Tempestuous by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes

Tempestuous: A Twisted Lit Novel. Kim Askew and Amy Helmes. Merit Press. YA Fiction. December 2012. 256 pp. pbk.  ISBN # 9781440552649.

Miranda Prospero, a once upon a time very popular teen, is working in a corn dog fast food stand to pay off her punishment fine.  What’s the deal?  It turns out Miranda was the dupe of a shyster teen who put together a group of geeks who would write essays for other students and in another incident arrange to have others take the SAT.  Fake IDs, etc. were eventually discovered and the scam turned into a criminal event, with Miranda taking the heat for all of it. 

So here she is in a greasy dump which turns into an all-nighter because she and her teen friends (and enemies) are snowed in and then locked in.  However, as Miranda is known as the “Teflon teen,” she’s initially annoyed but then decides to make the best of it. She’s planning a 17th birthday party for her fellow worker, Ariel.  There aren’t too many customers around and teens being teens, Miranda and her friends decide to hearty-party all night long.

The first problem arises when it turns out that one of the mall kiosks has been robbed; and since the mall is locked down, that means the robber is also still hidden among them.  Add to that the scene in which Miranda gets handcuffed to a guy, Craig, whom she’s not too crazy about.  No, they can’t find a key, so imagine being cuffed all night.  How will she figure out a visit to the lady’s room?

The night gets even crazier with plots and counter-plots, misunderstandings and confessions that might be real and might be plotted for worse scenarios.  Will the criminal be found? Miranda refuses to give in to fear and it is her wacky plans that save the day – or at least hope to!

Tempestuous, a novel again having Shakespearean allusions toward The Tempest, is a funny read that again highlights a Twisted Lit series worth the attention of all teens and young adults!  Nicely done!

Louder Than Words by Laurie Plissner

Louder Than Words. Laurie Plissner. Merit Press. YA Fiction. December 2012. 272 pp. pbk.  ISBN # 9781440556652.

Sasha’s world came to a screeching halt on the night when a devastating accident killed her parents and younger sister.  Sasha can’t remember a thing that happened that night. All she knows is that she’s been unable to speak since that awful night!

A famous psychiatrist who has practiced around the world seems unable to make any progress with Sasha. But now her attention is distracted by a young fellow student she meets.  Ben has the uncanny ability to read the minds of people he is close to in physical space.  It’s unnerving to say the least and yet Ben’s gentle revelations of Sasha’s thoughts begin to make her face what a private hell she’s created for herself by constantly focusing on her inability to communicate. 

The challenge Ben springs on Sasha is quite startling, especially considering that she has totally fallen for him and wants to be treated like a girlfriend.  To Ben, however, Sasha needs to overcome her disability, to totally heal as much as one can in her experience.  Her anger over this ultimatum and the help of Ben’s mother, a woman with her own unique alternative therapy skills, pushes Sasha to a new level.

The clues and memories that return are gradual and then absolutely stunning when it all comes together.  While the end might be considered too neatly tied up, it is very, very real to Sasha and is worth reading to see what finally frees her from her own self-imprisonment and a very real danger!

Louder Than Words is a fast-paced, young adult novel that will rivet readers’ attention to the very last page.  Nicely done, Laurie Plissner!

Chojun: A Novel by Goran Powell

Chojun: A Novel. Goran Powell. Ymaa Publication Center. December 2012. 240 pages. ISBN #: 9781594392535.

Many years ago, thousands of viewers enjoyed the movie character "Miyagi" in "The Karate Kid." But Chojun is the story of the real karate sensei or teacher Chojun Miyagi and his story is a worthy, very human and therefore real account of what it is like to fully engage in karate in and out of extraordinarily difficult times!

Kenichi Ota is the narrator of this tale, a young boy initially who wants to train with Miyagi but is told to practice holding his breath while underwater in the shores of Okinawa in its pre-WWII period.  So he obeys and then begins the phenomenally difficult physical training that reads almost like brutality and yet never daunts the spirit of Kenichi.  He helps build and prepare the training tools and his master grants him just enough conversation and verbal teaching to balance out the pain Kenichi is physically enduring.  It is training for a daunting future!

