I have been waiting for this moment, the release of Half Moon by Jordan Deen. Reading Teen is the first stop on the White Flame Tour, and we want to kick it off right! The tour starts today and it will end on release day of Half Moon on January 13, 2011.
Jordan Deen was kind enough to answer a few of our questions, and after that you can read my review of Half Moon.
Thank you for visiting, and enjoy the White Flame Tour!
RT- I just have to know, team Alex or team Brandon?
JD- that's like asking a parent to decide between twins. However, if faced with my own decision... it's Team Alex.
RT- I'm assuming Biscuit gave you the inspiration for "Grant", that helps Lacey in such time of need. How were they similar?
JD- Great question! Biscuit was such a protector. He guarded everyone in our household and always made me feel safe. We miss him dearly.
RT- During the popular fad of vampire YA books, what turned you on to the idea of werewolves? JD- Biscuit, actually. He wouldn't let me in my house one night and it made my mind go rampant that something bad was happening. The idea for the novel started off as a 'shifter' novel and ended up being about werewolves, exclusively. Go figure!
Children's book reviewer, blogger, and author Lori Calabrese is on a blog tour and today she is stopping by Into the Wardrobe! Lori's picture book The Bug That Plagued the Entire Third Grade (Dragonfly Publishing, 2010) is about a boy who has caught a bug - both literally and figuratively! I love how it is a rhyming picture book. Unfortunately, the illustrations by Chet Taylor look amateur and they do not do justice to Lori's great writing. Still, the story is cute. And by cute I do not mean trite. I mean you will smile and your kids will smile because of it! :o) So I am very happy to host Lori today. Thank you so much for sharing with us, Lori!
Discovering My Writing Process by Lori Calabrese
So what exactly is the writing process and how do you find your voice? As a new writer, those were just a few of the questions I often pondered. Was there some secret veteran writers weren’t sharing or was it something that just came naturally? Whether we know it or not, all authors have a writing process. As I dived into writing my first picture book, The Bug That Plagued the Entire Third Grade, I discovered that although writing is a task no two people do the same, every writer follows the same basic steps to create their manuscript. And I was no different.
First comes the prewriting. I love this stage because it’s all about generating an idea and the possibilities are endless. I get most of my inspiration from my two boys and the idea for The Bug That Plagued the Entire Third Grade was one of the first they gave me. When my son got a vicious stomach bug, friends and family called to see how he was doing. I always replied, “He caught the bug.” It’s something we always say when we’re sick, but it made me question why we say that. Of course, I needed to build on the idea, but the play on words of catching an insect and catching a cold was enough to get me started.
With the idea brewing, I grabbed my laptop and let my fingers do the walking. However, the writing that eventually came out would not be winning any children’s literature awards. Fortunately, it was a little reassuring to learn this is normal for many—it doesn’t always come out right the first time. So I wrote several drafts and ventured on to revising.
With most of the writing laid out, it became easier to rework. But this was when a light bulb went off in my head and I realized that, although I had a fun rhyming story, my plot wasn’t working. So I decided to write the story without the rhymes. As soon as I did this, I really discovered what my beginning, middle and ending were. I also discovered I hadn’t chosen a bug! The bug was one of the main characters in my story, so it had to be a good one. It also had to be able to cause havoc and it needed to be rare. I researched until I found a story about the Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly. I always loved dragonflies and am continually amazed how they can dart and hover in mid-air. When I learned that the Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly is the only dragonfly on the federal endangered species list, I knew it was the one! From there, the story just seemed to come to life and I was able to rework it into a rhyming story once again.
I love rhyming pi
Okay, I am SO excited to be a part of this blog tour. I mean, how awesome does Beth's book sound? *taps foot impatiently for my turn with
The Bookanistas' ARC*
Not to mention Beth has been one of my favorite bloggers since I first "found" her about a year-and-a-half ago. She was one of those people that I just instantly thought:
I need to know this girl! So it has been such a thrill and honor to get to know her and watch all her tremendous success and be a small part of her journey toward literary world domination. (oh, and you can bet there will be domination. Have you SEEN the buzz she has going--all totally deserved, btw?)
And now she has a secret password protected section for her website--dang, the girl knows how to keep us in suspense!!! (Though...I was lucky enough to get the password early, so I've already checked it out. There is some way cool stuff in there, guys. For realzies. And no, I won't give away the secret. Well...not unless the bribe you offer is REALLY good) ;)
So here's how this works. I'm hanging out over
Beth's blog providing TONS of
Shannon Shame as I relate my adventure in Itter, Austria. (And believe me guys, it's heavy on the shame. Let's just say mountain biking is involved. And the pictures that go with it are especially embarrassing. I'm twirling in one of them. TWIRLING!)
