 |
Book
Reviews,
Book Lover Resources, Advice for Writers and Publishers |
| Home / MBR
Bookwatch |
MBR Bookwatch
Table of Contents
Able Greenspan's Bookshelf
Profits and Persecution
Peter Hayes
Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
9780521772884, $29.99, HC, 224pp
https://www.amazon.com/Profits-Persecution-Business-Economy-Holocaust/dp/0521772885
Synopsis: With the publication of "Profits and Persecution: German Big Business in the Nazi Economy and the Holocaust", Professor Peter Hayes reveals the role that Nazi influenced big German business played in the persecution of European Jews during the Holocaust. It addresses such question as: What were its motivations? And how did it respond to changing social and economic circumstances after the war?
"Profits and Persecution" also examines how the leaders of Germany's largest industrial and financial enterprises played a key part in the catastrophes and crimes of their nation in the first half of the twentieth century.
Drawing on evidence concerning the roughly one hundred most significant German firms of the Nazi era, Professor Hayes deftly explores how large German corporations dealt with Jews, their property, and their labor. This unique study combines business history and the history of the Holocaust to consider both the economic and personal motivations that rendered German corporate leaders complicit in the actions of the Nazi Party. In doing so, it demonstrates how ordinary, familiar thought processes came to serve the ideological purposes of the Third Reich with lethal consequences.
Critique: Augmented for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of an informative Prologue, twenty-six pages of Notes, a nineteen page bibliographic listing of References, and an eleven page Index, "Profits and Persecution: German Big Business in the Nazi Economy and the Holocaust" by Professor Peter Hayes is a singular, original, and expertly presented study that is thoroughly 'reader friendly' in style, organization and presentation. Highly recommended to readers with an interest in the Holocaust, the German business community during the era of the Nazi regime, and 20th Century European History, "Profits and Persecution: German Big Business in the Nazi Economy and the Holocaust" is highly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. Students, academia, historians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject should note that this hardcover edition of Peter Hayes' "Profits and Persecution: German Big Business in the Nazi Economy and the Holocaust" from the Cambridge University Press is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $29.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Peter Hayes is Theodore Zev Weiss Holocaust Educational Foundation Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University. He is the author of the best-selling Why? Explaining the Holocaust (2017), as well as thirteen other books and more than one hundred articles and chapters on the history of the Nazi era. Hayes served for twenty years on the Academic Committee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and as its chair from 2014 to 2019. -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Hayes_(historian)
Industrial Policy for the United States
Marc Fasteau & Ian Fletcher
Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
9781009243070, $49.99, HC, 836pp
https://www.amazon.com/Industrial-Policy-United-States-Competition/dp/1009243071
Synopsis: The U.S. is losing the international competition for good jobs and high value industries because Washington largely believes trade should be free, the dollar should float, and innovation comes from the private sector.
With the publication of "Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries", co-authors Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher make the bold case that such laissez-faire ideas have failed and that a robust industrial policy is the best way for America to remain prosperous and secure.
Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden have enacted some elements, yet America now needs something systematic and comprehensive, including tariffs, a competitive exchange rate, and federal support for commercialization (not just the invention) of new technologies.
Timely, meticulously researched, and bipartisan, "Industrial Policy for the United States" offers an impressive analysis that replaces misunderstandings about industrial policy with lucid explanations of its underlying economic theory, the tools that implement it, and its successes (and failures) in America and abroad.
"Industrial Policy for the United States" also examines key industries of the past and future - steel, automobiles, television, semiconductors, space, aviation, robotics, and nanotechnology, while offering an actionable policy roadmap.
A work of rigor and ambition, "Industrial Policy for the United States" is essential reading that provides a new theoretical model for how economies develop, challenging the free-market orthodoxy on economic growth and trade policy. Also provided are policy recommendations for reforming US industrial policy; country case studies of successful and failed industrial policies; and insight into general guidelines and how policies must be adapted to specific circumstances.
Critique: A massive, groundbreaking, and impressively timely study, "Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries" is enhanced with the inclusion of figures, tables, a two page listing of Acknowledgments, a hundred and fifty one pages of Notes, a twenty-seven page Bibliography, and a fourteen page Index. While also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $49.99), this hardcover edition of Fasteau and Fletcher's "Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries" from the Cambridge University Press will prove of immense and special interest to students, academia, political activists, governmental policy makers, economists, and non-specialist general readers with an concerned with Industrial Management/Leadership, Economic Development, and Private/Public Policies/Practices. An ideal and comprehensive textbook, "Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries" is an invaluable and unreservedly recommended addition to community and college/university library collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Marc Fasteau is a vice-chair of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. Before founding an insurance company acquired by Progressive, he was a partner at Dillon Read & Co., a New York investment bank. Earlier in his career he served on the professional staffs of the US Senate majority leader, the Joint Economic Committee and the House Banking and Currency Committee. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he was on the Harvard Law Review. (https://prosperousamerica.org/board-of-directors/marc-fasteau)
Editorial Note #2: Ian Fletcher is on the Advisory Board of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. He is the author of Free Trade Doesn't Work and coauthor of The Conservative Case against Free Trade. He was a senior economist at the Coalition and previously a research fellow at the US Business and Industry Council. He was educated at Columbia and the University of Chicago. (https://prosperousamerica.org/advisory-board/ian-fletcher)
Able Greenspan
Reviewer
Diane Donovan's Bookshelf
The Courageous Forrest Brothers: Sticking Together
Sami Ke
Independently Published
www.theforrestbrothers.com
9789887082101, $16.99
https://www.theforrestbrothers.com/books/p/ebook-the-courageous-forrest-brother-sticking-together
The Courageous Forrest Brothers: Sticking Together is the picture book story of brothers Milo and Sheldon, who are always up for adventure.
Sheldon's latest goal is to find the Golden Acorn so he can be crowned "the bravest adventurer in all the land." His little brother Milo is the sticking point... he tends to ruin Sheldon's plans. And this latest goal is too lofty to suffer from a younger brother's tagalong snafus. Sheldon needs to do this on his own.
And so he sets out, marching bravely into the woods, sword held high... until a snapping twig introduces a big problem.
It takes an uncommonly wise (and creative) mother to solve the bigger problem of little Milo's wannabe relationship with his older brother. With a dose of her own special perspective and magic, she sends Milo off into the world, too, and an unexpected adventure embraces both brothers with new possibilities.
Sami Ke creates a warm story of sibling relationships. Her focus on centering their experiences on a quest for adventure and the unexpected emotional ties it brings to both offers a warm outcome and excellent discussion points. Families can use these to encourage better understanding, connections, and love between siblings. Bright, colorful drawings accent both the action and the two brothers as they interact and grow from their encounters.
Read-aloud parents will find The Courageous Forrest Brothers: Sticking Together's blend of adventure and revelation proves just the right mix for an early understanding and appreciation of family ties and how true discovery may present itself in more ways than one.
Nana's Heartwarming Tales: Little Echoes
Vicki Johnpeer with Cory
CP Press
www.nanastales.com
9798990062559, $13.99 Paperback/$9.99 eBook/$18.99 Hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Echoes-Childrens-ebook/dp/B0DYG2V9LF
Nana's Heartwarming Tales: Little Echoes again features tiny hummingbird reporter Cory, whose observations of four children (Cara, Aimee, Buddy, and Cousin Jed, whom everyone calls 'The Pals') lends understanding and insight to their encounters and friendship experiences.
Like Vicki Johnpeer and Cory's previous Nana collection Tiny Whispers, the tales embrace themes of camaraderie, caring, cultivating forgiveness, and more. These are illustrated via encounters that bring the children enlightening lessons about life that read-aloud parents can use to reinforce early ideas of how to navigate the world and one's peers.
Lovely line drawings by Johnpeer accompany stories that open with definitions of their themes. 'Being Caring,' for example, states:
Being caring means helping others by freely giving your time, abilities, and the things others need without expecting anything in return.
As Buddy and Jed climb trees and learn about nature and themselves, the birth of a baby bird provides opportunities for young reader or listener enlightenment as Mama Bird and the Pals explore different ways of protecting the newborn and understanding its basic needs.
Packed with appealing tales backed by important lessons, Nana's Heartwarming Tales: Little Echoes expands on the stories introduced in the first book. Each tale concludes with food for thought that adults and kids can consider with one another as reflective reporter Cory offers additional insights.
Elementary-level libraries that choose Nana's Heartwarming Tales: Little Echoes will find it key to helping kids understanding cooperative thinking, problem-solving, and reacting to life events with care and concern for others.
Otherwise Wretched: Stories
William Burtch
Catamount Press
c/o Sunbury Press
https://www.sunburypress.com
https://otherwisewretched.com
9798888193068, $19.95
https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-Burtch/author/B09ZGYJT8H
Otherwise Wretched: Stories is a literary gathering of fictional stories depicting and contrasting a disparate cast of characters. Each struggles heavily with their lives and choices.
As literature goes, Otherwise Wretched represents diversity at its best, whether capturing the experiences of the addicted, ordinary line cooks and workers, or juxtaposing the rural and urban settings. William Burtch's attention to both psychological and social inspection in each of these pieces dovetails experience and life lessons that will prompt many a discussion among not just literature readers and classes assigned this book, but book clubs seeking to spark avid discussions about life trajectories, impacts, and consequences.
The first two sections compile stories by settings ("Across the Allegheny Plateau," "Westward"), while the last, "The Book of Will," summarizes son Will's journey and life. Depictions are presented in sterling, startling language designed to draw with vivid scenes:
The mining equipment company that the father worked for had a genetic repulsion to regulatory oversight and a talent for union busting. It was a reckless drinking culture. He was in financial management and hopscotched his family all over the country as he clawed his way up the rungs with pickled stumps - eight houses and five states before Will's sixteenth birthday, three different time zones.
Each of the stories profiles characters struggling to come to odds with their lives. Take "Animal Crossings," for one example. Its narrator confesses:
I design missiles for Uncle Sam, at the New Mexico Proving Grounds, in White Sands. Swaths of humanity in distant lands have come to know my work. While drafting schematics for these flying greeting cards, a haunting will suck me in, like a dust devil. I will dwell upon a life's work measured by the degree of destruction I can pack into an ever-shrinking container, hurled across ever-increasing distances. As if these are actions mere mortals should undertake.
What do mice, snakes, and reptiles have to do with this character's life and perspective? These would seem incongruous additions to a fairly straightforward profession and character reactions, but under Burtch's hand, these connections weave into a tapestry of "...treachery into which one can become trapped, taken - a monolith of bleakness, the pulse of life long evaporated."
Drinking, dust storms, deer, and a journey evolve in unexpected ways. Burtch's approach will delight creative writing and literature teachers seeking to point out how forceful writing may be honed and expanded into questions of absurdity, compassion, and responsibility.
Philosophy students, as well, will appreciate the directions these stories take as they unfold:
I fling the flask, striking one of the birds squarely. They both launch skyward in a frantic fury of feathers. I know it is all futile. They will return, true to the way it all works, the unwavering way of our universe. The animal world accepts this from birth and lives with this knowledge in their DNA.
Humans fight it to the end.
In contrast is the title story "Otherwise Wretched," in which two elderly West Texas trailer residents, Otie and J.L., revel in lives that are:
"Still breath'n. Otherwise wretched."
The subtle joys and appreciations under this overlay of angst emerge as the two (and Weasel) contemplate the end of the gravy train of oil work. Circumstances are presented using dialogue that embraces a wry sense of humor:
"Too many dry holes," Weasel said. "Need more dinosaurs to croak."
"Ain't like we should be surprised," Otie said. "Everything comes to an end. At some point."
These are hard-hitting, reflective literary works that each take a piece of life and consider, via various characters, the elements that make life wretched, wrenching, and often strangely satisfying even amidst conflict and new challenges.
Libraries seeking literary short stories holding the ability to appeal to a diverse audience, from students and teachers to philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, and general-interest readers, and book clubs seeking thought-provoking short works, will find Otherwise Wretched: Stories a diverse, clear winner delivering unmatchable impact.
I Know What UFO Did Last Summer
Kevin Garone
https://www.kevingarone.com
Temor Press
9798991328401, $19.99 (hardback), $12.99 (paperback), $8.99 (ebook)
https://www.amazon.com/Know-What-UFO-Last-Summer/dp/B0DJWMS2XY
It's an alien invasion! Readers aged 10-12 will find I Know What UFO Did Last Summer to be a thought-provoking adventure of alien takeover. The problem is tackled by twelve-year-old Marv, who knows just what to do when an alien spacecraft lands in the woods behind his house. His trusty alien invasion guidebook has prepared him for all possibilities and survival tactics... or so he thinks, until the real thing hits the ground.
What his guidebook doesn't cover is a host of questions about human interactions with the aliens, including their mysterious connections with the neighbors next door and the idea that the alien invasion may not be as straightforward as Marv thinks.
As unfolding events prove Marv both right and wrong, I Know What UFO Did Last Summer provides a quirky, fun, intriguing story of suspense that will keep preteens on their toes and guessing about identities, subterfuge, intentions, and outcomes.
Kevin Garone does a masterful job of injecting humor into Marv's first-person observations from the story's opening lines:
Aliens were moving in next door. I tightened the focus on my binoculars. My worst fears were being confirmed right before my eyes... the few boxes I had been able to identify as they were carried in all had labels like computer room and spare parts. Perfect for setting up a transmission station to beam reports back into space. It also didn't help that the side of their U-Haul had a picture of a green, bug-eyed alien.
As Marv's imagination takes over, passages from his wise manual for survival, How to Survive an Alien Invasion, introduce discovery, assumption, and the real possibility that something is seriously awry.
The humor runs through even active encounters as Marv and his friends attempt to save themselves and, perhaps, even the world, despite a few linguistic (and other) snafus:
I turned and ran. "Evasive maneuvers!" I yelled. "Go, Baller One, go!"
Jace took off in the direction of our houses, crashing through the underbrush and dragging Nora along with him as she said, "Evasive what?"
As kidnappings and other dilemmas rise, Marv and his friends struggle to be proactive, effective, and fluid in their response to what is going on during the too-real invasion scenario.
Garone's account of Marv's decision to try to convince authorities of what is going on against all their belief systems is just as engrossing as the action which permeates the story with nonstop adventure. Realistic characters exhibit their own limitations and strengths in contrast to Marv's special brand of intellect and novel approaches to problem-solving.
Libraries seeking vivid, action-packed adventure for preteens that combines unexpected twists and turns with reinforcement from a "guidebook" that covers most (but not all) possibilities in an invasion situation will relish I Know What UFO Did Last Summer's special, thought-provoking, and appealing blend of zany humor, impossible situations, problem-solving challenges, and alien encounters.
Songs My Mother Taught Me
Helen Winslow Black
Four Elk Press
9798990418004, $18.99 Paperback/$14.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Songs-My-Mother-Taught-Me/dp/B0DL3J8QLF
Songs My Mother Taught Me is a novel about second chances, family ties, and relocation. It revolves around accomplished lawyer and cellist Kim's reinvention of her life for herself and her son as she escapes an abusive marriage, divorces, and remarries in a healthier way. Or, so she thinks.
In reality, the patterns and familiarity of the past are never far behind. As Kim learns one shocking truth after the other about her second husband's world, she again confronts the impact of her choices and how she can forge new beginnings on the foundations of too-familiar adversity.
Music and insights permeate this story in a delightful manner designed to attract readers interested in atmosphere and depth from their reading choices. One example lies in the professional and social tests that emerge in the chapter 'Invisible Boundaries':
I compressed my lips and got very, very still, to give him time to back out of his mistake. He was not picking up on it. The whole host of possible reasons this obviously intelligent, experienced business professional had been booted to the hinterlands rose again on the horizon, but now was not the moment to indulge in idle speculation, deliciously spiteful though it might be. Right now I was trapped against my chair. There was no way I could wriggle out of this by a graceful slide into my seat.
John looked pointedly at Tom's hand on my arm, inches from his own, and then at Tom, who merely grinned and tightened his grip.
"Get your hand off my wife," John barked. "She's not part of the deal."
The air currents in the nearest concentric ring of tables shifted, and into this conversational lull, Tom dropped two words.
"What deal?" he said, then sauntered off, smirking.
All kinds of boundaries are tested in the course of Kim's evolution, from personal to business, psychological, and social encounters. Unexpected revelations and discoveries keep the characters realistic, their dilemmas absorbing, and their evolutionary process both enlightening and thoroughly engrossing.
As sisters Karen and Kim, who now reside near each other, find their present lives entwined with the decisions and growth of other women in their family, each chooses important, thought-provoking changes that absorb lessons of the past, yet convert them into new approaches for the future.
Kim's voice and perspective traverses decades of encounters in this novel, creating a timeline of expectation and events that successfully immerses readers in the extent of her growth process. Unexpected developments and winds of change buffet her relationships, but she continues on an upward trajectory while interacting with her family in a manner that will prove inspirational to her readers.
Libraries that select Songs My Mother Taught Me will find it especially recommendable to women's fiction reading groups and book clubs seeking life journeys that travel into unexpected milieus, bringing with them greater understanding, ambition, and seasons of joy and adaptation:
My mother once told me: The past is just the present of another day. If that were true, then the same could be said of the future.
Discovery
Christopher Ryan
Better Than Starbucks Publications
www.betterthanstarbucks.org
9798988621133, $18.00 Paperback/$5.00 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Discovery-Christopher-Ryan-ebook/dp/B0DWV1K7QV
Discovery is a novel about ghosts with riddles. 85-year-old Helen Bryan embarks on an unexpected adventure when her dead husband Ed presents her with a puzzle at the same time as a new species of bird visits her feeder.
Circumstances propel Helen into what likely will be the last adventure of her life, fueled by unexpected revelations that belay her advanced years and the notion that old age is largely devoid of novel experiences.
The morning rituals she's performed for years are now conducted with much pain from arthritis and aging. It's clear that she's in no shape for adventure. But there's more than one kind of adventure, and the opportunity presented to her is one she can accept.
Birders will find the threads of bird habits, observations, and pleasure that run though Discovery just one example of the many kinds of revelations that Helen discovers as she nears the end of life. They will appreciate the story's observational details, the thrill of unexpected sightings, and the opportunity to vicariously appreciate both birds and the notion of a strange "mistake" her husband points out in his mysterious message to her.
Ornithological details lend the story a realistic air of natural history pleasure as Helen grapples with recording everything she sees. This, she applies to life events, emerging puzzles, and unexpected reprieves from guilt and conflict that resurface in the present day to challenge the notion of a pleasant life trajectory.
Christopher Ryan does an outstanding job of capturing the emotional and physical pain of old age - but he doesn't stop there. The title of his novel is, after all, Discovery. These moments emerge from unexpected encounters with ghosts, birds, and self to give the plot an intriguing countenance of growth that embraces the lightness of truth, however difficult it may be.
