Sixteen-year old Zander Osborne is spending her summer at Camp Padua, a camp for at-risk teens who seem to suffer from some form of a social-emotional-psychological issue. There’s Cassie, a self-described manic-depressive-bipolar-anorexic; Alex Trebek, better-known as Bek, a pathological liar; and the titular Grover Cleveland who anticipates becoming a schizophrenic. These four teens are at the center of this coming-of-age story of teens searching to feel grounded in who they are. Read the full review.
Humanized & Immortalized
There was a heaviness to my chest after I finished Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010). I was in the midst of what felt like a social, emotional, philosophical, and moral gyre that highlighted the uglies of science, race, poverty, and many —isms. I couldn’t put into words what I was feeling because there was just too much. Read the full review.
Cold Case, Serial Style
Rosemary Dempsey appeals to TV producer Laurie Moran to take on her daughter’s twenty-year-old case, known as The Cinderella Murder, for her next TV special, with the hope that Laurie can produce the same result as her first Under Suspicion special: solve a cold case. Susan Dempsey was a beautiful and talented UCLA student and aspiring actress. She was found dead wearing only one shoe in a park near the home of then hot-shot, now Oscar-nominated Hollywood director with whom she was was set to audition. Read […]
A Not-So-Perfect Fit
Heather Tullis’ A Perfect Fit (2014) is book one of her seven-book DiCarlo Brides series. Based on a good idea, the story ultimately falls flat due to immature writing. The Good The concept: At the reading of their billionaire father’s will, two sisters born out of their father’s marriage find out that four half-sisters exist. In addition, in order for them all to earn their inheritance, all six of them have to live together while they launch their late father’s new resort. Through that journey, they […]