Brief

Headstrong paraplegic Molly Alvin decides to run for US Senate, having grown fed up with the poisonous and racist organizations that have been given credence by the Reagan administration’s broadcast deregulations. As Molly heads off to Washington, we flash back to a year-by-year account of her childhood and coming-of-age, where we get to know Molly as a child prodigy with firm and noble convictions, following her civic engagement, service, and young love— All of which informs her ambition to run for office.

What We Liked

Among this work’s various appeals are its highly sympathetic lead, it's important themes, and its occasionally poignant and affecting drama. For one thing, Molly is a memorable and effective lead— She is not just fun to watch due to her immense intellect, but she is also easy to root for given her staunchly rooted good intentions. Off of that, this work is valuable in that it makes a conscious and consistent effort to relay positive messages to its audience— Not only is this work steeped in the importance of perseverance, but it also has numerous social and political commentaries regarding acceptance and the dangers of misinformation that could not be more timely. Lastly, this work feature a number of wrenching dramatic beats that promise to impact the audience, from the opening tragedy to the death of Bonnie, this work is intent on pulling at your heart strings.

Film: This would be a solid candidate for adaptation to film just the same. For one thing, this work is empowered by its moral conscience— This work has no limit to lessons is strives to teach its audience, and its themes squarely echo many of our nation’s greatest issues, mainly intolerance and misinformation. All in all, it would be a great service to the young audience to imbue them with the examples of justice and injustice, tolerance and intolerance. Of course, none of this is to consider that the author writes a protagonist that constitutes an ideal vehicle for a young star — There are many pivotal dramatic beats that will prove to entice top talent.

TV: This would be a solid candidate for adaptation to the small screen in that its story spans decades, and its themes are broad enough to where the long format would not get tiresome.
What is interesting and compelling about this work also is that it has a wealth of fertile supporting characters, from Bonnie’s mother to her birth family to Molly’s father Willis who works on secretive projects at Roswell. This is not even to consider the radio world with is constantly in our periphery. Finally, what stands out as especially virtuous about this work is its open-ended ending— It truly does not feel like the end of Molly’s story, but rather the beginning. We merely glaze over her Senatorial career, and it feels like that story could sustain its own TV season on its own, not to mention the looming presidential campaign and likely tenure.

Key points:
1. The themes — This work has messages and themes that are as timely and well-meaning as they come.
2. The lead — Molly Alvin is as memorable as she is likable as she is interesting.
3. The ending — Almost frustratingly, the author leaves us with a massive cliffhanger. It bodes well for further development and stories to be told— The audience will demand to know Molly’s story as she sets out to become President herself.
4. The love story — The development of the Bonnie/Molly love connection is as patient and sure-handed as ever.
5. The drama — Molly faces no shortage of obstacles in this work, from her racist teacher, to her lost love, to her paralysis.

Synopsis

Molly Alvin slowly awakens in a hospital bed to find out she’s suffered a savage injury— A burning branch had crashed down on her during a fire that ravaged her city. Molly soon finds out that she will forever be paralyzed from the waist down. However, she has an indefatigable spirit, thanks in part to her loyal and loving friends and family. Molly reflects on the events that have led to such a catastrophe and on the harmful percolating trends in her life thus far that have resulted in the malice that paralyzed her and killed many of her friends and community members. She traces the root cause of the fire back to Fred Handson, program director of the K-River Radio station— A distasteful man who took advantage of the Reagan administration’s broadcast deregulations to enable the sowing of hate and misinformation. In Molly’s eyes, the changes implemented by Handson resulted in a deterioration of the moral fabric of the community and a rapidly declining faith in broadcast radio as a daily life and news guide. With that, Molly steels herself and presents to her friend and family a new ambition for herself— An initiative to run for US Senate with the key agenda to restore the Fairness in Broadcasting Doctrine that Reagan had struck down.
With that, we jump back to Molly’s childhood and coming-of-age. First, we learn about the kinship of Molly’s parents Michelle and Willis, a brainy man who shares is passion for astronomy with a young Molly, often taking her to view the planets in the night sky. We follow as Molly enters grade school, quickly standing out for her profound, prodigious intelligence, and we learn of her gift to compartmentalize knowledge across unending paradigms, essentially making her a chess master for critical thinking, so to speak. Molly routinely earns the respect and admiration of her peers, often helping them out in the classroom. One day, Molly becomes fast friends with Mexican immigrant Bonnie, and the two become inseparable. Bonnie is a compassionate and supportive young woman, and the two bond over nursing a mistreated mare back to health.
Soon, though, their relationship blossoms into something more as Bonnie kisses Molly, and the two confess their budding romantic feelings for one another. However, all is not well in River City— With the Reagan administration having rescinded the fairness doctrine, it gives rise to a number of bad actors and bad influences in town. Moreover, the community’s faith and reliance on radio has waned— What was once a unifying and informational beacon is now muddied.
One malignant figure is Mr. Bolton— An intensely unpleasant man who tries to bully and intimidate Molly and her classmates with his infatuation with the Confederacy. In an impressive show of character, Molly stands up to him and sends him to the principal’s office, of all things!
Molly continues to be a leader in her community in spite of the misinformation broadcasters and growing racial ire— Some bad actors even set a cross on fire in town. Molly leads by example, advocating for a women’s soccer team in the face of misogynistic naysayers, caring for animals, and representing her informed beliefs on broadcast regulations in formal debate, even winning the state debate with the help of Bonnie! Molly is a rising star, but tragedy strikes when Bonnie dies suddenly in her sleep...
Years pass after Bonnie’s death, with Molly biding her time nurturing the horse and living a mostly quiet life, arguably under-achieving given her next-level intelligence. After the fire, as noted, Molly has a bit of an epiphany— She decides to run for a US Senate seat, with the intent to restore the Fairness in Broadcasting Doctrine. Although facing an insurmountable challenge in seeking to replace a sitting Senator, the Senator announces his retirement and even endorses Molly for his seat’s vacancy despite being of the opposite political party— An unprecedented move in American politics. In the Senate, Molly is a force for good, earning the respect of her esteemed colleagues. However, her proposal to restore the Doctrine fails by a single vote.
However, Molly is resolved— She’ll just have to run for President herself to get the job done...

About The Author

After an influential, decades-long career as a radio DJ and programmer, Kim “Kid” Curry was forced into retirement in 2005 after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. With that, Curry turned his passion for communications and storytelling to prose, with his debut book, a memoir titled Come Get Me Mother, I’m Through!, followed by his debut fiction novel, The Death of Fairness. Bonnie’s Law is his third book.