Readers will become immersed in Helen's life, which in turn encourages her followers to consider their own aging process and reflections. These are delivered through encounters with nature which emphasize life and diversity:
Up ahead, higher on the mountain, she could see a large aspen grove that had overtaken a burn area, hiding it like a bandage. She'd read that aspen groves shared one root system, so all the trees in it were intimately connected. The grove was one organism, with the individual trees only appearing to be independent above ground. An aspen grove, known as a clone because the trees are genetically identical, could live for thousands of years. She liked knowing that something could survive so long.
Perhaps one reason why Discovery is especially vivid is because it is fiction based on real people and circumstances. Christopher Ryan builds a biographical sketch laced with fictional drama and embellishments which make Helen and her relationships quite accessible to audiences:
The story as I tell it is fiction, but much of what happens to the characters is true. Fiction is wishful thinking about the good that could be, but it can't get around the bad that has been and will be.
What circumstances could force Helen to correct a longtime mistake by eschewing the ornithological limelight and hiding her discovery?
Libraries interested in moving stories of aging, reconciling past with present events at life's end, and birding objectives carried out in unusual manners will find it easy to recommend Discovery. The novel will appeal to audiences looking for emotionally compelling stories of old age and the special forms of self-examination and revelation that can emerge at the end of life.
And then, there are birds...
The Trial of Rooker Flynn
A.R. Witham
www.arwitham.com
Nepenthe House
9798987407240, $4.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Trial-Rooker-Flynn-Institute-Trilogy/dp/B0DVC2Y8YT
The Trial of Rooker Flynn, the second book in the Locke Institute trilogy, continues where the story left off in The Crimes of Rooker Flynn. This makes it of special interest to prior fans of Rooker, who will appreciate the return to this rebel pirate's fantasy world.
That doesn't mean that newcomers won't have the foundation to absorb his latest adventure. A.R. Witham's succinct recap of prior events allows easy entry into Rooker's world and personality.
The first book placed Rooker at odds with the magic school that tried to bind him into a rigidly controlled environment. Rooker and his friend Jack Swift fall under the eye of an evil headmistress who tries to trick Rooker into releasing a special power into her control, promising he will be able to return to his beloved pirating life if he does. Rooker must literally cut the cord tying him to his buddy Jack in order to escape - which might involve him falling to his death. The first story ended with this cliffhanger.
The Trial of Rooker Flynn continues the saga, employing the same fast pace, unexpected confrontations, and battles. These embrace merchants, pirates, and nefarious magical influences in a dangerous dance through survival efforts and evil interests.
Witham cultivates a sense of immediacy that moves from a prologue about Pip, a battle, and a discovery to Rooker, who is suffering immensely from having literally cut the ties to his best friend Jack:
He heard the rush of air like the moan of a freshly dead ghost, but it meant nothing. He smelled the sour sweat slathering his body, tasted coppery blood in his mouth, but he was numb to it. All he could feel was the emptiness of his hand that had been warm just a moment ago.
The sense of immediacy that holds the power to bring readers right into Rooker's moment-by-moment reflections is one of the strengths of this story. It's one of the many reasons why readers will find this adventure hard to put down:
High in the sky, Rooker felt small. He was nothing, an insect hovering over a map. Miniscule. Insignificant. With every beat of Xeusia's wings, the land fell further away, diminishing him just a little bit more. And still the great wyrm beat its colossal wings, soaring ever higher.
Emotional overlays to the action give the story a powerfully alluring draw. Readers navigate Rooker's return to Jack under vastly revised circumstances that force him to once again confront evil Headmistress Gerba Whipmarples.
She considers their deal null and void, since only part of the magic staff was recovered. And so the very pits of hell open up to consume what's left of Jack as they both confront Gerba and face the possible end of their lives and freedom.
Witham juxtaposes Jack and Rooker's perceptions with their insights about this evil force in their lives, creating added value and understanding:
Rooker Flynn would make an excellent new informant for Jackal. He was slipperier than an eel, but Gerba Whipmarples had never met a greedier man, and the pirate understood who buttered his bread.
My creature. My slave.
The tension is exquisitely developed as readers face a series of dilemmas and encounters through Rooker's choices and assignments. He reports to Gerba on events in Jackal even as he wonders "who she had spying on him," he recognizes that being in thrall is not the same as being in a position of making even the most minor choices about his life, and his confrontations and self-examination power the story's vivid progression.
Fantasy readers seeking fast-paced action, extraordinary backdrops that seem to offer almost subliminal "you are here" feels, and events that take unexpected twists will appreciate the lure of The Trial of Rooker Flynn.
Even when he returns to sea, is he ever fully free?
The fantasy's ability to examine the nature, roots, and challenges of friendship, adversity, escape routes, and the true nature and impact of the Locke Institute's shadow makes for a story that is hard to put down or predict.
Libraries seeking series fantasy titles that are as powerful in each book individually as they are in a set will welcome the addition of The Trial of Rooker Flynn to their collections.
Its unique ability to paint not just vivid action, but equally compelling self-inspection, makes The Trial of Rooker Flynn simply outstanding.
Pray for the Bear
Carly Fauth
FitFunCarly
www.fitfuncarly.com
9798218511098, $14.95
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHHXWL61
Pray for the Bear: An Ordinary Person's Guide to Unlocking Extraordinary Personal Strength begins not with Carly Fauth's breast cancer diagnosis, but the childhood experience of observing her grandmother's own struggles with cancer and well-meaning efforts to help her by limiting her (potentially dangerous) choices, such as driving a car.
The odyssey unfolds as Fauth considers the roots of her strong "sense of self" and concurrent growth into realizations about life and people that influenced her personality. Readers won't expect her wider-ranging assessments of how these encounters translate to bigger-picture thinking, but such insights are the perfect tool for combating assumptions and prejudices about others:
The political landscape of this country favors division over unity, so it's easy to stereotype. I realized I was guilty of doing exactly what I get so frustrated about other people doing: I had built up a wall. I forgot that underneath it all, this woman was just as human as me and was made up of a lot more than just her political opinions.
From the foundations and incarnation of kindness and love to better understanding the loneliness that accompanies cancer struggles and survival efforts, Fauth draws on her life encounters to provide concrete examples of support systems, presumptions, commitments, and the elements which must draw together to absorb strength from community engagements.
Friendships hold such lessons. Fauth navigates an emotional and fitness journey of recovery and discovery, introducing readers to new approaches to life, people, and expectations that reinforce positive pathways to physical and mental growth.
The short lessons she builds from these encounters helps readers consider and create their own tactics for revising their lives, illustrating strategies in action. This contrasts nicely with other books that may promote avenues of growth without taking the time to illustrate them in action.
Libraries that choose Pray for the Bear for its promise of hope and revised thinking will especially appreciate how these vignettes reinforce and display empowerment.
Pray for the Bear is quite simply a very accessible approach presented through succinct, hard-hitting examples designed to emotionally appeal to readers - especially those who balk at lengthy, overly complex discussions.
A Passionate Pilgrimage
Charles Beadle
Dominantstar Publications
www.robcouteau.com
9781963363302, $19.95
https://www.amazon.com/Passionate-Pilgrimage-Introduction-Afterword-Couteau/dp/1963363302
A Passionate Pilgrimage was first published in 1915, when it earned the acclaim of being one of ten books blacklisted for years by Britain's Circulating Libraries Association. Modern readers may be puzzled by this fact when they read this novel; but its descriptions of free-ranging sensual encounters between the protagonist and a host of consenting women made it a scandalous piece at the turn of the century.
Fast forward to today's literary audiences. What can modern readers expect from this sojourn into passion? Nothing worthy of being banned from a library - this can be assured.
By studying Jim's focus on free expression (both sexual and emotional) and how his relationships evolve into explorations that test the boundaries of social mores, much fodder for classroom discussion is created that will spark lively debates and contrasts between bygone times and now.
Jim's unconventional views and actions, which even include a romantic relationship with an African native, is revealed via a thought-provoking journey. This has been edited (and is introduced) by Rob Couteau, who also provides an Afterword which does a fine job of synthesizing why A Passionate Pilgrimage is special and important while providing further background about its author and Victorian times.
Why reissue A Passionate Pilgrimage now? The introductory notes (which are extensive and vital to understanding the novel's continuing importance), states that the novel: "provides a variety of clues about Beadle's early life." In so doing, it reveals the essence of social and psychological transformation, toeing the line between autobiography and a fictional discourse containing many topics vital to understanding not just these times, but modern morals and values.
Books are rarely written (it is noted) by "men of action." The fact that Beadle thoroughly interacted with his society, making journeys that forged new pathways into social mores and personal morality, makes it all the more essential reading.
As Jim's transgressions (if one must call them that) evolve, readers are invited into a world that spices events with local lingo and dialogue to reflect ethnic roots and class differences. Jim's ability to self-examine his motivations for living and making choices outside the norm are particularly eye-opening:
"I know something now. I'm no longer a fool," said Jim. "I'm absolutely fed up with civilization - everybody stiff and formal, hollow and artificial. Yet perhaps it isn't exactly that. I suppose I've got the Wanderlust or the Call of the Wild. It's the best life, after all. I wish I'd never come back. Ugh! Fancy getting up every morning at the same time, meeting the same people, doing the same things all one's life!"
Sounds familiar? Turns out Victorian times are not far behind the modern dilemmas facing young people and those who don't quite fit into today's values and expectations.
Because the density of topics and flavor of experiences is so multifaceted, it is recommended that A Passionate Pilgrimage be read slowly for maximum absorption, thought, and preferably book club or classroom debate. Its subjects and considerations make for thoroughly engrossing reading, presented in a way that builds the character's focus, emphasizes his differences, and ultimately creates a thoroughly captivating tale of transformation and insight.
Libraries that choose A Passionate Pilgrimage will find it highly recommendable to students of literature; teachers seeking novels that hold lively debates about not just banned literature, but banned ideas; and book clubs that will find A Passionate Pilgrimage exquisitely involving as well as thoroughly thought-provoking.
A Season in Saigon
Dorothy Love
www.dorothylovebooks.com
Leaning Oaks Press
9798992016208, $15.99 print/$5.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DTM7N2SM
Why does a once-successful fashion writer head to Saigon, of all places? In A Season in Saigon, Tallis Reed makes a last-ditch effort to salvage her shattered career by nosing out some good war stories to report on. When she arrives in Saigon, she discovers that hidden influences and close-held secrets thwart her efforts to become an investigative journalist, which proves a far cry from fashion reporting.
Tallis embarks on a journey that involves re-inventing herself as well as confronting the ravages and legacy of war. Unexpectedly, a romance opportunity forces her to make difficult choices between a partnership and staying true to her newfound career focus.
Underlying this fictional exploration is the real history of the few female reporters who found themselves in Vietnam navigating cultural, social, and political obstacles that clouded understanding and threatened their personal safety. This element makes A Season in Saigon of special note and recommendation to women's reading groups interested in historical accounts of the Vietnam War that focus on women's' experiences.
Another big plus to Tallis's story lies in how Dorothy Love develops the dichotomy between personal and career objectives. Her protagonist navigates entirely new territory as she reconsiders her options, life purpose, and revised moral values.
Vivid connections between the requirements of reporting and ethical quandaries bring circumstances and their underlying choices to life:
"This story may make you famous, but don't let fame harden you. Write the things your heart tells you to write. Take the pictures your heart tells you to take."
The novel is no casual read, but sports a wide cast of characters, from new love Nick Landry to a host of military men, nuns who head the Sacred Heart Orphanage, and a number of Vietnamese characters who add their own cultural flavors to the mix. Other women enter the bigger picture as Tallis begins to realize the real cost and impact of her choices:
She couldn't remember ever lying to Kay. Not even when they were kids. But the contours of their friendship had changed now. And she had a job to do.
The result is an exceptionally vivid, engrossing story of one woman's journey to Vietnam and search for justice. This personalizes reporting encounters and experiences, adding a special focus on its challenges. A Season in Saigon invites women to discuss the impact of the times and some of the issues that arise as Tallis confronts friends, lovers, Vietnamese from all walks of life, and military interests:
"A story like this will destroy troop morale. It will cause more dissent back home at a time when the president, and General Abrams, have enough on their plates already. For the life of me I can't understand what's happened to good old-fashioned patriotism. Where's your love of country?"
Libraries will find A Season in Saigon an exceptional acquisition that deserves recommendation to all kinds of patrons, from those interested in women's perspectives during the Vietnam War to others who will readily see that the in-country experience from a woman reporter's viewpoint contrasts well with the many Vietnam novels already on the market.
Thoroughly engrossing and rich in atmosphere and psychological connection, A Season in Saigon is a winner that demands slow reading for maximum thought.
Malipolitan
Christopher Dainton
Saturnine Press
9781069292001, $8.99
https://www.amazon.ca/Malipolitan-novel-Christopher-Dainton
Malipolitan is a literary novel set in West Africa. It explores the historical development of Mali while bringing its people, society, and influences together, embracing its atmosphere via vivid descriptions that create "you are here" moments:
Harmattan. That was the season outsiders would translate as winter; those blustery months when dry winds blew into Mali from the northeastern Sahara. He and Quinn, the two pale newcomers to this world of dust, walked where the air smelled like beach, side by side towards their meeting with a charismatic stranger.
Main characters include Paul, a Canadian doctor who struggles with both debt and questions about his ultimate impact on life and whose journey reflects a contrast between ideals and dissatisfactions with life; American diplomat Quinn (whom Paul follows to Mali); and local doctor Abubakar. Each character contributes to dilemmas about professional and personal intersections as Mali struggles against the grip of war. Diatourou is hired to teach Quinn better French (the language of Mali), but also introduces wisdom and insights, for added value.
The story is one of disillusionment as well as transformation. Paul comes to see that his pursuit of love and professional success are as at odds with Mali's reality as they were in the West, while the idealistic Quinn finds her values challenged and often shattered.
Paul also faces new issues over an unexpected houseguest who may be staying long-term, then faces the fact that he needs to leave Mali for good.
Christopher Dainton is as adept at revealing Paul's emotional ties and quandaries as he is at probing the cultural and political turmoil that has Mali in thrall:
Never go to bed angry, his mother always used to say. But he was angry and broken, and Abubakar had disappeared into his bedroom. And so, he sprawled out on the remaining couch, stayed awake all night perpendicular to the inhaling and exhaling form of Aminata on the neighbouring couch, and resigned himself to what the French would surely call a nuit blanche.
Sleepless night. Foolish pride.
Paul cultivates small lies for the sake of a non-confrontational life as he navigates Mali's war-torn countenance. Mali cultural norms also emerge as each character makes compromises to their values and character in different ways:
"This is my wife," said Paul. Already, a lie. He was present now for propriety, for his reassuring maleness. Lovers and consorts didn't exist, so telling Diatourou that Quinn was his wife was simplest. Being a bachelor made him suspicious at best, a child at worst.
Thought-provoking passages comment on Western and African perceptions, relationships, and ideals. This provides book clubs and reading groups with many topics of interest that reach into the heart of diplomacy and relationship-building with third-world nations in general and Mali in particular:
Maybe he had hoped for a different abstraction. That maybe she would say she had absorbed the culture, and the culture had also absorbed her. He folded his arms across his chest.
"Part of me had hoped it was more than that," he continued. "That Africa was somehow a jewel hidden in sand. But maybe it is just the people, as you say. The danger comes when you try to change the people and the land to put America in its place."
Dainton does more than just build vivid characters. He places each of them in positions designed to challenge their lives and values, unfolding each threat of social, political, and psychological discovery against the backdrop of an emerging nation's special concerns and perceptions.
Libraries and readers will find Malipolitan replete with unforgettable impact and moments that demand the reading go slowly, so as to thoroughly absorb Mali's lessons on place, people, and love.
Malipolitan's literary, historical, and cultural reflections make it a thoroughly engrossing exploration that will leave readers considering their own vision of Africa, world relationships, and rethinking their inherent prejudices about the continent and Mali in particular:
"West Africans are not children," he said. "For me, it is only strange that we ask ourselves if our colonizers should speak French, English, or Russian. Or that we ask ourselves if our religion should be the European one, or the Arab one."
The Spring Dragon
Natalie Wright
Menaris Books
9798992152104, $33.99 Hardcover/$19.99 Paperback
https://www.amazon.com/Spring-Dragon-Dragos-Primeri/dp/B0DPR8TRNM
The Spring Dragon, Book Two of the fantasy Dragos Primeri series, opens with a series of maps and detailed character lists (of human and dragon, gods and spirits, and clans). These may give the initial impression of a complex reading road ahead, but they actually pave the way for an immediate understanding of and involvement in a thoroughly engrossing read.
The tale opens with an inviting poem that introduces atmosphere before turning to Aldewin's immediately-captivating thought:
Aldewin hadn't slit a throat in two days. A record for him, at least since he left Volenex. Since Ishna, the Winter Dragon, erupted from Quen's body.
A sight I cannot unsee, Aldewin thought.
As a member of Druvna's pod, Aldewin faces the impact of prior loss with a mandate to probe the secrets of the legendary Heart of Magic, keeper of the mysteries of life and the kingdom's power.
Aldewin just wants to regain what he's lost, without the intrigue and drama that plagued his journeys in the prior book. Alas, his desire doesn't meld with his concurrent yearning for a simpler life; for he has to go through the eye of the storm in order to achieve what seems like an impossible objective.
His journey, made with a few good friends, involves the usual quest to reach the goal - but with a difference. The Winter Dragon, too, seeks the Heart of Menaris. Her goal is to free her Tribal Siblings and confront the humans who have grown into power since she and her kind slept away the years.
As their similar purposes evolve, readers are treated to a vibrant, vigorous story replete with fast-paced action, thoroughly immersive fantasy backdrops, and understandable objectives and limitations of human and dragon alike.
These challenges are displayed in revealing language that builds an atmosphere of engrossingly unexpected developments. Natalie Wright is especially adept at juxtaposing moments of battle and confrontations with the mandate for the characters to ramp back their passions and enthusiasm so they can take care of the results of their actions:
"Do you see anyone?" Aldewin whispered to Omma.
Her eyes squinting, she scanned the terrain. "Though I don't see anyone, I sense a presence here. Its intentions toward us are - uncertain."
Not comforting.
As they joined the pod, Aldewin asked, "Should we investigate? Or wait for whatever lurks in those shadows to show themselves?"
Dio and Imbica both said at once, "We wait."
This delightful balance between tension, action, and caution immerses readers in a story that proves nearly impossible to put down.
Another note is that even though this is the second book in the series, newcomers will easily slide into the characters and world that Wright has created. The emotional ties and inspections that wind into these surroundings and choices make for gripping reading.
Whether libraries already have the first book of this epic series, Season of the Dragon, or search for standalone series additions that represent the best development of a compelling story, selecting The Spring Dragon will attract a wide audience of fantasy enthusiasts.
Its attention to vivid detail, an exciting buildup of atmosphere and characters, and its evolution of a quest presented from the viewpoints of dragon as well as human participants make for unusually creative scenarios.
How to Win a Million Dollars and BEEP Glitter!
