The Converged Citizen - April 13, 2018

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*April 13, 2018

The Power Of The Future

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Good dogs on Good Friday 2 News

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5 Health & Lifestyle

Photo by Zander Kelly Granite is a therapy dog owned by Debbie Loewen, owner of Four Wheels Four Paws.

Zander Kelly Converged Citizen Staff What do dogs and eggs have in common? They were involved in the Easter Egg Hunt for Dogs.

The fundraising event,

hosted by National Service Dogs, was held at the park on Good Friday from 11 a.m. to noon.

During the event, hundreds of plastic eggs with dog treats hidden inside were scattered all over

Malden Park and not a single one appeared to be left behind when the dogs were done.

Dozens of owners and dogs were in attendance with breeds ranging from tiny Chihuahuas to towering Irish

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Wolfhounds, all with the goal of finding eggs and raising money for National Service Dogs.

Rino Bortolin, city councillor of Ward 3 and

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APRIL 13, 2018

ONVERGED CITIZEN

Baby sloth visits Tecumseh Mall Kenneth Pastushyn Converged Citizen Staff A six-month-old two-toed baby sloth made a special appearance at Windsor’s Tecumseh Mall in March.

Chloe the sloth was there as part of Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo’s live animal exhibit for children and their parents to learn about the difficulties of exotic animal pet care.

“A very adorable creature, but sloths are not good pets,” said Cat Rancourt, wildlife biologist for Little Ray’s. She acts as a surrogate mother for Chloe and is the only person allowed to handle her.

Since the release of the Disney movie Zootopia in 2016, sloths have become very popular. In the movie, Flash, the so-called fastest sloth working at the DMV run entirely by sloths, is a three-toed sloth with colour around the eyes and a moptop haircut. Even slower than a two-toed sloth who sleeps 16 hours a day, Flash sleeps for 18 hours.

“In my opinion, the twotoeds are cuter because they have a larger snout and look like a teddy bear,” said Tyler Maybee, animal handler and educator for Little Ray’s.

According to Rancourt,

From Page 1 Liberal Party Windsor-West candidate, said this event is one he has attended for the past five years.

“My dog Ollie comes along and my kids run up and down the mountain looking for the Easter eggs,” said Bortolin. “It’s a great way to get exercise in the early morning on a Friday.”

Bortolin said he also believes in the importance of the fundraiser, beyond the aspect of fun.

“Sometimes we forget what it means for families who need service dogs.

These dogs aren’t born this way,” said Bortolin.

“There’s a lot of time and energy needed to breed and teach the dogs to become

after the release of Zootopia, sloths have become the second-largest trafficked animal next to the pangolin, an armadillo-like mammal found in East Asia. Sloths come from the jungles of South America.

Chloe’s parents were taken out of the wild and illegally brought to the United States, destined to be sold in pet stores. The smugglers were immediately arrested and her parents were taken to a veterinarian, eventually ending up in an accredited zoo, according to Rancourt.

Chloe was born in captivity, so she will never breed again or be released in her natural environment because she does not have the instinct for survival to teach her children.

Chloe spent a lot of time in pet reserves such as Little Ray’s, which have a special mission to educate people.

“We get a lot of animals from rescues,” said Mike Lyon, the animal care manager at Little Ray’s in Ottawa.

“The majority of the animals we get are unwanted pets.”

Lyon said when looking to purchase a pet, people should consider the size, life expectancy and dangers associated with the animal.

Sloths are slow-moving service dogs.”

Marianne Backham volunteers with Four Wheels Four Paws, a mobile pet sitting service that came to support the egg hunt and educate attendees about service animals.

Backham said part of the job of Four Wheels Four Paws is to talk about the difference between therapy dogs and service dogs.

“Therapy dogs are more for emotional support and service dogs are for an individual purpose, let’s say for the blind or for post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Backham.

It was less than a half hour before all the eggs were found and the event drew to a close.

Photo by Kenneth Pastushyn Chloe the sloth clings to Cat Rancourt, a wildlife bioligist from Little Ray's Reptile Zoo at Tecumseh Mall. and lay around for weeks in the same spot.

“All they do is sleep and have no sense of hygiene – like some college students,” said Rancourt.

Sloths are too lazy to even take a bath. Everything is done slowly, even defecating.

Chloe has a bowel movement only once every few weeks – and when she does, she loses a third of her body weight.

