Janurary 2016 Review Issue
One
Bucket at a Time
Terrell Dinkins
BookLogix
978-1-61005-706-6
$15.99
www.onebucketnation.com
The concept of wealth building has been one typically directed towards men, but that arena is about to change as aging women realize that their lack of preparedness is about to translate to working into their seventies to meet their retirement goals.
One Bucket at a Time is thus a top recommendation for women who haven't previously considered the opportunities involved in wealth building, and who seek a direct connection between present and future lifestyles and how to fund these goals.
Chapters focus on the author's "bucket system" of handling and building this wealth, offering a step-by-step progressive method of rethinking money management strategies that go beyond savings accounts and delve deeply into the various options of how to make existing and future money work well.
The key to all this lies in "creating sustainable wealth" and the advice comes from a woman who has inherited neither wealth nor knowledge. She DID enter the banking world at a young point in her career, though, and her observations of clients and their approaches contribute to an evolving sense of how wealth is accumulated and nurtured.
From common errors in logic involving the lack of a budget to short-term thinking about goals to paying off one's home before retirement and not placing all one's wealth-building income in the stock market, chapters review common pitfalls and opportunities alike and provide a road map that includes many precautions (such as taking advantage of an employer's free programs while understanding that benefits can be left behind upon leaving that employer).
The basic premise here is that "women should be in control of their habits and behavior around money." Women seeking the mechanics of such control will find One Bucket at a Time an accessible and informative read, filled with case history examples and clear discussions of how wealth is acquired and managed.
One Bucket at a TimeReturn to Index
Success
Through Super Systems
N. Muthuswamy
Smashwords
9781311572950 $6.99
https://www.smashwords.com/
Success Through Super Systems: A Single Dynamic To Steer You Through Your Life’s Decisions comes from a veteran management consultant who has worked with companies throughout India, creating and applying products and management approaches for various companies. His survey of success opens with reflections on what constitutes success and how to measure it, creating a foundation for analytical applications before moving on to identify the basics of 'super systems', identified here as systems between businesses and customers and the kinds of verifications that take place between them.
Communication models for improving self-awareness, identifying and understanding the latent powers in the 'Hidden Self' and how to use them, and taking R&D and other linear management approaches and tempering and improving them with a healthy dose of psychological insight are just a few of the approaches used in Success Through Super Systems, a model of thought that requires more than a small dose of psychological introspection from the business managers while considering its special attributes.
Quest Systems has developed a wide range of these models and applications and their philosophy is embedded in chapters that are as precise about their potential as they are about the common pitfalls of typical business approaches: "We pity those company managements who tell lies to their customers for explaining out their delay in delivery or in explaining quality problems faced by their customers in their supplies. Their days are numbered. We say emphatically: Do not manage your customers, do not just maintain relations with them, never ever manipulate them but merely serve them genuinely."
The tips also incorporate spiritual reflection and discussions of how to overcome obstacles to success on different levels: "The advantage of the mind becoming comfortable with both opposites is to be seen in the way such a mind works in a decision making process, in personal or official fields. The decision made by such a mind becomes the most effective decision under the given set of circumstances as the mind is not bogged down by likes and dislikes, unbiased by one’s own conditioning of previous successes and failures, convictions or mental blocks."
From perceived values and preferred values to examples drawn from Indian literature, spirituality, and business traditions, Success Through Super Systems outlines an approach that considers the roots of success and failure in a variety of systems and encourages a fluid understanding of how to identify the correct 'Super System' for a particular role or goal.
The reader who will gain the most value from Success Through Super Systems won't be the business manager used to linear thinking and problem-solving, but those who can appreciate the added value brought to the table by a blend of psychology, spirituality, and cultural understanding. This is a text that should not be hastily digested, but slowly absorbed for its ability to offer lasting food for thought and discussions of not a single system, but a variety of 'super system' options. The dynamic promised may seem singular at first; but its wide-ranging concepts strive for clearer thinking and include examples for both business and life pursuits in a complex, thought-provoking read filled with powerful opportunities for change.
Success Through Super SystemsReturn to Index
Absolute
Intolerance
Kenneth Eade
Times Square
Publishing
$2.99
http://amzn.com/B0173A4N0W
Absolute Intolerance holds many themes within its drama, which returns lawyer Brent Marks to courtroom and investigative process alike when a serial killer of gay couples threatens his Southern California town.
When the perp is apprehended after a horrific hit-and-run and a murder spree that results in the killing of a busload of people, the case seems fairly cut-and-dried - but Marks becomes convinced that his client, a religious zealot, is innocent; and to prove this, he must follow a faint clue that leads elsewhere, to find the real perp.
Absolute Intolerance is packed with delightful twists and turns, but its real surprise lies in an unexpected conclusion that neatly sums up events without a predictable path being taken. This makes for a gem of a read for courtroom drama and mystery fans used to the clues adding up to one direction.
Without spilling beans, suffice it to say that Absolute Intolerance remains thought-provoking from start to finish, and is a winning story fueled by issues of religious and gay civil freedoms alike.
