ashley_manning-odell | Narrative Muse

A.C. O'Dell

This is A.C.! She’s an unofficial member of geekdom and loves board games, tabletop games, video games, mind games… just kidding. Or are we? A.C. has written a novel and a half and is hoping to be published, as the habit of writing is growing harder to shake. She lives in Interlaken, which is in rural upstate New York. Her heroes are her cat, Fiddle, and Captain Kathryn Janeway.

Reviews by A.C. O'Dell:

Image: So Do You Thumbnail

There are a lot of people in my life who won’t give me the permission I crave to forge my own way. That’s why Sarah Knight exists.

Image: Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi

If you enjoy well-made films, you should probably see this; if you’re a sci-fi fan or invested in the Star Wars universe, you should absolutely see this.

Image: Misfit City

I’m excited. This is a comic for us. For today. Everything has changed; the digital delivery, the type of story, and especially the style.

Image: The Woman Who Changed Her Brain

The Woman Who Changed Her Brain

Barbara Arrowsmith-Young theorized that working on her temporal lobe would “wake up” the part of her brain causing her learning deficiency. And it work

Image: The Underground Girls of Kabul

The Underground Girls of Kabul

An unusual phenomenon is occurring in Afghanistan – the daughters of sonless Afghan families are dressing as boys.

Image: Dragon Springs Road

Dragon Springs Road

Born in early 1900s China, Jialing is zazhong – Eurasian. She’s a betrayal of race, a shameful object. Her unlikely future is set to unfold in twists and turns.

Image: The Meaning of Michelle

The Meaning of Michelle

Do you miss Michelle Obama? I know I want more Michelle. This is an insightful look at our former first lady throughout her term.

Image: The Great Maiden’s Blush

The Great Maiden’s Blush

Maiden’s Blush approaches the idea of unplanned pregnancy in an honest and pragmatic way that discourages shaming. It’s also incredibly beautiful.

Image: Carve the Mark

I was totally wooed by Roth’s voice and world-building. The adventure wove itself around me and I was surprised by the turns but wasn’t satisfied by the ending.

Image: Rouge One

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

While it’s a delight to see the New Hope-era aesthetic (the helmets! The ships! The suits!) much of the movie’s action is slow but the third act is worth the wait.

Image: The Circle

Imagine a world where everything is streamed live online. Even you. In this near-future tale, privacy is theft.

Image: Mischling

Twins Pearl and Stasha are brought to Auschwitz in 1944 and assigned to “The Zoo.” The novel is an epitaph for the lives destroyed by Josef Mengele.

Image: Trainwreck

The Modern Trainwreck. We hate to love them. We vilify them while alive but celebrate them when they’re dead.

Image: Where Am I Now?

Where Am I Now?

Coming-of-age memoir novels often bore me, but I was so impressed by Mara’s bravery and her dedication to the truth.

Image: The Midwife

The Midwife (now Call the Midwife)

It’s the mystery of birth explored by a young eye in the 1950s. These are stories of patients too canny to be works of fiction, belly laughs and knuckle-biting.

Image: Frida

As we know, many talented artists were mentally or physically ill. What if you could watch one of them live and work, the brilliant mind laid bare?

Image: Winter’s Bone

Winter’s Bone

Director Debra Granik takes a heartbreaking yet hopeful look at the stark world of low-income families settled in the Ozarks of America.

Image: Labyrinth of Lies

A crew of misfits records a series of dreamy indie titles studio free on the streets of New York City.

Image: Doomsday Book

The rare time-travel saga featuring a female protagonist. It's timeless.

Image: Lights Out

I found myself wondering if Diana was real, imaginary, spectral or demonic. Then it hit me. Diana is Depression. Personified.

Image: The Kitchen House

The Kitchen House

The delineation between slave and free, noble and servile, male and female, hit me hard, and I became angry.

Image: Patience and Sarah

Patience and Sarah

“Before Patience and Sarah, I had started several books about myself and my friends, but I became overwhelmed with guilt and couldn’t finish them… I was afraid.”

Image: Furiously Happy

Furiously Happy

A reminder that it’s possible to look my own demons in the face, tell them a joke, and get on with my life.

Image: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Joyce says beautiful things about long-term relationships, love, and lying to ourselves.

Image: City of Gold

When Pulitzer-prize winning writer and food critic Jonathan Gold introduces us to a watermelon salad with Thai feta, chili, and lemongrass, I literally moaned.

Image: Jane Steele

This modern Jane Eyre-esque novel is a rich sensory experience. There are some twists and more than a little gore.

Image: The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle

The story accessed that dirty, thrill-seeking part of my psyche that enjoys horror and family gossip (often the same thing, right?)

Image: The Babadook

Not sure if you can handle horror? Need a reason to rediscover the genre? The Babadook just might be for you.

Image: Negroland: A Memoir

Negroland: A Memoir

After reading Negroland: A Memoir, I am starting to believe that privilege has less to do with who I am and what I have, and more to do with how people treat me.

Image: The Assassin's Apprentice

The Assassin's Apprentice

The Dungeons and Dragons side of me was sated. And the honest look at hurt and healing was dealt with honestly.

Collage of people connected by arrows

Maggie’s Plan

Maggie’s Plan has relatable content, but not relevant issues. Something that won’t really offend, but is also too spicy to be attributed to Nora Ephron.

Image: The Nest

We're nobody’s mirror. “Everyone’s always on the hunt for a mirror. You want to see yourself reflected in others. It’s basic psychology. ”

Image: The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

If there’s anything I need as a writer, it’s grace, and The Artist’s Way keeps on forgiving, suggesting, granting permission, and inspiring.

Image: Hello, My Name is Doris

Hello, My Name is Doris

It’s never too late, or early, to overhaul a psyche.

Image: Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

She writes at length about the frustration she felt as a female author in the 1960s. Her manuscript for Wrinkle in Time was rejected some thirty times.

Image: Me Before You

Give yourself time, quiet, and rest to read this gorgeously cathartic and challenging novel. You will never be the same.

Image: The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay & Diaries

The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay & Diaries

I found myself laughing out loud, shaking my head, responding to Thompson’s journals as if she were sitting across from me as we enjoyed our Sunday Sumatra.