Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 309

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

Review: NOBODY ELSE'S BUSINESS by Beverly Hurwitz

Image Graphic designed by Sandra Lopez
It's the 2008 election season and the war between Pro-Life and Pro-Choice factions has become so intense, that one organization is scheming to cause unintended pregnancies in the families of Pro-Life politicians, while another encourages its followers to bomb clinics and cut off the hands of doctors who perform abortions.The conflict gets much more personal for the family of Congressman Mark Wagner. His fourteen-year-old daughter, Pamela, fending for herself while her parents were preoccupied, had insufficient knowledge to avoid pregnancy. Senator Roger Evans's seventeen-year-old daughter, Vivian, faithfully took her birth control pills, but as can happen, they failed.Both teenagers have fathers who are staunch Pro-Lifers. Both teens and their associates wind up in grave danger when conspirators expose their private dilemmas to the world.This political thriller explores the medical, religious, economic, and historical aspects of the abortion issue, as it draws the reader onto a frightening battleground where powerful forces resort to extraordinary weaponry to both preserve and eradicate the rights of humans to fully understand and manage their ability to procreate.
 
Available on Amazon



My review: Eliza was a nurse in the OBGYN ward. Pamela was a young, sweet teen that just gave birth to a dead baby.
Vivian was a college kid in the middle of a pregnancy scare. There was no way that she could tell her academically driven boyfriend. They weren’t prepared for this. Maybe she could get an abortion? But she wasn’t brought up that way.
When I started this, I was hoping to find a story in the array of contractions, C-sections, and premature abortions. It can be quite detailed in the schematics of pregnancy and labor (it was almost nauseating.) The action and drama parallels what you’d find on ER.
Ultimately, this was about Pro-Choice activists A.K.A. “NEB” (Nobody Else’s Business) waging against Anti-Choice politicians. The lives of various characters are intermingled in a political debate of Pro-Choice.
I’m not much into politics, but I can certainly value the complexities of women’s fiction and this book was definitely complex. First of all, there were too many stories in one, even though each character’s perspective brought a little something to the mix. I’d say the best story was with Vivian and Greg—their love triangle and pregnancy problem.  The whole thing had that dramatic flair and tension between the characters, but it was much too complicated. There were actually too many characters. You almost lose track of who’s who. This book was leaning toward a political thriller, but I didn’t quite get that feeling; it felt more dramatic than anything else.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: MANHATTAN CINDERELLA by Kate O’Keefe

“ONCE UPON A TIME IN Manhattan, I lived in a huge mansion with my hideous stepmother and her two frightful daughters.” (7) Yep, it’s a Cinderella story.


“It’s hard to believe that Sylvia Tremaine gets to a term that includes the word “mother.” She is nothing like our mother. She’s like the total opposite. She’s the anti-mom.” (5)


Gabriella , a 22-year old college dropout,  whose “sticky trust fund situation” left her with no other choice but to live at home with her wicked stepmother. The story follows the Cinderella tale to a T with having to do the household chores and putting up with the (verbal) abuse. To me, this felt a little artificial, not to mention superficial. Yes, there was a refreshing wit and an endearing quality, especially when dealing with abandonment issues from the father and a mother that died. But I couldn’t quite get into this rehash of the classic fairy tale, which is an okay story for me. I mean, I’ve read other Cinderella stories before, so I wanted to give this little number with the Manhattan spin a shot. But it just wasn’t the greatest.


My rating: 2 stars

Review: GETTING TO REAL by Doris Rangel

Viva, San Antonio!


At her reluctance, Jennifer decided to take her mother in, which, therefore, made her hire a contractor to remodel and expand her home.


“Until her mother moved in, her life was perfect. She loved her job. She loved her house. She loved the things in her house. What more could she ask?” (11)


Gabriel Trujillo, one of the crew members working on the house, never could figure out “what was it about brown skin that made some Anglos judgmental and afraid?” (14)


What surprised Jennifer the most was that Gabriel didn’t seem to recognize her. After all, she hadn’t seen him in 10 years.


Story was easygoing, quaint, and relatable. As a Latina, I enjoyed the Hispanic culture as not much of it is featured in works of fiction. For me, it is a real treat. I am forever always seeking out Latino themes and characters in books.


Writing was well-versed and modest. The pace was rather slow as the two engage in bi-cultural jabs and racial misconstructions. Although I wasn’t that captivated by their story, it was still nice to see them get along despite their differences.  I think most Latinos would be able to relate to Gabriel—the directionless “bad boy” that actually showed potential and a real gift. Reading the past events showcasing Gabriel’s academic challenges and a teacher that never gave up on him was reminiscent of Jaime Escalente and his calculus class. Gabriel needed to “stand and deliver.”


Full of drama and quiet emotion. A touching, multicultural tale on the two-edge sword of pride.


My rating: 3 stars

Review: DEAREST CLEMENTINE by Lex Martin

20-year old Clementine is trying to figure out her next book idea to pay off her college tuition bills, so that would make her a creative writing major. Her first book was a national bestseller. She takes a romance writing class, which forbids the use of penis or clitoris. Oy! It was funny that she takes this class considering she doesn’t like to date and pretty much despises the male species all together. She pretty much has one gear: bitch mode. Funny! Her semester-long assignment is to write a romantic novella. Interesting.
“I feel weightless and a little buzzed from the euphoria of breaking through and being able to write again.” (66)
Then she meets Gavin, a guitar-playing hottie who is majoring in journalism and isn’t afraid of her bitchiness. The two writers connect. Gavin is able to help Clementine break through her guy issues and inspires her to write a killer romance story. He basically allows her to use him as a main character (they touch, they kiss, etc.) Oooo la la! Clem and Gavin are great together.
Story is in the POV of Clementine, who is a witty and candid. The fact that she is an accomplished indie author makes her a relatable character and, like me, she was published while in college.
Good New Adult Romance.

My rating: 4 stars