Score: 94/100 (9.4 out of 10)
Swerve: The Story of an Orphan Boy is a riveting, heartbreaking, yet inspiring memoir by G.L. Franklyn. This book follows an orphaned boy who grew up both Catholic and gay in the middle of the 20th century, suffering from all the taboos and stigmas that come with that. This poor boy suffered tremendous physical, emotional, mental, and—perhaps worst of all—sexual abuse from a young age. He was also exploited for free farm labor, ironically similar to another book we read about the foster care system around this time. He says: “I would go on to live, shoulder to shoulder among damaged and unwanted kids.” Perhaps the most tragic thing about all of this is that these types of abuses were so frequent in the foster care system that Franklyn became desensitized to it and expected it. He began to accept that this is just the way that things are. No child should have to live with such meager and dismal expectations. This is not the way that things should be. Every child should feel safe and have somewhere they can call home. We're not exaggerating when we say this: this kid went through more in the first eight years of his life than most people go through in their entire lives! It is absolutely horrendous, tragic, and sad what happened to this kid. And yet... despite all of that, here he is: alive and able to tell the story! We feel blessed and honored to be able to read this, despite the fact that it can be uncomfortable or even agitating to read. The very fact that we felt this is way is a testament to Franklyn's storytelling abilities. Yes, the formatting of this book is unfinished and rough, but the way that the author tells the story is captivating. It takes skills to evoke those types of emotions from your reader. Also, the story of this book is a reminder of how fortunate we are to be alive. Hurt and pain are a part of being alive. Suffering is a part of life. It's a part of the experience. It's a part of our hero's journey. We all have our own unique challenges, some more than others. It's how we face and overcome them that counts. The boy was born into a highly-religious (Catholic) family, but developed an effeminate (we liked to say “flamboyant”) personality that went against their beliefs and expectations. To make him a real boy, he was sent to a military prep school. Along the way, his mother fell in love with another man and essentially left the family to live with him. His father, already frustrated with the boy's effeminate nature and budding homosexuality, also rejects him. In court, the boy is forced to hear why both of his parents don't want him, each with their own motivations and on separate sides. The court sends the boy to, of all places, juvenile detention—essentially a prison—simply because there's nowhere else to keep him. There, the boy was treated like all of the other young prisoners, some of whom were charged with actual, serious crimes. In fact, he finds, the more serious the crimes committed, the higher up on the pecking order that the juveniles are. This is one of the many things that seems to fly in the face of the boy's Catholic upbringing, one that is rigid with its rules, code of ethics, and penalties for disobedience. Ironically, despite religion being one of the banes of his existence, it also helped to arm the boy with a strong sense of morality and honor that he holds throughout the book. Likewise, the abuse he experiences seems to teach him empathy and compassion. We read him say things like: “It bothered me because I couldn’t understand why someone would come along and destroy someone else’s joy like that, just because they could. But then, that’s not how I responded to trauma. I wouldn’t do that to anyone because I was well versed on what it feels like to be on the receiving end of such senseless cruelty.” Also: “Being fair was a core value for me and I think the others could sense it.” Juvenile detention proved to be just one of the many prisons that the boy was forced to live in. Along the way, he was forced to live under the roofs of many foster families, each with their own levels of depravity and ways of abusing him. Perhaps the one that disturbed us the most was Bob, one of his older foster brothers, who frequently forced the boy into sexual acts. Bob is evil, but there's a lot of evil to go around. There's also a foster-mother who prohibits the boy from showering because of some kind of OCD or psychosis she suffers from. He is also blamed and beaten for various things by numerous foster parents. However, probably the experience we found ourselves the most engaged with was the boy's life on a farm, living with a family known as the Macklems. There, he is exploited for free farm labor. This is eerily similar, if not identical to the experiences of Roger Saillant in The Power of Being Seen. As a boy, Roger was also forced to live and work on a farm by the foster care system. However, it almost seems like this experience was the most positive of all of Franklyn's young life as an orphan, and that's saying a lot! He actually seems to see the farm as a rather exciting place, saying: “There were 40 acres, including 2 barns and plenty of old forgotten farming equipment to explore; and, of course, a stable full of Ponies to ride.” He really feels a sense of belonging and at home on the farm, despite its dirtiness and hard work. One of the most beautiful parts of the entire book is when the author describes how the mere smell of the farm made him feel: “Another thing I loved about living on a farm was the smells. The smell of Hay and the smell of Straw are different. The smell of fresh, moist soil. The smell of the mash we fed the Cows was a combination of oats, wheat and corn ground up together. The smell of warm milk as we milked the cows. Even the smell of different animal’s manure. Pony manure doesn’t have much of a smell, but cow manure, as I’m sure you know, has a distinctive and pungent odor that wasn’t altogether unpleasant to me. There is something about all these smells that felt earthy and comforting to me.” The farm gives him a sense of awe and wonder, things that a child should naturally experience—and things that he was deprived of for so long. Now, again, this book is filled to the brim with triggering content including sexual abuse and exploitation. Some of the sexual stuff is quite frequent and graphic. There are some amusing and even funny spots that lighten the mood. For example, the author describes that when he and another person would pee “we used to have sword fights with our streams.” This is a reminder that, despite all that the boy goes through, he is still a boy. And boys will be boys. Check it out on Amazon!
