Calling all the hip cats and cool chicks!: NORTH BEAT CHRISTMAS by Jenna Zark - REVIEW!

Groovy to you!

We're gonna take a second to relax, unwind, and inhale the moment as we take a gander between the epages of a title that came my way recently.  It's the third release in The Beat Street series from author Jenna Zark, a collection of Middle Grade Historical Fiction tales that brings us to the streets during a time of change, and style.  So if you can DIG IT, let's get between the epages of today's featured title...

  

North Beat Christmas

The Beat Street Series, Book 3

by

Jenna Zark

About the book...

When Christmas is weird instead of wonderful—you can’t just give up.

Twelve-year-old Ruby Tabeata and her older brother Ray are visiting their father in the artists’ neighborhood of North Beach, San Francisco as Christmas approaches in 1958. What should be a glorious holiday turns sour as Ruby and Ray discover their father’s growing addiction to alcohol.

When Ruby finds work at a popular bookstore near her dad’s home, new friends and adventures distract her from worrying.Ruby’s experiences lead her to a daring decision to help her father—and a surprise that brings new meaning to her life. Read more about Ruby’s Beat Generation family in The Beat on Ruby’s Street and Fool’s Errand.

AMAZON

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This is a story for all the cool cats and hip chicks out there.  Whether you're an old soul, or someone that still revels in the culture, it opens the window on the beatnik lifestyle while tying in the everyday challenges that plague any/every generation.  The desire to live our own way on our own terms.  The ill taste that asking others for help can leave in our mouths.  The want to love what we have while still looking to rise to the next level as we see it to be.  I really felt for Ruby and her brother Ray.  I mean, I didn't grow up in their lifestyle, nor do I know anyone that had first hand experience, but through reading these stories (as well as others), you gain some experience in their world.  I wanted to reach in and help them so badly.  All Ruby wanted was to be with her dad.  All Ray wanted was to help his sister out while trying to take care of them both.  All they both got were obstacles bigger than them both, a father that was lost in his own addictions, and more trouble than either deserved from SO many sides.  What they also got, or rather saw more clearly, was who their true friends really were, and that hard choices have to be made sometimes for the greater good of both themselves and others.

This is not a light and airy tale, but it does give readers a glimpse into a time and place in history that was very real for many, for better or worse.  It shows that strength can sometimes be hard to find on our own, but getting help from others is not a weakness. It also reminds us that prejudice and close-mindedness is not a symptom of yesterday, but rather an ongoing issue that is worth fighting against, one voice at a time.

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About the author...

Jenna Zark is a columnist, lyricist, playwright, and novelist. Her most recent book, Crooked Lines, was published under a traditional contract with Koehler Books and received 6 honors in 2023, including the first prize in the Overcoming Adversity Memoir category from Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the silver award in the Religious/Spiritual category from Nautilus Book Awards. Zark's first novel The Beat on Ruby's Street won the Gold Award in 2016 from the Wishing Shelf Awards. It is now joined by Fool's Errand, part two in what has become the Beat Street Series for middle-graders. Zark's play A Body of Water was published by Dramatists Play Service and produced at Circle Repertory Company in New York. Other plays were produced in the Twin Cities, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and elsewhere. Zark is also a member of a lyricist’s collective in the Twin Cities. She’s still trying to figure out if it’s harder to write a play, a novel, or a song. To share your thoughts on that or learn more, please visit jennazark.com .

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Special thanks to Pam (author assistant extraordinaire) for eCopy for review as well as the chance to bring this title to you. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the series, or the author, feel free to click through the links provided above.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

Calling all cool cats! Time to catch THE BEAT ON RUBY'S STREET by Jenna Zark!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Here's hoping your weekend was all that you hoped it would be and then some, in the best way possible, and that Monday is treating you right.  Poor Monday; it gets such a bad rap...or in this case, beat.

Today, we're shining the light on an ebook title that came to my attention thanks to Pam at Aurora Publicity.  It's a Middle Grade Historical Fiction novel, but we're not talking ancient times...merely 60 some odd years ago.  Wow...okay, when I type that, it seems MUCH longer than in my head, but still, "historical" is interpreted differently by every reader.  Anywho, back to the title at hand. It's a curious read to say the least, but when have I ever REALLY said the least and left it at that...yeah, exactly.  Ladies and gents, cool cats and hipsters of today, join me as we discover today's ebook of choice... 

The Beat on Ruby's Street

by

Jenna Zark

Dragon Moon Press

About the book...

The last thing eleven-year-old Ruby Tabeata expected to happen on her way to a Jack Kerouac reading was to be hauled to the police station.

It’s 1958 and Ruby is the opposite of a 1950s stereotype: fierce, funny and strong willed, she is only just starting to chart her course in a family of Beat Generation artists in Greenwich Village.

Ruby dreams of meeting famous poets while becoming one herself; instead, she’s accused of trying to steal fruit from a local vendor and is forced to live in a children’s home. As Ruby struggles to return to family and friends, she learns her only choice is to follow her heart.

AMAZON  |  B&N  |  iTunes

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It's a story that takes us back to the 1950's when the Beatniks were attempting to plot their own course through life away from "the man".  It was a time of unrest for many as people settled into the way of things post WWII and while tackling all the changes coming their way was fine and dandy, folks needed an outlet, a way to give voice to the masses.  That voice sought became what we know as Beat Poetry.  It was a way to share their observations, educations, and frustrations, artistically and nonviolently, while prompting the common man to rethink what he's come to accept as the norm.  A few of the bigger names during this movement included Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac...some of which make appearances within these very pages.  Speaking of those pages...

The history is great, the setting spot on, but the characters are what really drive this story to a spectacular finish.  Ruby is an absolute gem.  She's tougher than she seems, can think on her feet, and her heart beats truer than true.  She may not always understand the big picture at first glance, but she gets there in her own time with style to spare.  Ruby wants so badly to be one of the voices of her generation without even really knowing how it's done, but she doesn't let that stop her and in the end, she achieves more than she dared hope.  True, it's not a happily-ever-after the way she pictured, but it is true to the times, the tale, and herself as well as her family, which gives it all the greater impact.

In the end, I caught Ruby's beat like a bird does the winds of change.  The author does a great job of breathing life into her characters and it allowed Ruby's voice to come through loud and clear. Though hipster now, it was Beat back then, and while the style may not always appeal, the message transcends any generational gaps.  A must read for Middle Grade fans of all ages wanting a glimpse into our not-so-distant past as well as a way to feel that hum, that vibration in the air that moved so many to speak out, be heard, and affect the world around them.

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About the author...

Jenna Zark is a columnist, lyricist, playwright, and novelist. Her play A Body of Water was published by Dramatists Play Service and produced regionally after its debut at Circle Repertory Company in New York. Other plays were produced in the Twin Cities, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and St. Louis. As a former staff writer at Scholastic Choices magazine, Zark wrote extensively for middle school and junior high students. Columns, poetry, essays, and articles have been published in TC Jewfolk, Stoneboat literary magazine, Minnesota Bride and numerous other publications. Zark is also a member of a lyricist’s collective in the Twin Cities that performs at local cabarets. She’s still trying to figure out if it’s harder to write a play, a novel, or a song.

SITE  |  BLOG  |  TWITTER  |  GOODREADS

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Special thank to Pam at Aurora Publicity for the ebook for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or those titles on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now, so seek thee out a copy at your favorite online or virtual retailer.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!