Tag Archive | friendship

Criminal, by Terra Elan McVoy (book review by guest blogger Alison Law) – bold and brutal exploration of bad decisions and their consequences

Jun12

It’s guest blogger day on Blogathon 2013, so let’s welcome “Southern Spines” blogger Alison Law to BooksYALove!

She’s bringing us a quick peek into Terra Elan McVoy’s newest book, Criminal  (which is soooo good). I’ve previously recommended Terra’s novel-in-verse After the Kiss  and her rock-music-themed Being Friends With Boys  (click link for my no-spoilers book talk in a new window).

As Terra and Alison ask – how far would you go for love?
**kmm

+++++

headshot of author Terra Elan McVoy

author Terra Elan McVoy

Inspired by a news story about a young man accused of murdering his girlfriend’s parent with another girl as his accomplice, Terra Elan McVoy asks the reader, “How far would you go for love?” She searches for the answer to that question from the perspective of her main character, Nikki, who has unknowingly become an accessory to murder.

Read an excerpt from the book here.

Book info: Criminal / Terra Elan McVoy. Simon Pulse, 2013. [author site] [publisher site] [video author interview]

book cover of Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy published by Simon PulseAlison’s book talk: As the title foretells, Criminal  is a dark departure from McVoy’s first four YA novels. Protagonist Nikki lives with her friend Bird, a young single mom, in a tough neighborhood in Atlanta. Nikki fled her family home because her mom is a drug addict who often brings home questionable characters. With no family support, Nikki clings to love where she can find it, even if it’s Dee, her on-again/off-again boyfriend who often mistreats her.

McVoy makes an interesting choice to begin the book the morning after the crime has taken place; the details of what happened are revealed in subsequent chapters in a plot-thickening, satisfying way. Readers discover along with Nikki just how deeply entangled she is in Dee’s deceptions and witness Nikki’s troubles multiply as she lies to protect the man she loves.

No one reading the book can deny that Nikki is a criminal — the facts are very plain. Yet, anyone who has survived young adulthood and a relationship with a “bad boy” or “bad girl” will relate to Nikki’s predicament. Readers see what Nikki cannot, but grieve right along with her when she realizes that the person she trusted, loved and sacrificed for has betrayed her.

In their starred review of Criminal, Publishers Weekly said that what McVoy “gets so powerfully right in this novel is the way that love can descend like a fog, impairing one’s judgment and obscuring the truth.”

headshot photo of Alison Law of SouthernSpines.comGuest Blogger Bio: Alison Law is a professional writer and marketing and social media consultant based in Atlanta, Georgia. As owner of Alison Law Communications, she has worked with a variety of clients, including published authors and book publicity firms, public relations and advertising agencies, attorneys, accountants, veterinarians and other professional service providers.

Her career began twenty years ago in a newsroom in her hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. She spent almost seven years in various editorial and management positions at television stations in Chattanooga, Lexington, Kentucky and Baltimore, Maryland.

In 2012, Alison combined her editorial, online marketing and social media skills to launch SouthernSpines.com, an online community dedicated to celebrating and promoting southern writers, songwriters and poets, and “Books with Backbone.” Alison is a member of the She Reads Book Blogger network.

Alison is a part-time graduate student at Georgia State University where she is pursuing a master’s degree in English with a concentration in literary studies. She’s also “football widow” and fan club president to husband Zach Law, a successful fantasy and pro football writer. When not reading or writing…or reading some more…Alison is catching up on her neglected DVR queue with her two cats, Sting and Chewie.

Book cover image and review copy courtesy of the publisher. Terra’s photo and Alison’s photo appear courtesy of SouthernSpines.com.

Pieces, by Chris Lynch (book review) – brother’s organs donated, life still in pieces

Jun9

book cover of Pieces by Chris Lynch published by Simon SchusterPulling the plug means giving up,
Giving up all hope that he’ll come out of the coma,
That he’ll wake up again for his brother and best friend.
How can they say goodbye?

This family’s tough decision is made the tiniest bit better by knowing that their 20-year-old son’s organs will improve life for several other people.

Today and every day, 18 people in America will die waiting for an organ transplant. Read answers to myths about organ donation, talk to your family about it, sign up at your state registry or on your driver license as an organ donor, and hope the day never comes.

While Pieces  is the sequel to Iceman,  in this book you get enough glimpses of irreverent Duane in Eric’s reminiscences of his big brother  to have the gist of their relationship. But I’m sure that reading Iceman  first (just out in paperback this spring) would add even more to this journey of discovery, with all its stops and starts and roller-coaster emotions.

Lynch tackled a similarly tough topic in Hothouse  (my recommendation here) as best friends who are sons of best-buddy firefighters must cope with their fathers’ deaths amid questions about that last fire they fought together.

How do you go on when a vital person in your life is gone?
**kmm

Book info: Pieces / Chris Lynch. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.   [author interview]  [author video interview]   [publisher site]

My book talk: Diving into unknown water was so like Duane. Eric didn’t want to let his big brother and best friend go, but their parents decided organ donation is the right thing. Now pieces of Duane are inside other people all over New England, and Eric finally decides to find out how that changed their lives.

As the life support machines beeped, Eric pleaded with Duane to wake up, to get back to his crazy self, to stay with him as his best (maybe only) friend. But no miracle occurred, despite Mom’s constant prayers, so the doctors asked if Duane’s organs can be used to help others. Eric’s anger still isn’t enough to stop his world from crumbling…

A year passes and Eric decides to take up donor services on their offer to connect him with those who received a new lease on life because of Duane. Out of high school a year, and still in a fog of grief, replaying the Navy recruiting video, but never having the strength to carry through, Eric needs to know that something good came out of Duane’s accident.

Donor Services arranges for 3 recipients of Duane’s organs to join Eric for high tea at a fancy Boston hotel – teenaged Phil who can hear at last with Duane’s earbones, young mother Melinda whose new kidney will allow her to see her son grow up, and brash Barry who seems to be using Duane’s liver as a cocktail strainer. They’re nice people (except Barry), and they really enjoy hearing about the adventures that Eric shared with his big brother, telling him that if he wants to stay in touch, they do too.

Duane’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, who left the country to volunteer overseas just before the accident, is back in town, having missed the funeral and the chance to mourn with the family. Meeting the people who now have pieces of Duane sounds like a good idea to her, so suddenly Eric is taking Martha to a birthday for Melinda’s 4-year-old son at Chuck E. Cheese, helping her host a cookout at her apartment for Phil and his mom, trying not to gag when Barry flirts with her over sangria.

How are these people related to him, now that they are part-Duane?
Can’t his parents understand that meeting them would help them heal, too?
Now where does he go in life without Duane?

Walking the long road of grief recovery gets a little easier for Eric with new friends and expanded possibilities in this follow-up to Iceman,  Lynch’s first novel about the brothers.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Ghost Knight, by Cornelia Funke (book review) – murder long-passed, a knight long-dead, danger now!

Jun7

book cover of Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke translated by Oliver Latsch published by Little BrownGhostly rider with blood on his sword,
evil sidekicks with murder on their minds,
how many centuries can a death vow stay alive?

Every ancient cathedral and old castle has unexplained deaths in its history, many have ghosts who appear with a bit of regularity, but most don’t feature bloodthirsty murderers’ specters threatening schoolkids in their beds!

Listen to an excerpt of the audiobook version here and be sure to view the book trailer of the author visiting Salisbury Cathedral and reading aloud the section where Jon meets the Ghost Knight  for the very first time.

The paperback version was published in May 2013, so you should be able to find it in several formats at your local library or independent bookstore.

Would you call on a ghost to help you solve a dangerous mystery?
**kmm

Book info:  Ghost Knight / Cornelia Funke.; translated by Oliver Latsch. Little Brown, hardback 2012, paperback 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: Boarding school, rain, Mum in love with a dentist – Jon thought life couldn’t get worse…until he’s threatened by ghosts who can injure him, meets a girl with an adventurous streak, and invokes a dead knight to right the wrongs!

It definitely wasn’t Jon’s idea to attend the same boarding school as his late father, but after his many attempts to make his mother fall out of love with The Beard (as Jon called the dentist who tricked his little sisters and dog into liking him) all backfired, the 11-year-old found himself on the train to Salisbury. He doesn’t care about the ancient city’s history that his houseparents love and doesn’t care that he wasn’t selected for the cathedral school’s famous choir.

