Reader Views

Aberrations

Angel Duet is a girl who has been sleepwalking through life, both literally and figuratively. A diagnosed narcoleptic, Angel’s greatest disability is the hole in her heart left from her mother’s death. With only her mother’s photographs of clouds, Angel doesn’t know who her mother was, or even really what a mother is. Finding it easier to hide in her narcolepsy, Angel never allows herself to grow close to anyone, preferring to sit at home with her longing for ‘mother.’

That is, until the summer before her senior year of college. In an attempt for normalcy, Angel takes a job working in a cotton field at the LSU Agricultural Center. That summer, trapped by a rainstorm, Angel is forced into conversation with her co-workers Kimmy and Tim, who want to get to know her better. Reluctantly, she admits her secret, narcolepsy, and is somewhat unwillingly drawn into their worlds. Tim in particular is instrumental in coaxing Angel from her shell and forcing her to experience life. Some of what she experiences may be considered risqué – drug use, picking up guys in bars – but she is actually living for the first time. As her life starts anew, Angel begins questioning her basic assumptions about her life, including her father’s reticence on the subject of her mother and her mother’s death.

Overall I found "Aberrations" by Penelope Przekop an enjoyable read. It is fairly literary, so it isn’t a book that one can just whiz through; instead it requires attention and thought. It is quite interesting how the themes of narcolepsy and reawakening play off of each other in what I would consider to be a fairly masterful way. That being said, a couple of things annoyed me in the reading of this book. First, the book is set in Shreveport, Louisiana and every character spoke with a strong Southern accent. All of the "cain’t"s started to get to me after awhile. The other thing was, and this is a possible spoiler, Angel’s response to her pregnancy. I do not have a problem with her being happy about her out-of-wedlock child, but I did take issue with her reasoning for it. The child, she said, would finally make her happy, finally be something that would love her, help her finally discover a sense of ‘mother.’ That is something that grates on my nerves, because I have seen too many young girls getting pregnant for those reasons. However, that does make her attitude ring true, because she has experienced the less-than-loving life experienced by so many of the other girls I mentioned.

Aberrations
Penelope Przekop
Emerald Book Co. (2008)
ISBN 9781934572030
Reviewed by Jen Karsbaek for Reader Views (8/08)

My Name is Will: A Novel of Sex, Drugs, and Shakespeare

Mr. Winfield does know his Shakespeare, which is evident in his writing of this book. Although sometimes a little hard to read, Mr. Winfield brings together life before William Shakespeare became the writer he was and a drug-using Will who is in graduate school in California.

Will Greenberg wants to do his master’s thesis on the religious controversy about William Shakespeare, whom he thought to be a closet Catholic during a time when Catholic’s were persecuted. Having waited to do his thesis at the last moment, Will is drawn to drugs, sex and plain shenanigans.

One would have to know something about Shakespeare to enjoy the humor prepared by Mr. Winfield in “My Name is Will: A Novel of Sex, Drugs, and Shakespeare.” I found the book a tad bit hard to read with alternating between the “before” William Shakespeare and the college student Will.

My Name is Will: A Novel of Sex, Drugs, and Shakespeare
Jess Winfield
Twelve (2008)
ISBN 9780446508858
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer for Reader Views (8/08)

The October Gate: Nine Messages of Love, Healing, and Reassurance for Our Planet

“The October Gate” is a beautifully written story about a woman’s spiritual journey to find wholeness.  Lucy, the woman, is recovering from cancer.  She and her husband have relocated to a new area.  Having plenty of time on her hands to focus on her healing, Lucy makes friends with her neighbors.  She discovers that some of them are pretty incredible.  The person that intrigues her most is Sarah.  Sarah obviously operates on a higher level than most of us.  Lucy starts recording her stories.  When Sarah passes away, Lucy is told that she has not seen the last of her.  Sarah begins showing up in her dreams to offer her lessons.

