October 2023 MBR The General Fiction Shelf

The General Fiction Shelf

Picture Perfect Autumn
Shelley Noble
Avon Books
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9780063141544, $18.99, PB, 384pp

https://www.amazon.com/Picture-Perfect-Autumn-Shelley-Noble/dp/006314154X

Synopsis: Dani Campbell is the latest darling of the Manhattan art scene. As a self-taught photographer, Dani is loving every minute of her sudden popularity, but has no idea how she got there, or a clue as to how to stay. On a shoot at an antiques barn, she discovers an envelope of old photos and sees in them what her photos are missing. Her search for their source leads Dani to a small Rhode Island town, a dilapidated American Gothic beach house -- and a man named Lawrence Sinclair.

Reclusive and bitter, the last thing eighty-year-old Lawrence wants to think about is photography -- the thing that inadvertently led to his son's death and tore his family apart. But Dani is determined and persuasive, and Lawrence can't help but be intrigued by the girl with spiky hair who wants to learn from him, when almost everyone else just wants to relieve him of his substantial fortune.

Dani and Lawrence's mentorship blossoms unexpectedly, but everything is put in jeopardy by the appearance of Lawrence's estranged grandson, Peter. Peter is determined to spend some time reconnecting with his grandfather and to get rid of the supposed fortune hunter after Lawrence's money. But Dani is not what he was expecting, and he soon discovers that they have more things in common than not.

Brought together by fortune, fate, and the ties that bind, all three embark on journeys of discovery and love.

Critique: As an author, Shelley Noble is a novelist whose specialty is in Women's Family/Domestic Life and Contemporary Women's Fiction genres. "Picture Perfect Autumn" is her latest (and arguably her best yet) novel and features a carefully crafted, original, and inherently interesting story populated by distinctively memorable characters, as well as an impressively effective and narrative driven storytelling style. While a very highly recommended pick for community library Contemporary General Fiction & Women's Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Picture Perfect Autumn" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798212696241, $41.99, CD).

Editorial Note: Shelley Noble (https://shelleynoble.com) is the author of Whisper Beach and Beach Colors. Her other titles include Stargazey Point, Breakwater Bay, and Forever Beach (a story of foster adoption in New Jersey) and four spin-off novellas. Shelley is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Women's Fiction Writers Association.

Christmas at Corgi Cove
Annie England Noblin
Avon Books
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
HarperCollins Audio
9780063222243, $18.99, PB, 352pp / $41.99 audio CD

https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-at-Corgi-Cove-Novel/dp/0063222248

Synopsis: Rosie Reynolds had come to lakeside Corgi Cove as a lost, lonely girl abandoned by her own mother, but there she discovered a true place to call home. She loves her Corgis, Bonnie and Clyde; loves the lakeside life; and loves her aunt and uncle most of all. But when she discovers their struggling inn is about to be bought out by some big city chain, she hatches a plan: to win a contest naming theirs the best Christmas-themed inn in the USA. It's a long shot, but she knows if the whole town pulls together that they can do it.

But she didn't count on Everett St Claire, who emerged from his gleaming, black BMW, straightening his tie and asking himself how did a big-city guy like him find himself in a speck on the map like Corgi Cove? And how fast could he get back to the city? After all, it couldn't be that difficult to convince one elderly couple to take the money to retire.

He didn't count on getting sucked into life on the lake. Sure, the people might be... eccentric, and Rosie might seem like a pain in the backside, but there is something alluring about the place. And with the holidays nearing, and the deadline looming, Rosie and Everett are about to discover the magic of a Christmas at Corgi Cove.

Critique: A 'feel good' novel with the proverbial 'Happy Ending', "Christmas at Corgi Cove" by novelist Annie England Noblin will be of special and particular interest to fans of contemporary women's friendship fiction. Carefully crafted with memorable characters and a fully reader engaging storyline, "Christmas at Corgi Cove" showcases the author's genuine flair for originality and the kind of narrative driven storytelling that makes for a truly memorable and fun read from start to finish. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community library Contemporary General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Christmas at Corgi Cove" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $10.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (HarperCollins Audio, 9798212698580, $41.99, CD).

Editorial Note: Annie England Noblin lives with her son, husband, and three dogs in the Missouri Ozarks. She graduated with an M.A. in creative writing from Missouri State University and currently teaches English and communications for Arkansas State University in Mountain Home, Arkansas. She spends her free time playing make-believe, feeding stray cats, and working with animal shelters across the country to save homeless dogs.

