Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill

A copy of this book came to me to read and I had to share my review with you.
The book is intended for young adults grade 9+, but don't let that prevent you from picking this book up to read. If you can stand the heat. I highly recommend this spiced up "can't touch this" surprise debut.

Soul Enchilada, by David Macinnis Gill,Greenwillow Books/Harper Collins.978-0-06-167301-6

Soul Enchilada: The Devil is in the Details is a riotous, rip roaring ride in a 1958 Cadillac Biarritz about to be repossessed by Mr. Beals, otherwise known as Beelzebub. The current owner is Bugs, a struggling young teen, who can barely make rent, and barely make it to work. She has title to the car, because she co:signed for her grandfather, who without her knowledge, had made a side deal with the devil before his demise that included giving him his soul if he could just have this beautiful Cadillac.

The problem now is that sitting on her passenger seat is Mr Beals, invisible to all but her, and he wants payment. Papa C, her grandfather, skipped out on his last payment, his soul of course. When Bugs finds out that when she co-signed the loan she was next in line to pay up, the joy ride begins.

The setting is El Paso, Texas and Eunice “Bug” Smoot is thirteen. She is the fastest pizza delivery person in El Paso, but not fast enough to keep her job and so this story will deliver a plethora of comedic scenes and dialog that will have you rolling along with Bugs. You just can’t imagine the trouble she encounters trying to run from the devil.

David Macinnis Gill is a brilliant conversationalist accurately synthesizing the natural flowing cultural dialect, speech patterns and slang of the streets. Believable, humorous and age appropriate make the dialogue just right.
Hilarious moments as the story unfolds will grab you with chuckles, belly laughing and outright hysteria from beginning to end.

I enjoyed this book so much, I can’t wait for another adventure by this debut author. This is a must have on library shelves and will be enjoyed by all readers in high school.


David Macinnis' Website

Mailbox Monday

It was another fun week arriving home to discover treasures lying at my doorstep or at times in the mailbox. I have to give PROPS to the FedEx, UPS and USPS drivers for their patience and will to sludge through the snow and ice to get to my door. Even though there is a path and sand, sometimes they prefer to take that shortcut across the lawn. Here's to you. They are always so curious about my packages. I had one neighbor so curious, he finally asked me what I was getting in the mail all the time. Now honestly, I would never have the nerve to blatantly babble on about another person's personal deliveries. Would you? Do you have a funny story?

Here is what arrived this week in my mailbox:

1. The World in Half by Christina Henrique
2. The Suburban Dragon by Garasamo Maccagnone
3. The Age of Orphans by Laleh Khadivi
4. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
5. Secrets Unveiled by Sheshesna Pedger

...and then I received nine free books for an American History class I am taking. These are all part of a grant that our district applied for and won. I'll let you know each week which book I have to read. Yes, one book a week and they are rather challenging reads.

This week the book is:

William Cooper's Town by Alan Taylor, 549 pages. (427 text)

This Pulitzer Prize winning history about William Cooper and Early American life in the late 1700s is informative and at times remarkably humorous. Can you picture chuckling as you read a history book? Taylor makes our founding fathers real, not polyester clones of perfection. The story is about William Cooper's development and the settlement of Cooperstown. It shows his ubiquitous frenetic desire to gain acceptance into the social stratus of gentility at nearly all costs. James Fenimore Cooper's (his son)wrote the book The Pioneers, a novel where he used Cooperstown and its inhabitants as models for the story. Taylor combines both historical snippets and references to his son's novel throughout the book creating a wonderful historical narrative worthy of the Pulitzer it won.

What was in your mailbox? Does anyone want to know?

Sunday Salon, The Color of Lightning by Paulette Jiles

William Morrow/Harper Collins
978-0-06-169044-0
368pages

If you are a New Englander, you can’t appreciate the panoramic vistas of the Western Plains, the overshadowing mountains, the vast visual omnipresent beauty in this part of the country, unless you have been there. In The Color of Lightning, Paulette Jiles told this story as if she was recapturing the travels of Lewis and Clark. With a palette of colorful prose, a prism of grandness is picturesquely painted. This period of history presents hope and despair, promise and disappointment, good times and bad. As Americans move west, after the Civil War, settlers, black men and women are now free.

