April 15, 2021
Fiction Recommendations
Looking for a page-turner while you’re social distancing? Our Driftwood staff provides some of our favorite light reading picks to pass the time while cooped up at home.
Girl A
by Abigail Dean
Looking for another gripping novel that will keep you flipping through page after page? Abigail Dean gifts us with Girl A, a psychological thriller that explores the relationships between siblings of a broken family, while revealing the difficulty of overcoming trauma. Dean leaves you grasping for answers with each chapter, and you’re left trying to piece the past together up until the last page.After years of forgetting her past and trying to move forward, Lex Gracie has to return to London as the executor of her mother’s will, to distribute what her mother left Lex and her siblings before she died in prison. Now, with the help of her sister Evie, Lex wants to turn their childhood prison, otherwise known to the public as the “House of Horrors,” into a community center for anyone in need of solace or acceptance. Lex must reconnect with her siblings, after being separated for years, to obtain their signatures for the transformation of the house, and this task unravels more family secrets than she would have hoped. Stalked by her past, Lex’s trauma catches up to her and she is no longer able to hide from her own secrets. Girl A had me on the edge of my seat the entire read as more and more of the family secrets were revealed. Lex’s journey with accepting what really happened in the House of Horrors tugs at your heartstrings and really makes you empathize with the children’s gruesome experiences.
by Abigail Dean
Looking for another gripping novel that will keep you flipping through page after page? Abigail Dean gifts us with Girl A, a psychological thriller that explores the relationships between siblings of a broken family, while revealing the difficulty of overcoming trauma. Dean leaves you grasping for answers with each chapter, and you’re left trying to piece the past together up until the last page.After years of forgetting her past and trying to move forward, Lex Gracie has to return to London as the executor of her mother’s will, to distribute what her mother left Lex and her siblings before she died in prison. Now, with the help of her sister Evie, Lex wants to turn their childhood prison, otherwise known to the public as the “House of Horrors,” into a community center for anyone in need of solace or acceptance. Lex must reconnect with her siblings, after being separated for years, to obtain their signatures for the transformation of the house, and this task unravels more family secrets than she would have hoped. Stalked by her past, Lex’s trauma catches up to her and she is no longer able to hide from her own secrets. Girl A had me on the edge of my seat the entire read as more and more of the family secrets were revealed. Lex’s journey with accepting what really happened in the House of Horrors tugs at your heartstrings and really makes you empathize with the children’s gruesome experiences.
—Kira Doman
Whatever Life Throws at You
by Julie Cross
Annie Lucas’s world is entirely upended when her single father, a former baseball player whose dreams of an illustrious career in the majors were dashed by bone cancer, is offered the job of a lifetime. Soon, he’s the new pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals. Excited for the adventures ahead, Annie soon finds herself halfway across the country, winning races for her new high school’s prestigious track program and learning to navigate the strange do’s-and-dont’s of professional sports. Perhaps the biggest surprise to Annie, though, is the friendship that blossoms between her and Jason Brody, the Royals’ smoking hot nineteen-year-old rookie pitcher. Brody, with his rocky past and reputation as a ladiesman, should be totally off-limits. Not to mention, their relationship would be forbidden by club management, and Annie’s father would kill them both. But the longer the attraction between Annie and Brody simmers, the harder it becomes for them to ignore…and when they finally give in to their feelings, both know full well that if their secret affair is ever discovered, it could have disastrous consequences. Annie never would’ve guessed her move to Missouri would result in her falling in love with an up-and-coming MLB star, but when life throws her a curveball, she knows the only thing she can do is adjust her swing and hit it out of the park.—Mallory Allen
Released December 13, 2019, Harry Styles’s second studio album Fine Line is an absolute masterpiece of heart-felt and heart-wrenching songs. The album is broken up into four categories on the vinyl, and Styles revealed that this was intentional, to truly capture each phase of his feelings during the stages of a relationship. The first four songs are the initial feelings in a relationship, when both parties are very excited to be with each other and that infatuation is at its most prevalent. The second four songs are the rough patches in relationships, or the breakups. These four songs are all very powerful and emotional; the contrast of the acoustic piano in “Falling” and the acoustic guitar in “Cherry” is astounding, and both songs can nearly move me to tears. “She” is an epic and slow 70’s rock-electric guitar sound that just really makes you appreciate the band in this album. The third set of songs are more uplifting again, representing pulling yourself out of that depression that comes with a breakup, and truly making you optimistic to put yourself out there again. These songs are also perfect to blast in your car during the summer, with your windows down. The last song, “Fine Line” is perhaps the most emotional song on the album and truly does make me sob every time I listen to it. Filled with utterly angelic instrumentals and backing vocals, the lyrics in “Fine Line” emphasize the journey of self-love.
