Score: 95/100 (9.5 out of 10)
Breaking the Cycle: The 6-Stages of Healing from Childhood Family Trauma is an excellent self-help & psychotherapy book by Kaytee Gillis. Gillis is an experienced and well-respected psychotherapist who specializes in helping people to overcome childhood emotional trauma, family dysfunction, traumatic relationships, and separation abuse (among other things). She even has her own blog on Psychology Today, a highly respected and often-quoted medium among scholars. Gillis brings years of experience together to present the audience with great case studies, workbook activities, education, and inspiration that all come together to achieve one key purpose: to BREAK THE CYCLE of trauma that is keeping us from living our happiest, best, and most fulfilled life. This is all necessary in the process of HEALING. Like many psychotherapists, Gillis seems to focus on two key areas: childhood and relationships. In a sense, it's a classical Freudian approach, however, with a much more gentle and personal touch. While Freud obsessed over some pretty gnarly stuff (like stamping people with one complex/label or another), Gillis is much more concerned with the individual and their unique struggle outside of their sexuality and dreams. In a sense, she presents a very grounded psychoanalytical approach. This book does a great job at addressing those suffering from various kinds of trauma. However, we wanted to mention that we felt like this book would be most useful for parents, particularly new parents. Why? Well, it focuses so heavily on the relationships between parents and their children, particularly in child-rearing. It is a powerful and important reminder why parents should be attentive, compassionate, patient, and loving. That sounds simple, but it's easier said than done. The temptation to be neglectful, severe, or even abusive can be great due to the fact that these methods seem to “work” faster and more efficiently. Yes, you might be able to get the results you want if you beat it into someone, but there are far-reaching consequences to that. Children of parents who are neglectful, severe, or abusive are more likely to develop psychological and personality disorders. They are more likely to be depressed or anxious. They are more likely to turn to drugs (and other addictive behaviors like drinking) as a means of coping. Furthermore, they are more likely to be distant, detached, and opposed to forming/keeping relationships, that includes their relationships with you as a parent. So, while you might think that forcing a child to do things your way through severe discipline is a shortcut to their compliance and success, think again! It might come around to bite you. If you think it's easier just to leave your child and walk away from your parental responsibilities, think again! It might come back to bite you. In fact, it very likely will. One of our favorite aspects of this book are the discussions of a concept called “family dysfunction.” We've all heard of dysfunctional families. Some of us have felt like we live in one (or have lived in one). However, it's actually comforting to note that this isn't weird, strange, or even unusual. In fact, it's fairly normal for a family to experience imperfections, conflicts, and dysfunctions. It's not the end of the world. Some of our favorite quotes from this book are: “All families are different, and no family is perfect or completely void of dysfunction” and “All families are dysfunctional” (although this latter quote is treated as wrongfully dismissive). However, there's truth and some comfort in knowing this. Now, that's not to say that families have to continue to be so dysfunctional and conflict-prone. In fact, the author encourages families to work through their problems/issues rather than ignoring, dismissing, or bottling them up. Families, like all groups, all teams, and people in all relationships, should be working to do better and better each day. Acknowledging, addressing, and working on problems/issues is part of the healing process, and it's good for everyone's overall outlook on life. The same is true for feelings and emotions. Don't ignore them. Don't bottle them up. Don't think that they'll just go away. Develop positive, healthy ways of expressing and working through these feelings and emotions. Having read a lot of autobiographies and memoirs about trauma and abuse, we've developed a unique appreciation of dealing with these things. Of course, a few of us have had traumas of our own such as car accidents and violence. So, we could appreciate this book from a personal perspective as well as form the perspectives of other sufferers. Check it out on Amazon!
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Score: 95/100 (9.5 out of 10)
Gratitude Goggles is a positive, uplifting, and beautiful children's book by Andrea Mendoza-Vasconez (PhD)! We loved its bright, colorful, vibrant illustrations and its powerful message. If there's one thing that's sorely missing in modern society, it's gratitude. If there's one thing that could improve society, it's more gratitude. Ungrateful people tend to be angrier, more depressed, less happy, less content, and more likely to act belligerently than grateful people. A grateful person looks at what they already have and treasures those things. An ungrateful person takes people and things for granted. They look at what they don't have and what they want instead. Worsening the problem, what they want is almost never enough. Grateful people let people know they are valued, approaching others with love, compassion, caring, and kindness. Ungrateful people are jealous, spiteful, envious, selfish, and greedy. This is because when you aren't grateful, you crave more and more and more. Ingratitude leads to more negative emotions, choices, and actions. So, this book does a remarkable job at teaching children the importance of gratitude and in seeing the world with thanksgiving. Ultimately, it's a more positive and healthy way to see the world. It's a more positive and healthy way to live your life. Gratitude changes lives. It opens your eyes to the great, terrific, and beautiful things that are right in front of you. When you look at the world with your gratitude goggles, life is a whole lot more enjoyable! We absolutely fell in love with this book's message. Another thing we fell in love with were the illustrations. No, they aren't as jaw-dropping as the illustrations in other children's books we read this season, however, there's a unique charm to them. These illustrations by Rita Nilson have a real, genuine hand-drawn and hand-colored appearance to them. They are vibrant and charming. There is so much to love about this book! Check it out on Amazon! Score: 95+/100 (9.5+ out of 10)
Can We Get a Rhinoceros? by Christian Kueng is one of the funnest and most entertaining children's books of the year! It's also one of the most colorful and vibrant! This book follows a curious, imaginative little boy who continuously nags his mom for a new pet. And it's not just any pet! This kid wants a RHINO! His mother, who is both loving and rational, tries to entertain his idea by having her son think about the consequences and repercussions of owning such a pet. However, when the boy can't have a rhino, he asks for a whale! Of course, the mother is able to remind her son that whales are also very big and wouldn't fit in their little bathtub. The boy then inquires about owning a tiger, a seabird, a pig, or a snake! It's so much fun seeing all of these imaginative scenarios and (mostly) adorable animals! Also, we just couldn't help but fall in love with both the boy and his mom. They're such a loving and cute duo! Even though she knows his big ambitions aren't feasible, the boy's mother plays along. Rather than shooting down his dreams, she uses logic and reason to invite her son to think things through. This is actually great parenting. We should be encouraging our children to use their brains and to problem-solve. Also, not going to lie, the mom is easy on the eyes in a Disney-mom sorta way. So, that helps. The illustrations by Nana Melkadze are top-notch. They are bright, colorful, vibrant, and inviting. Melkadze also pays very close attention to detail. For example, in the scene in which the boy is asking about owning a whale, you can see that the boy actually owns a little toy whale that may have inspired his interest in whales. It's also interesting to note the number of different scenarios that we see the main characters in. In many of these scenes, the mom wears different kinds of clothes and styles her hair in different ways. Even the boy's clothes are different from the beginning of the book to the end. So, the author and illustrator are really good at portraying the passage of time. This is how relentless and persistent the boy has been about his need for a pet! Lastly, the expressions of the two characters (and the animals) are all very distinct and readable. You know exactly what they are thinking based on how they are reacting. There's one scene in which the mom has had enough of being nagged, and she shows it with both her facial expression (closing her eyes) and body language (covering her ears). This is a great children's book! Check it out on Amazon! Score: 92+/100 (9.2+ out of 10)
In February of 2022, the world was shaken as Russia invaded Ukraine. It sparked the largest war in the region in decades, hearkening back to World War II. There were concerns that this war might grow into an international and intercontinental conflict, potentially involving numerous nations with nuclear capabilities. The human costs were the most horrific part of all of this as soldiers and civilians on both sides perished. Thousands of refugees fled deeper into the country, abandoning their homes and businesses. For a while, most of the world seemed united in their disdain for Russia's needless act of aggression, standing with Ukraine. However, little by little, the news cycle and the world's attention moved on. Ukraine and Russia are still at war, people are still dying, and yet... it seems all but forgotten and ignored at this point. Ukraine is a country far away from the United States, one with a different history and a different culture, yet its issues are our issues—they're humanity's issues. That's true whether we want to accept or acknowledge that or not. Grief Touched the Sky at Night by Gloria Mindock is a powerful, emotionally-charged poetry book that reintroduces the rest of the world to the war that's still wrecking havoc between Ukraine and Russia. Foremost, it brings our attention to the human costs of the conflict. This book is split into three sections: Decomposition, Before War, and Anesthesia. Decomposition, as the name implies, discusses the brunt of the violence, gore, and brutality of the Russo-Ukraine War. The bodies of soldiers and civilians lie scattered—at times, fractured, fragmented, and ripped apart. Towns are razed, pillaged, raped, and plundered as if it were the Middle Ages. Baby strollers are left empty and alone in empty, lonely streets—ghost towns. Ukrainians are captured, kidnapped, and sometimes even sexually exploited. A family is buried in a hastily-dug, makeshift grave. Fighting and flames move from building to building. It is so horrific that the narrator, in The Blindfold, pleads to have their eyes covered so they cannot witness this horror anymore. Perhaps the poem that stood out to us the most in this section was Bells of Kyiv, which seems to center around a bombed-out place of worship. Truly, nothing is sacred. Nowhere is safe. Even a crucifix containing the image of Christ lays discarded and battered on the ground. Powerfully and beautifully, however, it is noted that one of Jesus' hands is missing, having been freed from its nail and cross by the fighting. This, strangely, seems to imply hope: a hope of being free from suffering and war in the future. This is in stark contrast to the ending of Numb which pessimistically, dismally concludes, “Bandages won't help / The worm will find its way.” Before War, as you might expect, is a section with a much more peaceful tone, albeit still one that's tainted by sadness, anxiety, and grim expectations. Despite the absence of fighting, violence, and gore, there's still a haunting and oppressive aura of foreboding—a terror of what's to come, especially considering having read the previous section. The narrator is haunted by the 5:30 time on the clock, a time that signals the darkness before the dawn—a dawn that brings more terror and a different kind of darkness: the brutality of humanity. It is the former darkness that serves as the only time of relative peace that the Ukrainians enjoy—a time of an informal truce as militaries prefer to fight in the daylight. It is during this time that the people, hunkered up in their bunkers and makeshift shelters cling to their beliefs and faith. What are they living for? What are they fighting for? Nature, like an albatross—like a harbinger of death—is privy to what's to come. The birds fly away. Then comes the clouds to obscure them. Yet, even as they flee, they leave behind their music and songs. Speaking of music and songs, the tragic destruction of culture and the creative arts are highlighted in the poem The Chapel in which even these things are targeted by the enemy. Again, nothing is sacred. Nowhere is safe. The third section of this book, Anesthesia, returns us to the ruins that were once towns. Bodies have turned gray. There are so many fires from all of the explosions that ashes fall like rain. The overall theme of this sections seems to be that the war has raged for so long and taken such a toll that it has become a way of life in Ukraine—as abysmal, sad, and tragic as that seems. It has become normalized. People are desensitized to the gruesomeness, the death, and the destruction. Humans trapped in this conflict have begun to accept that “We are dirt in more ways than one”--expendable, trashy, disgusting, sick, sadistic, brutal, inhumane, and violent. It's “too late.” Or is it? This book accomplishes what it set out to do: to raise awareness of the continuing plight and suffering of the Ukrainian people in their ongoing war with Russia. Check it out on Amazon! Score: 94/100 (9.4 out of 10)
HAIL TO THE GREAT STATE! The world, limited to a population of 4 billion, is fractured into eight warring shards, the most powerful of which is the Great State (implied to be the remainder of the United States), a totalitarian, hierarchical society that has completely abandoned any and all personal freedoms and civil liberties in exchange for cold, hard efficiency. This cold, hard efficiency primarily comes in the form of technological advantages like pre-programmed cybernetic humanoids (“AE humans”) and the AI which rules them all. The author truly wasted no time introducing us to their horrifying, terrifying apocalyptic world. For once in our contest's history, we really appreciated that. In most other literary situations, you want to show the audience what's going on rather than tell them. You want to build to it. You want to develop it. You want to drop hints and leave some crumbs. This is usually how literature is approached. However, we're so used to this that it's actually tiring at this point. We're jaded of authors leaving us confused and bewildered, having to chase after basic information like who is who and what is what on page one. Contrary to that, this author just straight up told us everything that was going down within the first twenty pages of the book. There was no mystery, there was no build, there was no tension, there was no development—just a cold, hard, efficient introduction to the world we're now trapped in. And, for once, it made complete and total sense. This is how information is presented to the AE humans who are born into this strange, foreign world. So, in a sense, it immerses us. It makes us (the reader) feel the shock, surprise, horror, and cognitive dissonance that these AE humans feel. This book follows XY777-316, often shortened to 316, a human-cyborg hybrid who is constructed to be one in a male warrior class. Yes, even your job is predetermined. So, there goes free-will. Like others in the male warrior class, he is assigned a gender, a height, and even a hair and skin color that fits the uniformity assigned by the Great State. Now, one thing that we found both fascinating and funny about this book is how the competing socio-political ideologies of the 2020s play out in the story. It actually kinda beats you over the head with it. However, what we found most interesting is that it's hard to tell what the author's political leaning is. On one hand, you get every right-wing conspiracy theory presented in this book. On the other hand, you get every left-wing conspiracy theory presented in this book. It is surprisingly humorous and amusing, almost as if the text is mocking all of this tribalism. We also appreciated that this book was short. It wasn't an epic, complex, long-evolving story with twenty characters and forty side-plots. Instead, it said what needed to be said and did what needed to be done. Do you know what else was short, sweet, and simple? 1984, the greatest dystopian novel ever written, which is almost certainly the inspiration for this book. Check it out on Amazon! Score: 95/100 (9.5 out of 10)
Circus Dogs Roscoe and Rolly is yet another emotionally-charged and powerful children's book by Tuula Pere, our 2023 Author of the Year and multi-time overall winner! This book packed a punch that we weren't expecting and in a way we weren't expecting it. How is it that Pere keeps pleasantly surprising us? Despite most of her books being packed with emotional depth and complexity, each one seems to tackle emotional depth and complexity in a fresh and different way! It's incredible to consider the range that Pere has as an author and, really, a thinker. Circus Dogs Roscoe and Rolly focuses on Roscoe, a furry, fluffy, fan-favorite circus dog. Roscoe specializes in an act in which he solves math problems by barking. However, old age is catching up to poor Roscoe. After years of being at the top of his game and performing as a superstar, Roscoe is beginning to decline. His eyesight and mind are not what they used to be, and he stops being able to identify cards and count numbers like he used to. Rolly, his young protege and co-star, is forced to take up more of a starring role, yet she is anxious and unprepared for the spotlight. Roscoe steps up as a mentor and a coach, encouraging and teaching her. In the midst of all of this, a child goes missing during one of the circus's performances, creating a crisis for everyone there. No one is able to find the child. However, Roscoe comes in handy because, despite his sense of sight and his mind having declined, his strong sense of smell remains keen. Can old Roscoe become the unlikeliest of heroes and avert this catastrophe? This book does so many things well. First of all, despite the illustrations being different from what usually appeals to us, it's still wonderful. Next, the story is very relatable and easy to follow. Anyone who has lost the ability to do something they loved or has experienced the effects of aging can relate to Roscoe's struggles. This story also has a lot of layers to it. First, there's Roscoe's struggle—the focal point of the story. However, his struggle overlaps with that of Rolly, who is really just trying her best to fill the big shoes that Roscoe is leaving. If there's any one bit of criticism we have, it's that the text/font size is pretty small, making it a bit hard to see or read at times, which is ironic given Roscoe's worsening eyesight in the book. Other than that, we really enjoyed and appreciated this book. Check it out on Amazon! 94/100 (9.4 out of 10)
