Weekly Reader: Offset Children of the Gulf Written by Delvin Howell Illustrated by Hans Steinbach; Despite Some Flaws, An Excellent Continuation to Bimshire's Legendary Heroes and Villains

 Weekly Reader: Offset Children of the Gulf Written by Delvin Howell Illustrated by Hans Steinbach; Despite Some Flaws, An Excellent Continuation to Bimshire's Legendary Heroes and Villains

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: When last we left the island of Barbados AKA Bimshire in Delvin Howell and Hans Steinbach's Offset: Mask of the Bimshire, Kyle Harding studied a form of martial arts that uses a sugar cane as a weapon.

With his new friend, Damien Collins and a group of friends and family members including his kid brother, Damien, Kyle had to face human gangs and various monsters from Bajan myths. Most frightening of this rogue's gallery is the Heart Man, a man transformed into a creature who removes hearts from his victims and Mrs. Pringle, a witch who transformed and controlled the Heart Man.

In the second volume, Children of the Gulf one year has gone by. Kyle and the others are trying to adjust to a normal life. But now some potentially supernatural events such as someone disappearing into thin air and Kyle being attacked by invisible enemies suggest that Bimshire's legendary monsters have returned to fight Kyle, "The Inheritor." Kyle has to fight both human and supernatural enemies while Collins and young Damien have their own encounters that set their own fates and destinies. Kyle also receives some unlikely help from Sniper, a former enemy to face the latest group of villains.

The Mask of Bimshire is a great volume. Children of the Gulf however is good but not great. It has some great terrifying moments and many of the characters, particularly the supporting ones, receive more depth and twists in their individual paths. However, it stumbles particularly with antagonists who are not as interesting or as memorable as those in the previous volume. Perhaps The Mask of Bimshire's excellence is a detriment to Children of the Gulf. The first volume left such a memorable impression that its successor either had to match it or falter. Unfortunately, in this case it pales in comparison.

In this volume, the supporting characters really shine through when their own paths are revealed. Collins discovers that his chance meeting and friendship with Kyle might not be coincidental after all when he is recruited by a secret organization known as the canecutters and is taught abilities that could help Kyle or cause him even more trouble. Their divergent paths may pit Kyle and Collins against each other.

Sniper, an antagonist from the first volume, shows some depth and vulnerability in this volume, saving Kyle a couple of times and questioning his life as a pelt-ing (a gang member that throws bottles at victims). He seems to emerge as an anti-hero and potential frienemy of Kyle's. Sniper could end up becoming a potential future sidekick if Kyle and Collins end up at odds. Sniper's trajectory is good, but Collins is a great character and his and Kyle's friendship is one of the highlights of the series. It's just a possibility hanging in the air.

Damien Harding however has a more potentially disturbing development. He is also being noticed by the dark spirits and they see potential in him. Damien is also going through a rebellious questioning phase against Damien and their guardian, Mr. Beckles. Damien begins meeting the spirits in secret and appears to be starting a darker nature. We could see the young boy develop as a potential villain selling his soul to the darkness around him. There is a potentially terrifying future for this young man.

Unfortunately, because the supporting characters are built up more in this volume, it emphasizes more how bland a lead Kyle is. There is one great moment when he reunites with a relative and instead of greeting them with a warm hug, he lets them have it for this destiny that Kyle ended up inheriting that he didn't ask for, wasn't consulted on until he was left alone to deal with it, and puts him and his friends in constant trouble.

However, except for this moment, Kyle does very little except fight villains. It was like once his hero story was revealed, there was little left for him to do, so instead the other characters got built up.

Kyle isn't the only character who is a distinct letdown. The villains are nowhere near as developed as The Heart Man and Mrs. Pringle in The Mask of Bimshire. For the most part these villains are practically interchangeable and their backstory isn't as compelling as The Heart Man's bargain with Mrs. Pringle in the previous volume. There are some pretty creepy moments when some sinister little spirits called the baku demand payment. But they aren't as memorable as the Heart Man's terrifying transformation from regular guy to heart stealing monster.

Also, this volume does a major misstep in failing to recognize a regular primary antagonist in Mrs. Pringle. She was a sinister delight pulling the strings behind the Heart Man's actions and viewed Kyle as an "Inheritor" and worthy opponent. Unfortunately, she is removed anticlimactically and her full potential is never realized. 

While there is some supernatural presence throughout this volume, it mostly remains in the shadows and isn't fully involved in the characters which means the dark and light magic in the previous book gives way to more physical action fights which are nowhere near as compelling or entertaining as they were before. That could be the point as the real villains may be saved for next time. But these antagonists are pretty lackluster.

Sometimes the second volume in a book series has greater characterization by developing the characters' journeys and widening the ensemble. Sometimes it has a weaker plot because it contains repetitive fights and little resolution to be saved for the next volume. In Children of the Gulf's case it has both: better development but a weaker plot and antagonists. That averages out to okay but could be much better. At the least the flaws aren't large enough to get in the way of good expectations for volume three.

New Book Alert: Dark Beauty by Blake Rudman; Twisted Tale of Twins Tarnished Beauty, Ambition, and Sudden Fame

 New Book Alert: Dark Beauty by Blake Rudman; Twisted Tale of Twins Tarnished Beauty, Ambition, and Sudden Fame

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Blake Rudman's Psychological Thriller, Dark Beauty, is a twisted tale of a pair of twins who are tarnished by ambitions for beauty, fame, wealth, and revenge.

Identical twins, Tessa and Kristin Morgan are on the eve of superstardom. The former models turned actresses are coming off the premiere of Dark Beauty, a critically acclaimed box office hit film that is already receiving Oscar buzz. Well most of the acclaim is directed towards Tessa who is being hailed as the latest discovery since Jennifer Lawrence. As for Kristin, well "wooden" and "erratic" are some of the kindest comments. The twins' argument is interrupted by a stalker who sprays acid on both twin's faces leaving them with physical and eventually mental and emotional scars. Most of the book takes us to the twins' lives before the accident and sudden fame and their lives afterwards.

Dark Beauty does the usual theme of the good twin vs. bad twin, but thankfully subverts expectations by giving Tessa and Kristin subtleties and facets that break stereotypes to be interesting individuals who are caught up in a continuous rivalry and duality that probably has been going on since the two shared a womb.

Chronologically, Tessa and Kristin first appear during their senior year in high school when both are seen as pretty, popular, and smart but Tessa is favored by their parents and peers while Kristin retreats into sullen rebellion. It gives the impression that Kristin at one time tried to be as nice and scholarly a girl as Kristin, but the comparisons wore on her so she gave up and stood away from her sister in a self imposed isolation. 

Ironically, after graduation Kristin wants Tessa to join her in a modeling career instead of going to UCLA and medical school to become a doctor. She says that it's because twins are a rare angle for agencies, photographers, and advertisers to explore, but it could just as easily be that she believes that Tessa has the same ambitions and desires that she does and wants to share the glamorous life with her. 

Tessa however has her own goals and identity to discover. She has wanted to be a doctor since she was five and loves her sweet boyfriend, Daniel so she is ready to start her own life. But Kristin is a narcissist, along with displaying symptoms from some other mental disorders suggesting that she is a very troubled woman. Kristin only considers what she wants so she spikes Tess's bottled water with LSD so she'll bomb her final exam. So her only option is to leave UCLA and join her sister into the modeling field.

Of course, Tess gets the laugh when their careers change from modeling to acting. Tess works hard to study her role of the bad sinister twin in the movie (no doubt by a slight case of Method acting by taking on her sister's attributes to play the role). Kristin however falls into addiction and partying with an endless stream of men which affects her performance. Tess who never wanted to be an actress or model gets praised while just like when they were kids, Kristin is ignored.

While Tess is mostly hard working, kind, and intelligent while Kristin is scheming, self-centered, and aggressive there are times when their personalities don't shift so much as their good/bad twin dichotomy becomes fuzzy. Tess at times behaves very cold and self righteous especially regarding Kristin's behavior. Kristin displays a self-sufficiency and a sharp mind that allows her to survive despite adversity.

Perhaps this is why Tess is able to play the part of the bad twin in the movie so well. She isn't playing her polar opposite based on her sister. She is playing her own subterranean thoughts, things that she always wanted to do but hid behind a good girl veneer. After the scarring, she retreats into her self-pity and depression. It is only when she discovers what Kristin has been doing that she takes control of her own life. To do that, she has to be as angry, controlling, manipulative, and scheming as her sister. She has to out-Kristin Kristin in reality not in cinema.

Kristin herself shows much of her strength and self-sufficiency in her post-scarring. Ironically, without Tess around she shows a great deal of intelligence and control of her life instead of being thought of as always second to Tess. Her career after the scarring is too juicy to get into but it displays not only her dark nature but her ability to put herself forward, away from her sister. 

The twins' confrontations are as tense and suspenseful as accusations are made and secrets are revealed. Together they reveal the beauty and the ugliness inside the darkness.

Weekly Reader: Legacy of Heroes by Daniel P. Riley; Character's Real Identities Outshine Their Superheroics

Weekly Reader: Legacy of Heroes by Daniel P. Riley; Character's Real Identities Outshine Their Superheroics

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Maybe because I am sick of superheroes everywhere, but when the superhero's real life identity and problems are better written than their super identity and fights with villains, that's not a good sign.

That's the problem facing Daniel P. Riley's Legacy of Heroes. He gives us three interesting characters then puts them in a typical hero plot that is trite and leaves very few surprises or excitement.

The protagonists are three teenagers with different abilities. Dasani Watson suits up as the newest version of Paragon, as a tribute to the original hero who lost his life saving Dasani years ago. James Lassiter is followed by a demonic figure that hides in the shadows and is barely controlled by James. The third member is Amy Price AKA Shriek AKA Crescendo who was once a member of a supervillain gang but now uses her power of making sonic sounds for good when her old gang abandons her. 

The three are assembled by Martin Lieberman, journalist and friend to the original Paragon. He wants to turn the trio into the latest superhero team to take on various villains like Amy's old gang and enemies of original Paragon's.

Individually the trio have some great moments that revealed their personal problems and struggles. They are actually more interesting in their conflicts with their placements and teen problems then they are with their fights against their super antagonists.

Dasani is still grief stricken over the deaths of his parents and of the original Paragon. Even though he only met Paragon once, it was such a monumental moment that changed his life forever. Living with his grandfather and struggling to take the role of his hero, gives Dasani a sense of reality of a world in which heroes are all too mortal and can't always be found in reality. Dasani has to look for the heroism within himself.

James has some pretty frightening passages with his companion, The Shadow Man. In a way, he is similar to someone with a severe mental illness like Paranoid Schizophrenia, PTSD, or Dissociative Identity Disorder. He can't always control his darker aspects. Sometimes it lives independently and does things that James is often against. The Shadow Man makes James feel isolated from his new friends.

Amy has to deal with leaving a toxic group and getting her life back in order. She was frequently abused and knew that she was only being used because of her abilities but as a runaway estranged from her parents she had few options. She is intimidated by the gang leaders, Comedy and Tragedy (called because they wear the comedy and tragedy theater masks). Amy isn't able to cut herself off from the gang until she is abandoned and found by James and Dasani. There she finds people who understand and accept her.

