Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 298

Review: THE BURDEN OF TRUST by Tabitha Young

Kate has just landed in New York. Although it’s been years, she still couldn’t help the pain she felt whenever she saw a mother and child on the street. “It should have been hers, not this emptiness she was left with.” (4)
Right away, you’re touched with a fleeting empathy for Kate, who seems lonesome and lost. The last thing she ever would have expected was to meet Chris Cody, the handsome movie star. From that point on, the two embark on a journey that could very well end their hopeless misery.  
Although the writing was pretty good, I wasn’t really as captivated by the story as I thought I’d be. Kate and Chris are deep and endearing characters, but their story was a bit too complex, which exacerbated this lengthy and dry novel. I’m sure there’s an inspiring message concerning life, love, and friendships; however, I just couldn’t get into it.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: LOVE-LINES by Sheri Langer

Fordham Price: divorced, single, and mother. Working at a small publisher and having to raise a 10-year old daughter doesn’t leave her much time for the dating world.
This certainly sounded like your typical chick-lit with the implication of witty humor and harebrained dating scenarios; however, I failed to get into any of it. There was considerable lag, and I wasn’t too engrossed in the characters’ lives. I expected to laugh, cry, or find some type of enjoyment, but the reading was just rather dull. It just didn’t interest me.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: ONIONS: HITTING THE HIGH NOTES by Cy Young

 Image Graphic designed by Sandra Lopez Onions has just been sent to his 16th foster home, Despondent, he steals the purse of Sandrine, a retired circus performer. Instead of turning him in to the police, Sandrine enlists the boy in her fight against City Hall. In the process, Onions learns the importance of reading, having a worthwhile life-goal, and how to play the trumpet, his ultimate redemption. Sandrine is a strong role-model for pre-teens through 18-year-olds as she helps Charles Wesley Onions find meaning in life. A tragic event leads to the powerful, uplifting, and inspiring ending. Finally, Onions is a modern-day Holden Caulfield .. without the swearing.
Available on Amazon

Review: "Charles Wesley Onions hated everything. He hated his father for dying...and leaving him alone with his alcoholic mother. He hated his mother for sending him off to a foster home. He hated...the 15 other foster parents who abused him and made him work before and after school. But most of all, [Onions] hated himself." (LOC 72)


The boy had a wild-eyed charm and witty naiveté. He was a boy that was into comic books, because good always triumphed over evil. Like the heroes he reads about, he was a young fighter, but he had a firm grasp of reality.


Onions then develops a mentorship with Sandrine, a former circus performer, who opens up his world to literature, music, knowledge, and morality.  "Unenlightened, uninformed people usually haven't learned to discipline their minds." (65) Sandrine teaches the boy a simple equation to life: Read to gain knowledge, then learn to store the knowledge and use it when the time comes. After all, the mind is a precious thing, to fill with great ideas and beautiful thoughts. "You can be a bum or a great man." (68)


I liked the "knowledge is power" mantra and how it pushed Onions to do more for himself. It's definitely a great message for kids. The historical and dates facts were daunting at times and didn't quite correlate with the main coming-of-age tale that I became so inspiring. In fact, these segments almost deviated from the story of Onions, especially when the focus turned on the mayor and the councilman. I understood that the boy got involved in the battle of politics, but it just seemed to tarnish the flourishing development of the young boy. I think it made it too serious and not that fitting for a middle-grade audience.  


I though the book had a fun-looking cover. It blended a child-like quality with a precocious sense of adventure, however, I'm not sure if it was quite fitting for the academic and political views within the story.


All in all, this was a nice story of a poor boy that grew his mind. I honestly would've taken out the political aspect and focused more on the learning development. But I think his story is a great testimony of what learning can do.

My rating: 3 stars

Review: TOBY TALES: THE MISERABLE MOVE by Susan Kinsey

10-year old Toby Perkins just moved to Washington, D.C. It was such a miserable move. Life in the new town was so boring! Then he meets Hailey.


Yeah, she seemed cool and easy to talk to, but there’s just no way he could see himself hanging out with her. After all, she was a girl. Boys and girls can’t be friends…could they?


The writing was okay and the pace was a little slow, but, overall, I thought this was a decent read for middle-grade readers. It definitely has life lesson of looking beyond the differences and accepting others. It relays the message that friendship can come in all formats. I think most kids would be able to relate.


My rating: 3 stars

Review: SOPHIE WASHINGTON: CODE ONE by Tonya Duncan Ellis

Girls aren’t smart enough for an app coding competition. We’ll see about that.


After winning the spelling bee, Sophie Washington signs up for a new competition: designing an app for computer gaming. So it’s for computer geeks. But girls can be geeks, too. Anything boys can do, girls can definitely do better.