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Score: 84/100 (8.4 out of 10)
May I Come to Your Party? is touching children's book about the subject of autism by Grace A. Wolf, illustrated by her older brother, Samuel J. Gross, who has lived with autism for most of his life. The book follows Jimmy, a little boy who loves dinosaurs, drawing, trains, and video games (like many kids). However, unlike most kids, Jimmy is autistic. This affects how he communicates and interacts with others. It also makes him sensitive to lights and loud sounds, which seems strange or even weird to others. Jimmy is a compelling character, in part, because of how introverted he is. He is a daydreamer and has a very big imagination, which he mostly keeps to himself, expressing them in the form of illustrations. You can't help but feel like Jimmy is directly inspired by Samuel Gross (the illustrator) himself. One of Jimmy's classmates, Clara, is having a birthday party. She invites everyone in the class except for Jimmy, believing him to be weird or even scary. This is largely because she doesn't understand autism. This greatly hurts Jimmy, as it would hurt a lot of us. In fact, this story is incredibly familiar and relatable. We all know what it feels like to be rejected or left out. We all know what it feels like to feel different or like we don't fit in. We all know what it feels like to feel like we don't belong. At the same time, it's easy to be angry with or even hate Clara for what seems like a cruel act, but this book doesn't encourage these harsh responses. Clara, like a lot of us, is just afraid of what she doesn't know—what she doesn't understand: the fear of the unknown. This is a natural instinct that most human beings have. This is why we usually surround ourselves with like-minded or similar people. However, a remarkable supporting character named Alice is able to intervene. She is able to talk to and educate Clara about what autism is and how it works. She is able to tell Clara that Jimmy is a human being like everyone else, someone with hopes, dreams, and imagination. It's with this understanding that Clara is able to right her wrong. Jimmy attends her party and the two presumably become good friends afterward. It's a really beautiful and powerful story. While the illustrations aren't the strong-point of this book, we completely understand that they come from a place of passion and love. Samuel L. Gross may not be Rembrandt (yet), but he is clearly trying and getting better. You can say that the humans in the illustrations look a little bit like stick figures or that their heads, in particular, look a little warped. However, the characters and the actions on the page are still distinct, clear, and easy to understand. We would rather have hand-drawn, hand-colored illustrations like this in the book than most AI-generated art. We encourage Samuel Gross to continue to practice and get better at his craft. Everything can get better with time and practice. All in all, this is a powerful story about a very important subject. Check it out on Amazon! Score: 92+/100 (9.2+ out of 10)
Arizona Way Out West and Wacky: The Play is a fun, educational script for a children's play that seeks to inform the audience about the great state of Arizona! The play is based on the book titled Arizona Way Out and Wacky by Conrad J. Storad and Linda Exley. There are two versions of play: One for grades 2 and 3 One for grades 4 and up Both plays generally concern the ringtails/ringtail cats (the State Mammal of Arizona since 1986), how these ringtails helped the miners of the area to ward off rodents, the bizarre way that the capital (Phoenix) was chosen over Prescott, and some other trivia about the state's history. However, the play for grades 2 and 3 is shorter and less focused on any one specific character (or characters), thus, it isn't necessary for there to be a standout performer in the group (which, believe it or not, tends to be the case with a class of kids). This version of the play usually involves large groups of the kids/performers performing together, particularly the ringtails. This allows for mistakes, errors, and/or forgotten lines to go unnoticed since they can blend into the background and into the group, similar to a choir. It's also less stressful for the kids that way. This version still features the Saguaro Cactus, Cactus Wren, and Tarantula in a featured role, but they're very brief and don't require much memorization. To be honest, we would prefer if designations and directions like “Stage Right” (SR) and “Stage Left” (SL) not be used in this specific case because they tend to be confusing for young people. “Right side” or “Left side” might have been simpler and less confusing for kids, although improper in theatrical terms. It's also a little bit of an eyesore to be reading a script and see “S.R. Ringtails” and “S.L. Ringtails.” We also aren't sure if 2nd and 3rd graders are going to get who a “Prospector” is. However, we're assuming that around the time the students are performing this play, they'll be learning about the prospectors who came to the west in search of gold and silver. “Saguaro Cactus” could just be shortened to “Cactus.” Likewise, “Cactus Wren” could just be shortened to “Wren” or even “Bird.” We know that takes away a little bit from the huge, impressive well of knowledge and information the writer is trying to present, but we're thinking for the sake of young performers. We wouldn't be surprised if the director or parents just crossed out or replaced these things with simpler terms to make them less confusing. Heck, they might even cross out “Tarantula” and just write “Spider.” Thankfully, the writer seemed mindful that the people performing the play would adjust and adapt it as they deemed fit. Performing on stage is stressful enough without the added confusion or unfamiliarity. However, yes, if the teacher or director staging the play takes extra, special care in educating and guiding the kids, it could still work and be a positive, educational experience. There's also a version of the play for grades 4 and up, and it's this version of the play that we weighted the most, elevating this book from about an 8.9 or 9.0 to a 9.2+! The version of the play for grades 4 and up is much more focused on characters and actually has a specific plot. This plot follows a character named Jo (a unisex name chosen because the performer could be either male or female based on which of your kids is best for the role) as she/he is preparing a report on the state of Arizona for school, presumably at the last minute after procrastinating. That sounds familiar! Many can relate. Jo is actually from Nebraska and doesn't seem very interested in Arizona, a very different place all the way across the country that seems to have no relevance to Jo's life. A little frazzled and stressed by the situation, Jo is falling into self-defeating behavior before a miracle comes to their window in the form of two talking Ringtails! These two Ringtails are named Johnny and Jayne. Now, we would've preferred if Johnny and Jayne were given different names, and here's why: you don't want three characters to have names that start with the same letter or sound and have similar lengths. It becomes confusing and easier to mix them up. During rehearsals, you may find Johnny and Jayne reading each other's lines by mistake. Whoever adapts this play could probably change their names to something like Bradley and Ronda or Kevin and Sara. You don't really want Jo, Johnny, Jayne occurring on the same page in close proximity to one another (if you can help it). Anyway, while the previous version of the play was less character focused and more focused on presenting history/trivia/information, this version of the play is much more character focused while still presenting the