Dave, the narrator of "Cornjerkers", and his high school friends are entering their senior year at Hoopeston High School in the small town of Hoopeston, Illinois. It's 1967 and the war in Viet Nam is now full-blown. Protests against the war are increasing across the...

“Sykosa, Part I: Junior Year,” written by Justin Ordonez, is a book about a young girl coming of age. Our young heroine Sykosa is a sixteen year old high school junior. About a year previously she was attacked but avoids discussing it. Her boyfriend Tom...

Eson Crist, the author of “Holy Grail: How to Make the Universe Work for You”, fully admits that he is an experimenter of life. As a matter of fact, his quest for the truth has led to abundant financial riches, business growth and rewarding relationships....

Once upon a time there were three little monsters named Grouch, Grump and little Gloom ‘n’ Doom who lived in a dark monster castle on top of a dark monster hill. These three little monsters argued every day over who was the biggest, worst monster,...

"What is Family?" written by Etan Boritzer and illustrated by Jeff Vernon is a book filled with questions and explanations for children. It also provides a basis for a discussion. Each and every person is different and each family is different. This book discusses how...

"What is Dreaming?", written by Etan Boritzer and illustrated by Jeff Vernon, encourages the exploration of and discussions about dreams which can be frightening and a difficult concept for children to grasp. This book provides various explanations for why we dream what we do; for...

Six friends are out joyriding in the middle of nowhere when suddenly they think that they hit a woman. When they get out to investigate they see the damage to the vehicle, but there is no body. When several dog-like creatures come out of the...

"What is Death?", written by Etan Boritzer and illustrated by Nancy Forrest, discusses death using kid-friendly terms and explanations. The author discusses what death means and what death actually is, including what physically happens to a person's body. A person's soul is discussed carefully since...

"What is True?", written by Etan Boritzer and illustrated by Jeff Vernon, is an excellent book that will challenge children and encourage them to seek answers and to find out what really is true. The book begins with asking what is true and asking if...

"The Rocky Mountain Heiress Collection" by Kathleen Y’Barbo consists of three lively and enthralling stories: 'The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper', 'Anna Finch and the Hired Gun', and 'The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck'. Each story is a romance set in the Wild West in...

Richard N. Shapiro has compiled a collection of Facebook posts and added his thoughts about them in his book "Faceplant: Chronicles of Facebook's True Tales & Epic Fails." Divided into thirty-three chapters, this book contains posts and threads that correspond with the posts. One chapter...

Thomas Adams has thoroughly researched the history of English settlers vs. Native Americans in the early years of Southern New England in "Preying Indians". The author is clear in his history-based opinion that the problems that arose between the Native American indigents such as the...

“Abraham and Sarah” by J. SerVaas Williams is a story like few others. Williams has taken the Biblical account of Abram and Sarai, imaginatively filled in the blanks, and woven a rich tapestry of life and love in the Middle East 4,000 years ago. From...

"Fairminded Fran and the Three Small Black Community Cats" by Linda Elder is an educational book for children which deals with the problem of feral cats. Fairminded Fran is initially taken with the cats but she is confused as to why they do not come...

Step into Aspen Colorado in the 1880's in "The Ring That Binds" by Linda Carroll-Bradd and meet Celina Innes, a shop owner and a widow. Celina is not only a widow but a mother with a small daughter and, thanks to the bad choices her...

“Who Could That Be at This Hour: All the Wrong Questions” by Lemony Snicket is the first book in a new 'Lemony Snicket series'. The book I am reviewing is an audio book. This tale is told from the point of view of thirteen year...

Falcon's Bend, a small sleepy town in Wisconsin, is just that, and doesn't see an overabundance of violent crime. That is until one fateful night when a dancer from the town's Gentlemen’s Club is found strangled. As the investigations get underway, Detectives Pete Shasta and...

"Giants in the Land" by Clark Burbidge is the first of a proposed series. There is a small village in which giants have always been available to protect the people as well as help them to sustain a working community. The giants are revered but...

"Lill and Mewe" was written by Jean E. Lane. In this tale we meet Lill and her cat Mewe. While using her new telescope, Lill saw planet Earth. She and Mewe travel to Earth in her father’s space ship. While there they make a friend...

"Hera, the Queen of Gods" tells the story of a mission to save the Fates and what the Greek Gods did to find them. After discovering the horror of this situation, Hera, Zeus and a handful of gods went down to the mortal world. Since...