Tag Archive | fathers

She’s no saguaro – Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, by Dusti_Bowling (book review)

Sep7

book cover of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, by Dusti Bowling. Published by Sterling Children's Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com Arm count = zero,
Nose for mysteries and secrets = keen,
Sense of humor = boundless!

Moving to a new school can be nerve-wracking, especially in junior high when you don’t know anyone and you don’t have any arms to wave hello or shake hands… but Aven will carry on regardless of the stares.

Just released this week, Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus showcases Aven’s curiosity, self-sufficient attitude (thanks to her parents), and witty storytelling as she leaps (or tiptoes) into new situations in her new town and school.

How do you treat new folks who are different from you?
**kmm

Book info: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus / Dusti Bowling. Sterling Children’s Books, 2017. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Moving across the country, 13-year-old Aven wonders whether living in Arizona will be more difficult because she has such fair skin or because she has no arms.

Her adoptive parents have encouraged Aven to do everything for herself – button her jeans, brush her teeth, play the guitar – and she can.

Dad really needs a job, so off they go to Arizona where he and Mom will manage an Old West theme park, and Aven will start 8th grade without the longtime friends who are used to her crazy stories about where her arms went, knowing she was born that way.

Eating with her feet (of course she washes them first!) in front of new kids? Yikes! Better after meeting Connor, who never eats in front of anyone because of his Tourette’s tics, and Zion, who eats by himself so kids don’t tease him about being big.

Uncovering the mystery of the missing Cavanaugh photo and the secrets in the locked shed? Just takes persistence and clue-gathering by Aven, Connor, and Zion. And a crowbar. And the right key.

Making sure that Stagecoach Pass park stays open? She’ll have to think on that a while.

Ancient saguaro cacti that guard the hilltops near the park, tarantula photos on the ice cream parlor walls, upcoming soccer tryouts – interesting opportunities for Aven, whose blog posts shout and whisper the happy and challenging parts of her new life.

Words, gestures – All Rights Reserved… or pay! by Gregory Scott Katsoulis (book review)

Sep2

book cover of All Rights Reserved by Gregory Scott Katsoulis published by Harlequin Teen | recommended on BooksYALove.com Every word is copyrighted = $$.
Each gesture and sigh is trademarked = $$
At age 15, the free ride is over…

Speth decides the ad-filled speech she must (contractually) read aloud the moment that she turns 15 is too much to bear, so she zips her mouth shut and triggers an unplanned revolution.

By saying not one syllable, day after day, she risks her siblings’ safety, as well as her own, in this future where lawyers and lawsuits rule the domed city.

Ask for this week’s new release at your local library or independent bookstore – and read your favorite passages aloud, while you can still afford it…

How could we afford to not say “I love you” to family?
**kmm

Book info: All Rights Reserved / Gregory Scott Katsoulis. Harlequin Teen, 2017.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: If she doesn’t speak, then Speth won’t add to her family’s debt, but the 15 year old’s silence is copied by other teens coming of age and deemed defiance by officials in this future where even a sigh is tradmarked and must be paid for.

A fee for every gesture (patented, of course), money charged for every word (all copyrighted) – of course, the poor slide deeper into debt and are taken away to pollinate crops in this bee-less world where Lawyers rule and the Cuff worn by all records every single syllable and shrug.

Speth had hoped that her Last Day speech would earn some product endorsement to supplement what older sister Saretha earned after their parents were Collected from them, but watching friend Beecher commit suicide rather than slave his life away to pay his family’s copyright-debt shocks her – into silence.

Can Speth and Saretha keep little brother Sam safe as their debt rises and rises?
Will she accidentally speak and void her Last Day speech contract?
How do the secretive Product Placers move so swiftly in the city dome?

And hidden in powerful lawyer Rog’s towering high-rise is a book, the book that can free them all…

Isn’t family The Whole Thing Together, really? by Ann Brashares (book review)

Aug31

book cover of The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares published by Delacorte | recommended on BooksYALove.comHis mom, her dad,
Once a couple, now a feud,
Sharing their divisions…

Imagine knowing (about) someone for your entire childhood and never meeting, ever! “Shared custody” of a beloved vacation home means that Ray (Mom’s kid) and Sasha (Dad’s kid) often see their half-sisters (kids of Mom & Dad), but have never laid eyes on one another till this summer, this fateful summer…

Ask for The Whole Thing Together at your local library or independent bookstore – hardcover or audiobook – and see how Sasha and Ray learn to interact with each other during dire family troubles.

