Book Review: Snake in the Grass, a Fina Mendoza Mystery

Snake in the Grass: A Fina Mendoza Mystery, by Kitty Felde (Chesapeake Press, 2025, 287pp, $11.90)

Ten-year-old Fina now lives with her dad (and 16-year-old sister and grandmother) in Washington, DC, since her mother passed away. Her father is a member of Congress from California which gives author Kitty Felde plenty of information for another book in the Fina Mendoza mystery series (numbeer 3).

I had to read this book twice, I learned so much more the second time around about the House, about the best places to snack (according to a 10 yo), about which Senators and Representatives had dogs!

Snake in the Grass, Or Wolf in Sheep's Closing?

Readers not familiar with the phrase, snake in the grass, will learn it (the same as 'sheep in wolf's clothing') and debate among themselves if the snake phrase should have been the title of the book. On one hand, the wolf phrase is better known but less prone to being portrayed in a book about 'real life.'

Set in contemporary times (maybe this year), author Kitty Felde simply doesn't mention the political party of our starring family or any of the other characters, making it fun to guess their real names and parties. And not too hard, either.

Basically every page (every paragraph?) has the opportunity for elementary school age children to learn about how our government operates. But still, the emphasis is on the plot - Fina solves another capital mystery aided and abetted by Senator Something (probably a golden retriever and the cover dog), this one about a snake in a gym bag that bites a Congressman, an Independent (while our starring family is Democratic, no doubt).

Who placed the snake in the bag and why? Is this the beginning of another political war between the two parties with a girl and a dog in the middle? Read it to find out!

A fast-paced story, Snake in the Grass can easily be read in almost one sitting. The characters are a real family and (drum roll, please!) did you know that Congress is populated with dogs, like Senator Something, my favorite? Fina walks him after school for 5$ so the people who make DC work know her. Well.

Look carefully at the cover and you will see, besides Senator Something, a snake! 

Book Review: Scabmuggers (OT)(A Novel)

Scabmuggers: A Novel, by Yvonne Martinez (She Writes Press, $17.99, 110pp, 2025)

Based on a true story, Scabmuggers is like no other book you have read. It's fast reading, composed primarily of dialogue and covers many subjects from Harvard to Geisha Girls to unions.

The protagonist and narrator, Simone from Seattle, is selected to attend a four-month course at Harvard on unions. Students come from all over the world (Japan, Australia, etc.) and the curriculum is fascinating - a course I would love to take myself.

Attendees take up sides when one woman (a plant?) is the recipient of unwanted attention from a male student. The 'sides' continue until graduation when class speakers are chosen, then unchosen, then chosen once more.

Scabmuggers is easy reading if you can remember all the students' names (at lease 16 are mentioned) and which side they are on. Both the subject matter and the writing style are contemporary, leading this reader to get lost at times since she has not kept up with the latest lingo.

Scabmuggers is well-organized and follows attendees throughout the course from day one to graduation, including weekends, and rises to a climax when the graduation speaker is announced. At times, the reader will have to read slowly, or get lost, but that is fine: it is a good test and if you fail, you realize it and simply back up and reread a few sentences.

Although this reader has never been to Harvard, the description of the campus in winter and the interiors of centuries-old buildings seems historical, traditional and even inspirational.

Book Review: The Black Sea Whale: A Beacon in the Sea of Troubles (OT)

The Black Sea Whale: A Beacon in the Sea of Troubles, by The Froms (The Magazine Cafe, 2026, 121pp, $25)

A lovely, heavy, literary magazine, a fictional collection of true stories based on current life in Ukraine, this is the third issue and contains four selections. More like a small book with simply gorgeous illustrations, Issue Number 3 contains examples of brilliant writing.

From villages and cities, academics and peasants, young and old, the reader gets a flavor of what living abroad is like for both the resident and the foreigner. And The Black Sea Whale will bring back memories of when the reader was not a tourist but someone living abroad.

Mistaken for a book about sea life at first, Whale is more than just symbolic as "a beacon in a sea of troubles." The characters are real, and though some (all right, many) leave town one after another, due to the gravity of the situation, others stay and survive because they understand the rules of the game.

The prose is lilting, the stories move along, with pictures in the reader's mind or depicted by the illustrators. One can read a story in one sitting or pause and come back without missing a beat. And the reader just may pay more attention to new about Ukraine or even search for articles on the war in the media.

Marichka Melnyk writes about accepting graft in the police world while Mace describes city life and Paddington even appears on page 11!

Book Review: Beyond the Politics of Contempt (OT) (Practical Steps to Buiild Positive Relationships in Divided Times)

Beyond the Politics of Contempt (Practical Steps to Buiild Positive Relationships in Divided Times), by Doug Teschner, Beth Malow and Becky Robinson (Together Across Differences, 302pp,, 2025, $19.95)

What a timely book to help heal America as she continues on the road to becoming more and more divided into silos. The cover illustrates that point with two groups of people - one blue and one red, separated by nothing but empty space. The title appears in red though I would put some words in blue, too.

Like the Dummies books or Idiot's guides that are elementary but excellent, the three authors of Beyond the Politics of Contempt have produced a bookful of ideas, explanations, and helpful hints, via boxed text and cute little figures. I believe Doug Teschner, Beth Malow and Becky Robinson have co-written a section then added their own anecdotes to make the 'lessons' on leadership more memorable - and it works. In addition, each chapter ends with additional questions, For Further Thought. The writing is easy to follow (perhaps due to simple illustrations) and short ideas flow into others. One appendix even has a checklist, a pathway to follow to help our nation heal.

