Welcome dear readers to a truly outrageous list of recommendations for Women's History Month 2025. Remember to check out the age ratings and content, and beware of spoilers.
-A. Eleazar
Dedication:
Special thanks to Stefanie Eskander, Brian Fies, Montana Kane, Christy Marx, Samantha Newark, and Jessica Setbon for their support.
In Memoriam:
Patricia Alice Albrecht (1952 - 2019)
Jack Angel (1930 - 2021)
Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)
Cathianne Blore (1952 - 2002)
Natalie Cole (1950 - 2015)
Lewis Carroll (1832- 1898)
Linda Dangcil (1941 - 2009)
Ari Gold (1974 - 2021)
Lea Goldberg (1911 - 1970)
Alice Liddell (1852 - 1934)
Vicki Sue Robinson (1954 - 2000)
⭐Jem and The Holograms by Christy Marx๐ฉ๐ผ๐ค๐น๐ธ๐ธ๐ฅ๐ฅ️⭐
Age Rating: All Ages
"It was the '80s." -- Bandit Heeler, in Bluey by Joe Brumm
Over a century old, Hasbro is an American company known for its unique toys and games and the animated TV shows made to tie-in with its products.
Since 1983, Hasbro has been producing a number of cartoons, including G.I. Joe, The Transformers, My Little Pony, and Jem and The Holograms.
Running from 1985 to 1988, Jem and The Holograms is an animated musical TV series created by Christy Marx, with dolls of the characters designed by Stefanie Eskander.
Taking notes from the history of holography, Hasbro gave audiences a triple-season show with a unique premise that's guaranteed to please music and science lovers alike.
In the Starlight Mansion live five women named Jerrica and Kimber Benton, Aja Leith, Shana Elmsford, and Raya Alonso; together, they rock-with help from their secret AI friend Synergy-as the truly outrageous band called Jem and The Holograms.
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Jerrica Benton (Samantha Newark; singing voice by Britta Phillips) is a blonde-haired Caucasian woman secretly living two lives: as herself, she and her youngest sister, Kimber, own and run their family's home, charity, and label; wearing her Jemstar earrings, Jerrica can transform into Jem, her holographic pink-haired alter ego projected by Synergy and Jem and The Holograms' lead vocalist. Jerrica's in a relationship with the band's road manager, Rio Pacheco, who loves both her and 'Jem', not knowing they're the same person. |
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Carmen "Raya" Alonso (Linda Dangcil; The Flying Nun) is the Benton sisters' pink-haired Mexican-American amiga and Jem and The Holograms' current drummer. Prior to becoming a musician, Raya helped her padres-Miguel and Rosa Alonso-raise and sell plants at Alonso's Nursery and look after her three younger hermanos: Enrique, Aurelio, and Roberto. |
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Synergy (Marlene Aragon) is Jem and The Holograms' AI friend and mentor; created by the Benton sisters' late father, Emmett Benton, she's the best audio/visual entertainment synthesizer and uses her projectors and Jerrica's Jemstar earrings to project realistic holograms that come with matching sound effects, including Jem. Because of how powerful Synergy is, Jem and The Holograms do their best keeping her existence (and Jerrica's double life) a secret from others. |
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Even though Jem and The Holograms are a famous band, becoming musicians hadn't been easy for them.
It all began with the Benton sisters' late parents: inventor Emmett Benton (Jack Angel) and famous singer Jacqui Benton (Marlene Aragon; singing voice by Angela Cappelli).
As a former foster child herself, Jacqui founded her family's first home, the Starlight House, to give abandoned and orphaned girls the love she never had growing up. Together with Emmett, Jacqui also founded Starlight Music-a label owned by her husband and where she recorded her songs-and a charity called the Starlight Foundation.
Whenever people buy songs recorded at Starlight Music, the proceeds get donated to the Starlight Foundation which, in turn, provides income for the Benton family and its foster daughters: the Starlight Girls.