same history/trivia/information (if not more). This play shines in two key areas: the information itself and the humor. This play is both educational and entertaining! In terms of being educational, we learned a lot! Even though some of us have lived in Arizona or have gone on trips there specifically to learn about conservation, we still learned things from this play! Here's some trivia we picked up on: - Ringtail Cats aren't actually cats (ok, we kinda knew this), they're more closely related to raccoons, which explains their raccoon-like appearance. They were nicknamed “Ringtail Cats”after being adopted as pets by miners after they proved capable of chasing away rodents and protecting the miners' foods. This is actually portrayed in both the 2nd/3rd grade version and the 4th grade and up version of the play. However, this also brings up a minor complaint about the 2nd/3rd grade version as we're shown a Ringtail chasing away a rodent, yet we aren't given much of an explanation for what was happening in that scene. We think the audience will just laugh and get distracted by the big “BOO!” in that scene without understanding why it happened. At least in the 4th grade and up version, the animals explain to Jo why it was so important for the Ringtails to scare the rodents away. - We learned the strange way in which Phoenix was voted the capital of Arizona over Prescott, the original capital. It turns out that one of the people who was voting had a glass eye that accidentally got drunken down by her partner. Self-conscious to leave the home without her glass eye, she refused to vote, thus leading to Phoenix winning. - We learned that Arizona's state flag was actually made by a Colonel Charles Wilfred Harrison after he saw that his Arizona regiment was the only one without an emblem during a rifle competition in Ohio. The “Liberty Blue” at the bottom of the flag reflects the national flag. The sun rays at the bottom represent the year-round sunshine the state gets. Lastly, the star in the middle is copper-colored since Arizona was the leading copper producer in the United States. - We learned that Arizona got involved in the Spanish-American War as a way to prove itself and its allegiance, eventually seeking to gain its statehood. - We learned that the Cactus Wren is the state bird - We learned that Arizona is the sixth most populated state in the USA - We learned that Arizona is divided into three regions: plateau, mountains, and desert. - The cactai can grow 50 feet tall and be 200 years old! We definitely noticed these behemoths when we were there. - We heard more about the indigenous people and their petroglyphs. This was actually one of our main reasons for visiting Arizona in previous years. It's fascinating to think that a lot of these petroglyphs are still without interpretations or translations! - We learned that animals like tarantulas live in the cactuses - We learned that the Grand Canyon is 6,000 feet deep. The writer actually does a very good job at giving younger audiences a perspective on how deep that is. They point to the average height of a teacher and say that it would take 1,125 teachers stacked together to be just as tall as the canyon is deep! Kids often need concrete, tangible examples like this to help them understand information that's so big and grand. Beside from being educational, it's also entertaining, especially when it comes to humor! It's very funny at times, albeit more so for adults (especially Boomers) who'll get the somewhat-aged inside jokes and references. For example, the roadrunner is asked if he'll say “Meep-Meep” but replies, “Legally? No.” Lynda Carter (the original Wonder Woman) is referenced as one of the famous Arizonans, and the younger viewers expect Gal Gadot. Fleetwood Mac is also referenced as one of the famous Arizonans. The narration even says that Fleetwood Mac is a little before the time of the young audience but to ask their parents about them. As a point of interest, Emma Stone and Jo Jonas are also referenced as famous Arizonans. Not every joke or gimmick lands. For example, there's a strangely-ubiquitouos scene in both versions of the play in which a Phantom of the Opera tries to play the organ but pricks their finger on a cactus. While amusing and attention-getting, we're still at a loss for why this scene or this character are in this play. It just seems random. Well, at least it gives another performer a role to play. A lot of the humor does land, especially when it breaks the fourth wall and becomes meta. For example, there's a scene in which a tortoise is moving across the stage and the narration hurries it along because the play needs to transition to the next scene. There's another scene in which the animals basically point out the absurdity of Jo learning from two talking Ringtails instead of just going on the internet and doing research there. They tell him he would have no other way of learning otherwise: “If you ever want to chat about Arizona again, all you have to do is get assigned a school report about Arizona and have your power go out suddenly, and have no way of learning about the state otherwise.” That might've been our favorite part of the book. It's the self-aware humor that did it for us. This plot as a whole really reminded us of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. In fact, the setup is pretty much identical. We know we praised the educational and entertainment value of this play, especially the self-aware humor, but we also wanted to praise one other aspect: the costume design. This book provides a load of helpful information and instructions on how to put together the play from a costume design perspective, everything from putting googly eyes on the head of the Tarantula to constructing binoculars out of two empty toilet paper rolls. It really seems like the writer has thought of everything! They even note that the Tarantula is the hardest costume to take on and off, so the actor should play the fewest other roles (if any). They also talk about times when the teacher/director can participate in guiding the performers on or off the stage, or when they should come on and off the stage. Maybe your students could enjoy performing and learning from this play! Check it out on Amazon! Score: 91+/100 (9.1+ out of 10)
Blue-Eyed Devil by MJ McDuffie is an ambitious multi-genre, multi-layered novel by MJ McDuffie! The book is self-categorized as a “paranormal political thriller” as it involves a psychic/mystic/spiritual medium pursuing the answers behind the global conspiracy that claimed the life of a loved one. What a premise! The book follows Belle Brooks, a budding spiritual medium of Irish descent who lost both her billionaire husband, Sam, and her magical grandmother, Granny Mavis Brooks. Yes, wrap your head around that because it's a mouthful and a mindful! And that's not even the half of it! Apparently, Sam was implicated with some very sketchy stuff including international crime and election interference. Specifically, he was connected with interference in the Irish election and a scheme to interfere in the US elections. He was also connected to black market arms dealers and the cartels—some of the dirtiest dealing on the planet. He is often portrayed as an almost comically-evil person in contrast to the facade he showed Belle, cackling sinisterly like some mustache-twirling vaudevillian tying the damsel to a train track or something. It is discovered that he had loads of fascist propaganda that he supposedly used as motivation to rule the world someday. Belle must wrestle with the revelation that her husband may have never truly loved her and may have actually been an international criminal and power-hungry villain. However, similar to something like Past Imperfect by Joshua Cohen (another private detective-like story), there may