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Chaser by Scott Taylor

Genre: Middle Grade Sci-fi

Rating: 3/5 stars

12-year-old Kennedy has been selected to accompany his father on a mission to another world. But that means he’ll have to leave his beloved dog, Chaser, behind. Unable to bear parting with his pet, Kennedy concocts a plan to sneak Chaser aboard the spaceship. His choice puts the entire mission at risk.

This story stressed me out more than a middle-grade book ought to stress out a 43-year-old woman. I was so worried that Kennedy was going to get his dog killed! Once they got to their destination, Kennedy and Chaser had some incredible adventures.

What I liked: I really appreciated the message that the truth needs to be told when you make a mistake. Kennedy knew he would be in a huge amount of trouble when everyone discovered what he had done, but with some encouragement from a caring adult, he was prepared to face the consequences of his actions.

What I didn’t like: The writing was a little juvenile for the intended audience. Kennedy sounded more like an 8-year-old than a 12-year-old. I also felt some of the plot points were a little weak. For example, they spent trillions of dollars to fly animals to this planet after doing research and sending drones to take samples, yet somehow missed that the planet already had wildlife on it. With that kind of technology, I just couldn’t believe they would miss something like that.

Read if you enjoy The Wild Robot, Have Space Suit, Will Travel, or The Last Kids on Earth.

As everyone knows, being a mother is one of the most difficult, brutal, heart wrenching adventures you can embark on. In his address “Because She Is a Mother” Jeffrey R. Holland said, “The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. The young years are often those when either husband or wife—or both—may still be in school or in those earliest and leanest stages of developing the husband’s breadwinning capacities. Finances fluctuate daily between low and nonexistent. The apartment is usually decorated in one of two smart designs—Deseret Industries provincial or early Mother Hubbard. The car, if there is one, runs on smooth tires and an empty tank. But with night feedings and night teethings, often the greatest challenge of all for a young mother is simply fatigue. Through these years, mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other time in life. It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes sometimes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island.”

With that unpleasant truth in mind, I wanted to help the mothers find ways to be happy and feel joy while in the trenches of motherhood, when you are feeling the most run down and worn out and the light at the end of the tunnel is just a pinprick in the distance of years.

I’ve made a list of ten things that have helped me feel joy even in the darkest times. Sister Barbara W. Winder said, “Each woman is responsible for her own happiness.” And I believe with my whole heart that happiness is a choice, but I’m not saying you should not feel grief, sorrow, exhaustion, or pain. Those feelings are necessary and unavoidable. However, following these steps will help you cope through such times and keep you from losing your way or your identity.

These are in no particular order except for the last two which are the most important.

