Mad as Birds by M.C. Schmidt

July 24, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Mad as Birds by M.C. Schmidt
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Moving to an intentional community is supposed to be a fresh start for Milo. No Internet or television. Complete isolation from the outside world. He doesn’t love the idea of moving, but his brother has been in charge since their parents’ accident, and Milo knows better than to question him. Besides, it’s not like there’s anything to stay for, not after the recent incident that got him expelled from school and made him a social pariah.

Milo is intrigued when he learns their new home was once a retreat for famous artists. He’s a talented painter himself. So, when a spectral woman begins to show up whenever he’s at his easel, he initially takes her for a muse. Seduced by the quality of the work they’re making, he doesn’t notice the control she’s gaining over him. By the time he learns her true intentions, it might be too late for him to overpower her—but if he can’t find a way soon, she’s going to force him to slaughter every resident of the community.

The past can never be forgotten.

Milo was a wonderfully nuanced character. The incident that got him expelled from school was a serious one, and I was intrigued by the fact that so many different versions of that story were floating around. Other readers should decide for themselves which version of it they believe as they’re reading, of course, but I enjoyed the contradictions between them as I tried to figure out if the protagonist’s recollection of it was the full truth or maybe something else entirely.

It would have been helpful to have deeper plot development. I noticed a few plot holes related to how the residents of the intentional community ended up living in an old, abandoned mansion that I wished had been explained in greater detail as that aspect was quickly brushed over. There were so many excellent reasons why the average person would not want to live in such an isolated and run-down place where using a cellphone or laptop was forbidden that this reader needed some stronger counterarguments for why this was the best option for all of them. This is something I’m saying as someone who was otherwise excited to check this tale out and really wanted to give it a higher rating.

With that being said, I did enjoy the plot twists involving the paranormal elements of the storyline. They aren’t that commonly used in this genre these days from what I’ve observed, so I was curious to find out how they would play out in this universe as the same patterns played out over and over again as the characters attempted to break the cycle. This is the sort of theme I love reading about in this genre, and it makes me curious to check out more stories from the author in the future.

Mad as Birds was a wild ride.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Here, Now, and Forever by J.S. Frankel

June 25, 2025 By 2 Comments


Here, Now, and Forever by J.S. Frankel
Publisher: Extasy Books
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A flight into danger. A portal to another world. Adventures, danger, a new beginning, and a romance that spans forever.

Carl Goodman, a Merchant Marine sailor during World War Two, is shipwrecked off the coast of China and a temporary visitor at an American airfield, finally scores a ride to India to ship out on another vessel. Accompanying him is Ruby Matthews, a black nurse with her own set of problems.

Bad weather forces their plane to crash on an escarpment high in the Himalayas. As the only survivors with minimal supplies, they take refuge inside a cave where they discover a portal that leads them into an almost Eden-like garden.

After starting at odds, Carl and Ruby come to an understanding, and romance builds over time. However, their peace is interrupted by the arrival of an alien called Norlok, who has an agenda of his own. Defeating him is only part of the problem.

When rescue finally arrives, they find that eighty-five years have passed, yet they’ve retained their youth—until they return to the US, where they begin to rapidly age. Getting back to their garden is of prime importance, but will they be in time?

Anything can happen during a war.

Mr. Frankel’s plot twists are one of the reasons why I have consistently requested his books over the years. He knows exactly how many hints to hide away in his stories to give his readers a taste of what is to come without making it too easy to figure out where he’s going next. This makes the reading and reviewing process effortless because I am always confident that he’s going to keep me on my toes and throw a few curve balls my way as the plot spins off in a new direction. As always, this was such a fun combination of genres, and I loved seeing how he used World War II to leap off into times and places I never would have otherwise associated with that era. Without giving away too many details, there is a peaceful garden in this book that I found especially surprising and relaxing.

I would have liked to see more time spent developing the military subplot. Their reaction to Carl and Ruby’s existence was intriguing at first but didn’t quite make sense to me later on. Having more information about why they responded the way that they did and how willing they were to go along with almost anything the protagonists wanted would have made this a stronger book in my opinion. It is a minor criticism of something I otherwise enjoyed reading quite a bit.

Some of the most memorable scenes for me were the ones that explored what it feels like to be part of a minority group, whether that’s related to race, gender, religion, or other factors. Not everyone who is part of one or more of these groups has the same experiences, of course, but there is overlap between them that I think is helpful for everyone to take note of. The more compassion we feel for each other as human beings, the better if you ask me! While I can’t go into details about exactly what these characters went through without sharing spoilers, it was well worth my time and is something I think readers from every background should explore.