Taking care of sloths is hard work. Chloe has a heater

and humidifier in her bedroom and staff who will wake up in the middle of the night to feed her. In captivity, Chloe eats long-grain wild rice, sweet potatoes and highprotein dog food.

After the presentation, everyone was encouraged to get a closer look at Chloe, who was wrapped in a warm blanket and hanging on to Rancourt’s shoulders. They were able to ask questions and snap a photo but were not

allowed to touch Chloe.

“Sloths are delicate,” said Maybee. “A little bit of salmonella on a child’s fingertips can end her life.”

Rancourt likes to think of Chloe as her “second baby.”

Lola, a baby kangaroo, is her “first.” She is very protective and said she loves them both equally.

“If you love sloths, the best thing you can do is leave them alone,” said Rancourt.

Rick Mercer visits Holy Names Grace Bauer Converged Citizen Staff Students, teachers and visitors gathered in the gym at Holy Names Catholic High School after March Break to welcome one of Canada’s famous icons Rick Mercer.

The Rick Mercer Report has been running for over 14 years and after many successful years, CBC will soon be recording its final episode of the show, making this one of the last schools Mercer ever visits.

Each season, Mercer holds a competition called Spread The Net Challenge where schools across Canada raise money for insect nets to help countries suffering from

malaria. Holy Names raised one of the largest amounts with over $2,500 for the cause and are still continuing to raise funds.

The visit took place March 26, but Angela Hormiz, one of two students at Holy Names in charge of fundraising, said they have been working on this project for months.

“There are many ways we’ve raised the funds and are still working on raising more,” said Hormiz. “We did a can drive and gave students different incentives. Like, if they brought in $10 one day they can have an exam dressdown day and everyone was really into that.”

Mercer said he wants to spread awareness of this dis-

ease plaguing many countries and hopes the competition will do just that.

Mercer posted a comment on his website that said “Visiting the schools in the Spread the Net Student Challenge is always the highlight of my year. Trust me, if you are remotely pessimistic about anything at all, that is the cure. Just try to remain a glass half empty guy when you roll into a town like Peterborough, Ontario; you meet a young woman in Grade 11 who donated her entire paycheque from Red Lobster to Spread the Net.” For more information, you can visit the organization’s website at plancanada.ca/spread-thenet.

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ONVERGED CITIZEN

Second-hand no longer a second choice Alyssa Leonard Converged Citizen Saff Resale.

Consignment.

Vintage. Thrift.

Second-hand shops have many names and over the years, what was once viewed as a last resort has become a popular shopping alternative for people of all income levels.

Some people search for discounted name brands, some for the thrill of finding unique items not found in local stores. For others it is the affordability, as second-hand products are often sold at half the price of their original value.

One of the most wellknown second-hand shops is Goodwill. Goodwill’s mission is to offer job training and placement programs for people who would otherwise have trouble finding work.

Morgan Gretzky, a former Goodwill employee, answered one of the most popular questions about second-hand clothes — are they washed before they are put on the floor? No; at least, not at Goodwill. In fact, Gretzky strongly recommended customers wash their clothes before wearing them as Goodwill often receives donations in “gross” conditions.

“It’s like [people] thought donation bin and dumpster bin were synonymous,” said Gretzky. “And it wasn’t just the clothing...the furniture or the electronics would get dropped off in obviously unuseable conditions.”

Gretzky said anything deemed unusable or hazardous was immediately thrown out. Another popular myth answered — do employees have first dibs on incoming product?

“That is explicitly forbidden,” said Gretzky. “In fact, they have a rule. It has to be out on the floor for 24 hours before you are allowed to [purchase] it.”

There's actually some ethi-

cal debate about shopping at thrift stores; some people believe only those in need should be allowed to shop there. But as one anonymous Reddit user put in a Change My View thread, “the charity aspect of Goodwill and [the] Salvation Army isn't that they offer cheap clothes to poor people, they operate used clothing stores in order to fund their actual charitable ventures.”

“When you shop there, you're monetarily supporting those causes. Those stores don't exist so poor people can buy their clothes there, they're so the organizations can use the proceeds to provide things like clothes and shelter and food and job training to the poor for free.”

Last year alone The Salvation Army Thrift Store’s 2017 Send a Kid to Camp campaign raised $170,862 and was able to send 776 lowincome children to summer camp.

