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Tell us about the time you rescued someone else (person or animal) from a dangerous situation. What happened? How did you prevail?

Did I tell you guys about the time Kevin nearly got ran over by an ambulance in New York City?

It was a few months after his motorcycle accident. It was July 2010. We had already booked a cruise out of New York to Canada and we weren’t sure if we would be able to go considering Kevin shattered his pelvis in April.

He had to live in a wheelchair for about 8 weeks after his accident to give his pelvis time to heal. Once the doctor’s said it was okay, he had to learn to walk all over again.

I tried to talk him out of the trip. Luckily, we had bought trip insurance and we could have gotten out of the trip if he really wanted to. He waffled back and forth on whether he could handle it and in the end, we went.

The trip was super hard on Kevin. SUPER HARD. We walked all over that city and poor Kevin hobbled along with his cane at first, but it just got to be too much for him so he switched to his walker.

You can really tell how weak and exhausted he was in this picture:

We were riding the New York subway and it was almost more than he could handle.

I felt so sorry for him.

And the weather certainly didn’t help – New York in July?!? What were we thinking?! I think we all lost five pounds in sweat alone.

We were only in New York a few days before catching our boat, but Kevin was exhausted after those few days and we still had another four days on a cruise boat to go!

In hindsight, we probably should have canceled the cruise. But I will say that though the trip for Kevin was super hard, it did him a world of good. He recovered by leaps and bounds after that trip. I think pushing himself really helped his body to heal faster.

But I wouldn’t want him to go through that again to test my theory.

And did I mention he didn’t complain once??

I am glad, though, that we took his walker. At least he instantly had someplace to sit when our walking just got to be too much.

We were walking through Times Square and … I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Times Square but it’s sensory overload, on crack. There’s so much noise. So many sights to see. So many people to dodge that your eyes don’t know where to land first and it’s hard to pick out sounds because THERE ARE SO MANY SOUNDS!

We were walking across the entrance to a side street, all of our heads turned in opposite directions, when I suddenly picked up the sound of a siren. (This was before I worked at the hospital – my life on foreshadow mode). I glanced down the side street and noticed an ambulance barreling toward us.

I hurried the boys across and then noticed that Kevin was distracted and hadn’t picked up on the fact that a two-ton truck was nearly on top of him. I yelled over the noise, frantically pointing in the direction of the white blur baring down on him. He was using his walker to cross the street and when he spotted the ambulance, he stumbled/speed walked to get out of the way.

I would have laughed but I was too terrified. It’s sort of like making a joke too soon after a traumatic event – the adrenaline hasn’t had a chance to wear off – and we had just survived six weeks of hospital and rehab after his motorcycle accident – how ironic would it have been for him to recover from that harrowing experience only to be run down by an ambulance, using his walker, in Times Square?

I didn’t really “rescue” him, more like I “warned” him, but I deserve a kudos for making sure the man didn’t end up bug juice on an ambulance windshield.

Right?

Filed under: Daily Prompt, Writing Stuff

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Titles--heartache city! The title must do everything a synopsis or query does: grab the reader, provide a summary, and hint at the action yet to come. A lot of time goes into working up a good title, and it's not just the author's work, either. The editor, the editor's coworkers, and sales and marketing all have their say; everyone's input must be considered.

Titles cooked up and rejected for A WHOLE LOT OF LUCKY:

• Two Flavors of Lucky
• The Year of My Magnificent Luckiness
• Three Million Dollar Girl
• The Duplicitous Luckiness of Hailee Richardson
• Serendippitydoo
• Lucky Me
• Impossibly Possibly Lucky
• Hailee Richardson, Girl Millionaire

My editor and I brainstormed pages of titles and promptly rejected most of them. The problem lies in the word "lucky:" phrases involving "getting lucky" are imbued with the wrong kind of nuance! Also, we wanted to avoid words like jackpot or other buzzwords that are too close too gambling. (This was hard, because even the buying of a lottery ticket is gambling.)

