A Dragonbird in the Fern by Laura Rueckert #bookreview

A Dragonbird in the Fern by Laura Rueckert

Be sure to also check out yesterday's Spotlight on New Book Debut Author @LauraRueckert



Hello Operation Awesome readers! My name is Kara Reynolds, and I was a contributor to the OA blog from 2015-2018. OA is a great community with a ton of useful, encouraging information about writing and publishing. I learned so much about writing as I wrote posts and read my fellow members’ posts every week. I’m so proud to have been a part of it!

Sometimes in life, you get a full-circle moment, where you get to see how something plays out from beginning to end. Writing this book review is one of those moments for me. Now, OA isn’t really a book review site, but hopefully it’ll be clear soon why they made an exception.

When I wrote for OA, I ran a regular feature called Tuesday Museday to where I provided a writing prompt and chose a few people from the comments of my post to receive a query letter critique. One of the earliest people to take me up on the offer was Laura Rueckert.



I no longer have our email exchange, but I remember Laura’s query letter being pretty polished. I was intrigued by the concept of a princess with dyslexia having to move to a foreign country to track down her sister’s killer. Laura and I stayed in touch on Twitter, and I’ve kept an eye on her and her writing journey ever since.

Which brings us to today! After years of hard work, Laura’s getting published!



Her book, A Dragonbird in the Fern, releases on August 3rd. I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy so I could write this review. While I’m sure the story has been edited many times since I saw that query letter, the heart was the same, and I loved that.

To me, a princess with a learning disability who has to move to a foreign country where she doesn’t speak the language felt like such a fresh hook for a YA fantasy novel. Not only was it a great hook, but it becomes a really important part of the plot. The scope of the worldbuilding was large, with a neat magic system that’s not too complex. Laura could easily write a large series of novels set in this expansive world, yet the book focuses tightly on Princess Jiara’s POV and journey. To me, that was a best-of-both-worlds scenario: tons of worldbuilding, with the deep POV readers of YA fantasy typically enjoy.

I also found a lot of value in the portrayals of sexuality and gender in the book. It’s clear that in the world of A Dragonbird in the Fern, relationships and people are on equal standing no matter what the genders of any of the involved parties are. I like fantasy that features societal conditions we can aspire to, and this fit that bill.

To learn more about A Dragonbird in the Fern, including content warnings (so great to include these!) and buy links, visit Laura’s website at https://www.laurarueckert.com/books. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Thank you, Kara Reynolds!

#BookReview Xodus #atozchallenge

The Operation Awesome theme for the #atozchallenge 2021 is book reviews (even though we're a blog about the publication journey, not a book review blog-- the team loves to read!). I've selected books by Debut Authors.

K.J. McPike
Xodus (Astralis #1) (Souls Untethered Saga #1) / This book has been rebranded as Souls Untethered. Souls Untethered (The Souls Untethered Saga Book 1)

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." - Maya Angelou

That quote is appropriate for this book, in my opinion. This was a good book that was full of suspense, a strong family core, a tiny splash of romance (heat level= one simple kiss), and Astral projection (which is fantasy, sci-fi, speculative fiction, or real-- depending on who you ask). It's YA because the main character turns 16 at the opening of the book. I do enjoy reading YA and urban fantasy, both categories of which this book falls into. The book is well-edited.

Several forms of Astral projection are used in this book, including teleportation, telepathy, time-travel, and mind-reading. There's a reason for this expanded version of Astral projection. That might make the book more or less interesting, depending on your feelings about the expanded definition. I imagine the rebranded title, "Souls Untethered," is related to Astral projection. In the older version of the book I have "Xodus (Astralis #1)" -- the word "soul" is never used in place of Astral projection (spirit-moving-out-of-the-body is mentioned once), and the word "untethered" isn't in the book. Xodus, however, is used in the book. (And if you enjoy word games, you'll figure out one meaning before the story even opens!) I got a free copy of this book years ago. This is my honest and unbiased review.

