- Now Online
Triad Publishing Group
Rating: 5 Stars
Tangled Minds is a masterpiece. In the fine tradition of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, Yvonne Mason leads the reader through the twisted and tangled lives of Brianna Van Pelt and her son, Josh, thrusting us into a Pygmalion dilemma that has consumed scholars for decades. Is there such a thing as a "bad seed", an individual whose feet are placed upon a path of crime and evil almost from the beginning? If the circumstances of one's birth or the choices one makes cannot be overcome with love, patience and the rarely grasped opportunity for redemption, what chance is there for any of us?
Thwarted by her parents' tough love, seventeen-year-old, single mother, Brianna, allows herself to be drawn into a new world glittering with easy money and false promises, accepting that proposition that no good girl ever should. With her young son, Josh, in tow, she dazzles with new prosperity, fulfilling the fantasies of not only her glorified pimp, Ken Morgan, but those of a judge and a host of depraved, desperate men in their wake. Ms. Mason's familiarity with the legal system and law enforcement showed through clearly in several well orchestrated scenes, as the long arm of the law repeatedly tried to halt the ring of drugs and prostitution and Brianna and her son fled for the safety of the mountains.
Ms. Mason's understanding of mountain people was stellar. These simple folk protect their own with fierce loyalty and Brianna and Josh find shelter beneath their net of poverty, love, moonshine and madness. Here, transgressors simply disappear, never to be heard from again and the mountains hold their secrets close to their chests as nature smooths the pothole's dark waters and envelops the hills in song and greenery. Even murder seems somehow justified in a place such as this, but the twisted and convoluted logic of its inhabitants finds no sympathetic ear in the outside world and Josh must ultimately face the consequences of his actions. And yet, within this story, there lies hope.
In Hannah and Miss Amy, we see the opposing force of love, the light of goodness that can blaze through even the meanest dark, if only one has the courage to reach for it. Fragile yet steadfast, this gentler emotion finally reaches even Brianna, a woman some would have classified beyond redemption. In love's golden glow, we find hope, hope for Brianna and Josh and perhaps even for ourselves, as well.
Tangled Minds should be required reading for every high school senior or college freshman, although its audience is clearly much wider. Life is, indeed, full of choices and consequences. An individual may be able to run fast and far, but in the end, he cannot outrun the ultimate judge - himself. True redemption begins from within. May love's tiny flame light the way as we reconcile our past, lift our face into the winds of change and set our feet once more upon the good road.
An excellent read!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pop Humor Book to Celebrate 25 Celebrities with "High-Class 'Stache"
Hogan makes the cut; RVD comments With "The Book of 'Bert': High-Class Stars with Some High-Class 'Stache," authors Jon Chattman and Rich Tarantino will do for mustaches what The Darwin Awards did for human idiocy and College Humor did for, well, college humor.
The book, whose term "bert" was originally inspired by an inside joke about Burt Reynolds' polarizing facial trademark and the authors' shared acquaintance by that name, will be released by TRIAD Publishing Group on April 1. Hulk Hogan is among the talents discussed in "The Book of Bert," a hilarious romp through mustache history and a fascinating compendium of great men who have worn their great mustaches like badges.
The book features 25 different, well-known personalities (beautifully illustrated by Brett Underhill) profiled and ranked on their mustache integrity. The book also features related sidebars, countdown lists including "Top WrestleMania Mustaches" and top wrestlers with mustaches - Rick Rude anyone?
Various celebrities from RVD to Artie Lange of The Howard Stern Show also weigh in on mustache importance throughout the years. John Oates, the former mustachioed music legend of pop duo Hall & Oates, lends the "The Book of Bert" its foreword, and it's riveting. "From every angle, in every photograph, bopping through every silly 80s MTV moment, my mustache became my marquis until I could not distinguish between it and me," Oates recalls.
Men with mustaches clearly have more character above their upper lip than in their entire body. This is their story, and the timing for "The Book of Bert" couldn't be more perfect. "Soup straining reads like 'The Book of Bert,' is helping the mustache experience a modern-day renaissance after cookie dusters nearly disappeared from existence at the tail end of the 1970s," said Aaron Perlut, executive director of the American Mustache Institute, considered the bravest organization in the history of mankind." Agreeing with that, Chattman, a pop culture mustache expert who runs the entertainment humor site thecheappop.com, said, "This book is very relevant with the reemergence of the mustache from the likes of Borat, 'My Name is Earl's' Jason Lee, and The Killers' Brandon Flowers. Heck, even Oscar winner 'No Country for Old Men' sports a fuzz-friendly Josh Brolin in the lead." He added: "The book is for them, and anyone who ever wanted to grow a mustache, but was scared of the ramifications or grew one and didn't care what society had to say about it." Adding to that, Tarantino, a nursery school teacher who also helped get thecheappop.com off the ground, said, "The Book of Bert is the first of its kind, this book will inspire you to grow a mustache, shave it and than grow it again, it's that good."
Further the mustache fad by picking up your copy today. Read the book The Today Show's Meredith Vieira declares, "I am personally offended by this book because my mustache wasn't included. However, I endorse it because I am, and always will be, a huge fan of Tom Selleck's stache."
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