Tag Archive | memories

Hope endures – read for inspiration, with your ears!

Jun2

Time to download this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC so you can read with your ears!

Remember that although these complete audiobooks are only available from Thursday through Wednesday, you have free use of them as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device.

Bookmark the SYNC site now so you can download great audiobooks all summer long: http://www.audiobooksync.com/

CD cover of Boy Born Dead by David Ring, John Driver | Read by Paul Michael Published by christianaudio | recommended on BooksYALove.comThe Boy Born Dead: a Story of Friendship, Courage, and Triumph (download page)

by David Ring, John Driver
Read by Paul Michael
Published by christianaudio

Neglect at birth left David with cerebral palsy. Orphaned, he was rootless and abused in the foster care system until he was befriended in high school by another David who inspired him to complete his education, rise above his past, and become an international speaker to inspire countless others through ministry.

Words in the Dust (download page)

CD cover of Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy | Read by Ariana Delawari Published by Scholastic Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.comby Trent Reedy
Read by Ariana Delawari
Published by Scholastic Audio

In her Afghan village, young Zulaikha hopes and hopes – for a school, for cleft-palate surgery, for peace. God willing ‘Inshallah’  – her new friend will teach her, the arriving Americans will fix things, her stepmother will love her – but is hoping enough?

When has hope gotten you through the bad times?
**kmm

She sees way too much as Fly on the Wall, by e. lockhart (book review)

May28

book cover of Fly on the Wall by e lockhart published by Delacorte Press | recommended on BooksYALove.comBeing ordinary,
seeing differently,
transformed… into a fly?

After reading The Metamorphosis while longing for a guy, stressed-out Gretchen gets her wish to “be a fly on the wall” and hear what people are saying about her = she’s now a fly trapped in the boys’ locker room!

Take a peek at Gretchen’s life at Ma-Ha in this excerpt (free, courtesy of the author), then take the scenic route to your local library or favorite independent bookstore to see what she sees as a Fly On the Wall.

Would you want to hear what everyone says about you?
**kmm

Book info: Fly On the Wall / e. lockhart. Delacorte Press, 2007.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [60-second book recap video] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Feeling like a nonentity in her New York City arts high school, Gretchen agonizes over her comic-drawing skills (teacher is unimpressed), her mom’s demands during the divorce (throw away how much before we move? no, thank you), her best friend (getting distant), and her crush (he will never notice her, will he?) until she amazingly turns into a fly who can see and hear everything, especially what the boys are saying (and not wearing) in their locker room! Friendship, love, identity, dumplings, and Title IX protests – all in one fly-tastic story.

More than meets the eye – audiobook encounters

May26

Appearances mask the inner being all too well in this week’s free AudioSYNC novels.

Click the book title to go straight to the AudioSYNC download page for it, but hurry! This pair of free complete audiobooks will only available for download from Thursday through Wednesday (May 26 – June 2, 2016).

Once you’ve downloaded an AudioSYNC audiobook,  you can listen to it any time, as long as you have it on your computer or electronic device.

CD cover of Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone | Read by Amy Rubinate Published by Ideal Audiobooks | recommended on BooksYALove.comEvery Last Word
by Tamara Ireland Stone
Read by Amy Rubinate
Published by Ideal Audiobooks

Carefully hiding her OCD from her clique, Samantha is introduced to her school’s secret Poet’s Corner by quirky Caroline and discovers a new side of herself, a cute guitar player, and a major threat to her sanity.

I just LOVED this book, recommending it here last August!

Egg and Spoon CD cover of Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire | Read by Michael Page Published by Brilliance Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.com
by Gregory Maguire
Read by Michael Page
Published by Brilliance Audio

How does a wealthy family’s train journey to visit the Tsar intersect with a poor Russian family’s road to starvation, via the chicken-legged house of witch Baba Yaga?

People are not always (or often) the same on the inside as on the outside – listen and learn?
**kmm

Lois Lane: Double Down, by Gwenda Bond (book review) – crime, corruption, conspiracy!

May24

book cover of Lois Lane: Double Down by Gwenda Bond published by Switch Press | recommended on BooksYALove.comMobster-controlled doctor,
conspiracy theorist with a grudge,
just another day in Metropolis…

Yes, that Metropolis, where student reporter Lois Lane is tracking down city corruption, worrying about online pal (maybe more?) SmallvilleGuy, and trying to keep a low profile at school, while learning how this ‘being a friend’ thing works (Maddy has a twin?).

Second in the series, but if you haven’t read Lois Lane: Fallout (my no-spoilers recommendation here) you can still enjoy Double Down as backstory to the well-known Superman saga.

Any advice about friendship for moved-too-many-times-to-count Lois?
**kmm

Book info: Lois Lane: Double Down (Lois Lane, book 2) / Gwenda Bond.  Switch Press, 2016. [author site]  [publisher site]  [author interview video] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher; all opinions are my own.

