Zack Dylan has a voice like Tim McGraw and a dream for fame. He tries out for a popular star search show, Fifteen Minutes. There is more at stake than fame, however. Zack’s family farm in Kentucky is nearing the auction block, and this might be his last chance to save it. Zack’s chances are good for making the Big Time, and he is committed. He promises his college sweetheart Rene that being famous won’t change his beliefs.
There are some books that I’ve read that could have benefited from being trimmed down. It seems that authors sometimes try to get dense and intense, especially in the sci-fi/fantasy genres. Dune springs to mind. And while I haven’t even finished the Game of Thrones, its emphasis on royalty and lineage and so forth intimidates me. I like to be challenged with what I read, but if it gets to be more-work-than-fun (particularly in a genealogical way) I usually give up. Call it a mixture of ADD/laziness…
In The Book of Heaven, Patricia Storace creates the mythology of an alternate universe, but one the reader recognizes, as if through a veil, from its allusions to Greek legends and Old Testament stories. It is different from anything I’ve read and therefore hard to describe. Although the sections hinge on central themes, such as of the oppression of women and the nature of God and of love, they can be read in isolation. Each section presents the tale of a different woman, eulogized in the stars themselves in this world Storace creates.
Amy Gumm wants to get the hell out of Kansas. She is sick and tired of being mocked at school for her worn out clothes and trailer trash mom. After getting kicked out of school for getting into a fight with a pregnant girl (a fight that Amy did NOT start she would like me to point out), she comes home to find her mother out of her usual funk and primping for an evening at the local dive bar. The news on the TV in the living room shows radar towards Dusty Acres (their luxurious trailer park).
"Paranormal," Volk reminds us in the introduction, is a word that means "experiences or events that cannot be explained by science." Volk takes pains to carefully point out that this may mean "paranormal events" actually have a scientific explanation that we have not found yet, either by chance or because it is beyond our current scientific capabilities. Or it could mean that paranormal events actually have a supernatural cause. Human beings, Volk accurately writes, do not sit well with not knowing.
Forty-two people were killed in the 1929 dance hall explosion in the fictional Ozark town of West Table, Missouri. Alma, a maid for one of West Table's richest families, knows just how it happened. For being such a slim book, Alma's story spans many decades, and weaves in numerous suspects; mobsters from St. Louis, persecuted local gypsies, or maybe an overzealous preacher. Alma’s memory of the event drifts in and out of focus as she ages, jumping back and forth in time, while either leading the reader to the culprit or describing another victim of the horrible explosion.
Growing up, Vinnie Warren Bump longed to see the world, but her parents were concerned that the world would be cruel to Vinnie who was only 32 inches tall. Determined to make a name for herself, Vinnie signed a contract with Colonel Wood who promised to make her a singing sensation. Instead, Vinnie was exhibited as one of his “oddities” on a shabby showboat on the Mississippi River. Vinnie returned home humiliated. She reached out to P. T. Barnum who agreed to hire her to sing at his American Museum. Thus began a long, mutually respectful friendship.
The first Final Fantasy game for the PS2 now has a pretty graphical upgrade and new content for North American players! FFX was pretty enough before, but the cleaned up character models are nice for general gameplay, and the cutscenes are inexpressibly gorgeous. All of it has been adapted for widescreen, so there's even more to look at than before! This edition also contains the optional Dark Aeons, previously only available in the International version that North America didn't receive, a new version of the Sphere Grid for leveling, and a handful of new abilities
Brett Bohlinger is devastated. Not only has her beloved mother passed away, but she is shocked to learn she won't become president of the family's cosmetics firm. To make matters worse, her sister-in-law is appointed president in the will, and Brett is fired from the company. While Brett's two brothers receive millions from their mother, Brett cannot receive an inheritance until she completes a 'life list' she composed when she was 14... and she needs to complete all items in only a year!
Beautiful ruins is a remarkable love story that spans decades and two continents. Pasquale, a young Italian who is trying to make his family's humble hotel marketable to American tourists, is struck by a beautiful American tourist who comes to stay. Her name is Dee Moray and she has been diagnosed with stomach cancer while filming Cleopatra and has been sent to Porto Vergogna - Pasquale's small fishing village - to rest before going for treatment in Switzerland.