Luke Stoffel
www.lucasstoffel.com
Cinderly, LLC
B0DNM4K5HW, $8.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/How-Million-Dollars-BEEP-Glitter/dp/B0DVQRRX46
Readers who may have thought Catcher in the Rye and other coming-of-age stories held wry humor along with insights will find these classics must take a step back for contemporary authors such as Luke Stoffel. His How to Win a Million Dollars and BEEP Glitter! takes a hilarious romp through adolescent dreams and nightmares that will draw all kinds of audiences, from young adults to adults.
Those who see the reference to 'million dollars' and assume this will be a story of obtaining wealth may want to pause. As Stoffel candidly presents in the book's introduction:
The pages ahead are a mostly true account of my misadventures - think of it as reality with a fistful of fairy dust.
No wealth-building schemes are fostered in the making of this story. What is promised is a madcap adventure through adolescent efforts as well as a critical probe of the perspective that money can be made quickly and easily if enough scheming is involved.
Stoffel points out:
This is about the hustle - the real kind. The one that involves getting knocked down, dusting yourself off, and figuring out the next move. It's about questioning the system because while the world might love a Cinderella story, most of us are stuck scrubbing the floors (or a urinal) without a fairy godmother in sight.
What kid (or many an adult) hasn't dreamed of winning a million dollars? The first-person narrator in this story (based on the author's experiences) has success in mind and has honed pathways towards it... but with the dreamy, idealistic mind of a young adult, not the practiced questioning of a seasoned adult with life experience supporting him.
Readers who join in on this adventure will relive their own youth, in which anything feels possible and nothing is impossible. The narrator opens this story with his first plunge into the possibility of obtaining wealth at the ripe old age of seven:
It was during that unforgettable summer when Cap'n Crunch went missing, and panic spread across the nation like wildfire. Supermarkets were packed with towering displays of Cap'n Crunch, a mountain of yellow and blue boxes stretching to the ceiling. But when you looked up, there was no Captain. The commercials made it sound so simple: find the Captain, restore him to his cereal kingdom, and win ONE MILLION DOLLARS. For a kid like me, the stakes couldn't have been higher. A million dollars wasn't just a number - it was a golden ticket, a way out of this tiny Mississippi River town.
This is just one of the get-rich-quick options that draws a young man determined to obtain big bucks that will change his life. As he probes the underlying reason he wants this money ("It meant a chance to escape this town, this life, and find something more."), readers will be prompted to draw important connections between money and reality.
As he grows and journeys through life in search of these missed opportunities, even Paris introduces a sense of loneliness and alienation. This leads him to come full circle and return home, even if he feels untethered from a life purpose, like a "stranger in a strange land."
The narrator considers wellsprings of inspiration both artistic and financial while searching for "that bit of magic" in himself that can grow a new life resilient enough to field a wild ride into adulthood. He cultivates a relationship with Indonesian boy Ethan, navigates Ethan's hospitalization, hones financial and personal dreams, and moves away from his blue-collar Catholic boyhood into world travels, stepping into his gay identity more openly and confidently.
How to Win a Million Dollars and BEEP Glitter! contains a special, rich value that immerses readers in all kinds of bumps, dreams, life successes, and perceived failures.
The resulting lively ride from jackpot to growth will thoroughly engage readers seeking a vivid story of evolution. It moves from a small Mississippi town to shifting worldviews and encounters abroad.
Libraries seeking literature for their collections that focus on gay identity and schemes to navigate life in all kinds of ways will relish How to Win a Million Dollars and BEEP Glitter! for its exceptionally vivid, action-packed discoveries.
Readers from young adults into adult circles will find it easy to walk alongside the narrator's world of art shows, relationships, and cultures that embrace (and ultimately create) new dreams, definitions, and ideals of wealth. The journey is especially recommended for books clubs seeking lively writing with multiple reflections on worldviews, other cultures, and ideals that encourage self-examination:
Winning a million dollars would have made life easier - yes - but more often than not, my best moments in life were giving the things I created away, raising money for classrooms, and staying open to each new adventure - even when it meant rewriting the dream.
Shaken
Jill Amber Chafin
www.jillamberchafin.com
Vine Leaves Press
www.vineleavespress.com
9783988321374, $17.99 Paperback/$5.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Shaken-Jill-Amber-Chafin-ebook/dp/B0DPN2JJWP
If ever there was a thriller that offered a thought-provoking event with a high possibility of delighting audiences with a controversial mystery (while possibly affecting sensitive readers), it's Shaken. The story features the dilemma of young mother Sally, who faces seemingly impossible obstacles trying to handle her one-year-old son Morgan, resulting in her shaking him soundly in a fit of anger.
Teen babysitter Alyssa is charged with caring for Morgan, later that night, but as his condition deteriorates and doctors become involved, the finger of justice points to Alyssa as the likely abuser of this baby.
Sally can stay silent and let justice run its course, or she can stand up and confess, threatening her ideals of being the perfect mother to her child and possibly leading to his removal from her care.
Moral and ethical dilemmas combine with social perspectives about motherhood and childcare in a rich journey in which Alyssa and Sally find their lives and futures unexpectedly entwined in a dangerous way.
Jill Amber Chafin supercharges her story with emotional hurdles and understandable situations that bring both characters to life. Her focus on presenting the situation with all its emotional facets creates a progression that embraces the joys and challenges of being a young new mother:
Yes, of course she cherished the good moments with Morgan - when he babbled into an old paper towel roll, clanked measuring cups together like musical cymbals, or helped pop the bubble wrap, jerking with surprise at each snap, pop. She loved the sweet snuggles, and his endless obsession with Green Eggs and Ham (he insisted she read it to him at least five times a day).
Sally's partner Charles, who wants them to consider more children and a big family, readily admits that Sally is an ideal mom:
"And would you say she's been a good mother?" Jameson asked.
His answer was a resounding yes. Morgan had changed Sally for the better. He saw the way she read story after story to him at bedtime, on the random nights he was home. How she rushed to his room to soothe him during his middle-of-the-night wakings, refusing to try the cry-it-out sleep-training method. She even taught Charles how to rephrase words to be more aligned with the gentle parenting movement - "Don't say 'no, you can't have that.' Instead, offer an alternative he can have."
He'll testify to that in court - as he does to a detective who suspects something is wrong with the idea that teen Alyssa has harmed young Morgan.
Chafin does an excellent story of building these contrasts. There are no easy answers or predictable "good or bad" characters, resulting in close examinations of social support systems that too often fail to offer concrete solutions to parental burnout and shifting needs.
This gives Shaken added value, exploring events from all sides of the complex picture of child endangerment, safety, and parenting choices.
Yes, the novel's thriller component and search for discoveries and answers will draw genre readers - but to identify Shaken as a thriller alone would be to do it a grave disservice. Its in-depth coverage of psychological makeup, rationales, perceptions, and parental pressures deserves deep inspection and discussion among book club and parenting circles alike.
Libraries that choose Shaken because of all these facets will find a novel thoroughly engrossing, filled with thought-provoking insights suitable for reflection, and packed with twists readers won't see coming.
The story's embedded themes of guilt, loneliness, new motherhood's pressures and a terrible choice over moral and ethical behavior and the consequences of breaking down makes for a shocking, revealing, complex read that is well-written, more than believable, and nearly impossible to put down.
The Writer in Tuscany
Richard P. Wenzel
Atmosphere Press
www.atmospherepress.com
9798891325319, $18.99 Paperback/$8.99 eBook/$27.99 Hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/Writer-Tuscany-Richard-P-Wenzel/dp/B0DQ2CJ4LC
The Writer in Tuscany sports a Tuscan vineyard setting and embraces a mystery that seems right up the alley of crime reporter Erik Swanson - even if he didn't necessary come to Tuscany in search of a new case.
Early in the story, the atmosphere (and wine) of Tuscany sparks Erik's writer's instinct for spinning a good story with a realistic backdrop. However, before he can write fiction, he must deal with real-world puzzles that emerge from his first day in Italy and only become more complex as time marches on.
Dialogues between characters compliment atmospheric descriptions, also bringing Tuscany and Erik's intentions to life:
"I'm a reporter, part-time English teacher, trying to be a writer."
"Are you seeking a beautiful location to write an inspired book?"
"Yes."
"Why Italy? Are you running from something? A geographical fix?"
Erik coughed. "I just need to fire up my writing engine. It was slowing down at home."
"My analyst would ask if you've confronted the central issue?"
"I hadn't framed it that way."
The last thing Eric expected was to be kidnapped, his life hanging by a thread as his writing ambitions and nose for trouble lead him on the most dangerous quest of his life.
Readers will find Richard P. Wenzel does an outstanding job of creating unexpected twists and turns of plot. These lead Eric and his readers from Tuscany's vineyards to a helicopter ride powered by assailants with assault weaponry, for one vivid example.
The story heats up with fellow lodgers at his Tuscan escape as a connection develops with lovely cellist Illiana, who has her own secrets to maintain over an abusive relationship's lasting impact. Other characters emerge with their own reasons for choosing this Tuscan retreat as an opportunity to either heal or flee from forces buffeting their lives.
The complexity of special interests and interactions proves a delightful supplement to the thriller component which reveals many unexpected relationships and "aha" moments of revelation and danger.
Libraries seeking a thriller replete with emotional ties and surprises, cat-and-mouse games that emerge against the backdrop of Tuscany and individual pursuits, and an overall theme rich in landscapes of connection and danger will welcome the opportunity to add The Writer in Tuscany to their collections.
It's highly recommended reading for individuals seeking thought-provoking emotional discussions and action-packed, shifting scenarios. Book clubs, too, appreciate The Writer in Tuscany's ability to get under the writer's skin to expose explosive truths behind motivation, success, and influences on possible epic, life-threatening failures. Superb tension and character development make The Writer in Tuscany a clear winner over other Italy-based tales.
Chasing Spirits
Maya Logan Eileraas with Karina Eileraas Karakus and Annelise Eileraas
Atmosphere Press
www.atmospherepress.com
9798891325180, $25.99 paperback, $9.99 e-book, $34.99 hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Spirits-Maya-Logan-Eileraas/dp/B0DQ2DKYDN
Chasing Spirits is a memoir about runaway Maya Logan who, during the height of COVID, flees into the pandemic world with her girlfriend, feeling they have "nothing left to lose" at the ripe age of fourteen. Rebellious, artistic Maya and her girlfriend committed suicide six months after they vanished.
This is their story, transmitted via journal entries and art for the world to see and absorb. It captures the vivid feel of a world gone mad both internally and externally, prompting the two to leave family and love in what turned out to be a dead-end quest for meaning. Ironically, Maya created and captured these questions in a way that now imparts meaning to her peers and readers.
The collaboration between a mother and child's siblings lends a particularly poignant, fascinating edge to Maya's story that a journal alone couldn't capture. Adding family impact and struggles to the tale translates to a vivid, compelling saga that's hard to put down.
There are many facets to this memoir. These include revelations about gender identity struggles, art, family dynamics, bullying, and more. All are outlined in an introduction which also is a caution for sensitive readers who might seek to avoid some of these considerations:
While our family's experience involves a powerful narrative of teenage rebellion and toxic romance, it also highlights painful challenges around gender identity, sexual orientation, body image, and school bullying; the harmful impact of smartphone and social media use for teen mental health; the fragility of social support systems in the US; the infinite complexity of the human heart and mind; and the pervasive loneliness and disconnect that punctuate our lives in the digital, post-Covid era.
This note aside, it would be a shame to avoid Chasing Spirits for any of these difficult subjects. So much information and insights are revealed in such a dynamic and alluring manner that this book will also provoke family, book club, and group discussions on many different levels. That effort actually remains true to Maya Logan's values:
Maya Logan passionately advocated for the importance of sharing difficult experiences and feelings with others as a means of catharsis.
Supplementing Maya's writings and art are various forms of family communiques about their flight, from radio segment transcriptions to reflections on Maya's disappearance and its impact on their lives.
Maya's own writings are like gems flashing with moments of clarity, self-analysis, and raw pain. Again - this level of self-examination might challenge sensitive readers; but hopefully the result of reading these reflections is that better understanding will prevent a similar tragic ending. Maya's pen sizzles with a teen's view of the world they're about to enter as an adult, and feelings about where they do or don't fit in:
The little kid inside of me has been brutally murdered, crushed down into a million, bloody pieces. I've lost all of that childhood innocence. Every little bit of the twinkle that was once present in my eyes is now gone, dulling the darkness of the outer expression of my soul even more. Back then, I was afraid of the night because the nights would get too dark; because the monsters would come out at night. Now I find myself afraid of the daytime, when the sun comes out and I cannot hide in the darkness anymore.
Libraries that choose Chasing Spirits for all these strengths will want to assure that it doesn't fade into obscurity on shelves already laden with stories about coming-of-age, gender identity, or runaways; but is profiled to book clubs and reading groups from all walks of life.
These include groups devoted to self-analysis and gender questions, book clubs looking for a powerful story packed with individual and family dynamics during Covid's lockdown, and more. Chasing Spirits is a top recommendation for prompting not just important, but essential questions about navigating life, family, and self-identity crises.
Maya's blistering entry into memories that form the crux of personality later in life is particularly notable, contributing to the book's "can't-put-it-down," multifaceted attraction.
The Body Leads the Way
Mary Lane Potter
The Liminality Press
www.liminalitypress.com
9798989164028, $27.00
https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-body-leads-the-way/be7beff1d6e8cb68
The Body Leads the Way: Ritual, Liminality, and Imagination is a literary essay collection that takes both an academic and spiritual approach to identifying and defining liminality in rituals and other practices.
From these descriptions, some readers might anticipate the book will be a scholarly, demanding reading. Not so. As Mary Lane Potter states from the opening sentence, "This book was born of dancing."
Through a powerful, sacred experience that occurred at the intersection of dance, music, and joy, Potter was propelled on a journey of discovery. This led her into disparate, unexpected avenues of self-examination and spiritual reflection.
Her revelation that "in a flash of insight I saw that in bodies moving, ritual, liminality, the sacred, and art were all connected" guided her next steps in a bigger dance that took her research into rituals and movement into new directions.
Each essay is a step of understanding which builds upon the last, leading readers into nature and through changing landscapes and personal inspections:
...one by one, I lay down the remaining broken pieces I have collected, overlapping them, weaving them into a lush, unbroken wreath round the hallowing center.
Who knows what those who walk this labyrinth after me will make of this wreath of scraps? Soon it will turn brown and brittle, and someone will clear it away. Yet I leave it here, the trace of my journey - a confession of pride, my ungenerous heart, my diva spirit; a thanksgiving offering for the signs others left behind, pointing the way to true emptiness; a pledge to keep opening my spirit to love; a token of love; a cry of the heart, I once was lost but now am found.
This is why I came: to join the chorus.
The rituals and studies that expose Potter to revised observations of life and her place in it prompt readers to consider their own possibilities in building rituals and connections that encourage emotional growth and new connections.
The passion by which these essays impart these lessons will belay any thoughts of a dry, studious book, despite The Body Leads the Way's scholarly-sounding subtitle.
Here are the elements of wonder to be found in different kinds of rituals, nature, and quiet environments. These are essays that enlighten, gently nudge readers into self-analysis, and promise enchantment for a wide range of audiences, from those involved in the sociology of other cultures and rituals to readers interested in weaving spiritual threads into their own lives.
Libraries that choose The Body Leads the Way for their collections will want to especially point this out to those interested in the spiritual components of ritual choices and how they are created.
With its sense of wonder, personal engagement, and greater participation in collective understanding and connection, The Body Leads the Way is nothing short of outstandingly thought-provoking, intimate, and heartfelt.
Blackbird
Betsy Thibaut Stephenson
https://www.blackbirdbetsy.com
GFB
9781964721293, $18.00 Paperback/$9.99 eBook
https://www.girlfridayproductions.com/titles/blackbird
Blackbird: A Mother's Reflections on Grief, Loss, and Life After Suicide chronicles a turbulent, life-changing six weeks in 2022 in which Betsy Thibaut Stephenson lost her son to suicide, mother-in-law to dementia, and the family dog to cancer.
Rather than struggle silently with her grief, she created a cathartic in-the-moment chronicle which may challenge sensitive readers who are also in the throes of grieving even as it illustrates responses, survival tactics, and ways to reach for the light of life even in the deepest darkness.
Everyone has experienced depression, heartbreak, and loss. The crux of returning to life lies in finding revised meaning and ways out of these pits, which can either consume or serve as life-altering opportunities.
One of the strengths to Blackbird is how Stephenson experiences the patterns that tie her down even as they propel her through grief:
My previously crisp brain is now on a treadmill. I know Charlie is gone, but it feels as if I can't hold on to that fact. Each day, I endure the excruciating exercise of losing him again and again.
These emerge from a step-by-step walk through the grieving process and the stigma of suicide, which affects relatives and everyone close to the deceased.
The value of the raw immediacy of these descriptions, which make Blackbird a standout, can also translate to very difficult emotional reading. This is why readers need to take their time to slowly absorb Stephenson's experiences and emotions, both to protect their own psyches and to thoroughly understand the battles, rituals, and revelations that accompany the process of recovery.
Libraries that choose Blackbird will want to highly recommend it to parenting, self-help, and reader discussion groups interested in a hard-hitting account of guilt, grief, and healing.
Blackbird: A Mother's Reflections on Grief, Loss, and Life After Suicide is no easy read, but its walk through Stephenson's shoes and life for immersive "you are here" experiences pays back richly in a very specific, enlightening, and ultimately uplifting story of recovery and understanding.
The environment in which dead can transform the living (or not) is beautifully captured, and is reflective of the back-and-forth movements of grief as a whole:
Without fail, February pushes my tulip freak to the brink. Wildlife and weather turn my flower beds to muddy mush. I can't see evidence of new growth yet, but it's happening. That swirl of dirty ice, decomposing leaves, and splintered twigs are either the killing field of winter or the ideal environment for nurturing transformative change. We shall see.
The Way of the Wave
Daniel A. Miller
Ebb and Flow Press
9780982893074, $2.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Way-Wave-Natures-Navigating-Currents-ebook/dp/B0D9HZY1GR
Self-help readers of books about self-actualization will find The Way of the Wave: Nature's Model for Navigating Life's Currents a satisfying blend of memoir and example that will serve as a beach-themed probe of how to navigate transitional moments in life.
Daniel A. Miller had been continually battered by adverse life events. He was watching the waves at the beach when his transformative thought emerged ... his control-driven life had led him to the brink of bankruptcy and major health challenges without actually controlling anything at all.
As events spiraled well beyond anything he could either predict or begin to address, an epiphany emerged on how to create a new direction in his life:
Sitting on the rocks, I intuitively knew that the way of the waves held the keys to a better life for me. They were a metaphor for a vision of the life I was seeking: one with less stress, worry, and conflict and greater peace and serenity - and, unlike before, one in which I could meet whatever challenges that may lay ahead with acceptance, trust, and even grace. Like waves, life is in a constant state of motion; it's fluid, shifting and always changing, sometimes quickly, sometimes smoothly, other times bumpily and abruptly. We can't control or predict what might happen at any given moment despite our best-laid plans and desires.
