Puzzle Trees by Thom Mark Shepard
Puzzle Trees by Thom Mark Shepard is an entertaining coming of age novel with a bit of horror thrown into the mix. Joe Sheffield is an awkward but thoughtful high school freshman whose best friends move away. Entering high school is hard enough without having to tackle it alone. Joe begins looking for the principal’s missing cats in the area of the “puzzle trees,” a forbidding forest where it’s thought to be the home of strange aggressive primates. Along with his equally-tormented brother, Joe sets out to find the missing cats and locate the mysterious denizens of the Puzzle Trees, […]
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Afterlife by Tim Gurung follows Enos Bronte as he travels through the hereafter meeting many challenges along the way. He battles loneliness, isolation, barren landscapes, trapped souls, and other dark and disturbing visions as he attempts to navigate this difficult wilderness. Ultimately, the journey is worth it. Enos hasn’t been trapped in hell, he must fight his way through this otherwordly landscape to reach safety and redemption.
Thought Shredder by Chris Elliot is a powerful and unflinching look at Elliot’s damaged relationship with his father and how that has affected his behavior throughout his life. Far from this being a story about one man’s problems, Elliot’s story could apply to anyone, as everyone has at least some problems with their upbringing, no matter how idyllic their childhood. That Elliot’s childhood was horrific at the hands of an abusive parent makes his book all the more effective, albeit a difficult read. It’s raw and unnerving, but make no mistake: this is core to what makes the book so […]
Please Fall In Love With Me (And Other High School Wishes) is a refreshingly candid collection of essays, impressively written by an author still in high school. As there are few books for teenagers, by teenagers, the book aims to fill that gap, and does so effectively. Alvarado has an charming and spirited voice, and he’s not afraid to leave everything on the page. At times, the book tends to be a little too loose (stray grammatical errors), but overall it’s a strong and funny collection about trying to fit in and finding your true self.
Spiritualized is a raucous rock and roll mystery, part of Victor Levine’s Spec Time Trilogy series of books, which follow the exploits of Jon Cells, an aspiring rock star (based on a real person and real musician). Spiritualized acts as a kind of prequel to Vaporized, taking place four years before, over four days in 1978. This novel covers everything from coke deals, to cow mutilations, to New Age Buddhists, to rock stardom, to Hollywood filmmakers, and more in this spirited and literary epic novel.
The Street Called Straight by Elizabeth Polk follows the lives of four snipers caught behind enemy lines by Al Qaeda sympathizers. This is an action packed, character driven piece that is impressively nuanced, given its subject. Given there are four different characters, Polk is able to really spread her wings and explore the Iraq invasion from many different angles: for and against, and somewhere in between. This gives the novel great depth and weight. There are no one-dimensional heroics here, though there is plenty of heroism.