Long Way Home

In Crown’s Long Way Home, professional photographer Ryan gets more than he bargained for when he attempts to check into a Lapland hotel. He's here in the land of the midnight sun for a bit of R&R and maybe some filming of test car drives. As he's heading up to his room, a scream from the desk agent has him running back, only to discover the mail she just opened contained graphic photos of a murdered woman.

Despite being total strangers, Ryan plays the white knight and goes with Jenny to confront the man in the pictures--her erstwhile boyfriend, Mats. The ensuing conflict leaves a trail of death and deception behind it. Ryan has met up with fellow mercenary photographer Steve as he’s fleeing a criminal organisation with Jenny and the recently rescued Katia. Can Ryan work this tangled knot out, keeping himself and those he's chosen to protect safe?

I enjoyed this read. There were times I found the writing to be a bit clunky or stilted, mostly in dialogue. Other times, the writing was brilliant and original in description: "Blood kept pouring through his fingers, warm against his skin like the baking sand of a summer beach" or "His shoes crunched the shattered glass beneath him as if it were winter ice."

I did feel a bit put off by the abruptness with which Ryan got involved in Jenny's business. It seemed awfully fast and intimate to go from strangers just meeting, quite literally, to helping confront a possible murderer--without calling the police! These thoughts also go through Ryan's head, so that did make up for it. There was acknowledgment of the odd circumstance. Nevertheless, I was soon lost in this world and quite invested in Ryan and Jenny’s safety. There is room for improvement, certainly; though, overall, I found this story enjoyable, and I look forward to seeing this author continue to grow.

Recommended if you enjoy action reads, psychological thrillers, and books with a bit of a murder mystery to them.


Age of Swords: Book Two of The Legends of the First Empire

Age of Swords is second in Michael J. Sullivan's Legends of the First Empire series. War continues to loom between Fhrey and Rhune. A vicious attack leaves those of Dahl Rhen without a home and more determined than ever to shake free of the yoke of Fhrey oppression. Persephone, now chieftain of Dahl Rhen, issues invitations to all the Rhune clans, even the feared and fearsome Gula, to a summit to appoint a keenig who will lead the united clans against the Fhrey.

Trouble plagues the effort from the beginning. No clan wants another's chieftain to be keenig. While the council continues to argue it out, Persephone and a band of intrepid females set out to the Dherg nation to barter for weapons of quality. What they are required to pay, and what they find, is far beyond their imagination. Question is--will it be enough?

I love Sullivan's writing! He has dynamic characters and engaging, immersive stories. Swords is no exception. Each character continues to grow, even as they struggle with inner and outer demons. For the women, Neith becomes their crucible, forging alchemic change. This is especially true of Suri, who pays the highest price of all for their cause.

This book is all about alchemic change. It isn't just the individuals but entire cultures. Sullivan does a masterful job showing cultural diffusion, as Rhune, Dherg, and Fhrey cultures begin to bleed into one another, sharing technology and information, however reluctantly. It's a great message, too, that the majority of change is instigated by women, often despite the men’s behavior and beliefs.

I'll admit. It is a rare book that can make me actually cry. Not just tear up, but sit bawling, hugging my very confused, and increasingly irritated kitty cat. In the depths of Neith, I truly shared Suri’s sorrow. Sullivan plays the heartstrings of imagination as Suri plucks the strings of creation. Powerful magic indeed.


Your Brain Is a Time Machine: The Neuroscience and Physics of Time

Time travel has fascinated us since the concept was introduced. Who hasn't wanted a time machine of their own? Dean Buonomano proves that we already have one. Our brains are sophisticated devices capable of projecting us forward or setting us backward in time, allowing us a variety of unique abilities. The first half of the book is devoted to how the brain measures time. There are many different reasons for why being able to accurately measure time is useful; efficient sleep/wake cycles and verbal communication are impossible without an accurate clock. The natural follow-up question is: what is our brain measuring? What is time? Buonomano turns from neuroscience to physics to investigate. What is the most accurate way to measure time? Though at first, the topics of neuroscience and physics may seem to be only tangentially related, Buonomano explores their intersections with such wonder and interest that the reader cannot help but agree that these fields are intricately connected. Buonomano presents his material in an accessible way, with clear explanations of sometimes difficult concepts; his passion for his subject easily transfers to the reader. Reading this book leaves you with a new perspective regarding our brains, our selves, and the ubiquitous, and perhaps humble, wrist watch.


Magdalena's Shadow

Magdalena’s Shadow is a modern-day bildungsroman that follows Coco Rodriguez, a young girl sheltered in her supermodel mother’s penthouse with her sister, Bebe. Coco’s mother, Magdalena, built wealth and fortune at the expense of her family, leaving her children largely to fend for themselves. Coco and Bebe have an abusive housekeeper, whose true nature is only revealed when she tries to sell one of Magdalena’s paintings. The housekeeper is replaced with Tia, an older woman who bears the burden of a troubled past.

Coco, Bebe, and Tia settle into a semblance of a happy life together, which is where the story goes full soap opera. Coco meets her neighbor, Rob, and they fall in love. However, Coco is only seventeen, and Rob leaves her when he finds out. After he leaves, Coco finds out she’s pregnant. Coco attends school for fashion design and develops a friendship with Carmen, a student there. While Coco is in school, her mother dies in a plane crash, and Coco, Bebe, Tia, and Coco’s son, James, must fend for themselves while lawyers hash out Magdalena’s finances in a lengthy court battle. Coco tries to enter the fashion world as a model. While some agents seek to propel Coco’s career using the specter of her mother, Coco wants to earn her way. However, Coco’s sheltered existence and naiveté begin to act against her in the exploitative realm of modeling, leading to moments of abuse.

While some aspects of Magdalena’s Shadow were empowering – Coco’s desire to advance her career, to work for her money, and to take care of her sister and child – some underpinnings of misogyny and toxic masculinity were present, albeit unavoidable in an industry where rich men prey on young, naïve girls. While Coco wanted to earn a living, she was always drawn home by a desire to care for her children and have someone else earn a living for her, whether it was Paolo, a conniving rival fashion designer, or Rob. Magdalena, Coco’s mother, was always depicted as a villain in Coco’s mind and in the narrative because she got lost in the haze of her career and her addiction and she neglected to care for her children properly.  Coco was oppressed with the guilt of not revealing James’ parentage to Rob, and Tia constantly reminded Coco that she could be collecting child support. Coco was a strong main character, and readers will be interested in seeing her growth, but her lack of compassion and hypocrisy toward her mother, after finding herself in a similar situation, brings dissonance to the story.

Since Magdalena’s Shadow was ultimately a coming-of-age tale, it brought to mind another coming-of-age narrative that is familiar to so many: Jane Eyre. In it, Jane could be Edward Rochester’s kept woman, but she flees his cozy estate, almost starves to death, works as a teacher for poor children, and comes into her own when she learns her uncle dies and leaves her a large inheritance. By that time, Jane is self-actualized enough to return to Rochester, a fully independent woman and his equal. The gothic novel, written in the Victorian era, pushed societal boundaries, alluded to Biblical scripture in relevant and subtle ways, and is still a powerful piece of storytelling today.

In contrast, Coco was plucked from one situation to another with the help of her dead mother’s influence, ultimately earning a large inheritance in the end. Tia made allusions to scripture, but Coco rejected them. Did Coco grow and mature as the story went on? She certainly became wise to the world and its darker side without losing much of her optimism. Ultimately, though, she was trapped under Magdalena’s shadow, never free from her impact.


Besieged: Stories from The Iron Druid Chronicles

Besieged by Kevin Hearne is a collection of nine short stories set in the world of the Iron Druid series. These tales focus on recurring characters from the series, from Atticus to Archdruid Owen, to Perun, a thunder deity. Each story is prefaced by a notation placing it within the Iron Druid Chronicles timeline.

Written with Hearne's customary wit and humor, Besieged follows Atticus to ancient Egypt, the Western US Gold Rush, and even the depths of Xibalba itself. There are a few stories focusing on Granuaile, Owen, and even an immensely amusing one about Perun. I loved the (not so) subtle chastisement in 'Gold Dust Druid’ towards people who post reviews on a book before it's even released. I've come across plenty of reviews like this by people who didn't read an ARC, or who read one and ignored that it's not the final copy. The same story had a reference to a fellow urban fantasy writer too. I spat my tea when I red that part.

Highly recommended!

***Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. This book was reviewed for the San Francisco Book review.


ASIWAJU: The Biography of Bolanle Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu

Moshood Ademola Fayemiwo, PhD & Margie Neal-Fayemiwo, Ed.D

Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a politician from the Lagos State of Nigeria. He served as both a Senator from Lagos, prior to the military coup in 1993, then after the coup, was governor from 1999 to 2007. While born in Nigeria, he was college-educated in the U.S. and worked for several U.S. corporations before returning to Nigeria to work for Mobile Oil.

Tinubu, also known as Asiwaju, became involved in politics in 1992 as a progressive, championing the needs of the poor in his state, pushing for increased housing, education, and infrastructure. During his tenure, there were a few minor financial scandals, but nothing ever resulted from them. Asiwaju is still seen as a major progressive leader, not only in Lagos, but Nigeria and throughout the African region.

Asiwaju: The biography of Bolanle Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu is, as titled, a biography of Tinubu. It is not a dispassionate biography, as the authors make clear in the introduction with comments like "Bolanle is a lion-hearted politician" and "Why was he so monomaniacal in his determination to build a virile, formidable, and strong political opposition in Nigeria and what were his master stroke strategies in defeating the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015?" While most biographies try to provide a neutral viewpoint of the subject and their history, here, authors Moshood Fayemiwo, Ph.D. and Margie Neal-Fayemiwo, Ed.D, are unabashedly partisan in their writing and conclusions throughout the book.

