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Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson (audio)

March 25, 2015 by

Source: Public library
Audiobook, 7 hrs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson, narrated by Zach Grenier, David Lee on The Good Wife and Andre Braugher, Captain Ray Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, has a number of plots going on at one time.  From the kidnapped children of President Coyle — a second high-profile kidnapping of children for Detective Alex Cross — to terrorists making their presence known in the nation’s capital.  Like police work in real life, not all of the cases are solved, and Alex is pushed past his ethical and moral limits as he struggles to find the kidnapped children.

The gem in this book was Zach Grenier’s narration as the kidnapper, who is diabolical and broken at the same time.  He’s shifty and he’s intelligent, and the voices he makes to differentiate between the kidnapper and the terrorists are fantastic.  Hiring actors to perform these books is a stroke of genius because it brings Patterson’s plots to life.  There are a ton of twists and turns, and while I may not approve of Cross’s methods in this one and believe they are out of step with the character he has become, the conclusion of these events was ok for me.

Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson is less about killing Cross than it is about the numerous threats facing our nation today.  Terrorists are often seen where there are none and there are threats that go unseen on a daily basis until it is too late.  Kidnappers are waiting in plain view in some places, while terrorists are blending in with the rest of society.  But then there are those who seem suspicious who are not threats at all.  Patterson’s novel does touch on the idea of perception and what threats we see and don’t see and why.

About the Author:

James Patterson is a prolific author of thrillers, mysteries, young adult novels and more. His first successful series featured psychologist Alex Cross.

Filed Under: audiobooks, borrowed copy, fiction, Hachette Books, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2015, reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

My Friend Suhana by Shaila Abdullah and Aanyah Abdullah

March 24, 2015 by

Source: Loving Healing Press, Inc.
Paperback, 30 pgs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

My Friend Suhana: A Story of Friendship and Cerebral Palsy by Shaila Abdullah and Aanyah Abdullah is a story about overcoming fear of the unknown to find new friendships are everywhere as long as you remain open to them.  Suhana has cerebral palsy, who expresses delight and plays differently from other kids.  Her friend has learned how to connect with Suhana through art and color.  Rainbows and kites are among her favorites, and through this simply told story, young readers will learn how to connect with those who are different.

It is clear from the back of the book that Abdullah has taken inspiration from her own 10-year-old daughter’s interactions with the disabled children at a local community center.  The story is sweet and touching, and the explanation of cerebral palsy in the back of the book can be a jumping off point for discussion with kids.  Friendship is about connection, and that connection does not have to be expressed in words alone.

My Friend Suhana: A Story of Friendship and Cerebral Palsy by Shaila Abdullah and Aanyah Abdullah is another great book to read with children to begin teaching them about different friendships, compassion, and never underestimating the ability to love that is within all of us.

Previously reviewed books:

About the Author:

Noted as “Word Artist” by critics, Shaila Abdullah is an award-winning author and designer based in Austin, Texas. She is the author of five books: Saffron Dreams, Beyond the Cayenne Wall, My Friend Suhana, Rani in Search of a Rainbow, and A Manual for Marco. The author has received several awards for her work including the Golden Quill Award and Patras Bukhari Award for English Language. Several academic institutions have adopted her books as course study or recommended reading, including the University of California, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Indiana University, Boston University, California State University, and George Washington University.

Filed Under: children's fiction, Read in 2015, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Mailbox Monday #315

March 23, 2015 by

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog.

To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links.  Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Vicki, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what I received:

1.  Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran from the author for review.

When the British Empire sets its sights on India in the 1850s, it expects a quick and easy conquest. After all, India is not even a country, but a collection of kingdoms on the subcontinent. But when the British arrive in the Kingdom of Jhansi, expecting its queen to forfeit her crown, they are met with a surprise. Instead of surrendering, Queen Lakshmi raises two armies—one male, one female—and rides into battle like Joan of Arc. Although her soldiers are little match against superior British weaponry and training, Lakshmi fights against an empire determined to take away the land she loves.

Told from the perspective of Sita, one of the guards in Lakshmi’s all-female army and the queen’s most trusted warrior, The Last Queen of India traces the astonishing tale of a fearless ruler making her way in a world dominated by men.