But before you hop over there to laugh at me (and yeah...you're
gonna laugh at me--le sigh), here's the information Beth has provided for how this tour works--and make sure you read all the way to the bottom to get today's clue.
is a sci fi coming out from Penguin/Razorbill on January 11, 2011. Author
Beth Revis describes it as "a murder mystery set in space," but it also has romance, adventure, and dystopian elements. In the book, a girl boards an interstellar spaceship in a journey across the universe to find a new planet.
To celebrate the book's upcoming release, Beth's gathered together writers and readers from across the blogosphere to share their stories of adventures they've had across the world.
Check out her site the first two weeks of November to read about adventures from the Wild West to Indonesia, from Europe to Africa.
And as you're going across the world with all these adventures, be sure to pick up the clues. On
Beth's webpage is a secret link--LOOK for it, and you'll SEE it. But it's password protected! To find the password, you'll need to go on the adventures with us, pick up the letters, and re-arrange them into the secret phrase.
What do you get for playing? On the password protected page there's tons of secret information about the book--hidden
Easter Eggs, the surprising origins of one of the characters, and the unexpected inspiration behind the space ship. But, more than that--there's also a chance for prizes! Only accessible from the password protected page is a form to enter a drawing--the winner will get a signed and doodled ARC of
Acros
I've been searching through kidlit and mommy blogs for bloggers who might want to review my new book, How to Raise a Dinosaur. I've found a few, but I noticed that others I wanted to send to do not have a way to contact the blogger, or maybe that's the idea.
So I'm putting out a call to bloggers who review or giveaway children's books, please email me at [email protected] if you want a copy of my book, and/or a blog interview. I'd be happy to oblige. Please share this post with any blogger friends you might know.
I'm so excited about my new book - it's my first lift-the-flap! And the illustrations are wickedly wonderful.
Wayfarer by R.J. Anderson. 2010. June 2010. HarperCollins. 304 pages.
First line of the prologue: The Queen is dying.
First line of chapter one: "I expected more of a missionary's son."
More than a few years have passed since the close of Spell Hunter, the first novel in R.J. Anderson's Faery Rebel series. Linden, the newly-hatched faery placed under Knife's care, is now fifteen. Like Knife, she has earned the trust of the Queen. In fact, Linden is given something extraordinary by the Queen. A special mission. But that's not all. No, there's one other thing. She's given some of the Queen's magic. But this isn't Linden's story. In fact, I was surprised by just who told this story! Readers are introduced to Timothy, a cousin of Paul. And though Timothy isn't much of a believer--at least not at the start of the story--by the end, he's quite the convert. He learns of the faeries. He learns that their existence is in great danger. And he feels led to help--and this commitment isn't without sacrifice. Timothy and Linden's lives are in danger--constant danger--and it will take courage and strength to outwit the evil powers that be. Can Linden and Timothy win in their battle against evil? Will Linden's mission succeed? Can she find a way to save her people, the people of the Oak?
To visit other stops on the tour:
Whispers of Dawn, The Book Cellar, The Hungry Readers, My Own Little Corner of the World, KidzBookBuzz.com, Reading is My Superpower, Book Crumbs, Becky’s Book Reviews, Fireside Musings, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, Homeschool Book Buzz, Homespun Light, Book Review Maniac
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
A Matter of Character. Robin Lee Hatcher. 2010. May 2010. Zondervan. 352 pages.
Maybe it was time to kill Rawhide Rick. He'd served his purpose, the old rascal. He'd hunted buffalo and fought Indians and stolen gold from hardworking miners and sent men to the gallows. Now might be the time for him to meet his Maker. The trick was deciding how to kill him.
Should Daphne McKinley kill Rawhide Rick? Can Joshua Crawford save him?
The year is 1918. And Daphne is a dime novelist. Of course, at the beginning, when readers first meet her, no one knows she's a published writer. Dime novels aren't necessarily books to be proud of having written, or of having read, after all, whether written by a man or a woman. Her pen name is D.B. Morgan.
Joshua Crawford is an out of work reporter with an agenda. He is the grandson of "Rawhide Rick." His grandfather, Richard Terrell, went by that nickname and Joshua is so not happy with this "D.B. Morgan" for making his grandfather the villain in the McFarland Chronicles. The grandfather he knew was loving, compassionate, generous, kind, good. He's angry, and he's searching for the truth. But first he has to find this D.B. Morgan and have a few choice words.
A Matter of Character is the third (and final) book in the Sisters of Bethlehem series by Robin Lee Hatcher. However, each one can be read on its own. I have not read the previous two books, and I did just fine. The three books have overlapping characters, but each is narrated by a different character. It is a romance novel.
