The Thing About Leftovers -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“I like to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose.”  

~ Stephen King ~`

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

HERE you will find a character name generator. This could save a lot of time. 

Writers Helping Writers has a terrific post HERE on finding story holes. Check it out. 

Sandra Havriluk has a guest post on Fiction University HERE on using the five senses in your writing. It’s worth a read. 

Something very weird is going on with spacing this week. Please just ignore the wonky spacing and forgive the distraction!

Last week, I promised a gently-read copy of Dinosaur Dictionary for Kids by Bob Korpella. This week's winner is Greg Pattridge. Congratulations, Greg! If you don't know him, Greg is a Colorado middle-grade writer and teacher who blogs twice a week (I can hardly get one post done each week) at Always in the Middle and reviews middle-grade books and sometimes has giveaways. You can check out his blog HERE. Greg, I will get the book out to you this week. For the rest of you, stay tuned. I have another great giveaway this week.

Through my work for the San Francisco Book Review, I manage to get a lot of really great middle-grade novels to read. This week I'd like to tell you about The Thing About Leftovers by C. C. Payne. It's a terrific book that just came out in July. Here is the 5 -star review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.

Fizzy is 12 years old, not an easy age, and after her parents divorce, she and Mom move to a new town — a town where she has no friends, the wrong clothes, and hateful teachers. Dad gets remarried, and he and his wife start a new family. Then Mom is marrying Keene, and they want kids. Fizzy just isn’t enough of a family. She doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere and is just a leftover. When Keene moves in everything changes. Fizzy no longer gets to cook—her real passion—can’t leave any of her stuff out, and doesn’t even get to watch TV with Mom. But Fizzy tries to be perfect and not bother anyone. The only things that keep her going are her new friends, Miyoko and Zach, her Aunt Liz, and her desire to win a cooking contest. 

Author C. C. Payne has written a perfect story for middle-graders. It hits a lot of

C. C. Payne

things kids worry about most. The voice of Fizzy in this first-person narrative is pitch perfect. This may capture the experience of children of divorce better than any book out there and deserves readership beyond a middle-grade audience. A winner!                                                    I have a gently-read hardback 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.