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Another newly blogging book reviewer to the hot seat! Welcome Bookami! And while we don't expect her to be difficult, we would like to give away a copy of A Difficult Boy by M.P. Barker! So leave a comment by June 29th and we'll announce a winner on the 3oth! Okay, before we get to the difficult questions, let's get to know our guest!


What’s your handle? Bookami
What kind of books do you review? Ninety-nine percent of the time it's books for readers 16 and under. I have reviewed one adult book because it tied into a YA memoir.
Approx # of books reviewed? 50
Where can we find your reviews? http://www.bookami.com/

Reading turn-ons: When the setting is so carefully crafted in a novel that it becomes another character.
Reading turn-offs: Unrealistic dialogue
Class of 2K8 books reviewed:
Shift by Jennifer Bradbury
Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman.
I also bought The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas and will review it soon.



We love the crazy handles book reviewers come up with—tell us how you came up with yours! A little bit about how you got into book reviewing would be cool too.


I can't take any credit for my handle. My older brother came up with the idea for the name Bookami. As one of my majors in college was French and the way I spell my first name means friend in French, he thought Book Friend would be a cute site for a name, but also, he thought it sounded like Cartoon Network's Toonami line of programming. Since my husband is a publisher of graphic novels/manga, this also seemed appropriate. As far as how I started reviewing books, in 2007 I left my children's book buying position at Borders to become a stay-at-home mom. While that is rewarding, I found that I felt lost without my connections to the children's book world. Hence, why not create a website and review children's books? Double bonus for me was that my other major in college was journalism. I could finally tell my Dad I was using my degree.

Speaking of degrees and school, describe your grading system and how that translates to the reader?


I don't really have a grading system for my site currently (My husband thinks I should have one). Since I'm the only reviewer for the site, I just write whether I like a book or not and support my opinion with appropriate examples.

How do you pick the books you review? Or are they picked for you? Do you ever read books that wouldn’t normally interest you—and if so have you ever been surprised by what you’ve read?


I pick all the books I read, and I do it the old-fashioned way for the most part - I shop the bookstores. I'm in various bookstores at least 3 times a week. Also, my husband and a few friends occasionally supply me with advance reading copies. Since I created the site in January, I find that I'm reading a lot more fantasy, which has never been my favorite genre, but I can say that I'm learning to enjoy it more. The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex was a major pleasant surprise for me. I never thought a book about aliens taking over the Earth would have me laughing out loud and staying up until three in the morning to finish it.

Sounds like a winner! What are the best ways to find new books? Any advice for authors about getting their book noticed by reviewers?


I find most of the books I review just by shopping the shelves. I also subscribe to the daily Publishers Weekly e-mail. This keeps me in touch with the really big books coming out. This is why I read Tunnels, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You. None of these books would have been on my radar, particularly Part-Time Indian because the cover is awful, if it weren't for all the buzz they were receiving. I also always read the author bio before I buy a book. I'm a sucker for a debut novel.

Now that is music to our ears around here! Of course the next topic we'd rather not think about, and yet still we must ask. If you really aren’t feeling a book—will you make the ultimate sacrifice and finish it for the sake of the review?


As my site is my site and no one is telling me what to read, I don't have to finish a book that I don't like, but most of the time I do anyway. I'm a huge John Irving fan, but I really wasn't into Son of the Circus. My husband told me to stick with it through 100 pages, and he was so right. I loved it once I got past that point. The same thing happened to me with Stones from the River. Most books have some redeeming quality that can be called out even in an unfavorable review so they are still worth reading.

And what about the really good ones? If you really love a book—will you read it again? If so—what are some of the books you just had to read more than once?


I sadly don't have time to read books twice. If I really love a book, though, I will keep it on my shelf instead of donating it to the library. Living in an apartment in Brooklyn, my personal space is at a premium. If I keep a book, you know it's really something special.

Do you have a basic philosophy on what should be included in a review—or does it depend on the book itself?


It really does depend on the book itself. When I first started the site, I always included a synopsis of the book before my review. Now sometimes I include the synopsis as part of the review and sometimes I don't even do that. Sometimes I just write how the book made me feel. I also love when reviews include additional reading suggestions. For people who don't live and breathe books, I think it's helpful to be led to the next book you might want to read.

That is a great feature! Okay, tell us about the last time your jaw dropped open, you laughed, or you cried while reading a book.


I cried when reading The Underneath by Appelt. This book elicited such a response in me. It was really just as good as Rawls' Where the Red Fern Grows. No wonder this first-time author was paired with illustrator David Small. Her book totally deserved such royal treatment.

