Group 91-120

The Skunk Who Lost His Cents by Nancy Panko

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MWSA Review

An adorable way to introduce young readers to the confusion words can cause. Emily is a friendly young girl who helps Adam the skunk look for his scents . . . or is it his cents? Together they battle the mean bulldog from next door and become friends. The addition of commonly confused words and fun facts about skunks in the back add to the educational value of this book. The colorful, well-done pictures will capture the attention of young listeners.

Review by Dawn Brotherton (May 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

Emily is playing on her swing in the backyard when she sees movement near the porch. Dirt is flying through the lattice work to make a pile on the grass. Someone, or something, is digging under the porch! She stops to investigate and encounters a small, sad skunk named Adam. He's lost something important. Emily sets out to help him.


We have all been confused by words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. This charming story is perfect for kids learning the differences between such words. The whimsical tale is followed by a list of some common words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Also included are several Fun Facts about skunks and an easy recipe for a tasty snack to make with a grown-up.

Format(s) for review: Paper Only

Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Picture Book

Number of Pages: 44

Word Count: 1660



Typhoon Coast by Mark R. Clifford

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MWSA Review

Typhoon Coast by Mark Clifford is part mystery with mystical, fantastical twists around every corner. Trent McShane is the main character, introduced as a ten-year-old grieving the loss of his mother. Trent’s best friend is Eddie Thompson, who has a wild and vivid imagination and a penchant for entertaining others. The boys hear about the Golden Lily Treasure, buried in the jungle of the Philippine Islands.

With a supporting cast of dozens of odd characters and unusual places, Trent and Eddie’s adventures have them enlisting in the Marines. In time they are both deployed to the Philippines. The hunt for treasure intensifies but is thwarted by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. Is the coveted treasure lost?

This surrealistic story is sometimes hard to follow. However, the author gives a reader a realistic look at the difficult trek through a tropical jungle when time is of the essence in searching for what is lost. Complications and confrontations occur when Trent realizes that he’s not the only one seeking the Golden Lily Treasure.

Review by Nancy Panko (June 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

Ten-year-old Trent McShane watches in horror as his beautiful young mother is swept away from California’s Typhoon Coast into the unforgiving wild blue Pacific, never to be seen again. Lost and bewildered, Trent falls under the spell of class clown Eddie Thompson, who has a wanderlust for treasure hunts—in particular, the infamous World War II Golden Lily Treasure, buried on the other side of the ocean, deep in the wild green Philippine jungle.Together, Trent and Eddie follow childhood’s illusions of grandeur through San Francisco, then Marines in the vast Philippine mountains. Mount Pinatubo explodes with apocalyptic fury, but does it take the Golden Lily Treasure with it? Eddie and Trent are not alone in the hunt. The trillions in treasure could afford the US government incredible power in international affairs and bankroll the nation’s black operations. It’s all fair game.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 290

Word Count: 85,000



The Making of an Army Psychologist by Bob Worthington

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MWSA Review

To say that retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Elliott Robert Worthington lived a full life is an understatement. A three-tour combat veteran with service in three military branches, a family man, a PhD with multiple degrees and related job descriptions, over two thousand publications, a pilot and a businessman, Bob Worthington never shied away from an opportunity to learn something new. Last in a trilogy depicting his military life, The Making of an Army Psychologist: from Fighting in Vietnam to Treating Fellow Veterans, is a professional memoir bordering on narrative inquiry that exemplifies how change presents opportunity. Sparing no details, he takes the reader on a journey through numerous PhD application rejections, promotions up the ranks and demotions down, to end up Chief of Psychology Services at Brooke Army Medical Center. As a former school counselor, I connect with his clinical methods, his listening with hearing, his digging deep into a patient’s past, his fact checking and his commitment to team building and empowering others.

Driven by an intense curiosity, Bob’s first research project, conducted not long after the conflict officially ended, challenged the popular belief that Vietnam veterans would have difficulty adjusting to life at home. Validated by a study some twenty years later, his research revealed that the majority of veterans maintained stable relationships, raised families, and resumed their studies and careers. His research further shed light on the impact of childhood trauma and substance abuse as precursors to an inability to cope postwar rather than their military service. As a two-tour Vietnam veteran, Bob took returned prisoners of war under his wing, revealing how the life “the real heroes” hung onto during their internment was, for many, unrecognizable when they returned home.

