5/5 ⭐ | The Omega Archives by Erik Melendez

“The Omega Archives” was the perfect read off the heels of Alex Rider’s newest season, a binge-watching session of Jason Bourne, and for anyone who loves a good young adult action story! Author Erik Melendez crafts a believable gene mutation, a scientific breakthrough that allows for the creation of super-soldiers.  Born to host mothers, chosen for their genetic perfections, this group of super soldiers are trained from birth.

At the age of seven, this group of six boys and six girls began learning everything from basic to advanced combat training.  Having undergone learning developed by top generals, this group of super soldiers conquered their emotions, endured endless torture tactics, and honed their near perfect recall, thanks to their genetic mutations.  However, one day, the training facility is broken into, and subject 115 escapes through an air duct where he is discovered after days of roaming the wilderness and taken to an orphanage. 

Adopted shortly thereafter by Robert and Claire Connors, he adopts the name Alex Connors as he seeks to rehabilitate into normal society.  Melendez brilliantly writes “The Omega Archives” from a first-person perspective of Alex Connors.  Readers are dropped squarely into Alex’s head as he learns to overcome his brutal training and live a normal teenage life.  Through therapy, homeschooling, and re-learning of right and wrong, he eventually joins high school. 

Told through Alex’s lens, reading almost in diary recall format as much as in the moment dialogue, this style of writing quickly acquaints readers to our main character and endears us to his struggles for normalcy.  Yet despite Alex’s grasping to fit in, his past seems to follow him, and he is pulled back into its clutches.

I was absolutely held captive by this read as “The Omega Archives” familiarizes us with Alex’s origin story, while ratcheting up the action as a present-day teen, balancing school with combat fighting. Melendez does an extraordinary job creating a world of super-soldiers and villainous organizations that leaves readers wanting more!

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5/5 ⭐ | Unsettled: A Memoir by Laurie Woodford

Forty-eight years old, divorced and living in New York, author Laurie Woodford was having what some might call a mid-life crisis.  Hungry for adventure, tired of the same old, or in fact a mid-life crisis, whatever you call it, it was the catalyst to what became a laugh out loud hilarious memoir, “Unsettled.”

Prepare to cry from laughing, live vicariously, and gain perspective of the world through the travels laid across these pages.  With dating encounters that will have you belly laughing, like a gentleman with a wandering eye to the smooth, hairless complexion of someone entirely outside of Laurie’s self-described attraction to very hairy men.  To travel adventures like caring for a seventeen-year-old dog in exchange for a free place to lay your head, or to coming home early from work to construction workers using your fridge and unit as their own personal lunchroom, the stories within are truly entertaining.

Asia to South America, Mexico to Arkansas and Oklahoma, “Unsettled” packs the true realities of adventuring, dating in your fifties, and working in foreign countries.  Organized successively as a collection of experiences and events, author Laurie Woodford keeps readers coming back for more of her encounters and adventures.  Detailing the lonely, the learning, the challenges with time differences, and moving on, this memoir provides the good, the bad, and the hilarious of Woodford’s unsettled adventures.

Aptly named, and expertly presented, “Unsettled” is quite the memorable collection of travelling escapades.  Laurie’s hysterical antics and sidesplitting experiences made for an amusing and quick read.   

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5/5 ⭐ | Notes From Out West: A Canadian Backcountry Experience by Carter Obasohan

“Notes From Out West” is not my first rodeo with the Canadian wilderness and yet I feel like I have an entirely new appreciation and understanding of so many aspects of it after reading this.  These western adventures give a new perspective of the beauty Canada has to offer, and the true meaning of “grasslands,” among other things.

Overall, author Carter Obasohan travelled 212 kilometers on foot, or nearly 132 miles.  From Saskatchewan to Alberta, British Columbia and Vancouver Island, the beauty described within, and the journey taken by Obasohan is majestic.  Not without its complications, the ever-present fear of bears, the smoke of the raging wildfires, and the extreme landscapes traversed, are consistently on the reader’s mind.

Carter Obasohan starts this book by telling the reader he is not an avid hiker.  Like many, he enjoys thinking about cool hikes, spectacular views, and all the amazing things traveling off the beaten path presents, never any of the realistic fears of dehydration, getting lost, and so on though.  However, while Obasohan didn’t actually hike, he seemed to have begun collecting a large amount of hiking gear, piling up unused he decided it was time to put it to use, and so this book took shape. 

Each chapter is laid out by location, such as Grasslands National Park, Dinosaur Provincial Park, Emerald Lake, the Yoho Glacier, a five-day journey through the West Coast Trail, and more.  Skipping the actual travelling to and from park by car, Obasohan really focuses on the backcountry experience, delivering it as if talking to his friend over a beverage, this is a wholly enjoyable and fun read.  Deciding to forego the bear spray, hiking impromptu at one point with Crocs on, and scouting out the best camping spot are just a few of the relatable experiences within, all furnished in a manner of friend telling friend.

I certainly hope this isn’t the last of Carter Obasohan’s adventures, he’s quickly become an experienced hiker and has a way with words that instantly draws you into his stories.  Bravo to weathering injury and discomfort, fear, ready heat foods, and some gnarly landscapes!

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5/5 ⭐ | An Adventure Through the Togetherwood by Sean Anderson

Eleanor is no stranger to the woods.  Her father has warned her against wondering down the wrong way in the fork in the wooded path by her house many times.  But, one day she follows an owl down the wrong side of the fork, vowing to only go a little way when she comes upon a cardboard box and follows the owl in.

This box transports Eleanor to Togetherwood.  Landing her in water, the box begins to disintegrate, forcing her to get out and explore her new surroundings.  Stumbling upon a pair of other lost souls she can mysteriously understand animals in this magical forest.  Dax, a black lab, and Claire, a tabby cat, have also found themselves transported to Togetherwood after following a ball into a cardboard box in the woods.  Teaming up to find the box that will take them back home, Eleanor, Dax, and Claire set out to explore Togetherwood for a route home to their families.

The characters these three come across in their adventures vary in personality but remain cemented in the reader’s memory.  With fun names like Ryder the raccoon, to Delilah the deer, Freya the fish, Fable the fox, Gregory the gorilla and many more it is easy for readers to remember.  Each animal they encounter becomes their friend as they help one another through this magical landscape.  Overcoming various obstacles and assisting each animal through difficulty, the friends these three make on their journey are lifelong.

With important themes for young readers, author Sean Anderson creates a world you can lose yourself in.  Within these pages is a story of friendship, adventure, patience, kindness, and beyond.  “An Adventure Through the Togetherwood” houses an extraordinary message, amongst a magical landscape.  Providing a diverse array of characters, challenges, and lessons.  Anderson’s book is sure to be a childhood classic.   

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