Then war arrives after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, the Second World War.  One way in which this account differs from other historical accounts from a Japanese point of view is that the people of Okinawa realize very quickly that America is a very strong country whose military are slowly but surely edging their victorious way to overcome the soldiers on Okinawa's land.  They believe they are prepared, but Kenichi takes us through the period before, during and after the devastating Battle of Okinawa.  This is not to be missed writing as it exposes the stress upon the physical, mental and spiritual strength and solidity of Okinawans. Characters are uniquely traumatized and struggle to hold onto compassion and sanity when all seems to be journeying toward inevitable death in all areas of one's life.

Chojun: A Novel is superb historical fiction as well as an action-packed account of the complete training in mind and spirit of the sport and art, Karate!!! Wonderful and a must read for anyone who loves karate as well as martial arts, war stories, and human stamina in its best and worst forms!  Amazing! 

Cherokee Talisman by David-Michael Harding

Cherokee Talisman. David-Michael Harding. Q&CY Books. November 2012. 368 pp.  ISBN #: 9780615652535.

This fictional account is written to break the stereotype of the "savage" Native American Indian, in particular two Cherokee leaders.  Totsuhwa, a Cherokee shaman, is first trained by the leader Tsi'yugunsini, "Dragging Canoe" or "Dragon." The Dragon knows that the white man will return numerous times, each time committing the Indian leaders to sell more and more land and leave behind what is useless or unproductive land.  Worse yet, the land the white man is really stealing is not treated with reverence.  In fact, The Cherokee tribe fails to understand how anyone can "own" land that is a gift from God. When agreement fails, stronger weapons and manipulation through the gifts of material goods and alcohol weakens the Indians into confusion and surrender of all they treasure!

This is a sad but necessary tale to be told.  What the reader needs to see is how the "Dragon" mentors Totsuhwa with a constant attitude of care and compassion, urging war only in self-defense.  While Indians are always depicted as "scalping savages," here we learn that the white attackers often scalped, tortured and shot their Indian victims and burned homes and lands of Indians as well.  An endless cycle of violence is perpetuated on both sides.  General Jackson is portrayed in truth as being no friend of Indians whom he saw as an obstacle to westward expansion of American explorers and settlers.

Totsuhwa is a loving, cherished husband of Galegi and devoted father who trains his child to honor the gifts of nature, in one potent scene punishing his child for ignoring the need to return to the earth something in place of what has been taken.  It is written as a fair, reasonable, and poignant exchange that the son never forgets, even though eventually he must learn to live with the white man who will always be far superior in numbers and whose ways will continuously diminish the dignity of the Cherokee and other tribal members. Forgiveness is too late but truth-telling is sorely due in this 21st Century of a people not only driven from homes but almost completely exterminated.

Cherokee Talisman is a well-written, obviously well-researched, and honest novel to a comprehensive treatment of Indian-American relationships, an excellent addition to a more fair treatment of Native American history and the genre of historical fiction.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

The Secret Keeper. Kate Morton. Atria Books. October 2012. 496 pages paperback. Also sold at all e-book retail online sites. ISBN#: 9781439152805.

Author of The Distant Hours, and other bestsellers, Kate Morton again draws the reader into the years around WWII in England where turmoil reigns and the future of the country and personal lives seems so very unsure. It all begins when Laurel Nicholson is sitting in her tree house as a young girl and is debating whether or not to run into the kitchen of her house to get the "birthday knife" the family uses to cut all celebratory cakes. Instead she sees a man approach the house, followed by her mother coming outside, sharing words with the man who seems to know her, and then an action that haunts Laurel up to the time of her recounting this story to the reader.  That scene is never spoken of by Laurel, her mother, or her much younger brother who was also present but dramatically affects their lives. Now Laurel wants to know the truth about the mystery behind the secret and sets to finding out what really happened that life-changing day so long ago!

Now it's time for Laurel's mother, Dorothy's 90th birthday party.  Dorothy is not always so lucid and she occasionally mutters names that none of the family seem to know but which Laurel cannot get her to expand on in conversation. Laurel is a famous actress now and has a hard time doing interviews about her past because of her previous memories. It also turns out her baby brother remembers more than she thinks he does, but she doesn't want to traumatize him by revealing more, at least at first. As she begins to look a bit deeper by tracking down the people or acquaintances of the main players in this mystery, she finds that her mother had a secret life in London during WWII when she was deeply in love with a boy named Jimmy Metcalfe, someone who later became a famous photographer in Europe during the war.  She was also good friends with a woman named Vivien Jenkins.  Somehow something occurred that caused a break in their friendship.  Who was the betrayer and why?  How was that associated with her mother's devastating act seen by Laurel.