With Regrets
Lee Kelly
Crooked Lane Books
www.crookedlanebooks.com
Dreamscape Media
www.dreamscapeab.com
9781639104673, $29.99, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Regrets-Novel-Lee-Kelly/dp/1639104674

Synopsis: When recent NYC-transplant Liz Brinkley and her husband are invited to an exclusive soiree by their neighbor, "lifestyle guru" Britta Harris-Che, Liz's immediate thought is hell no. Britta is insufferable, and Liz is wary to leave her young children with a barely-teenage babysitter. And yet she RSVPs anyway, trying to extend an olive branch to her withdrawing husband, who seems desperate to get in with the cliquey elite.

They've barely made it through their first round of champagne when a "red alert" comes through their phones, and every channel on the television tells the same story: strange atmospheric masses, reported to look like "glimmering clouds," have been spreading through major U.S. cities and killing anyone they touch. Authorities have just one clear directive: Find shelter. Immediately.

A collective panic seizes the dinner party; all the guests have children at home. In the mad dash to their cars, they see it: a shimmering net floating over the town. The street is littered with wrecked cars and dead bodies. Leaving now is not an option. Instead, the group launches into survival mode, grabbing supplies to take shelter in the hosts' wine cellar. But everyone has very different opinions about the best plan from there.

Liz becomes increasingly willing to do anything it takes to get back to her children. As the glimmering clouds continue to kill anyone who steps outside, the tensions and suspicions among the party guests near a boiling point. But she begins to realize that there may be others in that cellar even more desperate than she is.

Critique: With a very particular and special appeal to readers with an interest in deftly crafted science fiction technothrillers, "With Regrets" by novelist Lee Kely reveals this author's genuine flair for originality, urban fantasy, and a distinctive, narrative driven, apocalyptic storytelling style. A memorable and unreservedly recommended pick for community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections, it should be noted that "With Regrets" is also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Dreamscape, 9781666645422, $59.99, CD).

Editorial Note: Lee Kelly (https://www.leekellyauthor.com) is the author of "City of Savages", "A Criminal Magic", and "The Antiquity Affair" (co-written with Jennifer Thorne). Her short fiction and essays have appeared in Gingerbread House, Orca, and Tor.com, among other publications. She holds her MFA degree from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Trouble the Living
Francesca McDonnell Capossela
francescamcdonnell.com
Lake Union Publishing
https://amazonpublishing.amazon.com/lake-union-publishing.html
9781662511233, $16.99, PB, 303pp

https://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Living-Francesca-McDonnell-Capossela/dp/166251123X

Synopsis: It's the final years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and Brid and her sister, Ina, try to maintain a stable life in a divided country. Pushed by her mother's fanaticism and a family tragedy, Brid joins the IRA and makes a devastating choice. Frightened and guilt ridden, she flees, leaving behind Ireland and her family for America.

Years later, her guilt and tragic history still buried, Brid is an overprotective mother raising her sensitive daughter, Bernie, in Southern California. Growing up amid a different kind of social unrest, Bernie's need for independence and her exploration of her sexuality drive a wedge into their already-fragile relationship. When mother and daughter are forced to return to Northern Ireland, they both must confront the past, the present, and the women they've become.

As they navigate their troubled legacies, mother and daughter untangle the threads of love, violence, and secrets that formed them -- and that will stubbornly, beautifully, bind them forever.

Critique: An original and deftly crafted novel of cultural heritage, family life, and women's relationships, "Trouble the Living" by gifted author Francesca McDonnell Capossela is an inherently fascinating read from cover to cover and is especially and unreservedly recommended for community library General Fiction collections. It should be noted that "Trouble the Living" is also readily available for personal reading lists in the digital book format (Kindle, $3.99).

Editorial Note: Francesca McDonnell Capossela (francescamcdonnell.com) is an LGBTQ writer and Irish American dual citizen. She grew up in Brooklyn and holds a Master's in creative writing from Trinity College Dublin. Her writing can be found in the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Point, Banshee, The Cormorant, Columbia Journal, Guesthouse, and the anthologies Dark Matter Presents Human Monsters and Teaching Nabokov's Lolita in the #MeToo Era.

The Girl in the White Cape
Barbara Sapienza
She Writes Press
www.shewritespress.com
9781647425036, $17.95, PB, 256pp

https://www.amazon.com/Girl-White-Cape-Novel/dp/1647425034

Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Elena lives in a church attic in San Francisco's Richmond neighborhood, where she is cared for by her guardian, a kind Russian priest named Father Al. Six days a week, Father Al sends her out of Our Lady, across the meadows and ponds of Golden Gate Park, and all the way to Baba Vera's house on Taraval Street for Baba's version of school.

Unlike regular school, however, Elena's learning is unnerving. Baba Vera's preposterous demands, dizzying antics, and house (which is full of skeletons, brooms, strange implements, and guinea pigs, among other oddities) seem straight out of a Russian fairy tale Father Al used to read to Elena -- not life in 2020.

If not for her beloved doll, Kukla (bequeathed to her by the mother she never got to know, but of whom she often dreams) Elena would be overwhelmed. Yet she works hard at every task given her, understanding intuitively that there is a purpose to every one of her grandmother's strange assignments.

Frank, a young taxi driver, enters Elena's world on the day he delivers a strange, witch-like woman named Anya to Our Lady. Upon meeting Anya and Elena, a dream-world begins to spin for him - and he feels a deep, protective pull toward Elena. In the days that follow, Frank devotes himself to saving her from the harm he is sure Anya intends toward her. What he comes to understand, as he enters more deeply into Elena's story, is that she has magic of her own.

He thought he was supposed to save her -- but in the end, the two of them may just save each other.

Critique: Holding a very special appeal to readers with an interest in deftly crafted coming of age novels blended paranormal urban fantasy, "The Girl in the White Cape" by Barbara Sapienza is a unique, entertaining, and memorable read from cover to cover. As an author, Barbara Sapienza has managed to use her impressive storytelling talents to raise "The Girl in the White Cape" to the level of the kind of literary fiction that wins awards. While available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99), "The Girl in the White Cape" is an especially and unreservedly recommended pick for community library and academic library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Barbara Sapienza (https://www.barbarasapienza.com) is a retired clinical psychologist and an alumna of San Francisco State University's creative writing master's program. Her first novel, Anchor Out (She Writes Press, 2017), received an IPPY Bronze for Best Regional Fiction, West Coast. Her second novel, The Laundress (She Writes Press, 2020), received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews.

Snarl
John Boden
Dead Sky Publishing
https://deadskypublishing.com/new-releases
9781639510856, $11.99, PB, 85pp

https://www.amazon.com/Snarl-John-Boden/dp/1639510850

Synopsis: Marlin Stains is a lonely man who is filled with words. Words that he longs to share with the world but so far only shares with himself. He has over 300 notebooks brimming with them in his trailer room. A wood-paneled tomb of prose and syllable.

Marlin Stains killed his brother in the womb, buried his father when he was a young man and now, a bit older, he watches the same monster devour his mother. While grappling with this, he experiences a combination of exchanges and events that point him on a new trajectory with an outcome that is both expected and anything but.

Marlin Stains has learned plenty in his thirty-two years: Love never dies, it just hides for a while and gets punchy. Death is never afraid and never gives a damn. Life is a thing that stretches, sometimes so far that you forget about it until it snaps back and hurts you. A snarl is an angry sound or a tangled trap, Marlin is familiar with both.

Critique: With a very special appeal to readers with an interest in the mixing of crime thrillers with horror fiction, "Snarl" by novella author John Boden is one of those unique, quick and riveting reads that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book has been finished and set back upon the shelf. While highly recommended for personal reading lists and community/academic library Contemporary Fiction collections, it should be noted that "Snarl" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $3.49).

Editorial Note: John Boden lives a stones throw from Three Mile Island. While his output as a writer is fairly sporadic, it has a bit of a reputation for being unique. An extensive listing of his books is available at: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7302668.John_Boden

My Life as a Cactus
Diane Asitimbay
Culturelink Press
www.culturelink.ca/publications-and-media/media-coverage
9780975927618, $16.99, PB, 236pp

https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Cactus-Rookie-Reporter/dp/0975927612

Synopsis: Heartbroken, Sara quits her dead-end job in Queens and decamps in Mexico, a country where nobody ever dies, they just take long naps until the next year's Day of the Dead. With no money and a little Spanish, she knows she's ready for her new career in a new country because of the rolls of smashed toilet paper busting out of her suitcase. After all, how different can life in Mexico be? -- It turns out, very different!