2.  Double Jinx by Nancy Reddy from Milkweed Editions for review.

Double Jinx follows the multiple transformations — both figurative and literal — that accompany adolescence and adulthood, particularly for young women. Drawing inspiration from sources as varied as Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the rewritten fairy tales in Anne Sexton’s Transformations, and the wild and shifting dreamscapes of Brigit Pegeen Kelly’s work, these poems track speakers attempting to construct identity.

A series of poems depict the character of Nancy Drew as she delves into an obsession with a doppelgänger. Cinderella wakes up to a pumpkin and a tattered dress after her prince grows tired of her. A young girl obsessed with fairy tales becomes fascinated with a copy of Grey’s Anatomy in which she finds a “pink girl pinned to the page as if in vivisection. Could she / be pink inside like that? No decent girl / would go around the world like that, uncooked.”

The collection culminates in an understanding of the ways we construct our selves, whether it be by way of imitation, performance, and/or transformation. And it looks forward as well, for in coming to understand our identities as essentially malleable, we are liberated. Or as the author writes, “we’ll be our own gods now.”

3. ABC Universe by American Museum of Natural History from Sterling Children’s Books for review.

From an astronaut in space to Voyager, yellow dwarf, and zenith, this ABC board book opens up the entire universe to children! Created in tandem with the American Museum of Natural History, it takes kids on a photographic journey through comets, flares, and planets like Jupiter, and introduces them to black holes, supernovas, telescopes, and more. Perfect for the youngest astronomers.

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

298th Virtual Poetry Circle

March 21, 2015 by

Welcome to the 298th Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s book suggested.

Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Today’s poem is from William Carlos Williams, recited by William Farley:

Danse Russe

If I when my wife is sleeping
and the baby and Kathleen
are sleeping
and the sun is a flame-white disc
in silken mists
above shining trees,—
if I in my north room
dance naked, grotesquely
before my mirror
waving my shirt round my head
and singing softly to myself:
“I am lonely, lonely.
I was born to be lonely,
I am best so!”
If I admire my arms, my face,
my shoulders, flanks, buttocks
against the yellow drawn shades,—

Who shall say I am not
the happy genius of my household?

What do you think?

Filed Under: virtual poetry circle Tagged With:

National Poetry Month Is Around the Corner

March 20, 2015 by

Most book bloggers by now know that I’m constantly touting the poetry being published — translated, old poems republished, and contemporary poetry — and many also know that I host the National Poetry Month blog tour annually.

I also host a poetry reading challenge every year; check out the details of this year’s poetry challenge here:

 

 

 

 

 

The 2015 National Poetry Monty blog tour: The Search for New Perspective is open for sign-ups:

2015PoetryMonth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews of poetry collections, interviews with poets, guest posts with poets, spotlights on individual poems or poetry collections, anything poetry related is welcome!

If you want to be a guest on Savvy Verse & Wit during the blog tour, drop me an email or leave a comment and we’ll chat.

I’ll post the Linky for all poetry-related posts in April, on April 1, and you can add your full links to your poetry posts throughout the month.

Filed Under: Events, national poetry month

The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M.J. Rose

March 19, 2015 by

Source: France Book Tours
Hardcover, 384 pgs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Sandrine Salome finds her world upended by her husband, Benjamin, and even as she flees to Paris from New York, she is haunted by her own ancestry in The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M.J. Rose.  Paris is the city of light and painting and art, and Sandrine has always loved art.  But her love of art is just one passion that drives her deeper and deeper into the mystical past of her courtesan ancestors, especially La Lune.  Arriving on her grandmother’s doorstep unexpectedly, we learn that she and her grandmother only met occasionally throughout the years after she left Paris with her parents at age 15.  Despite the distance, she is drawn to Paris as her home, and it is her sense of longing and desire for a new life that drives her closer to the edge of an abyss.

“I did not cause the madness, the deaths, or the rest of the tragedies any more than I painted the paintings.  I had help, her help.  Or perhaps I should say she forced her help on me.  And so this story — which began with me fleeing my home in order to escape my husband and might very well end tomorrow, in a duel, in the Bois de Boulogne at dawn — is as much hers as mine.  Or in fact more hers than mine.”  (page 1)

Her secretive grandmother may have unwittingly provided Sandrine and her father with the tools they needed to become blind to the magic around them and to willfully turn a blind eye to the dangers that stalk them.  But her warnings are stark and should not be ignored.  Rose is a gifted story-teller who infuses her historical fiction with ancient mystery, passion, and wonder.  Her characters love strongly and are often guided by things beyond their rational control, but at their hearts they believe they are doing right.  Sandrine is no different.  She has longed for a life free of constraint and to be immersed in art, and what she finds in Paris is more than she bargained for, but in many ways she’s afraid to give it up and to return to a lackluster life.