It's amazing to really connect with a book. Speaking of... is there any character in a book that you wish would come to life? Or any place you wish existed?


Since I love American history, I would like if Mannahatta from Gods of Manhattan existed. This wasn't my favorite book by any means, but I love the idea that there is an alternate NYC that is ruled by famous or infamous New York legends.

That would be interesting! What books do you find yourself recommending over and over and why?


I'm always recommending Sarah Dessen novels. I love how her characters seem to have their act together even when their lives aren't quite going right. Elsewhere by Gabriel Zevin is another book high on list of recommendations. But my ultimate go-to-book would have to be Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt. It won the 1967 Newbery, but isn't as well-known as her Across Five Aprils. Up a Road Slowly is truly the best coming-of-age story I've ever read. When I can't sleep because my mind is reeling, I start re-reading parts of this novel and always find I'm calmer and happier. You can't ask for more than that from a book.


Wow, it's amazing the effect books have on us! Even bad books. Oh, yeah, we're going there... the Extra Scandalous Question (We can probably just call it the ESQ now, can't we?) . Really bad reviews—do you ever fear giving them? Ever had an author get upset with you? (It’s okay—you can tell us, just don’t name names!) And what advice do you have for authors who get a bad review?


I only started my site in January so I haven't given that many bad reviews. I don't fear giving them, but I do try to find something redeeming about a book if at all possible. For instance, I really didn't like the graphic novel, Amulet. I didn't like the art or the plot, but I could say that at least the relationship between the children and the mom was really nice. I haven't been contacted by any upset authors yet, but I'm sure it will happen. When it does happen, I'll just try to respond to their comments as carefully as I can. If an author gets a bad review, I don't think they should stress. So many writers can't get published. Getting published is the battle. Even a bad review is advertising for a book.

Very true. I think a lot of us have bought a book simply to see--is it really that bad? LOL. Thanks for all the great answers! One last question: if they aren’t scared off by all that bad review talks and an author would like you to review her book, what should she do?


E-mail me at http://us.mc575.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected] I buy 90% of the books I review. If an author contacts me a few weeks before their book comes out, I'll keep an eye out for it.


Don't forget to leave a comment to win our giveaway book! Bookami has yet to review A Difficult Boy, but here's what other fine reviewers are saying about M.P. Barker's debut novel:

"What was the life of an indentured servant but that of a slave? M.P. Barker brings it ringingly, cringingly to life...A Difficult Boy hinges on the efforts of two boys—one social, one circumstantially remote, soon to be friends—to escape their brutalized existence... Then there is Ivy, a horse that bonds the boys and provides their ticket out." --Kirkus Reviews, First Fiction Special Issue (15 Apr 2008, p. 17)

"How Ethan and Daniel bolster each other and escape Mr. Lyman's tyranny makes for a memorable tale of friendship and a fascinating glimpse into mid-19th-century Massachusetts. Like L. M. Elliott's Give Me Liberty (HarperCollins, 2006), this is an eye-opening look at indentured servitude in American history." --Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA, School Library Journal (1 May 2008)

2k8: We're back for the second day of debut author Debbie Reed Fischer's launch week. Her young adult novel, Braless in Wonderland, is available everywhere.

Debbie, you've got to tell everyone that great story of how you became a model booker. AND explain the strange pic at the top of today's post!

Debbie Reed Fischer: Well, I sort of fell into it. Or rather, it fell into me.

During my senior year of college, I had an internship at a model and talent agency. On my first day, I was told to file head shots and resumes in these huge, floor-to-ceiling filing cabinets. There were six of them. Wildly curious about the talent repped by the agency, I spent more time reading the resumes than filing. So I wasn’t paying attention to the fact that I had pulled open every single drawer on this one filing cabinet.

Until I heard a strange creaking sound.

And jumped out of the way just in time.

The entire filing cabinet tipped over, knocking into the one next to it, then into the next one, and so on and so on and so on, until the last mammoth filing cabinet crashed into the wall. It was like giant dominoes.

The owner actually had to hire a moving company to set the cabinets straight again!

Certain I was fired, I sneaked out early. Later, I received a call from the owner. “You’re the best intern we’ve ever had,” she said. “I want to hire you.”

I took the job, and the next day, told the story to this stunning model lounging in the waiting area. “Don’t you think it’s weird I got hired?” I asked her.

“No,” the model replied. “That’s the business. It’s crazy.”

And she was right. It was glamorous AND crazy.


2k8: How did get from being a model booker to writing Braless in Wonderland?