There are some funny scenes. For example, there's banter between the five siblings:

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"I'd say she's more of a Petty Officer Obvious," Ulyxses mused. He, Dixon, and Oxanna cackled. Salaxia gave them her meanest stare, which was about as intimidating as a pouncing kitten. 

I was eager to read to the end to find out if the two objectives of two of the main characters would be reached. One was. I supposed if I want to find out about the other, I'd need to read the next book in the series! 

There is a happily-ever-after ending for the most part. It's an entertaining read. As for diversity:

Five main characters are described as having deep olive skin, raven hair, and crystal gray eyes. Another main character has black hair, russet or tan or tawny skin, and emerald eyes. And another has ivory skin. There is mention of "skin-toned" make-up, but I'm not sure what that looks like. 

The book cover I have has a female silhouette cut from a dark blue night sky over the San Fransico Golden Gate Bridge, and the green thing that she searches for among the stars. It makes perfect sense when reading the novel. The cover I currently see for sale has the bridge in the background with someone that looks much like the main character, and I guess she's holding a stone from the story, though it looks more like an orb. That cover looks more like a slightly altered stock cover. 

Trigger warning, there are kidnapping scenes in this book. Both turn out okay in the end, but it might upset some readers. 

Something that bothered me was the school is a one-story brick building. It has stairs. History class is upstairs. This implies at least two stories. 

Though I enjoyed the characters, I can't say I especially related to any of them. They didn't especially remind me of anyone, except perhaps for Jessica (a minor character). I enjoyed that there was a pronunciation guide at the opening of the book. I also liked that the dad gave dinosaur-inspired nicknames to the five children. The setting in the middle of nowhere with lots of cows, I've lived there (different state, but still). 

GOODREADS review

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#BookReview Fragile Remedy #atozchallenge

The Operation Awesome theme for the #atozchallenge 2021 is book reviews (even though we're a blog about the publication journey, not a book review blog-- the team loves to read!). I've selected books by Debut Authors that I've interviewed on this blog. Read Maria Ingrande Mora's interview here.


Fragile Remedy --  Publisher site

LGBTQ+ Science Fiction

I'm giving this book only five stars because that's the highest quantity available on review sites. (There's no "click here to give all the stars in the sky" ... that I know of, anyway.) To say this book is good is an understatement. Exceptional, marvelous, superb, wonderful-- I LOVE this book. I had to update my NaNoWriMo profile to reflect having a new favorite. Can I add some hearts instead of just stars?

💗🤍❤💕😍

Set in the fictional future (which doesn't feel so fictional-- thanks, 2020), on the poor side of town- the quarantined island, everyone struggles to survive. Nate wasn't born but created, and his blood can do amazing healing on others, at a painful cost to him. (It sounds like "donor babies," but since they're grown in a lab, people care even less.) The world has a drug problem (like the opioid crisis) and a respiratory problem (do I even have to mention the "C" word that ruined and ruled all of our lives in 2020???). All the science in this science fiction is plausible. You might think that kind of reality-smacking-into-fiction would make this harder to read, yet I found the opposite to be true. Because the book isn't really about those things, that's just well-written background noise. The book is about relationships, making your own family, loyalty, love, and giving everything and anything for the one you love. 

It might not sound like it, but this is my honest and unbiased review. I got an ARC copy of this book when I interviewed this debut author for Operation Awesome. (To be clear-- this is a DEBUT book! 😲 Ground-level fandom. Start the party!) I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a really great story with a teenage chaotic good main character. There's diversity in that most of the main characters are extremely poor, multiple characters are gay, Sparks is probably trans ("when her appearance matched who she was"), and various skin colors are mentioned (bronze, brown, pale). I don't read a lot of science fiction, but I do love diverse books and especially ones with such well-written characters and storylines, and this book is an example of the kind of scifi I like the most. I would absolutely read another book from this author. Even though Fragile Remedy is a stand-alone book, I'm hoping it will turn into a series. The ending does wrap up the story, but it leaves room to add to it. (Reed for mayor, president, whatever leadership roles exist!) Plus, I want to read about Pixel growing up, I want to see her improve the world. And what about other GEMs in the Gathos City towers? We need more books so Nate can go save them!

This book is realistic fiction with a bit of science that hasn't happened yet. It was happily-ever-after (as much as it can). It's romantic in that will-they-or-won't-they way where the reader can see how perfect Nate and Reed are for each other but Nate's anxiety needs to get out of the way first. (And also, shower first, guys! There's a great scene where they kiss, but it gets interrupted by sneezing. LOVE that part of the book.) Fragile Remedy is thrilling, action-packed, fast-paced, and has many plot twists. (The current book description, that's just the first third of the story. There is so much more!) It's fun and entertaining (especially Alden). "Only Alden could make falling asleep a dramatic exit." 

It seems like the antagonist is everyone from Gathos City, since they've abandoned all of these people, leaving them with sickness and poverty. But there's another antagonist who is revealed later. "We didn't start riots, people did," the antagonist says. Similarly, the backstory of how the characters met each other is skillfully woven into the book, each revealed at precisely the right moment. Also excellently done is how Mora wrote Nate's fear of heights without being direct about it. 

I learned the term hiccoughed from reading this book. A word that instantly makes sense and has an obvious meaning and sound, yet I've never seen used before. 

The scratchy blue cover with the crumbling city and the vial makes sense when reading the book. The title also matches the story. I saw only one possible typo in the entire ARC. 

I imagine Pixel is the author's favorite character, though there are many excellent characters in this story. The book was hard to put down because there is so much action and so much heart. Every action, every choice, has a purpose in this book. I could relate to several of the characters because of my life, and I've known some people who remind me of several of the characters. (Notably Alden and Brick.) Speaking of Brick, I enjoyed that the character names were easy to remember because the names "fit" the characters. Though there's a strong romance element, it just barely hints at PG-13 level of steam. The setting is well fleshed-out, allowing the reader to feel the poverty and ruin in which the characters reside. Nothing came easy for any of the characters. The book absolutely holds up a mirror to society, to how we too often treat the sick, how people can turn on one another and use each other, but also how people can really love and give everything for someone. It's the very best of people versus the very worst, which is what makes it so wonderful. 

---

J's favorite books and authors- NaNoWriMo profile
https://nanowrimo.org/participants/j-lenni-dorner

GOODREADS

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#atozchallenge #BookReview O for Plunge: One Woman's Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary

The Operation Awesome theme for the #atozchallenge 2021 is book reviews (even though we're a blog about the publication journey, not a book review blog-- the team loves to read!). I've selected books by Debut Authors that I've interviewed on this blog.
Today's post is late because I have had a *Day.* 😒
You can check out my interview with this awesome author here: Interview



  This review contains spoilers

This was an interesting book to read. It's sprinkled with sailing lingo (such as mooring balls). Anyone planning on taking up sailing, or going on long-term travels across continents, should certainly read this book first. It's realistic and honest, a behind-the-scenes that shows the grit, not just the glory. I rarely read travel memoirs.

I feel it was brave of Liesbet to share so much with the audience. Parts of this are like reading a diary. There are some relationship ups and downs that not everyone would be so comfortable sharing. And there are worrisome parts, like some of her descriptions of Mark. She talks about his habit of criticizing her in public in front of their friends. "When Mark is in these frustrated moods... I feel their anxiety... we all lower our heads." He was willing to wear a ring in his previous marriage, but argues (though caves) about doing it for this one. "Fact is, each time he yells or boils over with frustration, I can't focus on things I enjoy, like writing. All I do is cower." 

I interviewed this debut author at Operation Awesome, and was given a free copy of this book. This is my honest and unbiased review. We are both members of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, which is thanked in the acknowledgments. 