The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M.J. Rose is a story of love, passion, and ambition, but at its heart, it is about the quest for immortality — even if it is just being remembered as a great architect or artist.  Skeptics will enter this world and try to interject rationality, much like Julien does, but they will soon find themselves swept up in a story like no other and forced to re-examine their own conceptions of the spirit world.  Is art a divine gift or is it a talent that can be nurtured and shaped into legend?  Rose delves into these questions and more in her deeply layered world of artistry and passion.

About the Author:

New York Times Bestseller, M.J. Rose grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother’s favorite books before she was allowed. She believes mystery and magic are all around us but we are too often too busy to notice … books that exaggerate mystery and magic draw attention to it and remind us to look for it and revel in it. Please visit her website, her blog: Museum of Mysteries; Subscribe to her mailing list; and Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Here is the Giveaway Entry-Form

There will be 5 winners; Open internationally; $20 gift card

Please check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour:

Filed Under: giveaway, historical fiction, Read in 2015, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

A Manual for Marco by Shaila Abdullah, illustrated by Iman Tejpar and Shaila Abdullah

March 18, 2015 by

Source: Loving Healing Press
Paperback, 36 pgs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

A Manual For Marco by Shaila Abdullah, illustrated by her and Iman Tejpar, is a frank look at what it is like to be a sibling of a challenged brother.  Eight-year-old Sofia struggles with the love she feels for her brother and how protective she is when it comes to classmates and friends who don’t understand and poke fun, but she also struggles with how Marco’s differences mean that he receives a bit more attention and care than she does.  This is a dilemma that most kids will struggle with if their sibling is disabled.  This story hit home for me and brought back the memories I had as a child dealing with the attention my brother received as a child that I did not.  Abdullah has created a book that could help kids who were like me, confused by the situation at home and yet protective of the brother who was not understood by those outside the family.

Abdullah is doing important work, and her book is mature in its approach to how these kids relate to one another and how they think and feel.  The manual Sofia creates for her brother not only helps her put into perspective how special her brother is, but also how special her relationship with him is to Marco.  The images are bright, and parents reading this to children can use the story as a way to bring up these discussions about being disabled and communication.  Compassion and understanding are important tools that all children should have, but they are difficult to teach with immediacy.

A Manual For Marco by Shaila Abdullah, illustrated by her and Iman Tejpar, is a great book that not only can generate discussion between parents and children, but it also offers a bit about Abdullah’s inspiration for the story and some resources for parents.

Previously reviewed books:

About the Author:

Noted as “Word Artist” by critics, Shaila Abdullah is an award-winning author and designer based in Austin, Texas. She is the author of five books: Saffron Dreams, Beyond the Cayenne Wall, My Friend Suhana, Rani in Search of a Rainbow, and A Manual for Marco. The author has received several awards for her work including the Golden Quill Award and Patras Bukhari Award for English Language. Several academic institutions have adopted her books as course study or recommended reading, including the University of California, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Indiana University, Boston University, California State University, and George Washington University.

Filed Under: children's fiction, Read in 2015, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Ella by Mallory Kasdan, illustrated by Marcos Chin

March 17, 2015 by

Source: Viking
Hardcover, 56 pgs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Ella by Mallory Kasdan, illustrated by Marcos Chin, is a cute story about a six-year-old girl who lives in a hip hotel and who has a male nanny.  Ella is precocious and smart, but she’s also curious and mischievous.  She’s clearly a handful for her male nanny, and I don’t think that would be any different for any other nanny.  Kasdan packs in a lot of information in short lines and images, with Ella engaged in recycling and using technology on a regular basis, but she also loves to jam and create music.  Chin’s images are alive with character and musicality through his use of color and shape.  The book is visually and verbally engaging, and what’s best is that the words used throughout the book are easy to follow for readers who are just learning words by sight and reading with their parents.

