Book Review and Giveaway: Coming Up Cuban

I've got a good one for you today, folks. I'm thrilled to be a part of the the COMING UP CUBAN by Sonia Manzano Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my review below and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: COMING UP CUBAN: Rising Past Castro’s Shadow

Author: Sonia Manzano

Pub. Date: August 2, 2022

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 320

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

From Pura Belpré Honoree and Emmy-award winning actor Sonia Manzano--best known as "Maria" from Sesame Street--comes the expansive and timeless story of four children who must carve out a path for themselves in the wake of Fidel Castro's rise to power.

Fifteen-time Emmy Award winner and Pura Belpre honoree Sonia Manzano examines the impact of the 1959 Cuban Revolution on four children from very different walks of life. In the wake of a new regime in Cuba, Ana, Miguel, Zulema, and Juan learn to find a place for themselves in a world forever changed. In a tumultuous moment of history, we see the lasting effects of a revolution in Havana, the countryside, Miami, and New York. Through these snapshot stories, we are reminded that regardless of any tumultuous times, we are all forever connected in our humanity.

 

My Review: Coming Up Cuban takes a look at Fidel Castro's rise to power through the eyes of four young Cubans and their families. Through multiple novellas, each centering on a different protagonist, Sonia Manzano offers various perspectives on a turbulent political uprising, allowing her to highlight the nuances of the situation while also breaking down complex ideas for middle grade readers. Filled with love, both for Cuba as well as its resilient peoples, Coming Up Cuban is a story full of joy and heartache that celebrates the vibrancy of Caribbean culture while educating readers on a crucial historical moment.

Coming Up Cuban keeps its politics centered on its target audience -- 9-12 year olds. Through their eyes, we see Cuba's transformation, demonstrating how political upheavals can effect every corner of a country. In this way, the book doesn't focus on fighting and war, but the aftereffects -- refugees scrambling to leave the country, schools closing, forced surrendering of property, new government initiatives, etc. The book also features a cast of characters from differing backgrounds -- poor to upper middle class -- that offer various perspectives on Castro's takeover -- from those who hate Castro and his changes (which seems to be the dominant opinion), to people who praise him, to people that agree with parts of his revolution but not all, etc. In this way, most perspectives are held on equal ground, with few "right" or "wrong" perspectives pushed to the forefront, allowing readers to form their own opinions on Castro's rule. This equalization of perspectives did have a limit. Every character seemed to hold America in high regard, as a land to escape to, full of compassionate people who were alluded to be outright saviors a few times. The only 'negative' opinion of the US came from older characters who did not want to immigrate, mostly due to a love of Cuba and an unwillingness to change. This felt a little propagandist to me, as the US was a long-term colonizer of Cuba after Spain and largely controlled the country until the revolution, so it feels disingenuous to paint the US only as saviour, when their involvement was just as nuanced as Fidel's. Considering the book has no problem showing multiple perspectives on the politics within Cuba, it would have been easy to add some diversity on the perspective toward America as well.

The book features four novellas, each focusing on a different character at different points during Fidel's early reign. The characters all know each other and so their stories overlap, thus building an overarching narrative while also allowing the story to branch in very different directions. Each novella focuses on a different aspect of Fidel's reign to educate readers while entertaining - Ana's section focuses on the revolution and sets the story, Migeul's section focuses on refugee and immigration struggles, Zulema's section focuses on literacy, and Juan's section focuses on radicalization. The novellas use simple but striking interpersonal conflicts to hook readers in and keep them emotionally invested in each novella. 

Manzano's writing style is simple but elegant; no word is wasted. Everything given page space enhances the themes, plot, or characterization very deliberately, creating a satisfying read for those who wish to analyze the text on a deeper level. Yet the writing style is also incredibly accessible for its target audience. Manzano carefully utilizes simple language without simplifying the concepts explored, which shows her mastery of communication. The book balances darkness with some levity by injecting childlike silliness into the mix of uncertainty, giving the book an endearing quality at its core. The silliness also helps hooks young readers into the larger political story by promising some fun along the way. 

All in all, 5/5 stars. Coming Up Cuban is a silly and heartfelt story filled with hope that pushes young readers to think, learn and empathize. Definitely worth adding to your shelves and sharing with your young ones. I chuckled, teared up, and enjoyed every moment of this Caribbean adventure intended for readers a third my age. 

 

About Sonia Manzano:

SONIA MANZANO is a groundbreaking Latina educator, executive television producer,  and award-winning children's book author. A first-generation mainland Puerto Rican, she  has affected the lives of millions of parents and children since she was offered the  opportunity to play “Maria” on Sesame Street (which she continued to do for 44 years,  from 1971-2015). Manzano has received 15 Emmys for writing television scripts, the  Congressional Hispanic Caucus Award, the Hispanic Heritage Award for Education, and a  Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Arts and Sciences. People magazine  named Sonia one of America's most influential Hispanics. Her critically acclaimed  children's books include The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano, which won a Pura Belpré  Honor Award, and the stunning young adult memoir Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in  the South Bronx. Currently she is working on Alma's Way, an animated series with Fred  Rogers Productions that will air on PBS. Manzano resides in New York City with her  husband Richard Reagan, whom she married in 1986, and their daughter Gabriela.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of COMING UP CUBAN, US Only.

