Publicist Gift via NetGalley | A Few Days Full of Trouble: Revelations on the Journey to Justice for My Cousin and Best Friend, Emmett Till

I received a free digital ARC as a gift from the publicist via NetGalley

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you only ever read one book about the murder of Emmett Till, it must be this one.

Reverand Wheeler Parker Jr, at 87 years old, is the last surviving witness to everything that happened that horrible summer of 1955, and specifically to the kidnapping of his beloved cousin and best friend, Emmett Till. Wheeler shares his memories, insights, and suggestions as to what justic looks like at this point. Any hope of holding Carolyn Bryant accountable for her actions that lead to Till's horrific lynching died with her in 2023.

Here are the facts that we know: Till, Parker, and their siblings/cousins had an interaction with Carolyn Bryant in her family's store. Not long after, a bunch of racist redneck white supremacists protected by their whiteness stormed into the home Till was staying at, dragged him away, and his family never saw him alive again. We know a sham trial was put on, the white defendents were found not guilty despite all evidence pointing to their guilt, and that after the trial they confessed in detail their crime to a magazine, which they could not be charged again for. Till's family will never see justice for what those monsters did to this child.

I can't imagine reliving the worst times of one's life over and over again, but Parker does, repeatedly. Since the ay they encountered Carolyn Bryant in the store, the lies she told about their interaction fed these monsters, spurring them on to get revenge. She claimed Till grabbed her wrist and waist, and made sexual remarks - then whistled at her as he was leaving. Are we really supposed to believe that, considering all the preparation his mother gave him about what he would be exposed to in the deep south, compared to what he was used to at home in Chicago? Not only that, but Till had a pretty severe stutter, making it highly unlikely he could have said even half the things she accused him of. But really, even if he had said and done all those things, none of it justified his brutal torture and murder

Though I've read nurmerous books on this subject, this one has what no other book does - the perspective of someone who lived this with Till, right until he was taken away in the night. I can't begin to imagine the pain and guilt that Parker has carried with him for decades. Yet he willingly shares all of it for us, to make us understand what Till's death meant then, and still means now. He shares information from the investigation never shared before, clarifies errors reported over the years, and once more becomes that scared teenager on that August night in 1955, knowing there is nothing he can do to save his cousin and best friend. When Parker shares specific memories of the night those men forced their way into the home, his fear is viceral. Even knowing that the others are safe, that Parker will not be taken as well, the fear is palpable, leaping from the pages as you relive that night alongside him.

Something both this book and Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime that Changed America by Emmett's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, do well is bring Emmett to life in a way no other authors can. Those who knew him best, loved him more than anything, show us the real Emmett Till - not the caricature the defendents' lawyers presented that already lived in the minds of the all-white male jury, but the joyful, sweet, funny young man who had his whole life ahead of him. The boy who wanted to spend time with his cousins and family, despite his mother's misgivings about him going. It will surprise no one that Parker blames himself for Till visiting in the first place.

Parker also give details regarding the continued fight to get justice for his cousin, such as FBI interviews in the early 2000s and the work another author did  for his own book, where some of his research included interviewing Carolyn Bryant. In 2022 an old arrest warrant was found from 1955 that originally charged Carolyn with kidnapping in addition to her husband and brother-in-law. At the time she had not been arrested with the two men, because of course she wasn't. Unfortunately a Mississippi grand jury declined to indict her after its discovery, citing no new evidence to move forward. The Department of Justice had formally closed their investigation in December, 2021 and it is unlikely to be reopened again.

This is the history our government is currently trying to gloss over and erase. We must never let that happen and we must never let Emmett Till be forgotten.

Highly Highly recommended (along with Till-Mobley's book mentioned above).

Publisher Gift via NetGalley | Whack Job

I received a free digital ARC from the pubisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐...barely. EDIT: ⭐ only

This is not a history of axe murder. How can you write a book about axe murder and not write about any axe murders as we traditionally think of them - with the exception of Lizzie Borden? Where was the Axeman of New Orleans? Or Villisca? And to top it off, Lizzie doesn't even show up until chapter nine. NINE! Out of something like twelve chapters, hers and the chapter on the murders at Taliesin are the only ones that are actually axe murders.

Instead we also get stories of a possible 'first axe murder' half a million years ago, we look at the axe as it was used in war, and then take a look at Henry VIII and his love of chopping off heads of people who looked at him sideways.

Had I realized the author is the same one who wrote so flippantly with her father about axe murder victims in the book The Man from the Train, I would not have bothered with this one. Her casual approach to some of the deaths was honestly offensive. She's at times dismissive and bordering on straight disrespectful. I assume her aim was cheeky or funny, but she is neither. I hope she stops writing about this topic.

I honestly got more annoyed by this book as I wrote up the review and am knocking it down to one star.

To sum it up, this is a history of the the axe as a tool to build and how it was also used as a tool of death. But it is definitely NOT about axe murders.

Not recommended.

