Red Palms

If you liked Forever by Judy Blume, and The Cay by Theodore Taylor, you will absolutely LOVE Red Palms by Cara Haycak. I did!

Haycak, Cara. Red Palms. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2004. Print.

Blume, Judy. Forever: A Novel. Scarsdale, N.Y: Bradbury Press, 1975. Print

Taylor, Theodore. The Cay. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, 1969. Print.

Here's what the critics had to say about Cara Haycak's unique coming of age story set in an exotic island off the coast of Ecuador:

"Readers will be enchanted by the exotic, magical qualities of this coming-of-age story. Unique and beautifully written." --Kirkus Reviews.

"Haycak serves up a rich literary stew, like a chef who throws all her ingredients into the pot at once." --Voice of Youth Advocates.

"Haycak writes a captivating, insightful story, and the vividly evoked setting, cultural specifics, and strong characterizations distinguish this inventive, ambitious effort from a talented new author." --Gillian Engberg, Booklist.

By the way, Cara the Author is really fun. I had the pleasure of sitting next to the author at my friend Dib Ziade's 50th birthday party. Cara named a character in Red Palms after Señor Ziade!

Happy Birthday, Richie Havens!

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As you probably already know, Richie Havens was the opening performer at the Woodstock Festival in the summer of 1969. Many years later, my mom and I bumped into the legendary musician while we were strolling around the Guilford Green one summer afternoon. I said "hi" and he gave us a HUGE smile and said "hello" back. It was awesome.



In my opinion, nobody covers the Beatles better than Richie Havens. Check out his rendition of Here Comes the Sun. You can buy it on the official Richie Havens website RichieHavens.com.