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Author: Mercedes Lackey Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Fairy Tale, Romance, Fantasy Release: July, 2010 Source: Net Galley Rating: 3/5
Description: In the land of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, if you can't carry out your legendary role, life is no fairy tale….
Elena Klovis was supposed to be her kingdom's Cinderella— until fate left her with a completely inappropriate prince! So she set out to make a new life for herself. But breaking with “The Tradition” was no easy matter—until she got a little help from her own fairy godmother. Who promptly offered Elena a most unexpected job….
Now, instead of sleeping in the chimney, she has to deal with arrogant, stuffed-shirt princes who keep trying to rise above their place in the tale. And there's one in particular who needs to be dealt with….
Sometimes a fairy godmother's work is never done…
Review: I rather liked this fairy tale/fantasy. It had a different take on Cinderella. The main character, Elena, was born to be her kingdom's Cinderella. Both her parents died; she had the horrid stepmother as well as the two annoying stepsisters; she was even treated as a mere slave in her parents' own house. When she turns 18, though, no prince arrives to take her away. Instead of becoming Cinderella, she becomes an apprentice to the Fairy Godmother, Bella, who takes Elena under her wing and teaches her everything she knows. As an apprentice, Elena learns about "The Tradition," the force that makes everything happen in fairy tales. Eventually, Elena takes Bella's place as Fairy Godmother and does an excellent job.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Alexander, a prince and Elena's love interest, didn't transform on his own. He was supposed to learn his lesson and be transformed, but he had help. I would have liked for his change to come from within...not without.
The story got became too long at times. It was almost as though she was trying to cram everything into one book.
The sex scenes. It would've been ok if they fit in, but they didn't. The scenes came out of no where and completely threw me off. Here's an example: "...and it wasn't until he'd stolen up her skirt and suddenly his head was - good heavens! What was he doing between her legs..." Ms. Lackey didn't need the scenes. The book would've been fine without.
WHAT I LIKED:
I loved the character of Elena. She was strong, despite horrible circumstances. When she became an apprentice, she worked hard at learning. That's why she became one of the best.
I loved the different take on Cinderella, featuring a strong character. Cinderella was never really my favorite fairy tale, but I loved this take.
I liked the storyline and the idea of "The Tradition" and how fairy tales worked.
Overall, this was a pretty good book that I enjoyed reading.
0 Comments on ARC Review: The Fairy Godmother as of 1/1/1900
You know your character must change somehow over the course of your novel. But how? And more than that, how do you sync the changes with the external plot? The middle of a novel can suffer from the dreaded “sagging middle” and it’s mainly because you don’t have a firm handle on the character’s inner arc and how it meshes with external events.
I’ve found three approaches to the inner arc, each trying to laying out how the character changes. While these overlap a lot, there are differences in how the emotional changes are approached.
Hero’s Journey: Quest for Inner Change
In the Hero’s Journey, laid out so well in Christopher Vogler’s book, The Writer’s Journey, a character receives a Call to Adventure that takes him/her out of the normal and ordinary world into a world where they must quest for something. One of the key moments in this paradigm is the Inmost Cave where the character faces his deepest fears.
Melanie as an Example
So, we’ve got Melanie who wants more than anything else to get her mother’s approval, but can’t because her mom’s a chef and Melanie can’t cook worth a flip.
In the Hero’s Journey, Melanie might get a Call to Adventure: a challenge to create the world’s largest hot fudge sundae. Her darkest moment will come when she realizes Mom think’s she’s real goof-up and she’s not up to the task. Of course, she wants to give up, but somehow manages to rally (perhaps, recruiting friends to help, learning to make a sundae, etc.) and create something that makes Mom proud.
Iron Sharpens Iron – Friendships
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
In this paradigm, two characters cross paths in Act 1 and usually hate each other, but Act 2 throws them into a situation where they must act together. Here, the characters’ strengths and weaknesses work to create change. It’s an up and down battle of learning to trust each other and ultimately find some sort of love, whether it’s platonic, romantic or maternal. Key moments are the midpoint when they totally lose faith in one another and a re-commitment to each other as they move from Act 2 to Act 3. Act 1 and 3 focus on the external story, while Act 2 follows how the friendship affects the characters.
For more on this paradigm, read, Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot by Peter Dunne.
Back to Melanie:
Melanie agrees to participate in the Biggest Sundae Ever contest, but as the contest starts she’s assigned a dunce to work with, Phillip RunnyNose. They clash immediately and have different ideas on how to create the required masterpiece: Melanie wants total creative control, while Phillip wants to just take pictures of the masterpiece. During their practice run–about the middle of act 2–Phillip leaves the ice cream out to soften up, but it melts, ruining the prac
Please email me your address at [email protected] and tell me if you would like YA, MG or Adult. I will send you a list to choose from. First come first serve! (US only)
If I do not hear from you by end of day on Friday - I will choose another name. hey - it's only fair! :)
Congratulations!
Also - here is a hint of what is coming up: Get your paragraph query ready! :) 4- 5 sentences.
Wouldn't miss this contest for the world! (Well, maybe, if the world gave me ARCs...) Thanks for the contest, and I'm already a follower! Can't wait to find out the prizes!
Just a reminder that those of you who signed up for my verse novel challenge have one month to finish your novels.
What's the verse novel challenge? I'm glad you asked! Honestly, I started this challenge to become more well versed (sorry, couldn't help it!) in novels written as unrhymed poetry. My goal was to read a minimum of five novels-in-verse by the end of 2010. I've read seven novels so far, and plan on reading two more.
If you're interested in participating, there's still time to join! Just sign up here.
And if you'd like to learn more about verse novels in general or are looking for some recommendations, stop by Valerie Geary's Something to Write About. She'll be focusing on verse novels all month.
*By the contest's end, I will know what's going on. If for some reason MAY B. isn't to be released sometime soon, I will happily send the winner a verse novel of her choice.
9 Comments on Verse Novel Challenge: The Final Month, last added: 12/10/2010
Randy, I love OUT OF THE DUST, probably because it was my first exposure to verse novels and is a historical mid-grade. I think you'd love anything by Lisa Schroeder, as she writes YA with some paranormal elements. Enjoy!
Lisa, thank you! I was lucky enough to win an ARC of EXPOSED and hope to finish the year with it. I'd also like to read Stephanie Hemphill's latest, about the Salem Witch Trials.
And I can't wait to finally read CARVER: A LIFE IN POEMS. GW Carver is my hero.