be a clear villain, but the problem is must bigger and deeper than just him: a world-wide conspiracy involving a secret society known as the Seven Kings. Of the Seven Kings, one figure seems to stand out in this book: Reid MacAlister, who was a sort of surrogate dad or mentor to Sam—a kingmaker who seems to have loved Sam more than just a pawn in a grand global scheme. Oh, and did we mention that Granny Brooks was magical? Yes, and not only that but she seems to have passed down her gifts to Belle, who is able to act as a sort of psychic or spiritual medium to help get to the bottom of the conspiracy and solve the mystery behind the deaths of her husband and grandmother. The deuteragonist and love interest of this book is Remy Montgomery, an FBI agent who, like Belle, is coping with the pains of loss and a hunger for answers. Remy's wife, Amanda, tragically passed away before the main events of the book. He catches the eye and the suspicion of Belle, who realizes that there's much more to Remy than meets the eye. Through Remy, Belle wrestles with the idea of ever loving and trusting someone again, especially after learning about her husband's criminal activities. Through Belle, Remy hopes to answer some of the same questions and to fill some of the same holes in his heart. So, as you may have inferred, the different genres and tones of this book seem to clash. It's a lot! It's kinda like putting steak in a blender with mixed berries and chocolate. It's kinda like putting tuna and mayonnaise in your peanut butter & jelly sandwich. There's bound to be some wonkiness and wackiness there. The author clearly has a big imagination and a lot of different interests, so it's understandable they'd want to use their book as a canvas to express that. It's not like psychics can't be a part of these types of detective mysteries/thrillers. Though Shawn Spencer in Psych is technically not a psychic in the spiritual sense, he is still treated as having a nigh-supernatural ability to solve crimes. It's actually very interesting and a lot of fun. However, in this book, the spiritual stuff really seems to clash with the grittiness and hard realism of the rest of the book. There's like a cognitive dissonance there. It would be like if you put Gandolf in the middle of something like Forrest Gump or Rocky. Anyway, it always seems like the author is trying to tie one more knot into this Gordian Knot of a plot. The best example of this is the plot/subplot about Granny's secret panacea. Supposedly, Granny discovered and harvested a “spring sage” from native Ireland which could serve as a remedy to Alzheimer's disease and act as a reverse-aging medicine. You could kinda compare it to Granny discovering the fountain of youth. Now, on one hand you could say that this explains why the big-bad-evil-organization would be interested in Belle's family. You could argue that it ties the rest of the plot together. However, you could also argue that it seems tacked-on at the last minute. It is very possible that it was. Why? Well, the author explained something like they got a surge of inspiration from real-world events that allowed them to finish this book around 2020. Well, what happened in 2020? A pandemic and controversy surrounding an election. In this book, you get a controversial reverse-aging panacea and controversy surrounding an election. While the characters talk about it, it really seems like it's in the background. It sometimes feels like these things were squeezed in at the last minute or in a later draft, but the main focus was always supposed to be Belle's relationships with Sam, Remy, and Mavis. The paranormal/spiritual stuff also seems caked onto another, more grounded plot about politicians being corrupt and power-hungry (which shouldn't be a surprise). However, it's a valiant and ambitious effort that seems to be leading into a sequel. Also, when we stepped back and reimagined this as being the origin story of someone like Jean Grey or Psycho Mantis before they were recruited to fight baddies, that really raised the enjoyment factor of this book. Check it out on Amazon! Score: 93+/100 (9.3+ out of 10)
In 2013, Edward Snowden shocked the United States (and the world) with the news that the NSA had been illegally and unconstitutionally spying on people. In being a whistleblower, he became a hero to some and a villain to others—a wanted man, a hunted man, a criminal on the run. He fled to Russia, America's old rival, where he was used for his knowledge of US intelligence and his advanced IT skills. The Tanto Thriller series by W.A. Pepper seems to draw heavy inspiration from this pivotal moment in history and its repercussions pertaining to such things as digital communication, privacy, security, technology, and the freedom of information. Running on Broken Bones by W.A. Pepper is the second installment in the series, continuing to follow the eccentric yet determined hacker and escaped convict, Tanto, as he finds himself on the run from authorities and in the middle of a grand conspiracy. Of course, this grand conspiracy involves the three things that make the world go 'round: power, money, and control. The Federal Government works hand-in-hand with powerful and unscrupulous organizations like the Mercator Agency and Poseidon United to secure the key to power, money, and control: information. The Feds force hackers like Tanto to work for them under the guise of national security in stopping supposed bad actors, many of whom aren't much different than heroes like Tanto, DoGoodR, Lance-A-Little, and Quidlee. Many of these people aren't evil or even bad. Some are well-meaning, virtuous, or—as in the case of DooGoodR—trying to find their “place in the sun.” In this second book in the series, Tanto finds himself on the run from authorities after escaping Hackers' Haven, which ironically proved to be a hellish place for hackers like Tanto as they were controlled, surveilled, brutalized, and tortured by the likes of the warden, Cyfib, and fearsome top-dog in the prison (and Tanto's arch-nemesis), Barca. Tanto escaped, but far from unscathed. He is quite literally on his last leg and his good friend (Quidlee) has been tragically killed. To make matter worse, he has seemingly lost the ability to speak and is experiencing seizures that may be a part of Hackers' Haven's fail-safe program for escaped prisoners. So, the deck seems to be stacked against our hero. His objective after giving the Goggleman the slip is to find allies who can possibly give him safe-haven. To that end, and for sentimental reasons, he seeks out Penny, the beloved sister of Quidlee, his late friend. He believes that Penny herself may be in danger and may be pursued by the evil agencies as collateral for her brother. Now, Penny is both very hot and very much a badass. In fact, she kicks so much ass in so little time that Tanto begins to realize that maybe she doesn't need help or saving after all. In typical, flowery W.A. Pepper speech, Penny is about as vulnerable as Superman is while sitting on the surface of the sun. Penny has keen street smarts, akin to someone like—ironically—Penny from The Big Bang Theory. However, she's actually a bit more like Penny from Inspector Gadget, who might actually be the inspiration behind her name. Like Penny from Inspector Gadget, she seems to be the intelligent one who is two to five steps ahead of everyone else while the male hero wanders like chicken without a head, supposedly saving the day. And that last bit might be the most frustrating thing about the character of Tanto and this particular book. It seems unfocused, stretched-out, and bloated at times. There are over a hundred chapters in this otherwise normal-sized book, which is usually an indication that there's a whole lot going on, some much more consequential than others. Usually, as an