The trio start strong until the team heroics begin. There are some interesting costumes and characters that they face, notably Amy's old acquaintances Comedy and Tragedy. But they are lost to the typical plot points found in most superhero tales: the fights where they are overpowered, then come together stronger and united, the moment when one of the good guys gets kidnapped with their weaknesses exposed, the history between these new enemies and the good guy's mentor, and the twist of one of the villain's secret identity. Of course, the climactic ending reminds us that this is only the beginning. It's all regular and even boring with no new approaches to the plot. So much so that I forgot many of the plot angles almost as soon as I ended the book.

We've seen it all before and with the exceptions of the trio's individual backstories, the rest isn't really that super.

 

Weekly Reader: Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie; Female Driven Dark Fantasy Takes on La Llorona

Weekly Reader: Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie; Female Driven Dark Fantasy Takes on La Llorona

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: The legend of La Llorona is one that is frequently recounted in Mexico and the American Southwest. The legend is about an indigenous Mexican woman, usually named Maria, who fell in love with a Spanish conquistador or vaquero. They became lovers, married, and she gave birth to two children. One day, Maria caught him with another woman and in a rage drowned her children. Consumed with guilt, she drowned herself. She is then cursed to roam the Earth forever to find her children. Her ghost is usually heard wailing from grief and is seen dressed in a wedding gown and veil. The story goes that if she is seen and heard by water, someone, usually a child or a young single woman, will later drown. 

La Llorona's story has been told in art, books, movies, music, and various tv series. She is one of those fantastic characters from American myth and legend that has entered the national lexicon like Bigfoot, the Ghostly Hitchhiker, the Jersey Devil, Champ the Lake Champlain's monster, The Bell Witch and others. 

Some have interpreted her story as a criticism of colonialism with the Spanish conquistador controlling the indigenous La Llorona and leading to her death. Others have interpreted it to be a feminist tale of a woman drowning by the patriarchy around her. It is an interesting story and opens up many possibilities of what it means and says a lot about the culture that it comes from and the people telling it.

Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie gives her interpretation of the legend from the point of view of two Mexican-American women who are afraid of but at the same time drawn to this mysterious ghost.

Two women, Mercy and Sherry, live in a small desert town in New Mexico near Esperanza. They are dealing with the challenges of puberty and exploring their sexuality while discussing the legend that haunts them.

In this version of the legend, the women who La Llorona drowned don't die. Instead, they become shells of themselves, docile, obedient, God fearing, and submissive women. Mercy thinks of it not as a "drowning but a baptism." Things get worse when as an adult, Sherry is the next woman to go through this odd transformation. Could Mercy be next?

Mercy is the first person narrator and it's clear that she is a woman in great pain and filled with anger. She is surrounded by poverty, domestic violence, and a strict patriarchal society. Sherry has no idea who her father is and often keeps away from her alcoholic mother and her pedophiliac boyfriends. Mercy's father abused and walked out on her and mother, causing her mother to retreat into depression. It's a sad existence in which Mercy and Sherry just survive and dream of better things like marrying rich and wealthy men, traveling, having great careers, and living in big beautiful houses.

They live such dysfunctional lives that when they see Sherry's aunt and her boyfriend, they are surprised that he doesn't beat her. Instead, he kisses her. They have never seen an adult couple act loving and affectionate towards each other in public, even rarely at home.

Mercy tells her story with a dry cynicism that displays a world weary humor. She describes Esperanza as a place "where you went when you want to be forgotten by the place you came from." Her interpretation of the La Llorona story is that the spirit "regretted giving up her power to a man. And she regretted being bested by him….Instead all he brought her was more shame."

Of the women who had been transformed by La Llorona, Mercy describes them as "Jesus loving self-righteous prigs who called themselves Spanish-the closest thing to white they could be ... .Their eyes were forever red rimmed like they'd been crying though they never did. That's because their hearts stopped once they were baptized, and feelings were left at the bottom of the river along with their souls." 

Mercy and Sherry try to avoid being seen or taken by La Llorona, but constantly talk about her. Mercy does everything that she can to not transform like the other women around her do. She makes a blood pact with Sherry that they won't be like the other women. Mercy works on a farm because she is a hard worker and also to take on seemingly "masculine" work to make herself less likely to become one of La Llorona's victims. 

It's significant in this version that those that are taken by La Llorona do not die. Instead, this is more interpreted as a living death, the death of the women's personalities and individuality. 

La Llorona is a metaphor for the patriarchal society in which Mercy and Sherry live. The women's transformation causes them to be willing participants in the system around them. They are like Stepford clones deprived of their thoughts and independence. 

There's a possibility that La Llorona isn't real and is the product of a developing mind filled with PTSD from her abused past and anxiety about womanhood in such a restricted situation. After all, since the women's transformation is described as a baptism, it could be a reflection of Mercy's feelings towards religion, particularly Christianity, and the limitations towards women when they follow such dogma. They go to church, get baptized, and conform to the patriarchal society surrounding them. 

As she matures, Mercy has few options: allow La Llorona to take her and conform, retreat into depression, alcoholism, and defeat like hers and Sherry's mother, or live an independent life. In retaliation against the spirit and the patriarchy around her, Mercy opts for independence.

Mercy lives on a farm outside of town that she runs herself. She makes herbal and homeopathic medicines and health and beauty aids. The price that she has to pay for rebelling against the society around her is to live outside of it. She is referred to by the locals as a "spinster, "whore," and "witch" (which she wonders how someone can be described as both a whore and a spinster). Mercy lives a lifetime of solitude knowing that La Llorona (or her fears and anxieties) is out there waiting for her to drown. She also tries to maintain her friendship with Sherry even though they have emotionally grown apart and Sherry is in an unhappy marriage with an abusive philanderer. She leaves gifts and words of strength and encouragement. 

In trying to live her life to spite La Llorona, Mercy ends up living her life more authentically than most other women around her.

Weep, Woman, Weep transforms the legend of La Llorona into a feminist novel of women who are given the option of falling into the patriarchy or turning away from it and be themselves.

 

Lit List Short Reviews: Authenticity: Poems by Lesley Day; Wolf Weather by Miles Watson; Reflections in My Magical Mirror: Lessons of Love from the School of Life by Ivan Figuero-Otero, M.D.; Jane Austen's Totally Unexpected New York Adventure by Robin Robby; Abraham Lincoln Tribute: His Life and Legacy by Zaki J. Doudak

 Lit List Short Reviews: Authenticity: Poems by Lesley Day; Wolf Weather by Miles Watson; Reflections in My Magical Mirror: Lessons of Love from the School of Life by Ivan Figueroa-Otero, M.D.; Jane Austen's Totally Unexpected New York Adventure by Robin Robby; Abraham Lincoln Tribute: His Life and Legacy by Zaki J. Doudak 

Authenticity: Poems by Lesley Day

Lesley Day's book of poems, Authenticity, explores many emotions like depression, grief, loneliness, fear, and solitude. She captures them all with raw, naked, and honest confessional poems that dare the Reader to feel what the Speaker is feeling.

From the first poem, "Nothing More Than A Prick," Day reveals her ability to capture those feelings through life changing moments. The Speaker reads through diary entries from when she was younger. The entries are from a 14 year old's perspective revealing her first experience with what she perceived as heartbreak.

The Speaker mocks her naivete and realizes that as an adult, she has experienced real loss and heartbreak.Day writes, "Who knew the flowing streams of tears, in reality, were only puddles?/Who knew the stones that weighed me down were only tiny pebbles?/Who knew I would one day envy feeling so strongly over something so trivial?" Now that she felt real sadness as an adult, the Speaker realizes that what she felt as a teenager was a mild mere pinprick compared to how she feels now.

Many of Day's poems deal with specific moments that cause great stress and grief and elicit strong emotional responses. The poem, "I've Been Here Before" deals with The Speaker's lover's suicide. Day transitions the lover's point of view from second to third person. In doing so, she wants to compartmentalize his troubled symptoms and the rest of his personality.

In one stanza, she says that "he" aimed a gun at her head. Then she changes perspective by saying, "Now I know that wasn't you/And I'm not saying that's what I think you'll do/But/Eyes,looks, tone of voice, and the rambles of a mind that is temporarily not your own/Triggers something inside/I see it flash before my eyes/Only this time?/He's not in my line of sight/It's you.." She wants to believe that the person with the gun, the one who ended his life, was a different person than the one that she fell in love with. She knows however that they were one and the same. The Speaker is struggling with her own complex feelings of guilt and blame over his death.

Day's poems reveal the various symptoms of depression and grief and how they affect those who have to endure them. "She Comes at Night" explores one of the Speaker's"enemies": insomnia. Day personifies insomnia as a clever enemy, something that sneaks into the Speaker's thoughts, races like a train, keeps her awake, and inspires her. The Speaker knows that this is unhealthy and the energy that insomnia temporarily gives her tapers off. Day writes, "Thoughts are no longer clever, and they make less and less sense/As the days drag on/My mind is foggy and overworked/I'm drowning, as I grasp for sleep/I'm sinking/Waiting for unconsciousness to save me."

The Speaker's battle with insomnia is an ongoing struggle in which she keeps fighting for her mind's sake.As many who have Depression can tell, it's not always dealt with or expressed in the same way. Some people take to their beds and can barely move. Others try their best to hide it. "Functional" describes someone who hides her depression behind function. The Speaker goes out, works, and interacts with others. Many would believe that she doesn't have it. She even tells herself that she's fine, but knows that it's there. She lies to herself until she no longer can. She refers to her depression as "controlled claustrophobia." "You know it's there," Day writes. "You recognize its presence/You feel the itch of panic tingle its skin/But you will yourself to breathe/And tell yourself that you will be okay/You don't allow yourself to scratch the itch/Because it will only make it spread."

Besides being functional,The Speaker describes her depression as a "sometimes " thing. She doesn't always have the symptoms, but when she does, they hit hard. Perhaps The Speaker's depression is so powerful because she doesn't always feel that way. If depression was always there, perhaps it could recede into dullness whereas when it comes and goes, it comes on sharp, fast, and painful.

While Day's poems can seem bleak, they also present ways of coping with stress and depression. The poem, "Quiet in the Spaces," gives the Speaker the comfort of solitude. It says, "I don't enjoy the rush of life/Not rush as an emotion/But rush as in not enough time/You see/I need time/I need it to savor the quiet moments/The ones found in the spaces/Between the significance of a day." Day reminds the Reader that sometimes the most chaotic minds need those quiet times and safe spaces to reflect and just be.

Another positive coping mechanism can be found through reading and writing. In "Addiction to Lines," the Speaker reveals her addiction to "blank journals." With those journals, she can share her thoughts, express herself, and confide her troubles like a friend. The poem says, "They sit in a pile at my shelf/And when I look at the different colors melding together, I feel safe/Their silent presence is comforting/I'm no longer anxious about running out of lines/I feel confident that there will be enough for my thoughts to sleep." The Speaker is able to put her thoughts and emotions into her journals so they can provide some comfort and even control over them.

The book, Authenticity, puts emotions, especially the hardest ones to feel,together to create a whole soul. The poem, "Painted Colors" compares the soul to a painting that displays the various colors of emotions. Each one is painted in, carefully and precisely. It's an ongoing process which changes each time. The poem says, "Strokes of color do not come easy/Nor do they come quickly/But all it takes/Is one small blink/To paint black over all the colors/And drench this soul in darkness." This poem reveals what's inside the mind and soul of a person with depression. There will always be a bit of black inside them that will never truly disappear and can sometimes feel overpowering. However, that's not all there is. There are other colors, other emotions, that surround the soul and make it complete and authentic.