Thank you for reminding me, Caroline! I started reading my fifth verse novel a month or more ago (I won't mention which one it was) and abandonned it halfway through. It was just too explicit for me personally. And then I forgot to reserve a replacement at the library. Thanks to your post, I just placed requests for Carver: A Life in Poems and Three Rivers Rising. Hopefully one of them'll come in time for me to finish the challenge.:) Amy
Laura, go ahead and write up an "I am participating" post and link back to my original post (marked as "here"). At the end of the month, I'll run a post where you can list what you've read.
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 11.2.10 Bookmarks: 5
I didn't know what this book was about when I grabbed it at BEA. I kinda like not knowing what I'm getting into when reading a book. But I must say that I was blown away with this story. There were a few clunky moments with the writing, but we'll chalk it up to first-time writeritis. But I will say this, Daisy Whitney is a kick-ass writer. And the s
0 Comments on The Mockingbirds, Daisy Whitney as of 1/1/1900
As I’m working on the plan for this new novel, creating characters and trying out voices, I’m trying to strengthen my weakest areas.
My Weakness is Character
My weakness is character. I can plot fine, but creating characters with plausible character growth is hard for me. I think I’ve got it and my friends tell me that I’m still way off.
This time, I’m majoring on the character’s emotional life. I won’t actually start writing until I have charted the ups and downs of the character as she moves through the events planned.
In James Frey’s book, How to Write a Damn Good Novel II, he gives an example of the Biblical story of Samson and Delilah. Frey uses the idea of a premise, or a short statement about the overall story. For Samson, he uses the premise: Repentance leads to a glorious death.
Frey says that a premise isn’t the same as a moral, and doesn’t have to match up with what we would normally call moral or right or ethical. Instead, it’s a summary of what THIS STORY is saying; it’s intrinsic to this one and only story.
What I liked was when Frey expanded upon the premise:
God’s love leads to a great strength, which leads to heroism in battle, which leads to haughtiness and arrogance, which leads to temptations of the flesh, which leads to betrayal, which leads to defeat and disgrace and blindness, which leads to repentance, which leads to a restoration of superpowers, which leads to a glorious death.
He says the premise, “Repentance leads to a glorious death” is merely a shorthand for the longer version.
Well, I’ve got the premise down! What I’m trying to do right now is to expand it (hindsight is always easier!) so that I can see the character arc better, especially the emotional arc. I love that Frey’s expansion had character qualities: haughty, arrogant, disgrace.
I would like to make it even more tied to those, so it will help me write a better character story:
God’s love overwhelms, which leads to devotion to God, which leads to surprising gift of great strength, which leads to courage, which leads to a heady success in battle, which leads to haughtiness and arrogance, which leads to less devotion to God, which leads to passion and love for Delilah, which leads to betrayal and heartache, which leads to defeat, despair, disgrace and blindness, which leads to repentance, which leads to a renewed awe and devotion to God, which leads to surprising gift of super strength restored, which leads to ultimate sacrifice for sake of God, which leads to a glorious death.
Well, maybe not that much different, but I like–and need–that emphasis on character.
While I’m developing character conflicts, I’m also working on this emotional arc. When I know the arc, then it will be easier to test plot events to make sure they are related to this emotional arc.
In celebration of the ending of 2009, I want to thank all of you for making the Marvelous Marking Mondays a huge success. This time last year, I had no followers, hadn't yet kicked off the Marketing interviews series, and barely got one comment a day.
Today, I have 400 followers (and friends :), just had my 50,000th visitor, and have conducted 40 interviews with editors, agents, illustrators, and authors.
More importantly, over this last year, I've made friends, gathered followers, and hopefully helped some of you move toward your publishing goal.
To celebrate all this, I have a....... GIVEAWAY!!!!
1) All you have to do is comment and tell me one key lesson you have learned this year in relation to your writing journey. It can be about social networking, attending a conference, your writing craft, the submission process. Anything.
2) Oh yeah, and you have to be an OFFICIAL FOLLOWER of my blog (so i can see your lovely little square faces/icons on the left side.)
Only my loyal followers get prizes :).
If you have found my blog for the first time and aren't sure if you can follow, I do come with a 30 day guarantee. If I do not make you laugh, cry, or scream at least once in 30 days, you can unfollow and still claim the prize if you win. :) Am I confident or what?
oh! What is the Prize - you ask???
Drum roll please.........
Neil Gaiman's ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of Coraline!!!
The graphic novel adaptation illustrated by award winning artist P. Craig Russell.
You have until Midnight PST (3 am EST) tonight to enter.
Happy Holidays!
Also stay tuned because I have a holiday surprise for Wednesday!!!!
32 Comments on Marvelous Monday: Holiday Giveaway!!!!!, last added: 12/22/2009
What I've learned... hmmmmm. How about EVERYTHING! Last year I submitted a first draft to an agent, I didn't have a blog, and my second novel wasn't even an idea. 2009 was hard, but wonderful. Great contest!
I'm a fairly new follower but I've gone through some of your past posts. One thing remains fairly consistent to me ... keep writing. Don't give up, learn your craft, embrace it and keep writing.
So I am :) (Writing that is ... even when the time runs out but the words refuse to look at the clock ...)
One thing I've learned this year is that I still have a long way to go with my writing, and it's all right to slow down to better my craft because this isn't a race. :>
And congrats! All of those are awesome accomplishments.
Shelli, purely for your own feedback, of course ;), I've learned more about the marketing aspect of being an author from your blog than anywhere else.
One of the most thought provoking things I've learned this year is the importance of branding, both book branding, and author branding. We all have to make a personal statement that sets us apart from our peers, and a consistent blog presence helps to accomplish that. Thanks!
My big "year lesson" on this writing journey is that it is just that...a journey. I look back at where I was last year at this time, and I can't believe how much I've learned about the industry, marketing, craft, networking. I look back and wonder at my Pollyannaness, but not in a bad way. Here's to looking back at the end of 2010 and wondering how I ever survived without an agent. :) hee hee.
I've learned a lot about using the Internet for marketing. I'm huge on Internet marketing, but things like blog tours and how to best use Twitter were kind of unknown to me. I also wasn't really sure if I needed to get into all of that right now since I'm not published yet, but I've definitely seen (both on your blog and on others) that the school of thought is divided.
I really enjoy this series! I think the best way to learn anything is from people who are in it.
