The Crystal Pond A Young Girl’s Journey Through Imagination by Alvin M. Stenzel

TITLE: The Crystal Pond

SUBTITLE: A Young Girl’s Journey Through Imagination

AUTHOR: Alvin M. Stenzel

GENRE: Young Adult

AGE / INTEREST LEVEL: 10 and up, young women

PAGEs: 175

PUBLISHER: Independently Published

LINK TO WHERE THE BOOK MAY BE PURCHASED

THE REVIEW:

The Crystal Pond is a beautiful modern day Fairy Tale. It is filled imagination and

inspiration and enchantment. It draws the reader to the desire to do better, to create better, to

love better, to be better. As with all brilliant fairy tales, it weaves its teachings and gifts within a

beautiful story. I can highly recommend this as more than just a mere story, but truly as an

inspiration.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE REVIEWER:

NAME OF REVIEWER: Susan Carrier

ORIGINAL PLACE THE REVIEW WAS PUBLISHED: Amazon.com

PERMISSION NOTICE: Permission for use granted

INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alvin Stenzel is a retired CPA living in The Villages in Florida. He spent most of his life working in the DC area and living in suburban Maryland. He is the author of several other motivational books, as well as poems and articles for newspapers and magazine. This is his first novel.

The first section of The Crystal Pond was written many years ago as a Christmas present for an eleven-year-old young lady who lived down the street. For her next birthday, it only made sense to write a sequel. It quickly became clear that there would be five parts.

The real beauty of the story is that the young lady eventually became his step-daughter. She is now a mother of her own with two beautiful daughters.

More About #TheNewBookReview Blog The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's "Authors Helping Authors" service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author, a veteran educator and also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

A Pony for Quarantine by Clare O'Beara Book Review

A Pony for Quarantine by Clare O'Beara Book Review

Title A Pony For Quarantine
Author Clare O’Beara
Publisher Nielsen
Publisher Website Address http://www.clareobeara.ie/
Publisher Email Address author@clareobeara.ie
ISBN-10: 1910544116 

ISBN-13: 978-1910544112

ASIN: B08B1KYKBN

Price $6.99 paperback, $2.99 Kindle
Page Count 198 pages
Formats (PB, Kindle)

Carolyn Wilhelm
Reviewer

Setting: Ireland, March 2020

Life was changing fast. Thirteen-year-old Moya didn’t understand at first when her parents were worried the supermarkets would close. Shops were only letting a certain number of people inside at a time. Her parents might not be able to buy exactly what they wanted, but they would be able to get food. Moya started helping by watching her six-year-old autistic brother, Michael, who was missing school and his usual routine.

Scared, Moya wondered about the symptoms of Covid-19. The World Health Organization had just declared a Pandemic. Biking to visit and care for her pony, Celidh, she began talking as she arrived so her pony would know where she was. Luckily, she didn’t live far away. Now she had to decide about grass livery or DIY stabling. Several ponies were already in the field with the donkeys. She brushed the pony who still had winter hair on its tummy, pondering the situation.

So begins the story of Moya, who is a lovely big sister to Michael. The book details how the family deals with an autistic child (no sweets in the house for one thing), and how they work together. Non-fiction information about donkey sanctuaries, pony care, Brexit, facts about the quarantine, how online instruction was handled in Ireland is included in the book. It is an informative and wholesome read. Mother and daughter have several talks that explain the feelings the situation brings out in everyone.

Photos of empty store shelves, social distancing, housing, ponies, donkeys, closed playgrounds, shopping with masks are sprinkled throughout the book. At the end is a tasty recipe you will want to try.

Clare O’Beara has written other horse books I have previously reviewed: ShowJumping Team and Rodeo Finn. Free teaching supplements for both books are available on the Wise Owl Factory site. 

Review by Carolyn Wilhelm

Carolyn Wilhelm is the author of The Wise Owl Factory site and blog. She has an MS in Gifted Education, an MA in Curriculum and Instruction K-12, and has completed the KHT Montessori 12 month program. She makes mostly free resources for teachers and parents. Her children's books are available on Amazon. She wishes for world peace, international courts instead of wars, and a world with more compassion and less greed. 

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page and in a tab at the top of this blog's home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites so it may be used a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Tracey Quintin Gives YA Novel 5 Stars

Title:  The Dead of Winter 

Series: Seasons of Jefferson: Book 2

Author: Julie Solano (Author),‎ Tracy Justice (Author),‎ JT Authors (Author)

Website:  http://jtauthors.com/index.html

Genre:  Literature & Fiction, Teens, Teen & Young Adult, Social & Family Issues, Depression & Mental Illness, Mental Illness, Personal Health, Depression

ASIN #:   B018BWIDJI

Where people can purchase the book 

Reviewed by Tracey Quintin originally for Goodreads

Rated 5 Star

I've got to say I so love these authors! They know how to knock it out of the ballpark with their writing! 

I HIGHLY recommend you read Book 1, When Fall Breaks, BEFORE reading this story so you can truly "feel" every single moment of this story.

I don't give away spoilers in my reviews so this will be SUPER hard because this story is FULL of so many things I want to mention! Thus, I'm leaving out anything pertaining to these characters I love.

I couldn't wait to read this story after I fell in complete love with When Fall Breaks and the authors writing style.

I read this story from 3 perspectives which is a first for me! I read it as if I were the characters in the story, I read it as a parent thinking of my own children and I read it as a reader, all 3 as the events of the storyline unfolded. When I finished reading that's when I fully realized I was reading this way, that's how much I was COMPLETELY absorbed into this story!

This story captivated me from page 1 all the way to the end. I had so many emotions going through my mind while reading, so many thoughts in my mind of what I THOUGHT was going to happen. The authors got me EVERY SINGLE TIME. Whatever I was thinking didn't happen and they completely surprised me every step of the way! Such an emotional roller coaster ride and SO worth all the tummy flips! I was SO on edge NEEDING to know what would happen next. These characters and events were so real to me, I could picture everything. Perfect blend of details and dialog.

This story deals with PTSD a very real serious mental health disorder that many dismiss or overlook in treating. The manner in which these authors tackle it is outstanding.

I will write this from the story because this means something so important to me:
"WORTH FIGHTING FOR...She was my last hope. My reason to move forward. I miss laughing. I miss feeling good. When was the last time I was happy? It feels like forever. "
Gaaaaaaa...that grabs my heart and squeezes tight! There are many more I've highlighted on my Kindle throughout the story.

A SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOP THAT THIS STORY IS A GRIPPING PAGE TURNER AND SO REALISTIC! AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ FOR ALL AGES.
(I can't write a review that does this story justice!)

Superb job by the authors on this brilliant read. I look forward to reading anything they ever write! They always delve into real life issues and illnesses in a manner making it possible for all to understand. Thank you for bringing attention in this story to PTSD.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHORS

JT Authors connections:

Website:  http://jtauthors.com/index.html

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seasonsofjefferson/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jt_authors

Goodreads:  

Julie Solano: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12336169.Julie_Solano

Tracy Justice: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12336170.Tracy_Justice

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_3?ie=UTF8&text=JT+Authors&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=JT+Authors&sort=relevancerank

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Tracey Quintin connections:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LOVEBOOKSWITHROMANCE/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ReadingIsOurPas

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/19886187-tracey-quintin

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. 

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.