There are a lot of great excerpts I could share. And the pictures at the end of the book are absolutely stunning. "Happiness comes from within. It's presented in fleeting moments; it's found when you feel at peace with the decision you've made." That's a really profound quote.

"When we arrive in (spoiler location), we're homeless." That's something to really take in, something people don't really think about. It matches chapter 18, where she mentions the difference between buying things for enjoyment instead of things to survive and prevent sinking. 

"I chose travel over stuff."

"What does luck have to do with making decisions or shaking responsibilities to pursue freedom?" The author has such a strong and unique mindset, it's very inspiring. 

Mayonnaise with fries... I've never had that. 

The scene with the sea lions was my favorite. I read the whole book to see how it would turn out. Having interviewed the author, I know where she was and how she was living in 2020, so I wanted to know why she "got off the boat" so to say. The book is tragic at times (cancer, cancer, more cancer, freaking cancer again, oh look- it's cancer). Mini-spoiler but also trigger warning: the dogs do not survive in this book. The book has as many plot twists as life can throw at a person. But it's inspirational and entertaining, and makes one think about travel and all the places there are to go on our "blue marble." The author is certainly an authority on the subject, having lived it and getting magazines to publish her articles about her various adventures. The book is well-edited and the author's voice is strong.

"The Pan-American highway does not connect the American continents." I never knew that. Or really thought about it. I always assumed that it was possible to travel directly to South America from North America- but apparently, it is not simple. (The highway ends in Yaviza. I just looked it up on Google Maps.) 

Liesbet briefly mentions that being from a socialist country is the reason she wasn't broke and could travel. And how it saves her country money. Fascinating. It doesn't cover everything, but it certainly helps. 

The book is hard to put down because the chapters each end with a reason to need the next one. Good suspense! If Liesbet ever gets into writing mystery novels, they'll be excellent. 

I couldn't relate to sailing, as I've never done that on this scale. But I've dumped and been dumped, I've traveled, and I've lost loved ones. The animals and wildlife were the best parts of the settings. There's a scene in the book where they make a friend who has the same name as my spouse! That was fun for me, "Hey, what are you doing in this book? Sailing without me?" Haha.

The book is beneficial to society because it gives the reader a reason to think about how a different mindset and choices can result in an entirely different life. Not an easier one, but certainly a different one. 

GOODREADS Review

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#BookReview Summer of L.U.C.K. #atozchallenge

The Operation Awesome theme for the #atozchallenge 2021 is book reviews (even though we're a blog about the publication journey, not a book review blog-- the team loves to read!). I've selected books by Debut Authors that I've interviewed on this blog.
Yes, this is the second week in a row that I'm reviewing a children's book with a main character who has a dead parent.

Summer of L.U.C.K. by Laura Segal Stegman

(See the interview: https://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2020/08/operation-awesome-20questions-in-2020_26.html)

In some ways, I enjoyed this book; but because of my own life experience, my enjoyment was depleted. 

Three children (all who have trouble related to vocalization) become friends at summer camp, help a ghost to unify his broken family, and grow as people. 

In the year 1999, three city kids are lured away from summer camp, multiple times, to an abandoned building in the woods that is filled with music, games, and candy. 

(Same story. Same kids.)

The book is interesting within its genre because the odds are that the reader will be able to relate to at least one main character. 

I got a copy of this book when I interviewed the author about writing a debut book. This review is honest and unbiased, all opinions are my own.

I would not recommend this book to school libraries. I feel that a parent or guardian should read it first, then have a long discussion with their child about not following random music, going off alone into the woods at night, taking food from strangers, breaking into abandoned buildings, talking to strangers (including ghosts), and wandering off without telling an adult where you're going. Once those warnings are drilled into their heads, then carry on with reading this book and enjoying the happy magic of a world where breaking all of those rules goes perfectly fine. 