This year I learned that blogging wasn't just an exercise in vanity. For a writer, it is another way to hone your craft, and gain exposure to the writing community at the same time.
Hi :) I've learned so much this year it is hard to decide upon just one thing. I've learned that persistence and dedication are key to a writing career and that it is important to write the story you want to read, not what you think is hot at the moment because it takes so long to get the book published that what is currently hot may not be hot when it is finally published - if that run-on sentence makes any sense. :) Merry Christmas! RKCharron
We've learned that the waiting doesn't end after you get an agent or even after you have a book deal. In publishing EVERYONE waits. I'm actually starting to get used to it. I've read like 20 books since Thanksgiving. I guess sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride!
Oh my gosh!! I shrieked out loud when I saw what the prize was :D. Great contest, Shelli, and congrats on your successes this year!
The biggest thing I've learned this year is that you can query too soon, but you can *never* query too late. Polish your manuscript, and when you think it can't get any shinier, polish it again!
I learned that I've been a little too focused on pumping out words and lost sight of what really matters to me. I'm so ready to tackle 2010 with my new smarts!
Shelli, you have an amazing blog and I have learned lots from it! Specifically, how to network through blogging plus the interviews with agents and editors don't hurt during submission time! Thanks!
I'm only just getting into the world of publishing, marketing, and all that jazz, so I have learned so many things in those areas in just the last few weeks that it would be hard to list them all.
Most importantly for me, after finishing two different first drafts this year, I have learned that I can do it. I actually can write something of substance.
I didn't realize until today that I am not an *official* follower, Shelli, even though I've been reading you for months on Bloglines. :-D
I've learned that there's a right time and a right place (read agent/editor/contracts) for my writing career, and to be patient because God knows better than I do what is best for me and my life. And when it's finally your *time* it's better than you even imagined.
The biggest lesson I've learned is not to follow all the rules. I read a lot of advice on agent blogs about how to get an agent (don't send ms twice unless they request it, etc.) and then I read all these stories about how writers got their agents on the Guide to Literary Agents blog, and they've all broken the rules!
Your blog has been the best resource I've ever come across for what a writer (published or not) needs to do to market herself. Thank you for all the time you put into your blog, and for sharing so many great tips!
Per an editor's suggestion, I've tried to create an unreliable narrator, which was difficult. My 17 year-old male character needed to be likeable, but not completely trustworthy.
I started off slowly at first, as if the character even believed himself. By the end, he doesn't know who he is. His identity was at stake the whole time.
It was challenging, but I enjoyed trying something different.
I haven't blogged much lately. If you're a past reader of In Search of Giants, you know I don't like long posts, so let's break this down:
Top Ten Reasons
Aerin Hasn't Blogged Since August
10. Clarity of Night July '09 contest
Writing for it and reading its entries scorched my brain.
9. Reading
Kisses to Trish and Ello for lending me me ARCs of FIRE and of CATCHING FIRE. Yes, Ell, I still have yours. See what else I've read at Goodreads.com.
8. Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize
I am forced to use armored cars and bulletproof vests when out in public, since I think this is a splendid idea and people around here....don't.
7. Travels - Nashville and New York City Both with children, neither with a spa. Enjoyable but requiring quite a bit of recuperation time.
6. Spouse
Forgets other people are part of the house, focuses on a zillion music projects plus a huge project at work. I turn into Housewife Zombie.
5. Daydreaming about meeting Stuart Neville
Was even better than I'd expected - the accent, the sense of humor, the milk in his tea, plus he gives great hugs - I'm sorry, but the man is yummy:
Betsy's pretty hot, too.
4. Season Premieres
Fringe, Glee, Bones, Criminal Minds, House, How I Met Your Mother. This is important sh*t, yo.
3. Stephen Parrish emailed me
He & unknown co-conspirator encouraged my writing, which is not my first love (reading is) but is definitely my first calling (before reading). No one's ever done that before; I'm taking it as a sign.
2. Family Stuff My sibs and I are pretty tight-knit; my lil sis and I are practically the same person. So when life's tough for her, it's tough for me. And it's been really, really tough for her lately.
1. My son, who is autistic, started kindergarten.
I go with him to class, because as friendly as the teachers & staff are, they're clueless when it comes to the needs of a child with autism. Our IEP involved a lot of "settling for" on our part - not an ideal situation for my precious child. I've spent more time and energy in the past three months than I ever did when he was at his special Autism school. Of course, his special Autism school drained our life savings and my in-laws' bank account, too. Add to this managing my daughter's feelings, making sure she's not feeling shortchanged, and I don't even have time for martinis in the evenings. Agh!
I'm not going to turn my blog into a platform for autism, but you're going to encounter it. The new stats are 1 in 98 children. Learn more at Autism Speaks.
As if all that weren't enough, NaNo starts in just three days (see #3, above).
In other words, I will continue to be a sporadic, MIA even, blogger. But do stay tuned - exciting announcements from the Co-Dictators of the Universe, my first CD review, and more - sometime in the near future (ie, prior to 2011.)
12 Comments on New Directions, last added: 11/2/2009
So that's why you haven't really been around! After I came back from my blogging break I was wondering what happened to you.You have so much on your plate right now. I hope everything goes well.
Thanks for Crossed Wires. I can't wait to read it.
Keep advocating for your child. But also make sure you take time for yourself, whatever form that takes. If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUKO_Y6RqEk
See you there at NaNoWriMo! As soon as I enrolled I imagined myself writing Watermelon 50,000 times for not being able to complete the task but hey, we still have 29 days. And I buy all your reasons so you do what you have to do to get by.
Yup - that plate of yours is very fullup!!! Feel free to email me any time you want to unload. I'll just bin it and you'll feel better. (;o) ) Alternatively I'm still working on the lottery win plan so we can just go on vacation together, drink cocktails and get totally bladdered. I've been in a neurotic tail-spin myself recently. On the verge of bonkers I'd say. But I epiphed a momentous epiphany and blow me down if I'm not a happy bunny again.
I love epiphanies. I'm going to January 6th my favourite feast day.
December 11th 2008 by Headline Review Hardcover, 320 pages 0755345541 (isbn13: 9780755345540) Fiction/Literature, Romance, British
4 of 5 stars
"Autocare Direct Motor Insurance."