According to Google maps, Windsor has around two dozen second-hand shops, but not all are the same. A consignment store sells people’s items, paying them a percentage of the selling price. A resale store buys a person’s item upfront and pays in either cash or store credit. A vintage store typically sells clothing at least one decade old. Lastly, a thrift store is a not for profit store. It sells donated items and is usually associated with a church or charity.

Gretzky said she likes to mix up her shopping with both new and second-hand purchases.

“I enjoy thrifting because you get more bang for your buck and you can find those kind of unique pieces,” said Gretzky. “But there is definitely a thrill in buying the clothes new sometimes, too. I do definitely enjoy that aspect of it. It’s a nice balance.”

Many second-hand shops have taken to selling their products online, from Ebay to Amazon and now to

Photo by Alyssa Leonard A sign outside the entrance to Full Circle Vintage on University Avenue West.

Facebook.

Lisa Berbynuk is the owner of Closet Cravings, a ladies’ upscale consignment boutique located near the border of Tecumseh and Windsor. It first opened in July 2016.

Berbynuk said she finds Facebook to be an “excellent tool” for second-hand selling and posts images of different outfits to show what Closet Cravings has. Sometimes people come in and want the whole outfit or just a piece of it.

“I don’t even know how people did it before [social

media] because we post on it every day,” said Berbynuk.

“We always like to say it’s like Christmas morning in here because we never know what we’re getting. We’re always surprised by all the new items coming in from the different consigners so we like to showcase that to all of our followers.”

Berbynuk said by buying second-hand, people are also doing their part to keep these otherwise perfectly good items out of landfills.

According to Value Village’s

website, 26 billion pounds of clothing are sent to landfills each year.

To avoid excess amounts of garbage, people are encouraged to donate their clothing.

This adds variety and affordable options for thrift shoppers and makes for a cleaner environment. In the words of Annie Leonard, executive director of Greenpeace USA, “there is no such thing as ‘away.’ When we throw anything away it must go somewhere.”

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arts & entertainment

Helping the community one shoebox at a time Kylie Turner Converged Citizen Staff

The Windsor Shoebox Project held its first shoebox drive in Windsor on International Women’s Day. The Shoebox Project for Shelters was founded in 2011 by four sisters-in-law who delivered 400 shoeboxes to residents of four women’s shelters in Toronto. The Project collects and distributes gifts to women who are homeless or close to experiencing homelessness in communities across Canada and the United States. A shoebox is decorated and filled with feel-good items totalling value of $50 to help reduce feelings of isolation and make women in communities feel important despite their situation. The organization branched to Windsor and is known as the Windsor Shoebox Project.

Kristin Douglas, Strategic Partnerships Manager of the Welcome Centre Shelter for

Hartwell. “I went on their website and saw that Windsor didn’t have a location, but there was one in Chatham and Detroit, so I figured why not reach out and find out more about it.”

March 6 was the last collection day for shoeboxes, which were organized and delivered to the Welcome Centre Shelter on March 9.

The drop-off locations for the drive were at Victoria’s Flowers and Gift Baskets as well as a location near Devonshire Mall.

The Windsor Shoebox Project had a goal of 18 shoeboxes to deliver at the Welcome Centre. With help and support from the community, 19 shoeboxes were donated with more than $900 in donations. Hartwell said the next drive might be held around Mother's Day this year.

For more information about future shoebox drives in Windsor, follow The Windsor Shoebox Project on Facebook.

Women and Families, said she is happy to partner with the Windsor Shoebox Project.

“A lot of people have the common misconception that Shoeboxes with motivational quotes or toiletries are something that is going to make women feel special,” said Douglas. “What I can tell you from working here, what makes women feel most special and empowered is having a place to live. Put things in the box that women might need to get started like gift cards, bus tickets, a hair brush or deodorant.”

The Windsor Shoebox Project is new to Windsor thanks to the local coordinator Farrah Hartwell, 21, a student at St. Clair College.

Hartwell was inspired by articles she saw in the news about Windsor being ranked the worst Canadian city to be a woman and homeless around the winter holidays.

“I actually came across The Shoebox Project on Instagram and got in contact with the organization,” said

Entertainment roundup Compiled by Cade Ryan

Music Rapper Cardi B released her first studio album, Invasion of Privacy, on April 5. The album includes her hit record Bodak Yellow, which was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks in a row in 2017.

