Tag Archives: Kate Calina

Monster

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Steve knows the best time to cry is when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help. In Manhattan Detention Center, he’s scared all the time. In jail, even strangers find reasons to hurt each other.

He’s on trial for murder, though he never touched the gun. He is charged with being the lookout while Mr. King robbed the store. But really, he stands accused of being a Monster.

Over and over he writes the word. Monster. His defense attorney finally pulls the pencil from his hand. If he acts guilty in front of the jury, there’s no way out for him. He’s black, he’s young, and he’s on trial. In the eyes of many of the jury, he’s guilty until proven innocent.

The finger of blame comes from a dope dealer who’s already served time for manslaughter. He was with King at the shooting. The two left the body and went out for fried chicken and soda. Hoping for a lighter sentence, the heartless dealer’s only too ready to make a deal by piling blame on Steve. The prosecutor makes her pronouncement: All are equally guilty.

Steve paces his cell, waiting for the verdict.  Like everyone around him, he wants his life back again.

Walter Dean Myers paints a graphic picture of what it’s like to be in jail as a black youth. Suspected of horrible crimes, Steve has no real way to defend himself from all the accusations, spoken and unspoken. Almost everyone who means anything to him turns away, some with tears in their eyes. What’s left to believe in when hope is gone?

Monster drives you to think about all the tomorrows of your own life, and the tomorrows of the men charged with crimes they may not have committed. In the end, we’re left wondering who’s actually guilty.

Walter Dean Myers was a National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, and a shining light in the lives of many. Find out more about him at walterdeanmyers.net.

–Kate Calina

Skyborn

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The penalty for treason was being chained to marble columns. For many years, vicious captors tortured the rebellious dragon, burning it with fire lances and shredding its wings. Yet its words only grew bolder as it faced Sirena, keeper of the Horn that controlled its mind. Though one of the most fearless fighters in all the empire, Sirena had yet to unlock the key to the precious Horn of Osius. She had less than five days to learn the secrets of wielding its power—to enslave an entire generation of dragons.

Thianna Frostborn and Karn Korlundsson awoke in an elegant cage, flying south under the wings of angry dragons. Vast forests and ancient ruins spun away beneath them as they approached their destination, the Court of Land and Sky. Raised in the frozen lands of the frost giants, the half-giant Thianna knew little about her mother’s native country. Using one of her unique gifts—a hoarfrost chant—Thianna froze her way to freedom. Recapturing the powerful Horn from an elite force of furious women would require more than brute strength and quick wit. It would demand every gift her allies possessed. Brash minotaurs and leafy dryads soon found themselves fighting for something far greater than their own kingdoms and narrow ideals.

Skyborn is the third of Lou Anders’ Thrones and Bones series. New characters charge through his colorful landscapes, ice blocking down watercourses and gliding over molten lava. Mysterious doors open up, allowing passage to ethereal corridors. As Thianna realizes the decisions she makes have far-reaching consequences, the frost giantess who’s always struck the fastest blows suddenly finds herself unsure of her path forward. Tenuous friendships develop between hardened enemies; impossible alliances become reality. The momentum drives the story at a quick pace towards an arresting climax. Skyborn pulls you into a space you weren’t expecting to be in—a place of wonder and higher dreams.

–Kate Calina

 

On A Clear Day

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Sturmers hate everybody. In the year 2035, they prowl the street, selling death to those with the most cash. In the Bronx, they’re the visible enemy, shooting at the gates of protected communities. But who commands real power? What hidden forces slaughter thousands in India, or raze an entire African village?

In Dahlia Grillo’s world, strands of barbed wire replace the places of fragile joy where kids used to play.  Those with money bar themselves behind gates. Fifty kids can shoot a thousand, armed with automatic weapons. People in the streets are terrified of every other human being. All the schools are shut down. Permanently.

