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Are You Experienced? by Jordan Sonnenblick (book review) – time traveling back to Woodstock

Sep2

book cover of Are You Experienced? by Jordan Sonnenblick published by Fiewel and Friends3 days of peace and love,
Music too memorable to resist,
Woodstock.

Time travel with Rich as he meets his own dad as a teenager, hears Jimi Hendrix play his “Star-Spangled Banner” for the crowd, and tries to discover what he got sent back in time to accomplish.

Are You Experienced? embraces those three magical days whose musical and cultural legacies influenced generations – and its book birthday is tomorrow!

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Book info: Are You Experienced? / Jordan Sonnenblick. Feiwel & Friends, 2013. [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: One perfect chord on a classic electric guitar and Rich zooms from 2014 and world’s strictest parents to 1969 and Woodstock! Dad will never believe this, except he’s there, too, as his teenage self…

Why his mom and dad are so controlling, Rich will never know, especially since they were hippies and musicians back in the 70s. Dad still gets choked up about his big brother dying of an overdose at 18, but does he ever show Rich any affection? Of course not.

Sneaking into Dad’s always-locked den closet, the teen discovers a vintage electric guitar and a note about playing a special chord… Boom! Suddenly, Rich is on the road to the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969, picked up by David, Michael, and Willow – his own dad, uncle, and uncle’s girlfriend! Claiming the name Gabriel, he hangs out with them for the whole weekend of peace and music.

Living through all the amazing music played live by bands who’d become legendary, wishing for a cellphone to record it, a long late-night talk with Jimi Hendrix – amazing. Getting to know Uncle Michael (whose name grown-up Dad never even says) and his cool girlfriend – awesome. Meeting beautiful Donna and seeing David/Dad so excited about the trip and the music – priceless.

Michael is really worried about something and is trying to hide it from David – but he might talk to Gabriel.

How many of these people at Woodstock will get drafted for the Vietnam War?
What did Jimi mean when they talked backstage?
Is Gabriel/Rich ever getting back to 2014?

Time travel, recreational pharmaceuticals, rock and roll, dysfunctional families, mud, mushrooms, and music – welcome to Woodstock… the Jimi Hendrix song as title says it all.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant, by Tony Cliff (book review) – swashbuckling adventuress of 1807!

Aug28

book cover of Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff published by First Second Like Indiana Jones in the 1800s!
Except she’s a noblewoman,
and an expert swordfighter,
and has a much more “flexible” sense of honor.

Should this be your first meeting with Delilah Dirk, prepare yourself for miraculous escapes, gymnastic evasive maneuvers, and well-timed explosions.

Alas, the Agha of Constantinople did not believe the intelligence reports about her skills… but circumlocutious Lt. Selim still has his head to prove it’s all true.

Just published yesterday as a full-color graphic novel, this swashbuckling webcomic translates so well to the printed page – I had as much fun re-reading it to write this recommendation as I did the first go-round! Read 12 pages of Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant here and you’ll be hooked, too.

Here’s hoping that Delilah will have many more adventures for Canadian artist/author Tony Cliff to share with us (and that Lt. Selim can stand all the excitement).
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Book info: Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant / story and art by Tony Cliff. First Second Books, 2013. [Delilah site]  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: The Agha’s court of Constantinople in 1807 is hardly the place for a genteel young lady, but then again, adventuress Delilah Dirk is clever, skillful at fighting, and not at all genteel. Just ask Lt. Selim after she rescues him from execution and launches the tea-master into dangerous adventures with her.

Yes, Delilah is related to half the royal families in Europe. Yes, she has trained in weaponry and personal fighting skills her whole life. No, Selim is not fond of flying in the air (how does her ship do that?) or riding horseback for days on end (sorry, bad pun) or being nearly killed by Zakul’s minions repeatedly after Delilah steals her uncle’s treasure back from the pirate warlord.

Delilah insists that she can accomplish this task without Selim – he’s seen her swordwork and knows she’s right. But since Selim owes her his life, he tries to be helpful on her headstrong mission, while brewing the best teas on the entire Aegean Peninsula or Greece or wherever else they land.

Can they ‘liberate’ the treasure?
Will Selim survive the attempt?
What else does Delilah have up her sleeveless flight gown?

This uproarious, mile-a-minute graphic novel adventure features stellar use of color to invoke moods, fantastic drawing that brings emotions and motion to life, and sound effects (GRABB! DODGE’D!) that put an original spin on classic-comics traditions.   (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Falcon in the Glass, by Susan Fletcher (book review) – secrets and more secrets in Venice

Aug21

book cover of Falcon in the Glass by Susan Fletcher published by Margaret K McElderry BooksSecrets passed from master to apprentice,
Sand to glass to beauty,
Death for sharing the secrets.

