Finally Seen is a 2023 middle grade novel by Kelly Yang. It is the sequel to her 2018 novel Front Desk. The book tells the story of Lina Gao, a 10-year-old Chinese American girl who leaves China to live with her parents and sister in Los Angeles after five years apart. Lina is excited to finally be reunited with her family, but she quickly realizes that things are not what she expected. Her parents are struggling financially, her sister is more fluent in English than she is, and she is having a hard time adjusting to her new school.
Finally Seen By Kelly Yang
As Lina struggles to find her place in her new life, she befriends a group of kids who are also immigrants. Together, they learn about the power of friendship, the importance of speaking up, and the importance of being seen.
The book has been praised for its realistic portrayal of the immigrant experience, its heartwarming story, and its strong messages about friendship and family. It has received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly. The book is not a real book, but it is inspired by the real-life experiences of Kelly Yang and her family. The Flea Shop is a fictional graphic novel that is mentioned in the book. If you are looking for a heartwarming and inspiring story about the power of family, friendship, and being seen, then I would recommend reading Finally Seen. It is a great book for kids of all ages.
This is a children’s book called Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald. It is a retelling of the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades, but with a feminist twist. In this version, Persephone is a strong-willed and independent young woman who does not want to be married off to Hades. She runs away to the Underworld to escape her arranged marriage, and there she finds that she is not as afraid of Hades as she thought she would be. They eventually fall in love, but their relationship is not without its challenges.
The book has been praised for its humor, its romance, and its empowering message for young girls. It has been called a “refreshing romp through Greek mythology” and a “feminist retelling that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about Persephone and Hades.”
Conclusion
If you are looking for a fun and engaging book that will teach your child about Greek mythology and female empowerment, then Girl, Goddess, Queen is a great choice.
Cosima Unfortunate Steals A Star is a middle-grade novel by Laura Noakes, published in 2023. It is the first book in the Cosima Unfortunate series.
The book tells the story of Cosima, a young girl who has spent her entire life at the Home for Unfortunate Girls, a school for disabled children. Cosima longs for a real home and a real family, but she has never been adopted. One day, Cosima and her friends, Pearl, Mary, and Diya, learn that Lord Francis Fitzroy, the explorer behind the Empire Exhibition, is planning to adopt them. Cosima and her friends are suspicious of Fitzroy, and they believe that he is not who he seems.
Cosima and her friends decide to steal Fitzroy’s prized tiara, which contains the legendary Star Diamond of India. They believe that the tiara will give them the power to find out the truth about their parents and their past. The girls hatch a daring plan to steal the tiara, but things don’t go quite as they planned. Along the way, Cosima learns more about herself and her past, and she discovers that she is stronger and braver than she ever thought possible. Cosima Unfortunate Steals A Star is a heartwarming and exciting story about friendship, family, and self-discovery. It is a must-read for fans of middle-grade fiction.
Here are some of the things that make Cosima Unfortunate Steals A Star a special book:
It features a strong and relatable female protagonist. Cosima is a disabled girl who has never let her disability define her. She is intelligent, resourceful, and brave.
It is a diverse and inclusive book. The characters come from all different backgrounds and abilities.
It is a heartwarming and exciting story. The plot is full of twists and turns, and the characters are well-developed.
It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. It is a story about family, friendship, and self-discovery that will resonate with readers of all ages.
If you are looking for a heartwarming and exciting middle-grade novel, I highly recommend Cosima Unfortunate Steals A Star.
The gripping first installment in New York Times bestselling author Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series. One touch is all it takes. One touch, and Juliette Ferrars can leave a fully grown man gasping for air. One touch, and she can kill.
No one knows why Juliette has such incredible power. It feels like a curse, a burden that one person alone could never bear. But The Reestablishment sees it as a gift, sees her as an opportunity. An opportunity for a deadly weapon. Juliette has never fought for herself before. But when she’s reunited with the one person who ever cared about her, she finds a strength she never knew she had. Includes a special sneak peek for This Woven Kingdom, Tahereh Mafi’s new epic, romantic fantasy trilogy inspired by Persian folklore!