Here, Now, and Forever was adventurous.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A Loser Like Me by Nathan Burton

June 9, 2025 By Leave a Comment


A Loser Like Me by Nathan Burton
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In the distant future, an ordinary girl from Mars has an extraordinary dream: to be the greatest bank robber the Galaxy has ever known! Experience Beth’s exciting journey first hand as she recounts how she overcame various obstacles and inconceivable odds to finally achieve her unlikely ambition.

If a little planning goes a long way, what happens when there’s a lot of planning?

Beth’s character development was strong and unique. I especially liked her relationship with Rohxann, both of whom complemented each other’s strengths and weaknesses beautifully. No sooner did I think I had them figured out than a new side of their relationship would reveal itself. This kept my interest levels high and gave Beth plenty of opportunities to share every side of her personality with the audience.

I would have liked to see more world building. For example, how did the characters learn Ancient Martian? How had the various species learned that they weren’t alone in the universe? When did people figure out how to travel between Mars and Jupiter so rapidly? These are just a few of the many questions I wondered about as I read. Answering a few more of them would have rounded things out nicely and given Beth even more opportunities to show us how intelligent, resourceful, and cunning she was.

The thriller elements of the plot were exciting and well done. I liked the way Mr. Burton prolonged the mysteries surrounding Beth’s plans until they absolutely had to be revealed. This gave me plenty of opportunities to guess what she might have up her sleeves and why she made certain key career and relationships decisions that she did early on in the storyline. There were a few moments that didn’t quite make sense to me at first, so it was fun to suddenly realize why those events needed to take place later on once I knew more about the big picture.

A Loser Like Me kept me guessing until the end.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

About Grace by Barbara Shoup

May 30, 2025 By Leave a Comment


About Grace by Barbara Shoup
Publisher: Querencia Press
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Grace Lowery is a typical Midwestern American teenager: pretty, smart, a good student from what is, to all appearances, an average, middle-class, single-parent home. There’s just one difference: A series of bad decisions involving her wealthy, charming-but-irresponsible boyfriend has landed her in the state juvenile correction facility for girls.

Thus begins About Grace, a unique coming-of-age story in which a young woman deals with the consequences of her actions-and sees how those consequences are different for people living more and less privileged lives. Grace is forced to reckon with the harsh reality of the juvenile carceral system, the people she meets there, and her complicated feelings for the boy whose influence led her to this place. More important-and challenging-Grace begins to remember and unpack a history of childhood abuse at the hands of a trusted adult. It’s a journey to self-awareness under harsh and unanticipated conditions, shocking revelations-and surprising friendships.

Second chances don’t come along every day.

Grace’s character development was well done. As the layers of trauma she had experienced since early childhood were slowly peeled back, I saw glimpses of the person she’d been as a little girl as well as hints about who she might become as an adult who had worked through the pain and hopefully built a beautiful life for herself. I admired her vivid imagination and empathy for others. She was a well-rounded and memorable protagonist whose flaws only make me more interested in reading about her.

I would have liked to see more attention paid to resolving the conflicts by the end of this book. In no way did I expect everything to be neatly wrapped up due to how serious Grace’s problems were and how much therapy she still needed to work through them, but I finished reading this feeling a little unsatisfied with how everything was left off. Even a postscript that explained what happened next with the most important relationships in her life would have been enough for me to bump this up by a star.

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that explored how social class affects the way young offenders are treated. Grace and the other residents at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility for Girls came from a wide variety of backgrounds, most of which involved poverty and the various side effects of a family never having enough time or money to deal with the painful challenges they faced in life. This isn’t a topic that is covered in the young adult genre as often as I’d like to see it brought up, especially when it comes to how it intersects with youth correctional facilities. Kudos to Ms. Shoup for inviting her readers into this world!

About Grace made me yearn for more.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Driving the Bugmobile by Alan Orloff

May 21, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Driving the Bugmobile by Alan Orloff
Publisher: Level Best Books
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sometimes a pool noodle is just a pool noodle. Other times…

In two short weeks, Nick Carlin will be old enough to get his driver’s license, but there’s a catch—a huge one. His mom says he must first pass a swimming test, and Nick takes to the water as well as a flying fish pilots a jumbo jet. It’s one more challenge as the Summer From Hell comes to an August crescendo: his slacker friend Miller is worried about “failing life,” and the older girl Nick’s crushing on—his robo-hottie swimming instructor—is leaving for college. But the cherry on top of the stress sundae? His mom’s low-life moocher boyfriend has just moved in, and Nick is supposed to be happy about it!

