Tag Archive | behavior

If I Ever Get Out of Here, by Eric Gansworth (book review) – rez life, the Beatles, a new view

Aug14

“book cover of If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth published by Arthur A Levine BooksBand on the Run”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Live and Let Die”

Music takes Lewis out of his tumbling-down house on the Tuscarora Reservation in the mid-1970s, where water comes from the pump outside and the outhouse is horrible in summer, worse in winter. His first white friend shares his taste in music – life may be okay for a while in junior high, despite the bullies and prejudice.

As an Air Force brat myself, I understand how George must quickly make friends when his father is transferred to a new base and be ready to uproot and do it all again in a heartbeat.

Read this interview to see why the author drew his own versions of the album covers which Lewis and George listen to again and again. Every chapter is a 70s song title, reflecting Gansworth’s growing-up years on the reservation.

This is a “don’t miss” title on my 2013 list, so when you’re looking for it on the shelf, note that the book spine is same blue as the headphones, not orange like the cover.

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Book info: If I Ever Get Out of Here / Eric Gansworth. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Junior high advanced classes aren’t a good place for a skinny reservation kid with glasses in the 1970s, but Lewis might just survive thanks to his first white friend and rock music.

Always moving with his Air Force dad, the new guy George makes friends fast and simply ignores the “welfare Indian” label that most kids give to Lewis. They both love the Beatles and Wacky Pack stickers, but Lewis won’t let George see his falling-down house on the reservation after visiting the Haddonfields’ tidy home on base.

When George’s dad finds out that Paul McCartney’s new band Wings is playing a concert in nearby Toronto, he promises to take both boys, despite difficulties with the tickets.

Lewis’s uncle reminds him that moving between the white world and the reservation will make his life harder, even as the town big-shot’s son decides to beat up Lewis daily in school despite all his efforts to stay clear.

Why won’t the teachers stop the bullying going on right under their noses?
How can Lewis repay the Haddonfields’ hospitality without inviting them to his house?

Music runs through this book about the power of friendship to change expectations about life, even when so much in Lewis’s life may never change for the better. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Replica, by Jenna Black (book review) – clones, cops, and secrets

Aug12

book cover of Replica by Jenna Black published by Tor TeenExecutive Board members get memory backups regularly,
Executive families scramble to marry into the Board,
mere Employees do all the work, take all the risks, hide their own secrets…

Don’t send me to this future where corporations have purchased governments, and Paxco (former New York City) exports a memory-and-clones technology that no other Corporate State can match.

Nadia has to balance her conscience with the safety of her family when assassination gets too close to home, too close to the truth.

Read the first chapter of Replica here, then zip to your nearest local library or independent bookstore to get your copy.  Resistance,  book 2 in this new series, currently has a March 2014 publication date.

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Book info: Replica / Jenna Black.  Tor Teen, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Nadia’s future was all lined out, until her intended was killed and his Replica animated to replace him. As she and new-Nate try to fill in his memory gaps, the head of Security threatens them with more permanent erasure. Someone has secrets to hide…

The teen must be on her best behavior in public (the media is vicious), and she can’t even let her guard down at home – all Executive families know that some Employees spy for the Corporation.  Her soon-to-be fiance Nate doesn’t know what discretion means, even though someday he’ll inherit Chairmanship of Paxco (formerly known as New York City) from his father.

When Nate is killed at a party and Nadia was last to see him alive, her life becomes a nightmare as Security publically arrests her (such damaging publicity) and promises to harm her family if she doesn’t cooperate. Reanimated Nate’s last memory backup was 2 weeks before the party, so he can’t help prove her innocence. But perhaps his personal valet Bishop could… if they can find him in the Basement tenements where all Employees are crammed together. For the Replica technology reserved for highest Executive families is Paxco’s only export and must be supported by the peaceful labor of Employees.

Mosely of Security says Nadia must find the valet if she wants her family to remain safe, Nadia doesn’t trust him, and Bishop is not interested in endangering himself for her benefit – stalemate or powderkeg waiting for just the wrong/right spark to explode the Basement into violence against the Executives?

Is Nadia helping the true Nate or just the Nate she wants to see?
Why does running Replica take so many Employees?
What are the secrets that Paxco and Nate and Bishop are trying to hide?

Of all the Corporates States (of former America), Paxco seems to be a difficult place for truth to thrive, whether for Executive, Employee, or Replica in this future world thriller.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Fantasy and fairy tales to read with your ears

Aug9

This week’s free audiobooks from SYNC bring us an old tale with new twists and the ‘rest of the story’ of an old favorite.

The first book in the Woodcutter series is filled with fairy tale characters you’ll recognize and spells and prophecies – my no-spoiler review of Enchanted  is here.

And Alice’s further adventures after returning from Wonderland are recounted as she steps Through the Looking Glass  to meet nursery rhyme friends and a terrible enemy.

Be sure to download these free, full-length audiobooks with professional narration by Wednesday, August 14; this summer’s last YA and classic audiobook pair goes live for download on Thursday, August 15.

CD cover of Enchanted by Alethea Kontis read by Katherine Kellgren published by Brilliance AudioEnchanted
By Alethea Kontis
Read by Katherine Kellgren
Published by Brilliance Audio

 

 

 

 

Through the Looking GlassCD cover of Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll read by Miriam Margolyes published by Bolinda Audio
By Lewis Carroll
Read by Miriam Margolyes
Published by Bolinda Audio

Which fairy tale or nursery character would you like to meet ‘for real’?
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Bubble World, by Carol Snow (book review) – virtual world, real love?

Aug5

book cover of Bubble World by Carol Snow published by Henry HoltParties, cute clothes!
More friend-time, less classwork.
Perfect world – or total illusion?

Freesia’s parents think she’s getting the best education available (and have the big tuition bills to prove it), the teen and her friendlies on Agalinas think school is a big party, and all of them are completely wrong!

This just-published novel starts off as frothy as Freesia’s favorite fruity beverage, but the secrets of Bubble World  are dark and deep. Ask for it at your favorite local library or independent bookstore and see if anyone escapes this school misadventure unscathed!

Is it wrong to want to run away from real life when it bores you to death?
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Book info: Bubble World / Carol Snow. Henry Holt, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Immersion classes and mega-parties on a tropical island – high school in paradise, with shopping, ziplines, and the cutest itty-cars! Freesia and her friendlies love being here, but these recent power outages are so wackacchino, like something is going wrong on Agalinas. Um, like what went wrong on the mainland?

Freesia’s parents and adoring little sister know the beautiful high schooler needs lots of time to be with her friendlies (and keep tabs on her enemies via bubble) and lots of shells to spend on clothes. Her bubble helps with Attire Assistance for her extensive wardrobe, holds her Outfit Registry (wear an outfit more than once every 4 months? Never!), and keeps her Chase Bennett music playing.

Her teachers match the snacks to the class, like bimbimbop and kimchee for Korean immersion and culture, but they don’t make the students wear themselves out speaking the language or doing homework. More time for parties and waterslides and shopping!

With exquisite houses and perfect beaches for these gorgeous teens, no one wonders why there’s no airport or passenger boat service to the mainland… but Freesia and best friend Ricky start to wonder about the more-frequent outages and discover startling things about Agalinas Island and Bubble World.

When one outage doesn’t reboot like normal, Freesia finds herself on the mainland, in her real non-beautiful body as Francine, in her family’s real house in the desert! What her parents thought about her virtual school is nowhere close to its reality; what Freesia thought was reality is closed off from her now.

How can Francine/Freesia cope with Phoenix instead of paradise?
Do her Agalinas friendlies miss her as much as she misses them?
How can she get back to the island??

Identity, reality, and friendship get spun and twisted around in this near-future tale of trying to use the digital world to avoid coping with the real world. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

A Girl Called Problem, by Katie Quirk (book review) – move our village, change our luck?

Jul24

Book cover of A Girl Called Problem by Katie Quirk published by Eerdmans Move our whole village?
School for all the children!!
Leaving behind our memories and starting from scratch?

In 1967, Tanzania was still “becoming” a single country after the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar following their recent independence from European powers. President Nyerere asked all his people and tribes to work together as one. Sometimes this meant moving from small poor villages into larger villages to have schools and medical care.

Ask for this April 2013 paperback at your local library or favorite independent bookstore, and travel in its pages to discover how Shida and her family cope with big changes in those early years of Tanzania.

When has moving to a new place helped you grow?
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Book info: A Girl Called Problem / Katie Quirk. Eerdmans, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: A new start sounds good to Shida, as Tanzania becomes a unified country in 1967, but can the 13 year old and the other villagers truly find a better life in their new town?

