Showing posts with label America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label America. Show all posts

February 27, 2012

Sweeter Than Birdsong by Rosslyn Elliott



Sweeter Than Birdsong takes place in a small Ohio town in 1855.  Slavery was still widely acceptable, the Civil War had not yet broken out and abolition efforts were kept very quiet.  

Kate Winter, although one of the only young ladies allowed into Otterbein College, has a major stumbling block.  She can not speak in public.  Her shyness is so extreem that it hinders her social appearance as well as her collegiate studies.  But even still, her beauty, soft demeanor and kindness has brought forth two suitors, Frederick Jones and Ben Hanby.  

Frederick Jones seems the likely choice.  He's well established with plans on becoming a lawyer.  His family is prominent within the town and he is extremely charming. 
On the other hand, Ben Hanby is kind, convicted and passion for music.  His plans are less for prosperity, as he intends to become a minister, just like his father.  He is convicted in the cause for freedom for slaves and he uses his love for music to help change the hearts of many.  

When Ben and his mother, working for the underground railroad, go on a mission to free a few Kentucky slaves, Kate somehow gets involved as well.  And her heart is moved... for the abolition movement and for Ben.  But with Kate's overbearing mother, a true courtship with Ben seems impossible.  

Will Ben and Kate ever find favor together?  Will Kate find her true voice and overcome her gripping fears?  Will all of their efforts be in vain?

This book is amazing...  The kind of book you can't wait to get back to.  It is beautifully written and the content is deep, thrilling and moving.  You go on a roller coaster ride along with the characters... adventure, dispair, hopelessness, exhaustion, fear, love, forgiveness.  It is a beautiful story.  I felt tense coming up to the end, thinking there was NO way it would be able to tie up... there weren't enough pages left!  But Elliott did a brilliant job of pulling it all together nicely.  There was only one loose end that I was left curious about... but really, it makes no difference.  I can not express to you how much I loved this book.  Definitely the best book I've read so far in 2012! 

And it's partially true!  In this historical fiction, it seems there is more history than fiction!  

5 Stars!!!

I received a complementary copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.  This is it. 

But wait... There's MORE!

Win an iPod Nano and Downtown Abbey from Rosslyn Elliott! Enter 2/9-2/28!
In this second in the award-winning Saddler's Legacy series, Rosslyn Elliott has written a stirring novel of hope and faith inspired by real historical people and events. With Ben Hanby, a genius composer, Kate Winter, one of the first female college graduates in America, and John Parker, an ex-slave who risked his life time and again to help fugitive slaves, Sweeter than Birdsong is full of real heroes to inspire us. "I hope readers will find a renewed sense of strength in their own lives," says Elliott, "knowing that change is possible, and our efforts matter. I want them to remember these unique, brave people in history who left us a shining example of what it means to live out one's beliefs with passion and commitment."

So to celebrate the music in all of us, Rosslyn and Thomas Nelson are hosting this "sweet giveaway".
One fortunate winner will receive:
  • A Brand new iPod Nano (Winner's choice of color!)
  • Fairer than Morning by Rosslyn Elliott
  • Sweeter than Birdsong by Rosslyn Elliott
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on February 28th. Winner will be announced at Sweeter than Birdsong Author Chat Facebook Party on 2/28. Rosslyn will be chatting with guests, sharing a sneak peek of the next book in the series, hosting a trivia contest, and more! She'll also be giving away some GREAT prizes: gift certificates, books, season 1 of DowntownAbbey, and a book club prize pack! (Ten copies of the book for your small group or book club AND a LIVE Author Chat for your group with Rosslyn.)

So grab your copy of Sweeter than Birdsong and join Rosslyn and friends on the evening of the 28th for an evening of fun.
Enter via E-mail Enter via FacebookEnter via Twitter
Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 28th!
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Reviewed by Nicole at 10:00 AM 4 comments
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February 7, 2012

We Were Soldiers Once...And Young by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway

Another great guest review by my father, Denny. This sounds like both a difficult but fascinating book.

I recently asked a well-read friend to name the one book, scriptures excluded, that he would recommend I read. I find that this is a good way to gain exposure to powerful, thought-provoking books that I would otherwise overlook. His answer surprised me then and still does today; We Were Soldiers Once…And Young by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway. This is the historical book upon which the Mel Gibson movie, We Were Soldiers, is based. Neither I nor my friend have seen the movie but I decided with some trepidation to read the book.

I say “some trepidation” because there are some epochs of recent history that require some personal resolve to revisit again and again. For example, reading stories about the Holocaust require that I brace myself emotionally for what I am going to experience. Likewise, 9-11 is a raw nerve straight to my heart. The Vietnam War is another topic that takes an emotional toll on me. In college I took an elective course called “Vietnam War Literature” where, for a semester, I was immersed in the fictional writings from the hell that was Vietnam. This was back in 1984 when the movie Platoon won the best picture Oscar. For those of you who have seen that movie, imagine reading book after book with the same basic storyline; that was my semester. So I approached We Were Soldiers Once…And Young with a fear of re-opening some old wounds.

Although I was born in the army, my father was discharged before I was a year old and I have never been particularly interested in the military or warfare. I am as unqualified as possible to review a non-fiction book about a specific battle during the Vietnam war.

