This Lola Is No Showgirl!

Lola

Author: Melissa Scrivner Love

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group

Publication Date; 3/21/17

Lola, by Melissa love, is the kind of book that you find yourself thinking about when you should be concentrating on other things.

This is an epic tale of one woman’s rise to power in South LA gang territory.  People know Lola as the girlfriend of the leader of the Crenshaw Six  - a gang that controls a small area of South LA.  What they don’t know is that Lola isn’t just the girlfriend – she’s the actual leader of the gang – and everything that happens only happens on her say.   When the Crenshaw Six is asked to assist a cartel in a dangerous job, it’s death or glory for Lola and the people she cares about.

Lola herself is an amazing character.  At first, you think she’s stone cold.  She can put a bullet between your eyes simply because it’s necessary and not think twice about it.  But despite her practicality, she’s also fiercely loving.  And she’ll do anything at all to protect a young girl from being used and abused.

I’ll admit that I had a few struggles believing that, given the gang cultural aspects,  the men in the book would have accepted Lola as their superior.  While Lola was a force to be reckoned with, I didn’t really expect so many of the men to simply bow to her.  But that notwithstanding, I loved her character and her story and that didn’t impact my rating at all.

Highly entertaining story and unusually compelling main character!

·         ARC Provided via Net Galley

"The Girl Before" by JP Delaney

This is one of the most interesting books I have read this year.  I love mysteries and this one is in the psychological thriller subgenre.  It started a little bit slow as I was getting to know Emma and Jane, and kept building straight through the end.

Emma and Jane are alternating first person narrators as "then and now" tenants in an unusual ultra-modern "concept" house that they must apply to rent by taking a personality-type test (questions from the test are spaced throughout the book and an interview with the celebrity architect who designed it.  Once selected, they are able to rent it at a bargain price in exchange for following an exacting set of rules.  The rules are so encompassing that living in the house starts to change who they are and the house almost becomes a character of its own.  At the very least it is an extension of the architect.  Emma moves in with her boyfriend after a break-in at their previous apartment.  Jane moves in some time later after a personal loss.

As the story unfolds through the eyes of these women, it is hard to figure out what happened.  At first you lean one way and then you learn more information and go the other way until the author has you neatly tied up in knots.  Even at the very end, I still think there is room for things to go a couple different ways.  You think the book has most likely ended one way, but I'm just not 100% sure.  That sense of being not quite certain what is going on is one of the reasons this was such a good psychological thriller.

I am going to tell all my reader friends to get this book.

I received a free advanced readers copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a review.

Breaking Bad with Powdered Wigs? Mais, oui!

Glitter

Author: Aprilynne Pike

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 10/25/16

When you first read the description of Glitter, you might think it’s just plain odd.  Breaking Bad meets Marie Antoinette?  A pretty you thing and a powerful drug in lip gloss? 

But what you get is a wonderfully original read that’s edgy, fun, and has just enough history meets sf to keep you reading non-stop until you finish.  Honestly, if I didn’t have to work, I would have binge read this entire thing in one sitting. 

Now, keep in mind, it’s a cliffhanger.  But, oh it’s a good one.  If book two were available now, it would already be on my kindle and I’d be reading it instead of typing this review.  It’s the kind of cliffhanger that makes you scream “NO!”, yet doesn’t anger you.  You just really, really, really want to see what happens next.

The world building was stellar.  As I read, the more logical part of my brain would come up with questions, but the author handled them beautifully, building a complete world that’s utterly different from anything you’ve read before.

And our characters?  Complex.  Danica is very like Marie Antoinette in which she’s well meaning, yet incredibly self-centered all at once.  Yet, she’s still likeable.  But, oh, so many people get hurt in her quest for freedom.

Very simply, I want the next book now!

*ARC Provided by Net Galley

The Bad Seed's Got Nothing on Nora!

Jack-In-The-Box

Author;  William W. Johnstone

Publisher: Zebra

Publication Date:  9/1/86   Reissue: 9/13/16

A hideous jack-in-the-box.

Murderous Nazis.

And the most evil little girl in print.

William Johnstone brings them all together in a gory, chilling, and very scary roller coaster ride of a book.    The horror starts slowly as you realize that something is terribly wrong with young Nora.  This beautiful young child is warped and wrong – and her family will pay the price.

The book is extremely violent.  I should also warn you that there’s one scene involving Nora that is truly awful – it definitely breaks some taboos.  But this is an excellent piece of horror fiction that will keep you reading breathlessly to the end.  Just don’t expect to get any sleep that night.