Ends August 9^th midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

7/18/2022	The Clever Reader	Excerpt/IG Post
7/19/2022	What A Nerd Girl Says	Excerpt/IG Post
7/20/2022	brittreadsalattebooks	IG Post
7/21/2022	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt/IG Post
7/22/2022	Ya Books Central	Excerpt/IG Post
7/23/2022	BookHounds YA	Excerpt/IG Post

Week Two:

7/24/2022	Author Z. Knight’s Guild	Excerpt
7/25/2022	Lady Hawkeye	Excerpt/IG Post
7/26/2022	hodophile_z	IG Review
7/27/2022	Lisa Loves Literature	Review/IG Post
7/28/2022	FictionalFey	IG Review
7/29/2022	Midnightbooklover	IG Post
7/30/2022	The Underground	Review

Week Three:

7/31/2022	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post
8/1/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review
8/2/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
8/3/2022	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
8/4/2022	Books and Zebras	Review/IG Post
8/5/2022	Lifestyle of Me	Review/IG Post

Spotlight and Giveaway: Scarecrow Has a Gun

Today, I'm stoked to be hosting a spotlight for the SCARECROW HAS A GUN by Michael Paul Kozlowsky Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. This one looks mighty tense, so check it out and make sure to enter the giveaway for your chance to read it for free. 

 

About The Book:

Title: SCARECROW HAS A GUN

Author: Michael Paul Kozlowsky

Pub. Date: August 2, 2022

Publisher: Imbrifex Books

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 266

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Never trust other people's memories, and watch out for your own

Sean Whittlesea was there when his wife was murdered. He saw the light leave her eyes. He held her dead body in his arms.  He knows he wept, but he cannot recollect a single other detail. Tormented by the tragedy, Sean relives the horror over and over again. As he struggles to recall what really happened, his imagination serves up an endless chain of scenarios. The truth, however, remains hidden in the vault of his memory, and the key is nowhere to be found.   

Nearly two decades later, Sean, now remarried and a father of two, wins a bizarre contest hosted by his eccentric boss. The prize is the Memory Palace, a state-of-the-art black box that purportedly allows its possessor to relive every moment he has ever experienced, playing out all the memories on a screen.

While the small machine at first appears to be the answer to the mystery surrounding the death of his wife, it instead upends Sean’s life. He pushes his family further and further away as the Memory Palace forces him to confront harsh realities and difficult questions that he lacks the strength to face or answer. Spiraling downward, Sean encounters increasingly harrowing challenges that force him to realize that his memory is not the only thing at stake. To recover the truth about his past, Sean must fight for his very life.

Reviews:

"Suffused with an atmosphere that suggests J.G. Ballard and Paolo Coelho chained together in a basement while a carbon monoxide alarm goes off, Scarecrow Has a Gun is at once disquieting and illuminating, eerie and sincere.”—Martin Seay, award-winning author of The Mirror Thief

“Michael Paul Kozlowsky’s brutally eccentric Scarecrow Has a Gun is a masterclass in Cartesian storytelling—simultaneously evoking Christopher Nolan’s clockwork precision and JG Ballard’s ultra-modern sense of irony.”— Jeff Chon, author of Hashtag Good Guy With a Gun

“Scarecrow Has a Gun is a propulsive read that spirals deep into the intersections of memory, technology, and the shifting boundaries between the real and the unreal."— Nicholas Rombes, author of The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing and The Ramones’ Ramones

"A whodunit wrapped inside sci-fi story and blended with a compelling and clear-eyed examination of how memory works."— Brett Riley, author of Comanche, Lord of Order, and Freaks

"With writing that's both sharp and dense, Michael Paul Kozlowsky's Scarecrow Has A Gun is a labyrinthine mystery that feels as if David Cronenberg and Don DeLillo had collaborated on a Philip K. Dick adaptation. It's a gut-punch meditation on the way our brains process mediation, memory, trauma, and grief."—Tex Gresham, author of Sunflower, Heck, Texas, and This Is Strange June

"This engrossing and inventive novel entertains on multiple levels. It’s a mind-bending mystery, in which the pursuit of the truth about his wife’s murder threatens the main character’s trust in his powers of perception and his very sense of self. It’s a horror-show-worthy take on corporate ambition, overreach, and villainy."—Beth Castrodale, author of I Mean You No Harm, Marion Hatley and In This Ground

“What an original and captivating sci-fi read! I totally loved the real life references and often found myself so intrigued I had to then go search for confirmation and further information. Things really ramped up towards the end and I was glued to the text. I enjoyed the dark undercurrent and found the ending deeply satisfying as well as super clever.”—Caroline Lewis, Librarian at St. Jospeh’s College Mildura

 

About Michael Paul Kozlowsky:

Michael Paul Kozlowsky is a former high school English & film teacher, and, writing as M.P. Kozlowsky, the author of four children’s books — Frost, Juniper Berry, Rose Coffin, and The Dyerville Tales. He lives in New York with his wife, two daughters, and a rescue beagle named Huxley. When he’s not reading or playing chess, he continues to write everything from poetry and screenplays to short stories, articles, philosophical essays, and books for readers of all ages. SCARECROW HAS A GUN is his first novel for adults.

 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of SCARECROW HAS A GUN, US Only.

Ends August 9^th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

7/25/2022	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
7/26/2022	The Underground	Spotlight
7/27/2022	Jazzy Book Reviews	Review/IG Post
7/28/2022	@just_another_mother_with_books	IG Review
7/29/2022	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post

 Week Two:

8/1/2022	Lifestyle of Me	Review
8/2/2022	The Momma Spot	Review
8/3/2022	BookHounds	Excerpt/IG Post
8/4/2022	GryffindorBookishNerd	IG Review
8/5/2022	Brandi Danielle Davis	Review/IG Post

Book Review: Dr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall

Book Review: Dr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall by Suzette Mayr 

Goodreads Description: Dr. Edith Vane, scholar of English literature, is contentedly ensconced at the University of Inivea. Her dissertation on pioneer housewife memoirist Beulah Crump-Withers is about to be published, and she's on track for tenure, if only she can fill out her AAO properly. She's a little anxious, but a new floral blouse and her therapist's repeated assurance that she is the architect of her own life should fix that. All should be well, really. Except for her broken washing machine, her fickle new girlfriend, her missing friend Coral, her backstabbing fellow professors, a cutthroat new dean—and the fact that the sentient and malevolent Crawley Hall has decided it wants them all out, and the hall and its hellish hares will stop at nothing to get rid of them.

My Review: Horror as a genre tends to lean towards the cartoonish -- madmen with axes, supernatural predators-- because the mundane horrors that fill an adult's everyday life are mostly intangible. Suzette Mayr leapt at that challenge like a cracked-up jackrabbit, using magical realism to bring the horrors of academia to life through a delightfully satirical perspective. As an academic herself, Mayr draws on her own experiences as an English professor when criticizing the institutional failings of universities that care more about profit and prestige than the well-being of their staff and students. 

The book follows Edith, an introverted English professor facing increasing pressure from her department heads to hurry up and publish her dissertation. Edith struggles to find balance between her professional and personal life, and as stress mounts, she throws herself further into her work, hoping to find salvation through external validation. Health struggles compound under the poor building maintenance, and soon Edith begins seeing strange things within the university - fellow professors going missing, a sinkhole opening up, and the devilish hares that are more than they appear. But is any of it actually real? Or is she hallucinating due to a budding stress disorder? Mayr's use of magical realism within the book treads the fine line between real and imaginary, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. Is Crawley Hall really alive, or is Edith spiraling into mental illness? 

Throughout the book, Edith refuses to acknowledge how systematic oppression/failures have harmed her and assumes personal responsibility for failing to keep up with impossible standards, driving her to figurative madness. The text almost feels Shakespearian at times due to Edith's inability to see how the system and environment she's in has pushed her to act against her best interest, while the audience can see the connection between her emotionally abusive upbringing, to her lack of a support system, to the predatory nature of the university. It feels like a modern iteration of a classic 'driven mad' Shakespeare narrative, but with a greater understanding of how various intersectionalities of identity (class, race, gender, upbringing, etc.) influence someone towards 'madness.' The magical elements really highlight and enhance this downwards spiral, as well as create a hauntingly creepy atmosphere to set the drama within. 

This novel is both a character study as well as a critique of academia. As such, the plot is slow and mostly focuses on Edith's daily ruminations and routines, which takes time to build into a solid mystery. Tension does build right from the start around the school, but as Edith's focus is on her work, little of the narrative is spent actually trying to 'solve' the mystery. While this approach felt fresh when compared with other narratives where characters drive straight towards the plot, it also gave the book a literary feel, complete with the stereotypical pros and cons that come with the genre. To support readers through the slower plot points, Mayr filled the book with gorgeous, lyrical language that is heavily layered with symbols, metaphors, and satirical commentary on all facets of life. 

The book's satire is deliciously absurd and yet freakishly real. The oppressive atmosphere mounts until it threatens to suffocate Edith by the finale, which beautifully illustrates how overwhelming stress and mental illness can become. Ultimately, my favourite part of the book is its finale, which (no spoilers) capitalizes on all the building horror and manages a twist that gave me chills in all the best ways. The ending satisfies by balancing Edith's wins and loses to create a catharsis for readers who enjoy it when both the hero and the villain get a few solid jabs in. 

TL;DR: 4/5 stars. A chilling and satirical perspective on the horrors of academia.