"Cruel Summer", by Bernard Jan

“Cruel Summer “is a gripping young adult cross-genre novel about an abused teenager and a poet in New Manhattan. This is the story of 17 year old Michael Daniels whose dreams are to enter professional skateboarding contests. His only hope when things go wrong is the loyalty of friendship, Alien and Victor will stand as the shield between those with power and his freedom. This story carries a strong message of friendship.

I have read other books by Bernard Jan, this one takes on a different type of storytelling definitely not the read I expected. Although he still continues to demonstrate his fabulous poetic prose. On top of revolving around the teenager the story weaves a tale of a government sponsored research project to control minds and mind altering techniques. The experience is short of bordering on a science-fiction read. Not my preferred style and by far, having said this, the story is nevertheless superbly written and is richly descriptive. We have plenty of plot twists that added to the book’s mystique. The characters are impressively realistic. The plot pays attention to details and we have an abundance of well-illustrated scenes ...not that I would pick up skateboarding....This story will appeal both to young people as well as to a more mature audience.

“Cruel Summer” is a skillfully constructed and emotional drama that doesn’t shy away from difficult topics. Well said...well-done. I am looking forward to more books by this author.

Thank you Mr. Jan for the opportunity to read and review “Cruel Summer”.

"Six Weeks to Live", by Catherine McKenzie

In her latest Ms. McKenzie explores the familial relationships and how they are coping with the approaching death of a loved one. “Six Weeks to Life” is a family drama with heart and secrets. This is Jennifer’s story, a middle age mother of triplets, grown women, who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and given six weeks to live. To top this terrible diagnosis she is in the process of an unpleasant divorce from her husband of many years. In the face of what is to come Jennifer decides to spend what little time she had left with her daughters and twin grandsons. But things are not smooth sailing...

Told in alternate chapters with each in their distinct voice, the story is told from the point of view of Jennifer and her three daughters. The pace is a bit slow way too slow for my taste it kinds of jog along with many repetitions. The family dynamic is at its lowest, they squabble a lot and their communication seemed frivolous. But as the book progresses, we see more of the ghosts behind their dysfunction and about turn sets in and the story gets a bit more interesting.

I did not find much suspense rather a tedious read. All through, Jennifer and her girls were obsessed over their father and over the secrets they hid from each other. What a bunch of bratty and childish daughters and Jennifer was not much better. Half way when the tempo lost its steam and the bickering from the characters never ended I wanted to abandon this boring story till finally I reached the last chapter and wow a twist I never saw coming.

Although, this latest is not my favourite, I will not give up on this author.

My thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to receive this ARC for my thoughts: this is the way I see it.

"The Next Everest", by Jim Davidson

 

Surviving the Mountain’s Deadliest day and Finding the Resilience to Climb Again


What a stunning true story of adventure, disaster and resilience. Jim Davidson, a high altitude climber shares gripping adventures from summiting Mount Everest, surviving earthquakes, avalanches and escaping alone from deep glacial crevasse.

In April 2015, Jim Davidson was climbing Mount Everest when a 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal. He was stranded above base camp for 40 hours before he was brought to safety but important to him was getting back to base camp and help people get to safety and trying to rebuild. This disaster ended his first attempt to reach the summit. He finally achieved his dream with an estimate of 60 other climbers when he returned two years later.

M. Davidson describes in details his 36 years of climbing experiences and the physical and mental preparation one needs to do. Three keys points he tells us: more training than you have ever done in your life, increase the difficulty and be discipline enough to keep up with it and hit it harder the next time.

“The Next Everest” is said in the first person narrative. Step by step M. Davidson tells us his next move in words filled with emotions. When he describes the tremors and aftershocks, the avalanche and the rumbling noises you can feel in his words how scared he was but in crisis he stayed cool and calmly acted decisively to make things better and safer for everyone. A lot is said in this book, I would say even too much at times such is a lengthy description of human poop...yes even that detailed, although he did tell us to make a point. Every word is vividly said as he describes his ascends and descends in order to reach the summit of the highest peak in the world.

The 2015 tragic incident was well publicized around the word. I remember it so well.

In a few words:

This is a poignant account that captures the true essence of Mount Everest and the resilience of the human spirit. I will let you discover this gem of a book and the treasures it hides....

My thanks to St.Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC: this is the way I see it.