Wolf Weather by Miles Watson

Miles Watson's latest short work is a chilling atmospheric Dark Fantasy Horror that shows that there can be much to be feared in the cold woods during winter.

Crowning, a soldier of the Empire's Legion. Since Dagamin the Restless obtained the throne after conflicts between warring kingdoms. Dagamin decided to expand his kingdom far into the North. There isn't anything out there but wolves, he insists.

Unfortunately, they aren't just any wolves as the human-like howling and the wolves walking around on hind legs can attest. Then Crowning's fellow Legionnaires keep disappearing and the wolves' numbers increase. 

Wolf Weather is not long, only 62 pages, but like Watson's other works like The Numbers Game, The Devils You Know, and Deus Ex, he is an expert at capturing a really tense moment with plenty of atmosphere and not a lot of exposition. Aside from the bit of information about the preceding wars, and the current empire, we aren't told much about the political climate. We get some implications especially towards the end that all may not be well in this empire and that's all we need.

This is told from the point of view of Crowning, a Legion soldier, the type who follows orders. He doesn't see anything wrong with the Empire until he is faced with the possibility that encroaching on other lands might not be a good idea especially when the locals are not happy about it. 

The book is filled with descriptions that highlight the tension and isolation that Crowning feels during this story. The North seems cut off from the rest of the world because of the cold snowy landscape. Even when he is with the Legionnaires, there is a feeling of loneliness and despair. It gets worse as the other soldiers disappear and Corwin is literally and metaphorically cut off from everyone and everything that he knows.

One of the more interesting aspects is how Wilson writes werewolves. Their links between their human and animalistic natures are revealed and actually are even balanced. In most werewolf tales, the human side is not in control, usually not remembering or regretting their actions. Here the werewolves know what they are doing and why. It is almost seen as a reclamation between humans and nature that these half-human half-wolves have accepted their wild natural side and live their lives away from the structured human world. 

Corwin's encounter with the werewolves changes his outlook. He struggles to retain his humanity and his identity as a Legionnaire. However, his encounter with the werewolves causes him to question his loyalty, his placement in society, his own natural instincts, and the Emperor's ambitions. It culminates in a climax when Corwin has to face the truth of who he really is and what he really wants.

Wolf Weather is a short work but an interesting one with great atmosphere, characterization, and an interesting outlook at magical creatures who have been sidelined long enough.

Spirituality 104: Reflections in My Magical Mirror Lessons of Love from the School of Life by Ivan Figueroa-Otero, M.D.

I haven't read the other books in Ivan Figueroa-Otero's School of Life books so that would probably make his book, Spirituality 104: Reflections in My Magical Mirror Lessons of Love from the School of Life more comprehensive and expansive. However, Reflections in My Magical Mirror, is a short book that captures various lessons and advice from the previous books. Without the other books, the chapters are very thin and shallow with the content.

However they are also helpful and easily digestible if the Reader wants to read an uplifting quick chapter that reflects a problem that they are going through. 

Each chapter is the same. It begins with a quote from one of the previous School of Life Books. Then Figueroa-Otero continues with an interpretation of the quote from a spiritual perspective. Finally, he offers an exercise based on the quote in the chapter. It's formulaic but easy for Readers to determine which chapter may fit their particular situation.

For example Chapter 15 focuses on the quote: "We are like rivers that always flows (sic) to God's greatest ocean of love." Figueroa-Otero then compares the quotation to holograms where an original image can be replicated by its parts. The information is stored into each part to create the whole image, so each part makes a whole.

He also uses natural imagery to articulate the quote. With the one mentioned in Chapter 15, Figueroa-Otero compares us, humanity, to individual rivers flowing into the great ocean of the Universe. We are not separated. What affects our individual rivers affects the ocean and vice versa. 

The exercise encourages the Reader to visualize love flowing through them like water from a river into an ocean. It is designed to remind us that we are a small part of the universe and that we should share our love with those around us. 

Reflections in a Magical Mirror is slanted towards a more Biblical perspective. Figueroa-Otero uses quotes from the Bible such as "Whatever you did for my brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). However, the emphasis is not on Christian Salvation, so much as it is on helping others and being kind. It is easy to replace the Christian rhetoric with any other spiritual path that talks about kindness, generosity, love, selflessness, and feeling spiritually centered. 

Reflections in My Magical Mirror is not a long book but it is one that is very helpful when you want a few minutes to clear your mind and fill your spirit.

Jane Austen's Totally Unexpected New York Adventure by Robin Robby

Robin Robby's novellette, Jane Austen's Totally Unexpected New York Adventure is a humorous and slightly romantic science fiction in which Jane Austen takes a trip to the future.

In 2061, New York, Fred, his friend, David, and fiancee, Clara have access to a time machine. So where to go? Well Clara is a huge Jane Austen fan having read her books several times and played Marianne Dashwood in a stage production of Sense and Sensibility. So for Clara meeting Jane Austen would be like meeting a favorite rock star. Plus, she died in 1817 at the age of 41 of either Addison's Disease or Hodgkin's Lymphoma. So the trio decided to dress in their Regency best and meet Austen at her home as she is beginning her final novel Persuasion, take her to the future where she can be treated with modern medicine, and return her to live a full productive life. Unfortunately, they don't count on Austen's overwhelming curiosity for this new futuristic world or Fred's growing affection for a certain English Regency era novelist.

The highlight of this Sci Fi Rom Com is Austen herself. She stands out from everyone else with her much more elevated speech patterns. When they ask her about her health, Austen replies "If I had not been suffering from such an annoying back pain, yes, I would turn back and bid you good day. But you have gauged my curiosity to no end. Whatever ends the pain."

In fact her manner of speech stands out that when others, particularly Carla, emulate her speech, it intentionally seems fake. They are playing a role while Austen lives it.

Among the more delightful moments are when Austen observes the future. She is like an amazed child on their first Christmas morning. The lights, the people, and the modern buildings. No wonder she is "quite intoxicated." She is also amazed at the sociopolitical change of women in occupations that weren't dreamt of in her day, such as doctors, attorneys, and academics. Even Austen herself had to take credit for her own books as "A Lady." She is amazed and flattered that people from the future would know and admire her so much that they would want to see her (after she recovers from the initial shock that people from the future could travel to the past in the first place). She knows that her life was not in vain and that her "sketches" will be remembered.

It is her amazement and spirit that attracts Fred. At first he is cynical but willing to go along with the trip to impress Clara and one up David who built the machine. (In fact, he gets tired of David bragging about building the machine). The more time he spends with Austen, the more he sees someone who hides a rebellious nature behind a prim exterior. One who uses her works to satirize and ask direct questions about relationships hidden under convention. One who now sees those imaginative efforts and her legacy pay off. One who observes human nature and is able to put those observations into her works, especially her final finished posthumous work, Persuasion.

Jane Austen's Totally Unexpected New York Adventure is not just a fun time travel story. It's a love letter to an author who inspired and moved many.

Abraham Lincoln Tribute: His Life and Legacy by Zaki J. Doudak 

Zaki J. Doudak's Abraham Lincoln Tribute His Life and Legacy is not a dry account of Lincoln's life complete with important events and timelines. Instead, it is more of an inspirational tribute about why Lincoln's legacy is still so important and what it means for people today.

The book begins with two important quotations during Lincoln's political career, portions of The Gettysburg Address and quotes from his debate with Stephen Douglas. It also includes a chapter about Mary Todd Lincoln's life after her husband and son's deaths including her interest in Spiritualism and struggles with mental illness. The final third is an opinion essay by Doudak which explains the importance of Lincoln's legacy and its meaning in subsequent times when racism and division is still very much alive.

Lincoln's words have been repeated often but this book gathers some of the most stirring. Quotes like "The brave men, living and dead, who struggled (at Gettysburg) have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little know nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here" remind us why Lincoln was known as a master orator. In giving this address, Lincoln takes attention away from himself and towards the soldiers that died and sacrificed. It also reveals how important it is for the United States to remain one union, so the soldiers would not have died in vain.

Mary Todd Lincoln's widowed life is the subject of many psychological studies. Doudak describes her as someone who suffered tremendous loss and wanted to hold onto her family connections and find some peace of mind. Doudak wrote, "That (Mary Todd Lincoln) was welcome in the arms of the unliving says much of the state of human beings in the 19th century. That death was not merely a way to be at peace, but a way to offer peace to those that needed it." He sees her as a woman who used her belief in life after death to give her peace during her troubled later years.

Most of the book, "A Celebration of Life" is an almost poetic essay that recognizes what Lincoln's life meant. It reminds Readers that they could be an inspiration and stand up for equality and unity. Doudak writes, "That there is an ebb and flow and a push and pull says more about human beings than it does on Earth. That there are changes, perceptions, and dreams to fulfill only underpins our desire to maturate in this world. That we do live up to our responsibilities depends on how we choose to view our role as caretakers."

Doudak's writings suggest that the many struggles today reveal that division is still rampant. We can come together as a union when we see each other as equals and express our highest human traits like kindness, understanding, and empathy.

History judges those who made changes and sacrifices for others. That is the legacy that people like Abraham Lincoln stood for. That there are certain causes and people that will sacrifice everything for and freedom, unity, and equality are among the most important. 

Weekly Reader: The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin; Memorable Historical Fiction About Two Women Who Led The Silent Film Era

 Weekly Reader: The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin; Memorable Historical Fiction About Two Women Who Led The Silent Film Era

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: In the days of Hollywood Silent Films, no female star shone brighter than Mary Pickford (1892-1979). Pickford was known as "America's Sweetheart" and was often recognized for her long golden Victorian curls, her diminutive size, and innocent expressions which led to her playing little girl roles well into her twenties and thirties. She starred in various movies like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Pollyanna, Little Annie Rooney, and Poor Little Rich Girl. While on screen she played the forever young ingenue, off screen she was a force to be reckoned with. She was able to control the production of her own films and in 1919, with Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Tom Mix, and Douglas Fairbanks, she created United Artists, the first production company run by actors, directors, and other performers (leading to the famous one liner provided by producer, Richard A. Rowland, "The lunatics have taken over the asylum").

The public was fascinated with Pickford's romance with and marriage to Douglas Fairbanks. Their ornate home, Pickfair, was seen as the symbol of Hollywood Royalty with its residents seen as the King and Queen. 

It's a little known fact that Pickford made a slight transition to sound, achieving enough success with Coquette that she won the second Academy Award for Best Actress in 1930. (Fun fact: The first was Janet Gaynor for the films 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise: The Song of Two Heavens). After a series of failed and aborted projects and her divorce from Fairbanks, Pickford retired from acting to produce films. Eventually, she became a recluse until her death in 1979.

Another important female figure in Hollywood who was not as public but still left a huge impact was Frances Marion (1888-1973). Originally, she was hired as a writing assistant to director/screenwriter Lois Duncan. Eventually, Pickford hired Marion as her scenarist for her various films. Marion's writing for films like Rags, Rebecca, and Pollyanna helped cement Pickford's on screen character. Marion worked her way upward to becoming the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood and head of the writing department at World Films. She was praised alongside other female screenwriters at the time like Anita Loos and June Mathis. During World War I, Marion became a combat correspondent and documented women's efforts on the Front. She directed the films, The Love Light and Just Around the Corner (the former starring Pickford). She won two Academy Awards for Writing for The Big House in 1931 and The Champ in 1932.

