Category: Young Adult (14 – 17 years)
Marie Korman has an undergraduate degree in Humanities/Film and a Doctorate of Jurisprudence (J.D.). In her early years she worked as a journalist writing entertainment articles for local newspapers. She is a mother of two and devoted sister to four younger brothers.
SUMMARY
Little Bear struggles to understand what it means when he is told he would no longer be able to see his Papa. He questions those around him as he tries to bring meaning to why his Papa is gone. Through his memories and dreams, Little Bear goes on a journey to realize his Papa will always be with him.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF READ REVIEW
A little bear wants to see his father, but he doesn’t know where he is. His mother gently reminds him, that they can’t visit papa any longer because he’s in a place where none of them can be. This beautiful rhyming/illustrated story brought tears to my eyes. And answered all the questions In a good and gentle way. It is the most remarkable presentation of loss that I have every seen.
The telling of the little bear’s story makes I Want to See My Papa a UNIQUE read. The subject makes it a SPECIAL NEEDS for any person going through this life altering experience.
RECOMMENDATION
I Want to See My Papa is recommended by the author for children. I disagree, I Want to See My Papa is recommended for All Ages.
BUY IT HERE: I Want to See My Papa Website Amazon
BIO – At a young age Angela relocated to Windsor, Nova Scotia from her birth place in Brampton, Ontario. Currently she lives in Halifax with her husband and three daughters – Mackenzie, Alexis, and Skylar, and two adorable but mischievous Yorkshire Terriers.
A graduate from Dalhousie University, former Fashion Designer, and Executive Director of Atlantic Fashion Week, Angela was the 2016 Winner of the Women of Spirit Award, and was listed in Canadian Living Magazine as a Top 40 Change Maker. “I wrote this story as a way to self-heal after losing my father at a young age. I hope it will help children going through similar devastating loses,”
SUMMARY
Across the Realm: Life Always Finds a Way is a story of the clash of two advanced civilizations. In the North, Humans live under a defined system of segregation and rely strongly on science, while in the South, the physically evolved humans live communally and are under the guidance of a deity they call “Mother.”
Separating these two and their land masses is a boiling sea and an impenetrable Southern Force Field. The two sides have been at war for longer than a century and now their planet is facing a catastrophe neither one can handle without the other.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF READ REVIEW
There are several literary genres in Across the Realm: Life Always Finds a Way. Let’s start with Science Fiction, the book’s main genre. The year is 2077 and once again, the North and the South are at war. However, this time the whole world is involved. For decades? Centuries? Millenia? Well, at least yesterday, these two enemies have been trying to invade each other’s hemisphere. One to conquer and stop the war, the other to take over and control them. Even to the point of making them…I can’t say it. This, you will have to find out for yourself. Now, pan over to Greg, the commander of the Northern Hemisphere, as he sits in a room watching a video. In it, Naledi jumps three floors into the air and makes a perfect landing on a corridor up above. Fascinated, Greg watches the video over and over again. Not because of what she has done, but because he finds her beautiful. Thus begins the Romance. Wait, how and where did he get these pictures and who or what is a Nedge? More importantly, what is the catastrophe they are about to face? Ahhh! That is the Mystery of Across the Realm: Life Always Finds a Way. Let us not forget those boiling waters . . . what is it about them or should I say, what is in them? A little Fantasy perhaps! Now for the Adventure—hmmm, I’ll leave that for you to discover.
What makes Across the Realm, Life Always Finds a Way a UNIQUE read is that all of the Genres mentioned above are seamlessly tied together to make an astounding, amazing, mind-boggling, surprising, wondrous story. What makes it ETHNIC is the people of Earth.
RECOMENDATION
Across the Realm: Life Always Finds a Way is recommended for Young Adults 16 plus and Adults
BUY IT HERE: Amazon
BIO – Isobel Mitton is a Canadian writer born to an African American mother and an African father. She spent most of her life living in other people’s countries. An avid storyteller, she insists that is how she wants to be remembered when she dies. She is a proud nerd and wants people to know that beauty goes with brains! Isobel didn’t choose to be a writer. Writing chose her. In her novels, she seeks to entertain, excite, grip your attention for hours on end and give you food for thought. She wants desperately to take you out of the mundane and into the stars of scifi/fantasy where anything and everything is possible. She is an avid writer of scifi/fantasy novels, comics and screenplays.
She hopes one day to the able to write music and to that end, she is teaching herself how to play an acoustic guitar.
