This Post is CAKE -- a Review and a Giveaway

Thought for the day:

“It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.” ~William Faulkner~

A gift for my writer friends:

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

Click HERE for an absolutely great post on uses of commas from Grammar Girl. I hope all my critique partners read this one. It will save me a lot of scribbling. ;-)  

Find out about ten words to avoid when writing by clicking HERE.  

Wonderful post on getting the surprise into your story in a way that actually works can be found by clicking HERE.  

My daughter Maggie sent me something recently where I was able to sign up to get a message from the Universe each day. Sometimes they are silly. Sometimes they say just what I need to hear. This one is worth sharing. It came in last week and is a great reminder.

Whoohoooooo, Rosi! Guess what?

Everything, absolutely everything you've ever wanted, now lies within reach!

Of course... you still have to reach.

Tallyho,
    The Universe

If this sounds like fun to you, you can sign up and get your own daily messages by clicking HERE.

 

For my wonderful giveaway, the winner is Christie Wild! (Spin the Disco ball!) Christie is a teacher and writer who gives wonderful information for picture book writers on her blog and has an on-going contest for picture book manuscript critiques. Check it out by clicking HERE. Christie had extra chances in the drawing for linking my post of Facebook and Twitter. I guess sometimes you make your own luck. Christie, I will put the book in the mail right away. There will be another giveaway, so stay tuned and please leave comments to have a chance in the drawing.

 

This week’s book, Cake: Love, Chickens, and a Taste of Peculiar, is a charming story about a young girl in difficult circumstances. Wilma Sue was given up by her mother when she was only two weeks old. She has spent some time in different foster homes and some times in Miss Daylily’s Home for Children. Her last foster home family sent her back when they won the lottery and decided to take a trip around the world, one that would not include Wilma Sue. But Miss Tate, Wilma Sue’s Social worker, says she already has a new home for her and that she is a lucky girl.

When they arrive at the new home, it’s a big, ramshackle gray house in a small town, and her new family is made up of two elderly women who have spent much of their lives as missionaries in Africa. It’s kind of an odd placement, but Wilma Sue wants a home rather than going back to Miss Daylily’s, so she is going to try, although, when the sisters suggest she work with their chickens, Wilma Sue thinks they may have taken her in as a chicken slave.

The sisters are a bit odd. They make extraordinary cakes every time someone has a problem, and Wilma Sue notices extraordinary reactions to the cakes. She tries to discover the magic ingredients, but to no avail.

Soon Wilma Sue makes friends with a neighbor girl, Penny, but their friendship is sometimes contentious, and Wilma Sue can’t figure out what the problem is. And, in this small town, everyone seems to know everything that happens. Whenever Wilma Sue makes any kind of mistake, everyone seems to know about it. When something really terrible happens, all eyes are on Wilma Sue. She is worried she will be taken back to Miss Daylily’s and that no family will ever take her again.

Joyce Magnin

When I received this book for review, I discovered it was published by Zonderkids, a Christian imprint of HarperCollins. I worried it might have overwhelming religious messages, but while there are some overtones, they are simply that. It is a sweet coming-of-age novel with a great story, wonderful characters readers will come to love, and terrific writing by Joyce Magnin, not to mention an adorable cover. Middle-grade girls will love this one. You can have a chance to win my gently used hardback copy by leaving a comment below. 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. Christie Wild did that and she was this week’s winner!

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.