The Bentons are one happy family-with Emmett and Jacqui showing their love for their biological, adopted, and foster daughters-yet even they had experienced the saddest moments. Jacqui's daughters were only children when she died in a plane crash while en route to a scheduled performance. Despite losing the love of his life, Emmett moved on by being a responsible single father to his daughters and secretly forming Synergy with Jacqui's likeness, yet giving her a unique personality so she could be both mother figure and friend to the future Jem and The Holograms.
Years later, Emmett died suddenly and Jerrica and Kimber became the Starlight Girls' guardians; at the same time, Jerrica and her father's assistant, Eric Raymond (Charlie Adler), were made co-owners of Starlight Music. However, Eric Raymond wanted sole ownership of the label so he can manage a troublemaking group called The Misfits and make them the number one band.
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Phyllis "Pizzazz" Gabor (Patricia Alice Albrecht; singing voice by Ellen Bernfeld) is The Misfits' green-haired lead vocalist and guitarist; the spoiled daughter of businessman Harvey Gabor, she hates-among many things-losing, Jem and The Holograms, and being called by her real name. Pizzazz is madly in love with The Stingers' lead vocalist Riot. |
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Roxanne "Roxy" Pellegrini (Samantha Paris; singing voice by Ellen Bernfeld) is The Misfits' white-haired bassist; despite her musical talents, she's secretly illiterate. |
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Mary "Stormer" Phillips (Susan Blu) is The Misfits' blue-haired keyboardist and songwriter; though mischievous like her bandmates, she still has a heart. |
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Sheila "Jetta" Burns (Louise Dorsey) is The Misfits' black-haired British saxophonist; formerly a member of The Tinkerbillys, she became the fourth Misfit around the same time Raya joined Jem and The Holograms. Good at playing music, bad at telling the truth. |
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Jerrica is outraged at Eric Raymond's callous greed; without Starlight Music, the Starlight Foundation would close and the Starlight Girls taken away by social services. Thankfully, Jerrica had been given her Jemstar earrings and Synergy had been made to help her creator's daughters stop Eric Raymond from ruining their parents' legacy.
Wearing her special earrings, Jerrica first turned into Jem to form Jem and The Holograms with her sisters. Aided by Synergy, Jem and The Holograms defeated The Misfits in a Battle of the Bands, kicked Eric Raymond out of Starlight Music, and moved the Starlight Girls to their current home of Starlight Mansion.
Since claiming Starlight Music as theirs, Jerrica and Kimber have been busy making music with their bandmates and keeping their wards in line.
Rather than accept defeat, The Misfits and Eric Raymond set up their own label across Starlight Music and have been resorting to dirty tricks to make Jem and The Holograms disband and expose Jem's true identity.
As Jem and The Holograms themselves become famous all over the world, they constantly face competition not only from The Misfits, but also The Stingers, a glam rock trio from Germany.
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Rory "Riot" Llewellyn (Townsend Coleman; singing voice by Gordon Grody) is The Stingers' American lead vocalist; with his soothing voice, he has people obeying his commands with ease. Estranged from his veteran father, he's madly in love with Jem and views Rio as a rival. |
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Ingrid "Minx" Kruger (Kath Soucie; singing voice by Vicki Sue Robinson) is The Stingers' German synth player; she and Riot were originally members of another rock band called Nirvana, but when it disbanded, Minx left with Riot out of loyalty and later formed The Stingers with him and Rapture. She considers Jem a rival for Rio's affections. |
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Phoebe "Rapture" Ashe (Ellen Gerstell; singing voice by Vicki Sue Robinson) is The Stingers' American guitarist; when she isn't playing music, she ropes her bandmates into fooling others with scams themed after the occult. |
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Despite everything for and against them, Jem and The Holograms still manage to express their musical talents, make many good friends, and tackle serious issues such as child abandonment, illiteracy, and drug abuse.
Known for its songs, anime-like style, lessons, and showing 1980s life and culture, Jem and The Holograms is a truly outrageous TV series that pays homage to the decade it aired and is set in.
In 2012, Jem and The Holograms made a truly outrageous comeback when Shout! Factory released all three seasons on DVD, while Integrity Toys-in partnership with Hasbro-has been making a series of limited edition dolls of the characters for adult collectors and fans of the show.
