Book Review: Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans by Larry Nouvel

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About the Book: Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans Quiet Valor Cover

  • Genre: Inspirational Nonfiction/ American Social History
  • Publication Date: November 4, 2025
  • Pages: 241
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Some acts of courage never make the news, but they keep the world turning.

In every community, there are people who keep things moving simply by showing up. Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans opens with this familiar truth and builds a clear, steady narrative around it—highlighting the men and women whose everyday decisions hold families and neighborhoods together when it matters most.

Larry Nouvel brings forward stories that feel close to home: the workers, neighbors, teachers, and caregivers who operate without fanfare but whose actions hold real impact across families, streets, and local systems.

This volume reads like a portfolio of lived experiences, each one capturing a moment when an ordinary individual stepped forward because responsibility called for it. A teacher sprinting through a storm to guide anxious children. A bus driver managing an evacuation with near-perfect timing. A construction worker shielding a stranger on the subway tracks. A deputy diving into deep water to bring a lost child back to safety. An airman refusing to stop until every family in a flooded town was accounted for. These moments underscore a timeless point: communities endure because everyday people choose to act.

Nouvel’s style is measured and respectful, reflecting long-standing values, commitment, steadiness, and the quiet work ethic that has always shaped American life. Each vignette is lean, focused, and designed to show how character carries real operational weight. These aren’t headline-chasing stories; they are reminders of the reliable hands that keep families supported and neighborhoods functioning.

Following Quiet Valor: Unsung Architects of the American Promise and Quiet Valor: Children Who Cared, Endured, and Inspired, this third volume turns the lens toward the adults who sustain communities one steady act at a time.

Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans is a meaningful resource for readers who value tradition, continuity, and the steady presence of people who do the work because the work matters. It reminds us that valor is often quiet—and greatness is measured by the willingness to keep showing up.

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 About the Author: Larry Nouvel LN Pict Nov 2025

Larry Nouvel is the author of Quiet Valor: Unsung Architects of the American Promise, Quiet Valor: Children Who Cared, Endured, and Inspired, and Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans— three books that celebrate individuals whose quiet actions shaped lives, communities, and sometimes nations.

An inventor and entrepreneur, Larry has developed and registered more than 100 health-related products worldwide and holds over a dozen patents. As founder of LNouvel Inc., he has spent decades quietly advancing innovations in pet, livestock, and household care. His latest venture, UnRuffled Pets, launched in 2024 with calming products for cats and dogs, and is now sold across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Brazil.

Larry’s writing reflects his belief that quiet dedication—whether through caregiving, invention, or daily kindness—can drive lasting change. His stories highlight people who didn’t seek attention but made a difference all the same.

Connect with Larry:

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My Thoughts MAB-2026

Going into Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans, I’ll admit I was a bit trepidatious. I hadn’t read the first two books in the series, and I wondered whether this would veer into a politically conservative, rah-rah celebration of “American values.” I was relieved to discover that the author’s note—clearly stating that this book is not political—was absolutely sincere.

What this book actually offers is something rarer and, frankly, more needed: a balm for weary souls who are looking anywhere for hope and positivity in an increasingly bleak world.

This is not a book about capital-H heroes. Instead, it centers on people who engage in small acts of service, kindness, and yes, heroism—not for recognition or glory, but because it was the right thing to do in the moment. These are stories of people showing up when it would have been easier not to.

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I was only two stories in when I found myself getting teary. This book is moving. It’s honest. It’s simple and direct in the best possible way. There’s no manipulation here, no overwriting, no manufactured sentiment.

One of the most striking aspects of Quiet Valor is its credibility. In an age when even stories of kindness are often generated by AI and amplified through social media without verification, this book has receipts. Every story is sourced. These moments are real, documented, and grounded in lived experience.

From home health aides who showed up during COVID, to nurses, to subway riders protecting one another in moments of danger, the book quietly but firmly reinforces something many of us want to believe but sometimes struggle to hold onto: that people, at their core, are capable of goodness.

Reading this, I kept thinking of Anne Frank’s words about still believing in the goodness of people. Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans doesn’t shout that belief. It simply proves it, one steady story at a time.

Goes well with: a mug of coffee and a chocolate chip cookie your neighbor baked—still warm, offered without ceremony, and meant to be shared.


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Magical Elements of the Periodic Table Presented Alphabetically by the Elemental Dragons by Sybrina Durant

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About the book, Magical Elements of the Periodic Table Presented Alphabetically by the Elemental Dragons  Cover Magical Elements Dragons

  • Series: Magical Elements of the Periodic Table, Book 2
  • Genre: Children’s Picture Book / STEM / Chemistry
  • Publisher: Sybrina Publishing
  • Page Count: 44
  • Publication Date: March 9, 2024
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In this unique alphabet book, members of the Elemental Dragon Clan present 26 Magical Elements of the Periodic Table in alphabetical order. Each member of the clan has an element tipped tail. They also have magical powers based on the properties of their metals. There are no more perfect groups than unicorns and dragons to familiarize yourself with elements from the Periodic Table. Their theme is: “No Metal — No Magic. . .and No Technology.”

