Sarah Smarsh's Heartland is a telling memoir about growing up in a working-poor family in and just outside of Wichita, Kansas during the 80s and 90s. It's a piece that is built on powerful storytelling, and a unique voice in which the writer addresses her future daughter throughout the narrative. She shares the stories of... Continue Reading →
Dungeons & Dragons: Escape the Underdark by Matt Forbeck
#1. Do you like adventure? Are you a treasure hunter trapped in an average Jane or Joe's body? Go to #3. If not, go to #6 #2. Are you ready to encounter drows, gnomes, orcs, dwarfs, goblins, and huge hairy spiders? Yes? Continue to #5. If this is getting too scary for you, go to... Continue Reading →
My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind by Scott Stossel (Mini Review)
A panic attack is crippling. All the body's defense mechanisms are triggered at once, leaving a person frozen and in utter fear. Combine that with the fact that the stigma of mental health continues to plague our society, and dealing with these issues can be nearly impossible. Scott Stossel, current editor of The Atlantic magazine,... Continue Reading →
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo (Mini Review)
Fate brings a shipwreck to the shores of Themyscira, the Amazons' island home. Diane makes the decision to defy her people edict not to leave the island. She jumps into the water to save a Warbringer, a young woman in a long line of catalysts that have started wars and famine through the ages. Wonder... Continue Reading →
Righteous by Joe Ide (Mini Review)
More IQ! The young African-American PI from East Long Beach. This time he takes on The Triade in Vegas to help a young woman who has been threatened by a loan shark. And he continues to try to track down his brother’s killer. Ide adds more depth to IQ and other characters we met in... Continue Reading →