June 2024

Review of The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band, by Michelle Cruz Gonzales

Michelle Cruz Gonzales’s “The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band,” is one of the best rock memoirs I have ever read. It honestly portrays much of what made the 1990s punk scene beautiful, and much of what made it ugly, too. But what really makes this book great is how […]

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Review of “Tales of an Inland Empire Girl,” by Juanita E. Mantz Pelaez 

Tales of an Inland Empire Girl is a beautifully written, edgy memoir by Juanita E. Mantz Pelaez

“Tales of an Inland Empire Girl” is a beautifully written, edgy memoir by Juanita E. Mantz Pelaez. It’s the story of good girl’s downward spiral, from a studious bookworm into an angry, drinking, trouble-making punk rock teen, and her redemption that follows. It’s the story of a working-class family, struggling to make ends meet. Of

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Review of Roberta Tracy’s “Zig Zag Woman”

Book cover of Zig Zag Woman, by Roberta Tracy

Wow, what a wonderful historical mystery novel! Zig Zag Woman, by Roberta Tracy, hit all the right chords for me. First, it’s an exciting, fun story, well-written, with numerous exciting twists and misdirections. And her historical research is impeccable and artfully utilized to make the characters and events pop out of the book. But what

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