Category: Book Review

Book Review Book Reviews

Book Review: Proud To Be Me

A wonderful book highlighting how differences make us all beautiful!

Proud to Be Me

Proud To Be Me, by Kim Farrell, is an entertaining story with the repetition of positivity and all of the fun and recognizable characters, is a delightful book that makes it so easily understood that everyone is different but each of those differences makes us special. Unlike other children’s books that talk about people loving who they are, Kim Farrell has gone above and beyond by first pointing out each difference but then emphasizing how that difference is so important. Another great feature of this children’s book is that the animals compare themselves to each other which brings in a reality that adults know too well. This book allows discussion about why we compare ourselves to others and how it isn’t a bad thing to see how different we all are. Additionally, with a repeating chorus of how proud they are to be themselves, it provides a wonderful mantra for children to learn and apply to themselves.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars for its confidence-building, beautiful illustrations, and the interaction it encourages between the reader and the listener or just the self-reflection it allows for an older reader. It is fun and could be enjoyed by children old enough to read it to themselves. Definitely a great gift for somebody special.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

#stinewriting Blog Book Review Book Reviews Five Things

Five Things

Dr. Tanya hosts Five Things: https://saltedcaramel670.wordpress.com/2022/02/22/5-unputdownable-books/

Five For Tuesday – Books You Just Can’t Put Down – 2-22-2022

Since I’ve been listening to Audiobooks lately I will list my “books”, however they are digital. These are also books that I have read in the past few years. I’m sure I could look back and find so many others.

  1. Behind the Blue Elevator: https://christinebialczak.com/2021/03/26/book-review-behind-the-blue-elevator/
Behind the Blue Elevator

2. The Institute:

The Institute

3. The Butterfly Garden

The Butterfly Garden (The Collector, #1)

4. The Marriage Pact: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4125972953?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

The Marriage Pact

5. The Patience of a Dead Man: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3548706614?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

The Patience of a Dead Man by Michael Clark
#stinewriting Blog Book Review Book Reviews Fiction stinewriting

Book Review: Deadly Games

44297767. sy475
3+Stars.jpg (500×275)

Deadly Games by Sally Rigby is a suspenseful thriller which weaves sociopathy and coming of age in a twist of serial murders.

George, short for Georgina, is a professor at University in the UK. She is a scholar in forensic psychology and knows about profiling and looking at evidence, but she isn’t a detective. DCI Walker on the other hand has learned all she knows from being on the job and doesn’t have the patience for book learners who have no experience in the field. That is until she gets to know George and sees that although George is learned through books, she has a good sense of reality when it comes to character and behavior. When a serial killer is out hunting University students DCI Walker begins to trust and admire George for her help with the case. But they are running out of time. DCI Walker has made too many mistakes and is about to be knocked down to desk duty. George doesn’t want to leave the case and DCI Walker is determined to solve it.

I gave this book three out of five stars for its predictability. The plot, although familiar as in other types of psychological thrillers, is unique in its details and does lend itself to interesting characters involved. Although the author did very well in throwing curveballs to have the reader second guess their suspicions, there wasn’t a depth to the story to lend itself as a new series that will have novelty and unexpected events. The writing itself is good and the story line is plotted out well. It was definitely worth reading and I did want to hear the entire story. Most likely I will look for the second book in the series when it gets published to determine if my idea of predictability is false. 

©2022 CBialczak Book Reviews

#stinewriting Blog Book Review Book Reviews Fiction stinewriting

Book Review: Kill Your Brother

58698435. sx318
5star.png (905×238)

Kill Your Brother by Jack Heath was an impressively complex story despite it being on the shorter side of novel lengths. It is just as predictable as its title yet surprisingly unpredictable. I was impressed with the author’s ability to take a single incident and turn it into a complex psychological thriller with many facets of surprise.

Elise is looking for her brother Callum. She seems to be the last person willing to think that Callum has done anything wrong. But Elise has a reputation which leads to problems of her own. She doesn’t have a support system and is financially tapped so looking for Callum has got be creative and done alone.
Elise does find Callum but the only way to save herself means sacrificing her brother. She has a lot to think about and needs to determine if her brother is worth it all.

