Books, laughter, travel, justice, television, teaching English & reading, my abnormal paranoia of crickets, and most importantly God -- I want to talk about it all with you my friends.... http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/
Do you know what tonight is? That's right! It's the premiere of the second season of The Vampire Diaries!
Remember, I'll be recapping each and every episode right here the Friday after (barring any life altering circumstances) so come back tomorrow for my thoughts on the season opener.
BUT! To celebrate the season opener, Smart Pop books is offering a giveaway of A Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls: Your Favorite Authors on the Vampire Diaries.
Here's the scoop on the book: Vampires are hot right now, especially among teens, and The Vampire Diaries in a few short episodes became the CW’s most-watched show.
The Vampire Diaries brings together today’s best YA writers of the supernatural to talk about the show’s first season: the characters, the storyline, the magic, the town. From a history of the Salem’s witches from whom Bonnie is descended to family therapy for brothers Stefan and Damon, the anthology is guaranteed to keep Vampire Diaries viewers entertained—and make them see Mystic Falls, and the rest of the show, in a whole new way.
And the webmasters of Vampire-Diaries.net, a popular fansite for both the books and show, also provide a primer on what viewers should know before picking up the books.
I love these sorts of books! And I love The Vampire Diaries! And Damon...oh oops getting back on track!
If you live in the US and would like a copy of this fantastic book (well I haven't read it yet but when it comes and I read it, I know it will be fantastic!) just leave a comment below with a valid email address and tell me what you love best about The Vampire Diaries. And maybe whether you're Team Damon!!!!! or Team Stefan.
And please come back tomorrow so we chat up the season opener!
09/09/2010 12:34 AM
Review: Valeria's Cross by Kathi Macias and Susan Wales Valeria is the daughter of the Emperor Diocletian. When he sends her and her mother to Egypt, they learn of the Christian faith and convert. Valeria falls in love with a handsome warrior and the two hope to get married. Unfortunately, Rome is not interested in the Christian faith and Mauritius ends up dying a martyr's death. Grief stricken, Valeria is horrified to learn that her father has arranged for her to marry the man responsible for her true love's death.
The premise of this story is pretty amazing. I really love learning about the different time periods in history and the religious tensions. I love the early church as well and boiling everything down to such a personal story seems like a great idea.
And while this book is fine, I think perhaps the scope was too ambitious. I never really felt like I got inside the time period in a vibrant way which is so key to my enjoyment of historical fiction. There isn't a lot of detail and I often felt outside of the story. I had a hard time coming to a place where I really got Valeria and cared about what happened to her. One place where this would have really been key was her love with Mauritius. Unfortunately, they told each other they loved each other like the second time they met and I felt more like I was being told about their relationship than really feeling it or experiencing it. This lessened the eventual emotional impact of what happens.
I probably sound really down on this book and I think the biggest problem was that I had high hopes for it based on the amazing premise. I suspect it will work just fine for most lovers of Christian historical fiction.
Rating: 3/5 Things You Might Want to Know: Christian fiction Source of Book: Received from publisher for review Publisher: Abingdon Press
About the Book: As "Love Me Tender" plays in the background, Debbie Carmichael determines to salvage her family's restaurant, Sweet Sal's Soda Shoppe, when her father's health fails. Teen heartthrob Bobby Conrad agrees to perform at a fundraiser concert. But just two weeks before the highly publicized event, Bobby backs out of the benefit. Enter Johnny Hartman, a young, unknown singer to take Conrad's place. Debbie soon realizes the twists and turns leading up to the concert are divinely orchestrated. And it isn't dreamy Bobby Conrad who has stolen her heart - but the tender love of Johnny Hartman.
About the Book: Lancaster County, with its rolling meadows and secret byways, may seem idyllic, but it is not without its thorns. THE ROSE TRILOGY is the stirring saga of two Amish sisters on the fringes of the church, and the unforeseen discoveries that change their lives.
Rose Kauffman, a spirited young woman, has a close friendship with the bishop's foster son. Nick dresses Plain and works hard but stirs up plenty of trouble too. Rose's sister cautions her against becoming too involved, but Rose is being courted by a good, Amish fellow, so dismisses the warnings.
Meanwhile, Rose keeps house for an English widower but is startled when he forbids her to ever go upstairs. What is the man hiding? Rose's older sister, Hen, knows more than she should about falling for the wrong man. Unable to abandon her Amish ways, Hen is soon separated from her very modern husband.
Mattie, their young daughter, must visit her father regularly, but Hen demands she wear Amish attire--and speak Pennsylvania Dutch, despite her husband's wishes. Will Hen be able to reestablish her place among the People she abandoned? And will she be able to convince Rose to steer clear of rogue neighbor Nick?
I hope to dig into The Thorn soon, I've always enjoyed Beverly Lewis's Amish books. I received both of these books from the publisher.
09/08/2010 08:21 PM
Join the Wild West Wednesdays Lonesome Dove Readalong! Earlier this year, I finally read the classic Gone with the Wind and fell head over heels in love with it. I have no idea why it took me 30 years to read it, but I'm so glad I did. Gone with the Wind is such a long book that I really enjoyed reading it in a readalong format that allowed me to A) Process it over time and B) Talk about it all the time (my life would be easier right now if I had such an excuse for Mockingjay!)
I decided at that time that I wanted to do another readalong of a chunkster and my friends Beth Fish Reads and Booking Mama (what? your friends don't have reading or books in their names? For shame!) had both so heartily recommended Lonesome Dove I decided to give it a try. Several other people seemed enthusiastic about the idea. Then by chance I learned Leah and Melissa were also planning a Lonesome Dove readalong and I thought...oooh maybe we can join together! The more the merrier! And so these two lovely bloggers agreed and here we are. By the way, Leah made this awesome button for us to use. We'll be posting our thoughts about Lonesome Dove every Wednesday starting October 6th. I REALLY hope you'll consider joining us. Because quite frankly, I'm a little scared of this book and nothing is better than facing your fear of books completely outside your normal reading comforts than facing it with friends. Am I right?
Here's a teaser from the book: A love story, an adventure, and an epic of the frontier, Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize— winning classic, Lonesome Dove, is the grandest novel ever written about the last defiant wilderness of America. Journey to the dusty little Texas town of Lonesome Dove and meet an unforgettable assortment of heroes and outlaws, whores and ladies, Indians and settlers. Richly authentic, beautifully written, always dramatic, Lonesome Dove is a book to make us laugh, weep, dream, and remember.
So....we're doing ten chapters a week, and we'll discuss the first ten chapters October 6th, right here!
