Book Review: Puppet Shows, Stories by Michael Frissore

*This book was given to me by the author for the sole purpose of a review.

Synopsis from Amazon: A kindly organ grinder and his performing monkey adopt a young boy after his father spontaneously combusts; a barber living inside a whiskey bottle confronts the neighborhood nuisance who wields a dead squirrel like a pair of nunchucks; and an unruly gang of sock puppets are born in a basement dojo. Welcome to Puppet Shows, thirteen outlandish stories from a writer Tucson Weekly called "a very funny weirdo."

I must say, it took me a few pages to get with the flow of this quirky set of stories. I had fallen into book review burn-out in the last few months no thanks to life itself throwing me obstacles and lots of work stress, so this was a nice side step from my normal genres that normally lack a lot of humor. The stories did make me "lol," which was great. I kept wanting to know what silly thing would happen next. And as a writer myself, I appreciated the fact that Frissore poured his weird and boundless imagination onto the pages of this book seemingly without holding back. Even his character names were hilarious. 

I really enjoyed the constant references to old movies, songs, shows, characters and inside jokes. This is a great read for someone who just needs to relax and shed their "taking life too seriously" skin. The stories were well written and nicely compiled. Although I was in amazement at the off-the-wall scenes, especially with the monkey spouse and poorly raised kid, they still made sense. Do not approach this book with any amount of expectations or seriousness. You will be disappointed. BUT! If you go into it with NO expectations and an incredibly open mind, your sense of humor will do the rest (considering you have one). I don't do half points, but I decided to give this my 3.5 star rating. Buy it on Amazon. Read it. Laugh a lot, and be grateful there are writers out there who can create this type of material. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Call-out for submissions about your autism journey

As you can tell, I've fallen way behind on my blogging endeavors. Make no mistake, though. I haven't been slacking (well, maybe a little); I've been working on my second book. It's a non-fiction book about my experience with childhood bullying and my autism journey with my lovebug Nabeel who is now 15 with the inner hulk under much better control. I've experienced so many things with him during these rollercoaster teen years that I feel compelled to scribe them into an inspiring, entertaining, and terrifying tale for all! And since I've been reading that suicide rates are on the rise in the U.S., namely among youngsters who experience severe bullying, I wanted to share some of my personal
bullying stories and how I survived those troubling times in my youth AND adulthood. I always have this inner longing to help others. Since writing is my thing, I am using it for a greater purpose this time around. I have a dozen fiction story ideas that are all on hold for this project.

Need word contributions!

So what I need right now are blurbs from fellow autism families or even people who have autism. I am dedicating a chapter of my book to profile others and their stories. I'd like to keep them short so that I can include many, many - roughly 350 to 400 words - talking about the diagnosis, what has been most challenging in the autism journey and what method, intervention, or therapy has helped the most. Remember, this is meant to inspire others, so if you have something to share that could be of substance to someone else, please contact me about writing a blurb for the book. I welcome your story. We all have to stick together and team up to help other autism families that might need some support and encouragement. I know I was there once! Still am, but I've lived and learned enough to know the ropes.

If you are not an autism parent or close relation but know someone in this boat, please tell them about this opportunity to share their story. My email is Neesha@thesweettalker.com, and I can answer any questions.

Help me make this book everything it was meant to be. =)

And, I have gotten back to reading, so all those who are waiting for reviews ... this gal is trying hard to get all caught up. Stay tuned for the next book review and MORE. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Book review: Defiant Heart by Marty Steere

This is my review of Defiant Heart, a book provided to me by the author Marty Steere.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Two extraordinary characters. One unforgettable love story. In the spring of 1941, young Jon Meyer’s family dies in a tragic accident, and he is sent to live in a small Indiana town. He arrives to find himself unwanted and shunned. Mary Dahlgren is the mayor’s daughter. A pretty girl, she could have the pick of the boys in town, including Vernon King, the star of the vaunted high school basketball team. To the chagrin of her friends, though, Mary has always been more interested in books than boys. That is, until she meets Jon. But Jon and Mary are kept apart through the efforts of Mary’s father, who perceives their relationship a threat to his political aspirations, and Vernon, to whom Jon is a rival for Mary’s affections. For months Jon is subjected to a painful ostracism. Then, just when the young man’s earnestness and perseverance begin to win over many of the townsfolk, and it appears that love may conquer all, tragedy strikes. As the country is caught up in war, so too are the young lovers swept up in events beyond their control, leaving both fighting for their very lives. If, against the odds, they are to be together, each will need to find the strength, the courage and the resourcefulness that beat only in a defiant heart.

My latest read is a historical fiction novel with lots of action, suspense, and romance. I won't waste any time in labeling this book a page-turner! One of my favorite things about this book was that it gave me closure in a few of the troubling scenarios, and I got to say "You got what you deserved, you loser!" I was hugely impressed by the character development, something that is important to me, above all. I felt like I knew these people just after a few chapters! Having been a kid who was ostracized based on race and religion, that part of the story hit a soft spot. Jon became very dear to me quickly and was a tremendously lovable character. Vernon should have been named vermin! He was a loathsome, barbaric, self-absorbed piece of crap, and that was a superb piece of this story. Without that character, the whole story would have been two shades duller. One of my favorite scenes was the confrontation between the despicable coach Mr. Spitzman and nerdy-cute English teacher Ms. Tremaine when he tried to bully and threaten her to pass Vernon and another jock just so they could play in the championship game. I think the balance of lovable vs. hateful characters was perfect. 

I really enjoy when a story has various pieces that make me wonder where the story is going, then they all come together in the end. Like when Jon's random friendship with Ben Wheeler who teaches him how to box and fly a plane comes in handy later in the story. Let's just say Coach Spitzman gets just what he deserved, and Jon's talent with flying ends up saving his and other lives. Oh, and Ben is one of my favorite characters besides Jon, Mary, and Walt. I normally don't like strong female characters because they're often written to be overly stubborn and annoyingly heroic with tons of "Yea, right!" moments. Example - Bella from Twilight and Remi from Hollowland. Mary is just right. She didn't annoy me ONE time through this entire book. She was a sweet decent girl and thwarted all of Vernon's boldfaced efforts to bully her into going out with him. Thanks to him, she ends up in a coma, and Jon's life is turned inside-out after he tries to save her. He's forced to enlist in the army, and it's not surprising that he does exceptionally well. 

Spoiler Alert -- Spoiler Alert -- Spoiler Alert

I was proud of Mary for standing up to her deadbeat dad. I was disgusted by his behavior and selfishness while running for office. He put his campaign above decency and his daughter's life. He was the total opposite of a hero. I was glad he lost everything, including her when she decided to join the army to get away from him and to find Jon. She did, and the ending is very rocky. I loved how it ended, but Steere makes his reader work hard to get that ending. And that is crafty writing! I was glued to this story from very early on, mainly because it was realistic. The historic facts about the era and the war was spot on based on what I know. Even the mannerisms and personality traits of the characters suited the time frame quite well. Steere writes in a way that keeps you wondering what will happen next. Even when I wanted to pause just to run to the restroom, I read just a few paragraphs more before I dashed away, lol. Parts of this story even brought tears to my eyes, which does NOT happen often with me. Last time that happened was with The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. And, I must compliment the author's vivacious vocabulary. It's a buzz kill when writers use the same words over and over or choose words that are way too common. I learned a few new words today. Love it!  

I give his book FIVE stars!! This was a terrifically enjoyable read, and I recommend it to everyone! It comes out on April 14. For now you can check out the reviews on Goodreads. So make a note, and go look for it!