I Was a Teenage Communist by JC Hopkins: Seriocomic Novel About Teen Communism Growing Up in Reagan Era America

 I Was a Teenage Communist by JC Hopkins: Seriocomic Novel About Teen Communism Growing Up in Reagan Era America 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: The teen years are a time to explore connections to the world around us. To find ideologies that speak to us, friends that accept us, and breaking familiar patterns while discovering new ones. JC Hopkins YA novel, I Was a Teenage Communist, is about that.

In 1981 Orange County, California, a group of high school misfits are fed up with the Capitalist Materialistic Reaganomics world around them. They are interested in the philosophies expressed by Karl Marx and become fascinated by Socialism, Marxism, and Communism. Despite personal turmoil in their lives, the teens surreptitiously distribute through their school a newsletter that expresses their newfound beliefs and challenges the system that they see around them.

The protagonists are an eclectic group of outcasts. They consist of: Sunshine, a trans female trying to live her life truthfully. Davy, AKA Savior is a smooth talking philosopher fascinated with religious and spiritual questions. Geraldo is a firebrand ready to embrace the paths of his friends and older brother as his world crumbles around him. Tommy is a musician obsessed with conspiracies. Tommy's brother, Barry is the quiet leader and is described as a “legitimate red.” Finally, there's Charles, Geraldo’s older brother who is a political activist and the teens’ mentor. Through an eventful school year of bullies, romances, break ups, neglect, abuse, coming out, parental separation, activism, punishment, and politics, the kids make their voices and views heard.

I Was a Teenage Communist uses political ideologies as a framework to capture the conflicted and complex personal lives of the young protagonists. That's not to say that politics isn't important. It absolutely is in this book. These kids are motivated by the society that surrounds them. They see income inequality, American Imperialism, Reagan’s reactionary policies, jingoistic patriotic propaganda, the superficial “Greed is Good'' Yuppie culture, Christian Nationalism making its first links to the Republican party, rejection towards the LGBT+ community, and a sharp decline in women's and minorities’ rights. These are problems and issues that shaped that time period and honestly haven't gotten any better in 2024. If anything they have gotten worse. It's easy to see why someone would want to embrace a political structure that is contrary to what they are faced with every day.

Even if the Reader doesn't agree with their political ideology, what they may understand and relate to are the reasons that the protagonists embrace Communism. Everyone is looking for some reason and need that isn't being filled by their known world. Geraldo is looking to make his voice heard and a surrogate family when his actual family falls apart, caught up in their own problems. Davy is looking creative freedom and for spiritual answers that aren't being fulfilled by the religion around him. Sunshine and Tommy are looking for acceptance towards their sexuality and gender identity. Barry is looking to make some noise. Charles is looking for a way to hold onto his ideals as maturity and stability hover near him. This is a lost group looking for a way to be found.

Politics is important to the characters in this book but what also emerges are their personal problems. Teenagers by and large are emotional, reckless, thoughtless, immature, rebellious for the sake of being rebellious, argumentative for the sake of arguing, snarky, obnoxious, inquisitive, loyal to their friends, sensitive, curious, and idealistic. The protagonists are all of these traits and more. Sometimes, they are written so broadly that they almost reach parodic or satiric proportions. However, there are also layers of humanity that make them whole figures that are meant to be understood and not laughed at.

The characters follow their Communist path as they are faced with various conflicts. Geraldo and Charles's father walked out on them and their mother responded by having an affair with a colleague. Geraldo begins to date Maria, an undocumented immigrant and the troubles that she endures make him even more determined to fight the system. Charles’ relationship with his girlfriend, April, becomes more complicated when his mother gets involved with her father.

Davy is torn between his spiritual philosophical pursuits and his basest sexual longings. He hops from girl to girl as much as he moves from one religious path to another. Tommy weighs a new romance with Sunshine and his acceptance of her identity. The cause means everything to Barry so he doesn't have much in the way of a private life. He tries to keep his friends as focused and driven as he is as they make their plans.

By far the darkest and most heartbreaking subplot is that of Sunshine's. She is comfortable with her gender identity in front of her friends and new boyfriend despite parental objections. Those objections graduate from words to actions as Sunshine's parents put her into a conversion therapy center. Hopkins does not skimp on the details about how the experience is physical and psychological torture that traumatizes her. Her ties to her friends are strengthened as they try everything that they can do to get her out. However the bonds with her parents are forever weakened as they allow such a cruel and dangerous ordeal to happen to the child that they should have loved and accepted.

I Was a Teenage Communist is a great mixture of how the political and personal affect young people. It is a book that is better read than dead.

Tipani Walker and The Nightmare Knot by Jessica Crichton; A Dream Come True for Fantasy YA Lovers

 

Tipani Walker and The Nightmare Knot by Jessica Crichton; A Dream Come True for Fantasy YA Lovers  

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Now, we come to the second Jessica Crichton novel, Tipani Walker and the Nightmare Knot. If possible, it is actually better than Dr. Fixit’s Malicious Machine, particularly in terms of setting. character, most notably with its protagonist, Tipani Walker, and themes about the difference between living in fantasy or accepting reality. 

12 year old Tipani Walker has a difficult home life. Her father is in a coma. Her mother falls into a drug addiction which is provided by a man that Tipani calls The Spoon Man. She is frequently bullied and made the victim of a cruel prank at her school Science Fair. She stops inside an antique store and meets its eccentric owner, Piper, who gets her interest by appealing to her talents of making complex knots. After experiencing vivid dreams and some strange encounters with mysterious creatures, Piper reveals that Tipani is a Weaver able to travel through Time and Space into what Piper calls the Day Knot (memories) and the Night Knot (dreams). As a Weaver, her job is to protect people’s dreams. During her dream travels, Tipani encounters various characters both friendly and unfriendly, most notably Cassie, a girl who may or may not be part of a dream or a real person, may be in a lot of trouble, and might need Tipani’s help. 

This book is a veritable feast for the imagination. While Dr. Fixit’s Malicious Machine subverts Children’s Book expectations by giving us a very grim dark parallel universe, Crichton puts us right into those expectations of a magical fantasy world and weaves an excellent challenging story around it. I am someone who is fascinated by dreams, dream psychology, dream interpretation, and astral travel so this book definitely appeals to those interests. 

The Dream Worlds that Tipani visits alternates between whimsical and terrifying, beautiful and horrible, fantasy and horror. They’re mutable and constantly change landscapes, characters, and situations depending on what either she or the Dreamer is going through. The longer Tipani stays in a dream, the scarier and weirder it becomes. This is symptomatic of when a Dreamer enters different levels of REM sleep, they have less control over their dreams and their subconscious thoughts and fears manifest themselves. 

