Cheri Gillard's Blog: From a Quadruplet Mom, Writer, Violinist, Paranormal Fan

​This week after a run-in with a ridiculously antagonistic person in my life that made my blood boil, I decided we needed to dance and bounce out all that negative energy. “We” meaning me and my two adorable charges, R and C. These delightful girls are my sanity, joy, and reason to get up many mornings. R is three, and C is her one-year-old sister. I take care of them every morning while their mommy teaches part time. To exorcise all that animosity threatening to suffocate me, we blasted “Swan Lake” and piled pillows and blankets, and we jumped, pirouetted, spun, and bounced on my bed while Tchaikovsky vanquished all those bad vibes. ​It reminds me of a day when my kids were four and we were stuck inside and I was at wit’s end. My mommy patience was thin and my four were bored. I needed a purge of sorts, to cleanse me from negativity. I decided it was time for a game of Extreme Hide–n-Seek. No easily found hiding places in this game. This was not your ordinary “you’re standing right there” pre-school game. When the count started, I started shoving kids in any space that would hold a small child. We used a laundry hamper with lid, kitchen cabinets, a large antique dresser with enormously deep drawers, and even a wardrobe. (No, they didn’t disappear into Narnia, but that would have been a trip!) A hard day turned into a memorable, fantastic experience of delight with plenty of laughter. And I got some of the clutter in my shelves and cabinets cleaned out!
 
(Pictures are of some of the hiding places once each of the kids was found and I snapped a photo to show Dad when he got home.)

​Book review for Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
FOUR AND A HALF STARS
(Henry Holt and Co., March 6, 2018)
 
Children of Blood and Bone is a story that drew me back to keep reading. I haven’t had that in a book for a while. The world building was fairly smooth, and I didn’t have to work to try to figure out what in the world was going on. The characters were complex and embodied both good and bad, wisdom and foolishness, so nothing was black and white and simply there. The tension built and carried through to the end. The story continues in the next book of the series. ​But just as important as the story telling elements, the theme of the book was worth noticing and processing as reading. Adeyemi, a Nigerian American, wrote the book from the perspective of one paying attention to and anguishing about what’s been going on in secret—all newly exposed by the ubiquitous cameras that are revealing the truth: we have a society that still kills, or allows the killing of, people based solely on their skin color. In the midst of Black Lives Matter activism, this book provokes needed evaluation, contemplation and then, hopefully, action to do something to stop the indiscriminate, prejudicial killing of people of color.

​Book review for Crave by Tracy Wolff
FOUR STARS
(Entangled: Teen, April 7, 2020)
 
Crave provided both entertainment and aggravation. I enjoyed it enough to give it four stars, but I’m not going to read the next four books in the series. I thought of giving it three stars, but a book that won’t let me give up on it earned another star. The story kept me going, wanting to know what happened next, or really more importantly, what was really going on. There was plenty of mystery, tension, and romance to keep me turning pages, though some of those very things sometimes just came out of nowhere and left me wondering why things were as they were. ​Sometimes I felt like the sudden situations weren’t developed enough to be believable. Other times, once secrets were revealed, it left me feeling that the story wasn’t very complex, like it just had some elements hidden to create tension without having a sophisticated enough plot structure to merit taking nearly 600 pages of my time. It was more of the Romance genre than is to my taste, but people who love Romance may like the immediate “I’m so attracted to you because of your perfectly formed pecs and I hate you because you make me feel so angry” Romance elements. People who loved Twilight will probably enjoy this a great deal, as it’s similar enough yet contains unique aspects in its world building to stand on its own.

Book review for The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
FOUR STARS
(G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, March 3, 2020)

​Beautifully written, this is a vivid story of yearning woven amidst musical imagery that elicits emotions and experiences right along with what the protagonist is living. It’s a bit Narnia, with its secret passageway to a magical world, a bit “Beauty and the Beast” and the tangled overgrown cursed kingdom that needs liberation, and maybe even a nugget of “Amadeus” and the deep struggles of Salieri.  ​Mozart’s sister, Nannerl, is a person to care about, to root for, and to feel pain with. Her life is oppressed by the sexism of her time and she is shackled by the destiny of becoming a housewife, sacrificing her talent equal to that of her famous brother. Her struggles are relatable by anyone who recognizes the truth of unrealized dreams. And speaking of dreams, this story is full of them, and the experience is like none other I’ve read. Nannerl’s first person descriptions let us enter that ethereal world of her dreams and actually experience them as though we are there too—not like when a friend retells a dream and we can’t know how it felt since dreams are so personal, but like we’ve been in her subconscious (or is it?) with her, watched the air ripple our vision, heard the music ooze from the flowers, felt the frost blow cold across our skin. The story is compelling, but the prose alone makes it worth the time.