Absolute IntoleranceReturn to Index
Free
of Malice
Liz Lazarus
Mitchell Cove Publishing
2904 Mitchell Cove, Atlanta, GA 30319
9780990937401 $12.95
www.freeofmalice.com
Laura is having yet another nightmare - and her patient, loving husband is fed up; so he's scheduled her for a visit with a therapist, hoping things will change…and, they will. Only, not the way he envisions.
Free of Malice offers many sterling qualities that place it more than a cut above the usual 'whodunnit'. Some of these features are as subtle as having a daily timeline at the start of each chapter to keep readers on track with the sequence of events. Others include letting readers into Laura's inner world through her first-person narration, including illustrations (such as refrigerator notes and memos), discussing PTSD and trauma therapy approaches, and adding courtroom drama into the mix.
One of the most striking facets of Free of Malice lies in the fact that readers really have no idea where the plot will go. It opens in a fairly straightforward manner and just when readers believe they can anticipate its story line, it turns 180 degrees into the unexpected. Perhaps that is its greatest strength of all: in a literary world too filled with formula writing and overdone approaches, its ability to inject more than an element of surprise to keep readers guessing and on their toes is its finest achievement - and what sets the thriller/mystery/psychology of Free of Malice apart from any potential competitors, making it a worthy and riveting pick for any who look for legal thrillers firmly rooted in psychological depth.
Free of MaliceReturn to Index
The
Last Chameleon
James North
Crooked Cat Publishing, Ltd.
Publication Date: 2 February 2014
ISBN: 978-1-909841-55-0 (paperback)
ASIN: B00IK56OK2 (eBook)
Price: $10.54 (paperback)
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
www.crookedcatpublishing.com
www.jamesnorththrillers.com
When Caroline Dupré joined a secret government organization after the assassination of her husband, she never expected to be placed into an effort to stop a nuclear terrorist. She never expected to become an intelligence operative tasked with one of the biggest jobs in history. And she never anticipated being part of an international cat-and-mouse game affecting the lives of everyone on the planet.
But in The Last Chameleon, she's involved in such a fight, and her prior encounters with killers have only added to her expertise and made her a stronger operative. Her strength is about to be tested, in more ways than one.
On the face of it, The Last Chameleon is a thriller on par with James Patterson and other notable writers. The strength of characterization, the expansion of scenarios described in the prior Vanguard novel Deep Deception, and North's ability to provide a sequel which both stands on its own and builds a striking continuation of events makes for a story that is accessible to newcomers, vivid reading for prior fans, and filled with both political twists and turns and powerful psychological development.
The characters find their abilities tested under impossible, unpredictable circumstances, which will delight readers looking for not just nonstop action, but psychological insights. Protagonists even have room for a dash of romantic possibility (though this is in keeping with their overall involvements in trying to save their world, and is presented more as a possibility than a subplot).
The storyline is dynamic, with poor but generous people, helicopter desert rescue missions, and characters who hesitate to reveal their vulnerabilities until it's almost too late … The Last Chameleon is about changing, blending in, and transformations on many levels; but most of all, it's a super-charged thriller powered by one woman's struggles. This makes for a compelling read from start to finish: highly recommended for fans of high-octane thrillers who look for a strong psychological touch throughout, for added value reading.
The Last ChameleonReturn to Index
Major
Crimes
Michele Lynn Seigfried
Michele Lynn Seigfried, Publisher
978-1518818929
Kindle $2.99, Paperback $12.99
www.michelelynnseigfried.com
Amazon Order Link: https://t.co/4QNv31EdaV
Book Four in the Jersey Shore is a 'cozy mystery' perfect for newcomers to the mystery series as well as prior fans, and it opens with a heart-stopping scenario that portends danger from its first moment: the protagonist returns home to find her front door unlocked - and she's always meticulous about locking it, even though she owns little of value.
She searches her house instead of fleeing or phoning the police - and finds a surprise. It's an unannounced visit, and one that affects Chelsey's good judgment (and ultimately lands her into big trouble) as she becomes personally involved in a convoluted crime whose twists and turns seem to have no end.
As the story line switches perspectives between characters, readers catch a good glimpse of motivations, unspoken feelings, and complications faced by the single mother. Chapter headings do a fine job of informing readers about these changing perspectives and help keep everything on track as the complex mystery unwinds.
Police interrogations, murder, relationships between exs still bound by children, uncertain connections that may (or may not) indicate romance: all these are wound into a story line that is spiced with children, husbands, parents, police departments and ex-cops.
At the center of this whirlwind is Chelsey, whose strongest connections with men have also proved to be her most unstable foundations. Three men in her life have failed her. One has done something crazy. One is falling in love. And the choices Chelsey is forced to make around all three will change her life.
Major Crimes is a revealing, compelling mystery story that's hard to put down. Driven by interpersonal relationships, a sassy combination of fun and angst, murder and mayhem, and dangerous associations, it's an emotion-driven and yet is a light, fun mystery that's perfect for a cozy winter's night.
