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Twisted Tales: Set in Stone Review
What if Arthur wasn’t supposed to be king?
This took awhile to get to as it was only sold in the UK and Australia but I finally got my hands on it! Set right after Arthur pulls the sword out of the stone, Arthur is having a hard time adjusting to royal duties. Sure, he got Excalibur but it doesn’t mean he knows what he’s doing. Worse is that since his fight with Merlin, his mentor has been off in Bermuda. Arthur is truly on his own.
Unbeknownst to him, the sword is not the famous Excalibur but a clever fake planted by Madam Mim so that she could choose a nice patsy to pull out the sword that she could easily control. She hadn’t realized that patsy was Merlin’s protegé who immediately rejects her suggestions to prove his kingly authority by going to war. But she had a plan b, her adopted daughter Guinevere will be the one to stick to Arthur’s side and get him off the throne.
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April Books
Spy x Family vol 11 by Tatsuya Endo
Endo’s delightful spy family goes on a field trip!
Okay, only Anya is going on a field trip and she’s determined to step up her role in becoming friends with Donovan Desmond and the rest of the Desmond family. Which she has the perfect opportunity to do when their bus gets hijacked by a terrorist group.As usual, Endo blends humor with action-packed hijinks as the rest of the class is an awe of Anya’s bravery by allowing the terrorists to put a bomb on her (that she knows is fake because she’s a telepath), prompting a surprising wave of courage from Anya’s friends and enemies alike. Endo also adds some heartfelt string tugging by allowing a look inside the grieving terrorist’s mind so we can see how much the war has hardened everyone and how there is still hope for the future by sticking to one’s morals.
It also has an interesting mystery in regards to the Donovan matriarch, Melinda and her feelings of disdain towards her husband and even her own son. I can’t wait for the next volume.
Marked Man: Frank Serpico’s Inside Battle Against Police Corruption by John Florio and Ousie Shapiro
Frank’s story is one made for movies.
Actually it was made one in fact in 1973 with Al Pacino but I think it has fallen in the wayside. Too bad since his fight against polie corruption in the 1970s is as timely today as it was back then.
Frank almost always wanted to be a policeman starting from when he was a little boy listening to Gangbusters which was a radio serial about authentic police case histories, as well as Mayor La Guardia’s readings of Dick Tracy stories to kids. This as well as the values instilled in him by his working class parents and trips to Italy where he got a close up view of the carabinieri arresting notable mafia members. Frank wanted to be just like them, he wanted to help people, he wanted to see justice done.
So he was very surprised and disgsted by the rampant bribery and corruption he saw among his own unit. Almost everyone from captain to plain clothesmen accepted protection money from the gambler rackets, turning a blind eye to how these men used those moneys to bring narcotics and other drugs to the street.
Worse, was when Frank tried to alert the brass to these dealings, he was brushed off and warned off. It was clear that the corruption was contained to his unit. It was everywhere, and if he tried to speak, he could be killed by his fellow men in blue.But Frank wasn’t willing to accept the dirty money nor let others continue the system. If the people were to trust the police, they had to stand by the values they were supposed to represent. So risking his life, his reputation and copious amounts of reassignments and isolation, Frank sought to change NYPD.
Florio and Shapiro’s writing is quick and efficient, clocking a decade of work in 110 pages like a fast-paced police proceural where Frank is unsure of who to trust, and an overwhelming feeling that his mission might be impossible. But just as strong is Frank’s belief that if he doesn’t do anything, nothing will change and someone has to light the way for other uncorrupt cops to speak out.
Besides the prose, each chapter ends with a recollection from Frank on what he felt. It repeats what was alreadyin the book but it’s nice to hear it in his own words as one can feel how much he cared about his work as well as the remnents of disbelief that the police force cared so much more about money than their jobs that they tried so hard to silence him. He also offers suggestions for how the police force could improve itself today as the issues of racial profiling, corruption and lack of training are still sadly needed since the wall of silence is as deadly as the omereta.
Florio and Shapiro also have side brackets detailing other important figures of the time like Mayor Lindsey, the Harry Gross Scandal, the roots of NY police corruption, the Michael Dowd Drug Ring among others.
Meticulously researched from newspapers to interviews, this fascinating read reminds us that there are real life heroes still fighting the good fight.
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Book fo the Month: 23rd Midnight
So the latest book club pick is another thriller by the prolific James Patterson. In this case, Cindy, our intrepid journalist has hit the big seller list with a biography of serial killer, Evan Burke whom readers will remember from previous novels. Cindy has worked closely with the psychopath in hopes that getting an insight into his mind will let readers know how people like him work, and how to protect themselves in case.