1. Make friends. When I first moved into my neighborhood 15 years ago, I had a husband, a baby, and zero friends. I was fine with that. I’ve been introverted and shy my whole life, and I felt content to be alone. A year went by. My husband worked, and I stayed home with the baby. But my baby grew, and pretty soon he was toddling around the neighborhood. I would grab a book and follow him around while reading. In our neighborhood at the time, the women would take their kids outside and sit on the grass together, chatting while the kids played. My toddler saw these groups of women and kids and wanted to experience the fun. He marched over and joined in. So of course that required me to sit down with the moms and (gasp) talk to people. I didn’t recognize it at the time, because I was not lonely, but I needed those women. I needed them so much! We formed beautiful friendships that last to this day. They taught me about fashion and femininity and politics and decorating and so much more. They strengthened my testimony of the gospel as I watched them be righteous mothers. Those friends are an immeasurable treasure. You need to make friends, even if you don’t feel lonely.
2. Take care of your body and mind. Eat healthy foods, exercise, get enough sleep. I know that’s hard, particularly with newborns, but it’s impossible to feel joy as a mother when you’re exhausted. So don’t feel guilty for taking a nap instead of cleaning the bathroom. Take your medication, and if you don’t have any, but you feel like you might need some, go to the doctor and get checked. Sometimes you pray and pray and pray for that baby to come and then it does, and you just feel blah. Hormones can be vicious and do wild things to your body and mind. Sometimes you need medicine to manage your mental health after having a baby. Sometimes you need medicine to manage your pain. Sometimes you don’t need medicine at all, just a nap, a well-balanced meal, and a walk. It’s all good.
3. Continue to pursue your dreams and do things you enjoy. Your hobbies and interests and goals still matter. You might have to change your expectations about how to do them, and it might take longer than expected to finish projects or accomplish goals, but the joy you feel when you are successful is extremely important. Enos 1:12 states, “And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith.” He will do this for you, too. Heavenly Father wants you to be happy, and if having an art exhibit in a gallery is what you dream of, then he will help you accomplish it even while and often because you are a mother.
4. Do the housework. I didn’t want to have this as part of my list. I hate chores. They are so tedious and eternal. I know some of you weirdos enjoy cleaning and find it therapeutic, but I most definitely do not. Cleaning the bathroom is revolting, and it’s so frustrating to clean poop off the toilet only to find more poop on it the same day. But I really appreciate being able to use a clean toilet. And stress and tension is so much easier to manage in a clean house. So I made myself a schedule. I do laundry on Mondays, clean bathrooms on Tuesdays, Wednesday is a day off, I vacuum the basement on Thursdays, Friday is a day off, and I vacuum the upstairs on Saturday. Sunday is a day off. I give myself lots of days off. Only dishes get done daily. Kids clean their rooms on weekends to earn video games. I don’t dust, and if I want clean windows, walls, baseboards, and blinds, then I’ll have to buy new windows, walls, baseboards, and blinds, if you know what I mean. Find a system that works for you. Doctrine and Covenants Section 42:41 says, “And let all things be done in cleanliness before me.” A clean home empowers you to feel happy and successful.
5. Laugh and play and enjoy experiences together. This is probably one of the biggest sources of joy for me and my family. We love to get out of the house and do things together. For us, it’s camping, hiking, and swimming. We take tons of pictures. Exploring our beautiful planet helps me refresh and reset my brain. It’s more powerful than medicine. Find things that your family loves to do together and do them often. The unity that is forged on these outings is invaluable.
6. Don’t be afraid of sacrifice. When I was pregnant with our first child, I had a significant choice to make. I could take a six-week maternity leave and then go back to work. Or I could choose to stay home and raise my son. I felt very strongly that the right choice for me was to stay home. But it was a terrifying choice. At the time, I was the one paying the bills. My husband was in his last semester of college. He worked only on Saturdays because he was doing student teaching at the time and was not allowed to hold a real job. He earned about $200 per month. Just our rent was $475 per month. If I quit my job, we would have zero income after my maternity leave payments ended. We took a leap of faith and I quit working. We had insignificant income from February until the following September when my husband received his first paycheck as a teacher. I don’t know how it was possible that we managed to pay bills, feed our family, and buy a house during those seven months, except that we were blessed because we were faithful tithe payers and we put our trust in Heavenly Father. Living on a single income has not been easy, but I have been able to be with my children through every illness, injury, failure, and triumph. I’m not saying that all moms should be stay-at-home moms. I know that’s not possible. This is just an example of a sacrifice that we made for our family and the blessing we received for it. Doctrine and Covenants 97:8 says, “Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice—yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command—they are accepted of me.”
7. Focus on the positive and express gratitude. Social media makes it extremely easy to be exposed to all the filth in our world. It is fraught with criticism and complaints and conflict. Such negative attitudes are easy to adopt when we are bombarded with them constantly. Yet I have found that I can counteract the negative by strictly posting positive, funny content on my own social media pages. By restricting myself to positive posts, I force myself to focus on the brightness in my life instead of the darkness. Trials are not sidelined or ignored, but they lose their weight in the vast scheme of things when I am focused on all the awesome blessings I am receiving. And the coolest thing is that when we express gratitude for the things we have, Heavenly Father blesses us with even more. Sister Barbara W. Winder said, “Developing a cheerful disposition can permit an atmosphere wherein one’s spirit can be nurtured and encouraged to blossom and bear fruit. Being pessimistic and negative about our experiences will not enhance the quality of our lives. A determination to be of good cheer can help us and those around us to enjoy life more fully.”
8. Document joyful moments and celebrate accomplishments. Write down the funny things your children say and do. Reward yourself and your family members when you are successful. After a time of recording your beautiful moments, you’ll have volumes to look back on in the hard times so that you can laugh even in the midst of grief. Alma 37:2 says, “And I also command you that ye keep a record of this people, according as I have done, upon the plates of Nephi, and keep all these things sacred which I have kept, even as I have kept them; for it is for a wise purpose that they are kept.” Now this was obviously so that the Book of Mormon could exist for generations of people. But I believe that a record of your joyful moments is also sacred because it can restore those feelings when they have been forgotten.
9. Make your family your priority. Back in 2016, I was feeling extremely discouraged about my writing career to the point that I was considering giving it up. I could not dedicate the time to it that I wanted to, and I wasn’t making any progress. But writing was the one interest I had clung to throughout my years as a mother. Other hobbies and interests had been sacrificed along the way, and I felt that if I gave up writing too, then I would lose my identity. Instead, I told Heavenly Father that I would continue writing and striving to be a successful author, but that if my family’s needs and my writing came into conflict, then I would always choose my family first. That meant that if I was typing away on a story and five o’clock came along, then I would stop writing and make dinner. Or if a child interrupted me, then I would quit mid-sentence to fulfill that child’s needs. And guess what happened. I was hired as an acquisitions editor for a publishing company, a job I never dreamed of having but one that brings so much value to my life. I have also published two novels and some short stories since then. I am not able to produce at the rate that I would like to, but I have been incredibly blessed in ways that I never imagined possible. Jeffrey R. Holland said, “Yours is the work of salvation, and therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are and better than you have ever been as you try to make honest effort, however feeble you may sometimes feel that to be.”
10. Nourish your relationship with Jesus Christ. Go to church, read your scriptures, say your prayers. It really is that simple. Jeffrey R. Holland put it this way, “Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And ‘press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.’ You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master’s garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and sometimes weep over their responsibility as mothers, ‘Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.’ And it will make your children whole as well.” The dangers that face our children are worse and more numerous than ever. I often read the news and wonder how it’s possible to raise children in this environment and expect them to grow up to be good, wholesome, righteous people. It is terrifying to think of sending them out into this world. Elder Marion D. Hanks said, “Our strength and our peace and our happiness are in the Lord. In this world of trial and affliction, we have need of the comforting and qualifying assurances that come with faith in God and repentance and service to his cause. If we will acknowledge him, be thankful, serve him, love his children, and accept the responsibilities of being truly Christian, we will be happy, notwithstanding problems or troubles.” Following Christ will give us the capacity to experience infinite joy. There have been moments when I am in the midst of mothering chaos, making sure kids get dressed and fed before school, checking backpacks and homework, and then on the drive from my home to the school, the stress melts away and I am filled with inexplicable joy. I attribute that joy to striving to be righteous and follow Christ. Elder Marion D. Hanks said, “[Wo]men without God and the living Christ in their lives lack center, and thus lack joy they could have.”

