Review: Eight Moments

Eight Moments

By Carmen Hendrix

Magnolia Babies Publishing

ISBN 978-0-9978060-2-1

https://www.magnoliababiespublishing.com/

https://www.carmenhendrix.com/other-ventures

What difference does a moment make?

This is the question at the heart of Carmen Hendrix’s second novel, Eight Moments. Donna Catchings hasn’t been home in over a decade and likes it that way. She’s made a successful life in Houston, but that soon changes. Over the course of one week, Donna tries to manage conflict at work, her complicated feelings about a potential suitor, and memories of a family tragedy. When she receives a call about her mother’s failing health, Donna is filled with a whirlpool of emotions. She’d sworn to never lay eyes on her mother again, the woman who’s loathed her since her brother’s death years earlier. Vowing to get answers, Donna travels home to Atlanta. But things aren’t that simple as family tensions and secrets come to a head forcing Donna to contend with the complex truth behind her mother’s behavior.

Eight Moments is a well-plotted open letter to time. Written with the kind of familiarity that reminds you of your best friend, this story unfolds in eight succinct chapters that will beg you to turn the page. Donna’s voice is so well-crafted; she is not a wasted character getting lost in the twists and turns of familial fall-out. With realistic dialogue and crisp description, Hendrix is fully in control of the story, carefully curating a journey to truth.

KidsBBookin: Eli's 1st Winter Carnival

Eli's 1st Winter Carnival
by Lisa Bowen
Illustrated by Nina Vanessa Pontillas
34 pp. Real Life Learning
(Picture Book; ages 3-6)
http://www.reallifelearning.ca/childrens-books.html
http://lisabowen.weebly.com/


It's getting to be that time of year. Well...that depends on if you're in Vermont or in Florida! Either way, snow will be here before you know it, and it'll be a great time to curl up with the family for a short and sweet tale of a little boy's first time at his town's winter carnival.

Eli (short for Elijah) is a little boy who's ready to conquer his first winter carnival. Plus, it gives him the chance to be just like his big brother Elijah who has gone before. Eli, Isaiah, Mom, and Dad suit up to take on feet of snow, the ski slopes, a bit of ice hockey, and the tremendous task of building the best and quirkiest snow man. Through it all, Eli joins friends in celebrating the power of community and the comfort in being surrounded by loved ones.

Author Lisa Bowen artfully captures the brightness, beauty, and boldness of experiencing anything for the first. Nina Vanessa Pontillas's illustrations are sleek, fluid, and bursting with character. You don't want to miss this delightful read.

Oh...and don't forget to bundle up!

Review: Moving on from the Harvest of Dismay

Seeds of Yesterday

Virginia Andrews
HarperCollins
2012 Edition
ISBN 978-0007873777

FINALLY...we’ve made it to the end of the Flowers in the Attic series!

Seeds of Yesterday picks up somewhere in the 1990s as the Dollanganger family descends upon the newly re-structured Foxworth Hall for Bart's birthday. Bart has recently graduated from law school and has been named primary heir to the Foxworth trust since Corrine’s death. Christopher, his stepfather-uncle acts as executor, further spurring conflict within the family. Jory and his wife Melody are famed ballet dancers with twins on the way. Cindy is a burgeoning young woman engulfed in the usual teenage drama, and Cathy and Christopher are still together despite the revelation of their union detailed in If There Be Thorns. Also, Cathy and Christopher's presumed dead uncle Joel has returned to serve as Bart's butler. The family becomes further marred as they learn that Bart will not receive the Foxworth fortune in full. As usual, Bart continues on a novel length tirade against his family. Jory is injured at the birthday party and is now a paraplegic. Melody physically and emotionally abandons him and the children she ultimately births. Cindy is a sexually active, and Cathy is continually disturbed by her uncle Joel’s presence. As you may already know, this is par for the course in this family drama.

Seeds of Yesterday is probably the least enjoyable/likeable of the four books in the series. Cathy returns as narrator, but her point of view isn’t particularly strong as she’s evolved as an adult. Her voice hasn't changed since book two, Petals on the Wind. Not to mention the cringe-worthy description of her children’s anatomy (at one point she describes Cindy’s and Jory’s body parts as if she were longing for them in a romance novel). The story also doesn’t go anywhere significant. There is definitely movement, but shifting from a birthday party, to an argument, to plans for another party, to walking in on Cindy having sex with her boyfriend doesn’t present anything compelling enough to drive a story. It was more like reading a text-heavy scrapbook of ongoings without a real point and or plotting. The novel  also continued in redundancy with casting Joel, who is essentially John Amos, the butler from the previous book. The dialogue was stilted by overdrawn wording that lacked realism, oftentimes providing lines that should have been in exposition rather than conversation. None of the characters were particularly interesting and had no eye-catching storylines. With a series based entirely on the outrageous and unbelievable, it ran out of steam with this last installment.

Ruminations: Moving on from the Harvest of Dismay

If you haven't noticed by now, the Dollanganger family series is all about reaping the harvest of the Flowers in the Attic saga, got me thinking about the power of moving on. Can the Dollangangers move beyond the planting of the seeds of dismay?