In total, Marion was credited with writing over 300 films and producing over 130.

Melanie Benjamin's historical fiction novel, The Girls in the Picture, tells of the deep friendship between Pickford and Marion recounting their first meeting in 1914 during the early rushed experimental days of this brand new entertainment venue. It takes them through Hollywood's expansion, the rise and fall of both women's careers, their stormy romances and marriages, their achievements of wealth and power, the stress of World War I, the founding of UA, the overwhelming publicity of the Fairbanks-Pickford marriage, the advent of sound, and their eventual estrangement. Benjamin depicts how both women used their talents and strengths to make their mark in a male dominated industry and helped develop it into a legitimate art form and the giant source of entertainment that it is today.

Benjamin neatly contrasts her deuteragonists starting with their backgrounds which helped propel them to join this burgeoning industry. Marion is leaving behind two failed marriages and wants her life to mean something significant that doesn't require her just to be someone's wife or mother. For her, the motion picture industry gives her a career and a chance for freedom.

For Pickford, real name Gladys Smith, entertainment is already in her blood. She has already been a stage actress to support her mother, Charlotte and her younger siblings, Jack and Lottie. She decides to become a film actress to obtain a wider interest and get more money for her family.

If you are a fan of the early days of filmmaking, then this book is a treat. It is detailed in describing how those early movies in the early 1900-1910's were quickly and cheaply made with everyone playing many roles: actors, writers, directors, editors, custodians whatever was needed. Scripts weren't written so much as they wanted to capture a brief couple of scenes. Props and costumes weren't exactly plentiful so everyone just relied on what they had. Stunts, particularly horse riding, had no protection so sometimes accidents happened and on occasion were captured on film. (I would describe them as "Mickey Mouse productions" but Mickey wasn't created until 1928.) It wasn't until the mid-1910's that filmmaking gained prestige, the productions became slicker, costlier, and more polished, and the public recognized the artistry involved in the movies's creation.

Originally, the moguls were so uncertain about how the public would react to the performances that actors weren't dubbed with their names but under titles like "The Biograph Girl," "The Vitagraph Boy," and so on. While Florence Lawrence was the first to be casted under her own name, Pickford was also similarly recognized. This moment in the book foreshadows Pickford's eventual influence within the industry.

Both Pickford and Marion are given multiple chances throughout the book to show their independence and courage to become recognized amongst the men that surround them. Pickford recognizes her persona so is very careful about accepting roles and being involved in the production of films that capture her "America's Sweetheart" character. She is also financially savvy having been poor, so she watches every penny and accounts for her growing wealth. 

When she is one of the founders of UA, Pickford is similar to Charlie Chaplin, hard workers who recognize the art form of filmmaking and want to shoot the movies until they are right.

Marion's contribution to making her mark in a man's world is in her writing and becoming one of the highest paid writers, male or female. Her scenarios emphasize Pickford's character's spunk, courage, and survival instincts, as well as her playfulness and childlike innocence. 

Marion's independence is especially evident during WWI. Many soldiers dismiss her because of her gender. Some are baffled and openly hostile that a woman is covering the front lines of war. Marion is determined to get the story, even walking through muddy and violent roads and crossing the Rhine. This experience matures her as she sees the truth of war that Hollywood can only imagine and how important movies are to people put in bad situations and long for escape.

Marion recognizes her and Pickford's contributions years later when she sees photographs where she or Pickford were the only women who were surrounded by men. 

Like many friendships, Benjamin reveals the differences between the two women. While both are strong and independent, they also differ in many ways. Marion is a quiet well read intellectual; Pickford is a bold street smart commanding presence. Marion takes pride in her unconventionality from surviving two divorces and not wanting to get remarried until she is established in her career; Mary is so protective of her image that she refuses to divorce an abusive husband and hides her affair with Douglas at first. Marion has simple tastes and just wants a nice house near Pickford of course, plenty of freedom to work, and a supportive husband; Once Pickford starts making money, she wants to live like a star, in an ornate grand mansion hence Pickfair, have a wide circle of influential friends, and become the center of attention. 

Their differences are balanced in their friendship with each other. Marion is able to bring Pickford down to Earth and isn't afraid to tell her the truth no matter how bad it is. Pickford gives Marion a touch of glamor and excitement in her life and encourages her to develop her talent.

As with many friendships, Pickford and Marion grow apart for various reasons. After WWI, Marion wants to write bolder, better scripts to reflect a more advanced worldview but Pickford still needs her professionally, so she continues with the standard Pickford vehicle. While Pickford originally loves the little girl character because it gave her the childhood that she never had, she begins to resent it the older that she gets and wants to play adult roles, much to Marion's chagrin. (Supposedly, when Pickford cut her hair from the long Victorian curls into a short trendy bob, it was such a scandal that it made headlines). Both women want to advance but feel tied to their friendship to end it until a fight emerges forcing their hands.

Their marriages  added to their conflicts. Marion likes the flashy and charismatic Douglas, but once he enters the scene she sees Pickford becoming a more glamorous star and affected snob. They are remote and standoffish so Marion has trouble relating to them. 

Marion's third husband, Fred Thomson is a religious leader turned actor who is clearly uncomfortable in this fame driven lifestyle but likes working in Western. His early death caused by an injury leaves Marion eaten up with remorse that Pickford reveals in a fit of anger.