But the ghosts whispering threats about killing him, trying to ride him down on ghostly horses – those are another matter! Ella at school takes Jon to visit her grandmother who gives ghost tours. They discover that Lord Stourton and his henchmen were hanged for the death of Jon’s relatives centuries ago, vowing revenge. Zelda says Jon is in danger if he stays here, but he doesn’t want to go home to Mum and The Beard.

So Jon calls on the knight Longspee who originally captured Stourton, asking the ghost knight to help him rid the school of these wicked specters and save him from their vengeance.

Can Jon and Ella trust Longspee who wants to stay away from this world?
Can the trio truly send Stourton and crew back to their graves forever?
Can Jon find any way to keep The Beard from becoming his stepfather?

Through Latsch’s flowing translation, the noted German fantasy author of the Inkspell trilogy brings readers into the echoing aisles of Salisbury Cathedral and the windswept ruins of old castles as Jon and Ella fight enemies they cannot touch with mortal hands. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Reconstructing Amelia, by Kimberly McCreight (book review) – not a suicide, not a chance

Jun4

book cover of Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight published by HarperPrivate school academic pressure
or vicious peer pressure?
What sent Amelia over the edge?

First love isn’t always easy or simple. Lifelong friendships may break apart or simply drift away during high school. Parents don’t know what their children experience every minute; kids don’t think that their parents were ever in such predicaments. Told in several voices, Amelia’s story is both familiar and unusual, with an outcome you might expect, but an ending you won’t guess.

On her website, author Kimberly McCreight asks folks to post “what would you tell your mother or your daughter” – anonymously, if need be –  if they could only find the courage or the right words or the right time, sharing the conversations on her Facebook page, hoping that the right time is sooner rather than too late.

This mystery-tragedy jumped onto the bestseller lists before I could finish this post, so you should easily find it at your local library or favorite independent bookstore now.

Is it ever too late to say the right thing?
**kmm

Book info: Reconstructing Amelia / Kimberly McCreight. Harper, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: Amelia would never cheat, so why would she take her own life before fighting against the false accusation? As her mother tries to uncover the truth about her death, pieces of Amelia that no one knew begin to surface through emails, text messages, and notes.

Known as an over-achiever even by Grace Hall school standards, Amelia writes thoughtful, compelling essays all the time, so the idea that she plagiarized an entire English paper about her favorite author is absurd. Her mother rushes from her law office to the posh private school when notified of her suspension for cheating, only to find that the fifteen-year-old hadn’t survived a fall from the roof. Amelia – suicide?

An anonymous text message “Amelia didn’t jump” pulls Kate from her haze of grief, as the single mother realizes that there are parts missing from the story surrounding her daughter’s death and decides that she must get to the bottom of things. With the help of a new police detective, her law firm’s IT department, and interviews with students and parents, a chilling picture emerges, centered on the social clubs which Grace Hall insists are not official school organizations.

Why did Amelia feel under so much pressure?
Who did she fall in love with and hide from everyone?
Why did she stop sharing secrets with her best friend?
What really went on with Dylan, Zaidie and the other Magpies Club girls?

This riveting story of peer pressure, indiscretions, cover-ups, and missteps on Amelia’s voyage of self-discovery is told through her diary entries, Facebook updates, text messages, emails, notes shoved in her locker, a particularly snarky blog devoted to Grace Hall gossip, plus Kate’s narrative and her own college diary.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

School Spirits, by Rachel Hawkins (book review) – ghost-hunting ain’t for amateurs!

Jun3

book cover of School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins published by HyperionMonster sighted? Check.
Banishment strategy selected? Check.
Ready to walk into high school? No way!

Of course, home-schooling makes sense when your family is frequently traveling to hunt and eliminate otherworldly baddies, but none of her martial arts training prepared practical Izzy for her first major undercover assignment – locate and banish a high-school-based ghost with a grudge!

Makeup, clothes not suitable for stalking in the shadows, a hedgehog mascot for the basketball team …  and very, very attentive boys? Hope Izzy can corner Mary Evans’ ghost during the right moon phase and get out of Ideal, Mississippi in a hurry!