Mina - Wilhemina - is a young, single mother who works at the Sheffield call center for car insurance. Peter is a Cambridge geography professor who's just crashed his car into a tree stump. They're both single, both parents. In America, this would be a definite One Fine Day type of hit. But they're not in America; they're in England. And the class difference between them is palpable, pronounced. Throw in Peter's colorful next door neighbors, Mina's deadbeat little sister, and three of the most fun children in literature, and you've got a full-on MIAM (Make It A Movie).
I almost hate to recommend Crossed Wires as a MIAM, so read it first before Thornton sells a screenplay. Thornton's writing is so cozy - the written equivalent of a roaring fire and the perfect pot of tea. She's speaks directly to those of us who grew up and/or raised children during Harry Potter. She makes Dr. Seuss references. She speaks directly to so many experiences - male couples who have lived together their whole lives but never clarified their relationship; parenting twins; scraping by on just enough money; reading in a university library. Your feeling is that she must have snuck into your brain and shared your experiences, so keen are her portrayals.
I waited to review this novel until the leaves started changing here in Colorado. Crossed Wires involves bonfires and New Year's and coats and boots, so it's not the best summertime read. As a fall read, it's excellent. Buy it if you're a romance (but not erotic romance) fan (think Sleepless in Seattle), or check it out if you're not - though you'll probably end up buying it anyway.
2 Comments on CROSSED WIRES by Rosy Thornton, last added: 9/24/2009
I saw this book somewhere in the blogsphere this week and I was thinking Sleepless In Seattle too! I love that movie! I think I would love this books too!
August 6th 2009 by Putnam Adult Hardcover 0399155767 (isbn13: 9780399155765) Historical Fiction
3 of 5 stars
"There was snow on the ground when my time came"
Susan Rose is a lower-class maid in Victorian England. When she becomes pregnant by the lord's son, she escapes to London where she finds work as a wet nurse, as her mother had done before her. She moves from job to job, as she's needed, all the while commenting to the reader in dry tones about the scandals of the higher classes. When tragedy strikes, Susan has to decide if she can continue the life she's chosen, or if she must return and do her duty by her family.
Erica Eisdorfer is a fellow Duke grad, yet she works for the trade bookstore on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill. Just as Eisdorfer's loyalties are a little mixed up (ahem, Blue Devils vs. Tar Heels), so Wet Nurse's Tale, her first novel, is a mixture of well done and poorly done. In fact, the well done is so well done - warm, accessible, witty writing - it accentuates the poorly done piece all the more.
Susan is a lower class, illiterate character. She has to hire someone to write letters for her. And yet, the tone of this first person protagonist is that of an educated gentlewoman of poor means - a slightly randy Jane Eyre, if you will. To have Susan address us as "Dear Reader" - suggesting she is herself writing the book, and therefore not illiterate - completely throws us out of the comfortable rhythm of Eisdorfer's otherwise spot-on writing.
For any mom's group who's had the breast v. bottle debate, this is fun with an open perspective that won't invalidate either side; you'll want to buy it so you can underline the bits you like. For any mom who has breastfed, this is a humorous journey into nursing during another era. And for everyone else, it's a bouncy, well-researched piece of historical fiction that's neither sentimental nor hard-nosed. Check it out from the library, especially if you're a fan of Jane Eyre.
2 Comments on THE WET NURSE'S TALE by Erica Eisdorfer, last added: 9/21/2009
I like the premise of the book and the cover looks very like one of those romantic classic books you'll pick up. It's a combination that is hard to resist despite its flaws.
I'm having a similar problem with the story I'm reading now. But instead of just one character sounding too sophisticated and out of place, every single one of them does.
Wow, that was an awesome vlog! I love the way you summarised everything so succinctly. If I weren't too chicken to do a vlog I'd be stuttering and babbling all over the place. I'm definitely putting Fade to Blue on my TBR! ;D
Great review! Someone sent me this link and I had to check it out. I'm honored that Fade To Blue was your first vlog. Good luck with the Summer Construction!
From the cover of The New Yorker Magazine, Nov. 6, 2006
Malinda Lorecently wrote about inadvertently finding a review of ASH and realizing she probably couldn't write reviews anymore. I started thinking to myself about the way I write reviews.
"Self," I thought, "what is it that we do when we review books?"
"Well, Aerin," she replied. "We try to figure out who's going to buy them."
"True, true." I pondered a bit. "More like a puzzle than a critique process, isn't it?"
"It really is. Matching the book into the perfect buyer-shape hole. I mean, you tell me all the time that any author has to work really hard to get published.."
"...despite our little issues with SM, who we tend to think is a show-off," I muttered.
"She does have a right to be."
"Fine. So, when we're reviewing, we're gauging our enjoyment of a book, and trying to determine, based on past experience, people we know, etc., who would be the most appreciative audience."
"Did you just say et cetera to me?"
I ignored my Self and continued. "And, of course, if glaring inconsistencies or plot devices, poor grammar or language use interrupted our enjoyment of said title, we will probably mention these things."
"You know, people who contact you to review their books will probably want to know how you work. You should write a post."
"Hmm. Point taken, Self. You are a very wise woman."
6 Comments on How I Review, or, A Conversation with My Self, last added: 6/20/2009
Oh, no, now I'm very scared and you have to tell ME what you're doing with the Duke degree. Yale has served me so well writing chick lit! And happy birthday. I'm the 7th of June. (And 21, again.)
Starfinder: Book One of the Skylords by John Marco
May 5th 2009 by DAW Hardcover Hardcover, 326 pages 0756405513 (isbn13: 9780756405519)
rating: 5 of 5 stars
Moth was flying his kite near the aerodrome when he heard the dragonfly crash.
Young Moth had grown up in Calio, the mountain city, dreaming of becoming a Skynight, one of the elite pilots who flew the fragile, beautiful, newfangled flying machines called dragonflies. To the north of Calio stretched the Reach, looking like a sea of fog that never ended. Flat and peaceful, the mists of the Reach flowed all the way to the horizon, and Calio loomed over this vast forbidding expanse like a sentinel standing guard.
There were numerous tall tales about the lands beyond the Reach, and Moth heard the wildest of them from Leroux. Leroux, had once been one of the legendary Eldrin Knights, had taken guardianship of the ten-year-old when Moth's mother died. At first, Moth had been expecially fascinated by Leroux's stories of the Skylords, but at the grown-up age of thirteen, Moth was becoming increasingly skeptical about the existence of these mysterious, powerful and frightening beings from beyond the Reach.
