"Carve"

"Carve: A Simple Guide to Whittling"
Written by Melanie Abrantes
Review written by Diana Iozzia


"Carve" is a great little book about the art of whittling and carving little trinkets out of wood. This is a great book for people, like me, who have been curious about whittling! Also, many regard whittling as a very nature-conscious and environmentally safe hobby, since often, you are recycling the wood you choose. This little beautiful book has many different important sections: including the basic steps! Also, there are lists of useful tools, materials, products, safety tips, how to choose the wood, cutting wood, and more to help you get started. There are really nicely photographed pictures of each step. This seems very hipster-y, and I'm all for it. In addition to the how-to basics, there are different projects to work on, looking similar to recipes in a cookbook. Naturally, they start easy, but become harder in each section as you read on.

Your options are: chopsticks, wine stoppers, coffee spoons, spatulas, wood trays, air plant holders for decorations, bench hooks, smoothed and polished stones, soap dishes, hair combs, birds, dice, forks, and knives. Lastly, there's a section on personalizing the project, like burning the wood, adding wax, stains, and other tidbits.

I received a complementary review copy through Crown Publishing's blogger review program.

"The Gravedigger's Son"

“The Gravedigger’s Son”

Written by Patrick Moody

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“The Gravedigger’s Son” is very reminiscent of the scary stories by R.L. Stine mixed with “A Nightmare Before Christmas”. Reading this the day of Halloween and the week after, I felt very in the holiday spirit, nice and spooky. I was very lucky and very grateful to receive the hardcover copy from Mr. Moody himself. His book is great, but the illustrations that coincide work so well together to tell the story of little Ian Fosser.

Ian is a descendant of a long line of Diggers, who dig the graves of corpses, but then actually help the spirits / ghosts move on and find peace. Ian is tired of digging graves and learning how to speak to the spirits. With the help of his friend, Fiona, he learns about the Capital’s schools, which are similar to Hogwarts. Students learn how to Heal, Call to the spirits, and practice other spooky supernatural crafts. Ian doesn’t want to be a Digger, he likes learning of the Healing craft. In this world, the work done by the people who live here coincide with what they learn as trades. There aren’t restaurants, grocery stores, or other post 21^st century creations. This gives me the illusion we are in an early 1900s tale. The language is also very similar to English slang, so it seems that the book would take place somewhere in Great Britain.

Fiona wakes Ian in the middle of the night, saying she’s been Called by a spirit of a young boy named Thatcher. Thatcher is depicted as a skeleton of a rambunctious and quite rascally thirteen-year-old boy. Ian realizes although he doesn’t want to be a Digger, he needs to help little Thatcher move on. As we follow this journey, we discover interesting locations. The book moves along like a Tim Burton video game. Each location acts like a stage in the book, where you meet this character. It moves very smoothly as you follow Ian through this map of the cemetery, the pumpkin patch, the village of the Weavers, the family crypt, Ian’s mother’s created world. The villains are pretty creepy, but with a middle grade fiction, you realize that there will usually be a happy resolution.

Without delving into any spoilers, I highly suggest you look into this book. It’s a great, spooky middle grade fiction book that’s highly enjoyable. I think the illustrations really add to the world-building. I don’t know if there would be a sequel, but I’d be very eager to read it if it ever comes to pass.

"Behind You"

"Behind You"
Written by Brian Coldrick
Review written by Diana Iozzia


"Behind You" is labelled as a collection of one-shot horror stories. The book has an introduction by Joe Hill, Stephen King's son, who also has been making strides as a horror writer. 

The one-shot horror stories are depicted as one illustration on each page, but a one sentence description of the illustration. All follow the pattern of there is something lurking in the shadows, at the bottom of the stairs, and just a foot behind someone. This book is eerie and strange, and it was great fun to look through. It only took me about 30 - 40 minutes to look through, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Brian Coldrick is very creative, preying upon the common fears we have as human. 

I can't say I had nightmares after this, or felt myself needing to turn on a night light, but this was worth the read. I've always loved horror illustrations and these are interesting! 

I'm glad I received this complementary copy via the publisher around Halloween. Perfect timing!

"A Beautiful Composition of Broken"

“A Beautiful Composition of Broken”

Written by R.H. Sin

Review written by Diana Iozzia

            “A Beautiful Composition of Broken” was the first book I had decided to read by R.H. Sin. After receiving a set of three from the publisher for reviewing purposes, I began the book and did not want to stop reading. I didn’t. I read the entire book in one night. An hour in the afternoon and then two hours at night. I have not read much of modern poetry, so I was intrigued by his books. He writes mostly about love and heartbreak. Many of his poems also included themes of feminism, personal strength, self-empowerment, and have hints of mental illness, possibly depression or anxiety. I personally enjoyed the poems about love and heartbreak the most, but the other themes were welcome. I liked that many of his poems were full of great metaphors and personification. I think it’s interesting to read poetry where feelings and abstract emotions are personified through other objects or animals. In addition, many of his poems compared love to weather and the elements of nature. Lastly, the very large but hardly filled pages are not great for the environment, but they are very stylistic. I imagine if I was more artistic, I would love to draw in the empty white pages and doodle. This seems like a book that many people take into their own imagination, so I think it would be great if this was wrote in or annotated.

            My favorite poems in this book were:

“a love worth keeping.”, page 3.

“at 7:22 p.m., to my love.”, page 9.

* “begin again, again.”, page 27.

“1:25.”, page 40.

“a grave love.”, page 50.

“twenty 2.”, page 58.

“the night is coming.”, page 94.

“Marie.”, page 110.

“i see a lifetime in brown eyes.”, page 159.

“in gardens we wait.”, page 212.

“spring.,” page 343.

“22 minutes until forever.”, page 430.

“more than stars.”, page 445.

“April in New York.,” page 451.