Release Date: 2010
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 310
Overall: 5 Monkeys
Source: Won
Interest: Series
Other Titles in the Series: Red Glove (The Curse Workers #2)Summary from Goodreads:
Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.
Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love -- or death -- and your dreams might be more real than your memories.
My Opinion:
What an amazing book! I have nothing but great words for this book, it's awesome!
From the beginning we're trapped into this game of trust and deception, of cons and murders, of love and brotherhood. I loved the world Black has created and can't wait to read more about it!
The story is all about Cassel (pronounced like "castle",
according to the author) and how he is a non-worker in a family of workers. To be a worker means to have a special ability: emotion workers can change your feelings just by touching you, memory workers change or block your memories, etc., etc. But
transformation workers are the rarest workers
Hello! This week the Buzz Girls will be blogging about what we're reading. And lucky me, I actually had a little time to read a book this past week. Realizing I'm probably the only person in the universe who hasn't read a Holly Black novel since having snuggled up with the Spiderwick Chronicles (which she wrote with Tony DiTerlizzi) with my oldest son, I picked up
Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie. 
It's about Val Russell, a 17 year-old lacrosse player and gamer who runs away to New York City when both her mom and her boyfriend betray her. She joins up with a group of homeless teens living in the subway tunnels and is promptly introduced to a delicious, dangerous, and unpredictable new world--one she would've thought was impossible until she began to experience it herself. The urban fantasy explores friendship, addiction, love, and standing up for what one believes in--even if your beliefs are being challenged with every step. As I voraciously turned its pages, I felt the danger, smelled the odors, and hoped our smart, witty, and lovable heroine would not only survive, but thrive.
As I'm sure you can tell, I really enjoyed Valiant. It was well written, highly imaginative, full of action and emotion, and quick-paced. The romantic in me was pleasantly surprised who Val connected with on a romantic level (I can't say because it would be a spoiler; but trust me, it's cool!) and I have to admit that I feel a bit sad that I'm finished reading it.
So! I'm really looking forward to finding out what books the Bees have been reading lately, and I hope you'll share with us what YOU've been reading!
By:
Kimberly Pauley,
on 7/6/2010
Blog:
Young Adult (& Kid's) Books Central
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By:
Lucy Coats,
on 7/6/2010
Blog:
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What a delight these second ABBA anniversary posts are turning out to be. I'm having such fun reading them. And now it's my turn to celebrate with my own five fabulous forays into faeryland....
Lately--usually deep into the night when the world is still and silent apart from the cries of hunting owls--I have found myself led astray. I have walked down strange paths and met beauty and horror and humour and cruelty and bravery and sadness and romance all mixed up together. In short, I have been lured into YA faeryland. Don't be fooled by the word faery (or fairy). These are not some cutesie, flowery, pink-dressed tiny beings out of picture-books and Disney. No--they are the Sidhe, the Fair Folk, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts--faeries from the older and darker side of legend. I've been familiar with those original ancient legends for most of my life--I've retold some of them myself, and of course I had my own green version of faeries--the Fey--in
Hootcat Hill. Tam Linn, Thomas the Rhymer, the fairy smiths of Skye, the fairy cattle of the sea, the children of Danu--all these and more I know and love. But these new faeries I've discovered live in this modern world of ours (the USA being a current favoured setting for most but not all), and I stumbled across some of them quite by chance--via recommendations on Twitter, in fact. So first, I will introduce you to:
Melissa Marr Melissa's
Wicked Lovely series was recommended by someone whose opinion I value, and as soon as I read the three Rules which her heroine, Aislinn, must follow, I was hooked in at once.
