Tag Archive | writing

Writing Clementine, by Kate Gordon (book review) – journaling secrets, reader optional

Aug29

book cover of Writing Clementine by Kate Gordon, published by Allen & Unwin | BooksYALove.comWhen there’s nothing to write about
and you still have to write,
sometimes big truths appear…

Year 9 is tough on Clementine, with her best friends and family members growing away from her, until fascinating Fred arrives, dressed like a dandy from a bye-gone era, asking her to join his steampunk world and truly become the self she writes about in her philosophy class journal.

This Australian title arrives in the US on Sept. 1st , so your local library or local independent bookstore should be able to easily get it through Independent Publishers Group.

Several in-school personas in Writing Clementine  don’t match up with their leisure-time pursuits – what’s the most unusual public-private contrast you’ve seen?

**kmm

Book info: Writing Clementine / Kate Gordon. Allen & Unwin, 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Clementine feels left behind as family and friends change, so a new student’s invitation to role-play in a steampunk society lets the Tasmanian teen experience acceptance and romance that she never even dreamed about in her journal.

Her best friends demand that Clem grow up in a hurry, then they move on. Her brother’s been holed up in his room for a year, and she feels responsible. Her philosophy teacher requires daily journal writing, but won’t read or comment on it unless asked.

A new student moves to town, like a reviving breeze with his elegant clothes and intriguing smile. Fred is such a contrast to creepy Sam and the other boys at school!

When Fred introduces her to the Burnie Steampunk Society, Clem finds new friends as they pretend to live in Victorian times.

Can she ever accept that Fred likes her just as she is?
Why can’t she just fix what’s wrong for her beloved big brother?
What should she do about Sam’s unwanted attention?

Clementine faces choices, changes, and challenges during her first year of high school, as recounted in the pages of her philosophy class journal. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

It’s Teens’ Top Ten time – vote now!

Aug20

logo of YALSA's Teens' Top Ten book programA wonderful selection of recent fiction makes choosing just 3 titles from this year’s Teens’ Top Ten list difficult, but you can do it!

Of the 24 nominated books,  I’ve recommended several here on BooksYALove (remember, I look for the less-publicized great books). Click on the title to read my no-spoilers recommendation:

Since You’ve Been Gone,  by Morgan Matson

Kiss of Deception,  by Mary Pearson

The Winner’s Curse,  by Marie Rutkoski

The Geography of You and Me,  by Jennifer E. Smith

Voting is open until October 2015 and is limited to teens ages 12-18, so head to http://www.ala.org/yalsa/reads4teens/ when you’ve made your final selections. You can also see individual book trailers for each title on that YALSA page; plot summaries are here.

Here’s a video introducing all 24 nominees, so you can choose more great books to read before voting:

Read, share, discuss, vote – it’s your turn to choose!

**kmm

Flawd, by Emily-Anne Rigal (book review) – honest options for positive change

Aug18

book cover of Flawd by Emily-Anne Rigal published by PerigeeFlaws… we all have them.
Most people hate them.
How can you learn to live past them?

From bullied to bully to accepting herself, Emily-Anne found ways to get beyond bad life situations and into a better life framework, establishing WeStopHate.org so other teens could share their struggles and strategies for higher self-esteem.

Many “you can love yourself” books are just the same ol’ advice recycled, but Flawd‘s new ways to think and do things will help you gradually adjust your mental outlook to more-positive – and keep it there.

Happy book birthday to Flawd!

**kmm

Book info: Flawd: How to Stop Hating on Yourself, Others, and the Things That Make You Who You Are / Emily-Anne Rigal, with Jeanne Demers; illustrated by Jeanne Demers. Perigee Books, 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: When you stop spending mental energy hating your flaws or those of others, you can use it to change the world, love yourself, and make life better.

If you could magically erase your biggest flaw, then another shortcoming would start to bother you – so read Flawd  and learn how to:
See yourself as imperfectly imperfect,
Treat life as playfully as possible,
Think about what really matters,
Embrace all that makes you, you,
Understand influence and how to use it,
Know you can be part of a flawd and powerful transformation. (Flawd, pg. xviii)

Unlike many “we will fix you” self-help books, Flawd  recognizes that transformation is a continuing process using incremental changes in attitude and actions.

