Get Coding 2 - A Review

Get Coding 2 

by

David Whitney

This book is aimed at the middle school child who wants a gentle introduction to coding. It accomplishes that goal - but little else. The writing style is suitable for the child in 5th through 8th grade. It may be a bit much for younger children (unless very talented). Older teens might feel like they are being talked down to. Some adults may find the presentation helpful (this reader did) if they can overlook the obvious tone of the book aimed at younger readers.

All the code needed to complete the five projects discussed in the book are included in the book and online. The reader could easily just copy and paste the code if they are visual learners. As a tactile learner, this reader found it better to actually type in the code presented in the book.

Basic descriptions are given for the formats of each statement, but few details are given for the meaning behind the statements. To truly understand the language, the student will need another resource or a knowledgeable instructor. I first ran into this with project 1 when trying to create a tic-tac-toe board on screen. For example, the layout is created using HTML and CSS. The need for a second style statement (see page 29) to create three rows of boxes of three boxes is still not clear to me. Also, the browser gave different output than shown in the text before adding the second style (the book has nine horizontal boxes, Chrome produced nine vertical boxes). Adding the second style statement corrected the problem - but it left me confused.

The book is great for playing around with code, but not for learning to code. I would give the book 3-½ stars, but will round up to four, given the book’s intended audience.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

The Way Of The Brave - A Review

The Way Of The Brave

by

Susan May Warren

An exciting story of men and women ascending and descending Denali (nee Mt. McKinley), the tallest mountain in North America. Even during the summer months, the mountain is subject to snow squalls, avalanches, and ice falls - and this group of men and women will face all three during their time on the mountain. It is a dangerous place to be.

The three men (Orion, Jake, and Ham) arrive with the intention of climbing Mt. Huntington. They never quite make it, The gals (Jenny, Aria, and Sasha), however, have their sights on something higher, Denali. They reach their goal, but on their way down tragedy strikes. The men are called into action to rescue them; that is when things start to go bad.

This all results in a sit on the seat of your pants thriller as the six try to find ways off the mountain. The reader gets a glimpse of what is needed to climb a mountain as big and treacherous as Denali. The reader was often forced to hit Google to define terms which are probably well known to experienced climbers, but less so to us laypeople who do not know the difference between a hillside and a mountain. Google answered many of my questions, but not all. This reader could be helped by providing a prefix or web page containing both a glossary of climbing terms and tools that might not be familiar to the average reader and a detailed map of Denali and environs showing the relationship of various geographic landmarks used throughout the story. Google was a help but left holes in my understanding. If the author and/or publisher provided access to additional resources, my enjoyment would have been greatly enhanced.

And did I mention the bomber … ?

This faith-based romantic thriller would be a welcome addition to a church or public library. It would be enjoyed by those familiar with the author, mountain climbing, or genre. It would easily receive 5-stars with the addition of supporting material (indexed by chapter to assist those reading either a hard copy or an e-book). Without the supporting materials, it remains a 4-star book.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

End Game - A Review

End Game

 

by

Rachel Dylan

Short Summary: 
He saved her life;
she saved his life;
they had fallen in love.

The story was more involved than that simple summary. This faith-based romantic thriller was an alphabet soup of police agencies working to solve multiple murders in the Washington DC area: NCIS, JAG, Army CID, Seal Team 8, FBI, CIA, the Arlington Police Department, and the Arlington DA’s Office. Each had a role in bringing a group of criminals to justice - and they wanted to do it before any other innocent person was killed.

As expected, Rachel Dylan has created an exciting and complex story worthy of the genre. The author has indicated that there will be future stories in this series; this reader hopes that the series brings back many of the same characters from the various federal agencies in future volumes, they worked well together as a team and some friendships were just beginning.   

The book would be a welcome addition to a church or public library. It would be enjoyed by those familiar with the author or genre.  

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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.

Seconds To Live - A Review

Seconds To Live 

by

Susan Sleeman

Deputy U.S. Marshal Taylor Mills, assigned to the WITSEC detail in Portland, OR, must work with FBI Agent Sean Nichols, assigned to the RED (“Rapid Emergency Deployment”) team from Seattle, WA, to identify and apprehend a hacker using the alias of Phantom. Phantom’s crime - hacking the WITSEC database containing the names of thousands of individuals being offered protection by the U.S. Marshals Service. Phantom’s first target appeared to be Dustee and Dianne, twin sisters. Dustee had a nasty habit of not following the WITSEC rules designed to protect their charges, and now the twin’s lives were in danger.

