https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/rescued-me monthly 0.5 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4ce4944c-6ce7-4506-a14d-df588fb05b33/Rescued%2BMe%2B-%2BFront%2BCover%2BOnly.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Rescued Me - Rescued Me. Nestor “The Boss” Gomez, Tortoise Books Chicago, November 2025, paperback and e-book, 137 pages. Reviewed by Amy Purcell. Nestor Gomez has a pelo en la sopa, a Spanish phrase meaning there’s a problem in a situation. Translated, the phrase means “hair in the soup.” In the case of Gomez’s humorous and heartfelt memoir, Rescued Me, there’s not only hair in the soup, but also hair in his bed, apartment, clothing and generally all over. Those hairs come from the 70-pound pit bull that Gomez is terrified of yet must learn to love if he wants to maintain a relationship with his girlfriend who eventually becomes his wife. Bitten by a dog as a child when he was growing up in Guatemala, Gomez is now smitten with a dog-loving woman whom he meets at salsa dancing lessons in Chicago. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/standing-on-the-shoulders-of-giants monthly 0.5 2026-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7f10d15f-0b8f-4fc1-8137-d3b405bf506d/Standing%2Bon%2Bthe%2BShoulders%2Bof%2BGiants.front.cover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants - Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. Robin Hann Leon, Flock Media LLC, April 2026, ebook, 38 pages. Reviewed by Kaleene Robertson. Learning something new can become easily discouraging when it doesn’t sound or look perfect the first time. You have an idea in your head of perfection (perhaps genius), but when it proves harder than expected, motivating yourself to keep going can feel difficult. To improve can feel lonely and daunting. The same is true for Robin Hann Leon’s character young Catalina, in Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, living in Peru, a beginner who finds a violin one day and starts to play - only for her ears to meet the screeching sounds of someone who has never played before. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/laughing-in-yiddish monthly 0.5 2026-03-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5c82a237-6323-44f6-bc26-3de12c281b31/Laughing%2Bin%2BYiddish%2Bfront%2Bcover%2B%281%2Bof%2B1%29%281%29.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Laughing in Yiddish - Laughing in Yiddish. Jamie Wendt, Broadstone Books, 2025, Paperback, 85 pages Reviewed by Matthew Schnur. Jamie Wendt’s Laughing in Yiddish is a remarkable and moving collection that explores the intersections of identity, language, memory, location, and faith within the Jewish diaspora. Wendt’s mastery lies not only in the depth of emotion and cultural nuance but also in her deft manipulation of tone, weaving sorrow, joy, tenderness and strength throughout the four sections of the collection. Yocheved was the mother of three prophets, Miriam, Moses and Aaron. She hid Moses away for three months before setting him adrift in some reeds down river, to escape the pharaoh’s murderous troops. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/of-dubious-origin monthly 0.5 2026-03-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6b63e000-3517-434e-bb64-9082659d1025/Of-Dubious-Origin.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Of Dubious Origin - Of Dubious Origin. David Santiago, Arte Publico Press, September 2025, paperback, 296 pages. Reviewed by Denise Roma. David Santiago’s debut novel Of Dubious Origin introduces readers to Israell Cruz, a directionless recent college graduate struggling to figure out his very identity. Of Puerto Rican and Jewish descent, the protagonist is mistaken for any number of ethnic backgrounds. Living in his parents’ basement and drifting through early adulthood, Israel becomes fixated on a Portuguese social media influencer and impulsively decides that reinventing himself as a Portuguese man might offer a fresh start. Santiagos' protagonist and his parents and brother are vividly portrayed, and downright hilarious. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/till-taught-by-pain monthly 0.5 2026-01-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/75d6d7f7-bc56-4ed4-84ca-df70f384f599/TillTaughtbyPain.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Till Taught by Pain - Till Taught by Pain, Susan Coventry, Regal House Publishing. LLC, November 2025, Paperback, 299 pages. Reviewed by Catherine Marcroft. Susan Coventry’s Till Taught by Pain is a very satisfying read. In this historical novel in three parts, we are first introduced to young Dr. William Halsted. A brilliant medical mind coming of professional age when the new frontier of medical science is a wide open, collaborative, international affair. Discoveries in the field by all male, American doctors are credited and celebrated – as ego demands – but also enthusiastically shared with doctors of European countries. Moving fast, occasionally throwing caution to the wind. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/in-glimpses-and-reminisces monthly 0.5 2026-01-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a3ffbeba-6b6b-4b6f-a0ec-25f8dc9d9ad9/Glimpses.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: In glimpses and reminisces - In glimpses & reminisces. Candace D. Marquez Green, Lulu.com, September 2025, paperback, 75 pages. Reviewed by Amy Purcell. Some poems demand to be read aloud to best hear their musicality and feel their emotionality. Candace D. Marquez Green’s compelling and heart-full collection, In glimpses & reminisces, is that kind of poetry. Even the title, spoken aloud, offers the punchy, spirited cadence that resonates throughout the 34 poems. Green’s note to the reader positions this chapbook as “a glimpse into my lyrical history. Every page is a moment I lived, reminisced, loved and lost.” Green does not shy away from raw emotions, and the collection is all the better for her willingness to confront moments in her relationships and life’s journey that were either fraught with conflict or filled with tenderness. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/for-your-benefit monthly 0.5 2026-01-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/62b05097-981a-4fbb-8502-a869a53b7ce3/ForYourBenefit.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: For Your Benefit - For Your Benefit. Patrick Canning, Independent, August 2024, paperback and e-book, 261 pages. Reviewed by William Pitsenberger. A MacGuffin, Britannica AI helpfully explains, is “a plot device that drives the story and motivates characters, though it’s ultimately insignificant to the narrative. It can be an object, event, or character that triggers the plot, typically appearing in the first act.” Frequently cited examples of a MacGuffin are the glowing briefcase in Pulp Fiction, Hammett’s Maltese falcon, and Kane’s dying word, Rosebud, in Citizen Kane. Alfred Hitchcock described it as “the thing that the characters on screen worry about, but the audience don’t [sic] care.” For Your Benefit, the latest novel from Patrick Canning, a current Chicago resident, is driven by a whopper of a MacGuffin, the search by the brothers who make up the Lint Detective Agency for Royal Jelly. . https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/promising-young-man monthly 0.5 2026-01-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0f3e517e-049e-4c24-aaee-69c53b672af5/promisingyoungman.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Promising Young Man - Promising Young Man, Elias Axel, My Delightful Life Press, February 2025, print, 238. Reviewed by Philip Janowski. The genre of bildungsroman, or the coming-of-age novel, has arguably two primary sources in Western literature. Both sources were published in the 1700s: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by English writer Henry Fielding, followed several decades later by the German Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship. The modern form of the coming-of-age story, including Promising Young Man, utilizes elements from both these ur-novels. Tom Jones sets the foundation of a young man setting out on a realistic quest—realistic here meaning not formed by mythological themes, ala the Arthurian grail legends—to come to a better understanding of the world and his place in it. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/these-are-my-people monthly 0.5 2026-01-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/66329e80-21ba-40a3-91e1-516f3b6f1de2/tamp_cover_card.webp Book Reviews - Book Review: These Are My People - These Are My People. Steve Fox, Cornerstone Press, December 2025, Paperback, 230 pages. Reviewed by Natalia Nebel. Steve Fox’s second collection of short stories, These Are My People (Cornerstone Press, 2025), is not only impeccably written but surprising. Set in Wisconsin, the state Fox lives in, the first surprise is that rural tropes are held to a light that makes the reader understand that such tropes—the peace of the countryside, the genuineness of the people, the sheltering from urban difficulties—are inaccurate, and do a disservice to the realities of rural living. They deprive rural communities of their depth and complexity. The second surprise is that a peripheral character in one story will appear as the protagonist of another. These point of view shifts lead to depth. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/loving-lauren monthly 0.5 2026-01-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7c28481e-66c0-429b-a6e4-c2c443806f43/Carla.bradley%2BBradley%2Bebook%2B%282%29.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Loving Lauren - Loving Lauren, Carly Bryant, Under the Cover Ink, November 2025, Paperback and ebook, 324 pages Reviewed by Kaleene Robertson. Sierra Turner’s life appears enviable but isn’t truly satisfying in the ways that matter to her. She works a fashion photography job that pays the bills, teaches a drawing class, and is supported by a tight circle of friends and siblings who show up for her again and again. Even with all that love around her, Sierra moves through life at a distance, until she meets Lauren. Camera in hand, Sierra notices Lauren from across a park, drawn by her energy and presence. Something about Lauren jolts Sierra out of her own fog and captivates her heart and thoughts. It’s a feeling that Sierra has attempted to avoid but finds herself thrust into. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/double-play-on-the-red-line monthly 0.5 2026-01-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1604349b-0487-4c37-b32c-198d24298ae6/DoublePlayCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Double Play on the Red Line - Double Play On The Red Line, Rajesh C. Oza, Third World Press, October 2025, Paperback, 282 print pages Reviewed by Dorothy Garcia. Double Play On The Red Line brings to life the things that make Chicago great, and a few that will make lovers of the city want to weep. It’s a story of the vagaries of fate, an unlikely friendship, and justice denied, against the backdrop of baseball. The persistent odor of sweat in the bleachers, the relief of a cool breeze coming off Lake Michigan, the ever-present clatter of the “L,” and the fan’s abiding faith in the Cubs are a metaphor for life. It’s hard and noisy, offers only occasional relief, and demands faith in the face of adversity and failure. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/brautigans-blue-moon monthly 0.5 2026-01-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fb32959c-ee5d-4daf-935f-9e1fa4501eb0/57y955e-front-shortedge-384.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Brautigan’s Blue Moon - Brautigan’s Blue Moon, Jack Phillips Lowe, Instant Oblivion Press, May 2025, paperback, 41 Pages. Reviewed by Brian Foster. Brautigan’s Blue Moon, by Jack Phillips Lowe, is a collection of modern poetry that seeks to confront its readers with the reality of the current era, and to do so in a way that criticizes and refutes the many methods of escapism used to deny and evade that reality. Many of the poems contained within its pages follow a similar structure: a character will attempt to indulge in a form of escapism they enjoy, such as music, literature, or alcohol. However, rather than giving solace or enjoyment, these indulgences either bring about misfortune, or else reveal a dark truth about their true nature, or the true nature of the one seeking them out. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-way-beauty-comes-apart monthly 0.5 2026-01-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e61718bf-ae5a-4fc0-885f-c739f09b83f5/Teas%2BSoft%2BCover%2BKindle%2BCover%2BFINAL%2B8-30-2025.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Way Beauty Comes Apart - The Way Beauty Comes Apart: A Novel in Stories, Told by the Dead. Christina Marrocco, Ovunque Siamo Press, August 2025, paperback and e-book, 206 pages. Reviewed by Amy Purcell. After their deaths, the characters in Christina Marrocco’s absorbing novel-in-stories share their pivotal moments in all their messy human glory. Love blooms, mistakes are made, secrets are kept, and violence is concealed. Misunderstandings and missed opportunities crop up as often as the fields’ stones in the fictional North West Wales village of Nefin. Each story holds a comforting universality, exploring themes of loss, grief, love, longing, faith, hope, and death. Set mostly in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, The Way Beauty Comes Apart is equal parts pastoral and confessional. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tiny-tales-for-the-teeming-mind monthly 0.5 2025-12-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2331e24b-ec13-46be-b19a-66b1395aa28d/CoverPage.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Tiny Tales for the Teeming Mind - Tiny Tales for the Teeming Mind. Prabha Girish, Self Published, June 2024, Paperback and eBook, 86 pages Reviewed by Shanti Nagarkatti. Prabha Girish’s debut short story collection Tiny Tales for the Teeming Mind presents a mosaic of people and exotic locations. The collection comprises ten stories, each set in a different country. The book includes fun illustrations hand-drawn by the author, a page of facts about each country, and introspective questions at the end of each story to spark thoughtful reflection. Although tailored to teens and tweens (middle-grade readers), the stories can be enjoyed by audiences of any age who wish to discover or rediscover the joy of reading. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-deserter monthly 0.5 2025-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f6866f76-877c-4854-8467-443f094c9471/The%2BDeserter%2BWayne%2BTurmel%2BEC.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Deserter - The Deserter: A Tale of the Foreign Legion. Wayne Turmel, Achis Press, January 2026, paperback and e-book, 256 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. Wayne Turmel, author of Middle Eastern-based novels like The Count of the Sahara, Acre's Bastard, and its sequel, Acre's Orphans, has gone back to this setting with his newest novel, The Deserter- a Tale of the Foreign Legion (available January 15, 2026 on the Kindle platform for $4.99, or in print for $21.99 from Achis Press). Working with editor Ruth Zakarian, Turmel has turned out a 78,000 word narrative that follows his protagonist on a journey from despair all the way to outright madness. It’s 1908, and Gil, the center of this tale and a man known by many names, is an individual with a dubious background. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/boo-bears-light monthly 0.5 2025-10-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/91b93a23-1c6d-4398-9c4a-f0c03b1219c1/BooBearCoverSQHR.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Boo Bear’s Light - Boo Bear’s Light: An ABC Rhyming Picture Book for Children. Catherine Ann Russel, Basketful Relief Project, 2024 Paperback , 40 pages. Reviewed by Christine Cassello. A bear cub named Boo is out picnicking in the woods with his family and finds a lightning bug who is crying because he is injured and lost. They introduce themselves. The bug’s name is Jack. Boo takes Jack to his parents and they bring him home with them. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/embrace-of-the-sun monthly 0.5 2025-09-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b2b05567-a176-422b-a696-1fdf668a702d/EmbraceoftheSun-2000.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Embrace of the Sun - Embrace of the Sun: A Chronicles of Ave Tale, Stephen Zimmer, Seventh Star Press, August 2024, Paperback and ebook, 75 pages Reviewed by Kaleene Robertson. The draconian emperor of the Maschiccan Empire rules with an iron fist. Even daring to look him in the eye can bring dire consequences. Chicahua, a veteran warrior of the common Tonaylia people, knows this well. His long service has earned him the highest renown among his people and even the respect of the emperor, yet he understands the severe punishment awaiting anyone who so much as steps out of line. Whether the Tonaylia fully grasp that reality is up for debate. They have been drinking a beverage reserved for nobles and elders. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/reset monthly 0.5 2025-09-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e361c901-2a2d-4a64-bf6d-c9890e385c98/ReSet%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: ReSet - ReSet, Jesse Severson, Independently Published, 2024, Paperback and eBook, 227 pages. Reviewed by Damian Serbu. Jesse Severson’s third novel explores the implications of a pill that resets a person’s health to perfect. What appears to be a miracle also contains an underbelly of human depravity. The protagonist, Matthew Sterling, has a bitter view of the world. He is brilliant but flawed. He attended medical school but was expelled. Matthew’s desire for wealth and his need for retaliation against detractors and enemies compromise his ability to cure any disease. He becomes Dr. Jekyll, pursuing his dream, even at the expense of innocent victims. Matthew morphs into a treacherous beast, almost of a comic book villain variety, in his disdain for people and quest for chaos. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/georgia-watson-and-the-99-percent-campaign monthly 0.5 2025-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4648ff5a-3410-4d3e-a272-27d398f76d2e/Georgia%2BWatson%2Band%2Bthe%2B99%2BPercent%2BCampaign%2BCover.png Book Reviews - Book Review: Georgia Watson and the 99 Percent Campaign - Georgia Watson and the 99 Percent Campaign, Sara F. Shacter, Regal House Publishing/Fitzroy Books, 2025, Electronic or Print, 173 pages Reviewed by Casie Gambrel. Sara F. Shacter’s debut middle-grade novel, Georgia Watson and the 99 Percent Campaign, is a delightful coming-of-age story that feels fresh yet familiar. This journey of friendship is filled with drama, humor, and a powerful message about compassion. The story follows Georgia Watson, a 6th-grade science enthusiast eager to start school with her first-ever best friend, Izzy. Georgia is curious about everything she can analyze with a scientific eye, be it insects, plants, animals, you name it. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/dying-eyes-dont-lie monthly 0.5 2025-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/39fe69e1-493a-423a-b279-f3766cfe296a/Dying%2BEyes%2BDon%27t%2BLie%2B-%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Dying Eyes Don’t Lie - Dying Eyes Don’t Lie, Keith Mosley, Amazon KDP, February 10, 2025; Paperback & eBook Reviewed by Susan Gaspar. In the first pages of “Dying Eyes Don’t Lie,” author Keith Mosley writes this about his protagonist, Chicago cop Albert Yelsom: “He did not join the police force to serve and protect the citizens of Chicago. He joined so that he would have a license to kill the person who murdered Otha …” From that point forward, you’re in for a high-speed ride with plenty of bumps, twists, and turns. Equal parts police procedural, supernatural thriller, and heartfelt drama, Dying Eyes Don’t Lie is an immersive piece of fiction. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/witch-in-the-wind monthly 0.5 2025-09-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/60040a63-d7b9-498a-b9b3-7c405c5f578c/Witch-in-the-Wind-NSP-Site.webp Book Reviews - Book Review: Witch in the Wind - Witch in the Wind, Damian Serbu, NineStar Press, June 18, 2024, print, 389. Reviewed by Philip Janowski. There is a psychological theory that divides nearly all people into three primary types, based on which part of themselves they are most influenced by: their physical body, their emotions, or their thinking mind. Alexander, the protagonist of Witch in the Wind, is an outstanding example of the emotional person. Alex, a survivor in a world often hostile to his existence (for reasons we will get to shortly), is constantly motivated by a desire to seduce others, have sex, or pine after lovers once he has found some perceived safety. Despite Witch in the Wind being an adventure story, the core sexual motivations color and influence the narrative at all times, and are the relative heart of the novel. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/my-french-summer monthly 0.5 2025-08-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/63b13b10-7a55-44de-a9c0-bd9a5998aad8/MyFrenchSummer_front.png Book Reviews - Book Review: My French Summer - My French Summer. T.D. Arkenberg, Booklocker, January 2025, e-book, hardcover or paperback, 332 pages. Reviewed by Brian Foster. Equal parts travel novel, queer romance, and coming of age story, My French Summer, by T.D. Arkenberg, is a delightful romp through first love in a closeted era. Our protagonist is 19-year-old Alec Van Horne, the youngest son of a grotesquely wealthy family, and closeted homosexual, who reluctantly accompanies his parents to Paris for his mother’s fiftieth birthday, even though he’d rather be wooing his college’s hunky librarian. He changes his tune upon meeting Conor Walsh, fellow American and member of the proletariat, who has significantly more (which is to say, any) experience with romance. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/its-raining-men monthly 0.5 2025-08-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9605c01f-0289-4138-9f2e-188132e72533/ItsRainingMen_Amazon.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: It’s Raining Men - It’s Raining Men, Hollie Smurthwaite, self-published, 2025, trade paperback and e-book, 323 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. It’s Raining Men is a fantasy romance novel written by Hollie Smurthwaite. It is the start of a new book series, The Greatest Hits of Greater Wick, following her successful The Psychic Colors trilogy. It’s Raining Men follows Sahara as she stumbles into a magical enclave that has been created for one purpose—to give a group of witches their perfect sexual partner. Unbeknownst to Sahara, by chasing her dog through a bramble, cutting herself on trees and bushes along the way, and entering this magically spelled location, her inadvertent blood donation “steals” one of these perfect mates from the witches that conjured the spell and creates the ideal mate for her instead. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/mercys-view-blackout monthly 0.5 2025-08-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/33b82748-5907-4621-ab91-a943b3ed967a/MV%2BeBook_cover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Mercy’s View: Blackout - Mercy’s View: Blackout, J.J. Maze, Nonipeek Press, April 27, 2025, print, 306. Reviewed by Katherine Tozer. Mercy’s View: Blackout tells the coming-of-age story of Heather Jacobs, who goes by Jade J. Maze today. It is a deeply personal memoir, told with the immediacy and intimacy of a diary after she ran away from home in Ventura, California, as a 15-year-old in the early 1980s (Maze’s prequel, Walk Until Sunrise, may offer helpful insight into the runaway backstory, of Heather fleeing a mother with whom she felt unsafe). When Heather returned, her mother kept a closer eye on her, sent her to therapy, and tried to get her back into high school. However, Heather slipped away by becoming a live-in nanny for a family nearby. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-kiss-of-night monthly 0.5 2025-08-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/22c9c461-a239-4e94-a068-3d593c8e1959/TheKissOfNight_FrontCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Kiss of Night - The Kiss of Night. Mark Wukas, Eckhartz Press, February 2025, paperback, 278 pages. Reviewed by Robert H. King, Jr. Will Moore, an Ivy League graduate, heads off to Chicago to pursue a graduate degree in Classics. His life plan is to get married and ultimately obtain a teaching job. Upon arriving in Chicago, he is dumped by his fiancé. In despair, and with no clearly thought-out plan B, he drops out of graduate school and lands a low paying job with a local newspaper as an overnight police beat reporter. His meager financial resources force him to rent a room in a house by the expressway under the iconic (at least to Chicagoans), mammoth Magic Kiss neon sign. Now his real education begins. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/chicagos-fine-arts-building monthly 0.5 2025-08-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d090a52a-dac5-442e-b551-78886efd4813/Chicago%27s%2BFine%2BArts%2BBuilding%2Bby%2BKeir%2BGraff.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Chicago’s Fine Arts Building - Chicago’s Fine Arts Building: Music, Magic, and Murder. Keir Graff, Trope Editions, June 3, 2025, ebook, 184pages. Reviewed by Gabrielle Robinson. In Chicago’s Fine Arts Building: Music, Magic, and Murder author Keir Graff has assembled a stunning coffee table book of images and history about one of Chicago’s perhaps lesser-known treasures. “No Chicago building hides more worlds than the Fine Arts Building,” Graff says. What makes this book special is its range. The photographs span the grand to the minute. A two-page image of the Studebaker Theater reveals “the most beautiful music hall ever built” while close-ups of the building’s ornately decorated mailboxes or elevator throttle explore the intricate details hidden in the nooks and crannies of the architecture. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-best-worst-christmas-ever monthly 0.5 2025-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/61de40ca-23e2-463e-aaea-8339124cd5d1/ARC_Cover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Best Worst Christmas Ever - The Best Worst Christmas Ever. Thomas J. Thorson, Self-published, Oct. 7 2025, paperback and e-book, 164 pages. Reviewed by Bibi Belford. In The Best Worst Christmas Ever, Thomas J. Thorson weaves a middle-grade story that begins with a blizzard and a power outage but ends with a magical Christmas fairy tale that saves the spirit of Christmas despite the circumstances. When a Christmas Eve snowstorm derails a family’s tropical vacation, Dad must find a way to help his three children cope with their disappointment. After an inventive dinner, where each child is responsible for a course, Dad suggests a collaborative storytelling game as they sit by the fire waiting for his special hot cocoa. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/my-broken-dog monthly 0.5 2025-06-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f865a437-7285-4103-8973-0b4f38849cfc/Kubillus_978-1-4766-9486-3-cover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: My Broken Dog - My Broken Dog: Living with a Handicapped Pet, Sandy Kubillus, McFarland & Company, Inc., August 2024, print and e-book, 316 pages Reviewed by Renee James The title of this memoir makes it sound like a dog story, and it is, but it’s so much more. My Broken Dog is an engaging and often dramatic story about how we relate to our pets, and how that relationship helps to define us. Sandy Kubillus is an environmental consultant (lakes, ponds, wetlands) in northern Illinois. The book opens during a period in her life when she’s working full-time as a consultant and also working on her thesis, and, eventually, also teaching classes at a local community college. As the book opens, she is living with Mitch, the man she will eventually marry, and his adolescent son—and Penny, her Border Collie who suffers from seizures. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/a-life-made-from-scratch monthly 0.5 2025-06-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8a1ec715-bd3c-46be-b5af-ce5af2f8eba9/A%2BLife%2BMade%2BFrom%2BScratch%2B%2BKoehler%2BBooks%2BPublishing.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Life Made from Scratch - A Life Made from Scratch. Marie Newman, Köehler Books, March 18, 2025, Paperback, 196 pages. Reviewed by Matthew Schnur In her new memoir A Life Made from Scratch, Marie Newman lays bare her foibles and triumphs as an advertising executive, congressional representative, and even more revealing as a mother. Chapter one begins with a gut punch that would make any parent wilt: “Mom, I think I know how to stop the bullying at school. I can get in a horrible car accident and come back as a different person.” It’s this frank and direct language that carries the rest of the book. Once recovered from that initial emotional hit, the reader can expect the stories to move along at a good pace. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-back-door-to-heaven monthly 0.5 2025-06-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2166ca67-643e-4ac7-9e1b-bdb80099dcee/Back_door_to_heaven_web%2B%281%29.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Back Door to Heaven - The Back Door to Heaven, by Bob Allen Published by Purple Tooth Publishing, Nov. 18, 2024, paperback, 266 pages Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel You won’t find a book that feels more like Chicago, especially for you South Siders out there, than Bob Allen’s new novel, The Back Door to Heaven. You don’t have to hail from Chicago to enjoy the story, but it makes things more fun if you are. Allen, a lifelong Chicagoan “mostly on the south side” according to his bio, has crafted a thoughtful, interesting political mystery about a complex father-son relationship brought to a crisis point during election season (is it ever NOT the political season in Chicago?) when the son, Tom Sullivan, faces a murder charge. The South Side is as much a character as any person in Allen’s story, complete with corner bars, Old Style beer, and the bungalow homes that sprinkle the neighborhoods. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/courting-the-sun monthly 0.5 2025-05-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/145d10f2-d04d-4883-b02c-e6ee57111988/Courting%2Bthe%2BSun%2Beimage.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Courting the Sun: A Novel of Versailles - Courting the Sun: A Novel of Versailles by Peggy Joque Williams, Published by Black Rose Writing, May 9, 2024, paperback, 374 pages Reviewed by Catherine Marcroft Peggy Joque Williams has written a delightful book. I thoroughly enjoyed A Novel of Versailles: Courting the Sun. We meet our heroine, Sylvienne d’Aubert, on a sunny afternoon high in a tree following her curiosity about all things courtly to a perch where she can spy on lovers who, for all intents and purposes might be from another world. They have the time, money, freedom and beauty to indulge in activities just beginning to be of interest to our young Sylvienne. She is followed into that tree by a village boy, the son of a cobbler, whose curiosity about Sylvienne sparks his climb. Their espionage begins their friendship. Their age and Sylvienne’s aspirations don’t allow her to consider Etienne Girard in any other light. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-meeting-of-air-and-water monthly 0.5 2025-05-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/620e11d3-6f88-45ca-9b34-3c9c9d971d29/Final%2BCover%2Bcopy.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Meeting of Air and Water - The Meeting of Air and Water. Sharon LaCour, Claudia Drive Books, September 2024, paperback and ebook, 256 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti Daily life in Cocodrie, as author Sharon LaCour establishes, is cyclical, smooth and rhythmic. Generations of Acadian people are born, live and pass on in the bayou of Louisiana and have their own ways, and there was and still is beauty and joy in this strong community. People believed in the roles they were assigned and lived them with faith, generational stories, a bit of sorcery and celebration. There was also both loving and grudging acceptance for people that were different. It may not have been idyllic, but it was somehow right, if you stayed between the cultural rails that were provided for your safety. The Meeting of Air and Water is more than a novel of Cajun family life and hidden history. It’s paced as a long walk through many decades in a dreamy atmosphere and written with a fresh approach to the serendipity and predictability of actual lives unfolding. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/strawberry-gold monthly 0.5 2025-05-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4acb680e-7098-4482-af63-bee44cbff76e/Strawberry%2BGold%2B453x680.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Strawberry Gold - Strawberry Gold, Chris Gerrib, World Castle Publishing 2024, hardcover and ebook, 279 pages. Reviewed by Wayne Turmel Strawberry Gold is a compelling story that couldn’t be set anywhere other than downstate Illinois. The main story takes place in 1986 but it’s a multi-generational tale of crime, greed and fate that flashes back to the 1890s, the roaring twenties, and the nineteen fifties. The main story focuses on Pat Kowalski, a young man about to graduate high school but dealing with very adult problems. His father is dying, and his emotionally stunted mother is about to lose the family home to a shady savings and loan. While talking to his great grandmother, “Grand Barb,” for an oral history project, he learns of a family legend telling of buried gold. Pat has to untangle the ravings of a senile old woman in a last-ditch effort to save his family. Is it all in her head or is there really a treasure waiting to be discovered? https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/shades-of-adventures-in-love monthly 0.5 2025-05-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/072bfae6-fb6d-4413-82ea-86607c542fc4/Shades%2Bof%2Badventures%2Bin%2Blove+%281%29.png Book Reviews - Book Review: Shades of Adventures in Love - Shades of Adventures in Love. Anthology includes: G. T. Naya, Fannie Price, Annette Cyr, and Karen Brailsford, Write Volumes, 2024, ebook, 96 Pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock Shades of Adventures in Love is an anthology of four short romance stories that combine feminist themes, adventure, romance, psychological trauma, and magic. Each piece presents a female protagonist on a quest, sometimes to accomplish a goal of her own device, and sometimes one suggested by the attractive man who arrives unexpectedly to disorient her but somehow pushes her onward. Difficult themes, such as suicide and rape, are woven into some of the tales. Unfolding in the space of no more than twenty odd pages, the pieces leave little room for character development or time for the male and female protagonists to get to know each other. As a result, the rapid resolution of the conflicts presented can seem artificial and contrived. As with standard length romantic novels, the plot centers around the male/female attraction and, on the part of the woman, her resistance to it. This uncomfortable attraction is fueled by distrust that quickly gets resolved. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-best-that-you-can-do monthly 0.5 2025-04-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/486426f3-7469-4ca2-96d2-c3ca653d99cb/GAUTIER-AMINA-+THE+BEST+THAT+YOU+CAN+DO+COVER.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Best That You Can Do - The Best That You Can Do, by Amina Gautier, Soft Skull Press, January 16, 2024, Paperback & eBook, 240 pages Reviewed by Susan Gaspar I was reticent to review this collection of short stories. I worried I would not properly relate to the themes, perspectives, and cultural experiences. I worried my interpretation might be disrespectful, and that these pages were not meant for me. I envisioned the book’s audience to be a mirror of the author, and believed I was alien to the subject matter. I was wrong. Amina Gautier’s The Best That You Can Do is recommended reading for anyone over the age of, say, 16, irrelevant of race, religion, birthplace, gender, or economic standing. There are valuable insights and lessons woven throughout by way of the characters’ thoughts and choices. The reader feels like a fly on the wall, and occasionally, like a ghost. At their best, the stories pull you directly into the minds of their subjects and hold you there until the next tale begins. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/what-our-friends-left-behind monthly 0.5 2025-01-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/97a55f4e-dd8b-4e1b-92b6-fda1a62bbc83/What+our+Friends+left+Behind+COVER.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: What Our Friends Left Behind: Grief and Laughter in a Pandemic - What Our Friends Left Behind: Grief and Laughter in a Pandemic, by Victoria Noe, King Company Publishing, September 2023, Hardcover, paperback and e-book, 213 pages Reviewed by Marcie Hill What Our Friends Left Behind: Grief and Laughter in a Pandemic by Victoria Noe “is for those of us who still struggle with ways to grieve and honor friends who died…during the pandemic.” As someone who didn’t experience loss during the pandemic, the book introduced me to people in professions I didn’t think about during the pandemic and how they were impacted by it. Like many people, I was aware of first responders, health care workers, nursing home workers and other “essential workers” because of daily news reports. I never considered the mental and emotional toll of these people, many of whom served other people. Noe includes experiences of religious leaders, first responders, health care workers, theater performers, last responders and members of the HIV/AIDS community who lost friends, and she shows how they attempted to grieve during the pandemic. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/dragoncraft monthly 0.5 2025-01-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5c7b4f56-f6d5-4444-871d-b0ad6d3f5bf7/DragoncraftCOVER.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Dragoncraft - Dragoncraft by Dorothy A. Winsor, Inspired Quill, September 2024, Paperback and ebook, 267 pages Reviewed by Katherine Tozer. Addy and Emlin reunite on the island of Lyz in Dragoncraft, Dorothy A. Winsor’s sequel to Glass Girl. Emlin, a dragon-inspired glass artist, officially makes the trip to deliver an important commission to Jaffen, ruler of the Dolyan islands and Addy’s brother. But she’s really looking forward to spending time with Addy, whom she finds waiting to welcome her ship at the docks. While Emlin was crafting glass on the island of Kural, Addy was putting his scholarship and bravery to work by investigating threats to Jaffen’s new government. But he’s eager to take some time off to spend with Emlin and show her around Lyz. An assassination attempt against his brother on the very night of Emlin’s arrival sets in motion a much less desirable series of events. The citizens of Lyz have known that something is off with the island’s recently awakened dragon, and it’s sowing mistrust and unrest. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/black-holes-and-gyspy-hearts-are-forever monthly 0.5 2025-01-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/77af255a-f7ab-4604-8f72-98edf64d0154/Cover-BLACKHOLESGYPSYHEARTS.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Black Holes + Gypsy Hearts are Forever - black holes + gypsy hearts are forever, Damiana Andonova, Monee, IL, Honeybees for Peace Press, 2023, Paperback, 55 pages Reviewed by Matthew Schnur Four quarks and an antiquark form a man-made subatomic particle called a pentaquark. Scientists do not believe they occur naturally, but studying them helps us better understand the composition of ordinary matter, such as the protons and neutrons that make us up. It is crucial to understand this thread which ties the collection together. Through this analytical lens, Damiana Andonova begins her fine collections of poems. The book comprises four sections; Love in Pentaquarks, Laws of Attraction, The Pain of Distance, and On the Gravity of Love.  While the lead into the first section, “…Love, like truth, must be must be examined unto it’s innermost parts,” may cause readers to suspect a cold analytical distance in the verse that follows, the opposite is true. The analysis is intimate and close.  https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/blindspot monthly 0.5 2024-11-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/de1fef30-3383-464a-829e-fb1fc15b896f/blindspotCOVER.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Blindspot - Blindspot, Maggie Smith, Puzzle Box Press, May 21, 2024, Trade Paper, eBook, audio, 296 pages Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport Maggie Smith (no relation to the recently deceased English actress) has written a complex and compelling page turner, Blindspot. The novel is a true thriller, menacing and relentless, offering more twists than a Chubby Checker dance party. It is a finalist for the 14th annual Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year Award. Rachel Matthews is a work-obsessed single mother who is an Assistant District Attorney in Milwaukee. Life is going well for Rachel. She is successful both at home and at work. She’s up for a coveted promotion. She has no time for, and little interest in, a social life, but manages to be a functional parent to her teen daughter, Charley. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/i-know-she-was-there monthly 0.5 2024-11-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/da472786-3450-4207-ba22-9834c8bac39f/IKnowSheWasThereCOVER.png Book Reviews - Book Review: I Know She Was There - I Know She Was There, Jennifer Sadera, CamCat Publishing, LLC, 2024, paperback, 303 pages Reviewed by Catherine Marcroft. Jennifer Sadera’s thriller I Know She Was There is exactly that—a thriller. We meet our heroine Caroline Case at a low point in her life. She’s caring for her colicky infant and separated from her husband, Tim. Caroline finds solace in brisk late-night walks that calm both herself and her fretful Emmy. These stroller walks turns compulsive—and stir up envy as she walks through a nearby affluent Upstate New York neighborhood. The houses are filled with people who seem to have achieved all that life has to offer, a life beyond the cares that weigh Caroline down. How do these people make this magic happen? Security, beauty, love, family, energy, comfort… can Caroline get some of that to rub off on her just by close observation? It makes sense in Caroline’s depressed state, and it doesn’t harm anyone—until Caroline witnesses something that draws her into troubles far beyond her own. She sees something, she knows she does. Something terrible. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/linger monthly 0.5 2024-11-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/23602e8d-7302-4170-b73e-97c96ed02510/Linger+cover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Linger - Linger. Meg Marcus, self-published, August 2024, paperback and e-book, 329 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss Linger is a novel centering around Mallory, a woman determined to reunite her group of long-lost friends. The six women grew up together as part of the “Adventure Girls,” a fictional Girl Scout-like organization that kept them in each other's lives throughout childhood and high school. However, after high school, most went their separate ways. After 12 years of not connecting, Mallory decides to bring them back together for an Adventure Girl-sponsored trip to California. Author Meg Marcus does a lovely job of pulling the readers into the world of these women, particularly into Mallory’s headspace. The anxiety that Mallory faces at the smallest of things – sending a Facebook message, getting to the airport, saying the right things – is utterly relatable. As the women come together and you begin to learn about each of them, Marcus also does a great job of giving each a distinct personality. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-very-hungry-toilets-take-a-field-trip monthly 0.5 2024-10-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6c91f311-a053-43c4-a2b7-adf50e40dba2/HungryToilets-cover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Very Hungry Toilets Take a Field Trip - The Very Hungry Toilets Take a Field Trip. Neva Ryan, Neva Ryan Books, Oct. 1, 2024, Hardback, paperback and e-book, 36 pages. Reviewed by Casie Gambrel In The Very Hungry Toilets Take a Field Trip, the author brings back her beloved characters Tyler and Tilly, two little toilets with big personalities and a penchant for mischief. They live in an elementary school and are well-liked by the students. Tyler and Tilly are bored with their everyday surroundings and eager for an adventure. One day, after hours, their curiosity leads them to sneak away from the bathroom and board a school bus bound for a museum field trip the next morning. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/if-not-the-whole-truth monthly 0.5 2024-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/71560621-d6fd-4d1f-9526-3dc556e21074/CoverIFNOTTHEWHOLETRUTH.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: If Not the Whole Truth - If Not the Whole Truth. Claire Arbogast, Margin Key, September 2024, paperback, 361 pages. Reviewed by Florence Osmund. An interesting cast of memorable characters stars in If Not the Whole Truth— author Claire Arbogast’s fictional, yet believable tale about the counterculture and anti-establishment movements that took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The story highlights protagonist Connie Borders’ internal and external conflicts as she tries to find her place in life during this contentious time period to ultimately realize how complex the issues are and that there are no absolute answers. Those of us old enough to remember the sixties and seventies will find reminders in considerable detail of the array of social movements dealing in equality, civil rights, ending wars, and reproductive rights for women. Groups such as the Weather Underground Organization, SDS Youth Movement, Black Panthers, Rainbow Coalition, and Jane Collective drew in millions of young supporters and protesters. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-christmas-heart monthly 0.5 2024-08-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d324c7c0-5330-4696-96e7-d0a4555972f0/Christmas%2BHeart%2Bfront%2Bcover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Christmas Heart - The Christmas Heart. Pam McDonald, Teacup Fox Pointe Publishing, 2023, hardcover, paperback, e-book, 39 pages. Reviewed by Susan Gaspar. Christmas is largely viewed as a magical time of year, and stories set at that time of year often possess some of that magic. The Christmas Heart is such a story. Based on real people and situations, this gentle children’s book sets a comforting, festive holiday scene. We meet Madi, an adult who tells her own first-person tale and immediately makes us feel included in her large extended family and their Christmas traditions. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tiger-season monthly 0.5 2024-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/655e84ed-b75b-46fb-8a92-b5f8dd5dde17/Tiger+Season+eimage.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Tiger Season - Tiger Season: A Novel of Korea. By Gojan Nikolich. Black Rose Publishing. Publication Date: October 31, 2024. Kindle and Trade Paperback. Pages 355; Word count 115,000. Review by Marssie Mencotti (aka Marcella Bernard, author of Pro Patria: The Story of an American Who fought for Italy in WWI). If you love intelligent text and value the rich subtext of superstition and magic within a violent time of conflict, this book is for you. If you are in awe of human connections that are life and afterlife-changing, read this book. It is a riveting read and a rollercoaster of unexpected action, depth of character development, and plot twists. In this affecting story lies selfless humanity, realism, mysticism, abuse, joy, gore, surprise, sharing of food as love, brutality, fear, a fearsome big cat, and always in wartime, a multitude of rats. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/johnny-lycan-and-the-last-witchfinder monthly 0.5 2024-07-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/854f39ad-7d74-4a2a-80cf-f760868c91ed/JohnnyLycanBook3-cover.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: Johnny Lycan & the Last Witchfinder Book 3 - Johnny Lycan & the Last Witchfinder, book 3 of the Werewolf PI series. Wayne Turmel. Black Rose Writing, May 2, 2024, ebook, paperback, 228 pp/253pp print. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. Opening with our hero Johhny Lupul dealing with a nasty Wendigo on the Oneida Reservation in Wisconsin – the third, and I’m told, sadly, final Werewolf PI book – shows us just what a Lycan, aka werewolf, can do. Tasked with taking care of this nasty cannibal zombie-like creature by his boss-client in exchange for a powerful spiritual relic, Johnny takes care of business and delivers another item to the mysterious Mr. Cromwell’s vast collection of unusual artifacts. Mr. Cromwell’s got some trouble back home with hand-written threats to his collection, while a hotshot paranormal podcaster and monster magazine reporter gets up in Johnny’s fangs after putting vintage video werewolf-in-action footage together and questioning reality. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tayvies-story monthly 0.5 2024-06-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/55e895b1-be94-46e2-93e5-71df2c8a58ee/MimEichman.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Tayvie’s Story - Tayvie’s Story. Mim Eichmann, Living Springs Publishers LLP, July 23, 2024, Print and E-book, 262 pages. Reviewed by Wayne Turmmel. Tayvie’s Story is the sequel to Mim Eichmann’s 2021 novel, Muskrat Ramble. It’s the story of a young, bi-racial woman named Octavie Jackson (Tayvie) and her travels and travails through the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. The story begins in Chicago, where 4-year-old Tayvie is separated from her mother and raised by a middle-class African-American couple. When tragedy strikes, she spirals from one tragedy to another. Her travails take her from the slums of Memphis to a resurgent Harlem, to Paris and Nazi Germany. There’s a lot of ground covered, and historical fiction fans will enjoy the deep research and facets of history they may not have read about before. As in Muskrat Ramble, the author’s knowledge and passion for music is the strength of the book. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/second-chance monthly 0.5 2024-01-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e86c6395-5033-4ee6-8fce-75d4649d236e/Second+Chance.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Second Chance - Second Chance. Jeanette Skalski. Self-Published, 2023. Trade Paperback and e-book, 341 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. Second Chance by Jeanette Skalski is a romance novel centering around Jane, a woman overcoming tremendous loss after the tragic death of her husband and children in a car accident, and Alex, Chicagoland’s most eligible bachelor. The narrative oscillates back and forth between Jane’s perspective and Alex’s, allowing the reader to understand where each character is coming from and how they are viewing the relationship. The book is at its strongest when we are with Jane. Skalski’s depiction of grief is nuanced, has depth, and is beautifully written. Alex’s character is a bit more on the wish fulfillment side of things—an impossibly beautiful, rich, and ultimately lovesick man who changes his whole life and personality after falling in love at first sight. But I think that’s why we need Alex’s perspective in this book. If Skalski didn’t take the time to tell us what Alex was thinking, his pursuit of Jane would have seemed trite compared to the depth of what Jane was going through. The gravitas of Jane’s grief keeps this book centered. Their friend groups and families also keep the story grounded, although I would have liked more time with Alex’s family, particularly his parents. Still, all the characters were well thought out; I could picture each of them and fully understood their personalities and place within the lives of our two main characters. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/sometimes-creek monthly 0.5 2023-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/93ac6d97-a456-4ad7-b511-80b60c9e3ab9/9798986144764.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Sometimes Creek - Sometimes Creek. Steve Fox, Cornerstone Press, 2023. Paperback, 219 pages. Reviewed by Christine Cacciatore. Sometimes Creek is a collection of 17 short stories by Steve Fox. None is very long, some are only a few pages, however a great deal of depth and thought have gone into this book. The stories are designed to make the reader stop and think. You may find yourself rereading a couple of them just to make sure you absorb exactly what the author intended. Does it mean you’ll understand everything? Probably not, and maybe you’re not meant to. As readers, maybe we’re meant to just go along for the ride. Personally I enjoyed the writing as I adore paranormal, and quite a few of these tales (“The Butcher’s Ghost” and “little blind flying mice,” for example) have a paranormal bent. One story I found rather amusing was “Randy Koenig’s Very Large Mouse.” It delivers a very large…erm…surprise to the reader. Get your cheese ready. The first offering in this book, “Exile,” was a wonderful indicator of how this collection would unfold. The author leaves you unsettled with an ending that is not what you might expect. You may find this to be true of several of these stories, where you flip the page only to see it was going to end sooner that you thought it would. Some may leave a reader wanting more because you might be caught off guard by how they were concluded. Or not. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/sonnets-of-love-and-joy monthly 0.5 2023-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4f5211ba-bc23-41f9-8aa9-6aefafcd4990/411Cu9WPLeL._SY445_SX342_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Sonnets of Love and Joy - Sonnets of Love and Joy. Paul Buchheit, Kelsay Books, 2023, Paperback and eBook, 85 pages. Reviewed by Matthew Schnur. Upon reading Sonnets of Love and Joy, the reader is immediately drawn into the beauty of the language. Paul Buchheit seems to choreograph with the words. His steps perfectly fit the form. The sonnet form can feel constricted and confining for some readers, but Mr. Buchheit seems to be well-suited to convey these vignettes in this form. Each of the sections of this well-organized and artfully done book has its unique joys. In the first section, Love of Another, the poem, As I See You, is striking. The simplicity it expresses is subtle but layered. And like the dawn your vision thrills: … sweeps away my discontent. This line exemplifies subtle complexity. Simple on the surface–a first read, a glance. After a second read, there is the relief in that gaze. At times, we are all discontented, slightly dissatisfied, and our lovers seem to remove that feeling simply by sight. This expresses that feeling of satisfaction, of contentment in the gaze of a lover nearly perfectly. Every page that contains a poem also includes a work of art associated, in its way, with the poem. This was a clever junction of art forms. Taking a deeper look into the pictures can glean even greater meaning of the poem. The artwork, Stormy Landscape, Rembrandt 1638, accompanying the poem, Storm, fit the mood of the poem quite well. The colors of the painting depicted added a layer to the poem that otherwise would have felt absent. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/computer-love monthly 0.5 2023-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2118e4c5-4357-4368-871c-0138c32576f3/9781087913292.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Computer Love - Computer Love: A Digital Anthology. Ricardo Pierre-Louis. 2023. Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook. 124 pages. Reviewed by Megan J. Wheless. While reading Ricardo Pierre-Louis’s collection of short stories titled Computer Love: A Digital Anthology, I was curious about how he would weave the themes of “love” and “loss” throughout each story. This collection offers a wide variety of short stories, from a child losing his mother and a bar owner seeking vengeance for a favorite customer to a man hospitalized due to his mental illness. The second half of the anthology, which reads more like a novella, includes a series of chapters that focus on the protagonist, Jamie, who is a painter, and his growing relationship with Eva, a female sex worker ten years his senior. In other stories, Pierre-Louis places his characters in settings with a science fiction vibe, such as a gambler who must pay off his debts by stepping inside a rigged slot machine and a lion at a zoo that seems to have an otherworldly glow that only a child can see. A creative and daring attempt by the author to take his readers outside of the normal urban landscape begins within the first few stories of the anthology. While I appreciate Ricardo Pierre-Louis’s use of science fiction to enhance his stories’ themes and stretch the reader’s imagination, I found more descriptions are needed to make the science fiction elements fully portray the characters’ motivations to answer the central question at the heart of the anthology: “What happens when your world slips away and only love remains?” The stories are varied in characters, setting, and concept. Each one attempts to answer this main question within each story. I appreciate how each character, regardless of age or gender, experiences loss and tries to find the meaning of his or her individual experiences, however, at times, switching points of view at critical plot points, can be confusing. Ricardo Pierre-Louis explores deeply philosophical and very human themes in this collection. The storylines, the issues, the themes, and the characters’ lives in Computer Love: A Digital Anthology do matter. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/code-crisis monthly 0.5 2023-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/49243e6b-cccf-41c9-9240-f881a92abd51/51s0TpAZRmL._SY445_SX342_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Code Crisis - Code Crisis. Joe Purpura, Greenleaf Book Group Press, Hardcover. 343 pages. Reviewed by Catherine Marcroft. The foundation of Joe Purpura’s first novel, Code Crisis, is a good one. The shock of events on September 11th, 2001 have forever divided this country’s history into before and after that terrorist attack. The fear that acts of terror on such a scale could happen again still lingers. What’s explored in this book is the idea that soft targets like a hospital not far from the coast might be vulnerable. This vulnerability is particularly poignant for those who suffered the loss of a loved one in the attack, like our hero, Dr. DeLuca. Dr. Vince DeLuca, is a California gynecologist practicing out of Santa Barbara Community Hospital. He has some impressive credentials, old personal sorrows and a life style that tries to make the best of a gaping hole; sadness seems to win the day more often than not. When Dr. DeLuca is called to see a patient suffering an ectopic pregnancy in need of emergency care, the patient makes a request of the good doctor, to contact a “friend” if things don’t go well. That request, combined with some post-surgery anesthesia ramblings, prompt a call to the FBI, which sets our story in motion. The call is answered by Special Agent Carolyn Talbot, who gathers the puzzle pieces Dr. DeLuca provides, fits them into intel already in play, and suddenly we are in the early stages of a very dastardly plot against this country. Dr. DeLuca is inextricably involved due to his proximity to his patient and, over the course of the book, his growing feelings for Agent Talbot. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/beatnikkis-cafe monthly 0.5 2023-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fc68f75c-f61c-455b-acca-e8199971e2a7/51QUBMnzHBL._SY445_SX342_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: BeatNikki’s Café - BeatNikki’s Café. Renee James, Amble Press (2023), Paperback and eBook, 285 pages. Reviewed by Paula Mikrut. Nikki Finch is the owner of BeatNikki’s, a café near Lincoln Park in Chicago. As a transgender woman, Nikki accepts that her life is always going to be challenging. But it is the summer of 2017, Trump is president, and right-wing extremists have been encouraged to display their bigotry loudly and often. When her business partner, Little John, is attacked behind the café, Nikki defends him, blinding the attacker in one eye. This sets off a wave of threats and attacks, and employees start to leave, in fear for their safety. Then Nikki’s ex-wife, Blythe, tells Nikki that their daughter, Morgan, will have to stay with her for the summer while Blythe travels to New York for a cancer treatment that has a slim chance of saving her life. Morgan hasn’t spent more than a day in Nikki’s company since childhood, and Nikki not only needs to find a way to co-exist with her daughter for the summer, she needs to learn how to be a parent in case Blythe dies. Morgan doesn’t make it easy. She has been taught to despise the woman she still thinks of as “Dad” for abandoning her and her mother and transitioning to a woman, and everything Morgan does seems calculated to demonstrate her contempt. She is also grieving her mother’s impending death and shows it by lashing out at Nikki. As if this wasn’t enough, property values around the café are skyrocketing, and Nikki is pressured by a couple of real estate developers to sell her building and move the business. One of the developers asks Nikki out, and they start dating, but Nikki can’t help but wonder whether his interest is real or designed to help him close a sale. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-fun-master monthly 0.5 2023-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a0c3d93b-5147-4a40-9549-acf6c9338343/81andSTpQTL._SY466_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Fun Master - The Fun Master: A Memoir. Jeff Seitzer, SparkPress, 2022, Paperback and eBook. 256 pages. Reviewed by R.H. King, Jr. The Fun Master chronicles a father’s struggle to overcome his own demons and become the parent he must be for his health-challenged son, Ethan. Ethan is born with serious birth defects requiring multiple surgeries and extensive continuing physical therapy and medications. He then becomes deaf, adding more complexities into his everyday life. The father, Jeff, an academic, stay-home dad, initially feels ill prepared and overwhelmed by the challenges associated with the care of an impaired child. But Ethan’s determination and positive attitude helps Jeff to grow into the task at hand. Indeed, Jeff and his wife decide to adopt another child, Penelope, from China. The latter half of the book details the loving relationship that develops between Ethan and Penelope. The author uses an interesting literary device to tell his story. In the first chapter we are introduced to Jeff and the then 10-year-old Ethan at the beach. While swimming, Ethan is overwhelmed by the waves and is trouble. Jeff swims out to rescue him and falls victim himself to the powerful water conditions. The first chapter ends with both father and son sinking beneath the surface. Then the book goes back in time to Ethan’s birth. The story recounts how Ethan overcame the various physical challenges that confronted him, as well as Jeff’s development as a father. The book details specific memories, such as a fifth birthday party or play dates with friends, but in the back of the reader’s mind is the thought: this is not going to end well for Ethan. Ultimately in the last chapters we are brought back to the present. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/glass-girl monthly 0.5 2023-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a96ccfdf-26d1-4544-8769-652c3ce92cd8/81Ff70YbSIL._SY466_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Glass Girl - Glass Girl. Dorothy A. Winsor, Inspired Quill, May 2023, Paperback and E-Book, 250 pages. Reviewed by Katherine Tozer. On Emlin’s upcoming seventeenth birthday, the women of Kural’s glasshouse expect her to take a sacred oath to join them as a fully-fledged glassmaker. Despite being the craftmistress’ daughter, Emlin doubts her abilities to balance the creative inspiration she must draw from Kural’s dragon with her headstrong nature, all while fulfilling glassware orders from the other craft houses, islands, and the Drake of Kural himself. But Emlin can focus only on justice after witnessing her mother’s murder outside the Kural City palace. Unsatisfied with the Watch’s official investigation, Emlin sets her mind to solving the crime herself. She saves evidence and sneaks reconnaissance missions into her daily errands, seeking out the places her mother last visited and interviewing the people she last saw. Her discoveries put her on a path that is dangerous, for her and everyone in the glasshouse, but necessary to their survival, craft, and island. To uncover the truth about her mother’s murder, Emlin must weigh her loyalties and act on the difficult results. Would it ever be justifiable to break the glassmakers’ oath? Defy the palace? Will she still have a place in the glasshouse, or even on the island, if she follows her instincts? The stakes start high and get higher for Emlin and everyone she cares for as this bildungsroman novel progresses. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/delilah-recovered monthly 0.5 2023-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/49c088c8-12e0-4be1-a7e6-f4711a3bfc44/71Rf%2BhC%2B3ML._SY466_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Delilah Recovered - Delilah Recovered. Amelia Estelle Dellos, Atmosphere Press. 2022, Paperback, 276 pages Reviewed by Caroline L. Huftalen. Amelia Estelle Dellos’ debut novel, Delilah Recovered (Atmosphere Press), leaps into the fantasy/romance realm with feuding covens of witches, fairies, angels and demons. Set in the present day, her book remains grounded in the familiar through unbreakable family bonds, yet skyrockets into an unseen world of modern-day mystique. Dellos doubles down on popular tropes with an added love triangle, which is not the sole focus of the book or her protagonist's journey but is prominent enough to titillate. Dee, as we are first introduced to our main character, is a struggling, unemployed accountant on a job interview that turns her world upside down. After learning the truth of who she really is, where her family has been, and what they have been hiding from her and why, Dee comes back into her true self as Delilah and embarks on a fated mission. As Delilah learns her origin story, she is pinned between two men: the classic wealthy, mysterious option, and someone who began more as a friend, a partner whose only wish is to protect Delilah and right any wrongs. Torn between two men and even more unanswered questions, Delilah finds refuge in new friends that turn into the family she always longed for. Dellos’ plot and concept are the biggest strengths of the novel. The book is filled with intrigue amidst strong characters. The best moments are when plot and strong character development collide. There is no fairy godmother, but there is Mrs. Fairfax,a magical being whose name you simply just need to say three times, and she will arrive, ready to help, ready to rescue, ready to hear the day's troubles. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-yochnis-eye monthly 0.5 2023-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ac33a278-3e44-4ca3-8a89-7eb7b5920830/41J0VlLyvhL._SY445_SX342_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Yochni’s Eye - The Yochni’s Eye. Abigail Morrison, AMorrisonBooks.com, 2022. Paperback and eBook. 302 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. The success of a fantasy novel depends in large part on how well the author creates the magical world in which events are set. In The Yochni’s Eye, author Abigail Morrison’s setting and characters are particularly well developed, and her world abounds with surprises, not the least of which is the yochni, a huge eye set on four feet. With a blink, the yochni can grant a wish to a single supplicant every six hundred years. The wish can be simply personal, or it can dramatically change the entire society until the next time the yochni blinks. As this YA fantasy novel opens, three beings are on a quest to get the yochni to grant a wish—a dwarf named Mira, a bogey (dog being) named Atlan, and a human boy named Kraven. Each of them is in some way a champion for their group. They know they must overcome incredible odds to reach the yochni alive and ask for a wish. Besides the competition among them, the aims of Mira and Atlan conflict with each other. In fact, if Mira succeeds, her wish may eliminate all of the bogeys, who have enslaved her people and have forced them to work in the mines. Through a fluke, however, the quest they share brings these three disparate souls together. Kraven is an arbiter, a person endowed with magic to mediate disputes and create contracts. He forges a magical agreement so that the three of them can’t hurt each other on the quest until they get to the mountain where the yochni dwells. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/of-bairns-and-wheelie-bins monthly 0.5 2023-09-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ecc1f7d4-2e1d-4795-b72d-c8db94b43fa8/515inJVMnBL._SX260_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Of Bairns and Wheelie Bins - Of Bairns and Wheelie Bins: An American guide to what those British detectives are saying on the telly. Mary T. Wagner, Waterhorse Press, LLC. 2023. eBook. Reviewed by Catherine Marcroft. Of Bairns and Wheelie Bins is a witty, annotated British-to-American English dictionary translating over 250 words and phrases gleaned from various British series increasingly popular with American audiences who tuned in during the pandemic. As the author notes in the introduction, her list in not exhaustive. Wagner compiled these distinctive phrases after turning on the subtitles while watching these shows still left her confused. The subtitles did help to decipher unfamiliar accents and brogues, but not all of the meanings of the words. As a curious consumer of the streaming world, you will want to have this book within reach. The characters in the myriad of British police procedurals and detective television series do speak English, but with Mary Wagner’s Of Bairns and Wheelie Bins, the mysteries will remain confined to the storylines and not mysterious language. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/town-and-gown monthly 0.5 2023-09-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4b7b0df2-5caf-491d-9162-12bd7afddc28/31oSptlprGL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Town and Gown - Town and Gown. Jan English Leary, Fomite Press, 2022, $17.95, Paperback Reviewed by Caroline L. Huftalen. Jan English Leary’s latest novel, Town and Gown (Fomite Press, 2022), told from two perspectives, considers the influences and expectations we face as adolescents and how those same lingering outside voices shape the rest of our lives. Leary’s two differing main characters push against what is expected of them, careen through diversions along their independent paths, and somehow in the end find just what they needed and never knew they wanted. Each chapter represents the opposite side of the high school hierarchy coin. On one side, there is Wanda, a farmer’s daughter in a small town where agriculture keeps residents on the bottom of the ranks. Her family’s only goal for her is marriage, and they’ve kept her on track to be wed after graduating from high school. On the other side is Callie, a popular girl dating a jock who comes from a family of older parents, one a professor who expects linear success. The book’s title comes from the old English term to reference the differing sides of a community, the town being the non-academic population and the gown being those in the university community. The simple difference of educational rank is enough to keep the cliques separate until circumstances pull them together to create an unbreakable, and unexpected, bond. Leary’s novel depicts the choices we make for ourselves and those that are made for us and how those choices shape who we are and what happens in our lives. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/dry-heat monthly 0.5 2023-08-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/dbc602d0-f946-4914-bb48-f03a254127e1/bbb2b7_edaa4772fb6e4f72b3c81c3f8800e756%7Emv2.png Book Reviews - Book Review: Dry Heat - Dry Heat. Len Joy. BQB Publishing. 2022. Paperback and eBook. 346 pages. Reviewed by Florence Osmund. Eighteen-year-old Joey Blade is an exceptional footballer in high school who earns a full-ride athletic scholarship to college. He celebrates his accomplishments at an end-of-the-year bonfire party with his new girlfriend, Wendy. But things go very wrong after the party when TJ, a friend of Wendy’s, takes potshots at a police car. TJ flees before the officers ever notice him, and Joey is wrongfully charged with attempted murder. Being charged with such a serious crime when he is innocent is bad enough for Joey. Wendy’s father sending her off to a Swiss finishing school to evade speaking the truth is devastating. Losing his scholarship only adds insult to injury. Learning his previous girlfriend is pregnant ensures the end of his golden-boy years have ended. Dry Heat contains all the elements of an impactful suspense novel. Stakes for the protagonist get higher and higher as the story unfolds. Author Len Joy cleverly creates apprehension throughout the narrative by instilling the feeling that something is likely to go wrong before it actually happens. The Joey Blade character’s personality and emotions are intuitively revealed—through his body language, actions, thoughts, vulnerabilities, and dialogue—allowing readers to figure him out for themselves, therefore enabling them to feel empathy for Joey and a strong sense of kinship with him. Len Joy is a gifted storyteller whose writing style is fluid with a good balance of description, action, dialogue, and exposition. The book is a well-written, well-structured, and well-paced novel, with enough cliffhanger chapter endings to keep readers captivated. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/first-fridays monthly 0.5 2023-08-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6578e24d-bfe7-4b43-aa1f-a2d6df4032d7/Cover_l.gif Book Reviews - Book Review: First Fridays: Conversations about Spirituality Later in Life - First Fridays: Conversations about Spirituality Later in Life, Dick Hattan , Xlibris, September 2022. Paperback, hardcover, and eBook, 166 pages. Reviewed by Marcie Hill. In the foreword of the book, Michael B. Mann writes, “First Fridays is the story of a journey undertaken by two older men of faith and their search for meaning in their aging, changing worlds… What they found was more meaning, more purpose, and more understanding.” Author Dick Hattan sets out on a quest to find someone to help him understand healing prayer based on an incident that occurred in the past. While attending a church event, he asks one of the lay leaders if she knows of anyone involved in healing prayer. She mentions Bill, one of the priests at the church, and introduces them. Dick and Bill’s initial meeting is a divine connection that grows into a spiritual and meaningful relationship through a series of First Friday conversations. The conversations between seventy-five-year-old Dick and ninety-three-year-old Bill, which are the focus of the book, are natural. However, the growth and depth of their relationship is supernatural. Bill challenges Dick’s belief system and allows him to grow and mature in his faith and spirituality. Bill also uses his knowledge and wisdom to prepare Dick for his calling. One has to wonder if Bill knows that preparing Dick for spiritual assignments is one of his purposes. Some chapters of the book draw readers into those First Friday meetings, making them feel as if they are invited guests. Many of the conversations begin with Bill asking Dick questions or encouraging him to share his thoughts. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/wind-of-change monthly 0.5 2023-08-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/298057ce-05b5-4a57-b785-76ed4bbbde30/51ZyHZkuLxL._SY346_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Wind of Change–An American Journey in Post-Soviet Russia - Wind of Change – An American Journey in Post-Soviet Russia, Kenneth Maher, Palmetto Publishing, 2022. 273 pages. Reviewed by T.L. Needham. The author, Kenneth Maher, in Wind of Change – An American Journey in Post-Soviet Russia… has written a compelling memoir of his early years after taking a master’s degree in Russian Area Studies. He became fluent in speaking the Russian language, which framed his first opportunity to fulfill his heart’s desire, to visit Russia. The time is post-Soviet Russia, when the “winds of change” were strong, inviting a transition toward liberal western values, such as, a free-market economy; and freedoms of speech, press, and assembly. As I read this story, I felt it was an allegory of the author’s days in Russia and the direction destiny had in store for him and the Russians, and whether the linkage would be productive and lasting. Or, would Russian history prevail, leading to inertia and remain unchanged, or even worse? Maher writes with a determined passion to reveal his zeal to guide various Russian businesses to link with American partners. He frames each story with a well-illustrated setting, given the weather extremes from Siberia to Moscow, with vivid details of the appearance, clothing, attitudes, and personality of his Russian compatriots. The author sets the stage in careful and detailed descriptions of the businesses, management, staff, products produced and attitudes that govern an approach to achieve the much-desired transition to a western style economy. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-isolate monthly 0.5 2023-08-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e2f388ef-2cb9-40f9-8add-6fcdb8aad914/31RbTIvwoqL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Isolate - The Isolate. Apollo Camembert, Black Scat Books, February 1, 2023, Paperback, 132 pages. Reviewed by Shanti Nagarkatti. In Apollo Camembert’s novel, The Isolate, a man becomes so fed up with modern life that he decides to hole himself up in stealth housing to avoid all contact with the outside world. From the outside, the dwelling on Chicago’s West Grand Avenue looks like just another industrial steel door. However, inside what used to be a warehouse, Camembert’s unnamed narrator has installed a conservatory roof with one-way tinted polycarbonate. This affords privacy but allows the apple trees and food crops he is growing to get sunlight. Drone shipments to the roof – accessed by a staircase and hidden panel – are scheduled for weekends to avoid suspicion from the nearby warehouse workers. The protagonist is motivated by not wanting anyone to know where he is and not drawing attention to himself. Alas, the outside world has different plans. One day, a drone gets tangled in the rooftop antennae. The narrator, thinking it is a routine delivery, goes to free it only to find it is a projection drone that has come to him randomly. The drone is souped up with a built-in USB port containing instructions for how to call for bundles of drones capable of being programmed with hologram messages and sent to others. Overcoming his skepticism, the narrator concludes it is worth a try. In one memorable scene, he generates holograms of himself as Oscar Wilde and General Tecumseh Sherman that he sends to those who have wronged him in the past. Spoiler alert: The drones in the narrator’s possession metaphorically come back to bite him. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/love-dance-and-egg-rolls monthly 0.5 2023-08-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/27ca6573-821f-43c2-9f48-031ae01507bd/51u0o8WV9RL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Love, Dance and Egg Rolls - Love, Dance and Egg Rolls, Jason Tanamor, Ooligan Press, 2022, Paperback, 252 pages. Reviewed by Christine Cassello. This Young Adult, coming-of-age novel is written from a male point of view. Jamie, the main character who tells the story, is a first generation Filipino-American. Jamie thinks of his life as a soap opera. He wants to be accepted as a white American teenager, but his darker skin makes him stand out. He becomes the target of bullying by the most popular white male in the school. His two best friends who live nearby and went to kindergarten with Jamie are his only friends. That is until he meets Bethany. Bethany also stands out because she dresses in black and wears black makeup in the Goth fashion. Jamie is attracted to her because she is not embarrassed or afraid to be different, rather, she takes pride in it. Jamie is afraid to show that he likes her, so she initiates their meeting. When they begin dating, his friends feel like he is ignoring them and they have a falling-out. Jamie dances a traditional Filipino folk dance at an annual folk festival that will close down after this year. The festival falls on the same day as the school's homecoming dance. He would like to take Bethany to Homecoming, but does not want to miss the festival. Bethany finds Jamie's Filipino background interesting. He begins to show more of it to her and introduces her to his family. With her encouragement, he begins to accept and find pride in his heritage. The book has anti-bullying themes and a message of “don't be afraid to be yourself.” Readers will be exposed to various Filipino customs and phrases by reading this novel. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/snakes-squirrels-bears-oh-my monthly 0.5 2023-08-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/881cab56-948d-49a0-a77b-4451e0ae8490/41c1SbHkvDL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Snakes, Squirrels & Bears, Oh My! Finding Humor Amid Life's Frustrations - Snakes, Squirrels & Bears, Oh My! Finding Humor Amid Life's Frustrations, Greg Peck, April 2023, CK Books, Paperback, 178 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. We all have moments when we feel caught in a giant spiral spinning daily events out of our control. How we react is what character is all about, and Greg Peck is quite a character! From keeping a frozen snake in his mom’s refrigerator for show-and-tell, to the squirrel in the living room, to encounters with bears on various hiking and fishing trips, Peck’s humorous essays are peeks into the foibles of contemporary life. Told in upbeat, pithy style, Peck shares stories that hit home. From confronting neighborhood kids mistreating his Little Free Library, to standing in line at the grocery store, to a colonoscopy, no topic is off limits. Sometimes curmudgeonly, sometimes poignant, the observations evoke an “oh, yeah, I remember when” feeling from readers. You never know who your real friends are until they think you’re dead, as Peck shares when an eerily close call obituary comes across the wire. There are many stories listing series of unfortunate events, stories with lessons for the unwary, and stories about the pitfalls of aging. Between the lines is Peck’s obvious talent for picking out and describing shining moments. Peck pokes fun at long-time friends and gets as good as he gives, when his grandson’s car seat buckle nearly defeats him, and his kids try to help him swap sim cards in phones. A dream of owning a fishing boat has unintended consequences. Through all the remodeling, vacations, pet tales, grocery shopping hell, and wisdom of babes, Peck’s 46 tales will resonate with each reader. Recommended for readers of short story personal humor. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/sabinas-celiac-story monthly 0.5 2023-08-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3a1427b8-3d45-49c4-a65d-ab18d5227386/media.png Book Reviews - Book Review: Sabina’s Celiac Story - Sabina’s Celiac Story, Neva Ryan, Neva Ryan Books, 2023, eBook and Print, 33 pages. Reviewed by Casie Gambrel. Sabina’s Celiac Story is an engaging true tale that offers valuable insights into the challenges and triumphs of living with celiac disease. The story follows Sabina, a funny, playful, and happy little girl who keeps getting inexplicably sick. Her symptoms remain a mystery until one day Sabina’s grandma discovers that she has celiac disease. So, both Sabina and her mom get tested, and they find out that they both have celiac disease too. Mystery solved, now what? In her second illustrated children’s book, Neva Ryan once again uses her expertise as an educator to create an informative, educational experience for young readers. The story provides clear explanations about celiac disease, from how to identify some common signs to the importance of a gluten-free diet for those living with it. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/trinity-rivers-trilogy monthly 0.5 2023-08-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/17582779-e3fc-45a7-80fc-985f59537ff2/41mM7YFZ-0L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Trinity Rivers Trilogy - Trinity Rivers Trilogy. K. Blanton Brenner, Brenner Pathways, 25 April 2023, Paperback and eBook, 500 pages. Reviewed by Paula Mikrut. Trinity Rivers Trilogy is the story of three generations of the family of Birdsong “Birdy” Olivier and Michael Quinn. Birdy is a world-famous soprano whose nickname is “The Songbird of the South.” She was shaped by poverty and prejudice as the daughter of a black woman and a white man in 1950s Louisiana, and by the violent death of her mother, who sacrificed her life to save Birdy when she was raped at the age of eleven. Confident and successful professionally, she is also withdrawn and distrustful of others. Quinn, one of her professors at Juilliard, is the love of Birdy’s life. He grew up in a Catholic family in Northern Ireland which was battered by violence and prejudice. During his time in the IRA, he caused the death of a young couple, and his feelings of guilt weigh on everything he does. Birdy and Quinn fall in love and Quinn decides to become the man Birdy thinks he is. When he returns to Ireland to apologize for his sins, he is arrested and put in prison for seven years. Not wanting to admit his crimes to Birdy, he doesn’t get word to her, and Birdy has no idea what became of him. Pregnant with twins, she grows to hate him for abandoning her. This is a family that is talented—one man refers to them as musical royalty—and privileged by the wealth that Birdy’s career provides, but their wealth doesn’t protect them from racism, homophobia, misogyny, or religious discrimination. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/shades-of-timeless-love-anthology monthly 0.5 2023-08-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/75a07908-83dd-4fb7-8a39-6a82ad94e723/timelesslove.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Shades of Timeless Love: Anthology - Shades of Timeless Love: Anthology. Write Volumes, Jhoselin (Jojo) Dominguez, RR Canyas, Karen Brailsford, G.T. Naya, Annette Cyr, and Randall Jon Van Vynckt, February 12, 2022, eBook, 200 pages. Reviewed by Katherine Tozer. Shades of Timeless Love is a collection of genre-bending romances by Write Volumes. Write Volumes is a group of writers, and this is the sixth book in their Shades of Anthology series. The six authors of this anthology include artists, scientists, and journalists who interrogate how love can be timeless in diverse, imaginative ways. What would you leave behind for love? Can it last longer than a lifetime? Could you find it outside of yours? The anthology begins with a poetic meditation on love and time, proceeds to New York City, where a lovesick protagonist fiddles intentionally with his own timeline, then introduces an unsuspecting protagonist in LA whose distant past catches up to her in more ways than one. In the next three stories, time jolts characters physically from recognizable today to a transcendental future, a pre-Columbian past, and a not-so-distant, closeted history we may wish were further behind us. The twists will keep you guessing. You can expect some happy endings, but no simple ones. Romance's question–whether they find love–is complicated by science fiction's: what is possible? In "Maths and Magicks," "ICYMI: In Case You Missed It," and "On the Brink," protagonists find their person, but not necessarily their place. And the women in "ICYMI" and "On the Brink" aren't looking for love, so finding it in an unfamiliar time adds another wrinkle to the resolution. In "Trading Places," movie star Kris Weston can't have his person and also gets lurched out of place, but he is one of the few who ends up happy. Romance seems inevitable in "Ever After," where Brice and Bria know each other across centuries. Even Donny, a rival for Bria's love, can't threaten their connection. But science fiction and fate together can't conquer the familiar, systemic forces that have also mutated across centuries in this powerful story–at least not in this incarnation. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/was-it-really-my-fault monthly 0.5 2023-06-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/44987e9f-41e7-4aa1-8396-97764063eb3c/Was+It+Really+My+Faultt.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Was It Really My Fault? - Was It Really My Fault?: A Collection of Stories by Young Authors (The Camp Ink). K.B. Jensen, Self-Published, December 9, 2022, Paperback and eBook, 140 pages. Reviewed by Barbara Belford. Was It Really My Fault? is an anthology of short stories by young writers in middle and high school who attended a virtual writing camp offered by My Word Publishing. The camp was first instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic to help kids cope when summer programs were canceled. Since then, campers have continued to attend the summer Youth Writing Camp and hone their craft via Zoom. The writing camp’s first two anthologies won awards for juvenile fiction, and this new anthology is another treasure trove of well-written stories in all genres—fantasy, horror, crime, and life-altering events. Although these writers are in the beginning stages of their writing journey, it would be a mistake to think of them as fledglings. They’ve taken to the skies and are already soaring—their stories are multi-layered and complex. While one story may snatch your breath, another will bring tears, and the next will still confound you days later. Each of these young authors brings their unique style and voice to the genre they’ve chosen, and it’s astonishing to see them tackling such heavy topics with the skill of seasoned writers. I applaud both the writers and the mentors who poured passion and long hours into creating this work of art. As with all writers, growth will continue with practice—clearer arcs, tighter exposition, more defined point of view, and consistent mechanics, but for now, these stories need to be read, enjoyed and shared. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-islander monthly 0.5 2023-06-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a9b94b13-246e-4493-b2a4-790c1f4d42b4/theislander.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Islander - The Islander. David W. Berner, Outpost19 Books/The Shortish Project, San Francisco, CA, February 26, 2023, Paperback and eBook, 174 pages. Reviewed by Katherine Tozer. Seamus Damp lives in the only permanent structure on an island called The Rock off the coast of Dingle in Ireland, where he has watched the sun rise and set between cups of tea and books of poetry for the many years since leaving his wife and his son, Aiden. The Rock is only accessible from Dingle by ferry. Its only visitors are Michael, the ferryman, and the hikers and backpackers he transports. Seamus isn't interested in visitors. He calls himself a hermit thrush, "the bird that hides away in the forest understory because that's where it wants to be, that's where it sings its pensive song." The people of Dingle find him ornery, but he's so isolated that they entertain his eccentricities with good humor. On a rare trip to town, Aiden coaxes his father into visiting his twin granddaughters for their birthday. Seamus grabs a handful of flowers from the ground as a gift for the girls, whose age he can't recall even after Aiden makes a point to tell him. Aiden worries about his elderly, diabetic father living so remotely. He convinced Seamus to get a cell phone but can't force him to use it. He argues for Seamus to leave the island but can't make him pack. A violent early morning storm drives Seamus and an ambitious young backpacker together. She's a bit of a hermit thrush too. The beauty and distance of The Rock appeal to both characters, and the trajectory of their stories changes after they meet. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/a-long-way-from-clare monthly 0.5 2023-06-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/67823cc3-f60b-4b6a-a91a-afd20a46edc5/alongwayfromclare.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Long Way from Clare - A Long Way from Clare. Robert Smith, Meryton Press, January 18, 2023, Paperback and eBook, 272 pages. Reviewed by Florence Osmund. It is the late 1800s, and young Conor Dolan emigrates from Ireland to the U.S. with his older brother Keith. Although they had been very close to one another in their childhood, their lives became separate as adults. Conor earns a college degree and opens a law practice in Springfield, Illinois. Keith becomes a Chicago police officer. Years later, when Conor travels to Chicago to look for his brother, he learns he is dead. A Long Way from Clare takes readers on Conor’s journey to solve the mystery of his brother’s death, an investigation that results in his meeting a cast of intriguing characters as the story unfolds—the suspiciously-friendly soldier he meets on the train, an unconventional priest, the dubious detective and police chief suspected of being involved in the Clan na Gael, some poor souls who desperately need his help, and the attractive Pinkerton agent with whom Conor partners on his brother’s case. A well-written and well-researched novel, A Long Way from Clare weaves a captivating historical mystery that provides a bewitching window into early 1900s Chicago demographics, customs, culture, politics, and corruption. Smith’s writing style includes a good balance of description, dialogue, action, and backstory. The book is well-structured with good chapter beginnings and endings and consistent pacing. While the narrative contains complex issues, several subplots, and many twists and turns, it is easy to follow and understand. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/meaningful-conflicts monthly 0.5 2023-05-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e794e1b1-3a0d-41f0-b88c-ef5fb47baac5/meaningfulconflicts.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Meaningful Conflicts: The Art of Friction - Meaningful Conflicts: The Art of Friction. Members of the Off Campus Writers’ Workshop, edited by Renee James & Peter Hoppock, Windy City Press, April 3, 2023, Paperback, 400 pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. Established more than 75 years ago, the Off Campus Writers’ Workshop has a rich history of serving as a community for writers of all sorts based in the Chicago-land area. Following in the footsteps of their first collection, 2021’s Turning Points, 2023’s latest developmental anthology, Meaningful Conflicts: The Art of Friction, embodies the ethos of a writer’s collective. Comprised of the work of over 60 writers (49 authors and 15 poets), as well as a slew of editors and group leaders at the helm, Meaningful Conflicts strives to accomplish the mighty task of bringing together a variety of perspectives, styles, and mediums into a cohesive collection. The inherent contrast between the different pieces serves to highlight the very theme of the collection: to explore the potential that conflict presents; potential for healing, illumination, and collaboration. One of the longest, continuously running writers’ workshops in the country, the OCWW’s devotion to supporting writers and providing opportunities for the growth and development of their craft is readily apparent. The foreword describes the collection as a “Developmental Anthology,” and by contextualizing the process through which Meaningful Conflicts was created it allows the reader to fully embrace and understand the pieces that follow. The foreword allows readers to understand a specific feeling that works its way through the collection: a sense of striving. There is a striving to understand, to reckon and come to terms with the unique human experience of our limitations and the inescapable realities of conflict. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-adventures-of-lefty-and-righty monthly 0.5 2023-05-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/774468aa-6158-4858-ba48-1d4281c56cb9/leftyandrighty.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Adventures of Lefty and Righty: The Windy City - The Adventures of Lefty and Righty: The Windy City. Lori Orlinsky, Mascot Kids, March 7, 2023, Hardback and eBook, 38 pages. Reviewed by Matthew Schnur. This quick-paced, fun story by Lori Orlinsky is good for kids ages 2-8. Whether they are being read to or reading it themselves, the story is engaging throughout. When Mom leaves the room, what are adventurous socks Lefty and Righty to do? Bust their way out of the drier and have a day out on the town! After finding tickets to the Crosstown Classic, Lefty and Righty quickly find themselves out of the house and on their way to the Blue Line El station at Jefferson Park. Their destination? A White Sox baseball game against their crosstown rivals, the Chicago Cubs. Their first stop had to be for hot dogs! A sock would have certainly worked up an appetite while escaping the house. Along the way, these two adventure seekers manage to work in stops at some of my family’s favorite places, Soldier Field, The Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Navy Pier, the Willis Tower, the Bean sculpture in Millennium Park, and of course their ultimate destination: Guaranteed Rate Field. Lefty and Righty are all action which keeps the story lively and my young reader guessing where they were off to next. Upon returning home from their adventure, mustard stained, the illustration of mom’s confusion of how they may have gotten that way elicited a laugh. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/particles-in-the-air monthly 0.5 2023-05-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8e5af680-6794-4c00-a5cd-76a246734b17/particles.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Particles in the Air - Particles in the Air. Jenna Podjasek, Bancroft Press, January 24, 2023, Hardcover, eBook and Audiobook, 385 pages. Reviewed by Robert Sancrainte. Dr. Mallory Hayes is an infectious disease expert at the CDC. But no amount of experience with deadly microbes could have prepared her for a pathogen spreading in an already vulnerable population. This medical thriller immediately thrusts the reader into the action, with a brief hook about a couple vacationing on a beach in San Diego. Suddenly, a tsunami hits, but it's a cliffhanger: the reader is immediately thrust backward in the story's timeline a little over a month, splitting chapters between a bioengineer in Sweden and Dr. Hayes working in her lab in Atlanta. There is a slow build as the reader wonders how these two doctors' lives will intersect. The Swedish scientist—Dr. Erik Lindgren—slowly unravels after his spousal abuse becomes public knowledge. Dr. Lindgren makes the surprising jump from domestic abuse to terrorism, but the plot moves along at a good clip, and the author, Dr. Jenna Podjasek, makes it clear that Lindgren's choices have their own inertia after he impulsively makes contact with an ISIS cell operating in Malmö. After Lindgren is swiftly recruited by ISIS, there is some jarring incongruity in the First Act of the book between the fast-paced fever dream of Lindgren's crimes and the quotidian life and work of Dr. Mallory Hayes, the heroine of the novel. This disparity is alleviated by the surprise death of Lindgren at the end of the novel's First Act. The antagonist who defines the first third of the book—and is the subject of the bulk of it—is removed in a logical way, though without the foreshadowing that might have provided a more satisfying payoff for his dispatcher. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tiny-tin-house monthly 0.5 2023-05-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7cdb2427-b246-472f-927f-6f2639849d6b/tinytinhouse.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Tiny Tin House - Tiny Tin House. L. Maristatter, NiffyCat Press, August 24, 2022, Hardback, Paperback, and eBook, 342 pages. Reviewed by Gail Galvan. As I sit reading this profoundly disturbing book (on International Women’s Day), I’m thinking, what is wrong with this fictitious story, and what is wrong with the real world? A whole lot, I concluded. With wayward efforts to cultivate a perfected “Christian” morally correct society—all that happens is evil, unfair chaos for the female victims of such unjust laws. Decent citizens could only hope that the story was truly imaginary. Unfortunately, much of the content and horrors acted out toward women are not. Remarkably, this is the author’s first novel, and she has weaved a provocative, chilling story about a young woman just trying to live her life. That, sadly, 18-year-old Meryn cannot do. She is cursed to live in a society where men rule. It’s as if a man can do no wrong and a woman can do no right. And women, by the way, have very few rights. What they must do is marry. That’s the law in the Christian United States of America! Live at home until married. Her stepfather, Ray, has picked out her husband, Steffan. But he is not kind; he is controlling and even violent toward Meryn at times. Though Meryn makes it clear that she will not marry him, he won’t give in. He stalks her, calling her a “slut” and “whore” and demanding her for his bride. Even the stepfather and the Minister of the church, as he is called, gets involved to kidnap Meryn, poison her, and condition her so that she is physically sick every time she thinks rebelliously. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/ella-learns-to-dance monthly 0.5 2023-05-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f2f072f8-3ea1-4990-bcb8-50c5cf74161a/ellalearnstodance.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Ella Learns to Dance - Ella Learns to Dance. Stenetta Anthony, Covenant Books, 22 December 2022, Paperback and eBook, 28 pages. Reviewed by Susan Gaspar. Children’s books usually focus on a charming central character, an engaging adventure, or beautiful illustrations. But good children’s books offer something more: an insight, a solution, or a valuable lesson. And the best children’s books provide all those things without the reader being aware of them. I have found that the most memorable and affecting children’s books are no different from adult literature in that they are rich with human experience and feel like they are being told for the first time. Ella Learns to Dance is a short, sweet story with a clear teaching moment. Which makes sense, as author Stenetta Anthony has a background as an educator. But the tale doesn’t feel preachy or heavy-handed. Instead, it’s told with gentle words and soft-focus illustrations that have a nostalgic, heartfelt appeal. Ella is an elephant who loves to dance, and she longs to take ballet classes. Discouraged and mocked by her elephant friends for wanting to do something not only out of the ordinary but downright unheard of, it’s a take on the age-old tale of personal desire, discouragement, and perseverance on the road to success. Ella’s desire to dance could have been exemplified by a human as the central character, but the sheer impossibility of an elephant on pointe offers an extremist take on the “that will never happen” element here. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/you-and-me monthly 0.5 2023-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1fc37fe0-74ce-4560-87c0-512eca5fbcba/youandme.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: You and Me - You and Me. Laura Beriau, Rawr Books LLC, 25 August 2022, Hardback, Paperback, and eBook, 41 pages. Reviewed by Opal Freeman. You and Me is a moving and heartfelt children’s picture book. Laura Beriau, the author, inspires happiness and growth in the relationship between a parent and a child in this easy-to-read book that provides the reader with illustrative pictures to help tell the story. This book provides an excellent way for readers to understand just what it takes to love and raise a child. The flow of the illustrations in the book provides a snapshot of the author’s experience as she engages in daily routines as a parent. She emphasizes communication between the parent and the child through smiling, talking, embracing, teaching and learning, and expressing feelings. Many happy thoughts come to mind while watching several stages of a child’s growth. Caring for and raising a child is a big responsibility. Treasuring the moments shared every day is important for a parent, and creating a secure feeling of happiness, comfort, safety, and a family bond is vital to the child. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/make-me-the-boss monthly 0.5 2023-04-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c009bbb9-8cb3-4ceb-bedb-5acd037f2d1f/makemetheboss.