So many problems in her life – mama depressed and thought to be a witch, a curse tied to their family, even Shida’s name means ‘problem’ in Swahili, her only gift from her late father’s family. She learns about healing herbs from the village grandmothers and helps families with small illnesses – why can’t the village elders see that she should become a true healer, instead of just planning to be married?

To become a strong new African nation, the people need schools and health care, so the president asks those in small villages to move and form towns. Move from Litongo? Each family will have a new hut with tin roof and a plot for growing food. All the children will go to school, even the girls!

The president’s promises are true – new huts, plots of land, a school, and a clinic! But some already living in Njia Panda don’t want more people in their town, and many traditional men think that girls shouldn’t be in school, including their teacher! Odd things begin to happen in the Litongo part of town – cattle wander from the thornbush corral, clothing goes missing (Mama Shida is sure it’s another curse).

Can Shida and her cousins convince their teacher that girls belong at school?
Can Shida care for her mama and have time to work with the clinic nurse, too?
Can she solve the mysterious things happening to her neighbors?

A full and vibrant slice of life in the early days of Tanzania, A Girl Called Problem tries to outrun her own name and find a way for the Litongo villagers to truly become part of the town and their country’s future.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Stolen Magic, by Stephanie Burgis (book review) – rogue magic-wielder, powerful secrets

Jul22

book cover of Stolen Magic by Stephanie Burgis published by Atheneum Books for Young ReadersAn unlicensed magic-wielder on the loose,
A future mother-in-law trying to stop her son’s wedding,
The threat of war with France always looming…
Surely the teeniest bit of magic from Kat would make things better, right?

Of course not! And with her big brother finally deciding to watch over her, the youngest Stephenson sister can hardly practice her magic – if the Guardians will ever schedule her test, that is.

Do read chapter one of Stolen Magic  here (no major spoilers), and be sure to grab Kat, Incorrigible (book 1) and Renegade Magic (book 2) before you dive into finale of this early 19th century mystery-magic-political intrigue-adventure series!

If you had a bit of magic, what would you do?

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Book info: Stolen Magic (The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson, book 3) / Stephanie Burgis.  Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Kat senses magic following as her family travels to Angeline’s long-delayed wedding, but soon discovers that England itself is in peril unless can stop the rogue magic-wielder!

At least she’ll get to see older sister Elissa again at the wedding, Kat sighs, as the borrowed coach bumps over country roads toward the Carlyle estate. Their brother Charles and Stepmama have kept Kat from practicing her magic, even as her initiation into the Order of the Guardians approaches.

Being a witch or a magic-wielder is frowned upon by Regency society, and Stepmama so longs to be accepted by those of ‘good breeding’ like Lady Fotherington. During introductions, the beautiful Marquise who knew Kat’s late mother has such an interesting reaction – were she and Lady Fotherington previously acquainted?

Even with the mansion filled by both families and many guests, Kat senses the rogue magic nearby, but can’t run off exploring while Lady Fotherington is watching her, trying to find some reason to disqualify her from the Order. Hoping to stop the wedding plans for good, Mrs. Carlyle has invited Frederick’s lovely childhood sweetheart to stay, and Angeline fears her beauty will steal her fiance’s heart.

Will there be a wedding for Angeline at last?
Can Kat find the rogue magic-wielder before it’s too late?
Is her initiation into the Order ever going to happen?

Secret passageways, caverns in the cliffs overlooking the sea, magic attacks by the rogue, and a threat on Kat’s life!

This final volume of The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson wraps up the mysterious magic of an alternate Great Britain during its Regency years as shared in Kat, Incorrigible  (book 1) and Renegade Magic  (book 2). (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Funny you should ask – humorous fiction favorites

Jul19

Searching for some light-hearted summer reading at your local library or independent bookstore?

Take along this BooksYALove list of favorite funny books, and cool off with a good laugh! Click any title to see my full recommendation of the book. Review copies and cover images courtesy of their respective publishers.
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book cover of Pantalones TX Don't Chicken Out by Yehudi Mercado published by Archaia book cover of Who's on First? by Abbott & Costello published by Quirk BooksClassic baseball comedy routine teammates are just wild in Who’s On First? by Abbott & Costello.

