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VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8 September - November 2013

Space Provides The Answer The Man From Mars: Ray Palmer’s Amazing Pulp Journey

Fred Nadis Tarcher / Penguin $28.95

290 pages

The Man From Mars was actually one of many, but Ray Palmer (1910-1977), magazine publisher extraordinaire was among us, and changed our world also. His story is told by Fred Nadis who has documented his life. Palmer was not the most famous magazine editor, being overshadowed by the likes of Hugo Gernsback and John Campbell, but he achieved a great deal in his career.

Early in life he was hit by a car, the accident breaking his back and making him a cripple and hunchback from an early age. This and his interest in genre literature made him an outsider. His tale is rendered beautifully here. His accomplishments include starting the first fanzine, generating the mystery around UFOs, promoting leftist politics, and running Amazing Tales and many other magazines. One finds here a fascinating documentation of one of the interesting chapters in science fiction, the promotion of the pulps, and in Palmer’s case the alternative science magazine.

Nadis has succeeded in the telling of a not widely known history, and part of the problem with the book is that the reader would have liked to have found out more stories about some of the more famous people. Those stories though have been told elsewhere.The Man From Mars was actually one of many, but Ray Palmer (1910-1977), magazine publisher extraordinaire was among us, and changed our world also. His story is told

by Fred Nadis who has documented his life. Palmer was not the most famous magazine editor, being overshadowed by the likes of Hugo Gernsback and John Campbell, but he achieved a great deal in his career.

Early in life he was hit by a car, the accident breaking his back and making him a cripple and hunchback from an early age. This and his interest in genre literature made him an outsider. His tale is rendered beautifully here. His accomplishments include starting the first fanzine, generating the mystery around UFOs, promoting leftist politics, and running Amazing Tales and many other magazines. One finds here a fascinating documentation of one of the interesting chapters in science fiction, the promotion of the pulps, and in Palmer’s case the alternative science magazine.

Nadis has succeeded in the telling of a not widely known history, and part of the problem with the book is that the reader would have liked to have found out more stories about some of the more famous people. Those stories though have been told elsewhere.

RYDER MILLER

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7 87 REVIEWS!

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HIGHLIGHTS

Writers on Writing page 8 1st Annual Short Story Fiction Contest page 9-12

BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS Leaving Island Life Denise Crawford CreateSpace, $3.99, 123 pages

Leaving Island Life by Denise Crawford explores the author’s choice to leave the island paradise where she was born to experience the wider world. Crawford was born on the island of Anguilla, in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean. Through the course of the narrative, she delves into the mindset of the culture she grew up in and explores her wanderlust and desire to live in America.

She eventually leaves the island to live in America.

The remainder of the book chronicles her various jobs, experience with different cultures, attempts at college, housing difficulties, travel, time living and working abroad, and legal troubles over a job and housing, until she finally decides to return to the island of her birth.

The book reads well and is an exhaustive account of the author’s experience. She tells a detailed story, though a meandering one.

For a memoir, it lacks a driving force and cohesive central idea that leads the reader to a satisfying conclusion. Vague, generic complaints from the author’s former coworkers, who are vaguely described at best, may leave the reader a little cold. She also tends to portray an overly innocent and idealized version of island people, while Americans and British come across as self-absorbed, materialistic con artists.

The strength of this book is the voice.

Crawford has a distinctly authentic Caribbean style, which lends uniqueness to the storytelling. Many of the weaknesses in Leaving Island Life come from over-simplification and poor narrative choices regarding character and setting. The author uses a very telling voice, without paying much attention to developing narrative tension or complex characters. For example, it’s hard to “see” the restaurant where she works or the vacant

eyes of highly medicated employees and it is hard to “hear” the clatter of plates. The narrative would have been much improved if Crawford had paid attention to small, sensory details, which would have made the story seem less a loosely connected series of events, linked only by how the author felt about them and ways they compared to her romanticized version of her Caribbean home.

While this is easy to pick up and read on a plane, readers may find it lacks a certain central drive, overall cohesiveness and attention to detail that makes many other memoirs so, well, memorable.

Leaving Island Life by Denise Crawford explores the author’s choice to leave the island paradise where she was born to experience the wider world. Crawford was born on the island of Anguilla, in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean. Through the course of the narrative, she delves into the mindset of the culture she grew up in and explores her wanderlust and desire to live in America. She eventually leaves the island to live in America. The remainder of the book chronicles her various jobs, experience with different cultures, attempts at college, housing difficulties, travel, time living and working abroad, and legal troubles over a job and housing, until she finally decides to return to the island of her birth.

The book reads well and is an exhaustive account of the author’s experience. She tells a detailed story, though a meandering one.

For a memoir, it lacks a driving force and cohesive central idea that leads the reader to a satisfying conclusion. Vague, generic complaints from the author’s former coworkers, who are vaguely described at best, may leave the reader a little cold. She also tends to portray an overly innocent and idealized version of island people, while Americans and British come across as self-absorbed, materialistic con artists.

The strength of this book is the voice.

Crawford has a distinctly authentic Caribbean style, which lends uniqueness to the storytelling. Many of the weaknesses in Leaving Island Life come from over-simplification and poor narrative choices regarding character and setting. The author uses a very

telling voice, without paying much attention to developing narrative tension or complex characters. For example, it’s hard to “see” the restaurant where she works or the vacant eyes of highly medicated employees and it is hard to “hear” the clatter of plates. The narrative would have been much improved if Crawford had paid attention to small, sensory details, which would have made the story seem less a loosely connected series of events, linked only by how the author felt about them and ways they compared to her romanticized version of her Caribbean home.

While this is easy to pick up and read on a plane, readers may find it lacks a certain central drive, overall cohesiveness and attention to detail that makes many other memoirs so, well, memorable.

AXIE BARCLAY

Reaching Grace Peterson All Things That Matter Press, $5.99, 200 pages

This memoir centers on author Grace Peterson’s psychological damage from life with a dysfunctional family and an abusive “therapist.” The story is not presented as “creative nonfiction” but as truthful as the author’s perspective permits. However, the work is structured like a story, with a prologue that sets the tone and a narrative with main characters and a satisfying resolution.

The story begins in the prologue during an earthquake. The author is a young mother who is forced to realize that she needs help.

This sets the tone for the book. The story launches into an account of the narrator’s dysfunctional early years, including tales of abuse. The author refers to family members as “the mother,” “the father,” and “the sisters,” indicating a strange detachment.

“The parents” divorce, “the mother” moves to Hawaii and marries “the stepfather” who is abusive, and “the mother” sends the girls

back to the mainland and their birth father.

The book follows the narrator through her high school relationships and experimentation with drugs and sex. Peterson is excellent at capturing the zeitgeist: the Watergate hearings, “Jaws” and the “energy crisis” that were the background noise—this was a time when kids were expendable, when the adults partied upstairs while the kids played in the basement. Some portions jump out, like when the narrator thinks of her best friend. “I have enough anger in me to kill you,” she thinks. Peterson is plagued by panic attacks and bad dreams. As an adult, she has nightmares she’ll harm her kids and finally seeks help from a fanatical and abusive “therapist”.

I began reading with skepticism, seeing this as just another confessional, but the prose grabbed hold. Peterson is adept at seeing the unique in the mundane. Maybe the abuse is also a thread in the cultural fabric which draws the writer to healing through her writing.

This memoir centers on author Grace Peterson’s psychological damage from life with a dysfunctional family and an abusive “therapist.” The story is not presented as “creative nonfiction” but as truthful as the author’s perspective permits. However, the work is structured like a story, with a prologue that sets the tone and a narrative with main characters and a satisfying resolution.

The story begins in the prologue during an earthquake. The author is a young mother who is forced to realize that she needs help. This sets the tone for the book. The story launches into an Continued on page 4

In Loving Memory of Michael D. Johnson July 26, 1966 – July 14, 2013 Michael Johnson came to Portland Book Review in June 2012 as our Web Administrator and made an unbelievable impact on our content and viewership. His love for what Portland Book Review wants to accomplish was matched only by his desire to promote the site and make it an exciting and educational experience for everyone. Portland Book Review will miss him in a million different ways.

Michael was a unique individual – he was a complete computer geek but he also mastered the art of relationship building and being a people person. He was well-read, an information junkie, and had one of the sharpest wits I’ve ever encountered. He was lovable, caring and always good for a smile or a laugh. My heart is broken that this world has lost such an authentic soul. I will miss him deeply.

Rest in peace my friend and save me a seat in Heaven!

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September - November 2013

Don’t miss “The Reader’s Perspective” at www. portlandbookreview.com

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IN THIS ISSUE Biographies & Memoirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 4 Romance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

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Historical Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6 Poetry & Short Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Sci-fi / Sequential Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Aimee Rasmussen

Writers on Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

WEBSITE ADMINSTRATOR

Short Fiction Writing Contest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12

Michael Johnson

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Cooking, Food & Wine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-14

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Self Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Horror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Music & Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Spirituality & Inspiration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Science & Nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Health, Fitness & Dieting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Popular Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-23 Business & Investing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Parenting & Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Young Adult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Children’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27 Hundreds of reviews in a variety of additional categories are available at www. portlandbookreview.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/portlandbookreview Follow us on Twitter @PDXBookReview

Read the “From the Editors” column at www. portlandbookreview.com

FROM THE EDITOR Something Private Shared Our reviewers choose the books they want to review. I send out a list of books organized by genre, and the reviewers look for their next books to review, usually based on their favorite type of book to read. Similarly, the authors write the stories that they want to tell. Regardless of their own motivation, they have a desire to share their private stories, their secrets. In the end, our private pain connects us all. We put ourselves out there to connect with others who share our pain, experience, or love. What we do with those things makes us who we are.

In July, we lost Michael Johnson… our web administrator, my ex-husband, and the father of my child [read the tribute to him on page 2]. It was an enormous loss. In my anger towards him during the divorce, I forgot how much I loved him. I know I will see him again one day, but that’s little solace to my life now. The flood of emotions that accompanies any loss is, at the heart of it, painful.

Yet, we still reach out (whether consciously or not) and look to find others who have experienced that same pain in order to relate to it, to feel “normal.”

Books of all genres do that for us. They connect us to normalcy. They entertain. They make us believe in the unbelievable. They give us hope. Regardless of the mechanism used, we are social creatures craving simplicity in our relationships, commonality, and connections.

I’ve done this “job” for three years now, and I can tell you which books will get picked up for review and which ones won’t. I can look at a book, and – based on title, cover, genre, characters, strength of writing, and overall presentation – know if the book will be picked up and reviewed or just sit on the shelf. Publishing companies pay millions to figure this all out, but the reality is that it comes down to connection.

Take the most obvious: Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games… these books offer up an examination of the plight in all of us, if you’re willing to look closely. It’s all about fitting in, rising above the rest, standing up for what you believe in, and winning the prize – whatever that may be.

Whether you subscribe to the story or not, we all want to feel connected; then, when we find that one thing that connects us, we feel empowered and want to delve in even more. There are no boundaries because we understand the protagonist’s pain, his plight. That’s true even in non-fiction work. We choose the books we want to read in order to fill a need, even if that need is merely the desire to be well read.

My message has always been to read and promote reading, but I’m altering that message now.

We all have our own journey, our own story to tell. My message now is to connect – to find your source for strength and connect with others who share your journey. Whether you are an author or a reader, share your journey, share your pain, be authentic and connect! That’s what life is all about.

M. Chris Johnson Editor In Chief

September - November 2013

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BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS Continued from page 2

account of the narrator’s dysfunctional early years, including tales of abuse. The author refers to family members as “the mother,” “the father,” and “the sisters,” indicating a strange detachment. “The parents” divorce, “the mother” moves to Hawaii and marries “the stepfather” who is abusive, and “the mother” sends the girls back to the mainland and their birth father. The book follows the narrator through her high school relationships and experimentation with drugs and sex. Peterson is excellent at capturing the zeitgeist: the Watergate hearings, “Jaws” and the “energy crisis” that were the background noise—this was a time when kids were expendable, when the adults partied upstairs while the kids played in the basement. Some portions jump out, like when the narrator thinks of her best friend. “I have enough anger in me to kill you,” she thinks. Peterson is plagued by panic attacks and bad dreams.

As an adult, she has nightmares she’ll harm her kids and finally seeks help from a fanatical and abusive “therapist”.

I began reading with skepticism, seeing this as just another confessional, but the prose grabbed hold. Peterson is adept at seeing the unique in the mundane. Maybe the abuse is also a thread in the cultural fabric which draws the writer to healing through her writing.

STACIA LEVY

Ava Helen Pauling: Partner, Activist, Visionary Mina Carson Oregon State University Press $22.95, 228 pages

In Ava Helen Pauling: Partner, Activist, Visionary, Mina Carson reveals the depth and breadth of the partner of two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling. Ava Helen is revealed as a strong, intelligent, principled force. As with most of her contemporaries, she saw her first and foremost duty as being her partnership with Linus; the two of them nearly inseparable from the time of their meeting until her death two and a half weeks before her 78th birthday. Carson’s writing is well-researched and describes Ava Helen in the midst of her personal world as wife and mother as well as in the context of the broader global political environment. Ava Helen is presented without sentimentality as a real human being. Although a slim volume, Ava Helen Pauling is dense with information without overwhelming the reader making it a worthwhile read.

In Ava Helen Pauling: Partner, Activist, Visionary, Mina Carson reveals the depth and breadth of the partner of two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling. Ava Helen is revealed as a strong, intelligent, principled

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September - November 2013

force. As with most of her contemporaries, she saw her first and foremost duty as being her partnership with Linus; the two of them nearly inseparable from the time of their meeting until her death two and a half weeks before her 78th birthday. Carson’s writing is well-researched and describes Ava Helen in the midst of her personal world as wife and mother as well as in the context of the broader global political environment.

Ava Helen is presented without sentimentality as a real human being. Although a slim volume, Ava Helen Pauling is dense with information without overwhelming the reader making it a worthwhile read.

MARY-LYNNE MONROE

Pope Francis: In His Own Words Edited by Julie Schwietert Collazo & Lisa Rogak New World Library, $12.95, 136 pages

Easily digestible, the editors break down homilies, books and interviews into a couple of sentences pertaining to a certain topic.

The topics range from the concrete, to the ideology of the church itself and allow for a quick and general understanding of Pope Francis’ position on a variety of subjects that include Argentina, human suffering and even his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The clear formatting only adds to the readability of the entire book itself.

The passages chosen were carefully picked from many different sources, making sure not to waste a single line. The citations below each quotation provide a clue as to the context in which the words were either spoken or written by the then Father Bergoglio and now Pope Francis.

Through these sources, spanning from even before his Papacy, his words provide a short glimpse into the mind of a compassionate and transparent holy man.

The extensive bibliography directs to further reading of the original sources for those interested in a deeper understanding of the new Pope’s thoughts and hopes for the future. Pope Francis: In His Own Words is a recommended read to Catholics and nonCatholics alike following the unique new leader of the Church.

Easily digestible, the editors break down homilies, books and interviews into a couple of sentences pertaining to a certain topic.

The topics range from the concrete, to the ideology of the church itself and allow for a quick and general understanding of Pope Francis’ position on a variety of subjects that include Argentina, human suffering and even his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The clear formatting only adds to the readability of the entire book itself.

The passages chosen were carefully picked from many different sources, making

sure not to waste a single line. The citations below each quotation provide a clue as to the context in which the words were either spoken or written by the then Father Bergoglio and now Pope Francis. Through these sources, spanning from even before his Papacy, his words provide a short glimpse into the mind of a compassionate and transparent holy man.

The extensive bibliography directs to further reading of the original sources for those interested in a deeper understanding of the new Pope’s thoughts and hopes for the future. Pope Francis: In His Own Words is a recommended read to Catholics and nonCatholics alike following the unique new leader of the Church.

ISABEL HERNANDEZ

Emily & Herman: A Literary Romance John J. Healey Arcade Publishing, $24.95, 238 pages

Allegedly the text of this simultaneously romantic and historical novel has been found by John J. Healey in his late grandfather’s papers and the real author of Emily and Herman remains unknown. According to the author, in the summer-fall of 1851 short but deep and powerful love affair happened between Emily Dickinson and Herman Melville. Melville and Hawthorne met Emily and her brother in Amherst on their way from Berkshire to New York. Without Nathaniel Hawthorne the whole story probably wouldn’t have occurred since it was him who initiated this trip and invited Dickinsons to join them.

The journey took approximately a week but a lot has happened in these few days. Emily and Melville didn’t only fall in love but, thanks to Walt Whitman, also participated in underground railway on their way back home. It seems that Melville was looking for a way to be together with Emily, but except from some letters and a short, one day meeting in September they have never met again.

The narrative is much sexually charged, however, the book’s language is really eloquent.

GALINA ROIZMAN

The Rose Hotel: A True-Life Novel Rahimeh Andalibian Nightingale Press, $14.99, 391 pages

Rahimeh Andalibian is a young girl in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution. She beautifully describes her family, their prosperous life in Iran and the old Eastern values she and her brothers were taught. When her family endures the ultimate loss, their suspended grief threatens their peace and sends them into their own individual spirals.

The Rose Hotel covers thirty years in a home full of anguished hearts. With astounding understanding, Andalibian captures her parents most raw and tender moments as

they try to find their way in the western world while still coming to terms with what happened back in Iran. Written with honest and delicate perception, the author carefully builds her story and brings it to a crescendo.

This book will pull at your heartstrings. It is a testament to a family’s ability to find healing and forgiveness and a reminder that love conquers all, in any culture.

Rahimeh Andalibian is a young girl in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution. She beautifully describes her family, their prosperous life in Iran and the old Eastern values she and her brothers were taught. When her family endures the ultimate loss, their suspended grief threatens their peace and sends them into their own individual spirals.

“By putting users and content owners in control of their data, Glide was also challenging illegal content sharing and the emerging data mining industry led by Google and Facebook. But the dangers associated with data mining were little understood by the general public at that time.”

The Rose Hotel covers thirty years in a home full of anguished hearts. With astounding understanding, Andalibian captures her parents most raw and tender moments as they try to find their way in the western world while still coming to terms with what happened back in Iran. Written with honest and delicate perception, the author carefully builds her story and brings it to a crescendo.

This book will pull at your heartstrings. It is a testament to a family’s ability to find healing and forgiveness and a reminder that love conquers all, in any culture.

ALICEA SWETT

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ROMANCE Seeking Salvador: A Paranoid, Romantic Caper Max Mitchell CreateSpace, $12.99, 293 pages

Helen McTaggart is a cynical, atheistic, art-loving, sixth-grade teacher whose deep obsession with Salvador Dali drives her to share his paintings with her class. Ultimately, this turns into an accusation of being a sex-offender in her overtly religious small town in New Mexico.

