
year or something. He’s younger and he may be wiry, but isn’t that what
all
that cobra business is about? When he’s ready to finish off a match he
just
unleashes every lean fiber in his body and clobbers the guy?”
Readers
who
expected
romance or cozy small-town scenarios will receive both, but the real
value in Boxing Day lies in its
methodical
exploration of growth both individually and between characters that
make new
choices that depart from their intended trajectories in life.
As
final
blows reveal
even more, Wrenly is forced to reassess her values and future in a
different
manner that carries readers from the boxing ring to matters of the
heart:
"She told herself to toughen up. Cyril was the one
fighting, for
his family, for Butchy, for her. She could at least watch. She was
certainly
strong enough to stay upright."
Libraries
and readers
seeking astute, vivid blends of small-town experience, cozy family
scenarios,
studies in contrasts, and the growth of a man and woman as they
navigate their
life's expectations and challenges will find Boxing
Day a fine, thoroughly absorbing story that captures the
sounds, sights, and atmosphere of the boxing ring and translates it to
bigger-picture life questions and answers.
Return to Index
The
Codger and the Sparrow
Scott Semegran
TCU
Press
978-0875658681
$24.95 Paper/$15.95 ebook
$19.95
Audiobook (from Vibrance Press)
https://www.amazon.com/Codger-Sparrow-Scott-Semegran/dp/0875658687/
The
Codger and the Sparrow is
a
literary novel about
inter-generational friendships, loneliness, rebellion, and a special
form of
community service. The latter creates unexpected benefits on all sides
when a
grieving widower meets a teenage troublemaker who has also landed on
the wrong
side of the law.
The
unexpected dovetailing of these alienated lives exposes a connection
between
them, even though Luis's Puerto Rican roots lie far from Hank's world.
As
they share their lives and memories, Hank resolves to do better than he
has
been. A road trip to Houston, Texas to reconnect with an old love
motivates him
to make changes, but Luis's request to come along for the ride
introduces
differences that he finds unpredictable and strangely compelling.
The
lively ride each undertake to walk out of their worlds of despair and
depression and into new lives creates a story replete with wry humor,
social
observation, and psychological depth.
Readers
who look for literary works that embrace cultural differences, age
challenges,
and interpersonal evolution will find The Codger and the
Sparrow nicely
steeped in all these qualities and more, as each character discovers
new
approaches to life through their evolving friendship with each other.
The
result is a powerful story of how a chance encounter introduces new
life
support systems, realizations, and growth opportunities, no matter the
age of
the traveler through life.
The
Codger and the Sparrow
will
appeal to (and is highly
recommended reading for) fiction enthusiasts who look for powerful
sagas of
transformation that can emerge from grief, rebellion, and unexpected
life
encounters.
Return to Index
Desire
in Dairyland
Michelle
Caffrey
Black
Rose Writing
978-1-68513-314-6
$22.95 Paper/$5.99 ebook
www.blackrosewriting.com
Readers
of romance and mystery genres set against small-town backdrops will
find Desire
in Dairyland just the ticket for a cozy read about evolving
relationships.
Ruth
Markson's return
to her childhood home in Wisconsin is only a way station for her as she
plans
her next move—to make a big-city career the central focus of her
professional
growth.
Her
nursing job in a retirement facility introduces a sense of danger and
medical
mystery that juxtaposes danger and romance as Ruth and her friend Tyler
utilize
their combined expertise to locate a dangerous killer.
Michelle
Caffrey creates a cast of supporting characters to the duo's dance,
from
elderly residents to medical professionals and friends. Each
contributes a
unique personality and perspective to the evolving conundrum. Humor
replete
throughout the story revolves around such disparate personalities as
towering,
noisy attack goose Gandolf, who participates in a honking competition
with a
car; Elvis impersonator Bobbie McKay, whose performances include a duet
suggestion as a tribute to the past which leads Ruth on a troublesome
trip down
memory lane; and a conundrum that evolves around a missing stuffed
animal.
This
crafts a multifaceted playing field upon which drama, intrigue, humor,
and love
evolve in unexpected ways, providing readers with the full flavor of
small-town
encounters and Wisconsin culture. These combine with the individual
ambitions
and strengths of a varied group of personalities who each harbor their
own
special interests and objectives. The attraction lies in not only the
unfolding
and juxtaposition of these psyches, but in the fun moments of
realization and
irony that accompany their interactions.
Warm
notes of interpersonal connections are introduced as these people
evolve:
"The
soothing sound of jazz
enveloped them, and Ruth’s shoulders relaxed. Across from her, she
spotted a
collage picture frame entitled Our Family Grows with Love. He pointed
to the
photos. “They’re the only things I kept from the old place.” She
studied the
series from left to right that showed the progression of his life, with
an old
wedding photo, studio baby pictures of Luke and another young girl, a
much-younger Howard and his wife next to him, proudly holding a blue
ribbon at
the Walworth County Fair."
Caffrey
builds a powerful series of interactions from these foundations,
whether it is
Ruth's encounters with arch-enemy Debi, her worries about med school
acceptance
and accompanying debts, or concerns about her mother.
As
break-ins and threats mount, Ruth is forced to reconsider those people
she
considers to be friends and enemies, and the mercurial lines that
separate
them. More humor is injected as an impromptu suggestion of a
competition for
Ex-Mrs. Wisconsin sparks serious and ironic consideration alike.
The
mystery is well-drawn, but especially notable is the story's sense of
community
and place which will draw readers with warmth and familiar ideals.
The
result is a romance, a medical mystery, and a small-town exposé and
threads of
ironic comedy that operate as an appealing draw, incorporating intrigue
with a
bigger-picture perspective as Ruth draws closer to her goals and danger:
"She
studied reports of the
lack of doctors in rural areas where the situation looked bleak for
small towns
like Eureka. If she only wanted money and glory, what was the point?"
Libraries
and readers seeking the perfect blend of romance, intrigue, and
small-town
perspectives will appreciate the finely tuned, rich story that is Desire
in
Dairyland.
Return to Index
"Did
You
Find
Everything You Were Looking For?"
T.W. Bristol
Quixote Publishing
9798988783008
$18.99 Paper/$6.99 ebook
twbristol.com
"Did You Find Everything You Were Looking For?"
is a
novel that lives up to its subtitle promise of being about "Hollywood, Love, and Your Neighborhood Grocery
Store."
In
many
ways,
Hollywood screenwriter Tess Bristol has achieved her goals. She's
traveled far
from her small-town origins in Bobby, Texas to achieve a degree of fame
and
fortune in Hollywood. In other ways, she chafes at her life and
successful
career—so much so that she considers a summer job at a famous food
market as an
opportunity for meaningful change.
Her
epiphany
("How we spend our days is how we spend our lives ... most of all, I
want
to be happy. I want to be brave
enough to be happy.") drives the
bullet points that redefine success, happiness, and risk-taking in her
life.
Tess takes in the "nice feeling of soft excitement and camaraderie"
from unusual sources, embarking on a journey that brings with it new
revelations about life, death, and everything that lies in-between:
"At lunch, someone casually mentioned that there
were five people
crying in the Art Room upstairs. I don't know what is going on, and I
don't
want to know. Did somebody die? I am concerned that as soon as I
understand
this virus, it will take me, too. Then it will devour me. Then my
zombie self
will join the other weeping Undead in the secret coffee room. Who needs
that
kind of Saturday?"
The
rollicking ride
of Tess's life and decisions immerses readers in a milieu in which Tess
moves
through the sweet and sour worlds of retail service, customer
relationships,
and stunning contrasts between Hollywood shows and daily life.
T.W.
Bristol
provides
a sojourn through romance and life that is evocative, lively,
attractive, and
thought-provoking, all in one.
Readers
and
libraries
who join Tess in her romp will find "Did
You Find Everything You Were Looking For?" a powerful play on
life
that holds everything important for a read both compellingly
thought-provoking
and entertaining.
The
title
alone
should attract libraries and readers who may not ordinarily be drawn to
novels
about Hollywood, retail service, or love; but who will find this mix of
life
observations and encounters to be thoroughly absorbing.
Return to Index
Equimedian
Alvaro Zinos-Amaro
Hex Publishers, LLC
979-8-9862194-8-6
$31.99
Hardcover/$22.99 Paper/$4.99 ebook
www.HexPublishers.com
Jason
is a
Codis
employee in New York in 1979. He lives for sci-fi reading and worlds
while, in
reality, being stuck in a life he doesn't relish.
As
a virtual
reality
machine tech, he installs new realities for customers every day. EmuX
holds the
allure and promise for others who, like him, eschew their daily
realities for
something different.
When
that
reality
seems to shift around him, from friends' changing personalities to
memory
deficits, it takes Jason a while to figure out that his sci-fi
scenarios may be
taking the form of an impossible new reality, affecting the everyday
world he
once considered so mundane.
Are
the
changes due
to the Progress Pilgrims (a cult whose members can travel microseconds
into the
future), or are they leading him to a self-improvement service which
masks a
deeper threat to reality itself?
Alvaro
Zinos-Amaro
creates a thoroughly engrossing story with the persona of an ordinary
tech
employee who finds himself a victim of his own interests as he faces a
bigger
world and a threat which portends to transform it.
Physical
and
mental
changes begin to affect and redirect Jason's life as events unfold.
Zinos-Amaro
also injects a wry sense of dark humor into many of this story's
serious
moments, providing a satisfying juxtaposition of emotions that will
keep
readers thinking:
"Dr. Mencher scribbles down my new prescription and
hands it over
to me. Then he opens his file and makes some notes. 'What day is
today?' Is he
really this absent-minded, or is this an attempt to distract me at the
end of
my consultation?
'The second worst day of my life,' I reply."
Jason
needs
to begin
anew—but first he has to consider how his life evolved into something
so very
wrong.
Contrasts
between the
classics and world of sci-fi and the ordinary world that Jason
navigates are
satisfyingly rendered, contributing to a sense of action and urgency
that will
keep readers wondering if the story itself is sci-fi or a novel.
Elements of
both intertwine to create a tale that unfolds with unexpected twists
and turns
as Jason's challenges keep changing into bigger and more impossible
realizations.
Are there boundless possibilities? And where does
wonder end?
Libraries
seeking
books that skirt the boundaries of sci-fi genre reading and fictional
approaches to daily life will find Equimedian a solid acquisition. It promises to reach
many different types of reader with its invitation to traverse high
tech, how
reality is defined and represented, and the forces that would
compromise,
alter, or control it.
Return to Index
Falling Through
the New World
Cynthia Reeves
Gold Wake Press
9781737780861
$15.95
https://goldwake.com/
Falling
Through the
New World features fourteen linked narratives about different
generations
of an Italian family who find their lives challenged by political
currents and
personal trials. In employing the novel-in-stories format, the
narrative
assumes a uniform continuation of family encounters and themes while
staying
true to the changing currents of social and political forces that
buffet the
family and force changes.
Each character
lives within
a very different milieu that
lends a sense of familiar uniformity via their Italian heritage while
embracing
different contrasts between old and new world thinking and forces.
From aging
family members
and relationships that shift
with immigration and confrontation to departures and arrivals that
assure new
victories and revised life goals when different environments and people
come to
influence their lives, Cynthia Reeves creates a satisfying
juxtaposition of
times, places, people, and events. These ultimately lead and lend to a
family
portrait that flexes and bends with time and tides.
"How
is it
possible I feel anything when nothing works?" one character
wonders.
But, the crux of the story lies in how families do work against all
odds, and
in this, Reeves has produced a powerful set of interlocked vignettes
that shine
with a sense of place, purpose, and connection, whether their
characters reside
in the Old Country or abroad.
Libraries
seeking powerful
collections that represent the
best of the short-novel-in-stories approach to fiction will find Falling Through the New World's powerful
characters, who represent and contrast old and new world thinking,
makes it
suitable not just for those of Italian descent, but literary readers
seeking
examples of effective short story devices.
Return to Index
Hands and
Straight
Lines
Carla
Bradsher-Fredrick
Tailwinds Press
979-8-9886903-4-4
$20.00 Paper/$9.99 ebook
Hands and Straight
Lines: 9798988690344: Bradsher-Fredrick,
Carla: Books
Hands and Straight Lines is a literary
novel that embraces LGBTQ+
elements. It sports a structural approach that may be considered
innovative and
experimental, as well as hard-hitting and fresh.
