Tag Archive | love

Seriously Wicked, by Tina Connolly (book review) – avoid witchcraft or save a friend?

May5

book cover of Seriously Wicked by Tina Connolly published by Tor TeenDragon in the RV shed,
former friend denying nose surgery,
homework in spellcasting and algebra…

Camellia has never been happy living with her “aunt” who keeps insisting that the teen can learn to cast spells. The weird ingredients that Cam must acquire are annoying and embarrassing, too.

Now the whole town is in danger because of the demon summoned by the witch!

Happy book birthday to this Tor Teen title – misunderstood teens of the world, unite!

Any strange relative stories to share?
**kmm

Book info: Seriously Wicked / Tina Connolly. Tor Teen, 2015.   [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: When her aunt summons a demon for political purposes, Camellia defies the witch’s demands for help until the demon takes over a classmate’s body and threatens their town.

If Sarmine would just accept that Cam isn’t a witch and doesn’t need to learn spells, the sophomore might have a social life, but mucking out the dragon’s barn and not flunking algebra get priority right now.

The auras that best friend Jenah claims to see aren’t as dazzling as the idea of hanging out with new guy Devon and his boy-band music – much better than going to the Halloween dance with robotic Kelvin (the favors she trades to get rare ingredients for the witch… ugh)

A slight error in summoning Estahoth allows the demon to inhabit Devon’s body; without full demon-power, the witch cannot control the upcoming rebirth of the phoenix hidden in their town!

Can Cam locate the phoenix before it arises?
Why won’t Sarmine just let her be a teenager?
What will the devious demon do while Devon is trapped in his own mind?

Power, goat’s blood, and root beer – Camellia’s October just got even weirder than usual as her Seriously Wicked  witch aunt sends spells flying.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

William Shakespeare’s The Phantom of Menace, by Ian Doertcher (book review) – May the Force be with thee!

May4

book cover of William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace by Ian Doescher published by Quirk BooksKnights Jedi guard while evil Sith draw near,
Out in that “galaxy – far, far away.”
As beings fight for homeworld held so dear
Can heroes rise ‘gainst Federation’s sway?

Villains squeeze the planet of Naboo,
Whose patriots do try, do fight, do die.
When Gungan Jar-Jar offers his aid, too,
Queen Amidala finds a strong ally.

Seek out this so-readable retelling of Star Wars: Episode One at your local library or independent bookstore – ’twas published mere weeks ago.

Why speak just now of this most-worthy tome,
Why note it not upon its natal day?
Mark well today’s harmonious date, kind one,
And may the Force be with us all, I pray!
**kmm

post scriptum – Verily I say, forthcoming and much-anticipated are part two The Clone Army Attacketh  in July 2015 and part three Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge  in September 2015.

post-post scriptum – Mine thoughts on earlier-released parts of this series? Look ye here: William Shakespeare’s Star Wars  (part 4), The Empire Striketh Back  (part 5), and The Jedi Doth Return  (part 6).

Book info: William Shakespeare’s The Phantom of Menace (Star Wars, Part the First) / Ian Doescher. Quirk Books, 2015.   [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: In the very style of Shakespeare comes this peril-laden tale of Star Wars’ early days as The Phantom of Menace  relays the fall of the Republic, the rise of Anakin, and much swordplay, speeder racing, and treachery.

R2-D2’s bleeps and boops become clear through the droid’s asides, and finally, Jar-Jar Binks’ pidgin and pratfalls are nearly tolerable, as Doescher reveals Jar-Jar’s hidden political agenda of uniting Naboo’s humans and Gungans, using trenchant inner dialogue:

“Such thoughts as these were reprehensible
To all the bosses; thus my banishment.
Yet this is not the story I’ll relate.
[to Obi-Wan:] O issa longa tale you seeuh” (p. 31)

The young queen’s masquerade as her own maid, the fortuitious finding of Anakin Skywalker and arguments among the Jedi about training him (Yoda speaks in haiku), romance cut short, and enemies growing stronger – it’s all here.

While awaiting the newest Star Wars movie, refresh your memories of the history leading to it – The Phantom of Menace  will soon be followed by The Clone Army Attacketh  (part 2) and Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge  (part 3), while William Shakespeare’s Star Wars  (part 4), The Empire Striketh Back  (part 5), and The Jedi Doth Return  (part 6) are available now.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Z for Zach in Fire Sermon, by Francesca Haig (book review) – her twin, her enemy

Apr30

book cover of The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig published by Gallery BooksBorn together, yet separated forever,
always one perfect and one flawed –
when one twin dies, so does the other.

Centuries have reduced radiation levels, but now every human pregnancy bears twins – one perfect, one deformed. Alphas have all power, outcast Omegas have none, no one has the power to stay alive when their twin dies!

