Top tips for solo travelers

Travelling solo brings challenges from luggage logistics to long-distance navigation.
Whether it comes naturally or not, most people could use a few tips when it comes to hitting the road on your own.
Solotravelgirl.com's Jennifer Huber has travelled on her own through Afghanistan, Cuba and the United States. Huber took the plunge after realising how many adventures she was missing out on by waiting for people to follow through on plans. This is her advice to fellow solo travellers:
Advertisement: Story continues below
CONFIDENCE
You may need to start with baby steps, but solo travel will definitely boost your confidence, according to Huber. So take yourself out to lunch, see that museum on your next business trip or take a brief road trip on your own. Before you know it, you'll be taking a page from Huber's book and camping in California or hopping on a plane to Kabul.
DRIVING
Planning and preparation are particularly important for road trips, warns Huber, who never heads out without a GPS or having Google Maps loaded on her smart phone. She also believes in tyre and fluid checks, as well as an old-fashioned road map for backup in case of technology failure. When road tripping in the United States, Huber stresses the power of AAA memberships for discounts and tyre-changing support.
SAFETY
Huber advises common sense for the budding solo traveller. "If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't," she says.
To avoid risks during hotel stays, Huber only books rooms with interior entries and makes sure the desk staff doesn't mention her room number out loud while she checks in. Journeywoman.com's Evelyn Hannon also sees hotels as a hot spot for safety concerns, and cautions against telling new friends where you are staying. If you want to meet up for an activity, says Hannon, choose a neutral and busy spot.
DINING
Hannon has faced the solo-dining conundrum and suggests that until you're comfortable eating alone in restaurants, reading materials will help pass the time. They are also, says Hannon, a helpful conversation starter. She advises that while eating in a cafe, solo travellers keep an English language book or newspaper on their table. English is an international language, and if you have reading materials close by, someone will inevitably strike up a conversation. Likewise, says Hannon, you can be the first to initiate an exchange if you notice someone with a book title you've previously enjoyed.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/

5 places to visit for cheap

Location, location, location.

It isn't only true for real estate. Your vacation location can be the best way to save money when going on a trip

Some locations are cheaper during their off-season, while others are developing tourist towns.

Do your research as you look for a place to visit, you might find places that you wouldn't normally think of.

Here are 5 places to travel to for cheap:

Ireland:

Travel Weekly's Editor-in-Chief Arnie Weissmann told NPR.org, Ireland was hit hard by the recession. Traveling to Ireland is cheaper because airfare and hotel prices are falling.

Las Vegas:
In 2008, thousands of hotel rooms were built in Las Vegas. Because the need to fill the rooms is high, prices for the rooms has decreased, said Weissmann to NPR.org.

Caribbean Islands:

Planning a trip to the Caribbean Islands is cheaper when you go during hurricane season. Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao are outside of the hurricane zone, but still offer deals, according to NPR.org.

Pittsburgh:

Considered to be the most liveable city in the U.S. in 2010, Pittsburgh is a developing tourist spot, said USA Today. The city has various theaters, museums and even a zoo.

Cadiz, Spain:

According to USA Today, Cadiz, Spain is a great and cheap alternative to Spain's Costa del Sol. The city is keeps its charm without all the tourist traps.

Source: http://www.news10.net/news/local/article/135957/428/5-places-to-visit-for-cheap

Top 10 Beaches in the World

10. Poipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii, USA

Poipu Beach

Poipu beach is not only beautiful but the best family oriented beach out there. There are so manyactivities here that can keep your family entertained for hours such as diving, surfing or even going up on a helicopter ride to see the crescent shaped beaches from above. Poipu is nice and shallow creating a perfect natural wading pool.

9. Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janiero, Brazil

Ipanema

The infamous Ipanema Beach in Rio brings in thousands of tourists annually. Although, unlike many other tourist swarmed beach, Ipanema also attracts its locals during the summer months. Keep in mind that Bikinis are taken to a whole new level on Ipanema, less is definitely more here.