My book talk: When Lois discovers her best friend’s twin in a perilous situation, the student reporter begins to unearth a diabolical doctor’s connection to Metropolis’ underworld while a conspiracy theorist online threatens her friend Smallville Guy.

It should have been a routine news story about a young mural artist, but Lois finds Maddy’s too-cool twin sister delirious and searching for a mysterious doctor in Dante’s slum neighborhood.

‘The Boss’ controls this slum, rumor says, along with much of Metropolis behind-the-scenes, so Lois’ nose for news is on the hunt – is the new mayor in his pocket?

Her online friend SmallvilleGuy is concerned about new predictions of ‘flying man’ sightings, as reported on their favorite discussion site – how could Insider01 really know?

Maddy and Melody say that the supposed ‘twin connection’ is just a myth – why is Melody seeing through someone else’s eyes now?!

This second installment of the Superman backstory as told from Lois Lane’s teen point of view is a race to uncover corruption in the city and save her friends’ sanity.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Gena/Finn, by Hannah Moskowitz & Kat Helgeson (book review) – friends in fandom

May21

book cover of Gena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz & Kat Helgeson published by Chronicle Books | recommended on BooksYALove.comA television show that they adore,
Creative juices flowing in words and art,
Completing the story arc, like their friendship completes them…

I heard authors Hannah (Not Otherwise Specified, which I love) and Kat last month at TxLA as they discussed fandoms, friendship, and writing this book together totally through chat and email – so good.

Ask for this April 2016 release at your local library or independent bookstore. And for more on real-life fandoms and cons (“Up Below” is a fictional TV show), look for Sam Maggs’ Fangirls’ Guide to the Galaxy  which I recommended here.

And it’s National Readathon Day, too!! Share what you’re reading today with hashtag #Readathon2016.

Fandom or obsession? Discuss.
**kmm

Book info: Gena/Finn / Hannah Moskowitz & Kat Helgeson. Chronicle Books, 2016.   [Hannah’s site]  [Kat’s site] [publisher site]  [authors’ video] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Brought together online by the fanfic and fanart that they create for a beloved TV show, two young women bond immediately and experience friendship’s highs and lows as other relationships falter.

Fanfic stories by Evie (short for Gena’s online name) that fill in the gaps in their favorite TV cop show inspire Finn (for Stephanie) to start drawing again. Sharing her art with Evie leads to numerous email and chat exchanges as recent college grad Finn and high school senior Evie find so much in common.

Big questions link into the backstory for their mutual admiration:

Should Finn really have followed boyfriend Charlie to California after college?
Is getting into an Ivy League school truly in Gena’s best interests?
Why won’t Gena stay in the room with cast members of “Up Below” when this fancon is the reason she and Finn traveled from opposite coasts to meet in person?

Told entirely in texts, chat windows, emails, fanfic, fanart, and journal entries, this coming of age story celebrates the passion of fandoms, the strength of women’s friendships, and the unlikelihood of completely outrunning one’s past.

 

Road trip tales – time to read with your ears!

May19

Time for a road trip? Tales of escape from and escape to are ready for you read with your ears with free audiobooks from SYNC!

If you download them before late night Wednesday (25 May 2016), you can listen to these complete audiobooks any time using your computer or electronic device.

Click on the title to get to its download site, or visit SYNC to see what’s available this summer week: http://www.audiobooksync.com/

CD audiobook cover of 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith | Read by Kirby Heyborne Published by Tantor Media | recommended on BooksYALove.com100 Sideways Miles
by Andrew Smith
Read by Kirby Heyborne
Published by Tantor Media

Measuring time as the distance that the earth travels during each minute, epileptic Finn longs to escape being just a character in his father’s epic SciFi novel, so a road trip with his best friend to find Finn’s lost love is in order.
This Boy’s LifeCD audiobook cover of by Tobias Wolff | Read by Oliver Wyman Published by HighBridge Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.com
by Tobias Wolff
Read by Oliver Wyman
Published by HighBridge Audio

In this memoir chronicling his mother’s continued flight from abusive relationships, Wolff puts a darkly comedic spin on his battles with the terrible men in her life during his teen years.

What road trip would you write about?
**kmm

How did we get here, humanity? Read more… with your ears!

May6

It’s finally time! Time to download this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC so you can read with your ears!

Each pair of complete audiobooks will be available from Thursday through Wednesday during their download week this summer. Then you have free use of them as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device.

Bookmark the SYNC site now so you can download great free audiobooks all summer long: http://www.audiobooksync.com/

CD cover of Great Tennessee Monkey Trial by Peter Goodchild published by LA Theater Works | recommended on BooksYALove.comThe Great Tennessee Monkey Trial

Did schools have the right to teach evolution? The Scopes Trial of 1925 is recreated in this full-cast docu-drama.

by Peter Goodchild

Read by Edward Asner, Bill Brochtrup, Matthew Patrick Davis, John de Lancie, James Gleason, Harry Groener, Jerry Hardin, Marnie Mosiman, Kenneth Alan Williams, Geoffrey Lower, Kyle Colerider-Krugh

CD cover of audiobook Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle, Published by Dreamscape Media | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Vivian Apple at the End of the World

Looking for the truth when her parents vanish after the Rapture moment predicted by their evangelical church, Vivian and friends begin a desperate road trip.

by Katie Coyle

Read by Julia Whelan

So how did we get here, and how might we depart?
**kmm

Unexpected Everything, by Morgan Matson (book review) – summer plans? poof, woof & wow!

May5

book cover of The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson published by Simon Schuster | recommended on BooksYALove.comShe’s got it all planned:
internship, great college, med school…
until step one is revoked!

Andie loves her checklists, her plans to become a doctor, her best friends – and sticks to short-term boyfriends.

Then her fancy internship gets yanked away, her politician father is suddenly home from DC, she lands in a summer job far outside her experience or comfort zone, and she meets Clark…

Happy book birthday week to The Unexpected Everything!  This is a great summer read, like Matson’s Since You’ve Been Gone  (my no-spoilers recommendation here) and Second Chance Summer  (more here) with less road trip, but just as much self-reflection and heart.

What do you do when a perfectly crafted plan falls apart?
**kmm

Book info: The Unexpected Everything / Morgan Matson. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016. [author site]  [publisher site]  [author video] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: When problems at her congressman father’s office cause her pre-med internship to vanish, Andie is forced out of her structured life of success checklists and into a summer job as a dog-walker (never had a dog), wanting to stay around new guy Clark (never mind her 3-weeks-only rule for boyfriends), and trying to keep her best friends in sync as an outside relationship threatens to dissolve their group.

A world-famous author in their midst?
Dad home in Connecticut all summer instead of away in Washington DC?
A long-time crush keeps his distance, or does he?

An epic scavenger hunt, bridging the father-daughter gap 5 years after Mom’s death, emojis-only text message challenge, a committed relationship (wait! this is Andie we’re talking about…) – such an unexpected summer before senior year!  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

That’s a wrap – another April AtoZ Challenge in the books!

May2

logo of April AtoZ blog challenge 2016I did it!

26 posts – A to Z – in April, on schedule.

That’s 22 new, no-spoiler book recommendations, plus 3 library-celebration posts and a look ahead to free audiobooks all summer.

Thanks again to the April AtoZ Challenge organizers! This is all free, a labor of love to help bloggers build up their blogging muscles and gain readership.

Since I signed up so late (#1532 on the list), I didn’t get many new followers or comments, but it was certainly worth it for me to get back in my writing groove – so many great books from debut authors and smaller presses to tell y’all about! (not enough hours in the day for me to consider covering self-published works, as my policies state)

So if you want to find your voice in blogging or just have a super list of blogs to visit and follow, look into the April AtoZ Challenge – I’ll remind you next March!

Got a favorite, unheralded YA title to recommend?
**kmm

X on the map, any map for Girl From Everywhere, by Heidi Heilig (book review)

Apr28

book cover of The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig published by Greenwillow | recommended on BooksYALove.comTime traveling,
On a pirate ship,
If there’s a map, she can go there!

Just imagine a Gifted young woman navigating the Temptation and her interesting crew to any port present or past, nations long-swallowed by history, mythic lands – all so that her father the captain can find a way to undo her mother’s death… and perhaps undo Nix herself!

I listened to Heidi speak on a debut YA authors’ panel last week at TxLA, and she was just as funny in person as in this offbeat author interview video.

Sail into your local library or independent bookstore for the February 2016-published first adventure in this two-part sea saga (Heidi is indeed working on the second book now, she assured us!).

If you could travel to any place at any time, where would you come ashore?
**kmm

Book info: The Girl From Everywhere / Heidi Heilig. Greenwillow Books, 2016.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [video author interview] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: As her father seeks to undo her mother’s death, 16 year old half-Chinese Nix guides their time-traveling pirate ship to ports real and imagined, encountering mythic creatures and real robber barons, wondering if his quest will undo her as well.

She can guide the Temptation to any port on any map, fictional or factual, so onward goes the ship, seeking every possible cure that could keep Nix’s mother from dying in childbirth – if Slate could only find the map for the exact 1886 Honolulu where they lived.

A crowded 1774 Calcutta market where just-a-friend Kashmir rescues her, sugar barons who want to depose the king of Hawaii, today’s Coast Guard with questions for the grand wooden sailing ship in New York harbor – Nix, Slate, Kash, Rotgut, Bee and her ghost-wife Ayen travel through time and oceans on the captain’s quest.

If her mother survives childbirth in her timeline, what happens to Nix?
Is there room for love when a pirate ship can’t put down roots?
What treacherous waters must Nix cross to fulfill her own dreams?

First of a two-part adventure that spans time, tides, and every human emotion, The Girl From Everywhere wants to remain in existence, despite her father’s longing to undo her past. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)