Review by Michelle Fred -- Burn Zones by Jorge P. Newbery

[Ngozi Onyibor]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Burn Zones" by Jorge P. Newbery.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

‘’The measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenges and controversy.’’ Jorge is an eternal optimist with a remarkable ability to achieve anything he sets his heart upon. From a paper-boy to a real estate mogul, Jorge has a track record of success in any chosen venture and he is on a trajectory to fame and fortune – until a lapse in judgement changed his life.

Burn Zones is a personal memoir written by Jorge P. Newbery, It chronicles his entrepreneurial journey from childhood to adulthood. As a child, Jorge showed great promise in business. He started out as a paper-boy at the tender age of seven, much to the scepticism of his first employer, he quickly proves himself efficient and reliable, a quality that served him well in subsequent endeavours. With his parents support, he opts out of going to college and sets up a record label; a business he ran successfully for years before moving on to higher pursuits. His love for people shines through the pages as evidenced by the changes he brought to the lives of his tenants at Woodland Meadows (one of his properties) and the role he played in the Occupy Cincinnati protest. He is especially drawn to societal outcasts. Jorge doesn’t see problems, only challenges, an attribute that became his biggest undoing.

I love how engaging and fast-paced the book is. I enjoyed reading it and never got bored. Frankly, it was difficult to put down. The pictures included added life to the pages and made it less impersonal. Jorge is a fantastic writer and he did a stellar job of showing the story rather than telling it. While reading, it felt like I was having a conversation with a friend. I particularly loved the part his mum read from her mother’s book during his wedding. It was a tear jerker. ‘’What is peace, but love?” Is my favourite quote from the book.

There is no part of the book I didn’t like. However, the book could use another round of professional editing. I spotted two typos and some formatting errors; the pictures should have been captioned with a smaller font and separated from the rest of the write-up, but instead, large fonts were used and it read like a continuation of a sentence or paragraph. Lyrics of songs were italicized but were not separated with a line break. It disrupted my reading a few times.

Unfortunately, I am unable to give the book the full star rating as a result of the above reasons. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I strongly believe it will appeal to anyone that enjoys memoirs and inspirational books. It has a positive and uplifting message. It will be most beneficial to young adults.

******
Burn Zones
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Ekta Kumari]

This is truly an inspirational book. I like how you summarized it without giving away any spoiler yet increasing the readers' curiosity. I hope the author fixes the editing and format. Thank you for a well-written review.

[Ngozi Onyibor]

This is truly an inspirational book. I like how you summarized it without giving away any spoiler yet increasing the readers' curiosity. I hope the author fixes the editing and format. Thank you for a well-written review.

It really is. Thanks for your comment.

[HanElizabeth397]

I totally agree with your point about the formatting! And the good news for the author is that it is a really easy fix, and then the book would have been rated a four stars from you! Thanks for writing this review - it's so well written!