Sweet but deafening, Emma’s contagious enthusiasm amplifies this wholesome fan letter for younger readers.
The exuberant journal of a star-struck fan who vows to stop at nothing—even doing chores!—for a chance to see her favorite boy band perform live.
Thirteen-year-old Emma can’t believe her luck when her friend Jenny invites her to see Boyz3000 at their concert in the Bahamas. Surely once she finally meets lead singer Aaron, he’ll realize they were meant to be. Thankfully, Emma isn’t completely boy crazy: she’s also a budding writer who draws inspiration from Aaron’s song lyrics. Though Emma marks her journal with a dizzying amount of hysterical punctuation and all caps—“If I couldn’t go, I ACTUALLY MIGHT DIE!!!!”—she articulately defends her love for music to her teacher, Ms. Pinkens, who asks her to rewrite her essay on the subject. “With just some notes and some words, music can make you smile, or cry, or laugh or feel anything you can imagine,” Emma says. It’s refreshing to see a heroine with such a close-knit family: Emma’s parents are willing to indulge her fantasy but only if she earns some of the trip money herself; along the way, Emma’s sister Dianna and her 16-year-old cousin Elyse selflessly help Emma achieve her goal. Emma agrees to walk dogs and bake cookies to raise funds for her plane ticket—her parents offer to put money toward it, too—but her efforts don’t yield immediate results, teaching her valuable lessons about perseverance, honesty, and the cost of doing business. Meanwhile, teenage angst runs high as Emma’s trip sparks jealousy among the other girls in her class, and a realistic game of one-upmanship ensues. Once she’s in the Bahamas, Emma learns to align her expectations with reality as she and Jenny scour the resort, looking for Aaron. But this gentle depiction of young love offers a glimmer of hope in an otherwise hopeless celebrity crush. Emma meets a cute boy who might make her forget what she came for and remember why she loves to write.
Sweet but deafening, Emma’s contagious enthusiasm amplifies this wholesome fan letter for younger readers.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2015
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Red Sky Presents
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorkerstaff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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