Mascots

by Francis Owen Drewrey

The people of Morgan Springs, an affluent university community, take great pride in their town and regard it as a beacon of progressivism in their state. When a group calling itself Occupy Morgan Springs takes over a public plaza on an October morning, the townspeople and their leaders are thrilled. They see it as only fitting that the national Occupy Wall Street movement would establish itself in their town and they welcome the young occupiers with open arms. Soon enough, the occupiers begin to pursue their agenda for building a better society and the town will be tested. What will Morgan Springs' residents learn about the occupiers? What will the residents learn about themselves?

122 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2014

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I liked the length as it was a short little jaunt into deeper thinking. The most interesting character to me was Linda. Her fingers hovered over doing what's right, but sadly she chose another path. It was a great commentary on the drama of online politics and left me thinking about how what you say and do online will effect what you say and do in real life. And I think people give very little thought to that. I loved how the author wrapped everything up and agreed wholeheartedly with his conclusions. The drawbacks of a "novella" length story, however, are that you miss out on so much of the thoughts behind a character's action...and I craved more back story about each one. Overall, I enjoyed this book and think it is well worth anyone's afternoon to read and ponder with a glass of wine. Surely, it is a red wine book!

[Lee Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a smart, funny and insightful look at the motivations, actions and unintended consequences of the progressive movement. Perhaps more important is the examination of those who feel in their gut that something isn't right, but they fail to do the right thing, or they do speak up, but are too easily silenced or even co-opted by intimidation tactics and peer pressure. I want to read anything this author writes!

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda defines our society, unfortunately

When group acceptance trumps core values, the moral fiber of communities breaks down without resistance. The community didn’t know they needed “radical change” until the occupiers came to town. However, most of the town subsequently supported the movement in the name of progress; they got their change. Did it create the utopia they were promised?

A quick and compelling read, this book illustrates the twisting of narratives by the media to give favorable coverage to “trendy” movements, the hollow and subsequently unattainable goals of the activists and the resulting fallout within a formerly cohesive, peaceful community.

I would love to read a sequel to this book, and discover the aftermath of the events. I’d also recommend this book as a read-aloud for tweens and teens.

[AJ Kelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly not sure what to think of this story. But I didn’t enjoy it.