But true crime fans aren’t the only ones who are eager to get their hands on Cindy’s book. A Burke fanboy who dubs himself, Blackout has taken upon himself to replicate Burke’s crimes ontop of creating his own kill count and he has his sights on Cindy and the rest of the Women’s Murder Club.
I’ve read a lot of the series a while ago, and by read I remember the first three but reading more than ten in a row makes my memory very blurry. But that doesn’t matter here as Patterson and his co-writer Maxine Paetro have gotten this series down to a science with stand-alone cases that new readers can jump into while older readers will probably appreciate the steady character growth over the series.
I would be one of the former so while I know Lindsey Boxer, our main character got diagnosed with cancer in the first book and has gone through a long journey of recovery, falling in love, getting married and pregnant, the others feel more one-dimensional to me. More like plot devices to move the story along. The writing style echoed that with simple, declarative statements and formulaic thriller tropes of Lindsey feeling burnt out and emotionally scarred by her work but not ready to quit it (Because if she did, there’d be no series obviously).
Nonetheless, the story delivers plenty of frustrating near-clues from a killer who is thorough and confident in hiding his tracks. You can’t guess where and when he’s going to strike next, building up Lindsey’s dread whenever he sends her a video of his kills as a taunt that he’s getting away with everything.
Anyway, other thoughts included whether a newbie on the force, Sonia Alveraz would join the force as it seems she would make a good fit when she joined the unofficial meetings. But unlikely as it seems each woman has a role (a coroner, a journalist, a lawyer, and detective) and last time, they had two layers, they killed one off so it will probably stick with just four women in the club.
The one thread that does not fit in is Yuki’s (the lawyer of the Women’s Murder Club) story where she is defending a domestic abuse victim against her husband. The authors try to tie it into the case near the end but honestly, if they cut the tie-in, the plot would have been fine. If they cut Yuki’s chapters entirely, it would have no effect. It just felt very disjointed from the rest of the story.
Same goes for the freaking title. It was set during the day and night, and when it was night, midnight was not a specific important time. So it made no sense. Apparently, my co-reader said that a previous book in the series, 21st Birthday had the same issue where no one was 21 or turning 21, there was no birthday in general. With Patterson’s brand name, I’m sure he has the ability to make decisions about the title. Therefore, he and Paetro should at least try to make the title tie in with the book like 23rd Blackout or something like that. At least it would make sense.
So it was a good book, compulsively readable since each chapter was 1 to 3 pages long so you want to get to the next one and it keeps you guessing.
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Warriors: The Broken Code
After a long break where the library constantly had one or all the books loaned out, I finally got to reading the last complete arc of the series, The Broken Code.
Of course, after a months long break, getting back into Warriors can get confusing but the character list reacquainted me with the clan heirarchies. Since the reintroduction of Sky Clan into the forests, the clans have seemingly lost their connection to Starclan. While life has continued on, the cats are wary of what this absence means and the unbroken winter that followed. Have they’ve been forsaken?
A youn medicine cat apprentice seems to have the answers. Starclan is only connecting with Shadowpaw and they have forsaken the clans because of codebreakers. They must punish the codebreakers and return to their ways, to truly become warriors again or else suffer death. These harsh decrees don’t sound like the Starclan of old but when innocent cats seem to be suffering or dying because of the lack of punishment on the codebreakers, the clans start a frenzy to root them out, draw cat against cat, clan against clan, once more.
I had mentioned before that I was starting to get tired of the constant in-clan fighting and the reoccuring doubts of Starclan before everything returns to the status quo. This one impressed me by enacting real change into how the clans’ rules and featuring not just Thunderclan but Skyclan and Shadowclan cats as protagonists, making it an exciting new arc in the series.
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Marisa Kanter Interview
Marisa Kanter is a young adult author, amateur baker, and reality television enthusiast. She is the author of What I Like About You, As If on Cue, and Finally Fitz. Born and raised in the suburbs of Boston, her obsession with books led her to New York City, where she worked in the publishing industry to help books find their perfect readers. She currently lives in Los Angeles, writing love stories by day and crocheting her wardrobe by night. Follow her at MarisaKanter.com.
- What draws you to realistic fiction?
The quiet moments, the banter, the vulnerability that is required to love and be loved. As a consumer and writer of stories, I am most drawn to character driven ones. I love examining why people are the way they are and choices made while navigating a difficult, complicated world.
- You’ve covered book blogging in What I Like About You, and fashion upcycling in Finally Fitz. How has social media impacted coming of age narratives?
Social media is not real life, but it is a part of life that I have found myself (clearly!) drawn to exploring in YA. Being so online, to a certain degree, can and will impact our sense of sense. In What I Like About You, Halle is able to forge meaningful connections online that she isn’t able to in person due to her social anxiety.
In Finally Fitz, Fitz uses social media to build a brand and craft a narrative that she feels in control of, believing that people only like the ‘filtered’ version of herself. My character’s relationships to social media evolve throughout the book, as have my own over the years. But I do think that for better or worse, social media is here to stay and we’re not honestly delving into the experience of being a young person today if we shy away from it.
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Eric Smith Interview
Eric Smith is a literary agent for P.S. Literary as well as the author of Don’t Read the Comments, You Can Go Your Own Way, Jagged Little Pill among others. He kindly took the time to answer my questions about his work, agenting and more. Enjoy!
- For those who don’t know the specifics, what do you do as a literary agent?
As a literary agent, my job is working with authors to find their books a home. I suppose that’s the short and sweet answer. But we do a lot more than that. We shop around subrights (ie: an author’s audiobooks, film and tv rights, translation rights), manage their contracts, foster the relationship between them and their publisher, step in when things are getting a little messy, and help manage their career. I work with some clients book after book, guiding their literary careers and making sure we’re making smart decisions.
I also have a lot of fun!
2. How did you get your start in the industry?
Things kicked off for me at Quirk Books, a lovely publisher here in Philadelphia. I worked doing social media and marketing, as well as bundle of other things. After a few years there, and a desire to move into editorial or agenting, I did just that. Being there firmly established my love of weird and unconventional books, that’s for sure. I’ve since been working in publishing for… whew, 15 years now, I think? What even is time.
3. What inspired you to start working on your debut book?
The Geek’s Guide to Dating came from some essays I’d been writing. For a while, I’d been running a local geek blog, talking about the Philadelphia geek scene, so like, local comics people, video game developers, and the like. But I was also publishing essays about the intersection of video games and relationships. Some of them went a bit viral, and as a result, my publisher came knocking, suggesting there was a book in there someplace. Two years later, that book came out.
A surprising thing about publishing, is that if you are loud enough and visible enough in the spaces you want to write in, eventually, someone might come to YOU.
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Fullmetal Alchemist
Remember last year when I said I almost finished Fullmetal Alchemist if only my library picked up the missing volume 9. Well, four months later, I finally got to read volume 9. That plus my friend gifted me the 20th anniversary edition so I have all the Fullmetal content I could want.
So let’s get to it, volume 9 was interesting but not as interesting as it would have been if I had read it in order so this felt more like a filler volume with Ling, Envy and Edward trying to find their way out of Gluttony’s literally bottomless stomach.
Although it had it’s interesting points like Mustang learning Furur Bradley’s homoculus’ origins (plus flashback to how Bradley became Wrath) and the transferrals of his comrades. The sweet story of how May got her pet panda, Shao May who is so stinking adorable, paralleling the bond of the Elric brothers, together they can get through anything and seeing Scar’s rarely seen soft side. Also coolest of cool, Ling becoming greed, and conquering the philospher’s stone to become the half-Ling/half-homoculi creation that is the token evil teammate.
Now, I can get to my thoghts on the ending which was simply epic! That’s the first word that comes to mind when I think about it. From almost every character getting a moment of glory to shine like the return of Havoc, Maria Ross, Izumi, Lan Fan, the Armstrong siblings (plus Olivier and Izumi team-up which is quite frankly terrifying), the sacrifice of Greed-Ling among other comrades, and each homoculi meet their fitting ends.
But best of all, the Elrics get their bodies back without sacrificing their morals, proving that these teenage/kids manage to have the strength of ten thousand men. Their choice to follow truth and peace brings a new era that will hopefully heal the previous bloodshed and redemption.
Plus I have to give thanks to Roy’s awesome takeover of the radiowaves, and my shippy heart to Roy and Rizi kinda getting together. They’re truly a ride or die battle couple. There’s not much to complain about the finale although I felt Winry was kinda sidelined. I get it wouldn’t make sense as she doesn’t have the combat skills or alchemy of everyone else but she felt a bit forgotten.
Nonetheless, I loved how Arakawa wrapped up everyone’s storylines and how it held fufilled her themes of humanity being the light of the future and their ability to overcome tragedy and despair.
As for the 20th edition, it had lots of goodies like promotional manga chapters for each of the novels and video games plus those that were included in profile guides. Some were serious like those setting the stage for the Prince of Dawn, and Broken Angel. Those in particular reminded me of movie trailers.
Others were sillier like the bookmarks for each day of the week, parodies of Power Rangers, and Roy’s initial failed attempts at fire alchemy (the one come out of his nostrils and butt looked partcularly painful, oof).