Cass can control neither her visions nor her brother’s lust for power, but she still seeks a place where his captive seer cannot peer into her mind, where Alphas and Omegas can coexist.

First in a series, The Fire Sermon of nuclear holocaust seared technology’s dangers into the souls of survivors and a convenient blindness to justice into the genes of their descendants.

If your life-thread were entwined forever with that of someone you despised, how careful would you be?
**kmm

Book info: The Fire Sermon (Fire Sermon, book 1) / Francesca Haig. Gallery Books, 2015.  [author’s Twitter]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Four hundred years after the Blast, a young seer wishes that her life-link could carry these visions of tragedy into her twin’s brain to stop his power-grab that will shatter their society forever.

Hiding her visions kept Cass with her Alpha twin brother into their teens, but now powerful Zach uses another seer to probe her mind about the Island where the Omega resistance is said to hide.

Mutated Omegas cast out as tots are being herded into refuges so they can keep their perfect Alpha fraternal twins alive. But how can that work when every birth is an Alpha-Omega pair and every injury to one twin is experienced by the other?

As she escapes from the Alpha prison, Cass locates the tanks seen in her visions with a young man alive and aware inside one! They head to the coast, to the possibility of the Island, to a chance that the young Omega can find his missing memories.

In this world, every death is doubled – is Cass the only one who mourns both?
Omegas and Alphas living as equals – does anyone besides Cass imagine this?

First in a series, this debut novel of power and balance asks if the lessons taught by The Fire Sermon  that nearly destroyed civilization have been forgotten. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

X is eXactly, as in Me Being Me Is Exactly As Insane As You Being You, by Todd Hasak-Lowy (book review)

Apr28

book cover of Me Being Me is Exactly as Insane as You Being You by Todd Hasak-Lowy published by Simon Pulse1. Parents shouldn’t change
2. Friends shouldn’t move
3. Lists should make it easier to cope
4. Really, they should help…

Darren’s life seems so out-of-his-hands right now, after the divorce and Dad’s lifestyle change and Nick being at college.

He copes by making lists, and skipping school with amazing artist Zoey to visit Nick, and making lists, and wondering where Zoey has gone…

Just published last week, Me Being Me is Exactly as Insane as You Being You  lets Darren tell his story in his own way.

What have you done to keep things under control during an extremely hectic time?
**kmm

Book info: Me Being Me is Exactly as Insane as You Being You / Todd Hasak-Lowy. Simon Pulse, 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Making lists and enduring all the changes in his life leaves Darren enough energy to skip school (just once), get in trouble at brother’s university (just once), and have two girlfriends at the same time (just once), but the high school junior is still trying to figure things out – in lists.

After Dad and Mom divorced, they both were different – Darren’s not sure he likes either change, but what can he do? Making lists helps.

Names that he’d rather have, reasons that he can’t drive yet, ways to convince Zoey to take him to see Nate at college – lists are good.

But somehow, all the lists haven’t made it easier to tell a girl at band camp that he’s sort of dating Zoey or know why Mom suddenly needs to have Shabbat dinner every Friday or figure out what to tell Dad’s analyst…

Is visiting Dad’s new place going to be okay?
Where has Zoey suddenly gone?
Will anything be back to normal by his 16th birthday? (c’mon, universe!)

This Chicago teen tells his story in lists, but who knows what the last entry will be.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

W for Walrath writing Like Water On Stone (book review) – can siblings survive Armenian holocaust?

Apr27

book cover of Like Water On Stone by Dana Walrath published by Delacorte PressTied to the land, torn out by the roots,
Furrows running red, victors write the history books.
Holocaust… in Armenia?

Some Christian families fled their Armenian villages when Turkish troops ransacked their homes looking for weapons in 1915.

But Papa stayed put, believing that his Muslim neighbors will remain his friends.

Papa was wrong.

Hear the long-silent voices of the Donabedian family, speaking for all Armenian Genocide victims, as their wonderings, laments, and wishes lyrically weave through this novel-in-verse where an eagle soars from the Palu village sky through the mountains above the youngest ones as they try to find safety.

Did you know about this holocaust – which marked its 100th anniversary last week – before now?
**kmm

Book info: Like Water On Stone / Dana Walrath. Delacorte Press, 2014, paperback 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [video author interview] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Twin brother and sister disagree often, but when Ottoman troops attack their Armenian village, the teens follow their parents’ orders and flee over the mountains with their little sister, away from the slaughter, watched over by an eagle whose quill made music in Papa’s hands in this many-voiced verse-novel.

Shahen longs to attend school in America with his uncle; his twin sister Sosi wants to stay always in their village. Papa counts Muslims and Christians as friends, teaches Shahen to play the oud with an eagle quill. Mama shows Sosi the cooking secrets, the best ways to weave.

