Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: love

  • The Farm at Peppertree Crossing

    The Farm at Peppertree Crossing

    Roni is city girl through and through; her childhood spent in a series of foster homes, with little joy and happiness as part of her young life. A go nowhere job at a kiosk at Flinders Street station is her sole means of income, a down at the heel one-bedroom flat, her only place of residence. An occasional boyfriend, who it appears has managed to get her pregnant, certainly possess a terribly uncertain future.

    Her cat Scritches, a rescued street cat and Roni a understand each other very well; existing, trusting no one and with little hope of a different future. A letter in a very classy window envelop arrives, which Roni believes can hold nothing good, as those kinds of envelopes never do. She decides to return it to the address on the envelope, only to discover the letter was for her and has the ability to change her life, if she so chooses.

    As she is pregnant and facing eviction from her apartment, she makes the overwhelming decision to accept the legacy she has been offered by an Aunt she never knew she had, Marian Nelson. She is now the owner of considerable property in the wheatbelt area of South Australia, a car and a home more than one hundred years old, none of which she has ever had any experience with in her life!

    A series of letters from her Aunt is part of the legacy, the first of which she is given by the family solicitor Derek Prescott, to be read on her flight into her new future.  As the days begin to spread into weeks and months at Peppertree Crossing, Roni begins to find a certain kind of peace in her new life, learning to face and overcome many challenges.

    She begins to trust for the first time in a long time, discover the family she never knew, the mother who gave her up for adoption and the town in which she has somehow become involved. Her Aunts long-time friend Tracy, leads her along her new found pathway with wisdom, love, lamingtons and life lessons.  Eventually, Roni slowly begins to discover, with the help of her neighbour Matthew (Matt) Krueger, everyone deserves love in their lives.

    Leonie Kelsall’s professional life is one of a Counsellor, the ethos of which adds a genuine thread of everyday life to the story of Roni and her dysfunctional family. The story told is one all to easy to relate to from so many aspects.

    Kelsall has woven in her debut novel, The Farm At Peppertree Crossing, many life strands together to portray country life, populated t5he story with characters we have all met at times on our own life journeys to create a heart-warming, loveable and engaging story; our hearts break for Roni’s very dark childhood, rejoice at her courage to take on her new life and are filled with love as she discovers she can also have a very, very wonderful future if only she are brave enough to grab it with both hands.

    Leonie Kelsall’s skillful portrayal of life on the land and the people who live it, come alive in The Farm At Peppertree Crossing. An absolute gem of a book!

     

     

  • Again Again

    Again Again

    Again Again has been created around the storyline of a young girl falling in love and the aspects of her life which influence her thoughts over summer. Adelaide’s boyfriend has just broken up with her and she is left devastated. She is about to enter her senior year at a prestigious college, (her father is the English teacher there). Her brother has an opioid addiction and the destructive fall out on this happy family is evident.

    The reader will be drawn into Adelaide’s world by several marvellous, structures in writing which have been used by the author. Throughout the story the text is written in a free poetic style, which adds an intensity to the thoughts and feelings of the young woman. While very scared because yet again her young brother has been rushed to hospital, she thinks

    “What if he relapses? What if he dies? What am I doing on this porch, eating pizza?….”

    The words are pared back to focus on her single emotion of fear.

    Another structure used by the author is one that we can easily relate to, as in some conversations she slips into the “What if’s.”  When Adelaide meets a boy in the park, they have a conversation. Lockhart reruns their discussion in several different ways, each with different endings. This is something that many of us do, and here the author shows us the totally different paths our lives could have taken and how just the use of different words could affect the future so easily.

    This young adult novel is full of unusual and heartfelt prose. It is a love story that expands to love of family, love of dogs, and love of the possibilities that life holds. Human relationships are deeply ingrained in this family and their world. For Adelaide it is a time of understanding her conflicting emotions; of how her imaginative thinking and her creative understanding form her ideals.

    The story is thought provoking and jolts the reader out of complacent reading.

  • Love and Loss

    Love and Loss

    With the advent of the Coronavirus the world is experiencing unprecedented loss as well as many acts of astonishing love.  In ‘Love & Loss’ the fifth book in ‘The Timeless Wisdom’ series, writers relate remarkable true stories demonstrating human spirit from times gone by. Although love and loss are polar opposites, the authors in this collection demonstrate that they often merge into one.

