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In Out of the Easy, Ruta Sepetys had me at hello. It begins:

My mother's a prostitute. Not the filthy, streetwalking kind. She's actually quite pretty, fairly well spoken, and has lovely clothes. But she sleeps with men for money or gifts, and according to the dictionary, that makes her a prostitute.

Seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine doesn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps. She's known that for years, and even though she still works at the same brothel as her mother—cleaning rooms, mind you—and even though she's on good terms with Willie Woodley, the woman who owns it, she's independent enough that she's kept her own apartment since she was eleven years old.

She works part-time at the bookstore below it, and she dreams of going to college. But when Josie dreams, she dreams big: she wants out of New Orleans, to start over somewhere up North, somewhere where she can reinvent herself—where no one knows who she is or what her mother does.

LOVE: THE DIALOGUE. Out of the Easy is set in 1950, and Sepetys' characters sling slang without sounding phony or overblown, and the dialogue zings back-and-forth like in an old movie. The characters speak in distinctive voices, and unlike in Strands of Bronze and Gold, those differences in vocabulary, rhythm, and diction are affected by economic class, vocation, and education, rather than being purely dictated by the color of one's skin.

LOVE: JOSIE. Her narration has a touch of the noir hero: deadpan, world-weary, and with an understanding of ironic humor. Unlike a noir hero, though, she is open about being emotionally affected by... things that are emotionally affecting. She's smart, she's canny, and rather than blushing and wanting to melt into the ground in embarrassing situations, she treats them as opportunities—I cheered out loud when she turned one around by becoming an impromptu blackmailer, and I swooned during another when she threw herself into a cute boy's lap to save herself (and him, to a degree) from some catty mean girls. 

LOVE: HER MOTHER. Well, no, actually, I loathed her mother. But I loved that she wasn't the Pretty-Woman-hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold, I loved that she wasn't secretly sympathetic, or selfless or particularly smart. She was completely self-absorbed, and while her behavior makes her come off as rotten and somewhat stupid, it's important to remember who's telling the story: Josie isn't exactly an objective party. The other women who work for Willie are a mixed bag of funny/serious/witty/quiet/ruthless/rude/mothering/mean/sensitive and everything in between, and it's easy to imagine that if another person had told the story, Louise would have come off as more human. Maybe. Then again, SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST TERRIBLE.

LOVE: THE BOOKS. Josie works in a bookstore, and she and her best friend Patrick have an ongoing game where they predict what sort of book customers will want. There are references to Dickens and Keats, Capote and even L'Engle. And, tangentially, Poe: Josie ends up with a dead man's watch—THAT'S RIGHT, ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE, SHE INVESTIGATES A MURDER—under her floorboards, and she swears she can hear it ticking, ticking, ticking. Which, of course, evokes The Tell-Tale Heart.

LOVE: EVERYTHING ELSE. Sepetys is true to the era and her characters in how Patrick's story plays out; the romance is sweet and heartfelt; the details about 1950s life and culture work themselves in fluidly; Josie wants what she wants so badly that I was never quite sure about how far she'd go to get it; and while the ending certainly has some fairy-tale elements, there's enough bitter in the sweet to keep cynics (like me) from getting all up on their high horses.

Oh, I loved this book. As it's got the same combination of fantastically-rendered historical atmosphere—the dialogue is TO DIE FOR—and mystery elements, I highly, HIGHLY recommend it to fans of Judy Blundell's What I Saw and How I Lied.

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Author page.

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Amazon.

Publisher.

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Book source: Review copy from the publisher.

Victoria in the Thurber sculpture garden

Hi! My name’s Victoria and no, I don’t have a secret (unless it’s my undying love for Chinese food which, let’s face it, is public knowledge by now).  I’m a junior at Columbus School for Girls who is spending the week interning at Thurber House. When it came time to pick my first choice, Thurber seemed like the only logical option because, well, I love to write.  Thurber House is a place where I can not only write but also have fun and be myself too – why wouldn’t I want to intern here?

Other than that, I’m just your average seventeen year old – one part confused, another part overwhelmed, and two parts recklessly eager to try everything and anything. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that I have a big list of things I enjoy. I like reading, writing, trying new things, football, card games, old movies, driving, horoscopes, Mahjong, beaches, daydreaming, sleeping, ticket stubs, watching entire seasons of TV in one day, coffee, getting lost, and black pens.

I like to write because when I was younger, I wanted to be an astronaut. And a doctor. As well as a lawyer, a secret agent, a firefighter, a teacher, a police officer, a movie star, a coffee shop owner, a pilot, a chemist, a mailman, and a pirate. It took me a while to realize that meant I should be a writer, the only job that lets me be all those things and more. Ideally, I’d like to become a writer for Film/TV because A) I love to write and B) it would be pretty awesome to win an Oscar/Emmy.

And that’s basically me in two hundred and seventy-one words. I’m really happy to have the opportunity to intern here at Thurber House and I know this week will be a great one!

Staff Note: Victoria is here through Columbus School for Girls’ Junior May Experience. Students completing their junior year give their top three choices of internship experiences and they are paired with a participating organization for 4-9 days in May. We are really excited to have Victoria with us! Check back on our blog and Facebook posts to see what she’s up to this week.

by Janice Lovoos

{published 1966, by Golden Gate Junior Books}

I was in Seattle a few weeks ago. You remember the library, right?

I went to Pike Place Market, because of course, but also because flying fish and dudes in galoshes are a spectacle worth checking out. And I also wanted to get up close and personal with some bluefin tuna eyeballs.

There’s a real reason for that, trust me. But they didn’t have any tuna, so this happened: 

There’s not a real point to that story except that I adore that tweet (and those two Favoriters) and it’s what I did just before I wandered into Lamplight Books.

It’s like I stole something. Fifteen dollars? Sixty quarters? It still has that magical, musty smell of hidden secrets. And it was mine in a fraction of a split second. That fast.

Because…behold:

 I’m in love. From the texture of a porcupine, to the form of mountains and weeds, to the repetition inside a squash, design is everywhere.

Design is a Dandelion ends like this, with truth and a charge:

Design is everywhere. It is for everyone. All you have to do is to learn to see it. Open your eyes and take a big, long look.

Book: Itch: The Explosive Adventures of an Element Hunter
Author: Simon Mayo (@SimonMayo)
Pages: 432
Age Range: 12 and up

Itch is a young adult thriller featuring an unusual hero. Itchingham Lofte (aka Itch) is a total science geek. His passion is collecting elements from the periodic table. When a fellow collector shares a very unusual rock with Itch, Itch soon finds himself, and his family, in grave danger.

Itch is in many ways a classic YA thriller. There are chases. There are over-the-top bad guys. There is a need for the hero to be brave. But there is also science. Instead of using conventional weapons, Itch turns to the elements when he's in a tight corner. He gets excited about watching a sample analyzed in a lab. He burns off his eyebrows in the first chapter, in a mishap with phosphorus. His sister Chloe and best friend/cousin Jack (short for Jacqueline) are more regular (and more mainstream popular) than Itch, but the hero's journey here belongs to the science geek. 

Itch, written by an English radio presenter, is set mostly in Cornwall. There's definitely a British feel to the book. Take this little exchange, from Chapter 1:

""Hello, Itchingham," said his mother. "Still no eyebrows, then."

There should be a law against parents using sarcasm, thought Itch as he poured his cereal." (Page 13)

I don't know about you, but I hear Itch's Mom with an English accent there. 

In addition to the details about the elements, there is quite a bit of information included in Itch about copper mining. And, just to keep things interesting, a bit about surfing. Who knew that surfing was a major pastime in Cornwall? Not me. But all of this is quite refreshing, together making Itch stand out from the pack. 

I did find the start of the book a bit slow, but the action picks up after a bit, and the end of the book is both fast-paced and high-stakes. Not realistic, perhaps, but definitely high-stakes. 

A sequel will be published in 2014. As Mayo left a couple of threads cunningly unresolved, I (and many others) will be waiting eagerly to find out what's next for Itch. With its green and black cover and blurb from Anthony Horowitz, Itch's target teen boy demographic is fairly clear. But I think that anyone who enjoys thrillers with teen protagonists could appreciate Itch. And I think that teachers and librarians will be happy to see a book that not only doesn't avoid but actually embraces science. Not science fiction, not high tech, but pure science. Rather refreshing that (despite the arsine gas accident and associated vomiting). Itch is well worth a look. 

Publisher: Splinter (@SterlingKids)
Publication Date: April 2, 2013
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

Meet Paul Belford, a creative agency out of London who focuses on advertising and branding. Their approach to design is admirably simple, resulting in pieces that are clean and easy to appreciate. Check out their work here.

——————–

Also worth viewing…
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There's nothing like a pair of braces to make you feel like a teen-ager again. I don't have a bad perm and now wear contacts, but I still feel like I'm fourteen all over again. What's been interesting is that people stare. They stared at 14 and they stare at 47.

I have clear braces on top and metal ones on the bottom. My rubber bands on the bottom are turquoise because it's my daughter's favorite color. They didn't have fancy colors when I wore them the first time.

If the braces weren't bad enough, I have an expander in. Once I have my SARPE surgery tomorrow, it will help expand my narrow upper jaw. Right now, it only serves to make me talk weird  and is a haven for food getting stuck.

Thanks to YouTube, I've been able to get the 411 on the SARPE surgery. I got some tips like using frozen peas for the swelling since they'll mold to your face.

I also recently watched the movie, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, on Netflix and loved it. I bought a juicer and have been enjoying some delicious juice. It will come in handy for my liquid diet post surgery.

A stack of books is on my nightstand waiting to be read. I hope I feel up to it because I relish the time I'll have to just heal and read.

Last Friday I had the opportunity to do a CAREER DAY talk…well 6, 15 min talks… to 6 groups of about 25 first and second graders at one of my grandson’s schools here in Williamsburg VA(Matoaka Elementary). (that’s my Coady with dark hair in left corner.) It was a hoot to do, and I was so impressed with how interested they were!  Could they, at this tender age, be interested in the difference between a ‘job’ and a ‘career?’  and my industry particularly? They seemed to get it!  wow….

One question has haunted me since.  A cute little 2nd grader asked me just at the end “why do we have to have books?”    GULP

Now in the minute I had left to answer that on going industry question, I couldn’t even ask what she meant by that. Was she asking why Books rather than iPad’s etc? or why we have to make, distribute and sell Books of any kind…and why do they ‘have’ to read them?  I had to answer fast as the exit bell rang…. and jumped in with - ”both books and electronics are equally as viable and wonderful and fun! But do you prefer to cuddle up in bed with your iPad? or a book?”  the class yelled out “BOOKS!”

I don’t know if I assumed her question correctly, thus the ‘haunting’.  What a question!  I suspect we might have a future editor or maybe techie there!  Now you think on that question too…. love to hear what you might have answered in a quick half a minute.

And now as to OUR “Career Days” at BEA… I’m missing it this year due to conflicts but I’ll be watching, reading and listening to any and all coming out about that weekend.  If YOU are there, please write my email (Chris@catugeau.com) and share!  I’ll write about it….

Again I was drawing passerby from my usual picture window at the cafe yesterday.

As of November 20, 2012 (that is, Midnight Eastern Time tonight) I am closed to queries. I will reopen to queries January 7, 2013.

If I already have your work, you should hear from me by January 7. (That's the point of taking the break, I have to catch up!)

Aren't they precious? Cooling off in the water is a favorite thing to do - just like kids in summer.

Just two months after Disney cancelled the Cartoon Network series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, they have announced a new series called Star Wars Rebels. The show will debut on the Disney Channel as a one-hour special in 2014, before continuing as a regular series on Disney XD. The show will be set during the two-decade timespan between Episode III and IV, at a time when “the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape.”

Dave Filoni, who was supervising diretor on Clone Wars, will head up the production as exec producer. He will be joined by Clone Wars veterans Kilian Plunkett (Art Director) and Joel Aron (CG Supervisor), as well as some fresh faces:

Leading the development of the series is a creative team of exceptional talent. Screenwriter/producer Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) is an executive producer on Star Wars Rebels and will write the premiere episode. He is joined by Dave Filoni as executive producer, who served as supervising director of the Emmy nominated Star Wars: The Clone Wars since 2008. Executive producer Greg Weisman brings with him a wealth of animation experience with credits such as Young Justice, The Spectacular Spider-Man and Gargoyles.

Just two months after Disney cancelled the Cartoon Network series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, they have announced a new series called Star Wars Rebels. The show will debut on the Disney Channel as a one-hour special in 2014, before continuing as a regular series on Disney XD. The show will be set during the two-decade timespan between Episode III and IV, at a time when “the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape.”

Dave Filoni, who was supervising diretor on Clone Wars, will head up the production as exec producer. He will be joined by Clone Wars veterans Kilian Plunkett (Art Director) and Joel Aron (CG Supervisor), as well as some fresh faces:

Leading the development of the series is a creative team of exceptional talent. Screenwriter/producer Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) is an executive producer on Star Wars Rebels and will write the premiere episode. He is joined by Dave Filoni as executive producer, who served as supervising director of the Emmy nominated Star Wars: The Clone Wars since 2008. Executive producer Greg Weisman brings with him a wealth of animation experience with credits such as Young Justice, The Spectacular Spider-Man and Gargoyles.

Peace, by artist Wendy Anderson Halperin is a visual and poetic meditation on the subject of peace. The book is dedicated to our senses, and that dedication sets the tone for the book – peace is real, and it can be sensed with our whole bodies and expressed with our words, actions, and thoughts. There is a very short text which can be read aloud, along with quotes from famous peacemakers spread throughout, and panels of illustrations depicting scenes of peace.

Halperin chooses quotes from people like Mother Teresa, Albert Einstein, Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, and Anne Frank. I like that many of the quotes focused on the small ways we can work toward peace: “When people talk, listen completely” (Ernest Hemingway); and “Friendship is the only cure for hatred, the only guarantee of peace” (Buddha). The many illustrations, too, while wide in scope (they depict children and nature around the world), also depict small scenes of peace. Some of the images contrast to illustrate the concept. For example, one scene shows a grandmother washing dishes while her granddaughter lounges on the couch. A few pages later, we see the same grandmother washing the dishes with her granddaughter at her side helping her. Another scene depicts an elderly man boarding a bus as everyone continues to read their paper. Later on in the book, we see that a child has risen from his seat and offered it to the man. We also see children reading in tree houses, planting vegetables, sharing meals with their families, and quietly observing a heron.