Where other self-help books provide worksheets, exercises, and blueprints, Miller cements such guidance with examples from his own life encounters:
I often tell the story of how I pressured my youngest daughter, who was in middle school at the time, to adopt the same study habits that had been successful for me in school: take good class notes, study in a quiet area, sit up straight, and prepare well in advance for upcoming exams. As a controller, I didn't hesitate to ask her to do the same many times over.
These bolster the exploration of adopting new behavior patterns for inserting more flexibility and acceptance into life and views of other people. Thus, memoir is juxtaposed with advice in an accessible, engrossing manner.
Where other books lecture, The Way of the Wave adopts an ebb-and-flow pattern that blends example and experience with important reflections on choices, outcomes, expectations, and the fundamentals of lasting change.
Another difference between The Way of the Wave and similar-sounding self-help books about control lies in Miller's ability to capture changes in action. These ripple into all aspects of his life and relationships:
I am mindful to hold my tongue with respect to my adult children's career choices and paths. On many occasions, I badly wanted to offer my opinions when I witnessed the emotional tolls their jobs were taking on them, or felt their job wasn't a good fit for them or that they should try something different and not put up with this or that. At the same time, I realized that my advice might quash an opportunity that leads to deeply rewarding career and life experiences.
The result is more example-driven than most, more intimate in its revealing passages about Miller's life and how he revises it, and more accessible than books that simply create a step-by-step blueprint for readers to follow. Inspired by surfing and ocean waves, the nature theme which threads through this delightfully immersive experience expands the boundaries of self-help thinking in an appealing, unexpected manner.
Libraries will want to not just add The Way of the Wave to their collections, but especially highlight its value to reading groups ranging from book clubs interested in self-help and self-healing to psychology discussion groups that would enjoy the memoir format that invitingly blends with actionable advice.
In short, The Way of the Wave is a gem of a title that is easy to read, delightful to absorb, and should be considered for improving any reader's approaches to life.
Indelicate Deception
V.S. Kemanis
https://www.vskemanis.com
Opus Nine Books
9781737847939, $19.99 Paperback/$7.99 eBook
https://www.vskemanis.com/books/indelicate-deception
https://bookshop.org/p/books/indelicate-deception/c5aea1ad362d27dc
Indelicate Deception is the novel of a daughter raised without a mother. Caty (real name Delicate Soul Robertson) invents a colorful fantasy about where her mother is and why she left her father when Caty was young, never to be heard from again.
It feels inevitable that Caty will confront a harsh reality when she comes of age and wants to know more about Lenore. She embarks on a truth-finding mission to locate her mother and learn what is real... and that's where things become surprisingly complicated.
Caty's sleuthing reveals only so much information. The rest needs to come from her mother. Her effort is destined to test her love for her father, but Caty has come far enough in her probe that she can't help but continue - even if it threatens everything stable in her life.
V.S. Kemanis crafts an absorbing tale that simmers with love, unresolved questions, and surprising twists and turns, centered in California and presenting a personal and cultural journey into possibilities Caty never envisioned.
Lenore and Roy's story emerges in contrast to Caty's life, filling in the blanks with an alternate perspective that contrasts nicely with the quest and the impact of Lenore's choices.
Kemanis is especially skilled at drawing important connections between idealization and reality as Lenore, Delicate, and Roy evolve, and deception becomes one of the foundations of their life together. The focus on father Roy's life and the sense of commitment he feels in building family is nicely done:
Home, fatherhood, friends. Lenore. This is Roy's life, and it isn't bad. Len works hard all week - and some weekends - while he cares for their baby... everything's different, nothing like their early days. He accepts this life, the responsibilities and joys of family.
Lenore's sense of commitment, in contrast, only goes so far. Readers immersed in these lives slowly gain a sense not only of underlying deception and clouded interests, but the influences that could drive a mother to leave her relationship and family, never to return.
As issues of injustice, money, and career buffet their family, Len and Roy both make difficult decisions. Readers brought into this scenario will especially appreciate the questions it raises, from the makeup of a family when marriage is not part of the deal to a daughter's later probe of its impact on her life.
Libraries choosing Indelicate Deception for its strong characterization, thought-provoking moral and ethical considerations, and psychological depth as a daughter risks everything she's known and loved to seek out difficult truths will find it easy to recommend the novel to book clubs.
With its many facets moving beyond a compelling read and into discussion points of family makeup, childrearing's impact, and the elements and roots of deception, readers will thoroughly appreciate a story which doesn't just deliver a completely involving plot, but encourages deeper-level thinking about love, deception, and lifetime consequences.
Ruby Red Flaws
Joe Golemo
https://joegolemo.com
Level Best Books
https://www.levelbestbooks.us
B0DW9HS275, $5.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Red-Flaws-Grayson-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0DW9HS275
Ruby Red Flaws is the second book in a trilogy about murder, adoption, and discovery. It adds further details and draw to the initial story of two adult brothers who discover, upon their father's demise, that they were adopted.
The prior book in the series, Design Flaws, introduced Dean and Grayson Dyle, involving them in both murder and self-discovery. Their second encounter with murder comes from a different direction - the murder literally takes place right before their eyes during an evening of entertainment at Ruby Ray Dixon's Supper Club.
This time the prime suspect isn't a Dyle brother, but Grayson's girlfriend Kate. Family ties, muddy pasts, and involvements in death come to light in their efforts to prove her innocence. Joe Golemo exhibits a penchant for cases that juxtapose family history and mystery with forces clearly beyond the brothers' control. This results in a story both similar-sounding to the prior book, yet satisfyingly different as Kate's world unravels.
Dean's expertise as a product engineer and Grayson's position as co-owner of a small design firm would not seem to translate to a prowess in crime-busting or solving murder cases. However, the brothers' ties and connections supersede their business abilities in ways that make them perhaps the only people able to reach beyond what's apparent and into the reality of the murder scene.
Golemo peppers his latest case with religious figures and involvements. These call into question various facets of the brothers' past and its impact on their present-day world. From cult symbols to collateral damage and casino special interests, the twists and turns represented in Ruby Red Flaws encourages a series of questions about identity, nefarious connections, and ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events that seem to hold little connection or logic.
Libraries seeking a murder mystery that excels in stand-alone high drama while expanding upon and complimenting a prior book will find Ruby Red Flaws not just inviting, but immersive.
Readers that choose Ruby Red Flaws for its promise of additional insights about adoption and adaptation will relish the story for its vivid first-person encounters, sometimes-zany characters, and inviting, thought-provoking twists on the typical whodunit.
Home and Away
The PATHfinder and POPS Clubs
Amy Friedman, Editor
Out of the Woods Press
www.outofthewoodspress.com
9781952197161, $21.95 Paperback
https://www.amazon.com/Home-Away-Poetry-Stories-Art/dp/1952197163
Home and Away: Stories, Poetry and Art is a reminder to all of its readers that high school students can produce works as evocative and powerful as many an adult. It features all kinds of art, from photographs to drawing, that are as expressive and hard-hitting as the prose and poetry that accompany them. What results is an extraordinary synthesis of art and raw life experience that will appeal to a wide audience.
The first thing to note about Home and Away is its diversity. What at first seems a structural diversity of topics and artistic examinations expands to represent a multiplicity of emotions and experiences. The central feature of the The PATHfinder and POPS Clubs is to cultivate a safe, creative space where students can explore their individuality and creativity without judgment or condemnation. Home and Away is proof positive of their success in achieving this mandate.
The volume's focus is on places of home and safety in the world. Writings identify the features and flavors of these spaces for teens whose lives are in flux. In such a safe place, teens were able to explore their sense of alienation, distance, and differences from home and society, creating powerful works that mesmerize with evocative phrasing and connections.
One example is Kimberly Romero's "Sol y Luna," a prose reflection on addiction and discovery which charts the process of losing oneself and finding a way back to a central core of identity. Her candid reflection on her life and her mother's achievements in raising her were written during her mother's struggle with cancer:
I crave your forgiveness, for this was never my intention. I've never been an addict, you protected me, like the greatest of all eclipses. Thank you for bearing me, birthing me, for I don't know where I would be otherwise. No one understands addiction better than the addict, but I find that hard to believe.
A moment of silence is requested for absorbing this piece, at the end.
Then there's "Gleaming Reflection" by Deangelo Gonzalez, which considers pros and cons of transitioning, transgender identity, and the social backlash of prejudice which impacts transgender individuals.
The hope and struggle immersed in Deangelo's art and prose is strikingly thought-provoking:
For me, it's not only a struggle to be transgender in this world but also a learning process about how life throws you so many challenges that push you back into life.
Ultimately, these are accounts of transformation and survival that embrace the highest of highs and lowest of lows in a teen's life.
Libraries choosing Home and Away for collections seeking literary representations of teen art, experience, and survival tactics will want to recommend it to high schoolers, students of literary achievement, and any reading group interested in diversity, survival, and raw, hard-hitting reflections of savvy young people.
Readers will find Home and Away explosively compelling, filled with succinct, hard-hitting passages that linger in the mind long after reading.
The Surgeon Who Dreamed He Was a Knight
Eric Renaud
Atmosphere Press
www.atmospherepress.com
9798891325340, $16.99 paperback, $7.99 e-book, $25.99 hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/Surgeon-Who-Dreamed-Was-Knight/dp/B0DQVV5NHP
The Surgeon Who Dreamed He Was a Knight comes from a medical doctor with a penchant for fantasy, philosophical reflection, and classic medieval chivalry.
These elements combine (along with a medical slant based on real-world expertise) to create a fantasy which opens on the real, busy world of an Quebec orthopedic surgeon Nicolas Renault, who falls asleep one night only to awaken as Merik, a knight whose quest also involves medicine... albeit in a very different manner than the approaches and treatment options of modern times.
Magical realism evolves in a story that spans not just space and time, but connections between cellular memory and events that join the personas of Nicolas/Merik in unusual, unexpected ways.
Seasoned fantasy readers who believe they'll be embarking on a timeslip tale or one with roots in an alternate universe will find that The Surgeon Who Dreamed He Was a Knight defies pat categorization.
Indeed, the medical thinking and processes of its protagonist are almost reminiscent of Robin Cook thrillers... but with the added value of a fantasy theme that weaves important connections between dreams, spirituality, and modern thinking. Against this backdrop, thriller-type action does not take center stage, but is a satisfying adjunct to intellectual and spiritual reflection.
Readers receive much discourse about medical procedures and atmosphere. This differs from the usual fantasy approach in which career takes a sideline to action.
Also unexpected are emotional components that demand pause for thought about all kinds of decision-making and psychological processes:
"Friendship implies respecting the other even if you don't know everything about them."
"And to trust them enough to open up, knowing that our friend will not judge us," added Celeste.
This example may seem like a simple observation, but such undercurrents of discovery and discussion create threads of connection that enhance the story as a whole as Merik faces Celeste's kidnapping and issues of loyalty and engagement.
Mages, dark forces, and dangerous bargains inject fantasy and magic into events that evolve to challenge not just Merik, but the unfamiliar world he navigates.
From the special interests of King Adrien (one who is "proud and stingy, preferred to seize others' wealth rather than ask for help from his neighbor") who falls under the wing of black magic teacher Adel to a young woman whose destiny dictates that she neither marry nor bear children, Eric Renaud creates an engaging story filled with revelation, personal sacrifice, and growth:
Celeste looked into his eyes with such coldness that it sent shivers down his spine. He felt sad for her. Perhaps she should have run away with Merik. But one does not easily escape their destiny, and that path is generally not the easiest.
Libraries will find the entwining of magical realism, fantasy, and real-world medical history and modern quandaries to be thoroughly engaging, making for a book recommendable beyond the usual fantasy audience. Patrons, in turn, will find its thought-provoking scenarios, characters, and journey to be captivating.
Immersive, creative, and packed with unexpected twists, The Surgeon Who Dreamed He Was a Knight employs a novel situation and atmosphere to mix elements of intrigue, thriller, and fantasy in a thoroughly absorbing, creatively unexpected manner. This translates to a highly recommendable story featuring out-of-the-box adventures - and thinking.
That's Lovely
Toni McBride
Atmosphere Press
www.atmospherepress.com
9798891325210, $19.99 pb, $9.99 e-book; $28.99 hc
https://www.amazon.com/Thats-Lovely-Toni-McBride/dp/B0DQYBQN2K
That's Lovely is literary fiction that will especially appeal to women attracted to strong characters and romances that focus on growth opportunities within relationships.
Samantha initially resists the notion of romance. She's fostering a life and business which holds no room for new friends, experiences, or thinking. As part-owner (with her brother) of a successful nightclub, Samantha has managed to combine her love of dancing with a job that actually supports the community. This creates unexpected new strengths and revelations about her future which reinforce Samantha's determination to do things her way:
I should change Gabe's name to Switzerland; he's always trying to be Mr. Neutral. Although I'm really annoyed at my brother, I like what they're saying. My interest is piqued by the thought of us having our own club. My stupid brother is right, I do like to go out dancing. I hate it when he's right like that.
The excitement and challenge of being a small business owner is challenged by the alluring and fun DJ Andrew, whose very different approach to life, flexibility, and engagement is in stark contrast to Samantha's desire for structure, control, and independence.
As the two draw closer, growth (perhaps predictably) grows from her increasing involvement with not just a very different personality, but a novel approach to life that proves both formidable and an alluring contrast to her carefully constructed life.
Toni McBride does an outstanding job of depicting how Andrew addresses and breaks down Samantha's barriers. Sexual descriptions are somewhat explicit, but do an excellent job of building passion between characters without venturing into risque territory.
The sexual descriptions conclude with further insights on Samantha's broadening horizons:
It feels good to finally give in a little with him and not act on guard all of the time. Being with Andrew was everything I could have imagined. Everything.
Just when things feel inevitable, betrayal enters the picture to provoke further revelations and insights, adding a cautionary note.
McBride brings Samantha's experiences to life, employing the first-person to involve readers in Samantha's achievements, logic, and relationship challenges.
Libraries that choose That's Lovely for its tasteful romantic journey will appreciate the story's focus on an already-strong female personality who knows (or thinks she knows) just what she wants from life.
Readers will find That's Lovely engaging, sporting a powerful protagonist whose life progression includes making choices and decisions that both educate and propel her into novel directions. The possibility of growth and disillusionment, as a discovery continues to push Samantha into unpredictable territory, makes for a story that is thoroughly engaging and hard to put down.
The Lost World
Celia Drill
Atmosphere Press
www.atmospherepress.com
9798891324947, $13.99 paperback, $7.99 e-book, $22.99 hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-World-Celia-Drill/dp/B0DQR4CN57
The Lost World is billed as a poetry collection, but literary audiences who anticipate either the usual form of free verse or the metered rhyme of traditional poetry will find its poetic paragraph format defies pat categorization.
This actually proves a powerful strength of the collection as themes wind through nature, explorations of self, and world connections.
Take "Being Alone," for one example. Its metaphors and atmosphere are captured in a paragraph of revelation that both defies and supports the notion of poetic expression:
Radio croons about a pure love. The kind where soul goes flying into space. To meet its counterpart. That's what you can find at midnight on Earth: kind voices prying open the closed door, revealing starlight. Here where I can't see. Where my body is a cloud of aching, a constellation jumbled, trying to form. Here where I mine for a music I can recognize, a tune to sing through me. A structure that supports me. Gift of wings. To flow me to you.
The piece is presented here in its entirety, because to pick any single line (or series of lines) as reflective of its power would be to sever its uniformity and strength.
Each poem adopts such a structure, capturing. in paragraphs of hard-hitting observation. the nuances and connections in life which embed lyrical observation with emotional depth.
Each work is succinct. This will especially appeal to audiences who appreciate smaller discourses where every word counts.
Celia Drill moves from concrete world observations and experiences to moments captured as if under the glass of deep inspection. One example is "Rest Stop," where:
At a refuge where the sun won't burn through clothes, a man atop a motorcycle swears with cigarette, mutters, This country's gone to hell, you all deserve to die. It's easier to back away, to turn around, return to rush of highway where light tattoos our foreheads, brightens eyes to lasers, spills gold into our pockets, reddens us to devils.
Expect the unexpected in Drill's journey through lost worlds of nature, materialism, and ethereal expression and thought.
Libraries seeking modern literature that expands the definition of poetry while remaining true to atmospheric, rhythmic reflection will find The Lost World a powerfully compelling collection addition.
Readers used to the linear structure of free verse will find, in these paragraphs of reflection, an unusually powerful attraction that grabs attention, demands thought, and ultimately celebrates both life and poetic expression.
Via a work "painted in oracles," Drill delves deeply into the spirit and passages through life with all its variants, challenges, and discoveries. The vibrant, resonating tone of these reflections will linger in the mind long after their reading.
Mothers of Fate
Lynne Hugo
Blank Slate Press
c/o Amphorae Publishing Group
www.amphoraepublishing.com
9781943075911, $18.95 Paperback/$9.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Sparks-Silent-Stars-Novel/dp/1943075913
Mothers of Fate is a powerful novel about adoption and the different impact it has on all involved. Unlike most stories of families and adoption, it holds added value in considering issues of disability, abandonment, and workplace sexual encounters that give rise to food for thought about all these subjects and their ultimate impact.
Readers might think that weaving these disparate elements into a novel about adoption and the search for an adopted child might prove too complex or detailed. However, one of the strengths in Lynne Hugo's writing lies in her ability to blend seemingly disparate topics and influences into a unified examination of choices, consequences, and resonating hardship and revelations.
This isn't the first time Hugo has tackled some of these subjects. But to have them entwine in a hard-hitting novel of connection results in a gripping saga that approaches its topics from many accessible angles of experience.
What was Monica Connell to do when unwanted workplace advances force her literally against a wall with no support?
Monica has replayed scene after scene in her head. Could she have averted Darcy's advances? Had this happened to other women? There were no women senior partners; one associate was a woman, but she was severe, buttoned-up, her straight-line mouth like the top of the T, not a bit of a come to me if you need any help aura about her. And she didn't have power with regard to a senior partner. Nor, of course, did the couple of women secretaries, obvious mothers and grandmothers who bustled out at five every weekday, pushing away from desks littered with pictures of children like so many bright flowers. Talking with them about it was unthinkable.
Attorney Monica now knows she's gay, and has moved on from the past, but it is reintroduced to her through the dilemma of new client Deana Wilkes. Deana is a disabled woman forced to give up her child in a closed adoption thirty years prior. She has developed a new mission, as an adult, to now locate that child.
Themes include different reasons for adoption, withdrawal, engagement, and revised objectives. All these elements draw Monica into a dispute with wife Angela, who maintains the firm conviction that closed adoptions must remain so forever.
Moral and ethical conflicts emerge between them, attorney and client, and past and present choices. The case turns into a series of twists and turns that force each of the characters to re-examine not just their choices and motives, but their lives and choices.
Hugo's ability to evolve these conflicts into bigger-picture thinking results in vivid passages of realization and understanding. They will prove particularly engaging to readers seeking more depth than the usual novel about adoption.
