Hardcover: 336 Pages
Genre: YA Fantasy/Mythology (Cupid)
Book from Publisher*
From Goodreads. When you're the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can't write it. Alice needs a story for her mother—and she needs one fast.
That's when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol's voice in her head and see things she can't explain, she must face the truth—that she's either inherited her mother's madness, or Errol is for real.
Review by Kate
MAD LOVE, by Suzanne Selfors, is an adorable story about a girl who is shut down from the world until a little help from a non-stereotypical Cupid enters her life. When I was first offered to read this, I read through the synopsis and I thought it was a fresh idea and wanted to give it a shot. Well, after reading I know I got a lot more than I expected.
I had no idea that I would get so attached to these characters. Selfors made her characters have many layers and each chapter brought something new about them. I loved (loved!) Alice as the MC. She is a strong teenage female character, but her emotional flaws concerning her personal life and her mother made her very real. The strange dynamic between Alice, Tony, and Errol was interesting to say the least. Each of the male roles was clearly defined in Alice's life, but they were always stepping on each others toes.
The mythology of Cupid and Psyche was right up my alley. I love Greek mythology and the inclusion of that in the book made me love it even more. Errol set out to have the greatest love story written and as the story unfolded I truly think it was. Selfors brought the idea of Cupid to life in hot-teenage boy form and I applaud her for the creativity. The way his arrows brought about passionate love was hilarious and ingenious to say the least. And the antidote was equally amusing.
Behind the romance, a few mental issues were approached in some of the characters. Alice's mother's mental illness was an important part of molding Alice into the girl she is. Her ability to grow up so quickly showed a lot of strength for such a young girl. And Alice's summer-neighbor Realm battled an eating disorder that others just put off as being angsty. Although the illnesses weren't the main focus of the story, the powerfulness of these diseases added another layer to the characters and story.
Overall, such a great book! This book has romance and love in many different ways. If you are looking for a little bit of mythology and cute boys, this is the book for you!
By: Amanda,
on 4/15/2009
Blog: A Patchwork of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Suzanne Selfors, Add a tag
I review great read aloud books for kids all the time, but typically they're in the picture book genre, rather than middle grade fiction or something else. I don't really know why that is, I guess I just come across more picture books to rave about for read alouds than books for the older kiddos...this title though, definitely a nice middle grade fiction read aloud. Suzanne Selfors, a new-to-me author, has come up with a charming story that will be great to read as a family.
Fortune's Magic Farm is the story of ten-year-old Isabelle, a girl living in Runny Cove where the sun never shines, everything is gray, and it's always so wet that mold grows everywhere (even on the people of Runny Cove). Residing in a boarding house with her grandmother, Isabelle is forced to labor at the only place of employment in town, the umbrella factory, where she is overworked and underpaid.
When Isabelle finds an apple, a very rare item to see in Runny Cove, and then hears that several of her friends found apples as well, she knows something strange is happening. A mysterious boy arrives to tell her that she is needed at Fortune's Farm, across the ocean, and Isabelle, finally seeing a chance to escape Runny Cove, goes with him to what she finds is the most glorious place in the whole world. Trees and animals and sunshine and rainbows and happiness are in abundance at Fortune's Farm and Isabelle is to play a very important role in maintaining that level of wonder.
What she feels she needs to do is go back and rescue her friends from Runny Cove and from the terrible umbrella factory, where they too are overworked and underpaid. She is told, however, that no one can ever know of Fortune's Magic Farm, that she must never tell. Isabelle must find a way to save her friends and protect the place she has grown to love so much.
There is SUCH description in this book! Selfors has a knack for helping the reader to truly picture what she is describing...the nasty umbrella factory, the moss covered floor in Isabelle's room at the boarding house, and the wonderful landscape of the farm. The description makes this an awesome choice to read aloud, as well as the fun, quirky, and sometimes silly plot. It will make adults cock their heads and be confused as to whether it's ridiculous or great, but kids are going to love Isabelle's story.
My one complaint? The cover and illustrations. The cover lends absolutely nothing to the story. Yes, all the elements are there...an umbrella with light underneath, a gray world outside it, but SO much could have been done to invite the reader into this magical story and it fell short. It's also very "girl-oriented." Boys are going to love this story too, but I don't think they're picking it up off the shelf! The illustrations, though few, are the same.They are all done in black and white! I think black and white drawings are a great idea for the beginning of the book, but once Isabelle makes it to Fortune's Farm, color would have really accompanied the plot well.
Cover and illustrations are just a small part of this lovely little book that I enjoyed very much. A great choice for libraries and for parents wanting a fabulous read aloud for their kids.
To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon.
Fortune's Magic Farm
Suzanne Selfors
272 pages
Middle Grade fiction
Little, Brown
9780316018180
March 2009
By: Kim Wheedleton,
on 7/11/2008
Blog: Bugs and Bunnies (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children's books, book review, fantasy, mermaids, Suzanne Selfors, Add a tag
Boom Broom awoke to find his little sister, Mertyle, looking for spots.
I realized that one of the universal joys of childhood is discovering things. What would be a neater thing to discover in a tidepool than a baby mercreature? And so, the story was born. - Suzanne Selfors - Class of 2K7 Interview
By: Kim Wheedleton,
on 7/11/2008
Blog: Bugs and Bunnies (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children's books, writing, Author Spotlight, children's author, Suzanne Selfors, Add a tag
Suzanne Selfors started writing seriously in the fall of 2002, on the very day her youngest child stepped on the bus for school. She has had the writing bug, however, ever since fourth grade, when she wrote, cast and directed a play for her school.
By: Maxwell Eaton III,
on 10/19/2007
Blog: Maxwell Eaton III (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Lake Placid News, Multiple Choice, Ed Forbes, NYC, The Bookstore Plus, The Adventures of Max and Pinky: Superheroes, New York Times Great Children's Read Presented by Target, Add a tag
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And the second piece is an ad placed by the beloved (that's right, beloved) Bookstore Plus.
I really enjoyed this book and know I would have loved it as a kid.