I’m extremely happy that the publishers are reissuing these old horror novels.  Old as they may be, they stand up against today’s modern horror wonderfully – in most case surpassing them.

And excellent (and scary) read.

·          ARC Provided by Net Galley

Epic Chilling Horror

Rockinghorse

Author: William W. Johnstone

Publisher: Zebra Books / Kensington Publishing Corp.

Publication Date:  1986 - Reissue 9/13/16

I am so very pleased that books from horror’s golden age (lol – okay, the 1980’s) are being issued, and Rockinghorse is one of the best!   I read many of these books when I was a kid, but completely missed this one, so I’m even more pleased that I had a chance to read this one.

In pure William W. Johnstone style, the most innocent of items – in this case an adorable rocking horse, becomes a tool of great evil.   The book is fast, violent, and extremely scary.

If you’ve read Johnstone before, you’ll recognize his horror formula.    A community must take sides between good and evil – and it’s not always clear who’s on which side.  Then comes isolation and an epic battle of good vs. evil.

Johnstone puts many of today’s shock horror writers to shame.  He knew how to deliver the perfect combination of shocks and chills and this one is guaranteed to keep you reading.

I hope the publishers continue this trend.  I’ll read all they can throw at me!

·         ARC Provided by Net Galley

Complex & Meaty

Mammoth

Author: Douglas Perry

Publisher: Amberjack Publishing

Publication Date:  9/6/16

This is a strangely complex yet compelling novel.  This feels more like a crime novel than a standard mystery.

There’s a huge cast of characters and a series of terrible events, seemingly unconnected, that meld together to form a dark and furiously stark book.  Because of the large cast, it takes the reader a while to really get to know anyone, but when you do, you discover unexpected complexities in each of them.

While there’s some violence in the book, it’s more of an overwhelming sense of menace as you witness a town and its people devolve in the face of an unknown terror.

The author does disclose the truth behind the terror, but it’s almost at the end of the book.  It’s ultimately a satisfying reason, but there was a part of me that wished the truth was vastly different. 

Note that the characters (again that huge cast) also have a lot of backstories – and many of them felt unimportant.  I really didn’t need to know the histories, hopes, dreams, and motivations of every character – but I got to read them!

Four stars.  It’s a weighty book and may not be to everyone’s taste, but if you stick with it, you’ll start to find that the various characters and stories meld into a meaty and satisfying read.

*ARC Provided by Net Galley

Gruesome Goodness!

The Jersey Devil

Author: Hunter Shea

Publisher: Pinnacle

Publication Date: 8/30/16

Whether you’re new to Hunter Shea’s horror or a long time reader, you’re in for a terrifying treat with this one.

In The Jersey Devil, Shea brings into the heart of the Pine Barrens to meet New Jersey’s most terrifying resident.   Expect blood and gore from the very first chapter.  It simply doesn’t let up.

However, this isn’t just a gore-fest.  Shea introduces us to a family that has a very special interest in the Jersey Devil – a very dangerous interest.   It’s one of those ‘family that slays together stays together’ things, and you’ll love it. 

Expect characters you’ll love, some you’ll weep for, and relentless terrifying horror.  If you live anywhere near the Barrens, you’ll be looking over your shoulder as you read.

Truly excellent horror!

*ARC Provided by Net Galley

M.C. Beaton is Back!

Pushing Up Daisies

Author: M.C. Beaton

Publisher: Constable

Publication Date: 9/1/16

M.C. Beaton is one of my favorite authors and Agatha Raisin one of my favorite characters.  However, honestly, the book prior to this one was just okay.  I gave it three stars and found it really messy.  I was a little afraid that this favorite was on a down slope.

I needn’t have worried.

Pushing Up Daisies is an absolute delight.   When a wealthy man is found dead, his son hired Agatha to investigate the murder – and get the attention of the police off of him.  When Agatha takes the case, she’s thrust into a web of murder, gossip, and veggie growing.  Can she discover the identity of the murderer before it’s too late?

You will get some of the usual here.  Agatha still falls for unsuitable men, but she seems to be a bit more self aware in this one.  There’s an underlying sadness to her encounters.  Agatha (finally) may be growing up a little.  In addition, you get that seedy undercurrent to the bucolic village life that Beaton does so well.

This one is a fast, sharp, and smart read.  I’m very glad that Beaton is back!

