Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Currently Reading for the A-Z Title Challenge: Ultra Maniac vol #4 and Nonfiction Read-a-Thon book #7: Escape from Tibet

I've been so busy I nearly forgot to post what I'm currently reading. I also need to post my update on Arrow, I'm nearly finished watching the first season. So, I should have that post up soon.




Book: Ultra Maniac volume #4 (chapters #16-20) by Wataru Yoshizumi

Description:

Unfortunately, Nina is finding out that going to school on Earth is a lot more complicated than she first thought. Not everybody is glad to have a spunky (and cute) witch flitting about campus. A girl named Sayaka, for example, has recently become obsessed with Nina. A half-witch herself, Sayaka is jealous that her new classmate is stealing all the attention away from her. Like they say in the Magic Kingdom, "There's no fury like that of a teenage witch ignored!"





Book: Escape from Tibet: A True Story by Nick Gray with Laura Scandiffio and a foreword by The Dalai Lama

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Description:

Two brothers face cruelty, hardship, and hope, on the ultimate journey in search of freedom.

Eleven-year-old Tenzin hasn't seen his older brother, Pasang, in five years, so he is thrilled when Pasang unexpectedly returns to their Tibetan village late one night. Now eighteen, Pasang is an educated monk whose return from India provokes the suspicious and ever-watchful eyes of the Chinese authorities. Unbeknownst to Tenzin, Pasang has conspired with their mother to leave again -- taking his younger brother with him, this time, in search of a better life. At first Tenzin is thrilled to embark on such an adventure with Pasang. But crushing homesickness soon sets in as the brothers eke out a meager existence begging in the unfamiliar streets of Lhasa, often narrowly dodging the police. They finally scrape together enough money to begin the most harrowing part of their journey: the physically excruciating, dangerous, and illegal trek to a new country on the other side of the Himalayan mountains, where they can be granted refugee status and begin to rebuild their lives. Along the way they suffer abuse at the hands of border police, meet fellow Tibetans from whom they draw strength, and have a chance encounter with a film crew that will change their lives.

Based on the true story of the brothers' journey in the mid-1990s first made into an acclaimed documentary by Nick Gray, "Escape from Tibet" is a riveting tale of courage, adventure, and triumph. The outpouring of support for the boys that resulted after the documentary aired in the U.K. led to the brothers moving to Britain, where they live today. Only now do they feel that the full story of their daring escape can be told.

A foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and an introduction provide historical context. Black and white photographs of Nick Gray's travels through Tibet vividly evoke the boys' homeland, and a timeline, glossary, and maps further contextualize the Tibetans' controversial and ongoing struggle with China.

No comments: