FriesenPress Book Reviews: Summer 2022 Highlights
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Every day a new FriesenPress book greets the world, and every day a new positive review praises those books for their artistic merit, high quality, and professionalism. Those catchy blurbs from respected reviewers not only entice readers to learn more, but each serves as important recognition of our authors’ amazing books and a welcome confidence booster to the newly-published.
And after a summer filled with so many incredible book releases, there’s much to celebrate. So, we’ve put together a list of 10 titles that recently earned critical acclaim for our first ever FriesenPress Book Reviews highlight feature!
MY MUDDY PUDDLE | KRISTINA NEARCHOU
“An accessible text and a desire for puddle adventures make this an outstanding preschool pick. Using simple words and lines, with some rhymes in the text and repeated phrases, Nearchou creates a narrative at the perfect level for emergent readers.”
Read the review | Kristina’s Website | Follow on social media | Buy on the FriesenPress Bookstore
MOBILIZE FOOD! | ELEANOR BOYLE
“Thoughtful in its approach to climate change, drawing on a past example of a social response to a global crisis for lessons that can be applied today. Both a history book and an environmental analysis, Mobilize Food! suggests a compelling way forward through the examples of the past.”
Read the review | Eleanor’s Website | Follow on social media | Buy on the FriesenPress Bookstore
SWINDLER | LESLIE Y. DAWSON
“A rigorously researched account that’s filled with keen insights about a financier and swindler. This is a mesmerizing biography, full of drama and subtlety, and an intriguing slice of Canadian history.”
Read the review | Leslie’s Website | Follow on social media | Buy on the FriesenPress Bookstore
MUSIC SAVED MY LIFE | GRANT H. REYNOLDS
“Grant H. Reynolds’s memoir is compelling in discussing the importance of music. Working toward a reflective ending that expresses gratitude for safe spaces for self-expression, Music Saved My Life is a heartfelt musician’s memoir that covers instances of survival and self-transformation.”
Read the review | Grant’s Website | Follow on social media | Buy on the FriesenPress Bookstore
SONG FOR THE WIDOWMAKER | BY: GAIL S. FRASER
“A Scottish emigrant to the US pursues mining work and nurtures a romance with a woman back home. A touching historical novel in which a young family, separated by an ocean, strives to stay together in the face of adversity.”
Read the review | Gail’s Website | Follow on social media | Buy on the FriesenPress Bookstore
FULL CIRCLE | MAURICE BRESLOW
“With its bold, creative take on the legendary detective, Full Circle is a fun, fascinating Victorian-era mystery novella. The novella is tense, dramatic, and confined to one location, resulting in the feel of a play, despite its prose format.”
Read the review | Maurice’s Website | Follow on social media | Buy on the FriesenPress Bookstore
PARENT-CHILD GUIDE TO COPING WITH ANXIETY | DESSY MARINOVA
“The practical self-help text Parent-Child Guide to Coping with Anxiety suggests means of managing the strong emotions that mask childhood anxiety. Based on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), positive psychology, and mindfulness, its approach is holistic.”
Read the review | Dessy’s Website | Follow on social media | Buy on the FriesenPress Bookstore
LEGENDS | JACK AND CHAD MATCHETTE
“Glimpsing into a superhero-stocked world of adventure, Legends is an entertaining introduction to a thrilling and expansive new game. The excellent interior art features colorful comic book–style pages that give a flavor of the minute-by-minute action of the game.”
Read the review | Legends Website | Follow on social media | Buy on the FriesenPress Bookstore
SIREN, ON REPEAT | PATTI KIMBALL
“Siren, On Repeat is an elegiac memoir about an ebullient friendship cut short by death—and about practical methods for managing long-term grief. The prose is forthright and uncluttered. Its structure matches the story’s actions and tones, with longer sentences devoted to more reflective passages.”
Read the review | Patti’s Website | Follow on social media | Buy on the FriesenPress Bookstore
THE BINDINGS OF WOE | CONNOR JACKSON
“In the meticulous fantasy novel The Bindings of Woe, young heroes take on the godlike rulers of their oppressive government. The setting’s physical descriptions are eloquent, striking, and sharp; characters emerge from it, depend on it, and are part of it in a tangible, tactile way.”
Read the review | Connor’s Website | Follow on social media | Buy on the FriesenPress Bookstore
