Greg
Examination of reverse slavery in fictional modern day America.
Mr. Smith can write a good story. The action is fast paced if sometimes a little implausible, i.e. almost everyone seems to be smoking hot which that's OK for the fantasy factor in a book. The basic story is Martin Grey, civil rights lawyer, beats notorious lawyer Damon Darrel in a hotly contested trial.
This sets up the book for Damon to befriend Martin and eventually initiate him into the manor at Forty Acres, a place of reverse slavery where black men are the masters and whites are the slaves. This is a great setup that allows the book to progress.
Yes there are some inconsistencies but a little suspension of disbelief about how Martin is able to come out on top without being killed and you've got a great read.
The ending will make you realize you've forgotten to breathe for a few minutes.
Top Hat Reviews
Contains spoilers
This is the story of Billy Creekmore a juvenile who grows up in an orphanage, is rescued by the deux ex machina of an intervening angel in the guise of his uncle. He lives a “joy filled” life working in the coal mines as a mule skinner (someone who has mules pull tons of coal) till the villain in the form of the Miners Union kill his uncle and various assorted menfolk and male children forcing Billy to run off and join the circus where he is reunited with his father by “accident” and then decides he is no good son of a ....”
The book is mawkishly sentimental, the plot line is contrived, and the voice/tone/something I can't define was annoying.........and yet I couldn't stop reading this horrid little book to the very last page to see how it finally ended. Arrgh.
Until page 103 this book was a strong contender for 5 stars. On page 103 it felt like the author lost his way and brought in the good old “God of the Machine” and flew him across the page to make the book continue to work. So on Page 103 I dropped down to 2 stars and seriously considered stopping reading.
After that I couldn't forgive him even though the writing is good, the character has a very distinct voice and the concept was strong. It was because of the strong start and the strong finish that i give this book a high 3 stars.
It was good enough to finish but I can't say I would actually recommend it. If you grew up in the South or have Southern roots then the characters are very recognizable as having come from the more rural areas. But otherwise the story was somewhat disjointed and the ending was all “and they lived happily ever after”. It seemed as if the author had reached his word quota and decided now is the time to stop the story whether or not it has reached a suitable ending.
Girl is raised with chimpanzee till she is six years old then her “sister” is sent away. How the secrets and the lies we are told and tell ourselves change our worlds.
Well written. Good storytelling. Nicely fleshes out animal rights, animal consciousness, and the human animal's interactions among the species. Some of the writing is very graphic but integral to the story.
We all have our own tastes and while this book is a little drawn out in places overall I enjoyed the characters - and by that I mean I loved some (Jack)and despised some (Kit) but I was never indifferent to any of them.
Cut about a hundred pages and it could possibly be a better book but for the most part I really liked it.
If you are truly interested in getting your message across to others it would be a shame to miss reading this book.
Mr. Bauer gives you concrete methods on how to change peoples state so that they will listen to your message. This can be applied to non-profits, for profits and in your daily life.
I would LOVE to meet and see Mr. Bauer in action and can only hope that he will write another book soon for those of us who are interested in communicating deeply with others.
Gun control or not to gun control?
When Barkley stops bathing, starts hearing voices, and buys a gun you can be pretty sure that the summer by the shore is going to be explosive.
When Matt, who's senator father wants him to be a great kid, as long he's able to campaign and not embarrass his politically power drunk mom, wants to buy prescription drugs from Barkley to get him through a soccer injury, you can guess this summer is shot.
When Claire's mom has a stroke and her father becomes physically and emotionally unavailable, Claire has to assume responsibility for the household and her sister. Claire starts getting email from an online stranger who “LOVES” her poetry blog. She's so excited to meet him face-to-face, but you guessed it, this summer is going to end with a bang.
It all culminates in an angsty teen drama that will keep you tapping your thumb on your Kindle for just one more page.
The characters are well drawn and the interactions between them are dead on.
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley with no provision for a good or bad review.
Top Hat Reviews
Dystopian novel that examines class, wealth, and what we're willing to for and to those we love.
I felt rather manic-depressive whilst reading this book. The author pissed me off multiple times because I was sure I knew what was going to happen next and then something entirely different happened which left me full of wonder and surprise.
All in all a total delight with just a few rough patches that kept it from being a five.
Sadly, no. I wavered between a two and a three on the early days of President Snow. I loved The Hunger Games before they became “THE HUNGER GAMES”. There's only so many versions of meh I can work up for this character study. The only dopamine bump I got was when I saw the explanation of katniss - not that Katniss.
See my other reviews at:
Top Hat Reviews
Wonderful tale of a woman, because of her time, who had power only when she took it. Bridgett Thompson definitely claims her power through her inherent intelligence and willingness to take on the system in the only way she knows how.
Well crafted, strong characters, and a very satisfying story.
Non-fiction book about one woman's year long journey into creating her own reality. Mostly a good book although some of the folks she quoted I resonated with more than the author. One quote in particular was delightful and I paraphrase...“How can you open yourself to abundance if your heart is closed tight like a fist?” Again, I'm not looking at the book so the quote is probably just close but I love the lesson.
If you believe in creating your own reality this is a quite good reference.