I liked this one. I did. It was interesting to see this hero and heroine clash with one another. To see their relationship slowly develop through the weeks and months. I liked the way these two challenged one another.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott. Kelly O'Connor McNees. 2010. Penguin. 336 pages.
It didn't take long for the Alcott sisters to finish unpacking their clothes.
In 1855, Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass was published. But was this also the year that Louisa May Alcott found true love?! In The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, Kelly O'Connor McNees crafts a love story for one of America's finest writers of the nineteenth century.
When the novel opens, Louisa is unpacking and settling into the Alcott's new home. Her family has recently moved to Walpole, New Hampshire. Like her older sister, Anna, Louisa has become tired of her life. Tired of living at home with her parents. Tired of her father's ideals creating economic impossibilities. Anna feels it is time--past time really--to find a young man, marry, and settle down in her own home. And she is crossing her fingers that Walpole will be the place she finds him. Louisa, on the other hand, has other plans. Plans that include her being independent, leaving her family, moving to Boston, and writing, writing, writing. And getting published of course! She has big dreams, big plans. And these dreams don't include having a husband.
Will these two sisters find love in unexpected ways? How will reading Walt Whitman impact Louisa's life? Can Louisa find happiness on her own terms?
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
Sprig Muslin. Georgette Heyer. 1956/2009. Harlequin. 288 pages.
Mrs. Wetherby was delighted to receive a morning call from her only surviving brother, but for the first half hour of his visit she was granted no opportunity to do more than exchange a few commonplaces with him over the heads of her vociferous offspring.
Sprig Muslin is an enjoyable Georgette Heyer novel. It's easily accessible, which isn't always the case, and it's a quick action-packed read. What kind of action? Well, more comedy than drama. And by action, I don't mean explosions.
The hero of Sprig Muslin is Sir Gareth Ludlow. Gareth is the brother who is visiting his sister, Mrs. Wetherby. He's there to say that he's going to propose marriage to a woman, Lady Hester. It's all planned out. He's gotten the father's permission, etc. But his sister is shocked. Her brother could have anybody, anybody. Why would he seek out a spinster (she's in her late twenties) who's so boring? (From his sister's position that is. Gareth doesn't find her boring at all. He finds her smart.) His sister thinks the match is unfair. Unfair to him. She knows that her brother has never quite recovered from the death of his fiancee seven years (is it seven?) before. But he's convinced that the time is right, that the girl is right.
However, somewhere along the way--on his way to visit the girls' family on their estate in the country--he happens to "rescue" a young damsel in distress, Amanda. Amanda "Smith." Her stories and tall tales outnumber the hairs on her head. He knows she's under seventeen. He knows that she is running away from home. But he doesn't know who she belongs to...(her name, her home, her situation, etc.) or what to do with her. She's determined to find employment--a chambermaid, a maid, a dairy maid, a governess, etc. All this in an attempt to prove she's "mature" and ready to get married to her soldier-love, Neil.
So he takes her with him. He brings this strange girl with a mind all her own with him on his journey to propose to Lady Hester. Her family is more than a little confused and unsettled about the affair. They think it is an affair--that he's brought his mistress along with him. A Mr. Fabian Theale is Hester's uncle, I believe. It is his notion that the young miss is Ludlow's mistress. That she is that sort sort of "lady." That she is his for the taking if he can steal her right out from under Gareth.
Amanda doesn't know much about Theale except that he's old and a bit fat. But she does see him as serving her immediate needs. She needs transportation and a way to sneak out of this new situation. And Theale is more than willing to oblige. Of course, he hasn't any idea that she's good at manipulating and bamboozling those around her. A girl fond of novels. A girl with a vivid imagination. A silly, very gullible, unthinking girl.
Love Finds You In Homestead, Iowa. Melanie Dobson. 2010. March 2010. Summerside Press. 320 pages.
The morning fog lingered in the alleyways and draped over the iron palings that fortified the row of saloons along Harrison Street.
Another book set in the Amana Colonies. (The other being Somewhere To Belong by Judith Miller.) Jacob Hirsch, one of our narrators, is a desperate father when we first meet him. His daughter, Cassie, is very sick. The two were meant to be heading East. But the Pullman strike and the economic depression (1890s) have altered his plans. It's a miracle that the two were able to make their way out of Chicago in the back of a freight train. The two make an unexpected stop in Iowa. Liesel, our other narrator, appears as an angel (of sorts) to the delirious Cassie. She's a young woman living in one of the Amana villages. Her willingness to help a stranger sets in motion a chain of events that have long-lasting implications. Jacob's daughter is seriously ill--diphtheria--and she shares close quarters with father and daughter during their quarantine. Tending to Cassie like she was her own. But is she becoming too close to this Outsider? What will the future hold for them all?
I liked this one. But I didn't love it. Personally, I found it a bit too dramatic.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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Hearts Awakening. Delia Parr. 2010. [March 2010] Bethany House. 352 pages.
While other women her age were busy preparing a hearty breakfast for their families in snug, warm homes that crowded the city or dotted the outlying farms, Elvira Kilmer was hurrying down an unfamiliar roadway, hugging the woods along the eastern shoreline of Dillon's Island to meet a total stranger.
Ellie is a 'spinster' who is dependent on her cousins. It is Cousin Mark who has arranged for Ellie to keep house for widower, Jackson Smith. He has two children, two young boys Daniel and Ethan. And he sure could use some help around the house, in the kitchen especially. His house has been one big mess since his wife, Rebecca, died. (He's too busy in the orchards to keep up with it all.)
Ellie was expecting to work for Mr. Smith for two weeks. Long enough to get a good reference letter, but that's all. She wasn't looking for anything long term. And marriage was about the last thing on her mind. But when Jackson proposes...despite how he proposes...it gives her something to think about.
This would be a marriage of convenience, a marriage in name only. He needs help raising his two young boys. And he needs help around the house. And whether he'd admit it or not, he does needs a companion, a friend. But he's not looking for more, he's not looking for love. He's been hurt a few too many times. And besides this spinster is so very plain, so very unattractive, he reckons that he'd never fall in love with her.
She says yes. Not without giving it good thought. And not without being offended first in how he proposes. And even why he proposes. But at the end of the day, she has come to care for those little boys. And they do need a mother. And why couldn't that mother be her? After all, she's always wanted children of her own.
Will this marriage turn into a love match? Or will secrets keep love from blossoming?
I liked this one. At times I even loved it.
Ellie is a woman that I appreciated. She was a lot more patient than I would have been! And she was a bit more forgiving too! Was she too perfect, too good to be true? Well, that's something each reader will have to decide.
Jackson, well, I had mixed thoughts on him. There were places where I could see how Ellie would feel the way she does. He was easy to like in some ways. But in other places, I got really angry. Super angry even. He's definitely a flawed man. A man with some baggage, some issues that need working out. But he had his good qualities too.
I did love the story. I never tire of this premise. Yes, I know it's been done dozens of times. But. It still works for me.
Historical Fiction/Romance. Set in the 1840s in Pennsylvania.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston. 1935. HarperCollins. 336 pages.
As I crossed the Maitland-Eatonville township line I could see a group on the store porch. I was delighted. The town had not changed. Same love of talk and song.
I'm happy to be a part of the Classics Circuit Tour this month for The Harlem Renaissance. Be sure to visit other stops on the tour! I chose to read Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston. A book that has probably been on my bookshelf a decade. A book that needed this tour as a little extra push to get read.
Soon after reading Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, I went out and bought all the ZNH I could find. (Well, that I could find used.) I just loved it so much. But while I've reread Their Eyes several times I haven't ever gotten around to reading her other books.
What can readers find in Mules and Men? It's a collection of folklore. Stories loosely woven together with the author as a character. Zora Neale Hurston has gone back to her home state, her hometown, to "collect" some good stories, some good folklore for her new project. So it "shows" her doing just that. Talking and interacting with men and women, finding the best stories, and sharing them. It's interesting getting this insider perspective. You'll find tales and stories about anything and everything. From the ordinary to the extraordinary. Stories about God, stories about the Devil, stories about men and women working, loving, fighting, playing, etc. You'll find stories about animals and nature. You'll find trickster tales as well. Men and women getting the best of each other. It is in dialect, so some readers may find this takes some getting used to.
The book is actually in two parts. The first part covers folklore and takes place in Florida. The second part covers Hoodoo and takes place in New Orleans.
I found some of the folklore, the stories, to be interesting. Some I definitely enjoyed more than others. But because they are just stories, just little stories, the book as a whole wasn't the most compelling. The good news is that the contents of each chapter is clearly identified. So readers can find specific stories. "How the Snake Got Poison" and "How Brer Dog Lost His Beautiful Voice" and "How Jack Beat the Devil" and "Why Women Always Take Advantage of Men."
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
American Rust by Philipp Meyer. 2009. Random House. 384 pages.
Isaac's mother was dead five years but he hadn't stopped thinking about her.
There's a good chance you'll like this one more than I did. American Rust is the story of a small American town gone wrong. Plagued with economic problems, Isaac and the other characters in Philipp Meyer's American Rust struggle. And struggle. And struggle. They struggle with how to survive. They struggle with how to make ends meet. They struggle to thrive. Because thriving in the midst of their problems, their woes, is almost impossible. They struggle to just cope another day. It's a dark novel that raises more than a few moral and ethical questions.
