A House for Happy Mothers by Amulya Malladi

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'A House for Happy Mothers ', A Novel by Amulya Malladi.

In A House for Happy Mothers by Amulya Malladi we are introduced to two different woman, brought together by need. Pryia lives a life of ease, with everything she ever dreamed of. A loving husband, a job and a beautiful home. Yet she feels unfulfilled without a child. She and her husband have tried numerous times and were unable to carry to term.

Her husband loves her greatly but does not understand her yearning, but is more then willing to accommodate her needs. When they hear of surrogacy available in India, she begins a new journey, one that could lead to hope restored or more heart break.

Asha lives in a Southern Indian village. Her family does not have much. She lives there with her husband and two children barely able to make ends meet and with a home falling down around them. Her husband wants her to become a surrogate in order to move them up in life, there is very good money in the program. Asha does not like the idea but the pressure from her family is great. Her own son is extremely gifted and if their life does not change, he will be unable to get the education that he needs to escape a life of poverty. It is this, and only this, that allows her to make the decision.

Meeting the family is awkward for Pryia as Asha does not particularly like her. They come from different worlds and while Asha is moving forward for need she feels Pryia is only moving forward through want. Yet neither of them know the other, nor what drives them. Continents apart, that is not likely to change.

As Asha moves into full maternity mode, she has to caution herself. She wants so badly to fall in love with the baby. At a certain trimester, the surrogates are moved into a home for care, and Asha has to leave her children till the birth of this new child. This home is known as the House for Happy Mothers. Yet while Asha is beginning to relax, she doesn’t find her new living arrangement to her liking. She misses her home and her family. The other residents are jealous of her because her child’s mother, sends her gifts for both herself and her family. Not everyone has such kind parents for the child they carry.

Malladi takes us into a world that is very different then our own, and gives us characters that have a great deal of inner strength. Each is very determined in their own way to make the most of the situation, and the thread that draws them together becomes a light of goodness and happiness for both.When Asha has a small emergency, Pryia moves herself to India for the rest of the pregnancy, fearing the worst. It is here that they come to understand the other in ways that dissolve the distrust and anger, as well as the feelings of guilt, on both sides.

If you enjoy reading about other cultures and love literary fiction, you will find this to be the perfect work. It is moving and thoughtful as well as full of hope.


This would be a great work for a discussion group creating a great deal of dialogue and discussion.

Rating 4/5

Girl Through Glass by Sari Wilson

Posted first to Bog Critics as Book Review: 'Girl Under Glass,' A Novel by Sari Wilson.

In Girl Through Glass by Sari Wilson, we are taken into the very heart of dance as seen through the eyes of Mira Able, a gifted and mentored young dancer.  Beginning quite young, Mira is able to focus and pull her substance from deep inside. She seems to transcend many of the issues the other young girls face, yet she strives for even more.

Her life at home is difficult, her mother is trying to find herself, and often embarrasses her. Her father is sometimes overwhelmed by it all. When they split up, Mira learns that she is different than most children her age. When her mom’s new boyfriend makes a move, she is somewhat flattered, but always honest, letting both her parents know.

That is when the family finally comes to an end, and within a very short time, her life changes one more time.  Her father meets and marries a woman who is intrigued with Mira, and dance. She becomes a champion of her training and performances. Mira is appreciative, yet is now lonelier than ever.

It is during this time that she meets a man who is knowledgeable and kind. He becomes her mentor and while her family is unaware of this relationship, she grows through his instruction and conversation. Yet she finds that she is entranced by him, and though he is old, she loves him.

As Mira moves ahead, we begin to follow the shadow of her life, and suddenly we move forward in time and meet a young woman, and dance professor named Kate.  She is struggling with her own demons, and the fate of both is entwined in a strange array of life choices.

Wilson gives us a serious and provoking look at dance and takes us into the background of the theater and stage.  The lives of those who dance is different than that most children and the lure of dance is in their blood.  Dropping out is not an option, those that leave do not always leave on their own but because they do not make the cut. They each strive to be the best.  Yet all is not in harmony and the danger is sometimes overlooked. Each strives to do their best, and become the greatest.

This is a deep and sad story of love and loss, as well as darkness and tragedy.  We see the beauty and grace of the dancers, but also watch the unimaginable unfold into a secret that changes everything.

If you enjoy novels of gripping and challenging situations you will love this work. It is full of interest, and takes you into the background of dance, making you aware in a way that creates and understanding of how such a profession can change lives.  A novel of love, hate, loss and poignancy, you will find it hard to set aside until you reach the very end.

This would be a great book for a book club or reading group. The discussion would be quite lively.

Rating 4/5

Benjamin Franklin, Huge Pain in my ... by Adam Mansbach and Alan Zweibel

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Benjamin Franklin, Huge Pain in my ...' by Adam Mansbach and Alan Zweibel. 

