Month: January 2013

Cell War Notebooks By Julie Forward DeMay

~ Rachel Rueben ~ 1 Comment

Cell War NotebooksWhen I came across this article, about the tragedy of an indie author who lost her fight with cancer, I was touched.  Immediately, I bought a copy from Amazon with every intention on reviewing it.

When it arrived, two days went by, then a week, and still I hadn’t opened the book.  Instead, I read countless articles, participated in a webinar, assisted in a podcast, wrote a few blog posts and even finished a short story, but I couldn’t pick up that book!

I began wondering why and realized that Julie DeMay went to school and studied creative writing (like me), she was thirty years old (like me), and had a dream of becoming an author (like me), right before it all came tumbling down.

So, why couldn’t I pick up this damn’ book?

It was evident I identified with Julie and if something like that could happen to someone who was just like me, then obviously it could happen to me.  Don’t get me wrong, I know one day I will die, but that doesn’t scare me, never did.  What scares me is dying after finally getting my life on the right path.  I am now armed with the information and the drive to reach my goal of becoming a full time author.  But what if it’s snatched away from me like Julie?  That’s why Julie’s book remains hidden in a drawer, still sealed in its Amazon mailing box.

I haven’t gotten any closer to convincing myself that I’m an individual and that our paths aren’t destined to end the same way, but I also haven’t opened that book yet.

Cell War Notebooks is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Ebay.  All proceeds from this book goes to her nine year old daughter Luca.  If you can’t afford to purchase the book, you can still support the cause by Tweeting this article with the hashtag #IndiesForward or #CellWarNotebooks.

Fedelta

~ Rachel Rueben ~ 2 Comments

Fedeltà

By Rachel Rueben

Fedelta By Rachel Rueben
By JetSetModels via Dreamstime.com

This picture was begging for someone to tell its story.  So here it is, Fedeltà (which means “loyalty” in Italian)—enjoy! 

Cassandra sat in the corner of the restaurant as Armand made a B-line to her table.  Throwing his cell phone on the table, it bounced around until Cassandra clumsily picked it up.  On it she saw a pic of her with a boss from a rival family.  “What, I can’t turn my back no more Cassie?” he said as though he were hurt by the betrayal.  Cassandra just sat there stone faced while Armand ranted on about loyalty and family.  From an untrained eye one would have thought Cassie was petrified, anyone else in her position would be.  Armand’s body count spoke for itself, family, friends, rivals, all met their end at the whim of this monster.  Paranoid and delusional, he imagined himself another Al Capone.  He even went so far as to hang Big Al’s portrait in his office at the construction company he was fronting.

And just like his hero big Al, Armand, considered nothing and no one off limits.  Not even Cassie’s father, Ernesto Fenetti, his most loyal general wasn’t beyond reproach.  Like a fool, her father bought into the family loyalty spiel that Armand spat.  As Cassie went over this in her mind, she slipped her hand into her purse and felt for her glock.  Though repulsed by the object, she forced herself to securely gripe the gun.

As Armand turned his back to her, he reached into his waistband saying, “I don’t wanna do this Cassie, but I ain’t got no…”

Before Armand could even finish, a light flashed from Cassandra’s chair followed by a deafening boom.  Through the bottom of her tiny, pink Chanel purse, a nine millimeter bullet fired directly into his chest.  Cassie watched in disgust as Armand clutched his chest, “Bitch!” he whispered falling to his knees breathless.  This time without hesitation, Cassie stood up, took her gun out of her purse and put another bullet in his skull.  She watched hypnotized as Armand’s body shook on the diner floor, expelling his final breath.

Quickly she gathered her purse, and Armand’s phone then, made her way back to the kitchen of the diner before his goons filed in.  As Cassie fled the scene, she smiled to herself knowing she had done the one thing no one dared to ever do.  Making it out of the alley, Cassie looked both ways to make sure the coast was clear.  When she turned the corner, she saw the street totally deserted, slowing down, Cassie started walking normally as though nothing happened.  Watching her back, she made her way down the street until she disappeared into the foggy mist.  That night, Cassandra left town a marked woman.

Summer of My German Solider By Bette Greene: A Review

~ Rachel Rueben ~ Leave a comment

Summer of My German Soldier By Bette Greene: A Review

Summer of My German Soldier is a YA story about Patty Bergen, a Jewish girl growing up in the south during World War II.  Patty, a strong willed girl was unfortunately born to a mother who seems neglectful, if not indifferent to her, and a father, who has a quick temper and abusive streak.  This awful parenting combination leaves a hole in Patty’s heart which leaves her so vulnerable that she craves to love, or be loved by anyone.  The only compassion she gets is from their cleaning lady Ruth, an African American woman who acts as a surrogate mother to her at times.

One day while working in her family’s store, she runs into a German POW named Anton, who seems to be on a field trip of some sort with the Sheriff and a few other inmates.  Anton, an educated man who knows English, chats up Patty and buys a pin from her which, he’ll ultimately use to escape.  One day while wondering by the railroad tracks, Patty encounters Anton trying to hop a train out of town.  She inadvertently foils the plot and he winds up stuck in Memphis. Feeling guilty, she hides him in the garage just a few feet from her house!

Say what you will about the plot, I ended up loving this book.  The author Bette Greene, was able to make her characters almost leap off the page.  The only problem is, the entire scenario of a Jewish girl helping a Nazi prisoner.  I’ll admit, it’s a tad out there, but if people can believe in teenage vampires attending high school then, this should be a breeze!

There is however a bit of realism in this book, as the author herself is Jewish and grew up in the south.  This is why I believe she managed to capture the attitude of that particular generation perfectly.  Her sprinkling of gentile southern colloquialisms and racial slurs bring the Jim Crow south to life.  The reader has to watch not only the internal threat to Patty, but the external one as well, as Patty’s mere existence is an offense to this very white Bible toting society.

I won’t spoil it but the ending leaves me unfulfilled because it never really addresses Patty’s fate clearly.  We’re left to wonder about a girl we’ve come to care about, but I guess that’s what serials are for.  Hint, hint!

I give Summer of My German Soldier 5 stars ★★★★★