In 1915, soldiers arrive in Palu, searching Christian homes for guns, taking away young men, and the killing begins. Mama dresses beardless Shahen as a girl, sends him with Sosa and so-small Miriam up the mountain trail before bravely returning home.

As Ardziv the eagle watches from the sky, the young ones hide and climb and grow hungry…

Can they survive to reach a place of safety?
Will they ever be able to contact Uncle in New York?
How can lifelong neighbors turn into enemies overnight?

This novel-in-verse hauntingly revisits a little-discussed historical event and the terrors experienced by Armenians of all ages when the Ottoman Empire decided that their land and their lives were forfeit during World War I.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

S is Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli (book review) – secret admirer? too many options!

Apr22

book cover of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli published by Balzer + BrayA secret correspondent,
in this age of tell-all social media?
Too romantic for words!
But who can it be?

Hard to blame Simon for wanting to keep all drama in theater class, but he knows that mysterious “BlueGreen” of flirtatious e-mails is a guy at his school and really, really wants to meet in person.

That is, if he can keep his best friends from exploding at each other and outwit a blackmailing classmate who wants to out him before he’s ready.

This early-April release should be in your local library or independent bookstore – if not, ask for it!

Simon says the ‘homo sapiens agenda’ is that straight and white are the norm options, but he believes there should be no default setting for a human being! What do you think?
**kmm

Book info: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda / Becky Albertalli. Balzer+Bray, 2015. [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher via Edelweiss.

My book talk: Simon has a bit part in the play, but when a classmate threatens to publish his flirty emails with an anonymous guy at school, the Georgia teen must decide whether to step up to protect the sweetest guy he’s never met or set up his best friend Abby on the most awkward date ever.

As ‘Jacques’ he shares favorite music and deepest dreams with ‘Blue’ but they haven’t met in person. No one will probably care when Simon comes out publicly, but Blue hasn’t come out either, so letting nerdy Marty put their relationship on Creekwood High’s gossip tumblr isn’t the junior’s decision to make.

Best friend Abby has a huge crush on best friend Nick (who is completely oblivious), Blue wants to keep his growing relationship with Simon as email-only, and Oliver Twist rehearsals are getting strange as Marty always tries talking to Abby and Simon wonders who, who, WHO is Blue?

As hints about their true identities creep into their emails (Blue is Jewish, Jacques has two sisters), the guys discuss coming-out to their families, music to dream of the future by, and whether they should stay forever unknown to each other.

Wait, not ever get together in person?
Is this a love story or a tragedy? Simon sighs… (One of 7,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

R for road trip Finding Paris, by Joy Preble (book review) – big sis gone? little sis searches!

Apr21

book cover of Finding Paris by Joy Preble published by Balzer + BrayA scavenger hunt!
In Las Vegas!
For sister who doesn’t want to be found…

It’s always been just-younger Leonora who’s watched over Paris as their mother’s rapid job turnover so often let the sisters loose wherever they lived.

Now Paris has set Leo on a scavenger hunt to find her – seems more like a wild-goose chase – and is promising to take care of Leo??

Happy book birthday to Finding Paris! (yes, most US books/movies/music are published on Tuesdays)

Ever have a scavenger hunt that was just perfect? Share, please!
**kmm

Book info: Finding Paris / Joy Preble.  Balzer + Bray, 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: When artsy Paris disappears, the clues she leaves for little sister Leonora send the high school junior all over Las Vegas and beyond, accompanied by cute Max she met at the diner and a growing sense of dread.

Moving from Santa Monica to Las Vegas was Mom’s idea, sure that marrying so-so gambler Tommy would stabilize their lives.

Leonora just saves her money from work, studies for SAT, and counts down until she can leave for college, med school some day. Big sister Paris creates found art, fascinating jewelry, would do anything for Leo.

Then Paris abandons Leo at an all-night diner and sends her on a scavenger hunt. Max has time before work to help Leo find her sister, so they follow clues all over Las Vegas.

The clues get frantic – what trouble is Paris escaping from?
A road trip? That far? Will Max really help?
Something important has been taken from Leo – can she get it back?

Love and loyalty are tested as secrets peel away and the miles add up.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Q is questions about Things We Know By Heart, by Jessi Kirby (book review) – his heart in another body

Apr20

book cover of Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby published by HarperTeenHis organs saved five lives,
Four meetings, four grateful recipients,
But where is his heart?
Hers has stopped until she knows…

Quinn knows the rules against directly contacting those who received her boyfriend’s organs after his death, but until she sees for herself that the ‘age 19 California male’ who got Trent’s heart really made it, she will have no peace.

Things We Know By Heart will be published tomorrow, April 21, and should fly off the shelves, just as Jessi’s previous books have done. Click on a title to read my no-spoiler recommendations of Moonglass, In Honor, and Golden to meet other teens experiencing love, loss, and the difficulties of trying to move on.