It had some other fun tidbits like timelines, letters from the anime and liveaction casts, and bts info of the creation of each Fullmetal tie-ins, including the novels.
There was even an additional prose novel from Havoc’s POV detailing his part in helping overthrow Furur by creating supplies nad bringing Maria Ross from Xing. It may just be my shipper self, but did I see potential between Havoc and Ross you bet I did. It also whetted my desire to have some Havoc/Ross spin-off with Ross’s adventures in Xing. Which also, why hasn’t there been any spin offs of Scar and the Ishavalians or even just May and Ling’s return to Xing? There’s so much potential with this delightfully large cast that springs so many ideas to explore and I love it all.
Fullmetal Alchemist is a high-flying ambitious scope of fantasy, action–adventure, philosphy and alchemy, something for everyone I believe with strong, flawed characters, tragic moments and heartbursting highs and humor too. Highly recommend to everyone to give it a chance.
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Twisted Tales: Fate Be Changed Review
What if the witch gave Merida a different spell?
Merida’s impulsive ways have always driven a wedge between Merida and her mother. The princess would prefer to ride Angus, shooting arrows into the horizon rather than focus on politics and embroidery. But when her mother tries to force Merida to pick a husband during the Highland Games, they get in their biggest fight ever and Merida ends up in the hut of a witch who offers Merida a spell that will make Queen Elinor change her mind.
That’s how we know the story but Merida thinks she can shortcut it by taking the potion herself, figuring it will change her constraining position as princess.
Instead Merida ends up twenty years in the past and lost in the woods when she runs into a teenage version of Elinor who is running away from her own betrothed.
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Magic Tree House
Sp as this year’s theme is childhood nostalgia I decided to read the Magic Tree House series for the first time in. . . two decades maybe? And since I had stopped reading them, Osborne had returned to her breakout series with all new stories but I’ll get to that in a bit.
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Felicia Grossman Interview
Felicia Grossman is the author of historical romances like the Truitts, and Once Upon a East End, featuring Jewish protagonists embarking on passionate romances, scandal and lots of delicious food. She kindly took the time to answer my questions about her books, jewish representation and what’s coming next. Enjoy!
1. What drew you to romance and why do you think it has sustained appeal for so many?
My first memory of genre romance, specifically historical romance, were the mass market paperbacks on the wire racks both at our public library in Wilmington and my grandparents’ news store in Atlantic City. I used to stare at the dresses and desperately want to wear one. My mother called the books “junk,” even though her mother read plenty from the library because she, like me, loved a happy ending. That I believe, is why the genre endures: that, by definition, these book symbolize not just joy, but also hope for their readers. And who doesn’t need that in their life? Well, that and pretty dresses.
2. Your books are unique in focusing on Jewish protagonists in historical romance, Why do you think it’s important to highlight their experiences outside of the Holocaust narratives and how it differs from typical romance protagonists?
When I was growing-up, Holocaust books for Jewish children were fairly prevalent, as well an emphasis on Holocaust education for us. This was part of an in-community push by our parents, many of whom were children of people who survived, lost family, or were directly affected by the Holocaust, but who were told very little as children, leaving them often confused by their family’s behavior until they were adults. Thus, they wanted their children to have more of a sense of why older people in the community, including their own grandparents, acted in certain ways. This is something I always like to point out, because I think this specific use for Holocaust books and education is often ignored by larger discussions and/or discounted in its significance.However, that type of Holocaust education and the narratives it employs, because Jews are a really small part of the population (around 2%, though nearly 50% of the world’s Jews), isn’t what most people experience nor discuss when speaking about the Holocaust in media and education.
Instead, unfortunately, the way the Holocaust has been used in popular literature, pop culture, and even education, has both obscured larger patterns of Jewish history (including overshadowing thousands of years of systemic antisemitism in much of the world and creating a “floor,” for violence with its scale and thereby minimizing all prior and later antisemitism) as well as, much like the Jewish history leading up to the Roman conquest and eventual destruction of the second temple, has been used more as a “metaphor,” or “lesson,” for non-Jews and their societies in their own, internal debates regarding things “tolerance” and “prejudice.”
This use almost always completely divorces the Holocaust from the specifics of antisemitism. And rather than teaching particular history of real, living people, becomes something which dehumanizes Jews by idealizing our dead (while again, separating them from their unique culture), making us characters rather than real people, and making non-Jews feel they have claims over our stories and culture, including how it is permitted to be used and expressed.
I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to write our history at other times in a way which hopefully serves as a counterbalance to the misuse of the Holocaust, and rehumanizes us. The latter being especially critical, antisemitism never went away and is currently on the rise with patterns that more than merely echo the past.
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Rachel Reads & Reviews 