When Leroux died, Moth was faced with an impossible task: to protect Lady Esme, Leroux's pet kestrel. And protecting Lady Esme meant venturing into the forbidden Reach with his best friend Fiona, to find dragons, battle Skylords, and discover the secret hidden within the kestrel herself.
It would be easy for me to ambiguously rave about Starfinder. As I said before, I loved it. But I know that others found it lacking, so I thought I would specify what I loved, so that you can judge whether you might use the same criteria as I.
1. It's intelligent. The tone of the book doesn't condescend to readers. The narrative might be a little slow for someone only interested in action, but the metaphors and literary elements are delightful for those who choose to identify them. The language is lyrical but not flowery, with lots of good SAT words sprinkled throughout, in only appropriate places.
2. It's original....but familiar.
The Hindenberg meets Fantasyland? Heck, yeah. I never expected, plot-wise, what would happen next. The characters were complex enough to keep me guessing. And the Reach itself is a magical land created wholly by Marco, rather than lifted from the idea of some other one.
While the plot and characters are original, Starfinder, for me, had the feel of so many of my favorite worlds and authors and characters: Narnia, Neverland, Naussica of the Valley of the Wind, Anne McCaffrey, Lewis Carroll, Howl's Moving Castle, Xena - to name a few. In other words, this story felt very comfortable, both exciting and familiar, and that added to its charm.
3. It's got heart. Marco is careful not to reduce any of the conflicts in Starfinder to dualisms. There are many shades of grey, and the reader is given a chance to think about what his or her own response might be even as Moth or Fiona make theirs. There's a great deal of affection - parental love, friendship - without romance playing much of a role in this book (other than, for example, a husband-wife who are obviously fond of each other.) Whatever the emotions, Marco elicits them organically, without resorting to cliches for loss or joy or anger or exhilaration.
Starfinder would make a great present for boys around ages 12 to 14 who like to read, or for reluctant boy readers ages 12 to 18. I wouldn't buy this for a girl unless I knew she was open to the strong female characters and didn't expect mushy romance. But everyone - everyone - should at least check it out from the library.
I like what you say about this book being comfortable and familiar- I like fantasy worlds like that, they feel like home, but they still keep it exciting!
Nice review. I just got the second half up for my review the other day and I do agree about everything you said. It's definitely intelligent with a lot of fantasy and the world he created was just fantastic. I was always interested to see what happens next, and I liked that it seemed true to life...not everyone ended up with a happily-ever-after but it's still hopeful.
I have been on the fence about this - I think it was the whole flying thing (but then again, I loved the Pern books). But now that I've read your review, I'm slipping off that fence a bit. I think I'll add this to my list.
Ever since that comment you left on my Starfinder review, I've been waiting to read yours, and I enjoyed it! I also like how you mentioned Nausicaa, because that's exactly what I thought too. And I even went so far as to rewatch Nausicaa the other day because of this book...!
Great review, Aerin! I really liked how you were really specific why you liked it, particularly since others have had issues with the book (and fairly so!).
Spiced: A Pastry Chef's True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, andWhat Really Goes on in the Kitchen by Dalia Jurgensen
April 16th 2009 by Putnam Adult Hardcover, 288 pages 0399155619 (isbn13: 9780399155611)
rating: 3 of 5 stars
"Order, fire!" screamed Steven from the window that separated the small, open kitchen from the dining room.
Dalia Jurgensen left an office job and jumped head first into the New York restaurant scene. Fourteen years later, she wrote Spiced, a memoir of her time in the kitchens of some of the most famed restaurants in the city. You'll read about her first mentor, Mika; her struggles with a male-dominated industry; problems with chef uniforms and her decision to pursue pastry rather than savory cooking.
I love Food Network, especially those Vegas competitions where high-strung people have to make wicked amazing cakes. So I thought I would like Spiced. In fact, I liked it better than I expected to, but I wasn't dazzled. The difficulty with memoirs, of course, is how to have an assertive presence without seeming to grandstand or be stuck-up. Jurgensen didn't figure out this lesson. Her insights seem pretentious, her priorities seem unbalanced. One sentence indicates she contacted the union about sexual harassment; only a few pages are given to her time with Martha Stewart. Yet there are several pages about feelings of resentment when she realizes her boss has been sleeping around with the staff, and not with Jurgensen exclusively.
Mostly, however, Jurgensen really does try - and sometimes succeeds - in being an observer, merely recounting events to which she was witness. My sense is she's a gutsy, talented woman who's just not as gifted an author.
A definite gift for someone who's going to become the pastry chef at Nobu. Possible purchase if you're a foodie with an extensive collection of similar books. Everyone else, I'd recommend that you do read this quick, breezy book - but check it out from the library to do so.
2 Comments on Spiced by Dalia Jurgensen, last added: 6/1/2009
May 4th 2009 by Running Press Kids Hardcover, 272 pages 0762433442 (isbn13: 9780762433445)
rating: 3 of 5 stars
"When I was George’s age, I had an unsettling dream about Princess Joan, and this was at a time when the princess was a stranger to me, known only through a flashing glimpse from a faraway vantage point.”
Nell and her younger brother George are escorting their parents’ bodies to the burial pit for plague victims when the King happens upon them. He mistakes Nell for his own daughter, Princess Joan. Without other future prospects, and determined to care for George, Nell agrees to become a companion to the princess, and, two years later, to escort Joan to Spain for her marriage to its prince. The traveling party is unprepared, however, for the misfortunes they encounter when they land on the continent. To save her little brother, Nell makes a dangerous agreement with the Black Prince, Edward Platagenet – an agreement which may put the entire country of England in jeopardy.
I found this to be a sweet little story. It put me in mind of Karen Cushman’s The Midwife’s Apprentice or Catherine Called Birdy, though, frankly, The Plague lacks Cushman’s depth and finesse. The Plague is supposed to be aimed at teens, but it seems more appropriate in a late-elementary or mid-grade marketing scheme. The characters, while promising, don’t develop beyond a sort of idealized dualism (good vs. evil). The plot is simple, but engrossing enough, and the vocabulary doesn’t quite reach SAT levels.
Having said that, it’s almost as though the lack of character development is intentional, because they show such potential. Nell’s motivation is simple: she wants to protect her younger brother. George, Nell’s brother, is slightly superstitious and actually has healing abilities (which he doesn’t discover until after his parents are dead.) Together they’re protective and affectionate, which resonates with me because of the relationship I have with my own younger brothers.