The book is one to read and look at over and over again. It may spark discussions about kindness, friendship, stewardship of the earth, and about standing against all those things that destroy peace – like anger, apathy, ignorance, and jealousy. I can see this making a soothing bedtime book for all ages, and while it would be difficult to read the book aloud to a classroom (too many small details), it would make a good book for small groups to read and discuss in the classroom.

Posted by: Parry

Cartoonist Dash Shaw, who has been working on a feature-length animated film of his own, will present a selection of his recent animation work tomorrow night at Light Industry (155 Freeman Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn). In addition to his own work, Shaw will screen the rare 1980s anime biker drama Bobby’s Girl, a film that has inspired his own approach to animation.

The screening will be followed by a conversation with Shaw. Doors open at 7pm, and tickets are $7. More details at LightIndustry.org.

Here’s a clip from Bobby’s Girl:

(Illustration at top by Dash Shaw)

Spaces available in several classes. To see the catalog and sign up, go here.

...I wrote about M.M. Vaughan's The Ability, which wasn't a perfect match for me, but will very likely please younger fans of Roald Dahl.

What are flower essences and why are they so cool?

I discovered flower essences long ago. It wasn’t an instant pull; I was actually quite skeptical about them and a little wary. Like most new things, we make that step and surprised we hadn’t found that new thing that will help us all along. One thing I do know, the more I’ve used flower essences, the more I have felt this deep bond with Nature.

Many of my students and folks coming to this site have questions about what essences are, so I thought I’d have a little Q and A.

Q: What the heck are flower essences?

A: Check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7OqBx2eV3k

Q: Are flower essences like regular medicines?

A: No. Since there is nothing inside of them that is physical material, you aren’t reacting to a substance. They are safe to take with other medicines.

Q: Are flower essences cure-alls? I can take HOLLY for anger, and have no anger?

A: I wish! There are some essences that are “stabilizing” and those are great for reaching for immediate relief, like BACH RESCUE REMEDY will calm you right away in a scary situation. SALVIA is very emotionally calming. ASPEN will help alleviate great fear. These essences help in the moment. Some, like the PANSIES will help ease grief and sadness over time. Other essences will illuminate with use WHY you are angry or upset underneath and deal with an underlying pattern you keep reliving. As you take the essence, great insight will come up that will help you change that pattern or thinking and give you a new perspective.

Q: How do you take them?

A: I like putting a few drops in my water or under the tongue once a day if you are sensitive; 2-4 times a day otherwise.

Q: Can you take the wrong essence?

A: Many teachers say that if you take the wrong essence, you won’t resonate and you won’t respond. I found with sensitive folks we often respond to everything being so empathic. If you take an essence and you feel off or wonky it’s probably the wrong one and might be too strong.

Q: Can animals use essences?

A: Absolutely! My girls will lick them from my hand, or I can put a few drops on their bodies. I usually put the drops on their food or water.

• Want to learn more? Friday starts my popular Flower Essences Class. To enroll go here. A few spots left.

• The Fairy Beginner Healing class, which is a great intro to the Fairy energy and healing with Nature. It also has a session that starts Friday. Go here.

• And go shop at my store, Flower Essences for the Sensitive on this site here. 

...have been announced.

The Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book went to: 

Fair Coin, by E.C. Myers!

See this post for the rest of the shortlist and this post for the rest of the winners.

In addition to editing and writing, I do book design, too, both covers and interiors. I've worked for a small publishing company for a couple of years, and the occasional independent author comes along. Here are the latest of the latter.

Hookernomics is a title suggested by an FTQ reader (whose name I've lost) is non-fiction, ebook-only cover. It's about the business of sex, and I thought the art of a red light worked pretty well for catching attention and lending subtext.

Collected Works is a private book, not available for sale, and at the far end of the spectrum from the first book. It is a book of poetry published in memory of my client's mother. I learned that she had, long ago, kept poems in what she called her "lavendar box," and that was the thought that led to this cover. It's a hard-cover book, and the cover is a "dust cover" with flaps on the inside.

It was a very short book--there weren't a lot of poems--and many of the poems were about one page long. So the interior design for Collected Works uses spreads, graphics, and white space to display her art.

Lastly, a lively, funny "food memoir" by a Jewish author. What else but Kosher Sutra would do? The art I found foreshadows the book nicely--lively, fun, and food (there are some delicious-sounding recipes in it).

Samples of other full cover designs are here.

For what it's worth,

Ray

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© 2012 Ray Rhamey