All the things you needed to know in life--you didn't learn them until you'd already made your decisions. For better and worse you were shaped by the people around you. (188)
It was his own choices. They never felt like choices while he was making them, but nonetheless they were. It was nice to think it was a vast conspiracy of others but the truth was something different. (111)
There were certain places and certain people who mattered a lot more than others. Not a single dime was being spent to rebuild Buell. (45)
As I said, you might like this one more than I did. Isaac English and his friend, Billy Poe, stumble into trouble in the opening chapter of
American Rust. Decisions are made--in the moment--that set them both on a very difficult journey. Things are set in motion that are not easily undone. Bad things. This isn't just the story of a tangled, messy friendship. It's the story of a broken community. We meet many of these "broken" people throughout the novel. Many of them firsthand. Because
American Rust is a novel that shifts narrators. A lot. I think this is where I struggled as a reader.
I don't always enjoy books with multiple narrators. The more narrators a book has, the messier it can be. I don't know if "messy" is quite the right word. But "confusing" doesn't seem right either. Because it's not so much that this story is hard to follow. It isn't. It's just that with the focus shifting back and forth so very much, it's hard for
my focus to stay in place. I was slow to realize the point of this one. What seems so obvious in retrospect. I was expecting this book to be about
something. To be a bit more plot-driven perhaps?! I don't know. What this novel does is focus on humanity, on the emotional side of things, the uncomfortable places that despa
ir and unhappiness and worry can lead us. It's about feeling hopeless, feeling stuck, trapped. It is a book about
somethin
The 2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winners go on blog tour! Check out the Award's blog for more information. Not only is this a way to find out about great Jewish children's and teen books; it's a great way to find out about new-to-you bloggers.
From the Press Release:
Gold & Silver Medalists Go on Virtual Tour
The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2010 gold and silver medalists and special Notable Book for All Ages with a Blog Tour, February 1-5, 2010. A blog tour is like a virtual book tour. Instead of going to a library or bookstore to see an author speak, you go to a website on or after the advertised date to read an author's interview.
The full schedule for the Blog Tour is posted at the Association of Jewish Libraries blog, "People of the Books," at jewishlibraries.org/blog.
Visit these blogs on or after the listed dates to read interviews with our authors and illustrators!
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2010
April Halprin Wayland, author of New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category at Practically Paradise
Stephane Jorisch, illustrator of New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category at Frume Sarah's World
Margarita Engle, author of Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category at bookstogether
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2010
Robin Friedman, author of The Importance of Wings
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category at Little Willow's Bildungsroman
Jacqueline Davies, author of Lost
A Lady Like Sarah. By Margaret Brownley. (A Rocky Creek Romance). 2009. Thomas Nelson. 320 pages.
Vultures signaled trouble ahead..
"She's an outlaw. He's a preacher. Both are in need of a miracle."
That's how it's described on the back cover. I must admit I was a little skeptic heading into this one. Would it be 'too western' for me? After all, it is set in the 1870s and it does feature an outlaw or two?! But my worries went away after I began reading.
The book stars the frustrated but good-intentioned preacher, Justin Wells, and the scared-and-somewhat-embittered outlaw, Sarah Prescott. It was not love at first sight.
When he first stumbles across Sarah, she's handcuffed. The U.S. marshal escorting her back to the Texas town of Rocky Creek has been shot and is in very poor condition. Justin not yet knowing that the prisoner is really a she promises the marshal to take "the prisoner" on to Texas, to see justice done, to take a message to the marshal's family. But can he keep his promise after he knows....
After he knows that "the prisoner" is a woman? She may not be dressed as one. She may not act like one, a lady, I mean. But she is woman through and through. And after hearing her side of the story, after hearing about her troubled past, after hearing her declare her innocence and after hearing about the mockery of a trial that condemned her to hang, after he's come to believe her...how can he keep that promise now? When he knows that there is a very good possibility--that she will hang. Can he live with having her her death on his hands?
She stared at the manacles in his hands and wondered what he saw when he looked at her. Did he see an outlaw or someone else--the woman whose heart suddenly yearned to be held by a man? By him? Cheeks aflame, she looked up.
Head lowered, he reached for her hand, but before cuffing her, he hesitated.
She searched his face and he met her gaze. She wanted him to look at her like she had seen her brothers look at other women. But anything would be better than the pity she saw in his eyes.
Look at me, she wanted to cry. Look at me. Without thinking, she threw her arms around his neck. If he was surprised, she couldn't tell. For his lips melted against hers, sending waves of heat down her body. His mouth on hers was both gentle and demanding, sweet and warm, and more than anything, persuasive. She drank in the moment, wishing it would last forever.
Great sand and sagebrush! How come no one ever told her that kissin' a man was even more fun than fightin' a bear? She'd heard tell about this man and woman stuff, but no one ever said it felt this good, felt so completely and utterly right.
The kiss ended far too soon. One hand on her shoulder, he firmly pushed her away. The mouth that moments earlier had been soft and yielding was now hard and unrelenting. No pity showed in his eyes now. Only rejection...and, somehow, that was even worse.
Her senses in turmoil, she didn't know what to think. She wondered if she had only imagined his response, imagined that he welcomed her kiss.
Confused as much by her own actions as his, she stared up at him.
"I'm sorry, Sarah."
She couldn't have felt more humiliated had she been thrown from a horse.
For the longest while, they stared at each other like two wild animals meeting by chance.
"Forgive me," he pleaded. "I can't do this."
Had he thrust a knife in her heart, he couldn't have hurt
Welcome to the third day of the Calamity Jack tour. I thought I'd take a few minutes to share why I love Shannon Hale so much. And the first few reasons have nothing to do with the books she's authored. As great as they are, I would still love her as much if she was just a blogger. You see, she has a great little blog. And she really contributes to the community with her posts. You *should* definitely seek out her posts on "How To Be A Reader."
How To Be A Reader: Reader Responsibility
How To Be A Reader: Author Responsibility
How To Be A Reader: How Becoming An Author Changed Me As A Reader
How To Be A Reader: Reviewing the Review
How To Be A Reader: The Moral of the Story Is...
The Moral of the--Wait, what's a moral?
How To Be A Reader: Good book, vs. Bad Book
How To Be a Reader: Why Write a Good Book
How To Be A Reader: Making Yourself Fully Literate
How To Be A Reader, Book Evaluation vs. Self Evaluation
Let Them Eat Pictures
Commenting on comments, reviewing reviews
Now is it absolutely essential that authors have websites and blogs? Probably not. But I certainly like discovering my favorite authors have a blog to follow.
Now, let's talk about her books. I love them. I do. These are the ones I've reviewed:
Goose Girl, Enna Burning, River Secrets, Forest Born.
Princess Academy
Book of a Thousand Days
Austenland
There is only one novel that I haven't read yet, The Actor & The Housewife.
Have you read any Shannon Hale books? Do you have a favorite?
To see what others are saying about Shannon Hale...
Sally Apokedak, Reading is my Superpower, firesidemusings.blogspot.com, Through the Looking Glass Book Review , Booking Mama,
Calamity Jack. By Shannon and Dean Hale. Illustrated by Nathan Hale. 2010. Bloomsbury USA. 144 pages.
Welcome to the second day of the Calamity Jack blog tour. Today I bring you my review of Calamity Jack, a companion book to Rapunzel's Revenge. Both graphic novels are twists on old-and-familiar stories. Rapunzel. Jack and the Beanstalk. Hale takes old characters, and breathes new life into them. Giving them oddly modern adventures. While I must admit that I loved Rapunzel's Revenge more than Calamity Jack, I did enjoy it for what it was.
I think of myself as a criminal mastermind...with an unfortunate amount of bad luck. I was born to scheme. See? You can tell just by looking at me. I wasted no time. My first true scheme was at age two.
In Rapunzel's Revenge, Jack was, well, so-clearly-the-good guy. In Calamity Jack, we see that Jack doesn't think of himself in quite that way. In fact, up until the moment he hooked up with Rapunzel, well, he always considered himself a bad boy. He was oh-so-good at being a bad boy. So he's having to redefine himself (in a way) as he's put to new tests and struggles through new adventures.
Calamity Jack tells Jack's back story. How he came to be Jack. Yes, we see how Jack came to grow that beanstalk. We get the real why of it. We also see how he came to be at Rapunzel's side. But it also continues the story. The second half of this graphic novel tells of new adventures shared with Rapunzel and Jack. So it is both a companion and sequel.
What does this one offer readers? Action. Adventure. Fun.
To see what others are saying about Calamity Jack...
Sally Apokedak, Reading is my Superpower, firesidemusings.blogspot.com, Through the Looking Glass Book Review , Booking Mama, Cafe of Dreams, Becky’s Book Reviews, The Hungry Readers, , My Own Little Corner of the World, Book Blather, GreenBeanTeenQueen, Book Crumbs , Abby (the) Librarian, Dolce Bellezza, Homeschoolbuzz.com, The Book Cellar, Carrie’s YA Bookshelf, Bookshelf Monstrosity, Everyday Reading, Frenetic Reader, KidzBookBuzz.com
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
Welcome to the first day of the blog tour for Shannon Hale's newest book, Calamity Jack. I'm starting off the three day tour by sharing a previously-posted review of the first book, the companion book, Rapunzel's Revenge. This book is just one of many Shannon Hale books I've reviewed through the years. You see, she's one of my favorite authors.
