Ensler, Eve. I Am An Emotional Creature

Ensler, Eve I Am An Emotional Creature
Villard Books/Random 2010 148p 20.00
978-1-4000-6104-4 hs E-BN
Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues, gives voice to girls of all colors, creeds, and nationalities as they cope with various social and political issues. In this impassioned book, Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues, gives voice to girls of all colors, creeds, and nationalities as they cope with various social and political issues worldwide. Ensler writes fictional monologues, dialogues, poems and stories that give an account of what some girls go through in this day and age. The text in this book is inspired by girls around the globe who are dealing with issues such as: peer pressure, slavery, violence, and other real life problems. Some of the topics include a suburban girl dealing with popularity among her peers, a teenage Chinese factory worker who assembles Barbie doll heads all day, and an African young woman who goes out for a fun time with her friends one day and returns home two years later with her baby after being kidnapped as a sexual slave to a war lord. There are “Girl Facts” sprinkled throughout the chapters that enlighten the reader to statistics that are related to the forthcoming chapter. Ensler is an impassioned purveyor of information whose messages will empower readers and show the universal plight and strength of young women worldwide. This is a “can’t put down book” that should be in every high school library. Recommended for Tristate Books of Note. This is a “can’t put down book” that should be in every high school library. Recommended for Tristate Books of Note. Weinraub, Tina

Rejected tales of the Failed, Dumped, and Cancelled.

Friedman, John ed. Rejected tales of the Failed, Dumped, and Cancelled.
Villard Books/Random 2009 249p 14.00 978-0-3455-0096-0 hs/adult

An entertaining collection of essays by writers or performers that either received rejection notices or stories of how that author had been rejected at the outset of their career.
Anyone who has suffered rejection will be reassured and entertained by the stories in this book. Each one tells about a painful story, in a humorous manner. In, "A Little Bad" Meredith Hoffa tells how life was good in the sixth grade ... that is until she got a bad haircut and the boys at a party told her they didn't think she was pretty anymore. Her solution was to focus on growing her hair. As if she could make it happen. Meredith is a former journalist and is now performing comedy in L.A..
Several of the stories are more than memorable. Peter Hyman's, "You are the Most Obnoxious Person Alive." describes an article written for New York Magazine. A month after the publication of this self-described, "lightweight, modestly funny ... story with a mix of facts and frivolity he received an E-mail describing him as the most obnoxious person alive. Hyman responded by preparing a PowerPoint addressing each of the letter writer's key points.
The variety of rejection is wide in scope and should provide a balm for those who's feeling are tender. TS