7 Things to Love about Anna Khonda {Book Review w/ Recipe} #bullyingisnotacceptable

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I must provide a disclaimer here … this book I’m reviewing is my sister’s. So I may be a bit biased, but I’m bursting with pride over her accomplishment. You see, she has achieved what some work towards for years, with her first attempt, all while being an amazing single mom to my precious niece.

[Image Credit: Allyson Mayze]

She has such a big heart and has been put through a lot of things that many would not survive without an emotional breakdown. If you are a reader or know someone who loves books, I humbly ask you to consider supporting her by purchasing her book or sharing this review with a friend.

If you are a blogger, please consider using the “Steal this article legally” post at the bottom of this post to embed it on your own blog. You will get free content for your readers without risking a duplicate content penalty from Google. Win-win huh?!

Now to the book review and recipe!

[Image Credit: Outskirts Press]

For this review, I identified 7 things to love about the main character, Anna Khonda (yes, there is reason for the name … so get the book to find out! ).

#1 - She is relatable and real

So this book, Tales of the Anna Khonda, was inspired by some real life experiences of the author, Allyson Mayze. Maybe this is one reason why I felt like she did such a good job making her main character so relatable and “real”. I felt like I knew her as I read along and looked forward to picking up where I was leaving off each time I put the book down.

The book is written also with the purpose of drawing much needed attention to the issue of bullying, which seems to be a growing problem with the young people in our society. So anyone who has ever experienced bullying will relate especially well to the struggles Anna has throughout the story.

It is so sad all the news stories of teenagers committing suicide because they feel so hopeless and like no one cares about them. A friend of mine just recently shared this on Facebook:

#2 - She overcomes and learns how to handle bullying resulting from her unique “special need”

Anna is a victim of bullying due to the differences she has because of a genetic mutation. This adds a little bit of science fiction into the story. I’m not a big sci-fi fan, but it was really a small part of the overall story and nothing really “out there.” I loved the creativity of this even though I’m not into that genre.

The book begins during Anna’s childhood and takes you through her life into early adulthood. You observe her learning how to handle being different, empathize if you are a parent with her mother’s tendency at times to be overprotective, while struggling internally with trying to strike a balance and allow her daughter to enjoy life.

#3 - She is bright and a passionate learner, immersing herself in her studies

Anna is home schooled, so those of us walking that path can definitely relate to this part of the story! It’s through her educational development and pursuits that she finds an interest in martial arts, which she begins studying. She falls in love with it and through a sequence of circumstances, it becomes a major part of her life and gives her a way to express herself and find meaning in her differences. It also equips her to protect herself, when needed against those who would do her harm.

#4 - She’s kind hearted and maintains a child-like “innocence” into adulthood

As much as I’m not into science fiction, even more so I am not into books with a lot of foul language or adult content. So I enjoyed the way the author wrote this story to include lots of subplots or topics but without the R-rated material. The media does a fabulous job of glamourizing the dramatic in our culture.

It’s getting to a point where you have to scan magazine covers if your younger children are with you to shield them from anything you don’t want to be fielding questions about later especially once they start reading. I get tired sometimes of all of it, which I suppose is one reason why we don’t have cable TV. It makes it easier to sort of tune it all out. So it’s refreshing for me to read a book with a character who seems so rare in real life these days.

#5 - She turns her greatest challenge into her greatest asset

Because of Anna’s physical difference caused by the genetic mutation, she faces the challenges of being so obviously unique from everyone else. But one of the pleasant surprises in this is how she finds it can be a strength for her, too, and it ends up becoming an asset rather than a hindrance.

We have probably all heard about people like this, who faced tremendous difficulty or adversity in life. But instead of wallowing in self-pity, they decided to take the lemons they’d been given in life and make some lemonade!

#6 - Her favorite food is canned tuna

You’ve gotta love this one, especially if you’re a foodie. I thought this was hilarious to read at different points in the book about her loving her canned tuna. Reminds me of the young fella at my church who said his favorite food is Cool Whip. Never heard of that one before!

So in honor of my sister’s character in her first published novel, I named the following recipe Anna Khonda’s Favorite Tuna Salad.

Anna Khonda's Favorite Tuna Salad

 

Author: Anne

Recipe type: Main Dish

Print

This is a special recipe because it is named after a book character, in honor of my sister's first published novel, Tales of the Anna Khonda. Throughout the book, the reader sees how much Anna loves canned tuna. Everybody has their "quirks" and that is the least of hers! :)

Ingredients

• 2 6-ounce cans tuna
• celery, diced, to taste
• onion, diced, to taste
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• approximately 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Instructions

1. Drain tuna.
2. Mix all ingredients together thoroughly.
3. Serve on sandwich thins, bread of choice or over salad.

Notes

Add additional mayonnaise if you prefer that flavor or consistency.

3.2.1303

#7 - She’s a go-getter and very determined

Anna has a quality about her of seeing what she wants and going after it with laser focus. This helps her push past her challenges in being so different from everyone else, and at the end, she finds herself ready to make it big. I won’t spoil the ending of the book for you, but I love how it was written making you wonder what happened next, leaving the door open for a sequel.

Now, I am not really a fiction reader. I have an interest in plenty of non-fiction topics, so on the rare occasion that I do have time for leisure reading, I most always choose non-fiction material. But of course, I wanted to read what my sister had written.

She gave me the book as a Christmas gift, and I started reading it right away. It grabbed my attention and I read through it quickly, finishing it in probably about a week’s time, reading several chapters a night. I liked that the chapters were brief. I don’t know what it is, maybe my lack of patience and preference to finish a chapter before putting a book down, yet, not having lots of time when I do read.

I also really enjoyed the character development of Anna Khonda, as well as the different relationships portrayed throughout the story, from mother-daughter to sister-sister to friendships and romantic relationships. One of my favorite parts of the book was from a scene involving a personal conflict. She was struggling with whether or not the new relationship was or should become anything more than friends.

Excerpt:

He’d meant every word he’d said in the store about her being beautiful. He’d never seen a woman like her before in his life. And he happened to really, really like the things that were different. She seemed to be a mystery to him as well, which was part of what added to her intrigue. [Quoted with permission]

A word about the one scene with violence

The book has very little “adult” content in it. There is one scene full of action and a touch of violence, resulting in the death of several people. I would recommend that adults review that section, on pages 109-112 when considering the book for those more sensitive to this type of content and use discretion.

Greatest strength of this book

I think this book’s greatest strength is that it does a wonderful job of bringing to the forefront of the reader’s mind the issues of bullying and the importance of learning in childhood to treat others different from you with dignity and respect. I’m sure I do not have to tell you how much we need lots of reinforcement of this message in our society today.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in these topics or who just love to read great stories and support new authors.

Book Endorsements

Woven into the story of Anna Khonda’s life, mostly at the end, are some wrestling experiences, based on and adapted from real life experiences of Author Allyson Mayze. One of the book’s first endorsements comes from the Professional Wrestling Industry:

[Image Credit: Allyson Mayze]

I had the pleasure of training the author when she wrestled, so I was eager to read what she had written, and to see how she wove her wrestling experiences into the story was fun for me. I think she’s done a great job creating realistic characters and bringing them to life. ~“Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant, Former WWWF Pro-Wrestler, AWA Wrestler, owner of Boogie’s Wrestling Camp, and Author

Also endorsing the book is a Clinical Celebrity Hypnotist:

[Image Credit: Dr. Steve Jones]

I really enjoyed reading this book. Author Allyson Mayze does a good job taking you through the life and times of a young girl while tackling a tough issue like bullying. The pace of the book started out necessarily drawing you into Anna’s life and continued on pace until you were hooked to the end. ~Dr. Steve G. Jones, Director of American Alliance of Hypnotist

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About the Author

Adopted at age 2, grew up in the Charlotte, NC area. Obtained Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Appalachian State University. Loves being a Mom of two and taste-testing Chef John's culinary creations and sharing them with readers.

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