About
Charlie Lovett is Writer-in-Residence at Summit School in Winston-Salem, NC. His plays for children have been seen in over 1,000 productions in all 50 states and five foreign countries.
He is the author of 11 previous books, including works on Lewis Carroll and the acclaimed memoir Love, Ruth.
The Program is his first novel.
Divided against Yourselves (Spell Weaver)
Description
<h2>Taliesin Weaver thought that he had saved himself and his friends when he defeated the witch Ceridwen. He was wrong.</h2><h3><i>He always thought of evil as embodied in external threats that he could overcome in combat. Soon he will discover that the worst evil has been inside of him all along....</i></h3><p>Tal’s girlfriend is in a coma for which he holds himself responsible. A close friend, suffering from a past-life memory trauma similar to Tal's, is getting worse, not better. Morgan Le Fay is still lurking around and has an agenda Tal can’t figure out. Supernatural interruptions in his life are becoming more frequent, not less so, despite his expectations. In fact, Tal learns that something about his unique nature amplifies otherworldly forces in ways he never imagined were possible, ways that place at risk everyone close to him.</p><p>Tal and his allies must face everything from dead armies to dragons. As soon as they overcome one menace, another one is waiting for them. More people are depending on Tal than ever; he carries burdens few adults could face, let alone a sixteen-year-old like himself. Yet somehow Tal at first manages to handle everything the universe throws at him.</p><p>What Tal can’t handle is the discovery that a best friend, almost a brother, betrayed him, damaging Tal’s life beyond repair. For the first time, Tal feels a darkness within him, a darkness which he can only barely control...assuming he wants to. He’s no longer sure. Maybe there is something to be said for revenge, and even more to be said for taking what he wants. After all, he has the power...</p><p> </p><h2><u>Can Tal stop himself before he destroys everyone he has sworn he will protect? Scroll up to buy a copy and find out!</u></h2>
Reviews
<strong>Kirkus Reviews</strong> (April 1, 2011)<br /><br />This dynamic theater story stars Aggie, a girl whose enthusiasm, mad
talent and diva qualities lead her astray. Steamed that she doesn’t get
the lead in the school’s production of <em>Hello, Dolly</em> and
convinced it’s because she’s fat, Aggie writes a roman à clef musical.
It features two girls, the fat one an undisguised Aggie, the thin one
suspiciously similar to the girl playing Dolly, Cynthia of the recent
boob job. Aggie’s friends (techie Suzanne, ever-loyal Elliot and
lyricist Cameron) support Aggie’s hostility toward Cynthia despite
knowing it’s unfair: Cynthia’s nice and actually deserved the lead
because of her singing skill. They mount a major production of Aggie’s
show that, astonishingly, succeeds. Aggie’s almost failing math, Cameron
comes out to his parents (and it goes badly) and Aggie resents the
parental support that Karl, her father’s partner, gives Cameron—Aggie’s
possessive of her stepfather’s attention. The prose, sometimes
unpolished and forced but always infused with warmth, brims with
musical-theater references. Unlike most arcs about fat teens, this one
never equates emotional growth with weight loss; Aggie’s refreshingly
non-symbolic fatness is just part of her. Like Elphaba in the song that
Cameron rewrites, Aggie tries defying gravity—and succeeds, musically,
socially and romantically. Given the ratings of <em>Glee</em> and the emerging popularity of teen lit combining queer themes and musicals, this should be a hit. <em>(Fiction. 13 & up)</em>
