Chanticleer Book Reviews

Category: Reviews

DAWGS: A True Story of Lost Animals and the Kids who Rescued Them by Diane Trull & Meredith Wargo – Memoirs, Animal Rescue, Animal & Pet Care

We love our dogs. We love our cats. But what do we do when people no longer want them, use them for cruel purposes, or release them into the streets with no thought for what will happen to them? Diane Trull’s memoir with Meredith Wargo, DAWGS, shines a light on these questions.

Trull begins the story as a fourth-grade teacher in Dalhart, Texas. One of her young students asks about an article in a local paper showing photos of adorable dogs at a shelter who were up for adoption, wondering what happened to those who weren’t adopted.

Instead of dodging the question, and with great trepidation, she answered it with the truth: those who weren’t adopted would be put to sleep. Her tiny students were understandably shocked. Then one of them said, “I don’t want any of those dogs to die. Isn’t there something we can do to save them?”

That simple question, asked by a child in a classroom in 2003, started a profound adventure in the lives of Diane and her husband, Mark, and her students.

Together, they started a private dog shelter, working with a reluctant animal control officer and an even more reluctant city council to take in as many pets as possible, feed them, groom them, and bring many back to health until, hopefully, someone would adopt them.

This was no simple task. For most of us, taking care of one or two animals in our homes is enough. How can someone take care of hundreds? Without government funding, and with a workforce of only two adults and a small group of nine-to-ten-year-old children, the struggles started to pile up. The noise of barking dogs brought constant complaints, the food and medical attention cost too much, and the sheer effort to take care of these animals in the harsh weather of the Texas Panhandle overwhelmed the volunteer school children even with help from other concerned citizens.

The development of the shelter is in itself a remarkable story. But even more profound is its effect on the children who volunteered for months, or even years.

The shelter had a strict code of ethics regarding those young volunteers including full permission of their parents, and a required balance between school and their work at DAWGS. Its motto, then and now is, ”Making a difference, one animal at a time, one child at a time, one day at a time.”

Students who participated learned life lessons of responsibility, compassion, and dedication that helped shape them as people. Some of these fourth graders are still involved with the shelter after nearly 20 years.

Many dogs have their stories told in this book. Tales of abandoned, damaged pets who were nursed back to health at the shelter and subsequently adopted. Also told are the stories of the many companies and individuals whose key donations and hands-on work have made this shelter work.

A heartwarming story? Yes. But equally important is the hard work and grit that ensured the success of this shelter. Highly recommended.

DAWGS by Diane Trull won Grand Prize in the 2021 CIBA Hearten Awards for Uplifting & Inspiring Non-Fiction.

May 29, 2023
THE INTREPID: Dawn of the Interstellar Age by Arnie Benn – Hard Sci-fi, Mystery Suspense, Colonization Sci-fi

Two interstellar missions encounter something beyond their understanding in Arnie Benn’s sci-fi novel, The Intrepid: Dawn of the Interstellar Age.

The Intrepid begins a century after Apollo 11. Aksel Bolt, mission commander aboard the Centaurian, wakes too early – seven years into a projected twenty-eight-year sleep on the voyage from Earth – to find Mission Control ordering the crew to rendezvous with another incoming spacecraft. But details are scarce, due in part to being too far from home for two-way communication. What is this other ship, who crews it, and how is it even able to catch up? Will this change their peaceful mission of exploration? And what might be waiting for them at their destination?

The crewmembers are forced to pivot in order to survive their continued mission.

Bolt also finds that a member of his crew did not survive hibersleep. Was it simply a mechanical error, or was it sabotage? Was it murder? Did the crew member know something they shouldn’t have? Benn’s story twists and turns, tightening the suspense aboard this historic mission.

The Intrepid boasts strong general pacing paired with the intensive exposition often necessary in hard sci-fi. The central dangers aboard the Centaurian will drive readers onward, the growing awareness that the crew is alone, far from familiarity, struggling with their growing apprehension. It doesn’t help that disturbing things seem to be going on back home, light years away.

Full of refreshing surprises that will drive readers toward an unexpected and satisfying conclusion.

There is so much packed into The Intrepid as it is that it delivers the questions and plots of multiple novels in one. A bonus to this is that the book includes an extensive glossary of scientific terms to complement the intended realism of the science in the story.

“I’m on the surface now,” Kihumba says. “The human race… has officially reached the stars.” She tries to swallow but her mouth is dry; she is live to the entire solar system, or will be, when the signal finally reaches home 4 years from now. Her heart is pounding. Don’t forget the rest, Kioni. “Welcome, Earthlings, to the dawn of a new age.”

