In Love and Mercy: Up On Roan Mountain by Martha Arrowood Pelc, Ollie, the first character introduced, faces more in her short life than most adults face in a lifetime. There is a mix of love and major tragedy in each family that’s compelling and...

Be Still the Water by Karen Emilson is a historical novel set against the backdrop of the tranquil shores of Lake Manitoba in the early 1900s, a story centered around the immigrant Gudmundsson family and their struggles to settle among the Siglunes in the early...

As a victim of child abuse myself, I have a pretty thick skin when I read stories similar to my own. But Where Children Run by Karen Emilson shook me to my core with its depiction of violence against children, especially since it is a...

Ravyn’s Doll: How To Explain Fibromyalgia To Your Child by Melissa Swanson is an informative book that will educate young readers about fibromyalgia. It is Monday morning and it is a family share day for the children in Miss Mindy’s kindergarten class. Children find her...

Side Steps: Terrorizing Sound Bites is a volume of collected poetry on a variety of personal and socio-cultural themes and was penned by author Amy Jean. Written for adult audiences due to some content and language usage, the work explores the experience of women still...

Side Steps Terrorizing Sound Bites Part 2: Some Things are Black and White by Amy Jean, with illustrations by Eric Savage, is a non-fiction poetic memoir that follows Jean's first book and its shared title. Many of Jean's work correlates to her own life and...

Breathe: Breath, Resilience, Embrace, Accountability, Truths of life, Happiness, Enjoy by Leonidas Hadjimitsis is a guide whose purpose is to make a difference in our lives. Leonidas expresses his beliefs and views clearly and holistically. Crucially, it includes all the skills and competencies you need...

Doing Good & Doing Well by Michael L. Kaufman, MSW, PhD, is a guide for helping professionals like teachers, therapists, social workers, doctors, and nurses to assume leadership roles in their organizations. As these professionals and others like them focus on the well-being of people,...

Bugs Bugs Bugs Everywhere There Are Bugs is written and illustrated by Peter Richards. This is a story of everyday life and shows lots of scenarios where bugs might be encountered. Putting out the garbage, getting the mail, going for a walk, patting a dog....

The setting is the small town Raleigh, Missouri. This book begins by introducing the readers to a diverse group of characters at first they seem to have no connection except, they all live in the same town. As the plot develops the reader watches as...

"Who Got Liz Gardner" by Elizabeth Allen is about a young woman growing up in the 70's and as she matures into a woman through the 80's and 90's. She desperately tries not to follow in her mother's footsteps (married 5 times and still looking...

Ari, half Israeli, half Persian, is married to unpampered Lily who is of American Jewish descent. They live quietly in the Arizona desert until an unsigned letter arrives stating that "The time has come for the Hidden One to make himself known and fill the...

"World Beyond the Maelstrom Gate" features a group of multicultural college students. They are brought together when Daniel, an aspiring astronomer in his sophomore year, discovers an error in the calculated path of a small meteor. Daniel and his roommates determine the meteor landed near...

It was the prime of Janelle’s young life when heartbreak and love both came to her in quick succession. Her father died suddenly, leaving her a sizable amount of land, a thriving farming operation, and a tidy sum of money. She had barely walked away...

What would it feel like to see the world through the green eyes of a cat? No need to guess, just read "The Unconventional Life of Haee" by R.S. Vern. The story made me keep turning the pages till the very end, as the writing...

“How to Make Compost” written by Renee Benzaim is a good introductory guide into the world of compost. This mini-guide explains many different methods that can be employed to create compost in both indoor and outdoor settings. The many benefits of composting are the first...

“Number Seventy-Five” by Ashley Fontainne is a chilling suspense from the moment you learn the reasoning behind the title. Seconds after meeting Mandy Russell you discover that she is slapped with the realization she is about to become the seventy-fifth victim in an eerie killing...

Salsa!: 80 Great Recipes! by Renee Benzaim, is a collection of recipes that will leave your mouth watering and will have you heading out of the door to run to your local farmer’s market. Benzaim begins with a brief introduction to describe what exactly salsa...

Mountain climbing is a topic I have never been very familiar with other than knowing you are scaling up the side of a large steep rock dependent on a rope and skill … eek! James Wilde, in Moving Mountains decided to give us an...

Darker Side Endings by Kelvin Kettle is a set of 8 horror stories. All the eight stories - Spikes, Shanglin Forest,The Black Egg, Date Mistake, Amanda in Red, The Student, The Pretty Lady and The Devil's Altar - are unique with a common thread of...