In the clearing by jp pomare6/10/2023 ![]() Someone out there studying the movements of the people around the child. Even if the rest of the bus was empty, she would always be there on the left side, looking out at the trees whirling by.Īdam knew that most days she had a ponytail swinging down over her pink backpack. He knew exactly where the girl sat, up towards the front. Adam folded his blade away and picked up the stopwatch. It was longer, with windows all along the sides. Twenty metres from the bus shelter we waited under the shade of the big eucalyptus until we heard the school bus groaning along the road. It’s about an inch long and when he punches it between your ribs it sucks all the air out of you and replaces it with a burning. Adam, sitting up front with Susan, was opening and closing his blade. Riding in the jolting van, I was so giddy that I couldn’t keep my hands still. It sounded so simple all we had to do was stop the van by the edge of the road, pull her into the back, then fly away with her to the Clearing. ![]() People can be kind and mean at the same time.Īdam shared the plan with us this morning. I don’t know why, but I wanted the girl to feel pain–I wanted to see her vulnerable but only so I could comfort and soothe her. That’s how I imagine it, as a growth you could cut out. ![]() I have a meanness in me, something black and rotten that swells like a lymph node. My brothers and sisters were all saved from the world outside.Ģ. ![]()
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King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo6/9/2023 ![]() I also think it was interesting to see how Bardugo presented the sort of modernization of the nations. We get a lot more of the world’s history, with stories of the saints and details on the cultural differences and the governments of different nations. ![]() In King of Scars we get to see more of Ravka, as well as the nation of Fjerda. I have expressed my love of the Grishaverse with regard to its world-building, and I do like how Bardugo expands on this. We also get chapters featuring Nina Zenik, a Grisha Heartrender who was once part of the Dregs. ![]() Apart from Nikolai, we also get POV chapters from Zoya Nazyalensky, a powerful Grisha Squaller and Nikolai’s general. The events of this book take place about two years after the end of Crooked Kingdom, and mostly follows King Nikolai Lantsov and his struggles to strengthen the nation of Ravka. This review at The Fantasy Review of King of Scars is spoiler-free, but will contain spoilers for the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology.Īlthough I was thrilled that Bardugo was expanding the Grishaverse with what is called the Nikolai duology, I had actually lowered my expectations for King of Scars, as I had already seen mixed reviews. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Family is an important feature of her story and considering her earliest memories, it is a relief to watch her life improve thanks to her jovial spirit and the loving people in her life.ĭePrince, being a professional ballerina, talks a lot about ballet. ![]() Much of the story describes DePrince’s experiences in ballet after the DePrince family adopted her with a couple of the other girls from the orphanage. However, DePrince’s narration shows that despite the terrible situation, she was still bright and animated, making friends with the other children and making up games. She talks about the orphanage that her uncle dragged her to, and the terrible treatment of the children there. Her birth parents, who were clearly a shining light in her life, died in quick succession due to events surrounding the civil war. DePrince’s recollections of events are often harrowing. Taking Flight begins with many of DePrince’s memories of her native country of Sierra Leone, which was experiencing a destructive civil war. Taking Flight is DePrince’s memoir of her life as a war orphan who became a professional ballerina in the United States. Upon seeing that ballerina, ballet became DePrince’s love. Adopted from war-torn Sierra Leone when she was young, her life was forever changed by her adopted family and a picture of a ballerina, ripped from a magazine, floating in the wind. Professional ballerina Michaela DePrince hasn’t always lived in the world of ballet. ![]() Hawthorn & Child by Keith Ridgway6/9/2023 ![]() ![]() Hawthorn & Child contains frequent references to sleep and dreaming – very apt for a book that operates under a kind of dream-logic, where the division between what is real and imaginary is never clearly defined. The book’s mystery stems not the typical ‘whodunnit’ question, but something more complex. Each of these protagonists has a clear voice and as well as keeping the narrative fresh, they help paint a picture of a very modern London, in all its diversity and sprawl. These are written from various viewpoints – as well as the eponymous detectives, they also include the teenage daughter of their boss, a low-level thug working for a shady outfit lead by the dapper Mishazzo (whose name features throughout, and is one of the links between each section), and some other, more unusual characters. ![]() You’d do well to think of the book as a series of eight linked short stories, rather than a single narrative. Approach it with a more open mind, however, and you’ll be rewarded with a singular – albeit mysterious – reading experience. If you come to it expecting an investigation, and a culprit, and a resolution, you’re going to be disappointed. But there the similarity with traditional police procedurals ends. Is Hawthorn and Child a crime novel? It takes its title from the names of two detectives, and also features criminal acts and gangsters. ![]() Lungfish meghan gilliss6/9/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() Relying on the island for sustenance and answers-bladderwrack, rosehips, tenacious little green crabs smells held by the damp walls of the house, field guides and religious texts, a failed invention left behind by her missing father-Tuck lives moment-by-moment through the absurdity, beauty, paranoia, and hunger that shoots through her life, as her husband struggles to detox.