The Color of Lightning is a picture of the times. Ms. Jiles is a lyrical storyteller who captures every nuance. A time of the struggle and courage. An adjustment of space and alteration of territory. A period of learning and resisting change. Settlers moving in, Native People encroached upon.

As in any historical conflict, there are two sides, and the author handles this with delicacy and honesty serving up no blame. Opposing the grace and grandeur of the setting is the actions of the characters in the novel. With the violent bloody brutality that the settlers face with the Kiowa and Comanche, the author details the grim desperate reality of their life. The author does not diminish the harsh, hostile and violent treatment doled out by the enemy. I was surprised by the author’s honesty and commend her for adhering to historical accuracy.

My only area of concern would be the overburden of insignificant details that bog down the flow of the story at times. I am looking forward to more historical fiction by Paulette Jiles. The Color of Lightning was a spectacular achievement of storytelling quality.

Wisteria Leigh

The Color of Lightening is due out in April, thanks to Harper Collins & the First Look Program for sending the advance copy so that I could share it with you.
Have a great week!!!

Book Buddy Challenge First Review

Rebecca @ Lost in Books has read,The Life of Pi as her first book, in the Book Buddy Challenge for 2009.I have posted a sidebar list where I will post all reviews for this challenge. I will also update everyone when a new review has been received for the challenge. Great job on the review, Rebecca and thanks for sending me the email so that I could share it!!!

Let's Be Friends Award

I wanted to thank Cathy from Kittling Books for giving me this surprise award. Here is what it says:
The award says:

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

Cathy, I want to thank you for giving me this award and I will be your friend with or without the award. As far as my friends in the blogosphere I don't want to limit this award to eight selected people. It is a very hard thing for Gemini people to do. We always want to please everyone. So, having said that....this award is for all my blog friends on Sunday Salon, and a couple who I chat with along the way. I hope to meet, chat and share with more of you very soon.

Wisteria

Friday Fill-Ins February 6, 2009

1. Please don't tell me I won't get paid this week.

2. Can you meet me at Borders in the morning?

3. The color blue-green makes me want to visit the ocean!

4. I have a craving for ice-cream, ice-cream, ice-cream and ice-cream.

5. If my life had a pause button, I would keep it right where it is now forever.

6. Eyes are what I first notice about people I meet.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to visiting friends, tomorrow my plans include reading for grad course...William Cooper's Town(400+pages)by Alan Taylor, I want to read, the rest of the weekend books I started and want to finish.( I hope Cooper doesn't take over my life this week).

Mailbox Monday

Sorry this is Tuesday, but I couldn't get it ready yesterday because I was too engrossed in this new book I received from Permanent Press called The Disappearance, by Efrem Sigel. I'm going to finish it tonight and I don't want to give anything away, but let me say this writer is phenomenal. Efrem takes you inside each character's being, soul, mind, thoughts and vision. Don't wait for my review. Just get it!!!

Received in my mailbox:

1. The Virago Book of Ghost Stories by Richard Dalby
2. Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly..Thanks Miriam at Hachette
3. The Big Bell and Little Bell by Alastair Graham
4. Land of Marvels by Barry Unsworth (Winner of the Booker Prize
5. Secret Daughter by June Cross
6. Baby Jesus Pawn Shop, Lucia Orth
7. A Richer Dust, by Amy Boaz
8. The Night Battles, M.F. Bloxam
9. Entering Ephesus, Daphne Athas
10. The Disappearance, by Efrem Sigel

I can't wait to read and give my thoughts.

Sunday Salon, Review Agincourt, by Bernard Cornwell

Sunday Salon...Saturday Night Version...

Thanks for those who asked about Mystery, she is doing quite well. However, her brother Webster needed stitches Friday after injuring his leg on ice. This ice in CT is really messing up my greyhounds. They don't understand the command "SLOW". LOL
He is eleven and a bit of a grumpy old man right now. Poor thing is normally the comic of the pack. He just thinks he is so cool right now because they put a camouflage wrap on his leg.
So out of four dogs I have one with all four legs working. But they sure are cute.

Reading this Week:

I've been doing a lot of reading this week, finishing up:

The Color of Lightning by Paulette Jiles (ARC from HC)You will linger and savor the language shaping landscapes so picturesque they breathe life!!

Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill is a riotous debut!!
Look for the full reviews this week.

Canvey Island Early Reviewer/Library Thing ARC

Agincourt, by Bernard Cornwell.

Review-Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell

Agincourt

Bernard Cornwell
Harper Collins Publisher
ISBN 978-0-06-157891-5
HC, 451pages

When I read Agincourt, I believed I was on the battlefield sickened by the bloodbath that took place during the brutal battle between the ill-matched armies of the English and the French.

The story of Agincourt is legendary. King Henry V leads his army into France to claim his the right as King of France. After a long battle at Harfleur that left his army bedraggled from bouts of dysentery he would not turn back to England as the win was not significant and would make him appear weak. He chose to press on to Calais, that brings his army to a recently plowed wheat field staring at the menacing French army directly in front of them.

Author’s notes detail that researchers have ascertained the approximate numbers of the two armies with large disparity. Cornwell accepts the theory of 30,000 French and 6,000 English as the most likely. One can only imagine the fear and adrenaline coursing through the veins of the English archers who would strike first facing, such perilous odds. The archers were positioned ahead of the English who were staged in two rear positions. Would this strategy prove effective? It is classic Cornwell who makes you feel every stomach churning emotion throughout his story.

Cornwell is an illustrator with text painting the events that took place on Saint Crispen’s Day 1415 with vivid realism. Visualize a collaboration between the artist Goya, and the director for the movie Braveheart, where painting and movie overlap you will have Agincourt. This book is not for the faint of heart but it could not be written any other way. It was a barbarous time with deadly weapons. The poleaxe was viciously successfully at claiming limbs and lives and bows with arrows accurate enough to sneak through a hole in a helmet or deadly enough to down a horse.

Henry V, immortalized by Shakespeare, now the novel Agincourt, by Bernard Cornwell presents this David vs Goliath drama from English history that will hold you grounded in your chair not wanting an intermission.
Highly recommended.

Thanks to Harper Collins for the review copy of this book.

Wisteria Leigh
Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Review-Canvey Island

Canvey Island

James Runcie
Other Press
978-1-59051-293-7
312 pages

The story takes place in 1953 on Canvey Island as a storm approaches. Quickly the waters rise and a devastating flood leaves behind destruction and death. One of those dead is Martin’s mother Lily. Len, Martin’s father had taken Vi, Lily’s sister to a dance, as was customary. Lily preferred staying home to dancing. This time her decision proved fatal as her leg was caught in some debris that had settled below the rising food waters. When Martin went to get help it was too late. The water had claimed Lily’s life.

The novel is a story of Martin’s life and family relationships. Martin decides to become a water engineer to help cope with the guilt from his inability to save his mum. Martin also must cope with the growing closeness between his father and Aunt Vi. Martin leaves Canvey Island, leaves his first love and leaves his problems behind-or so he thinks.

Years later, unfulfilled and disappointed with life as it is, Martin returns to Canvey Island.The allure of the past will test his love for his wife Claire as he must chose passion or infidelity, truth or lies.

The story is told in a multi-voice chapter format from each character’s perspective providing depth and understanding. The author’s honest look at love and death are difficult and often depressing. However, there is enough drama to keep the reader interested and curious to the end. I learned from Linda and Martin, that the past can sometimes be an illusion of reality and not what we expect when we revisit it. (3/5 stars)

Thank you to Library Thing and the Early Reviewer program for this review copy.

Blogs I Read

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Mailbox Monday

I have decided to join Mailbox Monday and meet some new blogger friends and also to keep a record of all the books I am receiving. Yikes!!!
So hello to everyone and I know I will pick up a few ideas from all of you.
Here's what crossed my front step last week:

1.The Color of Lightning by Paulette Jiles
2.Yellow Knife by Steve Zipp
3.Drood, by Dan Simmons
4.The Commoner, by John Burnham Schwartz
5.Firelane by Kristin Hannah
6.The Empty Mirror, by J. Sydney Jones
7.The Miracles of Prato by Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz
8.My Stroke of Insight, by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D. Non-fiction
9.The Long Fall, Walter Mosley
10.Big Boy Rules, by Steve Fainaru Non-fiction

I have to say, this was a particularly overwhelming week. Needless to say it was like my birthday and I am grateful to have received them. Now for the reviews. LOL