Contemporary, action-packed story of overcoming, healing, and growth

Climb (The Ashley Davies Trilogy Book 1) by Philip Barker takes place in rural Australia. Layers of red dust cover the cars, and fifteen-year-old Ashley Davies struggles to find purpose. She doesn’t care that she doesn’t fit in but longs for friends. As the youngest of two children she lives with her mum and an older brother who is wheelchair bound since “the accident.” But what accident? Why doesn’t anyone talk about what happened? And why did her Dad leave when she was so young?

 

When a classmate, Jacob, says her handicapped brother deserves to be in his wheelchair, she challenges him to climb the old rusty water tower. Whoever climbs to the top first gets to let the other’s phone drop to the ground. Ashley is a born climber, and when she wins the climbing challenge, she drops Jacob's phone, and it crashes to pieces. In short order, she is called to the principal’s office along with her mum. 

After getting in trouble, Ashley tries to turn over a new leaf and be a better student. She makes a few friends, and life unfolds with a torrent of events that reveal bits and pieces of the past in her small-town clarifying details of the accident and why her Dad left. As she deals with emotional baggage, the school’s American janitor offers her a chance to enter a climbing contest in Sydney. At first, she dismisses the idea but changes her mind. She loves climbing. To her surprise, when she shows up for training Jacob is there to train for the qualifying contest. To make matters worse, he is to be her climbing partner.

 

When her brother, Cameron, learns she is training for a chance to go to Sydney he offers to help her. As the two work together, he admits he used to be “pretty good” at climbing and he gives her his dusty bag of climbing gear. He teaches her the clove hitch and says, “You don’t even need a partner to climb with you. The knot is your partner. And the only person that you ever need to trust is yourself.” She grabs onto that idea. This way, she will never let anyone down.

Climb is an inspiring YA story about overcoming emotional, physical, and psychological obstacles for all ages. Ashley faces one hurdle after another in her quest to compete in Sydney and prove something to herself and others. When she gets injured, the man training her meets her mum. Can she hide her plans? Or will this put a stop to her dreams to compete? Then she learns the secrets behind her brother’s accident. It drives her to want to prove herself. To show her family is better than what people in her small-town think. This is more than a coming-of-age story. It’s an overcoming story. A story of healing and growth. A contemporary, action-packed story that doesn’t stutter or stall. It’s a story of first loves and finding oneself amid the chaos of the world. In one word Climb is satisfying, and I recommend it to readers young and old. I give it 5 stars and look forward to the sequel, Climb Harder.

As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer and I received Climb as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with #Blackberry Book Tours. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.  

 

About author Philip Barker

Young adult literary fiction author Philip Barker believes it is important to do something every day that scares you, even if it’s only a little bit; it means you are pushing yourself to experience new things. Through his writing, he aspires to provide his young readers a different perspective, to put emotions into words so that they can hopefully feel a way that they normally wouldn’t, or even wouldn’t want to.

Philip realized in high school that he wanted to be a writer when he discovered that books have the capacity to make him think outside of the established way that was taught to him growing up in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. He likes to ground his stories in reality and relate them to personal experiences. It is his opinion that life itself is amazing and story-worthy, and there are so many interesting people in the world, all things that he can harvest great writing from.

Philip believes a great story is one that has relatable and interesting characters. Everyone lives interesting lives, and getting to know people is the fun part, even with fictional characters. Having them leave their comfort zones becomes fascinating and often hilarious. To Philip, everyone has a story to tell, and he hopes his young readers learn from his own story that life is complicated and things occur that can often be out of their control. But how they overcome obstacles is what’s important and committing oneself to something with a goal and purpose, like rock climbing, can help ground you.  

When he isn’t writing thought-provoking fiction stories for young adults, Philip enjoys rock climbing, gardening, and watching B Grade movies. His wife, siblings, mother, and in-laws provided positive support and courage for his book and in his life. He lives in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, NSW, Australia with his wife, two dachshunds, Alfie and George, and a rabbit named Abby. Climb is his debut novel.

Author’s Social Media Links:

https://www.abbeydalecollective.com/

https://www.instagram.com/abbeydalecollective/

https://www.facebook.com/AbbeydaleCollective

 

Collection of psychological & supernatural drama

The Lighthouse at Montauk Point and Other Stories by R. David Fulcher is an anthology of psychological horror. Not the gruesome, gory type, but a selection of supernatural drama, dark fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, and psychological thrillers with most serving up an unexpected twist. Some stories take you to another dimension like “The Lighthouse at Montauk Point” that seems to be grounded in the life of a criminal on the run, only to learn he has escaped into the supernatural. 

For this review, I’ll name my three favorites. The first is “The Shamblers,” a story of boys growing up in the 80s who enjoyed taunting the elderly men in their community. The backstory sets things up perfectly. Kids that don’t scare easily, bike riding, the woods, slingshots, and old men shambling along like easy targets. Of course, since I don’t include spoilers, I won’t say more, except that if you enjoy the original Twilight Zone, you won’t want to miss this one.

Taking the number 2 spot on my list of favorites is “Drawing the Ace.” This story centers on an unwary traveler by the name of Phil Stevens. He’s a regular everyday guy who hopes to get some shut-eye on a long flight. During the flight, a second passenger takes the seat beside him and wakes him up. This chatty guy talks about his days as a pilot in WWII. Phil wonders about the guy. He looks to be middle-aged, yet he talks about fighting the Japs and the Krauts in the air. He says, “…the books are full of statistics about how this side had so many of these planes and that side had so many of these planes, but any pilot out there would have told you it was the man and not the machine.” For Phil, this statement becomes very real and carries with it a moral to the story with an unexpected twist.

My third favorite is a dark fantasy called “The Faerie Lights.” The best way I can describe this one is Gulliver’s Travels gone wrong. Tiny ethereal beings with Elvin features and gossamer wings bring a parched traveler tiny goblets of wine made from clove and dandelion. All seems well but the sun is setting and the traveler finds himself in a dreamlike state as these tiny beings tug him along by his feet taking him to…. Like I said, no spoilers, but if you enjoy Tales from the Crypt, this one is for you.

And I must give an honorable mention “Boogeyman.” It includes a boy, bedtime, and the monster in the closet. This is another twilight-zone-worthy story with a macabre end that I give a thumbs up.

R. David Fulcher’s story concepts are original and enjoyable. He does a good job of crafting enough backstory to pull the reader in. Several of the stories are set against a backdrop of growing up in the 80s.If you enjoy psychological thrillers without gore, or a fan of the original Twilight Zone, then you’ll enjoy The Lighthouse at Montauk Point and Other Stories thoroughly. In my opinion, the writing could be a little tighter and less passive, but the stories are entertaining and worth a read. Overall I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

As Book Hookup, I am a longtime book reviewer, and I received this book as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with Booktasters. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.