Book Review: Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
Paperback, 384 pages
William Morrow Paperbacks
October 3, 2017
★★★★ ½☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received for review with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

August 1914. England is at war. As Evie Elliott watches her brother, Will, and his best friend, Thomas Harding, depart for the front, she believes—as everyone does—that it will be over by Christmas, when the trio plan to celebrate the holiday among the romantic cafes of Paris.

But as history tells us, it all happened so differently…
Evie and Thomas experience a very different war. Frustrated by life as a privileged young lady, Evie longs to play a greater part in the conflict—but how?—and as Thomas struggles with the unimaginable realities of war he also faces personal battles back home where War Office regulations on press reporting cause trouble at his father’s newspaper business. Through their letters, Evie and Thomas share their greatest hopes and fears—and grow ever fonder from afar. Can love flourish amid the horror of the First World War, or will fate intervene?

Christmas 1968. With failing health, Thomas returns to Paris—a cherished packet of letters in hand—determined to lay to rest the ghosts of his past. But one final letter is waiting for him…

Last Christmas in Paris was my first truly epistolary style novel that I have read. For those of you that are unfamiliar with this type of novel, it is a novel written almost entirely of letters between characters and not in the typical prose style that a novel usually contains. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this style. Thinking about it conceptually it could be more difficult to move the plot forward because how much drama can be put forth in correspondence! Additionally, given the time frame where this novel takes place, the letters were more constrained between the home and the front as both sides tried to keep the other’s spirits up and away from the grotesques of the war. But I have loved the work that I have read from both of these authors and I enjoy reading books set in this time period, so I was sure it would be handled well.

The book is framed within a narrative set in 1968 as Thomas is looking back at the letters from his time in the war as his health is failing – so there is some prose, but not much. The bulk of it is letters, with the majority being between Evie and Thomas, but also to some secondary characters of their friends, family, and business associates. These secondary characters were sometimes critical to advancing the plot and the groundwork for their inclusion was laid right from the start, even before their need was necessary. With letters just between two people the scope of the world is limited in ways similar to first person dialogue. These letters to friends who were located in different places and experiencing different things allows the reader to have a more rounded world view. Evie’s friend Alice goes to the front early on and Evie gets a view of the battlefield from a woman as well as that from Tom. We also learn about world events through Tom’s correspondence with the colleagues at the newspaper his family runs, which also helps with events too.

I think that the authors touched on SO many different aspects of the war that it felt so true to life for me – it is clear that they put time into the research. From small little details about daily life in the trenches, to large scale events like battles, it was all there. And what I think was really unique here was that we see what is transpiring on both sides at the same time – not chapters apart from each other like you might experience in a standard structure novel, which made it feel more real. Oh, and one of the things that I loved the most and made the letters real – the censoring that shows up in the book itself! Letters being sent from the front to their families back home were oftentimes heavily censored by the military before being released so that no locations or wartime data that they didn’t want the opposition to get their hands on would go out. Well, here in the letters from Tom we see actual blacked out portions of the letter, just like Evie would have seen if she was receiving that letter. This was excellent.

I felt that I truly was able to know Tom, Evie, and friends through their letters in ways that I might miss in another novel. In letters you can pour your heart out without the guard that we tend to put up sometimes when speaking directly with someone in person – which Evie actually addresses several times in her letters. I may have shed a few tears throughout this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed Last Christmas in Paris and can’t wait to read more, not only from these authors, but to give other epistolary novels a chance.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• A Literary Vacation
• Flashlight Commentary

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Heather Webb:

Fall of Poppies
[My Review]

Rodin’s Lover
[My Review]

Becoming Josephine
[My Review]

The Phantom’s Apprentice
Coming 2018!

