Third Place: The Bronson Escapades by Alison BellringerBellringer

The Bronson Escapades by Alison Bellringer

Reviewed by Timea Barabas

Alison Bellringer offers young readers a delightful escape with The Bronson Escapades. Lighthearted and enchanting, the book invites us into the tender world of childhood wonder and innocence. Each page feels like a breath of fresh air, making this a truly family-friendly read.  Purchase Here.

Throughout the story, we follow the Bronson family; especially their five children, three girls and two boys, ranging in age from 9 to 17. The delightful group of five is surrounded by a group of strong supporting characters, which includes the parents, Cook (who is as you may have guessed it, the family’s cook), Sarah (a friend of the children with a high-pitched voice), George (the gentle giant), and Mr. Hugglepuff (the new school principal).

Alison Bellringer welcomes readers into the magical realm of childhood, where wonder is found in simplicity. Everyday moments (like a trip to the store or the search for a lost ring) unfold into grand adventures. What makes the journey especially engaging is seeing how each of the Bronson children responds in their own unique way when faced with the same situation.

The book can also be enjoyed as a collection of interconnected short stories told in chronological order, each following the same characters. This structure makes it highly accessible, with every chapter offering a self-contained adventure while deepening our connection to the familiar cast. A gentle overarching thread ties the stories together, giving the book a natural sense of flow.

With every exciting chapter, these characters grow more vivid and familiar, until by the final page, it feels as though the reader has gained five new, fun-loving friends. As the story draws to a close, there’s a bittersweet tug at the heart, like saying farewell to dear companions. Yet it may not be goodbye at all, but rather a hopeful “see you next time.”

In October 2024, The Bronson Escapades was honored with the Mom’s Choice Awards® Silver Seal of Excellence. And it is an excellent read indeed. Although written primarily for young readers ages 8 to 12, the stories hold a charm that can captivate readers of all ages.

 

Lizard People: Death Valley Underground

Lizard People: Death Valley Underground by David A. Ek

Reviewed by Daniel Ryan Johnson

Lizard People: Death Valley Underground is a fascinating look into the lost souls that make up the populations of our most remote and harsh climates. In the novel, author David A. Ek takes us all the way down several rabbit holes as he explores the paranoia that consumes people in these parts of the world at a much higher rate than among the population as a whole. While the story revolves around Lizard People and their dealings with the government, it expands to contain a wide variety of eccentrics with wild ideas about the world in which we live.  Purchase Here.

The action gets going as a woman from Boston arrives in Death Valley and enlists the services of a reluctant loner running away from his past to help her find her missing uncle. During their investigation, the two slowly begin to develop a close bond as their search takes them to every corner of Death Valley and the surrounding region.

Ek does great character work, building a large cast of fascinating folk drawn to Death Valley and the (often unfulfilled) promises it holds. What begins as a simple missing person case evolves rapidly and draws in more and more elements from the mountains and valleys that make up the region. With every turn of the page, you are flipping over a new rock to find what creepy crawlers lie beneath.

As the book progresses, the reader begins to question which elements within the story are real and which are simply the mad ideas of these characters who have spent far too much time in the oppressive desert heat.

The story of Lizard People: Death Valley Underground never gets boring or feels as if it is dragging on, as the mysteries just continue to pile up throughout the book. With plenty of twists and turns, it will keep you guessing right until the very end. And even then, you will find yourself wondering if the person sitting across from you on the bus, or working in the cubicle next to yours, or lying beside you in bed, just might be one of the Lizard People.

First Place:

Crown City: Book 3 of A Japantown Mystery by Naomi Hirahara

Reviewed by Ephantus Gold

In her new historical mystery novel, “Crown City: Book 3 of A Japantown Mystery,” Naomi Hirahara deftly expresses that feeling of being an outsider looking in. The novel seeks to answer the “who-am-I-here” dilemma through Ryunosuke “Ryui” Wada who we meet first not as a detective, but as a dreamer, who is eighteen years old and stumbling off a ship with a suitcase of dreams and a heart full of grief. Without parents, he wrestles with the implications of being an orphan in an often vicious world where his sanity and survival are threatened.  Purchase Here.

Japan no longer has a place for young Ryui due to his young age and inexperience which would have allowed him the opportunity to run his father’s business. But he has developed an unassailable confidence, not weighed down by centuries of tradition thanks to his father’s trade connections with both Americans and Britons. He gazes out over the sea and travels to “Crown City,” Pasadena, California to reinvent himself hoping to one day return home as “the golden boy.” Initially, Pasadena appears to embody the ideals of wealth and progressive ideals and, for a moment, you want to believe that everything would go well for Ryui in his new occupation as an art dealer apprentice. Yet this trust is neatly dispelled by the author, who immediately establishes an unsettling quality that presents the warm welcome as fragile and, somehow, fast-fading.

The story begins with a one-two punch as Ryui is assaulted and then a painting by Toshio Aoki, one of the best-known Japanese artists in Pasadena, is taken from his studio. Instead of going to the police, Aoki enlists Ryui and Jack to conduct an under-the-table investigation. This decision exposes considerable discord in the community beyond the unsaid insistence to perpetuate the “perfect image” whilst dealing with private, and sometimes oppressive, matters.

Initially intrigued by the prospect of becoming a detective, Ryui emerges as a well-crafted protagonist. His decisions provide a crash course on the brutal realities of his new home just before all of the intricately woven fabric of his dream is almost pulled apart. The stolen painting is the first thread he pulls even as the question of whether he can beat the odds quickly become something that grows in ways that are both exhilarating and incredibly unsettling.

Hirahara has a very straightforward style, while maintaining the same cadence. She is impressive in how one minute she hits you with an unforgettable image or moment and the next one has you in the streets of Pasadena. You vividly find yourself beholding in your imagination Ryui and his unwavering optimism and tenderness, Jack and the mounds of quiet mystery, and even the flashes back to Yokohama, all trade and noise.

 

All of this convinces me that the book will engage two main readerships: readers who like drawing attention to significant matters of identity and belonging in an immigrant story, and those who want a well-written historical mystery with a moving backstory. The terrifying hypothesis that Ryui’s future is in fact the biggest mystery he must crack is what Hirahara leaves her readers with. What’s so powerful about “Crown City: Book 3 of A Japantown Mystery,” is that it’s not merely recreating the crime, but creating a culture where none existed. This book can be read as a standalone and that’s part of its strength.

The Manipulator

The Manipulator by Dan Buzzetta

Reviewed by Matthew W. McCarty

The world created by John Grisham in his seminal novel The Firm is taken to another level in The Manipulator, the most recent thriller by author Dan Buzzetta. Legal intrigue and sleight of hand have been as constant in American life as death and taxes. Many readers can recall an incident from their own lives or something that they read in the local newspaper that illustrates that idea perfectly. The Manipulator is an easy-to-read, swift ride through what can happen when legal wrangling becomes intertwined with other, more selfish interests. A single evening can transport the reader on an exciting and personal journey.  Purchase Here.

Thomas Berte, a rising lawyer at a prestigious law firm, is mysteriously promoted to chief deputy in the Department of Justice. The reader is privy to Tom’s thoughts, questions, and concerns about his promotion and what he is supposed to do when he arrives in Washington. Intertwined with Tom’s adventure is a man by the name of Cosimo Benedetto, the leader of the Syndicate, a leading purveyor of drugs and crime. The reader is eventually given the reason why Tom has been promoted and has led a charmed life, and why Cosimo has developed such a personal interest in Tom’s investigation into the Syndicate.

The Manipulator follows in the footsteps of excellent legal reading from Grisham, Scott Turow, and, to a lesser extent, Tom Clancy. Author Dan Buzzetta writes with a skill that draws the reader in and creates a need to turn the page in hopes of answering the question of why Tom has been promoted to the Department of Justice over other lawyers who have been in practice much longer. There is not much in the way of legalese that can creep into works of legal fiction. The reader can follow the narrative with ease and will actually enjoy finding out about why Tom has gotten where he is in life.

The Manipulator is one of the few works of fiction that this reviewer has read in the last several months. Apprehension was certainly in the air when this trip started. However, Buzzettas’ writing created a need to finish the book and find out what happened and why. The Manipulator is an excellent diversion from academic reading and professional monographs. It gave this reader a renewed interest in finding good fiction that can occupy a lazy evening by the fire or on the back porch and can take the reader into a world where the end of the book brings a definite conclusion and not questions that can never be answered as in the real world. This reviewer recommends The Manipulator without reservation and looks forward to Buzzettas’ next volume.