Being a mother is the most exquisite, rewarding, and joyous adventure a woman can embark on. Despite the difficulties that you will face, I know that you can experience joy unlike anything else on this earth. All your efforts, even the tedious and repetitive chore of cleaning the toilet, can be energized with joy if you follow these suggestions and cling to the Savior like he’s a lifeboat in a dark and turmoiled ocean.

Crystal King by John M. Olsen (no relation)

Genre: YA Fantasy

Rating: 3/5 stars

With his father and older brother missing after a brutal attack kills the king, all the other barons, and their heirs, Gavin has to take a leadership role he neither wanted or expected. Using crystal magic to control animals, he fights to protect the kingdom from an invading army.

The plot of this novel was straightforward, nothing particularly surprised me. The most exciting reveal (for me) was when Gavin discovered the assassin his father employed. I thought that was really cool. Overall, the book felt a little dry, but I’m not a huge fan of war and politics fantasy, so that’s on me because it was well-written.

Gavin was portrayed as rebellious, yet he took over the leadership roles with ease. Though it was stated that he struggled, I never really felt it. The writing was good and easy to engage with. The setting and pace will keep you reading.

What I liked: The crystal magic system is awesome. A human can wear a crystal that is paired with one worn by an animal. The crystals form a link that allows the human to control the animal.

What I didn’t like: The minute details of leadership made the rest of the story drag along.

Read if you enjoy Brandon Sanderson, George R. R. Martin, or Megan Whelan Turner.

Devil in the Microscope by Ryan Decaria

Genre: YA science fiction

Rating: 4/5 stars

Anika has been on the run her whole life, all fifteen years, and she’s sick of it. When opportunity knocks, she jumps at the chance to meet her father. But life with him isn’t as charming as she’d hoped. It turns out that in a town full of mad scientists, Anika’s father is the maddest.

Anika wasn’t a lonesome cowboy wandering the range, but her longing for home was the central theme of this book. She pursued a stable home for her friends even when she couldn’t obtain it for herself. I enjoyed reading such an old trope presented in a teen science fiction.

