Month: December 2022

SURVIVAL by John Achile Yusuf

December 27, 2022 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 1 Comment

When the plane carrying a group of Nigerian students to South Africa for the annual African Colleges Competition, crashes into a Congolese jungle instead, there’s a lot at stake. These students were chosen to represent the nation, because of their academic brilliance and sportsmanship; their ability to beat competitors is the reason they are their country’s hope.

Thanks to The Fearless Storyteller House Emporium Ltd and the author for this review copy! It is always nice to read a YA novel occasionally, for the different perspectives and subject matter.

What caught my eye about this novella is the location and characters. The plot is simple: a plane crash in the jungle leaves eleven students surviving; but they need to navigate dangerous situations such as wild animal attacks, hostile pygmies, and ferocious weather changes. The students handle these challenges as best as possible – but can they all survive?

At the back of the book is a brief glossary of African words and phrases that will help the reader understand what is being said at times. My recommendation would be to put this at the beginning of the book, so the reader can see it and learn before they start reading. It is not a lot to remember and will eliminate having to flip to the back of the e-book every time there is a non-English phrase or word.

SURVIVAL is action packed and quite violent. I was expecting a LORD OF THE FLIES – type plot, but it is the complete opposite. The surviving students work together to support each other as the days pass. The novella begins with character development, as we see the students at school studying, forming cliques, with a bit of bullying and some hints of romance thrown into the mix.

I enjoyed Rose’s character the most, as she was portrayed as a smart woman whom the group turned to for information as they encountered problems. Linda was also written well; during a conversation with Tony, (the unofficial leader of the pack) she mentions that women have brains and goals, not just “boys and babies”. Tony is shocked to hear that not only did Linda get a scholarship to a UK school, but her passion in life is also to be an astronaut. I wish that there had been more character development with the other students, as it would have helped me become more invested in them as they struggled to stay alive.

The plot is filled with promise, but the writer’s style is choppy, probably because English is not his first language. Here is something I learned about languages in Nigeria:

In Nigeria, a lot of people’s first language isn’t English. And even with the ones whose are, the way they speak or write English is largely dictated by who taught them. That in itself is dependent on where they live. Nigeria is not a homogeneous place, so certain things are not the same all over. Yusuf was raised closer to the Northern part of Nigeria, which is like a different country compared with the South. The mentality, the lifestyles, etc. They rarely, if ever, learn English first. So, by the time English is learned as a second or even third language, they’re not actually learning it from scratch. It’s translation or transliteration going on.

SURVIVAL is also his first book, so Yusuf’s technique may not be honed yet. That being said, I would give this book a strong three stars. The action kept me interested and I looked forward to what would happen next to the beleaguered students. The fact that the jungle was essentially another character was a plus, as the setting and how well it is incorporated into a book can also make or break a story.

I would be interested to read a prequel, with these students interacting both in and out of school. That would help with character development for this book and would give the reader another taste of African YA literature.

SURVIVAL is a quick and easy to read YA novel that will hold your attention as you root for the students to overcome adversity. Want your own copy? You can pick it up here.

TRAIN by Tom Zoellner

December 13, 2022 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

An epic and revelatory narrative of the most important transportation technology of the modern world.

In his wide-ranging and entertaining new book, Tom Zoellner—coauthor of the New York Times–bestselling An Ordinary Man—travels the globe to tell the story of the sociological and economic impact of the railway technology that transformed the world—and could very well change it again. From the frigid trans-Siberian railroad to the antiquated Indian Railways to the Japanese-style bullet trains, Zoellner offers a stirring story of this most indispensable form of travel. A masterful narrative history, Train also explores the sleek elegance of railroads and their hypnotizing rhythms, and explains how locomotives became living symbols of sex, death, power, and romance.

I picked up this book while on vacation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, during a visit to the Railroad Museum of PA. My father was a freight conductor for Penn Central/Conrail for 40 years, and I always loved spending time with him as we visited Waverly Yard in Newark, NJ where he worked. I took unsanctioned rides with him in the engine many times, and we were always given the best treatment when we visited other railroad yards or took touristy train trips out of state. All he had to do was show his union card and we were instant VIPs!

An example of a Penn Central freight train

TRAIN is full of tiny bits of information that will make you stop and think. The creation of multiple railways was key to the growth of the United States. Fresh fruit, meat, equipment, and of course, passengers, were able to move effortlessly from one side of the country to another. People were frightened of trains initially, as they were behemoths, making otherworldly sights and sounds as the steam puffed out of their smokestacks, the boilers devoured their coal, and giant pistons pumped up and down, turning the wheels around and around.

When crowds gathered in 1825 to watch the debut of the world’s first real railroad – the Stockton & Darlington of northern Britain – the correspondent from the Morning Herald reported that multiple spectators “fled in affright” from the locomotive and others looked at the train with a “vacant stare” as if in a trance.

I loved this book for all its bits of trivia and history. One of my favorite snippets was the section in the chapter Bound for Glory that noted the multiple songs that have been written either with a train mentioned in the lyrics or having a beat that mimics the hypnotic “click-clack” one hears while on board. Artists such as Kenny Rogers, Berlin, Gladys Knight, Sheena Easton, and Soul Asylum all reference trains in their lyrics. And who can forget the Doobie Brothers classic “Long Train Running”?

Zoellner also goes into detail about how railroads have been running at a deficit for years, what happens when someone commits suicide by train, how Disneyland was created out of the animator’s obsession with trains, and the excruciating monotony during the ride on the Trans-Siberian railway.

The Trans-Siberian is 5,772 miles long and spans eight time zones. As you will find out, it is not the romantic journey that the name invokes. History and literature are cited in the chapter Blood on the Tracks, and it is quite a dark chapter.

The author’s writing style is both simple and grandiose at times, as rarely used words (such as echt or obsequious) pop up where a simpler synonym could be used. This is not a terrible thing. I absolutely love reading books that force me to look up definitions, thus expanding my vocabulary. It is a rare book that does this, as my vocabulary is quite comprehensive, and I thoroughly love adding words to my collection.

Zoellner’s love for trains shines through in every sentence and it’s quite heartwarming for a train lover like me. I’m so glad I stumbled upon this wonderful book during my vacation. The feelings invoked within me were poignant, as my father is no longer with me, and I miss him. TRAIN gave me the opportunity to revisit memories while learning new things about these magnificent machines that we both held very dear.

Want your own copy? You can pick it up here.