Major CrimesReturn to Index
The
Widow's Guild
Anna Castle
Anna Castle, Publisher
978-0-9916025-8-2
$13.49
www.annacastle.com
The Widow's Guild is the third Francis Bacon mystery in the series and, as such, it functions as both a stand-alone read and (even better) as an expansion of the prior mystery's themes. Set in the politically stormy summer of 1588, the Spanish armada has been defeated, and Francis Bacon is involved not in a political war but in a personal battle when his assistant is accused of murder and locked in the Tower after trysting with a rich newlywed.
Bacon is tasked with proving his assistant's innocence, which seems a fairly predictable turn of events given his relationship with the man and political connections that turn to him to solve cases of high-profile murders. What is less predictable (and wonderfully engrossing) is the turn of events that leads Bacon to realize that the real perp has something more insidious in mind than a singular crime.
As the nation recovers from months of war and Bacon undertakes a more dangerous battle on the home front, it quickly becomes evident that what drives The Widows Guild is not a politically charged atmosphere nor even a killer's questionable motives: it's author Castle's attention to building historical atmosphere and intriguing twists that ply men and women against one another and expose some of the emotional perceptions of each sex: "Ben meant well, but if he thought she was going sit around on her lily-white arse embroidering cuffs while everyone else got to rove the city tracking crafty villains, he had not been paying attention during the past two years of their friendship. Besides, these crimes concerned her more than anyone else. She had a right to help solve them."
Accidents that turn into strokes of luck, books with messages, and Bacon's own confrontation with his role in society and its effect upon others ("That shamed Francis. How could he sit smugly in his comfortable chambers, never giving another thought to the men he had recommended for “further questioning”? This was where they went, he’d always known it. Perhaps he did have a moral obligation to face the result of his judgments, at least once.") are steeped in the cultural and social atmosphere of its times and bring characters and events to life.
The result is a historical mystery that excels in depth as it presents a saga of vengeance and change, discussing character and theories of murder that takes Bacon his and readers on a whirlwind tour from dungeons to mansions in search of answers that question the very tenants guiding his life and actions.
Fans of historical mysteries will find this book just as captivating and well-done as the rest in a highly recommended read brimming with action and captivating scenarios.
The Widow's GuildReturn to Index
Down
Home Blues
Phyllis R. Dixon
New Generation Press
P.O. Box 750024, Memphis, TN 38175-0024
978-0-9749540-0-4
book - $16.99
978-0-9749540-2-8 e-book
Website: www.phyllisdixon.com
Ordering link: www.ingramcontent.com
Phyllis Dixon's novel Forty Acres began the story, and it was supposed to end there - but superior works tend not to end quietly, but inspire to seek more - and thus Down Home Blues was born from a combination of reader request and author motivation.
One might presume, from this beginning, that a prerequisite would be familiarity with Forty Acres; but thankfully, this is not the case. Each book stands alone, and while Down Home Blues continues the stories of the Washington protagonists who were introduced in Forty Acres, it doesn't leave newcomers lost and wandering, but introduces prior events and people with just a few references and descriptions.
Readers are introduced to this background through the first-person experiences of Beverly Ann, who faces a bleak winter (having just lost her mother) as she recovers from both a car accident and the division in her family caused by her mother's death and legacy.
The first thing to note about protagonist/narrator Beverly Ann is her refreshingly candid assessments of the pros and cons in her life and her determination to make the best of everything: "… but losing Mama made me realize how short life is and I don’t want to look back and see I wasted half of it chasing Anthony Townsend."
And then there's Carolyn, who dreads the holidays without her mother and who acknowledges the difficulties in a life changed by death and marriage: "Mama said it was years before she and Daddy came to an understanding about a lot of things and sometimes the worse comes before the better. It’s no coincidence that we got married shortly before Mama died. The Lord sent Derrick to me, not to replace Mama, but to give me a new kind of happiness."
Seeing events from different first-person perspectives (especially when the transitions between characters are clearly marked, leaving little opportunity for confusion) lends a fine feel to a winding saga that delves into a fight, accusations of assault, altercations and adjustments between husbands and wives, and more.
Phyllis R. Dixon doesn't just describe events and circumstances that befall her characters: she uses the first-person to its maximum advantage, allowing each character to explore their thoughts, reactions, and experiences, which range from midlife crises and loss to the winding complexity of legal agreements and relationship changes.
Her protagonists are committed to different things - family, care giving, career, and each other - but their lives also intersect with larger issues, from legal proceedings to environmental concerns. Does 'for better or for worse' apply under all conditions?
Down Home Blues does a fantastic job of exploring how individuals and families interrelate and how their choices influence wider events in the greater world, making it a recommendation for novel readers who want their action driven by strong characters and their views of life's winding directions tempered by a better understanding of underlying psychological motivation.
