This is a stirring documentary about “the resiliency of childhood and the restorative power of art.” Born into Brothels follows several young children who live in the red light district of Calcutta. Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski collaborated on piecing together this beautiful film. Briski formed an interest in the children living in the red light district while living in a brothel and photographing the woman. The interest blossomed into a desire to provide the children of these women with cameras and some basic instruction on photography. The result is a fascinating insight into a life that is foreign to many of us. Many of the children’s photographs are highlighted and are a beautiful depiction of a difficult life. You cannot help but be uplifted by the laughter of these kids as they run through the streets taking pictures. One particularly unforgettable segment of the film is when Briski takes the children to the beach in order to photograph the surroundings. Their excitement is palpable and the resulting photographs are striking.

The beauty of this documentary is not only in the aesthetic appeal of the pictures, but also the impact that photography has on the children’s lives. In an atmosphere of poverty and illegal sex trafficking, the hope that is generated from empowering the children in this environment is inspiring. Art and education are two very powerful things and Born into Brothels chronicles providing access to both.

The film won the 77th Academy Awards for Best Documentary and the film’s website Kids with Cameras (KWC) is definitely worth visiting. You can view the kid’s photographs as well as get updates on what they went on to do after the film. KWC has since completed a merge with another nonprofit organization Kids with Destiny. This merger has resulted in the realization of a KWC project Hope House which is expected to be completed later this year.

If you like Born into Brothels, you may also like Wade in the Water, Children, a documentary on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina told from the perspective of the children who lived through it.

Here's a potential spring outing: The Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea is presenting 33 Variations by Moises Kaufman through June 1. The director of this production is Guy Sanville. Featured artist is Richard McWilliams, who portrays the role of Ludwig van Beethoven. From the PR website: "In 19th century Austria, Ludwig van Beethoven works obsessively on a commission he cannot complete. In present day, musicologist Katherine Brandt struggles to solve the mystery behind her professional passion: Beethoven’s oft overlooked Diabelli Variations. As she races against time, Katherine not only discovers the true nature of Beethoven’s work, but gains insight into the other mystery in her life: her daughter. Moving between the past and the present, 33 Variations illustrates how the very passions that threaten to overwhelm us can also save us. Contains adult language and content." Tickets are available here.

Star Wars: Scoundrels is veteran Star Wars author Timothy Zahn's play on the crime novel, set in the Star Wars universe. Starring everybody's favorite smuggler, Han Solo (who did shoot first), Scoundrels follows an Ocean's Eleven formula to build a ragtag band of criminals plotting a daring heist under the nose of the ruthless Black Sun syndicate. Some old favorites show their face (Lando, Chewie, even the Organa-Solo clan's nanny Winter), and there is a suitably dramatic conclusion and plenty of Star Wars action. Hardcore Star Wars readers will enjoy learning more about a couple of established characters.

Washtenaw Health Plan's Plan A/ABW Open enrollment is a month-long rare opportunity for uninsured Adult Residents of Washtenaw County to possibly become insured. Under this insurance plan, adults between the ages of 19-64 with NO minor children in their custody may be eligible for comprehensive health coverage-including a $1.00 co-pay for brand and generic prescription drugs. You can apply online or come to one of the numerous enrollment opportunities throughout the rest of April. The Washtenaw Health Plan office will be taking walk-in applicants all month. Additionally, there will be a chance to enroll at the following sites this week: Tuesday, April 23 Packard Health West, 1-3 pm; Ypsilanti Library Whittaker Road, 5-7 pm; Faith in Action-Chelsea;Wednesday, April 24th, 9-11 am; and Packard Health-Main; Thursday, April 25th, 9-11 am. Don't forget every day until May 1 at at Washtenaw Health Plan, 555 Towner, Ypsilanti, 8:30 am-5pm. College Students and other uninsured adults may be eligible for this program.