This partisan view of Asiwaju won't take away the pleasure of readers who are already admirers of Tinubu. For them, it's a celebration of his life and successes. For a student of history, the overview of life in Lagos and the political timeline of Asiwaju and  transcripts of selected speeches will be a helpful resource. As a biographical resource, the book would have been better served with extensive footnoting and index that was, sadly, not included. Being that there are so many events over the period of his life so far, having more neutral references for review would provide any reader an easy ability to dive deeper into any specific period. As a partisan biography, Asiwaju is a well-written book.

The Jesus Christ Solution Center, DBA Texas


The Glorious Beyond

The Glorious Beyond is a murder mystery written by Sandy Adams as her debut novel. It revolves around the protagonist Kim’s struggles to cope with the unexpected death of her husband. Kim returns home from a girl’s weekend out with her inseparable friend, Sharon. On her way into the house, she discovers Kevin’s dead body with a bullet hole in his forehead. He is shot to death, apparently by someone who broke into their home. Kim is devastated by the loss and lives through the nights with insomnia and an attempt to reason with all the events. Although trying her best to cope with police inquiries, funeral preparations and not-so-supportive in-laws, she is barely able to hold on to the empty space in her life. On her mother’s suggestion, Kim joins therapy sessions for help and takes Sharon with her. The trauma support group helps Kim to tackle her grief and eventually feel stronger, but throughout the process, it brings out deep secrets about her father, Sharon and many other people in her life.

The plot of Glorious Beyond is fresh and convincing. In almost 150 pages, Sandy Denise Adams has done a great job with crafting two storylines in parallel with true-to-life characters. Kim’s attempt to find an explanation for her husband’s murder is gripping, and you can’t help but empathize with her. At the same time, it is suspenseful enough that, for a moment, you are even convinced about the suspicions on Kim as a spouse in this case. However, unlike other fast-paced detective plots, the narrative of this story is more about the heartache of losing someone and the post-grief healing process. In fact, the police have little success in their investigation of Kevin’s murder, and they only share their suspicions. In the end, the reader does find out who the murderer is.

All this focus on heartache and other emotions do stand as a little distraction from the main event of Kevin’s murder. Also, I wish the cover for this book was a bit more aligned to the theme of the story than with the title of it. The current cover conveys a very self-help, positive and spiritual vibe as a first impression. In general, the author’s writing is simple and seamless. She has put life in her characters and dialogs. Though, there are also some grammatical mistakes in the writing that could have been avoided by the editor.

Overall, a well-written mystery that shall challenge you emotionally and keep you captivated long enough.


Miracle in Havenport, R.I.

Tales of the Rohrk introduced me to Giancarlo Lui’s writing, and I knew after reading the hilarious, satirical, and interesting book that I’d want to read any other work by this author. It was with great expectation that I picked up Miracle in Havenport, R.I. (A Quasi-Christmassy Tale, but the novel met my expectations, making a wonderful offering for readers who are keen on witnessing the encounter of myth with modern fiction.

It is Christmas, and the Christmas spirit can be felt everywhere, with people moving about with gifts and snow covering everything. The year is 1933, and the place is called Havenport. The people in this town are busy with their Christmas preparations, oblivious to the ache that Jonathan Kablonsky feels in his heart after the woman he’s sworn to love, Cleo, accepts a marriage proposal from his most tenacious rival, Bill Lombardo. Jonna K doesn’t know that his life is about to change completely and that this change will not only be about him but about his world and the town that means everything to the local fish mogul.

The goddess Aphrodite only wants to feel some Christmas cheer, but when she visits Havenport, she feels like a stranger, but then she sees Jonathan, and she knows that she wants him more than anything in the universe. She wants him all to herself, but he isn’t a god. She is determined to have him, so she pleads with Zeus, her father, to raise the poor man to a god, a request that Zeus is willing to honor but on one condition — Jonna K must past his tests, and Apollo is tasked to keep an eye on the human and Aphrodite. Read on to discover Jonna K’s new powers and to find out if he passes the test. What this miracle would do to his town and its people is what will take the breath away from the reader, but can Jonna K turn a curse into a blessing and stop the world from a serious threat from the gods?

Miracle in Havenport, R.I. (A Quasi-Christmassy Tale is a novel that combines Greek mythology with modern fiction to create a captivating tale that will absorb readers. Giancarlo Lui has an inimitable style of writing that mimics the setting and the tone of the culture within which the story is set. Readers can get lost in his signature phraseology and unique syntax, but it takes very little time for the reader to get absorbed into the fast-paced, tantalizing, and complex plot with the huge conflict. This is an exceptional story for fans of fantasy with strong settings and memorable characters.


Tales of the Rohrk

For astronauts Lt. JP Verrazzano, Dr. Eleena Nielsen, and Dr. Sylvester Van Vammerick, the new decisions they must make will dictate how much longer they will live. As part of a NASA experiment examining the effects of light speed travel on the body, the three astronauts are jettisoned beyond the Milky Way and into a universe that is completely alien to anything they have ever imagined. Their robot, PeeWee, now talks and thinks on its own, inanimate objects seem alive and capable of independent movement, and the aliens they initially encounter are majestic creatures who seem afraid of their own shadows. Taken in by a small group of people who have been banished from their kingdom and still loyal to the deposed King Senecatus, JP, Sylvie, and Eleena quickly become captives of King Tyrant Metaphistus. Calling the astronauts the Aliens of Prophesy, they are the foreigners destined to end a cruel monarchy and free the galaxy from Metaphistus’ tyrannical rule. However, they must survive first.

Couched in SciFi/Fantasy, Tales of the Rohrk is a political satire and social commentary on current affairs. King Tyrant Metaphistus represents real, modern day despots who battle their own people, as well as other countries, to consolidate power only to find they have lost direction and forgotten their original purpose. JP, the proposed hero of the story, is determined to rescue the damsel in distress, but winds up leading the Rorhk galaxy into a rebellion against a violent monarchy without considering the consequences. Eleena fights for women’s rights by rescuing herself from the clutches of a carnivorous plant without the help of a male and avoids a forced marriage to none other than the King Tyrant himself.  Not forgetting Sylvester, the opinionated doctor represents countries that have a definite opinion on economic, social, and political policy, but aren’t willing to commit to any true course of action. The moral to Lui’s 565-page book is that there isn’t any clear rule governing who is ugly or pretty or what is right or wrong.

Is there any coincidence that the cover depicts an “Obama” look-alike (especially given the book’s original publication in 2008 – just as the President was campaigning for his first term)? No doubt readers will also find politicians personified in the story’s characters (Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, Sara Palin).  LGBTQ and minority rights, climate change, military campaigns, and reinvesting in recovery also make an appearance in the book.

Tales of the Rohrk is at least 200 pages too long and is in need of good editing. While Lui is successful in conveying the sarcasm necessary for satire, scenes drag on, detail that is unnecessary interferes with the story, and the sheer number of political allusions borders on overkill. Stick with Robert Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, and C.S. Lewis’ science fiction trilogy for political satire at its best.


Tales of the Rohrk

Tales of the Rohrk by Giancarlo Lui is a captivating sci-fi with phenomenal characters, a gritty plot, and a sophisticated setting. An alien gondola brings a manuscript to Earth, and the story within the manuscript is just about to change the lives of some people.

Meet the astronauts, John Paul Verrazzano, Sylvester Van Vammerick, and Dr. Eleena Nielsen, all working on a NASA project to unveil the effects of light-speed travel on the body. They are catapulted into a planet beyond the Milky Way, a world where things are quite different from anything they’d ever imagine. Things become complicated for them when they are taken by a group of people whose king has been deposed by the tyrant Metaphistus. The people believe that the astronauts are heroes from a prophecy, destined to redeem their land from the merciless clutches of the tyrant. Can they help these people? Can they even survive in this cruel universe long enough to help the people overthrow their tyrant?

Giancarlo Lui’s novel features powerful literary elements, and it is just too natural to get thrilled by the masterful use of satire and the genial re-creation of the political drama that is witnessed in today’s world. Each character is sculpted to embody a set of political values, and readers can quickly identify with the different forms of governments. Metaphistus reminded me a lot of the African leaders who will cling to power to the point of becoming blind to reality, even waging war against their own people, and as I read on, I couldn’t help but wonder if the US isn’t headed toward the same direction at this point in time. Tales of the Rohrk has a fast-paced plot that's complex and laced with exciting moments. It is a great ride for fans of sci-fi with elements of adventure.


Tales of the Rohrk

I am glad to say that science fiction has gone through a boom in relatively recent history. (“Recent” being something of an exaggeration; the boom I refer to may have begun before I was born.) No longer are we stuck with the same old tropes of the early years of science fiction, with women being little more than damsels in distress as men go about exploring strange new worlds. Now we have science fiction of all sorts, from hard sci-fi that could very plausibly be a future based on the science we now know to young adult novels more interested in exploring plot than presenting something truly scientific. I would argue that this is the true Golden Age for science fiction fans: no matter where you look or what you look for, you will always find what you seek.

And yet…what if what we’re looking for is something reminiscent of those early days? What if what we want is a taste of the past tempered with some of the sensibilities of the present? (Imperialism and chauvinism are even more shocking to read when they come from a recent pen than one several decades old.) If you have been asking those questions, then look no further: Tales of the Rohrk will have everything you want.