Down Home BluesReturn to Index
Love's
Timeless Melody
Cindy Irish
Ebook: $3.99 Print: TBA
ISBN: 978-1-942627-03-6
http://www.cindyirish.com
Love's Timeless Melody (the second book in the Bel Homme Quartet) continues Cindy Irish's saga of lives in transition and tells of Jamie's dual life as a successful, newly moneyed pop-opera group member who has come from small-town roots to make good, but who retains family in Stonehenge, and a spiritual connection to a fate that will draw him from the lure of fame and fortune to possible true love.
This love could take the form of Jessica, an American psychic whose own powers didn't help her avoid a devastating assault and its deadly ramifications, and who flees America for a safe haven to heal and escape her past.
While it may seem inevitable that the two star-crossed lovers will meet, what is less predictable are the devices by which each confront not just one another, but their destinies; facing their fears in new ways that hold opportunity for transformation as well as confrontation.
Can one cultivate love while fleeing demons? And what if those demons follow and re-emerge to destroy one's dreams of future happiness?
As Love's Timeless Melody winds through passionate scenes, dazzling promises, and the quaint villages of England, readers enjoy a flavor of romance overshadowed by a looming question which threatens to tear apart what has been so carefully reconstructed.
Is Jessica's newfound love an illusion? Should she return home to confront the rest of her life? And what about Jamie: has he found another passion that fills in some blanks? And should he share with Jessica a financial revelation that could change things?
As the romance builds, so do the questions - and so do efforts upon each character's part to resolve their pasts and cement a solid future. Should they be together, or apart? That is the question. Romance readers won't need the prior book to serve as an introduction to this stand-alone saga; but after reading it, one surely will want to turn to its predecessor to learn the background of how events progressed to this point.
Love's Timeless MelodyReturn to Index
The Other Side
of Him
Alice Rene
California Country Press
914 Palomar Road
Ojai, CA 93023
Trade Paperback:
978-0-9969490-0-2
$14.94
E-book: 978-0-9969490-1-9
www.amazon.com
The Other Side of Him paints a rough urban scene with only a few strokes of the pen: a girl traverses her urban ghetto home, switchblade in hand, protected by her attitude, her weapon, and the fact that her big brother's protective wrath is well-known in their neighborhood.
But Claire isn't a girl without dreams: she's determined to go to college rather than work after graduating high school, even if her 'old country' immigrant mother opposes her goals in favor of gaining another working family member, and a scholarship is the only route that will make her dreams come true. That's the introduction of The Other Side of Him, but what is to follow is anything but a predictable course of action.
Alice Rene crafts exact, realistic settings which are one of the strengths in her story line ("The three of us ate the dinner Mama cooked in the afternoon between sessions at her Singer sewing machine. It could’ve been schnitzel or gulash or knackwurst with sauerkraut. Tonight it was meatballs.") She fast-forwards through Claire's college years, her brother's departure for a successful job in San Francisco, and a stubborn mother's refusal to leave the Chicago area which has become home to her and her German friends. All this is presented in Chapter One!
When Claire begins dating a doctor, there are early warning signs on their first date which portend trouble for the up-and-coming girl studying for her master's degree in Berkeley. ("I wasn’t on an equal footing with him, but I didn’t care. This was fun”) And as she encounters troubled cases in her social work career, she acknowledges the personal work she needs to do to stay on top ("I need to work with myself—figure out how to deal with people I’d really like to murder.”)
As the juxtaposition between pros and cons increases in the relationship, Claire finds herself learning about love in ways she never expected: through friendships, man troubles, and the evolution of a controlling stalker who weasels his way into her world despite all her efforts to identify and mitigate his threat.
Without giving away any more of the story line, suffice it to say that The Other Side of Him goes where few fictional accounts tred in identifying not just the evolution of a dangerous relationship, but how a smart, successful girl could find herself entrapped despite her most street-savvy senses.
Can Claire face her greatest challenge and emerge intact? Not without a series of unexpected encounters, which make The Other Side of Him a powerful recommendation for readers of fictional stories of abuse who want the superior (and more revealing) device of 'show' over the more common approach of 'tell'.
The Other Side of HimReturn to Index
Escaping
Poverty
Various Writers
Reading Harbor
0692574069
$10.00
www.amazon.com
www.readingharbor.com
Discussions of poverty in the U.S. typically adopt a sociological viewpoint, analyzing and pointing out influences on poverty and patterns among different ethnic groups - but few go so far as to point out how to escape these patterns; much less document the experiences of those who have succeeded.
This is why Escaping Poverty stands out from the crowd in its subject area: its focus is on those who have escaped 'impossible' heritages and conditions, and its chapters pinpoint obstacles to success and how these individuals rose above them. Only some 30% beat the odds: this collection gathers their stories.
Some of the stories hold similar qualities: of workers underpaid, under-employed, and lower-skilled. Others document life-changing decisions that led to poverty - and surprising lessons learned in the process ("A business can’t succeed if it is selfish. A business needs to deliver some kind of value. Otherwise, it is just this soulless, dream-crushing succubus that will drain your spirit and ruin you. Chasing after fumes is intoxicating and poisonous; it will fill you with regret.")