What I liked: I loved how the villain, Anika’s father, was so likeable. He’d make pancakes for breakfast and interact with Anika like a sweet dad should, and then he’d run off to hunt down and kill a rogue science experiment. I could never decide if he was truly evil, and I liked that uncertainty.

What I didn’t like: For some reason, this read like a middle grade book instead of YA, so every time the YA content appeared, it was startling and disengaged me from the story. It may have been the repetitive sentence structure (Anika did this. Blake did that. Billie did this. Claire did that.) There were a few typos I noticed that should have been fixed in proofreading as well.

Dream Breaker by Jason King

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars

Dareth has been hired to protect the High Priest from assassination. But while refilling his magical reserves, the assassin confronts him, and Dareth learns that the religion and politics he believes in may be corrupted.

This story was not long enough! I loved the characters and the magic system and the setting. It was all fantastic, and I’d really enjoy a full-length novel in this world.

What I liked: The textbook Dareth read while studying his magic kept inserting explanatory lines into his thoughts. It was amusing.

What I didn’t like: The beginning of the story is a great big info dump about the magic system, so it was kind of a slog to get to the interesting part. The cover isn’t great because it conveys absolutely nothing about the story.

Read if you enjoy short stories, Brandon Sanderson, Terry Brooks, or Weis and Hickman.

Schism by James Wymore

Genre: Science fiction with some fantasy and steampunk elements

Rating: 4/5 stars

While transporting spices, Jake’s airship is attacked. In order to save his ship from the curse placed upon it, Jake must negotiate for peace between two warring factions. If he’s successful, he could win safety and stability for himself and his girlfriend, but if he loses, he’d have to give up his precious airship. If he loses his airship, he loses his livelihood, and most likely his life.

Wymore plunged into the action and hooked me right away. The writing and setting felt fresh. I could have easily spent more time in this world and would have preferred a full-length novel.

What I liked: The setting is a different planet that does not rotate, so the only liveable area is the zone between the too hot and too cold sides. People live inside caves that are down in cracks and chasms. It was very unique.

What I didn’t like: The plot felt rushed. Elements of the story were introduced without much explanation or build-up. The conclusion felt too easy.

I recommend this book for anyone 13 and older. Read if you enjoy Brandon Sanderson, Firefly (TV show), Final Fantasy RPGs, or Dune.

Thomas Destiny by Jason King and Jon Grundvig

Genre: MG contemporary fantasy

Rating: 3/5 stars

While on a Scout camping trip, Thomas accidentally releases a demon from its prison and then gets sucked into another dimension while in pursuit of it. To get back home, Thomas must embark on a journey to find a shard of creation, relying on a ragtag group of unusual friends to help him along the way.

This is a really fun, light-hearted read with nonstop action and a lot of banter. I am not the intended audience, so Thomas Destiny didn’t keep me engaged, but I know my tween boys would love it.

What I liked: I love a good portal fantasy! The supporting characters are very unique: a druid who chronically lies, a baby giant, a ghost-shaped green blob, and a teen wizard. The cover art is fantastic.

What I didn’t like: This book felt bizarre and rambling and dream-like. Similar to when I read Alice in Wonderland, I felt like I needed to be high on opium to truly enjoy it. Sometimes the plot felt shallow and the emotions didn’t hit as hard as they should have because the comedic asides from the narrator interrupted powerful moments. The story doesn’t have a very satisfying conclusion.

I recommend this book for boys from ages 10-13. (I’m sure some girls would like it too, but there are zero female characters besides Thomas’ mom who is left behind in the opening pages.) Read if you enjoy Alice in Wonderland, Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, or the Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale.

The seeds for this story were planted in my childhood. I grew up in Alaska, surrounded by the ancestral lands of the Ahtna Athabascan people. While attending school with Ahtna classmates and working for the village governments after college, my respect for the Ahtna people and their culture grew.

When a village family fell into crisis, my parents chose to foster and then adopt the four children. These four children became my siblings: by choice, by law, and by love. I love them as fiercely as if they were siblings by blood.

My adopted brothers and sisters have a dark past, and I found myself compelled to demonstrate the love I have for them, our childhood homeland, and their people. However, Ahtna Athabascan mythology and history is not mine to tell, because I do not share their heritage.