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| ⭐Jerrica Benton/Jem: "It's showtime, Synergy!"⭐ |
Forty years on, Jem and The Holograms remains one of the best 1980s cartoons still enjoyed by fans old and young.
Age Rating: All Ages
"If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads." -- Anatole France
In 1862, Alice Liddell was in a rowing boat with her sisters, Lorina and Edith, when she asked her adult acquaintance Charles Dodgson to tell them a story; as Reverend Duckworth rowed the boat, Dodgson told the Liddell sisters fantastic stories about a curious little girl and of her adventures down a rabbit hole.
Then in 1865 and 1872, Dodgson, under the pen name Lewis Carroll, wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.
Since their publication, Carroll's Alice books have been among the famous children's novels of all time and the basis for many screen and theatrical adaptations.
In 2010, Moore and Reppion adapted Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass into a faithful four-issue comic miniseries titled The Complete Alice in Wonderland.
Bored with her sister reading a book with no illustrations, Alice curiously follows a White Rabbit down a rabbit hole and into Wonderland.
In a country populated by cat-hating birds, a Cheshire Cat, a mad Hatter, and a Queen who wants heads chopped off, Alice goes on one adventure after another.
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| Alice: "Curioser and curioser!" |
Adapting both of Carroll's Alice books, The Complete Alice in Wonderland is a must read for all fans of children's fantasy novels.
Shirley Jackson's The Lottery: The Authorized Graphic Novel Adaptation by Miles Hyman⚫
Age Rating: 16+
Age Rating: 16+
"A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury." -- John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
In 1925, the American weekly magazine The New Yorker was launched.
Based in New York City and publishing 47 issues a year, The New Yorker shows its subscribers many things including news reports, short stories, cartoons likes those by Charles Addams of The Addams Family fame, and even unique documentary films.
After the publication of the June 26, 1948 issue, however, many people unsubscribed from The New Yorker because of one short story that's so shocking that it remains one of the weekly magazine's best-known articles and made the author one of the most famous women horror writers of all time.
What's the short story? The Lottery by the late Shirley Jackson.
In 2016, Jackson's grandson Miles Hyman commemorated his grandmother's 100th birthday by adapting The Lottery into an authorised graphic novel.
It's the morning of June 27 and the 300 residents of an American village gather for the annual lottery.
Alphabetically, the patriarchs of the village households and substitutes are each instructed to pick a folded piece of paper from inside a box set on a three-legged stool.
When all are given their chance, the papers are then unfolded, the villagers eager to see who has picked the one the black spot drawn in it.
Bill Hutchinson has drawn the paper with the black spot; against his wife Tessie's protests, their family is made to repick papers from the same box, and the villagers are prepared to zero in on the final person to choose the black spot. Why? Stones.
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| Tessie Hutchinson: "It isn't fair! It isn't right!" |
Considered one of the best 20th century short stories and even dramatized by Britannica, The Lottery is a cautionary tale on just how foolish and horrifying human beings can be.
This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalia Cole๐ฉ๐ฟ๐ค
Age Rating: All Ages
"Consider not the gift of the lover, but the love of the giver." -- Thomas ร Kempis
What can you do to those you love?
In 1975, African American singer Natalie Cole, daughter of Nat King Cole, showed the apple didn't fall far from the tree when she launched her hit single This Will Be (An Everlasting Love).
Featuring her unique vocals and catchy rhythm, Natalie's debut single is a timeless song that has been featured in many films and continues to make us sing along.
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; Based on her Book of the Same Name๐ฉ๐ผ๐ฉ๐ป๐ฉ๐ป๐ฉ๐ป๐ฉ๐ป
Age Rating: 7+
"It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds." -- Aesop
Before Julia Quinn, there was Jane Austen.