What ultimately links all these presentations is their spirited first-person voices which examine not just the dispassionate term 'poverty', but how it is being conquered in each contributor's very different life.
The chapter headings themselves delineate the boundaries of these discussions, from 'Still Trying to Escape' to 'Successfully Escapes with a Little Help', 'Successfully Escaped Through Education', and 'The Aftermath of Poverty', documenting lingering effects.
Inspirational, thought-provoking and personal, these true-life accounts are recommended as a 'must have' anecdote to any third-party analysis of the state and sociology of poverty in modern-day America. It's here, with this collection and these accounts, that the real story truly begins.
Escaping PovertyReturn to Index
Fracking
America
Walter M. Brasch
Greeley & Stone, Publishers, LLC
2350 Wyda Way,
Suite 1113
Sacramento Calif. 95825
ISBN
978-0-942991-27-7 (trade paper)
ISBN 978-0-942991-28-4 (case bound)
www.greeleyandstone.com
Fracking America: Sacrificing Health and the Environment for Short-Term Economic Benefits provides a follow-up to Walter M. Brasch's prior, acclaimed Fracking Pennsylvania; expanding the subject's scope and using some of the Pennsylvania settings as examples in a wider-ranging assessment of fracking's environmental, economic, and political impact on America.
Because many fracking discussions focus on environmental impact, it's satisfying to see an account that moves well beyond the usual focus to analyze some of the other reasons why fracking is an unusually dangerous pursuit. The wide-ranging discussions move from theological perspectives on fracking (from religions that include admonitions to care for the environment) to connections between industry interests and political maneuvering, which have influenced politicians to create laws skewed toward industry benefits and against public health and environmental concerns.
Dr. Brasch isn't just a naysayer who fills chapters with emotional rants: he offers a studied, rational series of analyses centered around the mechanics of fracking and its impact on different levels. And while it may be his third book on the topic (at first, he didn't want to write any of them; initially not wanting to take the time and effort to learn about engineering, geology, and political practices involved in any real in-depth treatment of the subject), Fracking America may well be his most important yet.
As Dr. Brasch delved into the mechanics of the natural gas fracking process, he became more and more convinced it is a bad idea on many levels - and Fracking America continues this conviction by gleaning more hard evidence from fracking operations across the country.
Readers should anticipate the same attention to detail and facts as in his other books on the subject. Charts, graphs, and footnoted references to CAC studies, news reports, scientific papers and documents support his contentions and provide authority to support every statement. While the prevalence of so many footnoted references (several thousand) may seem daunting to some, these serve to not only support Dr. Brasch's contentions, but provide annotated references readers can turn to (almost all of them presented as website links) for their own research.
Discussions and assessments of renewable energy resources around the world, their locations, and their potentials round out what has to be the most authoritative, well-researched, rational and evidence-based discussion of fracking in America to hit the book market to date.
Fracking America is highly recommended for anyone studying the subject at any level, whether they are newcomers to fracking or activists who have only researched environmental impact, and need to fill in the blanks on political processes and impacts that hold important questions about American freedoms and political maneuvering.
Fracking AmericaReturn to Index
The
Needy Greedy Dilemma
M.T. Webb
Create Space Publishing
9781505360189
$15.99
http://www.amazon.com/Needy-
The Needy Greedy Dilemma: Coming to Grips with Greed and Gratifying Unmet Needs tackles a very specific psychological topic that usually is covered under different names or overly complex approaches: the state of being needy.
Chapters focus on how needy behaviors are linked to selfishness, self-centeredness, and issues revolving around self image, and they include a 'needy quiz' for identifying one's neediness along with self-help exercises designed to help readers recognize their needs and sync them with better behaviors and approaches to life.
That's the overview of Webb's approach: the real 'meat' lies in quotes (mostly Biblical, but from other sources too) that set the stage for understanding how and where dysfunction occurs in relationships and overall life approaches.
From how sexual preoccupation replaces intimacy to understanding authority, leadership, and the needy (or greedy) roots of isolation, The Needy Greedy Dilemma cements its observations in Biblical context and modern living and thus represents an unusual approach that melds spirituality, psychological insight, and social commentary.
Christian readers seeking self-help discussions firmly rooted in both scripture and psychology will find The Needy Greedy Dilemma to be a solid, compelling approach.
