Messages from Henry by Rebecca Scarberry

In reading the book description before ‘flying into’, Messages from Henry, it states the story is an “edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller.”  I disagree.

It’s about a homing pigeon, named Henry, who tries to save his kidnapped owner, Evelyn.  A neighbor, a cop, and Evelyn’s son, depend on Henry’s notes to locate Evelyn.

A very short book of ‘thirty something’ pages, a child would enjoy the short tale. In the book description it declares, Messages from Henry, for the twelve and above age group, however, I think it is better suited to the twelve and below age group. There is minimal drama for the twelve and over reader.

Rebecca Scarberry does a wonderful job writing in present tense. I appreciate her writing style.

Messages from Henry, is not an “edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller.” However, it is a harmless, cute, little story for young children.

Thirty Something (Nothing's How We Dreamed It Would Be) by Filipa Fonseca Silva

It must require a certain type of person to enjoy reading, Thirty Something.  The story is about a group of unhappy, whiny, old college friends that never stop complaining.

All the characters are dysfunctional, putting on airs, lying to one another; nothing is ever good enough, etc. etc. This plot might be fine if integrated into a piece of writing, but it’s quite another story when it is THE story.

I realize the book title depicts exactly what the story is about. However, page after page of every single character whining about their existence, continued to be too excessive.

Readers will recognize it definitely is not what these thirty something characters dreamed their lives would be.

Filipa writes well, and she develops her characters in depth.

ANTics by Dakota Douglas

The play on the word ANT is very clever. The ants live in InhabitANT. Inhabitants are HesitANT, EXUBERant, and BrilliANT, just to name a few.

The story is a fun adventure for children to read. The ants are very much alike families that deal with similar issues as human beings. In this story, the biggest challenge for the ants is foraging food for InhabitANT, without getting killed by humans, animals, or bullies in their own environment.

While the book is not age coded, and because of its length, children would appreciate the story if it included pictures. The cover page is very enticing and fun and young readers would expect to visualize each unique ant and ‘character’ in color.

An idea would be to break up the book into smaller stories. There are so many terrific adventures; one adventure a book would be more effective in holding a child’s attention.

There are several typos, which cannot occur in a child’s book.

ANTics is a subtle and fun way to teach children life’s lessons. The story is clever and well written. Pictures accompanying such a character rich story would be an enhancement.

Young readers will be entertained when they choose, ANTics by Dakota Douglas.

American Amaranth: Love and world war in the new American century by J.R. Ortiz

Julian Stansfield is a US Naval officer on a nuclear submarine, his wife Olivia, is a Classic Studies major at Dartmouth. The two share a love most couples only dream about. They have four children, three boys and a girl.

Olivia, being a political exile from Cuba, has an extraordinary love for America. The following is what Olivia inscribed in a large laminated bookmark, to go along with a book she gives to one of her sons for his birthday; it sums up the entire book:

“Love of democracy can be likened to a mother’s love for her son. It must be nurtured and protected for all time. Happy birthday, Julius, Love, Mom.”  With the inscribed bookmark came a single preserved Red Globe Amaranth flower.

Because of Olivia and her family’s adversity in Cuba, Julian and their children learn the true meaning of liberty. Their three sons graduate from Annapolis and join the Navy, like their dad, and their daughter becomes a world renowned pianist.

American Amaranth is a novel which begins in the future, 2016. It follows Julian Stansfield in a world war as he is now Director of Naval Intelligence at the Pentagon. He has personal vested interest in the war, because his sons are fighting and his beloved Olivia dies. He makes a promise to bring their boys home safely.

Instead of reading a history book about a war already fought, or in the midst of fighting, American Amaranth is a history book of a future war. We get to experience it through a family’s eye. As with any war, it is never a pretty sight.

J.R. Ortiz manages to intertwine the hell of war with the love of his family. It is a well written novel including all the elements of a good story.

75x75=Flash Fraction by Helena Mallett

This was fascinating!

Well written, well thought out stories, consisting of only 75 words - amazing!

Helena Mallett followed me on Twitter, so I followed back. Of course, I always go to a new follower’s site to see what cool writing the author is up to. When I saw this title, I was without question - intrigued.

I sent a tweet to Helena disclosing I was a book reviewer, and without delay she delivered a copy of 75x75=Flash Fraction for my Kindle. I read a few stories and was hooked and curious. So, I sent another tweet and asked her if it was hard to write a story in 75 words.

She tweeted back her answer:  “It's a discipline that I love - cutting and honing until there's 75words.”

I bet it’s a discipline, and Helena Mallett has mastered it. There is a subject for everyone in her collection of 75 stories. It’s a fun, quick, easy read, which activates your brain. Loved it!

In Helena’s original answer, she shared:  “I'm now writing a new book of 75 x 75 word conversations.” 

I can’t wait to read it!

75x75=Flash Fraction is for readers of all ages to enjoy. Love that title!

Mark of the Loon by Molly Greene

Great mystery and romance story for the Young Adult reader.

Climbing through a window, late at night, to check out a listing for an English cottage, is what starts Madison on her quest to solve the mystery behind the original owner’s past. Madison is a real estate agent who flips houses, because she is afraid of staying in one place. It is the perfect job until she falls in love with this listing.

It isn’t an easy purchase, and once she has moved in, the mysteries begin. Hidden keys, and plastered walls hiding secret rooms, intriguing messages, uninvited guests, are all clues to the puzzle. Madison is not alone in this quest; she has several close girlfriends who get involved. Molly Greene describes their close friendship in great detail throughout the story.

Of course, there has to be romance. That’s where Cole comes in. Madison is very cautious in her feelings for Cole, and Cole is a patient man, because he falls for her the minute he set eyes on her. He also plays an important role towards the end of the mystery.

There is much going on in Mark of the Loon;  the true meaning of friendship, compassion for Madison’s deep rooted problems, the blossoming of an innocent romance, the history of the original owners, all leading to the solved mystery.

The story is jam-packed with wordy details and descriptions that impeded my reading. I like to read a book in one sitting, but found I had to take quite a few breaks.

I think Madison’s main partner in crime, Gen, would have been sufficient for the story. Less is more, regarding her other friends, because they weren’t significant enough, therefore adding to the jam-packed effect.

The ending tied up all the loose ends in a couple of chapters. Sprinkling some of the conclusions a bit throughout the last half of the story, may have allowed the reader more time to appreciate the solving of the mystery.

Molly Greene’s imagination is superb. Mystery lovers will certainly enjoy sharing the ride with Madison and her friends solving the mystery of Mark of the Loon.