Micamongoose on #VCLReadingChallenge no. Micamongoose on #VCLReadingChallenge no.3…
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The intervening years have seen the digitisation of music and the mainstreaming of rebellion, and now the youth of tomorrow eschew piercings and tattoos. In punk-era San Francisco, teenagers in mohicans and safety pins take over from the greying hippies begging on street corners by the 2020s, in a postwar baby boom, the quest for the youth market and the ubiquity of mobile technology reaches its logical conclusion, with all pop songs directed at toddlers ("pointers", so called for the ease with which they download songs on their handsets). Ageing, loss and compromise are explored in all their universal predictability and piercing individuality: we're all getting a visit from the goon squad.Īppropriately enough, Jennifer Egan has set her novel in a milieu predicated both on nostalgia and the race for the next big thing: the music business. T ime is the goon in this sparkling novel of change and decay that ranges from the late 70s to the near future. Jae-Jones, New York Times bestselling author of Wintersong “An action-packed fantasy that has it all-a world you want to live in, a lovable cast of characters, and most important, DRAGONS.” –S. I adored it with every fiber of my being." –Margaret Rogerson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Enchantment of Ravens House of Dragons is propelled at a breath-stopping pace by a cast of misfits who will steal your heart, break it, mend it, and hand it back again. “A strong sense of social justice and the inevitable inequities in wealth and power drive the story as well, and the triumphant communal efforts of the candidates to subdue the evil priestess running the selection process will have readers cheering for the power of unity.” – Booklist "Readers will be lured in by the dragons and Game of Thrones-style subterfuge, but Cluess's world building and high-stakes conflict will ensure they stick around for the sequel." – BookPage “A wonderful adventure book for teens that challenges ideas of right and wrong, chaos and purity, as well as good and evil.” – School Library Journal “Witty and funny, with well-rounded characters who face complex moral issues.” – Kirkus Reviews Kindred Spirits is an engaging short story by Rainbow Rowell, author of the bestselling Eleanor & Park, Fangirl and Carry On, and is part of a handful of selected short reads specially produced for World Book Day. What she's not expecting is to be last in a line of only three people to have to pee into a collectible Star Wars soda cup behind a dumpster or to meet that unlikely someone who just might truly understand the way she feels. So when she decides to queue outside her local cinema to see the new movie, she's expecting a celebration with crowds of people who love Han, Luke and Leia just as much as she does. The whole world is a nerd.''Are you mad because other people like Star Wars? Are you mad because people like me like Star Wars?''Maybe.'If you broke Elena's heart, Star Wars would spill out. Overview of Kindred Spirits: World Book Day Edition 2016 Book It honors the bones of Jane Eyre while bringing a new, inventive, and action packed angle. Within These Wicked Walls is a brilliant re-telling. And this common similarity tugged at my heartstrings. Their dynamic was fabulous to read, the push and the pull, the ways they’re both asking someone to stay. His almost infectious spirit, his caring compassion, and the secrets he’s hiding. I was the most cautious about Magnus, the Rochester-esque character, but I ended up enjoying his character so much. The ways the world underestimates her and how determined she is. I am still so obsessed with a world of amulets, circles of protection, and curses.Īnd that brings me to the characters. And Within These Wicked Walls details a world of magical spirits with dangerous intentions. It’s interesting because while Jane Eyre is a kind of gothic hint of the supernatural, I’ve always wished that it leaned into it more. Let’s start this book review of Within These Wicked Walls with the two elements I loved the most: the magic and the dynamic between Andi and Magnus. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.) (Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. Rosa moved to Montgomery, Alabama, at age 11 and eventually attended high school there, a laboratory school at the Alabama State Teachers’ College for Negroes. Rosa’s mother was a teacher, and the family valued education. She stood her ground until Blake pulled her coat sleeve, enraged, to demand her cooperation. Parks stepped onto his very crowded bus on a chilly day 12 years earlier, paid her fare at the front, then resisted the rule in place for Black people to disembark and re-enter through the back door. Her brother, Sylvester, was born in 1915, and shortly after that her parents separated.ĭid you know? When Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in 1955, it wasn’t the first time she’d clashed with driver James Blake. She moved with her parents, James and Leona McCauley, to Pine Level, Alabama, at age 2 to reside with Leona’s parents. Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913. Nick is impressed by Coby’s strength against the Egglestons unlike Nick, Coby fights back against the boys, which turns their attention to Nick, letting Coby off the hook. Coby helps Nick prepare for an important soccer tournament in Texas, where Nick hopes he can make a name for himself. Meanwhile, at school, Nick and his best friend, Coby Lee, who loves football and hates books just as much as Nick, are targeted by twin bullies Dean and Don Eggleston, who give them never-ending amounts of grief. When she decides to take the job, Nick’s life turns upside down-realizing that his family is no longer unified, he struggles to understand the problems that led to his parents’ separation. Nick’s mother is a horse lover, and at the beginning of the novel, she is offered a high-ranking job out of state caring for racehorses. Even though Nick absolutely hates books and reading, and would much rather spend his time playing soccer, Nick’s father regularly assigns Nick reading homework from his dictionary and obsessively tracks Nick’s academic progress. Nick writes about his family, revealing that his father is a linguistics professor and wordsmith who has written his own dictionary of uncommon but meaningful words. Later, he is caught daydreaming in class-a common occurrence. He wakes up late after spending the evening playing soccer video games late into the night and hears his parents arguing downstairs. Nick begins his story on what seems to be a normal day. When Admiral Byng’s flotilla fails to prevent the French seizing Minorca (May 1756) or when General Braddock’s forces are massacred in woods beside the river Monongahela (9 July 1755) Baugh not only describes the events but gives thorough explanations of the mistakes the commanders made, what they should have done differently, and continues on to explain in detail why this or that action was rewarded or blamed, according to the military code of the day. This gives his accounts of the naval battles a special authority, but more particularly underpins his accounts of naval and military discipline. Baugh’s naval backgroundĪlso, Baugh himself served in the American navy. Though long, the book is a pleasure to read from start to finish. Baugh was brought up in a more leisurely, less technocratic age and his prose is relaxed and amiable, devoid of modern academic jargon and in many places has a sweet, human touch. This may partly explain why it is so very readable. In many ways this book is the summit of his career.īaugh was born in 1931 so was 80 years old when this book was published. Baugh, is a distinguished historian of the British Royal Navy from the Restoration to the mid-Victorian era. Since some of the wars date back to 1460 you have to query the definition of ‘modern’.)Īlthough an American, the author, Daniel A. (This long book is part of the Routledge ‘Modern Wars in Perspective’ series. It brought me out of my shell and taught me to look at scenes from many different angles, which has proven to be a major asset to my writing." Nothing major, but Nova Scotia was just starting to get into the movie business at that point. When I was younger, I did a lot of acting in theater, TV, and movies. Being dyslexic was a hurdle, but I was always interested in storytelling. I hated English class and couldn’t write a paper to save my life. Drake, and this is my story…” (Like how I did that there? You’re welcome, Broken fans). When she’s not writing, you can often find her sitting somewhere along the coast of Huntington Beach, reading, or at home curled up on a couch with her two children and husband, binge-watching Marvel movies. Jodi’s love of the seasons back home in Canada definitely put an appearance in her books. Though she loves the weather in Cali, she would sell her left kidney for a good rainstorm. She was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, and later moved to southern California. The Broken Trilogy is her bestseller, and her next series, Dark Water runs deep into the Broken and Blackstone world. Drake is a bestselling author with multiple series published in several countries. The illustrations create a wonderful world which you feel pulled into by the reoccurring, full bleed pages. The book cleverly uses smaller illustrations to accompany the written word so children may follow each step of the story even if they cannot read the text. This book immediately grabbed my attention through the detailed and eye-catching illustrations. I simply loved Cooper's cityscapes here, her use of color, even her decorative endpapers! Lovely, lovely, lovely! I will definitely be tracking down the third title to feature these characters, Delicious! Will Duck ever find Cat and Squirrel again.?Ī Pipkin of Pepper is an engaging follow-up to Helen Cooper's initial story about this trio, with a narrative that will keep young readers involved - haven't most children become lost, at some point - and gorgeous illustrations that fairly leap off the page, in all their autumn splendor. Predictably (given the contretemps of the first book), it is Duck who causes a commotion, when he gets so distracted by his idea that their soup would benefit from pepper, as well as salt, that he fails to keep up with his friends. Cat, Squirrel and Duck - the three soup-making friends (and roommates) whose first adventure was chronicled in the Kate Greenaway Medal-winning Pumpkin Soup - return for another adventure in this second book, setting off for the big city on a shopping expedition, when they run out of salt. |