The Needy Greedy DilemmaReturn to Index
Chelsea Creek
to Bunker Hill:
Spring 1775 Chelsea
Creek to Bunker Hill: Spring 1775
is children's historical fiction at its best, providing a sequel to The Portsmouth
Alarm: December 1774 (not seen by this reviewer)
and covering events
following the political turmoil in Lexington. The
first thing to note is that Chelsea Creek to
Bunker Hill is a historical novel focusing on
political proceedings
and viewpoints in 1775. This means that characters, action, and
differing
political positions (and their rationales) are the driving force of its
story
line. It is also important to note that most of the
individuals
referenced were real people who lived during the times (but
are subject to
the author's interpretation of events - thus, its fictional
cloak). Look
closer and it can be seen that under this cloak of political facts is
an
attention to characters with their own changed dreams and aspirations,
as in
the case of the character of fourteen-year-old Andrew,
who has studied hard for his college entry exams only to find the
college has
been closed indefinitely. His plans for his career, the troop buildup
in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, and
the unrest in his town become even more of a personal
challenge as
escalating tensions between colonists and the British affect his future
aspirations. Middle
grade readers will find learning early American history a snap because
this
novel is fueled with the passions, family challenges, and
concerns of
young protagonists on the cusp of adulthood who find that the politics
of their
times is taking over their lives, options and choices. As
Andrew joins up, learns new skills,
and participates in a regiment as a doctor's assistant, he is tasked
with jobs
that move beyond his initial interest in medicine to become struggles
for
autonomy and independence. DeMitchell
inserts a wealth of facts into Andrew's
life and experiences that hold the side benefit of teaching middle
school
readers about the personal aspects of surviving the times: "Andrew was aware that the students
tended to be younger
than the soldiers. Andrew would have
turned fifteen when he began his studies, but some started at twelve or
thirteen. The soldiers were at least sixteen and many were much older." From
the mechanics of reinforcing fences and managing errant livestock to
facing
battles, troop movements, and facing the ultimate challenges of war,
Andrew's shift from a relatively naive aspiring
college student to becoming a passionate soldier involved in a cause
takes the
dispassionate facts of history and deftly turns them into an intimate,
personal
portrait of not only a nation entering into war, but a boy entering
into
manhood with all its complexities and challenges. Young
readers will come to understand the personal struggles behind
historical
facts and will find Chelsea Creek to
Bunker Hill: Spring 1775 a powerful saga of the
legacy of battle and
the concerns of those who became mired in political and military
struggles.
Terri
A. DeMitchell
Piscataqua Press (Tom Holbrook, Publisher)
RiverRun Bookstore
142
Fleet Street
Portsmouth, NH
03801
ISBN
978-1-939739-97-1 $12.95
www.terridemitchell.com
Return
to Index
Darker
the Night
Lisa London
Deep River
Press
918 Twin Oaks Farm Rd
Sanford NC 27330
9780991163571-E-Book
$9.95
ISBN 9780991163557 –Trade Paper $18.95
ISBN 9780991163564-Large Print
$24.95
Publication date: February
19, 2016
http://darkerthenight.com/
www.amazon.com
Enter the story in 1944 (World War II), where the blast of an air raid siren sends two girls tumbling from their beds and into a basement shelter; then go back in time to 1937, where Hedy is a winner in a competition certain to make the Fürher proud of his young warriors. This win will earn her a position in his Youth Gathering in Cologne, a high honor, indeed, for one not yet fourteen.
Hedy's classmates are in the SS and in special corps serving the Fürher, and their lives take on new meaning in an adult world where they are usually directed instead of respected.
More so than most similar books about Hitler's youth movement, Darker the Night chooses a powerful character (Hedy) to portray how youth were affected by his ideals and encouraged to participate in increasingly dark events. It's often about seeking and gaining approval from peers and adults alike: and just as frequently, events pose a strange juxtaposition between adult training and concerns and a child's eye view of the world just beginning to change as they teeter on the cusp of adulthood: "Grinning, Hedy picked it up and swung back. Frieda seized a pillow and returned fire. Soon all of the girls were throwing pillows and shrieking. Laughter, squeals, and feathers filled the room as they fell on top of one another."
By interspersing these moments of a child's life and innocence with the insidious unwinding of events to come, London's survey succeeds, more so than most young adult reads, in capturing the flavors of both the times and the sentiments of young people determined to fit in and establish a position for themselves in life.
As Hedy continues to mature and comes to make some difficult decisions about friends, enemies, and her future, she finds herself constantly walking a thin line between survival and ethics, making decisions that often tend to thwart the effects of starvation and challenges to life itself: "Dammit, Hedy, every time I visit you, I ask, ‘What do you and your family need?’” He stopped and drew a deep ragged breath. “You lied to me. You insisted you did not need a thing. Your family is starving and you won’t tell me? What kind of relationship is this?” Squirming, Hedy explained …"I didn’t want you to think I was dating you to get food.” Hedy fought back the tears swelling in her eyes. “I never wanted you to question my motives.”
And as she interacts with Americans and Germans alike, she savors the good things that evolve in her world (for, yes, there is good - it's not all darkness) and battles against those which would drag down her and her family.
Each chapter opens with a quote from a speech or piece of propaganda to give a flavor of the times and its influences, and each section offers new opportunities for reflection and understanding; because just as events in Germany weren't singular, so Hedy is a complex character whose perceptions aren't based on political correctness today, but on the experiences of a young German citizen confused about her country's direction and its real actions.
Against this backdrop, Hedy's coming of age isn't just political: it's a personal saga personal, throughout. This approach gives the book a stunningly realistic, absorbing quality that will make it a powerful juxtaposition to Diary of Anne Frank, recounting the youth experience from quite a different vantage point and making it a special recommendation for a companion read and contrast to Anne Frank's more famous Diary's perspective.
