SING DOWN the MOON by Scott O'Dell

Originally published in 1970.

Named a Newberry Honor Book in 1971.

Set in the New Mexico and Arizona territories in 1863-1865, Sing Down the Moon is the story of a teenaged Navajo girl named Bright Morning. 

Despite the fact that the American Civil War is raging in the East, this is a tough time for the Navajo. There are pressures from the people they call Spaniards who raid the Navajo and other Native Americans in search of slaves (undoubtedly the "Spaniards" were Spanish-speaking Mexicans that were living in the territory before Mexico lost it to the United States at the end of the Mexican War in 1848.)

But, that's not the worst of it. In 1864, the U.S. military under Kit Carson (called Long Knives in this book) rounded up all of the Navajo and put them in a concentration camp called Bosque Redondo. The Navajo in the book are unsure as to why they were forced to come to the camp, but the ongoing threat of Confederate raids into Arizona and New Mexico had a lot to do with it. There were fears that the Confederates might combine with the Navajo or both groups could simply start independent attacks at the same time.

Or, they just wanted the land.

No matter the reasoning, this act was devastating to the real-life Navajo and to the Navajo characters in this book.

This book was a re-read for me. I read this book when I was in 4th or 5th grade and for the last 45+ years it has stayed with me. It's not like I was constantly thinking of the book, but when I saw a related movie or TV show or visited a historical site, flashes from the book would come to me. Recently, I had the chance to get a copy of the book and I snatched it up, hoping it would be as good as I remembered.

This book is a stark, quick book. It is very much a "just the facts" style book. There's not a lot of character development and the chaos visited upon the Navajo just keeps on coming. 

This is not an upbeat, happy book. Bright Morning is captured as a slave and later is forced to march to Bosque Redondo. But, it is a book about not giving up - no matter the situation. Bright Morning and the boy she loves, Tall Boy, are admirable characters. 

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Sing Down the Moon by Scott O'Dell.

SUPERMAN SMASHES the KLAN (graphic novel) by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru

Winner of Will Eisner Comic Industry Award, 2021.
Winner of Harvey Award for Best Children or Young Adult Book.

Published by DC Comics in 2020.
Story by Gene Luen Yang.
Art by Gurihiru.

Superman Smashes the Klan is a graphic novel interpretation of a story arc from the old Superman radio show. At that time, Superman was the most popular radio show for children in the United States and the show's writers wanted to address racism with their young listeners. They wrote six 15 minute episodes with Superman opposing the racists of the Clan of the Fiery Cross.

This was a big risk. They were worried that it would turn off their fans since 1946 America was a very racist place. The actual Klan was experiencing a moment of resurgence. Superman had only been published for 8 years at the time - he was very new and his young fans and their families could reject this move into current day politics.

Turns out that the kids loved it. Ratings increased! Follow this link for another review on this topic.

This graphic novel adaptation is not a completely faithful re-telling of the radio drama. It has a whole layer of Superman still learning to accept all of his powers and his alien roots that runs along in tandem with white families in Metropolis learning to accept their new Chinese neighbors who have moved in from Metropolis' Chinatown neighborhood (and vice-versa.)

I really liked the clean art style in this graphic novel. There was no attempt to hide the art in shadows or make things overly-stylized. That being said, there are tons of dramatic angles to the drawings. Let's face it, Superman often brings a lot of drama, with all of the breaking through walls, leaping over tall buildings, and picking up cars. 

This was a fun graphic novel. I rate it 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Superman Smashes the Klan.

ADHD IS AWESOME: A GUIDE to (MOSTLY) THRIVING with ADHD (audiobook) by Penn and Kim Holderness

Published by Harper Horizon.

Read by Penn Holderness, Kim Holderness, Nathan Rosborough, Anne Marie Taepke, Tyrrell Harrell, and Lola Holderness
Duration: 8 hours, 50 minutes,
Unabridged.

Penn and Kim Holderness have a small media empire - viral videos, songs, a podcast, cable TV specials, and two books. 

ADHD is Awesome is their second book. Penn Holderness has ADHD, his wife Kim does not. Together, they come at the topic from the point of view of a person with ADHD and a person that loves a person with ADHD and wants them to be their very best.

They go through the history of ADHD as a diagnosis, Penn's personal version of ADHD (they are very clear that everyone's ADHD is unique), how his family supports him, how he annoys his family with his ADHD, and practical steps to take to support a child or loved one with ADHD.

This book has a light, fun tone. Several "guests" come in and add to the discussion. It has much more of a podcast feel than a regular audiobook reading.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. It can be found here on Amazon.com here: ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide to (Mostly) Thriving with ADHD.

BALKAN WARS: A HISTORY from BEGINNING to END (kindle) by Hourly History

Published in September of 2024 by Hourly History.

I consider myself pretty well-versed in modern history, but I literally knew almost nothing about the wars that ran rampant through the Balkans just prior to World War I. I knew the area was all in an uproar, but I had no idea that the region had seen multiple all out wars rage throughout in just a few years. Those wars set up the scenario that directly led to World War I.