From 1811 to 1820, George IV, governed the United Kingdom as 'Regent' due to his father, George III, being mad during those nine years, which came to be known as the Regency era. During the Regency era, the majority of English women were forbidden from inheriting their own fathers' estates, which were only passed down to sons and other male family members. To prevent their daughters from becoming poor and homeless, their families usually resorted to having them marry rich husbands.
The lack of inheritance rights for English women and their lives during the Regency era are recounted in a novel written anonymously in 1813 by English writer Jane Austen. Containing drama, romance, and misunderstandings amidst class norms, Pride and Prejudice is one of the most famous pieces of British literature and is considered by readers and fans to be Jane Austen's masterpiece.
To date, of all the parodies and adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, among the best known and most faithful is the BBC's 1995 six-episode miniseries version.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are in a bind: despite having five daughters named Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, the lack of a son means being kicked out of their home when Mr. Bennet dies. Not wanting her daughters to die poor, Mrs. Bennet wishes for them all to marry rich.
When an eligible bachelor named Mr. Bingley invites the Bennet family to a ball at his new home, sparks fly between him and Jane, the eldest Bennet sister. Even though many say Jane and Mr. Bingley are right for each other, his sisters and his best friend, the proud Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth), frown on such an idea and don't consider the Bennet family a respectable household.
Elizabeth (Jennifer Ehle), who is close to Jane, immediately despises Mr. Darcy the moment she meets him and becomes rightfully upset when he deliberately ends her sister's relationship with Mr. Bingley.
More drama unfolds as Mrs. Bennet becomes upset at Elizabeth for refusing to marry her cousin Mr. Collins, a clergyman who is set to inherit the Bennet family's home and who patronises Mr. Darcy's rich aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who expects her nephew to marry her sickly daughter.
While walking with her sisters one day, Elizabeth meets the militia officer George Wickham, and becomes charmed by him. As time passes, Elizabeth's prejudices against Mr. Darcy grow stronger when Mr. Wickham tells her of the proud man cheating him out of an inheritance.
When she next meets Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth confronts him for his alleged misdeeds, yet is taken aback when he confesses he loves her and wants her to be his bride.
Aware that Elizabeth still hates him for breaking up Jane and Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy sends her a letter that makes her feel ashamed of her prejudices when she learns of Mr. Wickham's true selfish nature.
As Elizabeth ponders on what do the next, her silly youngest sister, Lydia, and Mr. Wickham cause a big scandal by running off together.
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| Elizabeth Bennet: "For a single man with a good fortune must be in want of a wife." |
Will finding Mr. Wickham bring Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy together, or drive them further apart?
To answer the question, people-including Bridgerton fans-must read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and watch the 1995 TV adaptation.
Mom's Cancer by Brian Fies๐ฉ๐ผ๐ฆฒ
Age Rating: 13+
"There's only one thing more precious than our time and that's what we spend it on." -- Leo Christopher
Every year, millions of people around the world are diagnosed with cancer. Even though cancer treatment's now more advanced than decades ago, a diagnosis-whether terminal or not-is enough to unleash a range of emotions from the patients and their loved ones.
In 2005, writer and artist Brian Fies released Mom's Cancer, an Eisner-winning autobiographical graphic novel about himself and his sisters dealing with their late mother's diagnosis of metastatic lung cancer.
Me's Mom has lived a very interesting life: surviving tuberculosis she contracted from her grandfather, being a wife and a mother, and even playing a small part in the 1996 film Norma Jean & Marilyn.
One day while watching a film, Mom experiences pain in her right leg. Knowing something isn't right, Mom's family takes her to the doctors who-after conducting thorough tests-diagnose her with metastatic lung cancer, the result of her excessive smoking. Mom then goes through a range of emotions as she undergoes treatment after treatment, her three children-Me the author, Nurse Sis the nurse, and Kid Sis the part-time actress living with her-being there to support her as best they can.
In Mom's Cancer, readers are shown a story not about the consequences of smoking, not about what cancer is, not about the effects of chemotherapy, no; the story is a relatable account of one woman and her family sticking together as she beats the odds.
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| Brian Fies: "Her name was Barbara, and she lived and died well. I will miss making new memories with her." |
By publishing a bittersweet story, Brian Fies gives readers a timely lesson on being there for the people they love while they still can.