The battle in question is Ia Drang; a series of conflicts fought in the forests of the Ia Drang Valley over a course of a month. In the end 305 American and 3,561 North Vietnamese soldiers were killed and many more wounded. It was one of the first significant battles in the war and prompted Defense Secretary McNamara to confide to reporters that “it will be a long war.” Moore and Galloway are not after-the-fact historians; they were both on the ground as either commander (Moore) or imbedded reporter (Galloway). The primary narrative is Moore’s while Galloway’s voice (presumably the actual author) is hidden in the background.

The evolution of the “calvary” is an important theme in this book. For Vietnam, the horse was replaced by the helicopter as the the mode of transport for the modern army. The helicopter added true mobility to the fighting force; strike, destroy and retreat. It made battle lines obsolete. U.S. soldiers could attack anywhere in enemy territory; at least anywhere that the politicians allowed. Moore and Galloway describe how the army prepared to use this new technology, the intense training involved and the advantage it provided over the enemy and the North Vietnamese strategies for combating U.S. troop mobility.

But the heart of the story is a complete recounting of two major battles in the Ia Drang Valley. The first battle began almost immediately as Moore and his battalion (approximately 450 men) entered the Ia Drang Valley at Landing Zone “X-Ray.” Spotted almost immediately by several thousand North Vietnamese soldiers, Moore’s soldiers found themselves in a horrific fight for survival that lasted several days. The Vietnamese withdrew temporarily and so Moore’s soldiers were able to return to camp. Their replacements, however, were not as lucky. The second battle was centered at another Landing Zone, Albany, and the U.S. took more serious casualties with entire squads being decimated.

While both sides felt like they had won the battle; it was for different reasons. In terms of “kill ratio,” the U.S. had scored an overwhelming victory with only 1 American dead to every 12 North Vietnamese dead. For the North Vietnamese, however, they felt as if they had fought the Americans to a stand still and this had given their soldiers hope that they could conquer the more technologically advanced enemy. In the end, the North Vietnamese logic proved the most correct. Just like the French they had fought earlier, patience, perseverance and political commitment allowed them to outlast the Americans. As the book points out, few of us realize that the ultimate cost in Vietnamese lives was well over a million.

One of the book’s strengths is also its greatest weakness. Moore and Galloway attempt to provide as complete a picture of these two battles as possible. This means that they take into account as many perspectives as possible including commanders, support staff, soldiers, helicopter pilots, bombadiers, and even the enemy commanders. Whenever possible, every U.S. soldier’s death is memorialized and described so that we truly understand the sacrifice given. Ultimately we are shown each of these battles from the perspectives of a number of different squads. I found the final portrait both complete, fascinating and eye opening. The authors allowed me to become a witness to these battles; at least from the point of view of an American.

But this is also one of the greatest weaknesses of the book. Professionally, I am a market researcher and often write reports from qualitative studies. A strategy I employ to write these reports is to highlight transcripts of interviews with my subjects, “cut out” the highlighted quotes, and physically organize these quotes by topic. I find that I can only use 1/3rd of the quotes that I originally highligted or else my report becomes overburdened. In their desire to be complete, Moore and Galloway interviewed hundreds of participants in the battle of Ia Drang. In my opinion, they rely too heavily on these quotes at the sacrifice of the crispness and flow of their narrative.

As I think back about the books that I read during my college course on Vietnam and this book, I realize that one thing that has changed is my own personal a priori assumptions about Vietnam and our participation in that war. As a sheltered college junior who had never ventured outside of four western states, I felt pride that America was willing to stand with and defend the South Vietnamese people. As a still sheltered but a little more traveled father of 6, I harbor few illusions that the American people ever truly cared or loved the Vietnamese people. American lives were always more important than Vietnamese lives. So my personal approach to We Were Soldiers Once…And Young was one of sadness. Many American and Vietnamese soldiers gave the ultimate sacrifice in the Ia Drang Valley but I am just not sure for whom they made this sacrifice. I give the book 4 stars.

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Reviewed by Britni at 12:00 AM 2 comments
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November 11, 2011

The Quants by Scott Patterson

This is a first for Book Nook, a guest book review. This review is written by my dad, Dennis.

In college I took an elective course called “Recreational Mathematics” in which the professor took an interest in the way that I solved some of the gaming and logic problems that we studied.  He handed me a book and suggested that I read it and write a report as extra-credit; the book was from the 1960s and called Beat the Dealer by Ed Thorp, a mathematics professor.  I quickly devoured the book, wrote my paper and, like many others, tested the blackjack techniques live in Wendover, Nevada on a drive to California for Christmas.  The core idea of the book was mischievously appealing; through my knowledge of math I could and would make untold amounts of money all at the expense of a corrupt entity, the casino.  

I did not know what happened to Ed Thorp after he publicized his blackjack strategy until I recently read Scott Patterson’s The Quants:  How a New Bread of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It.  In the early 70s, Thorp turned his expertise towards a different casino; Wall Street.  He and others like him developed sophisticated programs and strategies aimed at finding exploitable weaknesses in our financial system.  Patterson is clearly enamored with Thorp and portrays him as the book’s protagonist (calling him the “Godfather”) whose early writings and funds inspired imitators.  