·         ARC Provided by Net Galley

Humans Make Good Snacks!

Devour

Author: Kurt Anderson

Publisher: Pinnacle

Publication Date: 5/31/16

I just had the fun of reading Devour by Kurt Anderson.

Now, those who know me know that I love books where giant chompy things decide that humans make the best snacks and this is a good one.   I try not to divulge the exact nature of our chompy things in my review.  I’ll just say that this is big.  Very, very big.  And very, very hungry.

Anderson does a bit of a slow build up in this one.  While you get a bit of blood in the beginning of the book, Anderson spends a bit more time developing his characters.  You have to wait for the majority of the action.  But when it comes, it comes in spades.  The body count is high.  Bullets fly.  Teeth gnash.  And you’ll grab your popcorn and race through to the end of the book.

So, kind of a slow start, but once things get going, you’re in for a wild and bloody ride.  I hope the author brings us more chompy things in the future!

·         ARC Provided by Netgalley.

Here There Be Dragons…

Kojiki

Author: Keith Yatsuhashi

Publisher: Angry Robot

Publication Date: 8/2/16

And what dragons they are!  (Okay, I should have said ‘be’ here, but my inner grammar nazi is complaining.)

Kojiki, by Keith Yatsuhashi is a wonderfully fantastical tale of dragons, ancient spirts, and the modern day world.  Keiko is a wonderful character.  I enjoyed her struggle to believe what was happening, but enjoyed it even more when she embraced her dangerous adventure.   The book will hit all the right notes for anyone with an interest in Japanese culture and mythology.

But really, I was there for the dragons.  These fierce guardians are awe-inspiring.  Huge, dangerous, and everything dragons should be.   I could practically see them attack as I read!

If I had one nitpick with the book, it was that I didn’t love the things that happened in the US quite as much.  That particular storyline held little interest for me at first.  Other than that, this was a terrific read!

·         ARC Provided by Net Galley

"The City of Mirrors" by Justin Cronin starts out slow but is an ultimately satisfying finale to The Passage trilogy

Fans of this trilogy have waited a long long time for the ending and it is finally here.  You absolutely should not read this book without having first read "The Passage" and "The Twelve."  If you have time, I strongly recommend re-reading (or listening to the audiobooks) the first two books before starting this book.  I know that is a lot of reading -- these books are big time commitments to read -- but I wish I had made time to re-read (or at least skim through) them again before starting this book.

The reason for revisiting the first two books is because it has been so long since The Twelve came out that I had not only forgotten a lot of the details of what happened in the first two books, but more importantly I had lost my emotional connection to the characters.  This meant it took me a long time to get invested in what was happening.

I have a warning for the fans of this trilogy who love the parts where the characters are fighting the virals/dracs and who didn't really care for the parts of the previous books that were more background or emotional -- you might have a hard time with the first couple hundred pages of this book.  But hang in there -- the payoff is worth it.

The book starts with a prologue that is a summary of what happened in The Twelve in the form of passages from a "historical book" presented at one of the global conferences on the North American Quarantine Period that have been a part of all the books.  This helped a little in reminding me what happened but not nearly as much as if I had re-read the books.  Then the book starts with a section on what Alicia did after the end of The Twelve, jumps three years to Texas, where most of the characters are living in what they believe to be a post-virals world. Then the story jumps back to Alicia where the reader learns the background of Zero/Fanning.  I don't want to go into any details because I don't want to spoil the book for anyone.

Fanning's story is a significant chunk of the first half of the book.  Readers who are anxious for viral-fighting action might be inclined to skip over it, but don't give in to the temptation.  (I am a notorious skipper and in fact succumbed once again, only going back to Fanning's story after I got a preview of what was coming ahead.  Don't be like me or you will spoil the book for yourselves.)  Fanning's story lays out the overall theme of the book and all the rest of the "background" parts of the story further embellish the theme as well as setting up the characters for what is to come.

I have always described these books as epic literary vampire thrillers and the first half of this book definitely puts the capital "L" in literary.  Even when I was impatient at the pace, the lovely quality of the writing captivated me.  It is not for nothing that the author is a literature professor -- he can write!

The author may also be a fan of classic vampire movies.  There are a couple visual references to the classic Dracula and Nosferatu movies that I really enjoyed.

