My Cousin's Keeper -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“A children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is

a bad children’s story.”
~ C.S.Lewis ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Aerogramme Writer’s Studio has a post HERE on revision called Polish Your Prose: An Editorial Cheat Sheet. It’s good.

Writer’s Digest published a great article by Elizabeth Sims HERE on how to add suspense to your story.

Kathy Temean at Writing and Illustrating has a great post HERE with tips for querying agents. 

Last week I offered a gently-read hardback copy of The Secret of Tree Taylor by Dandi Daley Mackall. This week's winner is Debi. Congratulations, Debi. WooHoo for you! I will get the book into the mail this week. Thanks for playing. I do have another giveaway this week, so stay tuned. 

I have an interesting book this week. I don't get a lot of books for review written by Australian authors, but I have one this week. It is My Cousin's Keeper by Simon French. Here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.

Kieran is eleven years old and wants more than anything to fit in with the cool kids at his school. His best friend Connor had moved away, and since then Kieran has made some progress working his way in with the boys he wants to hang around with. But then his weird cousin, Bon, shows up at his school. Bon dresses strangely, wears his hair in a long braid, and draws and writes all the time. Bon becomes a target for the bullies, the very boys Kieran wants to befriend. Another new student shows up around the same time. Her name is Julia. She is different and mysterious, and everyone wants to be friends with her, but she has chosen Bon. The bullies enlist Kieran to help with their campaign against Bon, and Kieran’s life is in turmoil. It’s hard to choose the right path.

“The picture became a little clearer. Bon’s mom did not want him,or else could not look after him.”

Simon French has written a book that touches on many themes that will resonate with middle-graders – bullying, jealousy, friendship, family dynamics,

Simon French

and more. The story is interesting and will keep kids turning pages, although American readers may have trouble relating to some things typical of Simon’s native Australia.

I have a gently-read hardcover copy of this book for one of you. To win, all you need do is have a US address, be a subscriber or follower and tell me that in a comment you leave on this post. If you are reading this in your email, click HERE to go to the blog so you can leave a comment. If you would like extra chances, please spread the word by posting the link on a Tweet, blog post, Facebook, or any other way you like. Let me know what you have done in your comment, and I will put in extra chances for you for each that you do.

Don't forget to check out Shannon Messenger's wonderful blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways.