Book Review: Life Is Beautiful by Sarah M. Johnson In 2008, an airplane carrying humanitarian workers to a remote village in Guatemala, where they were to build a school, crashed and burned. The crew and most of the passengers were killed; one young woman survived relatively unharmed, though she had lost half her family, and… Continue reading Book Review: Life Is Beautiful
Tag: dysfunctional families
Book Review: Minnesota Vice
Book Review: Minnesota Vice by Ellen & Mary Kuhfeld As I have mentioned before, Minnesota has many fine mystery and crime writers. Mary Kuhfeld is probably best known under the pen name Monica Ferris, under which she has written nineteen Betsy Devonshire Needlework Mysteries. (Thus the subtitle “Monica Ferris Presents” for these self-published books.) Ellen… Continue reading Book Review: Minnesota Vice
Book Review: Twice Told Tales
Book Review: Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is one of the great American writers; his The Scarlet Letter is studied in many schools across this land. But it took him quite a while to reach that status. After crushingly disappointing sales for his first novel, Fanshawe, Hawthorne spent a dozen years in poverty,… Continue reading Book Review: Twice Told Tales
Book Review: A Game of Thrones
Book Review: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin About three centuries ago, the land of Westeros was known as the Seven Kingdoms. Then Aegon Targaryen and his sisters came from the collapsed civilization of Valyria with their dragons and conquered six of the Kingdoms. (The seventh Kingdom joined up later semi-voluntarily.) Eventually, the… Continue reading Book Review: A Game of Thrones
Magazine Review: The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review 2015
Magazine Review: The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review 2015 edited by William Blazek F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) is considered one of America’s great writers, best known for The Great Gatsby, his 1925 novel (which didn’t really get much traction until after he died. He was a colorful figure, and his contentious relationship with his wife Zelda… Continue reading Magazine Review: The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review 2015
Book Review: Daughter of the Pirate King
Book Review: Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller Disclaimer: I was provided with an Advance Reader’s Edition for the purpose of writing this review; no other compensation was offered or requested. There will be changes in the final product; the one I know about is that the published version will have a darker… Continue reading Book Review: Daughter of the Pirate King
Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable
Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable Josuke Higashikata (the kanji for his name can also be read as “Jojo”) has lived all his life in the northeastern coast city of Morioh with his single mother and his police officer grandfather. When he was a small child, he became deathly ill for several weeks,… Continue reading Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable
Manga Review: Case Closed Vol. 59
Manga Review: Case Closed Vol. 59 by Gosho Aoyama Quick recap: When teen genius detective Shin’ichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo in the American edition) is targeted by a mysterious criminal organization, the experimental poison used shrinks him to child size rather than killing him. Assuming the identity of Conan Edogawa, the pint-sized sleuth moves in with… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed Vol. 59
Manga Review: Inuyashiki #1-3
Manga Review: Inuyashiki #1-3 by Hiroya Oku Life is tough for Ichiro Inuyashiki. He’s only 58, but looks a good ten years older. His wife and children think he’s a loser (and they’re not entirely wrong,) he gets pushed around by jerks, and now he has cancer. The prognosis is terminal, a few months at… Continue reading Manga Review: Inuyashiki #1-3
Comic Book Review: Noble Causes Archives, Vol. 1
Comic Book Review: Noble Causes Archives, Vol. 1 written by Jay Faerber Liz Donnelly is nervous about meeting her future in-laws. After all, she’s just a normal bookstore manager, and they’re the Noble Family, celebrity superheroes, beloved across the world. Her fiance Race Noble is nice enough, but Liz soon learns that behind the glitzy… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Noble Causes Archives, Vol. 1