It takes around 250 pages before the action starts heating up, but threads from those first couple hundred pages will wind their way through the rest of the book so don't just blow through them to get to the action!  It took me more than a week to read the first half of the book -- and during that time I was thinking it would be a 3 or 4 star book -- and only two days to finish the last half.  By the end it had reached the 5 star level for me.

By the last major section of the book, I was back completely emotionally invested in these characters and everything they had been living through.  That emotional connection had me tearing up numerous times over the last hundred or so pages -- and flat out bawling my eyes out as many more times.

This book answers a lot of questions that have been lingering over the first two books.  Why were scientists looking for this virus in the first place?  Why experiment on a little girl? Why was Amy different than the others? What is the story with the Global Conference that keeps turning up in the books?  And at the same time it raised more questions -- questions I can't put in this review or it will spoil parts of the book for readers!

The overarching theme of this book is love -- which seems strange for an epic literary vampire thriller.  All different kinds of love (or the lack of love) wind their way through the book.  Romantic love, unrequited love, familial love, and the love of long-time friends.  That depth takes this from being just another thriller to being something truly special.

I recommend reading this whole trilogy.  Read it even if you don't think you like vampire novels because it is just that good.

I received a free Advance Readers Copy of this book free through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a review.

"The Watcher in the Wall" by Owen Laukkanen is a more personal entry in the Stevens & Windermere series

This book -- which comes out in March 2016 -- is the 5th book in the Stevens and Windermere series.  Although the story stands alone with some brief references to the case from the previous book in the series, I wouldn't recommend reading it without reading at least the first book in the series.  And really I think you should read at least the first couple books because you need to get the history of these characters and why they are working together and what the relationships are among the major characters.  You would still have a really interesting book to read but would lose a lot of the background.

"Watcher" starts out on a very different note from the stories earlier books in the series which all begin with a violent crime that has a Minnesota connection and in which the FBI gets involved.  This story starts out more quiet and sad -- with a bullied teen committing suicide.  Stevens gets involved because the teen was his daughter's classmate and Windermere has her own personal connection and it hits her hard.  For the first 100 pages, it looked like this book was going to be a dramatic change from the past books where the duo criss-crosses the United States hunting down the bad guys with some dramatic action scenes.  But never fear --  even though the beginning of the book is heavy on the touchy feely and on computer research, it doesn't stay passive for long.

If you are a fan of the series.for the action, don't be put off by what seems to be a departure from the usual formula.  You will get all the action you expect as the investigation reveals that there is more to this case than depressed and suicidal high school students.  I am not going to give away any spoilers, but will let you know that the action heats up in a big way.

But even when the action heats up, the personal aspect to the book stays with you.  One of the hardest parts of the book, both for one of the characters and also for me as a reader, is the description of how so many students laugh along with the bullies, not because they want to be mean to the target but to fit in themselves or out of a desire to not become a target of the bully themselves.  I have been out of high school for a very long time but one of my classmates recently shared on Facebook how much her bullying in high school negatively affected her life.  And I feel ashamed that I was too wrapped up with my own desire to fit in and be liked to notice what she was going through.

In the acknowledgements at the end, the author talks about his own struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts and encourages bullied or suicidal teens to talk to someone.  He even offers up himself.  I hope someone who needs it takes him up on the offer.

For the rest of us, enjoy another exciting Stevens & Windermere thriller!

The joke's on you, reader.

So there are basically two main elements to the book:
1) Where the heck are they and how do they get out alive?
2) What's with this guy who's an admiral but clearly not an admiral?

The first is handled with classic suspense/escape sensibilities - they come up with a plan, nearly succeed, plan fails and they're marginally worse off than before. Lather rinse repeat. This part holds together fine, it's a standard sci-fi model.

The second annoyed me tremendously. Within a few chapters, one of the underlings has figured out who the 'admiral' is, but they don't tell us. They drop hints like we know a darn thing about the worlds they come from. It's a series of inside jokes and the reader is on the outside. Throughout the whole book, exactly one paid off at all for me, and it was way too little after way too long. All the answers come in the final chapter, when two characters sit down and conveniently explain everything to the reader in a simple dialogue that no two human beings would ever have.

Will i read the next in the series? I don't know. It will depend a lot on whether it's building on these characters, or just the world they live in.

(I received a free ARC of this book from the Amazon Vine program.)

"The Rest of Us Just Live Here" will ruin YA SF/F for you, in a good way

"But what about everyone else?"

