Tag Archive | travel

Morpheus Road: The Light (fiction)

Oct31

Happy Hallowe’en on this Mysterious Monday…

A monstrous creation becomes real.
The created stalks its creator with malign intent.
[cue eerie, spooky music and more than a few nightmares]

The graphic novel character that Marshall invented visits him in his dreams, then in the dark corners of night, and then…his best friend Cooper disappears and is presumed dead. Marsh knows that Coop’s not dead – ghosts just don’t lie about such things.

This is the first book in D.J. MacHale’s frightening Morpheus Road trilogy. Marshall’s adventures (and nightmares) continue in The Black (book 2) and The Blood (book 3) – find all three at your neighborhood library or independent bookstore. And be sure to have a flashlight near your bed at night – who knows when Gravedigger might visit your dreams?
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Book info: Morpheus Road: The Light / D.J. MacHale. Aladdin, 2010. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

Recommendation: Graphic novel fan Marsh creates “Gravedigger”– long black coat, pickaxe over his shoulder, grinning white skull. Drawing helps him forget just a little how his photographer mother died 2 years ago, trapped in the ancient temple she’d just captured on film. Her assistant brought back her photos and this golden glass ball covered in weird designs, but couldn’t bring her back.

Sketches packed away as school ends, Marsh looks forward to summer with his wild friend Cooper. But Coop has done one crazy thing too many, and his parents take him up to their old lakehouse – no cell phone, no computer, lots of time to get his act together.

When Marsh’s dad is out of town, eerie things start happening – a breeze that traces patterns in the powder on the counter when no windows are open, a gravelly voice on the phone that says “You must journey along the Morpheus Road,” Gravedigger luring him to the deserted gym with blood-covered walls…

Gravedigger is just a character from his own imagination, right? But that bony hand on Marsh’s shoulder felt too real, and Gravedigger keeps showing up, talking about the Morpheus Road.

Coop disappears from the lakehouse, so Marsh and Coop’s sister head up there to help search. When Sydney starts seeing Gravedigger too, then maybe Marsh isn’t just imagining this, and they all might wind up dead! 352 pages for those who love to be frightened… (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Time-Traveling Fashionista, by Bianca Turetsky (fiction) – vintage dress in a Titanic time-adventure

Oct28
Vintage clothes and old letters are tangible links to the past. What if the right vintage dress was a direct link to its original owner’s past, like a wearable time-travel ticket?

Louise really appreciates the fine craftsmanship of vintage clothing, frequently wearing her carefully selected ensembles to junior high school (even if her mother disdainfully calls them “used clothes”).

Who could imagine that a hand-delivered invitation to a dusty shop would take Louise so far away from her suburban Connecticut home?
First in a series – can’t wait for the next!
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Book info: The Time-Traveling Fashionista / Bianca Turetsky. Little Brown Teens, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Recommendation: Dreaming about the perfect dress for the seventh-grade dance is much more fun than studying the Titanic in history or doing math problems. Of course, it should be a vintage dress – Louise just adores vintage designer clothes.

When an invitation to the exclusive “Traveling Fashionista Vintage Sale” is hand-delivered, Louise and best friend Brooke go downtown to check it out. The shop may have eccentric owners and terrible crab dip, but its dresses are divine!

When Louise tries on a sparkling, silky pink gown, she swoons and blacks out, waking up… on board an ocean liner?

Everyone calls her “Miss Baxter” – from Mr. Baxter (her uncle and manager, says her maid Anna) to the very elegant passengers aboard. When others look at Louise, they see the beautiful young actress returning from a successful tour in Europe; when she looks at herself in the mirror, Louise sees her 12-year-old self, complete with braces and frizzy hair.

Stumbling through the plush carpeted corridors on Miss Baxter’s high heels to the sumptuous dinners at the captain’s table, Louise makes a few mistakes that her uncle explains away as stress. Once Louise discovers exactly which ship she’s on, her stress level truly skyrockets!

Can she persuade the captain of the Titanic to alter his course? Will any of her new friends survive? Will Louise ever see her parents and modern times again?

First book in a fun series that will have readers prowling vintage clothing shops, looking for the perfect ensemble to send their imaginations back in time. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Karma, by Cathy Ostlere (fiction) – lost in her parents’ India during civil war

Oct26

World Wednesday takes us from the prairies of Canada to the crowded streets of India as Maya travels to her parents’ homeland on a grief-stricken mission.

Instead of learning more about her Sikh and Hindu heritage or meeting family for the first time, she’s flung into the chaos, violence, and massacre that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984.

Look for this stunning verse novel at your local library or independent bookstore – you need to hear Maya’s story for yourself.
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Book info: Karma / Cathy Ostlere. Razorbill, 2011, paperback 2012. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

Recommendation: At 15, Maya is taking her mother’s ashes home to India, back to the grandparents she’s never met, traveling with her father in 1984, far from Canada where she was born.

Unheard-of for a Sikh and a Hindu to marry in India of the 1960s! Disowned by her family, his family warning of spiritual disaster, Maya’s parents emigrate to Manitoba, where Bapu hopes to be successful and Mata prays for children and peace.

The aloneness that the prairie winds swirled around her mother finds Maya in the crowded streets of poverty-stricken New Delhi, as she tries to make sense of everything in her journal, her diary in verse.
Suddenly, India’s Prime Minister is assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards, and Hindus begin killing Sikhs in revenge. Bapu disguises himself and leaves Maya at their hotel while he tries to find a safe way for them to get to his hometown.

When rioters set fire to the hotel, Maya flees blindly into a city filled with mayhem, heading to the train station to go – anywhere. An accident, an attack, a fright, amnesia, a lost girl… Others continue telling Maya’s story when her own voice is no longer sufficient, as she journeys and drifts in confusion.

Can she find her voice again? Can she find her father? Did he really plan for her to marry someone here in India? How can she keep going, knowing that she left Mata’s ashes behind? This powerful novel in verse takes mature readers to a far land in a time not so distant, when civil war almost fractured India and its horrors threatened a young girl’s hold on reality. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Belladonna (fiction)

Oct12

World Wednesday takes us to Cornwall in the 18th century, where the war between Britain and France is a backdrop to the drama of a young woman separated from her last friend.

Ling must find her white circus horse before it’s too late.
Thomas must find a profession after eye problems shut him out of school.
Both must stay clear of the “crimpermen” who would send Thomas off to war and the constables who would send Ling to the hangman.

Noted artist George Stubbs’ lifelike paintings of horses inspired the setting for this captivating novel in which Stubbs himself plays a major role.

Author Mary Finn says that this young groom with noble horse reminds her of Thomas, while Ling’s jockey disguise looked like the outfit worn by Gimcrack’s rider in another famous Stubbs painting which recently sold for a record price.

Enjoy this priceless story of friendship at your local library or independent bookstore.
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Book info: Belladonna / Mary Finn. Candlewick Press, 2011. [author interview] [publisher site]

Recommendation: Beautiful circus horse Belladonna has been sold away, and her acrobat-rider is desperate to find her. Thomas has abandoned school after months of trying to make sense of letters and words, returning to work in his father’s wheelmaking shop, sketching maps and animals in his spare moments.

Rambling the paths near his village, he discovers the young French rider seeking the horse butcher rumored to have bought Belladonna. Even though England and France are at war in 1757, Thomas decides to help Ling search for her beloved mare, entranced by her stories of their circus performances, leaping and dancing through the air.

It turns out that Stubbs the horse butcher is really an artist studying horses’ bodies and beauty for his paintings. Belladonna did not stay with Stubbs, but has been passed on to a nobleman’s stables. The artist offers Thomas work as his assistant, detailing horse anatomy and improving his drawing skills. Ling’s impatience to find Belladonna grows as winter sets in and Stubbs cannot remove the mare from her new home.

Will Ling try to rescue Belladonna by herself? Will English soldiers find the young French girl, even if she stays hidden in the countryside? Can Thomas settle down to a village wheelmaker’s life after learning about art and beauty and dreams from Stubbs and Ling?

Charming Ling and tall Thomas are clever young people, trying to get past war-fueled suspicions and struggles in this lyrical novel that takes us to the time and place where the real artist George Stubbs drew and painted horses with precision and affection. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Time to wander (reflective)

Sep13

Technology seems mighty essential to us these days, but sometimes unplugging is the right thing to do.