Patterson details how some of the best minds in mathematics, physics and computer programming gravitated to banks, investment firms and private equity funds in order to “beat the market.”  Thorp’s first discovery was that the accepted models for pricing a speculative investment called warrants were flawed so he developed a better model and invested in warrants that were under priced; leading to significantly higher returns that the S&P.   Soon other “quants” were discovering other loopholes in the financial system and profiting from them.  Rather than close the loopholes, large investment houses such as Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers invested and profited from these “quants.”  Over the next thirty years the financial system would be become a cyclical house of cards with large institutions becoming dependent on mining these statistical loopholes.  One of the problems was that nobody truly understood from where the money was generated.  Nobody disputes where the money comes from when you win at 21; the casino.  But if you discover out and exploit a guaranteed loophole in our financial system (making billions of dollars in the process), who writes the check?  

The Quants is a well-written examination into the world of investment and quantitative models.  Patterson is generally sympathetic to his subjects and takes care not to vilify anyone.  This is both a strength and a weakness of the book.  As a writer, Patterson is morally ambiguous towards his topic and his subjects.  If anything, he seems sympathetic to the quants and envious of their earning power.  His portrayal of Ed Thorp is emblematic of his approach.  As a reader, Patterson makes me want to believe in Ed Thorp; a scrappy everyman who uses his mathematical gifts to “beat” large institutions such as casinos and Wall Street.  Thorp never seems to make a misstep and is always the one who predicts the market’s problems before the other quants do.  He gets out of the market in 2002 well before the current recession.  He jumps back in 2008 and delivers a return of 18% (despite massive losses in the Dow that year).  

But Patterson tells some stories about Thorp make me wonder if we are getting a saintized version of the man.  For example, In 1991 Thorp decides to stop managing an investment fund and works as a consultant for some large pension funds.  He is asked to evaluate their holdings including a fund that has been making unbelievable returns for the past 10 years (returns even higher than his own).  It took Thorp one day to delve into the fund’s holdings and to conclude that the pension fund should sell its holdings immediately out of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.  Thorp had discovered that the fund was a fraud.  Patterson uses this story to celebrate how smart Ed Thorp is.  For me, this story is wrought with ethical issues.  Didn’t Thorp have a responsibility to share this information with more than just the pension fund?  The Madoff fund continued to function for the next 15 years?  Wasn’t Thorp ever tempted to share his findings with others?  How many investors could have been saved by a little charity from Thorp?   Thorp did what he was legally and financially obliged to do (just like Joe Paterno).  But there is part of me that expects a little more.  Patterson’s portrayal of Thorp as a quantitative saint is little hard for me to swallow; maybe it is because I expect more from my saints than just being smart, clever and rich.   

The biggest difficulty that Patterson overcomes is taking two extremely difficult subjects (advanced mathematics and Wall Street) and crafting a readable narrative.  He does this by 1) never intricately discussing the most difficult math, 2) focusing on the fund managers and 3) using gambling and poker as an organizing motif.  While Patterson is able to make his narrative easy to read, I never fully understood the world I was witnessing because the math was never fully explained.  To better understand the quants  Patterson’s book is a good outline but I am hesitant to make conclusions based on the nature evidence he has provided.  

Patterson attempts to make the case that most of the market meltdowns that we’ve witnessed in the past 30 years have been directly linked to the activities of the quants.  This includes Black Monday, the tech stock bubble and the current recession.  While I agree that the quants contributed to all three events, I believe that Patterson overstates the impact of the quants.  Nevertheless, the book’s biggest impact on me is that I will never view Wall Street in the same way as I did before reading his book.  4 stars
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Reviewed by Britni at 5:23 PM 1 comments
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October 16, 2011

Dubious History by P.H. Denson

I have to admit to having ulterior motives for reading this book. If you've been around The Book Nook for awhile and are familiar with my reviews, you know how I love to pick apart and poke fun at pseudo-Historic Freemason oriented fiction, such as works by the likes of Steve Berry and Dan Brown. The description for this one certainly made it sound as though it fit the bill. Early American History, secretive Freemasons, a young writer digging up forgotten truths. Alas, it was not to be. Dubious History has no subplot to discredit religion, no absurd revisions of History, and -worst of all- no heaving bosoms. There is however a secret tunnel, and a gun makes an appearance at one point.

Dubious History is the tale of a History professor called upon to write the history of the small town of his forebears after his uncle, the one originally commissioned for the job, died in what appeared to be an accident. As the professor attempts to pick up where his uncle left off, he finds some very dusty skeletons hidden in some very deep closets and finds himself in danger.

This is not a book for fans of Dan Brown or Steve Berry, this is more of a traditional murder mystery, more Matlock than MI-5. Unfortunately while I am not a fan of Brown or Berry except so far as I can make fun of them, I am more of a MI-5 girl myself. In fact traditional murder mysteries are one genre I tend to avoid. Even so, I can appreciate the amount of work that went into a tome of this width, and I applaud anyone with the tenacity to tackle a work of this magnitude. While this book was not my particular cup of tea, I know several people I can pass it on to that will likely enjoy it.

If I were to sit down with P.H. Denson after imbibing a cup or two of wine to loosen my tongue, I'd offer the following alterations made to this book.

1. The main character, Zachary Honeychurch, is supposed to be 39 years old, but speaks and behaves like a 60 year old. I don't expect him to say "dude" and go to strip clubs, but I do expect him to be less doddering. He comes across as elderly. His very name, Zachary, gives one the impression of youth and vigor, but the character doesn't follow through with this impression. He's more of a Walter.

2. One thing this book is missing is sexual tension. Zack is already married, and while his wife is meant to be sexy and exotic she also comes across more like someone in her 60's who wears pink cardigans and freshwater pearls and pops into the Curl Up and Dye every Wednesday to have her hair set. Zach ought to be single or at least estranged, his leading lady kept apart from him by seemingly impossible circumstances, and she ought to be held hostage at some point. If a hostage situation can't be arranged, I'd recommend a tandem horseback ride or a stormy night holed up in an abandoned cabin with one old lantern and three wet matches.

3. Why is the book set in 1996? I suggest updating it to current times and spicing up the technology. I was 20 in 1996 and all the faxes and cassettes and answering machines made me feel like Methuselah's female counterpart. I almost felt compelled to make an appointment at the Curl Up and Dye.

4. I do find History and genealogy fascinating, but the book goes too far into tangents about the lineages of invented people. I'd cull this a bit so the reader doesn't get lost in a haze of surnames and dates. This is why I could never finish War and Peace. Everyone was named Anna in that book, and I could never sort them all out enough to follow the story.

5. When a murderer sends messages to his chosen intermediary, he really ought not to rhyme. In fact, don't let him Haiku either, I'm not sure which is worse. A message would be far more menacing and intriguing if left short and pointed with very carefully chosen words. Magazine collages are always a hit.

6. I'm afraid the murders and bombings just weren't very exciting. Zack may as well be describing his daily toilette as he plods through each of these. In fact, he didn't even make me want a chocolate soda when he described his love for them. I want to be able to taste the chocolate soda as he drinks it, feel the texture of it on my tongue, the condensation on the glass. When he was shot I think I actually stifled a yawn, he didn't even seem much bothered by it. There's too much of a disconnect for the reader to become truly immersed in the story.

7. The killer's big reveal was a bit of a let down because that particular character is barely involved in the story up to that point. I understand wanting to keep him under wraps a bit so the reader is left guessing, but he is kept so under wraps that his identity seems more random than surprising at the end. He needs to be more visible throughout the story, at least as much as the punk kid at the drug store or the the garden club matriarch. He ought to blend in enough to be overlooked by the reader as a potential suspect, but not hidden altogether.

8. Watch the commas, there seems to be some confusion about their placement. When in doubt, leave them out.

I received a copy of this book for the purpose of review and am not capable of keeping my honest opinion to myself.

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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 3:55 PM 3 comments
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September 11, 2011

From Ashes to Honor by Loree Lough

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day? In memory of that fateful day ten years ago, I thought it only appropriate to review a book centered around individuals affected by the events of 9/11.

Austin Finley, NYPD, ignored his twin brother's call. His twin brother who was calling to tell him to say goodbye when he realized there was no chance he would make it out of the south tower. Mercy Samara was the shrink who met with Austin to discuss his pain, regret, and disappointment. And the one who cost him his job with the NYPD.

Flash forward a few years and south a few miles to Baltimore where both Austin and Mercy moved to get away from the memories surrounding NYC. During the time since when they've last seen each other, both have hit rock bottom - using alcohol and suicide as methods of escape - and have both come out on the other side. Austin is now a paramedic, highly rooted in his Christian beliefs, and Mercy is a school counselor. They happen to meet up again when one of Mercy's students has an accident and Austin is the EMT that comes to help out. That day is the beginning of a relationship that neither of them could have imagined years ago when Austin sat in Mercy's office for roughing up another delinquent.

I won't tell you anything else other than to say that this wasn't as easy a read as I thought it would be. While this was definitely fiction rooted in Christianity, life wasn't just smooth sailing for these characters. Loree Lough adds in enough of "life's not fair," events to make this seem a lot more real life than some books. And for that reason I liked it. It was centered around these two individuals whose lives were changed on September 11th, and it wouldn't have been real to think that their lives were difficult after. It would be almost like pretending September 11th didn't happen and didn't affect every single American in one way or another.

This book also reminded me of the sacrifice that so many Americans make every day to protect us. Whether it be by fighting in the armed forces, pulling families out of burning buildings, or putting their lives on the line to stop a holdup. And for that I am extremely grateful, especially on this 10th anniversary of 9/11.



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Reviewed by Britni at 12:01 AM 0 comments
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July 20, 2011

The Screaming Stone by J.P. Osterman

The Screaming Stone is a YA adventure/mystery novel that follows main characters Marcie and her cousin Robbie as they search for truth and treasure.

It all begins when visiting the cemetery after old Uncle Charlie dies.  Marcie follows Robbie around the graves and notices that he's trying to break into one!  In their ancestors gravestone, they find a special gold locket and a scroll with a guide to the family's secrets, past and possibly hidden fortune.  This leads the pair on an adventure through cold and creepy cellars and down long and dark caverns, with Marcie's kid brother Frankie in tow.  They are fueled by mysterious Irish folktales and the desire to save their family's farm and will go to great lengths to find whatever treasures await them.