October 6th--Chapters 1-10--My Friend Amy October 13th--Chapters 11-20--Amused by Books October 20th--Chapters 21-30--Gerbera Daisy Diaries October 27th--Chapters 31-40--My Friend Amy November 3rd--Chapters 41-50--Amused by Books November 10th--Chapters 51-60--Gerbera Daisy Diaries November 17th--Chapters 61-70--My Friend Amy November 24th--Chapters 71-80--Amused by Books December 1st--Chapters 81-90--Gerbera Daisy Diaries December 8th--Chapters 91-101
Will you be joining us?
09/08/2010 01:02 AM
A Conversation with Beth Kephart I am very excited to share a conversation with you that took place via email between myself and author Beth Kephart. We go behind the scenes of writing a book like Dangerous Neighbors, a book you might consider picking up for anyone you know who loves beautiful lyrical writing and historical fiction. My questions are in bold, and Beth's answers follow.
Dangerous Neighbors represents a new area for you in historical fiction. Did you have any reservations about writing historical fiction?
The truth is that writing feels empty to me if the story isn’t also taking me toward something I don’t know enough about. My memoirs are full of research and history—Still Love in Strange Places, for example, is about my marriage, but it is also about the history of a country (El Salvador), a war, coffee farming. Into the Tangle of Friendship, about the way my friends have shaped my life, also, oddly enough, took me to Aristotle, Cicero, Thoreau, Cather, and others. Ghosts in the Garden was about finding purpose in early middle age, but it was also about the history of a garden and a town. Flow: The Life and Times of Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River had me digging into Philadelphia archives for years. This is all a long way of saying that I’m happiest and feel most grounded when I am finding out about other places, other times. Of course I am worried, always: Will I get something wrong? Will I lean out of the era with my imagination? But I love the challenge.
It's interesting you should say that. Do you think that it's more permissable to "get things wrong" or even take liberties with the history in fiction than in memoir?
It’s so entirely cliched to say this, but oh, it’s true: The first order of business—with either memoir or fiction—is to get the emotional truth just right. I’ve written five memoirs and never once did I knowingly stretch the truth or combine four characters to make an approximate composite (as many do) or purposefully make up dialogue (though I confess to not remembering every single word, especially from 35 years ago, which is why I feature very little dialogue in my memoir) or change the chronology or any such thing. But I did, of necessity, choose which parts of the story I told. Artful selection of moments and scenes lies at the heart of the memoir craft; it allows the writer to explore her chosen themes. It also opens the door for someone to say, But you didn’t include that instance in which so-and-so said something. Does not including make something less truthful? Some might say it does. But all memoir—all personal story—is riddled with elision.
With historical fiction, I believe you have to get as much of this right as you possibly can. You have to study the photographs, read the contemporary letters, diaries, magazine/newspaper articles, pore over the guidebooks, walk those parts of the city (in this instance) that still exist and try to imagine the parts that have vanished. But at the end of the day, much of what I was writing about is gone, and I can’t stand on a hill and look out and see the Philadelphia of then. I can’t walk through the 1876 cyclorama “Paris at Night” and give it precisely to readers for it no longer exists. One can’t possibly have all the facts one needs—ever, for any genre—but one can do the best one can. With Dangerous Neighbors, I wanted to create a story that felt timeless in terms of its emotional knotting and aftermath, and so I wrote the story in an urgent present tense, didn’t freight the piece with arcane language. But I also wanted to capture as much of historic Philadelphia as I could. There was one detail that I purposefully got wrong; I have an opera singer at the Academy of Music during a year when I know she did not perform at the Academy (she had been there in years previous and would sing again at the Academy in subsequent seasons). I note this discrepancy in the back of the book and hope that readers will forgive me.
I think you did a great job! The time period really came to life for me. I so agree about the emotional truth. Fiction also, may not have actually happened but can still be true. :)
Dangerous Neighbors is a story about sisters and what happens when sisters start growing up and by necessity growing apart. How did this story come to you and did you face any challenges in writing about twins?
I identified tremendously with Katherine, the responsible sister who is expected—explicitly and implicitly—to keep her twin, Anna, safe, and who finds herself feeling excluded and privately raging as Anna develops a relationship that in many ways marginalizes Katherine. I was going through a difficult personal time while writing this book (though not with my own sister). I understood, too well, these feelings of marginalization. I honestly cannot remember when I realized that this story was about twins; creation for me, is a sometimes foggy process, especially in its early phases. But once I had grasped that concept, I utterly embraced the storylines that naturally grew from the twinship. We have all known twins; I grew up with twins as friends and I’ve taught twins as young writers. An empathetic imagination reads between the lines.
Many writers have to leave out some historical detail they learned during research because it doesn't fit in the book. What are some of the interesting things you learned that couldn't find a place in Dangerous Neighbors?
Oh, my goodness. Books and books worth of details! I had originally written this book from the perspective of the fire that threatens to leap across Elm Street and take down the Main Exhibition Building on the day that Katherine goes to the fair, and so I had included far more about the burning and firefighting. In another version of the book I had alternated chapters between Katherine’s point of view and the point of view of William, the poor young man that Katherine comes to befriend, and so I had all the details that comprised his back story—the story of his mother’s work taking in laundry for the rich, the story of his father’s year in Eastern State Penitentiary, and so much more. I was very, very taken with the material I found on Eastern State—with the kinds of punishments wardens doled out to any who, for example, broke the utter code of silence. It is my great hope that Dangerous Neighbors will sell well enough that I’ll be able to fully write William’s story as a sequel.
Wow I am very fascinated by the idea of getting the chance to hear William's full story. I often feel like I don't know enough about history and learning about it through novels is one of my favorite things! I know you've created a teacher's guide for Dangerous Neighbors, as well.
You keep a blog that is well loved and respected and I'm amazed at how often you can update with such quality posts! What has the blogging experience been like for you? How is writing a blog different from writing a novel?
Well, I am being asked that question by one of the most beloved and versatile and consistent and inspirational bloggers anywhere, so I am struggling to say anything here that you wouldn’t already know about this experience. For me, blogging is a chance for me to solve a puzzle each day—pair a photograph with text, work the interstitial spaces. It is a forum through which I can thank and stay in touch with the many, many goodhearted and wise people who love books and have entered my life through this channel. It is the place where many lasting friendships have been born. In all of those ways, it is different from writing a novel. But in so many other ways, it demands just as much (relentless curiosity, perseverance, zones of poetry), and I am glad for that, glad it exists, cannot imagine my life without it.
I feel the exact same way about blogging! I can't imagine my life without it! :)
What are some of books you've read recently that have inspired you?
Oh, gosh, I had a great reading summer. Jane Mendelsohn’s American Music thrilled me—stylistically and structurally it’s just a most wonderful book with a tinge of magic and a healing heart. I discovered Elizabeth Hand this summer, through her magnificently written Illyria. I read my first John Green—Looking for Alaska—and I understand now why he is so beloved. I’m halfway through Helen Simonson’s Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and loving that. I read an early copy of The Report by Jessica Francis Kane, and was deeply moved by that unknown aspect of WWII history. Well, really, I’m a blessed reader, and I’ve blogged about all these books and many more because, well, because I couldn’t help it.
Can you tell us what you're working on now?
I always have a few things percolating—some more heatedly than others. At the moment, I am writing toward the end of a book that I began three years or so ago; it involves a kidnapping and its aftermath and the surprising paths toward healing. I’ve also been at work for ten years on a novel that takes place in southern Spain; I’ve written this book as an adult novel and as a young adult novel, but it is not fully complete, in either version. And always, in my head, stands William of Dangerous Neighbors. I am very hopeful that I’ll be able to tell his story. I had hoped to write a sequel to Undercover as well, but the opportunity did not arise. One holds one’s breath, for one’s characters.
What do you most hope readers take away from Dangerous Neighbors?
Hmmmm. Well. I want Philadelphia to be alive for them—the Philadelphia of then, the implied progress, the trembling hope. I want Katherine and Anna and Bennett and William to be alive as well, for their stories to keep living on, past the book. Those characters live on for me. I see them walking the streets. I hear their voices. I guess a writer works, or at least this writer works, toward one end—to give the reader as much of her own heart, mind, vision as words—never enough words—allow.
Do you know how Dangerous Neighbors is doing and how it's been received?
As for how Dangerous Neighbors is doing—authors learn rather early on not to ask. At least this author has. I am extremely fortunate to have Egmont USA and you and Goodman Media behind this book, and all are spreading the word. It has, from what I can tell from photos that friends are sending from bookshelves across the country, been well distributed. Bloggers have been gracious and kind. I hope that my teacher’s guide will help carry the book into English and American Studies classrooms, and though that is a process that takes time, I have already been invited into a few schools, which delights me enormously. I want the best for this book, urgently, for it is about my city, and it is about things that matter to me (love, loss, forgiveness, redemption), and it is a book in which I took risks, a book that was a risk to publish. Besides, I am so eager to write the sequel that will tell William’s story. But I don’t ask how many copies have been printed, don’t ask how many copies have been sold. One can dream all one wants, but book buyers will do as they will, and once a book is written and copyedited, once one has told those whom one hopes will care, there is very little one can do, and wanting success too fervently, too needily, can sour a mood or an experience. I don’t want to sour my experience with Dangerous Neighbors, or, indeed, with any of my books.
Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy life to share with us, Beth!
Can't get enough of Dangerous Neighbors? I'm excited to tell you there will be a Facebook Party on Thursday September 9th, at 8:30 PM EST. To join in, just like Beth on Facebook, and show up at 8:30 PM EST/5:30 PM PST to join in a chat and Centennial celebration! Beth is giving away an AMAZING prize and you'll also have the chance to win a signed copy of Dangerous Neighbors!
09/07/2010 01:20 AM
Review: A Stranger Like You by Elizabeth Brundage It isn't until you're in your car that you begin to cry and you hate your tears, you resent the ease with you've come undone. It is so definitively female --and yet it may be the essence of your strength, you just don't feel it now. Your colleagues always seem to bring the attention back to you, suggesting that your criticism is a consequence of some personal problem. They interpret the things you say as if you are speaking a different dialect of the same language--the subtle differences of inflection seem to weaken your position and they can easily rationalize and discount your opinions. It is, you admit, a sophisticated form of passive aggression.
One of the things I'm interested in doing as part of my slow down in reading is examining the books I'm excited about and figuring out which authors I'll continue to seek out new releases by. I want to return as much as possible, to the kind of reader I was before I got caught up in new releases. I want to be able to follow the whims of devouring a backlist or buying an author's book the minute it releases. So with each book I read, I'm really making a bigger judgement call...is this the kind of book I want to keep reading?
I was very excited earlier this year to hear that Elizabeth Brundage had a new book coming out. Somebody Else's Daughter was the kind of thought provoking read I cherish most, one that isn't afraid to expose the darker side of humanity and examines character motivations and actions. Additionally, her prose is delightful, every word precise.
A Stranger Like You is this same sort of novel, one that continues to examine the way women are depicted in media and what sort of consequences that has in daily life. It's the story of Hugh a failed screenwriter who goes to L.A. to confront the woman responsible for seeing his script get cancelled from production. He is curious about her and he also wishes for her to know the extent of his agony. We spend a lot of time in Hugh's head and it's fascinating. He's sexually confused, unhappy in work and life, but not without moments of compassion. He's clearly a psychopath but he doesn't seem to have any grasp at all on just how damaged he is. He pays Hedda Chase (the producer who cancelled his script) a visit and things take a turn for the very nasty.
The book is divided into five sections and I have to say when I started the second section and it was in second person point of view, I almost set the book down. Second person is extremely difficult for me to read, but as a testament to Brundage's writing, I soon failed to notice. It was that masterful and I felt like I plunged deeply inside of Hedda's head and heart. I would even say that upon finishing the book, these second person POV sections were my favorite.
This is one of those novels where all the characters lives end up intersecting in some way. The third main character is that of Denny, a veteran from the Iraqi war who was shot and sent home. His spirit is in many ways crushed, he suffers from the agony of remembering war and seeking purpose in the dull life after. He's tormented by the memories of the things he's seen and the things he's done. And some of the things he did were pretty bad, and yet, I felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for him.
I really liked reading A Stranger Like You, the characterization was rich and the ideas that were explored were troubling and timely. The novel takes place in Los Angeles and I'm finding that I really enjoy these books set in a sort of darker L.A. that expose the seedier side of the city. I was fascinated by the internal struggle Hedda faced between producing art and making money and one of my favorite scenes in the book is when she confronts her male coworkers about their ideas of what is sexy to a woman. (i.e. not sex where a woman's head is getting bashed against a concrete wall) There are no answers in A Stranger Like You, but there are certainly timely questions, sharp observations, and great writing. I will, without a doubt, continue to read every book Elizabeth Brundage writes.
