Mina Witteman – author | editor | teacher of creative writing

Posts tagged “Delacorte Press

Paris view: Sadness down in four notes

Posted on October 15, 2010

    It is very rare that I get to read a book that immediately touches the right chord. Jennifer Donnelly’s Revolution is such a book. Andi Alpers, her protagonist, grabbed me by the throat at the very first page and didn’t let go. I read Revolution in one go, not wanting it to stop. Not the words, not the music in it. Ever! Revolution is about Andi Alpers, a gifted musician and student. She is a senior at a prestigious private school in Brooklyn when grief threatens to destroy her life. She is angry with her father for moving on with his life, heartbroken by the pain she sees in her mother, who’s not able to cope with life anymore, and she blames…

Californian View: something old, something new…

Posted on August 18, 2010

For some people it is comforting to be surrounded by what they know, to do the things they’ve always done and live a life without surprises. Leave everything as it is and don’t ask questions. For them change is a scary process, a frightening journey into the dark unknown. If changes occur they – often subconsciously – try to block it. They cling to the familiar and won’t let go. It’s easy to laugh at them, but I realize that – deep down in my heart – I’m one of them. Even though I like a road less traveled, I have difficulties going off the beaten track. In hiking and biking I usually keep to the trails and in daily life I shop at…