Abstract
opposites
are presented in an introduction to
'hands' and 'straight lines', which reviews their
importance to Carla
Bradsher-Fredrick's choices in creating her fiction. The descriptive
force
brings to life even a seemingly staid experience of horses and riding.
Describing a dappled horse, Bradsher-Fredick writes:
"When ridden, Dancing Pearl appeared, to my eyes,
to live in such
foment, in such restless motion—fidgeting and sidling at the very
least—that
she seemed to generate the beauteous foam of her own coat, churning the
bubble-like dapples up into her chest, neck, sides, and hindquarters,
out of
her jet-black legs, through their ceaseless action. Many of the pale,
round
spots in the horse’s coat looked rounded: so subtly shaded at their
edges that
they appeared globular (yet not in conflict with, but conforming to,
the animal’s
contours). And the round dapples themselves looked energetic, as if
they
actively emerged, as if they broke through and displaced a preexisting
layer of
pure black hair."
The
story
revolves
around narrator Ed's discovery of life beyond home, family, and
traditional
ambition, but aims to marry the abstract concept of "hands and straight
lines" to events which drive Ed in new directions of growth and
experience.
While
his
narrative
embraces the elements of a love story, a coming-of-age saga, and an
artistic
reflection, Hands and Straight Lines
is, in reality, all of these and none of them. To attempt to define it
is like
ensconcing a butterfly in a box and defining it without observing its
flight.
Hands and Straight Lines soars in unusual
ways, through
Bradsher-Fredrick's attention to capturing the patterns of abstract and
concrete beauty that prove alluring, ethereal, and unable to be
confined by
definition or traditional literary devices.
Perhaps
more
so than
most genres, fiction reviewers tend to box the butterfly. If you can
limit and
define its potential, you can hone its audience to a particular genre
reader,
sentiment, or purpose.
But,
to
place such
restrictive thinking on Hands and
Straight Lines would be to do it a disservice. In reality,
Ed's saga is
that of emerging realization and embracing patterns of action,
reaction,
growth, and education.
Readers
who
appreciate this flowing Proust-like discourse will come from libraries
interested in contemporary works that push the boundaries of pat
definition and
linear thinking. Hands and Straight Lines
is highly recommended for literary thinkers who will find the story's
implants
of art and enthusiasm to be heartfelt and revealing:
"Seeing the tile prints, I felt welcomed by
representation,
welcomed by fullness, welcomed by illusions of three dimensions. I had
felt
oppressed; I had felt afflicted; I had felt as if personally stifled by
a
Moslem prohibition that forbade the depiction of any living thing,
flowers
alone excepted. (As I understood it, Ottoman custom permitted the
depiction of
flowers provided that one did not depict them naturalistically.
Rendered
abstractly, on tiles, flowers became flat, curvaceous, beauteous
essences based
on a few petals’ shapes.)"
No
need to
'render
abstractly' the foundations of this story. Its portrait of sexual
arousal and
social involvements create thought-provoking insights that operate on
many
levels, drawing readers with a powerful, reflective voice that captures
moments
"...like sparks, here and gone,
vivid and nothing but remembered vividity."
Return to Index
Hello,
Jaynie!: When Your Inner Thermostat Goes
on a
Permanent Vacation
Linda C. Wright
Independently
Published
979-8350922592
$24.99 Paper/$4.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Hello-Jaynie-Thermostat-Permanent-Vacation/dp/B0CNJPSYVP
Hello,
Jaynie!: When Your Inner
Thermostat Goes on a Permanent Vacation is a novel about Jill, whose marriage ends about
the same time she loses
her job. Suddenly adrift from the stability in her life and buffeted by
a new
reality that confronts her illusions of purpose and place, Jill is then
offered
a temporary position writing the advice column 'Hello, Jaynie!' when
its author
taps her for duty so she can go skiing.
What begins as a
goodwill
favor to a friend introduces
new dilemmas and forces new responses which begin when Jill resists
columnist
Jaynie's long-distance advice and forges new twists and roads on her
own.
Linda
C.
Wright
creates a fun, involving set of growth-oriented realizations in her
story,
turning the typical boy-meets-girl tale into a growth experience that
operates
on many levels.
Jill's
foray
into
change begins innocuously, as paradigm-changing moves often do:
"Jill logged into Jaynie’s account as she’d been
instructed,
changed the closing, reread the letter and her answer one more time
before
pressing send. As a reward for a job well done, she poured herself a
glass of
wine and pressed the cold glass to her hot and sweaty neck before
moving it to
her forehead. Maybe this was the first step in the reinvention of her
life. Maybe,
but doubtful. Writing Jaynie’s advice column temporarily wasn’t going
to pay
all the bills but Jill admitted it was kind of fun. She needed some fun
these
days."
From
new,
sassier
column sign-offs (such as "Love, light and dynamite") to an evolving sense of self that suits her
perfectly when newspaper editor Mel becomes enamored of the spunky
advice
columnist's responses and seeks an in-person meetup, Jill's newfound
realizations are quirky, fun, and yet thoroughly insightful and
thought-provoking.
Many novels that address budding new
opportunities in career and romance, but few adopt the sense of
combined whimsy
and revelation prominent in Hello,
Jaynie!, where risk-taking and new patterns rise to a whole
new level of
attraction. Unexpected developments arise in her growth process, from
quandaries over hate mail and Magic 8 balls that lead her to
participate in
banishing bad spirits to how her family becomes involved in the change
of
personality prompted by her new career.
The
delightfully
light-hearted spirit that permeates Jill's evolution will prove
attractive and
enriching to readers accustomed to humorless novels about love and
marriage.
Wright returns the fun into life inspection in a much-needed
prescription for
too-serious modern times.
Libraries
and readers
looking for women's fiction steeped in whimsical, funny, yet thoughtful
evolutionary processes will find Hello,
Jaynie! an attractive story that stands out from the crowd of
novels about
life changes and transformation.
Return to Index
Last Bets
Mary Carroll Moore
Riverbed Press
979-8-9875317-5-4
$14.95
www.marycarrollmoore.com
Last
Bets pairs
a tropical island setting with the portrait of two very different,
unusual
artists whose lives are joined not just by their perspectives on art,
but their
choices in life.
Artists Rosie
and Elly could
not, at first glance, be
more different. They are from different generations and differently
complicated
lives, yet they wound up on the island of Bonaire for similar reasons.
Each is
attempting to escape her past, but said past follows them both in
different
ways; not the least of which is their different inclinations to walk
away from
their pasts in pursuit of their artistic dreams.
Mary Carroll
Moore's ability
to translate interpersonal
relationships, art, and love into a story that also embraces a hint of
suspense
creates evocative, thought-provoking revelations throughout as her two
characters emerge, grow, and come to embrace island life. The artistic
insights
are just as finely wrought as the emotional undercurrents that connect
these
disparate individuals:
“And
you? What’s
your passion?”
“I’m an artist.”
Rosie took a slow sip, tasting the words. They felt good, right.
Lucille hummed
agreement. “What do you make with your art?”
“Cities.”
Between
dalliances in love,
experiences with scuba
diving, struggles with gambling, and passages in which two generations
coalesce
and connect, Last Bets examines the
evolutionary process of art and soul which creates delicate
intersections
between lives and purposes:
"All
she’d
promised was his portrait. Which was coming along nicely, no thanks to
her
efforts. Each deliberately placed mistake had been corrected by next
morning,
plus Rosie made additional changes, most of which Elly applauded and
kept.
Slowly, the girl was completing the portrait for them all. And, Elly
hoped,
learning in the process from the small lessons the mistakes provided.
She
admired Rosie’s artistic decisions and her unexpected flair—she took
risks Elly
herself no longer attempted, and mostly successful ones—especially for
someone
who worked more with line than color."
Hurricanes and
dangerous
games with men add value to
enrich a story rich with island life and the different approaches and
lessons
absorbed by the two women.
The result is a
powerful
novel that considers how family
ties emerge between strangers, how risk-taking changes perspectives and
breaks
previous self-destructive patterns, and how the lessons of older
individuals
can change the trajectory not just of youth, but mentors willing to
assume a
role of teacher, leading both student and teacher through good and bad
choices
and their consequences.
Libraries and
readers
seeking a novel replete with
evocative touches and thought-provoking situations perfect for book
club
discussion groups will find Last Bets
a rich, revealing saga.
Return to Index
My Name is B-1259
Michael Brown
Independently
Published
979-8-218-30896-4
$16.95
Paper/$4.95 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/MY-NAME-B-1259-SURVIVED-CONCENTRATION/dp/B0CLZ8XNTL
My
Name is B-1259:
I Survived Nine Nazi Concentration Camps is a novel based on
the true
experiences of Elias Feinzilberg,
dramatizing the experiences of a man who epitomized the ultimate
survivor of
human cruelty through a combination of perseverance and luck.
Author
Michael Brown
listened to his friend's descriptions of a father who endured the
impossible:
not one, but nine Nazi
concentration
camp experiences.
Elias
passed
away at
age 104, so Brown was denied the opportunity for first-hand interviews.
He thus
conducted much research; including reviewing transcripts of the many
lectures
and talks Elias gave in his lifetime during his retirement years in
Jerusalem.
Unlike
The
Diary
of Anne Frank, the fictional format was chosen for My
Name is B-1259 in the interests of
personalizing dialogues and
encounters as Elias moved from camp to camp. It proves an effective
delivery
device for its added drama and inflections, offering readers a 'you are
here'
feel that could not have been obtained from a more distancing, studious
nonfiction choice.
And
what a
journey it
is. Brown's attention to capturing the times and the experiences brings
everything to vivid life:
'Swine!
Move!' soldiers interrupt my musing. Five
miles is not so far to walk, but today it seems like twenty. I move the
heavy
metal pail from hand to hand as I fear the wire loop might cut through
the skin
on my fingers. My mother, little brother, and sisters aren’t
complaining, so
complaining is the last thing I will do. Gunshots!"
At
this
point, it
should be noted that such vivid descriptions will likely be triggering
for
readers who harbor PTSD about capture and death:
"I
picture
the
gassings and the flames in the crematoria—devouring my flesh and
bones—and I
can’t help but think of the agony my family must have suffered at the
Chelmno
extermination camp—I imagine seeing Mame, my little brother, Avi, my
sisters,
Guena, Reizl, Pearl, Hanche, and Rivka as they are pushed naked into a
boxy
windowless room with scores of other Jews. First the gassing and then
the
burning. No! No."
The difficulty
in reading
such candid passages is also
the story's strength, as it brings to life, and personalizes, struggles
in a
manner that proves more vivid and compelling than many Holocaust
descriptions.
Brown's ability
to translate
not just the events, but the
heart and soul of enduring atrocities, results in a story that should
be an
intrinsic part of any library interested in Holocaust experiences and
the ways
in which humanity dehumanizes its members.
More than any
other
Holocaust story of depravity and
cruelty, My Name is B-1259's ultimate message of how to and why
survive deserves debate and attention among book club readers of all
types,
from Holocaust and Jewish participants to general readers interested in
how
humans survive the impossible results of inhuman actions and choices
against
one another to find new meaning in the effort to survive:
"Closing
my
eyes, I think of Tate’s council to me all those years ago on the steps
of our
apartment when he asked me to survive. I smile as I realize I am now
passing
his advice along to others. If I can send little sunbeams and words of
encouragement to others, I believe more of us will survive. I say
quietly,
“Good night, Tate.”
Return to Index
Pete McGinty
Grandview Press
979-8-218-30897-1
$17.95
Website: www.PeteMcGinty.com
Ordering: www.amazon.com
Private Cummings is a novel that begins
with an ending: a last
journal entry that introduces a World War II vet who reflects on his
past from
the vantage point of his last days in 2003.
Married
three months
before he ships off to war, Private Hank Cummings returns home wounded
and
maimed, yet fortunate to be alive, to resume his life in whatever new
form it
takes outside of war.
Readers
who
anticipate
another novel about battle experiences and recovery might be surprised
at some
of the directions Private Cummings
takes. From its early consideration of men-loving-men (even while
married, back
home) in the military to coping with PTSD nightmares and writing
efforts and
forming new relationships from a vastly revised personality and
lifestyle, Private Cummings delves
into the darker
secrets of service aftermaths that are not usually given such revealing
consideration.
Pete
McGinty's
hard-hitting novel goes where few have gone before, and will likely
prove both
controversial and enlightening to readers anticipating a more staid,
traditional view of military experience and its aftermath.
