A Review of Odette's Secret and a Surprise Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.” ~Linus Pauling~

Here are some links that I think you will find valuable:

For a good article on creating emotional frustration with GREAT examples and good exercises, click HERE.  

Want to know how to develop any idea in to a great story? Click HERE for a good article on that. 

Click HERE for a terrific article on turning any story idea into a great story. 

The winner of this week’s drawing for a Kindle copy of The Treekeepers, (Hold your breath now!) is Carol Baldwin!! Carol is a writing teacher and blogger extraordinaire. You can find her blog HERE, and it is worth your time to go. Carol, I will be in touch about getting your Kindle copy or The Treekeepers to you. If you didn’t win, read on. There will be another giveaway this week.

A couple years ago when I went to my first retreat with Carolyn Yoder at the Highlights Foundation, one of the new friends I made was Ann Ingalls, a writer of extraordinary talent. She  told us about her then-new picture book, The Little Piano Girl, which she had co-written with her equally-talented sister, Maryann MacDonald. If you haven’t seen this charming book, you really should get it. Ann and I have stayed in touch. She helps me with my poems sometimes and we talk writing. Recently she mentioned her sister had a new middle-grade book written in verse, Odette’s Secrets. I decided I’d better order it up and give it a read. I’m so glad I did.

This is the story of a young Jewish girl living in Paris with her mother and father. The Nazi’s invade the city and everything changes. Odette’s father joins the French Army and her mother becomes part of the Resistance. It was bad enough to have her father gone, but soon her mother sends Odette with some other children to the country to live with strangers in order to be safe. There she must keep secret that she is Jewish. She goes to school, makes friends, and even goes to mass at the local church. Her life, while so different from life in Paris, is really wonderful. After some time, her mother has to escape Paris and is reunited with Odette. They move to another small village and, again, Odette makes friends and seems to fit in. She even teaches her mother what to do in mass so no one will know they are Jewish. But is all this enough to keep them safe in these terrible times?

I pick wildflowers for Mary’s altar.

Then I take off my rubber sandals

and wade into the water to look for frogs.

But a sound behind me makes me jump—is it the cows?

No, it’s the village children marching toward me.

One look tells me they’re not here to play.

They look like farmers ready to chop down a big tree.

I can't recommend Odette's Secrets enough. Based on real happenings and people, it is a beautiful, powerful book that will take you to a time and place we all know much about, but the perspective is very different from anything else I’ve read. The voice is so authentic, you will hear little Odette's voice in your head, gentle French accent and all. MacDonald’s writing is lyrical and spare, but carries a great deal of potency.

Maryann MacDonald, photo taken by
Stefan Falke

There is a fantastic interview with Maryann MacDonald on Barbara The Whole Megillah. Barbara’s blog is always really worth your time, but especially this edition. Click HERE to read the interview on Barbara Krasner’s incredible blog. You might also want to check out Maryann MacDonald's site and learn more about her and her MANY books. Click HERE to go to her site.

I can’t bring myself to give away Odette’s Secrets, but I always keep my promises, so I have another middle-grade book to offer for this week’s drawing. It’s The Fourth Stall Part III – a gently-read ARC. You can see my review of it for the Sacramento Book Review by clicking HERE. You won’t believe the concept of this series. It’s pretty darned funny.

Don’t forget to stop by Shannon Messenger’s wonderful blog for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday links. Click HERE to find it.

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.           

The Treekeepers -- A Review and Giveaway

Thought for the day:

 

“There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.”  ~M. Proust~

A gift for my writer friends:

 

 Here are some links I think you will find valuable – three great ones this week.

If you want to know how to avoid automatic rejection from agents and editors, click HERE. 

For a post on generating ideas, click HERE. 

Click HERE for a post that is something of an idea factory. 

For my wonderful giveaway, the winner is Jess@Fairday’s Blog! (Cue the trumpets!) Jess is involved with an interesting blog. You might want to take a look. Check it out by clicking HERE.  Jess, expect an email from me. As soon as I hear from you, I will send your information to the publicist, who will be getting your copy of  Deadweather and Sunrise to you.

 

Last year, a woman in one of my critique groups, Susan Britton, mentioned she was thinking of “doing something” with a book of hers, The Treekeepers, that had gone out of print, the rights reverting to her. I borrowed a copy from her and found it to be quite wonderful. Last week I asked her about it, and she told me the book is now available as a Kindle book, so I thought I would tell you about it. Susan generously offered to give away a Kindle copy to a winner here this week. So stayed tuned for a chance to win this wonderful fantasy.

Bird is an orphan. Life is a struggle for her, but then it is for everyone in the town of Graynok since the evil Lord Rendarren had conquered it. Those who could had fled, leaving only the poorest behind. Bird helped care for tiny Piper, whose mother was a beggar. Now Piper was sick with cat’s fever and would surely die. Bird, at great risk to herself, goes at night in search of Farwender, the only person she believed might help. When she finds Farwender, he has a strange animal with the head of a lion and a tail that is a venomous snake. It’s a chimera named Ally, and he accompanies Bird and Farwender, who also takes a kitten named Finder and a small crystal vial with a golden liquid. It is a magical elixir called Thalasse and more rare than gold or diamonds.

Thalasse had once been available for anyone. It came from a magical tree, but that tree had been destroyed by Lord Rendarren. Farwender takes Bird with him when he returns to the barren hills. There she will live with a woman named Soladin who has other orphans living with her. It is there Bird discovers she is the Opener Child, long prophesied as the one would can open the locket which holds the one Thalasse tree seed left in the world. With this gift comes great risk to Bird and great responsibility.

“The children waited silently in the brush until long after the hoofbeats died away. Bird and Stoke kept holding hands. Finally the orphans felt safe enough to head down into the canyon to see what was left of their home. Night had fallen, and a round moon pushed its belly up from behind the hills. The fires were still busy, finishing their work.”

Susan McGee Britton

Bird and the other orphans begin the journey of their life with Ally at their sides. Their task is to take the Thalasse seed to a place where it can be safely grown. They must protect it from Lord Rendarren. It is a long, dangerous, and arduous journey, but these brave children are willing to take on the forces of evil for the greater good.

I’ve said a few times on this blog that I don’t really like fantasy, but I keep finding fantasy books I like! This is one of my favorite books, not just fantasy books, but over-all favorites. The characters and story became very real for me as I’m sure they will for you. This is a winner and one of you can be the winner of the ebook.

You can have a chance to win Kindle copy of TheTreekeepers. If you are not yet a follower, please become one and tell me that. I will put your name in twice. If you are already a follower, thank you very much, let me know and I will put your name in twice. You can receive extra chances by linking to this post on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or other social media and tell me you are doing that.

Don’t forget to stop by Shannon Messenger’s wonderful blog for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday links. Click HERE to find it.

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.          

Deadweather and Sunrise -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the day:

"We don't turn to story to escape reality. We turn to story to navigate reality."

-~Lisa Cron of Writer Unboxed~

A gift for my writer friends:

 Here are some links I think you will find valuable – three great ones this week.

Tempted to use song lyrics in your writing? Make sure you check out this very useful post on the problems that come with song lyrics by clicking HERE.

Kristen Lamb’s blog is really worth reading. She is funny, smart, and gives lots of great writing information. Click HERE for her post on five tips for tighter, cleaner writing. 

Click HERE for Writer’s Digest article on the Two Pillars of Novel Writing: 

 

For my wonderful giveaway, and autographed copy of Cake, the winner is Books4Learning! (Cue the balloon drop!) Books4Learning is a blog run by an anonymous teacher and reader. She also runs lots of book reviews and maybe she will add this blog to her blog roll! Hope so. Check out her blog by clicking HERE. Books4Learning, look for an email from me about getting the book to you.

 

I was contacted a while back by a publicist asking if I would be interested in reviewing the first two books in a middle-grade series called The Chronicles of Egg. I’m always looking for books for my reviews, so it seemed like a good offer. The publicist also offered to host a giveaway of each of these two books on my blog for readers in the US and Canada. I don’t send to Canada – it’s too expensive for me – so this is especially attractive. So check at the end of this post to see how to have a chance to win the first book in this series.

I must tell you, when I received my copies of the books, I wasn’t too sure it was quite my cup of tea. I could tell from the cover (which I really like, by the way) that fantasy would be involved, and you know that isn’t a genre I usually read. Although I must admit, I am becoming more of a fan the more I read it. But the first book in The Chronicles of Egg series, Deadweather and Sunrise, is a rollicking good adventure, and I loved every bit of it.

Egbert Masterson is a thirteen-year-old boy living in pretty dreary circumstances. The island of Deadweather lives up to its name – it is sticky-humid, hot, with hardly a breeze for relief. Egg’s family consists of a completely detached father, no mother, a nasty older brother who enjoys nothing more than making Egg’s life miserable, and a mean-spirited older sister who takes her unhappiness out on Egg. The closest thing to someone who cares are a couple of pirates who work for Egg’s father doing cooking and other chores around the ugly fruit plantation owned by Masterson.

Geoff Rodkey

Egg’s father seems particularly preoccupied and suddenly announces he will take the family to Sunrise Island the next day. Although the family normally goes there a couple times a year, they’ve never done it precipitously. At Sunrise, an elegant place where this family doesn’t seem to fit, Masterson says he has to see his lawyer and the kids should get some food from street vendors while he does. When he comes out, he seems much more upbeat and offers to take them to get a real meal at a nice restaurant. While there, they are invited be the guests of a wealthy, prominent man, Roger Pembroke for dinner. He seems very interested in learning more about Masterson’s business. Everyone is flattered by their treatment. Pembroke takes the whole family to his home and entertains them there. He introduces them to his lovely wife and young, beautiful daughter, Millicent. Egg is smitten. Pembroke offers the family a hot-air balloon ride, but they are too heavy, so first their tutor is put out, then Egg jumps out to allow the balloon to go up. The tethers do not hold and the balloon floats off into the evening, never to be seen again.

Pembroke spends a lot of time talking to Egg about papers his father had brought to show his lawyer. Egg knows little about it, but shares what he does. Pembroke offers to adopt the poor orphaned Egg, but when Egg realizes that would make him Millicent’s brother, and a brother cannot marry a sister, he refuses. Pembroke’s attitude changes and he sends Egg on an errand with one of his men, who tries to kill Egg. Egg escapes and Millicent helps him to get safely off the island. This is where the adventure really begins. We have pirates – bad ones and not-quite-so-bad ones – a quest for great treasure, a clever, loyal friend for Egg, and strange places and people along his journey.

"I might have been able to outrun him, back to the porch where I could pick up a gun and defend myself, if I’d focused on the knife and not his face. But the face froze me in place, baffled, unable to believe what I was looking at was real."

But what really carries this story is the voice of young Egg. He tells his remarkable story in a most authentic thirteen-year-old boy’s voice and draws the reader in, never letting go until the end of this book. One of the best things about reading this book was that I already had book two of the series in my hands, because I just couldn’t wait to get to it. I’ll be reviewing that one when it comes out in May and you’ll have a chance to win that as well. This is a really fun, engaging series. Boys will love these books, but I think girls will as well. To paraphrase Roger Ebert, I give this both thumbs way up. It’s fun and exciting and will generate loyal readers.

You can have a chance to win paperback copy of Deadweather and Sunrise. If you are not yet a follower, please become one and tell me that. I will put your name in twice. If you are already a follower, thank you very much, let me know and I will put your name in twice. You can receive extra chances by linking to this post on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or other social media and tell me you are doing that. You can also receive an extra entry by following Geoff Rodkey on Facebook  or Twitter and telling me that as well. (If you click on the words Facebook and Twitter, you go to the appropriate link.)

Don’t forget to stop by Shannon Messenger’s wonderful blog for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday links. Click HERE to find it.