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Make Me the Boss: Surviving as a Millennial Manager in the Corporate World - Make Me the Boss: Surviving as a Millennial Manager in the Corporate World. Emily Tsitrian, Mar Chiquita Publishing, 13 January 2022, Paperback and eBook, 254 pages. Reviewed by Caroline L. Huftalen. Emily Tsitrian took what she learned while climbing the corporate ladder and put it all in a book to assist other early career employees learn from her mistakes, acquire the same hard-earned knowledge in just under 250 pages, and reach their goals. Make Me the Boss: Surviving as a Millennial Manager in the Corporate World is less focused on how to do the climbing. Tsitrian’s book is centered on how to be a people manager. Her debut book comes after sharing what she knows while coaching teams and up-and-coming managers, as well as her podcast, manager.flow, where she talks to other leaders about thinking outside the box. Tsitrian starts her book with the emotional prep needed to face a new promotion head-on and prepared. Throughout the chapters, she transitions from helpful steps after the moment an employee is promoted or accepts a new role in management, the small day-to-day needs, to big-picture ideologies. She lays out what the next few weeks, months, and years’ priorities are for the people being managed as well as for the career of the manager. Building a team, handling conflict, setting boundaries, and how to effectively communicate with your team are just the tip of the iceberg in topics that Tsitrian explores for current-day best practices and becoming the boss you always wanted. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/back-in-the-ddr-shxf4 monthly 0.5 2023-04-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e895cdce-c643-43bc-9532-cc15c5d9afcf/guardiansofthekeys.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Guardians of the Keys - Guardians of the Keys. Megan Wheless, Warren Publishing, 21 June 2022, Hardback, Paperback, and eBook, 304 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. The battle between rationality and an acceptance of magic takes center stage in this novel about a woman whose personal losses have caused her to shut off her imaginative side. Left orphaned at age five when her parents were killed in an automobile accident, Elaine is raised by two eccentric aunts, Daphne and Mildred Cooley, who own an antique store. But at thirty-five, Elaine suddenly loses her aunts in an accident. As their heir, she is left to clean up the messes in their disorganized antique shop, even as she feels crushed by sorrow. Besides the fact of their loss, their attorney informs Elaine that the store has been running a deficit and may have to be sold to repay debts. Elaine is overwhelmed by guilt that she has not paid more attention to their finances. But first things first: she will have to sort through all their things to determine what can be sold or salvaged and what should be discarded. In the course of her sorting and disposing of junk, she comes across a strange green key—one that begins to glow as she picks it up and even burns her hand. This begins a long journey of discovery, as Elaine finds out her aunts were members of the Apothecary Guild, a centuries-old organization with only six members who hold the secret to various medicinal cures. Each guild member has a special key that allows them to space travel to see each other. A person who accumulated all six keys would amass a great deal of power. Centuries before, a man named Lazlo was cured of his tuberculosis by a guild member and became immortal by taking her medicines. He is now desperate to accumulate all the keys for himself for his own profit. It is when Elaine discovers that the time-traveling Lazlo murdered her beloved aunts that her disbelief begins to dissolve, and she joins forces with her best friend, Grant, and friends of her aunts, Adele and Teddy, to find and protect the keys. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/dead-in-the-alley monthly 0.5 2023-04-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ec1290d1-87a1-4b5a-a5e7-a277219de3b4/deadinthealley.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Dead in the Alley - Dead in the Alley. Sharon Michalove, Coffee and Eclairs Books, 10 August 2022, Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook, 362 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. Dead in the Alley is a murder mystery novel with a fair share of family drama mixed in. It follows Bay, the wife of the murder victim, and Greg, the police officer partly in charge of solving the crime. The writing switches back and forth between Bay’s and Greg’s perspectives. The two leads have a long history together, having been in love as teenagers and now reuniting as a result of this murder. Bay’s family also plays a large part in the story, with a side plot/mystery uncovering some family secrets that explain why Bay has always felt like an outsider from her parents and siblings. The side plots of Bay and Greg’s rekindled romance, Bay’s family’s mysteries, and even Greg wanting to leave the police force to set up his own bike store round out the characters but do slow down the plot of the main murder mystery. What makes it work is the emotional turmoil Bay goes through and the physical effects the stress has on her. The author never lets the readers forget that Bay is going through the worst events of her life, which is appropriate. You feel the pain that Bay feels, as she can’t eat, can’t sleep, and feels unraveled. It does strain credulity that through all of that, Bay can manage to start a relationship with Greg, but their deep history helps the reader buy into that possibility. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/an-alchemy-of-flesh-and-other-plays monthly 0.5 2023-04-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/bb43e7d4-b5ae-4aed-a885-3a34f056cbf6/analchemy.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: An Alchemy of Flesh and Other Plays - An Alchemy of Flesh and Other Plays. David Hauptschein, Self-Published, 1 May 2022, Paperback, 383 pages. Reviewed by Catherine Marcroft. I’m a longtime admirer of Chicago theatre, but I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing any of the plays in this collection produced. I’m on the lookout now and won’t let them get by me again. I’d love to see each and every one of these plays on stage. David Hauptschein delivers five action-packed plays, and they all seem entirely homegrown Chicago—gritty, unafraid, dangerous, a little goofy and a little sad. Each is a thoroughly original page-turner that goes above and beyond my requirements for an evening in the theatre — tell me a story, give me people to care about, something to think about and a plot to piece together! Hauptschein’s gifts are many. He is able to draw characters of depth and drop us right in the middle of their lives in progress, fully on their way somewhere or other, no matter how well thought out, and give full credit to the life each has had up to the point where we meet them. We have every incentive to gather the clues and catch up. I do believe these plays will stand the test of time. Well done. The plays included in this book are: An Alchemy of Flesh The Persecution of Arnold Petch The Gurney The Ballad of Johnny 5 Star (co-written with David Vlcek) Breakdown and Out https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-mad-mad-murders-of-marigold-way monthly 0.5 2023-04-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d685fa44-081d-4dac-b85f-81eca12e6e55/themadmad.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way - The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way: A Novel. Raymond Benson, Beaufort Books, 4 October 2022, Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook, 352 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. In The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way, the stuff you want in a good mystery emerges right away. It starts in an idyllic suburban Chicago setting with the strange disappearances of a man and woman who live across the street from one another, both in troubled marriages. You'll meet a pyro-troubled teen, his conscience-stricken buddy and his buddy's quirky, bullied friend, all mixed with the stress of a shadowy criminal element. Amidst all that, everyone is navigating their messy lives in the midst of COVID isolation. Remember how scary it was in those early days? It's easy to forget. Finally, as a bonus for those of us who grew up in the suburbs in Chicago or elsewhere, you probably will relate to how well the tale does of capturing life in those superficially sterile worlds. Veteran author Raymond Benson knits all these threads together. The result is a compelling, interesting, and unusual journey that will keep you turning pages. (More on what I mean by unusual will follow soon, and you'll learn why this offhand comment is very much in the spirit of the book.) The focal point of the story is Scott Hatcher. He's a self-absorbed author who hasn't written a successful book for some time, and his wife, Marie, has become the primary wage earner. Their marriage is failing for several reasons and they're living in what amounts to a passive-aggressive detente as the COVID pandemic starts raging. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-friendship-breakup monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/cef02855-7c51-4d99-be26-6110682df661/thefriendshipbreakup.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Friendship Breakup - The Friendship Breakup. Annie Cathryn, Alcove Press, 7 February 2023, Paperback, Audiobook, and eBook, 301 pages. Reviewed by Paula Mikrut. If there’s an upside to being an adult, it’s leaving high school nonsense behind—the competition for status, with rules no one told you about until you broke them, the kids who got to dictate who was part of the “in” crowd. The problem is, the mean kids are still out there, and sometimes they show up just as you’ve let your guard down. Fallon is three months shy of forty and in the process of starting a chocolate business, which is her way of bringing joy into the world. She has always felt like an outsider, but she is lucky at this point in her life to have a solid set of friendships she can count on. Or so she thinks. But for the past few weeks, Beatrice hasn’t returned her texts or calls. And the rest of their circle of friends follow Beatrice’s lead, leaving Fallon alone and wondering what she did wrong. At first, she tries to convince herself that this is a misunderstanding—maybe her phone is silent because her daughter, Maya, accidentally changed her settings. But when all her efforts to communicate fail, she acknowledges the truth. She’s been ghosted by her best friend and shunned by the rest of her crowd. The situation gets even worse when Beatrice’s daughter has a sleepover and doesn’t invite Maya. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/memories-of-the-past monthly 0.5 2023-04-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/bc150649-ecf5-4e36-8200-e574fcdba803/memoriesofthepast.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Memories Of The Past - Memories Of The Past. Robert Asbille, Amazon Kindle, 28 January 2023, Paperback and eBook, 390 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. In his book Memories Of The Past, Robert Asbille posits an interesting idea: the reason so many of the world's major religions share stories about spiritual leaders being able to perform miracles is because they really could. That idea becomes the core of his novel and the discovery that such things are possible drives the story. This story takes place in the not-so-distant future, in a world shaped by forces very much like those driving our world today. In this environment, two competing power blocks become aware that a man found the means to tap into nearly supernatural powers. Of more interest to them, he also found out how to teach these abilities to others, and all of this happened in 1942, during the Second World War. Unfortunately, all that survived that period are only an overview of what was accomplished, not how the powers were tapped, nor how others could learn them. So to discover the secret to these abilities, both political blocks use time travel to send teams back to when the ability to learn these powers was discovered, hoping to obtain detailed knowledge of the process while denying that ability to the other group. The protagonists, a team of scientists and government officials from the power block centered around the United States, represent different aspects of human thought regarding the supernatural. Some are open to the idea, while others are skeptical of or even openly hostile to the idea that humans can exceed what is considered natural. The antagonists come from the power block centered around Russia and China, and for them, there is only one goal: gain knowledge, and deny the other side that knowledge, no matter what. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/back-in-the-ddr monthly 0.5 2023-04-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4b5bbf05-a95f-4eef-a54c-a82e65851c4b/BackInTheDDR_Cover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Back in the D.D.R. - Back in the D.D.R. Rick Kaempfer, Eckhartz Press, 23 November 2022, Paperback, ~300 pages. Reviewed by Charles Kuner. For those reminiscing on or wishing they could have visited Cold War Europe, this reviewer has the next best alternative for you, in the form of Rick Kaempfer’s fascinating new novel Back in the D.D.R. In his highly polished and breezy writing style, Kaempfer takes the reader on a literary adventure of a lifetime, back to Checkpoint Charlie and the whispers of espionage. The story begins in 1976 in Chicago during America’s Bicentennial Celebration. At the surface this is a tale of a family vacation from their home in Chicago to their familial homeland of Germany. This journey combines all the emotions of the main characters and contains intrigue, suspense, fears, tears, and much more in between. It should be stated that the story is based upon the extraordinary experiences of the author. Thirteen-year-old Rudi, the protagonist and narrator of the story, has struggled to assimilate to life as a teen in the United States, and unfortunately for Rudi, just as he is beginning to feel at home in this new life, his mother and father decide to move again to West Germany. To remain in touch with his new American identity, Rudi brings his baseball cards, his love for American television shows like The Untouchables and Welcome Back, Kotter, and a sadness at missing the Bicentennial Celebration that upcoming Fourth of July. Despite his partial Americanization, Rudi finds it difficult to navigate his way through American military bases and the tangle of German and Austrian family members, many of whom are strangers he is meeting for the first time. Adding to this confusion is the Cold War tension and violence that Rudi does not fully comprehend. Combined, all these new experiences leave young Rudi feeling overwhelmed and in “a double fish out of water tale.” Soon Rudi’s adventure to Europe becomes even more unusual as he and his family cross the Iron Curtain into East Germany, where he begins to understand the real reasoning behind his family vacation. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/above-quota-performance monthly 0.5 2023-03-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/169b5ed1-9f3e-4823-a7dc-8a18469ffe46/abovequota.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Above Quota Performance: Tips and Techniques to Becoming a Master Sales Pro - Above Quota Performance: Tips and Techniques to Becoming a Master Sales Pro. Steve Weinberg, Armin Lear Press, Paperback and eBook, 346 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. Business books—and the models they’re based on—are often catchy and clever but reductive. They are strong on concept but weak on practical advice. Steve Weinberg’s Above Quota Performance avoids these flaws. Weinberg, a senior sales professional with decades of experience, provides digestible advice for the intensely competitive, high-technology business world. Although the primary focus of the book is on selling to large corporations, most of the wisdom is also applicable to smaller companies, public institutions, and non-profits. Although the book is comprehensive and analyzes traditional sales strategies, Weinberg states that his intention was not to create a sales textbook. “This book will teach you to generate and qualify leads, identify buyer roles and why they buy, understand the buying process, utilize value propositions, use LinkedIn for business development, master your sales presentation, and close enterprise deals.” Yet he also says that “the book is not intended to be a sales primer on basic sales skills…it is for sales pros who are either struggling to achieve their sales goals, or who are meeting them but still wish to improve their performance.” Weinberg’s book is thorough. Divided into 24 chapters, it tackles topics from “Why Sales Trainers are Often Wrong” to “The Mathematics of the Sales Funnel.” In every chapter, Weinberg has identified useful “Takeaways” such as “your presentation should excite or disturb” and “never pitch to a prospect in your first meeting.” The book also includes worksheets, such as “Buyer’s Personas,” used to summarize relevant details about a prospect, as well as checklists for sales discovery and lead qualification. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-miracle-at-assisi-hill monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b23dbe04-e5a2-4f3e-adaf-c1528e90e45c/themiracle.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Miracle at Assisi Hill - The Miracle at Assisi Hill. Pat Camalliere, Campat Publications, 2 November 2022, Paperback, Hardback and eBook, 347 pages. Reviewed by Robert H. King, Jr. The Miracle at Assisi Hill is a novel that will appeal to lovers of several genres. It is first and foremost a historical fiction novel inspired by the life of a real woman, Venerable Mother Mary Theresa Dudzik, who immigrated from Poland to Chicago in the late 1800s and is currently awaiting the final steps needed for canonization as a saint in the Catholic Church. But it is also a mystery, a devotional, and a love story all in one. The fictionalized story begins with Cora Tozzi, an amateur historian. Having recently survived oral cancer and doubting her Catholic faith, Cora takes on a new task. She agrees to research and co-write the history of a local convent and the order of nuns who founded it in the early nineteenth century. To immerse herself in her work while her husband Cisco is off playing golf in Arizona, she temporarily moves into the convent, and then is stuck there when COVID-19 hits. Then further calamity hits when Cisco suffers a stroke and is hospitalized due to COVID, Cisco cannot leave Phoenix, nor can Cora go to be by his side. Frustrated and worried, Cora presses on with her research, which leads her to the story of the nun who founded the American branch of the order, Mother Mary Josepha (modeled on Venerable Mother Mary Theresa), who is now far along in the canonization process toward becoming a saint. Cora also befriends a younger, harmonica-playing nun who is experiencing encounters with a spiritual being who may be Mary, the Mother of Christ, or someone else. But whoever this spiritual being is, she tells the younger nun that Cora’s help is needed to do the research necessary to help support the canonization process for another nun who was like a sister to Mother Mary Josepha and died in Texas in the late eighteen hundreds. Hoping to strike a deal with the apparition, Cora prays that by helping in this endeavor, Cisco will be cured, and she sets off to discover long-hidden facts about the deceased nun. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-reading monthly 0.5 2023-03-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/cc406a96-e198-4d57-ae4d-6eea37209580/thereading.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Reading - The Reading. Barbara Monier, Amika Press, 27 September 2022, Paperback, Hardback, Audiobook and eBook, 273 pages. Reviewed by Paula Mikrut. Does our parents’ choice of name influence who we are to become? This question, posed by the protagonist in The Reading, is a natural one for her to ask. She was named after the titular character in JD Salinger’s famous story, “For Esme—with Love and Squalor,” a character her own family described as a “terribly cold person” with “no sense of humor.” But the girl in the story didn’t accept these dour descriptions. She trained herself to be more compassionate and later reached out a hand to the narrator, a soldier, pulling him back from the edge when he was suffering from PTSD. The similarity between the two Esmes becomes obvious in the course of this book and, just like our protagonist, we want to know the answer to the story’s question. Our Esme is a 64-year-old writer who longs for a real connection with another person but doesn’t know how to find it. As a child, she had a close relationship with her father, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances when she was five. She was raised by her mother, and the hallmark of their relationship was that they didn’t talk about anything important. As a young adult, she had an intense relationship with a poet, but he died in a car accident more than thirty years ago, and she has lived alone since then. Now she is adrift. Her writing is blocked, she questions her identity as a writer and is conflicted about moving in with a man who has declared there will be no “navel gazing” in their relationship. Then an old college friend’s appearance at a reading sends her back in time, evoking memories of a year she thinks of as the worst of her life and causing her to examine her past to try to find a way forward. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/duende monthly 0.5 2023-03-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9edf8688-b01d-43f5-afc2-fb9e062b4c81/duende.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Duende - Duende. Alex Poppe, Regal House Publishing, 14 June 2022, Paperback and eBook, 127 pages. Reviewed by Matthew Schnur. Alex Poppe’s charming, taught, coming-of-age novella, Duende, details teenager Lava’s year abroad in Spain after being rejected by the only mother (Lila) she’s known in favor of her incarcerated, drug-addicted father, Jesse. Lava’s in search of self, of love, of family, of passion. She finds them, one by one, after arriving in Spain and coming to live with Lola. Lola is her mother’s cousin, whom she’s only known through photos in her family’s home. It is Lola who gives her flamenco and the freedom to learn its strictures, to find duende alive within herself. I’d been introduced to the concept of duende by a childhood friend after his family’s trip to Spain. While his father described it to me as a “joy to be alive,” Alex Poppe defines it more specifically here as “the inner force or soul that inspires flamenco.” It certainly is Lava’s inner force that drives her forward. The pace of this gorgeously written novella is perfect. It pulls the reader along with a terse lyricism. I found myself quickly in Lava’s corner as she is witness cum participant in her mother’s enablement of her addict father’s behavior, moving to Spain, meeting Daniel, a local boy who works in a boguedita, stumbling a bit through her first sexual experience with Daniel, navigating her way through Sevilla streets hearing the rhythm of flamenco, navigating school friendships and gossip, and discovering her new relationship with Lola. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-vampires-war monthly 0.5 2023-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2ce93292-c40d-40d4-a010-562aa68c95b7/thevampireswar.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Vampire’s War (The Realm of the Vampire Council Book 5) - The Vampire’s War (The Realm of the Vampire Council Book 5). Damian Serbu, NineStar Press, 27 December 2022, Paperback and eBook, 341 pages. Reviewed by Shanti Nagarkatti. This fifth and latest volume in the Realm of the Vampire Council series follows Jaret Bachmann, a young vampire alone in the world. After losing his entire family because of an angry ghost, Jaret struggles to find his true self and decide how he wants to spend the rest of his eternal life. The book opens with war brewing among vampires and the Vampire Council facing extinction at the hands of a rogue vampire. Jaret, both vampire and witch, thinks the Council’s elders move too slowly. He has powers to help them defeat the enemy but grows frustrated the longer Council members keep him at arm’s length about their plans. The narrative is told from Jaret’s point of view, as he runs up against the Council’s rules and faces the allure of Charon, a hot, renegade vampire, not sure if he is friend or foe. Alongside Jaret’s preparations for the cliff-hanging final battle is his soul-searching personal journey. Having been through turmoil and tragedy in his life, Jaret is a complex, sympathetic character. I found myself rooting for him and his vampire dog, Darth, who accompanies Jaret on his adventures. The author, Damian Serbu, shines at shaping relationships that are dimensional and real, helping to advance the reader’s understanding of the characters’ internal motivations. Styx, the villain, is pure evil and a perfect foil for Jaret. The flirtatious exchanges between Jaret and Charon can best be described as “it’s complicated,” while the bond between Jaret and his lover Anthony, the most powerful and oldest vampire in the world, is deep and committed. I would have liked to have seen more nuanced depictions of some supporting characters, especially Council members, as it was challenging at times to keep track of them. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/only-prince-charming-gets-to-break-the-rules-gender-rule-violation-in-fairy-tales-life-by-joann-fastoff monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/36b2a583-0ee2-4d82-b5ff-9dfbad1037a7/princecharming.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Only Prince Charming Gets to Break the Rules: Gender & Rule Violation in Fairy Tales & Life - Only Prince Charming Gets to Break the Rules: Gender & Rule Violation in Fairy Tales & Life. Anne E. Beall, Self-Published, 1 October 2022, Hardback, Paperback, and eBook, 152 pages. Reviewed by Gabrielle Robinson. The title of Anne Beall’s book itself deserves five stars and delivers on its promise. Her book delights the reader with details of fairy tales from around the world and inspires reflection on parallels to our situation today since we are still living in a largely patriarchal society. Beall’s main focus is on rule-breaking. Her statistical investigation shows that in fairytales, male characters break the rules twice as frequently (67%) as female characters (33%), and yet males get punished only half as severely as females; in fact, they often get rewarded for their rule-breaking with wealth, status, and a beautiful woman. Females, by contrast, are disliked and scorned for their rule-breaking as well as harshly punished. The message implicit in fairy tales is clear: rule-breaking is okay, even advantageous, for male characters, but for female characters, it has to be rigorously controlled and punished. Looking at how contemporary society deals with rule-breaking, Beall finds similar results. Gender stereotypes prevail today as well as in the fairy tales of long ago. They can be summed up by the popular saying, “boys will be boys.” From early on in their lives, a boy’s rule-breaking behavior is tolerated, even seen as a positive, whereas a girl is punished for being unruly and not nice. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/grace-summit monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0877f350-9378-46cc-9a71-e7fbff686370/gracesummit.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Grace Summit - Grace Summit. Denise Roma, Windy City Publishers, 12 September 2022, Paperback and eBook, 258 pages. Reviewed by Christine Cacciatore. Full disclosure: This is not a book I would normally pick up and read, simply because I would have thought reading about three women at a bible college would be uninteresting. How wrong I was and how happy I am that I had the chance to read it. Grace Summit is a book that reminds me of the writing of Alice Hoffman. The author doesn’t spend time with flowery descriptions but instead writes sparingly, giving the reader the duty of using their imagination to envision scenes. It works very well. The book is centered around three main characters: Ann, Amelia, and Jackie. All three have rich backstories that you learn about a little at a time, doled out like little treats that help you understand why they are the way they are. The writing has an old-fashioned, rather dreamy structure. This book is told over many years, past and present, jumping around a bit. This can get confusing, but I could center myself quickly to see who was “narrating.” One thing I loved about this book is that it mentions the type of music the characters are listening to, and that really helps center you right in the middle of the action. Another thing I really enjoyed was the fact that there was romance in the story, but it is definitely not a cut-and-dry normal romance. Roma makes her characters struggle, ache, experience loneliness, and go through trial by fire before she lets them have any type of happily ever after. I was surprised at how much I cared whether certain characters lived or died or had any type of happiness or closure at all. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/victory-on-ice monthly 0.5 2023-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8396599f-7858-45b2-b87a-cb3deb2cc1bc/victoryonice.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Victory on Ice: The Chicago Blackhawks' First Stanley Cups - Victory on Ice: The Chicago Blackhawks' First Stanley Cups. Paul Greenland, North Hill Books, November 4, 2022, Paperback, 262 pages. Reviewed by Brian R. Johnston. Many Chicago Blackhawks fans will easily remember the team's three Stanley Cup Championships in 2010, 2013, and 2015. Some who are old enough may even remember the 1961 championship. However, there aren't many people around anymore to remember the 1934 and 1938 championships. Enter Paul Greenland, who has written a great new book about those two seasons with Victory on Ice: The Chicago Blackhawks' First Stanley Cups. This book chronicles the 1933-1934 and 1937-1938 seasons, but it's much more than just a bunch of facts or a description of what happened during those years. The author goes into great detail, describing what happened in games and why the games that he chronicled were important. With all the great descriptions of the action on the ice, I felt like I was there watching the games, while the pictures throughout the book also add faces and visual descriptions to the action. I really enjoyed looking at the pictures, which also helped me to understand how much different hockey was back then. There are also detailed descriptions and interesting facts about many of the players who were on one or both of those championship teams. The author brings them to life, describing not just their hockey accomplishments but also what each person was like both as a hockey player and as a person. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/family-gap-year monthly 0.5 2023-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/02c32e43-c1ce-4a84-9b5c-af8392a6c997/familygapyear.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Family Gap Year: How We Moved to Brazil, Dropped Our Overscheduled Lives and Created a Sustainable, Happy Future for our Family - Family Gap Year: How We Moved to Brazil, Dropped Our Overscheduled Lives and Created a Sustainable, Happy Future for our Family. Sheila Maloney, Difference Press, 11 November 2021, Paperback and eBook, 176 pages. Reviewed by Casie Gambrel. Sheila Maloney’s Family Gap Year is a touching story of self-reflection on how her family broke free from their daily grind and societal expectations to follow their dreams. The author is the daughter of a former American Catholic priest from Chicago and a young Brazilian widow who met when her father was sent to a small church in Volta Redonda, Brazil, her mother’s hometown. The family moved back to Chicago when Maloney turned two in search of better opportunities. Maloney achieved everything she grew up believing would bring her happiness and fulfillment: a stable career, a loving husband, children, and a nice house. Yet, with each achievement, she felt more disconnected, unfulfilled, and increasingly unhappy with her overscheduled life. She was exhausted and felt disillusioned with middle age and the state of affairs in the U.S. There had to be more to life than feeling stuck. Her family needed an overhaul. She yearned for change and realized through deep introspection that it couldn’t be achieved by modifying her current lifestyle. Previous band-aid solutions such as weight loss and exercise were no longer working as she barely had time for the essential tasks of working and running a household. The life she’d created was not serving her daily needs. There had to be a better way. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-new-empirethe-avaricious-a-howard-watson-intrigue-9w74n monthly 0.5 2023-02-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8500d773-789b-4170-8555-88a9a47a7529/thenewempire.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The New Empire - The New Empire. Alison McBain, Woodhall Press, 4 October 2022, Paperback and eBook, 340 pages. Reviewed by marssie Mencotti. China, during dynastic turmoil, has overloaded another shipload of half-starved people from Beijing to the existing Confederacy of native and Chinese people living on the Western coast of the North American continent. The New Empire takes place in 1751 when no one knew who exactly “owned or controlled” the territory now called North America, but the English, Dutch, Spanish, and French have war parties chipping away at the native cultures and existing societies that McBain posits have lived there unchallenged. This alternate history begins with an existing cross-continental tribal confederacy managed by councils and spirit leaders called kuksui. One tiny slave, once a prince in Beijing and the emperor’s youngest son, Jiangxi, survives a harrowing ocean journey. At his very first slave market he is chosen and purchased by Onas, a renowned elder and kuksui of the Haudenosaunee and Mutsun tribes. This “New Empire” is still making its rules about slavery, work, and war. Jiangxi has much to learn about freedom, trust, and risk. This is the story of one child-man-leader who tries to understand what makes men slaves and yearns to find a path to break that chain. In Alison McBain’s vision we learn that there are steep prices to pay for the freedom to live and love. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/unexpected-guests-at-blackbird-lodge monthly 0.5 2023-02-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9475b3cf-cfbe-4cd7-9b03-f352ef15626f/unexpectedguests.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Unexpected Guests at Blackbird Lodge - Unexpected Guests at Blackbird Lodge. Joyce Hicks, Encore, 4 August 2022, Paperback and eBook, 209 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. Unexpected Guests at Blackbird Lodge deals with secret dreams and aspirations. The main character, Charlotte Adamsley, is the somewhat disaffected wife of innkeeper Will Adamsley. Helping him run an old hotel in the Adirondack Mountains of New York is not the life Charlotte imagined for herself when she was a young writing student doing an MFA in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As the novel begins, Blackbird Lodge is preparing to host a weeklong writing retreat. Its elderly participants have signed on for seven days of instruction. The retreat organizers have supplied a famous author to mentor the writers, and also promise that an editor from a New York publishing house will arrive to look over the participants’ work at the end of the program. Too late, Charlotte realizes that the man who will mentor the writers has changed his name. O.T. Bookman is none other than Otis Teeter Staszcyk, a former faculty member at her Michigan graduate school, with whom she had a passionate love affair nineteen years ago. Mr. Bookman is the source of another secret Charlotte has kept from her husband, one she is very afraid will now be revealed. The novel goes on to introduce the reader to the famous bad-boy author Bookman, now in his late forties, with a second young wife and five-year-old son. His first novel met with great success, but his successive efforts have been less well-regarded. O.T. worries that he is a one-hit wonder and hopes his latest manuscript will once again set fire in the publishing world. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/finding-the-bones monthly 0.5 2023-02-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ed1d9820-a2d4-49bc-bbba-a0dc6658fcc3/findingthebones.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Finding the Bones - Finding the Bones. Nikki Kallio, Cornerstone Press, 16 February 2023, Paperback and eBook, 194 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. Finding the Bones is a collection of short stories and one novella written by Nikki Kallio. While each story is distinct from one another, they share a common theme of showcasing the human reaction to incredible situations. Gothic, sci-fi, and fantasy genres blend together as Kallio explores what humanity truly means in the face of extraordinary circumstances. My best advice to readers is to savor each story. Kallio is an excellent writer. Each story is a masterpiece of creativity and compassion. Writing short stories is so hard, and Kallio does it with expertise and grace. I could have lived in any of the worlds she created for hundreds of pages. The agony of this beautiful collection is that you only get small snapshots of worlds she built with just a few words on the page. It will have every reader demanding more. And, while there may be the urge to sit down and devour her words all at once, I would encourage the reader to take time in between the tales. To let their messages about the human condition sink in. And to give time for the precious few words to breathe past the initial read. The two stories I cannot stop thinking about begin and end this collection. The first short story, “Geography Lesson,” breaks your heart into a million pieces as you imagine a father raising his daughter aboard a spaceship, trying to explain to his daughter what Earth was like and what her true mother was like, too. It will make you stop and appreciate all that we have on this precious planet of ours and how inexplicable our world really is. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/johnny-lycan-and-the-vegas-berserker monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5306685e-670d-4495-aab5-4202c6e35fc9/vegasberserker.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Johnny Lycan & and the Vegas Berserker - Johnny Lycan & and the Vegas Berserker. Wayne Turmel, Black Rose Writing, 8 December 2022, Paperback and eBook, 291 pages. Reviewed by Terry Needham. This is a review of Johnny Lycan & and the Vegas Berserker—the sequel in the series started with Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk. Both are urban fantasy/detective thrillers. The author, Wayne Turmel, does a masterful job of storytelling and character development. He paints pictures in the reader’s mind with hidden clues that reveal the nature and personality of our lead character, Johnny Lupul, and “Shaggy”—his werewolf alters ego. For example, the car he drives is an orange Dodge Charger packing a five-point seven hemi., fueled by testosterone. This implies, like all cars we drive, certain personality and character traits. Add to this, the author also reveals his choice of music too, such as AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and Kashmir— a Led Zeppelin tribute band. Blended with plenty of snarky humor, the reader is fully engaged and cheering for our hero as he struggles to control his “animal” urges when Shaggy, his werewolf within, strives to take over as the full moon cycle approaches each month. Other characters are introduced and just as well described and installed in the storyline. But, one sleeper is Bill, his gay-gimpy best friend and business manager, who turns out to be the stuff heroes are made of too. A great twist, just when it was needed. The reader is also charmed and engaged by Cre, a werewolf curious young witch, who is the baby in the coven of Vegas witches Johnny must deal with. As she shows him a lot more than he bargained for as “a scary Wiccan goddess?” Or, as she says, “. . . just a hedge witch with a chemical engineering degree.” And that is not even half the story of Cre in this great tale. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/johnny-lycan-the-anubis-disk monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e3808192-c800-4847-ac74-a5136a4514f0/anubisdisk.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Johnny Lycan & the Anubis Disk - Johnny Lycan & the Anubis Disk. Wayne Turmel, Black Rose Writing, 18 November 2020, Paperback and eBook, 227 pages. Reviewed by Terry Needham. In the end, the author reveals in his Acknowledgements that he wrote this story about a werewolf due to influence from his youth. When he was thirteen years old, he babysat his cousins on Friday nights. He was allowed to stay up late and watch KIRO Count on Channel 7 out of Seattle. When he watched Oliver Reed in the Curse of the Werewolf, the influence stuck tight, and his lifelong fascination with werewolves took root deep within him. This wonderful and entertaining book is the outcome of that fascination. For that, after reading this book, I am grateful. The author succeeds and delivers a great tale of adventure, with authentic and complex characters living in a series of unpredictable events. The lead character is Johnny Lycan, a young man born in Romania, was adopted to live in the USA. Early in his life, he gradually becomes aware that he is “special”—as in a werewolf. Yet, true to his better “human” nature, he resists. He seeks to control the werewolf within even as the lunar cycle comes to a full moon each month and must yield to his fierce and fearsome werewolf nature. Thus, the reader is invited to admire, respect, and even cheer for Johnny as he is driven through a steady flow of challenges and violent encounters, living at the edge of survival. The story is full of interesting, eccentric, and authentic feeling characters that are each skillfully rendered. The author delivers a steady flow of the occult, mystery, thrills, laughs, pathos, and plot twists which keeps the reader turning pages. The only way this book could be better is if there were more to the story, as in a sequel. Thus, we have a delightful and entertaining story that is destined to be a great success. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-avaricious-a-howard-watson-intrigue-56nz9 monthly 0.5 2023-02-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/88e0d766-6bb5-4c30-b4c4-192ddf777a31/whatwedonttalkabout.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: What We Don’t Talk About - What We Don’t Talk About. James Janko, University of Wisconsin Press, 1 November 2022, Paperback and eBook, 224 pages. Reviewed by Florence Osmund. The setting in What We Don’t Talk About—a small, rural town in the 1960s—establishes the tone and mood for this engaging slice-of-life book. Orville, a charming, peaceful river town in Illinois, is a close-knit community of regular people where everyone knows everyone else and their business. It is one of thousands of “sundown towns” where Negroes are not welcome once the sun goes down. What We Don’t Talk About gives readers a glimpse into the daily lives of several teenagers—a coming-of-age story of sorts where childhood innocence is lost through personal growth and maturity. They learn where they fit in the larger world by virtue of their experiences, relationships, and inner conflict. Author Janko skillfully takes a few key events that are formative to the characters’ development and creates significant emotional beats in the narrative. This book has no plot to speak of, but it doesn’t need one. Janko paints a picture of what living in this place and time really feels like. The story is engaging, sometimes entertaining, and other times provocative. Included are some sensitive social and cultural issues, such as religion, discrimination, and homosexuality—topics many authors steer away from to avoid missteps and/or possibly offending readers. But Janko’s tactfulness and sensitivity on the subjects result in a story that will resonate with most people. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/mendel monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/11992c8f-1f0b-433c-ab0c-b60c8fb38544/mendel.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Mendel - Mendel. Damone Bester, The Story Plant, 26 April 2022, Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook, 288 pages. Reviewed by Barbara Belford. Brandon James, or BJ as he’s called by friends and family, faces big challenges during his senior year at Mendel High School—challenges that threaten to destroy his relationships and his future. His mother’s unexpected death after doctors declared her surgery a success comes with the shock of seeing his estranged father at the hospital, who was incarcerated when BJ was nine. Now this man, whom BJ refuses to call dad, moves into the home they share with their aunt and takes over the responsibility of caring and providing for BJ and his younger sister. BJ goes through the characteristic phases of grief but with the additional baggage of righteous anger at this Johnny-come-lately father. At the same time, he’s dealing with the pressure from his teachers to make college decisions to prevent him from becoming another statistic of the gun violence prevalent on Chicago’s Southside. When given the task of cleaning the attic of his late mother’s possessions, BJ finds her journals, and as he reads, discovers she planned on being a track star until getting pregnant derailed her plans. BJ decides to honor her legacy by rejoining the Mendel track team, and this decision changes the trajectory of his life. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-two-headed-lady-at-the-end-of-the-world monthly 0.5 2023-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d76aa2b4-9943-419e-91cc-f75b2d56abde/thetwoheadedlady.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Two-Headed Lady at the End of the World - The Two-Headed Lady at the End of the World. Mark Miller, Montag Press, 22 November 2022, Paperback and eBook, 410 pages. Reviewed by Damian Serbu. I doubt many books have defied categorization as much as Mark Miller’s The Two-Headed Lady at the End of the World. Nor do I think many novels could so challenge a reviewer to explain the content without giving away spoilers. And not a lot of books befuddle a reviewer to summarize the story without sounding like a rambling, confused idiot. Miller accomplishes all three of these things. And he does so in a delightful and wild ride. I loved it. You’ll want to read the tale for yourself, because Miller creates this unique atmosphere in a story of love, adventure, intrigue, science fiction, romance, twists and turns, and, well, you get the picture. Miranda and Amanda sit at the heart of the epic journey. They are conjoined twins, though they lived life until high school as mere twins, until an unexplainable accident thrust their bodies together, while keeping their heads and minds separated. They moved out of their small-town Texas community but a series of strange events and forced decisions lead them to return for their 30th high school class reunion. Also, in part, they go back home because of unresolved love interests from high school, which means we meet Pierce and Jack, who play vital roles in the narrative. Yet this seemingly simple love story comes with a 1980s legacy, villains threatening to blow up the earth, or at least part of Texas, and a rogue computer, who also seeks love. In other words, along with the romance, the novel serves as an action-packed thriller. Soldiers/government employees, Joe and Buck, become central to the action, after living an underground life for decades, thinking their job is still to protect the United States from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. What on earth will happen at the end? Will all these characters find the love of their lives? Will the earth explode from a Cold War remnant-nuclear catastrophe? Who is a secret agent, who seeks to protect humanity, and why are Amanda and Miranda at the heart of this chaos? This summary doesn’t even mention the sinister black Yugos or the rogue arm at the heart of the plot. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-avaricious-a-howard-watson-intrigue monthly 0.5 2023-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f00e082b-7d17-4850-a773-5183a37e3133/TheAvaricious.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Avaricious: A Howard Watson Intrigue - The Avaricious: A Howard Watson Intrigue. JoAnn Fastoff, Self-Published, 15 November 2022, Paperback, eBook, 119 pages. Reviewed by Wayne Turmel. The Avaricious is part of a series called The Howard Watson Intrigues. It’s a quick, easy read that packs plenty of action into its pages. The story deals with a greedy element of people who stockpile and sell leftover landmines to countries bracing for war. The plot whipsaws from Washington, D.C., to Paris to the Piscataway Nation reserve in Maryland. Two scientists working on a computer chip that will help locate unexploded landmines go missing. One is found dead in the cold waters of the Chesapeake Bay; the other is nowhere to be seen. The case winds up in the hands of Howard Watson at the FBI along with his diverse team of federal agents and scientists. Author JoAnn Fastoff uses multiple points of view to build tension quickly. The stakes are high, and Fastoff does a good job of jumping from plot point to plot point, building momentum. Relying on the trope of amnesia feels a bit tired, but it’s integral to the plot, and can be forgiven. The villains are an international cadre of super-rich who plan to make millions off the technology, the victims of landmines be damned. The clock ticks as the search for both the missing scientist and the microchip continue at a breakneck pace. Fastaff has a number of other books in this series, and this one fits right in, while those totally new to the series will have no problem with The Avaricious as a standalone tale. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/letters-from-michiana monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e05fa6de-65db-4f07-9d2b-f05c7f1d1b5e/lettersfrommichiana.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Letters From Michiana - Letters From Michiana. David Hoppe, Self-Published, 5 July 2022, Paperback, eBook, 226 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. “A place without stories is apt to become a parking lot,” award-winning journalist David Hoppe says in his new book of essays, Letters From Michiana. Individual observances of a page or two are divided into twelve chapters covering the season across three years, spring 2019 to winter 2022. Hoppe moved to the southwestern corner of Lake Michigan’s shoreline from California some forty years ago. He’s spent the time since watching the slow shift of population and culture, restaurants, and outlook. For example, in the letter about Indiana Dunes National Park along the southern edge of Lake Michigan, he concludes that the national park isn’t a wild place to “get away from it all” but a last bastion against the crush of progress. Thoughtful and provocative, Hoppe’s essays find ways to keep an open conversation about our connection to the environment. He explores both local and federal politics fiddling throughout topics of erosion control and sand replacement, regulations, and control in general. An essay about the state of the roads is a mild complaint hidden inside of a journey away from big-box America to quaint local shops to acquire unique furnishings. It’s nestled with another essay examining the consequences of industrial spillage into the lake. Summertime essays contain stories of big-name music events and farm tourism and the legalities of beachfront ownership. A tale of the lost court battle of private beachfront ownership is underpinned with opinions of wealth and buying new law when the current ones don’t suit. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/in-danger-of-judgment monthly 0.5 2023-01-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/cba3e47f-d0f6-4bca-b285-2c5efaa49617/indangerofjudgement.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: In Danger of Judgment - In Danger of Judgment. David Rabin, Black Rose Writing, 4 August 2022, Paperback, Hardback, eBook, Audiobook, 381 pages. Reviewed by Paige Liwanag. David Rabin’s first novel is just about as captivating as a thriller gets. His attention to detail is amazing, and it’s clear he has firsthand knowledge of the topics he writes about. Rabin’s own history as a trial lawyer for 30 years, and expert shooting knowledge, fully immerse the reader into the world of Bernie Bernadelli, the novel’s main character. Chicago natives will find it especially easy to put themselves in Bernadelli’s shoes thanks to Rabin’s descriptions of the city’s streets and neighborhoods in the 1980s, during a period of major heroin-related crime. Detective Bernadelli, his partner Marcelle, and a new work associate, John, are at the forefront of this novel’s storyline, which begins with the detectives taking on a new case surrounding the mysterious deaths of a family of heroin dealers. Each character has their own eccentricities, which Rabin perfects with his ability to naturally write dialogue (something any writer knows is a true art form). It really was through the characters’ dialogue with one another that I got to know and appreciate each of them, almost as I would a friend, despite their human faults. As is true in life, it is at times hard to tell who is a protagonist and who we should be against. I have such respect for any writer who can bring characters to life in such a real way, and Rabin expertly delivers. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tower-road-devotionals monthly 0.5 2023-01-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0cf1b709-4aaa-4605-8759-5a788fe83f7d/towerroad.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Tower Road: Devotionals - Tower Road: Devotionals. Kaya Black, Eresh Press, 29 September 2022, Paperback, 67 pages. Reviewed by Gail Galvan. My first look and impression at this author’s literary treasure, as I saw the striking cover, inside formatting, interjected quotes, and began to read—was the following. I felt as if I had opened a small music box of words in which a literary ballerina was twirling her way into my heart and mind. I like the simplicity and size of the book also. For a work of poetry, it’s the perfect length. Kaya Black is not only an evocative poet; she is a storyteller, too. Profound thoughts, stark images, themes of love, loss, disappointment, rage—she tackles so many different emotions and scenarios. From Tower Road and Tower Road Beach, intimate and heartfelt devotionals are shared. I’ll admit, at times I’m not quite sure of the meaning behind some of the words or a group of words, but holistically the poetry is always intriguing and thought-provoking. For instance, I had to look up “Over Soul” (a divine spirit supposed to pervade the universe and to encompass all human souls). Her line was: “We walk with the Over Soul, alone at Tower Road Beach.” There were other times, too, which happens often with me and poetry…even being a poet myself…when I just don’t seem to know what meaning I am supposed to comprehend. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/fiction-writing-as-your-second-career monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2e2d97ac-cb94-4781-b739-a4dfab993a7d/fictionwriting.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Fiction Writing As Your Second Career - Fiction Writing As Your Second Career. Lisa M. Lilly, Spiny Woman Press, 23 November 2022, Paperback, Hardback, eBook, 130 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. First off, I'll let you in on a secret: I actively avoid reading books that deal with writing. Before you make the charge, no, I don't think myself as a fountain of knowledge when it comes to writing. Far from it. Unfortunately, most of the books about writing that I have tried to read are written by authors who seem convinced they are fountains of knowledge when it comes to writing. Many of them spend their entire book expounding the virtues of their writing method. Frankly, after a few pages of having someone treat their particular style of writing as "The Truth, The Light, and The Way," I get more than a little bored. That's precisely why I found Lisa M. Lilly's Fiction Writing As Your Second Career to be so enjoyable. She's an accomplished writer with two successful book series under her belt (The Awakening, a supernatural thriller series, and her ongoing Q. C. Davis mystery series), so she knows more than a bit about writing fiction. She has also penned several books about the writing craft, including The One-Year Novelist: A Week-By-Week Guide To Writing Your Novel In One Year, Super Simple Story Structure: A Quick Guide To Plotting & Writing Your Novel, and Creating Compelling Characters From The Inside Out. She's also an experienced businessperson, having run her own law firm before starting a small press and a consulting firm aimed at helping authors. So when she talks about the ins and outs of whether you should consider making writing a second career, she's clearly got the background to offer an authoritative opinion on the subject. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/signs-of-murder monthly 0.5 2023-01-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/184759ff-aa34-4932-87ae-69e005605711/signsofmurder.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Signs of Murder - Signs of Murder. A. F. Whitehouse, Duncan, 11 February 2022, Paperback and eBook, 308 pages. Reviewed by Florence Osmund. Dana Demeter is a Chicago homicide detective. She is married to Jimmy, also a member of the Chicago police force, who is temporarily in Los Angeles for extensive gang-related law enforcement training. Dana comes from a hearing-impaired family, and when her father tells her in sign language that his friend Toby, also hearing-impaired, has died under suspicious circumstances, she is eager to begin working on the case. After barely getting started working on the murder case, Dana fails to meet the new precinct regulations on weight and smoking. Then, when she shows up at work with alcohol on her breath, she is suspended from her job and given the choice of filing a union grievance (in which case she would be suspended without pay) or getting professional help for her alleged alcohol problem and being suspended with pay. Either way, she is off the force for the time being and forbidden to work on Toby’s or anyone else’s case. Loyal to her father, defiant and headstrong, Dana continues to work on the case despite her suspension and is able to unearth valuable details that the lead investigator has either not yet discovered or intentionally not divulged—details that point to a different suspect. But Dana has to consider the risks she runs by continuing to work on the case: harsher discipline from her superiors, a greater strain on the already fragile relationship with her husband, and continued denial of her own personal problems. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tombs-of-little-egypt monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a5f7738c-b7ec-4da3-ba47-b466952df29b/tombsoflittleegypt.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Tombs of Little Egypt - Tombs of Little Egypt. James Varga, Resource Publications, 18 July 2022, Paperback, Hardback, eBook, 182 pages. Reviewed by Evelyn Ann Casey. Author James Varga spins an intriguing yarn about the righteous and the not-so in Tombs of Little Egypt. He places the narrator’s pen in the hand of Sam Carter, longtime sheriff of a small town in southern Illinois. His formerly placid town has become host to tour buses following a much-publicized grave-robbing trial, and he feels the need to set the record straight. Through Sheriff Sam, readers meet all the expected law-abiding and occasionally drunk characters of Greens Point, the county seat of an area known as Little Egypt for its River Nile-type geography. The story begins with the sheriff coasting to retirement, but when the cemetery owner reports a dug-up grave, plans change. More chagrined at the trouble than eager to solve the mystery, Sheriff Sam performs a cursory search and gets the coffin shoveled back into place. He likes to let problems solve themselves. His modus operandi is sorely tested when two more graves are disturbed. As luck would have it, two drifters have blown into town—with a pick and a shovel and a pocket watch bearing the initials of one of the tombs’ residents. Media from as far away as Chicago descend on Greens Point for the spectacle of a grave-robbing trial. Reporters and gawkers fill the local tavern, buy trinket souvenirs from the general store, and get their cars gassed and serviced. The sleepy town wakes up. The Reverend warns his congregation that the line between right and wrong, good and evil, will be examined and become grayer with the examining. “A person’s response to life’s misfortune is the best measure for the truly good.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-fundamentals monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8c7ce5e7-b1b1-4bbf-8e14-f886463a2deb/thefundamentals.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Fundamentals - The Fundamentals. Lydia Gordon, Wells Street Press, 18 October 2022, Paperback and eBook, 376 pages. Reviewed by marssie Mencotti. In a small downstate Illinois town, a large evangelical church with a powerful preacher named Cyrus Bell has decided that secular and faith-based lives should not coexist. The character is a demagogue whose conceit is that he talks directly to and agrees with a merciless, misogynistic, punishing God. They preach that this deity reduces life to its fundamentals, which are defined by man using scripture and imagination and rejecting science and experience. It’s taking a toll on the lives of the town’s church members who fluctuate between a promise of rapture and uncomfortable but strict subjugation to rules set by male “overlords.” The author is helping readers understand that the fundamentals upon which our free and individual lives are based are being shoved out of kilter. Alexa and her daughter Lucy are forced by a family will and domestic need to settle and rebuild an ancestral home in this rural setting. All seems bucolic and brimming with possibility, but they hadn’t realized the pervasive strength of religious bullying. At first, it’s subtle, but hate becomes a matter of faith-versus-science for what is ironically called a curriculum of “Intelligent Design.” This debate is currently occurring all over small-town America and in some statehouses as well. Author Lydia Gordon writes not only a compelling novel, but an important cautionary tale. Gordon is the pen name of Chicago-area writer and poet Cynthia Todd Quam. Quam holds a BA from Columbia College and an MFA from Bennington College. Her poetry has appeared in Columbia Poetry Review, After Hours, The Humanist, The Chicago Tribune, and The Nancy Drew Anthology (Silver Birch Press), among other publications. She is an Eileen Lannan Poetry Prize recipient. In 2021, she was a top-10 winner in the Writer’s Digest Poetry Awards and earned an honorable mention in the Chicago Writer’s Association First Chapter Contest. The Fundamentals is her debut novel. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/music-notes monthly 0.5 2022-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f3a6c7dd-b9a2-43f4-bb92-c6335b5ba458/musicnotes.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Music Notes: Tales from an American Singer - Music Notes: Tales from an American Singer. J.J. Maze, Nonipeek Press, 1 August 2022, Paperback, 138 pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. Following her award-winning memoir, Walk Until Sunrise, Jade J.—J.J.—Maze has put together a collection of short stories, Music Notes: Tales from an American Singer. With illustrations by Indonesian illustrator and graphic designer Ryan Prakoso, Maze’s collection features seven short stories, each one an exploration of some facet of a musician’s life. The collection, like Maze’s prose, is lean. While many writers exploring the intersections of art and life may find themselves getting lost in flowery metaphors, Maze focuses on a more straightforward approach. In her introduction, Maze admits to being obsessed with the biographies of musicians such as Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, and more. This can be felt in her writing with stories that focus more on the interpersonal relationships and the human connections occurring in her musician characters’ lives alongside the gigs. Her female central protagonists connect with various men that find themselves in their respective orbits: a sexy new drummer (“Two for Nothing”), a goat-raising yogi (“The Blood in my Veins”), the father of a vocal student (“The Voice Lesson”), and so on. Not all of these interactions are romantic per se, but they are intimate, and these intimate connections are very much akin to the sort of connection experienced between a musician and their audience, to that which is shared by musical collaborators playing together. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/sarahs-fall monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4a99d569-9bfa-4d55-95b8-ceebf1ff2552/sarahsfall.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Sarah’s Fall - Sarah’s Fall. Paula Riehle, Remedy Publishing, 5 November 2021, Paperback and eBook, 412 pages. Reviewed by Caroline L. Huftalen. Paula Riehle makes quite the debut as a fiction writer with her first novel, Sarah's Fall, published by Remedy Publishing. Formerly a financial professional, the only numbers Riehle is tracking now is how many lies and manipulations teenagers can keep running at once. Her coming-of-age saga all too well documents the seemingly innocent teenage years and the harsh consequences we all must face for actions we thought wouldn't cling to us for decades to come. In Sarah's Fall, we meet a group of high school girlfriends reuniting as adults after promising to open their senior year time capsule together on that very day. The tension is sharp yet quiet, the bonds barely visible. No one wants to be there, nor has anything to talk about…yet. It isn't until we venture back in time to see the truths of what happened to create such a rift—a huge fault line still left rumbling—between the now women that we understand how lies and misplaced loyalties turn everything to wreckage. Through the loves and loves lost, the playful antics, and toxic obsessions, the reader steps back into high school and faces the mirrored flaws of youth that create patterns of insecurity in our adult years. At the heart of Riehle's novel is the exploration of the downfall of female friendship, the cutting truths, the distractions, the taunts that a man's love will suffice, and that all bonds can be broken to win that love. But can they be mended? https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/pickle-gets-adopted monthly 0.5 2022-12-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c91b3b27-4b96-4ef9-87ae-62d84c48f469/picklegetsadopted.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Pickle Gets Adopted - Pickle Gets Adopted. Bridget Holck, Olympia Publishers/Bumblebee Books, 26 May 2022, Paperback and eBook, 60 pages. Reviewed by Susan Gaspar. Pickle Gets Adopted, by author (and shelter veterinarian) Bridget Holck, is both a charming story about a cute kitten and a practical lesson in animal advocacy. It is not heavy-handed or pushy in its educational aspects, but it gently reminds readers about ideas for supporting animals. And if you are a cat lover, you will be immediately taken by the adorable fuzzy orange kitten with golden eyes on the book’s cover. Pickle introduces himself on page one, and because of that first-person introduction (and the book’s title), we know the tale has a happy ending. A stray cat found outdoors all alone, he is luckily found by a kind woman who names him Pickle because he feels safe in an old pickle box after being rescued and who brings him to a shelter for treatment and, hopefully, adoption. While we don’t know Pickle’s backstory or why he is homeless and alone, we are relieved that he is brought to a safe place early on. Most of us know that animal shelters are often overflowing with scared and injured animals awaiting treatment, socialization, and permanent homes, but this story and its color-rich illustrations keeps the tone upbeat and anxiety-free and takes us right to the good parts. Pickle is welcomed at the shelter, given a routine medical exam, and is happily cleared for the adoption floor. His kennel with a soft bed and delicious food feels like a welcome haven after being outside in the elements, and that’s when his adventure really begins. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-deadly-deal monthly 0.5 2022-12-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/83b499f7-d880-4eff-b62f-2c882823806f/nocover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Deadly Deal - The Deadly Deal. Justin Lee, Moonshine Cove Publishing, 21 June 2023, Paperback, 250 pages. Reviewed by Renee James. In Justin Lee’s The Deadly Deal, David Centrelli is a young, fast-rising director of business development for a Big Pharma company that’s on the verge of FDA approval for a wonder drug that will benefit a huge part of humanity and reap billions of dollars in profits for the company. Previséo is a pill that counters all the symptoms of diabetes and will allow diabetics to live normal lives. Centrelli is the epitome of the All-American Boy—athletic, brilliant, and driven to succeed—and his career can only soar higher as he rides the Previséo rocket to its world-changing destiny. Then a friend of David’s who works for a company underwriting the development of the drug dies, and as David learns more about the circumstances of his friend’s death, it gradually becomes apparent that not all is right with Previséo or its parent company, Medzic. Thus begins a fast-moving, indie-press thriller pitting young David and a middle-aged woman (his deceased friend’s secretary) against a powerful, avaricious corporation and its even more powerful and ruthless allies. The Deadly Deal is a fast-moving, page-turning thriller propelled by rapid scene changes, frequent plot twists, and an enemy that grows more powerful and menacing as the full extent of the conspiracy to bring Previséo to market is revealed. The book’s power derives from the plot, which speeds along, hitting all the right beats in a thriller—the vulnerable hero, the unbeatable villain, the false ally, the surprising plot twists, and all the rest. The hero and heroine aren’t loveable, but they’re likable, and that’s enough to keep the reader turning pages to see how it all ends. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-color-of-betrayal monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/582e48b7-1b6b-40c5-84f3-8bad5d8ee333/thecolorofbetrayal.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Color of Betrayal - The Color of Betrayal. Hollie Smurthwaite, Self-published, 31 October 2022, Hardcover, Paperback, and eBook, 346 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. The Color of Betrayal is book two in Smurthwaite’s “The Psychic Colors Series” and follows the story of memory surgeon Jolene as she tries to break through at her job with “The Agency” and show that she has what it takes to succeed in the dangerous job of bringing down major drug syndicates. As she deals with competing interests of her abusive boss, her flighty friends and coworkers, and a new love interest, she also struggles with her sobriety and the ever-changing and growing skills she has as a memory surgeon. I was worried when I started this book that I would not know what was happening. I had not read the first book in the series, and that typically puts the reader at a disadvantage. However, that was not the case with The Color of Betrayal. This book was so well written that it stands on its own. Allusions to events I’m assuming happened in the first book are present, but they are explained well enough and fit so snuggly into the plot of this book that I did not feel like I was missing out. That in itself is a triumph for a second book in a series. In fact, this book was so well written that I have already put book one, The Color of Trauma, on my must-read list so I can go back and catch up on what I may have missed. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/i-travel-the-alphabets monthly 0.5 2022-11-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/407f745b-3f2e-4a47-8f86-63dce8a62495/itravelthealphabets.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: I Travel the Alphabets - I Travel the Alphabets. Chrishana Greer, Davis & Greet Publishing, Hardback, Paperback, and eBook, 30 pages. Reviewed by Christine Cassello. I Travel the Alphabets by Chrishana Greer is a journey through the alphabet while experiencing the cultures of different cities across the world. Greer matches up each letter of the alphabet to a city, village, or island all over the world. I was impressed with the bits of history, descriptions of landmarks, and what each area is known for that she mentions. However, some words are left untranslated, and the dimensions are not consistent. For example, something is mentioned in Johannesburg, South Africa being 55 hectares, but what is a hectare? Also, a building in Reykjavik, Iceland, is 74.5m tall. What is it in meters? From the illustrations, it appears that the "I" of the title is the young man who is shown on most pages, but nothing is said about who he is, why he is making the trip to all of these places, how he finances the trip, and how he gets from one location to another. It does not tell us where he starts his journey and ends abruptly in Zurich, Switzerland. She says it is the most expensive city in the world but doesn't give any proof of that. Could that be where the young man in the illustrations began his journey, and he returned home? There is no real ending. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/dreams-under-glass monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6891d9a7-0a36-4c93-8e17-733427105315/dreamsunderglass.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Dreams Under Glass - Dreams Under Glass. Anca L. Szilágyi, Lanternfish Press, 27 September 2022, Paperback and eBook, 257 pages. Reviewed by Florence Osmund. The year is 2008. Binnie Greenson works as a paralegal in a small New York City law office, but her real interest and somewhat private ambition lie in the art world. While she covers her living expenses with her day job, she dabbles in dioramas in her spare time. She creates these miniature, three-dimensional pieces of artwork based on a variety of elements—her imagination, past experiences, intuitions, and random objects she finds in the course of her daily life. Regardless of what she’s doing, her love of art is foremost on her mind—when she’s not creating a piece, she’s thinking about possible subject matters for a future one. The Dreams Under Glass main storyline is interesting, engaging, and one to which many people will relate. Three story elements—Binnie’s passion for art, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the untimely, suspicious death of one of her co-workers—are woven together into a cohesive and impressive tale. The theme of the story revolves around the protagonist’s determining whether what she really wants to do in her life is attainable or just a pipe dream. Like many aspiring artists, it bears the question as to whether she should assume the risks involved in pursuing a dream that will surely make her happy or face the reality that the dream may be too ambitious, too far-fetched, and therefore not within reach. Plot, characters, and theme in Dreams Under Glass entwine to create a memorable story with an overall pleasing effect. Characters and plots relate well with each other, the setting feeds into the mood, the dialogue flows from action, and reactions flow well. The plots and sub-plots are related and collectively make up the events of the larger story in a meaningful way. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/snag-the-moon monthly 0.5 2022-11-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d5665db7-ae25-4338-aec0-b1a61e67b63b/snagthemoon.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Snag the Moon - Snag the Moon. Michele Fitzpatrick, Amika Press, 7 July 2022, Hardcover, Paperback, and eBook, 315 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. Snag the Moon falls into the category of “plucky heroine” fiction. From the outset, the reader is reasonably sure that all will turn out well for the main protagonist, an unwed mother of fifty-three who takes on a job as public relations director for an assisted living facility in her hometown of Elmville, Illinois. This is despite the fact that she hates such institutions almost as much as she hates her hometown. The why behind these facts is how author Fitzpatrick takes her book from predictable to an enjoyable study of a person’s ability to evolve and overcome obstacles. And what obstacles they are. As the novel begins, Eloise Dewmore has just had a stroke and is now hospitalized, soon to return to the very facility that she recently joined as public relations director. Her sudden incapacity is, ironically, the key to her revitalization. Because Eloise has a painful past, and although she has done much to overcome it, she has not dealt with her pain. As a result, she keeps everyone at a distance except her daughter, Mira. Enter a cast of intriguing and lovable characters led by Lyman Forrester, a towering, unattractive, and overwhelmingly friendly man who is Eloise’s physical therapist. He and Eloise’s unmarried daughter, Mira, work hard to put her on the road to recovery. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/nunzios-way monthly 0.5 2022-11-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c12408e1-a5aa-4cb8-9491-a57f8db3a504/nunziosway.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Nunzio's Way - Nunzio’s Way. Nick Chiarkas, Three Towers Press, 30 September 2022, Hardback, Paperback, and eBook, 294 pages. Reviewed by Robert H. King, Jr. The time: the early 1960’s. The place: the boroughs of New York City, where neighborhoods were like extended families, and juvenile gangs laid claims to certain street corners. Nunzio Sabino, affectionately known as “Uncle Nunzio” to his family and associates, rules over an extensive criminal enterprise predicated upon influence and power, backed, when necessary, by lethal force. If you are Uncle Nunzio’s family or friend, there is nothing that he will not do for you; if you are his enemy, there is nothing that he will not do to you. Against this backdrop, a young woman assassin, believing (erroneously) that Nunzio had ordered the killing of her family in Italy, comes to New York seeking revenge. Through subterfuge, betrayal, and even romantic entanglement, the assassin worms her way into Nunzio’s extended family, and as she does so, the bodies begin to pile up. Misdirection muddies the picture as the assassin makes some of her killings appear to be the work of rival gangs, sparking more violence. The question is, will Nunzio fall prey to the assassin’s revenge? Nunzio’s Way is the second in a series the author refers to as the “Weepers Series.” I have not read the first installment of this series, but I believe that the author of a series has a responsibility to his readers to make each installment stand on its own, providing sufficient backstory to allow the readers to know and understand the characters. There are various ways to accomplish this, and here the author employs a prologue that quotes verbatim a segment of dialogue from the first Weeper’s book. Nunzio’s Way stands on its own, and the reader does not have to read the first installment of the series to have a full understanding of the book and its characters. Although, in some ways, such an approach is the lazy man’s way out, I found that the prologue here was effective in introducing the characters and providing an understanding of at least some of their motivations. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/damnation-and-cotton-candy monthly 0.5 2022-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/04cca8da-ae40-412e-a900-2b795adde264/damnationandcottoncandy.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Damnation and Cotton Candy - Damnation and Cotton Candy. Alan S. Kessler, Leviathan Books, 1 October 2022, Paperback. Reviewed by Kahlil Crawford. Damnation and Cotton Candy is the first book of self-published poetry by Alan S. Kessler. To start off with, the cover art is intriguing: A steel knife dipped in a pool of blood with floating pink cotton. If this scene foreshadows the book’s content, we’re in for a heavy ride. It’s worth noting that the scene is painted by Kessler, skillfully displaying his artistic multidimensionality. He opens with “Good Business,” a haunting soliloquy about familial loss. A mother’s son dies from “eating Sacred Ideals,” and Kessler reminds us there’s “always room for an industrialist at the feast.” He then asks Poseidon to purify our rabid existence. However, Kessler’s blood ink is not solely for the Gods or corrupted humanity as he dissects the slow decay and dissipation of insects vis-à-vis rodents while in “Waiting” for the return of the dead. In “My Prayer,” Kessler illuminates the dark side of carnival life with wheezing clowns & lost children. A taffy-induced death leads to existential rigor mortis reversed by elemental resurrection and redemption via thunder, fire, and wind. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/legacy-of-evil monthly 0.5 2022-10-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6302fd28-cefe-430e-a293-29eed581d981/legacyofevil.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Legacy of Evil - Legacy of Evil. Ed Marohn, BookBaby, 4 August 2021, Paperback, 340 pages. Reviewed by Florence Osmund. Legacy of Evil by Ed Marohn is a multi-plotted, action-packed adventure with a cast of diverse characters that come alive on the pages. The narrative includes an incredible amount of drama, conflict, tension, and crises that take place over the course of just one month. Several subplots add to the depth of the story of the missing nuclear device and intensify the conflict—fierce competition for high-ranking political positions, serious trust issues, characters with hateful ideologies, and even a love story. While this book is plot-driven, strong protagonist characterization—John’s inner conflict, profound point of view, and well-developed backstory—makes it character-driven as well. While he is on his adventurous assignments, John is faced with dangerous situations involving those who he perceives to be the enemy. His military training taught him that under certain conditions, it is the morally right thing to do to kill another human being. But this is not so clear-cut as a civilian, and he is conflicted with having to compromise his ethics and morals, even if it means saving his own life. Vietnam veteran John Moore wants to put dark elements of his past behind him—the atrocities of war, the death of his army buddy Todd, memories of his late wife Kay, who had succumbed to cancer, and his recent break-up with girlfriend Sally. And when he accepts the paper-pushing job offer of reviewing personnel files for CIA Director James Woodruff, he feels it will provide him the opportunity to do just that. But this administrative position soon turns into something else when Woodruff immerses him in the middle of hazardous circumstances surrounding a group of neo-Nazis who infiltrate the CIA. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/jalan-jalan monthly 0.5 2022-10-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/05406142-f3d2-408e-b935-0ff4db8dd25e/jalanjalan.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Jalan-Jalan: A Journey of Wanderlust and Motherhood - Jalan-Jalan: A Journey of Wanderlust and Motherhood. Margo Weinstein, Koehler Books, 24 May 2022, Paperback, Hardback, eBook and Audiobook, 258 pages. Reviewed by Casie Gambrel. Margo Weinstein’s Jalan-Jalan: A Journey of Wanderlust and Motherhood is an inspiring, detailed, and entertaining exploration of life and love of travel. Margo’s wanderlust craving began in childhood with her desire to escape the Chicago suburbs. At thirteen, she was eager to join Man and His Land Expedition’s Western trip. However, she was too young, so instead, her parents allowed her to participate in their Caribbean trip. During that time, she’d gain the foundational life skills that would serve her future self - resourcefulness and ad-hoc planning all while learning to crew boats, getting her scuba certification, and finding ways to avoid the cooking and cleaning duties like the rest of her peers. At fourteen, she was finally allowed to join the Western trip. She learned to pitch tents, do her own laundry, shop, and cook within her group. The highlight of the trip for her was climbing Mt. Rainier. “It’s probably the most exciting experience I’ll ever have in my life.” A true throwback to the 1970s, when children would be sent to the wild with few adult guides to climb one of the highest peaks in our nation. Although this profound experience would shape her life, little did she know it was only the beginning of what was to come. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/shadows-rising monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9a1e218a-9341-46e3-8ca3-a808b34d17e1/shadowsrising.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Shadows Rising - Shadows Rising. Amanda Berthault, EdenEcho Publishing, 5 July 2022, Paperback and eBook, 295 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. Shadow McKinley has never known love or acceptance for who he is. A touch feels like fire; meeting someone’s eyes is a struggle, and talking to strangers is physically painful. So how can he figure out how to handle love when it runs into him like a tidal wave? Something strange and brutally frightening overwhelms Shadow, a heavy metal rock star. He’s returned to his career after a brief hiatus on the run and serving time for a past mistake. His fans have forgiven him, and now he must forgive himself. With the help of his best friends and bandmates, he works out his extreme fear of crowds to accept an invitation to perform with heavy metal stars from around the world at a concert in the Netherlands. The overwhelming part comes in when he’s paired with a stunning Dutch singer. Waves of emotion cause him to make an unusual gaffe during rehearsals. It takes Shadow’s friend Tommy to talk him down from his strange euphoria and help him navigate this strange landscape of not only accepting romantic love, but learning how to return it. Trouble is, the stunning Dutch singer Nica comes with more baggage than Shadow in the form of a lovely young daughter and a savage ex-husband out for more than revenge. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/silent-partners monthly 0.5 2022-10-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f13d3158-7ca3-4de3-9a2b-e1c0a69335a5/silentpartners.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Silent Partners - Silent Partners. Margaret Wiermanski, Aether Analytics, LLC, 28 February 2022, Paperback and eBook, 330 pages. Reviewed by Greg Borzo. Tax evasion, offshore bank accounts, money laundering. Shady Russians, plodding cops, shrewd financial traders. Cautious attorneys, consummate professionals, and even a loveable dog. This murder mystery and story of financial crimes rolled into a family feud has it all. It’s engagingly told by Margaret Wiermanski, a savvy, longtime financial services executive. There are plenty of plot twists and the requisite number of suspects to keep you guessing as to whodunit. This is Wiermanski’s first book. She described writing as a hobby, but she plans to pursue the discipline more vigorously as she writes a sequel to Silent Partners. That should be encouraged as Wiermanski displays many talents, particularly in portraying female characters in this book. That includes the murder victim’s girlfriend and Lane Daye, a character Wiermanski seems to have based on herself. Wiermanski also displays good technique, in alternating points of view between chapters told in the third person while the rest of the book is narrated in the first person by the heroine. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/chicago-scavenger monthly 0.5 2022-11-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/17d51921-fb8c-4999-b55d-e79ef9394791/chicagoscavenger.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Chicago Scavenger: The Ultimate Search for Chicago’s Hidden Treasure - Chicago Scavenger: The Ultimate Search for Chicago’s Hidden Treasures. Jessica Mlinaric, Reedy Press, 15 March 2022, Paperback and eBook, 192 pages. Reviewed by Caroline L. Huftalen. Jessica Mlinaric is no stranger to a good scavenger hunt. Her childhood homemade maps behind her grandmother’s house led her to explore Chicago much differently than simply finding the closest grocery when she first moved here. Mlinariic has spent over a decade wandering the city’s streets and sidewalks and has shared her findings on her blog urbnexplorer.com. Her first book, Secret Chicago: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, was released by Reedy Press in 2018. The latest release, Chicago Scavenger: The Ultimate Search for Chicago’s Hidden Treasures, is less focused on the strange to give readers more insight into the city’s diverse culture, neighborhood by neighborhood. Chicago Scavenger takes readers from the northernmost neighborhood of Rogers Park down to Pullman, with many stops in between. Each neighborhood or community is separated by section, and each has 19 or more clues to explore. While many other scavenger hunt books focus on the answer only, whether it be filling in a blank or decoding a message, Mlinaric’s book is less about the answer and more about the journey. The things you walk by everyday will hold new meaning. A neighborhood you have never ventured to could now hold new intrigue after flipping through the riddles and images. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/abandon-all-hope monthly 0.5 2022-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/bcfcaf1d-81c8-4686-9f5f-396f4e5de7af/abandonallhope.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Abandon All Hope - Abandon All Hope. Scott Spires, Auctus Publishers, 19 September 2021, Paperback and eBook, 214 pages. Reviewed by Paige Doepke. I’ll admit, this review took me longer to finish than I expected, but not for lack of interest. In fact, the opposite is true. I would sit down with a plan to quickly read a couple of chapters, but instead found myself immersed in Spires’s writing, not wanting to miss any details. From the very start of Abandon All Hope, author Scott Spires drew me in. Abandon All Hope is a book that reflects the monotony and challenges of real life. While the novel follows several male characters, I found myself relating to the primary protagonist, Eric, most. If you’re a Chicagoan, you’ll love the details of Eric’s daily life, including his favorite neighborhood stores and his all-too-real commute to work in the suburbs. The familiarity of the location made the story real to me, but it was really the character development that pulled me in. Spires writes about Eric, and also Evan, in a way that made me feel like I was experiencing the story from inside their heads. Their thoughts, reactions, and almost reactions, are laid out for the reader. These very real and honest depictions of Spires’s central characters humanize them. I found myself angry at those who wronged Evan along his job search journey, as if the wrongdoings had happened to me personally. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/connections monthly 0.5 2023-01-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c1b8e00c-1cec-4c68-b5d3-942cd60f03c3/Ebook+-+Connections+01.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Connections - Connections. Darren Musial, Self-Published, 1 December 2022, Paperback and eBook. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. In Connections, Darren Musial delves into a contemporary thriller subgenre that might be called “slacker noir.” He’s written a captivating page-turner about today’s 20-somethings that reanimates dark crime tropes from the 1940s and 1950s. Miles Hollander, a 20-something non-entity who works as a Transportation Security Administration screener at O’Hare Airport, plays video games, drinks too much, and is secretly infatuated with Brooke, a co-worker. He also pilfers items from passengers, out of boredom and to supplement his inadequate income. He gets caught and blackmailed by a criminal, Dalton, who enlists a femme fatale, Vicky, to further tighten the noose. Miles is forced to participate in escalating crimes until he realizes he’s been set up and is being used. This leads to double-cross, revenge, FBI scrutiny, and finally violence. Fortunately, Miles turns out to be smarter and luckier than he at first appears. He manages to get shot but seems to avoid jail time. He even gets the girl, briefly. And the reader gets the required twist ending. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/heart-disease-and-hypertension monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/aa91e52e-4d0f-4c88-ba07-d1090c10ff70/heartdisease.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Heart Disease and Hypertension - Heart Disease and Hypertension: Vitamin Therapy for a Healthy Heart. Bryant Lusk, Koehler Books, 10 May 2022, Hardback, Paperback and eBook, 213 pages. Reviewed by Opal Freeman. Heart Disease and Hypertension: Vitamin Therapy for a Healthy Heart is an insightful book with a wide range of information. Bryant Lusk has offered to share his knowledge related to healthy living on the basis of scientific facts, extensive research, medical and technical expertise, and most important, personal experiences. The author’s selected format has been written to make the subject matter of cardiovascular research, preventing and reversing heart disease, high blood pressure, and a variety of medical terminology easy to understand. Lusk’s previous writings in the health-and-wellness category demonstrate his passion in helping others to achieve good health and quality of life. A thorough analysis of how the human body functions with the required dietary allowance (RDA) lays the foundation for how the health of our bodies can be properly maintained, particularly as it relates to nutrients. Recommended dietary allowance is defined as the daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all healthy individuals (97-98 percent). The RDA is often set at the lower end of the full range of what individuals can tolerate before a nutrient becomes unsafe. This clearly demonstrates the link between vitamin therapy and its implementation into the diet and the impact on the body. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/lita-jean monthly 0.5 2022-10-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2d8db39c-8275-4c18-901f-8d4a340e32d0/litajean.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Lita & Jean: Memoirs of Two Generations of Military Women - Lita & Jean: Memoirs of Two Generations of Military Women. Lita Tomas and Jean Marie McNamara, Master Wings Publishing, 29 March 2022, Hardcover and eBook, 282 pages. Reviewed by Marcie Hill. In the United States, the male-to-female ratio is approximately 50%, with women leading by a few points. Although women are progressing socially, educationally, and financially, they are still treated as second-class citizens. In the military, the number of women on active duty is smaller, and their treatment is much worse, as we learn in Lita & Jean: Memoirs of Two Generations of Military Women written by Lita Tomas and Jean Marie McNamara. Both women entered the military with hopes of getting military training to serve their country, to work in their prospective careers, and to receive the benefits promised in advertisements and commercials. They received lessons they never would have learned as civilians. And there was a stark contrast between their expectations and the realities of military life. In Lita & Jean, we learn of their ambitions, accomplishments, strengths, and struggles as civilians and servicewomen. We also get firsthand accounts of how patriarchal systems failed to protect women - the archdiocese, the military, and judges in local courts, thus substantiating their roles as second-hand citizens. It was hard to believe that some of the actions taken by leaders of those systems occurred in the twentieth century. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/unlawful-orders monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/03cfc998-b699-42f5-91c0-0a75402e909c/unlawfulorders.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Unlawful Orders: A Portrait of Dr. James B. Williams (Tuskegee Airman, Surgeon, and Activist) - Unlawful Orders: A Portrait of Dr. James B. Williams (Tuskegee Airman, Surgeon, and Activist). Barbara Binns, Scholastic Focus, 1 October 2022, Hardcover, Audiobook and eBook, 320 pages. Reviewed by Josh Cohen. In Unlawful Orders: A Portrait of Dr. James B. Williams, Barbara Binns recounts the life of a man whose bravery and determination helped change the course of American history. Her book stands apart from most middle-grade biographies because it is more than a linear birth-to-death account. Binns weaves the details of Williams’s life into the larger narrative of the fight for racial justice during the twentieth century. Informative and inspirational, this book is perfect for the curious-minded middle-grade reader. Binns immediately grabs the reader’s attention by describing the lynching of a Black man in Cameron, Texas, in 1907. This is one of several instances where the author does not withhold violent details in order to coddle young readers. Binns wants her audience to understand the fear that much of Black America felt during this period in American history. The fear caused by that particular lynching spurred the subject’s father to move from Cameron to El Paso, where he served as the first president of the El Paso chapter of the NAACP. This set the stage for his family’s frontline position in the battle for civil rights. Central to this battle was James Buchanan (JB) Williams. As a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the military’s Black aviators, JB helped organize a protest of his military base’s refusal to admit Black officers into the white officers’ club. Even when faced with threats of court-martial, imprisonment, and execution, JB and his fellow officers remained peaceful and principled. Their protest, which became known as the Freeman Field Mutiny, grabbed the nation’s attention and helped facilitate the eventual desegregation of the American armed forces. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-world-is-your-studio monthly 0.5 2022-10-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/275beae6-6918-47c0-9365-7e8e25a70f0a/studio.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The World is Your Studio: Travel Stories by Irene and Franklin McMahon - The World is Your Studio: Travel Stories by Irene and Franklin McMahon. Deborah McMahon Osterholt, StudioPress, 15 November 2021, Paperback, Hardback, and eBook, 118 pages. Reviewed by Gerry Souter. This is the easiest review I've ever done because I lived a small part of it. When I was sixteen, I applied to the Famous Artist School, where Franklin McMahon served on the faculty. I passed the talent test, went through the entire set of correspondence courses, and later built a portfolio that got me accepted by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Deborah McMahon Osterholtz's book about her father's career as an internationally acclaimed artist and her mother's award-winning career as a travel writer triggered memories for me long forgotten. Deborah has followed her parent's lead as an author, artist, international speaker, and teacher. The product of her parents' legacy and her own creative diligence has produced The World is Your Studio: Travel Stories by Irene and Franklin McMahon. Deborah has packed her pages with Franklin's breathtaking art. She begins her exhaustive project with sculptures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza—drawn by her father, of course—and ends the drawing's caption with "I believe they lived the impossible dream." She is the fourth of nine McMahon children and, as she remarks, "...had a front row seat to [Irene and Franklin's] creative process." https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/one-of-our-spaceships-is-missing monthly 0.5 2022-10-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f83f1807-fd51-4e65-a087-f934160800ca/spaceships.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: One of Our Spaceships is Missing - One of Our Spaceships is Missing. Chris Gerrib, Space Wizard Science Fantasy, 19 July 2022, Paperback and eBook, 284 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. One of our Spaceships is Missing is a science fiction novel set in a futuristic reality where most of the planets in our solar system are populated, and all have their own histories, governments, and ways of life. Mercury is a lawless, cutthroat crime haven. Mars is militaristic. Earth is similar to how it is now, only there are more factions. Alaska and Texas have seceded from the U.S., for example. However, this is just the start of Gerrib’s world-building. His book revolves around deeply thought-out ways these planets would interact, from seemingly normal things like systems of transit or interplanetary communication to more in-depth views of culture and history. The thrust of the book, though, is the hijacking of a spaceship bound from Mars to Earth and the people, both on board the ship and on-world, who are trying to stop it. Gerrib creates a vast array of characters: a classic FBI-agent type in Ray Volk, the holier-than-thou hijacker Victoria, the Martian military liaison Mark, and the exchange-student-turned-rebel Kelly. The book switches back and forth between the perspectives of these main characters to show what is happening in different places and the stakes at play. Interspersed between the events of the main hijacking plot are a few will-they-won’t-they storylines, mostly revolving around sex, not relationships, and mostly in the LGBTQ space. These storylines definitely paint a picture of how sexual culture may be different in the future, but only one storyline between Kelly and a character named Spider really packed any emotional punch. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/shades-of-positively-pandemic monthly 0.5 2022-10-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a4aba307-ac30-430b-973e-21e63d947b6e/shades.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Shades of Positively Pandemic - Shades of Positively Pandemic. G. T. Naya, Write Volumes, 26 June 2022, Paperback and eBook, 206 pages. Reviewed by marssie Mencotti. Shades of Positively Pandemic is an anthology of fictional and possibly non-fictional accounts of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are seventeen separate stories and poems that reflect the mood and tenor of a trying time. Some survivors find joy, some do not, and some must re-align their priorities. It views the impact upon a wonderful cross-section of life, from retirees to recent grads, as they adjust to the quasi-normal rhythms of sequestering-in-place. Some have deferred their personal desires and philosophy for the days' instant pleasures and are forced to stop and drop all pretense as they reevaluate and cope with a new lifestyle that has no end in sight and sometimes little daily reward. The author, GT Naya, is a Chicago resident and a member of CWA. The Editor, Randall Van Vynckt, has been Write Volumes editor since the first anthology in 2019. He has over 28 years of editing and producing experience as well as membership in CWA, Chicago Publishing Network, and Publishing and Editing Professionals. He brings great editing and insight to this volume. Shades of Positively Pandemic is an intense examination of individuals living in those universally experienced months of seclusion, separation, love, loss, fear, and challenge. We as individuals are chronicled for posterity, so when future generations ask about what happens to people in a pandemic, they can find some answers here. It is important that this anthology treats the events we lived through as separate and not globally experienced. Each one of these stories is allowed to open a window to individual choices and not present some cookbook psychology of the entire Covid experience. Our individual strength, our strength together, our roaming and questioning spirits, our love of others and our animal companions, our desire for love and continuity, and our search for meaning and light are individually presented without advice or admonishment. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/beyond-any-experience monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/067cb01e-1da7-4b39-aec4-b87c63704a7c/beyondanyexperience.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Beyond Any Experience - Beyond Any Experience. Anne Terpstra, NineStar Press, 31 May 2022, Paperback and eBook, 387 pages. Reviewed by Denise Roma. This novel is definitely beyond any experience of the lesbian romances I’ve read previously. I was impressed by the quality of the writing, the dialogue between the characters. They were so real that I felt as though I was making new friends more so than reading a novel. Beyond Any Experience is about women navigating a new relationship amidst loss and grieving, plus the demands of raising an autistic son who functions as a much younger child. These challenges make you root for this couple even more. They are big-hearted, lovable people. You’ll want them to make it. The love scenes in and of themselves make this story very exciting. The kissing, touching, and lovemaking is sensual and emotionally engaging. Cultural differences are also a theme, as we have a Midwestern girl, Olivia, and Hispanic Ellie, as well as older generation immigrants and friends from various backgrounds. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/organ-c1ty monthly 0.5 2022-09-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/56afa89f-3402-460e-8ea5-42b750cc756c/OC_Cover_Black.png Book Reviews - Book Review: ØRGΛN C1TY: metarhythm - ØRGΛN C1TY: metarhythm. Kahlil Crawford, MΣTΛR1DD1M, 3 February 2022, Paperback and eBook. Reviewed by Mike Freveletti. Who was it that said, “make it new”? And what did they mean when they said it? Who said it really doesn’t matter (no disrespect to Ezra Pound), but Kahlil Crawford’s ØRGΛN C1TY: metarhythm is a beautiful object with a multitude of visions. I start with the “make it new” adage because so little of what we’re exposed to can truly fit into that description. This work is a multimedia kaleidoscope in which each page, at least to this reader, is like going to an art exhibit and seeing something that you’ve never seen before. The book as a physical object is a collaboration of sorts, but to me it’s clear that this is Crawford’s vision. The book does display in its table of contents an approach that appears threefold: Words, Visions, and Spirits. The “4word” and “Manifest” kick off the work as both an entry into the world the book conjures and a mission statement on what it hopes to achieve. Normally, any type of introductory material or attempt to explain anything related to the work is something I actively avoid when I open a book. In this case, neither of those pieces overexplain but instead serve as a mode of neural reconditioning. Because that’s what it takes to read this book—you need to rethink how you consume art and what art can do. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/wherever-im-at monthly 0.5 2022-08-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/31d0c617-93ae-4c01-8290-192fe144c2d5/Whereverimat.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Wherever I’m At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry - Wherever I’m At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry. Authored by Chicagoland poets, edited by Donald G. Evans and Robin Metz, foreword by Carlo Rotella, and artwork by Chicagoland artists, After Hours Press Elmwood Park, Illinois and Third World Press Chicago, Illinois, June 13th, 2022, Paperback, 311 pages. Reviewed by Gail Galvan. This anthology is a masterful compilation of intriguing poems by Chicago poets. What an amazing, monumental literary project that Don Evans and Robin Metz embarked upon. And now, the book is whole and for our viewing. I’ll say this first to explain my review content somewhat: Poetry perception, like other works of art—paintings, sculptures, etc. permeates from the eye of the beholder. In the case of poetry, in reading the words. So if someone else reads all of the poems within this anthology and does a review or wants to comment on the poetry, the result might be a totally different perspective. So bear that in mind. Next, I’ll say this. Chicago, as most people know from current events, has a dark side. It’s like a city with two tales. The poems within this anthology depict that. So, like Sandburg, while the bright, true grit character of Chicago and its incredible citizens, with hardscrabble or sophisticated lives, is celebrated in many poems, of course, the stark, raving-mad dark attributes are colored in too. Thus, the book is not for the faint-hearted! I mean, there is sunshine, but there is a pouring out of the rain and muddy waters, and absolute tragic, emotional guts exploding off of so many of the pages in poetic, sentimental fashion. So beware. But that’s just an honest, vivid reality from poets about a city that has both the best of much and the worst of so much else. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/channeling-matriarchs monthly 0.5 2022-09-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e986b296-9df7-4027-9db3-1b95e80069ed/ChannelingMatriarchs.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Channeling Matriarchs - Channeling Matriarchs. Lynn Aprill, Finishing Line Press, August 2021, Paperback, 27 pages. Reviewed by Sierra Kay. Channeling Matriarchs, a collection of poems by Lynn Aprill, is a unique read that gives voice and a strong point of view to the women of the Bible. The collection delves into women's relationships with husbands, fathers, brothers, and God to speculate how the women might have felt feel about the positions they were placed in, often outside of their control. Aprill explores the vulnerable position of women in a patriarchal Bible and the impact of that vulnerability on decision-making and faith. Aprill also explores how women's inability to make decisions for their own lives can trap them in situations that force their hands. Channeling Matriarchs is a faith-based book. It does require a certain level of Biblical knowledge for some of the poems. Aprill provides notes in the back to flush out the content, which will be beneficial to those who need a reference. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/jinwar-and-other-stories monthly 0.5 2022-08-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e9609c4a-56f6-4f8a-8718-31a0ca0d1941/jinwarcover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Jinwar and Other Stories - Jinwar and Other Stories. Alex Poppe, Cune Press, March 8th, 2022, Paperback, 132 pages. Reviewed by Charles Kuner. Many short story collections are published every year, and these stories are usually Eurocentric and patriarchal in nature. Rarely do we get short stories written from a woman's point of view and even rarer where many of the female characters are heroines. One of these rare occasions is Alex Poppe's Jinwar and Other Stories. The stories originate in the bleak areas of northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, and the occupied territories in Israel. One outlier is a story that occurs in the Oakland, California public library. Unfortunately, many Americans are not very informed about the culture and history of this important part of the world, a history which goes beyond biblical history into the ancient world. It should also be noted that the United States has taken very little notice of the consequences of our own fairly recent Imperialistic ventures in this part of the world. Hopefully, this brief overview or perspective will whet the intellectual appetite of the reader for its importance in deeply understanding the stories. As Patricia Ann McNair states, “Poppe effortlessly and expertly weaves our contemporary moments and its politics with a place and culture incurred in a rich history manned by struggles brought about by patriarchy and power.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/ernies-bleachers monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/bdc6bc71-90b0-41f5-9a45-3926cda1df22/erniesbleachers.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Ernie’s Bleachers - Ernie’s Bleachers. Tim Pareti, Self-Published, May 31, 2022, Paperback and eBook, 376 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. Ernie’s Bleachers was clearly a passion project for author Tim Pareti, whose family owned the Ernie’s Bleacher’s tavern in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood just across from Wrigley Field. It’s the tavern that became Ray’s Bleachers, home of the 1969 Bleacher Bums, and then Murphy’s Bleachers, which is still going strong eight decades later. You can label the book “historical fiction,” which is accurate enough, because Pareti did extensive research in his family archives, newspaper clippings, and elsewhere to bring the book to life. Really, though, Ernie’s Bleachers is about a lot of different things. It’s about growing up in Chicago, especially its northside ethnic neighborhoods, in the mid-to-late 1940s. It’s about Pareti’s family and friends. It’s a little bit about politics and corruption too. It’s also about the Negro Leagues, Major League Baseball, and especially the Cubs and what it means to be a Cubs fan. But, mostly, it’s a coming-of-age story involving young Eddy Pareti, a street-smart kid who may or may not amount to anything. (The author tells us that Eddy’s character is based in large part on things he learned about his real-life father.) https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/at-12th-marquette monthly 0.5 2022-08-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3d7d5fb6-c360-49d3-b20b-157f5338f6fb/at12th.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: At 12th & Marquette: A Story of Love, Faith, and Caregiving - At 12th & Marquette: A Story of Love, Faith, and Caregiving. Marie Malicki, Windy City Publishers, November 24, 2021, Paperback, 249 pages. Reviewed by Evelyn Ann Casey. From the first lines of Marie Malicki’s memoir, At 12th & Marquette, the reader knows this author will not pull any punches, hide from the pain, or romanticize a long marriage. The book can be summed up in its subtitle, A Story of Love, Faith, and Caregiving, but the simple story becomes a true pilgrimage in Malicki’s hands. I expected the story to begin closer to her husband Jim’s illness, and it could have, but then I might not have learned that it takes a lifetime to prepare for the intense caregiving required by a diagnosis of amyloidosis, a rare disease that quickly saps energy and erodes every organ. Malicki begins her pilgrimage in South Milwaukee, a Norman Rockwell version of postwar America when she was born in 1948. The thriving industrial city on Lake Michigan grounded her in the optimism of a middle-class family and the cultural values of her Catholic upbringing. Malicki’s teenage years in the turbulent 1960s focused more on getting a part-time job and dancing “The Mashed Potato” than social revolution. Her descriptions of music, hairstyles, and boys made me feel like sweet sixteen all over again. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/seeking-best-friend monthly 0.5 2022-08-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a84fc9e4-cfda-4123-8dc3-8fe73d21e8b3/seekingbestfriend.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Seeking Best Friend - Seeking Best Friend. Written by Alison Marcotte and Illustrated by Diane Ewen, Beaming Books, January 25, 2022, Hardback and eBook, 32 places. Reviewed by Christine Cassello. This debut book by Alison Marcotte is written for ages up to seven years old. It aims to teach children how to find a friend by being one. A little girl puts a sign on a tree: “Seeking Best Friend: Must be kind. A passion for bugs would be neat.” That sign gets the attention of an anteater who has a passion for “eating” bugs, not collecting them. When he eats some of her ant collection, she realizes she must add some “does nots” to her list of what she is looking for in a friend. Other qualities she wants attract various real and imaginary characters, each of which has a fault. A girl playing dress-up scares her cat, which ends up being another “doesn’t” for the list. A robot breaks instead of fixing her bike. A pirate steals her treasures. When the last one, a fire-breathing dragon, literally starts a fire, the boy next door puts it out with a garden hose. He watched the animals, people, robot, and dragon come and go. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/rediscovering-wonderland monthly 0.5 2022-08-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/579bd74a-a4eb-4abc-899f-ae21f2d87b50/rediscoveringwonderland.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Rediscovering Wonderland: The Expedition That Launched Yellowstone Park - Rediscovering Wonderland: The Expedition That Launched Yellowstone National Park. M. Mark Miller, Rowman & Littlefield, January 31, 2022, Paperback and eBook, 182 pages. Reviewed by T. L. Needham. If you have been to Yellowstone yourself, then you have first-hand knowledge of the surreal majesty of the wonders of this area. If you have not been to Yellowstone yet heard of the region’s natural wonders, even your imagination may fall short of fully grasping or believing in them. That is the state of mind of the men who undertook the exploration of this wonderland, to confirm, verify, and reveal…for all the world to know…the truth about Yellowstone. A wilderness populated with wolf packs, mountain lions, and grizzly bears. Marauding Indians on the warpath. Plus, a risk of walking on what seemed to be solid ground only to fall through the surface crust into a rushing flow of steam, boiling water, or scalding mud…a torment for horses and men. The Yellowstone area did not need to be “discovered” in the late 18th to early 19th centuries. Its existence had been reported by those earliest white men—mountain-man trappers, prospectors, and explorers—who had early contact with the Indians that populated the area around Yellowstone. But reports of the extraordinary features seemed unreal and were thought to be exaggerations by men who were famous for telling “tall tales.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/ravens-in-the-rain monthly 0.5 2022-07-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/82cae764-b93f-48fc-9e74-8382f714a329/ravensintherain.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Ravens In The Rain: A Noir Love Story - Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story. Christie and Jeff Santo, BookBaby, September 22, 2021, Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook, 258 pages. Reviewed by Gerry Souter. Subtitles are usually second thoughts to give you a hint about the story's content. However, Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story directly warns you to buckle up, knock back the last two fingers of Jack Daniels—relishing that clink of un-melted ice against your teeth—and step through page one to a joyous, dark-shadowed plunge into the souls of two people you'll never forget. Carney and Pru, our main characters, meet in Vegas—not the glossy Vegas of the Rat Pack, but the next tier down where call girls and chip junkies roam, where the riffle of the shuffle and slap of the deal come up busted 21 and snake-eyes where good luck is doubled down. A spark strikes between these two wayfarers at first, but they will surprise—especially when the reader becomes both of them. You are in their heads and behind their eyes, slowly at first, as they sort out their relationship. Snappy dialog jumps from scene to scene until you slide into the Santos' rhythm and realize this is a literary film script. Your senses are sharpened as you jump from fade-in to fade-out in their noir world. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/just-cole-from-mankato monthly 0.5 2022-07-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f3000bbd-b8e4-4577-9381-8717c6bc8991/JustColefromMankato.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Just Cole from Mankato - Just Cole from Mankato. Jay Grochowski, Self-Published, January 1, 2022, Paperback and eBook, 340 pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. After the release of his 2020 debut novel, Kelli’s Pine, novelist Jay Grochowski wasted little time before continuing the story of the Blackburn family with his sophomore endeavor, Just Cole from Mankato. While Kelli’s Pine centered on the patriarch of the Blackburn clan, Eddie, the follow-up novel appropriately follows the journey of Eddie’s son, Cole. Taking after his mother, Kelli, Cole was also diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, making his attention-grabbing career as a star baseball player destined for the major leagues all the more fraught. Grochowski is a graduate of Indiana University’s school of journalism and, during his time there, he was the captain of the baseball team and would go on to be a college baseball coach. Just Cole from Mankato serves as a perfect example of a novelist writing what he knows. Grochowski does a great job unpacking the interior life of a college baseball player taking his first steps on the road to the minor leagues with aspirations for the majors. He’s able to tap into the relationships between teammates and the pressures that come along with following your dreams. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-very-hungry-toilets monthly 0.5 2022-05-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8939192e-39ca-4f2b-9473-c656b45c9a2e/hungrytoilers.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Very Hungry Toilets - The Very Hungry Toilets. Neva Ryan, Neva Ryan Books, January 25, 2022, Hardback, Paperback, and eBook, 32 pages. Reviewed by Casie Gambrel. The Very Hungry Toilets is a whimsical story about two lively toilets, Tyler and Tilly, that live in an elementary school. They are the perfect size and height and are well-liked by the students. One day, after hours, their curiosity leads them to break free from the bathroom to sneak around the school. During their adventure, Tyler and Tilly get hungry. An empty classroom proves to be an ideal place to fill their bellies with snacks. Perhaps too many snacks. Chaos ensues as their overstuffed bellies leave them feeling green. What goes in must come out. Tyler and Tilly’s full bellies lead to a massive overflow leaving a mystery for students when they return to school. Will they get caught? https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/sandman-a-golf-tale monthly 0.5 2022-05-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8dd8f160-88f3-41d9-8217-c43522523c5b/sandmanagolftale.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Sandman: A Golf Tale - Sandman: A Golf Tale. David W. Berner. Roundfire Books, Early 2022. Trade Paperback and E-book. Reviewed by Brian Johnston. I have to admit that I'm not much of a golfer. I've only played the game a couple of times in my life, and I wasn't very good. Even so, I can appreciate the love that many people have for the game, and even non-players will gain a fresh appreciation for the passion many golfers feel for the game and find a good story in David W. Berner's new book Sandman: A Golf Tale. Sandman is a fictional story about a boy, a potential golf prodigy, and an old caddy named Jimmy, who sleeps on the golf course. One day, Jimmy disappears, and no one knows what happened to him. The story moves back and forth between the boy, who learns about the game and life in general, and background information about Jimmy, describing his past experiences as a caddy that led him up to the moment he vanished. The story flowed smoothly and held my interest, even though there were many back and forth between the two storylines. The author showed strong writing skills. I feel like the dialogue between the characters was especially significant, as the characters clearly seemed to relate to each other well. The author also clearly conveyed a passion for golf, which made the story that much more believable and engaging. I learned much and gained insight into the beautiful game that golf can be for both young and old alike. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/supermom monthly 0.5 2022-05-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/95fde2cf-afbb-4cd8-b1fd-9f690676d18a/supermom.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Supermom - Supermom. Brooklyn Davis and Chrishana Greer, Davis and Greer Publishing, May 14, 2021, Hardcover and Paperback, 20 pages. Reviewed by Barb Belford. II had an opportunity to review Supermom by Brooklyn Davis, age seven, and her mom, author, Chrishana Greer. Mothers who juggle many responsibilities will see themselves in Supermom. They must parent while handling day-to-day life situations and careers. Supermoms play a significant role in their loved ones’ lives, overcoming adversity with integrity, leadership, and dedication. This book is a powerful reminder to kids that moms have superpowers. The illustrations really carry this short picture book about a girl’s view of her mom as the hero in her life. When the main character sees a superhero on the cover of a book, she begins to reflect on all the things her mom does during the week. Mom goes above and beyond to make life wonderful for her daughter while attending school herself and coping with the stress of single parenting. We see her taking time to take her daughter to the park, making meals, participating in her daughter’s education, handling whatever life has in store, and not allowing anything to interfere with her most important job of raising her daughter. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-cosmic-killings monthly 0.5 2022-04-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e47581cb-6e13-4453-889d-adc75b6b930e/thecosmickillings.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Cosmic Killings - The Cosmic Killings. Thomas J. Thorson, Self-Published, November 19, 2021, Paperback, 298 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappaport. In his compelling new thriller, The Cosmic Killings, Thomas J. Thorson tells a complex tale of the Amish, an alien creature cult, and oddball amateur sleuths. In Thorson’s menacing universe, E.T. cannot phone home. Thorson devotes half the book to discovering the murderer and half to uncovering the motive for the murders—which leads to a second murderer and an explanation for seemingly inexplicable gruesome crimes. Chicagoland locales are prominent—as is the city’s merciless winter weather. The protagonist Malcolm Winters, a creative writing professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is a likable, if bloodless, former criminal with a mysterious past. With his equally cerebral scientist girlfriend, Vinn, also a UIC professor, he often finds himself drawn into informal murder investigations. In The Cosmic Killings, the police have dropped the case—though, off the record, they suspect there’s more to uncover. There are two victims: a young Amish woman sowing her wild oats and a nerdy Chicago teenage boy. Or is that three victims? The victims have no apparent connection to each other—until they do. The connection is unexpected and improbable but also satisfyingly creepy. Thorson does a masterful job building high-stakes suspense with a menacing perpetrator. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/whatever-happened-to-cathy-martin monthly 0.5 2022-04-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/11b5a32a-3847-4b46-ba97-3dd70c03fe5e/whateverhappenedtocathymartin.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Whatever Happened to Cathy Martin - Whatever Happened to Cathy Martin. Mim Eichmann, Living Springs Publishers, August 9, 2022, Paperback and eBook, 335 pages. Reviewed by marssie Mencotti. We hear a name, a song, a phrase, and we remember a friend from the past and wonder, "Whatever happened to. . .?" In this case, the missing person is Cathy Martin, the best childhood friend of the protagonist Denise Prescott. They were so close they had albums of many photos they took of one another and even tapes of recorded stories. Inseparable and devoted to each other at one time, they drifted apart in the foggy time of adolescence, helped by a third girlfriend, pushy and popular Janet Lynn Webster. Now grown and married to an ambitious and unfaithful man, Denise dithers in her marriage and a part-time journalist job. However, after attending a very upscale engagement event, she discovers that the woman about to marry her husband's uber-rich boss is none other than Janet Lynn Webster, the woman who ended Denise's youthful friendship with Cathy. She can't help but ask, "Whatever happened to Cathy Martin?" Such an innocent question springs open a trove of long-hidden secrets and murders. As this tale unravels, Denise is helped by an interesting Amish detective, her decidedly eccentric parents, and a host of other people who also question Cathy's disappearance. Did she attend college, marry, drop in or drop out? This loaded and layered mystery intrigues the reader because our hero is not a private detective. She is meticulous about her facts, curious as a cat, and open about sharing her every attempt to find Cathy. When it becomes apparent that Cathy may not have meant to be found, we, as participatory readers, want to tell Denise not to ring that doorbell or answer that knock on her door. She grows more facile in recognizing danger as the plot grows sinister. This mystery takes place in 1978 before decades of forensic exploration, psychological profiling, and internet-developed technology that help us discover all but the most deeply buried perpetrators' motives. Denise is generally on her own, and therein lies the quivering suspense. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/ashes-in-venice-a-vengeance-thriller monthly 0.5 2022-04-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3b2d0bfd-490d-4ae8-adef-03d73b19378c/ashesinvengeance.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Ashes in Venice: A Vengeance Thriller - Ashes in Venice: A Vengeance Thriller. Gojan Nikolich, Black Rose Writing, March 2, 2022, eBook and Paperback, 293 pages. Reviewed by Bob King. Ashes in Venice: A Vengeance Thriller focuses on a career-weary detective preparing to retire to take care of his wife, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s. However, he’s convinced to postpone his retirement to help in the investigation of one last case: The murder of a murderer he had helped convict but who was released from prison early on a legal technicality. That investigation becomes intertwined with yet more murders of more bad guys, each murder more gruesome and violent than the next. But this is not your typical “whodunnit” crime mystery. The author introduces us to the murderer in the first chapter. We ultimately come to know that he is a Shakespeare-quoting former FBI forensic doctor. The remainder of the book delves into the life and motivations of the detective and the killer, illuminating the reason behind these brutal vengeance killings, and the chance factor that draws these characters together. The title suggests that Venice is the main setting of the story, but, in fact, the story primarily unfolds in and around Las Vegas, including the Venetian Resort. Although, toward the end of the book, there is some exciting action in Venice, Italy. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/when-the-walls-have-ears-and-other-plays monthly 0.5 2022-04-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/457cd5be-271c-4e25-8513-dea9d6a90936/whenthewallshaveears.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: When the Walls Have Ears and Other Plays - When the Walls Have Ears and Other Plays. David Hauptschein, Hauptschein Arts LLC, March 1, 2021, Paperback, 405 pages. Reviewed by Susan Gaspar. Plays are not meant as written entertainment. They are meant to be performed live and experienced by a living, breathing audience. Reading plays can feel a bit foreign, and both subtlety and spectacle can get lost in the transfer from page to brain. But it helps to have rich stage directions to flesh out the setting, the time period, the characters, and the pertinent stage business. The plays in David Hauptschein’s collection When the Walls Have Ears and Other Plays have been produced before. It’s advantageous to have a visual sense of the size and scope of those productions while reading. I am lucky to be familiar with some of the theaters and actors involved in these world premiere productions, but even without that knowledge, you’ll be fine envisioning these works because Hauptschein provides detailed descriptions and stage directions to guide the reader. The book contains five plays: “When the Walls Have Ears,” “The Playactor,” “Trance,” In Memory of Edgar Lutzen,” and “CAST.” To do a thorough review of each of these works is not possible in this forum, but as I read them, I noticed recurring themes and images, so I’ll use those observations as a springboard. And to be clear, this collection was an enjoyable read, even if I sometimes felt I may have missed some critical point or core understanding. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/we-are-eagles-inspiring-stories-of-immigrant-women-who-took-bold-steps-in-life-through-literacy monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d0040b94-c7e6-4db4-b552-c66417518858/weareeagles.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: We Are Eagles: Inspiring Stories Of Immigrant Women Who Took Bold Steps In Life Through Literacy. - We Are Eagles: Inspiring Stories Of Immigrant Women Who Took Bold Steps In Life Through Literacy. Anna Marie Kukec Tomczyk, Fig Factor Media Publishing, April 7, 2021, eBook and Paperback, 272 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. We are Eagles is a collection of true stories written by Anna Marie Kukec Tomczyk that chronicles the impact the Dominican Literacy Center in Aurora, Illinois, made on the lives of five immigrant women. The book also tells the story of the Dominican Literacy Center’s founding and expansion. Tomczyk structures her book into four parts: Life in the Nest, Leaving the Nest, Choosing to Fly, and Soaring Above the Clouds. Each part delves into the women’s lives before they discovered the Literacy Center, what prompted them to learn English, how they succeeded, and where they ended up. While each woman gets her due part, Maribel gets the most time and attention. The book itself is very easy to read. But, as I was reading it, I wondered if that was intentional so that English Language Learners could easily pick it up to read and feel inspired. The stories of the women were all quite different, but each went through seemingly insurmountable struggles to get to a place where they had comfortable and safe lives in the US. And while the pivotal moment for many of them was learning English, one of the signs of success for each woman was released from the fear of deportation and a journey toward citizenship. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/walking-on-pins-and-needles-a-memoir-of-chronic-resilience-in-the-face-of-multiple-sclerosis monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c11443a1-ae73-4781-9abd-72c884891e63/walkingonpinsandneedles.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Walking on Pins and Needles: A Memoir of Chronic Resilience in the Face of Multiple Sclerosis - Walking on Pins and Needles: A Memoir of Chronic Resilience in the Face of Multiple Sclerosis. Arlene Faulk, River Grove Books, February 15, 2022, eBook and Paperback, 268 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. Author Arlene Faulk gives a captivating story about dealing with multiple sclerosis. She drew me into her world—from the prologue of a young woman’s dreams of leaping into a responsible career as a new adult, living independently in the exciting and challenging era of the 1970s and 80s—all the way to the final page. Memoirs are often so personal that I feel like a voyeur, but Faulk’s engaging, frank storytelling made me part of her story, cheering, booing, and encouraging her, at times in a parental way, at various points along her journey of discovery. Perhaps because I have personal experience through friendships with this condition, Faulk’s perspective helped me take part in her life through her eyes and grow in empathy. As a newly minted adult, Faulk experiences frightening symptoms that could have easily been attributed to hysteria had her father not been a physician and helped direct her first medical consultation. During that consultation, the neurologist spoke to her father instead of to her as they directed her tests and received a result of “inconclusive.” She climbs the rungs on the corporate ladder in fits of strange symptoms as specific areas of her body seem to turn on and off. She copes with brain fog and extreme weakness and pain, mostly in her legs. A visit to a neurologist results in the dreaded “inconclusive” result. But this doctor asks her to track her symptoms and try steroid therapy. She joins a fitness club and makes special friends who encourage her to find a good balance in life—not easy for anyone. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/badger-state-a-wisconsin-memoir monthly 0.5 2022-03-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/dec5bc16-8bbf-458a-a5e1-3015627429cb/badgerstate.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Badger State: A Wisconsin Memoir - Badger State: A Wisconsin Memoir. Kathleen McDonough Mundo, Henschel House, October 28, 2020, 258 pages. Reviewed by Gabrielle Robinson. Whether you are from the Badger or another state or, like me, from Berlin, you’ll enjoy and learn from Kathleen McDonough Mundo’s memoir about growing up in 1970s Racine, Wisconsin. She sees her life both as the vulnerable child she was and from the perspective of the successful attorney she became. Kathleen is the youngest of six children in a working-class family struggling to make ends meet. But then, so were most of the other families around them. The first “character” in her story is their large old house that had “stairs and turns and rooms and corners in places you’d never expect.” The children loved it, and no one in the family seemed to care that it needed substantial repairs. Since both her parents had to work, the children were left on their own in controlled chaos. This chaos included dogs, cats, hamsters, turtles, parakeets, fish, whatever other animals they brought into the house, and a small marijuana farm an older brother ran in his closet. And, of course, fights among the siblings “who cared just enough about each other not to inflict permanent bodily injury.” Hardly big enough to reach the pedals, they managed to drive the family car through a fence and turn kitchen equipment into weapons. They “seemed to make a hobby out of turning the benign into dangerous” without ever seriously hurting each other or creating major damage. Instead, they learned to become independent, solve their own problems, and take of themselves. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/profound-secrets-of-jesus-and-his-inner-circle monthly 0.5 2022-03-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c5290fcc-3499-4daf-bd0e-672f8e8b2d08/ProfoundSecretsofJesusandHisInnercircle.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Profound Secrets of Jesus and His Inner Circle - Profound Secrets of Jesus and His Inner Circle. Patrick B. Cage, Christian Faith Publishing, Inc., March 9, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 164 pages. Review by Brian Johnston. Jesus is one of the most fascinating figures in the history of mankind. So much has been written about him, yet there is still a lot that we are trying to learn and to understand about him. As a Christian myself, I am frequently trying to understand Jesus's life and his teachings and to learn more about the salvation story. That is why I was interested to read Patrick B. Cage's new book, Profound Secrets of Jesus and His Inner Circle. The book seeks to explain the salvation story in detail while describing Jesus's relationship with many other important Biblical figures and why their role in the story is essential. In this regard, the book did not disappoint. The author objectively examines Christianity, something I feel we need more of today. Cage starts by discussing God's Covenants with the Patriarchs, followed by an examination of whether Jesus actually existed, concluding that he did. The book presents a lot of interesting information about many Biblical figures, much of which I did not know, and emphasizes the role that women played in Jesus's life. The author describes them as an important part of Jesus's ministry while spending a lot of time discussing the relationship with Mary Magdalene. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/if-trees-could-talk monthly 0.5 2022-03-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ff94eb7b-f177-4c1c-b8ae-8596189a3bed/iftreescouldtalk.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: If Trees Could Talk - If Trees Could Talk. Margot McMahon, Aquarius Press, December 14, 2021, Print, 315 pages. Review by Florence Osmund. If Trees Could Talk is a hybrid historical fiction-memoir by Margot McMahon that blends McMahon's ancestral family history starting in the early 1800s with noteworthy events during the same time. Beautifully written and well-edited, this book memorializes the wealth of information she uncovered researching her family background to not only understand them better, but to understand more about herself as a result of her relatives' direct and indirect influences. It is obvious that McMahon comes from a truly remarkable and talented family. Her mother, Mary Leahy McMahon, was a nationally recognized travel writer and a community advocate and teacher. McMahon's father, Franklin McMahon, was an international artist who won many awards. In addition to being an artist, he was an acclaimed reporter and filmmaker. Franklin McMahon was also a decorated WWII veteran who spent considerable time in a German POW camp. The inclusion of some of her father's illustrations throughout the book is testimony to his artistic prowess. A talented individual in her own right, author Margot McMahon's drawings and sculptures are in museums and other places all over the world. In addition, her special interests in environmental and humanitarian issues have been widely acknowledged. As the seventh of nine children, the author's story begins with her great grandparents emigrating from Ireland to the Adirondack Mountains of New York before eventually settling in Chicago. Her commentary on Chicago's historical landmarks, sights, and scenes effectively captures the essence of the city and its people over the decades. Her vivid descriptions of holiday gatherings give readers a sense of what it was like being raised in a large family with two active, community-oriented parents. Exposed to life in foreign countries from an early age, McMahon spent substantial time in Europe and South America growing up. One of the highlights of her childhood was being in Europe with her father for a month following her eighth-grade graduation. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/seven-springs-a-memoir monthly 0.5 2022-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2f629c5b-1aa5-4d16-a348-2c9024ec1937/sevenspringsamemoir.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Seven Springs: A Memoir - Seven Springs: A Memoir. Ellen Blum Barish, Shanti Arts Publishing, April 27, 2021, Electronic and Print, 137 pages. Review by Casie Gambrel. Ellen Blum Barish's Seven Springs: A Memoir is a short, engaging story that will tug at your heartstrings. At age twelve, Ellen and her school friend were passengers in a horrific car accident on their way home from school. The accident's aftermath shattered their friendship and led to years of silence within the author's own family. At her twenty-year high school reunion, Ellen was reunited with her friend. Their conversation broke years of silence and unlocked snippets of buried memories from the past, propelling the author on a quest to understand the truth of what happened. The book is an intimate portrait of Ellen's childhood and family dynamics from the protagonist's viewpoint as an adult. The author follows her journalistic instinct to seek many unanswered questions that life has thrown her way. The compassionate prose accompanies the reader as Ellen carries the weight of the traumatic experience and realizes the impact it has had on her life. She shines a light on her own journey as she makes sense of confusion, self-doubt, belonging, and family secrets. As Ellen pieces her story together, she finds the courage to unlock repressed memories and finally understand a gnawing feeling that will not go away. Ellen confronts her parents and faces her childhood friends with questions about the accident and its aftermath through her discovery process. Along the way, Ellen must ask for forgiveness and mend bridges for decisions others made on her behalf, unbeknownst to her. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-moments-between-dreams monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/bcb0ce30-d134-4cbc-96ae-63821b45de47/themomentsbetweendreams.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Moments Between Dreams - The Moments Between Dreams. Judith F. Brenner, Greenleaf Book Group Press, May 3, 2022, Paperback, 304 pages. Review by Charles Kuner. If you are looking for a novel that is relatable to the present-day struggles of ordinary people, allow me to recommend Judith F. Brenner's superb debut novel, The Moments Between Dreams. Though the book is a story of the 1940s and 50s, the issues and interpersonal relationships connect to our current times through concerns such as domestic violence, gender roles, disability discrimination, and the lasting scars of an epidemic (polio). Most importantly, the book examines the human need for self-determination. The Moments Between Dreams is emblematic of the saying "the more things change, the more they stay the same," and clearly shows that despite the progress we have made socially since the 1950's we are still struggling with many of the same issues, prejudices, and attitudes. Brenner's use of a linear time-based approach allows the reader to connect the dots while also permitting a framework within which the reader can gain an understanding of complicated issues and attitudes. Indeed, the novel opens with a story that hits close to the experiences of disappointment between the dream and the reality of freedom in a restrictive and hierarchical world. The story's protagonist and narrator, Carol, is a mother of two children: a boy (Tommy) and a girl (Ellie). Ellie has contracted polio and is in hospital isolation. Carol's husband Joe is about to head off to serve in WWII, but before he leaves, the reader is introduced to his impulsive and violent temper. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/killer-killer monthly 0.5 2022-02-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/02645e82-90bc-4ee8-9266-a009b00d0f43/killerkiller.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Killer Killer - Killer Killer. Frank May, Lost Ridge Press, June 27, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 258 pages. Review by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. Killer Killer is a novel written by Frank May that tells the story of killer whales in captivity through the lens of the people around them. Some of those people have nefarious, money-focused intent. Some genuinely care about the animals and want to do what’s best for them given the circumstances. Others don’t really think of the animals at all and just want to ooh and aah over what the whales can do. The book’s main character is Lee, a quiet young man who is respectful and appropriately fearful of the massive animals. He has been put in a position of power at an early age. He tries to follow in his predecessor’s footsteps to do the best he can to care for the killer whales, but his bosses have other ideas and care more about PR and profit margins than anything else. The novel comes to a head when, after a PR stunt to release the largest of the male whales back into the wild, it becomes clear that his decades of captivity make it impossible and dangerous to do so. What I like most about this book is that it has a point of view, but it’s not preachy. May clearly believes that killer whales should not be in captivity but makes his point through the people’s actions and the book’s plot, rather than on a bully pulpit. Even the characters themselves never take the time for a big speech or a proclamation that captivity is wrong. Their points become clear through the stories they tell and what happens to the whales. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/legacy-of-laughter-a-grandparent-guide-playbook monthly 0.5 2022-02-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b145ff32-8cfa-4dcf-bb2e-3bcc913b83d6/legacyoflaughter.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Legacy of Laughter: A Grandparent Guide & Playbook - Legacy of Laughter: A Grandparent Guide & Playbook. Mary Kay Morrison, Humor Quest, July 31, 2021, Paperback, 176 pages. Review by eMMe Lecos. When I was asked to review Legacy of Laughter: A Grandparent Guide & Playbook, I wondered what benefit my input could be not being a grandparent myself. Other than children who visit my bodywork practice and clients I coach on topics related to parenting, I have very few interactions with or about them. So I decided to approach the material from that professional perspective, and it became apparent early in the process Mary Kay Morrison’s book would be a beneficial read for anyone who has the occasion to communicate with a child, as well as those who believe people need to evolve into more humane and thoughtful beings. In my case, beyond increased professional knowledge, I learned more about how to be the kind of parent I had intended when my children were young and, unfortunately, more often than I hoped, fell short of becoming. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/a-dangerous-season-a-sheriff-matt-callahan-mystery monthly 0.5 2022-01-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/32fed611-6252-478c-adc8-aa71e0d66c26/adangerousseason.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Dangerous Season: A Sheriff Matt Callahan Mystery - A Dangerous Season: A Sheriff Matt Callahan Mystery. Russell Fee, Outer Island Press, September 6, 2021, Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook, 324 pages. Review by Marssie Mencotti. In Russell Fee’s newest addition to the Sheriff Matt Callahan Mystery universe, A Dangerous Season, Sheriff Matt Callahan expects to handle several minor but important requests from his constituents on iced-in Nicolet Island. It is an area rather carefully inhabited by both settlers and Native Americans, and there are tribal reservations intertwined with towns that support other residents. Two police forces also work side-by-side to provide dignity and respect for one another’s culture and native land. Beyond this greater endeavor lies a life of smaller events; for instance, some fine chickens are stolen, and the Sheriff discovers that a very young girl is the thief. But bigger issues begin to take precedence. The nearby lake, pristine and noted for its ice fishing competitions, has been contaminated by fish brought in by an unknown source. Soon, a murder discovered in the deep woods was executed in a macabre style that indicates an Ojibwe demon, Wendigo, known to punish avarice and hate. Another murder happens in town with no clear suspect emerging as the killer. The police force(s) gently question their suspects but make little headway. Sheriff Callahan thinks several steps ahead ala Arsène Lupin. Working with his deputies, Amanda and Nick, they begin to unravel the multiple mysteries side-by-side with their Native American counterparts, Chief of Police of the Sault Tribal Police, Ralph Tanner, and his deputy Josh. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/edge-of-sundown monthly 0.5 2022-01-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c23b490c-835d-405a-b975-5bbfab113675/edgeofsundown.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Edge of Sundown - Edge of Sundown. Jennifer Worrell, Darkstroke, October 6, 2020, Paperback and eBook, 229 pages. Review by Gail Galvan. What a fanciful and haunting concept: “A dystopian conspiracy theory set in a tangential universe when alien invaders eliminate undesirables perceived as drains on society.” That’s what Val Haverford, the main character of Edge of Sundown, dreamed up. Attempting to overcome his ten-year writer’s block spell, his idea is aimed at helping Chicago get some kind of system related to controlling the constant violence that plagues the Windy City. Yet fiction and reality begin to merge as the story unfolds. While reading the story for a while, I began waiting and wishing for something to happen. Characters were introduced, settings and themes explained, and I waited. Then bam! Sure enough, the author delivered—Haverford is viciously attacked. And soon after, another reality check in the story, a murder happens to someone Val is very much personally connected with. It seems violent criminals want to halt Val’s storytelling in the belief that the circulating storyline tidbits are hitting too close to reality. At one point, dealing with diminishing eyesight and merciless attackers, Haverford wonders if he should even continue the book. After all, he’s busy trying to stay alive and solve the murder that occurred and changed everything. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/wellton-county-hunters monthly 0.5 2022-01-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3fa796d8-e9a5-4655-9393-771ec4ef147a/image-asset.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: Wellton County Hunters - Wellton County Hunters. Simon A. Smith, Adelaide Books LLC, November 10, 2021, Paperback, 202 pages. Review by Bob King. Russ is lamenting, jilted by his former girlfriend, when he witnesses a murder in the alley behind his apartment building. But Wellton County Hunters is not just some formulaic murder mystery: instead, Russ makes one half-hearted attempt to search for the killer but abandons it rather quickly. The murder is then only occasionally mentioned again. Instead, the story focuses on certain characters trying to make sense of life in small-town Wellton. It is a fight against creeping nihilism, an attempt by twenty-somethings to find purpose where none is apparent. As a piece of literary fiction, character development, rather than plot, drives the story. We are introduced to several characters stuck in the rut that is Wellton. Russ, the protagonist, is a poor high school student and a recent college dropout. He spends most of his time drinking and getting stoned with his best friend Richie, who is devoted to his invalid mother, but otherwise as aimless as Russ. However, things may change as Russ embarks on a new career as a bank teller. Additional characters are introduced: Russ’ new boss Wayne, who has his own nerdiness with which to contend; Natalie, a cheerful fellow bank teller; Darlene, a friend of Natalie with whom Russ begins a budding love relationship. In a chance encounter on the street, Russ meets a Mexican-American couple, Daniel and Teresa, trying to buy a burned-out home in Wellton to fix up as their new home. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-first-wolf-pack-a-dogs-fable monthly 0.5 2022-01-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4cfad038-1c33-4d70-ac88-93ce5b335555/thefirstwolfpackadogsfable.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The First Wolf Pack: A Dog’s Fable - The First Wolf Pack: A Dog’s Fable. J. Daniel Reed, Terra 3 Communications LLC, November 15, 2021. Paperback and eBook, 220 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. J. Daniel Reed’s fantasy tale of The First Wolf Pack draws the reader into an imaginary world of two mighty predators who must decide to survive together or fight to the death. When an accidental hunting convergence brings two of the greatest ancient wolves into mortal combat, they realize they are so equally matched that they must use their great intelligence to seek a common goal: survival. Versa and Arn begin to care for each other. Together, they derive an ethic called the Wolf Ways. Told in the manner of the great sagas, the narrator, a contemporary dog named Bingley, reveals the secret of contemporary dog heritage through Versa and Arn’s story. Bingley’s tale is filled with lofty wisdom and bits of advice on how to be a family; not just any family but the best at parenting, the best at sharing the role of an alpha couple in a pack, the best at finding nutritious food and cooperation—the first Wolf Way. Versa and Arn are notably the first at many things, including digging an inground den to raise their first litter. As the family grows into the First Pack, Versa and Arn form the first wolf council, the Magnificent Ones, and establish the first Wolf Utterance. Soon the offspring grow toward maturity and ponder their parents’ ways. Why do they prosper and live in a pack and work together and not fight like the lone wolves? https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/other-realities-a-collection-of-fantasy-fiction-and-something-in-between-by-young-writers monthly 0.5 2022-01-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7bc51432-cde5-4576-b799-eb424365b949/image-asset.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: Other Realities: A Collection of Fantasy, Fiction and Something in Between By Young Writers - Other Realities: A Collection of Fantasy, Fiction, And Something in Between by Young Writers. Compiled by K.B. Jensen and Shelly Wilhelm. Written by Matilda Bosch, Ellyse Brumfield, Monte Canales, Niya Girish, Jaymie Gruber, Kayla Hari, Isabella Koroleva, Chloe Mosher, Rishi Niranjan, Anika Srinivasan, Alusha Vostrikova, Blue Square Publishing, November 17, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 170 pages. Review by Barbara Belford. Other Realities is an anthology of short stories by young writers, ages 11 to 13, who attended a virtual writing camp offered by My Word Publishing to help kids cope with the loss of summer programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All serious writers yearn for safe places where they can share their writing and hone their craft, and these young writers are no different. Because they are in the beginning stages of experimenting with style and genre, their stories are wonderful glimpses into what their writing futures might become. These stories are like rocks in a polishing tumbler or clay on a potter’s wheel—and I enjoyed witnessing their development. These stories gave me such hope for our next generation of authors. As a teacher, I know how much work an anthology can be. It’s a much larger project than just dotting i’s and crossing t’s, and to do it well—without squelching the creativity and enthusiasm of the young authors—is a delicate task. Each of these short stories shows the dedication of both the writer and their mentor. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/reflections-of-valor monthly 0.5 2022-01-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e7066f88-c8f1-45e6-aa1a-c95d0aa6e473/image-asset.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: Reflections of Valour - Reflections of Valour. James Elsener, Ledger Publishing, Inc., May 26, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 256 pages. Review by Gerry Souter. Reflections of Valour is a Vietnam War novel and the story of a United States Marine John Briggs, a volunteer who joined, served, and deployed. His death was officially recorded on the black granite Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, Panel 15-E, which lists those deaths in February 1967. The story begins with John’s former girlfriend, Brenda, tracing her fingers over the carved letters of his name on “The Wall.” Just touching the cold stone makes her feel like she’s holding him, telling him everything would be all right. They would have a life together. How many times had this scenario taken place along The Wall with its 57,000-war dead etched on its polished surface? How many times had those promises not been kept? https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/my-one-extraordinary-life-a-feline-memoir monthly 0.5 2022-01-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/01ce7519-5e30-4c40-8343-a14f86b7ea71/image-asset.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: My One Extraordinary Life: A Feline Memoir - My One Extraordinary Life: A Feline Memoir. T. D. Arkenberg, Outskirts Press, November 24, 2021, Print and eBook, 267 pages. Review by Lisa Lickel. Although a memoir, My One Extraordinary Life: A Feline Memoir, is really a fictional autobiographical adventure of one Dickens-quoting, Twain-reading homeless camp cat, Fluff, who learns the world is bigger than his slightly squashed cardboard container. He has a role to play, even if the first step is to venture outside of one’s box in the European city of Brussels, a place author T.D. Arkenberg knows well from living there once upon a time. In the territory of temporaries, Fluff learns that there exist tribal hierarchies. All manner of creatures exist side by side, and humans are known as “uprights.” When Fluff comes home from one of his romps, only brother Auguste welcomes him. However, it’s not long before Fluff is abandoned with the dismal advice that “it happens to us all. Time for you to stand on your own four paws.” Grumps, an older cat, has filled Fluff’s head with tales of adventure, and when Fluff believes he’s been orphaned, he decides, though hesitant and fearful, to dream big and explore the world and hopefully find his lost family. It’s not always easy to know who to trust, and sometimes one just has to get his paws dirty to achieve results. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/glory-unbound monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fd986f0e-7754-44ec-826c-7ee6547c7681/image-asset.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: Glory Unbound - Glory Unbound. Deborah L. King, Red Adept Publishing, November 1, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 476 pages. Review by Sierra Kay. Deborah L. King once again delivers on the promise of Glory Bishop. In the second book in the series, Deborah continues to take the reader through Glory’s embattled life. Although the book is one of a series, the flashbacks in the second novel are sufficient for this to read as a standalone novel. However, this novel has potentially triggering content that includes descriptions of physical and emotional abuse. In Glory Unbound, Glory Bishop is freed from her mother’s tyrannical grasp by her bad boy-turned-minister fiancé, Malcolm Porter, and placed under the watchful eye of Malcolm’s mother. Malcolm's mother has her own opinions of what's appropriate for Glory as a future daughter-in-law and first lady. Glory is introduced to Chicago society and given advantages that she didn’t even know existed. Her wardrobe is improved, and educational opportunities appeared, all of which make her confidence grow. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/blood-oath-no-mans-land-book-one monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/cb644d86-6525-4949-aeef-1aade1920bc7/image-asset.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: Blood Oath (No Man's Land Book One) - Blood Oath (No Man's Land Book One). Luke Atkinson, Amazon Publishing, October 26, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 457 pages. Review by Wayne Turmel. If you enjoy Western adventures and the fantasy tropes of elves, vampires, and shamanistic magic, Luke Atkinson’s new novel is the book for you. It’s an entertaining tale that puts an Old Western spin on current urban fantasy tropes. At first blush, Calamity (Cal) Cooper is the kind of outlaw you see in Western novels and stories all the time. He’s a cowboy, outlaw, and (mostly reformed) bank robber. What’s different is that he fights magical creatures in the town of Hexed Springs in the middle of No Man’s Land. The book is full of violent, bloody—and occasionally funny—action. Readers who are into either urban fantasy or westerns will enjoy this unique story and the skillful way both the violence and magic snake through the book like a desert rattler. A good list of supporting characters includes his ex-partner in crime saloon keeper, a Haitian expert in the occult, and a vampire king with bad intentions towards the town. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/at-first-sight-global-security-unlimited-1 monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/79abafb3-d6bc-412e-8258-d70930860cc3/image-asset.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: At First Sight: Global Security Unlimited 1 - At First Sight: Global Security Unlimited 1. Sharon Michalove, Self-Published, October 22, 2021, 342 pages. Review by Paula Mikrut. Written by Sharon Michalove, At First Sight falls into romantic suspense. The predictable attraction between the Scottish Max Grant, formerly an M-16 operative in England, and Cressida Taylor, the talented but withdrawn writer, plays out in a series of opulent settings around Chicago. Michalove misses no opportunities to describe the hero’s luxurious belongings, from Max’s collection of expensive cars to his bespoke suits. At forty, Chicagoan Cressida is a successful writer of historical fiction. When she is shortlisted for the Hugo/Dumas Award for her latest novel, Queen of Nowhere, a fictionalized biography of fifteenth-century queen Catarina Cornaro, Cress heads to Everest, the renowned Chicago restaurant, to celebrate with her friends. Just being a finalist for the prize will boost her public recognition. In fact, Cressida has a television interview scheduled for the next day. Unfortunately, the gorgeous but klutzy writer skids on her stiletto heels outside the restaurant entrance, which sends her possessions flying. Her shopping bag hits a man entering the same eatery. Mortified with embarrassment, she notices that he is amazingly handsome, even as she blurts out apologies. Cress is unaware that they have met twenty years before when both were students at Oxford University. However, the man, Max, remembers her clearly because she has been in his mind ever since they met. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/in-the-aftermath monthly 0.5 2022-01-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/69e2fc37-1184-4472-9321-7c43d0696886/image-asset.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: In the Aftermath - In the Aftermath. Jane Ward, She Writes Press, September 21, 2021, Print and eBook, 342 pages. Review by Paula Mikrut. For ten years, Jules and David Herron have owned a bakery together. She bakes, he handles the finances. Business is good—or so Jules thinks—and their biggest problem is the contractor who has abandoned them in the middle of an expansion project. In truth, the contractor left because he hasn’t been paid. Although he hasn’t told Jules, David took a second mortgage on their house and loaded up on debt during the housing bubble, but it wasn’t enough. By April 2008, the economy is in recession, the bakery’s business is suffering, and the bank is calling. Feeling overwhelmed and isolated, David dies by suicide. After her husband’s death, Jules finds out that she is on the brink of bankruptcy. She is forced to give up her house, and she hands over control of the business to her father-in-law in exchange for his financial assistance. The anger complicates the grief she feels toward her husband for all that he hid from her. As the title clarifies, In the Aftermath deals much less with David’s suicide than the people around him who struggle to piece their lives back together after his death. We see the points of view of Jules, their daughter, David’s best friend, and even the banker who managed their loans and the detective who investigated his death. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/slay-the-dragon-a-joi-sommers-mystery monthly 0.5 2022-01-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/88c1b3cd-f386-4b6a-85bc-bfe997744d41/41l%2BDQ-SIFS.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Slay the Dragon, A Joi Sommers Mystery - Slay the Dragon, A Joi Sommers Mystery. Susan D. Peters, Sunrise Consulting, September 3, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 313 pages. Review by Opal Freeman. Slay the Dragon: A Joi Sommers Mystery is an action-packed mystery captivating the reader from the first paragraph to the last sentence of the final chapter. Author Susan D. Peters strategically crafts every chapter to keep the reader interested, engaged, and positioned to anticipate whatever will come next. I appreciated the flow and mystery of the book, which persuaded me to continue to read. The plot includes the collaboration of Detective Joi Sommers and her partner Detective Russell Wilkerson to solve the frightful case of the death of an eleven-year-old girl as a result of strangulation. The combined experience between them enhances their commitment to do whatever is necessary to solve the crime. Although their biggest challenge is to put aside the emotions they feel about who would kill a child, the investigation continues with determination and ultimate strength to solve the case and ultimately put the person responsible in jail. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/azalea-bluff monthly 0.5 2022-01-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7fbee0d1-cae1-4faa-ac93-0ff3e1b273af/image-asset.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: Azalea Bluff - Azalea Bluff. Dennis Hetzel, Headline Books: Terra Alta, WVA, June 23, 2021, Paperback, 240 pages. Review by Marssie Mencotti. Azalea Bluff is the third novel written by Dennis Hetzel. This one evolved from an audio version of a short story written by his friend, Ed Galloway. The audio version was a homage to old-time radio with peaks and valleys to create a titillating audio experience. Azalea Bluff is constructed as a solid mystery with a variety of subplots. In a hypothetical beach community at Azalea Bluff in North Carolina lives a family with only minor dysfunction as their children mature, leave the nest, and sometimes return. Jim and Kim Claven’s daughter, Olivia, returns to live with her parents following the untimely death of her fiancé and work-related financial setbacks. She gets a tip that something mysterious has fallen from the sky onto the 50- yard line of her home high school football field. She sets out, determined to get the scoop for her online newspaper. As she gets close enough to observe a mysterious large, bell-shaped object, she is abducted. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/nothing-else-is-love monthly 0.5 2022-01-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c15631bc-5f48-4c86-8afe-d5b724446768/image-asset.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: Nothing Else is Love - Nothing Else is Love. Gina Linko. Touchpoint Press, October 12, 2021, eBook, 407 pages. Review by Sierra Kay. Nothing Else is Love is a novel about Alice Grier’s journey to self-discovery. While many books are journeys about self-discovery, this one is slightly different because Alice has memories, skills, and experiences that seeming came from nowhere. Since childhood, Alice has been able to speak flawless French, play the piano, and mix perfume—all abilities she has retained from memories of a past life she refers to as the before. In 1998 when Alice turns twenty-five, she joins a graduate project researching the history of St. Paul to dive deeper into learning more about the before and the feelings and memories floating just beneath the surface. Her investigation leads to discovering a love story of two immigrants who lived in Swede Hollow in St. Paul in the 1920s, one of those being Rune Folkeson. He was a Swedish immigrant who came to America to reunite his family (mother and two brothers) with their father. It also led Alice to learn that the life and emotions she experiences in the memories of the before are those of French immigrant Catarin Guillet, an immigrant from France, whose life and emotions she’s experiencing in the memories of the before. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-color-of-trauma monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8fd441cd-8371-43cd-b1ed-148fdf9b331a/image-asset.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Color of Trauma - The Color of Trauma. Hollie Smurthwaite, Self-Published, August 30, 2021, 389 pages. Review by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. The Color of Trauma bills itself as a romantic thriller, but it is much more than that. Leaping magical realism, The Color of Trauma imagines that certain people can link to the minds of others and access their memories. These “memory surgeons” can also remove painful or frightening memories, sparing trauma victims the horror of having to relive terrifying moments in their lives. Kiera Brayleigh is a renowned memory surgeon who is isolated by her gift. This is especially true in the decade since she broke with her grasping parents. They had marketed her talents, forcing her to take on the horrible cases, thereby making millions in the removal of unwanted memories from the minds of the traumatized. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/the-pissers-theatre monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/cec41de5-ea89-45ea-8d71-bfd24b6d9671/image-asset.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Pissers’ Theatre - The Pissers’ Theatre. Eckhard Gerdes, Black Scat Books, June 10, 2021, Paperback, 112 pages. Review by Paige Doepke. The Pissers' Theatre is delightfully unique in the best of ways. It follows two women: Karen, who lives in downtown Chicago, and Kay, in the suburbs. On the radio, one of the friends wins tickets to a local theater production titled "The Pissers' Theatre." Since the tickets were free and it's opening night, neither friend gathered any context for the production they were attending. As it turns out, the play's title, "The Pissers' Theater," is not indicative of the play itself but of how the audience affects the play. For example, when an audience member has to go to the bathroom, they push a button and the actors immediately pause until all patrons have returned to their seats. This unusual and hilarious addition to the theater experience (which has many senior patrons) means endless intermissions. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-under-the-viaduct-memories-from-the-manor-and-beyond monthly 0.5 2022-01-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a472542b-f19f-4af2-9c2d-70b0af3cb73e/51erojMFplS.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Under the Viaduct: Memories from the Manor and Beyond - Under the Viaduct: Memories from the Manor and Beyond. Debra Kaplan Low, Book Street Press, September 30, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 155 pages. Reviewed by Marcie Hill. It was a joy to read Under the Viaduct: Memories from the Manor and Beyond by Debra Kaplan Low. In addition to sharing stories about her life under the viaduct, Debra gives readers history lessons about Chicago, Jewish traditions, race in Chicago, and more. Her sense of humor and creative wordplay add an extra level of engagement to this captivating read. As I read this book, I felt like I knew Debra personally. Debra describes Jeffrey Manor as a “paradise within the confines of a neighborhood.” It was refreshing to read firsthand accounts about the manor’s people, places, and activities that shaped Debra’s life. The residents were close because of their shared housing, experiences, and relationships. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-katie-bar-the-door monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/08ad0e82-56e2-4d24-a77e-106c7b227ff0/cvr_kbd1.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Katie, Bar the Door - Katie, Bar the Door. Ruth Hull Chatlien, Amika Press, September 22, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 466 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. Katie, Bar the Door is a novel written by Ruth Hull Chatlien that follows the life of Katie Thompson and how her formative years impact her life's choices. After her father's death, Katie never lets herself grieve and internalizes the messages of her Baptist mother in ways that twist and distort who she was meant to be. The book is a journey to see how she hits rock bottom and then pulls herself up again, all while untangling the web of judgment she's told herself and has been told by others. Katie, Bar the Door does not shy away from any topic—whether it be disparate Christian viewpoints, sex crimes, and sexual identity, the role of women in relationships and marriage, or the bonds between parents and children. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-finnigan-the-lionhearted monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/49bb1909-4a8c-49d1-8dea-bbe1ba689e3d/51XX8kCaGL._SX322_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Finnigan the Lionhearted - Finnigan the Lionhearted. Mary T. Wagner, Waterhorse Press, December 2020, Electronic and Print, 159 pages. Reviewed by Casie Gambrel. Mary T. Wagner’s Finnigan the Lionhearted is a charming tale perfect for children of all ages, even the young at heart. This book is a marvelous trip down memory lane for anyone who remembers going to the circus as a child—and a most authentic introduction to the magic of the circus for those too young to have ever experienced it. The descriptions are so vivid you can almost hear the Ringmaster’s baritone voice announcing “Ladies and Gentlemen” with such power that it will have you leaning forward and rustling your popcorn box in excitement. Adorable pen illustrations add a visual sprinkle of joy for younger readers. The storyline features a vast array of unique circus characters forming the most unexpected friendships and delivering meaningful life lessons along the way. The main characters are two curious mouse cousins, Max and Leroy, and their sweet pal Finnigan the Cat. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-powerballs-be-careful-what-you-wish-for monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5470453f-68eb-441b-8e4e-5853916d8ebd/41pYg8S822S.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: POWERBALLS: Be careful what you wish for - POWERBALLS: Be careful what you wish for. Jimmy Clifton, Northport Communications, May 6, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 250 pages. Reviewed byFlorence Osmund. Author Jimmy Clifton’s Powerballs is a cautionary tale about what can potentially happen to ordinary folks who win big in the lottery and fail to seek out advice on how to avoid the dreaded “lottery curse.” Husband and wife Henry and Rose Ball struggle to make ends meet and keep their marriage from falling apart. Henry hates his boss and wishes he didn’t have to go to work each day. Rose daydreams of a better life, one with someone more exciting than Henry. When the Balls win a huge Powerball lottery—the answer to their prayers and solution to all their problems—things change fast. They spend scant time planning what they will do with the money and go on separate spending sprees with no concern for what consequences their actions might bring. It doesn’t take long for their lives to become completely out of control. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-memory-tree monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c9023574-b4de-4416-9ec8-1354fd6acfa4/51EYVBYvVKS._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Memory Tree - Memory Tree. Bill Mathis, Rogue Phoenix Press, April 27, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 215 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. Memory Tree is a poignant novel about a dying man, his relationship with his caretaker, and his entanglements with his already deceased family members. The book is metaphysically complex, describing death as a kind of conscious but constrained areligious limbo. Mathis says of the novel: To me, Memory Tree encapsulates many levels of life: secrets, race, racism, revenge, regrets, death, love and hope. I believe we are made from the elements of stardust and return to similar elements when we die. Eula, a dead child suspended in Mathis’ transitional post-life state, opens the novel. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-rage monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1631054078110-RM3FXCA4O8UWNAQQAZIH/31mgcM-B-wS._SX311_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Rage - Rage. Sue Rovens, Plump Toad Press/Bowker, June 22nd, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 232 pages. Review by Susan Gaspar. Straddling the genres of suspense, horror, and crime fiction, Rage is an affecting tale of human unravelling. Sue Rovens continues in the gruesome tradition of her earlier work Buried (2019) and brings us characters teetering on the edge who slowly devolve into ghastly, feral versions of themselves. For the reader, Rage feels like sliding into an unsettling yet fascinating shadow world. The book’s first half is a slow burn that simmers with near-constant tension. The book’s title haunts and tantalizes with looming inevitability, and you wonder just when the Rage will explode. But Rovens makes us wait. For lovers of psychological thrillers and suspense, this book works from chapter one. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-prince-of-wheelwrights-george-ferris-and-his-great-wheel monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5e0a4d5c-15b5-4653-aabe-a75cee037b9f/514OP8tn3nS._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Prince of Wheelwrights: George Ferris and his Great Wheel - The Prince of Wheelwrights: George Ferris and his Great Wheel. Jack Klasey, Looking Back Publications, April 21, 2021, Electronic and Print, 395 pages. Reviewed by T.L. Needham. The Prince of Wheelwrights: George Ferris and his Great Wheel by Jack Klasey, is as magnificent an event in storytelling as the subject itself. Yet, one must ponder, what subject? Am I referring to the fantastic and brilliant creation, the Ferris Wheel? Or, the superb genius who created this glorious and magnificent monstrosity, as some would call it, George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.? In this book, the story is brilliantly told by author Jack Klasey. He begins not with the great wheel but another magnificent engineering achievement in the late 19th century: in 1889, Gustave Eiffel’s 984-foot iron tower, conceived and erected in 1889 as a feature of the Paris Universal Exposition. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-shadows-unveiled monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/45607577-5ea6-4651-9cfc-6f89f8bc0bee/41xrmPZDJcL._SX322_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Shadows Unveiled - Shadows Unveiled. Amanda Berthault, EdenEcho Publishing, August 10, 2021, Electronic and Print, 229 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. Shanley, a mysterious pool hustler, arrives in Kansas with little more than a truck to live in, dwindling cash in his pocket, and a need to earn money yet stay on the move. The drama escalates when a young girl, obviously alone and defenseless, comes to town wearing a t-shirt that means trouble to Shanley. This contemporary action-adventure opens with a noir feeling as Shanley’s favored costume is a black fedora and sunglasses worn at all times. As we peel back the layers of secrets, we’re drawn into a life on the run. Shanley and Macy are engaging people, lovingly illustrated, and wholly engaging. Who couldn’t cheer them on as Shanley reluctantly agrees to help young Macy travel across the country? Their innocent adventure turns harrowing as they encounter the underside of humanity. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-from-dog-to-wolf monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c0aa298d-5775-44e5-b3b1-64730106c91c/41sx23RgaOS._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: From Dog to Wolf - From Dog to Wolf. Delbert Sandlin, MindStir Media, May 5, 2021, Paperback and E-Book, 194 pages. Reviewed by Denise Roma. From Dog to Wolf by Lake Forest, IL author Delbert Sandlin is the story of a Native American boy, his tribe, and its history. Through the voice of young teen Daniel, we hear the well-known stories of the U.S. government's theft of land from tribes, the breaking of treaties, and the battle of Wounded Knee. Sandlin tells of the realities of native people whose land was stolen and then sent out to infertile land to live lives of poverty. His protagonist and other young characters struggle with wanting to leave their reservation while not wanting to abandon their families and traditions. Sandlin offers an interesting historical dive into American Indian life. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-truth-and-other-lies monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5a4b901d-385f-4412-b098-f974dbce6c2b/510LXiQdFPL._SX322_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Truth and Other Lies - Truth and Other Lies. Maggie Smith, Ten 16 Press, an imprint of Orange Hat Publishing, March 8 2022, Paperback and E-Book, 356 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Sherman. Maggie Smith intertwines ambition, friendship, and family with the power of secrets and social media in her new novel Truth and Other Lies. Truth and Other Lies tells the story of New York Journalist Megan Barnes. She loses her job, gets dumped by her boyfriend, and returns to her childhood home of Chicago where her overbearing mother is running for Congress. Not only does Megan disagree politically with her mother, she also finds that, as the child of a candidate, no news agency will hire her. To let off steam, Megan attends a rally on a college campus where she protects Jocelyn Jones, a successful journalist Megan admires, from a physical confrontation. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-ring monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8a0b3cb6-7508-4c46-833b-b369c81f43db/41C9SVxXfS._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Ring - The Ring. Florence Osmund, Self-published, 2021, Paperback and E-Book, 323 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. The Ring is a novel written by Florence Osmund. It explores the very complicated relationships of Paige and Jessivel, two strangers who seemingly have nothing in common. The story unfolds as the perspective jumps back and forth between Paige, a very well-off, caring, hardworking person, and Jessivel, a poor, struggling, stubborn person. You wonder how their worlds will ever come together, and the answer is partly through circumstance and partly through sheer determination (mostly on Paige’s part). Through these events, these two women’s lives become intricately and forever tangled. While the drama of what is happening in their lives propels the story forward, it is Paige’s strength and influence that grounds the story, and it is Jessivel’s personal growth that fulfills it. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-turning-points monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3c90847d-bb43-46f1-abb0-ed23586cf1ca/41WZsqsHedS._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Turning Points - Turning Points. Renee James (for Off-Campus Writers' Workshop), Windy City Publishers, June 13 2021, Paperback and E-Book, 344 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. This anthology was created to celebrate Off Campus Writers' Workshop's 75th anniversary. OCWW members, working together for more than a year, created Turning Points, a collection of fiction and creative non-fiction. The anthology features a forward by Fred Shafer and a preface by Scott Turow, along with 43 pieces that cover a wide spectrum of genres. They were composed by authors who range from first-time short story writers to extensively published writers of short and long fiction as well as non-fiction. This is an impressive collection of carefully curated work. Each piece is put forward with a depth of care and thoughtfulness that continues to impress long after the first reading. This anthology is like opening several boxes of Forrest Gump’s chocolates. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-necessary-explosion-collected-poems monthly 0.5 2021-09-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1632064625302-WDJA1Y7RMJ06WL7YE63J/5170XJvzrZS._SX346_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Necessary Explosion: Collected Poems - A Necessary Explosion: Collected Poems. Dan Burns, Chicago Arts Press, June 25 2021, Paperback, Hardcover, and E-Book, 161 pages. Review by T. L. Needham. “A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.” —Robert Frost Robert Frost is the poet who launched my love of poetry. He is my gage for judging other poets. His complete works was the first poetry book I acquired and began the collection on my bookcase. I read Frost’s poems The Road Not Taken and Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening so many times I memorized them. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-sweetness-of-venus-a-history-of-the-clitoris monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/35e17f25-63e6-4cbc-8926-063f3f3cd355/51K5WDMdaJL._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Sweetness of Venus: A History of the Clitoris - The Sweetness of Venus: A History of the Clitoris. Sarah Chadwick, Wild Pansy Press, February 14 2021, Paperback and E-Book, 253 pages. Reviewed by Julie S. Halpern. Women’s health, particularly gynecology and female sexuality, has been the domain of male doctors and scientists throughout history. From ancient physicians and scholars such as Galen (whose theories were regarded as the gold standard for over a thousand years!) to Freud, women’s bodies have been diminished, feared, and pathologized. The clitoris may be the least understood and most maligned organ in the human body. Missing or poorly represented in most paintings, sculptures, and medical illustrations of women throughout the centuries, Sarah Chadwick asserts that the clitoris deserves respect and understanding. It needs to be seen as its unique and very important self rather than an inferior, inverted, or lesser version of the male penis. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-last-hope-for-hire monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9beeb600-e00a-46dc-a213-3363c939f731/41NYCta3LrL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Last Hope For Hire - Last Hope for Hire. Matthew Wilcox, The Wild Rose Press, Adams Basin, NY, 2021, Paperback, 338 pages. Reviewed byJose Nateras. Last Hope For Hire, Matthew Wilcox’s debut novel, is an exciting, high-tech adventure exploit with futuristic mercenary Allen Moran as its protagonist. This book takes the trope of a super-soldier, the likes of Jason Bourne, and imagines what it might be like if said super-solider was a middle-aged father forced to put his experience to use as a mercenary to get treatment for his ailing son. Wilcox effectively paints the picture of a loving father willing to do anything within his power to save his child while also building a world full of futuristic technology, robot soldiers, and a rag-tag team of adventuring associates—a testament to the author’s ability to embrace a variety of influences. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-david-massie-and-the-quantum-flux monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/425c1341-601c-4583-8148-3b496e309328/51GBuVwp3kL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: David Massie and the Quantum Flux - David Massie and the Quantum Flux. Andrew M. Nehring, IngramSpark, 2021, Trade Paperback and E-book, 134 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. Andrew M. Nehring’s middle-grade science fiction novel, David Massie and the Quantum Flux is the first in a series of David Massie books. In the Quantum Flux novel, the protagonist, David, is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his genius brother, Morgan. The pressure is on when the reader finds out that David is the only one who knows that Morgan left to pursue something otherworldly. In the five years since his departure, David has done his best to learn as much as he can about the technology that Morgan left behind while also trying to live up to his brother’s legacy. Unbeknownst to David, a seemingly evil and dark figure has a plan for him. One day, as David and his friend Rory walk home, a dark figure casts them in a purple light that will forever change their lives. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-f-words monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b852ab46-04f3-4825-8fa8-665e4adf4151/51i9Jmh8IkS._SX311_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The F Words - The F Words. Barbara Gregorich, Cross Your Heart, imprint of City of Light Publishing, Buffalo NY, September 1, 2021, Electronic, Paper, approx. 380 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. It is completely refreshing to read a book about a good kid making restitution for doing a bad thing while figuring out constructive ways to deal with injustice. Chicago high school sophomore Cole Renner comes to grips with the fact that he is not going to change the world all at once, but that he can and should make a difference in his own environment. Barbara Gregorich uses her experience as an activist and lover of sports to create a marvelous cast of eclectic teachers, staff, students, and parents in this street-level view of precarious teen life in contemporary Chicago. Cole is beyond frustrated when his father receives jail time for leading a protest against closing a local public elementary school. All this over a grade school, Cole thinks. It’s one more event in a long list of frustrations over inequality, petty revenge, getting dumped by his girlfriend, and upside-down thinking he encounters in his life. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-taking-the-cape-off-how-to-lead-through-mental-illness-unimaginable-grief-and-loss monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7caf4ec9-88ac-46b4-93a7-51154bb1c259/51j-cTcgmvL._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Taking the Cape Off: How to Lead Through Mental Illness, Unimaginable Grief and Loss - Taking the Cape Off: How to Lead Through Mental Illness, Unimaginable Grief and Loss. Patrick J. Kenny. Global Wellness Media/Strategic Edge Innovations Publishing, November 18, 2020, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 311 pages. Reviewed by eMMe (Deb) Lecos. Patrick Kenny’s book, Taking the Cape Off: How to Lead Through Mental Illness, Unimaginable Grief and Loss, is an open invitation to normalize mental illness so that it is treated like any other physical illness. I found this book an inspirational switch for the fleet of helpers to champion those living with difficult mental statuses, as well as their family members, friends, and coworkers. It includes a fierce message to leadership—those in political positions, community and business organizations, as well as other institutions—to don their “capes” and crusade for and assist people experiencing mental and/or emotional crises. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-coyote-loop monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2bef0337-a132-4086-bbd9-691db014632b/41x4DHsrI2L._SY346_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Coyote Loop - Coyote Loop, L.C. Fiore. Adelaide Books, New York, January 30, 2021, Paperback and Kindle, 336 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. There are two things you should know about Coyote Loop. First, it’s an exquisitely written tale about relationships that evolves into a special sort of love story. It’s not a love story in either the physical or romantic sense, but a deeper, more interesting one; about what love should mean between best friends and between a father and his teenage daughter. When worlds are exploding, the damage done by taking either bond for granted is hard to repair, a lesson that our hard-to-love protagonist is destined to learn. Second, Coyote Loop feels like Chicago. The Windy City takes the stage as a character, breathing and heaving with both its beauty and warts. The city’s essence swirls like a gust around the city’s iconic Picasso sculpture or a stiff, chilly breeze over an outfield wall at a White Sox game. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-trickster monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/dd6a4a38-140d-4b18-b9e7-3538e16fcf80/The-Trickster-RGB-1.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Trickster - The Trickster, Dorothy A. Winsor. Inspired Quill, March 27, 2021, Print and Kindle, 330 pages. Reviewed by Barbara Belford. Dorothy A. Winsor’s young adult fantasy, The Trickster, takes its name from one of the gods in the world in which the novel is set, and true to its namesake, the book spins a tale that keeps readers on their toes, with plot twists and complex main characters. Dilly—an abandoned street girl—attempts to transform her rough ways to play the role of Lady Elenia’s court attendant. Her beloved dog, Tuc—a fierce and loyal companion—plays an integral part in the story. Fitch—the son of a well-known smuggler with a gift of mind control—seeks revenge for the poisoning of his sweetheart. When Dilly meets Fitch, they unite in foiling a plot to overthrow Elenia’s father, Suryan, the ruler of Lac’s Holding, but unwittingly jeopardize both their goals. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-dangerous-freedom monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9f15be46-9cb9-4632-99a4-778b12b7c570/51z51Gh105L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Dangerous Freedom - A Dangerous Freedom, John Ruane. Permuted Press, March 31, 2021, Print and Kindle, 236 pages. Reviewed by Sue Merrell. John Ruane’s latest book, A Dangerous Freedom, is a tale for our times. Mass shootings, so realistic they appear pulled from the nightly news, dot scene after scene in the book. This provides a pretty convincing background for the book’s central question: Is it time to get a gun? The book opens on 9/11/2001 when the main character, Dylan Reilly, is a sophomore at a Chicago Catholic High School. It’s a great way to instantly grab the reader’s attention because there isn’t an American over 25 who doesn’t have vivid memories of where they were that day. Then the tale fast forwards more than a decade to the day when Dylan and his wife Darlene are in New York visiting the recently opened 9/11 museum. Almost instantly, they find themselves caught in one of the senseless mass shootings that seem to have become a daily occurrence. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-coming monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/86fce2d5-062b-4c42-850d-966610d7c65a/517fg7ojcpL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Coming - The Coming, Dan Coffman. Covenant Books, Murrells Inlet, SC, September 1, 2020, Paperback and Kindle, 320 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. Dan Coffman has written numerous novels that center on the idea that the world we live in is not as it appears. Many of these stories take the form of fables, and through them, Coffman explores the idea that forces unseen steer the course of humanity. Are these forces spiritual, be they demons or angels? Or are they extraterrestrials whose visits have morphed into the legends we tell ourselves about the mystic creatures we regard as sent from our gods? The Coming is the most recent incarnation of this storytelling continuum. Coffman posits a real-world struggle that is being fought behind the scenes between the governments of the world and shadowy forces inside the world’s religions. All the parties have one goal: to suppress the knowledge that aliens have been visiting the Earth for most of humanity’s history. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-connubial-corpse monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8129c844-2aad-40ad-a513-ff0bf53294e6/51ZvBpGPeWL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Connubial Corpse - The Connubial Corpse, Thomas J. Thorson. Self-published, February 21, 2021, E-Book and Paperback, 238 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. The Connubial Corpse is the second mystery novel in Thomas J. Thorson’s Malcom Winters series. The story begins when a very enterprising student, Lily Cheng, stops coming to Professor Vinn (V.N.) Achison's college class. Not knowing where her responsibility to the student lies, Vinn turns to her friend Malcom. They connect with a Chicago police officer who shares information about another recent case that could be connected. Vinn and Malcom begin to ask questions and enlist an interesting group of friends to assist them, including a cross-dressing businessman, an elderly faux Cuban cook, an overeager journalism student, a government source hiding behind a Vladimir Putin mask, and a posse of eccentric misfits. Their actions draw the attention of the local criminal Triad, putting a target on our heroes' backs before a final confrontation in a most unexpected place. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-how-to-walk-on-water monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/41ae64d8-e006-4ccc-861a-d100d66b9fd4/412j-u0jHVL._SX326_BO1204203200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: How to Walk on Water - How to Walk on Water. Rachel Swearingen. New American Press, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2020, Paperback, 175 pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. In How to Walk on Water, her debut collection, Rachel Swearingen presents readers with characters moving through lives that are simultaneously less than they dreamed of and more than they can handle. Many of the stories in Swearingen's collection take place in the Midwest—most written while Swearingen was at Western Michigan University. She consistently subverts the idea of "Midwest Nice," revealing a sinister edge to her characters' interactions with neighbors, coworkers, and even family. With Swearingen at the helm, romantically charged encounters between men and women become eerie with possibility and disaster ("Felina," "Notes to a Shadowy Man"). In her prose, regular people are revealed to have secrets, desires, and pains that unfold into Hitchcockian spirals. One example is "Mitz's Theory of Everything Series," wherein memories of a troubled friend haunt a young artist. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-no-lies-live-forever monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7b7f9a74-b922-4a20-8803-87eb85963e12/51LeD6m9fL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: No Lies Live Forever - Compher, Catherine Fatica. No Lies Live Forever. Austin Macauley Publishers LLC, November 30 2020, Print and E-Book, 279 pages. Reviewed by Paige Doepke. No Lies Live Forever is first and foremost a love story, but perhaps not in the way many of us think of “love stories.” In some ways, sure, it is the typical love story of a man and a woman. But more than that, it’s a story about the love of a father toward his children. I very much enjoyed this unique angle and the format in which the story was told, over several decades, with each chapter dedicated to a different character’s perspective. The main character and father, Sal Casalino, has spent his life trying to be the “good guy” in situations that keep trying to force him to be bad. When decisions he made to keep his family afloat as a young man in Italy come back to haunt him as an older man with a wife and children in America, he chooses to put his family first, as he has done each time before. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-reflections-echoes monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2ceaa7e0-313c-4e45-8dd5-29d211e0a0ae/41WxyAUUUvL._SX322_BO1204203200_+%281%29.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Reflections & Echoes - Reflections & Echoes. Sandra M. Colbert. Windy City Publishers, Chicago, IL, January 2021, Print, 162 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. Chicago native Sandra Colbert's latest poignant short fiction collection features characters who make life-changing and life-challenging choices. Left behind and pushing forward are the answers and those who must come to terms with those decisions' effects. Colbert explores forgiveness and confession, do-overs, and special people who run the good kind of interference in nine pieces. In the opening story, "The Forgiving," Marty is abandoned and left swimming in fury when her older protector and hero brother is murdered in an apparently senseless act. Colbert deftly weaves a series of points of view together as Marty learns that maybe the act wasn't as senseless as it appeared, and the echoes of her brother's heroism could ripple on if she chooses not to feed her fury. "Voyagers" portrays a well-adjusted young girl reaching out to an immigrant boy with a painful past. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-ghost-dancer monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b03dce39-8d8d-48fb-9e5e-44423969e10d/56948673+%281%29.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Ghost Dancer - Ghost Dancer. Alan S. Kessler. Leviathan Books, 2021, Trade Paperback and E-book, 279 pages. Review by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. Ghost Dancer tells the story of Eleanor Wilson, who from a young age feels uncomfortable in her own skin, her own family, and her own town. Hearing whispers from her doll and an intrinsic calling for something larger than herself, she begins to follow her instincts to find out who she is truly meant to be. As she opens this door, family and town secrets spill out, secrets that impact everyone around her, secrets I will not spoil for the reader in this review. What I will share is that many parts of this book are difficult to read, obviously purposely so, as the author holds nothing back in placing Eleanor in the heart of the racist 1950s and the scathing way that Klan members would talk to each other and others about anyone not white. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-troubled-man monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/71abee12-8360-45c9-bd02-90e10ddd4124/troubled%2Bman.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Troubled Man - The Troubled Man: A Q.C. Davis Mystery. Lisa M. Lilly. Spiny Woman LLC, December 17, 2020, Electronic and Print, 352 pages. Review by Marssie Mencotti. The Troubled Man: A Q.C. Davis Mystery by Lisa M. Lilly is a mystery starring Quille C. Davis, a civil attorney who uncovers subtle clues and is savvy enough to put them together. This is also an unabashed “Chicago” mystery for three important reasons other than the fact that it takes place in Chicago, Illinois: A Chicago mystery is about connections—get the job done right by contacting a “friend of a friend who knows what they’re doing”; a Chicago mystery is without a lot of hoopla, like the FBI or Freddy Krueger; and finally, a Chicago mystery is a “straight shot” to the conclusion. It’s smart, tight, and real, and it gets the job done right. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-tales-of-the-plant-guardians-backyard-adventures monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/252b8a41-6893-44a6-bb22-b1264ec77ab7/TalesPlantGuardians_CVR_ePUB+%281%29.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Tales of the Plant Guardians: Backyard Adventures - Tales of the Plant Guardians: Backyard Adventures, Adam Kessel, Sunflower Trail Publishing, April 2021, Hardcover, Paperback and E-Book, 3,000 words. Review by Susan Gaspar. “Once upon a time…” Adam Kessel’s Tales of the Plant Guardians: Backyard Adventures begins with the familiar opening of classic fairy tales, but after two pages it’s clear that this book is more than that. Whimsical pen illustrations and lilting rhymes on these first two pages put you in the mood for a story, but read on, and you are introduced to a magical world full of fairies and the outdoor habitats they navigate—which happen to be places unknowing humans might tread at any time. Backyards, gardens, alleyways, city parks, country lanes—these are the places you will find the plants in Tales of the Plant Guardians. Lushly colored illustrations by Alanna Crisci are a treat for the eyes and pull you in, tempting you to linger on each fanciful curlicue, feathery leaf, curved blossom, and delicate dewdrop. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-penny-pinching-tips-for-the-morally-bankrupt monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d99adbe0-d057-49da-a793-f463fb7b9493/41vFajoo5EL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Penny Pinching Tips for the Morally Bankrupt - Penny Pinching Tips for the Morally Bankrupt. Libby Marshall, Atomic Vortex Press, January 5, 2021, E-Book, 254 pages. Review byTerrell Isselhard. “Would you rather have a head the size of a grapefruit or a grapefruit the size of a head?” Short story author, Libby Marshall, asks the reader this in her hilarious and inventive new collection, Penny Pinching Tips for the Morally Bankrupt. This question is pulled from a short piece called “Very Easy Would You Rathers” and is one of a myriad of lines in the book that show Marshall’s brilliance, humor, and zeal. This is a funny short story collection. It’s also a collection that surprises, delights, and as is the case with the best comedic writing, pushes the reader past mere laughs to moments of self-reflection and genuine life-changing insight. Marshall tackles a wide range of forms and themes to hilarious effect. Pithy humorous gems pepper the book. Each story is unique, revealing a variety that makes the collection intriguing. Two standout pieces are, “Very Easy Would You Rathers” and “Millennial Gravestones.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-lake-stories-the-60s monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c0903df8-d263-4a23-b3aa-400528513daf/513gL9rogQL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Lake Stories: The 60’s - Lake Stories: The 60’s. Michael Ripley. Pen It! Publications LLC, November 1, 2020, Paperback and E-book, 98 pages. Review by Lisa Sherman. Lake Stories: The 60’s is the first book in a series of short novels by Michael Ripley. In Lake Stories: The 60’s, Ripley describes with insight and wit what life was like for a young boy in a small lake town during a period of dramatic changes in his life as well as in the country overall. Lake Stories: The 60’s tells the story of a young boy living in a quiet community near Crow Lake. Initially, the town appears to be a safe place, but as he grows, he becomes aware of strange and frightful happenings taking place in the town. As he navigates his journey from childhood to early adulthood, he is forced to accept the realities of the world as it changes around him. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-northern-lights monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1c891272-9e47-4036-b7bf-b6717a109fe7/41tIgx68HVL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Northern Lights - Northern Lights. Michael Chatlien, Blue Peach Press, December 2020, Paperback and E-book, 310 pages. Review by Florence Osmund. Northern Lights is the story of two strangers, Greg and Sarah, who find themselves in the middle of the Canadian wilderness after their tour guide gets swept away by an avalanche. What makes this story interesting are the material differences between the two main characters. Greg is a blue-collar worker whose political beliefs lean toward conservatism. Sarah owns her own consulting business and tends to be more liberal in her political beliefs. Not surprisingly, they don’t get along when they discover their core values don’t completely align. When their tour guide and the only other participant on the trek disappear, Greg and Sarah are left with each other to survive. Greg’s immediate reaction is to go his separate way, thinking he knows a better path to reach civilization. When his plan backfires, Sarah saves his life. The rest of their journey consists of a series of each of them saving one other. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-opulence-kansas monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/68f61284-f859-4688-99b3-b39b5d4ea20a/41Ww3bEvXFL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Opulence, Kansas - Opulence, Kansas. Julie Stielstra, Meadowlark Books, June 9, 2020, E-Book and Print, 138 pages. Review by Barbara Belford. When I finish a book, I try to select a word that encapsulates ending my reading experience—gratified, informed, indignant, breathless. The word I chose when I closed the book Opulence, Kansas by Julie Stielstra, after reading it in two sessions, was “hopeful.” Hopeful that, despite terrible tragedies and loss, people can recover and find joy in the world. Hopeful that there are uncles and aunts like Len and Maggie, waiting to love and restore value to teens who need them. Hopeful that the next generation will value relationships like Katie and Travis. And hopeful that self-centered, inconsiderate people can be transformed into mindful allies. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-signature-shoes-the-athletes-who-wore-them-and-d monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/721c29aa-6486-4beb-b5da-8d982af72cb0/signatureshoesthumb-752x1200.png Book Reviews - Book Review: Signature Shoes: The Athletes Who Wore Them and Delightful Pop Culture Nuggets - Signature Shoes: The Athletes Who Wore Them and Delightful Pop Culture Nuggets. Ryan Trembath, Eckhartz Press, November 28, 2020, Trade Paperback, 154 pages. Reviewed by Brian R. Johnston. As you’ve witnessed some of the greatest moments in sports history, have you ever wondered about the story behind the shoes that the athletes are wearing? If so, you’re in for a real treat, as Ryan Trembath has recently released his book, Signature Shoes: The Athletes Who Wore Them and Delightful Pop Culture Nuggets. I just completed the book and, as a big sports fan, I found it to be a fascinating read. In the introduction, the author says, “The intentions of this book are to chronicle every signature shoe leading up to the Jordans and immediately following.” I would say that the author did a great job with this. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-what-mad-pursuit-short-stories-about-runners monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/da011458-e1bc-46f1-bef9-98b6f3d8f8e0/What%2BMad%2BPursuit%2BFront%2Bcopy.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: What Mad Pursuit: Short Stories About Runners - What Mad Pursuit: Short Stories About Runners. Rich Elliott. Kindle Direct Publishing, April 19, 2021, Trade Paperback and E-book. Reviewed by Charles Kuner. In a conversation I had with a friend recently, the idea of running as a metaphor for life was raised. In the sense, life, like running, is a mostly solitary experience, as you are running against yourself and in competition with others. There are the physical mechanics of running–the external part, but there are also intellectual and philosophical parts to running. As it is not just a physical game, but a mental one, requiring runners to devise strategies and tactics for both. With that in mind, the 17 short stories of Rich Elliott’s What Mad Pursuit are inspirational and must-reads for current or aspiring track athletes or interested in coaching runners. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-eo-n monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2a5ec103-be4d-4a7f-890b-ee6218a7fed5/41oFbIu4IHL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: EO-N - EO-N. Dave Mason. Self-published: Hellbox Editions, October 1, 2020, Paperback, E-Book, 298 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. In 2019, Alison Wiley, a biotech CEO, is processing her new reality: she’s the last bud on the last branch of her family tree. On the heels of her mother’s crushing death, she's pulled into a seventy-four-year-old mystery by a chance discovery on a Norwegian glacier. In 1945, Jack Barton flies combat missions over occupied Europe. Günther Graf, a war-weary and disillusioned Luftwaffe pilot, is trapped in the unspeakable horrors of Nazi Germany. Their paths, so different yet so similar, are connected by a young victim of appalling cruelty. A story of love and loss weaves together five seemingly separate lives to remind us that individual actions matter and that courage comes in many forms. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-memories-of-marshall-ups-and-downs-of-growing-up monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d6a6dd12-b699-4dd7-a126-b1179ba0342a/51CI6Xfih2L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Memories of Marshall: Ups and Downs of Growing Up in a Small Town - Memories of Marshall: Ups and Downs of Growing Up in a Small Town. Greg Peck. Independently published, August 2020, Print, 170 pages. Reviewed by Brian Johnston. Did you grow up in a small town? If you did, what kind of memories and experiences did you have? What kind of friendships did you build? And what has changed since your childhood? Greg Peck has published a delightful collection of essays in which he recalls his memories of growing up in Marshall, Wisconsin in the 1960s and 1970s. Peck has a background in journalism, and it's reflected in the pacing and liveliness of his new memoir, Memories of Marshall. He describes many different events in vivid detail, and there are lots of great pictures with captions to go along with the stories. Some of the essays were originally published in newspapers and reprinted here. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-kellis-pine monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3e0a0f96-6e70-4e4d-a300-05cf5a2b9893/4112XwrQv4L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Kelli's Pine - Kelli's Pine. Jay Grochowski, Independently Published, March 31, 2020, Trade Paperback, E-book, and Audiobook, 315 pages. Reviewed by Paige Doepke. Kelli's Pine is a story of life, love, and natural growth that happens over time. The novel follows Eddie Blackburn, lover of baseball, throughout different stages of his life: from his first big love, quickly into parenthood and adulthood, and all of the little steps in between. The story skips forward and backward to meaningful moments that help explain why his character experiences life in the way he does. It is a lovely way to get to know a character, almost in the same way you would get to know a new friend, with little snippets here and there of their life thus far. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-muskrat-ramble monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ab8ede05-a273-4f13-bf60-1ab127385ed5/chrome_2020-11-18_08-22-26.png Book Reviews - Book Review: Muskrat Ramble - Muskrat Ramble. Mim Eichmann. Living Springs Publishers, LLP, March 2021, Trade Paperback and E-Book. Reviewed by Wayne Turmel. Muskrat Ramble is the ambitious story of a woman’s journey through the first half of the Twentieth Century. The novel follows Hannah Barrington, a woman damaged by racial prejudice, constricting social mores, and tumultuous changes in American society as she tries to navigate the world with two small girls in tow: one white, one biracial. In this sequel to the author’s first book, A Sparrow Alone, Hannah flees Missouri for New Orleans in hopes of finding a better life for herself and her girls. She arrives in a confusing world where race is divided into fractions, a single woman is at the mercy of unimaginable constraints, and new music—Jazz—provides the soundtrack. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-she-made-it-matter monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/bbd5c581-0845-4703-aaab-61ee81e58203/51qZks29MbL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: She Made It Matter - She Made It Matter. Chiara Talluto. Independently Published, November 2, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 258 pages. Reviewed by Deanna Frances. Self-discovery and forgiveness are two of the primary themes of Chiara Talluto’s new novel, She Made It Matter. Talluto, who has previously penned the Christian-themed adult story Love’s Perfect Surrender and children’s fiction tales such as Petrella, the Gillian Princess and A Tribute to Tulipia, tells the story of 36-year old Amanda Reynolds, a woman with a troubled past who embarks on a journey of self-exploration as she continues on her path to recovery from alcohol abuse. After facing an alcoholic relapse, which rendered her unconscious in the presence of her two young daughters, Amanda finds herself at the lowest point in her life and wonders how her picture-perfect family will forgive her. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-after-the-fear-come-the-gifts monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d014bbce-ed57-49e2-9aa8-d97d736dd330/41TvIumqiAL._SX295_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: After the Fear Come the Gifts - After the Fear Come the Gifts: Breast Cancer’s 9 Surprising Blessings. Kay Metres. Narrated by Brigid Duffy, Julie S. Halpern, Bridget Duffy, and Bill Fike. Audiobook. Produced by Acta Publications, 2019. Reviewed by Suzanne Brazil. Clinical psychologist Kay Metres was looking forward to retirement until a suspicious spot turned up on a routine mammogram. In After the Fear Come the Gifts, she shares her journey with breast cancer from diagnosis through treatment and recovery and explains how she can make the audacious claim that cancer arrived bearing gifts. The audiobook is arranged in chapters outlining each of the nine titular gifts, beginning with transformation, learning to ask for help, interdependence, surrender, and more, moving through the wide range of emotions and lessons that her diagnosis brought into her life. Each chapter ends with an invitation to consider questions for reflection. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-american-oz monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c0351704-2f71-4a4e-a297-58bc98d555e3/51FUEL2ur6L._SY346_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: American Oz - American OZ. Michael Sean Comerford | Comerford Publishing LLC; July 18, 2020; hardcover, trade paperback and Kindle, 338 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. “Immersion journalism” describes journalists who go all-in. That means a 24/7 experience with the subject, keeping only the most tenuous ties with your prior life. You can’t get more immersive than the assignment that Michael Sean Comerford gave himself to write “American OZ.” He left his family in the Chicago suburbs to spend parts of two years joining ten carnivals in 36 states, Canada and Mexico while traveling more than 20,000 miles, most of them logged with a hitchhiker’s thumb. By day, and sometimes through the night, he worked side by side with carnival colleagues. Then he’d slip into a bedbug-infested bunk with his laptop or spend what little money he had to work in the comparative comfort of a booth in an all-night pancake house. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-johnny-lycan-the-anubis-disk monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2c70a18a-0148-4b34-919b-566f1ba3a1f0/41NcImtwORL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Johnny Lycan & The Anubis Disk - Johnny Lycan & The Anubis Disk. Wayne Turmel. Black Rose Writing, November 19, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 228 pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. In Wayne Turmel’s fourth novel, Johnny Lycan & The Anubis Disk, Turmel explores a cross-section of different genres to create an exciting narrative. This story's main character is Johnny Lupul, a private detective who just so happens to be a werewolf. As his reputation as a P.I. grows, Johnny draws the attention of the sort of clientele that sends him on a hunt for stolen magical relics, putting him squarely in the path of dangers of all kinds. Turmel manages to thoroughly explore the detective, mystery, supernatural, and horror genre conventions. With some thrilling gore and satisfying werewolf violence, Turmel imbues his storytelling with a sense of humor and edge. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-heroic-helpful-and-caring-cats monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e597ba7d-7401-465d-9e56-f46e7518a2f2/41Ksf9IBD-L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Heroic, Helpful and Caring Cats - Heroic, Helpful and Caring Cats: Felines Who Make a Difference. Anne E. Beall, Ph.D. Independently Published, April 29,2020, Trade Paperback, 118 pages. Reviewed by Ed Marohn. Psychologist and animal advocate, Anne Beall, tells eighteen stories of people and their relationships with felines. Her writing discusses the stereotype that dogs are the only go-to animals for providing love, support, and service to their human owners. In support of this misconception, when I facilitated a VA PTSD therapy group for eight years, I experienced the same dismissal of cats. The VA provided service dogs to help those with severe anxiety from combat trauma and hadn’t considered using service cats for my group. From her book, the reader learns the valuable ability of cats to be service animals. Based on the anecdotes and the research discussed in the final chapter, it is evident that cats can be just as affectionate and devoted as dogs. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-tales-of-forgotten-chicago monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f8cdfc21-e3c5-4213-8ac5-7c8fc63198e6/512o4mtgi6L._SX332_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Tales of Forgotten Chicago - Tales of Forgotten Chicago. Richard C. Lindberg. Southern Illinois University Press, July 28, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 280 pages. Reviewed by Wayne Turmel. More than most cities, Chicago relishes stories about its past. In Tales of Forgotten Chicago, Richard Lindberg has collected 21 moments in Chicago’s rich history that help capture the flavor of this unique city, without a single Tommy gun or mention of St. Valentine’s day. From the opening chapter, which outlines the pre-assassination theatrical career of John Wilkes Booth and his brother Edwin, we go through the Chicago Fire, with a reexamination and overdue redemption of poor Cate O’Leary, to perhaps the most persistent candidate in political history. That’s only a sample of some crazy, violent, and just plain wacky incidents that have made Chicago the unique city it is. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-package monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/764e9d71-0b5a-44c7-953e-6a6659c56d80/41Kr14jIIRS._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Package - The Package. Marie St. Jean. Marie St. Jean Publishing, Ltd., February 1, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 307 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. The Package follows the life and career of Joni Mitchell Porter Kashman, aka Mitchell Porter, the next in a generational line of famous and industry savvy musicians. As Mitchell navigates her role in the industry, balances her personal life with her career, and determines what boundaries to put up—not only with what she shares with her fans but also where to draw the line between her health and her ambition—her story is juxtaposed against the poor choices of her twin brother and how fame and fortune ultimately corrupt him. Each chapter is a mini-episode of Mitchell’s life, jumping from event to event, music collaborations to contract negotiations, run-ins with the paparazzi to important family moments at home. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-midcentury-boy monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/62a65f04-1066-455d-8cc6-529961ec04e4/41d-DIsQXrL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Midcentury Boy - Midcentury Boy: My Suburban Childhood from Ike to the Beatles. David Hoppe. Victory Dog Books, May 13, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 180 pages. Reviewed by T. L. Needham. David Hoppe has delivered an engaging and elegantly written memoir of his childhood in the womb of Mount Prospect, Illinois, a new town on the western frontier of Chicago in the early 1950s. He laces his stories with poignant moments that most would recall as familiar to their childhood, such as the first dance in junior high and attempts to interact with the opposite sex, or blasting away at a model battleship with a BB gun to entertain an uncle who delights in the moment too. The book includes anecdotal stories and pictures of his family that add color and rich details, yet this story is not just about them. It is about the coming of age of this generation of the 1950s and 1960s. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-righteous-might monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/675b21be-a09d-4ac4-933b-84b220d9cda7/RighteousMight_Cover_Final-400x618.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Righteous Might - Righteous Might. Keith Conrad. Eckhartz Press, June 22, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 260 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. Have you ever had one of those ideas that, when you looked back at it, you wish you'd kept to yourself? If you have, then you probably have a good idea of how Rebecca Lasky feels as the events in Righteous Might unfold. Rebecca is the protagonist among an ensemble of characters the reader meets as the story progresses. She has an idea for a way to make an object the size of an aircraft carrier invisible to radar. The fact that she works for DARPA, the Defense Department’s in-house research arm, means she’s in a position to try her idea out in real life. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-soundrise monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/864963dd-054c-4d34-b550-dd267da6630c/51WziLi0XFL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Soundrise - Soundrise. Lynn Voedisch. The Story Plant, October 27, 2020, Hardcover and E-book, 400 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. Don’t be deterred by the first six or seven pages of this otherwise entertaining novel that blends computer technology with ancient Egyptian myths. Author Lynn Voedisch launches her book with a mind-numbing example of her geek protagonist’s fascination with code and obsession with a singular stream of information he wants to decipher. Fortunately for those less interested in the fine points of computer analysis, the novel quickly develops several intertwining storylines. Can Derek Nilsson, a complete nerd who spends his every waking hour online, develop a successful romantic relationship? Can he and his partner, George, crack this latest mystery? Will Derek’s father, Charlie, who abandoned his family ten years ago, get control of his life and earn forgiveness? And, can the mystery of the construction of Egypt’s pyramids ever be explained, or even replicated, using the almost magical formulas uncovered by Derek and George? https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-fionas-guardians monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/dec5fe8a-08cb-422a-8deb-175dea1c17d7/41LPUxGTBSL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Fiona’s Guardians - Fiona’s Guardians. Dan Klefstad. Burton Mayers Books, October 2, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 297 pages. Reviewed by Susan Gaspar. Fans of the horror genre, and specifically vampire tales, will be riveted by Dan Klefstad’s Fiona’s Guardians, but there is more to unpack than fangs and an insatiable thirst for human blood. As a longtime horror fan, I admit to a bit of vampire fatigue, but I was intrigued by the book’s tantalizing premise: an alluring vampire seeks a new human caretaker to fetch her food and manage her finances while she outwits her mortal enemies and navigates the politics and shifting power structures in the vampire world. A singular perspective—and I was not disappointed. The story begins with a letter from Fiona to the reader, who is assumed to be mortal. It’s a perfect means for introducing the seductive, brilliant, imposing title character. Like a vampire’s spell, Fiona’s letter pulls you in and leads you down a path you cannot resist, and before you know it, you are tethered and locked in for the extent of the ride. And this book is just that—a RIDE. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-loop-the-l-tracks-that-shaped-and-saved-chic monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ceaea7d3-b493-49f3-94c3-a2fcaf3b8b94/51N6tnVYfLL._SX332_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Loop: The “L” Tracks that Shaped and Saved Chicago - The Loop: The “L” Tracks that Shaped and Saved Chicago. Patrick J. Reardon. Southern Illinois University Press, December 17, 2020, Trade Paperback, 304 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. The Loop is a meticulous and captivating Chicago tale of visionary ambition seasoned with corruption; a “biography of a structure that has shaped and saved Chicago,” a “stumpy 2.1-mile-long rectangle of railroad tracks that runs twenty feet . . . above four downtown streets.” Reardon, “Chicago’s pre-eminent urban affairs journalist” and now a freelance writer and poet, discusses “how the elevated Loop came to be, how it rooted Chicago’s downtown in a way unknown to other cities, how it played an important role in unifying the ‘schizophrenic’ three-sided city, and how it protected Chicago’s downtown—and the city itself—from the full effects of suburbanization . . . during the second half of the twentieth century.” In so doing, he argues the Loop has become as iconic to Chicago as the Brooklyn Bridge is to New York City. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-biscuit-timely-tales monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/043fb84d-9c9b-4b8e-be55-8c4bbc4b5b1a/41kvhSIAUaL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Biscuit & Timely Tales - The Biscuit & Timely Tales. T. L. Needham. Outskirts Press, June 16, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 164 pages. Reviewed by Charles Kuner. In The Biscuit & Timely Tales, T. L. Needham uses a mixture of art, poetry, factual stories, photography, and his excellent skill as a storyteller to weave together a living expression of his family. The reader can easily identify with the Needham family as they live and seek dreams that most Americans can easily recognize. Needham's writing style is sparse, simple, and straightforward, reflecting the people of whom he writes. The result is a clear and living portrait of the Needham Family, free of guile and secrets. The “timely tales” within this volume show that the family has simple and clear rules of conduct and behavior that are exhibited throughout and consistently reveal the old values of trust, independence, responsibility, love, respect, kindness, and morality. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-unplanned-life monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/047a30a9-4134-4cb2-b7ae-7604c5668d3c/41voUodNI%2BL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Unplanned Life - The Unplanned Life: The Journey of Roger Badesch. Roger Badesch. Eckhartz Press, June 25, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 340 pages. Reviewed by Gerry Souter. Perhaps a more apt title would be "The Unplanned Book of Roger Badesch." Normally, this would signal the retelling of a tedious ego trip that offers neither lessons nor entertainment for the reader. The book is mostly a chronological recitation of Roger's life, and therein lies the hook. He's had a damned interesting roller coaster life, a life summed up in a quote early on in the journey: “Man makes plans, God Laughs.” His huge fan base comprises everyone who has met him, listened to him on the radio, learned from him in the classroom, or drawn upon his wisdom by osmosis. What staggered me as a reader was his mirror image of my life. As I read, place names pelted me like a spring shower. It was spooky. His love affair with radio shows, the newspaper route, a gang of kids living in the shadow of tougher Polish and Irish kids from steel mill families who perfected their pounding skills on us—I was there before him. It gave me a vivid image of my neighborhood's future life as I read his anecdotes and life tales from 10 years later. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-scheduler monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fc2a2df5-edda-4a23-a519-c04fd499445e/51Tw%2Bc-in3L._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Scheduler - The Scheduler: A Howard Watson Intrigue. Joann Fastoff. Self-published, June 15, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 104 pages. Reviewed by Opal Freeman. The Scheduler is a well-written book full of suspense, surprises, and excitement. The story reminds me of a rollercoaster ride—ups, downs, turns, but daring. JoAnn Fastoff has created a scenario with developing events while linking a group of people to solve a serial murderer's shootings. I really enjoyed reading the book. I also gained a better understanding of the book's cover with a clock, a rifle, and tennis racket. The sixth novel in the Howard Watson Intrigue series is very entertaining and held my attention as I read page to page, from beginning to end. Fastoff writes with excitement and intensity as she educates the reader in the world of investigation and research in the truest form. She educates the reader by demonstrating in great detail the culture, workmanship, and collaboration of the CIA, FBI, and the military as they all work to solve a serial killer's crimes. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-kind-eyes-gentle-reading-for-troubled-times monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/42cf56bc-3cf2-4885-91da-a23aa1e45a13/41B0zMf1d4L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Kind Eyes: Gentle Reading for Troubled Times - Kind Eyes: Gentle Reading for Troubled Times. Mary Hutchings Reed. Ampersand, Inc., June 22, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 144 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Sherman. In Kind Eyes: Gentle Reading for Troubled Times, Reed presents a collection of short stories that shine a light on the intricacies of the human experience. Reed’s stories are written with depth and thoughtfulness, and explore everyday people wrestling with unique yet relatable situations. Reed’s collection contains fourteen stories, each impactful in a unique way. One of my favorites was “Kind Eyes,” the title story in which Reed tells the tale of a homeless teenager who cons the protagonist into giving him money. Aware she is being duped, she struggles to reconcile her feelings of being taken advantage of and helped by the con. This contrast provides a fascinating look at the complexity of our reactions to events that arise in our lives. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-dogcatcher-and-the-fox monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d8413eba-5e5c-45c9-a56f-fbf8169a197d/41-3CVwZ8XL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Dogcatcher and the Fox - The Dogcatcher and the Fox. J. D. Porter. Self-Published, June 30, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 268 pages. Reviewed by Florence Osmund. It’s 1919 Chicago, and Raven Griffith works at the Animal Welfare Association. Young, gutsy, and determined, Raven faces numerous obstacles in her work, often putting her health and safety at risk as she tries to fulfill her life goal of protecting animals from people who abuse them. And matters are complicated with her being in a field dominated by men. Raven’s animal escapades begin with her rescuing two horses during the Chicago Race Riot of 1919, and that is when she meets Rondell, a Black man she befriends and relies on throughout the story. Certain other people play a significant role in Raven's life as she pursues justice for animals, including Min Lee, who teaches her how to train dogs as well as a few old-but-true Chinese proverbs; Raven's boss, Lou Hanson, who has a rough exterior but a soft heart; Jo Washington, who has a deep-seated secret of her own; and Katherine Ruebottom, who believes in Raven and gives her a place to live. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-stories-we-choose-not-to-tell monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d9547ecc-2a88-4ca1-a2d1-79ff9ec87676/41S8r41jnEL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Stories We Choose Not To Tell - The Stories We Choose Not To Tell. Kelly Fumiko Weiss. Windy City Publishers, May 12, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 244 pages. Reviewed by Kandice Cole. The Stories We Choose Not To Tell, by Kelly Fumiko Weiss, is a novel that follows Angela, a bi-racial TV news producer, who attempts to make sense of her family’s complicated history after the death of her grandmother, Aiko, who was a Japanese incarceration camp survivor. As Angela grieves the loss of her grandmother, she also learns she is pregnant. This unexpected news, along with a box of family heirlooms given to her by her Auntie Pamela, motivates her to explore her Japanese identity more deeply. While Angela had a pleasant upbringing with her Japanese mother, Judith, and her American father, Edward, she still feels incomplete. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-milo monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a281d15f-ab82-4da4-824b-693cb8c0c928/futures_milo.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Milo - Milo (01001101 01101001 01101100 01101111). Alexander Pyles. Radix Media, Chapbook, October 2019, 18 pages. Reviewed by Mike Freveletti. Alexander Pyles has given us a story that hits a lot of familiar notes usually associated with science fiction. I submit to you that this is not a bad thing. Milo is a story about what it means to endure, and if you had options to make your life better, would you explore them? The main character, Milo, has a nerve disease that slowly deteriorates his body from the inside out and confines him to a wheelchair. He understands his situation. He realizes he didn’t do anything to deserve this disability and that there's nothing he can do. Well, maybe there is something.Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-walks-with-sam monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a8be4468-efbd-4024-9570-6a24c73b746b/41snftKCB8L._SX309_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Walks with Sam - Walks with Sam: A Man, a Dog, and a Season of Awakening. David W. Berner. Roundfire Books, September 1, 2020, Trade Paperback and Audiobook, 176 pages. Reviewed by Susan Fox. What does it take to make us slow down and observe the world around us? When is the last time we took our foot off the accelerator long enough to take stock of our lives to this point? What prompts us to stop and ask the questions: Who are we? Who do we want to be? And how did we get here? As we navigate the seasons of life, such moments of introspection are generally triggered by rites of passage—marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, the death of a parent. Other times a series of small events bring to light an unexpected moment of clarity. And sometimes all it takes is a man and his dog. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-rooming-house-gallery monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/dfd5effe-e9c1-4d1f-8836-ecaa89afccbf/51jHYeTCXtL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Rooming House Gallery - The Rooming House Gallery: Connecting the Dots. Bill Mathis. Rogue Phoenix Press, June 8, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 236 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. The Rooming House Gallery: Connecting the Dots is an engaging follow-up companion to The Rooming House Diaries: Life, Love & Secrets, Mathis’ novel published last year. Like Diaries, Mathis built Gallery on the same premise as Elmer Rice's famous play Street Scene—the lives of residents of the same building. Unlike Diaries, which was also a social history of Chicago, Gallery has a compressed timeline in the recent past. Yet at its best, Gallery becomes a sort of contemporary Canterbury Tales or Decameron in that there’s a strong focus on storytelling. Manny Rodriguez, a gay Hispanic man who is disabled from childhood abuse and a significant character in Diaries, is dying. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-tell-me-a-lie monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/69834f5d-a2ba-4d67-ad56-d7a1bfdc5363/51Qb%2BFhtThL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Tell Me a Lie - Tell Me a Lie. Dana Killion. Monee, IL: Obscura Press, June 19, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 273 pages. Reviewed by marssie Mencotti. Dana Killion’s protagonist, Andrea Kellner, is a no-nonsense investigative journalist and a former lawyer. Andrea is thrust into this mystery when she finds a woman's body propped up in a chair in the basement of an abandoned home purchased at auction by her sister. The location of the body and everything Andrea observes before the police arrive, make her question the circumstances of the death. She wonders if the victim was homeless, suffering from a drug overdose, had a medical issue, or was it something much more dangerous? A small wrist tattoo reveals the dead woman as someone close to those Andrea loves. Andrea is a truth-seeking investigative journalist who can’t stop trying to get at the facts surrounding this woman’s lonely death. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-death-in-central-america monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/79331d97-92b6-4715-9e18-eba627290ce7/51BJEjHDTaL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Death in Central America - Death in Central America. Jack Hafferkamp. Independently Published, December 4, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 315 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. Former arts reporter for the Chicago Daily News and creative writing teacher Jack Hafferkamp’s latest novel, Death in Central America, takes place in Guatemala and post-Noriega Panama of the 1990s when civil war is still very ugly, and the political situation with the U.S. is worse. The novel begins close to the end of the story, so the reader understands much of what happened. The journey of the book is learning how a particular disaster unfolds. We are introduced to the main players, and, since we readers know who survives, I found myself following them superficially through the first third of the book. The first three-quarters of the book felt like paging through a travel guide. A group of journalists has been invited to Central America by the governments of Guatemala and Panama to boost tourism after a ferocious civil war devastated the economy. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-trials-truffles-expats-in-brussels monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/de947377-2756-48e0-838b-afc6a3ca8eca/51pRhKN%2B7nL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Trials & Truffles: Expats in Brussels - Trials & Truffles: Expats in Brussels. T.D. Arkenberg. Outskirts Press, Inc., June 24, 2020, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and E-book, 376 pages. Reviewed by Terrell Isselhard. T.D. Arkenberg’s Trials & Truffles, Expats in Brussels is a love story, but as the author so rightly observes at the opening of the book, “Loves stories are complex,” and this one is no exception. Trials & Truffles details Arkenberg’s time living abroad in Brussels when his husband Jim’s long-held dream of working abroad in Europe comes true. Arkenberg first deals with the challenges of making the relocation, such as safely transporting their beloved dog Sadie, finding renters for their house, and finding a place to live in Brussels. He does a wonderful job moving through the process and keeping the story enjoyable while also reflecting openly and honestly about the many feelings that surface as he prepares to leave his Chicagoland home. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-braveish monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/aba6d021-c878-4893-abbc-a111384084c6/51EcvFWmkbL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Brave(ish) - Brave(ish). Margaret Davis Ghielmetti. She Writes Press, September 15, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 248 pages. Reviewed by Dipika Mukherjee. Margaret Davis Ghielmetti’s memoir, Brave(ish), is perfect for reading through the pandemic. Ghielmetti is a skilled storyteller who takes the confined reader out of a single room, straight out of the country, and into a journey around the world. And what a spectacular journey it is! Through Ghielmetti’s eyes, we luxuriate in the opulence of luxury hotels and resorts in Paris, Cairo, Sharm el Sheik, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Singapore, and India, before bringing us back to Illinois. The words of the prologue are fraught with the delicious danger of straying into the unknown, as well as the primal fear all expatriates grapple with as they head for an unfamiliar culture in a faraway country: https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-how-to-write-compelling-stories-from-family-history monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/895b80a5-426c-4450-999c-f9b8d6d06659/51WhjvWcbFL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History - How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History. Annette Gendler. Nana’s Books, December 3, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 102 pages. Reviewed by Deb Lecos. How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History, is a guide for those who want to pen personal stories for future generations, research and confirm oral lore, and publish a memoir. Her newest book is the successful memoirist’s message to “someday writers,” who might say, “Someday, I’ll write about when I was in the circus or when grandma survived the Great Depression.” Ms. Gendler offers storytelling dreamers a framework for writing worthwhile and inspirational memory-keepers for readers. The quote that begins the book, by the Maharal of Prague, is a reminder and an invitation: “If you don’t remember your past, you will not be able to adequately assess your present. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-rocky-orchard monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f63f6486-d879-4e37-b7a1-44ef7244a7c1/51SBzTFj9UL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Rocky Orchard - The Rocky Orchard. Barbara Monier. Northfield, IL: Amika Press, May 12, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 172 pages. Reviewed by Caryl Barnes. On the back cover of The Rocky Orchard, the new book by Barbara Monier, a reviewer says you’ll want to reread it the minute you finish. I've read that promise on the back covers of other books and was skeptical. I had never once wanted to reread a book the second I finished it. This one book, though, I did reread right away, and I have since reread it. Mazie’s account of her life is so broad and so deep that I wanted to absorb it. The Rocky Orchard is at first glance short and simple with lovely but straightforward language. It is not a difficult read despite its rambles through various dimensions of time and space. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-heirs-apparent monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/75d0df41-bc3b-42b4-901f-8667e789dbc6/41wVRfISaHL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Heirs Apparent - Heirs Apparent. Thomas J. Thorson. Austin Macauley Publishers, May 29, 2020, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and E-book, 200 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. Thomas J. Thorson makes his mystery writing debut with a stylish novel, Heirs Apparent, in the noir tradition of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Though Thorson evokes the amused nihilism of his literary ancestors, he’s created a compelling irreverent read with contemporary characters and plot. Malcolm Winters, a man with an undisclosed criminal past, decides to reinvent himself. He selects a new name at random from authors represented in a used book store, then goes to Nashville to purchase forged documents to establish his new identity. There, he meets a femme fatale, Frye, who lives in Chicago. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-from-miniskirt-to-hijab monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d15c7f42-f730-4847-b5e6-c549db4e5159/51zd8g42SZL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: From Miniskirt to Hijab - From Miniskirt to Hijab: A Girl in Revolutionary Iran. Jacqueline Saper. Potomac Books of the University of Nebraska Press, October 1, 2019, Hardcover and E-book, 206 pages. Reviewed by Susan Gaspar. I was immediately intrigued by the synopsis of From Miniskirt to Hijab: A Girl in Revolutionary Iran, but I had no idea how deeply the story would pull me in. This book should be assigned reading for American high school students, and I highly recommended the book for anyone who grew up mostly insulated from the often confusing politics and strife of international affairs. My exposure to this story could not have been timelier. The U.S. was in the middle of a viral pandemic that shut down much of the country and kept people home, punctuated by a period of escalated civil unrest that had been building for many years. As I read, I found myself occasionally looking up from the pages in wonderment to reflect on the way historical events leave trail markers and then circle back, repeating and highlighting that which has not been resolved. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-writing-through-the-muck monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9ee958f8-0985-4878-97cb-6eee6a2f1625/41eRLlMnJ7L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Writing Through the Muck - Writing Through the Muck: Finding Self and Story for Personal Growth, Healing, and Transcendence. G. Elizabeth Kretchmer. Dancing Seed Publisher, March 5, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 364 pages. Reviewed by Casie Gambrel. G. Elizabeth Kretchmer’s Writing Through the Muck is a holistic writing guide intended for anyone looking to achieve his or her full potential in life. The book was inspired by writing workshops for cancer patients, domestic violence survivors, and others simply seeking inner truth, personal peace, and healing. It opens with the concept that, while pain and suffering are universal, finding a path through the pain is necessary to achieve ultimate wellbeing and enlightenment. The author’s approach centers around “wellness writing,” which she describes as self-expression on the journey toward holistic health and a happier life. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-mystery-at-mount-forest-island monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3075b9f3-0cdc-4649-ac48-8877d7d2a4f9/51SAldcRxeL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Mystery at Mount Forest Island - The Mystery at Mount Forest Island. Pat Camalliere. Amika Press, March 27, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 352 pages. Reviewed by Sue Merrell. I love returning to an author I’ve read before, catching up with characters I’ve met, and embarking on a new adventure. For these reasons, I really enjoyed Pat Camalliere’s latest novel, The Mystery at Mount Forest Island. Camalliere’s work spans several genres: historical fiction, paranormal suspense, and a healthy dose of women's lit. This is the third book in the Cora Tozzi Mystery Series, set in the author’s stomping grounds around Lemont, Illinois. Each book weaves in a rich history of the area. The prologue grabs the reader’s attention with a casual scene between infamous gangster Al Capone and his brother Ralph, who is rumored to have run a bottling operation in Lemont during Prohibition. The story begins at the Palos Woods Golf Club from the Roaring Twenties to the 1950s when the caretaker’s cottage for the abandoned golf club has become a family farmhouse. In modern times, the farmhouse and clubhouse are long gone, except for a few paranormal glimpses. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-legman monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a3b5479f-3e59-4413-9fc8-749bf384f5f8/41EQnZb11ZL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Legman - The Legman. Mike Kerr. Kindle Direct Publishing, March 10, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 448 pages. Reviewed by Janet Cole. The Legman provides graphic accounts of violence resulting from integration attempts in a Chicago neighborhood in the late 1960s. The story unfolds with a group of one hundred black youths marching up the sidewalks of a Chicago neighborhood. Their organized intent was to intimidate and motivate the white residents to leave the area so that African Americans could move in. An older individual, well into his twenties, led the group of teenagers. An eyewitness to the event, a young white girl who lived in one of the houses along the march route, had the misfortune of making eye contact with the leader. He was close enough for her to see his features in detail, including the malice in his eyes and a distinctive tattoo on his neck—all of which terrified her. And, he was close enough to see her in detail and to note where she lived. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-my-own-ways-through-this-life monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/40d2d962-9034-4a4b-bc94-8d0b973b07c3/31ENv3pohHL._SY346_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: My Own Ways Through This Life - My Own Ways Through This Life. Christopher Viau. Kindle Direct Publishing, March 8, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 55 pages. Reviewed by Julie S.Halpern. Chris Viau is a nature enthusiast, poet, avid Cubs fan, artist, and archivist. He also has Cerebral Palsy, a condition which challenges but does not define him, as he eloquently shares his unique take on life. He has difficulty walking, speaking, and eating, and he depends on the help of aides to live the full life he has created for himself. His resiliency and determination to survive and thrive despite numerous setbacks will inspire anyone who has been abused or ignored by an unfair system. His condition was caused when he stopped breathing for fifteen minutes during birth. His early years were frustrating due to schools that were ill-equipped to handle his needs. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-werewolf-of-polnoye-and-other-stories monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3a60518c-86ef-48f6-b667-54b539ff16a4/51jYrBqnzOL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Werewolf of Polnoye and Other Stories - The Werewolf of Polnoye and Other Stories. Harry White. Self-published, March 9, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 160 pages. Reviewed by Mike Freveletti. Something I find exhilarating while moving through a short story collection is thinking about the time between the creation of stories and how the author has evolved throughout that process. The Werewolf of Polnoye and Other Stories by Harry White hits a lot of different notes tonally, and I found myself not entirely sure what to expect from story to story. It appears the author was experimenting with themes including solitude, family, higher education, religion, and the fantastic—all of which made for an interesting reading experience. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-things-behind-the-sun monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5a7dde89-bd42-40d3-a30f-2f9756026380/41N2MZbTevL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Things Behind the Sun - Things Behind the Sun. David W. Berner. Adelaide Books, March 31, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 192 pages. Reviewed by Michelle Burwell. While secrets have a reputation of driving people apart, some secrets, when brought to light, have the potential of bringing people closer together. When Martin Gregory and his adopted son head out west, each has starkly different expectations for their road trip. The two are keeping secrets from one another, and each has plans to up-end the trip. But when the secrets are finally revealed, the two discover a newfound empathy for one another. A captivating exploration of identity, Things Behind the Sun reveals there is no chasm of secrets large enough that a summer road trip can't bridge. Martin, a writer and college professor, has found himself in a stagnant stage of life. He is working and writing but feeling unmotivated. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-fury monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0a9b5efd-ee06-4901-aa88-132e92eb192e/51C7UgvKbYL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Fury - Fury: Women’s Lived Experiences During the Trump Era. Amy Roost and Alissa Hirshfeld (Authors and Editors). Raleigh, NC: Pact Press, an imprint of Regal House Publishing, LLC., March 20, 2020, 240 pages. Reviewed by Susan Fox. Thirty-eight women. Thirty-eight essays. Thirty-eight shouts of rage, whispers of hope, confessions, and confrontations. Thirty-eight ways to proclaim the truth, reclaim our bodies, and find our true selves. These essays are written by smart, engaging, and articulate women who share personal insights on the 2016 presidential election as they attempt to make sense of a world that is suddenly less safe and less humane. These talented authors represent the gay, straight, native-born, and immigrant communities. They are married and single. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-petals-from-roseland monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a41211d4-1545-4898-9ec8-c7c2081b8b55/Petals%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Petals from Roseland - Petals from Roseland. C.J. Martello. Lake Claremont Press, December 13, 2019, Trade Paperback, 239 pages. Reviewed by Greg Borzo. For an enjoyable romp through the good old days in the Chicago neighborhoods of Roseland, Kensington, and Pullman, one should read Petals from Roseland, by C.J. Martello. This book is a collection of columns that Martello originally wrote for Fra Noi, Chicagoland’s Italian American magazine published from 2008 to 2018. These columns cover everything from restaurants to churches, expert tailors to historic preservationists, and shop keepers to war heroes. There are hard-hitting columns about the Vietnam War and sweet stories about picnics and grustoli. If you don’t know that grustoli, aka “crostoli,” is an Italian cookie, you’re not part of the target audience for this book: Italian American Catholics with a streak of nostalgia. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-buried monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/39b38a67-4358-4d4d-abfd-186a37ece6c4/51PQKq6y2yL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Buried - Buried. Sue Rovens. Plump Toad Press, April 21, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 211 pages. Reviewed by Susan Gaspar. Buried is a gripping story that solidly straddles the genres of suspense and psychological horror. Make no bones about it: this book contains graphic, explicit details that both repulse and fascinate the reader. I was hooked from the first dark images that Chapter 1 conjured up in my mind’s eye. Ms. Rovens has a knack for creating a palpable atmosphere, and Buried leads you slowly and purposefully around the small town of Foote, Indiana, with the bulk of the creepy action centering on the Sommerville Funeral Home. That is not to say that the other locales in the story are comforting or upbeat. Almost every house, business, and plot of land in Buried has an unsettling history or vile underbelly. Within a paragraph or two of each new location or development, the author pulls the reader into a disturbing situation or upsetting circumstances. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-living-a-motivated-life monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/225dfa54-0c71-449f-8bef-f4ab47efa10a/41Ow7-zFoOL._SX328_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Living a Motivated Life - Living a Motivated Life: A Memoir and Activities. Raymond Wlodkowski. Brill | Sense, October 25, 2018, Hardcover and Trade Paperback, 206 pages. Reviewed by Brian Johnston. I've always believed that it's essential to be a lifelong learner. I enjoy hearing and reading about others who are pursuing knowledge and trying to improve themselves throughout their lives. That's why I was interested in reading Living a Motivated Life, the new book by Raymond J. Wlodkowski. Wlodkowski has lived a rich life, and he tells his story with great passion. He divided the book into two parts. The first part, which covers most of the book, is a memoir focused on his career in education. Early on, he introduces the concept of intrinsic motivation, which is the concept of doing something as its own reward. This drove him to a career in education. The second part of the book offers activities for the reader to learn more about themselves and their pursuits of knowledge. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-one-lil-indian monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/df46ebe0-9ccb-4686-99ca-89bbd5749bc7/41VWPXU08NL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: One Lil Indian - One Lil Indian (The Adventure of Oli – Book One). Debra ʻKeshinowahkiew’ Campbell (Author) and Sean Ramirez (Illustrator). Self-Published, October 25, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 98 pages. Reviewed by Roger Prosise. One Lil Indian is the story of a nine-year-old Native American girl, Oli, who dreams of going on a family vacation. In her dreams, Oli flies around the world, and at times finds herself among wild animals, thriving in nature as she walks and talks with them. Oli's parents are aware of Oli's special gift—one that she could use to help save the environment—but neglect to tell her. This creates tension throughout the story, as the reader learns of Oli’s mission and her inherent struggles. When Oli connects with the Great Spirit, she demonstrates her belief in the existence of a Greater Power or God and how the Great Spirit was there to help her. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-obsession monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/cfc0e235-6360-479a-b614-03414ae65bc6/517AK233K5S.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Obsession - Obsession. Patricia Rosemoor. Dangerous Love Publishing, January 17, 2020, E-book, 234 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Sherman. Patricia Rosemoor’s Obsession tells the story of Chicago homicide detective, Camille Martell, who is obsessed with bringing a sexual predator named Angel to justice. Removed from the case and wracked with guilt after Angel succeeds in luring his third victim, Camille continues searching for the so-called Chat Room Predator in her off-duty hours, only to discover that her contact with him has inadvertently put her fourteen-year-old neighbor, Sandy, in danger. Desperate for help, she turns to the private investigation firm run by her former mentor, only to discover that her mentor's brother, a private investigator named Drago Nance, has been assigned to the case. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-eyeless-mind monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3b2dc526-349d-45f0-a237-2b00498e9146/41xflf5-J8L._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Eyeless Mind - Eyeless Mind: A Memoir about Seeing and Being Seen. Stephanie L. Duesing. Atmosphere Press, April 19, 2020, Trade Paperback, 305 pages. Reviewed by Julie S. Halpern. Stephanie Duesing and her son Sebastian are survivors of abuse, negligence, and medical malpractice. This beautifully written memoir is a testament to Ms. Duesing’s courage in the face of manipulation, ignorance, and “gaslighting” by the traditional medical establishment. Stephanie's family history informs this memoir in a complex intertwining of intellectual and artistic achievement, marred by cruelty on the part of her frustrated and angry mother. Fueled by a failed theatrical career (which amounted to a few community theatre and modeling jobs), her mother descends into rage and abusive behavior after suffering injuries in a car accident. Her main target for physical and emotional violence is her younger daughter Stephanie. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-imagined-homecoming-of-icarus-isakov monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7fc0c783-9238-4e28-a4df-aa881392f0de/519HPEU5ZKL._SX290_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Imagined Homecoming of Icarus Isakov - The Imagined Homecoming of Icarus Isakov. Steve Wiley. Lavender Line Press LLC, March 27, 2020, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and E-book, 228 pages. Reviewed by T. L. Needham. Before I undertook the mission to read and review The Imagined Homecoming of Icarus Isakov, I did my usual due diligence by checking out the author and publisher. I learned that the author, Steve Wiley, resides in Chicagoland. And, “Steve has an undergraduate degree in something he has forgotten from Illinois University and a graduate degree in something equally forgotten from DePaul University.” This told me enough to check out his publisher: “Lavender Line Press is a privately owned, fictional operation of fiction, whose mission it is to publish books that don't suck.” Now that I have read The Imagined Homecoming of Icarus Isakov, I am pleased to report that my first impression, that he does not take himself too seriously, is well-founded. And, after reviewing the Lavender Line Press mission, I am pleased to report this book does not suck if you do not take it too seriously. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-money-messages monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6fd641b2-b8ba-467b-8838-9d2c3765c62f/41BBUTiw6aL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Money Messages - Money Messages: Get Out of the Red and into the Green; Emotional and Financial Freedom to Transform Your Life. Jody Robinson with Karen Putz. Chicago: Robinson Publications, January 14, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 212 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. “Money is a sensitive topic,” Jody Robinson says. A self-described humanitarian and financial counselor, Robinson is a fiduciary, certified Accredited Wealth Management Advisor, former public school educator, and librarian. Experience matters. Robinson shares from her heart and past experiences in a well-laid out and interactive workbook to encourage readers “to move to a better lifestyle and mindset with money.” I found myself writing down quotes every few pages. In the introduction, Robinson defines money messages “as the perceptions about money that we’ve absorbed and developed throughout our lives.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-testament monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e0dfaf30-9f93-4cc2-961a-e8587f6ce8df/41N70178FFL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Testament - Testament. Jose Nateras. New Mexico: NineStar Press Publication, December 26, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 205 pages. Reviewed by Starza Thompson. Few writers can so expertly build tension quite like Jose Nateras does in Testament. This story melds Chicago history, LGBTQ issues, and racial conflicts all within a plot-driven psychological horror-themed novel. The suspense comes quickly and without warning, ensnaring the reader in a narrative that will make them continuously check over their shoulder while reading. The novel’s protagonist, Gabe Espinoza, works for the Sentinel Club Chicago. He has always felt a little creeped out, working in an old hotel filled with creaking corners and a history that’s questionable at best. After a bad breakup and a drunken suicide attempt, Gabe wants nothing more than to get his life back in order. However, his first day back on the job puts him face-to-face with the evil that has been lurking in the hotel the entire time. With the evil now personified and targeting Gabe, he must dive deep into the history of Chicago to stop whatever it is that seems to be after him. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-sparrow-alone monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/22973a2d-89ed-46aa-8de2-6ba05450e0fb/411JxqdXgML.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Sparrow Alone - A Sparrow Alone. Mim Eichmann. Living Springs Publishers LLP, April 15, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 374 pages. Reviewed by Deanna Frances. Mim Eichmann’s debut novel, A Sparrow Alone, is a historical fiction tale rooted in the heart of late-nineteenth-century Colorado mining communities. The book depicts the story of a young girl, Hannah Owens, and the experiences she faces as a teenager of the lower working class during the mining boom of the 1890s. After the death of her mother, Hannah’s family is separated to ensure their survival, and she finds herself alone for the first time in her life. While her father and brother go off in search of work in the Colorado mines, Hannah finds herself working as domestic help for the family of Dr. Albert Hughes, a wealthy and well-respected man in Colorado Springs. Though working for the doctor’s family allows Hannah to find friendship with his young daughter, Abigail, she soon learns that the doctor’s family life is not at all what it seems to be. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-husbands-survival-guide monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fdee783c-ba24-46b2-9e5f-ca51befa36e7/4122KbmOJ-L._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Husband’s Survival Guide - A Husband’s Survival Guide. C. Scott Litch. Outskirts Press, August 9, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 106 pages. Reviewed by Brian Johnston. According to C. Scott Litch, there are many books for women on how to have a successful marriage and be a good wife, yet there are few books on how to be a good husband. Thus, Litch wrote his book, A Husband’s Survival Guide, to provide advice for men on how to have a successful marriage. I found the book to be both entertaining and informative. The author wrote this 105-page book in a way that is easy to understand; the average guy can read it and learn something. Litch has been married for over 28 years. Though he's not a professional marriage counselor, he used the experiences from his marriage to provide advice to other husbands that is both simple and sound. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-chicago-bound-2 monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9a4ce0f7-5e4d-4431-b080-9401bad73995/51Xajwo1xxL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Chicago Bound 2 - Chicago Bound 2: Time and Again. Sandra M. Colbert. Windy City Publishers, October 14, 2019, Trade Paperback, 82 Pages. Reviewed by marssie Mencotti. Chicago Bound 2: Time and Again, by Sandra M. Colbert, is a short anthology of stories written in the style and sensibility of the past, taking place in the mostly immigrant neighborhood called Back of the Yards, due to its proximity to the vast stockyards in Chicago, Illinois. It is imbued with nostalgia toward the difficult and complicated decisions made by young people and their parents as old and new generations collide in substantive cultural and moral ways. Colbert captures a moment in each of her stories without unnecessary exaggeration. She lets us feel the complicated emotional turmoil of her characters and what the moments meant then and now. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-three-woofs-for-the-dead-white-and-blue monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c404c70f-0cc7-43ca-b57e-3ca30afd826c/51eXQFG-cuL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Three Woofs for the Dead, White and Blue - Three Woofs for the Dead, White and Blue. Laura Quinn. Independently published, Pawtisserie Mysteries Book One, Trade Paperback and E-book, 284 pages. Reviewed by Julie S. Halpern. Laura Quinn’s first book in her new Cozy Mysteries Series features a large, engaging cast of eccentric characters, and a scene-stealing Eurasian canine named Baron. Set in the affluent Chicago lakefront suburb of North Haven, Three Woofs delightfully skewers the foibles of North Haven’s wealthy, self-absorbed residents and their pampered pets. Claire Noble, originally from North Haven, returns home following a successful marketing career in Manhattan. Now the owner of The Posh Pup Pawtisserie, a boutique bakery specializing in delectable, high-end treats for dogs, Claire is hoping for a quieter life. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-finding-the-news monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4f84254d-e941-45d8-8c01-767d17efcfa4/41eRRYyBuaL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Finding the News - Finding the News: Adventures of a Young Reporter. Peter Copeland. Louisiana State University Press, Oct. 1, 2019, Hardcover, 280 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. For most in the general public, Copeland is an unknown hero of journalism. You didn’t see him on the nightly news or in the pages of the largest newspapers such as the New York Times or his hometown Chicago Tribune. But his byline appeared in hundreds of newspapers and at other media outlets as a foreign correspondent when he covered everything from the drug war in Mexico to the first Gulf War and the U.S. presence in Somalia. His influence continued to grow when he became the Washington bureau chief for the Scripps news service. Finding the News: Adventures of a Young Reporter is a chronological retelling of Copeland’s growth as both a journalist and a person, followed by an epilogue that takes the well-traveled road of assessing the considerable challenges to modern journalism and its advertising-dependent business model. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-beneath-the-surface-a-book-of-poems monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c7213931-2498-4d11-938b-40da9dfa46a2/51n8G-IoLdL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Beneath the Surface: A Book Of Poems - Beneath the Surface: A Book Of Poems. Barbara Garay. Self-published, February 22, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 143 pages. Reviewed by Mike Freveletti. Beneath the Surface, by Barbara Garay, is a collection of poems with strong personal narrative focused on trauma, love, and respect for the adventure of life. Garay mentions the influence of thinkers such as Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, De Beauvoir, and Levinas. I found I didn’t need to be well versed in philosophy to enjoy what this collection had to offer. The collection is broken into five thematic sections: Roots, Love, Heartbreak, Inner Struggles, and Resilience. The poet has, with the help of a photographer, interspersed black and white photos, which lend to the earnestness of the collection and further accentuates the mood of the poems. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-ava-the-monster-slayer-cousin-power monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ac4d08ab-57d5-413b-a5d5-6da8a40f2b84/51Z7u%2BWs3tL._SX389_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Ava the Monster Slayer: Cousin Power - Ava the Monster Slayer: Cousin Power. Lisa Maggiore. Sky Pony Press, November 5, 2019. Hardcover and E-book, 35 pages. Reviewed by Susan Gaspar. Ava the Monster Slayer: Cousin Power is the second book of a series—the first being Ava the Monster Slayer: A Warrior Who Wears Glasses. I chuckled at that title and immediately wanted to read it. As a child who was forced to wear glasses in grade school, it’s nice to feel recognized. And I was taken with the concept of a young female heroine in prescription eyewear, so the engaging cover art the author’s new book drew me right in. Since the colorful artwork grabbed my attention first, I’ll start there. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-grace-stories-and-a-novella monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4eb1a890-d2ac-4b4a-bbd5-93a25bf96c8b/31SjpAGHLtL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Grace: Stories and a Novella - Grace: Stories and a Novella. Dan Burns. Chicago Arts Press, October 25, 2019, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, E-book, and Audiobook, 292 pages. Reviewed by Charles Kuner. The dictionary defines grace as being moral strength, the fortitude to perform a duty. It's also esteem, kindness, condescension, and leniency. Grace changes us and takes us from what we were to what we should be, and is one of the themes that runs through all of the stories in Grace: Stories and a Novella, the new story collection and fifth book from author Dan Burns. Other themes that tie the stories together are nature, family, personal relationships, and alcohol abuse. These themes form stories that are ultimately about dignity and self-worth. Insight is earned only through suffering. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-downstate-illinois monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d47bde76-d8f6-40f4-8d9e-2ebc0f89b7eb/51FTucn8NoL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Downstate Illinois - Downstate Illinois. Wesley Payton. Independently Published, August 28, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 205 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. Downstate Illinois by Wesley Payton is a mystery and love story populated with thought-provoking ideas and clever wordplay. Weston Payley, the protagonist of the story, is the author of a series of novels, including Sawbones Spinster, Sleuthing Spinster, and Skywriting Spinster. He is not to be confused with Wesley Payton, the author of this book, who has written Darkling Spinsterand Darkling Spinster No More. The story begins when Weston Payley relocates from his longtime home of Chicago to a small town in the middle of Illinois, where he summered as a boy. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-battered-a-whipped-and-sipped-mystery monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ff593747-6c68-4eae-85c5-9aa17bb3452a/41cahSi1hpL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery - Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery. G.P. Gottlieb. Published by D.X. Varos, Ltd., August 6, 2019, Trade Paperback, E-book, and Audiobook, 287 pages. Reviewed by Sue Merrell. Big city Chicago becomes a tightly-knit small town in G. P. Gottlieb’s debut novel, Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery. Gottlieb weaves a world where neighbors in a Lakeview apartment building have grown up together and shared a lifetime of secrets. In spite of some personality clashes, they trust each other enough to exchange keys to each others’ places. They drop in for bedtime ice cream, walk to the zoo with the kids, visit the local gym before work, and meet up at the neighborhood health food and coffee shop. The coffee shop, Whipped and Sipped, is owned by the story’s heroine, Alene, who bought the business from her neighbor, Gary, and employs a couple of Gary’s relatives as well as her former college roommate. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-blackbird-blues monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f84c840d-e269-4505-b7db-2d0f4b6a2831/31RGNjbzN3L._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Blackbird Blues - Blackbird Blues. Jean K. Carney. Bedazzled Ink Publishing Company, October 1, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 218 pages. Reviewed by Hallie Koontz. Blackbird Blues could be considered the story of many characters, but it is chiefly the story of Mary Kaye O’Donnell, a grieving and pregnant teenager who finds herself on the verge of several important life decisions. Other characters include: Sister Michaeline, who becomes a mentor to Mary Kaye even though Michaeline is already dead at the beginning of the novel; Lucius, a friend of Sister Michaeline who gifts her diary to Mary Kaye; and Lucius’ son Benny, an inmate at Joliet Prison. Although Blackbird Blues is about a critical juncture in Mary Kaye’s life, the other characters jump hurdles of similar importance, and their lives change in ways that are just as significant and meaningful. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-grammar-for-snow monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e1b8b024-7421-4749-a84f-0c7cab72cd5c/41mlY6CBuYL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Grammar for Snow - A Grammar for Snow. Richard Luftig. Unsolicited Press, July 16, 2019, Trade Paperback, 112 pages. Reviewed by Lawrence Hartmann. A Grammar for Snow is a mostly strong collection of poetry by Richard Luftig, a former professor of education. The topics of these poems range widely, from traditionally poetic ones (the stars, the moon, love), to more quotidian, commonplace ones (the poet writing a note to his unemployment counselor; townsfolk at the downtown coffee shop discussing an arriving snowstorm). Many of the poems deal with dying towns in the American West: boarded-up stores, empty streets, and overlooked lands and lives. From the beginning of the book, I knew I was in the hands of a talented writer. These poems give the pleasures of simple language. They are to be read once, and again, aloud, for the pleasure of the words’ sounds. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-healers-daughters monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/eabd59a6-4b15-4b22-947b-c6d724222abd/cvr_hd.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Healer’s Daughters - The Healer’s Daughters. Jay Amberg. Northfield, IL: Amika Press, July 17, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 311 pages. Reviewed by Starza Thompson. The Healer’s Daughters is an intense page-turner that takes its readers on a wild journey through Bergama, Turkey. Focused on the Boroğlu family and what happens when the current political environment intertwines with archeological findings, author Jay Amberg mixes the rich history of Turkey with the modern-day horrors of terrorist bombings, corrupt officials, and lustful greed. Every single page is filled with tension and twists, making this book very hard to put down. The novel opens with a terrorist bombing attack in Bergama that kills twenty-three people and devastates the city. Tuğçe Iskan, an employee at the Ministry of Culture, is sent to investigate. She finds an ancient coin in the pocket of a little boy who fell victim to the bombing, propelling her to seek out former colleague and archeologist, Özlem Boroğlu. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-invisible-scars-of-war-1 monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/bc27232b-c4f6-4d24-afdc-aa3146e81417/Invisible%2BScars%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Invisible Scars of War - Invisible Scars of War: A Veteran’s Struggle with Moral Injury. Dick Hattan. Woodstock Square Press, October 3, 2018, 188 pages. Reviewed by T. L. Needham. Invisible Scars of War: A Veteran’s Struggle with Moral Injury, by Dick Hattan, is a soldier’s testament of a war that continues to haunt and endure in America’s psyche and conscience, with a greater sense of guilt than pride. The war still haunts many of the countless veterans who served in this “police action,” including the author. Dick Hattan grew up in a Chicago suburb as a devout Catholic. He attended Catholic schools and eventually enrolled in the Chicago Theological Seminary. But, the draft stalked him, and he decided to enlist and face the inevitable. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-an-uprising-in-rome-1849 monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d0f7a490-ccf2-440e-82bf-ec749a620449/413usvbCF2L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: An Uprising in Rome: 1849 - An Uprising in Rome: 1849. Richard F. Novak. Independently Published, May 17, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 209 pages. Reviewed by Wayne Turmel. Nothing makes a reader of historical fiction happier than discovering a period of history or a character that we knew nothing about yet makes for a great story. Such is the case with Richard Novak’s new novel. An Uprising in Rome: 1849 is a well-researched, exciting novel about the adventures of an American sculptor, Charles Grimes. The naïve middle-class man goes to Rome to study sculpture and gets caught up in the political upheaval associated with Giuseppe Garibaldi's attempt to forge a single Italian nation from the city-states and smaller kingdoms that existed for hundreds of years. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-charming-man-a-qc-davis-novel monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b91396ad-9ecb-4b01-a86b-5b3bc02faa2e/51g9LG5YbpL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Charming Man: A Q.C. Davis Novel - The Charming Man: A Q.C. Davis Novel. Lisa Lilly. Spiny Woman LLC, December 18, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 450 pages. Reviewed by R. H. King, Jr. A college girl goes missing. Because she has a possible visa issue that could lead to her deportation, no one calls the police. Instead, a friend asks Quille Davis—an actress-turned-lawyer—to help find the missing girl. Both the missing girl and the friend are residents of a run-down apartment complex on the Chicago River, so Quille’s search begins there. But an early-season blizzard of epic proportions engulfs the city and traps all the residents—including Quille—in the complex. As her search continues, dead bodies start piling up, raising the possibility that the murders may be related to the missing girl. Because of the blizzard, the police are unable to assist, leaving Quille and her friends alone in their quest to find the missing girl and killer. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-legacy-of-war monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5fad5497-4cfc-4d6a-a597-d6989c1cc30a/51YaL4djeZL._SX332_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Legacy of War - Legacy of War. Ed Marohn. BookBaby, July 1, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 340 pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. In Legacy of War, Ed Marohn, a Vietnam veteran and Assistant Professor of Military History, tells the story of another veteran of the war in Vietnam, psychologist John Moore. Decades after his experience in Vietnam, Dr. Moore is still having nightmares about his time there. Having lost his wife, Dr. Moore is only now starting to find himself developing a desire for a fellow psychologist, Dr. Sally Catton. When the V.A. hospital becomes overwhelmed and unable to provide the veterans with the medical services they need, the V.A. refers one of its patients to Dr. Moore. It's Dr. Catton who warns Moore against taking on fellow veteran, Tom Reed, as a patient, and maybe she's right. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-pyongyang-option monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2eb58840-1532-404b-a031-10d1e511e623/51OISrIb95L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Pyongyang Option - The Pyongyang Option. A.C. Frieden. Avendia Publishing, March 29, 2019. Trade Paperback and E-book, 468 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. If you want a fast-paced thriller that parachutes you into intriguing and dangerous places, A.C. Frieden is your guy. Frieden’s ability to put readers into exotic locales is on full display in The Pyongyang Option, the third book in Frieden’s series featuring Jonathan Brooks, a globe-trotting attorney with the instincts of a master spy. Brooks’ decision-making and feats of daring can seem implausible at times, but you’ll root for him to succeed—it’s fiction, after all. As the story opens, Brooks is in a bad way. Hurricane Katrina has devastated cash flow to his New Orleans law firm, and he’s obsessed about the breakup with his ex-wife, Linda Fabre. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-rooming-house-diaries monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e54ba6ef-e5da-48bf-8d93-a6f47bab5b03/51gcSrGSR9L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Rooming House Diaries - The Rooming House Diaries: Life, Love & Secrets. Bill Mathis. Rogue Phoenix Press, June 17, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 479 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. The Rooming House Diaries is an absorbing novel far superior to what one might expect from its title. The novel, Bill Mathis’ second, is a saga about a boarding house. Mathis describes the book as follows: Six diaries and correspondence are discovered in an old rooming house in the Back-of-the-Yards neighborhood of Chicago. The diaries span the 20th century and are written by the original owners, their children, and several roomers amidst the historic events, the demographic changes in Chicago and the nation. Mathis’ narrative is a delight to read, and his mastery of character is impressive. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-true-course-lessons-from-a-life-aloft monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/056c1cb7-650e-4f9f-a3c0-6bff890737e7/41BRYSWyxeL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: True Course: Lessons from a Life Aloft - True Course: Lessons from a Life Aloft. Brigid Johnson. Outskirts Press, April 25, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 326 pages. Reviewed by Deb Lecos. True Course is a work of non-fiction and is centered on discovering, accomplishing, and living an intrinsic dream. People have unique passions: playing an instrument, art, growing particular strains of cucumber, or as described in this memoir’s story-chapters, piloting an airplane. Brigid Johnson has written an inspirational book about spending many of her days aloft. Told with humor, insight, and a poetic voice, the author carries the reader along as she first learns to fly and with her side-by-side teaching and lyrical stories about flight. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-way-station-what-does-a-question-weigh monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/945c3d37-05bd-4170-9a66-a6c0ff222f4a/41RmqOLdlWL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Way Station & What Does A Question Weigh? - Way Station & What Does A Question Weigh? Wes Payton. Adelaide Books, April 16, 2019, Trade Paperback, 202 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. Wes Payton’s latest publication, Way Station & What Does A Question Weigh? is a book of two plays. Anyone familiar with Payton’s unique way of looking at the world will not be disappointed. His complex work simultaneously enlightens and entertains. The first play, “Way Station,” concerns itself with a one-hit-wonder of a novelist looking back on his life twenty years after the publication of his lone success. The protagonist, known as Frieze, relives his past while contemplating suicide. The story is told in three acts. The play features a nonlinear narrative, with scene one in each act taking place in a present-day, shabby barroom. Scene three of each act takes place in the same barroom, only twenty years in the past. The second scenes in all the acts take place in Frieze’s mind. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-fear-naught-the-junk-drawer-of-poetry monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f8cbe8fd-6db9-4c7c-b1d6-2651ca9254f7/51qV4b-HdBL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Fear Naught: The Junk Drawer of Poetry - Fear Naught: The Junk Drawer of Poetry. Owen Patterson. Chicago: Brevis Publishing, June 11, 2019, Trade Paperback, 128 pages. Reviewed by marssie Mencotti. Fear Naught is a lovely book of poetic musings—sometimes sensitive in tone and sometimes sweet, but never mean or cruel. The six sections of the book are entitled “Flow” (the passage of time), “Silence Tucked into Clamor” (finding peace in chaos), “Art in Life” (beauty and inspiration), “Paradox” (things are not always what they seem), “Posts” (from blogs and thoughts of the poet), and finally, Coda (the poet putting together his philosophy and musings at the end of the book). Owen Patterson has worked as a tutor, special ed paraprofessional, and behavioral health counselor. He has been writing poetry and short stories since childhood, but only recently published his works. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-illuminating-occurrence-of-maxine-porter monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7ab1d435-73f0-4372-a168-ff38ae3ceb32/18BB762D-2234-4EF2-8CC5-046DAA2DE80D.jpeg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Illuminating Occurrence of Maxine Porter - The Illuminating Occurrence of Maxine Porter. Glenn Seerup. Self-published, October 11, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 262 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. Time is the essence of this new work from architect Glenn Seerup. A self-proclaimed aficionado of Holden Caulfield, readers are challenged and amused to discover bits of Catcher in the Rye allusions in Seerup’s stories. One March day in Chicago, life begins to unfold for recent industrial design graduate Hayden Carlisle. Realizing his talents and prickly personality are more suited to a smaller operation, Hayden takes a job with a toy design firm. The Plush Porcupine is past its heyday of once-popular unique toys and entering a downward spiral of ennui. Hayden is more interested in using the staff for a personal pet project—writing a best-selling documentary on his first, and probably only, year at the firm that will jumpstart his literary career—and initially has little other appreciation for corporate or personal intrigue. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-glory-bishop monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/67ec0493-d824-4da6-9626-6801ca67cca5/41G%2BVxPBr8L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Glory Bishop - Glory Bishop. Deborah King. Red Adept Publishing, June 4, 2019, E-book, 302 pages. Reviewed by Sierra Kay. It’s 1983, but you wouldn’t know it from Glory Bishop’s life. Glory’s mother is raising her under strict rule and must have had “spare the rod, spoil the child” surgically etched in her brain. Glory goes to church, work, and home, and struggles to find any freedom as she progresses through her senior year in high school. While most of her classmates prepare for college, Glory can only hope for the freedom that a man can provide. Her mother doesn’t believe in college. So, marriage would be her only way out. The man that chooses Glory happens to be the preacher’s son, Malcolm, who is Glory’s senior by ten years. Her mother is ecstatic. Glory is hesitant. Malcolm is persistent. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-selling-americans-on-america-journey-into-a-trouble monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6aaede59-d963-4f57-b38b-980ee8bb3bf5/51CZZrkMyHL._SX312_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Selling Americans on America: Journey into a Troubled Nation - Selling Americans on America: Journey into a Troubled Nation. Gerry and Janet Souter. Sartoris Literary Group, July 4, 2019, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and E-book, 290 pages. Reviewed by Charles Kuner. In Selling Americans on America: Journey into a Troubled Nation, Gerry and Janet Souter have collaborated on an interesting and entertaining account of the first American Freedom Train that traversed the country from 1947-1949. The book also speaks to our current situations both at home and abroad. It's a stark reminder of past lessons not learned or remembered. The first Freedom Train was proposed in April 1946 by Attorney General Tom C. Clark, who believed that Americans had begun taking the principles of liberty for granted in the post-war years. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-wonderful-stroke-of-luck monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/959e3bed-78b0-4e7c-9aeb-033338700d15/41IfscVTdmL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Wonderful Stroke of Luck - A Wonderful Stroke of Luck: From Occupational Therapist to Patient and Beyond. Janet R. Douglas. Archway Publishing, October 4, 2018, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and E-book, 316 pages. Reviewed by Julie S. Halpern. Janet R. Douglas’s account of the challenges she faced after surviving a stroke is a beautifully written memoir with an ironic twist. Janet was a longtime occupational therapist with extensive knowledge of rehabilitation and the health care industry. A consummate medical professional with the soul of a poet, Janet reveals the immediacy of every experience in heartbreakingly vivid detail. Her unique, unexpected sense of humor—often inspired by literary works—inform even the most frightening situations with wit and empathy. When Janet suffers a stroke during a relative’s wedding in her native England, and is left with devastating physical and cognitive damage, she knows all too well how uncertain her prognosis could be. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-chicago-treasure monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2af7ff86-3fd1-4fd4-8e9e-0ebc90e8f214/513Aor9Gd4L._SX426_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Chicago Treasure - Chicago Treasure. Larry Broutman, Rich Green, & John Rabias. Chicago: Lake Claremont Press, March 1, 2019, Hardcover, 168 pages. Reviewed by Susan Gaspar. Upon first glance, Chicago Treasure is a beautiful coffee table book. Richly colored cover art, generous heft, and glossy pages make the book feel special. Its fill-your-lap proportion makes it feel like a doorway to another world in the same way that a lushly illustrated children’s book invites you inside to take a peek into a special place. Upon closer examination, Chicago Treasure becomes much more than a beautiful book meant to dress a shelf or accessorize a table. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-scar-dance monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1235c11f-22dd-4f52-8fc9-6c4eb4d24a73/scardancecover2shortsleeve-400x638.png Book Reviews - Book Review: The Scar Dance - The Scar Dance: A Novel. William Mansfield. Chicago, IL: Eckhartz Press, October 16, 2018, Trade Paperback, 182 pages. Reviewed by Susan Fox. Anne, an art teacher on the south side of Chicago, is attacked and mauled by three dogs, and in those few short, terrifying moments, everything about her life changes forever. Screaming for help, she is almost killed in the attack. Her husband is notified and races home to find his wife being loaded into an ambulance, nearly unconscious and covered with blood. Over the next months, Anne struggles to heal from her wounds, both physical and emotional. The attack changes not only her life but that of her husband as well. The Scar Dance is the story of her recovery, lovingly told by her husband. He begins the book on the day of the attack, a day that starts like any other ordinary day. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-surge monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/414e1df6-bc86-47b4-94c6-08acd99be3e4/516xLMmVk6L._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Surge - The Surge. Adam Kovac. Indianapolis: Engine Books, January 15, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 182 pages. Reviewed by Jennifer Schulz. The Surge follows Larry Chandler during the final weeks of his tour in Iraq, as he attempts to overcome his physical and emotional wounds and make a connection with the men he was sent there to lead. With five weeks remaining on their tour, Chandler and his men are assigned a far more dangerous mission than any they’d been deployed on previously. The men make it clear they are hoping to finally see some action and earn medals like the ones Chandler received after Afghanistan. Chandler does not share their feelings, but he does not know how to explain why, nor does he believe they would understand. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-consequence-of-stars monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9a16c15d-66ea-4fb3-a489-9e7e5712f85d/41GjivJYE9L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Consequence of Stars - The Consequence of Stars: A Memoir of Home. David W. Berner. New York: Adelaide Books, March 28, 2019, Trade Paperback, 212 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. David W. Berner, author of Any Road Will Take You There and There’s a Hamster in my Dashboard, offers in his newest memoir a series of nineteen linked essays traversing his childhood in Pennsylvania through early adulthood to contemporary life. Berner tackles the idea of “home” through a series of defining moments. The opening chapter is a revelation of what home means, launching life from the safety and wonder of the front porch with sleepovers, board games, and plotting explorations of the neighborhood. “This is how one built a life in my hometown. It’s what people did. They grew up in unexceptional little neighborhoods, went to the same Sunday church services, attended the same elementary, middle, and high schools, got jobs at the mills or the local banks, bought homes near their parents, drank at the corner bar with their old high school friends on Friday nights, and raised kids who would grow up and do it all over again. For a time, I was moving straight down that path, doing what you’re supposed to do.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-cinderella-didnt-live-happily-ever-after monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b193bf99-376a-4e64-a801-2a929775790d/51gdyvCjQWL._SY346_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Cinderella Didn’t Live Happily Ever After - Cinderella Didn’t Live Happily Ever After: The Hidden Messages in Fairy Tales. Anne E. Beall, Ph.D. Independently published, November 17, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 103 pages. Reviewed by Marcie Hill. Thought-provoking is the best term to describe Cinderella Didn’t Live Happily Ever After: The Hidden Messages in Fairy Tales by Anne E. Beall, Ph.D. As children, we read fairy tales for entertainment. We were led to believe that “happily ever after” was real because many stories ended that way. As adults, we hold on to these illusions of “happily ever after,” only to keep us optimistic while navigating adult life. I would argue that very few of us think about what happened to Cinderella and Prince Charming after we closed the pages of that book. I didn't. And, I probably wouldn't have given it more thought until I read Cinderella Didn’t Live Happily Ever After. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-butcher monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3a647f80-e39b-42b8-8c62-36e5e7599560/31DjGAvFUdL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Butcher - The Butcher. Alan S. Kessler. Black Rose Writing, January 24, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 205 pages. Reviewed by Terrell Isselhard. Allan S. Kessler’s The Butcher imagines a world where the worst people have grabbed power and only a miracle can change things. The novella is speculative fiction, and while it is a novella, it is broader and more ambitious than most books this length. The Butcher is an engaging read that isn’t just an escape into another world; it’s a reflection on our own. Mikkel, the protagonist, is a boy approaching manhood who lives in a world with only two seasons, Spring and Summer, each three months long. This world contains two groups of people: those in the Party, and the Burners—a race of people Mikkel has been taught to despise. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-one-date-rule monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1e8c91f2-82fa-4d83-b83e-477c81600798/51FyqZbBkmL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The One Date Rule - The One Date Rule. TaKaylla L. Gordon. Hyde and Seek Press, July 15, 2018 Trade Paperback and E-book, 251 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. The One Date Rule follows the relationship of Draylen, a near-forty-something freelance proofreader who goes back to school, and Quinn, her forty-something Creative Writing professor. They are equally gripped by each other as soon as they meet, igniting the central conflict of the book—should they pursue each other or not? The narrative seamlessly flows between Draylen and Quinn’s point of view, following along as they fall into a rapid cycle of dating and breaking up repeatedly, each trying to conquer the baggage they bring to the relationship. The strength of this book comes from the tropes it does not employ. This is a book about two strong women in a relationship, but neither is mean nor trite. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-reason-to-be-here monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/16786b9c-107f-481c-8e9a-8dff6e4f47e0/4-1-19%2BFINAL%2BARC%2BFront%2BCover%2B--%2BA%2BReason%2Bto%2BBe%2BHere.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Reason to Be Here - A Reason to Be Here: Tales from the Writers Convention. Jay Rehak (Editor). Chicago: Windy City Publishers, June 15, 2019, Trade Paperback, 200 pages. Reviewed by Dan Burns. A Reason to Be Here is a collaborative novel, conceived and edited by Jay Rehak and shaped by the determined writing efforts and crafted stories from twenty-five members of the Off Campus Writers Workshop (OCCW), the oldest continuously running writing workshop in the country. For years, the stories-as-a-novel writing approach has intrigued me. After reading the books Dandelion Wine and The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, I realized that an author could successfully tie together individual stories into a cohesive, believable, over-arching storyline, but not without significant effort and challenges. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-willingly monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f28a5f67-c300-490a-9917-090b5db256d5/41Kvi2KyxnL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Willingly - Willingly. Marc Frazier. Adelaide Books, January 27, 2019, Trade Paperback, 112 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote that “to be a poet is to apprehend the true and the beautiful.” Willingly, Marc Frazier’s new collection of poems, is both true and beautiful. In Frazier’s words,Willingly explores “the ramifications of one man’s search for identity within and without the bonds of a relationship,” and “the story of one LGBTQ+ individual.” Within his story, Frazier writes in many styles and focuses on many themes. Some poems address the power of nature and our relationship to it, as in “Awakening”: https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-standing-in-doorways monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/59e4f6db-2c96-4dce-bf12-fc37016b7cf3/Standing%2Bin%2BDoorways%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Standing in Doorways - Standing in Doorways. Wes Payton. Adelaide Books, December 6, 2018, Trade Paperback, 266 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. Standing in Doorways is the second book by Wes Payton that I’ve reviewed, and like Lead Tears, the first one, I loved it. It showcases Mr. Payton’s clever use of wordplay and his sneaky sense of humor. The novel is structured in two parts. Part One chronicles the lives of a group of college students afflicted with various mental disorders. They attend a prestigious Midwestern university and are ensconced in Study House, their dormitory. We come to know these students through the eyes of Vivien Leigh (not thatVivien Leigh). Vivien describes her pathology when she says, “I can’t read expressions or understand body language. I’m barely human.” When asked if that means she’s a literal, she answers, “I was for a long time until I finally figured out that people rarely mean what they say. Now I don’t really believe anything I’m told, which can be an advantage in college, but from what my counselor tells me is somewhat discouraged in the real world.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-white-revolt monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/61aa067e-2a4c-4629-918f-f2f26959c898/51u4s%2BmYu7L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: White Revolt! - White Revolt!: An American National Socialist History. Leon Dilios. Ostara Publications, December 12, 2018, Trade Paperback, 312 pages. Reviewed by Brian Johnston. White Revolt!is the story of the National Socialist movement in the United States, as witnessed by someone who participated in the movement. The events largely took place in Chicago although the book describes events in other Midwest areas. Those who believe that National Socialism died in Germany with Adolf Hitler in 1945—especially those not alive in the 1960s—may be surprised to learn about some successes that the movement has since had in America. Dilios tells the story through the personal experiences of the movement’s leader, Frank Collin; it revolves around the assassination of another one of its leaders, George Lincoln Rockwell, for whom the party’s headquarters was later named. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-spoken monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6deed0e9-1457-42e5-93f0-83e0749d3211/410E6qbW%2BoS._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Spoken - Spoken. Melanie Weiss. Oak Park IL: Rosehip Publishing, March 15, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 195 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. Melanie Weiss’s debut work of young adult fiction captures the angst and inner workings of a teenager, Roman Santi, whose life is transformed from residing in a mansion with a housekeeper in Los Angeles to sleeping on grandma’s sofa bed with a statue of the Buddha staring at him. The novel is a lovely, refreshingly sweet and poignant story about a kid not warped by a society and whose goal is to live happily ever after, be a friend, find friends, and find the father he’s never known. One of my favorite lines is from Roman’s first day at his new school, when he’s challenged by his mother’s over-the-top appearance as a minor movie star in exile: “Welcome to my world, where I’m happy my hippie grandma is the one taking me to school today.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-indivisible-and-the-void monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/81c9c044-1c41-48e8-816a-5ca546a5ab7e/41IZb8A6MfL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Indivisible and the Void - The Indivisible and the Void. D. M. Wozniak. Chicago, IL: D. M. Wozniak, February 15, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 579 pages. Reviewed by T. L. Needham. “The fundamental notion which any voider’s power relies upon is this: Everything in our creation is built out of infinitesimal building blocks, called the indivisible. There is nothing else, besides the indivisible and the void.” Master Voider Democryos Dem leads the college that trains voiders to manage, and use wisely, their power of voidstones. Lady Marine, his beautiful former student and wife, is hopelessly drawn to power and leaves him for mysterious voider. Outraged over his loss, Dem resolves to pursue and confront her and the traitor. Along the way, he meets an effulgent, Blythe, who leads worshipers of the “Unnamed.” Blythe insists on joining the quest to find Dem’s wife and kill the traitor who seduced her. There is no trust between Dem, who has faith in reason, and Blythe, who follows a guilty, blind faith. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-leopold-segedin-a-habit-of-art monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0bed7b43-c682-4d48-8eb7-3c30536d3511/51FSvfw05lL._SX258_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Leopold Segedin: A Habit of Art - Leopold Segedin: A Habit of Art. Leopold Segedin (Author). Paul Segedin and Benjamin Segedin (Editors). Chicago: Outbound Ike Publishing, 2018, Hardcover, 130 pages Reviewed by Greg Borzo. In an Allan Bennett play, an elderly artist named W.H. Auden said, “Am I dead? I work. I have the habit of art.” This quote inspired the title of this book. Such a habit—a stubborn, driving need to paint—compels Leopold Segedin to climb up to his attic virtually every day to create art. His sons, Paul and Ben, recently installed grab bars so their 92-year-old father could pull himself up to his studio—a scene he depicts in several of his paintings as a Sisyphean struggle. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-1638-east-palace monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-dreamrail monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9c277f78-20fc-44db-a337-fef2adc3dfe7/51C%2Bol9BOqL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: DreamRail - DreamRail: Connected Short Stories. Michael Ripley. Pen It! Publications, LLC, November 7, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 266 pages. Reviewed by Gail Galvan. My first suggestion before reading this book: tune in to a “Twilight Zone” thought process mode before delving in. This tactic will likely help readers understand what’s going on and enable them to enjoy the stories sooner. Admittedly, I was a little confused at first. But I guess that’s what happens when a book is different and an author takes a risk. DreamRail takes an interesting and unique approach by connecting short stories and lives. The main character and four co-workers ride separate trains to work and make up a writers’ group that meets for lunch at Poppy’s several times a week. They share strange stories they have written. Often the tales seem more like nightmares than dreams and include paranormal indications. The author shares many wildly imaginative circumstances and events in his stories, along with some clear-cut interwoven morals. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-tribute-to-tulipia monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/382a1ebf-b14e-4366-a438-bd6f4816369d/51oACVoHXHL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Tribute to Tulipia - A Tribute to Tulipia. Chiara Talluto. Self-Published, December 2, 2018, Paperback and E-book, 28 pages. Reviewed by Bibi Belford. Tulipia is an orphaned tulip with extraordinary powers who lives in a harsh environment oddly called “Oasis.” Adding to her difficulties are her beauty, height, and intelligence, which breed jealousy in the surrounding foliage. Rather than be daunted by her lack of friends and unforgiving environment, Tulipia continues to bloom, confident that someday her goodness will triumph. When a prowling wolf threatens, Tulipia comes to the rescue, using her powers to influence her neighbors, who in turn save a defenseless bunny. The bunny repays Tulipia by counseling the rest of the foliage to respect and honor her. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-patch-of-green monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8307faa4-d26c-41c0-973c-d53183b18f51/51JpjGgN6QL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Patch of Green - The Patch of Green. Greg Kaup. Elk Park Press, October 17, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 289 pages. Reviewed by Hallie Koontz. The title of Greg Kaup’s slice-of-life, coming-of-age tale, The Patch of Green, serves as setting for a story in which the protagonist, Greg Garrity, undergoes a lifelong quest to repay his two best childhood friends for saving his life one stormy afternoon on Lake Michigan. The “patch of green” refers to a section of Rogers Park belonging to the parish of St. Ignatius Church, where Greg’s life journey begins. The Patch of Green is perhaps too ambitious as a slice-of-life novel. The author describes some conversations and actions that seem unnecessary; detailed descriptions, that don't communicate any new information or character personality, often hinder the otherwise compelling narrative energy. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-demon-zero monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7e3fdc24-facb-4589-ae22-4d7875db0b32/411qGEpFtHL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Demon Zero - Demon Zero: An Urban Fantasy Adventure (Dark Matter Book One). Randall Pine. Dapper Press, December 17, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 198 pages. Reviewed by Ukaisha A. Hall. Simon Dark and Virgil Matter have been best friends since they were children. They are in their mid-twenties, but everything about their demeanor and personality screams teenage boys. They live in the town of Templar at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains. Templar is a typical town except for the occasional supernatural event or incident. Their favorite hangout spot is the Squeezy Cheez, a throwback pizza arcade from the eighties. Virgil has the great idea that he and Simon should become town heroes who investigate the weird occurrences and fight evil. Simon, who is more levelheaded, ignores Virgil’s foolishness until he is forced into action while visiting his sister’s grave. A zombie, fresh from crawling out of a grave, attacks the young men. Despite a stumbling success fending off the zombie, they decide they’re ready rid the town of the demon in Mrs. Grunberg’s basement. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-pro-patria-the-story-of-an-american-who-fought monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/516c15c1-49df-4aef-8f19-010d5099345a/511xOMP8txL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Pro Patria: The Story of an American Who Fought for Italy in World War I - Pro Patria: The Story of an American Who Fought for Italy in World War I. Marcella Bernard. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, October 11, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 768 pages. Reviewed by T. L. Needham. When I was asked to read and review Pro Patria and learned it was about World War I, I realized how little I knew about this war. What I did know was based mainly on reading Ernest Hemingway’s book, A Farewell to Arms. However, I read that book fifty years ago. So, this was new material for me to explore. I was struck by the irony that this book was released during the 100th anniversary of World War I, which lasted from 1914 to 1918. Thus, I was eager to “time-travel” back 100 years to delve into this important global conflict that would shape what followed in the 20th Century. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-desperate-paths monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c5b29950-6481-47f7-883d-cf8440033116/41R3HwJ2rOL._SX310_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Desperate Paths - Desperate Paths. E. C. Diskin. Thomas & Mercer/Amazon Publishing, March 19, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 340 pages. Reviewed by Renee James. E. C. Diskin’s fourth thriller takes readers on a breathless thrill ride, replete with characters we care about who are living on the edge and a plot that soars up hills, over cliffs, and down unseen alleys with manic, page-turning abandon. Set in a rural, southern Illinois county, Desperate Paths is the story of Brooklyn Anderson, a young, mixed-race woman, coming home from New York City to see her father, who has been hospitalized after a serious fall. Her return opens many old wounds for Brooklyn, who never felt accepted by the community, or by her much older sister, Ginny, a beautiful, middle-aged woman with her own family and a deep resentment of Brooklyn. At the same time the Anderson family’s tensions are coming to boil, the community of Eden is stressed over the shooting of Darius Woods, a local man who made it big in Hollywood. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-acres-orphans monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2b2f5afa-a9a9-4b93-a93d-4297923cd749/51hTHcrCmwL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Acre’s Orphans - Acre’s Orphans. Wayne Turmel. Las Vegas, Nevada: Achis Press, January 21, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 332 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. In his previous book, Acre’s Bastard, Wayne Turmel introduced us to Lucca Le Pou. His ten-year-old protagonist is a street-smart scapegrace who knows the back alleys of his home city of Acre like the back of his hand. Lucca has already survived more than most adults, including the disastrous defeat of the Christian forces at the Battle of Hattin. But as much as he hopes to go back to his old life, that wish is not to be realized. Acre’s Orphans opens in the aftermath of Hattin. Acre, now virtually defenseless, is awash with fear as it prepares to surrender to the Muslim armies of Sal ad-Din. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-post-apocalypticon monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4f1aac1d-4ab0-47c1-bf15-bf068f1c1ea4/51GGS2JFpyL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Post-Apocalypticon - Post-Apocalypticon. Clayton Smith. Dapper Press, October 24, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 269 Pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. In “The Apocalypticon Trilogy,” Clayton Smith has crafted a world readers will find both familiar and drastically changed by the events of the apocalypse. The trilogy’s first installment, Apocalypticon, centers on best friends Patrick Deen and Ben Fogelvee. Doing their utmost to survive in post-apocalypse Chicago, the two set off on a cross country road trip to Disney World that quickly goes south. Throughout his character’s tragi-comic, nail-biting quest, Smith somehow manages to fuse the bleak landscape of works like Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, with the lighter zom-com fare of movies like Zombieland, creating a world as brutal as it is funny; a world more than worthy of a return visit to this, the next entry in the series. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-aviation-chicago-timeline monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/bfd67a9d-f962-4411-bc20-b66321253289/41VJOWz49vL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Aviation Chicago Timeline - Aviation Chicago Timeline. Michael Haupt. Chicago: Aviation Chicago Press, November 18, 2018, Hardcover and Trade Paperback, 468 pages. Reviewed by Greg Borzo. At first, I was reluctant to review Aviation Chicago Timeline because I thought that the more than one thousand entries would read like a long list of rambling and disconnected people, places, and things. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to see that the parade of events holds together, offering a comprehensive overview of the vital role Chicago played in aviation history. This 450-page tome is a reference book, a chronology searchable by date or through a comprehensive index. It provides definitive information about how the Windy City took to the skies, influenced the city’s growth and development, and how it was and continues to be a center of aviation innovation, advancement, and business success. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-pushing-the-river monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7ce22417-ceeb-4f57-acea-141314770aaf/51fqk6KDptL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Pushing the River - Pushing the River. Barbara Monier. Northfield, IL: Amika Press, August 3, 2018. Trade Paperback and E-book, 249 pages. Reviewed by Caryl Barnes. Pushing the River is Barbara Monier’s well-received third novel. It reflects Monier’s continuing interest in how families, particularly mothers, react to change. The story focuses on Madeline, a woman living alone in a large house, empty since her children left home and a traumatic divorce. For various reasons, six family and non-family members, including Dan, a new lover, move into her house for stays of varying lengths. Living again in a full house delights Madeline but also alarms her. As she says in the opening sentence, “I have lived in the company of ghosts.” Madeline’s ghosts had been well-behaved; even the ghost of her traitorous husband existed in a cozy, head-of-the-household space in her hazy, timeless, dream family. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-lost-restaurants-of-chicago monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e83b0e85-c12e-479c-ae6c-8a30b45c7800/51hXV2YBLAL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Lost Restaurants of Chicago - Lost Restaurants of Chicago. Greg Borzo. The History Press, December 3, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 224 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. It may not surprise anyone that so many of life’s important moments take place in restaurants. Perhaps especially in earlier decades, when Americans did not eat out as much as they do now, a restaurant was often selected for the proposal dinner, the graduation celebration, the luncheon after the funeral, the Easter brunch, or the Mother’s Day family reunion. Restaurants represented occasions we all remember, and we particularly remember the restaurants where they took place. Lost Restaurants of Chicago will evoke that feeling of nostalgia and memory in anyone who has lived a couple of decades in that city, long enough to have enjoyed and then lost a cherished eatery. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-truth-behind-the-lies monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7a18804f-0c6f-4dd7-840a-dbb760776f08/511v0mPIAfL._SX398_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Truth Behind the Lies - The Truth Behind the Lies. Chrishana Greer and Brooklyn Davis. Self-Published, June 9, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 80 pages. Reviewed by Kandice Cole. The Truth Behind the Lies, by Chrishana Greer and Brooklyn Davis, is a realistic novel that follows the life of Ebony Harris, an African American college student born and raised in Chicago. Ebony is an ambitious young woman determined to create a better life for herself. She decides to attend college in Atlanta, leaving her on-again, off-again boyfriend Juelz back home. Ebony eventually returns to Chicago for summer break and finds that things are not quite the same between her and Juelz. She decides to start dating someone new, named KJ, who gives her the attention and affection she deserves. Unfortunately, things don’t last long between Ebony and KJ, and Ebony attempts to rekindle her relationship with Juelz. An unexpected chain of events changes Ebony’s life forever and she is forced to come to terms with her complicated and often unhealthy relationships. Eventually, Ebony realizes the love she desires from Juelz and KJ is the love she actually needs to give herself. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-meow-mayhem monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7365a7a8-867c-4c00-8dc1-d56de9879548/512IVkuIAML._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Meow Mayhem - Meow Mayhem. Lisa Lickel. Prism Books, an imprint of Pelican Ventures LLC, January 25, 2019, Trade Paperback and E-book, 256 pages. Reviewed by Sue Merrell. If you like your mysteries nice and cozy, curled up and quiet like a sleeping cat on your lap, then you may enjoy Meow Mayhem, the first book in a new series by Lisa Lickel. Of course, as any cat owner knows, a purring feline can disguise sharp claws and a lightning-fast pounce. It’s knowing that the power is there, but controlled, that makes a sleeping cat so beguiling. Meow Mayhem unfolds in Apple Grove, Illinois, a sleepy little town about two hours from Chicago. We soon learn there’s more than church gossip and city council complaints percolating in this little burg. The heroine, Ivy, has recently moved her tech business there from the Chicago suburbs after breaking up with her fiancée. She makes friends with Adam, who has opened a branch of his Chicago-area coffee shops in Apple Grove. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-pear-tree monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e69b2bef-6bd1-43a5-823a-73e04002a6d2/51W1kERL6YL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Pear Tree - The Pear Tree. Karen M Sandrick. Self-Published, August 29, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 355 pages. Reviewed by Wayne Turmel. The Pear Tree is a poignant, well-written, and extensively researched look at the events surrounding the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia and its lingering, horrible aftershocks on the people of a small village. Sandrick has taken several stories and woven them into a picture of what happens in wartime and the ripples long after the shooting stops. When the local Nazi commander is assassinated (it’s the same event as the 2017 movie Anthropoid), blame falls on residents of the village of Lidice. Every man in the village is executed, and the women and children either killed, sent to internment camps, or shipped off to Germany for relocation with “true German” families. The village itself is razed to the ground, wiping out its very existence. Families are torn apart, lives forever ruined, and villagers turn on each other in a desperate bid to survive. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-android-chronicles-unbound monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b429dc31-4b73-4c64-b24c-2f4412bccf05/51HT-xWxVtL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Android Chronicles: Unbound - Android Chronicles: Unbound. Lance Erlick. New York: Kensington Publishing, December 25, 2018, E-book, 278 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. In the first installment of his Android Chronicles series, Lance Erlick introduces us to Synthia Cross. His android protagonist is the culmination of a series of very illegal experiments and hardware developments. She is not only self-aware, but a machine so life-like in appearance that she is capable of living unnoticed among humanity. Her builder designed her to operate in a human-dominated world, both as the perfect tool to help him spy on competitors, and as what he hopes to be the perfect sex partner. But being a slave is not to Synthia’s liking, and she escapes her captivity. At the beginning of Unbound, events unfolding around Synthia threaten to take her new-found freedom away. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-cameo monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/307bc54d-9d2a-488c-b639-cd51a2d7eafe/cameofront-752x1200.png Book Reviews - Book Review: Cameo - Cameo. Beth Jacobellis. Chicago: Eckhartz Press, March 5, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 193 pages. Reviewed by marssie Mencotti. Just out of college and not knowing what comes next, Samantha Ricks visits a psychic, Ingrid, in hopes of obtaining a little guidance regarding the uncertain world ahead. The message is a little confusing at first, but a tragic incident from the past seems to be affecting Samantha’s present. All the signs point to a happy future, but there are adventures ahead for Samantha before she can realize her potential. Cameo, by Beth Jacobellis, is an interweaving of the past, its impact on the present, and how our feelings can get in the way of understanding what is pulling us through to the future. The book begins in the present, but we are quickly transported to the cameo’s present life in 1994 and then again through vignettes from 1885, 1976 and 1989. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-hubley-case monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fe59d0bb-164c-4b02-9ce1-d9208a372bca/511qx8L50dL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Hubley Case - The Hubley Case. J. Lee. Moonshine Cove Publishing, LLC, November 6, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 270 pages. Reviewed by Robert King. Peter Hubley, a family man with a heretofore impeccable reputation, is assassinated in the Sao Paulo airport while on a business trip to Brazil. His widow calls upon a family friend, Ben Siebert, an ex-Marine, to find out who is responsible and why this killing occurred. Siebert joins forces with FBI agent Nikki Benton, who is charged by her superior to investigate the crime. It is revealed to the reader—although not immediately to Siebert and Benton—that there is an evil mastermind, Mr. Riddle, behind the killing, and that the murder is part of a larger, more sinister plot to sell specially-developed malware to Arab terrorists. As Siebert and Benton begin unraveling the mystery, plot twists occur left and right, new enemies are revealed, and Riddle’s hit-man begins eliminating witnesses and co-conspirators. The story becomes littered with the bodies of friends and foes alike, leaving the reader to wonder if Siebert and Benton will be able to survive. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-jinn monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f5727d14-879a-43d5-af4c-e7302482b1d0/51uJL2Zgl9L._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Jinn - Jinn: Djinn Rebellion, Book 1. Jessica Cage. Caged Fantasies Publications, June 15, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 260 pages. Reviewed by Jennifer Schulz. Does magic exist? Are the creatures that yield magic just hiding, waiting for the right moment to make themselves known? Jinn, Book 1 of the Djinn Rebellion series by USA Today bestselling author Jessica Cage, is full of magical creatures. Jinn takes place in a future world where humans are no longer in control after a war takes place between humans and magical creatures. Whereas urban fantasies may typically have magical creatures alongside humans, Jinn does not. The world now belongs to those that once hid: Fairies, Fae, Shifters, Witches, and Djinn, to name a few. While humans may not play a role in this new world, the problems they face are still present. Some groups are treated better than others, while others still hold all the power. Some starve and want nothing more than survival, while others want for nothing. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-third-thaw monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5f11209c-3cda-4afa-9418-7fecaef6eeef/51VyKwzu4yL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Third Thaw - The Third Thaw. Karl J. Hanson. E.L. Marker, an imprint of WiDo Publishing, August 22, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 314 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. The Third Thaw, the new science fiction novel from Karl J. Hansen, poses the question: what could the human race feasibly do if it was forced to populate another planet? Hanson takes the reader along for the ride as he intricately maps out how he thinks it could happen—what technologies would be needed, what engineering tools would be used, what infrastructure would be mandatory for human survival—and explains to the reader his thought process for each element. The main thrust of his design is the use of embryos that will be ‘thawed’ and grown on a new planet through the aid of machines and artificial intelligence. As Hanson focuses on the hard science behind the story, it’s the people he depicts that I found most compelling. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-zombie-gardening monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e7cae51c-cb7f-44a1-b97c-7ab1b98cf14f/51M4g5dCjwL._SX398_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Zombie Gardening - Zombie Gardening. Adam Kessel. Chicago: Sunflower Trail Publishing, 2nd Edition, August 11, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 68 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. After the big one, where only cockroaches and plants that most Americans consider weeds survive, leftover zombie apocalyptic people will need to survive. If there’s not enough flesh to go around, forage for weeds! In a tongue-in-cheek picture guide with room for field notes, naturalist Adam Kessel shows the rest of us how to make the best of pest plants. Using his own photographs, the author has created a visually appealing book with notes about common and less-common plants that are generally considered nuisances. I recognized a great number of the nuisance plants from my first attempt to grow a yard in my new country home. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-real-news-the-never-before-told-stories monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ee8f8cff-1e44-4b9b-b73a-93337b880eb1/51T3VVlm4FL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Real News!: The Never-Before-Told Stories of Donald Trump & Fake News! - The Real News!: The Never-Before-Told Stories of Donald Trump & Fake News! John Bernard Ruane. Post Hill Press, December 4, 2018, Trade Paperback, 224 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. The Real News by John Bernard Ruane is subtitled, The Never-Before-Told Stories of Donald Trump & Fake News! That only begins to tell the story. These satirical observations extend beyond politics and politicians. While our current Commander-In-Chief plays a major role in many of these stories, he and his party are not the only targets. The author calls attention to corruption, greed, and just plain stupidity wherever it is found on all sides of the political spectrum, including celebrities and the news media that encourages and feeds off the carnage. Each chapter of the book is a separate story. The author begins each with a premise, often based on fact, then goes behind the scenes to show what might have precipitated the event. There were times I had to pause to consider where reality stopped and imagination took over. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-stories-from-the-tenth-floor-clinic monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e1641a72-fd2f-4365-9664-d9d6d8028c96/41C%2BjuOE37L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Stories From The Tenth Floor Clinic - Stories From The Tenth Floor Clinic. Marianna Crane. Berkeley, CA: She Writes Press, November 6, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 212 pages. Reviewed by Deb Lecos. Marianna Crane has written an important memoir detailing the complex needs of an aging population and how a humane society should shift its thinking about what is “conscious-care” when people reach a certain level of fragility. The reader journeys along with Marianna while her beliefs change as a nurse practitioner, running a senior clinic within a Chicago-based, subsidized-housing building. As a nurse practitioner specializing in gerontology at the Veteran’s Administration, Marianna is governed by strict parameters. When a job change takes her to a senior clinic within a CHA building, she faces an environment quite different from where she trained, and is forced to adapt so she can help those under her care. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-an-off-white-christmas monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9b2b6a84-1e36-404e-8114-eef32905fed8/oftthumb-400x638.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: An Off-White Christmas - An Off-White Christmas. Donald G. Evans. Chicago: Eckhartz Press, October 19, 2018, Limited Edition Hardcover and Trade Paperback, 182 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. The greatest pleasure of An Off-White Christmas might be that it’s a rewarding deception. As the title implies, the idea of “Christmas” is the thematic glue that holds these twelve stories by Chicago author Donald G. Evans together, but don’t expect a heartwarming, magical trip on Santa’s sleigh. It’s a deeper, darker, and more interesting ride than you might first expect. The cliché that you can’t judge a book by its cover certainly applies here. Hannah Jennings’ beautiful illustrations and even the script font used for the cover title lead the reader into thinking that inoffensive, pleasant vignettes will unfold. You can almost smell the gingerbread and feel the prick of pine needles as you examine the cover and thumb through the first few pages. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-face-your-fears monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ffd3656c-d6df-456a-8c8c-2e8aabeb056b/51KclRjxPNL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Face Your Fears - Face Your Fears. Bill Mathis. Rogue Phoenix Press, July 14, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 323 pages. Reviewed by Renee James. In Face Your Fears, author Bill Mathis tells the story of Nate McGuire and Jude Totsian, from each man's childhood, to his earliest rumblings of attraction to other males, to the adult life events and romances that eventually lead them to each other. It is a novel with significant flaws in craftsmanship and pace, but it has redeeming qualities that recommend it, especially its gentle and touching telling of how gay men experience life, love, and the search for happiness. Nate and Jude alternate the narration of this story. Nate has Cerebral Palsy, which renders him a wheelchair-bound quadriplegic. He is completely dependent on others for even the most basic life functions but compensates with a caustic wit, a loud voice, and a willingness to wield both qualities without fear or reservation in any situation. His suburban-Chicago family is supportive and well-heeled enough to make sure he has the services he needs. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-west-side-girl monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/115bd4c6-1f3e-46e7-b1ea-12341ce7096c/41T2Q7V6lwL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: West Side Girl - West Side Girl. Anita Solick Oswald. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, June 19, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 202 pages. Reviewed by Susan Gaspar. West Side Girl is a book you didn’t know you needed. It’s warmly and generously written, and you are instantly transported back to a time when it was safe to play outside in the streets and alleyways and to imagine yourself a bold adventurer in your own neighborhood. The book harnesses a free-wheeling, childlike energy that most of us have long forgotten or pushed aside in favor of more sophisticated and worldly pursuits. The book is a loving memoir of a childhood spent in Chicago’s then-waning West Garfield Park neighborhood during the 1950s and early 1960s. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-four-months-in-brighton-park monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/161bf116-b0e4-46d5-995b-8d5d248f66dc/51KAP%2BJ5%2BZL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Four Months in Brighton Park - Four Months in Brighton Park. Larry Ehrhorn. Madison, Wisconsin: Madijean Press, September 14, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-Book. 247 pages. Reviewed by G. F. Gallagher. Larry Ehrhorn’s Four Months in Brighton Park is a fictionalized memoir of a high-school senior’s life-in-transition from insecure social misfit to college-bound adult. It is set equally in Chicago’s South Loop and southwest-side Brighton Park neighborhoods in the 1960s. It centers upon the adventures Kelly Elliott, a pimple-faced underdog at fictional Talbot High School. Ehrhorn tells his tale in a breezy, almost comedic style, firing off one-liners at a blistering pace, whether contained in Kelly’s nonstop mental musings or within occasional dialogue between an ensemble of characters. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-chuckerman-makes-a-movie monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/eb0073a6-e201-40a8-a98e-966b6cd46ed6/41u9Dr38IML._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Chuckerman Makes a Movie - Chuckerman Makes a Movie. Francie Arenson Dickman. She Writes Press, October 9, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 256 pages. Reviewed by Christine Cacciatore. Nieces and nephews can sure come up with some funny ideas, but telling their uncle that he’s hit rock bottom is one of the funniest things ever, even after he’s given them each $5. After all, the only ones who tell the truth are drunks and children. Chuckerman Makes a Movie grips you within the first few pages and doesn’t let up as it takes you on a magic ride. David Melman, the main character, decides to listen to his sister and takes a film-writing class. Once he’s in the class, he’s urged by Laurel, the woman teaching the class, to write about the Cadillac he inherited from his grandfather. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-cards-dont-lie monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/089782c5-125c-4eb9-9188-073ef86baa98/518Irwxr7HL._SX323_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Cards Don’t Lie - The Cards Don’t Lie. Sue Ingalls Finan. She Writes Press, October 9, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 368 pages. Reviewed by Janet Cole. The Cards Don’t Lie is a tale of events and relationships occurring immediately before and during the War of 1812. A diverse array of characters of various ethnicities and cultural backgrounds find common ground and camaraderie as they struggle to survive the challenges presented when the British attempt to invade the city of New Orleans. Unlikely alliances form and heartbreaking decisions are made. The young English lad, Peter, forced into conscription by the British navy and then captured by pirates, finds love in New Orleans with a young prostitute who heroically volunteers her time and risks her safety to deliver supplies to General Andrew Jackson’s army. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-belgian-assortment-brussels-short-stories monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ce64f050-1984-4361-a9b3-abeb9f2fd29e/A%2BBelgian%2BAssortment%2BFINAL%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Belgian Assortment: Brussels Short Stories - A Belgian Assortment: Brussels Short Stories. T.D. Arkenberg. Outskirts Press, Fall 2018. Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and E-book, 219 pages. Reviewed by Terrell Isselhard. “Assuming a carnival atmosphere, the afternoon market at Chatelain was a feast for the eyes, ears, nose, and palate.” In “Chatelain Market,” Arkenberg’s opening story, Marian visits the market each evening after work looking for romance. Her latest crush is a man who sells Moroccan savories; she’s nicknamed him “the Moroccan.” She comes to the market each day hoping to work up the courage to flirt with him but watches as other women find the courage instead. When a stranger stumbles into the situation, he reveals new depths to a place Marian believes she knows so well. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-clubhouse-thief monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/babac907-b5e1-4fb3-b870-ca594820f5bb/41%2BxT98rmFL._SX301_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Clubhouse Thief - The Clubhouse Thief. James Janko. New Issues Poetry & Prose, January 16, 2018, Trade Paperback, 308 pages. Reviewed by Charles Kuner. Reading The Clubhouse Thief is akin to listening to a Gustav Mahler symphony. Mahler’s symphonies have broad parallels to real life in the world; they meditate on nature, politics, religion, joy, death, suffering, identity, poetry, and literature. Mr. Janko’s novel has the same type of broad parallels, using baseball as his modus operandi. Baseball is seen by some as a metaphor for life. The game deals with character, resilience, team chemistry, courage, and discipline. It also deals with confronting defeat and learning to overcome frustration, to be confident and remain optimistic, and that with hard work and effort one can eventually become a winner. Since baseball was called the national pastime as early as 1856, it has been connected to all that is great and glorious in the American character. However, the nation’s affinity for the game hasn’t always been good for the nation. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-glance-at-my-other monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/29826365-f16f-4db2-9205-1d0e9f39fbf3/51-5pdxIKSL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Glance at My Other - A Glance at My Other. Bruce Randal Wilkerson. Roundfire Books, September 29, 2017, Trade Paper and E-book, 326 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. A Glance at My Other is a compelling page turner about a young American student who is murdered and finds himself thrust into the body of a French immigrant teenager. The taking over of one body by another—in whole or in part—is a common literary trope. In a strict literary classification, Bruce Randall Wilkerson’s rich novel is a fantasy. It shares its metaphysical conceit with many ancestors from Frankenstein to Freaky Friday. However, in this story, there are no surgically constructed monsters or hapless moms to be found—nor elves, princesses, or gold rings. A Glance at My Otheris a contemporary thriller with a twist. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-my-lullaby-of-you monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a7470a4b-b577-4c69-b25e-f192a44ef513/51a3KN%2Bn0SL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: My Lullaby of You - My Lullaby of You. Alia Rose. Plum Anchor Press, June 16, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 277 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Tilton. My Lullaby of You,by Alia Rose, is an intense tale of young love. Rose takes readers on an emotional journey of love, loss, and passion. The two main characters, Seth and Amy, meet in the most unlikely way. Their love blossoms quickly, but will it last? When we first meet Seth, he’s a college student who left the orchestra to find his father and make peace with his past. Before connecting with his father, Seth decides to learn more about the beachside town where he'll be living that summer. This is when he meets Amy. Amy has just finished her senior year of high school and was accepted into an arts-based college. The only problem: the school is located in Chicago. Her mother had no idea about the application and becomes furious with Amy, completely shutting her out for months. Amy’s only place of solace from the harsh treatment is the sea. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-flashbulb-danger monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b21d230c-0bd4-40d6-9626-080e2d896145/31EdfeHW2dL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Flashbulb Danger - Flashbulb Danger: Selected Poems 1988-2018. Jack Phillips Lowe. Middle Island Press, April 20, 2018, Trade Paperback, 224 pages. Reviewed by Elizabeth Melvin. Flashbulb Dangeris a collection of poems capturing the modern day miasma in clear accessible language. Author Jack Phillips Lowe provides a general sense of disdain with a low swell of humor. Whether you are a poetry aficionado or a total novice, the reader can engage with these quippy narratives, letting the deeper meaning of the poems resonate off the eloquently painted images. JPL’s work achieves the depth of poetry in an understandable language with accessibility to the work. It is quintessentially American—invasive and snarky. The selected poems in this collection create a visceral experience exploring Americana and the characters within. The work is segmented into three periods based on year. The author finds narrative poetry liberating, and refers to the classical tradition of Bukowski; he finds the flourish in the end of the poems. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-nineteen-hundred-days monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/39955291-278b-4e8f-9cd2-5313a88a135e/51fcFmKOULL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Nineteen Hundred Days - Nineteen Hundred Days. Florence Osmund. CreateSpace, April 16, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-Book, 211 pages. Reviewed by Ed Marohn. Nineteen Hundred Days begins with twelve-year-old, Ben Mattis, and his six-year-old sister, Lucy, realizing that they have been abandoned by their parents. The father is an unemployed alcoholic while the mother works as a caregiver for an old lady in order to provide for her family. However, Ben has been basically caring for his sister, including home schooling, largely unsupervised by the parents. Without real social interaction, both kids are distrustful of the world outside their rundown house, relying on themselves to get through each day until a parent comes home. Now it is different. The parents do not return home and there is no communication from them. Ben panics. He is concerned about providing food and basic needs for his sister and himself. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-hope-store monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0c3456e3-55f4-43f9-b6b5-3db5632254c8/415oxtBZNoL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Hope Store - The Hope Store. Dwight Okita. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, August 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 256 pages. Reviewed by Kelly Fumiko Weiss. The Hope Storetells two interwoven stories, both espousing the message that we are more than the sum of our parts. One story is of a lost but determined woman named Jada who has been without hope her entire life. Jada says the wrong things, makes mistakes, and attempts suicide because she just can’t see the point of it all. Still, she has an inner fire that can’t be denied. The other story is of Luke and Kazu—partners in both love and business. Their determination to provide hope to the hopeless manifests when they open a store that will offer hope installation treatments. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-perihelion-complete-duology monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/41274786-a38e-4008-8844-d191888455de/51A92CSwnKL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Perihelion: Complete Duology - The Perihelion: Complete Duology. D.M. Wozniak. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, June 9, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 748 pages. Reviewed by T.L. Needham. D.M. Wozniak’s The Perihelion: Complete Duology opens with the novella, “The Rue Cler Decommission," which sets the stage for his two fantastic main novels: The Perihelion and An Obliquity. The opening events reveal a stunning assassination of a hybrid 99er that induces death by desire, initiating the two-book series. The Perihelion (the perihelion is the point in an orbit of a celestial body that is nearest the sun*) explores a highly symbolic event that aptly describes the theme driving this dystopian tale. Then, the author seamlessly brings us to the sequel, An Obliquity (a deviation from moral rectitude and or sound thinking*). Each book is equally exciting, engaging, and compelling—yet, it always makes sense to start at the beginning. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-cry-baby-cry monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/397b8991-0b68-40fe-b10e-677690fe64d8/51INe%2BestqL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Cry Baby Cry - Cry Baby Cry. Debra R. Borys. Chicago, IL: Red Door Press, June 14, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 256 pages. Reviewed by Starza Thompson. As the fourth novel in Debra Borys’ Street Stories series, Cry Baby Cryis a suspenseful tale of a trio of LGBT women who go missing in central Illinois. Perhaps one of her best stories yet, Cry Baby Cry addresses some hard-to-discuss issues surrounding religion, LGBT youth, prostitution, and homelessness, all within the context of a mystery that series main character Jo Sullivan is trying to solve. Sullivan is a reporter for a Chicago newspaper. She receives a call from a transgender prostitute named Avril who recently helped deliver a baby from a homeless youth. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-original-syn monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/19618549-0209-4490-9211-53a3045fb080/413kzgqYSvL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Original Syn - Original Syn. Beth Kander. Owl House Books, September 25, 2018, Trade paperback and E-Book, 463 pages. Reviewed by Ukaisha A. Hall. The year is 2065, decades after The Singularity, and humankind has dwindled down to tribes while enhanced humans—synthetic citizens—who are synched with technology, rule. They are not only responsible for maintaining and sustaining Syns, but also making laws that govern the people. The leader of the Syn movement is Dr. Felix Hess. Even though he is the eleventh member of the Syn Council, his word prevails because he is the first fully successfully synched human and lead scientist in cyber organics. Dr. Hess is both savior and villain. His logic, demands, and actions spur the story forward. Marilyn, his wife and mother of Ever, follows his every order, even when it means hurting others. Her compliance is matched by Dr. Hess’s two assistants: Jorge, a Vost and second-class citizen, and Kennedy, a more-privileged Syn. While others respect and fear Hess, his daughter, Ever, despises her father’s control. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-duck-and-cover monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/817d2d25-803b-4aed-a161-fe113776474b/Duck%2Band%2BCover%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Duck and Cover - Duck and Cover: Eleven Short Stories. Rich Elliott. Rich Elliott Productions, October 1, 2018, Trade Paperback, 152 pages. Reviewed by Florence Osmund. Duck and Coveris a delightful book of eleven short stories that take place in the sixties in the small town of Milford, Illinois, told through the eyes of adolescents. The title of the book—stemming from the drills school children were trained to do in case of an atomic bomb threat—is also the title of one of the stories told by a sixth-grade boy who reaches out to a girl who doesn’t fit in with the other classmates and who comes from a dysfunctional family. The tale ends in tragedy when the girl’s father makes a fateful decision that affects his whole family as well as the young boy who is narrating the story. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-pretense monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d8aaf3c3-7660-45a4-9cc2-4b0af1513dc0/51Ckcm3PiLL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Pretense - Pretense - Imbroglio Trilogy (Volume 1). John Di Frances. Reliance Books, July 3, 2018, Trade Paperback, 302 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. Pretense, John Di Frances’ geopolitical thriller, is the first book of the Imbroglio Trilogy. The definition of imbroglio, as presented in the book, is “an extremely confused or complicated situation,” and as expected from the genre, we are led down story lines that suddenly veer off in unexpected directions. The action is fast-paced, peppered with near-escapes and enough plot twists to satisfy even the most jaded reader. The characters are relatable and believable. While the assassins might be cold-blooded killers, they also plan vacations and ponder what to cook for dinner. The group of “good guys” searching for them are not above their own faults. The book is easy to read and hard to put down. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-unplugged monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9a0b452c-e349-4d5e-8596-77643ddbef4f/Unplugged%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Unplugged - Unplugged: A Novel (15th Anniversary Edition). Paul McComas. Daniel & Daniel Publishers, October 7, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 100 pages. Reviewed by Hallie Koontz. The 15th anniversary edition of Unplugged, originally published in 2002, comes with a full eight pages of accolades at the beginning of the book in the form of short reviews and one-line blurbs from magazines, newspapers, and other writers. Every single praise is deserved. Unplugged follows rocker Dayna Clay and her struggle with depression. Paul McComas’ portrayal of depression is vivid, realistic, and accessible. For readers who have never experienced the throes of depression firsthand, the depiction of Dayna’s journey is an excellent aid for understanding its mental landscape. What makes the journey even more poignant is that Dayna herself is complex, real, and arresting. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-dont-lift-up-your-hood-and-cuss monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c4cbdc47-a341-47ac-abb3-8581054df626/510mJL3riDL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Don’t Lift Up Your Hood and Cuss - Don’t Lift Up Your Hood and Cuss: A Southsider’s Journey to Redemption. Bonnie E. Harrington. Windy City Publishers, October 25, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 237 pages. Reviewed by Michelle Burwell. Growing up on the south side of Chicago in the 1940s, Bonnie Harrington, like many Chicagoans during the time, did not have it easy. Her family had to be creative to make ends meet and often had to make sacrifices, moving to smaller spaces even as it grew. But the thing that makes Bonnie and her memoir stand out is her enduring optimism. She finds humor in daunting and difficult situations. In Don’t Lift Up Your Hood and Cuss, Bonnie is open, honest, and endearing as she depicts her transformation from a shy, naïve schoolgirl from humble beginnings, to a woman capable of exploring the world and herself. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-infinite-ripples monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/644580a8-6e42-451f-b477-6b30f9f447cb/511%2BMLcVAdL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Infinite Ripples - Infinite Ripples: Skeletons Beyond the Grave. Joseph Summerville. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, March 13, 2018, 316 pages. Reviewed by R. H. King Jr. The Bible tells us that the sins of the father will be visited upon the sons. This memoir brings home that point in stunning detail, as the author describes a journey through several generations of abuse and emotional turmoil from which he struggles to escape. The author’s father is a literal Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He is a well-respected doctor with a wife and children, a true pillar of the community. But just below the surface, there is an irrational, volcanic temper that, behind closed doors, inflicts tremendous emotional and even physical abuse on his own family. There is a terrifying recounting of the father chasing one of his sons around the house with a loaded pistol; if the author had not misdirected his father’s pursuit, the other son would have certainly been shot. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-operation-archangel monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/36d04b7a-ea8b-4a9b-9a51-c2427911ed2e/Operation%2BArchangel%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Operation Archangel - Operation Archangel (The Scouts of St. Michael). Dan Morales. San Antonio, Texas: Elm Grove Publishing, May 22, 2018, Hardcover and Trade Paperback, 339 pages. Reviewed by Roger Prosise. Operation Archangel is a compelling and intriguing young adult novel. Set in England during World War II, it is the story of how six Boy Scouts prepared for and engaged in combat during the Second World War. The plot is intriguing, the characters are well developed, and the scenes are authentic. The six boys from St. Michael’s Boys Home, all sixteen and younger, prepare for and eventually engage in battle, including shooting down one of Hitler’s top pilots during an air raid. Though the boys were treated like regular troops, they were, in fact, heroes. The training was strenuous but the boys thrived. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-jaded monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c82fb8ec-59c1-4e6f-911a-be2009d2ddeb/JADED%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Jaded - Jaded. Owen Patterson. Chicago: BREVIS Publishing, August 2018, Trade Paperback, 163 pgs. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. In his latest book of poetry, Jaded, Owen Patterson takes readers through the stops and starts, and the arcs and codas, of a life that leaves us both exhausted and, upon reflection, appreciative of the journey. A collection of varied poems, Jaded begins with the poems “Description,” “Dedication,” and “Intro,” and then continues with ten individually titled sections. All of the poems vary in form and subject matter, even within their respective sections, resisting limits and classifications. Some of the poems rhyme, some are catalogue-like, others are self-referential, and still others adhere to a stream-of-consciousness-like flow, moving through the poet’s train of thought as he processes, references, and summons imagery. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-road-from-money-the-journey-continues monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0ef78c26-5200-47fe-a021-dd76e1bfbbca/51lnxrgP9FL._SX384_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Road from Money: The Journey Continues - The Road from Money: The Journey Continues. Sylvester Boyd, Jr. GEM Publishing, November 17, 2017, Trade Paperback. Reviewed by Dr. Margaret Brown. Money, Mississippi is a notorious small town named for Hernando Money, a United States Senator from The Magnolia State. Estella’s courageous story evolves from within the breath of a small cotton community to a new home in Chicago with her Uncle Leamon by the age of twenty. In this story, the writer focuses on the heartbeat of institutionalized racism and segregation through the eyes of a young black woman. Estella’s rich experiences enable her to befriend a Jewish woman that shares similar memories of living in a racist world. Estella is learning about her new environment in the North as the world around her transforms. Navigating through life’s difficult times, Estella builds a new foundation, friendships, and relationships that teach her to love and respect others. Estella realizes that racism lies in the heart of man. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-saint-of-liars monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3a9b56b3-7f03-488e-9525-aec94a3bdaf4/51o1x-wNEIL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Saint of Liars - The Saint of Liars. Megan Mackie. Self-published, June 18, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 459 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. In her first book, Finder of the Lucky Devil, Megan Mackie introduced us to her alternate Chicago. It's a place where technology and magic exist side-by-side, but the balance is shifting. With technology becoming more and more like magic, those who wield the older power face a bleak future. Corporations that virtually own their employees are consolidating their hold on the city, squeezing those they do not control out of power, or into their control. The Saint of Liars begins where the earlier work left off. Newly made the head of an ancient magical house, Rune Leveau is struggling to find her place in the world of magic. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-son-of-soothsayer monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ac8b6e83-877f-4244-af81-00a8cd5a0b18/Son_of_Soothsayer_front_cover-small.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Son of Soothsayer - Son of Soothsayer. Simon A. Smith. New Meridian, 2018, Trade Paperback, 497 pages. Reviewed by Terrell Isselhard. Clayton Blaine’s mother is famous and rich. She has found a shortcut to success—the secret code to the universe—and he was right there alongside her when it happened. The problem is that her secret, or rather, her shortcut, isn’t going to cut it because as Clayton and his family discover, there are no shortcuts to happiness and success; things are a bit more complex. Funny, touching, insightful, and ultimately wise, Simon A. Smith’s Son of Soothsayeris a novel that delights. Smith’s novel is a response to the wildly successful self-help book, The Secret. Smith imagines the son of that author has written a book responding to the claims made in The Secret (The Shortcutin Smith’s novel). Roberta Blaine, Clayton’s mother, believes that through the sheer power of thought, one can project himself into success and happiness. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-they-called-me-margaret monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b20c5b83-0fbc-42af-8339-5621d6628557/511ipPjMTeL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: They Called Me Margaret - They Called Me Margaret. Florence Osmund. Self-published, January 31, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 322 pages. Reviewed by Deb Lecos. They Called Me Margaret is a work of fiction, a creative telling of an author who suddenly finds her ordinary life filled with intrigue, much like the plotlines for the “cozy mystery” novels she creates. Florence Osmund answers the question, “Is everything as it seems?” And the answer in this vibrant tale is “no.” The author brings a reader along on a turbulent six-month period in Margaret’s—a.k.a. Mags, Maggie, Marge, Madge, Margie’s—life. About to open a bookstore, her twenty-one-year marriage is suddenly in shambles. Margaret’s challenging and injured mother-in-law must necessarily become a long-term houseguest and her twenty-year-old daughter is incommunicado and perhaps missing in Costa Rica. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-fourteenth-of-september monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0b6c31e3-343f-44e1-9a8b-e19ee839da10/51jeV9jWWfL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Fourteenth of September - The Fourteenth of September. Rita Dragonette. She Writes Press, September 18, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 377 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. The Fourteenth of Septemberis a glimpse into the life of a coed during the tumultuous draft lotteries of 1969-1970. At Central Illinois University, Private First Class Judy Talton has a lot to consider as she walks in her mother’s footsteps. An army nurse who served in World War II, Judy’s mother pushes her oldest daughter into the one avenue that would get Judy out of their narrow lower-middle-class lifestyle and into the bigger and better world. Their timing is terrible, as Judy, scheduled for nurses training through Walter Reed Hospital, will most certainly be sent to Vietnam once her education is finished. During her sophomore year at age nineteen, Judy jumps out of her shell to force open her own eyes and heart about the student protest movement. Can students—can she—really change the world? Is that what life is all about? https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-reborn monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2ea975e4-3d28-4d34-814e-2fba2666300a/51YshoMZjvL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Reborn - Reborn (Android Chronicles). Lance Erlick. Kensington Publishing Corp., May 1, 2018, Trade Paperback, E-book, and Audiobook, 248 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. One of the oldest questions in science fiction is what will happen when the things humanity builds begin to look, and even act, like us. Made of dead body parts, the creature in “Frankenstein” was one of the first popular fictional explorations of that question. Since then, from “R.U.R.” to Project 2501 in “Ghost in the Shell”, the interaction between humanity and its mechanical doppelgangers has provided the grist for many a dark tale. Lance Erlick delves into that realm of science fiction thought with his latest novel, Reborn. He introduces us to his protagonist, Synthia Cross, an android whose appearance and actions mimic perfectly those of a human. She exists in a future where such machines are outlawed, but her creator, Dr. Jeremiah Machten, wanted such a machine. He built her to satisfy his vanity, and to fulfill his darker personal desires. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-overland-remembering-southeast-asia-html monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d5b37cd9-ad24-4ab3-95cf-2054536b8e79/517CMpUcNQL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Overland: Remembering Southeast Asia - Overland: Remembering Southeast Asia. Caryn Green. Glenview, IL: Manitou and Cedar Press, March 2, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 247 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. “You’re not really American till you leave home,” one of the author’s traveling partners says on a stop in Malaysia. In a story that begins when the author reminisces over found, 40-year-old international mail and photos, Caryn Green recounts part of a life-changing journey to Southeast Asia during 1975-76. Green, an award-winning essayist and journalist who has covered topics such as travel, lifestyle, history, religion, arts, and the environment for various media, took on her first book-length work with her memoir, Overland. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-dangerous-remedy monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f2b463ad-311b-4e6a-8979-3f4995053a17/41zfeTUYQnL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Dangerous Remedy - A Dangerous Remedy: (A Sheriff Matt Callahan Mystery). Russell Fee. Oak Park, Illinois: Boreas Press, May 25, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 306 pages. Reviewed by Roxe Anne Peacock. In A Dangerous Remedy, the author engages readers from the very first page. After Matt Callahan is disfigured in an acid attack, he leaves the big city of Chicago as detective of that city’s police department for a peaceful and quieter life as sheriff in Nicolet County, Michigan. His predecessor left him three open, seemingly minor, and unrelated cases. But when a body is dug up by Callahan and his young female deputy on a remote island in the county, they soon realize that the unsolved cases are neither minor nor unrelated and may have secret ties to a century-old Irish enclave in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, connections to both local and International terrorism that is affiliated with the IRA, and association with online efforts to foment political unrest across the ocean. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-immortal-seeds-a-tribute-to-golden-treasures monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7b55d26b-95bb-4ef2-8249-fb5fdcd292fe/41b5TI45kgL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Immortal Seeds: A Tribute to Golden Treasures - The Immortal Seeds: A Tribute to Golden Treasures. Sambath Meas. Golden Boat Press, April 20, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 200 pages. Reviewed by Roger Prosise. The Immortal Seeds is the incredible story of a family’s escape from communism in Southeast Asia to freedom in America. The story is told from the point of view of the author’s parents, Sarin and Strey Touch Meas, peasants who worked nonstop to provide for their family. The author was a young girl in the story. While many of the narrator’s relatives didn’t survive the regime of Pol Pot, Sambath Meas’ parents were devoted to surviving and providing for their family in the midst of war. Out of necessity, the couple lived apart from time to time. This book gives a personal account of civilian life in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam war, and highlights the impact of the conflict between Chinese-backed communism and U.S.-backed democracy on families and civilians. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-cube monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/805896bc-cf89-4342-bf59-a812f0c5f8d7/31ZREYvoEJL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Cube - The Cube. Kelly Fumiko Weiss. Rolling Meadows, IL: Windy City Publishers, March 20, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 253 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. The Cube takes place in the near future where game interaction as entertainment is carried out publicly in a series of carefully designed, culturally and geographically correct theme parks constructed throughout the U.S. and the world. The Cube is not only a revenue-producing game and theme park, but a privatized mechanism of charitable giving, which uses its revenue to fund many public causes, including infrastructure, aid to the disabled, major construction projects, and environmental outreach. It is generally shaping the world to its philosophy of sharing, while also enriching the upper class. Even with such a benign “Cubist” philosophy, there are some characters who chafe at the Cube’s power over their lives. It is also a “discovery of love” story, escalated by a strong undercurrent of mutual respect and trust. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-everything-solid-has-a-shadow monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0e8c5068-40ff-4245-92af-abcc4d6ba54d/51dRRB5SqZS._SX332_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Everything Solid Has a Shadow - Everything Solid Has a Shadow. Michael Antman. Northfield, IL: Amika Press, August 9, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 284 pages. Reviewed by Elizabeth Melvin. Everything Solid Has a Shadowis a satisfying, introspective, great-for-a-weekend read when Catcher in the Ryeis just too much. Though existential crisis and self-exploration may be a heavy theme, the book is incredibly accessible and a quick read. The main character finds a way to reengage with his past and break free from it to find new life. The story is beautifully rendered. The author, Michael Antman, stays close to his main character Charlie, whose internal struggle is buoyed by dynamic scenes and a cast of vibrant characters. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-force-of-nature monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/48f3783d-d2cb-486f-a80e-12a46ceb809b/518%2B5CsRRwL._SX312_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Force of Nature - Force of Nature. Arthur Melville Pearson. University of Wisconsin Press, April 18, 2017, Hardcover, 216 pages. Reviewed by Gerry Souter. For the reader searching for a definition of the word “indomitable,” Force of Natureby Arthur Melville Pearson should prove to be a good read. In a slim volume, Pearson has captured this “force” in George Fell, founder of the Natural Areas Movement. If this organization is unknown to the reader, or Fell’s name does not evoke the image of a naturalist with the street cred of a John Muir, John Burroughs, or Rachel Carson, Fell’s contribution to the preservation of natural spaces is still remarkable. All of us have encountered patches of woods, streambeds, and stretches of wild prairie grass adjoining suburban housing, bordering industrial parks, or stretching untamed along the edges of plowed fields. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-search-for-ftl monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/83e814e6-b26b-4729-ba92-38d85fd2de38/51bTy79OnRL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Search for FTL - The Search for FTL (Mission to the Stars Book One). Ted Iverson. Self-published, January 21, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 406 pages. Reviewed by T. L. Needham. In the prologue of The Search for FTL by Ted Iverson, we join Jeff Bendl and his wife, Jennifer, who are strapped into The StarDancer on her maiden voyage in the quest for FTL—the first manned flight to achieve faster-than-light speed. Instantly, I found myself recalling the classic sequence in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey—the surreal swirl and drama of speeding lights leading to a trans-dimensional reality beyond light speed. Clearly, we are travelers on a journey of the author’s imagination, and it is thrilling. That is, until the energy shield fails, and the Bendls are killed. What we now have is a mystery. Did The StarDancer experience a technical failure? Or was the ship sabotaged? https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-worried-man monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/31ec9783-f0dd-4059-bba5-52996ed8b4e3/51LCowpwJ2L._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Worried Man - The Worried Man. Lisa M. Lilly. The Spiny Woman Press, March 30, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 374 pages. Reviewed by Janet Cole. The style in which The Worried Man was written is energetic and snappy. The author elected to use short sentences and short paragraphs, a technique which presents the story in a dynamic manner. The heroine is a young attorney and a former actress who sings harmony with two of her closest friends and associates. During one of their engagements in the upscale Lincoln Square area of Chicago, she attracts the attention of a reserved but attractive man, Marco, who captivates her interest. He has recognized her from one of her previous stage performances and they become engrossed in conversation. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-wicked-river monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b198fdda-dd18-4f5d-99ce-0ec420cbd2c3/51hlmp9LMGL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Wicked River - Wicked River. Jenny Milchman. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Landmark, May 2, 2018, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and E-book, 464 pages. Reviewed by Caryl Barnes. Wicked River by Jenny Milchman is a high-stakes literary thriller involving three main characters: Natalie and Doug, naive newlyweds on a backwoods canoe honeymoon, and Kurt, a murderer with stunning wilderness skills. Through a series of misadventures, partly caused by Doug’s betrayal of his new bride, the pair become lost without supplies and almost die. Kurt, who has created a solitary nest in the Adirondacks three years after his commune fell apart, may be the most desperately lonely character I’ve ever met. All he wants is to trap one or more people and keep them in his backwoods camp for life. Like his psychiatrist parents before him, Kurt does not seek a relationship with those he entraps; like them, he craves living material to cram into his bottomless lack of an identity, a soul. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-purpose-of-being monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/54a3c8a2-a652-43f0-aae2-1d86bfb0330c/51aD0Mg-W%2BL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Purpose of Being - The Purpose of Being. Undra L. Ware, Sr. Self-published, December 17, 2017, Trade Paperback, 40 pages. Reviewed by Gail Galvan. Drawing inspiration from God and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ware wrote his book of prose and poetry with the hope of “uplifting human spirits.” For me, his insightful, upbeat book achieved this goal. In sections bearing such titles as “A Growing Seed,” “What is Life?” “What is a Man?” and “Potential Growth,” Ware works to live up to his book’s ambitious title—The Purpose of Being. In his poem titled “A Graduation for Brother,” he touches on one of his major themes: Embrace “a positive attitude to reach the right altitude.” In that poem he also advises his brother to understand and have “respect for the ignorance and less knowledgeable.” As he speaks to these heartfelt, spiritually-based themes, he emphasizes the notion that a positive, faith-engaging attitude—along with compassion, understanding, and tolerance—can comfort, teach, and unify us all. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-secret-chicago monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/594c92cd-1702-4b80-be98-b09419c212f4/51x7SsOwdqL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Secret Chicago - Secret Chicago: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure. Jessica Mlinaric. St. Louis: Reedy Press, April 1, 2018, Trade Paperback, 216 pages. Reviewed by Greg Borzo. Recently I was asked to give a talk at the Chicago Cigar Society. Huh? What’s that and where could such a group possibly gather in public? About the same time, I fortuitously came across a copy of Secret Chicago: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, by Jessica Mlinaric. Right there, on page 182, was the answer to some of my questions. Iwan Ries, a tobacco company at 19 S. Wabash Avenue, operates the Loop’s only smoking lounge, grandfathered in because the business was founded in 1857. That makes Iwan Ries America’s oldest family-owned tobacco shop! The lounge has three beautiful rooms lined with carved, wooden paneling and filled with leather chairs scattered around under sparkling chandeliers. And it’s located in Louis Sullivan’s oldest surviving building. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-under-the-birch-tree monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f377bf62-4248-4015-aaeb-7e24f27fb11b/51Hxrovp6vL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Under the Birch Tree - Under the Birch Tree: A Memoir of Discovering Connections and Finding Home. Nancy Chadwick. Berkeley, CA: She Writes Press, June 19, 2018, Trade Paperback, 243 pages. Reviewed by Susan Fox. The word journeymost commonly implies a destination. To “take a journey” evokes a sense of distance, of miles traveled. Some might describe a journey as a movement, as in the passage from childhood to adulthood, or from a state of confusion to making sense of things. Some journeys have a circumspect goal: graduating from college, finding a job. Some are a movement away from a painful past. An inner journey does not cover physical distance, nor does it have a preconceived goal. But the journey to “Know Thyself,” as Socrates observed, may be the most important expedition any of us embark upon. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-an-authentic-experience monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ea8b11a0-aaa9-4b9d-b4df-d22cbe5114a0/51FIWsRGoKL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: An Authentic Experience - An Authentic Experience. Kelly Wittmann. Sara Camilli Literary Agency, February 13, 2018, Trade Paperbook and E-book, 252 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. I apologize for starting out with a cliché, but honestly, the teen angst is palpable in Kelly Wittmann’s coming-of-age story. Silver’s fifteenth summer provides our young protagonist with more authenticity than she dreamed of, as well as the opportunity to grow into herself. Milwaukee is a good setting for An Authentic Experience, as the city is a contrast of old and new, tradition and experiment, music and culture of everywhere, alternative and straight-and-narrow. Silver, named for her father’s favorite song, is being parented in a trendy style: grandparents who are the bedrock of family and parents who are divorced in marriage though not in roots and appreciation for what they share. Despite all the crazy options for education, they agree on homeschooling their daughter to provide her with what they term authentic lifestyle experiences. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-damaged-souls monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/175d248e-d375-4e1f-9b48-915191d8e229/3110JVgIXJL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Damaged Souls - Damaged Souls. Sandra M. Colbert. Chicago: Windy City Publishers, October 11, 2017, Trade Paperback,225 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. Ultimately, there are two kinds of detective novels: compelling and complacent. Damaged Souls by Sandra M. Colbert is a heart-pounder. This story of a horrible crime and its impact is a highly enjoyable read. It will keep you on the beach compulsively turning the pages long past the protection of your SPF lotion. Damaged Souls is the second novel in the Kate Harrison detective series, and it is far better crafted than the first. After many years on the Phoenix police force, Kate is haunted by a particularly dark crime, the murder of an infant, and as a result has left her job. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-elixir-a-bud-hutchins-thriller monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/558d9bdb-7e7b-40df-9c42-8aec1f58c0a8/51aLbQHhcCL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Elixir: A Bud Hutchins Thriller - The Elixir: A Bud Hutchins Thriller. J.B. Michaels. Independent/Harrison and James Publishing, September 9, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 178 Pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Tilton. In the second novel of the Bud Hutchins series, readers will get caught up in action and adventure. J.B. Michaels’ novel, The Elixir, is a flawless combination of suspense and sci-fi, with a touch of fantasy. The novel is set in Chicago and follows Bud Hutchins and his android assistant Bert on a whirlwind adventure. Maeve, a monk of the Order of St. Michael, is Bud's friend. She obtains damaging supernatural powers that could cause her annihilation. Bud sets out to find a cure for her ailments and bring her back to her former state. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-cubsessions monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/296cb128-9589-4c19-8263-c255dbd85751/cubsessionsnewcover-400x625.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Cubsessions - Cubsessions. Becky Sarwate and Randy Richardson. Eckhartz Press, March 31, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 178 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. Famous people fascinate all of us. Don’t try to deny it. And there’s no shortage of famous people among the millions who follow the Chicago Cubs. That’s the premise of Cubsessions, a series of interviews with passionate fans who have achieved various levels of fame. The anthology is an obvious labor of love for the co-authors, Becky Sarwate and Randy Richardson. The result is a start-of-the-season gift for every diehard Cubs fan. Here are a few of the nuggets the authors unearthed: https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-well-respected-man monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b89ebd91-7a38-4182-8bf9-a58d4dd6ac90/51Et%2BgfNwIL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Well-Respected Man - A Well-Respected Man. David Berner. New York: Strategic Books, April 5, 2018, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and E-book, 187 pages. Reviewed by Florence Osmund. David Berner’s novel, A Well-Respected Man, is the story of Martin Gregory, whose past love interest asks him for an unexpected favor—one that could be life-changing. Does he make this decision with his heart or head? If he agrees, will it be for her or himself? And regardless of which way he goes, will he have regrets? Years earlier, Martin had written a novel that attracted a cult-like following from myriad female fans who claimed that he had ‘captured what was buried in their souls.’ Wanting to put the book and all its ramifications behind him, he now fills his days teaching and evenings playing music at the Red Lion bar. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-centrifugal-force monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d5ba9ee8-1c3d-42eb-b799-819b36a67f9f/41Z3DIdgu2L._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Centrifugal Force - Centrifugal Force. Lisa J. Lickel. Fox Ridge Publications, December 15, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 254 pages. Reviewed by Kandice Cole. Centrifugal Force, by Lisa J. Lickel, is a novel that merges romance, suspense, and history. The story takes place in a small college town in Wisconsin. Rachel Michels is a university employee and single mother to her adult daughter, Maeve. Rachel’s life appears to be normal, until she learns that Gervas Friedemann, her former exchange professor from Germany, is trying to contact her. Apparently, Rachel has some skeletons in her closet that she has been hiding for many years. Gervas is Maeve’s father, which no one—including Maeve and Gervas—knows. Rachel has also been hiding an heirloom that belonged to Gervas for over twenty years. Gervas steps back into Rachel’s life, searching for the heirloom he desperately needs to settle a decades-long family dispute that threatens to destroy Germany’s position in the European Union. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-redlined monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/91cd3fe8-737d-42a7-908d-6401d0264ae2/51vgP-OF%2BLL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Redlined - Redlined. Linda Gartz. She Writes Press, April 3, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 256 pages. Reviewed by Roger Prosise. Redlined, by Linda Gartz, is a luminously written memoir of a white family that lived in West Garfield Park, on the west side of Chicago. The Gartz family managed rental properties for more than four decades, starting in 1949. They rented the apartments in their six flat and the bedrooms in the apartment in which they resided. Linda’s grandparents worked sixteen-hour days to make ends meet and to get ahead a little. Selbststandig, the German term for being self-sufficient, and racism, are themes of the book. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-home-and-castle monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9574ce22-cb66-445f-b4f0-ff7f4c0e9e15/Home%2Band%2BCastle%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Home and Castle - Home and Castle. Thomas Benz. Snake Nation Press, January 12, 2018, Trade Paperback, 134 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. Home and Castle is an extraordinary short story collection by Thomas Benz. These are stories about middle-class men each caught in a brief space of time when so many things in their lives are changing, disappearing, or dying. All their middle-class values are in flux: marriage, divorce, parenting, romance, and jobs. This collection is more than stories put together for the reader’s enjoyment; it is more because the stories revolve around middle-class men and their complicated feelings. The book is the perfect accompaniment to an evening by a fireside with a snifter of cognac, a good friend, and a Thomas Benz story to discuss. The writing is so rich and honed that each story lingered in my thoughts long afterward. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-mastering-stand-up monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/722d5731-def9-4ce1-8df7-85f6391df80b/51NnHFXz17L._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Mastering Stand-Up - Mastering Stand-Up. Stephen Rosenfield. Chicago Review Press Inc., November 1, 2017, Trade paperback and E-book, 256 pages. Reviewed by Susan Gaspar. Stephen Rosenfield’s Mastering Stand-Up is a fun and engaging read, even if you have absolutely no intention of becoming a stand-up comic. But that’s not why the book exists. Comedy is a serious business, as anyone in the industry will attest, and it takes raw talent, many years of experience, and a lot of dedication to achieve a mere modicum of success. This book is meant as a resource for aspiring stand-up comics who have a dream of performing well and making a decent living—and hopefully a killing—doing comedy. However, it is also an entertaining read for almost anyone because it’s written from personal experience and includes plenty of anecdotes and memories from the author, which give the reader an insider’s view of the world of stand-up comedy. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-track monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8355307b-0a50-4ce6-83c2-61b70171b972/51qXENeRtRL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Track 9 - Track 9. Sue Rovens. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, April 27, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 221 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. Track 9, Sue Rovens’ second novel, is a suspense/thriller/psychological horror novel that is brimming with shock, terror, and humor. The characters appear to be everyday people who find themselves facing many of the same challenges we all do. Of course, we don’t all find ourselves unable to escape from an ever-devolving series of nightmares. As with her previous novel, Badfish, this book is a fast read, hard to put down, and takes you to places you never imagined. The first short chapter describes, in graphic detail, a calamitous train wreck in a picturesque small German town. The accident itself and the repercussions after were so horrendous, the station was never reopened. Six months later, Gary and Grace Wolf, an American couple on their belated honeymoon, are set to return to Bloomington, Illinois, from that very town. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-promise-given-a-henrietta-and-inspector-howard monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/04122221-3155-4741-b99b-61ee5daa1a03/519Qb2LwNbL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Promise Given: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel - A Promise Given: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel. Michelle Cox. She Writes Press, April 24, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 378 pages. Reviewed by Janet Cole. A Promise Given’s introduction was difficult because of the prolific use of adverbs and allusions to events of which I had no prior knowledge. However, persevering through those initial pages produced rich rewards as I became immersed in the development of the main characters and the evolution of relationships. Henrietta, our heroine, rises above the poverty of her family and her sketchy previous employment when Clive, a renowned inspector, falls in love with her and proposes. Their age difference is just a minor inconvenience, and her charm and beauty are more than enough to encourage his aristocratic family to look beyond her humble origins. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/2018-2-6-book-review-gables-court monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9794ed7a-94aa-4d95-909f-73e770e863c2/51koPA8ozOL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Gables Court - Gables Court. Alan S. Kessler. Black Rose Writing, January 18, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 265 pages. Reviewed by Sue Merrell. Gables Court, by Alan Kessler, is the quintessential beach book: fast-paced, entertaining, and tropical. The writing style is easy and dialogue-driven, and the premise and characters are intriguing. The story is set in Florida in the 1960s, and it is easy to imagine Miami’s Dixie Highway and the titular motel-turned-apartment complex that provides the setting for the first half of the book. Samuel, the virgin son of a Boston mobster, has moved into the seedy Gables Court to start his first job as an attorney, signing eviction notices for a local firm. He befriends Gary, a student at a nearby college who blows his tuition money on a foolish scam, and the lovely Kate, who’s free with sex for fun but has no desire to find love. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-leaves-of-the-linden-tree monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/adf6a636-b35a-4cce-b5fc-c4631758822c/Leaves%2Bof%2Bthe%2BLinden%2BTree%2Bfront%2Bcover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Leaves of the Linden Tree - Leaves of the Linden Tree (unpublished review copy). Marydale Stewart, Black Rose Writing, June 21, 2018. Reviewed by Florence Osmund. Leaves of the Linden Tree takes place in a small Midwestern town, a close-knit community where the pace is slow and everyone knows everyone else’s business. The main character, Corrie, owns the local bookstore. Other characters include fellow local business people, Corrie’s friends and acquaintances, and their relatives. The characters are engaging, believable, and unique. The book exposes readers to a wide variety of interesting subjects: living in a small town, managing a bookstore, working in a horse stable, caring for horses, surviving a tornado, and trapping feral cats. The most significant issue in the book, racism, is handled in a delicate, constructive manner and embraces acceptance and tolerance of all people. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-poison-girls monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3816694f-5875-40bc-a1ea-fcf41b31517a/51eevhvMKYL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Poison Girls - Poison Girls. Cheryl L. Reed. Diversion Books, September 12, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 372 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. “My teeth felt gritty, as if I’d been sucking on the couch lint in my sleep.” Those are the memorable and very noir-like words of Chicago Times reporter Natalie Delaney when she wakes up in a strange man’s house after a night of heavy drinking—all in pursuit of a story. Natalie is the main character in Cheryl Reed’s novel, Poison Girls. No couch lint here. Poison Girls works exceedingly well as a crime thriller, and it transcends the cop-thriller-procedural genre by at least the distance between Chicago’s poshest suburbs and grittiest neighborhoods. It’s a powerful story framed by what happens when these worlds collide. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-dog-eared monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2ad912dc-b295-4b6f-bd39-a7a9eab98866/51qrW28s03L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Dog Eared - Dog Eared. W. Nikola-Lisa. Chicago, IL: Gyroscope Books, June 15, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 336 pages. Reviewed by Terrell Isselhard. Nikola-Lisa uses his yearlong project of sorting and cleaning all the books in his office as a launching pad for an exploration of the joys and challenges of being a self-published author. Cleaning and organizing books may not seem like the noblest of endeavors, but five pages into Dog Eared, you will be dedicated to the project. In another author’s hands, this subject matter could easily stagnate, but thanks to Nikola-Lisa’s humor and wonderfully quirky style, the book is a true delight to read. Written in short, funny chapters, Dog Eared is at once personal and light. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-walk-until-sunrise monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6a1a3830-4ac5-4e8c-aa3e-4f637ff87d7c/31GkxfhV89L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Walk Until Sunrise - Walk Until Sunrise. J.J. Maze. Page Publishing, Inc., November 15, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 230 pages. Reviewed by Gerry Souter. J. J. Maze’s memoir, Walk Until Sunrise, is a visceral tale of a girl’s journey from childhood to late teenage years. The story, and the older-than-her-years voice of the narrator, create a world like that of Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye and Jack Kerouac in On the Road. Maze opens the book with a combination of trauma and self-reflection: “I broke down in Las Cruces, New Mexico. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-stars-at-naught monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f606ad21-c6de-4db9-bd56-817e893902bc/31PN1BWUjBL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Stars at Naught - Stars at Naught. Owen Patterson. BREVIS Publishing, January 2, 2018, Trade Paperback, 113 pages. Reviewed by Gail Galvan. Owen Patterson, author of the poetry collection, Stars at Naught, does what poets do best. He uses his creative, abstract imagination to share heartfelt sentiments and expressive imagery. As a poet and hypersensitive observer, Patterson contemplates human connections and universal existential issues. With his poetry, he takes us star-gazing amid the prose. The reader will probably often wonder if what he/she perceives is—much like or nothing like—what this author intended or perceives. Yet, his collection is another interesting literary journey for soul-searchers to enjoy and interpret. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-one-more-foxtrot monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/52ac5e69-5b2e-40be-a3ec-e461fdd5dd3f/41TvUVu46iL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: One More Foxtrot - One More Foxtrot. Joyce Hicks. Encore Books, October 19, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 248 pages. Reviewed by Renee James. In a pop culture media world devoted to sex, violence, and instant gratification, Joyce Hicks writes quiet, charming stories about an elderly Indiana woman and her family that delight and amuse us, and remind us of the best moments in our own lives. In One More Foxtrot, Betty Miles is spreading her wings as a septuagenarian widow in Chicago while her daughter, Sharon D'Angelo, is back in Elkhart, Indiana, trying to launch her own bakery business and maintain solid relationships with her husband and in-laws. Mother and daughter share concerns about each other, and even some guilt about being apart, but they are both on paths of self-realization—Betty, exploring the worlds of art and culture that had been invisible to her during decades of life as a homemaker and mother, and Sharon, trying to make a career out of her great passion for baking. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/2018/01/18/2018-1-18-book-review-the-pear-tree monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a2df5d43-ec35-422e-a228-230c17f2b443/51W1kERL6YL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Pear Tree - The Pear Tree. K. M. Sandrick. Green Ivy Publishing, Illinois, August 29, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 315 pages. Reviewed by Christine Cassello. The Pear Tree is a debut novel by K. M. Sandrick, who has written award-winning medical and science articles. This is historical fiction chronicling the destruction of the Czech town of Lidice, which was blamed for harboring assassins of a chief Nazi official. The novel is told from the perspectives of four characters: Chessie Sabel, who was separated from her son and sent to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp; Klaudie Cizek, who was also sent to Ravensbruck; Milan Tichy, who joins the Czech Resistance and searches for his mother; and Ondrej Sabel, a young boy who later becomes Oskar Wolffe. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-this-far-isnt-far-enough monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7025d26d-8e68-47ce-b9fd-7c2677bb23ad/41gkXRoObXL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: This Far Isn’t Far Enough - This Far Isn’t Far Enough. Lynn Sloan. Fomite, February 20, 2018, Trade Paperback, 209 pages. Reviewed by Hallie Koontz. This Far Isn’t Far Enough, by Lynn Sloan, is a collection of short stories about characters facing adversity. The characters, the lives they lead, and the circumstances surrounding their struggles vary from story to story, yet these characters are all linked by their strengths and weaknesses, courage and fears, and powerlessness and resiliency, which are all adeptly rendered by Sloan’s storytelling. One of the ways Sloan accomplishes such a smorgasbord of related stories is with her attention to detail, which is one of her greatest strengths as an author. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-two-towers monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/70404506-b107-4b35-984c-e4ce54d961d8/61%2BraLt9E%2BL._SX345_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Two Towers - Two Towers. T.D. Arkenberg. Outskirts Press, December 11, 2017, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and E-book, 323 pages. Reviewed by Elizabeth Melvin. Final Descent may have been T.D. Arkenberg’s debut novel but Two Towers is a deeply connected return to this crushing accuracy and devotion as an airline employee. This is his first memoir and it is a love letter. Arkenberg has inherited a work ethic from another generation. Throughout the narrative, which details the trials of the late 90’s into early 2000’s, even into the Crisis Center in Chicago O’Hare airport on September 11th, 2001, his dedication to United Airlines and his fellow employees is clear. He recalls how the airline grounded flights just before the devastating moment they discovered two of the hijacked planes were their own and the profound grief that caused: “Our airplanes were used as missiles. Our passengers and employees were murdered.” The depth of identity with his position reflects the very deep devotion to his company and the connection to his sense of self. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-serendipity-seemingly-random-events-insignificant monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a867b382-adda-4691-8f9d-82d5714fb955/517NCCV1YfL._SX346_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Serendipity: Seemingly Random Events, Insignificant Decisions, and Accidental Discoveries that Altered History - Serendipity: Seemingly Random Events, Insignificant Decisions, and Accidental Discoveries that Altered History. Thomas J. Thorson. Windy City Publishers, November 17, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-Book, 108 pages. Reviewed by Wayne Turmel. This book is aimed at proving the old adage that, “little hinges swing big doors.” If it weren’t for sloppy lab work, unseasonably cold San Francisco winters, or oversized brass buttons big enough to stop a sword blade, we wouldn’t have penicillin, popsicles, or the Hallelujah Chorus. Fans of life’s little ironies will enjoy themselves. Thomas Thorson’s book is a compilation of stories that shows how life and history turns on little moments that seem insignificant at the time but have far-reaching impact. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-bear-medicine monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4e76ad18-53e9-4e2b-80df-6d86543ef893/51Eirqxc4eL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Bear Medicine - Bear Medicine. G. Elizabeth Kretchmer. Dancing Seeds Press, October 15, 2017, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 318 pages. Reviewed by Deb Lecos. In Bear Medicine, Elizabeth Kretchmer has written two vibrant and poetic side-by-side stories of women from different time periods who have lost contact with their inner wisdom and the power to pursue lives not controlled by marriage vows. Both Anne, a traveler from the 1800s, lost in the wild after a group of Nez Perez (Nimi’piuu) American Indians separate her from an abusive husband, and Brooke, a vacationing marathon runner mauled by a grizzly bear, are forced to face their weaknesses in Yellowstone National Park. Anne, a city girl from Chicago, is woefully without the skills to survive beyond a few hours in the wilderness. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-writing-your-best-story-advice-for-writers monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/db7011fb-d829-4588-8608-bab8e5b25a5e/61ojqrP-sHL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Writing Your Best Story: Advice for Writers on Spinning an Enchanting Tale - Writing Your Best Story: Advice for Writers on Spinning an Enchanting Tale, Second Edition. Philip Martin. Milwaukee, WI: Crickhollow Books, November 15, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 168 pp. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. Philip Martin has written a book that shows, rather than tells, authors how to create a good story by framing his techniques against one of his own stories. Story should rise above narrative, Martin writes; more than groups of words, more than a series of events. Telling a story is also an art form. Quoting liberally from ancient to modern works, Martin employs his background as a professional gatherer of stories and histories to show how story works across culture and time to draw listeners in to a communal experience. Writers are more than purveyors of phrases. Writers offer a promise and provide a worthwhile payoff. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-south-side-of-the-glass-wall monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/dee552db-95d5-44e0-8db9-c30175aea4bc/South%2BSide%2Bof%2Bthe%2BGlass%2BWall%2B-%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: South Side of the Glass Wall - South Side of the Glass Wall. Dr. Naomi C. Roberson. GEM Publishing, November 2017, Trade Paperback, 235 pages. eviewed by Opal Freeman. South Side of the Glass Wall is a heartfelt book written by Dr. Naomi Roberson. In it, she details her personal and professional lifelong lessons gained during her childhood in the 1950s on the south side of Chicago and her experiences as an adult. The author also provides some history about the struggles of slaves, domestic abuse, and why our nation is so divided. As the seventh child of eleven, the author describes her day-to-day life with two parents and ten siblings amidst heightened levels of racial tension. The chapters provide clear descriptions of emotions, incidents, people, and scenery. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-trial-a-memoir monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/67858c45-c642-4a64-92c9-89acd7a15178/41DZ5FLoY8L._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Trial: A Memoir - Trial: A Memoir. Wendell A. Thomas. Independently Published, July 27, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-Book, 301 pages. Reviewed by Bob King. Writing a 300-page memoir is no small feat. This one is written in a conversational and mostly grammatically correct style, and is an easy read. It is the story of how the author’s relationship with his neighbor, a patent lawyer, went awry, and the author’s disgust with the legal system’s inability to adequately punish his neighbor’s misconduct. It all started after the author had conceived ideas for two products. He asked his neighbor, a patent lawyer, to draw up patent applications for these ideas. The lawyer accepted money from the author and said he would get the patent application filed. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-title-13 monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a76e2b9d-2054-49ba-9024-66aca129d441/t-13-small-214x330.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Title 13 - Title 13. Michael A. Ferro. Harvard Square Editions, February 1, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 486 pages. Reviewed by Michelle Burwell. Michael Ferro’s debut novel, Title 13, weaves a story of an outdated, incompetent government agency with a lost, skeptical, and beleaguered protagonist. Heald Brown, an alcoholic misanthrope, is working for the Chicago Regional Census Center when classified government documents go missing. Even if he didn’t doubt the agency’s ability to find the documents, he is less concerned with the missing paperwork than with his internal turmoil and the anxiety that threatens his relationships with his family, his coworkers, and the women in his life. The novel reads a bit like an old spy novel in that everything feels dreary, outdated, dejected and generally broken, including the main character himself. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-chicagos-fabulous-fountains monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ef3ed6fb-5546-4174-bec1-d1b6d79d5e2d/61yU9dCUA1L._SX442_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Chicago’s Fabulous Fountains - Chicago’s Fabulous Fountains. Greg Borzo and Julia Thiel (Photographer). Southern Illinois University Press, May 10, 2017, Hardcover, 224 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. Chicago’s Fabulous Fountains could have been titled The Precarious History of Chicago’s Fountains. for as this fascinating book reveals, for every Chicago fountain that was designed, placed in its intended location, and maintained for public enjoyment, there is one that has been dismantled, moved to an obscure site, or left to suffer in sad disrepair. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-finder-of-the-lucky-devil monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/77822a5c-c9f8-4b74-aa05-cdec03fc17ba/418gG36PN%2BL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Finder of the Lucky Devil - The Finder of the Lucky Devil. Megan Mackie. Independently Published, May 29, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 427 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. Megan Mackie classifies her novel, The Finder of the Lucky Devil, as a work of urban fiction/fantasy. If you can imagine a story about a corporate-run government in a dystopian future with the noir feel of a ‘50s crime movie, set in a world where magic is real, you would have an idea of what this story encompasses. Her protagonist, Rune Leveau, is a woman who is both on the run and undercover. The story opens with her being “sprung” from a corporate prison facility by her aunt, one of the most powerful magicians of her time. That corporation wants her back and has no intentions of stopping their search for her. At the same time, she is a Talent, someone with magical powers of her own. Those with Talent are required to register their powers, but Rune is not registered, making her twice an outlaw. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-double-kiss monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/29b0d046-4add-4161-961d-ed747bbaf0de/Double%2BKiss%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Double Kiss - Double Kiss. Darren Musial. Self-published/CreateSpace, Dec. 18, 2017, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 218 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. The title of Darren Musial’s third book, Double Kiss, comes from the pool term for a cue ball that hits two balls at once. Max Deacon, Musial’s loyal and capable hero, is right at the point of the kiss as two crime families put this match into play. A nasty turf war causes the thugs to careen off of one another, and we dearly hope that each will be put away with a satisfying smack. Our pool expert Max Deacon is a man of high morals, well-equipped to handle a variety of dangerous situations: fit, fast, and firearm savvy. But a good day for him includes working out, having a few drinks with friends, and managing Dougie’s pool hall. Max Deacon is the kind of guy that will do anything for his friends. After all, they are as close to him as his only brother, Stan, a Chicago detective. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-housing-projects-mansions-schools-an-educators monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/39697e35-a0ae-4042-9f36-e2ef2cd7ff5d/61oBMB3X0sL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Housing Projects, Mansions & Schools: An Educator's Odyssey - Housing Projects, Mansions & Schools: An Educator's Odyssey. Roger Prosise. Indianapolis, Indiana: Chatter House Press, June 3, 2017, Trade Paperback, 156 pages. Reviewed by Charles Kuner. About 10 years ago, there was a popular aspirational slogan Sí, se puede ("yes you can ") that highlighted the message that one can make the impossible possible through hard work and support. Roger Prosise's memoir is a classic example of Sí, se puede. Prosise grew up as a biracial kid in Chicago's Cabrini-Green public housing project. Cabrini-Green had the reputation of being the worst public housing project in the country and one of the poorest. Not surprisingly, Prosise went through what can be described as a crucible of fire. He suffered with racial harassment, poverty, and a dysfunctional father who beat him with a board and was incapable of participating in the lives of his children in any way that counted. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-super-jack-eats-his-broccoli monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c625db0d-4d9f-4979-898f-7468b1805cc9/51MGGfLSw1L._SX407_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Super Jack Eats His Broccoli - Super Jack Eats His Broccoli. Michele Hilgart. Mascot Books: November 7, 2017, Hardcover and E-book, 38 pages. Reviewed by Barb Belford. Michele Hilgart sets out to help parents (and teachers) of picky eaters with Super Jack Eats His Broccoli, a picture book for toddlers, preschoolers, and early primary students. “Super” Jack Murphy is a pirate-enemy, baby-sister-saver, who is quite skeptical about eating vegetables—particularly green vegetables. When he finds out from his soccer coach that superfoods like broccoli and carrots make heroes strong and healthy, Jack decides to give them a try. Hilgart uses simple kid-language to tell an appealing story about a little boy who doesn’t want to eat his vegetables. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-lovely-faze monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/802291bd-570c-4794-9783-4163e6a26a22/41LeYsNqwZL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Lovely Faze - Lovely Faze. Owen Patterson. Chicago: BREVIS Publishing, August 1, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 98 pages. Reviewed by Elizabeth Melvin. A deceptively thin collection in an azure cover of flowers-in-motion came across my desk, and the next thing I know, little drops of distortion and disturbances came to me from Owen Patterson’s book, Lovely Faze. As the title would suggest, this poetry collection challenges the reader’s perception by embracing image. The poetry is simple and direct. In a recognizable Midwestern dialect, moments of grief, love, and joy roll across the page. The lasting image of each poem really resonates beyond the initial reading. Owen Patterson was raised and educated here in the Second City. His background as a tutor, special education paraprofessional, and behavioral health counselor no doubt contribute to his baffling presentation of the human condition. Lovely Faze is his debut work and introduces us to a thoughtful wordsmith of resonating depth. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-trial-and-commitment monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7666618b-b569-48d6-b942-6fa0efd43023/51qhklSQyDL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Trial and Commitment - Trial and Commitment. J. Gasparich. AuthorHouse, March 8, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 286 pages. Reviewed by Paige Doepke. In Trial and Commitment, author J. Gasparich explores the near-misses in life that completely shift the path on which a person was originally headed. He uses two characters, Michael and Mark, both young men about the same age, to tell a somewhat heavy story about moral obligation versus obligation to family. Michael, a medical student in Chicago, is dealing with the transition from medical school into the fire academy. His decision puts a strain on his relationship with his father, a surgeon, and ends a long-term relationship with his girlfriend. However, he believes in himself and feels a strong obligation to the people of Chicago to become a firefighter. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-lets-get-to-work-episode-two-of-the-prodigy monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-seeds-of-intention monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ac024894-4b94-4b37-b70c-8934b8339c99/51dI3e9AVwL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Seeds of Intention - Seeds of Intention. Andrea Thome. Hesse Creek Media: September 5, 2017, Trade Paperback, E-book, and Audiobook, 312 pages. Reviewed by Kandice Cole. Seeds of Intention is the second book in the Hesse Creek series by Andrea Thome. This novel takes place at the Walland Resort nestled in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The setting provides a gorgeous backdrop that adds richness and depth. The story follows the journey of Garrett, the talented gardener at the Walland, and Willow, the new resort manager, as their paths intertwine after an unexpected turn of events finds Garrett reeling from a failed marriage proposal. Willow quickly feels a romantic connection with Garrett after several chance encounters at the resort. She attempts to express her interest in Garrett one evening but is quickly rejected. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-pink-slips monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/24a63d18-efa2-45d8-8cd3-29f93e6164af/51K0%2BHIh5TL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Pink Slips - Pink Slips. Beth Aldrich. Restoring Essence, June 5, 2017, Trade Paperback, E-book, and Audiobook, 266 pages. Reviewed by Jessica Cage. With Pink Slips, Beth Aldrich makes a smooth transition into novel writing from her previous work: Real Moms Love to Eat, a non-fiction book filled with yummy recipes. The story is set in Chicago, where a pregnant Betsy is receiving threatening notes and is left home alone when her husband is away for business. She is left vulnerable and afraid and in an unexpected twist, her dog Barney is there to help her through it. From the opening pages, the reader is engaged and intrigued wanting to know more about the characters inside. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-jumping-over-shadows-a-memoir monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/cc393e71-8a2b-4501-9e0a-c1ae537ef610/51oERv3cQsL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Jumping Over Shadows: A Memoir - Jumping Over Shadows: A Memoir. Annette Gendler. Berkeley, CA: She Writes Press, April 4, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 232 pages. Reviewed by Deb Lecos. Jumping Over Shadows is a powerful and creative telling of the author falling in love with a Jewish man, their eventual marriage, and her conversion to Judaism. Ms. Gendler layers this narrative with the story of her Great Aunt Resi’s marriage to a Jew, just prior to the Nazi takeover of Germany. The author answers the question “Is there any form of love not worth fighting for?” She takes a reader on a journey through her introduction to the Jewish faith and her own questions about what she believes, the complexities of interfaith relationships, and the horror and pain that has been heaped upon the Jewish people and those that loved them during the Nazi era and the modern world. Throughout this personal and honest memoir, Ms. Gendler beautifully interlaces two time periods, bringing readers along as she learns more about the history of her family. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-darkling-spinster monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8561987a-378d-4a69-bb84-2328b0e83601/darkling-spinster-9781682992555_lg.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Darkling Spinster - Darkling Spinster. Wes Payton. Torrid Books: September 14, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 352 pages. Reviewed by Deanna Frances. Wes Payton’s new novel, Darkling Spinster, is a Western-style romance with a hint of fantasy and science fiction. The novel takes place in the 1800s in a southwestern town called Tombstone and tells the story of a thirty-something unwed “spinster” named Reb, who finds that the small town has more to offer than it initially seems. In the beginning of the novel, Reb moves to Tombstone to live with her wealthy older sister, Milly, and husband, Monty. The first several chapters describe Milly’s goal of trying to marry off her younger sister. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-beer-and-gasoline monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/dc2a4cd1-16a6-4e31-a242-b78e605fa9e0/51onlL9jO%2BL._SX325_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Beer and Gasoline - Beer and Gasoline. John Knoerle. Chicago: Blue Steel Press, August 1, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 298 pages. Reviewed by Wayne Turmel. “The Mojave Desert runs on beer and gasoline,” says one of the characters in Beer and Gasoline. It is that kind of insight into both the location (the desert around Needles, CA) and the times (1968, in all its cold-war paranoia and before the incursion of civilization into the last wild places) that serve as the engine for John Knoerle’s enjoyable spy thriller. The protagonist, CIA agent Hal Schroeder, has appeared in three other novels in Knoerle’s “American Spy Trilogy.” This book appears to be the final, most cynical, entry in the series. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-season-of-lies monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3d4e7ed7-eaf7-4456-9f6b-c29459a31a5e/51J%2B43oXPOL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Season of Lies - Season of Lies. Dennis Hetzel. West Virginia: Headline Books, Inc., May 1, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-Book, 348 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. This was my first sports/political thriller and all I can say is, “Holy cow!” Hetzel rolls out a sequence of events hung on a taut timeline and within twenty pages it is a book you cannot abandon on a nightstand. Two important seasons are about to collide: the World Series and the American Presidential election. The novel takes place just as the Cubs have won the World Series and one year before the Presidential election. Both games are rematches and rest on how they are being pitched. Both teeter on the edge of being games of lies and deceit played by complicated and misguided villains and countered by people of generally good character. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-an-obliquity monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/16cc90af-b01d-4716-bac6-5664c66a185c/41df6ce1ekL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: An Obliquity - An Obliquity. D. M. Wozniak, Chicago: D. M. Wozniak, July 17, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 539 pages. Reviewed by Terry Needham. An Obliquity is a “deviation from moral rectitude and or sound thinking” –Merriam Webster Dictionary. It is also the appropriate title of D. M. Wozniak’s exciting sequel to his highly acclaimed dystopian novel, The Perihelion. The perihelion is the point in an orbit of a celestial body that is nearest the sun, a highly symbolic event that opens this two-book series. It aptly describes the theme that drives these dystopian events. The Perihelion unfolds as a mystery wherein someone is plotting to kill off all the 99ers, 1% insect/animal hybrids which are considered unstable and must be destroyed. In An Obliquity, Aspen Curie, a wasp-hybrid who seeks freedom in destruction and fulfillment in revenge, drives this central theme. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-and-these-are-the-good-times monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8620ecb7-ccf4-4df0-89b0-04e15005228c/51YyKHxfy5L._SX321_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: And These Are the Good Times - And These Are the Good Times. Patricia Ann McNair. Side Street Press, Inc. Chicago, IL, September 20, 2017, E-book and Hardcover, 172 pages. Reviewed by Starza Thompson. As a recent Chicago transplant, I always find it fascinating to read stories about the city. I love learning about old streets, old bars, and old hangouts, thinking about the lives of those who lived here before I called this city home. And These Are the Good Times is a series of slice of life stories that touch on one woman’s history as she spent most of her life in Chicago. Her stories range from talking about her father and her brothers, including the bars they frequented and the places they lived, to remembering particular moments of foreign trips that defined and shaped her life. If the city of Chicago has captivated you as it has me, and if you crave stories about the people who live here, then And These Are the Good Times is a perfect read for you. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-war-spies-and-bobby-sox-stories-about-world-war monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a8dfb48f-02a0-4915-a947-b0c152a0e873/51601L9mk2L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: War, Spies and Bobby Sox: Stories About World War Two at Home - War, Spies and Bobby Sox: Stories About World War Two at Home. Libby Fischer Hellman. Red Herrings Press, February 27, 2017, Trade Paperback, E-Book, and Audiobook, 310 pages. Reviewed by Wayne Turmel. When we think of the Second World War, we often think of the faraway battlefields of Europe or the Pacific. In her new story collection, War, Spies and Bobby Sox: Stories About World War II at Home, Libby Fischer Hellman brings the war much closer to home in a strong new book, which includes two novellas and a short story all set in wartime Illinois. Chicago and northern Illinois were home to a large refugee population. The early days of the Manhattan project brought other people and POW camps housed Italian and German prisoners through the end of the war, providing rich opportunities for stories we haven’t been told a hundred times. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-up-in-here-jailing-kids-on-chicagos-other-side monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2f60af51-0cf6-43d3-9ce0-218bc8e3dd33/41GD5ycTjwL._SX321_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Up in Here: Jailing Kids on Chicago’s Other Side - Up in Here: Jailing Kids on Chicago’s Other Side. Mark Dostert. University of Iowa Press, September 1, 2014, Trade Paperback and E-Book, 254 pages. Reviewed by Marcie Hill. It was a pleasure to review Up in Here: Jailing Kids on Chicago’s Other Side by Mark Dostert. His first-person account as a children’s attendant at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, also known as the Audy Home, was truly enlightening. This book is a mixture of truth, humor, sarcasm and irony. I don’t feel the title Up in Here tells us what the book is about, but the subtitle Jailing Kids on Chicago’s Other Side and the cover photo speak volumes. Up in Here is a statement made by inmates to describe their confinement. I’m assuming Chicago’s Other Side refers to the south and west sides of the city, homes to mostly black and brown residents that make up the majority of the inmate population. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-depth-of-lies monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fb649189-54fc-42f2-806b-479659b10346/41eIemZEBFL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Depth of Lies - Depth of Lies. E.C. Diskin. Seattle: Thomas & Mercer, September 26, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-Book, 278 pages. Reviewed by Renee James. E.C. Diskin's third mystery, her most ambitious yet, introduces us to a clutch of suburban women whose long-standing friendships have been shaken by the death of one of their own. When beautiful, flirty Shea Walker drowns in a bathtub, a shocking combination of drugs and alcohol in her system points to an accidental death or suicide. Shea's closest friend, Kat Burrows, finds everything about her death hard to accept and takes it upon herself to ferret out the facts about what happened. With each question she explores, new ones pop into view, and the deeper Kat digs, the more closely held secrets she discovers in the lives of Shea and their circle of friends. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-called-out-a-novel-of-base-ball-and-america monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/664e9059-3881-468c-8b1b-fe1c51ff8934/41CQ6utya8L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Called Out: A novel of base ball and America in 1908 - Called Out: A novel of base ball and America in 1908. Floyd Sullivan. Amika Press, May 12, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-Book, 354 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. Let us doff our baseball caps to Floyd Sullivan, for he has written an almost perfect historical novel. It is the best novel I have reviewed by a member of the Chicago Writers Association. Called Out, set during the 1908 baseball season, is about America’s favorite pastime as it struggles for maturity. The author, like many Chicagoans, appears to be a passionate fan of the game. Although the novel is full of baseball lore, it is highly enjoyable for someone with no interest in sports. The characters are robust, the plot is brisk, and the historical details are vivid. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-wicked-immoral-utterly-bad-an-illustrated-history monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/764bd948-5281-4018-a1d2-fc6d70464d01/51gxZo9ELUL._SX487_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Wicked, Immoral, Utterly Bad!: An Illustrated History of Chicago Theatre 1837-1974 - Wicked, Immoral, Utterly Bad!: An Illustrated History of Chicago Theatre 1837-1974. Pete Blatchford, Chicago, November 1, 2016, Paperback, 355 pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. Chicago is one of the largest and most diverse cities in the United States. It’s a hub of art (theatre in particular) and culture with a rich and fascinating history deserving of attention. In Pete Blatchford's Wicked, Immoral, Utterly Bad!: An Illustrated History of Chicago Theatre 1837-1974, the engrossing backstory of theatre in Chicago receives just such attention. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-bricklayer-of-albany-park monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3757a6aa-e09b-43a1-92e5-3c752b86104d/514BXlOMmWS._SX319_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Bricklayer of Albany Park - The Bricklayer of Albany Park (advance reading copy). Terry John Malik. St. Louis, MO: Blank Slate Press, August 22, 2017, Trade Paperback, 342 pages. Reviewed by Florence Osmund. Terry John Malik’s The Bricklayer of Albany Park is the story of Chicago detective Frank Vincenti, charged with apprehending a uniquely disturbed serial killer. In his well-structured and well-written debut novel, Malik deftly paints an interesting, complex, true-to-life cast of characters. While in college and during his early years as a detective, Vincenti learns from the best—retired Chicago detective Thomas Foster. While Foster’s unconventional teaching methods annoy some people, they enable Vincenti to become one of Chicago’s go-to detectives for solving the City’s bizarre murders. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-when-postpartum-packs-a-punch monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5ec9183f-667a-4150-859f-45fbb7eefb6b/414JaTA00cL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: When Postpartum Packs a Punch - When Postpartum Packs a Punch: Fighting Back and Finding Joy. Kristina Cowan. Praeclarus Press, April 27, 2017, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 274 pages. Reviewed by Sue Merrell. When my colicky son was two months old, I heard a report on the radio about a woman who drowned her two-month-old in a diaper pail. I laughed. In my weary state, her response sounded perfectly logical. Forty years later, I was recently reminded of my feelings of maternal melancholy while reading When Postpartum Packs a Punch: Fighting Back and Finding Joy. Written by Chicago-area journalist and mother, Kristina Cowan, this concise volume covers a spectrum of postpartum mental health disorders from the common Baby Blues to headline-grabbing postpartum psychosis. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-white-sox-and-other-baseball-worth-mentioning monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/057e1311-25a4-4afc-a4ea-03427b0c3635/White%2BSox%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: White Sox (and other baseball worth mentioning) for Women - White Sox (and other baseball worth mentioning) for Women. JoAnn Fastoff. Perfect Paperback, 2017, glossy trade paperback, 109 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. “Baseball is an example in its purest form of nine individuals making a team effort,” JoAnn Fastoff writes in the opening pages of White Sox (and other baseball worth mentioning) for Women. Her love of America’s game shines through, and you can be any gender to enjoy it. To some extent, the organization and premise of the book—helping female fans learn more about baseball in general and the White Sox in particular—do not do justice to the richness of the content. For example, Fastoff goes beyond the White Sox to introduce readers to female and Negro League ball players with fascinating stories to tell. She has used her passion for the White Sox and America’s game to bring some important and interesting players in the nation’s social history to life. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-defiance monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4239bb0d-4968-4a21-ac23-83a6bc48a0c5/51Fn2Xod97L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Defiance - Defiance. Lance Erlick. Finlee Augare Books, April 27, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 290 pages. Reviewed by Serena Wadhwa. In the third of a four-part series, the growing tension among the Federation’s highest leaders bring additional excitement and questions to this action-packed sequel. As the legend of a rebellion becomes more of a threat, and the GODs’ (Grand Old Dames’) fears drive reactions that divide some of the key players’ loyalities, Regina is even more determined to find her sister and make peace with her mother. Knowing that the Federation needs her, Regina wants to make sure it is on her terms. “Regina’s DNA was vital to reversing a worldwide fertility collapse, but only if she was alive.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-vigilance monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/44ba1518-9834-42b2-b65a-3206d813202d/514-kxZAJLL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Vigilance - Vigilance. Vigilance. Lance Erlick. Finlee Augare Books, March 30, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 249 pages. Reviewed by Serena Wadhwa. In the second of a four-part series, it is not only the adventures of Regina Shen that continue, but also the growing despair of the Federation to maintain harmony while figuring out the key to ensure the population’s survival. We begin to learn of the growing interest the Federation has in Regina and what makes her so special. We begin to see the struggle Regina has with this new found attention and her ambivalence with this “specialness.” Regina harbors unique DNA the GODs (Grand Old Dames) believe will ensure the survival of the female population. When Regina finds out this is the reason the Federation is hunting her and kidnapped her sister, she realizes she has leverage. Her focus, however, is in finding her sister as she wrestles with older sibling guilt about not being able to protect her younger sister from the Federation. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-charlie-and-the-tortoise monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0bee55db-cd21-40c2-9f91-b7340a3cad98/517XgRTiAFL._SY495_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Charlie and the Tortoise - Charlie and the Tortoise. M. J. Mouton (Author), Jezreel S. Cuevas (Illustrator), Cara Santa Maria (Foreword). Rare Bird Books, December 6, 2016, Hardcover and E-Book, 24 pages. Reviewed by Lisa J Lickel. Author MJ Mouton shares his time between Louisiana and Chicago. He became passionate about the sciences and wanted to share his discoveries with his children, so he created short stories about world-changing discoveries. Three of these stories I found have been published. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-fine-line-a-sebastian-drake-novel monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/65e52a7a-82da-4714-ae30-feb277906e55/512U44JuQSL._SX346_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Fine Line (A Sebastian Drake Novel) - A Fine Line (A Sebastian Drake Novel). Dan Burns. Chicago Arts Press, June 6, 2017, Hardcover and E-Book, 294 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. This fine detective novel is a thoroughly engrossing Chicago experience as well as an engaging tale of the corrupting effect of power and privilege. I went down every street with Sebastian Drake. I understand his loyal midwestern friendships. And you cannot know Chicago without knowing that everyone here is connected by less than six degrees. I was also captivated by the incipient creepiness of old Chicago landmarks and the fact that there is no statute of limitations on cover-ups, personal vendettas, and the machinations of the elite. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-marvelous-paracosm-of-fitz-faraday monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/64f1a89e-a055-45e9-89cd-730ce0d6527d/51HXPZZRRrL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Marvelous Paracosm of Fitz Faraday and the Shapers of the Id - The Marvelous Paracosm of Fitz Faraday and the Shapers of the Id. Aaron J. Lawler. Black Rose Writing, Nov. 6, 2016, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and E-Book, 268 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. Aaron Lawler's novel is graced with what has to be one of the longest titles I have ever encountered. That said, the story he tells may need such a gigantic title to encompass it. Mr. Lawler introduces us to FitzGerald “Fitz” Faraday, a somewhat ne'er-do-well teenager, along with his best friend, a teen whose reputation is even more checkered than Fitz's, and the new girl in town who cannot quite decide how to react to Fitz. He also introduces us to his friend and mentor, the eccentric Oliver Crowley, a former professor of parapsychology and a man convinced he can make thought itself physical. Crowley's efforts are nearing culmination, and Fitz is aiding him as a gofer and occasional lab assistant. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-of-this-much-im-sure-a-memoir monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2231780a-b9c5-4b3a-9961-3e553db50615/514MZ67gtkL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Of This Much I’m Sure: A Memoir - Of This Much I’m Sure: A Memoir. Nadine Kenney Johnstone. She Writes Press/Spark Point Studio, LLC, April 11, 2017, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 329 pages. Reviewed by Deb Lecos. Of This Much I’m Sure is the author’s story of her brave fight to bring a child into her loving marriage. Nadine Kenney Johnstone answers the question, “How far will perseverance carry someone when there are no guarantees of a happy ending?” The author navigates the often demeaning and disempowering situations that accompany infertility as well as a medical disaster that nearly takes her life. The reader is brought into the story as the young woman is striving to use her voice, learning to trust her intuition, and grappling with balancing her needs with those of her extended family. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-regina-shen-resilience monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3716224f-fb89-4ebe-ba87-862513392b3b/51pN94l5rQL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Regina Shen: Resilience - Regina Shen: Resilience. Lance Erlick. Finlee Augare Book, May 4, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 241 pages. Reviewed by Serena Wadhwa. As a sci-fi fan, I previously reviewed other books for this author and really enjoyed his stories. If you are a sci-fi fan, chances are you will enjoy this series as much as I did. In this first of four books, the author introduces Regina Shen, a 17-year-old female who seems like most 17-year-olds. She is clever and inquisitive, interested in boys (and maybe more so since they don’t exist on her planet), a bit rebellious, and searching for a better life for her sister and herself. As someone who is at the bottom of the “caste” system in the series—living in the swamps—Regina wants to know the reasons she and others like her cannot move up in the world, without having to sacrifice something in return. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-he-counts-their-tears monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/17f61e44-df69-4be3-99fe-55f6499a89a7/He%2BCounts%2BTheir%2BTears%2BCover.png Book Reviews - Book Review: He Counts Their Tears. - He Counts Their Tears. Mary Ann D’Alto. Indianapolis: Dog Ear Publishing, August 27, 2015, Trade Paperback, Hardcover, and Kindle,184 pages. Reviewed by Mary-Megan Kalvig. Dr. Aaron Stein, who considers himself “God’s twin,” is a fertility specialist highly skilled at creating life. Unfortunately, he takes far more pleasure in destroying people’s souls. Through charm and subtle hypnosis, Dr. Stein finds vulnerable women and makes them believe they’re soul mates. Then, once the women are deep in his web of illusion, he abruptly breaks things off, leaving them confused and destroyed. When he fears getting caught, he calls upon his cousin Constance, who has always sworn to protect him. In her debut novel, Mary Ann D’Alto does a commendable job deftly creating protagonist Dr. Aaron Stein, an exceptionally twisted character with a flawless method of crushing women, cleverly portraying him (to the unsuspecting onlooker) as just a guy who broke some girl’s heart. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-xenogeneic-first-contact monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/43a22381-1fb8-42c2-9eb1-b6ab215c6eab/51Q6GXGT6LL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Xenogeneic: First Contact - Xenogeneic: First Contact. Lance Erlick. Finlee Augare Books, March 8, 2017, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 300 pages. Reviewed by Paige Doepke. Xenogeneic: First Contact is an impressive story rooted in science fiction. It follows Dr. Elena Pyetrov, a young and determined astronaut, on her space exploration mission. Her determination comes from the mysterious disappearance of her astronaut father years before. She believes his ship crashed on a faraway planet, Europa, and she hopes to find answers during this mission. From the start, Erlick pulls the reader deeply into the story with nuanced and intriguing characters, heart-pounding action, and a straightforward and uncomplicated writing style. The excitement begins early in the novel when Elena’s spaceship goes off course and crashes into a planet that she suspects is Mars. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-only-the-holy-remain monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e871be12-1cd4-49da-afee-dcc911f0b6a4/51kr6BxvyGL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Only the Holy Remain - Only the Holy Remain. Alverne Ball. Vital Narrative Press, November 11, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 304 pages. Reviewed by Jessica Cage. Alverne Ball is a Chicago native who attended Columbia College, where he studied fiction. With this publication, his dedication to his studies shines through. Alverne uses his knowledge and experience of Chicago, having grown up on the West Side, to bring readers a gripping thriller set in the gritty city. From the first turn of the page, the reader is thrust into a mystery that raises questions about both the victim and the main character, Calhoun, a former chaplain in the U.S. Marines. Even as one reads Calhoun’s story, there is a sense of suspicion due to his background and unfortunate relationship with his father. He is a flawed character with a lot of emotional baggage that often seems to influence his judgement. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-murder-at-venegonis monthly 0.5 2024-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/63eeed59-0d90-4477-aa61-53f374e23a30/61x2buBLOKL._SL1360_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Murder at Venegoni’s - Murder at Venegoni’s. Christopher M. Rutledge. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, September 23, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle editions, 168 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. Murder at Venegoni’s, Christopher Rutledge’s novel of the feuding Venegoni and Graziano Mafia families in Chicago, reads like a fast-paced movie. You can almost feel the bullets sailing past the pasta and marinara sauce. The cast of characters could be plucked straight out of Central Casting, with characters named Giuseppe, Dionisio, Primo, Gino, and Pope John. The story starts off with a bang, literally, and accelerates from there. As in tragedies throughout history, the protagonists are made to suffer as a consequence of tragic flaws. In this instance, the fatal flaw is the inability to grasp the realization that they are fighting for a centuries-old perceived wrong, one that has nothing to do with them, the details of which many of them no longer even remember. One of the strengths of this book is the dialogue, which is authentic and clever. Some of the scenes, especially within the families, made me laugh out loud; little things, such as the fact that an antique oil painting of ‘The Last Supper,’ hangs in the house of one of the Dons who goes by the moniker, Pope John. This same individual also has a lucrative side job involving the Church and real estate. There are numerous levels of intrigue and misunderstanding in the story, some of which deliver, some which could be more fully explored, and a number of which could use more description to place us more fully in the moment. The scenes of violence are often described in general terms that distances the reader from the action instead of involving us. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-62-blog-posts-to-overcome-bloggers-block monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/eec8bfc2-1fac-428d-b54b-24a7d274e332/41hyOlaMIzL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: 62 Blog Posts to Overcome Blogger’s Block - 62 Blog Posts to Overcome Blogger’s Block. Marcie Hill. The Write Design Company, June 7, 2013. Trade Paperback, Workbook, and Kindle, 116 pages. Reviewed by Sue Roupp. I was pleased to receive the soft-cover edition and accompanying workbook for 62 Blog Posts to Overcome Blogger’s Block. Though the title is listed on Amazon as a Kindle book, it is available in paperback from Ms. Hill’s website. Written in 2013, it is still an informative and relevant book. I checked out many of the websites referenced throughout the book and they are still active and useful. The book covers various types of blogs and where to find the information and sites that allow one to upload free videos, photos, presentations, etc. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-capturing-darkness-with-light monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/34904577-b58b-4920-88b2-14aebc777ec4/41cYxkk5R%2BL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Capturing Darkness with Light - Capturing Darkness with Light. Mary Sago. XLibris US, April 24, 2016, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and Kindle, 77 pages. Reviewed by Kandice N. Cole. Capturing Darkness with Light is a collection of poems and essays about the author’s life and the struggles, triumphs, and lessons she gleaned along the way. Each poem dives into strong and familiar emotions like anger, confusion, optimism, and hope. The author explores themes like personal freedom and spiritual connection. She writes in “Unchained”: “When I first realize the freedom that was surrounding me, everything I could see was unchained.” With vulnerability, she shares her personal revelations and the important connection she has with God. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-murder-on-madeline-island-an-emily-swift-travel monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/64f927cb-4e48-41ba-b8e3-4d4a9d93d9a6/519-B4EaUqL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Murder on Madeline Island: An Emily Swift Travel Mystery - Murder on Madeline Island: An Emily Swift Travel Mystery. Lorrie Holmgren. Cozy Cat Press, November 18, 2016, Trade Paperback, 274 pages. Reviewed by Hallie Koontz. When Emily Swift heads to Madeline Island for a romantic getaway with her boyfriend, Chet, she instead finds herself in the middle of Chet’s annual family vacation, a family feud over the drafting of a new will, and a murder investigation. Navigating the awkward social situation and the physical dangers of the island would be difficult enough, but circumstantial evidence also pinpoints Emily as the prime suspect. Can she solve the mystery, clear her name, and convince Chet’s entire family that she and Chet are not, in fact, engaged? Murder on Madeline Island by Lorrie Holmgren is a fun, layered mystery with a likable and engaging protagonist. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-october-song-a-memoir-of-music-and-the-journey monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f60a8ae8-0b88-4a22-84a9-2d9aa1ec7f4e/51TWjRNALPL._SX324_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: October Song: A Memoir of Music and the Journey of Time - October Song: A Memoir of Music and the Journey of Time. David W. Berner. Roundfire Books, April 28, 2017, Trade Paperback, 192 pages. Reviewed by Michelle Burwell. Too often we grip so steadfastly to expectations that we miss what is right in front of us. But in October Song: A Memoir of Music and the Journey of Time, author David W. Berner explores how profound and beautiful life can be when we let go of those expectations. Berner takes readers on a veritable journey, a 500-mile road trip, during which he realizes he is never too old to chase his dreams and yet, sometimes the dreams chased are just a small part of a much bigger picture. At 57, life for Berner was not what he had expected it to be, and in many ways, it was better. He had recently fallen in love with Leslie, a woman who would open his mind and force him out of his comfort zone. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-my-journey-into-the-wilds-of-chicago monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6c8c807c-edeb-4d10-9a07-bc3f56ad2cc7/61odf6KZs9L._SY498_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago - My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago: A Celebration of Chicagoland's Startling Natural Wonders. Mike MacDonald. Downers Grove, IL: Morning Dew Press, December 21, 2015, Large Format, Hardcover, 240 pages. Reviewed by Greg Borzo. The vast majority of the land in Illinois is covered with monoculture—acre upon acre of corn and soybean fields. Ironically, the best nature preserves are found in and around the big city of Chicago, where pockets of unspoiled nature escaped the rush to develop and build, surviving long enough to be protected by the better angels of our nature. In My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago, landscape photographer Mike MacDonald has successfully captured the beauty and biodiversity of these precious preserves. More than 350 square miles of natural areas can be found in Chicagoland. After paging though this inspiring book, you will want to explore every one of these area gems. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-women-on-the-brink monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7a71e77f-c5da-4c46-b7b3-70642a302303/51alG7H%2B7%2BL._SY344_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Women on the Brink - Women on the Brink. G. Elizabeth Kretchmer. Self Published, May 27, 2016, Trade Paperback and E-book, 356 pages. Reviewed by Gail Galvin. G. Elizabeth Kretchmer, the author of Women on the Brink, ignites an adventurous yearning we have all experienced in our lifetimes—the dreamy idea of running away. She quotes Edward Abbey: “May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.” For participants in life who choose to truly live, rather than comply with a safe, “quiet life of desperation,” eventually an “on-the-brink” crisis seems inevitable. Such are the cases woven within this anthology of intriguing short stories. Combined with poetic soul-searching vistas and an extremely versatile literary range between mother-and-daughter-like connections . . . and at times a Quentin Tarantino lingo-like boldness, Kretchmer tells her edgy tales. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-being-in-harmony-with-nature monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d5dfbf52-0ccd-4be1-8865-7fd737ac80aa/51lO90620rL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Being in Harmony with Nature - Being in Harmony with Nature. Christopher Viau. CreateSpace, August 1, 2015, E-Book only, 45 pages. Reviewed by Ed Marohn. Being in Harmony with Nature, A collection of Poetry by Christopher Viau is a little gem at 45 pages. Mr. Viau has cerebral palsy but that does not stop him from writing a book on poetry and illustrating it with his own watercolor paintings. He is not a scholarly poet, nor a poet's poet, but he offers meaning beyond the structured world of academia on poetry writing. He sees the world through a delightfully sweet child-like lens. The author avoids excessive symbolism and mystery in his poetry and instead tells what he sees, all the while marveling at the world around him. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-holocaust-postal-history monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/464afd07-c68a-4a57-91fa-77b5c8a46e7c/Holocaust%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Holocaust Postal History - Holocaust Postal History: Harrowing Journeys Revealed through the Letters and Cards of the Victims. Justin Gordon. Six Point Watermark, 2016, Hardcover, 170 pages. Reviewed by Brian Johnston. To maintain a free society, the free flow of information and the ability to communicate with fellow citizens is critical. Many of us have heard stories about Adolf Hitler’s brutality toward his citizens and his ruthless military campaigns after he rose to power in Germany after World War I and leading up to World War II. However, the limitations on communication that were in place under his rule are a big reason why he became so powerful. Justin Gordon provides some insight into this aspect of Holocaust history with his book, Holocaust Postal Journey. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-whistleblowers-concierge monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e73d1523-dbff-4d06-9c9d-0cac83663a90/41vv64K4qjL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Whistleblower’s Concierge - The Whistleblower’s Concierge. Janet Feduska Cole. San Jose, CA: Pegasus Books, February 7, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 213 pages. Reviewed by Wayne Turmel. The Whistleblower’s Concierge is the third installment of Janet Feduska Cole’s History, Mystery, and Stamps trilogy. It is the ambitious story of a young female adventurer and journalist, Elyse, who is seeking the answers to a mystery that goes back to WWII and finds herself attempting to help a government whistleblower escape the country. Chased by a determined, unscrupulous bounty hunter and government agents, she struggles to get the young man out of the country to safety while uncovering clues central to the series’ larger mystery: the location of valuable stamps lost to the Nazis. As the chase proceeds, Elyse is faced with burning questions. Is the Whistleblower who he claims to be? https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-shambala-junction monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/87c9e7b6-45a4-4af3-af06-9422dc5ee58b/518NHY%2BMnsL._SX324_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Shambala Junction - Shambala Junction. Dipika Mukherjee. Aurora Metro Press, April 4, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 255 pages. Reviewed by Elizabeth Melvin. Winner of the Virginia Prize for fiction, Shambala Junction is a coming-of-age novel from author Dipika Mukherjee, whose work I have admired since reviewing her engrossing short story collection Rules of Desire. As much a cultural exploration as it is a love story, the book is a remarkable webbing of different viewpoints. Mukherjee is able to translate captivating realities to a wide audience through pulsing characters, with a natural story-telling ability that is inviting and enlightening. The action begins as Iris, a first-generation Indian American, decides to outdo a ‘friend’ by taking a train from Kolkata to Delhi. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-perihelion monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/cffb608e-a50e-491d-a39a-3fd1ab5a47a2/51vpCVYwkUL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Perihelion - The Perihelion. D. M. Wozniak. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, January 26, 2017, Hardcover and e-book, 560 pages. Reviewed by T. L. Needham. The Perihelion by D. M. Wozniak takes place mainly in Chicago, now known as Bluecore 1C in the year 2069, on January 3rd—the eve of the perihelion (the point in the planet’s orbit when it is nearest the sun). The story opens in what is a dystopian future for many. It is a utopian future for others, mainly the wealthy, powerful, and highly successful. The major cities in the nation have been enclosed into high tech enclaves called Bluecores. The outlying areas, called Redlands, remain rooted more in past customs and traditions. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-mystery-at-black-partridge-woods monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/82ab77e9-d5a0-4469-ad41-7b93ebcc96ab/51gNmd%2BfrVL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods - The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods. Pat Camalliere. Amika Press, August 21, 2016, Trade Paperback and e-Book, 372 Pages. Reviewed by Sue Merrell. Don’t you love reading books that describe places where you’ve been and reveal a side of those places you never imagined? That’s what you’ll find in Pat Camalliere’s latest historical novel, The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods. Although I didn’t read her first book, The Mystery at Sag Bridge, the new book makes enough references to the first that it’s easy to see this as the continuing adventures of Cora Tozzi, who, like the author, lives with her husband in Lemont, IL, and is active in the local historical society. In the latest tale, Cora and her friend, Frannie, join with a young Native American scientist, Nick Pokagon, to write a book about Nick’s ancestor, Wawetseka, a nineteenth century Potawatomi woman who lived in the Lemont area. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-fairytale-chicago-of-francesca-finnegan monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4a107ce8-6840-4d9e-8b84-86944b57b179/51LE%2B8sYRVL._SX347_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan - The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan. Steve Wiley. Chicago: Lavender Line Press LLC, February 24, 2017, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 233 pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. At the start of Steve Wiley’s first book, The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan, the author introduces the reader to Richard K. Lyons, who is an unhappy man living in a Chicago simultaneously familiar and fantastically alien. Successful in many ways, in others Richard is a mess; he has some obvious substance abuse issues and is in the midst of a self-destructive spiral. It’s at this point that he stumbles upon a young homeless girl he can almost remember from a night long ago, when he was just a boy called Rich. She takes Richard on a journey into his long forgotten childhood and beyond as he remembers an adventure they shared one night, decades before. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-illusions-of-magic-love-and-intrigue-in-1933 monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8f730ce8-2011-499e-8498-d56335bff2b2/51Er2mlivYL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Illusions of Magic: Love and Intrigue in 1933 Chicago - Illusions of Magic: Love and Intrigue in 1933 Chicago. J.B. Rivard. Spokane, Washington: Grey Dog Press, April 17, 2016, Trade Paperback, 233 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. Chicago politics have never been boring. Chicago in 1933, dense with the influx of immigrants that began around the turn of the century, fostered a strange and powerful sub-rosa world of colorful characters and ethnic crime families. In Illusions of Magic: Love and Intrigue in 1933 Chicago by J.B. Rivard, the author drops the reader dead center into the city of big shoulders and shows us that daily life during a seemingly simpler time involved real danger, pain, alienation, missed opportunities, and fear. The novel begins with the attempted assassination of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the wounding of Anton Cermak, Chicago’s Mayor. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-hey-liberal monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3c58c77a-4884-4366-ae18-f689324076af/41TVAKYtejL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Hey, Liberal! - Hey, Liberal! Shawn Shiflett. Chicago Review Press Incorporated, September 1, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 320 pages. Reviewed by Charles Kuner. Shawn Shiflett’s novel, Hey, Liberal!, is a memorable and fast-paced novel that pulls the reader into the story from beginning to end. I was so engrossed with the story and its characters that I almost read the whole book in one sitting. In his novel, Mr. Shiflett, an associate professor of creative writing at Columbia College in Chicago, chose to deal with Chicago’s public schools in the 1960s, which then were in a continuous state of turmoil. I can easily identify with the characters and situations—it was like living in the 1960s for the second time in my life. Hey, Liberal! is set in the summer of 1969 in Lincoln Park right after the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the subsequent riots in Chicago that spilled over into the schools. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-acres-bastard monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c8f0e485-5eb8-4706-8704-d811112742d8/41fUvhpnOvL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Acre's Bastard - Acre's Bastard. Wayne Turmel. Achis Press, February 8, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. The subtitle to Wayne Turmel's Acre's Bastard is “Part 1 of the Lucca le Puc stories,” and I am already looking forward to further stories from this author about his engaging main character. Lucca is a literal bastard, an orphan living in the orphanage run the Order of the Hospital and St. John in Acre. The product of uncertain parentage, he lives during the chaos and violence of the Crusades, and as the story progresses, things go from bad to much, much worse. The story opens with Lucca doing something consistent with his long history of getting into trouble. In this case, though, Lucca's antics bring him to the attention of a newly arrived member of the Hospitalier Order. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-space-between-worlds-vol-1-conception monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/36b307ea-6c6c-4155-b243-050e4e1b9a55/51ycsQUKKUL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Space Between Worlds Vol. 1: Conception - A Space Between Worlds Vol. 1: Conception. J.D. Woodson. Royal James Publishing, October 18, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 275 pages. A Space Between Worlds is a story of life and death, reincarnation and regeneration. In a world—or rather, several worlds—of fantasy and shadow, the two principle characters must delve into pasts they did not know they harbored in order to save themselves from an endless cycle of death and forgetfulness. At least, this appears to be the goal. Although the concept of J.D. Woodson’s novel is original and captivating, it is not clear what exactly is gained when this cycle is broken or how remembering their pasts will help this goal. Unfortunately, the lack of clear goal results in a somewhat directionless plot that is bogged down even further by the scant amount of exposition. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-god-on-mayhem-street monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/12a076d4-5672-4f33-8fe9-1ea76599950c/51X7qGcB10L._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: God on Mayhem Street - God on Mayhem Street. Kristin A. Oakley. Mineral Point, WI: Little Creek Press, September 15, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 308 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. God on Mayhem Street is Kristin A. Oakley’s follow-up to her debut novel, Carpe Diem, Illinois, which was cited by the Chicago Writers Association as the best non-traditionally published book of the year in 2014 and was a finalist for the 2015 Independent Author Network Book of the Year. With these awards to her credit, it is not surprising that Oakley writes well. Her prose is taut and convincing, and her technique is strong. These strengths are abundant in this novel of bigotry and violence in rural Wisconsin. Leo Townsend, a reporter for the Chicago Examiner, lands a career-making exclusive interview with Griffin Carlisle, an openly gay presidential candidate. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-humble-beginnings-episode-one-of-the-prodigy-series monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e6501f1a-043a-4a31-a529-f4d0646fe2e8/51I8M9fZHKL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Humble Beginnings: Episode One of the Prodigy Series - Humble Beginnings: Episode One of the Prodigy Series. John F. Thomas. Self published, November 1, 2016, Kindle, 47 pages. Reviewed by Victoria Morrow. Humble Beginnings is the first book in a series about a young boy named John Prodigy, who is constantly bullied at school and feels like an outsider in his hometown. In this first episode, we come to know John and the things that motivate him. We also watch him struggle not only with himself, but with finding out where he belongs in the world and wondering if he has anything to offer. This first episode serves as a promising introduction to the future additions in this series. Humble Beginnings starts with a short prologue that takes place six years before the action of the main story. It is a somewhat cryptic opener, but there was enough mystery and intrigue presented to keep me turning pages. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-science-of-choosing-the-right-clients monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/44660f14-a3b4-4dc8-8857-0455f0ea0637/The%2BScience%2BCover.png Book Reviews - Book Review: The Science of Choosing (the Right) Clients - The Science of Choosing (the Right) Clients. Jennifer Brown Banks. PDF, 24 pages. Reviewed by Brian Johnston. There are many talented, aspiring writers among us. But for many writers, including myself, figuring out where and how to even begin a writing career can be a daunting task. As difficult as creating a great piece of writing can be, often times that is the easy part. Many writers have trouble finding opportunities to get the word out about their work and achieving the ultimate goal of getting paid for doing what they love. Jennifer Brown Banks attempts to guide aspiring writers through this process in her new book, The Science of Choosing (the Right) Clients. Banks holds a business management degree and draws from her experience in professional writing to pen this short book. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-summer-of-47 monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f59bca32-1266-415d-8144-3343f0cf1b51/4144OcEnDGL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Summer of ’47 - The Summer of ’47. Frederick H. Crook. Solstice Publishing, October 6, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 366 Pages. Reviewed by Ken Sawilchik. When I was a child, I lived near a popular toboggan run. The ride was awesome, but what everyone still talks about was the climb to the top, consisting of approximately 125 stairs reaching nearly 100 feet high. We made the climb carrying long wooden sleds over our heads in freezing temperatures. During the course of reading The Summer of ‘47 by Frederick H. Crook, I was often reminded of that experience. Set in the period shortly after the conclusion of World War II, Aron Wakefield returns to his home in rural Illinois, unwittingly with his two dead brothers and a series of otherworldly beings in tow. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-be-cool-a-memoir-sort-of monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/43d40df1-946d-418f-b24a-9b8dec1818c0/51LMC7bUeUL._SX328_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Be Cool: A Memoir (sort of) - Be Cool: A Memoir (sort of), Ben Tanzer. Seattle: Dock Street Press, February 1, 2017, Trade Paperback, 372 pages. Reviewed by Susan Dennison. Be Cool is an amuse-bouche of essays—30 bite-sized pieces that take the reader through Tanzer’s efforts to be one the cool people in the 1980s through the 2000s. Cool, for Tanzer, is wanting to be “noticed and . . . Finding a way to be heroic and larger than life.” Sometimes he finds a fleeting fame; at other times, the attempts to be cool go tragically and humorously awry when he gets swept up in imagining how he will swoop in and save the day. Tanzer is direct and unapologetic for his desire to be special, the sun around which others orbit. What child hasn’t dreamed of that? https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-men-as-virgins monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/998483e7-2a70-4d88-8f34-13e8ee34341b/51RXEGF6T%2BL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Men as Virgins - Men as Virgins. A. Delaney Walker writing as Zola Lawrence. Argo & Cole Publishers, May 30, 2016, Trade Paperback, 482 pages. Reviewed by Gerry Souter. When I first thumbed through this book, I asked myself, “Why me?” Female readers appeared to have written all the review clips. The subject, “Men as Virgins,” seemed to refer to a hushed society that might limit the readership in this era of pre-teen sex exploration. No academic alphabet soup followed the author’s name so a “Masters and Johnson” spinoff appeared doubtful. Then I realized that the author had gone spelunking into the messy world of the late 1960s through the 1980s—war-torn, politically volatile, and constantly perched on the edge of one revolution or another. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-different-ways-of-being monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0d09402b-5db0-4367-abed-4412706d2305/41oCVJO9WJL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Different Ways of Being - Different Ways of Being. Alan Balter. Linkville Press, November 19, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 372 pages. Reviewed by Christine Collins Cacciatore. I recently spent many enjoyable hours reading Different Ways of Being, by Alan Balter, and I would recommend the book. It would be of particular interest to people who are deaf or have someone in their lives who is deaf, or someone who would find it thought provoking to learn about deafness. The book is divided into several different sections. The first section introduces Willa and Robert, who have a storybook romance and before long, they are married and have a deaf son, Seth. The story concentrates mostly on Seth and his struggles and victories throughout life. Without giving away too much, Seth must confront and attempt to overcome significant physical limitations. The story becomes very dark and uncomfortable to read in parts, but only because Seth fantasizes about what kind of revenge he would like to exact on his attacker. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-art-of-being-a-baseball-fan monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6aa4a623-034e-4a5d-ad85-04ab03c8b6f5/51yDNTiKrhL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Art of Being a Baseball Fan - The Art of Being a Baseball Fan. Brian R. Johnston. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, February 1, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 218 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. The back cover of Brian Johnston’s The Art of Being a Baseball Fan has this sentence: “I’m just an average guy who enjoys watching the game. And I wrote this with all you fans in mind.” You can think of the book this way: You enter a bar. You find Johnston sitting on the next stool. It only takes a few minutes of conversation before you realize you have something in common. Like you, he’s a diehard Chicago Cubs fan who also has done a lot of thinking about both his passion and the state of major league baseball today. You quickly realize he knows even more about the Cubs than you do. It’s a pleasant conversation, mainly about the Cubs with bits and pieces about the rest of your lives. After an hour or two, it’s time to bid farewell, and you get on with life. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-reason monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/76a8b7a1-5ba1-43c1-87db-082fea8bb973/41Los4jfapL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Reason - The Reason. Sandra M. Colbert. Chicago: Windy City Publishers, October 4, 2016, Trade Paperback, 142 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. The Reason by Sandra M. Colbert is a compelling page-turner about a heinous murder. From the beginning, there is little doubt who committed the crime. The suspense that drives the book is not whodunit but why they done it. As such, although the book is built on some of the elements of the detective novel, The Reason is not a conventional mystery. It reads more like a true crime narrative even though the crime is fictional. The psychology of the murderer is fascinating, and the crime is sufficiently vile that it is difficult to imagine a motive. Building on these elements deftly, Colbert drives the reader onward in fascination. While putting in a new fence in their garden, private investigator Kate Harrison and her police officer husband Paul discover a human skeleton. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-education-of-doctor-montefiore monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2290f6ca-cbad-4f58-9c6a-f26bd4a8e73f/41RXV4CIweL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Education of Doctor Montefiore - The Education of Doctor Montefiore. Emmet Hirsch, MD. Published by Emmet Hirsch, October 17, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle editions, 282 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. The Education of Doctor Montefiore, the debut novel of Emmet Hirsch, MD, is a poignant and humorous book about the path to becoming a doctor, and it draws back the curtain on the darker aspects of that road traveled. We get a glimpse into the fear and heartbreak, life and death situations, and constant sacrifices inherent in the medical profession. The story takes place during the four-year residency of Robert Montefiore, an affable, sincere, and hardworking medical student persevering through the overwhelming task of ob-gyn residency. Robert, though overflowing with positive traits, is as clueless in romantic relationships as an adolescent on his first date. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-bull-by-the-horns monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f3f8cf2c-62e9-4cf8-aa24-a90bd63c4faa/51olYXge1XL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Bull by the Horns - A Bull by the Horns. Deb Donahue. Red Door Press, August 2016, Trade Paperback and E-book, 214 pages. Reviewed by Starza Thompson. Carina Coffman wants nothing more than to transform her family farm into an artist’s retreat. After receiving the required approvals, her dream finally comes true. Unfortunately, only a couple hours into the first evening of that dream, one of the nation’s most prominent authors is found impaled on the horns of a taxidermied bull. From cozy colony to hectic murder scene, Carina’s farm transforms in front of her eyes. The reader, through Carina, has to figure out who killed this author and why. When everyone has a motive and no one is perfect, A Bull by the Horns by Deb Donahue will keep readers guessing until the very end. Donahue is no stranger to farm life and has a handful of murder mysteries under her belt. Much like her previous books, A Bull by the Horns comes with a suspenseful and surprising ending. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-northdale monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6d8d049f-51aa-46bf-bb57-32537e14345c/510wRa5D5GL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Northdale - Northdale. Robert L. Nelis. Create Space Independent Publishing, August 29, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 475 pages. Reviewed by Ed Marohn. Author Robert L. Nelis’s debut novel takes us back to the 11th century at the end of the Dark Ages. It is a tale of commoners, knights, nobles, and kings dealing with war, intrigue, violence, and a harsh life. The protagonist is Sir Rupert, knighted during his four-year tour with King Henry and Prince Edward in France and the Low Countries of Europe. Rupert first joins King Henry’s forces as a squire assigned to a nobleman and knight. Bravely leading a charge for his absent nobleman, he saves the day on the battlefield for King Henry’s forces and is subsequently knighted. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-death-leaders monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4062c992-a6f7-40c3-bc98-08a7598fdfb9/517OZva4FNL._SX310_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Death Leaders - Death Leaders. Kendra Hadnott. Miles Way Press, February 20, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 222 pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. Kendra Hadnott’s debut novel, Death Leaders, tells the tale of Chris Rush, a Death Leader in a futuristic Chicago. Death Leaders are a grim-reaper or Shinigami group of figures, causing and regulating the deaths of the human population since time-immemorial. Walking the line between fantasy and science fiction, Hadnott’s novel takes place in the year 2031. Characters utilize technologies and belong to secret organizations while also possessing magical qualities such as extremely long-lifespans, agelessness, and supersonic hearing. The world Hadnott weaves is complex and takes from a wide variety of influences. Vivid and imaginative, the setting is so rich yet familiar and allows readers the ability to really let their imaginations run wild. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-book-of-barkley monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/88f04365-0a68-4410-91d8-1ca34b76c4fb/41FTFJV5rvL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Book of Barkley - The Book of Barkley. L.B. Johnson. Chicago, IL: Outskirts Press, Inc., July 21, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 254 pages. Reviewed by Deb Lecos. The Book of Barkley is a work of non-fiction, the author’s story of her beloved dog and the enormous impact he makes on her life. L.B. Johnson answers the question “How much dog hair does it take to heal a broken heart?” The author brings the reader along on a journey through her childhood and grief as a teen mother, to becoming a jet pilot and receiving a doctorate in criminal justice as an adult, and her final discovery of the meaning of love and healing with a rambunctious Labrador Retriever named Barkley. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-innocents-pray monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ecc143ea-3d62-467a-93ec-537cece0d30a/51Ze9B0yaQL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Innocents Pray - Innocents Pray. Lisa J. Lickel. Lisa Lickel Publishing, September 1, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 340 pages. Reviewed by Gail Galvan. Innocents Pray reads like a literary tapestry laced with entangled chance encounters, Catholicism, human conflicts, and deadly disease issues. Libby, the central character, is stricken with cancer—for the second time—and must come to terms with just how and when she will deal with her medical crisis. Add a family to the dynamics of the story, and, of course, the plot thickens. Libby’s husband, Vic, is often working out of town. Nona belongs to the family as a caregiver for Libby and teenage son, Jordan, who is estranged from his mother and acts as if he wants nothing to do with her. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-reanimate monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/209ae86a-fd20-4580-af11-744e9c26fbd7/51r6New2aOL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Reanimate - Reanimate. Sophia Whittemore. Clean Reads, August 25th, 2016, Kindle, 187 Pages. Reviewed by Kandice N. Cole. Reanimate is a YA fiction thriller that chronicles a growing feud between two young fighters who are in love with the same girl. The story centers on a menacing character, Avery Faro, who would be the ideal candidate for a wounded character in a dark movie. This is because Faro battles mental illness, which is caused by the abuse he suffered in childhood. In the book, he disassociates himself so much from his past that he becomes totally devoid of emotion in the present. Lacking in compassion, Faro often finds himself at a local fight club, The Red Fields, where he earns the nickname “Monster.” Despite the feeble attempts of Mr. Guile, a teacher who takes an interest in him, Faro is always on the brink of permanent expulsion for fighting at the boarding school he attends. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-n-akua monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0a2b4251-bce0-4fb1-89c0-b2af449538a6/51CE%2BmlzedL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Nā Akua - Nā Akua. Clayton Smith. Dapper Press, September 11, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 199 pages. Reviewed by Victoria Morrow. Nā Akua follows down-on-his-luck protagonist, Grayson (Gray) Park, after he is stood up at the altar on his wedding day. What is supposed to be a beautiful honeymoon for two in Maui following the ceremony soon turns into an unfortunate party for one, which leaves Gray frequenting the bar at his resort and attempting to avoid women. That attempt does not go quite as planned, however, because in the middle of another drink, Gray soon meets Hi’iaka. She is beautiful, slightly cryptic, and her life is in serious danger—a danger from which she needs a reluctant Gray to save her. Hi’iaka’s fate is left in Gray’s hands, and that sets into motion the largest and most unbelievable adventure of his life. It is an adventure that leads him to a new companion, Polunu, and a journey which forces Gray to confront the gods, both good and evil, of Hawaiian mythology. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-snowfalls-secret monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/24f7b4db-8d3e-4b0a-96af-18591dabe5f5/517OmncfddL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Snowfall's Secret - Snowfall’s Secret. Natalie Silk. Solstice Press, August 23, 2017, Trade Paperback and E-book, 268 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. Snowfall’s Secret by Natalie Silk is a young adult science fiction novel about a young girl from another planet who arrives on Earth with a past that she can’t remember. Snippets of memory rise to her consciousness every now and then, and readers will find themselves rooting for her to put the pieces together to find the sense of home and family that she craves. Natalie Silk dreamt of her protagonist Dahliea when she was just a young girl. Years passed, as did multiple story drafts, as she persisted with her quest. She had to get Dahliea into print. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-case-of-the-hound-who-didnt-stay monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/38bfab12-c9c4-4522-875f-337135bd35d0/cover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Case of the Hound Who Didn’t Stay - The Case of the Hound Who Didn’t Stay. Georgann Prochaska. Outskirts Press, July 8, 2016, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and Kindle, 243 pages. Reviewed by Michelle M. Burwell. Alice Tricklebank is a citizen sleuth who has begun to train her young bloodhound, Audrey, to follow scent trails. While Audrey is not part of any official taskforce, officials have recognized her talent and have begun to send work to Alice and her dog. One day, an elderly man from a nearby town disappears, and his distraught niece, who was supposed to be watching him, calls Alice. It’s not until Audrey finds the man digging in an open field, appearing confused and perhaps suffering from dementia, that the real confounding mystery begins. It is there that the bloodhound lies down and gives the signal for death. And Alice, though hesitant to get involved in any official investigation, finds herself in the middle of a series of serious crimes. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-count-of-the-sahara monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d2650a43-e910-4d34-a71c-fea0ac1a7ffd/51ho9%2BhFuxL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Count of the Sahara - The Count of the Sahara. Wayne Turmel. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, September 12, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 370 pages. Reviewed by TL Needham. In the end, the author reveals in his acknowledgements that he wrote this story about Count Byron de Prorok because, “He was the perfect subject for my obsession with people who have all the tools for success and still manage to get in their own way.” Then the author adds, and I laughed to myself, that, “You get no points for guessing why that’s of interest.” Thus, the core theme of this remarkable and entertaining book is revealed. We are taken back in time to the mid-1920s, a remarkable and colorful era, in alternate story lines of a dauntless and hapless expedition led by the Count across the scorching Sahara, and through his lectures given across the frozen Midwest to share his tale with the enthralled masses. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-we-speak-chicagoese monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a0b211ca-0b30-4375-a836-d93144a8f875/51-jddy4EQL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: We Speak CHICAGOESE - We Speak CHICAGOESE—Stories and Poems by Chicago Writers. Dennis Foley and Bill Donlon, Editors. Side Street Press, September 17, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 237 pages. Reviewed by Greg Borzo. We Speak CHICAGOESE is an eclectic collection of short stories and poems about Chicago that portray the city’s flavor and character—its grandness and grittiness, its toughness and tenderness. Published by Side Street Press, this anthology is a must-read for anyone who wants to better understand the city through its literature. In just a couple hundred pages, the reader will taste a vast variety of topics served up by a wonderfully broad range of writers. Despite its misleading title, this book has nothing to do with a particular style of speech: “da” game, a la Mike Ditka. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-night-watch monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/25e037fa-fb5a-40a3-aae7-5749c9def0e2/51ss0HNPVlL._SX321_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Night Watch - The Night Watch (The Pirates Series) (Volume 3). Chris Gerrib. Cincinnatus Press, June 28, 2016, Kindle and Trade Paperback, 318 pages. Reviewed by Robert King. The Night Watch is the third in a series of books about the trials and travails of colonists and pirates on Mars. This installment involves a plot to take over the planet by a terrorist fringe group from Earth and the efforts of the Mars-based Space Rescue Service to thwart it. Having not read the first two books in the series, I may be at a disadvantage in reviewing this book. In my view, the author of a series has a certain responsibility to anticipate that some readers will read the books out of order or perhaps only one of them. Therefore, even in a series, each book must stand on its own, somehow incorporating enough of the backstory of the earlier books and their characters as is necessary to make each book worth reading, and to make the reader want to read the other books in the series. In my judgment, The Night Watch fails to live up to that responsibility. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-peace-road monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3ee25018-89e9-4401-b119-502de7340de7/41wIORFQo1L._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Peace Road - Peace Road. Brad Spencer. ASKME Publishing, July 6, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 252 pages. Reviewed by Ken Sawilchik. Like the seminal Quentin Tarantino film, Pulp Fiction, or a winsome episode of Seinfeld, Brad Spencer's second novel, Peace Road, features several seemingly unrelated stories running concurrently until they converge in a gripping X-Files style ending. The author sets the novel in an unseemly environment, chock-full of shady characters and evildoers, and he provides an insightful portrayal of the violence that plagues Chicago's gritty south side and charming outlying areas. The story includes a robust number of personas: gang members, police, victims, innocent bystanders (are they also victims?), and even a public defender at the center of it all. The novel outlines the gang landscape of Chicago neighborhoods, and all of the inhabitants are included. All ethnicities get equal billing. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-finnigan-the-circus-cat monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/38b34708-8e0a-41c4-ba7b-b02dd61f788f/51%2B9oPtRBxL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Finnigan the Circus Cat - Finnigan the Circus Cat. Mary T Wagner. Waterhorse Press, June 2, 2016, Trade Paperback and E-book, 160 pages. Reviewed by U. A. Hall. Finnigan The Circus Cat is the story of a high-flying, amazing cat; raised by mice in an old barn that houses a circus museum, he learns that families come in all shapes and sizes. Max and Leroy are circus mice. They spend their days eating leftovers from the kitchen of Old Man Farnsworth and laying around napping in the sun. One day, a family moves in, and very quickly, their relaxed world is turned upside down. They gain a new friend, Boomer the dog, and they love the leftover scraps from him. Max and Leroy don't think their new lifestyle will be all that bad until the daughter, Lucy, sneaks a baby kitten into the barn. Max doesn't like this at all. As he says, "A cat was a cat was a cat." https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-rules-of-desire monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3f53d347-f35d-459a-9d0d-25f92c8d5c9e/514UI4O2yYL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Rules of Desire - Rules of Desire. Dipika Mukherjee. Fixi Novo Press, December 31, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 254 pages. Reviewed by Elizabeth Melvin. Dipika Mukherjee is an accomplished author with a list of well-deserved accolades including the 2014 Gayatri GaMarsh Memorial Award for Literary Excellence. Her newest work, a collection of short stories titled Rules of Desire, has already heralded more praise. Mukherjee has authored two novels and poetry collections, with Rules of Desire being her first collection of short stories. The awards are well deserved based on her fluid and beautiful writing. She is able to absorb the reader in a given reality with a confident intimacy that gives as much reward to the reader as the prose itself has received from critics. Awards aside, this is a very engaging collection of beautifully created stories. It is immediately engrossing. I dare you to read this book without becoming emotional. The cover might suggest that desire is solely romantic. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-man-on-the-bench monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c9590059-f4df-4fab-82f1-265cfa70ed90/41yDuDtWmbL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Man on the Bench - The Man on the Bench. Gregory T. Obert. BAM! Publishing, February 24, 2016, Trade Paperback and eBook, 153 pages. Reviewed by Ed Marohn. “Today was a good day to do it. Today was a good day to kill myself.” And so begins the story of a young adult bent on committing suicide. Sitting on a park bench, the main character, Sean, ponders his death. Suddenly, an old man sits down next to him, invading Sean’s fragile space. John, the old man, becomes an irritant to Sean because of his questions, all the while intruding into Sean’s self-absorption. It starts as a classical confrontation of young versus old, of two different men from different eras. The reader will find an interesting but different tale for each of them, yet they are connected by the thread of suffering. Sean is emotionally damaged by abusive parents and by losing his first love, first to another man then, then by her death. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-lead-tears monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5121fc59-e202-41a0-a3ad-c9e9fba3b1f9/51tFsnCWN1S._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Lead Tears - Lead Tears. Wes Payton. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, May 12, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle editions, 200 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. I loved Wes Payton’s debut novel, Lead Tears, but find it as hard to categorize, as it was to put down. While words play a lead role in all novels, in Lead Tears they should have their own dressing room. The dialogue throughout is clever, intelligent, and revealing. The importance of the word play by Mr. Payton is hinted at before you open the book through its homographic title. If I were forced to categorize the book, I’d say it was a combination satire/love story/societal warning/existential discourse, with motorcycles. The action takes place over a few days in the near future. The story, for the most part, revolves around the life of Vert, a lost soul working in a new profession called Witnessing. The object of a Witness is to observe and document events, sometimes to make sense of seemingly senseless situations, and sometimes for no apparent reasons at all. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-apothecarys-curse monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8b6ce170-741e-4d87-9c34-ec36a8b80795/51hy80zXuHL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Apothecary's Curse - The Apothecary's Curse. Barbara Barnett. Pyr Books: October 11, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 340 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. Two men share a secret that they struggle to keep hidden from the rest of the world. Then an unfortunate accident and a persistent young woman threaten to reveal it. Humans have probably thought about immortality, about cheating death forever, since they first started thinking. However, how many people have put serious thought into what being immortal would mean, especially if one were not able to pass on that gift to others? What would it be like to watch your friends, your family, all the people you love and care about, die? How would it feel to see your society crumble and fade away? Worse, because there always would be people who desire eternal life enough to ignore any laws or taboos society might place in their way, you would be hunted, always hiding your condition. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-rise-of-the-dead monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9242087c-48ef-44b0-b6af-da4b384d5f40/41h8z2ceARL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Rise of the Dead - Rise of the Dead. Jeremy Dyson. Chicago, IL: CreateSpace, March 18, 2016, Trade Paperback, Kindle, and Audible, 250 pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. From comics to movies to television and yes, even literary fiction, zombies have been a huge part of the cultural zeitgeist for quite some time now. Since George Romero’s iconic 1968 film, Night of the Living Dead, artists and writers have used hordes of the undead as a way to thrill audiences and reflect on issues of societal unease. In Jeremy Dyson’s debut novel, Rise of the Dead, readers are introduced to Blake, a statistician everyman, as he tries to survive the titular apocalyptic events along with a small number of survivors that he happens to come across. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-ascent-of-the-fallen monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/214f4894-7edd-44c7-852d-aae671731d99/Ascent%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Ascent of the Fallen - Ascent of the Fallen. Rebecca L. Frencl. Solstice Shadows, an Imprint of Solstice Publishing, February 26, 2014, E-book and Trade Paperback, 216 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. When a mystery man who has stood in judgment of human souls at Hell’s Gate for millennia is sentenced to live among them, he finds not only compassion but love in his new-found life among humans. Joining with a group of friends who have banded together to form a family unit, mystery man Rue is faced with a choice: remain on earth and do battle, or return to whence he came and share the lessons he has learned with his brother judges. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-dis-condition-of-ease monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d6566532-e295-4e41-97f9-12d962ed1f2e/51RJZIm1mhL._SX373_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Dis-condition of Ease - The Dis-condition of Ease. Owen Patterson. BREVIS Publishing, June 4, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 122 pages. Reviewed by Heather Adair. In The Dis-condition of Ease, a collection of vignettes and short stories, author Owen Patterson explores reincarnation, hell, infidelity, loyalty, and more. That these concepts are often in opposition to one another is no mistake, as illustrated in the final piece, titled “Addendum.” Most of Patterson’s works showcase a lone yet persistent man struggling against common human challenges under very uncommon circumstances. However, in some cases, the challenges are less ordinary. Take, for example, the story about a husband who confronts a gang of murderers. If you like to read dream-like stories with a heavy dose of reality and humorous undertones, The Dis-condition of Ease is for you. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-side-effects-what-candidates-dont-tell-you monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/91f598a5-5dd8-4d52-88d1-b1c89da4c3bb/41zLOkosBxL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Side Effects: What Candidates Don’t Tell You - Side Effects: What Candidates Don’t Tell You. Tomas Payne. Finlee Augare Books, July 4, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 239 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. You couldn’t have a timelier premise for a book. Side Effects: What Candidates Don’t Tell You intends to “cut through the BS” and take a fact-based look at the complex issues candidates should address directly instead of offering simplistic sound bites. The devil, as the cliché goes, is in the details, and that’s where Tomas Payne lives in this book. In less than 250 pages, Payne addresses pretty much everything—tax policy, income inequality, national debt, immigration, healthcare reform, climate change, free trade vs. protectionism, tort reform, the war on terror, the roots of Muslim fundamentalism, and more. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-night-radio-a-love-story monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b7dc1f4c-c89c-4715-ab87-4b4417f53b38/51nWk4iAYzL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Night Radio: A Love Story - Night Radio: A Love Story. David W. Berner. Cawing Crow Press, May 21, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 336 pages. Reviewed by Renee James. Night Radio starts out like a lighthearted memoir of Jake Mulholland's senior year in college. He's passionate about radio and intrigued by the possibilities of finding his place as a great music radio personality after graduation—one who not only plays great music but also helps listeners understand the genius behind it. He's also deeply involved in a long-running romance with Sarah. A beautiful and devoted lover, Sarah is "the kind of girl who secretly slipped Hallmark cards into the pages of Jake's textbooks. . . ." https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-by-force-of-felicity monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fbd83a95-f089-417c-9aad-c117cd61ab25/51T0NoE6H8L._SX351_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: By Force of Felicity - By Force of Felicity. Suzanne Campbell. Bungalowbiblia, March 3, 2016. Trade Paperback and E-book, 482 pages. Reviewed by Michelle M. Burwell. Althea Athnos is a quirky, sometimes compulsive protagonist who often finds herself anxious and trapped in her own mind. In the beginning, Althea has found comfort in her marriage and the simplicity of daily routine. But when her husband passes away unexpectedly, Althea’s already precarious inner world is turned upside down by grief and uncertainty. Concerned about finances and how she will manage her large home, Althea grows paralyzed by fear of the future. In an effort to stabilize, Althea seeks out solace and friendship by moving into Lilybanks, a historic bungalow across town run by three independent, erudite women each with their own peculiarities. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-hit-out monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8bb62cc7-49f8-4fbf-93d9-267e1291808b/hit%2Bout%2Bcover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Hit Out - Hit Out. Darren Musial. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, August 5, 2016, Trade Paperback, 126 pages. unning a small business is about hiring the right people and Max Deacon, the reluctant hero of Darren Musial’s second novel, is the right person for Dougie Von Hamer’s Chicago pool hall. Max knows how to run a cash business catering to a tough clientele, and his military experience and willingness to act save Dougie’s life. Max is then forced to do the detective work as Dougie remains in a coma in the hospital. His investigation is complicated by a rookie cop who responded to the 911 call and who thinks Max is a pretty good suspect. There is little progress as the mystery of the attacker’s identity deepens. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-in-the-shadow-of-war-the-dark-mage-chronicles-book-1 monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/44286f1a-7ab9-43d6-ad79-4ffa336b63f0/51mEDUzjKzL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: In The Shadow Of War (The Dark Mage Chronicles Book 1) - In The Shadow Of War (The Dark Mage Chronicles Book 1). Bradley R. Mitzelfelt. Hawks Barrow Press, Third Edition, April 3, 2016, Kindle Edition, 326 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. In the Shadow of War, which sets the stage for two additional books in the series, establishes a fantasy world made up of various beings, among them humans, orcs, Blood Knights, and elves, plus the beings of the “Mist” who inhabit one of the region’s vales. The book opens with the murder of the minister of religion in the human town of Brivan, within the Kingdom of Amarand. When evidence indicates that an elf or Devan was responsible for the human minister’s murder, war with the Devans is declared immediately. Dearic, the hero and adopted son of the King in Brivan, holds the position of Ardour, a guardsman who protects the kingdom. He is sent off to find the killer and bring back a necklace that was stolen off the body of the minister. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-leaf-queen monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ec9bf70b-c3b6-4946-9229-1130230aeb45/51raSn-dyPL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Leaf Queen - The Leaf Queen. Janet Roberts. Amazon CreateSpace, April 12, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 361 pages. Reviewed by Hallie Koontz. The Leaf Queen is the story of Dina Benet, who, try as she might to keep her life settled and steady, must cope with the wind that just keeps blowing through. Dina’s journey will surely resonate with anyone who has been faced with the same hardships and struggles, and they are struggles that are at once particular—adoption, cancer, relationships—and universal—love, confidence, and especially growth. Any reader who appreciates the story of an inner journey, or perhaps could even use some help with one, will appreciate The Leaf Queen. Dina’s story takes place over the course of several years and numerous different viewpoints. While supporting characters have a stake in and an effect on Dina’s life, they also have their own opinions and problems and the book does not focus on one thing for too long. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-kind-of-justice monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c68f4d70-0157-4084-aa94-9a4ffdc67fd9/417z8sMEvrS._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Kind of Justice - A Kind of Justice. Renee James. Oceanview Publishing, October 4, 2016, Hardcover, 305 pages. Reviewed by Sue Merrell. In addition to being a well-written mystery with great character development and a surprise ending, A Kind of Justice focuses on one of the most talked about topics of the day: the transgender community. How can it not be a hit? This is the second mystery by Renee James, the pen name of a Chicago writer who has lived both male and female identities. Although not as fast-paced and action-packed as the mystery-thrillers I prefer, A Kind of Justice is a wonderfully introspective, character-driven tale in which the people are multi-dimensional, not shallow stereotypes. The protagonist, Bobbi Logan, is a statuesque, transgender woman who seems to have finally arrived. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-storm-of-stories monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/647db0fa-f1e4-49d9-987d-3f4914586f84/51VAjXHpALL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Storm of Stories - A Storm of Stories. K.B. Jensen. Crimson Cloud Media LLC, March 4, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 156 pages. Reviewed by Suzanne M. Brazil. In author K.B. Jensen’s A Storm of Stories, the past collides with the present and truth is clouded by mystery. Jensen constructs a framework around a collection of vignettes using the desperate plight of two strangers who meet on a rural road in the middle of a whiteout snowstorm. Huddled together for warmth inside a disabled vehicle, they do their best to survive the dangerous conditions outside the car and share stories that probe at each other’s histories and identities. Julie is in over her head working and taking classes for her MBA in the evenings. She’s on her way to her parents’ home in a rural Wisconsin town late at night and has a hard time keeping her car on the road in the blizzard. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-commons-1-the-journeyman monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6ee43573-69f0-485a-8428-5e0a41bbbff4/51X0BIlDrhL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Commons 1: The Journeyman - The Commons 1: The Journeyman. Michael Alan Peck. Dinuhos Arts LLC, June 19, 2014, Trade Paperback and E-book, 538 pages. Reviewed by U. A. Hall. The Commons 1: The Journeyman, Michael Alan Peck's debut novel, follows the story of three unlikely characters thrown into a mysterious place due to a tragic event. To save themselves they must defeat a villain who has upset the balance between good and evil, but this decision may not only jeopardize their own souls but the souls of others. The story is told using the omniscient point of view, and takes the reader on an adventure through nightmares, dreams, and the stories that make us who we are. Paul Reid is an orphaned teenager used to living life on the rough streets of New York City. He stays at a home for boys called New Beginnings and after a fight, decides to leave New York City for California. He boards a bus at the Port Authority just as a snowstorm is starting. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-my-sisters-mother-a-memoir-of-war-exile monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/cadee559-9f6a-44dd-baaf-4d7793226a35/51-46W5DqVL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: My Sister’s Mother: A Memoir of War, Exile, and Stalin’s Siberia - My Sister’s Mother: A Memoir of War, Exile, and Stalin’s Siberia. Donna Solecka Urbikas. University of Wisconsin Press, April 27, 2016, Hardcover and e-Book, 312 pages. Reviewed by Gerry Souter. This memoir is a collection of stories nested within a story like Russian dolls fitted inside one another—except here, author Donna Urbikas takes the reader on two journeys. We meet her in today’s world, estranged from her mother Janina and her older half-sister Mira, whose lives have been defined by growing up in Poland, surviving Russian occupation and then the horrors of German reoccupation. Janina and Mira share a bond forged by the crushing indignities forced on innocent civilians by equally vicious regimes. To bridge the huge gulf between her life in today’s United States and the terrible realities of life in occupied Poland, Donna implores her mother to break the seal of silence and relate those tales of survival. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-citizen-cardenas monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/efd04298-b1dd-4d53-a8a1-f06f6b0b85e0/51HmhlveoqL._SX306_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Citizen Cárdenas - Citizen Cárdenas: A Novel. Steve Cole. North Loop Books, May 24, 2016, Trade Paperback, 312 pages. Reviewed by Charles Kuner. In a book literally “torn from the headlines,” Steve Cole has written a very meaningful and moving story about a Cuban refugee, Jesus Cárdenas, living, if one can call it that, on the mean streets of Chicago as he struggles with illness, alcohol, and homelessness. Yet, he maintains strength to survive using his “street smarts.” Friends call him Gato. For decades, he lived in a run-down neighborhood until it was gentrified. When that happened, Gato and other poor people were pushed out to make room for the Yuppie generation who could afford the expensive housing and upscale stores and restaurants that were established. Urban renewal was used as the excuse for these removals. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-i-wish-for-you monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/012a8918-7db4-44e7-beae-b87047db267e/51VSaTps2lL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: I Wish for You - I Wish for You. Camilla Isley. Pink Bloom Press, Chicago, IL. July, 2015, Trade Paperback and E-book, 324 pages. Reviewed by Starza Thompson. I Wish for You by Camilla Isley is a romantic comedy with an Aladdin-like theme. The story of a woman trying to stop a wedding and win back the love of her life, it takes readers on a journey of lost love, magic, and mystery. Joyfully unexpected, I Wish for You is packed with adventure, fun, and a surprise ending that leaves readers wishing for their own modern day fairytale. The action opens with Ally Johnson, a woman in her late twenties, still pining for a man who had rejected her a year earlier. What is worse, he is engaged to one of her coworkers, who rubs the engagement in Ally’s face at every chance she gets. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-living-with-markus monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7947c0c9-276b-4ea6-bd7b-2eb67271ced0/51EU0gT686L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Living With Markus - Living With Markus. Florence Osmund. Self Published, April 6, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 297 pages. Reviewed by Ray Paul. Marc Nussbaum, also known as Markus, is a thirty-one-year-old bachelor living alone in one of the apartments in the building he owns in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to collecting rent from the other tenants in his building, Marc owns and oversees a flourishing landscaping business that tends to the needs of the owners of high-end properties in the suburbs. However, life is not all work for Marc, because he has also found the time to spend seventy-five weekends with his loving girlfriend, Gabby. Sadly, for Marc, but happily for this reader, his life changes dramatically when he is inundated with family problems that his family expects him to solve. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-walker-finds-a-way-running-into-the-adult-world monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d0b8d8dc-be4e-42b9-b27a-68964b0cedb1/519pJ0xxUkL._SX330_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Walker Finds a Way: Running into the Adult World with Autism - Walker Finds a Way: Running into the Adult World with Autism. Robert Hughes. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London and Philadelphia, January 21, 2016, Hardcover and Kindle, 240 pages. Reviewed by Susan Dennison. Walker Finds a Way opens with Walker’s parents, Ellen and Robert Hughes, struggling to understand why their autistic 30-year-old son Walker is unhappy in the group home where he had lived contentedly for five years. Now the home is plagued by reports of violence and disruptive behavior, and Walker is facing eviction and commitment to a psych ward. For Robert Hughes, this is not the son he has known as gentle, friendly, and charismatic. However, aware that Walker has changed into a tense and anxious young man, he and Ellen try to discover the truth from a son who cannot tell them. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-husbands-and-lap-dogs-breathe-their-last monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/05a25adc-d3ac-4b3e-95db-1712dfc7a34c/51tit5OlASL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Husbands and Lap Dogs Breathe Their Last - Husbands and Lap Dogs Breathe Their Last. David Steven Rappoport. Mainly Murder Press, March 20, 2016, Paperback and E-book editions, 245 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. David Steven Rappoport’s debut novel, Husbands and Lap Dogs Breathe Their Last, is an eccentric, charming whodunit. While it has the feel of a cozy mystery, it is unique and funny enough to be enjoyed by even those not normally drawn to cozies. The protagonist of this witty, clever book is amateur sleuth Cummings Flynn Wanamaker, a short, chubby gay fifty-year-old with a high IQ and a knack for solving mysteries. He is invited by a friend to attend a meeting of the Mathers Society, a steampunk occult group in Chicago. All goes as planned until the event’s speaker, Surendra Hickok, sporting a Victorian wedding gown complete with lace veil and train, spontaneously combusts. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-hidden-secrets-secrets-and-second-chances-book-2 monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/31dd9ac0-ce1b-4ea4-99a4-9fb0a300d567/Hidden%2BSecrets%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Hidden Secrets (Secrets and Second Chances Book 2) - Hidden Secrets (Secrets and Second Chances Book 2). Donna M. Zadunajsky. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform: February 11, 2016, Trade Paperback, Kindle, Audible Audio, 301 pages. Reviewed by David Steven Rappoport. Hidden Secrets by Donna M. Zadunajsky seems intended to be a mystery. In its general preoccupations, the book reminds one of a film genre rather than a literary one – the woman’s picture of the 1940s and 1950s. Carla, an elementary school teacher, and her husband Tim, have a long history of trouble conceiving a child. Carla in particular is desperate to reproduce. While six months pregnant, she goes into labor. The child struggles for about a month and then dies. On the same day that the infant succumbs, her husband Tim is murdered. After his death, Carla receives Tim’s diaries – something he arranged to have delivered before his demise – and she learns several important secrets about him. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-thought-war monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1007ae92-5512-4483-ae53-8e31212889fd/41APaTUFlpL._SX321_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Thought War - The Thought War. Padmaja Khanna. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, December 14, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 272 Pages. Reviewed by Deanna Frances. The Thought War by Padmaja Khanna is the final installment of The Dream Hiker trilogy, a young adult adventure and science fiction series. Taking place primarily in the dreams of 17-year-old Jack Treole, The Thought War follows Treole and his friends Eddie, Selenia, and Zeta as they try to find answers about the dream world from Jack’s father, Master Yuquoa. In Khanna’s first novel in the series, The Dream Hiker, the friends meet on a collaboration website that one of Jack’s schoolteachers has set up. There, the students discover that they can connect within their dreams, and they begin their own adventures in the dream “thought world.” The second novel, The Mind Trap, continues the story with the friends meeting in real life at a science camp in Chicago, Illinois. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-empire-of-deception monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8e9d9dd0-ee17-41a8-875f-bccf2933dddc/513xo%2BFAwHL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Empire of Deception - Empire of Deception. Dean Jobb. Algonquin Books, January 5, 2016, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and Kindle, 336 pages. Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel. After reading Empire of Deception, you’ll wonder why we don’t say “Koretz scams” instead of “Ponzi schemes.” Both terms denote frauds perpetrated by sophisticated hucksters of the 1920s. Ponzi and Koretz lured people who should have known better into giving them money, primarily because their understanding of human nature would put your average psychologist to shame. In Empire of Deception, Leo Koretz gets some overdue recognition, and Dean Jobb’s biography makes for an entertaining story filled with foes, felons, fair-weather friends, family forgiveness, and fresh insight into the human condition. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-clarence-olgibee monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/694ace60-0da9-4559-bbad-338e901e5379/41-t-UsEeOL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Clarence Olgibee - Clarence Olgibee. Alan S. Kessler. Black Rose Writing, (March 10, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 518 pages. Reviewed by Paige Doepke. Clarence Olgibee by Alan S. Kessler explores, in many different ways, the consequences of mistakes; mistakes made by innocent children, mistakes made by men, and mistakes made by society itself. It follows Todd Munson and other characters through various relationships and life events over the span of 30 years, during which huge changes occur. Beginning in 1974, the novel opens with Jimmy Tate Sullivan, a white 17-year-old boy, paying for his part in a racially charged murder his friends bullied him into committing with them. In prison, he meets Todd Munson, a white man who thirty years earlier was best friends with the title character, African American Clarence Olgibee. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-caribbean-knights monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e358bec2-532c-4194-aabc-74acd162d48a/51FQ8VNrcBL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Caribbean Knights - Caribbean Knights. James H. Roby III. Self-published, July 1, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 106 pages. Reviewed by Ken Sawilchik. Caribbean Knights is the fourth installment in the UrbanKnights series of thrillers by James H. Roby III. In this book, the Detroit born and raised writer gets out of the city and onto a cruise ship with some exotic ports of call for an adventure that has as many twists and turns as a Jet Skier out for an afternoon of fun. At the heart of the thriller is a character with as many curves as the plot. The mysterious, seductive Nellie drives the story through its numerous twists and action sequences. She first appears as an innocent young merchant who rescues series hero Jordan Noble from a harrowing situation and then provides him with some equipment that is vital for the completion of an earlier mission. However, when she pops up on the cruise ship without warning, the questions start running through the reader’s mind. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-homo-superiors monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5d0a6b9a-7301-43bf-b7bc-10bab2f1ba56/41NMjWQxbyL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Homo Superiors - Homo Superiors. L.A. Fields. Lethe Press, June 1, 2016, Trade Paperback, 174 pages. Reviewed by Sue Merrell. Everybody wants a BFF, but what would you do for friendship? That is the central question in Homo Superiors, the latest novel by L.A. Fields. This tale of best buds is set mostly in Chicago, where Fields earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia College. Budding geniuses, Raymond Klein and Noah Kaplan, are a pair of “strange birds.” They are both advanced students who graduated from high school at age 14. Although they live only a couple of blocks apart in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, they don’t meet until they are recognized for standing out as unusually young scholars at the University of Chicago. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-colorblind monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7b7b7031-9889-4666-919e-59e3e046c209/41-Uz8Yj3nL._SX321_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Colorblind - Colorblind. Peter Robertson. Gibson House Press, April 11, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 224 pages. Reviewed by Hallie Koontz. Colorblind, the third of Peter Robertson’s Chicago-based mystery series, sends Tom Frost away from the suburbs and into New Orleans on a case that even he admits might be nothing but dead ends with little hope of a satisfying resolution. The reader begins the novel in Tom’s mindset. The first chapter, heavy with description and light on context, can read less as mysterious and intriguing, and more as slow and laborious. Once the book hits the second chapter, however, the story truly begins. The very things that interested Tom start to interest you. Not only is the case unlike any Tom has handled before, it is one unlike any the reader has probably handled as well. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-mea-musa monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b51f05f8-4ed6-4b28-b76e-30f8fc26e125/Mea%2BMusa%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Mea Musa - Mea Musa. Kaz Rowe. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, March 15, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 226 pages. eviewed by David Steven Rappoport. Mea Musa is not, as the title might suggest, a consideration of religious painting written by a Medieval monk. It is Kaz Rowe’s young adult novel, a consideration of love, sexuality and mental illness set in the anarchic environment of a Midwestern art college. Mea Musa is a coming out saga, a bildungsroman, and a love story. Chase Branson, the central character, is a nominally heterosexual painting student. He likes the Old Masters, dresses in a nondescript manner while most around him would shame peacocks, and does not understand much about the vagaries of contemporary art. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-war-in-october monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e39eabc0-70f4-4402-baff-8f3c3e5a378c/41nNDRSdq0L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: War in October - War in October. Nicholas Hochstedler. CreateSpace Independent Publishing, January 5, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 257 pages. Reviewed by Michelle M. Burwell. Walter is an aging veteran suffering from debilitating and escalating paranoia. While he has spent years on a strict regimen that includes taking several medications, maintaining a rigid daily schedule, and attending therapy sessions, he continues to remain haunted by his war experience. Even though psychologists and his own daughter have constantly monitored Walter, that constant attention seems to have only served to exacerbate his paranoia and teach him all the right things to say to manipulate and mitigate any real progress. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-loss-of-all-lost-things monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0ab270fa-3e46-47ec-b7e3-fd13ac26fb65/31dPjw4iP6L._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Loss of All Lost Things - The Loss of All Lost Things. Amina Gautier. Elixir Press, February 1, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 216 pages. Reviewed by Dipika Mukherjee. The first story in the collection, "Lost and Found," begins with the unsettling lines: “I wish I had a little boy just like you. I wish you were my own.” And the boy believes it, every single word. The third short story, "The Loss of All Lost Things," picks up the first story from the mother’s point of view, and the reader is drawn into the world of a parent’s worst nightmare, of an irredeemable loss with no closure. It seems almost too bleak to bear, but the writing is so crisp and spare and gorgeous that the pages turn themselves. The Loss of All Lost Things is a dark, compelling book. Besides the two related stories that open this collection, the other stories are not interlinked. In these fifteen stories, Gautier trawls the depths of human frailty and cowardice, with some hope of redemption but more often a sense of futility. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-hunter-and-the-deer-the-salty-prince monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/59e43ae6-9d52-450b-b29c-58954f7134d8/Combined%2BCovers.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Hunter and the Deer / The Salty Prince - The Hunter and the Deer. Christine Cassello. BookRix, June 4, 2014, Kindle, 17 pages. The Salty Prince. Christine Cassello. BookRix, June 2, 2014, Kindle, 15 pages. Reviewed by Kandice N. Cole. The Hunter and the Deer and The Salty Prince creatively use rhyme to retell commonly known fairy tales and introduce the reader to new tales with modern day twists. Both are easy and fun to read aloud, appealing to both kids and adults. In The Hunter and the Deer, the author tells eight stories with varying themes. The first tale details the conflict between Brian, the hunter, and his wife, who has been turned into a deer by an angry goddess. The next few fairy tales are written about traditional topics such as kings and treasure, but then the reader is surprised with a story that involves contemporary subjects such as Business as Usual. In this closing story, the reader meets a CEO who takes a long business trip and entrusts his business to his employees while he is away. He returns back from his trip to discover that all of the departments have made improvements except for one: Human Resources. “Only human resources had not made any gain/the boss felt that his money had/been given them in vain.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-giants-in-the-park-activity-book-for-growing-giants monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ac221c7b-e13d-4d56-b7ea-cf80d5dea306/51mlbj2KcbL._SX382_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Giants in the Park: Activity Book for Growing Giants - Giants in the Park: Activity Book for Growing Giants. Krista August. Chicago: Lincoln Park Press, December 14, 2015, Large Format Paperback, 64 pages. Reviewed by Greg Borzo. What do William Shakespeare, Alexander Hamilton, and Philip Henry Sheridan have in common? They are all Giants in the Park, as in statues that adorn Chicago’s Lincoln Park. In the hands of Krista August—a skilled author, artist, lecturer and tour guide—they and more than a dozen other inspiring figures that were cast in bronze or chiseled out of stone now reside in the park and have much to teach students about history, literature, politics, warfare, and many other things. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-punk-charming monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3899aa9d-9392-425c-9b3e-3ca288885641/514i6samQTL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Punk Charming - Punk Charming . Laura Quinn . Eternal Press , November 22, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 414 pages. Reviewed by Julie S. Halpern. Laura Quinn’s first novel, Punk Charming, is a delightful romantic romp through the 1980s, written with loving details by an author who obviously adores the period. The novel is fueled by a soundtrack of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, and Wham, along with the spot-on period product placement and references that occasionally approach overkill (but who can resist New Coke, the Walkman, and Dallas?). The net effect is an instant trip back to the fun, edgy mid-eighties. Chicago college student Kate Spenser is thrilled about spending a summer studying in Oxford, England. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-better-me monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/52d5139a-db09-40ca-8945-5192a113d2a2/515IRGVTHIL._SX329_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Better Me - A Better Me. Martina Common. Tate Publishing Company, September 1, 2015, Trade Paperback, 324 pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. In a city like Chicago, where issues of race, economic disenfranchisement, violence, and gentrification have a real impact on the lives of its citizens, it is often easy to lose sight of the actual experiences of those citizens. In this town, things change quickly. Businesses open and close, housing projects are built up and torn down, rent increases, and communities are displaced. In Martina Common's A Better Me, the experiences of one such citizen are put front and center. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-lines monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ad337e9e-0ed8-4018-a57e-f9791b963eee/51lJO4P-mJL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Lines - Lines. Geralyn Hesslau Magrady. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, December 15, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 268 pages. Reviewed by Janet Feduska Cole. A story of love, perseverance, and fulfillment, Lines is a historical novel set in the post-Civil War period. The beautifully told story captures the struggles of ordinary people. It also describes the effects the momentous events occurring in Chicago during that time had on their lives. The story begins as the Civil War ends. Livia, a young girl full of literary hopes and dreams but practical expectations, lives with her parents, her brother Johan, and a young couple, Catherine and Franz, on their tobacco farm in Pennsylvania. But a drought has forced them to reconsider their present lives and to seek a new beginning in Chicago. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-one-you-feed monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/157b4915-cf14-4e62-8f1b-f6d9176bdf61/41eAJViuc9L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The One You Feed - The One You Feed. James Drummond. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, November 29, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 379 pages. Reviewed by Elizabeth Melvin. Author James Drummond brings his strong character creation and folk tale interpretation to the first book of the Shadow Tales series, called The One You Feed. Seemingly inspired by a Native American myth about the good wolf and bad wolf, this inspiring horror story is well paced and intriguing. By his own admission, Drummond is “attempting to put a new spin on familiar folklore” in this series. Drummond graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor's degree in English writing and his careful crafting invites the reader to follow along with the story through the series. Even before you read the first lines of the book, the unique cover, designed by Wojtek Batko, catches your eye with a little shock that sparks curiosity. The pages that follow are equally engaging. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-badfish monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e3ea7a58-129d-4b88-9ec1-40d5049b4318/Badfish%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Badfish - Badfish. Sue Rovens. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, October 28, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 225 pages. Review by Ed Sarna. Badfish, the debut novel by Sue Rovens, is a darkly written, extraordinary book, with elements of horror and suspense covered in a fine skin of black comedy. To say this story is twisted is an understatement. A plague of bad luck has befallen the town of Badfish, and the Finchon Motel is patient zero. The Finchon, owned and operated by Karl Demetris, is overflowing with transients, drug users, and all-around misfits. While the misleading advertising may draw in the occasional tourist, the fortunate ones see the writing on the wall. Karl, ever the entrepreneur, has developed a lucrative side business peddling a drug that gives its users a toxic high. The cascading events set off by this new drug quickly appear unstoppable. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-cotton monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/cd61998f-8517-4900-a9fd-4b93592cceb8/51CLvcyaHnL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Cotton - Cotton. K. Yvonne Drew. Self published, January 30, 2014, Trade Paperback, 296 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. In the opening pages of Cotton, an unnamed protagonist known only as the “traveler” is drawn to a dreary decaying house, and once inside is confronted by a hideously decomposing man and his horrible cat. The old man leads the traveler to the Dying Room where a magical candle burns at both ends. When that candle has melted away, he tells his visitor, the potential for African Americans to overcome the obstacles of 250 years of slavery and racism will die forever. As the aging demon puts it: “Our journey will be complete soon enough. Nigras cannot continue to stand with such great pressures that cause them to collapse from within their own families and communities. A dying breed, a hopeless community; you see that?” The candle drips wax onto the glass plate. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-campanelli-the-ping-tom-affair monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a17716a5-b206-45ab-a19c-6665e068be0b/51OM0FFsW-L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Campanelli: The Ping Tom Affair - Campanelli: The Ping Tom Affair. Frederick H. Crook. Amazon Digital Services LLC, June 30, 2013, Kindle, 83 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. In Frederick H. Crook’s novella, Campanelli: The Ping Tom Affair, the year is 2109 when our main character, Chicago Chief of Detectives Frank Campanelli, is called to a double murder investigation in Ping Tom Park. Campanelli, who was blinded years before in a fire in New York, that also took the lives of his wife and child, manages his disability with the use of bionic eyes. These visual aids not only handle all of the functions of sight, but they also manage tracking and communications. While Campanelli’s use of visual technology assists his police work a great deal, it is his own intuition—sans technology—that proves to be his greatest asset to his police work. Frank Campanelli is an interesting and richly complicated character. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-female-assumption monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6b13393b-7e8c-401f-b5a5-c74191728674/41ow8WsLaNL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Female Assumption - The Female Assumption. Melanie Holmes. CreateSpace, October 2, 2014. Trade Paperback and Kindle, 204 pages. Reviewed by Serena Wadhwa. When I was approached to review this book, I was in the midst of several projects with fast-approaching deadlines, some hard decisions I was making, and the holidays. As I read the synopsis for the book, I was intrigued. Being a woman, and one who comes from a culture with traditional beliefs about women’s roles, I inquired if an extension was possible so I could complete the review. It was granted and not only was I glad I made that request, I am grateful to Melanie Holmes for bringing a much-needed topic to the surface. “Despite all the advances for women in the last few decades, we still, as a society assume motherhood is the ultimate goal for females. Without realizing that perhaps not all females will want to, should, or be able to become moms, the message that the majority of females still hear is that motherhood is integral to a well-rounded life.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-help-me monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e047ceed-1f3a-4d05-8752-5d2075e0155e/HelpMe%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Help Me - Help Me. Donna M. Zadunajsky. Pronoun: December 29, 2015, Paperback, e-Book, Audiobook, 119 pages. Reviewed by Suzanne M. Brazil. Author Donna Zadunajsky’s novella, Help Me, is the harrowing story of bullying, depression, and their consequences as told by Mick, the victim, and his close friend, Layla. In her forward, the author discloses that the events in the book are based on real life with details changed to protect the identities of those involved. Over the course of a few months during junior high, Mick and Layla grow close as part of a small group of friends that hangs out in person and via social media. Layla soon realizes Mick has been self-harming—cutting—and she soon fears things may be even more serious than that. One night, a particularly frightening incident spurs Layla to get adults involved, but did she wait too long? https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-gift-counselor monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/91528e54-1ca3-4881-974f-ae6e86f49d75/41Aek%2BEcMSL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Gift Counselor - The Gift Counselor. Sheila M. Cronin. Chicago, IL: Sheila M. Cronin, July 12, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 324 pages. Reviewed by Deb Lecos. The Gift Counselor is a work of fiction, devoted to the idea that there are usually reasons and preferred outcomes connected to our gifts. Set in Southern California in the 1990s, Jonquil Bloom is a single mother to a son, Billy, as well as a graduate psychology student doing research on “The Psychodynamics of Gift Giving.” The young mother comes to learn, by the benevolent example of her 10-year-old son, that gifts—true gifts—have no strings attached. Jonquil parents with two objectives: keeping her son happy and hiding the truth of his father’s tragic death. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-little-piggy-who-could-and-did monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/20435600-b709-47d4-9309-8c5da51ef77b/51tva3rISLL._SX348_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Little Piggy Who Could...and Did - The Little Piggy Who Could...and Did. Janet Feduska Cole & Andrew Jonathan Cole. Pegasus Pony, California, November 2014, Trade Paperback, 50 pages. Reviewed by Christine Cassello. Sassyfrass is the boldest and most outgoing of a litter of piglets Momma pig gives birth to on the farm. She is always wandering off in search of something new to explore, and the other piglets follow along because she is a natural leader. One day they are picked up and put in a truck with other pigs to be taken to market. While the other little pigs are crying because they are scared and miss their mothers, Sassyfrass is busy exploring the truck. She finds a hole in the side of it and keeps pushing at it to make it larger. When the truck stops at a light, Sassyfrass convinces the rest of the pigs to jump out of the truck with her. As they journey to try to get back home, they encounter other little animals: an orphaned fawn, young owl, and skunk who have been rejected by their peers. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-book-of-wisdom monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b1a36567-799d-405c-b57c-718f4c130268/51CxPXKZYXL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Book of Wisdom - The Book of Wisdom (The Harmony of the Spheres 1). Jeremy Falcon. CMP-Press, May 13, 2015, 581 pages. eviewed by Sue Roupp. The Book of Wisdom is really two books within the same story. The first is set in Evanston and Dublin in 2011, where readers are drawn into a mystery about deciphering what begins as an excavated musical text but turns into something unexpected. The other story, set in 66-68 A.D., is a carefully researched historical story regarding the Romans marching on Judea and the Essence tribe with Brothers who are known for their wisdom. The first story, centering on a Northwestern University professor, is less compelling than the second is. The characters are flatter, and the scene details, while often very good, do not consistently or clearly build tension. The dialogue is often not natural, and we never really get to know the NU professor, so it’s hard to root for him. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-jupiter-works-on-commission monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e289329f-9998-44e7-b635-bc437d800185/51aL7nHeByL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Jupiter Works on Commission - Jupiter Works on Commission. Jack Phillips Lowe. West Union, West Virginia: Middle Island Press, August 1, 2015, Trade Paperback, 60 pages. Reviewed by Gail Galvan. Jack Philips Lowe is an easy-to-read, narrative poet with a knack for details and a penchant for writing about the working class. He’s also a talented storyteller. His collection of twenty-four poems delivers delightful insights on topics as varied as a workplace breakroom, a boardroom, and the troubled minds of the unemployed. Lowe's narration lets the reader feel as if he/she is walking in the shoes of the workers he describes. The cover graphic of a blue-collar worker sitting on a scaffold introduces us to the subject matter: the working class. I love the titles, themes, and punchlines throughout. Lowe delivers stories about everyday people living their hardworking lives. We see their honor, we hear their complaints, and we enjoy their humor. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-best-kept-secret-in-poetry monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/794245e2-fad4-46be-9043-5f260d5c3939/41lkdY82yoL._SX404_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Best Kept Secret in Poetry - The Best Kept Secret in Poetry. Tabitha Fefee. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, August 5, 2015, Trade Paperback, 26 pages. Reviewed by Susan Dennison. In reading Tabitha Fefee’s The Best Kept Secret in Poetry, I was struck by the energy with which she writes. There is no need to guess where she stands on love, race, God, domestic abuse, or children, nor is there a need to spend time thinking about symbolism—what you read is what you get. This is not a good or bad thing, but it is something that can feel hastily written. Fefee is an enthusiastic poet, and someone who is not afraid to lay her soul on the page. From the poem Young Dumb and Out of Touch: https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-each-thing-touches monthly 0.5 2021-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e40d1798-44a7-489b-955a-404992b69469/51f-M4DYVOL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Each Thing Touches - Each Thing Touches. Marc Frazier. Glass Lyre Press, May 27, 2015, Trade Paperback, 106 pages. Reviewed by Elizabeth Melvin. Each Thing Touches is the second poetry collection from Illinois Arts Council Award winner Marc Frazier. Readers who enjoyed his first collection, The Way Here, will find the same strength of voice and resonating imagery carry thorough his new collection of poetry. This new book collects story moments that capture movement from one state of being into another. Sometimes the two states converge, demonstrating the keen edge where the mundane meets the spiritual. There are poems like The Crows, where youth crumbles to reveal wisdom. Other poems, such as My Sister’s Keeper, demonstrate the guilt of loss and fire of grief. The poem narratives range in age and gender, demonstrating Frazier’s uncanny emotional intellect. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-damnable-legacy monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ef71d0c8-891e-4661-9361-5b9ab33f904a/The%2BDamnable%2BLegacy.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Damnable Legacy - The Damnable Legacy. G. Elizabeth Kretchmer. Seattle, WA: Booktrope, July 25, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 347 pages. Reviewed by Michelle M. Burwell. Just before Beth Mahoney dies of cancer, she makes a connection between two otherwise disparate people and orchestrates a plan to bring them together. Lynn Van Swol is a world-class mountain climber; she has an unshakeable determination to climb seven mountain peaks as a homage to the daughter she gave up for adoption thirty years earlier. Frankie Rizzoni is a troubled teenager living a somewhat transient life with her troubled mother, who is Lynn Van Swol’s biological daughter. In her debut novel, G. Elizabeth Kretchmer weaves a complex narrative of two characters: Lynn who is ostensibly perfect and Frankie who is outwardly tormented. However, both characters toil with their own inner demons. Beth, the book’s narrator, is dead, and can only watch from the afterlife as her plan to bring the two together unfolds, and then unravels. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-heavens-forgotten monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-wicked-wind monthly 0.5 2021-12-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e2c79f34-8c04-40a2-ba55-1013d31ba359/41ZeUCNaY9L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Wicked Wind - Wicked Wind. Sharon Kay. Self published, January 20, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 312 pages. Reviewed by Jessica Cage. Sharon Kay, an award-winning author who lives in the Chicago area, brings us a new world with her Lash demons and mythical creatures. She does an amazing job of incorporating the city of Chicago, both good and bad, into her storyline. The attention to details and character development of this book are well thought out and beautifully written. It is so refreshing to read about women who are kicking tail and taking names. Nicole and her sister decided to do just that as they hit the streets in some of the toughest areas to use their special abilities to fight crime and protect those who cannot protect themselves. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-anomaly-flats monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3b1031e3-acbe-48ca-ba14-283d8344fc64/51TwPEcCPfL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Anomaly Flats - Anomaly Flats. Clayton Smith. Dapper Press, October 22, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 268 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds. I admit that, prior to this review, I had never read any of Clayton Smith's works. After reading his most recent novel, I find myself wondering if I have made a major error. Were you a fan of Weird Tales or are you someone who has all the episodes of One Step Beyond in your DVD/TiVo collection? Remember how there was always some strange event, object, or location that served as the central focus of the story? Well, pile all those strange, odd, dangerous, and destructive things in one place and you get an idea of what the day-to-day reality of “Anomaly Flats” is like. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-narrow-gate monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9119471b-5fd4-4213-b50f-8160bc79b80b/51we0lLe7fL._SX332_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Narrow Gate - The Narrow Gate. Janet Roberts. BookBaby, October 8, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 194 pages. Reviewed by Ray Paul. Before writing this review, I uncharacteristically read Janet Roberts’ short novel twice from cover to cover. I was driven by two reasons. I loved the flow of her lush prose and I wanted to savor it again. In addition, even though each chapter heading listed the point-of-view character, there were so many different narrators I wanted to make sure I understood how each added to my understanding of the plot. As it turned out, I did not need the second reading because I “got it” the first time. What else I did receive from the second reading was an even greater appreciation of the depth of the author’s prose. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-feng-shui-and-charlotte-nightingale monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ce72373e-9416-4a9e-9ab8-6da1065baea7/51vpmoeZFfL._SX345_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale - Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale. Pam Ferderbar. Three Towers Press (an imprint of HenschelHAUS Publishing), Milwaukee, WI, June 21, 2015, Hardcover and Kindle, 240 pages. Reviewed by Starza Thompson. It’s very rare to find a book that is so imaginative that visualizing the characters and places in the book becomes effortless for the reader. In Pam Ferderbar’s Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale, the story comes alive. Ferderbar’s novel is imaginative, hilarious, and sweet—a great quick read for anyone who can relate to feeling unlucky, who likes romantic comedies, or who just needs a good laugh. Charlotte Nightingale isn’t just down on her luck, she is plain unlucky. Her apartment is falling apart; her boyfriend is a liquor-drinking, money-stealing, unemployed womanizer; her car is a piece of junk; and her job at a less-than-reputable car dealership comes with massive abuse from customers and coworkers alike. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-mystery-at-sag-bridge monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8be74f0d-3767-4062-8593-f53a22cd3eb5/51QhxFY5gFL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Mystery at Sag Bridge - The Mystery at Sag Bridge. Patricia Camalliere. Amika Press, April 4, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 328 pages. Reviewed by Lisa Lickel. Using a true setting and voices from the past, debut author Patricia Camalliere’s ghost story mixes up sleuthing, a love affair with history, family ties, and some scary activity as an over-protective poltergeist demands justice. Camalliere’s careful attention to detail and ability to glean historical facts to weave into her imaginative story helps readers live in two worlds. The author adds to the narrative using newspaper articles, diary entries, and letters “written” in the past, as well as modern technology. The story opens with newly retired and relocated Cora Tozzi on a walk through the woods, a scene filled with hair-raising creepiness, an essence of things to come, and the meaning behind future events that will cause an “aha” moment. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-free-unsullied-land monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c13b8320-82d0-4c2d-8eab-469fd653360d/41GLWpz9k%2BL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Free, Unsullied Land - A Free, Unsullied Land. Maggie Kast. Fomite Press: Burlington, Vermont, November 1, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 354 pages. Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti. Author Maggie Kast has chosen an interesting time period (1927–1934) and a fifteen-year-old lead character in A Free, Unsullied Land. As Janet Maslin said in her review of The Book Thief in The New York Times, this novel, “ . . . is perched on the cusp between grown-up and young-adult fiction.” Similarly, this coming of age novel covers Henriette Greenberg’s final passage to adulthood and her attempt at developing into an independent woman. Historical fiction is a broad category, from books narrowly focused on a single event to those that cover a broader swath of time. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-fifth-floor monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e823fd2c-742f-489b-9fb9-7c125e269735/31kSsArw6uL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Fifth Floor - The Fifth Floor. Julie Oleszek. Mockingbird Publishing, March 1, 2015, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and Kindle, 300 pages. Reviewed by Julie S. Halpern. Julie Oleszekʼs exceptional first novel, The Fifth Floor, blends 1970s Midwestern nostalgia with harrowing, unexpected tragedy in an intensely readable, lightning-paced debut. With unerring attention to every detail, from the texture and taste from now-extinct candy bars to long-ago pop songs to the race to spear the few precious hotdog pieces embedded among the family’s baked bean dinner, Oleszek draws us into Anna’s world with surprising immediacy. Anna is the second youngest of ten children in a working-class suburban Chicago family. Her hard-working parents show little outward warmth to their large, energetic brood. Fortunately, Anna’s siblings are loving and close, particularly Anna’s next oldest sister, Liz, who is her constant companion and confidant. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-paladins-odyssey monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/72c96945-a0cd-4b09-bbba-c65f26f6ff75/51faltVEfHL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Paladin's Odyssey - Paladin's Odyssey. Bruce Fottler. Amazon Digital Services, Inc., October 27, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 227 pages. Reviewed by T. L. Needham. Paladin's Odyssey is a post-pandemic-apocalyptic tale that opens in August 2059 with a confession by Joseph E. Paladin, former major in the United States Army, retired colonel in the Maine Republic Militia, and one of the founders of the New American Confederation. Paladin reveals in opening his memoir that his true identity is Walter Johnson. Walter Johnson is one of the very few to survive a global flu pandemic that takes the lives of millions around the world. What remains is a world we have all imagined, and dreaded, a desperate and primitive new world where survival has become the only imperative and vicious predators create a climate of fear. It is a dark, dangerous, and seemingly hopeless new world. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-angelhood monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d8a4f606-399e-4aa3-9390-14e428b06c98/519mCl4uZOL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Angelhood - Angelhood. A.J. Cattapan. Vinspire Publishing, South Carolina, April 12, 2015. Trade Paperback, Kindle, and Audible Audiobook, 200 pages. Reviewed by Elizabeth Melvin. Angelhood is the tale of seventeen-year-old Nanette, who ended her own life and now must learn to navigate her old high school as a disembodied guardian angel. With the aid of other guardians, she learns to help her charge, Vera, avoid the darkness of her own suicide plans. While on her mission, Nanette is confronted with the pain of Cecille, the sister she left behind. Cecille is coping with the divorce of her parents as her mother battles cancer. Wrought with the heavy concepts of teen angst and the crucible of life’s complications, Angelhood could have been an uncomfortable read yet Cattapan keeps the story palatable by infusing the text with characters who emanate hope. There is a standard light versus dark battle based on Christian fundamentals. Yet, the work is not preachy; it is more an exploration of grace. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-to-some-women-i-have-known monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e11d61ce-1dc8-4de3-8cac-bcaa16fce72c/414uVGmoTJL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: To Some Women I Have Known - To Some Women I Have Known. Re'Lynn Hansen. White Pine Press, The Marie Alexander Poetry Series, March 24, 2015, Trade Paperback, 120 pages. Reviewed by Sue Roupp. This is an interesting book composed of prose poems interspersed with narrative text. It is a memoir describing women the author has known and that addresses universal themes: death, leaving those you love, the author’s relationship with her grandmother, and descriptions of other ordinary details of everyday life. The author uses ornithology as a metaphor for change. In “Woman in a Coma Had Taken Drug” the author says, “I thought of myself as a town and country sort of gal on the lam.” She takes us on her life journey, going off with her friend June to Guatemala, rather than attending college where she imagined she would discuss “Keats and poetic symmetry.” This is the author’s life journey, and she takes the reader along with her in this book. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-out-of-the-dragons-mouth monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ce5fa639-a1a8-4c25-b2d4-c705562563aa/318%2BatMsRXL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Out of the Dragon’s Mouth - Out of the Dragon’s Mouth. Joyce Burns Zeiss, Flux Publishing, March 8, 2015. Paperback and E-book editions. 240 pages. Reviewed by Marie Becker. Out of the Dragon’s Mouth begins with the powerful image of fourteen-year-old Mai huddled in the crowded hold of a fishing boat, covered in darkness “like a burial shroud” as the boat edges past Vietnam into international waters. Soon Mai and her nineteen-year-old Uncle Hiep arrive at a refugee camp on an island off the coast of Malaysia, where they must wait in limbo for the Red Cross to arrange for them to travel to join other relatives in America. Out of the Dragon’s Mouth is an ambitious and often impassioned novel; Joyce Burns Zeiss’s deep commitment to sympathetically conveying an important and often overlooked story is clear. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-old-heart monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4c342223-beef-4917-bb5f-3a7a5404b5e3/41FfV%2BwS8ZL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Old Heart - Old Heart. Peter Ferry. Unbridled Books, June 9, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 256 pages. Reviewed by Ed Marohn. Old Heart, Peter Ferry’s second novel, is plotted around the character of Tom Johnson and his efforts to reconnect with an old Dutch sweetheart, Sarah. Tom had a brief love affair with Sarah while serving in the U.S. Army in the last year of World War II. The lovers had an argument and were unwilling to resolve their differences; when the war ended, Tom returned to the States alone. Now Tom is 85, a widower, and a father from his years spent in an unhappy marriage to an American girl after the war. Tom, who realizes that Sarah was his real love, decides that he needs to find her before he dies. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-bone-box monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/dfc15b25-70b5-4988-836e-abc994105d25/51kbXvLlvwL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Bone Box - Bone Box. Jay Amberg. Amika Press, March 13, 2015, Paperback and Kindle editions, 247 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. Bone Box by Jay Amberg is a fast paced thriller reminiscent of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. The story centers on the discovery of possible religious artifacts that, if legitimate, could threaten the foundation of early Christianity. A team of archeologists, headed up by beautiful French-Turkish archeologist Sophia Altay, uncovers an ossuary, a stone box that first century Jews used to rebury their dead. The discovery takes on added importance when the inscription on the box leads them to believe it may hold the remains of Jesus of Nazareth. Sophia is concerned that when word gets out, people will try to stop the authentication of the remains for any number of reasons. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-vermilion monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b5d9c341-cf74-4891-8e69-390915cf3792/Vermilion%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Vermilion - Vermilion. Z.L. Melton. Chicago: The Godhead Publishing, June 15, 2015, Trade Paperback, 166 pages. Reviewed by Ray Paul. Vermilion, by Z.L. Melton, is the story of Hollander, a young Midwestern farm boy coming of age in a tenant farmer's home with his parents and three sisters. The dynamics of the family, his father's demands, his mother's Christian spirituality, and his sister's purity are the factor's that drive his daily existence. However, the mysterious drifter who takes root in one of the outbuildings and the tall, quiet man who owns the land he and his father work, both bring him a vision of a different life than the one he lives, and presents challenges he must understand and overcome. As a reader, I ended my journey feeling Hollander fully capable of succeeding in his. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-pale-horse monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/4a892fac-0280-478a-8971-547c490cffc7/51EF5phbJiL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Pale Horse - Pale Horse. James H. Roby III. Published by James Roby, Sept. 3, 2012, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 282 pages. Reviewed by Sue Merrell. Pale Horse, the third book in James Roby’s Urban Knights series, is a fast-paced, high-stakes adventure that reads like a movie. Although I did not read the first two books, I can tell that Roby’s hero, Jordan Noble, does not mess around with small time crooks and second-rate solutions. A former Special Ops officer in the Air Force, Noble has returned to his home town of Detroit to run Urban Knights Security with his military buddy, Eric, and two other buds: street-smart Malcolm and computer guru Don. But Uncle Sam can’t let Noble out of his sight for long. Navy Intelligence recruits Jordan to help track down an Iraqi arms dealer who is unaware he is a walking Ebola time bomb. Saif Al-Matwalli, the arms dealer, is staying with family in the Detroit area, and the intelligence community is counting on Noble’s connections to find him before the disease he is carrying sets off an epidemic. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-london-from-my-windows monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fd9ec56a-ebb6-4463-a6a3-aa63162376fc/51BkMPSaSvL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: London from My Windows - London from My Windows. Mary Carter. Kensington Books, July 28, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 352 pages. Reviewed by Lisa J. Lickel. Ava Wilder is the daughter of a British ex-pat and slightly disengaged mother. Traumatized as a child by her father’s death, she develops agoraphobia, a debilitating fear of crowded or enclosed public spaces. Twenty years of therapy and coddling have allowed her to live on her own, maintain a career as a sketch artist, and a relationship with a boyfriend, but she has little other contact with the outside world. When her father’s only sibling, an actor named Bev, passes away and leaves Ava her London home, Ava forces herself to move beyond therapy and medication to find try to find out what exactly strained her relationship with her mother and her late aunt. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-broken-grace monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/648235d2-bf07-4193-871f-ae65b7df0ddf/41TWDFNGIRL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Broken Grace - Broken Grace. E.C. Diskin. Seattle: Thomas & Mercer, August 25, 2015, Trade Paperback, 308 pages. Reviewed by Renee James. A Mystery That Grabs You and Won't Let Go Broken Grace opens with a spate of sheer terror as Grace Abbott flees from an ominous, unseen pursuer, nearly dies in a car crash, and wakes up in a hospital with no idea who she is. All this occurs in the first three pages, and the tension never relents in this five-star page turner from E.C. Diskin. Diskin's debut novel, The Green Line, gave readers an insider look at corporate law and a thrilling tour of Chicago's shadowy western suburbs, along with a cracking good mystery built around a smart, vulnerable heroine. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-break-shot monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/453507d4-12ab-4df0-9a09-f21859b40269/51RD312XGTL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Break Shot - Break Shot. Darren Musial. Amazon Digital Services, Inc., April 20, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 181 pages. Reviewed by David Laipple. The next time you’re in the mood for a murder mystery, read Break Shot, and get to know a Chicago hero who carries an iPhone but takes care of business like a rough-and-tumble hero should. Max Deacon is a former Special Forces captain whose occupational skills transfer in civilian life to a position in a Chicago pool hall. He is part bartender, baby-sitter, and enforcer and he accepts whatever challenge comes his way with some backup from his friend and fellow Iraq veteran, Moose Delevan. Max knows he has a few flaws, but he wouldn’t consider one of them his sense of justice and willingness to act on it. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-man-is-a-disaster-air-conditioning-is-divine monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5c8249d1-dc53-492d-95f1-e3bfccb91b73/41TWnqnMQ5L._SX306_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Man Is a Disaster, Air Conditioning Is Divine - Man Is a Disaster, Air Conditioning Is Divine. Mitchel Karbin. Black Rose Writing September 4, 2014, Kindle and Trade Paperback, 276 pages. Reviewed by R. H. King, Jr. A man is being treated at a hospital for the criminally insane. He thinks that he is an immortal – the creator of God and the devil – and has named himself “Purevil.” He professes all-powerful, unbounded by concepts of good or evil, and capable of the most heinous acts without fear or regret. Purevil brutally kills a fellow patient and escapes, seeking revenge on Charles Winters, whom Purevil hates, and his wife Cleva, who previously had an affair with Purevil but then jilted him. To exact his revenge, Purevil kidnaps the couple’s fourteen-year-old daughter Chloe. A private detective, Sam, is retained to find Chloe. With the help of his longtime secretary/paramour, Sam sorts through the clues and soon discovers that the Winters are far from an ordinary family, and that Purevil is no ordinary madman. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-how-to-escape-an-arranged-marriage-in-high-heels monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/84f12ca2-d235-4295-9130-2870a3865eaa/51RjeiZUqcL._SX311_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: How to Escape an Arranged Marriage in High Heels - How to Escape an Arranged Marriage in High Heels. Tanima Kazi. T. Kactus Publishing, May 11, 2015, Paperback and Kindle editions, 333 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. How to Escape an Arranged Marriage in High Heels, the debut novel of Tanima Kazi, tells the story of Maya Khan, a 26 year-old Indian woman living in a Chicago suburb and dreading her impending arranged marriage. On the day of her wedding, while her parents stand at the front door awaiting the future bride, she shimmies down the back of her house from her second story bedroom in her sequined wedding sari. With the help of her best friend, Angie, Maya escapes only to come to the realization that she has no job or means of support (she had dropped out of college to work as a receptionist for her father), no place to live, and no boyfriend. Unfortunately, the worst is yet to come. Not wanting to give too much away and spoil any of the hilarious moments, suffice it to say she steps into and out of misadventure after misadventure, from working as a hostess in a hookah lounge to impersonating an intern in order to work at the Tribune. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-groovy-kind-of-love monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/582a53e5-cb82-4bd9-bcd5-7dd437c8bf0e/51vQ5tSdLpL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Groovy Kind of Love - A Groovy Kind of Love. Karen Wojcik Berner. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, December 10, 2014, Trade Paperback and E-Book, 316 pages. Reviewed by Julie S. Halpern. A Groovy Kind of Love is the third and last book of Karen Wojcik Bernerʼs Bibliophiles trilogy. This unlikely love story focuses on two free-spirited book- obsessed Naperville residents and their unconventional-yet-compelling relationship. Thaddeus Mumblegarden IV is a fiftyish computer programmer and Anglophile. Raised in Naperville by his ambitious baseball coach dad, Thaddeus III, and long-suffering mom, Maureen, he was a prodigious athlete driven so hard to excel that he suffered physical injuries and abandoned playing. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-theres-a-hamster-in-the-dashboard-a-life-in-pets monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/bf88430b-dcfd-45de-be23-ea6eea7fca12/41xtQ%2B3sPPL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: There’s a Hamster in the Dashboard – A Life in Pets - There’s a Hamster in the Dashboard – A Life in Pets. David W. Berner. Dream of Things, April 23, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 138 pages. Reviewed by Gerry Souter. Reading David’s book is akin to putting on a pair of old comfortable house slippers, scuffing out to the patio with a tasty beverage in hand, and slouching into a comfy chair to take up a conversation with an old friend. The tweedle and chirp of the birds is cut short as my frowsy 19-year-old cat, Hemingway strolls up to my chair and puts his head in my dangling hand for an ear fluff. David and I are both animal people. I‘ve had a cat sharing the house since I was nine years old. He’s a dog person, but his taste also runs to exotica as hinted at by his book’s title, “There’s a Hamster in the Dashboard.” He has a droll sense of whimsy that never reaches the sappy, kissy-kissy, and fawning oozing from many animal writers. He lets his critters be critters. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-chicago-bound monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-dating-down monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/dcb36735-41a7-4d1a-a22d-f673e7b1ba16/41thd29a0kL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Dating Down - Dating Down. Stefanie Lyons. Flux, April 8, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 312 pages. Reviewed by Deanna Frances. Dating Down by Stefanie Lyons is a young adult realistic fiction novel written in a prose style that takes the point of view of an upper-middle-class Chicago teenager named Samantha Henderson. Dating Down is Lyon’s first novel and tells the story of Samantha’s relationship with an “unnamed college guy” called “X”. The novel begins with Samantha’s first encounters with “X” at a local coffee shop where he works. The first few chapters also provide background information on Samantha, her friends, and family. The reader learns early that Samantha is known as an average high school “good girl” living in the middle of a political world while her father runs for public office. In the chaos of the election, taking care of her younger half-sister, and dealing with the death of her mother, Samantha turns to “X” as an adventurous escape from responsibility. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-hellfire-damnation-iii monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d1a3f6a9-1c91-4277-adc0-3ad2b436b8c2/51X3iqzwr3L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Hellfire & Damnation III - Hellfire & Damnation III. Connie Corcoran Wilson. Amazon Digital Services, Inc., Trade Paperback and Kindle, 131 pages. Reviewed by Jessica Cage. Hellfire & Damnation III is a collection of short stories that take the reader through nine scenarios reflecting the nine circles of hell. Each story is set in a different time and place with different characters and backgrounds. These stories offer more than just entertainment; they offer a glimpse into the human psyche. In just a few pages, you come closer to understanding what drives people to do the things that will ultimately lead to their demise. Each stage of hell is represented: Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Avarice (one of my favorites), Wrath, the Violent, the Fraudulent, and, finally, Treachery. Each one is represented well in stories that play out like short films. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-square-affair monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5d96ae99-2519-4459-93e2-800797daa4b6/Square%2BAffair%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Square Affair - Square Affair. Timmothy J. Holt. Christine F. Anderson Publishing & Media, January 14, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 244 pages. Reviewed by Sue Roupp. Square Affair is a gripping story of a group of five closeted gay men, some married, finding each other in the small Illinois town of Dewers, “the heart of Lincoln land . . .” It is 1969 and they have been meeting on weekends and sometimes in the basement level courthouse men’s room for their sexual encounters. Now they have been arrested and are on trial. The book introduces us to two women, Clara May and Frieda, who narrate the story. Then we are introduced to each of those involved in this situation and those individuals speak in their own voices in successive chapters. Together, these characters show us the conservative, insular character of Dewers, including the town square where people mingle and gossip. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-what-you-didnt-learn-in-sunday-school monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ba72d8d3-2729-499f-8c64-8c4a0939eeca/51GDcRBJ7OL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: What You Didn’t Learn in Sunday School - What You Didn’t Learn in Sunday School: Women Who Didn’t Shut up and Sit Down. Shawna R. B. Atteberry. Wipf & Stock Publishers, February 6, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 102 pages. Reviewed by Marcie Hill. This pint-sized book is packed with information about women in the Bible who stepped out of their “women roles” to protect or influence their families, homes, communities, and even their countries, using their voices, their courage, and their positions of authority. While a couple of the women included are familiar to readers of the Bible, most are relatively unknown historical figures, like Daughters of Zelophehad and the Prophetess Huldah. This is not because their actions were not relevant. The two most likely reasons for the readers' ignorance of these women are: 1) Women’s subservient roles in society, and 2) Men wrote the Bible. In Biblical days, women were supposed to be “submissive and under the authority of men in all aspects of life.” This possibly contributed to their lack of a more prominent presence. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-lori monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8f27b198-87f8-4f45-ab32-f65a145a52c3/41TwyCL%2BmwL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Lori - Lori. Charlene Wexler. Polgarus Studio and CreateSpace Independent Publishing, August 14, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 342 pages. Reviewed by Ray Paul. Lori, the story of Lori Weinberg Brill, is presented to the reader over a period of thirty years as she deals with her alcoholic husband, tries to understand her feelings of emotional abandonment by her mother, and is forced to deal with the death of her daughter from cancer. In addition, her reformed Jewish family background conflicts with the orthodox Jewish upbringing of her mother-in-law, resulting in a hatred that goes both ways. Lori is not friendless. Adele, her sister-in-law, is a true friend and constant understanding companion throughout Lori's many ups and downs. Her other friend, Rain, appears later in her life when Lori moves to Arizona. The fascinating thing about the storyline is that these apparently random connections are all tied to Lori's—and her family's—past, a past the author does not divulge until the very end of the story. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-pernicious-intent monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0f3267d7-9436-4ce3-a877-4deec25e4c26/Pernicious%2BIntent%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Pernicious Intent - Pernicious Intent. G. R. Case. Cool Blue Books, March 24, 2015. Trade Paperback and Kindle, 368 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. G. R. Case’s novel Pernicious Intent is both a buddy story that is reminiscent of Lethal Weapon and a non-stop thriller. The story introduces DEA Agents Carlos Perez and Reese Tyler, who are members of the Drug Reaction Tactical Force or DRTF, an undercover unit that targets the illegal drug trade in Miami. In order to blend in, the members of the unit are supplied with, amongst other things, the hottest and fastest cars. The fast car thing keeps with the tradition of the buddy story genre, where a car is barely driven off the lot before it is thrust into a high-speed chase, often culminating in the need for a replacement vehicle. The action begins when Carlos and Reese attempt to secure an informant, Ricky, who may have information on a recent drug heist. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-cementville monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f713649b-f13f-49a5-ade6-818483ffca88/51JLW2lkzJL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Cementville - Cementville. Paulette Livers. Counterpoint Press, Berkley, CA, March 11, 2014. Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and Kindle, 304 pages. Reviewed by Terrell Isselhard. “Seven local boys, gone all at once in one horrific night. Boys whose parents thought they were safe, having signed on with the National Guard to protect the homeland. Not to be shipped out to some faraway place we never heard of.” Paulette Livers debut novel, Cementville, opens with the return of seven young men killed in Vietnam. The town gathers to celebrate the return of one hero and mourn the arrival of the seven dead. Livers’ novel offers a unique and sensitive look at the toll war takes on the people at home. America’s wars are often fought abroad and mourned at home, and as our nation continues to fight overseas, Livers’ novel offers important and moving insights into how war can echo in the homes of people who are not necessarily doing the fighting. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-family-secrets-secrets-and-second-chances monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/42102b6e-8d7f-44ab-ba85-2b6deaa97bb5/51L-8Im7ssL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Family Secrets (Secrets and Second Chances) - Family Secrets (Secrets and Second Chances). Donna M. Zadunajsky. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, December 22, 2014, Trade Paperback, Kindle, and Audible, 466 pages. Reviewed by Gail Galvan. Is it ever too late to change, to try to right the things that have gone terribly wrong? That is one of the questions that Family Secrets: Secrets and Second Chances attempts to answer. The main character, Alexis, hits devastating roadblocks in her complicated life. Not only does she face an unimaginable fight against breast cancer, but also her heart aches when she realizes that she was never the mother her son, Colton, needed and deserved. Alexis works long hours at her dream job—she is an astronaut at NASA—and her consuming desire to be a part of the next space shuttle launch team has always interfered with her ability to be an attentive mother to Colton and a good wife to her husband, Jay. When Jay commits suicide, Colton blames his mother and they grow even further apart. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-mabel-gray-and-the-wizard-who-swallowed-the-sun monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/380a634e-38fe-49a3-92ad-d7b8da62bee5/51TnU7o5LtL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Mabel Gray and the Wizard Who Swallowed the Sun - Mabel Gray and the Wizard Who Swallowed the Sun. Clayton Smith. Dapper Press, March 23, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 232 Pages. Reviewed by Vicky Edwards. Mabel Gray is a spunky, unflappable, compelling adolescent girl with a desire to forego a life of anonymity in an orphanage by becoming “A Person of High Station.” If she becomes a “Person of High Station,” can becoming “A Lady of High Station” be far from reach? Not if author Clayton Smith has anything to do with it. Mabel Gray and the Wizard Who Swallowed the Sun is an imaginative romp around a fantastical world of wizards, talking statues, skeletons, a Grandfather Tree, and various other nonhuman creatures with very human abilities to help or to frustrate our heroine. Mabel’s mission is to find the three keys that can unlock The Boneyard Compendium, a book of powerful spells stolen by a wizard. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-awakening monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9682b2f3-ddf3-47a8-873a-159841442ea3/41uKwT-T1HL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Awakening - The Awakening. Lisa M. Lilly. CreateSpace, November 23, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 374 pages. Reviewed by Serena Wadhwa. The Awakening, by Lisa M. Lilly, begins with what appears to be a typical female college student discovering that she is pregnant. Only Tara Spencer is anything but typical. While Tara is a strong, independent, ambitious, and likeable young woman, she is also a virgin. The author shares this tidbit of information in the first few pages of the book, which provides only a taste of the juicy events the reader will discover. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-regarding-anna monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5f61e97e-cb72-4fa5-b0ef-98b429a84653/514VC-o%2BGbL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Regarding Anna - Regarding Anna. Florence Osmund, Published by Florence Osmund, February 21, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 272 pages. Reviewed by Sue Merrell. Most of us have wondered at one time or another whether the folks we called Mom and Dad were our “real” parents. Such is the quest of 23-year-old Grace Lindroth, the first person narrator of Florence Osmund’s fourth novel, Regarding Anna. An only child, Grace was orphaned at age 17 when her parents were overcome by carbon monoxide in their home. After their deaths, Grace finds some photos and a newspaper clipping in the attic that lead her to believe her real mother was Anna Thalia Vargas, who was murdered when Grace was a baby. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-caelimane-operation monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/be90ce48-d817-450d-8fd0-18916cc3a2a8/TheCaelOp%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Caelimane Operation - The Caelimane Operation. Chris Pavesic. Musa Publishing, January 16, 2015, E-Book, 108 pages. Reviewed by Christine Collins Cacciatore. Although science fiction/fantasy is not my normal cup of tea, I was intrigued at the thought of reading something outside my normal fare of romance, paranormal, and non-fiction and agreed to give it a whirl. The Caelimane Operation is one of several stories in The Darkside Codex, which is a collection of stories by authors who all wrote about the same world. I have not read any of the other books in this series but I might now, just to see how other authors handled it. One thing I found enjoyable reading this book is the way the author is so matter-of-fact about the steampunk details built into her story, like, “of course my horse is made of metal and some people live in the sky.” I also was happy that she seemed very knowledgeable and comfortable about the world in which she was writing. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-mind-trap monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0b63c56d-91de-4c07-90d5-74a22a3ac745/51FuX-aRHZL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Mind Trap - The Mind Trap. Padmaja Khanna. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, July 20, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 296 pages. Reviewed by Deanna Francis. The Mind Trap by Padmaja Khanna is a young-adult adventure and science fiction novel that takes place primarily in the dreams of 17-year-old Jack Treole. The Mind Trap is the second installment of Khanna’s The Dream Hiker trilogy, and it follows the story of Jack Treole and his new friends, Selenia and Eddie, as they meet in real life and continue their dream discoveries. The novel begins with the three friends meeting each other for the first time, in real life, at a science summer camp in Chicago. In Khanna’s first novel, The Dream Hiker, the three students meet on a collaboration website that is set up by Jack’s teacher at school. The students discover that they can join together within their dreams, and they begin their own adventures in the dream “thought world.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-feud monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e1c7ce29-1f89-461e-b17c-444759926479/51wTdluoSiL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Feud - The Feud. Frank Heiberger. CreateSpace, November 11, 2014, Kindle and Trade Paperback, 362 pages. Reviewed by R. H. King, Jr. India Hills, a struggling female author, is reduced to writing vanity press family histories to make ends meet. She averts financial ruin, at least in the short run, when she is commissioned to write the history of the Duvall-Richards family, the most prominent clan in a small Missouri town. Upon arriving in the town, however, India’s research for the book plunges her into confrontations with ghosts and hellhounds, and thrusts her into the middle of a century-old feud between the Duvall-Richards family and a coven of witches (wiccans). India struggles for her life against the supernatural forces aligned against her, while trying to solve the mystery of who is responsible for the serial beheadings of some of the current day wiccans. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-machines-of-easy-virtue monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/480ef81d-f363-4f28-844a-3d5cfba9a0b4/Machines%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Machines of Easy Virtue - Machines of Easy Virtue. Jack Price. Amazon Digital Services, October 2012, Kindle Edition, 120 pages. Reviewed by Paige Doepke. Machines of Easy Virtue by Jack Price explores the familiar but futuristic city of Chicago in the year 2058. Well-known street names are made new and exciting by very life-like robots that roam free as police officers, butlers, lovers and more. Red Bourbon, private investigator and protagonist, is struggling to make ends meet when he gets a profitable but peculiar assignment following the murder of a high profile patriarch by his robot butler. The concept and execution of the novel is fresh and original. It is reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984 in its satire. Price describes ultramodern versions of technology we have in our world today, making the story incredibly realistic despite its strong science-fiction plot. The robots themselves are so interesting because advanced versions look and react exactly as humans do, so they are easily mistaken for human beings. It creates an interesting kind of competition between humans and technology. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-release monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/810df96b-7a9a-4558-8ace-58dcb548ccc4/Release%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Release - Release. Hope Russell Nunki. Noon Key Productions LLC, November 15, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 354 pages. Reviewed by Sarah Sadik. The novel Release, by Hope Russell Nunki, covers many subjects such as loss, love, and the ability to rise again. It tells various stories about subjects that are relevant today: coming out of the closet, dealing with a failing economic system, and suffering from depression. The novel has the ability to be relatable and tells a story that one will enjoy. Every character develops and goes through a struggle in some way, whether it be bringing up a past memory or trying to deal with the regret that goes with it. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-enjoy-me monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c3ba2629-3b71-4018-bdc3-5b9ff8071332/51N1I8phL5L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Enjoy Me - Enjoy Me. Logan Ryan Smith. Transmission Press, January 14, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 236 pages. Reviewed by David Laipple. Enjoy Me is a collection of thirteen short stories skilled writer Logan Ryan Smith crafts from what is broadly called speculative poetry or speculative fiction. The writer himself describes his work as unclassifiable. Set in modern day San Francisco, dark versions of a fantasy urban jungle inspire the stories offered. Logan Ryan Smith’s protagonist, Luke, guides us through all thirteen stories. Luke is struggling through a lot of personal issues at the edge of his imagination while using any available mind-altering substance. The combination either transforms people around him into insects, psychopaths, and zombies, or the insects, psychopaths, and zombies have transformed Luke. Luke acts out compulsively, occasionally for better, but more frequently for far worse. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-isle-of-beasts monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fda26cd6-1463-4d46-9bc8-bfbd38bd8cc8/41vkZPuGREL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Isle of Beasts - Isle of Beasts. Angela Hobbs. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,October 3, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 258 pages. Reviewed by Ed Sarna. Isle of Beasts, Angela Hobbs’ debut novel of paradise gone bad, is a suspenseful and thought-provoking thriller that hooked me from the first page and kept me reading long into the night. It tells the story of a cursed island, Ankira, cut off from the rest of the world, whose children are forced to pay for the sins of their parents. Twenty years from the moment of their birth, the children of Ankira go through a metamorphosis, turning into savage beasts before their families’ eyes. To protect those living on the island, they are caged and exiled to the place where the trouble began, never to be seen again. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-ponzi-scheme monthly 0.5 2021-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/41f3ee85-582d-45ee-8495-47a92555b151/51Q01yw%2BAdL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Ponzi Scheme - The Ponzi Scheme. Howard B. Prossnitz. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, October 20, 2014, Paperback and Kindle edition, 404 pages. Reviewed by Marie Becker. The Ponzi Scheme is an ambitious novel, with a large cast of characters, a complicated international plot, and several distinct and impressively detailed settings. Prossnitz, a litigation attorney with experience in representing real life Ponzi scheme victims, has a clear passion for the subject, and for making the financial and legal logistics clear and dramatic for readers. Before the first chapter he provides the reader with a character list, a map of relevant sites in Chicago, and a brief history of the term “Ponzi scheme,” including the startling fact that between 2008 and 2013 a Ponzi scheme was uncovered by investigators every four days on average. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-road-from-money-a-journey-to-find-why monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d998f04e-c5f0-4d76-9547-55995085f22a/410Y8Xl%2BhIL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Road from Money: A Journey To Find Why? - The Road from Money: A Journey To Find Why? Sylvester Boyd Jr. Outskirts Press, March 26, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 208 pages. Reviewed by Opal Freeman. The Road from Money: A Journey To Find Why? is a book of inspiration, encouragement, and education. Sylvester Boyd's excellent novel sketches the life of a young Negro girl in the 1920s as she comes to grips with the realities of life in the deep South. We are introduced to the main character, Estella Reynolds, when she is an eight-year-old girl, born and raised in Money, Mississippi. She is a happy girl, smart and observant, always asking "why." As she becomes aware of the challenges she faces in Mississippi—brutality, poverty, racism, segregation, and working in the fields—she becomes aware that there is a better life away from the deep South. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-downriver-horseshoe monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5b777b2f-507e-45c8-9c7b-f48ea6def179/41l5hT0zNAL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Downriver Horseshoe - The Downriver Horseshoe. Scott Miles. Stolen Time Publishing, 2014, Paperback and Kindle edition, 205 pages. Reviewed by Heather Adair. In his collection of short stories, The Downriver Horseshoe, Scott Miles offers a fresh take on blue-collar life through a cast of offbeat, male protagonists. Most stories take place in Downriver Detroit, an industrial area on the south side of the city, and although Miles provides rich details specific to the location, it’s likely that you’ll find yourself imagining a setting near you. Solid writing connects us to places and characters that, on the surface, seem peculiar, yet fitting. So pull on a pair of work boots and step into a world where characters live day-to-day, leaving their fate to fickle Lady Luck. At times, the characters struggle to make ends meet, but the theme that binds this collection of short stories together centers on relationships. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-guns-of-outlaws-weapons-of-the-american-bad-man monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/bb6059db-08bd-4c30-a1c6-909e605d6b45/51gr9zk3dqL._SX332_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Guns of Outlaws: Weapons of the American Bad Man - Guns of Outlaws: Weapons of the American Bad Man. Gerry and Janet Souter. Zenith Press, China, November 15, 2014. Hardcover, 263 pages. Reviewed by Ed Marohn. If you love history of outlaws then, you will enjoy reading Guns of Outlaws: Weapons of the American Bad Man. It is full of researched anecdotes by authors Gerry and Janet Souter that illustrate how weapons empowered the villains of the Old West to the mob in Chicago and how lawmen countered these deadly criminals. Before the Youngers and Jesse and Frank James came into their elevated status as outlaws, the book starts with the villains, such as Joseph Thompson Hare and The Horrible Harpes. The book proceeds rapidly bad guy by bad guy to the Johnson County War and ends in the nineteenth century with Wyatt Earp. Then it jumps into crimes of the twentieth century, where you will discover new facts about many outlaws, including Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-what-solomon-saw-and-other-stories monthly 0.5 2021-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/925eb69b-4837-4b64-b9f6-d3013047d8f6/51BRxlHZCWL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: What Solomon Saw and Other Stories - What Solomon Saw and Other Stories. Mary Dean Cason. InkWit, December 5, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 246 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. Mary Dean Cason’s stories about growing up in the South are like Ray Bradbury’s re-creations of his boyhood in Illinois. Both writers can detail a place so vividly that you wish your own childhood mirrored the ones they describe. Cason’s Southern setting has the added benefit of showcasing characters whose sly wit takes you by surprise, along with a descriptive vocabulary that Bradbury’s Midwesterners could never imagine. In What Solomon Saw, for example, eleven-year-old Martha Johnston recounts her older brother Lester’s abrupt infatuation with Libby, an insulting neighborhood girl whose new breasts suddenly outweigh her otherwise irritating personality. Martha describes the way Lester is rendered stupid by Libby’s budding bosom by quipping, “I could have carved better backbone out of a bar of soap.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-dead-letter-addressee-unknown monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ca974895-c7d9-46d9-9d78-e06b931d04e3/51NwmM1w3aL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Dead Letter: Addressee Unknown - Dead Letter: Addressee Unknown. Janet Feduska Cole. Pegasus Books, April 21, 2014, Trade Paperback and E-Book, 210 pages. Reviewed by Sue Merrell. When you are knee-deep in a Chicago winter and need an escape, a book with exotic locations, quirky characters, and high-risk adventure could be just what you’re looking for. The second book in Janet Feduska Cole’s philatelic mystery series, Dead Letter: Addressee Unknown, offers all three. Dead Letter takes the reader on a river cruise through Germany and Austria with a cast of secret Interpol agents. The heroine and narrator, Elyse, is accompanied by her friend Saul, a slightly nerdy petro glyph expert, and her magazine editor, Auturo, whose heavy Polish accent cloaks every exchange with humor and mystery. In addition, her mysterious college friend, Karl, and his voluptuous bride, Mindy, are never far away. Elyse refers to them as the Slarls—a combination of “slutwoman” and Karl—and they’re the perfect comic nemeses, bungling yet vaguely threatening. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-box-of-rain monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e543f48a-3bf3-4c84-bf7b-1de78449051b/Box%2Bof%2BRain%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Box of Rain - Box of Rain. Debra Borys. New Libri Press, Mercer Island, WA, December 15, 2014, E-book and Trade Paperback, 192 pages. Reviewed by Starza Thompson. A good murder mystery will take readers on a number of twists and turns, enabling them to ask questions, contemplate solutions, and find satisfying resolutions. Box of Rain by Debra Borys captures the fundamentals of a good murder mystery, all while weaving information about Chicago’s troubled youth into the story. This novel is a thrilling page-turner that delves into issues about family, gangs, homelessness, and trust. Shorty Davis and Booker T. Brooks grew up together. Even though they both aged out of the foster system, they often visited Mrs. C, their favorite guardian. Mrs. C opened her house to everyone who needed a place to stay, regardless of who they were or what kind of hard times they came upon. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-shes-not-herself monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f7ba997b-1945-4c88-b8a8-5beb4907183f/51z536WNynL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: She’s Not Herself - She’s Not Herself. Linda Appleman Shapiro. Dream of Things, September 2, 2014, Trade Paperback, 268 pages. Reviewed by Serena Wadhwa. In She’s Not Herself, Linda Appleman Shapiro tells the firsthand experience of growing up with a family member who struggled with a mental health issue. Shapiro, as a young child, tells the tale of what it was like growing up with a mother who wasn’t “herself” on many days, as the plaguing grip of her depression took hold and permeated much of Shapiro’s childhood. What started out as a book meant to fill a gap for clients—Shapiro is a mental health professional—ended up being more a healing process for herself. She realized that, as a child of a mother with a mental health issue, she had a story to tell. Dealing with family secrets is one of the many obstacles to health most are familiar with, whether through personal experience, what we hear from friends or colleagues, or on a professional level. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-father-of-route-66-the-story-of-cy-avery monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/441805ca-c3f6-4fce-9d2a-26024240807c/41Ussa3WNwL._SX346_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Father of Route 66: The Story of Cy Avery - Father of Route 66: The Story of Cy Avery. Susan Croce Kelly. University of Oklahoma Press, September 2, 2014, Hardcover and Kindle, 288 pages. Reviewed by Greg Borzo. After reading the well-written Father of Route 66, it’s hard to believe that no one had previously written a biography of the influential and significant figure of Cy Avery. Automobile and highway buffs, as well as anyone interested in U.S. history, especially during the first three decades of the 20th century, will be glad that Susan Croce Kelly has corrected this oversight – and done so comprehensively and compellingly. Building roads and bridges, drilling for oil, developing real estate, farming and running for office, the remarkable Avery was active on several fronts during an interesting period in the development of the United States. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-principles-of-navigation monthly 0.5 2021-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0619df61-d41f-408c-9f27-203222491140/41syd99tigL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Principles of Navigation - Principles of Navigation. Lynn Sloan. Fomite, Burlington, VT, February 15, 2015, Trade Paperback, 290 pages. Reviewed by Terrell Isselhard. “Avoid clichés, Journalism 101. But sayings were repeated because they were true. Then they became clichés,” thinks Alice, a small town journalist, in the opening chapter of Lynn Sloan’s debut novel, Principles of Navigation. Sloan does not avoid clichés. Instead, she approaches them with a wise self-consciousness and asks her reader to do the same. In doing so, she’s created a unique novel that challenges readers to think more broadly about what a family is and what it means to love. Alice, who is trying to have a baby, reports for a local newspaper in rural Illinois where her husband, Rolly, is an artist and professor at a small liberal arts college. Rolly’s ambivalence about parenthood forces the couple to reexamine their marriage. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-two-years-of-heaven monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/eb73f123-3363-4eb0-8293-c2244de01b0f/Front%2BCover%2BHigh%2BRes.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Two Years of Heaven - Two Years of Heaven (Stories of Rekindled Happiness). JoAnn Fastoff. Chicago, IL, Fall 2014, Hardcover, 48 pages. Photographs by the author. Reviewed by Lisa J. Lickel. Fastoff asks the question: What if you could re-live the best two years of your life? This lovingly and beautifully photographed short book contains several stories from people of all walks of life who share what, to them, were two of the best years of their lives. The author collected these stories and interspersed them with quotes and photographs of places both domestic and international. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-guide-to-writing-the-mystery-novel monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/18fd51f7-a737-442b-abb6-f30b2d9209b9/51z2xGIiZDL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_+%281%29.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel - Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel. Barbara Gregorich. Chicago, IL: Philbar Books, October 1, 2014, Trade Paperback, 230 pages. Reviewed by Cronin Detzz. This “how-to” book is intended for mystery/detective writers, but much of the advice crosses genres. The book covers murder-mystery specific insights into planting clues, setting the scene of the crime, and where to place focus when it comes to motive, means, and opportunity. Better than that, the book also covers cross-genre topics like point of view, pacing, and dialogue tips. A detailed chapter is devoted to proper naming of characters. Writers are cautioned against common pitfalls like naming characters with similar names, for example. Other topics helpful for any writer include motivation of major characters, developing subplots, and outlining. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-lives-of-things monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1632068104527-DLL6AG3G8I0KYQB2CWZT/Lives%2Bof%2BThings%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Lives of Things - The Lives of Things. Stephanie Wilson Medlock. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, October 8, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 378 pages. Reviewed by Sue Roupp. The Lives of Things is a captivating story that follows 34-year-old Rebecca Katz as she works at Atherton’s auction house in New York City. With two doctorate degrees under her belt, Rebecca is well-known for authenticating difficult pieces and has risen quickly in the organization. At the age of six, the creator of her Madame Alexander doll began to talk to her. Now, her secret life is quite different because from every piece of art, artifact, or sculpture she hears the voice from the soul of the creator. Her office at Atherton’s is white, with a Lucite desk, glass chairs, no artwork, only an Apple computer on her desk. This austere office provides the quiet she needs to do her work with no artifact voice to distract her. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-urban-removal-westside-chicago monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0ae4ceba-b9d7-411e-a1d0-f7963a6ebdf0/61a6FsmrB7L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Urban Removal: Westside Chicago - Urban Removal: Westside Chicago. John Robert Bland. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, January 19, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 216 pages. Reviewed by Opal Freeman. Urban Removal: Westside Chicago is an excellent play written about the facts and figures of Westside Chicago. Using a historical platform, John Robert Bland creatively connects the elements of Chicago’s history, people, events, music, and education into an engaging and fun experience. The succession of each scene in the play captures the reader’s attention and embraces the views and values of long-time residents as they share individual life experiences of the neighborhood and surrounding communities. Bland’s five characters are a unique blend of people who respect and admire each other a great deal. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-nobodys-child monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/509709b1-3e8b-4112-a761-a6f625f9f57a/5150ZPLX15L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Nobody’s Child - Nobody’s Child. Libby Fischer Hellmann. The Red Herrings Press, Chicago, August 15, 2014, Trade Paperback, Kindle, and Nook, 350 pages. Reviewed by Roxe Anne Peacock. Nobody’s Child is the fourth book in the crime thriller featuring Georgia Davis, an independent Chicago PI and former cop who packs a baby Glock and lives in Glencoe, Illinois, an affluent suburb on Chicago’s North Shore. Reggie Field, owner of Designer Discount Den in Evanston, gets ripped off by a flash mob of kids wearing oversized jackets, baggie pants, and backpacks. He spots his new sales girl being cornered by a few of the punks, causing his blood pressure to rise and a boldness he didn’t know he had. He makes his way to the girl but not before being attacked himself. The last thing he hears as he slumps to the floor is her scream. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-citizen-surgeon monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f138c53e-39cc-41b7-b690-c038c25c021d/Citizen%2BSurgeon%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Citizen-Surgeon - Citizen – Surgeon. Paul Bryan Roach. Free download on iBooks, September 20, 2014, 280 pages. Reviewed by Gerry Souter. “Perhaps, I wondered, if guilt might represent ambition’s brake? And now that our deployment was completing and such ambitions were ramping down, perhaps that was what I was feeling. Not something bad, just painful. Like a hangover. It was a general feeling looking for any specific expression it could find. The guilt may have been slowing me down, but it was heating everything else up in the process, creating a rug-burn on my soul.” The above sentiments, written by Paul Bryan Roach, appear near the conclusion of his memoir of time served “in country” as a U.S. military battlefield surgeon. Though his combat zone was a helicopter flight from the shooting war in Afghanistan, his fight was no less gritty; as the combat soldier depends on his squad in the heat of a firefight, Roach depended upon his surgical team. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-sun-gods-heir monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/59284aa3-862a-4151-b0bb-f7d26784a869/Sun%2BGod%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Sun God’s Heir - The Sun God’s Heir. Elliott Baker. Musa Publishing, July 23, 2014, Kindle Edition, 269 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. Set in seventeenth century France, The Sun God’s Heir is the first book in a trilogy about Rene Gilbert, the son of a prosperous merchant who is almost supernaturally talented with a sword. Rene has trained with a master who taught him techniques of extraordinary spatial awareness along with the ability to harness his own emotions. The nineteen-year-old hopes never to use the killing skills he has learned. But this is not to be. After the brutal Victor Gaspard kills his best friend, Martin, in a duel, Rene takes up his sword and cuts the murderer to ribbons. But he does not actually kill him, and the Gaspard family vows revenge on Rene and his family. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-influencing-hemingway monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/99ba8540-c60d-45e6-9c75-7df8e1420043/41AL6YanRML._SX312_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Influencing Hemingway - Influencing Hemingway. Nancy W. Sindelar. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, May 8, 2014, Hardcover and Kindle editions, 212 pages. Reviewed by Vicky Edwards. When Nancy W. Sindelar taught literature at Oak Park and River Forest High School, she researched alumni Ernest Hemingway’s days there as a way of helping her students to feel connected with the man and his stories. She studied his yearbooks, his high school writing, and interviewed some former teachers, in addition to having access to the extensive library of The Ernest Hemingway Museum of Oak Park. The result of her fascination with Papa Hemingway’s early life is Influencing Hemingway: People and Places That Shaped His Life and Work, a highly readable investigation into what factors may have inspired the genius of one America’s most important literary figures. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-men-who-made-the-yankees monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2bde36a4-a301-4ec7-bc1a-6ed9f9ec0e5a/518hlRtoXdL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Men Who Made the Yankees - The Men Who Made the Yankees: The Odyssey of the World’s Greatest Baseball Team from Baltimore to the Bronx. W. Nikola-Lisa. Gyroscope Books: Chicago, July 2, 2014, Paperback and Kindle, 144 pages. Reviewed by Ed Marohn. The Men Who Made the Yankees takes the reader through the history of the National and American Leagues and the men who laid the basis for professional baseball today. As the American League developed so did the New York Yankees. If you are a baseball fan, you will enjoy the book with its detailed and solidly researched story of team owners, key players, and the political and financial pressures that the leagues endured from the late 1800s to 1923, the year the Yankees won their first world championship title. If you aren’t a baseball fan, you will still enjoy the book. You will learn about the handful of powerful club owners and how players such as Babe Ruth, Carl Mays, and John Baker influenced the leagues and shaped baseball into the sport it is today. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-carpe-diem-illinois monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/552314db-3967-48f8-86ca-f56647b7b54f/51dHtXZfDcL._SX325_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Carpe Diem, Illinois - Carpe Diem, Illinois. Kristin A. Oakley. Mineral Point: Little Creek, April 1, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 284 pages. Reviewed by Paige Doepke. Carpe Diem, Illinois explores familial relationships, teenage angst, the modern-day educational system, and journalistic integrity all in a concise and compelling story. It follows Tali Shaw and Leo Townsend, who are totally unrelated characters, except for the fact that they are both entering the town of Carpe Diem, Illinois for the first time in the same week. Tali is brought there when her mother, Alexandra, is in a near-fatal car accident and must recuperate at the Carpe Diem hospital. Leo is a struggling journalist who hopes to give his career a second wind by covering the town, which exclusively homeschools, or “unschools”, its children. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-solace-in-so-many-words monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6319311f-0be1-4a11-81ee-b14188bcbf5e/41B8KZzbm4L._SY291_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_QL40_ML2_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Solace in So Many Words - Solace in So Many Words. Edited by Ellen Wade Beals. Weighed Words, LLC, Glenview, IL, 2011, Trade Paperback, 216 pages. Reviewed by Cronin Detzz. Solace in So Many Words is an eclectic, crisp, and well-edited compilation of essays and poems. The book is arranged alphabetically by author’s last name. In the introduction, the editor reminds the reader about tragedies America has endured during the past decade, from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina. Spurned by empathy, the editor wrote to the Chicago newspapers. She never heard back. Undeterred, she took out an ad in Poets & Writers and this collection was born. Solace brings to mind comfort and peace in troubled times, but this collection spans more than this singular theme. Some of the works in the book don’t seem to relate directly to solace, so it takes a little imagination to connect the dots. This was a bit confusing to me. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-loves-perfect-surrender monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a5e2032d-625f-4867-a8d5-c55c2ca8c2cb/51rB4baHD%2BL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Love's Perfect Surrender - Love’s Perfect Surrender. Chiara Talluto. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, April 25, 2014. Trade Paperback and e-book, 292 pages. Reviewed by Jessica Cage. Be prepared for a tearjerker. Love's Perfect Surrender is the debut novel from Chiara Talluto. An outdoorsy, stay-at-home mother and philanthropist, Talluto brings forth a tale of a woman who is facing the crossroads of her life. Antoinette’s story is one that many women can relate to. Having struggled with her inability to bear a child, she is now faced with a husband who is ready to throw in the towel. However, Antoinette isn’t the type to give up easily, no matter how others may view their relationship. At a moment when she is sure they will fall apart, she turns to her faith in God to help her through. With the guidance of their pastor, Antoinette and her husband, Vito, attempt to patch the holes in their marriage. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-escape-from-assisted-living monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6bc655b0-f56b-4a4a-ae60-39049ede926c/51334%2BrMxlL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Escape from Assisted Living - Escape from Assisted Living. Joyce Hicks. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, March 23, 2014, Trade Paperback and e-book, 236 pages. Reviewed by Renee James. Escape from Assisted Living is a charming, whimsical title that promises to be a somehow lighthearted and entertaining journey into the world of elderly living. Author Joyce Hicks delivers on that promise in ways that surprise and delight. Betty is an elderly widow from Elkhart, Indiana who has always gone along to get along, first with her devoted husband Chuck, and then with her devoted but smothering daughter Sharon. Sharon lives in fear of disorder and feels responsible for her mother's health and safety. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-reason-for-being monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fd61fe6e-f182-4360-9f68-72bab82bef1b/61L3QxvieOL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Reason for Being - Reasons for Being. Mallory Raven-Ellen Backstrom. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, February 15, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 442 pages. Reviewed by Sierra Kay. Reason for Being by Mallory Raven-Ellen Backstrom is a novel about a woman, Phoenix Porter, who is living a partial life, fighting the effects of a brutal past. Each event has cleaved deeper and deeper and separated her from the essence of her being called “Spirit.” Together Spirit and Phoenix tell the tale through dreams and life situations—recounting what led to Phoenix’s current state, its impact on her life, and how she manages to become whole once again. Phoenix works at a coffee shop with her best friend, Marley, and lives with her other friend, Sabine. She struggles with her life’s direction and purpose. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-rooms-are-filled monthly 0.5 2021-12-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/414ced21-9e91-43b4-9072-4a67a044ceb4/512Wk4nKozL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Rooms Are Filled - The Rooms are Filled: A Novel. Jessica Vealitzek. She Writes Press, April 22, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 236 Pages. Reviewed by Vicky Edwards. The Rooms Are Filled, a new novel set in the 1980s by Jessica Null Vealitzek, sees beyond nostalgia of the time to remind us that the era was not immune to feelings of powerlessness and alienation. Homosexuality was sometimes feared and often mocked, grief therapy was rare, and bullying might be seen as boys just being boys. Whether you were the new kid in school, a child in a dysfunctional family, or an adult struggling with his or her sexual orientation, there were plenty of clubs that didn’t want you as a member. The story begins in 1983, as a Minnesota family is devastated by the loss of the Anne’s husband and young Michael’s father. They can’t keep the family farm, and unhappily move to a suburb of Chicago, where Anne’s brother can make a new life financially possible. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-my-song-memoir-of-an-er-physician monthly 0.5 2021-12-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a82191f0-ba4f-4d72-93e1-6e016800d241/My%2BSong%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: My Song: Memoir of an ER Physician - My Song: Memoir of an ER Physician. Craig Dean, MD. Lulu Publishing Services, May 7, 2014. Trade Paperback, 427 pages. Reviewed by Serena Wadhwa. In My Song: Memoir of an ER Physician, Craig Dean tells 100 stories from his ER experience that have meaning to him. Many people operate under the assumption that ER physicians do not have feelings, and Dean attempts to counter that notion with some insight about both the internal and external world of one ER physician. As a Chicago native, Dean received his medical training in Illinois and served as the director of the ER at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, IL for 30 years. He initiated the largest hospital-based health and fitness facilities in the nation, is an avid supporter of health and wellness, and is and avid runner. He wrote a regular column both national and locally and was a host/producer of a TV series. Dean wrote two fiction books, one for children and one for the general reader. My Song is Dean’s first attempt at a memoir. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-love-story monthly 0.5 2021-12-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7bf44253-43bd-41cc-9a17-93c635ac97eb/51SKWKj%2BBqL._SX371_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Love Story - The Love Story. Stenetta Anthony. Tate Publishing/Children’s Division, May 6, 2014, Trade Paperback, 24 pages. Reviewed by Sue Roupp. This is a sweet Christian children’s book about how Jesus equals love. Through illustrations and brief dialogue designed for children 3-to-7 years old, the book tells the story of God deciding to send his Son Jesus to “show my people on Earth how much I love them.” Jesus agrees to go to Earth, arriving as an infant in Bethlehem. He grows up and some call him King, others call him pure love sent from heaven. He carries his message of love all over the world, healing the sick and helping everyone he touches. God then decides to tell his Son he needs to show people how much he loves people on the Earth. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-why-a-courtroom-drama-of-self-discovery monthly 0.5 2021-12-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c4bcc81b-183a-4e8c-b91f-1a451a3fb497/51DhOpDPQVL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Why? A Courtroom Drama of Self-Discovery - Why? A Courtroom Drama of Self-Discovery. R.H. King, Jr. Winnetka, IL: Walden Road Publishing, May 27, 2014, Trade Paperback and E-book, 318 pages. Reviewed by Mary-Megan Kalvig. At a time when horrific crimes happen every day, you can’t help but wonder why these things happen. R.H. King, Jr. uses his background as a lawyer to take you into the fictional courtroom to figure out why one person, who has no history of violence, would suddenly pull a gun on his classroom and kill multiple students. Dan Jackson, a visiting professor at Dartmouth College, opens his briefcase in order to deliver midterm exams when he discovers two handguns. In an almost out-of-body experience, he takes out the guns and fires, killing fifteen students and injuring five others. While he knows what has just happened, he doesn’t know why it happened. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-new-black-a-neo-noir-anthology monthly 0.5 2021-12-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a657adea-692e-4199-85b5-f8ab643046fd/51%2BKUh6GvVL._SX365_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The New Black: A Neo-Noir Anthology - The New Black: A Neo-Noir Anthology. Richard Thomas, ed. Dark House Press, May 13, 2014, Paperback and e-book, 344 pages. Reviewed by Marie Becker. Like the proverbial little black dress, noir, or “neo-noir,” seems to go with everything. It’s a genre, it’s an aesthetic, and it’s a know-it-when-you-see-it creeping sensation at the back of your neck. The New Black: A Neo-Noir Anthology, a twenty-story anthology edited by Richard Thomas, contains stories from across the genre boundaries, veering from horror and crime to magical realism, science fiction, and the grotesque. This flexible approach may make it hard to boil the book down to a pithy description, but it also allows for a collection of well-written and thought-provoking stories. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-pants-on-fire-a-collection-of-lies monthly 0.5 2021-12-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/70ee0a46-c509-41a9-b0ee-0d21a9dfff63/51G9a9VtN7L.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Pants on Fire: A Collection of Lies - Pants on Fire: A Collection of Lies. Clayton Smith. Dapper Press, January 1, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle Edition, 155 pages. Reviewed by Heather Adair. As the title promises, Clayton Smith’s book of short stories centers on lies: lies that others tell us as well as ones that we tell ourselves. Judging from his inscription to me on the title page, Smith is sending his readers a message: be careful whom you trust. And, borrowing a phrase from the author, beware, dear reader, as Mr. Smith pulls a playful fast one on you too. If you’re looking for a quick, fun read, Pants on Fire: A Collection of Lies is a great choice. Although I took my time with this 155-page book, you could read it easily in an afternoon. Smith keeps the reader’s interest by offering unique twists on topics such as death, fate, and religion. If you like science fiction, satire, and fantasy, this book is for you. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-khaki-killer monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5abae567-4431-4bbc-abae-6fadaa422c86/51-fX0bL%2BHL._SY346_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Khaki=Killer - Khaki=Killer. Connie Corcoran Wilson. Book 3 in The Color of Evil Series. Quad City Press: Moline, Illinois, 2013. Paperback and Kindle editions. 235 pages. Reviewed by Caryl Barnes. Khaki=Killer is the third and most recent book in this excellent paranormal thriller series for young adults. The three books focus on Tad McGreevy, an Iowa high school student, and his friends and enemies. The characters are exceptionally well drawn. I received copies of all three books from the author in order to write this review and read them with enjoyment, interest, and a jumpy stomach at some of the suspenseful parts. Although I am 75, decades older than the intended audience, I recommend the books for adults, too. The rollercoaster plot lines will grab everyone who likes thrillers. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-no-turning-back-stories monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/da280e20-f841-433e-8380-f944204b3894/No-Turning-Back-Cover-Final-4---Large-Subtitle-2-small.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: No Turning Back - Stories - No Turning Back: Stories. Dan Burns. Chicago Arts Press, Chicago, IL, April 2014. Hardcover and E-book, 280 pages. Reviewed by Starza Thompson. No Turning Back is a collection of short stories that meets the characters of each story at a pivotal place in their lives and then plays out those life-defining moments in spellbinding and unpredictable ways. Dan Burns takes his characters to the brink of the unknown and then pushes them over the edge so that they literally cannot turn back. What results are stories that make the reader question his/her own life and the many life-changing moments that have shaped who the reader is as a person. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-transition-to-murder monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6e544427-24ef-4c6f-90d9-10906786b447/41PoiWr4xlL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Transition to Murder - Transition to Murder. Renee James. Riverdale/Magnus Books, March 4, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 334 pages. Originally published as Coming Out Can be Murder by Windy City Publishers (June 2012). Reviewed by Julie S. Halpern. Renee James’s provocative murder mystery is a classic page turner with an unusual twist. Set against the backdrop of contemporary Chicago, replete with frigid winters so beautifully and evocatively drawn, those not intimately familiar with our weather might actually find romance in James’s description of our town’s frozen and windy lakefront. Sadly for James’s irresistible heroine Bobbi Logan, the harsh weather is the least of the brutality she is forced to cope with. A popular Chicago hairdresser, with a group of supportive friends, including a saintly ex-wife, and an endlessly understanding boss, she is a thirty-eight year-old, six-foot tall male transitioning to female. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-menghedi-two-women-two-journeys-one-hope-for-freedom monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7684d94d-a5e9-4c59-9ba4-b73952710050/41I0prY%2BemL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Menghedi: Two Women. Two Journeys. One Hope for Freedom. - Menghedi. Semhar Gebre. Halpin Publishing, February 26, 2014, Trade Paperback, 234 pages. Reviewed by Dipika Mukherjee. Menghedi means “Journey” and Gebre’s book traces the journey of two very different women: Ma’arinet is an American girl, having been brought up by Eritrean immigrants to Chicago; Timneet’s story takes place amidst the brutality of a civil war for Eritrean freedom from Ethiopia. Gebre does a good job of shining a spotlight on Eritrea, an area of the world that is rarely covered by the international news media. There is some fine fiction written in English highlighting the Ethiopian revolution (Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and Beneath the Lion's Gaze come to mind), but the Eritrean struggle for freedom is still largely unknown, especially as Eritrean independence was achieved as recently as in 1991. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-imperfect-things-artwork-2010-2013 monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d35d1eb9-6cd2-4c7f-a89d-4a7a163156e9/61lynoHSOaL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Imperfect Things: Artwork 2010 - 2013 - Imperfect Things: Artwork 2010 – 2013. Tiffany Gholar. Blurb and Amazon Digital Services, Inc., 2014, Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and Kindle, 60 pages. Reviewed by Marcie Hill. It was an honor to review Imperfect Things: Artwork 2010 - 2013 by Tiffany Gholar. In addition to being able to relate to her experience of trying to find a balance between earning a living while living her dreams, I felt that she was speaking to me and encouraging me to persist, despite the challenges I’m encountering on my journey to being a recognized and paid writer. Named after one of her pieces of artwork that symbolizes “a temporary thing,” Imperfect Things is a visual and emotional journal of Tiffany’s journey to being accepted—and paid—as a gifted visual artist. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-30-day monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/87fa74b1-ac5f-4dae-9799-f0084fff895a/41ye4VHGM-L._SX310_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: 30 Days - 30 Days. G.R. Case. Cool Blue Books, April 14, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 398 pages. Reviewed by Ray Paul. Without question, 30 Days is one of the most compelling novels I have read in recent years. This plot-driven suspense novel is so intricately woven I did not suspect its conclusion until the very last page. The focus character, Marcus Freling, is a Manhattan postal worker who is fixated on avenging his young niece’s drive-by shooting death by a callous gangster. When the police can’t pin the crime on Troy, the drug dealer, Marcus devises and carries out his own elaborate plan to kidnap, torture, and eventually murder Troy and Troy’s own young daughter. For this reader, the story was a rough ride emotionally as I accompanied Marcus on his vengeful journey, but the characters are so well drawn I never questioned the validity of his purpose. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-real-courage-the-story-of-harper-lee monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/410218e7-261c-425e-a441-67df8b8ca812/Infinite%2BPassge%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Real Courage: The Story of Harper Lee - Real Courage: The Story of Harper Lee. Katherine Don. Morgan Reynolds, Greensboro, N.C., 2013, Hardcover, 128 pages. Reviewed by Greg Borzo. Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, once said, “The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think.” This describes both To Kill a Mockingbird and Real Courage: The Story of Harper Lee. Real Courage, a clear, concise biography of the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, describes Lee in direct, straightforward terms and explains how this remarkable book came to be. One of the best features of Real Courage is the way it places Lee in context. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-great-news-town monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/144371f9-e68a-4b0c-9e31-37f166522a57/517tSCnvW-L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Great News Town - Great News Town. Sue Merrill. Lulu.com Publishing, December 17, 2012, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 314 pages. Reviewed by Christine Collins Cacciatore. If you’re looking for a gripping story—something you won’t want to put down—then I highly suggest you pick up a copy of Great News Town, written by the very talented and imaginative Sue Merrell, who worked for the Joliet Herald News some time ago as an assistant city editor. As someone from the Joliet area, I found this well-written novel particularly enthralling because I was a junior in high school when the actual gruesome murders described in the book took place, and I do remember reading about this in the newspaper. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-beyond-the-red-mountainsthe-lives-of-things-efb6t monthly 0.5 2021-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/98d21322-3843-4ab0-bf63-84fb3a2c8b1f/51qPjRG-7HL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Beyond the Red Mountains - Beyond the Red Mountains. Gregory A. Johnson. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, March 29, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 512 pages. Reviewed by Deanna Frances. Beyond the Red Mountains by Gregory A. Johnson is a fictional fantasy adventure novel that follows the lives of two different protagonists that eventually meet and blend their stories into a captivating tale of adventure, friendship, and love. The novel begins by telling the story of a young man named Kelvin Drake, whose father’s political superiority in the city of Triopolis seems to always overshadow every part of Kelvin’s life. While working for his father in the town hall, Kelvin finds an old journal that unleashes his curiosity of the “Dark Ages” of the past; a time where sorcery and war wiped away every other civilization in existence, as far as the citizens of Triopolis know. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-cry-through-the-pen monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b7b8aae4-02d7-4af9-b41d-54458152d9fa/41MTZ3UuriL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Cry Through The Pen - Cry Through The Pen, by Fidel M. Love. Published by Fidel M. Love, United States of America, May 24, 2012, Trade Paperback and e-book, 222 pages. Reviewed by Cronin Detzz. Fidel M. Love’s Cry Through The Pen is a gritty, poignant collection of realism prose where “Despite these fears / I cry ink / And write with tears.” The first poem, “Little Black Boy Blues,” sets the tone as Love describes a youth struggling through other peoples’ judgments while his girlfriend is newly pregnant. He is afraid to be alone, and the whole world is expecting him to fail. Love switches places in “Mother 2 Be,” where he writes of a newly-pregnant teenager who yearns to be a good mother, despite the terrible parents she had herself. He writes from the female perspective again in “One Woman to Raise a Family.” Love’s author profile states that he is from the south side of Chicago, as am I, so I find it easy to relate to him. Some people are born into privileged families, while others – as many from the south side – don’t have similar opportunities; life dares them to face tough issues. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-meriah-goes-to-church monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/02da8af0-d3b6-4754-84a5-d84dc67e67dc/51B2qlsg9-L._SX384_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Meriah Goes to Church - Meriah Goes to Church. Sonja Michelle Crocket. Self-published, 2012, Paperback, 40 pages. Reviewed by Sarah Sadik. Meriah Goes to Church revolves around a young girl who goes to church with her family. Being a child, she misbehaves and is unfamiliar with the happenings at church: the songs, the choir behavior, and the offering plate. While in church, Meriah comes across a young girl, Tenshi, who is paralyzed. She witnesses everyone praying for her to walk again so Meriah joins in and prays every night. The reader finds out quickly that God finally gave Tenshi the power to walk. I found this book a little troubling on many levels while reading it. Usually children’s books are informational or try to teach children about how to behave. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-dear-mr-knightley monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/32455720-51fd-4b72-aab3-4b0da7254de8/51wOOuSCBEL._SX329_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Dear Mr. Knightley - Dear Mr. Knightley. Katherine Reay. Thomas Nelson Publishers, November 5, 2013. Trade Paperback, Library Binding, and e-book, 336 pages. Reviewed byMarie Becker. The hipness of Austenmania remains indefatigable almost twenty years after Colin Firth redefined Mr. Darcy on the BBC. But perhaps nothing illustrates Austenmania so much as the growing number of texts that question whether there can be too much of a good thing. Shannon Hale’s Austenland, the ITV mini-series Lost in Austen, and even Bridget Jones herself have been part of a dialogue about when Austenphilia becomes an obsession. Dear Mr. Knightley initially invokes the same question—at what point does taking refuge and solace in books inhibit us from venturing outside the comforts of the covers to take on real life? However, despite the Austen-centric title and the plethora of quotes within, the real literary ancestor of this book is Jean Webster’s 1912 epistolary novel, Daddy-Long-Legs. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-commit-to-get-fit monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/b02374fa-5ce9-421f-868c-eb55b26baa27/511DZW9MaZL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Commit to Get Fit - Commit to Get Fit. Laura Dion-Jones. Original Cosmo Girl Press, January 10, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 284 pages. Reviewed by Sierra Kay. Commit to Get Fit by Laura Dion-Jones is an honest, frank and in-your-face assessment of her weight loss journey, providing a road map for the reader to follow. She begins with accounts of people’s perceptions of her—because of her weight—and how those perceptions influenced her decision to change. The book details a thirty-five day health and wellness program designed to break old bad habits and replace them with personal responsibility. It emphasizes the individual’s role in taking control, and in building a lifestyle that focuses on a healthy diet and consistent exercise. It was inspiring to read of Dion-Jones’s struggle with an injury that sidelined her, and how determined she was to find the right answers. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-painting-with-fire monthly 0.5 2021-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5473ec98-af57-4bf8-afba-c0fa9568eca7/51OD3HUNtjL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Painting with Fire - Painting with Fire. K.B. Jensen. Crimson Cloud Media LLC, 2013, Paperback and Kindle, 201 pages. Reviewed byMary-Megan Kalvig. Painting with Fire is the debut novel of K.B. Jensen. Besides being an author, she is also a journalist, reporting mainly about crime in the Chicago suburbs, an experience that most likely helped Jensen write this novel about a woman seeking the truth about a crime. The novel starts out with a murder and its grisly discovery. Claudia, the woman who discovered the body buried in the snow outside her apartment building, becomes obsessed with figuring out who did it after months of no news. Since she is currently unemployed, she has plenty of time to dwell on the murder and to start suspecting her neighbors, including her roommate Tom. It doesn’t help matters that Tom is a secretive man with a criminal record, but, with a friendship on the line, Claudia doesn’t know what to think of her roommate. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-apocalypticon monthly 0.5 2021-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/188fc511-4f97-471f-997c-b2a903bf48b4/51dRmQwfKYL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Apocalypticon - Apocalypticon. Clayton Smith. Dapper Press, January 19, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle e-book, 338 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. Clayton Smith has written a wacky novel about the end of the world. Imagine Cormac McCarthy’s The Road mixed with the Three Stooges. In tone, the novel is a graphic novel without the graphics. People are killed on virtually every page, with exceedingly detailed splats and thumps, but we are not allowed to mourn for them, because in this fast-paced buddy epic, new threats, attacks, and even killer zombies are just around the corner. Smith begins his novel in the smoking remains of Chicago, three years after “monkey bombs” have decimated 99 percent of the inhabitants of the United States. Ben and Patrick, two friends from St. Louis who have been holed up in a high-rise apartment on Lake Shore Drive since the end of life as they knew it, decide to take a last road trip, which they acknowledge is probably a suicide mission. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-annabelle-and-the-sandhog monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8f283300-fa57-46ea-8c97-f7e270de0341/4149tD-VCSL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Annabelle and the Sandhog - Annabelle and the Sandhog. Ray Paul. Amazon Digital Services, December 7, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 196 pages. Reviewed by Janet Cole. Annabelle and the Sandhog by Ray Paul is a touching exploration of family relationships as seen through the eyes of three generations. The author approaches his subject matter and the well-described characters with great gentleness. Reading Annabelle and the Sandhog instilled in me the tranquil feeling that accompanies rafting down a placid river. My head is thrown back to enjoy the azure sky decorated with cotton puffs and the accompanying sounds of nature. And so, I floated through this tale. Life in the early part of the 20th century was not easy, especially for a young, unskilled lad fleeing from his home. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-bend-me-shape-me monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a9789f2d-e454-401d-a744-4d15cf2faf13/519sMvrTxaL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Bend Me Shape Me - Bend Me Shape Me. Debra Borys. New Libri, Mercer Island, WA, July 2013. E-book and Trade Paperback. 219 pages. Reviewed by Starza Thompson. Bend Me Shape Me takes a deep and fascinating look into the world of teen homelessness in Chicago. Through the eyes of Snow Ramirez, Jo Sullivan, and Leonard Goldenhawk, author Debra Borys shepherds the audience on a terrifying journey of homelessness, mental illness, family problems, and murder. Snow was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, but after a couple strange visits with the psychiatrist, Levinson, Snow convinced herself that she was better off far away from psychiatrists. After her squat mate killed himself, Snow began to realize that she was not the only one to have strange visits with Levinson—in Snow's eyes, there was something much more sinister going on in Levinson’s sessions. Unfortunately, it was very hard for people at the shelter and other doctors to believe her when she mentioned that something was wrong with Levinson, especially given her mental state. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-swords-of-the-sultan monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0153e2d8-1b1d-4b34-8986-21dd54c4a77d/51W17ICCGwL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Swords of the Sultan - The Swords of the Sultan. J. Eric Booker. Booker Enterprises Publishing Co., January 31, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 378 pages. Reviewed by Dan Burns. I must admit that when I first agreed to read The Swords of the Sultan by J. Eric Booker, I was a bit apprehensive, maybe even uncomfortable. I read my last fantasy novel a long time ago and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Then I thought about my predicament and realized that is what reading, and living, is all about—forcing yourself to go outside of your comfort zone and experience something new. Well, I forged ahead and read the book and I’m glad I did. The Swords of the Sultan is the first of three books in The Elysian Dynasty series. The first book tells the story of a young orphan named Baltor, who is plucked from the streets and adopted by a “Guild of Thieves.” The Guild provides him the opportunity to develop and pursue a challenging and yet promising future—one that he might never have imagined. Upon completing his extensive, required training, he sets off on a mission that takes him to ancient and fantastical lands where he crosses paths with a diverse and interesting group of characters—both friend and foe. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-growing-up-to-be-happy monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fa6be86e-ee4d-4f6f-a186-6074588e9a7c/51s1CJ5%2BQgL._SY344_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Growing Up To Be . . . Happy! - Growing Up To Be . . . Happy! Toneal Jackson. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, February 4, 2014, Trade Paperback, 60 pages. Reviewed by Sharon P. Lynn. When Toneal Jackson’s latest children’s book, Growing Up To Be . . . Happy!, arrived in the mail, the first thing I did was ask my favorite 11-year-old to read it. Her assessment: “I liked it, especially the part about bullying.” This quick read for middle schoolers is about more than bullying, but that is one of the topics, along with depression and happiness, that Jackson covers. Parents or older siblings could also read it to younger children. The author begins with, “When I was little, my mom would say, ’I wonder what you’ll be when you grow up someday,’” and the poem ends with, “Just make sure that whatever you choose, it makes you happy!” In loose rhymes, the author introduces a variety of career paths and life choices that youngsters can take, as well as the obstacles they might face. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-one-less-elvis-other-stories monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0d305030-b68e-483d-b485-48a04f956bc9/41kIFoq0HHL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: One Less Elvis (& Other Stories) - One Less Elvis (& Other Stories). Kent McDaniel. Amazon Digital Services, Inc., December 20, 2013, Kindle E-Book, 64 pages. Reviewed by David Laipple. Chicago author Kent McDaniel shows us how to have fun with short stories, starting with a novelette, who-done-it murder mystery. The title story, One Less Elvis, is a story about Elvis impersonators prodding a reluctant police detective to find the murderer of one of their own. Kent McDaniel’s hero sleuth—retired school teacher, “white-haired geezer,” and Elvis impersonator, Brendan Culhane—weaves through the evidence and the private lives of a baker’s dozen of suspects, solving the mystery of who killed Larry “Hound Dog” Vasquez and letting the reader wonder if Elvis still drives a pick-up truck. The first of Kent’s four other stories, Or Someplace Shining, relates how the not-very Reverend McDermott creatively resolves an adolescent’s issue through practicing acceptance rather than judgment, discovering along the way that sometimes doing the right thing involves buying a quarter pound of pot. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-praying-for-rain monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/91f13a74-8905-4139-9af7-e47c6625c11d/51GE6xqaQZL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Praying For Rain - Praying For Rain. Emma Gates. Wells Street Press, February 1, 2014, Trade Paperback. Reviewed by Sarah Sadik. Emma Gates’s Praying For Rain gives a gritty insight into the lives of not only women in the Saudi Arabia culture but also men. The book gives the reader an inside view of Saudi Arabian culture from an American woman's point of view. The main character, who is a teacher (Gates adds a touch of irony here), tries to stick to the curriculum, but the girls that she teaches want to learn about various topics and talk about taboo subjects like religion. Students whom the woman teaches acquaint us with different viewpoints on Saudi culture. Finding it hard to keep to cultural norms, the teacher seeks help from fellow faculty members who are experiencing the same thing. They have all lost their sense of identity and a sense of their own culture. As the book continues, the teacher soon realizes that there is a chance to find a bit of America in Saudi Arabia, and she has the ability to find the corrupt nature within people. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-shes-out-im-in monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3d1da41e-1fd2-4363-89c2-6b75da66ea2b/51VT3gR9m4L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: She’s out. I’m in. - She's Out. I'm In. Solutions to 7 Relationship Problems. Toneal M. Jackson & Dominique Wilkins. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, December 29, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 95 pages. Reviewed by Robert Kingett. If someone were to ever get into any kind of relationship, they would undoubtedly run into a few snags here and there and quarrel a bit. There are many resources on the web that address this situation, but there's nothing definitive in its own way and in a singular binding that's also conveniently small—until now. She’s out. I’m in, despite what the title hints at, is a book that a person of any gender can learn from regarding such issues as cheating, self-esteem, money agreements, physical and emotional abuse, blended families, communication, setting boundaries, trust, and many other barriers to a healthy relationship. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-red-clover monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/35575f65-3840-4703-8d14-896049b4c9fa/51394qDjCaL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Red Clover - Red Clover. Florence Osmund. CreateSpace Independent Publishing: February 22, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 248 pages. Reviewed by Ray Paul. Lee Winekoop is the youngest member of a wealthy, suburban, Chicago family. He is consumed by how different he is from his two older brothers—Nelson and Bennett—in terms of looks, abilities, and interests. While his brothers are comfortable with the parental demands required to maintain a wealthy lifestyle, Lee is constantly in therapy to remake him into a young person comfortable with his surroundings. In the eyes of his demanding father, a son should have an interest in making money and playing and following team sports, neither of which appealed to Lee. However, by the time Lee had left home and had some university experiences under his belt, he found that his choice of study was horticulture and specifically the genetic modification of plants for medical research. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-from-gods-monster-to-the-devils-angel monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/35bc36dd-f5ee-4a7d-afe1-7fb38e3b1306/51kkxzhT7%2BL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: From God's Monster to the Devil's Angel - From God's Monster to the Devil's Angel. Luther Butler. CreateSpace: January 17, 2014, Trade Paperback and e-book, 166 pages. Reviewed by Jessica Cage. From God's Monster to the Devil's Angel is an autobiography of the life of author, Luther Butler. It maps his growth from childhood to adulthood and provides a graphic look into the life of someone who has suffered a lifetime of abuse and neglect but manages to overcome it. I have to say that this book wasn’t at all what I expected. It is shocking and touching and heartbreaking. Butler wrote this book to inspire the at-risk teens that he mentors and the story he portrays is truly inspirational. While reading this tale of hard knocks, you want to imagine that it isn’t real, that the characters were fictional because to know that such acts occur is difficult to digest. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-give-me-chocolate monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3190a939-62d1-4c93-a379-bdfeae9e4543/41A%2BGV6k0IL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Give Me Chocolate - Give Me Chocolate, A Kelly Clark Mystery. Annie Hansen. Published by Weaving Dreams, May 11, 2013, Trade Paperback and e-book, 261 pages. Reviewed by Roxe Anne Peacock. Give Me Chocolate is set in a quaint town along the Fox River in Geneva, Illinois, one hour west of Chicago. Kelly Clark has left California to start anew. She turned her husband, Steve, into the authorities after he tried killing his pregnant mistress. He had already served three years of his thirteen-year sentence when she left penniless to live with her younger sister, Nikki, above the old Victorian which housed the specialty bakery. After several emails from someone in her past and several break-ins within the last month in the historical neighborhood, Kelly wondered if her past didn’t follow her. And when someone she grows found of is found murdered at Chocolate Love, she looks for clues as to who the killer is before she becomes the next victim. As the story progresses, the suspects—as well as bodies—begin to stack up. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-death-by-children monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/66c52db8-a3b0-4310-aad5-9d007b096f2e/61ssXksBmkL._SX323_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Death by Children - Death by Children. Bull Garlington. Everything Goes Media, Chicago, October 2013, Trade paperback and e-book, 169 pages. Reviewed by Ed Marohn. “There were times I wasn’t sure my son belonged to me. I worried perhaps there’d been a mix up in maternity, like maybe one of the nurses held my actual son in her arms, his cherubic mug illuminating the entire ward, then looked at me and thought, ‘This can’t be right. Give him the trucker baby!’” The quote from Death by Children highlights author Bull Garlington’s humorous bent about his children, and he carries that humor throughout his compiled series of essays. Those who have had children and then shooed them off into the world, or who still have children at home, will find solace in these writings. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-detours monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ff621b08-ae50-4f3f-9179-a7a0dcd64240/514CCK5QsQL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Detours - Detours. Emma Gates. Wells Street Press, January 15, 2014, Trade Paperback. Reviewed by Vicky Edwards. Detours is a book that bridges the changing times, and the changing world, from the political protests at Indiana University in the early 1970s to political unrest in Kuwait in 1983, focusing on the uneasy relationship between love and politics. The story begins in 1983 with the protagonist, Clare, scanning a list of people she will see at an upcoming trade show. She sees the name of Lowell Goodenow, triggering an extended flashback to her meeting Lowell when she was an idealistic freshman co-ed and Lowell was a self-assured East Coast upperclassman. Sparks fly, both political and personal, but when Clare is involved in a political activity Lowell doesn’t support, their relationship is tested. The social unrest of the intervening years unfolds before us: civil unrest in Mexico, a bombing in Beirut, the Iranian revolution of Ayatollah Khomeini. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-spartanica monthly 0.5 2021-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/63f6d719-5963-4ffa-8cc8-b3a311736ec9/51x9B2-Gq2L._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Spartanica - Spartanica. Powers Molinar. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, November 12, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 388 pages. Reviewed by Paige Doepke. Spartanica is the first book in this young adult sci-fi series, The Survivors of Sapertys, which chronicles the accidental slip of the main characters, Marcus and Ty Mitchell, from their own earthly reality into a parallel reality on the planet of Sapertys. Each of the boys has their own strengths, physically and intellectually, that help them make sense of the strangeness that suddenly surrounds them. The brothers must use their wanderlust and excitement for the unknown to help restore some sort of rightfulness on the new planet that they come to realize as home. Author Powers Molinar’s true passion for the sci-fi genre oozes from the pages. The novel lends itself to comparison against other notable teen series—namely The Hunger Games and Harry Potter—but it really is an idea and a world all its own. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-tragedy-of-fidel-castro monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1839ca9b-65eb-4b11-aff1-b86e1e3d46dc/51EysTkgmGL._SX309_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Tragedy of Fidel Castro - The Tragedy of Fidel Castro. Joa͂o Cerqueira. Translated by Karen Bennett and Chris Mingay. Austin, TX: River Grove Books, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 168 pages. Reviewed by Caryl Barnes. The Tragedy of Fidel Castro is the antic and deeply wise story of an imminent war between Fidel Castro and JFK with God, Jesus, Fatima, J. Edgar Hoover, and unnamed powerful advisers trying to prevent it. The story is at once alternative history, magical realism, and satire. The author tackles the biggest topics there are – religion, politics, economics, history, mythology, even ecology and, at the end, astronomy. The author, born in Portugal in 1964, has a Ph.D. in art history. He has written seven books, three of them novels, the other four on different topics. The Tragedy of Fidel Castro is his most recent and well-known book and has received strongly favorable, if sometimes perplexed, reader reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-more-tomasewski monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e4f5d62b-baa3-47a7-9e38-4640d1c44196/More%2BT%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: More Tomasewski - More Tomasewski. Del Staecker. Musa Publishing, Colorado Springs, CO, January 1, 2014, Kindle e-book, 185 pages. Reviewed by Kent McDaniel. More Tomasewski is a series of stories involving Jake Thompson, a.k.a. Jan Tomasewski, and the stories are great fun. Jake is good at catching crooks and bad at respecting authority, and it’s his lack of respect that got him exiled to the despised Administrative Investigations Unit (AIU) and forced out of the Chicago Police Department. Now he subsists on a meager pension and sleeps in a storage room of a Southside greasy spoon. His fondness for Old Jimmy Jack—a mix of Old Granddad, Jim Beam, and Jack Daniels—adds to his problems. If that’s not enough, the diner’s waitress, Earline, is bent on corralling him into an unwanted relationship. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-a-life-less-lived monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a3a965c9-a1af-4435-9c90-bc1600651e85/61s8-ieGLnL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: A Life Less Lived - A Life Less Lived. Eileen Ladin-Panzer. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, Trade Paperback, May 1, 2013, 354 pages. Reviewed by Gail Galvan. In this evocative and often disturbing novel, the author tells a story about a family of Jewish emigrants escaping to the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, leaving the “ghettos of Europe” behind. The author sets the opening scene referring to the year 1945, on a hot summer day in Chicago. “Outside, on the steep porches of weathered buildings, women fanned their bodies with casual hand movements, hoping that their simple cotton housedresses would not get too sweaty, and watched neighborhood children at play.” Like the relentless Midwestern summer humidity that must be endured, the characters in the book often fail to escape the “stuffiness that lived within the walls” of their homes and lives. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-expressionista-how-to-express-your-true-self-through-and-despite-fashiont monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2a940ac9-1d2a-465a-83e4-3bf6157d087b/51sK4HEuICL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Expressionista: How to Express Your True Self Through (and Despite) Fashion - Expressionista: How to Express Your True Self Through (and Despite) Fashion. Jackie Walker and Pamela Dittmer McKuen. New York: Aladdin (Imprint of Simon & Schuster), September 3, 2013, Trade Paperback, 224 pages. Reviewed by Vicky Edwards. To write a fashion book for adolescent and teen girls at a time when we are aware of their need for reassurance and not criticism may seem at odds. After all, doesn’t the concept of giving girls advice about how to be fashionable correlate with telling them they don’t look quite right just the way they are? Not necessarily. “Expressionista” manages to bridge the divide between helping girls to develop a sense of personal style and letting them know they are just fine regardless of how they look or what they wear. If they want to emulate Taylor Swift, have at it! If they’d prefer the drama of Lady Gaga, that’s just fine too. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-52-things-kids-need-from-a-dad-what-fathers-can-do-to-make-a-lifelong-difference monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/224d71af-329d-4de0-bbc1-f13ea25ed364/517zkbCIB-L._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad: What Fathers Can Do to Make a Lifelong Difference - 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad: What Fathers Can Do to Make a Lifelong Difference. Jay Payleitner. Harvest House Publishers, March 1, 2010, Trade Paperback, 192 pages. Reviewed by Opal Freeman. 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad by Jay Payleitner is a carefully constructed book. Payleitner wrote this book with the intent of influencing the reader through elements of love, education, humor, inspiration, experience, and spirituality. The book provides positive as well as helpful insights into the world of parenthood from a father’s perspective. The author supports the value of the information provided with examples of life experiences, quotes, scriptures, and statistics. As you read the book, there is a certain level of anticipation to learn the next tip as well as the recommended practical application that will be accomplished. As an advocate for fatherhood, the author is clear on defining his words and actions and as a result embraces the advice, support, and teachings from his wife, children, colleagues, and more importantly other fathers. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-revenge-of-the-orgasm monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8298e772-ab71-4674-b31d-9acf2a19cf6f/51TbsasUu%2BL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Revenge of the Orgasm - Revenge of the Orgasm: (An Erotic Autobiography). The Greatest Poet Alive. GPA Media LLC, April 7, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 64 pages. Reviewed by Sarah Sadik. This book is filled with multiple autobiographical experiences of sexual encounters. The author relives each scenario down to its minute details, referring to skylines, taxicabs, and things simply laying around where his sexual escapades occurred. Each poem references aspects of life that we all have witnessed, whether through sex or our daily lives. He talks about retrieving power (and the importance of it), love, and agony. The poems resonate with feelings that pull at our heartstrings, yet they leave the reader feeling a little disappointed. The author’s anonymity thanks to his pseudonym, Greatest Poet Alive, implies that the women in the poems are objects at his disposal, and he has immense power in every sexual situation that he encounters. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-infinite-passage monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/410218e7-261c-425e-a441-67df8b8ca812/Infinite%2BPassge%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Infinite Passage - Infinite Passage. U. A. Hall. Amazon Digital Services, November 24, 2013, Kindle Format, 227 pages. Reviewed by Stephanie Wilson Medlock. It’s hard to imagine a less likely choice for intergalactic warriors whose mission is to save the world than four high school freshman girls from the Chicago suburbs. But in the tradition of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight, awesome powers and equally awesome responsibilities are mysteriously bestowed on the unsuspecting teens. Already uneasy about their transition to high school, Raya, Kiara, Willow, and Shari are further disconcerted when each of them begins to experience strange distortions in her perceptions and abilities, along with phone calls from unknown sources announcing that “the time has come.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-ashers-fault monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1a77459d-7a1e-42de-a193-637457bbb54f/th.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Asher's Fault - Asher’s Fault. Elizabeth Wheeler. Bold Strokes Books, Valley Falls, NY, September 17, 2013, Paperback and E-book, 264 pages. Reviewed by Marie Becker. Fourteen-year-old Asher’s family and friends don’t understand why he not only likes his vintage Minolta camera, with black and white film, better than digital photography, but refuses to photograph people. Instead, he zeroes in on a twisted pine tree or the church steeple against a backdrop of clouds. These motifs--the distance provided by a camera lens, the sharp contrast of black and white, and whether we can trust what we see--are threaded throughout the novel. The book opens on the day Asher’s aunt gives him the camera, the same day his father moves out of the family home. Not long after, Asher finds himself at the community pool, kissing the new boy in town in the locker room at the very moment his younger brother Travis is drowning outside. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-torn-in-two monthly 0.5 2021-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9b5206f5-60cd-4c2b-ae33-d01684381f59/41jhqYbrTML._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Torn in Two - Torn in Two: The Files of Tatum Soaren. Brit Sigh. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, May 7, 2012, Trade Paperback, 294 pages. Reviewed by Deanna Frances. Torn in Two by Brit Sigh is a fictional psychological suspense novel about the troubled life of young college student, Tatum Soaren. The novel begins as a flashback to the young man’s childhood, which reveals that from a young age, Tatum has been different from normal people. After witnessing the horrific death of both of his parents at a young age, Tatum is thrown into a difficult life. A little under a year after the accident, Tatum’s uncle, and primary caregiver, brings him to a psychologist named Dr. Tristyn Holmes. When Dr. Holmes diagnoses Tatum with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, she becomes fascinated with the young man and believes that his troubles expand beyond post-traumatic stress. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-too-dark-to-sleep monthly 0.5 2021-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/07cb945d-8221-4f75-b53e-87488d10ff84/41Ow3xP3gPL._SX322_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Too Dark to Sleep - Too Dark to Sleep. Dianne Gallagher. Brayer Publishing, LLC, Frankfort, IL, 2012. Paperback and e-book, 381 pages. Reviewed by Starza Thompson. Maggie Quinn was the best detective Chicago's Area One had to offer, until the tragic death of her daughter gave her deep physical and psychological scars. A crippling fear of the dark emerged after this trauma, keeping her from sleeping at night and leaving the house. Now, she merely goes through the motions of life to appeal to her dad and to stay out of the psychiatric ward. Through some favors pulled by her father, Maggie gets out of the hospital and back to Area One as a consultant. Her fear of the dark, while still an issue, is kept at bay with the knowledge that she is close to catching the man responsible for her last two unsolved cases. However, when new murders hit close to home, the reader begins to question whether or not Maggie is going after a killer or succumbing to an obsession with her daughter's death. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-who-youve-got-to-kill monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/ed4abb3f-0fda-41d5-8f06-2d5a1cdcf5d0/41XwA%2Bxv4EL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Who You’ve Got to Kill - Who You’ve Got To Kill. Russell O’ Fiaich. Published October 8, 2012, E-book, 305 pages. Reviewed by Ed Marohn. During an ambush by Iraqi insurgents, a squad of U.S. Marines fighting for their lives kill innocent civilians held hostage by the enemy. This incident sets the stage for political intrigue as the current Iraqi Prime Minister uses the event to unite the various tribal factions and avoid a civil war. The problem for the United States government officials involved is that the surviving Marines must be prosecuted for killing innocents in order to help the Prime Minister maintain his fragile coalition; they become the cost of doing business with the Iraqi government, to maintain its loyalty to the United States. This is a fast moving book with the story alternating between the Marine base in California and Washington D.C., as Defense Counsel Marine Captain Charles Slidell tries to defend one of the surviving three Marines assigned to him. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-line-change monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/20cb1786-8b59-47d4-8377-900a268d36d1/51zDYK7et6L._SY291_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_QL40_ML2_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Line Change - Line Change: Israel’s a New Zone for Ethan. Mark Lichtenfeld. Mazo Publishers, Florida, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 207 pages. Reviewed by Mary-Megan Kalvig. Mark Lichtenfeld’s new YA novel, Line Change: Israel’s a New Zone for Ethan (first place winner in December 2012 Writerstype.com First Chapter contest) has a strong message about priorities and what’s really important. Ethan Conners, a privileged Jewish teen in Chicago, with dreams of playing hockey at Ferris State, lands a spot on Team USA in the Maccabiah Games in Israel. While it’s a great opportunity, it completely ruins his summer plans with his girlfriend. In addition, after discovering that life in an Israeli border town is nothing like life in Chicago, Ethan must examine his own values more closely. Lichtenfeld’s experience as USA Hockey and ACHA referee and writer for Hockey Stop and Rink Life comes through in the detailed hockey scenes. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-shadowlands monthly 0.5 2021-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c0b77d51-b601-4ed6-a9f8-7f4a79f83b04/Shadowlands%2BCover.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Shadowlands - Shadowlands. Alan Kessler. Leviathan: Amazon Digital Services, Inc. May 30, 2013. Kindle Edition. 270 pages. Reviewed by Starza Thompson. Alan Kessler’s Shadowlands is a dark coming of age story about a boy whose worldview is fractured due to a neglectful mother and an abusive father. The reader quickly realizes that the boy, Steve Goldblatt, is unlike other children—he has created a world where mothers’ words turn into bees and dead grandmothers come alive during Halloween to kill grandsons. As we see the world through Steve’s eyes, we question his reliability as narrator because nothing is real and yet everything could be real. This intricate novel weaves fact with fiction, stuns the reader and forces us to question everything about Steve’s world. Shadowlands challenges the psyche and horrifies us at times, both in how Steve is treated and in how Steve treats others. However, this is not a traditional psychological thriller or horror—there is more subtlety to how the genre of psychological horror plays out in this book. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-new-jack-rabbit-city-starring-the-chicago-hares monthly 0.5 2021-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/03d57d4a-fa36-4896-a95a-525ea76a9acf/51jU0d-8KeL._SY291_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_QL40_ML2_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: New Jack Rabbit City: Starring the Chicago Hares - New Jack Rabbit City: Starring the Chicago Hares. Mike Evanouski and Gail Galvan. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, Charleston, SC, June 6, 2013. 174 pages. Listen to ten original songs by the authors and Dan O’Connor at www.newjackrabbitcity.podomatic.com, voice by Gail Galvan. Reviewed by Caryl Barnes. On the title page, the reader meets two rabbits, both with enormous ears cocked. One rabbit is doleful, apparently hearing nothing despite those big ears. The other, a super rabbit and no doubt a resident of the idyllic New Jack Rabbit City, wears earphones and appears transfixed by the vibes he’s picking up from the stratosphere. Beneath this sketch of the two rabbits are three enigmatic words in capital letters: “IT’S THE FREQUENCY.” That phrase appears throughout the book. The “frequency,” as well as an unexpected artesian well with a will of its own are what make New Jack Rabbit City possible. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-friend-grief-and-anger-when-your-friend-dies-and-no-one-gives-a-damntoo-dark-to-sleep-bwk9j-py9l6-jtjpa monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/19737527-8983-41ac-97c9-25d31deb693e/41wr%2B-vDy3L._SY344_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Friend Grief and Anger: When Your Friend Dies and No One Gives a Damn - Friend Grief and Anger: When Your Friend Dies and No One Gives a Damn. Victoria Noe. King Company Publishing, May 3, 2013, Paperback and Kindle, 46 pages. Reviewed by Kristina Winters The loss of a friend is not always perceived as a respected or profound loss. Victoria Noe challenges that notion in Friend Grief and Anger: When Your Friend Dies and No One Gives a Damn by discussing “disenfranchised grief” that is often not validated or given the same social credence as the loss of a relative when, in fact, it arguably warrants the same level of attention. Friend Grief and Anger is a somber read centered on the raw, angry emotion often felt when one loses a close friend. Noe focuses on various relationships and losses throughout her life as well as stories of loss experienced by individuals she knows. These examples allow the reader a different lens through which to view varying stages of grief, whether an individual’s departure is sudden, gradual, or perplexing in nature. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-dadspirations-the-1st-100-days-of-fatherhood monthly 0.5 2021-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/adc62763-7f58-461e-852f-720fcf642735/51C6snX8ofL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: DADspirations - The 1st 100 Days of Fatherhood - DADspirations - The 1st 100 Days of Fatherhood. Tips for Parenting Every New Dad and Dad-To-Be-Should Know. Pete Densmore. Published by DADspirations, Chicago, August 1, 2012, 176 pp. Reviewed by Opal Freeman. DADspirations: The 1st 100 Days of Fatherhood is a lively book written by Pete Densmore, who has willingly provided personal experiences and worthwhile tips to new and existing fathers. His approach to providing assistance to new fathers is to combine realistic, but practical, applications to ensure the journey of fatherhood is a memorable one. He also makes sure he is attentive to the mother; after all, she has nurtured the internal growth of the baby for the previous nine months. He includes a manageable blend of fun comments and creative tips that will be used not only today, but also throughout the lifespan of the parents and the child. DADspirations is designed to encourage and support new fathers, while helping to diminish the fears and anxieties of fatherhood, and recommends creative steps to give guidance and direction to fathers throughout the growth and development of their children. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-englishman-and-the-butterfly monthly 0.5 2021-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/db1b408b-b704-457d-8d9b-62eb3a48cabe/51Ih9MsZaLL._SY346_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Englishman and the Butterfly - The Englishman and the Butterfly. Ryan Asmussen. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, October 1, 2012. Kindle edition, 255 pages. Reviewed by Marie Becker. The Englishman and the Butterfly is an undeniably ambitious book, firmly enmeshed not only in literary references, but also in a distinct aesthetic sensibility. Asmussen is a published poet and English teacher, and the heft of this book comes primarily from the loving use of language and the deeply felt respect for the literary canon. The novel follows Henry Fell, a lonely and anxiety-ridden Oxford professor newly relocated to Boston on an academic fellowship. Henry soon falls in with the popular professor Geoffrey Hearne, the awkward and lumbering professor Christopher Moberley, and Julia, a PhD student who serves as the center of a erotic matrix which quickly turns dark and layered with envy, lust and grief, and from which no one will emerge unscathed, if at all. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-still-having-fun monthly 0.5 2021-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1e4e7050-8ce0-4771-b31b-8271270a2200/51YpQXYzbaL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Still Having Fun - Still Having Fun: A Portrait of the Military Marriage of Rex and Bettie George 1941-2007. Candace George Thompson. Published: Westview, Inc., Kingston Springs, TN, 2012, 305 pp. Reviewed by Vicky Edwards. Writing a memoir is a tricky business. If you’re not famous, you have to make strangers care about you or your family. If you’re writing about events that happened when you weren’t present, you have to breathe life into the facts. Ultimately, you have to disconnect enough from the dramatic events of your own life to share uncomfortable truths in a way that is both passionate and dispassionate. Candace George Thompson succeeds to some degree on all these levels in “Still Having Fun: A Portrait of the Military Marriage of Rex and Bettie George 1941-2007.” https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-mahogany-sin monthly 0.5 2021-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/813e08fd-2991-4279-8f14-fec7809ee83e/41lqh8hLdiL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Mahogany Sin - Mahogany Sin (The Valerie Chamber Series-Book 1). Kellee Gilmore. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, July 22, 2013, E-book and Trade Paperback, 350 pages. Reviewed by Jessica Cage. Mahogany Sin is a deliciously unexpected paranormal thrill ride. In the first book of its series, debut author Kellee Gilmore introduces us to Valerie Chambers, a self-sufficient woman who is working her way to the top of her accounting firm. She is focused and determined to succeed, and has tossed aside her bad girl ways, much to the chagrin of her best friend Jordan who is still thoroughly enjoying the wild life. One evening Jordan convinces Valerie to come out for a night on the town and of course, this is the night that Valerie’s life is thrown off its rails. Waiting for her is a blind date, the handsome and intriguing Edric, who sweeps Valerie off her feet with just one look. The magnetism between them is undeniable, the kind that will throw a wrench into the life Valerie is trying to build. She knows her involvement with Edric will lead her down a shaky path but she chooses to go with it anyway. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-dead-of-the-union monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c25ee0bb-f582-4cd3-aa28-5a32c4044671/51ihpNcojQL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Dead of the Union - Dead of the Union. Brenton Harper-Murray. Holy Crow Press, November 2, 2012, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 214 pages. Reviewed by Meghan Owen. Want a better, good old fashioned, chew em’ up zombie story? Add in a rich but brutal historical period, such as the American Civil War, a classic yet under-utilized Patient Zero storyline and gritty realistic characters with combat-bred survival skills and you’ve got a zombie crisis that’ll go down in the history books. Brenton Harper-Murray brings all of these components and more together in his dark and inventive novel Dead of the Union. The original printing of Dead of the Union was made possible by a successful Kickstarter, thus allowing Brenton Harper-Murray to self publish his novel. However, this isn’t the first time around publishing for the author. Harper-Murray has written several short stories in the genre of “strange fiction”. One story, after being set aside for a period of time, eventually fleshed out to be the 214-page novel we have today, Dead of the Union. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-dark-at-the-heart-of-the-diamond monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e12d3181-174a-4dc9-868e-e6d97a4da805/51U8o4xIJFL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Dark at the Heart of the Diamond - The Dark at the Heart of the Diamond. Sylvia Shults. Dark Continents Publishing, August 15, 2012, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 248 pages. Reviewed by Christine Collins Cacciatore. Local Illinois author Sylvia Shults has written several books, among them Timeless Embrace, Fractured Spirits, and The Dreamwatcher. The Dreamwatcher and Timeless Embrace are as USA Best Books finalists. Her latest offering is a book of short stories entitled The Dark at the Heart of the Diamond. From what I’ve read about her, she’s an author who wants to affect her reader. Provoke a reaction. Make them think. I read this book within the space of a few days. However, the short stories stuck with me longer than that. Each story was better than the last. In the author’s notes, she mentions that she would love it if her readers would stay up late, thinking about a particular story. Well played, Ms. Shults. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-clever-gretel monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c024e5ff-1803-41f7-af74-ce9a1ce78f87/61sWOc8UzZL._SY498_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Clever Gretel - Clever Gretel. Jennifer Dotson. Chicago Poetry Press, March 24, 2013, Paperback, 96 pages. Review by Cronin Detzz. Clever Gretel by Jennifer Dotson is primarily a light-hearted, witty collection of poems – even though it reads more like prose that occasionally rhyme – that leaves readers feeling as though they’re engaged in a friendly conversation with the writer over a cup of coffee. In Clever Gretel, Dotson writes about her personal perspective of everyday occurrences with clever poem titles such as, "Wonder Woman is in My Yoga Class" and "Why I Don't Eat Oatmeal." It takes a certain amount of skill and finesse to write about the mundane, but Dotson pulls it off and more as she tackles events like cleaning and oiling her old bedroom dressers, riding in an elevator, doing a backstroke ("I am a mermaid with goggles") and eating creamed chipped beef on toast. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-coffin-haulers monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/25af0772-9101-4764-b809-c8d4b3caa709/41Uxfp7nkkL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Coffin Haulers - The Coffin Haulers. Gregg Cebrzynski. Amazon Digital Services, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, August 19, 2013. Kindle edition, 234 pages. Review by Kathryn Flatt. Gregg Cebrzynski’s The Coffin Haulers is a mystery set in Chicago in 1974. Attractive, young, Polish immigrant, Aneta Chelmek, goes out to buy a newspaper as she does every Sunday. A few hours later, she is found brutally murdered. The police quickly determine it’s another gang killing, a simple mugging in an area where Polish and Italian immigrants are being edged out by Latino gangs. Private detective Joey Boloccini doesn’t agree with the official conclusion. Joey grew up in the Little Village neighborhood and sees the investigation as a chance to take his detective business to the next level by solving a real crime. But there are secrets being kept among these working class people, and many of Joey’s friends and neighbors are not what they seem. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-dream-diary monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f5cc31dc-8429-4975-bac4-3ca2ca11f3f6/31vJocjU%2BaL._SY344_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Dream Diary - Dream Diary. Katia Mitova. Virtual Artists Collective: www.vacpoetry.org, March 15, 2013, Trade Paperback, 92 pages. Review by Cronin Detzz. Mitova bursts strong right out of the gate with a poem incredibly appealing to the eyes by splitting two thoughts with white space, then slowly bringing each line closer together. The visual result forms a letter “y.” The title of the poem is “from the Emperor’s B&B book.” Dream Diary uses the mechanism of “B&B” throughout, using phrases such as, “Black and Bright,” “Being & Becoming,” or “Bold & Bashful.” The title of her last chapter is “B&B”, with one of the letters backwards and mirroring the other. I try to teach other poets to remember that readers are highly visual creatures, and Mitova understands this. She even goes so far as to place short poems in the bottom right-hand corner of each chapter heading, with each line in a different font. In short, she is a true artist. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-buried-truth monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/66f3768a-51c4-4ab9-b263-6a782cb581f9/51la6isAkML._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Buried Truth - Buried Truth. Gunter Kaesdorf. Cambridge Books, Cambridge, MD, October 2013, Trade Paperback, Kindle, 301 pages. Review by Sharon Lynn. Gunter Kaesdorf’s Buried Truth is a generally well-plotted first novel filled with red herrings and copious suspects. Set in a fictional posh North Shore Chicago suburb, it takes the reader on a first-person journey with young attorney Brooke Wheeler. As Brooke wrestles with memories bubbling to the surface after the death of a former close friend, she finds herself reluctantly digging into a prom night death from her sophomore year in high school. The key link to both deaths is her former lover, Jeremy, but there are also ties to her brother, Tim and a small circle of his high school friends. When Brooke finds herself and then her brother as murder suspects, she turns to her boss and mentor, Drake, for assistance. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-my-life-general-paul-von-lettow-vorbeck monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1dee2fcc-87c9-47bc-bf28-8afeb99d3f1b/41MBFZO2r3L._SX321_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: My Life: General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck - My Life: General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. James Pierce, Translator. Robert Dohrenwend, Editor/Translator. Published by Rilling Enterprises, Loves Park, Illinois, 2012, hardcover, 220 pages. Review by Greg Borzo. This translation of General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck’s memoirs will be of interest to scholars of colonialism, Prussian military history and World War I but few other readers. Despite a foreword that hails von Lettow-Vorbeck as “one of the few true heroes of the 20th Century” and an introduction that describes him as “in many ways representative of the best in his society and time,” the general remains an obscure albeit successful figure whose greatest accomplishments occurred in the World War I sideshow of German East Africa (today Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda). https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-mfa-in-a-box monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8c96111b-112f-43e0-8056-c538525f8523/41lsddXVthL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: MFA in a Box - MFA in a Box: A Why to Write Book. John Rember. Dream of Things Press, Chicago, IL, January 1, 2011, Trade paperback, 272 pages. Paperback available at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com; e-book available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and most e-book sites. Review by Kent McDaniel. As the title promises, the book’s author John Rember offers cogent reasons to write, though many of them are stated more implicitly than explicitly. On the other hand, Rember is too exuberant to focus the book on just one issue; besides reasons why to write, there are many tips on how. Every chapter concludes, in fact, with a numbered (and often tongue-in-cheek) list of writing tips. And there’s still more going on in the book: social commentary, autobiography, philosophy, and literary criticism. In fact, MFA in a Box gives roughly as much attention to each of those subjects as to writing. This is not your father’s—or older brother’s—writer’s manual. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-coach-house monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/287f7981-9508-4294-a4d7-5a367db78867/516W8-Hk%2B7L._SY346_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Coach House - The Coach House. Florence Osmund. Published by CreateSpace, N. Charleston, S.C., 2012, Trade Paperback, 354 pages. Review by Ray Paul. The Coach House is a tense story with two plots set in post World War II America. Marie Costa, a young college graduate, is quickly moving up the management ladder at Marshall Fields in Chicago when she meets and falls in love with Richard Marchetti, a handsome, beguiling medical supply salesman with a secret business life involving the underworld. Of course, at the time they are married, Marie is clueless. All she knows is Richard is devoted to her and continually professes his love for her. However, after they marry, a variety of incidents and chance encounters with some dangerous gangsters eventually drive her into hiding. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-havana-lost monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/8e578616-e2d1-432c-b167-a77fd764d531/51QXx1ALucL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Havana Lost - Havana Lost. Libby Fischer Hellmann. The Red Herrings Press, August 16, 2013, Trade Paperback, Kindle, and Audible versions, 300 pages. Review by Randy Richardson. On my office wall hangs a vintage travel poster depicting a passenger aboard a Pan Am flight enjoying the view of Havana, Cuba, through a window. That poster captures so well my own feelings about an island country that is so close–only 90 miles from Key West, Florida–and yet, due to our country’s restrictions on travel there, so far away. It feels as though I have experienced this forbidden land only through the windows that others who have been there have shared. In her tenth novel, Havana Lost, Libby Fischer Hellmann opens up her own window to a country that seems frozen in time. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-dabblers-windsong-lake-series-vol-1 monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/9dd42860-4cd4-47b8-901e-a619c3ed14c7/CoverFinalLrgr.png Book Reviews - Book Review: Dabblers: Windsong Lake Series, Vol. 1 - Dabblers: Windsong Lake Series, Vol. 1. Kathryn Flatt. Write Words, Inc., Cambridge, MD, 2012. Kindle Edition sold by Amazon Digital Services, Inc., 240 pages. Review by Caryl Barnes. A crackerjack plot is crucial – it’s what keeps us reading. The plot of Kathryn Flatt’s latest mystery, Dabblers, is compelling from start to finish. Artist Stefanie Durant inherited Uncle Hank’s house on Windsong Lake, a refuge for several blissful summers during a childhood otherwise far from normal. Stefanie was born with an unusual mind. She has outstanding creative and pattern-recognition skills but problems with basic concepts like reading and math. At puberty, a strong psychic ability called the Ken – the “knowing” – exploded into her life, bringing terrifying visions of future disasters. Stephanie learned to suppress the Ken and, for more than twenty years, kept it secret from everyone, even Paul, her beloved husband and soul mate. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-rebel-within monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5ef77600-7525-44c1-80f6-552064efcb73/51uuS48Is1L._SY346_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Rebel Within - The Rebel Within. Lance Erlick. Finlee Augare Books, March 24, 2013, Trade Paperback and e-book, 270 pages. Review by Serena Wadhwa. In this dystopian YA novel, Annabelle is a typical 16-year-old girl living a not-so-typical adolescent life. Taking place after the Second American Civil War, the books describes how Annabelle lives in a world where everything is monitored to enforce harmony, where uniformity thrives, and being different has consequences. Losing her parents at the age of three, Annabelle is later adopted by a woman whom she respectfully calls “Mom.” Mom, a state senator, fights for girls and women to have opportunities in the government-controlled world. “Mechs”—female warriors who are trained to protect the state, enforce harmony, and capture fugitive males—are also the ones who destroyed Annabelle’s family. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-recalled-to-life monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0227d216-9005-4d70-b2d5-bb3af7b9bf88/RTL04b-v2a-withclone1-300dpi-small.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Recalled to Life - Recalled to Life. Dan Burns. Published by Eckhartz Press, Chicago, June 3, 2013, Trade Paperback and e-book, 254 pages. Review by Dipika Mukherjee. Recalled To Life is a Chicago story about family ties and the redeeming power of love. Dan Burns takes us into the world of Peter O’Hara, a talented architect whose career is on the upswing. His stable family life with wife Melanie and son Jake is suddenly interrupted when a crisis involving Peter’s father, Jack O’Hara, turns their lives upside down. Jack moves in with Peter and although he forms a very strong bond with grandson Jake, his declining mental health tests the limits of this family. Burns deftly outlines the challenges in caring for an elderly parent. He deals sensitively with the trials of aging, particularly in dealing with failing physical strength and the frustrations of memory loss. Peter’s quandary, as he juggles managing his father and keeping his own family happy, is emotionally charged. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-dateline-atlantis monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/bf578ad9-8ac4-4ae8-b573-9099c6fd80d5/518DO93w63L._SX351_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Dateline: Atlantis - DATELINE: ATLANTIS. Lynn Voedisch. Fiction Std., April 16, 2013, Trade Paperback and e-book, 278 pages. Review by Opal Freeman Dateline: Atlantis is a well-written novel with a continuous flow of excitement and surprises throughout. Voedisch has graciously combined her experience as a newspaper reporter and author to create an awesome adventure with a purpose. Voedisch specializes in contemporary fantasy, and her specialty is clearly demonstrated in her new book–she is able to interact with the reader as they use their imagination, moving from page to page. I really enjoyed reading the book and appreciated the cover design, sea-blue waters and buried treasures that set the stage. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-company-orders monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/7d8d4ac9-4882-4f08-92bd-bfa50bd13e83/514dEAdQpcL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Company Orders - Company Orders. David J. Walker. Allium Press of Chicago, September 1, 2012, Trade Paperback and e-book, 324 pages. Review bySharon P. Lynn. Despite having a priest as the main character and being set in Chicago, David J. Walker’s Company Orders is no Father Dowling-type mystery. Walker’s Father Paul Clark isn’t a kindly old pastor with a feisty housekeeper and a spunky young nun as a sidekick. (There is a feisty old pastor who plays a significant role in Father Paul’s life, but he is not the type to shoo away trouble with a dishcloth.) When we meet Father Paul, he is an up-and-coming young priest who has been noticed by the hierarchy in the Chicago Archdiocese. Father Paul, however, has a secret problem that he must try to resolve without involving the archdiocese – at least not any more than he has already involved it. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-any-road-will-take-you-there monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0b6f8417-b62d-4c77-b2bb-43fe1ef63f56/41gw9iBPfpL._SX310_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Any Road Will Take You There - Any Road Will Take You There: A Journey of Fathers and Sons. David W. Berner. Little Big Man Press, May 27, 2013, Trade Paperback and e-book, 300 pages. Review by L.E. Schwaller David Berner knows Jack Kerouac. He knows On the Road and the Beats and music. What he doesn’t know – and what permeates his latest book, Any Road Will Take You There: A Journey of Fathers and Sons – is how to be the world’s greatest father or son. And the best part, Berner knows that none of us really do. He understands we’re all making it up as we go along, trying our best just to be there and not screw things up. There is no manual, Berner reminds us, on how to be fathers or sons. Any Road Will Take You There is a thoughtful, fast-reading memoir centered on a cross-country road trip a father embarks on with his two teenaged boys after re-reading Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-in-a-corner-darkly-short-stories-to-horrify-shock-and-disturb-volume-1 monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2f70b30a-d404-4e40-9d18-c80af150bc1d/511T%2BuIoMsL._SY344_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: In A Corner, Darkly: Short Stories to Horrify, Shock and Disturb (Volume 1) - In A Corner, Darkly: Short Stories to Horrify, Shock and Disturb (Volume 1). Sue Rovens. Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing, October 11, 2012, Trade Paperback, 162 pages. Review by Meghan Owen. “Sue Rovens brings original chills in In A Corner, Darkly.” Sue Rovens achieves what she set out to do, giving familiar grisly tales an original bent in her short story collection, In a Corner, Darkly. The devil on the farm, mysterious ailments, kids trespassing in a graveyard, a very, very angry ex-girlfriend, and so on—all of these tropes and more are revisited in Rovens’s work and given a dark twist that makes you finish what you started. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-purple-chicken monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fc1fa204-9136-44b3-a358-0b6fef37ae50/Cover_l.gif Book Reviews - Book Review: Purple Chicken - Purple Chicken: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Wannabe Chef. Ron Gaj. Published in Bloomington, Indiana, by iUniverse, January 17, 2013, Hardcover, Trade Paperback and e-book, 144 pages. Review by Roxe Anne Peacock. Ron Gaj takes the reader on a journey as to what it is like to become a chef. Gaj gives a behind the scenes account of the culinary school kitchen, overcrowded classrooms, the bureaucracy of filling out forms for grants, student loans, and unfilled promises by the tech school or college. He takes you through the fights for space in the classroom kitchen, lack of supplies for the completion of projects, and kitchen disasters while adding a bit of humor. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-theresa-in-wonderland monthly 0.5 2021-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/0cc76003-37aa-49a2-8e69-8851a89c4970/51NB1wBLn9L._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Theresa in Wonderland - Theresa in Wonderland. Dominique Wilkins. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, August 21, 2012, Trade Paperback and e-book, 58 pages. Review by Sierra Kay. Theresa in Wonderland begins with Theresa’s idyllic world being shattered by a high school bully. One bright spot from the incident is her savior, Tina, who later becomes her best friend. As the years pass, Theresa’s life gets back on track. She loves her husband, her best friend, and her children. She has found her stride. But like the fictional character, Alice, an accident drops her down a rabbit hole where nothing is familiar and she has to determine if it’s even worth the effort to make her way back to the real world. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-bunco-club monthly 0.5 2021-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/f00ff7f8-822c-4f6c-80cb-d6e695ad0833/51G1jRe7rjL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Bunco Club - The Bunco Club. Karen DeWitt. Published by Frame Masters, Ltd., Matteson, IL, 2013, Trade Paperback and e-book, 412 pages. Review by Brinda Gupta. In the tradition of celebrations of female friendships like Steel Magnolias, Karen DeWitt’s The Bunco Club lets us into the world of eight good friends. Though the eight have very different domestic situations and unique struggles, they bond over a shared love of quilting and a beloved monthly Bunco game. DeWitt structures the novel by month, focusing on the woman hosting each month’s game. Through the eight months, we get to know artistic Lettie; single mom Phree; career woman Nedra; Rosa, the mother of a delinquent teenager; anal-retentive Marge; Helen, the mother of a bullied girl; hoarder Beth; and dowdy Nancy. Each section tells about one woman’s career and home life, culminating in the monthly Bunco parties that see the women’s stories weave together. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-try-not-to-burn monthly 0.5 2021-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a5ff0506-e8dd-4571-b6df-7e4a33384e71/BURN%2B-%2BeBook%2BCover%2B1.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Try Not To Burn - Try Not to Burn. Michael David Matula. Post Mortem Press, Cincinnati, OH, 2012, Trade Paperback and e-book, 252 pages. Review by Christine Cacciatore. Had I read the end first, and figured out that the end wasn't really "the end" and there would be sequels I would have insisted on getting them all at one time. Knowing that I have to wait for the next installment is going to be an exercise in patience. Hopefully Michael will heed the advice of his readers and get his fingers warmed up to pen the next couple of books in this series. Try Not to Burn features Brandon Morales. Brand is a police officer who experiences a life altering event in the very first chapter; actually, the very first page. Matula’s novel grabs your attention from the very first page and doesn't let it go. Brand, is thrust into darkness. He can't figure out his surroundings. When he becomes aware that his surroundings are actually the afterlife, he meets Jane and Samantha who become his guides and his close friends. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-through-their-strange-hours monthly 0.5 2021-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/c6ac91ad-0560-4069-925f-e3b588cf04ba/51YN3jaWBvL._SY346_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Through Their Strange Hours - Through Their Strange Hours. Kent McDaniel. Amazon Digital Services, February 14, 2013, 52 pgs. The e-book is $0.99 and available at B&N.com, iBooks, The Kobo Store, Smashwords, and Amazon. Review by Mike O’Meary Storytelling that conveys warmth and humor, and transports you to another time and place. Through Their Strange Hours by Kent McDaniel is a collection of four interconnected short stories that hang together nicely and give this collection the feeling of a novella. The stories also provide a compellingly realistic portrayal of life in southern Illinois in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a place and time where the biggest challenge was finding ways to ward off apathy and the tedium of everyday life. Accordingly, McDaniel’s characters drop in and out of school, in and out of relationships, and experiment with everything from beer and pot to acid and crystal meth. In such a world, the most innocuous pastime was to grab a six-pack and take a drive with friends on the rural roads between Carbondale (home of Southern Illinois University) and Metropolis (a small town of 6,800 on the Ohio River across from Paducah, KY). https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-fatal-incident monthly 0.5 2021-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/543ed8d8-4ee9-44af-9213-5a660bbf0f3c/51xWeQ8tkhL._SX341_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Fatal Incident - Fatal Incident. Jim Proebstle. Emerald Book Company, Austin, TX, 2011, Hardcover, 377 pages. Review by Janet Feduska Cole. The World War II setting for Fatal Incident is one of my favorite historical genres. Without question, those fateful years encompassed a period filled with unspeakable horrors, but they also gave rise to incredible stories of intrigue and courage. Fatal Incident is one of those stories. As with many other works of historical fiction, the Fatal Incident tale is rooted in both fact and fiction. This account focuses more on human relationships than on historical incidents. It describes in vivid detail the toll the war takes on two young brothers—based on real-life characters—who love flying above all else. The reader first experiences their carefree and adventurous lives as young men. The war years stand in sharp contrast. One shares the uncertainty, loneliness, and isolation of Nick and his young wife, Martha. Their painful separation is a result of Nick being stationed in Alaska, while Martha is enduring her first pregnancy in Minnesota without him. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-mollies-war-the-letters-of-a-world-war-ii-wac-in-europethe-wall-beyond-a4b9e monthly 0.5 2021-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1bd85281-f943-41ee-9ebd-fc833bb47b67/51AGeVNEJLL._SX320_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Mollie's War: The Letters of a World War II WAC in Europe - Mollie’s War: The Letters of a World War II WAC in Europe. Mollie Weinstein Schaffer and Cyndee Schaffer. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2010, 273 pgs. Review by Kristina Winters Mollie’s War, by Mollie Weinstein Schaffer and Cyndee Schaffer, is an illustrative collection of letters that bear witness to one woman’s recruitment and overseas deployment throughout her time in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. The book, taking place from 1943 to 1945, is based on Mollie’s communication between family and friends during her enlistment, which allows the reader to travel with Mollie from basic training, all the way to events following the reorganization of Europe after VE Day. Mollie’s orders carry her throughout London, Paris, and Frankfurt at the height of the Second World War, revealing the peril and hardship faced both by enlisted personnel and their loved ones back home. She cultivates viable relationships throughout the story, lending to the enduring human element that persists in times of warfare. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-wall-beyond monthly 0.5 2021-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/97b24583-18f5-45dd-a0ce-dc208e5359d1/The%2BWall%2B%2BBeyond%2BCover%2B4.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Wall & Beyond - The Wall & Beyond. Joanna Kurowska. eLectico Publishing, Little Elm, TX, 2013. Trade paperback, 53 pages. Review by Dan Burns Joanna Kurowska’s latest book of poetry, her fourth published collection, is an enjoyable, concise presentation of fifty-three poems spanning as many pages. One might initially think that the collection is sparse, but after reading just the first few poems, you will quickly come to realize that there is much more on the pages than meets the eye. Throughout the poems, there is a recurring motif of “the wall.” The author shared with me that “the wall” signifies a dividing line of sorts between various pole opposites she has experienced throughout her life: dreams and reality, the idea of God and world suffering, estrangement and acceptance. She understands “the wall” is part of human nature, and she has vowed to strive to reach beyond the wall, to affirm life as she knows it and wants it to be. As I began to read the book, I felt the presence of “the wall” in my own way, a feeling I often get when I begin to read a work of fiction by a new author, and especially when I read poetry. The poet must convey story and meaning and a sensory perspective, all with the minimum of words. The words must be perfect—select and few. The metaphors must be meaningful and appropriate. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-cancelled-stamps-to-die-for monthly 0.5 2021-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/6e2a9514-b891-4b03-b409-e331cb3b5b58/R.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Cancelled: Stamps to Die For - CANCELLED: Stamps To Die For by Janet Feduska Cole. Pegasus Books, San Jose, California, January 2013, 182 pages. Review by Ray Paul Having just finished a second reading of Cancelled: Stamps to Die For, a short mystery/suspense novel written by Janet Feduska Cole, I’m struck by the similarity in our late-blooming writing backgrounds and the dramatic differences in our writing styles. While each of us turned to writing fiction after careers in technical writing or in my case business communications, Janet is a master of turning her historical and geographical research into a fascinating learning experience. The story itself is a classic chase told in the first person. A female writer, Elyse, reconnects with a male friend from her past, Karl, who has a collection of stamps and women. Following his supposed death, she is moved to research and write an article about a stamp collection thought to have been stolen by certain Nazi leaders toward the end of WWII. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-what-more-could-you-wish-for monthly 0.5 2021-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/a7e9bc97-c86d-4852-a70b-672a2226e475/OIP.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: What More Could You Wish For - What More Could You Wish For, A novel by Samantha Hoffman (St. Martin's Griffin Press, New York, August 2012 First Edition, 243 pages, paperback) Review by Renee James merica's pop culture and even much of its literature prefers young or youngish people for its romantic and coming of age stories, and why not? Anything is possible early in life, and that makes for great storytelling and steamy romance. The first thing we learn in Samantha Hoffman's What More Could You Wish For is that romantic relationships and fascinating coming-of-age stories can occur at any stage of life and, in the case of narrator Libby Carson, age fifty is as filled with possibilities as twenty-something. Libby is turning fifty as the story opens and she has the world by the tail. She is a happy single woman with a successful business that she is passionate about. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-green-line monthly 0.5 2021-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/110aee0c-bb94-40c9-a9c3-6c1967b82a90/green-line-cover_orig.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Green Line - The Green Line by E.C. Diskin (Wells St. Press, June 2013, 315 pages, ISBN 978-0-9888906-0-2) Pre-publication review Review by Renee James If you like taut, fast-moving plots and riveting characters who evolve in the course of the story, E.C. Diskin's The Green Line will be a wonderful change of pace from the steady stream of formulaic mysteries that tend to dominate the mystery/suspense genre today. The story opens with Abby Donovan, a stressed, career-obsessed attorney with a large firm in the Chicago Loop, blundering into a west side ghetto late at night where she runs in terror from gangbangers, dodges menacing thugs and dope dealers, and finds a dead body. It is a creepy, nightmarish night in which nothing is what it seems to be and after which, Abby's life will never be the same. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-golden-coin monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d13e7ee0-7b34-4cd0-a40f-04f71fc0d39e/51ok605MBTL._SY346_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Golden Coin - Down at the Golden Coin by Kim Strickland (Eckhartz Press, 2012) Review by Serena Wadhwa Kim Strickland’s Down at the Golden Coin is billed as an inspirational story, the kind of book to which I, as a clinical therapist, am naturally drawn. The story revolves around former airline pilot Annie Mullard, who feels as if her life is spinning out of control. Forty-something, married with three kids, Annie thinks her life has sunk to a new low when her washing machine breaks down and she finds herself in a run-down Chicago Laundromat, The Golden Coin. It is there that she meets a most unlikely Messiah, a blue-haired woman, half her age, who claims to have all the answers. Strickland’s second novel, following her 2007 debut Wish Club, sparks with descriptive and eloquent exchanges between these two very different women whose paths have crossed in this most unlikely place. Annie telling this Messiah how her life has crashed: “All I want, all I ever wanted, is a little happiness. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-we-hope-you-like-this-song monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1632066362652-ZQM332KSEFCKPUKM62W2/11748976-21271851-thumbnail.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: We Hope You Like This Song - We Hope You Like This Song: An Overly Honest Story About Friendship, Death, and Mix Tapes by Bree Housley (Seal Press, 2012). Review by Randy Richardson Bree Housley’s We Hope You Like This Song is the true story of her friendship with Shelly and what she did to bring her friend’s spirit back after she died from complications during pregnancy, at the age of 25. This is a book that could easily have been a real downer. But don’t fret, Housley never lets that happen. She tells the story with humor, charm and brutal honesty, and at the end you feel as if you’ve made a new friend. Along the way, you’ll laugh and you’ll cry, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll be inspired to donate to The Preeclampsia Foundation. This is a touching story that will make you think about your own friends and loved ones, and why you shouldn’t wait to tell them what they mean to you. For me, Bree Housley’s We Hope You Like This Song hit all the right notes. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-haunted monthly 0.5 2021-12-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/fc677157-a672-4816-8010-42acaa57e617/51RY1fZyOZL._SX326_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Haunted - Haunted: A Bridgeton Park Cemetery Book (Vol. 1) by Ophelia Julien Review by Dina Rae Ophelia Julien’s Haunted is about a young woman, Cassie, who falls apart after the loss of her boyfriend, Daniel. Cassie bypasses college and works part-time in a bookstore. She realizes her job is not a career, but the warm, cheerful, friendly workers become the secondary family she desperately needs. Steve, the owner, hires a new employee, Michael, who Cassie is instantly attracted to. She knew him when they were children. Cassie was part of the true story and remembered it from years ago. The ghost stories lead into Cassie’s own experience with the dead. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-fractured-spirits monthly 0.5 2021-12-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/008b847d-560a-4564-8801-3a2f803ba4b0/Bowen_Porch%2B2.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Fractured Spirits - Fractured Spirits: Hauntings at the Peoria State Hospital, by Sylvia Shults Release date for Fractured Spirits is February 15, 2013. To pre-order, please contact the author at sylvias@darkcontinents.com Reviewed by Ophelia Julien Haunts of the Mentally Ill Author Sylvia Shults at the Bowen Building of the Peoria State Hospital in Bartonville, IIllinoisNothing screams haunted more than an abandoned hospital for the mentally ill, or “insane asylum” as they are usually called. In the introduction to her newest book, Fractured Spirits, author Sylvia Shults even refers to the tradition of using an old, decrepit, deserted institution for the mentally ill in both film and print tales of horror: dead crazy people come back to haunt the site of their frequently gruesome lives as well as their equally grisly demises. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-bad-juju monthly 0.5 2021-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/aebe2a30-9cb6-4426-93fd-b2ee0137b3d2/11748976-20693116-thumbnail.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Bad Juju - Bad Juju, by Dina Rae is available in e-book format from Amazon. Reviewed by Ophelia Julien All Good Fun Until the Zombie Shows Up Earlier this year, I read and reviewed Dina Rae’s Halo of the Damned. Given that the subject matter of that book involved fallen angels, demons, and a blood-thirsty ancient cult, it seemed to be about the darkest story Ms. Rae could have to offer. I was wrong. Bad Juju is the tale of what happens when the world of a handful of high school students and their families collides with that of an elderly Haitian bokor, or Voodoo priest, who has been incongruously displaced to a trailer park in Hayward, Wisconsin. The bokor, named Lucien Nazaire, knows he is coming to the end of his unnaturally long life and is looking for an heir to the dark wisdom he has amassed, for Lucien is a practitioner of the darkest form of Voodoo: grave robbing, dismemberment, shape-shifting, soul-stealing, zombie-making, everything malevolent that can be imagined. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-cheeseland monthly 0.5 2021-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/62e8ef9e-6304-411d-a77b-71641e042ae2/41YeF05sCxL._SY346_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Cheeseland - Cheeseland by Randy Richardson available in trade paperback from Eckhartz Press and in e-book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Sony. Reviewed by Mike O'Mary Cheeseland is a fun coming-of-age novel with one of those archetypal "bad influence" friends from your adolescence. I really enjoyed this book. The protagonist is even-keeled Daniel McAllister, a guy who grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Chicago and then went on to better things. His best friend as an adolescent was Lance Parker -- one of those great, universal characters. We ALL had a Lance in our lives...the "bad influence" kid your parents didn't want around. Or maybe YOU were "Lance" when you were growing up...the guy who always had the crazy, irresponsible idea to do something you shouldn't do (in this case, go on a road trip to Wisconsin instead of going to your high school graduation ceremony). https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-one-hundred monthly 0.5 2021-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/42e9774d-5e78-46f0-90c4-dc20df5f9604/41Z5%2BLDtSDL._SY344_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The One Hundred - The One Hundred by Zia Ahmad Reviewed by Megan Renehan I’m really, really into details. They can make or break a book for me. All the action in the world can’t make up for the lack of those one or two incredible phrases that so perfectly describe a character, a place, a situation that I can see it clearly, exactly as the author intended. The One Hundred is filled with those details, details that infuse this story with humanity and pathos, and plumb the depths of hope, sadness, loyalty, and fear. This novel offers us an intimate view of Javed Iqbal’s real-life crimes and their repercussions. A rock in a pond, Iqbal’s horrifying murder and disposal of 100 young boys in Pakistan in the late 1990s ripples outwards, connecting the novel’s three main characters in layered rings of tragedy. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-jimmy-stu-lives monthly 0.5 2021-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/aa15875f-cf09-4c2f-9c11-4f2cc3daeece/R.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Jimmy Stu Lives - Jimmy Stu Lives! by Kent McDaniel Reviewed by Ophelia Julien Super Science Fiction with a Side of Grits Reverend James Stuart Sloan, or Jimmy Stu as he prefers, is the founder of Nashville, Tennessee’s Church of the Living Lord, a three-thousand member congregation complete with a church on an acre-sized lawn and a televised service. As an inspirational preacher, Jimmy Stu looks to be at the top of his game. Except that he isn’t. During the latter part of his life, Jimmy Stu has begun to lose his connection with the Almighty, a deep slide into despair accelerated by the death of his beloved wife, Debbi. He is haunted by the idea that Debbi has not gone on to eternal life, but instead has disappeared into oblivion. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-pirates-of-mars monthly 0.5 2021-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/5e57b039-776c-4958-b269-d27ca17a8715/51VBIJu9SnL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Pirates of Mars - Pirates of Mars by Chris Gerrib; Hadley Rille Books; $16.00 trade paperback. $2.99 ebook; © 2012. Reviewed by Kent McDaniel At first, I had trouble getting into Pirates of Mars. Many characters made their appearance in its early pages amidst a lot of action, and I had some difficulty sorting them out. Plus, the scene-setter with which Gerrib begins each chapter threw me off a little: Each gives the day of the week, the day’s date in the “Virgo Year,” the time in Martian Zulu Time, the year and time in GMT--which seems to be some variation of Earth time—and then the scene’s location; in the beginning, I found that all a little confusing as well. I persisted, though, and was glad I did. Twenty pages in, I had a handle on the characters and the scene-setters, and Gerrib had me hooked on a roller coaster of a science-fiction thriller: Space pirates have hijacked a cargo ship, killed some of its members, meaning to steal the cargo and hold the remaining crew members for ransom. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-end monthly 0.5 2021-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/587d23d1-bcf9-4c35-b655-a17c632c6dae/OIP+%281%29.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The End - The End, by Paul Roach Reviewed by Ophelia Julien Five Stars for Sheer Ambition Five stars, but not just for ambition: also for the audacity to weave together action/adventure with paranormal, metaphysics, thriller, and a dash of science fiction thrown in. The End, by Paul Roach, is such a mixed bag of genres that at the start of it all this reader couldn’t decide whether to scratch her head in confusion or nod in agreement. Turns out that by the time it was over, both impulses were correct. The End is the story of Fran O’Rourke, an all-around nice young man who is killed in Afghanistan while trying to pull off a rescue in the middle of a fierce firefight. It is the story of a happily married young woman who becomes deathly ill while pregnant with her first child. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-halo-of-the-damned monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/2a308eff-74ad-4ed1-90b1-6f0a633a1251/512IEXiyl8L._SX310_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Halo of the Damned - Halo of the Damned by Dina Rae Reviewed by Ophelia Julien Current cultural trends show a persisting, growing obsession with all things angel, demon, and darkly supernatural, all with a thread of romance thrown into the mix. Fans of this genre will not be disappointed with Dina Rae’s Halo of the Damned. Set ironically in Wheaton, Illinois, a city with one of the highest number of churches per capita, the story opens by acquainting the reader with Andel, the head of an advertising agency that bears the very honest name Evil Empire, after his most recent kill. With just a few leading hints of what is behind this murder, Rae continues with the introduction of heroines Joanna Easterhouse and her sister, Kim. Kim also has a young daughter, Maria, who very early into the story reveals not only her apparent psychic abilities but her importance in the coming maelstrom. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-thunder-demons monthly 0.5 2021-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/034c3afc-86f1-4dbc-bcf7-c8bb50f65e7d/thunder_demons.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Thunder Demons - Thunder Demons by Dipika Mukherjee Review by Serena Wadhwa I confess that when it comes to the politics of any culture, I am politically challenged. While I have my views on the various issues that plague America, I am unaware of those that exist in other countries, particularly on the other side of the world. As it happened, I met the author of Thunder Demons for coffee, as we shared membership in the Chicago Writers Association and in our cultural background. Indian authors have always fascinated me and I looked forward to the meeting. After a few hours of coffee, tea, and conversation, as we were wrapping up to go our separate ways, Dipika Mukherjee asked me to review her book. Initially, I hesitated, as I confessed my lack of knowledge of the political, cultural and economic turbulence that she seemed well aware of. This didn't matter as she requested a review that was based on the writing, the story and the characters. I agreed. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-living-wills monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/53bc4a66-3fac-4192-a500-8bf4b34cb8e8/51fh4VfztEL.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The Living Wills - The Living Wills by Brendan Sullivan and Rick Kaempfer, available in soft cover from Eckhartz Press or in e-book for Kindle, Nook or Sony Reader. Review by Megan Renehan In The Living Wills, Sullivan and Kaempfer tell a story of interconnected lives and the consequences of split-second decisions. The novel follows five main characters: a parking garage attendant, a barista, a toilet salesman, a lawyer, and a corporate executive, ultimately connecting their lives in deep and unexpected ways. The story is structured in short chapters alternating between the main characters' points of view. Rich with emotion and local detail, The Living Wills is a story that stayed with me long after I had closed the book. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-have-you-seen-me monthly 0.5 2021-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/3cf296af-a2da-485f-b7bd-9c23382eb4e5/11748976-17000781-thumbnail.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Have You Seen Me? - Have You Seen Me? by Katherine Scott Nelson; published by Chicago Center for Literature and Photography; 2011; Price: $20.00 (cotton sheets), $15.00 (recycled sheets), pay what you want (electronic). Review by Kent McDaniel Have You Seen Me? Tells the story of Chris, a gay teenage boy growing up in Springhill, Nebraska, a small town gone to seed. At summer’s start, the police come to question him about the disappearance of his best friend, Vyv, a Goth girl and a cutter who’s run away from home. He tells the cops he knows nothing about it, and he hopes they believe him. He has enough problems already: A gay teen in the rural Midwest, Chris also has unemployed parents, whose unemployment checks are about to stop. His mother is managing to cope, but his father is clinically depressed and when not lying in bed, makes one birdhouse after another in the backyard. Chris’s grandfather, a WWII fighter pilot and Chris’s childhood hero, has developed dementia. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-dartboard monthly 0.5 2021-09-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1632065307837-GGPL6AZLO596J91QLL2Z/11748976-15725804-thumbnail.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Dartboard - Dartboard by J.D. Gordon (The Little Things Publishing, 2011) is available at Amazon.com and bn.com Review by Randy Richardson During the long, cold winter months, when the icy winds whip at my face, burning my dry, Midwest-pale skin, when I’ve trudged home through knee-high snowdrifts, I want nothing more than to plop down on the sofa recliner with a cup of hot cocoa, a wool blanket and a book. Not just any book, though. I crave a book that lifts me out of the winter doldrums and drops me in a place that might inspire a Jimmy Buffett song. Thankfully, J.D. Gordon has come to my rescue once again. Gordon, who penned the Eddie Gilbert tropical adventure series featuring Island Bound and Caribbean Calling, is back with a new protagonist but the same winning formula. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-fabulous-in-flats monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/d60d5b79-390c-45ff-adbb-fac52efd2a21/51sIbxO57aL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Fabulous in Flats - Fabulous in Flats, by Mary T. Wagner, iUniverse, is available at Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com. Review by Serena Wadhwa As a therapist, I spend many hours listening to the stories of others. I'm passionate about the stories we tell, as it gives me information about how one of my clients make sense of their life and what clinical struggles to work with. When the request came to review Fabulous in Flats by Mary T. Wagner, I was delighted. An opportunity to walk with someone in their story without analyzing it. Another passion. I was eager to read this collection of personal essays, Wagner's third, following on the heels of Heck on Heels and Running with Stilettos. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-ghosts-in-the-yew monthly 0.5 2021-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/aac270d5-2864-4a1c-ae57-2e092704fb43/51zJRHPqkKL._SX346_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Ghosts in the Yew - Ghosts in the Yew by Blake Hausladen, Rook Creek Books, is available at Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com. Reviewed by Ophelia Julien Do not make the mistake that I did by starting to read Blake Hausladen’s Ghosts in the Yew without enough time to finish the book in one large satisfying bite, or at least in consistent tasty nibbles on a daily basis. Though the set-up takes a little time, and rightfully so since this is a complex tale told from the points of view of four main characters, once the story begins to unreel there is no option of putting the book down. The story is set in the unhappy and decaying kingdom of Zoviya. The ruling family has been in power for two generations and their government cares little for the kingdom’s citizenry beyond the labor and taxes that can be squeezed from them. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-the-gods-wife monthly 0.5 2021-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/71ae23c0-2a83-4055-b1d1-1b25c8e46191/11748976-15445404-thumbnail.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: The God's Wife - The God’s Wife; by Lynn Voedisch; Fiction Studio Books; 2011. Available at Amazon.com and b&n.com Review by Kent McDaniel The God’s Wife juxtaposes and intertwines the stories of two young women separated by time and space. In ancient Egypt, sixteen-year-old Neferet is a priestess in training and the Pharaoh’s daughter, whose half-sister Maya has just been discovered strangled inside the god Amun’s ceremonial chapel. Maya had been the God’s Wife of Amun, the most important god in the Egyptian pantheon, his wife theoretically second in power to the Pharaoh. Her corpse was discovered in broad daylight in a chamber, the door to which only she could’ve opened. Later, that night Neferet is called to a meeting with her mother, Meryt, the Great Wife of the Pharaoh. Meryt is a beautiful but forbidding woman, whom Neferet fears and dislikes. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-book-review-eta-estimated-time-of-arrest monthly 0.5 2023-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/e2c96e12-1c33-41a8-8288-98e134ebc1b5/cover_eta_smaller.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: ETA - Estimated Time of Arrest - ETA: Estimated Time of Arrest, by Delphine Pontvieux, Miss Nyet Publishing, 2009, 334 Pages. Available at Miss Nyet Publishing and Amazon. Review by Dan Burns In addition to being an avid reader, I am a lover of books, and when I first held the hardcover edition of ETA: Estimated Time of Arrest in my hands, I felt I was in for a special treat. The dust jacket immediately piqued my interest with a professional design, color scheme, and finish that truly sets it apart on the bookshelf. Underneath the dust jacket (and you must look) is the beautifully appointed front board, with the title, author name and elaborate graphics emblazoned in gold. Imprinting of the front board is an often-overlooked detail in the publishing industry today, as publishers continue to trim their expenses, and they tend to limit the printing of the hard cover simply to the spine. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/book-review-remembering-gage-park monthly 0.5 2021-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/84c185e1-c046-4a3f-8334-921f0a0e599c/11748976-14268325-thumbnail.jpg Book Reviews - Book Review: Remembering Gage Park - Remembering Gage Park by William P. Shunas; self-published through Xlibris; copyright 2010. Available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and at www.Xlibris.com/Bookstore. Paperback $15.00-20.00. Kindle edition $7.69 Review by Kent McDaniel A fictional memoir, Remembering Gage Park begins: “I was eight years old when I met Connor. That was the day he nearly put out my eye. You would’ve thought I’d have learned something that day, but not me.” That hook imbedded, Shunas pauses to describe Chicago’s then-unpaved alleys, Gage Park’s turf protocols for eight-year-olds, and the workings of the Chicago Democratic Machine, before returning to his narrator’s fateful meeting with Connor. Intriguing stuff, and for the rest of the book Shunas continues to intersperse tense scenes with sharply-etched description of Gage Park: the streets, homes, gardens, stores, vacant lots, the people and their culture, the politics and economics. https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/category/Nonfiction monthly 0.5 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/category/Poetry monthly 0.5 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/category/Fiction monthly 0.5 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tag/Parenting monthly 0.5 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tag/Plays monthly 0.5 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tag/supernatural monthly 0.5 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tag/Mental+Health monthly 0.5 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tag/History monthly 0.5 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tag/Paranormal monthly 0.5 https://www.windycityreviews.org/book-reviews/tag/Self+Help monthly 0.5 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The Free Book Review Service of the Chicago Writers Association Self-published and small press authors face an uphill battle when it comes to getting their books reviewed. The Chicago Writers Association is stepping in to even the playing field a little. Windy City Reviews is a service provided to Chicago's authors and independent publishers. This site has been created to provide authors of all genres and areas of specialization an opportunity for increased exposure, valuable feedback, and deserved recognition. https://www.windycityreviews.org/review-policy daily 0.75 2023-06-23 https://www.windycityreviews.org/submissions daily 0.75 2025-10-01 https://www.windycityreviews.org/contact daily 0.75 2024-09-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613775d131c2861edfc4eeff/1631669810810-1EF08BU2LVC4RP0HTRS1/unsplash-image-ERb-JXVwAfo.jpg Contact Us - Contact us. All requests for book reviews should be made directly our Review Coordinator as noted on the Submissions Page. 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