Remember Harvey? Meet Crenshaw!

CRENSHAW by Katherine Applegate

After my reading meltdown yesterday I wanted to read something that made me feel good.  Something light and maybe even a little fluffy?  I have had this book sitting on my shelf for a couple of weeks and it seemed to fit the bill.

I requested this book solely based on the cover – I love it!  Oh, don’t roll your eyes, I KNOW I am not the only person to do that.  As it turned out, I loved the book too.

Jackson’s family has always been on a little bit of a roller coaster ride when it came to financial stability.  When he was in grade one they spent 14 weeks living in their van – that’s when Crenshaw first appeared.  Jackson knew Crenshaw was an “imaginary” friend and surprisingly enough, Crenshaw knew it too.  But when someone needs a friend to help him or her get through the tough times sometimes the imaginary kind is the best kind.  Now Jackson is in grade six and once again his family faces the prospect of being evicted from their apartment and spending some time in the family car.  Once again, Crenshaw appears, but Jackson can’t figure this out … he’s too old to have an imaginary friend.  Crenshaw doesn’t think so!

Despite their financial hardships Jackson’s family has no shortage of love.  Jackson knows this and doesn’t understand why his parents are not being honest with him … when you have to go to Best Buy to watch the “big game” because your dad sold the television … you know something is wrong.

Crenshaw helps with that too.

This is a wonderfully written book about love, family, friends, hard times and keeping everything together.  The book is written for middle-graders and I would not hesitate to recommend it to child and adult alike.  It’s a feel good book … because really? … How can anyone resist a 7-foot tall imaginary cat who loves to take bubble-baths?

*I received this book through Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review*

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from her Goodreads page)

Applegate was born in Michigan in 1956. Since then she has lived in Texas, Florida, California, Minnesota, Illinois, North Carolina, and after living in Pelago, Italy for a year, she has moved back to Southern California. She has an eleven year old son named Jake Mates, although she says the Animorph leader is not named after him. In 2003 she and her husband, Michael Grant, her co-author on many projects including Animorphs, adopted their daughter, Julia, in China.[citation needed] Following the end of Animorphs, Applegate took three years off. She is back at work and has written a picture book called "The Buffalo Storm," a middle reader novel called "Home of the Brave," and an early chapters series "Roscoe Riley Rules" with Harper Collins. Her book "Home of the Brave" has won the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, the Bank Street 2008 Josette Frank Award, and is a Judy Lopez Memorial Award honor book.

I Feel Righteously Pissed Off!

THE BABY by Sylvia Norman

Those of you who have read my reviews know I don’t often write scathing, negative reviews so be warned – this is my version of a “scathing, negative review”.  This review might make you wonder if I don’t have a split personality.  And, I’m going to do things a little out of my usual order.  I want to say something positive (before I get into my rant) so I’ll start with the basics.

The premise of this book had a lot of promise towards being a really good horror story.  I understand that this was a “novelette”; by its very description, short by design, but the parts of the story that were to be the horror element had little to no suspense leading up to them.  They sort of struck you in the face … and rather than be shocking they just left me feeling rather flat.  A little bit of lead-in and emotion goes a long way into making a scene terrifying.  The writing was passable for, what I understand, is a first effort by Ms. Norman.  A good editor would have been able to pare down a sentence such as “As I got closer to the lady, I looked over her shoulder and saw she was holding a bloody baby that was bleeding profusely.”

Despite all that I was quite prepared to give this book a 2 ½ to 3-star rating because of Ms. Norman’s premise and her effort, which I still think are pretty strong.

Now?

I’m so pissed off I don’t even know because I cannot avoid my personal feelings getting in the way of an honest rating based on the book itself.  The last time I had such a strong negative reaction to a piece of creative endeavor was at a modern art exhibit when I came across a snow shovel hanging on a wall with a title card next to it reading: "Prelude To A Broken Arm".  The shovel still had a home hardware price sticker on it.  I think I started to hyperventilate.

From the book description:

“Patricia and William can’t wait to have children, but as soon as she gives birth, things seem to change.  First, although she doesn’t remember it, Patricia apparently tried to commit suicide in the hospital room.  The doctors write it off as postpartum depression, but Patricia has the oddest feeling her baby, Bernard, had something to do with it.

William tries to be supportive of his recovering wife.  He is careful and loving with their son, but she seems almost afraid of little Bernard.  She doesn’t treat him as a mother would – with love, compassion, and patience.  To Patricia, Bernard is some kind of monster, and sometimes, she swears he looks like an old man … and talks like one too.

