It is 2011, and the Syrian Revolution is at its peak, a fueled fire between the Assad Dictatorship and the Free Syrian Army. Salaama Kassab has seen the death and destruction firsthand, working as a surgeon in her town, Homs. Desperate to escape the danger and the constant fear, Salaama and her closest friend Layla, who is pregnant, dream of escaping the war. Under the constant stress of the hospital and bearing the loss of her parents and brother, Khawf, who haunts her, becomes a figment of her imagination.
This Song Is (not) for You is a realistic fiction young adult novel that follows three young musicians, Ramona, Sam, and Tom through their senior year of high school. They meet at auditions for a prestigious music university and become fast friends. Starting a band is just the natural course of nature, so is Sam and Tom both falling deeply in love with Ramona. As they navigate the various family hardships they are all facing, the band evolves into something new and unique.
Who Was Milton Bradley?tells the story of the man who started making board games in America. Milton Bradley grew up in the 1800s and loved to learn and try new things. He had many jobs, but he became famous when he made a board game called The Checkered Game of Life. He started his own company and made even more games, along with fun tools for schools. Some of his games are still played today. This book is great for kids who like games and want to know who made them.
Slaughterhouse-five is a novel written by Kurt Vonnegut. The main character, Billy Pilgrim, is a prisoner during war and time travels throughout the novel because he is held captive by aliens called the Tralfamadorians. He was captured as a prisoner after the bombing in Dresden, Germany. This was an intriguing book to read. First, the novel is not written in chronological order but rather jumps around different times of Billy's life. At first, this made it difficult to read because it was hard to keep track of events.
Ridley Scott’s 1982 film Blade Runner presents a unique take on science fiction. It alternates between fast action and slow, rich, thoughtful, and visually stunning exposition and plot development. The movie, based on Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, is set in 2019 Los Angeles, in an alternate future where flying cars, rain, and animated advertisements dominate the skyline.
The Wall is one of the most important and impressive concept albums of all time, and marks the greatest height of Pink Floyd’s creativity. The album tells the story of Pink, a rock star who constructs a wall around himself as the result of his many struggles. It fuses elements of progressive rock, opera, and social commentary to create a uniquely rich and impactful story, as well as plenty of enjoyable songs.
Where to begin? OK Computer- Oknotok 1997 2017, an anniversary edition with B-sides and unreleased tracks, builds even further on the ideas of the band’s third album, OK Computer. Like the original songs, the B-sides and newly-released tracks represent a bleak outlook on the future, the emptiness of modern life, and conflicts between technology and man (seen in “Polyethylene, Parts 1 & 2” and “Palo Alto”).
If He Had Been With Me, written by Laura Nowling follows the point of view of the main character Autumn throughout her experiences growing up. She and her mother live right next to Aunt Angelina (who is Autumn's mothers’ best friend) and her son, Phineas. Autumn grows up alongside Finny and they are inseparable best friends. Something happens when they reach middle school that complicates things however, so they begin to grow apart.
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin is thought to be semi-autobiographical, being based on Baldwin's own life. James Baldwin, in case anyone doesn’t know, is a renowned author (and my favorite author) best known for his works, Giovanni's Room and If Beale Street Could Talk.