She really hates talking about herself and her past achievements and so she will stop boring the world right now. Besides, there is nothing in her past that beats the present or the future.
Her one wish is that many people read her work. They don’t have to buy it. They just have to read it, because she is a story teller. It is her one true purpose in life.
To find out more about her work and to connect with her personally, check out http://www.acrosstherealm.com
She can also be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IsobelMitton
And instagram: IsobelMitton
And Facebook: Isobel Mitton
See you there if you want to part of her crazy self.
SUMMARY
Mackenzie Clair is looking for a fresh start. She thinks she’ll find it in her favorite childhood vacation spot, but returning to Donn’s Hill awakens more than nostalgia. Mac regains a lost psychic ability to talk to the dead, and the poltergeist haunting her apartment is desperate to make her use that gift to find his killer.
Aided by her new roommate—a spirited Tortoiseshell cat named Striker—and the ghost-hunting crew of the nationally televised show Soul Searchers, Mac struggles to learn how to use her powers, but she’d better get a handle on them fast, because someone in town is hiding a deadly secret. If Mac can’t somehow divine the truth, Donn’s Hill will never be the same.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF READ REVIEW
Donn’s Hill opens with a bang. Within the first seven pages, the mystery starts. Not in the usual way with the police, a little old lady, or a high profile detective looking at the body and trying to find clues. No, this story starts with Mackenzie Clair, a twenty-seven-year-old woman sleeping in a hotel bed.
Yes, the hotel is sleazy, rundown, and there was a lingering odor of stale cigarettes, but the room was clean and the price was right. Deep into sleep, she is startled by the weight of an intruder as he sits down on the side of her bed.
He makes no sounds, she can’t even hear him breathing, but she knows he’s there because she can smell a foul odor like rotting garbage. What does he want? Why doesn’t speak? Is he holding his breath? She is. After several minutes, she finally gets the nerve to turn on the lights. Her room is empty. What! Did she…? Wait! I’ve got to stop here. You’ve got to discover the rest for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.
Donn’s Hill is a paranormal mystery adventure. What makes it a UNIQUE read is the plot. While there are no twists, finding the killer is possible but impossible at the same time. THAT IS SOOOO GOOD!
RECOMMENDATION
Donn’s Hill is recommended for Adults and Young Adults 16 and above.
BUT IT HERE: Amazon
BIO – Caryn Larrinaga is a Basque-American mystery, horror, and fantasy writer living in Utah with her husband and cats. Despite obtaining a degree in Anthropology (which is much cooler than you might think), she explored several career paths before deciding that she had to follow her passion. Suddenly, writing fiction was the only thing that made sense.
Watching scary movies through split fingers terrified Caryn as a child and inspires her to write now. She lives in a 90-year-old house with a colorful history, and the creaking walls and narrow hallways send her running (never walking) up the stairs from her basement whenever she has no other choice but to go down there. Exploring her fears through writing makes Caryn feel a little bit less foolish for wanting a buddy to accompany her into the tool shed.
When her fingers aren’t glued to her laptop keyboard, Caryn also enjoys binge-watching superhero television shows, reading, playing video games, and filling up her phone’s flash memory with pictures of her cats. She loves music, and plays the bass guitar.
Caryn is an active member of the League of Utah Writers and the Utah Chapter of the Horror Writers Association.
LUKE
the Horse who wanted to be a Unicorn
ANITA HAGER
Illustrated by INSIMA
SUMMARY
Luke was a strong, stately, well-built horse who lived in a town with other horses. He enjoyed spending time with his horse-friends in the stable and with the little girls of the community. But there was one thing about Luke that made him feel ashamed and insecure among his friends. His body was covered in dark brown spots from top to toe. Luke figured that there was only one way through which he would feel more accepted among his friends – he had to look like a unicorn, beautifully white and magically majestic.
Old Brownie, the wisest horse in the stable, saw Luke’s sadness and tried to comfort him. He quickly came up with a brilliant plan to help Luke become a unicorn. Luke was very excited to join in the plan, but little did he know that Old Brownie was trying to teach him an important life lesson.
Will Luke realize his dream of becoming a unicorn? Will he be able to deal with the thrilling consequences of being a unicorn? Will Luke’s friends approve of his new look?
A DIFFERENT KIND OF READ REVIEW
We’ve all been there, well maybe not all of us. But you know how it is, one day you step out of the house, and someone doesn’t like, your hair, your clothes, the way you talk, the way you laugh. Simply they don’t like you being you. Of course no one tells you directly. Mostly, you hear whispers or a few come and start making fun of you.