Enter Michael Gullickson, former band leader. He sees everyone living on the edge of despair. He’s all about bringing people together and creating something. He dreams of forming a group smart enough to take on the global corporations that really rule the planet in this urban dystopia.

On the thin hope that she might make a difference in a violent world, Dahlia joins Michael’s dysfunctional team.  In the streets of Miami, bullets blast through the barricades, leaving her reeling on the edge of her idealism. What words give any meaning to the raw brutality on every side?

Walter Dean Myers has earned every award in children’s literature. Taking responsibility is a central theme for him. On A Clear Day casts light into gritty streets and broken neighborhoods, squarely confronting tomorrow’s problems—today.

–Kate Calina

When the Soul Mends

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In the woods and farmlands of Ohio and Pennsylvania, the Amish culture thrives. Old Order Amish hold to their ancestral convictions, shunning electricity and the modern world that comes through power lines. Hannah Lapp was raised near the waters of the Susquehanna, in the community of Owl’s Perch. She’d known its chicken coops, smokehouses, and old oak trees since infancy. Marriage was a bright light in the clear path of her future. That all changed on the night of the attack. With the community elders and her own parents turning against her, Hannah left all she’d ever known, a shunned woman. Beyond the Pennsylvania turnpikes, her trampled soul found new life in the friendship and love of Martin Palmer.  She thrived in the colorful new world, mothering two children abandoned by their mother and learning the art of nursing.

Then the fires started back home. David Esh, only fifteen, died in burning smoke in Owl’s Perch. Quiet rumors pointed towards arson. The finger of suspicion turned on Sarah, Hannah’s troubled younger sister. Realizing then how much her family still needed her, Hannah headed home—and right back into the life of her former fiancée, Paul. More than ever, Paul saw her strength and intelligence as he worked by her side to heal her younger sister. Under the light of kerosene lamps and by the grave of her own daughter, Hannah realized she’d never been abandoned by the man she’d first come to love.  With that knowledge came terrible choices and inescapable heartbreak.

Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times best-selling author. The Wall Street Journal has named her as one of the top Amish fiction authors in the country. She’s written several series about the Amish, including The Amish of Summer Grove, Amish Vines and Orchards, and Sisters of the Quilt. When the Soul Mends, the powerful capstone book of the Sisters of the Quilt series, is a Logos Fiction Book of the Year.

–Kate Calina

The Relic of Perilous Falls

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059The high altar was in ruins. Elite Nazi forces—the Green Devils—had overrun the coastal town of Ortona, Italy. In the midst of the stench invading the basilica, an American soldier crept towards the exposed gold glinting within the shattered altar. Jacob Wilder knew what was inside the shining casket. As he placed the precious relics in a velvet sack, a cadaverous German officer stumbled towards him. Instantly Jacob drew his weapon, knowing what demon stood before him in the Courtyard of Hell.

The Relic of Perilous Falls is a grand adventure from its opening scenes. Young Will Wilder is as bold as his visionary ancestor—and gifted with similar powers. Black shadows creep along the periphery of Will’s vision, only to vanish when he fixes his gaze on them. Mysterious thuds pound away at the roof, alerting him to the dangers approaching his own home. Reptilian Bottom Dwellers follow the tides of the Perilous River and swarm the town.  When demons emerge from the river shoals, few of the quarrelous residents comprehend what is erupting from the Hells Mouth.  Will has to act quickly as he learns what it is to be a member of the secret Brethren.

Will Wilder is an endearing hero. Though reckless and impatient, he is also quick-witted, and determined to find a way to fix the grave problems his impulsivity has created.  With him on the journey is the wise and lithe Aunt Lucille, a weathered veteran in the demonic wars threatening to engulf Perilous Falls.

Raymond Arroyo is an author with keen insight.  His novel develops vital themes of spiritual awareness, power and division, in an engaging and accessible way.

–Kate Calina

The Rising

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030The Rising by Robert Ovies

Marion Klein was dead. Her hand was cold and hard as she lay in the funeral home. Father Mark knew she had moved on. He had touched her inanimate body. He had said the funeral service and watched as the last  mourner filed out into the night. Another lovely woman had fallen victim to cancer.

But what was he to make of the mysterious message recording on his answering machine as he walked through his back door? A brittle voice cried out to him from the funeral home: “Please come back if you can. Marion Klein is alive.”

A whirl of incredible images crashed through the quiet community of Royal Oaks. Marion Klein was alive! In short order the ambulance rushed her warming body to the hospital. Incredulous doctors soon discovered that not only was the woman alive: she was well. The cancer was gone.

Back at home, nine year old CJ Walker shuddered as newscasts exploded across the TV screen. Here, in his own city, a wonderful woman had returned to life. The young boy sat in the darkness, taking it all in. Only CJ knew the truth. “It was me.”

He had stood by his mother at the funeral service, eyes wide in the hush of sorrow surrounding the dead woman’s body. His young hand had reached out for Marion. “Be well.” And with that touch, those simple words, she had risen from the dead.

Far away in New York, fifteen year old Anthony Cross lay still in his bed, barely breathing. Lung cancer had claimed the life of his mother six years ago. His broken father paced the hallways, willing his dying son to live. Under the rich mahogany panels crowning the great halls of his mansion, the powerful man fought for his son, summoning private physicians and round-the-clock nurses. Mr. Cross knew Anthony’s final hour was fast approaching, despite all the  treatments for his leukemia. He would do anything to save the life of his only son.

Other miracles followed the first. The city of Royal Oaks was in an uproar. Distraught mothers stood in the rain on CJ’s front lawn, clutching the hands of their sick sons and daughters. Police fought to keep order as hundreds of ailing men and women closed in on CJ’s front porch, seeking a miracle. As a captain from the Department of Defense walked through her door, CJ’s mother Lynn knew that all hope of a normal life for her young son was rapidly fading.

The Rising is, quite simply, an excellent book. CJ, his parents, and his pastor, Father Mark, are thrown into unpredictable settings as the world moves in upon them, seeking to control the boy who can overpower death itself. Greed and fear flare wildly in scenes touched by hope and the beauty of love. The ending is startling in its fast-paced drama. I look forward to the sequel!

–Kate Calina

The Boy on the Wooden Box

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085The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson

Rumors rolled through the streets of Krakow. Germans soldiers were closing in. Polish Jews glanced at each other in mounting fear. What would happen to them if the town surrendered to the Nazis?

Young Leon Leyson spent his childhood in the rural village of Narewka, Poland. His father, Moshe, was often away, honing his skills at a glass factory in Krakow. The watchful father soon brought his family there, working hard to provide. As war loomed over Poland in 1939, hopes for a safe haven rapidly dissolved. When the Nazis took control of Krakow, all Jews were fired from the glass factory. Moshe remained. He spoke German.

His family was assured a precarious safety, until one night when the Gestapo pounded on the door. The German secret police beat Moshe, choked him, and dragged him out into the night. For months, no one knew where Moshe had been taken. The day Moshe was released from St. Michael’s prison, his children knew a vital part of him was gone. Moshe returned to his job with his confidence deeply shaken, aware that the only way to feed his family was to remain in the employ of the Nazis.

The Nazis took over all Jewish businesses in the city. All Polish Jews were rounded up and forced to the ghettos. Elderly Jews were transported to the gas chambers of Auschwitz. As the war progressed, Leon and his family were sent to a labor camp, where they spent their days hauling lumber and rocks to build Nazi barracks.

In the midst of this hellish world, one Nazi businessman saw opportunity. His factory produced pots and pans for the Nazi army—and munitions for the war effort. Impressed by Moshe’s determination and skills, Oskar Schindler offered the Polish Jew a job. Schindler built a camp by the factory, freeing his Jewish workers from the horrors of life in the labor camp. Surrounded by Nazis bent on torture and extermination, Schindler reached out with acts of kindness. He hired Moshe’s sons. He threw late night parties and paid heavy bribes to stop Nazi commanders from taking his Jewish workers to the gas chambers. Schindler was responsible for saving the lives of over a thousand Jews.