The all-powerful Doge did indeed control Venice with an iron fist during its heyday as a world trading center. Imagine how he’d respond to intelligent birds who could soar out of his reach, at the behest of their human partners!

Pick up this intriguing window into the world of medieval glassblowing, family bonds, and criminal skullduggery today at your local library or independent bookstore – and wonder if the Bird Children’s descendants may still live among us!
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Book info: Falcon in the Glass / Susan Fletcher. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2013.   [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Without help, Renzo cannot practice his glassblowing for the test. Without help, the refugee children and their birds will freeze. Without fail, the Doge of Venice will have them all killed if he finds them together in his city!

As the lowest helper in the padrone’s glassworks, twelve-year-old Renzo wishes he was still working with his father in their studio, before Papa was murdered and Uncle fled Venice with his glassblower’s knowledge and a price upon his head. Now Renzo must demonstrate to the Guild that he can work glass like his father or he will never become an apprentice.

Practicing late at night, Renzo spies a starving girl huddled in the studio’s warmth and her falcon in the rafters – no spies allowed in the glassworks, no strangers, no birds! If she is one of the green-eyed Bird Children who were banished from mainland Venice for witchcraft…but he needs another set of hands to work the glass and she needs only a place to rest.

With Letta’s help, he can create beautiful glass pieces, including a falcon that looks like it could fly. But the other Bird Children need warmth and food, too. Perhaps they can stay for a little while, even if their silent communication with their birds makes Renzo nervous.

But sometimes, doing good carries a heavy price. The ruler of Venice is intent upon capturing the Bird Children, a man who looks like Uncle is spotted on the island, and Mama worries about Renzo’s late nights at the glass furnace.

Can Renzo keep the Bird Children safe and out of sight?
Can he ignore the whispers about his uncle and criminal mischief?
Can he keep his hands steady on the glass pipe when the Guild test comes?

Strong is the psychic connection between these green-eyed children and their birds, strong is Renzo’s love for his mother and sister, strong are the Doge’s prisons awaiting the smallest error by these young ones in this fantasy set in the 15th century. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

If I Ever Get Out of Here, by Eric Gansworth (book review) – rez life, the Beatles, a new view

Aug14

“book cover of If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth published by Arthur A Levine BooksBand on the Run”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Live and Let Die”

Music takes Lewis out of his tumbling-down house on the Tuscarora Reservation in the mid-1970s, where water comes from the pump outside and the outhouse is horrible in summer, worse in winter. His first white friend shares his taste in music – life may be okay for a while in junior high, despite the bullies and prejudice.

As an Air Force brat myself, I understand how George must quickly make friends when his father is transferred to a new base and be ready to uproot and do it all again in a heartbeat.

Read this interview to see why the author drew his own versions of the album covers which Lewis and George listen to again and again. Every chapter is a 70s song title, reflecting Gansworth’s growing-up years on the reservation.

This is a “don’t miss” title on my 2013 list, so when you’re looking for it on the shelf, note that the book spine is same blue as the headphones, not orange like the cover.

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Book info: If I Ever Get Out of Here / Eric Gansworth. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Junior high advanced classes aren’t a good place for a skinny reservation kid with glasses in the 1970s, but Lewis might just survive thanks to his first white friend and rock music.

Always moving with his Air Force dad, the new guy George makes friends fast and simply ignores the “welfare Indian” label that most kids give to Lewis. They both love the Beatles and Wacky Pack stickers, but Lewis won’t let George see his falling-down house on the reservation after visiting the Haddonfields’ tidy home on base.

When George’s dad finds out that Paul McCartney’s new band Wings is playing a concert in nearby Toronto, he promises to take both boys, despite difficulties with the tickets.

Lewis’s uncle reminds him that moving between the white world and the reservation will make his life harder, even as the town big-shot’s son decides to beat up Lewis daily in school despite all his efforts to stay clear.

Why won’t the teachers stop the bullying going on right under their noses?
How can Lewis repay the Haddonfields’ hospitality without inviting them to his house?

Music runs through this book about the power of friendship to change expectations about life, even when so much in Lewis’s life may never change for the better. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

A Girl Called Problem, by Katie Quirk (book review) – move our village, change our luck?

Jul24

Book cover of A Girl Called Problem by Katie Quirk published by Eerdmans Move our whole village?
School for all the children!!
Leaving behind our memories and starting from scratch?

In 1967, Tanzania was still “becoming” a single country after the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar following their recent independence from European powers. President Nyerere asked all his people and tribes to work together as one. Sometimes this meant moving from small poor villages into larger villages to have schools and medical care.

Ask for this April 2013 paperback at your local library or favorite independent bookstore, and travel in its pages to discover how Shida and her family cope with big changes in those early years of Tanzania.

When has moving to a new place helped you grow?
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Book info: A Girl Called Problem / Katie Quirk. Eerdmans, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: A new start sounds good to Shida, as Tanzania becomes a unified country in 1967, but can the 13 year old and the other villagers truly find a better life in their new town?

So many problems in her life – mama depressed and thought to be a witch, a curse tied to their family, even Shida’s name means ‘problem’ in Swahili, her only gift from her late father’s family. She learns about healing herbs from the village grandmothers and helps families with small illnesses – why can’t the village elders see that she should become a true healer, instead of just planning to be married?

To become a strong new African nation, the people need schools and health care, so the president asks those in small villages to move and form towns. Move from Litongo? Each family will have a new hut with tin roof and a plot for growing food. All the children will go to school, even the girls!

The president’s promises are true – new huts, plots of land, a school, and a clinic! But some already living in Njia Panda don’t want more people in their town, and many traditional men think that girls shouldn’t be in school, including their teacher! Odd things begin to happen in the Litongo part of town – cattle wander from the thornbush corral, clothing goes missing (Mama Shida is sure it’s another curse).

Can Shida and her cousins convince their teacher that girls belong at school?
Can Shida care for her mama and have time to work with the clinic nurse, too?
Can she solve the mysterious things happening to her neighbors?

A full and vibrant slice of life in the early days of Tanzania, A Girl Called Problem tries to outrun her own name and find a way for the Litongo villagers to truly become part of the town and their country’s future.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Stolen Magic, by Stephanie Burgis (book review) – rogue magic-wielder, powerful secrets

Jul22

book cover of Stolen Magic by Stephanie Burgis published by Atheneum Books for Young ReadersAn unlicensed magic-wielder on the loose,
A future mother-in-law trying to stop her son’s wedding,
The threat of war with France always looming…
Surely the teeniest bit of magic from Kat would make things better, right?

Of course not! And with her big brother finally deciding to watch over her, the youngest Stephenson sister can hardly practice her magic – if the Guardians will ever schedule her test, that is.

Do read chapter one of Stolen Magic  here (no major spoilers), and be sure to grab Kat, Incorrigible (book 1) and Renegade Magic (book 2) before you dive into finale of this early 19th century mystery-magic-political intrigue-adventure series!

If you had a bit of magic, what would you do?

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Book info: Stolen Magic (The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson, book 3) / Stephanie Burgis.  Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Kat senses magic following as her family travels to Angeline’s long-delayed wedding, but soon discovers that England itself is in peril unless can stop the rogue magic-wielder!

At least she’ll get to see older sister Elissa again at the wedding, Kat sighs, as the borrowed coach bumps over country roads toward the Carlyle estate. Their brother Charles and Stepmama have kept Kat from practicing her magic, even as her initiation into the Order of the Guardians approaches.

Being a witch or a magic-wielder is frowned upon by Regency society, and Stepmama so longs to be accepted by those of ‘good breeding’ like Lady Fotherington. During introductions, the beautiful Marquise who knew Kat’s late mother has such an interesting reaction – were she and Lady Fotherington previously acquainted?

Even with the mansion filled by both families and many guests, Kat senses the rogue magic nearby, but can’t run off exploring while Lady Fotherington is watching her, trying to find some reason to disqualify her from the Order. Hoping to stop the wedding plans for good, Mrs. Carlyle has invited Frederick’s lovely childhood sweetheart to stay, and Angeline fears her beauty will steal her fiance’s heart.

Will there be a wedding for Angeline at last?
Can Kat find the rogue magic-wielder before it’s too late?
Is her initiation into the Order ever going to happen?

Secret passageways, caverns in the cliffs overlooking the sea, magic attacks by the rogue, and a threat on Kat’s life!

This final volume of The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson wraps up the mysterious magic of an alternate Great Britain during its Regency years as shared in Kat, Incorrigible  (book 1) and Renegade Magic  (book 2). (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Something peculiar to your ears – free SYNC audiobooks

Jul16

Time to download this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC!

Hurry to download this pair of books about British orphans in very odd situations by Wednesday July 17. Then you’ll have free use of them as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device

CD cover of The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann read by Peter Altschuler published by HarperAudioThe Peculiar
By Stefan Bachmann
Read by Peter Altschuler
Published by HarperAudio

 

 

Oliver TwistCD cover of Oliver Twist by Charles DIckens read by Simon Vance published by Tantor Media
By Charles Dickens
Read by Simon Vance
Published by Tantor Media

What can lift these unfortunate children from the life in the slums? Listen to find out!
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SYNC audiobooks – humorous reads!

Jul5

So, hopefully you’ve been downloading the free SYNC audiobook pair each week when I remind you. But are you secretly thinking, “audiobooks aren’t really reading”?

