Brandon Books

Really engaging story about a young woman we can all identify with! It's great to see a novel for tweens and teens that's fun, pretty real, and yet positive. It was sweet, but not syrupy, and had a satisfying conclusion. Part of the reason I liked it was that it didn't seem cookie-cutter like some of the series books I've seen. I decided to buy it for my young next door neighbor as well as my niece. I definitely recommend this book for the girls in your life!

As a high school teacher who is always looking for good books for my students, this is a great find! It's juicy enough to keep almost any teen girl interested, while providing positive and healthy characters with whom to identify. I know the middle school girls at my son's K-8 are passing this book from one to another as if it were a golden treasure. That's because it's a delicious read!

I really love this book. I really related to the character of Minah. She is so much like a lot of girls I know. I would buy this for all of my friends!!!

A commencement speech is suppose to take care of the needs of the graduates, not the near or long term expediency of the speakers. There are too many speeches in this book that are plainly the PR for the speakers. I have no objections to speakers speaking the things that are dear and near to their hearts. What I think the speakers should have done is to put their own wants aside and consider what the best is for the graduating seniors and use that as a starting point for composing their speeches.

With this said, there are a few good ones in this book: The speeches by Ted Turner, Madeleine Albright, Ronald Regan, and especially Ross Perot.

The best book so far on graduation speeches is "Graduation Moments."

I laughed, I cried! There is so much in this book! Good advice, humor, perfect not just for grads but for kids just heading off to college who wonder just what they can expect. pretty motivating and inspirational. Great collection!

A funny and uplifting collection by interesting people. There were plenty of times I laughed out loud and felt inspired. I only wish I'd had one of these folks speak at my graduation!

Jay Brandon writes some fun lawyer stories and this is no exception. Grudge Match is the story of earnest young District Attorney Chris Sinclair and wrongly convicted police officer Steve Greerdon. As a prosecutor, Chris Sinclar sent the officer to jail as an armed robber and a crooked cop; as DA, he exonerated him based on new evidence. Once Greerdon is released and starts poking around, a fellow officer who might have known something about the bad guys turns up dead. Although the DA suspects the same crooked cops who framed officer Greerdon, he can't prove it. As a result, he pursues a murder charge against the dead officer's lover/business partner in the hopes that she will reveal what she knows. However, she steadfastly remains silent, forcing him to go to trial on a case he has limited faith in. Meanwhile, DA Sinclair's teenage daughter and psychiatrist girlfriend are drawn into the drama creating danger to those close to him.

Grudge Match works on a number of levels. This lawyer novel involves equal parts of courtroom theatrics, detective work and human interest. Although this is more of an action story than a character study, the characters have enough meat on the bones to make the reader care about them. The plot manages to keep enough balls up in the air to keep the reader guessing about where the story will go. The courtroom action is an integral part of the story and also serves to distract Sinclair from the danger to his own family. The San Antonio locales are authentically drawn.

When former Detective Steve Greerdon is pardoned and released from prison after serving 8 years, he is determined to prove his innocence. He was set up by fellow officers as taking part in an armed robbery, as pay-back for refusing to join in their clique, taking money from drug dealers and other criminals. At his trial, he was prosecuted by Chris Sinclair who is later horrified to learn that he helped to jail an innocent man. During his time in jail, Steves' wife divorced him and married another officer who proved to be violent to both her and her son. After Steves' pardon and return to the job, the officers who set him up, try to falsely implicate him in new crimes so as to return him to jail, but, with the help of the now DA Chris Sinclair and his lover, child psychiatrist Anne Greenwald, Steve eventually clears his name completely and helps to bring about the incarceration of the crooked cops.

Eight years ago San Antonio assistant district attorney Chris Sinclair proved to a jury that Detective Steve Greerdon participated in an armed robbery. Steve insisted he was set up by other police officers who wanted Steve to join their little club of ripping off drug dealers and other lowlifes, but he refused so he took the fall for a crime he never committed. Chris, now the District Attorney, finds DNA evidence and a witnesses exonerating Steve who is pardoned.

Steve wants to reconnect with his son and enjoy his freedom but the police officers who set him up want him back in prison. Chris doesn?t know who to trust on the force and sets a tail on Steve so he always has an alibi. Meanwhile Chris?s lover, psychiatrist Anne Greenwald treats a patient who says Steve is guilty. When two police officers are murdered and Steve is on the scene, Chris has doubts about his innocence. The only way to find out who the dirty cops are is to set up a sting if Steve is willing to risk his life and trust an officer of the court who could put him away again.

When it comes to writing innovative and exciting legal thrillers, Jay Brandon is one of the best in the business. His latest protagonist seeks truth at any cost yet for all his years as a lawyer has a touch of innocence that readers will cherish. The walls of blue start off solid but by the time GRUDGE MATCH ends a few cracks give readers hope that the police will speak out when they see wrong doing. Fans of Linda Fairstein and Christine McGuire will definitely love this book.

Harriet Klausner

It's a powerful tool that can be utilized to bring love into your life. I felt that Brandon is a master motivator, as well as gives practical advice that will help a lot of people. I can't wait for the next book to come out by Brandon.

The book comes to life in a motivational way for me, giving real antidotes for negative thinking. I truly like the part about being created by GOD in his own image. And the statement to men telling them that if you don't have anything outside the bed then what you have in it doesn't mean anything, anyway. To me Brandon should be a motivational speaker.

This book has built my confidence up to a level that's unbelievable, and I'm not a handsome man. I would recommend it to anybody who think you need money or good looks to capture a woman's heart.

Mr. O'neal did an exceptional jo of bringing his characters to life, with simple, straight forward descriptions. All to often, I observe complex literary expression which does nothing more than blanket a story in obscurity. Way to go!!!!

I loved this book, it caught my attention from the very first chapter. " A real page turner" I cant wait to read his next book, Good Job Brandon.

I WAS SURPRISED THAT I LIKED THIS BOOK SO WELL. VERY QUICKLY YOU ARE "PULLED" INTO THE CHARACTERS,AND SOON YOU ARE GOING THROUGH EVERYTHING WITH THEM, REALISTIC, YET, WITH A TYPE OF DIGNITY THAT IS ALL TOO OFTEN "NOT" ASSOCIATED WITH AN URBAN TYPE BOOK. REAL TRUE "STREET" SETTING, BUT WITHOUT ANY OF THE "STREET" TRASH, THAT WE SEE ALL TOO OFTEN ON THE NEWS.IT COVERS THE ELEMENTS OF LIFE THAT EVERY PERSON FROM ANYWHERE GOES THROUGH, GOOD JOB!!
I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR NEXT BOOK.

The right cover was bent but other than that the book is in great condition. I like this textbook because it is interesting and full of pictures. This is one of the best textbooks I have had to buy. I suggest this book for anyone who wants to learn some psych (like me)or needs it for class. :O

This book is well written and clearly explains all of the major concepts of psychology in a way which is both interesting and easy to understand. It covers all of the major perspectives and specialties in the field of psychology, and gives real-life scenarios and examples to illustrate the different ideas and concepts. The book encourages critical thinking and has a scientific/academic approach to the subject material, which is something I like to see in any textbook.

My Book arrived in excellent shape and was received in less than a week of purchase. I am very satisfied and would purchase a book again through this source.

This is the second book in the series, so if you've gotten this far, then yo may already be a ware of many of the weaknesses in this book.

Firstly, the printing and binding is not so good. Illustations have a lot of color and these are printed well. However, where the pages are glued together overlaps with the printed frames of the comic. So, in order to read dialogue near the edges of the page, you have to really pry the pages apart and try and look in the crack then guess what the part of the word that you can't see is. This is doable, when trying to decipher a word. It makes viewing an entire picture at once impossible.

The story is OK. It flows nicely in and out of back stories for the characters and world. I didn't get so pulled in, but I can see how a person could get really into the series. I was distracted by the over-the-top-flowery language that the characters often use, and the fact that all women were poured into whatever they happened to be wearing at the moment. It's very over the top. Any of these women could have been instantly transported to a strip-club scene in a rap video and fit right in. Every page is a pin-up - Give me a break, please! That may well be a plus for the gentlemen fans out there.

Overall this is a very skippable comic, but might be worth taking a look at were it to be reprinted so that the whole page is visible.

OK, after reading Sandman, I tried Preacher. First book was great, others not so. I tried all kinda books, some were good like first issues of Strangers in Paradise and Mangas like Oh My Goddess and Blade of Immortal, there were some nice Marvel Knights like Paul Jenkins' stuff, but then I discovered Crossgen, well written comics which have well illustrated stories. I LOVED Meridian, The First, and , of course Mystic. They can be rated teen or all ages. Buy all trades of Mystic, both original writer and Tony Bedard were great.

I got all trades of Mystic and read comics that follow. It's a SHAME if nobody publishes those comics collected as trade five, six and so on, because they get greater and greater near the end.

As far as I know, Mystic and just a slightly weaker Meridian have story ending logically, there is a wrap up. Sojourn was more popular, but CrossGen bankrupted before story ended. Sniff :(

This is the second TPB (Trade Paper Back) combining issues 8 through 14 of Crossgen's Mystic Series.

The story is if anything stronger than the first voulme as we get an explaination of several previously introduced but mysterious characters. The production values are excellent with great color reproduction. The art is beautiful, the beautiful women are gorgeous, the monsters are truely monstrous.

The plot for this arc revolves around the guild masters who have lost their sign of legitimacy, the ancient guild spirits, and are desperate to not lose political power. Nearly maddened by the fear they hatch a plot to release the most horrible threat the planet of Ciress has ever faced and then betrayer her again. It's a plan of absolute madness...obviously there are going to be problems. (In fact they will still be trying to clean them up in volume 3; but this is still a nicely selfcontained story arc.)

A 5-star book with a place of honor on my shelves.

This is a reprint of issues 21-26 of Crossgen's Mystic series bound as a paperback (a TPB - Trade Paper Back). The art is excellent and the story good but I rated it only 4 stars because the combination of issues in this volume don't quite hang together.

#21 is the defeat of the demon queen left over from the previous TPB, which has some repercussions covered in 22-23, 24 involves a fight with a very powerful Ingra. #25 and 26 are the beginning of an arc where main protagonist, Giselle, must prove herself to the 7 guilds and truly learn her craft. This is a great seperate arc which will unfortunately now be split between 2 TPBs (this one and the successor). I really like the arc that begins in #25 and should continue through #31 (7 issues, one for each guild, or style of magic); this arc is going to be a really well done and I'm looking forward to it.

The art is excellent (the beautiful women are beautiful, the monsters are monstrous). Good productions values - the colors are really vibrant. Good story except for the arc problem described above. A fun read. I bought this TPB even though I own the original comics for the convenience of having them bound together.

Rite of Passage binds the first seven issues of Mystic. At first glance, it looks like a typical chauvinistic guy comic with scantily clad large bosomed women. Thankfully, they turn out to have brains as well as beauty. At the heart though, it is a story of the power of sisters, and how, in spite of typical sibling rivalry, when one is in trouble, the other always comes through.
Magic makes the work of Ciress go round, and Genevieve has spent years studying and preparing for her induction into the Guild Masters, a group of leaders that protect and control magic. When her socialite younger sister Giselle shows up to support Gen, Giselle unintentionally usurps all of the power � including that meant for her sister. The seven magical spirits are drawn into Giselle, whom it turns out has been marked as a powerful mystic. Genevieve, though angry at first, quickly sides with her sis when the Guild Masters would destroy Giselle to get their powers back.
Much of the first seven issues is caught up in setting the basic plot of a character who needs to become a hero but isn�t sure how. A mentor and guide in a slightly feline form offers advice along the way as Giselle fights against those who would strip her of her newfound powers. It is unclear by the end of issue seven exactly what the Guild Masters did and what the new Mystic will do, but the drama is high and characters interesting. The art is bold, rich and vibrant, with beautifully filled in backgrounds. The lavishly illustrated pages are a homage to nouveaux style art popularized in the early 19th and 20th centuries, devilish monsters and creepy skulls and roses abound. The bonus of the seven in one edition are commentary by the creators, writers and artists. All seven covers are appended.
I didn�t find this appealing enough to want to collect the whole set, but my personal tastes in comics run more to romance manga style or fantasy rather than scifi. Recommended for most graphic novel collections.

The style and substance of today's literature has lowered the standard for teens. With Plenty Porter, we finally have a cleverly written novel with substance to spare. The exposition is conveniently and artistically placed within the intellectual thoughts of our protagonist and come systematically throughout the novel informing us of significant information at just the right moment. This continues through the end of the novel and leaves us wanting to read Plenty more of her stories. The booklist reviewer incorrectly refers to a tragic denouement. He/she obviously doesn't know the definition of tragic or denouement. The climax is thrilling and reads much like a mystery novel. Here again is testament to the clever exposition as I did not expect/suspect the conclusion. The reviewer also referred to two characters who were not 'fleshed out'. Sure, these characters begged questions and not ALL of them were answered in SPELLED OUT form. Personally, I'm a fan of this style and prefer to not know everything about every character. That's part of the fun, and in my opinion, part of the meaning/intent of the novel itself. If you crave intelligent and clever writing and a wonderfully honest story, then this book is for you.

Plenty Porter by Brandon Noonan is a nicely scripted coming-of-age novel about the youngest daughter a poor sharecropping family from rural Illinois. Plenty is the youngest of eleven children and has trouble "fitting in", all of which is further complicated with her meeting a boy named Ed who is the son of a rich landowner. The two of them begin a relationship that has Penny discovering the true meaning of family and an intimacy she had never before experienced. Documenting Brandon Noonan as a skillfully original novelist, Plenty Porter is very highly recommended reading for those who appreciate the combination of deft authorship and timeless values.

As Plenty Porter enters her teenage years in Galesburg, Illinois, she realizes that her large family does not actually know one another. Being the youngest of eleven, no one expects much of her yet she is usually aware of everything that goes on around her. When she befriends the motherless Ed Prindergast, the young son of their wealthy neighbor, she does not realize that she needs his friendship as much as he needs hers. Although Plenty narrates, the story actually revolves around her older sister Marcie and her problems. Plenty knows there is something going on but doesn't know if she can find out what's going on with, Mr. Darcey, her estranged grandfather, Mr. Prindergast, her parents, and her sibligs who each have interwoven lives that seem to leave Plenty, who was plenty, out.

Brandon Noonan relates a novel in which the reader really does not see the end coming. Although the story is narrated by Plenty, the reader wants to know what is going on with Marcie, why her hair falls out. I enjoyed the structure of this novel, which is told in two parts, as well as many chapters. Because the ending was a complete surprise to me, I enjoyed it and it made the novel worth reading. I don't think Plenty Porter is bound to recieive high acclaim, but it is definitely a good read for history lovers and those interested in personal growth in a character or multiple characters.

Reviewed by a student reviewer for Flamingnet Book Reviews
www.flamingnet.com
Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews and recommendations.

I'm always hesitant buying books written by multiple authors. I often find the writing annoyingly inconsistent and the overall structure lacking in cohesiveness. I'm happy to report that this book does not suffer from these conditions. It is a pretty smooth read and provides some insight into the ASP.NET world not provided by standard MSDN documentation. I realize this book is quite old at this stage, but for those still working in that environment it is still worth considering. Overall, I had few complaints with the book. Let's hope a second edition will be made available with .NET 2.0.

Since the book has moved to Apres, the link to download the code for the book has moved to http://support.apress.com/books.asp?s=0&bID=1861007752

I reviewed the orginal version of this book which was in C#. I've been lucky enought ot get my hands on the new VB.NET edition and it is even better than the original. I am more used to VB as it is, and I spent quite a lot of time translating some of the code snippets in the original, but now I don't have to! The book has changed a bit, it looks better than the first edition, and it is now completely 1.0 compliant. I've used the first book a lot, it's told me more or less everything I've needed to know. If you need to know about web services and you prefer VB then this is the only book you'll need!

A wonderful journal! There's an Awards List, which lists the books and the awards they have received. The Author Pages is where you can jot down your favorite authors and books they have written. The To Read section, where you note the books you want to read. There is even a Loaner List section, where you can write down books you have loaned out as well as books you have borrowed. There are columns in between the lists where you can check off which books you own, want to own, have read and recommend. In between journal sections are fun book quotes.

This journal makes a great Holiday gift for any book lover on your list! It's the perfect size as well, about the size of a planner. This is a great way to keep track of your books and to find new books to read.

I love the book lists included with this journal. I was able to go through the lists and mark which books I want to read and add others. I also like the opportunity to write down the title of a book and do a small review on it. Great way for a voracious reader to stay organized!

This is a fantastic book - more of a reading companion - by Rachelle Knight (goodreads author too!). It's essentially a journal to keep track of your books, a real life version of goodreads, but with much more to it. It's loaded with lists, like National Book Award winners (which is great since I have a collection for my daughters of signed first edition NBA winners growing), Pulitzer, Man Booker, etc.... And it allows you to check off whether you've read them or not, want to read, etc and gives you space for handwritten notes on each one.

My two favorite features so far are the "Biblio Pages", which allow you to keep all your notes on a book in one place (including words to look up later (yes, we ALL still run into those), favorite passages/quotes, and any comments or notes; my second favorite is the "Loaner Lists" where you can keep track of all the books you've borrowed or lent out.

For those of us who have too much going on to remember all this sort of stuff, I highly recommend this book. Although certainly good for mature readers, I also think it could be very useful for a junior high / high schooler who is starting to seriously enjoy reading literature --it helps to jot down thoughts while reading and do so in an organized way. Those class papers will be a lot easier a few weeks from now ....