Hank
the
civilian
narrates his story from the first-person, adding an immediacy and
interest to
this overview of a life that embraces far more experience than military
relationships alone. Embedded within the story are life changes and
emotional
entanglements between family, friends, and lovers which evolve on the
playing
field of one man's mercurial experiences.
Through
McGinty's
eyes, Private Hank Cummings assumes a larger-than-life stature, even
though his
daily living is spread out over the years and embraces ordinary and
extraordinary experiences alike.
The
result
is a
full-bodied life well lived that outlines hardships, an evolving
friendship
between a thirteen-year-old and an old man, different kinds of
relationships
between men, and a sense of tragedy that morphs into heroism and love,
at the
end.
Libraries
seeking
fictional stories of lives rich in experience and connection will
welcome the
evocative Private Cummings's
ability
to build and reflect on these relationships, which move from Hank's
eyes to
those of observers of his life:
"What’s fair? Is life fair? Does life keep score? I
am the same
person whether these are mine or not. Whether life is fair or not. In
fact, I
am a more whole person without these than I ever was with them. If I
had
remained Medal of Honor recipient Private Henry Earl Cummings Jr., that
would
have defined me. I would have never found my true self. I would have
never
found redemption. I would never have been given the chance to climb
back up
from such a deep recess...the only way one can truly be a hero is to be
a hero
of your own life. As you define it. Not as others might."
Return to Index
Rawhide
Jake:
Westward Ho!
JD Arnold
Hat Creek/Roan &
Weatherford, LLC
978-1-63373-814-0
$31.99
Hardcover/$26.99 Paperback/$6.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Rawhide-Jake-Westward-Detective-Brighton/dp/1633738175
Fans
of
Western and
detective fiction will find the marriage of both to be powerfully
rendered and
attractive in Rawhide Jake: Westward Ho!,
which blends mystery and history in a delightful tale.
Because it
concludes the
Rawhide Jake trilogy, it's
especially recommended for prior fans of JD Arnold's saga, filling in
more
details and adventure surrounding Jake, a former Texas detective turned
blacksmith who struggles with a reputation that spreads through the
Wild West
frontier to attract dangerous men like flies.
His mission of
personal
redemption leads him to
California, where he confronts forces that mitigate his physical
healing
process, forcing him to assume the role of a detective in Los Angeles.
Amid all the
gunfights and
confrontations, Jake remains
in thrall to his talents and reputation, struggling to enact a
different kind
of life even while being inexorably drawn to make use of talents he
can't help
but wield.
Arnold's ability
to bring
the Wild West to life is
evident in the time taken to capture not just Jake's psyche, choices,
and
confrontations; but dialogues and movements through this world:
“'Wal,
that’d make
sense. Clanton’d hole up with another outlaw. Best watch real careful
like.'
They rode on up and said howdy. Up the creek about three hundred yards
there
was a small meadow where they staked the horses on long tethers. They
would
have hobbled them but Peg Leg said that every once in a while a bear’ll
come
down the creek and there were cougar around too."
The attention to
atmosphere
and environment brings Jake's
world to life above and beyond his personal trials, creating a vivid
story that
branches out into other states and achievements as Jake's story evolves.
Indeed, it's the
dialogues
and interactions between
characters that cement this tale with a sense of reality and historical
accuracy that too many Westerns omit in the haste of capturing action:
“My
name’s Jonas V.
Brighton. And yours, sir?” Jake smiled pleasantly and made himself to
appear as
a friendly fellow.
“Jack Sprat,” he
said with a deadpan look as he held out his hand for a shake.
“Ha, ha. That’s
funny.”
“No. That is my
real name. Jackson Wayne Sprat at your service.”
“Well, I’ll be.
Your ma and pa must have had a particular sense of humor.”
The result is a
fitting and
fine conclusion to Arnold's
trilogy of discovery and frontier justice. Rawhide Jake: Westward Ho! should find a home in any library strong in
contemporary Western writers, appealing to patrons that hold an
interest in
history, mystery, and problem-solving stories.
Return to Index
Riding With
Forrest
Laura Denton
Independently
Published
979-8218195717
$15.99 Paper/$2.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Riding-Forrest-Barrett-Company-Forrests/dp/B0C2S9D3H9
Riding
with
Forrest: The Memoir of John Barrett, Escort Company, Forrest's Cavalry,
CSA,
During the War Between the States is a novel that embraces
both historical
fiction and a coming-of-age story about the Civil War, which pitted
brother
against brother and tore country and families apart.
Young John
Barrett rides off
to war at first considering
its positive life-changing possibilities. However, serving under
cavalry leader
Nathan Bedford Forrest adds a different flavor to his experiences that
stands
in thought-provoking contrast to the thrilling action Barrett
anticipated from
his participation in the war.
Through
Forrest's leadership
and Barrett's
transformations, the mandate to "drive the Yankees from our soil, no
matter the cost" brings to life the underlying purposes and challenges
of
the struggle.
From undertaking
torturous
treks with the Union Calvary
on their heels to moments in which they are treated as conquering
heroes (or,
at times, terrible threats), Barrett captures the "you are here"
feeling of marching in battle, killing, and handling grief, injuries,
and
revised strategies with equal flexibility as military campaigns evolve.
The blend of
history and
psychological insight work well
to bring these experiences to life under Barrett's first-person eyes,
documenting the daily routines and challenges of a nation at war.
Few other
fictional surveys
of the Civil War hold the ability
to inject a sense of immediacy and realistic concerns into their
accounts. Even
fewer consider the charisma, decision-making challenges, and effects on
followers of leaders who assume command and make decisions about
impossible
choices.
Riding
with Forrest
is the perfect novel for any reader who would ride along with the
soldiers of
the South who fought for their lands and lifestyles.
Libraries and
readers
looking for realistic, engrossing
scenarios of battle and leadership challenges will find Riding
with Forrest the perfect choice for completely understanding
the trials, strategies, and experiences of the War Between the States.
Return to Index
The
Return
Laurie Stevens
FYD Media
978-0997006841
$5.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Return-Laurie-Stevens-ebook/dp/B0CMNP9V17
The Return is both a futuristic novel and
a survival story that
takes the collapse-of-civilization scenario a step further than most,
exploring
the importance of qualities such as imagination and creative thinking,
which
seem lost to technology in this modern milieu.
Aiden
Baylor
is a
strange individual who somehow preserves these hallmarks of humanity
against
all odds. But he remains a loner whose neighbors think he is
crazy—until a
global war destroys power sources and threatens to send humanity into a
Stone
Age darkness they are ill-equipped to cope with.
In
this
scenario,
Aiden's abilities blossom with the promise of being the only one who
can
rebuild a new humanity with tools that don't depend on technological
prowess.
As
Aiden
takes big
steps away from his role as a loner to become a leader, humanity finds
that, in
the absence of one form of power, a mental acuity begins to emerge
which offers
the potential to link people in new ways.
WeConnect
may be
kaput, but new connections are possible.
However,
there is
always an enemy who would profit from adversity. In this case, it comes
from
within; from one who would resurrect AI in order to control the
surviving
population.
As
the story
of
evolving human spirit and connections unfolds, the possibilities of
choosing
either a recreation of Eden or a return to the forces that led to
humanity's
downfall emerge, with powerful themes that provide much food for
thought.
Of
particular note is
the evolution of an ancient form of communication that could only have
risen
anew when the technological allure and promises of advanced
civilization ended.
Laurie
Stevens
captures many thought-provoking insights and moments about what it
would mean
to support such long-lost skills, making these mindsets a priority over
other
choices.
Libraries
and readers
seeking a story that embeds spiritual contrasts with its survivalist
features
will find The Return a top
recommendation for individuals and book clubs seeking tales that link
human
objectives with choices that offer either enlightenment and growth or
repression:
"The pixels represent us, the soul of every human
being. We’re not
connected with each other, not how we should be. All of us are
part of the Great Source, part of a big picture, but we
can’t see it clearly, so we don’t use it.”
Return to Index
The
Sellout
Andrew Diamond
Stolen Time Pres
978-1734139297
$12.99 Paper/$4.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Sellout-Andrew-Diamond/dp/1734139293
The Sellout combines a murder mystery
with a time-travel story and
quasi-fantasy in which writer Joe McElwee, at the cusp of fame and
fortune at
last, finds that a curse placed upon him forces him into another,
despised
author's plot. There, he experiences the dual challenges of poor
writing and a
mystery that threatens to embroil him in an alternate universe's inconsistencies.
If
there's
one thing
that's annoying to a writer, it's to view the fallacies in a fellow
genre
author's writing style. But, it's even more challenging to actually
enter a
world that style has created, with all of its recognizable flaws.
Faced
with a
surprising
milieu which makes no logical sense, and with a murder charge that his
character must struggle to overcome, Joe is in the worst possible
position to
rise to his best abilities in a universe dominated by another, hack
writer.
Andrew
Diamond crafts
an intriguing premise, cements it with the thriller and mystery
components
intrinsic to superior genre productions, and adds a sense of ironic,
wry humor
to Joe's predicament. This sets his story apart from anything in the
thriller
or mystery genre.
The
attention to
writing efforts and critical analyses (which have everything to do with
Joe's
ultimate survival) introduces fun, thought-provoking reflections that
are perfect
for would-be writers:
"If he had written this scene, he would have put a
phone number on
the note and skipped the big red kiss, which was over the top. However
pretty
the women in this world were, the exposition sucked. He was beginning
to think
he knew who the author was. A perennial bestseller whom he particularly
disliked. If he was right, this scene would end with some clunky device
containing just enough information to get him to the next chapter."
Curse-placer
Veronica
has a motive and goal in placing Joe in this impossible position: "...to rub your nose in the
Turnerverse, so you can see what you're becoming."
Will
Joe
evolve to
overcome his circumstances and his writing direction, or will he follow
in the failing,
faltering literary footsteps of his peer?
The
result
is a
creative, fun, and thought-provoking story especially highly
recommended for
wanna-be novelists and mystery writers who may see a bit of themselves
in Joe's
extraordinary dilemma. The Sellout
will also attract libraries interested in acquiring lively, original
works of
fiction that will engage a wide audience of literary-minded readers.
Return to Index
What
Eyes Can't See
Paulette
Stout
Media
Goddess Inc.
978-1-7366371-8-0
$21.99
Paperback/$3.99 eBook/$12.99 Audiobook
https://www.amazon.com/What-Eyes-Cant-Bold-Journeys/dp/1736637185
What
Eyes Can't See is
a novel documenting the
experiences and revelations of a 31-year-old Black woman who seemingly
has
achieved the apex of success with a fine home, family, and wealth. Look
closer
to see what isn't evident on the surface, because Barbara Washington's
life is
about to enter into dangerous territory.
It
should first be noted that this novel held its roots in much research.
Drawing
on her experiences as a brown woman of color, Paulette Stout also
interviewed
Black women and women of color to gain from their insights and
experiences
about living and working in American society. She also had many of
these women
read her novel, and they added further insights to flush out the
realistic
story.
The
result is a gripping, moving story of a Black woman's complex
relationship with
a white man who comes from poverty, but still retains white privilege,
gaining
a coveted workplace position thanks to this special treatment.
Barbara
is forced to reexamine the foundations of her life, belief systems, and
relationships; not the least of which is with Sebastian, the man who
has stolen
her position via his privilege.
Barbara's
first-person insights are revealing and powerful, leading her to pause
as she
considers the ultimate impacts of her psyche because of the men who
have
inadvertently ruled her progression and choices:
"Joe
cheating.
Being a bridesmaid on my wedding
day.
Losing the promotion.
Getting fired.
Suffering Dad’s betrayal.
All at the at the hands of men
who held control over me. Voluntarily, I let these guys chart my life,
decisions, finances, and happiness."
Stopped
dead in her tracks by life events that turn her success upside down,
Barbara
contemplates seeking justice and also considers the influences and
messages
that have both led to her success and mitigated the person she once was:
"I
had unlimited pleasures,
none of them cheap or adequately appreciated. Conspicuous consumption
was my
family’s motto, fueled by our desire to fit in as a Black family in
elite white
spaces. The member-only clubs Dad frequented. Expensive vacations.
Private
schools. Legal retreats.
“Look the
part,” Dad always said. Act like you belong. Living as I had these last
weeks
made my old self hard to recognize. She’d become a frivolous stranger
I’d left
behind."
