I think I must be the center of the universe – at least, my universe. I’m sure you’re the center of your universe. Calvin is the center of his universe. How do we know? Calvin can explain. He says everything revolves around him, from his...

When Maria dies, her friend and protagonist of Gift for the Messenger: An Illuminating Journey by Fireflysue feels the desire to create a private ceremony to honor her. She also realizes that Maria wants her to know that she approves of her intention to go...

Why, Oh Why, Am I a Crocodile? is a children’s picture book about a crocodile learning to love herself. Alex Brooks takes us through the forest as the sad crocodile envies the parrot’s brilliant colors, the giraffe’s long legs, the lion’s great roar, and the...

If you are a fan of Mario Puzo’s masterpiece The Godfather, you will definitely enjoy Russell Williams’s Under Fire. A great and compelling short story about the Mendez crime family and their drug and arms trafficking underground business and their law enforcement enemies, Special Agent...

David Giffen’s Redemptive Trauma: Confession of a Defrocked Priest is beyond words, beyond faith. It's human flesh put into pages. The number of passages in this book that spoke to me and resonated is many. Not because I’ve experienced them all, but because chaos is...

Charlie and Emmet Snowy Day by Lori Ries is a fun and adventurous picture book for young children. Charlie wakes up with his dinosaur friend Emmet rocking his bed, yelling that everything is white outside. Charlie sees that it snowed but Emmet thinks that something...

Daniel G. Vintner’s book Some Mistakes of Darwin and a Programmer’s Theory of Life provides a much-needed review of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Whether one holds to creationism and a young earth only about six thousand years old, or sides with evolutionary theory and an...

When I Was Better by Rita Bozi is a historical epic that follows the lives of a small family of three up against some of the biggest, most destructive events in Eastern Europe's history. Following a brief prologue, the book begins in mid-century Hungary with...

In Obedience, when we meet Emma and the only parents she knows, she calls her father by the odd moniker of “Leader”. Our first question is why? The woman she knows as her mother is the icy Monique. Emma is on constant tenterhooks around...

The Hebrew Torah and, therefore, the Old Testament of the Christian Bible contains many instances where animals are directly used to let God's will be done. Many instances, if not most, have the donkey as a means of transport, support, or companionship. God sent ravens...

In Drive All Day, Jamie Anderson narrates several funny and adventurous stories about her experience as an active, outgoing musician. She takes us through her music tours, guitar lessons, how she built her YouTube channel, her discovery of Spotify's disappointing earning system, and her adventures...

Kate the Kitty and the Unlikely Friend by Kristine Hokstad-Myzyri is an important story for kids about navigating friendships. Kate and her best friend Billy are flying kites on a beautiful summer day. Suddenly Tiana appears and wants to play too. Tiana and Billy head...

Brigor & Thandril: Skeleton Trouble is a work of fiction in the fantasy adventure subgenre. It is intended for young readers aged 7 to 9 years old and was penned by author Ian Blackthorne. In this exciting and lovingly crafted chapter book, young readers can...

I have to begin my review of Drunk as Fu*k by congratulating the author, Ryan Kanaley. This couldn’t have been an easy memoir to write, given the copious amount of personal detail about Kanaley’s teen years that even he states “will not paint me in...

Athena in the Icebox by Demi K is the continuation of a series of memoirs that champions the young, rebellious teenager from New England, Athena Angelopolous. Of Greek extraction, Athena, or Tina as she prefers to be known, is running from her abusive and controlling...

Why Do People Have Pets? by Barry KuKes is a collection of just over seventy articles KuKes has written for a Florida-based paper. KuKes is an employee at a local humane society and uses his experience and the questions he receives to craft his articles....

Perspective Detective by Cazzy Zahursky is a delightful storybook about Lexa and Axel, who get into a disagreement. Lexa believes Axel took her toy bear, so she grabs his toy car. Perspective Detectives get involved in helping them solve the mystery of the missing toy...

Growing up is tough at the best of times, but when your parents split up and your best friend dumps you for some bully, life really can’t get much worse. Or can it? In Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions by Anthony J. Rapino...

Louie may have been many things but he certainly was not dumb. Louie was a highly intelligent young boy. However, there was a bully who constantly followed him at school, back home, and everywhere he went. Unlike most bullies, Louie’s bully could not be seen...

Shadows Rising is the second novel in The Shadow Trilogy by Amanda Berthault. It continues the story of heavy metal singer Shadow McKinley as he faces his biggest challenge yet. After the fiasco of faking his death, Shadow is back on stage and ready to...