Basically, that's the straight synopsis.  But, aside from that storyline, there are other themes taking place here.  For one, Marcie's mom is saddened by an old loss and copes by being an irresponsible and in-compassionate mother.  Her uncle, Finn, has been outcasted from the family for over 15 years due to something that happend while he was a teenager.  Marcie is afraid of him, but doesn't know all the details.  Her grandparents are from Ireland and are constantly telling them tales from the old country that make their imaginations run wild and give them a strong belief in mysticism and magic.  Robbie has some sort of disability, and although it's never named in the book, it seems to be some sort of Autism or Asburgers.

In my personal opinion, I felt like their were too many themes and situations kept coming up instead of wrapping up.  One second they're talking about Irish kings and the next about the Civil War and even dinosaurs.  It was all just a little far fetched.  Marcie is a 13 year old, but at times behaves stubbornly and childish... not in a teenager way, but more like a 10 year old.  Even Frankie, who's supposed to be 8, at one point needs to go down for a nap... more like a 5 year old.   The writing at times felt a little sporadic.  Some things went into great detail, and then at other times she skimmed through time so fast that it didn't lead to any kind of emotional push or pull.

The book is labeled as YA, but it feels a little younger than that even... maybe more appropriate for 4-7th graders... I do not think high schoolers will enjoy this read.  Although I personally enjoyed the action scenes, I felt that it was too jumpy overall.

3 stars.

This book was provided to me for the purpose of this review.  This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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Reviewed by Nicole at 3:10 PM 0 comments
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July 7, 2011

The Future Perfect by Kirk Mustard

My dad introduced me to Douglas Adams as a kid, and I've always loved his stuff because it's funny. I learned about Kurt Vonnegut in college, and appreciated his skill at demonstrating the absurdities of the human condition. Kirk Mustard has taken elements of both of these writers, put them in a blender with Aldous Huxley, and served the result in a tall frosty glass with a little umbrella and a few chunks of fruit.

The Future Perfect (an abbreviated title by the way) is the story of Earth somewhere between now and the society portrayed in Wall-e. Consumerism has... well, consumed the planet, science has taken over everything, even the afterlife, and nature has been all but eradicated by society's paranoia of germs.

Weighty topics are skillfully explored through a fascinating assortment of Adams-esque characters. There's Zenith, a loud colorful ad executive who must constantly churn out new products to a ravenous public, at one point even conceiving of and publishing a book during a short commercial break. His good friend is Monty, a witty self-proclaimed Luddite who longs for simpler times yet panics at the sight of a roasted chicken. Apex Caliente is the unwitting catalyst to the truth behind Nophy, a computer generated afterlife.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the detail of technological advances of the future. The synthesized food was disgusting, but probable. The voting system, which uses television ratings to determine what people really want subconsciously, was very creative. My favorite thing, which I really hope to see one day, is the flexy-screen, basically a screen the size and nature of a piece of paper, and used as such.

There are only two negatives to this book. First, there are a lot of grammatical and typographical errors. But overall the writing was good enough and the story interesting enough that it was easy to overlook. Second, the style of writing is a bit uneven. There's a lot of fantastic material between the beginning and the end, but it starts out choppy and ends suddenly. If the errors were fixed and the beginning and end rewritten, this would be a five star book.

I received a copy of this book for the purpose of review.


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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 3:08 PM 0 comments
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July 5, 2011

Kings of Colorado by David E. Hilton

How many times do you look back at times in your life and ask what if?

William Sheppard stabbed his father in the chest when he was thirteen. What happens after is a series of incidents that beg for the age old question, what if? After stabbing his father, Will is sent to the Swope Ranch Boy's Reformatory, a prison disguised as a ranch known for breaking wild horses. Set in the middle of the Colorado mountains, no one thinks of escaping Swope, just of surviving. It takes Will just a few months before he find the best kind of friends, ones that stick with you forever. Together, these four teenage boys try to find a way to make it out of Swope in one piece in the midst of violence-happy guards, teenage gang leaders, and wild horses.

I won't tell you anything else about what happens other than to say this book was fantastic. Like Hunger Games, this is a story about boys fighting for survival, a story that while heart-breaking and a little disturbing, I just couldn't stop reading. The sense of friendship and brotherhood that David Hilton develops is almost tangible and one that I'll definitely remember. My only complaint would be that since this book is set in a boy's reformatory, there is a lot of language and violence, actually too much language in my opinion that could have been done without. Other than the language, this is an incredible read and one I thoroughly enjoyed. 4 stars (lost one star for the language).

*I received a free copy of this book to review. The review is my honest opinion of the book.


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Reviewed by Britni at 10:40 AM 1 comments
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May 30, 2011

The Albuquerque Turkey by John Vorhaus

I asked to review this book because I live in Albuquerque, and I was hoping to "see" some familiar places. As it turns out Albuquerque barely figures in the story, but its still good fun, the sort of book many reviewers would describe as a "romp." Personally, my dignity precludes me from using that word. I won't use "quaff" either, unless I'm making fun of someone for being a wine nerd.

The Albuquerque Turkey is the (some might insert "rollicking" here) tale of a con man, Radar, whose girlfriend (also a con artist) has decided to go straight after a pretty big score (landed in a previous book, The California Roll). The two decide somewhat randomly to settle in Santa Fe, where they mull over what to do with the rest of their lives. Accounting? Teaching? Car sales? But when Radar's long lost estranged father shows up (also a con artist), their plans for reformation take a different turn.

