SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
What’s a Monster? (Tales from Dulaney Street Book 1) by Maurice Trent, Illustrated by Arisbeth Cruz
What’s a Monster? written by Maurice Trent, with illustrations by Arisbeth Cruz, is a wonderful storybook with a great little twist that goes beyond your typical children’s monster-story fare.
Oliver is scared of the house at night. During an argument over the family bathroom, Oliver’s older brother Ty tells him to keep his voice down otherwise it will attract the resident kid-eating monster, which Oliver tries to ignore. It is only when Oliver receives a playhouse as a gift for his fifth birthday that the forgotten threat of monsters suddenly becomes all too real for Oliver, and it’s cleverly revealed […]
Author Eamonn Hickson brings the fascinating, dingy, and complex streets of Boston alive in his new novel Terror, a probing novel of survival in the modern world.
Quaint, small-town charm belies an inexplicable presence in Daffodil Hill and the Purpose of the Lavender Fields, a highly imaginative novel by Danette Key.
I Am Not Nothin’: The Serpent Handler’s Daughter by Tommy G. Robertson takes readers back to a time and place where things might seem simpler on the surface, but in reality they are not. Centered in a coal mining “company” town, the cast of characters are dealing with a type of indentured servitude to the owner of the coal and coke company while they are just trying to get by in life.
B.A.L.D.: Lillie’s First Day of School by Tijuana Collier and Khaila Ramey-Collier, is a charming storybook with an all-important message about confidence and individuality.
The Spy Who Hated Me! by Shaun Chapman is a rip-roaring race through a shadowy noir world of dames and danger, with a healthy dose of technological surrealism that gives this world a slightly unpredictable edge.
In 2000, following a divorce and depression, Fiona Maria Simon heard an inner voice: “Sell your granola.” She decided to take the chance and created Fiona’s Natural Foods, which went on to great success, as movingly told in Gambling on Granola: Unexpected Gifts on the Path of Entrepreneurship.