Rule 3: Never stare at invisible faeries. Rule 2: Never speak to invisible faeries. Rule 1: Don't ever attract the attention of invisible faeries. But the Summer King, Keenan is determined that mortal Aislinn will be his Summer Queen, and her rules become increasingly hard to keep. There are four books so far in the series, with one more to come. They're a kind of edgy, "urban faerie' genre I hadn't come across before. Once I'd read and loved that first book I bought the others at once, being a reader who has to 'know what happened next'. Melissa writes a fabulous strong, feisty heroine--and her heroes are never just handsome cyphers, but are equally strong individuals. I particularly like the railway-carriage dwelling Seth. I found myself loathing the old Winter Queen with a passion--and yet being fascinated by the way her mind works and her Machiavellian schemes. Having finished the second book,
Ink Exchange, I was also left with a strong desire for a tattoo. There aren't many books which would make me contemplate needles on my skin (I
hate needles). This one did--and I'
Amazon link for the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Spiderwick-Chronicles-Book/dp/0689859368
Promotional page for The Spiderwick Chronicles on the publishers website @ Simon & Schuster:
http://promo.simonandschuster.com/Spiderwick/
Holly Black site:
www.blackholly.com
Tony DiTerlizzi site:
www.diterlizzi.com
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, published 2003, 128 pages, for ages 6-10
This book is Fantasy Fiction
This book was borrowed from the library for the purpose of reading/reviewing.
Siblings Mallory, Jared, and Simon, and their mother Helen, move in to an old and quirky family home.
Soon after arriving the three siblings hear strange sounds inside the walls. Mallory takes the lead in creating a hole in the kitchen wall, what they find within the hole in the wall creates more curiosity about what kind of creature is making these strange sounds.
The Field Guide Book One sets the stage for all of the series in The Spiderwick Chronicles. These books have been successful with older elementary age children and in to middle school. Children of this age gravitate towards the mysterious and fantasy type fiction; I suppose it is an escape type reading and the fantasy part appeals to a child's imagination.
Personally I'm not drawn towards fantasy fiction, it is just not my "cup of tea". Looking back at when I was a child I might have read this type of book.
I do feel this book was written with keen imagination and creativity. It is a story that does not leave the reader disinterested nor ready to take a nap. It is not a long chapter book, it is easy to digest. The story in book one leaves the reader ready to devour book two. I loved the character traits in the three siblings: Mallory the older sister--motherly bossy type, Jared and Simon twin brothers and each having distinct traits--one braver than the other.
This book may cause some in the Christian reading community to pause and then not want their child to read----some have problems with fantasy fiction period unless it is C. S. Lewis.
Personally I did not have a problem with this book; although I know my 6 1/2 year old granddaughter would not be ready for this story--she scares easily.
Blissful Reading!
Annette
Let's see...where to start with this one...
Well, first of all, there is the fact that Holly Black's name looks so cool on the cover of a book called WHITE CAT. But focusing on that too long is doing the inside of the book a disservice. Because it's fantastic - one that teachers will want to hand kids looking for a compelling, fast-paced read.
Set in a world where a touch can be powerful and deadly, WHITE CAT is a magical thriller, loaded with curses, organized crime families, and con artists with dangerous talents. I loved this book, especially the ending (It's perfect - that's all I'm saying), and I'm excited to share it with my middle school kids. WHITE CAT is the first in a series called CURSE WORKERS, and it's one of those titles that both boys and girls are going to love. I am already kind of tapping my fingers on my desk, wishing the next one would show up. Highly recommended.
(Reviewed from an ARC & available from Margaret McElderry today!)
Another snow day. More snow expected today and tomorrow. You know it's bad when...
Your Chinese teacher calls for your weekly lesson and asks what's going on and you tell her that you got all the snow in the world this weekend and are getting more tonight and you haven't been to work since Thursday because of it. And she says "Oh yes, I know, I saw that on the news." WHEN YOUR CHINESE TEACHER LIVES IN SHANGHAI! Apparently, my weather woes are international news now. Aiyo!
The Good Neighbors: Kith Holly Black, illus. Ted Naifeh
In this sequel to
Kin, (
which I reviewed in March) the fairies are getting closer to taking over Rue's town. Rue's still searching for her mother, and her friends are being seriously weird as the fae start to encroach in many different ways on her life.
I really liked this one, much better than the first. And I think I just put my finger on what's a little weird about this series. It doesn't read like a usual one-shot graphic novel even though it's published like one. (Ok, yes, I know it's a series) but I want to compare it to works like the
The Plain Janes, or
Rapunzel's Revenge (which both have sequels). But, instead, it reads more like
Death Note or
Fables-- something that's very long-range and almost needs to be considered as a whole instead of individual volumes. Does that make sense? Either way, it requires a brain shift for me when reading, which is something I'll be sure to keep in mind in when the next volume comes out.
