Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: fear

  • When the Apricots Bloom

    When the Apricots Bloom

    A childhood friendship between two girls, one the privileged daughter of a Sheik, the other a village girl both at the Bagdad Ladies High School, both age fourteen, swearing their friendship in a blood oath.

    Time moves on and the friends lose touch, fortunes change and the reign of Saddam Hussain comes to Bagdad, ushering in a world of terror, hatred and violence that would change the landscape forever. Rania’s family wealth has gone; Huda finds work at the Australian Embassy and Ally the wife of the new Ambassador assistant arrives in Bagdad, thrown into a world of danger and intrigue.

    As the three women’s lives come together, a friendship born out of necessity is born in order to survive. Family secrets are exposed. A fragile friendship is built based on survival, love of family and sacrifice in a world where betrayal is everywhere, no one can be trusted.

    Gina Wilkinson was a foreign correspondent in Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussain, and writes her debut novel from a sound basis, reflecting well the conflicts placed on everyday people in order to survive a brutal regime.

    Carefully sculpted out of a world of oppression, Wilkinson has bought together the richness of Bagdad at a time when change was in the making, with a simple and yet eloquent storyline, wrapped in intrigue, that will not easily be forgotten.

    Confrontational, for those who are new to the conflict in Iraq, but beautifully written and structured When the Apricots Bloom is a work of fiction based on the everyday lives of women who struggled to find a pathway through the dangerous and challenging times of a Dictator who ruled with terror and fear.

  • The Loudest Guest

    The Loudest Guest

    Dr Amy Silver presents a rather interesting discussion when she takes a look at fear; fear that drives us and fear that cripples us as we journey across our life canvas.

    In The Loudest Guest she looks at the thoughts,  the drivers behind those thoughts and how that simple little word fear, controls so much of what we do, how it saps confidence, retards progress and generally becomes more often than we would like, the controlling voice in the mind when presented with fresh challenges or change.

    It is far too easy to spend too much time overthinking everything and in doing so creating fear; a voice of self-doubt which often becomes the most unwanted noise in your mind, which is vastly different to the very real emotion of fear, which protects and warns when danger, real danger, is present.

    She offers in a very comfortable, easy to read style, a comprehensive understanding of the crippling effect of fear, and the accompanying emotion of anxiety, with some very practical solutions to calming that fear, rebuilding self-confidence and re-establishing firm control over that very loud guest in your mind.

    Guest is the operative word in so many ways; fear is a guest, one that is more often than not unintentional, and one that can also be shown the door with some simple, but effective strategies which will when practised and understood, lead to a far more relaxed and confident future.

    The Loudest Guest is a book for everyone. Flicking back through the pages, a small section in italics caught my attention. It is a quote from Marianne Williams in her reflection of fear and love: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate: Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. The final lines are: We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

    These words capture the very essence of Amy Silvers book as she reaches out to help everyone become the person that is stepping into their bright new, positive, powerful future, free from The Loudest Guest.

  • Shiver

    Shiver

    Shiver is a modern take on the timeless classic And Then There Were None from Agatha Christie, laced with the uncertainly of who done it and why. Invited to a reunion in the French Alps during the first snow fall of the season, a group of friends meet up after a ten year absence. The last time they were all together Milla’s beautiful friend Saskia disappeared in mysterious circumstances, eventually being declared dead.

    Milla is not too happy about the reunion as it is going to bring back the dread and fear of their last meeting, at a time when they all together, competing for the same snowboard crown; a time of love trust and destruction, a time best left behind. As the group gather it becomes apparent that something is a little off:  everyone except Saskia is there, and everyone thinks someone different invited them.

    As time passes and the snow thickens it become obvious that there is more to the reunion than many of them first expected. Told in past and present times by each of the friends the storyline is while familiar, utterly engrossing and chilling with callous regard for human life.

    The central character Milla tells the story in segments and it is not until the final stages of what has been a true set-up, that the reason for the invitation is revelled, which strikes fear and horror into their hearts. One of their former friends is out for revenge and to get even for imagined and real injustices. They are not too fussy about how they go about levelling the field.

    Once the snow melts at the end of the season, the bodies will come to the surface but until then those who remain will walk in fear.

    Allie Reynolds has crafted a true chiller of a thriller and one that must simply be read until the final, final pages to find out who really did do it! You will never guess!

  • Unhindered. The Seven Essential Practices for Overcoming Insecurity

    Unhindered. The Seven Essential Practices for Overcoming Insecurity

    Insecurity is the one thing that pits its strength against you; it is also a very good emotion at hiding itself away, often camouflaging itself as something else entirely, with the main purpose of making life difficult, all the while allowing you to think you are wining, but working on undermining you.