Publicist/Marketing Gift via NetGalley | The Heiress

I received a free digital ARC from the publicist/marketing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐

I absolutely LOVED Reckless Girls. The Villa was great. The Wife Upstairs was okay, but not quite on par with the other two for me. The same goes for The Heiress; it is just not Hawkins' strongest book, to me. There were some interesting twists but I figured out who Jules was pretty quickly, having read Hawkins' other novels, and many in this genre in general.

To sum it up in one sentence: unlikeable rich people doing unlikeable rich people shit.

Meaning - lots of secrets and lies and backstabbing to get their hands on the family fortune.

Ruby McTavish Woodward Miller Kenmore was the richest woman in North Carolina when she died. Her life was practically out of a movie - kidnapped as a young girl, a widow many times over (to the point the townspeople started calling her Mrs. Killmore), a beautiful family estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and ruling over the tiny, nearby town of Tavistock. With her death, the property and fortune went to her adopted son, Camden, leaving the rest of the family with nothing except the agreement that they can live in the sprawling home.

Cam, however, wants nothing to do with the money or any of his remaining family and we quickly find out why. He's made a life for himself over halfway across the country in Colorado, is married to a woman named Jules, and spends his days as an English teacher.

Unfortunately for Cam, his uncle's death leads to him being summoned back home to Ashby House, the elegant, breathtaking home where he was raised. Jules is enthralled immediately and is determined to make sure Cam claims every last cent of his fortune.

The story is told in three perspectives: Cam, Jules, and Ruby (via letters she wrote before she passed). There is also some mixed media, which I am always on the fence about. Here the author chose to tell parts of the story through magazine and newspaper articles related to the family and I would say it worked for the most part.

Given the set-up, I was hoping for something at least a little gothic-y, only because the family home is so central to the story and Cam being called back to Ashby was the starting point of the story. I love when the atmosphere makes the house almost a character in itself, but that did not happen here. I also don't think it was the author's intention anyway, as it's not gothic-y at all. That's just my personal preference.

As the truth is slowly revealed through Ruby's letters, there seem to be more questions than answers. More questions arise about Ruby's childhood, and the kidnapping that made her so famous. Then, there are the ever-present four dead husbands - surely all four could not have ben accidents or natural causes? Then there is the question of Camden himself. Why did Ruby choose to adopt him, after all was said and done? Ruby's relatives certainly see him as an obstacle. They want that fortune and some would do anything to get it.

As far as this type of mystery/thriller goes, it's not bad. It's just the weakest of all Hawkins' work, I feel like. The story was suspenseful even when I had things sort of worked out, because it's always fun to see how wrong or right you are. I just did not feel nearly as wrapped up in this one as I did Reckless Girls or The Villa.

Even so, I read it in a few hours, because I do like this author's work and will continue to read future her books.

Recommended.

Author Gift | Expletives Not Deleted

I received free digital and physical ARCs and final copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The first thing I must do is apologize to you, Mr. Acord, for not getting this review posted in anything that could be remotely considered timely. I enjoy your work and devoured the book quickly. But reviews have been harder for me the last couple years and what I have posted, has been practically forcing myself to sit down at gun-point and write, instead of just reading, reading, reading.

In 2020 I read Acord's first book, Sub-lebrity: The Queer Life of a Show-Biz footnote and absolutely LOVED it. you can find my review HERE. Acord's writing style makes you feel like you're having a conversation with him. You could be best friends, chatting over dinner, getting drinks after a show, anything. I liked the book so much, I went and found his web series Old Dogs & New Tricks. It's fantastic as well.

I was so excited then when Acord offered advanced copies of his new book (in 2023. I'm a terrible person). He is a talented writer, witty and clever. All of the characteristics I loved in the first book were here as well, which makes for another fantastic book that is a must-read.

So, where to begin, but at the beginning? Acord tells us from the start, "I've been trying very hard lately to not become a grumpy old queen. I fear I am not being entirely successful."

There are plenty of things Acord was annoyed about when he penned this one, and it's likely he's still annoyed with those things, because some are even worse now. He touches on a variety of topics in this eclectic collections of essays. We get the heavy ones, like racism, cancel culture/culture wars, maga/the idiot-in-chief, and more. But he leaves plenty of room for lighter pieces as well, and it is a testament to his writing skills that he is successful with both. I know that no matter what topic Acord is tackling, he will be unflinchingly honest, and that kind of honesty is a breath of fresh air these days.

As in his first book, Acord takes us back to life in Indiana as he was growing up. I especially enjoyed his essay, "Am I a 'They'?" as he thinks back to his preferences in childhood for horses, books, and Barbies instead of GI Joe and cops and robbers. He concludes that he may actually be a They after all, but has reached the point in his life where he might just be "a bit too old to make a radical lifestyle change now" (page 150).

Acord also keeps us in the present as well, in the essays about cancel culture, facebook, and all this exhausting racist reactionary bullshit that followed President Obama's election as our first Black president. These essays are timely and hit the nail on the head each time. Acord is intelligent and concise without being preach-y. And as I said before, always, always honest.

Highly, highly recommended.