I gave this story 5 out of 5 stars for its complexity and plot development. I was surprised by the twists and turns and even more blown away with the author’s ability to take one question and incorporate a variety of convoluted characters keeping the reader guessing and surprised to the end.

©2022 CBialczak Book Reviews

#stinewriting Blog Book Review Merchandise New Books! stinewriting

Book Review: My First Animal Moves

My First Animal Moves by Darryl Edwards. This book will get kids and parents moving!

Genre: Children’s Books/ Sports/ Illustrated Books
Publication Date: September 20th, 2021
Publisher: Explorer Publishing

This adorable children’s book is perfect for this digital age where children spend more time indoors in front of a screen instead of outside playing. Despite the efforts of adults some children don’t really know what to do to have fun outside. Edwards has found a delightful way to show children how to be active while having fun. Each of the moves is related to an animal that is pictured, reducing confusion if a child does not know what a certain animal might be.

I would give this book three out of five stars. Not only does it give children some great ideas to have fun and be active, it includes the parents, almost asking children to teach their parents how to do each animal move. Although the illustrations are cheerful and bright I don’t think they convey how much fun the young boy is having moving like an animal. I think the boy could be shown having more fun which would be a better buy-in for kids. Overall, it is a great idea and children can try the moves by using picture cues even if they don’t know what the animal is.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Darryl Edwards is a former investment banking technologist turned movement coach and author. He is the founder of the Primal Play Method and a physical activity, health and play researcher.

The Primal Play Method fuses evolutionary biology with the science of physical activity and play psychology.

Darryl wants to inspire humans regardless of age, ability or disability to transform their health by making physical activity fun and engaging.

His work has featured on documentaries, TV, radio, podcasts and international press.

Darryl is author of the best-selling book “Animal Moves” and has released a range of fun fitness cards for adults, juniors, infants, office workers and fitness professionals called the Animal Moves Decks.

He regularly presents as a keynote speaker at events worldwide. His April 2019 TED talk “Why working out isn’t working out”—has now been viewed over a-million times.

Darryl resides in London, England and publishes about playful living at PrimalPlay.com.

#stinewriting Blog Book Review Book Reviews Merchandise Psychological Thriller stinewriting

Book Review: The Daughter in Law

52426987. sx318 sy475

Are you supposed to warm up to your mother in law right away or is it she who should warm up to you? Daisy is about to learn that warming up to Ben’s mother might never happen. 

Annie has raised her son Ben by herself and is so proud of the man he is becoming. It is always her and Ben but when Ben suddenly gets married and moves out Annie doesn’t know how to continue on her own. To complicate matters further, Daisy, his new wife, is pregnant with her son’s baby! It isn’t long after meeting Annie that Daisy is forced to move in with her mother in law, without Ben. But being catered to by Annie is not that hard to take and Daisy’s confusion about her relationship with her new husband have made Daisy happy to just move along through the motions. 

I give this story five out of five stars for the gripping plot and original characters that keep you wondering how long anyone could hang on. The characters were not as realistic as I would be able to fathom but then again I have never met anyone as in love with her son as Annie was. Will Daisy be like Annie when her baby is born, unable to be away from him or her? Is it such a bad thing?

#stinewriting Blog Book Review Book Reviews Fiction Merchandise Psychological Thriller stinewriting

Book Review: Her Darkest Fear

49336805. sy475
GettyImages-496960604.jpg (2267×1322)

Nina Manning has the ability to leave the reader in suspense until the very end of her thrilling tales. Her story is complete with romance, mystery, and plenty of relationships evolving throughout the plot. 

Frankie is happily married to Damien with two beautiful children and about to start a change in jobs that is going to advance her career to a new level. But after starting the new job with the very handsome Mason Valentine, one of the city’s most accomplished businessmen, Frankie and Damien start growing apart. The problems coming between them are shrouded in the darkness Frankie still has about the accident when her dear brother was killed twenty years ago. Now Damien is looking elsewhere for companionship, but how involved is he getting and with who? Can Frankie deal with grieving for her brother and trying to hold her relationship together? 