The internet access that I hoped to have during our travels through the American West began to vanish as the mountains grew higher and the distances between towns grew longer.

Yellowstone National Park was wonderful, as we watched Old Faithful and other geysers erupt, hiked to waterfalls, and celebrated the forest’s recovery from the huge wildfires of 1988. Elk? yep. Bison? in abundance! but no online access as we camped above quiet Lewis Lake.

Relaxing and enjoying the scenery will be the norm for a while as we travel places that Kelsa went (will go?) in Trickster’s Girl, through the lava-strewn wild country of Craters of the Moon National Monument, just down the road from the 50 (yes, fifty) nuclear reactors of the Idaho National Laboratories…

So it’s on to Seattle for the Kidlitcon bloggers’ convention this weekend, with Scott Westerfeld as keynoter (yay!), then time to tour the Oregon coast (hmm… where Maddie will chafe under the restrictions of DigitalSchool in the future of Awaken) and amazing national parks in several states (hello, Redwoods! hi, Crater Lake! nice to see you, Bryce Canyon!).

It might be a while before I can get new books posted here, but never fear! BooksYALove has lots of outstanding books beyond the bestsellers coming your way!
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Sweetly, by Jackson Pearce (book review) – gingerbread house, werewolves on the prowl

Aug29

book cover of Sweetly by Jackson Pearce published by Little BrownWelcome to Mysterious Monday and a truly frightening retelling of a classic fairy tale.

The story of Hansel and Gretel really is scary when you look at it afresh, as candy, cakes and a gingerbread house lure children into mortal peril in the eerie forest of the witch.

Jackson Pearce has given the Grimm Brothers version a mordant twist as rumors of possible witches near a small Southern town turn out to be much worse than anyone feared.

Published just last week, Sweetly  will undoubtedly make the bestseller list – but you found it here first! Grab it at your local independent bookstore today, or get on the waiting list at your library – and lock your doors when you read it!
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Book info: Sweetly / Jackson Pearce. Little Brown, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: In the woods of their childhood, Gretchen and Ansel lost their sister – even as the three held hands and ran from the sounds, she was snatched away from them. Their mother died from grief, their father mourns still, their stepmother finally pushing the now-teen siblings out of their home.

Driving as far away as their old car and their savings will carry them, they roll to a stop near Live Oak, a small South Carolina community that’s dwindling away as modern life tempts its young people away to the big city. Young chocolate-maker Sophia invites them to stay with her at the charming sweetshop outside of town, lonely after her father and sister have left. Her candy creations taste magical; her hospitality is warm and authentic.

The townspeople of Live Oak are rather wary of the newcomers, but do warn them of strange occurrences in the woods near Sophia’s place and even about Sophia herself. The missing persons posters in the Post Office all feature older teen girls – if they just moved away to the city as Sophia says, why haven’t they contacted their families?

As Sophia’s famous girls-only chocolate festival approaches, Gretchen meets a young man who claims knowledge about the monsters in the woods, monsters that sound like the ones in her recurring nightmares about her twin’s disappearance.

Can Gretchen trust Samuel when folks in Live Oak say he’s part of the trouble in the woods? Is there a link between the chocolate festival and the disappearing teens? Have she and Ansel walked into a trap created by their own past?

Enjoy this spooky, enthralling take on the Hansel and Gretel story with the lights on, windows locked, and shades drawn against what may be lurking in the woods near your house! (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

50 Jobs in 50 States, by Daniel Seddiqui (book review) – 1 year to find perfect job

Aug19

Months of fruitless job-searching left USC grad Daniel exhausted and his parents unhappy that he’d had to move back home. But he decided to act on a seemingly wild idea to work in each of the 50 states, meeting their people as he tried out one of the jobs unique to each place. This Fun Friday feature is an autobiography that roves across America, in search of more than just a job.

You’ll want to read for yourself how he persevered in his dream, rising above his parents’ disapproval, the logistics of finding the right job in the right area during the right time, and the immense difficulties of funding travel all over the USA. Yes, Daniel wanted to do this challenge on his own terms, not bound to a corporate sponsor‘s restrictions on which jobs he could try or how many times he had to tout their product in his blog.

Along the way, he met more supportive people than naysayers, tried his hand at skills that he never knew existed, and learned more about himself than he ever imagined.

Coal miner? Did it. Amish woodworker? Satisfying work. Baseball scout? Lots of dreams and talent out there – like our roving pal, who shares the high points and lowest lows of his adventure with us, in a conversational way. I guess “Inspirational” should be Daniel’s new middle name!
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Book info: Fifty jobs in 50 states / Daniel Seddiqui. Berrett-Koehler, 2011 [author’s website] [publisher website] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: After many interviews yield no job, Daniel decides to hit the road and work his way across the USA – one iconic job in each state – to find out what he truly wants to do with his life.

You’d think that good grades in college and a great resume would guarantee a job after graduation, but that’s not always true. But instead of giving into despair and taking a minimum-wage job, Daniel turns his back on the months-long, frustrating search for a position in economics and hatches the idea of traveling the United States to discover where he should really be and what career would use his talents best.

It took four months to set up his first short-term job and even longer to scrape together some funding to travel. His parents thought he was wasting his time; his on-again-off-again girlfriend thought he was crazy – Daniel knew that he had to do this to find his way in the work-world.

Rodeo announcer in South Dakota, corn farmer in Nebraska, landscape architect in New Mexico – he met helpful people, learned new skills, faced trials and setbacks. Meatpacker in Kansas winter (frozen fingers), bartender in New Orleans during Mardi Gras (lotsa kinds of crazy), peanut sheller in Georgia (allergic reaction) – Daniel never gave up.

Sharing his adventures through the media and his own blog, this young guy from California inspired many folks facing challenges and job losses to keep on trying. Enjoy this talking-to-your-buddy autobiographical travelogue through all 50 states as you root for Daniel to find his niche and to find someone to share his journey through life. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Almost True, by Keren David (fiction) – London gang searches for witness

Aug17

For Ty, the present-day is all a lie, as he tries to stay alive in the Witness Protection Programme long enough to testify in a London gangland murder trial. Only his childhood memories are real…maybe.

His mum Nicky has gotten herself into a slight complication, there’s a guy shot to death on the doorstep of their latest safe house, and even Ty’s memories don’t seem to be true anymore.

Bottling up his worry and anger, desperately yearning to reconnect with the one friend who understood him, Ty’s impulsive actions may be the undoing of all the careful preparations made by the police and lawyers to finally bring down the ruthless London crime family.

This stunning sequel to When I Was Joe brings the gritty realities of life for less-privileged London teens into sharp focus while faithfully taking us into the careening thoughts of a teen brain pushed to the brink. You must read these two books – World Wednesday standouts!
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Book info: Almost True / Keren David. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2010. [author’s blog] [publisher site]

Recommendation: Finding a dying man on his doorstep, Ty knew that the London gang had found his latest “safe place” – so much for the Witness Protection Programme keeping him and his mum Nicky out of harm’s way until he could testify at the murder trial.

Ty’s aunt snatches him out of the hands of the police, telling no one – not even Nicky – where she’s hiding him. And suddenly, he’s in the large home of the grandparents that he doesn’t even remember – the parents of his dad, who left him and Nicky when Ty was very small. Nothing about this makes sense to him – why have his grandparents let him and Nicky live in near-poverty when they are rich? After all these years away, is his dad really coming to see him?

The trauma and stress of leaving the school that knew him as popular Joe, where he finally had friends and was succeeding on his own, where no one knew his past – it’s just too much for Ty, and the nightmares about the murder return.

Will Ty’s memories keep playing tricks on him? If he can’t contact anyone outside, how will Clare at school know that he’s okay? How did the crime family gang find him and his mum in their third hiding place? Is Nicky safe somewhere now?

A contemporary story that just won’t let you go, Almost True is the sequel to When I Was Joe – read them in order, and hang on, as Ty stays one step ahead of the killers… we hope! (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

When I Was Joe, by Keren David (fiction) – gang threats, witness protection, murder

Aug3
book cover of When I Was Joe by Keren David published by Frances Lincoln Childrens Books

Imagine leaving behind everything.

