Nice guys may finish last but it's hard to keep a good kid down. Kris Yankee in Cracking the Code: Spreading Rumors tells a delightful story of 11-year-old Toby Karlson who suffers from a bad reputation. Toby or TK lives with his Uncle Jack since...

Ted Carter is fresh out of college and ready to hit the world as a school teacher. It can’t be that difficult getting a teaching job; it’s as easy as teachers' jobs you watch on your favorite sitcom, right? Wrong! And after a few interviews,...

The Billion-Dollar Girl by I.D. Blind is about Eva Milton. Her only wish was to become famous, have money, many fans, and a glamorous lifestyle. Though she lacked the talents to make it to the top, she had perfect skills for her ambitions. The book...

Rewind by David A. Wardle is the story of Jason, who commits suicide on his 40th birthday in the year 2003. However, he doesn't end up dead but wakes up in his eight-year-old body in the year 1971. He still knows everything about his life,...

From the Dedication “to all the world’s children,” to the last page, Captain Crossbones in The Treasure Hunt, written and illustrated by Victor Ramon Mojica, delivers a delightful tale for children of all ages. In verse form, Captain Crossbones tells of a treasure he must...

Clean Your Plate – America’s Grand Obesity Plan by John Bressler is a cleverly written satire of the AMA, the food and drug corporations, and even the U.S. Government. While the author states that he loves his country, his claims throughout the book are shocking...

Meet Ella Boudreaux, a self-confessed nag. By no means –- as Ella herself insisted –- is she a negative person. Persistent might be a better word; she is the kind of person you'd ask for directions if you were lost, or provides you with a...

In Caution: Witch in Progress by Lynne North, we meet Gertie who comes from a long line of witches, the kind with a wart on the end of their crooked nose. However, Gertie’s appearance is a bit of a disappointment; her nose is straight without...

Trudy, Madly, Deeply (Working Stiffs Mystery Series), by Wendy Delaney, is a detective story featuring Charmaine Digby, a thirty-something divorcee who's moved back home, up to the Pacific Northwest. She's staying with her grandmother and working at her great-uncle's coffee shop. Char is ready for...

Greegs and Ladders by Zack Mitchell and Danny Mendlow is --as far as I could tell -- a very convoluted, satirical critique of the way humanity is treating its planet, its universe, its fellow humans, its non-human fellow inhabitants of Earth, its environment and, ultimately,...