Grab this serious/not-so-serious ghost-trapper tale today at your local library  or independent bookstore, first in new series by Hex Hall author Rachel Hawkins.

Which ghosts of high school would you banish forever?
**kmm

Book info: School Spirits / Rachel Hawkins. Hyperion, 2013.   [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Being a Brannick means hunting down supernatural monsters – it’s the family business. When her big sister Finley disappears before Izzy’s training is complete, the teen finds herself walking into high school for the first time, ready to fight an avenging ghost, but so unprepared for cliques, cute boys, and pep rallies.

A science teacher was nearly killed in his lab with the door locked from the inside, and sightings of the school namesake’s ghost have been reported for the first time in years. So homeschooled Izzy is tapped to infiltrate Mary Evans High School to eliminate the ghost.

One official school club in this small Mississippi town is the Paranormal Management Society, with 3 members, all considered weird by other students. Mom always says that “civilians” who think they can take on the Prodigium make supernatural situations worse; hopefully, Izzy can nab the ghost without involving Romy, Anderson, or Dex.

Ah, Dex, who seems to be Prodigium himself, might have a crush on Izzy? She and Torin (the spirit living in Brannick mirrors for past 400 years) watch many movies and television shows about high school life, trying to get a handle on how to cope with boys who ask for phone numbers and girls who are mean and teachers who just don’t have a clue.

A mangled Barbie doll on the head cheerleader’s locker mimics the dead frog found on the science teacher’s door before he was attacked. Mary Evans appears to Izzy and is much more powerful than a ghost should be. Even after Izzy seals the ghost girl’s grave, Mary steers a speeding car into a crowd at school!

Who or what has augmented Mary Evans’ powers?
How can Izzy banish the ghost when normal techniques fail?
Why can’t she shake the feeling that Dex isn’t who he seems to be?

Vengeful, deadly, tied to high school forever – this paranormal opponent forces Izzy and her mom to delve deep into Brannick lore to find a way to save her classmates from evil School Spirits  in this new series by the author of Hex Hall.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Read with your ears! Free audiobook downloads all summer with SYNC

Jun1

SYNC summer YA audiobooks logoWoo-hoo! Summer is finally here!
time for road trips, new jobs,
Wordcount Blogathon,
lazy days by the pool…
so “read with your ears” while you work or relax – for free!

The popular SYNC program returns this summer with free audiobooks of YA and classic books, so you can read with your ears at your computer, on your phone, or with any other enabled electronic device.

Once you’ve downloaded a SYNC audiobook, it’s yours to keep and listen to for as long as you like!

There is a catch, of course – each pair of audiobooks is only downloadable for 7 days (Thursday through Wednesday).  I’ll remind you of each title pair and the SYNC download site weekly, but you can also have the program send you alerts by email (sign up on the SYNC site) or by text message by texting syncya to 25827 (standard message rates and fees apply).

Our first free pair of books take us to the stormy sea – download them before 11:59 pm US Eastern time on Wed, June 5th!

CD cover of Of Poseidon audiobookCD cover of The Tempest audiobook by BBC RadioMay 30 – June 5, 2013
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks, read by Rebecca Gibel (AudioGO)
The Tempest by William Shakespeare, read by a Full Cast, with music (AudioGO)

You’ll note several BooksYALove favorites on the line-up for SYNC Summer 2013 below – the link to my no-spoilers recommendation appears after those.

So get ready to read with your ears, all summer long! Which SYNC audiobook are you looking forward to most?
**kmm

June 6 – June 12, 2013
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood, read by Katherine Kellgren (HarperAudio)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, read by Wanda McCaddon (Tantor Audio)

June 13 – June 19, 2013
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, read by Will Patton (Scholastic Audiobooks)
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, read by Robert Ramirez (Recorded Books)

June 20 – June 26, 2013
Once by Morris Gleitzman, read by Morris Gleitzman (Bolinda Audio)
Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr., read by Dion Graham (christianaudio)

June 27 – July 3, 2013
Rotters by Daniel Kraus, read by Kirby Heyborne (Listening Library)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, read by Jim Weiss (Listening Library)

