Review by Cindy R. Williams
Shy Adelle Hansen hears demons, but she’s determined to make friends at her new high school by keeping her ability secret.
When she overhears supernatural voices celebrating the impending death of the school quarterback, Levi Anderson, she knows she has to do something to prevent it. However, the demons aren’t the ones plotting; they’re just celebrating the chaos, and Adelle must contend with earthly forces as well if she wants to preserve Levi’s life.
Handsome, popular Levi doesn't appreciate Adelle’s self-appointed role of guardian angel. As Adelle battles to keep him safe, she’ll have to protect her heart, too. Can she do both?
Okay, who wouldn't want to read this? Girl wants to fit into her new school. Hottest guy on the planet is in danger, and only she knows it, since she has this strange ability to hear demons. Somehow she must save him, but alas, her attempts annoy him. What a great struggle. Helping someone who doesn't even know he needs help, and plus she has made a nuisance of herself. Love it!
If you are a Rallison fan, then you know she has a great, sometimes quirky sense of humor. She also knows how to spin a good yarn, and romance. No one does clean romance better. This book, THE GIRL WHO HEARD DEMONS won Amazon's Kindle Scout competition against billions of other books. Okay a bit of an exaggeration, but to win Amazon's Kindle Scout contest is a BIG deal!
Let me tell you more about Janette. I actually know her, and find her to be a regular person--you know, nice, funny, and all around great mother, and recently a grandmother--but she is not old, and doesn't sit in a rocker, although she does have lots of cats, so could be considered a cat lady. I don't think Janette has an enemy in the world. You meet her, she makes you laugh and feel at home. She never puts on airs and is willing to help out new writers. You would never know she has sold over a million books and is usually published by Penguin.
Here is more of the official bio type stuff that is on hand about Janette:
Janette Rallison, also known as CJ Hill, writes books because writing is much more fun than cleaning bathrooms.
Her avoidance of housework has led her to writing 24 novels that have sold over 1,000,000 print copies and have been on many reading and state lists.
Her books are fantasy, sci-fi, and romantic comedy because hey, there is enough angst in real life, but there’s a drastic shortage of humor, romance and hot guys who fight dragons.
She lives in Arizona with her husband, kids, and enough cats to classify her as eccentric.
Get the book. You will be glad you did!
Writers Mirror gives THE GIRL WHO TALKED TO DEMONS ten stars. It is that good!
My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison
Book Review by Cindy Bohn of Digging up Bohns
This starts off as a pretty standard case for a little magical help here. Jane is pretty and smart, but can't make handsome Hunter notice her. But she gets a makeover and poof! instant happy ending. Except that Hunter is her little sister's boyfriend. Oops.
Now pretty, popular, oblivious little Savannah is the one in need of some help. But instead of a Fairy Godmother, she gets a Fair one, and this one can't even be bothered to listen long enough to figure out what three wishes Savannah wants. Looks like she'll have to get through Cinderella and Snow White on her own before she can find her Prince Charming.
This was a fun and breezy read that had a very satisfying ending, as well as a reminder that Middle Age life was nothing like it is in those Disney movies.
* I reviewed this book, too. You can see my review here. -Emily *
My Fair Godmother Janette Rallison
Savannah is not happy after her boyfriend dumps her for her older sister and leaves her with a $350 prom dress and no date. Enter in her fairy godmother, who's doing an extra credit project to get her grades up. Chrysanthemum Everstar isn't a very good fairy godmother and doesn't fully listen to Savannah's thought processes and wishes. So, Savannah gets zapped back to the middle ages as Cinderella, months before the ball. Then, she gets zapped into Snow White. Then, she has to go back once again, but this time to help a classmate who has also fallen victim to Chrissy's haphazard magic.
I thought this was going to be a funny and fun light book, a perfectly enjoyable book to read on a summer afternoon. I did not expect to fall so in LOVE with it. Yes, it's funny and fun, but there was a lot more substance there than I expected. Savannah grew much more as a character than I expected, and the relationship between her and Jane was rather complex. I also appreciated how much of the "ick" factor that is daily life in the middle ages Rallison managed to work in. This book was so much more than I thought it would be and so much better than I was expecting. Fantastic!
Book Provided by... my local library
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The first time I heard the name “Shannon Hale” was from my daughter. She was in elementary school, and in an awkward reading stage where her advanced ability made her ready for books far above her age and experience. So when she announced she’d discovered a wonderful new author, Shannon Hale, who wrote books she wanted to read, we jumped into the car to go buy her books.
We talked to the bookseller who assured me that her books were exciting and enthralling, and also appropriate for younger readers. We scooped them up, and to this day, they sit on my daughter's keeper shelf!
Some years later, my literary agent, Nadia Cornier, told me she was handling Shannon’s adult novel,
Austenland. Again, I zoomed to the bookstore. I found it and took it on a weekend outing. In fact, whenever I think of that weekend now, what I remember is Austenland, and how I didn’t want to put it down...
So I am delighted to chat today with New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor author Shannon Hale, whose books clearly delight readers of all ages!
Tina: Hello, Shannon. I hear you’ve been writing stories since elementary school (like I have, and many other of us Buzz Girl authors). Any embarrassing early works you care to own up to?
Shannon: What do you mean embarrassing? Clearly I was a master writer from the beginning!Tina: Really--what was I thinking?!? Well, skip ahead a few years, and you sold your first book,
The Goose Girl . Where were you and what were you doing when you first got the news?
Shannon: I was at home doing yoga. The company I worked for had laid everyone off the month before and I was unemployed. My agent called and let me know she had a message from an editor at Bloomsbury saying that she wanted to make an offer. I truly could not eat or sleep for two days. Except the editor didn't get back to us again for TWO WEEKS, so for two weeks I was on a razor's edge, waiting to hear if it was real or not! Tina: Yeah, those waits can feel like FOREVER. Hey...recently you got involved in a fantastic charitable event called
Project Book Babe, in which you and several other Big Name Young Adult Authors banded together to help raise funds for Arizona bookseller and friend, Faith Hochhlater, in her battle against breast cancer. Having met Faith on two occasions and been a recipient of her enthusiasm and generosity, I applaud you and the others for your efforts in helping her.
Can you tell us a behind-the-scenes story about the event?
Shannon: So...I was the emcee. I'd introduced all ten of the authors and then we were setting up the tables, microphones, getting ready for the panel. Then Jon Lewis noticed that no one was sitting in one of the places and he said, "DId you forget someone?" I looked at my sheet--no, I was sure I'd gotten everyone. Then he pointed to the name tag--Stephenie Meyer. Yeah, I'd truly forgotten her. I could not stop laughing. She was backstage and couldn't hear what was going on, and when she found out later what had happened, she thought it was hysterical.
That event was so fun. I was like a kid in a candy store. Everyone was so game! I said, "Hey, do some of you want to do a lip sync and dance to an Aretha Franklin song for me?" And several people said, "Sure!" Then I said, "Hey Dean Lorey, will you put on Stephenie's prom dress and model it for the audience?" and he said, "Sure!" Pure heaven.
In the above picture taken after the event, Faith is in the center (blonde), and I imagine you can all find Shannon (in orange) and Stephenie (behind Faith), as well as Janette Rallison (to Stephanie's left), who has been profiled here at the Buzz Girls blog, as well.Tina: I have to ask about your blogsite name, which is
squeetus. Is there a story behind the name Squeetus?
Shannon: My husband rarely calls our family members by our names. We all have multiple nicknames. The formal version of one of my nicknames (squeeter pig) is apparently Squeetus. Truly, I am as mystified as you.
Tina: LOL. He sounds like a lot of fun! And why don’t you tell us about the graphic novel,
Rapunzel’s Revenge, that the two of you co-wrote?
Shannon: It's a rip-roarin', rootin' tootin' adventure! I love collaborating with my husband. I love involving him in my books, making this more of a family thing than a me-thing. And I regularly get fan mail that makes me cry, from parents who tell me, "My child never read a book in her/his life until Rapunzel's Revenge." Once they read this book, they get more confidence and go on to read other books. It's unbelievably gratifying.Tina: Sounds terrific...so terrific, in fact, we’re going to give a copy of Rapunzel's Revenge --or-- Austenland (winner's choice) to one lucky commenter! To enter, we’re asking our readers to leave a comment below telling us one of their nicknames--and feel free to embarrass yourself!
Thank you, Shannon, it’s be a real joy having you here!