A good summer read for just-graduated 5th or 6th graders. A possible gift for a 5th, 6th, or 7th grader studying medieval Europe. A super-fast, fun read for older fans of plague-fiction and people who hate rats.
I stumbled on your blog through JacketFlap. I like to promote other children's book blogs on mine, so I was looking for a good one, and found yours. I really like your format for book reviews--very clever--first line, mid-line, and bottom line--I tried to do something different on mine, too. It's hard! :) Anyway, I enjoyed my visit here.
Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace by Ayelet Waldman
May 5th 2009 by Broadway Hardcover, 224 pages 0385527934 (isbn13: 9780385527934)
rating: 3 of 5 stars
“The morning after my wedding, my husband, Michael, and I, were lying on a vast expense of white linen in the bridal suite of Berkeley’s oldest hotel; engaging in a romantic tradition of newlyweds the world over: counting our loot.”
(I didn’t realize until halfway through this book that the above-named Michael is Michael Chabon. Don’t tell Moonie. Waldman also went to law school with some guy named Barack Obama.)
Given the humorous quote on the front of the ARC I received, I expected Bad Mother to be equally humorous, possibly irreverent, and even somewhat flippant. That’s not, however, how it begins. Ayelet Waldman comes out swinging every ounce of intellectual muscle she’s got; she’s a formidable contender. Bad Mother starts out less as a book of humor than as a feminist critique, almost scholarly and certainly political, of current expectations of women who are mothers. With humor thrown in. (A similar tactic is used by Jessica Valenti to soften the serious message in Full Frontal Feminism.)
Waldman sets up her book with a chapter about “bad mothers,” mothers like the the woman Waldman reprimanded on the bus who was yanking her daughter’s hair as she braided it. Why do we obsess over “bad mothers”? (Besides the fact that “worrying about egregious freak-show moms like Wendy Cook and Britney Spears distracts us from the fact that, for example, President George W. Bush cheerfully vetoed a law that would have provided health insurance to four million uninsured children.) By defining for us the kind of mothers we’re not, they make it easier for us to stomach what we are.
Waldman informally polled her friends to find definitions of Good Mothers and Good Fathers. A definition of a Good Mother always involved self-abnegation: “she is able to figure out how to carve out time for herself without detriment to her children’s feelings of self-worth.” The same people “had no trouble defining what it meant to be a Good Father. A Good Father is characterized quite simply by his presence.”
She ends the first chapter with a question. “Can’t we just try to give ourselves and each other a break?” My good postmodern deconstructionist self cheered. My brain and my heart were engaged. I settled in for more discussion, re-thinking, and questions to spur us toward a new paradigm of expectations for motherhood.
After such an auspicious beginning, Bad Mother rolls into territory that is more memoir/social commentary, territory that is humorous, irreverent, and, at times, flippant. Waldman spends the remaining seventeen chapters self-consciously bragging about what a fabulous partner and father Chabon is, enumerating what she perceives as her failures as a mother, and offering the mechanisms she used to cope with the fact of these "failures."
The underlying message from Waldman is: “Here are the terrible things I’ve done – just be glad you haven’t done anything this bad.” After the conclusion to that first chapter, I’d hoped that Waldman would be proposing a different way of thinking; an entirely different way of analyzing motherhood.
Granted, Waldman’s commentaries and anecdotes are both poignant and hilarious. (“A Good Mother doesn’t resent looking up from her novel to examine a child’s drawing.”) She's a hell of a writer. From opinions about breast feeding and Attachment Parenting and sending snacks to preschool, to her own stories about terminating a pregnancy and about revelations concerning her own mother’s parenting style, Waldman's rich writing moves along smoothly, like a bottle pouring a nice merlot. It’s certainly a book worth reading.
I wouldn’t buy this book for your own mother, but it would make a great gift between (or among) girlfriends, or for someone who considers Michael Chabon her secret boyfriend. And, unless you live in Berkeley (as Waldman does, and reminds her reader…frequently) or Boulder, it would surely spark heated discussion in a book or moms’ club. And even if you’re not in love with Michael Chabon, I dare you to admit that there’s not some part of you that wants to be as wise and funny and erudite as Waldman when you grow up.
8 Comments on Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman, last added: 6/15/2009
Hehe, I just had a chuckle at the irony of buying this for your own mother. My mom would look at the title and be like "What are you trying to say?" Lol
I reviewed this one a couple of weeks ago, and I've edited my post to add a link to your review. I liked the book more than I expected to, and I think Waldman's writing has a lot to do with that. (The fact that I'm also secretly in love with her husband seems like it would push me in the other direction, but no...) I agree that it would be excellent book-club material.
I have this on my TBR list. It's really only there because of the controversy that she sparked while on Oprah. I'll just just check this out from the library instead of buying it.
Thanks for the review Aerin! This sounds like something up my alley... I'm always interested in what others think constitute "bad" vs. "good" mothers. & why oh why are we so judgmental? (except in the extreme cases!)
Aerin, I would like you to please revisit your above post very closely and reconsider the word "considers" as in "considers Michael Chabon her secret boyfriend..." which implies some kind of perspective or judgment which is JUST not applicable.
Also, thanks for the review! I read the NYT review, which ripped it to shreds in a disjointed an ambivalent way ("I really wanted to hate this book. And I did! Ayelet complains about her sagging boobs! How boring. But hey, wait, are my boobs sagging, too?! I wish she weren't right!" ad infinitum). Better to have a personal take.
So have you read LOVE AND OTHER IMPOSSIBLE PURSUITS? I felt about it much the way the NYT felt about BAD MOTHER.
April 9th 2009 by Dutton Juvenile Hardcover, 199 pages 0525421033 (isbn13: 9780525421030)
rating: 4 of 5 stars
"Everyone thinks it was because of the snow."
Because I try to maintain a no-spoiler policy in my reviews, I am using for a synopsis the wording provided by the publisher.
Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love – music – even if it means losing her boy friend and leaving her family and friends behind?
The one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it’s the only one that matters.
The words I’d use to describe this book have all been taken: “graceful,” “lovely,” “gentle.” Also “page-turner,” “imaginative,” “haunting” and “stay-up-very-very-late-to-finish.” Okay, maybe I’m the first to use that last phrase.
