THE MONOCLE, A WILDLY FUN, SMART AND EXCITING YA SCI-FI ADVENTURE

TITLE OF YOUR BOOK: THE MONOCLE

AUTHOR’S NAME: Mark Cavanagh

NME OF BOOK SERIES: The Monocle Trilogy

AUTHOR'S EMAIL ADDRESS   markcavanagh2014@gmail.com

 _x_ Yes, I have received permission from the reviewer to reprint their review in its entirety

REVIEWER’S BYLINE: Christine Rodriguez, Fiction Addicted – Reading Books and Exploring Worlds. She is a prime reviewer for Reedsy, having authored 1203 reviews. This review originally published in Reedsy Discovery.

AUTHOR'S FAVORITE SALES LINKS:  

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Monocle-Mark-Cavanagh/dp/B092P6WTDR 

Must read 🏆 

Two teens find a mysterious monocle that bends reality—but they're not the only ones after it. Secrets, danger, and adventure await! 

SYNOPSIS 

In the quiet corners of a mundane 1960s town, two curious teenagers are about to trade the hum of their bicycle wheels for the crackle of cosmic energy… and unknowingly change their lives forever.

When best friends Viv and Mick stumble upon an alien artifact and a notebook of secret code, they unlock a strange new world where space folds and time travel is possible. As the adventurous teens master the powers of the extra-terrestrial monocle, friendship takes on new dimensions as they attempt to outrun federal agents and face fearsome creatures torn from the very fabric of nightmares! 

As they grapple with the unfathomable supernatural powers that they unlock from the monocle, Viv and Mick must decide whether they want to make the ultimate gamble – venture further into the unknown… and risk losing not just each other, but their very lives.

Will their friendship withstand the trials of this spectral journey or will the very forces that brought them together tear them apart?

REVIEW 

Some books hook you with action, others with mystery. The Monocle by Mark Cavanagh grabs you with pure wonder—that feeling of being a kid again, discovering something strange and incredible, and knowing that nothing will ever be the same. This YA adventure delivers a thrilling mix of nostalgia, mystery, and mind-bending science fiction, making it a must-read for fans of Stranger Things, A Wrinkle in Time, and The Goonies.

The Monocle is a coming-of-age adventure with a twist. Mick Sullivan and Viv Oulette, two curious and fearless teens, stumble upon an alien artifact—a mysterious monocle hidden inside a metallic clam-shaped shell. At first, it seems like a weird trinket. Still, when they unlock its abilities—seeing other dimensions, teleportation, even weaponized energy beams—it quickly becomes apparent that they've found something way bigger than themselves. And they're not the only ones interested. Enter Agent Flanders, a shadowy government official who wants the monocle for his own agenda, and suddenly, Mick and Viv are in a game much bigger (and far more dangerous) than they ever imagined.

What makes this book shine? For starters, Mick and Viv are fantastic protagonists. Their friendship feels genuine, fun, and full of personality—Their sharp, witty, and natural dialogue makes them feel like real teens rather than just "characters in a book." The Monocle is also an intriguing mystery. It slowly unravels the secrets of the monocle, blending sci-fi elements with a classic small-town adventure feel. Every discovery brings more questions, making it impossible to put down.

Mark Cavanagh has also given us a really strong sci-fi concept. The monocle itself isn't just a gimmick—it's an artifact with fascinating, reality-bending properties, and how the book explores its power is genuinely exciting. The blend of hard and soft sci-fi elements makes it feel both grounded and fantastical at the same time. I also loved the tense government conspiracy angle. It's not just a story about cool powers—there's a sense that something massive is at play, and Mick and Viv are in way over their heads.

The Monocle is a wildly fun, smart, and exciting YA sci-fi adventure that blends mystery, government intrigue, and coming-of-age friendship perfectly. If you love books that capture that nostalgic sense of discovery while keeping you on the edge of your seat, this one's for you. A great YA read for young and old alike!

REVIEWED BY

Christine Rodriguez 

Following

Christine is a 7-12th grade English teacher, a library assistant, and a bookworm with a passion for good literature. She has a keen eye for good literature and reads books across genres. Her favorites are dystopian lit, sci-fi, fantasy, and contemporary literature. 

Christine Rodriguez links: https://fictionaddicted.com https://www.instagram.com/chrisofcourse2025 https://x.com/csrodriguez1970

 AUTHOR BIO.  Mark Cavanagh, author of The Monocle Trilogy, Big Blue Society, The Zen of Laundry and RV Time Machine, lives with his wife by the Dark Swamp in northwestern Rhode Island where H.P. Lovecraft searched for the legendary IT. He co-wrote and produced Zombie Dearest, a feature film, and directed the award-winning Youth Vision program, recipient of the Action for Children’s Television Award. 