Our lives can change in a moment. Seemingly mundane tasks can completely alter who we are, how we perceive the world, and how we live. In JoJo Moyes latest novel, Me Before You, meeting Will Traynor will alter Louisa ‘Lou’ Clark's life immeasurably, taking her out of her meek existence as an ‘invisible’ tea shop waitress in a small English town and thrusting her into Will’s life as a caregiver. It will make Lou question everything she’s always known about herself. Once a wealthy and vivacious young businessman, Will had a run-in with a motorcycle has brought his life of world-traveling adventure to a grinding halt. Now a quadriplegic, Will is angry, feels helpless, and is hell-bent on exercising what control he has left over his life.

Both Will and Lou experience a transformation through their time together. Will loses some of his anger and sees that happiness may be possible, and Lou discovers hidden strengths and depths that have been lurking under her timid shell. Me Before You is a bittersweet tale of two people, opposite in disposition, who come together briefly and change their seemingly stagnant lives through their relationship, their interactions, and their care for one another.

The historical drama Lincoln, starring Daniel Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, is based in part on the book Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Lincoln was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, who immediately wanted rights to the film once he heard that Goodwin was planning to write the book.

The film focuses on Lincoln's last months of office in 1865, during a time of war and change, and his efforts to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would abolish slavery. The film depicts the tension and conflict in the United States, while painting a revealing portrait of Abraham Lincoln during a momentous time in American history.

With an all-star cast that also includes Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the critically-acclaimed film was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards and twelve Academy Awards. Daniel Day Lewis won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Actor for his phenomenal performance as the President. There are still grumbles that Lincoln should have won the Academy Award for Best Picture, but that honor went to another recommended historical drama, Argo.

Holly Goddard Jones's debut novel The Next Time You See Me * revisits the same terrain as in her Girl Trouble (2009), a collection of eight "beautifully written, achingly poignant, and occasionally heartbreaking stories" set in a small Kentucky town.

When middle-school teacher Susanna could not reach her hard-drinking, unpredictable older sister Ronnie, and the rotten take-out food cartons and other alarming signs in her apartment fail to convince the local police to treat it as a missing person's case, she has to turn to Tony, a failed athlete returning to his home town as a detective.

Socially awkward 13 year-old Emily, an easy target for 7th grade bullies, takes refuge in a stretch of deserted woods and stumbles onto a gruesome scene she decides to keep to herself.

Downtrodden Wyatt, a factory worker tormented by a past he can't change and by a love he doesn't think he deserves. Connected in ways they cannot begin to imagine, their stories converge in a violent climax that reveals not just the mystery of what happened to Ronnie but all of their secret selves.

"Jones' well-crafted tale captures small-town nuances while exploring the individual psychologies of her characters and their struggles".

"In the vein of Gone Girl,...Jones' tightly written Southern thriller will be one of spring's sizzling titles. Jones brilliantly weaves together story lines from unexpected angles. Her writing is fluid and she keeps a pace that will have readers lacing on their running shoes. And what a suspenseful, emotional, addictive run it is! "

Enough said. A must-read this spring.

* = starred review

A World War II Lancaster bomber flies low across the English countryside as a girl watches from the road. One of the bomber’s twin tails is shot apart. One wing tip and flap are gone. Oil trails from its outer port engine. What is going on? And just like that you are sucked into the graphic novel Berlin: The Seven Dwarves.

The book follows the lives of the crew of the Arvo Lancaster bomber Snow White as they partake in dangerous night bombing raids against Nazi Germany. Author/illustrator Marvano aka Mark Van Oppen spins a nice yarn full of tense action, friendship and love in a historical setting. His graphics, especially of the flying equipment/action and the setting, are excellent.

Though Marvano’s (the author’s pen name) depictions of the night bombing action are excellent, some of his choices are interesting, especially his choice to show the dual engined push pull German Dornier Do 335 night fighter in one engagement. Admittedly it is a very cool plane, being menacing and high-tech looking, but it did not make its first maiden flight until after the action described in the book had occurred and per some records it may not have ever seen combat, period.

