The sun is gone, but the night is hot. I sit as far away from the fire pit as I can, fingers tracing patterns in the sand. It’s dry and powdery, and still a little warm. The sparks from the fire jump and fizzle. I feel the flashes of pain as they land on my…
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Sophia is an aspiring writer and artist. She loves all things books and once wrote three pages in her diary about a bookshop. She felt great but her family wondered about her sanity.
A Fresh Perspective: A Review of The Mists of Avalon
The legend of King Arthur and the Round Table has been told many times. Over the years, it has been rewritten as the story of an injured American trying to modernize medieval England, turned into a comedy starring shrubberies and flesh wounds, and adapted into fantastical role-playing games. This year has seen a reboot, The…
Read MoreTrusting Minds: A Review of Graceling
“See you later!” I moved away from the group, re-playing our conversation in my head. Had it gone well? I wondered idly. Did they like talking to me, or were they only being polite? I hoped not. Maybe I was too strange, though. Or maybe I was just overthinking things. I shook my head,…
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Harmless, Harmful: A Review of Othello
They had me cornered–two adults sitting on the ground, and my friend in between them. I gave them all a bewildered look and sat heavily on the ribbed metal bench. The man asked the dreaded question. “So, where are you from?” I wanted to run away screaming, certain I would be here for hours. “Well,”…
Read MoreHelen
She burst into the courtyard. It was quiet; the cobbles glinted in the bright moonlight. Although her feet ached from running, she did not dare take her sandals off. The streets were sticky with the blood of the wounded, even this far into Ilium. A fountain depicting Poseidon stood in the middle of the courtyard,…
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Top Three Books: June 2019
We’ve been all over this month, visiting New York, Paris, and more–including libraries and bookshops. Here are this month’s best finds: The House of Windjammer, by V. A. Richardson The heart of the house of Windjammer is in their ships. When their magnificent Star Fleet is lost on a long and fruitless journey to the Americas,…
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#WisdomForFuture: A Review of A Civil Action
On Friday the fifteenth of March, Greta Thunberg proclaimed another #FridaysForFuture—a day when students skipped school to protest for responsible energy usage and a cleaner, greener planet. I watched videos of thousands of students out on the streets, holding up signs and shouting things like “You’re killing our lungs!” The same day, I accompanied a…
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Top Three Books: May 2019
With summer just around the corner, my family and I have been planning all sorts of things to do in the next couple months—hiking, traveling, workshops, the like. But my bookshelf hasn’t been neglected, either. Here are three of May’s best:
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Vines and Threads: A Review of Leviathan
We sped past the pine trees, leaving only exhaust in our wake. The wooded area by the highway was lush and green, but I recognized a plant that should not have been there. The kudzu vine is invasive in my area; you see it everywhere. How could we contain it? I frowned, gazing at a…
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