Radar's friend and sidekick, Mirplo, also dabbles in reformation. He throws his hat in with the artsy crowd, pulling a con of his own as he pretends to be a great artist. Yet along the way he actually does become a great artist. Mirplo is only a supporting character, but definitely the most colorful, and my favorite. The name of the book comes from one of his pieces, a sculpture called -you guessed it- The Albuquerque Turkey.

This was a fun book. The writer has written books on the subjects of gambling and comedy, and he certainly seems to know his way around both. But what I enjoyed the most was Vorhaus's way with words. He masterfully manipulates language to say the same old things in new ways. A couple of his sayings that are now a part of my own vernacular are "verbal prostate massage" (sweet-talking your way out of or into something) and "audio waterboarding" (my new way of expressing myself when my husband plays AC/DC).

I received a copy of this book for the purpose of review.

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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 9:27 PM 0 comments
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April 22, 2011

Oskaloosa Moon by Gary Sutton

Often the life of a reviewer can be tedious. We agree to review books because the description sounds interesting, and because it's actually available in paper form (which is getting rarer and rarer). Then it arrives and we realize maybe it wasn't what we'd hoped, but we'd agreed to write a review. So we trudge on through, throwing covetous glances at the stack of neglected books in our To Be Read piles. Why? Because we live with the hope that one day, one of these books that arrive in the mail will finally be worth it. It's like Edison looking for the right filament for his incandescent bulb. Or Darwin, measuring finch beaks on the Gallapagos. Only slightly more glamorous.

I did say "slightly."

I am pleased to announce that at long last I have found once such gem. Oskaloosa Moon isn't merely a good read, or merely a five star book. Its value is impossible to measure. In fact, its near impossible to explain, too. Before tackling this review, I read other reviews of this book and found I wasn't alone in this difficulty. This book doesn't fit into any one genre, yet it is simple. It can't be compared to anything else no matter how I stretch it, yet I can't stop trying to because it is so relatable.

Oskaloosa Moon is the story of a boy who was born with a disfigured face, but a completely normal mind and body. He grows up in a small town where he does his best to fit in, work hard, and make his family proud. But no matter how hard he tries, someone is always there holding him back. Despite this, he remains good-hearted, optimistic, and loyal. Because of this particular personality trait, some reviewers have compared him to Forrest Gump, but that doesn't quite wash. This is the basic story.

The heart of the story is that before there were laws protecting the disabled and public service announcements and children's books featuring kids in wheelchairs, the disabled - or those who are simply different in any way- found life incredibly difficult, and sometimes lived almost entirely segregated from "normal" society. Moon is the perfect poster boy for this group of people because of his disfigurement. He is also, however, the poster boy for us all, because all of us have been held prisoner in some way due to our own outward appearances.

It's one of life's big questions. Are we truly the way we see ourselves, or the way others see us? We can never know for certain, because no matter how we manipulate our appearances, no matter how hard we work to change our lives, others will only ever see us as they choose to, and act on that.

As I read Oskaloosa Moon I could easily see it as a book that will one day be standard reading in high school literature classes. I could also see it as a film. I could see Moon standing behind a film projector, the monochrome light pulsing over his hopeful face. I could see him walking down a San Bernardino sidewalk with the sunlight reflecting off his stunt helmet (before San Bernardino became mired in smog). And I could see in him every person who's ever ached to be truly seen.

I received a copy of this book for the purpose of review. It was a hardcover, not something you ebook snots can appreciate. And it was signed. Twice. Which really made me feel special. :)


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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 9:56 PM 0 comments
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April 18, 2011

Promises to Keep by Ann Tatlock


I received my review copy of Promises to Keep by Ann Tatlock from Bethany House a few days ago. I offered to review it because I had gotten into a Christian romance rut and thought that this would be a change of pace, and it certainly was.


This book is still "Christian" though very subtly so. It is very down-to-earth with normal people and common problems living in a realistic late '60's America. It is a well-written book with very believable characters. There are many life issues explored in the book. Race relations, spousal abuse, old age, losing childhood innocence, and the Vietnam War are all woven into this intriguing tale.

The thing I liked most about this book is how it shows God’s hand weaving together the lives of two families. It shows how he can work in bad times to bring about good.

Despite all of the excellent writing, I can’t bring myself to give this book five stars. I read books for a relaxing escape. There was just too much real world here. Of course, this is probably a defect of mine and not the book.

So if you are looking for a break from romantic flights of fancy, this is a great book to read. It has depth and life lessons and other things worth contemplating. I guess that I prefer something more light-hearted.


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Reviewed by Frances Clements at 8:53 PM 1 comments
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April 7, 2011

Incognito by Michael Sidney Fosberg

I'm sure at one time or another we've all wondered about the mysteries of ourselves. A lot of us as children have spun fantasies of alternate beginnings. What if we're really the long-lost child of a foreign queen being raised in secret? Or perhaps we have a twin that was taken, or we were switched at birth? What would it be like to suddenly discover our whole lives have been a lie?

Michael Sidney Fosberg  always knew the father that raised him was not his biological father, but for some reason never thought to ask questions about his "real" father. Yet as he approached 40 and his parents decided to divorce, he came upon a startling truth, an essential truth with a huge impact on the core of his identity. While he had been raised white, in a white family, his long lost father was African-American.

