Book Review of Gone: A Girl, A Violin, A Life Unstrung by Min Kym

I first heard about Gone by Min Kym on the Blogging for Books website, where I noticed it was garnering five star review after five star review. I had never heard of Min Kym. Lindsey Stirling is my favorite violin soloist, and when it comes to classical solo string performers, I am much more of a cello listener. What could be so compelling about a memoir written by a violin soloist about having her instrument stolen? I remember wondering. And then, I recalled a television interview I'd seen years ago, in which blues guitar player B.B. King spoke emotionally about the experience of having his guitar Lucille stolen. Two things stuck out in my mind about that interview: 1) That King rushed back into a burning building to rescue his guitar, and that when he found out the fire was started because two men had been arguing over a woman named Lucille, he knew what he had to name his beloved instrument, and 2) That an instrument could be so integral to a musician that he would run into a burning building to save it, risking his life without hesitation. So, of course I requested a free review copy of Gone. I had to see if her story was as unique, interesting, and emotional.

Though I understand why each element of the cover design for this book was selected, I don't personally like it. Conversely, I think the author picture included in the back of this book is one of the best I've ever seen, and I think it would've made a wonderful cover for Gone! I find it more aesthetically appealing and memorable than the actual cover. Plus, I'm dying to ask Min Kym how, exactly, she gets her hair to do that. Clearly, if she decides to move on from the world of professional music performance, she could really rock the YouTube hair tutorial videos. Also, seeing this author photo left me with one question: Kym mentions owning and playing several different violins over the course of the memoir. Which one is pictured here?

On the surface, it seems as if Kym has succeeded despite overwhelming struggles. She emigrated from Korea and grew up in London. She was admitted to the renowned Purcell School for musically gifted children, where she excelled and people quickly realized she was a violin prodigy. With a father who was constantly absent due to work that took him abroad for long stretches of time, a sister she never mentions except in the context of playing the piano alongside Kym's violin, and a mother who had the highest expectations of her daughters, but only showed affection through food, possibly creating a toxic atmosphere in which Kym's anorexia thrived, (Strangely, this is only mentioned in the last chapter of the book.) Kym found herself in music.

However, her confidence and her ability to speak up for herself were mostly non-existent. Kym found herself in a relationship with a manipulative man who had previously preyed on other Korean girls, finding them easy targets because the cultural values of submission and self-sacrifice with which they had been indoctrinated made them easy to control. Any time Kym succeeded in recognizing what she wanted and gravitating toward it, or meekly voiced her concerns in an attempt to stand up for what was important to her, he shut it down, ultimately leading to the theft of her beloved Stradivarius violin--a world-class instrument valued at more than many houses but, more importantly, the vessel through which Kym expressed herself emotionally and upon which she built her career professionally.

Gone is the story of Kym's upbringing, her training as a violin prodigy, her discovery of the violin that would define, amplify, and clarify her voice as a person, and as a performer, and the devastating loss of that gorgeous instrument. It differs a bit from a traditional memoir. For one thing, despite the fact that there are assuredly pictures of Kym from her extensive professional performance career, I found it odd and disappointing that they weren't included in the book. Also lacking were photos of the various violins Kym owned and played over the course of her life as a violin soloist, which would've been integral to the story, considering that the importance of her instrument is the essence of the book. And, since Kym goes into great (helpful, and interesting) detail about the parts of a violin, and which ones she tweaked in order to adjust each instrument to work for her as a performer, some diagrams displaying that information would've been useful and informative to the reader. I did appreciate, however, that Kym included generous amounts of information about luthiers, and about today's violin trade. I also enjoyed the parts where Kym would give context about the classical pieces she was working on at that point in the narrative, describing the feeling of the piece, or even going into personal detail about the life of the composer. These anecdotes served to educate me as a reader, but they also underscored for me how personal this music is to Kym, and how intimately she knows it.

However, there is one thing tied into Gone that I haven't seen with a memoir: music. At the very beginning of the book, there's a list of nine tracks which closely relate to the narrative. They are solo pieces recorded by Kym, which are described in the book at various points. In addition to the suggested listening list, those points are marked by a music note and a number in the margins, so readers know when to start each track. But, as wonderful a tie-in as this concept is, the music isn't available to listen for free on YouTube or Kym's website, and the book doesn't come with download codes. Instead, the reader is given instructions on where to purchase the music. So, the publisher expects readers to pay $25.00 for the book, and then pay more (about $15.00 on Amazon for the CD) to listen to the music for the full experience? And, many readers may not know they are supposed to buy music to go with the book beforehand, so they may have brought the book with them somewhere to read where they can't download the music. I feel like the cover price of the book should've been increased, and the book itself should have come with download codes or a CD of the music, this requiring only one purchase for the full experience. This aspect of Gone was poorly designed.

Overall, Min Kym's writing was refreshingly honest, self-aware, and beautiful in a simple, poetic way. There were some grammatical errors I feel her editor should've caught, but it's obvious that Kym knows how to tell a story. Also, Kym didn't shy away from aspects of her life that didn't put her in the best light. Gone isn't the story of a girl trying come off as perfect, though it so easily could've been. Kym writes vulnerably, and the result is powerful, endearing, and sad. It shows how integral an instrument can be to a musician, and how crucial it is for women to be taught as girls that what they say and how they feel matters, and that they shouldn't suffer the company of anyone who disagrees.

Highly recommended.

As a little sidenote, I just noticed this is my 100th review for Blogging For Books. This is a great program, and I really enjoy participating in it! I never would've discovered many books I've truly loved without BFB, Gone being one of them. 

Book Review of The Physics Of Everyday Things by James Kakalios

I like understanding how scientific concepts apply to common things in everyday life. For example, no science lesson sticks out in my mind more than the time my AP Bio teacher gave an in-depth explanation of how a hair dryer works. I don't know why, but I've always found that sort of thing fascinating. So, it was without hesitation that I requested a free review copy of The Physics of Everyday Things: The Extraordinary Science Behind an Ordinary Day by James Kakalios. And I thought I was in for a real treat--an entire book about what I'd loved so much from that class session. From the cover design, I surmised that the book was fun and pithy, possibly full of wordplay, and definitely jam-packed with full-color illustrations and diagrams to help readers understand the concepts being explained.

Nope. That couldn't be further from the case. The Physics of Everyday Things took a reader who was excited to learn about science and turned that opportunity into a snooze. There were no color illustrations of any sort within the book. The only diagrams were boring and very minimalist. Kakalios' idea of an "ordinary day" is somewhat asinine, except for a high-powered employee of a Fortune 500 company--I'm pretty sure that isn't going to be the demographic for this book. The pages within are mostly wall-to-wall print, thick with long scientific terms. And Kakalios does little to temper this dry material and information-dense text (most of his efforts therein come in the form of awkwardly using second person POV, which completely does not work in this application).

All in all, I truly have no idea who would want to read this book. Readers who would willingly slog through all of the scientific terms with a complete lack of visual interest would be better served by more advanced book, or an actual textbook, and would probably be annoyed with the second person usage and tired scenarios used to present the information (You Go To The Doctor, You Go To The Airport, You Take A Flight), which come across as ill-contrived as a pizza delivery at the beginning of a bad porn film. And readers who might feel buried underneath all of the scientific terms and hungry for the brightly-colored pictures and helpful diagrams the cover design promised would probably just give up and stop reading well before the end of Chapter One. Not recommended.

Book Review of Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

Since I enjoyed Mindy Kaling's first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), so much, I jumped at the chance to get a free copy of her second book, Why Not Me?, for review from Blogging For Books. It did not disappoint.

I love that Kaling's writing is witty and approachable. I love that her take on women's issues and her attitude about Hollywood are both totally real and grounded. I love that every facet of this book, from the back cover design to the endpaper graphics, from the photos to the author bio is completely in line with Kaling's identity and absurdly hilarious.

My favorite part of Why Not Me? was easily the section with the chapter about beauty advice here Kaling talked about hair. She uncovered the--let's be honest, no longer surprising--truth that pretty much everyone on TV has fake hair. The picture of "her" before all of the Hollywood styling (a photo of Gollum from LOTR made me laugh out loud... not just because I have a friend who has hair thinning due to some medical problems who recently described herself as having had "Gollum hair," but also because I admired the ladyballs (yeah, just like in Easy A) to admit that nobody looks like they do on screen in real life, and to encourage the women reading her book not to compare themselves and their appearances to a standard of beauty she herself can't even attain without a whole team of stylists and a barrage of beauty products.

If you like Kaling herself and find her funny, enjoy her TV show, or devoured her first book, grab this one for sure!

Book Review of Yellow Owl Workshop's Make It Yours by Christine Schmidt

I requested a free copy of Yellow Owl Workshop's Make It Yours: patterns and inspiration to stamp, stencil, and customize your stuff by Christine Schmidt from Blogging For Books for the purposes of review because I've been wanting to get back into crafts lately. This type of creativity isn't something I do all the time, but every once in a while, I get a yen to put stamps to paper, dye fabric in intricate patterns, or feel a brush glide over clay beneath my hand. I especially enjoy saving money on gifts or decorated items by making them myself. However, when the book arrived, I must admit that I was a little disappointed in the cover design. Though I could see the possibilities in each project showcased on the cover, how much the finished products contrasted sharply with my personal aesthetic made me wonder if Make It Yours was really going to enable me to make anything mine...  or if I'd just be churning out craft projects I didn't love and wouldn't want to use or give away.


However, the more of this book I read, the more I realized that most of these projects are highly customizable, and simply by selecting colors or creating patterns that fit into my own personal tastes, I'd still be able to follow the steps included and make the projects in Make It Yours truly mine. Here are some of the projects I've added to my to-do list from this book:

• The Laundry Bag (This seems like an easy, low-budget project to decorate a personalized laundry bag that would be more fun than work. I'm going to file this one away under, "Ideas for high school graduation gifts," and bust it out the next time I need to come up with a present for a college-bound grad.)

• The Custom Monogram (I maintain relationships with several penpals, and I'm a bit of a stationery fiend, so the idea of creating my own custom stationery is appealing. In the past, I've done several things with pre-made rubber stamps, but creating my own monogram stamp--and perhaps monogram stamps for others, to make gifts--is very appealing to me, especially because this project is simple and easy, and will enable me to use plain paper and envelopes I already have on hand, keeping my costs low. However, if you don't have paper and envelopes, and you don't want to buy them, there are even patterns included along with directions for making your own.)
• The Logo Stamp (Similarly, this project also involves creating your own stamp, although this one uses a Carve-a-Stamp block or rubber block, so it is a significantly more advanced. I did this one time in a middle school art class and loved it, so I'm eager to try again with the new application of a logo... perhaps for this blog? I appreciate that Schmidt included not just the step-by-step instructions for actually making the stamp itself, but also lots of tips, tricks, and things to keep in mind when designing your own logo.)
• The Art Deco Dresser (This one is more of a long-term goal, and is the big kahuna of my list. We currently have a plain dresser in need of a new paint job that I use to hold most of my medical supplies, and this advanced project involving gold leafing with patterns included in the back of the book in one of my favorite styles, Art Deco, will be just the thing to make it look new again.)