Debbie Reed Fischer: I’m a graduate of the University of Miami’s screenwriting program, so my plan was to write screenplays. Although, as fate would have it, I fell into the business side of the film industry, starting out as a talent agent for TV and film.

And then I did the model booking thing in Miami. The modeling world provided me with a treasure chest of material to write about. I usually felt like the blonde on The Munsters, scratching my head and wondering what planet I’d landed on. I kept notebooks on everyone and everything while I worked there, and years later, those notes came in very handy when I sat down to write the Braless in Wonderland. The book is fiction, but the notes make the scenes really authentic.

2k8: Thanks, Debbie!

Oh, yeah, and about those modeling terms from yesterday's post--

backdrop: whatever's behind the model at a photo shoot (eg. seamless paper)

clean-clean: clean hair (as in washed), clean face (as in no makeup), how you might be instructed to show up at a photo shoot

cyc studio: a photo studio with no corners

(From Model Business)


Join us tomorrow for the inside skinny on where Debbie does her writing!

Psssst! In the meantime...hop on over to Nineteen Teen where M.P. Barker, author of A Difficult Boy, is guest blogging today. You don't want to miss it!

As her launch week for A Difficult Boy comes to an close, we're getting ready to bid a fond farewell to M.P. Barker. She'll still be in class with us. Natch. She'll just be moving over to make way for our next debut author launch.

Before leaving, M.P.'d like to talk to us about setting. And who are we to argue with a published author?! Take it away, Classmate!

Since my book is set in an imaginary town, the best I can do is give you a tour of a similar imaginary town—Old Sturbridge Village, where I worked as a costumed interpreter during the 1980s and 1990s. (For those of you non-New Englanders, Old Sturbridge Village is a re-created early 19th-century (circa 1830-1840) New England village.) That was a real stroll down memory lane. I had to dig through my attic to find photos of my days at OSV. Oh, my!



Actually, I didn't start out working in costume at OSV. I began working here.

Yes, my first job at OSV was as a horticultural assistant working behind the scenes in the greenhouses and planting all the modern ornamental gardens at the entrances and around the visitor center, etc. I had one of the best bosses ever, got a great tan, and was probably in the best shape I’d ever been in by the end of the summer.




The next year, I went from wearing shorts and working in the flower gardens to wearing this.






And working in gardens...


If I thought I worked hard the summer before…well, there’s nothing to get you buff like digging, weeding, milking cows, making cheese, chopping kindling, hauling wood and water…



Not that I’m complaining. It wasn’t always down and dirty. I also got to...


Sing…




Dance…





And run around with men.


One of my co-workers used to say that even back then the guys with the wheels got all the women.



I got to play with my food…


Okay, I’m being facetious…but only a little. One of the perks was getting to eat all the food that we cooked, which included our own chicken, turkey, beef, and pork. Okay, maybe I could have done without making the head cheese…with a real head. It’s a seriously scary recipe that begins with: Boil one pig’s head until the eyes fall out… Better than cleaning sausage casings, though, I’ll tell you that. You haven’t lived until you’ve sloshed a couple miles of pig intestines through a pan of salt water.


My favorite time of year was the spring, with all the new baby animals. During my time there, I got to see two calves born, including this one. (He was given the not particularly period-appropriate name of Fred A. Steere…)


The weird thing is that I swore I’d never write historical fiction because after working at OSV I realized just how many details there were to get wrong—and how much work it is to get it right.

So what did I end up writing? Yeah, that’s right. And in spite of getting my manuscript reviewed by no fewer than five Village people (hey, we had the name before YMCA!), now I live in terror that my former co-workers will catch all the mistakes I missed…

And here she is! Our wonderfully talented M.P. Barker!



2k8: So, M.P., yesterday you told us what sparked the idea for A Difficult Boy. Now, we want to know more, more, more. How did the book actually come about?

M.P. Barker: Well, I started doing character sketches and fragments of scenes, and, after a while I had enough of them that a vague semblance of a plot began to emerge. I showed them to some friends who promptly challenged me to write five pages a week until I was finished. About two years later, I had 700 pages—an actual book…well, enough for two or three actual books. Then I spent the next eight years revising and revising and revising and shopping it around, trying to find a publisher.

2k8: M.P. is the Mistress of Revision. See how she works her magic here, on Darcy Pattison's blog.

Okay. Back to A Difficult Boy. Give us the dirt on how it found a publisher.

M.P. Barker: Ummmm….how much time do you have? It’s mostly a story of “nos” that meant “maybe” and “yeses” that meant “no.”