So what if some sections of the book are redundant or long winded, the narrative lacks an arc, or that several minor technical issues interfere with an otherwise perfect flow to the writing. Bob Worthington’s memoir is a valuable guidepost for military personnel aspiring to a career in psychology, a wonderful reference for those in the field of clinical practice interested in knowing how those skills transfer to business, defense cases, and team building. Bob Worthington passed away five weeks before this review was written. I’m disappointed to have missed the opportunity to have a conversation with the remarkable human being whose memoir I am privileged to review.

Review by Janette Stone (June 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

In the early 1970s the US Army was undergoing traumatic change.  The Vietnam War ended, almost 600 American POWs were released by North Vietnam, the draft was terminated, and the Army was in dismal shape.  Doctoral educated behavioral scientists, former combat soldiers, were brought on active duty to assist the Army to navigate the necessary changes to become an effective force for future challenges.

Simultaneously the profession of psychology also faced change.  Clinical psychologists, no longer satisfied with only seeing patients in a medical setting, branched out into other areas such as management, sports, aviation, industry, organizations, and community.  The field of psychology was growing, expanding, and entering new areas where behavioral science knowledge could make a positive impact.

The psychology education of Worthington is described, a former decorated combat infantryman returning to the Army as a clinician, becoming a senior psychology consultant to the Army, assisting to make the Army better.  He became a pioneer researcher in PTSD and Vietnam veterans, served as a sport psychologist for the US Olympics, managed a clinical service and mental health center, became a pilot and aviation psychologist, treated patients, and conducted military research, authoring numerous journal articles and book chapters.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 268

Word Count: 95,000



The Hunt for the Peggy C by John Winn Miller

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MWSA Review
While World War II brews, Jake Rogers captains the Peggy C, a merchant steamer ship, picking up and delivering cargo throughout the Atlantic. The cargo is often illegal, and sometimes even dangerous, but on this trip, unbeknownst to his crew, Rogers upped the ante even more. With the help of Obasi, his Nigerian Igbo sidekick/bodyguard/friend, they sneak a family of Dutch Jews out of Amsterdam, right under the noses of the Nazis. The plan to transport Miriam and her family to Gibraltar goes awry. Although they normally fight the sea, an occasional dangerous “customer,” and pirates, this time German U-boats have become the biggest threat.

John Winn Miller’s, The Hunt for the Peggy C: A World War II Maritime Thriller is not the typical World War ll naval story of torpedoes, sinking submarines, errant friendly fire, ruses, and betrayal. Yet they are nonetheless in the midst of a war zone. Miller artfully squeezes in a love story and unexpected witty humor. There are magnificent depictions of Jewish ceremonies, and “normal” life for the refugees.

Meanwhile, catastrophe after catastrophe perpetuate the cat and mouse game between Rogers and Oberleutnant Viktor Brauer, the captain of a German U-boat. The situation is far from a game, however, with deadly twists and turns. You’ll be on the edge of your seat, reading as fast as you can, to find out the fate from the U-boat’s boomeranging torpedo—the epitome of irony.

I highly recommend The Hunt for the Peggy C, even for those who would not normally read naval fiction. Cover to cover, the book will keep you in a perpetual state of suspense. There is no time to guess what will happen next—you’ll be too busy biting your nails and crossing your fingers.

Review by Sue Rushford (May 2023)
 

Author's Synopsis

John Winn Miller's THE HUNT FOR THE PEGGY C captures the breathless suspense of early World War II in the North Atlantic. Captain Jake Rogers, experienced in running his tramp steamer through U-boat-infested waters to transport vital supplies and contraband to the highest bidder, takes on his most dangerous cargo yet after witnessing the oppression of Jews in Amsterdam: a Jewish family fleeing Nazi persecution. 

The normally aloof Rogers finds himself drawn in by the family's warmth and faith, but he can't afford to let his guard down when Oberleutnant Viktor Brauer, a brutal U-boat captain, sets his sights on the Peggy C. 

Rogers finds himself pushed to the limits of his ingenuity as he evades Brauer's relentless stalking, faces a mutiny among his own crew and grapples with his newfound feelings for Miriam, the young Jewish woman whom, along with her family, he must transport to safety. 

When Rogers is seriously wounded, Miriam must prove she is as tough as her rhetoric to save everyone as the U-boat closes in for the kill. THE HUNT FOR THE PEGGY C is laced with nail-biting tension and unexpectedly heartwarming moments that any reader, not just fans of naval fiction, will enjoy.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 264

Word Count: 77,000