Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.
When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review, courtesy of Midwest Book Review:
Through ignorance, racism and selfish lobbies, Americans lost their freedom of speech. Fear of accusation closed the mouths of the powerful. In 2036 Isis easily created a Caliphate and introduced Sharia law. If students objected, one would be beheaded in front of a class. Rule by fear expanded. In one 5th grade class friends realized that their generation would be the last to save their beloved country. As they grew up, they studied how Lenin seized control of Russia. They decided to use his plan to save America. Cells were formed. Roger was selected leader. His girlfriend Emma was made head of supplies. Beautiful Sally collected info by working for a Mullah. Big black Harry brought in the Black panthers and the Hells Angels. Charley worked the Sharia political arena. The group developed well until a Sharia spy was exposed in their midst. They were forced into action ahead of schedule. Can they really extinguish Sharia law and restore America? Can one incredible sacrifice lead to a victory from failure? Find out!
Critique:
What a great story of sacrifice and courage. Like roger, I wanted to jump through the screen and save Emma. I love a manuscript like yours that paints a picture of a different futuristic world. You have a terrific writing style. You have obviously done a significant amount planning and preparation in crafting your work. Your prose is nicely written with details that capture the reader. Right from the start your plot was very engaging. You do a nice job of slowly making your way through the story with details and a certain voice that allows your reader to really interact with the characters(who are all round and very nicely developed). Characterization is one of the most important elements of a successful fiction story. I always love it when I leave a story feeling like I know the characters, this is true for your novel. You have crafted a quality piece of writing.
After reading the synopsis and hearing other peoples opinions on this book I was not sure that I would like it or not. I had heard that people found this book to have a racist note to it so I was a bit dubious about reading it. However, when I started to read this book I did not find it to be written in a way that could seem racist. That being said I did also see how and why this book could be taken as having racist notes to it. When looking into this book just remember that this book is purely fiction and there is most likely no racist intent by the author. I found that this book was actually an interesting read and it will remain in my book collection permanently. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in contemporary fiction but if you are easily offended then this may not be the right book for you as it does contain some touchy subjects in relation to religion and crimes. I am strongly against racism so if I thought that the author meant this book to be took in a racist way then I would surely be honest and say that I thought that this book was racist and definitely would not be recommending it to anyone. I did find this book quite interesting to read and found it hard to stop reading.
Fear can be a deadly thing. When in fear people will do things they normally wouldn’t do. When people are afraid, they lose their freedom, their ideals, ideas and their rights. This is what happened in 2036 when Sharia law took hold due to Isis.Under Sharia law, you obeyed, you did what you were told or you paid the dear price. It didn’t matter who you were, how old you were, man or woman, you paid. Children were beheaded in front of their peers. As the young generation grew up, they decided enough is enough. This isn’t the world they wanted. They began to listen, to plan, to explore possibilities to save their beloved America. Everyone had a job and each job was as important as the next.
But are you ever really sure of the people you trust? Read this futuristic book about getting America back and making Sharia law a thing of the past. What will 2050 be like for our children? Will it be a fight to hold on to the America they knew and know can be again? What are we leaving our children and grand children?
Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.
When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review, courtesy of BlueInk Review:
The KGB agents are vicious, and they are closing in… His odds of escaping are bleak… Will he prevail although everything is muddled in a treacherous love triangle? Whom can he trust? The inevitable checkmate could bring him freedom … or death. Checkmate Run is an adrenaline rush of a story about a precocious young man’s deadly struggle to survive the brutal Soviet regime. Alex Loevsky is a medical student and an inspiringly rebellious poet. He becomes enmeshed in a breakneck battle against the rampant cruelty of the totalitarian state, where just the desire to think freely is nearly a crime on par with treason, and being born Jewish is more than a mere hindrance.
Alex aspires to be a physician. Despite his top academic standing, he has to overcome unspoken rule that aim to restrict the number of Jews entering medical school. Before sitting his admission exams, he is unable to locate his name on the list of alphabetically grouped applicants. He soon discovers that a special group has been created and that everyone in it, including him, has Jewish-sounding surnames. Finding this odd, he goes to his friend and confidante–his aunt Anna. They formulate a daring scheme to shift his name to the regular group.
Alex gets the highest score in the admission exams, but to his chagrin, he discovers that everyone in the special group has been flunked. Shortly thereafter, with the help of his literary mentor, Andrey Simyavsky, Alex’s poetry gains recognition, and New Word, a coveted avant-garde literary magazine, starts to publish his work regularly. All of a sudden, Andrey is arrested, convicted in a closed trial, and sentenced to seven years of hard labor after his banned novel, Lyubimov, was covertly published abroad. While searching for the secret transcripts of the trial, the KGB murders Andrey’s wife.
Alex, who is suspected of hiding the transcripts, is hounded, severely beaten, and left to die. He manages to escape and runs into Lara, a fellow medical student, who saves his life. Aunt Anna enlists the help of her friend, who now holds the rank of general in the Interior Ministry Force. They devise a plan to shield Alex from the KGB by keeping him in solitary confinement inside the Internal Ministry prison. Six months later, the general arranges for Alex’s release, but with one caveat–Alex is forever barred from creative writing. While incarcerated, Alex is expelled from medical school. The general applies pressure on the corrupt dean, and, with Lara’s help, Alex is reinstated.
A few years pass, Alex witnesses the murder of a dissident who seeks to expose to the Western world the torturous reality of life in the Soviet Union. The murder leads Alex to the core of the dissident’s underground movement. His life becomes a death-dealing game of chess; he needs to remain one step ahead of his ruthless opponent–the KGB’s Second Chief Directorate–and must win the game in order to survive. Unexpectedly, the KGB attempts to recruit Alex as an informant. Being entrapped, he experiences betrayal at the hands of the woman with whom he has had a long and passionate love affair. As Alex and Lara grow closer, their friendship turns into love. They get married, and a year later, they have a son. Concern for their son’s future fires up their desire to escape the country that turned on them. Having nothing to lose, Alex and Lara navigate through the imminent danger of terrifying twists and turns in their bid to cross the Iron Curtain.
Critique:
Allan Alexander’s compelling autobiographical novel follows an increasingly disillusioned and rebellious young man through a decade in Brezhnev’s Soviet Union.
Alex Loevsky is an aspiring doctor, but his heart belongs to poetry. With the encouragement of his intellectual Aunt Anna, Alex begins contributing to the avant-garde journal New Word and mingling in literary circles. But his and his friends’ nonconformist work angers the authorities. In order to continue his studies, Alex must renounce his literary career.
This is only the beginning of the injustices Alex experiences and witnesses. His Jewish heritage, in particular, singles him out for abuse. But institutional anti-Semitism also brings Alex close to Lara Katz, a fellow medical student. Still emotionally tied to a former lover, however, he initially thinks of Lara as only a friend.
Although he has officially given up poetry, Alex continues to mingle in contrarian circles. He helps smuggle the transcript of a dissident writer’s show trial out of the country and carries on a dead man’s crusade to expose the abuse of political prisoners in mental hospitals. Through these adventures, he grows closer to Lara and begins to reconsider his feelings for her. Eventually, Alex and Lara decide to attempt their most dangerous mission: escaping the Soviet Union for a better life.
Checkmate Run occupies a rather uneasy place between the literary fiction and thriller genres. The novel covers so many incidents and experiences that it occasionally feels unfocused. A slightly slower pace and more descriptive passages would allow readers of literary fiction to feel more involved with the characters. On the other hand, although frequently gripping, the narrative lacks the kind of slick, streamlined plot that would appeal to genre thriller readers.
Nonetheless, Alexander’s work offers a fascinating insider’s portrait of Soviet life post-Stalin but pre-glasnost. It’s probably best appreciated by readers especially interested in that time and place, rather than casual fiction readers. That core audience should find Checkmate Run quite rewarding.
I grew up during the early “duck and cover” days of the Cold War. There was plenty of red scare propaganda back then, but (obviously), we couldn’t read about someone’s first hand experience in the “USSR,” as it was known at that time. Dr Allan Alexander’s book changed all that for me – what an incredible story…of love, of family, of survival, and of perseverance!
Checkmate Run is well written and the prose is tight. Dr Alexander’s precise word choices for describing people and situations make this book a delight for the reader. The author doesn’t waste your time with any unnecessary drivel; everything is well thought out, fast paced and deeply absorbing. I couldn’t put this book down!
I have recommended this book to many people since reading it. I would especially recommend it to those that grew up in the shadows of the Cold War on this side of the Iron Curtain. If this book doesn’t fill you with gratitude for the freedoms we so often take for granted, then perhaps you missed the Preface and didn’t realize that the author LIVED this story!
If I had to identify one thing that I wanted to find in the book, it would be a complete copy of the poem, “The Salvaged Hope.” Since there are multiple references to it, I found myself wanting to read it. Since Dr Allan Alexander wasn’t able to carry any copies of the magazine bearing the publication of his poems out of his motherland, it is possible they are forever lost to us. This is one of the sad tragedies of censorship – history is forever incomplete.
Checkmate Run by Allan Alexander is an intriguing story of Soviet Russia during the Cold War. It is a story about one man’s struggle against powers which tried to quash personal expression and ideas that were different than the status quo. The events take place between 1965-1975 as a young man named Alex learns the harsh and life threatening reality that he faces every day.
The story opens with a prisoner getting ready for trial. A trial that is heavily swung in the government’s favor. He is found guilty and sentenced for hard labor. We then meet Alex, a young man who has recently published a poem in a national magazine. A poem which openly criticizes the government. Alex is of Jewish descent and he must use trickery and subversion in order to achieve his goal of becoming a doctor as the government is discriminatory toward the Jewish citizens. With the help of his aunt and her powerful friends, he is able to get into medical school. When a friend and fellow author, Andrey Simyavsky, has been arrested for treason, a series of events occur that will change Alex’s life forever. He vows to fight in any way he can. He soon becomes on the radar of the KGB, the Russian spy and state-security branch, and he must fight quietly and undermine the growing reaches of the government. Will the KGB finally be able to stop Alex? Will he be able to escape?
I enjoyed this book very much. It’s hard to give a description of the book without giving too much away. Every event in the book is a piece of the puzzle, a calculated chess move in which Alex tries to outsmart the KGB and they are trying to catch Alex in “illegal” activities. I always knew about the harshness of life behind the Iron Curtain but to read about it in such detail, it’s heartbreaking. I have a deeper appreciation for the freedoms we have here in the US. We may not like what people say or do, but we can do the simple things like openly criticize the government without fear of losing our freedom or our lives. I was also intrigued of how the book Doctor Zhivago played at role in the story. I must confess I’ve never read the book or seen the movie but now I will. The last few chapters move at a furious pace as the danger greatly increases for Alex. I highly recommendCheckmate Run.
Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.
When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review, courtesy of the Midwest Book Review:
There are so many things to love about grass. We can love the way it looks, the way it smells – even the way it changes its green from season to season! Read on to add to your experiences with grass.
Maria Boston has always written children’s stories. She pulls on her rich experiences from her own and her daughters’ childhoods. “I Love Grass” is her first published book. She lives in Virginia with her two daughters and their dog.
Critique:
I Love Grass is a textured, craft-filled, illustrated essay on grass for children age 6 and up. Carefully photographed works of textured needlecraft and carpet samples present colored illustrations of a gentle narrative description of grass, progressing through the seasons, exploring the rich colors, different flowers and plants that grow in grass, and living inhabitants of the grass such as bugs, insects, or even humans. I Love Grass is a multimedia celebration of grass, presented in fastidious portraits of creative craft and yarn needlework, incorporating joyous observations of each vision of all the different shades and kinds of grass.
I just received this book and had to review it right away. I absolutely loved it. I review a lot of children books, so I think I know when I see a good one, and I have to say, this is a good one.
First, I have to say I really love the art work in this book. All the pictures are out of yarn. The houses, bench, grass, sky, ground, flowers, etc. It really adds to the creativity of I Love Grass. Each time the “grass” changes, you get to see from the different colors of yarn. I believe this will really hold a child’s attention when they see it. There is also a little grass design on all the pages with words. It is just a beautiful book.
Second, the story. It is just as cute as the book. You can really tell how passionately the author feels about grass and how much she really wants one to love it just the same. Her words are simple, so a younger reader can read it to themselves. One can also learn from it as the author explains the different changes and seasons and shows it along with the pictures in the book. The book isn’t very long so young children’s attention won’t be lost.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I think everyone should get I Love Grass for their kids. They will love it and want to read it over and over again.
I don’t have young children but saw this book on a friend’s coffee table and after reading it, I wanted a copy for myself. What caught my attention was the amazing imagery. It is absolutely beautiful!!! The author created all the images out of yarn. How creative! I couldn’t put it down.
So I read it to my cousin, who is more than 40 years younger than me (see how I didn’t give my age away?) She loved it! She asked me to read it a few more times that night so I’m thinking children really like this children’s book as much as I do.
If you are a fan of table books and or have young children, I don’t think you can go wrong with this book. As an adult, it inspired me to get my creativity on! (I hide it when my young cousins visit though. Don’t want icky, sticky children’s fingerprints all over it!)
There are so many things to love about grass. We can love the way it looks, the way it smells – even the way it changes its green from season to season! Read on to add to your experiences with grass. I Love Grass is a refreshing return to life’s simple pleasures. The book brings out the nature-lover in every child by calling their attention to this, and other, wonders of Earth.
I Love Grass returns young readers to a simpler time of wonderment over the marvels of the natural world. The newly released book by children’s author Maria Boston is published by Outskirts Press.
The first in a new series of children’s books, I Love Grass offers an alternative focus to today’s juvenile reader. The book draws their attention from the mind-numbing stimuli of electronics and computer-generated graphics back to organic things of beauty. It’s the story of one child’s excitement over something so simply ethereal – an oft-unnoticed and unappreciated patch of grass. Through this overlooked foliage, the young girl learns to appreciate the beauty of Earth’s abundance, and revels in the quiet presence of nature.
Parents will appreciate the lessons in I Love Grass, a book that inspires quiet introspection and helps lay the foundation necessary to build future generations of environmentally conscious adults.
Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.
When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review, courtesy of the Midwest Book Review:
Pluto The Starfish: An Undersea Tale for Children 1 to 101
by Bonnie M. Anderson
Illustrated by Malinda Raines
It’s a beautiful day in the crystal blue waters surrounding Buck Island. This magical undersea world, with its glittering rainbow of colors and fine, sparkling sand, is home to Pluto the Starfish…but Pluto is feeling sad and confused. Many of his friends can swim gracefully and swiftly. Some can even breathe air and move about on land, and others are large and fierce-looking. But Pluto can’t even swim! It took him all day to move two feet in the sand near the coral reef. He believes he’s not even good enough to be considered dinner! Pluto wonders why he is so different.
Why can’t he do more things like most of the other underwater creatures? What is his purpose?
Luckily, Pluto has good friends-like Lewis the Lobster, Lolita the Latina Leatherback Turtle and Nancy the Nurse Shark-who teach him that everyone is important and wonderfully different. Pluto the Starfish is a charming, delightfully illustrated book that not only helps children discuss their feelings and fears but it also teaches respect and care for the spectacular and varied inhabitants of our waters. A must-read for children of all ages.
Critique:
Pluto the Starfish: An Undersea Tale for Children 1 to 101 is a delightful children’s ocean allegory that stars special marine creatures in a search for life’s purpose and meaning. Pluto the Starfish is sad because he has no idea of his purpose in life. He is comforted by many different marine characters, including Lewis the Lobster, Nancy the Nurse Shark, Lolita the Latina Leatherback Turtle, Harriet the Humpback Whale, Konky the Conch, and even a human diver. Answering Pluto’s fear and sadness, Lewis the Lobster tells him: “You are the star of the ocean…You don’t have to swim… or be fast… or be furious…. or even be big. You are our star and you are humble, beautiful and kind. You are a good friend, too. That is your role and we respect and love you.” Pluto the Starfish is an entertaining and imaginative marine fantasy that encourages outside the box thinking while educating about many fascinating facts of marine biology. The expressive illustrations provide living, vivid background to every page of white text.