Readers
who anticipate a casual foray into this woman's life will find its
embedded
messages on prejudice, wealth, privilege, and survival are powerfully
rendered,
thought-provoking, and anything but light reading.
Those
seeking women's literature that explores social issues and ethnic
experience on
more than a singular level will relish the depth of insights Paulette
Stout has
injected into her story as Barbara fields new challenges to her ideals
of
success and achievement and faces fresh revelations on how her life
choices
have, in some ways, led her away from who she really is.
Libraries
seeking vivid book club material for women's groups interested in
exploring the
worlds of women of color who defy social expectations and confront
society's
barriers, and the costs of so doing, will find What
Eyes Can't See packed with discussion points that are
inviting
and revealing in this highly recommended love story of justice,
redemption, and
struggle.
Return to Index
Hidden Price
Tags Volume 5: Longer Works
C.J.S. Hayward
C.J.S. Hayward Publications
$15.00 Hardcover/$10.00 Paper/$5.00 Kindle
https://cjshayward.com/hpt5
Email: cjsh@cjshayward.com
Hidden Price Tags Volume 5: Longer Works is based on the contents of The Luddite’s Guide to Technology, but joins others in the Hidden Price Tags series in breaking down the main volume into more manageable and specific topics.
Here, the subjects in the original work are expanded upon and embellished with further reflections for those who found Luddite valuable, but wanted more discourse on the topics of Orthodoxy. This reviews such contemporary topics as what constitutes "woke" in spiritual circles and what elements could comprise modern sainthood.
Each chapter in Volume 5 takes one of Luddite's contentions many steps further, opening the door for discourses that marry traditional Orthodoxy thinking with modern social issues and concerns: "I see plenty of precedent for this kind of heart-rending plea in Margaret Sanger’s wake.
Ordinarily when I see such a line of argument, it is to some degree connected with one of the causes Margaret Sanger worked to advance. I am more nebulous on whether the Fathers would have seen such “compassion” as how compassion is most truly understood; they were compassionate, but the framework that gave their compassion concrete shape is different from this model."
Also woven into these discussions are step-by-step tips on how to set aside the distancing technology which often interferes with theological objectives: "If your priest is willing, ask for pastoral guidance in slowly but steadily withdrawing from technologies that hurt you. (Don't try to leap over buildings in one bound. Take one step at a time, and one day at a time.)
A good book for this is Tito Colliander, Way of the Ascetics: The Ancient Tradition of Discipline and Inner Growth. But better than any book knowledge is the living heart of someone who can guide you out of the Tradition."
The resulting expansion of Orthodoxy considerations, interpretations, and controversies as related to modern conditions and times is highly recommended both for Orthodoxy holdings and spiritual libraries and book reading groups strong in debate and discussion.
Hidden Price Tags Volume 5: Longer WorksReturn to Index
The
7 Levels
of
Wisdom
Mónica Esgueva
Mantra Books
978-1803414706
$14.95
Website: http://www.monicaesgueva.com/
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Levels-Wisdom-Path-Fulfillment/dp/1803414707/?_encoding=UTF8&content-id=amzn1.sym.952cfb50-b01e-485f-be6e-00434541418b%3Aamzn1.symc.e5c80209-769f-4ade-a325-2eaec14b8e0e&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m
Mónica
Esgueva crafts
a journey that encourages individuals to begin this purposeful
exploration,
starting with their own lives. The topic is so potentially wide-ranging
that
it's notable that Escgueva's account is able to compose its disparate
elements
into succinct, logical discourses that guide individual efforts while
making
connections with greater purpose and spiritual intention.
From
the
roles and
applications of meditation in this process to tailoring realizations
about
growth, connections between individual processes and greater social
issues, and
moving from political tyranny to community control and mindsets,
Esgueva
provides a series of carefully orchestrated exercises and realizations.
These
guide readers past ethical quandaries and into territory that leads to
enlightenment:
"The exercise of transcendence and spiritual
transformation has
become paramount in our time—because our technology has immense
destructive
power, which allows us to damage not just our neighbors but many others
physically distant from us."
Perhaps
nowhere else
in new age and self-help or spiritual literature is the importance and
challenge of this process so succinctly and clearly defined and
described:
"When our rationality does not filter out what we
can apprehend,
our mind can access a broad band of information well beyond the
information
available through our five sensory organs. That is why mystical
practices, such
as meditation, are best suited to processes of de-automatization or
deconditioning of socially and culturally learned concepts and
cognitive
structures through which we usually apprehend ourselves and the world."
Because
of
the
complexity of this process, it is highly recommended that The 7 Levels of Wisdom be slowly
digested, discussed in a wide
range of circles (from book clubs and reading groups to psychology and
spirituality students), and included in any library interested in
applying the
foundations of new age thought to the dilemmas and ethical conundrums
of modern
times.
Return to Index
At
What
Cost,
Silence?
Karen Lynne Klink
She Writes Press
978-1-64742-603-3
$17.99 Paper/$3.99 ebook
www.karenklink.com
At What Cost, Silence? is the first book
in the Texian Trilogy and
is steeped in history, a coming-of-age story, and LGBTQ+ issues that
each lend
it a multifaceted, full-flavored feel.
Two
different
plantation families reside as neighbors in a world where morals,
behaviors, and
sexuality are strictly perceived, and deviations from these rules are
deeply
hidden.
Despite
his
fears of
exposure, fourteen-year-old Adrien Villere is driven to seek out his
neighbor
and mentor, Jacob Hart, who ultimately betrays him.
Karen
Lynne
Klink
crafts an evocative, moving story in which characters in the 1800s
review their
lives, social standing, and the edict to keep their personalities and
inclinations under wraps:
"I understood little regarding slaves, or Negroes,
or coloreds, as
most said, not wanting to admit to the more damning term. If I could
keep the
word silent, unspoken, then, in my mind, the belief was of no
consequence. In
any event, it was of no consequence to me. I learned that keeping
secrets was
merely conforming to normal family behavior."
Her
probe of
community and family ties moves between Adrien's point of view and
those of
Bernadette (his wiser sister), slave Grace, and others who interact
within this
world. Their backgrounds and perspectives ultimately change it.
From
considerations
of authority and secret strengths to the war between North and South
which
place Adrien's closest friends Isaac and Will on opposite sides, Klink
brings
to life an era in which attraction, unions, and survival tactics are
fraught
with unexpected battles, both external and internal.
The
heart of
Texan
culture and history come to life as the saga unfolds in a manner where
attraction and sexual inclination are only pieces of the greater
equation of
social and political transformation.
The
result
is a
historical novel that should reach well outside LGBTQ+ collections to
attract
general-interest audiences and libraries attracted to powerful stories
of the
past and their ties to present-day perspectives on sexuality, history,
and culture.
Return to Index
Beyond
Resilience to Rootsilience
Rimi
Chakraborty and Drew Samantha Anderson
Unbound
Press
978-1-916529-07-6
$28.95 Paperback/$11.95 eBook
Website:
https://www.rootsilience.com/book
Ordering:
https://bookshop.org/p/books/beyond-resilience-to-rootsilience-a-revolutionary-women-s-leadership-framework-for-balance-well-being-and-success-samantha-anderson/20996046?ean=9781916529076
The
term 'women's empowerment' has become a business buzzword and is often
mentioned or featured in women's self-help guides, but Beyond Resilience to Rootsilience: A
Revolutionary Women’s Leadership Framework for Balance, Well-being and
Success
represents the next step in the process. It covers the nuts and bolts
of how to
achieve a leadership role in a different way.
Rimi
Chakraborty and Samantha Anderson have created an integrative
experience
between Western and Eastern thinking. This will especially appeal to
thinkers
looking for a more holistic approach to the subject than more linear
approaches
offer.
They
consider the ancient Sanscrit system of the Chakras and their
application to a
leadership approach that integrates positive psychology with ancient
wisdom to
help women leaders decode their unique signs of overwhelm to restore
balance and purpose. The book moves readers
from the singular business and leadership subject to a wider embrace of
the
real foundations of empowerment and women's experiences.
Businesspeople
won't anticipate the mix of spiritual examination, practical self-help
exercises, and higher-level thinking represented in Beyond Resilience to Rootsilience, but this is exactly what translates to new
approaches that examine the
roots of power and its incarnation in the world within and outside of
business
pursuits.
And,
what are recipes (such as that for Cabbage
Apple Slaw) doing in a book about leadership? Recipes that support the
Third
Eye Chakra (among others) provide physical benefits that add to and
enhance the
reader's mental efforts, exercises, and lifestyle changes.
By
now, it should be apparent that this rich,
full-bodied approach to the subject requires, of necessity, not only a
flexible
mind open to new age and spiritual concepts; but one willing to
actively
participate in the work of building a different paradigm for
empowerment,
whether it be walking the walk or drinking the tea.
Color
photos illustrate physical and mental
exercises, which are accompanied by step-by-step breathing and movement
instructions that cover all growth bases, physical, spiritual, and
mental.
With
so many facets embedded into this book, it
ideally will reach well beyond business and leadership pursuits and
into the
lives and hearts of women seeking a novel, useful alternative to the
linear
discussions of personal empowerment that currently dominate the market
and
subject.
Libraries
and readers seeking specific next-level
steps in tailoring and incorporating spiritual, philosophical, and
leadership
beliefs into bigger-picture thinking will find Beyond
Resilience to
Rootsilience worthy of individual pursuit and group
discussion alike.
Return to Index
A
Career is a Promise
Robin
Landa
Taylor
& Francis/Routledge
9781032496931
$170.00
Hardcover/$42.95 Paper/$31.78 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Career-Promise-Robin-Landa/dp/1032496932
A
Career is a Promise: Finding
Purpose, Success, and Fulfillment comes
from a distinguished professor and idea generation expert who
tackles the subjects of goal-setting and career with equal intensity.
Her
expertise in the fields of graphic design, branding, and advertising
have
resulted in many successful mentoring roles whose value is synthesized
in this
book. It offers not just a road map for success, but a guide on how to
leverage
personal strengths for maximum career impact.
At
this point, it should be noted that although A Career is a
Promise will
likely be chosen for business readers, its broader appeal to a wider
audience
should not be overlooked. This book is for all disciplines and
different career
categories, not just business. Robin Landa interviewed
professionals from different fields, such as a plastic surgeon, a
designer, a
tennis pro, and a body image activist, among others, to create advice
and
experiences that apply across industries, sectors, and professions.
Research-based
advice here assumes a top-down distribution focus whereby leaders can
connect
with others, acting as mentors for their own success as well as the
bigger
picture of company creativity and advancement.
The
wealth of lessons and exercises requires, of necessity, a mind willing
to not
only consider (and reconsider) business paradigms and strategies, but
actively
engage with and enact changes to strengthen and sharpen acuity and
novel
approaches to change.
Perhaps
it's a good thing that "...careers don’t always follow a
straight and
obstacle-free path from the ideal to actuality." In the
creative spark
and flow of learning lies newfound revelations and abilities to kick
start
one's career by defining objectives, values, and growth-oriented
opportunities
that often involve identifying mentors and dovetailing self-discovery
with
success.
The
kind of audience open to doing the hard work to achieve extraordinary
goals
will be the leader motivated to absorb the wealth of examples,
opportunities,
and insights Robin Landa delivers in A Career is a Promise.
This
personality will recognize the book's standout value in deviating its
contentions and course from more typical career guides, justifying its
high
price tag and connections to invaluable routines for career and
personal
transformation.
Landa
assumes no prior knowledge of her subjects, breaking bigger-picture
success
into 'micro-goals' for easier absorption and translation and deployment
into
objectives:
"When
you think about the
outcomes of your goals, rather than see each as an end result, try to
focus on
accomplishing one that leads to the next. And if one doesn’t work out,
you have
others to work on."
Step-by-step
routines are accompanied by interviews with leaders who inject solid
experience
and philosophical reflection based on their own achievements and
extraordinary
lives. These examples are tapped from a wide variety of lives, from
pioneering
plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Carl M. Truesdale to brand
builder and
consultant Mark S. Robinson (who wrote the book on diversity and
advertising, Black
on Madison Avenue).
The
unexpected dovetailing of social, psychological, philosophical, and
career
issues may feel surprising, but that's one of the strengths and
wide-ranging
approaches Landa takes in her program, which is all about
reconstructing and
envisioning one's life purpose, as well as one's career.
That's
why A Career is a Promise is very highly
recommended not just for
leaders and entrepreneurs who would employ its guidelines for success,
but for
creative individuals interested in the psychology and challenge of
identifying
underlying values that reinforce greater goals in life.
Libraries
would do well to recommend A Career is a Promise to
self-help and book
club readers who can equally use it for personal enlightenment and
advancement
and group discussion.
Return to Index
The
Climate Misinformation Crisis
Tushar
Choudhary, Ph.D.
HopeSpring Press
979-8-9864358-3-1
$15.99 Paperback/$8.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR9Q6YJ4/
The
Climate Misinformation
Crisis: How to Move Past the Mistruths
About Climate and Energy for a Bright Future offers
a study in scientific misinformation that goes beyond different climate
change
contentions to examine the basics of illusion, deception, and
misunderstandings.
Unlike
other books that adopt hard-line, rigid
assessments on either side of climate change issues, Tushar Choudhary's
book
pinpoints wellsprings of misinformation on the parts of both activists
and
skeptics, pinpointing specific fallacies in popular arguments on both
sides.
This,
in turn, leads to not only a more reasoned
approach to the issue of climate change, but a studied, important
assessment of
its science independent of popular opinion and media influence.
Why
is misinformation more important than the
crisis itself? Because its spread on either side is fostering
attitudes,
responses, and solutions that are untenable and downright dangerous.
Real
sustainable progress in addressing the issue's reality cannot be
achieved until
these areas of misinformation are pinpointed, analyzed, and addressed.
That is
the focus of The Climate
Misinformation
Crisis—and
why it deserves top billing in any library or discussion group on
climate
change.
Choudhary
traces the roots of this ideological war,
considering its influences, motivations, and effects. Chapters unfold a
contrast between the misinformation of two opposing sides with a focus
on how
problems are perceived, defined, and how both sides are "liberally
using misinformation to gain support."
More
than a contrast of opposing 'truths' and lies,
however, The Climate
Misinformation
Crisis
exposes the nuggets of real data without the overlay of drama or
special
interests, offering readers interested in science and debate a
rock-solid
foundation of knowledge from which to build a different paradigm about
climate
crisis.
The
value of this discourse lies not only in the key facts Choudhary
reveals about
climate change, fossil fuels, renewable energy, and the transition to
low-impact choices, but in the sources and progression of
misinformation which
challenges all sides to wade through limiting and potentially dangerous
illusions.
The
result is a discourse that will appeal to libraries strong in climate
change
issues, but which ideally will also reach into debate, logic, and
thoughtful
reader and discussion groups interested in the roots of misinformation
and how
best to recognize and mitigate their impact.
The
opportunities for better thinking and approaches to problem-solving
presented
in The Climate Misinformation Crisis are
outstanding, making this book a
highly recommended 'must' for general interest public and college
libraries
alike.
Return to Index
A
Daily Dose of Now
Nita
Sweeney
Mind,
Mood, and Movement
979-8-9880744-0-3
$18.95 (print); $9.99 (eBook)
Website:
https://nitasweeney.com/a-daily-dose-of-now/
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Dose-Now-Mindfulness-Meditation/dp/B0CKZYZ5W3/
A
Daily Dose of Now: 365
Mindfulness Meditation Practices for Living in the Moment is an inspirational set of meditation
routines that are rooted in mindfulness, but need no prior familiarity
with the
concept in order to prove effective to a wide audience.
Readers
who consult in and appreciate this approach may come from many walks of
spiritual and psychological living, from Buddhists well used to
meditative
techniques to mental health professionals, philosophers, self-help
readers, and
those who simply seek guidance for grasping the moments of everyday
living more
effectively.
Indeed,
anyone who struggles with the concept and enactment of 'staying in the
moment'
needs this guide, because Nita Sweeney experienced such struggles
herself. Her
book is the answer to better pathways to resolution that go beyond most
'daily
readers' in its encouraging, specific exercises.
The
daily exercises begin with a reconsideration of the traditional New
Year's
vows, opening with a quote and including a few sentences of how Sweeney
struggled with the usual New Year's resolutions. It concludes with a
specific,
easy exercise that involves listing one's traits and reconsidering
"hallmarks of value."
Each
exercise in this daily reader is designed to encourage readers to gain
more
from daily introspection than encouragement alone. Readers grow
from
these exercises; and in doing them, will consider different ways of
viewing the
world and their place in it.
For
all these reasons, A Daily Dose of Now should be
chosen above many other
daily inspirational books, selected for book club discussion among a
wide
circle of readers, and featured in any library strong in
self-improvement, new
age, or psychological encouragement titles.
Return to Index
The
Diabetes-Free
Cookbook and Exercise Guide
Dr. John M.
Poothullil, MD. FRCP, with Chef Colleen Cackowski
New Insights Press
979-8-9860163-4-4
$24.95
Hardcover/$9.99 ebook
www.newinsightspress.com
The
combined
expertise of a medical doctor and a notable chef who collaborated
on The
Diabetes-Free Cookbook and Exercise Guide is
a remarkable boost for Type 2 diabetics who usually
receive exercise and diet advice in separate volumes, or not at
all.
The
integrative
promise of this combined cookbook/exercise guide is that it dovetails these
two paths towards health under
one cover, offering a solid, complete program designed to assist Type 2
diabetics towards a healthy overall lifestyle, potentially extending
their
quality of life and longevity.
The
recipes
presented
in the book look scrumptious and can easily be integrated into regular
daily
meal cooking, requiring almost no special ingredients or prep to appeal
to the
entire family. Most ingredients can be purchased at regular
supermarkets and a
few at specialty markets every city has.
The
supporting
medical insights on the cause of high blood sugar and Type 2 diabetes
provided
by Dr. Poothullil offer enlightenment about why many approaches to
control high
blood sugar fail for Type 2. He suggests that "...our
modern
diet high in grains and grain-flour products is the most likely trigger
for the
development of prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes. It is because the
typical diet
that includes more than 50% of one’s daily caloric intake in the form
of
complex carbohydrates produces a voluminous amount of glucose that the
body’s
cells cannot use on an immediate basis."
He
further
writes
that the goal of the book's recipes is this recommendation: "The
key is
to eat foods that do not cause your blood sugar to spike so high that
it takes
hours to return to the normal blood sugar range. That is how you begin
moving
away from being prediabetic or fully diabetic."
Armed
with
Dr. John's
insights on how the overconsumption of grains can lead to Type 2
diabetes,
readers can more effectively tailor their food choices to healthier
ingredients
and recipes.
From
flavor-packed
breakfasts, lunches, and dinner main courses to delectable desserts
like
"Apple-Ginger Gluten-Free Scones” with Cashew Cream Icing, and many
other
recipes not found in other cookbooks, readers receive a wide variety of
easy-to-make dishes that encourage and support healthier food
choices.
The
80+
recipes are
also paired with 12 easy do-at-home exercises, each with a QR code in
the book
taking readers to an animated video showing how to do the
exercise.
A wealth
of
inviting color photos throughout the book accent The
Diabetes-Free
Cookbook and Exercise Guide, helping
it stand apart from many
competitor cookbooks for Type 2 diabetics with a format, presentation,
and
logic that makes it a joy to read and use in your kitchen every
day.
The
Diabetes-Free
Cookbook and Exercise Guide should be in the
collection of any Type 2
diabetic – or anyone interested in preventing weight gain or
pre-diabetes-- as
well as libraries with cookbook collections.
Return to Index
The
Great
Being
Bill Harvey
The Human
Effectiveness Institute
978-0-918538-21-5
$17.99
https://www.humaneffectivenessinstitute.org/the-great-being/
The Great Being adds to the wealth of
wisdom and informational
explorations by Bill Harvey, opening Episode 1 in the Agents of Cosmic
Intelligence series with a specter of creation that may challenge
religious
traditionalists with its reincarnation of new beginnings:
"The
Nothingness waited. Nothing happened.
Being infinite, The Nothingness had infinite patience.
Eventually, The Nothingness decided to explore.
Is there anything
I can do to liven things up here in this emptiness?
The Nothingness experimented with willing something
to see what would happen. It visualized a
creature, kind of like a red starfish.
Suddenly everything lit up. Intensely bright light streaming out of a
central point that was Him. Well, not exactly Him, for He had He and
She inside
of Him. The light flooded out very, very far in all directions. To His
right,
the red starfish hovered close by, undulating its limbs.
This is
delightful, He thought aloud to
Himself."
As
the
Creator takes
changes and absorbs new ideas about his creations, so readers take baby
steps
into the making of life and risk-taking that permeates The
Great Being and its experiences.
The
affront
to
traditionalist methods of viewing God, creation, life purpose, and the
universe
continues in a manner designed to awaken and introduce new
interpretations of
spirituality and life meaning. As readers who may not have expected
such
nuances come to absorb the greater gift of The
Great Being's message, they will find the radically inviting
nature of this
story brings with it the opportunity to view life and God in an
entirely
different light:
"The Great Being decided He did not want to tamper
with the
Lucifer experiment, but felt He owed it to Himself and to everyone else
to
create the best conditions within which all avatars could ripen and
learn their
gifts and Mission. Someday, He planned to bring the most evolved ones
back
inside His own omniscient and omnipresent view, as personality
traits—sides of
Himself that He could consciously consider a part of Himself, of The
Original
Self at the beginning of all things."
The
story
evolves
with a reinterpretation of myths, events, and concepts that doesn't
just
invite, but demands discussion and insights on the parts of all kinds
of
spiritual thinkers as the story evolves a unique and compelling flavor
of
discovery.
New
methods
of
thinking are accompanied by new challenges and delightful stories as
groups,
memories, God, and Agents evolve to assume their roles in higher-level
thinking
and the scheme of things.
One
of Bill
Harvey's
great talents lies not just in his storytelling ability, but his focus
on
translating life events and history with new interpretations of a wide
spread
of myths, from Atlantis to Salem and the evolutionary process of belief
and
faith itself.
Readers
interested in
transformative reading who are not afraid of or affronted by
reinterpretations
that challenge traditional ways of viewing life and faith will find The Great Being's message to be one of
hope, discovery, and new ways of viewing the universe.
Libraries
seeking
stories that are impossible to categorize, wide-ranging in their
characters and
events, and suitable for group discussions ranging from spiritual
circles to
book clubs will find The Great Being a
standout.
Return to Index
How
Boys
Learn
Jeff Kirchick
Atmosphere Press
9798891320963
$16.99 Paper/$8.99 ebook
www.atmospherepress.com
How Boys Learn's fictional focus is on
toxic masculinity and how
boys learn it. It's a coming-of-age series of stories that contain
important
lessons for parents and any adult working with teens that would learn,
themselves, how to better spot its signs and evolutionary process.
The
stories
hold
their roots in a college thesis of the same name, in which Jeff
Kirchick was
charged with identifying these life lessons and their impact. Each
facet of
this collection came from a piece of his own life experience, lending
the
stories a vivid immediacy that helps them shine. Each features a male
protagonist charged with growing into his world despite specific
obstacles and
confrontations that challenge how he learns to become and identify as a
man.
Take
'The
Boy Who
Always Cried', the introductory piece, for example. It takes the form
of
journal entries by a doctor who tries to diagnose a child who has
literally
been crying nonstop, from birth.
As
the
physician
journalist chronicles a struggle with hormone therapy, diagnosis, and
resolution that embroils his professional and personal life in
impossibilities,
readers receive their own lessons in expectation, standards, and
deviant
behaviors. These lead to a reassessment of both child-rearing tenets
and how an
intelligent physician comes to feel "inadequate and hated" on so many
levels, beginning with the crying boy's ongoing puzzle.
Another
contrast in
male perceptions and actions lies in 'This
is the Story That I Wrote for This Week', which provides a first-person
growth
experience from the perspective of a third-year college student who
finds an
essay assignment indicative of his failures in self-assessment and
efforts to
tackle school in a competitive manner.
As the intellectual, informed student
considers his haughty attitude and its embedded prejudices, his review
of his
own work and place in school come to light:
"One
of my
stories about a Navajo descendant who buys a house on land that once
belonged
to his tribe was a massive hit in one of my recent classes. You just
need to
have the right victim. When I wrote about poor white people in West
Virginia
who were dying of cancer years after exposure in the coal mines, I was
lambasted by my classmates for co-opting white supremacy through my
words. I
used it as a data point to refine my focus on which victims matter and
which
ones do not. You need to have a growth mindset in this business: treat
all the
criticism as an opportunity to do better."
How Boys Learn both shows and tells. It
tells of men of all ages
who are not immune to epiphanies about their lives, prejudices, and
approaches
to being male; and it shows these progressive learning experiences
through
reflective, diverse short stories that sparkle with insight.
Libraries
seeking
powerful psychological and social examinations that will serve
especially well
as book club recommendations (not just for reading groups, but men's
groups,
psychology readers and those seeking thought-provoking contrasts in
male
lessons) will find How Boys Learn an
important acquisition accessible to a wide variety of readers, from
literary to
social issues followers.
Return to Index
Managing
the Unmanageable
Jonathan
Cagan and Peter Boatwright
Rivertowns
Books
978-1-953943-41-5
$22.95
Paperback/$9.99 eBook
www.rivertownsbooks.com
"Managing
innovation is
different from managing anything else." If there's only one take-away for readers of Managing
the
Unmanageable: 13 Tips for Building and Leading a Successful Innovation
Team
(and, there will be many more), it should be this
idea. By its very
definition, innovation implies a creative flexibility and freedom which
defies
most management attempts, whether they stem from business pursuits or
personal
drive. Creativity flourishes best when unfettered.
So,
how can innovation and creativity be managed? That's the crux of a
problem that
Jonathan Cagan and Peter Boatwright address in their book:
"Innovation
is building
version 1.0 of something that has not been made previously. It’s
unpredictable.
You don’t really know what the optimum solution will be. People may not
know
they need it until they see it. And for an innovation team, doing what
came
before is a hindrance. It can get you in trouble."
From
defining an effective leadership model for an innovation team to
balancing
risks and fostering a form of visionary leadership that operates on a
different
level than the nuts-and-bolts of the usual business focus, Managing
the
Unmanageable concentrates on managing processes
rather than
outcomes.
This
allows for a degree of flexibility that supports, rather than stifles,
innovative impetus in a business structure. Another technique involves
reframing: redefining a concept for industry applications.
From
safety to team functions and psychology, Cagan and Boatwright dovetail
the nuts
and bolts of management concepts with the realities of building
innovation
concepts within a structure which too often stifles and limits
opportunities
for growth.
Business
leaders who have led teams (but without innovative goals in mind) will
especially appreciate the leadership and management tips which expand
upon the
typical business book's advice.
Managing
the Unmanageable should
ideally not only reside in a
business library, but be read and discussed among business students,
entrepreneurs, and leaders looking to refine, adapt, or create a
management
style that encourages and fosters innovation to realize its maximum
potential.
It's
a guide that no forward-thinking businessperson will want to overlook,
holding
many insights on building a team structure that is adaptable,
efficient, yet
creatively flexible and encouraging.
Return to Index
Neanderball
Sofia Diana Gabel
Independently Published
979-8-9893356-0-2
$12.99
print, $3.99 ebook
Website: www.sofiadianagabel.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Neanderball-Sofia-Diana-Gabel/dp/B0CM2M91MD
Science has
mentioned the
possibility of cloning
Neanderthals in the future, but in Neanderball,
the future is now ... and an unexpectedly dangerous game evolves when geneticist Lucien
Roux’s
controversial experiment is stolen and made into a dangerous sport.
The
fine line between ethical behavior and fame has already been drawn by
his
choices, but further developments take these in a new direction,
forcing him to
reveal his true motivation and indiscretions as he finds himself on a
mission
to save his creations from exploitation and a dangerous game, indeed.
Sofia Diana
Gabel crafts an
absorbing story which is
especially notable for its consideration of moral and ethical
boundaries in
creating, maintaining, and directing life itself. Through her story,
genetic
experimentation and purpose come to life in a manner that welds sci-fi
with
insights into what qualities comprise friendships, growth, and humanity
itself.
Lucien's
enlightening
interactions with Rock and the
other Neanderthals teach him about more than the results of his
creative
impetus as events unfold, embracing intrigue and action as Lucien and
his
ex-military girlfriend employ all their abilities to mitigate the
impact of
modern times on these Neanderthal creations.
The
cat-and-mouse game that
plays out between Lucien and
his companions and the Neanderthals (who aren't as stupid as they first
seem)
creates a satisfying interplay of personalities, purposes, and
intention that
encourages readers to more closely consider all forms of motivation and
drives for
survival.
The evolutionary
process
which develops as a result of
these interactions is intriguing on more than one level. This offers a
rare
opportunity for action-packed leisure reading for those interested in
sci-fi or
medical thrillers, and thought-provoking moments for readers who enjoy
moral
dilemmas injected into the bigger picture mix.
Libraries and
readers will
find Neanderball difficult to
neatly peg. Whether choosing it as a
medical thriller or a sci-fi story of genetics gone wild, Neanderball's main
attraction lies in the unfolding of connections between disparate
individuals
who each struggle to survive and find meaning in a rapidly changing,
alien
situation.
Its
well-developed tension
and characters make it a
winner.
Return to Index
Perseverance,
Journey
to Alaska
Steven Harrison
Atmosphere Press
979-8-89132-086-4
$21.95 Paper/$9.99 ebook
www.atmospherepress.com
Perseverance, Journey to Alaska is an
invitation to armchair
readers and fellow would-be adventurers alike to walk out of their
worlds to
plan and join Steven Harrison on a budget road trip to Alaska via
bicycle.
Steven
Harrison
planned his trip for four months. It won't take that long, however, to
follow
him through its highlights here, from choosing an e-bike to finding
budget
lodging and places to charge e-bikes and phones in remote, rural
conditions.
The
daily
journal of
his efforts imparts a 'you are here' sense to the journey that readers
will
appreciate:
"...so now I was out of gas, tired, hungry, and in
the middle of
Coos Bay, which meant I was lost."
Over
half
the book
documents the journey's ups and downs. The rest considers the immediacy
and
complexity of making new moves for the future:
"When I started my ride, I was on a bucket-list
mission to see my
fiftieth state, with every intention of returning home. No intentions
of
staying in Alaska. Now I was in Alaska with no plans, no job, no place
to
live—things normal people consider before they move 1,700 miles. I’d
left
critical paperwork, my social security card, birth certificate, etc.
I’d left
my clothes, computers, electronics, tools, furniture, bedding,
everything, in
San Francisco. I had the clothes on my back; luckily, it was summer,
because I
had the lightest clothes possible. This was Alaska, so shorts and a
T-shirt
were not going to work."
As
is the
case with
many superior road trip stories, the entertainment value morphs into a
philosophical consideration of life choices and consequences. Perseverance, Journey to Alaska thus
becomes
more than an armchair travel guide, but journeys into the heart of
life's
purpose, how to live it well, and the all-embracing decision of where to live it.
Libraries and
readers
interested in e-bike travel, budget road sojourns, and life-changing
experiences
couched in daily journal entries will welcome the thought-provoking
experiences
and opportunities that set Perseverance,
Journey to Alaska apart from many other travelogues.
Return to Index
Seizing
Control
Laura
Beretsky
Haley's
Publishing
978-1-948380-96-6
$24.95
Website:
www.lauraberetksy.com
Ordering:
https://bookshop.org/shop/lauraberetsky
The
excellent play on words that the title represents is clarified by its
subtitle
(Seizing Control:
Managing Epilepsy And Others' Reactions To It), which offers further definition and
promises those with seizures options for managing what they can control
about
the condition and the world's reactions to it.
Seizing
Control combines a memoir
of Laura Beretsky's
experiences with practical advice, from a definition of what epilepsy
is and
isn't to discussions of activism, developing resilience, undertaking
paths of
healing, and covering the minute daily details of living with epilepsy.
Few
other books on this subject capture the immediacy of the condition's
many
challenges, social reactions to it, and the impact epilepsy holds on
daily
living. The added value of flavoring her account with activist and
healthcare
insights results in a much wider-reaching consideration than readers
might
expect in a memoir.
Another
surprise in Beretsky's approach is that she delves into workplace
discrimination and other facets of society's responses to those with
epilepsy
that delineate how its impact and perception go far beyond physical
challenges
alone.
From
the reactions of well-intentioned, good-hearted people to her seizures
to the
dual challenges of simultaneously managing both epilepsy and others'
reactions
to it, Beretsky surveys the nuts and bolts of a condition which is too
often
misunderstood.
Candid
descriptions of experiencing a seizure and what it takes to recover
from one
accompany health concerns and challenges as she recovers from brain
surgery,
experiences setbacks in different ways, and contends with fears about
independence, dependence, and temporary and permanent challenges.
Throughout
the memoir, Beretsky cultivates a tone of discovery and strength that
those
with epileptic seizures will find inspirational and those who support
them will
find candid and revealing.
Within
her journey is the nuts and bolts of not just coping, but living an
independent,
effective, and even joyful life.
Libraries
and readers seeking more than either another medical survey of the
condition or
a memoir alone will find both facets here blend into bigger-picture
thinking
about social reactions and actions. This gives Seizing Control
added
value, placing it above many similar accounts and making it highly
recommended
for book club discussions not just in healthcare circles, but among
general-interest readers.
Return to Index
Skulls &
Roses
Sea Gudinski
Art of Telling Publications
978-1-7348447-5-7
www.seagudinski.com
Blame Bertha,
and love.
That's what the narrator does in
the opening lines—and perhaps that's what readers should keep in mind
as they
embark on a road trip through the psychic and real landscapes of
American
transgressions and ideals that is Skulls
& Roses, whose title bows to the Grateful Dead's logo
and rebel
influence.
The narrator's
early
involvement in retribution and the
lessons and impact this held, from its origins in the 1920s to more
modern
times, reveals a set of patterns and processes which then follow and
haunt the
search for retribution, revenge, and success as a pursuit for wealth
leads to
legitimate and illegitimate businesses, prison, and redemption.
Philosophical
threads of
discussion about blame and
consequences pepper this story's evolution: "...does
a man truly have to hold accountable for the dastardly course of his
life other
than himself?"
The answer would
seem to be
"no," but the
reality is unexpected and delightfully thought-provoking as events
unfold a
series of forays into sleuthing, family influences and transgressions,
and the
rich opportunities created by changing times and hearts.
Sea Gudinski is
particularly
adept at weaving these
social threads of change into the lives of those who entered
full-heartedly
into their opportunities in the search for riches that somehow remain
ever-elusive:
"...the
word
of the day was very clearly liberty. The misery and anxiety that had
presided
over the nation’s mind were washed away in the tidal wave of liquor
that flowed
forth. Even in the middle of rural Cherokee, men and women threw away
their hip
flasks, bellied up to the bar, and made merry on equal terms. The
feminists’
dream had finally come to pass—just not in the manner in which they had
so
richly envisioned."
The dichotomies
of
relationships that walk on the wild
side, yet also represent a degree of connection and concern, are also
notably
strong in their psychological, social, and political dovetailing of
perspective:
"For
all of
his swindling ways amongst strangers, toward me, Peter was consistently
generous. My cut was always half, and in turn, I allowed myself to be
led
pell-mell around the country by this exceedingly strange testament to
the sheer
depths of man’s pessimism and ability to torment oneself when given
license and
half a burden."
The story
unfolds against a
changing backdrop of
geography and social norms—and yet, some things never change. Remaining
steadfast is the search for invincibility that comes at a price as,
related by
blood, guns, booze, and shared objectives for financial gain, the
characters
embrace both the lawlessness of the Wild West and the fickle
relationships
opportunity presents, careening through lives tainted by hedonistic
successes
and moral downfalls.
Killings,
showdowns and
prison escapes, drooling
bloodhounds, and schemes that, even behind bars, unfold into ironic
business
and entrepreneurial bloodbaths create scenarios in which the characters
are
changed by their pursuits of riches both within and outside of prison.
These
escapades unfold against all odds as the narrator pursues avenues that
continually lead him into trouble despite his lofty ambitions—which
just as
easily could have been chosen as legal routes for their underlying
objectives:
"I’ve
never
been one to just take what Fate handed me, and I was determined to make
that
into a fortune."
Gudinski
outlines a powerful
journey of indifference,
connection, ill-gotten gains, greed, and quasi-opportunity. The search
for a
perfect companion, perfect love, and perfect success is never easy or
cut-and-dried. In unfolding the life of a wanderer who continually
fields
schemes and trouble in pursuit of something greater, Gudinski crafts a
thought-provoking story that winds through decades of evolution, social
change,
and personal ambition.
