Saturday, August 7, 2010

Review - Yalu and the Puppy Room


Kid Konnection is a weekly meme host at bookingmama.


Yalu and the Puppy RoomYalu and the Puppy Room
BY: Brian T. Yates
ILLUSTRATED BY: Tielman Chaney
PUBLISHED BY: Mystic Publishers
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-934051-42-9
Pages: 55
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Yalu is a young female golden retriever. Her and her siblings are staying at a kennel, waiting to be adopted by a loving family. All the puppies go to a special place called the Puppy Room. This is where they meet the families looking for a dog.

Yalu is all excited when a family wants her to come home with them. When they pick her up, they are disappointed. They wanted a male dog instead of a female. Yalu goes back to her cage, and her brother is chosen by the family.

One by one, her siblings are adopted. Now, Yalu is the last golden retriever at the kennel.

When a young couple arrive at the kennel looking for a new puppy, Yalu is ready to pick them as her family. But will they pick her?

This is an adorable book for children. Yalu is a sweet and loveable character. The illustrations in the book are colorful. You’ll enjoy reading about Yalu and the Puppy Room.

Review - Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny

Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny (The Generals)Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny
BY: Agostino Von Hassell and Ed Breslin
PUBLISHED BY: Thomas Nelson
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-5955-5056-9
Pages: 193
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Honestly, the only thing I know about General Patton is what I saw in the movie “Patton” staring George C. Scott. After reading the introduction to this book, you learn that the way Patton was portrayed was not correct. Patton’s rival General Omar N. Bradley worked as the film’s chief consultant, so all of the facts were not correct.

George S. Patton Jr. was born on November 11, 1885 in Los Angeles, California. Most of his ancestors were military heroes. At an early age, George wanted to continue the tradition. He learned to ride a horse and shoot guns, but he didn’t learn how to read and write until he was twelve years old. This caused a bit of a challenge for him when he started school in 1897. Despite his educational setbacks, he entered VMI in 1903 and later he would attend West Point. Patton studied all of the great military books.

After graduation, Patton joined the Army. Through the years he quickly went up the ranks. First as a Tank Commander and later as a General during WWII.

I enjoyed reading the book. I never knew that Patton was obsessed with perfection. I also never knew that Patton studied and kept track of new technology being developed. Patton was a respected man, who loved his family, his fellow soldiers, his country and God. I recommend this book to historical and military buffs.

I would like to thank Thomas Nelson for sending me a copy to review.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Review - Pinesport Divide


Pinesport DividePinesport Divide
BY: Charles Matthews
PUBLISHED BY: Metal Lunchbox Publishing
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-984337-9-9
Pages: 372
Ages: Young Adult
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

In the world of “Pinesport Divide,” you are either a Normal, Lectrol or a Loor. The main character, Greyson Hill, is your typical teenager. He is in love with his best friend’s girlfriend. He starts hanging around with a group of super human strength teenagers - the Lectrols.

The girl Greyson has a crush on, Leara, has been keeping a secret. She is a Loor, a mentally enhanced person. The Loors are the enemies of the Lectrols. The three different races begin to collide with each other. Greyson must make a choose between the Lectrols and his friends.

“Pinesport Divide” has a great premise, but doesn’t go beyond that. The book is too long at almost four hundred pages, when the story could have been told in under two hundred. The dialogue makes the characters seem cartoonish. I couldn’t connect to the main character, or any others. The book is confusing at times, and suffers from too much telling and not enough showing.

I would like to thank the author for sending me this copy to review.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Review - Badhat: A Wild Western Legend

Badhat: A Wild Western LegendBadhat: A Wild Western Legend
BY: Harry McLaughlin
PUBLISHED BY: Zaptoons
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 9780615368542
Pages: 130
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

After crows destroy his crop, Badhat, a prairie dog, drifts around the wild west. He stumbles upon a small town called Dagnabit. Badhat scares off a gang of gophers, and he becomes a local hero. The town offers him a job as sheriff, and he takes it.

A young prairie dog calling himself The Kid, starts following Badhat around. The Kid wants to be a deputy.

Just when Badhat starts to adjust to the sheriff life, Rumpus and his gang of gophers come up with a plan to run Badhat out of Dagnabit.

This is a hilarious spoof of the western genre. The author has done a wonderful job creating fun characters that kids will enjoy reading. Badhat: A Wild Western Legend is a fast read, just under 130 pages. It reminded me of some of the cartoons I watched as a kid. Reading Badhat was a pure delight.

I would like to thank the author for sending me this copy to review.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Book Review - The Heart Mender

The Heart Mender: A Story of Second ChancesThe Heart Mender
BY: Andy Andrews
PUBLISHED BY: Thomas Nelson
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7852-3103-5
Pages: 248
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

When digging up a withering wax myrtle tree, Author Andy Andrews stumbles upon an old metal container. He finds inside it several Nazi artifacts and pictures, believed to have belonged to Lt. Josef Landermann. Being an author, Andy wants find out more about this man. He discovers that Josef died during WWII when a German U-boat went down in the Gulf of Mexico.

Andy puts his other writing projects aside and begins interviewing people about Josef. Surprisingly, he stumbles upon a startling truth, Josef Landermann is still alive.

Andy Andrews has cleverly written this delightful true story. I was instantly hooked to this intriguing tale of life, sacrifice and forgiveness. This is a must read.


I would like to thank Thomas Nelson for sending me this copy to review.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

It's Friday! Book Blogger Hop!

Jennifer from Crazy for Books has created this meme.

If you'd like to participate, here's Jennifer's instructions:


Every day I seem to find another book blog that I start following. In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blog Hop to give us all bookies a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!


So, if you'd like to participate, just repost this on your blog, sign MckLinky and check out other blogs in MckLinky! Let's connect and make new book bloggy friends!! So, if you consider yourself a book blogger, come join the fun!

Thursday Ramblings




Grown UpsI twisted my right ankle last week, and it's still healing. Once again, my writing has been slow. I hope to get started on two new short stories this weekend. I saw the movie "Grown Ups" last weekend. It was cute.

"The Heart Mender" has been sitting on my shelf collecting dust for a few weeks. I picked it up this morning and read half of the book. Expect my review for it next week.

Remember Me: Remember Me; The Return; The Last StoryI bought the book "Remember Me" by Christopher Pike last weekend. There is three books in it. It's nice to see that his books are being re released for a new generation of fans.

Yesterday, I received the book "Pinesport Divide" in the mail to review. I hope to start reading it this weekend.