The reason I wanted to review Make It Yours specifically is because I heard that Yellow Owl Workshops was infamous for taking things to the next level: by Schmidt's lead, you don't just stamp--you create your own stamps, you don't just tie-dye--you board clamp to create straight lines on the fabric, you don't just paint pottery--you DIY Delftware-style. This is a benefit and a drawback of the book, depending on what your level of ability, experience, and budget might be. If you've done lots of crafts at home and you're ready for something more advanced, if you aren't intimidated by projects that have lots of steps, and if your budget (or your craft supply stockpile) can withstand several projects requiring 10-25 tools or supplies necessary to complete them, but you're looking for something new and different to kick things up a notch, this is exactly the right book for you.

But, if you're a beginner at crafts who doesn't have many of the basic skills down and has a small budget (or lacks a stockpile of supplies, as many beginners do), then you may ultimately find Make It Yours frustrating and intimidating. While there are several projects in the book that only require a few supplies, and don't employ advanced crafting skills, I doubt somebody who purchased Make It Yours with the intention of only doing those projects would feel it was worth the investment. My guess is that they'd probably just feel frustrated at their lack of experience or resources, and regret not having chosen a book that was more suited to their needs and goals.

I love the large size of this book, and the fact that it is paperback to keep the cost down, but seems durable. I really don't understand why the publisher would have made such a book's binding so it doesn't lay flat in an open position. I mean... you expect me to spend hours following your steps through a craft that takes potentially dozens of actions and tools or supplies on my part, and you also expect me to fight to keep the book open whilst I do it!? I also appreciate that patterns and templates for many of the projects are actually included in the back. I don't like that not all of the projects in the book have clear lists of supplies needed or difficulty ratings, and I don't understand why something that seems so crucial to the chosen format wasn't maintained throughout the book. The big, colorful illustrations add lots of visual interest, and also serve as explanations where the step-by-step instructions might still leave questions as to what the finished product should resemble. I like that Schmidt seems to have really thought through what a home crafter's experience would be when working through the steps of each project, and she included as much information as possible to help with any obstacles her readers might encounter without heaping on so many details that it would become overwhelming. I don't like how the book is organized, more by how the patterns look than what their purpose is. I'd prefer to be able to turn to a section on textile crafts, one on papercrafts, one on gifts, one on things that could be used for a small/home-based business, etc.

Ultimately, I recommend Yellow Owl Workshop's Make It Yours only for serious, experienced crafters ready for more advanced projects that require lots of time, skills, and supplies,

Book Review of Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner is another one of the inaugural batch of YA titles recently added to the Blogging For Books program. So, when I read several blurbs likening it to Looking For Alaska (which I loved), I thought I must request a free copy of this book for the purpose of review. I haven't read Zentner's first novel, The Serpent King, but now that I've finished Goodbye Days, it definitely holds a place on my TBR list. Before I get into why Goodbye Days turned Zentner into a must-read author for me, can we talk about its artful cover design for a second? I love the simplicity of the color palette, the word bubbles' resemblance to a text convo, and the textured web debossed into the cover, meant to signify a shattered windshield. I don't think this cover could be more apropos for the story, or more pleasingly elegant in its simplicity.

Goodbye Days tells the story of Carver Briggs, the only remaining member of a friend group of four guys who jokingly called themselves The Sauce Crew. The book opens in the wake of the deaths of Mars, Eli, and Blake--Carver's friends who perished in a car crash when Mars took his eyes off of the road while behind the wheel to answer a text from Carver. While dealing with his own grief, loss, and guilt in the aftermath of the accident, Carver begins experiencing panic attacks, and the book chronicles his sessions with an amazing therapist.

Goodbye Days tackles a multitude of complex issues with aplomb. From wrestling with the question of who is at fault, both legally and morally, for the accident to addressing that oft uncomfortable verbal space between parents and their teenage sons and daughters, Zentner does not shy away from tough queries--even if he doesn't have answers for them at the ready. Goodbye Days prominently features issues of mental health in a way that is productive, empathetic, and realistic. It features a young female character who is Filipino and has Caucasian adoptive parents, empowering her to frequently call out comments and actions that may be sexist or racist in a way that is neither condemning of the speaker, nor allowing herself to become a doormat. It also highlights a dysfunctional father/son relationship between a high-achieving Black Judge and his son, the parameters of which have been set by the ultra-strict father, based upon his own personal struggles trying to get ahead in the world as a Black man. It features a gay character who dies closeted to a very loving relative because he worried that her religious beliefs wouldn't allow her to accept his identity, and it deals with this plotline with super sensitivity. It also chronicles severe child neglect and abuse, but somehow does not allow the book to get sidetracked by the disheartening images described.

All in all, I can see the reasons why people might compare Goodbye Days to Looking For Alaska, but I think comparison to any of Chris Crutcher's books would be more apt. Zentner's writing features the same emotional truth, appearance and clash of characters weighted down by eerily lifelike problems, and stark contrast of adults who couldn't be more helpful with those who couldn't be more harmful to the teen characters he introduces on the page. Just as with Crutcher's books, this is a winning combination--one that lends the power and verisimilitude that keep Goodbye Days from being preachy, overwrought, or smacking of condescension. Highly recommended for those who like YA that artfully balances humor with solemnity.

Book Review of 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac

As a longtime participant of the Blogging for Books program and a YA enthusiast, I was thrilled when they announced that they'd be offering new YA titles. 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac is the first such title of which I requested a free copy for the purposes of review. Though I've suffered from anxiety for several years, I've only recently been diagnosed with an Anxiety Disorder, and I chose this selection because the protagonist, Maeve, lives a life ruled by anxiety. I'd never heard of Carrie Mac, so I wanted to see how she dealt with the issue of Mental Health, and what her writing was like in general. I was curious despite the boring and highly off-putting cover design. I truly hate the cover.