Critique: A deft blending of anecdotal misadventures and laugh-out-loud adventures, "My Life as a Cactus :Tales of a Rookie Reporter in Mexico" by Diane Asitimbay is the deftly scripted story of transplanted American reporter Sara and her various misadventures and cultural clashes in Mexico. Laced through with humor, anecdote, culture shock, and charm, this is also an inherently fascinating and deftly told story of friendship, healing, and self-discovery. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community library Contemporary Fiction collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of anyone with an interest in Mexican culture, travel, humor, and the life of a fictional reporter in Mexico City, that "My Life as a Cactus" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Diane Asitimbay (www.dianeasitimbay.com) has been a guest columnist and writer for numerous magazines and newspapers, and her humorous writing and cultural insights have appeared in Hispanic, Business Mexico, and the San Diego Union-Tribune. Her previous award-winning books include the non-fiction guide, What's Up, America? and a book of poetry, No Perfect People, Please! She also teaches English to international students at the University of California - San Diego. Asitimbay's debut novel "My Life as a Cactus" was inspired by her actual work as a reporter for a Mexican newspaper in Mexico City. She went to live in Mexico with no magic beans and the result was a novel based on her misadventures.

Sea Glass Memories
Anne Marie Bennett
www.AnneMarieBennett.com
KaleidoSoul Media
https://kaleidosoul.com/kaleidosoul-media.html
9798986050348, $12.00 Paper/$2.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Glass-Memories-Seahaven-Sunrise/dp/B0CCX9XBXS

Book 2 of the Seahaven Sunrise series, Sea Glass Memories, returns to the Maine environment featured in Feathers in the Sand to explore a new start. It focuses on Elena Jeffries's move from Boston to the small community of Seahaven, where she becomes involved in a class play, a local grief support group, and a touch of romance that leads her to think all may not be lost in her life. Grief is not only a changing state of being, but one which promises riches from its flux, as Elena finds by becoming involved in a world both unfamiliar to her and replete with new opportunities.

Anne Marie Bennett deftly intersects past experience with present-day changes as Elena moves from her Boston past into a future that portends resolution and redemption in new ways.

One satisfying feature of Elena's move is her realistic perspective about her life's new possibilities. These create a current of experience and acceptance that flows underneath any illusions of ideal life. Elena's pragmatic perspective spills into the Our Town play rehearsal, her encounters with others open new doors of possibility, and her musings about her choices in the matter reflect both the impact of grief recovery and the potential of forging a different life with new relationships at its core.

The result is an intimate portrait of small-town Maine life, a big-city girl's sea changes, and the process by which she overcomes her own expectations and grief to enter into a milieu which promises many new treasures.

Libraries and readers seeking a beach read replete with warmth and a sense of personal discovery and recovery will find Sea Glass Memories an alluring, evocative grief journey that carries Elena from the life she'd anticipated to one which is unpredictably promising.

The New Tenant
Allison G. Smith
Muse Literary
https://museliterary.com
9781958714393, $24.99 Hardcover/$14.99 Paper/$4.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/New-Tenant-Allison-G-Smith/dp/1958714399

The New Tenant tells of widow Angela Wilcox, who moved from riches to rags virtually overnight upon the death of her wealthy husband. Left not only bereaved, but penniless, Angela meets a new, vibrant tenant in the boarding house she now resides in. This leads her to confront not only the unusual nature of such a personality in a place where subdued resignation is more the norm, but the exceptional qualities of an individual who hasn't let life beat him down.

Jack helps Angela by opening her eyes to new opportunities for service and interpersonal interaction in this world. Her appreciation of his gifts is evident as her story unfolds: "Being introduced to things she had never noticed even after living here for so long, she finds herself worrying less and less about her own circumstances." Jack's magic doesn't just stop with influencing Angela's trajectory. It spills into holiday celebrations and the lives of other tenants, changing their perceptive of opportunities and possibilities in their own worlds.

As Angela begins to rely on Jack's magic more than she cares to admit, she also finds herself slipping in the area of reciprocating by asking more closely about Jack's own daily experiences and feelings. When the truth emerges about what someone like Jack is doing in this situation, Angela finds her assumptions shaken yet again.

Allison G. Smith crafts a winning women's story in Angela's navigation of her revised life. From the consideration of the true nature of friendships and love to the experiences of those who swirl around Angela's world, Smith creates an interconnected jigsaw puzzle of personalities and purposes that leads to unexpected revelations and satisfying insights.

Driven by strong characters who each face different adversities, The New Tenant focuses on lessons in kindness and adaptation that the world truly needs right now.

Libraries and readers looking for uplifting stories of growth and giving will find The New Tenant replete with thought-provoking life lessons that will resonate and attract.

Mortal Weather
KP McCarthy
https://kpmccarthy18.com
Top Reads Publishing
https://www.topreadspublishing.com
9781970107364, $28.00 Hardcover/$18.99 Paper/$9.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Weather-Novel-KP-McCarthy/dp/1970107375

Mortal Weather is a novel of magical realism, existential philosophical observation, and mystery that will attract a wide audience with its genre-hopping qualities and compelling attractions. It opens with a decidedly philosophical bent that invites readers and the narrator to consider ideals and new ways of approaching life:

"There is only one reliable kind of prophecy, Stanhope: the self-fulfilling kind. Who do you think you are? That's you. The world whispers, so listen. Imagine the dharma that approaches and prepare a welcome."

Hero stories and myths served as the initial inspiration for Mortal Weather, KP McCarthy reveals in his preface; but the proof of the pudding lies in its interpretation and presentation, which here assumes a thought-provoking romp through ideology and hope that can only come after tragedy.

Stanhope (the characters are all aptly named, with a tongue-in-cheek humor reflected in such names as 'UpChuck') is actively seeking change after the death of his wife and his own near-fatal accident. But just because the scenario changes doesn't mean that Death's touch has been thwarted, as Stanhope finds when those around him begin to fall. This leads him to wonder about his ultimate power and impact on the world as his journeys carry him and his readers into magical realms he never thought possible before.

Stanhope encounters a number of memorable characters who face their lives and losses, influencing his with equal passion. Readers will find themselves falling in love with more than one kind of character, but beware -- death is often not far behind.

There is comedy, there are reconnections which serve as "tonics" to the soul, and there are gifts of surreal art which promote healing and discovery in the face of the death of not only spirit, but imagination. At times, it's hard to see how uplifting possibilities and new beginnings can emerge from the ashes of death's touch, but McCarthy creates an ultimately hopeful story steeped in not just magical realism, but the power of relationships to transform and heal. The result is a study in relationship-building, transformation, and discovery that tackles the challenge of existential philosophy and spiritual components with the affectionate touch of new possibilities.

Libraries, book clubs, and readers will find many thought-provoking moments in a mix of characters who each cultivate their own powers of hope, salvation, and growth.

Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse
Chris Coward
https://www.chriscoward.net
Atmosphere Press
www.atmospherepress.com
9781639889228, $16.99

https://www.amazon.com/Perpendicular-Women-Adventures-Chris-Coward/dp/1639889221

Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse juxtaposes two alternate universes. In one, wife and mother Kara Cuesta struggles to heal a dysfunctional family. In the other, older tech executive Pandora Garnett may be the only force that can stave off World War IV. The perpendicular lives of these women intersect in the arena of special interests, from the family focus Kara represents and fosters to the bigger issue of humanity's survival that Pandora struggles to assure. These disparate yet somehow entwined lives are presented as a series of juxtaposing chapters of connection, playing out the strands of each woman's experience in alternate viewpoints of experience that emphasize each character's disparate life from the start, Housewife Kara's world of 2012 and leader Pandora's two-moon world of 2028 are connected by experiences and phrases that link these two lives: "There was much to celebrate and much to fear."

From their different ages and concerns to the bigger pictures that reach out to shake their worlds and affect the future, Kara and Pandora represent two forces that both create and destroy new possibilities as they penetrate the veil of time and discover new aspects about their abilities to change their worlds. Chris Coward writes with a seasoned, reflective hand that adds a dash of humor into the mix ("We'll save the world while we pay the attorney.") but keeps the focus steadily on the evolving connections and compassion between characters forced to confront abusers, users, and their own complacency and courage in changing their worlds. As these worlds and interests intersect, bigger pictures emerge that readers won't see coming, which lends a very satisfying complexity to the story that places it above any singular consideration of women on the verge of transformation. "I believe Paradise is a feeling, not a place. We can all be together."

The multifaceted characters that permeate this Multiverse environment and their interconnected lives and decisions makes for a story that is unpredictable, satisfyingly complex in its social and psychological observations, and filled with the movement of wonder and change as incredible stories prove true and characters come to realize what a force they can be to affect the world's evolution and progression. Libraries looking for stories replete in heady psychological and social reflection will find Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse holds just the right mix of science, personal, and social inspection.

