![]() ![]() Preorder it from your independent bookstore. The interesting approach to witchcraft and how it is incorporated into Sanja and Lelek’s worlds will smooth over much of the roughness, as will the irresistible main characters. The book began as a serialized comic, and that shows in some of the jagged transitions. Themes of bigotry, falling in love, maintaining friendship, and confronting the past all factor into the storyline. And both young women make mistakes and disappoint themselves and each other along the way. ![]() They both have childhoods with difficult, even horrific, experiences. ![]() What starts in fighting becomes a friendship and later a romance. Sanja and Lelek, the main characters, have a stormy and magnetic relationship. However, the heart-warming story is worth the work for those who persevere. Advanced readers will find the episodic style that includes flashbacks and sudden changes in setting easy to navigate, but it may be a confusing challenge for reluctant readers. The main characters are likable and relatably flawed, making them perfect for middle grade readers. ![]() In an inventive feat of mythmaking, Zabarsky’s ( Witchlight) sophomore graphic novel is set on an island. The author has described the novel as a “shojo- adventure,” a manga genre that features relationships as much as magic and fantasy. Random House Graphic, 24.99 (256p) ISBN 978-2-6. WITCHLIGHT written and illustrated by Jessi Zabarsky is a graphic novel for ages 12 and up that focuses on personal interactions and deepening values as much as heroic adventures. ![]()
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![]() Though sympathetic, he's hot on the trail of a child pornographer and can't rush to her side. Matters come to a head when she receives bad news about her novel and calls Alex to come comfort her. Prone to frequent hysterical crying fits and immature name-calling, Alix is likely to try even the softest heart. While these passages are used to humorous effect at times, it quickly becomes apparent that they reflect not only Alix's poor writing skills, but her skewed perception of love and life. In contrast to the jazzy freshness of Alix and Alex's relationship, purple prose marks Alix's historical romance. Apart from their encounters, readers are also treated to passages from Alix's own work-in-progress, Ravishing Raven. Alix and Alex steam up the pages of this funny yet frustrating tale. American Alexandra (Alix) Freemar travels to England to write a romance novel, but she soon discovers romance off the page with her sexy neighbor, Scotland Yard detective Alexander Block. ![]() ![]() ![]() She returned home to live with her family, where she pretty much stayed until she died-no husband, no all-inclusive cruise trips, not even so much as a long weekend in the Poconos. In fact, Dickinson left school after just one year at Mount Holyoke Seminary. Dickinson was down with G-o-d, but she was more interested in something else: poetry. That was particularly the case when it came to religion-which was a big part of schooling back in her day. ![]() She wasn't rude she simply didn't follow the herd. She did well in school, but she also developed a reputation for rebelliousness. On the plus side, she did enjoy the benefits of a good education. Given his domineering drive and, it has to be said, Emily's gender, she was quickly overshadowed. She was born in 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts to a father who was an aspiring community leader and politician. Like so many folks who earn the label of "genius," Dickinson had to kick the bucket before her work was truly appreciated-or even published for that matter. Regardless of where they stand on the question, one thing is certain: Dickinson is one of the giants of American poetry, a figure who did her own thing-both in life and in her poems. That's the kind of debate prompt that has poetry critics taking sides and cracking their knuckles over their laptops. Hope is the thing with feathers IntroductionĮmily Dickinson: reclusive genius or overrated shut-in? ![]() |