In general, I really like Black's work in folklore and how she brings traditional beliefs and lore into a modern setting. I think she's a master at this. She doesn't mess with her supernatural realms, and I really appreciate that. You can tell she's a serious student of this. Also, I'm still blown away by the talk she gave at the National Book Festival in 2007 and her views on urban legends as modern folklore. Good, thought provoking stuff.
Book Provided by... my local library
Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale Holly Black
Kaye's always been a weird girl, but when she moves back to New Jersey and reunites with her childhood friends, she realizes that maybe it's not her fault. Kaye really is a pixie--a changel
For the entire two days it took me to read through this story anthology, I laughed hysterically. Seriously, I cannot tell you how funny most of the stories in Geektastic are, without almost busting out laughing again! Editors Holly Black and Cecil Castelluci have put together a completely awesome collection of short stories that will appeal to even those who aren't big short story fans (including me!).
Jacket description:
"geek \gek\ n :1. a person often of an intellectual bent who is disapproved of 2. a person who is so passionate about a given subject or subjects as to occasionally cause annoyance among others.
geek-tas-tic \gek-tas-tik\ adj : 1. marked by fantastic geek qualities; a compliment of the highest regard.
Acclaimed authors Holly Black (Ironside) and Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof) have united in geekdom to bring together short stories from some of the best-selling and most promising players in young adult literature, including stories from the following geeks: M.T. Anderson, Cassandra Clare, John Greem, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Tracy Lynn, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfeld, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr.
With illustrated interstitials from comic book artists Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley, Geektastic covers all things geeky, from Kingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, or if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek, Geektastic will help you get your geek on!"
I most definitely fall within the "geek" realm of description, but I even found myself having to ask my husband to explain in detail what some of the geeky things the stories were based on were actually about (which just solidifies the fact that he is waaaay more geek than I am). I think the opening story, "Once You're a Jedi, You're a Jedi All the Way", written by the editors, was the funniest story in the entire anthology, with Quiz Bowl Antichrist by David Levithan a close second. Both had me laughing the entire way and reading paragraphs aloud to the geeky husband.
Not all the stories are funny (though most are)...my favorite out of all the wonderful pieces of work was probably "The Stars at the Finish Line" by Wendy Mass. It was sweet, moving, and still entirely geek based.
Geektastic will appeal to all types of geeks...band geeks, intellectual geeks, theater geeks, Trekkies, etc., and to those who just want a good story by their favorite authors. I would instantly hand this to someone as their jumping off point with short stories, as it really is a celebration of all things "geek."
I loved it! Unfortunately, I was reading from an ARC and Sara Zarr's story was not included yet, so I'm going to have to make a run to the bookstore to sneak a peek at what she had to write about in terms of "geekiness!"
Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd
edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci
416 pages
Young Adult/Short Stories
Little, Brown Young Readers
9780316008099
August 2009
Review copy provided by publisher
To learn more, or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon. I am an Associate and will receive a small percentage of your purchase price.
Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi at Joseph-Beth (or How Long a 5-year-old Can Last at a Bookstore Event)...
Last night Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's book tour for The Wyrm King, the 3rd book in their Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles series, took them to the Joseph-Beth Booksellers here in the Nati. I thought Holly was terrific when I saw her speak at the SCBWI conference in LA in August so I didn't want to miss the Joe-Beth appearance despite the fact that I didn't have a babysitter for the boy. But he's seen the Spiderwick movie previews and knows the bookstore has macaroni and cheese in the cafe, so he was in. (Note: The last bookstore event I brought him to was Holly Hobbie when he was 3 months old. See From the Editor in the 2006 CWIM.)
As I suspected, the event was crowded. Check out all the people as they wait for Holly and Tony to come in. (You can't see those who are standing in the aisle and between the bookcases in the back. There were lots of people.)
Holly and Tony were really charming, engaging and funny. This was truly one of the most enjoyable book signings I've attended. Their event included talk of cool mythical creatures (with visual aids and instructions to not Google "rat king"), live dragon drawing, impromptu diaper jokes, and prizes (including Tony's drawings). Here's Holly and Tony addressing the crowd of readers.
Here's Holly reading a little from The Wyrm King (enough to get us really interested by not give too much away).
