I think part of the nature of creativity is that nothing exists in a vacuum and there needs to be a spark from somewhere. Many unique creative works are inspired by others. If Year One was inspired by The Stand, then kudos to Nora Roberts and to Stephen King. Even with different types of characters and though I am at the beginning, it is already shaping up to be a journey, fellow travelers collected along the way, some survivors with the light of goodness in their hearts and some with the dark of evil. Since it’s possible that Nora Roberts’ and Stephen King’s readers don’t always intersect, this may be to the 21st century what The Stand was to the 20th. I think it is the quintessential 20th century novel of man’s internal struggle between good and evil, and it is ALWAYS riveting for me, no matter which read it is. Having said that, my favorite novel of all time is The Stand by Stephen King, which I re-read every 5 to 10 years. I just started Year One and do not expect to be disappointed.
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You really can’t put creators this woke (and this humble) on a project and not expect a fantastic product. The title is a play on “bottom feeders”, the name given to a particular fictional neighborhood with very real parallels to that part of town. When an aspiring fashion designer and her image-obsessed BFF descend upon the hood in search of cheap rent, they discover something far more seductive… and deadly.” The levity of this synopsis alone rivals the pretentious gravitas of several Steven King made for TV series trailers, it’s pitch perfect! Even the synopsis is a stroke of comprehension: “Once a thriving working-class neighborhood on Chicago’s south side, the ‘Bottomyards’ is now the definition of urban blight. Daniels and Passmore aren’t just writing about the issue at hand, they genuinely know what they’re talking about. Paired up with Eisner award-winning indie comic creator and illustrator Ben Passmore, whose collection of race-savvy comics “ Your Black Friend” are a gem unto themselves. Bttm Fdrs is the latest from multimedia dynamo Ezra Claytan Daniels whose last few entries The Changers and Upgrade Soul are already revered as modern classics in the genre. Packaged as a razor-sharp, pastel flavored fever dream, this book is scary, good, and scary good. Words:Ezra Claytan Daniels/Art:Ben Passmore / FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS, INC FROM THE TOPīTTM FDRS is a spot-on critique of the causality of urban gentrification. A staunch Democrat for all of her life, she began to question the left's policies toward black Americans, and investigate the harm they inflict on the community. But for Candace Owens and many others, it was a wake-up call. What do you have to lose? This question, posed by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to potential black voters, was mocked and dismissed by the mainstream media. Political activist and social media star Candace Owens explains all the reasons how the Democratic Party policies hurt, rather than help, the African American community, and why she and many others are turning right. His talent team has worked on such features as Despicable Me, Rio, Gnomeo & Juliet, and Horton Hears a Who-and fully produced Niko: The Journey to Magika and El Americano. She also coauthors the Goddess Girls and Thunder Girls series with the fantastic Joan Holub. Visit her at .ĭavid Campiti is an animation producer and voiceover actor and is CEO of Glass House Graphics/Cutting Edge Animation & Publishing Services. She also coauthors the Goddess Girls and Thunder Girls series with the fantastic Joan Holub. Suzanne Williams is a former elementary school librarian and the author of over seventy books for children, including the award-winning picture books Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg) and My Dog Never Says Please (illustrated by Tedd Arnold), and several chapter book and middle grade series. She lives in North Carolina and is online at. Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated over 140 children’s books, including the Goddess Girls series, the Heroes in Training series, the New York Times bestselling picture book Mighty Dads (illustrated by James Dean), and Little Red Writing (illustrated by Melissa Sweet). Luckily, she meets the Goddess Girls and finds the best friends she’s ever had. Athena finds out she’s a goddess and goes to Mount Olympus Academy in this first book in the Goddess Girls Graphic Novel series, based on the popular and long-running Goddess Girls series.Īthena always knew she was smart and special, but she didn’t realize that she was a goddess! When she’s whisked away to Mount Olympus Academy, she worries about fitting in and dealing with her dad, Zeus. When he was arrested at his home near Bournemouth in December, police found more than 150 indecent images of children on his computer.