Also by Hazel Gaynor:

Fall of Poppies
[My Review]

The Cottingley Secret

The Girl Who Came Home

A Memory of Violets

The Girl from the Savoy

Find Heather Webb: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Find Hazel Gaynor: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Tour Wide Giveaway

As part of the blog tour we have a tour wide giveaway open for 2 copies of Last Christmas in Paris! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

• Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on October 20th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
• Giveaway is open to residents in the US & Canada only.
• Only one entry per household.
• All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
• Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
• If you have any questions please contact the tour coordinator as I am not involved in the giveaway administration.  Good luck!

Last Christmas in Paris

On the HFVBT website
or on Twitter: #LastChristmasinParisBlogTour

Monday, September 25
Review at 100 Pages a Day
Review at Books of All Kinds

Tuesday, September 26
Review at The Lit Bitch

Wednesday, September 27
Review at Just One More Chapter
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Thursday, September 28
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time

Monday, October 2
Review at Let Them Read Books

Tuesday, October 3
Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, October 4
Review at A Literary Vacation

Friday, October 6
Review at Library Educated

Monday, October 9
Review at A Bookish Affair
Review at Suzy Approved Books

Tuesday, October 10
Interview at A Bookish Affair

Thursday, October 12
Review at Creating Herstory

Friday, October 13
Review at Pursuing Stacie

Monday, October 16
Review at Curling up by the Fire

Tuesday, October 17
Review at Faery Tales Are Real

Wednesday, October 18
Review at The Maiden’s Court
Interview at Faery Tales Are Real

Thursday, October 19
Review at A Holland Reads

Friday, October 20
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Denali’s Howl by Andy Hall

Denali’s Howl: The Deadliest Climbing Disaster on America’s Wildest Peak by Andy Hall
Paperback, 272 pages
Plume
April 28, 2015
★★★★☆

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Personal collection

Denali’s Howl is the white-knuckle account of one of the most deadly climbing disasters of all time.

In 1967, twelve young men attempted to climb Alaska’s Mount McKinley—known to the locals as Denali—one of the most popular and deadly mountaineering destinations in the world. Only five survived.

Journalist Andy Hall, son of the park superintendent at the time, investigates the tragedy. He spent years tracking down survivors, lost documents, and recordings of radio communications. In Denali’s Howl, Hall reveals the full story of an expedition facing conditions conclusively established here for the first time: At an elevation of nearly 20,000 feet, these young men endured an “arctic super blizzard,” with howling winds of up to 300 miles an hour and wind chill that freezes flesh solid in minutes. All this without the high-tech gear and equipment climbers use today.

As well as the story of the men caught inside the storm, Denali’s Howl is the story of those caught outside it trying to save them—Hall’s father among them. The book gives readers a detailed look at the culture of climbing then and now and raises uncomfortable questions about each player in this tragedy. Was enough done to rescue the climbers, or were their fates sealed when they ascended into the path of this unprecedented storm?

Denali’s Howl was one of the books that I picked up while on my vacation in Alaska. I had just spent the day touring through the beautiful Denali National Park and was browsing through the gift shop. I knew I wanted to pick up something about the mountain itself because we had been unable to see it due to weather (did you know only about 30% of visitors to the park actually see the peak because of the weather?). As you may know from having read some of my other reviews, I’m drawn to books, particularly non-fiction, about disasters. Denali is a dangerous mountain to climb and there have been a few disastrous moments in the life of the park, however, none is more notorious than the 1967 Wilcox Expedition where 7 of the 12 men died up on that peak and have never been recovered.

Andy Hall brings a unique perspective to this book that isn’t present in others about this event – he grew up in Denali National Park and his father was the Superintendent of the Park at that time. While he was only 5 years old, so he didn’t know the gravity of the events unfolding at the time, he has an “on the ground” connection to the story in a way that most others don’t. He can speak to what stresses it took on his father or why he made the choices he did. However, the book never came off as feeling like he was trying to whitewash over the culpability of everyone involved despite his close association with it.