Rating: 4.5/5 Things You Might Want to Know: Profanity, Sex, Violence Source of Book: Review copy received from publisher Publisher: Viking Penguin
09/06/2010 01:23 AM
Faith and Fiction Saturday: Memoirs
Welcome to Faith and Fiction Saturday a weekly discussion about faith and usually fiction but sometimes we dip into nonfiction....like today! To participate just leave a comment or write a post on your own blog about the topic and leave a link in comments.
This month I'm reading a ton of memoirs that were published in the last year for the Inspys. I feel father lucky to have this category, as most of these books are a bit shorter than the novels that have to be read! I think memoirs of faith are some of the most interesting there are....because faith is a huge mystery to me. Why some people have it, why some don't, why some people gain it and others lose it, why some of us doubt while others are certain. I really love reading different stories about the way people see God and living a faithful life. And I especially appreciate reflective memoirs that invite me in to the questions as opposed to the kind that end up preaching at me or offering answers. A lot of the books nominated for the Inspys focus on conditions in other countries or church, I've noticed. I've reading about ten of them right now.
Do you enjoy reading faith memoirs? What are some of your favorite memoirs?
It's been a strange year in the book blogging community for me and so when I saw it was time for R.I.P (Readers Imbibing Peril) V it felt as comforting as fall itself. This challenge feels like something steady and unchanging and absolutely delightful because really now, who doesn't like to get creeped out?
RIP V is a low stress challenge that encourages us to read some of my favorite kinds of books like: Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. Dark Fantasy. Gothic. Horror. Supernatural.
And can I just say that I love that Carl's using Jennifer Gordon's art again? I bought a bunch of it last year and will probably do the same again this year!
I'm joining in for Peril the 2nd, but I will probably also join in for short stories and Peril on the screen.
Due to some obligations I have with the Inspys, I won't be able to really start until October, probably.
In any case, here are a few books I'm considering:
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters Dust by Joan Frances Turner Thirst by Christopher Pike Feed by Mira Grant Captivating by Deborah Noyes Midnight Revelations by Karen Bence
Have you read any of these books? Are you planning to join in this challenge?
09/03/2010 08:41 PM
The Value in Rereading
It's amazing sometimes how it's the smallest moments in life, the offhand conversations, or the words uttered when we're only half paying attention that end up impacting us in great ways.
When I was a sophomore in high school, I had a teacher who somehow managed to mention in class that he never reread anything because he would never be able to read all the books in the world and he saw no point in revisiting something when there were undiscovered and unconsumed books.
From that point on, that shaped how I viewed rereading. I considered rereading to be a waste of my valuable time on earth, I should be discovering all of the other wonderful stories and books out there, I only have limited time after all. See, I know it was this teacher, who I really respected, that influenced me because out of all of the things I remember from his classes, this is the most deeply embedded inside of me.
Fourteen years later, I'm just now starting to recover. With the exception of Harry Potter and the Bible, I haven't reread a book in all of that time. I've driven myself to endlessly read the next book, even if it ended up not being all that great. I've read a lot of books, but you know what? The number of books I haven't read hasn't really seemed to get any smaller. I can still have a conversation with a person and despite the fact that I read around 125 books a year, I'll feel totally illiterate.
I've started rethinking this. I think there are quite a few books out there that beg to be reread. I think there are quite a few books out there whose deepest treasures can't be mined from one reading alone. After all, for me at least, the first read through is often for story alone.
I've been writing lately about how my reading philosophy is changing and this is a huge part of it. I've spent the last week rereading The Hunger Games trilogy interspersed with new reads for the Inspys Awards and my appreciation for the series grows with the rereads. I think there is a lot to be discovered in these books, things I would have missed on one read alone. But that's not all, I also picked up The Sacredness of Questioning Everything, a book I read earlier this year that pretty much set the course for my year. I intended to use it in something I was writing but found myself drawn right back to the page almost as if reading it for the first time. The book is so rich in its concepts that one read is simply insufficient for processing the ideas. It's a book that can be a companion.
As someone who reads the Bible regularly, it's funny that I didn't pick up on this earlier. After all, the words in Scripture often come alive to me in new ways and I begin to understand them in different ways for different contexts throughout my life. It stands to reason the same can happen in other books as well.
And just beyond the simple joy of digging out deeper treasures, there's something comforting about a story and characters I already know.
I know there are dangers in rereading. I do, really. Sometimes a book is actually meant to be a one time experience. I'm not saying I'm going to reread everything, what I'm saying is that I'm no longer going to feel guilty if I want to go back into a book or read it again. I'm no longer going to feel that this is wasting my life.
Books, after all, are like people. Complex and layered. More than meets the eye. Understood better, the deeper you go. I'm ready to get to know them on a more intimate level.
09/03/2010 02:04 AM
SDCC Giveaway Winners!
I gave away some awesome bundles from SDCC and now I have the winners!
The winner of Bundle 1 which included Death's Daughter signed by Amber Benson is Lisa Richardson!
The winner of Bundle 2 which included a signed copy of Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire is Michelle of The True Book Addict!
The winner of Bundle 3 which included a signed ARC of Virals by Kathy Reichs is Joanne of The Book Zombie!
Congrats all! Please email mypalamyATgmailDOTcom with your addresses so I can mail these!
09/02/2010 11:19 PM
Review: Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins After finishing Mockingjay I tried to read several books. I tried to read some general fiction, historical fiction, lighthearted YA, a mystery, and some creative nonfiction. And I couldn't get past a few pages in any of them. Not because they were bad books but because they weren't Mockingjay. So I decided to finally dig out my copy of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in Suzanne Collins middle grade series. I bought this book a long time ago after reading Catching Fire, I think, but never got around to reading it, even after reading some great reviews. I'm glad I read it now, because it was the perfect antidote to what ailed me.
Gregor is an eleven year old boy who lives in New York City with his mom and little sisters. His dad disappeared awhile ago, and while Gregor can't exactly allow himself to hope that his father will return, he hasn't given up that he won't either. One day while doing laundry, Gregor notices that his little sister disappears through a grate in the laundry room, he follows her and they are plunged into the underworld. Which is not Hades, though with the giant sized cockroaches and rats scurrying about it certainly seems like it could be to me!
Humans also live in this underland but they are in a place of uneasy peace. They have long awaited a warrior to come and begin to deliver them from the antics of the rats. They suspect Gregor is the warrior, and share a prophecy with him.
I really liked this book. It has the same traits as The Hunger Games trilogy, albeit for younger readers. It's funny, imaginative, a world I can easily visualize in my head and characters I learn to feel a tremendous amount of affection for, particularly Gregor and his sister, Boots. Additionally, Collins doesn't avoid or soften the hard issues. She has made clear that she writes books about children and war and this is certainly that. There are scenes of tenderness and loss of childhood innocence as well as other kinds of losses that are written with such aching emotional truth.
Gregor is certainly a character to love, he's empathetic and kind, and willing to take responsibility for his foolish actions. He sees the impact of his choices and acknowledges the role he plays in the way things unfold. He's loyal and brave.
This is a fantasy and there is a quest! This is generally not my favorite kind of story (quests) but I enjoyed this one.
The structure of Gregor the Overlander will feel familiar to readers of The Hunger Games as well, as it's divided into three parts with 9 chapters each. It is written in the third person, though.
I have to confess I immediately ordered the other books in the Underland Chronicles and that's all I want to read now. I've heard, though, they get progressively grimmer. Sound familiar?
Rating: 4.25/5 Source of Book: Bought it! Publisher: Scholastic
09/02/2010 12:51 AM
Coming to the End
After I finished Mockingjay, I couldn't help but think that one of the things I love about YA and speculative fiction is series. I love series in books in the same way that I crave serialized TV shows. I like to watch a story unfold over many books (or episodes) I love feeling like I get to know the characters more deeply. Sometimes it's even just a world I want to return to again and again. Additionally, you might be surprised to learn that most of my keeper books are YA books (except apparently Harry Potter is actually middle grade??) and that I like to have them in hardcover matching sets. (which is why it annoys me when they add extra content to the paperbacks)
So I was thinking of how a few more series I love will be drawing to a close soon. Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series will come to an end next year. I'm very sad about this to be honest, as I really love these books and this world.
I think the cover of the final book, Darkest Mercy, is one of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen.
I'm happy to have all of these stunning books in hardcover.
Another series that will be coming to a close is Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth. These books are responsible for my newly discovered love of zombie stories, and I really love visiting this strange world. I have the first two books in hardcover, but due to a design change, they don't match. I love the cover for the third, though, coming out next spring, The Dark and Hollow Places.
Another series that will be closing out next year that I enjoy is Maggie Stifvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls books. Sadly, I do not have these books in hardcover (ARC only) because I think they are some of the most beautiful books I've seen. Maybe they'll release a boxed set I can buy?
Are any of your favorite series coming to a close soon or in the next year?
About the Book: Robbing a stagecoach on Christmas Eve and abducting a woman passenger is the last thing Luke Sullivan expected to do. He just wanted to reclaim the money stolen from his pa, but instead ended up rescuing a feisty copper-haired woman who was on her way to marry Sullivan's dangerous enemy. Emily McCarthy doesn't take kindly to her so-called rescue. Still, she's hoping Providence will turn her situation for good, especially when it seems Luke Sullivan may just be the man of her dreams. But Luke has crossed a vicious man, a powerful rancher not used to losing, and Emily is the prize he's unwilling to sacrifice.
I'm about 100 pages into this book so far. It's not a bad book, but to be completely honest I don't know if I'll finish it anytime soon. If you are a fan of American historical Christian romances you'll probably enjoy this one, I've just not been much in the mood for this kind of book lately. (Please note I received this book from the publisher)
Last week when I closed the cover of Mockingjay, I was emotionally drained and eager to know how all the other fans of the Hunger Games had reacted to the book. I was really curious as to what reactions would be to the book because while I had no real concrete expectations for it, I knew I what I got was not what I expected. Sure enough, the reactions have been extremely mixed and led to some interesting and thought provoking discussion. I'm a fan of the book and I suspect I will always feel a strong personal connection to it, not only for the way the story itself impacted me, but because it saved reading for me in a really big way during a time I wondered if I would ever love to read again. Here are some of the fascinating posts that have sprung up around Mockingjay:
I LOVED this post from Malinda Lo on fan expectations. This post gave me a lot to think about in regards to the books I read and the shows I watch. And of course on the weight of the expectation we bring to any book we read.
I read Mockingjay as a serious social critique and found this post from Sarah Darer Littman to be a good analysis of the discussion on war found within the pages of Mockingjay and the Hunger Games trilogy.
When it comes to writing heartfelt reviews, I'm pretty sure no one does it like Angie, so you can imagine I was relieved to find out she was similarly affected by this book.
Amanda also has an in-depth review and we're on the same page about a lot of things as well.
And I loved this post from YA author Gayle Forman on the Mockingjay effect...and I'm glad that I'm not the only one who has experienced a certain amount of lingering obsession.
Finally...I've really been thinking about these books being made into movies and I'm extremely curious as to how it will be done. There's a part of me that wants it right now and a part of me that fears Katniss and Peeta will be horribly cast and the movie will sort of miss the plot. In any case, here's an update from the Daily Beast.
I recognize there are many people who didn't really like this book and I do feel sad that it was a disappointment for so many who loved the first two. But I'm grateful for all the discussion that has sprung up and even more grateful for a book that makes me want to continue thinking about it and writing about it...so don't be surprised if I come up with a few Mockingjay essays yet.
How are you feeling about the book one week later?
08/31/2010 03:01 AM
Review: The Berenstain Bears and the Gift of Courage by Jan & Mike Berenstain The Berenstain Bears have been around for awhile. I know because one of the first books my parents gave me all my own was The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room. It was a Christmas present that felt a bit like a lesson, much like the ever practical gifts of socks and undies. I've never been entirely organized and my parents obviously thought a good story was the way to one's heart. Much wisdom in that!
Recently, there have been some new Berenstain books that are explicitly Christian. This is interesting to me. The Berenstain Bears and the Gift of Courage is one such book. As with all Berenstain Bears books there's a topic to be dealt with and in this book it's bullies. Sister needs to deal with a bully but fears she lacks the courage. She asks Papa Bear to read the story of David and Goliath to them at bedtime. The story is fully in the book, complete with bear images! Sister expresses her doubt over whether or not she has the courage to stand up to a bully, and Papa Bear assures her she does. Will Sister Bear test this courage? Read the book and find out! :) (Please note I received a copy of this book from the publisher)
The Vampire Diaries News
As you all know, I'm a huge fan of The Vampire Diaries, both the books (especially when I was younger) and the TV show. (Ian!!!)
The show comes back September 9th and looks better than ever! Check out this juicy trailer!
Finally, a series of Vampire Diaries prequels are going to be released. I do not understand. These are essentially books for fans of the TV shows that will explore the Salvatore brothers' lives during the Civil War era and have nothing to do with the actual books. They will be called Stefan's Diaries...cute huh? Which means I probably won't read them. But here's the cover anyway:
Most important! I will be recapping the Vampire Diaries every week right here on the blog! I invite you to link up your own recap posts. This will be an ongoing part of the L.J. Smith challenge. I'm adding The Forbidden Game trilogy as the books to read this year, and will be making the announcement a little later than originally planned because I hope to do something fun with it! Haven't read the Forbidden Game? One word for you. Julian. The Forbidden Game was recently rereleased in omnibus format from Simon Pulse. These were my favorite L.J. Smith books growing up.
