Book Reviews

Buy this book only if any one or all of the following matter to you: A) You love a good underdog story, B) You haven’t quite completely given up to “The Man” and/or C) You’re convinced that good, old-fashioned gumption and grit, exercised by citizens who give a rip, still are important elements of the ongoing American experiment. Written with a “get real” perspective, humor and a distinctly fresh voice, SLAPPED! will inspire you to roll up your sleeves and make a difference.

—Adam Hansen, Principal and VP Innovation, Ideas To Go, Inc.

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SLAPPED! is an incredible story that everyone needs to read and think deeply about. It is a lesson in courage and resilience that will make you question how far you would go and how much you would sacrifice to defend something you value-and to stand up for your rights as well as your fellow American’s rights.

—Val B. Darrington, Professional Educator, Hershey, PA

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While reading this informative and very interesting book, I ran the gambit of emotions. I laughed at their mischievous capers and cried at what these women went through. I loved this book and couldn’t wait to read the next chapter. SLAPPED! is the best novel based on a true story I’ve ever read.

—Jodi Lyn Peterson Webster, Colorado

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SLAPPED! is a fascinating story on many different levels. It portrays with empathy and affection the heroic daily lives of Mormon housewives as they raise children, participate in church activities of every kind, run errands, keep a household-AND battle a powerful corporation and the entire entrenched power structure of a tightly-knit theocratic community, risking everything including their own welfare and that of their families, to stand tall for the values of free speech, democratic government, and preservation of some small remnant of the natural world in their small community.

—Ray Wheeler, Cosmos West Literary Review

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They say you can’t fight city hall. I guess these Utah housewives had never heard that idiom. Because they did fight city hall. And their story is truly compelling.

SLAPPED! has every element of a great fiction novel—intrigue, violence, love, humor, theft, blackmail, power, greed and even forgiveness. What makes this story even better is that it is based on a true story. The events of SLAPPED! take place in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah, where two women were naive enough to believe they lived in a community that protected the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution—freedom of speech, the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Religion and politics are strange but familiar bedfellows especially in Utah where the predominant religion is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). The housewives struggle to keep these two issues separated so as to not destroy their faith or their love of country.

This story reminded me of events of “Watergate” as told in All the President’s Men. I was instantly transfixed and read this suspenseful book in one sitting. Shortly after reading SLAPPED!, I visited the sites from the events depicted in the book. It was some sort of incredulous pilgrimage; sitting in the booth at Denny’s, visiting the homes of the main characters, and then finally standing in the enormous asphalted parking lot that had once been acres and acres of a beautiful riparian corridor.

SLAPPED! is an incredible story that everyone needs to read and think deeply about. It is a lesson in courage and resilience that will make you question how far you would go and how much you would sacrifice to defend something you value?and to stand up for your rights as well as your fellow American’s rights. ”

—Val Darrington

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The Raspberry Man

Written by Janalee Tobias, Ilustrations by Julia Adams

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