As Nick struggles to get his life in shape (and master the freestyle), he learns that the best solutions aren’t always the easiest ones. If he wants to relieve his friend’s anxiety, shield his mom from heartache, find happiness with the right girl (hint: not the robo-hottie), and score the keys to the Bugmobile, he’ll have to step up his game, big-time.

Growing up isn’t always easy.

Mr. Orloff did an excellent job of showing both the upsides and the downsides of being a teenager, from the parties to dealing with the frustration of rules that don’t quite make sense. Nick was at the age when he was almost ready for bigger responsibilities in life like getting his driver’s license, and his impatience to grow up felt realistic and relatable to me. Time often seems to pass more slowly when you’re a teenager, so the thought of waiting even a few more weeks was exasperating to him. I smiled and nodded along as I read about everything he did to prove to his mom that he was responsible enough for this next step.

I would have liked to see more attention paid to the subplot involving the budding relationship between Nick’s mom, Tiffany, and her new boyfriend. She was such an attentive and cautious parent in other areas of life that I was a bit surprised by how quickly she not only introduced Jason to Nick but also invited him into their family traditions and routines. Having more details about her thought processes here would have made this a five-star read for me.

Some of the most interesting scenes were the ones that explored why Nick had never learned how to swim despite years of lessons. His reasons made perfect sense and gave extra layers of depth of this character. I also appreciated the way this storyline explored how childhood experiences can shape someone’s personality for years to come. Yes, I know that’s a little vague, but the big reveal isn’t something anyone should have spoiled for them, and figuring out what it was made this reader even more curious to discover what happened next.

Driving the Bugmobile was an absorbing read.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Frankie & Chair by Johan Ingler

May 13, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Frankie & Chair by Johan Ingler
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: YA (10-16 yrs old), Contemporary
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Nine-year-old Danny has an unusual best friend: Chair, an armchair. Together, they write The Adventures of Captain Redtail & Sir Winchester, a comic about a squirrel space pirate and his faithful companion, a robot cupboard. Content with life as it is, Danny dislikes any sort of change. He’s already had to endure the hardest change of all: the loss of his father.

But things take a turn when he starts at a new school and meets Frankie, a bold skateboarder whose friendship takes him by surprise. Frankie battles with a looming tragedy of her own, stirring emotions in Danny that he struggles to understand. And with Chair stubbornly opposing Frankie’s presence, the rising tensions set off a series of events that none of them could have imagined.

It’s a rocky journey toward new friendship and an understanding of grief, all mirrored in Danny’s comic world—a place where he explores the emotions he’s still learning to process.

How to learn to let go and grow up…we’re all trying to figure it out.

Ingler has written an interesting story that’s a cross between a YA and a fantasy. Danny has his best friend, a talking chair…Chair. They talk and he deals with his various problems. They even write a comic book together, The Adventures of Captain Redtail and Sir Winchester. It’s cute in that it reminded me a lot of Calvin and Hobbes. But Danny meets Frankie and has to figure out how to move forward. The author captures the feeling of being a kid and confused by the fact that the world never stops. It always keeps going forward.

I liked this tale of adventure and fantasy, but also the theme of growing up and letting go to move onto bigger things. It’s a cycle in life we all have to go through and it was cute to see how Danny does this. I liked how he was dragged out of his safe world and into the rest of the world.

If you want a book that’s comic, silly, cute and poignant, then this might be the one for you.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Treachery by Shirley Bigelow Dekelver

May 13, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Treachery by Shirley Bigelow Dekelver
Climate of Fire Book 2
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

It is 2046, a year since Vancouver was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami. Taylor West, Carlie Fleming, Mai-Li Wong, and Willie Arbuckle, four young adults, and three children, twin brothers Rusty and Eddie Coleman, and Debbie, who has Downs Syndrome, lived in constant fear of the violent gangs. Making a life-saving decision they leave Little Mountain and walk to the Interior, hoping to find a better life.

The journey is fraught with unimaginable hardship and danger. Surviving a firestorm in the Wastelands, they clash with the Desert Rats, and lose one of their own. Heartbroken they continue their trek, finding an old, abandoned cabin near Mount Davis. Winter is rapidly approaching, and they decide to delay their journey until Spring. Taylor admits to Carlie he has feelings for her, but she rejects his advances, as she is unable to accept Rusty’s death. Willie is caught stealing food and is banished from the group. Realizing he might seek revenge; Taylor decides they cannot stay in the cabin, they must leave immediately.