Helen dreams of meeting Dali and his muse Gala and often turns to him in her dreams for advice. She’s been planning a summer trip to Figueres, Spain to the Dali Museum with her girlfriend, Judy.

However, Judy ceremoniously backs out at the last minute because of the accusations.

Helen’s mom talks her into taking her cousin Tracy who is also a reclusive minor criminal.

Once in Barcelona, Helen serendipitously meets Andre at the Dali museum and a true romance begins. She contemplates leaving her husband and her life in the States to stay with Andre and be close to where “the Dali” and Gala lived their inspired lives. She finds out Andre is an art thief and struggles with her love, the safety she feels with him, a job she was betrayed at, her criminal charges back home and her loveless marriage. Helen travels back and forth from New Mexico to Barcelona trying to decide where she wants to be, all the while running away from her troubles in both places.

Seeking Salvador is a surprisingly fun,

page-turning ride. It has a wonderful balance of plausible, engaging dialogue and the descriptive beauty of fine art with the romance of Spain. It’s an enjoyable read but if nothing else, you might learn quite a bit about art history and even more about how to commit the perfect art racketeering!

JAMAIS JOCHIM

Backwards to Oregon Jae Ylva Verlag, $9.99, 371 pages

Nora, known as Fleur by the patrons at the brothel, is not used to being treated like a respectable woman. Her identity is based on selling her body for money in order to take care of herself and her young daughter. When she meets Luke, Nora feels like she has found a man who understands and respects her.

Luke has a huge secret - he is really a woman posing as a man, something that could get her killed in the 1850s.

Luke has a dream to own land and run her own horse ranch in Oregon. She is prepared to leave Independence, Missouri in order to travel the 2,000 miles west. Yet Luke realizes that she’ll have almost no privacy to hide her secret and conceal her sexual preferences if she travels alone with a wagon train community. In order to blend in with the other settlers, Luke proposes to Nora. Theirs would be a marriage of convenience, a type of business deal. Both would benefit from the arrangement and nothing sexual would be expected (Nora doesn’t yet know about Luke’s real identity). As Luke and Nora get to

know each other on the Oregon Trail, Luke realizes how rare it is to find someone who doesn’t judge based on stereotypes but rather gets to know a person based on their strength of character. As the two women fall in love, they face many challenges on their journey to Oregon. Find out how Nora reacts when she finally discovers Luke’s secret.

Jae, author of Backwards to Oregon, writes about two strong women who dare to dream bigger than the roles society has assigned for them. It is clear that Jae did plenty of research while writing her book.

Readers will feel transported to the streets of Independence, Missouri and along the Oregon Trail as Luke and Nora’s wagon team

travels the perilous roads. The author has a way with words. She describes places with such accuracy and her characters with such detail that her writing comes alive. Readers should have an open mind about love in order to fully enjoy this book. Luke and Nora must decide whether they can love each other in public or whether they must keep their love confined to private spaces. Luckily things are changing politically and legally.

Backwards to Oregon is an excellent romance that comes at a time when same-sex couples are celebrating the recent changes in marriage laws around the United States.

KATHRYN FRANKLIN

country star alter things at the museum or in Bess’ life?

The Indian Shirt Story is the first book written by the Northwest observer and writer Heather Lockman. The tasteful combination of the author’s love for history and country music makes it charming, lovely, funny and sad at the same time. Starting this book you surely wouldn’t put it aside eager to know what happens next and how all it would end.

GALINA ROIZMAN

eye and with a leap of imagination, he has come to believe that he is a descendent of Gerrit de Waal, a senior carpenter aboard the Zuytdorp, a Dutch ship which sank and stranded some survivors off the Australian coast in the 1700’s.

Now Lennard, an internationally recognized g l a s s b l o w e r, invites a downon-his-luck glass technician named Stefan Novak to help Lennard construct a massive cenotaph to commemorate the deaths of approximately 20,000 Aborigines during Australia’s colonial times. Over a period of years while they construct the sculpture, Stefan discovers

HISTORICAL FICTION The Indian Shirt Story Heather Lockman Musa Publishing, $5.99, 335 pages

Bess Reynolds is a part-time waitress at her husband’s brew pub and a part-time tour-guide at the Starkett Historical pioneer farmhouse in a small town on Puget Sound. Bess loves her job at the museum, enjoying providing historical knowledge to the new generations.

The tour for the children visiting the Starkett House includes such creative activities as doing laundry or making Victorian autograph albums.

The presence of the last living member of the Starkett’s family: a stubborn, ninety years old Mrs. Lucille Starkett also makes

this museum to stand out from other housemuseums by adding more authenticity. As the Director of the Starkett House for the last three years, Bess learned to manage with Lucille but this is hard. Lucille loves telling pioneer stories her way and this often leads to troubles. This time The Amazing Injun Adventures of Ass-Kicking Pioneer Mom graphic novel written by one of the children inspired

by Lucille’s version of The Indian Shirt Story creates crisis with the local Indian community.

Further in the book readers would find several different versions of the same story.

What is real in this tale or in other happenings? Lucille, nostalgic for old real things thinks that now nothing is real. However, she is not genuine Starkett by herself: although living in the Starkett house for more than sixty years she is Starkett only by marriage.

Does this fact make a difference? Should the shooting of a music video for the Nashville Country Network in the Starkett House

by Duane Hasker, a handsome and famous

The Albatross Necklace: The Last Voyage of the Zuytdrop Peter Purchase Dune Publications, $62.02, 408 pages

In The Albatross Necklace, Peter Purchase has constructed a rather unique novel. Written in two parts which are almost separate stories, one single character’s personal history unifies everything. In Part I, the reader meets Lennard Currie, an indigenous Australian with one blue eye. From that blue

Read the “Authors Spotlight” column at www. portlandbookreview.com

Continued on page 6

September - November 2013

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HISTORICAL FICTION Continued from page 5

Lennard’s past as a member of the Malgana tribe in a land not that far removed from its colonial days and also as a descendent of a Dutch survivor from a very different world.

Part I closes with Lennard choosing Stefan to write de Waal’s life from the research Lennard has accumulated over his lifetime. ||Part II finds Stefan revising his novel about de Waal’s life. Indeed, most of Part II involves a minor character listening to or reading extended passages of Stefan’s novel, thereby delivering de Waal’s story to the reader. ||The Albatross Necklace is a diamond in the rough.

Truthfully, this novel could benefit from a firm editor’s polish, especially in Part II where one character correctly notes that the novel reads more like a treatise. Furthermore, some readers will agree with that character when she argues that some passages should be cut. That said, the book appears to be meticulously researched. The character of Lennard is particularly compelling as he tries

to understand these divergent elements in his past and how they shape him. Finally, the author shows great sensitivity in addressing issues that affect not only Australians, but all cultures which are the product of earlier colonization and domination of indigenous peoples.

ANNIE PETERS

Beyond Crossriver Andre Carter AuthorHouse, $15.18, 294 pages

Beyond Crossriver is a story that has been told before, the story of the movement from slavery to freedom. In this novel, young siblings, Amanda and Thomas, risk the journey north to escape the overseers that have killed their family, eluding the overseers, bounty hunters, and law enforcement. The chapters follow this journey, starting off in chapter one at Crossriver Plantation, moving through Georgia and other southern states into Pennsylvania, and finally ending in New York.

Of course this story has been told before—some stories, like those ofHolocaust and slavery, should be told again and again.

Thomas, the protagonist, is a strong and sympathetic character, a slave who was educated by his owner’s wife. The details of the escape are strong, as is the research into the era, the culture of plantations and of steamships, of the geography of the Mississippi River and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The emotional material, such as the sister’s despair at points, comes through well. However, the formatting is odd, 54 chapters in Part 1 as well as a “prelude.”

There is no Part 2, begging the question of if there was meant to be. The formatting is also odd within the chapters, the paragraphs looking on the page more like stanzas than paragraphs most of the time; simi-

larly, the prose often reads something like verse, filled with sentence fragments. Again, one wonders if this is an authorial choice, but there are enough other writing concerns such as verb tense shift, typos, and spelling errors, at times on one page, that it distracts from the story itself. A final element to work on is what to “show” and what to “tell.” The author does know which scenes of the escape to dramatize, but there is also a lot of space wasted on routine greetings and such that really should be summarized. The author has a great story to tell but should work on developing skill in the technical aspects of writing.

STACIA LEVY

The way he speaks about certain subjects – such as death – creates a new outlook for us to ponder. There is nothing regarding a burial, but a renewed spirit for the loved one. It takes the gruesome and turns it into a celebration of sorts. With other poems, he speaks about the loss of ‘those with eyes to see but refuse the light’ (To Those Who Do Not, pg 45) in a way that opens the eyes of a reader to a new way of seeing. Some areas of certain poems seem to refer to certain books in the bible, such as Proverbs, in a way that sheds light on the seemingly cryptic sayings of the bible.

For modern poetry to be this eloquent and thought provoking is a grave task that Centina III accomplished splendidly. If poetry is something that excites you, Somewhen is definitely the book for you.

TAYLOR PITTMAN

writes as if she is a lit major. The good news is that she doesn’t waste words and the words she chooses do as much work as they possibly can. Her stories get right to the point.

At the same time, this means that the tales seem a little short and points that need to be better explained are rushed. Sometimes writing isn’t about the race but the pace.

Nonetheless, for those looking for a good afternoon read, this is definitely a book to check out.

The best stories end with a twist, a deserved twist. Favorite Monster: Stories is an anthology of stories all centered around monsters of different types. Author Sharma Shields looks at the definition of monsters in our society and what it takes to be considered a monster. There are a number of legendary monsters that pop up every so often. In general they are used to provide a contrast to what we think of as monsters and show that sometimes having visible fangs doesn’t make you a monster as much as what is in your heart.

Although the stories are great, Shields writes as if she is a lit major. The good news is that she doesn’t waste words and the words she chooses do as much work as they possibly can. Her stories get right to the point. At the same time, this means that the tales seem a little short and points that need to be better explained are rushed. Sometimes writing isn’t about the race but the pace. Nonetheless, for those looking for a good afternoon read, this is definitely a book to check out.

JAMAIS JOCHIM

POETRY & SHORT STORIES The Antigone Poem Marie Slaight Altaire Productions and Publications, $39.95, 100 pages

The Antigone Poems is a collection of stark, simple poetry and intense, foreboding charcoal drawings by author Marie Slaight and artist Terrence Tasker. Dating back to the 1970s, the book’s back cover calls the collection an “intensely personal invocation of the ancient Greek tragedy.”

Divided into five chapters, Slaight’s stark, simple writing speaks volumes about pain, love, suffering and eroticism. The poetry is dark and sensual, occasionally disconcerting.

One does not have to be familiar with the stories of Oedipus or his daughter Antigone to feel the power of the emotions represented in this collection. While the sexual content may feel a bit juvenile, over-sexed memories of their early twenties overwhelming to the reader, the writing is startlingly evocative, even in its simplicity.

“If I utter this voice This great Aching scream Its horror will echo forever.”

The Antigone Poems reminds one of art school, regardless of whether or not a person actually went to art school; with its thick, textured pages, dark, moody charcoal drawings, and simple, erotically-tinged poetry, the book seems like something found at an inde-

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pendent bookstore that specializes in smallpress publications, or maybe packed away with your mother’s college collections (it was written in the 70s, after all). And that’s a good thing. With this book on your coffee table, you’re slightly more cultured and certainly more hip.

ASHLEY MCCALL

Somewhen Gilbert Luis R. Centina III CreateSpace, $25, 55 pages

Somewhen by Gilbert Luis R. Centina III is a religious poetry book full of intrinsic insights into humanity and its connection with a greater being. He brings to the table so many ideas on our various emotions and sequences within our lives in a way that, if relatable to the reader’s own emotions, promotes yet another connection to develop through his choice of words.

Each poem is its own entity. There is a thread that runs through the book, however, that is a recurring theme continuously. His poems are interesting in how he begins his paragraphs; the places he breaks to start a new sentence are appeasing to the eye. They keep your attention, promoting new threads of thought that may not have appeared if organized in a different, more common way. His insights into humanities’ various ploys are eloquently portrayed with rich vocabulary that paints stunning images. Each sentence stands alone to provoke thought on a higher level.

Favorite Monster: Stories Sharma Shields Autumn House Press, $17.95, 140 pages

The best stories end with a twist, a deserved twist. Favorite Monster: Stories is an anthology of stories all centered around monsters of different types. Author Sharma Shields looks at the definition of monsters in our society and what it takes to be considered a monster. There are a number of legendary monsters that pop up every so often. In general they are used to provide a contrast to what we think of as monsters and show that sometimes having visible fangs doesn’t make you a monster as much as what is in your heart.

Although the stories are great, Shields

Read more reviews at www.portlandbookreview.com

SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY Wings A.K. Hartline Amazon Digital Services, Inc., $2.99, 504 pages

The Preface sets the tone of a sinister plot and the excitement of a horror-filled tale.

Unapologetically, the story begins with a 10-year old boy named Heath Hatcher who meets a strange and magical young girl on the side of an overflowing rushing creek. The story follows Heath’s life as he starts a band, goes off to college, quits, gets a job and meets Becky Thorne as they work together in a retail warehouse. But John Mcready isn’t going to allow their budding relationship to continue because he wants Becky for himself. He actively tries to sabotage Heath and Becky’s relationship but gets fired and beat up by Heath. Stephen shows up then and becomes blood brothers with John, giving him immortality, strength and a new life as a vampire. While training John as a Wing, Stephen begins his plot for the Master, converting others to further their cause.

While Wings starts out as a soft Young Adult novel or a sweet Romance, it turns into a wildly vivid and intricate tale of the fantastical vampire world.

M a ny plot twists abound, taking readers on sometimes unnecessary tangents that are unrelated to the story and lack direction and purpose.

The writing is uneven and often choppy in its delivery. However, short chapters and strong character development move the story along quickly. It’s a worthy tale that

creatively offers spontaneity, thrills and suspense.

As more and more characters are introduced, readers will find themselves caring about and even rooting for some and booing others as each page quickly turns. A good editor would make this story flow better and keep it on track. But in the end, this is an entertaining read that will leave readers waiting for the sequel.

M. CHRIS JOHNSON

Beltamar’s War: Book I of Malmaxa C.G.Ayling Amazon Digital Services, Inc., $4.95, 395 pages

C. G. Ayling’s Beltamar’s War is a captivating story that will leave you breathless until the end. Two competing but complimentary stories are told with the pages, one of the warriors fighting against the Ancient Enemy and one of a family left at home, preparing for the pilgrimage to Malmaxa. It seems straightforward at the beginning but soon the reader is entangled in the undercurrents of betrayal in a long-waged war and the prophetic dreams that could spell the end, or the beginning, of a new age in Malmaxa.

There is a steep learning curve in the first few chapters. There are a lot of characters introduced in the beginning and it is hard to keep them separate until their personality traits are revealed. The world building is complex but Ayling provides a glossary at the end to help readers learn the words of this new world. However, once the reader gets fully immersed in the story it’s engaging.

Malmaxa is a complex world of rituals, history, and decorum, with a little mischief thrown in. Each of the characters struggles with their internal demons whilst trying to keep true to the Immutable Laws. The depictions of the world are vivid and mysterious, from the multihued spines on the Segatto,

to the symbolism of the Vision Quests, to their Lineage Marks, and the fear and terror that the groth and Grolem inflict.

The reader is left with the questions: Who is the Ancient Enemy and what do they want? How are Liaju and Rethga going to save the Seizen?

Beltamar’s War ends abruptly with the fate of the warriors still unknown. There are a lot of unanswered questions about the groth, the mysterious Overseeers, and how Liaju’s vision is going to come true. Thankfully, the sequel, The Pilgrimage is out already so readers can continue on in the world of Malmaxa.

Dig into Beltamar’s War if you’re a reader who loves epic fantasy with twists, turns, complex characters, and a mysterious world.

D. ANN WILLIAMS

SEQUENTIAL ART Diesel Sweeties: I’m a Rocker, I Rock Out. R. Stevens Oni Press, $19.99, 136 pages

If you’ve listened to a vinyl record in the last six months, you’ll probably be able to relate to this collection from the Diesel Sweeties web-comic by R. Stevens. If not, then some of the humor might go over your head. And with a main character like “Indie Rock Pete,” that might be the point. He’s a music elitist, record collector, and hipster performer whose utter disdain for anything popular or mainstream provides pages and pages of comedic fodder. The 8-bit art style, while simple, adds nicely to the indie/retro theme being cultivated and helps

make otherwise niche humor a little more accessible. However, things start to fall flat as the same type of joke occurs again and again, and almost no effort is made to either initiate readers who aren’t music snobs or to apologize for a lot of jokes at their own expense. Reading Diesel Sweeties: I’m a Rocker, I Rock Out is very much like having a guy like Indie Rock Pete for a friend. He’s fun if you both like the same stuff and a lot less fun if you disagree. Still, this collection has more than a few bright moments and will certainly please the underground scene it celebrates.

MICHAEL WEINGARTNER

Tarzan: The Centennial Celebration Scott Tracy Griffin Titan Books, $39.95, 320 pages

2012 marked the 100th anniversary of Tarzan and to celebrate that event Scott Tracy Griffin has written a massive and comprehensive tome on the subject, Tarzan: the Stories, the Movies, the Art. The book is an in-depth look at Edgar Rice Burroughs most famous and long lasting contribution to literature...the pulp hero, Tarzan of the Apes. Tarzan covers all 24 of the original Tarzan stories, the silver screen, television, theatre and comics.

The book even covers the life of Edgar R. Burroughs, his inspirations for the character and his other works. If you happen to be a fan of the Tarzan stories or you know one this book really is a must have.

For those who are new to the character,

Read the “From the Editors” column at www. portlandbookreview.com

the contents of Tarzan might prove overwhelming. I wasn’t even halfway through the exhaustive rundown of the books before my eyes started to glaze over. But the book did get me to pick up Burroughs’ Tarzan books and allowed me to appreciate them more. I don’t know if the Tarzan fandom has ever had a “Bible” to reference when discussing the many and varied aspects of the Tarzan media empire, but they do now.

JONATHON HOWARD

September - November 2013

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WRITERS ON WRITING

Bringing THE PAST TO LIFE If you are contemplating writing historical fiction then you will already have a fascination for the period you have chosen, and will have read widely on the subject. The idea of doing further research for your book will not daunt you; rather this is something you are looking forward to.

My own interest is the nineteenth century, which is wonderfully accessible, through books, letters, diaries, and photographs.

Sometimes, I want to lose myself in a Victorian street scene, getting close to the picture, shutting out the world around me, and imagining myself there, experiencing the sights, the sounds and the smells. I want to feel that I am actually walking down that street, as only then do I believe that I can take my reader there.

