The Write Stuff: The Girl in the Torch

Showing posts with label The Girl in the Torch. Show all posts

Sunday, September 20, 2015

The Safest Lie -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

"You can fix anything but a blank page."

~ Nora Roberts ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

I have been saving this one for quite awhile. So just in time for Halloween writing: Adventures in YA Publishing has a great post up called How to Write Scary by Gretchen McNeil. I know I would like to be better at writing scary. Click HERE to give it a read.

Aerogramme Writers’ Studio has a post by Patti Frazee called Who is Your Boo Radley? Finding Characters Who Motivate You to Write. Click HERE for a very worthwhile post.

Rachelle Gardner has a great post on creating a compelling book title HERE. This is something a lot of us struggle with. I know I do.

Last week, I offered a gently-read ARC of The Girl in the Torch by Robert Sharenow to one of you. It was nice to see poet Liz Steinglass pop in and leave a comment, and it was her name that popped out of the hat. Congratulations, Liz! If you aren't familiar with Liz or her work, hop on over to her page HERE and check it out. Liz, I will get your book out to you this week. For the rest of you, I do have another great giveaway this week.

When I choose the books I review for the San Francisco Book Review, I always

keep my eyes open for good historical fiction. Even though I reviewed one last week, I can't resist reviewing another this week. Angela Cerrito wrote a wonderful middle-grade historical that came out this summer called The Safest Lie. Here is the five-star review I wrote.

Life in the Warsaw Ghetto is almost unimaginable, even for those living it. Nine-year-old Anna Bauman is shocked each time she sees the number of people begging for crumbs from those who have so little. Her mother tells her she must become someone else and begins teaching her Catholic prayers and the life history of a girl named Anna Karwolska, who Anna is to become. Soon a young woman smuggles Anna out of the Ghetto and to a Catholic orphanage. There for three years, she witnesses the huge sacrifices the nuns make to shelter and protect children from the despicable acts of Nazis. From the orphanage she is moved to a Polish farm family, always keeping her secret, always being Ana Karwolska, always praying to rejoin her parents.

“I must not forget being Anna Bauman. Remembering my real self is a bright flame of truth inside me.”

Angela Cerrito has written a powerful story in honor of and based on the life of

Angela Cerrito

Irena Sendler, a woman who worked with the resistance to save thousands of Jewish children. Cerrito traveled to Poland to meet with Sendler and to research for this book. All that work shows. This is historical fiction at it’s very best and deserves readership far beyond its targeted middle-grade audience.

I have a very gently-read ARC 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.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

The Girl in the Torch -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

"Don't quit. It's very easy to quit during the first 10 years. Nobody cares whether you write or not, and it's very hard to write when nobody cares one way or the other. You can't get fired if you don't write, and most of the time you don't get rewarded if you do. But don't quit."

~ Andre Dubus ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

WritinGeekery has quite an interesting post HERE entitled Rock Your First Chapter, No Excuses. It’s a good one.

The Writer’s Circle has a good article HERE on words you should banish from your writing. Yes, BANISH!

Janice Hardy has a great post HERE on what it really means to start with action.

Last week I was able to have some great giveaways and have three winners to announce. The two lucky people who will receive signed copies of Water Runs Through This Book by Nancy Bo Flood are @dmsfiles and Nancy. Congratulations to both! I will be contacting you for addresses and how you would like your books signed. And, for your listening pleasure, Susan will be receiving a CD of Stripped Down by the beautiful and talented Maggie Hollinbeck! Nancy is a loyal reader, Susan is a time-travel expert and blogs HERE,and @dmsfiles can be found blogging HERE. Both blogs are worth your time. I have another giveaway, so keep reading please!

I recently won a whole box of middle-grade books and a Starbucks card (Thanks, Greg!!!) from the very generous Greg Pattridge who writes and blogs

about middle-grade writing and reading at Always in the Middle HERE. He has great reviews and discusses the writing process. Don't miss it. Anyway, in that box of books was one I had already read and really enjoyed. I'm happy to share it here. It's called The Girl in the Torch by Robert Sharenow. I have to admit, this book has really stayed with me since I read it a couple months ago. I do love historical fiction and this one has a compelling story and wonderful characters, but that's not why it has stayed with me. One of the first rules of writing for children is that the main character has to solve his/her own problem. I don't think I am giving too much away, but I would love to know if Sharenow had any push back on that. His main character, Sarah, does a lot of things along the way to help herself, but ultimately some wonderful adults step in to bail her out of her biggest problem. I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who has read this book and what you think about this. If you haven't read the book, it's really good. Here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.

It is early in the 1900s, and 12-year-old Sarah lives in a small village when her father is killed by powerful men. She and her mother take what little they have and buy passage to America to start a new life where Jews are not persecuted. During the voyage, Sarah’s mother becomes quite ill, and when they arrive at Ellis Island, she dies, leaving Sarah with no one. A search for some relatives in New York comes up empty, and Sarah is put on a ship to return to her homeland, but she jumps overboard and swims to Liberty Island. She scavenges food during the day and sleeps in the crown at night, trying to figure out a way to get to the mainland and find a way to live. But there is a night guard between her and freedom, and when he falls and is injured, there is no one to help him but Sarah. Thus begins an odd partnership.

“She hadn’t been bathed by anyone since her mother had done

it when she was a little girl. Her mother had a much gentler hand.

But it felt nice to be taken care again, even if it was by a tough

old Chinese woman she barely knew.”

Robert Sharenow has written a terrific story with complex characters and interesting relationships set in a time and place young readers will find

Robert Sharenow

fascinating. The writing is lovely and the story compelling. This is a winner.