The plot is gripping, but it’s the characters in If I Stay that make it so unforgettable. For example, when her little brother was born, Mia’s dad gave up his long hair and leather jacket, donned a bow tie and became a teacher. And yet the transition was natural, and typical of the bonds that Forman so deftly creates in this close-knit and authentic family. Adults are adults, teenagers are teenagers, and without preaching, Forman demonstrates how that dynamic grounds Mia. Mia herself is the sort of protagonist you fall in love with, you root for, a narrator who easily steps into the ranks of Bella and Hermione.
I’ve thought and thought, but I don’t think this book will appeal to teen guys. Otherwise, I’d recommend the book for anyone high school or older. I would also highly recommend it as a library check-out for parents and grandparents of teens.
6 Comments on If I Stay by Gayle Forman, last added: 5/21/2009
I love books with great character! I've heard of this one from other blogs and I'm a big Hermione fan so I will add this one to my library list. Thanks for the review!
I have picked up this book about 10 times in my local book store, wanting to purchase it. Seriously. But I keep telling myself I have to wait because it's still a hardcover and I've spent all my book money for the month.
How I Got to Be Whoever It Is I Am by Charles Grodin
April 9th 2009 by Springboard Press Hardcover, 240 pages 0446519405 (isbn13: 9780446519403)
rating: 4 of 5 stars
“My first memory of something having a powerful, lasting effect on me came when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.”
I saw an interview once with Cameron Crowe in which he said that his movie “Almost Famous” was like blowing a kiss his early years as a roadie/music reporter and the people who’d been part of those experiences. I think, in a similar way, How I Got to Be is Charles Grodin’s kiss-blowing to his own past, both his boyhood and his journey from theatre to film to journalism. And it’s a sweet kiss.
Grodin’s newest book includes behind-the-scenes tales that feature actors, directors, writers, producers, journalists and politicians with whom he’s worked. It’s best to think of this book as a collection of essays. Other than Grodin himself, there’s no cohesive thread throughout. There’s a chapter about Dustin Hoffman and the movie The Graduate, a chapter about Grodin’s perspective on doctors and modern medicine, a chapter about Grodin’s work in Washington, D.C.
I had not known that Charles Grodin was such a political activist. In fact, he’s received the William Kuntsler Award for Racial Justice and has been honored by Habitat for Humanity for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of the homeless. One of my favorite anecdotes in How I Got to Be was the one in which Grodin describes his experience making a documentary with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. The three created a primetime special with actual footage from Vietnam, to explain how and why Simon & Garfunkel were writing anti-war music.
Your Father’s Day shopping begins and ends here. As I was reading this book, I made a mental note just about every other page that this would be a great gift for my dad or either of my grandfathers. Despite the fact these three men wouldn’t agree with Grodin’s politics, I doubt they could resist the wry humor and honest appraisal of a life well-lived that Grodin offers in How I Got to Be Whoever It Is I Am.
(also, all of Mr. Grodin's proceeds from this book go to Mentoring U.S.A.)
3 Comments on How I Got To Be Whoever It Is I Am by Charles Grodin, last added: 6/1/2009
I hadn't known this much about Charles Grodin he always seemed like a funny and regular actor in his movies. It's interesting to hear about his political liberal leanings and his activism. It makes him even more personable.
I wouldn't have looked into this book and appreciate learning more through this review.
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
May 22nd 2009 by HarperCollins Canada / Hyperion Voice Hardcover, 371 pages 1401340903 (isbn13: 9781401340902)
rating: 4 of 5 stars
"Peter Petford slipped a long wooden spoon into the simmering iron pot of lentils hanging over the fire and tried to push the worry from his stomach."
In 1692, amid the Salem witch trial frenzy, Livvy Dane stands among the women accused of practicing witchcraft.
Three hundred years later, PhD candidate Connie Goodwin spends her summer in a small town near Salem, cleaning up and clearing out the rustic house that belonged to her mother’s mother. Along with overgrown belladonna and actual mandrake root, Connie discovers a key and a slip of paper bearing the name “Deliverance Dane.”
It’s coincidentally fortuitous that just as Connie needs a dissertation topic with a newly discovered primary source, her grandmother’s ancient belongings suggest that Deliverance passed down an original book of spells. It’s also coincidentally fortuitous that the first and only man she meets in Marblehead is a hunky steeplejack with intellect to match Connie’s own.
There seem to be a lot of coincidentally fortuitous happenings in Physick Book. I won’t go so far as to claim deus ex machina, but neither would I argue if someone else wanted to suggest it. If there are coincidences, Howe weaves them deftly into the story so that they (almost) seem natural. Other details are more forced, such as a reference to a huge cellular phone to emphasize the 1991 setting.
And while the plot machinations can be easily absorbed, less comfortable are the chapters in which, jumping back in time to the events of 1692, Howe writes in the dialectical speech of Puritan New England. Unlike, say, Jim’s speech in Huckleberry Finn, the Nor’easter dialect Howe depicts is confusing, gawky, and jars the reader out of the story.
Despite its foibles, I would call Physick Book a solid first novel. Howe’s own academic proweress (and snobbery) is evident (there’s a recurring joke about Cornell not being an Ivy League school.) And the thorough research is crafted into the fantastically accessible history lessons. The pacing is remarkable – 400 pages, flipping periodically back to 17th century Salem, and there was never a time I felt as though I could skip ahead, nor did I want to.
What strikes me most about the book, however, beyond its technical merit, is that it’s got a lot of heart. Not the mushy-gushy kind, but the subtle intimacies shared among women, between mothers and daughters, close friends, mentors and their students, and even women separated by centuries. Howe’s female characters are empowered and conscious of their voices (or lack thereof). This is feminism at its best, comfortable and in a natural, organically occurring state.
An intelligent gift book for a woman in your life – friend, colleague, wife, mother. Pre-order this book for Mother’s Day, print a picture of its cover to slip in the card, and write “For making my childhood magical.” It would also be a good beach read for someone not really into typical ice cream romances.
7 Comments on The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe, last added: 6/1/2009
I thought deus ex machina was prominent throughout. I said in my review I was disappointed that this book provided no surprises, due not only to deus ex machina but also to heavy foreshadowing.
Also, wouldn't a Cornell grad student already have dissertation ideas well established, papers already written toward its completion?
So, you may have noticed that I've been largely MIA for about six weeks. There are perfectly respectable reasons for this, but they'd most likely bore the hell out of anyone who's still reading this sag-adelic blog. In order to give "girl uninterrupted" a bit of a boost, I've pledged to myself that I will begin posting at least a little something-something five days a week, starting right this very second.
May I present to you the super adorable cover for my next book, THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON!