Beyond that though, this is an excellent read. Until now my reading of the British part of the strategic bombing campaign and their dangerous night missions had been limited to general histories and to the gripping young adult novel B is for Buster, about a young Canadian boy who works on a ground crew for a Handley Page Halifax bomber squadron, so this book, for sure from a mental imagery stand point, fills in some gaps.

If curious about the American part of the strategic bombing campaign, you can find quite a bit of specific literature out there about the 8th Air Force and its daylight bombing efforts against Germany flying the venerable Boeing B-17 and Consolidated B-24 (many of which were built right here in Ypsilanti). The library has both the informative and well written A Wing and A Prayer as well as the excellent teen novel, The Last Mission.

The Pulitzer Prizes for 2013 were announced today.

In 1917, Joseph Pulitzer established these awards to recognize excellence in 21 categories, which include journalism, fiction, drama, music, poetry, and non-fiction. More recently, online reporting was added.

Some of the winners this year include:

Fiction -- Adam Johnson, for The Orphan Master's Son, a timely choice, tells the story of Pak Jun Do, who is sent to the orphan camps in North Korea. First trained as a tunnel soldier (fighting in pitch darkness beneath the DMZ), he is 'elevated' to kidnapper.

History -- Fredrik Logevall, for Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam -- Logevall spent 12 years looking at primary diplomatic sources in the archives of Paris, Washington, D.C., and Hanoi to get at the heart of the conflict.

Biography -- Tom Reiss, for The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo -- Reiss delves into the life of the father of Alexandre Dumas, General Alexandre Alex Dumas. Born in Haiti, sold into slavery by his own father, the General eventually went on to military greatness when he reorganized the army of the French Republic.

In 20 categories, each winner receives $10,000 and a certificate. In the Public Service category, a medal was bestowed on the Florida newspaper, the Sun Sentinel, for its investigation into off-duty police officers who endangered the lives of citizens by speeding.

For a complete list, check here.

One of the most common causes of accidental death in America (right behind motor vehicle crashes) is falls (almost 15,000/year). There is grief but sometimes searching for the why and the how are all the more consuming for those left behind.

In Kimberly McCreight's debut Reconstructing Amelia (earning a "Grade A" from Entertainment Weekly), suspended for cheating at Grace Hall, a prestigious private school in Park Slope, Brooklyn, Kate Baron's daughter Amelia has apparently leapt from the roof by the time Kate arrives to pick her up. Then Kate gets an anonymous text message saying, "Amelia didn't jump".

A single mother juggling a demanding legal career, Kate is rocked with guilt and refuses to reconcile the out-of-character accusations leveled at the over-achieving, well-behaved Amelia. She searches through Amelia's e-mails, texts, and Facebook updates, piecing together the last troubled days of her daughter's life.

This stunning...page-turner brilliantly explores the secret world of teenagers, their clandestine first loves, hidden friendships, and the dangerous cruelty that can spill over into acts of terrible betrayal". A great YA crossover, and readalike for Mathilda Savitch by Victor Lodato.

This one, I liked a lot - Swimming at Night by Lucy Clarke.

"People go traveling for two reasons: because they are searching for something, or they are running from something". Katie's world is shattered by the news that her headstrong and bohemian younger sister, Mia, has been found dead at the bottom of a cliff in Bali, apparently a suicide, while on an impromptu around-the-world trip. With only the entries in Mia's travel journal as her guide, Katie leaves her sheltered life in London to retrace the last few months of her sister's life, and to uncover the mystery surrounding her death.

"Weaving together the exotic settings and suspenseful twists, Swimming at Night is a fast-paced, accomplished, and gripping debut novel of secrets, loss, and forgiveness".

"A great read for fans of smart contemporary women's fiction as well as thriller and mystery readers". Comparisons are inevitable with Rosamund Lupton's Sister.