July 4 – July 10, 2013
Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford, read by Nick Podehl (Brilliance Audio)
She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, read by a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

July 11 – July 17, 2013
The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann, read by Peter Altschuler (HarperAudio)
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, read by Simon Vance (Tantor Audio)

July 18 – July 24, 2013
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, read by Erin Moon (Recorded Books) – my recommendation here
Hamlet by William Shakespeare, read by a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

July 25 – July 31, 2013
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen, read by Charlie McWade (Scholastic Audiobooks) – my recommendation here
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, read by Steve West (Blackstone Audio)

Aug 1 – Aug 7, 2013
Death Cloud by Andrew Lane, read by Dan Weyman (Macmillan Audio) – my recommendation here
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, read by Ralph Cosham (Blackstone Audio)

Aug 8 – Aug 14, 2013
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, read by Katherine Kellgren (Brilliance Audio) – my recommendation here
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, read by Miriam Margolyes (Bolinda Audio)

Aug 15 – Aug 21, 2013
Sold by Patricia McCormick, read by Justine Eyre (Tantor Audio)
Let Me Stand Alone by Rachel Corrie, read by Tavia Gilbert (Blackstone Audio)

Arm of the Starfish, by Madeleine L’Engle (book review) – regeneration research, bad guys, international plot

May29

book cover of Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L'Engle published by Square FishResearch with an “interesting” new development,
Remote island lab closed to outsiders,
Whispers of miracles or perhaps monsters…

Adam will have to rely on his own wits and instincts during this summer of 1965, when an amazing opportunity to assist with cutting-edge regeneration research lands him right in the middle of medical espionage, undercover agents, and foreign country misunderstandings.

Written as a near-future story in 1965, The Arm of the Starfish  reads almost like alternate history today, as events in Dr. O’Keefe’s island lab blur the line between science fiction and mysticism, with Adam having to decide whether to believe young Poly O’Keefe or beautiful Kali Cutter about the researcher’s true intentions.

You’ll find this classic beginning to the O’Keefe family stories at local library or independent bookstore in the new Square Fish edition. And, yes, the O’Keefes are related to the Murry family you know from A Wrinkle in Time.

How far should research take us toward a future with no limits on life?
**kmm

Book info: The Arm of the Starfish / Madeleine L’Engle. Square Fish, 2011 (originally published in 1965 by Farrar Straus Giroux).  [author site]  [publisher site]

My book talk: Adam’s summer job as research assistant to a noted marine biologist on a Mediterranean island is a dream come true – until he’s blamed for a young girl’s disappearance from his flight, chased through Lisbon by thugs, and drawn into a secret with international implications.

Unusual for his professor-mentor to send a recent high school graduate to assist Dr. O’Keefe with starfish regeneration experiments. Unusual that beautiful Kali warns him that O’Keefe and his associate Canon Tallis are not what they seem when she meets Adam for the very first time.

Diverted to Madrid by fog, Adam worries that he’ll miss his connection in Lisbon, but Canon Tallis assures him that they’ll wait, especially as O’Keefe’s preteen daughter Poly is on this same plane.  But when Poly goes into the airplane lavatory and doesn’t return, the flight crew tells Adam she was never aboard!

Dr. O’Keefe himself meets Adam at the airport, telling him that Poly has been kidnapped by someone wanting his research results. Before they can get to the boat for Gaea, Adam is chased and shot at, lied to, brought up-to-date on espionage, and sworn to secrecy.

How can they get Poly back safely?
What is so important about this starfish research?
Which side is Kali really on?

Science and mystical forces weave together in a 1965 outside of our history books on this island paradise where family and community must guard against mercenaries and greed. First of the O’Keefe family stories by A Wrinkle in Time  author Madeleine L’Engle, The Arm of the Starfish  is followed by Dragons in the Waters.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Legacy of the Clockwork Key, by Kristin Bailey (book review) – key to danger, love, time itself

May24

book cover of Legacy of the Clockwork Key by Kristin Bailey published by Simon PulseA pocket-watch that is actually a key,
a key made of clockwork
and music and love and danger.

