A breathtaking, artful set of poems on loss, family, place, and memory.
Gunter-Seymour’s intricate poetry collection weaves together themes of grief and joy.
This poetry compilation begins in the past with “Vernal Equinox”: “I’ve been thinking about last times / I never knew were the last.” Across five sections, Gunter-Seymour’s works continue to reckon with the past head-on as they tell of childhood in Appalachian Ohio and the experience of being a mother. The poems portray the mosaic of her speakers’ lives, touching on a complex relationship with a mother, a loved one’s battle with alcohol and drug use, a fierce love of a child, and an insatiable commitment to the possibilities of language. As readers move through the collection, they will also encounter reflections on current topics, such as Covid-19, police brutality, the opioid epidemic, and others. A wide variety of poetic forms and devices brings a musicality to the poems that underscores both the simplicity and the jaggedness of love, and each section moves fluidly into the next. Beyond that, Gunter-Seymour attaches her speakers to physical locations through language, offering personal meaning to places such as New York City, Ohio, and Tennessee. Overall, the language is stunning and abrupt, with nuggets of introspection, as in “Rorschach Test”: “Listen—there are things to love / about failure too. Sometimes / we make mistakes, call them coincidence, / trapped like thirsty sponges / between memory and the moment.” Gunter-Seymour doesn’t shy away from discomfort, impressively embracing painful moments and showing how memories define people only as much as they allow them to do so. The collection’s title is a testament to the idea that being alone doesn’t mean being without a sense of place; one can create a home inside of oneself and move forward with “the sense / of something waiting to unfold, / leaving only the wait” (“Weather Report”).
A breathtaking, artful set of poems on loss, family, place, and memory.Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8040-1243-0
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Swallow Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Find your own man’s best friend and curl up for some love, laughs, and insight.
An illustrated phrase book for dog lovers of all ages.
For dog lovers not fluent in canine languages or able to read minds, this gift book pairs color photos of dogs of many breeds, shapes, sizes, and ages with captions that explain each dog’s thoughts. Every aspect of a dog’s life is covered: eating (and stealing) food, playing with human and animal friends, vet visits, grooming, and even getting into trouble. Some messages are slightly ominous but delivered in good fun. In one photo, just one eye of a dog peers through fence slats. The caption? “Here, kitty kitty.” Other photos capture more positive dog-cat relationships, and a small, wide-eyed terrier even worries about the biggest cat it has ever seen. Some translations show dogs at their goofiest. The photo of a gangly pup captured awkwardly in midair with front paws flailing for a ball is captioned “I will catch this wingless bee if it is the last thing I do!” Other photo-text pairs share words of wisdom. A large brindle dog with a woebegone expression explains, “No, I don’t think it would be fun for your two-year-old to ride me like a horse, actually.” A distressed shepherd with ears pinned down and back asks, “I beg of you, please, please put those fireworks back in the garage cabinet.” Some of the best captions clearly demonstrate a dog’s superior intellect. “I finally trained her to give me a treat if I shake her hand.” Companion title The Secret Thoughts of Cats publishes simultaneously. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Find your own man’s best friend and curl up for some love, laughs, and insight. (Picture book. 5-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-951412-22-7
Page Count: 120
Publisher: The Collective Book Studio
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
This dramatic tale of life in and outside the music industry hits all the right notes.
A California high school teacher reflects on his rock-star days and broods about reuniting his band.
In Levin’s follow-up to his novel Incomplete (2020), Brian Smith lives what some would consider an ordinary life. When he’s not teaching Advanced Placement English, he spends time with his wife and their Star Wars–loving 8-year-old daughter. But when his star pupil Veronica Jones interviews him, she dredges up memories of a past Brian abandoned two decades ago. He was once a member of the punk-rock group Call Field, a one-hit wonder from the early aughts. Back then, he and his band mates ecstatically signed a major-label deal. But it was Brian, bassist and chief songwriter, who practically lived at the studio to complete Call Field’s debut album. As with most fledgling music groups, both the label and fans tended to focus their attention on the frontman. In Call Field’s case, that was Steve Öken, a self-absorbed lead vocalist who tried exerting his dominance whenever he could, such as monopolizing the album cover. Not surprisingly, he butted heads with Brian—dissension that threatened the band even before its debut release. After Call Field’s ugly, animosity-laden split, Brian suffered physically and mentally. Yet when he dusts off his guitar 20 years later for his school’s talent show, he misses that exhilaration of playing music onstage. He has the chance to perform again for a benefit concert that Veronica is organizing. But she wants all five members of Call Field there. Brian and his band mates, who haven’t spoken in decades, will have to quell some bad feelings if they want to recapture that punk-rock magic they once had.
While Levin’s sequel centers on Call Field’s short-lived fame, the book is a starkly illuminating peek at the music industry. Brian, for example, toils for months on the album and plays multiple instruments on the tracks. But the record company, despite signing a punk-rock band, mixes the songs for a softer, more commercial sound, highlighting Steve’s vocals. It seems both the label and the lead singer are intent on seizing control of the tunes that Brian rightly considers his. Still, the story is not all scathing. Brian indisputably treasures music, as does the author, who drops in references to countless rock groups along with cameos by such six-stringed beauties as a Gibson SG and a Fender Stratocaster. In the tale’s family-oriented, present-day setting, Levin develops winsome, convincing relationships. Brian’s loving home life with his wife, Mel, and their daughter, Sam, has its ups and downs while good-naturedly brazen Veronica is his biggest fan and “something of a surrogate daughter.” The author, on occasion, shines too bright a spotlight on his metaphors. For example, Mel and a classroom of students separately analyze the oft-quoted lyrics to Call Field’s solitary hit, “Incomplete,” which unquestionably represents Brian’s past. But Levin more often hits the mark, as when Brian calms himself with a treadmill-inspired mantra that becomes the tale’s refrain: “Right foot. Left foot. Repeat.” Numerous uncredited artworks and photographs further elevate this enthralling story, with the standouts including Call Field’s startling album cover and flyers for the group’s appearances.
This dramatic tale of life in and outside the music industry hits all the right notes.Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73775-690-3
Page Count: 410
Publisher: Not-So-Silent Librarian Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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