ĭuring questioning Luscombe told officers he was "wired differently". Luscombe was sentenced to five years in jail after pleading guilty to 16 sexual offences at Bournemouth Crown Court. He offered to send the officer indecent images of children in exchange for watching a girl being abused on webcam. Mark Luscombe, 29, of Verwood, Dorset, contacted a US Homeland Security officer who was posing as a paedophile. A British man caught in an undercover US and UK police operation has been jailed for trying to arrange for a child to be abused to order online. I'm not sure I'd recommend the book to teens if they weren't interested in the how far gay rights have evolved. HEY, DOLLFACE would be a good novel discussion in a history of the LGBT movement or as part of a discussion of then and now. I wonder if censors made write Deborah Hautzig change the ending or tone down the lesbian angle. What could have been a brave foray into the story of two girls exploring their sexuality confused me as a teen, and felt like a cop out in 2015. Like Val, when it happened to me, I never thought to tell an adult, but unlike her, I was too ashamed to tell anyone. As a contrast, an adult male hitting on a teenage girl was considered "normal". I remember having similar questions, not about a friend, but about my sexuality. Like narrator Val, I was a sophomore when HEY, DOLLFACE was released. HEY, DOLLFACE should be viewed as a period piece, because the attitudes about homosexuality are so antiquated, otherwise teens today won't be able to relate to the story. Val questions whether the friendship might be something more, in a time when homosexuality was thought to be abnormal. In 1978, sophomores Val and Chloe are new to their private school. Grade: C+ (as historical fiction or a period piece) The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir’s choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, wrenching them far apart.īut so strong is the bond between the two boys that Amir Journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had. Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste. Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashtuns. I became more familiar with them towards the end though, and was able to differentiate them mostly by their actions, not by their intrinsic identity.įaith was a tremendous protagonist. I think this was predominantly because Hardinge had not given them any specific defining features, physically and internally. The climax was near the last section of the novel, and it was amazing – there were mountains of suspense and the air was cracking from the tension.Īt several points I was overwhelmed by the amount of middle-aged male characters, and kept confusing them in my mind. The characters developed wonderfully, and by the end they were overflowing with rich desires and feelings. Having said that, it was written cleverly, and it always appeared to me that the plot had flourished and grew on it’s own that it wasn’t the outcome of some author’s toil. The book progresses massively in style for me the opening scene was excruciatingly bland but as I trudged on further through the chapters, I was rewarded. However, at times I felt like the writing was very heavy and over-bearing to read, making it a slightly painful experience, because I always had to be concentrating to fully understand what was going on, and felt I couldn’t always relax into the novel. As soon as I started reading I felt enveloped by the dense words and was transported into Faith’s peculiar 19th century world. And then they gain power, morphing into a life of their own, and are soon unstoppable. Eugenio wants a relationship he doesn't have to hide. And when they both get selected to play in the league’s All-Star Classic, those feelings and that chemistry come roaring back. Three years and countless regrets later, Zach still can't get Eugenio out of his head. When Zach wouldn't-couldn't-come out, Eugenio made the devastating choice to move on, demanding a trade away from Oakland. The thing is, it could have been everything he ever wanted-if only he'd had the guts to tell his family, tell the club, that he was in love with his teammate Eugenio Morales. Endless days on the road, playing half-decent baseball in front of half-full stadiums and endless nights alone, pretending this is the life he's always wanted. Zach Glasser has put up with a lot for the sport he loves. "KD Casey's sexy, dreamy, poignant baseball romances hit a homerun every time!" - Lauren Blakely, #1 NYT Bestselling author of Scoring With HimĮx-teammates-and exes-reunite for a second chance in this delightful sports romance from debut author KD Casey. The relationship between Paul Morel and his mother immediately begins to provoke feelings of jealousy and the underlying destructive relationships that exist between men and women. Morel leans toward Paul for the support and love that she fails to receive from her husband. Morel to turn to her eldest sons in hope of finding self-fulfillment. In the novel Sons and Lovers Gertrude Morel is surrounded by men in her life yet the one who should mean the most to her is the least fulfilling. While each of the relationships differ to a certain extent, nevertheless both of these works exhibit similar yet varying notions about individuals agonizing struggles between inferiority, concealed anger and the incompetence to be self-fulfilled. Through the writing in both of these novels it becomes possible for an audience of readers to make an overall conclusion in how unsatisfied and subconsciously angered these differing characters are in their lives. Morel, in Women in Love the challenging relationship revolves around the four main characters Ursula, Gudrun, Rupert and Gerald. Lawrence’s novel Sons and Lovers the struggling relationship revolves around Paul Morel and his mother Mrs. |