Sunday, September 30, 2012

Two Reviews -- When She was Good and Applewhites at Wit's End -- and One Giveaway



Thought for the day:

“There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.” 

~Charles Dickens~

A gift for my writer friends. Here are a couple of links I think you will find valuable.

Every Tuesday over at Literary Rambles, a blog written by Casey McCormick, you can find a writer's tip. The link I have here harkens back to the old “show don’t tell” chestnut, about which I wrote not so long ago myself. You can see that post by clicking HERE. The tip in Literary Rambles is a verrry interesting take and well worth your time. You might want to subscribe to Literary Rambles. I think it’s a blog that is always worth reading (and Casey gives away a LOT of books!) http://www.literaryrambles.com/2012/09/tip-tuesday-144.html

I found a great post on what makes a good query. Take a look if you’re trying to sell some writing: http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-write-great-query-letter-example.html

For my fabulous giveaway from last post, the winner is Debi! (Cue the confetti and balloon drop please!) Congratulations to you, Debi. I will be sending you a copy of Warriors in the Crossfire autographed by Nancy Bo Flood. It is terrific and I know you’ll enjoy it. I have another giveaway for today, so stay tuned.

Back in July of 2011, I reviewed The Lost Mother by Mary McGarry Morris. If you missed it, you can read it by clicking HERE. The reason I bring this up is because I read a book this week that had some commonalities with that book and the other book I mentioned in that review, She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb. There is something about a book that is so sad, nearly hopeless, that usually draws me in and pulls me reluctantly along through such a journey. When a friend told me recently she had heard an important publisher speak about a book at a conference and he actually choked up as he talked about the book, I thought I really had to read it. The book is When She Was Good by Norma Fox Mazer. I certainly had heard of Mazer, an incredibly prolific author of books for teens, but didn’t know this book. I went to the library and picked up a copy. It’s not a new book. It was published ten years ago, so it should be easy to find.

This tells the story of Em Thurkill, a young woman who has grown up in the most depressing of circumstances. Her father is an alcoholic who frequently beats her mother. Her mother suffers from debilitating depressive episodes. Em’s older sister Pamela is some kind of crazy, unbelievably mean to Em, and pretty much evil incarnate.

The book opens with Em buying a coffin for her sister.

I didn’t believe Pamela would ever die. She was too big, too mad, too furious for anything so shabby and easy as death. And for a few moments as she lay on the floor that day, I thought it was one of her jokes.

Mazer then sends the reader back to an earlier time to shine a painful light on Em’s early, tragic life. The story is told much in flashback and jumps around a bit. A lot of it seems to be a strange kind of stream of consciousness from Em’s point of view and leaves the reader wondering if Em is as crazy as the people around her. We witness tremendous loss, frustration, embarrassment, desertion, abuse, hunger, and abject poverty, but through it all, Em somehow keeps on keepin’ on, hoping somehow her life will improve. And it does.

After I read the book, I went to Amazon and read a bunch of reviews of the book. Most people love it, but some really disliked it. There was no ambivalence about this book. Except for me. I feel ambivalent about it. The writing is amazing. The story is heart-wrenching. Em is a sympathetic character, but I never felt like I was living in this story. And that, to me, is critical for me to love a book. School Library Journal says this is for grade 8 and up, Publishers Weekly says age 12 and up. I just don’t see this as a tween book. I’d be hard put to offer it to high schoolers, but mature ones could handle it. Do I recommend it? Well, I’m ambivalent about that.

Now because I hate to leave things on a down note, I’ll give you another quick review for a funny book that is definitely for tweens/middle graders. This is my review for Applewhites at Wit’s End, a review that was published by Sacramento Book Review.


Applewhites at Wit’s End

Posted in Tweens by - May 11, 2012
Applewhites at Wit’s End By Stephanie S. Tolan
HarperCollins, $15.99, 272 pages
ISBN 9780060579388
Randolph Applewhite returns home to North Carolina after directing a show in New York to announce to the family that all their money has been embezzled. The family is destitute and they will have to sell the  family homestead. The members of the extended family who live at Wit’s End are all artists of one kind or another and need their space and quiet to continue their creative endeavors. They finally come up with the idea of running a summer camp for creative prodigies. With all their diverse talents, they have no doubt they can run workshops to keep a dozen young people busy for eight weeks and restore enough of the family fortune to keep Wit’s End. What could possibly go wrong? First, they only get six campers, not the twelve they need to make a good profit. Then they meet the campers. This sequel to Surviving the Applewhites has the same cast of slightly crazy characters with the addition of six campers who fit right into the Wit’s End lunacy. It’s fun and silly and, other than the annoying baby-talk of young Destiny, this is a thoroughly enjoyable book for kids ten and up.