These lessons come from messages given to Sarah by spiritual guides.  There are nine messages with each getting their own chapter in this book.  These lessons are meant for all of us to live and learn from.  Lucy discovers how life is about being connected with the Oneness.  She is taught the difference between living your life ruled by your ego and living your life ruled by love.  She learns about her spirit guides and how the spiritual realm is organized so that it is possible for our spiritual growth to be assisted.  She also is able to ask questions of which answers can only truly come from the spiritual realm.  In this story Lucy is writing everything into a book so that mankind will be able to read it and learn from it.

The author, Ann L. Albright, indicates that her life is very similar to Lucy’s.  She had to overcome a major illness and she also received messages from the spiritual realm which she put into Lucy’s story.  She really does an incredible job of relaying the messages through Lucy’s experiences. 

For myself, I gained so much incredible wisdom from reading these pages.  If I were to write everything down that I learned and felt about what was said, I would be writing a whole other book.  Without a doubt, “The October Gate” by Ann L. Albright came into my life with perfect timing.  It answered a lot of questions and summed up a lot of thoughts that have recently been flowing through my own mind.  I plan to go back and reread it, take notes and then do some journaling.  I highly recommend this novel and look forward to finding out what other people gain from it.

The October Gate
Ann L. Albright
True Spirit Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9780981545509
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (7/08)

Stand the Storm: A Novel

Like her wonderful book “River, Cross My Heart,” an Oprah’s Book Club selection, Breena Clarke’s new novel, “Stand the Storm,” is about the struggles of slavery.  The story is set in Georgetown.  The book’s main character, Sewing Annie Coats, is a slave working for the Ridley plantation.  Before her, Knitting Annie watched over her and taught her everything she knew about sewing.  Her talent for sewing kept Annie from having to work in the fields.  After falling in love, Annie had two children, Gabriel and Ellen.  Annie taught them everything she knew about sewing and soon they were both adept at the task.  At the age of ten, Gabriel was sold to a tailor, Abraham Pearl. 

Soon Annie begins to work with Gabriel and they continue to sew in order to buy their freedom.  Along the way, they meet a runaway slave named Mary and help her.  Mary and Gabriel fall in love and they get married.  They also begin to help other slaves escape to freedom.  But, when they think they have bought their freedom, they discover that Jonathon Ridley has been cheating them and others.  They continue to struggle through this oppressive time until freedom becomes a reality.

Breena Clarke’s writing is like poetry.  The images she creates through her expressive and detailed phrasings and word uses make the reader feel the characters’ pain and joy.  After buying his family’s freedom, Gabriel returns to them, and instead of speaking, he begins to sing, and soon they all join him in expressing how they feel at that moment.  It is moments like this that make this story so powerful.  Breena makes you feel the family’s faith and hope.  What Mary went through when she was caught for running away will stay with me for some time.  I think you will feel the same. Breena Clarke’s new novel, “Stand the Storm,” is a powerful and heartfelt novel that you should add to your reading list.

Stand the Storm
Breena Clarke
Little, Brown and Company (2008)
ISBN 9780316007047
Reviewed by Tracy Kokemuller for Reader Views (7/08)

Dragons and Garden Peas

“Dragons and Garden Peas” had some promise in theory.  The story of Max, an architect who is at the top of his game professionally, if not personally, is suddenly diagnosed with lung cancer.  As expected, he faces a multitude of doctors, tests, treatment plans and surgeries to cure the cancer.  In the midst of his treatment, he reconciles with his wife and takes a sail to Cape Cod to celebrate.
           
On this trip, Max’s wife falls overboard and dies, leaving Max to inevitably find himself to be a murder suspect.  His sole focus now is to gain his freedom and regain control of his life.

In reality, this book was disjointed and mostly unbelievable.  The characters were one-dimensional and the ones that seemed to have a bit more depth were unlikable.  I found Max to be pathetic and selfish and did not find a single connection between any of the characters in this book to ring true.  The story jumped from present to past to present and changed points of view too often to keep up with.  One minute Max is getting a devastating cancer diagnosis; the next minute he is falling in love with some woman he barely met.  He was putting his focus and energy in things that made no sense.
           
