Much of Wallace’s memoir is told in snippets of memory that take on an episodic structure. He was born into a cycle of poverty that his parents were both from, and at first it’s the kind of poverty that one can be content in. His mother collected government checks from her previous husband who died in World War II and his father worked odd jobs. But as their father descends into alcoholism the structure of the family soon collapses. Jobs become scarcer and the Wallace children begin to realize that their father is a violent monster who daily terrorizes their mother and refuses to feed his children.

In one heartbreaking recount, Wallace brings home a dog, who he affectionately calls Blackie, only to have his father pitch it over a bridge suspended forty feet above a river. When the dog finds its way back to the boy, his father throws it in the trunk and takes it away, and the boy never sees it again. Douglas Wallace brings a stark visual element to these stories that force you to inhabit the eyes of the child and see these horrible things. The result is more and more gutwrenching as the memoir progresses, but maintains the element of hope by it’s title.

“Everything Will Be All Right” is the kind of breathtaking achievement that comes from watching a survivor cling to the smallest hope in a world awash with decay, and to have that hope rewarded. It is a remarkable and stunning memoir that demonstrates everything that’s right with world, and everything that’s wrong.

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Although Warren is the last to say there is one problem and one quick fix, the crux of the matter is the huge chasm between policy makers and those forced to do the implementation. Consider just this one issue: as a society we fervently wish to educate all of our children as equally and respectfully as possible; as individuals we fervently sue anyone and anything we deem depriving us of that equality and respect. Taken together, these two factors can drive every school budget right over the top. It is hard to see how merit pay for teachers (if anyone ever figures out a quantifiable way to measure that) could address this problem and numerous others.

Warren writes so well, his credibility is so incontestable, and the guy is so funny that even when one is not entirely sold on his position, it gives one pause. And further pause, when you reflect that with all the hoop-la over American education, this is probably the first time that you’ve ever actually heard directly from that endangered species, the American public school teacher.

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The first of several plots in the novel is the central idea surrounding the small Montana town of Two Rivers, and the town government’s plans to allow Guantanamo Bay prisoners to be moved to the town’s new, and largely empty, prison. This puts Two Rivers on the national news scene, it also gets them out of several jams, mostly financial, but gets them into many more, mostly terrorist.

What really sells Two Rivers’ parade of problems is the book’s amazingly vivid cast. Heading up the cast is local lawyer Gabriel Lantagne who really plays strait to the larger insanity of his surrounding Montanans. Gabe is hired by the recklessly ambitious Mayor Phoenix Jamborsky to handle the legalities of such a controversial decision. Gabe serves mostly as a rational voice to supply the reader with information. The real stars of the show are Phoenix, who is Palin-like, but with a political brilliance that would give Carl Rove a run for his money, and the local town sheriff, Pasquali, who gives the town a rough edged intelligence that small town’s flatter themselves with.

Together, Pasquali and Phoenix create an amazing dynamic; small town secrets vs. national political secrets. The clash also works as a mirror between small government and big government. But Leibig doesn’t concern himself so much with social commentary or covert political message. He’s interested in exploring the premise. Ahmed is another remarkable player in the “Montanamo” house of cards. His journey runs both parallel and on a collision course with Two Rivers’ (yes, in fiction that’s possible).

The list of subplots becomes so kinetically charged that it’s difficult not to turn pages as fast as you can read them. Leibig’s work feels a lot like the television show “24”, ripping its plot from the latest headlines and running with them. It’s more of a political drama than a thriller, even if there are murders and a terrorist plot. Much of the action seems to take place in dialogue between any number of characters but the pace is so fast, the dialogue so clean, and the characters so rich that it feels like a thriller. “Montanamo” is nothing short of a Christopher Leibig novel.

Somebody give this man a contract and put this book on store shelves everywhere. These are the kind of books I like to see!
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The chapters are short, sometimes only a page long, but the characters are 3 dimensional and full of life. The mosaic of lives through the centuries occasionally causes one to pause and reflect on the nature vs nurture argument. In the background of all the action, romance, conflict and tragedy, is the beautiful and mysterious island of Berneau. Some go there to escape, some are forced there by circumstances, some end up there almost accidentally.

I would consider this trilogy a beautiful blend of action and romance. And while I don’t want to sound sexist, it may amaze some readers to find out that the author, K. Lynch, is male.