Her song Drip featuring The Migos was released a day before the album and is number 10 on the US itunes charts.

New Zealand singer Lorde performed at Little Caesars Arena on March 28. This was the 50th concert of her world tour in sup‐ port of her second studio album Melodrama. The tour includes 70 concerts across North America, Europe, Oceania, Asia and South America. According to the Detroit Free Press there were about 8,000 people at the show.

A music video for the song Framed by Eminem from his album Revival was released on April 3 and is currently trending on YouTube. This is the third song from Revival that he has created a music video for.

Comedy Windsor comedians will be performing improv comedy at the Chrysler Theatre on April 7 during The Second City’s Improv All Stars event. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $25 plus tax.

Movies

“‘I like to take out the recycling because I actually feel like I'm doing something.”

--Mike Quigley

Please recycle this newspaper

Reduce Reuse Recycle

Ready Player One, directed by Steven Spielberg, collected $41,764,050 at the box office during the first weekend after its release on March 30. The film includes ref‐ erences from pop culture's biggest icons such as Star Wars, The Iron Giant, Joker, Harley Quinn, King Kong, Chucky and more.

Theatre Student actors from the University of Windsor will be performing a modern remake of the play Big Love by Charles L. Mee. The show will be performed April 8 at 2 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

CONVERGED CITIZEN APRIL 13, 2018

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More than half of Canadians will experience mental illness in their lifetime Sente Mushunduzi Converged Citizen Staff In any given year, one in five people in Canada will experience a mental health problem or illness.

Mental illness affects people of all ages, education, income levels and culture.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in both men and women from adolescence to middle age.

Kylie Hayes is a 21-yearold who is planning to attend the University of Windsor to study psychology. She is also an advocate for people with mental illness "You often just know a person's face or name and not their story. The next time you see someone you know, you have no idea as to what he or she may be going through behind closed doors and that smiling face,” said Hayes. “Often, we judge a book by its cover, yet, a per-

son has a vast variety of material in their book, and this material is what makes it more splendid."

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association website, by age 40, 50 per cent of the population will have a mental illness.

Tara Payne is a support worker with the Early Intervention Program at CMHA. She said most people do not know how to identify a panic attack, even when they are having one.

"A person can experience an anxiety attack if they feel they are in danger, even if they are not. Panic attacks are sudden and overwhelming feelings of anxiety and fear,” said Payne. “People who experience panic attacks often describe symptoms such as shortness of breath, extreme rapid heartbeat and very shallow breathing. Sometimes people will call 911 thinking they are having a heart

attack.”

Jessica Tetreault-Fazio is a University of Windsor student and an advocate for mental health with Jack.org “The truth is we all have mental health and mental illness and that can make it really hard. That's why it's important that advocacy work is happening,” said Tetreault-Fazio.

Jack.org is a network of young leaders transforming the way people think about mental health with initiatives and programs designed with the input of young people.

Hayes advises people with mental health challenges to communicate more and be upfront about their problems.

“Be more straightforward.

Help is everywhere around you and you don’t have to struggle alone,” said Hayes.

“Who know maybe the burden you are carrying might be stigmatized. It gets better.”

Photo by Sente Mushunduzi Jessica Tetreault-Fazio, a student at University of Windsor, is an advocate for mental health.

Getting Off: A Lawyer’s Road to Redemption by Veronique Perrier Mandal is available now at all local book stores including Chapters & on Amazon.ca

CONVERGED CITIZEN APRIL 13, 2018

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A hard-fought season for the Vipers

Photo by Kaitlynn Kenney LaSalle Vipers team captain Eric Kirby speaks at the team’s awards ceremony at Walkerville Brewery on March 28, 2018.

Kaitlynn Kenney Converged Citizen Staff

The LaSalle Vipers came together on March 28 at Walkerville Brewery for their annual awards night to celebrate the season.

After a long season, the Junior B hockey team settled down with an overall score of

32 - 16. Their journey was cut short when they lost to the Chatham Maroons on March 11 with a final score of 2 - 4.

Eleven players were awarded for their hard work including Manny Silverio, who received the MVP award and scored 60 points this season.

Team catpain Eric Kirby was also given the Vipers Pillar Award. Kirby and five

other players, including Silverio, will be graduating from the team this year.