Author Gift | Trouble in Censorville: The Far Right's Assault on Public Education and the Teachers Who are Fighting Back

I received both a free digital and physical copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is easily one of the best, most important books I've read this year. If the attack on our education system does not alarm you, you are part of the problem.

Let me be very clear: teachers are not trying to indoctrinate students. If that was our goal, everyone would be kind, wear deodorant, and turn homework in on time.

What we ARE trying to do, however, is provide safe environments for ALL students, and foster communities of inclusion and kindness so that all students know they have a place they belong. Representation matters and I will scream this at the top of my lungs from the top of the mountain until the day I die. All students deserve to see their reality reflected in the books they read and the tv shows and movies they watch. This includes books and graphic novels in classroom libraries and school libraries.

Across the country starting at local levels, the attacks have begun. The curious part of this is that these attacks often start with individuals who don't even have children in the school(s), or district as a whole, that they are targeting. They seem to get the ball rolling in many instances, and then it snowballs from there.

By now most people heave heard of Florida's "Dont' Say Gay" law. You can find more information about what this all entails at Human Rights Watch. Laws like this are so detrimental to the children we serve. Are we just supposed to pretend LGBTQIA+ people do not exist, even within our own classrooms? If so, what does that teach those children? That they don't matter? Their identity is not important? How many more children are we willing to lose, kids who kill themselves because to them it is the best solution for what they are going through?

Aside from that fuckery, we have agitators calling for book bans in school libraries - often books that those calling for such bans have not even read. Yet they attend school board meetings, railing against books they call pornographic, declaring teachers to be pedophiles for giving students access to them. Upon hearing such words as porngraphic or pedophile, it is easy for others to quickly be up in arms, without bothering to find out if this is actually true or not.

This book contains essays from across the educational spectrum - from elementary to high school - art teachers, social studies teachers, principals, and librarians at all three levels. Their experiences range from disheartening to traumatizing. Their jobs and lives are threatened, they're doxxed, called groomers, put on leave, or fired - all because they dared to make their spaces welcoming for ALL students, or because they dared to teach historically accurate information.

In one case, it was not even anything that happened in the classroom, but perception that a teacher was not 'feminine enough' in their dress; the teacher also used they/them pronouns, and the non-binary Mx instead of Ms. Less than a week into the school year, parents in their school district found their Insta account that showed various art projects they'd completed during their college coursework and proceeded to insist the work promotoed pedophilia (images were actually charcoal work showing nude ADULT models) and suicidal ideation (because of a performance piece that involved a plastic bag NEAR their face. The teacher was placed on leave four days into the new year and eventually signed a separation agreement that came with fantastic letters of reference. So this teacher, who could have been a candidate for Teacher of the Year, was run out of the district because some parents did not like how they looked. That is what this all boils down to, and it is disgusting. Not once did this teacher discuss their appearance, gender roles, or anything related to those topics in their classroom. They were hired to teach art to pr-k through 4th grade, and that is what they did. Yet they lost their job, ultimately because they looked different than all the other teachers on campus.

Something the book does well, aside from sharing a wide variety of ways teachers and school librarians have come under attack is to share a timeline of just such events. It begins in the period of 1865-1877 during Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War. Communism, the "Lavender Scare", Brown v. Board of Education, school vouchers, and so many more court cases come up, several commissions, and then specific events that target public education directly are all outlined. It is eye-opening to see that this is nothing new, but this round is the most dangerous given the speed with which misinformation spreads thanks to social media and those purposely agitating with false info.

An unfortunate theme that emerges here is that of passive admins who don't support their teachers because they don't want to upset the parents, or lose their own jobs. The teachers sharing their stories here all experienced this in some form, from admins to basically giving in, to those outright hostile to them. Some also spoke of lack of support from colleagues who did not want to get involved, for fear of being placed on leave or being fired as well.

It is little wonder then, that these educators also spoke of the debilitating mental, emotional, and physical effects on their health as they struggled to understand how doing their jobs, or simply existing, was cause to get them removed from a profession they had once loved so much. These are qualified educators, some of whom had been in their positions for several years with zero issues before. Along with often being forced out of their jobs or being moved to other teaching positions, these educators reported an increase in feeling unmanageable amounts of stress/anxiety, depression, panic attacks, weight loss or gain, insomnia, panic attacks, and more.

Another thing I loved about this book was hearing from the educators themselves. Here, they control their own stories and share the impact from start to finish, both on their careers and themselves, with no chance for the media to distort or deceived (always looking at you in general, Faux News). I think this is crucial in order for people to understand just how massive these problems are, and how widespread this is becoming. For the 14 stories shared here, I can guarantee there are hundreds more we may never hear about.

This book is a must-read for everyone who sees where this road leads. I also highly encourage you to check out the website Censorville for videos from the teachers themselves (or those with actors portraying them), more information about the book, resources, and so much more.

Highly highly recommended.

Author Gift | FISHBOWL 45: The Unpresidented Parody

 

I received a free digital copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐

I have to laugh about 2016-2020 because if I didn't laugh, all I would do is cry. And don't even get me started on the fight we still have coming here in the next three months.