Hourly History specializes in writing histories and biographies that can be read in about an hour. That was enough time for this little history. The reader learns of the decline of the Ottoman Empire and how that created a power vacuum in the Balkans. Then, the reader learns how various ethnic groups in the region fought for their independence and earned it only to fight among themselves over the borders of disputed regions. 

Finally, the reader sees how the intervention of the great powers led more fighting and eventually to World War I.

This is a very readable history, but it is hurt by a lack of maps.

I rate it 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Balkan Wars by Hourly History. 

THE WAITING (Ballard and Bosch book 6)(audiobook) by Michael Connelly

Published in October of 2024 by Little, Brown, and Company.
Read by Christine Lakin, Titus Welliver, and Madison Lintz.
Duration: 10 hours, 50 minutes.
Unabridged.

LAPD Detective Harry Bosch first showed up in a novel in 1992. The Waiting is the 25th book in the series, but he has appeared in more than 30 books and short stories.

Bosch is aging. He has aged right along with the series. He would be about 74 years old in this book and he is no longer the detective that goes out and finds the bad guys, but he does contribute from time to time.

His protégé Renee Ballard is in charge of the cold case unit of LAPD.  Her unit is almost entirely made up of volunteers and they go through unsolved serious crimes and see if modern technology (like DNA comparison) can help to solve them.

This book is mostly a Ballard novel, but Bosch does play a critical role in one of the three mysteries that are dealt with in this novel. I have a feeling that the "Bosch" in the Ballard and Bosch books will soon switch from Harry Bosch to his daughter, Maddie Bosch. Maddie was involved in two of the three mysteries in this novel

In the first mystery, Ballard's car is broken in to when she is out surfing. Her wallet, her badge, and her gun are stolen...

In the second mystery, the unsolved team gets a genetic hit that shows a familial match to a serial rapist and murderer. 

In the third mystery, new evidence shows up in one of LA's longest-standing unsolved murders.

Three different actors read the parts of Ballard, Bosch, and Bosch's daughter, Maddie.

The mysteries were all compelling, the story moved along briskly, and there is a stunning and dramatic twist at the end.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: The Waiting (Ballard and Bosch book 6) by Michael Connelly.

COST of MALICE by H. Mitchell Caldwell

Published in 2024 by Nine Innings Press.

Cost of Malice is the third novel featuring attorney Jake Clearwater. Jake is an on-again off-again law professor who is often tempted to trade the classroom for the courtroom.  

Clearwater is offered a chance to sit on an informal council of leaders in the prosecutor's office. Cases that may be tough to win are brought to this council and they brainstorm possible strategies and determine if they are even worth the effort.

The book deals with three of these cases. 

Case one is a murder case in which the two primary witnesses are jailhouse snitches.

Case two is a horrific child abuse case in which one spouse literally beat a child to death at the direction of the other spouse. Clearwater wants to convict them both equally despite the fact that one of them literally never laid a finger on the victim.

Case three is a school shooting case modeled heavily on the Oxford, Michigan case that ended in April of 2024.

It feels right that Clearwater goes from one case to another - just like it happens in real life. Also, the three cases are all challenging and controversial in their own ways. 

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It is well-written. This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Cost of Malice by H. Mitchell Caldwell.

The first book of this series can be found here: Cost of Arrogance.

Note: I was sent a free copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

SUN MOON STAR by Kurt Vonnegut and Ivan Chermayeff

 

Highly Recommended

Originally published in 1980.

A mutual friend in publishing approached artist/graphic designer Ivan Chermayeff and author Kurt Vonnegut with a proposal. He wanted them to work together on a book. His proposal was that Chermayeff work up some illustrations and present them to Vonnegut and then Vonnegut would write a book based on those illustrations.

Vonnegut, even then, was an internationally celebrated author. Chermayeff created many of the images Americans see every day - the corporate logos for such companies as Chase Bank, National Geographic, Scholastic Books, Univision, NBC, PBS, and more.

Chermayeff presented Vonnegut with a series of simple, childlike paintings of the moon, star, and the sun. They came with no explanation. There is also a diagram of an eyeball. I do not know if that was part of Chermayeff's art or if Vonnegut added it, but I would imagine that Vonnegut added it.

Vonnegut took the drawings and made Sun Moon Star, a beautiful children's story about Jesus on the day of his birth. 

When I say that this is a children's story, I really mean that this is a book for adults in the guise of a children's story. There is nothing that is inappropriate for children and a child would be able to follow along with most of it. 

pages 62 and 63 of Sun Moon Star

Adults, however, will appreciate the care that well-know atheist Vonnegut brings to the concept that the creator of the universe has brought himself into his creation as a baby, with all of the limited perspective that a baby has. The warmth of a sun is compared to the warmth of a mother's embrace - and the love of a mother's embrace is superior. The eyes that witnessed creation itself are now the eyes of a newborn that don't quite know how to work together yet.

I found this to be a thoughtful and surprisingly sweet book. It doesn't feel like a typical Vonnegut book, but it may just be one of my favorites. 

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Sun Moon Star by Kurt Vonnegut and Ivan Chermayeff.