It opens with a device as old as Frankenstein: the main part of the novel is a manuscript sent via alien gondola to Earth, which randomly happens to encounter a man from New Jersey on vacation in France. (Okay, so maybe it’s not exactly like Frankenstein.) The story brought by the gondola is where things get interesting. Three astronauts – John Paul Verrazzano, Eleena Nielsen, and Sylvester Van Vammerick – find themselves quite unexpectedly in another universe with only a monkey named Piper for company. All three characters could have walked out of an old science fiction novel. John Paul is the archetypal hero figure, to the point of being a hunter in his past on Earth. Eleena starts out as the usual love interest for John Paul, though I am happy to say she quickly shows herself to be far more capable than the women in traditional science fiction. As for Sylvester…he’s one of those characters people will either love or hate, though if you enjoy the aesthetic of old sci-fi novels, you’ll love him. He puts me in mind of the Doctors from the classic episodes of Doctor Who: rather ridiculous but far more capable than anyone would give him credit for.

In short, this book is a wonder at combining past and present to give us a vision of the future. While not exactly a beach read, it is a good book for summer when you want more than anything to take a little break from reality.


Miracle in Havenport, R.I.

It’s 1933, and the small town of Havenport, Rhode Island, looks like a Norman Rockwell Christmas card. Along its snowy streets, the citizens bustle about their holiday business with packages under their arms and good-will wishes on their lips. But not everyone is filled with holiday cheer. In the covered market, Jonathan Kablonsky—also known as Jonna K.—sells fish from his stall while he dreams of pretty Cleo in her pastry shop. But his daydreams are soured by Bill Lombardo, a jumped-up mobster wannabe who runs the market for the Boss, Don Malatesta.  The two men don’t move in the same circles, but their pursuit of Cleo brings them into constant, cantankerous contact with each other. Until, that is, Lombardo asks Cleo to marry him and, to Jonna K.’s dismay, she says yes.

And then—a miracle! The Greek goddess Aphrodite moves through Havenport, unseen and unremarked, when she spies Jonna K. and decides she must have him for herself.  But the gods cannot form lasting unions with mortals, so the Goddess of Love petitions Zeus to bestow the power of the gods upon Jonna K. so that he might prove that he’s worthy to carry the mantle of a god.

And so the little town of Havenport is turned upside down as Jonna K. struggles to get a grip on his newfound abilities. But man-sized rabbits, and bluebird hair pins that really fly are just the beginning.  When Jonna K.—aided by the well-meaning Reverend Lynch—announces plans to turn the world into a New Garden of Eden on Christmas Day, deadly chaos erupts, and the only chance the world has of surviving is if Jonna K. can somehow undo the damage he’s caused.

Miracle in Havenport, R.I. is a quirky story that mixes mythology with a smidge of theological philosophy and serves it up with a historical glaze, to produce a wildly imaginative narrative for the reader to dive into. On the downside, the grammar and prose are boxy and uncooperative and often seem to be battling against themselves. The reader must wrestle regularly with oddly worded paragraphs and awkwardly structured sentences that almost, but don’t quite, get the meaning, or action, or emotion across. Yet, at the same time, the language is that of a simpler, more innocent time, and as such, is fun and can be taken at face value without having to constantly dive for deeper meaning. Some of the characters' motivations are, at times, built on a very shaky foundation. There was a touch too much exposition for my tastes, and, as a reader, I found myself on occasion reaching deep to get a hold of something approaching a logical connection between thoughts and actions. But, overall, the author managed to convey a fairly coherent account of a simple man who is suddenly the recipient of a great deal of power. A light, fun read with an interesting premise and a decent bit of historical flavoring.


Miracle in Havenport, R.I.

“It had all started when Aphrodite had stopped – as already noted – by Havenport’s Christmassy scenery seeking an elusive palliative to her emotional miseries.”

Aphrodite takes roadtrip to Havenport, hoping to gain a little Christmas spirit and feel some goodwill. Unfortunately, she is not finding any. She ruminates on the fact that the pathetic humans running around preparing for the holiday used to worship her and tried to emulate her beauty. Sadly, in 1933, this is not the case. In the midst of her moaning, she notices a “divine apparition” in the person of Jonathan Kablonsky, local fish monger and man of titanic proportions.

Having decided that she must have this man for herself and make him a god, she rushes to her father, Zeus, and, like a petulant teenager, begs him to help her. He agrees, having noticed that humans certainly don’t give him the kind of respect they used to. Zeus agrees to a trial of sorts to see if Jonathan can prove himself worthy of being a true god, and he is sending Apollo to keep an eye on him, and on Aphrodite.

And so Jonna K’s life is changed with a quick bolt of lightning and a head full of colorful stars. Though hoping only to make the world a better place, Jonna K can’t seem to get it completely right. Will he see what is actually important before it’s too late for him...and everyone else?

Miracle in Havenport, R.I. (A Quasi-Christmassy Tale) by Giancarlo Lui, author of Tales of the Rohrk, is a fast-moving Victorian-revival of sorts. After the reader grows accustomed to the archaic style, the going gets much easier. Also, the author seems to loosen up his tight wording a few chapters into the novel, which helps the reader stop focusing on the words and actually begin to understand what Lui is trying to say.

Though not the easiest of novels to unpack, ultimately it is truly worth the hard work. Lui’s descriptions are detailed and vivid. One does not have to struggle to visualize exactly what Havenport, R.I. looks like on those days leading up to Christmas 1933. His prose is colorful and engaging even at its most archaic and confusing. I could not help but root for poor Jonathan Kablonsky and his well-meaning scheme for making the world, and especially his own particular lot in life, Eden-esque. Another fascinating novel from Giancarlo Lui!


Dragon Teeth: A Novel

Last of Crichton’s books, published nigh on a decade after his passing, Dragon Teeth follows William Johnson as he travels into the American West in the late 1800s. At first he was to accompany Othniel Marsh, but the paranoid paleontologist left Johnson behind, deciding he must be a spy of Marsh’s rival. Unable to return home, Johnson ends up working for that rival, joining Edward Cope’s research team as a photographer. This is a snapshot of one of the most unusual "wars" of US history, the "Bone Wars" between two legends of paleontology: Othniel Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope.

Unlike Jurassic Park, Dragon Teeth focuses on true paleontology and actual historical events. Written with Crichton's typical flare for adventure, our protagonist journeys from the learning bastions of the East to the Badlands in the West. Over the course of the story, Johnson goes from a rich, spoiled schoolboy to a calm, self-assured, mature man. To even keep the gig with Marsh, he must learn the art of photography. Then he gets left behind by Marsh, and rather than reneging on a bet, he signs on with Cope’s expedition. With Cope, there is greater freedom, if more hardship, and it quickly becomes clear that, while he is many things, he's not how Marsh described him. Johnson ends up separated from Cope’s group when he and two others volunteer to go retrieve the second half of the boxed bones being brought back East and get attacked. He is presumed dead and ends up in the town of Deadwood. By the time Johnson returns home, he has quite the tale to tell.

I devoured this book in about three hours. Crichton is a favorite author, and Jurassic Park is among my favorite books. I was floored when I first came across Dragon Teeth before it's release. I thought Pirate Latitudes was the last Crichton book I'd get to read. That it was about paleontology, and true events, was icing on the cake. It may not have had the scientific or moral/ethical questions of his other books, but it did illuminate an unusual and fascinating spot of history. Highly recommended!!


AFTERLIFE

Agent Will Brody throws caution to the wind and pursues a serial sniper who has been terrorizing Chicago for weeks. One misstep leads to an explosive encounter, and Brody finds himself in a strange version of Chicago called an echo. Trapped in a version of an afterlife, the denizens of the echo attack and absorb each other to keep the darkness at bay. Only Brody can’t let go of his past life or his love, Claire McCoy. Life and death blur, and a war rages in the afterlife.

Afterlife by Marcus Sakey is an ambitious novel that weaves an epic love story with crime drama and blends everything into an intense supernatural thriller. The concept is fascinating with the various levels of the echo, the war that ravages the afterlife, and the sinister forces lurking just beyond perception. There is an intricate level of world-building here that belies the action-blockbuster mask. In addition to the pulse-pounding action, heartwarming romance, and surprisingly deep philosophical quandaries, Afterlife deftly tackles issues like equality, morality, and ethics. This is a fun summer or airplane read that will stick with you long past the pretty surprising conclusion.


Savage Country: A Novel

The sweeping landscape and brutal living conditions in Robert Olmstead’s latest novel, Savage Country, complete a stark and treacherous backdrop to the steady and vicious injustices the characters inflict upon one another. Elizabeth Coughlin, recently widowed in 1873 in Kansas, discovers her financial situation, thanks to poor choices made be her late husband, is dire. Her only hope to survive is a dangerous trek into Indian Territory to carry out the buffalo hunt that should have been her husband’s responsibility. In order to do this, she will need help.

Among the ragtag band of men she assembles, including four brothers named for apostles, Elizabeth is accompanied by two wildly different men. The reverend doctor with a passion for writing has designs on building a life with the young widow. He is respectable, well-mannered, and well-heeled, and wants nothing more than to protect her. The other man, a secretive and darkly mysterious big-game hunter, is Michael, the brother-in-law she did not meet until her husband’s death. Both men aid Elizabeth in valuable ways, but only one of them senses who she really is and what she really needs.

As the book unfolds, the journey becomes more and more fraught with peril. In-fighting, unpredictable storms, and disease plague the party as they make their way across the plains. Olmstead’s prose is riveting and spare, and while the details are accurate and compelling, there is no overwriting or flowery description: the style of the novel reflects the haunting and at times hopeless state of the characters. Savage Country is difficult to read in its depiction of the killing of buffalo, but important, too, as Olmstead’s narrative reveals the struggle to survive not only for Elizabeth but for the country during the post-Civil-War era.


Hannibal's Oath: The Life and Wars of Rome's Greatest Enemy

Hannibal of Carthage demonstrated generalship and tenacity that terrified his enemies, bringing Rome, the juggernaut empire of the Mediterranean, almost to its knees. His brilliant, unconventional tactics won him many battles, and admirers, and are still studied today. The story is fascinating, and even more so because, while Hannibal was arguably the better leader, he ultimately lost his war.

Author John Prevas has written a brisk, sympathetic history of this larger-than-life individual. And though relying on the same sources that have been used to scrutinize Hannibal for the last two millenia, Prevas nevertheless provides new and insightful analysis. The author superbly writes an accessible, entertaining book that revivifies this general for a lay audience. Sifting through the varying ancient accounts and personally following Hannibal's footsteps and possible pathways, Prevas makes Hannibal's trials – and his genius in overcoming them – immediate and salient. Hannibal was not perfect - he could be cruel, and some of his decisions, even those most lauded, may have led ultimately to his downfall. But he was a great leader and general, one whom even his enemies could not help but admire. His war with Rome truly changed the course of history.


The Beginning of the End

The Beginning of the End is an ambitious novel by Fredrick Hudgin that focuses on a compelling story about humanity and the problems we have created for ourselves. The novel jumps between several points of view, that of three young physics students (Lily, Kevin, and Doug), who suddenly find themselves building a wormhole-generating machine based on a dream; several politicians and scientists of note in the US community; and several members of a diverse alien cooperative known as the Ur. Unbeknownst to humanity, we were originally an intelligent species farming project by the Ur, but our technology outstripped our social development and the Ur have decided we are too dangerous to be allowed to spread beyond our home planet.

Unfortunately, while the plot of the novel is engaging and well constructed, the other aspects of the story were not as well carried out. The first major flaw is in the repetitive nature of the writing itself. Hudgin frequently repeats himself, often within the same paragraph or set of dialog, and the pacing of the sentences is choppy. The second major problem is an overabundance of jargon and abbreviation. Not only is the science overly- and poorly-described, it’s unnecessary for the furthering of the plot. In fact, if we were presented with less over-the-top descriptions of the science, the story would be much more believable. As it stands now, though, the amount of alien technology that can be recreated from “stuff you’d find in any scientific supply house” stretches credibility. In the same vein, the amount and usage of acronyms in the text is awkward and poorly placed, making it difficult for the reader to move past them smoothly.

Beyond the technical issues with the text, there are two deeper problems with the novel. First, the characters we are presented with are one-dimensional caricatures of people, with robotic dialog and motivations. Each character is defined by a broadly-drawn personality trait, belief, or stereotype and extraneous character histories are randomly introduced, whether appropriate to the narrative moment or not.

Lastly, the moral message of the novel was over-simplistic and could have benefited from more subtlety. By the fourth iteration of the reasons why humanity had failed to qualify for admission to the Ur, I was beginning to tire of the message. And while the political reformations proposed by the presidential candidate in a conveniently numbered list towards the climax of the book are all well and good, the narrative would have been vastly better served by seeing how those ideals could have been implemented rather than letting them serve as empty campaign promises.

Overall, I think this novel has significant promise but could benefit greatly from a few rounds with a professional editor.


Do You Know What a Book Publicist Does?: A Guide for Creating Your Own Campaigns

In a world that’s teaming with self-published and small-press published books, many an author finds themselves as the primary publicist for their own work. It’s a daunting task and not something most writers are prepared to tackle. Therefore, a book like Do You Know What a Book Publicist Does? seems like a welcome savior for all the authors-turned-marketers out there. However, the book has the unfortunate characteristic of reading like a lot of valuable information is being disseminated, but once the book is closed, there aren’t really any actionable tips to pursue. While there is general information about various topics such as putting together a press kit, the ultra-short chapters only provide a tantalizing tip of the iceberg. For someone who probably has no experience with these concepts, more than a couple pages would be necessary to impart the information needed to try one's hand at these things with any level of confidence.

As it stands, this book feels more like a general outline of what types of things a book publicists does, without giving readers the step-by-step instructions or important details needed to really do it on their own. It’s a great concept, but it doesn’t live up to the expectation.


An Apple and An Adventure

This book was a fun adventure across the alphabet, an exploration of prehistoric lands, and a story of a girl and her dinosaur. I liked that this showed new ways of using the alphabet that had not been used before in other alphabet books. Personally, I thought the illustrations could have been more exciting. There are several books that have similar drawing styles, and I did not like that the book did not have much color. Other than that, I thought this was a cute book and a fun way to learn the alphabet.


The Secret Agent Training Manual: How to Make and Break Top Secret Messages: A Companion to the Secret Agents Jack and Max Stalwart Series (The Secret Agents Jack and Max Stalwart Series, 1)

The Secret Agent Training Manual is a book written by Elizabeth Singer Hunt. I really enjoyed this manual! This book has different codes in it, like Morse code, hiding-your-message-in-a-magazine-article code, Caesar cipher, zig-zag cipher, Atbash cipher, miniature message code, and anagrams. Speaking of anagrams, I especially liked that part of the book. Here is an example: unscramble the following: EM, OTY, TROSE, and OUY are the anagrams. ME, TOY, STORE, and YOU are the answers. (Don’t know how to unscramble anagrams? Look in this book.) Here’s another type of code I learned about by reading this book: mirror writing. Mirror writing is writing spelled backwards. You know why it is called mirror writing? It is because if you hold it up in a mirror, you will see the correct message. When you think about codes, ciphers, decoding, deciphering, encoding, and enciphering, you might think of secret agents and spies. Secret agents and spies use codes so that the guilty people don’t read what they are saying. Kids who love codes and ciphers will enjoy this book.


The Write Treatment Anthology Volume I 2011-2016: Writings by Cancer Patients, Survivors, and Caregivers from The Write Treatment Workshops at Mount ... Mount Sinai Beth Israel Cancer Centers, NYC

Books to Celebrate National Cancer Survivor Month

The month of June is National Cancer Survivor Month, a time when many reflect on their and their loved ones’ experiences of cancer treatment and survivorship. A diagnosis of cancer raises many questions and concerns, and even after having survived the disease, people are often left with unresolved issues and anxieties. There are numerous books available about living with and treating cancer, and the following titles might be of interest to those looking to expand their understanding of the multifaceted disease that is cancer.

The Living Room: A Lung Cancer Community of Courage by Bonnie J. Addario

The Living Room support and education group was launched by Bonnie Addario and her family to help, nurture, and champion lung cancer patients and their caregivers. The group’s remit is a wide one. Indeed, as Addario’s daughter Danielle comments in the introduction to The Living Room: A Lung Cancer Community of Courage, the group provides “a safe place to meet and talk about everything from high-level things like advanced genomic testing to eating mashed potatoes because the drugs you’re taking are not letting you keep anything down.” Addario is herself a seventeen-year survivor of lung cancer as well as being the co-founder and chair of the GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer. Her work as an activist on behalf of cancer patients prompted her to recognize the importance of community to those who are suffering, which led to the formation of the support group. Now, in The Living Room, Addario presents the stories of twenty lung cancer patients and survivors who have found ways to both live with the disease and thrive. They are difficult and emotive stories, but they are also uplifting and inspiring. Those featured in the book have found ways to overcome the obstacles put in front of them by cancer and to continue pursing their dreams while fighting the disease.

Your Cancer Road Map: Navigating Life With Resilience by Kim Thiboldeaux

The Cancer Support Community (CSC) is a professionally led nonprofit network that provides cancer support to individuals worldwide. The organization is dedicated to ensuring that all those impacted by cancer, whether patients, relatives/friends, or caregivers, have the knowledge, help, and support they require on their cancer journey. Kim Thiboldeaux is the executive chair of the CSC and she has written Your Cancer Road Map: Navigating Life With Resilience to explain in a straightforward and user-friendly way all the physical, emotional, financial, and logistical challenges associated with a cancer diagnosis and the subsequent treatment. The book represents an almost exhaustive resource when it comes to the concerns and queries commonly raised by cancer patients, including how to choose from among treatment options, how to talk about fertility issues, and how to go about planning end-of-life care. Thiboldeaux aims to provide readers with all the tools necessary to fully participate in their care and to make informed decisions regarding various cancer-related matters. The book’s impact is enhanced by the inclusion of personal stories by some of those, both celebrities and everyday folks, whose lives have been touched by cancer.

Cancer as a Wake-Up Call: An Oncologist’s Integrative Approach to What You Can Do to Become Whole Again by M. Laura Nasi

Dr. M. Laura Nasi, a specialist in integrative oncology, has over twenty-five years of experience working with cancer patients in hospitals around the world. Her medical education and her initial years as a doctor provided her with a strong theoretical understanding of cancer and other diseases as well as extensive practical experience of conventional treatment modalities. However, the realization that medical developments depend too heavily on economic concerns and that her own view of cancer treatment, which was fostered by her traditional medical education and training, was overly narrow prompted her to pursue a more holistic approach. In Cancer as a Wake-Up Call, Nasi explains how she sought to integrate the Eastern spiritual worlds that fascinated her with the Western approach to cancer treatment that predominated in the hospitals in which she worked. As part of her desire to understand the disease process, she chose to focus on the cancer patient as a whole (mind, body, and spirit), rather than solely on the physical manifestations of the disease. In the book, Nasi details the various spiritual techniques, such as meditation and visualization, that she has found to benefit cancer patients alongside more conventional therapies.

Novel Approach to Curing Cancer by Jianqing Wu and Ping Zha

In Novel Approach to Curing Cancer, Jianqing Wu and Ping Zha detail a new methodology for treating all kinds of cancers. Starting from the two traditional pillars of cancer treatment, that is, the use of drugs and the basic treatment model, the authors suggest that so long as anti-cancer drugs have side effects and have to be administered periodically, they cannot be considered true cures. The idea is that no drug can destroy all kinds of cancer cells, and further, that cancer cells reproduce so quickly that any gaps in treatment allow them to take hold once again. The stories of various celebrities who died as a result of cancer are used to illustrate this idea. The authors suggest that the only way to truly overcome cancer is to understand three key factors: speed, number, and multiplication. They base their methodology on traditional Chinese medicine, modern disease theories, recent medical discoveries, and stories of people’s miraculous recoveries from cancer. As such, the book makes for interesting reading, although it is more geared toward the cancer researcher’s perspective than the cancer patient’s experience. It could be a useful and informative book for those looking to expand their theoretical understanding of the different approaches to treating cancer.