So, books like this are necessary because the last thing we need is to be depressed and unable to get out of bed. There's no time for that, if we want to stop Project 2025.

That's what makes satire and parodies necessary and this is a fun little gem of a book that certainly does its job.

The main character, Donald, is the president of Fishbowl Motors. He spends his days trying to sell pre-owned luxury cars because they're made here in America and he wants nothing more than loads of money and to make America great again.

Unfortunately, he's not so great at his job and his VP of the company, Mike, let's him know just how close they are to bankruptcy. This doesn't faze him in the slightest because he has a plan, the best plan, to get them back on track. He's always on the hunt for the next big win as he races around NYC trying to make it all happen.

But of course it won't, because he's an idiot and has no idea what he's doing. Sound familiar?

This was definitely a fun way to spend a couple hours, though it was also anxiety-inducing because every word the main character said, I could hear in my head in HIS voice and it just made me so angry because he treated the presidency exactly like one of his many failed businesses and here we are. So, it was also a little stressful. And when he is speaking certain phrases in the book that we've heard trump utter in real life, it definitely adds a big dose of reality. It looks just as silly in text as it sounded when he said it.

The book is written by a father and son team and at no point did the book feel choppy or disjointed. Sometimes that can happen with more than one author, but was not the case here.

There is a lot of clever dialogue that will have you chuckling. He's just so obnoxious and ridiculous and over the top, and then you remember that he is exactly the same in real life, so it doesn't seem so over the top after all. No one really needs to do anything to make him look like a moron, he does that for himself just fine every time he opens his mouth. The authors do a fantastic job using his dialogue and inner thoughts throughout to showcase this.

I liked seeing Donnie get what he had coming to him, and hopefully we see the same thing happen in November. Definitely recommended for those who are exhausted from this fight, who know it's going to get worse before it gets better, but need a breather to laugh at the absurdity of it all before jumping back into the fight.

Book Review | Naramauke

Rating: Do you really need to ask? ALL THE FUCKING STARS FOREVER!

Note: As mentioned in my recent NetGalley ARC review of Teen Killers at Large, Naramauke is Teen Killers Club told from Erik's point of view.  It is ONLY available if you email proof of pre-order or library request to Sparks at lily@sparkslily.com. And it will only be available until At Large is published on October 10th, 2023.

Also: You MUST read Teen Killers Club first, and you should also probably read Teen Killers in Love as well. You can read Naramauke before Teen Killers at Large.

And: Here is my double review of TKC and In Love, if you have not read them yet.

Okay...NOW the fun stuff.

The fun stuff being an absolute gut-wrenching book because it made Erik so vulnerable and human. I mean, for me personally, Erik was always #1. Sparks' lit agent confirmed on Twitter at one point that this might make me a psychopath as well. I'm okay with that.

But it would be very easy I think for some readers to dismiss him as manipulative and evil, even after book two.

Apparently I have a type though, because I was Team Erik from the start, and I am STILL pissed at Javier for some stuff that happened in At Large. But MORE pissed now, because of Erik's insights from Naramauke.

So, yes, Naramauke is the best-parts of TKC because we learn SO much about Erik, from his own mind, which is not nearly as unreliable as one would think if they only read the books from Signal's perspective. In fact, Erik is not unreliable at all. He is very aware of who he is and everything is very black and white for him.

I love that we got to see important glimpses of other characters also, particularly Troy and Javier. SO SO important. There were conversations and events that Signal never knew about, but were critical to how Erik developed, and for readers to see how he constantly protected her. We also see more viciousness from Dave and Kate and it makes sense that they, too, are former campers.

Something I really loved was Erik's assessment of all the others. He is the original Class A, so each of these kids shares some aspect of his personality. I really liked when he came to understand how so-and-so shared this characteristic with him. It was really helpful to understand the others better. I know what you're thinking - they're all murderers, why does it matter that we understand them?

But it DOES matter. Despite all testing as Class As, they are still drastically different. No one is a carbon copy of Erik, nor are they copies of one another.

Then there's Signal. Designated a Class A in part for the brutal decapitation/murder of her best friend (there are several data points used to assess Class As, not only their crimes), despite Erik's 100% certainty that she innocent. He is determined to prove this, because Erik believes it will get the Wylie-Stanton thrown out and he can finally be free.

If you are wondering (and someone on Insta asked Sparks about this, so I know readers are), with the help of Naramauke you will be able to figure out the answers to the scavenger hunt the group was given during Color Wars in book one. The clues were as follows:

Find the camper...

1. ...who wet the bed until they were 13.

2. ...whose first kiss was their stepbrother.

3. ...who never had a visitor in prison.

4. ...with the lowest Class A score.

5. ...who doesn't remember murdering someone.

6. ...who grew up in a trailer park.

7. ...who parent gave them 3rd degree burns.

8. ...whose Wylie-Stanton result led to the bullying and suicide of their younger sibling.

I won't give the answers because that's spoiler-y-ish, I feel like anyway, but I did ask Sparks if my guesses were correct. They were, yay! But you have to read all four books yourself to find the answers.