I give this story five out of five stars for its gripping plot, with so many different situations the reader is left wondering where the connection is and who is involved with who. Manning leaves no loose ends and each branch of the story is complete with dynamic characters and moving scenarios. If you want a shallow, quick end to a psychological thriller Manning’s gripping stories are not for you. 

©2021 CBialczak Book Review

#stinewriting Blog Book Review Book Reviews Merchandise New Books! stinewriting

Book Review:

The Polka-Dotted Penguin

Written by Amy Moy

This adorable book is written with some key ideas that set it apart from other “fitting in” type stories. The story begins with the fathers all holding their baby eggs, just like they do in real life. The other fathers mention the difference they see in the spotted egg but don’t make it a big deal, just a small curiosity. When the new little penguin is born from her dotted egg she is still a penguin, rather than some other sort of “misplaced egg” that would be similar to so many other stories. Instead this little penguin just has some differences, but is still the same type of bird. The reason this matters would be that when explaining differences to children the differences don’t have to be so extreme, as a differing species, for someone or something to still be different “enough”. When the little Penguin, named Dottie goes to school and plays with the other children, they don’t just laugh and ask why she is different. Instead they treat her just like they treat all the other penguins, since being different doesn’t mean she needed different treatment. The approach the author took in treating the different penguin was very realistic and completely acceptable and appropriate for children.

The author also used many well known titled stories in this story, changing the titles just enough to suit sea-life type stories. This is a great tool for opening discussion with little ones about how even different “people” know the same stories many children are familiar with.

I give this story four out of five stars for its realistic approach to dealing with differences. Many important aspects were touched upon but not over exaggerated. The story leaves many opportunities for conversation about being different and treating others who are different. It is a clever take on a popular topic with just enough dissimilar qualities to make it a must-read to little ones.

REVIEWED BY

Christine Bialczak

#stinewriting Blog Book Review Book Reviews Merchandise New Books! stinewriting

Book Review: The House Mate

54833953. sy475

Living with people has its benefits but you really need to know more about your House Mate! 

The House Mate by Nina Manning is a quick moving story where the plot has you involved feeling like Regina is your house mate and you are helping her deal with those ghosts that haunt her. Regina isn’t easy to read and keeps her secrets throughout the story. 

Regina is an emotional mess dealing with OCD behaviors that she has developed to help cope not only with everyday life but with memories that are so difficult she can’t find the strength to share it with anyone. Now that she has made the decision to try and move forward she has the help of her much younger housemates and one of the professors at the university she has enrolled in. Will the young friends be able to bring a fresh way to look at emotional issues or will she be their strength and support? 

I give this book four out of five stars for its interesting subject matter and its ability to draw you in to the feelings of all of the characters. The mystery of Regina’s issues do not get resolved until late in the book which makes any reader with great anticipation feel some impatience in knowing the truth. The author has pulled all of the loose ends and characters together at the end leaving the reader some satisfaction and the feeling that it was all worth waiting for.  

#stinewriting Blog Book Review Book Reviews Merchandise New Books! stinewriting

Book Review: Unheard: The Story of Anna Winslow

36365107. sx318

Unheard: The Story of Anna Winslow by Anthony Del Col is an eight part podcast produced by a student for a college course, the topic chosen solely based on one vague voicemail message and the questions it raised.

Melissa Lopez is studying linguistics and journalism and has decided that the voicemail left on her phone is in fact from missing student, Anna Winslow. Missing turns into a case of murder when Anna’s body is found in the woods. Each session of Melissa’s podcast has clips of the actual voice messages Anna has left her and a few fellow students. But no one really knew Anna, so why the voicemails and why is she dead? Melissa wants to find out and becomes so entangled in the story she actually becomes a suspect herself, asking questions that no one that never knew Anna should even care about, unless they killed her and are trying to cover their own tracks.

I give this 4 out of 5 stars for its originality and realistic plot. Because there are eight podcasts in the series there is quite a bit of repetition, so as to set the story up for a reader who may not listen to all of them. It is quite like a television show that begins with a recap of the previous episode. Melissa is a bright student and you come to realize that she has some real talent in both the podcasting and interviewing of characters, trying to get to the truth of who killed Anna Winslow and why.