My sister suggested "A Whole Lotto Lucky," and the powers that be loved her suggestion! With a bit of morphing, my sister's words became A WHOLE LOT OF LUCKY.

Now you can try your luck without all the heartache my editor and I went through! For a free, signed hardcover of A WHOLE LOT OF LUCKY, just enter the Goodreads contest!

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Jessica Warman is the author of Beautiful Lies, which just hit store shelves.  Jessica recently dropped by the virtual offices to chat about her new book and writing influences. Check out what she has to say.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Describe yourself in 140 characters or less.

[Jessica Warman] Introvert w/ a wonderful life doing what I love. Born w/an itch for trouble. Mouth like a trucker. I grow on people. Crazy like a fox.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Can you tell us a little about Beautiful Lies?

[Jessica Warman] Sure! The book is about a set of identical twins, Rachel and Alice, who have always had an incredibly powerful bond. When one of them goes missing, it is up to the remaining twin to figure out what happened, primarily by tapping into this bond. I’ve been told by more than a few readers that it’s a pretty scary book, which pleases me to no end.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How did you come up with the concept and the characters for the story?

[Jessica Warman] My family has a strong history of what I’d suppose you’d call clairvoyance. A number of people on my mom’s side of the family have either worked as psychics or else claimed to be psychic. That being said, I’m extremely skeptical about these kinds of things, but it fascinates me nonetheless. My idea for the concept came from sorting through many of the family stories I’ve been hearing all my life, and then putting my own spin on it. Some of the characters mirror members of my own family pretty closely. As for the twins, my husband’s sisters are red-headed twins. They’re gorgeous and smart, and they also have an incredible bond – they were my inspiration for Alice and Rachel.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three words best describe Rachel?

[Jessica Warman] She’s secretive, guarded, and kind.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What are three things Alice would never have in her purse?

[Jessica Warman] The first one is definitely black licorice! Also, a picture of herself and her boyfriend together, and a to-do list.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Are you more like Alice or Rachel?

[Jessica Warman] I’m definitely more like Alice. I’ve always been pretty wild, especially when I was a teenager. But I’ve also mellowed quite a bit with age, to the point where I understand there’s a time and place for certain kinds of behavior. No matter what, though, I think the maniac in me will always be in there somewhere, waiting for an appropriate time to shine.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What are your greatest creative influences?

[Jessica Warman] David Foster Wallace is my favorite writer of all time, hands down. His work – especially his nonfiction – is just the greatest stuff I’ve ever read. People talk about art “changing their life” all the time, but in this case it’s true: his writing has changed my life. It’s made me a better person. It has enriched my life in ways I never could have anticipated, and made me feel whole in ways nothing and nobody else has ever been able to do. He was a genius, and we should all support his legacy by reading his work.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things do you need in order to write?

[Jessica Warman] 1) Complete silence. I mean no noise whatsoever, not even the sound of a kitten purring, or rain falling.

2) I have to be well-rested. I’m nonfunctional if I don’t get enough sleep.

<

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Title: Transcendence    Author: CJ Omololu    Publisher: Walker & Co

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

When I saw that CJ Omololu had a new book, I was eager to discover  whether I would enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Dirty Little Secrets.  I have to admit that I was a little leery, because the premise of Dirty Little Secrets is so unique.  I never ever thought I would read a book about hoarding, but I could not put it down once I started it.  I felt so much sympathy for Lucy, the young protagonist, who was left with a moral dilemma after her mother suffers a tragic accident.  Does she immediately call EMS, or does she try to hide her mother’s mental illness.  Lucy does some shocking things to protect mother’s reputation, as well as to save herself a great deal of humiliation, and I was transfixed from the first page to the last.  Even though I didn’t agree with Lucy’s actions, I understood why she was motivated to behave the way she did. 