Fosberg was born in the midst of the Civil Rights movement in a segregated city to a White mother and a Black father. They struggled to stay together despite the incredible odds that were against such a couple in such a time, but his mother caved to the pressure. She left her husband and took her infant son to live with her family so her light-skinned son could pass for White and avoid the discrimination he'd inevitably face as a biracial child.

On the face of it, it's easy to say that this revelation shouldn't have effected the way Fosberg saw himself. But he found he had missed out on experiencing a rich culture that he'd always felt inexplicably drawn to, as well as relationships with an assortment of relatives who had loved him and long wondered about his fate.

Fosberg decided to take a road trip around the country, spending time with these relatives and interviewing them to learn more about himself. He also interviewed the parents who had raised him and his White half-siblings to put all the pieces together in an honest and cohesive fashion. Along the way he was often forced to question his own motives: was he being selfish? Narcissistic? Now Fosberg uses his story as a theatrical device to get communities and students talking about race and acceptance.

I received a copy of this book for the purpose of review.

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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 11:39 PM 0 comments
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November 10, 2009

The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter

I was given The Financial Lives of the Poets to review by TLC Book Tours. From the back cover, I was intrigued.

Meet Matt Prior. He's losing his job, his wife, and his house. And he's about to lose his mind- until, at the last moment, he discovers a way he might just possibly manage to save it all...and have a pretty [word deleted] great time doing it.

While I may not have loved the plot or subject of this novel, I was fascinated by the writing. This book follows Matt as he triees to make money by becoming a drug dealer who knows nothing about the streets. Of course he gets caught immediately making matters even worse. And while I didn't quite agree with some of the language and storyline, I loved how Walter's writing made me feel like I was inside Matt's mind (that he was losing). This book reminded me of the contemporary literature that I love with the oddball writing styles like pieces of poetry thrown into the middle of the storyline.

If you can handle the F word almost every page, I'd recommend this book to most adults. It really does give you a good glimpse (in a fictional way of course) into the mind of a man falling apart in the dying economy as he tries to hold onto a mansion-like house and $1200 tree fort. 3 out of 5 stars.

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Reviewed by Britni at 9:33 AM 1 comments
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August 23, 2009

The Woodsman's Daughter by Gwyn Hyman Rubio

I didn't like this writer's hugely successful debut novel, Icy Sparks. But I admit that I didn't like it because Rubio fell victim to that device so many writers abuse: ridiculous nomenclature. Let's see. I want my book to really stand out, but I'm afraid I'm just not that great at character development. So I'll give my characters some really yooneek names that will make them stand out. Then maybe no one will notice my shortcomings. What does that sign say up ahead? Watch for Falling Rock? Awesome! Has a sort of Native American feel and poetic depth to boot. Falling Rock it is! "Falling Rock was raised on a small farm. Her favorite pastimes were..."

In Icy Sparks, the name was distracting and took away from the overall message of the book, which was to create awareness of the commonality and struggles of Tourette's Syndrome. So when I saw The Woodsman's Daughter, I decided to give Rubio another chance.

I couldn't read further than the first chapter. The dialog was forced and unnatural. The descriptions were vomit inducing, literally. Her characters are always dribbling saliva or getting food smeared on their faces or clothes and just letting it sit there and congeal. The familial relationships are totally inappropriate and just strange, they get angry very suddenly for no reason, and you can't tell from one moment to the next if person A likes person B or hates their guts. It seems like Rubio wanted to make certain issues apparent at the expense of others, leaving the reader completely confused. Maybe there's an explanation for this, but one is not apparent. Either these characters too suffer from Tourette's Syndrome, or they simply blurt out things entirely out of context just to fill space. I really don't know. But I just couldn't stand to read another page.

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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 4:31 PM 3 comments
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July 15, 2009

Three Reviews: Jewel, Gilgamesh, and Made in the U.S.A.

I've really been slacking on book reviews, so I have to play catch-up. I have to hurry too, because there's a sleepy baby grabbing my ankle.

Jewel by Bret Lott

This was an incredible book. It's the story of a woman's life, from her childhood in rural Mississippi pre-WWII, to her marriage and motherhood -culminating in the birth of a disabled daughter as the story begins- and old age. After this daughter (her sixth child) is born, her life is taken over by the special demands involved. Her marriage and friendships suffer. Finally she convinces her husband to move to California, where an organization for disabled children is making progress. It's difficult to describe this book accurately. It would be easy to paint as another "disabled child" story along the lines of The Memory Keeper's Daughter, but there's much more to it than that (as there was to The Memory Keeper's Daughter). This book follows recent American History, allowing glimpses into lives trying to keep up with rapid change and progress and the ups and downs of economy and culture. Five stars.

Gilgamesh by Joan London.

I'll be honest, I know nothing about the Epic of Gilgamesh. If I did, maybe this book would have had more of an impact on me. This is a story of hopelessness and pointlessness. At least that's how I see it. A girl growing up in the Australian bush pre-WWII with a mentally impaired mother and a self-righteous sister gets pregnant by an exotic visitor. After the baby is born she decides to try to find the baby's father in Armenia. So she goes there, spends a few years taking care of two thankless invalid women, hoping to find the man. One day she suddenly gets word that he'd died, and she has to go back to Australia. So she does. And raises her son in the bush. The end. No point as far as I can see. Three stars for good writing, but that's about it.

Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts

My mom's family has a big thing for Billie Letts, because they are Oklahomans and so is she. So I've read all her books, starting with Where the Heart Is when it first came out. In Made in the U.S.A., Letts attempts to get into the mind of a rebellious teenaged girl. Since I've never been one, I can't really say how she did on that score. Lutie and her little brother, Fate, are orphaned (can I just say here that I'm really darn tired of writers using all these portentous names? What's wrong with real, typical names like Haley and Zack? Emily and Jacob? Abby and Hunter?). Terrified of being shoved into foster care, they steal a car and head to Vegas, where they live in their car and struggle to get on their feet. This was a really good read. Nothing mind blowing or anything, but a good, fulfilling read. Four stars.

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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 3:20 PM 4 comments
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June 30, 2009

Katka by Stephen R. Meier

Katka is a novella, only 107 pages long, but that was long enough for me. There's not a whole lot to this story. The plot is simple- Gavin, Katka (Gavin's girlfriend), and Simona (Katka's best friend) are involved in a mail order bride scam business in the Czech Republic. Gavin and Katka plan the ultimate scam on an American man by sending Katka with him. She's supposed to get away from him in the airport and doesn't. The book is about Gavin dealing with the aftermath of selling his one true love.

Though the plot is simple, the writing technique is complex. Meier takes the reader back and forth between past and present to build the storyline and fill in any missing gaps, and that itself is fascinating. There's a happy ending, but a predictable. If you can get past the F word every other sentence and all of the sex (these are mail-order brides after all), the story and writing is decent. 2.5 stars.

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Reviewed by Britni at 12:00 AM 1 comments
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June 23, 2009

The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton

I've read a lot of heavy books in a row. I usually prefer heavy books, but I think I need some brain candy now. Something with heaving bosoms on the cover.

The Book of Ruth is the product of what I think of as the meme (as in Me! Me!) literary era of the late 90's. During that time everyone was writing about their sordid childhoods and blaming everything on their parents and getting paid for it.

This book is a novel written sort of like an autobiography. Ruth is a lower-class rural girl who is smart, but is so accustomed to being called stupid that she is held back by her circumstances. She makes decisions that reflect those circumstances, never imaging another way of life. She has an aunt with whom she corresponds, and this aunt is the one positive influence in her life. But it takes some extreme events to get Ruth to consider other options.

I believe the title is due to the fact that Ruth lives with her mother all her life, even though their love / hate relationship leans closer to hate. And Ruth comes to realize how similar to her mother she really is. That's about the only similarity I can find to the biblical Ruth though.

This wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't a walk in the park either. I'd recommend it for a student of sociology, but not otherwise.

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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 5:53 PM 0 comments
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June 8, 2009

Visions by Jean Koning

When I was first given the option to review this book, I was really excited. The book was supposed to be about Jean Koning's views on the American way of life, and I thought that could be very interesting. I should've looked into the details of the book a little closer as I would've opted out from the review. I am not the person who should be reviewing this book. I'm pretty much the opposite of everything that Koning describes and promotes in his book, and it was really hard for me to get through.

From coffee, to promoting teenange sex, to legalizing marijuana- I just couldn't relate or agree with the book in any which way. The writing was well put together but sounded like someone just wrote down exactly what they were thinking at that exact moment and then tried to piece it all together into a series of "Visions." Pretty much a social commentary on whatever he felt like writing about at the moment.

And that being said, I really can't feel good recommending this book to anyone because it promotes so much of what I'm not. And that just doesn't work for me. If anyone feels they might be more suited to reading and reviewing this book, let me know and I'll send you a copy.
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Reviewed by Britni at 8:17 PM 0 comments
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May 29, 2009

Run by Ann Patchett

After I read and loved Bel Canto, I checked my library for more books by Ann Patchett, and found this one. Run is the remarkable story of an Irish American family that adopts two African American boys. After only a few years of being a family, their adoptive mother dies, leaving them to be raised in an affluent neighborhood by the mayor of Boston. When the boys are grown, on one fateful night, they both find and lose their biological mother. This is an extraordinary book about familial relationships.

The most amazing thing about Patchett's writing to me is her ability to get the reader inside her characters' heads. She doesn't just make up characters and build a story around them. She puts on her characters' skins and becomes them, and they are the story.

I was surprised by Patchett's photo on the book flap. I was expecting a matronly middle-aged woman with short hair and knowing smile, but she looks like she's probably my age. I was not surprised however by the multiple awards and accolades credited to her in the bio.

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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 10:51 AM 5 comments
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May 27, 2009

Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler

This book is like a big plate of salad placed in front of a four year old. You know it's good for you, you know it's important to eat, you know if you eat it there will be dessert. So you eat it, and you decide it's not all that bad, and you're glad you're doing something that's good for you, but you'd really rather just have some ice cream.

This is the story of an agoraphobic artist who falls in love with one of his boarders. They get married (sort of), and as time goes by he begins to wonder if his wife has been a muse for him or if her presence is actually holding him back. On his wife's end of things, she dislikes the fact that she's always depended on men for everything she needs and wants to know if she can do things on her own, or if she's strong enough to do them on her own.

It was a beautiful book, a healthy and artistic book, but it was about as enjoyable to read as the fine print on a pre-approved credit card offer.

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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 10:19 AM 4 comments
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