NOW I am about to lay down ONE actual spoiler, and hopefully by spacing it out, your eyes won't read it by accident if you don't want ANY spoilers at all. Scroll fast, there's a spoiler start and spoiler end designation so you know when it is done.

SPOILER START

Turns out, Erik is not a psychopath.

SPOILER END

I mentioned that this book was gut-wrenching, and I mean it. We find out things that happened to Erik when he was younger, things that are absolutely devastating. In book two Signal discovers Erik's journal at his childhood home and she says to him after reading it that it is so clear that he loved his mom with his whole heart. This makes me even more sad for him, and all the trauma he endured; it turns out he IS the good guy - something even Erik repeatedly says he is not, throughout the trilogy.

I really loved seeing his feelings for Signal evolve as he realized he COULD feel love, he could care and do the right thing. It has nothing to do with him being unworthy before, this is not a white-washing to make Erik suddenly okay to like. He is still the Erik he has always been. But perspective matters big time and this novella is so crucial in further understanding how Erik's mind works.

Gaining those insights into Erik's beautifully terrifying mind - his childhood, early teen years, his relationship with both his mom and older brother Skye - felt like it wrapped the entire story up very well - despite it not being the final book, but a different perspective on book one.

I am not ready to say goodbye to these characters. AT ALL. I know it is rude to tell authors what they should write. And I am so excited for Sparks' next book coming in 2024, The Merciless King of Moore High, but I am hoping that some day we get one more look at the Teen Killers Club.

HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Author Gift | The Soulful Home Design Guide

I received a free physical copy from the author in exchange for an honest review

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is not my normal genre, but I was interested when offered because I am so hopeless when it comes to stuff like this. Between my daughter and I, we are both really terrible with clutter. FYI: books do not count as clutter and they are EVERYWHERE in our home. I found that information especially helpful and will return to this book again, for sure.

The author, Natalia Kaylin, has ample experience in her field. With over twenty years of experience, she is able to help her clients achieve the goals they have set for themselves in regards to their home environments. Her background working with experts in a variety of relevant fields make her an expert in her work.

The book is divided in three sections: Getting Started, The Seven Building Blocks of Creating a Soulful Home, and Putting it all Together. All throughout, the book remains conversational while providing practical and executionable steps to create a living space that reflects who you are as a person.

In the first section the author directs us to examine the connection we have with our homes. Feng shui is introduces here and I found this especially helpful because I know pretty much nothing about this concept.

Section two was incredibly helpful to me because it discussed decluttering, which we both absolutely need to do. But it's haaaaaaaaard and we'd rather read. Also, we are lazy, I guess, since that's what it sounds like when I read those words back to myself. The author invites us here to really look at the belongings in our spaces and connect to them to see what kind of influence they have on us and how we reflect ourselves through the items we have/display.

In the final section the author brings everything together and moves through our homes room-by-room with us to enable us to create positive energy and feeling for ourselves.

Kaylin does a wonderful job in explaining the many concepts she introduces, and why each matters. She does this through a variety of ways - numerous diagrams, client anecdotes/case studies, and lists that help break everything down.

It is clear the author has a true passion for helping others. I am so glad I got the chance to read this one and I plan to start using this guide in the near-future to help make our home more our own.

Highly recommended.

Publisher Gift via NetGalley | Gaia and Luna

I was contacted by the publisher and given a free digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐

This is a super weird little book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is very hard to classify, as it is fantasy/fiction, science-y, history, basically everything. That makes it ll the more fun.

In an instant, the universe is created and we are given a running commentary of how existence evolved for eight celestial beings as they wander their paths around the Sun, some all alone and others with satellite companions.

Gaia undergoes the most serious of changes, as her younger sister Luna looks on. They discuss at length what these changes might mean for their futures, as something comes into being that Gaia calls Life. A species that is self-aware, and manages to continue evolving, making new discoveries at such a rapid pace that they can hardly keep up. There comes a point where Gaia is truly concerned for herself, and Luna is as well - though she knows she is helpless in the situation and can do nothing to aid her big sister.

I thought this was such a unique way to talk about the history of our solar system, giving the planets the chance to make their observations and discuss among themselves what it all means. We see the entire galaxy evolve, but the main focus is the sisters, Gaia and Luna.

Gaia is thrilled by the changes occurring and constantly shares new developments with Luna. Luna is (rightfully) a lot more cautious, and worries where some of these changes are heading (you and me both, Sister). Yet as humans continue to evolve, Gaia finally hops on board with the concern Luna has been voicing. When we reach the 1900s, and progress is happening so quickly that that sense of wonder has been replaced with pure dread, it is clear that perhaps humans aren't as cool as Gaia first thought (not wrong; we are, on the whole, pretty terrible to one another and our planet).

Recommended for those looking for a short, unique read about our world.

Publicist Gift | How to Walk with Steve

 

I received a free physical copy of this book from the author's publicist in exchange for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

One of the most moving, traumatic, beautiful, tragic memoirs I have ever read.