Franklin Isaac Saturday is having a terrible time. His father has been located cross country, and his mom is remarried. Middle school is not what he expected, and he can’t seem to figure out the rules. In Benjamin Franklin, Huge Pain in my … by Adam Mansbach and Alan Zweibel, we are introduce to a comedic and historical work of interesting proportions.

Ike (as he is known) has a crush on his lab partner, but she doesn’t even see him. He has an opportunity to pick up extra credits by writing a letter to a Famous Historical Person. He picks Benjamin Franklin because of the name they share. He steals an old stamp from his stepfather’s collection just to add some authenticity. Then to make Claire (his lab partner) laugh, he mails it.

It is when Ben Franklin writes back that his life turns around and he begins a strange long distant friendship. How is it possible to communicate with such a heroic figure from the past; Ike isn’t sure but it has brought him closer to his crush.

To top it all off, Ben Franklin seems to have some of the same type of problems, so Ike finds himself continuing to write. Unaware of the ramifications of changing the past, he shares information that could change the entire course of history. Can he repair the possible damage he has begun?

This is a zany, funny look at time travel of sorts, as it relates to communication. You will find yourself entranced in the antics of Ike as he seeks advice from his historical mentor, and even tries to mail himself so he can actually meet him. The characterizations of both Ike and Claire keep the fun going with their silliness, but at the same time you are introduced to bits of real history that is fascinating.

If you have a young adult who loves to read and you can’t find just the right work, you will find this to be both fun and interesting for them. While written for the younger crowd it is also a tickling funny read for those who love books and especially the young at heart. You will be intrigued by the ideas and snatches of history included.


This would be a great book for a school book club or reading group. The fun is only part of its charm.

Rating 4\5

Creative Anarchy, How to Break the Rules of Graphic Design by Denise Bosler

Posted First to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Creative Anarchy' How to Break the Rules of Graphic Design by Denise Bosler.

For those in business, advertising is one of the best forms of media for getting your company or business in front of its intended public. Yet advertising is such a fickle enterprise, one that is often ineffective and it is difficult to decipher just what works and what doesn’t, and why.

Creative Anarchy by Denise Bosler is a look at Graphic design and advertising in a way that gives insight to the industry.  In an in-depth work of photos, ads, lessons and creative license you are given a tour of how the most successful consultants or ad agencies create the stuff dreams are made of. Each year advertisers create ads, but before they ever get accepted they are first designed and created by a series of creative individuals that understand the rules of the game as well as the occasional rule-breaking that makes the mundane into the incredible.

The lessons, media and images are chaotic and exciting and you are drawn to follow the ideas and successes of those who have broken the barrier of what makes advertising stick in the mind of the audience.

With proven methods and interesting images and procedures, you are taken into a world of color and creative process, one that is intriguing and stimulating.

For the large business as well as the entrepreneur this is an important work that could change the way your business garners sales and interest. If you are drawn to the idea behind a creative endeavor you will enjoy the thoughts and processes that have gone into this tome of creative advertising. 

I found the book both enlightening and the ideas very intriguing. It is amazing to see the depth of the trade knowledge and come to an understanding of why some ads work and other do not. If you are looking for that work that can take your business to the next level then this is a must have for your work place.

The ideas and creativeness leave a lasting impression and will help to light that fire of imagery into the mind of those wanting to capture their audience at first glance.  This is a great lesson in human dynamics, a bold look at how to capture the imagination

Rating 5/5

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review:'Elizabeth is Missing' by Emma Healey.

In Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey, we are introduced to a family in crisis. The poignancy and beauty of love give a clear indication of the heart of those inflicted with memory loss. The person who resides inside seems to only be misplaced and the acting out is not personalized but a reaction to a thought of action within the mind of those so afflicted.

Maude is having a terrible time remembering, yet when she finds a note that her best friend Elizabeth is missing, she is shocked. Even more so when she realizes the handwriting is her own.  Elizabeth is her best friend and when Maude can’t get the answers she is looking for she goes sleuthing on her own. That is a dangerous ploy as she has extreme memory loss. Her daughter Carla is doing what she can to keep her safe, but is alternately frustrated and scared. Her son lives farther away and he doesn’t see the danger of worries that come from day to day living with their mom.

Twisted in the memories are small bits and pieces of Maude’s past, and the disappearance of her beloved sister Sukey just after World War II.  As her memories ebb and flow the two disappearances keep connecting in strange and mysterious ways.  As Maude tries to make her daughter understand she continues to muddle the message, creating confusion for both. She has gone to the police, and while she does not remember, they certainly do. She has been many times reporting a missing person, and they begin to be concerned for Maude’s welfare as well.  With the pressure from her daughter and the police she tries to dredge up her concerns, yet everything comes back to Elizabeth being missing. Or is that Sukey? They keep getting twisted up in her memories. The notes she keep finding are more disconcerting, yet she knows from the handwriting that she is the one writing the clues. But she forgets how to decipher them.  

Can she pull her memories to the surface to save her friend, or is she just having a crisis as her daughter and the police suspect. And why does Sukey continue to dwell within that field of concern.

This is an amazing journey and one that speaks deeply to me as my mother too, has a form of dementia. The notes were one of her ways of coping and remembering and the acting out is also one of her ploys. The sudden clarity of memory also comes though at times and all is well for a short time, yet it is the past that often holds the power.

You will find yourself charmed and alarmed as Maude makes her way, you will worry about Carla and the missing Elizabeth.  Healey creates her characters so real; you expect to read about them in the headlines.  You will find the story both sad and exciting, and while cheering the characters on, the love that Maude holds is never lost.  To understand her is to love her, and you will find yourself there.

If you enjoy mysteries and small bits of history, you will find this to be the book for you.  If you have any family or know of anyone afflicted with memory loss this is a small bit of hope and poignancy.  

This is Emma Healey’s first novel and she has come out with a roar. This would be a great read for both a book club and a reading group. There is the possibility of immense amounts of discussion.  

Rating 5/5

This book was received from the authors publicist. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.

Early Decision by Lacy Crawford

Posted first on Blog Critics as Book Review:'Early Decision' by Lacy Crawford.

In schools and universities across the nation, the academic world is gearing up to approve those students that seem to fit into the life within their respective halls. The decisions are tough with few slots available in some cases and only a handful of hopefuls making the cut.

In Early Decision by Lacy Crawford, we are given a look into the decision making from the eyes of a student and one of those who help them polish their applications. Finding and dragging the best from many students is a chore and often parents are unable to help. In this case they hire Anne, who through word of mouth is known to get students what they want and need.

The problem is that what the students want and need is not always on the same course with their parents.  Anne often finds herself as a go between in cases where unrealistic dreams clash with reality. SAT scores and abilities figure harshly in many instances, and those with the money to pay her fees do not always get the degree of satisfaction they are looking for. Yet for Anne, it is about the students, she helps them to realize their strengths and to recognize their weaknesses. This is a tough deliverance as the parents are often in the background with expectations that in some cases are difficult to meet.

In some situations the price of success takes students where they feel they need to be, but in other cases heartache is the meal of the day.  In the admissions process, feelings are not a part of the progression.  The faces of admission mean nothing; it is only the scores and abilities, as well as the talent to illustrate in a way that you stand out in a crowd. That is part of what Anne helps with.  Yet there is a story behind each student that makes it all so real.

Crawford takes us into the lives of a group of college-bound seniors, sharing their backgrounds and hopes, as well as those of the family, especially the parents. Not always in the best light, she helps them to understand how sometimes it is the parents dream and not their own.  It seems like a cruel system, and yet there are just so many spaces available in many of the institutions.

Crawford takes the most difficult of cases and finds the humor and sympathy below the surface. I am sure there is often untold hurt when rejection comes, and yet for a handful of students there is joy and trepidation.

This would be a wonderful book for a reading group or book club. The intrinsic gathering of information and background is deep and basic. The dialogue engendered through a reading would be quite robust.

Rating 3/5

This book was received from the authors publicist. All opinions are my own based on my reading and understanding of the material.

Heartache and Hope in Haiti: The Britney Gengel Story by Len and Cherlyann Gengel

Article first published as Book Review: Heartache and Hope in Haiti: The Britney Gengel Story by Len and Cherylann Gengel on Blogcritics.

Nature often wreaks havoc on the world. Many times we see the destruction through the view of a camera, while other times the action is on our doorstep. Never sure where disaster will strike, when the damage happens elsewhere, we watch in sadness. When nature’s fury hits close to home, despair overcomes those involved.

In Heartache and Hope in Haiti: The Britney Gengel Story by Len and CheryLann Gengel , the authors share with us the pain and disbelief of such a powerful force. In 2010 their daughter Britney, a sophomore at Lynn University, traveled with a group of student to work for an aide group. This was their chance to give back to the world, and Britney in particular was touched. After a short time in Haiti, she determined that her life’s work would be to help open an orphanage in this country where hope was alive in its children. Yet only a few short hours later, an earthquake leveled Port-au-Prince and the Hotel she had been staying in.

Unable to reach her, the family lives in fear, alternately dreading and then excited by the news. But as with confusion and reporting, the news was often not just misleading but entirely wrong. Their Britney was never coming home again.

Here begins the life of rebuilding and how Len and Cherylann chose to take a vision and make it real. Shaking off their own grief, they take Britney’s dream and move it towards reality.

This is a heartfelt and hurt filled story, but filled with love and hope. To see how others transcend past the pain of losing a child and find a way to offer hope is a testament to that love. They chose to take that anguish and use the power of that pain to move forward and build the dream that keeps their daughter alive in a very different way.

