Russell Ricard

A story about friendship, legacy, hope, redemption

Revisado: 10-02-20

Scott Semegran’s writing evokes a blend of Tobias Wolff meets E.B. White meets Stephen King.
His newest novel, The Benevolent Lords of Sometimes Island, is an adeptly written tale of grit, adventure, suspense, and survival with a humorous yet morbidly tender undertow. A fully realized coming-of-age tale that captures manhood’s understanding of the socio-psychological complexities of boyhood angst and self actualization.

First person adult narrator, William, reflects upon his experiences from the summer of 1986, as a middle grader stranded with his ethnically diverse set of best friends, who find themselves stranded for several days on an island in Central Texas, including their unfortunate dealings with school bullies.

Ultimately, a story about friendship, legacy, hope, and redemption with strong crossover appeal for YA readers.

A treat, too, is the audio version with narration by Tim Sailer; pitch perfect tone and dramatic delivery of Semegran’s vast array of diverse characters. Bravo!

**P.S. If you have a hard time getting boys and/or men to read fiction, this just might be one for them.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Bold, playful writer's voice.

Revisado: 09-12-20

Enjoyed Annie Dillard's The Writing Life. Hers is a bold, playful voice.
Charming and insightful essays.
A call to action for writers.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Brave self-reflection. Love letter to writers.

Revisado: 09-09-20

Alexander Chee’s How To Write An Autobiographical Novel. Beautifully written, powerful essays. Brave self-reflection. Taps deeply into issues of social-political-racial-sexual-gender identity. An insightful love letter to writers/artists, their process and emotional/creative development, impact on the world. Fantastic Audio version narration by Daniel K. Issac—conveys the varied emotional tones, tenderness, intensity, and intent as written by Chee throughout each essay.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Powerful & Empowering

Revisado: 09-01-20

Carmen Maria Machado’s memoir, In The Dream House, is a heart-wrenching, satisfying read. An important story that could hopefully serve as an awakening for so many folks. Most instructive is Machado’s exploration of the toxicity of gaslighting—a form of psychological manipulation used to gain an upper hand and avoid accountability—which has the ability to not only bleed into romantic partnerships, but across families, friendships, workplaces, and social-political structures. Powerful & empowering. And wonderfully tender and emotive audio narration from the author.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

I adore Mercy Carr. Plot perfect story & heart

Revisado: 08-20-20

Brava Paula Munier. Enjoyed Blind Search. Secrets, lies, mystery—and some romance. Adore Mercy Carr & her canine buddy, Elvis. And, my goodness, that final scene! Wowza; heart pumping. Plot perfect, beautiful writing, character development, and set up for book 3 ahead. Fantastic audio narration (as was her performance in book #1 in this series) from Kathleen McInerney.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Meditative and heartfelt story.

Revisado: 08-03-20

Justin Taylor’s Riding with the Ghost is a meditative, tender memoir. Self-reflective prose balanced with an intellectual exploration of loss, grief, and delve into one’s childhood versus adulthood self with regard to parent-child relationships. A haunting yet comforting reminder to have faith that we human beings are complex, ever evolving creatures responsible for nurturing our own legacies. Heartfelt , tender, accessible tone in audio narration from the author. Bravo all around.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Beautifully layered characters and mystery

Revisado: 07-27-20

Paul Munier’s Borrowing of Bones. Terrific. Mercy Carr, a heroic military police veteran who loves Shakespeare is both kickass and endearing. And then there’s her bomb-sniffing canine partner, Elvis; I fell in love with them both--their dynamic. Beautifully layered, psychological depth surrounding Mercy’s grief over her dead fiancé. Steady build of intrigue and dramatic action in these partner’s search for the identity of the human bones they come upon while on a walk in a remote part of Vermont wilderness. A chillingly heartfelt ending. The next two in this series, now on my TBR list, should make for great follow ups. Audiobook narration is pitch perfect by Kathleen McInerney.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Powerful tale of perseverance

Revisado: 07-13-20

Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys is powerful; stellar writing. Won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. I concur with the prize judges who called it "a spare and devastating exploration of abuse at a reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida that is ultimately a powerful tale of human perseverance, dignity and redemption." And bravo to JD Jackson, narrator of the audio version; beautifully rendered, and emotionally impactful.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Keen observations of universal themes of boyhood.

Revisado: 06-26-20

This Boy’s Life. Although one person’s narrative, Tobias Wolff’s keen observations inform a better understanding of the universal interiority (whether or not boys and men share it with others)of the growing pains of boyhood life, including expectations of masculine ideals—regardless of one’s sexual orientation. Strikingly self reflective, honest, and vulnerable storytelling. No wonder it’s a classic. Audiobook narrator Oliver Wyman offers impeccable, In depth, emotionally accessible performance.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Have voice. Important socio-emotional topics

Revisado: 04-15-20

Powerful memoir. Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls. Brave voice from T Kira Madden. Fascinating journey; queer girl coming of age into womanhood. Biracial (Chinese-American mom/Caucasian Jewish-American dad.) Important socio-emotional topics. Adept, heartfelt voice narration.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas