I'm so behind blogging...so much to do, so much to say.
I have more pictures to post of my visit to Crestview and Indian Hills in Clive, Iowa, but I'll do that after finishing final grades....this is too time-consuming.
I do, however, want to mention that after Lois Lowry's live online booktalk through School Library Journal, I quickly ordered Gathering Blue (which I had started and never finished), Messenger, and her latest novel in the series, Son.
Image lifted from Amazon, obviously:
I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't know these four books were a series. Not having gotten far enough in Gathering Blue to see the connections (which were sort of magically aha-inspiring when I got there), I didn't know that an answer existed in the universe as to what happened to Jonas and Gabe at the end of The Giver, which I've read many times. I love that book so much, I even required it a few times when I taught Humanities Critical Thinking at SCC, in hopes that the idea of treasuring knowledge and learning might sink in.
So, in between grading and the frantic pace of December in a college, I did plow through the last three books. Lois Lowry is a master of character and what I would call magical realism. She creates a dystopian world but makes the characters so heroic and human, even with their gifts, that I couldn't put down any of the books.
Son was truly a crowning end to the series. It's an epic struggle of good-heartedness against controlling society and against evil (is there a difference?). In the Ceremony of "Twelves"--the ceremony where Jonas was named "Receiver" from the "Giver," Claire is named "Birthmother." Birthmothers' job is reminiscent of "Handmaid's Tale" by Maraget Atwood. When something goes terribly wrong with the birth, Claire is deemed unfit for her position in the community and cast out of the birthmothers' dwelling. In a new position, no one remembers to give her the daily pill that eradicates emotion and desire. Hence, she longs for the son she's never seen. The longing leads her on a quest that reaches the edge of the Community and beyond. Gripping, chilling, delightful, tragic, and heart-warming. Worth every second of reading.
The novel is richer if you've read the whole series--or at least The Giver, but it's a stand-alone story if you haven't.
I wished for just a little more conflict toward the end of the book, even though the tension all the way through made me want to yell the truths at the characters (the only book in the series where dramatic irony pulls us along--we know much more than the characters in this story). So the wish for more conflict wasn't due to a lack of it in the book. It's just that the final "battle" seemed almost too easy...I wanted it to demand just a little more...but who am I to be in the least bit critical of a master storyteller like Lois Lowry???? The book was masterful, powerful, horrifying and wonderful.
Any fan of The Giver should read the entire series.
I think I admire her so much, and love her characters and stories so much that she may have moved up onto my pedestal with Harper Lee and Barbara Kingsolver Dennis LeHayne and Marguerite Henry and Lois Lenski and Carol Ryrie Brink and Mary Calhoun and Astrid Lindgren and Sarah Pennypacker: enduring, forever-favorite writers of stories I love.
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Blog: Becky's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Gathering Blue, Son, Lois Lowry, The Giver, Messenger, Carol Ryrie Brink, Astrid Lindgren, Harper Lee, Barbara Kingsolver, Sarah Pennypacker, Add a tag
Blog: Betsy Devany's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Sarah Pennypacker, writing, Pinocchio, Add a tag
Do you know the feeling when something wonderful is brewing? Something that will lead you to the heart of a story that you thought had promise, but the potential was yet to be discovered?
These past two months, writing has helped me grieve the recent loss of my father. I refrained from blogging to focus on my work. I even forced myself to rise earlier than the sun each morning, so that I could write in peace. Not a small feat if you know me well. Having to get out of bed early and assure that my two daughters were awake for school was torture to me.
Now I am writing well before the sun first appears for up to four hours, undisturbed–except for our yellow tabby that slyly inches across my writing couch and thinks I don’t notice his paw reaching over to my laptop until he plops halfway across my body and the keyboard.
I scoot Joey away and write whatever comes to mind. Or welcome new voices that have popped up in the recent days, or revisit an unfinished manuscript. (In the past month, I have written two picture books without thinking about them ahead of time. In a way, they wrote themselves, one morning between my first cup of coffee and lunch.)
In this same vein, my younger middle-grade protagonist, E. B. Louise, returned to my world one morning at 5:45 am. Still curled beneath my covers, I was not ready for fall mornings, when it is too cold to get out of bed because the heat has not yet kicked in, and the thought of having to race across a wood floor in bare feet to use the bathroom made me shiver. I decided to test the strength of my bladder and stay beneath the comforter.
E. B. Louise started to yak, yak, yak at me, and then it felt like a heavy encyclopedia had been dropped on my head.
“You know,” she said, while I was rubbing the not-real swelling knot on my forehead, my covers pulled up to my chin. “You are not paying attention to me and I need to finish my story.”
Let me tell you, if my dad were still alive, I would have called him for advice–right that very moment, even though he was not a morning person. (His daily writing routine took him way into the late hours of the night.)
“I’m stuck,” I said, pulling the covers over my head.
“Get unstuck.”
“Can’t you see that I am sleeping?”
“Makes no difference to me,” said E. B. Louise.
As much as I love the darn kid, she does not give up. I think this makes me love her even more.
I slipped on a fuzzy bathrobe, poured myself a cup of coffee, and then planted my bum in my writing chair. While my computer warmed up, I watched a bird peck at the corner of my window. Peck. Peck. Peck. With the E. B. Louise document open, I stared at the words.
Nothing happened.
I glanced up at my dad’s Pinocchio collection that now sits on the top shelf of my bookcase, and this is when the kid started to yak again, though she sounded like me.
“
Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Stephenie Meyer, Sherman Alexie, Eoin Colfer, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Rick Riordan, Markus Zusak, Sara Shepard, Jeff Kinney, Best Sellers, Beverly Cleary, Suzanne Collins, Jane O'Connor, Julie Andrews, P.C. Cast, Ages Four to Eight: Books for pre-school to second grade, Goodie Bag: Books to share and give, Ages Nine to Twelve: Books for third through sixth grade, Teens: Books for young adults, Book Lists: Specialty picks, Ages Baby to Three: Books for infants and toddlers, Lauren Kate, Victoria Kann, Deborah Underwood, Lincoln Peirce, David Soman, Jon J Muth, Jacky Davis, Simon Beecroft, Sarah Pennypacker, Maggie Stiefvater, Mo willems, Add a tag
By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: August 1, 2010
Here’s the scoop on the most popular destinations on The Children’s Book Review site, the most coveted new releases, the bestsellers, and kids’ book events.
THE HOT SPOTS: THE TRENDS
2010 Children’s Choice Book Awards Nominees
20 Sites to Improve Your Child’s Literacy
Summer Reading Tips & What to Read When
Kids’ Summer Reading Lists: Early-Fluent to Fluent Readers / Ages 6-10
THE NEW RELEASES
The most coveted books that release this month:
Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games)
by Suzanne Collins
(Young Adult)
Artemis Fowl 7: The Atlantis Complex
by Eoin Colfer
(Ages 9-12)
The 39 Clues, Book 10: Into the Gauntlet
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
(Ages 9-12)
Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcakes
by Jane O’connor
(Ages 4-8)
by Suzanne Collins
(Young Adult)
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
(Ages 8-12)
Clementine, Friend of the Week
by Sara Pennypacker
(Ages 7-10)
Thank you, Betsy.
Beautiful, Betsy- left me with glistening eyes, happiness, and a hope-filled heart – for you, and for all of us as we make our unique creative journeys! Thank you <3
It’s good to know I’m not the only one fighting to get up and write before the crack of dawn! I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow morning when I want to stay in bed.
I’m so glad to hear that your writing is helping you–and I can’t wait to give you a hug in person!
You are most welcome. XO
Thank you, Marie,
Never give up. Follow your dream. Believe in the impossible.
XO
Thanks, Faith,
I can’t wait to see you in person. Hugs to your wondrous daughters. When you stumble out of bed, tired, think of me. I will be writing alongside you in spirit.
XO
Betsy, before I even opened the email, I knew it was you, just by the title.
This was so wonderful to hear, and so inspiring. You, as usual, left me choked up…very moved. Your father left you with so many gifts of wisdom and love, he will not only live in your heart forever, but in your writer’s mind. How precious…
Betsy, I am so glad that EB Louise woke you up! It is good to hear your voice on the page again and know that your father is still with you–in spirit–and that you still listen to the voices in your head. Keep listening. And writing. Love, susan
Thanks, Donna,
Yes, I feel my father’s spirit within me. It is what propels me to write even more than I have in the past. A good thing.
Have a joyous holiday season.
XO
Dear Susan,
Miss E. B. Louise has grown quite a bit since you last read some of her manuscript. I do miss our weekly Critters exchanges!
In the meantime, I keep my dad’s spirit safe in my heart. Together, we move forward with greater conviction. He was so brave and tried to hold on to see me published.
“It’s okay,” I told him towards the end. “It will happen, and no matter where you are, you will know.”
I hope your writing is going well. I miss your stories.
XO