Tony takes it in from the sidelines (and rests his drawing/signing hand).
And here's me with Tony and Holly, interupting them mid-autographing for a picture. (I knew the boy wouldn't have the patience for standing in line and it was getting close to his bed time, so I didn't get a book autographed myself, but they offered to pose with me anyway. Note the cool blown up Wyrm King cover in the background.)
And here's the boy, who fidgeted on my lap for 45 minutes and kept saying "This is not hilarious for me. I'm tired of being here. Is that a dragon?" And he picked his nose like it was his job.
Finally, the boy got to do what he loves to do at the bookstore: play with trains.
He also made it home with a copy of The Spiderwick Chronicles movie and one of Jon Scieszka's Truck Town books.
(And next week when I go see Sara Zarr when her tour stops in the Nati, I'm going by myself. She's in the Nati October 6th and 7th.)
Last night I got to go to one of my favorite indepedent book stores, Third Place Books, for the farewell-tour and book signing for the Spiderwick Chronicles.
We've been fans since the very first volume. And now own each of the stories as well as many of the peripheral books (the "Field Guide", "The Care & Feeding of Sprites", the giant "Chronicles of Spiderwick"...)
My daughter had me take her out of school to see Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi the last time they come through on a Spiderwick tour (when we got the first batch of books signed). They are gregarious, humorous and imminently entertaining in person as well as on the page and a couple of my contemporary heroes. Spontaneity abounds - don't even ask about the impromptu audience rendition of "Puff the Magic Dragon"...
As part of their spiel Tony drew a number of on-the-spot characters (I'm always impressed by being able to draw spontaneously, in front of an audience, in pen!) which they then gave away to winners of Spiderwick trivia questions.
I sketched *them* while they talked. Made funner by it being rather dimly lit and their constant movements...
As I was sitting on the front row during their presentation, Tony saw me drawing and to my dismay asked to see my sketch book when we got to the front of the book-signing line. The horror, the horror....
But they are generosity itself when it comes to signing *every* thing you brought with you, in addition to letting you take pictures with them. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Here's hoping that talent rubs off a little?...
My critique group met Friday night to talk, review and, of course, eat. (Don't all good critique groups feature food?) The best part of the evening was realizing that my first three chapters are done, never to be rewritten again...at least not until I get notes from my agent, and then my editor...well, you get the picture. How do I know they're done? Holly Black says so.
Holly Black was one of my favorite speakers at SCBWI-LA. She's bubbly and enthusiastic, she has great advice and she writes books that I love to read. We all know that finding critique partners can be difficult. But as Holly pointed out during her breakout workshop on critiquing, you don't just want people that you trust. You also have to not be so annoyed by them that you ignore everything they say, or so intimidated by them that you can't offer honest critiques of their work. You don't all have to write in the same genre, but these people need to get you.
She also offered up my favorite tip for knowing that something is ready to send out. She called it "The Envy Test."
If somebody's work makes me sort of envious, and maybe a little bit angry, then I know that it's ready to go out. Like if I'm thinking Oh my god, you totally nailed it! I'm really angry right now. I wish I wrote that! then it's ready. You want to have a little jealousy, because if you don't, it's not gonna spur you, it's not gonna push you. You're not going to want to rise up to that level.
Since I was the only one who attended this session, I had planned to bring my notes to share with everyone. But as I scrambled on Friday night to get out the door, finish making dinner for my family and bring along my comments on everyone else's writing, I forgot to grab my Holly notes. They'd have to hear about the Envy Test another time. So when Gwen commented about some scenes that she thought were perfect, I held my breath. And when Lori said that she was totally jealous of my chapter endings, I got giddy. If Holly Black's Envy Test is to be trusted, then my chapters are finally ready! Finally!
Of course, that's just the first three chapters. My task for this week is to make sure the remaining chapters make critiquers equally envious so that I can send this baby on its way.
Has somebody else's writing ever made you jealous? Tell them! It just might make their day :)
By:
Alice Pope,
on 8/12/2009
Blog:
Alice's CWIM blog
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My SCBWI Summer Conference Tweets Transcript (#SCBWI09)...Stealing an idea from
Lee Wind (who says in Hollywood, it's referred to as "liberating" an idea), I've collected all the tweets I posted from the time I left the house for the
SCBWI Summer Conference until I got home--when I wasn't blogging, I was tweeting. (I may have corrected a few misspellings and boo-boos.)
Click here to find all the #SCBWI09 posts and see what everyone at the event was saying.- The last thing I want to do first thing in the morning: clean up cat barf. Guess what I just did?
- My (awesome) brother just picked me up for the airport. I know, I'm surprised as you are that I got up this early.
- Worst CVG security line ever! Walked straight on to my (exit row) seat when I got to the gate.
- A guy in the back of my plane had a seizure. First time I've been on flight where they paged for a doc. Nice delay in CVG. Just left LAX!
- Why are LA cabs always uncomfortably hot?
- The cabbie has hockey playing curious George hanging from his rear view mirror which makes me like him better. Wish he would get off phone
- At faculty dinner sitting with @EllenHopkinsYA, @Suzanne_Young, David Diaz and others. The bartenders make fab cosmos.
- David Diaz kicked our butts at Hannah Montana Uno #SCBWI09
Ahh. King size hotel bed. Goodnight, tweeps. Lots of tweets and blogging tomorrow! #SCBWI09- #scbwi09 SCBWI TEAM BLOG @PaulaYoo; @leewind; @cuppajolie; @jeaimetem; @suzanne_young #followfriday
- Breakfast with Team Blog in The Breeze. Everyone is playing with devices. We start conference coverage in an hour. #SCBWI09
- Just went last in the faculty word parade. My word: blog! #SCBWI09
- Sherman Alexie has the room laughing. #SCBWI09
- Sherman Alexie can go seamlessly from tragedy to comedy. #SCBWI09
- Sherman Alexie has perhaps the best story ever about how books helped him get through childhood. #SCBWI09
- Sherman Alexie: "I'm rich but I still have class issues." #SCBWI09
- Sherman just dropped a very appropriate F-bomb. #SCBWI09
- Sherman: "The book is safe. The book is where I can hide." #SCBWI09
- Sherman: "It's easy to hand a book to a kid that's about that kid." The challenge is to engage a kid in a book that isn't. #SCBWI09
- It's super cold in the conference ballroom but David Wiesner's beautiful images will warm me up. #SCBWI09
- David Wiesner is showing clips from The Shining in relation to his process. Makes sense in person. #SCBWI09
- David Wiesner loves him some movies. Now he's discussing 2001: A Space Odyssey. #SCBWI09
- But really, is it any surprise movies inspire Wienser? Look at his books if you're not sure. #SCBWI09
- Lobby court restaurant is trying to starve me and make me late.
- Lin Oliver is telling contest winner jokes. There are some witty peeps here. Oh--door prizes! #SCBWI09
- Editor panel going on. I love listening to editors discuss books they're passionate about. #SCBWI09
- Ari Lewin from Hyperion: bookstores love series. Stand alone connected stories, even better. # SCBWI09
- RT @gregpincus: #scbwi09 Tweetup tonight at 9 in the lobby bar area. Come say "hi" or something longer than 140 characters!
