Review: HIS ONLY WIFE

5 Stars

As educational as it is enlightening and intriguing,  HIS ONLY WIFE focuses on a young Ghanaian,  Afi, who is linked in a traditional Ghanaian marriage to a man she doesn't know.  Not only is this not a marriage of love,  it's not even a marriage of convenience: she is chosen by the man's very wealthy entrepreneur mother, known as Aunty, to wed her son Eli in order to drive away the Liberian mistress whom Eli loves. So after a childhood of middle-class comfort collapsed into poverty after her father's untimely death, this young lady is shunted into an unasked for union with a man who might as well be alien, to fulfill a purpose not her own, to satisfy another Family.

Tour: IMPERSONATION by Heidi Pitlor

4 Stars

Allie is a single mother of a biracial child she adores and a freelance ghostwriter and landscaper.  As a ghostwriter, she knows fame will always elude her. Also as a ghostwriter she melds what others say, not what her creativity might provide, and she is a channel, as it were, for whatever others do in their lives, their beliefs and perceptions,  not her own. It seemed to me that this was her life pattern: adapting herself to others, for even as a marketing copywriter at a Manhattan equity firm,  Allie molded herself to what others wanted her to be. Now, however,  she is confronted with evidence regarding a client's sexual offenses,  an eruption that will greatly affect her own income and hopes to improve life for herself and Cass. It's time to stop being a reflection,  a mirror, a channel, and find her True Self, the real Allie, whoever she is.

A HOUSE IS A BODY by Shruti Swamy

5 Literary Stars

Shruti Swamy's debut short story collection is a marvel of stunningly delineated character,  of fully conceptualized settings (in both India and San Francisco), of characters who are "not quite us" but simultaneously "like us." Best read one story at a time, accompanied by lots of thought and consideration,  this collection of literary short fiction proves an eye opener for the psyche and imagination. 

Tour: WITH OR WITHOUT YOU by Caroline Leavitt

4 Stars

1. Sometimes there are fictional characters whom I want to metaphorically shake, and shout "Wake up! CHANGE YOUR LIFE!" That's how I felt about Stella and Simon in WITH OR WITHOUT YOU. If they could just change their individual perspective, I thought.. and sure enough, Life intervened. Stella descended into a coma. Simon therefore had to change in response to the new circumstances. When Stella awoke from the coma, she was different. Only time would tell if all these changes proved for the best...

Tour: THE COMEBACK by Ella Berman

5 Stars


I think that perhaps the world will not ever reach  a point when it doesn't need revelations of abuse and women and children [and men] standing up for themselves and standing tall despite abuse. Sometimes, as protagonist/narrator Grace demonstrates, being true to ourselves, moment by moment and day by day, in each decision and choice, means the abuser(s) did not win, did not succeed in breaking us, did not "get over." Victims can become Survivors, and Succeed. Sometimes, in the immortal words of George. Herbert, "Living well is the best revenge."

Tour: HIEROGLYPHICS by Jill McCorkle

4 Stars

Walking through the memories: it's common among the elderly,  sometimes unavoidable for younger persons,  especially when the memories are painful. 

Paging through the memories: sometimes studying history, sometimes expanding on genealogical findings, sometimes just yearning to know someone. 

HIEROGLYPHICS unfolds around a long-married couple,  both striving to recall, and a younger single mother,  struggling to cope and to do her best for her son without fatherly input. Interaction of the couple and the mom sends memories unraveling like a yarn ball batted around by a playful kitten. 

Review: MAYHEM by Estelle Laure

4 Stars

Review: MAYHEM was a difficult novel to read, and will be for a reader with even minimal sensitivity.  For readers who are survivors of childhood or adult abuse and violence, MAYHEM,  like Emma Donoghue's powerful novel ROOM, will mean treading a difficult road of memory and emotional pain. Those readers will catch all the nuances, because the "excessive startle" reflex gifted as a consequence of Abuse works with figurative triggers, such as in Fiction,  not just in "real life."

Tour_IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF TRUE by Susan Kaplan Carlton

4 Stars

Historical Fiction

In the current sociopolitical uproar,  focus is primarily on the importance of Black Lives and the prevalence of attitudes and practices of White Supremacy. As demonstrated in IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF TRUE,  racism and bigotry doesn't only target People of Color.  For several millennia, those of Hebrew lineage have been,  and still remain, in the contempt of and often literally targeted by, individuals, groups, organizations,  considering themselves superior by reason of ethnicity and /or religious preference. 

In 1958, transplanting unexpectedly from New York City to Atlanta,  Ruth determines that concealing her ethnicity is key to popularity among the wealthy country club set. But Truth will out, and oftentimes violence is what propels revelation. 

I was particularly intrigued that this novel finds it setting in Atlanta, site of the murder of Mary Phagan in 1913, for which Leo Frank was convicted. At the commutation of his sentence  for dearth of evidence, in 1915, Mr. Frank was lynched in nearby Marietta. A month later, at Stone Mountain,  Georgia,  the Ku Klux Klan reconvened.  

Review: COPY BOY by Shelley Blanton-Stroud

4 Stars

Strongly feminist metaphysical historical fiction focusing on a young girl who travels from dusty Texas to San Francisco to develop her own strengths of purpose and to rise beyond the frailties of her family.

Tour: IN THE ROLE OF BRIE HUTCHENS by Nicole Melleby

5+ Stars!