Once you have established what your characters wore and what they ate and what their working day was like your task is far from over. One of the biggest difficulties that writers confront is presenting a convincing picture of how historical characters thought and spoke. Contemporary Victorian fiction is not the best source for this. The carefully crafted language of fiction is not the same as the flow of real speech.

We are not so very different from the Victorians; we talk about our daily lives but also discuss what is in the news. Historical newspapers are a wonderful and often overlooked source of material for the fiction writer, and nowadays many are available online.

I always read the national and local news for the period covered by my books, which will tell me what my characters might be discussing, and what events were inform-

ing their thoughts. The newspapers will also carry details of the prevailing weather, which sometimes leads to inspiration for the plot.

For example the book I am writing at present An Appetite for Murder, takes place in London in early 1881 and I discovered that the city was trapped in a huge freeze for two weeks in January. It was a brilliant opportunity, which I at once integrated into the book!

The other essential material in newspapers is the spoken word. There are no sound recordings of Victorian speech, but a wealth of shorthand reports. Since this was the only way of recording speech, and accuracy was essential in courts of law and parliament, stenographers had to be highly skilled, and leading newspapers vied with each other as to the accuracy of their reporting. Here you will find recorded in detail the speeches made at public meetings, (and their hecklers!) and evidence given at inquests, magistrates’ hearings and trials. The proceedings of major trials are also published in book form. This is historical speech as it was spoken, from people of all walks of life.

Digitised newspapers nowadays have a word search facility, and if I am in any doubt as to whether a word or phrase was in use at the time covered by my book, I do a quick search to look it up.

If you are concentrating on a specific locality the newspaper of that time is a treasure house of information. It will tell you about the local personalities, who were making a mark on the area, and the leisure activities available. Records of the meetings of the district council will show what life was like on the ground, how the streets were lit and paved, the state of sanitation and what nuisances had been reported. Sometimes

an important event will demand to be put in the book, such as the violent political meeting at the 1880 election that I just had to include in The Daughters of Gentlemen.

The other useful source is maps. I have copies of Ordnance Survey maps of Bayswater and the surrounding areas at various periods of the nineteenth century. These tell me which streets did and didn’t exist then, and if their names had changed, and I can see what routes my characters took when they moved about. I visit the area often, but if I want to quickly look at examples of Victorian housing, much of which is, happily, still there, I use Google street view. Census returns and directories will tell me the character of the Victorian streets, whether they were populated by solicitors, or clerks, or carpenters, or were a row of lodging houses.

These are the ways I get a feel for the area and its bustling community, and a sense of the lives that were lived there.

Enjoy your research!

Linda Stratmann is a British writer of historical true crime, biography and crime fiction. She is the author of Chloroform: The Quest for Oblivion and two previous titles in the Frances Doughty Mysteries—The Poisonous Seed and The Daughters of Gentlemen.

“Sometimes, I want to lose myself in a Victorian street scene, getting close to the picture, shutting out the world around me, and imagining myself there, experiencing the sights, the sounds and the smells.”

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Don’t miss “Writers on Writing” at www. portlandbookreview.com

Official Rules: The guidelines were simple; 1500 words or less fictional short story on any subject you want to write about. That’s it! The contest ran from March 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013 for all submissions, and our reviewers selected the winners from all submissions.The top three winners are published here, as well as our website.

With close to 40,000 viewers each month, your story will get read!

1st Place Short:

• $100 Cash Prize • Publication of the winning story on the Portland Book Review’s website at www.portlandbookreview.com • Publication of the winning story in digital publication of Portland Book Review • Printed publication of winning story and all other submissions (depending on volume of submissions) with winners receiving a copy of the book free • Two books from Viva Editions: Better than Great &GetWhat You Want

• • • •

• • • •

2nd Place Short

• $50 Cash Prize • Publication of the winning story on the Portland Book Review’s website at www.portlandbookreview.com • Printed publication of the winning story and all other submissions (depending on volume of submissions) with winners receiving a copy of the book free • One book from Viva Editions: The Elements of Expression

3rd Place Shorts

• $25 Cash Prize • Publication of winning story on the Portland Book Review’s website at www.portlandbookreview.com • Printed publication of winning story and all other submissions (depending on volume of submissions) with winners receiving a copy of the book free • One book from Viva Editions: The Art of Living Joyfully

By entering the contest, you certify that you have read these guidelines in their entirety and that you agree, on winning the contest, to allow Portland Book Review to publish your winning entry on www.portlandbookreview.com and in our digital edition(s) for an unlimited period of time on a non-exclusive basis. Winning authors retain reprint rights to their work. All other authors retain all rights to their work. Portland Book Review staff members cannot be held responsible for any electronic transmission problems. The company’s liability will never exceed the cost of the entry fee. Refunds will not be issued.

Decisions of the judges are final.

September - November 2013

Fresh Cornbread “Excuse me.” A woman’s voice, ir-

ritated at the thoughtless idiots of the world, startles me from my studied comparison of low-fat Triscuts and low-fat Wheat Thins. I realize my basket has wandered into the grocery aisle, blocking her access.

“Sorry,” I mumble, scooting my basket over, barely noticing the old man a few feet away, consulting his watch.

“One week ago my wife died,” he says, as though picking up a stalled conversation.

I check the aisle, empty except for the retreating back of the woman my cart had impeded. The man must have spoken to me, if to anyone at all.

“One week to the minute,” he adds, checking his watch again and then clenching the bar of his empty shopping cart as if it holds him up. “We were married fifty-one years.” His shoulders bow for a moment beneath the weight of it. Then he straightens.

“But I don’t want to talk about it. I’m looking for Raisin Bran.”

The cereal lane is several rows away. I wonder if this could be his first time in the grocery store without his wife. “Follow me,” I say, tossing both the Triscuts and the Wheat Thins in my buggy.

At the cereal row, I turn in, waiting for him to catch up. On impulse, I point to the large sign hanging from the ceiling midway down the aisle.

“Can you read that?” Immediately, I wish to swallow the patronizing question. How can anyone not know that the signs in a grocery store index the items in the aisle?

Still, I remember taking my grandmother to see her husband after his heart attack. She stood before the hospital elevator as if before a walled fortress, very small and suddenly conscious that she might be left alone. Raising a hesitant hand to the elevator doors, she asked, “How do you make it come to you?”

She was in her seventies, but Grandpa had always taken care of those things. He’d driven the car, operated the elevators and television sets. She’d never paid attention.

The old man in the grocery store squints at the sign. “Yes, I can see it.”

“They tell you what’s on the row,” I say, willing to risk insulting him, in case—like Grandma—he’d never paid attention.

Relief sweeps his creviced face. This is something he can understand, a guidepost in the jungle. He gives a grateful nod, but the look fades as he takes in the long, double-tiered row of multi-colored cereal boxes. He is totally unprepared.

I move quickly down the aisle, scanning with a practiced eye, and pluck a box of Raisin Bran, holding it out to him. “Is this it?”

He takes it, nodding again and puts it in his basket.

A moment of silence rises between us.

“Was it a heart attack?” I ask softly.

His cheek twitches and he looks away. “Yes, a heart attack. We were married fifty-one years.” He stares at the boxes, through them, into a world that exists in his mind, a world more real than the endless walls of cereal boxes and canned goods and sodas. “We’d been out, riding in the car, just look-

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by T.K. Thorne

ing around. Had us a grand ole time. We went to the store, and we bought some groceries.”

This, I decide, means he’d followed his wife around the store.

He rubs his chin. “Then back at the house, she went to the kitchen and hollered, ‘I’m going to make you some fresh corn bread to go with those greens we bought!’”

With the words “fresh corn bread,” his watery eyes light, transforming the sorrow in them to delight. With those same words, my perspective skews, and I see what I’ve passed countless times, but never really seen—a secret in plain view, like elevator buttons and signs in the grocery store.

Love, I see, is the simple delight of pleasing the other.

I stand beside the bulwark of cereal boxes, vaguely aware that someone has come up behind me and stopped, blocked by our carts, but I don’t move.

“She called my name,” he says, his gaze focused on the memory, drawn down the trail of time to the moment he doesn’t want to remember… but must remember. “I thought she wanted me to open something for her, so I got up. But she met me halfway down the hall.” He draws a breath. “That’s when she collapsed.” Another ragged breath and a whisper, “I caught her. She died in my arms.”

The person behind me is silent.

“She couldn’t breath; she never could get a breath....”

I can’t get my breath.

“I held her. Her head never touched the ground.”

His voice cradles her, as his arms had. “Fifty-one years.” It is a statement of wonder, of awe. “One week ago. Fifty-one years. It happens so fast.”

I’m not sure if he means death or the fifty-one years.

“I’m so sorry,” I say. The words seem as pale and empty as his eyes.

After a moment he says, “Thank you. You’ve been very kind.”

“Can I help you find anything else?” I ask, wishing I knew something better to say, some way to fix the unfixable, to promise him that I will remember that love is as simple and profound as fresh cornbread.

He smiles, waving vaguely toward the far corner of the store, as though that—unlike the cereal aisle—is familiar territory, and turns his cart around. “No, I only need some milk.”

I watch him go, until I suddenly remember the person behind me. “I’m sorry,” I mumble, recognizing the woman I’d blocked previously and backing my cart out of her way.

She meets my eyes. Like mine, they are misty. “That’s okay,” she says.

The End

Don’t miss “The Reader’s Perspective” at www. portlandbookreview.com

The Juggler He juggles three oranges as he walks the length of the short pier. As he stares into the distant space

between the oranges, his careful bare feet watch for jagged boards and hot bolt heads. The sun weighs on his back and throws a small shadow beneath his bare legs as he moves.

He can smell the bait that the fishermen are using.

It is a community bucket with a stained white towel thrown over it to keep the overhead sun from cooking the small fry in it. By this time of day, the odor is unavoidable. The men are fanned out at the end of the pier, separated by the lengths of their poles and the arcs of their casts.

A scrawny dog sleeps in the only shade available, a thin shadow cast by the one-hole outhouse that precariously sits at the port side of the pier. It squats on the seaward side of the mean high-tide line. Whatever lands below is washed out to sea twice a day. When the dog sees the juggler, he thumps his skinny tail.

The fishermen wait until the oranges stop their circular weaving before addressing the stocky, well-made juggler.

“Hola, amigo,” says their spokesman, “que pasa?”

The juggler answers in soft Spanish with a gringo accent. “I am well, thank you, Jorge. Has God smiled on your fishing fortunes today?”

Jorge smiles and looks at his companions. “A little bit,” he says. “I think we all have dinner.”

“Excellent,” says the juggler. “Please accept two oranges to share. I cannot eat them all.”

“Thank you, Juglar. Would you like a fish today?”

“No, you are too kind. Perhaps another day, if I may.”

“Certainly,” says Jorge as he takes two oranges and tosses one to his friend down the short row of dark, wiry men. It is a good throw, but the man misjudges it, and the orange takes an odd bounce out of his hand and falls over the edge of the railing.

It is barely out of sight before the juggler puts his last orange on the railing next to him and launches himself from the pier. He cuts cleanly into the water twenty feet below, barely a second after the orange.

The fishermen let out a collective gasp and lean over the railing, their fishing poles forgotten. A quiet panic fills them as they wait for the juggler to reappear. A few seconds later they see him explode to the surface in a froth of white bubbles and smooth his long, sun-bleached hair away from his face. He holds up the orange for them to see and laughs at their astonished faces. His blue eyes are alive with excitement.

“Be right up,” he says and tucks the orange into the netting of his faded blue swim trunks.

He swims around the side of the pier away from the outhouse with strong, sure strokes. The fishermen watch him with amazement.

“We should call him Nadador,” says Jorge. “He swims better than he juggles.”

The others murmur in agreement and wonder how the juggler seems to do everything so swiftly. They go back to their fishing until they hear the quiet slap of bare feet jogging up the pier toward them. The dog thumps his tail again. They turn toward the sound,

by J.R. Stewart

glancing sheepishly at one another. The juggler, carrying the orange, has a big smile on his face. His eyes look like turquoise against the caramel of his skin.

When he stops he grabs the orange he’d left on the railing and tosses it into the air. Soon both oranges are circling his head. It almost makes the fishermen dizzy.

“Pedro,” he says to Jorge’s friend who’d missed the orange, “be ready.”

Pedro puts down his pole and tries to be ready.

When the orange magically flies in his direction, he catches it and holds on. The juggler catches the remaining orange and holds it still. Everyone breathes a sign of relief.

The juggler’s hair is gathered into a ponytail and drips down his back into his trunks. His sturdy legs are still wet.

“I must go,” he says and looks at Jorge. “May I give your dog the treat I have in my pocket? I do not think he will mind a little salt water.”

Jorge smiles. “Of course,” he says. It will complete the ritual.

The juggler smiles back. “Until tomorrow, my friends,” he says.

The dog has moved, following the shadow as it snakes around the outhouse. The juggler reaches into his pocket as he squats by the dog, who raises his head to take the treat. He allows his ears to be scratched and thumps his tail again.

The juggler stands and, with a final wave to the fishermen, strides back toward the shore along the rough planks. The fishermen watch him go for a few seconds and then turn back to the sea and their fishing.

Jorge and Pedro peel their oranges to share with the others.

“I do not think he gave me back the same orange that fell into the sea,” Pedro says.

“He is a very strange man,” says Jorge. “He may even be crazy. But I like him.”

“I do also,” says Pedro as the others nod.

The orange peels fall into the water below where the Garibaldi goldfish peck at them. They think the peels are like themselves.

THE END

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September - November 2013

11

Singles Nite “So, do you like the blues?”

Wesley asks, during the break, dabbing his shiny forehead with his drink napkin, stuffing the wad of paper into his pocket.

“You ‘re a good dancer, Wesley.” I smile at him and empty my glass. I didn’t know I could still dance like that, chugging away with my arms and waving my hips like semaphores.

He refills our glasses from the pitcher between us. “I like dancing with you,” he says as he raises his drink to me, spilling a little beer on the table. “Oh, oh,” he says, looking for his napkin, borrowing mine. “I shouldn’t try to be smooth.”

I see it is a statement, not a plea for sympathy.

I’m getting used to his eyeglasses and his short square body.

When we dance, our cheeks meet, and whenever I look at him, he is looking back at me. I want the music to start again.

“When’s your birthday?” he asks, taking a folded piece of paper out of his wallet. I hesitate. December. Wesley is a lot younger than me. He waits and finally I tell him the year.

He holds the paper closer to the candle on the table . “Chinese fortune. You are creative, kind, and about to enter a new life.”

I say that I know that already. What else?

His voice soft and raspy, he answers, “You’re also good to look at.” His eyes, magnified behind the glass, are potent.

They make my cheeks hot.

“So . . . how’s your job? Computers?”

His body shifts, but his gaze doesn’t. “I’m a systems technician. I troubleshoot when things aren’t working right.”

I try to understand. “Sounds important.”

“I only work to eat. I don’t like to talk about it.” He waves a hand at the crowded room. “I live for music. I do this a lot.”

“Single Nites?”

“Jazz and blues singles nights. You get to know people, the regulars, like a family.” He points at two sixty-ish men a few tables away. “They’re always here. Sometimes I sit with them.” He lifts his glass. “In fact, you’re the first girl I’ve had a beer with in weeks.”

My eyes roll at the word girl. “And you’re the first boy I’ve talked to for twenty years, not counting my husband, who doesn’t count anymore, anyway, so forget I mentioned him.”

I’m a little drunk.

“Wang Dang Doodle,” Wesley says, his head cocked towards the music welling up. “Koko Taylor. Shall we?” He reaches for my hand and leads me to the dance floor. “We’re going to pitch our Wang Dang Doodle, all night long,” he croons as we slither and bump across the crowded dance floor.

I can hardly smell his English Leather any more.

When he asks if I would like to come by to listen to some of his 78’s sometime, I say yes. “Tonight?” he asks. “I can offer you a drink.”

I can’t think why not.

He lives in a duplex, an old deaf woman living in the other half who doesn’t mind when he cranks up his speakers. His mother died, he explains, and left it to him.

I follow his rear red lights and I consider turning away and going home, but I don’t.

A flock of antimacassars greet me as I brush past him and through the door of his house.

“My mother’s decor.”

“Nice,” I lie. A motherghost of lilac talcum rises when I settle on the corner cushion of the maroon sofa. He excuses himself to fuss in the kitchen, and I note the plastic flowers in the brass bowl on the cocktail table in front of me, the scented candle . An orange Fall landscape glows down at me from above the mantel, and I’m tempted to get up and

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September - November 2013

by Jo Barney

straighten it, but Wesley comes back too soon, carrying a tray on which a bottle of red wine perches in a nest of crackers, sliced apples and cheddar cheese.

“Terrible, isn’t it?” he says, reading my thoughts. “My fault. I only care about those.” He nods at the speakers looming like black specters in each corner of the room, “Wait ‘til you hear them.” He puts down the tray, crosses to a mahogany cabinet that lies like an altar between the black boxes, drops a record, fingers poised at its edges onto a turn table, and places the needle at its edge. As the music begins to fill the room, he settles in next to me and we crunch and swallow and focus on Sonny Boy Williamson.

The quaver in Sonny Boy’s voice matches the one in my stomach. Wesley keeps time with the beat of the harmonica by rubbing my index finger. “Bring it on home,” he sings into my ear.

He is actually quite handsome, close up, in a redcheeked sort of way, his glasses removed to the end table. I wonder how I seem to him as I hold his hand and trace his lifeline with my fingernail. “Looks good,” I say, not sure what I mean. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and clasps my elbow.

It’s all beginning to come back to me. I snuggle against his neck; his collar crushes against my cheek. He hums and his fingers stray from my arm and meander along the curve of my underarm.

I need to make a decision. My hand brushes his chin, end-of-the day whiskered. “Soft,” I say. I can’t remember Mike feeling soft, his mustache so bristly and stiff that it poked my lips. One time he said he would shave it off if it bothered me–the way I pulled away–and I said no and kissed him despite the pricks. I’ve never been very honest.

I need to be honest now. “Wesley, be careful. I think I’m a little crazy . . .”

His answer is a kiss. His pointed tongue darts here and there, along my teeth, behind my teeth, makes me want to laugh. I twist to get a better grip on him.

“And?” “I forget, “ I say, and all I know is the surge in my pelvis.

We collide, knees knocking, as we stretch out side-by-side on the sofa.

He is very patient. He pinches my nipples and licks my ear and kisses my eyelids. I nuzzle his Adam’s apple. He cups my buttocks and tells me I have a nice bum. I slip my hand into his pants and tell him his is hairy.

We giggle. And then he says, “Well, Jan?” “Yes,” I answer.

