J Lenni Dorner

It's just a book with 10 activities that serve as writing prompts. It suggests writing by hand, drawing on your emotions, and ignoring the rules (such as grammar) for the activities.

ADULT
Former nerd turned rich and handsome as an adult buys a sexual exchange for three-quarters of a million dollars from a woman he's had a crush on since they attended middle school.
Takes less than an hour to read. He's arrogant and controlling. Her character could use more development.
"I saw he lighted candles" - lighted is almost always an adjective, lit is the preferred verb. Items such as this, and the extreme lack of dialog tags, make it seem like the editor was inexperienced.
The erotic scenes are heavy with detailed order, but low on emotion. The actual devirginising is short and told from only his point of view.

All the best parts of the original book- friendship, caring about family, having a business sense, setting goals, being responsible, and using creativity are here. I love being able to share this new version with the children in my life.

This is a very detailed account of the travels in 1846, 1853, and 1857 of Thoreau. What they ate, what they wore, where they slept, and how much items cost along the way are all recorded. There’s mention of intense cold of 40 to 50 Fahrenheit (which is above freezing, so I’m not sure what to make of that).
I’ve never had tea sweetened with molasses. Nor have I ever eaten moose horn. However, the oddest meal I came across in this book was as follows: “The Indians baked a loaf of flour bread in a spider on its edge before the fire for their breakfast…”
The pleasure of Thoreau’s adventure is destroyed during a moose hunt. Hunting for merely the satisfaction of killing is like shooting your neighbor’s horses and God is that neighbor — THAT is the lesson that Thoreau gifts to readers in the middle of this book. After that scene, he really “sees” the reality of where he is.
Some lessons are never learned and thus never cease to be relevant. One example in the book is when he comes to a place where there are two political parties mentioned. One is in favor of schools. The other, following the wishes of a priest, is opposed to schools because education could lead to “Indians” who would know how to manage their money.
Thoreau’s appreciation of “Indian” language is bold and rare.
I’ll end my review with a favorite (condensed) quote from the book:
“The Anglo-American… cannot converse with the spirit of the tree…”

The book includes Marco Polo's descriptions to Kublai Khan of faraway places (though it's unclear if these parts are fictional, true, or fiction-based-on-truth). It's poetic, heart-warming, and soul moving. There is more to be felt in these short, simple descriptions of settings than many authors convey or achieve with entire novels. I urge any writer struggling with settings to study this book. The philosophy included in these pages is on par with Socrates.

Modern descriptions are woven in with the ancient ones. The underground trains of Zirma are mentioned, when trains did not exist until 500 years after Marco Polo. That is the first clue that this book means to transcend time, to travel back and forth through it without regard. Sophronia has a rollercoaster, carousel, Ferris wheel, motorcycles, and factories — all of which were, obviously, never encountered by Marco Polo. Leonia, a city with refrigerators, radio, toothpaste, and light bulbs— is a city that sounds like the whole of America.

I find myself wishing there was a videogame with the objectives of building and maintaining the cites described in this book. Something along the lines of Sid Meier's Civilization series, or the Anno games, or even another version of The Sims and Sim City would be wonderful to bring this book to life.

The book is short, with only 52 recipes. Yes, that's one for every week of the year, so it is logical. As someone who's lived in Boston, I can't give five stars to a recipe book that suggests using canned clams in a clam chowder. Canned! Yes, I know that's what is easy and accessible to some people, but... well, if you've had fresh, you understand.

This delightful children's book has a beautiful little story and a good, simple lesson about the value of family.

The title is meant to be conversational, since this is a work of fiction. (That's mentioned in the discussion points at the end.)

The book drew me right in. In gets deep by page 5, but in a really good way. That the character feels his dog is better than any human is pretty relatable. Being stared at for looking like an Indian- yeah, that hit home for me. I love the Eugene character. He reminds me of several people I know. "We should give thanks they didn't kill all of us." - Is this a more popular saying than I'm aware? Because I've heard that before. More than once. And I do mean heard, not read.

My writer heart skipped a beat at Gordy's lessons on how to read a novel. (Pages 94 to 97 in my paperback copy.)

It's written in a young teen voice, which gets tedious at times. But some of the words are offensive enough that it's obvious how this book made the banned lists.

My favorite quote from the book:
"Ever since white people showed up and brought along their Christianity and their fears of eccentricity, Indians have gradually lost all their tolerance."

My favorite part of the book is in the chapter "In Like a Lion." It talks about the power of expectations. That if your chosen social group expects you to be good, you become good. They expect more of you, so you expect more of yourself, and it works.

Some really great ideas in this one. I'm looking forward to trying some of these recipes out. Snappy Peas and Adult's Watermelon Soup both sound great!

My assistant received this book as a Christmas gift. I flipped through it, and then ended up reading every page. I think everyone would be better off if they had AND USED this journal. #GoOutAndPlay

This book was inspiring. The characters were uplifting. It's a story of healing, trust, courage, confidence, and coincidence. There were a few head hopping moments that distracted me. Overall, a well-written story that's clean enough to be contemporary but hints enough to entertain audiences who also read erotica.

I adore this book. Let me state clearly that I am in the Felicia Day fandom, so that is certainly a reason that I loved it. And girl, if you're reading this, that blue dress on the cover is stunning on you! I never knew how much Felicia and I have in common. There was a time that I was homeschooled. I've met online friends in real life.

