All Things Jill-Elizabeth

Book Review: Seven Rules of Time Travel by Roy Huff

admin posted this on September 16th, 2020

I am a huge fan of time travel tales. And of conspiracy stories. And of history/historical fiction. I find the possibilities of infinite worlds of “do-overs” to be a marvelous construct for setting up a story, offering as they do the melding of all these things through a lens of science and magical realism. The result is a whole that feels just this side of possible and highly entertaining… Continue reading Book Review: Seven Rules of Time Travel by Roy Huff

Guest Post: Does the Depiction of Drugs and Addiction in the Book ‘Go Ask Alice’ Seem Realistic Today? by Patrick Bailey

admin posted this on September 14th, 2020

Today I’m pleased to bring you a guest post by Patrick Bailey about the relevance of a 1970s cult classic, Go Ask Alice. I hope you enjoy his thoughtful consideration of the relevance and realism of the novel to today’s world.

Does the Depiction of Drugs and Addiction in the Book Go Ask Alice Seem Realistic Today?
By Patrick Bailey

The 1971 cult classic book Go Ask Alice is a work of fiction—originally marketed as “A Real Diary”—gained an enormous following and became a 1973 TV movie. It depicted drug abuse and addiction in a way that had never been written before.

Although credited to “Anonymous”, later it was attributed to a purported therapist and author named Beatrice Sparks, possibly with the assistance of at least one co-author, Linda Glovach.

Set in the late 1960s, it is supposedly the diary of an unnamed teenage girl (the title is a song lyric) who falls into addiction at age 15. Continue reading Guest Post: Does the Depiction of Drugs and Addiction in the Book ‘Go Ask Alice’ Seem Realistic Today? by Patrick Bailey

Book Review: River Queens by Alexander Watson

admin posted this on September 11th, 2020

Oh my goodness, but this was an absolute delight of an adventure! When Alexander Watson and his partner Dale Harris found themselves in a mad case of love at first sight with a classic wooden boat, they decided to abandon their previous lives (adventures in and of themselves) in favor of traveling America’s heartland via river. Armed only with their wits and a truly fabulous dog named Doris Faye, the two set sail on a journey that brings them adventure, hostility, unexpected friendships, beauty, tragedy, and hilarity. It’s a true adventure story – and there aren’t many of these being written these days… Continue reading Book Review: River Queens by Alexander Watson

Book Review: Raising Them by Kyl Myers

admin posted this on September 9th, 2020

This was a very interesting memoir, written in a highly engaging style that I found entertaining, informative, and endearing without ever devolving into the saccharine-sweetness that plagues so many positive family memoirs… I wasn’t familiar with Zoomer’s tale from the Internet – I’m not on Instagram and apparently missed the media circus surrounding their life so far – so came into this one cold. I don’t think it helped or hurt my read – the tale was compelling and sweet and poignant all on its own. Myers has a very easy writing style; you fall into her words quickly, and the mixture of funny, touching, and clearly heartfelt anecdotes and experiences grabbed me by the heartstrings from the opening salvo. Continue reading Book Review: Raising Them by Kyl Myers

Book Review Blurb: You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

admin posted this on September 7th, 2020

These women write the most incredible, detailed, unusual stories! In this latest, Hendricks and Pekkanen have once again provided a glimpse behind the dark curtain of female “friendship” and offered up a thriller that is complex, populated by fabulously detailed characters full of charming menace – even (especially?) when they’re at their most charming and least menacing… The authors have an uncanny knack for dissecting the insecurities that so many of us embody and finding a way to play with those fears and self-doubts until the reader doesn’t know which end is up. It makes for delightful reads that travel a serpentine path toward resolution. There were a couple of twists I did not see coming – which always happens in their books – and the things I did see were still played out so subtly and well that I didn’t mind congratulating myself for noticing them. If you like your thriller-mysteries intricate and thoughtful, a great place to start is with a Hendricks/Pekkanen!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my obligation-free review copy.

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