The infinitely intricate clockwork devices made by Meg’s late father and grandfather and other Secret Order ‘amusementists’ make the automatons whirring and blinking in Europe’s royal courts seem like primitive toys in comparison.

Read the beginning of Meg’s story, as Kristin shares part of chapter one here, and be sure to watch the book trailer, one of my favorites!

You’ll want to hurry to your local library  or independent bookstore to pick up this first book of the Secret Order series so you can travel through the mystery with Meg and Will, outwitting mazes and mechanical monsters, solving puzzles on a pirate ship, and trying to stay one step ahead of pure human evil.

What’s the most amazing clockwork device you’ve seen in action?
**kmm

Book info: Legacy of the Clockwork Key (The Secret Order, #1) / Kristin Bailey. Simon Pulse, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: Rescued by a secretive benefactor, Meg is no longer a young lady of good society in Victorian England, but a orphaned housemaid in a mansion that time forgot. When intricate devices point to clues regarding her parents’ deaths, the sixteen-year-old knows she must follow them, despite the danger to herself, her reputation, and her heart.

Meg wonders why every detail here must stay as it was, why the Baron took her in, why the staff knows “he’s always watching” when no one sees him. She mourns for her learned parents, killed in the fire which consumed their clock shop and her future six months ago. If only her grandfather were still alive…

When she asks the Baron’s young coachman to repair the clock-locket which alone survived the fire, it turns out to be a clockwork key. Meg recognizes its design in the parlor fireplace and unlocks secrets about the Baron (and her grandfather) that send her rushing to Will for help. Visiting a graveyard, unlocking more secrets, befriending a young widow – the pair uncovers a far-reaching organization of inventors, a sinister plot, and a terrifying problem.

The unseen Baron fires them both for “unbecoming behavior” and Meg knows that he’s discovered her visit into his workroom. With widowed Mrs. Pricket, they flee London, trying to reach the nearest amusementist (as Lucinda Pricket calls these inventors in the Secret Order) and safety. Although the inventor is long gone, his larger-than-life clockwork-powered amusement remains, and they must reanimate it to find more clues. For if they cannot stop the Baron, then he will kill them as surely as he killed Meg’s parents and Lucinda’s husband and others of the Secret Order.

Can they outrun the man who wants to control time?
Can they survive the perils of the gigantic clockwork amusements?
Can Meg and Will ignore their attraction to one another?

An entire secret organization dedicated to inventing the most elaborate toys on earth, a murderer bent on snuffing out all competitors, a chance for love outside Victorian society’s cast-iron rules – all in the first book of The Secret Order series.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Loki’s Wolves, by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr (book review) – teen Norse gods at Ragnarok today

May20

book cover of Lokis Wolves by KL Armstrong and MA Marr published by Little BrownMidgard Serpent and the World Tree,
Runes foretelling a champion,
Ragnarok shaking the world clean again…

But what if the champion doesn’t want everything in the present world destroyed, doesn’t want a one-way ticket to Valhalla? What if he’s just 13?

Yep, Norse mythology’s end-times playing out now…in South Dakota…with a junior high kid as Thor‘s stand-in! Since the gods themselves are long-gone, it’s up to their generations-down-the-line descendants to fill their places in the big battles.

Oh, you wonder why the authors didn’t use their full names on this co-written venture? As they noted in a talk I attended at the Texas Library Association Conference in April, they wanted to make sure that middle-grade/junior high readers weren’t thinking that their “more mature” books (like Melissa’s “Wicked Lovely” series or Kelley’s “Darkest Powers” series) were the same sort of young teen fun-action-adventure books.

Try out this excerpt from Chapter 8 at Tor for yourself, then head to your local library or independent bookstore to find this May 7th release and jump into the adventure with Matt, Laurie, and Fen.

Will Ragnarok battles begin soon?
**kmm

Book info: Loki’s Wolves (The Blackwell Pages, #1) / K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr. Little Brown, 2013.  [book site]   [Melissa’s blog]  [Kelley’s site]  [publisher site]

My book talk: Matt studies Norse legends at school and knows them by heart. But his family history takes on new meaning when he’s chosen for Ragnarok battle – now! And if he and his buddies can’t change this conflict, the end of the world as humans know it is assured.