In this book, Antz starts out the book by introducing the very necessary metal, Antimony on his element page. Zora rounds out the alphabet by presenting scientific facts and other fun information about the metal, Zirconium, on her elemental page. In all, readers will get some great insight into the properties of 26 elements from the periodic table. Each page is full of amazing facts and tons of FUN. There’s a Magical Elemental themed periodic table, too!

This unique book will help tweens, teens and anyone else quickly absorb the elements of the Periodic Table.

REMEMBER. . .
No Metal,
No Magic…
And No Technology.
It’s Techno-Magical!

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About the Author, Sybrina Durant Author Photo Durant

Sybrina Durant is a unicorn author and entrepreneur. In addition to books, she offers unicorn-themed activities, t-shirts, and more. Plus, she has pulled together a collection of nearly all the unicorn books available today from hundreds of authors. They are categorized on her website by Little Kid, Middle Kid, and Teen Unicorn Books.

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My Thoughts MelissaBartell - photo

Magical Elements of the Periodic Table Presented Alphabetically by the Elemental Dragons is the second book in the Magical Elements series. It is not necessary to have read the first one to appreciate this volume.

 

Aimed at kids in the middle grades, this book provides an in-depth look at 26 elements of the periodic table (well, really 25 plus an isotope) each presented by a magical dragon whose name shares the element’s first initial and whose power is defined by what the element does. It’s a clever way of disseminating real information without making it seem intimidating or overwhelming.

 

As a fantasy fan myself, I appreciated the artwork and the use of magic and dragons to make learning the elements more fun. I loved that they each had a unique look and personality. As a science geek, I enjoyed that the author gave some practical uses for each element.

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Also worthy of note is the glossary of terms in the back of the book, and the links to the publisher’s archive of enrichment activities for teachers who use this book in their classrooms.

 

Overall, this is a great way of introducing kids to chemical elements, and I’m a bit envious = where was this when I was in middle school?

 

Goes well with: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cut in triangles, and chocolate milk.


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Review & Giveaway: To Rescue a Witch by Lisa A Traugott

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About the book, To Rescue a Witch COVER Traugott_RescueWitch_Ebook

  • Genre: Historical Fiction / Action & Adventure / Witch Trials
  • Page Count: 398 pages
  • Publication Date: March 1, 2024
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It’s 1739. An abused girl accused of witchcraft must be defended by a man married to an actual witch.

William MacLeod, a fierce Scottish lawyer with a kind heart, takes on a daunting task—rescue young Annaliese from the clutches of her tormentors in the untamed wilds of Virginia colony and deliver her safely to her aristocratic father in London. But lurking in the shadows are enemies eager to expose MacLeod’s own wife, Fiona, as a witch with a dark secret.

Their perilous journey takes an unexpected turn when their ship wrecks, and Annaliese’s haunting nightmares and unexplained Devil Marks trigger suspicion among the crew. Tension peaks when MacLeod must become Annaliese’s unwavering protector in a witch trial, where Fiona’s clairvoyance and a murder are unveiled.

To Rescue a Witch navigates themes of betrayal and redemption, in a spellbinding narrative that blends history, magic, and the unyielding resilience of the human spirit.

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About the Author, Lisa A. Traugott author photo Traugott

Lisa A. Traugott is an award-winning author and World Championship public speaker semifinalist — who also spoke five lines on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She lives in Austin with her husband, two kids and English bulldog, Bruno.

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My Thoughts MissMeliss - 2023

Lisa A. Traugott’s new novel To Rescue a Witch is brilliant and powerful, telling the story of three different women (one is really a little girl) and one Scotsman in alternating points of view. It’s very much a portrait of the social strictures of the period – it’s set in 1739 – but it’s also, by turns, an action-adventure, a vigilante tale, a romance, a courtroom saga, and a redemption story. Add witchcraft, a shipwreck, and intense family drama to the mix, and this book has something for everyone.

At the center is William McLeod, a kindhearted lawyer who needs significant nudging from his wife, Fiona, in order to heed the better angels of his nature. Author Traugott has done a masterful job depicting him has a flawed human being who is sometimes too quick to act but is trying to curb his baser instincts.

Surrounding McLeod are three women, whose stories are told in alternating chapters. Fiona, McLeod’s wife is a devoted mother, a loving spouse, and an actual witch who makes protective charms and has portentous dreams. Lady Margaret is the epitome of a fairytale villainous queen translated to the real world of eighteenth century Scotland. And then there’s Annaliese. If McLeod is the central male figure of this novel, Fiery, feisty, nine-and-a-half-year-old Annaliese is the central female figure. Raised in filth and brutality by her stepfather, it’s really amazing that she’s alive at all, let alone serving as a protector to her younger half-brother. Like Fiona, she also has portentous dreams, but as a child doesn’t know how to filter what she shares.

While the novel has moments of lightness and humor, the opening chapters, especially, are brutal and visceral, with mentions of sexual abuse of children and violence toward children, women, and men.

Overall, To Rescue a Witch is a compelling story, with equal measures of explicit physical situations, poignant emotional scenes, and high-seas adventure, blended with a healthy dose of witch trials and the politics of the period. The characters are dimensional, each with their own failings and graces, and the dialogue is a rich blend of early American English, Scots English, and  British English.

It’s a worthy read, and one that is not soon forgotten.

Goes well with: baked salmon and mashed potatoes, followed by a healthy shot of whisky.

 


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