Who's excited for the Vampire Diaries to come back?
08/30/2010 12:45 AM
Faith and Fiction Saturday Round Table: Godric by Frederick Buechner
Every month a group of Christian bloggers read and discuss a book via email which we then post on the final Saturday of the month. This month we read Godric by Frederick Buechner, a book I've long been meaning to read. You can find our discussion below at the various blogs who participated. My many thanks to them for helping me understand this different but interesting book.
What Makes a Book YA?
It's time for the lastest installment in my never ending quest to understand what factors drive a book to be marketed as YA (young adult) fiction.
I've argued before that it's the age of the protagonist and nothing else, but people pointed out to me that some YA books have non-teen protagonists. So I was back to square one.
Then, this year at the LA Times Festival of Books this subject came up several times and many YA authors said that YA books need to have hope or an element of redemption. That I could buy into and it even help explained why I love YA so much...I adore hope! I love stories of redemption!
This year two of my favorite YA series have come to an end. These are both post-apocalyptic series with many bleak dark moments--The Last Survivors and The Hunger Games.
While the reactions to Mockingjay (the final Hunger Games book) have been varied, many people have felt that it no longer qualifies as YA. I disagree (since YA is a made-up marketing category) because I felt the book had hope. But it does lead to an interesting question...does hope look different to different people?
The Road is a book in which I've heard people say it's all darkness with no hope and others say it has hope. I haven't read the book, but I would come down on the side of hope from the movie.
What makes a book classified as YA in your opinion? And what does hope look like to you? Do you need a happy ending? Do all wrongs need to be made right?
08/27/2010 12:08 PM
Some Awesome Looking Books Coming out in September!
Since I have made the commitment to slow down reading, I've really been enjoying it. I think the books I'm reading have come to mean so much more. I finished Mockingjay two days ago and that book has so totally disrupted my life that I can't even really think about reading anything else. (or really thing about much else) And that's okay, I love for story to have that kind of impact. I wouldn't trade my slightly dazed feeling for anything.
But I do a few things...like a podcast more focused on new books in which I look through catalogs for books with certain themes. As such, my book lust is constantly being ignited, though I'm committed to really focusing my reading and taking it slowly. So I'm stealing a page from world-famous book blogger Nymeth's book and making lists of books coming out that are tempting me something crazy. The following books are coming out in September alone!
Vestments by John Reimringer is coming September 1st from Milkweed Editions. This books is about: Originally drawn to the priesthood by the mystery, purity, and sensual fabric of the Church, as well as by its promise of a safe harbor from his tempestuous home, James finds himself - just a few years after his ordination - attracted again to his first love, Betty García. Torn between these opposing desires, and haunted by his familial heritage, James finds himself at a crossroads. Exploring age-old and yet urgently contemporary issues in the Catholic Church, and infused throughout by a rich sense of the history and vibrant texture of St. Paul, and infused throughout by a rich sense of the history and vibrant texture of St. Paul, this is an utterly honest and subtly lyrical novel.
It should be fairly obvious why this appeals to me...I enjoy explorations of faith and calling. I love the torturous idea of being torn between a public faith commitment and love. And the pre-publication reviews are outstanding.
Snakewoman of Little Egypt: A Novel is coming from Bloomsbury on September 14th. Snakewoman of Little Egypt is about: On the morning of her release from prison, Sunny, who grew up in a snakehandling church in the Little Egypt region of Southern Illinois, rents a garage apartment from Jackson. She's been serving a five-year sentence for shooting, but not killing, her husband, the pastor of the Church of the Burning Bush with Signs Following, after he forced her at gunpoint to put her arm in a box of rattlesnakes.
Sunny and Jackson become lovers, but they're pulled in different directions. Sunny, drawn to science and eager to put her snake handling past behind her, enrolls at the university. Jackson, however, takes a professional interest in the religious ecstasy exhibited by the snakehandlers. Push comes to shove in a novel packed with wit, substance, and emotional depth. Snakewoman of Little Egypt delivers Robert Hellenga at the top of his form.
Oh for the love! Another book exploring the tension between religion and science you know it's right up my alley. I always really enjoy stories about small cults and the way community forms in them and the impact they have on the individual as well. This one looks like it should not be missed!
Salvation City is coming from Riverhead on September 16th. Salvation City is about: After a flu pandemic has killed large numbers of people worldwide, the United States has grown increasingly anarchic. Large numbers of children are stranded in orphanages, and systems we take for granted are fraying at the seams. When orphaned Cole Vining finds refuge with an evangelical pastor and his young wife in a small Indiana town, he knows he is one of the lucky ones. Sheltered Salvation City has been spared much of the devastation of the outside world.
But it's a starkly different community from the one Cole has known, and he struggles with what this changed world means for him. As those around him become increasingly fixated on their vision of utopia - so different from his own parents' dreams - Cole begins to imagine a new and different future for himself.
Written in Sigrid Nunez's deceptively simple style, Salvation City is a story of love, betrayal, and forgiveness, weaving the deeply affecting story of a young boy's transformation with a profound meditation on the true meaning of salvation.
Again with the religious element! Plus a little cult/dystopia/utopia/apocalypse stuff going on...this one sounds absolutely amazing.
To the End of the Land is by David Grossman and is coming from Knopf on September 21st. Book description: From one of Israel’s most acclaimed writers comes a novel of extraordinary power about family life—the greatest human drama—and the cost of war.
Ora, a middle-aged Israeli mother, is on the verge of celebrating her son Ofer’s release from army service when he returns to the front for a major offensive. In a fit of preemptive grief and magical thinking, she sets out for a hike in the Galilee, leaving no forwarding information for the "notifiers" who might darken her door with the worst possible news. Recently estranged from her husband, Ilan, she drags along an unlikely companion: their former best friend and her former lover Avram, once a brilliant artistic spirit. Avram served in the army alongside Ilan when they were young, but their lives were forever changed one weekend when the two jokingly had Ora draw lots to see which of them would get the few days’ leave being offered by their commander—a chance act that sent Avram into Egpyt and the Yom Kippur War, where he was brutally tortured as POW.
