Altered by Jennifer Rush
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This may not be the best literature, but it is a great story.

Something’s going on in Anna's house. Her father does strange genetic experiments in their farmhouse on four boys who live in their basement. As Anna gets to know the boys, she falls in love with Sam, and when an organization called the Branch threatens to take the boys away, they stage an escape and Anna goes with them.

They are on the run, and the secrets about the boys start to come out...


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The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media by Brooke Gladstone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Gladstone is both narrator and visual tour guide, popping up throughout Neufeld's comic panels as both her contemporary self and camouflaged alongside historical figures.

The comic book format permitted me to read and learn about a subject I would not have attempted in a formal book format; the graphic format makes sense as a way to ease the "pain".

Beginning with the Incas, Herodotus, and the Acta Diurna of the Roman Senate, she wends her way to the present. The history’s always interesting, and her discussion on objectivity, and what psychological research has revealed about how people receive news and opinion is amazing.

One of the most intriguing sections deals with bias: commercial, bad news, status quo, access, visual, narrative, and fairness. This leads nicely into a discussion of war journalism. Throughout I was scandalized by the tidbits of information about falsehoods, lies, and tampering that goes on in the media.

This is definitely an interesting and easy way to read about a complex, interesting subject that has an effect on us all.


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