Part suspense, part future history, a tiny bit romance, and all hard-driving science fiction, Arnie Benn’s near-future space exploration tale is a thoughtful and exciting journey into the wonders and mysteries that humanity has to look forward to…

Or beware of.

May 26, 2023
A LONG TIME DEAD by T.L. Bequette – Mystery, International Crime, Legal Thriller

T.L. Bequette’s thrilling Joe Turner Mystery series continues in A Long Time Dead.

This book echoes the style of Earle Stanley Gardner’s early whodunits, where there are two possibilities. The authorities see only one, and Jake will have to use his special brand of savvy to find the explanation for his client’s innocence.

Joe, a California criminal defense lawyer, moves into his new Oakland office. As he unpacks a box labeled “Red Sox”, containing memorabilia for display, he comes upon an envelope containing two 2013 Red Sox ticket stubs, a credit card receipt, and a picture of him and his mom. The memories come flooding back.

Joe hasn’t seen his friend, Owen Prescott, in ten years—not since the afternoon he gave Joe that envelope. Not since Owen fell off the radar.

In 2013, 24-year-old Owen Prescott becomes a newly celebrated author, having produced a best-seller during graduate school. In the process, he acquires a lawsuit filed by an envious, disgruntled professor, and an admiring stalker against whom he secures a restraining order.

When the professor turns up dead, everything hits the fan.

Upon the advice of his wealthy father’s attorneys, Owen fled the country on the day of the Red Sox game. He went underground, and no one has seen him since. Now Joe wonders about his friend and begins to ponder what really happened. Was Owen capable of murder? If not, who killed the professor?

When he begins to delve into those questions, acquiring the police files on the case, Joe learns that Owen was recently sighted in Europe. Meanwhile, an FBI cold-case investigator follows the same trail, trying to close a net and capture Owen so he can be tried for the murder.

Where Owen is, who he has become, and what he has been doing for ten years add additional dimensions to this mystery. His assumed safety falls apart around him, and surprising individuals both threaten and protect his secret. For one such character, the reader can only wonder what’s next.

Bequette’s yarn introduces a plethora of multi-dimensional characters. Everyone’s motives help shape and move this convoluted plot forward to an unexpected and satisfying answer to “who done it?”

From the very beginning, this story will hook readers. Fast pacing, clever plot twists, and intercontinental flavor make A Long Time Dead difficult not to finish in one sitting.

May 24, 2023
MIGUELITO’S CONFESSION by Miguel A. De La Torre – Historical Fiction, Cultural Heritage Fiction, Latin Literature

Miguelito’s Confession by Miguel A. De La Torre shows the resonate struggle of escaping the generational cycle of poverty and injustice.

Human nature is a product of circumstance, interwoven with the impact of one generation on the next. Sometimes history teaches people lessons of pain, cruelty, and inhumanity. How can someone rise above the disadvantages they’re raised in, the pressures that hold them hostage from their own goals and wishes? Especially at risk are the innocent children caught in the midst of a maniacal battle within the corrupt powers of society. Can an illegal immigrant find success and happiness despite the brutalities of life? And what is the personal cost of pursuing justice?

Manuel de la Cruz is dying, and he is alone.

At the end of his life, he suffers from dementia, a mixed blessing that releases him from the violent slice of history he had fully participated in. It allows him to forget the cruelty and violence he inflicted as part of the police force during the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Even the times that followed are lost to him, all he did to escape from the consequences of his actions by escaping to the U.S.

Yet suddenly, in his final moments, Manuel is granted the ability to think clearly again, a sign that justice is possible. As Manuel leaves this world, he is haunted by what his life has been, his impact upon others and his family, and especially the psychological inheritance he leaves his son Miguelito.

Now, this is Miguelito’s story, and he takes a difficult journey.

As a young boy, his family lived in the slums of New York. It’s a filthy, dangerous place to grow up, and its threats are magnified many times over for an illegal immigrant boy who is despised for being Latino. The author is masterful in his portrayal of this revolting setting.

Miguelito seeks out ways to survive his painful world. He learns from others who dwell in the corners of humanity, minorities who are punished for not being what the majorities require. Playing the social games forced upon him, Miguelito discovers some peace, persistence, and answers through his secretive worship of African gods. It’s an unexpected friend who introduces him to this path, helping him weather the turmoil that his mere existence incites around him.