The Write Treatment Anthology Volume I 2011-2016: Writings by Cancer Patients, Survivors, and Caregivers from the Write Treatment Workshops at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai Beth Israel Cancer Centers, NYC edited by Emily Rubin

Emily Rubin, herself a cancer survivor, runs weekly creative writing workshops for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers at the Mount Sinai Hospitals in New York City. During the workshops, Rubin makes use of writing prompts, photographs, and inspirational quotes to inspire attendees’ writing, and while some do opt to write about their cancer diagnosis and treatment, many choose to let their creativity flow far more freely and imagine things far beyond the world of cancer. The people who participate in the writing workshops are a diverse bunch, with varying lives, beliefs, and experiences, and their writings reflect that diversity. The Write Treatment Anthology Volume I 2011-2016 collects personal essays, stories, and poems written by twenty-three people who attended Rubin’s workshops during the relevant period, and taken together, it is a hugely inspiring body of work. The tales they tell range from the hilarious to the tragic, the sublime to the ridiculous, and there are more than a few thought-provoking moments.

Whole Body Healing: Create Your Own Path to Physical, Emotional, Energetic and Spiritual Wellness by Emily A. Francis

For those looking to complement their physician-led medical treatment and improve their overall health, Whole Body Healing: Create Your Own Path to Physical, Emotional, Energetic and Spiritual Wellness by Emily A. Francis offers the tools, techniques, and confidence necessary to design and implement an individually tailored holistic treatment regimen. As the title suggests, Francis aims to address every aspect of the individual reader’s wellbeing (physical, emotional, energetic, and spiritual) in an integrated way in order to facilitate lasting positive changes. The book explores both traditional and modern alternative therapy techniques, ranging from homeopathy to Ayurveda to eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, meaning that readers have a wide range of options to consider. The goal is to achieve balance in what Francis considers to be an increasingly unbalanced world. Francis’ ideas regarding certain medical conditions and, therefore, the contents of the book are certainly not without controversy, although it does suggest a number of promising and proven avenues that readers might find worthy of pursuing as part of their quest for better health.


All the Women in My Family Sing: Women Write the World — Essays on Equality, Justice, and Freedom

LOCAL AUTHOR

All the Women in my Family Sing is a very thoughtful, well-curated collection of personal essays written by women of color, spanning a variety of themes and experiences. It shares stories that spark a conversation about the human experience, rather than just bringing tales about what it’s like to struggle as a woman of color. And, because it includes such a wide breadth of narratives, readers are sure to identify with, and see themselves in, at least one of the essays in this anthology. While a few select essays held a bit of a self-righteousness in their tone, it was far from overbearing, and for the most part, the writings were humble and well crafted. I feel that this book is here to educate through discourse and shareable anecdotes. But what this book gave me was a way to think about my own experiences and my own identity—not only as a woman in this society, but as a woman of mixed race. I often feel that the same perspective is being shown and highlighted from marginalized voices, but this collection offers an answer to the lack of diversity in our literature from women of color.

For example, there are a couple of essays in the anthology from these writers about identifying as “white” growing up, even though their ethnic makeup was non-white, because, to them, there is more to cultural identity than just skin color. In her essay "The Colour of Transparency," Shyla Margaret Machanda writes, “I am mixed race, but this isn’t a life-altering concern of mine. It is a simple fact, just as valid as it is to those who hold their mixed-race heritage high, front and center to their identity." There were great perspectives to hear from.

All the Women in my Family Sing is also methodical in the way that it’s broken up. Each essay is carefully grouped into an overarching theme, ranging from identity and home to traumas and personal journeys. La Rhonda Crosby-Johnson’s essay, "From Negro to Black" discusses the evolution of terms for “blackness” and its effects, while Denise Diaab’s "The Road to El Camino" shows the importance of following our hearts to journey as we wish. This makes it easy to read essays out of order, according to moods or according to subjects, and they are short enough that they can be revisited time and again.

It’s an all-inclusive collection of stories that I believe intends to strengthen our capacity for thinking outside the box and shares a group of strong voices in the writing world. It’s a different type of reading than with traditional fiction novels, but I already have a list of women who I would like to share this with.


Caveman at the End of the World

Caveman at the End of the World by Brad Rau is the story of Ella Pearson and her efforts to extricate an alien yet harmless being from her apartment and from her life. Her efforts, however, only serve to make the problem much bigger, more complicated, and ultimately a Kafka-styled labyrinth of personal demons and semi-futuristic bureaucracy. Caveman at the End of the World also goes on to bring together the best elements of several genres into a story that both captivates and intrigues the mind of its readers.

The novel begins with a perfect introduction of Ella’s unique outlook on the world around her: “More than anything else, Ella Pearson revered the sun. She understood the primacy of the sun; that everything—every-last-thing-on-earth—depended on it for survival.” The author pulls us in until we are completely involved in Ella’s intensifying problems, which, despite their surreal atmosphere, feel completely tangible and ominous. And as her world closes in more and more tightly around her, so does the sun, whose imagery spotlights Ella’s changing disposition. Rarely does a novel succeed in giving its readers such a brilliantly illuminating window into the hero’s soul with a more perfect tool of metaphors. The sun is Ella’s life, and it is her story. Readers will immediately flock to this heroine who is like none other. She’s very detailed and relatable, such are all the characters, and you can really feel as if you are submerged in this world as well.

Caveman at the End of the World delivers a rich, superbly original story that moves along with lifelike action scenes, shocking twists and turns, and nail-biting suspense. The novel features a genuine and believable protagonist who earns our deepest care as she contends with a sequence of harrowing events. It successfully merges the themes of human origins, transformation, and existential meaning with artificial intelligence, futuristic menaces, apocalyptic survival, and the great mystery we all attempt to solve daily: who are we, why are we here, and where are we going? Rau’s book was by far a very bizarre but highly enjoyable read. A wonderfully blended mix of Orwell, Kafka, and originality, Rau’s unique writing style has leanings toward The Twilight Zone, and I’d even wonder how he’d do in a horror setting. Rau has designed his third-person tale in five parts that continuously unfold into unanticipated scenes and that never grow overbearing or dull. Riveting and compelling right until the very end.


The Hidden Legacy (Discovery of Ocaba)

In the legacy of young adult novels about Narnia or Lemony Snicket, the first Ocaba series manages to take the familiar trappings of the genre into a new arrangement. The magical land of Ocaba has been conquered by the evil Elf Darius. He has made pact with demons, giving him great power. The four ruling families of Ocaba have all been wiped out...save for four children smuggled to Earth. They are watched over by their guardians, Minerva and four Miniatures, magical creatures who appear as animals or tiny humans. Now in their teens, the children begin to question their past. More, their powers are becoming more apparent every day. In addition to being able to cast magic, they each have a special gift. Koda, the eldest boy, has sight sharper then any eagle. Alill, the eldest girl, has superhuman balance and strength. Dungan, the younger boy, has amazing hearing. Thryn, the youngest girl, can read minds. King Darius desperately wants to capture these last royal children, as there is a prophecy that they will be his downfall.

When the children are old enough, their grandmother, Opal, reveals the truth of their past. When they travel to Ocaba, they find a world of danger and amazement. Hunted by the King's forces, they begin to make alliances with the resistance. But the children end up separated and must find their way in the strange new world.

While the story is solid, some of the dialog comes off as rather stilted. "How is it that you and Grandmother say we are a family, but we all look so different?" asks a then seven-year-old Thryn in a flashback. Later in the book, after a spy reveals himself in the children's camp "Do not be afraid, Princess. King Darius was great friends with your parents, and only wants to restore you to your royal position." Even Minerva, who, for some reason speaks in a southern accent, only drops the occasional "be" instead of an "are" in the perfect diction.

While the dialog is slightly strange, more so is the awe that characters have for each other. Whenever Opal reveals herself, she is held in awe and respect. Nobody blames her for not protecting people against the dark times. And, while everyone holds her in great esteem, it's not clear why. She is in hiding in Ocaba, moving from place to place, but it's not clear what she is doing to generate such esteem. Is she feeding the poor, fighting the patrols, healing the sick? It isn't mentioned, but whenever she reveals herself, it's as if a holy figure has appeared. This same revelation is extended to the children, who at least are the subject of prophecy. Even when one of them is captured, she is treated luxuriously.

The Hidden Legacy sets up an epic series of magic and adventure. It should appeal to anyone who enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia or similar young adult fair.


Diaphanous Minds

LOCAL AUTHOR

When Daniel Kilgore's wife, Vivian, starts experiencing memory problems after a car accident and the possibility of an aggressive form of dementia, Daniel is hoping, with the right help, her memory will improve. As a result of his wife's problems, and hoping to see how others with similar problems are coping, he volunteers at Magnolia Gardens, a retirement home in South Carolina, which caters to those with dementia.

Initially, I was a little concerned that this would be a terribly sad story. As my own mother had just passed away from a long battle with cancer a few weeks before receiving this book, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was, therefore, surprised to find this book to be both thought-provoking and engaging. There were sad aspects to the story, which is no surprise, considering the subject matter, but I actually found this book to be full of interesting characters who I could relate to, having recently been a caregiver to my mother.

