As a young tween, the closest phenomena I encountered resembling pestilence and epidemics was the odd mouse and locust plague. Both highly irregular, indescribably disturbing occurrences that eventually, mercifully passed. For the generations before me, war assumed similar levels of upheaval and unrest. Imagine though being born into an era of extreme disruption, disease and prolonged uncertainty as your 'new normal' as recently experienced by many modern-day Gen Alphas. How would you function? What expectations of the future would you possess? Would you want to escape to a better place? This is the unspoken premise of Wendy Orr’s latest middle grade fiction, Honey and The Valley of Horses . ‘Horses’ was my immediate pull card as I’m sure it will be for hundreds of equine enthused fans but the horses in Honey’s tale are much more than decorative incidental whimsy. They inhabit an enchanted valley and hold the key to the family’s survival and subsequent escape. Beset by t...
Regrettably, Gary Paulsen was a bit of an unknown to me until discovering this transcending story about his childhood. A multi-award winning author of young adult fiction, Paulsen reveals how his ability to smith words developed as a consequence of his remarkable upbringing, or more accurately, lack thereof. Paulsen was, not literally an orphan, but he was a lost child. Gone to the Woods begins with one such journey adrift an ocean of salacious events thanks to his mother and her penchant for supplementing her hourly wage at local Chicago clubs. At just five years of age, Paulsen is dumped upon a train bound for a relatives’ farm in north Minnesota not far from the Canadian border. It proves to be his temporary salvation and a place he acquires the art of patience, a deep respect for nature and an appreciation of what genuine kindness tastes like. Edy’s motherly compassion and Sig’s reticent guidance nurture the abandoned boy until a sense of who he is begins to emerge. It’s bone...
Almost a decade of moons ago, I made a serendipitous discovery that forever altered the spin of my world. Falling pregnant after so many years of waiting and yearning was nothing short of miraculous (for me) and a life event definitely worth waxing lyrical about. But did I? Sadly, not as much I as wanted to. There are those who find it hard to exist without sharing the contents of their dinner plates with the rest of the world, then there are others who worry that a beautifully executed birthday cake photo shared on social media will somehow demean the starving populations of the world. I oscillate between the two but tend towards the latter, always fretting over how others will take good news in light of their own current situations and struggles, thus resorting to a severe downplaying of my own good fortune. The pregnancy of my first child should have been a joyous occasion - it was a joyous pregnancy after all - but I was acutely conscious at the time of another family me...
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