The cover for Transcendence has me instantly transfixed.  I love how intensely the models are staring into the camera, and immediately felt a sense that they are both ready to face any obstacle to protect each other.  I wondered again what this story would be about.  Yes, that’s me admitting that I didn’t really read the plot synopsis; the cover and the author’s name were enough to sell me on this book.  So, did it measure up?  Yes, I thought it did.  Though it lacked the shock factor of Dirty Little Secrets, it also features an extremely likeable protagonist.  I think I would like Cole if I met her in real life, and so I wanted to see her emerge successfully  from all of her trials.  Even when she made a few bone-headed moves later in the story, I at least understood why she acted as she did.

Cole is a musical prodigy, and she has devoted most of her young life to the cello.  When the story begins, she is visiting London with her older sister and her father, who is on a business trip.  A tour of the Tower of London doesn’t go exactly as planned.  Cole passes out after have a vision of herself being beheaded on the Tower grounds.  She meets Griffon, a fellow American, when he comes to her rescue.  Back home in the States, Cole finds that the visions of the past are getting more intense, and she discovers that she is an Akhet, a person who can remember past

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Cover Shot! is a regular feature here at the Café.  I love discovering new covers, and when I find them, I like to share.  More than anything else, I am consumed with the mystery that each new discovery represents.  There is an allure to a beautiful cover.  Will the story contained under the pages live up to promise of the gorgeous cover art?

I love this cover!  The intensity of the couple just jumps out, and made me do a double-take.  I like the simplicity of their pose, and how the focus is on the cover models.   They looks so real to me, not all polished and shiny and overdressed like so many YA covers are.  The premise looks awesome, too.  Dirty Little Secrets was such a good book, so I am looking forward to reading Transcendence by C. J. Omololu.

 

In stores June 2012

 

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Title: Bleeding Hearts Author: Alyxandra Harvey Publisher: Walker Books ISBN: 978-0802722843

 

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

For me, the greatest enjoyment with the Drake Chronicles comes from revisiting the characters with every new book.  The focus may have turned from one character to more fully flesh out another, but all of the Drakes and their significant others pop up time and again, offering advice (whether solicited or not), someone to ride shotgun in the deadly world of vampires, or providing someone to bicker with.  I love the family, and feel that I get to know them better with each installment.  This is one series that collects very little dust once it hits my bookshelves.  Even when I am pushing the limits of my free-time, I always find an extra minute or two to devour these books.  This is one of my guilty pleasures, and I count down the days until each new adventure is released.

This book takes a slightly different approach from the others.  Instead of just following the new couple around, there are multiple points of view.  Lucy has a starring role, and as she is my favorite character, I didn’t mind.  It was interesting to see how she’s changed from the events in Hearts at Stake, and it was sad as well.  There is a new distance between Solange and Lucy, and it’s breaking Lucy’s heart. Suddenly, for her own good, she has been cut off from her second family, the Drakes.  She doesn’t feel welcome in their home anymore, and most of the family is avoiding her.  That makes it hard for her and Nicholas, and it causes a bit of tension in their relationship.  Lucy hates being cut off from the people she loves, and she is determined to figure out what the heck is going on with Solange.

I found this storyline very compelling, and I felt so bad for Lucy.  Life is just not the same without all of the Drakes to surround her, and it’s even more distressing that she and her best friend forever are barely on speaking terms.   Everyone wants to protect Lucy, but she doesn’t want that for herself.  That is what I like the best about her.  She isn’t going to be a damsel in distress, and she is hell bent on being responsible for her own wellbeing.  All of the women in this series are tough and stubborn, and they don’t need anybody to pamper them.  I appreciate that; it gives them all a sense of empowerment, and it keeps me coming back for more.  The women in this series kick just as much Hel Blar ass as the guys.

Lucy’s cousin Christabel has moved in while her mother struggles with reh

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Title: Nowhere Girl Author: AJ Paquette Publisher: Walker Books ISBN: 978-0802722973

 

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

This was a fantastic read!  The cover made me think that Nowhere Girl would have some fantasy elements, which it did not, but I wasn’t disappointed in the least.  This is a contemporary drama about a young girl who is trying to find her place in the world.  If you follow the blog at all, you already know that I love books that explore this theme.  I think it’s because I am still trying to figure out just exactly where I fit in the grand scheme of the universe, so I feel like I’ve found a kindred spirit when I read a story with a similar theme.