Up to 8 lives can be saved by a single donor. Have you talked with your family about your organ donation wishes?
**kmm

Book info: Things We Know By Heart / Jessi Kirby. Harper Teen, 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher via Edelweiss /Abovethetreeline.

My book talk: Quinn has ghosted through the 400 days since Trent died, meeting 4 of the people whose lives changed when they received her boyfriend’s organs, but the California teen can’t move on until she sees that the guy who got his heart is really okay.

She misses everything about Trent, sleepwalked through her senior year without him, waits for the heart recipient to acknowledge the letter that she and his mom wrote. Hearing nothing, she scours the internet for transplants done in her area for male, age 19 – and discovers that Colton lives in a beach town nearby, his sister blogging his decline, surgery, and recovery.

Determined that merely glimpsing Colton alive and well will ease her mind (no matter the organ donation rules against seeking him out), Quinn drives to Shelter Cove and runs into Colton – literally!

When he asks her to kayak with him, to revisit favorite places that he missed when he was not able to travel, all Quinn can do is agree. During that magical summer, he never brings up his heart surgery or the anti-rejection drugs he must take like clockwork, and she never finds the right time to tell him why she came to Shelter Cove in the first place.

What will Colt say about the connection between his new heart and Quinn?
Does moving on mean forgetting her first love?

Every chapter begins with quotations about the heart – philosophical, medical, romantic – as Quinn struggles to be true to herself and to Trent’s memory without drowning in the past. (One of 7,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

N for Nightbird, by Alice Hoffman (book review) – secrets, community, threat?

Apr16

book cover of Nightbird by Alice Hoffman published by Wendy Lamb BookxA family curse,
the lure of night and flight,
secrets kept and truths discovered…

Nightbird was published just this week; you can read chapter one here for free.

Hoffman’s magical realism shines here as it does in her Green Angel (my review) and Green Witch (my review), asking questions about love and curses and understanding.

And the wonderful Pink Apple Pie that Twig’s mother bakes? The author kindly provides a recipe here for those of us whose apple trees were not planted by Johnny Appleseed himself!

Should we hide what others might not understand about us?
**kmm

Book info: Nightbird / Alice Hoffman. Wendy Lamb Books, 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [author video] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: As her day-hidden brother soars nightly over their small New England town to taste freedom, thirteen-year-old Twig wishes for friendship, little realizing that the witch’s curse on their family may link both their dreams.

The finest apple pie baker ever, her mother retreated from New York City to the family apple farm when Twig’s father left them, hiding James in the attic where his wings wouldn’t remind the folks of Sidwell about the curse on the Fowler family.

Twig is delighted when teen sisters Julia and Agate from the city move in next door, is devastated when townspeople seriously set to hunting the Sidwell Monster as James flies nightly, is determined to discover the truth about the generations-old curse that gave James his wings.

Will Twig’s mother ever feel safe in her own home town?
Who – or what – else roams the Montgomery Woods besides James?
Can love heal an ancient wrong?

Become a Nightbird  with James, delve into history and happiness with Twig and Julia, and find out why this charming town has a sudden grafitti problem in this magical tale. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

J is Juliette and Abram in Finding Mr. Brightside, by Jay Clark (book review) – death, drugs & dog hair

Apr11

book cover of Finding Mr Brightside by Jay Clark published by Henry Holt Books for Young ReadersTheir parents had an affair and died together.
They really don’t talk to each other.
But sometimes, accepting an invitation really is the way to move on…

Juliette’s mom got her hooked on Adderall before the accident, Abram is zonked out on Paxil to get over his dad’s betrayal, both plan to help the other get off the meds – neither plans to fall in love.

Cue up the author’s “while I wrote this book” playlist, weigh the merits of Taco Bell vs. Orville Redenbacher popcorn, and enjoy Juliette and Abram learning more about themselves and one another while they’re Finding Mr. Brightside.

Can you still love your parents once you realize they’re just human?
**kmm

Book info: Finding Mr. Brightside / Jay Clark.  Christy Ottaviano Books-Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: A year after the accident, Juliette and Abram find themselves hanging out and possibly romantic – if they can just get past the affair that resulted in the death of his dad and her mom, the meds they take to deal with the grief, and the unhappiness of his mom and her dad seeing them together.

Being in the same school and Virginia subdivision, they’ve managed to ignore each other – brisk and efficient Juliette driven by Adderall and comfortably scruffy Abram so becalmed by Paxil that he doesn’t even play tennis anymore.

Trying to clear out their deceased parents’ clothes doesn’t really work, a road trip to his family’s rarely-used beach house in South Carolina gets strange, and maybe Juliette’s dad will finish his novel after 20 years… nah.

Moving from emotionally numb to finishing up their senior year with a wee bit of enthusiasm, Juliette and Abram tell their story in alternating chapters with growing affection, dog hair, and much popcorn.   (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)