And this is the giveaway book. It’s fun and funny. So leave a comment and I’ll put your name in the hat for a nice hardcover copy of Applewhites at Wit's End. Blog, link on Facebook, or Tweet a link to my blog and let me know for an extra entry.

On the book giveaway, this is for U.S. only. Sorry, but it would be too expensive for me to send books out of the country. But please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. Remember, if you have trouble leaving a comment, click on the title of the post and it will give you just this post with a comments section on the bottom. Also, if you haven’t signed up by email, please do. Just look in the upper right-hand corner of this page, pop your email address in, and you will receive an email each time I put up a new post. Your information will not be shared with anyone.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Warriors in the Crossfire, a Review and Giveaway.



Thought for the day: 

 “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
~ W. Somerset Maugham ~

For all of my readers:

Every Sunday, another writer, Shannon Messenger, gathers together a list of blogs that review middle-grade books, many of which have giveaways. If you aren't familiar with her blog, check it out. It's always worth your while. 

http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/

For my fabulous, albeit late again, giveaway, the winner is Julie DeGuia! Congratulations to you, Julia. I will be sending you a copy of Black & White. It is simply a fantastic book, and I know you’ll enjoy it. I have another giveaway for today, so stay tuned.

I just returned this evening from Editor’s Day run by the Orange County/Long Beach/Riverside/San Bernardino region of SCBWI. Francesca Rusackas is the RA there and did a FABULOUS job with the workshop. Wowee, wowee! It was so good and so helpful to me, I can’t say enough about it. Loved it, loved it, loved it. But I did drive to Seal Beach and back (about 430 miles) by myself and am feeling pretty wrung out, but I am again overdue for my post, so I will dive in and get to it.



Back in April, I reviewed the fabulous book no name baby by Nancy Bo Flood. She had contacted me and asked if I’d do a review on my blog, and I was happy to oblige. If you missed reading about that book, you can click HERE and see that review. When she sent me a copy of the book, she also sent a copy of another novel she had written, Warriors in theCrossfire. I told her at the time I didn’t know when I could get to it, and she said she hoped I would enjoy it when I did. Well, I finally got around to reading it last month and would like to talk about it here.

Nancy is an incredible writer. Her prose is so lyrical, it is easy to simply get lost in the beauty of the writing. Her research is impeccable and, consequently, she transports the reader to another time and place as if by magic. And, if you ever have a chance to meet her, do. She is a kind and generous person who is happy to share her knowledge and expertise in writing.

Nancy Bo Flood
Warriors in theCrossfire takes place during World War II on the island of Saipan, an island that had been occupied by the Japanese for over twenty years. The native people of Saipan have lived under Japanese control and know who is in power, but they have peacefully co-existed through these years. The main character is Joseph, son of a chief and someone who has been accepted into the Japanese school. He wishes he could fight against the Japanese as his forefathers had and defies them sometimes, but it is really an impossible dream for him in this time and place. As the war threatens to come to the island, the Japanese force many of the island men into labor camps. Joseph’s father shows him some caves where provisions are hidden and instructs Joseph to take the family there if and when it becomes necessary. That necessity is sooner and more demanding than he can imagine. This young boy is forced to become a man as the responsibility for his family and others falls to him as the war reaches the shores of his homeland.

I love this book. First, it taught me about a piece of history about which I knew nothing. That is always a treat. But beyond that, it is an extremely powerful coming-of-age story with well-drawn, fully-rounded characters who are completely believable as they find themselves in nearly overwhelmingly difficult circumstances. And I can’t say this enough – the writing is drop-dead gorgeous, spare, and poetic. It is hard for me to believe this was Nancy’s debut novel. This is a book well worth your time to read.

