Now it’s my turn for the eye-rolling. “Do you have any idea what Dad would say if he could hear you?” The Gifting is an approx. 60 minute performance that involves moving around the performance space within Versa Leeds Studios. There will be moments of pause, where audiences observe activity taking place on various stages, however most visitors will be required to stand for the duration of the event. Pete plops on my bed. I close my book. It isn’t normal. This. Us. Hanging out. We’ve never been close siblings. I love him. I’d do anything for him. He’s the only kid close to my age who I can talk to without breaking into hives. But we’re too different. And those differences have always created a wall between us. I'm not sure what I expected when I received this audio copy of The Gifting by K.E. Ganshert. I was excited, since I was just about to start on the print copy and with the chance to listen to the book first, and then see if I like audiobooks, sounds good. My first audiobook was The Fault in Our Stars, which I specifically borrowed, knowing that I've already read the book version several times. Since I'm familiar with it, I won't have a problem but to focus on what about audiobooks do I like. Now, with The Gifting, it will be my very first audiobook that I've not read the print version beforehand. My thinking was that I'd be able to jump onto the book if I really didn't like the audio version. So the verdict? I listened to the whole thing, until the last 2 chapters, for reasons I'll explain later.

Over the course of an hour, you will be taken on a magical journey by host Khorin Khorin Gurav through twelve individual but connected tales that celebrate stories and the power they can have. A limited number of self-propelling wheelchairs will be available to borrow from the Box Office for visitors who would benefit from using a mobility aid to navigate the performance, and our Access Team will also be on hand to provide more bespoke support, including temporary seating, when requested. That’s enough, Miranda.” The sharpness of his words slice through the air. “We can’t talk about this. Not here.” Sydney hops off Pete’s knee and pulls the drapes across the large picture window. The swinging vertical blinds chop apart the waning daylight.

With new music from Rash Dash and stunning theatrical design by artist Keith Khan, this live performance combines stage illusion song and story to create a majestic final moment in our Year of Culture. What to expect Content warning. Language: mostly clean. There’s an instance of p*ssed off, p*ssed, and I believe dang or darn (I believe that’s all if there was something else I missed it. Sydney kneels next to Pete’s legs. “Okay, so I think we all have to put our hands on this pointer-thing.” I need to get this account finished by Monday.” Dad peers at me over the top of his paper. “Would love your help.” None of this would be so bad if my nightmares weren’t getting worse. Sleep offers no escape. Neither does home. As soon as I returned from the hospital, my parents sat me down at the kitchen table and asked me the same questions as the psychiatrist, only this time, they wanted the truth. My attempt at an explanation turned their faces to the color of ash. They don’t bring it up again. Instead, they tiptoe around me like I’m made out of glass. Like the wrong word or the wrong volume will shatter me to pieces. Or maybe they’re the ones who will break. Maybe I’m the one who’s dangerous.

Leeds Culture Trust Limited is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales (10674601) Characters. The characters in this book are splendid. Well rounded. Realistic. It felt real. I can feel their emotions right there with them. She’s going to have to speak with a government-mandated psychiatrist,” Mom whispers. “Nothing about this is safe.” There is a bit of everything in this book....teenage angst, romance, humour, with a paranormal / spiritual edge. It fairly fast paced with a bit of action and descriptive without being overdone.I want you to promise me she’ll be okay. I want you to promise that we won’t lose her. I want you to promise that our daughter won’t end up like your mom.” I tell my heart to calm down. I tell myself I’m being a spaz. I tell myself I will never, ever fit in if I can’t do a stupid séance with a group of teenagers on a Parker Brothers Ouija board. But then something moves in the corner of the room, near the hallway, and I squeeze my eyelids shut.

Give it a rest, Missy.” Sydney tosses the Ouija board box aside. “Will you hit the lights, Tess? I’m pretty sure this works better in the dark.” No, listen, Tess. We found some really crazy stuff. Elliana thinks what you saw could’ve been real.”There was an earthquake in California, the second one in a month, another riot broke out at a fetal modification clinic in Chicago, a drive-by shooting in Tallahassee, which is like, twenty minutes from where we live, and the unrest in north Africa continues to escalate. Dad thinks it’s only a matter of time before the U.S. gets involved. Dad thinks if we don’t get Egypt under control as soon as possible, we’ll have World War III on our hands. I think he should read the newspaper to himself. But he insists Pete and I know what’s going on in the world. Themes. There are themes of seeking the truth, loyalty, and standing up for what’s right. As well as strong pro-life themes. In this future American society where every pregnancy has a screening and if the child doesn’t pass the healthy requirements and is deemed to be a future burden to society they are to be rid of or the parents face the consequences. The only reason I’m ever invited anywhere is because girls think if I come, my brother will too. And girls really like Pete, even though he’s a skinny sophomore. You think Pete is exaggerating?” Mom’s voice wobbles. “James, our son said she was hitting and scratching herself. He said she was screaming for something to get off her.”

The Gifting is, in part, inspired by Northern Dreaming. Northern Dreaming is a free book published by LEEDS 2023 and the British Library that will be gifted to every child in Leeds born in 2023. The book is a collection of poetry and stories by 18 early career and published writers. It will be available to collect, for free, from various locations in Leeds from Thursday 19 October 2023 including from all Leeds libraries. The politically correct term is Native Americans, Syd.” Dustin pops a handful of M&M’s into his mouth. This was a book club choice and I was a little wary as it is not really the sort of book I would normally read. It is part of a series, which is not so bad, but it also ends on a cliff hanger, which I really do not like. I’m about to start another chapter when Pete pokes his head inside my room. For a kid whose life has been ruined all because I’m a freak, he doesn’t hold a grudge. He doesn’t walk around me like I’m made of glass. Instead, he’s grown curious. Like all of a sudden, I’m the most fascinating person on the face of the planet. Apart from Elliana anyway.When my brain tires from trying to tease it all apart, I grab my worn copy of I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb—one of the many banned books I’ve come to own—and thumb to the place I earmarked the night before. The book’s about this dude with a schizophrenic brother. It’s not good for me. It makes me wonder. But I can’t stop reading. It’s nice to lose myself in somebody else’s messed up problems for a change, even if those problems are fictional. Rose—a senior with beautiful ebony skin and a killer volleyball spike—wraps her long leg over the arm rest of the love seat. “You can light all the candles you want, the only thing this board can do is teach J.R. the alphabet.”