Attention writer friends:
Chapter Six is a must read! You've been there (or you probably will be at some point). Page 137 of the hardcover version, the last paragraph, you have to read it. Go to the bookstore now. Oh, and if you are a NaNoWriMo novelist, check out page 143. It's like one of those motivational emails we get. She should be one of our celebrity guest authors.

Page 104 of the hardcover version as the best inadvertent advice I've ever read. "When the system you want to be a part of so badly turns you into someone you're unhappy with and you lose sight of yourself, is it worth it?"

My assistant geeked out after she read this book too. Apparently she and Felicia have both played Puzzle Pirates.

I was experiencing flashbacks as I read this. When The Guild went from YouTube to Xbox— I remember that! Brought to me by Sprint, I think.

This book is like reading a memoir by your acquaintance from work that always says "hi" in the break room... and now here's all this cool information that shows you should have made an effort to become best friends.

By page 207, readers will love Felicia (if they don't already). It will own every non-stone heart out there.

This book reads the way a TV documentary sounds. Chapter 3 has valuable insights and I wish more people knew these details. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in history, especially early American history.
A fascinating factoid from the book:
Pennsylvania's homicide rate in the 1720's alone exceeded London's rate for all of the 18th century.
(Every time a politician talks about violence like it's a new problem, think about that fact.)
There is excellent insight to how the European settlers created poverty in a land that once had none. Then sections that show how they complained that people they made poor were now in poverty and, as such, a burden. There's even an excellent description of what a poorhouse was and how it came to exist.
The book reveals Pennsylvania's false history, the settlers lie that there was an absolute extinction of all Indians in Pennsylvania. Hannah's death was part of their evidence. But the book also mentions that the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission reports 50,000 PA residents with Native American lineage, some of who are Lenni-Lenape like myself.
The reasons I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5 are as follows:
I'm not sure that the Shackamoxon meeting under the Elm tree is actually well known by all Pennsylvanian children, though it should be. How the actual "naming" process works isn't revealed until page 78, so it might be confusing as to how the Lenapes names are assigned or assumed by the colonists before that section. The difference between Minsi and Munsee should have been touched upon, especially given how often people mistakenly use them interchangeably. Page 115 starts using the term "The Delawares" without mentioning how that name came into use, or who Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr is. The Walking Purchase mentions the runners, but doesn't note the wildly boasted— that they were identical siblings. (This cheating strategy is well known enough to be parodied in modern comedies.)

Everything stems from the opening scene. The power one insecure teen boy has to, with one word, get two teen girls to death's doorstep. One cruel word, one unfunny joke, yet the boy probably never even realizes the long-term consequences of his cruelty. An especially protective parent also makes a near fatal error— which is a much more rarely mentioned problem, so I commend that.

There is an implication that teenagers are easier to fool because they are willing trust others.

The only advice given to this unfortunate 14-year-old main character girl to stave off unwanted sexual advances is to let boys down gently by saying she can't date until she's 16.

I was really looking forward to reading this book but ended up feeling frustrated, upset, and regretting that I had read it.

This book has a powerful message of "trust your instincts" combined with a blunt assertion that young people know nothing of the world and thereby have no instincts, only ignorance. That is compiled with a strong determination to have whatever the main character is being denied.

The suspense preys on fear. In order to be compelling, the fear in the reader must be amplified from something that occasionally happens to something that happens hundreds of times a day. So often, in fact, that even a small town in Idaho has a task force devoted to it.

Pages 50 and 110 of the hardcover book "You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir" by Felicia Day would be far more useful to teach young people the moral of this story. A quote from that book that applies to here- "No matter how lonely and isolated and starved for connection you are, there's always the possibility in the online world that you can find a place to be accepted." Normally I wouldn't suggest a different book in a review, but in this case, I feel I need to because I don't think most people should read Who R U Really without also reading Felicia Day's book.

Here's what really upset me about this book:
"A real friend is someone you associate with a daily basis. You know where he lives. You know his parents." That's something the Detective Corbett character states as an absolute and unalterable fact.

I have two nephews who are home-schooled and use the cyber-school network. That line means they are not friends with any of their classmates. I'm insulted by this.

I have an older friend. Both of her parents have passed on. Sorry orphans, NO FRIENDS FOR YOU!
A cousin of mine was homeless for a little while. Technically, a dear friend of mine was also without a home for a few months when he gave up his apartment, put his stuff in storage, and became a long-haul trucker. He had a post office box, but no address. So there was a time where I didn't know where either of those people lived. GUESS WE AREN'T FRIENDS NOW.

Let me conclude by saying that I value the relationships I've cultivated over the Internet. This review is just the opinion of a frustrated reader who considers the mother character in this book to be a more dangerous antagonist than the actual villain.

The graphic novel version is like the original. The best parts of the books- friendship, a business sense, setting goals, being responsible, and using creativity- are still relevant today.

I plan to buy as many of this new version as the publisher will crank out! (Hopefully at least the first 35, but I'd buy all 131.)

The graphic novel version is like the original. The best parts of the books- friendship, a business sense, setting goals, being responsible, and using creativity- are still relevant today.

I plan to buy as many of this new version as the publisher will crank out! (Hopefully at least the first 35, but I'd buy all 131.)