Gabriela and The Widow

Genre: Fiction

Pages: Paper Back

Publisher: Coffee Town Press

Reviewer: Virginia Armstrong

JAGS: 5

Gabriela andThe Widow.  The story begins with Gabriela, a fourteen-year-old Mixteca from Mexico, as she and her mother journey on foot through the war-torn country.  (Okay, for those of you like me, who do not know what Mixteca means, Wikipedia defines it as indigenous Mesoamerican peoples inhabiting the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla).  After her mother passes away, Gabriela finds herself lost and alone without anyone to tell her what to do.  The next few years takes you through her life as she goes from one despicable situation to the next until she finally arrives in El Norte.

Enter the Widow.  La Viuda is an eccentric ninety-two year old woman desperately trying to capture her past on paper.  Having saved everything from hair and nail clippings to letters and photos, she is determined to put together “The List”.  

Together, Gabriela and La Viuda work daily on “The List”, the widow traveling down memory lane as Gabriela records the details.   Life, to La Viuda, is filled with nothing but betrayal and deception.  As she retells her stories, Gabriela begins to share in the memories, experiencing them as if they were her own. After La Viuda ninety-third birthday, the widow passes away, leaving her estate to Gabriela.  Having the means to do whatever she desires, Gabriela seeks revenge on all those who have hurt her.

I found Gabrielaand The Widow to be well written, giving a terrific sense for the characters and locations.  I particularly did not like this book as it went against my own personal beliefs.  That does not mean to say others will not enjoy it.   As for content, I felt it lacked substance, the entire story essentially about past acts of sex and betrayal, and males being nothing more than a mistake. Throughout the book, Gabriela and the Widow communicate in different languages, sometimes leaving the reader out of the conversation.  The ending comes as a twisted surprise, Gabriela changing from an innocent girl to a vengeful warrior inflicting pain on those who have harmed her.  Again, the book was well written, putting the reader right there in the room with the characters.

The Woman on Pritchard Street by JD Young

Genre: Fiction

Pages: Paper Back

Publisher: Young Lions At The Gate

Reviewer: Virginia Armstrong

JAGS: 5

The Woman on Pritchard Street, a pseudo werewolf political thriller, tells the story of Simon Gautreaux, a journalist by trade, as he goes on a quest to the find the hidden truth in an all-consuming web of darkness.  Hired as a private investigator by a nameless benefactor, Simon travels to his hometown in Georgia, only to find the woman he is investigating is his long lost love, Grace, who is in dire need of his help. 

 Slaying demons from Hell, Simon brings Grace back to D.C. with him only to learn his benefactor is responsible for all the brutal attacks occurring in Georgia and D.C.  Further probing unveils dark secrets concerning key players throughout D.C. as well as across the globe-secrets that even he is not immune to. With the puzzle unraveling, Simon soon realizes his own life has a hidden past.  Traveling to Budapest to seek out answers, he reunites with his powerful grandparents, who bestow upon him all that he needs to wage war back in D.C.

 As for heroic attributes, Simon drank a little too much, had a raging temper and made one too many derisive comments.  He also pigeonholed all the folk in his hometown as uneducated, dirty and apathetic. The emotions portrayed were lax concerning the slayings and Grace’s death, but the kicker was when Simon set loose his dog on another character. The time spent in Budapest had the reader perking up, but the story crashed again on return to D.C.

The Woman on Pritchard Street has a good story line and gives the reader a few unexpected laughs, but lacks a certain depth. As Simon states, everything fall into his lap a little too easily. With that said, it seemed the author is allowed less effort into the telling of the story.  A definite summer read for those pool side days!