    It can also be considered as fear, a word that is far easier to relate to, but also one that is seldom really acknowledged when looking at the deeper emotions that are accumulated in people’s lives, and seldom considered as the real reason that perhaps helped failure to secure the dream job; that much wanted and desired promotion or has in extreme and often not so extreme cases, resulted in on-going ill health.

    Jaemin Frazer, considered as one of the prominent life coaches in Australia, has spent the past 10 years, using his words, in ‘the pursuit of solving the insecurity problem’ to the point of obsession, which has resulted in Unhindered. The Seven Essential Practices for Overcoming Insecurity the well set out, clearly explained rationale behind insecurity; facing the fear that comes with it and how to understand, recognising and master this somewhat debilitating emotion.

    Frazer advocates that by bringing insecurity out into the light and subjecting it to rigorous scrutiny, creates the beginning of being able to banish it for good, or at the least understanding the debilitating effect insecurity has, and best how to it can be managed.

    There are 7 essential practices to seeking out and destroying fear and the resultant insecurity which once accepted will allow you to be the best, without limits and successful at whatever it is you considered is your chosen goal.

    The Introduction begins with two of his favourite coaching questions, which both need honest answers; if these resonate with you he says magic happens once you allow them to help you discover the problem and then allow this simple step to chart the pathway to fixing that which is wrong.

    As you are reading through his discoveries and solutions formed over the past 10 years he requests, in the nicest possible way, to be brutally honest with yourself, to accept that this is you he is talking about, not some other person; to accept that facing your fears is not easy, but like many things that are cathartic, the end result is worth holding the line to achieve.

    Unhindered. The Seven Essential Practices for Overcoming Insecurity could be your pathway into 2021, setting you free to take up whatever challenge you desire, but being able to recognise and handle the insecurity that will always be a part of the process with flair and aplomb!

     

  • Sort Your Sh!t Out

    Sort Your Sh!t Out

    There are many, many self-help books available but not often is there one more or less directly written for the men who struggle with self-esteem, self-doubt and a sense of overall inability to cope with life and emotion.

    Gary Waldon a transformation change specialist has recognised this, trawling back through years of working with people learning how to cope with their own particular pile of shit, as well as his own pile, to bring together all the important points that need to be recognised to Sort Your Sh!t Out.

    Bob is the main character in this story and as he largely charges or attempts to charge through his life issues, and his own often deep and dense pile of shit, looking for the magic bullet one stop fix it all shop, much is revealed about what is classified as shit, and how best to deal with the resultant pile.

    In the introduction Highway to Hell, Waldon sets out in no nonsense language how this book was born and why it was written:  helping a young man he had known for many years begin to seriously face up to life, facing his fears and realising that he was not the only one on what he considered as his particular pathway to hell, proved to be an ah-ha moment. He realised that much of what he was sharing with Dan were many of his own hard learned lessons and  perhaps it was time he created a book he wished he had read when he too was desperately trying to understand his own often destructive behaviour patterns.

    Well set out in plain no-bullshit language, the book can be used as a workbook, as in most of the sections there is a very blunt self-analysis area that should be complete to help you understand your behaviours and allow yourself to be vulnerable, or simply as an excellent read towards better understanding and accepting what is considered as human or shit behaviour; behaviour everyone has to face or deal with at some time in their lives.

    Waldron uses a quote from the Dalai Lama, a man who also has to short his own shit out from time to time, ‘We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves’, which is the perfect place to begin on your roadway to sorting out your own shit!

    Sort Your Shit Out is a transformational read for anyone who is facing their own pile of shit; Gary Waldon has just offered you your own shovel.

  • Shadow

    Shadow

    Dark and somewhat mesmeric, Shadow from Lucy Christopher & Anastasia Suvorov is an intriguing and evocative story for children, which takes a very positive look at darkness, whether it be the fear of night, of change or anxiety, all emotions felt and discovered on life’s journey by young and old.

    Narrated by a little girl, she tells of meeting Shadow under her bed in their new, old house. While her mother tells her there is nothing there and nothing to be worried about, somehow Shadow is still there, lurking in the darkness in the cobwebs and dust.

    One night, she goes under the bed to join Shadow and another day Shadow comes out to play; he is King and she is Queen. One day, Shadow entices her outside and into the woods filled with the chill of winter snow; she becomes lost as Shadow disappears into the woods, blending in with all the other shadows.

    After a very long time, she hears a voice calling; calling her name and realised it was Ma looking for her.

    Sensitively written the storyline invokes much material for discussion with children who are finding change difficult to manage. Shadow also contains a firm reminder to parents that no matter how busy they may be, it is very necessary to take time out to discuss children’s fears, then explain them to help children develop the skills to both understand and manage change.

