Summer is here (or almost here for some of you!) and that means breaking out the fun, beachy reads. You know – chick lit, young adult, etc. Who can focus on a tough read when they’re at the beach and there is so much scenery to take in? And by scenery, I mean half-naked men playing beach volleyball and rolling around in the sand. For days like this, I turn to my favorite YA and chick lit authors, and lucky for me, Meg Cabot has just released a new book that totally fits the bill.

Abandon is the story of Pierce Oliviera, a 17-year-old girl who has been moved to Isla Huesos, her mother’s hometown off the coast of Florida. She’s had some issues at her previous school and her mother has decided that the best thing for her is a fresh start. However, Pierce’s past and one mysterious boy, John, seem to be following her to Isla Huesos and making the whole “starting over” thing a little bit impossible.

Pierce met John the day the she died. Yes, you read that right, Pierce has died before. She was eventually revived and lived to tell the tale, but her run-in with John forever changed her life. Like the myth of Hades and Persephone that this novel was loosely based on, John wants Pierce to live with him, in the underworld. I know, it seems kind of cheesy and weird if you’re not familiar with the myth, but I appreciate Cabot’s efforts to pave a new way in the bogged down genre of paranormal young adult fiction. It’s not about vampires (thank god), but instead draws on ancient Greek religion (really interesting stuff) and I really respect her effort.

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Sex is a powerful tool. It can bring pleasure (lots and lots of pleasure), create babies, cause heartache, and even end wars? No effing way.

Aristophanes (the Greek comic playwright) introduced this idea in one of his plays, in which a woman named Lysistrata (translation: Army-disbander) comes up with a, well, attention-grabbing plan to bring an end to the Peloponnesian War: she convinces herself and all of the other Grecian ladies to withhold sex from their husbands until the men have negotiated a peace.

Thousands of years later, the women of Kenya are trying a similar tactic – they’ve gone on a seven day sex strike in an attempt to alleviate the violence that has resulted from the rivalry between Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki (who currenty share power over the Kenyan government). Introduced by the Women’s Development Organization coalition, the strike includes the Prime Minister’s wife, Ida Odinga, many average women, a handful of prostitutes, and possibly President Kibaki’s wife. Read More »

Perpetual war.

Think of the pictures you’ve seen of bombed-out Iraq, horror stories of refugee camps, and hauntingly hollow eyes of children who have seen too much…

War. Death. Destruction. Pain. Sorrow. No Hope. No Life. No Point.

Somalia needs your attention.

One of the most dangerous places in the world, Somalia has been locked in constant conflict since the overthrow of General Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

U.N. Special Representative Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah stated on March 24 that,

“The situation in Somalia, indeed, is serious. Serious because it has been at war for so long that many people probably do not understand what it means to live in peace, and this is not an exaggeration, or living with a government.”

According to GlobalSecurity.org, 350,000-1,000,000 Somalis have died since 1990 in the conflict.

According to Human Rights Watch, as of 1990, the male literacy rate was 36% and the female literacy rate was 14%.

A fifth of Somalian children die before their fifth birthday. Read More »

The first few minutes of Oxfam International (a “confederation of 13 organizations working together with over 3,000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice“)’s new exhibit seem normal enough: multimedia presentations detailing refugee experiences, timelines of various conflicts, and lots of photos. Suddenly, however, things drastically change—the model house you are standing in seems to be under attack!

While some group members hide, you and a few others escape into what appears to be a jungle of sorts. Still in disbelief at this turn of events, you stumble on into what looks like a desert… full of land mines. You successfully avoid the explosions and make it to a border crossing. The guards hassle your group ruthlessly, you get pulled aside for questioning, but, finally, after what seems like an eternity, they allow you into the country.

Just beyond the border is a refugee camp where you are told you will be able to stay temporarily. At the entrance you register and formally ask the government for asylum… unreality hits—you are a refugee, no home, no nationality, and most likely not even a complete family.

Freaky right? To be honest I’m not sure I would be able to deal with it. But according to the project’s director Stephanie Cousins, that is the desired effect; Read More »