Tina
Tina Ferraro
The ABC's of Kissing Boys - Nominee, YALSA Best Teen Book
How to Hook a Hottie - 2009 Rita Finalist
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
www.tinaferraro.com
After her boyfriend dumps her for her older sister, Savannah meets her fair godmother Chrysanthemum (whose grades in Fairy Godmother school were only fair and so she has not passed the apprentice level yet) who grants her three wishes. Unfortunately for Savannah, Chrissy is more focused on shopping than her so when she wishes for her life to be like a fairy tale with a handsome prince waiting
Get out your hankies ladies and gentlemen, this one is a tearjerker! I knew I was in trouble when my ARC came with a package of tissues...even the publisher is telling readers their book will make us cry!
Just One Wish is written by Janette Rallison and is centered around a loving sibling relationship. 17 year old Annika would really do anything for her 6 year old brother Jeremy. Facing a terrible brain tumor surgery, Annika gives Jeremy one wish, thinking he'll wish for the Teen Robin Hood action figure she got up at 4am and fought off a crazy man at the store for. Instead, Jeremy wishes for Teen Robin Hood himself, and Annika is off on a turbulent Hollywood star stalking adventure, determined to get the actor that plays Teen Robin Hood to visit Jeremy before his surgery.
What Annika gets out of this entire adventure is a romantic relationship with Steve Raleigh, teen actor (even after all the stalking) and the intense admiration and love of her little brother. The book is sweet, teary, and has lots of funny moments, even if it is a bit unbelievable. Well...more than a bit. Overly sappy at times too, there are certainly a few flaws, but teens will get a kick out of the plot line...just make sure you supply tissue packs!
To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon.
I have a biiiiig giveaway going on here. Go enter!!
Just One Wish
Janette Rallison
272 pages
Young Adult
Putnam Juvenile
9780399246180
March 2009
Review by Me.
The more books I read by Janette Rallison, the more I like her work. She writes consistently clean teen romances filled with laughs.
In
Just One Wish (released last week),
Annika Truman has promised the impossible. Her little brother has an upcoming surgery. Convinced she knows exactly what her brother will wish for, she offers to grant any wish he makes, hoping that the happiness he feels will help his surgery go well.
Unfortunately, things don't always go as expected with little brothers. He wishes that the (very famous and attractive) actor who plays Robin Hood on TV will come to his house and teach him to shoot arrows.
Annika, being determined to grant his wish, heads off to the set of Robin Hood to convince the actor to come meet her brother.
A hilarious chain of events ensues, as you can imagine.
I recommend this book to teens and
tweens who enjoy a good romantic comedy. You can see reviews of a couple of
Rallison's other books here as well.
It's a Mall World After All and
My Fair Godmother were also a lot of fun.
Review by Emily Beeson
Be careful what you wish for. You might get it! My Fair Godmother, which just came out last week, is another fun romantic comedy by Janette Rallison.
When Savannah's boyfriend dumps her for her older sister, she idly wishes for a true prince. Chrissy, her fairy godmother, shows up. Only Chrissy is not a real fairy godmother. She's only a fair fairy student. In her attempts to grant three wishes for Savannah, Savannah is sent to the Middle Ages smack into the stories of Cinderella and Snow White.
When Savannah finally gets out of the Middle Age mess, she discovers that Tristan, a boy from school, has been sent back to prove himself a worthy prince for her. Together, Tristan and Savannah have to conquer mystical creatures and find a way back into the present day.
If you are a fan of fairy tales (which I definitely am), you'll enjoy
My Fair Godmother. I recommend it for tweens and teens. It's a quick, unique read.
Enjoy!
Chelsea cannot stand her younger sister Adrian's rock star boyfriend, Rick. Rick has devoted his entire new cd to songs that make fun of Chelsea and her cheerleading squad. When Rick sabotages their performance at a school pep rally by replacing their music with an anti-school song, Chelsea becomes determined to get revenge by beating him at the national High School Idol auditions. Along the
Charlotte is not the best perfume saleswoman in the world, but her job at Bloomingdales does have one advantage- it's view of the mall's courtyard. Charlotte can people-watch and pretend she is writing her thesis on the psychology of shopping and what your purchases say about you. Unfortunately, one afternoon Charlotte sees her best friend's boyfriend Bryant and his best friend Colton meeting
By Kirsty
“Why British English?”, I hear you ask. Well, that’s because the OUPBlog is going international, with the new UK Early Bird. I will be posting from the UK office of OUP, bringing you the British take on all things blog-like. By way of introduction, I thought I’d take you through a lighthearted tour of some of my favourite examples of British English. (more…)
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I love Janette! I haven't read this yet and reading your post reminded me that I meant to pick up the book. Thanks!