    The illustrations capture the words perfectly, evoking a wonderful sense of the emotion involved, particularly when the little girl is lost in the woods, when Shadow has gone and left her. The joy when Ma comes looking for her, her massive relief when Ma takes the time to explain change and what it means, is palpable.

    Shadow is a somewhat interesting character but perfectly created as a metaphor of which children, as well as adults, are easily able to relate. Tactful and beautifully created.

  • In The Dead of the Night

    In The Dead of the Night

    Lily is scarred of the night. There is a storm raging outside and the noises seem to be far worse than they have ever been before! She does not like the noises that somehow, sound so scary in ‘the dead of the night’.

    With a lovely use of language, Arthur McBain has perfectly captured the fear many children experience, when the noises of the night really do sound like perhaps a sock monster eating all the socks, or maybe a ghost out to gloom about the room, or even a monster with horns, who rather fancies moving in under the bed with all the toys and things.

    But as the noises keep on, Lily is beginning to think that perhaps it is time to do something about them; to be very, very brave. Just perhaps, it is time to sneak out of bed and tackle these very naughty, scary monsters, once and for all. After all, she’s not afraid, not really, is she?

    So, Lily creeps out of bed, arms herself with all sorts of things to fight scary monsters, but ends up scaring her little brother!

    The bold, bright illustrations from Tom Knight add a certain spookiness to the storyline, especially when it comes to Tap, Tap, Tap and when it does eventually work out well, his cheerful illustrations change the mood immediately.

    In the Dead of the Night is also a book that is written to have the most immense fun reading it out loud to a group of little people and asking them to join in with the Tap, Tap, Tap, Step, Step, Step, which simply begs to be used in a loud and noisy manner, as they learn to chase out the ghostly monsters who do delight in arriving In the Dead of Night!

    Anyone who has ever been afraid of the dark will immediately relate to this charming and what could be a very noisy, very funny, tilt at facing your fears.

     

     

  • Everywhere Everything Everyone

    Everywhere Everything Everyone

    Everywhere Everything Everyone from Katy Warner will keep you reading and turning pages until solutions have been found. She has written a fast-paced tale with twists and turns to entrance the reader in a setting which could be anywhere, with well developed credible characters, the situation, scarily possible.

    We first meet sixteen-year-old Santee as she is running home. She has been to school for the day and then has gone to try and see her father. Her mother is frantic when Santee comes to the door of their apartment, as she has only just arrived before curfew.

    By now we realise that this is no normal family and their situation is causing great stress. This family live on the wrong side of town, where the poorer people reside. The people are known as a THREAT or POTENTIAL THREAT. As such, a person can be taken away and incarcerated, which is what happened to Santee’s father. He made the mistake of speaking out against the ruling regime.

    Santee is a loner; isolated at school because of her father. Zac, a new boy to the school, befriends her and admires her fine art work. A friendship gradually develops, and when she finds out that Zac’s mother has also been taken away, their bond deepens.

    One afternoon Zac asks Santee if she will go for a ride in the car with him. When the car breaks down the pair are stranded for the night. The following morning, they hitch a ride home, but the most calamitous situation has developed. With horror she realises she may never see her family again.

    As the story develops, we see people begin to support each other in quiet ways to overcome the monstrous regime and its spread of fear. By small acts and tiny murmurings, a protest group slowly emerges with individuals seeing their presence and contribution can make a difference.

    The fascinating political scene and the gentle romance developing make this a Young Adult novel that gives a powerful message. One person can make a difference and being different is natural. Spreading fear to control people is a much-used tactic by weak leaders. And by recognising these facts, it gives younger people an insight into the role that power plays in our world.

    A powerful young adult debut novel from award winning playwright Katy Warner.

     

  • Eric Makes A Splash

    Eric Makes A Splash

    This colourful Picture Book is appealing with bright and bold illustrations and interesting characters. The main character is Eric, the Panda. He is surrounded by many friends and playmates, but his best friend Flora (the rabbit), is “Brave and fearless.” Life is full of different challenges and adventures every day, and the bear and the rabbit explore these together.

    Eric is a worrier. He worries about many things, but like most of us, is very nervous about new things to try. Flora does her best to reassure him and helps to play games and pretend he is being a hippopotamus when there is mud, and a spider when he is climbing. Together, they are able to conquer most things. But then a birthday invitation arrives for a pool party. Eric can’t swim, but desperately wants to go to the party.

    The author has created a situation where Eric conquers his fear of water, and Flora needs Eric’s support to face a giant slide. This is such a busy book, each double page spread shows many characters, and their activities and intentions. Shopping for bathers is a colourful activity, and the many flowers, insects and birds invite a close scrutiny of the pages. The text is kept to a minimum, and it is quite large. Some words are expanded, and others printed in a different font to create interest.

    This is a fun story, but it is definitely NOT a book about learning to swim.