#thomas khalil

[martha-the-martian]

[martha-the-martian]

[id: a photo of various water colour swatches, ranging from blues to greens. They are labelled: grass green, sea green, malachite green, parrot green, viridian green, pea green, bice green, verdigris green, chromium green, Paris green, beryl green, sage green, and the bottom three are not labelled. End id]

Image from page 174 of “A nomenclature of colors for naturalists : and compendium of useful knowledge for ornithologists.” (1886)

[celadons-penultimate]

@ DC Comics: BLACK LIGHTNING AND THE OUTSIDERS (creative team- my dreams! 😭):

-Black Lightning

-Dr. Lynn Stewart

-Thunder & Lightning

-Rain

-Grace Choi

-Signal / Duke Thomas

-TC / Baron

-Issa Williams

-Brandon Marshall

-Painkiller / Khalil Payne

-Metamorpho

-Katana

-The Creeper

[thehopething]

Khalil Gibran, “Thomas” from Jesus, The Son of Man

[drthomasmaples]

Faith: An Oasis 4 the Heart

In today's post, Dr. Tom answers the question, what can I do, when I don't have hope for the future? #hope #faith #psychology #depthpsychology #depression

What can I do, when I don’t have hope for the future?Hope in FaithWhat can you do when you lack hope? A Sacred Journey Podcast What can I do, when I don’t have hope for the future? Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking. Khalil Gibran Hope in Faith Have you got faith? Although many in the psychology profession will not agree with this statement,…

[martha-the-martian]

[image id: nine pencil drawings of the martians from the neck up, with their names written underneath them.

One: Martha blum, a cutesy cartoony style, with the nose coloured in and the eyes not very good. Her handwriting is kind of messy.

Two: Tammy Kubo, her style is very angular, and so is her handwriting. She is drawn at a three quarter angle.

Three: Jenny Khalil, his style is very anatomical and realistic. Her handwriting is neat and circular.

Four: James Kubo, his style is realistic, and his handwriting is very small and neat.

Five: Thomas Khalil. His style is cartoony, and his nose and forehead are shaded. His glass eye is blacked out and his lashes are exaggerated. His handwriting is messy and round.

Six: aled Howell. Her style is cartoony, with line and circle eyes. He has not drawn a neck, instead adding a wool lined jacket. His handwriting is curvy and tall.

Seven: Sahrah gamal. Her style is quite cutesy and alien looking, her eyes are overly shiny. Her handwriting is round.

Eight: Georgie Blum, she is drawn cartoonishly with large angular eyes. Her handwriting is wiggly and tall.

Nine: Dane newton. Has a chibi-anime style with very big eyes. His handwriting is very messy.

End id]

Tada! analysis:

Martha: very cartoony. Doesn't draw often, always messes up the eyes.

Tammy: angular. Only draws 3/4 busts

Jenny: generally only draws technology concepts, very rarely humans.

James: realistic style, makes himself more masculine

Thomas: fantasy-ish. Always draws his eye blacked out, and also forgets to draw his white streak. Adds it in later.

Aled: kinda chibi-ish. Hates drawing necks, tries, ends up giving them a scarf

Sahrah: makes herself look more mystical. Reminds me of those fairy illustrations

Georgie: cool™. Can only draw front facing.

Dane: watched anime as a child disease. Makes himself look more feminine. Don't ask why. Side note: I forgot to draw his cheek marks 😔

All artists friends and foes !!

Draw your oc as if they had drawn themselves!!

[poirott]

Agatha Christie's 'Towards Zero' tv series: First Look

The BBC has released the first pictures of Towards Zero, based on the classic mystery by Agatha Christie.

England, 1936. After a scandalous celebrity divorce, Nevile Strange and his ex-wife Audrey make the unthinkable decision to spend a summer together at Gull's Point, their childhood home and the coastal estate of Nevile's aunt, Lady Tressilian.

With unfinished business between the former childhood sweethearts, plus the presence of Nevile's new wife Kay, tensions are running high. Add to this a long-suffering lady's companion, a mysterious gentleman's valet, an exiled cousin with a grudge, a venerable family lawyer, an inquisitive orphan and a French con man, and soon there will be murder. A troubled detective must rediscover his purpose to untangle a toxic web of jealousy, deceit and dysfunction. Can he solve the crime before another victim meets their death?