His fingers on my elbow, he shows me the bathroom, closes the door behind me. My hands shake, reach for a washcloth. I’m embarrassed by my underpants. When Mike left that last screaming night, I hissed that I was sure his new lady was out buying sexy underwear for him. “I will, too,” I yelled, “when my turn comes.”

Too late now.

I breathe, open the door and find Wesley in bed, a lump under the bedclothes. His sweet smile bids me to join him. If I have expected my first love affair to begin with ecstasy and passion, I have been dreaming. This lover has a sheet up to his chin, as if his mother has just tucked him in.

I unhook my bra and try not to think about my breasts. At least my legs are okay, I think, as I slide in and feel his warmth under the covers.

Wesley’s tongue weaves its way from my earlobe to my thigh. For a few minutes I wonder what I should be doing. Then I relax and swim in the flickflicks.

Then it is time, and he comes onto me and I raise myself to meet him.

Later, he says that I was grand, and his finger follows the track of a tear escaping across my cheek and into my hair.

“How are you?” he asks.

“Better.” I slip away from him with a brush of kiss across his eyebrow. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome.”

We shower together, dropping the soap and splashing water into each other’s eyes as we scrub and touch. The heat between us cools into silly wetness. I towel his back.

He wraps himself in a robe while I dress, and we sit on the sofa again, poking at the cheese, quiet, and he says, “Jan, I want to tell you, I’ve had a fine time.”

“Me, too,” I say.

“But I don’t have deep feelings. Toward you, I mean. I need for you to know that. I don’t want to hurt you.” His glasses rest on his nose again, his eyes big, tender.

“I know,” I answer. “It’s okay.” And it is okay.

I touch his pink cheek and stand up. “Call me, Wesley. Maybe we can try some jazz next time.”

He walks me to the door as Ain’t Nobody’s Business What We Do wails behind us “Jimmy Witherspoon,” he says, waving goodbye under the porch light.

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COOKING, FOOD & WINE Lust for Leaf: Vegetarian Noshes, Bashes, and Everyday Great Eats--The Hot Knives Way Alex Brown & Evan George Lifelong Books, $19.99, 123 pages

Lust for Leaf is an unusual vegetarian/vegan cookbook written by chef Alex Brown and food writer Evan George. This book is clearly written for the young partying type, mostly the single folks. Liquor is emphasized in recipes and comments and sexual innuendoes are regular. The recipes were converted from a professional kitchen and only partly successfully. They are not easy, in fact many are time-consuming in a home kitchen.

Techniques such as deep frying are a snap in a commercial kitchen, not so at home.

In many recipes grilling on a barbecue is one of the steps. Every recipe includes a suggested beer accompaniment (brands not easily available) and a music track. Tips in sidebars called Hey You! are only moderately useful. Most of the recipes are unusual and many have long list of ingredients. The ingredients are not listed according to conventional recipe writing, thus listing them according to use in cooking steps, they appear almost random.

Many ingredients are hard to find: such as four different kinds of unusual exotic mushrooms, squash blossoms, Anton’s Bavarian Limburger, urfa biber, Acquerello Carnaroli.

Color photo illustrations are nice but not professionally done. Index is brief, not cross referenced though adequate.

GEORGE ERDOSH

The Digest Diet: Dining Out Guide Liz Vaccariello Reader’s Digest, $9.99, 147 pages

If you are on a diet and if you often eat out in one of the major chain restaurants, The Digest Diet may be useful for you. This small, thin paperback fits into your pocket to carry it along for you eating-out trips, and that’s what its purpose is. The book is one of the three in a related series, all by Reader’s Digest. Liz Vaccariello starts with a twentyone page introduction encouraging you to be successful in your diet and giving you tips on how to choose a meal in sixty of the listed chain restaurants. She divides foods into two categories: fat increasers and fat releasers, and your diet into three phases. The phases go through three weeks and in each you choose from different types of restaurant meals.

The restaurant list gives contact phone numbers and websites for each and a brief paragraph about their characters and types

of foods they offer. Some restaurants have plenty of meal choices to fit the Digest Diet guidelines and for one she gives as many as twenty-four possibilities; others, like McDonald, you are limited to two. She also designs a simple meal, if all fails, you can request on ordering.

GEORGE ERDOSH

Savory Bites From Your Cake Pop Maker: 75 Fun Snacks, Adorable Appetizers and Delicious Entrees Heather Torronet Ulysses Press, $14.95, 114 pages

Heather Torrone is one creative chef, given her book Savory Bites From Your Cake Pop Maker because she has clearly demonstrated that cake pop makers are a lot more versatile than originally imagined! This full-color book with over 75 recipes takes your cake pop maker to new levels. Chapters include breakfast, poultry and seafood, beef, pork and lamb, vegetarian and desserts. These savory bites are easy to make, cook quickly and contain ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Torrone offers several tips and tricks to get started and her recipes are easyto-read and easy-to-follow with step-by-step instructions. For example, pancake pops make the traditional pancake that much more exciting and fun and Torrone even suggests fillings to go with your cute pancake pops.

The full-color photographs show the reader just how cute and tempting these bite-size confections will really be! Savory or sweet, this little gem of a book will expand your view of what your cake pop maker can really do! This is a fun book with many recipes you can make with your kids, create a theme or party around or just plain enjoy yourself!

Sign me up for the S’mores pops any day of the week!

SENIYE GROFF

Steal the Menu: A Memoir of Forty Years in Food Raymond Sokolov Knopf, $25.95, 242 pages

If you are looking forward to a book of enjoyable food writing in Steal the Menu you will be as disappointed as I was. This is a complete autobiography of author R. Sokolov starting with his birth and continuing through the next forty years over two-hundred pages. His writing is not easily readable, as he describes his life and career as writer and food critique in fine details, involving many, friends, acquaintances and colleagues and his associations with them. Sokolov describes the foods he has been eating both in France and America, particularly in New York. Some of this is interesting to read yet his writing style is not inviting us to be page-turners. In fact, most of it is tedious, colorless and lacking sparkle, text after text

with frequent footnotes, occasional small black-and-white illustrations, both sketches and historic photos. He divides the book into an introduction and five chapters, roughly breaking up his autobiography according to the phases of his life and career. Because of the many fine details, it’s difficult to enjoy this memoir unless you are truly interested in his life. New Yorkers may get more out of this book than the rest of us.

GEORGE ERDOSH

The Low-GI Slow Cooker: Delicious and Easy Dishes Made Healthy with the Glycemic Index Mariza Snyder, Lauren Clum and Anna V. Zulaica Ulysses Press, $14.95, 215 pages

low-GI slow cooker recipes. Choose from recipes divided into the following chapters: breakfast, soups, fish and poultry, red meat and pork, vegetarian dishes and desserts.

Along with each recipe comes detailed nutritional information (serving size, GI, calories, fat, saturated fat, carbs, fiber and protein).

This is good news for readers trying to keep track of other nutritional stats in addition to GI numbers.

Check out the authors’ helpful tips on grocery shopping. For example, follow the 80/20 rule - 80% of the items in your shopping cart should be whole foods and produce (i.e. fruits, vegetables, healthy meats, dairy, nuts and legumes) and the other 20% can be (but don’t have to be!) packaged foods that are minimally processed. A chart listing the GI numbers for each recipe’s ingredients is a resource readers will consult time after time. With recipes like French Toast Casserole, Smoky Pork Tacos, Vegetable Frittata, Chicken Sausage and Kale Soup, Spiced Sockeye Salmon with Greens, Chocolate Peanut Butter Custard and Berry Cobbler, your bases are covered - you’ve got choices for every meal of the day (and in-between-meal snacks), your family will thank you and you’ll see healthy results as soon as you make this lifestyle change. Buy this cookbook as an investment in your future!

KATHRYN FRANKLIN

With cases of diabetes, heart disease and obesity on the rise, it is important for everyone to take a good look at how the foods we eat affect our bodies. Taking this into account, doctors Mariza Snyder and Lauren Clum, along with Chef Anna V. Zulaica, have created a cookbook based on the glycemic index. In brief, the glycemic index (GI) rates a food based on how quickly it is absorbed by the body after consumption and how it affects blood sugar levels. Diabetics already know how important it is to incorporate the GI into their diet, but did you know that anyone can use the GI as a tool when planning delicious, healthy meals?

Whether you are familiar with it, or the concept is brand new, The Low-GI Slow Cooker guide and cookbook will change your eating habits and give you a chance to live a healthier, longer life.

In Section 1, the aur twoines. o f h t w on thors explain the ins per mandcrafted 6 2 $ and outs of the glycemic Just inning, h index in “user-friendly” -w award terms. Readers will then learn how and why the body processes and needs carbohydrates.

Experience Fine California Wine Finally, the authors point from Small Family Wineries. out the economic and nutritional benefits of 1-800-423-9979 using a slow-cooker in Call Us Monday through Friday meal preparation. SecAlso Makes a Fun 8am to 5pm PST. tion 2, the largest section Void where prohibited, some restrictions may apply. & Unique Gift of the book, features the

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“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”

-Virginia Woolf

September - November 2013

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COOKING, FOOD & WINE The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey with Rick Kushman Evolve Publishing, $15.95, 275 pages

It’s hard to believe, but authors Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey relate stories about their business, Barefoot Wines, for nearly three-hundred pages in The Barefoot Spirit and still manage to keep you entertained throughout. Their story started in 1986, when the authors knew next to nothing about creating and running a wine business and building a brand. They had an unprecedented success until a major wine maker bought their business and la-

bel nineteen years later.

The authors decided to write the book in thirdperson and every page is filled with excellent stories and anecdotes about building their business, with Houlihan in the “front office” and Harvey in the “back office,” perfectly complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The writing is great, very readable and very entertaining and, from a business point-of-view, very

educational and informative.

They punctuate their stories of building a popular, consistent wine brand with many enjoyable dialogues and humorous anecdotes. They also break up the text with occasional comic strip-like sketches. Dividing the text into short sections and paragraphs further facilitates the ease of reading. Each chapter ends with a brief three or four-page interview with journalist Rick Kushman, and every one is a joy to read.

GEORGE ERDOSH

“The tale of Barefoot Cellars is like no other in wine and it’s a landmark in American business.”

MYSTERY, CRIME, THRILLERS The Travis Club Mark Louis Rybczyk Amazon Digital Services, Inc., $4.99, 185 pages

In the beginning of the 20th century the Finck company supplied special cigars to the members of The Travis Club. After the war the club was closed but the Travis Club cigars survived. Taylor Nichols, a handsome young writer, radio host and historical activist, is trying to save the historic Finck Cigar Building that its owner, Noel Black wants to destroy. To prevent demolishing Taylor’s friends chain themselves to a toilet in the restroom of the building. This group is called the Travis Club because each time, after being released from a jail, they give Travis cigars to the police officers.

This is not the last encounter Taylor and Black have with historical artifacts. The mystery surrounding St. Anthony Catholic Retreat that Black has recently purchased from the Catholic Church is another part of this story. The Retreat was designed by once famous architect Randall Hugley.

Taylor found Hugley’s drawings in the attic of his rented apartment and wrote a successful book on the man.

The anticipated release of Taylor’s new book, Alamo Secret, where he doubts the authenticity of the Davy Crockett tomb in the back of the San Fernando Cathedral, makes various people curious and anxious.

Thus, Taylor is a little concerned about being invited to a meeting with the bishop’s assistant, Father Olivares. However, Father Olivares is more interested in the Retreat’s drawings and thinks Taylor might have them.

There were always rumors about this building but Taylor wasn’t allowed to visit it while

writing the book on Hugley’s works. Black is looking for these drawings as well and even burglarizes Taylor’s apartment. Although Hugley was famous for designing hidden places, Taylor wonders why both Black and the Catholic Church are so desperate to find the building’s drawings.

The Travis Club mystery creates a new twist in the history of the legendary Battle of the Alamo. Although it is wonderful to know real details, many readers will agree with the author’s opinion that “history is often not based on fact.”

GALINA ROIZMAN

Gnathostomata James Kerley Apparent Magnitude Press, $9.99, 234 pages

Every few years, a piece of media is created that leaves the viewer, or reader, astounded and confused. The Matrix, Primer, House of Leaves, these all tell deeper stories than what is apparent on the surface. Gnathostomata

by James Kerley joins the ranks of these fine and thought-provoking tales.

In this slim volume, coming in at just over 200 pages, author James Kerley tells the story of Dick Monroe, a psychic cop in a futuristic society. His home city is meant to be the last outpost of civilization in a world decimated after a cataclysmic world war. The only thing outside the safety of the dome covering the city is ash raining from the sky and wild animals. When Dick gets a case from his chief that looks to be the work of a serial killer thought long dead, his psychic visions begin. He is drawn to a drug addict named Eddie who sees the same visions Dick sees. Together the two escape the city and venture out to find the

location of the killer. They must fight murderous androids, are captured by a mad doctor bent on controlling their psychic abilities and befriend fellow escapees.

Gnathostomata is a tough book to explain.

There are psychic visions that the reader never quite finds out if they are real or not.

Hallucinogenic drugs affect almost everyone’s perception of reality. There are obscure handwritten notes littering the city and countryside referencing water, cabins, horses and drowning. Noises in rooms that don’t exist keep the characters awake at night and dreams interrupt reality. Everything seems unreliable...but it is this unreliability that lends everything its credibility. If everything is wrong, something must be right. It is in this unknowing that the true pleasure of reading this story comes through.

The author has a way of creating a world that feels like home, even within all its dysfunction. Kerley’s real strength comes is in his characters. He does a great job of portraying Dick Monroe’s fall from straight-laced cop to junkie and his struggle out of addiction to finally find the truth. Likewise, Eddie’s drugaltered mind is perfectly translated on the page, so much so, that after a short amount of time reading, the reader begins to question their own sanity.

It is not often a book can evoke a truly emotional response, but Gnathostomata does so many times over. The reader feels everything the characters do.

Happiness, fear, panic, paranoia, vindication and regret all swirl around the reader on every page.

James Kerley is an outstanding author and Gnathostomata is a spectacular book. Whatever you are doing right now, stop, and go buy a copy of this book.

ANDREW KEYSER

The Nostradamus Society J. Douglas Shaw Smashwords, $4.99, 443 pages

J. Douglas Shaw’s The Nostradamus Society is a sprawling, long novel with a large, intertwined cast of characters and a plot involving religion, computer warfare, greed, politics and the work of Michel de Nostredame. When Joe Kerry finds what appears to be an original book of Nostradamus’ prophecies in his deceased grandfather’s attic, he doesn’t realize the ramifications that his discovery will have in his own life—or, in fact, in the world. The book may contain secrets that threaten to unravel the world as we know it.

Taking his cue from Dan Brown’s complex, historically-informed novels, J. Douglas Shaw has created a novel with multiple intersecting story-lines, intrigue, violence and conspiracy that will thrill fans of suspense novels. At times, however, the novel feels forced, as if Shaw were trying to cover too many bases at once, and at other times, the story seems too contrived and too timely.

The character of President Harris is too obviously based on Barack Obama and some of the characters seem too neatly taken out of the suspense novel cast of characters. These flaws make The Nostradamus Society slightly less successful than it could be—but they don’t stop it from being entertaining.

ASHLEY MCCALL

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September - November 2013

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MYSTERY, CRIME, THRILLERS Mocha, Moonlight, and Murder MaryAnn Kempher Booktrope, $2.99, 248 pages

What if you met the man of your dreams and he was dressed in drag? Okay maybe, if you’re into that sort of thing. What if he was also evasive and you noticed that his hedges involved other men? Not for you?

What if that mystery was wrapped around someone trying to kill you? If you think you can predict the good guy, the bad guy or the real drag queen, take a swing at bat.

In Mocha, Moonlight and Murder, author MaryAnn Kemper weaves the elements of a strange murder into her main characters’ complicated post divorce love life. The story is an interesting blend of romance, death and those crazy dates you go on without a clue to their purpose.

Katherine O’Brian finds herself single again and enrolled in her last college class before graduation when she witnesses a stranger moving a dead body.

She is chased by the man and finally escapes and reports the incident to the police. Before they make any apparent headway into the investigation, someone stalks Katherine and tries to kill her. Then her obnoxiously selfish sister visits to help pack up their parents’ belongings following the death of their father. As if things couldn’t get any more complicated, Katherine is working diligently on a class project with a handsome fellow student when she runs into an old friend who wants to date her.

While the plot is exciting, the characters complex and the setting compelling, the text lacks an attention to detail that large publishing houses insist on before going to print. If you aren’t a writer, editor or English teacher, you will enjoy this remarkably conceived plot.

SHELI ELLSWORTH

The Last Man Out James Kassel James Kassel, $4.49, 179 pages

The Last Man Out tells the story of John Carter, a mysterious man who wanders into the small Florida town of Newcastle Beach in search of anonymity. Instead, he discovers a quietly powerful family with direct ties to his own shadowy past. Relying on his sharp instincts and remarkable physical prowess, Carter must navigate this deceptively dangerous town while maintaining his own con. All while saving the girl, fighting the bad guys and unraveling the secrets of the powerful Thomas family.

Author James Kassel weaves a complex tale of intrigue that includes both suspense

and some interesting twists. However, it doesn’t quite deliver. From a technical standpoint, the book is fraught with distracting grammar and editing errors.

And Kassel’s writing style is in co nsis te nt .

While the action scenes are well written and suspenseful, the dialogue is often stiff and forced.

From a storytelling standpoint, there are some noticeably frustrating gaps as the different storylines are tied up in the end. Also, many of the characters are underdeveloped.

This reader had a difficult time keeping all the Thomas family members straight and was also left wondering who John Carter is.

Perhaps the author’s intent is to write a follow-up that will shed more light on the mysterious protagonist.

REBECCA PARSONS

Marcie Carly M. Duncan CreateSpace, $6.20, 131 pages

Duncan’s novel opens with a teenaged Kate learning of the disappearance of her mother, the titular Marcie, in an accident at sea. Readers hoping for a good crime novel, however, will be disappointed by Duncan’s story, which abandons this initial hook almost immediately in favor of a story, mostly told in retrospect, about Kate’s coming of age and her struggles with her mother and their dysfunctional family. Over the course of the novel, we follow Kate both in the past as she whines about her family in typical teenage fashion and also in the present, where she must come together with that same family in order to cope with their mutual loss. It can be difficult, at times, to tell the difference between these sections, as Kate at sixteen and Kate at nineteen are virtually indistinguishable, and neither is particularly compelling. Perhaps where the story shines brightest are those moments when Kate and her mother are in the same room together, where the complexity of their relationship is revealed.

With Marcie lost, of course, these moments are few and far between. With as many family members as chapters, Marcie is at its core a simple morality play convoluted by a lot of step-fathers and flashbacks, masquerading as a mystery even to the end, where the resolution to the disappearance is regrettably too little too late.

MICHAEL WEINGARTNER

Hunting Eve Iris Johansen St. Martin’s Press, $27.99, 385 pages

Eve Duncan, a forensic sculptor, begins with a skull and models a face to help identify the lost for the sake of their families. Since losing her own daughter, it has become her mission. While her detective husband was out of town, she was kidnapped by a deranged man who wants her to reconstruct the skull of his dead son. He took her to a remote mountain location in Colorado, where she was held prisoner while her frantic family and friends searched for her. As others, including law enforcement and a paid assassin, hunt for her kidnapper, her attempts to escape become more and more hopeless.

The New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen has long been known for creating unforgettable characters and suspenseful plots. Some previous works include Sleep No More, Close Your Eyes, What Doesn’t Kill You, and many more. Taking Eve was the first in a trilogy in which Hunting Eve// is the second.

Hunting Eve is a superb continuation of the story, with intriguing people and breath-taking suspense, set against the backdrop of an abandoned gold mining area in the forested mountains of Colorado. The ending creates enormous anticipation for the final novel in this thrilling series.

FRAN BYRAM

“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.”

- Neil Armstrong

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September - November 2013

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MYSTERY, CRIME, THRILLERS Beyond the Bridge (Charlestown Connection: Dermot Sparhawk Thriller) Tom MacDonald Oceanview Publishing, $26.95, 288 pages

Dermot Sparhawk was working in the parish food pantry when a man approached him, asking for help in clearing his brother’s name. His brother was a recently murdered priest who had been accused of being a pedophile. Reluctantly, Dermot agreed to look into it. Then another priest and another was murdered and crucified in the same way.

Battling alcoholism and a turf war with police, Dermot, along with his Micmac Indian cousins and a paraplegic former football teammate, chases clues to the serial killer, ultimately placing themselves in danger.

Tom MacDonald’s first novel, The Charlestown Connection won the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Award, Best First Novel, and was a finalist for the American Librarian Association Book of the Year Award. After a long career in business, he now works in the non-profit sector as Director of Social Ministries at St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Parish.

Engrossing from page one, this novel brings to life fascinating people involved in a tantalizing mystery. Aside from rather tedious descriptions of travel routes, this intricate crime thriller is riveting and immensely enjoyable and the eventual identity of the suspected serial killer is a shocker.

Dermot Sparhawk was working in the parish food pantry when a man approached him, asking for help in clearing his brother’s name. His brother was a recently murdered priest who had been accused of being a pedophile. Reluctantly, Dermot agreed to look into it. Then another priest and another was murdered and crucified in the same way.

Battling alcoholism and a turf war with police, Dermot, along with his Micmac Indian cousins and a paraplegic former football teammate, chases clues to the serial killer, ultimately placing themselves in danger.

Tom MacDonald’s first novel, The Charlestown Connection won the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Award, Best First Novel, and was a finalist for the American Librarian Association Book of the Year Award. After a long career in business, he now works in the non-profit sector as Director of Social Ministries at St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Parish.

Engrossing from page one, this novel brings to life fascinating people involved in a tantalizing mystery. Aside from rather tedious descriptions of travel routes, this intricate crime thriller is riveting and immensely enjoyable and the eventual identity of the suspected serial killer is a shocker.

FRAN BYRAM

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September - November 2013

Reckoning at Harts Pass Elizabeth G. Macalaster Martin Point Press, $14.95, 234 pages

Reckoning at Harts Pass is a rollicking fun read. The fast-paced and very timely thriller tracks an international terrorist plot to bring a dirty bomb into the United States through the not-sosecure U.S-Canadian border.

Timing and circumstance lead to recently-retired FBI agent Luke Chamberlain having to push aside his bitterness toward the Agency and foil the plot – all while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

Elizabeth Macalaster has written an exciting book that is a true page-turner.

She elegantly weaves the lives of men from Russia, Pakistan, Canada and the U.S. into a tapestry of national pride, religious beliefs, personal demons…and ultimately, revenge. While diving into complicated matters of the FBI, Taliban and Cold War, Macalaster uses a light touch, explaining difficult topics with clear, simple language. She creates interesting, complex characters that many readers would likely want to meet again.

Macalaster does a beautiful job bringing together Chamberlain’s strained family life, American Indian background, bitterness toward the FBI and his journey to reconcile all these inner struggles on the Pacific Crest Trail. The Trail plays a dual role in the book, serving as the backbone of the story as well as an intriguing character. Stretching from southern California to the U.S-Canadian border, it is a diverse land, ranging from arid deserts to snowy mountains, and Macalaster expertly portrays the variety of the land and climate, as well as all the fascinating people Chamberlain meets along the trail.

Despite the complex mosaic of characters and settings, the plot moves along quickly, which is to be commended. However, it seems to move along a little too quickly at times. Readers may have enjoyed a little more “tease” in some places to build suspense as various plots reveal themselves and characters march toward the ultimate confrontation. But then again, the quick pace also makes Reckoning the hard-to-putdown, loan-it-to-your-friends fun read that it is. Don’t miss this one!

Reckoning at Harts Pass is a rollicking fun read. The fast-paced and very timely thriller tracks an international terrorist plot to bring a dirty bomb into the United States through the not-so-secure U.S-Canadian border. Timing and circumstance lead to recently-retired FBI agent Luke Chamberlain having to push aside his bitterness toward the Agency and foil the plot – all while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

Elizabeth Macalaster has written an exciting book that is a true page-turner. She elegantly weaves the lives of men from Russia, Pakistan, Canada and the U.S. into a tapestry

of national pride, religious beliefs, personal demons…and ultimately, revenge. While diving into complicated matters of the FBI, Taliban and Cold War, Macalaster uses a light touch, explaining difficult topics with clear, simple language. She creates interesting, complex characters that many readers would likely want to meet again.

Macalaster does a beautiful job bringing together Chamberlain’s strained family life, American Indian background, bitterness toward the FBI and his journey to reconcile all these inner struggles on the Pacific Crest Trail. The Trail plays a dual role in the book, serving as the backbone of the story as well as an intriguing character. Stretching from southern California to the U.S-Canadian border, it is a diverse land, ranging from arid deserts to snowy mountains, and Macalaster expertly portrays the variety of the land and climate, as well as all the fascinating people Chamberlain meets along the trail.

An International Thriller for a Modern Age Despite the complex mosaic of characters and settings, the plot moves along quickly, which is to be commended. However, it seems to move along a little too quickly at times. Readers may have enjoyed a little more “tease” in some places to build suspense as various plots reveal themselves and characters march toward the ultimate confrontation. But then again, the quick pace also makes Reckoning the hard-to-putdown, loan-it-to-your-friends fun read that it is. Don’t miss this one!

REBECCA PARSONS

Nameless Joe Conlan Joe Conlan, $14.99, 360 pages

A killer moves to Florida to concentrate on raising a family. What could go wrong? Born without a birth certificate, Shem has been able to define who he is and becomes one of the best “nameless” psychopathic killers with targets across the world. He settles in Florida and sets his sights on Annie Bryan.

Shem must do something about her relationships and begins cutting down the competition. The fun really begins when Shem decides to frame Annie’s paramour, Special Agent in Charge Daniel Falcone.

There’s a lot of really great stuff in Conlan’s book. The characters alone are worth the ticket. The conflict between Shem and Falcone is set up well. With that said, a problem with the book is that we are shown Falcone’s

one bad day and then the story flashes back to tell the lead up. The flash back sets up the history and personalities of a lot of the characters but it also removes a certain amount of mystery and creates a log jam in the narrative. It’s a beautiful log but it does slow things down a little.

The plot is built up rather nicely and there are minimal coincidences. Everything happens for a reason rather than merely being convenient to the plot. The characters relationships and interactions are full of struggles and fun, not just purely good or bad.

Nameless is definitely a book for those long days at the beach and one that will keep you reading until the end.

A killer moves to Florida to concentrate on raising a family. What could go wrong? Born without a birth certificate, Shem has been able to define who he is and becomes one of the best “nameless” psychopathic killers with targets across the world. He settles in Florida and sets his sights on Annie Bryan.

Shem must do something about her relationships and begins cutting down the competition. The fun really begins when Shem decides to frame Annie’s paramour, Special Agent in Charge Daniel Falcone.

There’s a lot of really great stuff in Conlan’s book. The characters alone are worth the ticket. The conflict between Shem and Falcone is set up well. With that said, a problem with the book is that we are shown Falcone’s one bad day and then the story flashes back to tell the lead up.

The flash back sets up the history and personalities of a lot of the characters but it also removes a certain amount of mystery and creates a log jam in the narrative.

It’s a beautiful log but it does slow things down a little.

The plot is built up rather nicely and there are minimal coincidences. Everything happens for a reason rather than merely being convenient to the plot. The characters relationships and interactions are full of struggles and fun, not just purely good or bad.

Nameless is definitely a book for those long days at the beach and one that will keep you reading until the end.

JAMAIS JOCHIM

The Innocence Game Michael Harvey Alfred A. Knopf, $24.95, 241 pages

Graduate students enrolled in a criminology seminar at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism find themselves immersed in a pool of police corruption when they attempt to link several child murders to one killer. The

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Continued on page 17

MYSTERY, CRIME, THRILLERS Continued from page 16

cases are especially sticky because someone has already been convicted in one of the slayings. Author Michael Harvey adroitly explores the psychology behind the character’s motivation and keeps his readers guessing in The Innocence Game. Rarely can a book have so many twists and turns without seeming contrived, but Harvey pulls it off with eloquence and authenticity. Harvey’s characters are real and complex and anyone who has attended graduate school will relate to the trust issues the author brings to light and the cat and mouse relationship between instructors and students.

The story takes the readers from the back alleys of Chicago to the waters of Lake Michigan and lends credibility to the preposterous notion that crime scene evidence can be planted and not all cops are the good guys. A great read for crime buffs and anyone who is frustrated with the criminal justice system!

Graduate students enrolled in a criminology seminar at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism find themselves immersed in a pool of police corruption when they attempt to link several child

murders to one killer. The cases are especially sticky because someone has already been convicted in one of the slayings. Author Michael Harvey adroitly explores the psychology behind the character’s motivation and keeps his readers guessing in The Innocence Game. Rarely can a book have so many twists and turns without seeming contrived, but Harvey pulls it off with eloquence and authenticity. Harvey’s characters are real and complex and anyone who has attended graduate school will relate to the trust issues the author brings to light and the cat and mouse relationship between instructors and students.

The story takes the readers from the back alleys of Chicago to the waters of Lake Michigan and lends credibility to the preposterous notion that crime scene evidence can be planted and not all cops are the good guys. A great read for crime buffs and anyone who is frustrated with the criminal justice system!

SHELI ELLSWORTH

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CRAFTS & HOBBIES Terrariums Reimagined: Mini Worlds Made in Creative Containers Kat Geiger Ulysses Press, $14.95, 108 pages

It never fails that when we enter a store my older daughter always starts gawking at overpriced terrariums and begs, “Please Mom, can we buy it?” Well, with Terrariums Reimagined I believe my problems have been solved - I will make one myself! Kat Geiger has been making terrariums since 2001 and has compiled great ideas in this book. Her book is logically organized by ingredients, tillandsia, desert and tropical terrariums, children’s and out of the ordinary terrariums and finally, maintaining your terrarium.

Geiger focuses on using unique, recycled containers, which really give a terrarium personality. Terrariums are great options when space is limited – maintenance is low and cool factor is really high. Each chapter begins with planning basics for the ecosystem chosen and then every project gives a list of ingredients needed, an in-

troductory paragraph of information and ideas for sourcing the terrarium vessel. The pages are loaded with full color photos outlining the steps and showcasing the final product. This is a fun book that provides ideas to implement to make some cool little gardens. Follow the directions and then wait for your friends to scream, “Hey, how did you do that? It is so cool!”

SENIYE GROFF

Made By Dad: 67 Blueprints for Making Cool Stuff Scott Bedford Workman Publishing, $18.95, 330 pages

Made by Dadis probably one of the coolest, most creative books you will see. It contains 67 blueprints for either making stuff with your kids or for your kids. The book opens with a “toolbox” section containing suggestions for materials, tools, tips and techniques. There are seven chapters organized into fun topics such as suspect science, geeky gadgets and covert creations. One of the beautiful things about this book is that you do not need a slew of highly complicated power tools; almost everything you need will already be in your house. Each project is assigned a level: easy, medium or tricky and contains a list of materials. The directions are a combination of drawings, step-by- step instructions and photographs. This review-

er believes that you kids will be fascinated just by the drawings and directions before they ever actually see the finished product.

There is a bit of intrigue and mystery to the way the directions are given with arrows going every which way and lots of details such as measurements and angles.

This book makes father-kid time ripe with excitement and anticipation and even if the project does not look like the example in the book, this reviewer bets that you will have tons of fun getting to whatever end result you and your kids develop. This book could easily be a catalyst for the school science project, entertainment for a rainy afternoon or the makings of the next astronaut or engineer…it is that fun and creative!

The appendix contains the templates for all of the book’s projects. The most difficult decision you will face with this book is which project to choose first!

SENIYE GROFF

Read the “From the Editors” column at www. portlandbookreview.com

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.

Art is knowing which ones to keep.”

- Scott Adams September - November 2013

17

SELF-HELP Bounce Forward: Find Your Way, Grow Resilient, and Enjoy Your Life Debra Dane Life Path Publications, $12.99, 154 pages

Debra Dane’s Bounce Forward explores those life lessons that makes riding the roller coaster of maturation a little smoother. Incorporating the philosophies of Existential, Cognitive and Positive Psychology with the ideologies of Lao Tzu, Jesus, Buddha, Patanjali and Rumi, Dane has wisely molded an easy reading format for young women without the interruption of references.

Beginning with the “big launch”, the author lets us peek at her own first stint at “being on her own”, two thousand miles away from family and friends. She sprinkles personal vignettes that read like journal entries throughout the chapters, which focus on decision-making, loneliness, balance, confidence, happiness, tolerance, etc. The book explores many of the problems that young women have to learn to cope with like dealing with difficult people and unwanted sexual advances while integrating the natu-

ral flow of change with the safety of routine.

Learning how hang in there despite the odds, allowing yourself room to be your authentic self while having the confidence to allow for change and growth is the book’s underlying theme.

The book has wonderful insight presented in a warm and gentle tone; however, this reviewer wanted more verbs. It is one thing to tell someone how she should embrace the world around her, it is another to give her the tools to change. Asking someone to name ten things she is grateful for is a much more concrete learning experience than telling someone to be grateful.

I would have expected bullets that summarized the main points and exercises of some sort to reinforce the learning. Bold font was used for some terms, which usually indicates a textbook or workbook format. The vignettes have a tendency to vacillate in tense and setting which weakens their impact on the reader and it was difficult in some cases to understand how the vignette connected to the chapter’s message.

SHELI ELLSWORTH

The Secret of Life Wellness: The Essential Guide to Life’s Big Questions Inna Segal Atria Books, $13.86, 304 pages

In Segal’s opinion, it’s important to embrace your prostitute archetype and why finding your soul mate probably would not resolve your love problem. If you seek more information, Segal has included QR codes that provide access to special material on her website. Many examples from her and her clients’ experiences are very convincing and inspiring. While reading The Secret of Life Wellness it’s hard to hold yourself from practicing Segal’s life-improving techniques immediately.

GALINA ROIZMAN

more. Plot twists and surprises, which are notorious to King’s novels, are especially mesmerizing in this story, mainly because he just cuts to the chase and doesn’t follow his usual over-development of settings and characters. Readers will enjoy this story again and again. This is a must read even if you’ve never been a Stephen King fan before!

M. CHRIS JOHNSON

not sparkle in sunlight. Rather, they organize themselves into a complex underground network socially stratified by the different methods in which blood addiction can be indulged. The dynamics between those that drink and those that inject human blood are well developed as is the overall setting of the story. The detailed diction used to describe New York City makes it come alive almost like a character in and of itself.

On the subject of characters, Ernie is an intensely likable protagonist. He is smartalecky and sarcastic, but also quite caring.

The genuine regret he feels about the injurious choices he has made throughout his life is absolutely heartbreaking. Similarly, Gideon is a darkly compelling anti-hero.

His central role in creating a farm to harvest human blood from captured criminals can be seen as dastardly, yet not outright detestable. Readers can surely empathize with the conflict this character feels pursuing the greatest good for his accursed kind, especially once introduced to an even more insidious threat by the novel’s end.

The ending, however, is really the novel’s only mentionable misstep.

While somewhat satisfying, readers may feel like it goes too far in setting up the inevitable sequel. Still, Product is a quick and excitingly entertaining read. It will most definitely captivate any horror fans ready to open wide and drink it up.

MICHAEL ALBANI

BURIED

Bestselling author, Inna Segal wrote yet another outstanding book. In this book, based on her Visionary Intuitive Healing teaching experience, she provides answers to 21 life’s essential questions. At first, Segal recommends you to develop and trust your own intuition even though it could be illogical.

From this part of the book you understand how to connect and heal your inner child and other archetypes. In the second section, Segal answers questions about your soul’s journey. You’ll find how to connect to your soul and learn about different types of soul mates. And in the third, Segal concentrates on ways of resolving your relationship problems with money and success, with partners and children: present and lost.

HORROR Joyland Stephen King Titan, $7.46 ,288 pages

The Master Storyteller has done the impossible: improved upon his own perfection as a storyteller. Stephen King has beautifully and seamlessly weaved a tapestry of the past, present and future like memories that ebb and flow through our own minds in his latest work, Joyland.

The story begins with Devin Jones as he heads to North Carolina to get his first summer job at an amusement park called Joyland, leaving behind his girlfriend Wendy Keegan in the hopes of winning her affections once again.

What he finds is new friendships, a job he loves, a mystic, a ghost, a woman, her son and his dog, and pure adventure.

King writes in the first-person voice, masterfully depicting the protagonist’s true nature. The characters of Devin’s life are relatable and engaging, calling to mind childhood memories of the reader’s own experiences at amusements parks. Rather than soil the flow of the story with those pesky chapters, the master of horror separates one- to two-page sections with, ironically, little black hearts and ends the previous section’s piece with a poignant, one-liner final thought, whetting the reader’s appetite for

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September - November 2013

Product Ian McCain Ian S McCain, $2.99, 281 pages

Ernie was just another homeless boozer spiraling toward self-destruction on New York City’s deadly streets until the night he contracted a mysterious virus. It spread through his sickly body increasing his strength, speed, and resilience making him nearly immortal. However, such power comes with a powerful price. He must work for the rest of his life under Gideon and his shadowy Organization distributing a certain product throughout the city. This product is the only thing that can quench the thirst that threatens to drive individuals like Ernie into an inescapable murderous Rage. This product is human blood.