Author website: https://markcavanaghbooks.de  

The Monocle Book Trailer Links:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/62417144829536698/ 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/62417144829536709/

https://www.tiktok.com/@dorothysflyingmachine/video/7487626535676005674

https://youtu.be/Jd3efdBLsSQ

https://rumble.com/v6rgcat-the-monocle-the-monocle-trilogy.html

YOUR TWITTER (X) MONIKER: @CavanaghBooks

https://x.com/CavanaghBooks/status/1908148725349839061

Easy Ways to Get Involved in Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019

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. 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 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.

Easy Ways to Get Involved in Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019

The online world is buzzing with the excitement and anticipation as the global online diverse children’s literature celebration known as Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCBD) draws closer. This on and offline diverse kids’ and YA book-related event is in its sixth year and their mission of getting diverse children’s books into the hands of readers, parents, caregivers, teachers, and librarians has never wavered. To date, the non-profit has worked diligently to get over 5,000 free diverse kids’ and YA books into homes, classrooms, daycares, organizations, and libraries.

How MCBD Came to Be
After being frustrated by a lack of diverse and multicultural children’s books available to their own families, reading and play advocates Valarie Budayr from Audrey Press Books and Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom decided to take matters into their own hands. The book-loving moms then teamed up to create a much-needed national event and on January 27th, 2012 the first ever Multicultural Children’s Book Day was celebrated.
Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day platform, the mission from Day One has been to not only raise awareness around kid’s books that celebrate diversity, but to also get more of these types of books into classrooms and libraries.  
“Kids need to ‘see themselves’ in the pages of the books they read,” noted Budayr. “We are determined to not only shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books available but also offer visibility for the amazing authors and publishers who create them.”
Now in its sixth year, the MCBD online celebration attracts thousands of supports, over 600 book reviewers and dozens of quality authors and publishers. The non-profit has also shifted from an “every January 27^th” model to “the last Friday in January” to avoid conflicting with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The upcoming MCBD celebration will occur on and offline on January 25, 2019. 

4 Ways to Get Involved in MCBD as an Author or Publisher

1.     Donate Books: Diverse kids’ or YA books donated to the MCBD non-profit are used a variety of ways including donation to the over 2,000 classrooms waiting for a free diverse book via the Free Diverse Books for Classroom Project, as books given to reviewers to review via social media during the January event, or as prizes for their wildly popular (and much-anticipated) Twitter Party on January 25^th.

Go here to learn how you can donate brand new diverse books to the cause: http://bit.ly/2zx1YjX

2.     Multiple options for Sponsorship: Sponsorship is not only a great way to support this event; it is an excellent way for authors/publisher to get their books in front of thousands of readers. All Sponsors get a name mention within the hundreds of reviews that get posted from December to January 25^th and also on the sites of MCBD’s 26 CoHosts and Global CoHost sites. Go here to learn more about MCBD2019 Sponsorship: http://bit.ly/2TXuh3x

3.     Connect with Multicultural Children’s Book Day on social media: NOTE: Their official hashtag is #ReadYourWorld

- Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MulticulturalChildrensBookDay
- Twitter https://twitter.com/MCChildsBookDay
-Instagram https://www.instagram.com/readyourworldmcbd/

4.     Guest posts: The MCBD Team is always looking for quality diverse children’s book-related guest posts on their blog. Authors and publishers are invited to share the story of their writing journey or their thoughts on the importance of diversity in children’s literature.  

4 Ways to Get Involved as an Educator or Librarian
Throughout the months of November-January, leading up to the celebratory day, educators, librarians and parents can start planning and preparing with FREE activities available today at www.multiculturalchildrensbookday.com
FREE Classroom “Empathy” Kit:  
The free Classroom Empathy Kit focuses on empathy and compassion through shared booklists and special home or classroom activities. The kit includes 18 book recommends on the topic of Understanding Immigration and Refugees, Classroom Empathy Activities, and a very special custom printable Empathy Poster courtesy of author/illustrator Juana Medina. Educators, parents and librarians can sign-up to receive the free classroom kit here: http://bit.ly/2BGu4uQ
FREE Poverty Doesn’t Discriminate: Understanding Poverty in America Classroom Kit:  
Created in 2018, this free classroom kit includes over 2 dozen poverty in the U.S.-themed book recommends for ages 4-12, two classroom or home activities, and a copy of the official “Poverty Doesn’t Discriminate” Classroom Poster thanks to the talents of award-winning illustrator, Mehrdokht Amini. http://bit.ly/2P6cXWE
Free Diversity Book Lists and Activities for Teachers and Parents: Curated lists of books about diverse topics including: countries, religions, holidays, ethnicities, in addition to special needs and LGBTQ. http://bit.ly/1kGZrta
Share a Classroom Celebration: Teachers who host a celebration in the classroom can send in a picture of their party to receive 3 free diverse books and a swag pack as a thank you.  Teachers and librarians can enter their event info HERE (http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/category/offline-classroomlibrary-event-project/)


