The New Book Review

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Literary Lady Reviews YA Fiction by Book 'Em Pariticpant

Title: The Cadence of Gypsies

Author: Barbara Casey
Website Link: www.barbaracaseyagency.com
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN-10: 0982081286; ISBN-13: 978-0982081280

Review published: Amazon.com

Review Rating: 5 stars
Publisher: Gauthier Publications

Reviewed by Literary Lady Patricia Daly-Lipe, www.literarylady.com

The Cadence of Gypsies was written for young adults. However, this old adult loved it. To me, the book has rhyme and cadence like a song being interwoven, its parts coming from seemingly unintended attributes. Yes, a Deceptive cadence which does not resolve itself until the end. Or perhaps the analogy would be Scrabble. Author Barbara Casey has truly fitted parts in a way that challenge the reader. Plus she uses her writing skill to entice and elicit inquiry and research. "Why?" you question as you hurry to turn the page only to be presented with another "Why?" Little by little, the parts fit. The diagram takes shape. While all the intrigue is going on, the reader is loving (or loathing) the characters, sympathizing, recognizing, or qualifying each person as he and she is presented.

To the delight of this reader, in addition to the construction, this wonderful book incorporates places, names and facts. The Voynich Manuscript is real. The famous vineyards and territory of Frascati and the historic Villa Mondragone are beautifully and well depicted. The story evolves while being nourished by historical and relevant data including musical, mathematical, and artistic references thanks to the three FIGS (females of intellectual genius).

Yes, The Cadence of Gypsies is a book to share with all members of the family and one to add to the Classics in our libraries. Thank you, Barbara Casey.

More about BARBARA CASEY

Barbara Casey is the author of eight award-winning novels, written for both adults and young adults, and numerous articles, poems, and short stories. In addition to her own writing, she is an editorial consultant and president of the Barbara Casey Literary Agency which she established in 1995. She makes frequent guest appearances at universities and writers’ conferences across the country, and will be guest speaker at Book’Em NC in February 2013 held in Lumberton, North Carolina. Barbara lives on a mountain in Georgia with her husband and Benton, a hound-mix who adopted her.

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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 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Horror Novel Gets Great Kirkus Comment

Title: One Blood
Author: Qwantu Amaru
Author's website: http://www.qwantuamaru.com
Genre: Horror

ISBN: 978-0982719367

Rating: Kirkus Star: A novel of remarkable merit

One BloodKirkus Book review calls One Blood, "A novel of remarkable merit that blazes trails, plotted at breakneck speed that won't let up."

Learn more about the author:
Qwantu Amaru
Author of the Award-WInning Supernatural Thriller, One Blood
On Sale NOW Everywhere books are soldwww.qwantuamaru.com
www.facebook.com/onebloodbook
www.facebook.com/qwantuspeaks
www.pantheoncollective.com

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Award-Winning Novelist Reviews Book Aimed at Emigrants and Foreigners

What Foreigners Need To Know About America From A To Z
Subtitle: How to Understand Crazy American Culture, People, Government, Business, Language and More
By Lance Johnson
Author's Web Site
Amazon Paperback: http://Amzn.to/ForeignersAmericaUS

Reviewed by Leora Skolkin Smith originally for Amazon

As the daughter of a foreign-born mother who had to struggle to assimilate into American culture, reading Lance Johnson's book was an occasion for me to rejoice. Literate but accessible and undidactic, it defines American icons and expressions while providing brass tacks definitions and down-to-earth suggestions.

It's sometimes hard for Americans to realize that our culture needs to be demystified and made available to others without stress and/or giving them a feeling of remaining a perpetual outsider. Lance Johnson invites everyone to enjoy and penetrate some of the unique American mysteries we take for granted. A spectacular, important book and a toolbox full of relevant resources for all.

About the Reviewer:

Leora Skolkin-Smith’s first published novel, EDGES was edited and published by the late Grace Paley for Ms. Paley's own imprint at Glad Day books. EDGES was nominated for the 2006 PEN/Faulkner Award by Grace Paley. Recently, her novels were selected by Princeton University as part of a series on women writers whose background is from the Middle East and whose work is personal, reflecting the current diaspora. The Princeton Series in funded by The National Endowment of the Humanities and called: "The Fertile Crescent Moon Series."