I thought Mr. Sullivan provided a realistic look at how people react to long-term illness. The families of the patients had characteristics that were very familiar to me. I also found that the dialogue throughout contained the appropriate level of emotion. In fact, I found myself both laughing and crying while reading. I had a good laugh on page 58, when Mr. Sullivan mentioned his previous review at San Francisco Book Review.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this story was the fact that the characters seemed so real. I almost expected them to walk off the page and into the room with me. I thought this was especially the case with the main characters, Daniel Kilgore and his friend, Jane Lincoln. The fact that I was able to form a real attachment to the characters means that this story is one that will stay with me for some time.

If there was one thing that didn't really strike a cord with me, it would be the title, Diaphanous Minds. I do understand why the author chose it, but, to me, it seems a bit dry. I would have expected something more along the lines of Hidden Memories, Lost Memories, or Time Forgotten—something that would spark more curiosity. Also, at times, the transition within the story from one set of events and characters to another was perhaps not as smooth as it could have been. I had to stop and check or remind myself that I was now reading about another set of characters.

Having said that, this was a book I enjoyed reading. I especially liked the fact that it wasn't predictable and that there were some unexpected twists as well. Mr. Sullivan's best attribute as a writer seems to be the ability to create the perfect emotion through good dialogue and well-crafted scenes. Of course, this makes me wonder what he will be writing next.


Your One & Only

This story is a thought-provoking and powerful story of survival. Jack is a human in a world of clones created when humans were on the brink of extinction. As humans were wiped out by a plague, a small group of scientists preserved their DNA and created clones that continually “improved” themselves as they created more and more generations of clones. 300 years later, Vispera is a seemingly “perfect” world of order with a strong sense of community and purpose yet lacking “humanness.” Jack is created to bring hope, in the form of a tenth clone model, or to bring destruction to the clones’ orderly world. When Jack meets Althea-310 their differences appear ready to destroy them or change their world forever. This story is told from the alternating perspectives of Jack and Althea-310 as they explore their growing understandings of what makes us human. The characters are engaging and well developed. The book is well written and captivating for anyone 17 or older who is interested in dystopian stories. I do not think younger people should read this based on the casualness of sex and sexual scenes. Otherwise, this is a great book, and I look forward to a sequel!


Accidental Travels of a Single Woman

In ancient times, St. Augustine, wrote, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”  This theme forms the heart of the book Accidental Travels of a Single Woman.

Six years after living in Las Vegas, author Terry Woods develops a severe allergy to the summer heat.  When she decides to leave for three months every summer, she joins a travel club and European home exchanges.  She winds up with an assortment of adventures in France, England, America, Canada and Italy, where there’s a little Italian romance to boot.

In addition to everything expected from vacation chronicles, the author almost fatefully winds up in circles of thinkers and doers. A few visits to France find her in the company of the doctor who invented the abortion pill, a world-renowned pianist, and a well-known painter.

Some of her travels are filled with the same minor disasters that can make or break a vacation for any of us, but throughout, the author retains her sense of humor—even when she finds herself part of a royal wedding procession in Madrid.

There are times when the author delves deeper into emotionally poignant moments. Amid the levity of dancing with Texas cowboys and viewing art galleries in Paris, is the deeply emotional chapter detailing the author’s grief when she visits her ailing father for the last time. This unexpected variability is what made the book an exciting and entertaining read.

While many travel writers wax rhapsodically about Paris, Woods has an entire chapter dedicated to the things she won’t miss about the City of Lights:  small apartment elevators, strange bathroom situations, crazy traffic, and more.

As a gift for her 70th birthday, she takes a river cruise on the Rhine and Danube. Her visit to a courtroom in Nuremburg is one of the most emotionally compelling chapters in the book.  She contrasts this with a woman who had been a German baroness and expressed the shame and guilt many Germans still feel about their past. The chapters are delivered succinctly, often ending with a lighthearted note, due to the marvelous absurdities that exploring new places can introduce.  Woods seems up for anything and keeps an open mind about all of her encounters—both the mundane and magnificent.

All along the way, Woods listens to the stories of the many types of people she meets, taking away lessons and thoughts on what it means to be part of the world in our day and age.

At its heart, Accidental Travels of a Single Woman celebrates the spice of life and new experiences that can change the way you think.


The Truth That Hides

LOCAL AUTHOR

An extremely promising series from a charismatic author

The story begins with someone else’s story, which makes you wonder how it is connected to the book’s plot. Then, everything changes and we meet the book’s protagonist, Jack , who works at the National Electronic Transfer Corporation. The NET is a government agency that has access to every single American citizen via their social media accounts, their phones, laptops, smart TVs, everything electronic. Most employees, including Jack, use these data in order to create individual profiles for each citizen, believing that’s how they keep America safe by protecting the country from extremists. But what the government sees as a threat could be someone else’s hope for a better future.

Jack’s life was pretty normal; some might say boring, because he followed the same routine every day. So when he got back from Brussels after attending a convention, meeting a mysterious woman in a yellow dress and having read a strange book with the instruction to throw it out after finishing it, his life dramatically changes. His team at the NET is responsible for a brand new top-secret government project called “Operation Straight Arrow.” The purpose of the project is to track down people who are considered to be dangerous enough to create chaos and destroy a multi-billion deal about a new oil pipeline that will connect Canada and Mexico.

So, when Jack comes across names and places in his research that he had already read about in the book he threw away, he realizes that the two are connected. What he discovers is a conspiracy running so deep that the future of our planet and humanity is at stake.

One of the things that really stood out is how Jack matures as a character throughout the story. There are moments in the book where he questions himself and what his life purpose was all along. So, when he finds his place in the world, it’s a true revelation for him.

The book is really easy to read. It is only 284 pages, which makes it a very quick read. Despite its length, every page is carefully written. The author pays a lot of attention to the details and the reader receives that while reading the descriptions of the places mentioned in the book.  All in all, The Truth That Hides is a brilliant and highly recommended book in a fresh and exciting series.


Prisoners' Objects: The Collection of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum

Paul Bouvier, Contributor • Roger Mayou, Contributor • Martin Rueff, Contributor • Isabelle Schulte-Tenkhoff, Contributor

Political prisoners and prisoners of war spend long days, weeks, and months, even years, in detention. To relieve the boredom and escape their confined environment, many use available material to create works of art and beauty. Eventually people at the International Red Cross and Red Crescent realized the value of these achievements and collected the finished items. They were first displayed in 1991, but in 1998 they were placed in a museum in Geneva in a permanent exhibition. Prisoners’ Objects is a collection of photographs of these objects spanning the years 1914 to 2015 and representing prisoners’ works from a large number of countries. This is a unique collection, and the photos are professionally shot, one to three per page. Each one is labeled with the place of the prison, the material used, and its size. Materials available were leather, wood, beads, plastic, strings, cardboard, aluminum foil, fiber, metal burlap, and soap. Many works are made up of several materials. They are in fourteen chapters according to topics. Each chapter is introduced by one of four writers with an extensive text. They are informative and educational. A quote precedes each chapter. This is a beautiful, emotionally charged volume.


The Manhattan Swindle

At the opening of The Manhattan Swindle, we are in a search-and-rescue helicopter, hovering above the border between Egypt and Libya. Senator Temple looks down at a collection of vehicles being searched by Libyan soldiers. They are looking for the same people he is: a pair of abducted teenagers, Lilah and Harry Sheppard. The pilot spots Lilah running into a minefield, just before all hell breaks loose.

At once, we are tossed two years into the past, to the funeral of Lilah’s parents, and we learn that the danger in her life won’t only come from Libyan soldiers. She is connected to wealthy families in the oil business, and as her brother-in-law tries to make arrangements for her twin to become his heir, she is thrust into a political power struggle that would hardly be out of place in medieval Europe. At only fifteen, Lilah finds herself in a position to be abducted along with her best friend, and the two of them undertake a dangerous journey across Libya to reach safety in Egypt.

That alone would make a compelling thriller, especially with the perfect balance of strength and vulnerability Lilah and Harry show, but their tale isn’t remotely finished once they reach Egypt, or even when they are returned to America. In fact, it’s only just begun.

The world of oil corporations in the 1980s is ruthless and cutthroat, beyond what even I would have expected. After all, as someone points out partway through the book, people don’t just try to kill each other in modern America. Except, as it turns out, they do. Making it out of Libya has not gotten rid of the Sheppards’ enemies, and in trying to fight back, Lilah and Harry will only draw further ire and further attempts on their lives. They will need powerful allies and all the help they can get if they want to get out of this alive, let alone bring down a dangerous man.

While I don’t often go for corporate thrillers, I’m glad I made an exception in this case. Not only did the tension keep me invested from page one, each character is a wonder. Lilah fights through trauma to find new strength without losing her believability, and Harry’s determination to do the right thing begins to lead him down a dangerous path. Everyone in the book must make difficult choices, and while sometimes those choices make them harder to like, they never once made a choice that I found out of character.


The Manhattan Swindle

The Manhattan Swindle begins in 1974 as Lilah and her twin, Daniel, deal with the grief of losing their parents. Powerful friends of their parents long to adopt her brother but show no interest in her until her brother refuses to be adopted without her. When she and her best friend, Harry, are kidnapped, the two work together to perform a daring escape. Lilah's life after rescue puts her on a new path as she goes to MIT and tries to leave the pain behind her, but she'll never be rid of the pain of what happened. As they're pulled into separate directions, both find their way into the middle of a political agenda and power struggle.

The plot of The Manhattan Swindle weaves through time, focused on the 1970s and 80s and exploring Lilah's life from her earlier years into adulthood. The story shows her evolving from a scared girl to a strong woman fighting for her voice. She lives through an assault when she and Harry are kidnapped and spends the next several years trying to find ways to empower herself. She gets into kickboxing, helps other people, and even faces dangerous situations that often find her risking her life. She makes her own choices and sacrifices a lot of her happiness when she chooses to marry in a powerful decision.