The new pictures give a first glimpse at Lady Tressilian (Anjelica Huston), Inspector Leach (Matthew Rhys) and British tennis star Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) - seen in the pics with the two ladies in his life: ex-wife Audrey (Ella Lily Hyland) and new wife Kay (Mimi Keene). The series is also starring Clarke Peters as Mr. Treves, an old friend of Lady Tressilian, Anjana Vasan as Mary Aldin, another party guest caught up in this disastrous mess, Jack Farthing as suspect Thomas Royde, Jackie Clune (Motherland), Grace Doherty (Call the Midwife), Khalil Gharbia (Mary & George), and Adam Hugill (Sherwood).

Towards Zero is expected to premiere on the BBC over the 2024 holidays and arrive on BritBox in early 2025. It's been adapted for screen by BAFTA-nominated Rachel Bennette (NW) and directed by the Olivier Award-winning Sam Yates (Magpie).

Source: BBC, Agatha Christie Official Instagram - October 1 2024

[gryficowa]

Boycott!

Now that I have your attention:

[rruhlreviews]

Book Review - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

After reading, I learned this book was first published on 28 February 2017, which makes this a timely review at its seventh anniversary.

It’s difficult to write a book with social justice themes without the narrative dipping into a lecture-style and the author’s voice bleeding through. Angie Thomas pulled it off masterfully, and never once was the immersion broken while discussing themes. This book is clever and chooses each word meaningfully. The Hate U Give gripped me by the collars and would not let me put it down. The story is compelling and highly readable, covering emotionally heavy material and educating the reader on racial justice while also presenting a coming of age tale and lots of humor. This style represents its core message: despite growing darkness, we have to keep living. The narrator’s voice, the unfortunate ongoing relevance to current events, and the unrelenting suspense make this book a modern classic that I think should be in every high school.  

The voice of the protagonist and the ways in which she interacts with her world and the people around her immerse the reader. Starr is a likable character, funny, resilient, and brave even when she doesn’t think she is. Her characterization was so strong I felt like I could meet her in passing on the street or follow her tumblr blog. She collects sneakers. She knows how to put price tags on groceries. She’s embarrassed by her parents’ dancing. The driving plot of The Hate U Give is the murder of Khalil and trial of 115, but the book is about so much more. The book is about Starr and how she grows into self-confidence and realizes her power to change her community. We care about Starr’s conflict with her friends and boyfriend, her worry about her parents’ marriage, and her complicated feelings with attachment to the place she grew up versus moving to a better life. Suspense never relents, lending a thriller feel to the story. Will Starr decide to speak up? Will 115 be charged? Will Hailey apologize? Will the family be able to protect DeVante from King? The people and places are described with such care they leap off the page. The appeal and success of this story is not from larger than life characters and events, but painful and heartfelt realism.

I had a few tears in my eye at the end of the novel, in a good way. There was no justice for Khalil, just like continues to happen in the real world. The Hate U Give was published in 2017, and it feels like little has changed since then in police reform. But there is still hope. Starr and her family get a better house, her mom gets a new job, the community help rebuild the store, Starr stands up for herself against Hailey, and she’s closer than ever with Chris who has shown he’ll support her in anything. The central message of the book is not loss but hope, a story about fighting for a better world because we live in it. This is what we need in face of rising darkness. The audience cares about the characters, cares about the tragedy, cares about justice, but the ultimate reason The Hate U Give hits so hard is that it doesn’t lean into despair. It says, “we must do something, and we can.”

I think this book should be taught in high schools. I certainly wish it was taught in the one I attended (a semi-rural, predominately white community). I know people would have a fit about the strong language, especially “that one news channel” as it was called in the novel, but the message is more important than a couple swear words the students would hear in the hallways anyway. It’s an introduction into learning about activism, written in a voice that is relatable and easily comprehended, wrapped in the attention-grabbing vibe of a YA thriller. Teens and adults alike can enjoy the storytelling and learn a lot from it. I certainly learned a lot about a culture that is not my own, and I’m grateful Angie Thomas created this and shared it with us. It surely took a lot of emotional labor, and the author’s emotional connection to the story shows and makes it all the more impactful.