Their progress is slow, the snow is deep and the steep mountain trails take their toll on the younger children. They arrive at Blakeburn, a deserted mining town, and meet Pete Johnson, a trapper and prospector. Pete is the Chief of the Similkameen band, who live in harmony with the Chinese people in Blackfoot, their destination. Relationships are tested time and again. Will they remain strong and what will shatter?

Love is stronger than fear.

I appreciated the character development in this book. Yes, the characters still sometimes made impulsive and illogical decisions, but they also showed signs of accepting the dangerous new world they lived in and of thinking ahead at times in order to have access to the food, shelter, and supplies they’d need to survive in it. Practice leads to progress, so I was pleased with how they’d matured since I first met them.

It would have been helpful to either have more attention paid to the romantic subplot or to not include it at all. It’s not something I thought the main storyline needed, at least at this point, and I was surprised the characters involved in it went in that direction due to the much more pressing conflicts and basic human needs they were struggling with. I would have liked to have stronger reasons to root for those two individuals to end up together. They were both interesting people on their own, I simply needed more information about why they’d be a good romantic match and why this particular moment in the timeline was the best time to go there instead of taking care of more urgent matters like having enough food and a warm, safe place to live first.

With that being said, I did enjoy seeing the characters become a found family and work together for the common good. It takes a lot of effort to look after children and people with intellectual disabilities in a setting like this, so I appreciated the descriptions of how everyone was kept (more or less) clean and fed under such difficult circumstances. That’s not something that’s always covered in this genre, but it’s one of those things I always hope to find in post-apocalyptic fiction as it would be such an important matter if something similar were ever to happen in real life.

This is the second instalment in a series that should be read in order for plot and character development reasons.

Treachery: Climate of Fire Book 2 was full of intrigue.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

8 Canterbury Tales by Albert Seligman (Editor)

May 1, 2025 By Leave a Comment


8 Canterbury Tales by Albert Seligman (Editor)
Publisher: Dulace Books
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

What the Canterbury Tales Are

The Canterbury Tales are one of the great classics of all literature. They were written by Geoffrey Chaucer, poet, warrior, diplomat and royal pensioner, about 1387, and are famous for the pictures they give of life in the 14th century. The tales were supposed to have been told by various members of a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral in England to while away the time. John Erskine, celebrated author of The Private Life of Helen of Troy, now relates these tales delightfully for the readers of The American Weekly, and Edmund Dulac, famed English painter and etcher, makes them vivid with his incomparable art.

These eight illustrations were published in The American Weekly magazine in 1942. John Erskine provided his interpretation of the Tales and his essay about the Canterbury Tales from his 1928 The Delight of Great Books is included.with additional illustrations. There is a further reading section which also includes illustrated editions from the early nineteenth century to the present.

The 8 Canterbury Tales included are-
The Student’s Tale of Patient Griselda
The Knight’s Tale of Emily’s Lovers
The Miller’s Tale of the Carpenter’s Wife
The Squire’s Tale of Canace and the Talking Falcon
The Wife of Bath’s Tale of the Amorous Knight
The Merchant’s Tale of the Doting Husband
The Man of Law’s Tale of What Happened to Constance
The Second Nun’s Tale of Saint Cecilia

All the original artwork for the covers has been restored, and a crop of each image follows the tales. This was a difficult undertaking for Dulac, who moved out of London due to the bombing during the war. The illustrations had to be sent by ship to America, and avoid Axis warships and submarines looking to sink any Allied vessel.

Dulac never before tried to illustrate either King Arthur, his 1940 American Weekly series, or Canterbury Tales, unlike many of his famous contemporaries. I would speculate that Hearst approved these two series to rally the Americans to help the English during their hour of need by showcasing two of their most well known and liked classics.

The classics are for everyone.

I enjoyed the author’s commentary on Chaucer’s work in both the introduction as well as sprinkled through the later sections. It felt like sitting in a university literature class and hearing what the professor thought of these famous stories. Sometimes he had sharp takes on certain characters or themes, and his strong opinions about them echoed in my mind as I read them for myself. There is definitely something to be said for knowing in advance what you’re getting into before diving into this collection.

