Dya is a girl from the deepest end of the ocean. Though likely nearing one hundred years old, she nonetheless looks to be—and for all intents and purposes is—a sixteen-year-old girl. Once, while very young, Dya ventured too close to land and found herself on a pebble beach off the coast of Maine where she came face to face with another young girl named Mary Louise. Though from completely different worlds, Dya and Mary Louise became very close (and secret) friends. Dya returned often over the years to visit Mary Louise, each time spending more and more time on land, and wanting less and less to return to her home in the deep. However, it was starting to become clear to Dya that she could not keep splitting her time between the two worlds, as it was literally, physically, tearing her apart. Soon she would have to decide—will she give up the sea once and for all and live out the reminder of her now shortened life in a world in which she’ll never truly belong…or will she remain in the deep and pine forever for the life she truly wanted? Back home beneath the sea, Dya is torn about what to do. For as much as she loves and misses her friend on land, and has fallen madly in love with the land itself, she’s afraid to leave the ocean world. This is not only because it is all she has ever known, but because her people are feral and aggressive folk by nature (particularly the men), besides being ferociously secretive and isolationist. They will not take kindly to having one of their own abandon the deep for the land, and there may very well be brutal and devastating consequences. The world of her people is an ancient culture, largely unchanged for thousands of years. And like any young immigrant caught between the modern world and that of her people, she fears what could happen if these very different worlds were to collide. Finally she decides to make the commitment once and for all, come what may. And with that, she makes the journey upward, and casts her fate to the whims of the coastal winds… Praise for THE SONG IN THE SQUALL: “The Song in the Squall is a unique and musically-charged tale of wanderlust, growing pains, and bonds that run deeper than the sea.” —Jessica McHugh, author of Rabbits in the Garden and the Darla Decker Series “Great young adult literature often explores the power of friendship. Add a component of magic, and the quest to find out what is really important in life, and you have the basic elements of a great story. Add a sharp, focused writing style and you have Nathan Singer's The Song in the Squall. Original and compelling—do not miss it!” —Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestselling author of the Sarah Booth Delaney and Pluto’s Snitch mystery series. “Nathan Singer’s The Song in the Squall is a glorious book, redolent with the taste of the salt sea and the sharp odor of an approaching thunderstorm. Dya is a young girl making the difficult transition from the depths of the sea to the land, finding friendship as well as conflict along the way. Dya, Molly, Malik, Mary Louise, and the other characters are drawn with emotion and an unflinching honesty that grips the reader’s heart and refuses to release it until the final, bittersweet conclusion. Open this book and follow the shimmering footsteps in the sands. You won’t regret the journey!” —Stephen Leigh, author of Crow of Connemara and A Fading Sun

Many believe Max Steiner's score for King Kong (1933) was the first important attempt at integrating background music into sound film, but a closer look at the industry's early sound era (1926–1934) reveals a more extended and fascinating story. Viewing more than two hundred films from the period, Michael Slowik launches the first comprehensive study of a long-neglected phase in Hollywood's initial development, recasting the history of film sound and its relationship to the "Golden Age" of film music (1935–1950). Slowik follows filmmakers' shifting combinations of sound and image, recapturing the volatility of this era and the variety of film music strategies that were tested, abandoned, and kept. He explores early film music experiments and accompaniment practices in opera, melodrama, musicals, radio, and silent films and discusses the impact of the advent of synchronized dialogue. He concludes with a reassessment of King Kong and its groundbreaking approach to film music, challenging the film's place and importance in the timeline of sound achievement.

The eighth episode of the incredible story of Final Fantasy. A legendary episode of the Japanese RPG, Final Fantasy VIII is fully decoded in this book. Discover a complete analysis of one of the most famous saga of the world of video games, embellished with a reflection on the report of the fans to the series. To read as soon as possible! EXTRACT "The work on Final Fantasy VIII began in 1997, just after Final Fantasy VII was completed, and the game’s development ran concurrently with that of Parasite Eve. Although Final Fantasy VII marked a genuine turning point in the series, the designers were hardly lackadaisical when it came to the eighth episode’s production and staging. In fact, they worked doubly hard to avoid disappointing fans after their adventure with Cloud. First, the decision was made to use the same console: the Sony PlayStation. Since the seventh episode was a smashing success, the major personalities who had presided over its creation were reassembled to create the new game. Thus, the team consisted of the renowned Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yoshinori Kitase (as director), Kazushige Nojima (as scriptwriter), Yûsuke Naora (as artistic director), and Tetsuya Nomura (as character designer). And, of course, the distinguished composer Nobuo Uematsu was once again chosen to create the episode’s magnificent soundtrack in its entirety."

A New York Times bestselling series A USA TODAY bestselling series A California Young Reader Medal–winning series Dark schemes unfold and Sophie’s loyalty is pushed to the limit in this thrilling fifth book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. Sophie Foster is back in the Lost Cities—but the Lost Cities have changed. The threat of war hangs heavy over her glittering world, and the Neverseen are wreaking havoc. The lines between friend and enemy have blurred, and Sophie is unsure whom to trust. But when she’s warned that the people she loves most will be the next victims, she knows she has to act. A mysterious symbol could be the key—if only she knew how to translate it. Every new clue seems to lead deeper into her world’s underbelly and the Black Swan aren’t the only ones who have plans. The Neverseen have their own Initiative, and if Sophie doesn’t stop it, they might finally have the ultimate means to control her.