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Ms. Rubin can write well and does so in this collection of plots and sub-plots. I suspect she will write even better as she pursues her writing career – and that’s not a criticism of this current work. Her story evolves nicely after a very image-provoking description of the automobile/truck crash that sets the stage for what’s ahead. If I have any real criticism of her style is that she wraps her dialogue too deeply within descriptive passages. I read and re-read everything by George V. Higgins (sadly departed), who was a master of dialogue. He recognized early on that his readers could follow who was saying what much better if descriptive passages appeared in separate paragraphs and dialogue stood apart. I’d like to see the author embrace that technique a lot more – it makes for easier plot following without distraction as background details. A minor point perhaps but, since Ms. Rubin will obviously continue writing, she might explore the matter further.

Finally, since I don’t have to spend much time on the contents (it’s summarized a bit too succinctly on the rear cover) in this review, I can also take on Ms. Rubin’s little reader quiz following the end of the story. I think it might make sense as an adjunct to an assigned reading in a high school literary class but probably more to double-check who read it and who didn’t. It’s a bit of a trick and the book doesn’t need tricks. It’s well written, logically set out and exciting to a great degree. It stands on its own merits and asking me if the title works turns me off – both as a reviewer and a recreational reader. We rate books on a scale leading up to “Must Read.” No, you don’t have to read Ms. Rubin’s book but, after all my nitpicking, if you elect to do so you will not be disappointed and will come away with some very vivid images in mind. And, competing against our electronic imaging world, having your imagination called into play is well worth the effort. Keep writing, Dayna, you are headed in a good direction and I would be pleased to read your next offering.

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Most of the time I find Children’s books that anthropomorphize their animal characters lose their ability to teach. An animal (or mammal, or fish, or bird, etc.) can not take on human attributes without losing some of their own. But the author, Stephen Vadakin, has spent enough time studying marine life to allow his characters to keep their real life tendencies and reactions as true as possible. For instance, did you know that sperm whale and squid were enemies?

Vadakin not only tells a great tale, with danger and excitement and fully fleshed out characters, he includes a vocabulary lesson at the end of each chapter so that everyone involved knows what plankton, krill, fluke and bioluminescense are.

The lessons of friendship, helping and putting aside ones differences for the greater good are all demonstrated in the tale. The one thing that I found awkward was the use of third person, present tense throughout the story. It took a while to get used to hearing a children’s story in present tense. I also would have enjoyed many more graphics. I suppose this is why I’d like to see this made into a movie. The different characters, while mostly in the whale family, are so distinct that only animation could do it justice.

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Yet war is not the greatest threat to civilization. A far older enemy rises. The dragons are waking and these fiends of Chaos will swarm across the world of men, razing it to bedrock just as they have done in ages past.

But this time the world of men has a champion in Daven Carrickson. Once a beggar and still a fugitive from the king’s justice, Daven is also a hero with unrivaled powers. A brush with one of the deadly dragons left him forever bonded to the beast and able to tap into the ever-shifting maelstrom of Chaos that roils beneath man’s fragile reality.

It is a dangerous connection, one that threatens to consume him. Can he pay even that ultimate price if it means the salvation of humanity?

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Malibu, California–home to rock-and-roll gods and movie stars, the beautiful, the rich … and vampires. Powerful and charismatic, Raphael is a Vampire Lord, one of the few who hold the power of life and death over every vampire in existence. Thousands call him Master and have pledged absolute loyalty on their very lives. But when, in a brazen and deadly daylight attack, a gang of human killers kidnaps the one female vampire he’d give his life for, Raphael turns to a human investigator to find his enemies before it’s too late. Cynthia Leighton is smart, tough and sexy, a private investigator and former cop who’s tired of spying on cheating spouses and digging out old bank accounts. When Raphael asks for her help in tracking down the kidnappers, Cyn’s happy to accept. But she soon realizes her greatest danger comes not from the humans, but from Raphael himself. Battling Russian mobsters and treacherous vampires, and betrayed by those they trusted, Cyn and Raphael find themselves fighting for their lives while caught up in a passion of blood and violence that is destined to destroy them both.

Reynolds, D.B. – Vampires in America #2 – Jabril

Houston, Texas–Cowboy boots, baseball and journeys to the stars … right? Wrong. Because Houston is also home to Jabril Karim, one of the eight powerful Vampire Lords who control all of North America. And as Private Investigator Cynthia Leighton will soon discover, not all Vampire Lords are created equal. For Jabril is the face of evil in the new world, a vampire who values no life but his own, who enslaves those he desires, steals whatever he covets and destroys anyone who stands in his way. Running from L.A. and its seductive Vampire Lord, Raphael, Cyn sees the Houston job as a welcome refuge, a place to get away and heal her broken heart. But Texas will be no vacation. For in Jabril Karim, Cyn will confront a true enemy, one who will go to any lengths to satisfy his lusts, enrich his coffers and expand his power. Fighting for the lives of two young sisters, Cyn’s journey will take her through the streets of Houston and back to L.A., where the human police are determined to bring Raphael down for the murder of one of their own. But the danger doesn’t end there. For Jabril has set his sights on Cyn, and he will stop at nothing to have her.