Maeve is a sixteen-year-old Lesbian with divorced parents and a severe Anxiety Disorder. When her mom travels abroad for six months, Maeve lives with her dad, pregnant stepmom, and two younger stepbrothers. Her dad struggles with Alcoholism, and her stepmom couldn't be more opposite of the evil stepmother trope. As Maeve meets Salix, a violinist she's interested in and things heat up, they're also building as her stepmom's pregnancy progresses, Maeve's anxiety levels increase, she loses a friend in a very traumatic way, and her dad turns his live over to alcohol once more.

One of the most frustrating things about 10 Things I Can See From Here is that practically every character except Maeve is more well-developed and three dimensional than Maeve herself. Mac seems to confuse constant descriptions of and reminders about Maeve's Anxiety Disorder with character building for Maeve. Though Mac does a great job showing readers who may not be familiar with such things how anxiety and an anxiety attack might manifest, she does a lousy job showing readers who Maeve is, anxiety aside. Thus, the unfortunate underlying message in this book is simple: people with severe Anxiety Disorders are solely comprised of their illness. This is wrong. It is also insulting.

"But, Maeve likes to sketch," you might say. Sure, she does. she sketches as a coping mechanism to deal with her anxiety when she feels it coming on. She doesn't seem to sketch for fun, or out of a particular interest in art. "But, Maeve likes to recite statistics," you might say. Sure, she does, she recites statistics she has memorized about things she has anxiety about, so this is yet another "interest" that is really just connected with her disorder. "But, Maeve likes to make up fake obituaries in her head," you might say. Sure, she does, she makes up fake obituaries in her head because she's imagining the worst case scenario of what might happen if the thing she has anxiety about currently goes as wrong as it can go, and then compiles a fake obituary based upon that scenario for herself, or for someone else involved. So, does Maeve have any interests that are actually hers, and not based in her anxiety? Not according to Carrie Mac.

Another problem I had with 10 Things I Can See From Here can be summed up by the last sentence of jacket copy, talking about Maeve. "Will she be able to find focus through all the chaos to be there for the people she loves?"  In other words, Maeve doesn't deserve to be happy and mentally healthy of her own accord, or for her own well being--she should only strive to keep her Anxiety Disorder in check to fill the roles of daughter, stepdaughter, stepsister, friend, and girlfriend. That is a pretty damaging message to be sending YA readers of a book wherein the protagonist struggles with mental illness, especially about a teenage girl--a demographic who is already pressured by various parts of our society to say "yes" to social demands from every angle and adopt a people-pleasing personality that can be detrimental to mental well being.

Lastly, *spoiler alert* there's a scene very late in the book when Maeve confides in Salix that she was sexually assaulted. Maeve has attempted to maintain a penpal-type of relationship with the girl who sexually assaulted her, and her assailant has apologized to her for the assault. It is unclear if Mac is trying to say that Maeve's severe Anxiety Disorder is a result of her sexual assault, but the way it is dropped in, almost as if it is an afterthought, near the end of the book didn't work at all. There was no foreshadowing that prepared readers for the big reveal of this information. There is no helpful and clear unpacking of these issues during the denouement of the book. It is simply thrown out there, briefly discussed, and then swept back under the rug to get to the happy resolution of the story. As a reader, I find that to be a disturbing way to deal with sexual assault. As an adult reviewing a YA book, I wonder what the negative impact of this type of inclusion might be on teenagers who read 10 Things I Can See From Here. Carrie Mac basically chose to drop sexual assault in as a plot point and did it in the laziest way possible, writing-wise. Here's a link to an old blog article (but still a very relevant one) that explains more about why this is a problem.

In conclusion, I really don't recommend this book to anyone. I find its portrayal of Anxiety Disorders and its handling of sexual assault to be potentially damaging. I think the writing is lazy and the protagonist is shown as being no more than her disorder. To me, this book was a total fail.

Book Review of June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

When I selected June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore free from Blogging For Books for the purposes of this review, choices were limited, and I felt very meh about all the options, including this one. If you read my blog on a regular basis, you know I'm a varied reader across several genres and styles, so I thought my openness would serve me well here. Unfortunately, despite the attractive font (Have I told you guys how much I'm into typography?) and generally charming vintage-feeling cover design, the book didn't hold any deeper interest for me once I opened it.

My struggle with getting into the book began with the first sentence, which made it apparent that the house, Two Oaks, a rambling, ramshackle estate which was once grand and built in nowheresville, Ohio. Despite the house being described in detail (inordinate detail, seemingly never-ending detail), I never got the impression, as a reader, that the house had an actual personality, besides being large and fancy and in a state of disrepair. It felt like Beverly-Whittemore was desperately trying for the narrative voice style like at the beginning of Sabrina (you know: the outdoor tennis courts and the indoor tennis courts) or that of Midnight In The Garden of Good And Evil with the old-fashioned (and old moneyed) small town charm and failing miserably. Not only was that disappointing, but it left me without a compelling "in" as a reader. There are tons of large old houses that haven't been well cared for in the world. Why should I invest my time reading about this one? I still don't know.

On top of that, the more annoying part of June is that Beverly-Whittemore seems to think she's charming, or perhaps someone told her that at some point. She seems to think she's being clever when she names a character June and then talks about the character and the month of June in the same sentence when the narrative doesn't require it (nope--just annoying and slows my reading down). It's like she aimed for somewhere twixt twee and glamorous. Unfortunately for her, she landed on basic. Her sentences feel like they are never going to end, and they also feel like they aren't really adding much information or description or even mood to the book. She wants so desperately to be literary, but most of her prose is as overwrought as the railings of Two Oaks I'm sure you could spend several collected pages reading about if you really wanted to. Unless this sounds appealing to you, I really can't recommend June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore. 

