Inspirational / Spiritual
Plot: While the author’s words are inspirational, inform the reader, and the theme is consistent, the beginnings of this guide/journal are very repetitive and the chapters blend into one another instead of being more distinct.
Prose/Style: The author is very descriptive and cohesively incorporates quotes from the Bible as well as the popular self-help book The Secret. The first two chapters are filled with paragraphs asking only questions, which can be distracting for the reader and are redundant as they are used again in the journaling portion of the guide.
Originality: This guide relies heavily on scriptures from the Bible as well as components from other well-known self-help books. The author does implement quotes from various popular songs and their own opinions as well, that do add a personal touch.
Character Development/Execution: The written portion of this guide could benefit from being condensed and restructured. The journal portion is more organized and should be more of the main focus for the reader.
Plot: This analysis of the album Tommy by The Who attempts to double as a lens to look at the experience of children with special needs in the education system, but it does not succeed in forming a cohesive argument from this concept. This book leans heavily into the biographies of members of The Who, which causes the critique of the education to be overshadowed.
Prose/Style: The writing style is accessible, but has a tendency to get a little too informal which causes some awkward, stilted moments. Its most puzzling feature is the 200-plus footnotes, which are not organized as well as they could be. Many of them could be included in the main text.
Originality: This project is definitely a highly unique mix of professional anecdotes, rock history, and personal memoir, but all of these pieces don’t quite fit together. The most compelling portions of the book are the memoir portions, and the book would have been much stronger if they were highlighted throughout the book instead of placed at the end.
Character Development/Execution: Overall this book is uneven and tends to go off into tangents, and so it requires a strong central argument to pull the various ideas together. It also needs more effective organization to alleviate the confusing moments and aid in creating a more cohesive book.
Plot/Idea: Heelan proposes a helpful concept that will resonate with its intended audience. He presents biblical verses and interpretations succinctly and efficiently.
Prose: Heelan’s prose is both emphatic and lyrical with pleasantly evocative descriptions. At times, he attempts to elevate the text by using a style that instead comes across as too ornate and overwrought.
Originality: Stations of the Risen Christ will meet the expectations of readers looking for basic biblical inspiration.
Character Development/Execution: Heelan’s execution is simple and concise. He is to-the-point in his instruction, but some readers may feel there is something missing from his writing, as he rarely ventures beyond summarizing or paraphrasing the religious text he introduces.
Plot/Idea: Plancher writes with fervor, but her concepts are somewhat jumbled and ambiguous. The central theme becomes unclear early in the text, and supporting sections are challenging to identify.
Prose: Plancher’s prose is clunky, with several instances of stilted conversation and awkward transitions. Her relaxed style is incompatible with the text’s more elevated concepts.
Originality: The Strength of the Nation boasts a novel theme with unusual delivery, and Plancher’s methods of exploring her main ideas lend the work an atypical flair.
Character Development/Execution: Plancher gets bogged down in her narrative and loses sight of the work’s main goals. Readers may find it difficult to distinguish actionable steps from speculation, and the author's leading premise quickly gets lost.
Plot: This book may be hard to understand and follow for readers, who will find a smattering of predictions regarding the end of the world, with a combination of perplexing numerology, biblical quotes, and prophecies made by the author himself.
Prose/Style: Appropriately, as the work is "co-authored with the Holy Spirit," the prose is reminiscent of the New Testament, which may appeal to biblical scholars.
Originality: Readers may find much of the end-times prophecy to be familiar and not especially illuminating. A more detailed look at numerology and other less-explored concepts may spark interest.
Character Development/Execution: Mikah has composed a passionate, but somewhat baffling treatise regarding the end-times and the seeking of salvation. Despite its forceful ideas, the book is ultimately difficult to discern.
Plot/Idea: This spiritual guidebook requires more structure and organization, as its messages and advice are inevitably lost in some of this confusion. It also does not properly incorporate or flesh out its thesis.
Prose: The writing style is choppy and stilted, which makes the overall flow of this book uneven. The book would benefit from cleaner prose to really allow the ideas to shine through.
Originality: This book touches on some very interesting ideas, but it does not expand on them enough to make them truly unique.
Character Development/Execution: The overall execution of this book is patchy, and a clear structure is needed to really make it a compelling project that will keep readers invested.
Disqualified because the book is fiction.
Disqualified because word count under 40,000.
