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Between & Betwixt

Name: Between & Betwixt
Author: Bruno Pecile
ISBN: 978-1-4602-6607-6

THE CORRIDOR OF DOORS TRILOGY

by Bruno Pecile & Tina Pecile ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 22, 2015

Khia and her 7-year-old brother, Devon, have been in foster care ever since a car accident that took their father’s life and...

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A story of a trip to grandmother’s house…in another world.

Khia and her 7-year-old brother, Devon, have been in foster care ever since a car accident that took their father’s life and left their mother unable to cope. When Khia is just shy of her 16th birthday, however, strange things start happening. First, a seemingly innocuous old woman becomes possessed and tries to kill them, and they’re rescued by a mysterious man and woman who disappear almost as quickly as they appeared. Later, they’re nearly caught in an explosion at a Catholic church. They’re saved from this by two mysterious men and a social worker they know. The men turn out to be Norbert and McBride, who are charged with a special responsibility: to defend Khia and Devon, and return them to their grandmother who lives in another realm. To reach it, they have to get to a portal at Grand Central Station in New York City. That wouldn’t be so hard if they weren’t being pursued by multiple law enforcement agencies, who are under the impression that Devon and Khia have been kidnapped. A few magical beings are also following them, including shamans, a shape-shifting Sylph, and Rock Furies. Overall, this novel offers an exciting plotline with compelling characters. It would be even more involving, though, if the book gave a bit more information about why Khia and Devon are being chased, and what it will mean for them to be returned to their grandmother. Granted, the book is the first of a trilogy, and it’s understandable that some plot elements are left unrevealed. However, in this case, the lack of information sometimes makes it hard to get fully involved in the story, as it’s unclear what the stakes are. An often engaging book that leaves readers wanting more details.

Pub Date: May 22, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4602-6607-6

Page Count: 224

Publisher: FriesenPress

Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2015

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

by Harper Lee ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 1960

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A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.

Pub Date: July 11, 1960

ISBN: 0060935464

Page Count: 323

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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DISTANT SHORES

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2002

Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her...

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Another middle-aged mom in a muddle.

After years of false starts and big hopes, Elizabeth’s ruggedly handsome husband Jack, a former football star, just landed a spot as a sportscaster on national news. He still loves her, even though much younger women are giving him come-hither looks. Heck, he doesn’t want to betray the love of his life after she helped him kick drugs and stuck by him even when he was a struggling has-been. And won’t it seem hypocritical if he fools around with his sexy assistant while he does in-depth reporting on a rape case involving a famous basketball center? Well, he fools around anyway. Elizabeth, nicknamed Birdie, knows nothing of this, but she withdraws from Jack when her hard-drinking, salt-of-the-earth father has a stroke and dies. Now no one will call her “sugar beet” ever again. Time to return home to Tennessee and contend with Anita, the sort-of-evil stepmother so trashy she wears pink puffy slippers all day long. Naturally, it turns out that Anita actually has a heart of gold and knows a few things about Birdie’s dead mother that were hushed up for years. Mom was an artist, just like Birdie, and an old scandal comes to light as Anita unrolls a vibrant canvas that portrays her secret lover. Perhaps, Birdie muses, her mother died of heartbreak, never having followed her true love or developed her talent. Has she, too, compromised everything she holds dear? Hoping to find out, Birdie joins a support group that promises to reconnect confused women with their passion. She and Jack separate, prompting a how-dare-you fit from their grown daughters. Will Birdie fly her empty nest? Will she go back to college for a degree in art? Will her brooding watercolors ever sell?

Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her previous tales (Summer Island, 2001, etc.).