There are many chapters that show this. In one trip, Tipani and her guide, a doll named Chicken, encounter the Spoon Man who is transformed into a monster. He is terrifying by playing into Tipani’s fears and insecurities about abandonment and loneliness. Then upon escaping, Tipani and Chicken meet Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, the characters from the eponymous poem by Eugene Field. The poetic trio are charming, kind, and helpful. Their wooden shoe boat sailing among the stars is the stuff of childhood nostalgia while the Spoon Man is the stuff of childhood fears. Exploring the dreams is a trip into Tipani’s mind and discovering what comforts and frightens her, what she hopes for and what she wants to run away from. This book is a fascinating psychological study wrapped inside an engaging YA novel. 

Crichton’s characters are as rich as the setting. There is the kind and helpful Piper who is a wise teacher and a potential father figure. Chicken gives plenty of assistance with a touch of sardonic humor. Cassie is in a quandary of her own, forced into playing a role in which she is unhappy to play and only able to truly be herself within her own mind and through her friendship with Tipani. The Spoon Man is a monster who knows what those around him fear and worry about and doesn’t mind using it against them. 

Tipani by far is the most intriguing character and is a brilliant protagonist. Since she is 12 years old, she is certainly an angst filled adolescent who at times cops a bad attitude but with her difficult home life, it’s easy to understand why. After all, if you are facing some of the most difficult years of your life, your father is ill, mother stopped caring, and you are surrounded by classmates who want to fight you if they so much as look at your direction, you would probably not be in the best of moods either. 

Tipani is also a very intelligent and persistent girl. Once she is introduced to the concept of being a Weaver, she is curious and willing to participate. She recognizes the responsibilities that she has in helping people through their dreams and fighting their inner fears. In fact, when she befriends Cassie through her dreams, she wants to find her in the real world to see if she needs help in her waking life as she does in her dreams. 

Tipani's intelligence is already realized even before she becomes a Weaver. Her interests lie in creating complex knots like the Not Knot (unable to be untied except by the one who tied it) and learning to undo other knots like the Rapunzel Knot (long and wrapped in braids). This gives her the ability to analyze and recognize patterns, a talent that is helpful when she recognizes patterns within the dreams. This knowledge comes in handy when she has to stand up to the monsters that torture Cassie and herself. 

For all of its monsters, fears, magic, and whimsy, Tipani Walker and the Nightmare Knot is a very powerful story with some very strong things to say about the nature of dreams and reality. Sometimes our lives are terrible and we want to live inside our dreams. There we live the way we want and if things don’t work out, we can always wake up. But it’s not enough to live inside of dreams and memories. Tipani realizes that she has to take action to find and rescue Cassie, to encourage her to live her truth, and for herself to fight her own battles. Once dreaming is over, it’s time to start doing. 

With a memorable setting, commendable characters, and brilliant themes, Tipani Walker and the Nightmare Knot is a definite dream of a YA novel. 

The Crew by Michael Mohr; Gripping and Devastating Look At The Punk Culture and Real Rebellion Against Any Form of Conformity

 The Crew by Michael Mohr; Gripping and Devastating Look At The Punk Culture and Real Rebellion Against Any Form of Conformity 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: One of my former high school teachers said that “Teenagers are the worst conformists” and I can't help but agree. Many of them play at rebelling against their parents, school, and society but they also create a structure of their own. They often form tight peer groups and are quick to point out the weird ones who don't fit in. If someone steps outside that group's standards, they then become the target of the other’s rancor. You can rebel against anything that you want but not the teen status quo.

That attitude is perfectly explored in Michael Mohr’s The Crew which shows those teen conformist standards and how they apply in even the most rebellious of groups.

Jack “Dog” Donnigan is invited to join The Crew, a clique of punk kids who go to concerts, stay out all night, do a variety of drugs, get into fights and cause more trouble. They are led by the enigmatic Cannonball, who practically adopts Dog as a kid brother.. Unfortunately, when Dog falls in love with Cannonball’s girlfriend, Sarah, he learns that freedom comes with a price of Cannonball’s unquestionable authority. Woe on anyone who challenges that authority as Dog learns.

At first Dog is exhilarated by the acceptance and seemingly boundless freedom that the Crew seems to exhibit. This is perfectly encapsulated when Dog attends a concert with his new friends. Intoxicated by their acceptance and his new found bravado, Dog jumps to the stage and sings with the band. He feels the glaring spotlight and the attention and admiration which the Crew fills him with. This moment shows him as someone who is willing to move beyond his comfort zone to gain not only acceptance but to give himself a pivotal role within the group that accepts him.

As Dog becomes mired within the Crew’s interrelationships he starts to see their dark side, most notably in his interactions with Cannonball. He alternates between admiration and loathing for his leader. On the one hand, he thinks that Cannon is the standard that they should all aspire towards. On the other hand, he resents his complete control over the junior members. 

Cannon encourages Dog to challenge authority including his teachers and parents, even break ties with them. Their nightly meetings are partly to please hedonistic pleasures but also to question the standard life that the Crew had previously been given. Whether through drugs, music, or probing their innermost thoughts, Dog, Cannon, and the other Crew members are looking for answers and they hope that this surrogate family can provide them. 

It can become dangerous when a group becomes the central focus of a person’s life and Dog learns that almost too late. Once he starts a secret relationship with Sarah, he becomes the object of Cannnonball’s scorn. Once a favorite member of the Crew and potential second in command, he becomes their inside outsider. Cannonball creates a disinformation campaign which brings suspicion towards Dog from the other members. He also encourages sadistic pranks like abandoning Dog while he crashes from a drug high and escalates violent threats when he challenges his former recruit to a fight. 

Cannonball’s authoritarian hold on the Crew makes him a hypocrite to the act of rebellion that he claims to exhibit. It’s okay to thumb one’s nose at parents, teachers, and the law but disobeying Cannonball is a step too far. He becomes less like a gang leader and more like a cult leader who takes full authority over his followers to the point that he becomes surrogate father, teacher, mentor, leader, and deity. There are some implications that Cannonball’s unsettled home life left him rootless and he holds a tigh grip on his Crew to maintain a significance that otherwise would have been lost to him. However, that significance comes with it a dangerous ego that needs unquestionable blind worship to be satisfied.

It’s ironic that in his rebellion, Dog becomes more confined and boxed in than before. It is only in the end when he is deprived of everything that has held him: school, family, relationships, friendships, and even his old gang, that he finds the freedom that he has looked for and the uncertainty about life that freedom entails.