The book also implies that sound was a huge stumbling block in their friendship's end. While Pickford did win an Oscar for Coquette, she can't adjust to this new normal and most of her films flop (including a version of Taming of the Shrew with Douglas). Plus, her marriage to Douglas flounders. She is such a relic of the old silent films that when the movies enter a different era, she would rather drop out of life rather than adjust to it.

Marion however effortlessly sails into the sound era. In fact many of her scripts like The Champ are well known to this day. She is able to find her own voice, pun not intended, without being bound to Pickford's. Benjamin implies that Pickford is envious of Marion's adjustment to the modern days while she sticks to the past. 

Marion and Pickford's friendship ends during a film production when they call each other to task for old conflicts and reopen old wounds. (According to Benjamin's notes, in real life, their friendship's end was a lot less explosive and was more gradual, coolly phasing each other out). The two don't reunite until 1969 when Marion visits the now reclusive Pickford in Pickfair.

The Girls in the Picture is a wonderful time capsule of the early days of Hollywood. Most importantly, it is an excellent and in depth character study of two women who changed it and each other forever.

Weekly Reader: Luminous: The Story of a Radium Girl by Samantha Wilcoxson; Incredible Story of Amazing Group of Women Who Fought Management For Their Health and Safety

 

Weekly Reader: Luminous: The Story of a Radium Girl by Samantha Wilcoxson; Incredible Story of Amazing Group of Women Who Fought Management For Their Health and Safety

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: The story of the Radium Girls is a tragic one. From 1917-1920, female factory workers were diagnosed with cancer caused by working unprotected with radium paint to paint numbers and dials on watches. They were told to lick the brushes to wet them and dip them into the paint. While the factory owners and management were warned about the potential dangers of radium poisoning, they kept this information from the workers. 

Five women sued the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois. The suit was settled out of court in 1938 even though sadly, many of the women did not live to see the results. However, the case created long term change in ensuring employee safety by creating regulations in which employees are informed of every potential risk and are properly equipped and attired for the workplace to maintain their health and safety.

Samantha Wilcoxson personalizes the moving story with her historical fiction novel, Luminous The Story of a Radium Girl. She takes the perspective of one of the women, Catherine Wolfe Donohue. The book begins with her as a naive girl excited to work at Radium Dial because of its impact in the community. She can financially support the aunt and uncle who raised her. It's hard and tedious work but she has a talent for putting those tiny numbers on the face. She befriends many of her coworkers and her employer, Mr. Reed seems like a nice guy. She even starts being courted by Tom Donohue. Then her coworkers start becoming mysteriously illl. One is losing her teeth. Another gets severe headaches. Catherine herself starts getting severe pain in her hip. Then their health gets worse and they realize the source of their problem: Radium Dial.

It's very easy to look back on these women with judgment, to think why didn't they look for another job? If they were so sick why didn't they notice sooner? What responsibility did management have to protect their health? 

Telling the story from the point of view of one of the women answers those questions. Wilcoxson writes a firm character study about a woman who always strives to do the right thing to be a good obedient religious person, but finds sometimes that's not enough in a world with employers who care about the bottom line and getting their products finished and don't care who has to suffer and die for it. A trait that unfortunately is still present in many business owners and managers today.

Catherine is written as the type of person who would rather none of this happened at all. She is someone who is content to find any sort of work, pick up a decent paycheck to take home to her aunt and uncle, hang out with friends, maybe get married and have children. She is a guileless woman who wants to do right by her family, community, and God.

 If they tell Catherine that the radium is safe, she believes them. After all, she doesn't personally know enough about radium to challenge them. Mr. Reed gives off a trustworthy vibe. He doesn't chase the female employees and even shares a laugh with them. She gets along with her fellow coworkers, developing a sisterhood even before they become sick.

Catherine is also in a pretty desperate financial situation. She isn't exactly swimming with money and during her time at Radium Dial, the Great Depression kicks in so she can't afford to quit a job no matter how much she is becoming aware that she and her colleagues are literally dying. Her aunt and uncle are getting older and she wants to care for them as well as they took care of her. Further compounding the situation is that Ottawa is a company town with Radium Dial. Even if she tried to get another job, Radium Dial will put enough of a black mark that she can't be hired anywhere. 

According to the book, Radium Dial's management was told of the potential risks of radium and did not warn the workers of even the possibility of illness. Even when workers in New Jersey succumbed to illness, they said that it wouldn't happen to them because they used a different type of paint. When one of the workers is hospitalized, they wish her well and then fire her. When the employees go to the local doctors, it becomes clear that Radium Dial's managers forced them to lie about their diagnosis and say that no they don't have cancer. Every action they take is in the name of profit and it is easy to see why the courts favor the workers.

Many of the situations are incredibly graphic showing the reality of the cancers eating away at these poor women's bodies. One has her arm amputated and another has to suffer as her teeth keep falling out. In one chapter, Catherine is eating food as pieces of her jaw bone break off. Her legs become so weakened that Tom has to carry her everywhere she goes.

Ironically, as Catherine's body weakens, her spirit strengthens. She takes the lead in getting the lawsuit going. She grants interviews allowing her picture to be taken to show Readers exactly what these women are going through. Tom helps her and the other women get a doctor who is willing to tell them the truth about their health and an attorney who will take their case. 

Catherine's Catholic faith also emboldens her. She tries to go to church as long as she can walk and struggles to kneel. Even when she is unable to move, the priest arrives to give her communion and other rituals. Catherine credits her faith to get her through this painful tumultuous time and giving her the power to use her voice and speak for herself and the other women.

Luminous is the type of book where an ordinary person finds their inner courage to speak out against inhumane decisions that put profit over people. It took women like Catherine Wolfe Donohue and the others to make people see the results of these decisions and improve the lives of future workers even if they didn't live to see that improvement.