author, you create a new chapter when you're going forward in time (like with a day change), going back in time (as in a flashback), changing perspectives, changing focus, changing to a different scene, or changing to a different location. You need to be mindful about doing this too often as the narrative can start to become choppy and disjointed. Also, for the most part, we are still following the same character (Tanto) from the same perspective, so why stop and go so often? It's like being on a car driving down the road at 45 MPH and the driver keeps pumping the brakes every mile. It kinda felt like this book got stuck in the middle and couldn't move forward. It's like it got stuck in one gear or one of the tires blew out, which is a bizarrely fitting analogy considering Tanto's health. There's a real stop and go, squeaky, choppy feel to the pacing and flow of this book. One minute, Tanto is fleeing from the Goggleman. The next minute, Tanto is trying to connect with Penny and getting blown off because of her hurt feelings. The next minute, he's aligning himself with a secret-agent-criminal-janitor named Judson working for his secret-agent-criminal-wife (Cher) who is physically fragile and falling apart (and probably believes in life after love). The next minute, he's meeting some Russian guy aptly-nicknamed Moscow for some unscrupulous, criminal/pseudo-criminal business dealings. The next minute, we're in a flashback about Tanto learning about the Bushido code and trying to protect his kinda-step-mother's property rights from a bicycle-riding slum lord. This somehow leads to all his chickens dying in a fire. Yes, really. The next minute, he's with Judson trying to make a deal with the Russian with a fake/front taco business to advance their master plan, which we assume has something to do with stopping Poseidon and Mercator (and, thus, the main plot). The next minute, we're in a flashback in which he's with Mrs. Lin, his kinda-step-mother, trying to beat the slum lord, Mr. Jedediah McIntosh, in an auction. The next minute, Tanto is in a battle for his life, health, and ability to speak again as he desperately seeks someone who can perform the life-changing surgery that can get him functional. But, wait, there's more! Tanto has PTSD and is constantly hallucinating and having nightmares about Barca watching and assaulting him. But, wait, there's more! Not all the agents are evil or bad. Some of the agents trying to arrest Tanto have their own backstories or alternate motivations. Some are even likable (and hot). So, Tanto is torn about whether or not to tell them the truth about what happened, help them, or just to bide his time. That's... a bit much for one book, don't you think? Especially in a series in which some of these things could've been spaced out so it didn't come across as so clunky. The other source of our contention with this book is the main character, Tanto himself. You'll either love him or you're going to hate him, there's no in between. At least Tanto is a character rather than a blank-slate or a flat person with no personality. Tanto has a ton of personality. It can be charming and funny or it can be grating and annoying. Tanto's defining characteristic is his devotion to the Bushido code, the code followed by the samurai. Now, this is admittedly unique, albeit a bit strange. It almost comes across more like a delusion than anything else. Tanto almost seems like one of those guys who dresses up like a super hero (mask, cape, mantle, and all), then goes out on the actual streets attempting to fight actual crime like a vigilante. It's like that guy who insists that he's a “knight” or a “ninja.” Now, people like that actually exist, but they're far and in between. There are some examples from reality and from fiction. Phoenix Jones from Seattle, Washington was one such guy who dressed up like a super hero and actually tried to fight crime like he was the kid from Kickass. Seifer Almasy from Final Fantasy VIII constantly talked about his “romantic dream” to be a “sorcerer's knight”--something which ultimately caused him to pursue the dark side by serving the evil sorceresses of the game. All of these people and Tanto have two things in common: they're cool and they're crazy. It doesn't help that Tanto doesn't shut up or stop thinking about Bushido and calling himself a “Bushi” like he's an actual samurai who actually lived pre-1868. Tanto even acknowledges that he has “too many bullshit thoughts running through [his] noggin'.” He also calls Judson his “daimyo” over and over again. This is the equivalent of calling a bossy person, “my liege.” Now, at first we thought he was just being coy, snarky, and sarcastic. Tanto is, indeed, a coy, snarky, and sarcastic person, which is part of the appeal (or annoying things) about his character. However, part of us felt like: this dude is SERIOUS, isn't he? Some parts of the narrative support this such as when Tanto says he can't serve more than one master and that his duty is to his daimyo. The other thing we kept thinking was: is all of Tanto's Bushido talk actually advancing the plot or is it just more filler that's slowing it down? Like, you could argue that his sense of honor is what's driving him to be heroic, but... It doesn't take a sense of honor for a good person to do the right thing. You don't have to be a Christian to do good. You don't have to be a samurai or a knight to be noble and honorable. It's a somewhat interesting aspect of his character, yes, but there are times when it just feels bloated, tacked on, and unnecessary. Sometimes, we just wish Tanto would see a situation, analyze it like a normal, relatable person, and say, I'm going to do the right thing because it's the right thing to do or I'm gong to do the logical thing because it's the logical thing to do rather than repeatedly telling us stories about what guys like Miyamoto Musashi would do. Like, we get that he's a bit of a genius with a mind that kinda works like a computer, but c'mon man! Common sense would tell you that when a bad guy is coming for you with better weapons and resources than you, you run and hide! You don't look back with regrets and say, Ugghh... I fled from an unwinnable situation! I've damaged my honor! I've lost myself! I'm disgraced. I can no longer call myself a Silly Caucasian Samurai. Tanto is a hacker and an ex-con. He really should be focused on his skills as a hacker and his plight as an ex-con. All this other stuff just seems extraneous, almost like window dressing. Now, Tanto does have some appealing things about his character, most of all it's his sass. Like we said, Tanto is very sarcastic. He loves to think about and view things in a teasing, mocking, belittling way. For example, he often nicknames people he doesn't like, doesn't trust, or is afraid of “assholes.” Apparently, this is something he did throughout his life since he also gave Mr. McIntosh this moniker. He comes up with other such nicknames for people such as Goggleman and Moscow. He even calls God the “sky daddy” at one point. Probably his funniest sass line is when he says, “Maybe getting shipped to Guantanamo Bay won’t be that bad. And maybe a cayenne pepper enema is a pleasant experience.” He also loves to use the word apparently, which can also be humorous. One thing that's appealing about Tanto and this book is how inspired they seem. By that we mean that the author clearly drew inspiration from multiple other works of fiction, often paying homage to them. This whole series seems partly inspired by Prison Break, an extraordinary TV show. Tanto fits the role of Michael Scofield. DoGoodR fits the role of Lincoln. Quinlee fits the role of Tweener. Lance-A-Little fits the role of Charles Westmoreland/D.B. Cooper (or the Priest from Count of Monte Cristo). Warden CyFib was a lot like Brad Bellick. Barca