An amazing and unique retelling of Hansel and Gretel this story is narrated by the Jacob Grimm himself, caught in the plane between life and death. Jacob has become rather fond of Jeremy Johnson Johnson, who has the unique ability to hear spirits, a gift that has ostracized him from many in his small town of Never Better, unfortunately suffering from a rash of missing persons. Luckily it does not deter the friendship of the enigmatic and problematic Ginger Boultinghouse, who’s thirst for adventure has gotten them both in trouble on more than one occasion.
When Kyra, the youngest and most talented potions master in the kingdom, has a vision of the soon-to-be-married Princess destroying the land, she knows what she must do: kill the princess…her best friend. Kyra is distraught at the thought of killing her best friend, which must be what causes her poisoned dart to miss it’s target and send Kyra running for her life from the Crown’s justice. Looking for another chance to save the kingdom, Kyra acquires a tracking pig from the King of Thieves, and a boisterous traveling companion, Fred.
The main character in Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series is a type of heroine I like to call “the flawed hero who can’t stop herself from helping those in trouble even if it gets her into trouble; sometimes potentially fatal trouble.” There are a number of supernatural series that feature this type of character - Harry Dresden from Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, Rachel Morgan from Kim Harrison’s Hollows, Sookie Stackhouse from Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse, the women in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld.
In many ways, I love Pritchard’s story of rebuilding his family farm. Against the advice of pretty much everyone, Pritchard takes up farming the land that his parents could never make a living off of. Gaining Ground is his amazing journey. He starts off with crushing debt, little help, and no plan. Through trial and error, trial and error, and then a little more trial and error, Pritchard finds a way to make the farm not only his own, but profitable for the first time in many years.
I don’t know much about Mikal Cronin. He has two albums out under his name, MCII and a self-titled debut that only hinted at the accomplishments found on here. He is obviously an acolyte of the kind of very melodic power pop music that doesn’t get a lot of attention. Does he reveal too much about himself in his music? Is it that he’d rather let his songs speak for themselves than have to provide a press-ready narrative? Who knows?
Kathleen Hanna, the subject of this documentary, pretty much embodies pure energy. Whether or not you like her voice or music is beside the point, as is usually the case with punk music. Hanna is unapologetically feminist, never anything less than direct with a willingness to be confrontational. Again, this is what punk rock is all about. So what makes Hanna documentary-worthy? Her music is cathartic and brutally honest. She’s fearlessness and charismatic. She’s the leader of the Riot Grrrrl movement, which has endured and grown over the past twenty-five or so years.
Behold the history of the end of the world - by Austin Szerba. The end of the world does not start with a bang or a bomb, or an ultimatum from outer space. It begins (and ends) in Ealing, Iowa, in Grasshopper Jungle, the parking lot behind the strip mall containing a pizza place, the liqueur store and the second-hand store. It begins when Austin and his best friend Robby (who is is pretty sure he is in love with) are bullied by the local small-town thugs who will never amount to anything (because they are not bright enough too and because they will shortly die).
Ronan Truelove's mom may be a bit eccentric, always signing him up for outdoor survival classes, judo lessons, self-defense workshops, always keeping him busy. But she has crossed a line when she grabs him from school one day and tells him she is part of an ancient group called the Blood Guard and that his father has been kidnapped and they are under attack. After watching her perform impossible acts to get away from bad guys in suits, she gives Ronan a ticket for a train to DC and tells him to meet with her Blood Guard contact there.
If you like country music this is a great summer read. Bailey and her sister Julie have been singing together as long as she can remember. But now, Bailey has been relegated to playing back-up to costumed country singer impersonators at the mall while her sister and parents are off promoting Julie's solo career. But, country music is in Bailey's blood and she'll play any gig she can get, as long as her parents don't find out. They're afraid she might steal the limelight from Julie. When Bailey meets Sam he invites her to join his band. Sam has big goals a