8. Clifton Beach, Cape Town, South Africa

Clifton Beach

Going to the beach to tan, play in the sun and seen or bee seen? Then this is where you need to be. The Atlantic waters are so cold you are better off on the sand. Separated by boulders, Clifton Beach is made up of a series of white sand beaches. The area is dotted with interesting cafes and restaurants, all perfect places for people watching.

7. Nungwi Beach, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Nungwi Beach

Birthplace of rock legend Freddie Mercury, Tanzania is also home to Nungwi Beach, one of the most romantic beaches in the world. Bringing your loved one here for long walks amongst the banana palms and coconut trees while staying at a luxury resort overlooking the white sands wins you brownie points for life!

6. Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Is., Queensland, Australia

Whitehaven Beach

Whitehaven Beach is the most famous beach on Whitsunday Island. The pure white sands on this beach are a product of dead coral that has been ground down over time. The Whitsunday Islands themselves are made from dead coral that came from the Great Barrier Reef. The beach is surrounded by beautiful green forests and creates a stunning view.

5. Matira Point, Bora Bora, Tahiti

Matira Beach

Bora Bora boasts many beautiful beaches but the best by far is Matira point. The water is an unbelievable turquoise blue and is very romantic. Bora Bora is known as the romantic island for a reason!

4. Phi Phi Is., Thailand

Phi Phi Island

The beaches on Phi Phi Island are remote and perfect for you to live out your “Stranded on Paradise Island” daydream…to the extent that this daydream involves reggae bars and restaurants that is. Phi Phi Island is actually two islands in southern Thailand, Ko Phi Phi Don, where Long Beach, or Hat Yao in Thai, is located, and Ko Phi Phi Leh which is much smaller and not as ‘developed.”

3. Larvotto Beach, Monaco

Monaco

One of the most glamorous beaches in the world, Larvotto is renowned the world over for its topless sunbathing amongst the who’s who of the European elite. It is in the center of everything that Monaco is known for.

2. Pink Sands Beach, Harbor Is., Bahamas

Pink Sand Beach

The name says it all! Pink Sands Beach’s mile wide pink beach is perfect for those looking for a private and intimate getaway. With a backdrop of a blue sky, “picturesque” is an understatement

1. Anse Source D’Argent, La Digue, Seychells

Anse Source D'Argent

Anse Source D’Argent is simply paradise on Earth when it comes to beaches. The soft sand, calm waters and rock formations topped with beautiful greenery creates a stunning beach unlike any other. Coming to the Seychells is one thing, but being on this beach is another world altogether.

Source: http://beaches.uptake.com/blog/top-10-beaches-in-the-world.html

8 of the Most Beautiful Mountains in the World

Ama Dablam – Eastern Nepal

First climbed in 1961 by the team of Mike Gill, Barry Bishop, Mike Ward, and Wally Romanes, Ama Dablam is a mountain in the Himalaya range of eastern Nepal. Literally meaning ‘Mother and Pearl Necklace’ the peak was adopted by UK’s Invesco group as their worldwide logo and signature. After a 2006 avalanche a climbing permit along with an officer are required before you can climb Ama Dablam.

Shivling – Uttarakhand, India

The Shivling mountain, so-called because of its status as a sacred symbol of the Hindu god, Shiva, literally means ‘the phallus of Shiva’. Considered one of the most stunning peaks of the Garhwal region, the mountain soars 21,329 feet high. The Tapovan meadow which lies between Shivling and Gaumukh has become a popular pilgrimage site due to the stunning view of the mountain from that location.

Machapuchare – North-Central Nepal

Machapuchare, or ‘fish tail’, is revered by locals as sacred to the god Shiva and therefore has been declared off limits to climbing. At about 1,500 feet taller than Shivling, Machapuchare has never been climbed to its summit. The only known attempt at accomplishing the feat fell 50m short, after which the mountain was declared forbidden to climbers.

Matterhorn – Italy/Switzerland

Matterhorn has the distinction of being an iconic emblem of the Swiss Alps even though it isn’t the tallest peak in the region. Because of its status as a huge tourist attraction and one of the best known mountains in the world, authorities have taken extensive measures to build tourist facilities to make the mountain more accessible to novice climbers.

