Book picks similar to
Dreamgirls by Denene Millner


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unrealistic-plot

Farragut North


Beau Willimon - 2009
    Book annotation not available for this title.Title: Farragut NorthAuthor: Willimon, BeauPublisher: Dramatist's Play ServicePublication Date: 2010/03/31Number of Pages: 70Binding Type: PAPERBACKLibrary of Congress:

Cool Hand Luke


Donn Pearce - 1965
    . . the most brutal and authentic account of a road gang that we have had." —New York TimesOut of his experiences working on a chain gang, Donn Pearce created Cool Hand Luke, the larger-than-life war hero—Good Guy Number One—turned drunkard, vandal, and convict. A blasphemer and "pretty evil feller" who "could work the hardest, eat the mostest, and tell the biggest lies." Luke's outsized feats of gambling and gluttony—he bets Society Red, a college man from Boston, that he can eat fifty eggs—and his harrowing escapes and recaptures are recounted by Dragline, who followed Luke in his last, fatal escape attempt and who basks in Luke's reflected glory. To the convicts left behind on the chain gang, Luke has become the hope of freedom and defiance that they dare not act upon themselves. Luke's refusal to "git his mind right" and submit to the sadistic discipline of the Walking Boss becomes part of their mythology of survival.

Courageous


Randy Alcorn - 2011
    As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, and their partners willingly stand up to the worst the world can offer. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood. While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they're quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark. They know that God desires to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, but their children are beginning to drift farther and farther away from them. Will they be able to find a way to serve and protect those who are most dear to them? When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God . . . and to their children?

The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud


Ben Sherwood - 2004
    Cloud tells the haunting story of a young man who narrowly survives a terrible car wreck that kills his little brother. Years later, the brothers’ bond remains so strong that it transcends the normal boundaries separating life and death. Charlie St. Cloud lives in a snug New England fishing village. By day he tends the lawns and monuments of the ancient cemetery where his younger brother, Sam, is buried. Graced with an extraordinary gift after surviving the accident, he can still see, talk, and even play catch with Sam’s spirit. But townsfolk whisper that Charlie has never recovered from his loss.Into his carefully ordered life comes Tess Carroll, a captivating, adventuresome woman training for a solo sailing trip around the globe. Fate steers her boat into a treacherous storm that blows her back to harbor, to a charged encounter with Charlie, and to a surprise more overwhelming than the violent sea itself. Charlie and Tess discover a beautiful and uncommon connection that leads to a race against time and a desperate choice between death and life, between the past and the future, between holding on and letting go.Luminous, soulful, and filled with unforgettable characters, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is one of those rare, wise books that reveal the mysteries of the unseen world around us, gently transforming the worst pain of loss into hope, healing, and even laughter. Suspenseful and deeply moving, its startling climax reminds us that sometimes tragedies can bring about miracles if we simply open our hearts.

Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory


Mickey Rapkin - 2008
    But what had been largely an Ivy League phenomenon has, in the past fifteen years, exploded. And it's not what you think. There are now more than 1,200 a cappella groups at colleges across the country. The very best of these collegiate groups square off in the annual International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella showdown marked by wrenching close calls and exhilarating triumphs. And, really, where else can you hear Michael Jackson's Bad in four-part harmony? In Pitch Perfect, GQ editor Mickey Rapkin follows a season in a cappella through all its twists and turns, covering the breathtaking displays of vocal talent, the groupies (yes, a cappella singers have groupies), the rockstar partying (and run-ins with the law), and all the bitter rivalries. Along the way are encounters with boldfaced names such as President George W. Bush, Prince, David Letterman, Barack Obama, Barbra Streisand, Hillary Clinton, Marisa Tomei, Amanda Bynes, Nick Lachey, Merv Griffin, Jim Carrey, Microsoft's Paul Allen, John Legend, and Jessica Biel. At the heart of the narrative are three a cappella groups whose interactions are anything but harmonious: the historic Tufts Beelzebubs, founded more than forty years ago with 40,000 albums sold since, and struggling to record a new album that lives up to the hype; Divisi of the University of Oregon, a relatively new, all-female group attempting to overcome a loss in the 2005 championship; and the University of Virginia Hullabahoos, the so-called bad boys of collegiate a cappella, who will attempt to compete on a higher level this year while retaining their casual soul. Bringing a lively new twist to America's fascination with talent showdowns and peerless performers, Pitch Perfect is sure to strike a chord with readers.

Little Children


Tom Perrotta - 2004
    There's Todd, the handsome stay-at-home dad dubbed "The Prom King" by the moms at the playground, and his wife, Kathy, a documentary filmmaker envious of the connection Todd has forged with their toddler son. And there's Sarah, a lapsed feminist surprised to find she's become a typical wife in a traditional marriage, and her husband, Richard, who is becoming more and more involved with an internet fantasy life than with his own wife and child. And then there's Mary Ann, who has life all figured out, down to a scheduled roll in the hay with her husband every Tuesday at nine P.M.They all raise their kids in the kind of quiet suburb where nothing ever seems to happen - until one eventful summer, when a convicted child molester moves back to town, and two parents begin an affair that goes further than either of them could ever have imagined.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark


Campbell Black - 1981
    But now the very future of the world depends on his finding one special relic.With a bullwhip in his hand and a beautiful lady at his side, Jones journeys from Nepal and Cairo to the Mediterranean, dodging poisons, traps and snakes, battling rivals old and new, all in pursuit of an ancient artifact said to give invincible power to its possessor.It's a battle to a startling finish, a finish dictated by the magic, the light—and the power—of the Lost Ark.