Dame Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None; Based on her Book of the Same Name๐ช๐ช๐ช๐ช๐ช๐ช๐ช๐ช๐ช๐ช
Age Rating: 15+
"Sometimes the need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer." -- Ken Kesey
Written in 1939 by Dame Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None is the world's number one best-selling mystery novel. Published during WWII and inspired by a dark nursery rhyme titled Ten Little Soldier Boys, And Then There Were None is the hardest book Christie wrote because she had to make sure her readers didn't identify the killer right away, but she enjoyed the task nonetheless.
Among the eighty years' worth of adaptations and parodies, the most faithful to date is the BBC's 2015 miniseries version.
During the late summer, a couple known as Mr. and Mrs. U.N. Owen invite eight strangers to their isolated abode of Soldier Island.
The Owens' guests are Justice Wargrave (Charles Dance; Game of Thrones), school teacher Vera Claythorne (Maeve Dermody; Breathing Under Water), mercenary Captain Philip Lombard (Aidan Turner; The Hobbit), conservative spinster Emily Brent (Miranda Richardson; Merlin), WWI veteran General MacArthur (Sam Neill, Jurassic Park), surgeon Dr Armstrong (Toby Stephens; Twelfth Night), reckless driver Anthony Marston (Douglas Booth; Worried About the Boy), and former detective William Blore (Burn Gorman; Coronation Street). Upon arriving at their destination, the octet are tended to by their hosts' manservant Thomas Rogers (Noah Taylor; Almost Famous) and his housekeeper wife, Ethel Rogers (Anna Maxwell Martin; South Riding).
Strangely, none of the guests and the help have even met the Owens, whose house has-in each room-a framed copy of Ten Little Soldier Boys, the dark nursery rhyme which the island was named after.
On their first night on the island, the ten people on it realise something's wrong when Mr. and Mrs. U.N. Owen fail to show up and a pre-recorded voice loudly accuses them all of getting away with murder. As a storm cuts them off from the mainland, those on Soldier Island begin dying off one by one in accordance with the nursery rhyme. It doesn't take long for the 'Little Soldier Boys' to suspect that 'U.N. Owen' is "unknown", a vigilante who hadn't only invited them to the island to be killed, but is also one of them.
Ten people on one island: one killer and their nine victims in a house of slaughter; but which is which?
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| Ten Little Soldier Boys... |
To close the case, mystery fans must read And Then There Were None and watch the 2015 TV adaptation.
The Peasants by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman; Based on the Book by Wลadysลaw Reymont๐❄️๐ผ☀️
Age Rating: Adults Only
"We are flawed creatures, all of us. Some of us think that means we should fix our flaws. But get rid of my flaws and there would be no one left." -- Sarah Vowell, Take the Cannoli
In 2017, Polish-British filmmakers DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman made history by directing Loving Vincent, the world's first fully-painted animated film; made through rotoscoping, the legacy of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh was brought to life in a motion picture with every scene painted in his unique style.
In 2023, the Welchmans repeated their feat by directing The Peasants, a Polish fully-painted animated historical drama film based on the novel by Nobel Prize winner Wลadysลaw Reymont.
In the Polish village of Lipce lives Jagna (Kamila Urzฤdowska), a young woman known for her beauty and talent in making paper cutouts.
Living with her society-climbing mother Dominikowa, Jagna has been having an adulterous affair with Antek Boryna (Robert Gulaczyk), a married farmer and son of Lipce's most influential man.
As Antek's wife, Hanka (Sonia Mietielica), despairs over her husband's adultery, his old widowed father (Mirosลaw Baka) begins to lust after Jagna. Wanting to remarry, Mr. Boryna gains Dominikowa's blessing by giving several acres of land in exchange for Jagna's hand in marriage. When Antek and Hanka oppose both the marriage and the deal, Boryna angrily kicks them and their children out of his home.
Jagna herself doesn't love Mr. Boryna, who proceeds to marry her in a grand wedding.
But even after marrying Lipce's richest farmer, Jagna resumes her affair with Antek, his father catching them many times.
As father and son become further estranged, misfortune falls upon Lipce, a series of negative events which the predominantly Catholic and patriarchal villagers blame on one person: Jagna.
Set in the annual cycle of the four seasons, a story of lust, war, and hypocrisy unfolds in The Peasants, a drama film where every scene is worth displaying in a museum.
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| Jagna: "I won't hide from anyone." |
Age Rating: 16+
๐ถHe had it comin'
He had it comin'
He only had himself to blame
If you'd have been there
If you'd have seen it
I betcha you would have done the same๐ถ
-- The Six Merry Murderesses, in Chicago by John Kander
Medea: Daughter; Mother; Murderess; Princess; Priestess; Queen; Sister; Wife; Witch.
Traditionally depicted by patriarchs as the vengeful wife who persecutes her unfaithful husband Jason's mistress and children, Medea's one of the most familiar female figures from Greek mythology.
While many of us know what Medea is, do we even know who she is?
In 2024, Montana Kane answered that question by providing readers with her English translation of Medea, a French graphic novel retelling written by Blandine Le Callet and illustrated by Nancy Peรฑa.
Daughter of King Aeรซtes of Colchis, sister of Prince Absyrtus, and priestess of Hecate, Medea is proud of being a Colchian.
Medea acquires all her scientific knowledge as a priestess to the patron goddess of witchcraft just as her father studies the unknown, believing humankind exists to change the world.
Cruel and unforgiving, Aeรซtes buys and forces slaves to build grand ships and is hostile to foreigners, including his eldest daughter Calchiope's Greek husband Phrixus, whom she has four sons with. The King even orders Medea to use her skills to cure her mentally unbalanced brother, but even she knows he'll never be the same like other people.
When Phrixus dies under suspicious circumstances, his sons-whom Aeรซtes views as threats to Absyrtus' birthright-sail away to their ancestral country of Greece.
A year later, Medea is surprised when her nephews return to Colchis as members of the Argonauts, a crew of Greek men lead by the handsome Jason.
Jason has arrived in Colchis to steal its prized possession, the Golden Fleece, so he can reclaim the Iolcan throne from his Uncle Pelias. Charmed by the young would-be-king, Medea betrays her father and leaves her home to help Jason steal the Golden Fleece, all in exchange for his hand in marriage.
What follows next is a series of adventures, betrayals, and murders which Jason exaggerates and turns into the myths that cast him as a victim and Medea a villain.
Having sacrificed everything to be with Jason, Medea's rightfully upset at him and decides to set the record straight before she dies.
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| Medea: "Better to fight on the front lines three times than to give birth just once." |
More than just a woman scorned and the inspiration for the British TV series Doctor Foster, Medea is back-flaws and all-in a must read for fans of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Lauren J. A. Bear's Medusa's Sisters, John Kander's Chicago, Madeline Miller's Circe, and Jennifer Saint's Ariadne.
Age Rating: All Ages
"Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present." -- Eleanor Roosevelt
The 2016 Bulgarian-Canadian short film Blind Vaysha tells of a woman cursed with split vision: a left eye that only sees the past and a right eye that only sees the future, thus making her "blind" to the present. While it's a nightmare to have a such condition, Vaysha's problem does warn us to focus on what's happening now rather than get stuck remembering what happened or fearing what will happen.
In 2024, Liz Climo wrote and illustrated Life in the Present, her latest collection of comics featuring her animal characters getting into relatable shenanigans.
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| Liz Climo: "I loved making people happy and was lucky to be surrounded by family and friends who encouraged me to pursue a career doing just that." |
Whether they're working, playing, resting, or reflecting on their lives and choices, Climo's characters show just how wonderful it is living in the present and sharing life's joys with others.
Age Rating: 13+
"Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth." -- Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Uh... mysteries.
Many people love mysteries especially the most baffling cases; in fiction, audiences enjoy trying to guess who done it.
Sadly in real life, many cases go cold due to lack of evidence and many so-called investigators not caring about the victims' or their loved ones' feelings.
When a case involves a disappearance, it's a race against time to find the missing person or their families and friends are forced to wait for years or receive the worst news ever.
Every second counts as shown in A Phone Call Away, a mystery graphic novel written by Rich Douek and illustrated by Russell Mark Olson.
The Walkers appear to be the picture-perfect American family: a couple named Andrew and Emma Walker and their daughter, Meghan.
The stars of the hit reality TV show Second Chances, people around the world watch and follow Andrew and Emma as they raise Meghan in memory of their other daughter, Mandy.
Fourteen years prior, the Walkers suffered a tragedy when their firstborn daughter, Mandy, was kidnapped and-despite an extensive search-later found murdered.
With a prime suspect shot dead by one Detective Raul Martinez, the case had since gotten cold.
Taking pity on the Walkers, people helped them launch their new lives and careers and found The Mandy Walker Foundation.
Starring in a successful TV show and running a charity that has helped thousands of children around the world, Andrew and Emma appear to have everything they need to move on... until history repeats itself.
While making a new Second Chances episode set on Meghan's sixth birthday and the fourteenth anniversary of Mandy's death, the Walkers are horrified to find their youngest daughter gone.
Racing against time, Detectives Connors and Martinez immediately get on the case.
As Connors does all she can to help the Walkers, Martinez gains a surprising ally: Nina Hendrik, the woman who lost everything after she was accused of being complicit in Mandy's unsolved murder despite the lack of evidence connecting her to the crime.
Live on TV and supported by their most loyal fans and followers, the Walkers get a phone call from the person claiming to have kidnapped Meghan, promising to return her alive on one condition: Andrew and Emma must reveal the "truth".
When Martinez and Hendrik uncover new evidence about Mandy's death and Connors traces the phone call, the truth about what really happened fourteen years ago comes out in the most unexpected way.
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| Sandy Walsh: "...and I need your help to prove it." |
In an age where the line between information and misinformation isn't always crystal clear, A Phone Call Away is a must read for Agatha Christie and Unsolved Mysteries fans and a warning against believing in lies.
Age Rating: 13+
"A witch uses magic wisely. A witch is true to her friends. A witch is true to herself." -- Scott Heming, Sabrina: Friends Forever
Witches: good or evil?
In many fairy tales, witches are stock villains who either turn people into animals or eat children by luring them into houses made of sweets; a hero's quest usually involves breaking the witch's spell.
In L. Frank Baum's Oz books, Good and Wicked Witches reign over different parts of the marvelous kingdom.
In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, three witch sisters prophesy the eponymous Scotsman's reign and downfall.
Whether in literature, on stage, or on screen, witches are a part of popular culture. On Halloween, Western people traditionally don black pointy hats and green hook-nosed masks or makeup, holding brooms, and cackling themselves silly.
You might be surprised to learn, however, that witches aren't fiction-they're real and are completely different from what we ordinary people imagine.
So, what is witchcraft and what exactly makes a person a witch?
In 2024, real life witch Lindsay Squire and artist Lisa Salsi wrote and illustrated Witchcraft, a historical graphic novel about the ancient practice and the people who perform it.
Back when Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, women are considered their fathers' and husbands' possessions and are burdened with housework and child-rearing.
Amidst the blatant hypocrisy from the Church, one local woman dares to stand up against what men expect her to do: Biddy Early, a witch who makes medicines to heal her ill and injured neighbours and friends.
Curious about witchcraft, a little girl named Lindsay meets Biddy who-sensing the child's strong belief in magic-teaches her about many things:
- Different types of witches.
- The fair folk Biddy communicates with.
- The history of magic and the pioneers of witchcraft.
- Making medicines out of particular plants.
- The kinds of animals witches have as familiars.
- The tools required to make magic.
- The infamous witch trials that saw many innocent people falsely convicted of and murdered for witchcraft.
In a time, when fear of the unknown destroys lives, Lindsay stands up for herself and Biddy to become a witch and use her knowledge and skills to help others.