Fitz Roy – Argentina/Chile

Named Fitz Roy by Francisco Moreno after the Beagle’s captain Robert FitzRoy, the mountain is isn’t the tallest peak in the region and is less than half the size of some of the Himalayan peaks. However, extreme weather conditions and the difficulty of the climb has won the mountain the reputation of being extreme. The mountain is alternatively known as Cerro Chaltén.

Sajama – Bolivia

Sajama is better known as a volcano (though extinct) but is technically a mountain of volcanic ash. The highest peak in Bolivia, it is 21,463 feet high and is known for some of the tallest trees in the world, at 5200m. The first attempt to climb the mountain came from Joseph Prem in 1927, though the he wasn’t successful until August 1939 with the help of Wilfrid Kuehm. To their credit they took the much more difficult southeast ridge to accomplish the feat.

The Rockies – Canada/US

The Canadian Rocky Rockies have five national parks located inside, including four that comprise the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage site. We opted to profile the Canadian Rockies because they’re older, heavily glaciated, and have a very distinct appearance (sharp peaks separated by deep valleys). Mount Robson and Mount Columbia serve as the mountain’s highest peaks at 12,972 and 12,293 feet respectively.

Pumori – Nepal/Tibet

Lining the Nepal-Tibet border, Pumori – or ‘Unmarried Daughter’ – is a popular climbing route in spite of avalanche danger. Because of its proximity of Mount Everest, Pumori is often endearingly called ‘Everest’s Daughter’. The view of Everest from here is considered to be one of the best, given clear weather conditions.

Source: http://webecoist.com/

Travel tips, advice to save money during summer break

Summer vacation is quickly approaching and many students are naturally travelling to various locales. Whether it's interning in London, taking a drawing class in Italy or just backpacking through Europe, I have a few tips to use while travelling.
First off, make sure you have quality luggage with sufficient space for all your essentials.
Less is more when travelling. Leave room for souvenirs and other items you think you may acquire along the journey.
Don't cram everything into one huge suitcase. Allocate your belongings between a large suitcase and a versatile carry-on. This helps avoid outrageous airline baggage fees.
You may find that there are many different transportation options—buses, trains, taxis, bicycles, walking, etc. Of course, the cheapest way to get around is your own two legs.
You'll get to know the city by walking the streets. Be sure to budget appropriately before you leave town. All the rates are published online so you won't have any surprises.
If you plan on travelling around Europe, check baggage regulations for specific airlines you may be using for weekend trips. Don't be afraid to plan some of your weekend excursions now while travel fares are cheaper.
Once you arrive and settle in, take note of nearby ATMs. Bank of America is a partner with Barclays and other international banks, which can help to avoid pesky ATM withdrawal fees. You'll need cash because many small shops don't accept credit cards.
Also, credit card identity theft is common so carrying cash is the safest bet while travelling abroad.
When shopping around town, always ask for student discounts and be prepared to show some sort of identification to prove it. Leave valuables at home that make you a target for theft.
Make a point to befriend locals. They know the best places to buy groceries and toiletries. They'll tell you about the best clubs and what parts of town to avoid. To get the most authentic travelling experience, do not rely on your American friends.
Be smart when spending abroad, but remember that you only live once. Don't neglect yourself experiences you'll regret later in life.

Source: http://www.smudailycampus.com/

Who wore it best? Keira Knightley vs Alexa Chung

They’re both skinny Brit gals with a brunette bob and boyfs in bands so it kind of make sense that these two should share the same taste in clothes.

Both spotted in this cute Phillip Lim 3.1 frock, Alexa Chung chose hers for the sunshine filled Coachella festival, picking out some matching Phillip Lim 3.1 sandals to co-ordinate whereas Keira was snapped looking rather more wrapped up on a chilly British evening leaving the Comedy Theatre.

We love Alexa’s carefree styling but think this might be slightly too dressed up for a laid back festival so we’re choosing Keira Knightley. Do you agree?

Source: www.heatworld.com

American Idol Results: Haley in Final Five, Casey Cut

Wheeling native and Harper College student Haley Reinhart didn't have to wait long to find out her fate on American Idol Thursday.