Fromberg's writing style drew me in immediately; I am such a sucker for stream-of-consciousness fiction by certain authors (obviously Hannah Capin) but believe me when I say it works superbly here as well in non-fiction. It create the exact atmosphere for the reader to feel as closely as possible what it must have been like to live through these experiences, all the chaos and uncertainty. It also helped further that feeling with the story written in short vignettes, like scenes in a play almost. We see this one thing happen, then off to the next, unsure if what happened previously will be resolved before the book ends.

Throughout we learn of Fromberg's life first growing up in Peoria, Illinois. He lives with his parents, functioning as both addicts and artists, if functioning can even be the right word. He also has a younger brother, Steve, who was Autistic, and before reading this I could only imagine how hard life was for a family in the 70s with a child on the spectrum. It's overwhelming even now, in 2021, despite all the services and resources available to families today. As a special education teacher, sometimes even I am overwhelmed with how to best ensure that my students on the Spectrum are getting all of their needs met and that they are set up as best as possible for success. With the added chaos of  their parents' addiction, Robert bears much responsibility, far more than he ever should have been asked to at a young age.

The author is examining his life, holding it up to the light as he comes to realizations and makes connections right along with the reader. His tone is conversational and he is nothing but very, very honest. He introduces readers to some of the most traumatic moments in his life as he sometimes simply struggled to survive.

But it's not all terrible. There are beautiful moments too. Moments that you feel so deeply, because of how he has brought you to this window into his life. It sometimes feels are if you reliving the moment with him.

We also see the every-day things that occurred, things one might consider unimportant in the grand scheme of things, yet it was often those moments that became so critical, because we feel time and again what the author felt at that particular point.

it is without a doubt a rollercoaster of emotions packed into a slim volume, but there is one thing that is always certain, that never falters: Robert's absolute and unconditional love for Steve.

An extraordinary work of art, highly recommended.

Publisher Gift via NetGalley | Where the Light Fell: A Memoir

 

I received an invitation from the publisher to download a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I received an email from the publisher inviting me to read this memoir that stated it was similar to books such as Educated by Tara Westover, which I loved, so I decided to give it a try. I suppose 'loved' isn't entirely accurate, because her story is at times downright terrifying, but I think you understand what I mean.

I have never read Yancey's other work, and I confess I had never heard of him until I read this one. He is incredibly brave for sharing this with the world and I found I could not put the book down.

Yancey details his life, living with his mother and older brother, Marshall after the death of his father. His father died young from Polio, so it was just the three of them for a very long time. The elder Yancey died after he and his wife, southern fundamentalist Christians, decided to leave his health and life to God and reject the option of remaining in the Iron Lung. It would be a decision with catastrophic consequences for many years to come, beyond his death which of course in itself was catastrophic for the young family.

From then on Yancey, his brother, and mother moved constantly. She relied on support from their church and from teaching Bible studies whenever she could, wherever they were at. Being without means, the family often moved nearly every year in order to find affordable housing. The boys were constantly uprooted as their mother drove herself deeper and deeper into incredibly hostile religious beliefs, among them being that her sons were meant for some great divine purpose and she would do everything she could to ensure they stayed on that path to becoming missionaries.

Of course, this would not go well.

Despite both boys being gifted in various ways (musically, academically, etc), this was not enough for their mother. Or rather, those were not the gifts she wanted them to use, not the gifts she believed they were put on their earth to grow with.

As the boys get older, Marshall becomes increasingly adept at standing up to their mother who is constantly coming at them with the fire-and-brimstone sure to engulf the boys if they stray. Yet stray they do - yet their paths diverge greatly in how they do so.

When Marshall first went off to college, he attended Columbia Bible College. Yet his rebellion came quickly and when he transferred to a less-zealous/more-liberal school, their mother reacted as one would expect: cursing him by calling on God to paralyze him or cause him to go crazy. Yet Marshall managed to go on with his life as he wanted to, as his mother's religious convictions simply drove him further and further from the church and faith she clung to so tightly. It will surprise no one that Marshall became an atheist.

Philip would eventually follow his brother to Columbia Bible College, where he had his own rebellions. Yet, despite his mother's behavior, Philip was not driven away from the church. Instead, it caused him to delve deeper into faith, to explore the possibilities of faith and grace, instead of faith tied to the constant fear his mother had raged at them all their lives. Yancey details at length his constant questioning of the world around him in his time at the Bible college and it eventually led him down the path he has walked to reach this point, where he can look back on his life so far and find healing.

There is no denying that the boys had an abusive upbringing, given the two vastly different personalities their mother possessed. So proper and deeply spiritual in public, yet at home spiritual in such a violent way that can't really be called spiritual at all. Through this memoir though, it seems the author has come to terms with that childhood and young adulthood. It eventually delivered him to where he is now, blessed in having found true faith with grace and forgiveness.

Highly recommended.