Part of this comes from juxtaposing the perceptions and objectives of not just the birth mother, but the adoptive family:
Jennie really didn't like the idea of her son having two mothers. She wanted a simple, exclusive claim on his heart.
"I wonder if she's sad or relieved. It must be so hard." If she is sad, how can I be happy at someone else's expense?
"Most likely relieved, but don't think about that," Brian said. "She's not you. She had a choice. Just like we had a choice. Anyway, this baby is ours."
The relationship connections, building and re-building, and shifting status comes from many directions and characters' lives, but builds an authoritative foundation of examination. This invites readers and book clubs to consider their own expectations and definitions of family, closed and open circles, and how life changes result in challenges to past decisions.
Libraries will find the addition of Mothers of Fate both expands the topic of adoption's influences and challenges and offers a completely engrossing story. It will reach leisure readers in addition to book clubs and women's groups interested in all kinds of related, interconnected family issues.
Readers will especially appreciate Mothers of Fate's ability to contrast very different ideals of love, family, and poverty on a level that sings with emotional connection and resonates with life questions and values.
Counting Backwards
Jacqueline Friedland
Harper Muse
c/o HarperCollins Focus
https://www.harpercollinsfocus.com/harpermuse
9781400347308, $32.99 Hardcover/$18.99 Paperback/$9.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Counting-Backwards-Novel-Jacqueline-Friedland/dp/1400347300
Counting Backwards is a captivating novel that blends thriller elements into its stories. The first tale, set in 2022, features a woman whose legal career and convictions about the justice system face a major change. Lawyer Jessa Gidney pursues pro bono work and becomes involved in the ICE processes that are endangering the life of a young woman.
The last thing Jessica expects from her routine case is the evolution of a medical dilemma that holds strong ties to her own situation. The last thing she wanted was to be forced to reconsider not just definitions of justice, but her integrity in pursuing it.
Flash back to 1927 Virginia, where ordinary young woman Carrie Buck finds herself at the center of a eugenics legal battle that takes her all the way to the Supreme Court. An adopted girl with few resources and a humble nature, Carrie's moment in the limelight unexpectedly delivers paradigm-changing results that ripple into the future to affect Jessica's own case and life.
Jacqueline Friedland's juxtaposition of these very different lives and times introduces a satisfying complexity to her story. This creates many subjects and issues suitable for book club discussion and debate.
Women and legal thriller readers who choose this immersive experience will find that Counting Backwards's focus on legal ramifications of controversial cases and actions and social programs that support sometimes-dubious ideologies will impact their thinking. They'll eagerly follow characters whose lives are upended by their choices and the limitations of their environment and involvements.
Friedland's movements between past and present events are clearly delineated by chapter headings, so it's nearly impossible to get lost. The revelations each woman experiences are powerfully and succinctly delivered to support each personality, as during Carrie's entrapment:
"This one is perfect," he said. "You've done well."
His words surprised me, and I looked up from my feet. He was smiling bright, as if something excellent had just occurred. And I'm embarrassed to admit that I misunderstood all over again. He was so clearly bursting with delight that I began to hope again that they might be considering my release. Well, shame on me. If I thought anything good could come from meeting with that man, maybe I was just as dim-witted as Dr. Preston wanted to believe.
In the future, Jessa faces her own family challenges and struggles with her mandate to help her client (and, unexpectedly, herself) despite emotional turmoil and loss, which takes its toll:
I marveled at how everywhere I looked, every last thing suddenly seemed to be about babies. God seemed to be taunting me, making me think about reproduction all day every day, all while withholding the grand prize.
As issues of illegitimate children, regulatory practices that disguise prejudice and predatory behaviors, and loss of opportunity, ideals, and control emerge, Counting Backwards gives rise to all kinds of questions and considerations while building exquisite tension from social, political, and psychological storms.
Libraries that choose Counting Backwards for their collections will find it especially enlightening, impactful reading for women interested in women's rights, justice system operations, and issues of childbearing and loss.
Readers will find both characters in the story exceptionally well developed. These lives not only dovetail and entwine in unexpected ways, but deliver a one-two punch of realism and shock that pave the way for a thoroughly engrossing story.
We Are Made of Stars
Rochelle B. Weinstein
https://www.rochelleweinstein.com
Lake Union Publishing
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662520884, $16.99 Paperback/$4.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Made-Stars-Novel/dp/1662520883
We Are Made of Stars opens with a French dinner menu before moving to Chapter 1, where Jean-Paul De La Rue is preparing extraordinary dinner for Vis Ta Vie Inn guests. The mouthwatering ingredient descriptions portend a story steeped in atmosphere and favors, creating an immediate "you are here" smorgasbord of taste, smells, and description that bring classical writer Marcel Proust to mind ... albeit in a less ethereal manner.
Jean-Paul and his wife Renee have created a bed-and-breakfast from their farmhouse that is not only picturesque (it's nestled in the hills of Vilas, North Carolina), but attractive to the guests who add their own intriguing lives to the husband-and-wife team's world.
All this is about to change. Not only has the world become overly complicated over the food they serve versus guest allergies and special diets, but the ideals they originally brought to life in creating the inn seem dated and challenging:
Entering the glass doors is like slipping inside a cloud swaddled in sunlight. He wants their guests to feel the same buoyancy, a sanctuary in which they can escape the pressures of life. Recharge. Reboot. But now he feels it all slipping away. Building a life around a passion for food, wine, and breathtaking scenery once seemed romantic. Creating a place to unplug and restore diminished reserves now feels terribly foolish.
Readers will readily understand and appreciate how a dream can evolve into something akin to a nightmare. But We Are Made of Stars is about much more than one couple's disillusionment. Each of the guests currently staying at the inn faces their own sea changes in life choices.
Rochelle B. Weinstein introduces a host of characters who each struggle with their own futures and revised ideals. She juxtaposes these different personas, concerns, and revelations with finesse so that readers become thoroughly immersed in their lives and futures.
This immersive experience shifts as stories emerge and dovetail. An ebb and flow atmosphere of discovery and struggle is created that retains the sense of purpose and immediacy that opened with the inn owners' dilemmas.
Betrayal, breakthroughs, and fine tension develop, springing to life through different characters' experiences and perspectives.
Libraries seeking a realistic, involving story of change and redefinition will want to direct readers to We Are Made of Stars for its powerful narrative on adaptation and new directions.
Readers will find this week-long foray an exceptional portrait of survival and reinvention that reinforces its characters and their lives with thought-provoking messages of life, death, and the challenges that lie in-between:
He hasn't felt awake or alive in a while, drowning in resentment ... Like the dying stars he studies, he's crashing at an inordinate speed. If he can't get himself under control, he too will burst.
The Other Book
Alexey L Kovalev
Atmosphere Press
www.atmospherepress.com
9798891325500, $15.99 paperback, $8.99 e-book, $24.99 hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/Other-Book-Alexey-L-Kovalev/dp/B0DRPTKLY5
Imagine reading a book at work, only to find that each attempt immerses the reader in an alternate universe. Now consider that this revisionist history is pursued by a young physician working in a hospital during the apex of the Covid pandemic.
This is the opening premise of The Other Book, which presents an electronic book that takes on a life of its own and begins to draw in and rewrite reality itself.
If this plot sounds complex, be advised that The Other Book is not a choice for light reading. It will simply delight those who look for mind-boggling concepts, shared experiences that blossom into a world no reader could have anticipated, and premises that shift not only the plot, but the reader's perception of what is real and what is ultimately being created from this encounter.
Alexey L Kovalev employs language that is hard-hitting from the story's opening lines:
Boisterous prophets, rakish boys and girls of The Avant-Garde and Deconstructivism announced that human history is over, all its laws have ceased to function, and the "Great Arts and Masters" paradigm has played out and become obsolete. They put their trust in an "intuitive attainment of the existence's vertical dimension." But it seems they also feel that the earth under their feet is shaking somewhat in its own fashion, not a modern way, so they thickly blow the gaff on an impending new myth, a radically different Gilgamesh.
This drives readers into a plot that delves richly into evolving World Storylines, encounters between participants trying to make sense of their revised roles in this strange new milieu, and the impact of literary and social interpretation on new and old worlds alike.
Kovalev's language is always a cut above the ordinary. This challenges readers to move slowly through the scenario in order to thoroughly absorb its reinterpretations of history, impact, and contributors to shifting paradigms:
I would not dare interpret the Author's intent in using the name of the famous medieval chant and even citations from it as epigraphs, but this text has mysteriously fascinated composers, and around two hundred of them wrote its musical versions. Among them were such names as Vivaldi, Haydn, Schubert, and Verdi - not incidental figures in the history of world culture, were they? I think we would not be wrong to assume that they all were haunted by the main topic of the poem - compassion for the Holy Mother's sufferings and the exigency of feeling her pain. For some of them, that urge corresponded with personal crises. And it began right with the poet.
Various conversations between characters emerge in the form of letters and communiques, adding further richness to the story's reflective tone.
World-building as a collective process is reinforced through many unexpected twists and turns as Paul and many other guests (often unidentified) in this environment reinterpret the function and impact of scientists, thinkers, literary and arts figures, philosophers, and politicians who have influenced or defined reality.
Libraries will appreciate the novel's depth and literary attraction as it moves from philosophical reflection to pointed insights about how worldviews are created, challenged, or dissolved.
Readers that choose The Other Book will find its deep-layered conversations and debates offer thoroughly thought-provoking, reflective reading that delves into sci-fi circles, but embeds its progress with references to philosophers who all are (in a sense) revising the history and reality of the world by being authors, creators, and thinkers.
The uplifting thoughts that come from considerations of how this transformation impacts life will delight readers attracted to potent, reflective writing:
Hot on the heels of taciturn young readers, utterly fresh sprouts were on the rise, which apparently knew something that they had not started learning yet. They shouldn't even be taught new stories - just set them loose, and they would cover everything with apple blossoms. True, not right away they will take in their gentle hands the Earth damaged by their parents. But unlike them, and as sovereign characters of the new World's Storyline, they would know how to burburate it.
Makings of a Monster
Charlie Freelander
https://charliefreelander.com/index.html
Independently Published
9789529493524, e-book $5.99, paperback $14.99
https://books2read.com/b/3nPje9
https://www.amazon.com/Makings-Monster-Legacy-Charlie-Freelander/dp/9529493525
Makings of a Monster blends fantasy with gripping psychological discovery. It follows the life of Velimir, who has survived the mass murder of children, but relives the nightmare in his dreams.
This first book in the Legacy of Wrath series sets the stage for the makings of a rebellious survivor powered by lethal forces from childhood. These influence his psyche as he grows into a dangerous warrior himself.
At the heart of this exploration is a question readers will be challenged to define: is Velimer a hero, or a monster?
At this juncture, it's appropriate to point out that the story's growth process and dichotomy may impact sensitive readers. Stark descriptions of surviving childhood horrors are hard-hitting and thought-provoking from the start:
When he stirs in his sleep and wakes up, panting, pale and sweating, he has an odd wish. He would like two soft, warm and comforting arms to protect him. But he merely clutches his knees and comforts himself with a rocking motion. He has long since ceased crying when he awakes in pain, or frightened. No one will ever come.
Charlie Freelander creates masterful connections between reader and characters in a way that encourages understanding and connection to the characters' evolutionary process. She also sets action on the stage of literary, philosophical and mythological references to reinforce the psychological components of the story. The energy embedded into the tale from these facets will especially intrigue and attract literary readers who will readily understand the references and techniques Freelander employs.
As for the action - powered by psychological quandaries and questions, it's fast-paced and hard to set aside:
The man was preoccupied, hardly paying attention to his family, or to Kiril. Great plans. More power. Something like that. At times Kiril wondered if such things were important after all. If the only thing living a good life would take would be living as a family, with Jelena as wife and Velimir as their child, and just trying his best. His best at what? He wondered. Oh, and they'd have to kill Radek. Yeah, great plan. Velimir's darkness would not go away just by pretending that it wasn't there. He had to find out. They had to discover the truth.
Vulnerability, commitment, and love and hate entwine in a tale that libraries will find packed with depth and wonder. It will be easy to highly recommend Makings of a Monster to book clubs and discussion groups seeking fantasy that offers far more depth and insights than most.
Readers seeking a combination of classic psychological and philosophical reflections about the ultimate impact of violence on a child's life, choices, and growth process will find Makings of a Monster utterly compelling and nearly impossible to put down.
Two Sisters
Marcel Marquie
Book Baby Publishers
www.bookbaby.com
9798350968323, $2.99 (eBook); $13.99 (paperback)
https://www.amazon.com/Parisian-Detective-Tales-Trilogy-Sisters-ebook/dp/B0DGQP44XT
Parisian Detective Tales is a trilogy that opens with Part One, Two Sisters, which takes place at the end of World War II.
Former POW Toni Bonnet has returned from his incarceration in Germany to open his own fledgling detective agency in Paris, a city just beginning to recover from the impact of war. Because the city is still in flux and shock, Toni finds it hard to drum up business.
When he receives a job from a butcher who suspects his wife of being unfaithful (despite her protests that she's spending time with her sick sister), Toni becomes involved in their lives. A completely unexpected series of discoveries marry suspicion and murder with family secrets and vanished children.
Readers won't anticipate many of the twists and turns Toni experiences as he probes the puzzling lives of these two sisters.
Marcel Marquie creates a thoroughly immersive story by taking the time to reinforce mystery with history, flavoring all with a personal touch that helps readers easily absorb not just the intrigue, but the mixed bag of choices that emerge during these times:
As a child, Toni had been an aficionado of the comic strip and its heroes, Ribouldingue, Filochard, and Croquignol, the most popular French cartoon characters since the beginning of the century. They were three con artists, burglars, scoundrels, and liars, who always managed to outwit the police, though they never hurt anyone. Funny how the French had a fondness for smart criminals elevated to the ranks of national heroes... Americans preferred demi-gods like Superman. Go figure. Come to think of it, their dishonesty may have had a bad influence on him, which would explain his propensity for lying to conduct business more efficiently.
Passages such as this explore the subtler nuances and cross-connections between post-World War II culture and experience, connecting the dots of discovery with thought-provoking reflections. These bring Toni and his world to life as he probes the lives, truths, and deceits of the sisters:
...the key to that little enigma lay in the two sisters' relationship, and it occurred to him that he should perhaps start over by looking into Claudine's personal life. She lived close to Fontainebleau and had moved into the house at Seine-Port fairly recently; in fact, immediately after the Liberation, Marchand had said. Coincidentally, her pretty sister had married the less than attractive butcher at that time, which was rather odd, although when he thought of his own relationship with Rose, he had to admit that it was also on the unconventional side. And not just because she was a prostitute.
Libraries that choose Two Sisters to enhance their detective fiction sections will find that it is filled with historical and cultural references which elevates the novel well beyond a standard formula whodunit.
Readers that enjoy historical fiction will relish not only these in-depth explorations, but the gripping intrigue that exposes the special interests, secrets, and survival tactics of different characters.
The mixture of investigative piece, cultural and historical exploration, and psychological depth and discovery makes Two Sisters not just thought-provoking, but a completely immersive post-war experience. It holds value for many different genre readers, operating well beyond a traditional historical fiction novel or detective piece alone.
Cycling 70 Years: Once World Champion
Gordon Neale
www.cycling70yearsonceworldchampion.com
Austin Macauley Publishers
https://www.austinmacauley.com
9781398486089, $16.95 Paperback/$4.50 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Cycling-70-Years-World-Champion/dp/1398486086
Cycling 70 Years: Once World Champion is a memoir of cycling achievement and culture that follows Gordon Neale's participation in cycling clubs, solo cycling travels, and both competition and adventure.
As such, his memoir is more than a singular approach to cycling, but links career and competition to discoveries and experiences, crisscrossing Europe in an effort that involves both team and personal efforts.
Those outside the cycling world won't be left out by these professional explorations. Gordon Neale includes many insights about the nuances of competition cycling that explains its processes while celebrating its routines, connections, and unique opportunities for cultural discovery.
Chapters sometimes read like a travelogue of journeys and new experiences, and other times like a competitor's diary of cycling challenge and achievement.
Reinforced by the first person, Cycling 70 Years imparts a vivid series of observations in a "you are here" tone that captures not just individual relationships and other cultures, but shared concerns and emotions that connect disparate worlds.
Fellow cyclists, especially, will appreciate these candid observations of the costs and experiences of competition cycling:
Tom having regained the bunch, then set about reeling us in; he was soon on his own. After what was said to have been a long hard difficult chase, he duly made contact. It appeared to us that he was in a bit of a state; in fact, he looked terrible, he must have thought we looked fresher than we felt. Rather than take any chances on the track finish, he put in a big successful attack on the last climb before the stadium. He had found something from out of the depth that only he could do, I have never seen anybody hurt themselves as much as he could.
The racer mentioned above is Tom Simpson, a racing legend. Those interested in the Tour de France know that he died in the Tour on the Monte Ventoux in 1967.
Language and descriptions can be stilted, at times, as in the opening sentences above; but their impact in capturing the cycling experience supersedes any wish that some of the descriptions could have proved even more powerful with better editing.
Libraries seeking to add an experiential cycling travelogue to their collections that runs through Europe with an exciting air of experience will welcome Cycling 70 Years: Once World Champion's many immersive moments.
Readers who are cyclists aiming for competition will find the candid reflections revealing and inspiring, while those outside the cycling world can participate of its highs and lows via an armchair read that captures personalities, discoveries, and insights in a vivid manner.
Its immersive experience and explorations of the processes of tour operations, competition organization, and participation emerges from Neal's life and efforts:
The main thing to do is to make sure you do not crash, another difficulty in this area of Russia was that the road edge was not straight but rather wavy. Unusually for me in this type of race I lost contact with the lead group. Since I have been a veteran, distance has never been a problem as I have been doing the training and eating correctly. Not only did I lose some ground but had cramp as well. However, I persevered finally getting over it, attaching to a strong group who rode very hard kilometre after kilometre.
To Those Willing to Drown
Mark Matthews
Wicked Run Press
9781737702139, $15.99 Paperback/$5.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Those-Willing-Drown-Mark-Matthews/dp/1737702134
To Those Willing to Drown is a Torch Lake Souls literary horror novel that is highly recommended for readers of deep horror that revolves around physical and psychological quandaries rooted in pain. Sensitive readers usually don't pursue the horror genre for just these reasons - but avoidance would translate to missing out big time, because Mark Matthews creates a powerfully thought-provoking, multifaceted story that proves nearly impossible to put down.
Its horror component rests on tragedy, a mother's guilt, mythology, and depth. Depth is not just emotional, here, because Matthews has his protagonist literally delve into a lake of revelation that runs far deeper than can be anticipated by readers or imagined by any of the story's characters.
For example, a solid Civil War history component opens the first chapter with the first-person observations of surgeon Lucas Lamia, who was with the 100th Infantry Union Army and now, post-war, is seeking solace far from bloody battles in the majestic blue waters and rolling green hills of Michigan.
