Book Review: Remember Her Name! Debbie Allen's Rise to Fame by Tami Charles

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Remember Her Name! Debbie Allen's Rise To Fame by Tami Charles is a children's non-fiction book about how Debbie Allen became a dancer during the Civil Rights Movement and rose to fame. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this book for free from NetGalley and Charlesbridge in exchange for my honest review. I grew up watching Fame , so I've always known of Debbie Allen. However, I realized I didn't know much about her other than she's sisters with Phylicia Rashad. This children's picture book gives kids a look into Debbie Allen's life in a friendly, easy to understand format. Additionally, the story teaches children about the Civil Rights Movement since that is part of the dancers story. It's extremely well written, and the illustrations are phenomenal. Both parents and children will enjoy this read. A few things I learned as an adult from this book is that Debbie Allen was denied admittance into the dance school because of the color of her ski...
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Book Review: Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret (Ernest Cunningham, #3) by Benjamin Stevenson

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NetGalley Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret (Ernest Cunningham, #3) by Benjamin Stevenson
Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret (Ernest Cunningham, #3) by Benjamin Stevenson opens with the main character traveling to a magic show prove his ex-wife's innocence in a murder. It involves ruling out the different people in the show. Will Ernest prove that his ex-wife is innocent without ruining things with his fiancé?

First and foremost, a big thank you to NetGalley for approving me to read this book. I received a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. The approval for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) came after the book was already published and being busy with the holidays both contributed to the delay of me reading and reviewing the book.

The synopsis intrigued me, and I wasn't sure what to expect from this author as I haven't read anything by him before. However, it feels like Benjamin Stevenson is following a step by step guide provided to him in a writing class because the main character keeps mentioning how things should go according to "the norm". I find it quite annoying and invasive to the actual story. The actual motive to the murder was plausible, but the execution of how it was done was a bit far fetched to me. Additionally, I didn't particularly care for any of the characters.

The story had the ability to be fantastic but was lackluster. I am going to give the author another chance, but Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret (Ernest Cunningham, #3) by Benjamin Stevenson wasn't really for me. With that being said, it might be right up your alley. Three out of five stars.

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