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/
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.
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| 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
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