Messages

Messages
By Jennifer Luing-Schafer
Published by iUniverse.com
March (?) 2008

For about $600 and a little time anyone can publish a manuscript and receive a set of books featuring a genuine ISBN. For some people this is a great opportunity to do a small printing for family and friends. It also allows an author to skip the publishing world drama and try for success outside of the mainstream book distributors.

When it comes to Messages however, I wonder if the world of self-publishing shouldn't have a gate-keeper. I'm not suggesting anything too severe, perhaps an editor to make sure the first sentence is grammatically correct before bestowing "book-ship" upon a piece of work.

Messages is a story of two teenage girls who come across a Ouija board and become involved with an evil spirit. The rest is a jumble of poor grammar with an incoherent storyline. It's told as if a child was asked to describe her worst nightmares and then the book was translated from some foreign language. I feel sorry for the English teachers the author thanks in the dedication.

I rarely write negative reviews, but the story didn't scare me nearly as much as the writing. This book is a warning to would-be authors: be careful what you publish. Someone might read it.