The authors met in Braver Angels, "a citizens' organization uniting red and blue Americans in a working alliance to depolarize America."

The authors discuss a graphic that is rather like a Johari Window (with Urgent and Important axes) but do not show the graphic itself so if the reader is not familiar with it, it slides by him. The reader is helped to remember COVID, and learns concepts like healthy and unhealthy conflict, how major decisions, if gone the other way, would result in different paths, and how we tend to gather round us, those who are like us.

This is a book that could very well help to change the world by starting with the individual.

Book Review: Stand Up, Speak Up (OT) (How survivors created a movement to end sexual violence)

Stand Up, Speak Up (How survivors created a movement to end sexual violence), by Tim Lennon (self-published by Tim Lennon, 2025, $24, 320pp)

My first question was why was a man writing a book about sexual abuse/violence but it didn't take long (though I was embarrassed) to remember that men can be sexually abused too. It happened to author Tim Lennon - by a Catholic priest - when he was just a child. Can you imagine holding that inside you for many years?

Stand Up, Speak Out is not too long a book but it seems long because it is more of a text book, a complete history, replete with all the information you might need to become involved - from subject matter details to how one person got a start in a movement, and grew in his recovery as a result. Highly referenced, it contains 33 pages of organizations that might help, as well as 20 pages, an entire chapter, on politics (related laws, e.g.)

Helpful also are the headings, especially when reviewing topics later rather than reviewing page after page straight through (though that, too). The Preface is the most prose-like part in that it shows Lennon's ability to use triplets as a good writing tool:"step forward, stand up, speak up"; "empower the victim, challenge the powerful, and raise social awareness"; "break free of past domination, take action, and create a world free of sexual abuse."

Stand Up, Fight Back

I look at all parts of a book and ask friends and colleagues and ask what they think (mostly titles and covers), from the index to the front cover. We noticed the cover font for Stand Up is masculine while the font for Speak Up is feminine. Hmmmmmm. Wonder what that means. If anything.

One way to recover from a tragedy or crime, even if or especially if unreported, is to become an activist, telling your story, helping others, with an organization behind you. This is what the author did, and began his book with his story, to grab your attention and try to have you follow his road to recovery by sharing it.

It's All Here

From historical days to how the author helped himself recover by volunteering in recovery organizations. From unknowns centuries ago to people we know, like Larry Nassar, Bill Cosby, R. Kelly, members of the Supreme Court, Anita Hill. Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstien, Jerry Sandusky, and Joe Paterno, and "Me, too!" - even Trump - and organizations like the Catholic church, colleges and universities, and the military. And focusing on the experiences of author Tim Lennon especially. A very necessary book for a certain group of people. 

Book Review: Space Shock (OT)(18 Threats that Will Define Space Power)

Space Shock (18 Threats that Will Define Space Power), by Peter Garretson and Richard Harrison (Armin Lear Press, $24.95, 2025, 330pp)

                                                            

Space Shock is one book whose title says it all: "18 threats that will define space power." I leave it up to the reader to make the connection between the title and the text, however.

Written by two subject matter experts (SMEs) rather than reporters or journalists, Space Shock seems to be an expanded engineering document - very well organized.

Written for a high-level expert audience, the book seems long but isn't, because of the comfortable font size and spacing. Each chapter has a couple of illustrations (not captioned, just plopped in) that, if in color, would be worthy of being studied as works of art.

I had some difficulty with the index, though - there could have been better spacing and slightly smaller font size for ease of finding a topic. Loved the chapter summaries and recommendations, however, though a shorter version in the chapters' first words would tell the reader what to look for as well and focus his attention. And again, each chapter/senario has the same methodology so planning and comparisons are easier and more valuable.

We are at the beginning of another couple of decades of revived interest in space, particularly by China and Russia, so to help in planning, Space Shock provides a synopsis of scenarios with their discussion participants named - very helpful for high-level directors of space programs. Even if a scenario materializes, it would be years in the future, with different personnel in key positions: however, those personnel would have similar backgrounds and their discussion 'errors' committed now might be the same as in the future. Therefore, a critique of those role plays, if analyzed, would serve their purpose well.

Book Review: Confronting the Politics of Gridlock (OT)(Revisiting the Founding Visions in Search of Solutions)

Confronting the Politics of Gridlock (Revisiting the Founding Visions in Search of Solutions), by Steven Ludd (Distinction Press, 2025, $19.99, 285pp)

Confronting the Politics of Gridlock (Revisiting the Founding Visions in Search of Solutions) would be a good choice for an undergraduate seminar in history or contemporary politics. It iis not a hard book to read but the subject matter is detailed and requires a wide base of knowledge to get the best understanding of the subject.

The introduction describes each chapter which is very helpful to refer back to even if nothing sticks the first time through. Chapter 1 sets the stage and within it lies the job description of each of the three parts of our government - the judicial, the legislative and the executive. The reader may refer back to this chapter often.

Rather new terms include the "political elite" and congressional paralysis, the latter being quite illustrative.

My favorite chapter, the fourth, focused on the Fourth Estate, the press. Author Steven Ludd tells us that the dearth of objective reporting lately is caused by the need for newspapers to make a 'financial' living which has been the case for a long time - this book's seminar students might debate whether or not the demise of newspapers and subsequent rise of other forms of media will change this.

Though mentioned in chapter four, 'gridlock' might have been given more attention since it also appears in the title and is such an optical term. The front cover, depicting the signing of our Constituation shows the reader that history will play a large role, on many pages of Gridlock.