Review: American Radical: Inside the World of an Undercover Muslim FBI Agent by Tamer Elnoury

☆☆☆☆
Nonfiction — spies, terrorism

This is a fascinating account of life as an undercover FBI agent. Tamer Elnoury is an identity created by the FBI to expose terrorists. The identity has since been burned, so the agent, who is still active, uses it for his pseudonym.

Tamer was born in Egypt and immigrated to the US as a small child, so he is natively fluent in both Arabic and English. He found his calling in law enforcement, where he worked undercover to bring down drug lords. Eventually he was recruited for counter-terrorism.

The book tells of a particular case that started out as a favor to Canada but grew as more evidence was found. Tamer is a very self-confident, almost cocky guy, which is essential to working under cover.

Befriending jihadists was especially tiring for him—he had to watch people twist something personal and sacred to him and pretend to agree with their rationalizations for evil. That takes a special kind of mental endurance, and I’m in awe of that.

Recommended for anyone interested in police work, spies, and life as an American Muslim. Editing was good except for the “alright” spellings.

Book Lovers’ Memes (Set 1)

Usage: Hone or Home In?

It’s quite easy to confuse these two words, especially since they sound so alike in casual speech.

You home in when you’re getting close to home.
You hone your skills with practice, so you never actually hone in for or at anything.

Trick to Remember
Do you feel like a homing pigeon? Then you’re homing in.
Have you sharpened your skills? Then you’ve carved away part of that m in home and are left with hone.

Review: Followed by Frost

Followed by Frost by Charlie Holmberg
☆☆☆☆
Fantasy — Young Adult — Fairy Tale Retellings

Sadly, this is my first book by Charlie, one of many talented local authors. The writing is excellent—it hardly matters what the book is about because just the writing made it good.

It’s about Smitha, a vain and selfish 17-year-old, who ends up cursed to be always freezing cold. As she brings snow and cold wherever she goes, she spends a lot of time in exile. The core of the book is seeing Smitha transform as she learns to use her curse for good and to become completely selfless.

The pacing is right on, the characters and world-building are well done, and it’s easy to become swept up in the story. I mean, I felt extra cold while reading it, and I was emotionally invested in the characters.