Product is a very well crafted work that infuses some creative elements into a horror subgenre that has been so exhausted and exploited over the past few years. The vampires populating the world of Product do

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MUSIC & MOVIES The Great Gatsby: Midnight in Manhattan F. Scott Fitzgerald BBC America, NA, Movie

BBC America’s The Great Gatsby: Midnight in Manhattan has two distinct sections, each less than an hour long: Midnight in Manhattan, a short documentary on The Great Gatsby and Private Affairs: A Dream of Living, a short play imagining a day in the life F. Scott Fitzgerald while he lived in Paris with his family and friends.

Midnight in Manhattan belongs in any high school or college English teacher’s classroom. It gives a basic overview of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life and the social importance of The Great Gatsby, not just in its own time, but also how it relates to modern day culture. Any F. Scott Fitzgerald scholar or aficionado, who has read his canon, including his letters, will find little new information; however, it’s made worthwhile by the impressive lineup of guests including writers Christopher Hitchens, Hunter S Thompson and William Styron, literary critics Harold Bloom, Ruth Prigozy and James L.W. West III. Frances Kroll Ring, F. Scott’s secretary during the last 20 months of his life, revisits the renovated home where Fitzgerald lived and died. Fitzgerald’s granddaughter, Eleanor Lanaham, reads letters

and talks about her grandparents.

Private Affairs: A Dream of Living, written by Robert Muller and filmed in 1975, dramatizes a day in the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald in Paris in 1925 with his wife Zelda and friend Ernest Hemingway. All three are cast as caricatures that quickly become annoying, not just due to the gross misrepresentation, but also from an entertainment standpoint.

Although the play should be skipped, the documentary portion of The Great Gatsby: Midnight in Manhattan is a great commemoration of Fitzgerald for anyone who loves or wants to learn more about The Great Gatsby and how the novel’s commentary on the American dream is more important today than ever before.

SARAH HUTCHINS

The Great Jazz Guitarists: The Ultimate Guide Scott Yanow Backbeat Books, $24.99, 237 pages

This is basically an encyclopedia of jazz guitarists, divided into sections that highlight the “342 most significant players,” 44 players of historical importance, and 175 contemporary players who the author anticipates will be of similar quality in coming years. There is also a short introductory

history of jazz guitar and related styles, a brief ending section describing 35 other tangential figures, and short listing of jazz guitarists in films and a short list of other books about jazz guitar.

Along with such familiar names as Eddie Lang, Charlie Christian, and Wes Montgomery dozens of lesser known figures appear.

The coverage is very broad, and includes European players, guitarists best known for working in recording studios, and borderline figures who are better known in the world of blues, rhythm and blues, or rock. The author recommends CD’s of the artists, and even earlier long playing records. This should prove a great resource for readers and guitar fans.

By and large, the overage is fair, and even –handed. Once in a while the author is clearly working from second and third hand sources, and omits information that might be useful. For example, Sam Brown was particularly notable for his finger style jazz work, and Barry Galbraith, in addition to being a great jazz player, was particularly sought after in the New York studios and avant garde concert scene because of his phenomenal sight reading abilities.

The introductory section of he book includes a short list of the ultimate jazz guitar

giants, and few readers are apt to entirely agree with the author’s choices. More serious is the omission of a number of East Coast jazz players who ended up mostly in recording studios. This list would certainly include, but not be limited to, Don Arnone, Howard Collins, Allen Hanlon, Hugh McCracken, and David Spinozza. Another no-show is Joe Negri, who introduced millions of children to jazz guitar on the Mr. Rogers TV show.

Along the same lines, the author omits Perry Bechtel in his litany of jazz banjoists.

In a work of this dimension, such omissions are probably inevitable. If you enjoy jazz guitar, this book will, introduce you to many of the existing and historical masters of the idiom.

DICK WEISSMAN

and then a “Message from Your Heavenly Father” that is a love letter from God to his precious daughters.

Grady’s writing is casual and engaging, his knowledge of the Bible and the culture during that time is profound but the most endearing quality of this book is his inarguable perception of the true reality of how God really views women. This definitive work should be required reading of all pastors, clergy and religious leaders but more importantly, it should be required reading for all women so that each of them would know their importance and that their potential contributions could change the world.

M. CHRIS JOHNSON

translation, this makes for an interesting look at the history of religion through the lens of its language and its etymology.

Although it does get into some areas of personal belief, in general Marcus J. Borg sticks to an objective path of exploration. This is a very conversational book, engaging the reader in a discussion of the origins of some of the most important words in Christendom. This makes for an interesting look at history, as the language is usually the most changeable feature despite beliefs that language is immutable. For those looking to explore their religion, or to explore history through language, this makes for some interesting reading.

JAMAIS JOCHIM

“ I never practice my guitar — from time to time I just open the case and throw in a piece of raw meat.”

- Wes Montgomery, Jazz Guitarist

RELIGION Pastor: A Fictional Reminiscence-with Conversations on Religion and Society James Stanley Barlow AuthorHouse, $2.90, 332 pages

While reading James Stanley Barlow’s Pastor, one can almost hear the lilt of the storyteller in his cadence and word choice.

The pace and easy, down-home style make this a very enjoyable read. Before the story begins, the author writes a disclaimer that everything in the book is fictitious, yet it reads like a memoir. The narrator relates incidents which occur at his first church. Some of the tales are tragic: a baby dying in her crib, a teenage girl thrown off a motorcycle and killed. Yet he leaves the reader with a sense that he is learning from the parishioners in grief more than in offering them comfort.

The one criticism is that even though everything, including the tragedies, is addressed as lessons, there is little emotional connection to the events once they occur. Overall, Pastor is a pleasant read.

MARY-LYNNE MONROE

Fearless Daughters of the Bible: What You Can Learn from 22 Women Who Challenged Tradition, Fought Injustice and Dared to Lead Author Publisher, $0.00, 000 pages

Through all the ages women have been a source of oppression but no greater time were they than in the beginning, in biblical times. The Bible itself references women in a seemingly second-class light. Author J. Lee Grady is here to teach us differently in his insightful book titled Fearless Daughters of the Bible. From Sarah, a pioneer to Hannah, a true believer to the 4 daughters of Phillip who had the courage to speak for God, each chapter is of a different heroine from the Bible and how God used her for His purpose and honored her in that.

Uniquely, at the end of each chapter is a “Let’s Talk about It” with discussion points

Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power - And How They Can Be Restored Author Publisher, $0.00, 000 pages

Christianity has changed over the last millennia, and so has its vocabulary. Speaking Christian looks at how and why that vocabulary has changed. The history of each word is fully explored, from its original meaning and context to its modern meaning and context. As so much of religion is based on

Read the “From the Editors” column at www. portlandbookreview.com

September - November 2013

19

SPIRITUALITY & INSPIRATION The Evil Mastermind Management Book Jamais Jochim Two Sparrows Productions, $12.00, 225 pages

When first picking up The Evil Mastermind Management Handbook it doesn’t look like much. A Technicolor cover, some simple design, and an odd font. On the back it reads “In This Tome, you will find what it takes to be an Evil Mastermind!” with topics including, “Why Men Don’t Ask for Directions” and, “Diplomacy and Other Nasty Strategies.”

Everything about this book lends itself to being comedic.

When the first page has been turned though, it is anything but a joke.

Author Jamais Jochim has created a tongue-in-cheek self-help guide for business, management, and personal growth.

The premise of the book is straightforward, helping evil masterminds navigate the tumultuous waters of being evil. The book opens with examples of past evil masterminds, people like the Devil, Darth Vader, Napoleon, and Morgan Le Fey. Each of the samples outlines how they were evil, and more importantly, what made them memo-

rable. This distinction is one Jochim points out many times throughout this book, just because one is an evil mastermind, does not mean one has to always be evil.

The rest of the book goes on to talk about how best to acquire a henchman, why evil masterminds love their job, and advice to budding evil masterminds.

Throughout all of these sections, the wisdom in Jochim’s words comes out. When discussing the evil genius of Joseph Stalin, Jochim draws an interesting parallel between the millions who feared him, and the thousands who loved him, illustrating it is important to be feared yes, but also important to be admired. True strength comes in the balance of those two paradoxes. Jochim also extols the virtues of prizing intelligence, maintaining willpower, and keeping one’s life planned and organized. Although by all accounts this book is intended to be farcical, it contains a great amount of wisdom on how to better one’s self.

There are some pitfalls to this text. It would have benefited from time with a copy editor.

Often words are missing from sentences, or the wrong word is used. This alters the flow of the prose, and causes a disruption in the

readers mind. The author utilizes run-on sentences, with sentences occasionally growing to the size of entire paragraphs. There is also a reliance on the author’s part to spell things out after making good points. He can spend an entire page crafting an argument, bringing the reader along for the ride, then he restates everything in a kitschy way, usually beginning with, “It may sound weird, but...”.

In an industry overflowing with self-help and management advice restating the same tired ideas, perhaps it is time for a different approach to management books. Even if one doesn’t want to be just like Doctor Victor von Doom, one can still learn the importance of taking care of employees that have proven to be loyal. Whether interested in learning how to be an evil mastermind, a better manager, or something in between, The Evil Mastermind Management Handbook is a book worth reading.

ANDREW KEYSER

Sweet Nothings Lead You to Everything Ana Weber & Mario Haber with Shel Horowitz ePlay Magazine, $17.99 , 90 pages

Ana Weber and her life partner, Mario Haber are assured that to break the negative pass of life everyone should embrace the sweetness of his existence and start

each and every day of his life anew: from “nothing.” The authors call all of us to live according to the 3P formula; passion, portion, and priority. Their other suggestions: don’t be possessive, greedy, selfish, or obsessive; remember and reflect on your happy moments; befriend your time; don’t fall in love with love – find a true love; set real goals, etc., etc. Nothing new! Moreover, it’s hard to call Sweet Nothings Lead You to Everything a book since there is very little to read. So, this is not accidental that the book has a subtitle: an inspirational journal. Indeed, every one of its 13 extremely short chapters has two to three empty pages for your – the reader’s, reflections.

If you like to answer questions such as: “When was the last time you did a good, thorough cleaning of your home (thoughts)?” this book is for you.

Although, the quotes the authors use are just incredible, especially this one; “Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing” by Albert Einstein.

GALINA ROIZMAN

SCIENCE & NATURE Birds of the Sierra Nevada: Their Natural History, Status, and Distribution Edward C. Beedy & Edward R. Pandolfino, Illustrated by Keith Hansen University of California Press, $39.95, 430 pages

Whether you are a hiker or a bird watcher, if you live close enough to the Sierra Nevada, Birds of the Sierra Nevada by E.C. Beedy and E.R. Pandolfino is a must on your bookshelf. Published as a trade paperback on high-quality paper, this aviary reference book is a revised and updated version previously published in 1985. Too bulky to be a field guide it is a book for reference to check on details of birds you come across on your hike.

A foreword and a preface are followed by an extensive thirty-five-page introduction including maps illustrating and describing in detail the many ecological zones in the Sierra on both west and east slopes. These are critical to know as they define bird habitats.

The main body of the book describes birds in

20

September - November 2013

fifty-six families. The descriptions are one to one-and-half pages and include the origin of the birds’ names, natural history, status and distribution, and trends and conservation status. They are well written, very clear and each is illustrated by a small colored drawing of both male and female of the species.

The book ends with an extensive checklist, glossary, references by families and index.

This is a wonderful book.

GEORGE ERDOSH

Magnificent Mistakes in Mathematics Alfred S. Posamentier & Ingmar Lehmann Prometheus Books, $24, 298 pages

A very readable and thoroughly enjoyable book, Magnificent Mistakes in Mathematics is not only for mathematicians or for those knowledgeable and interested in math. Most anyone with the slightest interest in the subject is likely to get pleasure from this volume written by two mathematicians, A. S. Posamentier and I. Lehmann. We expect the very exact science of mathematics to be totally free from mistakes. We are

amazed in the first chapter in which we read about the many errors of famous mathematicians. Even though very readable thanks to good writing, this is a book you may read when you have a chance for half hour of total concentration, not go through it cover to cover. But mistakes are just as common, as we learn later, in arithmetic, algebra and geometry, and in the highly exacting branch, probability and statistics. The many blackand-white sketches, tables and graphs help you understand the individual stories. You’ll come to places you need to skip (unless you are a mathematician) as the authors get into higher mathematics. Then you get into fascinating puzzles too with surprising solutions.

Superscript numbers refer to endnotes listed at the end. A fascinating book!

GEORGE ERDOSH

The Alien Abduction Files: The Most Startling Cases of Human Alien Contact Ever Reported Kathleen Marden & Denise Stoner New Page Books, $16.99, 253 pages

The Alien Abduction Files by MUFON Researchers Kathleen Marden and Denise Stoner is a downer of a book which reminds that encounters with extraterrestrials might be horrible and personally damaging. This is not a book about SETI where we are contacted by an alien civilization and share information. Rather these are a collection of tales

by people who claim that UFOs changed their time schedules and did experiments on them. It is hard to know what to believe with the alien invader having achieve the status of a visual cultural icon. The image and some of the stories are so common place that they may have locked themselves into our active subconscious.

One will find the book less entertaining than science fiction, and unsettling like a horror tale, except the monsters are not destroyed at the end. To their credit Marden and Stoner provide a variety of accounts looking for similarities and attempt to find the truth. Some think these creatures could be like demons or from other dimensions, but they remind that with such a giant universe out there, there might have been something that was interested in us. The book reaches conclusions, but even without definite physical proof we are still left with an unsettling feeling that is hard to shake.

RYDER MILLER

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HEALTH, FITNESS & DIETING Medicine From The Heart Bernard Leo Remakus 221 East Publishing, $2.99, 178 pages

Bernard Leo Remakus has practiced internal medicine for over 30 years. He has also lectured, coached baseball, raised a family, authored novels, a screenplay and works of non-fiction.

He has written countless scientific and medical articles that have been read by p hy s i c i a n s , med students and the public. Medicine From the Heart is an eBook that brings together many of Dr. Remakus’ articles, some written over 20 years ago. The result is a collection of stories, personal anecdotes and reflections on the state of America’s health care system.

His essays cover issues including smoking, home health care, faith, psychiatry, malpractice, pro bono work, managed care, the Hippocratic Oath, research and funding, reform and a day in the life of a rural doctor.

Don’t worry. It doesn’t feel like you are reading a scientific journal. Dr. Remakus personalizes each “chapter” so that he tells the story of a person, event or important point.

He shares his frustration with insurance companies, hospital billing departments, Workmen’s Compensation, HMOs and Medicare.

Readers who are pro-choice and advocates of end of life choices should know that Dr. Remakus’ personal interpretation of the Hippocratic Oath doesn’t allow him to offer these services to his patients.

Even though some pieces are over 20 years old, a majority of the issues are still relevant today. The fact that many problems haven’t been solved certainly says something about the state of our medical system.

But it is reassuring to know that there are caring practitioners like Dr. Remakus who put patients first.

KATHRYN FRANKLIN

well, waking up to fitness, being fit at school, weekends and the summer, stress reduction, next-level fitness and finally, conclusion and resources. The book is littered with fun facts, charts and tips. It is focused on self-esteem, finding the positives, and of course, getting more active. There are no new revelations about fitness in this book; it is all about the basics of creating and sticking to a fitness routine that makes sense and makes you feel good. It is peppered with practical advice, reasonable goals with the realistic perspective of being a teen. Check out the list of additional resources to keep the girls in your life even more motivated.

SENIYE GROFF

A Girl’s Guide to Fitting in Fitness Erin Whitehead & Jennipher Walters Zest Books, $12.99, 124 pages

A Girl’s Guide to Fitting in Fitnessis a fitness book directed at teen girls written by the writing team of FitBottomedGirls.com. It is written in an energetic, younger voice with fun graphics and drawings.

The book is comprise d of nine chapters which include: why fit matters, basics, eating

TECHNOLOGY Cloud Computing - The Glide OS Story, Solving the Cross Platform Puzzle Donald Leka & Claire Leka Happy About, $9.99, 120 pages

Cloud computing? Huh? What’s that? If you have an iPhone, you know about iCloud. Perhaps, if you use Gmail, you know about Google’s various internetbased storage and sharing applications. But if you’re like most of us and somewhere between a plebian and a Luddite, the intricacies of cloud computing probably escape you. So here’s a simple primer: cloud computing involves sharing data from one device to another (too many, in fact) in a variety of formats and is often internet-based. Because “cloud computing” as a phrase is not generally part of the vernacular of us plebs, most people aren’t particularly aware of the intricacies of its conception and design or the hard work that goes into making a tech company work. In Cloud Computing – The Glide OS Story, TransMedia founder and CEO Donald Leka, the creator of the Glide OS, and his wife, Claire Leka, strive to shed some light on TransMedia’s revolutionary—but not that

widely known—Glide operating system. ||Writing in a relaxed, conversational voice, the Lekas share Glide’s story from its conception (and their son’s part in its aesthetic and practical design) to the present. You’ll travel with Donald Leka to tech conferences, read excerpts of Glide reviews, and learn of the hard work Leka has done to promote an entirely new and unique method of computing to a world that hungers for change—but within its comfort zone. Cloud Computing also demonstrates the effect of the 2008 global financial meltdown on the tech industry and the resulting hurdles the Lekas have had to overcome. ||While some of the more in-depth descriptions of Glide’s user interface weren’t as clear as I would have liked and the images in the PDF eBook were grainy and didn’t represent Glide as well as they might have, overall, I was left with a sense that the Glide OS is a well-planned, well-designed, and everevolving OS that most of us should check out. If that’s not a recommendation of the book, well, I don’t know what is.

ASHLEY MCCALL

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September - November 2013

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POPULAR FICTION Sequela Cleland Smith Amazon Digital Services, $4.08, 404 pages

In 2080, fashion has extended far beyond clothes and accessories. The next big thing is viral fashion. Kester Lowe creates intricate STVs that allow the ‘wearers’ to change their bodies into something more unique. Why have a regular eye color when a simple virus can change the color of your eyes to gold?

This brings him the attention of Alexis Farrell, a high-powered executive at a fashion corporation called “V.” Lowe chooses to leave his current job for the allure of the highlyfunded fashion industry, much to the chagrin of his friends and quasi-girlfriend, Dee. Sequela is the debut novel from author Cleland Smith. The social commentary mixed with science fiction allow Smith to point out the hyperbolized path society is on. Fashion is valued so highly that people are ready to take on viruses and diseases to alter their appearance. Greed and narcissism are so rampant in the city that sores and welts become signs of success.

As Lowe becomes a star of the fashion world - one of the most desirable people in all of London - he begins racking up enemies. Former friends - those who don’t approve of his genetic mutations and those he betrays - start building into a monster ready to annihilate him. Ultimately, Lowe starts to feel the effects of his choices and begins to regret trading scientific research for financial gain.

