Solutions

by Karin Bishop

An alternate cover edition can be found here.

Charlie has a problem—he’s trying to be like his father Chuck, a sexist cheat.
Charlie’s father has a problem—he can’t wait to dump the kid so he can take off with his new honey.
Charlie’s mother, Carol, has a problem—her husband Chuck.
Charlie’s grandmother, Gram, has a problem—Chuck has dumped Charlie on her farm for the summer.

But there may be solutions to all of their problems, in the form of herbal solutions made by a friend of Gram’s. Solutions that might make Charlie more agreeable, might take the edge off his rough macho exterior …and might reveal a feminine interior …

403 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 10, 2012

About the author

I started writing as a child, and won my first national writing award in sixth grade. I edited and wrote for my high school and college creative writing magazines, but then life got in the way and didn’t write fiction for years—I wrote for hire. Magazine articles (in music and travel), advertising copy, corporate newsletters and software manuals paid the bills. I have always been interested in the discovery of a person’s true nature and sexual identity, and began exploring different literary genres and structures to tell those important stories.

Reviews

[Corey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think Karin Bishop should go to prison for this one actually.

Holy fucking Shit DO NOT write forcefem hypnosis fetish shit about TWELVE YEAR OLDS and then pretend you're writing YA trans representation.

[Trinity Lavender · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Read

I have my issues with Karin Bishop and her characters. She uses the literary device of being intersex too often for my comfort. It is often used to justify her character’s rapid changes and to justify their feminine behavioral traits and characteristics, as if being transgender isn’t valid enough. I love her writing but I have to take breaks when I’ve had enough to get frustrated. It was that feeling that kept me from reading “Solutions” for so long. I have to say though, that I really enjoyed reading this book. I wasn’t so happy with the mild forced feminization plot line but as that cooled down, I found myself really getting into the story. It was a fun read and I really enjoyed it.

[Anna Na-Maus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The biggest praise I can give this book is that I didn't want it to end. I want to know everything that happens to Carlie and her family in the future. She is a wonderful character surrounded by wonderful characters. The relationship between Gnat and Cher is classic, Grammy and Madge perfect grandmothers and Carol is a great Mum.

I will admit i was a little disappointed with Chuck's climbdown at the end, I hope he gets his comeuppance, and I wanted Jen to tell him where to get off.

Good luck in your life Carlie and thanks for another great read Karin.

[Jon Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great...

I have to admit I skipped s great chunk of this, the start came across as abusive, while Carlie's Gram may have had her best interests in mind, the way she went to achieve them was definitely abuse. Telling the story from Carlie's perspective might have muted that somewhat.

[John delamore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solutions

Fantastic novel over every minute and this book really kept my attention throughout. My only thought was perhaps would have been nice to have an epilogue to see if anything happened between Tom and Carlie.

[Russell Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting read.

I like everything that Karin Bishop has written. This book brought in a few different plot twists. Witches, crime, and depression. I loved it. Keep up the writing.

[Kageashi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm quite a fan of Karin Bishop's works in general, and normally wouldn't leave a review in addition to a rating, but I felt it was necessary in this particular case as Solutions feels like it's falling short of the bar that Ms. Bishop has established in so many of her other books.

All the right elements are there in the book, but it seems like the book was trying to go in too many directions at once, rushing towards the inevitable gender conflict revelation without regard to how some of the characters are portrayed. This seriously undermines the first half of the book, where several of the key characters are almost villainous in their actions involving the protagonist to be downright criminal. In the latter sections of the book, there seems to be a bit of a backtrack over that ground to sweep away some of the negative impact left by those actors and the actions taken. Compounding the two-steps-forward-one-step-back ethics quandaries raised in the book are the loose ends left dangling. While the principle story line is resolved - more-or-less - secondary elements are left open, without so much as an epilogue to follow up with the characters after the end of the main story arch.

All in all, it felt sloppy in comparison with much of what I've read of Ms. Bishop's works. It is in the spirit of those other works that I felt it necessary to write this review, as I feel that those who might read Solutions and come away with mixed feelings about the work or the author should not pass up her other works based off of this one. To those who did enjoy the book, I encourage you to read other books by Ms. Bishop, as she is a phenomenal author - this particular book just fell slightly shy of her normal high marks.