Just vanishing from your school and neighborhood without a word to anyone.

The only witness to a murder, a gang-related knife crime, one that could shut down one of the biggest crime rings in London.

So Ty and his mother must disappear into the Witness protection programme… far away from their multicultural London neighborhood.

Starting anew. Reinventing yourself. What teenage guy wouldn’t want that chance? But how can Ty balance the required secrecy and security with his need to help a new friend, a girl-type new friend?

For our World Wednesday, a brilliant first novel followed by the equally gripping Almost True.
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Book info: When I Was Joe / Keren David. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2010. [author’s blog] [publisher site]

Recommendation: It was just a test, but the boy died – Arron’s gang initiation, but A’s knife went too deep. Ty is the only witness, his life in danger, his mum’s life in danger. Escaping from London by back roads, Ty and Nicki are transformed by Witness Protection agents – dyed hair, contact lenses, different clothes – and taken to a new city, a new school, a new life.

Suddenly, shy Ty is no longer Arron’s shadow, but “Joe”, the cute new guy with cool hair and a mysterious past. His new school specializes in sports (never an option at St. Saviour’s), and Joe finds a talent for running track, thanks to an observant student-teacher who’s a gifted para-athlete.

Not everyone is happy that Joe is a track star, and the bullying at school escalates. Joe’s nightmares about Arron and the knife get worse, Nicki/Mum is stuck at the new house with no job, and misunderstandings with new school friends get out of hand.

How long can Ty and Nicki keep up this charade? Will they have to uproot and move again and again, changing names and identities over and over? Can the detectives really keep the rest of their London family safe until Joe testifies at the murder trial?

A gritty and absorbing read that reflects all too well how fast young lives can change – or stop – with just the flick of a knife blade. Be sure to grab the sequel, Almost True, for the rest of the story! (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Dry Souls, by Denise Getson (book review) – drought forever, water-bringer, escape

Aug1
book cover of Dry Souls by Denise Getson published by CBAY Books

The power to bring water to dry land – any desert-dweller would want to have that gift, to create an oasis of water for drinking and crops, right?

But access to water is a powerful need, as any farmer or city manager will tell you, even today.

Imagine water-access as a political tool, as a crowd-management strategy, and you’ll see why Kira’s gift of water in the drought-stricken, devastated environment of our possible future is something that powerful people want so very badly to control.

A stunning debut novel with memorable characters and pacing worthy of a motion picture (and I mean that in a good way). Have your local independent bookstore order Dry Souls for you, and be sure to tell your library about it so they can get a copy, too.
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Book info: Dry Souls / Denise Getson. CBAY Books, 2011. [author’s Facebook page] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: A flower? Kira wonders how a non-food plant survived the pollution and planetary drought that are killing humanity. In her desperation to keep the flower alive, Kira discovers that she can bring water to the ground with her fingertip!

When Matron finds the flower and decides to send her away from the orphanage, Kira knows that it’s time to run away, to head for the Dead Lakes Region where her mother had lived. Crossing toxic streams, encountering mutant wildlife, how long can Kira make it through this desolation created by worldwide chemical and biological warfare on her own?

Meeting up with JD who’s escaping from a boys’ orphanage was a stroke of luck for both teens, as they pool their skills and resources to survive. When they have to steal algae-bars from remote outposts, Kira creates water in repayment. They hide by day, traveling at night, heading for a Biosphere where they can get more nutritionals and sunblock to counteract the pollutants in the food and air.

But officials searching for Kira have reached the Biosphere first, and the friends must find a way to escape again before she’s captured for her water-creating abilities. A blind woman reading Kira’s palm recites an old proverb about water – and that’s supposed to help them find their way to Slag?

Can JD and Kira really survive a journey through the wasteland that the Devastation left behind?
What might they discover at the far-distant Dead Lakes to make it worth the journey?
If the officials are tracking them, will they even make it to tomorrow?

This debut novel is a brilliant dystopian future-view that begs to be made into a movie, that warns us of what our future could be, that urges us to have the vision to preserve our world. (194 pages) (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

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