LGBT YA

Review:

How I love this novel! Brie is all of us at one point or another, when our path seems clear before us, but we just can't manage that first step, or those around us seem more like obstacles to our course than like cheerleaders or fulcrums. Brie is so admirable and so adorable; I couldn't help but love her character and integrity.

Brie wants to be an actress,  but her parents' finances barely maintain her in parochial school.  There's no funds for the Performing Arts High School  [remember the film and TV series FAME? Different schools,  same purpose. ) Brie, at thirteen,  even more importantly struggles with her personal identity--including the early unflowering of potential interest in girls. It's so much for anyone to cope with; but I cheered for Brie, who after all is a remarkably special character. 

Description

An own-voices LGBTQ novel from the acclaimed author of Hurricane Season, about eighth-grader Brie, who learns how to be true to herself and to her relationships with family, friends, and faith.

Introducing Brie Hutchens: soap opera super fan, aspiring actor, and so-so student at her small Catholic school. Brie has big plans for eighth grade. She’s going to be the star of the school play and convince her parents to let her go to the performing arts high school. But when Brie’s mom walks in on her accidentally looking at some possibly inappropriate photos of her favorite actress, Brie panics and blurts out that she’s been chosen to crown the Mary statue during her school’s May Crowning ceremony. Brie’s mom is distracted with pride—but Brie’s in big trouble: she has not been chosen. No one has, yet. Worse, Brie has almost no chance to get the job, which always goes to a top student.
 
Desperate to make her lie become truth, Brie turns to Kennedy, the girl everyone expects to crown Mary. But sometimes just looking at Kennedy gives Brie butterflies. Juggling her confusing feelings with the rapidly approaching May Crowning, not to mention her hilarious non-star turn in the school play, Brie navigates truth and lies, expectations and identity, and how to—finally—make her mother really see her as she is.

Tour: WHAT UNBREAKABLE LOOKS LIKE by Kate McLaughlin

Review 5 Stars

Early in this unflinching novel of sexual violence and human trafficking,  a rescued young woman, our narrator,  exclaims, "We ain't never going to be okay. Never." While that proves to be true for some of the secondary characters,  and while "Poppy" (Alexa) still has trouble and danger in her future, she has an unbreakable,  ultimately untrammeled, spirit. For those readers who can endure, the ultimate outcome will prove hopeful, inspirational,  and well worth the wait. Ultimately,  Alexa has won, despite all the horrors, because her spirit and soul remain unbroken.

WHAT UNBREAKABLE LOOKS LIKE Book Info
Jacket Copy:
Lex was taken–trafficked–and now she’s Poppy. Kept in a hotel with other girls, her old life is a distant memory. But when the girls are rescued, she doesn’t quite know how to be Lex again.

After she moves in with her aunt and uncle, for the first time in a long time, she knows what it is to feel truly safe. Except, she doesn’t trust it. Doesn't trust her new home. Doesn’t trust her new friend. Doesn’t trust her new life. Instead she trusts what she shouldn’t because that's what feels right. She doesn’t deserve good things.

But when she is sexually assaulted by her so-called boyfriend and his friends, Lex is forced to reckon with what happened to her and that just because she is used to it, doesn’t mean it is okay. She’s thrust into the limelight and realizes she has the power to help others. But first she’ll have to confront the monsters of her past with the help of her family, friends, and a new love.

Kate McLaughlin’s What Unbreakable Looks Like is a gritty, ultimately hopeful novel about human trafficking through the lens of a girl who has escaped the life and learned to trust, not only others, but in herself.

Author Bio:
KATE McLAUGHLIN likes people, so much so that she spends her days making up her own. She likes writing about characters who are bent, but not broken - people who find their internal strength through friends, strife and sometimes humor. When she's not writing, she likes studying people, both real and fictional. She also likes playing board games with friends, talking and discovering new music. A proud Nova Scotian, she'll gladly tell you all about the highest tides in the world, the magical creation known as a donair, and people who have sofas in their kitchens. Currently, she lives in Connecticut with her husband and four cats. She's the author of What Unbreakable Looks Like.

Early Praise:
"With unflinching honesty, What Unbreakable Looks Like exposes the injuries and scars we wear on our skins or in our souls. Hidden damage is tragically common, but helpful others who dared embrace hope invite Alexa to step onto the healing path. This novel may offer a springboard for a reader's own healing or foster empathy for life's walking wounded." - Liz Coley, author of international bestseller Pretty Girl-13

"Raw, unflinching, and authentic, Kate McLaughlin's thoughtful What Unbreakable Looks Like carefully crafts a story exposing the vulnerability of underage trafficked girls and what it takes to begin the process of healing from sexual trauma." - Christa Desir, author, advocate, and founding member of The Voices and Faces Project

“This is a powerful book about a sobering topic that I found myself thinking about for days after I completed it. It is wonderfully poignant, painfully real, and even laugh out loud funny at times. Not everyone can truly wrap their minds around the trauma these victims endure and yet somehow, despite all of it, are still just regular kids. But Kate McLaughlin gets it. ‘Lex’ is truly what unbreakable looks like and you’ll fall in love with her spirit.” - Tanya Compagnone, Trooper First Class

“Sex trafficking continues to seep into all our communities. In this novel, Kate McLaughlin brings to life the trauma that transpires in youth who forced into the life of sex trafficking. Her novel is a reminder that each of us can make a difference in someone’s life.” - Dina R. St. George, MSW, Juvenile Re-Entry Unit OCPD

Buy Link: https://wednesdaybooks.com/the-real-deal/what-unbreakable-looks-like/

Social link: https://twitter.com/alterkates