Book Review: Too Much Too Young

In 1979, 2 Tone exploded into the national conscience as records by The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The Beat, and The Bodysnatchers burst onto the charts and a youth movement was born. 2 Tone was black and a multi-racial force of British and Caribbean island musicians singing about social issues, racism, class and gender struggles. It spoke of injustices in society and took fight against right wing extremism.

The music of 2 Tone was white youth learning to dance to the infectious rhythm of ska and reggae; and crossed with a punk attitude to create an original hybrid. The idea of 2 Tone was born in Coventry, masterminded by a middle-class art student raised in the church. Jerry Dammers had a vision of an English Motown.

Book Review: Marvel Dimensions

The story opens with a sweeping tour through the classic origins of Marvel’s most iconic characters. Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Wolverine, and many others appear in dramatic, fully painted spreads that echo their earliest stories. A narrator describes each moment with confidence, guiding the reader through these touchstones of Marvel’s history. But as the story moves forward, the tone begins to shift. The voice behind the narration is not who the readers expect and carries a motive that slowly pushes the narrative somewhere darker and far more unpredictable.

Once this change becomes clear, the book expands into something larger and more surprising. Storylines twist in on themselves, characters behave in unexpected ways, and events ripple across the Marvel Universe with growing tensions. Ross uses the structure of the book to create anticipation and pull the reader deeper into a mystery that keeps widening. Every new sequence reveals another layer, building toward a final act that reframes everything that came before it.

Book Review: Eternally Electric

Debbie Gibson was just sixteen when she released her multi-platinum debut album Out of the Blue and recorded “Foolish Beat” in 1988, making her the youngest person to ever write, produce, and perform a Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper. A child actress who became the original pop princess, Debbie had full creative control over her music and, when that no longer aligned with a transitioning arts scene, she went on to star in Broadway’s Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, and Cabaret, as well as in the London production of Grease. Yet, for all the accolades and achievements, her success came at a high price.

Book Review: Future Boy

In early 1985, Michael J. Fox was one of the biggest stars on television. His world was about to get even bigger, but only if he could survive the kind of double duty unheard of in Hollywood. Fox's days were already dedicated to rehearsing and taping the hit sitcom Family Ties, but then the chance of a lifetime came his way. Soon, he committed his nights to a new time-travel adventure film being directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg, Back to the Future. Sitcom during the day, movie at night - day after day, for months.

Fox's nightly commute from a soundstage at Paramount to the back lot at Universal Studios, from one dream job to another, would become his own space-time continuum. It was in this time portal that Alex P. Keaton handed the baton to Marty McFly while Michael J. Fox tried to catch a few minutes of sleep. Alex's bravado, Marty's flair, and Fox's comedic virtuosity all swirled together to create something truly special.

Book Review: Pretty Girls

More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia's teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that's cruelly ripped open when Claire's husband is killed.

The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.

Book Review: Prompt Me to Write

With rich story ideas, advice on pitfalls to avoid, and examples and quotes from the great writers of today and the legends of the literary world, Prompt Me to Write stands out from other books of writing prompts. Each prompt and exercise is designed to both spark ideas and help you develop your writing. It includes:

• • Original and varied writing prompts, with a final section where best-selling authors each contribute their own story ideas.
• • Full-page writing exercises to help you build worlds, craft fascinating characters, and develop page-turning plots.
• • Photos and illustrations by Vocal Vagabond that add extra inspiration and help clarify complex points. These are full colour in the hardback and black and white in the paperback.

Every chapter includes bite-sized theory so, with a little persistence, you will master the craft and create a collection of stories or a finished novel even if you only have a few minutes a day.

Book Review: The Twilight Cap

Hank and Lucy Dewitt are new arrivals in Jemison, Wisconsin. It is a rural town, and home to a brand-new species of mushroom, one that glows in the night, and is the subject of Lucy’s research. Settled in and ready to start a family, the couple begins searching for a place to call their own, but the town is overtaken by a high-powered land developer, who buys everything in sight, prepared to transform it into a corporate community.

As they lose house after house to the firm, they feel as though home ownership is out of their reach, until the mushrooms call Hank into the woods, where he stumbles upon an abandoned home, surrounded by the strange, glowing fungi. With a promise to the owner to never open the locked door in the basement, the home becomes theirs, to the dismay of the developer, who thought the land was already his. Moved in and ready to turn the page, they think the battle with the corporation is over, but the mushrooms appear to be more than just a simple fungus, and the developer is just getting started.