WOW! For some reason, we were expecting a cute little story about a cute little mermaid girl who swims around the ocean with her cute little seahorse friend, solving cute little mysteries. Instead, we got something much deeper and much more adult! This book is intense, action-packed, and even violent! This novel develops from a murder mystery into a multi-layed romance. From there, it then evolves into an intense action-adventure/fantasy tale involving mythical creatures who are after each other's throats. This all goes down with a very hot, very attractive, and very desirable human female caught in the middle of it! Speaking of whom, this book follows Vivienne Griffin, a very hot, very attractive, very desirable young woman who comes to Savannah, Georgia to marry Jesse Leighton, the heir to the Leighton estate. But little do Vivienne and Jesse know that their town is about to become the focus of several brutal, violent, and mysterious murders. And little do Vivienne and Jesse know know that they're about to get entangled in a love-triangle that becomes a love-square, that becomes a love-rectangle, that becomes a love-hexagon; that morphs into a love-cube, that morphs into a love-pyramid, that morphs into a love-sphinx. Only, unlike most love-triangles, everyone seems really cool with the others. Ok, almost everyone. But going back to the plot, since that's clearly what everyone bought the book for (right?)... For some reason, Savannah, Georgia is the center of the universe, a gateway between humankind and an aquatic, eternally-damned, demonic race known as the kelpie. Ok, they might be damned, but they're not entirely demonic. The kelpie are more like horse-people, or werewolves who—instead of becoming wolf-people—become horse-people. And, instead of being like horses (galloping and frolicking over land), they're more like giant fish or sea-dragons. As you might have guessed, the kelpie are the monsters behind the brutal, violent deaths of people throughout Savannah. The kelpie are powerful, frightening, and blood-thirsty, but they're not all bad, and they're not all evil. In fact, one kelpie named Eelus is actually friendly and kind. Eelus, while distrusting humans like other kelpies do, has a soft spot for them. In particular, he gains a liking and admiration for Vivienne because she's hot, attractive, and desirable. Ok, well, that's not the only reason. Vivienne has something huge in her chest: A heart. Vivienne does, in fact, have a huge heart (in addition to her huge tracts of land). Vivienne is sweet, caring, and compassionate. She doesn't want anyone to suffer, even horse monsters who eat people for sustenance. Vivienne understands that there's always two sides to every story. Not all humans are good, and not all kelpie are bad. In fact, a lot of how the kelpies feel is somewhat justified. They were captured and abused in ancient times, sometimes even beaten to death for sport. In exchange for a semblance of freedom and autonomy, the kelpie were cursed by an alpha-kelpie known as Droch, arguably the main villain of the series. Droch's actions made humans and kelpies permanent enemies, like oil and water. The only person powerful enough to stop Droch is another alpha named Lochin, who is kinda like an arch-angel in this book. Lochin, too, gains a liking to Vivienne because of the giant thing in her chest. He gives her a magical coat and leaves her with marks on her chest that connect them like a plug to a wall socket... or like free McDonald's Wi-Fi to your laptop. The primary and most active villain in this book, Bleeder, is after Droch, and he constantly threatens and menaces Vivienne to force her to give Lochin up to him. In fact, Bleeder threatens to kill humans every day until Vivienne gives up Lochin. Bleeder is an absolute creep, and he's quite an effective villain. For some crazy reason, Vivienne feels sympathy for him, even after he kills and tries to kill numerous people, including her loved ones. This really got us rolling our eyes. The central relationship in this book is actually between Vivienne and Eelus. The scene in which they bond and “swim” together (although it seems more like flying) is arguably the best scene in the book. At this point, Vivienne is able to control Eelus, but refuses to do so. Eelus could probably kill and eat Vivienne, but refuses to do so. There's a powerful mutual respect between them. Oh, yeah, there's also a teenage boy in this book named Michael who's in this book for some reason, but no one really cares about him. And no one really cares about Jesse either. He's like the rich jerk from Titanic, you kinda just want him to go away. What we did care about was the relationship between Vivienne, Eelus, and Lochin, as well as the bloody, thrilling conflict between the humans and kelpie. One last thing is that this book is surprisingly well-written, above and beyond what we normally read in these genres. Check it out on Amazon! |
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