Stories have the power to change the world, and if they didn’t, there wouldn’t be massive censorship efforts all throughout history. We’re living amongst the worst of modern censorship waves in the United States right now, with any book that mentions race or sexuality being challenged, even children’s books about things as unprovocative as doing hair. The Hate U Give covers dark subject material, but we need to not look away from the darkness in the world we live in. The enemy of hate is care. Through trying to understand one another and our struggles, we can be the light, like a star.

[martha-the-martian]

From tags: also the majority of them would be happy to hug you once they know you, Martha and Tammy are extremely touchy, Jenny and Thomas both have to know you really well, genji would be like nooo I hate youuu but he enjoys it, aled has to know you REALLY well to give any hug other than goodbye hug, georgie does not like hugs, Danes happy to hug strangers. He's just like that, and Sahrah is six armed and fluffy! Optimal hugs

HAHAHAHA- round 3.

Love the geese. Question- ARE THERE DUCKS? Geese already have my heart <333 BUT DUCKS??

Also whats the deal on martian weather? Cause yeah pretty blue sunsets... But What About Other Sky Statuses? Storms?

And and crime? What's the deal w that? (cause I'm picturing a fish black market??? This is a dumb question so u don't have to answer it)

Also I WANNA HUG ALL UR OCS. (if they are comfy w that. That is. Anyways)

ROLLER SKATING WAITERS!!! Dude in another life I would SO want to be a roller skating GOD carrying like 4 plates through a funky space themed diner- I'm getting side tracked- BUT POINT IS- what's martian cuisine like? Do aliens (or part aliens) eat other food..? How does that work? (Curious.)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PATIENCE.

Signed

A detail loving twat.

Round three!

Geese and ducks, there are ducks elsewhere, but not necessarily on school grounds. (or at least, there aren't supposed to be) the geese are just a running gag I have originating from like. I don't even remember it was something to do with Jenny

Now: the weather

(you don't have to listen to that but if you do: turn your volume down) Obviously, glass dome, so the weather doesn't really affect the inside, however the storms are beautiful, lightning strikes and the whole sky is painted baby blue, but it doesn't rain. Not anymore. There is no patter of water on glass as you lie on top of a sky scraper looking up at the cloudy sky, but the condensation dripping on your forehead means you can imagine it anyway. The sun shines, the world is blue, and as it gets lower and lower against the red horizon you're bathed in a deep lilac. And at night, for all the effort of preventing light pollution, you can see the stars. The constellations look the same as on earth, as if by some sort of sisterly bond between the two sky's, and they're shining through the hexagonal glass plates, refracting into strange shapes.

As for crime, not much need for it as there's a universal base income, free housing, electricity is free, food is synthetically grown, so that takes out most of the survival crimes, as for murder. If you do it that's on you, you probably won't as it's a decently healthy environment and therapy is also, my goodness, free, so just. Don't do that.

Martian cuisine! (Also the diner is called Marsy's it serves breakfast type foods and employs mostly teens and the elderly) obviously it's just earth cuisine, but a little bit weirder. Festival foods like dango and crepes are big cuz there's a lot of festivals, when the years are 24 months long you really gotta make the most of em, but for day to day food things like stew, porridge, bread, pasta, fried rice, soup, it's just regular old food. There's weird stuff obviously like... Hold on I gotta think of something... Meat grape? Idk I saw a video where they turned a grape into meat. You can of course 3d print candy, so there's a lot of weird shaped sweets, and a lot of gimmick restaurants. You'll never believe what they're putting in sandwiches these days. Also bugs. They eat bugs. Bugs is goo 👍 sushi is also really popular cuz it's so efficient to grow, fish in the bottom rice on the top, can literally be grown in the same pond, so they do a lot of fish/rice combos

And for our lovely aliens, sahrah and her mum haaush, they can't eat tomatoes. Most things are fine except for like... Certain bug based food dyes? And birch sugar or whatever it's called. Haaush did a lot of experiments with this as she came there for science reasons, and then found herself a lesbian lover, as you do. She brought some food from her planet, and it has its own little room in the space domes. It's got things like. Fucked up carrot. Various other root vegetables. From an underground cave system you see.