Hale, Shannon and Dean. 2008. Rapunzel's Revenge. Illustrated by Nathan Hale.
Rapunzel's Revenge is a graphic novel. A great graphic novel of an empowered and spunky Rapunzel who's on a quest for revenge. Really there are no words for how much fun this one is. It does begin in a familiar way, "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful little girl..." and it is loosely based on the fairy tale...but most of the story is original and fun and wonderful. The book really begins to take off when Rapunzel rescues herself from the tower. One of the first things she does is meet her "adventuring hero" who would have rescued her...not. Here's how that exchange goes:
Rapunzel: Ow! What in the--
Would-be-hero: Are you all right?
Rapunzel: Oh...am I...am I all right? Well I was until someone shot my new pet pig. I was going to call him Roger.
Would-be-hero: You're welcome! All in a day's work. I'm an adventuring hero.
Rapunzel: Well, It's nice to meet you. It's nice to meet anyone, really. Can you give me directions to--
Would-be-hero: I was getting so bored watching the workers farm my fields all day. So I left behind the civilized comforts of Husker City, following tales of a beautiful maiden trapped in a high tower.
Rapunzel: Oh! That's so noble of you to come all this way to help her.
Would-be-hero: Yes, noble is a good word for me. I can't actually rescue her, of course. The word is she's Mother Gothel's pet and I won't risk crossing the old lady. But I can tell her I'm going to rescue her. She's bound to be too naive to know the difference, and it'll be such fun in the meantime!
Rapunzel: Oh.
Would be hero: So, tiny ragamuffin, as payment for saving you from that rampaging beast, you may point the way to her mystical tower.
Rapunzel: Uh, yeah, the tower is a huge tree just back that way, but...but she's slightly deaf. If you keep calling out, she'll hear you. Eventually.
Would-be-hero: Excellent! And I'm off.
Rapunzel: Remember to yell as loud as you can!
Narrator: This is where the "once upon a time" part ends, with yours truly finally free from that perpendicular prison.
But Rapunzel's story is far from over. And her adventures have just begun. I loved the story. I loved the style. I loved the illustrations.
I loved this one!!!
To visit others on the tour,
Sally Apokedak,
Reading is my Superpower,
firesidemusings.blogspot.com,
Through the Looking Glass Book Review ,
Booking Mama,
Cafe of Dreams,
Collins, Wilkie. 1870. Man and Wife. 688 pages.
On a summer's morning, between thirty and forty years ago, two girls were crying bitterly in the cabin of an East Indian passenger ship, bound outward, from Gravesend to Bombay.
No matter how you look at it, Man and Wife is a strange and often uneven novel. Definitely melodramatic. As complicated as any modern soap opera.
Anne and Blanche are best friends. Their mothers--also named Anne and Blanche--were also best friends. (Though both mothers are dead by the time this story really gets started. Perhaps that is why these two--now of marriageable age--cling to one another so fiercely.) But this friendship is about to be tested. And not just a little bit. Anne, out of necessity or "duty" is about to separate herself (perhaps forever) from her closest friend. Foolishly, Anne gave into temptation with Geoffrey Delamayn, and is now reaping the consequences. She's pregnant. And she's trying to push her lover into marriage. Reminding him of all that he's said and done. How he owes her and his unborn child. The two arrange to meet at an inn and pose as man and wife. She wants--of course--for the marriage to take place soon after. But before Geoffrey can arrive (but after Anne's already run away), he receives notice that his father is ill--perhaps dying. He's needed at home. In London, I believe. So he convinces his friend, Arnold Brinkworth, to go in his place. To deliver a note to Anne. But to do this, he has to tell a few white lies to the landlady. To say he is the young lady's husband. (Arnold, for the record, is newly engaged. He's in love with Blanche.) This makes both uncomfortable. Neither likes the deceit. And both would undo this day if they could. But what's done is done, right?
This book is set in Scotland and England. And it concerns the Scottish marriage laws of the time. (Irregular little marriages including marriage by declaration and marriage by correspondence.) It's an integral part of the plot and much too complex to try to explain here. But these vacationing characters get into quite a mess by the end of it!
I mentioned that the book was strange. Perhaps that's not quite the word for it. The book tackles so many different topics. Scottish marriage laws. Marriage in general. The lack of women's rights. (How if a woman is a wife then she is the property of her husband. It doesn't matter how evil and cruel and drunk and abusive he is. She is his for life to do with as he pleases.) Society itself. The 'dangers' of sports and athleticism. Perhaps it is the attack on sports--the correlation Collins makes between moral depravity and physical fitness--that stands out as most strange. Geoffrey Delamayn is quite an athlete, a sportsman, he prides himself on his physique. He exercises and trains. He does various sports--including running. And Collins argues that all the energy Delamayn is putting into sports is ruining him mind, body, and soul.