The author experienced extreme bullying as a teen, was a bully herself as backlash, and finally began choosing to accept her differences as strengths. Many of the insights shared by other teens on the WeStopHate.org website are included in this book as affirmations that the six Flawd principles can be positively life-changing.   (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

I Am Princess X, by Cherie Priest & Kali Ciesemier (book review) – missing friend, comix clues

Aug11

book cover of I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest, art by Kali Ciesemier, published by Arthur A Levine BooksTwo wreck victims, only one body in the car,
dreams of her best friend swimming to safety,
nightmares because she didn’t…

May knew in her gut that the fish-nibbled body found with Libby’s ID wasn’t her best friend, the other outsider who’d drawn Princess X to go with May’s stories from grade school onward.

Nightmares for 3 years, then a shiny new Princess X sticker shows up near their favorite coffee shop – you can start reading their story in a free excerpt.

Here’s the comic that sprang from the world that the two friends created in younger years, but it’s only part of this mystery/missing my best friend story.

Have you got the guts to search for the lost keys that could bring your friend back from wherever?
**kmm

Book info: I Am Princess X / Cherie Priest, art by Kali Ciesemier. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2015. [author site] [artist site] [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: New Princess X art is appearing after its artist was declared dead, so co-creator May is on the hunt, trying to find Libby using webcomic clues and neighbor dude’s tech skills before “The Needle Man” finds them!

Her best friend and comic co-creator supposedly died 3 years ago, but through her parents’ divorce and moving yet again, May still dreams that Libby escaped the sinking car. In Seattle with her dad for the summer, the teen is surprised to see Princess X stickers and graffiti in places where she and Libby hung out.

Sure that Libby is drawing Princess X again online, May asks tech whiz Patrick to help her uncover exactly who is behind the webcomic, but his research alerts a dangerous predator.

Is Libby truly alive and sending Princess X messages to May?
Can May and Patrick interpret and follow the clues in the comic?
Can they outrun “The Needle Man” before he kills again?

This novel about friendship blends with a graphic novel celebrating empowerment for a wholly satisfying story about trust, sacrifice, and persistence. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Every Last Word, by Tamara Ireland Stone (book review) – can poetry save your life?

Aug1

book cover of Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone published by Hyperion TeensDig and dig and dig to answer a question,
Swim to the right rhythm (always in lane 3),
Keep obsessions hidden from everyone, always…

Most folks toss around “OCD” for any neat-freak behavior, but Pure-O (Purely Obsessional) OCD isn’t that at all. Reading Sam’s tumblr gives glimpses into the teen’s life, worries, and soul-searching.

This strong book was published in June, so your local library or independent bookstore should have it for you now. Stone wrote it based a young woman that she knew, then fact-checked all behaviors and responses with mental health professionals to bring us a very true Sam.

Venture down the stairs, into the Poet’s Corner – will you bare your soul and share your thoughts with others?
**kmm

Book info: Every Last Word / Tamara Ireland Stone. Little Brown, 2015. [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.

My book talk: Sam keeps her obsessional OCD and her at-school persona separate until she is befriended by Caroline and dares to share in the hidden Poet’s Corner.

Her best friends are the Crazy Eights, the popular, snarky girls at their high school –  Samantha can never let them know about her obsession with 3s or the dark thoughts that careen through her head.

She could never tell the Eights about her new-found friendship with smart and unstylish Caroline or share with her therapist her growing attraction to the guitar-playing guy in the Poet’s Corner – why not?

As the poets share their deep feelings and funny reactions to life, Sam discovers her own voice and realizes that she’s grown away from the Crazy Eights – but will she be able to cope with the bullying that her long-time friends will surely unleash if she leaves them?

If only life at school were as simple as swimming to beat her best time in the summer…
If only she could control her obsessional thoughts and be normal…
If only she could glue all her worries onto a wall and leave them, as her new friends do when they paper the walls of the Poet’s Corner with their writings…

Friendship, romance, poetry, becoming your own self – Every Last Word  that Sam writes in her color-coded notebooks comes from her heart.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

We did it! Blogathon2015 is in the books

Jul1
clipart of Fireworks by rduris from OpenClipArt.org

Fireworks by rduris via https://openclipart.org/detail/167949/firework-ns

If you are reading this, that means that I conquered the Blogathon2015 challenge and posted every day in June! [cue the fireworks!]

And it means that I’m smackdab in the middle of the International Association of School Librarianship‘s annual conference. This year IASL2015 is in lovely Maastricht, Netherlands (near the borders of Belgium and Germany), so I hope to post pictures here soon.

It also means that I am leading a workshop today on IASL’s GiggleIT Project for global student writing through school libraries. If you know/are a librarian or teacher, check out this fun and free way for your students to share their personal knowledge and sense of humor with the world: GiggleIT Project.