Although the book is shorter in length than most on this subject, I found that it had enough information to meet my needs. It covered everything from the history of climbing of this mountain, the meteorology of the storm that hit it, the difficulties of climbing any mountain (but especially Denali) at that time, the backstory of each man in the Wilcox Expedition, the climb and attempts to save the men, and the fallout from this disaster. I didn’t feel that there was any glaring gap that I wished to have had filled. There were a few moments that felt bogged down a little bit with information that I didn’t understand about climbing in general, and a couple moments that felt repetitive, but neither of these elements changed how I raced through the pages. While not exactly a narrative work of non-fiction, there were certainly moments that felt that way, particularly the climb and the rescue. The details that are known are sometimes sparse or sketchy, they have only the recollections of the men who survived and sometimes their stories didn’t align possibly due to the impact of the event or just the weather and nature of the climb on them. Additionally, they don’t have any idea what actually happened to the men that were lost because none of the survivors were with them at that time and some of the men were never located; at best they can speculate.

This book would appeal to a lot of different audiences: those who want to read about disaster or natural events, those who are avid outdoorsmen/women or climbers, those who want to know more about Alaskan history. The book reads quickly, but packs a punch in those few pages and leaves the reader with an impression of how dangerous mountain climbing in general, and Denali in particular, can be. Oh, and lest I forget, the paperback book includes pages of photographs, some from the climbers of the Wilcox Expedition which show some of their progress. These were chilling at times to think that these were the last photos of some of the men that were lost, but I was grateful to be able to have a visual experience as well.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• A Mountain Journey
• Guide to Outdoor Literature

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Find Andy Hall: Website

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

New Book Alert: American Tumbleweeds by Marta Elva

American Tumbleweeds by Marta Elva

Paperback & e-book, 298 pages

Circling Rivers

Published: May 10, 2016

ISBN: 1939530016

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Book Blurb:

Set along the border between El Paso, Texas, and Juárez, Mexico, American Tumbleweeds tells the bittersweet story of a Mexican-American family’s struggle to stay together as tradition collides with the social upheaval of 1960s America.

Inez’s family threatens to fly apart when her father gets arrested smuggling marijuana into the U.S. Inez finds refuge from the turmoil in the old ways cherished by her beloved Mexican grandmother. But life in El Paso is far more exciting, as the explosion of rock music and new personal freedom shatter traditions on both sides of the border.

American Tumbleweeds captures poignantly the growing pains of a young girl and of all immigrant families whose dual cultural identities lend them both strength and strife. From Amalia, the matriarchal grandmother, to Inez, woman-child of the 1960s, these “American tumbleweeds” portray every family: loving and clinging, wounding each other deeply while comforting each other in the soul-deep ways that only families can reach.

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia
 
Praise for American Tumbleweeds:

"With AMERICAN TUMBLEWEEDS Marta Elva pulls us into the minds of a half-dozen members of a border family in crisis, dramatizing the state of living ni aqui, ni alla—neither here nor there geographically and emotionally. A moving first novel." — John Sayles, film director, author, and MacArthur fellow

"The aptly named AMERICAN TUMBLEWEEDS depicts the balancing act some bi-cultural families must undertake to live in America. The characters indeed “tumble” back and forth over our southernmost border, forced to live in two worlds at once. This is an experience all Americans should know about." — Sonia Manzano, author of Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx

"AMERICAN TUMBLEWEEDS is an engrossing, enlightening portrayal of life along the Mexican–American border in the late 1960s. Marta Elva’s sensitive insights draw a straight line to family and societal issues in today’s headlines."   — Annamaria Alfieri, author of the critically-acclaimedStrange Gods

"Marta Elva’s debut novel, AMERICAN TUMBLEWEEDS, provides an engaging look at the human cost of the turbulent 1960s along the Mexican-American border. Deftly conveyed through the eyes of an innocent and vulnerable fourteen-year-old girl and her family, this well-written saga could just as easily reflect contemporary times. It is insightful, timely, and rich with meaning." ­  — Pam Webber, author of The Wiregrass 

