Aquamedia is a planet in a faraway galaxy, where there is no winter. The unicorns are native to the Equator Belt called the Land of Ephesia. The Great Spirit calls some unicorns to have a mission in the Land of the Poles, where the unicorns take on human form. Two such unicorns must reveal to the king and queen of the North Pole how the Prince of Demons will be defeated by their daughter Jasmine. Jasmine's one weapon is her faith. The queen speaks of the future marriage between Jasmine and Michael, who is the human adopted son of unicorns Jean and Mia.
Ora Murphy’s heartwarming contemporary romance novel, The Pruning, follows Ruth Anasco in her struggle to find her roots and establish an identity for herself and her children. Brought up by distant adoptive parents, Ruth remains unclear about her heritage until she meets the daughter of a prominent Jewish family at a boarding school in Spain. The family invites her into their home, treating her as their own and inspiring her to practice Judaism. More than 20 years later, still passionate about Judaism, she applies to begin the official conversion process. Awaiting the results of her application with apprehension, Ruth meets Samuel, a man whose whole identity is tied to his Jewish roots. As their love story evolves, cracks begin to appear when the question of identity arises. In flashbacks, readers also learn of Ruth’s first marriage to Hector, an egotistical painter who is physically and emotionally abusive. When she leaves him ten years later, the story recounts her endeavor to provide a stable home for her three children. An inspiring and loveable main character, Ruth shows personal growth throughout the story as she learns to value who she is and makes strides in her career and personal life. Minor characters are equally well-developed, propelling or challenging Ruth’s search for her identity. The author builds suspense with surprising turns. In the beginning, Samuel seems the perfect match for Ruth, but his hesitance in accepting her as she is, and his broken promises raise doubts. Meanwhile, ex-husband Hector pleads his way back into Ruth’s life, but his past behavior makes her wary. The story’s ending is thoroughly satisfying as Ruth finally finds answers for long-held questions and discovers who she truly is. The Pruning raises essential questions about identity and the importance of a sense of self-worth regardless of one’s roots. It is an irresistible read for anyone attracted to the theme of identity interlaced with a soul-stirring romance.
The civil war in Syria—which has claimed more than 600,000 lives and displaced over half of the country’s population since 2011—is an enormously complex conflict. The combatants include a wide array of state and nonstate forces, both Syrian and international. Adding to the war’s complexity, its many participants understand and explain the war in a range of different ways. For some, it is a fight for dignity and democracy; for others, a sectarian or communal conflict; still others see it as a fight against terrorism or a consequence of foreign interference. Ora Szekely draws on sources including in-depth interviews, conflict data, and propaganda distributed through social media to examine how these competing narratives have shaped the course of the conflict. Mapping out the broad patterns of violence among combatants and against civilians, Szekely argues that the competition to control the narrative in the eyes of important audiences at home and abroad has not only influenced the choices of participants, it has also—shaped in part by the use of social media—led many to treat warfare as a kind of performance. An insightful analysis of the forces fueling a brutal civil war, Syria Divided offers new perspectives on the performative aspects of violence, the weaponization of social media, and key features of twenty-first-century warfare.
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