Book Review of Crazy Is My Superpower by AJ Mendez Brooks

I might just be the only person who read Crazy Is My Superpower by AJ Mendez Brooks without knowing from the outset that she was a professional wrestler. Actually, I had never heard of her before. I simply enjoy books in the memoir/autobiography genre, I wanted to read something by someone who was living with mental illness, and I liked the cover design, so I requested a free review copy from Blogging For Books. Then, I found out she was a Latinx nerd who grew up in poverty. Now, that is intersectionality. I was hooked. But, speaking of the cover design, I think it is really fun and attention-grabbing. It reminds me of comic book art.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book is that Mendez Brooks has a great voice... it is very authentic and casual. I felt like we were chillin' on her couch, playing video games and scratching her dog behind the ears. Reading this book was more like having a conversation with one of my guy friends than picking up a typical memoir. Also, Mendez Brooks doesn't shy away from difficult and painful subjects, nor does she attempt to make light of them. She also admits when she made bad choices, and takes responsibility for them. She has a winning attitude, and a personality that shines through from the first chapter, making her readers want to root for her, which is a key ingredient in any successful memoir. She also has the sense of humor of that girl down the hall in my dorm that all the guys used to love hanging out with because she'd win their burping contests.

Crazy Is My Superpower unpacks child poverty, domestic violence, homelessness and vagrant living, the realities of having teen parents (and one parent with severe mental illness), sibling relationships, academics, social issues at school, personal style, love of video games and dogs, respect, how women are treated in the professional wrestling industry, persistence, and so many more relevant issues. The writing quality is spotty, with some passages being so profound and wonderfully written that I had to stop and reread them many times because they bowled me over with their excellence, and others being so preachy, cheesy, or simply bad that I found myself rolling my eyes. Crazy Is My Superpower certainly could've used an editor with tighter reins on the project, since Mendez Brooks is a celebrity author, not a career writer, 

However, Mendez Brooks brought an unquestionable level of honesty to the table, no matter what issue she was discussing or painful childhood memory she was recounting at that moment on the page. The comics of her at each stage of life designed to introduce each chapter were one of my favorite parts of the book, and I looked forward to starting a new chapter just to see another one. The fact that I have literally zero interest in wrestling and had never heard of Mendez Brooks before picking up this book didn't keep me from enjoying it in the slightest. 

Of course, I'd recommend Crazy Is My Superpower to fans of Mendez Brooks and female wrestlers (or just wrestling in general), but I'd also recommend it to people who have an interest in memoirs about mental illness or child poverty, as well, and to teens who like non-fiction in general, as I think Mendez Brooks' conversational tone, candor, and inability to shy away from difficult topics will be most appreciated by that audience. Crazy Is My Superpower by AJ Mendez Brooks comes out today.

Book Review of Road Food: An Eater's Guide To More Than 1,000 Of The Best Local Hot Spots & Hidden Gems Across America by Jane & Michael Stern

I'm back from my hiatus due to a family road trip, which makes this the perfect time to post my review of Road Food: An Eater's Guide To More Than 1,000 Of The Best Local Hot Spots & Hidden Gems Across America by Jane & Michael Stern. I requested a free review copy of this one from Blogging For Books specifically because I knew we were going on our trip and I thought we could try out this guide on the road before I reported back to my blog readers. The cover is an attractive vintage-y feeling map with a few favorite restaurants marked. It made me eager to flip through the book.

However, when I looked inside, I started with my own hometown to get my bearings, and I only found one entry. While my city isn't a huge metropolis like Chicago or New York, it is full of unique hidden gems if one knows where to look. Unfortunately, lame tourists (and the guides they tend to carry) are notorious for checking out only one disgusting hot dog shack that most locals I know can't fathom how the place is still in business or stomach their food. ...and Road Food's one suggestion for our town? It was just that very place. This made me extremely wary of the Sterns' picks for other cities, because I couldn't help but wonder if the locals in those towns felt the same way about those restaurants as my friends and I feel about the nasty hot dog restaurant the Sterns chose to represent my area.

Unfortunately, after putting Road Food to the road test, I can say that's exactly how the locals feel. Each pick that landed anywhere near our 1,200 mi route was overpriced and overhyped. Every time we asked someone we knew or a friendly face at a local gas station what they thought of the food at the eateries Jane & Michael Stern suggested, we were met with grimaces, frowns, and hearty warnings to eat elsewhere. Nevertheless, sometimes people can have a different take on a place because they're from the area. Maybe the owners of the restaurant are unpopular in the community, so their establishment isn't favored. Maybe it had a rough opening and nobody has been able to forget those initial bad experiences. So, we tried three of the restaurants recommended in Road Food. ...and, they were all expensive with food that was meh at best and disgusting at worst. One had okay service, and two had horrible, inattentive servers. Two were so lousy with charm that we could see how tourists like the Sterns might have been easily sucked in by the decor targeted at them, and one couldn't have had a more generic atmosphere. All they had in common was that they weren't worth visiting, and that the Sterns and Road Food had led us badly astray.

In addition to Road Food failing 3/3 times in terms of suggesting clean, affordable restaurants near our route with good service and yummy food, it failed on another level. For a book that has had so many printings, I was baffled to find that it didn't have a more effective system for travelers attempting to use it to determine where the restaurants contained within are located in relation to their route. For example, since the book is organized by geographical region, a transparent map of said region with the restaurants printed on it that one could lay on top of a trip route map and look for overlap might be a neat idea. Also, a useful indexing system, like being able to search in the back for eateries off of I-75, would be helpful. 

