SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
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, […]
Heart Break by MK Moskwik is a fun and spirited tech-driven mystery with a likable central character, Isabel Swift, an engaging protagonist for a new series. Swift is an up and coming police officer and human lie detector who dreams of making detective. Her mentor, Ben, dies mysteriously and Swift learns there may be a connection with his death and her latest case about stolen technology. She’s paired with a surly data scientist who’s making her job more difficult. When other cops are found murdered, Swift has only 48 hours to connect the dots, solve her mentor’s death, and make […]
Apple of My I: The Four Practices of Self-Love: Tools for Authentic Living in a Chaotic World is a self-help book to help people live a healthier life, both mentally and physically. The latter is the most important part of the book’s premise, as Maros’ emphasis is on looking to the body’s signals to understand the workings of the mind. If you hate yourself, your body will suffer. If you hate your body, the reverse will happen. Only when the two facets of a person are in alignment will a person fully realize their potential.
The Age of Amy: Behind the Fun Zone is the fourth novel in the “Age of Amy” series by Bruce Edwards. The Amy books put Amy, a rebellious and precocious teenager, into some fantastical scenarios. In the first book, she comes toe to toe with a farm animal that can manipulate time and space. Behind the Fun Zone is more sci-fi than fantasy, and puts Amy against a creepy new technology called the Jimmie, which implants cell phone technology into your head. Amy, who’s already averse to technology, is having none of it, and her aversion to the Jimmie is […]
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.
The Fat Girls Club by Lila Johnson follows the lives of Sissy, Nicki and Angela who join together in an effort to lose weight. The novel had the possibility of being a bit superficial and weight obsessed – and indeed Nicki and Angela aren’t too happy at first about having their weight pointed out – but losing weight is a very real concern for most everybody, and the issue is handled sensitively, and humorously. It’s also an uplifting story about friendship and how important it is to have the support of friends during difficult times.
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.