Kasdan’s story may seem a little fanciful, especially as Ella does things that many 6 year olds wouldn’t be able to do or even be allowed to do.  To think that she wouldn’t is false, however, given that children are inquisitive and adventurous, willing to go with the flow and try anything they find interesting.  As long as kids are engaged, they are all about the task at hand and even tasks that are not necessarily for them.

Ella by Mallory Kasdan, illustrated by Marcos Chin, is a fun read for little girls that have big dreams, and I hope that there are more books on the horizon with this quirky, fun, and intelligent little girl.  A lot of what goes on and the characters she meets are more than their appearances convey, and that’s a great lesson for kids to learn.

About the Author:

Mallory Kasdan is the author of ELLA, which will be published by Viking Children’s Books in January of 2015. The grooviest six year old since Eloise ruled The Plaza in the 1950’s, ELLA lives at The Local Hotel with her Manny, her pets and her scooter.  She is artsy, of course.  

Mallory is also a professional voice actor for television and radio, represented by Don Buchwald and Associates.  She writes essays about parenting and has produced arts & culture pieces for public radio. Once upon a time Mallory was a book publicist and accompanied RuPaul on a 5-city book tour. Mallory lives in Brooklyn with her family, not in a hotel and with no room service to speak of.  

About the Illustrator:

Marcos Chin is an illustrator living in Brooklyn. His drawings have appeared inmagazines, book covers, and advertisements in the USA and around the world. Whenever possible he tries to sneak his two dogs, Shalby and Rita, into his drawings. Marcos teaches illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Visit his website.

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, New Authors Challenge, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2015, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Mailbox Monday #314

March 16, 2015 by

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog.

To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links.  Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Vicki, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what I received:

1. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, translated by Christine Donougher for review from Penguin.

The subject of the world’s longest-running musical and the recent Academy Award–nominated and BAFTA-winning film starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables is a genuine literary treasure. Victor Hugo’s tale of injustice, heroism, and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him, and has been a perennial favorite since it first appeared nearly 150 years ago. This exciting new translation with Jillian Tamaki’s brilliant cover art will be a gift both to readers who have already fallen for its timeless story and to new readers discovering it for the first time.

2.  Three Amazing Things About You by Jill Mansell, purchased on Book Depository after Amazon cancelled my order randomly.

Hallie has a secret. She’s in love. He’s perfect for her in every way, but he’s seriously out of bounds. And her friends aren’t going to help her because what they do know is that Hallie doesn’t have long to live. Time is running out…

Flo has a dilemma. She really likes Zander. But his scary sister won’t be even faintly amused if she thinks Zander and Flo are becoming friends – let alone anything more.  Tasha has a problem. Her new boyfriend is the adventurous type. And she’s afraid one of his adventures will go badly wrong.  THREE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT YOU begins as Hallie goes on a journey. A donor has been found and she’s about to be given new lungs. But whose?

3.  Girl of My Dreams by Peter Davis, which came unexpectedly from Tandem Literary.

Screenwriter: The protagonist, Owen Jant, is a young screenwriter who comes of age in the 1930s at the intersection of Hollywood, the Depression, and the heyday of the Communist Party. At every turn, he is finding, and losing, his way.

Hollywood star: The glamorous Palmyra Millevoix—complex, gifted, mysterious—is a star more agitated than pleased by her fame. She could have been Grushenka, siren of the Karamazov saga, if she had not been a Hollywood star.

Studio mogul: Founder of Jubilee Pictures, Mossy Zangwill is not the last tycoon but the last of the old-style chieftains and first of the corporate moderns, clawing his way from a fatherless home in the Bronx to become by his midthirties a rival to the Warners and Mayers, reigning kings of Hollywood. He would resemble Gatsby if Gatsby had gone west.

Propelled by the suicide of an innocent victim of studio politics, Owen falls in wacky, unpromising love with Palmyra, who in turn is relentlessly pursued by Mossy, the autocratic studio head. The drawing and redrawing of the triangle between screenwriter, star, and tycoon—intense, devious, seductive, combative—frames the education of Owen Jant. The story has an epic sweep that encompasses the swagger and flash of 1930s Hollywood and the Great Depression’s plunder of the American dream.

4.  French Coast by Anita Hughes, which also came unexpectedly, but I’m looking forward to it since the main character’s name is Serena!