"Marta Elva has written a coming-of-age novel that perfectly captures the feel, fear, fun and uncertainty of the late 1960s.  I was hooked on this delightful story from the very first page. And the characters stayed with me long after the final word."  — Melanie Payne, columnist “Tell Mel,” The News-Press, Ft. Myers, FL

"Marta Elva’s AMERICAN TUMBLEWEEDS is both a moving coming-of-age story and a compelling tale of border intrigue that goes back in time to give a human face to some of the most divisive and hotly debated issues facing contemporary America. Elva shows an uncanny knack for dialogue and plot as in each chapter she moves back and forth among her characters, unrolling the narrative through each individual’s unique point of view." — Michael Winship, senior writer, Moyers & Company, PBS

 
About Marta Elva:

Marta Elva was born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and raised in El Paso, Texas. Her career as a writer, producer, editor, and camera operator in television and independent film spans over three decades and includes several Emmy-nominated shows, notably PBS WNET New York’s Setting the Stage. She and her husband live on Florida’s Gulf Coast.



 


Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein
Paperback, 400 pages
W. W. Norton & Company
January 13, 2014
★★★★★

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received from publisher for review as part of HFBRT blog tour

“In this evocative and thrilling epic novel, fifteen-year-old Yoshi Kobayashi, child of Japan's New Empire, daughter of an ardent expansionist and a mother with a haunting past, is on her way home on a March night when American bombers shower her city with napalm--an attack that leaves one hundred thousand dead within hours and half the city in ashen ruins. In the days that follow, Yoshi's old life will blur beyond recognition, leading her to a new world marked by destruction and shaped by those considered the enemy: Cam, a downed bomber pilot taken prisoner by the Imperial Japanese Army; Anton, a gifted architect who helped modernize Tokyo's prewar skyline but is now charged with destroying it; and Billy, an Occupation soldier who arrives in the blackened city with a dark secret of his own. Directly or indirectly, each will shape Yoshi's journey as she seeks safety, love, and redemption.”

I love reading about WWII and I have always, for some reason, been most intrigued by the stories set in the Pacific theatre. I think this partially stems from the fact that it wasn’t taught as much as the German front while I was in school. Not only does Gods of Heavenly Punishment cover one event in the Pacific theatre, but the way in which it does that is so different and unique, that I LOVED every minute of the reading experience.

In this novel we follow the events proceeding, during, and following the firebombing of Tokyo – and we see it from many different angles, both Japanese and American. You get a taste of the home-front in both Japan and the United States, as well as the war-zone. I think that Epstein really captured very well what I envision “the old boys club” of WWII would have been like as well as the fears and anxiety that would have existed leading up to these events. I was captivated by all of the characters, their stories, and how they all came together and tied up the various narrative strings. As I read, I kept wondering how different strings were going to come together, as they seemingly wound around each other but didn’t have an obvious connection at all times.

Modern Japan is a very new setting for me; Japan in general is a very new setting for me. Epstein’s experience living in Japan helped evoke the essence of the locale and made it very accessible to me as a reader. The actual scene of the fire-bombing was intense, terrifying, and tear inducing.

The book jumps across various locations with several years passing by in between each chapter. There were huge breaks in the knowledge we have of each of the main character’s experiences. While there were times that I felt that I would like to know some more about what happened since the last time we were with that character, it didn’t really matter in the end. There was always enough given to keep you connected with their story thread and to prevent the reader from being confused by what was transpiring.

I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed this book. The prose was beautiful and read very quickly. For once the title and cover made great sense with the book (although I truthfully liked the hardcover version better). Pick this book up!

Author Jennifer Cody Epstein also has written The Painter From Shanghai. You can visit Jennifer’s website or blog for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out these excerpts from the book?

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• From Left to Write
• Amused by Books

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

You can follow along with the rest of the blog tour by visiting the HFVBT website or on Twitter with the following hashtag: #GodsHeavenlyPunishmentTour.