Don’t forget to connect with Multicultural Children’s Book Day on social media and be sure and look for/use their official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Thank you for reading!

Carolyn Wilhelm, Wise Owl Factory

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG AND GETTING REVIEWS AND ANOTHER FREEBIE

 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. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

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.

Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request the social sharing image by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge.  Please contact the designer at:  cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. C. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Carolyn the link to this post, too!

Publicist Carol Baldwin Published YA Novel, 18 Years in the Making

Title: Half-Truths

Author: Carol Baldwin

Author’s Website: https://carolbaldwinbooks.com/half-truths/

ISBN: 978-1-957656-85-4

Available on Amazon  and both paper and e-book on B&N:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/half-truths-carol-baldwin/1147046554?ean=9781957656854

 

 Reviewed by Linda Phillips, 

author of CRAZY, published by Eerdmans

 Kate Dinsmore, the teenage protagonist in this book you won’t want to put down, and the author, Carol Baldwin, have a lot in common. They both have a way with words and aim to use them to make the world a better place to live. In her first fiction YA novel, Baldwin has used her keen research instincts to give us an historically accurate and compelling picture of racial tensions in both rural and urban settings in 1950s North Carolina. Against a backdrop of KKK rallies and racial prejudice, Kate dreams of going to college and becoming a reporter. When it looks like her tobacco-farming family will likely not be able to afford it, her wealthy Charlotte grandparents agree to let her live with them to attend school. Kate knew living with her aloof and society-minded grandmother would be challenging, but she had no idea how the young, hired help in the household would change her life forever. Kate’s curiosity and observations soon lead to questions about her family tree. There are material items and story fragments in the house and among family members that don’t add up. Baldwin effectively uses the fragile relationship between Kate and her newfound cousin, Lillian, to illustrate the importance of truth-telling, especially across racial lines. I highly recommend this book to teachers and students for its accurate depiction of pre-Civil Rights and the Jim Crow era.

More About the Reviewer: 

Linda Phillips is passionate about mental health and has written two novels in verse for teens relating to that topic: Crazy, Behind these Hands. She also has published one chapbook, Thoughts on Crossings. Learn more about her here:  https://www.lindavigenphillips.com

More About the Author:

Carol Baldwin's debut YA historical novel took eighteen years to research, write, and publish.  Besides writing, Carol loves teaching writing to kids and adults and is the volunteer publicist for Monarch Educational Services, L.L.C. Find her on Twitter at @CBaldwinAuthor and learn more about her at her website at  https://carolbaldwinbooks.com/half-truths/ and her blog, https://carolbaldwinbooks.com/grid-of-posts-2x3/. Visit her favorite social network, 

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 #AuthorsHelpingAuthors service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in the right column of this blog home page (a silver and gold badge and threee silver-gray circles beneath it. 

 Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author and veteran educator, she 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 HowToDoItFrugally http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews.

Insecure Writers Group Releases Its 2020 Anthology

Title: Voyagers: The Third Ghost

Anthology from Insecure Writers Group

 Available May 5, 2020 online, retail, and for all eBook platforms. 

Publisher:  Freedom Fox Press an imprint of Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C. 

Genre: Juvenile fiction -  historical/action and adventure/fantasy and magic. 