To throw the murder aspect into this story seemed needless.  At that point I started to really give up on the story of “Dragons and Garden Peas.”  I wanted to care about Max and what happened to him, but I never could.  I was getting frustrated with how jumpy the story was and it never held my focus for long.  Unfortunately, what could have been a wonderful story of a man’s redemption of himself in the face of death turned out to be a book that was trying to tell too many stories at one time.

Dragons and Garden Peas
Burt Jacoby
iUniverse (2008)
ISBN 9780595474813
Reviewed by Danielle Feliciano for Reader Views (7/08)

The Gospel of the Gun

Westerns have been around for a long time, and there is no better reading on a rainy weekend, especially when sitting in an easy chair in front of a warm fire.  But Westerns are pretty much the same aren’t they?  Well ---yes---and that’s what makes Sean Chandler’s “Gospel of the Gun” such a pleasure to read.  His approach to fashioning the characters and developing the plot is different than most Western writers.  For example, he is convinced that the African-American community is being underserved with quality stories about the Western frontier, which is a shame, given that freed slaves who migrated West after the Civil War played a major role in the story of how the West was won.  “Gospel of the Gun” is just one of several books Chandler has written to fill that void as well as writing hundreds and articles and reviews.  But there is more.  In this book, Chandler managed to combine the elements of church, Bible, and preaching with one of the meanest outlaw gangs to ever ride in the West.  It was not an easy task, but he managed.  How did he do it?  Read on.

At the center of the plot is the Disciples gang whose leader is Lucif Shadows (The Anointed One)--an evil, murderous, character who is backed up by twelve gunfighters with equally disagreeable dispositions.  Each gang member has his own specialty for murder and maiming, and each has been anointed with the name of one of the apostles.  The fact that Lucif insists that his “apostles” use these names in lieu of their real names goes a long way toward explaining why some believe that Lucif has slipped the surly bonds of sanity and in fact, actually believes he is Our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a thirteenth apostle, Jeremiah Irons, who is christened with the name “Judas” because it is widely believed that he had made off with the entire proceeds of a recent bank heist.  Whether or not that is true is immaterial, because Lucif believes it is true and therefore Jeremiah must die.  Thus, Jeremiah is on the run.

When it came to gun play Jeremiah is no shrinking violet himself.  Packing two murderous guns nicknamed “Heaven” and “Hell,” he managed to hold his own against Lucif’s apostles who track him down. At one point, the matter seems resolved when Jeremiah confronts Lucif himself and shoots him square between the eyes.  But after languishing in a coma for several weeks, Lucif “rises from the dead” and proclaims that the hunt for Judas is on for real this time.

Like most men on the run, Jeremiah‘s life becomes more and more complicated as time passes.  At one point, he manages to exchange identities with his travelling companion, a kindly preacher who is accidently killed during an ambush by members of the Disciple gang.  Thus, when he arrives at their destination he is immediately welcomed as the new pastor of a small church.  Jeremiah is not religiously inclined but manages to pull the charade off, even enjoying the challenge of helping the families in his congregation.  But lies pile on to lies and half lies, and the Disciple gang is hot on his trail.  It is only a matter of time before the house of cards he builds will collapse around him.  When it does, it ends with one final conflict worthy of the Gun Fight at OK Corral.

If you are looking for a yarn to take you away from your worldly cares for a few hours, “The Gospel of the Gun” by Sean Chandler is the book for you.  It is the next best thing to the Bible and cheaper than an hour with your therapist.   Read it and enjoy.  Amen!

The Gospel of the Gun
Sean Chandler
Branded Black Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9780974691350
Reviewed by Ron Standerfer for Reader Views (7/08)

Thirteen Buttonholes

Annie is an Italian Catholic who was raised in Pennsylvania.  During World War II, she works as a seamstress sewing thirteen buttonholes on men’s uniform pants.  This is not the life that she dreams about.  She has a boyfriend named Kenny who works his family farm.  His heart is not in farming; he does it to stay out of the war.  He dreams of running his own business.  Annie’s parents aren’t very thrilled with him because he is neither Catholic nor Italian.  He also seems very self-absorbed and inconsiderate.  Annie overlooks these faults.