(also I said it doenst rain anymore. That's because it doesn't rain on mars, very dry, however inside the dome... Shit gets damp)

[stenka-razin]

in 2023 I watched some movies

I was gonna catch up on all those best picture nominees from the last 5 years, but watched crap like Caligula 2 instead

The 1989 World Tour - Live (2015, dir. Jonas Åkerlund) Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022, dir. Rian Johnson) Flight 666 (2008, dir. Scot McFayden and Sam Dunn) Dracula (1931, dir. Todd Browning) Moonraker (1979, dir. Lewis Gilbert) The Pez Outlaw (2022, dir. Bryan Storkel and Amy Bandlien Storkel) Encino Man (1992, dir. Les Mayfield) Star Trek: Insurrection (1998, dir. Jonathan Frakes) Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood (2019, dir. Quentin Tarantino) Cleopatra (1963, dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz) The Alligator People (1959, dir. Roy Del Ruth) The Silence of the Lambs (1991, dir. Thomas Demme) Godzilla vs. Megalon (“ゴジラ対メガロ” 1973, dir. Jun Fukuda) Invasion of Astro-Monster (“怪獣大戦争” 1965, dir. Ishirō Honda) Breaking a Monster (2015, dir. Luke Meyer) Terror at Orgy Castle (1971, dir. Zoltan G. Spencer) Wake in Fright ("Outback" 1971, dir. Ted Kotcheff) m.A.A.d. (2014, dir. Khalil Joseph) Reservoir Dogs (1992, dir. Quentin Tarantino) Kung Pow! Enter the Fist (2002, dir. Steve Oedekerk) House (1977, dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, dir. Steven Spielberg) Dunkirk (2017, dir. Christopher Nolan) Final Destination (2000, dir. James Wong) Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia (2023, dir. Salima Koroma) Basic Instinct (1992, dir. Paul Verhoeven) Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985, dir. Tim Burton) Caligula 2: The Untold Story (“Caligola: La storia mai raccontata” 1982, dir. Joe D’Amato) La noche del terror ciego (1972, dir. Amando de Ossorio) Rocky IV (1985, dir. Sylvester Stallone) Saw IV (2007, dir. Darren Lynn Bousman) House of Wax (1953, dir. Andre DeToth) Thir13en Ghosts (2001, dir. Steve Beck) Kashchey the Immortal (“Кащей Бессмертный” 1944, dir. Aleksandr Rou) Ghost Ship (2002, dir. Steve Beck) The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971, dir. Piers Haggard) The Face of Fu Manchu (1965, dir. Don Sharp) The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966, dir. Don Sharp) The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967, dir. Jeremy Summers) The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968, dir. Jesús Franco) April Fool's Day (1986, dir. Fred Walton) It's Pat 1994, dir. Adam Bernstein) The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969, dir. Jesús Franco) Adam and Eve Meet the Cannibals ("Adam ed Eve, la prima storia d'amore" 1983, dir. Enzo Doria & Luigi Rosso) The Mountain of the Cannibal God (“La montagna del dio cannibale” 1978, dir. Sergio Martino) When Harry Met Sally… (1989, dir. Rob Reiner) Beetlejuice (1988, dir. Tim Burton) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001, dir. Peter Jackson, Long as Shit Version) The Hobbit (1977, dir. Arthur Rankin Jr. & Jules Bass) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, dir. Robert Wiene) The Wicker Man (1973, dir. Robin Hardy) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974, dir. Tobe Hooper) House of 1000 Corpses (2003, dir. Rob Zombie) Chopping Mall (1986, dir. Jim Wynorski) Basket Case (1982, dir. Frank Henenlotter) Cube (1997, dir. Vincenzo Natali) Cube 2: Hypercube (2002, dir. Andrzej Sekula) Practical Magic (1998, dir. Griffin Dunne) Tropic Thunder (2008, dir. Ben Stiller) Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015, dir. J.J. Abrams) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017, dir. Rian Johnson) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019, dir. J.J. Abrams) Eyes Wide Shut (1999, dir. Stanley Kubrick) Superbad (2007, dir. Greg Mottola) Bruce Almighty (2003, dir. Tom Shadyac) House of Flying Daggers (“十面埋伏” 2004, dir. Zhang Yimou) Saltburn (2023, dir. Emerald Fennell) Grandma’s Boy (2006, dir. Nicholaus Goossen) Five Nights at Freddy's (2023, dir. Emma Tammi) Caligula and Messalina (“Caligula et Messaline” 1981, dir. Bruno Mattei) The Wizard of Oz (1939, dir. Victor Fleming, King Vidor, George Cukor, and Norman Taurog) A Christmas Prince (2017, dir. Alex Zamm) A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (2018, dir. John Schulz) The Knight Before Christmas (2019, dir. Monika Mitchell) Goldfinger (1964, dir. Guy Hamilton) Total Recall (1990, dir. Paul Verhoeven)

[martha-the-martian]

Happy disability pride!