A friend (I have such good friends!) told me about the PEN New England Children’s Book Caucus Discovery Award contest (whew! That’s a mouthful, ain’t it?). “Yeah, right,” I said, “Like I have a chance at that.” But I entered anyway and nearly fell over when I got the call telling me I was one of the winners. The prize? My MS (manuscript) bypassed the slush pile and went directly into the hands of an editor—not a lackey or assistant or intern. (By this time, the MS was down to a mere 500 pages.)

After reading it, the editor said “no” but she’d give it another look if I revised it. I got it down to 350 pages, sent it back, waited and waited and waited and waited. Finally, I got a “yes” that inexplicably turned into a “no” four months later—this was after the MS had languished with this publisher—contractless--for two years. (To be fair, the editor was very helpful, and making her suggested changes improved and shortened the MS greatly, so it wasn’t a total waste of time.)

Once I’d recovered from my semi-suicidal depression, I started kicking myself over how stupid I’d been for not getting an agent while my MS was sitting with publisher #1. If I’d had an agent, s/he could have forced a decision one way or another a lot sooner.

So I resolved not to waste any more time and started sending out at least one query a day until I got an agent. For those of you into statistics, I sent out 137 queries—25% got no answer at all, 62% were rejected (mostly form letters or postcards), 20% requested a partial MS, and 10% asked for a full.

It took me about five months to find my agent, William Reiss of John Hawkins and Associates. He initially said, “No.” (More on that later this week.) I wrote back to ask him if there was anything I could do that might make him reconsider. A week later, he wrote back, said he’d changed his mind, and voila! An agent for moi! It took him about nine months to find me a publisher, another two months negotiating the contract, then about six months to get editorial comments and another six months of revisions before the MS was finalized and off to the printer. Phew! Have I put you to sleep yet?

2k8: Wow! M.P., you are incredibly persistent!


A Difficult Boy is a PEN New England Children's Book Caucus Discovery Award winner.

2k8: Did anything surprise you or catch you off guard when you were writing your book?

M.P. Barker: Hmmm…besides the fact that I actually got an agent and a publisher? I think how strongly the characters just took over. For example, there was this peddler who was supposed to be just sort of a walk-on part. He was supposed to be a young, skinny guy who sees Daniel and Ethan riding their master’s horse and mentions it to someone, which gets the boys in trouble—three or four paragraphs, tops.

When I started writing him, though, he turned out to be this middle-aged, short, dumpy, trollish little guy with an uncanny knack for figuring people out. He ended up challenging Daniel to a horse race, came back later in the book, and re-appears as a major character in the sequel I’m working on now.

Then there was Silas, the eldest son of Ethan and Daniel’s master. He had this sort of stand-offish, brooding attitude that I couldn’t figure out until I got close to the end of the book. Then this whole story about a deep, dark secret from his past poured out, and I felt like I was just taking dictation and wondering “Where the heck did THAT come from?” When it was done, all of a sudden his character made total sense to me.

2k8: Imagine you have an offer from your dream press to publish your dream book, no matter how insane or unmarketable or sane or marketable it might be. What story do you want to write next/someday and why?

M.P. Barker: My first dream book is the one I’m planning to concentrate on once the sequel to A Difficult Boy is finished.

The working title is The Sea Captain’s Daughter, and it’s about the wife and daughter of a sea captain who is lost at sea and how they cope after he’s gone. A very strong-willed female botanist/explorer/botanical illustrator moves in with them and turns their lives upside-down. It’s told in the form of logbooks written by the wife and daughter, which are addressed to the sea captain—a practice they’d started when he was alive, and which they continue after his disappearance.

I’ve only written about 40-50 pages so far, still trying to figure out where the story is going and who these people really are, but this is another one where the characters have taken over. As I’d originally envisioned the story, the mother was supposed to die, leaving the daughter free to go adventuring with the botanist. But like that old guy in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Iris (the mom) said “I’m not dead yet” and it looks like she’s going to have some interesting adventures of her own.

If I had a publisher with an unlimited budget, I think it would be really cool to incorporate floral borders and plates done in the style of 19th-century botanical illustrations.

My second dream book would be any one that would involve a publisher paying me large amounts of money to travel around the world—especially to places that have good food, warm climates, and nice beaches.

2k8: That's all very fine. As long as you turn it into a field trip and take along the entire class!

M.P. Barker: Sounds fun to me!

2k8: Awwww. And our hardcore question of the day: What question won't most people know to ask you? What's your answer?


M.P. Barker: Would you like some chocolate? Oh, yes, please!