Nowhere Girl is unusual because Luchi Ann has spent her entire life with her mother, a prisoner in a Thailand jail.  Luchi was born there, and it’s the only world she knows.  When her mother falls ill and suddenly dies, Luchi is left alone.  She doesn’t know who her father is, or who her mother really was.  Her life is a giant jigsaw puzzle, and Luchi is desperate to discover the one thing that she is missing – herself.  Her quest from the safe confines of the prison to the endless world of the outside, with its dangers and mysteries, is a huge step for her to make, all alone.  She has nothing, save for the memories of her mother, and box of mementos that she has accumulated while living in the jail. 

I loved this book.  I loved the language, and how lyrically AJ Paquette crafted her sentences.  They are a treat to read,  and the words skillfully caused a cascade of emotions to course through me as I compulsively turned one page after another.  I was quickly invested in Luchi’s quest – would she find the answers she sought, or was she traversing a path to heartbreak?  Luchi is a very complex character, and she has one flaw that causes her grief time and time again.  She is gullible and she is too trusting, having spent most of her life within the orderly confines of the prison.  I experienced her betrayals and her confusion as the people she encountered treated her with varying degrees of trustworthiness.

Though the ending was a bit too rushed, and a bit too rosy, I loved Nowhere Girl.  The setting is interesting, the emotions felt so real, and I was sad when I reached the last page.  This is one of the most underrated books of the year.  While it is marketed to Middle Grade readers, I think that it has a much broader appeal, and that older readers will find much to like about Luchi, and will b

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The Princess and the Pig. Jonathan Emmett. Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. 2011. Walker. 32 pages.


Not that long ago, in a kingdom not far from here, a farmer was traveling home from the market with a cartload of straw. The farmer was so poor that he didn't have a horse and had to pull his own cart. In the back of the cart lay a tiny pink piglet. Nobody wanted to buy the piglet at the market, but the farmer had taken pity on it. "I'll call you Pigmella," he decided, as this seemed like a good name for a pig.

The Princess and the Pig is a delightful book; one that I just loved and adored! The royal princess, Priscilla, is dropped from the tower--the Queen being so disgusted by the smell coming from the baby's diaper--the baby lands quite safely in the farmer's cart. The pig goes up, up, up in the air and lands in the baby's cradle. Because EVERYONE in the kingdom seems to read the right kinds of books--the kinds of books with fairies--good and bad--the kinds of books where the unexpected happens all the time--it's assumed by all that a bad fairy has turned the princess into a pig and a good fairy has turned the pig into a baby girl because she knew that the farmer and his wife are good, hardworking people who haven't been able to have a child of their own all these years.

So the story of course follows both the princess and the pig through the years...and it's quite an entertaining read!!! Very satisfying I must say!!!

It's a great story, very fun, very delightful! Loved all the details! Loved the highlighting of all the books. I'd definitely recommend this one!

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 10 out of 10

© 2011 Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Title: Between Author: Jessica Warman Publisher: Walker Books ISBN: 978-0802721822

 

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

I am a bit confused about my feelings for this book.  There were many elements that I loved and that is what kept me reading.  There were also bits and pieces that I wasn’t so fond of, that detracted from my enjoyment of Between.  I love the concept, too, but felt that the execution was just a little weak in spots.

My biggest dissatisfaction stems from the pacing.  This is a leisurely look at the life and death of one very spoiled young woman.  Starting with Liz’s death, the book jumps between the present and flashbacks to the past to unravel the mystery of her death.  How did she end up in a cold, watery grave on her birthday? Why didn’t anyone hear her fall off of her parents’ boat, or her struggles to save herself from drowning?  Liz has very few memories left, so with the help of another ghost, she begins to fill in the pieces of her life that she has forgotten.  As she slowly adds one fragment of her past after another, she starts to see that she wasn’t a very nice person, and that despite all appearances to the contrary, she wasn’t a very happy one, either.