This is what Ness asks in the introduction (though i guess i'm not sure it'll appear in the published version, one can never be sure when reading an ARC). It seems like every YA book these days features, as he notes, "a Chosen One, who has secret abilities he's never known about or an incredible inner strength that she doubted was there. They're the only ones who can defeat the Big Bad, topple the government, free the people."

Of the hundreds of kids who line up in District 12, only Katniss and Peeta are sent to the Hunger Games. There are plenty of Divergents, but only Tris is divergent enough to do what needs to be done. Harry's just one wizard in a school full of wizards. What about Katniss's second cousin, George, who lives on the other side of town? What about Lisa, an abnegation/erudite just keeping her head down and hoping for the best while handing clothes out to the factionless? What about Jill, the quiet girl in Ravenclaw who would be the best in her year except that Hermione is always better? They have lives, too, you know.

Ness offers up what would be a pretty generic coming-of-age story, a gaggle of kids finishing their senior year of high school, with all the checkboxes ticked: unrequited love (or is it?!), The Gay Friend, The New Kid, distant parents, college angst, etc. But each chapter leads with a plot summary of the equivalent chapter in a Generic YA Book, with all the tropes and cliches and whatnot. While The Chose One is saving the world, Mikey is wondering if he'll ever kiss his dream girl, if he'll stay friends with his bestie when they go off to school.

And the thing is, i hate Coming Of Age stories. 17-year-olds wangsting about the same thing everyone else around them is also going through just makes me snippy. But the juxtoposition made the story. By comparing Mikey and his friends to some unlikely teens out saving the world, it makes the mundanity of getting ready for prom into something much more potent.

Of course, there's also the humor - these are a bunch of normal kids leading normal lives in a world just like ours except that, every few years, Something Goes Horribly Wrong and a Chosen One has to fix it. Casual references to what is, for them, everyday life, are just absurd when they involve the Undead Army interrupting final exams.

(I received a free ARC of this book from the Amazon Vine program.)

"The Wolves" by Alex Berenson takes the character John Wells to a darker place and I didn't care for it

This is Book #10 in the author's John Wells series of spy thrillers.  John Wells is a CIA agent (and later a deniable independent contractor for the CIA) who has spent most of his career infiltrating terrorist cells in Afghanistan and similar countries.  Along the way he converted to Islam -- his religious beliefs and practices form a distinct part of his character.  And like most "lone wolf" spy novel protagonists, he has a complicated personal and romantic life.

I haven't read all of the John Wells books but of the several I have read, this one was my least favorite.  The storyline follows directly from the previous book in the series, "Twelve Days," so you probably should read that book first to understand the context of how the characters relate to each other.

This book is almost the complete opposite of Twelve Days in tone and pace.  The pace in Twelve Days was frantic with Wells going from country to country -- Europe, Russian, Middle East, Africa -- in a very short period of time to try to keep the United States from being tricked into entering a war with Iran.  And it was heavy on the violence as well.  This book starts when events have had a little time to calm down and because there is not a deadline, the action moves more slowly from place to place and even within a set location.  The level of violence is significantly lower in this book, as is the degree to which Wells's physical ability to carry out his mission and escape from tight situations stretches the bounds of believability.  For the most part, Wells doesn't pull off physically improbable stunts.

However, instead of being about saving the United States, the story in this book is all about revenge.  I didn't like that part of the book -- it made the character of John Wells even darker than he has been throughout the series.

One interesting part was how much time the reader spends inside the heads of the bad guys.  They aren't just caricatures but fully formed people who justify their own actions.

If you like this series and this character, you most likely will enjoy this book as well.  I didn't care for the particular focus of this book, but it was still a fairly entertaining read.  Even though this book was merely OK for me 3 stars out of 5), I would still read the next book in the series.

I received an ARC free from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a review.

"Real Tigers (Slough House)" by Mick Herron is not the spy book I was expecting but definitely worth reading

This was not at all the book I was expecting from the blurb on the back of the book. I had not read any of the other Slough House books and always associate spy novels with nonstop action and page-turning speed. So I was a bit taken aback when the book started out fairly slow and "wordy" (by which I mean there are a lot of full paragraphs and not just the spare action and dialogue oriented prose you might see in an American thriller). Clearly this was not going to be a page-turner and I was tired and just wanted some mindless escapism so I nearly quit reading but was convinced to keep going and am glad I did.