Author and Professor Miguel A. De La Torre lifts conventional history out of a single point of view. Miguelito’s Confession brings to life the complex past settings, and the lessons revealed both sting and inspire.

This is history shown without glorification. Readers will be engaged by the author’s ability to mold multi-dimensional characters with complex motives. The backdrop slice of life is described artfully within a foundation built by preceding generations. Vivid pictures of human interaction drive the present and shape the future, holding the reader in a thought-provoking trance.

Empathy for the characters pulls the reader deeper and deeper into the story, in pursuit of hope. Will they uncover the hidden answer to what can make life worth living, and what can finally bring justice?

May 19, 2023
SAVONNE, NOT VONNY by Robin Lee Lovelace – Southern Literature, Myths & Legends, 1960’s

Robin Lee Lovelace evokes a world in which the mystical intertwines with the everyday in Savonne, Not Vonny, a coming-of-age story set in rural Louisiana.

Nine-year-old Savonne lives in a small room at the back of Mama Gwen’s whorehouse, in Indianapolis in the ’60s. Her mama is one of the working girls, and her father is Mama Gwen’s own son. Savonne’s daddy dotes on her, and Mama Gwen loves Savonne like the daughter she never had; the two of them together make a loving home for Savonne, in the midst of their raucous brothel.

By contrast, Savonne’s birth mother rarely pays her any mind. A “crazy-ass woman” with a temper “as hot as a Mississippi afternoon,” Coco is not at all opposed to beating the bejesus out of someone. In a fury one night, she does something that cannot be undone, and in her headlong flight out of town, she takes Savonne with her.

And so it is that Savonne is forced from the only home she’s ever known and left in the care of her mysterious and reclusive great-grandfather, Pompey.

With Pompey, Savonne enters another world, one of casual acquaintance with hoodoo and root work, a world where Papa Legba guards the crossroads and serves as an intermediary between the human and the spirit world, a world where an enemy might cast a subtle spell or command the serpents, or shapeshift into another form himself. However, as long as Pompey is there to guard her, Savonne is safe. She takes after her great-grandfather, and he recognizes that she too has the gift, the ability to conjure, “the natural.”

But the day will come when Savonne is left to face the forces that would undo her, with only Leatha, Pompey’s old black dog all gone now to gray and stiff-boned, by her side. Before her journey home is over, Savonne must outwit an enemy far more powerful than she — and rely on help from the most unlikely of allies.

Robin Lee Lovelace has conjured a world in which the seen and the unseen alike direct our days, in which the divine intermingles with the mundane, with characters so rich and fully realized they fairly leap off the page.

Pick this story up for the delicious experience of diving headlong into a landscape reminiscent of those spun by the finest Southern writers in the American canon.

Readers may find themselves racing through this novella to see how it all comes out for Savonne in the end, and likely wanting more of Savonne and her world (and maybe those allies too) in her full short story collection, A Wild Region, is available now!

Savonne, Not Vonny by Robin Lee Lovelace won Grand Prize in the 2020 CIBA Shorts Awards for Short Stories.

May 17, 2023
EVER AFTER by Barbara Francesca Murphy – Murder Thrillers, Women’s Friendship Fiction, Mystery

Ever After by Barbara Murphy reveals the treachery, fear, love, and emotion woven throughout a tenuous friendship.

Imogen Armstrong Brown can’t wait to be interviewed by a local newspaper. She holds the well-hidden secret of her sworn enemies, four women who rebuked her from their close group friendship. A tragic event around Horseshoe Bay featuring this scrupulous group had shown Imogen that the group was neither sincere nor innocent, but deeply pretentious, ruthless, and defiant even to the law.

Over the course of this story, readers will learn of all the dark corners that Nora, Tiffany, Lydia, and Reeva try to hide.

Each character’s background and upbringing paint their aspirations and fears in the present. Even the strengths in their personalities, such as being hardworking and loving, are hampered by challenges from mental disorders to trauma from bad parenting, and sometimes a simple lack of contentment. Murphy showcases the coping strategies that each of the four employs in a desperate bid to maintain sanity, closeness, and unity despite a harsh reality.

The pains of the past will demand resilience from the four women if they want any chance to turn fateful challenges into opportunities for change and progress.

Readers will find all the women linked together by Justin, an intriguing character whose admirable nature and willingness to help others is overshadowed by his flirtatious and proud behavior. A breathtaking reveal is just around the corner as these relationships are teased apart.