Weekly Reader: Lily Upshire is Winning by John Holmes; Coming of Age YA Novel About A Girl's Conflicts In Her Online and Private Life

 

Weekly Reader: Lily Upshire is Winning by John Holmes; Coming of Age YA Novel About A Girl's Conflicts In Her Online and Private Life

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Lily Upshire is Winning by John Holmes is one of those Contemporary YA novels that isn't about anything. Or let me rephrase that, Lily Upshire is Winning is about the protagonist facing many things that on their own would make short works but together produce challenges to how she views herself and the world around her.

Lily Upshire is a 12 year old girl who isn't just having a miserable day. Lately she has had a miserable life. She is the frequent target of bullying from the Bizzel Sisters. She doesn't do well in school and dislikes most of her teachers except for English teacher Emily Hass, with whom she might have a crush. She is being raised by her grandmother, because her mother died before she was two and she has no father. This leads many to question and spread rumors about her parentage. It's no wonder that she confides in her online boyfriend, Travis, about her problems.

Lily's problems are about to get worse. Before she drinks a smoothie from a nearby shop called Bashett's, she discovers a pea inside. She and her grandmother's friends, the Peacemakers, decide to report the discovery to Bashett's main corporate office. This act turns Lily into an Internet celebrity. During her strange 15 minutes of fame, she discovers some disturbing things about Travis and a girl named Mack reveals to Lily that she has a crush on her.

This is a novel with a lot of humor and heart. There are some hilarious moments when the Peacemakers suggest ways to make her story more pathetic to arouse sympathy. ("Say you've got allergies!" "I have peas at least twice a week!")

 Also, it is very true when Bashett's keeps sending her complimentary gifts like vouchers and free trips to New York. They spend a lot of time, money, and attention on this case but don't give Lily what she really wants: a simple apology.

Besides the laughs, there is also a lot of sadness in the book, particularly with Lily's loneliness. She is understandably crushed when Travis is revealed to be a fraud. While realistically, Readers understand the dangers of online relationships and that Lily should know better, try telling that to a teenager with few friends and no one to confide in.

She also has trouble with outside relationships. She throws a potentially good healthy relationship with Mac away even after the girl confesses that she is in love with her. Lily is a bundle of insecurities who reaches out for love then withdraws it when she needs it the most.

Lily finds some solace as she begins to take up boxing as a hobby. What starts out as a means to exercise and defend herself, becomes an outlet to articulate her rage at the betrayals and anger that she feels. She begins to excel as many do when they find their talent and true niche. Through boxing, Lily actually finds some purpose in life.

Lily Upshire is Winning is a very realistic honest coming of age book that opens that time when it seems that everything is against you. Your body goes through changes that you don't understand. You are beginning to be annoyed with and resent the people around you. 

If you can find something or someone to hold onto during that time to bring some pleasure and meaning that makes you excel, then that can actually feel like winning.

New Book Alert: The Girl With The In-Sight by William P. Mills; Suspenseful and Lovely Urban Fantasy About a Magical Young Girl And Her New Family

 New Book Alert: The Girl With The In-Sight by William P. Mills; Suspenseful and Lovely Urban Fantasy About a Magical Young Girl And Her New Family

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: The Girl With The In-Sight by William P. Mills is a suspenseful and lovely modern fantasy novel with plenty of magic. It has a girl with magical abilities but it also reveals the magic of lonely people who get together to become a family.

Mirari Ramirez is a sweet young girl with intuitive and empathic abilities. She is attuned to the feelings and needs of others. She can also see auras and colors floating above other people's heads. However, her abilities can't protect from a dark sinister creature that she dubs the Bloody Dragon who stalks her. Nor can she prevent her mother from being killed.

Terrified, Mirari runs for her life and hides. However, she finds two protectors in  Sharisse, a beautiful nurse and Virgil, a scarred recluse. The three strangers bond together to protect each other from the dark terrifying creatures, learn deeper secrets about Mirari's origins and powers, and become a newfound family by choice.

This book is similar to The Book of Uriel by Elyse Hoffman, Fearghus Academy: October Jewels by I.O. Schaeffer, and The Prophecy Has Begun: Donum by Alexandra Lane about a magical child and their loving protectors. In each one, it shows the child having this marvelous ability and how their parents and guardian accepts and protects this child in their care, even when they don't always understand what they are going through. They are the true definitions of families that accept and unconditionally love each other despite their abnormal behaviors, appearances, thought process, and abilities.

Through his three leads, Mills shows the making of a sweet loving family. Mirari is an adorable bright girl without being overly cutesy or cloying. She has seen poverty and hardship and is well aware of the darkness that surrounds her, both human and demonic. She just chooses to look for the goodness and light within others. She refers to her guardians by nicknames that reveal what she sees in them, "Angel Lady" for Sharisse and "Friendly Monster" for Virgil. She sees better things within them than they see in themselves.

Her guardians are also well written, especially with how their relationship with Mirari helps them with their personal struggles. Because of his appearance, Virgil withdraws from most people, women in particular. He had a misanthropic nature in which he imagined other people hurting as much as he was hurt. All of that changes when he meets Mirari. The girl opens up a loving and paternal side to him. He begins to care for her and others.

Sharisse has problems from the opposite end of the appearance spectrum. She is someone who fits the saying about "beauty being a curse." People dismiss her kind and intelligent nature by seeing her as a vapid pretty face. She is often physically assaulted and believes that it is some sort of punishment for her looks. Mirari and eventually Virgil see the real kindness inside her and see a person who is  beautiful both inside and out.

The family aspect of the book is the strongest part of  though there are some interesting other facets as well. There are some creepy suspenseful scenes against the dark demons after Mirari and the truth to her origins is fascinating.

However, the real magic and insight in the story is the creation of a new loving family.

New Book Alert: The Book of Uriel by Elyse Hoffman; WWII Novel Mixes Reality, Fantasy, and Love Between Surrogate Father and Son

 

New Book Alert: The Book of Uriel by Elyse Hoffman; WWII Novel Mixes Reality, Fantasy, and Love Between Surrogate Father and Son

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: When it comes to books about the Holocaust and World War II, Elyse Hoffman's The Book of Uriel is more reminiscent of Markus Zusak's The Book Thief or Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay than many of the other World War II books that I have recently read like Dana Levy Elgrod's The Resistance Lily, Kit Sargent's Women Spies of World War II, Malve Von Hassel's Tapestry of My Mother's Life: Stories, Fragments, and Silences, Warren Court's The Aubrey Endeavors Spy Novels, Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan's Home Front Girls, Barbara Davis' The Keeper of Happy Endings, Melissa Muldoon's Waking Isabella and Eternally Artemisia, Nikki Broadwell's Rosemary for Remembrance, Ronald H. Balson's Eli's Promise, Mae Adams' Precious Silver Chopsticks: A True Story About a Korean Noble Family, John Hersey's Hiroshima, Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, Samuel Marquis' Soldiers of Freedom: The World War II Story of Patton's Panthers and The Edelweiss Pirates, Martha Hall Kelly's Lilac Girls, Jeanne Mackin's The Last Collection: A Novel of Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel, and Caroline Moorhead's A Train in Winter: A True Story of Women, Friendship and Resistance in Occupied France.

Unlike most of these books, the darkness and brutal reality of this deadly time is present but in The Book of Uriel, it is mixed with an engaging fantasy that carries a sense of darkness as well. Between the strange dualities of reality and fantasy lies a stirring moving story of a surrogate father and son on opposite sides but drawn to each other by bonds of love.

Uwe Litten is a linguist and translator for the German army. He's not a soldier but his fluency in Polish, Yiddish, Russian, Hebrew, and other languages comes in handy for Major Gunter Brandt as he sends his troops destroying one village after another (assuring Uwe that they are just "capturing enemies of the Reich" of course. Never mind that those enemies seem to be from specific religions, countries, or just about anyone at all). Uwe questions Brandt's tactics but is too concerned about his own safety and his place in the chain of command, which is none at all, to outright object. 

While marching through the Polish forests, Uwe, Brandt, and the German soldiers come upon Zingdorf, a Jewish village completely devastated by Polish forces. Brandt simply looks at the scene as a typical scene of war. Uwe looks on with despair especially when he sees the corpse of a young boy holding a golden notebook. Uwe gently picks up the notebook, reads the boy's name "Uriel", and accompanies the other soldiers on their way while reading Uriel's fantasy and religious stories and sketches of his home life.

After the soldiers leave, something unusual happens. Uriel is brought back to life by the angels, Gabriel and Raphael who have an assignment for him. God's second, the Archangel Michael has been held prisoner by his rival, Samael the Angel of Death. Samael and Michael's rivalry has been ongoing since Biblical days when the two took competing sides with twins, Esau and Jacob. (Samael was Team Esau and Michael was Team Jacob.) However, Michael, protector of the Jews, is missing and the angels don't know where he is. They need Uriel to locate him. Uriel is not the likeliest choice for a hero. He was born mute and can only communicate through writing but he has a second sight that can see angels and otherworldly creatures. Using a stone which grants invisibility, Uriel follows the soldiers. No one can see him but Uwe with whom he begins to bond.

Both Uwe and Uriel are tested in their own ways. Uwe encounters Jewish rebels and Polish partisans who are without food and weapons. He has to decide whose side he is really on. Meanwhile, Uriel meets up with Samael who is not an unreasonable sort of Angel of Death. He will tell the boy where Michael is if he accomplishes five tasks for him. Much of Uwe and Uriel's stories are connected by the various passages that Uwe reads to the young boy from his notebook.

There is so much going on in this book and so much of it done well. The fantasy combined with realism works because the fantasy isn't a light hearted distraction from the starkness of the rest of the book. Neither the fantastic nor the realistic hide the death and hatred that surrounds the characters. Uwe has to deal with the prejudices between the Polish and Jewish groups and their unwillingness to cooperate with each other or Uwe to fight the army that seeks to exterminate them. He has to gain their trust by providing food and finding and sharing a hidden cache of weapons.

Meanwhile Uriel has to deal with some very disturbing images during his tasks. When he is told to get a Book of Blood, he has to pick up the most hateful book that he knows, Mein Kampf, a copy which sheds actual blood on the pages. Another assignment involves him getting the waters from Sheol, while demons of the underworld and his own sins haunt him. Neither Uwe or Uriel's adventures are easy and require great strength and courage. 

The story between Uwe and Uriel anchors these two separate and compelling plots. In some ways, they remind me a great deal of Din Djarin and Grogu from The Mandalorian. (Uriel is especially reminiscent of the nonverbal, courageous, mischievous, but destined for greatness Baby Yoda.) They are a father and son who found each other and filled that aching lonely need in the middle of great political conflict and strife. 

Many of their moments together are heartwarming particularly when Uwe reads from Uriel's book and learns about the boy's former life with his parents, sister, and brother in law. The pages describing Uriel's time in Zingdorf and his stories of God, angels, and folklore characters show the bright, imaginative, curious kid that he is and how he views the world with a maturity that sees more than most kids would. 

Uriel and Uwe's bond as well as their separate journeys are brought together in a suspenseful and tear jerking conclusion. The Book of Uriel is the type of book that brings fantasy and reality together to frighten and disturb Readers. Then they make them cry and warm their hearts.

Weekly Reader: Fearghus Academy: October Jewels by I.O. Scheffer; Strange Blend of Witch School Fantasy, Intergalactic Science Fiction, Supernatural Mystery, and Victorian Historical Fiction Makes For A Surprisingly Unique and Imaginative Novel

 

Weekly Reader: Fearghus Academy: October Jewels by I.O. Scheffer; Strange Blend of Witch School Fantasy, Intergalactic Science Fiction, Supernatural Mystery, and Victorian Historical Fiction Makes For A Surprisingly Unique and Imaginative Novel

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: You don't always have to be the first or even the most famous to come up with an idea to make it good. Sometimes you just have to give it your own perspective.

Take I.O. Scheffer's Fearghus Academy series and its first volume, October Jewels, for example. In the tradition of witches and wizards of legend using various sources and ingredients to make a potion, Scheffer did the same with this series. Fearghus Academy has a pound of Harry Potter, a pinch of A Wrinkle in Time, two cups of Avatar The Last Airbender, a spoonful of Oliver Twist, and a whiff of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell for that distinct aroma. The result is a strange concoction that blends these sources and makes a unique, imaginative, and spellbinding series.

In 19th century London, Anna Addison is forced to work in a grubby factory for pennies. She hates her job but she can't do anything about it. One day, a strange wealthy woman named Nichole gives her two options: quit or get fired. No one else but Anna can see Nichole and even though she isn't sure if she's going crazy, Anna decides to get herself fired. Now that's taken care of, Nichole makes herself visible and goes through the necessary paperwork to adopt the young girl. She raises some eyebrows since people question a black woman like Nichole choosing to adopt a white girl like Anna but she is kind if a bit eccentric and no one else is interested in Anna.

Nichole has ulterior motives for adopting Anna. She sees another person like her who possesses magical abilities. One of the signs of a magical person are the colorful streaks in their hair and glint in their eyes. Anna has brown hair and orange streaks (She assumed one of her late parents had red hair). Nichole has green streaks in her black hair. Nichole explains that these are signs that they possess certain magical powers: Fire Magic for Anna and Earth Magic for Nichole.

There is a place called Fearghus Academy that has been scouting potential magic users and where Nichole is going to take Anna. It's a school that's out of this world. No really. Fearghus is literally on another planet outside of time and space. The school trains young people around the universe to use, harness, and control their magical abilities. 