Darker
the Night
QUACK
Goes the Corgi QUACK
Goes the Corgi is a whimsical
picture book that at first glance would seem to capture a child's eye
with fun
multi-colored animal drawings; but the winding topic also holds the
power to
intrigue adults with its insights into animals and psychology, and is
best
pursued through a child/adult reader partnership. The
corgi dog barks as often as a duck quacks, and thinks of himself as the
center
of the universe, but he has a true friend in Bunny, and the two very
different
critters cultivate a relationship through various tests and encounters
that
range from a staring contest to races. How can the little corgi "stand
tall" on his own? Various
devices, from thievery, to being silly, to being overly vocal, lend a
feeling
of power to the corgi's efforts. But are they all effective? The
concepts are presented in simple language and scenes that are often
compellingly fun and silly; but they do require adult discussion to
move beyond
the 'silly factor' into something more thought-provoking for
youngsters. One of
the joys of QUACK
Goes the Corgi
is that it's actually not a simple read, despite its easy presentation
and
approach; this means that kids will find each page delightfully
unexpected and
fun - and quite a few will be easy to relate to for various age levels.
For
example: "Corgis
get in bad moods
whenever their cookie jars are not refilled." As
a parade of different corgis moves through the book, with different
perspectives on life and what makes it good, kids are treated to some
fun
perceptions of how the world becomes good or bad depending on
approaches,
desires, and different perspectives. Heady
reading, couched a in fun cartoon-like collection of colorful drawings
and a
range of corgi psyches, makes QUACK Goes the
Corgi an unexpected delight, standing well apart
from the picture
book crowd with a whimsical and zany perspective that includes more
than a
small dose of psychological insight - something young readers and their
parents
will relish as discussion points. Samantha
Smartypants and the Slippery Slope Samantha
Smartypants and the Slippery Slope
is a fun elementary level to middle school read and is narrated in the
first
person by Samantha Pojanowski (i.e. 'Smartypants'), who has earned the
class
reputation of being too smart for her own good. Luckily,
Samantha is able to make the most of her name - but not before she
faces one of
the biggest challenges of her life (and one in which her intelligence
level
doesn't help): skiing. It's clear early on that physical exercise isn't
part of
her skills list: "I
whizzed through the
math and spelling, and read a chapter in my history book. It didn't
take long
because homework was easy for me. On the other hand, skiing at Devil's
Drop
seemed like the hardest job in the universe." Can
she come up with a plan so she doesn't have to go skiing, which will
interfere
with her beloved book reading? Any
young bookworm or non-athlete will readily appreciate Samantha's
dilemma and
her creative efforts to wiggle out of what surely will be an unpleasant
situation. But
that isn't the only slippery slope that Samantha faces: there's the
advent of
Kindle over her beloved paper books; there's an infatuation evolving on
the ski
slopes, and there's a special girl who wants to ski even though she's
wheelchair-bound. As
Samantha faces all kinds of new situations, from fighting fears to
different
classmate interactions, she discovers that the answers don't always lie
in
books and intelligence. Instead, she re-adjusts her perspective to face
these
new challenges which lie at the heart of not just a slippery slope, but
a
series of downhill experiences that ultimately strike at Samantha's
short-lived
(but well-constructed) identity. At
the end of her story, young readers will readily relate to Samantha's
perspectives,
changing world, and the choices she faces in tackling her greatest
fears over
new experiences. Samantha
Smartypants and
the Slippery Slope is highly recommended as a
lively read
incorporating many absorbing questions about a child's evolving
identity in the
face of life's changes. Sworn
To Raise Sworn
to Raise is Book One of the
'Courtlight' fantasy series and centers around seventeen-year-old
Ciardis, who
is a humble cleaner in a small town on the outskirts of an empire - and
the last
person who would seem to become involved in the struggles of princes
and the
court life. So when she's chosen to leave home and train to become a
Court
Companion, she is tasked with rising above her servant station to fill
an
impossible role. Several
things should be mentioned: first, it takes time to build the character
of
Ciardis and her world; so young adults expecting nonstop action and
shallow
adventure might find Edun's attention to detail surprising for a
leisure
fantasy read, which usually forsake depth for nonstop action and a
faster pace.
This just serves to create subplots with unusual stories, such as the
introductory challenge posed to Ciardis when she finds her future
partner has
been suddenly betrothed to another because of an unwanted pregnancy and
a
father's intervention. Attention
is given to outlining the different aspects of magic in such a world,
and to
cementing Ciardis' changing place in it. What takes time and, for those
expecting
quick action, detail will ultimately prove much more attractive to
fantasy
readers seeking more complexity and depth than the usual young adult
fantasy
offers. Ciardis
isn't perfect. But it's quickly evident that her narrow, self-centered
vision
of herself and her limited world is about to expand exponentially; and
as her
ability to attract candidates cements her new position, she finds
herself in an
increasing whirlwind of controversy and struggle. The
story line builds slowly, methodically, and solidly, cemented by
different
characters and descriptions of magic's place in their world. Just
enough detail
is given to hold everything together: as Ciardis grows and evolves, so
readers
are drawn into her new life and revised future. Minor
grammatical flaws are peppered throughout, but not to the point that
the story
line is significantly hampered - a quick proofing or edit job would
catch and
fix these blemishes upon the apple. Teens will find Sworn to Raise
a compelling saga of magic, romance, and one
young woman's struggle to find and understand her revised role in her
world.
