A pursuit for a better education, better wealth, and most importantly, a better life. Dan Liu, a university lecturer from China, set his foot on United States with sheer determination to earn a master degree in engineering, a citizenship and to land a better, well-paying...

When we first meet Hannah, she is fighting traffic on her way to her grandmother's funeral. She is bringing her grandmother's embalmed canary, which, according to family legend, alerted her grandfather to toxic fumes in the coal mine her grandmother owned. Hannah is dreading the...

Like being on an elevated train and lurching from one stop to another, "The Green Line" by E.C. Diskin takes the reader on a scary but productive journey. Abby is the lawyer in a Chicago firm who finds herself in jeopardy when she gets on...

"Twixt the Road and the River" is the story of sixteen year old Amy Catherine Darnell and nineteen year old Johnny Scott. Seems like they have been dating forever, but Johnny says that he can't get married until he finds the right piece of land...

“Hannah's Voice” by Robb Grindstaff is the story of Hannah, who decided to stop speaking when she was six years old. Her mother always asked her the same questions again and again. Other people did the same and Hannah thought she might as well stop...

"A Christmas of Grace" is the story of eleven year old Grace Gillian and her almost six year old brother Henry James. For the Gillian children life had never really been stable. Because of their alcoholic mother, Grace had always been the one to make...

“The Victorian House” by Dr. Karen Pirnot is a story that will tug at the heart strings of readers bringing both tears and smiles. Twelve year old Silky and Sly were visiting Sly’s grandparents for the summer when they decided to explore the old Victorian...

"Vignettes & Postcards" edited by Erin Byrne and Anna Pook contains a collection of humorous, lyrical, and philosophical short stories that I found utterly engaging. The editors demonstrate keen literary instincts in anthologizing these fine pieces of short fiction. Anna Pook has led writer's workshops...

“Puck” by Kevin White is the beautiful, heart-warming and heart-wrenching story of Kathy and Jason and their autistic young son Luke. Ice hockey becomes the thread that connects Luke to the outside world. Luke’s story is told to us through the eyes and heart of...

In the book “Nothing Good is Free” by Matthew R. Horn, we learn that being a vigilante is not easy. Jeff Scott has to rely on the secret information given to him by Martell, a detective with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) to stay one...