Reinhart was the first contestant to learn that she was safe and would be advancing to the final five. Reinhart had been among the bottom three in terms of votes the previous week and she has flirted with elimination four times this season.

Not as fortunate was Casey Abrams, who was eliminated this week. The bottom three also included Jacob Lusk and Scott McCreery. Abrams previously received the fewest votes in the competition but was "saved" by the judges. There were no more saves Thursday.

Reinhart's success this week was not surprising. She performed "Beautiful" by Carole King Wednesday and received mainly glowing comments from the American Idol judges.

"I just saw God," Steven Tyler said. "I heard God in your voice. You nailed it."

"You have one of the best voices in this competition," Jennifer Lopez said. "Amazing."

"I didn't love the beginning but the end was great," Randy Jackson said. "The end was were I got a little bit more excited, the beginning was a little boring for me."

Early on in the show, the contestants answered questions from fans. Reinhart was asked who was her favorite all-time great American Idol contestant?

"There is so many greats I don't know if I can put it into one, I've watched the show forever," Reinhart said. "As far as uniqueness Adam lambert he just did things with his voice...the talent. Whoa."

Reinhart also mentioned other past winners such as Kelly Clarkson.

"I got to give props to Lee [DeWyze]," Reinhart said. "First of all, he comes from the town [right] over from me. Him and Crystal [Bowersox] they had such a unique cool rock style."

Reinhart and the other four American Idol finalists will return to the stage Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Fox.

Source: palatine.patch.com

Royal wedding: Celebrity reaction on Twitter

CELEBRITIES joined millions of people on Twitter around the world watching and typing during the Royal Wedding yesterday.

Cheeky former England cricketer MICHAEL VAUGHAN predicted Prince Harry could try to chat up Kate Middleton’s sister Pippa.

He said: “Lets all pray for Harry... pray that he gets lucky tonight with Pippa.”

Advertisement >>

Singer JUSTIN BIEBER also appeared to like Pippa, he said: “Congrats to William and Kate *and Kate’s sister.”

STEPHEN FRY shocked his followers by ignoring the wedding completely and tweeting about a snooker match he was watching. He said: “Semi finals always provide a special thump of nerves. I’m glued.”

At the start of the ceremony, former Strictly Come Dancing judge ARLENE PHILLIPS said: “I feel like I have been hypnotised by Paul McKenna through the TV to watch wedding like a ­numbskull.” But by the end she added: “Oh s*** I am actually crying.”

Pop legend GEORGE MICHAEL was clearly impressed, writing during the ceremony: “One word... class.”

And the host of programme Crimewatch RAV WILDING tweeted: “Proud to be ex-military and police... both of whom I think marshalled today’s wedding superbly.”

TV’s BEN FOGLE said: “On a double decker from the Abbey to the Palace. Had to show a bank statement to security to get on.”

SHARON OSBOURNE remarked: “Just saw Prince William & Prince Harry arrive at Westminster Abbey. Magnificent Men. Diana would be so proud.”

Presenter LORRAINE KELLY wrote: “Got to love Harry – he looks a bit hungover and his hair is mad.”

In an hour during the ceremony, Facebook also saw 268,777 mentions of the wedding – 74 a second – in the UK.

Demand proved too much for the BBC website, which crashed at one point.

Source: www.mirror.co.uk

Official Miley Cyrus Gypsy Heart Tour Poster Is Released

Miley Cyrus and her team have released the official tour poster for Miley’s Gypsy Heart tour. The official poster shows off a more mature, yet dramatic side of Miley that might clue us in on what her new sound will be like. She is will be doing an international tour with no current plans of a US one.

I have to say that I have a feeling that this tour will have a theatrical theme to it. Of course, this is just my own opinion. I would not be surprised if she does do it that way, but then again she may not. We all have to wait to see how it plays out.

What do you think about her tour poster? Does it look good, okay or bad? It looks decent, but I think it should look more like a music concert than a play off Broadway poster. However, it does do the job that it is supposed to do.

Source: http://www.bsckids.com/

Demi Lovato Has Bipolar Disorder

Nearly a week after she tweeted her support for Catherine Zeta-Jones' decision to get treatment for bipolar disorder, Demi Lovato revealed her own struggle with the illness.

"I never found out until I went into treatment that I was bipolar," Lovato told People magazine. "Looking back it makes sense. There were times when I was so manic, I was writing seven songs in one night and I'd be up until 5:30 in the morning." She added that she has "battled depression from a very young age."

Recently, Lovato has been open about her issues with eating disorders and self-mutilation. "I feel like I am in control now where my whole life I wasn't in control," she said of her life post-treatment. In order to stay healthy, Lovato made the decision to leave Disney Channel's "Sonny With a Chance" and work on music instead.

Her focus is not only this new chapter in her career, but also the ability to connect with others who might be dealing with the issues she struggles with. "What's important for me now," she said, "is to help others."

Lovato will also discuss her issues in an interview airing Friday on "Good Morning America" and "20/20." Regardless of what she's dealing with now, she's made it clear that she's hoping to help her fans. "The real reason why I'm sitting down with you is to open up the eyes of so many young girls, that it doesn't have to be this way," she said in the chat with Robin Roberts.

Source: www.mtv.com

Book review: 'This Vacant Paradise' by Victoria Patterson

Books and movies that take on shallow lives and lifestyles usually fall into one of two irritating camps: funny or moral. In the first, the author gets to poke fun at the silly characters they've created; in the other, the author gets to show how unexamined living leads to unhappiness, or worse, perdition. Either way, a great gulf opens between the creator and the characters.

In a novel, the writer has to go deep with her characters; this is why stories about shallow lives work so much better in film or television — for example, "Arrested Development." When characters are held at arms' length and judged they lose dimension and the reader loses interest.

Victoria Patterson gets around this problem in an interesting way using the literary version of what Shakespeare might have called "hoisting on their own petards," or blown up with their own mines (from "Hamlet," Act 3, Scene 4).

Almost everyone in "This Vacant Paradise," set in modern-day Newport Beach, is venal, self-centered, dishonest, focused on money, desperate for status, racist and image-obsessed. Some of the characters, like Esther, the main character, have a few but not all of these qualities.

It cannot have been easy for Patterson to watch their utter failure to connect, change, engage — any of the things that make us human. But she presents them unapologetically and does not promise any transformation.

Esther is living at home with her wealthy grandmother, who is evil incarnate. But Esther wants her money. To do this, she must convince the hideous crone that she loves her by acquiescing to her demands, which include marrying a silly, self-centered wealthy man. The use of money and status to control one's children and grandchildren is the stuff of Shakespeare and Russian novels — the burning hatred it engenders goes barreling through generations, starting wars and flattening rainforests.

In "This Vacant Paradise" it smolders in Esther, who falls in love with an academic, even as she tries to seduce an unappealing scion.

Academics, on Fashion Island, are Clinton-loving commies, always lost in thought, basically untrustworthy. So Esther is headed for the falls with no barrel, and it is fun, one must admit, to watch her go over.

In this brassy world, people "get to know" each other over martinis in an evening by sizing up clothing and cars. So it's no surprise that Patterson's early descriptions of her characters are fast and aggressive: "Paul Rice, an idiotic man with the advantage of a stunning inheritance," or Esther, "At thirty-three, she was well acquainted with the rules of attraction and commerce." "She was not unhappy, but solitary and introspective."

This kind of writing breaks rule No. 2 of creative writing (all rules, of course, exist to be broken): "Show, don't tell." One fears, however, that the writing coheres to rule No. 1: "Write what you know." For there is little beyond this world within the novel's cosmology. Maybe Esther and the academic will survive without money, on love, but Patterson throws the academic a big inheritance in the end. One wants to like Esther, who has the potential to rise above it all, but she fails us:

"No matter how much plastic surgery," she thinks, looking at female competitors in a bar, "they would never be as physically attractive as she was at this very moment." This is not the stuff revelations are made of. A reader wants the entire little planet on which these little people live — the mall and the strip of Southern California real estate, to perish in a great conflagration, James Bond style.