- Agent Marietta Zacker is reading the first paragraph from an unpublished novel she says "gives her shivers" every time she reads it #SCBWI09
- Marietta Zacker said she recently counted how many manuscripts her agency receives daily. Answer: 10. #SCBWI09
- Check out the secret stuff behind the book jacket of Frank Portman's latest novel, Andromeda Klein
Just rode the elevator with a guy who bathed in cologne. I can still smell it. #SCBWI09- Karen Cushman just took the stage. I love her books. #SCBWI09
- Someone's phone just rang. Karen Cushman: "Sounds like the ice cream man is here." #SCBWI09
- Cushman: Writing is like exercise. I wanted to do it, planned to do it, but never got around to doing it. Until she was in her 50s. #SCBWI09
- Karen Cushman quoting a poet: Write what you know. This should leave you with a lot of free time. #SCBWI09
- Karen Cushman: I figured I could say 'shitty first drafts' since Sherman said 'f*** you' yesterday. (Big laughs.) #SCBWI09
- Karen Cushman: Tell the truth--the emotional truth, the truth of your passion, the truth revealed from you research. #SCBWI09
- Karen Cushman: publication isn't the only reason to write. Let go of the outcome. #SCBWI09
- Karen Cushman: Like Flannery O'Connor, I write what I can. #SCBWI09
- Holly Black is leading an active discussion on critique groups. Blog posts soon. (No wifi in Brentwood room.) #SCBWI09
- Holly Black always wears cool shoes. #SCBWI09
- Holly Black just had the people in her session write something, swap with a partner, and tell each other what's good about it. #SCBWI09
- Ellen Hopkins: "The $8000 advance I got for Crank was not life changing." #SCBWI09
- Ellen Hopkins: There were dark phases in my life. I got through them. I worked them into my writing. #SCBWI09
- Ellen Hopkins is making me cry. I wish you were all here listening to her story. #SCBWI09
- Ellen Hopkin's Crank sold on 75 pages. #SCBWI09
- It took 2 1/2 years for Crank to hit the NY Times bestseller list. #SCBWI09
- Ellen Hopkins: Learn the rules before you break them. #SCBWI09
- Courtney Bongiolatti (S&S); "Literal hell or metaphorical? Because that would be important for the synopsis." #SCBWI09
- #SCBWI09 Conference F-Bomb Count--number of keynote speakers who have have dropped the f-bomb so far: 4. (I'll update you as f-bombs happen)
- Wendy Loggia (Delacorte) googles writers before she takes them on. So watch what you say in the blogosphere, tweeps. #SCBWI09
- Wendy Loggia: Contrary to popular belief, we do not take pleasure in crushing writers' dreams. (She's given a great session). #SCBWI09
- Our sundae came with an extra gravy boat of fudge.
Doing last minute presentation prep for my breakout session Practical Online Promotion. #SCBWI09- Holly Black: Fantasy has real stuff to say about our own world and real things to say about us. #SCBWI09
- Holly: We have to believe in the fantastical when we read it. World building is one of most difficult things for fantasy writers. #SCBWI09
- Holly Black: In many ways fantasy resembles historical fiction. #SCBWI09
- Holly Black's crazy theory: fantasy plotting is slightly different than non-fantasy plotting
- Holly Black: When I started, I wrote a lot of scenes with elves sitting around drinking coffee and experiencing ennui. #SCBWI09
- I'm talking about twitter
- Just left the Golden Kite Luncheon. Getting ready to blog Marla Frazee's session, How Your Words Inspire Me to Draw Pictures #SCBWI09
- Marla Frazee: I [illustrate] one page at a time and I do them in order. Because I'm a Capricorn. #SCBWI09
- Elizabeth Law: Egmont's profits go to children's charities. They are technically an not-for-profit publisher. #SCBWI09
- Elizabeth Law: Writers need to know what the hook is for their books. Elevator pitches aren't two minutes long. #SCBWI09
- Elizabeth Law: She thinks agents are important and advises writers to find one. "I rely on agents to weed things out for me." #SCBWI09
- Elizabeth Law: "Winslow the Whale spouted emotions through his blow hole." (Posted because it's just as funny out of context.) #SCBWI09
- Elizabeth Law on social networking: Join networks, make comments, make friends, don't be embarrassed to talk about your work. #SCBWI09
- Elizabeth Law: "If anyone does introduce me to my future husband, there's a contract for you at Egmont." #SCBWI09
- @mbrockenbrough That was one excellent banana.
- @chavelaque Thanks! And thank you for contributing. (Everyone be sure to read Cheryl's great piece on revision in the 2010 CWIM.)
- I'm having my final breakfast at The Breeze at the Century Plaza. (I recommend the oatmeal.)
- On my way to my least favorite airport LAX. (It is no CVG.)
- My cab driver's name is Igor. That's kinda cool. I've never met an Igor. (He's a very good driver.)
- Just drove past a Live Nudes place right next to Carl's Jr. I'm so not in the Nati.
- I'm standing in the line to get to the next place I will stand in line. LAX: you are living up to my expectations.
- Number of times 20-something dude in security line said 'dude' in his 5-minute phone call: 13. (I counted.) Dude. His Vegas trip ROCKED!
- I'd forgotten all about humidity until it smacked me in the face outside the airport.
- Back in the Nati and stuck in LA-style traffic. But someone's here to help.