THE FRAGILE MISTRESS, a feature film based on EDGES, is currently in pre-production, scheduled to begin shooting on location in Jerusalem, Jordan, and New York, produced by Triboro Pictures, directed by Michael Gunther. http://www.thefragilemistress.com

Articles by Leora Skolkin-Smith have appeared in The Washington Post, Psychology Today, The National Book Critic’s Circle, “Critical Mass”, “Readysteadybook.com”, the Quarterly Review and others. Learn more about her at http://leoraskolkinsmith.com

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Children's Chapter Book Wins Rave Reviews

Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare

Written by Sands Hetherington

Illustrations by Jessica Love

For more information visit http://nightbuddiesadventures.com

Children’s Chapter Book (ages 8 to 12)

ISBN-10: 0984741712

ISBN-13: 978-0984741717

List $7.99 Paperback 128 pages

Also available in Kindle and Nook

Publisher: Dune Buggy Press

Available wherever books are sold and online.

Reviewed by World of Ink Reviewer Ann Stallard

Rating 5 stars

Overall Thoughts and About the Book:

The Night Buddies series is an after lights-out adventure story that delights young readers and middle graders who relish roller coaster fantasy and fun, filled with unforgettable characters and an astonishing and inventive collection of magical whatchamacallits.

The first book in the series “Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare” introduces young readers to a bright-red crocodile with the goofy name Crosley. Add in the fact Crosley wears a yellow jumpsuit and is a member of Night Buddies Amalgamated whose job is to rescue kids from lying in bed awake and take them out on adventures. Now throw in a young John who isn’t ready to go to sleep yet and you have the beginning of the story.

John learns Crosley is more than just a red crocodile, which is unique enough. Crosley is also allergic to water and breaks out doing the Black Bottom dance for hours. Now through in the fact Crosley and John are both totally goofy about pineapple cheesecakes. It’s no wonder why Night Buddies Amalgamated made them a team and sends them on a mission to find out why there is worldwide shortage of pineapple cheesecakes. They’re all vanishing at the world’s only pineapple cheesecake factory across town and Crosley sees this as huge emergency. This new Night Buddies’ assignment for tonight--to investigate the problem and set things right. Of course, Night Buddies call it a “Program” and it won’t be easy. It definitely won’t be dull!

The story is filled with well-drawn fascinating characters embellished with some excellent illustrations by Jessica Love. The fonts change with emotion and circumstances, a fact that makes every page a little artwork that keep the child’s eye involved in the book. And just to make sure the youngsters reading this book have the inside information for a mystery, a glossary of ‘Night Buddies Uncommon Words’ is supplied – explaining ‘Jeeks’, ‘Wuff’, ‘Snerk!’ etc.

About the Author:

Sands Hetherington credits his son John for being his principal motivator. Sands raised his son as a single parent from the time John was six. He read to him every night during those formative years. He and young John developed the Crosley crocodile character in the series during months of bedtime story give-and-take. Sands majored in history at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and has an M.F.A. in creative writing and an M.A. in English from UNC-Greensboro. He lives in Greensboro.

About the Illustrator:

Jessica Love grew up in California, with two artist parents. She studied printmaking and drawing at UC Santa Cruz, then went on to study acting at The Juilliard School in NYC.

Jessica currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, toggling back and forth between her work as an actor and her work as an artist.

What Other People Are Saying:

“This little book is a winner!” —Grady Harp, Hall of Fame Amazon Reviewer

“Hetherington seems to have the right ingredients for a classic children’s whodunit—talking animals, an unsolved mystery and a brave hero willing to face unforeseen foes…” —Kirkus

“Stating that Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare is a creative, imaginative and delightful tale is simply giving it its just desserts. Yerk! Yerk! Yerk!” — Drew Aquilina, International award-winning cartoonist and author, Green Pieces: Green From the Pond Up

“Night Buddies is a terrific story my second and third-graders would love to have read to them, complete with its colorful dialect. Thanks for the sneak peek!” — Lorie Thompson, Principal, Haskell Elementary School, Los Angeles Unified School District

“Two unlikely friends-one human and one crocodilian-embark on an adventure to solve a mystery: where did all the pineapple cheesecakes go? Have fun reading this lively story.” — Diane Witt, Retired Public Elementary School Teacher (30 years), Boulder, Colorado

