Piper, our intrepid children’s book reviewer, is back with a new batch of summer reading! She’s loving WHATEVER AFTER by Sarah Mlynowski, FRANKLY FRANNIE by AJ Stern and DEAR BULLY by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones.
Check out Megan Kelley Hall, author of SISTERS OF MISERY and THE LOST SISTER in the October issue of Redbook Magazine.
September means one thing for most people, back to school. This is usually a happy occasion because it signifies a fresh start: getting back into a regular routine, meeting up with friends you haven’t seen for months and becoming involved in activities.
However, there is a dark side to the journey through school. Almost 6,000,000 kids, nearly 30% of all children, are either bullied or are doing the bullying in this country. The issue of bullying is at the heart of Megan Kelley Hall’s upcoming release THE LOST SISTER (Kensington, August 2009), the eagerly anticipated sequel to SISTERS OF MISERY.
THE LOST SISTER isn’t just about bullying. It’s about love and fear, faith and trust, honesty and the power of hope. It is a beautiful story about the power of female friendship and sisterhood, but also illustrates the dark side of jealousy and envy.
Megan Kelley Hall has written a dramatic, exciting and beautiful portrayal of the uncertainty of life and the power certain girls can hold over their “friends.”
Book Summary:
Sisters are born, not chosen. . .
Maddie Crane is grappling with the disappearance of Cordelia LeClaire, and trying to escape the grasp of The Sisters of Misery–an insidious clique of the school’s most powerful girls, whose pranks have set off a chain of horrific events, and who have Maddie in their sights-
Beware the sister betrayed. . .
Now in a prestigious boarding school far away from her mysterious hometown of Hawthorne, Massachusetts, Maddie feels free from danger. But when an unmarked envelope arrives at her dorm containing a single ominous tarot card, Maddie realizes with terror that some secrets won’t stay buried. Knowing she must return to Hawthorne–a town still scarred by the evil of the Salem witch trials–Maddie prepares to face the fears of her past. . .and the wrath of the sister she wronged.
Kensington Publishing Corp. (August 1, 2009)
By: Stacy DeKeyser,
on 8/19/2009
This week the GCC welcomes author Megan Kelley Hall and her newest YA release, The Lost Sister
(Kensington, August 2009)
Sisters are born, not chosen. . .
Maddie Crane is grappling with the disappearance of Cordelia LeClaire, and trying to escape the grasp of The Sisters of Misery—an insidious clique of the school's most powerful girls, whose pranks have set off a chain of horrific events, and who have Maddie in their sights...
Beware the sister betrayed. . .
Now in a prestigious boarding school far away from her mysterious hometown of Hawthorne, Massachusetts, Maddie feels free from danger. But when an unmarked envelope arrives at her dorm containing a single ominous tarot card, Maddie realizes with terror that some secrets won't stay buried. Knowing she must return to Hawthorne—a town still scarred by the evil of the Salem witch trials—Maddie prepares to face the fears of her past. . .and the wrath of the sister she wronged.
Praise for The Lost Sister:
A character driven tale containing a deep Gothic feel and haunting foreboding atmosphere that hooks fans of all ages....With strong ties to the late seventeenth century Salem Witch Trials, THE LOST SISTER is a super thriller. -- Harriet Klausner
Hall will have your heart racing and you will not be able to put this book down. With historical allusions to the New England witch trials and a touch of the paranormal, THE LOST SISTER is a thriller in a league of its own.
-- TeensReadtoo / Awarded THE LOST SISTER the Hall of Fame Gold Star Award for Excellence
Blown away... The suspense, mystery, intrigue, and drama steadilybuild up throughout the novel, making it impossible to put the bookdown. I would recommend it to almostall book lovers. It has made me hungry for more of Ms. Hall's work! - Mrs. Magoo Reads
Stacy: If you couldn't be a writer, what would your dream job be?
Megan: Is Johnny Depp’s personal biographer still available? Wait that would be writing…. Um, how about being the caretaker of his island or boat? Are those positions available?