But no. To Patterson's credit, she goes down with the ship. These people are beyond salvation. Esther has a mini-epiphany: "For the first time, she was paying attention to people on the sidelines of wealth." It's not enough for us to root for her. No, these people will continue feeding the image forge and cranking out empty, desperate hollow men and women until the end of time.

The good news is that novels enter the bloodstream with greater permanence than television shows. And this one has a great big sign over the entryway: Do Not End Up Like This.

Source: www.latimes.com

Learning an early love of books

Volunteer Ed Strong read “Whose Shoes? A Shoe for Every Job” to preschoolers Monday at Grace Lutheran Church, as part of a statewide effort to promote early literacy among preschoolers.

CDT/Nabil K. Mark

Lance King, front, and other children listen to volunteer Ed Strong read. Strong read the book to preschoolers at Grace Lutheran Church April 25, 2011. The reading was part of the Smart Start-Centre County early literacy project. CDT/Nabil K. Mark

The Pennsylvania One Book, Every Young Child project has selected “Whose Shoes? A Shoe for Every Job,” a photograph concept book by Stephen R. Swinburne, as the book for this year’s program.

Across the state, the book is being shared with preschoolers in a variety of ways.

Smart Start-Centre County has organized 30 community leaders, such as Strong, to visit early learning sites throughout the county. They will read the book to the children, engage them in a learning activity and give them each a copy of the book to take home

Source: http://www.centredaily.com/2011/04/26/2669622/learning-an-early-love-of-books.html

Children's books for Easter

ILLUSTRATED BOOKS

It’s a Book by Lane Smith (Macmillan, £10.99, 3+) is a rallying cry for literary Luddites. A donkey with a laptop and a limited attention span is questioning a monkey about the unfamiliar object in his hand.

“It’s a book.” Where’s your mouse? Does it tweet? “Nope. Book.” Finally the donkey is won over and refuses to give the book back, only to tell the monkey he’ll “charge it up” when he’s finished. A work of genius – let’s hope they don’t make an app of it.

Here’s a treat for the minimalist toddler who is only allowed to play with wooden spoons and saucepans. Oliver by Christopher Franceschelli (Bloomsbury, £9.99, 1+) is an egg. Just an egg.

A plain white egg which appears on different sides of the thick white board pages to demonstrate its limited lifestyle – until you get to the last pages where an ingeniously simple white ribbon device pulls a yellow chicken out. Curiously addictive. But give the poor child a chocolate egg too.

If sensory deprivation is not your thing, try l Like Peas by Lorena Siminovich (Templar, £6.99, 0-2), a fabulously sturdy touch-and-feel board book with a vintage aesthetic that introduces simple concepts through vegetables. I’m slightly embarrassed by how long I’ve spent with this, but it is exquisitely tactile. The towelling pumpkin’s very therapeutic.

JUNIOR FICTION

If horror books that look as if the covers have been designed by the anatomist Gunther von Hagens are what gets boys reading then the flayed head on The Shadowing by Adam Slater (Egmont, £5.99, 10+) should do the trick.

Callum is a “chime child” – one born under a full moon between midnight and daybreak – but hides his ability to see ghosts until a “Fetch” from the Netherworld starts murdering children.

It’s surprisingly palatable, perhaps because the horror is rooted in folklore rather than from a writer’s testosterone-fuelled imagination.

Ministry of Pandemonium by Chris Westwood (Francis Lincoln, £6.99, 10+) also features a boy with special powers. Ben doesn’t know he’s special until he’s recruited by Mr October, who wants him to help steer the recently deceased towards the afterlife before they can be diverted by the forces of evil.

Suitably horrifying creations – like the Mawbreed, “industrial-strength vacuum cleaners of doom [which] suck out the souls of the living” – are balanced by a well-crafted sense of place and excellent characterisation.

Frances Hardinge is a superlative fantasy writer and Twilight Robbery(Macmillan, £9.99, 11+) has everything: fabulous characters – Mosca, a “clench-jawed scrap of damp doggedness” with her adult sidekick Eponymous Clench – richly evocative world-building and writing so viscerally good you want to wrap yourself up in it.

