Isis Copal Copal itibaren Asinaŭka, Beyaz Rusya
When I was 13 and first read Tamora Pierce my favorite thing about what she wrote was romance. I loved the whole Alanna/George/Jonathan triangle and all the romance in other series to follow. Now, at 24, I still love her romance. But more than that I love how inspiring she is. Almost all of the stories are about a girl who rises above what is expected of her (there is one story about a tree/man, and one about a crow/man that also deal with standing up for yourself and being who you are). It's hard to read these stories and not believe that you, personally, can do do anything you want in life (though it will always require a lot of hard work first). Tamora Pierce is always full of really good messages for young people, but she never really sugar coats it. You have to spend years and years as a page before you can become that knight. Or you have to really fight for and stand up to your father before you can really learn magic and go to school. Or you have to really spend all of your time helping to save one ugly animal for months to see any positive results. And that's what I love most about her writing now. Her characters don't just magically get what they need when they need it (like in a lot of fairy tales); they work and work and work for them. This book is full of so many amazing characters and ideas. You will probably find yourself wishing some of the stories were longer (in book format) so you can keep reading them!
The Soviet secret service listens for an anonymous call from a Soviet diplomat to the American Embassy. The diplomat sais he has information on the Soviet atomic bomb program. In a "sjarasjka" are now prisoners ordered to develop instruments to identify the voice and thus expose the traitor. In the first circle belongs to the Russian literature's finest moments, with its narrative skill and its psychological and philosophical depth. A masterly panorama of Soviet society and its destinies, with insight into a totalitarian states all layers, from the lowest convict to the leader himself. All concentrated within a few dark winter days in 1949.
This book is lyrical, poetic, heartbreaking, uplifting, and true. The story of Janet Frame's life is one of a quiet, misunderstood genius who was first punished, then rewarded for being herself. (Also, this was made into a brilliant film by Jane Campion.)