S: What's the most surprising thing to happen since publication of your book?
Megan: The fact that I’ve had famous people (writers/screenwriters/
S: What are you working on now?
Megan: I finished my third YA suspense novel and my agent is out with it right now! Fingers crossed!
S: Did you have a favorite teacher who encouraged your writing/reading habit?
Megan: I’ve been inspired by every Shakespearean professor I’ve ever had. I think being interesting and engaging is a prerequisite for teaching Shakespeare. Although I was in the presence of greatness in college, studying under Pulitzer Prize winning author, Steven Millhauser (he hadn’t won the Pulitzer at that point), it was another professor that improved my writing. Tatyana Tolstoya (Tolstoy’s granddaughter) invited me to have coffee with her to discuss my writing. I was very excited, wondering what words of wisdom she would pass on to me. We were having coffee and smoking cigarettes at Skidmore’s coffee house. I was looking forward to some form of praise for my latest short story. Instead, she blew smoke in my face and said in her thick Russian accent, “You have too much vanity in your work.” I didn’t understand, so I asked her to explain. “You think you’re a better writer than you really are.” Way to bring someone down a peg. Especially, since I really didn’t think that I was all that great a writer (not anymore, at least). From that point on, I never let myself have lofty visions of my work. I always know that I can do better. I’ll never allow myself to rest on my laurels. So, all in all, it was excellent, albeit harsh, advice.
S: What's your favorite kind of chocolate?
Megan: Dark chocolate. My husband once told me that he went to a corporate party that had a CHOCOLATE ROOM. Fountains of chocolate, chocolate covered fruit, every type of chocolate dessert imaginable. That is my idea of heaven.
About the Author:
Megan Kelley Hall is a freelance writer and literary publicist living North of Boston. Her first YA novel, SISTERS OF MISERY, was published by Kensington in August 2008. Hall also has an essay about her recent open heart surgery in former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan's anthology, WHAT'S POSSIBLE! (Meredith Books, 2008). THE LOST SISTER, the second in the SISTERS OF MISERY series, is in stores now.
Hall regularly writes articles for a variety of local and national magazines and publications, including Elle, Glamour, Boston Magazine, Parenting, American Baby, Working Mother, The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and several other publications.
Find out more about Megan at:
www.megankelleyhall.com
www.sistersofmisery.com
www.kelleyandhall.com
By: Laura Purdie Salas,
on 11/4/2007
Lauren is a Minnesota author/illustrator who’s participating in Robert’s Snow this year! Two of my favorite books that she illustrated are Our Family Tree (by Lisa Westberg Peters) and Castles, Caves, and Honeycombs (by Linda Ashman). The beautiful Winter Is the Warmest Season, which came out in 2006, was her first book that she’s both wrote and illustrated.
Q&A about Lauren’s snowflake:
How did you (honestly) feel when you were approached to participate in Robert’s Snow?
This was my second time to paint a snowflake, so I was surprised and honored to be asked again. I was just finishing the illustrations for Snow, so it felt very natural to be painting another snowflake. I have never met Grace and Robert in person, but Grace Lin’s correspondence with me has been so warm and full of a vision and hope. I was so sad to read of Robert’s death. More than ever, I am honored to be a part of this project.
Which of your books is your snowflake most “like”?
Winter is the Warmest Season is the theme of the snowflake. I even wrote it on the snowflake because it is such a wonderful sentiment and a little joke too. We all know winter is the coldest season (at least in Minnesota!), so when you look at the cold outside of the snowflake you wonder, what could possibly be warm about winter? And then you turn it over and there is a huge cup of hot cocoa!
How did you come up with the idea for your snowflake?
I wanted to paint a snowflake with two opposing sides that were equally strong—using images from Winter is the Warmest Season was a natural choice.
Here’s Lauren's (maybe yours?) gorgeous snowflake!
What did you think about while you were working on it?
I was thinking It is so hot and dry this August, I wonder if this is due to global warming? I sure hope winter doesn’t really become the warmest season!
What medium is your snowflake?