Is Bernard the evil creature she suspects, or is the horror just part of Patricia’s twisted imagination.  William fears for his family, but he’s not sure where to turn.  He hates to think his wife is mad, yet her behavior gives him little choice.  Patricia, however, feels she has a purpose; destroy the child she brought into the world before

he hurts others, William included.”

Sounds creepy, right?

Then there’s the book cover … looks pretty creepy too... black and white, single doll in a peeling, possibly bloody crib.  Just the kind of book I would be drawn to.

In "The Baby" there comes a definite point in the story where the reader thinks they are going to find out if Patricia is insane or if Bernard truly is evil and that’s where it totally went off the rails for me.

And just so you know I am NOT including any spoiler alerts here because I do not think the story deserves the courtesy … readers need to know what they are getting into.

The story makes a 180-degree turn and the reader finds out that early in her marriage Patricia made the choice to terminate a pregnancy.  Whether it was her guilty conscience or whether that baby was truly back to haunt her is neither here nor there in my opinion … the author’s views on the subject are made very clear in her dialogue and descriptions.  There was no warning anywhere on the book that this was going to preach a “Right to Life” point of view in such graphic terms.  If at some point I had had to make such a decision and then found myself reading this book … with NO WARNING … I would have thrown-up at the very least or been tempted to throw myself in front of a bus just because of the thick layer of guilt Ms. Norman lays on the reader.  If some poor woman had recently had to make such an agonizing decision (and YES I do believe, for most, it is a decision not made lightly) she would probably not pick up a book about evil babies … but we’re all readers here, used to suspending reality … if she did pick up this book IT WOULD BE DEVASTATING!

My personal thoughts on lifestyle issues do not matter here; I am not trying to start a debate and, I like to think I am not an overly sensitive reader but I do feel I have the right to full disclosure about certain aspects and subject matter of the book.  Most books give you an idea … “Christian fiction”, “LGBT fiction”, “Erotica” even a little “This book may contain…” or “This book may be offensive if …” – just give me the choice to pick it up or not!

Readers, especially those willing to try Indie authors and/or plug their way through self published work are often not sure where a story is going to lead (and may I say are often pleasantly surprised) … but if there is going to be some (a lot) of personal preaching done by the author in the guise of a story line … let me know ahead of time.

This novelette received nothing but five-star ratings and gushing, glowing reviews on Amazon.  On Goodreads.com it has two five-star reviews and one two-star review.  Am I (self deleted cuss word) missing some element of this book?  Somehow, I suspect there will be no requests forthcoming to post my review on either site.

Okay, I’m done now.

*I received this book at no charge from the author

via Wordslinger in exchange for an honest review.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from an insert included with the book)

“I was born in Atlanta, Georgia.  I reside in Lithonia, Georgia with my two sons.  “The Baby” is my first publication.  I am a horror and suspense fan.  My style of writing as the feel of the Twilight Zone, Night Gallery and the movie 1408.  I’m working on part two of “The Baby” and a new novel, “Family Portrait.”

The Black Tongue - A Review

THE BLACK TONGUE by Marko Hautala

Every society has its own version of the boogieman – a story to tell naughty children in order to scare them into behaving.  Granny Hatchet is only an urban legend told to frighten the teenagers of Suvikyla, Finland.  Or is it?

Granny Hatchet, as her name would suggest, carries a hatchet with her wherever she goes.  She follows children who are out alone.  Her hatchet never fails to strike between the shoulder blades.  She removes their heart, buries it in her garden until it rots and turns black.  Then, and only then, she eats the heart and thereby consumes their soul.

Maisa Riipinen grew up in Suvikyla among the row houses and amidst the refugees who lived there and, she is familiar with the legend of Granny Hatchet, more familiar than she cares to remember.  As a student working on her dissertation about Urban Legends she dares to go back to discover if Granny Hatchet is still a story being told in the dark basement of the townhouse complex.  As Maisa is daring to walk down memory lane Samuel Autio has also come back to his hometown to arrange his father’s funeral.  Samuel and Maisa had known each other as children and share a secret that neither wants to reveal.  Will it come out now that they are both back home as adults?