I have a lovely autographed hard-back copy of Warriors in the Crossfire to give away. If you would like this wonderful book, leave a comment. If you post a link on Facebook or your own blog or some such sharing, let me know and I’ll put your name in a second time. Good luck!

On the book giveaway, this is for U.S. only. Sorry, but it would be too expensive for me to send books out of the country. But please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. Remember, if you have trouble leaving a comment, click on the title of the post and it will give you just this post with a comments section on the bottom. Also, if you haven’t signed up by email, please do. Just look in the upper right-hand corner of this page, pop your email address in, and you will receive an email each time I put up a new post. Your information will not be shared with anyone.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Black and White Review and Giveaway


Thought for the day:  You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children. ~Madeleine L’Engle~


Joyce Moyer Hostetter
A gift for my writer friends. I have a few links I think are really worth checking out. The first is for Joyce Moyer Hostetter’s blog. Joyce has three spectacular books published and now she has all three book trailers up on her blog. Take a look at what she has put together. If you aren’t familiar with her wonderful books, you can take a look at the trailers and become fascinated. If you are interested in how to make a great book trailer, these are terrific examples.


Who doesn’t need a few rules for writing? The New York Times ran an article recently with the humble title of “How to Write,” by Colson Whitehead. The subtitle says “The art of writing can be reduced to a few simple rules. I share them with you now.” Like I said, humble. But there is some good stuff in here. Take a look.


For my fabulous, albeit late again, giveaway, the winner is J. M. Naszady! Congratulations to you, J. M. I will be sending you a copy of Liar & Spy. I think you will love it. I know I did. I have another giveaway for today, so stay tuned.

I have been busy, busy, busy with some writing projects and with my teaching responsibilities. Today my daughter mentioned she was going to put up a blog post while she had her iPhone in  her hand, then she said she was done!  I asked her if she already had it written, and she told me that sometimes she just posts a beautiful photo. I might just do that now and again when I’m really busy. But for this week, I’m going to post a book review that I wrote for the Sacramento Book Review a while back and offer a copy of the wonderful book I reviewed. It’s a great book and I know you will be interested. So here we go.

Black and White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene “Bull” Connor

Posted in the Sacramento Book Review January 04, 2012

5 Star Review
Black and White: The Confrontation of Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene ''Bull'' Connor
By Larry Dane Brimner
Boyds Mills Press, $16.95, 80 pages
ISBN 9781590787663
The civil rights movement had a long, torturous path, but with all its twists and turns it traveled often, and importantly, through Birmingham, Alabama. While the name Martin Luther King, Jr. immediately comes to mind when thinking of the movement, others who are often forgotten greatly influenced the successful conclusion of the movement. Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth is one of those. It was he who stood strong in a leadership role facing off against Eugene “Bull” Connor, stringent segregationist and city commissioner in charge of police and firemen in Birmingham during that time. The struggle was long, difficult, and often brutal.
“Bombings were not unusual in Birmingham. Since the 1940s, dynamite had been set off at more than forty black homes and churches, earning the city its nickname: ‘Bombingham.’”
Larry Dane Brimner, author of Birmingham Sunday, tells the story of the fight for freedom and rights in Birmingham with a fascinating, well-researched text. It is presented powerfully in a large format with plenty of supporting archival photographs and newspaper articles. The design of black-and-white photographs and text on black, red, and white pages a perfect configuration for this important story of the battle for freedom and rights and the people who sacrificed for it, emblematic of a time of shame in our country followed by triumph by those in the civil rights movement.

I can’t recommend this book enough. As kids study our county’s history, this period is one of the most relevant and fascinating. The books is beautifully written and designed and will keep everyone, kids and adults alike, turning the pages.

I’ll try to get back to more regular posting and announce the winner soon. If you would like this great book, leave a comment. If you post a link on Facebook or your own blog or some such sharing, let me know and I’ll put your name in a second time. Good luck!

On the book giveaway, this is for U.S. only. Sorry, but it would be too expensive for me to send books out of the country. But please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. Remember, if you have trouble leaving a comment, click on the title of the post and it will give you just this post with a comments section on the bottom. Also, if you haven’t signed up by email, please do. Just look in the upper right-hand corner of this page, pop your email address in, and you will receive an email each time I put up a new post. Your information will not be shared with anyone.