Final Lullaby
Sasha Lauren
https://www.sashalaurenauthor.com
Black Rose Writing
www.blackrosewriting.com
9781685132576, $20.95 Paper/$5.99 ebook/$17.46 Audiobook

https://www.amazon.com/Final-Lullaby-Sasha-Lauren/dp/168513257X

In Final Lullaby, Tucker and Angela are gentle, sweet souls who have found in each another a kindred spirit. Tucker's blues music talents lure Angela, who contemplates the surprising scenario of a connection developing between them. Love is in the air from the very beginning ("Tucker showed me his house with the earnestness of a bighearted lap dog who only wants to share himself and be loved."), proving it is possible to fall in love in mere seconds. This is not the end of the story, however - it's only the beginning.

Sometimes love is not enough. In Tucker and Angela's case, love drives an examination that revolves not just around romance, but dances through impossible conundrums, social expectations, and taboos that come to rest on their shoulders. Unexpected developments pull Angela into worlds with moral and ethical dilemmas she'd never closely examined, much less dreamed of. Sasha Lauren cuts to the chase in her candid probe of a topic many fictional approaches would shy away from. From issues of medical system corruption that introduce impossible pain to sufferers to the observation that "heartache is a ravager," Lauren creates a powerful series of interplays that open with love and move deftly into forbidden territory and subjects that test the hearts of characters and readers alike. The ongoing influence of former soul friend Madeleine in Angela's life, the decisions to foster her legacy in different ways, and the impact of loving again are all powerfully rendered in a tale of best friends, old and new friends, and the process of mourning and recovery. All this is complicated by a medical system that harms as much as it heals.

Ideally, Final Lullaby will be chosen not just by romance readers who will find the unfolding story departs from predictable paths to enter thought-provoking realms of social inspection, but by book clubs interested in debating many of its issues. Libraries and readers will find Final Lullaby a compelling journey into love, healing, and recovery. It operates on different levels, introducing thought-provoking reflections that ultimately demand the reader's engagement on more than just appreciating a romantic interlude and new possibilities of growth.

I, Lloyd Stollman
Rob Sullivan, PhD
Black Heron Press
https://blackheronpress.com
c/o Independent Publishers Group (dist.)
https://www.ipgbook.com
9781936364404, $15.99

https://www.amazon.com/Lloyd-Stollman-Rob-Sullivan-PhD/dp/1936364409

Schizophrenia never looked so good. Well... assuming an alter ego isn't exactly mental illness, until one's fictional personality takes the reins and commits murder. That's the dilemma of mild-mannered, isolated clerk retiree Lloyd, whose successful act of being a movie cowboy proves so empowering that he enters into other fictional personas that ultimately begin to take over.

Suddenly, Lloyd has lost control of not just his life, but who he is. And in his advanced years, this translates to a loss of not just self, but life connection that drives him into new directions and dangerous curves in the road.

The opening lines explaining Lloyd's initial foray into mental disintegration uses impeccable logic to enter his world: "I only started to feel right when I put on my first disguise. Before that, I had been a half-person, a shadow, a ghost, a nonentity, anonymous, dead. But once I put that disguise on, I felt like I fit in my own body, that I belonged, that I was part of society, like I had a place, like I was somebody." In fact, "It was such a relief. Not to have to be myself."

As relief turns to dread and disaster, readers follow an intense story made all the more pointed and powerful by the use of the first person, which allows readers to enter into the logic and surprises that buffet an urban disguise artist's revised life trajectory.

Rob Sullivan provides powerful images and insights throughout Lloyd's story, crafting a series of events that send him on expeditions through relationships, uncharted territory, and emotional responses that have not been a part of his prior life. The psychological and social revelations permeate a story so intensely revealing that even acts of cross-dressing are realistically presented and thought-provoking at every step of the way.

Everyone harbors misconceptions and makes mistakes. As Lloyd observes that "if anyone's totally capable of navigating the straits of life and never crashing into anything, I sure would like to meet them." In his case, the crash is almost surreal in its strength as Lloyd Stollman loses himself in Glenda and other personas and finds himself on the lam, immersed in counterculture, and skirting the edge of madness.