 

The Glastonbury Triangle

The Glastonbury Triangle by Stephen Ford

Reviewed by Ephantus Gold

“The Glastonbury Triangle” is Stephen Ford’s third book, following “Destiny of a Free Spirit” and “Walking out of the World.” It is a satirical dystopian thriller with copious helpings of political commentary infused with the mysticism of one of the most enigmatic towns in Britain, Glastonbury. Renowned for its Arthurian myths, Ley lines (a mytho-historical construct of early 20th-century myth that exposes ancient sites to have been placed consciously on a linear line on the landscape), and goddess worship (comprises a significant portion of the town’s religious heritage), Glastonbury is the site where state surveillance, religious revival, and media spectacle converge. What emerges is a story that feels both timeless and deeply unsettling, and which asks whether there really a difference between religion and politics if both are ultimately about controlling what people think and do. Purchase Here.

Journalist Simon Chewton from The Daily Trumpet arrives in Glastonbury expecting nothing more than to cover the new Knights of Camelot theme park, run by the Marquess of Mendip. Instead, he is sucked into a maze of missing persons, secret experiments, and mounting hostilities between pagan groups, Christian crusaders, and the guardians of “acceptable” belief for the state. His journalism loses its protective detachment- safety through neutrality- instantly as forces at play prove to be far more sinister than the quaint eccentricities he had arrived to mock.

Once it’s clear he’s digging for information where he shouldn’t, we see him encountering hostility from state authorities monitoring “unapproved” ideas, churchmen who fear losing moral ground and pagan organizations wary of interlopers. He is no longer considered a reporter but a meddler who may leak dangerous truths. His relationship with Jenny develops but complicates matters further. She’s enmeshed in goddess spirituality, and through her he’s pulled further into rituals and beliefs he once mocked. This personal tie makes his choices more costly.

All of the themes in this book are about power and belief, and how they get entwined until you can no longer separate them. We also find the motif of myth and identity, which is seen in the way in which Glastonbury’s myths are used by different sides in a bid to empower themselves or over other individuals. It also connects to the way one builds their own sense of self, from whatever belief they hold. The book also goes on to maintain that there can never be neutrality as a myth. This and other similar themes are well served and most effectively sustained on the character arc of the protagonist.

Fans of dystopian satire and readers who have no problem with some mysticism and darker cultural critique will love this one. It is a book that is not so much for people looking for light escapism but for those who like books that push at politics, religion, and identity and ones that ask uncomfortable questions. Its prose is clean and simple, and its characters are well-honed. Simon is the anchor and his evolution from a detached reporter to a trapped participant is the book’s strongest part. Jenny comes out as a love interest and also a doorway into the spiritual side of Glastonbury, but all too frequently more symbolic. “The Glastonbury Triangle” is not an easy read- it’s challenging, brain-stimulating, and textured. It is the kind of book that lingers with you because it keeps poking at questions that relate to everyday life- who we trust, what we believe, and how easily power reshapes both

No Free Speech for Hate

No Free Speech for Hate by Stephen Ford

Reviewed by Lily Andrews

“No Free Speech for Hate” by Stephen Ford is a thought-stirring dystopian political thriller set in a near-future Britain. This is in a period when free expression is tightly restricted under the slogan “No Free Speech for Hate” and when universities, schools, workplaces, and even families are monitored for “toxic influences.”  Additionally, status isn’t determined by one’s skills but by one’s acceptance of society’s ideologies, and historical figures are being erased or rewritten if their pasts don’t align with the new ideological standards set by a web of overlapping powers.  Purchase Here.

The protagonist, Jim Hubbings, is a middle-aged pharmacology professor who, at the beginning of the story, strongly believes that his field is “safe” from political battles. Sooner than expected, however, he discovers otherwise when, at his university, administrators force him to erase the work of Herbert Pethering, a pioneering figure in pharmacology, and replace his contributions with those of Enid Clompton, Pethering’s secretary, who is retroactively elevated as the “real” contributor.

At home, Jim’s world tightens just as much as it does at the university.  His daughter Amelia becomes the target of the school’s “safeguarding” regime when her tablet is found to contain a suspicious material named Category-A Toxic Influence. In reality, the material is a simple romance novel in her room that gets flagged as unsuitable for her age because it depicts “sexist and heteronormative stereotypes.” Even a framed photo in the lounge raises suspicion because the woman in it resembles the banned writer Kate Stillworthy. Kate is stated as “one of the most notorious terfs, a trans-exclusionary radical feminist whose material could cause severe mental anguish to any trans pupil in the school, scarring their young lives, possibly even ending their lives, should the trauma drive someone to suicide…” Officials imply that if the household is found to harbor “toxic influences,” Amelia could be marked “educationally unsuitable,” cutting off her future prospects. Here we see Jim’s safe haven turn into another battleground where compliance is demanded and resistance could destroy everything he cares about.