In short, Road Food is a hot mess. It is a heavy, cumbersome book that did nothing but lead us to waste time and money in gross restaurants that were disappointing. It also took up precious space in our small car. I'm not sure how it ever would've been helpful, but, in this day and age, the  vagabond diner is much better served by turning to Yelp and Google.

Book Review of Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison by Shaka Senghor

While I'm not Black, male, or possessed of a criminal record, the topic of Writing My Wrongs by Shaka Senghor is a very personal one to me. A member of my immediate family went to prison on felony charges when I was in elementary school, and was gone for what felt like half a lifetime. In Writing My Wrongs, Senghor describes a life on the street in which he had many things working against him. An unstable home, abuse, and choosing to leave that environment as a teenager led him to live on his own. After quickly learning that his lack of even a high school diploma would make it impossible to support himself independently, Senghor was offered a chance to get into drug dealing on the lowest level, and he took it. His autobiography is the story of what happened next.

For those of us who have never been incarcerated, we can only gather secondhand information about what it is actually like. Senghor has one word which sums up the experience eloquently: dehumanizing. There are things this book does not do well. After reading it, I still cannot explain why anyone would choose to tell a story like this in such a fragmented, out-of-order way, with no cohesive timeline for the narrative. Every time I reached a new chapter, I longed to re-order all of them so that I could read chronologically, which I felt would've made more sense, and also helped me understand Senghor's journey through the underbelly of Detroit's east side in the 1980s and the American Prison System. Also, there were several small inconsistencies within the narrative. They didn't discredit Senghor's message, but they were frustrating and distracting, and I felt they would've been easily caught and fixed by an editor who was a bit more on-the-ball.

Ultimately, though, Writing My Wrongs is a book with much to offer. Senghor speaks from a population which has traditionally been ignored. Senghor spent a total of nineteen years in prison, seven of which were in solitary. How many books have been published by writers who have committed multiple violent felonies? I don't have the statistics, but I read widely, and I've only heard of a handful. He offers up his own life as an example of how easy it is to make bad choices. Senghor freely admits that he isn't perfect, and he is eager to point out where his thinking was flawed. More than anything, desire to be a good person, a decent role model, and a positive father figure came from this book in waves. Writing My Wrongs both gives an important perspective on the failings of the U.S. Justice System, and a personal look at a life partially wasted. Though the writing itself isn't artful, it is compelling, honest, and important.

I don't usually include other links with my book reviews, but this is a short informative video about Mass Incarceration in the US, and I feel it sets the stage nicely for Senghor's story. Thank you to Blogging For Books for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review of How To Pack: Travel Smart for Any Trip by Hitha Palepu

How To Pack: Travel Smart for Any Trip by Hitha Palepu is exactly what it sounds like: a non-fiction guide to packing for trips. However, the title is a bit of a misnomer, because the book isn't really about packing for ANY trip--Palepu's main focus, which is very accentuated, is on air travel. Since most of my travel consists of road trips, with the occasional rail excursion thrown in, I found this to be a disappointing and frustrating oversight (probably on the part of someone at the publisher, rather than Palepu, herself), so I wanted to make sure readers understood that going in. However, The cover is a completely adorable mock-up of a suitcase, complete with a faux luggage tag graphic featuring the title and author. (The brown parts which are made to look like leather actually have a different texture and feel.) So, I'd say the cover design is a total win.

How To Pack has some good features--most notably, an end section comprised of perforated packing lists, all ready to tear out and use. They are laid out in the format Palepu recommends (and demonstrates earlier in the book), and this is a real value-added component for travelers. However, most people could simply print a packing list online, and such a list would be more easily tailored to their specific needs. The illustrations are cute and helpful. Common packing strategies and methods (fold vs. roll) are debated and illustrated.

In addition to the fact that a book subtitled "Travel Smart for Any Trip" is really only focused on air travel, and not other types of travel at all, I have a few other complaints. ...my first (and biggest) one being that a book with lists and diagrams and such, designed for people to use while doing something active with their hands--such as packing--should've been made to lay flat on the surface of the packing station Palepu repeatedly recommends. This was a huge oversight on the publisher's part. Also, Palepu suggested many specific go-to products for traveling and packing. Since the end section of the book is comprised of perforated pages, why didn't the publisher think to add a tear-out list of Palepu's product recommendations with contact information on where they can be purchased? That seems like a handy little extra the publisher should've thought of. (Hmmm, so far all of the negatives are oversights on the publisher's part....) 

My complaints about things more within the authors purview are numerous, as well. The flow-chart-style guide for selecting which type of suitcase would be best is confusing, and would've benefited from both clarification and illustration. Many of these packing tips feel recycled, and I've heard them time and time again. Is Hitha really a travel expert, or did she just have a subscription to Real Simple in the early 2000s? Also, her product recommendations are absurdly priced. I'm not sure who exactly her target demographic is supposed to be, but if she was going to make a habit of telling me to purchase things to help me do a better job of packing that cost more than my trip does, she could at least have the decency (and creativity) to include a list alongside it of budget-friendly options alongside the splurges. Or, even better, some suggestions for handy around-the-house substitutes instead of stuff that has to be bought specifically for this purpose--things that maybe don't have lifetime warranties or cost as much as the average person's rent in my world, but will help someone get organized before their trip in a pinch. That type of inclusion might have made this book worth buying. 