Thomas is autistic and dyscalculiac, and he's missing (most of) an eye! Due to this ju is half blind and has no depth perception, so he doesn't like anyone standing on his right. Ju lost it when he was 7, he tried to do a sick daredevil trick with a ramp, but ended up face planting on the curb, resulting in his eye socket being crushed and needing repaired. After surgery, ju took the opportunity to befriend the nurses son! This is how he met aled.

[gracesshelves]

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas follows Starr, a Black high schooler, who feels torn between the underprivileged minority community she grew up in and the affluent white community where she attends school. Already struggling with identity, Starr’s life erupts into chaos when Khalil, her childhood best friend, is murdered by a white police officer in front of her. This was another five out of five for me. I started this book at work one morning – I’m a substitute teacher – and finished it by lunchtime. It was impossible to put down. Thomas does a wonderful job at establishing tension, stakes, emotional connections, and voice. As someone who is less comfortable with writing first person, I admire how deep we got into Starr’s head. I will definitely be taking notes to apply to my work. While this novel explores many important themes, the two that stood out the most were how deeply police brutality is intertwined with systematic racism and Starr’s conflict of feeling like she must perform to meet other’s expectations all the time.

Despite how heavy this topic is, Thomas leverages multiple points of tension to keep readers hooked on the story. Furthermore, all these conflicts appear at varying distances to Starr, exchanging places at different points in the story. In some moments, the fights between the gangs take center stage. During other moments, the focus is on Starr’s interpersonal conflicts between her friends and family, and sometimes it’s just Starr’s struggle to find her voice in all of this. In a novel with so many threads, it’s important to shift what plots are in the forefront, so that readers do not get bored. This choice also prevents readers from feeling too overwhelmed by the sheer amount of conflicts present. I would love to know how Thomas braided these issues together because I really admire how this novel is crafted.

Another thing that Thomas succeeds at is portraying how infected the United States is with systematic racism, and how sinister, yet casually it appears. In the TV interview, the officer's father lies about the circumstances of the shooting without blinking. He claims that Starr and Khalil were cursing at the officer who pulled them over (Thomas 246). He says that his son “got scared, ‘cause they could’ve taken him down if they teamed up” (Thomas 246). Of course, none of this is true. But instead of questioning these statements, or pondering about the other side of the story, Hailey, Starr’s white friend, believes the officer’s father immediately (Thomas 248). When Starr confronts her on this, she gets defensive rather than listen and considers what Starr is saying (Thomas 250). This reveals how deeply ingrained and brainwashed so many people are in this country when it comes to police brutality against Black Americans. After Starr gives her statement to the Grand Jury, Hailey still refuses to entertain the thought that Khalil was innocent, saying Starr should move on because “‘Somebody was gonna kill him eventually’” (Thomas 341). Although this book came out almost seven years ago, nothing has really changed. Every time a Black person is killed, we go through the same song and dance: finding any way to justify why they “deserved” to be killed, performative activism from companies that never do anything to address their harmful policies, and a media circus never truly challenges these issues.