The first part of this book drew me in.  I was sitting at the edge of my seat enthralled with the gruesomeness of the Granny Hatchet story as it was being told to the children of the town.  I gasped when one of the girls left the secret circle and it became clear she had a secret of own.  Each mysterious footfall she heard had me holding me breath.  And then … well … I’m not really sure.  Jump to Samuel coming home and finding a strange movie playing in his father’s abandoned apartment, the playing of which changed the telling of the story into flashbacks told by both Samuel and Maisa.  Flashbacks that left Granny Hatchet in the literary dust never, really, to be properly revisited again.

At that point the book began to seem a little disjointed.  The story began to jump all over the place, introducing us to an alcoholic, pedophilic hermit, a strange keeper of the marsh, Samuel’s American girlfriend and her crazy, actor father none of whom had anything to do with Granny Hatchet.  Then we are told about some strange sea serpent-like creature hidden in the basement of an old mansion located on an island no one is allowed to visit.

Wait a minute!  What happened?

Judging from the beginning of this book it could have been a really scary read that would have kept me up well into the night to finish it, but the narration lost its way and never really got back on track.  I finished it, and it was not all horrible – there were goose bumpy moments – but overall I thought it could have been better had the author stuck with his original premise and given me the creepy urban legend story promised in the book blurb.

The only saving grace ... and the reason for my 3 star rating ... is there is a twist at the end that did have me letting out an involuntary gasp because I did not see it coming.  It made it worthwhile to get to the last few pages.  And the writing, for lack of a better word, was atmospheric.  Mr. Hautala can certainly write prose that makes you feel the mist and hear the crunch of dry leaves.  At least there was that.
 

* I received this ebook at no charge via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review *

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from Amazon) 

Marko Hautala's unique blend of psychological thriller and realism has attracted readers of all genres, earning him a reputation as the Finnish Stephen King. His first novel, Itsevalaisevat (The self-illuminated ones), received the Tiiliskivi Prize, and Käärinliinat (Shrouds) received the Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize for young authors in 2010. Unikoira (Seeing eyes) was nominated for the Young Aleksis Kivi Prize in 2013.

Lemoncholy Cured by a Red Door

THE LEMONCHOLY LIFE OF ANNIE ASTER by Scott Wilbanks.

 

When you open a door you always expect it to lead you somewhere.  When Annie opens her red door I was as surprised as Annie to discover exactly where this door led.

It was fate or happenstance or whatever name you may choose to use to explain Annie’s discovery of the red door in the antiquities shop.  She saw it and knew this door absolutely had to be the new back door to her house.  She had no way of knowing that she and this intricately carved door already had a history – but she was sure about to find out.  Annie’s house was in modern day San Francisco and the door opened to 1890’s Kansas … to a wheat field that separated her home from that of a slightly bitter old woman.  What could it possibly mean that the door put these women in each other’s circle?  Through letters and with the help of some really good friends these two women were about to find out.

Mr. Wilbanks has given his readers all the elements necessary to keep them turning the pages – suspense, magic, a little time travel, some secrets, a budding romance and a villian bound and determined to make sure it all goes sideways for Annie and her friends and straight in his favor.  With the exception of the definitely dastardly villain there was not one character in this book I didn’t fall in love with as I read.  Each had quirks, habits, secrets and personalities that were easy to like.  Each was a bit of a “misfit” until they came together, then it seemed as if they each had a special place and purpose in their little group.  The mystery was light with a satisfying dash of twists and turns that kept me on my toes trying to figure out what was going to happen next.  The adventure moved along at a nice crisp pace.  When I turned the last page I was a little sad to be leaving Annie’s world but was quite satisfied that everything and everyone were going to be okay.  What more could I ask for?

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a nice mystery and can suspend plausibility for a little while in order to enjoy a good, well-written story.

* I received this ebook at no charge via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review *

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from his website) 

Scott is an American expat living in New Zealand with his frustratingly perfect husband. A former national title holder in the sport of gymnastics whose left arm is an inch shorter than his right—the result of a career-ending accident—Scott ditched the corporate world to “see where this writing will take me.” He is the author of THE LEMONCHOLY LIFE OF ANNIE ASTER, a commercial fiction novel with a fantasy premise releasing August 1, 2015 through Sourcebooks that tells the story of two pen pals who are fighting against the clock to solve the mystery behind the hiccup in time connecting their homes before one of them is convicted of a murder that is yet to happen… and yet somehow already did.

Getting to Know You/Me

Well, Nya and Troy tagged everyone on Booklikes with this a couple of days ago, so I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon too.

