Excerpt: The Age of Amy: The Thumper Amendment by Bruce Edwards

THE AGE OF AMY: THE THUMPER AMENDMENT

Age of Amy Series, Book 2

by Bruce Edwards

Lambert Hill

YA Political Fantasy

216 pages

TEENS Win the Vote!

It’s an election year, and Congress has lowered the voting age to 14. Not one to refuse political involvement, 16-year-old Amy joins a campaign to elect the next U.S. President. Her goal isn’t only to see her candidate win, but to prevent his rival—an arrogant, profiteering sleazeball—from ever stepping foot inside the Oval Office.

Amy’s participation is also personal. The opposing candidate’s son viciously bullied her in the 3rd grade. Foiling his father’s bid for the presidency would be the perfect payback. But, there’s a problem. Her grade school offender has changed. He has grown into a kind and thoughtful (and cute) young adult. No longer able to dislike him, Amy’s hatred turns to affection. Is she falling in love?

Pinnacle Achievement Book Award, “Best Book for Young Adults.”

“Readers will appreciate Amy’s sharp wit and the overall comedy of political theater.”
   --Booklist

“This book will be popular with those looking for a quirky love story with an exciting twist.”
   --School Library Journal

“The author does a highly credible job of displaying the incredible cost of meanness.”
   --Readers’ Favorite

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Powell’s

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EXCERPT

Chapter 2

GRUDGE

With my new standing as the head “young politician” in town, I decided it was time to address an issue that was receiving national attention, and a problem I knew something about: school bullying. The way I saw it, kids being mean to each other was merely an extension of a larger problem. Meanness among adults had become so common on TV, in the news, and in politics that it was now considered acceptable behavior. If grownups could be openly mean to each other, why wasn’t it okay for kids to do the same thing?

It was a presidential election year when people are at their meanest. Every four years, Americans must endure an onslaught of beastliness:

TV attack ads,
character assassinations,
smear tactics,
mud slinging,
dirty tricks,
out-right lies.

Candidates criticize and insult each other in televised debates, and when the show is over, you’ve learned absolutely nothing about them—except how bloated their egos are.

Tolerating political corruption had long been considered a part of living the American Experience—until now. The presidential primaries were coming up, and the American people had had enough! So, new campaign reform laws were proposed, put on the ballot, and approved by the voters. From now on, no candidate or political party could throw their weight around to sway an election. No eligible voter would be excluded from participating. American democracy would finally rise from the ashes—for the voters had unanimously passed Propositions 7 and 18.

Prop 7 lowered the voting age to 14, nullifying the 26th amendment of the Constitution, which gave 18-year-olds the vote in 1971. For the first time, high school-age kids could vote in public elections, and have a real voice in shaping the country they would one day inherit.

Opponents of the proposition challenged its constitutionality. Legal arguments were heard all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the justices ruled that it was indeed valid.

Political candidates proclaimed the new amendment a victory for democracy, even though we all knew they would use it to finagle more votes for themselves. They reasoned that teens, with their limited grasp of campaign trickery, could easily be persuaded to vote in their favor. Even a new political party was formed that targeted teens:

The Awesome Party!

And here he is. . .

BRUCE EDWARDS!!!

Bruce Edwards writes young adult fiction on subjects most YA authors shy away from. His award-winning The Age of Amy series explores unconventional topics—from the trappings of modern technology to the absurdity of Washington politics. Through fantasy and imagination, Bruce addresses real-world issues, as young readers enjoy a fun read.

Links

AUTHOR LINKS

The Thumper Amendment - Video/Info
AgeOfAmy.com
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Review: The Age of Amy by Bruce Edwards

THE AGE OF AMY

Behind the Fun Zone

by Bruce Edwards

Lambert Hill Press

YA Science Fiction

216 pages

Are you a Jimmiehead, or are you still using one of those old-fashioned smartphones?

Jimmies are tiny microchips, that when painlessly implanted into your brain, magically transform your eyes and ears into the ultimate hands-free device. No more fumbling with fragile phones, loose earbuds, or clumsy controllers. Watch movies without looking at a screen. Take photos through your eyes. Text with your brain waves.

Everyone wants a Jimmie—except 16-year-old Amy, who detests technology in any form. But when thousands of teenage Jimmieheads mysteriously vanish, only she can save them. Immune to Jimmie's influence, Amy embarks on a quest to find the missing teens, ultimately revealing an ominous connection to a spooky, old amusement park that's been dark for 50 years!

MY TIDBITS

I haven't read the other books in this series, but that wasn't a problem. This book is a stand-alone in every way.

After reading the blurb, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, and I'm glad to say that the story is more intriguing than I thought it might be. In many ways, it takes our modern day world and intensifies it. Instead of running around with cell phones, the internet and all it's possibilities is streamlined into a tiny chip, which is placed in the head. Communications, GPS, videos, and everything else one can think of is directly linked with the brain. Even computerized cars read where a person wants to go and drives them there automatically.

Amy, a sixteen-year-old girl, is one of the few people who doesn't trust any of this.