Pantalones, TX: Don’t Chicken Out! – can Chico Bustamante stay ahead of the chicken-shack-driving sheriff and conquer the giant bucking chicken?

book cover of Astronaut Academy Zero Gravity by Dave Roman published by First Second book cover of Astronaut Academy Reentry by Dave Roman published by First Second BooksEnjoy Hakata Soy’s first middle school term in space as he enrolls in Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity – time for dinosaur riding lessons and fireball tournaments!

Then return to Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry for another semester of fireball tournaments and missing extra hearts – and mystery to solve.

 

book cover of Teen Boat by Dave Roman and John Greenbook cover of Year Zero by Rob Reid published by Del Rey Books

More Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy) as he teams up with John Green (the artist one) to create TeenBoat!  Imagine “the angst of being a teen, the thrill of being a boat!” – yes, it’s that funny.

When music-loving aliens realize they’re violating Earth copyright laws and have run up a bill bigger than the universe, things get a bit out of hand in Year Zero.

 

book cover of Mothership by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal published by Simon Schusterbook cover of Tempestuous by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes published by Merit PressAn orbiting maternity home for unwed mothers is attacked by aliens (really cute aliens!) and things aboard the Mothership  get all kinds of crazy.

Set Shakespeare’s comedy The Tempest  in a modern shopping mall during a blizzard, add some memorable characters and a robbery, and you have a most Tempestuous  and wacky tale.

 

book cover of The Candymakers by Wendy Mass published by Little Brownbook cover of Also Known As by Robin Benway published by Walker Books Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to create a new candy for the world’s sweetest contest? But The Candymakers   must solve a mystery before everything goes sour.

As a teen spy goes undercover in a ritzy private school to keep the organization’s cover from being blown, she doesn’t anticipate love among the complications in Also Known As.

 

book cover of Lias Guide to Winning the Lottery by Keren David published by Frances Lincoln Booksbook cover of Cat Girls Day Off by Kimberly Pauley published by Tu BooksYes, you can enter the lottery at 16 in Great Britain, but Lia’s Guide to Winning the Lottery  is more of a how-not-to than a financial guide!

Being able to hear cats talk seems like such a boring talent until Nat uses it to capture a kidnapper and snag a movie part after all in Cat Girl’s Day Off.

 

FTC, publishers, and me – expectations and requirements for book bloggers

Jul17
etching of woman's hand holding 5 old playing cards by Dover Publications

courtesy of Dover Publications

So, whose rules do I have to follow as I post book recommendations for y’all – the Library of Congress? the publishers? the authors?

Nope, the Federal Trade Commission! That’s right, the government agency that watches over advertisers so their promises don’t make you buy something bogus also has guidelines for social media so that consumers know when someone is Tweeting an advertisement or has been paid to review a product and so on.

There’s been some worry in the book blogging community about whether we’re notifying y’all properly as to how books land in our hands or if receiving free advance reader copies makes us unduly biased toward various titles.

And discussion goes round and round about what is the book blogger’s responsibility to the publisher or author who gave them the book…

Lately, I’ve seen reviewers splash an “FTC required disclaimer” on their book review (when there is no specific wording required by the FTC) or state that they received a book “in exchange for my fair and honest review” when most publishers don’t require that a review be written at all.

In fact, the graphic novel publisher First Second even blogged about that “in exchange” wording, saying that when they send out a book, they know that some folks will love it, some be on the fence, some even stop reading it because it’s not their thing, and that First Second would rather have a strong review (positive or negative) than one that says “this book is sort of okay.”

What does all this mean for BooksYALove readers?

While I’ve always noted whether I received the book I’m recommending from the publisher or have purchased it myself, I moved that disclaimer into the Book Info section so you know that before you read the full Book Talk which gives you the no-spoilers synopsis of the book. FTC guidelines satisfied, without bombarding you with lots of irrelevant text.

Of course, if I can’t give a book an A or B+ “grade” for its particular category (science fiction, adventure, etc.) and for fans of Young Adult books, then it never appears here at all. I don’t want you to waste your time or money on poorly written books when there are so many wonderful titles out there!

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Secret Ingredient, by Stewart Lewis (book review) – psychic to young chef: change is coming

Jul12

book cover of The Secret Ingredient by Stewart Lewis published by DelacorteTwo food-obsessed dads,
One music-mad brother,
The world’s best best friend,
and a long-ignored question bubbling up, demanding an answer.

Maybe the psychic’s unsought observation is true, and every decision that Olivia makes this summer will be connected. Maybe she’ll find cute Theo again, too.