In the aftermath, a virtual hermit, he refused to keep in touch with the family and has never met the boy. Now, as Ora and Avram sleep out in the hills, ford rivers, and cross valleys, avoiding all news from the front, she gives him the gift of Ofer, word by word; she supplies the whole story of her motherhood, a retelling that keeps Ofer very much alive for Ora and for the reader, and opens Avram to human bonds undreamed of in his broken world. Their walk has a "war and peace" rhythm, as their conversation places the most hideous trials of war next to the joys and anguish of raising children. Never have we seen so clearly the reality and surreality of daily life in Israel, the currents of ambivalence about war within one household, and the burdens that fall on each generation anew.
Grossman’s rich imagining of a family in love and crisis makes for one of the great antiwar novels of our time.
I have sadly not ever read anything by Grossman, but when I saw someone tweet about this book the other day, I looked it up. It was this blurb that absolutely sold me and made me want to read the book:
Very rarely, a few times in a lifetime, you open a book and when you close it again nothing can ever be the same. Walls have been pulled down, barriers broken, a dimension of feeling, of existence itself, has opened in you that was not there before. To the End of the Land is a book of this magnitude. David Grossman may be the most gifted writer I've ever read; gifted not just because of his imagination, his energy, his originality, but because he has access to the unutterable, because he can look inside a person and discover the unique essence of her humanity. For twenty-six years he has been writing novels about what it means to defend this essence, this unique light, against a world designed to extinguish it. To the End of the Land is his most powerful, shattering, and unflinching story of this defense. To read it is to have yourself taken apart, undone, touched at the place of your own essence; it is to be turned back, as if after a long absence, into a human being.
--Nicole Krauss
I felt a little bit like that after reading Mockingjay and I welcome the chance to be completely altered in the same way again. I'm a bit embarrassed to have not heard of Grossman before, but I suppose it's impossible to know every author!
Fame by Daniel Kehlmann is coming from Pantheon Books on September 14th. It's about: After some initial hesitation, a man receiving someone else's phone calls begins to play with his new identity. From one day to the next, an actor's telephone falls dead silent, as though someone has stolen his life. A writer takes a pair of trips with a woman whose worst fear is to end up in one of his works. A somewhat confused Internet blogger wants nothing more than to become a character in a novel. A detective-story writer goes missing while on a journey through Central Asia, a fictional old woman on her deathbed quarrels with the writer who created her, and a managing director at a cell phone company goes crazy trying to manage his double life with two women.
In Fame, nine episodes coalesce to form a coherent whole as Daniel Kehlmann plays a sophisticated game with reality and fiction—creating, in essence, a dazzling hall of mirrors.
This sounds really different to me, and timely. I'm always up for something different and this certainly seems like it is!
And if that wasn't enough, I talk in-depth about some of the books coming out this September with Nicole on The Underground Literary Society.
What September books are you looking forward to reading?
08/26/2010 05:55 PM
Review: John Belushi is Dead by Kathy Charles Hilda and her best friend Benji have a fascination with visiting the sites where famous people died in Los Angeles. They also enjoy collecting artifacts from these sites, spending time on websites learning more, and reading guidebooks to find more. They are both a bit outside the mainstream, battling the grief and darkness within.
One day, they visit an apartment where someone died and meet Hank, a grumpy old shut-in. Hilda ends up striking up an unlikely friendship with Hank, only to discover he has secrets of his own.
I loved this book. Charles has created a cast of authentic characters, each so deeply flawed yet entirely sympathetic. There's nothing rosy here, no Hallmark moments, just people trying to come to grips with life and death and their own actions. The city of Los Angeles is a vibrant character in its own right and I have to admit that was part of the appeal of the story. There's such a fascinating history to Hollywood and all that goes on underneath the glamor.
Hilda's obsession with death may seem a bit off-putting at first, but it is easy to understand as you read the book. I think that her relationships with Benji and Hank are interesting and make the story so rich.
There were so many moments throughout the story that I just wanted to sigh with the truth of it. I loved these characters and I cared about their fate.
Charles is unafraid to go where the story needs to go and yet this book is very hopeful. I read it and thought about it for so long afterwards. It's the story of life and also of death and how the living go on after death. It's a story about choosing what's good for you, and taking control of your fate. And it's about love and the many forms it takes, and the ways we reach each other.
Rating: 4.75/5 Things You Might Want to Know: Profanity Source of Book: Received from publisher for review Publisher: MTV (Simon & Schuster)
08/26/2010 12:32 AM
FIRST: The Devil in Pew Number Seven It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
***Special thanks to Christy Wong of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. for sending me a review copy.***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rebecca Nichols Alonzo
Becky Alonzo never felt safe as a child. Although she lived next door to the church her father pastored, the devil lived across the street. This tormented man terrorized her family with rifle shots and ten bombings. When these violent acts didn't scare them away, he went even further. During dinner one evening, seven-year-old Becky and her younger brother watched as their parents were gunned down. Today Becky speaks about betrayal and the power of forgiveness. She is a graduate of Missouri State University and has been involved in ministry, including a church plant, youth outreach, and missions, for thirteen years. She and her husband, along with their two children, live in Franklin, Tennessee.
Product Details:
List Price: $14.99 Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (July 2, 2010) Language: English ISBN-10: 1414326599 ISBN-13: 978-1414326597
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
Walking, Crawling, Dead or Alive
I ran.
My bare feet pounding the pavement were burning from the sunbaked asphalt. Each contact between flesh and blacktop provoked bursts of pain as if I were stepping on broken glass. The deserted country road, stretching into the horizon, felt as if it were conspiring against me. No matter how hard I pushed myself, the safe place I was desperate to reach eluded me.
Still, I ran.
Had a thousand angry hornets been in pursuit, I couldn’t have run any faster. Daddy’s instructions had been simple: I had to be a big girl, run down the street as fast as my legs could carry me, and get help. There was nothing complicated about his request. Except for the fact that I’d have to abandon my hiding place under the kitchen table and risk being seen by the armed madman who had barricaded himself with two hostages in my bedroom down the hall. I knew, however, that ignoring Daddy’s plea was out of the question.
And so I ran.
Even though Daddy struggled to appear brave, the anguish in his eyes spoke volumes. Splotches of blood stained his shirt just below his right shoulder. The inky redness was as real as the fear gnawing at the edges of my heart. I wanted to be a big girl for the sake of my daddy. I really did. But the fear and chaos now clouding the air squeezed my lungs until my breathing burned within my chest.
My best intentions to get help were neutralized, at least at first. I remained hunkered down, unable to move, surrounded by the wooden legs of six kitchen chairs. I had no illusions that a flimsy 6 x 4 foot table would keep me safe, yet I was reluctant to leave what little protection it afforded me.