Like all truly universal tales, chances are anyone who reads “Pluto the Starfish” will see aspects of themselves in the little guy who feels he doesn’t quite measure up to his underwater friends. But thanks to their kindness and wisdom, Pluto learns that everyone has something to contribute and that “we’re all here for a purpose.”
Apart from teaching little ones about our neighbors who live under the sea, Pluto also imparts lessons about why we must all look out for one another through charming characters, a touching story and illustrations so vivid they jump off the page.
This is a great tale to encourage children and to show that while everyone has unique qualities and talents, everybody is important and of value. Personally, I found this story oozing with morale, but then this is my personal impression from the POV of an adult which is not the target group and therefore shouldn’t affect the rating of this book too much.
My son really loves the story of little Pluto and his friends, which shows that its simplicity combined with the beautiful pictures meet a child’s perception perfectly. He had a lot of questions regarding the different sea animals and their characteristics as well as each animal’s talent and worth. We had to interrupt reading several times to discuss the story’s details and the book kept us thinking for a long time. His detailed and lasting interest in this charming adventure show that Pluto the Starfish is a fascinating book sure to attract and inspire children.
Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.
When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review, courtesy of the Midwest Book Review:
Doggie Delicious
by Mary Jo Wisneski Johnston
Illustrated by Malinda Raines
Life at the ranch is fun and happy, but nobody could have imagined how much more interesting it would become when Bibi, a very unusual dog, came to add an exponential level of joy. As Bibi explores her gifts and chases her dream, surprises abound as all the animals at the ranch find themselves catapulted out of the status quo and into a new world where anything is possible. A magnificent ranch play day evolves, where each animal makes a special contribution to share the best and most unexpected parts of themselves with the neighborhood children. The play day goes so well that the animals can hardly wait for the next adventure. Bibi’s success in realizing her intentions shows the animals what determination and courage can accomplish, and as she models faith and trust in the greater wisdom of life, all the people and animals around her begin to understand that there is much more to themselves, and to the world! This charming beginning chapter book with its positive, inspiring message is sure to become a favorite with readers of all ages.
Critique:
I was very impressed with this read as it touches on living life with all its joys and sadness. Life, death, eternity all play a roll in our lives, be it with other humans, or animals that we treasure so deeply. This is a story of living, not dying, of hope, imagination, caring, and joy. It is about a family, not just made up of humans, but made up of lives that are all a part of one another’s day, and life. It is about Babi, a special dog, with special traits, that brings front and center imagination, hope, inspiration, and love to all the animals and humans that this special creature comes in contact with. Babi is the example for all others of forging ahead, open to the tasks, the challenges and the victory to be had. It is a story of love, encouragement, faith, hope and winning. Very moving read, well done. Recommended..
Doggie Delicious by Mary Jo Wisneski Johnston is a special book about love and finding your inspiration to follow in order to make
your special contribution to life. This is a chapter book. It can be read to your child or if your child is a reader then they can read it alone
or to you. It is a great book to add to your child’s book shelf. It is about Bibi who is adopted and lives on a ranch with many other
animals. She soon develops wings. Bibi uses her wings to help people, her animal friends and her “Master.” A ranch play day is
planned, neighbors are invited and all the animals participate with their special contribution. Everyone begins to understand that
there’s more to themselves that than they thought. The party ends with everyone looking forward to the next play day. I gave this book
5 stars but it deserves many, many more. I highly recommend this book to everyone. I look forward to more from Mary Jo Wisneski
Johnston.
In this captivating children’s story we meet the Bibi. She is a lovely white pup who comes to live at the ranch. She quickly entrenches herself into the hearts of her owners and then the fun begins. Bibi has a great adventure and has a very special talent (but I’m not going to spoil it here).
This is a chapter book with full colour page illustrations by Malinda Raines. I think many children will enjoy Bibi’s story. If you’re looking for a children’s chapter book that your child will treasure then this will make a great addition to your library.
While I thoroughly enjoyed this book there were times when I worried about the complex language and sentence structure. On reflection though I don’t think it would put a good reader off. Also, it’s important to challenge children as they require the necessary skills and develop their appreciation of our language.
The story is well thought out and engaging. I found it delightful and can highly recommend it.
Self Publishing Advisor 