Serena has the job she’s always dreamed of and Chase, the man her heart never dared to. As a new editor at Vogue, she bags the biggest interview of the year with Yvette Renault, the infamous former editor of French Vogue, in The Carlton-InterContinental Hotel during the Cannes Film Festival. She eagerly jets off to France while Chase stays home, working with her father, a former senator, on his upcoming mayoral campaign.

Everything feels unbelievably perfect…until it doesn’t. The hotel loses her reservation hours before her big interview. Serena fears that she’ll have to go home without her story, but then she meets Zoe, a quirky young woman staying in the suite below Yvette’s who invites Serena to stay with her. Serena is grateful for her mysterious roommate’s generosity, but it seems that there’s more to her story than meets the eye. To make matters worse, soon after arriving in Cannes, Serena learns a shocking secret about her parents’ marriage, and it isn’t long before she begins to question her own relationship.With her deadline looming and pressure mounting, Serena will have to use her investigative journalism skills, new friendships, and a little luck to get her life and love back on track.

What did you find?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

297th Virtual Poetry Circle

March 14, 2015 by

Welcome to the 297th Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s book suggested.

Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Today’s poem is from Gerard Manley Hopkins, recited by Carolyn Rose Garcia:

Pied Beauty

Glory be to God for dappled things –
   For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
      For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
   Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough;
      And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
   Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
      With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
                                Praise him.

What do you think?

Filed Under: virtual poetry circle Tagged With:

Short Story Friday #5

March 13, 2015 by

Short Story Friday has been revamped for 2015, and I’ll be sharing snippets from my own fiction pieces, mostly short stories.  In addition to the new business, Poetic Book Tours, I’ll be writing and submitting more of my own fiction and poetry this year.

I hope you’ll offer your thoughts on this story that is currently in progress.

Here are the first, second, and third parts posted in previous weeks:

You’re probably wondering why the journal’s called Transcendence. It’s a project that all high school seniors must complete.  We’re supposed to use it to reflect on what we’ve learned here and how it will direct us toward our roles in society.

Now, our city-state is not as rigid as the other communities in the union.  But they still make us complete this project even if we don’t actually do what we conclude by the end.  We’re just checking a box for the unionists.  I’m not even sure what I’ve learned will help me in the real world because there doesn’t seem to be a place for a constant blinker.  I guess I’ll just draw from mom’s pension when she’s gone.  She’s been saving it for me, and says she’ll work until she dies on the job, which could be any day since she chases fugitives of the union who call themselves the No Collars.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on this snippet and let me know what you think.

Filed Under: Events, Short Story Friday Tagged With:

Cross Fire by James Patterson (audio)

March 12, 2015 by

Source: Public Library
Audiobook, 6.5 hours
I am Amazon Affiliate

Cross Fire by James Patterson pits Alex Cross against his arch-nemesis, Kyle Craig, and other elements from his past.  While his private psychiatric practice has become more of a part-time gig with underprivileged kids, Cross still uses his skills to profile criminals loose on the city to capture them before they do further damage.  Ripped from the headlines, including the D.C. sniper case (which was a little too close for comfort for me), Patterson has done his homework on the police in the nation’s capitol and has a firm grasp of the ins-and-outs of the FBI.  I was pleased to see Kyle return because he is the kind of enemy that challenges the main character’s morality and wits, while remaining cunning enough to even gain the respect of readers.

These audio productions are more about the twists and turns of Cross and the puzzles he must unwind, rather than like in the Women’s Murder Club series where it is heavy on sound effects and music.  Those audio productions read like high-flying summer blockbusters, while these creep up on you like dark suspense dramas.  This one has two narrators, one for Alex Cross’ chapters and one for those with Kyle Craig, and both are excellent — though for some reason I kept picturing Cross as Tyler Perry because the narrator’s voice is close to his.  Previously, I had pictured Cross as Morgan Freeman, which is probably because those are the movies I saw first before reading the books.

I digress.  Cross Fire by James Patterson places the main protagonist in the middle of Craig’s sights, and his family is right there with him.  The terror permeating the city as the snipers travel around the city adds another layer of suspense, which is handled well in this production.  Patterson is good at creating suspenseful dramas, and this one is no slouch in that department.

About the Author:

James Patterson is a prolific author of thrillers, mysteries, young adult novels and more. His first successful series featured psychologist Alex Cross.

Filed Under: audiobooks, borrowed copy, fiction, Hachette Books, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2015, reviews Tagged With: , ,