In that space of indecision, I wondered how I might open the storm door without drawing attention to myself. One squeak from those crusty hinges was sure to announce my departure plans. Closing the door without a bang against the frame was equally important. The stealth of a burglar was needed, only I wasn’t the bad guy.
Making no more sound than a leaf falling from a tree, I inched my way out from under the table. I stood and then scanned the room, left to right. I felt watched, although I had no way of knowing for sure whether or not hostile eyes were studying my movements. I inhaled the distinct yet unfamiliar smell of sulfur lingering in the air, a calling card left behind from the repeated blasts of a gun.
I willed myself to move.
My bare feet padded across the linoleum floor.
I was our family’s lifeline, our only connection to the outside world. While I hadn’t asked to be put in that position, I knew Daddy was depending on me. More than that, Daddy needed me to be strong. To act. To do what he was powerless to do. I could see that my daddy, a strong ex–Navy man, was incapable of the simplest movement. The man whom I loved more than life itself, whose massive arms daily swept me off my feet while swallowing me with an unmatched tenderness, couldn’t raise an arm to shoo a fly.
To see him so helpless frightened me.
Yes, Daddy was depending on me.
Conflicted at the sight of such vulnerability, I didn’t want to look at my daddy. Yet my love for him galvanized my resolve. I reached for the storm-door handle. Slow and steady, as if disarming a bomb, and allowing myself quick glances backward to monitor the threat level of a sudden ambush, I opened the storm door and stepped outside. With equal care, I nestled the metal door against its frame.
I had to run.
I shot out from under the carport, down the driveway, and turned right where concrete and asphalt met. The unthinkable events of the last five minutes replayed themselves like an endless-loop video in my mind. My eyes stung, painted with hot tears at the memory. Regardless of their age, no one should have to witness what I had just experienced in that house—let alone a seven-year-old girl. The fresh images of what had transpired moments ago mocked me with the fact that my worst fears had just come true.
I had to keep running.
Although I couldn’t see any activity through the curtains framing my bedroom window, that didn’t mean the gunman wasn’t keeping a sharp eye on the street. I hesitated, but only for a moment more. What might happen gave way to what had happened. I had to get help. Now, almost frantic to reach my destination, I redoubled my efforts.
I ran on.
To get help for Momma and Daddy. To escape the gunman. To get away from all the threatening letters, the sniper gunshots, the menacing midnight phone calls, the home invasions—and the devil who seemed to be behind so many of them.
About the Book: They risk it all for adventure and romance, but find that love only flourishes in truth...
1886, New York City: Charlotte Gleason, a rich heiress from England, escapes a family crisis by traveling to America in order to marry the even wealthier Conrad Tremaine.
She soon decides that an arranged marriage is not for her and persuades her maid, Dora, to take her place. She wants a chance at "real life," even if it means giving up financial security. For Charlotte, it's a risk she's willing to take. What begins as the whim of a spoiled rich girl wanting adventure becomes a test of survival amid poverty beyond Charlotte's blackest nightmares.
As for Dora, it's the chance of a lifetime. She lives a fairy tale complete with gowns, jewels, and lavish mansions--yet is tormented by guilt from the possibility of discovery and the presence of another love that will not die. Is this what her heart truly longs for?
Will their masquerade be discovered? Will one of them have second thoughts? There is no guarantee the switch will work. It's a risk. It's the chance of a lifetime.
About the Book: For the sake of her ailing mother, Marianne Denton becomes engaged to Noah Brennin---a merchantman she despises. But as the War of 1812 escalates, Jonah's ship is captured by the British, and the ill-matched couple learns vital information that could aid America's cause.
Relive the rich history of the War of 1812 through the eyes of Marianne Denton and Noah Brenin, who both long to please their families but neither one wishes to marry the other. Noah is determined to get his cargo to England before war breaks out, and Marianne is equally determined to have a wedding so that her inheritance can be unlocked and her destitute family saved. When their stubborn games get them captured by a British warship, can they escape and bring liberty to their country—and growing love?
08/25/2010 08:14 PM
Mockingjay I don't think I'm capable of writing a review of Mockingjay without discussing spoilers and the many things it made me think and feel. I can say that this is the first time in ages I sat down and read a 400 page book cover to cover, completely unaware that I was reading, not thinking about all of the the other things I should be doing and simply losing myself completely and utterly in a story. I laughed, I cried, I felt things--big things. It was hands down my favorite book of the trilogy and it was very unexpected in so many ways. I can't wait until we have the chance to discuss it in depth and I'm frantically going around and reading other reviews to try to get a sense of what others thought. If you have a review up be sure to let me know in comments, or if you just want to talk Mockingjay please shoot me an email, I'm dying to have the chance to hash out little plot points with other readers.
08/24/2010 08:21 PM
The Beth Effect
Beth Kephart's fifth novel, Dangerous Neighbors, releases today though I spotted a copy in the store yesterday.
I had the great privilege to read Dangerous Neighbors several months ago. For those of you who have read Kephart's previous work, it's a bit of a departure. This is a historical fiction novel and rich in detail. While the protagonist is a young woman, this short book could easily find itself in the adult section of the bookstore. But in every way that's important, this is one hundred percent a Kephart novel.
The language is rich and lyrical, Beth uses words in a way that makes you pause and think about things differently. She paints scenes in vivid detail highlighting the senses necessary to experience what is happening with the characters. But more than anything, she writes with such emotional honesty, that I have never finished her work without sweet aching hope rising up within me.
While chatting with Hannah in Nashville recently, we coined it "the Beth Effect." I always enter in deeply with the characters, seduced by the beauty of the language, my heart opened up to the wounds they also face, but by the end, I feel as though these open tender sore spots have been stitched back together with hope.
There's nothing more I ever want from any story than to close it with hope. Hope is the sustaining force of our world, because even when you cannot love, you can hope for love and it's the first step to making it so.
When I finished Dangerous Neighbors, I recognized the feeling inside of me..that I had been on a journey and come out on the side of hope. I have felt this way before, many times, but always always when finishing a story by Beth Kephart.
Dangerous Neighbors is in stores today. Congratulations to Beth and I hope you all take the journey and experience the Beth effect!
08/24/2010 12:44 AM
FIRST: The Berenstein Bears and a Job Well Done It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
***Special thanks to Krista Ocier of Zondervan for sending me a review copy.***
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Stan and Jan Berenstain introduced the first Berenstain Bear books in 1962. Mike Berenstain grew up watching his parents work together to write about and draw these lovable bears. Eventually he started drawing and writing about them too. Mike is married to Andrea, and they have three children. They live in Pennsylvania, in an area that looks a lot like Bear Country.