The Slow Horses (which I only just now realize is a play on words of the building where they "work") are MI5 agents who have been pulled from official duty for various screw-ups and given make-work assignments designed to make them quit. These folks are not James Bond or any of the great fictional British spies. They are not especially heroic or competent and they don't appear to like each other very much. A lot of the wordy part at the beginning of the book gives the reader insight into these characters and what messes they have made of their lives. It can be slow reading, especially if you are expecting a spy thriller. If you get tempted to stop reading -- just keep going. There is a point to what you are reading and things will eventually start moving.

Just about the time you think the action is really going to start, you get more background but keep with it. This is definitely a book written by someone with a degree in English, not the typical American thriller that is often a mental movie script in novel form. It is much more character driven with a fairly involved plot. Sit back and enjoy the writing.  One of the benefits of so much of the book being about the characters and not just solid action is that it is not critical to have read earlier books in the series to be able to understand and enjoy this one.

I don't want to give out any plot details because it would spoil the surprises the author has built into the story. Right around page 114, I realized what kind of spy book this was going to be -- and it was nothing like I expected. For the rest of the book there were plots and counter-plots until you wonder who the good guys and bad guys really are and who is going to come out on top in the end. And I finally got more of the action I was originally expecting, even though the Slow Horses are not your typical spies.  By the time I finished, I was really glad I had kept reading even though it wasn't the book I had expected. This is definitely a thinking person's spy book -- a literary spy thriller. If all you want is page-turning action, this might not be the book for you. But I still recommend it because it will keep you on your toes.

I received an Advance Readers Copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a review.

Review: THE HUNGRIEST MOUTH IN THE SEA (by Peter Walters)

THE HUNGRIEST MOUTH IN THE SEA is a bright colorful book that is going to appeal to young animal lovers and adults like me who love to share science and nature with youngsters.

I think it's a great book to share because of the fun artwork and because it makes a nice read-aloud.

Floating out at sea, a cloud of green plankton

drifts with the tide, soaking up the sun.

But look-- a hungrier mouth

in the seas of the south!

Who would you say is heading this way?

It's not immediately clear but the focus of THE HUNGRIEST MOUTH IN THE SEA is a little unusual.  I don't know about you but so many ocean books that we've read are generic.  Peter Walter's book though focuses on the South Sea and it's unique Food Web. The author starts with algae and moves up from krill to white sharks and beyond.  The hook is 'who is the hungriest mouth'.

If you aren't acquainted with them one thing you might want to know is that these Arbordale Books allow you to adapt how you use the material to your child and situation.  If you want to get into more depth, for example, you can use the "For Creative Minds" section at the end of the book. These sections have more information and some activities.  There is predator and prey matching for example and food web cards and even a card game you can play.  Other activities can be found online!

--The Accelerated Reading level is 3.2.

--The Lexile level is 670.

--Can be shared with much younger children as the artwork is very appealing.

SUMMARY

I really like this book.  I found the artwork very appealing and I really like that the focus was on the South Seas eco-system.  The book is appropriate for a fairly wide range of children; though written on the 3rd Grade level.

I could see buying this for the home shelves or for a classroom book basket.

Pam~


HUNGRIEST MOUTH IN THE SEA:
(Arbordale Publishing)
by Peter Walters

Disclosure:  Review Copy received from publisher

"Milo Speck, Accidental Agent" is a delightful Dahl-esqe fantasy adventure for younger middle grade readers

I am much much older than the target audience for this book, but it grabbed me from the opening paragraph.  I am quoting  from the ARC, so something might have changed in the final published version of the book, but it gives you a good sense of the flavor of this book:

Milo had read about magic before.  He knew that kids in stories sometimes found magic in secret drawers or hidden away in attics, and he had always hoped that if he were to find magic, it would appear in the form of a mysterious silver coin or a doorway to an enchanted world.  But when magic came to Milo Speck, it came in the form of a sock.  

A sock?!?  Something about that passage captured my attention and pulled me into a story about a very small boy sucked into a world of hilariously doltish (but very large and dangerous) ogres who enjoy snacking on boys.  The story had a very familiar feeling of tongue-in-cheek absurd humor combined with heart but it wasn't until reading the author's note at the end that I realized why -- one of the writers she credits for inspiration is Roald Dahl.  It would be a disservice to compare any writer to the great Roald Dahl, but younger readers who like the kind of humor found in books like "The BFG" should really enjoy this book as well.