Trade paperback $13.95 

ISBN 9781939844729, 

ISBN 9781939844736

www.DancingLemurPress.com

MEDIA RELEASE

History Comes Alive for Children New Anthology Offers an Entertaining  Glimpse into the Past The Insecure Writer’s Support Group hosted their fifth annual anthology contest last year and Voyagers: The Third Ghost is the result. A Writer’s Digest Top 101 Site for Writers, the IWSG  called for juvenile historical fiction stories with the theme of “voyagers.” The group’s 20,000+ members responded, and once the administrators selected the top stories, they were forwarded to the official judges—a panel of authors, agents, and publishing industry experts. This is the first children’s title produced by the group and by focusing on history, the book teaches as it entertains. The stories touch upon a wide variety of time periods, which adds extra appeal to teachers and librarians. Yvonne Ventresca, who also appeared in the second IWSG anthology, Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life, won the top spot in the contest. Her story, The Third Ghost, received the subtitle and cover art honor. Journey into the past… Will the third ghost be found before fires take more lives? Can everyone be warned before Pompeii is buried again? What happens if a blizzard traps a family in East Germany? Will the Firebird help Soviet sisters outwit evil during WWII? And sneaking off to see the first aeroplane – what could go wrong? Ten authors explore the past, sending their young protagonists on harrowing adventures. Featuring the talents of Yvonne Ventresca, Katharina Gerlach, Roland Clarke, Sherry Ellis, Rebecca M. Douglass, Bish Denham, Charles Kowalski, Louise MacBeath Barbour, Beth Anderson Schuck, and L.T. Ward. Hand-picked by a panel of agents, authors, and editors, these ten tales will take readers on a voyage of wonder into history. Get ready for an exciting ride! Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database; articles; monthly blog posting; Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram groups; #IWSGPit, and a newsletter. Voyagers: The Third Ghost will be available May 5, 2020 online, retail, and for all eBook platforms. Published by Freedom Fox Press an imprint of Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C. Juvenile fiction – historical/action & adventure/fantasy & magic. Trade paperback $13.95 ISBN 9781939844729, eBook 4.99 ISBN 9781939844736 www.DancingLemurPress.com Judges for the contest were:  Dan Koboldt, author and #SFFpit founder Dan Koboldt is the author of the Gateways to Alissia trilogy (Harper Voyager), the editor of Putting the Science in Fiction (Writers Digest, 2018), and the creator of the sci-fi adventure serial The Triangle (Serial Box, 2019). As a genetics researcher, he has co-authored more than 80 publications in Nature, Science, The New England Journal of Medicine, and other scientific journals. He is represented by Paul Stevens of Donald Maass Literary Agency.  Lynda R. Young, author Lynda R. Young is an Aussie writing fantasy novels as Elle Cardy. Wielder’s Prize is her debut YA epic fantasy. She is also an editor, game developer, 3D artist, graphic designer, photographer, gamer and more.  Colleen Oefelein, agent, The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency Colleen Oefelein is an author of YA, picture books, and author promotion guides, a devourer of books, and the owner of the book review site North of Normal. Formerly an associate agent and PR manager with Inklings Literary Agency, Colleen has hosted numerous “Pitch Perfect” and “Rejection Correction” workshops on Facebook and at conferences nationwide, and she’s mentored several authors one-on-one through online pitch contests such as Pitch Wars.  Damien Larkin, author Damien Larkin is an Irish science fiction author and co-founder of the British and Irish Writing Community. His debut novel Big Red was published by Dancing Lemur Press and went on to be longlisted for the BSFA award for Best Novel. He currently lives in Dublin, Ireland and is working on his next novel Blood Red Sand.  Ion Newcombe, eidtor and publisher is the editor and publisher of AntipodeanSF, Australia's longest running online speculative fiction magazine, regularly issued since January 1998. His qualifications and employment range from horticulture through electronics into literature and communications.  Julie Gwinn, agent, The Seymour Agency Julie Gwinn most recently served as Marketing Manager for the Christian Living line at Abingdon Press and before that served as Trade Book Marketing Manager and then Fiction Publisher for the Pure Enjoyment line at B&H Publishing Group, a Division of LifeWay Christian Resources. Recently, she was awarded Editor of the Year from the American Christian Fiction Writers and won B&H’s first Christy award for Ginny Yttrup’s debut novel Words.  David Powers King, author David's works include Woven, The Undead Road,, and Full Dark: An Anthology. He currently resides in the Mountain West with his wife and 4 children.  MORE ABOUT ISWG:  The Insecure Writer’s Support Group  was founded by Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh. Learn more about the opportunities it offers: Watch for the new The Insecure Writer’s Support Group anthology contest 2021 on May 6. Learn more about the group at   https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/  LEARN MORE ABOUT VOYAGERS AND BUY LINKS: Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/193984472X/ Barnes and Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/voyagers-yvonne-ventresca/1135912991?ean=2940163430857 ITunes - https://books.apple.com/ca/book/voyagers-the-third-ghost/id1493413956 Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/voyagers-the-third-ghost Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50364415-voyagers MORE ABOUT THE  BLOGGER AND WAYS TO GET THE MOST FROM 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. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

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.

Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request the social sharing image by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge.  Please contact the designer at:  cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image or headshot of the author --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Wilhelm the link to this post, too!

 #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing