Goodreads Blurb: Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed.
Goodreads Review: Not an advertisement for grits. But joking aside, this is a beautiful book with astounding pros and an ending that will leave you feeling all warm inside. Five out of five 👌
Well, yes. Of course ☺ It’s one of the big questions of the book. Who will she end up with, if anyone? There’s her original boyfriend, the dependable and loving Jonasz, but there’s also Alexander, the best looking boy she’s ever seen, whose dark past mirrors her own in many ways…
Two excerpts from Ariel: Dancing on TV
1. Then kissing Jonasz takes everything else away. For a few moments the whole world is warm and loving and good, how it always should be, how I always want it to be.
2. Alexander looks at me with his big brown eyes. Alexander smiles at me, and a spark of white light glints from his perfect teeth. And then he speaks. To me.
At the start of the book it’s definitely her relaxed morning-class teacher Guy, rather than the more strict and severe Mr. Zolotov.
Excerpt from Ariel: Dancing on TV
And then it’s like a celebration. “Good class, good class!” We all high five each other, chanting the words. It isn’t till after the high five that I realise I used my right hand for it, and no one reacted or commented.
“That was the best class I’ve ever had,” I tell them all.
“Aren’t you the sweetest?” says Guy who gets into the elevator with us.
Ariel wants to be a professional dancer, though her mind is usually focused on more immediate matters, such as winning the televised competition that takes place in the book.
Excerpt from Ariel: Dancing on TV
“We’re going to practise so hard that we’re going to win,” I tell the boys after breakfast, having suggested that Henry join us in our piece. “Seriously, every spare moment.”
We start immediately. So the rest of the weekend is spent working on the secret choreography for what was a pas de deux but is now a pas de trois…
Ariel has never been close with any member of her biological family before, and she’s surprised when she meets her maternal grandmother and becomes close with her. The book is dedicated to my own two grandmothers and also to two aunts who were grandmotherly presences in my life.
Excerpt from Ariel: Dancing on TV
Then it’s off to the next adventure, discovery, test: is my grandmother really a Fairy Grandmother? Or is she about to pour down judgement under the stone angels? She’s waiting in the foyer to take me to her house for the week of suspension.
There’s a hug, a warm one, and she says: “Don’t you worry, darling; we’re going to have so many outings and treats, and so much fun!”
At the start of the book, after her mother tries to kill her, Ariel’s greatest fear is that nothing is ever going to be the same again. Her feelings about this – nothing being the same again – will change over the course of the story, but at the beginning, this is how she feels.
Excerpt from Ariel: Dancing on TV
It’s the night before I’m due to start at the most prestigious dance school in Scotland, so, of course, my mother tries to kill me.
She’s always done horrible things at moments that matter, but up until now, she mainly just used words. Psychological abuse is easier to hide from others. I always told myself that was worse: the secret cruelty.
But I was wrong. This is worse. This means nothing can ever be the same again.
That’s right Wee Readers, Ailish Sinclair (my very good friend who I absolutely have not stalked at all in the past) is back with a new adventure at the Castle. A new YA series beginning with the astonishing story of Ariel: Dancing on TV. A young dancer who the night before she’s set to start at the most prestigious dance school in the country, is almost murdered by her mother.
To celebrate the publishing of this novel, and the series as a whole, I’ve concocted a new wee blog series for you all. Seven Questions, to be released over the course of six days (eight if you count this introduction and the Mailing List at the end of the month). First before we begin I’ll let Ailish give you the down low on her new book – Ariel: Dancing on TV .
“The night before Ariel, a sixteen-year-old girl with a deformed hand, starts at the most prestigious dance school in Scotland, her mother tries to kill her.
Torn from a life where she never fitted in, Ariel quickly becomes the focus of a reality TV show. In the castle school, she forms deep friendships and meets Alexander, the best looking boy she’s ever seen. Together, they unravel the mysteries of the castle’s shadows and confront the demons of Ariel’s past.
Can she rise above a lifetime of pain and embrace the possibilities of fame and love that beckon to her?
‘Ariel: Dancing on TV’ is a mesmerising tale of resilience and the pursuit of a brighter future against all odds.”
The Performance: sometimes going home is just one huge performance…
When Ariel returns home from dance college, her mother expects her to perform the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in a pink, sequined tutu in front of many, many party guests. Ariel adjusts the costume and choreography to expose dark truths about her life, but, as it turns out, this is not the biggest performance of the night…
Goodreads Blurb: A nineteenth-century boy from a Mississippi River town recounts his adventures as he travels down the river with a runaway slave, encountering a family involved in a feud, two scoundrels pretending to be royalty, and Tom Sawyer’s aunt who mistakes him for Tom.
Goodreads Review: Tom Sawyer could have sorted things out so much quicker if he had just been honest, instead of f****** around for a good chunk of the climax of the book. I mean he’s an enjoyable character, but when there’s a man’s life and freedom on the line, it’s not funny anymore Tom. Still excellent book, and the connection between Huck and Jim is truly the sweetest.
The Wee Writing Lassie 