Milo Speck, is an unlikely hero.  He is small for his age and his "Grandmother" dresses him in ridiculous clothes that she buys on clearance.  As this book opens, he is wearing a googly-eyed duck sweatshirt that "quanks."  Through an unlikely act of magic,* Milo is transported to Ogregon where he has to avoid becoming an ogre snack, rescue some other kids, figure out what his Dad is doing there, and find a way back home.   There is a lot more to the story, but I don't want to spoil the fun by giving away anything more than what is in the publisher's book blurb.

I really enjoyed the combination of silly fun and adventure in this book and would recommend it for readers on the younger end of the 9-12 age range.  It would also be appropriate for children younger than 9 whose reading level is beyond their years.  Older children might like it as well, especially if they aren't yet ready for the more mature Young Adult books.

It's a great book to recommend for boys who will enjoy going on this adventure with Milo as he  uses his wits and heart to survive the ogres.  Girls will enjoy it as well, but I always like to find books that I think will appeal to boys to encourage them to read more.

*For parents who are uneasy with the idea of magic in books, I hope you will not avoid this book on those grounds.  Milo is not a wizard and has no magic abilities.  He's just a regular boy. The "magic" in the book is mostly confined to the ability to travel between the regular world and Ogregon, though there is brief discussion of some other "magical" creatures in other parallel lands.  The characters themselves don't do magic.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy free through Amazon's Vine program in exchange for a review.

The Sandwich Test

I'm not sure how i came up with the Sandwich Test. I suspect the idea started with one of Yahtzee Croshaw's critical video game reviews, wherein he often compares disappointing characters to various inanimate objects. However, the Sandwich Test is now my primary metric for judging novels. It goes like this:

Would the story be meaningfully different if you replaced the main character with a sandwich?

In too many of the YA novels i've been reading lately, main characters might as well be sandwiches. They don't do anything, they just are. People do things for them, or about them, or around them. People move them from one location to another. These characters, and every one that leaps to mind is, alas, female, might as well be a sandwich for all it matters to the story.

And why a sandwich, you ask? Why not a pebble or a manequin or a sock? Well, two reasons. First, it's funnier, and keeps me sane when, for some reason, i decide to stick it out in a book that already failed the test. Second, there are actually a variety of sandwiches out there, and that allows other characters to interact with the sandwich in ways they wouldn't necessarily interact with a pebble. Cribbing from one of my own reviews, in which i compare a character to a pastrami sandwich:

But of course, people have strong feelings about her. Some are repulsed (perhaps they're vegetarians?), some want her but know to stay clear (on a diet, maybe?), whereas others want to possess her (pastrami connoisseurs, in this example).

It's been a while since i read the Hunger Games trilogy, so i can only use it for general examples, but here goes:

In book 1, Katniss is a person. She's struggling to keep her family alive, hunting and trading and dodging the cops. When Prim is selected, Katniss leaps forward to volunteer herself in her sister's place. In the games, she makes alliances, she attacks and defends, she even stands up to the Powers That Be at the conclusion of the games.

By book 3, she's a Sandwich, being handed around by various factions. She does what people tell her, and if no one has anything for her to do, she sits there. By the end, she's not even a good sandwich, she's a day-old soggy cold cut sandwich.

So, readers, next time you're frustrated with a character who doesn't DO anything, use your spare time deciding exactly what kind of sandwich they are. BLT? Club? Hummus wrap?

And authors, please, don't write any more sandwiches.

Let he who has done his own fact-checking cast the first stone

So You've Been Publicly Shamed, by Jon Ronson
Published by Riverhead Hardcover (March 31, 2015)

 I think Ronson's arguments about the actual psychological and social damage of shame are powerful and important. However, several times during reading, i laughed. Out loud. And not at anything that was supposed to be funny.

For example, in a book about shaming, the author attributes the efficacy of those signs on the side of the road that tell you your speed to... feedback loops. He thinks the value is in showing you your speed, not in showing everyone around you. It's a shaming device, at least in part. And that's ignored.

Another one: after chapters and chapters and chapters of Jonah Lehrer observing that if he'd only fact-checked his book, he'd have saved himself a lot of trouble, Ronson gets Godwin's Law wrong. He cites a corollary of it as if it were the law itself. 15 seconds on wikipedia would have been enough to get that one right.

So... valuable insight, oddly shoddy writing and editing. Certainly very readable, and probably worthwhile, but it only escaped being thrown at the wall because i was reading it in a public place with innocent bystanders nearby.

(I received a free Advance Reader's Copy of this book through Amazon Vine.)