This is a book that accurately represents a society caught between competing forms of authoritarianism, each claiming moral legitimacy. It serves a warning against sacrificing liberty for safety while employing irony, exaggeration, and bureaucratic absurdities to deliver dark humor that sharpens its critique. It is well-layered, and beneath the politics includes personal struggles that give it an emotional anchor that readers can readily connect with.

Ford doesn’t shy from tackling hot-button issues like gender politics, colonial history, identity, and surveillance, and has hence offered the world an integral read whose impact will remain both relevant and provocative for a long time. “No Free Speech for Hate” themes resonate globally, and any society grappling with balancing tolerance and liberty will see itself reflected therein. Readers who enjoy fiction that collides with real-world debates and forces them to question their own stance on freedom, safety, and truth will also not want to miss this one.

 

 

The Real Dreamwalker Presents El Nino

THE REAL DREAMWALKER PRESENTS: El Niño by Ashlyn Jacobs

Reviewed by Daniel Ryan Johnson

Many people share common anxieties and fears about the future. However, when you start sharing actual nightmares, with all the exact same details, it may mean the Dreamwalker is near. THE REAL DREAMWALKER PRESENTS: El Niño is an anthology series displaying vignettes of horror in Tucson, Arizona. Author Ashlyn Jacobs pulls us in and under before the book even truly gets going as concrete hands take Deke and Corey down in the prologue while the Dreamwalker watches on.  Purchase Here.

While these tales of terror start by presenting us with stories that are seemingly only connected by a common location and villain, as we delve deeper into the book, we find more connecting threads that begin to suggest a larger, more complex picture. The intentions of the Dreamwalker become harder to determine, and the mysteries begin to match the fear scrawled across every page.

With few characters that appear in more than a single chapter, there isn’t much time for character development in THE REAL DREAMWALKER PRESENTS: El Niño. However, this doesn’t stop the characters who do appear in the book from being compelling in their short time on the page. We are still pulled into their world and left wanting to know more about what happens with them next. At least, that is, for those who survive.

If you love looking for new fuel for your nightmares, reading a chapter from THE REAL DREAMWALKER PRESENTS: El Niño before bed will do the trick. Each story in the book is able to stand up on its own, providing the creepy factor that fans of horror are looking for in an anthology like this one. At the same time, the pieces you get as part of the larger story will easily keep any mystery fans intrigued to keep flipping through the pages and learning more.

Ashlyn Jacobs does a wonderful job of building suspense and leaving the reader with that feeling of a tingling on the back of the neck as they put down the book and lie down in bed for the night. You can’t help but feel that you are being watched. That a figure with a black baseball cap, headphones, and wrapped in a gray blanket is outside your window, floating off the ground, watching you, reading your thoughts, and learning all about your deepest fears.

History Lessons

History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook

Reviewed by Ephantus Gold

Set on a leafy university campus instead of a battlefield, Zoe B. Wallbrook’s “History Lessons” takes the familiar framework of a murder mystery and spins it into something sharper, funnier, and more socially aware. At the center is Daphne, a newly hired professor at Harrison University, who is juggling all the messiness of academia including department politics, tenure pressure, and the weird rituals of faculty meetings, when a colleague ends up dead. Suddenly, she’s not just navigating office rivalries and grading stacks of papers, she’s trying to solve a crime that cuts into the very culture of the institution she’s just joined.

What immediately grabs you is Daphne herself. She’s funny, a bit nerdily intelligent, fearless in  ways that she doesn’t necessarily recognize herself, and no less important, she’s one of just a few Black faculty people on campus. The fact that she is Black tints everything that she does from the way she navigates meetings to students judging her and colleagues assuming they can discount her. The novel doesn’t pound you with that, but it informs the ways that she puts together puzzles in solving that mystery. Her narrative voice is that which continually draws you in, no matter if she’s unraveling puzzles or satirizing academic mumbo-jumbo with a good one-sentence sketch. Wallbrook’s writing is fast-paced and fun to read. The chapters seemed to flip by when I read the story, often with a cliffhanger twist or a joke that made me just want to read one more time before I went to sleep. The dialogue seemed just right: professors bantering, students with their own issues, even cops getting caught up in the campus bubble. I adored that the story seemed like a campus satire at times, a cozy mystery at times, and a thriller novel at others. What readers will enjoy is that Wallbrook takes the tiny tensions of academic living and makes them dramatic and tense moments. While the novel isn’t flawless in my eyes, there are many threads going on all at once- mystery, love story, departmental intrigue, historic references. But sometimes it feels just a little overfull. The love subplot in particular doesn’t receive the same depth level of the other parts of the novel, and several of the secondary characters might have received just a little room to breathe themselves. But even with these complaints, however, not once did the novel ever run out of steam.