“It’s been an honour. I’ve had a lot of fun playing for this team for the last four years,” said Kirby. “It’s been a privilege to put on the jersey every Wednesday night that’s for sure.”

This year the team celebrated their 10-year anniversary

by handing out custom calendars to their fans. They also received 14 new players and new coaching staff.

Coach John Nelson said there have been some challenges to adjust to, as well as setting up a new structure for practices.

“We finished third place, which we were quite happy about,” said Nelson. “Overall,

we thought we’ve had an excellent year and established our new identity with our players.”

Though their season was short, the coaches say they are more than proud of the accomplishments of the new arrivals and the dedication each player has shown at every game. The next season will start September 2018.

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ONVERGED CITIZEN

Spitfires focused on the future following playoff elimination Cody Wall Converged Citizen Saff Despite the Windsor Spitfires being eliminated from the playoffs, the coaching staff is hoping their young team can grow.

On April 1 the Spitfires were eliminated following a six-game series with the Sarnia Sting in the first round of the 2017-18 Ontario Hockey League playoffs.

Heading into the series the Spitfires were seen as underdogs facing the fifth-best team in the OHL. The Spitfires were focused on stocking up on draft picks and young players after trading several key pieces of their Memorial Cup winning team including team captain and leading scorer Aaron Luchuk.

The Spitfires got off to a good start winning game one 6-2 in Sarnia before losing game two 4-1 and dropped the third game in heartbreaking fashion by giving up three goals in the final four minutes of the game losing 5-3.

Following game three, Spitfires Head Coach Trevor Letowski made it clear he was happy with the way the team was competing.

"I'm certainly not disappointed with the team, that’s for sure. We gave everything we had," said Letowski.

One of the biggest accomplishments within the series was the performance of Michael DiPietro posting a .934 save percentage through the six games.

DiPietro would be named the first star of the game twice throughout the series including in the Spitfires 3-1 win in game four where he made 46 saves.

When DiPietro's teammates were asked about his play after the game they all gave him praise and talked about how he is a leader on the team, including Spitfires' Chris Playfair who

Photo by Jordan Ferris Windsor Spitfires players saluting the crowd following Game 4. scored the game-winning goal in game four.

"He's standing on his head right now, it's unbelievable the things he's doing," said Playfair.

The Spitfires would go on to lose game five and six and be eliminated from the postseason. Following game six Letowski would comment on how he believed his team was capable of winning the series and how he would talk to his players the following day as emotions were high.

"There was a belief that we could win," said Letowski. "We had a quick

little meeting and Warren said a little bit and tomorrow we’ll get together as a team and I'll kind of share my thoughts."

The Spitfires will now turn their focus to the offseason and upcoming OHL priority selection draft on April 7. Windsor has 13 picks in this year's draft and aiming to pick up some quality players after this year's turnover. There are also several players currently on the Spitfires hoping to hear their name called this summer at the NHL entry draft including Curtis Douglas, 17, and Connor

Corcoran, 17.

Heading into next season the Spitfires hope several players such as Cody Morgan, Daniel D'Aimco and Grayson Ladd, who turned 17 in the second half of the season, take steps forward in their development.

Letowski is also hoping the young Spitfires' core can use the experience they gain from this playoff series and build upon it.

"It's valuable those games are hard, and they see how hard it is," said Letowski.

"This is just the first round.

It's going to get harder and those guys are playing

important minutes against big, strong players."

DiPietro, who has been nominated for the Outstanding Goalie of the Year and Outstanding Player of the Year awards, will likely be returning to the Spitfires. If he is unable to crack the Vancouver Canuck roster he will be forced to return to the OHL. "Here comes a new wave of not only young players but very good young talent," said DiPietro. "The next wave of kids coming through here are going to be the next core of the Windsor Spitfires organization."

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ONVERGED CITIZEN

Local OHL player expected to be picked early in draft Tate Harris Converged Citizen Staff A local hockey player was expected to be a high draft pick during the Ontario Hockey League priority selections on April 7.

Matthew Maggio, 15, was eligible to be drafted by an OHL team. Maggio is from Tecumseh and played 'AAA' midget minor hockey for the Sun County Panthers in the Alliance League.

He was tied for second in scoring in the league with 44 points in 33 games. The

OHL awarded Maggio 'Alliance player of the Year.' "[I'm] humbled and honored to have been able to represent Alliance Hockey as player of the year," Maggio said on twitter. "I’d like to thank everyone who helped me get here, especially my parents for all [the] countless hours they have put in to help me get to where I am today."