Nay, my friends! Research has shown that ‘reading with your ears’ actively engages your brain in much the same way that reading text does. And of course, we all know that some of us are visual learners and others are auditory learners.

Over on The BookRiot blog, Rachel recently debunked “‘Listening to Books is Cheating’ and 7 More Myths About Audiobooks” so what are you waiting for? You only have until Wednesday to download either or both audiobooks, then you can listen as long as you keep them on your electronic device.

Ready, set, read — with your ears!

CD cover of Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford read by Nick Podehl published by Brilliance AudioCarter Finally Gets It
By Brent Crawford
Read by Nick Podehl
Published by Brilliance Audio

 

 

 

CD cover of She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith read by full cast at LA Theatre WorksShe Stoops to Conquer
By Oliver Goldsmith
Read by Rosalind Ayres, Adam Godley, Julian Holloway, James Marsters, Christopher Neame, Paula Jane Newman, Ian Ogilvy, Moira Quirk, Darren Richardson, Joanne Whalley, Matthew Wolf
Published by L.A. Theatre Works
Two different comedies, two different settings, just too funny!
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Maid of Secrets, by Jennifer McGowan (book review) – spying for the Queen, perilous times

Jul3

book cover of Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan published by Simon and SchusterWorld Wednesday takes us to the early days of Queen Elizabeth I’s court amid intrigue and international turmoil.

Her Majesty is protected quite visibly by her trusted royal guards and oh-so-secretly by 5 young maids-in-waiting chosen by her for their very special talents.

Read an excerpt here to meet Meg during her pickpocketing days with the theater troupe, before the Queen’s spymaster makes her an offer she cannot refuse.

Get this first book in the Maids of Honor series today at your local library or independent bookstore, and follow Meg’s journey from sticky-fingered orphan to secret-storing spy.

Jennifer says she’s working on Maid of Deception  now, so we’ll read more about the lovely and cunning Beatrice next.

What royal secret would you most like to know?
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Book info:  Maid of Secrets / Jennifer McGowan.  Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Arrested by the Queen’s men for pickpocketing, Meg has a choice: die or become a spy! Queen Elizabeth’s most-special Maids of Honor must solve a murder before danger reaches Her Majesty – and must ignore love they can never have.

Her ear for dialogue and quick memorizing served Meg well as she traveled with the theater troupe. Now she’ll become a listener without seeming to listen, approaching her assigned target as a mere lady-in-waiting. But first she must learn a well-bred lady’s manners, plus spycraft skills like silent strangulation and reading.

The young ladies hand-picked as spies by the Queen herself have been training together for several months: Jane, a Welsh girl with masterful knife skills; Sophia, who has visions and reads portents; Beatrice, whose beauty bewitches any man to do her bidding; and Anna, who knows many languages. Meg is replacing Maria, who was brutally murdered because someone in Windsor Castle knew she was a spy.

Now the Spanish ambassador and his courtiers are arriving, and for all their elaborate speeches, they do not wish Her Majesty well. It’s up to Meg to hear their private conversations and report them back verbatim to Sir William – and to report treachery anywhere in the court directly to the Queen alone, at her express command.

Dancing and flirting, listening for conversations in Spanish and storing them perfectly in her memory, trying not to make an obvious social error in the palace (and to resist stealing anything), Meg is on edge during the ball and the days after. She finds handsome Rafe of the Spanish delegation distracting (he’s Beatrice’s assignment), then uncovers messages plotting to overthrow the Queen!

Can Meg and the Queen’s spymaster identify the traitor quickly and quietly?
Can she avoid Maria’s fate as she continues to listen in on Spanish courtiers?
Can she guard her own heart as Rafe begins to woo her?

In the earliest days of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, the safety of her royal person and the fate of the country may rest in the hands of these five Maids of Honor in Her Majesty’s secret service.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Raising the dead with free SYNC audiobooks!

Jun29

This week’s free audiobooks from SYNC are deadly delights, as we hear tales of a grave-robber and a mad scientist…

Remember that although each download is only available from Thursday through Wednesday, you have free use of the audiobooks for as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device

We have several more weeks of full-length audiobooks to look forward to this summer. Have you bookmarked the SYNC site yet?  http://www.audiobooksync.com/
 
CD audiobook cover of Rotters by Daniel Kraus read by Kirby Heyborne published by Listening LibraryRotters
By Daniel Kraus
Read by Kirby Heyborne
Published by Listening Library

 

 

FrankensteinCD cover of audiobook Frankenstein by Mary Shelley read by Jim Weiss published by Listening Library
By Mary Shelley
Read by Jim Weiss
Published by Listening Library

Do you dare listen to these creepy tales before bedtime?
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