The Manhattan Swindle is full of complicated relationships as the characters tend to change dalliances throughout the years. Lilah has a significant relationship with Harry, beginning with their harrowing escape from their kidnappers, which bonds them for life. Weaving through the years, they grow together and grow apart, entering adulthood and leaving behind the innocence of childhood. They start off as friends and briefly explore the idea of a romance, but their romantic relationship barely starts before it ends. Their feelings for each other remain even when they're both married to other people. Despite the romance never fully taking off, their bond seems to be at the heart of the story, as they tend to go to each other as confidants and for support. Even when their friendship is strained, they still seem to gravitate toward each other. Aside from Lilah and Harry's friendship, Lilah has two other relationships: a brief flirtation with Alex and a marriage to Brad, but both of these relationships seem a bit strained. Her past continues to haunt her day and night to where she feels like she's never fully free of it and is being held back by it. Her marriage to Brad often feels strained, as she's never truly happy, only content. While she's entering these relationships, Harry has many before he marries Verity, but even his marriage has issues. He always puts work first, to the point his wife feels neglected and confronts him about wanting more from him.

Jay Perin plays with relationships with a political eye and explores the power that tends to take over from love. The idea of image and power is seen through several of the relationships as Lilah's husband is often concerned about how she appears to the tabloids, and Harry puts his work first so much he pushes his wife aside again and again. While The Manhattan Swindle explores relationships, Perin also handles serious issues, including kidnapping, war, and rape with a genuine and honest voice, especially as seen through Lilah's perspective. She realistically faces her trauma and is never portrayed as weak but as an empowered woman with strength and a lot of heart. The Manhattan Swindle navigates different perspectives as the story moves through two different decades, exploring issues of the past. While The Manhattan Swindle is a political thriller full of action and danger, it never lacks in heart and humanity.


Drop by Drop: Book One Step By Step

Sycamore River is like any small town, full of rustic charm, friendly folks, and a few eccentric types. But when plastic all over town begins to melt, suddenly life as they knew it is over. As selfishness, paranoia, and uncertainty run amok, what will become of the people of Sycamore River? When challenged, will the best of humanity triumph... or the worst?

Drop by Drop is a true rarity in science fiction storytelling these days: a disaster story where the author doesn't revel in the disaster's trappings. Unlike Hollywood films where the storm or the earthquake is the star and the characters are simply one-dimensional ciphers to vaguely root for or against, the citizens of Sycamore River are wonderfully three-dimensional, engaging figures. You understand them, you know them, and whether you like them or not, you're invested.

Llywelyn's debut novel is equally intriguing because it's something of an optimistic dystopia. Yes, something disastrous has happened. But there are just as many good people and entrepreneurs as there are selfish types and dangers. Not fixating on the bad not only makes the book more engaging, but it feels more genuine.

Drop by Drop is what science fiction should be: enthralling and unexpected.


Cancer as a Wake-Up Call: An Oncologist's Integrative Approach to What You Can Do to Become Whole Again


The Parting Gift

Evan Fallenberg’s third novel may be his best. A page-turner from beginning to end, The Parting Gift is written with exacting detail, a riveting plot, and characters of incredible depth. An epistolary work, the story follows the unnamed narrator as he makes a move to Israel, becomes the obsessed lover of a gruff, hyper-masculine spice farmer named Uzi, and slowly integrates into Uzi’s life, work, and family. Jealousy, lust, and ambition drive the thrilling, fast-pace plot.

Like Fallenberg’s other novels, the book discusses the intersection of Judaism, gender, and sexuality. Though the back-cover calls the novel an “erotic tale,” I cannot exactly classify this book (which does have erotic scenes) as a run-of-the-mill romance, nor should it be classified as “erotica,” as the generic name may imply that it’s simplistic smut. The book is dynamic and thematically complex, dealing with power, masculinity, family, and desire.
If you are in need of a quick and engrossing read, I cannot recommend this novel enough.


A Fierce Glory: Antietam--The Desperate Battle That Saved Lincoln and Doomed Slavery

Many of us have read about the Battle of Gettysburg and its three long days of battle and losses on both sides, yet a mere year before—near a creek called Antietam—a battle with just as many losses could have changed the course and outcome of the war. It was here that the Confederates crossed the lines and, for the first time, had a good chance of changing the outcome of the war. The key words here are could have changed if they succeeded. It would have omitted the need for the Battle of Gettysburg and the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The author introduces the reader to many characters throughout this novel—many we have heard of—some we will remember, some will not. I’m looking at Lincoln in a different light. Mind you, I have always felt that he was a hero, yet here I find a man suffering deeply at the loss of his young son, Will; the mental state of his wife, Mary, who already had lost a son before they came to the White House; and the heartache of his younger son's handicap. All this and the war were the burden placed on his shoulders, yet he accepted it, keeping his grief in his soul, as he knew his country needed him.

The author enlightens us about not only the young men who enlisted but the women who did as well. Many young girls dressed as men and joined the fight. A young woman with limited experience took it upon herself to go into the battlefields, giving aid to the injured, no matter which side they were on. This young woman, Clara Barton, with courage and dedication to others, founded the Red Cross we know today. But the true story is that, had the South won the war, Britain and France were ready to step in on the side of the South to give them aid. Great Britain's motive was they needed the cotton the South had. But putting all this aside, this is not just another wartime novel with blood and gore.

An excellent study guide for a history major. The novel is an excellent piece, and I totally recommend it to all who enjoy a good historical work.


The Easter Man

The Germans and the British are at war in this historical fiction detective story, set to a World War I backdrop. As tensions continue to rise, German sympathizer groups are growing and one, in particular, has plans for something big in New York City. Berlin is sending over a young chemist, Peter Schwegel, who developed a special design of bomb to send a message to America to stay out of the war.

On the opposite side of Schwegel’s long journey sits John Nolan. Now happily married, with a child on the way, John sits at a desk as an accountant out of harm’s way, though a part of him misses the excitement of investigating. So what started as a gentle favor by an accountant turned into hints about a large plot headed for New York and, after some convincing of his wife, he very quickly finds himself back on the case.

The Easter Man is a friendly detective story that would suit a variety of readers in its quick pace and easy writing style.  John Nolan has the aura of a very likable local detective consultant; a smart and capable family man. Concise and sweet, the plot does not lull, and the pace and action kick up simultaneously in the back half of the novel as the dramatic tension between the two main characters is about to come to a head.

As Schwegel gets closer to making landfall in NYC, he only grows in confidence and a coldness for war, while Nolan goes deeper undercover toward the center ring of the group. What they uncover is an engineered plot to place several bombs and explode them simultaneously on Easter Sunday, intending to be warning shots to the U.S. government. Periodically in danger, Nolan has to use his instincts in order to piece together the remaining hints of the mission before the Easter Man fulfills his plans and put a stop to it. The way the characters are written provides this novel with the foundation elements of a fun detective story: the good hero to root for and the villain to dislike. With the relaxed feel of a hobbyist’s series, the enjoyment the author has in developing Nolan as a character and the cases he will uncover shines through, and I suspect there will be more adventures to come.


Dear Santa

Angela owns a small business called Heart of Christmas, in the beach town of Pleasant Sands. When a large mega store called Christmas Galore sets up in Pleasant Sands, Angela is forced to face the truth, that her business is failing. Her little niece, Chrissy, tells her to write a letter to Santa asking for help. Angela doesn’t want to do it, but Chrissy and her mother show Angela the new Dear Santa app and convince her she has nothing to lose.

Angela is surprised when she gets a reply that doesn’t sound automated. Dear Santa ends up setting her life in motion in ways she never would have expected. Dear Santa is a heartwarming holiday romance that takes place in a cozy coastal town. The characters are warm and likeable. Although the narrative gets bogged down a little in some places, overall, it’s a lovely story to curl up with on a cold night. This book is a sweet romance that will delight readers looking for a gentle romantic escape.


The Complete Book of Ketones: A Practical Guide to Ketogenic Diets and Ketone Supplements

The title says it most accurately. This is a complete treatment of the subject of ketones, ketogenic disciplines, and diets. Early in, Dr. Newport states, “The story of ketones is Steve Newport’s legacy to the world. I am his messenger.”

There we have motivation for many years of experimentation, consultation, medical evangelism, and research: Dr. Newport’s beloved husband and her efforts and partial successes in ameliorating his advancing affliction with Alzheimer’s disease.

Ketones, as the doctor repeatedly informs us, are an alternative fuel for the brain. Glucose, in Alzheimer’s, encounters increased blood/brain resistance, and ketones do not. She makes the case, most convincingly, that ketosis (not diabetic ketogenesis) is one of the evolutionary tricks our species possess to cope with everything from fasting to breastfeeding to extended physical exertion.

As any biology student who has suffered trying to memorize the complexity of the Krebs digestive cycle knows, our usual metabolic path to glucose production is extended and distinctly Rube Goldbergian, a reminder that evolution has many elements of happenstance rather than design. Ketones are produced from fats in a shorter process, which can be specifically stimulated.

This leads to the repeated evocation of the efficacy of coconut oil and some of its burgeoning derivatives, extracts, and simulators. There is a significant treatment of coconut and oil palm distribution and history. Those substances, their historic appearance, and distribution receive comprehensive coverage.

Doctor Newport gives full appreciation to and backgrounds of many in the field of ketogenic study. Curricula Vitae is detailed, and effort is made to show the intellectual linking and growth of these theorists and their theories.

Additionally, it does appear that all the diet methodologies and diet guidelines that have led to our current understanding of Keto diets and treatments have been objectively covered. We haven’t a novel here, but instead a striving for depth and breadth, so some of this becomes a bit extended to follow.

