Home of fiction writer and self-proclaimed King of Chapter One
When you look at these kids from Stoneman Douglas, and you marvel at their ability to not put up with bullshit non-answers from politicians, what you are actually seeing is the fruit of that same “entitlement mentality” you’ve been bitching about. They feel entitled to real answers. And they are right.
With its bite-sized chapters and breezy style, it's an easy book to pick up and put down, then pick back up again. The humor and pop culture references are more of the chuckle-to-yourself variety than the laugh-out-loud kind, but it's plenty funny enough.
Julia Claiborne Johnson's first novel, Be Frank With Me, is the kind of book where "madcap hijinks" take place. It's meant to be a breezy read, a page turner, the kind of book you sit on the beach with. So, no, this is not great literature. The calamities are not terribly believable. But the book is fun.
Self-dubbed "The Interestings," they are talented and ironic and oh-so...well, interesting. But then, aren't we all at 14?
Andy Carter is a mess. His wife left him, he lost his job, his best friend hates him for ruining his wedding, and he's moved a thousand miles away from his Omaha hometown -- to New York City, no less -- in hopes of starting over. So far, he's only managed to land a job tending bar and get adopted by a stray cat named Jeter.
There's a reason Water for Elephants is considered a modern classic by many people: the setting is vivid, the story grabs you, and the characters are compelling. What more can you ask for period fiction?
John R. Ford 