Stepfamily and shared sibling stories?
**kmm

Book info: The Whole Thing Together / Ann Brashares. Delacorte Press, 2017. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: As later-born children of divorced and remarried parents with joint ownership of a Long Island beach house, Sasha and Ray have never met one another, despite years of alternately sharing a bedroom there, until the summer before their senior year when a crisis with their half-sisters brings their family together.

Why does Ray dream at the beach house and have nightmares back in the city?
Can he and Sasha really hold the same job on alternating weeks of summer (half-sister Mattie’s idea)?
What secret has Emma unearthed about her ever-feuding parents, Ray’s mom and Sasha’s dad?

This band of siblings must work out how love can keep going when family stories collide with facts, parental bonds are stretched again, and their futures are no longer boringly predictable.

Survive his own Bloodline of violence? by Joe Jimenez (book review)

Aug26

cover of Bloodline by Joe Jimenez published by Arte Publico Press | recommended on BooksYALove.comOphelia wants him to stop fighting at school,
Uncle wants him to start really fighting, for money –
Hope and despair are always fighting within him…

Ask for this powerful #ownvoices story at your local library or independent bookstore as Abram thinks lyrically of his embattled present while trying to avoid remembering his family’s past or dreaming too much about a future beyond it.

Can we fight destiny, our DNA, our desires?
**kmm

Book info: Bloodline / Joe Jimenez. Pinata Books/Arte Publico Press, 2016.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Calls to fight ring louder than any teacher’s voice, as 17-year-old Abram struggles to be worthy of Ophelia’s love, to live beyond his family history, to make it past junior year.

“Not all boys need fathers. Better to have no man around than to have a bad one, don’t you think?” says Becky (p.2)- so why did his grandmother invite Uncle Claudio, her son with the long police record, back into their lives again, despite her girlfriend’s advice?

“Be a man!” – what does that mean in their worn-down San Antonio neighborhood? In the dank boxing gym with Uncle? In the world?

“Blood is thicker…” – will Ophelia know if Afghanistan swallows her deployed mother? Is Abram doomed by his parents’ DNA?

Abram forcibly remains in the present moment, as his past brings overwhelming fears and the future beyond tomorrow is too hazy to see, as the cold November rains pelt down and days grow shorter, so much shorter.

They need pollution-escape, WANT a better life, by Cindy Pon (book review)

Aug19

book cover of Want by Cindy Pon published by Simon Pulse | recommended on BooksYALove.comPollution haze blankets future Taipei,
Rich wear super-filter-suits,
Have-nots just die – why must they?

No brakes on corporate villainy, no chance of escaping poverty, no wonder Zhou’s assembled-family of friends will risk everything to take down Jin Corporation (even his heart…).

Read the beginning of Want here, courtesy of the publisher, then go to your local library or independent bookstore for this June 2017 release.

Earlier this month in Long Beach, Cindy told me that she is working on the sequel!

What are you doing to make the world better for all?
**kmm

Book info: Want (Want. book 1) / Cindy Pon. Simon Pulse, 2017. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: To be in Taiwan now means blue sky is ancient history and humanity is one virus away from disaster.
To be ‘mei’ – a have-not – means dying early from pollution and preventable diseases.
To be ‘you’ – privileged, rich – means life-protecting suits, luxury, and ease.

The ransom money will pay for the tech that ‘mei’ Zhou and friends need to infiltrate and destroy the corrupt Jin Corporation.
The sleep-spell drug will ensure that ‘you’ Daiyu will forget that Zhou kidnapped her, brought her to his garden hideout.
Then Zhou masquerading as ‘you’ Jason must pretend that he and Daiyu have never met, ignore their growing attraction, get what he needs to blow apart her father’s suit-technology empire.

Everyone in Jason’s team has lost loved ones due to Jin’s greed which keeps pollution levels high and the cost of life-saving drugs even higher.
All are willing to risk death to give the ‘mei’ majority opportunities for a better life.
Just one chance for 18 year old Jason to get past the best tech in the world, just one…

Fly away – with free audiobooks!

Jul27

Earthbound worries are minor, compared to the faraway plights and plots in this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC!

Choose either or both of these complete audiobooks during their free download time (Thursday through Wednesday, 27 July-2 Aug 2017), by clicking the link after the title. Listen whenever you wish, as long as you download during the stated time and keep them on your computer or electronic device.

Away to other times, other worlds, as you read with your ears!