So yes it is the fourth "Young Woman Travels to a Magical World" book that I read this year along with The Thorn Princess by Bekah Harris, Ela Green and The Kingdom of Abud by Sylvia Greif, and Lakshmi and The River of Truth by Paul Chasman, not counting the ones I read last year. (Not that I'm complaining. I love the subgenre.)

Once Anna arrives at Domhan, the planet that Fearghus Academy resides, she is amazed by the green grass, blue skies, and crisp clean air. For a girl growing up in filthy smog filled polluted London, it's quite a delightful shock. The castle building that Fearghus is located in leaves her speechless.

She also gets some rudimentary training from Nichole on how to make fire emerge from her fingertips and a new name. She says goodbye to her old life as Anna, the girl from London on Earth and reemerges as Artesia, the Fire Magic User and Fearghus student.

The book's structure is similar to that of Miss Mabel's School for Girls by Katie Cross and A Spell in the Country by Heide Goody and Iain Grant. Many of the chapters involve various tests and assignments in which Artesia and her new classmates learn to use their powers, work as a team, and bring out their best and sometimes worst qualities in each other.

Along the way while they are searching for valuable objects, exploring the world around them, and studying the progression of their powers as well as other regular subjects like history, science, and literature, they become aware that there are darker forces abound. As some of the students are attacked and one viciously murdered, it becomes apparent that Fearghus is the target of greater darker spirits and people who use magic for less altruistic means. It takes all of their strength, natural and magical, to fight these deadly enemies and get to the heart of a conspiracy which could cost many lives.

There are a few things that make Fearghus Academy stand out from other school stories. So far, we don't have a School Bully/Mean Girl. Nor does the main girl, Artesia, get thrown into a romance with a potential love interest.

The characters have personality clashes and disagreements but there are no one dimensional prepubescent villains. In fact, they start on the same page as allies who work closely together and become friends.

The students are a pretty likeable bunch. Besides Artesia we have: Antonia, a flamboyant Fire Mage from Spain; Evelyn, an overachieving Light User from Canada; Lulu, a dizzy religious American girl with the power of Air; Eilam, a sweet Ice Mage who is from Domhan and has a disturbing family secret; Telemachus, also from Domhan and is a Fire Mage and Eilam's close friend; Betel, an Irish girl who has the uncomfortable power of spreading pain and illness and is protected by her sister, Gretel; Jun, another Fire User from Ceithre a small town in Domhan who gains a crush on a certain transplanted Londoner, and Marnie, a sarcastic Scottish Water Mage who is discovering her own sexuality. Since Domhan is on another planet, it would be interesting to see if future Fearghus students look more alien in appearance, perhaps looking instead like Earth witches and wizards and more like Jedi.

The characters are a fascinating group where everyone has their moments to shine and become part of an ensemble.  Even Nichole develops a strong maternal bond with Artesia which she begins to reciprocate.

There isn't a single character in the group who isn't likeable and fully developed. Authors don't always have to fit school age kids into known tropes and cliques and have them vie with each other. They can still make them meaningful and understandable as individuals and part of a larger network of students and friends.

It is also nice that Scheffer does not force a romance between Artesia and the male character that she is usually paired with, Eilam. Artesia and Eilam form a close friendship in which the secretive Eilam reveals some painful things about his past. The two also combine their powers to save each other and are one another's emotional support when they lose a close friend. But platonic friendship is as close as it gets and with good reason.

Eilam is gay and is romantically involved with Telemachus. In other books, the two young men would just be buddies and their flirtatious moments might by played for laughs. In this book, it's clear that they are a couple and a sweet one at that. Because of Eilam's personal issues, he finds it difficult to reach out to others. With Telemachus, he feels more open to express a more outgoing playful side. Telemachus becomes a rock for Eilam to cling to when he needs it.

As for Artesia, she isn't exactly suffering in the romance department. Jun develops a crush on her and she becomes interested in him. She also inspires romantic stirrings within Marnie which she may feel the same. To hers, and Scheffer's, credit Artesia treats Jun and Marnie the same way. There is no indication whether she is straight, bisexual, or a lesbian. Perhaps like Artesia's experience with magic and living in Domhan, this is a new chapter in her life that is waiting to be discovered.

In fact that's what this book is all about: discovering one's potential, life path, hidden talents, relationships, and placement in a larger world. In doing so the first Fearghus Academy book, October Jewels, is already a crown jewel in the series.

New Book Alert: Ela Green and The Kingdom of Abud by Sylvia Greif; Slow Start To YA Fantasy But Magical Kingdom Shines And Leaves Readers Wanting More

 

New Book Alert: Ela Green and The Kingdom of Abud by Sylvia Greif; Slow Start To YA Fantasy But Magical Kingdom Shines And Leaves Readers Wanting More

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Could this year's frequent theme/genre be YA Fantasy? Maybe, between Bekah Harris's The Thorn Princess and now Sylvia Greif has Ela Green and The Kingdom of Abud, it's entirely possible. They are similar in many ways. Both deal with high school age boarding school girls who come upon unique powers that are revealed by older relatives. Both take trips into beautiful magical lands that are feasts for the eyes to read and the mind to imagine. Both no sooner have their young protagonists get their feet wet in the new worlds than the books end on a cliffhanger to prepare the Reader for Part Two.

What is different about the two worlds is tone and inspiration. The Thorn Princess is a modern fairy tale that takes its roots from Celtic and Teutonic fairy lore. Ela Green's source is more reminiscent of 19th century Adventure novels. While magic is a central feature of Ela Green, the focus seems to be more on exploring this new landscape and investigating it for magical treasure than learning about the monarchy and political structure and ruling over it. Ivy Hawthorne, The Thorn Princess, is a part of her magical landscape, ultimately the heart of it. Ela Green is just visiting for now but also has a huge part to play in this alternate world and maybe the physical world as well.

The book begins in media res on the night of the full moon when Eleanor "Ela" Green is enchanted by a bracelet that she found. She recites the words of a spell on a scroll included with the bracelet. She suddenly finds herself no longer in her boarding school room but instead in a mysterious forest and standing face to uh, bark with a giant evergreen that reaches the sky. 

Most of the book takes place before and after this strange trip. Before Ela was an over imaginative girl arguing with her mother, becoming the bane of the existence of the headmistress, and bonding with her Uncle Archie whose adventurous and imaginative spirit rivals hers. Then she finds the bracelet and travels to the Enchanted Kingdom of Abud where the giant tree, Yggdrasill tells her that because of her "magical miraculousheart" she might be the Unikone. As the Unikone, she must find The Book of Names. Meanwhile, her Uncle Archie has a family tie to this weirdness and there is the scheming Count Sigismund who just bought Ela's school and also has his sights set on her bracelet and its power.