Kate Morton portrays war-torn England and the "desperate" nature of relationships with style and gripping tension that immediately snare the reader into rapidly flipping pages to find out the answer to numerous questions.  It's an era many young readers might not relate to yet one that is intriguing for its private wars that mirror the global battles of this second "war to end all wars." Great writing and a riveting historical fiction read!

Hunk for the Holidays by Katie Lane

Hunk for the Holidays. Katie Lane. Grand Central Publishing. September 2012. 352 pp. ISBN#: 9781455522361.

Cassie McPherson come from tough stock, a family who have become successful in commercial building and who watch out for each other, sometimes a bit too much.  Cassie always wanted to be an architect in the family business but need comes first and she's more of a family accountant for the business.  Right now she's extremely ticked off because another company seems to be outbidding her family on jobs and taking away customers.  Her Dad is recovering from a heart attack and she's determined to find out who this upstart guy in this new company in town is.  Her philosophy is to meet the enemy before you figure out how to deal with the competitor!

Before that can happen, however, she has to show up at a company Christmas party and hires an escort who will act like he's her date and current boyfriend as her family also wants to see her settle down and marry, sooner rather than later! That she's not buying at all.  The chemistry between her and her escort, who initially is nameless, is electric and snappy!  Cassie's in "boss" mode mentally but her body is reacting to this "hunk" of a sexy male that seems created to be kissed, etc!

The "Hunk" as well is not used to being bossed around but refuses to reveal who he is; add to it he normally chooses, loves and dumps the ladies he meets but is magnetically struck by this feisty woman.  Little by little, he realizes she's got him thinking about his past affairs and if that's really all he wants out of a relationship.  

So as both readjust their thinking, they begin to get to know each other, that is when they're not hopping into hot, hot, hot bedroom action!  The pain each has known from the loss of a family member begins to wane as they realize what a holiday gift they truly are for each other. No, it's not without some turmoil and some fast aced action about the business, but it's a lovely holiday romance sure to delight romance fans who will be attracted by this sexy cover and not disappointed inside its pages! Hunk for the Holidays is a must romance fiction read for the holidays!

Last Chance Christmas by Hope Ramsay

Last Chance Christmas. Hope Ramsay. Grand Central Publishing. September 2012. 352 pp.  ISBN #: 9780446576079.

Lark Chaikin has just arrived in the small town of Last Chance, South Carolina where she intends to leave her father's ashes on a "Golfing for God" mini-golf course per his last wishes.  She's still grieving and totally shocked when she meets the town's Chief of Police, Stonewall ("Stone") Rhodes. Before he tells her she can't leave the ashes, he makes some comments that indicate she will not at all be welcome in this town since it's believed that her father caused the death of Stone's grandfather.  No, there's no proof but Lark's father left town on the same day Zeke Rhodes died. Stone proceeds to inform her she will have to get permission from the group that now is in control of this mini-golf course.

Lark is obviously upset but determined to honor her father's last wishes. It turns out that won't happen so quickly; in the meantime the town begins to take sides, with some believing the "assumption" about Lark's Dad and others now wondering and questioning what the precise facts are about the rumors that have been accepted as fact for years.  Lark sets her sights on finding out as she knows her father only as the most gentle and kindest of souls.  In the process she and Stone begin to get used to each other and she learns he is grieving still over the loss of his wife.  While they discuss and seek answers for the death of Lark's father, the town matchmakers are also making their future plans for this unsuspecting couple.  Lark isn't interested at all at first as her track record with romance is a bummer and full of trouble.

But there's something reasonable, something soft, something truly manly about Stone that begins to become quite appealing to Lark.  As the romantic side of the plot heats up, the tension heats up as well when the background town plans and characters connected to Zeke Rhodes' death come to light.  

So get ready for some Southern comfort food and hospitality mixed with small town thinking and attitudes that might not be so welcoming - all of which blend into a blooming holiday romance that sifts out the garbage, solves a mystery, and leads to what you can predict between this couple.  However, because the reader knows where the plot is going on the romance side only increases the pleasure from sharing their story.  Very nicely done, Hope Ramsay!