A few of Holly’s critique group tips:
- Achieve a balance between work and social—have fun but get the job done (says one attendee). Just don’t let the social take over.
- A critique group shouldn’t be scary or intimidating.
- In critiquing you have to be generous and willing to give away good ideas, but also work to find the right idea that works for your critique partners. You will inevitably influence each other, consciously or not.
- Everyone comes to groups with different strengths and it’s great to cultivate those strengths and use different critique partners for different things.
- You may be in groups where member have varying degrees of success. It can be hard as relationships have to adjust to this.
- Your job as a critique partner is helping make your partner write the story they want to tell.
Fantasy author Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles) wanted to do a session on critiquing because she feels she wouldn’t be an author today if it wasn’t for her critique partners.
By show of hands, about half of room is in critique groups. Holly is talking about the difference between critique groups and critique partners. Her critique group meets to go over a finished draft of a novel. (The meet 3 or 4 times a year.) She relies on her critique partners on a more day-to-day basis with work-in-progress issues.
Your critique group doesn’t have to necessarily write exactly what you like, but they should have the same taste in book—otherwise they won’t get you, Holly says. You really have to love each other’s writing or you won’t work as critique partners.
Holly often feels like she’s writing for her critique partners—they’re the audience she knows.
She ways there’s no one “in charge” of her critique group. “Our group is chaotic. We meet and we have no pattern to what we do.” (Note: Holly mentioned that sometimes the problem with critique groups is that you start out with everyone being equal, but when problems arise, there’s no “one charge” to deal with it, then people leave or groups splinter off.)
Links to SCBWI TEAM BLOG Keynote Interviews...
Today blogger Lee Wind offers a great interview with Holly Black, one of the terrific keynote speakers for the upcoming SCBWI Annual Summer Conference. (She is also featured in the 2010 CWIM!) Lee has recently joined Twitter so add him to your follow list--he'll be blogging and tweeting along with the rest of us from the L.A. event August 7-10.
If you haven't, also check out Paul Yoo's interviews with keynoters Ingrid Law and Betty Birney. There will be more interviews with SCBWI conference keynote speakers from TEAM BLOG between now and the event which I'll link you to when they are posted.
(And for those of you who still may be thinking about registering for the event but haven't yet, read Suzanne Young's post featuring feedback from three first-time conference goers.)
By:
Judy Bryan,
on 7/19/2009
Blog:
Judy Bryan
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Awesome! Inspiring! So many books, so many authors, so little time!
Neil Gaiman (!) and me. The highlight of the weekend was meeting him, getting my copy of The Graveyard Book signed and hearing his Newbery speech in person. Wow.
Me and Tammi Sauer with her new picture book, Chicken Dance. Check out this youtube
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link www.youtube.com/watch of her publisher (Sterling) having fun with her book. I wish all publishers were like this! Tammi's coming to Wisconsin's SCBWI Fall Retreat in October. We'll be bawkin' n rollin'!
Me, Kashmira Sheth,
gbeaverson , and Ann Bausum. Kashmira, and Ann are in critique groups of mine and Georgia's, though not the same one, if that makes any sense. If not, oh well, it's not important. :) Kashmira received the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for her beautiful picture book, Monsoon Afternoon.
This is Ann Bausum and Kashmira Sheth, who both had signings of their awsome books!
The illustrious Richard Peck so graciously signed two books for me, Newbery Honor A Long Way From Chicago and and an arc (advanced reading copy) of his newest, A Season of Gifts!
Mo Willems. Love him!
I couldn't decide which copies of Sarah Dessen's books to get for my daughters (I read them, too!) so I bought six, and she signed every one!
Lisa Albert, a fellow Wisconsin SCBWI-er, whose Enslow biography of Stephenie Meyer just came out!
Me and Georgia with Janet Halfmann, another fellow Wisconsin SCBWI-er, signing her wonderful book, Seven Miles To Freedom.
The SCBWI booth fantastically decked out by the Illinois chapter. That's Esther Hershenhorn on the right, the fabulous Illinois Regional Advisor.