However, Starr’s journey of finding her voice acts as a message of hope. At first, she is terrified of speaking out about what happened: “I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down. Now I am that person, and I’m too afraid to speak” (Thomas 34-35). However, after his funeral one of Starr’s friends from Garden Heights, Kenya, challenges Starr on her silence (Thomas 197-198). She says that Khalil would’ve said something if it had been Starr who got murdered, and continues “‘Here you are, with a chance to help change what happens in our whole neighborhood, and you are staying quiet. Like a coward’” (Thomas 198). This combined with the philosophy of the Black Panthers, which Starr’s father is a firm advocate of, inspires Starr to speak up against the lies of the police. At the end of the book, when the Grand Jury rules not to indict the officer, Starr protests against the injustice and uses her voice to emphasize that Khalil isn’t just some statistic, that his life had inherent value just in his existence as a person (Thomas 412). The novel ends with a tribute to those who have lost their lives to police brutality, and instead of leaning into how hopeless it feels, Starr asserts “I’ll never forget. I’ll never give up. I’ll never be quiet. I promise” (Thomas 444). As long as we never stop fighting against racial injustice and a system that continues to oppress non-whites, they can’t win.

Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. Balzer + Bray, 2017.

[duckprintspress]

7 Banned Books to Read this Banned Book Week

With book bans sweeping the United States, the Duck Prints Press rec list contributors wanted to take a moment to shout out our favorite books that get banned most frequently. Being us, they are, unsurprisingly, mostly queer.

Learn more about Banned Books Week.

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Melissa by Alex Gino

When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl. George thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part . . . because she’s a boy. With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte—but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all. 

-

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, written by Jill Twiss and illustrated by E. G. Keller

Meet Marlon Bundo, a lonely bunny who lives with his Grampa, Mike Pence – the Vice President of the United States. But on this Very Special Day, Marlon’s life is about to change forever…

With its message of tolerance and advocacy, this charming children’s book explores issues of same sex marriage and democracy. Sweet, funny, and beautifully illustrated, this book is dedicated to every bunny who has ever felt different.

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I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is the story of a sixteen-year-old who retreats from reality into the bondage of a lushly imagined but threatening kingdom, and her slow and painful journey back to sanity.

Chronicles the three-year battle of a mentally ill, but perceptive, teenage girl against a world of her own creation, emphasizing her relationship with the doctor who gave her the ammunition of self-understanding with which to help herself.

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The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

-

And Tango Makes Three, written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, illustrated by Henry Cole

At the penguin house at the Central Park Zoo, two penguins named Roy and Silo were a little bit different from the others. But their desire for a family was the same. And with the help of a kindly zookeeper, Roy and Silo get the chance to welcome a baby penguin of their very own.

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Forever… by Judy Blume

Katherine and Michael meet at a New Year’s Eve party. They’re attracted to each other, they grow to love each other. And once they’ve decided their love is forever, they make love.

It’s the beginning of an intense and exclusive relationship, with a future all planned. Until Katherine’s parents insist that she and Michael put their love to the test with a summer apart…

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It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, written by Robie H. Harris and illustrated by Michael Emberley

When young people have questions about sex, real answers can be hard to find. Providing accurate, unbiased answers to nearly every imaginable question, from conception and puberty to birth control and AIDS, It’s Perfectly Normal offers young people the information they need—now more than ever—to make responsible decisions and to stay healthy.

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What are YOU reading this Banned Book Week?

[martha-the-martian]

[image id: a pencil on paper drawing of Thomas cutting sahrah's hair. Thomas is a tall indian boy with long hair, wearing a crop top and trackies, and making a nervous yet resigned face that says 'i have no idea what I'm doing but fuck it, let's try anyway'. He is holding scissors in one hand, and a clump of Sahrah's hair in the other. Sahrah is a short girl with six arms, and white fur growing in a pattern all over her body, she is wearing a bra and shorts. Her hair is long, except for the part Thomas is holding, and her bangs are tied into two pigtails. She is sitting on a stool, and looks very nervous. End id]

"oh I'll get Thomas to cut my hair!" YOU FOOL SAHRAH. THAT MAN HAS NEVER EVEN HAD A HAIRCUT ONCE IN HIS LIFE

[rockislandadultreads]

Banned Books Week: Freed Between the Lines!

Exercise your freedom to read this Banned Books Week by checking out one of these frequently challenged/banned titles!

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

In this autobiography, Maia charts eir journey of self-identity. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, this book is more than a personal story; it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity - what it means and how to think about it - for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

This book has been challenged/banned for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was claimed to be sexually explicit. 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

This is the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Based on the author's own experiences, this book chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

This book has been challenged/banned for profanity and because it was claimed to be sexually explicit. 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

This book has been challenged/banned for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

This book has been challenged/banned for depictions of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, and profanity.