The Hate U Give Premieres with a Bang

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (in the back), director George Tillman, Jr and book author, Angie Thomas (front row, right) October 3rd, with Hate U Give cast members at an advanced screening of the Hate U Give in Atlanta, GA (2018)

After the Fire: YA Award Winner

Will Hill has won The Bookseller’s YA Book Prize 2018 with his "engrossing, brilliantly realized" novel inspired by the Waco siege, After the Fire.

"The things I’ve seen are burned into me, like scars that refuse to fade." 

Moonbeam, is a  seventeen-year-old  who has been raised from toddlerhood in the Holy Church of the Lord’s Legion, an arid, closed compound outside the fictional town of Layfield, Texas.Their dictatorial leader was known as Father John. The authorities have fire-bombed and stormed the compound and taken Moonbeam and 18 other children from the cult into Federal custody.

The authorities are trying to find out everything they can about Father John and his running of the "Church." Moonbeam must live locked in isolation until she is ready to give up some vial information. Will Moonbeam lead them to the information they so ardently seek or will she stay true to Father John and remember what she's been taught about "Outsiders"?

The story is told in chapters alternating between "Before" (the fire) and "After" and is  loosely based on the 1993 standoff between the Branch Davidians of Waco, Texas, and federal agents.

Moonbeam has to come to terms with all that she was taught at the compound and what she has come to know as the "real world"                     

                
                What if the only way out of the darkness is to light a fire?




 

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Family Matters Cast Reunion

What ever happened to little sister Judy?  They sent her to her room one day and we

never saw Judy Winslow again !!!








Remember Steve Urkel and the crew from Family Matters? 

Take a look and see if you remember these characters...

Goodreads’ New Android App

 

Attention, Android users: Goodreads has released a new Android app. The app includes a new Explore page where you can browse trending books, new releases, and more; an improved My Books section that allows organization by genre or other names; and the ability to track rereads. Read the post to get all the deets on the new features.

You can find this app st Google Play: Goodreads App 

Happy Reading ! 

 

Find Your Bliss with Ikigai

The Danish have their "hygge", used when acknowledging a feeling or moment, whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary as cosy, charming or special. Now the Japanese introduce their version of hygge, known as Ikigai pronounced (ee-kee-gah-ee), the concept that means "a reason for being." Ikigai is usually used to indicate the source of value in one's life or the things that make one's life worthwhile. Also, the word is used to refer to mental and spiritual circumstances under which individuals feel that their lives are valuable. It's not linked to one's financial status.

Putting together insights from Japanese history, philosophy, and modern culture, plus stories from renowned sushi chef Jiro Ono, anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, and others, Ken Mogi skillfully shows the way to awaken your ikigai.

Find the book on amazon: Awakening Your Ikigai

New Young Adult Book Available Now: Speed of Life

SPEED OF LIFE by Carol Weston

Sofia lost her mother eight months ago, and her friends were 100% there for her. Now it's a new year and they're ready for Sofia to move on. This book was a delightful read. Told from the perspective of a naive teenage girl who has just lost her mother.. The book is well-written and heart-warming
 The story unfolds as the main character, Sofia,  deals with her father's new relationship and her friends moving on with their lives while she feels stuck in sadness and grief. I would recommend this story to any teenager as a good coming-of-age story with a delightful twist!

SPEED OF LIFE, is the heartbreaking, heartwarming story of a girl who thinks her life is over when really it's just beginning. It's a novel about love, family, grief, and growing up.

"A wonderful book that takes us from loss to laughter." --Richard Peck, author of The Best Man and Newbery Gold Medalist A Year Down Yonder

"You won't want to put it down. But my advice is slow down and savor this delightful book, full of carino, funny and heartfelt, and (spoiler alert) not just for teens." --Julia Alvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies and Return to Sender

Published by Sourcebooks