TEEN FICTION

In Flip by Martyn Bedford (Walker, £7.99, 11+), Alex wakes up in a stranger’s body. Inside he’s still a sensitive, hard-working, clarinet-playing boy but on the outside he’s Philip, a boy he’s never met, who’s cool, sporty and – as he discovers when he goes to the bathroom – considerably better endowed than him.

Bedford does not play this for laughs. It’s a serious contemplation on what constitutes the soul.

Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel (David Fickling, £10.99, 12+) is the story of a baby chimp, Zan, being raised in a family as a university experiment in the acquisition of sign language.

The introduction of a quasi-brother into Ben’s family forces him to look at his own life with some of his father’s scientific detachment. As he grows closer to Zan and becomes more uncomfortable with the ethics of what they are doing, he conducts his own questionable research into capturing a girlfriend.

Oppel turns what could so easily have been a kind of simian Lassie, into a touching and intelligent coming-of-age novel.

A serial killer drifts like smoke across the pages of The Opposite of Amber by Gillian Philip (Bloomsbury, £6.99, 14+) but the flesh and blood of the story lies in the relationship between two sisters, left to fend for themselves in a Scottish seaside town that feels permanently out of season.

Jinn, “quick and shining bright”, has always done everything, even talking, for Ruby, to the extent that Ruby is “spoilt voiceless”. Ruby’s narrative voice, however, is lucid and painfully exacting as we witness her helplessness in the face of Jinn’s descent into drugs and prostitution.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8453945/Childrens-books-for-Easter.html

Book Review: Dragon's Ark by Thomas Burchfield

Dragon's Ark is a supernatural-horror that takes place in our modern times as the ageless King of all Vampires rages to secure the future of his mountain kingdom.

There is an ever-increasing need to depict vampires in books and film, in television series like True Blood and the successful Twilight film and book series phenomenon. However, there are many books in the vampire-horror fiction genre whose unique takes on the ages old vampire tales could stand to benefit greatly by this blood-filled love of the vampire craze - provided you have the creative know-how to telling a story, and a good editing team.

Dragon's Ark centers on Monitor County, a burgeoning tourist resort/retreat, whose land developers exercise the unfortunate and familiar, scrupulous tactics in obtaining the rights to build: bribe a few of the local politicians, cheat a few landowners out of their property, and threaten a citizen or two. But there is just one problem nagging the whole situation - the hunk of rock known as Dragon's Ark - and Monitor County's long-time and mysterious resident, Klaus Bartok. Klaus isn't too keen on the greedy land developer's interest in decimating the Ark and decides to become more involved in deterring their interest. With all the tasty tourist and eager developers abound - as in any vampire tale, of course, there will be blood.

Firstly, any book that opens with a prologue - it is understood that it's goal is interest the reader into proceeding on to chapter one of the book. Here, that was not the case. Much of the prologue was heavily "descriptive," trying to force the reader to visualize the passages filled with cliché, and less about the character dialogue in the story, which at times misses out on including mentioning a character's relationship to the exaggerated narrative. The prologue steers the reader, instead, into an inconsistent and ever-changing synopsis.

Character development is crucial to a story. Dragon's Ark relied too heavily on its characters' internally driven dialogue, and exercised difficulty in transitioning the internal dialogue into meaningful succession of some of the most "horror induced" scenes. Many of the characters, which at first appeared key to the story, but roles were soon cut short, were easily forgettable.

The only two characters in the story worth keeping to through to the last chapter were David and Carla. David, a physician practicing medicine in the rural community of Monitor County, and his wife, Carla, a former city girl suffering from a debilitating disease, fall in love with the town. Unfortunately, due to the lack of consistent upkeep in the story, they too, all but disappear from the book. I think if the story focused more on the story of this seemingly loving couple, the entire storyline might have been salvageable.

Dragon's Ark is one of those okay books that teeter on being good if the story's interestingly unique concepts were successfully executed. The passages were overly descriptive - teeming with similes - and there was the persisting backtracking in an effort to try and follow the story through-out.

Overall, Dragon's Ark creates a perplexing aura of critically cerebral clichés with few redeeming qualities. It does little to keep the reader interested in seeing the story through to the end.

Source: seattlepi.com