Back to Blogging: Setting the Goal of One Book Post Per Week This Year

I am sorry I have been absent for so long. Twitter, reading, work and an active 12 year-old daughter have occupied my time, energy and thoughts throughout the last year. I assure you that I am still thinking and working about books, technology and my library. My goal is to pay more attention to the blog and to my writing to keep my spirits up and perhaps inform others about what I am up to. My vow is to post at least one post about books per week, so let’s all hope that I am up to the task. I am sure that my blogging and writing will improve over time and hopefully I will really get my act together and start reviewing on Netgalley again.

I attended a great workshop on Nonfiction with Kathleen O’Deen yesterday and my next post is going to be all about nonfiction, her ideas and my ideas that were inspired by her. First, a little blog about YA fantasy because I am a big believer in dreaming, magic and great storytelling.

The first novel, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, is truly the classic tale of good vs. evil symbolized by light vs. darkness. The ruler of the land is even named The Darkling. The story itself is far more complicated – Alina and Mal are raised together as orphans are drafted into the army to protect the land against the Fold – an unnatural darkness populated by flesh-eating volcras (flying monsters – in my mind I thought terrible pterodactyls). As they are traveling into the Fold, they are attacked. Alina becomes the savior of the army when they are attacked by the volcra. Unbeknownst to her, she has incredible powers that may save everyone from the creeping darkness. She is whisked away to serve the ruler Darkling and to become a member of his magical elite, the Grisha, leaving Mal behind. Alina must decide how she will use her power and who she will use it for as she wrestles with her feelings for Mal, who she has left behind, and for the mysterious leader of the land – The Darkling.

The sweetheart of Twitter right now is Sarah Rees Brennan, author of Unspoken – the first volume of The Lynburn Legacy. She is a prolific Tweeter and responds to her fans frequently. Lately she has been receiving tweets expressing exasperation, shock, awe, love and astonishment that we all will have to wait until August for the second installment of The Lynburn Legacy. I will suffer, along with all of her other fans, as many of us readers do in the fine tradition of interminable waiting for THE NEXT ONE like we did with the Hunger Games and the guy with the initials H.P.  Kami Glass has been hearing a voice in her head from the day she was born. She knows everything about Jared and Jared knows everything about her. Kami decides to start a school newspaper and her first story will be about the return of the Lynburn family to their ancestral manor that overlooks the village of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Don’t ask me if the author was trying to be cheeky with the sorry in the vale nomenclature, but I got a little giggle out of it. Unspoken has all of the classic fittings of a great Gothic novel with the foreboding woods surrounding the manor house and the strange family that resides within it. Kami wishes to expose the secrets  of the Lynburns and the history of  Sorry-in-the-Vale as she writes her article. As she is investigating all of the mysterious happenings that have begun with the Lynburns arrival, she begins to find out the truth about Sorry-in-the-Vale and the identity of the voice inside her head. Besides being a thriller of a Gothic novel, Kami is also extremely skilled in the martial arts, knows how to take care of herself and she is a welcome relief from the heroine who needs to find her confidence as she struggles to survive that we have met in far too many YA novels lately. In other words, Kami knows how to kick $## already and I almost feel sorry for anyone who crosses her path. If you are ready for some action, adventure and magic, read Unspoken. It goes without saying that you will be eagerly waiting for the end of the summer just like me.

 

One Moment by Kristina McBride

SPOILER ALERT: This review contains plot points of the novel One Moment by Kristina McBride.

One moment can change someone’s life irrevocably…

In high school, different moments define the life of a teen: Sweet Sixteen, the first date, the first day of high school, the first kiss, the prom…the sentimental foundation of someone’s life. Maggie Reynolds shares all of these moments with her perfect boyfriend Joey and their circle of friends – Adam, Pete, Shannon and Tanna. The boys found their special place, the Jumping Hole, right before eighth grade and it is here that they gather to hang out on a beautiful sunny day during their senior year. Just as Joey convinces Maggie to leap into the water for the first time, an unspeakable tragedy occurs and Joey is gone forever.  Maggie, in shock, is unable to remember what really happened at the top of the cliff.

The novel recounts what happens as Maggie slowly begins to remember the bits and pieces of that day. As she regains her memory, she starts to unravel the mystery surrounding it and finds that everything she thought she knew is not what it appeared to be. Taut and suspenseful, we follow Maggie as she revisits all of the moments she has shared with Joey and her friends and finds the truth that was lingering all along.  This coming of age mystery allows the reader to feel the sorrow, betrayal and redemption of Maggie as she struggles to come to terms with Joey’s death and all of the moments leading up to it. Kristina McBride keeps the tension and suspense going until the very end of the novel. The novel also authentically portrays the grieving process and how teens and their families cope with the loss of someone close to them.