    The editor’s mission to reflect diversity of writing has certainly been achieved. Authors come from many parts of the world, from middle class and underprivileged backgrounds, but their common link is that they have reached the ‘Age of Wisdom’ – 60 plus years. The accounts are of those who have experienced the love of a daughter and a mother/father, mother and child, man and woman; some who only discovered this love long after the death of ‘the loved’. The narratives of loss, which include juvenile cancer, forced adoption, and Alzheimers, have also been recounted from a perspective love.

    Each of the twenty-five insightful stories in this collection, is prefaced by a thought provoking quote; many from well-known writers.  The reader is encouraged to explore the link between the quote and the account which follows; some are more obvious than others. This collection emphasises the fact that although we have loved and lost, the warm memories of those intense feelings of affection, tenderness, and endearment endure forever.

    Readers will not only enjoy this anthology, but find it an antidote for the gaps in their lives as a result of ‘social isolation’.

  • Love Story

    Love Story

    Love Story from Robin Spielberg is akin to entering a room full of old, much loved friends and remembering the precious moments in life spent with them, the times they cheered, soothed and totally meshed with the emotion of the moment.

    In selecting this romantic and popular collection of music in celebration of her 25 years spent with beloved husband  Larry Kossen, she has chosen pieces that have meant much to so many over the years; pieces which are considered as evergreens, many written in the changing times of the late 1960’s and ‘70’s when the world was once again changing.

    From the first note in Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, made famous by Elton John in 1973 with lyrics by Bernie Taupin, through to the reflective and soulful And So It Goes from Billy Joel, this is an album that while romantic to very last note, is also a walk down memory lane.

    All of the piece without exception on their original releases came with rich backing or backing in some way. To have the beautiful melodies extracted and presented using only voice of the piano played with a deep passion and emotion, is a rich and wonderful experience.

    Sergei Rachmaninoff provided the inspiration for the delicate Alone By Myself (All By Myself), a piece full of heartache and reflection. A particular favourite has always been Alone Again, Naturally from Gilbert O’Sullivan; the somewhat wry lyrics to this piece fit the emotion beautifully.

    David Gates wrote IF in 1971: the words come immediately to mind, how could they not; ‘If a picture paints a thousand words……………..’, Spielberg has captured perfectly the emotion entwined with these deeply emotional words of love written by Gates so many years ago.

    When ‘Love Is Blue’ arrived on the music ether in 1967 it was almost a revelation in the world that was full of the new beat: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and everything as far from a rich orchestral piece as you could imagine. To say this gloriously romantic song captured the airwaves would be an understatement. To hear it refreshed, stripped bare and beautiful is a wonderful treat.

    Bob Dylan, noted folk singer and political activist wrote the intriguing Make You Feel My Love in 1997, a folk song and one of his many romantic pieces, as he pleads his case of true love to his lover, before And So It Is Over from Billy Joel draws  Loves Songs to a close, signing off on a work that is all of many things; beautiful, rich, emotional, passionate, wry and accepting.

    Spielberg at her very best.

  • Eat Joy: Stories & Comfort Food from 31 Celebrated Writers

    Eat Joy: Stories & Comfort Food from 31 Celebrated Writers

    Food is an important aspect of any culture, let alone the comfort of life when things go as they often do, terribly, horribly wrong. Natalie Eve Garrett has carefully elected 31 celebrated writers who have all agreed to share one of their terribly horrible moments in life and the one food that offered them comfort, in some cases, hope as they struggled out of the miasma of despair that comes to us all.

    Eat Joy is an amazing collection of not just stories told with real heart and feeling, but a terrific collection of recipes with hope and love mixed into the final offering. Divided into four distinct sections Growing Pains, Loss, Healing and Homecoming many of the stories are heartbreaking, all reach out with understanding gained from the experience, all ending in a wry acceptance that life most certainly does not always go as planned.

    Leaves from Diana Abu-Jaber takes a look back through her family to the time when her relatives fled Palestine. This flight became known as hejira. They, according to her Aunt, were forced to eat the leaves on the trees to keep from starving.  She looks back at her own hejira and the simple but delicious Za’atar bi Zayt that means so much in the realms of her family and comfort.

    Friends, Grief and Green Chillies from Rosie Schaap looks at becoming a widow all to soon, grief and the massive importance of friends reaching out, going that extra mile to help celebrate a custom foreign to them, Passover, but one that made a massive difference in her life, as well as adding their own traditional touch to the celebratory dish served at Passover, Santa Fe Seder Brisket.

    Aaron Thier found hope and love with Non-Alcoholic Food, and Oatmeal Cookies, a simple, nourishing, a homely food baked by his Mother and then him, when he embarked on a damaging journey of self-destruction with alcohol and drugs.

    The final story is about Homecoming or coming home but not as you would expect, as Natalie Baszile takes a journey back along The Boudin Trail, in New Orleans; a journey enjoyed and much loved by her father, with her sister and mother as they lay her beloved father to rest.

    Eat Joy, 31 stories, 31 lives laid bare, 31 wonderful recipes to share, contained in this magical book of love, healing, families and good, if not great food, created with love and care for those in need of comfort during their dark night of the soul

  • Only Mostly Devastated

    Only Mostly Devastated

    Only Mostly Devastated from Sophie Gonzales is an absolutely fun read which so very well portrays the agonies of growing up, coming out and fitting in. A modern take of the much-loved Grease, Only Mostly Devastated is a definite must read for teens and their parents.

    The story line is one familiar to all; summer love, the best kind, especially when you are a teen testing the waters of love and discovering the depths of love, angst and passion that somehow seems to fit perfectly within the framework of long, hot, endless days of summer.

    Ollie and Will have a summer ‘fling’ while he and his family are at the Lake in North Carolina, helping out Aunt Linda as she has Cancer and could use a little help with her young children over the summer break. Which is all beyond wonderful, until Ollie has to return home and Will refuses to answer any of Ollie’s texts. Rejection, devastation hit hard.

    But worse is to follow as his parents have decided to move permanently to North Carolina because Aunt Linda seems to be getting worse. Ollie’s life as he used to know it is crumbling with the sheer enormity of changing schools, making new friends and having to drop being the bassist in his band.

    Written with a quirky, funny and very wry look at growing up, Only Mostly Devastated deals with so many issues in a manner that is both serious and yet light-hearted, especially when Ollie discovers Will, the very love of his life, is not the laid back gay guy of summer love at all, but a larger than life, basketball playing, class clown at his new high school!

    Add a group of girls also trying to find their place in the world of emotions, challenges and friendship, a family in crisis, as well as learning to fit in and you have an immensely enjoyable, very refreshing take on the very real issues faced in the world of growing up.

    Only Mostly Devastated is a terrific read which will, like the iconic Grease, become a favourite, with a gentle message built in, and is a story line which will return full of fond memories, time and time again.

  • Calm and Energy

    Calm and Energy

    For those who need a little Calm and a lot of Energy in their lives check out the final two books in the Love Yourself Series, as they both offer brilliant ideas, suggestions and concepts for achieving both calm and energy in your life.

    Both are a nice size to fit in the bag or backpack, to be handy for those days when a little or a lot of help is required to get you through the day grounded, serene and able to relax at the end of a busy time.

    Calm from Dr Arlene Unger contains 50 instant exercises to de-stress and unwind, which can be used any time, any place and with great effect. As she states in the Introduction ‘……we are not equipped for the 21st century – it is too fast, too crowded, too 24/7’, a statement difficult to refute. Therefor how best to cope has been the subject of much angst and many books, offering options and understanding of this sad fact of modern life. Arlene Unger offers some very practical, real time solutions to help bring calm back into your life and the positive benefits that will result from a fresh, new take on daily life.

    Energy from Oliver Luke Delorie presents the fact that everything is made from energy and by learning to harness, generate and channel energy in a positive way, will help to recharge and revitalise your life. Once again, he has created 50 instant exercises to guide you on the pathway of revitalisation, using ancient practices and modern research into Cognitive Brain Development, Mindfulness, Affirmations and Emotional Brain Training which will help towards a more relaxed and energised You.

    As with all books of this style, it is best to read them slowly and thoroughly, reflecting on the wisdom and techniques, to best understand the guidance offered, before forging a fresh pathway through life, then select as required the various exercises as and when required.

    The two other books in the series are Pause by Kim Davies and Sleep by Dr Arlene Unger.

  • The Space We’re In

    The Space We’re In

    ‘I am ten and Max is five.’ You wonder why a book opens with these words, but as as you read further it become apparent these are very powerful words in the life of Frank, as he negotiates his way through the many aspects of life with a brother who is on the Autism spectrum and a life that goes terribly, terribly wrong.

    Katya Balen has written The Space We’re In in an emotional and captivating manner as she details, in diary format, the days of Franks life, as he counts down to the important events in his family’s life.

    Max is due to begin school and needs to have new shoes: so too does Frank, but it is not a simple event as Max hates people touching his feet! Max can make a meltdown become something spectacular, particularly when things in his world do not go right.

    As the days draw closer to the beginning of school, there seems to be something wrong in the balance of family life. His beloved mother is not well. She is the anchor in Franks life; she is an artist who can create the stars, the moon, galaxies, his world, in massive paintings. But she is no longer painting as since Max was born, she no longer has time. Now she has terrible headaches and is at the Doctors and hospital a lot.