was a lot like the crime bosses John Abruzzi or Lachero. Poseidon United and Mercator were kinda like The Company. In fact—this can't be a coincidence—the secret villain of the final season of Prison Break happens to be named Poseidon. There are definitely other inspirations for this book, many of which are directly or indirectly referenced. Some of the more obvious references are to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Forest Gump, Looney Tunes, 007: Casino Royale, Pokemon, Akira Kurosawa films, Dilbert, Breaking Bad, and Darkman. There's even a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to the movie Nightcrawler: “Yeah, and maybe you can win the lottery without buying a ticket.” There is a part of us that thinks about this the way that some people view Tarantino: a bit too many homages, references, and general nerdom rather than just relishing in the creator's own originality. Also, like Tarantino, the author seems to have their characters blabber too much rather than getting to the point. Now, going back to the references/homages... some of these make sense and help the narrative. Others don't. For example, where was the author going with the Dilbert references? Was that really necessary to the plot? On the other hand, the Darkman reference makes perfect sense because Tanto draws some comfort from Liam Neeson's character in that movie. Like Neeson, Tanto's body is all but destroyed by evildoers, and he has to make a comeback to right the wrongs that have been done to him and those he loves. Also, the brief Jesse Pinkman/Breaking Bad reference makes some sense in the plot because, like Jesse and Walter White, Tanto is also technically a criminal, albeit one who believes he is doing the right thing. Other references, like that of Wile E. Coyote/Looney Tunes, help us to understand the physical dilemma that the character is in at the time. One thing that W.A. Pepper always demonstrates is his excellence in writing and crafting detailed passages. Some might call it flowery, others might call it visceral. Undoubtedly, he's one of the better pure writers to come our way. Here are some of our favorite passages: “...besides, a hack isn't about talking! it is about taking." “After all, we were tools, and tools without functionality are discarded.” “It is amazing how much more work someone will do when you give them a green rectangular piece of paper with Andrew Jackson on it.” There are also visceral lines like: “As I try to speak, my throat feels like I just swallowed a handful of nails.” Excellent writing and eloquent prose are a staple of W.A. Pepper books, and this is no exception! This almost made us think that maybe Pepper has the potential to be a highly-paid, elite ghost writer. His writing is always top-notch. A lot of the times, what he really seems to wrestle with is taking all of his big, grand ideas and putting them together in a coherent, well-paced narrative that flows naturally and organically from one scene to the next. This series is clearly inspired by great things. It is full of great ideas, interesting characters, and one of the best writers on the market at the helm. Check it out on Amazon! Score: 94+/100 (9.4+ out of 10)
Thank God It's Monday(?) is a humorous, lighthearted, and enlightening Christian self-help book by Tom Petersen! It also has a distinct lean toward the business genre, making it an interesting look at business from the perspective of a devout Christian. You'd think those two things would be incompatible. The Bible has many verses about the struggles of rich and wealthy people to gain salvation. Many interpret Matthew 6:24 (“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon”) as meaning that you can't serve both God and money. Some people go so far as to say that money is the root of all evil. Is it though? Mammon isn't necessarily money. Mammon could be an evil entity—a demon or a god of another religion. Mammon could simply represent a “master” other than God, and human beings have made all sorts of those: the Golden Calf of Genesis, idols, celebrities, fame, and fortune. Tax collectors and merchants are often viewed with some disdain in The Bible. There is even a verse in which Jesus says that it's harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than it is for a camel to enter the eye of a needle. Yet, the reality is that even the Israelites—God's elect—ran businesses, had a currency, collected taxes, and had an economy. Some of the disciples/apostles ran businesses and at least one was a tax collector. So, money can't be intrinsically evil. In fact, money is necessary in a lot of scenarios. It helps us to provide for ourselves and our loved ones. When a loved one is hurt or injured, it's money that allows us to afford their care. Heck, think about Jesus' story about the Good Samaritan (as discussed in this book). Didn't he offer the inn-keeper money to take care of the robbed and beaten man? Furthermore, God clearly encourages us to work and to commit ourselves to labor. Jesus' own step-dad, Joseph, had a trade. He was a carpenter (some would say a stone mason). Ephesian 4:28 tells us that we should work and made our hands useful to provide for those in need. 1 Timothy 5:8 tells us that we should provide for our households. You could even go all the back to the beginning of Genesis when Creation itself is viewed as work or labor by God himself, so much so that he rests from the work on the seventh day. Adam was also placed in the Garden of Eden to care for (work in it). So, working to obtain something, whether it be money or food, is not intrinsically evil either. In fact, it's necessary in most scenarios. So, this is a book about working, being a businessman, and being a part of the economy while also being a devout Christian and member of the church. Those things don't have to be incompatible or mutually exclusive. You can run on one day and you can lift weights on another. It doesn't make you a bad runner or a bad lifter, it makes you well-rounded and balanced. Remember, Jesus could return tomorrow, but we still have to work and provide for our families as if he may come ten or a hundred years from now. You can still exercise your Christian values and virtues in your every day life, including at work. For example, work can be the proving ground for Jesus' command to love our neighbors and to be good to others, even those who aren't good to us. For example, Peterson talks about the “hard-to-adores” at work. You know the ones. These are the gossipers, the complainers—the people we just can't stand at work. Well, Peterson challenges us (as Jesus would) to be good to them anyway. One of the ways you can do this is by finding common ground. Maybe we both like the same things or have the same interests. One of us was a teacher with a very problematic student who probably hated the teacher. However, the teacher was able to find out that the student loved a particular sport and athlete, so they were able to talk about it with them and find common ground. Now, we have to say: this book is hilarious. In fact, that's probably the best and most enjoyable thing about this book. The author is incredibly clever, coy, snarky, and sarcastic. He has a terrific sense of humor! One of the funniest things about this book is that Tom Peterson doesn't seem to be a very naturally-social or naturally-sociable person. In fact, you can even make the argument that he comes across as antisocial and even self-centered in this book. However, that's kinda the point. Human beings are not perfect. We're not always Christ-like. Yes, that's even true for Christians. In fact, believing you are perfectly Christ-like is a level of ignorance, arrogance, pride, and self-righteousness that actually goes against Christ. You need Jesus. You aren't just instantly-perfect by your own doing. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The author acknowledges that he has “ECE” (“Excessively Covetous Eyesight) which is essentially a level of greed, jealousy, and envy that practically all human beings have. We all want things we can't have (or don't have). However, that's when our faith slaps us on the wrist and reminds us of what God has already blessed us with. Some of our favorite (and often funny) lines from this book are: “If you want to look good, stand next to someone ugly.” “Loyalty programs aren't loyal.” There's also a really humorous part where Peterson describes—perhaps playfully and fictitiously—how he secludes himself at work and during Zoom meetings. It's gold! Check it out on Amazon! Score: 89/100 (8.9 out of 10)
