IndieReader Discovery Awards 2024 Entrants
Added as our reviewers read them, find the latest verdicts for the 2024 IndieReader Discovery Award entrants, leading up to the big winner announcement in June!
BRUSH by Penn Anderson unfolds the separate stories of Jo Martin, a florist making a fresh start in Wisconsin, and Chris Schwarz, a tech entrepreneur who is struggling despite his outwardly successful appearance. However, when he is given a mysterious paintbrush, it leads to a spellbinding journey of self-discovery that sees Chris’s path cross briefly but intriguingly with Jo’s. Told through dual perspectives and timelines, BRUSH is an enchanting and heartfelt novel that is subtly woven with myth, magic, and tentative threads of symbolism. Anderson has taken inspiration from folktales, artistry, and nature’s own palette to produce a poignant and captivating story.
THE PEPPERED SKY by Sarah Doran introduces kids and their caregivers to paratroopers, military planes, and drop zones. Colorful illustrations and rhythmic text bring this simple story to life, with an end discussion and craft instructions. THE PEPPERED SKY is a reminder that behind every military man or woman is a family who loves them, and a nation grateful for their service.
Two brothers attempt to make money from a time machine they stumble upon that ends up fueling the plans of an evil mastermind who wants to control time travel. The brothers embark on an adventure to rectify their mistakes, but it is not without a great sacrifice. TIME STORY by W.W. Marplot is a thrilling young adult science fiction story and a captivating page turner with a mind-bending plot.
Joanna Rakowski’s memoir CHASING THE DAYLIGHT details the author’s journey from ballerina to battalion solider, after she emigrated from her native Poland to the United States with her American husband. Rakowski details the challenges in the different levels of basic training, and, later, in Officer Candidate School, and how they affected her physically, psychologically, and emotionally. In addition to learning military terminology in English, she also faced misogyny and the discrimination so many of her fellow ESL recruits faced. How she handled it all, where she triumphed, where she fell short and regrouped to try again, makes an engrossing tale.
Family conflicts and dark secrets are just a couple of the dramatic elements woven into SHE DIED THEN SHOWED ME by Samar Reine, part one of the Pioneer Ranch Saga. Expecting to inherit wealth from her family’s estate but finding incurred debts outweighing any assets, a professional art restorer sets out to learn the truth behind her artist-mother’s own paintings. Readers may enjoy this path of perseverance and self-discovery.
A post-apocalyptic tale where most humans have mutated into beings with corroding flesh, Costi Gurgu’s GREEN CORROSION captivates with political power struggles and multiple conspiracy schemes, while somehow providing a hint of romance to juxtapose the gruesome details throughout the book.
PL Bandy’s REHABIT YOUR LIFE is the book to hand to all recent college graduates, to those entering married life, even those at different stages of experience. Why? Because the good doctor has painstakingly and carefully documented six different aspects of life, from fitness and smartness to happiness and change, showing the habit, its impact (most notably, in terms of cost, effort, and time), and starting steps to take. All are well referenced and accepted by the healthcare community; what’s different is her focus on making good habits stick. Easy reading, powerful conclusions.
If there’s one thing remember from reading BIOMECHANICS OF YOUR BODY, a thoroughly researched and illustrated book of movement and muscles, it’s this sentence: “The body was made to move.” With that introduction, personal trainer and author Tracy L. Markley streamlines the kind of information needed when talking with a doctor, working with a physical therapist or figuring out what might be wrong. Replete with color or black and white illustrations of muscles and movements and helpful definitions that will enable individuals–from kids to seniors–to better understand body movement.
Batya Casper’s ELECTRA takes a deep dive into one of the most enduring female archetypes in the history of drama. Her thesis is that Electra’s strength as a woman developed as a manifestation of the psychosexual fears of male playwrights in ancient Greece, and she also brings up examples of medieval and modern twists on the formula. From Sophocles to Shakespeare, from Eliot to Pound, there’s a recurring element of misanthropy in all these creators, an element worth studying to better understand these creative psyches.
Bright colors, sharp lines, and a passel of “new” words bring this charming tale to life, as CATE AND THE GARDEN BANDITS by Betsy Coffeen, (illustrated by Ginger Seehafer) engages young readers in a flowering mystery. Highlighted with dynamic illustrations, the story is laid out in short, descriptive sentences. Best suited for elementary-aged schoolchildren, the tale encourages youngsters on a path of discovery.
Taking control of life isn’t always a simple task, sometimes you need a little help along the way; BEEP! BEEP! GET OUT OF MY WAY (by Catherine Demonte provides guidance for living a dream life. Each chapter has a separate assignment, meant to help readers identify their own struggles and make a workable game plan. With inspiration and practical advice, BEEP! BEEP! is a path to living your best life.
INTERGALACTIC SPACE FORCE (The Cherub Threat) is written and narrated by Chad Robert Morgan in the intentional manner to bring his characters alive that arguably only a writer can. The content can at times be sexual and profane (therefore not suitable for a family car journey) but his attention to character descriptions, particularly physical, is intricate and well done. A particular joy to the listener is Morgan’s innovative vocabulary in this alien adventure.
Young readers catch a glimpse of life at night for nocturnal animals in STORY MONSTER’S S.T.E.A.M. CHRONICLES (Book One, Night Watchers) written by Conrad J. Storad, and illustrated by Jeff Yesh. Mixing true facts with fictional storytelling, the book presents nature is an informational and entertaining way. With an activity guide to help keep track of lessons learned, “NOCTURNAL” is a simple yet educational choice for a story before your little one’s bedtime.
Inspired by their families’ experiences, Constance Hays and Kent Matsumotos expertly weave fact and fiction in this accomplished and haunting narrative that begins in 1939 and unfolds the parallel stories of Japanese Americans, Ruby Ishimaru from Hawaii, and Koji Matsuo in Hiroshima. As Pearl Harbor is bombed and America enters WWII, the consequences for Ruby and Koji are devastating. When fate causes their paths to cross in 1950, the attraction between the two is undeniable, but so are the profoundly traumatic effects of the war they both survived. OF WHITE ASHES is a beautifully written, intense, and powerful novel that deserves to a be classic.
A captivating personal account about turning challenges into superpowers, BIPOLAR: A Gift of Thorns by Dale Zurawski details the author’s struggle with bipolar disorder through her early adulthood and her roller-coaster journey to defeating the illness in her later years. Zurawski takes readers on an emotionally bumpy ride through her childhood–living with her four siblings under the guidance of a calm and loving mother, and a strict and sometimes physically abusive father from whom she may have inherited the condition.
Deborah Morgan writes of unwavering hope despite the odds stacked against emancipated 16-year-old Robyn. IMAGINE LIVING takes the reader to 1980s Liverpool, as life circumstances throw adversity after adversity at this teen trying to eke out her life. It is a mesmerizing tale of heartbreak, determination, and self-reliance that cheers on the tenacious human spirit.
IN DOUBTFUL TASTE, a collection of new and selected poems from Don Behrend, is accessible to all readers, even those who don’t make a habit of reading poetry. Full of observations about life – both serious and silly – on topics ranging from the pandemic to dating in the modern world, the author takes the reader on a breezy, sometimes cheeky, journey.
Digging through childhood trauma is a personal journey, but one that may be necessary to have a strong and fulfilling future life. In SHEDDING LIES (by Dr. Anne Katona Linn, the author shares her story of dealing with, and moving past, destructive behaviors as she became an adult. Readers may see similarities in their own lives, and learn ways to change reactive behaviors.