Instead, I wrote a story about a people that are like the Ahtna people. It is deliberately
inaccurate. The Ahtna are very private about their myths and culture. I considered making the people in my story white to match my own skin color, but to me, white-washing the characters lacked authenticity. To be genuine, the characters in this story had to have brown skin.

This book is a story about people that could have been. It is entirely fiction. I researched the history of the setting to create believable details, but all of the characters and their villages were made up within my own head.

In today’s society, authors are discouraged from writing about races with which they do not share a bloodline. Social media mobs have attacked authors who have broken this perceived rule, causing severe damage to what might have been promising careers. With the possibility of this kind of censure hanging over me, one might ask why I wrote this book.

My skin is white. The Native American blood in my veins is so diluted that it hardly counts.

But imagination gives humanity the power of empathy, to learn by observation and education instead of by our own experience. My skin does not have to be brown for me to empathize with marginalized people. It is my hope that people of all skin colors can find beauty within these pages. I hope that my readers can feel the love I feel for my two brothers and my two sisters who do not look like me.

My favorite point of view to write in is first person. No other POV can provide such deep immersion into a character. All types of third person POV filter the character’s experiences through the eyes of an observer. In first person POV, the reader gets to assume the character’s identity, feel their emotions, and live their life. Using first person can be particularly tricky, so I’m going to give you some tips on how to strengthen your writing in this POV.

First, edit out ‘I’, ‘me’, and ‘my’ as much as you possibly can. This seems contradictory, but I promise it’s going to help. Here’s an example of bad writing pulled from the scribblings of Yours Truly:

“I used my eyes, ears, and nose to scour the estranged landscape for any threat to me.”

It’s is better written like this:

“Using all five senses, I examined the estranged landscape for any threat.”

This next example uses I four times in a single sentence.

“I listened and the more I listened the more I was convinced that, not only was the noise produced by something alive, but it came from within the very car I crouched against.”

It can be cut down to one I like this:

“The minutes crept by while the noise continued, proving that something alive occupied the very car I crouched against.”

Doing this for entire paragraphs is going to make your first person POV sound more mature.

Second, do not use I heard, I saw, I noticed, I realized, I felt, I thought, etc. The properties of this POV make these things understood, so you don’t have to specify who saw, heard, etc. Instead of writing, “I thought the man looked exhausted,” write, “The man looked exhausted.” We know who is looking at him and what he is thinking because we are already in the POV character’s head.

Third, do not begin every sentence or paragraph with I. Varying your sentence and paragraph structure to avoid this will make your writing smoother and more pleasant to read.

I didn’t watch the presidential debate, because I knew it would turn out to be exactly what it was: an embarrassing shouting match between two angry, geriatric men who are both greedy for power, money, and control. I am intensely, INTENSELY disillusioned with politics. My vote does not count. I don’t know if it ever has. Not voting is not an option though, so I am forced to piddle away my vote on a candidate who has no chance of winning the election.

I have been offered two piles of poop to eat for dinner. One is from a carnivore. One is from an herbivore. Everyone I know is demanding that I eat one of the piles, but I refuse, because THEY ARE BOTH POOP!

How I long for the average joe to be elected to office.

Me: Hey, Beth Doe! I’ve noticed that you are a very wise person, but you are also extremely kind. I think you should run for president.

Beth Doe: No, thank you! LOL! I’d rather grow kumquats and collect trilobites.

(Beth Doe gets elected president because other people have noticed the same thing.)

Beth Doe: Oh, very well. I’ll do it because I love my country and it’s my duty, but I’m going back to kumquats and trilobites as soon as my term is over.

So how do I make a difference in a country whose government is so far beyond my influence?

Sitting in bed, watching the fan spin quietly overhead, the peace of home floods over me and I have my answer. I begin in the cradle.

This house is a shelter from the chaos raging in the world outside its walls. It is brimming with love and happiness. In here, I can teach my children to be good and kind spouses, siblings, and parents. I can show them the strength of family, how to be a neighbor, and how to improve a community by serving its citizens. Within these walls, I can teach them critical thinking skills and give them the ability to form their own opinions instead of following the masses. They can practice compromising, listening to opposing views, and researching information to find truth. In time, they can pass those skills on to their own children.

So here I cast my vote, where it matters, within my own family. I cannot control or even effect what is going on out there in the United States of America, or inside the pompous White House, or in the arrogant chambers of Congress. But I CAN make a difference in this humble home.