Talk about BONUS! I had my copy of The Calder Game signed by author Blue Balliett and her editor, David Levithan, was there! Squeeee! I loved Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist! (He wrote the boy parts) :)
Georgia, Holly Black and me. I got my copy of Geektastic signed AND got the coveted Geektastic pocket protector. Does that make me a geek? Hell, yeah, and proud of it!
Gennifer Choldenko signed both my copies of Al Capone Does My Shirts and Al Capone Shines My Shoes. Saweet!
You may know her as
thatgirlygirl , Tanya Seale was in my very first critique group when we were greenhorns, waaay before we even knew what SCBWI was!
Jon Scieskza and Lane Smith
Laurie Halse Anderson
Judy Blume. Love her! I grew up with her books.
Georgia, Ingrid Law, me
Libba Bray
Libba Bray sat in the loooooooong line for her signing (before it started) and chatted with fans. How cool is that? Had my copy of A Great And Terrible Beauty signed AND got an arc signed of Going Bovine!
That's the great thing about ALA, you're surrounded by people who love books as much as you do. Publishers give away tons of arcs, I scored bags full! Bags people! Can you say a little piece of heaven? I just wish I could hole up for weeks and read, read, read.
Isn't that a beautiful sight! :)
For now, don't be surprised if you happen to run in to me at one of my son's baseball games and I seem to be engrossed in the player's list. It's hiding a book. :)
The Good Neighbors, Book 1by Holly Black and Ted NaifehScholastic Graphix 2008The set-up for this graphic novel is about as generic as you an get: mopey teenage Rue's mother has disappeared and her father is suspected of murder. Of course, like every teen novel where a parent is accused of murder, the teenage protagonist knows it can't be so, and in searching out the truth that other inept
Well, here we are, continuing our week of Graphic Novel reviews! Here I have 3 reviews of totally unrelated books. Enjoy!
Garage Band Gipi
Giuliano’s father has loaned them a garage to practice in, as long as the guys stay out of trouble. Alberto, the bassist spends his time worrying about his father. Alex, the drummer is obsessed with Hitler and his aunt scorns Giuliano’s family’s wealth. Stefano, the singer, is the trouble maker, but his father has him in contact with a record label. They have the garage, they have the contacts, they just need to cut their demo tape when their amp blows. When they steal a new one, their troubles really begin.
Painted in a muted watercolor palate with frenetic black line work, Gipi’s artwork captures the bleakness of their lives along with the energy of their music. There are several full page desolate landscapes composed mostly of brown sky to show what these young men are trying to escape. The back pages contain several preliminary sketches and character studies.
Skim Mariko Tamaki, drawing by Jillian Tamaki
After reading
Emiko Superstar, I was really excited to read this.
The book explores depression, love, friendship, and finding yourself (or not) in a small tale about a high school that overreacts when the popular girl is dumped by her boyfriend who then commits suicide. The details of the plot are really not important, because it's the characters, the dialogue, and the art that really make this book pack a punch.
Black and white drawings (pen?) that appear to be hand drawn without computer help are evocative of the early 90s era of the story. I especially liked the full-page panels and the ones without borders. Excellent use of negative space.
Kin (The Good Neighbors, Book 1) Holly Black, art by Ted Naifeh
Rue's mother has been missing for three weeks and her father has just been arrested for murdering one of his students. Meanwhile, Rue is pretty sure she's going crazy because she keeps seeing weird things, like... faeries. Faeries that claim to be her mother's family.
I really wanted to like this, but I feel like the entire volume was just setting up the story that's going to happen in the later volumes. It was a little disappointing, but I have great faith in Holly Black, and there are a lot of interesting story lines to play with and I'm really hoping that it goes somewhere, because I think the later volumes could be really cool.
Also, I thought it was going to be in color. I don't know why I thought this, but I did. It's not.
Later this week: Fables, Jack of Fables, Sandman, and Rapunzel's Revenge! Stay tuned!
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Two young-adult fiction authors, Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon, have partnered on the “Diversity in YA” (.jpg?picon=590)
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I love that book, Wendy! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, too. Now, you'll have to read Holly Black's Tithe, if you haven't already. ;)
I have yet to read Valiant, I enjoyed Tithe quite a lot though.
I know! The store I visited didn't have a copy of Tithe so I just got Valiant and Ironside. I would love to read Tithe sometime soon. Thanks for commenting!