Besides, it’s another excuse to procrastinate on buckling down and writing my backlog of reviews.  I hate getting behind because then I find it difficult to sit down and start on them ... usually opting to read another book instead.  Vicious circle!

  

So here you go if ya’ wanna know …

 

1.  What is your favorite childhood book?

Strumpfel Peter (I spent my formative years in Germany)

I’m not sure if it qualifies as a “favorite” so much as it is the one I most remember … I can still remember the cover exactly … and I think the reason I remember it is because it is a rather unpleasant book to read to children.  Probably explains a lot about my reading choices as an adult.

 2.  E books or printed book?

I do love my ereader and use it all the time but printed books will always be my favorite.  There is just something about holding a book and turning actual pages that I love.  Plus, it’s so much easier to pull a printed book off the shelf to refer back to something.  And … printed books never disappear into cyber-space.

3.  What is your favorite place to read?

I have a big comfy chair that I love to sit in and read.  It is big enough to curl up, or tuck my legs under me, or throw a leg over the arm … you know – all those positions we readers assume because we’ve been reading for hours.  But it is also REALLY comfortable, so if I am tired and desperately want to finish the last few chapters of a book I have to sit in the kitchen at the table to prevent nodding off syndrome.

4.  Is there any genre you would never read?

I tend to shy away from hardcore sci-fi, Harlequin type romance/bodice rippers, books dealing with war and westerns.

That being said I have picked up books in each of those genres and enjoyed them.  I just never go out of my way to acquire them.

5.  What’s your review rating system?

I hate rating books.  In the days of “MySpace” rating books came up in a discussion amongst my group of “friends” and it got me thinking about it enough to write a very lengthy rant about why I hate rating books, which I then cut and pasted onto a blog and then cut and pasted it again when I started my book blog.  If you are interested it can be found HERE

In a pinch the following would be it …

ONE STAR

I don’t give these out too often because I can usually find some redeeming quality in a book or if it is that bad I DNF the book.  If a book receives a ONE STAR rating it means I finished it only out of a sense of obligation – either someone I care about loaned it to me to read (and that person has now dropped a rung on the ladder of “I trust your book recommendations" ... it's the same as saying "I think the milk has gone off - you try it") or I received it free in exchange for an honest review.

TWO STARS

It was interesting enough for me to muddle my way through to the end but I would probably not recommend it to anyone I care about (because I don’t want to drop a rung on their ladder … see above).

THREE STARS

This is probably my go to rating.  It means the book kept me interested and if you were interested in the series/genre/subject/author I would probably pass along the title of the book.

FOUR STARS

The book had that little something special that made me want to stay up late to read it. 

FIVE STARS

The book was unique.

The book had me turning the pages quickly despite the fact that I did not really want the story to end.

The book was non-fiction and suitably answered a question I was wondering about or offered all the information I was looking for.

The book made me laugh out loud, cry at some point or, sigh when I closed the cover after reading the last page.  I'll be raving about to everyone and if you do not read it in a timely fashion so that we can talk about said book I will presenting it to you (in lieu of a more suitable gift) for either your birthday or Christmas

6.  What is your favorite fictional character?

I know it’s a cop-out but I really cannot pick one character as a favorite.

Most envied maybe?  Eve Dallas from the “In Death” by J.D. Robb and Elena from the “Otherworld” series by Kelley Armstrong.  They both pretty much have their sh** together and, aside from being beat up by bad guys every once in a while, live a pretty nice lifestyle I could certainly get used to.  (Notice I am making no mention of their respective spouses; Rourke or Clay, who I KNOW I could get used to!)

Funniest?  Andy Carpenter in the series written by David Rosenfelt … but mostly because of the audio as read by Grover Gardner.  I can appreciate the wit and sarcasm Andy spews forth.

7.  What is the best film adaptation of a book?

It would be a tie between “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” (the cartoon NOT the Jim Carey film) and “Silence of the Lambs”.

8.  How do you choose the next book to read?

But, seriously … if I have a library book checked out or a book that has been loaned to me, they take precedence over other books because they have a “best before” date.  Other than that it’s pretty much whatever strikes my fancy for the mood I am in.

9.  Top 3 authors?

Only three?

Stephen King

Christopher Moore

Kelley Armstrong

10.  Is there any book release you are particularly looking forward to?

 There is always a book on the horizon than I am waiting to snatch up as soon as it’s released, but not one specific book right now.

