Gravity Flow The Jimmy Whistler Stories by EM Schorb, Walk With Me One Hundred Days of Crazy by Ernesto H Lee, Penthesilea Rise of An Amazon by Stephanie Vanise, The Bluestockings A History of The First Women's Movement by Susannah Gibson, Violeta by Nikki Roman

Gravity Flow: The Jimmy Whistler Stories by EM Schorb, Walk With Me: One Hundred Days of Crazy by Ernesto H Lee, Penthesilea: Rise of An Amazon by Stephanie Vanise, The Bluestockings: A History of The First Women's Movement by Susannah Gibson, Violeta by Nikki Roman 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

These are summaries. The full reviews can be found on Reader Views or MockingOwl Roost 

Reader Views 

Gravity Flow: The Jimmy Whistler Stories by EM Schorb 

This is a seriocomic anthology of various moments in the life of Jimmy Whistler, a writer, in the 50's-60's.

The covers Jimmy's troubled childhood, his time working in a burlesque theater, military career, writing career, his friends, lovers, children, and other important experiences.

Characterization is this book's strongest asset. Jimmy's experiences are told by various vignettes that describe events in his life. He encounters many eccentric characters including a burlesque performer, a Beatnik poet, and different lovers.

The book is told through Jimmy's point of view so we see the world through his eyes. Most of the characters are broad, farcical, and bizarre. Jimmy's narrative voice is arrogant, impulsive, but always fascinating.

 

Walk With Me One Hundred Days of Crazy by Ernesto H. Lee

This is a powerful evocative novel about life, love, death, and learning to appreciate life.

Mark Rennie and Karen McKenzie are both dying. Instead of just waiting for the inevitable, they decide to spend 100 days traveling and enjoying themselves before the end.

The book is a descriptive travel guide of different experiences like dancing in Cuba, walking across the Great Wall of China, and swimming with sharks in Cancun. It is a scenic itinerary of exciting adventures and experiences.

It also captures how people face death in different ways. Some want to do everything medically possible to prolong their lives while others would rather face death on their own terms. There is no one way to face this conflict and all are valid.

Penthesilea: Rise of An Amazon by Stephanie Vanise 

This is a powerful and gripping Historical Fiction novel about a young Amazon, Penthesilea during the Trojan War.

She is third of four daughters of the Queen of Amazon. Penthesilea lives in the shadow of her other sisters and struggles to find her own identity in war.

Various characters and events from Greek Mythology appear including Hippolyta, Hercules, Paris, Helen of Troy, and Achilles. They are made more complex in this adaptation as Vanise captures their psyches and inner conflicts.

Penthesilea in particular is looking for recognition in a powerful war like family. She strives to empower herself and stand out. She strives to be one of a kind not one of hundreds.

MockingOwl Roost 

The Bluestockings: A History of The First Women's Movement by Susannah Gibson 

This is a fascinating Historical Nonfiction account of the Bluestockings, a group of 18th century women who hosted salons, encouraged creative talents, and discussed politics, philosophy and other topics in which women were discouraged from discussing.

These women supported one another in their creative pursuits like writing and art. These were women whose voices might otherwise have been followed. They also had unconventional lives where some married supportive men, had Lesbian relationships, or opted not to marry at all.

The Bluestockings did not last very long but they were an influence for many women like Jane Austen, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Elizabeth Gaskell who in turn inspired the various waves of Feminism. Women's History would have been very different without them.

Violeta by Nikki Roman 

This is a Gothic Literature novel that focuses on child abuse, trauma, and finding ones personal power and independence.

Violet Valentine is isolated by her mother who keeps her secluded from the outside world. Her only contact is with her brother, Tommy. The toxic situation explodes when their mother puts both children'a lives in danger.

Violeta involves the anxieties that are found in families particularly between parents and children and siblings. The Valentine Family engage in continuous conflict, emotional and psychological instability, and fragile dysfunction. 

The siblings are confined and battered by their mother's volatile abusive behavior so they can only rely on each other. They support each other to break from her, find their comfort, independence, strength, sanctuary, and real home.