The Patron Saints of Nothing is a bit of a heavy read, but it is enlightening. It's a book that sheds light on the political and social state of the Philippines, a place that many in the US may not even be aware of. There are human rights atrocities going on and the world is looking the other way. The book provides some good education along with an interesting mystery and a variety of characters. There is heartbreak and frustration, but that’s reality and light needs to be shed on these dark secrets. ​The protagonist, Jay, takes us with him as he informs his ignorance and becomes less self-centered and ordinary, and he develops into a more empathetic human. As he tries to find out what really happened to his cousin and who’s covering what up, he deals with unbending relatives who are steeped in tradition, sexism, classism, and ageism. And murder. Through the story, Jay evolves into an interesting, caring, aware young man. There are some delightful characters we meet along the way, who bring comfort to both Jay and the reader in the midst of difficult struggles. There are also infuriated people who you want to scream at (or worse). This book doesn't have a clichéd ending. Each conflict doesn't work out perfectly and the story doesn't end as maybe you're hoping or expecting. But some surprise developments leave a satisfying enough conclusion.

​There are enough irritations in this read that I sometimes thought I could only give it two stars, but in the end, because of a couple of interesting twists I decided I could give a three and tell other readers to give it a try and see for themselves. ​Some of the irritations: the entire time I was reading, I felt like I’d somehow missed the previous book from the series. But this was the first book! Maybe this was a reflection on the world building, that it wasn’t as strong as it needed to be—or maybe it was an artistic experiment to see if the writer could get away with a different approach. The dialect of the Holymythians was difficult to read and took a while, too long really, to adjust to. I couldn’t read when I was tired; it took too much concentration to comprehend the distorted English. Many words/nouns were written with an apostrophe at the beginning of the word, suggesting the first part of the word was left out. But I could never figure out what the missing parts were. The same prefix wouldn’t fit all the words. This slowed my reading and made me work harder than I’d like in a book. The emotions the characters were supposed to experience weren’t supported by the circumstances. I didn’t see the development needed to make the feelings believable. The time passage was hard to follow. The story didn’t seem to fit in the time frame given. Too many people suddenly passed out or nearly did, and the physical reaction to wounds didn’t seem to match the reality of a given injury. And I could not “see” the settings. The descriptions were vague to me. This was also part of me feeling like I’d missed the prequel. No one character grabbed me and made me care much for them. The frustrations from the heroine never really getting a hold of her situation and making something productive happen, from the characters doing a lot of moving around and causing conflict but never accomplishing anything positive, from just a lot of chaos, made me almost stop reading a few times. But I really wanted to like it and write a nice review.
 
Now as I try to write the parts I liked, I don’t have a list. I wrote impressions down as I read and never came up with a “wow, that was really cool.” There were a couple of surprises, but they weren’t completely unique or original, but they were delivered well enough I suppose. Now that I write this, I’m not really sure what I liked about it. I guess it entertained me (mostly) for the few hours I gave it. If you’re good at suspending disbelief and want to enjoy a new world and meet a few new characters, give it a try. The best parts really are in the last part of the book, so if you do read it, hang on to give it a fair chance.

​I’ve never read this author before. In fact, I didn’t even realize this was an ongoing story/series of the Logan family until I was almost finished. Which means it stands alone pretty well without having read the earlier books of the series. The reason I discovered there were previous books with this family is because I kept wondering why this was categorized as a “Teen” novel. I’m guessing when the author started the series, the protagonist was a teen. Now she’s in her twenties and thirties. It didn’t feel at all like a book from the Young Adult genre. That being said, it was still an interesting read, even though I was looking for a YA book. ​There wasn’t any huge concept in the story, but it was definitely an insightful look at what life was like for the African American community in the Deep South in the ’50s and ’60s. Which was painful! The struggles were horrific, and it felt like an authentic (as best as I as a white woman can vouch for from my own study of history) rendering which helped me better understand and empathize with the challenges of black people there and then, and recognize the racism that has existed in our country for too many centuries. The southern white people were hard to take. There were a couple of white characters in the south who weren’t horrific, but most were. It might have been true, especially in the perception of minorities who lived in the Deep South during this time period, but for the sake of good writing and satisfying reading, it might have been helpful to have less extreme, one-dimensional characters. The voter suppression and struggle to vote even after the laws were passed to protect the right of black people to vote, certainly is timely, as voter suppression continues today, and as blatantly as it’s being done right now, with the president even admitting publicly that if the minorities were allowed greater freedom to vote, the election would have completely different outcomes. I definitely recommend reading this now, maybe using it with discussion in your reading group, and learning from it to see what the black community has dealt with for so long and continues to deal with now during this Black Lives Matter era.