The book is definitely didactic in places. And not just about sports. The other causes taken up within the book--particularly marriage and how women should have rights even if they are married--are a bit more welcome to readers though. But before you champion Collins as being completely enlightened and wonderful, you have to wrestle with passages like these:
Gaskell, Elizabeth. 1848. Mary Barton. Penguin English Library. 488 pages.
There are some fields near Manchester, well known to the inhabitants as 'Green Heys Fields,' through which runs a public footpath to a little village about two miles distant. In spite of these fields being flat and low, nay, in spite of the want of wood (the great and usual recommendation of level tracts of land), there is a charm about them which strikes even the inhabitant of a mountainous district, who sees and feels the effect of contrast in these common-place but thoroughly rural fields, with the busy, bustling manufacturing town, he left but half an hour ago.
Jem Wilson has always only loved Mary Barton. He may not be rich. He may not live in a grand house. But his heart and soul have belonged to Mary Barton. And there's nothing he wouldn't do for the love of his life. Even if he feels that love is unrequited.
On the day he proposed, Mary Barton refused him thoroughly. And, to poor Jem, it seemed rather cruel, heartless, and final. He dramatically declares:
'And is this the end of all my hopes and fears? the end of my life, I may say, for it is the end of all worth living for!' His agitation rose and carried him into passion. 'Mary! you'll hear, may be, of me as a drunkard, and may be as a thief, and may be as a murderer. Remember! when all are speaking ill of me, you will have no right to blame me, for it's your cruelty that will have made me what I feel I shall become.' (175)
But even though he'll never have Mary as his wife, when Mary's aunt, Esther, asks him to watch out for her, to take care of her, he can't quite refuse. You see, Esther fears for Mary. Fears that Mary Barton is in love with a dangerous man, a rich man who is out to seduce her. His rival's name is Harry Carson. And he seems to have it all. But his luck is about to run out.
Mary Barton was Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel. And it's so much more than a suspenseful love story. (Despite my description, this one is told mainly through the eyes of Mary Barton. Though at times it is told from other perspectives. John Barton, Mary's father, plays a large role in this one.) It's a novel about social class and economics. Of the haves and the have-nots. The Bartons and the Wilsons and almost everyone else of note in the novel are living at the poverty level. Below it more like it. Death from starvation, death by disease, these are very real concerns. Life isn't easy or pretty. It's one hardship after another after another. (It's enough to get you down and keep you down.) John Barton takes these losses poorly. He becomes angry and bitter. He blames the rich for all his problems. Is his anger justified? You be the judge!
One of the strengths of the novel is characterization. We meet Mary Barton, her family, her friends, her community. We meet so many different characters. Characters that are so easy to care about. (For example, Job Legh, Margaret Jennings, and Will Wilson. I particularly enjoyed Job!) All her characters have depth and substance. It's a very human book. The novel is also rich in detail and is very atmospheric.
What I wasn't expecting--and you may not be expecting either--was how rich this one was spiritually. It has some definite spiritual tones and by the end especially its rich spiritual significance really stands out. Something you don't find in just any classic.
I'm happy to be a part of the
Elizabeth Gaskell blog tour. To see the rest of the bloggers on tour, visit
The Classics Circuit
Today’s Winter Blog Blast Tour interviews:
And yesterday’s, since I forgot to post them:
Links to material on Amazon.com contained within this post may be affiliate links for the Amazon Associates program, for which this site may receive a referral fee.
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by Kari Lee Townsend.jpg?picon=1806)
By: Savita Kalhan,
on 1/24/2011
upping your profile, trying to get (hopefully rave, but no guarantees!) reviews – online and in the press, making sure everyone, including the right people know about them, doing signings, visiting schools, blogging about your new book, blogging about yourself, being active on twitter and facebook, getting interviewed, networking, courting bloggers and librarians, speaking at conferences, and finding as many platforms for yourself and your book as possible. (Even Margaret Atwood maintains an active Twitter profile)
upping your profile, trying to get (hopefully rave, but no guarantees!) reviews – online and in the press, making sure everyone, including the right people know about them, doing signings, visiting schools, blogging about your new book, blogging about yourself, being active on twitter and facebook, getting interviewed, networking, courting bloggers and librarians, speaking at conferences, and finding as many platforms for yourself and your book as possible. (Even Margaret Atwood maintains an active Twitter profile)
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By: Jodi,
on 1/20/2011
Blog Tour
Thanks for the fabulous review, Amy! I had a blast writing Fused :-)
Nice job, Amy. My daughter (12) loved this story. My review is up for Monday!