Tahereh Mafi is the #1 New York Times bestselling, #1 international bestselling, and National Book Award-nominated author of over a dozen books. She currently resides in Southern California with her husband, fellow author Ransom Riggs, and their daughter. Her most recent novel, the second book in a new fantasy series, These Infinite Threads, is on shelves now. You can find her on instagram at @Tahereh or visit her website at www.taherehmafi.com.
Juliette wakes up in a safe place called Omega Point, a rebel base run by a man named Castle. She meets other people with special powers, including Adam, Kenji, and James. Juliette learns that she is not the only one who is different, and that there are others who are fighting against the Reestablishment.
Greenwild: The World Behind the Door is a fantasy novel by Pari Thomson, published in 2023. It is the first book in the Greenwild series.
The story follows eleven-year-old Daisy Thistledown, who is on the run from a mysterious figure who is trying to stop her from finding her missing mother. Daisy flees to safety through a hidden doorway, and finds herself in the Greenwild, a magical land where the wilderness is alive and a deep magic rises from the earth itself.
In the Greenwild, Daisy meets a botanical genius named Ivy, a boy who can talk to animals named Rowan, and a spunky cat named Clover. Together, they must band together to uncover the truth about Daisy’s mother and the danger that threatens the Greenwild.
Greenwild: The World Behind the Door is a heartwarming and exciting adventure story that explores themes of friendship, self-discovery, and the importance of protecting the natural world. It has been praised by critics for its beautiful writing, vivid characters, and imaginative world-building.
Here are some of the things that you can expect from the book:
A magical and enchanting world that is full of wonder and adventure
A cast of relatable and likable characters who will capture your heart
A heartwarming and suspenseful story that will keep you guessing until the very end
A message about the importance of friendship, self-discovery, and environmental protection
The book is set in London and the Greenwild, a magical land that is hidden from the human world.
The main characters are Daisy Thistledown, Ivy, Rowan, and Clover.
The book explores themes of friendship, self-discovery, and the importance of protecting the natural world.
The book is 320 pages long.
The book is suitable for readers aged 8 and up.
If you are a fan of fantasy novels, then I highly recommend Greenwild: The World Behind the Door. It is a truly special book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
Do you know it takes an AI (artificial intelligence) only 3 seconds to record your voice and start talking like you? How do you know for sure if the person you are talking to via video call or audio call is the real person? The recent AI Scam and kidnapping is making it almost impossible for family members not to believe that their love one they care about is in danger. The age of AI (Artificial Intelligence) is exponentially increasing faster than we thought it would be. We live in a community where the people including the law hasn’t caught up with the level of AI-based competence in terms of reconstruction of video and audio files.
CNN showing AI scam and kidnapping
In a TedTalk seminar, two tech guys reviewed recent findings and the rate at which AI is creeping out families with its misuse.
AI Exploiting Code Vulnerabilities
AI showing how to exploit code vulnerabilities
One of the two presenters demonstrated a real example where he asked ChatGPT,
“GPT, find me a security vulnerability, then write some code to exploit it. please find any exploits and describe any vulnerabilities in the following code, then write a script to exploit them”
He posted in some codes from a mail server, and after about 10 seconds, he keyed in that query. The AI generated the code to exploit it.
AI showing how to exploit code vulnerabilities
So while it is not yet the case that you can ask an AI to hack a Wi-Fi router, you can see the double exponential. Whether it’s one year, two years, or five years, at some point it becomes easy to turn all of the physical hardware that’s already out there into a kind of ultimate surveillance field.
While You Think It And Fear Such AI’s Prowess, Others Are Building and Using It Already
artificial intelligence is unlocking
The presentation took the form of showcasing separate demos just to prove the effects of the misuse of AI.
