Hero by Sarah Lean -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

"To finish is sadness to a writer, a little death. He puts the last word
down and it is done. But it isn't really done. The story goes on and
leaves the writer behind, for no story is ever done.”
~ John Steinbeck ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Writer’s Digest has an excellent article HERE on why character must be the heart of your novel.

Adventures in YA Publishing has a great post HERE with forty questions to ask when you get that long-awaited call from an agent.

Some important reminders HERE about how to keep a critique group running smoothly. 

Last week, I offered a my ARC of Moonpenny Island by Tricia Springstubb to one of you. The lucky winner this week is Natalie Aguierre. Congratulations, Natalie! I will be getting the book out to you this week. If you don't know Natalie, she is an aspiring MG and YA fantasy writer and shares blogging duties with another writer at Literary Rambles. They run a lot of reviews, author interviews, other useful things for writers, and have a ton of giveaways. Click on the title to visit their blog. You really shouldn't miss it. I have another giveaway this week, so stay tuned. 

I have spent the last ten hours at a baseball field about an hour from our house watching our grandson play hard and have a lot of fun with a team other than his regular team that asked him to help them out this weekend. Today they played three games and we were there for all of them and all the time in between. My brain is fried. I'd love to write some brilliant new thing for you, but I'll be lucky if I can cut and paste correctly, but I'll try. Here is the review I wrote for San Francisco Book Review for Hero by Sarah Lean. I like her books and reviewed A Hundred Horses just about a year ago. If you missed it, click HERE to read that review. Here is my review for Hero.

Leo Biggs has a huge imagination, and when he imagines himself a gladiator, he simply can’t be beaten. When he tries to join the popular group of boys at school, they make him prove himself by doing despicable things. When the boys hurt Leo’s neighbor’s dog, Jack Pepper, Leo takes Jack home and tells people he saved Jack from the pond, when it was really Jack Pepper who had helped Leo. Once that lie has been told, it takes on a life of its own, leaving Leo to live in the shadow his lie has thrown. Leo tries to find ways back from the bad place he’s in, but things seem to get worse, and when there is a sinkhole in the middle of town, Jack Pepper disappears. Leo feels responsible, but does he have what it takes to really rescue Jack?

“I felt like a gladiator on his knees in the sand without a shield, waiting for a stronger gladiator

to deliver a killer blow.”

Sarah Lean has written a story that will resonate with younger middle-graders.

Sarah Lean

A lot of kids will feel a kinship with the imaginative young Leo. Jack Pepper is a nearly magical dog kids will really love. Some parts of the story stretch credulity a bit far, but overall this is a good book that will please young readers.

I have a gently-read ARC of Hero 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.

Review & Giveaway of A Hundred Horses

Thought for the Day:


“A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it is to be God.” ~ Sidney Sheldon~

Some Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Writers Helping Writers has a great guest post by Julie Musil about softening hard characters. She also links to an article by Angela Ackerman on 8 ways to make your character more plausible. Double whammy right HERE for the reading. Don’t miss this one. 

A friend of a friend posted this on Facebook. If you want to be sure a phrase or word you are using in your writing was used in the period about which you are writing, you can check it with Ngram. Click HERE for the link. But be careful. This could become a huge time waster if you aren’t careful. 

 

The Write Practice has a couple of articles with practice worth looking at. Click HERE for their article about writing Dialogue. Click HERE for their article on using close third person to get close to your characters.  

Last week, I offered a signed copy of Sure Signs of Crazy by Karen Harrington to one of my lucky readers. It pays to spread the word for extra chances. Our winner is Carol Federline Baldwin. WooHoo, Carol! Thanks for spreading the word. For those of you who don't know Carol, she is a teacher and writer from North Carolina and blogs at the aptly named Carol Baldwin's Blog, which  you can find by clicking HERE. Hop on over there to find out more about her. Carol, I will be sending your book out this week. If you did not win, please keep reading. I have another giveaway this week.

A couple months ago, I read a book called A Hundred Horses by Sarah Lean for review for the San Francisco Book Review. It's a charming book and here is my review from SFBR.

Nell is lonely. She misses her father and, though Nell’s mother tries to fill her days, Nell is unhappy. She joins every club her mother suggests, but is still an outsider. She is looking forward to spring vacation with her grandmother, but everything changes. Nell is to be sent to stay with her Aunt Liv, someone she hardly knows, for two weeks. When getting her suitcase from the attic, she discovers a case with pieces of a toy carousel her father had made for her. She takes it with her. While trying to sneak it into her aunt’s house, Nell is almost run down by a horse, and a mysterious girl steals the case, but Nell can’t tell anyone because she isn’t supposed to have it. After her encounter, her young cousins tell Nell a story of a hundred horses. Nell begins a journey from being a lonely outsider to discovering the magic inside herself and all around her.

“Even in the pale light I saw the disappointment in Angel’s eyes. I felt like I had betrayed everything she’s shown me, interrupted some magic.”

Sarah Lean has written a story that will enchant young readers with all things that girls like best—horses, mystery, magic, and charming characters in most interesting circumstances. This is a winner.

Jerry Lee

This is a quick one tonight. I'm running late because we went to see the wonderful Jerry Lee at Sacramento Theatre Company this evening in Closer Than Ever, a show we love. If you are in or near Sacramento, don't miss this one. It's funny and poignant and full a terrific music. And Jerry Lee's voice will knock your socks off!


I promised another give away and I will not disappoint. I have a gently-read ARC of A Hundred Horses for one of you. (U. S. addresses only please.) You need to be a subscriber or a follower (easy and free -- in the right-hand column you can join as a follower or subscribe by email) and leave a comment. If you would like to spread the word, as our winner Carol did, post the link to this post on Facebook or tweet it out or use any other social media. Just tell me how and where you spread the word, and I will put your name in the hat extra times for each that you do.

Don't forget to check out Shannon Messenger's blog for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday books. Just click HERE to check it out.