Sequela is based on possibilities already present in society - instead of hiding symptoms of a disease, they become badges representing “the good life” of city dwellers. The name Sequela is a scientific term used to describe an after effect of an injury - a brilliant title connected to the disease-ridden society described in the book, but also the social and internal conflicts experienced by the protagonist.

My frustrations with the book stem from its lack of description. While characters and their motivations are developed, it takes time to dig into the plot and understand the setting. I still had many unanswered questions at the end of the book.

SOPHIE SESTERO

The Avery Shaw Experiment Kelly Oram Amazon Digital Services, $2.99, 157 pages

Aiden Kennedy has been Avery Shaw’s best friend since birth and their moms believed they would end up together. So imagine the bomb that hits the Kennedy residence when Aiden asks for a little bit of space. Avery Shaw loves him and his request shatters her fragile heart. Without Aiden, Avery is forced to find a way to continue

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working on her science fair project, and living her life, without him. Cue hot guy here and we have a roller-coaster of a ride.

Grayson Kennedy is the older, popular, athletic version of Aiden. With their social circles so far apart, it is a shock that he becomes Avery’s partner for the science fair.

The objective is to cure Avery’s broken heart through the seven stages of grief by whatever means the charming Grayson finds necessary. What’s in it for him? Extra credit.

Page one is an instant thrill. Avery Shaw has a sharp wit and can whip out a snappy line. As an integral part of the Science Club, she is initially described as the stereotypical geek girl from the loser table which makes for a fun plot. The same goes for Grayson.

As the swoon-worthy athlete who is failing science, Avery begins by labeling him much like he labels her. Grayson views Avery as a painfully shy introvert in need of his rescuing.

Avery perceives Grayson as the sexy, but off-limits jock at the top of the social food chain and bottom of academics. Alternating chapters provide a different look at both characters and readers also get to see inside both of their minds. Switching between Avery and Grayson’s voices highlights their individuality and breaks down stereotypes.

Although both have strong voices, there are instances where the novel could have benefited from deeper characterization.

The plot moves quickly and the main characters develop believable chemistry. Avery and Grayson’s character growth and connection to each other is realistic. For such a short story, there is unlimited fun, feelgood, steamy adventure and a useful lesson in Newton’s first law of motion.

ISABEL HERNANDEZ

Whistling Past the Graveyard Susan Crandall Gallery Books, $24.99, 308 pages

This reviewer laughed out loud to the many antics of nine year old narrator, Starla, in Susan Crandall’s latest novel, Whistling Past the Graveyard. Starla lives with her Mamie (grandmother) in a small southern town while her father works on an oil rig and her mother is busy getting “famous” in Nashville.

Starla is sassy and acts before she thinks and lands herself on restriction on her most favorite holiday: July Fourth.

So Starla decides she is going to run away, find her mother in Nashville and her father will join them and, of course, a perfect family will form. Starla is quickly picked up by Eula, an African American woman in an old rickety truck accompanied by a white newborn. Eula Takes Starla and the newborn to her home and husband, Wallace. Wallace is a bit of a drunkard and nuts and insists that Eula cannot form a family with two white children. Starla tries to escape and disaster ensues. Eula, Starla and the baby decide to head to Nashville to find Starla’s mother.

During their adventures to Nashville, Starla begins to understand what is “allowed” for Coloreds in 1960’s America.

“Some of the best things in life come when you’re not planning on them. It’s important to see them for the gift they are.”

This story has so many layers to it: the south, being nine, being white vs. African American, being childless, being battered and being a part of small town America--just to name a few. Starla is smart, clever and naïve all at the same time. Crandall writes with skill and emotion and this novel will make you laugh, cry, smile and gain understanding of how difficult it is to make change happen.

SENIYE GROFF

Instructions for a Heatwave Maggie O’Farrell Alfred A. Knopf, $25.95, 290 pages

Maggie O’Farrell presents the reader with an interesting dilemma as she tells the story of a crisis in the Riordan family. London is experiencing a vicious heatwave and one morning, Gretta Riordan’s husband of forty years, Robert, disappears while on his morning task of buying the newspaper.

Oh, and he empties out the bank account at the same time. All the children are alerted and descend upon the family home. Michael Francis has a failing marriage; Monica is on her second marriage with two stepdaughters that barely tolerate her and mysterious, wild child Aoife flies in from New York City. While all three children are focused on finding their father, Greta slowly reveals potential clues which revolve around a hidden past. Simultaneously, each child hides a secret that O’Farrell seductively di-

vulges. In the end, each family member realizes no one is as they seem. O’Farrell writes with depth and exposes tantalizing details while moving from one character to the next rather quickly. Each deep, dark secret is one that a reader can relate to and very much empathize with the character. There are no “grand” surprises here, but instead, revelations that make each character whole, human and believable.

SENIYE GROFF

The Sweet Girl Annabel Lyon Alfred A. Knopf, $24.95, 256 pages

Annabel Lyon’s The Sweet Girlfocuses on Aristotle’s daughter, Pythias. The book exposes just a sliver of time of Aristotle and Pythias’s life. Life is humming along. Aristotle is respected and revered and Pythias lives a comfortable, sheltered life where her father allows her to read and discuss his many books and philosophies. Unf o r t u n a t e l y, Alexander the Great dies and Macedonians are no longer welcome in Athens. The family must leave Athens and return to Macedonia. Shortly after the move, Aristotle has an accident and dies, which changes Pythias’s life dramatically. Pythias must now run a household and quickly find money to survive. She finds herself in some unfortunate circumstances and wonders if all the philosophies of her past will guide her to happiness after all. She must learn who to trust, as well as, other practicalities of life that were not contained in her many books.//Lyon’s novel presents the reader with insight to very different times. Her details are vivid and this reviewer could image being in Athens and Macedonia sitting next to Pythias. The ending left this reader hanging, though, and this reviewer was hoping for just a bit more to the story.

SENIYE GROFF

The Middlestein’s Jami Attenberg Grand Central Publishing, $15, 287 pages

Big-mac, all things jewish, and family are themes common to the Edie, Richard, and their two grown children and grandchildren. Things were always good for this family that we meet in Jami Attenberg’s new book, The Middlesteins .

Edie and Richard, once having successful careers and homelife, until Edie and her fixation with all things food

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POPULAR FICTION is ultimately the family’s undoing. Their two grown children and daughter in law try to help out and save their mother to the best of their ability, but are met with interesting results. I will leave it there and let you the reader take it from there. As I was reading along, there are parts where one will be able to relate to either Edie or Robin or another family member. When food is brought to the table there are bound to be issues that can trigger old or new wounds. Food is more than just what was for dinner last night. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this family and all of the trial and tribulations that they meet along the way. From the twin’s joint bar and bat mitzvahs to Richard setting up his new condo with IKEA furniture. This was my first book by the author and I like

everything about this book. A story where when family and food come together the results can be less than ideal. And where when one is trying to save their mom, in this case, might be more than was bargained for in the beginning. We have to be realistic and realize that not all want to be saved, no matter how hard one tries.

ANNIE HICKS

Yancy, a former and disgraced sheriff’s detective, who after an unfortunate incident has been demoted to restaurant inspector of Monroe County (unofficially), where the owners will bribe him to keep their establishments open, but becomes a great weight loss plan for him.

Yancy is pulled into a murder when he unexpectedly is given a full left arm to keep in his freezer. Where it will sit next to his purple popsicles, which will become the only thing that Yancy will touch after finding cockroaches next to the shrimp. This is the beginning of Yancy and how he tries to wedge his way back

into the good graces of the Monroe County Sheriff’s office. Hiaasen takes us on a great and unusual adventure, that only he can tell; we are island hopping to the sunny Bahamas and back to Key West and get attacked by a ‘voodoocrazed-might-have-been-in-a-movie-with-Johnny Depp-monkey.’ By the end, the reader has met a cast of characters that would have been out of place elsewhere, but fit in a classic Hiaasen adventure perfectly.

If you need a lighter fare for your next book and are ready to meet a cast of characters that will make you laugh and never forget, then I highly recommend this book or any Carl Hiaasen book.

ANNIE HICKS

Obvious” is about timing and moving on to the next idea.

Costas Papaikonomou may call himself the Grumpy Innovator, but his words carry humor and wisdom without sounding sullen or irritable. Even though his word choice and alphabet soup of initials belong to the business world, a significant number of his statements are humorous even to a neophyte which makes this book a good choice for an easy chuckle.

MARY-LYNNE MONROE

contributions are geared for specific or large corporations but the concepts and platforms are viable tools for any small business owner, CEO and every employee between. Highly energized, this book will get you motivated to expand your business or start one of your own. I highly recommend this book!

M. CHRIS JOHNSON

The Customer Service Survival Kit: What to Say to Defuse Even the Worst Customer Situations Richard S. Gallagher Amacom, $17.95, 188 pages

B2B Marketing Confessions John J. Wall M Show Productions II, LLC, $9.99, 186 pages

William F. Brandt, Jr. proposes a new paradigm for organizations in his recent book Compass. This paradigm includes organizations that are viable, sustainable and valued.

Brandt’s goals for the reader are to expand horizons of what is possible, increase the likelihood of creating organizations they desire, reduce time to accomplish the task and reduce cost and consequences of missteps.

The book begins with the foundations of key elements of exceptional organizations. This reviewer loved how the book began with a case study so that the reader has a frame of reference for the remaining lessons and essays in the book. The essays are followed by reflection questions and related chapter information. Most essays are only a few pages long and lend themselves to be used as tools if a leader wants to share the material with their teams. This is a comprehensive book with a companion website loaded with PowerPoint slides for each lesson and lesson materials so that the various topics can be disseminated to an audience. This book is a viable tool for any leader, either new or tenured. It is loaded with ideas, concepts, tools and valuable information and would be a catalyst for organizational change and improvement.

SENIYE GROFF

Bad Monkey Carl Hiaasen Alfred A. Knopf, $26.95, 317 pages

South Florida. Voodoo. Roach coach.

Medicare Fraud. Just a few phrases that describe, Carl Hiaasen’s new book. Bad Monkey and the actions and locations that characters that we meet inhabit and work in; both legally and illegally. We meet, Andrew

BUSINESS & INVESTING Thoughts From A Grumpy Innovator Costas Papaikonomou Aikono Bv Books, $18.47, 144 pages

When considering books about business, humor isn’t the first thing to pop into mind.

Thoughts from a Grumpy Innovator by Costas Papaikonomou defies those traditional thoughts and provides a commentary that will make readers smile. His intention appears to be not to write a ‘how to innovate’ book or provide proven steps to success, all wrapped up within a straight-laced serious theme. Instead, he writes in Twitter-length comments gleaned from his years of sending Twitter posts. His natural style makes it appear easy to be witty in 140 characters or less, and he draws the sketches peppered throughout the book. Sometimes the wit works, sometimes it does not. Behind the wit, and what makes the humor shine through the brief remarks, is his earnestness about and depth of knowledge of his subject.

Following his own quirky reasoning, Papaikonomou divides the book into a variety of humorous business-oriented headers that are like chapters. He begins with “The Art of Beanbags and Funny Hats” in which he talks about the occasionally silly manner in which organizations force start the creative process and just as occasionally fail miserably.

“The Evil Twin of Operational Excellence” is about the perfection expected in organizations that can cause systemic inertia. In “Market Research and Modeling Madness” the author discusses what does and does not happen when working with research models (i.e. some people simply do not respond to surveys which skews the results). “DecisionMaking Along the S-Curve” is about how different business stages are from technology innovations and “In Foresight, It’s All So

Author John J. Wall took his years of marketing experience building $40 million successful companies to task and put together B2B Marketing Confessions. It offers four basic key points that are so simple, they’re brilliant. The four key points are; Designing a Great Product, Telling the World, Education and Customer Retention. Simple, right? Well, read on! Wall delves into each of these key points as the reader begins to understand the complexities of these simple business points. One of the greatest advantages of this book is the conversational tone that is easily comprehended by a novice all the way up to seasoned marketer. The writing and concepts are at a beginner’s level introducing common terminologies in the business world without condescension. If you’re a seasoned business owner but need a boost in sales or a better understanding of marketing, this book will speak effortlessly to you as well. Multiple, short chapters allow for quick tips and a wealth of reference points.

Each offering varying degrees of perspective and business size to growth. Many of Wall’s

Compass: Creating Exceptional Organizations: A Leader’s Guide William F. Brandt, Jr Winter Vale Press, $34.95, 324 pages

Read the “From the Editors” column at www. portlandbookreview.com

Richard Gallagher has written an indispensable guide for anyone working with customers in his book The Customer Service Survival Kit. Gallagher begins his book with a powerful “Uh-Oh” moment scenario; a scenario that probably every reader will be able to relate to. This powerful example (and recovery) sets the stage for how a reader can benefit from Gallagher’s insight. The book displays bulleted-lists of tips and suggestions and plenty of highlighted text boxes with additional critical information. Part II of the book contains nine chapters with different tools for diffusing a customer situation that has gone awry. There are “Put Learning into Practice” pages that ask the reader to answer questions and take their learning a bit deeper, too. The solutions are at the back of the book. And there are tons of examples of specific words and phrases to say to help when posed with a challenging customer situation. Finally in Part III, Gallagher solves the worst customer scenarios such as “Don’t you know who I am?” of “I’ll be suing you.”

The Customer Service Survival Kitis a practical, no-nonsense approach to challenging customer service scenarios. This book is invaluable to anyone working in customer service. This book would also be ideal to use as a training tool when teaching others about how to handle customer service challenges. This is a book you will refer to time and time again as an essential resource for working with customers.

SENIYE GROFF

September - November 2013

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PARENTING & FAMILIES Stay or Move?: How to Talk to a Senior About Their Changing Needs and Retirement Residences Marie-Claude Giguere Helping Seniors, $19.95, 75 pages

When author Marie-Claude Giguére’s 78 year old dad had a traumatic medical crisis, everything culminated in a decision to move her mom and dad out of the place they called home for over 40 years. Their residential transition may have been the very event that hastened the publication of Giguére’s new book Stay or Move?: How to Talk to a Senior About Their Changing Needs and Retirement Residences. Making the decision to “stay or move” can be quite a lengthy and often frustrating process for elderly family members. But Giguére designed this stepby-step guide to help alleviate that frustration.

She begins her book by encouraging a consensus of opinion when it comes to relocating. Giguére recognizes that the needs of the elderly often change and evolve, a fact that is often overlooked. Then Giguére asks readers to question whether staying is an option. She uses examples to illustrate cases points out how adults can experience a revolving door of acquaintances as they age which can leads to isolation and loneliness.

In the next part of her book, Giguére considers the idea of moving seniors to new residences. The “decoding hours of care”

section can be confusing but that is only because terminology and potential services and care packages are discussed as you would encounter them in Canada as compared to America. For example, “fully autonomous” is similar to independent living and “semi autonomous” is similar to assisted living. Remember prices in this book are quoted in Canadian dollars.

Next, consider having a family discussion.

Giguére suggests thinking about which family members will be involved, whether a professional mediator will be there and how to have “the talk.” She reminds readers that 1) the focus should always be on the “safety and well-being” of the aging family member and 2) it is normal for older individuals to feel a range of emotions as they begin a new chapter in their lives. Giguére says stubbornness is the most consistent emotion that has confounded families. She suggests family members use empathy and take a walk in the other person’s shoes. Baby steps, baby steps and more baby steps can be the best way. Patience doesn’t hurt either.

Finally, when it comes time for “the talk,” having adequate knowledge of the health, finances, support network and state of the current living situation can help families begin to discuss options with their elders.

Again, empathy, patience and active listening are key elements. Giguére explores multigenerational households and lists pros

and cons. She reminds readers not to forget “warm up” time as this makes “the talk” less of a “personal attack.” Giguére cautions not to continue the conversation if the info “isn’t getting through.” If “tempers flare” is it best to “bring it up at another time.” Do not overwhelm yourself or your elderly family member. Remember Rome was not built in one day. Keep in mind, as with everything else in life, there will never be a perfect place.

Giguére is knowledgeable, having familiarized herself with over 300 “private retirement residences” in her metro area of Montreal, Canada. She is quick to point out that finding the right fit is vastly important. After all, it would be harsh to think of having to relinquish a beloved pet when some residences have a strict no-pet policy in place.

While this may mirror a “common sense” guide to industry professionals, look beyond the cover. It offers so much more. Giguére’s topics are timely and questions relevant when applied to this major transition that, sooner or later, everyone must face. It is commendable that the author never overlooks an individual’s own uniqueness (there are no cookie cutter solutions) and the all important insight of following one’s own intuition or “gut feeling” about certain circumstances.

For even professionals are not always right.

For “your loved one has lived their entire life identifying with certain groups socially, culturally, and financially” and it should certainly not be forgotten when considering the housing options available to your family.

KATHLEEN GODWIN

Big Questions From Little People and Simple Answers from Great Minds Compiled by Gemma Elwin Harris Harper Collins , $ 24.99 , 318 pages

tragic backstory, each in the process of transitioning from their last life to the one that lies ahead. While trying to process his own death and the general consensus that he did away with himself, Henry’s older sister Bethany is abducted. Using his ability to communicate with the living, and the similar powers of some of his fellow departed friends, Henry undertakes a mission to save his sister at all costs.

While in description the plot may seem a bit contrived, Jump When Ready is a wellwritten, entertaining, and thought-provoking story about life, family, love, and what really happens to us — and our loved ones — when we die. It’s written in a conversational, casual and gripping voice. One can’t help but feel for Henry. His confusion comes across as very real, as does his frustration at the seeming futility of trying to help his sister after she’s kidnapped.

Whether you’re 14 or 24, this book is a fun read with endearing characters and a quick-moving plot. Jump When Ready is not a book to miss — especially not at a price point of $2.99. Pick it up. You won’t regret it.

ASHLEY MCCALL

Winter Sarah Remy Madison Place Press, $2.99, 297 pages

Winter and have never seen Gloriana’s court or the world of the Fair Folk.

Winter is the story of Winter, a young man born in a world to which he doesn’t belong.

Though he is flawed and filled with self recrimination, he is a hero. His companions include a talking mouse, two young boys who live on the streets, a cop who has a fairy lover and a young girl they pull out of a wall. The rest of the banished are imprisoned on Manhattan Island surrounded by rushing water and iron. Winter is immune to these deadly materials.

He seeks to correct a mistake he made in his childhood while residing beneath the Washington Monument in D.C. As the story evolves, the author shares different perspectives, each with their own agendas and definitions of heroism.

Remy’s writing style is not expository narration. Back story is revealed as the action progresses and characters learn of it. Since this is the opening books of a series, Winter has so much going on, so much history and

Kids deserve all of the answers they can get. Big Questions From Little People and Simple Answers from Great Minds answers a number of questions that kids have about the universe, ranging from the simple “Why is the sky blue?” to the complex “Why do wars happen?.” There are a number of surprising questions which makes for a read you won’t soon forget.

This is a pretty good book to get that inquisitive kid, if for no other reason than to answer some of the questions you may have problems answering. The book even provides some additional questions answered by comedians, just to make things a little more interesting.

Most questions are answered concisely by experts in the field, ensuring that the answers are authoritative and as complete as possible. This is a good book to give kids or to use as a reference when you need quick answers.

JAMAIS JOCHIM

YOUNG ADULT Jump When Ready David Pandolfe, $2.99, 230 pages

Mortality. Yikes: heavy stuff. The sort of heavy stuff that most of us don’t really want to think about because it’s scary and depressing and unpleasant, but also something heav y that’s utterly inevitable and part of everyone’s life. Everyone has different views of what happens after we die, some more pleasant than others. But we really don’t know. In Jump When Ready, author David Pandolfe provides his take on the afterlife: an uplifting but not cliché vision.

When 14-year-old Henry drowns in a freak accident, he’s transported to a realm that can best be considered between-lives. In this realm, he meets a variety of characters roughly his own age, each with their own

Sarah Remy’s Winter is the captivating opening chapter to a new young adult fantasy series called the Manhattan Exiles. The history of the world she describes began once, long ago when humans lived in fear of the Fair Folk. These beings had magical powers of persuasion and were able to appear ethereally beautiful, though they were cruel. The queen of the fairies, Gloriana, was the cruelest, and most powerful, of them all. When a few of her most trusted courtiers attempted to overthrow her, they were banished to the human world, cutting off all of fairy from this realm. Now, the banished will do anything to get back to the world they know. For as time passes, the human world slowly poisons their minds and their magic. Of all of the banished, only two have managed to reproduce in the human world. These two children are Summer and

Continued on page 25

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YOUNG ADULT interrelationship to reveal that at times it can be confusing. And because the characters are immortal, passage of time and ages of characters can be difficult to follow. Remy’s descriptions are as unique as her prickly characters. This drama is not high school drama. And the startling non-conclusion will leave you checking book stores for the next installment.

RACHELLE BARRETT

Coyote Winds Helen Sedwick Ten Gallon Press, $9.99, 224 pages

Here’s a story that rolls along so fast it’s hard to keep up with it. Lively, entertaining, humorous, researched with more accuracy and vigor than many juvenile books, and all packed into 224 pages. I enjoyed both stories – modern-day teenager Andy and his late grandfather, Myles, a teenager 70 years earlier. The book has supplementary strands as well as the two primary threads: the coyote (not the helpless pup suggested in the cover blurb), the one-liner ‘groaners,’ the 19th century settlement of rural Colorado and the Depression.

Helen Sedwick writes at a cracking place and has an excellent ear for dialogue but I think the book would benefit from a little streamlining. First, Grandpa Myles needn’t have died and left a mysterious box.

Why couldn’t he tell his stories to Andy as he recovers from a football/baseball accident? Andy could be fascinated by the memories, rather than bored by them. The box element is contrived. And back-tracking to the great-grandparent generation is prolix.

The coyote, whether seen as Myles’ animal rights protest, or a way to introduce the different attitudes to farming and rural life, is not brought forward to present day. This would have made better sense.

Also, Ro is sometimes anthropomorphized which doesn’t quit fit. Some of the major episodes are almost glossed over. If a couple of the less central episodes were removed, teenagers could empathize and/or identify with lengthier accounts (and subsequent repercussions) of the tornado experience, the schools closing, Clare winning the writing contest and the driving lesson. And Andy’s drive to Colorado is written at a different pace than the rest of the book.

Two other points: Betsy would be shocked into silence if approached by the one-liner jokes at the bus stop. On a more serious note, Sedwick seemingly can’t decide what to call the adults. For example, Andy refers to Lionel either by name or as ‘the father’ but Moser and Herbert needs adjusting.

This book is crammed with good information that is eagerly shared. Someone Andy’s age, who is unafraid to give an opinion, would make an ideal and helpful reviewer.

JANE MANASTER

A World Without Angels Jamie Campbell Amazon Digital Services, $2.99, 313 pages

The apocalypse is everywhere. Mankind is killing each other over cans of food and a place to sleep.

Fires ravage every city across America. Otherworld creatures capture and kill humans for fun. It’s all just a typical day in Aron, the fictional city in Jamie Campbell’s A World Without Angels.

When 17-yearold Leila Loudon sees a man fall to earth she is shocked, but knows she must help him.

But when she finds out his name is Jerome, and he is an angel who has fallen from heaven, she can’t believe it. Soon each shares life isn’t great in their hometowns, Aron and Heaven, and they discover the same malicious force is behind the trouble in both locations. Demons have been killing guardian angels, leaving humans unprotected and violent against one another.

While out scavenging for supplies, Jerome and Leila stumble across a prophecy that indicates there may be someone alive in Aron that could unite Heaven and earth, and defeat the demonic forces once and for all. Soon they are flying around the world following clues and unraveling riddles, ever aware that danger is quickly closing in on them.

A World Without Angels tells a story that has been told before. Angels and demons fighting one another, with earth caught in the middle. What sets this book apart from the masses is how well it is written. Jamie Campbell has a way of writing that makes the world come to life. The characters feel like their struggles are those of a best friend.

When she writes of Heaven, the reader can picture every stone in the street.

This book is not without flaws. Campbell has a tendency to rush the story along using forced dialogue. It isn’t uncommon for Jerome and Leila to have an impromptu conversation in the middle of everything to get to the next minor plot point, instead of letting things happen naturally. Although it happens often, it doesn’t take long for the reader to tune it out and enjoy the story for what it is, a fantastic tale of two people against the world.

This book isn’t just for lovers of fantasy, although they will be thrilled and delighted at every page. It isn’t just for fans of romance, though the chemistry between Leila and Jerome is intense. And it isn’t just for fans of

apocalypse fiction, but it will delight them as well. This book is for everyone, and it should not be missed.

ANDREW KEYSER

The Everafter Chronicles: Reign of the Night Creatures Casey Sean Harmon Tate Publishing, $12.99, 160 pages

Modern Americans live deeply steeped in rational, enlightenment thought with little room for anything unseen. Casey Sean Harmon creatively challenges this materialist philosophy with The Everafter Chronicles.

In this fantasy adventure, three children enter a parallel world of griffins, talking dogs, magic horns, and pirate voyages.

Upon encountering this new world, the children must quickly learn to trust their feelings and intuition, to suspend disbelief and reason and to draw on unexpected resources for survival. As they approach the world with fresh perspective, the children begin maturing and taking on increased responsibility. Their sibling camaraderie deepens as they overcome one challenge after another and James gradually steps into manhood while protecting his sisters.

The entertaining plot borrows heavily from C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia with one of the children even named Susan and the steady presence of a half-lion creature assisting in the journey. The children also occasionally use formal British language inconsistent with the typically casual American discourse.

Harmon depicts spiritual truths in a more cursory, hollow manner than did Lewis, with nothing particularly Christian about them. Nonetheless, he provides a timely challenge to modernist thinking while pitting light against darkness and raising questions of providence and self-determination.

Though the story lacks gravity in addressing such themes, it has other unexpectedly morbid moments, without which it could likely be classified as children’s rather than young adult literature. Most of its content is refreshingly light, however, in comparison to most current mainstream fantasy fiction, and its moderate level of suspense keeps readers moving along quickly.

HALLEY GREENE

The Land of Coral Seas: The Second Book in The Land of Whoo Series Ryan O’Brien Ryan O’Brien, $9.99, 290 pages

Michael Henry has always known that he was adopted. But recently he discovered that he is, quite literally, not of this world.

In Ryan O’Brien’s The Land of Coral Seas: The Second Book in The Land of Whoo Series, Michael Henry is again drawn into the land of

Read the “From the Editors” column at www. portlandbookreview.com

his birth after receiving a desperate message from King Vincent. The King’s daughter is being held under threat of death by an evil wizard wishing to destroy the King and take power for himself.

With the help of his best friend Savannah and characters first introduced in the series’ eponymous first installation, Michael Henry travels to this alternate world and begins preparations to save Princess Ariana from certain death.

While the novel’s occasionally complicated plot and character relationships would mos t likely be better understood by someone who had read the first book, O’Brien has created a story that pits good against evil in a manner that, while not wholly original, is consistently fun to read. The Land of Coral Seas encourages its readers to push forward, chapter after chapter, to find out if Michael Henry will be victorious or if the wizard will prevail.

ASHLEY MCCALL

Rebel Spirits Lois Ruby Scholastic, $16.99, 292 pages

Lois Ruby’s Rebel Spirits is a Young Adult Civil War ghost mystery. Lorelei’s parents have decided to move to Gettysburg and open up a bed and breakfast, uprooting her just before her Senior year. The first night in their new home, Lorelei discovers that the onetime Civil War hospital is haunted by an attractive teenage Confederate soldier.

Nathaniel Pierce believes he was murdered, and needs Lorelei’s help to solve the crime in three days, before he is pulled back to the spirit world.

While the Civil War aspect of Rebel Spirits is an interesting idea, and not something often seen in the YA genre, the book lacked that something special to make it stand out of the crowd.

Due to the short time duration in which the book takes place, the relationship between Lorelei and Nathaniel comes across as incredibly rushed and unbelievable. Lois Ruby also relies heavily on the “lucky coincidence” idea in order to make sure that Lorelei is able to solve Nathaniel’s decades old murder in time. With so many fantastic YA books out there, unless they happen to be a huge fan of Civil War themed novels, Rebel Spirits is one that readers can afford to skip.

WHITNEY SMYTH

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YOUNG ADULT China Rock Laura Kelly Robb Mark House Publishing, $4.99, 270 pages

Augie and his siblings know about the dangers of the waters surrounding their home in the San Juan Islands. Dark and icy and always changeable, it can make and break fortunes in equal measure. The only thing more treacherous in their lives is their Pop. Mercurial, disapproving and dangerous, the children tiptoe around their father to avoid attention as they simultaneously search for any sign of approval or love. Mostly they try to avoid him.

The story centers on Augie and follows him as he engages in schemes to make

money, deals with sudden tragedy and tries to keep the family going. Interwoven into the main narrative is a second story of two Chinese immigrants found dead and bound together. The two separate stories weave together as Augie slowly finds out more about his town and his father.

China Rock by Laura Kelly Robb is a novel that is stark, vividly written and utterly compelling. From the first words, she creates a world for the reader that is so descriptive it draws them into the story. She nicely sets up an atmosphere for the story that is dark, foreboding and mysterious. This setup nicely mirrors the family’s experience of Pop, as well – as with the Sound, they must

always be vigilant against his very real threat of danger. The family dynamics in the book are unveiled in small increments and show the trepidation, fear and intense longing for approval that the family has with Pop. He is the most important part of the family (and makes sure everyone knows it) and his presence fills the book, even when

he is not the focus of the storyline. The story within the story of the Chinese immigrants works well for several reasons: it serves as a nice vehicle for Augie to realize that the people and town he has grown up with has more dark secrets than he could have imagined and helps enhance the sense of mystery and discontent throughout the book. The book nicely shows Augie’s journey from young teen into young adult during his search for understanding of his father and himself. This is a noteworthy debut novel that shouldn’t be missed.

BARBARA COTHERN

thelanguagebear.com to find out more information about the series. Bosley Sees the World, Bosley’s First Words and Bosley Builds a Treehouse are all available in different languages.

KATHRYN FRANKLIN

Twinky the Dinky Dog Kate Klimo, Illustrated by Michael zFleming Random House Books for Young Readers, $3.99, 50 pages

still roamed the earth, the Dinosaur Tooth Fairy stayed busy collecting molars from the Gigantosaurus and fangs from the yawning duck-billed Hadrosaur. But when the dinos died out, so did the job of the Dino Tooth Fairy! Now the poor gal lives all alone in a museum of truly old things. She spends her days polishing her giant collection of dinosaur teeth. It’s been so long since she’s found a new tooth! One day a school group visits the museum on a field trip. Suddenly a little girl loses a tooth! The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy knows she wants it, but the collection process has certainly changed since the Mesozoic era. Now there are lots of challenges to contend with - a doorknob (the one-eyed doorknobosaurus), a slobbering dog (look at the fangs on that beast!) and even the real Tooth Fairy (who also wants the tooth). Who will ultimately get it? Can two rivals become friends?

The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy, by Martha Brockenbrough, is a touching story about two magical beings who find friendship while competing over a young girl’s tooth.

Israel Sanchez’s illustrations are laugh-outloud funny and quite charming. Both Tooth Fairies have quirky personalities and can-do attitudes. Brockenbrough is donating ten percent of royalties to Kids International Dental Services, which provides pro bono dental care to impoverished children in developing countries.

ELIZABETH FRANKLIN

CHILDREN’S Bosley Goes to the Beach (Spanish - English) Author Tim Johnson; Illustrator Ozzy Esha CreateSpace, $2.99, 42 pages

Bosley Bear wakes up one morning and looks out the window, la ventana. It is a beautiful day un dia hermoso. He packs up his toys, los juguetas, and heads to the beach, la playa, with his mama. As Bosley discovers all the wonderful new things around him, readers do too. Bosley meets a fish, un pez, a bird, un pajaro and a crab, un cangrejo. He even has time to build a sand castle, un castillo de arena and other amazing sand creations. Join Bosley Bear on his fun adventures in Bosley Goes to the Beach,

by Tim Johnson, author of a set of bilingual children’s books designed to teach young readers how to speak a new language.

Ozzy Esha’s illustrations are cheerful and bright. Each one is followed by a page of text that is split into two columns. On the left side is the English portion of the story and on the right side is the Spanish translation. Key vocabulary words are highlighted in green.

Another set of illustrations features labeled items with both the Spanish and English vocabular y terms. For example, as Bosley packs his red bag full of toys, the table is covered with a kite, una cometa, a shovel, una pala, a bucket, un cubo and a towel, una toalla.

Later, at the ocean, Bosley finds a seashell, una caracola and sees the clouds, los nubes.

At the end of the book, the new vocabulary words are listed in the order of their appearance in both English and Spanish. Johnson uses word repetition, simple phrases, numbers, highlighted phrases and labeled illustrations to reinforce new concepts.

If you like the Spanish-English version of Bosley Goes to the Beach, check out www.

Charley Harper’s What’s in the Woods?: A Nature Discovery Book Zoe Burke Pomegranate, $14.95, 32 pages

Since the death of artist Charley Harper in 2007, there has been renewed interest in his modernist paintings of birds and other wildlife. Fans of his artwork have enjoyed the vibrant colors, playful settings, and simple yet characteristic representations of the animal world through books, calendars, notecards, prints, and posters.

Now, Pomegranate Books has begun a new series of small books aimed at children that will create new fans of Harper’s paintings.

What’s in the Woods? A Nature Discovery Book combines animals and plants extracted from Harper’s Birducopia with playful rhyming text from children’s author Zoe Burke. The reader is treated to more than twenty forest animals that are described by Burke through their appearance, how they sound, how some of them smell, and how they move. The beginning text urges the reader to “come along and walk with me” for “there will be so much to see.” A “little Warbler sings” while an owl’s “eyes are round as rings” and on a rock “a salamander crawls” while a snake is “slithering by the falls.” Text and image beautifully merge in What’s in the Woods? and will serve to excite young readers about the natural world.

MICHAEL BARTON

Twinky thinks he is a really big dog, but really, he is dinky. His owner puts funny sweaters on him and makes him pee on a wee-wee pad.

Twinky loves his owner but since his owner treats him like a dinky dog the big dogs, Bubba, Tank, and Bertha don’t want to play with him.

When Twinky’s owner is busy talking on the phone he sneaks through the gate to the park and asks the big dog if they can teach him all the big dog moves. Find out the rest of Twinky’s story when you pick up Katte Klimo’s Twinky the Dinky Dog. Are you wondering if this book would be appropriate for your young reader? Twinky the Dinky Dog is a level three book in the Step into Reading series, perfect for ages 5-8. Designed for children who are ready to read on their own this level three book introduces engaging characters, an easy to follow story line and popular topics.

ANDREA FRANKE

The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy Martha Brockenbrough, Illustrated by Israel Sanchez Arthur A. Levine Books, $16.99, 32 pages

The Tooth Fairy is one hardworking lady.

Every night she looks under the pillows of children who have lost teeth and she collects their precious pearly whites.

But did you know that there is also a Dinosaur Tooth Fairy? Long ago, when dinosaurs

The Green Bath Margaret Mahy, Illustrated by Steven Kellogg Scholastic, $16.99, 40 pages

Sammy has a wild imagination that takes him from his boring old basement to battling buccaneers. When his mother comes in and asks him to clean up for his grandmother’s arrival, he wonders how he can have adventures while keeping clean. Enter the new claw-footed bathtub his dad has just brought home. Shortly after filling it with warm water and bubbles, Sammy is Continued on page 27

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CHILDREN’S whisked away to the ocean where he meets mermaids, sea serpents and battles pirates on Treasure Island.

The Green Bath by Margaret Mahy is an adventurous story children will be sure to love again and again. The dramatic adventures are made even better by the detailed illustrations of Steven Kellogg—illustrator of such beloved books as Is Your Mama a Llama? and The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash. Kellogg’s greed bubbles seem to pop off the page while the faces of oaf pirates will make children giggle.

Bath time will never be the same again.

SOPHIE SESTERO

Annie and Helen Deborah Hopkinson, Illustrated by Raul Colon Schwartz & Wade Books, $17.99, 48 pages

The familiar story of Helen Keller comes to light in this children’s picture book written by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated by Raul Colon. Annie and Helen teaches young readers about Helen Keller and how she grows from being a healthy baby into a small child who can no longer see or hear. When Annie Sullivan comes to teach brief stories identifying Annie’s methods of teaching, finger spelling and even Braille are clearly presented for children’s understanding.

Readers can also follow along with passages pulled from Annie’s letters to her friend, Sophie Hopkins, as she writes about Helen’s progress and the troubles they face

together. Reading Annie and Helen is a wonderful way for children to learn about the blind and deaf, to understand the concept of Braille and to learn about the inspiring story of Helen Keller and her teacher.

The book is beautifully illustrated with watercolors and delicate crosshatched lines to offer more detail. The front and back covers of the book are covered with black and white photographs of Helen Keller improving her skills throughout her life and even graduating from Radcliffe College in 1904. Annie and Helen would be an asset to any elementary school classroom as it is appropriate for children between the ages of four and eight.

SOPHIE SESTERO

“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.”

- Henry David Thoreau

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