Keith Holyoak’s Facing the Moon is an interesting anthology of ancient Chinese poetry by the famous poets Li Bai and Du Fu. During translation from the original Chinese verse, he manages to capture the sentiments of the verses without affecting the artistic flow. The book...

A Dead End in Vegas by Irene Woodbury is a story of emotions and the finding and losing of loved ones. Tricia Sloan tells husband Dave that she will be away for a week at a teacher’s conference, but as he is heading out to...

I selected this book to review because the title grabbed me. My mother died when I was young (and so was she) so I was interested to learn what The Motherless Child Project was about. Authors Janie McQueen and Robin Karr have either experienced the...

Born in South Korea to a single mother who is abandoned by her American boyfriend, Lee Young Nam seems to be destined to lead the life of an outcast. Joel Peterson’s Dreams of My Mothers is a chronicle of his life from an obscure South...

Guitars and Gardenias: A Country Western Love Story Thriller is a contemporary romantic suspense novel written by Sierra Ann Hill. Matson Daley is a country western singer who's become famous singing his father's songs and wants to start making his own music. His audience is...

The Beltway Beast opens with a depressing summary of the American political system that is subject to corporate lobbyists and focus by Congressmen to get reelected rather than serve the interests of the people and the country. It is an interesting approach as it reinforces...

The Salt Covenants by Sylvia Bambola is a historical fiction that takes place in Spain, starting in the year 1493. We meet Isabel who has broken her mother's heart by converting from Judaism to Christianity. Despite this, however, when she is noticed by Friar Alonso...

The Last Order by Angela M. Caldwell is a medieval tale of iron-willed 17-year-old Lana Crewe who lives in a village with her father. When the king and queen of Wenham are killed, the kingdom is divided and war between the lords is inevitable. Lana’s...

Jamaal's Journey by John McCormack has a story line that must be vaguely familiar to anyone who has gone through the joys and pains of high school life. An African American student and a likable senior student, Jamaal is in his final two months at...

Jason Davis’ memoir, Your Love Pursues, is a story of living an extraordinary life. At the age of thirty-two, Jason Davis had made it to the top of the music industry; he had it all. Yet, he was completely empty and void of anything real...

Professional tennis player Gemma Lemmon has been preparing her entire career to win a Grand Slam. Her chance at the Australian Open was diverted thanks to an injury that almost ended her career, but four months later the British darling of tennis is back on...

Blue Sun, Yellow Sky by Jamie Jo Hoang is a heart rending novel about artist Audrey Johnson who has been diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa and will soon be blind. She decides to go on a trip around the world with her old friend Jeff. Being...

What Happened To David is a romantic young adult adventure by P.M. DeVuono. The plot centers around Mary and David, two youngsters sent to an alternative school in Los Angeles, where it becomes quickly apparent that they have been victims of an unfair school system....

Krista Tibbs’ Uncertainty Principles brings together a very disparate group of students; their only common element is a group study they’re required to complete in order to graduate. Their project focuses on electromagnetic disturbances, evolving from observations of EMF changes around a prayer group in...

Shelter Us by Laura Nicole Diamond is the poignant and moving story of Sarah Shaw’s reaction and struggles in the heart-breaking aftermath of the death of her six-week-old daughter Ela. She had already, as a teenager, lost her mother and still blames her father for...

In Cut Here by Azzurra Nox, sixteen-year-old Lena has changed countries and schools more times than she cares to remember. Making friends is hard for her and she longs for sincere companionship. Her world was shattered after her mother’s death and her father relocates her...

Spinner is another great book by the author Michael J Bowler, who also penned the Children of the Knight series. Spinner tells the story of a teenage boy, Alex, who suffers from Spina Bifida and has to use a wheelchair, and his gang of special-ed(ucation)...

The Little Seahorse, written by Sheri Fink and illustrated by Mary Erikson Washam, is the story of a little seahorse who finds a shining orb on the sea floor and wants to take it as a present for his mother. The problem is how to...

Stray Lines is a collection of poetry by singer-songwriter Paul Tait. As the title suggests, the poems cover varying topics and emotional states, suggesting themes drawn from the author’s past and present states. There is a general sense of alienation and displacement from the world...

As the title suggests, Randi M. Sherman’s novel, Caroline Starts Over, is about a woman who is poised to reclaim her life. Trapped for eighteen years in a loveless marriage, Caroline Matthews silently rejoices when her husband dies. Around twenty years ago, she led a...