~Book tour by VS Grenier, award-winning author and editor and founder and partner of World of Ink Network,

http://worldofinknetwork.com

Office: 435-625-1743

Follow us on Twitter

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Stories for Children Publishing, LLC
http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com

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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 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Thursday, August 16, 2012

The Story of One of Charles Dickens' Characters Come to Life

Title: Sydney's Story
Genre: Historical fiction
Author: Eileen Granfors
Web links
Author's Web site: http://www.authoreileengranfors.blogspot.com
Available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Sydneys-Story-Prequel-Tale-Cities/dp/146356192X/
Also available at https://www.createspace.com/3625586

ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344696292&sr=8-1&keywords=eileen+granfors+sydney%27s+story

Reviewer by RJ McDonnell, author of the Rock 'n Roll Mystery series, including The Concert Killer and The Classic Rockers Reunion with Death

Charles Dickens captivated the world's imagination with A Tale of Two Cities in 1859, selling over 200 million copies. One of his central characters, Sydney Carton, was a British barrister who struggled to redeem his ill-spent life. Talented author Eileen Granfors gives us an opportunity to understand the powerful experiences that molded Sydney's character and launched him on his collision course with destiny. This prequel is a must read for literary fiction fans.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Linda Barnett-Johnson Reviews Young Adult Novel

Book: The Dog Men

Author: Patricia Crandall

Genre: Young Adult, Suspense/thriller
Author's Web Site: http://patriciacrandallauthor.homestead.com/

Buy Link: http://tinyurl.com/d5sdom5

Rank: 5 stars

Reviewed by Linda Barnett-Johnson, Editor and Virtual Assistant for Authors. Originally review for Amazon.

The Dog Men is one of those books that your older kids and adults should read. If you are interested in what goes on in the dog fighting world, then it's for you. But it's also for those people that care about animals. Unfortunately, this goes on more than we know.

The characters are young kids about 9 and 10. As you know, most young kids are curious. When they discover a terrible secret in their small town, they vow to do something about it.

Fun read and a good gift to those kids that want something different.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Layman's Guide to Fear Reviewed

A Layman’s Guide To Managing Fear

By Stan Popovich

Book Web site: www.managingfear.com
Publisher: Treble Heart Books
Genre: Self Help Book
ISBN: 1-928602-97-5Rated: [G]
Highly recommended by Allbooks Review

Reviewer: Cheryl Heinrichs, Allbooks Review at www.allbookreviewsint.com

“Reading this guide is a first step into the rest of your life.”

Fear is a state of mind or emotion when we sense personal danger. Some people are more prepared than others to rationalize their fears. It can prevent us from harm by removing us from the situation, but can also cause unbearable, immobilizing anxiety. Someone living with fear may make unhealthy life choices because they are afraid that they are incapable of forming a well balanced decision.

The author, Stanley Popovich presents three main principles in this layman’s guide to managing fear:

General Counseling Techniques encourages critical thinking and deductive reasoning. In order to make an informed confident choice, facts must be gathered first, and well researched. One must also factor in the ‘what if’ scenarios. Then with common sense reasoning determine what is most important. The reader is enlightened by the examples used of ‘John and Mary’s’ unpredictable situations.

Non-Resistant Methods of dealing with fear is more of a defensive approach. We all have ‘triggers’ that bring on anxiety and it is important to recognize them, not allowing ourselves to be ruled by them.

Christianity is a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Belief in faith can provide a powerful foundation for problem solving.

FEAR is an introduction for readers who yearn to control their negative reactions. Stanley Popovich provides basic but exceptionally valuable steps in learning how to personally manage negative situations. Along with detailed stories the reader is provided with websites dealing with fear, twelve pertinent suggestions and several Biblical scriptures that provide support. As the title suggests, it may be used as a guide and empty pages are provided for your own notations.

Stanley Popovich has used his writing skills, analytical talents, interviews and diligent research in an attempt to educate readers. He was educated at Pennsylvania State University and has used these approaches in his own life.

I am no stranger to fear. In the past I had allowed myself to become controlled by it. Through reading, research and my physician’s advise I learned that there are many courses to take pertaining to the subject. I have completed several, adding a new confidence to my life. One is unable to enjoy a fulfilling life when fear is ever present. For more information please go to www.managingfear.com

Reading this guide is a first step into the rest of your life.

Author's Bio:

Stan Popovich is the author of "A Layman's Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods" - an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com