This is a character driven book, which brings me to the other reason why I didn’t totally love this read.  I wasn’t head over heels with any of the characters, except maybe Alex.  Alex has been dead for a year, killed by a hit and run driver.  He has been stuck somewhere between life and death, restlessly seeking a way to move beyond where he’s stuck now.  He was never a popular kid at school, and unlike Liz, he had to work for everything that he had.  His parents weren’t wealthy, and he had to work at the local market, riding his bike back and forth to his job.  It’s obvious from the start that he can’t stand Liz, he can’t stand her friends, and he isn’t happy that he’s with her in death.  She is about the last person he would want to spend time with, and now it looks like he’s going to be spending eternity with her.   Life, and death, just aren’t fair!

Since Liz can’t remember much about herself, she has a hard time believing that she was as big a witch as Alex claims.  Through flashbacks, she begins to see what a mess she was.  Having witnessed her mother’s untimely death, Liz has had many issues to deal with, and they have left her with a skewed outlook on life.  Her father denies her nothing, and her step-mother and step-sister are also accustomed to getting every material thing that they want.  This leaves Liz a shallow,

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Title: OyMG Author: Amy Fellner Dominy Publisher: Walker & Company ISBN: 978-0802721778

 

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

When I read the description for OyMG, I have to admit that it left me a little ambivalent.  I wasn’t sure about the tone of the book, and since I am about the least religious person you will ever meet, it’s hard for me to relate to a character who does have strong religious identity.  So it was with a bit of trepidation that I started reading this, and I have to say now that I couldn’t put it down.  I read it through in two sittings, and enjoyed it very much.  Despite the serious subject of discrimination, it is presented with humor, and it manages to make a statement without feeling preachy.  And there is a very sweet romance stirred in to make the protagonist’s decisions that much harder to make.

Ellie Taylor has one dream; to attend CSSPA summer camp and win a scholarship to elite Benedict’s Conservatory of Arts and Academics.  Problem? CSSPA is the Christian Society Speech and Performing Arts, and she’s Jewish.  Her grandfather thinks it’s a bad idea for her to attend, and when Ellie discovers that one of the school’s benefactors and board members might be prejudiced against Jews, she starts to think that maybe he’s right.  Ellie wants that scholarship so badly, though, and she can only see one path for her life; graduate from Benedict’s, move on to college, and make a difference with her oratory skills.  She has a gift of gab, and she wants to put it to good use.  When she has to lie about who she is, she starts to wonder if she’s doing really what’s best for herself after all.

There are so many aspects of OyMG that I liked that I don’t even know where to begin.  Probably first and foremost is Ellie’s relationship with her grandfather.  He is appalled when he discovers that she’s lying about who she is.  Hurt and angry, he doesn’t hesitate to call her out on her rejection of her heritage.  While they have always had a strong, though occasionally argumentative relationship, Ellie’s desire to get what she wants, no matter the cost, puts a serious strain on their interactions.  Her grandfather wants Ellie to understand that there is a price to be paid for denying yourself, and that allowing decimation when it’s convenient for you is inexcusable.  So many people made so many staggering sacrifices to keep their heritage, and for Ellie to brush that aside is wrong.  There’s a lot of raw emotion her

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Title: Tempest Rising Author: Tracy Deebs Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers ISBN: 978-0802722317

 

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

I love the cover of this book, and I wanted to read it from the moment that I first saw it.  I have a great affection for mermaid stories, and I try to read as many of them as I can.  The ocean is like the last frontier; who knows what lurks down there, in the dark depths of the sea?  I mean, have you seen pictures of some of the crazy looking fish that live down there? Who is to say that mermaids can’t be hiding under the waves as well?