As the semester chugs its way along the second half of its journey, students are preparing to start their finals, which may include various amounts of writing. So, we thought it would be a good idea to give you tips for both writing itself, and the editing process that comes afterwards!
In this 
Miss going out on the town with your friends? Feel like you need to shop or browse the summer collection of clothes dropping soon? Hit both marks in one move by checking out a few clothing boutiques littering the downtown streets of Green Bay or Marinette!
This past school year, Marinette campus student and Communication major Mara Allen started working as a regular freelance writer for the 
Your faculty and staff at UWGB are working hard to make all four campuses more diverse and supportive environments, and we could use your help. Do your part, and you could win a free gift card!
Local Boy Scout troops are currently conducting a “Scouting for Food” food drive, and they could use your help. The Scouts are seeking volunteers of all ages to assist with picking up and sorting non-perishable food donations from Marinette, Oconto, and Crandon.
A Cinderella Story: After Samantha Montgomery’s adoring father dies, her greedy stepmother and vain stepsisters do their best to make her life miserable, forcing her to do lowly jobs at the family diner and wait on them hand and foot. The California teen finds comfort in her dreams of attending college at Princeton and by communicating with her secret online pen-pal. Although Sam is stunned when “Nomad” turns out to be Austin Ames—her school’s handsome, charismatic, popular quarterback—the pair shares an intimate waltz at the Halloween dance before Sam rushes away without telling him her name, accidentally leaving behind her cell phone as the only clue. Can Austin find the beautiful, mysterious, enchanting girl he calls “Cinderella”? Or, as Sam fears, will his attraction towards her fade once he learns her true identity? There are five modern-day retellings in the A Cinderella Story series; this one is the first, and in my opinion, the best! Featuring Gen-Z heartthrobs Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray, this 2004 film is one of those classic rom-coms that never loses its charm, regardless of how many times I watch it. With its swoon-worthy romantic drama and happy fairy-tale ending, A Cinderella Story offers viewers the same type of magic found in Disney’s original Cinderella. No matter how old I get, this movie will always be one of my favorite childhood throwbacks to rewatch over and over again! Available free on YouTube Movies.
Mr. Nobody: Mr. Nobody is a film from 2009 by director Jaco Van Dormael, telling the life’s story of an old man through his aging mind. This film is quite interesting, as it weaves and bobs between three different timelines that may or may not be real at all. It is quite a trip to watch, but this was the first time as a young adult I felt challenged by a film as it spins its story and changes it just as soon as you think you understand. It is not only a beautifully shot film, but one that ever since childhood I find myself going back to over and over again. Check it out on Amazon Prime or anywhere else movies are able to stream.
The Kissing Booth: Elle and Lee are best friends in eleventh grade at a prestigious school in, of course, Los Angeles. They have been friends since birth as their mothers were best friends as well, and their friendship is based around a running list of rules. Elle has a crush on Lee’s older brother, Noah Flynn, and after the two share a kiss during a kissing booth, set up by Elle and Lee’s Dance Team, the two run around in a passionate and secret relationship. When Lee discovers their affair, he is enraged that Elle would betray one of their rules, “Rule #9: Relatives of your best friends are off-limits,” and claims he can no longer be friends with Elle or associate with his brother. Elle must decide whether she should save her relationship with Noah or Lee.
Whip It: Bliss Cavendar’s mom dreams of her daughter following in her footsteps and becoming a beauty pageant queen. Bliss dreams of something else entirely: though she’s not sure what, she knows prancing around in gowns and bikinis before a panel of judges isn’t it. Then, a chance meeting with three members of the Hurl Scouts, a local roller derby team, leads her to sneak out of her parents’ house to attend one of their bouts. Even though the Hurl Scouts unceremoniously lose to the Holy Rollers, she’s hooked.
Monte Carlo: Monte Carlo was one of my favorite movies when I was young—I mean, what little girl wouldn’t dream about going on an exotic European vacation, falling in love with a cute boy, and getting to live like a princess for a few days? What I didn’t know back then was that this 2011 Disney-esque young adult film is based on a book called Headhunters, written by famous director/author Jules Bass a decade earlier. This movie’s plot is so unrealistic, and it’s full of an abundance of clichés and eyeroll-inducing moments, but that didn’t stop me from re-watching it (for the hundredth time) last week. Monte Carlo is so bad that it’s good—perfect for the Trash Vortex!