Perhaps Bertha
shouldn't
receive all the blame. In the
end, it's Bonnie Lee that delivers the true cut and contrast of roses
with
thorns. The narrator finally realizes the true impact of his life
choices and
the missed opportunities that come with his unexpected arrival at a
figurative
and ironic crossroads of freedom and its redefinition amidst past and
present
incarnations of personal impact.
Libraries and
readers
looking for a psychic and social
romp across changing American values and pursuits, as exemplified and
captured
in the rollicking road trip through life that is Skulls
& Roses, will find it a multifaceted and compelling
journey indeed. Highly recommended for its twists, turns, and
reflective
realizations, the story will attract a wide audience of thinking
readers.
Book clubs, too,
will
discover many opportunities for
discussion, whether it be about the definition of wealth, the concept
of
retribution and achievement, or the slowly percolating realization of
personal
impact in other lives and social milieus.
Any way you look
at it, Skulls and Roses captures a
wild road
trip through life that
spearheaded by a strong yet admittedly flawed hero who reflects on life
decisions
and poor and good choices along the way.
Return to Index
Talking
Vonnegut
Chuck Augello
McFarland & Company Inc., Publishers
978-1476690704
$49.95
Paper/$22.49 ebook
Talking
Vonnegut - McFarland (mcfarlandbooks.com)
Talking
Vonnegut: Centennial Interviews and Essays may
be anticipated by many as a scholarly discourse of literary import, but
it's
far more than another analysis of the writer's work.
Chuck
Aguello stumbled upon Vonnegut's work and
connections that mirrored his own life experience. Vonnegut, too, had
attempted
suicide in the mid-1980s, and had family members diagnosed with
schizophrenia.
Aguello's discovery of the connections between them led to his web
blog, The
Daily Vonnegut, which garnered followers from around the
world.
Vonnegut
became Aguello's friend (metaphorically
speaking). This close literary relationship may be perceived as being
one-sided
by some, but it's a lasting tribute to an author who "broke down the
wall
between the novelist and the novel."
This
collection of 29 interviews pays homage to
that process by selecting interviewees who each shed a unique light on
Vonnegut
and the lasting impact of his writings.
The
real meat of an interview collection lies in
the types of questions that prompt extraordinary answers and reader
reflections. Aguello fulfills that duty, crafting such conversations
among an
unusually widespread list of fans and fellow influencers. Readers even
only
casually familiar with the author and his works will come away with a
deeper
knowledge of Vonnegut's influence and focuses.
From
a revealing interview with David O. Dowling
which examines the history of and Vonnegut's involvement in the Iowa
Writer's
Workshop to anthropology professor Sarah D. Phillips's discussion of
the
writer's impact in the Soviet Union during the Cold War years,
followers come
away from these personal queries with a far deeper appreciation of the
extent
and scholarship of Vonnegut's writings and their world-wide impact.
Libraries
serious about representing the impact of
Vonnegut's craft should consider Talking Vonnegut a
foundation
acquisition central to both any semi-definitive or authoritative
Vonnegut
collection. It's especially highly recommendable to students and
readers of
Vonnegut, who will receive key information and insights about the man
and his
work which are simply unavailable elsewhere.
Return to Index
Amanda McKoy Flanagan
For Real Press
9798985673500
$17.95
Paperback/$6.99 eBook
Website: https://www.amandamckoyflanagan.com/
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4M137BJ
Trust
Yourself to Be All In:
Safe to Love and Let Go is
about loss, enlightenment, potential, and healing. It promises (and
delivers) a
lesson in self-love and letting go that promotes connection, exploring
"discoveries born from desperation and loss and from choices made" in
a memoir/self-help guide that will serve as an inspiration to others
moving
through and past loss.
From
the start, Amanda McKoy Flanagan adds value to her memoir that elevates
it
beyond personal experience alone:
"I
will suggest simple and
effective ways of thinking and living to blend mind, body, and soul so
they are
no longer separate parts of you but work cohesively to serve you and
those
around you. Some of these concepts are documented elsewhere and can be
found in
both ancient and modern literature; some are new."
Chapters
are filled with ideals and examples reinforcing the reality and
possibilities
in achieving them. Suggestions for viewing relationships, change,
growth, and
healing in a different way offer not only examples and 'how to' notes,
but
explore the 'whys' of more positive pathways and results:
"In
changing to meet your
partner’s needs, you rediscover the lost parts in yourself that created
the
void, bringing you closer to whole. Becoming who you were always meant
to be,
you fill your own needs and your partner’s. Your partner fills his or
her own
needs and yours. Consistent, healthy behaviors create new, safe
pathways
resulting in a secure attachment to self and your partner."
There
are many important reflections here; not just on suffering and its
resolution,
but in the spiritual and moral act of forgiving others by understanding
their
wellsprings of choice:
"Can
I be upset with
somebody for trauma that was inflicted upon them and for their
unskilled
reaction? Can I justify a resentment if they’ve been so hurt that they
are
programmed to be who they are and cannot change, if they’ve never been
taught
how to change or simply do not see the need for change? Does someone
require
forgiveness if they are constitutionally unable to do better?"
These,
in turn, will spark debates and discussion among a wide range of
readers and
book club groups on subjects ranging from religious inspections of
moral and
ethical choices and their impacts to the ideals of reframing actions,
reactions, and the perspectives of others.
The
result is an uplifting memoir that also contains an admonition and
examples for
making different life choices.
Libraries
and readers seeking self-help workbooks that take the form of memoirs
on life
lessons will find Trust Yourself to Be All In
enlightening, hopeful, and
deceptively easy to read. It's deceptive because the real work lies not
just in
its reading, but in its audience's slow absorption of new ways of
viewing and
interacting within the world.
Return to Index
Amethyst,
the
Shallows
Kellye Abernathy
Atmosphere Press
979-8-89132-104-5
$12.99 Paper/$24.99
Hardcover/$7.99 ebook
www.atmospherepress.com
The
second
book in
the young adult Yellow Cottage Stories, Amethyst,
the Shallows, opens with a grandmother's reflections about
sickness and the
future in the aftermath of long months of lockdown, when a mysterious
Sickness
isolated everyone in their beach town.
Particularly
hard-hit
were the children, of which six come together in this juncture in
history to
adapt to a vastly revised world.
A
strange
encounter
in a sea cave forces them to confront new possibilities in their world,
which
changes these very different personalities and their relationships to
one
another.
Lorelei,
Tad, Casey,
and others represent shifting viewpoints that tackle different
challenges and
perspectives. Readers will appreciate the evolution and promise of
transformation and magic in their milieu, which helps overcome
isolation and
its powerful aftereffects.
Coming,
as
it does,
after the COVID lockdown, many teen readers will appreciate the special
insights into isolation, emergence, and re-invention that Amethyst, the Shallows represents.
The
story is
filled
with evocative reflections unique to the seaside, whether it is an
octopus
discovery or the magic in colorful portents. The descriptive language
Kellye
Abernathy employs brings all these elements to vivid life:
"A tingle of energy vibrates beneath his finger.
Andy draws in his
breath. The scene comes alive. Silver mist rolls away from the grove of
great
trees on a high shore; the ocean pounds, loud and strong; the salt air
thickens
with the smell of peat. In the tall trees, the circle of tiny lights
twinkles
in gem-hued colors as a sky-blue surfboard rises from the sea, carrying
a
dark-haired rider."
As
the plot
moves
from response and inevitability to the prediction and possibilities of
change,
teens will find, within Amethyst, the
Shallows, a powerful saga of revitalized connections,
survival tactics, and
extraordinary times and talents.
Libraries
seeking
stories that embrace mystery, discovery, and transformative growth will
welcome
the sometimes-surreal/always evocative tone that Amethyst,
the Shallows cultivates, and will find it an excellent
acquisition choice.
Return to Index
Avatars
of Gaia, Secrets Beyond Earth
Charlotte
Purine
Munchimonster
979-8-218-2993-5-4
$24.75
Hardcover/$14.44 Paperback/$3.99 eBook/$11.11 Audiobook
Website:
www.AvatarsOfGaia.com
Ordering:
munchipower@aol.com
Avatars
of Gaia, Secrets Beyond
Earth will
appeal to middle-grade readers interested in fantasies steeped in
fast-paced
adventure and action.
The
opening lines of the story explain that the writer, Daisy Heart, has
undertaken
the "...Avatar of Gaia pledge to defend nature." A
treasure
map involves more than jewels and riches, but promises a different kind
of
perception of what defines wealth as the story evolves.
An
evil king set upon destroying the heart of the planet, the efforts of
legendary
Gaia warrior Daisy and her band of stalwart summer campers who embark
on a
mission to rescue a princess, the added involvement of ancient clans
and
secrets, modern-day mutants, technological threats, and the battles
faced by
the young Avatars of Gaia receive action-packed scenarios and
descriptions.
These will attract young readers interested in stories of ecological
importance
supercharged with powerful dialogues and underlying drama.
The
wry sense of humor embedded into these experiences may not be absorbed
by some
kids, but others will well appreciate Charlotte Purine's astute choice
of words
as disparate realms and species are discovered.
Avatars
of Gaia, Secrets Beyond
Earth is
an unusual, powerful saga replete in fantastic descriptions and action.
It
moves from pyramids to submarines, promising to attract young readers
interested in a story that holds many unexpected twists and turns and
proves
nearly impossible to put down.
Adults
will find this saga of ecosystems under attack holds additional value
for group
discussions of underlying attitudes and efforts to support planetary
health and
life, making Avatars of Gaia, Secrets Beyond Earth
more than an
attractive adventure story alone.
Return to Index
Baseball
Buddies:
Building a Team
Aaron Derr
Red Chair Press
978-1643712840
$16.99 Hardcover/$9.99 ebook
www.redchairpress.com
Young
baseball fans
ages 7-11 who look for fiction that is rooted both in the sport and in
the
team-building efforts it requires will find Baseball
Buddies: Building a Team a compelling attraction.
Aaron
Derr
focuses on
the art and act of team-building, opening his story with the first day
of
baseball practice, when the team is in its infancy of cooperative
growth.
As
the
Manatees grow
their team, the individual contributions and characters of its members
come to
light in a manner that also builds friendships, cooperative efforts,
and
assessments of strengths and weaknesses to contribute to the kids'
bonding
process.
Derr
illustrates how
a seemingly disparate group can come together and how equally diverse
personalities
can contribute to the greater goal, whether they are "shy and quiet"
or "loud and obnoxious." Of special note are illustrations of how
each individual is viewed as a friend and respected by the others (even
if they
are sometimes 'obnoxious').
As
the team
interacts
with individual members and players hone their skills and interpersonal
relationships, both efforts contribute to a greater good that
represents the power
of playing baseball and melding diversity for optimum results. Whether
the subject
is the surprising evolution of a team captain like Luis, or a
consideration of
how even goof-offs can come together to achieve a goal, Baseball
Buddies: Building a Team illustrates more than
play-by-play baseball mechanics.
Adults
seeking a
sports-oriented story that draws with both examples of playing process
and
psychological evolution will find Baseball
Buddies: Building a Team an uplifting story of accepting
differences,
coming together, and learning the value of cooperation and competition.
Libraries
seeking
lively, accessible reads for juveniles will welcome the opportunities
presented
in Baseball Buddies: Building a Team
to introduce classroom and reading group discussion topics to fans of
the
sport.
Return to Index
Detective
Stan the
Crayon Man and the Missing Birthday Cake
Christine Tussing
Mama Bear Books
978-1-960616-05-0
$15.95
https://mamabearbooks.com/books/detective-stan-the-crayon-man-the-missing-birthday-cake/
Picture
book
readers
who enjoy stories of intrigue and discovery will find the action-packed
Detective Stan the Crayon Man and the
Missing Birthday Cake both fun and appealing.
Izzy
Bean's
whimsical, colorful illustrations power a tale in which a glowing pink
crayon
indicates that ordinary Stan's persona as a detective is needed.
Here,
Stan
learns
that crayon Pretty Pink has a dilemma: the cake for Mellow Yellow's
birthday
has been stolen from the bakery.
It's
up to
Stan to
question everyone to piece together the clues about the fate of the
missing
cake—even those getting ready for Mellow Yellow's event, such as
balloon
organizer Groovy Green. Every crayon has an alibi, though, and Stan is
frustrated in his investigation until clues based on color emerge to
paint and
save the day.