 

Copyright © 2014 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Next to Love by Ellen Feldman

Next to Love by Ellen Feldman
ARC, Hardcover, 304 pages
Spiegel & Grau
July 26, 2011
★★★★☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received for Review as part of the Amazon Vine Program

“Set in a small town in Massachusetts, Next to Love follows three childhood friends, Babe, Millie, and Grace, whose lives are unmoored when their men are called to duty. And yet the changes that are thrust upon them move them in directions they never dreamed possible—while their husbands and boyfriends are enduring their own transformations. In the decades that follow, the three friends lose their innocence, struggle to raise their children, and find meaning and love in unexpected places. And as they change, so does America—from a country in which people know their place in the social hierarchy to a world in which feminism, the Civil Rights movement, and technological innovations present new possibilities—and uncertainties. And yet Babe, Millie, and Grace remain bonded by their past, even as their children grow up and away and a new society rises from the ashes of the war.

Beautifully crafted and unforgettable, Next to Love depicts the enduring power of love and friendship, and illuminates a transformational moment in American history.”

This novel covers a lot of history and emotion within the short 300+ pages – I would recommend a box of tissues handy when reading it. The novel covers a period just before the men are sent off to the European theatre of World War II, follows the women’s life on the new home-front while the men are away, and then shows them all dealing with what fate had dealt them following the end of the war. The experiences of these women, Millie, Babe, and Grace, cover a pretty decent range of life experiences and outcomes from the war. We see everything from lost friends and family members, the effects of PTSD [pretty much unknown of at the time], evolution of the role of women, and the new generation of their children. The book was well rounded in its coverage of the home-front and I applaud this effort as many books sent in and around World War II either ignore the home-front or spend very little time on it. I also appreciated that the author addressed issues that African Americans and Jews faced in the military and on the home-front. I had considered the treatment of African Americans before but had not really considered the impact on those of Jewish descent – even considering that they were sometimes fighting against those who had carried out some terrible atrocities against Jews.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the section of letters sent between the women and their men overseas. It was interesting to see what types of things they would tell each other and the things that they would omit – women trying to keep the men’s spirit up and the men trying to take some of the fear away from their women.

There was however a rather big issue I had with this book and that was with the layout. It would alternate between sections focusing on each woman, Babe, Grace, and Millie, and would then break these sections up by date. That I was ok with, and had the book proceeded in continuous chronological order that would have been fine. However it became confusing when each time I would start a section about one of the other women we would go back over the same period of time that I had just read about from one of the other’s perspective. I understand the direction that the author was going – to show the same events through the different perspectives, however I found it to be more confusion than beneficial.

As a side note: While I don’t really like any of the cover versions that this book has had, I’m glad they changed it from the cover on the ARC. The envelope on the cover I’m assuming was supposed to represent a letter sent between the home-front and battlefield during the war (WWII), however the envelope had a 1938 cancel stamp date on it. The events in the book didn’t take place until the 1940’s. This anachronism really bothered me throughout the reading of the book – so very glad they changed it for publication.

Author Ellen Feldman also has written Scottsboro, The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank, and Lucy. You can visit Feldman’s website for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Diary of an Eccentric
• So Obsessed With

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: Killing Kennedy by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

Killing Kennedy by Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard
Unabridged, 8 hr. 25 min.
Macmillan Audio
Bill O’Reilly (Narrator)
October 2, 2012
★★★½☆☆

Genre: History, Non-Fiction, President

Source: Received audiobook from publisher as part of Audiobook Jukebox Solid Gold Reviewers Program

“More than a million readers have thrilled to Bill O'Reilly's Killing Lincoln, the page-turning work of nonfiction about the shocking assassination that changed the course of American history. Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts in gripping detail the brutal murder of John Fitzgerald Kennedy—and how a sequence of gunshots on a Dallas afternoon not only killed a beloved president but also sent the nation into the cataclysmic division of the Vietnam War and its culture-changing aftermath.

The events leading up to the most notorious crime of the twentieth century are almost as shocking as the assassination itself. Killing Kennedy chronicles both the heroism and deceit of Camelot, bringing history to life in ways that will profoundly move the reader.  This may well be the most talked about book of the year.”