Įxquisitely written and formally daring, Lungfish tells the story of a woman grappling through the lies she has been told-and those she has told herself-to arrive at the truth of who she is and where she must go. ![]() Squatting there now, she must care for her spirited young daughter and scrape together enough money to leave before winter arrives-or before they are found out. Tuck is slow to understand the circumstances that have driven her family to an uninhabited island off the coast of Maine, the former home of her deceased grandmother where she once spent her childhood summers. Longlisted for The Center for Fiction 2022 First Novel Prize ![]() ![]() With the help of the dark elf, Drizzt, Bruenor reshapes Wulfgar into a warrior with both brawn and brains.īut is Wulfgar strong enough to reunite the barbarian tribes? Can an unorthodox dwarf and renegade dark elf persuade the people of Ten-Towns to put aside their petty differences in time to stave off the forces of the crystal shard? Left for dead, Wulfgar is rescued by the dwarf, Bruenor, in exchange for five years of service. Or have the barbarians already arranged for that themselves? Their brutal attack on the villages of Ten-Towns seals their fate, and that of the young barbarian Wulfgar. ![]() or is it capable of directing the defeat of Ten-Towns? It was later reissued as book four of the Legend of Drizzt series.Īkar Kessel, a weak-willed apprentice mage sets in motion events leading to the rediscovery of the magical device, the Crystal Shard. The Crystal Shard is the first book in the Icewind Dale trilogy by R.A. ![]() Aquaman peter david book 36/8/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() This volume collects AQUAMAN ANNUAL #1, AQUAMAN #9-20. Will Aquaman be able to replace his hook in time to save the city of Poseidonis and avoid the hit that's been put out on him? Find out in AQUAMAN BY PETER DAVID BOOK TWO. Re-experience the beginning of Peter Davids iconic run on Aquaman, which shaped the life of Atlantis most famous citizen for years to come, in AQUAMAN BY. (Science and Technology Advanced Research) labs in Metropolis to get a replacement. To make matters worse, Aquaman's hook has been melted from his recent battles and he must go to S.T.A.R. Meanwhile Aquaman, Dolphin and Koryak approach Poseidonis and see that it's now on a tilt. An assassin named Deadline has been hired to kill Aquaman. Able to breathe in air and water, the King of the Seven Seas has fought villainy from the deepest depths of the oceans to the outer limits of the galaxy. Peter David's groundbreaking run as writer of the King of Atlantis is finally re-collected here in AQUAMAN BY PETER DAVID BOOK TWO! Since his dramatic debut in the 1940s, Aquaman has gone from admired hero to legendary icon. ![]() Like a Lover by Jay Northcote6/8/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() Rupert would love to see Josh again as a date, but Josh is clear that he will only spend time with Rupert as a client, so Rupert agrees. Things are intense with the guys and they have a hot night together. Rupert surprises himself by agreeing to pay Josh for sex, but he finds Josh incredibly attractive and decides to take a chance. When his client stands him up, Josh’s eye catches an attractive man further down the bar and he decides to see if he can interest him in hiring Josh instead. He doesn’t date or do relationships, as he doesn’t have time, and doesn’t think any guy would want to date a sex worker anyway. ![]() Josh is an escort, working to get through school without mountains of debt. Buy Links: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK ![]() I sang you down from the stars6/7/2023 ![]() ![]() And so I looked to her and her life and her culture as much as I could. ![]() ![]() You know, she welcomed her baby Isabella right about the time I finished the book. And I also wanted to root the visual story in Tasha's world as much as I could. And so I relied on that to help lend some authenticity from my end to the story. And then with the author, with Tasha Spillett-Sumner's Cree world view, it lends itself a really beautiful, unique quality to the story."Īt the core of this book were themes that I often explore in my own work as well in terms of, you know, land is central to identity and love for land, and how it ties us to our Indigenous cultures. "And it's the sort of magical journey that she goes through as she realizes she's pregnant, as she prepares for this child, and then she welcomes the child into the world. She says she was drawn to the story because it focused on the woman's preparation before she becomes a mother. The beautiful tapestry-like illustrations in the book visualize motherhood in Cree culture.Īrtist Michela Goade, who has Tlingit heritage and just this year won a Caldecott Medal, is the illustrator of I Sang You Down from the Stars. She gathers sacred elements from the Earth into a bundle for her baby, and whispers the protective prayers of her ancestors. With these opening lines, children's author Tasha Spillett-Sumner follows a mother-to-be who prepares for the arrival of her child by following the rites of her Indigenous heritage. ![]() Henry timms new power6/7/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() With the growth of social media and technology, more people than ever before are able to make their voices heard and play leading roles in solving problems.Ģ. ![]() “The nature of power is changing.” Heimans and Timms outline “new power,” where power is shared broadly, with transparency, engagement, and ownership by many. Here are three points the authors made that stood out to me:ġ. The article is an insightful and thoughtful examination of how power is shifting in today’s world and how organizations can navigate the new landscape to help people. The United Nations Foundation works to support the UN in solving some of the world’s most urgent challenges, so it’s with great interest that I read Understanding “New Power,” Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms’ new piece in the Harvard Business Review on how organizations can be most effective in driving positive change. ![]() |