CD cover of Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott | Read by Amy Rubinate Published by Brilliance Audio recommended on BooksYALove.comShadows on the Moon
(download here free 27 July- 2 August 2017)
by Zoe Marriott
Read by Amy Rubinate
Published by Brilliance Audio

As shadow weaver, Suzume’s identity changes with each illusion she crafts. Will who she truly is (and who she really loves) interfere with her quest to ensnare the Moon Prince and avenge her family’s death caused by evil stepfather?

 
Airborn CD cover of Airborn by Kenneth Oppel | Read by David Kelly Published by Full Cast Audio |recommended on BooksYALove.com
(download here free 27 July- 2 August 2017)
by Kenneth Oppel
Read by David Kelly and full cast
Published by Full Cast Audio

Matt Cruse’s predictable life as cabin boy on a dirigible takes a dramatic turn when he rescues someone from a derelict balloon, starting a chain reaction of intrigue and danger.

Where would you fly to? And in what unbreakable disguise?
**kmm

Memories and expectations – listen in….

Jul6

This week’s free audiobooks from SYNC tell of memory and expectations, with teens with so much of their futures riding on now.

You can download each title pair (just click on the link below) from Thursday through Wednesday, then you can listen to them as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device.

Single-narrator audiobooks or full-cast productions with sound effects? This summertime @AudioSYNC free program lets to try many genres of books – for free!

CD cover of Remember to Forget by Ashley Royer | Read by Will Lasley Published by Blink | recommended on BooksYALove.comRemember to Forget
(download here free from 6-12 July 2017)
by Ashley Royer
Read by Will Lasley
Published by Blink

Sent to Dad’s house in Maine from Australia to shake his depression, Luke isn’t sure he wants to “get over” his girlfriend’s death or to talk again or to meet anybody (especially the girl who reminds him of someone…)
 
Rebuttal
(download here free from 6-12 July 2017)CD cover of Rebuttal by Jyotsna Hariharan | Read by Phoebe Strole, Michael Crouch, Nina Mehta, a Full Cast Published by HarperAudio | recommended on BooksYALove.com
by Jyotsna Hariharan
Read by Phoebe Strole, Michael Crouch, Nina Mehta, a Full Cast
Published by HarperAudio

A 2nd place at debate tournament gets Alex to her dream writer’s workshop, but she needs a debate partner. Passing AP Biology gets Jeremy closer to becoming a doctor (his parents’ dream), but he needs a tutor.  Helping each other will be easy, right?

Expectations can be a heavy burden – how do you cope?
**kmm

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How is videogame rehab a Cure for the Common Universe? by Christian McKay Heidicker (book review)

Jun25

book cover of Cure for the Common Universe by Christian McKay Heidicker published by Simon Schuster BFYR | recommended on BooksYALove.com Plays videogames more hours than any full-time job,
Sees sunlight on alternate Thursdays (maybe),
Why would they send him to game-addiction rehab?

And just minutes after Jaxon meets a real, breathing teen girl who agrees to go out with him! Quick – how can he level up and prove that he’s cured and get to that date?!

Read an excerpt here, courtesy of the publisher, then go find your own Cure for the Common Universe at a local library or independent bookstore – just out in paperback this month!

What’ll they throw you into rehab for??
**kmm

Book info: Cure for the Common Universe / Christian McKay Heidicker. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, hardcover 2016, paperback 2017. [author site] [publisher site] [author video] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Banished to a rehab center for videogame addicts, 16 year old Jaxon is desperate to escape in time for his first-ever date with a girl in the real world, but earning his way out could involve actually talking about being abandoned by Mom – no other way to level up?!

Not his fault that his parents divorced when he was just 8 or that his mom’s addictions always make her forget he’s coming to visit or that he is escaping from his stepmother’s perfectionism by living in the videogames that he so loved playing with Mom…

Hustled away to the desert rehab center, Jaxon meets teens who truly are videogame addicts (he isn’t, just likes playing them 60 hours a week in summer) and tries to figure out how he can get back to Salt Lake City in just four days so he can meet Serena (no cellphone, no FaceBook) for their date (first date, first girl who laughed with him instead of at him).

Doing chores earns points, doing dumb stuff loses points for you and your guild (yep, using different names and being in guilds is not like gaming at all – ha!).

Earn enough points, and you can go home from v-hab (again, not at all like gaming – ha!)

But no one in the whole two-month history of Horizons has earned their way out in just 4 days – and that’s what Jaxon has to do, if he wants to see Serena… (was any gaming reward worth this much??)