Once a soldier, always a soldier. Lucas brings the war with him in his experiences and heart, presenting vivid memories of the scars and atrocities of battle that haunt his days.
These stark (but also unexpectedly hopeful) insights on how courage emerges to battle against darkness are creatively rendered, grippingly presented, and thoroughly immersive:
I matched their intensity and waged my own battles to comfort the dying and heal the wounded. Under intense heat, sweat and blood beading on my brow, soldier after soldier was placed on the scaffold and put under chloroform while surgeons performed the operation. Separating the inflicted body part so that the spirit could live on - an empty sleeve but a patriot's heart.
The influential questions and considerations Lucas experiences from his tour of duty create reflections about choice and consequences that prove as applicable to a divided nation today as they were in the heart of Civil War battle:
The question I did not share with any surgeon nor any man of God was this: Did I also sever part of a man's soul by performing an amputation? If they die with their body disconnected, are souls also split forever, the way our country seemed split, North and South, Rebel and Yank?
Lucas survived the war - but the real horror is about to begin, based on what he introduces to the world.
The next chapter moves to the experiences of Sharon Murphy at Camp Waakwing. (Is this modern times? A timeline under the chapter titles would have provided a more immediate sense of movement and place.)
As Lucas is further challenged by a sick son and decisions are made that open the door for forms of horror that hold lasting impact as well as moral and ethical dilemmas, it's evident that to label To Those Willing to Drown a horror story alone would be to do it a disservice.
Libraries will find its riveting descriptions, unexpected twists, and interconnected lives to be psychologically engrossing. It's so thought-provoking that book clubs and reading groups will find it holds many facets worthy of avid debate and discussion.
Horror readers may choose To Those Willing to Drown for its promise of deeper horror (which it delivers in droves); but under the waves of its deep roots in Civil War events and dilemmas lies a beating heart of discovery that will prove not just gripping, but enlightening.
Readers seeking a different approach to the horror genre - one which combines history, mystery, psychological agony, and superb tension - will find To Those Willing to Drown more than a cut above the typical horror story.
...we never need to leave.
Because the lake has so much of us we can never get it all out?
The lake has all of us now, and we will never want out.
Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice
Ryan Stevens
Independently Published
9781069170521, $19.99 pbk / $9.99 Kindle
9781069170514, $34.99 hc / $12.99 audio / $33.99 Large Print
https://www.amazon.com/Barbara-Ann-Scott-Queen-Ice/dp/1069170526
Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice is a biography of Canada's first great ice skater that will prove a 'must have' for any library strong in ice skating history, and for many a follower of figure skating events. Not intended for general-interest, casual readers, Stevens provides a wealth of history designed to attract and engross those who already hold experience and special interest in the skating world.
Ryan Stevens attends to capturing the full-bodied flavor of Scott's life, probing beneath the sweetness of her facade for a focus on the realities of her persona and motivations to create an ultimately uplifting contention:
Barbara Ann's life was marked by both challenges and triumphs, ultimately illustrating the timeless truth that sometimes "nice people finish first".
Facts and figures about skating mark the progression of Scott's story to add much value to all kinds of ice skating enthusiasts. While anyone with an interest in this history may know Scott's name, few would already know of all the background of the art of skating which is embedded in her life.
Stevens packs the story with black and white photos of Scott at all ages and in all kinds of situations, from skating to dancing. The wealth of images in the public domain accompany specifics on how Scott's fame rose in the media:
Barbara Ann's rise to stardom came at a unique time. When she won the Olympic gold medal in 1948, there were less than three hundred and fifty television sets in Canada, but from 1948 to 1952, thousands more were sold. However, it wasn't television that first introduced many Canadians to her skating.
The promotional focus of her career sometimes takes interesting twists:
Newsreels of her skating were shown in theatres before movies, and two short films were released by the National Film Board of Canada. These short films, which were seen by thousands, were rented out by mail to theatres and skating clubs across North America. They were also loaned out to people in over fifty countries abroad, through the Departments of External Affairs. Barbara Ann, as it turned out, was a big hit in Pakistan. Unfortunately, the Sri Lankans returned the films with a note that said the Sinhalese people weren't interested in ice skating because they had never seen ice.
Not a detail of her influence is omitted, here. Quotes from her words and reflections pepper political, sport, and competition history that not only explore her life, but the era in which she rose to skating fame.
The depth of these details do more than present a portrait of Scott. They reveal the processes and insights through which she and ice skating as a whole became more familiar to enthusiasts around the world.
Appendixes offer references to her Skating Sensations of the 1950s tour, competitive records, and a list of the 'firsts' she achieved throughout the 1940s (and a couple in more modern times).
Any skating lover will thoroughly appreciate the tone and approach of this vivid story. Skating facts are thoroughly researched and documented, Scott's interactions on and off the ice are vivid and engrossing, and her story springs to life as a triple Axel of achievement that sets the stage for better understanding the evolution of ice skating as a whole.
Libraries and readers will find Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice the perfect choice for expanding knowledge of one of ice skating's greatest figures while enjoying the history and statistics which reflect her life and values:
Giving back was something she believed strongly in. Debbi Wilkes recalled, "I complimented her once... and she said something like, 'Skating has given me my life. I owe it something back.' It was very touching how she had a real perspective on the sport, her contribution to it and its contribution to her life."
Guardian of the Ages
Henry Hoffman
Independently Published
9798300092986, $16.99 Hardcover/$4.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Guardian-Ages-Henry-Hoffman/dp/B0DRTLBGGR
Guardian of the Ages combines romance with the crime thriller genre, adds a warm dash of historical backdrop with the culture and events of the 1970s, and follows the life of Sean Doyle, who is recovering from his father's death in Vietnam, a romantic breakup, and a temporary heart problem that has stalled his venture into a criminal justice career.
His interim job as a security officer at a large urban public library introduces a serial killer into the mix, who has chosen the library as the perfect place to locate and stalk his victims. The peace Sean expected to find in the library setting turns into a deadly collection of cat-and-mouse games played amidst books that is anything but quiet and relaxing, as he envisioned.
His supervisor at the library is the beautiful Alicia Barnes, who proves a formidable boss. As Sean and Alicia delve into the mystery, Sean uses the library's resources to get at the heart of matters surrounding not only the murderer, but those who report on crime:
During his evening break, Sean made a quick trip to the periodical room to check the day's paper to see if there was a Cox article on the latest killing. He found one tucked below a lengthy account of the successful recovery of the Apollo 13 crew. Basically, it was a rehash of the morning radio report. Confident there was a connection between the crimes and Cox's hurried visit to the library, one question rose to the fore. Did it relate to the anonymous messages admitted by authorities, and in particular, the taunting aspect?
The juxtaposition between library atmosphere and looming threat is nicely developed. Readers who might think that a library holds little opportunity for becoming a crime scene will be immersed in Sean's dilemmas as he becomes increasingly drawn into Alicia's world and the threats to its existence.
Tension is nicely done, events are realistic and often unpredictable (except for the romantic twist, which can be predicted), and library and personal codes of conduct come to light as Sean equates reading tastes with relationship insights and development while fielding a killer.
Libraries that choose Guardian of the Ages will find plenty of depth in the story, between its emotional growth and development and the finely-tuned tension of tracking a clever killer through the stacks.
Readers will find the story captivating on different levels of emotional, career, and investigative intrigue.
Quite simply, Guardian of the Ages is a killer of a story that pairs a rule-maker with a rule-enforcer in a creative, unexpected manner that stands out from the crowd.
The Unseen Goddess
Sangeetha Shinde
Villa Magna Publishing, LLC
www.villamagnapublishing.com
9781940178752, $18.99 Paper/$9.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Unseen-Goddess-Sangeetha-Shinde/dp/1940178754
The Unseen Goddess surveys a young Indian woman's life and opens with abandonment before moving to themes of spiritual discovery, the presence of goddesses in everyday life, and the options this belief introduces to Madhuri, who is born into poverty and ejected from an abusive home.
Readers who anticipate Madhuri's story to be one of nonstop abuse and challenge will be pleased to learn that amid the hardships are small joys of childhood that balance her life in unexpected ways. The immediacy of these descriptions bring readers not only into the milieu of India's culture, but offer a personal perspective of daily life that narrows its focus to the seemingly small experiences that build and support Madhuri's psyche as she ages:
I recollect playing with some marbles I had found in a dustbin. They were two of them, one blue with red cloudy stripes running through it, and the other a wonderful transparent green. I remember looking through the green marble, with one eye tightly shut. Through the marble the world looked wonderfully distorted and blurred, and all of it seemed to be bathed in a green light. That's when green became my favourite colour I think.
From sibling rivalry and friendships that come and go to perspectives that encourage Madhuri to move beyond her upbringing to survive repeated hardships, readers are immersed (for better or for worse, as sensitive readers may find this immersion psychologically challenging) in a story that grips with personal reflection and survival tactics.
The very features that make The Unseen Goddess compelling also make its journey a mixed bag of discovery. This may not be for every readers, but will thoroughly delight those who appreciate blends of cultural experience, personal struggle, and the challenge of navigating an onslaught of trouble while finding the nuggets of purpose, joy, and logic in perseverance.
Shinde's portrait of these expressions and experiences of delight permeates the story to juxtapose the good and bad days in an intriguing, realistic manner:
"I will be leaving after this lunch. Today was my last day, and I wanted to say goodbye to all of you. I hope I'll see you at my wedding."
We stared at her, unprepared for the immediacy of her departure, and I must confess my heart plummeted from my chest deep into my stomach, as I absorbed the news. I realised only then how safe she made us feel with her no-nonsense ways and her bluff kindness. She nodded at Revathi who came forward with a pile of boxes. Madam Nalini took the boxes from her and came over to each of us, giving a box to each. We opened them curiously and our expressions of curiosity changed to expressions of joy and wonder rapidly. Inside each of the boxes were pattu pavadas in gorgeous jewel colours. Mine was a bright blue with a peacock green border and a gold edging, with a pink and green scarf to wrap around it. I stared at it in utter delight, and then looked up at Madam Nalini, who smiled at me, and then addressed all of us again.
"Please wear these clothes to my wedding." And with that she was gone and we never saw her at the ashram again.
These moments are like jewels sprinkled through India's world, culture as seen through eyes of a protagonist who regularly prays to her invisible goddess to bring good things and people into her life.
As much a story about cementing faith as it is about survival and even blossoming, The Unseen Goddess represents a rich, balanced distribution of life experience that will especially lead libraries to purchase and recommend it to a wide range of readers, from book clubs with a special interest in Indian characters and experiences to reading groups considering the evolution of faith as life impacts grow.
Readers not stymied by stories of ongoing onslaughts, individual focus, or disparate methods of rising above life's challenges will find The Unseen Goddess a beacon of possibility that will prompt many inquiries surrounding the nature of belief, poverty, and the circumstances which either support or repress life.
Uplifting, or ultimately depressing - the reader gets to decide in an intriguing inquiry into growth, change, faith, and life's ups and downs.
Dragon Stone
Brigitte Dempsey
Independently Published
9798310483576, $11.95
https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Stone-Ms-Brigitte-Dempsey/dp/B0DX2MLSR3
When you grow up, remember - our family line reaches back to when Cymru belonged to the Celts and our people believed in dragons.
Dragon Stone attracts young adult audiences with a vivid, thoroughly engrossing story in which Rosetta's family moves into a neglected sprawling medieval Welsh house, Rhosyn Manor; there to encounter people, events, and perspectives that seem far from their prior England home.
Her mother has grown up in that house, so it's not entirely alien to her; but to her children Rosetta and Daniel, it contains a few childhood memories and a lot of cultural differences that now threaten to separate them from their former lives.
The beauty of the wild grounds that surround the manor also harbor a secret that transports Rosetta into impossible encounters, feeding YA readers a steady stream of discovery and revelation as the heroine explores new friendships, interesting encounters with falconry and other eye-opening experiences, and a birthday present that expands her world.
Brigitte Dempsey's inspiring juxtaposition of nature, human endeavors, and a young girl's coming of age in some challenging situations, creates a compelling novel that YA readers will find a page-turner that's hard to set aside.
Through Rosetta's eyes, the Welsh countryside and people come to life, as well as myths and initiations that demand she step up into adult decision-making and recognition of not just the consequences of her choices, but the impact of her heritage and Welsh mythology's lessons.
These give Dragon Stone a multifaceted feel as a quest, a learning curve, and an opportunity to embrace both her aging grandmother and the folklore her presence imparts, helping YA readers better understand their own family and heritage connections.
Libraries will find Dragon Stone more than just a fantasy. It comes packed with growth and revelations that link natural and human endeavors, myths with reality, and family ties with moving past loss. Readers become cognizant of the importance these roots have in influencing future goals and life.
Filled with thought-provoking moments suitable for YA reading groups or classroom discussion, couched in an adventure that adds riveting twists and unexpected discoveries to the story, Dragon Stone is a winner that defies pat categorization and delivers solid characters who are forced by circumstances to grow in new directions.
Diane C. Donovan, Senior Reviewer
Donovan's Literary Services
www.donovansliteraryservices.com
Gary Roen's Bookshelf
Robert B. Parker's Hot Property: A Spenser Novel
Mike Lupica
Putnam
c/o Penguin Random House
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
9780593716137 $30.00 HC / $6.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Parkers-Property-Spenser-Book-ebook/dp/B0CW8M2KP1
The fifty-second Spenser novel, "Hot Property" is a fast-paced addition, to the long running series. An attorney friend, is gunned down by someone, for whatever reason. Luckily she was not killed but severely wounded, ending up in a nearby hospital. Spenser and Hawk take it personally, as well as others in law enforcement, who combine their resources to bring the person responsible, to justice. Mike Lupica has been a perfect choice to continue the Spenser arcs keeping the writing with strong characters, snappy dialogue, and fast pacing to keep readers turning pages to the very end. "Hot Property" is guaranteed enjoyment, for the millions of Spenser fans.
Robert B. Parker's Buried Secrets: A Jesse Stone Novel
Christopher Farnsworth
Putnam
c/o Penguin Random House
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
9780593944761 $30.00 HC / $14.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Parkers-Buried-Secrets-Jesse/dp/0593544765
Jesse Stone, has always been a cut above other characters of mystery fiction, because he is not perfect, but a man with many flaws he deals with. Now, the fourth writer Christopher Farnsworth to take over the helm of Stone stories, shows he was a good choice to continue the long running series with "Buried Secrets." Stone and his Paradise department, must deal with the death of a man whose dark and sinister past, are now being investigated as there were pictures of dead people, that need to be explained why he has them and an amount of money that Stone and others of Paradise, argue what to do with the funds. Jesse also has to deal with a new hire who just does not get how to conduct himself when dealing with the public, as well as how to conduct himself on the job. Essential, to a good novel, is conflict and, "Buried Secrets" has plenty, to move the work along to the final page to please, any fan of Jesse Stone.
How We Disappear
Tara Lynn Masih
Press 53
www.Press53.com
9781950413454 $17.95 pbk /No Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/How-We-Disappear-Novella-Stories/dp/1950413454
Writing short fiction requires different techniques from novels. Master of the printed word, Tara Lynn Masih with her collection, "How We Disappear" guides readers along a roller coaster ride with thirteen tales of page turning craftsmanship. Two prime examples are "Salt" a woman finds a farm has animals with unique talents and "How Do You Thank A River." A man named Bose, is on a special cattle drive in the Dakotas that reveals so much about him and why he is there. The collected yarns in "How We Disappear" highlight the talents of Tara Lynn Masih to captivate readers.
Jules Penny & the Rooster
Daniel Pinkwater
Tachyon Publications
https://tachyonpublications.com
9781616964320, $9.95 pbk, $5.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Jules-Penny-Rooster-Daniel-Pinkwater/dp/1616964324
"Jules Penny & the Rooster" is a beautifully written fantasy novel for everyone to enjoy for it readability from the first page on. Jules McSultz has for a long time wanted a dog, despite her parents reluctance, to allow her one. Through a series of strange circumstances she finally has her wish fulfilled. Surprisingly this one has magical powers that become obvious, as the story unfolds. Together they encounter a rooster and situations that propel the work along with fast pacing, strong writing, charming characters, and conflicts that make "Jules Penny & the Rooster" a charming read for all of us to enjoy turning the pages to the very end. If you are like me "Jules, Penny & the Rooster" also propels readers to find other Daniel Pinkwater works to relish in the future.
Santa Mouse Finds A Furry Friend
Michael Brown, author
Robert McPhillips, illustrator
Little Simon
An Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
c/o Simon & Schuster
https://www.simonandschuster.com/kids
9781665960892, $18.99 HC / $10.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Mouse-Finds-Furry-Friend/dp/1665960892
"Santa Mouse Finds A Furry Friend" is sheer entertainment for all year round, not just Christmas season, regardless the subject matter. It is Christmas Eve and Santa is on his mission to deliver to all the children in the world gifts. Hard working he has only a certain number of hours to complete the objective. Joining him in his travels, is Santa Mouse, who takes something Santa told him, to heart, to get Santa to take a small diversion, to complete a task. It takes very little time to complete. Still on track they complete their undertaking in record time. "Santa Mouse Finds A Furry Friend" is a positive lesson for everyone to realize and introduce into their own lives.
Ratnip: Lost and Found in the City
Cam Higgins, author
Allison Steinfeld, illustrator
Little Simon
An Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
c/o Simon & Schuster
https://www.simonandschuster.com/kids
9781665963459, $7.99 pbk / $7.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Found-City-1-Ratnip/dp/166596345X
"Ratnip: Lost and Found in the City," is the first of a series of books, about the character Ratnip a rat, that are entertaining for adults and kids alike. Ratnip lives in a big city, where he is always on the prowl for different kinds of foods, his favorite, good pizza, hot or cold, and other elements to obtain. He acquires an item; determined to return somehow, to its human owner. "Ratnip: Lost and Found in the City" moves along, with solid storytelling magic and ideal artwork that add to the satisfaction of the story.
Ratnip: Pizza Dreams Do Come True
Cam Higgins, author
Allison Steinfeld, illustrator
Little Simon
An Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
c/o Simon & Schuster
https://www.simonandschuster.com/kids
9781665963480, $7.99 pbk / $7.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Pizza-Dreams-Come-True-Ratnip/dp/1665963484
"Ratnip: Pizza Dreams Do Come True" the second of the series is a fast paced story that races along with interesting characters and numerous conflicts to be resolved by the end of the story. This time Ratnip and his siblings are on a quest to find his favorite food of pizza leftovers wherever they can find it. Obsessed with their hunt, they accept substitutions, of ingredients to fill the pangs of their search. "Ratnip: Pizza Dreams Do Come True" is tasty entertainment satisfaction.
Bitsy Bat, Team Star
Kaz Windness
A Paula Wisemen Book
Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
An Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
c/o Simon & Schuster
https://www.simonandschuster.com/kids
9781665962599, $19.99 HC / $10.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Bitsy-Bat-Team-Star/dp/1665947551
"Bitsy Bat, Team Star" brings back Bitsy Bat for another charming story to appreciate. Bitsy is always concerned with being different from others she knows. She learns of a completion she enters to win but she has a dilemma to help a friend or continue to battle for first place. "Bitsy Bat Team Star" has several underlying messages to kids and adults to lead better lives.
