The Dark Lady

Product Information

Author Anna Kemp introduces The Hollow Hills, the sequel to her dark magical tale, Into Goblyn Wood. Kingslee James McLean Daley, better known by the stage name Akala, is an English rapper, author, poet, and political activist. As a warning I want to make it clear I review this with my professional hat on not personal. Personally, I thought this was pretty good but I review this in a professional capacity and as such must keep that in mind): Bastable, Bex (27 July 2018). "Albion boss to receive honorary doctorate from Brighton University". Brighton & Hove Independent . Retrieved 30 July 2018. From hip-hop theatre to lecture theatre". Sheffield Hallam University. 20 November 2013 . Retrieved 13 July 2016.

For a street kid from the Devil's Gap, London's most notorious slum, life is short and tough. For Henry, a boy thief with brown skin, inherited from a mother who abandoned him, life is tougher still. The Dark Lady enters his dreams at night. She seems to represent a past, and possibly a future... David Almond introduces his new picture book, A Way to the Stars, a story about perseverance and finding a way to make dreams come true.

The story was also painfully clichéd in so many ways, and when Akala dragged the actual Shakespeare into the plot, it was like reading really bad, gratuitous fanfiction. Also, I have very strong suspicions that a future instalment will "reveal" that Shakespeare is Henry's father and his mother is the "Dark Lady" of whom Shakespeare wrote in his sonnets. Which is just ... no. The Dark Lady might be Akala’s first YA fiction, but it’s unlikely to be his last. Writing books that young adults feel they have an affinity with is, he says, “something I’ve always wanted to do, and will probably do more of.” Notable reasons for recommending this book: Introduces students to Shakespearean sonnets, plays, vocabulary and context through an alternative means, besides studying one of his plays.

I think there is definitely people out there who will absolutely love this book, I am just sad that I am not one of them In May 2017, he endorsed Corbyn in the 2017 UK general election. He wrote in The Guardian: "So why will I be voting now? Jeremy Corbyn. It's not that I am naïve enough to believe that one man (who is, of course, powerless without the people that support him) can fundamentally alter the nature of British politics, or that I think that if Labour wins that the UK will suddenly reflect his personal political convictions, or even that I believe that the prime minister actually runs the country. However, for the first time in my adult life, and perhaps for the first time in British history, someone I would consider to be a fundamentally decent human being has a chance of being elected." [49] He has led many hip-hop Shakespeare youth arts, education and music projects across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.Akala receives honorary doctorate | The Voice Online". Archive.voice-online.co.uk. 24 June 2018 . Retrieved 21 May 2020. He met Lucia and he saw mary he said horrible words to mary and stayed in Lucia’s bed, then when he got to the dukes palace mary had gone and Henry tried to ask the duke if he could find her, but when the duke told him that his mother was still alive, he felt anger mixed with betrayal and grief through him all at once. Akala – Fire in the Booth Part 2". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 . Retrieved 21 March 2013. I wanted to read this book as I admire Akala as a musical artist and an activist, and was confident in his ability to be a good fiction author. I was not disappointed!

Henry tried to fend for himself and his family by stealing, but when he tried to buy bread with the money he stole he got shut out. The book is, I am sorry to say, incredibly poorly written. Occasionally, Akala has some truly beautiful descriptive passages (these seem to be his forte), but apart from these limited paragraphs, the writing is awkward, repetitive, and contrived.Like another reviewer pointed out, the whole Shakespeare thing, and Henry's poetry, feel incredibly contrived and work poorly within the bounds of the story. Ali, Syed Hamad (19 September 2013). "English rapper Akala unplugged". gulfnews.com . Retrieved 17 April 2020. The brilliant, at times brutal, first novel from the amazing imagination that is Akala, will glue you to your seat' - BellaNaija