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| Biddy Early: "You don't need to be a witch to use magic. It belongs to everyone." |
By writing a book about witchcraft and tolerance, Lindsay Squire shows readers that magic exists as a gift for all.
Wicked by Jon M. Chu; Based on the Musical by Stephen Schwartz, the Novel by Gregory Maguire, and the Characters by L. Frank Baum๐งน๐ซง
Age Rating: 9+
"We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that WE can be extraordinary to somebody too." -- Helen Hayes
Back in 1900, L. Frank Baum made witches popular again when he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the first in a series of children's fantasy novels set in a kingdom that's home to Munchkins, talking Animals, and Witches Good and Wicked.
To have their wishes granted by the great and terrible Wizard ruling the Land of Oz, Dorothy and her friends are tasked with killing the Wicked Witch of the West, which the girl from Kansas does by melting her with a bucket of water.
Since appearing in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and famously portrayed by Margaret Hamilton in MGM's 1939 film adaption, the Wicked Witch of the West has been among the most infamous villains of all time.
But had she really been wicked all her life?
One of the longest-running Broadway musicals, Wicked opened on Broadway in 2003, starring Tony winners Idina Menzel (Disney's Frozen) and Kristin Chenoweth (Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie) as Elphaba and Glinda, roles that made the two leading ladies household names worldwide.
Then in 2024, the first part of the long awaited film adaptation of Wicked premiered in theatres, becoming a box office hit and emotionally giving fans a dream come true.
Directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), both parts of Wicked star Cynthia Erivo (Widows, Harriet) as Elphaba, Ariana Grande-Butera (Victorious, Sam & Cat) as Glinda, Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Everything, Everywhere All at Once) as Madame Morrible, Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) as Dr. Dillamond, and Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) as the Wizard of Oz.
Literally defying expectations and winning many awards, Wicked is must watch for fans of Baum's Oz books and Broadway.
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| Elphaba Thropp: "Unlimited..." |
Age Rating: All Ages
"You've made this day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are." -- Fred Rogers, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
In 1959, Israelites of Middle Eastern descent protested against racist government officials. It was said that in response to the anti-racist protests, a children's short story and poem was republished as a book; with its timely message on tolerance, it became a classic in Jewish literature.
The title of the text and the author who wrote it? Room for Rent by Lea Goldberg.
Originally published in a 1949 Israeli periodical, Room for Rent is one of Goldberg's best-known works. Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Room for Rent was reprinted as a children's book-first illustrated by Shoshana Heiman and later by Holocaust survivor Shmuel Katz-and first translated into English by Bracha Kaplan as A Flat for Rent.
In 2017, Jessica Setbon retranslated Goldberg's Room for Rent into English, a new edition which Jerusalem-based Gefen Publishing reprinted along with Katz's illustrations.
A five-room house is home to four friends: a Cornish Hen on the first floor, a Cuckoo on the second, a Cat on the third, and a Squirrel on the fourth.
Sir Reginald Mouse used to live on the fifth floor but since he had moved out, the four remaining tenants put up a sign that reads, "Room for Rent."
Different animals arrive to inspect the fifth room but are rude to the four friends: the diligent Miss Ant dislikes Miss Hen for being lazy; the maternal Mrs. Rabbit dislikes the Cuckoo for leaving her babies in other birds' nests; the white-skinned Snortimus Pig gets chased out for insulting the black-furred Cat; and the musically-gifted Nightingale calls the Squirrel cacophonous for cracking the pecans she shares with her friends.
In the end, Miss Hen, the Cuckoo, the Cat, and the Squirrel get a new neighbour in a kind-hearted Dove who wishes nothing more than to be friends with them despite their differences.
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| "In a sunlit valley, 'tween meadow and sky, Stands a fine old house that's five stories high. With laughter that rings from every floor True friends and good neighbors, who could ask for more?" |
With a message that's more timely than ever before, Lea Goldberg's Room for Rent shows readers that only by tolerating each other's differences can we live in peace and harmony.
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| A Google Doodle on Lea Goldberg's 102nd birthday. |
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