I was surprised to learn how often these stories have been marketed to kids and teenagers over the years. Some sections showed rare pages from vintage youth-friendly magazines that printed them with gorgeous illustrations of the most important scenes. This wasn’t something I was expecting to find, but it made me read the sometimes-violent passages in a new light as I imagined what sorts of lessons young readers might be expected to learn from them. This is one of many reasons why I’m always excited to see new submissions from Mr. Seligman as he has consistently taught me all sorts of things about literature, art, and history that I was not previously aware of.

One of the things I liked the most about the Canterbury tales themselves were the glimpses they shared with the reader about medieval life. Yes, human nature has remained the same, but many social conventions and cultural expectations of how someone should behave have not. This was especially interesting when it came to things like explaining why some people were poor or why certain sexes or social classes were expected to behave in different ways than others were.

8 Canterbury Tales was a well-rounded introduction to these famous stories.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Numbered Love – A Story from American Buddha by Maysam Yabandeh

April 18, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Numbered Love – A Story from American Buddha by Maysam Yabandeh
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Nam never stopped thinking about the girl who once held his heart. For thirty years, he kept her memory alive through ancient romantic tales from the Far East. But when he returns to America to find her, his hopeful search unravels into a journey full of unexpected turns as he confronts the realities of love in modern times.

There’s nuance to everything in life, even love.

The plot twists kept me on my toes, especially when it came to the relationship between Nam and Livia, his young friend who promised to fall in love with him once they both grew up. Just when I thought I’d discovered the most unusual places this childhood vow took these characters, they ended up in a slightly to dramatically stranger place than they’d been just a moment before. I’d like to tip my cap to the author for taking these sorts of risks as they make reading – and reviewing – so much more fun!

It would have been nice to have a deeper exploration of Nam’s personality as he didn’t feel well-rounded to this reader. He came across as someone who was unaware of how sexist he was but who would have been mortified and possibly changed his ways if he were better at noticing his own flaws. His intelligence and willingness to work hard were easy to spot, but I needed more details about him in order to sympathize with the double standards he set when it came to how men should behave versus how women should behave.

With that being said, I enjoyed the sections of this short story that discussed what Buddhism has to say about suffering, the consequences of one’s actions, and how people should live. There were several nuggets of wisdom there that I can’t go into detail here for spoiler reasons but that made a lot of sense to me. It’s always nice to walk away from characters with something to ponder over.

Numbered Love was a wild ride.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Little Joe and the Big Rain by Mike Darcy

April 14, 2025 By 2 Comments


Little Joe and the Big Rain by Mike Darcy
Publisher: Lilbuda Creations
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Every great adventure starts with fly soup and ends with a new best friend, right?

When Little Joe’s froggy friend Hopper invites him over for a nice bowl of fly soup, they embark on Little Joe’s first-ever adventure through the wilderness! There, he’ll meet lots of woodland creatures and even make a surprising friend. Join these two unlikely explorers in this debut book Little Joe and the Big Rain.

This amusing animal story will delight young readers of all ages! It can teach children clever problem-solving, show how small acts of kindness can help you make unexpected friends, and instill in them the priceless treasure of curiosity. Entertaining for both kids and parents, it makes a fantastic bedtime story and a fun tale for elementary schoolers venturing into longer picture books.

Friendship is forever.

I loved how much detail was included in this picture book! Instead of having a sentence or two per page to read, there were a few paragraphs to enjoy instead which left plenty of space for me to get to know Little Joe and Hopper well as they explored the wilderness, discovered fun plot twists, and had all sorts of adventures. What made this even better were the occasional references to human culture and nature that older kids or adults are more likely to understand which added extra layers of meaning and would be fun to explain to little ones once they’re old enough to wonder what certain terms meant, for example. These details weren’t necessary in order to understand the main storyline. They were simply fun additions if a reader picks up on them.

Mr. Darcy trusted his audience to figure out the message without being directly told what they should learn from it. Instead, he allowed his characters to go on an adventure and see what might be waiting for them out in the world. This is the sort of writing that makes rereading so much fun as certain scenes feel a little different the second or third or tenth time around once one knows what is about to happen and can look for any hints about the future in the early scenes. No, I can’t possibly give any hints about what these characters find. It’s so much more fun to let the plot move where it needs to go and not have any idea what might happen next.

One of my favorite aspects of the storyline had to do with how Little Joe and Hopper’s expectations played out once it began raining and they couldn’t have the fly soup they were originally planning to make. Life is full of twists and turns for everyone, after all, but kindness and hope are two fantastic tools for figuring out how to react when something surprising or disappointing happens.

Little Joe and the Big Rain was heartwarming.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,
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