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Yay! It's fab fun to have a goal. It's exciting. You are feeling the euphoria of a new journey. I say feel it down into your bones! Today I'm shouting out for one of my favorite reads of 2010, Kathleen Duey's book Sacred Scars was a fabulous book.

I love it.

Today's "teaching us the way it is" high five is from Kathleen Duey. I love it when an author so moves me into a book that I wish I could be a character in it. I wish I could hop into the pages of Sacred Scars and throttle, yes!, throttle Somas. Ooh, I'm so mad at him. (I can't use the words that I am feeling toward Somas because I'm going for a G-rating.) And poor Sadima, I just want heap good stuff on her. She deserves a million good things to just flood her life. (Uh, oops, she not real. I keep forgetting that.)


I hope that you will seek to create something that will upturn cages and get your readers into the light. Today be as honest and as real as you can. We hide inside ourselves and it's really sad. Have you ever let yourself tell the whole truth about a thing? Will you stop holding back? Let it all go, folks.

Seize the day! See you tomorrow for more of the Golden Coffee Cup. :)

Your love has done me more good than you can possibly imagine. Sadima in Sacred Scars by Kathleen Duey.

WARNING: The following review contains spoilers of Skin Hunger, the first book in this series. If you have not read Skin Hunger, dash off to your local library as fast as you can and read it! Then you may read this review, and subsequently Sacred Scars, at your leisure.

When we left Sadima at the end of Skin Hunger, she, Franklin, and Somiss were in a cave with several orphan boys, kidnapped from Limori. Sadima is miserable living in the cave. She feels the fear and loneliness of the trapped boys, whom Somiss forces to learn how to copy the Gypsy symbols. Somiss is even more reclusive- and yet somehow even more frightening- than before. Worst of all, Franklin is gone all night, stealing food, and asleep all day, so Sadima has almost no time with him. As more and more time passes, she realizes that maybe he doesn’t even love her anymore. And slowly, she realizes something she knew all along. She cannot stay in this cave. She must escape.

Hahp, at the end of Skin Hunger, had made a pact with his roommate Gerrard to destroy the academy at all costs. They both realized the danger of their agreement, and as their fragile almost-friendship teeters on the verge of breaking, it seems to Hahp that Gerrard isn’t keeping his end of the deal. But that is far from being the boys’ only problem. As their lessons become more and more difficult, life becomes more painful. The wizards are acting even more strangely. Hahp’s sleep is haunted by dreams that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Worst of all, the safety of all the boys is threatened by the violent, unpredictable, and dying Luke. As the pact between Gerrard and Hahp expands to include the rest of the boys, they are forced to make the most difficult choices of their lives. And as the connection between the story’s two plots becomes more apparent, the eternal question still nags at the reader: where is Sadima?

This book most definitely lived up to the precedent set for it by Skin Hunger. Although Sadima’s story lagged somewhat in the beginning of the book and at certain points throughout, most of that plotline, and all of Hahp’s, moved at a fairly brisk pace. There were numerous plot twists and unexpected events sprinkled throughout to keep the story moving.

Hahp’s story was definitely the more engaging of the two plots. There was so much story material there, weaving a rich, detailed plot, and as always, Hahp is a realistic and dynamic character. But this should not be taken to mean that Sadima’s story was not also compelling; on the contrary, since the action progressed somewhat more slowly for most of the book, it provided a nice complement to the tension of Hahp’s story, building up to the dramatic climax and cliffhanger ending in both cases.

Overall, Sacred Scars is a fabulous second installment in the Resurrection of Magic trilogy; I’m anxious for the conclusion. Four and a half magical daggers.






Yours in suspense,
Tay

Children's Authors and Illustrators Week...

There's an exciting event coming up, and I'm not talking about the Super Bowl. (Go Patriots! Actually I don't really care who wins, although an undefeated season sounds kinda fun. I'm just excited about the Big Sandwich--vegetarian for me--and the guacamole.)

I'm talking about Children's Authors and Illustrators Week which my loves-to-send-me-links brother clued me in on. Why is this not on my Madeline calendar in my office?

I love the idea of a week devoted to creators of book for young readers visiting those readers. Here's what the California-based Children's Authors Network says about CAIW:

During this annual event, acclaimed authors and illustrators from Children’s Authors Network (CAN!) visit schools, libraries, and children’s shelters all over the country. Lively storytelling, fascinating presentations, and hands-on writing workshops make books spring to life, and inspire a life-long love of reading and writing.

On Dumbledore's Gayness...

I'm sure you've heard that JK Rowling has been revealing more than just her undergarments on her current tour (I hope I don't get hate mail or fired for that last link)--she's recently let Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore out of the closet. They're writing about it everywhere.

Check out the Onion if you'd like a chuckle. Then see Alison Morris's PW Shelftalker blog post, What Happens in Hogwarts Stays in Hogwarts with lots and lots of links and a thoughtful commentary.

I can't help but wonder if the people who wanted HP banned because of the magic are excited to have something else to object to.

I know that a lot of people are as excited as I am, but it’s a little bittersweet, isn’t it? The thought of actually having to say goodbye to Harry, Hermione and Ron is a bit sad…but we’ll always have our books to read and re-read. And the movies! Sadly, I had a busy weekend and a busy week, and so I have not yet had a chance to see Order of the Phoenix. Soon, I hope!

I’m going to be visiting my hometown this weekend, so Amazon is shipping my book there. Not that I’ll have time to read it. It’s going to be one painful weekend!

Of course, as in the past, various media outlets and critics are nattering on about how Harry is crap and adults who read HP should be ashamed of themselves. To them, I offer a hearty “neener, neener.” Harry Potter is magic, pure and simple.

And just for fun, here’s a YouTube clip spoofing on Welcome Back, Kotter:

If you write for young people, consider this LJ post a big, fat thank you note (virtual chocolates and ice cream, too). I just finished reading my 7th graders' final exams. I ask them to write an essay reflecting on how they've grown as readers, writers, and human beings this year. Here's a quote from K...

"In the beginning of the year, I didn't like to read at all. But then my teacher showed me all these books that were for me, and I couldn't stop reading."

Books that were for her.  Written just for her.  Or at least it felt that way.  She went on to talk about Sonya Sones, Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Nancy Werlin -- voices that spoke to her over the past ten months. 

And K wasn't the only one who named names as she reflected on books that made a difference this year.  My kids talked about finding themselves in the characters of Pete Hautman, Janet Tashjian, Jack Gantos, Laurie Halse Anderson, Lisa Yee, Sharon Creech, Jerry Spinelli, Wendelin Van Draanen, David Lubar, Cynthia Kadohata, Mal Peet, and Walter Dean Myers.  They wrote about being challenged by M.T. Anderson, Richard Preston, and Markus Zusak.  They wrote fondly about escaping into the worlds of Margaret Peterson Haddix, Christopher Paolini, and JK Rowling.  And they reflected on walking a mile in someone else's shoes as they read Gene Luen Yang, Cynthia Lord, Will Hobbs, Jennifer Roy, and Joseph Bruchac.

I write for kids.  I know that some days, it feels like you're alone with your computer, and even your computer doesn't  like you very much. So I thought I'd share K's reflection on her year of reading.  We all need to realize when we write, we're writing for someone important.  Someone like K, who's waiting for a book that's just for her, just for him.  

If you write for kids, that's the work you're doing every day.  You may never get to read the end-of-the-year essays, but you should know that you make a difference, and you're appreciated.