Soup, Aurora, Meeki, Zxzord, and Fezzik want to help their guildmate get to that golden date with Serena, but he’ll have to see beyond his own limitations first.

People aren’t only Saints and Misfits – some are monsters! by S.K. Ali (book review)

Jun24

book cover of Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali published by Salaam Reads | recommended on BooksYALove.comThe darkness is crushing her,
Attacker masquerading as righteous,
Why can’t anyone see it?

Janna can cope with being considered a nerd because she studies or different because she wears the hijab at public school, which her remarried dad says is “too religious”.

But when the guy who assaulted her keeps her in sight at every mosque activity and is welcomed at friends’ homes, her fear grows – and she doesn’t want to be afraid anymore!

This June 2017 debut novel would be better titled as Saints and Misfits and a Monster, as Janna’s attacker stalks her in plain sight of everyone who sees only his pious exterior.

How can you support someone in Janna’s situation?
**kmm

Book info: Saints and Misfits / S. K. Ali. Salaam Reads, 2017. [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Mom is the only divorcee at the mosque, brother Muhammad is is taking a year off from college, and Dad cannot understand why Janna wears the hijab – this school year cannot end fast enough for the Illinois teen who loves her friends greatly and is being stalked mercilessly.

Pleasant things: elder-sitting Mr. Ram with his poetic mind, laughing at Nuah’s jokes, daydreaming about cute Jeremy who’s in no school cliques, re-reading Flannery O’Connor.

Less-pleasant: explaining at school that she’s fine wearing hijab on hot days, her BFF’s continued cluelessness about how Janna absolutely cannot date, competing on Islamic Quiz Bowl team (tricked into it!), chaperoning Muhammad and Sarah as they begin spending time together (Saint Sarah as future sister-in-law?!)

Most unpleasant: watching popular kids bully people who are a little different, trying to avoid Farooq of the so-pious Noor family, finding photos online of herself with uncovered hair and tagged with her name!

What’s worse – having a crush on a non-Muslim boy or memories of a ‘pious’ Muslim boy’s assault crushing her?

The imam’s answers to emailed questions are both witty and wise – will Janna take the advice given by her uncle as she edits it for the mosque’s website?

Farooq seems to be everywhere, all the time – will she ever be able to forget what he did to her?

Sometimes saints aren’t so good and the not-good-enough are better than their detractors – it’s up to Janna to decide where the lines are drawn in her own life.

Must get to Dragon’s Green! by Scarlett Thomas (book review)

Jun18

book cover of Dragon's Green by Scarlett Thomas published by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers | recommended on BooksYALove.comGrandfather didn’t really teach her magic,
Dragons don’t really eat lovely young ladies,
Kids can’t really go to the Otherworld or Underworld…

These are just a few of the wrong, wrong, and very wrong things that “everyone knows” in Effie’s post-Worldquake England, with its throttled-down technology and disdain for magical arts.

Perhaps she and her friends from the Tusitala School for the Gifted, Troubled, and Strange can use the ring, spectacles, and other objects that Grandfather left to Effie in their search for answers that someone or something is trying to hide from them!

What kharakter in this alternate Worldquake universe are you?
**kmm

Book info: Dragon’s Green (Worldquake, book 1) / Scarlett Thomas. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017. [author site]  [publisher site]  [book series website] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Magical thinking and bravery may help Effie and her school friends outwit the man who stole her grandfather’s magical library, but only the eleven-year-old herself can use his ring to travel to the Otherworld and solve the mystery of Dragon’s Green (and save the world).

Ever since the Worldquake five years ago disrupted the internets and made technology erratic (and perhaps killed Effie’s mother), grandfather Griffin has kept to himself. Of course, Effie’s father and stepmother know that magic is not real (except that it is, and Griffin had begun teaching it to Effie before his demise).

Effie learns more about the unscrupulous man who claims that Griffin’s priceless ancient books belong to him and glimpses what their true powers might be, as she begins to make friends with classmates at her unusual school.

Why are Maximilian and Wolf suddenly brave against their tyrannical teachers?
Who in the Otherworld would willingly become a dragon’s favorite meal?
How can someone be the last reader of a book?

Effie, Lexy, Raven, Maximilian, and Wolf each have to master their gift from the small bag left by Griffin – without letting the magical item master them – if their Realworld is to remain safe from the darkness of the Underworld in this first book of the Worldquake series.