My big takeaway from “History Lessons” is that it’s not just a crime-solving story, but of who gets to tell history and whose voices get omitted. Wallbrook manages to do that while still writing a page-turner with humor and warmth. If you like campus novels, twisty cozy-style mysteries, or just smart, character-led novels, do look out for this one. It’s a very strong debut novel, and it feels like Daphne is a character with wonderful potential for being the center of a whole series.

 

 

Words

Words by Katherine Davis-Gibbon

Reviewed by Diana Coyle

In “Words” by Katherine Davis-Gibbon, readers are taken on a magical journey of discovering how words can have such an emotional impact on our lives. Words can teach us something new, convey a message, or even allow us to share emotions or thoughts with others. Each word we pick to speak is just as uniquely different as each of us is. Amazingly, the same word used could have different meanings for the person saying them and receiving them. Will you now stop and pay closer attention to the words that surround you every day? You’ll be happily surprised at what you just might discover.  Purchase Here.

I truly enjoyed this children’s book and felt it was in a class all its own. The theory of presenting to a child that words are just as fun and different as you are was such a refreshing concept to read as a theme for a children’s picture book. As an adult, it made me stop to think about how we each use words every day to communicate many different emotions. We can tell a story with words or even express an emotion. The words we choose have different levels of intensity depending on how we use them. Never did I read any book that came off with such an impactful message as Katherine Davis-Gibbon has written.

Another thing I want to mention is how cleverly Ms. Davis-Gibbon incorporated certain words, sometimes obviously, while other times cryptically, to her readers. Readers of all ages will stop and take their time looking at the illustrations to see what the next word might be in the picture and how that word chosen tells a different story from the others used.

The illustrations provided by Anne Berry were not only fun to look at, but the depth of each picture created pulls readers in to see what story that page is ready to present to its readers. The colors are vibrant and easily draw the readers deeper into their reading experience. There is plenty for the readers to visually take in as they turn the pages, looking at these full-paged illustrations. Anne Berry is a professional illustrator who has created art for children’s books, magazines, curricula, greeting cards, and more for over ten years.

Katherine Davis-Gibbon is not only an award-winning children’s book author; but also a yoga teacher, a meditation practitioner, and the founder of the children’s book company Riverlet Press.

Overall, “Words” by Katherine Davis-Gibbon is one book that can be enjoyed by readers young and old. The storyline is just as refreshingly unique as each chosen word character that was drawn into this enjoyable children’s picture book. This children’s book comes highly recommended!

 

Let's Do Everything and Nothing

Let’s Do Everything and Nothing by Julia Kuo

Reviewed by Nancy Eaton

I picked up a copy of Let’s Do Everything and Nothing, not really knowing what to expect. It’s short, quiet, and doesn’t try to impress you with a big story or flashy words. But wow—it got to me. There’s something about the way it captures love and presence that made me pause.  Purchase Here.

The book follows two people—possibly a mom and daughter, maybe not. It doesn’t spell it out, and honestly, it doesn’t need to. What matters is how they move through the world together. They do big things like climbing mountains and swimming in oceans, but also small things like lying on the floor and watching shadows stretch. And somehow, the small stuff felt bigger.

What is meant by the statement, “Let’s do everything and nothing”? Even though it might seem like you are not doing much, as long as you are with someone you love, you are enjoying the time together, and that is what truly matters. This is the main theme throughout the book.

The illustrations are colorful and match each page. There are little cultural touches—shrimp chips, Chinese calligraphy—that made it feel personal. It’s the kind of book you want to read slowly, maybe even out loud, just to let it sink in.

After I finished it, I sat there for a minute and thought about the people I’ve shared quiet moments with. It made me feel a little nostalgic, but in a good way. This book is recommended for children 3-6 years old. However, this isn’t just a children’s book—it’s a reminder of how special it is to be with someone we simply love.