Image courtesy of https://bad-harvest.deviantart.com/art/deforestation-146497801

past. As we've seen, old choices and frictions continue to haunt this family by way of their sons. But this last installment of the

I'm not sure if it's because I've lived with this family for the past four months or being ready to move on in some areas of my life, but I wonder if the Dollangangers can have any peace and evolve as a family. As you will continue to see in Seeds of Yesterday, Cathy and Christopher's children are living with the ramifications of their family's actions. The sons are actually reaping the consequences of decision their grandmother, Corrine, and great-grandparents made. Particularly for Bart, this is a huge factor. He continues to harbor disgust of both his parents, specifically Christopher, whom he doesn't see as his father. True enough, this is a twisted family tale with emotional blowback that I can't even imagine. But when does blaming the next or the last victim become a good enough reason to not move forward? Christopher and Cathy both decide to remain together, hiding their family relations, but they didn't get their by themselves. They had family members paving the way for their dysfunction. Evidently Bart doesn't see it that why and continues to berate them for their sin, begging the question of culpability and autonomy. Did they really have a choice in the matter? Would their decisions have been different if they hadn't been locked in the attic as children?

Either way, Bart doesn't care. Do you? Come back on September 29 for the review!

KidsBBookin: Jaden Toussaint, The Greatest Episode: Mission Star-Power

Disclaimer: I am providing this review free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Jaden Toussaint, The Greatest Episode 5: Mission Star-Power 
by Marti Dumas

Illustrated by Stephanie Parcus
82 pp. Plum Street Press
(Picture book; ages 5-9)
978-194316927-6
www.martidumasbooks.com

Lights...Camera...Action? Not only is Jaden Toussaint an aspiring animal scientist...he's also an aspiring TV star! But will JT get is chance at stardom?

Jaden and his sister Sissy love her new e-reader. They use it for everything: watching videos, playing games, etc. Everything but actually reading. Mama and Baba are prepared to take it away, but strike a deal with Jaden and Sissy to monitor their e-reader use. The two want to upload their own videos, but their parents say know. That changes when Jaden's class decides to do a play, and he strikes up a plan to have it recorded and put on the internet. (There goes that super-duper brain again!) Jaden and his class are all set, but trouble brews when Winston doesn't want to be in the play and Jaden comes to terms with his own stage fright.

A story within a story within a story. Marti Dumas layers Mission Star-Power, folding and unfolding the narrative and setting it in place so smoothly. Tackling issues of stage and caring for one's friends, Dumas spins this story with pointed pacing, making every word count as a master storyteller should. The illustrations are clever and textured, bolstering the wit of this new episode.

KidsBBookin: Jaden Toussaint, The Greatest Episode 4: Attack of the Swamp thing

Disclaimer: I am providing this review free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Jaden Toussaint, The Great Episode 4: Attack of the Swamp Thing 

by Marti Dumas
Illustrated by Stephanie Parcus
72 pp. Plum Street Press
(Picture book; ages 5-9)
978-194316918-4
www.martidumasbooks.com

Lions and tigers and bears...and Swamp things? Boy genius Jaden Toussaint is on another adventure and using his super-sized brain to uncover a mystery at the zoo.

Jaden Toussaint and his sister Sissy are as close as siblings can be. They do many things together, even going to day camp. But when Sissy wants to go to a sleep-away camp for a week, Jaden doesn't know what he will do with out his big sis! Luckily, Mama finds a zoo camp where families can spend a night learning about animals and having a big sleepover. Jaden is excited and can't wait to learn more. The Toussaints and other families arrive at the zoo ready to explore. But things go awry when the families take a night hike through the zoo and JT sees what he thinks is the Loup Garou, a wolfman statue, come to life in the zoo's swamp! As usual, JT and his friends do some research, plan experiments, and have a three-minute dance party to find out more about this creature in the swamp.

Marti Dumas again proves the power of words in this insightful tale of a little boy learning what it means to be brave and the value of knowledge. Illustrator Stephanie Parucs is back with sharp lines and softened edges to, creating a halo around Jaden's world. Built with perfectly plotted tension (but not so much it will scare you away!), Attack of the Swamp Thing is a delightful narrative about problem solving, folklore, teamwork, and learning to move beyond fear.

KidsBBookin: Jaden Toussaint, The Greatest Episode 3: Muffin Wars

Disclaimer: I am providing this review free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Jaden Toussaint, The Great Episode 3: Muffin Wars 

by Marti Dumas
Illustrated by Stephanie Parcus
64 pp. Plum Street Press
(Picture book; ages 5-9)
978-194316913-9
www.martidumasbooks.com

With trademark wit, spunk, and all around smartypants-ness, Jaden Toussaint is back with another hurdle his big-boy brain will find a way to get over.

Jaden is used to being good at everything: ninja dancing; being a smart guy; and being a good friend, brother, and son. He expects to be a good friend too when his cousin, Muffin, comes to visit. They haven't seen each other since they were babies. (Of course neither of them remembers because they were to little!) When Muffin has to stay with the Toussaint family while her parents hunt for an apartment, Jaden is set to teach her the ways of the five-year-old world. Well...that doesn't go as planned. Jaden finds that Muffin's just as smart and cultured as he is. Reeling from his own jealousy and anger, Jaden goes on a super-duper journey to understanding emotional intelligence, remaining humble, and learning that there's room in the world for one more ingenious genius.

Marti Dumas is back again tackling the complex emotions adults often overlook in children. With crisp text and humor, the Muffin Wars is the episode children's programming and education needs. Well-plotted with strong character development, this story charts Jaden's arc like a rainbow as he comes to terms with his own emotions and his decision to make room for another person's experience. Stephanie Parcus's illustrates with clean lines and a touch of haze that add texture to the narrative and acts like a camera filter bringing into focus the brilliant characterizations of the Toussaint world.