The book is clearly the start of the series and because of that, it only takes two trips into Abud, one where Ela goes alone and then a subsequent one that she takes with Archie once everything is explained. That's rather unfortunate because the book cuts off right when it's getting good. I know I know cliffhangers, Authors want to leave the Reader hanging. But Abud is such a beautiful setting that it is a shame to not read more of it.

There are wonderful little touches like talking trees that hang upside down and crystals that change color and play musical notes as a visitor steps on them. Of course there are portions of the landscape that will defend itself from the selfish, greedy, and sometimes overly curious, which is why it's very important that it is able to share an empathetic connection with Ela and sees her good heart. She is able to be welcome when others with harmful intentions would not. 

These chapters set in Abud are the highlight of the book as they make the Reader want to see more of this world and the unique characters that inhabit it. The Abud portions should definitely be longer.

It's not that the rest of the book is bad, it just takes a long time to really get invested in the Abud setting before the book abruptly cuts off. 

There is a long expository section where Archie explains the family's link to this magical kingdom. It's an interesting story and it captures how avarice and greed can destroy one's soul and make one lose sight of their real purpose.

It definitely takes its cue from old Adventure novels like the works of Jules Verne, H. Rider Haggard, and Robert Louis Stevenson where there is treasure to be found and a strange land to explore it. The backstory also reveals what's in the heart of the explorers and what compels them to go on this journey, both in the past and present.

It also shows why Abud waited so long for the Unikone to arrive and why many were found wanting. The journey is a test and when the visitors reveal their selfishness and avarice, the way is closed to them.

 I'm also glad that the back story is in the first volume instead of potentially inserted into later books and interrupts the flow of action once Ela and Archie are in Abud. It's always good to get exposition out of the way. However, the build up to Abud itself with this exposition only makes the Reader want to see more of it. It's not asking too much to include a couple more chapters to explore this landscape that has had such a build up.

There are some issues with the pacing of this book as well. An important character is introduced as a potential antagonist only to reach a very anticlimactic ending. Also other characters' motives are somewhat unclear but I suppose need more time for them to be revealed. 

Ela seems like a decent enough protagonist, kind to all living things with just a bit of a sardonic bite so she can stand up for herself. At times, she can be a bit flat in characterization but that could be attributed to this being her first adventure. We may get more nuances to her character in subsequent volumes. 

Archie seems to be an alright character, adventurous, intelligent, understanding towards Ela which her mother is not. There are a couple of times where this Reader wonders if his journeys to Abud are just to protect Ela or to fill some greedy or curious desire himself. Again it will be interesting to see how his character develops in multiple volumes.

Because of the extended build up, Ela Green and The Kingdom of Abud has a very slow start. Once it reaches Abud, it is truly enchanting and leaves the Reader breathless with its description and in fervent anticipation.

Weekly Reader: The Thorn Princess (Iron Crown Faerie Tales Book 1) by Bekah Harris; Captivating World Building of Faerie Kingdom Rescues Average Chosen One YA Fantasy

 

Weekly Reader: The Thorn Princess (Iron Crown Faerie Tales Book 1) by Bekah Harris; Captivating World Building of Faerie Kingdom Rescues Average Chosen One YA Fantasy

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: One thing to take away from The Thorn Princess, the first book in Bekah Harris' Iron Crown Faerie Tales Series is how beautiful and unique that she writes about the fairy kingdom, The Fae of the Winter Court. That is where her true writing talent lies.

It is at the Winter Court where Lyric the Fairy Queen is dying. Her magic strengthens the Court and now that she is ill, temperatures are rising and the court is left vulnerable. There are plenty of rivals that would love to take advantage of this obvious weakness, especially Lyric's sister, Alena, and the Unseelie King. Well the magic could be passed to Lyric's daughter, but there is one slight problem. Her child was kidnapped and exchanged for a human one. So her fairy daughter is out in the human world somewhere and Violet, the girl raised in the Fairy Court, is all too human.

Meanwhile, teenager Ivy Hawthorne has had some weird experiences lately. She feels that she is being followed by some sinister magical creatures like an owl who keeps following her even during the day. She also begins experiencing some strange abilities like seeing auras and demonstrating tremendous power and strength. Also, the cute new student, Bear, seems to have declared himself Ivy's new protector. Gee, I wonder why all of this is happening, don't you?

The world building of the Winter Court is dream-like with just the right touch of whimsy from fairy tales with the dark enchantment of early Celtic and Teutonic fairy lore. One of the loveliest aspects that the book in general and The Winter Court in particular reveals is of winter's beauty. 

Many of the works that show Fairy Kingdoms often portray the lands in perpetual spring or summer but Harris' writing shows that there can be a great appreciation found in winter as well. The book is filled with delightful scenes of snow drenched landscapes and winter flora like hawthorne and ivy. It is reminiscent of "The Waltz of the Flowers" sequence in Disney's 1940 animated film, Fantasia in which blue winter fairies use their magic to put frost on leaves, skate along a frozen pond, and pirouette with snowflakes. Winter has a natural beauty of its own and Harris recognizes it.

Harris also portrays the Winter Court rather well with excellent characterization and recognition of their unique structure. While powerful, fairies are all too mortal as seen with Lyric's declining health. While Fairies have individual powers of their own, the queen is the heart or center of the magic. When she is sick, like now, the court around her sickens. It's similar to the Fisher King in Arthurian legend. When there is disruption in the sociopolitical order, an interruption in the natural passing of ruler and heir, that leads to disruption in the natural world. She is also emblematic of the Goddess figure who is the Earth so when she goes, Earth goes with her. 

It could very well be that the dying Lyric and the melting Winter Court could be metaphors for climate change and Ivy represents the next generation who will have to live in it and strive to work through it, perhaps young environmentalists like Greta Thunberg. But I wouldn't go that far.

Lyric herself is a complex, often contradictory character. Concerned for her kingdom, but affecting a detached demeanor. Concerned about her sister's vile machinations but aching for a familial bond. Strong enough to lead the search for her daughter but aware of her diminishing strength. Wanting her daughter to take up the crown and sceptre at once, but fully aware that Ivy has a life that she must say goodbye to. Lyric is kind but icy, nurturer and dominator. 

Ivy has some of that complexity as well. She has known that she doesn't fit in. Her nagging fears manifest when she uses her discovered innate powers to fight off of a bully in a very frightening way. She also learns where the woman that she believed was her mother has been all these years. This strange news of her fairy origins explains a lot but still leaves her with a lot of confusion, discomfort, and questions especially when knowing that she has no choice. She has to ascend the throne or the Winter Court is gone.

Once Ivy arrives in The Winter Court is when the book really starts to develop. She becomes acquainted with the magical characters and the inner workings including the potentially antagonistic Unseelie King and Alena. Then there's Violet, Lyric's adopted human daughter. It's not hard to feel sorry for the girl who had been raised her whole life to believe that she had great power and would succeed her mother. But when the time came, she fell short. Violet doesn't say much in this volume but it's clear there will be some conflict between the birth and adopted daughters.

Thankfully, the parts in the Winter Court make up for the dull parts in the human world of which unfortunately this book has too much of. We have the typical Mean Girl Bully, the Quirky Best Friend, Stern Teacher. All of them repetitive, all of them we have seen before. Even Ivy's romance with Bear is typical for a YA Fantasy and unfortunately there are hints of the worst sin of YA Speculative Fiction, the bane of writing existence: An upcoming Love Triangle! Seriously, we're doing this here too? I shudder to think of it.

Only when the setting takes place in The Winter Court does the book really shine with originality and pulls the book from the average to the above average pile. In fact, since the later books appear to be set entirely in the Faerie Kingdom, the series should greatly improve despite the (shudder) upcoming love triangle. 

Weekly Reader: Nightfall Gardens (Nightfall Gardens Series Book One) by Allen Houston; Memorably Eerie Mysterious Novel Tribute To The Dark Gothic YA Novels of Our Youth

 

Weekly Reader: Nightfall Gardens (Nightfall Gardens Series Book One) by Allen Houston; Memorably Eerie Mysterious Novel Tribute To The Dark Gothic YA Novels of Our Youth

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: While I read Nightfall Gardens by Allen Houston, I kept picturing in my head the illustrations of Ed Gorey. Nightfall Gardens is that kind of deliciously wicked Gothic YA novel. It evokes the writing style of books like The House With A Clock On Its Walls by John Bellair, Bedknobs and Broomsticks by Mary Norton, or A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. It's that type of book where eerie things happen in a dark and imaginative setting to some young children. The best YA books are the ones that remind us that dark magical spooky things can happen even to young people and aren't afraid to give their young Readers a bit of a scare. Allen Houston excels at that.

Lily and Silas Blackwood are part of a family of traveling actors. They haven't exactly achieved success, because of dwindling audiences, leaky theaters, and a lead actor who is a full course ham sandwich. After their latest lackluster performance, Lily encounters a very sinister looking man who frightens her on sight and reveals that he is her uncle Jonquil.

Jonquil has reunited with his brother's family to inform them that his mother, the guardian of the mysterious Nightfall Gardens is dying. Nightfall Gardens needs a new female heir or all hell will break loose, literally, and to keep the family tradition going, Lily is selected for the position. After Lily's parents turn the offer down flat,  Jonquil and his men kidnap Lily to take her to Nightfall Gardens with Silas in tow. The children have to be prepared for Lily's new role as Guardian and Silas' as a Rider (or security guard for the Gardens and the people inside the manor). The Blackwood children are introduced to their eccentric grandmother, Deiva, and the Gardens' creepy denizens including ghosts, fauns, werewolves, gargoyles, and Cassandra, a sardonic girl with green skin and a huge grudge against the Blackwoods. Oh and should they want to leave, well they can't. The Nightfall Gardens are cut off from the rest of the world including Lily and Silas' parents.

Nightfall Gardens is one of those memorable settings that are found so often in children's literature: brilliantly imaginative, at times sinister, but knows how to capture that wonder and zeal. Think Wonderland, OZ, Never Land, Hogwarts, Fantastica, The Labyrinth, or The Woods in most fairy tales. We may be stretched by our wonder and imagination. We might love to visit these places but we never forget that there are often dark mysterious forces at bay.

Nightfall Gardens is like every haunted mansion that has ever existed and considering its backstory, it could be seen as the original haunted mansion. (I won't spoil the surprise but let's just say that it involves a certain Greek woman and a certain box which should not be opened.)

Nightfall Gardens gives an unmistakable eerie yet seductive aura from the moment that Jonquil and the Blackwood children enter and face a group of violent Pans. (Not cookware, Pan the satyr from Hellenic mythology. They were the wild feral creatures, half men and half goats, who loved to play their pipes, frolic in the woods, and do unspeakable things to ladies).

 It's the kind of place where that shadow that you swear is a rack of clothes really is a monster in the closet. "Dark is never far and is always looking for a way in," Jonquil says and he is not kidding. It is always dusk or dark around the Gardens. The Gardens themselves draw magical creatures towards it, making living there an unpleasant but enchanting home for the Blackwoods and all who inhabit it.

It turns out that the Pans are just the opening act because Nightfall Gardens is full of surprises. The very ground has weeds and vines that appear to trap and scratch the unwary traveler until they bleed to death. Rooms appear and disappear and mirrors show ghastly reflections instead of the person looking into them. That's not counting the animals and humans, or those that appear as such, that surround the place.

Shades, or Ghosts, take the form of Lily to trap Silas and almost succeed. The White Garden, where the Shades live, is also home to Demons, Banshees, Succubi, Lords of the Underworld, and Wicked Crones. Grandma Deiva is forever waiting for the ghost of her late husband, the children's grandfather, to escort her to her death. Before that, the children have close encounters with him. 

There are some enigmatic figures called The Smiling Ladies that Lily and Silas are advised to just stay away from ("Someone you don't want to meet unless you want eternal sleep," a character somberly says). These creepy creatures are all there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for something, and are ready for the moment when they can strike and shed some blood.

Nightfall Gardens is the first book in the Nightfall Gardens Series, so it does what most first books do: sets up the world. Houston makes the Gardens an unforgettable place that the Reader wants to explore at least through writing. (This Reader is too much of a coward to go to a place like that for real.) Like many, the first book isn't so strong in plot as it is in tone. Plot points are introduced, but due to the book being part of a series, are not resolved by the end. This suggests that these will be ongoing struggles, motifs, and themes that will occur throughout the series rather than being resolved by Book 1.

Besides setting, Houston does a good job in characterizing the Blackwoods. This is a family that has a tremendous burden. They don't want to do it. They have often fought against it, but they know that they have to. Many of them are willing to sacrifice their own personal happiness and welfare to remain in this haunted and disturbing estate for the larger picture of protecting the world.

Since Lily and Silas are new to this responsibility, they try to fight it. Lily in particular is somewhat narcissistic and longs to return to the legitimate stage so she can become a star. When she hears about a possible loophole, she spends some time looking for it so she and her brother can be freed and not have to suffer the burden that their ancestors did.

Silas is more pragmatic and realizes that his own protective nature towards his sister was the reason for his arrival. He wasn't supposed to come and just forced his way in. However, now that he is here, he is determined to do what he can to protect the Gardens and especially Lily.