I don't read a lot of middle-grade novels. I do like books about self-acceptance, especially as it relates to vocalization. But I don't encounter many books where horrific-sounding situations all turn out to be peachy fine. Darby sometimes bugged me because I felt she had "poor little rich-girl" problems, which I tend to find annoying. I nearly didn't finish reading this book. My spouse kept taking it away from me because it triggered me too much. The reason I finally did finish this book was because I talked to a teammate (Dena) who assured me that the children would all live happily ever after. (I honestly thought someone was going to die, possibly be eaten.) 

I don't think I'll read the next books in the series. I'm sure they'll be just as good as this one, but it isn't my cup of tea. 

The book has a happily-ever-after. It's a good story of friendship.  (It isn't meant to be scary or haunting, but for me it was absolutely edge-of-my-seat panic-induced terrifying.) It's not predictable. It is a bit spiritual and meaningful. In some ways, it's fun and entertaining. Chapter 13 had a tear-jerker moment.

It might be a diverse book. Naz is from Morocco. Darby has a stutter, and her mother tells her she'll never get anywhere if she doesn't overcome it. (I love that I read this book after Biden became President. I want to shove that in the mother's face. Though eventually, the mother becomes a sympathetic character. But still, she never taught her daughter not to wander off alone in the woods in the middle of the night and not to take candy from strangers, so I'm gonna keep judging her harshly because she's fictional and I can.) Visually, Katie Usher and Darby have reddish-brown curly hair. Geoff Usher (and possibly Chad Usher) and Justin have sandy hair. Geoff Usher and Naz have olive skin and blue eyes. Mrs. Usher had dark skin and was born in India. Chad Usher has dark skin. Leroy Usher has wavy black hair and blue eyes. The Usher family has a totem pole (so someone is a Native American from a tribe of the Northwest Coast of the United States or Canada - though they live near Chicago). 

Chad and Katie have names with initials that could also be used in the word LUCK. Their brother, Geoff, does not. 

There are minor characters in the book, such as a set of twin girls. One twin, Jessica, grows as a character and a person, but her sister does not. 

An excerpt that caught my attention:

~No one listens, so what's the point? Eventually, it was natural to simply remain silent all the time.~ 

Justin thinks that, and it's the reasoning he used when he decided to stop speaking after his father's death. 

 

I learned about calliope music from looking it up because of this book. I had also never heard of Johnny Rebeck before. (It's a song.) I've never heard of Jack Sprat before. I learned that headlamps are another word for headlights. 

The book cover is okay (the one with the orange building, neon Ferris wheel, and silhouettes of three children), but I wish it showed the trolley so I'd have a better idea of what that looked like. The title makes sense, and L.U.C.K. is used many times in the book. The book is well-edited.

The book's life lessons are about believing in yourself and seeing things from the point of view of others. The main setting is Camp Inch, which seems like a very expensive camp with absolutely no security and minimum supervision for the young children. The magic of the book reminded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (but without a parent accompanying their child), or Mary Poppins (but without the parents having ever met Mary), and Hansel and Gretel (but thankfully without the cannibal witch). 

If the children had proper supervision, a camp counselor going with them perhaps, or an older sibling who knew what was going on, I would give the book five stars. If any of the adults at Camp Inch had at least noticed three children under their charge going missing (it happens several times) and searched for them, I'd give the book four stars (five if the kids got a lecture about not being lured off into the forest by music, candy, rides and games in an abandoned building, why trespassing is illegal, how dangerous walking by a highway can be - especially at night, that an adult should always know where you are...). As it is, I worried my head off for these three fictional children, and that the dangers are never addressed bothers me enough that I'm giving it only three stars. The writing is excellent, the characters are well-developed, the plot is interesting-- it's just the things that didn't go wrong and could have (the real "luck" of the story, in my opinion, is that no children were seriously injured in the woods at night, not kidnapped while so near a highway alone, not arrested for trespassing or breaking and entering, and that interacting with a stranger didn't have tragic results). 

GOODREADS review

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