Tempest is just days shy of her seventeenth birthday, which is something she has come to dread.  On her birthday, she will have to choose what she will be – a human or a mermaid.  Her mother abandoned her family years before, returning to her home in the Pacific Ocean.  A half-mermaid, the sea has always called to her and made her feel at home.  She is a killer surfer, and loves the time she spends with her on again, off again boyfriend riding the waves.  When weird things start happening to her, and after she almost drowns, Tempest begins to realize that maybe she doesn’t have much of a choice about whether she stays a human or fulfills her destiny and follows her mother into the ocean’s watery depths.

I loved Tempest’s inner struggle here.  It is obvious that she loves her family, and she will do anything for them.  Her younger brother is especially dear to her, and she has tried to make up for their mother’s absence.  Despite their occasional bickering, there is a strong unity between the siblings, and you get a great sense of how much they care for each other.  Tempest’s father is a wonderful character as well.  He is still reeling from the loss of his wife, but he strives to provide a stable, supportive home for his kids.

When the water keeps calling to her, and her body starts to change in unsettling ways, she begins to wonder if she really has a choice at all.  Those gills are kind of disturbing, and she is terrified of growing a tail while surfing with her friends.  When the mysterious and totally hot Kai shows up on the beach, Tempest’s life is thrown into chaos.  She feels a strong and undeniable attraction to Kai, and even her boyfriend Mark feels threatened when he sees them together.  The tension between Tempest and Kai sizzles, and while I enjoyed the romance aspects of this story, I felt that they overshadowed the rest of the plot. 

This brings me to my only complaint about the book.  Tempest’s voice did not ring true for me, and I didn’t get the feeling that she was a 17 year-old.  Sh

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Title: Author: Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers ISBN: 978-0802721839

 

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

I enjoyed The Grave Robber’s Secret!  It’s another book that made me stop and think about something that I hadn’t ever pondered before.  How did medical schools get cadavers for their research in a time before those little checkboxes on the back of our driver’s licenses?  Twelve year old Robby finds out the hard way; his father forces him to help rob graves, so they can sell the bodies to the medical school at the Philadelphia hospital.  Ugh!!  I could relate to Robby from the first page! The poor kid doesn’t want to do this grizzly work, but his father won’t hesitate to give him a beating if he refuses.

When Mr. Burke and his young daughter rent out two rooms at their boarding house, Robby prays that his grave robbing days are over with the steady income they will provide.  As he and Martha become friends, however, Robby becomes more and more suspicious of her father.  What does Burke do during the day, and why is he so secretive?  When Robby tries to find out, Burke threatens him and tells him under no uncertain terms to mind his own business.  This only fuels Robby’s curiosity, and he is determined to discover Burke’s secrets.

I couldn’t put the book down!  It is very suspenseful, and I loved the historical details as well.  When Robby and his dad deliver their first body to the medical school, he is fascinated by the chart of the human body that is tacked to the wall.  When he witnesses an operation, he is amazed.  While he hates grave robbing, he sees the need for the school to have cadavers for research.  How else will the doctors know how to save the lives of the sick and those injured in accidents?

Both Robby and Martha are wonderful characters, full of courage, curiosity, and compassion.  I liked them both! Their interactions were very convincing, and as they got to know each other and became friends, their bickering and subsequent reconciliations rang true.  Robby is critical and suspicious of Burke, while Martha only knows him as a doting father.  They clash on this point, and it threatens their friendship.  There are times that Robby does come on strong, and he doesn’t have the tact yet to discuss his concerns with Martha without sounding accusatory.

The Grave Robber’s Secret is a suspenseful middle-grade read, with lots of

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Title: Mad Love Author: Suzanne Selfors Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers ISBN: 978-0802784506

 

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

When you’re the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can’t write it. Alice needs a story for her mother-and she needs one fast.

That’s when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol’s voice in her head and see things she can’t explain, she must face the truth-that she’s either inherited her mother’s madness, or Errol is for real.

Review:

I liked Mad Love a lot!  The book wasn’t what I was expecting, but in a good way.  I was drawn into Alice’s insecurities and anxieties from the first page, and I was able to empathize with her right away.  She’s under so much pressure to keep her mother’s secret, and the burden of living a lie is almost too much for her.  Her torn emotions rang true for me.  She is both ashamed and embarrassed by her mother’s mental illness, and she is also consumed with the fear that she might be exhibiting signs of mental illness herself, especially after Errol intrudes on her life.  Either he is a total nutcase, or she is, by believing that he really is Cupid.

