John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

Steeped in philosophical insight and the unpredictable trials of the road, Travels with Hafa by Nathan Pettijohn is a thoughtful musing on life without boundaries or destinations. Pettijohn speaks with a frankness and candor that doesn’t romanticize his journey, but reports on it – how he sees changes coming, and how his perspective on life is shifting throughout his travel. The spectrum of beautiful places, soundtracks, and insights will be relatable for anyone who has taken a long trip, and offers a vicarious sense of catharsis to those who haven’t had the opportunity, for a uniquely spirited and memorable travel […]

A string of tragic student suicides throws a small town into emotional turmoil, and forces a counselor to face her own darkness in Make Believe by Cory Wolfe. Touching on painfully relevant subjects of depression, teen suicide, drug abuse, social alienation and collective grief, this is a blunt story that doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable themes. The multiple narrative voices make the story more complete, bridging the perspective gap between adults and children, broadening the narrative arc, as well as the book’s potential readership. Regardless of your age or personal experience with trauma, this hard-hitting novel is an unpredictable, heart-wrenching, […]

Author Paul Perroni pulls readers into a liquor-laden memoir that defies classification in One Way: A Novella with Bald Cocktails. Both a spontaneous road novel and a stream-of-consciousness musing on success, purpose, and finding a permanent place in the world, the narrative voice is unabashed and authentic, containing emotional nuance and a philosophical focus relating to self-discovery. Rough around the edges, but original in its form and flow, the writing is heartfelt, vulnerable and utterly human. The novella may be one man’s search for meaning, but it is an entertaining and often enlightening journey filled with unexpected insight.

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Yaakov C Lui-Hyden has dreamt up a wild body-snatching and time-jumping adventure in Diary of a Time Traveling Alien, a tale told from the perspective of an observant alien with quite an attitude. Between long speeches on the state of Earth and humanity, and simultaneous desires to be a real part of the world, this whimsical romp is both entertaining and existential. The writing is simple and straightforward, though occasionally bland (and the title needs a hyphen), but the creativity throughout is undeniable and the diary entries are anything but predictable. For young readers who love a zany caper, […]