As soon as I heard the O’Reilly & Dugard were going to be releasing another non-fiction work about another famously assassinated president (which I am now 3 for 4 in reading about) I was super excited to read it. I enjoyed Killing Lincoln tremendously and had high hopes for the treatment about Kennedy – especially since it is a relatively recent event that I did not know all that much about. I may have set my expectations too high coming in because the book let me down a little bit.

One of the things that I appreciated was that right from the start of the book, sort of an author’s note, O’Reilly set out to respond to some of the criticisms about Killing Lincoln and how he made sure to address those concerns in Killing Kennedy. In another connection to his earlier work, parallels are frequently drawn between Kennedy and Lincoln – some of which I was surprised by and were quite eerie.

The bulk of the book features the early life and presidency of John F. Kennedy – sort of getting the reader up to speed leading up to the assassination. These vignettes were interesting and inspiring – especially reading about PT-109, which I knew about but did not know Kennedy was involved in. These sections really helped to build my appreciation of Kennedy and contributed to my emotional reaction to the assassination (which I was not alive to live through, so I’m sure my reaction was somewhat different from that of one who lived through it). At the same time, we get parallels (especially during the Kennedy administration years) of what Lee Harvey Oswald was doing. This was a strength that O’Reilly built on from the previous book which was also one of my favorite elements.

The portion of the book featuring the actual immediate lead up, assassination, and fallout made up only about one-third of the book – which was a little disappointing since the book is titled Killing Kennedy – I expected more of the book to represent this segment. For someone who really does not know too much about this period of history there were some new things that I learned and it was a great introduction to the period (however I am unable to account for its accuracy) – however I feel that for someone experienced with the time period it was likely common knowledge that was presented here – despite the claim of new revelations. I’m not going to get into conspiracy theories or which view the authors took or whether they are right or not (we just don’t know until probably 50 years from now when some records are unsealed – pretty much all Kennedy books promote one theory or another). One other little thing that bugged me was that there are dates presented at the beginning of each chapter – which suggest to the reader that the events being described happen on that day or that we will go forward from that date – but I found them to be distracting. We often would get a little something that happened on that date and then jump around in time. I think it would have been more effective to provide a date range for the chapters.

Overall this was still the compelling reading that moves you right along and keeps you interested, however I wanted more.

★★★★½☆

My sentiments were very similar to those of Killing Lincoln: The book is narrated by the author, Bill O’Reilly, who I thought was an excellent choice for narrator. His tone of voice lent to the feel of the thriller as well as to a news commentary of the days. It sort of felt like you were hearing an account of what happened. He had great pacing and enunciation which really contributed to the overall feel.

If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book or this audio sample?

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Tales of a Book Addict
• Mark’s Super Blog

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard:

Killing Lincoln
[My Review]

Killing Jesus

Killing Patton

Killing Reagan

Killing the Rising Sun

Killing England

Find Bill O’Reilly: Website

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Interview with Larry Peterson

Today I have the chance to welcome Larry Peterson, author of The Priest and the Peaches.  His book is a historical fiction novel set in the Bronx in the mid-1960s targeted to a YA audience.  There is humor and sadness but most of all an inspiring story.

What was the inspiration behind your novel?


My brothers, sister and I did lose our folks when we were quite young but I never actually considered writing about anything relating to those days. Then, about four years ago our brother, Bobby, suddenly passed away. After his funeral we were all hanging out with old friends at a pub in Monroe, NY. Stories of "back in the day" began to flow free and easy and before you knew everyone was laughing and more and more memories were being triggered. Even though it was a sad time it also became a beautiful time. That was when I began thinking of using our experience as the basis for "The Priest and The Peaches."

Do you see any of yourself within the cast of characters you created?

Yes, I'm sure I can find part of myself in Teddy Peach.

Why did you choose to write a Young Adult novel?

