In the epilogue to The Sultana Odyssey, through the reflections of his protagonist, Dr. Finley Horne, author Paul Brennan observes that “What gives us strength is not about doing the right things; it is about surviving the wrong things.” That describes perfectly who this story...

Over the past few years, we have survived earthquakes, terrorism, and even a deadly pandemic. I believe this explains why most people fear that the world has not yet seen the worst tragedies and disasters of the twenty-first century. If humanity does face devastation, will...

The Paper Route, by Jacqueline Cayer Nelson McDonald, is an engrossing mystery set in the 1960s that follows a clever little girl whose deeds transcend her years. Jackie is a natural-born observer whose curiosity leads her to notice details that adults would miss. Her inquisitiveness...

The Landlord's Inheritance by Terry Joe Gunnels is an action-packed and impossible to put down story. Mickey and Darcy are siblings who were faced with the sudden loss of their parents. There had been an automobile accident killing their mother and leaving their father with...

The legacy of The Belly Button Express wagon has passed from one generation to the next. The special children that enjoyed adventurous rides on the wagon got cuts and bruises from the rides, but they still had a good time. The man in the blue...

Rod Vick’s The Book of Invasions is an outstanding illustration of what a great novel should be. The events and moments are a mash-up of significant historical occurrences. A 5,000-year-old artifact is found in the melting ice at a Greenland ecological research station in the...

The Airplane Pilot: Jake Wants to be a Pilot by Samina Parkar is a children’s picture book that tells the story of a young boy named Jake. As the story progresses, we find Jake’s love of airplanes and becoming a pilot grows and grows. The...

In The Trinity Prophecy, Marissa Kinzel explores the tale of an old prophecy that becomes all too true. No one could have predicted what would occur when Prince Neros awakened suddenly due to odd circumstances. After being cursed and discovering that his parents have been...

The Tooth Fairy Letters, written and illustrated by Tim, Kristen, Courtney, and Caitlin Frank and the Tooth Fairy, is a fun and informative book. Tim Frank encouraged his three daughters to write a letter to the Tooth Fairy and include it with the tooth they...

Self-harm, suicide, violence, and racism are some of the most prevalent issues in our society, so it is admirable that C.M. North took the time to include these in his book. Two sets of people in their early teens from two separate decades are the...

The Locket by Brittany Bessonett relates that nine years earlier Katie experienced a horrible sexual assault that changed her life. Constantly living in fear and dealing with the PTSD that followed, she kept away from the place where the attack occurred in the hope of...

The Final Crossing: A Tale of Self-Discovery and Adventure by Vince Santoro tells the story of Nenshi, a slave in ancient Egypt. The story begins as he builds up the courage to ask his master to free him. We see the struggle within as he...

In The Girl Who Heard Music by Jeff R. Spalsbury, we learn about Sara, who isn’t like everyone else around her. The town she lives in is glum and sad and it affects everyone who lives there - except Sara, who dances around the town...

The Last Princess by Shelley Wilson tells the story of Edith, a teenager who embarked on a husband-seeking expedition around Northumbria with her two younger sisters, although she couldn't have been prepared for what was going to happen on her journey. Instead of attending balls...

Thanks to interactions between siblings, children develop characteristics such as empathy, companionship, and solidarity. It's possible to learn from our siblings and find solutions to our problems with their help. But the best part is having someone to share with. The Whole Dollar demonstrates this...

The Poe Predicament is a historical fiction mystery thriller by Phil Thomas. Recently divorced former college professor Richard Langley's life turns upside down when he gets his hands on an old copy of Tamerlane and Other Poems signed by Edgar Allen Poe himself. Soon, Richard...

Whatever different people experience with love, one thing unites us all: we are all profoundly fascinated by it because we are social animals. Is it true, however, that a person's romantic preferences and the people they love have little to do with their genetics? The...

The Worst Life Has To Offer is the heartbreaking true story of Venetta Cox-Mlynczyk, a college instructor and mother of two, who went through the worst times any parent can find themselves in. A seemingly random call shatters Venetta's life as she knows it when...

The Diaspora: Haunter Grey Prequel by Ross C. Miller is a speculative science-fiction novel with themes of global unity, control, and manipulation. In a dystopian future, a battle is waged between Unity and the Rajinistas, a rebel faction that opposes Unity, the authoritarian regime that...

The Dogs of War by Alvin Yusin is a work of historical fiction that centers around the political ambitions of an American family during the World War II era. Elizabeth, an ambitious matriarch, schemes from the birth of her son Andrew to position him on...