While I had heard about the Earthquake, I was able to view it from afar where it didn’t touch me. Even hearing the stories and seeing the footage, the sadness and caring were there, but the destruction seemed remote and far away. With the Store of Britney and the Gengel’s efforts to make her wishes come true, you have no choice but to become a part of the devastation and pain. You feel the horror and the hope as they wait for news that will bring their daughter home. IF you have children this will tear at your soul. Reading the stories of the children and the people in Haiti, bring home the devastation in a way, that even pictures on the news were unable to capture.  

This is a remarkable story, built with courage and love. The inspiration lends us an example of how goodness flows in even the worst of times. This would be a marvelous book for a reading group. The story pulls you in and the chills and despair felt by the Gengel’s becomes your own. Even the profits of the book are slated to benefit the Orphanage now built in Britney’s name for the honor of the children of Haiti. You cannot move away from this story unmoved. You will marvel at the tenacity of the will to make a dream succeed.

Rating 4/5

This book was received from the authors publicist. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.

The Moon is not for Sale by Wallace Provost

The race to the moon has been a topic of interest for many years. Is it habitable and if so how do we address the concerns with the actual colonizing of such a place?

In The Moon is not for Sale by Wallace Provost, we are taken into the future where not only has the moon begun to fill up with inhabitants, it becomes a place of natural resources necessary to keep Earth afloat, but also a dream for some of finding a different home. What begins with Helium spreads out into gold and other precious metals.

Beginning with an accident that throws together two young people, we are taken on a journey into the very beginning of an interesting colonization, and the family that has made it happen.  Annie is only there with a group a students, but the accident strands her on Clint’s family farm until another shuttle can get her back to Earth. Living on the surface of the moon is impossible, and the farm is underground in a tunnel that keeps the family free of all the damages that occur on the surface. With gravity being so different from Earth, there is only a short time span that one can spend on the moon before they must leave, or stay to become a resident. Those that stay are known as Luneys.

Annie has no intention of staying regardless of her developing feelings for Clint. She is on her way to becoming an attorney, and she is bound and determined to follow it through. It is with sadness and internal pain that she finds the hiatus over and she is on her way back to Earth to continue with her own plans.

Little does she know that as she pursues her own destiny, it will swing in a fashion unintended from the beginning? This change will bring her back to the moon and the man she now understands that she loves. Will she be able to follow her dreams and reap the rewards from both ends?

Provost has written a gem of science, littered it with fiction, and twisted the two together to make a story of hardship and love. Alternating between storytelling and scientific fact, as well as a bit of fiction, you are on a journey into the unknown. Somewhat like the pull of the gold rush, the availability of finding a home on the moon, or just becoming a miner, makes the moon a place of interest. When it is declared that  homesteading and mining are allowed but that the moon is not for sale, there are those that will do whatever it takes to change that law.

If you enjoy science fiction, and stories of adventure you will find this work to be interesting. For me the back and forth between fiction and science was a bit difficult, and some things I found to be tedious, but often science seems that way.

Provost has an interesting voice, new to the writing world. The Moon is Not for Sale is an interesting take on politics and greed, which often leads to disaster. But he has found a way through, keeping the moon pristine for generations to come.

Rating 3/5

This book was received from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.

Flight Emergency by Reya Kempley

Article first published as Book Review: Flight Emergency by Reya Kempley on Blogcritics.

Piloting and flying aircraft is not just about vacation, but also a hobby and travel source for many individuals. Small craft are independently owned and used throughout the US and other countries. Along with flight there are also risks, dangers that can turn flight into a nightmare.

Flight Emergency by Reya Kempley, is an interesting role-playing game written for both students and certified pilots. Set to different possible emergencies, she has put together scenarios that could happen. As a reader you choose the direction or decision you would make and each choice takes you to a different outcome. It is informative and interesting. Kempley tries to choose the most likely emergencies that can occur, and then takes you to their conclusion based on your own choice.

As a learning tool this seems to be very thorough. Not a pilot myself I found that while I did not always choose the correct course initially, many of the right choices entail both common sense, and a bit of patience.  The book has been read by numerous pilots and from their discourse they find her simulations spot-on and to the point. There are eight role-playing emergencies and Kempley has made this more than just text book learning, but fun as well as informative.

Kempley herself is a pilot and has experience that could prove invaluable to others. Putting this to paper and sharing her insights in this interactive forum is both challenging and interesting.

I would recommend this book as a great gift for your student pilot or even your already certified pilot. Pitting yourself against the inherent dangers in such a safe interactive way and learning how to spot and divert danger is one of the best gifts one can give.

Kempley has stepped outside the box to bring safety to others. This would be a great book for the amateur or professional aviator to add to their library.

Rating 4/5

This book was received free from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.