I did want to write this at the YA level because I wanted to demonstrate to the younger folk the power of family love and forgiveness. We do live in a very "me-istic" society where self-gtratification seems to be revered and I simply wanted to present another side to that mind-set showing that giving of oneself instead of thinking of yourself can be very rewarding.

What do you hope a reader can take away from your novel?

How imporatnt it is to L-Y-N (Love your neighbor).

What difficulties, if any, did you encounter while writing this novel?

The development of the antagonist, Beatrice Amon, was challenging but as she began to come "alive" I entered into her bleak world and began to really understand her. I believe I was able to capture the "real" Beatrice and share her with the reader.

Your book is set in the Bronx; do you have experience living in this area? How did you capture the character of this city?

Thanks for the easy question. I was born and raised in the Bronx. It is part of who I am. As I began to write the book the sights, smells, sounds, the people, the streets and so on turned into a DVD inside my head. It is amazing to discover how many memories you have stored inside you that are resting dormant just waiting to be ignited.

Thank you Larry for taking the time to stop by and enlighten us about your new book!

Larry Peterson was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. A former Metal Lather/Reinforcing Iron-worker, he left that business after coming down with MS. He, his wife and three kids moved to Florida 30 years ago. Larry began doing freelance newspaper commentary after graduating from Tampa College in 1984.

His first children's picture book, Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes was published in 2011. In 2012, his full length novel, The Priest and the Peaches was released and he is presently working on the sequel.

He lives in Pinellas Park, Florida and his kids and six grandchildren all live within three miles of each other.

He also has a blog where he posts weekly commentary. You can also find Larry on Facebook and Twitter.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

TV Show Review: Freedom Riders

Freedom Riders

American Experience Series

WGBH (PBS)

120 mins

May 16, 2011

“Freedom Riders is the powerful harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives—and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment—for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism.”

Freedom Riders tells the story of one of the most memorable events of the Civil Rights Movement – the Freedom Rides into the Alabama and Mississippi. I will admit, I knew about this event, but not too much in terms of details. This episode was sure to change that. They went through this momentous event on a semi day by day in depth look that followed the participants throughout the south. They went into the lead up to the decision to take this non-violent action as well as the events coming at the tail end of the ride (national news coverage, carrying the momentum into the prisons, and what the ultimate result was).

There were some great selections made in who they interviewed. As you would expect from this series they interviewed people who were participants in the Freedom Rides, but there were other less thought about interviewees as well. There was a daughter of a man who attacked the Freedom Riders (as a young girl she went out to help those who were injured). There was a liaison to Attorney General Robert Kennedy who was in constant contact with the President and AG as well as being right in the thick of things. They even had an interview with the former governor of Alabama, John Patterson, who was politically right in the middle of the Freedom Rides. I thought the comments by Patterson were some of the most enlightening – he stood against the Freedom Riders during the time, but seemed to have much less of a hard line viewpoint today.

There was also other media that was included. There were several interactive maps that would allow the viewer to see where they were going. They showed footage of the different stops on the ride as well as some of the action against the riders. There was news footage from other countries that I thought was pretty cool – Cuba and Russia – I had never really thought of how the other countries of the world would react to events here at home. I also thought that this episode tied into the previous week’s episode of Soundtrack to a Revolution because they played additional songs that were utilized during this event – I liked how they would change up songs to fit different scenarios (and also about how you can sing without opening your mouth when you can’t brush your teeth!).

Overall I thought that this was a very enlightening episode. I never realized how complex and how many days this covered. Paired with the episode last week I had more appreciation for the music and some of the other aspects of this movement.

Here is the trailer – and if you missed the show it is available online to watch.

There are some great additional resources to go along with this episode – a timeline for the Civil Rights Movement, an exploration of the issues that were important to this movement, as well as an interactive map of the Freedom Rides.  You can also follow the 2011 Student Freedom Ride online.




Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

TV Show Review: Soundtrack to a Revolution

If you want to get the full experience of this review – I recommend listening to the below music while you read this review. These are songs that are from the episode.