Maggio was projected to be picked in the first or second round of the draft but went in the fifth round.

“It was pretty long for sure,” Maggio said to the

Windsor Star. “Just expecting to go where I was going and then having to wait.”

OHL Central Scouting said Maggio is an explosive skater and can change a game with one shift.

Mitchell Avis, a scout for thescout.ca, said on Twitter Maggio may need even less than one shift to change a game. "[He is an] exciting winger who can impact the game with just one shot," said Avis. "Primarily a goal scorer with a quick release.

Possesses good puck skill especially at full speed.

Agile skater. The most intriguing risk/reward prospect in the league."

Windsor Spitfires General Manger Warren Rychel, was also prepared for the draft April 7.

Rychel traded a 2021 second round pick, which was acquired from Barrie earlier in the season, to Saginaw for two more selections during the draft on Saturday and a sixth-round pick in 2019.

The picks acquired for Saturday's draft are a thirdround pick, 56 overall, and seventh-round pick, 125

overall.

“We’re in really good shape now with four picks in the first 56 [picks] and we should be able to add a good player with the additional seventh-[round pick],” Rychel said in a press release. “This could be one of our deepest [best] drafts in years."

The Spitfires made 16 picks for the April 7 draft.

Their first pick at 10 overall was Jean-Luc Foudy who had 60 points in 52 games in the Greater Toronto Hockey League.

Sports roundup Compiled by Jordan Ferris

Baseball

Basketball

The Detroit Tigers started their season March 30, with a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It has been a slow start for the Tigers at home during opening week after three games being postponed due to weather. The Tigers are now in Chicago to play the White Sox in a five game series. They currently hold a season record of two wins four losses.

The Windsor Express head into the playoffs riding their longest losing streak of the season. The Express have lost their last four games in a row, outscored by a total of 476‐430 in that span. The Express finished the season holding a record of 20 wins and 20 losses good enough to earn a playoff spot. They now travel to St. John’s N.L. and will play their first playoff game on April 6 against the St. John’s Edge. The Edge finished second in the cen‐ tral division with a record of 25‐15. St. John’s won the season series against the Express with five wins in eight matchups.

Hockey

Cross Country The Windsor Lancers are sending two crosscountry run‐ ners to Switzerland for the 2018 World University CrossCountry Championships. Andrew Nebel and Stefanie Smith are two of 11 athletes who will represent Canada in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Smith is from London, Ont. and is a graduate student at the university studying human kinetics. Nebel is from St. Catharines, Ont. and is a senior enrolled in criminology and sociology.

On the night they clinched the the Pacific Division title, the Las Vegas Golden Knights also retired number 58.

The reason for retiring the number is to honor the 58 people killed in the Oct. 1 shooting at the Route 91 music festival in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights went on to win the game against the San Jose Sharks 3‐2. Vegas player Alex Tuch said he thinks the team drew inspiration from the ceremony.

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ONVERGED CITIZEN

Revival by Stephen King W

ho is screenwriting our lives? Fate or coincidence?

Although Stephen King is a favourite in the heart of many readers, Revival is the first book I have read by him.

I plan to read more.

When Reverend Jacobs faces a life-altering obstacle, it changes him. He stops preaching religion and the word of God and invests his time in the alchemy of electricity.

Jacobs uses electricity to heal people of disease and sees his work as good, but by the time deadly side effects from his treatments are evident, it is too

late to put an end to his alchemy — he is too infatuated.

I have never read writing quite like King’s. His description of events and characters are detailed and clear.

He effectively tells a story over 60 plus years yet it does not feel rushed.

He does a good job of starting and finishing each character’s story, even if they are supporting roles and writes in a way that evokes emotion — from fear, to humour, to sadness and frustration.

His writing makes you feel it all.

This is the most twisted, wicked novel I have read. The story was not scary but I do not want to get into detail because there are many surprising and disturbing elements - ones that gave me nightmares.

Do not read this book before bed.

Give yourself at least 30 free minutes before your head hits the pillow.

I recommend this novel for ages 16 plus who enjoy genres of suspense, horror and paranormal.

But writing is a wonderful and terrible thing.

It opens deep wells of memory that were previously capped.