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Showing posts with label Infinity Publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Infinity Publishing. Show all posts

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Ohhhh! For Halloween! The Horrible Hex!!

The Horrible Huckleberry Hex
By Alani M’echel Weathers
Publisher: Infinity Publishing
ISBN-10: 0741453282
ISBN-13: 978-0741453280
SRP: $9.95

Reviewed by The Kids Book Connection

Are you ready for a spooky story? Cross Goosebumps from R.L. Stine
and a bit of Scooby Doo, and you’ll come close to what you find in The Horrible Huckleberry Hex by Alani M’echel Weathers.

Eleven-year-old Jordan Davis, jumps in Aunt Desiree’s van to go on his first camping trip with his younger brother and twin sisters: Danny, Tiffany and Celeste. Little does he know that this camping trip will soon take a dangerous turn.

After setting up camp, the family hikes down a trail where they discover an ancient oak tree decorated with huge, juicy berries. Jordan soon discovers, however, that there might be more to those berries than them being huge and juicy. When he bumps into his friends, Kevin and Lei, they warn Jordan that those berries shouldn’t be consumed, especially by adults.

Jordan and his friends must race against time as they try to save Jordan’s siblings, and themselves, from an ancient curse that might doom them all!

Some of you might be too young to remember, but in the 90’s, Nickelodeon aired a show titled, Are You Afraid of the Dark?. A group of friends belonging to “The Midnight Society” would meet at a secret
location in the woods and one member would share a scary story with the rest of the group. The Horrible Huckleberry Hex is similiar,except for young Jordan Davis and his family, it’s not a story, it’s
really happening and it’s frightening.

The entire story is told from Jordan’s point of view and he is the only narrator, sharing the story and sometimes addressing the reader,which instantly connects that reader to the story. I would alsocompare it to Goosebumps by R.L. Stine because of its hair-raising action, and Scooby Doo deserves some mention because of the hilarious antics that this adventure creates. Weathers did an amazing job of combining all these elements, an ancient curse, and a diverse cast of characters to come up with a huge winner.

This book should be on every middle grade reader’s wish list. With a captivating and engaging storyline, a touch of humor, and several yummy-looking recipes The Horrible Huckleberry Hex by Alani M’echel Weathers is sure to thrill everyone who reads it!


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It 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 loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index 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.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Police Chief Weighs in on "Integrity: Do You Have It?"

Title: Integrity: Do You Have It?
2nd edition
Author: Dennis Aubuchon
Infinity Publishing.
ISBN: 0741429160
Author's Website: www.myqualitywriting.com

Reviewed by William E. Cooper for Reader Views (1/07)

Integrity. We live in a world where integrity has often become situational. We don't always agree what it is or when it applies. Many people simply have never been taught its value or applications. The pace of today's world too frequently does not allow many people or organizations the time or ability to consider the ethical implications of decisions or actions. Unless one is grounded in integrity and practices it as a rule, the consequences of taking the "easier" option in the long run may become significant.

As a retired police chief it was my responsibility to insure the integrity of everyone and everything in my department. The public entrusted us with considerable power, and the criticality of maintaining the highest standards was the rule of the day. Absolute, unquestioned integrity must come from the top and be set through example and actions. In addition, the leader of the organization must have the courage to act when ethics violations occur. So it is in an organization, and in any person.

We are constantly barraged by ethics problems in the daily media, yet the majority of organizations and people are honest and truthful. It is our responsibility to teach it and conduct ourselves accordingly. Mr. AuBuchon has written a truly good book on the subject, and I encourage everyone to buy this book and read it. He provides an excellent journey through the subject and adds cases, examples, policies, and directives, as well as references to the law. I believe this book should be part of every home, business, library, and educational institution. It is too important to ignore or let get away from us. Any discussion of religion, politics, government, or education must have as its basis integrity and ethics. The
author provides his readers with definitions of ethics, applicability to each of the parts above.

I've taught ethics in the police academy and in graduate school courses. I've written on the topic and have found that many of the ideas and beliefs I teach are discussed and promoted in this book. I have to provide a high recommendation for "Integrity: Do You Have It?" because it deserves it.


Dennis AuBuchon, author: Integrity: Do You Have It? 2nd edition
Have you signed the business ethics pledge
Member Authors' Coalition @ www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com
Registered as an expert on www.Allexperts.com