STELLA won't be out until July 2009, but I've been told that galleys will be available at this year's NCTE/ALAN conference in San Antonio. Know what else will be at that conference? ME! I'm speaking on a panel with Tanya Lee Stone, Laura Ruby, and David Levithan that's titled, "I Feel Good: Positive Portrayals of Sex in YA Literature." And on top of it all, my awesome publisher, Random House, has generously donated 400 paperback copies of ANYONE BUT YOU to be distributed during my signing later that same day!
Back to STELLA: I recently finished proofing the galley pages, and I have to confess, I am SO GLAD I had the opportunity to go over the manuscript one last time. Why? Because I discovered some serious authorial offenses. Like, how did we all miss the fact that I used the word "involuntarily" eight times? Literally, EIGHT TIMES. It's too bad that anyone receiving an ARC will have to be subjected to "involuntarily" seven times more than those who buy a copy in the store or check it out from the library, but hey - at least this wrong has been righted in time for publication.
P.S. Kudos to those who noticed the new journal design - and yes, it's in honor of STELLA!
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(I probably would have forgotten the library was closed on Mondays too in my excitement upon receiving the ARCs of my very first novel. Although, really, libraries should be open all the time; one could have a book emergency. :P)
WOOHOOO!!!!! That's so freakin' exciting! I'm so, so, so happy that it's in your hands. I'm sure it's one of the neatest moments. I can't wait until I can see it on the shelves! :)
I'm so happy for you! I can't wait to receive/read the ARC! Plus I love the description on the back of the book: "The Clique meets the Saddle Club"....oooh!
1. Create your own candy heart at http://www.cryptogram.com/hearts/ . Your heart can say anything you’d like. You are not limited to phrases from the ARC (since you haven’t read it).
2. Copy and paste this entire post–as well as the image of your candy heart–on your blog, Facebook, MySpace, website, etc.
3. Once you’ve completed #3, email me at davidmacinnisgill AT gmail.com with the link to your post. Voila! You’re entered in the giveaway.
4. The contest will be judged by three teen readers based on the criteria of originality, design, and message. The contest closes July 31st.
5. The prize is a personalized, signed ARC and a special gift, TDB by the judges. The winner will be contacted via email. Her/his name and winning entry candy heart will be posted on my lj blog, as well as my home site DavidMacinnisGill.com.
*Note to my fellow future published authors - this is a GREAT way to publicise your book - God Bless the Internet.*
In City of Bones, the first book, Clary Fray’s world is turned upside-down. She has never thought of herself as being anything other than ordinary, until she sees a group of teenagers kill a demon—and finds that no one else can see them. Soon after that, Clary’s mother mysteriously disappears, and she is plunged into a world in which vampires and werewolves are real. She discovers that she is a Shadowhunter—a race of demon-slayers. To top it all off, she finds herself caught in a nasty love triangle with Simon, her best friend, and Jace, an arrogant, handsome Shadowhunter. Just as she seems to be falling for Jace, she finds out that Valentine, the villainous man who kidnapped her mother* is her father, and Jace is her brother. Oops.
As City of Ashes begins, Clary’s mother is lying in the hospital in a coma, the Clave** suspects that Jace is a spy for his father, and Clary is very romantically confused.
Valentine goes after the second Mortal Instrument, the Soul-Sword, and is more of a jerk than ever. Jace is an angry, angst-ridden teenager.*** Simon seems to be becoming more than a friend to Clary, but she’s still struggling with her feelings for Jace. And—my word! Is our love triangle becoming more of a… love… square? Indeed it is! Speaking of love shapes, Alec gets a boyfriend.****
On top of all the aforementioned drama, Clary and Jace seem to be discovering mysterious powers. And, of course, there is still the lingering question: are they really siblings?*****
City of Ashes is fabulous—at least as good as City of Bones, if not better. Also, there are more flying motorcycles.
I give City of Ashes four and one-half daggers. *He also stole the Mortal Cup, which is used to make more Shadowhunters, so that he can build an ARMY OF DOOM. ** That’s the big scary Shadowhunter government. *** But really, he has every right to his emo-ness. **** No, I’m not telling who it is. I think you can figure it out if you try, though. ***** I’m hoping no. Riding a flying motorcycle, battling Valentine, and hoping beyond hope that Jace and Clary aren't related, PS City of Ashes comes out on March 25.
Avery adds:
Here I sit, reveling in the glorious-ness of the Advanced Reader Copy. Very little is more satisfying than reading a book that is not yet on the shelf. That being said, City of Ashes is a particular type of ARC. Not only is it not yet available for the reading pleasure of the general public...It's really good! Vampires, werewolves, betrayal, corruption, love shapes, and Jace Wayland, all wrapped up in a lovely package of well written awesomeness.
I laughed. I cried. I ranted passionately to Aislinn about the events that transpired. (Which was rather frustrating, I might add, as I couldn't rant to her until she'd finished reading it.)
In short, City of Ashes is an awesome book.
Four and a half seraph blades...er...that is, daggers! Shadowhunter-wannabe-ly,
We have a winner. Teenbookreview killed the poem with the final line, “Alone and buried in the snow.” I’ll be sending her the grand prize very shortly.
Update: it looks like I declared a winner a tad too early (I was having trouble converting from Greenwich time). Charlotte swooped in like a ninja at the last minute with a final line. The solution: Charlotte and Teenbookreview will each receive a copy of the book.
Here is the collaborative poem:
Kill This Poem
The name of this poem is its fate.
How quickly will it meet its death
Pushing forward to the end date
And quickly losing all its breath
It sheds its words onto the ground
Discarded there to rot
And ever more shall we discern
That our words are worth naught
But is the poem an empty shell?
Or does it have deep meaning that is sought?
My words may ring the final bell
Then deathly silence is their lot.
Alone and buried in the snow
The pages, blank, tell tales of woe.
Congrats, winners! Looking forward to your next contest, Shelli!
Exciting--new books! Plus I'm looking forward to your next agent contest.
YAY!! Thanks so much!
Congrats to the lucky winners!! :-)
Thank you so much!! Congrats to all the other winners!
You made my day! Thanks for the great contest, Shelli, and uber-congrats to the other winners!
Congrats to the winners.
Snowed in for a week??? Yikes! Hope you've managed to hang on to that sanity!!!
Congrats to the lucky winners!
Congrats, winners!! And woot for pitch contests! :D
YAY!!! Thank you!!