Review of Orphan Train and a Double Giveaway of Tween Books

 Thought for the Day:

"If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that." ~Stephen King~

A Gift for My Writer Friends: Here are some links to articles and posts I think you will find valuable.

Kristin Lamb had two terrific posts this week on creating multi-dimensional characters. They are really worth your time. Click HERE and HERE to see them.

Sticking with the character theme for this week, click HERE for a wonderful post from Literary Rambles  on making your character come to life.

 I was hoping a writer would win this week's drawing since there is a writing book (Kicking in the Wall) along with the ARC of The Truth of Me.  I was pleased when Martina Boone's name popped out of the hat. (Let's hear it for Martina! Woot! Woot!) Martina is a writer and the founder and prinicpal blogger at Adventures in YA and Children's Publishing, a blog I've read for a long time and never miss. If you aren't familiar with that blog, click on the name and take a look. There is always something valuable to read. Martina, I will be sending the books to you this week.

I am going to take a little departure from my usual review of a middle-grade book to talk about a wonderful YA/ Adult crossover novel I read reacently. Yes, every now and then I read a book for grown-ups. I just fell in love with it.  It is Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. Just below you will find the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review. I recommend this book highly.

Molly is seventeen and has spent far too much of her short life in foster homes – many of them. When she is caught stealing a book from the library, she is given fifty hours of community service. Her boyfriend helps her find an assignment helping a ninety-one-year-old woman, Vivian, sort through her attic. But her attic holds much more than expected. It holds her life story, and Molly is swept up in that story because there are surprising parallels to her own. This unlikely pair discovers much about each other, but perhaps much more about themselves, as they sort through and talk about the detritus of Vivian’s life. Vivian lost her entire family shortly after immigrating to America from Ireland. All she has left from her time as a nine-year-old orphan is a silver Celtic cross on a chain. She, along with a multitude of other orphans, is taken on a train to the mid-west where each is placed with families. Some of those placements are horror stories, but Vivian is a survivor.

Christina Baker Kline

“But I cannot muster any sorrow for Mrs. Byrne. I think of her cold eyes and perpetual scowl, her unwillingness to see me as anything more than a pair of hands, fingers holding a needle and thread. I am not glad she is dead, but I am not sorry she is gone.”

Christina Baker Kline weaves a most compelling tale based on happenings long forgotten. Her fine research makes this story feel absolutely authentic, and her writing is gorgeous.

As you can tell, I am crazy about this wonderful book. Now the bad news. I'm not giving it away. In fact, I've already loaned it to someone who absolutely promised to give it back because I just might read it again! And I want my daughter to read it too. She will love it. And my sister. And then maybe I'll read it again. And I've got a couple friends who would like this one. Sorry. You will need to get your own.

I will, however, give away two books this week, both listed as Tween books by the Sacramento Book Review, although I think one of them is for the younger crowd. The two books are The Wrigley Riddle by David A. Kelly. You can read my review HERE. The other is On the Run by Clara Bourreau. My good friend and critique partner Elizabeth Varadan reviewed it for SBR and you can read her review HERE. Elizabeth has TWO blogs, both worth reading. You can find them HERE and HERE. The second one is about all things Victorian and so much fun.

Don't forget to visit Shannon Messenger's blog for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday books.  You can find her wonderful blog by clicking HERE. 

For the giveaway, sorry, but it is for those who live in the U.S. only. I just can't afford to ship books out of the country. In order to have a chance to win, all you need to do is be a follower (if you aren't already, go to the column on the right and join now. It's easy.) I now have 99 followers. Help me out here, people. One more and I hit triple digits at last!! If you want extra chances in the drawing, post the link to my blog on Facebook or Tweet it or post it on your blog. Let me know and I will give you extra chances in the drawing. Thanks for reading and have a great week.

Double Giveaway -- The Truth of Me and Kicking In the Wall

Thought for the Day:

Writing is like giving yourself homework, really hard homework, every day for the rest of your life. You want glamorous? Throw glitter at the computer screen.
~Ketrina Monroe~

A Gift for My Writer Friends:

For a real horror storyabout agents and self-publishing, click HERE.

Click HERE for a terrific post on Chapters.

You can read a really fun article on getting rid of writer's block if you click HERE.

I know I have been absent for a week. Sometimes life gets in the way and sometimes we need a little break. Anyway, I'M BACK!!! But just a head's up -- I might disappear again for a week in June. Family reunion and travel plans might get in the way of blogging.

When I was last here, I offered a copy of the sweet Ivy in the Shadows by Chris Woodworth. And the winner is (drumroll, please) Barbara Watson!! Congratulations, Barbara. I will be sending the book along to you this week. For those of you who don't know Barbara, she is a teacher, writing, and freelance editor who does great editing work. You can find out more about her and her work by clicking HERE.

I reviewed a new book by Patricia MacLachlan recently for a review in the Sacramento Book Review. She is a prolific writer and probably most famous for her Newbery-winning Sarah, Plain and Tall. The book I reviewed is called The Truth of Me, and it is simply a lovely book.

Robbie is an only child. He has longed for a sibling, but it's clear that won't happen. His rather self-absorbed musician parents travel too much and have made it clear they don't need or want another child in their lives. Robbie often thinks they'd rather have one less child in their lives. They did get him a dog, however, a sweet hound named Eleanor, but Robbie calls her Ellie, and Ellie is his best friend. Well, he has another best friend. His grandmother Maddy is also his best friend. Not many kids have a grandmother for a best friend, but Maddy is pretty special.

When Robbie's parents go off to play concerts in Europe for the summer, Robbie is able to spend that time with Maddy, and he is able to take Ellie with him. It turns out to be a very memorable visit. Spending time with his grandmother allows Robbie to learn some truths about his mother that helps him understand a lot of things.

Maddy isn't much of a cook, but her neighbor, Henry, the local doctor, loves to cook and spends nearly every evening with Maddy and Robbie, cooking up wonderful things. But Maddy, who communes with nature as few others can, wants to take Robbie camping in the nearby woods. Henry has no interest in camping, so it is just Robbie, Maddy, and Ellie. While camping, Maddy shows Robbie how to relate to wild animals in a magical way she has. But while some of those animals are in camp, Maddy suffers a bad injury just as a large bear comes on the scene. Maddy can't be moved. It is up to Robbie and Ellie to take care of Maddy and get help, all while making sure she is safe.

Patricia MacLachlan

"It is beautiful at the top of the hill. The sun is setting, leaving a rose sky. We set up the tent together in a clearing. Maddy builds a small campfire in a stone pit, and we eat our food. There are two logs to sit on. I stare at the logs, remembering Maddy's story about eating corn bread with a bear, both of them sitting on a log."

I love The Truth of Me and think most kids fourth through sixth grade will as well. It's a little book, but has so much depth and so much truth in it. The writing is beautiful and the story is one to which many of us and of the kids out there can relate. You can win my ARC of this sweet book by being a follower (please help me reach 100!!) and leaving a comment. As a bonus, I am also giving away a copy of Kicking In the Wall: A Year of Writing Exercises, Prompts, and Quotes to Help You Break Through your Blocks and Reach Your Writing Goals by Barbara Abercrombie. This is another book I reviewed recently and, honestly, I have way too many writing books already, so you can win them both. Just be a follower and leave that comment. If you want more chances, post the link to this post on Facebook or Tweet it and let me know. I'll put your name in an extra time.

Don't forget to check in with Shannon Messenger for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday book reviews. Just click HERE to get to her wonderful blog.

For the giveaway, it is for U.S. only. Sorry, but I just can't afford to send books out of the country. Hope you understand. But do leave a comment please. I love to hear from my readers.