interview questions and onboarding guide-
lines. In “Sustain,” Richmond explores why
cultural change initiatives fail and intro-
duces “best practices to drive continued
success.” He also outlines specific steps to
create diversity and lists perks that millen-
nials value in the workplace. The author’s
encouraging words and helpful insights
make this a worthwhile book for business
leaders of all stripes.
Dreaming at the Gates:
How Dreams Guide Us
Kathryn Ridall. DreamGate, $18 mass market
(208p) ISBN 978-1-7331373-0-0
Ridall debuts with a genial exploration
of how dreams can function as guides
throughout life. She encourages readers to
engage with the imagery and emotions of
their dreams to find the lessons within,
receive comfort, and identify personal
obstacles that may be blocking them from
moving forward. To that end, she lays out
three approaches toward understanding
dreams: a reflective approach that uses a set
of “tools,” such as writing down the dream,
identifying feelings, and recording
emerging associations; a Jungian approach
that ties dreams to the archetypes of the
greater unconscious; and an approach in the
vein of Jane Roberts that posits that some
dreams, including precognitive ones, may
be actual communications from outside
oneself. She uses all of these to walk readers
through her own dreams and those of others,
coupling write-ups with the dreamer’s own
reflections on its meaning and impact. Each
chapter explores a different category of
dreams, such as dreams that guide one
through life transitions, repeating dreams
that concern unresolved issues, and dreams
connected with physical healing, among
others. While Ridall never settles on a
determined methodology, her demonstra-
tion of the value of listening to dreams
proves affirming and resonant.
Children’s/YA
Cocodrie
Sky Danley, illus. by Alli Coate. Sky Danley
Productions, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-
9973451-2-4
In this tale set “way down deep in the
deep delta south, where dusking calls from
the bullfrog’s mouth,” the titular raccoon
kit, afraid of swimming after a near
drowning, must brave the river when gun-
toting land developers capture his mother
and other animal residents from their riv-
erside cottonwoods community. Narrowly
escaping the nets of DerBoss and his
henchmen Radley and Finch, Cocodrie
floats downstream on a drifting log, ending
up in a bayou. There he meets an old pelican
named Pontch, a cowardly alligator called
Lil’-Al, and a water snake named Jo-Jo
Slithers. The friendly trio teaches Cocodrie
to swim, portrayed in layered green digital
spot art by Coate, and then helps to rescue
the prisoners. Though text-heavy pages
slow the action (“while the old man mourn-
fully glistened, rocking in a chair and
picking in a stare, rocking and picking, in
a slow and rhythmic ticking,” Danley
writes), young readers may still enjoy the
tale’s simple, cartoony sensibility. Ages
5–8.Last Girl Standing
Marjory Kaptanoglu. The Book Reality
Experience, $4.99 e-book (247p) ISBN 978-0-
6484471-3-9
In this action-driven and oft-comedic
sci-fi novel, 17-year-old Sierra Mendez
must save her small California hometown
of Los Patos from a mysterious entity that
has stupefied the residents and replaced
authority figures with androids. Sierra lives
with her mother, an organic farmer who
believes fluoride-treated water is poisonous.
While fetching fresh water from the river
one morning, Sierra finds the floating
corpse of Los Patos’s water manager, and
Sierra’s mom becomes the prime suspect.
Suspicious of the new chief of police, Sierra
soon realizes that drinking the tap water has
caused everyone in town to enter into a cata-
tonic zombie-like state. Matters only
worsen when she notices that the stupefied
watch the same subliminal message-
imbued infomercials on repeat and that
more sinister forces are at work. With the
help of a few friends and an unlikely ally,
Sierra sets out to stop the strange invasion.
A near-rape scene feels gratuitous, and at
times the narrative feels repetitive and con-
trived, but Kaptanoglu (Dreadmarrow Thief)
offers an inclusive cast, a plot that allows fortension and tragedy as well as personal
growth, and an adventure for our modern
times. Ages 13–up.Some Dogs
Nolan J. Vander Haagen, illus. by Frederic
Bonifacini. Rubber Duck Society, $12.99
(20p) ISBN 978-0-578-40512-4
In an authorial debut from special educa-
tion teacher Vander Haagen, dogs of “all
shapes and sizes” are celebrated for their
lovable quirks. The text is simple, taking
readers through a range of canine attributes
and personalities (“Some dogs are pretty
and never make a mess./ Some dogs are dirty
and always cause stress”). Vander Haagen’s
narrative is sparse both in language and
dimension, but the resounding message,
that all pooches deserve love, is worthwhile.
Digital illustrations by Bonifacini feature
a black-haired, light-skinned toddler inter-
acting with dogs of various breeds. It’s simi-
larly one-dimensional, but cheery colors
and varied expressions make for a friendly
style reminiscent of television cartoons.
Together, the words and illustrations com-
pose a quick readaloud best suited for very
young readers. Ages 3–5.Tinsey Clover
Chelsea Walker Flagg. Chelsea Walker Flagg,
$7.99 paper (134p) ISBN 978-0-9967284-9-2
Chipmunk-size trealfur elf Tinsey Clover
has green eyes, pointy ears, purple hair, and
an affinity for math. The wall around
Snugglepunk, her Icelandic Bungaborg
Forest community, is designed to keep all
192 trealfurs safe, but Tinsey feels trapped.
At age 11, each trealfur’s power emerges;
while her blue-haired brother Aspen’s gift
is communicating with animals, her father
summons windstorms, and her mother
sings at a certain pitch to make everything
pause. Tinsey’s newly manifested gift?
Making cleaning supplies appear with a
snap. Disappointed, feeling like an out-
sider, and resolving to explore the forest,
Tinsey sneaks out of Snugglepunk alone.
Encountering huldufolk—including
Judder the troll, Sky the rabbit, and Talia
the dragon, whose kind dispositions belie
their appearances—Tinsey discovers the
world beyond Snugglepunk isn’t what she
expected. Flagg delivers a determined her-
oine: resourceful Tinsey faces peril butBOOKLIFE.COM111cPW REVIEWS ®