The Arsonist is a somewhat-romantic romance and somewhat-thrilling crime thriller by Ken Coulson about a man's struggles to repair his broken marriage, stop a corporate Ponzi-ish scheme, hypocritically stop a workplace sexual harassment scandal, and survive being gored by bulls in the middle of Latin America! At some point, arson is involved in this as Cal decides to burn down his house, but that's neither here or there. Gosh, this book really should've been called Man versus Corporation, Home Wrecker, or I Think I Love My Wife? or something. This novel follows Calvert (“Cal”) Minor, a somewhat-lecherous, somewhat-womanizing businessman who has recently let his wandering eye destroy his relationship with his long-time wife and friend, Beth. He finds a new calling with a corporation called Atlas Holdings, owned by the unscrupulous CEO Hank Henleman, a man who is even more immoral and unethical than Cal is. Hank is such a terrible person that he even hopes to capitalize on the 9/11 attacks and climate crisis to fill his own pockets. He also happens to be a bit handsy, akin to Cal. Cal is aware that his boss is probably evil and possibly working with mafioso mercenaries, but he also needs a job (and a need to belong). Along the way, he teases an affair with the voluptuous, beautiful, and very hot blonde bombshell who works the front desk, Sarah Quinn. Sarah is definitely a candidate for “Hottest Character!” Cal's sexual fantasies about her are frequent, detailed, vivid, and quite a bit wild. There's one line in which Cal imagines having oral sex and “her feminine musk mixed with the smell of coconut and rose water.” Well... this is erotica now, isn't it? So, here's what we'll say about this book: it is VERY fun and surprisingly interesting, but it's incredibly unfocused. It's like the author couldn't decide on what genre they wanted to write in or what book they wanted to write, so they decided to write in every genre that came to mind and to combine the plots of multiple books into one. So, is this supposed to be a book about a man's torn relationship with his wife and his extramarital affairs? Is this supposed to be a book in which a man realizes that his side-chick is his true love? Is this supposed to be a book about corporate greed and corruption manifested by Hank? Is this supposed to be a book about mafioso mercenaries led by Arik and John? Or is this supposed to be a book about a man exploring a new experience surviving racing with literal bulls? Or is this supposed to be a story about an arsonist committing... I don't know... arson? We actually got a story about an arsonist last year. It was called Prometheus' Gift by John Sangster in which we got a rather complex deep-dive into the life and mindset of the arsonist. While Cal's plight is somewhat relatable, it doesn't seem to justify him wanting to literally burn everything to the ground. And that brings us to another point: Cal is a terrible person. He may not be as terrible as Hank, Arik, or John, but he comes across as incredibly self-destructive, self-sabotaging, and unlikable. How are we supposed to cheer for this guy when everything bad that happens to him is literally his fault? At least that's what we'd normally say about a character like Cal. Yet, somehow, we still found ourselves fascinated by Cal's alien thought-process. It's like watching a Karen go crazy on a store clerk or watching a car crash in slow motion—it's bizarrely fascinating! Check it out on Amazon! Score: 95+/100 (9.5+ out of 10)
Tap Dancing on Everest is the remarkable true-story of Mimi Zieman who, as a third-year medical student in 1988, became the medic for a historic, unprecedented, and unfathomably perilous climb up Mount Everest. The climbing mission—dubbed the Everest 88—featured Stephen Venables, Robert Anderson, Edward Webster (“Ed”), Joseph Blackburn (“Jo”), Paul Anderson as the lead, and Mimi as the only woman and sole medic. The mission was to scale Everest on its least-trekked and most dangerous route, its Kangshung Face, often referred to as the “forgotten” or “East-facing” route. It was a route that was only traversed one other time in recorded history and under more ideal circumstances. However, the team of the Everest 88 attempted to do it with a relatively small team, no Sherpa escort, no supplemental oxygen, and virtually no hope for rescue. On the precipice at all times, Mimi finds herself with “nowhere to hide and no way to quit.” And this is the frightening, compelling, and awe-inspiring situation that readers of this book will find themselves in! Not long into this book, we already know that the stakes are as high as they come. Half of the expeditionary team has gone missing, separated from the other half with no sign of life. Among the missing are Stephen, Robert, and Ed, a few of whom who have formed a powerful and even pseudo-romantic/intimate connection with Mimi. Mimi must cope with the fact that she might never see them again, or that they may be dying alone and helpless on the mountain of dreams (and horrors). This is a journey in which characters—real-life people—have lost numerous fingers and toes to frostbite. Death waits around every corner and with every step. However, with all this build-up and potentially huge scope, this is really the story of Mimi—the medic, the soon-to-be doctor, the dancer, the daughter, the woman, the person. This is a very deeply personal story. It follows the thinking that we only know who we really are when the prospect of death awaits us. The backstory behind Mimi, her family, her twisting-turning life, and her motivations behind climbing Everest are almost as compelling as the climbing of the mountain itself. Mimi and her family are Jewish immigrants, persecuted and marginalized minorities who could only find hope in being as valuable to others as possible (to stay housed and alive). Mimi's father is a Holocaust survivor. She and her family were in survival mode throughout the 70s. Everything had to be safe, small (narrow), and stable. Mimi seems to have become a bit of a people-pleaser and a perfectionist as a result; and as a result of that, she also developed a few psychological issues. Perhaps the one issue that stood out to us the most was her eating disorder. We think a lot of readers might miss it, but it's something that really spoke to us. We're not psychologists, but we've had issues of our own that are similar to this (and have read about it in other books this season). Mimi, in the earlier portions of her life, seems to have had a form of bulimia known as exercise bulimia. This is less-acknowledged form of bulimia in which a person doesn't purge but rather compensates for overeating by excessively exercising. Despite scenes like this being troubling and disturbing, they help us to better understand why Mimi—someone with a seemingly bright future—would attempt to climb Everest on what seems like an insane suicide mission. Mimi was able to use her drive to overachieve and overexercise to become a dancer and, eventually, a hiker and a rock climber. You could even argue that she was able to