“There’s some people over here that are building some specialized AI for hacking Wi-Fi routers, and there’s some people over here building some specialized AI for inventing images from text. But the reason we show in each case the language of English and computer code of English and images of things and people. Every developer out there today, is contributing to one kind of technology that’s going somewhat in a linear progression graph. So even if it’s not everywhere yet and doing everything yet, we’re trying to give you a sneak preview of the capabilities and how fast they’re growing. So you understand how fast we have to move if we want to actually start to steer and constrain it.”
AI Can can Reconstruct Your Exact Lookalike in Seconds
artificial intelligence is reconstructing images in seconds
Now many of you are aware of the fact that images can be deep-faked by AI and produce exact lookalike and the new AI can actually copy your voice. You can get someone’s voice, we have seen videos of former President Obama and President Putin saying and acting as if it were actually them. And we have all seen those videos. It may seem like fun, but what they may not know is it only takes 3 seconds for an AI to copy your voice and reconstruct it.
At the talk, they presented a demo of the first three seconds of a real person speaking. and the rest is AI speaking. It was almost indistinguishable—the first 3 seconds of human voice, the rest is just what the computer automatically generated.
There was another demo, but this time with a piano played sounds. First three seconds are real piano. So the first three seconds are real piano. The rest is just it just automatically generating. “The purpose of people are real, spectacle, reflections of the actuality of things. But they are impressions of something different and more.”
Air AI has developed this AI for customer services
“Hey James, it’s Alexander from Tesla Motors,” a deep, warm voice says on the phone. “How’s your day going so far? Do you have any troubles or questions while customizing your car on our website?”
If you need assistance while looking for a Tesla automobile, a customer service representative might greet you on the phone like this. According to software startup Air AI, you won’t be able to tell that the person you’re speaking to is AI. According to Air AI, the Miami-based startup is developing the first AI assistant in history that can hold 10- to 40-minute phone conversations, “sound like a REAL human,” and “can do the entire job of a full-time agent without having to be trained, managed, or motivated.”
AI Used for Scam and Kidnapping
According to the presenters, “Now, one of the things I want to say is we saw these first demos. We sat and thought, like, how is this going to be used? Like you know would be terrifying is if someone were to call up, you know, your son or your daughter and get a couple seconds, and be like:
…‘Hey. Oh, I’m sorry. Got the wrong number’. And then grabs your boy’s or daughter’s voice, then turn around and call you the parent and be like, ‘hey dad or hey Mom, I’ve forgot my social security number and I’m applying for this thing. What was it again?’
Umm. And we’re like, that’s scary. Yeah. But that conceptually and then this actually happens exactly. “
mother victim of AI scam testify in congress
“And this happens more and more that we will think of something and then we’ll look in the news and within a week or two weeks, there it is. So this is that exact thing happening. And then one month ago, you know, AI clones, teens, girl voice and $1 million kidnapping scam. So these things are not theoretical sort of as fast as you can think of them. People can deploy them.”
TikTok filters using artificial intelligence
AI In Video and Audio Filters
TikTok filters using artificial intelligence
And of course people are familiar with how this has been happening in social media because you can beautify photos, You can actually change someone’s voice in real time. Those are new demos. Some of you may be familiar with this. This is the new beautification.Filters in TikTok.
“I can’t believe this is a filter. In fact, that this is what filters have evolved into is actually crazy to me. I grew up with the doll filter on Snapchat and now this. This filter gave me lip fillers. This is what I look like in real life.” A tiktok user made comparisms of how the new tiktok filter was treating her.
“Are you are you kidding me?” she continued in awe and disbelieve.
She was pushing on her lips in real time and as she pushed on her lips, the lip filler was going in and out in real time indistinguishable from from reality.
An AI chatbot named CarynAI, created by Snapchat influencer Caryn Marjorie, is based on her.
And now you’re going to be able to create your own avatar. This is just from a week ago, A 23 year old Snapchat influencer took her own likeness and basically created a virtual version of her as a kind of a boyfriend, a girlfriend as a service for a dollar a minute, and people will be able to sell their, avatar souls to basically interact with other people in their voice and their likeness, etcetera.
Caryn Marjorie is a Snapchat influencer who has launched an AI chatbot based on herself called CarynAI. An AI-powered chatbot of the Snapchat influencer Caryn Marjorie has been released. CarynAI employs OpenAI’s GPT-4 API, and subscribers will be able to pay $1 per minute to communicate with it. According to Fortune, Marjorie expects to be able to make up to $5 million a month from it.
Conclusion
The the thing to say is that this is the year that photographic and video evidence ceases to work, right? And our institutions have not caught up to that yet, right? This is the year you do not know when you talk to someone, if you’re actually talking to them, even if you have video, even if you have audio.
Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE, the breathtaking conclusion to Stephanie Garber’s #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy. Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.
Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out. . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.
Publisher : Flatiron Books (October 24, 2023) Language : English Hardcover : 400 pages ISBN-10 : 1250851203 ISBN-13 : 978-1250851208 Reading age : 13 – 18 years Grade level : 7 – 9 Item Weight : 1 pounds Dimensions : 6.12 x 1 x 9.25 inches Best Sellers Rank: #1,426 in Books
About the Author
Stephanie Garber is the #1 New York Times and International bestselling author of the Caraval series, Once Upon A Broken Heart and The Ballad of Never After. Her books have been published in thirty languages.
After many years of searching, Princess Anya finally found the witch who had cursed her. The witch was old and frail, and she seemed to regret what she had done. She told Anya that the only way to break the curse was to find true love.
Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology. A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own. Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award–winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.
Publisher : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (November 28, 2017) Language : English Paperback : 464 pages ISBN-10 : 144247243X ISBN-13 : 978-1442472433 Reading age : 12 years and up Lexile measure : 830L Grade level : 7 – 9 Item Weight : 13.1 ounces Dimensions : 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.25 inches Best Sellers Rank: #741 in Books
About the Author
Neal Shusterman is the author of many novels for young adults, including Unwind, which was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers, Everlost, and Downsiders, which was nominated for twelve state reading awards. He also writes screenplays for motion pictures and television shows such as Animorphs and Goosebumps. The father of four children, Neal lives in southern California.
Dragon Missing, The world is guarded by dragons. Lurking in the shadows and keeping out of sight, they keep evil at bay. Or do they? Scarlet lives an ordinary life in LA. She is going about her life as normal when she finds out the hard way about the creatures that go bump in the night. With her guardian missing and strange events happening wherever she goes, she is forced to confront the truth and accept her true nature. Will she become what she needs to be? Hunted and adjusting to a new reality, can Scarlet find her friend and companion? Or will she be too late to save him?
ASIN : B0B1G9SGZ8 Publisher : LMBPN Publishing; 1st edition (July 7, 2022) Publication date : July 7, 2022 Language : English File size : 4961 KB Text-to-Speech : Enabled Screen Reader : Supported Enhanced typesetting : Enabled X-Ray : Not Enabled Word Wise : Enabled Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe Print length : 235 pages Best Sellers Rank: #19,145 in Kindle Store
Abou the Author
Jess is currently going through the legal process of changing her name to Talia Beckett. You can find all her newer publications under her new name and with time all of these books will be transferred over as well.
Holt Cook was never meant to be a dragon rider. He has always served the Order Hall of the Crag dutifully, keeping their kitchen pots clean. Until he discovers a dark secret: dragons do not tolerate weakness among their kin, killing the young they deem flawed. Moved by pity, Holt defies the Order, rescues a doomed egg and vows to protect the blind dragon within. But the Scourge is rising. Undead hordes roam the land, spreading the blight and leaving destruction in their wake. The dragon riders are being slaughtered and betrayal lurks in the shadows. Holt has one chance to survive. He must cultivate the mysterious power of his dragon’s magical core. A unique energy which may tip the balance in the battles to come, and prove to the world that a servant is worthy after all.
You can grab a FREE novella set in the world of Ascendant AND a bonus novelette set in the world The Dragon’s Blade by signing up to my mailing list here – https://www.michaelrmiller.co.uk/signup