Now do you see what Luke is going through. Hmmm if he only knew. Knew what you ask. Well that he’s really. Oh you almost got me. I don’t want to be the person that gives away the ending. You’ll find out for yourself when you read Luke – The Horse Who Wanted to be a Unicorn. What makes Luke – The Horse Who Wanted to be a Unicorn a UNIQUE read is its ending. Now, you know I’m not going the ending! But, I can’t wait for you to read it.
RECOMMENDATION
Luke – The Horse Who Wanted to be a Unicorn was written for First Time Readers (1-8), but Parents, I really feel that some Middle Grade Readers and Young Adults to 15 could benefit from this book.
BUY IT HERE: Amazon
BIO: Anita Hager (1980-) is a mother of two who lives in a small cozy
town in Norway. She and her husband also share their home with four cats. Her imaginative and meaningful children’s stories follow in the tradition of her Grandmother who read to her when she was a little girl. Now Anita reads her own stories to her two little boys at night and has decided to share them with others.
You will see her love of animals reflected on each page as well as her dream to help children grow up knowing how special they are.
She has created The Be the Magic you Are series of books for children. Books with stories that inspire children to be the magic they are by being themselves and reaching for their dreams. Most of the stories are based on animal characters that combine great stories with great illustrations.
Her saying is “Be yourself and you are always a unicorn! Be the magic you are!”
A CHILDREN’S GUIDE TO RABBITS
ANGELINA SOMMER
SUMMARY
A Children’s Guide to Rabbits provides information about pet rabbits which is understandable for children, and in a way they can easily follow. The book gives them, a step-by-step guide on how to look after rabbits in their own backyards, from shelter to food to playtime, and everything in between. Later in the book readers are taken on an adventure with Radar and Jupiter. Where they will discover they are smart, adorable and full of fun!
A DIFFERENT KIND OF READ REVIEW
They’re so cute and cuddly, but as shown in A Children’s Guide to Rabbits, taking care of them is a lot of responsibility. Don’t worry, A Children’s Guide to Rabbits shows you step-by-step how to build their home (hutch as they prefer), feed them, take care of their physical needs and playtime, and to simply make them happy. That’s what this book is—simple guidance that children understand. But even I learned a few things, like phishing. Did you know that rabbits could do that? What is phishing you ask? Now you know that I can’t tell you that. I don’t want to spoil it. I can tell you that that rabbit food, (specifically iceberg lettuce) isn’t, because it’s harmful to them. What makes A Children’s Guide to Rabbits a UNIQUE read is that there is a fiction picture book within the guide. It’s called Radar and Jupiter and Their Capilano Back Yard Adventures. The things those two can get into…well, you’ll see.
RECOMMENDATION
A Children’s Guide to Rabbits is recommended for all ages. First Time Readers (1 – 8) and Middle Grade Readers to age ten, will enjoy “Radar and Jupiter and Their Capilano Back Yard Adventures.” While everyone will find the Guide very helpful in caring for or deciding to purchase a rabbit as a pet.
WHERE TO BUY Amazon
BIO Angelina Sommer is a high school student at Carson Graham Secondary. She wrote a book about how to take care of rabbits called, “A Children’s Guide to Rabbits with Radar and Jupiter,” in 2015.The book is unique because it is written for children by a child. She writes in her free time and takes English grammar lessons. She lives in North Vancouver, British Columbia, with her family and enjoys caring for her rabbits. She has owned her two rabbits for around four years. Angelina was “the perfect example of what not to do” when deciding to get a rabbit as a pet. She realized she didn’t know anything about how to take care of rabbits and she needed to do research. The research available was difficult to understand, especially for children. Angelina researched on-line, she met with a vet and she spoke with a rabbit rescue organization in Richmond called Bandaids for Bunnies. She also included an adventure story because the book is for children and she wants them to have fun as they learn. In 2016 she published a story book about her two rabbits, “Radar and Jupiter and Their Capilano Back Yard Adventures.” She also has other interests such as dancing, playing piano and dramatic improvisation. For more information about Angelina and her guide to taking care of rabbits, go to www.radarandjupiter.com.
SNAPSHOTS AT THE FONTAINE MOTEL
SKOT HARRIS
SUMMARY
With a wink and a nod to such movie greats as Thelma & Louise and The Breakfast Club, Snapshots at the Fontaine Motel is about six eighteen-year-old friends in 1996 who seek immediate revenge after one of them is brutally attacked. But when their vigilante justice accidentally leaves the attacker dead, they flee Michigan to save their own lives as the FBI inches dangerously close. While hiding out in an isolated Oklahoma motel, they discover not only themselves, but find love and uncover shocking deadly secrets that will change everything and threaten the very lives they’re frantic to protect!
A DIFFERENT KIND OF READ (REVIEW)
Snapshots at the Fontaine Motel intertwines romance and mystery seamlessly. Although the clues are very subtle, they lead to some very powerful and wicked twists. The story is about six teenagers who have been friends since grade school. When they discover that one of them has been raped by the school bully, five of them decide to take matters into their own hands, and the results are… Ahhh, I almost said too much. To continue, things aren’t always as they seem, and here’s where the twisting and turning begins with an astounding intensity. When it’s all over, the outcome gives you one of those,“Humph I didn’t see that comin moments!”
There are two UNIQUE things about Snapshots at the Fontaine Motel. One is the way television shows, movies, and music from the 1990’s was included. Sometimes as a reference and at other times as part of the story. The other thing was the way you were drawn into the different romance stories of both Jill and Matt.
RECOMMENDATION
This book is recommended for Young Adults 15+.
BUY IT HERE: Amazon
BIO Skot Harris has a degree in creative writing from the University of Michigan. Snapshots at the Fontaine Motel is his third novel. He grew up near Detroit and now lives in England with his husband.
INTRINSIC ENCOUNTERS
K. M. ODDECK
SUMMARY
It’s midsummer. David Elbert’s final semester at the university comes to an end. For this fresh Engineer, the daunting task of saving a company from imminent disaster soon pales in comparison to the multimillion-dollar stash of drugs and money found in a luxurious property he comes to own. His nerves start to singe. Criminals come out of the wood work. Escalation is imminent. When police and drug enforcement agents pop onto the scene, all hell quickly breaks loose. At this point, pure survival instinct takes over.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF READ (REVIEW)
When I started reading Intrinsic Encounters I expected mystery, intrigue, espionage, and a spy thriller. Why? I’m not sure, that’s just what the cover spoke to me. Instead, I got the longest most hilarious first chapter I’ve ever read. It gave you all of David’s backstory. And the things he did as a kid. Hm, hm, hm. His parents way of resolving the problem–priceless. I’m still laughing.
Getting over my initial shock that this was not a mystery was replaced by some well written humor. This hype was immediately replaced as we returned to the present and David presented a more somber mood.
Then Elise came into the picture, David’s girl friend. No, not girlfriend, his friend that is a girl. That is until David realizes his like for her has moved into love. Aaaah, a budding romance. This is a romance novel. Of course not! Let me be clear that relationship does develop throughout the novel, but—there was that thing you know, that thing that centered around Displaytek (the place where David did his internship). That engineering thing that got him there in the first place and was the primary story of the book. Right, Let me explain it more clearly, It was that thing that some of us would label as technology. While others would call it geeky and nerdy. Oh! Or science fiction as those of us who must categorize books into genres would call it.
No mystery! I should have really been let down. But, I like humor. I like romance. Wait, I even like science fiction. Besides, there was a little bit of mystery with that drug thing. Yet, you already know about that.
The UNIQUE thing about Intrinsic Encounters is the suspense. Yes, you heard me, it is a suspense thriller, (my mystery) with lots of action and adventure. When David walks into Displaytek on the first day, and talks to Anje Tille of Human Resources, he asks her what is expected of him as an intern. Her answer is what kept me turning the pages of this book. With characters like Henrik Wang and John Nwosu, Intrinsic Encounters is also an ETHNIC read.
RECOMMENDATION
This book is recommended for Young Adults from age 16 and Adults.
BUY IT HERE:
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BIO: K. M. Oddeck received his degree in Business Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Jena. Upon graduation, he started writing Intrinsic Encounters. He currently lives in Germany.
MARIA’S BEADS
C. T. MARKEE
SUMMARY
Verónica pushes through the other seventh grade kids in our breezeway, speaking over the noise, “María! What’s wrong with Hannah?”
What does she want? Like she suddenly cares about Hannah, cares that the nurse sent her home, cares that her eyes were glassy, her face swollen and her whole body sagging. I begged Hannah to stay home, but she wouldn’t listen.
Thus begins a multicultural novel set in Salinas, California, in which 12-year-old María Cortez discovers her inner strength and uses it to save her best friend, Hannah, a Caucasian girl who lives next door. As the story unfolds, a presumed enemy becomes a friend, a mysterious old women, a curandera, becomes her mentor, she learns why the space on her birth certificate for father is blank, she discovers her Huichol roots and in the end she choses a life career.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF READ (REVIEW)
When I started reading María’s Beads, I thought I knew a lot about Hispanic culture, I was pleasantly surprised to know that I didn’t. I loved the storytelling aspect of María’s Beads, and the way in which certain things were presented in the story. What certain things you ask? You know I can’t tell you, that would spoil the story for you.
I can tell you that she used the same method of an important historical figure to solve the problem of Hannah’s illness. What, you want more information about this historical figure and what she did? Really! So you can be mad at me later for giving away the story. Lets go on.
The UNIQUE thing about María’s Beads is the power Maria receives from the beads and from her lessons with La Curandera. María’s Beads is also an ETHNIC read because Maria learns that her Hispanic roots are a mix of Huichol and Brazilian.
RECOMMENDATION
I really, really liked this wonderful, amazing, historical story for Middle Grade Readers 10 – 12 and Young Adults to age 14.
BUY IT HERE: Amazon Kindle Website
BIO: One evening my wife told me the story of her 13-year-old best friend who lived next door to where she grew up in Salinas, California. One day, she contracted kidney disease, her parents refused medical intervention and the girl died. I was struck by the emotional impact of such an event on a pre-teen. It propelled my wife out of a near-poverty existence and into a life-time career as a medical professional, impacting hundreds of patients. This book is my attempt to capture that motivation for pre-teen girls without the death.
Charles is coordinator and meeting moderator for the Sonoma County Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). He has published three middle-grade novels as well as work in three literary anthologies, Tiny-Lights literary website and the Santa Rosa Press democrat newspaper. He was co-editor of the Redwood Writers 2012 anthology, Call of the Wild, and is an active member of the Redwood Writers a branch of the California Writer’s Club (CWC).
THE STRUGGLE: MOM AND THE SUMMERTIME BLUES
Patrice Smith, Donna Smith, Shannon Smith, Charity Smith, and Faith Smith
Illustrator/Artist Patrice Smith
Editor Jermaine Smith
SUMMARY
5-4-3-2-1 Ringgggggggg
The school bell rings and school’s out. It’s time for summer! You rush out into the hall, say goodbye to your friends and run to the school bus. You just can’t wait for summer to begin. But for these four girls, it’s the complete opposite…
Meet four sisters: Diamond, Sheila, Crystal, and Felicity
Nice girls who loofa school and dread summer. Yeah, you heard right dread summer. Read about this comical tale of how their mother makes their lives miserable during their “fun” summer.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF READ REVIEW
Many, many, times over the last 23 years, my son has accused me of being from another planet. However, there have been too many times to count that I’ve wondered if that was true about him. Okay, yeah, I was there when he was born so,iIn reality this is just the difference in thinking between parent and child. The Struggle: Mom and the Summertime Blues is about such a difference. It is written by four sisters (age 10 – 13/14) who hate summer vacation. Really! They hate summer vacation. Why, you wonder? Everyone knows that summer is all about fun.. You have all these plans in your mind that you’re gonna do this and you’re gonna do that but then Mom has all these things for you to do. Right?
As you start reading Diamond’s story, you find yourself laughing a few minutes later. This theme of gut busting laughter continues on through Sheila, Crystal, and Felicity. Felicity—Oh, I have to stop, no spoilers here.
I will say this, the one thing that makes this book UNIQUE, is that it’s based on fact. As I mentioned before it’s quite hilarious and a lot of fun to read. Kids will identify with everything that has been written by their age appropriate counterparts while parents will enjoy Mom’s redemption.
Another thing I found interesting about The Struggle: Mom and the Summertime Blues was how after being given the project of writing a book about their summer, each girl took on a different identity, and made mom the villain. Why is it always the moms? I guess it’s because we give out the orders, schedule the activities, make the food choices, and—well the list goes on.
Here is a little insight for you kids of eight to thirteen, Mom, in this ETHNIC read featuring African-American characters, gives you a warning to let you know that an adult is now writing the book.If you want to know what your parents are thinking and how they come to some of the decisions they make about your life. READ ON!
RECOMMENDATION
The Struggle: Mom and the Summertime Blues is recommend for Middle Grade and Young Adult Readers to age 14. However, parents will love it too.
BUY IT HERE: Amazon
BIO(S) The Smiths (Patrice, Donna, Shannon, Charity, and Faith r – l) are a Christian family that reside in the south.