How Great are These???

If I had an ounce of artistic ability or, come to think of it, a garden worthy of showing them off I would be all over this project!

A Turkish Horror Film, The Danish Girl and Culling Books ...

… those are the reasons I am sooooo behind in writing and posting reviews.  I feel bad about that, but I console myself with the thought that my “week or so” has been productive in other areas.

It is Toronto International Film Festival time so my focus has been and is currently on movies instead of books.  I have an excellent source for tickets … I’ve finally forgiven my daughter for leaving her job at the bookstore … so spent the past weekend seeing some pre-release movies and will repeat the process next weekend as well.  Sadly, we couldn’t fit any red carpet events into our schedules this time around.

This past weekend's highlights were a Turkish horror film called “BASKIN”.  Five police officers are called to an abandoned house on a suspicious call.  Little do they know that they are about to enter through a portal to hell … and hellish it was.  Definitely not for the squeamish.  I was a little apprehensive about this one because it was described as being "cringe-worthy for even the most seasoned horror fans" and it was in the original Turkish with English subtitles.  Was it the best horror movie I have ever seen?  No, probably not, but still definitely worth a look-see if you are a fan of the genre.  Despite the fact that I left shaking my head about some parts the “cringe-worthy” description was dead-on.  I looked around, during those times I couldn't bear to look at the screen, and I was NOT the only person watching parts of this movie through my fingers. The character of “Father” was played by Mehmet Cerrahoglu who in real life is a parking lot attendant chosen for this role because of his rather unusual looks. (See, I do pay attention during the Q&A's)

"Father" or "Dada" is one of the creepiest and most unique characters I have seen in a film in some time.  Personal thought ... someone in Hollywood should sign up Mr. Cerrahoglu because he is interestingly unique and did a superb job in this film.  Hard to believe it was his first time on film.

Director Can Evrenol did a Q&A after the film.  Considering his self-admitted micro, micro budget this was well-done film and I think Mr. Evrenol could be an "up and comer" filmmaker.  In consideration of more delicate constitutions I won’t embed it here but if you are a horror fan and want to check out the trailer it can be found HERE.

The other film was "THE DANISH GIRL" starring Eddie Redmayne.  He is superb in the film and it would not surprise me if he received another Oscar nod for his portrayal of Lili Elbe (aka Einar Wegener) one of the first recipients of gender reassignment surgery in 1930.  It’s a hot topic these days with Caitlin Jenner being all over the tabloids but this movie shines a different light on a very sensitive subject and depicts a heartrending portrayal of unconditional love.  The film is based on David Ebershoff's book of the same name.  There is also a biography titled "MAN TO WOMAN" which includes letters, Lili's diary entries and a conversation between Lili and the editor, Niels Hoyer.  As is often, dare I say always, the case with books made into movies some parts are left out for the sake of the cinematic story.  After seeing the film I checked out a few more facts on line and that just led me to want to read both the Ebershoff book and the Hoyer book (if I can find a copy ... haven't checked that far into it yet).  In addition to the wonderful story and outstanding acting the film was a pleasure visually as well. 

This was a good one in all respects.

The film was also followed by a Q&A with director Tom Hopper (The King’s Speech, Les Miserables).

I also did some much needed “culling” of my bookshelves.  I need incentive to do that because it’s very difficult for me to get rid of books.  I purged 127 books off my shelves and (sigh) it didn’t even seem to make a dent.  There is a huge “used book sale” happening at the end of October in support of the local library in the city I work in (not the same city I live in) which I want to attend.  They are currently taking donations so some of the older books and paperbacks went into that box.

The books were picked up on Friday and I feel good knowing they are potentially going to be enjoyed by other readers.  On the flip side of that deal … I know that I am going to be attending the sale so, no doubt, some of that cleared space will be refilled.  Oh well!  All for a good cause as long as I don't end up buying back some of my donated books.

Some of the others I took pictures of and offered “grab bags” to the “Free Little Libraries” organization in the city where I live.  I posted them on their website and within 15 minutes I had more than enough messages from people willing to pick them up.  I also have a list of names to contact when I do round 2 of the “culling”.  I just couldn’t be ruthless enough to pull all the books that should be pulled in one fell swoop.  I feel like I achieved an even split of the two cities so I feel good about that.

So that’s what I’ve been up to instead of writing reviews.  I hope to get caught up this week.