Author: Alicia Pollard

I was eight or nine, sitting at a beige plastic desk, a copy of the MCAS (the Massachusetts standardized test for elementary schoolers) test book on my right and an answer booklet full of bubbles under the pencil in my right hand. These testing sessions were times of great pressure (“Do your best!” “No cheating!”)…

Snow falling on a field of dream-scented scarlet poppies; a gold river that sings when you swirl your fingers in it; a gargoyle breathing sweet, warm breath onto a girl’s hands to help her grip better as she climbs a cliff. Do you remember snippets and side-views like these in your favorite books that resonated…