Reynolds, D.B. – Vampires in America #3 – Rajmund

New York City vampire Rajmund Gregor is the undisputed master of The Big Apple. He bows to no one but his Sire, the Vampire Lord Krystof, but when Krystof summons Rajmund to his headquarters in Buffalo, Raj finds his master slowly descending into madness. Raj is the only one of Krystof’s children strong enough to seize power, but he’ll have to save his master before he can destroy him. Several women have gone missing and the local police are convinced a vampire is behind it. Is Krystof capturing and murdering human women? Is a rogue vampire moving into Krystof’s territory? Or is it something far more insidious, something that could threaten the existence of vampires everywhere? Sarah Stratton’s past holds a secret she shares with no one. It’s a secret that could save the lives of the missing women. To save them, however, she must enter Buffalo’s vampire community and put herself into the care of Rajmund Gregor. But can she trust Raj, the dangerously seductive vampire who wants to lay claim to far more than her secrets?

Reynolds, D.B. – Vampires in America #4 – Sophia

The Pacific Northwest . . . home to lush forests and constant rain, to lumberjacks and computer geeks, especially those of the vampire kind.
Sophia, beautiful and deadly, has spent the last hundred years dancing her way through the balmy nights and hot-blooded men of South America. But when her Sire sends an urgent summons, Sophia rushes home to Vancouver only to find he has disappeared, leaving nothing behind but three dead vampires and a letter with Sophia s name on it.
Colin Murphy, a former Navy SEAL, came to the Northwest seeking a quiet place to heal the scars earned in more than a decade at war. But when someone starts killing local vampires and torturing their mates, Colin takes on the mantle of a warrior once again as he sets out to find the killers and do whatever it takes to stop them, even if that means hunting with vampires.
Following her Sires trail of death to a small town in northern Washington, Sophia unexpectedly discovers the heat of a South American night in Colin s arms. But too soon Sophia and Colin find themselves in a race to uncover the killers before the next dead vampire becomes Sophia herself.

Reynolds, D.B. – Vampires in America #5 – Duncan

Washington, D.C. … capital of an empire. Powerful. Exhilarating. Corrupt. And in the shadows … vampires far older than the nation itself.
A power unto himself, Duncan has served at Raphael s side for a hundred and fifty years. But long laid plans have finally borne fruit, and the time has come for Duncan to leave Raphael and tackle the greatest challenge of his life. He will face treacherous vampires and murderous humans. He will rock the halls of human power if necessary. But Washington, D.C. will be his.
Emma Duquet cares nothing for vampire politics. She just wants to find her missing roommate and best friend, Lacey. But Lacey s been playing with vampires of a particularly dangerous kind, and Emma will have to deal with the new vampire in town if she s going to find her friend.
Battling powerful enemies who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets, Duncan and Emma will dig beneath the corruption and depravity that is Washington, D.C. and uncover the most heinous conspiracy of all…

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Revan: hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior. A Jedi who left Coruscant to defeat Mandalorians—and returned a disciple of the dark side, bent on destroying the Republic. The Jedi Council gave Revan his life back, but the price of redemption was high. His memories have been erased. All that’s left are nightmares—and deep, abiding fear.

What exactly happened beyond the Outer Rim? Revan can’t quite remember, yet can’t entirely forget. Somehow he stumbled across a terrible secret that threatens the very existence of the Republic. With no idea what it is, or how to stop it, Revan may very well fail, for he’s never faced a more powerful and diabolic enemy. But only death can stop him from trying.

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Overview:
Her mama always said the women in their family were hotblooded… 

And it s been causing Brooke Donovan trouble her whole life. But it wasn t until her mother took on the most powerful man in Honey Creek, Texas, that Brooke truly realized the daughter of the town whore didn t stand a chance. When she left, it was supposed to be for good. But now, thanks to her late husband s deal with their hometown, she s back in the last place on earth she wants to be. Temporarily. As soon as her debts are paid off, she s outta here. Until in walks the one man who can make her rethink everything.

Dr. Jack Silver fixes things. So, when he learns his uncle is responsible for Brooke losing her husband, his sense of honor drives him across Texas to make amends. Instead of a broken woman, though, he finds a gorgeous, feisty physician s assistant trying to survive in a town that wants her gone. She also has a mile-high fence built out of pride and a clinic that s at risk of going belly up. She may not want his money, but the clinic? He can fix that. He just never expects that in setting Brooke back on her feet, he ll be swept right off his own.

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