Author Gift | Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England

I received a free digital copy of this text from the author, Annie Whitehead, in exchanged for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was first introduced to the work of Annie Whitehead and many other fantastic authors in a wonderful little volume called 1066 Turned Upside Down. This absolute gem of a book explored all sorts of outcomes of the entire year of 1066 and what possibilities could have come true besides William the Bastard's victory. Most were grounded in reality and some were quite fantastical but I loved every single one - especially the one that saw Harold successful at Hastings. But I also have to remind myself that if we are altering British history that greatly, Eleanor of Aquitaine might never have become who she was, so I have to accept what happened and be fine with it.

My second encounter with the author's work came with a reading of Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom. You'll notice a theme here, in that when it comes to my beloved Anglo-Saxons, I will read any and everything I can get my hands on. This was another fantastic read for me and I eagerly awaited Whitehead's next offering.

I was NOT disappointed.

This text is incredibly well-researched, almost exhaustedly so. The author makes fantastic use of all the sources she is able to find - which was a surprising great number. I've read so much about the Anglo-Saxons, but never a book so wholly dedicated to restoring the women of the time back to their rightful places in history. And let's be realistic: when we do meet these women by chance or in passing, we usually don't get much information unless she was powerful or scandalous or both.

Yet here Whitehead is able to explore the lives of so many women in-depth, or at least as deep as we are able to go with what information exists. I was truly in awe of the number of primary sources that named so many women who, most often, I knew only scant facts about. To find that so many women were well-educated, literate, and powerful is thrilling. She uses a number of chronicles, annals, and charters to pull apart the many threads sometimes necessary to get to the truth. When necessary she also uses information from legends or gossip about certain figures that has come down to us through the ages. It was really interesting to see the comparisons of what chroniclers said about these women, vs. what records actually show. Such sniveling little men sometimes - something I know all to well in regards to my dear Eleanor of Aquitaine, centuries later.

Whitehead shows just how powerful some women became, and in a variety of roles: landowners, queens, consorts, dowager queens, abbesses, even a warrior (perhaps). Where she found contradictions in sources, Whitehead takes the best route possible in order to remain neutral and present her thoughts without stating that it is absolutely certain this way or that. I think that is was a good historian must do, choose what is most likely when considering the biases that many chroniclers held for women - especially powerful ones.

The book is divided by topic and each section within is mostly chronological, but not entirely. There is overlap from section to section but I feel that in a book like this that is helpful, as the reader is more able to place each woman in the proper context of her time and role. Some might find this bit repetitive, but I found it useful.

For dealing with these centuries when women were regularly written of only as footnotes in the lives of their fathers, sons, uncles, brothers, even cousins, Annie Whitehead has done a beautiful job restoring them to their rightful places in history.

Highly recommended.

NetGalley ARC | Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages

 

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

(I complained on Twitter about not getting approved or denied so maybe Dan Jones told them to give me a copy just so I would shut up about it.)

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I know, I know.

I obviously can't be objective because it's Dan Jones, is what you're all thinking.

Well, I CAN!

This book is just THAT GOOD.

Literally all of my favorite people, places, and things from history, in one ginormous volume, covering roughly 1,000 years of everything that happened from the Fall of Rome to those Tudors coming in and shaking things up.

We're talking this one might be rivalling The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England as my most fave Dan Jones book. That's HUGE. I first learned about Eleanor of Aquitaine from The Plantagenets so Dan Jones basically named my baby. (Side note: I always remind Eleanor that she is so lucky that I learned about Eleanor of Aquitaine BEFORE Boudicca, or she might have a very different name.)

BUT THIS ONE IS SO GOOD.

You also might be thinking, "Do we need ANOTHER book about the Middle Ages?"

Again, the answer is yes.

What Jones has managed to do once again is combine his massive amount of knowledge, tying it all together across place and time, and present it in a highly informative yet highly readable way.

I was lucky to have teachers who really made history come alive for me, even going back to middle school. History has been my love for as long as I can remember. I get that non-fiction is not for everyone. A lot of people don't even give it a chance because history was taught to them in a boring recitation of facts and dates and names.

This book though, is something different; an extraordinary feat that Jones should 100% be proud of. (And I assure you he is, because who wouldn't be?)

He brings these historical figures to life and makes them real once more. It's hard sometimes to think about people this way, to imagine them living and working and dying in a world so different from our own. But Jones has the skill to share this knowledge and research in such an engaging way that you feel as though you could actually reach back in time and walk along Hadrian's Wall (which you actually can do if you're in the UK, which I am not and that is sad), to sit in a Great Hall and take in all the sights and sounds and smells of life at a royal court, to race along the Asian Steppes with Genghis Khan, watch as Rome is sacked time and again (six altogether in this span that Jones covers), and more.

SO MUCH MORE.

Really, truly. I was actually nervous about how I was even going to write up this review because there is so much material to address. Otherwise I would have had it up days ago.