I liked how this story revolved around girl power and that girls can be just as good as boys. It’s definitely an inspiration to all the young girls out there. It’s a good story and it’s easy to read, but it’s very invested in the high-tech world of computer gaming, which may relate to the younger generation; however, it may not interest all audiences.


My rating: 3 stars

Review: RESPECT MIKE HUNT by Virginia and Tom Hanada

“It’s called ‘consent,’ you animals.”


“To earn Mike’s respect, give respect to Mike Hunt.”


A simple rhyme book for adults with the teachings of respect and how to behave.  It shows how to keep the sexual harassment at bay with the do’s and don’ts of socially acceptable behavior.


“But the pigs wouldn’t leer, wouldn’t ogle or sniff. And they sure wouldn’t say Mike Hunt’s smell makes them stiff.”


The illustrations were fun, and the story style was clever and witty. You’ll laugh at the kooky characters and the funny commentary. The language can be a little raunchy, but the images are clean and suitable for a mixed adult audience. Definitely good lessons to learn from.


My rating: 4 stars

Review: NIGHT WORK by David Tennebaum

Amber is a farmer’s daughter with dreams of becoming a famous actress, so she moves to L.A. Amber soon realizes that the city is not the perfect fantasy she’d envisioned—it was nothing like the pictures. To make ends meet, she gets a job as a waitress. The whole thing relays the hardships of working and taking acting classes and just waiting on that big break.


The whole thing was very slow. It seemed to mostly summarize the whole thing. It had a lot of unnecessary dialogue and scenes, like Amber’s description of the difficult customer she dealt with while working at the pharmacy. Was it really necessary to hear this story she told on a job interview? I thought she was going to be a stripper? Man, it takes way too long to get there. Such a lousy book cover, too.


My rating: 1 star

Review: IF YOU WERE HERE by Omar Martinez Morales & Stephanie Taylor

It’s 1986. Daniel wakes up on a waterbed, but…he’s never been on a waterbed. He somehow has gone to the time when his own mother was a kid, and, suddenly, his mother is now his sister. What?! But how could that be. He belongs in 2016.


Then we fast-forward to 2016, when a student is gunning down Daniel’s high school in a grudge against him. We back-track to 1986, when Daniel has found his iPhone (of course, it doesn’t work,) which seems to be his only connection to his old life—his “box of pixels, aluminum, and happiness.”


The book basically has two stories in one. In 1986, Daniel adjusts to his strange, new life, learning to enjoy the basics without the convenience of technology. During that time, he meets and falls in love with a girl named Jenny. Meanwhile, in 2016, time seems to be slipping away as Daniel confronts a dangerous situation and his holding on for dear life.


This started off kind of exciting, but the question still remained: how did Daniel wind up back in time and how does he get back to his future? Will he survive this mysterious space-time continuum?


I thought this was a pretty good time-travel mystery. I liked the well-formed plot and characters. It just seemed like things were getting weirder and weirder. I mean, Daniel gets Jenny knocked up and finds out about it in 2016, when he’s in a coma? Of course, the most obvious question was: can he change history, but, more importantly, should he?


Admittedly, story gets a little confusing with the constant back-and-forth. Also, it slows down dramatically about half-way through, becoming lengthy and dull.


This book started off well, but then it kinda flops from there.


My rating: 3 stars

Review: THINKING MAKES IT SO by Tyler and Rachel Moore

Told in a first-person narrative, story begins with the monotony of everyday life for someone mollified with his accomplishments but not really satisfied. For Jonah, life was just a mindless drone.
Like the character, the story drawls on, summarizing the ins-and-outs of family, friends, and co-workers. Although I did not endear too well with the character, I could understand where he was coming from—being numb toward life as we go round and round in circles. Is it any wonder why we all get “just whatever” about things?
“And now, Emily and Cora are the only aspects of my life bringing me consistent joy. Not happiness, but joy.” (15)
The writing was refreshingly witty and well-versed, but the story was average and not that compelling. I didn’t fully understand the whole “thinking makes it so” concept. What was the point of all this? Were we all searching for more? Perhaps there was some philosophical meaning that I didn’t quite grasp, but, all in all, this was an okay read.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: SMASH AND GRAB by Joe Albanese

A brick. A blow to the head. A robbery.
Not what our dear Wick would’ve expected and definitely didn’t want. Ironically, he ended running into that same robber at his own liquor store.
Most of it revolves around the colorful repartee of a bunch of knuckle-head guys. The dialogue is not always understood, especially those referencing the use of drugs.
Short and simple story, but I felt that it didn’t quite evolve beyond the crude—albeit fitting—dialogue. I’m sure there was a point to this, but I just failed to see it.
My rating: 2 stars