Her character is a girl with a good sense of self-esteem and a nice amount of stubbornness. She's smart, sticks to what she wants, and true to her friends. It was easy to root for her, and her reactions didn't only make sense but were often well thought out--perhaps too well thought out in the beginning. Usually, she's a great teen, who's easy to sympathize with. But other times, she acts too old for her age and comes across a bit preachy. Her reactions to the technological advancements were okay but sometimes went a bit too far. Her statements were wise, and one or two of them would have supported her cleverness. But she constantly thinks farther which didn't make her feel like a teen but rather that she was an opportunity to bring over an opinion and message. Although these moments in the first chapters made it hard to connect with her as a character, as the story progressed, it was easy to fall back in stride and root for her.

The plot is fast paced--I read this in one sitting and didn't have the urge to put it down. The author does a great job of setting up the world, making it familiar enough to dive in. The technology described is easy to understand as well as the results it has on the world around it. It was a very unique and interesting surmise too. It doesn't take much of a step to see the technology and world the author describes, which makes the result really hit home.

In general, the story flows very well. There were a couple of moments where the scene jumped as if something was missing, and I didn't really understand several of the 'bad guy's' actions in the end, but I still was intrigued and caught up in the story until the last page. I never knew what was going to happen next and found myself hoping that Amy and Zac would make it through. (They were stuck in some pretty tough situations).

This is an interesting book that modern day kids will have no trouble relating to. There's twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, moments where it's not certain the heroes are going to make it through alive and other times, where it's easy to cheer them on. In other words, it's definitely worth a read.

And here he is. . .

BRUCE EDWARDS!!!

Award-winning author Bruce Edwards is a former Hollywood film animator, and brings the whimsy of a character artist to his stories. A music major in college, he is also an accomplished musician and composer. His other creative endeavors include a stint as a puppeteer and performing magic at Disneyland. Bruce's thought-provoking books for young adults are never short on fun, fantasy, and imagination.

Links

AUTHOR LINKS

Behind the Fun Zone
AgeOfAmy.com
Facebook
Twitter

The Age of Amy: Behind the Fun Zone by Bruce Edwards

THE AGE OF AMY

Behind the Fun Zone

by Bruce Edwards

Lambert Hill Press

YA Science Fiction

216 pages

Are you a Jimmiehead, or are you still using one of those old-fashioned smartphones?

Jimmies are tiny microchips, that when painlessly implanted into your brain, magically transform your eyes and ears into the ultimate hands-free device. No more fumbling with fragile phones, loose earbuds, or clumsy controllers. Watch movies without looking at a screen. Take photos through your eyes. Text with your brain waves.

Everyone wants a Jimmie—except 16-year-old Amy, who detests technology in any form. But when thousands of teenage Jimmieheads mysteriously vanish, only she can save them. Immune to Jimmie's influence, Amy embarks on a quest to find the missing teens, ultimately revealing an ominous connection to a spooky, old amusement park that's been dark for 50 years!

EXCERPT

For months I was finding love letters in my school locker, each one neatly folded before being stuffed through the locker’s air vent. “To my beloved Amy,” they began. “My heart aches for you,” and “I long for your affection” were commonly-used phrases. As much as I hoped that Fred was the anonymous author, I discovered they were being written by a different boy. My bold admirer tried his best to keep his identity a secret, but after catching him following me around campus, the pieces fell into place pretty quickly. He once wrote that he “admired me from afar,” which was funny, because his locker was right next to mine.

His name was Zachary Smithers. He was a full foot shorter than me, and skinny as a hockey stick. His prying eyes followed me through large horn rimmed glasses. His eavesdropping ears were somewhere under his long hair, that flipped up at the ends around his narrow shoulders. He never socialized with other students. Instead, he would be off in a corner talking on his flip phone, the kind with the little antenna you had to extend to get a signal.

Peculiarities aside, having a secret Romeo is kind of flattering. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy being put on a pedestal? For a lot of girls, dealing with schoolboy crushes is a normal part of high school life. None of this would have bothered me, except that this schoolboy was a freshman!

Another note fell into my hands as I opened my locker. Zac watched me from behind his own locker door, as if he thought I wouldn’t notice him.

“Another letter?” I said to Zac.

A sad eye peeked around the locker door and stared at me. “You’re not mad, are you?” he said bashfully.

I looked down on him like a scolding mother. “Don’t you think this has gone on long enough?”

I closed my locker door and headed down the crowded corridor to my next class. I heard Zac’s locker close a moment later, and I didn’t need to turn around to know he was following one step behind me.

And here he is. . .

BRUCE EDWARDS!!!

Award-winning author Bruce Edwards is a former Hollywood film animator, and brings the whimsy of a character artist to his stories. A music major in college, he is also an accomplished musician and composer. His other creative endeavors include a stint as a puppeteer and performing magic at Disneyland. Bruce's thought-provoking books for young adults are never short on fun, fantasy, and imagination.

Links

AUTHOR LINKS

Behind the Fun Zone
AgeOfAmy.com
Facebook
Twitter