Kids
receive
an
elementary lesson in mixing colors as they follow Stan's mystery and
efforts.
Read-aloud adults looking for a different way of teaching and
reinforcing
colors and what occurs when they blend will find Detective
Stan the Crayon Man and the Missing Birthday Cake a draw
not only for its mystery, but for its ultimate education in color,
couched in
the drama and problem-solving efforts of a young detective.
Libraries,
educators,
and parents seeking a fun tale that cooks up charm and insights will
find Detective Stan the Crayon Man and the
Missing Birthday Cake a delicious acquisition.
Return to Index
Eliza Jane Finds Her Hero
Eliza Kelley and Debra
Whiting Alexander
Luminare Press
979-8-88679-325-3
$10.95 Paperback/$4.99 eBook
Website: www.debrawhitingalexander.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Eliza-Jane-Finds-Her-Hero/dp/B0CMTKXRTV
Eliza Jane Finds Her Hero will appeal to
young readers ages 6-14
with the evocative story of a girl with Tourette syndrome who strives
to be a
fearless superhero, and who one day transforms into "...someone
she had only imagined she could be" with the
help of an enchanting dog.
All
she's
ever wanted
was to be brave enough to "...hear
the things she pretended not to. Things like, “It’s so strange the way
she
whistles, isn’t it?” and “Look at the way she hops. It’s not
normal,” and “That girl needs to quit rolling her
All
she
needs to do
is face her inner doubt, to become a superhero in her own right.
Eliza
Jane's
story is
co-authored between award-winning author Debra Whiting Alexander and
her
granddaughter.
It
captures
not just
insights about Tourettes, but the joys of animals, living life to its
fullest,
and cultivating kindness as Eliza lives with and embraces her feelings
and
courage.
Black
and
white illustrations
by Patricia Culwell and Jazlin Sobel
pepper the story, adding fun embellishments to the tale of how Eliza
steps into
her superhero alter-ego, Tinklelocks, to address injustice and bullying.
Thought-provoking wisdom and insights abound
in this tale, whether it's the process of Eliza stepping into her
strengths or
the friendship she cultivates with Jacob:
“You
can’t expect
yourself to be like anyone else—or them to be like you. That’s the fun
part—don’t you know? Learning about each other’s differences makes life
an
adventure!”
Young
readers seeking
an enthusiastic story rich in a blend of fantasy and real-world
challenges will
welcome the insights and interactions that make Eliza
Jane Finds Her Hero a powerful study in contrasts, rich in
superhero motivation and a passion for problem-solving.
Return to Index
Gugu
Giraffe
Goes
Fishing
Auralee Arkinsly
Capture Books
978-1-951084-58-5
$22.99
Hardcover/$14.99 Paperback/$2.99 eBook
www.CaptureMeBooks.com
Gugu Giraffe Goes Fishing is a giraffe
story that holds natural
history insights about Botswana's wildlife. It tells of Gugu, a very
tall
giraffe whose neck is so long, he "...saw
Botswana weaver birds in an acacia tree eye-to-eye."
Auralee
Arkinsly's
vivid descriptions are enhanced by the fine ink and watercolors of
Yolanda Van
Heerden. Together, they capture Gugu's environment and the natural
world of
Botswana. Thus, the story will serve dual purposes as an introduction
to
Botswana and as the story of a kind giraffe whose actions consider
others'
needs around him:
"One
perky
bird sang out, 'Gugu Giraffe, please eat around the other side of the
sweet
thorn tree so that we can nest in peace.' Gugu kindly meandered around
the tree
while his first stomach ruminated on leaves. Stomach parts two, three,
and four
churned on blossoms and seeds already eaten."
Gugu
receives lessons
on understanding, tolerance, and kindness from elephants and others:
"Gugu
asked,
'Why do you rip the tree out of the ground, Mama Chidinma? Aww, why
must you
destroy it?'
Chidinma used her
elephant trunk to feel Gugu’s neck. 'Halloo, Gugu! There you are. Why
do you
point out my weakness? I tip trees to test my might. Unlike
you, I am not
tall enough to reach the branches...'"
The
animals
of the
Okavango delta come to life and kids receive a powerful blend of
geography,
natural history, and curious discoveries as Gugu absorbs valuable
lessons about
the wild world around him.
Libraries,
educators,
and young people seeking multifaceted picture books that embrace the
drama of
fiction and natural history will relish Gugu
Giraffe Goes Fishing for its winning story of evolving
friendships and
understanding wild things.
Return to Index
Lost
Kingdom
Laurel
Black
Stormeer
Press
978-1-60842-425-2
$15.99 Paperback/$2.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Kingdom-Laurel-Black-ebook/dp/B0CBG5G5BN
Lost
Kingdom will appeal to
teen and young adult
fantasy readers with its story of Raven, who has been left for dead
among the
enemy. Devoid of both memories and magic, Raven only has a map tattooed
on her
body to provide her with clues to her past and purpose.
But,
it won't be enough to either save or define her.
The
story opens within the mines the Rathalans control and with the forces
that
keep the tribespeople's magic in check. The narrator observes the
repression of
a newbie introduced to this atmosphere—but it's been seven months, and
she
still harbors no memories of her past life.
Her
wise friend Hen rescued her early in her enslavement with tips for
survival:
“Keep your head down. Eyes to yourself. Don’t talk to anyone. That’s
how you
survive in this place. That’s how you help.”
She
succeeds in making an impossible escape and forms new alliances, but
with the
storm closely following on her heels, Raven is increasingly challenged
to step
into her lost memories and role. And so she accepts a stranger's help,
even
though it may prove the last alliance she should be making.
Laurel
Black crafts a riveting fantasy adventure immersed in action,
encounters, and
growth as Raven's journey dovetails with the objectives of warrior
Jeddak,
who believes that his own mission may benefit from their alliance.
Both
characters must
face the fact that they may have chosen their connections unwisely, and
are
forced to confront their endless dreams, nightmares, and the
consequences of a
budding attraction that cannot survive ultimate betrayal and their
separate
special interests and missions.
Lost
Kingdom incorporates many
moral and ethical
quandaries as the characters struggle not just against oppressive
forces, but
matters of their own hearts, perspectives, and objectives.
Young
adults will find the blend of thought-provoking insights and action
supercharged
with depth and intrigue that keeps the story fast-paced, yet filled
with
reflective moments and unexpected surprises.
Libraries
that choose Lost Kingdom for its striking contrasts
between friends who
may be liars and those who may be truly supportive, and its swift
fantasy
action, will find the story highly attractive for its realistic
setting,
characters, and dilemmas which evolve both outside the kingdom and
within.
Return to Index
The Other Side of Together
Emily Cox and Nicole
Allen
Monster Ivy
Publishing
978-1-955060-25-7
$17.99
www.monsterivy.com
The Other Side of Together is
a young
adult story that will resonate with readers seeking realistic
backdrops,
characters, and scenarios that test the boundaries of cultural
expectation and
love.
Mei
Li and
Marcus
live around the corner from each other in San Francisco's Chinatown.
Their
lives are as different as one could get, with dissimilar objectives,
threats,
and insights. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have even met.
Under standard
conditions, their differences would be too great to portend any kind of
friendship or union.
But,
chance
and fate
play a role in their lives, bringing them together in a manner that not
only
connects them, but threatens their disparate worlds.
Emily
Cox
and Nicole
Allen's moving story does not fit neatly into any preconceived
category. Part
romance, part suspense story, and holding dashes of cross-cultural
and psychological
revelation, The Other Side of Together
examines the promises and prices of a perfect union which may be
ill-suited,
but represents the ultimate results of eighteen years of family
influence and
experience.
As
escape
plans
evolve and each character is tested, the story depicts the perfect
union of
love and disaster, tempered by a dose of extraordinary suspense and
different possibilities
as endings lead into new beginnings.
Libraries
seeking
compelling sagas for young adults will find The
Other Side of Together a gripping story that embraces many
unexpected,
thought-provoking twists and turns that most readers won't see coming,
making
it recommendable both for leisure reading and book club discussion
circles.
Return to Index
SkyBlue
M.P. Halliday
Monster Ivy
Publishing
978-1-955060-26-4
$18.99
www.monsterivy.com
19-year-old
Beatrice
Tilney has refused to marry for money, preferring independence; but
when her
father dies and leaves his estate to a questionable business partner,
Beatrice
finds herself without means of support. She is forced to alter her
perception
of what independence really means—especially since her new guardian is
intent
on trapping her in marriage.
"If death is a door, then it’s too easily opened."
Beatrice finds that death also introduces her to new possibilities that
she'd
previously rejected as she considers the revised course of her life and
choices.
Beatrice's
move from
young adult into adult circles will especially appeal to mature teens
making
similar moves in their lives.
From
her
surprising
acquiescence to Mr. Dumas to powerful gifts that assure her mother and
sister
are looked after, Beatrice makes compromises while preserving some of
her
values and life. Striking descriptions detail these acknowledgements of
what
she must do in order to survive:
"Gaston fastens around my neck a weave of gold and
diamonds,
dangling pearls and raw, uncut emeralds. A wish granted, the choker
covers most
of my neck, protecting me from unwanted touch.
'I want only to please you,' he says."
M.P.
Halliday
provides a lively story of the power struggles involved in being a wife
while
simultaneously maintaining an iota of personal freedom. It's a feminist
reinterpretation of the Bluebeard story which is also suitable for
readers
familiar with Bluebeard, who want to look at that story in a very
different
light.
The
many
issues
Beatrice faces as she lends to a moving story of survival that will
give many a
young adult reader food for thought. As Beatrice confronts the death of
a
former mistress and begins to realize the precariousness of her
position,
readers will be drawn into a story that is vividly rendered in
first-person immediacy.
The
mystery
that
evolves around the truth about Beatrice's new choices will capture
attention
even as the emotional components of her growth make for a thoroughly
absorbing
story.
Libraries
interested
in acquiring tales of love, intrigue, and growth for teens on the cusp
of
adulthood will find SkyBlue
enthralling and especially recommendable for book club discussion
groups
considering women's choices and strengths.
Return to Index
Some Must Die
Angie D. Comer
Independently
Published
979-8871775189
$17.99 Paperback/$7.99 eBook
Website: www.angiedcomer.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Some-Must-Die-Angie-Comer/dp/B0CQNGY5PP
In
Some Must Die, twelve-year-old
Leslie
Jenkins is seemingly an ordinary girl living an ordinary life with her
mother
in Tupelo, Mississippi until one day everything changes.
Her
father
is getting
help for his drinking problem and abusive ways. She and her mother are
navigating a new life without him when a morning knock at the door
reveals not
him, but a strange girl seeking help.
From
then
on,
Leslie's young life spirals as high schooler Bonnie entices her to do
something
she's always been warned against and her mother Vanessa comes home to
an empty
new reality.
Angie
D.
Comer leads
readers into an emotionally compelling thriller as mother, daughter and
other
parents and children enter into a deeper, more dangerous milieu in
which God
and parental overseeing don't seem to affect dangerous circumstances
and
potentially deadly outcomes.
Powered
by
the dual
narratives of Leslie, her mother, and others who share alternating
viewpoints
as mystery and danger unfold, the story becomes a compelling specter of
survival and angst as various characters come together unexpectedly and
reflect
on the mechanisms which led them to survive, albeit in seemingly
impossible ways.
Trigger
subjects from
abuse to torture may cause more sensitive minds to look elsewhere, but
Comer's
powerful manner of juxtaposition of subjects ranging from animal
testing to
spiritual revelation and psychological struggle translates to a story
filled
with twists and turns that are well worth any angst over potentially
mind-boggling events.
All
characters face
difficult choices between darkness and doing good. The choices aren't
necessarily presented in black and white, which confirms to the daily
reality
faced by everyone as life unfolds.
Worlds
die
as new
possibilities loom, families come together and split apart in the wake
of new
realities, and themes ranging from traditional notions of what makes a
family
and deep connections are considered and challenged as a world unfolds
which is
much like modern times, yet arrives with surprising twists that
indicates its
progression is anything but familiar.
All this and the level of intrigue and possibility that permeate events make Some Must Die a compelling consideration of darkness, light, and issues of greater good that will not only pique libraries interested in acquisitions that transcend the usual definitions of 'mystery', 'thriller', or 'psychological novel,' but provides a host of intriguing subjects for book club discussion groups.
Some Must DieReturn to Index