Soundtrack for a Revolution

American Experience Series

WGBH (PBS)

120 mins

May 9, 2011

“The story of the American civil rights movement is told through its powerful music -- the freedom songs that protesters sang on picket lines, in mass meetings, in police wagons, and in jail cells as they fought for justice and equality. A unique mix of historical documentary and contemporary musical performance, the film features new performances by top artists including John Legend, Joss Stone, Wyclef Jean, and The Roots; riveting archival footage; and interviews with civil rights foot soldiers and leaders, including Congressman John Lewis, Harry Belafonte, Julian Bond, Andrew Young and dozens more.”

I was super intrigued by the premise of this episode. I knew that songs and music were an extremely important part of the Civil Rights Movement but I had never really put a lot of thought into the actual songs themselves. I also thought that the premise of having modern popular singers perform some of these songs was a solid way to tie the event into the present day and make these events relevant to younger viewers.

This show really did a fantastic job of merging historical background with the importance of the music. All of the experts discussed the way that the songs built the movement – as one person said “they could take away everything else, but they can’t take away our songs”. They would talk about an experience during the Civil Rights Movement and explain a particular song then they would segue into the song performance. I thought that these performances were really awesome. My favorite song was at the very end where all of the performers sang bits and pieces of the same song. I think that I really have come to have more of an appreciation for the power of music and the identity that people form with song.

I highly recommend this episode to anyone who is looking to learn more about the Civil Rights Movement in a different manner than you will ever get from just reading about it. It also brings together the visual and audio experiences. I would also recommend this to people who are interested in the role that music plays in life.

As usual, American Experience has some great features to go along with this episode – one of the most helpful might be lyrics to the songs featured in this episode.

Here is a trailer of this show for your enjoyment.

Watch the full episode. See more American Experience.

Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

TV Show Review: Stonewall Uprising

Stonewall Uprising

American Experience Series

WGBH (PBS)

90 Mins

April 25, 2011

“In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. Such raids were not unusual in the late 1960s, an era when homosexual sex was illegal in every state but Illinois. That night, however, the street erupted into violent protests and demonstrations that lasted for the next six days. The Stonewall riots, as they came to be known, marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States and around the world.”

The Civil Rights Movement is something that I am sure most children are taught about in history classes, but the Gay Rights Movement is a struggle for equality that is glossed over if covered at all. In their newest episode in the American Experience series, Stonewall Uprising, they take on one of the pivotal events in this movement – something I had never heard of prior to this show. In the episode, this major event is described as “the Rosa Parks moment for the gay”.

The first thing that you will notice about this episode is the disclaimer at the beginning of the episode stating that very few images exist of this event and that what you will see is mostly recreated. I appreciated this statement and wish that they included it more often – it would help people keep the historic from the fictional. In order to get into the mindset of the time, this episode began by explaining the way society at the time viewed the gay community. Here they emphasized their point by showing various segments and commercials from the 1950’s and 60’s that were anti-homosexual. One of the segments that was featured was called Boys Beware and was a type of public service announcement. I included the segment below to help you get an idea of what they were showing. While watching I kept being shocked that people would actually believe what was being said in these segments – it just seemed so surreal to me.

They also had people talking about what it was like to be gay during that time and the opposition that they constantly came up against. They also went into some detail as to why the Stonewall Inn was such an important/iconic place for that community.

The riot itself was described by several people who were involved in some way – you had a former cop who had been inside the Stonewall Inn during the riot, as well as several people from the gay community who were inside the inn as well as those in the mass group outside. This allowed the viewer to get a well rounded idea of what was happening within and around the Stonewall.

This episode was handled with dignity for those who were featured in the episode. I thought that they did a very good job of highlighting an important event in another rights movement that is less frequently discussed. I learned quite a bit and would encourage you to watch this episode as well.

Here is a trailer of this show below and if you want to watch the entire episode online you can go to this link [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/stonewall/player/]

Watch the full episode. See more American Experience.

Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court