Reviews Written in 2021

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2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020-2019

(This page is a work-in-progress as I have yet to copy all my old reviews here.)

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The Fountain - John A. Heldt

AUTHOR: John A. Heldt Series: Second Chance, #1 GENRE: Time Travel, Historical Fiction. RATING: 2.5 stars. In a Nutshell: Good plot. Unsuitable title. Average writing. Will suit historical fiction readers more than sci-fi or time-travel readers. Story Synopsis: 2022, Oregon. 81-year-old Bill Carpenter has just buried his beloved wife of 57 years. His 75-year-old brother Paul has terminal cancer, and his 72-year-old sister Annie, a paraplegic, is broken-hearted at having done nothing she dreamed of in life. In other words, the three Carpenter siblings have nothing to look forward to. Until one day, when Bill, who used to be a folklore and mythology professor, learns that a legendary ‘Fountain of Youth’ actually exists and a dip in it causes not just rejuvenation but a fresh start in another era. The only issue is that the era isn’t in your control. But as the Carpenters have nothing to lose anyway, they decide to take a chance on the fountain and to their surprise, land up in 1905 Oa...

COMPILER: Kim Normanton GENRE: Children's Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: September 11, 2025 RATING: 5 super-great stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 In a Nutshell: Believe the title! This is a collection of “Super Great Kids’ Stories”, taken from folktales and fables around the world. Great stories and morals. Excellent narrative technique, making it apt for readalouds. Thoroughly entertaining. Much, much recommended! Not being a podcast person (all my listening time is devoted to audiobooks and music), I was totally clueless about the award-winning podcast ‘Super Great Kids’ Stories’ . Reading this book assures me that the podcast must be award-winning for a valid reason. What a brilliant collection and presentation! The book begins with a beautiful intro by the podcast hosts who have curated this collection. They offer a background to their podcast as well as explain the structure of the book. The main content comprises thirty “traditional tales” taken from around the world. The stories are grouped in...

AUTHOR: Heather Fellin Tierney GENRE: Historical Literary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: August 26, 2025 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical literary fiction focussed on three ordinary people and the way their paths cross with each other. Excellently sketched characters, a complex and thought-provoking plot, a realistic ending. Great use of the 1970s small-town Wisconsin setting. An amazing debut! Much recommended to lit fic lovers. Plot Preview: 1970. Every morning, one train leaves from Minneapolis to Chicago via Milwaukee. One small stop it makes is at the tiny station of Oconomowoc in Wisconsin. Lincoln is a forty-year-old ticket agent at the Oconomowoc train station. Though it has been many years since his wife left him, he still struggles to move beyond. Vera is a teenager determined to look for someone from her past. She is gearing up for her first ever train journey, boarding at Oconomowoc and going to Chicago. Violet, a single woman in her fifties, has only one major re...

AUTHOR: Paul Marriner NARRATOR: Colleen MacMahon GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: June 30, 2025 RATING: 3.5 stars In a Nutshell: A contemporary fiction with an element of magical realism. Didn’t like the main narrator but the other characters make up for her judgemental attitude. Themes of found family and caregiving explored well. A good option for those looking for a realistic story narrated through otherworldly eyes. Plot Preview: 2019. Beverley Cooper has been dead since eight years, but she hasn’t yet moved on. She watches over her eighty-nine-year-old widower Kevin as he is struggling through Alzheimer’s and dementia, and her fifty-eight-year-old divorced daughter Philippa as she willingly looks after her ailing father’s needs at the cost of her own requirements. When a new thirty-something caregiver named Kaska enters the household, Phillippa finally acknowledges that it is okay to have some me-time away from her dad. But Kevin’s health isn’t g...

AUTHOR: J.H. Foster ILLUSTRATOR: James Warwood SERIES: Rebels and Resistance GENRE: WWII Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: November 7, 2025 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: An upper middle-grade WWII novel with scattered illustrations. An appealing young protagonist and a good plot. Works well in complement with its partner book. One half of a parallel duology, with this novel being aimed at older tweens and teens, and its partner aimed at adult readers. Plot Preview: 1938. After witnessing a scary incident involving a Nazi officer, Freddie decides that it is better for him to stop talking. When his mother Hannah decides to leave Austria and move to Paris in search of her old best friend, Freddie isn't happy about having to leave his old life behind. Life in Paris is better in some ways because his Mama has found a job and they have a shelter over their heads and food in their stomachs. But when the Nazis come, even this security is threatened. Will Freddie’s Jewish heritage endanger him ...

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