Also missing in action: a discussion of which fabrics do the best when packed, any tips specific to car travel (how to pack a car for a road trip, for example) or train travel, tricks for how to pack necklaces without them getting tangled, suggestions on packing medications, and what to do if you don't want to spend your whole trip wearing dirty clothes, as she suggested. How To Pack should really be called How To Spend Money On A Book When You Could Find Better Information More Suited To Your Needs For Free Online. But, since the advice is tailored to rich people who fly a lot, they probably won't care anyhow. Thank you to Blogging For Books for the free book provided in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review of Disaster Falls: A Family Story by Stephane Gerson

Disaster Falls: A Family Story by Stephane Gerson both is and isn't the horror story its title and cover design seem to portend. (One wonders if that was the reason for the subtitle in the first place.) Though there is no murderer rampant in the woods, which was the first mental image conjured up by those two elements, there is death in the form of Gerson's eight-year-old son Owen drowning in a tragic rafting accident. Disaster Falls is a memoir of Gerson's grief, and of how his family (himself, his wife Alison, and their older son Julian) deal with this traumatic event--both together and separately.

What makes Disaster Falls so different from countless other memoirs written by parents whose children have died young? Surely, each one is tragic. Each story is incomprehensible. Each is terrible to behold, even from the far-removed perspective of a reader who has never met the author and never knew the child. But it is Gerson's precision of language and utter thoughtfulness about how he describes his family's experiences with grief and loss that set him apart.

Perhaps one of the most helpful sections of the book for those readers not seeking solace in a tale to which we can relate is the one in which Gerson lists quotations from condolence messages his family received in the aftermath. He breaks them down into categories of what made him feel better, what made him feel worse... what bothered him, what was offensive. Even if there is no takeaway value in any of the ensuing pages (and there is actually much), hearing an honest reaction firsthand from someone who heard such condolence messages about what thoughts and feelings they inspired is helpful. After all, there is nothing so difficult to write as a condolence message, and wouldn't we all like to know how to be truly comforting, as opposed to ineffectual or, worse, hurtful?

Another aspect of Disaster Falls that sets it apart from other books of its type is the way Gerson has uncovered heretofore unpublicized information about the type of rafting trips (marketed to families, even with children as young as eight, which was Owen's age at the time of the fatal accident) that killed Owen. Gerson has done more than reflect on his feelings--he has done enough due diligence for any parent who might be reading Disaster Falls. Gerson uncovers the unpalatable truth about such tourist enterprises, speaking from a position of painful personal regret. If someone had only been honest and upfront with him and his wife about the risks associated with these trips, then maybe Owen would still be inching his way toward adulthood as part of the Gerson family, alive and well.

Gerson deftly illustrates the differences in how individuals grieve. Even three people as close as he, his wife, and his surviving son are experienced the sudden absence of the same cherished boy in starkly different ways. Alison was comforted by a house full of people, while Julian expressed no greater desire than for the interlopers to leave. Gerson found himself frozen into inaction while he watched his wife run circles around him, barely eating, and losing pounds by the dozens.

Ultimately, Disaster Falls does many things well, at what I assume was great personal cost to the author. It tells the story of how the Gerson family responded to a horrible event. It takes unscrupulous tourist rafting companies to task for their role in Owen's demise. It alerts other parents to the often unspoken dangers of rafting trips marketed for families. It highlights how differently grief for the same person can manifest itself, even among members of the same immediate family. It presents (poetically, eloquently) the terrible reality of what it feels like to a parent when his or her child dies.

Highly recommended.

A free copy of this book was provided through Blogging For Books in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review of Mexico: Stories by Josh Barkan

Mexico, by Josh Barkan, is a collection of short stories, each about a character who is trying to lead his or her life until crime intervenes. I received a review copy from Blogging For Books in exchange for my honest review. The cover, a design which would be beautiful, if a bit twee for the subject material, has large, distracting ink blots obscuring much of the illustration. I wonder if the intent was to contrast the potential beauty of Mexico with the ugliness of the crime depicted in Barkan's stories contained herein, showing how it detracts from the otherwise pretty setting and culture. If so, it wholly fails, leaving me as the reader with the impression that the goal was a cover design reflecting an American tourist's conceit of Mexico, rather than the gritty reality Barkan seems so desperate to convey.

Flipping inward, my experience as a reader did not improve. The first story features a chef running his own restaurant in Mexico City who is caught unawares when El Chapo appears at his restaurant, demanding the finest meal he has ever eaten, but prepared with only two ingredients, and threatening to kill him if it doesn't meet that standard. As El Chapo's security detail and attendant thugs take over the restaurant and terrify its staff and diners, the chef indulges in dull reflections about his wife and young son, not seeming to experience the kind of panic for one second that would've lent even a small amount of verisimilitude to this situation, which is improbable, at best. From there, my doubt mounted when the chef settled on Wagyu beef garnished with human blood. After tasting his own and determining it too bitter and salty, Barkan then presumes I will buy that the mother of a young girl in the dining room will allow her daughter to be mutilated for the chef's purposes, without any threats or explanation beforehand? At that point, a spaceship landing in the kitchen would've been more realistic, and less disturbing.

However, my biggest issue with Mexico: stories is that it feels like it was written by an outsider. The author of this book might have observed the land, the people, and the culture, but I get the feeling that he does not understand them. It feels much more like this book was written by someone who lives part time in Roanoke, Virginia than by one who lives part time in Mexico City, though his author bio says he divides his time among the two. It showcases the simplistic view of Mexico that it's a nice country which could be great if there were no crime. Gee, you think? I'm pretty sure there's a little more to it than that. Ultimately, my problem with Mexico: stories is that it wasn't written by somebody from Mexico... and that's how it reads.