Solving the clues would take the technical IT and forensic skills of both the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI’s RED team. The plot has enough twists and turns to keep most readers of faith-based romantic thrillers happy and engaged. The romantic component was a bit more than what this reader usually likes, but the book still is easily a 5-star read.

This book could easily find a home in many reader’s personal libraries, a local public library, or the church library.

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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Manga Classics: The Count of Monte Christo - A Review

Manga Classics:

The Count of Monte Christo

by

Alexander Dumas

At some point in the past I chose to read the huge book that is The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas. Manga Classics has designed an adaption of the original book - and, at 400+ pages, this manga book is also large. 

Manga is unique - it is intended to be read starting from what we westerners would call the “back” of the book. Reading then proceeds toward the “front”. At first, this may seem a bit discomforting, but it quickly becomes second nature and the story moves along. The artwork (except for the covers, all artwork in my review copy is black and white) makes the story understandable and enjoyable to one who has long ago forgotten the plot and themes developed in Dumas’ original. I tried to discover whether the paperback version of the book included color images, but could not locate a copy to answer this question. 

The story is one of revenge - as Edmond Dantes and his family are driven to ruin by those who would seem to be friends. It would take decades for Edmond to be in a position where he could exact the revenge, and occasionally offer the forgiveness, which his betrayers required. As the editor of this version notes in his postlude, the story in its original is complex. He and his team of artists have worked hard to translate the story into this modern format for the 21st-century reader. The editor makes it clear that the story has been carefully “trimmed” to combine the main flow of the story. He includes a brief essay outlining the “Rules of Trimming” used by the team as they made their decisions on what to include and what to exclude from the original story. In the same essay, he explains how the artwork was developed - both for the characters and for the settings. This included travel to the sites used in the book so the art might better represent the actual scenes rather than merely an artist’s imagination. I particularly liked the two-page “Character Relationship Guide” that is used to assist the reader in piecing together the many individuals that play a part in Edmond Dantes’ story. I expect this guide would also help a reader as he or she makes their way through Dumas’ original work.

For those looking for a new and enjoyable way to enjoy classic stories, Manga may provide one means to do so. You do lose the author’s original insight and nuances - but … this reader enjoyed the new journey through the old material, perhaps others will as well.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

The Camera Never Lies - A Review

The Camera Never Lies

by

David Rawlings

David Rawlings writes fiction that is as revealing as it is fictional. On the surface, the book is about a man, one David Whiteley, whose family, whose job, and whose reputation, stand on a precipice - one that will crumble beneath his feet if something does not change. Beginning with the death of his grandfather and the unexpected camera left to him at his grandfather’s death, life begins to unravel.

But this camera is special. The resulting pictures have exceptional clarity, and they often reveal more truth than the photographer is planning for. Ultimately the question becomes, what will the photographer respond to that truth. And that is the question that David faces as he retrieves his prints from Simon, the owner of the camera shop around the corner from his work as a mental health counselor. 

The author has the very nice ability to ask both David Whiteley and the reader to answer the same two questions: Are we willing to have the truth revealed; and how will we respond to the truth. The answers do not come easily and the cost of difficult truths is often less than the cost of hiding that truth.

David Whiteley finds The Camera Never Lies. Are we willing to look at our lives with the same clarity?
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Online Search - A Review

Online Search 

byEmma Huddleston

The title, Online Search, is a bit of a misnomer. Searching is only one of the topics covered in this 50-page book. A better title might be “A Child’s Introduction to Computers”. The book, whose reading level is for the upper elementary or middle school student, includes such topics as computer history, computer technology, and the role of programming in the development of computer technology (it does not teach programming, per se). The topics covered are similar to those seen in a college freshman computer science course from the late 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century. The book includes a great many pictures and photographs illustrating the topics discussed.

The book would make an excellent Christmas or birthday gift for the inquisitive child. It would be a welcome addition to the elementary school or public library. I expect even some parents would find the content of interest.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.