    As the days march steadily onwards tragedy strikes the family with everyone, including his Dad having a major ‘meltdown’ except Max, who seems to be coping better than anyone else.

    Katya Balen captures, day by day, the very real elements of grief and a family struggling to cope with the unimaginable. As Frank withdraws into his own world, it is heartbreaking to see how a young child copes with loss, to eventually emerge to discover that a new version of family has been created.

    One year on, and also the final chapter, the writing is very telling, perfect, full of real emotion, acceptance and understanding. The age range for The Space We’re In is unlimited as it reaches out to everyone who is coping with change, challenge and acceptance.

    As the story is told through the eyes and emotions of a ten-year-old the message reaches across barriers, rich and full of understanding of the many challenges faced by so many in the world of today.

    As a debut novel from Katya Balen it is an absolutely stunning first venture.

  • The Institute of Fantastical Inventions II: Magnetic Attraction

    The Institute of Fantastical Inventions II: Magnetic Attraction

    Over your lifetime, whether it be long or short to date, you have probably been told there is a solution to just about everything, which is often a bit hard to agree with, depending on the issue or crisis at the time. But there certainly is a solution to just about everything; actually, there is an Institute that specialises in finding solutions to just about every bit of silliness every thought of and some not so silly things. Yep, for real!

    Dave Leys along with his mate Shane Ogilvie have provided written proof that there is such a place: it is called the Institute of Fantastical Inventions created specifically to find solutions to such things as helping the dreams and wishes of the ordinary person come true. WOW, what a great thing to do.

    Leo McGuffin is the CTO there, (Chief Technical Officer), who loves his job and finds being on holidays endlessly boring. He can’t wait to get back to work and eventually the day finally arrives. He is filled with joy to be back at work, communicating with his college Dr Andrea Allsop, who has spent her holidays working in the Amazon rainforest and his keen young assistant boy-genius Edward. Ah, the pleasure of it all.

    Dr Andrea Allsop has returned with Isabella Santo, a keen young and ambitious scientist, who she introduces to the Institute. As the days unfold some very unusual things begin to happen to unsettle the peace of the Institute, and somehow Isabella Santos seems to be directly connected to a list of new orders and rules deigned for maximum productivity.

    Never before have the members of the Institute been under such pressure to deliver results. What is going to happen and what will be the ultimate result as chaos descends, and confusion reigns. Staff are being sacked making the work they are doing redundant, well almost, but can they combine forces to fight back, or will the increasingly very strange Isabelle Santos win the day?

    This riot of a book that is totally entertaining and almost impossible to guess what will be the final result of all the more than usually weird goings on, at the Institute of Fantastical Inventions.

    So, there is indeed hope that there are people out there like the amazing Leo McGuffin and his young boy-genius helper Edward, who both consider they have the best job ever, and will and can find a solution to just about everything, no matter how weird or whacky. Even falling in Love!!

    The Institute of Fantastical Inventions II’ is a breath of fresh air in a world that sadly takes growing up all too seriously.

  • Pause and Sleep

    Pause and Sleep

    Released in early January 2020 the Love Help series, or Love Your Self is a charming and very practical series of four little pocket-sized books, each filled to the last word with 50 instant fixes for four of the main issues that often cause serious energy depletion in the busy world of today.

    The first two of these, in no specific order, as each book can be used as a reference as or when required are:

    PAUSE: something we all need to do more often, but how to retrain the brain to accept that Pause will create far more benefits than simply rushing ahead, regardless. Kim Davies a mindfulness practitioner for more than 20 years, offers what she considers fifty tried and true ways in which to review the world through the practice of simply Pausing. She looks at the massive health benefits Pausing can bring into your life by relearning how to take pleasure from the small things, feeling calmer, being clearer in thought and a having a far greater resilience when things do inevitably go wrong.

    SLEEP: Dr Arlene K. Unger a psychologist and wellness coach with more than 30 years’ experience, offers fifty exercises to help achieve a restful night’s sleep. Once again, the book can be read section by section, or simply by dipping into the space or place required. Sleep and the brain function are still classed as a massive learning curve, which makes the contents of this lovely little ‘pocket sized’ book fascinating.

    Why do we need to sleep and how much sleep do we really need to function effectively is the almost a never-ending question? How to achieve a better quality of sleep, what tricks to use how to use mindfulness and relaxation exercises that may work for you, may well be hidden within the pages of this guide to waking refreshed and ready for the day ahead.

    Calm and Energy will be reviewed under a separate review so look out for them.