Book Review of The French Chef In America: Julia Child's Second Act by Alex Prud'Homme

In The French Chef In America: Julia Child's Second Act, Alex Prud'Homme (fully qualified to write on the subject because of his relationship to Child as the grandson of her husband's brother) captures her essence. For those who read and loved My Life In France, which he authored with Child herself, Prud'Homme considers this a sequel, of sorts. ...and, like the subject herself, it is delightful.

Readers will notice certain differences between this and the standard biography right from the start; it has a more lively conversational tone, entertaining pictures are interspersed throughout the book instead of grouped together in one middle section, and Prud'Homme's own familial relationship with Child adds a level of personal warmth and friendly regard not usually lavished upon most biographical subjects. These traits combine to make reading The French Chef In America a tasty morsel, worthy of Child's own kitchen.

For those with an interest in Julia Child, the American historical and political landscape of the 1970s, and Child's most meaningful personal relationships, including her marriage to Paul Child, her friendship with editor Judith Jones, and her unoffical sisterhood with her co-author Simca Beck, this book will serve to delight and inform. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Blogging For Books for providing this free review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review of Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

I loved Girl, Interrupted. I also really enjoyed Everything, Everything, whose author, Nicola Yoon, has great things to say about this book. So, I thought there was a good chance I'd really enjoy Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow, and I requested a free review copy from Blogging for Books. However, that was not the case.

My dislike began with the cover design. I don't care for pink, but this shade is muted enough that it didn't sway me one way or another. However, I feel like the red lines clash rather painfully with it. Additionally, I'd be most interested to see a font (which is obviously supposed to mimic handwriting) that looks like a teenage girl, such as Charlotte, the protagonist of Girl In Pieces, might actually use. The handwriting used in the cover design, however, is more akin to that of a middle-aged male who works in science or engineering... which would be apropos if there was such a character documenting Charlotte's trials in the book, but there isn't.

As for the actual story, the narrative moves slowly, and in a frustratingly disjointed fashion. There are details which either aren't clarified enough to make sense, or simply don't line up at all, such as the fact that it says Charlotte was left somewhere naked, wrapped in a sheet, but then a scene is described where those who found her are cutting her clothes off of her in order to treat her medically. These confusing inconsistencies piled up until they overtook the character and her story, making it impossible for me to invest in either.

If you're looking for a YA novel about mental illness, I'd encourage you to read this article and check out any of the books recommended therein: I've read most of them, and enjoyed all of those. 

Book Review of Mamaleh Knows Best: What Jewish Mothers Do to Raise Successful, Creative, Empathetic, Independent Children By Marjorie Ingall

I had my doubts when I first requested a free copy of Mamaleh Knows Best for review from Blogging For Books. I've read a few different books on the topic of Jewish mothers, and found them to range from sorely lacking (at best) to completely offensive and wildly off-base (at worst). So, to be honest, I was expecting the worst, but my fears were far from realized. I did not, however, love the cover design.

But, as I began reading, I was immediately impressed by Marjorie Ingall's cultural and aesthetic literacy, her breadth of knowledge about topics ranging from Jews in the context of World History to Yiddish, and the Talmud to jokes on sitcoms. Not only did I want to hear what she had to say about being raised by a Jewish mother and being one herself, but I enjoyed her take on pretty much everything from pop culture to the nosy motorcycle mechanic across the street. In fact, not only have I already made a mental note to seek out Ingall's other writing, what with a new subscription to Tablet Magazine becoming the late addition to my Hanukkah wishlist, but I also found myself wishing Marjorie had been in my Hebrew School class. ...and my cabin at Jewish sleepaway camp.

While many readers may pick up Mamaleh Knows Best because they are interested in parenting advice, it is worth noting that I fully enjoyed the book, and I don't have kids. It can also be read as an entertaining and informative look at Jewish history and culture, and it has certainly earned its place in my permanent collection!

Highly recommended.

Book Review of The Secret Language of Dogs by Victoria Stilwell

As a member of a family with our first pet, whom we've had for four years now, I feel we still have much to learn about animals in general, and dogs specifically. So, I always jump at the chance to read non-fiction books about dogs and the way they communicate and process the world. Thus, I requested a free review copy of The Secret Language of Dogs by Victoria Stilwell from Blogging For Books.

Its strengths are the conversational tone in which Stilwell explains what could be presented as page after page of dry scientific facts, the plentiful and adorable photos of dogs, and the diagrams, which are easy to read and understand. Additionally, the material is broken down into small sections, usually a couple of pages long at the most, making it ideal for readers to take in facts on one subtopic at a time, process it, and apply it for use in his or her own communication with dogs.

Its weaknesses are that there's another book (published by author Heather Dunphy) with the exact same title, and that Stilwell's concise chapters don't end with concrete guidance for dog owners. I'd suggest a short list of bullet-pointed action recommendations and tips to try. This style of information presentation is used successfully several times in the book when describing dogs and their behavior, but could provide some more clear guidelines for readers. Also, one of the topics I was most interested in was Separation Distress. Stilwell spent less than a page on it, explaining how the dog is processing fear of separation and that it shouldn't be dismissed, but giving no clear action plan for me  to take for managing or reducing separation distress. I'm not reading this book merely to learn about my dog, but also to learn how I can help her, and I feel like Stilwell totally failed in giving me tips on how to do that with regard to separation distress.

All in all, I'm very meh about this book. Reading it was quick and easy, and enjoying the cute dog pictures was fun, but it displayed a serious lack of understanding with regard to what dog owners are looking for in such a book. I now know what my dog is trying to say with her behavior, but in most instances covered by the book, I still have no idea what Stilwell's suggestions would be for a response from me to each of those behaviors. That said, I'm not sure The Secret Language of Dogs by Victoria Stilwell is worth paying cover price.