“Oskar Schindler thought my life had value,” Leon writes. “Only by standing on a wooden box could I reach the controls of the machine I was assigned to operate. That box gave me a chance to look useful, to stay alive.”

The Boy on the Wooden Box is a moving tribute to a man with incredible courage and resourcefulness. Powerfully written, with clarity and sensitivity, it is an excellent book for anyone who wants to understand life in Poland under the Nazi regime.

–Kate Calina

The Monuments Men

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The Monuments Men

Robert M Edsel with Bret Witter

In the midst of all the horrors of World War II, the Allied Forces waged crucial battles in the heart of the great cultural and historical sites of Europe. Adolph Hitler had set his mind on creating the Fuhrermuseum, which was to be the most magnificent art museum in the world. As the German forces fought their way through the nations of Europe, they confiscated over five million cultural objects and ravaged innumerable historical and religious structures. In the wake of such destruction, a group of colorful characters took on the charge to mitigate the damage being unleashed on the churches, museums, and other monuments in the path of the Third Reich. These intrepid and resourceful men became known as the Monuments Men.

Without radios or even a clear chain-of-command, the Monuments Men arrived at the front lines to do what they could to protect the cultural works of history. When signs proclaiming these buildings as “Off Limits” failed to accomplish their desired effect, new ones were placed, warning all comers of the dangers of mines. Without ready transportation to critical areas, one quick-witted Monuments Man enlisted a German Volkswagen without windshields or even a top. He entrusted his life to a car with weak brakes and a battered transmission. Whether by car or in convoys, these men found their way to the hidden German stashes of the great works of civilization.

The book is rich with details of such notable moments as the rescue of Chartres Cathedral from explosive mines, and the safe relocation of the famous Bayeux Tapestry. The greatness of soul of these Monuments Men shines through the chapters of this fascinating book. If you want to see moving pictures and find out more about these remarkable human beings, visit Robert at: http://www.monumentsmen.com/m/blog.

–Kate Calina

The Terra Cotta Warriors

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The Terra Cotta Warriors

Over two thousand years ago, the First Emperor of China ascended the throne. His visions for the newly united empire appear almost limitless. Ongoing assaults from the northern tribes prompted Qin Shi Huang to unite fragmented walls into a single fortification for his border lands. The world would ultimately know this construction as the Great Wall of China. Qin Shi Huang launched many other significant works, including improving the canal system so vital to his empire.

Colorful legends surround the august ruler. If these tales hold truth, the First Emperor was preoccupied with attaining immortality. Word reached him that islands of immortality existed in the East China Sea. If fortune was with him, young men and women might be able to procure an elixir of eternal life. Thousands were sent on this critical mission. They never returned.

Knowing that the possibility of death remained very real, Qin Shi Huang set about constructing an elaborate tomb. According to the history records of Sima Qian, the Emperor constructed a vast underground realm, including flowing rivers of quicksilver and hundreds of palaces. The tomb has never been opened to the public eye. Of note, the mercury levels in the burial mound, as measured through bore holes, have been confirmed at very high levels.

The Emperor took great pains to defend his tomb. In 1974, Chinese farmers started digging a well in Shaanxi province. What they unearthed is one of the most significant archaeological discoveries ever made. In time, over eight thousand terra cotta warriors were found, marching in columns in multiple pits. Thousands of artifacts have been located, including bronze chariots and horses, and numerous weapons, such as crossbows, spears and battle axes. Statues of musicians and acrobats claim a place in the tomb, along with bronze birds and other favored animals.

These amazing discoveries claim a rich place in history, sparking ongoing debates about the purpose of the great terra cotta army. My upcoming fantasy novel, Arid Rider, explores this remarkable world. Enjoy!

–Kate Calina