Mermaids Are The Worst
Alex Willan
Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
An Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
c/o Simon & Schuster
https://www.simonandschuster.com/kids
9781665962599, $19.99 HC / $10.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Mermaids-Are-Worst-Alex-Willan/dp/1665962593
The Worst series has a brilliant new story in "Mermaids Are The Worst!" A goblin decides to take a vacation. He settles on the beach to soak up the rays of the sun and a dip in the waters of the ocean. Unfortunately he is joined by others who deter his enjoyment of just hanging out. To get away from them he plans ways to float on the waters where he encounters others including mermaids. "Mermaids Are The Worst" will have readers laughing out loud as they read the unfolding story.
Peanuts: It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown
Charles M. Schulz, author
Vicki Scott, illustrator
Simon Spotlight
An Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
c/o Simon & Schuster
https://www.simonandschuster.com/kids
9781481461597, $14.99 HC / $2.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Easter-Beagle-Charlie-Brown-Peanuts/dp/1481461591
Peanuts books are always fun reading and "Peanuts: It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown" is a wonderful addition. Its Easter and the gang is getting ready for the holiday with planned egg hunts and lots of other activities. They are also waiting for the Easter beagle to deliver his bundle of special items. "Peanuts: It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown" is a beautiful artistic collector's edition of the classic Peanuts story for all ages to enjoy.
Peanuts: Letters to Snoopy
Charles M. Schulz, author
Tina Galio, author
Scott Jeraids, illustrator
Simon Spotlight
An Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
c/o Simon & Schuster
https://www.simonandschuster.com/kids
9781665965866, $11.99 HC / No Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Snoopy-Peanuts-Charles-Schulz/dp/166596586X
"Peanuts: Letters to Snoopy" is a new addition to the long list of Peanuts titles that is another fun excursion into the world of Charlie Brown and his friends. Snoopy and Woodstock escape from their normal routine to go visit Snoop's brother Spike. From different locations they write letters to Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus, Sally, and others of their group. Snoopy and Woodstock find ways along their trip to see if they have responses from all they have sent correspondence to. Happily they see there are documents waiting for them throughout their trip, Filled with beautiful artwork, "Peanuts: Letters to Snoopy" is fun fare for all ages to love these characters even more that before.
Gary Roen
Senior Reviewer
Helen Dumont's Bookshelf
Recipes for a Good Life
Joaninha
Regent Press
www.regentpress.net
9781587906794, $37.95, HC, 248pp
https://www.regentpress.net/catalog/appetite-for-risk/https/regentpresssquarespacecom/config/pages/60ea64353b7e7c63345d5ad2-7bjg7
https://store.ayurveda.com/products/recipes-for-a-good-life
Synopsis: With the publication of "Recipes for a Good Life" by Joaninha, you can expeditiously expand your dietary choices while cultivating your understanding of the power of food to heal the body and the mind. Of special note is how "Recipes For A Good Life" deftly reveals nuances in eating habits and food choices to promote wellness and a radiant quality of life.
Part self-help manual, part cookbook, this large format "8.5" x 8.5" hardcover edition of "Recipes for a Good Life" from Regent Press is informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of a one page Bibliography, a four page Appendix (Acid-Forming Foods & Beverages; Alkaline-Forming Foods & Beverages; Products Containing Artificial Sweeteners), and a seven page Index.
Critique: Thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, Joaninha's "Recipes for a Good Life" is informative, insightful, inspiring, and offers a culinary wealth of palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, health nourishing, kitchen cook friendly recipes for memorable meals and family dining. Of special note is the sections devoted to 'Organize Your Kitchen' and '14 Menu Plans'. While especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and community library Specialized Cookbook collections, it should be noted that this hardcover edition of "Recipes for a Good Life" from Regent Press is also readily available in paperback (9781587906787, $24.95).
Editorial Note: Joaninha holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Home Economics with a speciality in Foods and Nutrition from California State University -- Long Beach.
Painting the Cosmos
Nia Imara
BenBella Books
www.benbellabooks.com
9781637742716, $24.95, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Painting-Cosmos-Science-Intersect-Universe/dp/1637742711
Synopsis: What is our place in the universe? Where do art and science overlap? How can we use these disciplines to better understand the universe . . . and how do they help us to shape our reality? With the publication of "Painting the Cosmos: How Art and Science Intersect to Reveal the Secrets of the Universe", astrophysicist and visual artist Nia Imara combines these perspectives to comprehensively illustrate the history of the universe and our position in it.
"Painting the Cosmos" is an eye-opening and accessible study in which Imara asks pivotal questions and explores humanity's ever-evolving view of nature. Richly illustrated with spectacular full-color images of our universe and beautiful work from creators around the world (particularly the often-neglected work of women and Black artists) this one-of-a-kind study unites the realms of art, science, and culture to create a dynamic portrait of the cosmos.
From the Big Bang to life on other planets (while also explaining the most exciting recent developments in astronomy) with Imara's guiding expertise, readers will explore:
The limits of objectivity in understanding reality
The role of harmony and rhythm in the universe and art
How light functions as a storyteller
How scientists and artists help us "see" the invisible -- from black holes to marginalized experiences
The possibility of life beyond our solar system, and how we define intelligence
"Painting the Cosmos: will captivate and inspire readers to see the world around them in a brand new, fascinating light where space and art are beautifully intertwined.
Critique: Beautifully, informatively, and impressively illustrated throughout, "Painting the Cosmos: How Art and Science Intersect to Reveal the Secrets of the Universe" offers a complete introduction and historical overview that will prove especially valued to readers with an interest in astronomy, cosmology, and the role of art in the sciences. This large format (7 x 0.7 x 9 inches) paperback edition of Nia Imara's "Painting the Cosmos: How Art and Science Intersect to Reveal the Secrets of the Universe" from Benbella Books is an unreservedly recommended pick for personal reading lists and community/academic library collections. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Painting the Cosmos: How Art and Science Intersect to Reveal the Secrets of the Universe" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).
Editorial Note: Dr. Nia Imara (https://www.niaimara.com) is an artist and astrophysicist born in Oakland, California. She is a graduate of Kenyon College, received her PhD in astrophysics from UC Berkeley, did her postdoctoral work at Harvard University, and is currently a professor of astronomy at UC Santa Cruz. Her nonprofit organization, Onaketa, provides free STEM tutoring and other educational resources for black and brown youth in the United States and Ghana.
Helen Dumont
Reviewer
John Taylor's Bookshelf
Japan's Green Monsters: Environmental Commentary in Kaiju Cinema
Sean Rhoads, author
Brooke McCorkle, author
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476663906, $29.95, PB, 226pp
https://www.amazon.com/Japans-Green-Monsters-Environmental-Commentary/dp/1476663904
Synopsis: In 1954, a massive irradiated dinosaur emerged from Tokyo Bay and rained death and destruction on the Japanese capital. Since then Godzilla and other monsters, such as Mothra and Gamera, have gained cult status around the world.
Co-authored by film historian Sean Rhoads and Japanese film fan Brooke McCorkle, "Japan's Green Monsters: Environmental Commentary in Kaiju Cinema" provides a new interpretation of these monsters, or kaiju-?, and their respective movies. Analyzing Japanese history, society and film, "Japan's Green Monsters" reveal the ways (both overt and subtle) in which this monster cinema take on environmental and ecological issues -- from nuclear power and industrial pollution to biodiversity, to climate change.
Critique: This large format (7 x 0.46 x 10 inches, 13.6 ounces) paperback edition of "Japan's Green Monsters: Environmental Commentary in Kaiju Cinema" from McFarland & Company is occasionally illustrated with B/W photos and includes an eight page Bibliography, twenty pages of Chapter Notes, and a five page Index. A seminal study that is especially recommended reading for all Japanese monster movie fans of Godzilla and company, "Japan's Green Monsters" is a unique and welcome pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Cinematic History & Studies collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for film students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Japan's Green Monsters" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.99).
Editorial Note #1: Sean Rhoads (https://seanrhoads.ca/biography) is a film historian, Japanologist, and lifelong monster cinema aficionado. He has taught courses on East Asia and published on Godzilla and environmentalism in G-Fan magazine, and lectured on Japanese monster cinema at G-FEST. He lives in Ottawa, Ontario.
Editorial Note #2: Brooke McCorkle Okazaki is an assistant professor of music at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. She has published in Horror Studies and the Journal of Fandom Studies. (https://www.carleton.edu/directory/bmccorkle)
Museum of Degenerates: Portraits of the American Grotesque
Eli Valley
OR Books
https://www.orbooks.com
9781682193877, $44.95, PB, 272 pp
https://orbooks.com/catalog/museum-of-degenerates
Synopsis: With the publication of "Museum of Degenerates: Portraits of the American Grotesque", incendiary political cartoonist Eli Valley invites you to a delirious display of his art. Valley's extraordinary work is a scathing indictment of the entire American polity, with a particular focus on the issues of Israel and Judaism at a time when these have moved to the center of public debate and action.
In the pages comprising "Museum of Degenerates", Valley was inspired by German expressionists such as George Grosz and Otto Dix who featured in "The Exhibition of Degenerate Art", a 1937 Munich show by the Nazis that sought to ridicule the work of artists critical of Hitler's fascist regime. In an aesthetic that is strikingly original, Valley also draws on early twentieth-century American Yiddish cartoons and the work of artists who created the helter-skelter exuberance of MAD comics in the 1950s.
Valley's own art, accompanied herein by extensive descriptions of its genesis and context, showcased in "Museum of Degenerates" is a metaphorical howl of protest against today's political, cultural and media elites who are driving America into an authoritarian abyss. Here is anger, pure and hot, expressed in exquisite detail and, often, disturbingly funny.
Critique: Satire, ridicule, laughter, comedic observation -- these are effective weapons ages authoritarian regimes past and present. In today's American late night stand-up comedians and political cartoonists may well prove to be the last barriers standing to protect the American constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. This large format (9.9 x 0.8 x 11.9 inches, 2.25 pounds) paperback edition of Eli Valley's "Museum of Degenerates: Portraits of the American Grotesque" from OR Books is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library Political Science and Social Commentary collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Eli Valley (https://www.elivalley.com) is the author of the critically-acclaimed Diaspora Boy: Comics on Crisis in America and Israel. His work has appeared in Jewish Currents, The New Republic, The Baffler, Gawker, and The Chapo Guide to Revolution (Atria, 2018).
John Taylor
Reviewer
Mary Cowper's Bookshelf
Digital Wellbeing
Petra Velzeboer
Kogan Page Inc.
www.koganpage.com
9781398617544, $71.00, HC, 216pp
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Wellbeing-Recharge-Focus-Reboot/dp/1398617547
Synopsis: So much of our lives are now spent looking at screens, whether we're working on our laptop or checking social media on our phones. It's too easy to become overwhelmed by constant notifications and endless emails, leading to frustration, stress and burnout.
"Digital Wellbeing: Recharge Your Focus and Reboot Your Life" is groundbreaking book in which leading wellbeing expert Petra Velzeboer draws upon academic research and fascinating interviews with global experts to uncover the practical insights that will allow you to improve your daily life, set healthy boundaries with technology and prioritize your Digital Wellbeing.
Critique: Immensely informative, singularly insightful, "Digital Wellbeing: Recharge Your Focus and Reboot Your Life" is a seminal and timely study about how to deal with the mental and emotional downside to our contemporary, technological evolving, social media, digital information, and increasingly AI dominated environment. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Digital Wellbeing: Recharge Your Focus and Reboot Your Life" is especially recommended for personal and professional reading lists, as well as community and academic library collections. It should be noted that this hardcover edition of "Digital Wellbeing: Recharge Your Focus and Reboot Your Life" from Kogan Page is also readily available in paperback (9781398617537, $19.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.99).
Editorial Note: Petra Velzeboer (https://www.petravelzeboer.com) is a renowned mental health expert, speaker and CEO of PVL, a mental health consultancy. She has a MSc in Psychodynamics of Human Development and is a qualified ORSC & CTI Certified Coach. She is also an Advisor Board Member at Make A Difference Summits. Petra is uniquely positioned to highlight the importance of wellbeing at work, as she draws upon her professional and personal experiences. Petra overcame a traumatic childhood to become a counsellor for vulnerable young people before campaigning for improved mental health services. She is based in London, UK.
I (Think) I Want Out: What to Do When One of You Wants to End Your Marriage
Becky Whetstone, PhD
Health Communications, Inc.
https://hcibooks.com
9780757325397, $17.95, PB, 336pp
https://www.amazon.com/Think-Want-Out-Wants-Marriage/dp/0757325394
Synopsis: Among the 600,000 annual divorces that transpire within the United States, almost all of them begin with a marriage crisis. Whether your partner told you they want to leave the marriage, or you are wondering how to break the news that you want out, this breaking point can be filled with overwhelming emotions, worry about children becoming collateral damage, and ill-advised counseling that make navigating this process more frightening and confusing than it has to be.
These heartbreaking times can propel couples into a state of fear, panic, and uncertainty about what steps they should take, sometimes leading them to divorce when reconciliation might have been possible. Known as the "Marriage Crisis Manager," marriage and family therapist Becky Whetstone fills in these gaps by speaking to both partners on how to manage themselves and their relationship in the healthiest of ways, regardless of the eventual outcome.
With the publication of "I (Think) I Want Out: What to Do When One of You Wants to End Your Marriage", Whetstone's coaching offers clear understanding on why everyone feels crazy and overwhelmed during one of life's most difficult experiences. By promoting peacefulness and self-care, she emphasizes the importance of both partners slowing down throughout the process. With engaging exercises and worksheets, Whetstone organizes an intelligent plan so all parties can successfully manage the crisis in a way where smart, rational decision-making can take place, and mistakes are minimized.
Some of the many useful strategies and insight Whetstone provides help couples understand:
How the marriage crisis happened in the first place
The stages of marital deterioration and how to diagnose the severity of the marriage crisis
How our nervous system impacts the way we feel and influences our actions
What factors to consider: mental and physical health, abuse, and addiction
When it's time to separate and how to do it peacefully in a way that avoids separation limbo and moves the couple forward toward the end goal of a definitive decision
How to manage the crisis and possible divorce amicably, ensuring the best outcome for the children
With the inclusion of useful templates that show couples how to separate in a way that encourages reconciliation and offer a plan for families whose intended divorce is done in a respectful way that encourages a good co-parenting relationship moving forward, this useful guide helps is an invaluable tool for any dissolution of a marriage.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "I (Think) I Want Out: What to Do When One of You Wants to End Your Marriage" by marriage and family therapist Beck Whetsone is ideal for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the subject of marriage, divorce, and counseling -- especially when there are children involved. Informative, insightful, 'real world' practical, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "I (Think) I Want Out: What to Do When One of You Wants to End Your Marriage" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Marriage/Divorce collections. It should be noted that this paperback edition of "I (Think) I Want Out: What to Do When One of You Wants to End Your Marriage" from Health Communications Inc. is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).
Editorial Note: Becky Whetstone, Ph.D. is a marriage and family therapist in private practice who specializes in trauma, codependency, and marriage crisis. A journalist and former features writer and columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, she created a singles movement dedicated toward kindness, decency, and integrity in dating that became a south Texas phenomenon. Known as "America's Marriage Crisis Manager," she has created a path for couples on the brink, guiding them through the marriage crisis process with purpose and compassion. She is an avid blogger and media influencer dedicated to teaching couples how to have healthy relationships with themselves and others. She lives in her home state of Arkansas with her husband.
Mary Cowper
Reviewer
Micah Andrew's Bookshelf
Writing against Hitler
Daniel Siemens, author
Ben Fowkes, translator
University of Wisconsin Press
www.uwpress.wisc.edu
9780299351304, $79.95, HC, 356pp
https://www.amazon.com/Writing-against-Hitler-Budzislawski-Twentieth-Century/dp/0299351300
Synopsis: With the publication of "Writing against Hitler: Hermann Budzislawski and the Making of Twentieth-Century Socialism", Professor Daniel Siemens reconstructs the history of the struggles of socialist intellectuals in Germany from the 1920s through the post - World War II era by focusing on the life of one influential member of that group, Hermann Budzislawski (1901-78).
In the 1930s, Budzislawski served as the editor in chief of the prominent antifascist journal Die neue Weltbuhne. After the German occupation of France, he worked in exile in the United States until 1948, when he moved to East Germany. He became influential in training a new generation of journalists and worked as a politician.
Through the twin stories of a highly ambitious figure and the legendary publication he headed, Siemens charts the course of the intellectual Left's rise and decline in power during the decades that shaped the political divides of the mid-twentieth century.
Crucially, his account challenges the widely held belief that post-1989 German unification has represented a victory over the traumas of the past. Instead, Siemens shows the complexity of different strains of socialist thought and activity and reveals the contested place of Nazi Germany's exiles at the center of Cold War Germany's cultural history.
Critique: Ably translated by Ben Fowkes, and informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of a twenty-two page Bibliography, sixty-two pages of Notes, and a ten page Index, "Writing against Hitler: Hermann Budzislawski and the Making of Twentieth-Century Socialism" by Professor Daniel Siemens will have a very special value for readers with an interest in the history of the Third Reich, the role of journalism under the Nazi regime, and the diversity of German anti-Hitler activities and opinions outside of Germany during the years of the Nazi Third Reich. Insightfully informative, exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Writing against Hitler" is a seminal and ground breaking work of impeccable scholarship and a definitive pick for personal, community, and college/university library 20th Century Journalism & German History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Daniel Siemens is a professor and chair of European history at Newcastle University, UK. He is the author of Stormtroopers: A New History of Hitler's Brownshirts.
Editorial Note #2: Ben Fowkes is the author, editor, or translator of many books on the history of European socialism, including Marx's Economic Manuscript of 1864 - 1865 (Capital, vol. III).
The White Storm: How Racism Poisoned American Democracy
Martin Gelin
Prometheus Books
c/o Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
www.rowman.com
9781493086351, $28.95, HC, 400pp
https://www.amazon.com/White-Storm-Poisoned-American-Democracy/dp/1493086359
Synopsis: When the U.S. Capitol was stormed in 2021, it was an attack on the very idea of America as a pluralist democracy. It was also a reminder that the worst threat to the United States today doesn't come from any foreign despot, but from domestic racism.
In "The White Storm: How Racism Poisoned American Democracy", journalist and author Martin Gelin looks back at two decades as a political correspondent and three centuries of American history to understand this moment of crisis. In the vein of Alexis de Tocqueville or Tony Judt, fellow Europeans who traveled America searching for answers to its political contradictions, this is a journey across time and space, from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello to the slave plantations of Louisiana, from mass prisons in rural Arizona to memorials for lynching victims in Alabama.