A movie version is already in the works for this June 2013 book, but it’s set in Birmingham instead of LA.  The Secret Ingredient‘s  SoCal setting is plot-essential, as Ollie gets a summer job with a Hollywood casting agency, counts the palm trees as she passes each one on her bus ride, and harbors a lingering fear of the ocean’s depths. I’ve always said that the book is better than the movie –  just try to imagine two gay men adopting children 17 years ago in Alabama…

In the book, Ollie shares several recipes with her own secret ingredient added – any recipes with your special touch?
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Book info: The Secret Ingredient / Stewart Lewis. Delacorte Press, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: This summer should be relaxed for Olivia, but the unexpected jumps in. With a psychic’s warning and a vintage cookbook in hand, Ollie decides to help her dads save their restaurant and finally search for her birth mother.

Bell and Enrique have put everything they have into FOOD, and mortgage payments are coming due too soon. Ollie cooks the special on Saturday nights, always adding a secret ingredient for her own signature touch. Her big brother is totally obsessed with his guitar playing, but his huge talent isn’t exactly paying his bills yet.

They’ve had never been particularly bothered about being adopted by their gay dads (LA is pretty laid-back that way), but Ollie begins to wonder about her own mother when she hears that her best friend Lola’s mother has cancer.

Riding up the elevator to her summer job at a casting agency, a psychic suddenly tells the sixteen year old that her choices will be pivotal and connected, including a young man, guidance from the past, and food, too.

Maybe Theo from last summer will come back?
Perhaps her birth mother is the past part?
And food is always with Ollie – but will FOOD survive, too?

As she supports Jeremy breaking into the music business, creates a backstory for the handwritten notes found in an old cookbook, and stands by Lola during her mother’s treatments, Ollie has to figure out whether the secret ingredient for her own life might be finding her birth mother…or not.

Enjoy the recipes this brilliant young chef shares as she finds her own way in the world during an intense high school summer. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Nix Minus One, by Jill MacLean (book review) – save his sister, a dog, himself?

Jul10

book cover of Nix Minus One by Jill MacLean published by Pajama PressA dog, beaten and ignored.
A girl, risking and reckless.
A boy who must step out of his safe-place to save them…

I lived in Newfoundland in early grade school (on a now-closed Air Force base), so I have a strong mental picture of the isolated small coastal town that Roxy longs to escape, where Nix’s solitary ways are known to everyone, where a story can never be untold.

Request this novel-in-verse from your local library or independent bookstore; they might have to order it (Pajama Press is a small Canadian firm, not one of the “Big 5”), but it’s so worth waiting for!

Have you ever felt like the only person who could fix a situation?
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Book info: Nix Minus One / Jill MacLean. Pajama Press, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Nix helps hide Roxy’s wild nightlife from their parents, like he wants to help the mistreated dog he meets, but the consequences may be too much for the quiet teen to handle.

Now that cod fishing is done for good, coastal Newfoundland towns are shrinking fast, but there are still enough bullies at the regional high school to taunt Nix about his weight and red hair. All the ninth grader wants to do is be left alone to play video games and work in Dad’s furniture workshop, pretending that beautiful Loren will pay attention to him some day.

Just by chance, he sees a beaten and half-starved dog at a neighbor’s house and wishes yet again that Mom would have let them have one instead of worrying about clean floors. Maybe the old grump will let Nix walk the dog, just to get her out of that poop-strewn yard full of junk.

Big sister Roxy decides to party with a senior and expects Nix to cover for her when she misses curfew. Their conservative parents warily respect his smooth manners and rich family, but have no idea that he’s the area go-to-guy for drugs. Everyone at school knows Bryan will dump her after a few weeks… everyone but Roxy.

Nix finally coaxes the dog into walking up into the hills with him, occasionally meeting classmate Blue when she’s birdwatching, both laughing about how they’ll never be popular at school with these hobbies.

And then that rainy night, when Roxy doesn’t come home, when silence becomes the fourth person at their dinner table…

Why couldn’t Nix keep his sister safe?
Why can’t he get Twig away from the master who mistreats her?
Why can’t he make Mom and Dad happy?

This powerful novel-in-verse echoes with the rhythms of family life, school tensions, unexpressed dreams and desires, and a long-hidden story that suddenly re-orients everything that Nix ever knew. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)