The story deals mainly with Alice trying to keep it together while her mother is undergoing treatment in a psychiatric hospital.  There is a little bit of romance thrown in for good measure, but the main focus is on Alice and her struggle to keep going, and to protect her mother, until she’s well again.  With her mother’s publisher hounding their Queen of Romance for her next book, and threatening to withhold royalty payments if she doesn’t deliver soon, Alice also receives a hard lesson in economics, and it’s not a pleasant one.  I know how difficult it is to juggle financial obligations; I can’t imagine having to do it as a high school student.

The supporting cast, tenants in her mother’s apartment complex, offer Alice much needed moral support.  I enjoyed the comradery between them, and even when they have their disagreements, it’s still obvious that they are a tight bunch and that the bickering upsets them. Their good intentions often drove her nuts, but when push came to shove, Alice was obviously grateful to have them to lean on.  I think I liked them so much because they supported Alice, even when she wasn’t being completely upfront with them.

Errol isn’t exactly my idea of Cupid, but by the end of the book, I was convinced just like Alice was. He just wants someone to listen to him, to believe him, to be there for him.  He is deserving of even more sympathy than Alice, because he has been toyed with by the gods and goddesses since he unwisely agreed to be their puppet.  He was made to bestow love on others for the amusement of the gods; passionate, destructive love meant to cause strife and mischief.  True love seemed forever out of his grasp, both for his victims and for himself.  Even when it’s right there, staring you in the face, if you aren’t willing to see it, to really open your eyes and look, true love will always slip through your fingers.  I never stopped to think that Cupid’s arrows could bring so much unhappiness before, and I found it an inter

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One season. 10 books.

This was difficult.

After scouring the children’s lit landscape, what follows are the 10 titles set to release in December, January, and February that most caught my eye as a K-6 school librarian. It’s a subjective list, to be sure, and not a collection of surefire winners – just some promising prospects. Here we go…

Middle Grade Fiction

No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko

Feb. 8, 2011 | Dial

The Newbery-honor winning author of  Al Capone Does My Shirts offers up a departure that I’m looking forward to. A fantasy about three siblings and their journey to Colorado to visit their uncle. Good author, interesting premise – consider my curiosity piqued.

What’s Bugging Bailey Blecker? by Gail Donovan

Feb. 17, 2011 | Dutton

Do we share a similar sense of humor? Let’s find out. I think this story about a 5th grader growing out her hair to donate while dealing with a classroom outbreak of head lice sounds like a comedy gem in the making. What do you think? From the author of In Memory of Gorfman T. Frog.

Nonfiction Picture Books

Tillie the Terrible Swede: How One Woman, a Sewing Needle, and a Bicycle Changed History by Sue Stauffacher, illustrated by Sarah McMenemy

Jan. 25, 2011 | Random House

While biographies of well known historical figures are eye-catching, it is often the lesser-known stories that have the biggest impact. The author behind the wonderfully odd Doughnuthead takes on pioneering female cyclist Tillie Anderson. I’m looking forward to the results.

A Nation’s Hope: the Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Jan. 20, 2011 | Dial

Speaking of well-known figures, Joe Louis is one of America’s most famous boxers. Last I checked, however, there wasn’t a solid Louis bio for younger readers. With Kadir Nelson handing illustration duties, this one might fit the bill.

Picture Books

Where’s Walrus? by Stephen Savage

A wordless story about a zookeeper’s attempts to capture an escaped walrus, illustrated with about as much charm as you can fit between two covers.

Feb. 1, 2011 | Scholastic Press

Except If by Jim Averbeck

Jan. 25, 2011 | Atheneum

First came the egg, then the chicken. Except if it becomes a dino. Jim Averbeck (In a Blue Room) brings us a story full of possibilities.

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