After Annie marries Kenny, he is successful at running his own business.  They have a beautiful home and two great children.  Life is good, and Annie appreciates this.  Taking a vacation with her sister and brother-in-law, Kenny gets the idea of moving to Texas to run a hotel.  This upsets Annie because it will take her away from her parents.  Not wanting to rock the boat, she agrees.  Kenny and her brother-in-law go ahead of Annie and her sister so that they can find a place.  When they finally send for them, the women are not pleased.  The hotel and restaurant are rundown and their living quarters are squalid.  Annie misses her beautiful home.

All four adults need to work together to get the place in good repair.  They also need to help with the care of the children.  Kenny begins really showing his true colors. Things weren’t perfect before, but now they are really heading downhill fast.  When a devastating event happens, Annie discovers that she has a great deal of inner strength.  She has to step up to be active in the decision making of the business.  She also has to hold her family together and stay strong.

“Thirteen Buttonholes” is an incredible story about one woman’s life and how she overcame adversity and personally grew into a successful business woman. Annie had no idea how strong she could be, until she found herself without any choices.  She held herself together and kept the business going.  She also had to make sure that her children were raised the best way in which she could. 

This story is written so vividly, and with a great deal of emotion.  The details of the times and places were very realistic.  It seemed more like an autobiography than a fictional story.  Annie is such a sweet person.  She seemed so real to me.  I hated to see her have to endure the heartbreak that she did.  Her relationship issues were timeless.  Most women will be able to relate to her story.  I found myself cringing when she married Kenny.  I thought she has to know that she is making a huge mistake, but like the rest of us, we tend to overlook some huge flaws in our relationships and really regret that later on. 

“Thirteen Buttonholes” is a great story.  I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy fiction from the WWII era.  This would be a wonderful selection for women’s reader groups.  It definitely will be enjoyed by all.

Thirteen Buttonholes
Joann C. Odenwelder
PublishAmerica  (2008)
ISBN 9781605634036 
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (3/08)

The Owl and the Hawk: An End to Terrorism

Alan Davis is President of Davis Industries, a large energy company started by his great-grandfather. When one of the company’s oil refineries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is damaged by a terrorist bombing, Alan sends his second-in-command and close family friend Dan Millar to assess the damage. Alan is distraught when he learns that Dan’s AirFrance flight has been brought down by a terrorist bombing meant to take out one of the other passengers on the flight. Frustrated with what he sees as a lack of real effort to bring an end to terrorism by the American government and the governments of other free nations, Alan is determined to take matters into his own hands. In an effort to put an end to the rampant terrorism plaguing the United States, Europe and the Middle East he devises a plan with the help of high-powered friends and associates, including former members of the Central Intelligence Agency and Britain’s MI-6 Herb Benz and Brian Hall. The group, given the name “ADALA” (Arabic for “justice”) sets up a training facility in a remote section of Texas for American Muslims to be educated in weaponry, espionage, camouflage and methodology, all in an effort to assassinate terrorists planning Jihad on “infidels” around the world.

American Muslims are, in Alan’s mind, the perfect candidates for the jobs “ADALA” wants completed. His reasoning is that American Muslims are frequently discriminated against because other American’s cannot separate the Muslim they see on their flight, in their grocery store, on their train, or anywhere else with the Muslim terror sects that use their own interpretation of the Qur’an and the teaches of Allah as the basis for the carnage they inflict on innocent lives.

The plan is for two trainees, known as “Owls,” to be dispatched together to hot spots around the globe with a specific target assigned for them to research, follow, and ultimately assassinate. “ADALA” is relying on assistance from government intelligence agencies in finding these targets and getting their “OWL’s” set up safely in the right places. Once the target has been studied and the best method of assassination has been determined, one of the “OWL’s” will become the “HAWK” responsible for taking the terrorist out.

Alan is eventually able to take “ADALA” and its mission public in an effort to garner support around the world for the cause he so whole-heartedly supports. Author John Errett uses “The Owl and the Hawk,” a work of fiction that reads almost as a manifesto, to get his mission statement and plan, called the “Privilege of Passage Plan” (or “POP”), out to the world. I don’t know if ADALA and the POP plan would be supported by Americans or citizens of foreign lands also affected by acts of terrorism. I am sure there are some that would support Errett’s cause unconditionally, and others that may find the premise of the novel and his POP plan disturbing and too radical. Either way, Errett will get you thinking about more than just the well-written, action-packed fictional tale he has weaved. What do you believe in? Would you support the actions outlined in “The Owl and the Hawk?” Would you admit that you agree with Errett’s ideas, or admit that you don’t? Each reader will have to answer these questions for him or herself and that is the best part of this book. It challenges people to really think about an issue that some would rather sweep under the rug.

The Owl and the Hawk: An End to Terrorism
John Errett
Free Enterprise Press (2008)
ISBN 9780980192001
Reviewed by Nikki Pringle for Reader Views (7/08)

Close

“Close” is the story of the Brodie family of London, England. The family patriarch, Patrick, runs the gangs, hostess clubs and drug runners in and around the London streets. His wife, Lil, married him when she was 16, in part to get away from her miserable parents, and started producing babies almost immediately.� In between having children, she assisted her husband by running some of his girls and hostess clubs, and accepted, even seemed to enjoy, the violence that was part of their everyday lives until it was brought much too close to home.

After Patrick’s brutal murder, Lil is left out in the cold with five kids and no means of support. She begins selling herself to put food on the table and clothes on the kid’s backs. She takes up with the wrong kinds of men in an effort to find stability for her family.� As her children grow and she adds to her brood, her oldest two sons plot to take back what they feel is rightfully theirs as the children of the legendary Patrick Brodie. Using their father’s status, his old connections, and the reputations they have been building for themselves over time, Patrick Jr. and Lance avenge their father while taking over as the bread-winners for their younger brothers and sisters and their mother.

Martina Cole is a best-selling author in the UK and I had hoped she would be on par with other UK crossovers like J.K. Rowling and Jeffery Archer, but for me, this book was the first and last reading of Cole that I will.� I found the execution of the plot incredibly repetitive, overly and unnecessarily vulgar and violent, and just plain dull. The storyline jumped repeatedly over periods of time ranging from a few months to 20 years with nothing to fill readers in on what transpired during these gaps of time. Some of the characters and storylines were superfluous and befuddled the already murky storyline even more. Instead of telling of an incident once and being succinct, precise and well-written, the events are dragged out over multiple pages and retold by different characters but the wording and feeling of the scene are almost identical.�

The bug “twist” involving Lance was as plain as the nose on your face almost from the beginning of the story. It would have been interesting had it not been so predictable. I felt that none of the characters were given enough of an individual personality. They all seem to speak and act in the same manner regardless of race, gender or social standing. Overall, “Close” is not a book I would recommend to anyone, other than readers who have enjoyed Cole’s past novels and want to go ahead and try to get through this one too.

Close
Martina Cole
Grand Central Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9780446179966
Reviewed by Nikki Pringle for Reader Views (7/08)

Suicidal Tendencies: A Novel

Mr. Garry has done an excellent job of keeping the reader’s interest in “Suicidal Tendencies.” He has easily transitioned from the present to past by his use of wording and never-ending thoughts that roll through his mind.

The book starts out with Luke, the main character, sitting in a courtroom waiting to hear what will happen to him for a murder he doesn’t think he committed. His lawyer doubts him and avoids him at all costs, just like everyone else in the community.

Where did all his troubles begin-- was it that he was going to be married, yet carried on a secret affair and when he tried to end it, she was going to tell all to everyone he knew? Or was it he really didn’t want to get married and had a crush on someone else? Maybe, it was that his future father-in-law wanted him to take the fall for a good friend of his by setting up a false account so no one would know he had extorted money?

Little did he know that a man named Vince, whom he befriended, thought his wife was having an affair--little did Vince know, she was having the affair with Luke. “Suicidal Tendencies,” by Patrick M. Garry, is a fascinating story that will keep you reading until you find the end.

Suicidal Tendencies
Patrick M. Garry
PublishAmerica (2007)
ISBN 9781424159864
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer for Reader Views (6/08)