Murphy’s easy choice of words gives this text a flow that welcomes readers of all ages. Engaging dialogue shows the depth of her characters as they play off of each other.

Ever After sparkles with breathtaking twists and turns that will hold readers in suspense from beginning to end, particularly after a hypnotic prologue that promises an unforgettable and extraordinary adventure. With each secret revealed, the story offers a deeper look inside the world of its perfect-looking people. For thriller lovers and supporters of women’s friendships, this will be an exciting and highly inspirational read.

Overall, Ever After is a composition whose words will pull at the heartstrings of its readers. The brilliant uses of elements such as tragic flow, dramatic irony, anxiety, denouement, and catharsis, combine to produce an unforgettable read. Murphy’s magisterial work shines a probing light into the nature of friendship, the life-altering impact of infidelity, and the ultimate cost of a truly poor decision.

“Some paths lead us into the light, but others take us down an ever-dimming pathway into darkness.” – Wofford Lee Jones

May 15, 2023
READY… SET… FROG! by Katharine Mitropoulos – Children’s Picture Books, Children’s Friendship Books, Children’s Animal Stories

One can’t help but smile upon meeting the bespectacled green splay-toed creature on the opening pages of Katherine Mitopoulos’ delightful children’s book, Ready … Set …Frog!

The story centers around the charming, lively character Frogathan Spots, aka Frog, who loves a challenge. When Frog learns his street is hosting a neighborhood fair, complete with an obstacle course, he starts anxiously preparing for the event. Unfortunately, his friends keep interrupting his practice set-ups, asking for help with their own business. Almost ready to bow out of the contest, Frog musters the courage to join the fun along with a rabbit, kangaroo, and grasshopper. Though the final results may not be all that Frog hoped for, the lessons he learns are truly trophy-worthy.

Within this whimsical tale, Frog realizes the importance of helping others.

Whether picking an apple for a mole baking a homemade pie, assisting a tall giraffe to wear a floppy purple hat on a sunny day, or rescuing a stranded little feline, Frog is there to help his friends in need. When Frog realizes he hasn’t had time to practice for the race, his mother helps him see that he did his training, just in unexpected ways. Perhaps more important is his mom explaining that it’s okay to say no sometimes to helping others, and instead take the time we need for our own endeavors. Like anything else, learning to balance our own needs with those of others takes time and practice.

Mitropoulos’ heartfelt, creative storyline is highlighted by Laura Watson’s endearing illustrations.

These anthropomorphized characters take on charming quirks as we see them seated at the breakfast table with plates of flies, glasses of milk for the kids, and coffee for the adults, happily perusing the morning paper. Mom and daughter accessorize with bows, jewelry, and fluttering eyelashes, while dad sports a striped necktie. These friendly amphibians have expressive facial features that will draw in young readers and adults sharing storytime.

Watson mixes natural shades for her illustrations with bright pops of color and vibrant shades of green that highlight the characters in center stage.

Mitropoulos’ well-crafted story, in combination with Watson’s artful designs, will both teach and entertain.

May 12, 2023
SORA SEARCHES For A SONG by Once Upon a Dance – Children’s Dancing Books, Picture Books, Children’s Adventure Books

Sora Searches for a Song from Once Upon a Dance will delight children and adults with its synthesis of story and movement.

Once Upon a Dance features several creative works that combine reading with physical activity, and this book delivers that pairing with gusto. Beginning with a beautiful overview of a marsh, we are introduced to Sora, a little cricket who everyone says has no imagination. In place of imagination, however, this cricket has the remarkable gift of transformation. Sora discovers the ability to turn into living beings like birds and fish, which allows for a greater understanding of the different songs sung by all creatures.

The charming storytelling is paired with two sides of dancing instruction.

Ballerina Konora demonstrates a movement in image, and a written description not only explains the motion but also how it relates to the current moment in the story. Konora’s careful instructions are perfect for both visual and auditory learners, as the reader can easily walk their children through the steps.

Sora’s transformations lead to a wonderful gain in confidence that is sure to be mirrored by those who dance along with the story.

With a strong message of celebrating oneself, being open to learning new skills, and finding a place of belonging, Sora Searches for a Song is a book you will read again and again. A worthwhile installment of the wide collection of books from Once Upon a Dance.

May 1, 2023
A FRACTION STRONGER: Finding Belief and Possibility in Life’s Impossible Moments by Mark Berridge – Memoirs, Motivational, Personal Transformation Self-Help

Author and businessman Mark Berridge, through the lived experience of himself and others after traumatic injuries, gained a wide understanding of overcoming disaster, and how to rehabilitate not only one’s body but mind and spirit as well. In sharing his wisdom, A Fraction Stronger is a must-read for anyone facing physical, emotional, or mental barriers.

Berridge, due to embark on a work-related flight from his Australian home to the US later that day, went on a bike ride with friends. He lost control of the bike over a piece of slippery road patch work, he wrecked falling into an open culvert, striking his head; conscious, but unable to move his feet and legs. The left side of his helmet was crushed, his spinal cord injured, and numerous bone broke. Hospitals would become his world as he dealt with spinal injuries and the long road to rehabilitation – relearning how to sit, stand, and walk.

He learned more than just how to move again.

From the very moment he regained consciousness, he grappled with the need to be brave, able later to opine that, “When it counts, you can be braver than you ever imagined.” The experience led him to appreciate the presence of helpers and empathizers he calls “angels.” Along with angels, though, there can be demons – voices and influences that dwell on doom and disheartenment. Yet, amongst their darkness shine “lanterns” – small but significant reasons that life is worth living.

Berridge, whose pre-accident, 25-year career was spent in the world of finance, marketing, and business transformation, writes as if born to the realm of wordsmithing.

He combined his harrowing experience with memorable metaphors and encouraging, credible counseling. This book cites a number of courageous people: celebrated sports figures like paralympic swimmer Karni Liddell; a well-known blind musician, Dr G Yunupingu; and personal connections like Chi, a Vietnamese immigrant struggling with a rare disease and sharing physiotherapy with the author. From even the merest glimmers of hope, Berridge creates a panorama of possibilities, knowing intimately the discouragement that can sweep over a survivor so easily.

Each chapter concludes with a set of questions for self-study. His guidance for those who face physical barriers could also help those grappling with grief, psychological deficits, financial cataclysm, or any seemingly insurmountable trial that many, perhaps all of his readers will encounter at some point – or finding themselves better placed to support others by knowing this story. A Fraction Stronger motivates both individuals and groups seeking inspiration and innovative direction.

April 21, 2023
ABOMINATION CHILD by Erika Shepard – LGBT Fiction, 1960s, Social & Family Issues

Abomination Child is a coming-of-age novel, a piece of historical fiction, and a lesson to us all. Erika Shepard tells the story of Brianna, a young girl growing up in Missouri during the 1960s, struggling to be accepted.

Within her community, Brianna is seen on the outside as a boy, and everyone knows her as Brian. She confides in her older sister Liz, who supports her and helps her face a world that doesn’t understand. Spanning many years, Abomination Child follows Brianna’s journey of survival, hoping that one day she’ll be able to live freely as herself.

Brianna’s – known then as Brian – troubles start after his father learns that he dressed in girl’s clothes at a school Halloween dance. Deeply conservative and religious, Brian’s father hits him for what he believes is an abominable perversion caused by the Devil. For Brian, it’s as simple as knowing he is really a girl, a girl named Brianna.

But just being Brianna is not that simple. Besides Liz, no one else understands, so Brian has little choice but to remain Brian to survive a bigoted world. As he enters adolescence, Brian slowly gains a few other allies who help him through his darkest moments until the day Brianna can become a reality.

Shepard doesn’t shy away from the realistic experience of Brianna’s life.

Brian lives through a difficult and authentic adolescence. As he finds varying degrees of understanding from those around him, he must work through his own confusion about his emerging identity. Readers’ hearts will go out to Brian as he struggles, nearly alone.

Brian’s mother has an affecting journey of her own. At first, she feels she’s failed as a mother, saddened at the truth of her daughter. But she works through her fears and does the research to understand Brian and accept Brianna. Shepard expertly captures the truth and complexity of one family member learning to accept another.

Despite being set in decades past, Abomination Child shows why affirmative care and support systems are essential in our world today.

The multiple perspectives in this story offer a thoughtful view to the difficulties faced by each character.

Only seeing Brian’s thoughts throughout the novel would not be the entire story. Abomination Child shows the growth – or lack thereof – in each family member. There are some questions left unanswered by the end of the story, and that too is true to life. Brian’s story might end here, but Brianna’s is just beginning.

Many people have stories like Brianna’s. Some end happily, while many others don’t. Abomination Child considers that even when happiness seems impossible, things may one day change for the better, and you should stick around for that chance to be your true self.

March 31, 2023