Nightfall Gardens is one of those literary locations that you will never forget. You might be too scared to visit and you certainly wouldn't want to live there. But you don't mind reading about it, so you can get a good old fashioned Gothic scare.

 

New Book Alert: It's A Gay Gay World by Tatiana Kolesnikov; Parallel World Reverses Gay and Straight Statuses Has An Interesting Premise But Also Raises Some Questions

 New Book Alert: It's A Gay Gay World by Tatiana Kolesnikov; Parallel World Reverses Gay and Straight Statuses Has An Interesting Premise But Also Raises Some Questions

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Tatiana Kolesnikov's YA novel, It's A Gay Gay World is the type of book that invites the characters and Readers to "see how the other half lives." To see what happens when the majority becomes the minority, when the LGBT and the straight communities switch places. Heterosexual people have to suffer the legal ramifications when they want to have rights that others take for granted. They have to be mocked with stereotypes and derisive comments from entertainment and even from friends and acquaintances. They could face ostracism from family, isolation, sentencing to conversion camps, and could be potentially injured or killed by people so driven by centuries of religious and social hatred towards others who aren't like them.

It's A Gay Gay World takes that premise and brings it up to eleven when two straight teens travel to a parallel dimension where 

homosexuality is the majority and heterosexuality is the minority. It is an interesting idea that Kolesnikov brilliantly explores in her novel. However, the book does leave some questions in terms of plot and character.

High schooler, Katherine Borovsky and her boyfriend, Michael Morrow, wake up from a severe traffic collision to find a different world around them. Instead of her religious mother and father and kid sister, Katherine is greeted by her sister and two religious mothers. Instead of his bickering parents, Michael is welcomed by two loving fathers. 

In what Katherine and Michael dub "The G World" (Gay as compared to the "S World" where they came from), sexes are completely segregated. Boys are raised by men and girls by women. Since homosexuality is the norm, what they dub  "mixing" is forbidden even illegal. (In G World, even the terms gay and straight are reversed but to simplify things for this review, I will use the traditional meanings for both terms.) 

Kolesnikov went into great detail about the history and current structure that would occur in such a world. At a church service, Katherine hears this parallel dimension's version of the Adam and Eve story. This world's interpretation is that the sin that Adam and Eve committed was not in disobedience but in having sexual intercourse. Pretty flimsy, but is it any flimsier than the actual excuses that centuries of people have used citing the Bible as justifications for their prejudices in this world?

While procreation is not ignored, that is the sole reason that G World authorities allow men and women to have sexual relations or it used to be. Now with IVF and surrogacy, there is no reason for that. Straight couples get sent to internment camps like Camp Stork where they are separated from the rest of society and are subjected to inhumane treatments. It's Camp Stork that eventually becomes the source of investigations when Anna, one of Katherine's mothers, Rick, an investigative reporter, and Daniel, a BFI (G World's version of the FBI) agent and Rick's husband, discover a potential conspiracy involving the camp and immigrant straight couples.

The details aren't just found in the main plot.

When Katherine and Michael compare notes with their friends (and in G World, Michael's boyfriend and Katherine's girlfriend), Travis and Sydney, they find that G World's population is much smaller than the overpopulated world in which they came from. 

They also discover other clever facts about this parallel dimension such as that Sydney and Travis have never heard of Facebook, but MySpace is still the most important social media site. The current President in G World is Belinda Floyd, a woman who was a former movie star and is known for her progressive policies. Hurricanes only go up to Category Three. Many of these details aren't really important to the overall narrative, but they show how seriously Kolesnikov took the different aspects between dimensions.

 

This conspiracy develops many of the characters such as Elizabeth, Katherine's mother, who was at first appalled by her daughter being straight but then goes into full Defcon 1 Protective Mom mode when Katherine is threatened. Katherine's discomfort towards Anna thaws as before she refused to acknowledge her because Katherine missed her S World father. However, after Anna not only infiltrates Camp Stork but defends Katherine from attack, the teen lovingly refers to her as Mom like she does Elizabeth.

Besides the teen protagonists, many of the other characters are developed as well. Rick and Daniel are a loving couple who are good at their careers. They use those careers to help others such as investigating murders connected to Camp Stork and helping Nadia and Marek, an immigrant couple, who are kidnapped and sent there.

One of the best characters is Dominique Sullivan, a physics professor who provides details to Katherine, Michael, Sydney, and Travis about travel from parallel universes, something that he experienced first hand. Like Katherine and Michael, Sullivan came from S World decades ago. However, as an African-American gay man, he found love and acceptance in G World, particularly with his husband, David, so he decided to stay. However, Sullivan is not blind to the problems in his adopted home dimension so he also takes part in infiltrating Camp Stork.

It's A Gay Gay World is a great book but it offers some intriguing questions, perhaps for Kolesnikov to explore in a sequel, particularly since this book's conclusion is open ended. This book only refers to heterosexuality and homosexuality. Since gender and sexuality are constructs and are more fluid than that, it would be interesting to see how It's A Gay Gay World explores that possibility in G World. How are bisexuals treated in G World? (There are some indications that one of the characters is bisexual, but it is never outright stated.) What about transgenders, especially with how rigid cis males and females are segregated in this reality? These are other possibilities that could be explored in the future.

Katherine and Michael are aware that they are being discrimated against in this world to the point that Katherine makes a public plea for acceptance but they don't seem to make any comparisons towards their behavior in S World. There are some subtle implications that the two teens weren't exactly paragons of understanding and tolerance towards LGBT people in S World. Michael mentions that he felt uncomfortable towards a male friend who came out of the closet and began to phase him out. Katherine's first scene in G World shows her at a church service and she makes plenty of comments about her family's Christian background in both worlds. Their evolving feelings towards LGBT people could be illustrated in Katherine's growing acceptance towards Anna in her lives and their easy friendship towards many of the other G World citizens, but it would be interesting to see how this trip changes their beliefs once they return to S World.

Speaking of Katherine and Michael in S World, we learn that both worlds have the same people. While the teen couple are wandering around another dimension that isn't theirs, so are an alternate version of Michael and Katherine, both of whom are gay and are just as out of place as their counterparts. They will no doubt be subjected to homophobia and hate crimes. 

One of the most unfortunate implications concerns G World's Michael and his parents. That Michael left a world with two happily married fathers who loved their son and he clearly reciprocated that love. The S World's Michael lives with constantly fighting parents who give their son a toxic home environment. Since this volume involved a lot of Katherine's family, if Kolesnikov writes another volume set in S World, Michael's family should receive a stronger look that focuses on that conflict.

It's A Gay Gay World is an interesting premise that hopefully will be explored more on a future date. It presents an interesting look at both worlds.