Trejo by Danny Trejo

I read every day over this long weekend, but I forgot my Chromebook at school, so I'll be typing up these 4 reviews as time permits today.

My next book in Book a Day January is Danny Trejo's memoir.  I have to say I only recently became aware of the actor after his appearance in The Book of Boba Fett as the rancor handler.  His guest appearance was a surprise and everyone went kinda bonkers about it.  I recognized him from commercials, but didn't really know a lot.  A student asked if we had this shortly thereafter and I added it to our wish list. I am so glad I did.

Danny Trejo was a womanizing, drug addicted, hard core criminal in California.  While serving time, he attended a charity baseball game at which a riot broke out.  He and 2 other inmates were accused and faced the death penalty.  Trejo made a pact with God if his life was spared, he'd turn things around. And he did.  He became an advocate for the homeless, the addicted, and the poor.  He worked with recently released prisoners to secure housing, employment, and treatment.  For a time, he struggled greatly as a husband and father.  It was not until much later his children were able to turn their own lives around.  Now he is a successful actor, author, and activist.

I cried several times reading this.  It isn't easy.  But is an amazing story of redemption and faith. 

Find this on display in memoir as a "Mrs. W.'s Favorite".

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.    

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton

Book 10 of Book a Day January.  Yes, I'm a little behind.  I had some home stuff to handle Tuesday and Wednesday evening that took precedence.    

This is the adult selection for All CT Reads 2023.  Last night I attended the state-wide launch for this year's program and heard from the author Dawnie Walton about her process and motivation.  As a Black female punk rock fan, she wanted to write about a Black female rock icon.  The entire recorded webinar will be available to view in a few days on the CT State Library website.  The Teachers and Friends Book Club have made this their selection for March.  Since I'm moderating, I get to choose the restaurant.  I am actually thinking of having our meeting be at a local music venue to hear a local singer of band. 

Opal and Nev were a 70s rock duo: an unlikely combo of a gritty, tall, bald Black woman from Detroit and a scrawny White man from England.  I kept picturing them as Tina Turner mixed with a little Cher and Paul McCartney mixed with a little Liam Gallagher (Oasis).  In 2016 Sunny Shelton decides to interview Opal and Nev as they contemplate a reunion show for her magazine and possible book deal (really got some 7 Husbands vibes from this).  Sunny is the daughter of Opal and Nev's drummer Jimmy, with whom Opal had a known affair.  Jimmy was killed during race riot that erupted at a music festival.  Opal and Nev performed, as did their label's rival band.  Said rival band hangs a Confederate flag up before their performance, which Opal then protests.  A single picture taken as Opal and Nev leave the festival becomes their infamous historical image.  

As I was reading this, I was strongly reminded of VH1's Behind the Music.  The story is told in alternating bits from the characters: Opal, Nev, their label owner and producer, former band mates, Opal's stylist, Opal's sister, etc.  I also was casting it in my head, and I'm pretty sure we will see this in visual format someday.  I thought of Sweetwater and Eddie & The Cruisers as model pieces.  One of the questions I intend to pose is who should play Opal and Nev, past and present.

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.      

If We We're Villains by M.L. Rio

Book 9 of Book a Day January.

I am honestly not sure where this came from.  It doesn't have a Follett sticker, so it's not from our book vendor.  It's not donated from the Amazon Wish List, nor do I remember buying it at BN.  If you gave it to us, and I'm blanking, thank you!

Either way, I wasn't a fan.  

The premise is that 7 theater major seniors at an elite arts college are about to put on Julius Caesar.  This particular theater program only focuses on Shakespeare, putting on a comedy or history in one's 3rd year and a tragedy 4th year.  They also do scenes from Macbeth at Halloween and Midsummer Night's Dream in December. You can be kicked out if you're not up to snuff on the stage.  And you do not earn an actual degree. 

The theater students also seem to look down on the music, visual art, and dance majors. Their descriptions of these students are downright mean.

I am sorry to say I found the characters annoying, whiny, stuck-up brats.  I didn't find any of them worth my sympathy.  As a parent considering to costs of college very soon, I found myself more aligning with the Dad saying "I'm not paying for this nonsense".  I rolled my eyes at least half a dozen times and groaned once so loud it woke my dogs up.  

Perhaps someone interested in theater, particularly Shakespeare might want to read this, or even someone reading Caesar for English II as a companion novel, but for me, it's a no.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn Tara O'Neill

This is book #8 in my Book a Day January.

I wanted to like this.  I REALLY did.

In 2020 I reviewed Romanov. This is another fictionalized account of what might've happened to Anastasia Romanov.  From that earlier review:

"Every once and while you hear a claim made by an elderly woman that she is the long lost Anastasia Romanov. It was even a joke of Betty White's character Elka on "Hot In Cleveland".  I had a childhood friend who claimed to be Anastasia's granddaughter (she wasn't--I knew both sets of her grandparents, and they were 100% Italian.).

So who exactly was Anastasia Romanov? 
Read here from Wikipedia:

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (Russian: Анастаси́я Никола́евна Рома́нова, tr. Anastasíya Nikoláyevna Románova; June 18 [O.S. June 5] 1901 – July 17, 1918) was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna.

Anastasia was the younger sister of Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, and Maria, and was the elder sister of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia. She was murdered with her family by a group of Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918.

Persistent rumors of her possible escape circulated after her death, fueled by the fact that the location of her burial was unknown during the decades of Communist rule. The abandoned mine serving as a mass grave near Yekaterinburg which held the acidified remains of the Tsar, his wife, and three of their daughters was revealed in 1991. These remains were put to rest at Peter and Paul Fortress in 1998. The bodies of Alexei Nikolaevich and the remaining daughter—either Anastasia or her older sister Maria—were discovered in 2007. Her possible survival has been conclusively disproved. Scientific analysis including DNA testing confirmed that the remains are those of the imperial family, showing that all four grand duchesses were killed in 1918.^[1][2]

Several women falsely claimed to have been Anastasia; the best known impostor is Anna Anderson. Anderson's body was cremated upon her death in 1984, but DNA testing in 1994 on available pieces of Anderson's tissue and hair showed no relation to the Romanov family.

So despite proof of Anastasia's murder, stories that she survived and fled to Siberia or America persist."

This was a much more violent version of the story though.  I found the frequent Russian, English potty language, and graphic violence a little too much.  This is will be the first of my attempts at Book a Day January that I simply cannot finish. 

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.  

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

This is Book #7 in my Book a Day January, but I didn't finish it until this morning (day 8).  I'll have a Book #8 review shortly...

I had a $50 gift card to BN, and this was on clearance, so I bought it to read then donate (I later learned it is the first in a series).   I knew the author from the recent AP Gov prompt using his Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) as a "banned book".  Don't. Even. Get. Me. Started.  There is so much wrong with that prompt that...never mind.

ANYWAY.  I found the premise intriguing: a very Clue style mystery where everyone is a suspect and potential next victim.  Yes, all the characters are in some way gay (gay, lesbian, bi, drag), and it is central to the plot.  All of our characters are living in a big mansion, masquerading to the outside world via a giant soap company as straight.  It is the early 1950s, when being gay was a crime.  When the matriarch of the family and business dies under suspicious circumstances, her wife hires a former cop, who was recently outed, to investigate.

This novel was sssllllooooowwww to get moving.  There was a lot of detail that seemed superfluous to the whodunit plot.  I feel like it could've been half the length!

I absolutely loved all the characters, save one, and I did really enjoy trying to figure out the murderer.  That being said, I don't foresee myself running out to buy the next book.

I'll be donating this tomorrow morning and adding it to the new books once I finish uploading Coach Unger's football DVDs to the video server!

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

Later by Stephen King

Book #6 for Book a Day January! Have to be honest, today is my family Christmas (we never celebrate on the actual holiday) at Auntie Lissa's, so I'm not sure if with that plus my son's passport renewal appointment if I'll be able to finish Day 7's Book 7!

The Hard Case Crime series is a collection of shorter novels by famous authors in the style of the 40s and 50s crime novels.  Their best sellers have been by, you guessed it, Stephen King.  He has written 3.  I loved Joyland, which for some reason I didn't review here.  This is the newest.  It is similar in style to the Mr. Mercedes series, which is also cop-drama. 

Now, I really should NOT have read this so soon after Shutter, because the premise was way too similar.  And I'm kinda surprised to find myself saying I preferred Shutter!

Jamie is the son of a literary agent Tia.  Her clients are big bestsellers at the start of the book (2006ish) and they are living on Park in NYC.  Then the crash happens and books are the last thing people are buying.  They fall victim to a Ponzi scheme, Tia's brother needs assisted living, and her relationship with a police officer falls apart. 

Oh, and Jamie can see dead people.

Years later Liz, a really dirty copy dealing drugs, uses her nearly former stepson to solve a case.  Unfortunately said dead criminal is actually a...I guess demon would be the word.  He and the demon form a very Beetlejuice type relationship deal.

As this is a crime drama, I would discuss the plot further so not to spoil anything.  If I had to suggest one of these, it'd definitely be Joyland!

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

Chasing Me to My Grave by Winfred Rembert

Book #5!

This memoir was recommended by Mr. Winters for our collection.  You may remember one of our former security guards Mitch?  Winfred Rembert was his father (he has sadly passed on).  The book is unique in that it was an oral history--told to Erin Kelly of Tufts University.  I believe Kelly does Rembert's vernacular and accent well in the written version.  The story is interspersed with Rembert's art, telling his story in paintings, drawings, and leather work.  

This isn't an easy read, and I cried several times.  It begins with a foreword by Bryan Stevenson, of Just Mercy reviewed here previously, then an explanation from Rembert about his whys for finally telling what happened to him.  Rembert was born in rural Georgia, where music heavily influenced his informal education outside his work in cotton fields.  He met his lifelong wife Patsy, with whom he'd have several children, and after spending several years in prison during the Civil Rights movement, came to southern Connecticut.  He was incarcerated again for selling drugs, but an impassioned pleas to the Judge by Patsy saw him freed from both prison and the trade.  She influenced him to tell his story via artwork. 

I am so thankful Mr. Winters encouraged me to read this.  It is another book I wish our History classes could take a look at, or Art, or English--a Black man's life story lacking in our curricula, a local artist's work previously invisible, and the craft of memoir.   

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog are solely Mrs. W.'s.