See y’all soon, and thanks for enjoying Blogathon2015 along with me!
**kmm

Almost to the Blogathon 2015 finish line!

Jun30

FLX blogathon2015 logoI did it!

Blogathon2015 ends today!

Thirty posts in thirty days, despite technology problems (happens during every blog challenge), being away from home for half the month, and all the just plain crazy things that get in the way when there’s a deadline looming.

Thanks to the folks at Freelance Success for shepherding me and my blogging buddies through June!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming – but with a break, so I can enjoy the IASL2015 conference in Maastricht, Netherlands!

Thanks for visiting BooksYALove – grab a great book and read, read, read!
**kmm

Yawn! European Blogathonning….

Jun23

sketch of book on computer screen by boxfordlibrary on openclipart.orgIf all is going according to plan, I’ve made it to the Netherlands (with my luggage), found my B&B and the tour company office, and am headed for canal tour, foodie walking tour of the Jordaan district, and will be seeing windmills, wooden clogs, and cheese a-plenty this week…

If not, y’all really don’t want to hear from me!

Pictures if I get onto internet as planned – otherwise, you get this pre-arranged post.

Blogathonning from the Netherlands – I hope!

**kmm

Lois Lane: Fallout, by Gwenda Bond (book review) – Metropolis, new reporter, online dangers

Jun22

book cover of Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond published by Switch PressStay out of trouble,
don’t get involved…
when a friend is being bullied?
Yeah, right.

Lois Lane is a born investigator, and her Army dad’s latest move puts her into a virtual reality mystery at her newest school – yes, that Lois Lane and the Daily Planet  and an online-only friend who calls himself SmallvilleGuy.

Read the free prequel short stories here (look below the book cover on left), then head to your local library or independent bookstore to get Lois Lane: Fallout.

When have you stood up against bullying?
**kmm

Book info: Lois Lane: Fallout (Lois Lane, book 1) / Gwenda Bond. Switch Press/Capstone, 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Unnerved by the tech gang at her newest school, fledgling reporter Lois investigates its hush-hush ‘field trips’ and uncovers dangers that her online pal SmallvilleGuy and her Army general father can’t ignore.

She promised herself to fly under the radar at Metropolis High, but Lois can’t stand bullies. The Warheads move in unison, finish each other’s sentences, and work on a special virtual reality project off-campus. Now, they want to ‘assimilate’ computer whiz Anavi who feels them pressing on her mind.

Recruited by editor Perry White for the Daily Planet’s new teen reporting team, Lois investigates the Warheads, finding weird connections between the principal and a local research lab.

While new friends on the Scoop team back her up during her research, her online friend SmallvilleGuy (who is he, really?) warns Lois about ARL and its virtual reality plans.

Can Lois keep Anavi safe from The Warheads?
Are their minds truly connected?
Will she ever meet SmallvilleGuy outside the virtual reality game worlds?

A smart and subtle prequel to the Superman saga that we all know so well, Lois Lane: Fallout  balances high-tech gone wrong with friendship done right.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Blogging tools – accessibility edition

Jun15
clipart of eye with global map by cam morris at OpenClipart.org

“Eye Can See the World” by cam morris https://openclipart.org/detail/65845/eye-can-see-the-world

Interesting – check.
Timely – yes.
Understandable to everyone – maybe?

As a blogger or website owner, whether you just dash off a quick daily note or craft a series of longer posts, do you ever think about

…readers with visual impairments being able “see” your images?

…people with color-blindness easily navigating your blog?

To help you reduce potential barriers for your readership, check out some free assessment tools and adopt simple practices for your blog.

For every image, photo, or video on your page, include an alt-text description. This allows screen readers to say aloud what it is. For instance, I use book covers from publishers in almost every BooksYALove post, so I always include alt-text like “book cover of Cool Book by Great Author published by Fancy Publisher” – which also gets picked up by search engines.

Be sure to bookmark and refer to the checklists on the Website Accessibility Project’s site so that you can institute the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines recommended changes one at a time (and monitor how they affect your site for viewers). The very first one is providing text descriptions for non-text elements.

Read a brief background on color-blindness and web design here, then use some of the free online tools listed by Sitepoint here to check your site. Good color contrast when a website is greyscaled also helps older readers better distinguish things there.

Free and easy ways to help more people read what you’ve worked so hard to write!
What accessibility tips do you recommend?
**kmm