The most critically functional ketone is acetoacetate, but most inexpensive tests reveal just beta-Hydroxybutyrate, an accompanying ketone. And if, like me, you never made it to Biological Chemistry, those very often-mentioned substances, and the chemistry that contributes to their production, can make for slower reading simply because of the plethora of words with more than six syllables -- that require some practice to pronounce.

I want to emphasize that while we are given much more than a simple guide to achieving and using a ketogenic condition, the sheer informativeness of this volume is rewarding. A range of questions are answered, with this writer’s comprehensively sympathetic style. Possible hopes for treatment of epilepsy, Parkinson’s, and even Multiple Sclerosis are advanced with care. Research in this quickly expanding field of inquiry is still in ferment.

A bonus! There are recipes!! And the sources of these, too, are given honest attribution. All material in the book is carefully referenced.

My sole regret after undertaking this reading is that working with an uncorrected proof, I am now denied an index. Without any punning, an enriching tone.


Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now

In Breaking News, The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now Alan Rusbridger tells the story of how the Internet and Social Media has changed The Fourth Estate. Rusbridger was editor of The Guardian News and Media for twenty years and is now a journalism Professor at Oxford University. During his tenure between 1995 and 2015, he transformed the British Daily into the most visited English-language new site in the world. Here he tells of the transformation of journalism to a model that also serves those who prefer consuming it over the Internet.

Many stories are told in this about changing times which saw the influential likes of those like Craig Newmark, Mark Zuckerberg, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and others. The Press has had to adapt to changing forces, including a more cynical political landscape and new technologies. With great style, Rusbridger tells of these changing forces using new terminology. One will appreciate the accessibility of the prose which is vital, accurate, and efficient, but not always clear to those who don’t know a lot about the new and old players involved. Some of them are British, but much here is also about America. Rusbridger, despite some self critical views, does remind the reader of the remaining importance of the press and reporters. One sees here that it also evaluates and criticizes itself. We can now more easily interact with it and have more options to choose from.


Under the Table: A Novel

This was my first Stephanie Evanovich read and it was an absolute joy to read. The author’s writing flow was very easy to follow, and the storyline kept me interested throughout the book. The plot was quite simple, yet I found myself wanting to read more and find out what would happen to the main character, Zoey, and her complicated love triangle. The characters were fun and had great personalities. Zoey, a chef, is on a break from her husband because they have grown apart and she has suspected him of cheating on her. She goes to live with her sister, Ruth and ends up doing some freelance work as a personal chef. She meets Tristan when he hires him to cater a dinner party. From the moment she meets Tristan, Zoey is in awe of him but also feels self-conscious because she starts developing feelings for him and doesn’t know if he feels the same way about her. The book has several turns of events due to Zoey making choices all throughout the book. Some of her choices are risky and some are surprising. This book had me laughing at some parts, and wide-eyed at others. A fun read for fans of light-hearted fiction.


Thin Air: A Novel

Enjoy reading about threats from an alien race, journeying to Mars, and a political epic fantasy while you explore this selection of fantasy and science fiction reads that will take you into another world. Check out the sequels to /The Salvation Sequence/ and /Wake the Dragon/, a spin-off from Gregory Maguire that expands the /Wicked/ world, and the next book in the /Court of Thorns and Roses/ series.

Salvation Lost – Peter F. Hamilton

Book two of /The Salvation Sequence/ explores the encounter that utopian earth has with a visiting race of aliens that are quickly discovered to be among the worst threats that mankind dealt with. The Olyix plan to convert the residents of earth into their belief system under their own god. But the aliens didn't expect mankind to fight back. As the Olyix try to take power, humanity is more determined than ever to stop them before they're the ones destroyed.

The Brides of Maracoor – Gregory Maguire

Kicking off a new series, this spin-off from Gregory Maguire features Rain, the green-skinned granddaughter of Elphaba. It was ten years ago when the fourth and final volume of /Out of Oz/ was released. Rain washes ashore on a strange island where she's saved by a women community that uses devotional practices considered more obscure. A mysterious navy attacks the mainland which causes the civil-servant overseer over the island to wonder how an alien could put a whole nation under threat. This new trilogy will follow Rain's journey as it takes her from an outpost on the island to the uncharted Maracoor badlands as she works to find her way home again where she'll return to her family and lover. The beauty and suffering of Oz come to life through the mystery, injustice, and possibility of this story that serves as a reminder of the sacred terrain found in our lives.

A Court of Silver Flames – Sarah J. Maas

Nesta is known for how slow she can be to forgive and how quick she can be toward anger. Ever since she became High Fae by force through the Cauldron, she has worked to fit into her new role. Cassian is the best at making her angry and she can't avoid him thanks to his own role in Rhysand and Feyre's Night Court. The friction between them is just the beginning as the two have an undeniable chemistry that draws them closer when they're near each other. As if this wasn't enough, the human queens have joined forces and this proves to be a threat against every realm. To stop them, Nesta and Cassian each have to confront the pasts that have haunted them which is a journey set against a background of war and uncertainty. Together find healing and acceptance as they battle monsters and inner demons.

Thin Air – Richard K. Morgan

Hakan Veil is a killing machine after he received body tech that's military-grade and once a corporate enforcer, he's now been abandoned by his former employers. He's been left on Mars where overlords that are earth-based engage in a fight for profits and power despite the growing independence movement. Harkan quickly grows tired of life on Mars and searches for a way to return home which leads him to accept a position from the Earth Oversight organization. The job makes him a bodyguard for an EO investigator. It's easy to work until his charge looks into what happened to a lottery winner that suddenly vanished. The deeper he's drawn into this world, the more secrets reveal themselves and push him up against enemies that he must take down – no matter what.

Vengewar – Kevin J. Anderson

The second book in the /Wake the Dragon/ series continues with war unfolding between The Three Kingdoms and Ishara. For over a thousand years, the two sides have been at war until an outside threat made itself known. An ancient race awakened which brought the two continents together and had them put aside their feud to form an alliance against this common enemy. Book one led to the awakening of a dragon which created events that set the two continents against each other. Now in book two, the Three Kingdoms is facing serious consequences thanks to having a king that is inexperienced. The king is receiving encouragement from a regent, with a lot of ambition, to not take threats made by the Wreths seriously and to instead choose a vengewar with Ishara. His brother and uncle spot the danger that lies within the Older Race. Meanwhile, the Ishara queen lies comatose which provides the opportunity for a priest to take power only to fail the country when he doesn't have the experience to effectively it.

The Wood Wife – Terri Windling

Maggie Black has left the fashion of her old life behind on the West Coast in exchange for a new life in the Southwestern desert. She's determined to pursue her dreams even if this means starting over. Her mentor, the poet Davis Cooper, died under mysterious circumstances and left his estate to her. Now it's up to her to figure out the mystery of his life and the cause of his death. Maggie is drawn into this new life she discovers and is captivated by the people she meets – including Fox. He's unlike any man she's met before and he has a deeper understanding of the power the desert possesses. Maggie uses Cooper's letters as a way to understand his life and soon this search draws her to the ancient spirits residing within the desert.

The Blue-Spangled Blue – David Bowles

Over a hundred years ago, the Aknawajin came to a planet called Jitsu where they were forced to serve as workers. Despite their oppression, they've won their independence and have gotten freedom from the corporate owners of the world. The planet has started to allow humankind to enter which allows for an architect, that also serves as a leader to a religious reform group, named Tenshi becomes acquainted with Brando D'Angelo who left earth to work as a teacher on Jitsu. Tenshi shares about her faith in the Path with Brando and guides him on his own journey which inspires him to say goodbye to his identity and to reform under the guidance of Tenshi so he can obtain a soul. Tenshi's enemies create obstacles for the couple while the growing struggles on Jitsu cover up the plans of a dangerous mind. They'll be guided along a new path which will inspire the creation of a movement that will have effects on history.


Hello Winter!

We loved this book! My son asked for //Hello Winter!// to be read to him quite a few times at night before bed during the duration of us having it. From the fabulous pictures in the book to the actual little story it was adorable. Since we are in winter I figured it was appropriate to leave to my 3 year old son. My 1 year old also enjoyed the book being read to him.


The Formula: Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children

Ronald F. Ferguson and Tatsha Robertson write the following in their ground-breaking book The Formula- Unlocking Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children: “Raising children who will grow up to have the ability and the will to make change in the world isn’t easy. But it’s crucial if we’re going to successfully take on the problems we face as a society—global political conflicts, looming water shortages, farming crises, and other challenges that the achievers in the book are now confronting in their careers.”

Ferguson and Robertson draw from the findings of Harvard University’s “How I Was Parented Project,” isolating seven unique roles played by the parents of 120 high-achieving students throughout their child’s lives. Combining current scientific information about learning, brain growth, and child development with engaging personal stories, The Formula offers strategies and advice for any parent hoping to raise successful adults.

The Formula is both fresh and insightful; you’ll walk away refreshed and encouraged to help your child reach their full potential.
br>I enjoyed the personal success stories, as well as the opportunity to learn from parents who have raised high achievers. It's so interesting the patterns that exist between these families and their parenting styles, despite cultural and socioeconomic differences.

“When a master parent sends a high achiever into the world, the effect of their parenting has a broader reach than they can know," the author writes. I find this incredibly inspiring—Ferguson and Robertson have encouraged me to be more intentional in how I raise my children.


Dump Truck Disco

A01, Contributor • A12, Contributor • E08, Contributor

Dump Truck Disco was a book my two sons (and I) enjoyed very much. The illustrations were eye catching, and kept my kids attention as I read the book. My older son, Michael (age 3), liked pointing out each truck and saying their names (names of the trucks were written on them). A great feature is the book also came with a CD, so we listened to the song quite a bit! The kids laughed and liked my version of the song as I would read the book to them.