Tag: Hanover Square Press

Book Review · Books

The Love You Save by Goldie Taylor

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Life in East Saint Louis in the 70’s and early 80’s was rough for Goldie. One day at just 11 years old she is violated by an older neighborhood boy. Instead of her mom wanting to help Goldie get through such a traumatic event, she pawns her off on her Aunt Gerald after getting Goldie cleaned up herself. Life at her aunt’s isn’t much of an improvement from living with her mom. Along with a host of cousins, Goldie tries as best she can to adjust to living with her relatives. She always hopes in the back of her mind that her mother will one day swoop back into her life and bring her back home.

In school it is discovered that Goldie is gifted. When she gets placed in the gifted class she excels in memorizing poetry and works on writing her own pieces. Her talent is all thanks to her teaching herself to read at age 3. Books were and are her solace.

This book had me throughout reminding myself that I was reading a memoir and not historical fiction. Goldie’s life story is one of tough love, forgiveness, resilience, hope and love. If you are looking for a book on what inner city life is like then I recommend this upcoming memoir.

I didn’t expect to care about all the real life characters in this book. They weren’t all likable, but by the end I felt like I had been to one of Goldie’s family BBQ’s. Even though there was chaos at times there was in fact unspoken love given in the moments you weren’t always expecting it.

I received a complimentary advanced copy of The Love You Save by Goldie Taylor from Hanover Square Press, care of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest feedback. Views expressed are strictly my own.

Book Review · Books

Don’t Read The Comments

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I confess. I’m not a gamer. I played a bit old school in elementary school like Super Mario Brothers, but nothing extravagant like the online game explained in Don’t Read The Comments. It honestly took me some time to get into this young adult novel, but once I did I was hooked.

Enter Divya who has her own streaming gaming channel where she plays Reclaim The Sun. She has a great fan base who all support her except for online trolls who don’t like that a woman is a gamer and actually popular. One day while trying to claim a planet and name it the said trolls descend in mass and blow up her ship. This ship Divya had decked out from gaining experience points, etc. She was shocked and devastated to have to start from scratch.

One day while playing the game she finds a planet she can name, but someone else is already there and the player doesn’t look familiar. He seems nice and when he realizes whose there with him he totally fan girls over her. This player, Aaron can’t believe Divya is actually chatting with him in the game. She doesn’t get what all the hype is about. Divya enjoys gaming, but for her it’s a way to earn money from the sponsors she gets so that she can help out her mom financially.

Aaron and Divya slowly start an online friendship. Divya has her best friend Rebecca who is also, who helps produce her streams for the channel is a tad leery of Aaron after the way the online trolls took out Divya’s ship.

When the trolls start upping their harassment Divya is not sure if she should still attend GameCon in person. Should she report them? How do you report anonymous harassers?

I received my complimentary digital copy of Don’t Read The Comments by Eric Smith from Park Row Books, Hanover Square Press, care of NetGalley. The views expressed are mine and of my own choice. This novel will sure become a favorite wether you are a gamer, or not. The topic of online harassment is uncomfortable. With a lot of social interaction being online people feel they can spew hate and that it’s not equally harassing since it’s not in person. This book will be a great conversation starter for teens of all ages. I think it’d be great required reading for junior high and high schoolers.

Book Review · Books

The Stranger Game

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Rebecca and her boyfriend were attempting to take a break from each other when one day he goes missing. Ezra doesn’t give any inkling as to where he’s gone, or why. Rebecca gets concerned as the days turn into weeks. In the midst of trying to locate her ex boyfriend she meets a dashing man named Carey. How Rebecca meets Carey is a tricky situation. Carey was playing the stranger game and Rebecca is fooled at first.

The stranger game is where you follow a stranger without them discovering you following them. Pretty much stalking.

The game was starting to get more intense with local home break ins happening. Rebecca realizes this game is getting dangerous when she witnesses the game turning sinister. After this incident Carey disappears as well. Will she find Ezra? Why did Carey disappear all of a sudden? Is the stranger game all that it appears to be?

This book took quite awhile to get into. Honestly, it’s categorized as suspense, but I didn’t find it that suspenseful. If you are into low key suspense then I would recommend this book. This novel does a good job of discussing the topic of human nature and the turn it takes when we turn people watching into a game that can turn ugly.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Stranger Game by Peter Gadol from Hanover Square Press/HarperCollins through TLC Book Tours. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. To grab a copy off Amazon click here and to find out more about the author, Peter Gadol here’s his website.