I feel the novel sends a strong message to teens on how to deal with grief and grow from adversity. The author’s exploration of friendship and loyalty also authentically portray how teens deal with trust issues every day. I recommend this as an intricately woven, gripping, realistic story with beautifully drawn characters.

One Moment is scheduled for release June 26, 2012.

McBride, Kristina. One Moment. New York, NY: Egmont USA, 2012.

If you enjoy reading novels about grief and redemption, I also suggest you read:

Dessen, Sarah. The Truth About Forever. New York, NY: Viking, 2004. 382 p.

LaCour, Nina. hold still. New York, NY: Dutton Books, 2009. 229 p.

Reinhardt, Dana. How To Build A House. New York, NY: Random House Children’s Books, 2008. 204 p.

Sones, Sonya. One of those hideous books where the mother dies. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2004. 272 p.

Really Incredible Reads

I read so many books that it is often impossible for me to remember a specific character’s name or the exact detail of an event from any novel to recommend it, so I have decided to really put my best effort forward and attempt to review books as I read them. Today’s post was going to be on The Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie and it is wonderful, but then I read 2 books that I really need to tell you about first. Is that sacrilegious? Irreverent? I don’t think so because I feel like I need to give some attention to realistic fiction because it is often overlooked by the critics and by us, the readers.

Let me begin with The Disenchantments and let me assure you that there isn’t a love triangle, but there is a passionate longing. Colby longs for Bev while Bev longs for something definite in her life because Bev really doesn’t believe that anything will last forever. They literally and figuratively journey together with their friends on a magical music tour right after high school graduation. Colby has had plans to travel to Europe with Bev, but first they are hitting the road in a VW bus with their pals – sisters Meg and Alexa. Meg, Alexa and Bev form the all girl band – The Disenchantments. Secrets are revealed, news is broken and the reader feels every heart break or swell with emotion. Colby and Bev are you or I as teenagers – guilt-ridden, heartbroken, sexy and creative. Despite its title to the contrary, you will be enchanted by this story of real kids with real problems, real dreams on a very real adventure.

I was so impressed by The Disenchantments that I had to read hold still by Nina LaCour. Then I had to stop reading it almost immediately – on page 18 to be exact – because I had already developed such a deep connection to the protagonist, Caitlin, that I was appalled by how another character was treating   her. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but let’s just say this is a powerful novel of loss and finding a way to continue to live. Sounds cliche, and maybe that’s because I am not as good at expressing how lovely this story truly is. The book’s pages are heavy cream and the words are profoundly deep. An honest depiction of what happens to someone when they lose that person they were not ready to let go of.

Honestly, if you don’t read these books, you will be missing out on that experience where you actually inhabit the book. This does not happen to me that often.

LaCour, Nina. The Disenchantments. Dutton Books. 2012

LaCour, Nina. hold still. Dutton Books. 2009.

Book Picks Right Now

YA Book Recommendations: Matched trilogy by Ally Condie is SO Hunger Games. If you want an authentic heart-grabbing, touching novel about teen/young adult love that is so authentic – you MUST read The Disenchantments by Nina La Cour. It is so real and so wonderful plus it talks about music. If you are looking for a good book on tolerance and what love really means with a real solid dash of paranormal purgatory try The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg – a heartbreaker of a novel.

Battle of the Books!

The Mexico HS Library Battle of the Books Team Gryfinndor came in second place at the Oswego County BOCES Regional Competition last night at Hannibal High School. The girls worked very hard and placed second out of 7 teams with a score of 88. The first place teams tied with a score of 96. It was our first year competing and we were very excited about our result! The girls and I are wearing our specially sewn Gryfinndor scarves today that were made by Mrs. Boulais, one of our fabulous parents. The girls read and became experts on 13 preselected titles and had to answer 16 detailed questions regarding the books.Hopefully, I will have a picture of our winning team soon!

 

Playing Serious Catch Up

OK, I am playing serious catch up.

I am signed up now for Dipity and in process of creating timeline.

Also signed up for Edmodo. Google +. I am not sure I want so many communication accounts. How will I keep up with them all? Is there a place where they have a dashboard and you can drive your Twitter, your Facebook, your Google +, your Edmodo? Computer programmers, GET ON THAT PRONTO.

Always Wanted An Ivy League Education

Always Wanted An Ivy League Education

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