Um ... Mommy, I Think I Flushed My Brother Down the Toilet (Again) Return to Yuck Kingdom by Jeff Rivera

Capsized AGAIN!

Falisha flushes her annoying brother, Jesse, down the toilet again. This time the adventure in Yuck Kingdom is expanded to new characters, some nice, and one not so nice. Kids will like the conflict between the good guys and the bad guy.

More rhymes will keep the kids laughing as they share the trip in the sewer once again.

I don’t think the parents are needed in Um ... Mommy, I Think I Flushed My Brother Down the Toilet, for the simple reason there are more single parent families today. I would omit ‘Think’ in the title because Falisha was absolutely sure she flushed Jesse down the toilet!

Um ... Mommy, I Think I Flushed My Brother Down the Toilet by Jeff Rivera

Capsized!

What kid wouldn’t like ‘Yuck Kingdom’? Its streets, trees, and hills are made of fun kid rhymes that match what the inside of a sewer pipe looks like.

Falisha flushes her little annoying brother, Jesse, down the toilet. Of course, she has to find him quickly, which means she has to get down and dirty in Yuck Kingdom. There’s an adventure down the toilet for kids to enjoy while Falisha looks for Jesse.

While Um ... Mommy, I Think I Flushed My Brother Down the Toilet, will probably be a fun read for a lot of kids, my concern is with the parents. I think they should be omitted, letting the brother and sister handle the situation on their own.

Also, I think the title should read, I Flushed My Brother down the Toilet, after all, she did!

Closure by Gillian Hamer

Mother Knows Best

A six year old boy, Jake, is a reincarnation of an eleven year old boy, Jacob, who helps solve the murders of young women in North Wales.

Professionals diagnosed Jake’s nightmares as the grieving process for losing his father.  His mother, Helen, knew this was not the case. She felt strongly there was a deeper reason for Jake’s suffering. She was correct.

Jacob channels through Jake to help save the last woman kidnapped. Helen decides to trust the suggestion of a friend’s friend and travel to the location Jake sees in his nightmares, an island in North Wales.

Is Jacob’s channeling successful? Are they too late to save the last victim? Does law enforcement get involved? Do they catch the serial killer?

Read Closure, by Gillian Hamer, if you enjoy a good mystery, suspense thriller that’s hard to put down. Page after page is packed with unpredictable conflicts.

20,000 Days and Counting by Robert D. Smith

A strong message of encouragement

Robert D. Smith writes an abridged version of a self-help book to guarantee that everyday counts - making no excuses. He offers his opinions and strategies for success, such as; saying yes to new possibilities, not assuming you are the victim, and never be misled by the hours in a day.

Even if you don’t agree with all of Smith’s strategies, 20,000 Days and Counting reads as an expressway to ‘hurry up and decide’ to control your life – specifically the present moment. The book serves as the perfect device to get back on track, or to start creating a track.

20,000 Days and Counting by Robert D. Smith is a short and practical tool one can apply to improve your life - even as you read. Smith practices what he preaches and wastes no time.

I’m 21,436 days and counting.

Road to Tomorrow by Mary Metcalfe

Domestic abuse, children’s deviant behavior, TBI/PTSD, all intertwined in a love story, describes Road to Tomorrow.

The main character, Andrea Garrett, left her two children with her twin brother, in order to escape her abusive military husband, Sean. Sean’s parents kept a deep secret about their son - he killed animals as a young child. The military wasn’t aware of Sean’s dark side, thinking he was going to make the perfect soldier. Andrea was young and naïve, thinking he was going to make a perfect husband. Everyone was wrong.

While Andrea fled, she had an accident, and people from a small town came to her rescue, in more than one way. Her new friends included characters from Mary Metcalfe’s other book, New Beginnings.

I thought it would be fun to read another of Metcalfe’s books - to follow her characters. Sadly, it was not. I can’t put my finger on it, but I know I do not enjoy stories that are predictable, and for me, Road to Tomorrow was predictable.

The love story between Andrea and her new boyfriend, Kyle, seemed textbook boring. Her kids were too perfect, even her friends, new and old, portrayed perfection.

However, I do think Metcalfe’s messages were necessary and effective: get your child help at first signs of trouble, do not sweep it under the rug; women should leave abusive relationships; and the military and civilians need to educate themselves about TBI and PTSD. I think Metcalfe did an excellent job with Sean’s character suffering from TBI.

I would recommend Road to Tomorrow for the young adult reader.

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

I decided to read Team of Rivals after listening to Doris Kearns Goodwin on Charlie Rose and Tavis Smiley, followed by seeing the movie, Lincoln.

Team of Rivals takes the reader behind the scenes of the average person’s understanding relating to Lincoln and his rivals. I was never fully aware of the actual facts that supported historian’s views why Lincoln was such a brilliant strategist. So for me, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln provided the answers.

Lincoln turned his rivals, Seward, Chase, and Bates into his cabinet. He must have concealed the belief, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’ The insight to how Lincoln manipulated behaviors was a treat for me. I enjoyed understanding how his mind worked.

It took Doris Kearns Goodwin ten years to research Lincoln’s presidency. Team of Rivals is a book every reader will enjoy and come away with a better understanding of Lincoln’s brilliance.