​​This story is heart-wrenching and difficult, yet uplifting between those tough spots. The trials and tribulations endured are hard to read. I wanted to reach into the story and rescue the protagonist, who also is the writer, as this is inspired by the true life of author Echo Brown. I also wanted to lash out at the people who hurt her. At this time of racial pain and awakening in our country, the story is enlightening about the never-ending pain endured by black citizens, and especially black women. I could relate to the teen being unable to verbalize her inner thoughts and advocate for herself, leaving her vulnerable to misunderstandings, and at worst, predators, because I’ve, too, had those times when I couldn’t form the words I needed to speak out for myself. The magical realism used to convey deep experience is entertaining but also insightful. Often when I read this style of book, I look for the explanations in reality for the magic, like “they are just hallucinating” or “it’s hyperbole,” but the magic is left to stand on its own. Echo is a wizard and does and sees real magic. It’s metaphorical, yes, but it’s more than that. This is a very spiritual story, with things happening deep within the souls of people and in the world. The use of magic and the “lessons of wizardry” give lessons for life and survival, even flourishing survival.
 
It’s graphic and violent, and wouldn’t be an appropriate read for some young readers, except that graphic violence sometimes happens to the young, and they need to know about victim shaming, violation, healing, and forgiveness.
 
White people, read it for new insight about culture that is perhaps unfamiliar. Learn from it, what the constant threat and consequences of systemic racism do to an entire race. Stick with it, allowing compassion and humility to blossom, and don’t let yourself fall back on old justifications, to excuse a blind eye, or even a defensive posture. We need to wake up to the deep, troubling, brutal circumstances that continually harm our fellow humanity.

​Turtle Under Ice is styled a novel by its author, but I’d audaciously argue that it is more a novella, due to its length. I finished it cover to cover in 90 minutes. The work is laid out as if written in verse, giving it quite an artistic, poetic look and feel. Regardless of what it is or isn’t, I found it an intriguing read and worth the hour and half it took out of my Sunday afternoon.
 
To avoid spoilers, I’ll only say it turns out to be much different from what it starts out to be, or what it is represented to be by its marketing plugs. Be that as it may, it pulls off the change without betrayal, not as a bait and switch but as a device to drive home its purpose. ​The book opens with two high school sisters who take turns narrating, telling the story back and forth. One is on the run; one is worrying why her sister has disappeared. There is tension, emotion, and grief. Their mother has died, to begin with, and they’re hit with new loss, with fear, with confusion and unmooring as they both try to find understanding with all life throws at them and a way to move forward.
 
The love between sisters is tangible, along with other pain, as their journey unfolds. A lot of discovery happens in the four or five-ish hours the story covers, and the author does an effective job of taking the reader alongside the protagonists through the emotions that accompany these discoveries.
 
I actually give the rating of three and a half stars, half way between “I liked it” and “I really liked it,” but most places only allow full stars, so I can happily round up when needed. It wasn’t a huge time investment and for the time, it paid out just fine.

​Turtle Under Ice is styled a novel by its author, but I’d audaciously argue that it is more a novella, due to its length. I finished it cover to cover in 90 minutes. The work is laid out as if written in verse, giving it quite an artistic, poetic look and feel. Regardless of what it is or isn’t, I found it an intriguing read and worth the hour and half it took out of my Sunday afternoon.
 
To avoid spoilers, I’ll only say it turns out to be much different from what it starts out to be, or what it is represented to be by its marketing plugs. Be that as it may, it pulls off the change without betrayal, not as a bait and switch but as a device to drive home its purpose. ​The book opens with two high school sisters who take turns narrating, telling the story back and forth. One is on the run; one is worrying why her sister has disappeared. There is tension, emotion, and grief. Their mother has died, to begin with, and they’re hit with new loss, with fear, with confusion and unmooring as they both try to find understanding with all life throws at them and a way to move forward.
 
The love between sisters is tangible, along with other pain, as their journey unfolds. A lot of discovery happens in the four or five-ish hours the story covers, and the author does an effective job of taking the reader alongside the protagonists through the emotions that accompany these discoveries.
 
I actually give the rating of three and a half stars, half way between “I liked it” and “I really liked it,” but most places only allow full stars, so I can happily round up when needed. It wasn’t a huge time investment and for the time, it paid out just fine.