"The White Storm" reveals how every step forward for Black Americans is met with a fierce backlash from white Americans, taking two recurring forms: violent extremism and a flight from the commons. The white backlash always grows in proportion to the black advances. After Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, a Black man at a polling station in Detroit said: "We used to pick cotton, now we pick presidents." It is precisely this Black agency that white nationalists refuse to accept.
"The White Storm" reveals how racism has permeated almost every significant conflict in America's past. Now it threatens American democracy itself.
Critique: If you wondered why a man like Donald J. Trump could be once again elected to a presidency he so thoroughly soiled the first time around -- and win by a majority of voters -- then you need to read "The White Storm: How Racism Poisoned American Democracy" by Martin Gelin. If you wonder if we are losing our traditional American democracy and seeing it replaced with totalitarian attitudes in an increasing percentage of the American populace, then you need to read "The White Storm: How Racism Poisoned American Democracy" by Martin Gelin. This seminal, exceptional, and ground-breaking study is especially and unreservedly recommended for all community library and college/university library Contemporary American Political Science collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that this hardcover edition of "The White Storm: How Racism Poisoned American Democracy" from Prometheus Books is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $27.50).
Editorial Note: Martin Gelin is a journalist and award-winning author of eight books on American politics and culture. Since 2011, he has been the U.S. Correspondent for Dagens Nyheter, a national newspaper in Sweden. He has written for The New York Times, Foreign Policy, Slate, The Guardian, Quartz, The Daily Beast, The New Republic, Parliament Magazine, The Independent, The Prospect, Boston Review, The LA Review of Books, Granta Magazine and Harvard's Nieman Lab, among others.
Micah Andrew
Reviewer
Michael Dunford's Bookshelf
Blood in the Face
James Ridgeway
Haymarket Books
www.haymarketbooks.org
9781642594652, $24.95, PB, 300pp
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Face-James-Ridgeway/dp/1642594652
Synopsis: In 1990, "Blood in the Face: The Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, Nazi Skinheads, and the Rise of a New White Culture" was the first book to uncover the contours, beliefs, leaders, and wider influence of the American racist far-right movement. It told their story from the inside out, complete with interviews, recruiting pamphlets, cartoons, rants, sermons, threats, police reports, and more. The accompanying analysis by veteran investigative reporter James Ridgeway detailed the movement 's volatile history and its expansion beginning in the 1980s, insisting that the groups making up this "fringe" culture were too powerful (and too much a part of American culture) to be ignored or dismissed.
When the book 's prescience about the dangers of the racist far-right became manifest in the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, a second edition of "Blood in the Face" was released with a new introduction charting the rise of the Militia Movement to which Timothy McVeigh and his co-conspirators were connected. Since then, both the book and the documentary film that accompanied its release (also titled "Blood in the Face"), have earned cult followings.
In the past 25 years, Ridgeway 's final warning that the "fringe was becoming part of the fabric" of American politics and culture, have come to chilling fruition in the rise of the Tea Party, the racist backlash against the presidency of Barack Obama, the resurgence of anti-immigrant Nativism, the growth of racist far-right media, and the election of Donald Trump with the thunderous support of white nationalists. This final edition of "White Nationalism from the Birth of a Nation to the Age of Trump" brings the work of James Ridgeway (1936-2021) up to date.
Critique: Given the state of American crises politics and cultural upheavals just beginning again with renewed energy as a second Trump administrations seeks to destroy democratic norms and replace them with a dictatorial anti-democratic governance, This revised new (and with the death of James Ridgeway) final edition of "Blood in the Face: White Nationalism from the Birth of a Nation to the Age of Trump" from Haymarket Books must be considered an essential addition to community and college/university library Contemporary American Political Science/Social Justice collections -- and the personal reading lists of students, academia, governmental policy makers, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in understanding and resisting the current trends towards American Nationalism/Fascism.
Editorial Note: James Ridgeway (https://solitarywatch.org/author/jamesridgeway) is senior Washington correspondent for Mother Jones, and co-editor of Solitary Watch. A veteran investigative reporter and the author of 16 books, he has written for the Village Voice, the Nation, the New Republic, Ramparts and the Wall Street Journal, among others. He is currently a Soros Justice Media Fellow.
Olmsted's Riverside: Stewardship Meets Innovation in a Landmark Village
Cathy Jean Maloney
Southern Illinois University Press
www.siupress.com
9780809339525, $27.95, PB, 154pp
https://www.siupress.com/9780809339525/olmsteds-riverside
Synopsis: Just outside the bustling metropolis of Chicago lies the unlikely green oasis of Riverside, Illinois, a small village that has continued to directly influence American landscapes and suburbs since the 1870s. Once farmland, the location provided a blank canvas for preeminent designers Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux's manifestation of a truly democratic society.
With the publication of "Olmsted's Riverside: Stewardship Meets Innovation in a Landmark Village", Cathy Jean Maloney details the village's historical significance, harmony with nature, and its nearly 150-year impact on American suburbs today.
In the illustrated pages of "Olmsted's Riverside", Maloney explores how Riverside's layout and design presaged today's urban planning goals of walkability, green space, public transportation access, sustainability, and resiliency. Houses in Riverside are set back from the road, sidewalks meander along gently curving roads, and public green spaces abound.
Maloney also shows how Riverside's leaders and residents struggled with stewardship of Olmsted's ideals by balancing competing interests in suburban development and Chicago sprawl from the 1870s to the 2020s. She details in chronological chapters how the village adapted to tragedies such as the Great Fire of 1871 and the Panic of 1873, as well as advancements in transportation, local civic life, urban policy, and environmental thought, all while staying true to the framework inherited from Olmsted and Vaux.
"Olmsted's Riverside" provides engaging examples of how citizen involvement can protect a community's ideals. This richly illustrated volume combines landscape architecture, regional history, and urban design to show how audacious civic planning and thoughtful conservation can provide a model for future American suburbs.
Critique: Beautifully illustrated throughout with full color photography, Informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of a six page Bibliography, twelve pages of Notes, and a five page Index, "Olmsted's Riverside: Stewardship Meets Innovation in a Landmark Village" by Cathy Jean Maloney is a masterpiece of regional historical scholarship that is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library American Regional History collections. It should be noted that this large format (10.00 x 8.00 in) paperback edition os "Olmsted's Riverside: Stewardship Meets Innovation in a Landmark Village" from the Southern Illinois University Press is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.95, 9780809339532)
Editorial Note: Cathy Jean Maloney has spent decades researching the Chicago's horticultural heritage including Chicago's first gardens, the vast plains that surrounded Chicago, and the work of early landscape architects such as Frederick Law Olmsted, Jens Jensen, and O.C. Simonds.
Michael Dunford
Reviewer
Paul Vogel's Bookshelf
So You've Landed in a Fantasy World: How to Survive and Thrive
Josiah Lebowitz
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476685274, $19.95, PB, 191pp
https://www.amazon.com/So-Youve-Landed-Fantasy-World/dp/1476685274
Synopsis: Today, it seems as if everyone from heroic-yet-angsty teenagers, to giggling schoolgirls, to middle-aged businessmen, to bored moms are finding themselves wanting to be whisked away to save distant worlds from some kind of unspeakable evil. But how do you prepare for such an amazing adventure? And, more importantly, how do you make it through without getting horribly maimed or killed along the way?
Fortunately, with the publication of "So You've Landed in a Fantasy World: How to Survive and Thrive ", Josiah Lebowitz has created an instructional reference handbook in which he has analyzed the accounts of numerous heroes who have traveled to magical lands and returned to tell the tale in order to create the definitive guide to survival and success no matter where in the fantasyverse your adventures may take you.
In these pages comprising "So You've Landed in a Fantasy World: How to Survive and Thrive", you will learn how to increase (or, if you prefer, decrease) your chances of successfully being chosen, what types of preparation and training you should undertake beforehand, and how to hit the ground running on arrival and become the legendary hero that you were always destined to be. But in the words of Josiah Lebowitz -- "Makes no guarantees of destined heroism and cannot be held liable if it turns out that you are instead destined to be eaten by a giant toad."
Critique: A fun and fascinating read that will be of immense interest to science fiction and fantasy fans, gamers, and writers, "So You've Landed in a Fantasy World: How to Survive and Thrive" is unique, informative, interesting, thoughtful and and thought-provoking. Occasionally featuring B/W illustrations and highly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Science Fiction & Fantasy Gaming collections, it should be noted that this paperback edition of Josiah Lebowitz's "So You've Landed in a Fantasy World: How to Survive and Thrive" from McFarland & Company is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.99).
Editorial Note: Josiah Lebowitz (http://josiahlebowitz.com) is a writer and video game designer based in Northern Virginia. He currently teaches game writing at George Mason University while running his own indie studio, Pen and Sword Games.
Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America's Wars: 1754 - 1865
John U. Rees, author
Don Troiani, illustrator
Stackpole Books
c/o Globe Pequot
www.stackpolebooks.com
9780811773713, $34.95, HC, 160pp
https://www.amazon.com/Troianis-Black-Soldiers-Americas-Wars/dp/081177371X
Synopsis: Using a masterful combination of artistry and accuracy, Don Troiani has dedicated his career as an artist to transforming our understanding of the military soldier. With the publication of "Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America's Wars: 1754 - 1865" he now turns his talents to capturing the under-recognized African-American soldiers as they fought in the French and Indian War, the War of Independence, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War.
Don's battle paintings, figure studies, and artifact collection are informatively support by historian John Rees's insightful texts.
"Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America's Wars: 1754 - 1865" is a long anticiated work that deftly combines Troiani's magnificent art (the dramatic battle paintings and authentically illustrated uniformed soldier studies) with historian Rees's introductory chapters on the four wars. Using primary sources, Rees gives a true picture of the contributions of the many Black soldiers over the 100-year history.
Together, in the pages of "Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America's Wars: 1754 - 1865", Troiani and Rees combine to provide the most comprehensive, authoritative, and well-researched study of the Black soldier in early America.
Critique: This large format (8.91 x 0.65 x 11.24 inches, 2.04 pounds) hardcover edition of "Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America's Wars: 1754 - 1865" from Stackpole Books is impressively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of a Preface (Many of Our Fathers Fought and Died...), a one page Afterword, eight pages of Notes, and a one page bibliographic listing of Suggested Further Readings. Unique, exceptionally, impressively informative, expertly organized and presented, "Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America's Wars: 1754 - 1865" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Black/African-American Military History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, military history buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America's Wars: 1754 - 1865" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $27.05).
Editorial Note #1: Don Troiani (https://www.dontroiani.com) is well-known for his extremely accurate historical and military paintings, scenes of great characters and grand action that have defined America's military heritage. An expert researcher with an extensive library and impressive private artifact study collections of Civil War, War of 1812, Revolutionary War, and World War II uniforms, equipage, insignia, and weapons, he has served as a consultant on films, including Cold Mountain and Night at the Museum 3, and television programs. His work has appeared in many publications and is represented in the collections of numerous museums, including the Smithsonian's Museum of History and Technology, the U.S. Marine Corps Museum, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. His work has most recently been featured in a long-running exhibition at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. He has published eleven books by Stackpole Books over the last twenty-five years that are still in print.
John U. Rees has been writing for more than thirty years on the experiences and material culture of common soldiers and women in the armies of the American Revolution. He has produced more than two hundred monographs on topics including soldiers' food and cooking gear, equipment and personal belongings, campaign shelters, battle and campaign studies, and the role and numbers of women with the Continental Army. (Many articles are available online at https://tinyurl.com/JohnURees-articles). John's first book was "They Were Good Soldiers": African Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775 - 1783 (Helion, 2019). He lives in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
Paul T. Vogel
Reviewer
S.A. Gorden's Bookshelf
Hometown Space Pirate (Viraquin Voyage Book 1)
C.G. Harris
https://www.cgharris.net
Hot Chocolate Press
9781737390534 $12.99, paper
B0B645ZC3M, $4.99 ebook, 242 pages
https://www.amazon.com/Hometown-Space-Pirate-Viraquin-Voyage-ebook/dp/B0B645ZC3M
Hometown Space Pirate is a light introduction to a space opera series. It has space opera style science but it also has a more realistic human reaction to first contact.
Ben Roberts has written a book on how his mind seems to sense transmissions from aliens. He tries to promote his book on a national talk show, which uses him for a prop for jokes. Disappointed, he leaves New York City and travels back to his small town in Colorado. Before he can leave the city a strange figure, who doesn't seem human, tries to abduct him. He also starts seeing strange things on his flight back home.
On the drive from the airport to home his car is wrecked by something that seems to be a robot. He is about to be abducted until a spaceship intervenes. The ship offers him help if he bonds with its operating system.
Ben fumbles his way into linking with the spaceship and stumbles into a battle between different interstellar forces fighting over another lifeform with superpowers. It becomes a life and death struggle as Ben slowly tries to find out how he fits in with the new universe he now exists in.
Hometown Space Pirate is a solid space opera introduction into a series. It is a fun story that only differs from other SF stories with its more realistic human reaction to meeting aliens. The biggest drawback might be the urge to pick up the next book in the series.
Hidden Currents (Lantern Beach Mysteries Book 1)
Christy Barritt
https://www.christybarritt.com
River Heights
9780999834503 $10.94 paper
B0791GBCB3 $0.99 Kindle, 298 pages
https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Currents-Lantern-Beach-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0791GBCB3
Hidden Currents is a solid mystery. It has an interesting plot and good characters. There is a shortcoming with the story. It has a plot with vicious murderous gangs followed by a local murder mystery. The tale has been sanitized to the degree that it lacks connection with the harshness in the plot.
Detective Cady Matthews has spent months undercover with a notorious drug gang. She is prepared to testify in an upcoming trial but her safe house was compromised. She uses her own money to finance a private witness protection on an island a continent away from her Westcoast undercover.
On the first day she arrives at her new hideout a body is found on the beach near here new rental. Cady has an urge that borders on a compulsion to investigate, even if it might blow her cover story.
Hidden Currents is a reasonable light mystery that makes a reasonable weekend escape. The interplay between the characters is good but the over sanitized narration distracts from the story.
S.A. Gorden
Senior Reviewer
Suzie Housley's Bookshelf
Under Your Nails - Poems of Love, Loss, and Healing
Lauren Marelli
Little Ruth LLC
9798218568696, Kindle $4.99, $10.99 PB, 74 pages
https://www.amazon.com/Under-Your-Nails-Poems-Healing/dp/B0DT19Y5VR
Synopsis: Under Your Nails is a captivating collection of poetry that beautifully unravels the intricate tapestry of love, emotional pain, and the transformative power of personal growth. Marelli's verses are not just words on a page; they are an invitation to explore the depths of the human experience, where heartache and healing coexist.
Through her unique blend of vulnerability and strength, Marelli captures the tumultuous emotions linked to toxic relationships and the shadows of childhood trauma. Each poem acts as a mirror, reflecting the struggle and resilience that define our journeys toward self-discovery.
As readers navigate through the raw landscapes of emotional turmoil, they will find solace in Marelli's honest portrayal of the path to empowerment - one that resonates with anyone who has ever felt ensnared by destructive patterns or yearned for a brighter tomorrow.
Critique: Under Your Nails is more than just poetry; it's a source of comfort and inspiration. Marelli's work encourages introspection and a celebration of self-love. Each page invites readers to reflect on their own journeys, finding strength in the illuminating words.
Lauren Marelli is an exceptional author whose powerful collection of poems is a beacon of hope and inspiration. Whether you're seeking catharsis or a gentle nudge to reconnect with your inner strength, Marelli's words are the perfect companion for your unique healing path.
Each page invites you to embrace your journey, encouraging you to delve deeper into your emotions and experiences, ultimately guiding you toward a brighter, more empowered self.
Armando & The Amazing Animal Race
Diana Schaffter
https://dianaschaffter.com
Sea Otter Press
www.theseaotterpress.com
9781069079510, $12.99, 350 pages
Synopsis: Get ready to dive into the exhilarating world of twelve-year-old Armando as he embarks on the unforgettable journey of a lifetime in the Amazing Animal Race!
Picture this: a summer filled with unexpected twists and turns, where Armando, alongside his eccentric grandmother - who he's just getting to know and who turns out to be a key player in their adventure - finds himself racing across continents. From the icy stretches of the Arctic to the lush, vibrant landscapes of the Amazon, this adventure is nothing short of a rollercoaster ride!
With night vision goggles perched on his head and bear spray at the ready, Armando is not just racing against the clock; he's racing against perilous challenges that test his courage and resilience. With his friend Jinny, they navigate through intense encounters, from evading poachers' bullets to facing the fearsome, deadly cobra.
Each moment is a heart-pounding reminder of our world's beauty and danger and Armando's urgent mission: to protect endangered animals and save the Amazon rainforest.
Critique: Armando & The Amazing Animal Race is a thrilling expedition that isn't just about the adrenaline rush - it's a transformative journey that educates readers about the importance of conservation and the beauty of our natural world.
Diana Schaffter's latest book resonated with me on a personal level. It's not just a book; it's a heartfelt call to embark on a soul-stirring journey. As a travel agency owner, my thirst for global exploration is insatiable.
With its vivid depictions of destinations and richly crafted scenes, this book struck a chord with me. Schaffter breathes life into the spirit of exploration, kindling a fervor for world travel that will resonate with anyone who yearns for adventure.
Schaffter's exceptional talent is on full display in this book, a testament to her meticulous attention to detail - a quality that is the cornerstone of any successful literary work.
Little Ruth: First Day of School
Dee Write, author
Andrea McAllister, illustrator
Little Ruth LLC
https://littleruth.com
9798990332607, Kindle $7.99, $19,99 HB, $12.99 PB, 32 pages
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Ruth-First-Day-School/dp/B0CZJWZW4G
Synopsis: Welcome to the enchanting world of Little Ruth, a place where every page beckons young readers to embark on a journey of excitement and discovery! In Little Ruth: First Day of School, Ruth stands at the threshold of new beginnings, her heart racing with exhilaration and nerves.
As we follow Ruth through her first day, we witness her navigate the rollercoaster of emotions that come with meeting new classmates, tackling unfamiliar routines, and the sweet thrill of building friendships.
Each experience serves as a reminder that courage exists in the smallest of actions and that even the most challenging tasks can cause the most fulfilling moments. This tale not only entertains but also imparts valuable lessons on kindness, resilience, and the power of connection, uniting us all in the shared experience of overcoming challenges and forming bonds.
Critique: Little Ruth: First Day of School is a delightful story that resonates with every child who has ever faced the unknown, making it a perfect companion for elementary school kids stepping into new adventures.
In a world overflowing with fleeting moments, Dee Write and Andrea McAllister have woven a narrative that transcends the ordinary, delivering a touching story that resonates deeply with the soul. This enchanting tale is not just a story; it's a reminder of the profound connections we form through new experiences.
Editorial Note: Recommended for ages baby to 10 years old.
Suzie Housley, Senior Reviewer
https://housleysliteraryservices.com
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.com
www.midwestbookreview.com
Copyright ©2001
Site design by Williams Writing, Editing &
Design