Acrylic and gesso
Can you share a little about your artistic process on your snowflake?
It was interesting composing on a six-pointed shape. I loved painting the warm-side. I loved painting the color yellow. Lots of yellow.
Anything you’d like to say directly to the people who might be inspired to bid on your snowflake?
Hang this snowflake somewhere to remind you of the warmth of winter for whenever the cold winter blues hit. It works. Really.
Growing up in Florida made me someone who really appreciates all of the seasons, including winter! Lauren’s lovely snowflake got me thinking about all of the wondrous warm moments of January. I got so carried away, I wrote three different poems. But here’s my favorite:
More about Lauren:
Ever since she could hold a crayon, Lauren Stringer wanted to be an artist. (Although when she was in the second grade she wanted to be a deep-sea diver.) She received her BA in Art and Art History from the University of California, Santa Cruz and continued her art education with the Whitney Museum of American Art, Independent Study Program in NYC. She exhibited her paintings and sculptures in museums and galleries until 1994 when she painted her first children’s book, Mud, written by Mary Lyn Ray, which won the Minnesota Book Award, the IRA Children’s Choice Award, and Crayola Kids Best Book of the Year Award. Since Mud, she has painted many award-winning picture books including Our Family Tree, written by Lisa Westberg Peters and Fold Me A Poem, written by Kristine O’Connell George. Winter is the Warmest Season, the first book both authored and illustrated by Stringer was a Booklist Editor’s Choice for 2006. Snow, written by Cynthia Rylant, will be published fall 2008. She is currently illustrating One Night, written by Wendy Orr. Lauren Stringer lives and paints in a huge old Victorian house in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband, their two children, and three cats.
6 highlights in my illustration and writing journey (to echo the 6 points of the snowflake):
1. When I was an au pair in Paris at the age of 20, I went to the Centre Pompidou to see “real art”. In the lower level there was a magical exhibition of children’s book illustration with lots of originals and books in cases that in a jungle environment like Where the Wild Things Are. I was enchanted.
2. Years ago, I was driving with Debra Frasier to work in a school together and she let me read her yet to be published manuscript, On the Day You Were Born. After reading it I cried, it was so beautiful. I had been a grown up for so long that I had forgotten how beautiful children’s books could be.
3. Receiving the manuscript for Mud, by Mary Lyn Ray, in the mail. I had never seen a children’s book manuscript before and I thought it would be big and thick —but it was merely 2 pages long and this made me laugh. The day it arrived in May when I was digging in the garden with my daughter—we were covered in mud. It was a story with a destiny for me.
4. When Mud was published, I was going to return to my life as a “real artist” (painting and sculpture.), when my editor called and read the entire manuscript of Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant on the phone. Once again I cried. I remembered how beautiful a children’s book could be.
5. Doing the research for Our Family Tree by Lisa Westberg Peters, was life-changing for me. Reading about and understanding 4.5 billion years of the history of life on earth and then trying to illustrate it (and Lisa’s beautiful text) became a spiritual journey I still have not recovered from, thankfully.
6. Several years ago, I met for coffee with two writer friends. We decided to start a writer’s group. It would be my first. We would call ourselves the “Inkslingers.” I was so excited to have my first writer’s group that I went home and wrote for three days. I loved what I wrote so much that I sent it to my editor and she loved it enough to say right away, let’s publish it. At the second meeting of Inkslingers, we had champagne to celebrate the publishing of Winter is the Warmest Season!
6 words that describe my art and/or artistic process?
6 things you don’t know about me and can’t learn from my site:
1. I love doing yoga.
2. I wish my studio were in a big old barn in the country.
3. I have lived in many places, but I still feel like a California-girl, even though I was born in Montana.
4. Honeycrisp apples are my favorite kind of apples.
5. My favorite color is green. My favorite color to paint is yellow. My least favorite color to paint is blue.
6. My favorite poet is Gerard Manley Hopkins.
I hope you’ve liked learning about Lauren and her passion for art and children’s literature. If you have any questions or comments for her, you can email her here.
