Miguel Delaney and Nicky Bandini join Dotun for the final OTC transfer special of the summer, as Man United finalise a deal for one of Europe’s most exciting young strikers in Rasmus Højlund. But will the gamble be worth it? And what will he bring to Old Trafford? We’ve got all you need to know.

Plus, the Kylian Mbappé saga rolls on as Liverpool and Chelsea throw their respective hats in the ring. We also get to plenty of your questions, as we highlight some of our favourite under the radar moves across Europe. 

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May 19 – July 29, 2023

April 5 – July 30, 2023

As a response to challenges from the public and/or the state, several public libraries across the country have come to compromises with these bodies in terms of access to collection materials for minors. Among the compromises are library cards with age restrictions. In some facilities, all library cards for those under 18 have been made void and every child now needs to reapply for a new card with parental/guardian restriction choices on them. In other facilities, the new cards based on age are being implemented either when old cards expire or when a new card is requested. Age-restriction cards might look like limiting access to materials for those under 8 in one category, those in the 8-12 category, and/or those in the 12-18 category. Every library going this route is doing so a bit differently.

These cards not only go against everything a public library stands for, but they are a tool of censorship. And while it is a means of avoiding problems from the community or the state — so read this knowing most public libraries going this route are not doing so without a lot of thought — these age-restricted cards are opening up the potential for endless lawsuits at public libraries.

Although it is parents/guardians who will determine what card is appropriate for their child, that is where the parental responsibility ends. Now, every decision afterward falls explicitly on the public library. Knowing how litigious right-wingers pushing for such measures are, they, too, are fully aware that their “parental rights” arguments really mean they want to foist the real parental responsibilities off on underpaid, overworked, deeply battered public service workers like librarians (and educators, of course). Demanding a library create separate cards for different age groups and restrict certain materials based on those cards isn’t about parenting. It’s about ensuring you don’t actually have to parent. You get to sign off on a card and let the library handle it from there.

So for the libraries doing this, some questions.

What happens when a circulation worker miscategorizes one of the cards when a young person and their legal guardian signs up for one? This is not out of the realm of possibility in the least, particularly with how cumbersome such changes or modifications can be with an integrated library system (and especially if that system is shared among different libraries who are offering different “levels” of access). One wrong click and suddenly, right-wing mommy’s daughter, who is 16, has checked out Gender Queer, which is a no-no for card holders in the under 18 category. Who gets sued then? Is it the individual who made a mistake? Not likely; they won’t have money. It’ll be the library itself, putting the entire facility and its funding in a chokehold — again, this is precisely what that contingent of folks want to have happen.

Hi, Barbie! What books do you like to read? And what do those books say about who you are? This Barbie book quiz is designed to tell you exactly that. Are you more of a President Barbie or Mermaid Barbie? Maybe even Weird Barbie? We all have the Barbie we’d like to be, but which Barbie are we really?

Whether you loved the movie or just enjoy a good quiz, this Barbie quiz should give you a nice little serotonin boost. After all, Barbie (or at least the Barbie of the Barbie movie) is all about optimism and positivity. No matter which Barbie you get, it’s gonna be good news because all the Barbies are perfect! Well, except Weird Barbie, but we love her all the more for it.

Speaking of imperfect — at the time of writing, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are still fighting for fair wages and protections from the studios who continue to refuse to negotiate in good faith. Sounds like some serious corporate suits, if you ask me. *cue video of Mattel corporate riding the world’s longest tandem bike across the screen* Anyway, we all know which side of things Barbie would be on.

You can support the creatives and entertainers who make movies like Barbie possible through the Entertainment Community Fund.

Over the past couple of years, mental health has become a much more frequent topic of conversation. It’s refreshing to find more people discussing mental health with honesty, vulnerability, thoughtfulness, and care. While we still have a ways to go as a society, I’m thankful for how much visibility mental health has now and how the stigma surrounding mental health has lessened. The more people talk about mental health conditions like anxiety, the more the stigma will erode and people will feel less alone in their experiences.

When it comes to anxiety, there are a number of resources available to help teens and young adults, from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s online resource center for anxiety to Teen Line, The Youth Mental Health Project, and more. Another Rioter created this handy guide to workbooks and books about anxiety as well.

Fiction books featuring characters navigating mental health conditions like anxiety can also provide incredibly impactful representation, emotional validation, and healing. These stories can help readers feel seen in their experiences with anxiety. The young adult years are a particularly unique and tender time of life, and helping teens with anxiety find their experiences in books can be life changing. Below, I’ve gathered together a selection of YA books featuring characters with anxiety. I hope these books help you or a teen in your life feel comforted and less alone.

There’s something so romantic about road trips. There’s so much potential romance fodder. Two people alone in a car for hours, beautiful scenery changing outside (perhaps even as the character’s hearts change), tensions inevitably escalating over the course of the trip. Then there’s a disagreement about the playlist or snack choices or which route to take that pushes one person too far and the conflict explodes all over the inside of the windshield and even gets stuck in the cup holders. But there’s nowhere for the characters to go in this middle place. They aren’t home, they’re not at their destination yet, so the only choice is to deal with the messy emotions before the journey ends.

Just like when they have to unexpectedly make an overnight pit stop, the only choice is to share the last remaining bed the motel/inn/bed and breakfast has. It’s just good sense, as Sarah MacLean says. The forced proximity makes tough emotions that have been buried surface in an expedited way that not much else can.

Road trip romances put the main characters in a pressure cooker. There’s a firm end to this arrangement, and if they don’t figure out their feelings by the time they get where they are going, it might be too late.