Good Will Hunting


Matt Damon - 1997
    Van Sant says we can see how badly Damon drives by watching the film's last scene, in which he is actually driving the car with the camera mounted on it. But Damon and company write better than he drives; this script contains some of the boldest, best monologues since Pulp Fiction.Van Sant and cast member Robin Williams helped the young actors tame the tigers in their cranial tanks, trimming the script into a precision instrument. Though the stills from the film are not perfectly matched to their places in the script, this story remains as much a joy to read as it is towatch on the big screen.

Aaliyah: More Than a Woman


Christopher John Farley - 2001
    Following her impressive debut at age 14 with the album Age Ain't Nothin' but a Number, Aaliyah raised the bar with her hugely influential and bestselling follow-up, One in a Million. She then took her talents to Hollywood, starring in the action thriller Romeo Must Die and the highly anticipated horror film The Queen of the Damned. But soon after the release of her third album in the summer of 2001, Aaliyah's life was cut short in a tragic plane crash. Here is the inspirational story of the star The Washington Post dubbed "Hip-Hop's Lady Di" -- a woman who, by the time of her death at age twenty-two, touched legions of fans around the world with her haunting voice and gentle spirit.

12 Hours


Rohit Sharma - 2013
    12 HOURS is a perfect blend of Love, Pain and Laughter" - Sanjay Chauhan (Script Writer of Paan Singh Tomar)Every hour of our life scripts a new story. And, every story is colored with a different feeling - Love, Pain, Joy, Sorrow, Trust, Deceit, Excitement, Repentance, Respect, Humiliation, Loneliness and AngerWe all have been a part of these intense emotions, which our heart experiences. We grow among them, feeling them, living them every minute, every hour, and our life is incomplete without them. 12 HOURS is a collection of twelve engrossing and beautifully written stories, which express different emotions and pour out the essence of different relationships. Some stories will make you laugh, while some will shed your tears. Some stories will spread a lesson, while some will electrify your spine. Some stories will make you fall in love, while some will motivate you to succeed. Each story will try to touch one or the other emotion that is nested inside us.In a nutshell, every hour of 12 HOURS will take you on a completely different journey by putting you amid the intriguing lives of the various characters, the characters that look very much real like all of us, the characters that belong to one or the other hour of our life.

Distant Images


Audrey Howard - 2004
    Only those who know them best realize that Milly's dark brown eyes hide a wild, untamed wantonness, while Beth's silvery-grey ones betray her idealism and kindness.But the only man in the room either of them wants is the one who could destroy both their lives. Hugh, sixteenth Lord Thornley, is a rake who needs to marry an heiress to restore the fortune his father gambled away. Even a lowly daughter of a glass manufacturer will do - provided she is biddable and strong and willing to bear the son he needs. Beth, he decides, will make him the perfect wife. But it is Milly who traps him into a loveless marriage - and sets in motion a chain of events that could destroy everything they hold dear.

Cinderella Man


Marc Cerasini - 2005
    Braddock, born in New York City, was known locally for his thunderous right hand and successful amateur boxing career. After turning professional, he defeated foe after foe, and his rapid rise from obscurity earnt him the nickname, the Cinderella Man. He was given a shot at the world light heavyweight title against champion Tommy Loughran in 1929, but lost in a 15–round decision. Following that defeat and the stock market crash of 1929, Jim Braddock struggled to win fights and provide for his young family.Eventually Jim's luck turned. In 1934 he had upset wins against Corn Griffin and John Henry Lewis. With these two wins, Braddock set himself up for another shot at the world title – against heavyweight champion, Max Baer. On 13 June 1935, as a 10 to 1 underdog, Jim took the world title from Max Baer in what was described as, 'the greatest fistic upset since the defeat of John L. Sullivan by Jim Corbett'. Braddock would lose his heavyweight title two years later in an eight–round KO to 'The Brown Bomber', Joe Louis. Jim was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1964, the Hudson County Hall of Fame in 1991 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001.

Johnny Mnemonic


William Gibson - 1981
    He carries other people's memories, millions of them, downloaded into his brain... Working out of Beijing, he is hired to carry a package to the States. The hundreds of gigabytes stashed in his head are far beyond his capacity, but as long as he gets downloaded quickly they won't do him any permanent harm...But headaches are the least of Johnny's problems. The Americans aren't the only ones who want the data. The Yakuza are after Johnny too. Not all of him, though. All they need is his cryogenically frozen head...In Johnny Mnemonic, the science-fiction guru of our age brings his acid-drenched tale of the near future to the screen for the first time. Containing William Gibson's original short story, his full script and exclusive stills from the film, this classic of the cyberpunk era expresses the unique vision of the author who was the first to see his way into tomorrow...

Humble Kind


Tim McGraw - 2016
    Inspired by McGraw's own life experience as his eldest child embarked on her college career, every parent and graduate can relate to Humble and Kind; with tender clarity, the words reinforce lessons for mindful, compassionate living. The song's pure poetry not only propelled the single up the charts, but its accompanying video-gorgeously produced with images courtesy of Oprah Winfrey's documentary "Belief" -has been viewed by tens of millions since its release, and inspired a community movement at stayhumbleandkind.com. Featuring an introduction from McGraw and an epilogue by the songwriter Lori McKenna, Humble and Kind is a deeply affecting call to action, and the perfect memento for millions of graduates, parents, and children across the continent.

Beauty and the Beast Novelization


Elizabeth Rudnick - 2017
    When Belle's father is captured, she takes his place as a prisoner of a fearsome Beast. But life in the enchanted castle isn't as terrible as Belle imagines, and she ultimately finds friendship and love. Enjoy this tale as old as time about adventure and love, about looking past first appearances, and about the inner Beauty and Beast in all of us in this beautiful novelization of the upcoming star-studded film!