Transference Meet
fifteen-year-old twins Liv and Oliver, who are facing the adventure of
their
lives in a first-person saga that opens with Liv worrying that "I’m afraid that my twin brother,
Oliver, and I will
be stuck in this place, sleeping on creaky cots, locked in a cell being
guinea
pigs for the rest of our lives." In two
sentences, young adult
readers of Transference
are
'hooked': what has happened to the twins to lead them to this point?
What has
transpired are events that will change and challenge their lives, and
they
revolve around missing parents, a close-held family secret, and choices
that
will change them all forever. It's
quickly revealed that Oliver and Liv's special connection includes
telepathy
between them - and that this special ability is about to become much
more
dangerous as events unfold to reveal deeper, darker dangers. A
cat-and-mouse series of encounters evolves where Oliver and Liv succeed
in
escaping dangers time and again, only to find themselves more deeply
immersed
in discovering the truth about their abilities and the threats
surrounding them. As
it becomes evident that more than one side has been watching them all
their
lives ("This
man had been waiting and
hoping for years that we’d just show up to one of his functions? But
why didn’t
he try harder to reach out to us?"), it also
becomes obvious that a myriad of tangled special
interests are intersecting, placing them in the middle of danger on
several
fronts. At numerous points the number of questions outweighs all
options and
answers and seemingly leads nowhere - but then the plot twists again,
and a
path emerges that will prove a satisfying surprise to even the most
savvy teen
sci-fi or thriller reader. As
the twins discover that their fate leads to new friends and enemies
alike (and
a larger purpose), they are left with a newfound determination to take
charge
of their lives and abilities in defiance of all special interests and
against
all odds. Be
forewarned: Transference
provides
no simple conclusion but leaves the door wide open in a cliff hanger
that
portends more exciting adventures. Teens from middle to high school
grade
levels will find it action-packed and thought-provoking, with solid
characterization and intriguing mystery throughout.
Warrior
Kids Warrior
Kids: A Tale of New Camelot is set
in New Camelot, where eighteen-year-old Lance and his Earth Warriors
are
battling climate change. It would seem unlikely that a youth-led
movement can
save the earth from its own inhabitants, but Lance's movement is
spreading
across America,
attracting friends and making enemies alike. The question is: can they
really
make a difference? It's
unusual to see a middle-grade novel steeped in different themes often
directed
to adult audiences: political struggle, climate change, and the process
of
becoming a leader in a turbulent world. Such themes would seem to
preclude the
audience Warrior
Kids is intended
for - and, indeed, the subject and approach promises not a light
leisure
thriller, but a story offering more depth than most. That's
one of the strengths of Warrior
Kids:
set within the 'Children of the Knight' universe, it combines elements
of
Arthurian legend and futuristic struggle to create its own unique world
where
young adults have power and learn how to wield it. Chapters
discuss the kinds of wars movements spawn, the strengths needed from a
determined leader of any age, and the types of enemies that are born
under such
circumstances. They follow the rise of 'kid power' in previously-adult
political circles and they use many of the trappings of Arthurian times
(Excalibur, knights, etc.) to explore rhetoric, political structure,
and how
determined kids could possibly make a difference in their world - if
it's not
already too late. While
Warrior Kids
is might be
considered a middle grade read, it's really a better read for high
school, with
its older teens and their social and political savvy. Such an audience
will
find it a refreshingly different world that poses many questions about
ethics,
morality, and human interactions with the planet; all presented under
the
unusual focus on 'kid power' and the ability of individuals and
grassroots
communities to change the world.
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Nancy Kondos
BookLogix
1264
Old Alpharetta Road,
Alpharetta, Georgia 30005
978-1-61005-625-0 $12.95
http://www.nancykondosbooks.
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Barbara Puccia
CreateSpace
978-1515200390 $6.99
www.samanthasmartypants.com
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Terah Edun
NLA Digital LLC
1732 Wazee Street, Suite 207,
Denver, CO 80202
9781620511862
$2.99
www.teedun.com/libraries
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Angela McCubbins
Goldminds Publishing, LLC.
1050
Glenbrook Way, Suite 480
Hendersonville,
TN 37075
www.goldmindspub.com
9781942905172 $14.99 Paper/$6.99 ebook
http://angelamccubbins.com
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Michael J. Bowler
Michael J. Bowler/Createspace
9781517398378
$7.75 paperback $1.99 Kindle
www.michaeljbowler.com
www.amazon.com
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