Everyone in Blackwell, South Dakota, is a many-times-removed descendant of Thor or Loki, so they expect town gatherings on Norse holidays to harken back to their heritage. No one expected that the Seer would pick thirteen-year-old Matt as their champion against the Midgard Serpent. But no one can deny the signs that Ragnarok is coming, when Thor must defeat those attacking the World Tree or the world itself will end… and Matt Thorsen is the closest thing to Thor that the modern world has.

Clever Loki-kin Fen defaults on a promise to the Skulls gang and discovers that they’re shapeshifting wolves being directed by evil forces. Brekkes and Thorsens are usually at odds with each other, but when Matt asks cousin Laurie to help on his quest, Fen figures that getting out of Blackwell alive trumps old grudges.

The friends must collect Thor’s Hammer, shield, and feathers from Odin’s ravens if Matt is going to defeat the Serpent, so off they go across South Dakota. Away to Mount Rushmore hunting for the weapons, into the Black Hills searching for the descendants of Thor’s allies, and skulking through Deadwood to stay ahead of the Skulls gang and Thor’s enemies in this era.

Can they find current-day Odin and Baldur in time?
Can Laurie keep her cousin Fen clear of the shapeshifting Skulls?
Can Matt truly defeat the Midgard Serpent and save humanity?

In their first middle grade novel, bestselling authors Armstrong and Marr have created a believable slice of Norse mythology playing out in the here-and-now as Thor’s many-times-greatgrandson must decide which parts of history he doesn’t want repeated in this cycle. Book two of the Blackwell Pages trilogy, Odin’s Ravens,  is scheduled for 2014 publication. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry, by Dave Roman (book review) – heart-eating monster disrupts space school

May13
book cover of Astronaut Academy Reentry by Dave Roman published by First Second Books

Students from many different places,
with different traditions and expectations,
bound together by Fireball game fever,
while a monster roams their school space station.

Happy Children’s Book Week! Graphic novels and picture books for all ages are some great ways to celebrate right along with the littlies.

With insider nods to pop culture of his own school days, a blithe mashup of then-now-future (dinosaur riding practice after space evacuation drills), and the enduring hope of friendship, author/cartoonist Dave Roman brings us more fun and mystery at the school we’d all love to attend as the second semester begins at Astronaut Academy.

Of course, you’ll enjoy the rivalry, friendship, and secrets of book 2 even more if you read book 1, Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity  first (my no-spoiler review here).

You can check out an excerpt of the latest adventures at Astronaut Academy here, then head over to your local library  or independent bookstore to reserve your copy now – its book birthday is tomorrow, May 15, 2013!

What would you do with your spare hearts if you had multiples like the Astronaut Academy students?
**kmm

Book info: Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry (Astronaut Academy #2) / written and illustrated by Dave Roman. First Second Books, 2013.   [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: A heart-eating monster in space! Friends and arch-rivals, a wicked gang, and a ban on love will make this the toughest semester ever for the students of Astronaut Academy who must guard their hearts as they prepare for the Fireball Championship Match.

Somehow, a shape-shifting monster has infiltrated Astronaut Academy during the semester break, masquerading as the person each student has a secret crush on, tricking them into giving it their extra hearts, then devouring the hearts!

When you attend school in outer space, having multiple hearts is essential, of course. Yes, students can give a heart to someone they care about, but no one with just one heart is allowed to play Fireball for safety reasons. Tak Offsky loses two hearts to the monster, so must recruit his roommate for the Fireball team, despite Hakata’s unfamiliarity with the sport.

The evil geniuses of Team Feety Pajamas challenge Munchie Ng in Monchichimon cards, Hakata’s arch-nemesis joins their rival school’s Fireball team just to spite him, and the monster continues to eat up hearts!

Can the school’s new ban on love stop this monster?
Will Astronaut Academy have enough eligible players for the Fireball finals?
Will Hakata be able to share his secret past without losing another heart?

If the students can get past the cancellation of the Talent Spelling Bee and avoid falling in love, perhaps they can solve this problem and catch the monster that’s wrecking their semester at Astronaut Academy! A great follow-up to Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity,  the first graphic novel in Dave Roman’s out-of-this-world school series.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)