Just for fun, let's take a look at all of my Goodreads shelves I added this book to, so you can get an idea of everything you'll find. I am selective in how I add non-fiction texts to my various shelves. If something is mentioned in passing and gets barely more than a paragraph, then no it does not qualify. If it is discussed in-depth or is used in a way that makes more clear the topic at hand, on the shelf it goes. They are as follows:

                        Ancient Rome    Medieval Europe    Middle Ages    Roman Britain    Asia   

Eastern Europe    Goths/Visigoths/Ostrogoths    Byzantium    Plague    Middle East    

Military History    Islam    France and the French    Carolingian Dynasty   

 Merovingian Dynasty    Vikings    Christian History    Plantagenets    King Arthur

    Wales    The Crusades    Eleanor of Aquitaine    Spain and the Spanish    

Mongols and Mongolia    Russia    Business and Leadership    Anglo-Saxon England

    Castles and Palaces    Christian Holy Places and Relics    Climate Change   

 Medicis    Joan of Arc    Architecture    Art    Explorers    Mexico    Popes   

 Germans and Germany    Tudors    Gauls and Franks

Quite a bit of information, no?

And if that's not enough, there are plenty more topics that would probably have justified the creation of a new shelf to accommodate it, but I chose not to. I couldn't even list all the labels on this post because there is a character limit.

I really love how Jones divided up each section. First there is Imperium, Latin for what amounts to absolute power, which Rome once had, which covers 410-750. Here we find chapters on the Romans, Barbarians, Byzantines, and Arabs.

Next comes Dominion, spanning 750-1215, with sections entitled Franks, Monks, Knights, and Crusades.

Third is Rebirth, 1215-1347, detailing the time as it related to the Mongols, Merchants, Scholars, and Builders.

Last comes Revolution, 1348-1527. We learn of Survivors, Renewers, Navigators, and Protestants.

As you might expect, there is an extensive section of notes and from Jones you should expect no less. The text ended at 77% in my advanced digital copy, with notes taking up the next 13% of the content. Primary sources cover another 4%, with journal articles and theses ending at 96%. The remainder right up to 100% is footnotes.

I can promise that if you pick this one up and settle in for a good bit of reading time, you will not be disappointed. Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages is the new standard against which to measure all other books covering the same topics.

Without a doubt, this is the best book of 2021 for me and I don't believe that anything the rest of the year can top it.

Highly, highly, highly recommended.

Publisher Gift | Not In My Name

 

I received a free physical copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not in my Name is set in 2003 in a kind of alternate Britain where Tony Blair holds a referendum on whether or not the UK should enter into war with Iraq. By a slim margin of 52%-48%, the yeses win and war is in the offing. There are accusations that the voters were manipulated and tension is running high.

The story follows Phoebe Green, who is an anti-war activist, along with her fellow protestors Xia, Paula, Vince, Cassie, Liam, Gus, Sefu and her sister Mel. The book opens at a protest taking place a few days after the vote. Phoebe and her group are participating at a die-in to try to bring awareness as to why this referendum was such a terrible idea. The scene becomes increasingly volatile. When the police move in to make arrests, Cassie and Paula are able to slip away into the crowd. When Phoebe is interrogated later on at the police station, she learns Cassie has been murdered.

This sends Phoebe into a spiral and she is determined to solve Cassie's murder. The police say the attack on Cassie was random and unrelated to her position as an activist, but Phoebe knows otherwise when she visits the pub where the attack took place. Prior to that, as Phoebe and Mel begin cleaning out Cassie's room on the farm where the activists all live together, she finds clues containing the name Richard Lampart, with a variety of addresses.

Phoebe is disheartened by the seeming lack of interest by the police in solving Cassie's murder. The police conduct raids on their little commune at times and Phoebe is concerned because she believes (rightfully) that there are officers who identify with the far-right protestors who her group often clashes with.

When Phoebe returns from the pub, Sefu informs her that he saw strangers enter the property, near the barns/sheds. As they're talking, they witness Vince being attacked but are unable to get to him in time to save him. He becomes the second victim in what is obviously becoming an attack on their group, presumably by one of the right-wing activist groups they've clashed with at previous protests.

Phoebe and Sefu trap one of the attackers in the barn and he claims he witnessed Vince being killed by someone else, not from his group. The two leave him trapped in the barn to continue their investigation. In the house they find one of Sefu's swords covered in blood.

It becomes clear to Phoebe and Sefu that not everything is as it seems and that among the people they live with, one of them is a murderer.

So, there's a lot going on here, obviously. There's the political tension is clear from the start and the author did a great job laying the groundwork. It was easy to feel that tension not only at the protests where the two groups were at odds, but the tension was still there even in the absence of the far-right groups. This created an unsettling feeling that I was able to feel through Phoebe, as she and Sefu discussed what was going on, before the intruders appeared at the farm.

I did struggle with Phoebe at times though, as she was not always the most captivating of main characters. I can't quite put my finger on why, but there was a disconnect at times between her and I. She was a well-developed character, as was Sefu, and I found myself relating to him more. The secondary characters could be hard to keep track of at times, but that also helped the create the murkiness needed once it was determined that the killer was one of them.

I feel like the conflict translates well to the climate of the US over the last year and a half especially. Even though I am not well-versed in UK politics, that did not hinder me from enjoying the novel because it could easily be something happening here as well. It's all here, the purposeful misinformation spread, the rabid media who just want ratings, and two sides who are so far apart, reconciliation is simply not possible.

Recommended for fans of political thrillers.