use her masochism toward the goal of climbing Everest. There are some other humanizing and relatable aspects of this book. For example, Mimi's need to use a tampon and to use the restroom in a bottle during the arduous climb are detailed. You also get to read about her interesting and sometimes hilarious interactions with the locals, particularly in Tibet. For example, her team scares a local family and drives the mother into a frenzy when one of them uses flash photography. There's also a scene in which Mimi needs to go to the edge of the town in order to use the only restroom but can't make it there in the middle of night, having to do her business in the barn, then is startled by the incessant, hysterical chanting of the lady of the house. It's almost like a horror movie scene! All in all, this is a really fascinating read. If anything, it's an example of how new doors and new windows open in our lives, often unexpectedly. Mimi endured a lot of down moments in her life that eventually led to exciting new things. Like Mimi says: "If Dad hadn’t forgotten to fill out the financial aid form for my favorite college, I wouldn’t have gone to McGill. If I hadn’t gone to McGill, I wouldn’t have seen the RMBL poster. If I hadn’t gone to RMBL, I wouldn’t have seen the slide show about Tibet. If Tibet wasn’t closed to foreigners, I wouldn’t have gone hiking in Nepal. If my first trek around Annapurna hadn’t been so cheap, I wouldn’t have gone to Everest Base Camp. If Dan hadn’t invited Irene and me to the Everest party, I wouldn’t have met Robert. If Robert hadn’t been so persistent, we wouldn’t have grown to care for each other. If the dean hadn’t granted me time off, I wouldn’t be here.” There are some other examples of good writing in here. For example: “All I wanted at that moment was the warmth of his arm around me in this cold cocoon.” Check it out on Amazon! Score: 94+/100 (9.4+ out of 10)
All adventures start with a dream. All fantasies start with imagination. Where will you dreams and fantasies take you? And are you willing to pay the price to fulfill them? Secrets of the Sealed Forest by J.T. Tenera is a meta novel that blends aspects of gamelit, sci-fi, and action/adventure storytelling. The novel follows a gamer, streamer, and internet personality (influencer) named Joseph who lives, eat, sleeps, and breathes video games, so much so that he dreams about being in one! Realizing that living in a video game world is probably unfeasible, Joseph does the next best thing: try to be the biggest, baddest, most famous gamer on the internet! Unfortunately, his ego and quest for internet stardom get the best of him as it causes him to jump at the opportunity to demo an unreleased, hotly-anticipated game called Call of Echo 3: True Honor (implied to be a blend of Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and Baldur's Gate III). His goal becomes to play and stream the game before anyone else in the Twitch & YouTube streaming communities can—to be the one to have the big scoop. Alongside his best-friend, Eric, he accepts an invite to come to a tropical island littered with inventions and technology created by the man who sent the invite, Dr. Benjamin Thessit (often just called “Dr. Ben”). By the way, Dr. Ben insists that they not tell anyone, which causes Joseph and Eric—like the geniuses they are—to not tell their parents or families where they're heading. Anyway, as you might have guessed, this “gaming” invitation isn't quite what it seems. In fact, this isn't quite virtual reality. MAGIC is real, and so are the characters! Dr. Ben springs a challenge on Joseph and Eric to find a magical stone that was taken by a colleague, leading into an action-packed adventure! Joseph and Eric find themselves on a “side-quest” to recover the magical artifact, all the while unlocking the literal and metaphorical magic within themselves! Secrets of the Sealed Forest will go down as one of the shining lights and surprises of the season. It is a book that really spoke to us since it dealt with things that we're familiar with: video games, influencers, Twitch streamers, content creation, etc. Something we really loved about the book is how it pays tribute to gaming and gaming history. There are numerous homages that made us smile, including:
It's also quite entertaining and humorous that even Joseph has some beef with another internet personality named Clyde Foristen, a pompous rich boy who probably has all his games and consoles paid for by his parents. It made us think about how YouTubers in real life will develop beefs and become the talk of the internet rumor mills because of it. The writing in this book is also quite eloquent at times. For example, the quote: “...sometimes it's better to follow the flow of fate rather than to fight its current.” One thing this book had against it was its pacing. It was a little bit too long and dragged in its last half. In fact, the setup itself was probably more interesting and better executed than the adventure. Usually, the opposite is true. It was also missing a gorgeous, beautiful, compelling female character. A little feminine touch would've been nice to see in a book like this. But all in all, it was an enjoyable experience. Check it out on Amazon! Score: 90/100 (9.0 out of 10)
Where Are You, Alfie? was one of the the sweetest and most heartwarming children's books to come our way last year! An entire community banded together to find one adorable pup who went missing, pulling all their resources to make the magical reunion happen. Where Are You, Alfie? Coloring & Activity Book now allows young readers to directly engage with this beautiful story of teamwork, camaraderie, and hoping against all hope. The book provides over 20 pages of coloring pages and activities of various kinds, from crossword puzzles to mazes! Now, one concern that we had was that Anthony Richichi's original art may not translate too well to coloring book format. The reason we had that concern (which turned out, in our opinion, to be somewhat accurate) is that Richichi tends to draw figures from a distance with the lines of objects closer together. This was especially noticeable in the original book because the scope of the book was so great, spanning events across the city and crossing state lines. Ultimately, this meant that a lot of the figures, people, and objects were smaller and further away from the perspective of the reader. In other words, this doesn't leave much room for actually coloring, except with maybe a very fine color pencil. You can't really go after this coloring book with a crayon. Usually, with a children's coloring book, you want at least one very large object somewhere in the middle of the book. Interestingly, Richichi's brother, Dr. Joe Richichi, published a coloring book of his own called Colorful Creatures which seemed to better follow this template (though it struggled in other ways). With that said, this book isn't just a coloring book. The activity pages pleasantly surprised us with their cleverness and ingenuity. Some of these activities are unique to the story of the book. For example, there's a line-maze to help Alfie to join other dogs who are across a lawn and behind a fence, calling out to him. There's another clever activity that has you count the people and drones that are out looking for Alfie. Both of these activities really make you feel like you're helping Alfie and the people looking for Alfie. Probably our favorite activity in this book is the town meeting scene in which the reader is invited to find and identify various objects in and around the crowd. Activity books are great tools to help children (and even adults) to exercise their cognitive abilities, testing things like recognition and following directions. Check it out on Amazon! |
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