Libraries and readers seeking powerful psychological novels of transitions and revelations will find I, Lloyd Stollman offers especially intriguing insights into the opportunities and dilemmas of juggling alternate personalities and possibilities. Even stronger are the insights suitable for psychology groups and book club circles that revolve around the assumption of not just new personalities, but responsibility for their incarnation, growth, and perhaps inevitable outcomes. I, Lloyd Stollman crafts a rare opportunity for a bird's-eye view of life through the changes a sixty-two-year-old man experiences through choices both of his own making and outside of his control. It's intense, riveting, and hard to put down.

Year of the Puffin
Gregory Phipps
https://www.gregoryphipps.org
Atmosphere Press
www.atmospherepress.com
9781639889211, $18.99

https://www.amazon.com/Year-Puffin-Gregory-Phipps/dp/1639889213

Year of the Puffin isn't about (or for) the birds. It's about an Icelandic college football team, The Puffins, who are determined to win the championship in American college football despite harboring a ragtag group of misfits and misguided directors whose intentions often go awry.

Though the international dovetailing of this story feels surprising, a prologue outlines how soldiers introduced American football to Iceland in the 1930s, when that country served as a base for American soldiers who played flag football during periods of waiting out winter storms.

Readers who anticipate a sports-centric series of events will be surprised at the accompanying cultural contrasts that add value to the story. Gregory Phipps excels at injecting these seamlessly into the action: "He'd lived in Iceland for so long that he often forgot the North American capacity for enthusiasm."

As unfolding events around various types of successes and failures embrace characters and their readers, a sense of Icelandic psyche begins to grow as issues of team playing, leadership, love, and adversity begin to emerge to form a bigger picture underlying the football team's efforts and impact. "You can be anything. You just have to prove it. Over and over again. For the rest of your life."

As beautifully graphic descriptions of Iceland unfold, readers will be drawn to this compelling story of its countryside, people, sports efforts, and individuals who face dangerous secrets, internal conflict, and the external pressures of international relationships and perceptions. To limit Year of the Puffin's audience to football enthusiasts alone would be to do it a grave disservice. It's a powerful story of plays made by individuals, nations, and competition that evolves many layers of attraction to make it the perfect item of choice not just for lending libraries, but book clubs looking for vivid discussion material about Iceland's people, culture, and worldwide sports.

Trigger Warning
Robert Klose
Open Books
https://www.open-bks.com
9781948598668, $17.95

https://www.open-bks.com/library/moderns/trigger-warning/about-book.html

Trigger Warning is a novel that embraces university politics and procedures, focusing on Professor Tymoteusz Tarnaszewski ("T"), who finds himself resisting the administration's new requirement of inserting "trigger warnings" in all syllabi. As a Professor of Biology, this could limit or mitigate the impact of his teaching, T believes.

And so he embarks on a resistance that leads to a charge of insubordination despite the fact that his teaching actually is more effective than that of most of his peers. Just how far these students will support him is tested by his convictions, actions, and clash with administrative regulations. When he is betrayed by a student, new connections are made which challenge both his stand and his relative isolation as a beacon of leadership in his mind and in his students' lives.

Robert Klose lays open the world of college encounters and politics with a steady hand to exploring one teacher's impact on his closed world and the situations which evolve from it that mitigate T's ongoing isolation and loneliness. By juxtaposing ideology, political correctness, and the motivations of teachers and students who break away from their self-imposed worlds to acknowledge the tides and trends of the greater world around them, Klose creates a thought-provoking milieu which should be of special interest to students and teachers who have long operated in institutions of higher learning.

The newfound contractions, contraindications, and changing triggers in their lives affect all the characters both within the system and outside of it, leading to confrontations and realizations that embrace not just political and social change, but personal growth.

Ultimately, Trigger Warning is about money, motivation, and moves that change everyone within the university system. In effect, its experiences, confrontations, and evolving challenges mirror events in the world outside the university's walls, providing many thought-provoking moments and surprises as these influences are uncovered: "You as a teacher speak about truth and facts and moral obligations to your students. But we" - thumbing his chest - "think only in terms of appearances and expediency. When you were directed to include trigger warnings, both of these considerations were on our minds, but mostly appearances. Trigger warnings made us look like we were current, and correct, and that we were giving students what they wanted. The public would, of course, approve. And the legislature, with the power of the purse, is part of the public."

The result is a superb political, social, and interpersonal assessment that is especially highly recommended for students, teachers, and supporters of higher learning. The ways in which teachers are constrained and guided will also provide delightful fodder for controversial discussions in book club circles and among readers that come from university-level settings.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview (dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price).

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review