Tag Archive | memories

To Be Perfectly Honest, by Sonya Sones (book review) – truth=lies, if Colette is talking

Sep30

book cover of To Be Perfectly Honest by Sonya Sones published by Simon SchusterExaggerations,
Embellishments,
Calling them “lies” is so…caustic.

Colette stretches the truth about her movie-star mom, long-absent dad, and winsome little brother – to protect them, of course. Or to keep the world from discovering how unspecial she is. Or none of the above. Definitely an “unreliable narrator” here.

Luckily, Sonya Sones is honest when she writes a “Dear Teen Me” letter to tell her younger self that her experiences would become part of much-loved novels-in-verse someday.

Find Collette’s story today at your local library or independent bookstore, and decide for yourself if Collette can ever be honest, even with herself.

**kmm

Book info: To Be Perfectly Honest: a Novel Based on an Untrue Story / Sonya Sones.  Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Colette’s movie-star mom is entirely gorgeous, the 15-year-old isn’t, but invents some crazy tales to make herself more interesting. When it counts, though, Colette may have told too many lies to get ever back to the truth.

Teen guys in L.A. seem interested in only one thing, but Colette refuses to be just another conquest. She might even miss their groping if Mom insists on dragging her and little brother Will along to the small town where her next film is being shot. She will die of boredom, truly.

Thankfully, a gorgeous guy on a motorcycle starts talking to her in the town park. She certainly can’t let him know who her mom really is, so the stories start flowing again.

Connor is so sweet and thoughtful, a great pal to Will, and so handsome. Colette senses that he has a secret sorrow, and it nearly breaks her heart when he finally tells her. Loving the most special girl in the world is on his ‘bucket list’ he says, and Colette is the one.

Should she let Connor be the one for her?
What if the doctors are wrong and his time is ticking away too fast?
Would he still adore her if he knew how many lies she’s told him?

“But there’s no law against
a girl making up stories.
And I sure am lucky
there isn’t.
Or I’d be serving
a life sentence by now.”

Sones gives readers a charmingly unreliable narrator in this compulsively readable novel-in-verse – sometimes it’s smoke and mirrors, sometimes it’s truer than true. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Pearl, by Jo Knowles (book review) – mystery fathers, faithful friendship

Sep27

book cover of Pearl by Jo Knowles published by Henry Holt BooksNo dad,
weird mom,
just one friend, ever –
Henry and Pearl feel like they’re in Bizarro World for sure.

Must have been hard for Pearl’s grandfather when his only child was suddenly pregnant at 15, the age that never-had-a-boyfriend Pearl is now. As much as he loved his little ‘Bean’, he blamed her mom for that mistake every single day for the rest of his life.

Her friend Henry’s mom never got over being abandoned when he was a tiny baby, so she just stays in their house, watching soaps endlessly.

Fate does have its twists and turns, especially when 15 years of neighborhood and family secrets suddenly surface. You’ll have to read Pearl  to find out which layers of those secrets are the truth.

Big thanks to author Jo Knowles for helping Kate Messner offer  the summertime Teachers Write program online so that teachers and librarians can get better at their own writing (and maybe finish the next amazing novel we all can’t wait to read).

When is revealing a secret worse than keeping it?
**kmm

Book info:  Pearl / Jo Knowles. Henry Holt, 2011. [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: The summer that her grandpa dies changes everything for 15-year-old Bean and her best (only) friend Henry, trying to grow up despite their oddball moms and missing dads.

Soap operas, junk food, always staying at home – that’s Henry’s mom. Waitressing till late night, always arguing with her dad Gus, never escaping the big mistake she made at 15 – that’s Bean’s mom. Along with grandpa Gus, they’re all that Bean and Henry have, besides one another.

It was Gus who started calling her Bean (instead of Pearl), who took her fishing on the city-smooshed river behind their tired house, who told her stories of the grandmother who died when Pearl’s mom was young.

Gus’s death opens up family secrets, brings Claire into the house (her mom needs her, they both say), makes the summer even hotter and more miserable for Bean and Henry. At least the friends can be together and keep each other sane amid the craziness that their moms and Claire unleash.

Why did Bean’s mom hate her own dad so much?
Will Claire ever go back to her own place?
Why didn’t their dads stick around?

Too many secrets swirl through Bean and Henry’s lives now, but maybe they’re good enough friends to survive it all in this realistic novel of growing up and second chances.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Ravens of Solemano, by Eden Unger Bowditch (book review) – journey of secrets, families lost?

Sep25

book cover of Ravens of Solemano by Eden Unger Bowditch published by Bancroft PressBelongings vanish, then reappear.
Mysterious coins and curious murals.
Fabulous food, but no parents to share it with.

The remote village hides the five Young Inventors and their teacher well, but it also hides many secrets, perhaps even the origins of the Mysterious Men in Black who guard, guide, and confuse them! Hopefully, its ravens can hide the children from evil Komar Romak long enough for them to solve a baffling problem which endangers the world.

Just published on Sept. 24th, The Ravens of Solemano  surprises with clever puzzles, endearing characters (except for Romak),and links to historical figures famous and obscure. Ask for it today at your favorite local library or independent bookstore – if they don’t have it, use the Book Info below to request it.

Of course, you’ll enjoy these further adventures of the Young Inventors Guild even more  if you’ve already read The Atomic Weight of Secrets (my no-spoiler recommendation here) , so check it out, too.

If the expectations of the world are on your shoulders, can you ever put family first?
**kmm

Book info: The Ravens of Solemano: The Order of the Mysterious Men in Black (Young Inventors Guild, book 2) / Eden Unger Bowditch. Bancroft Press, 2013.   [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: A daring escape, a too-brief family reunion, then the five Young Inventors must solve cryptic puzzles in a puzzling village before their dreadful enemy strikes again – now the world itself is in danger!

Fortunately, their schoolteacher Miss Brett is with Jasper and little sister Lucy, Wallace, Noah, and Faye as they must travel across the sea from the explosion site where they spent such a short time with their parents, on the run from evil Komar Romak. The Men in Black hustled the children and Miss Brett to safety aboard the strangest ship, crewed by more like them. Such wonders in its library and labs!

But a murdered man’s message sends danger their way, even before the Young Inventors reach the Italian village of Solemano with its ever-present ravens, mysterious garden labyrinth, and many puzzles to solve. Miss Brett helps the children settle in and resume their experiments – their inventive minds find much to ponder here.

Underground passageways with possible clues, garden statues that are not what they appear to be, friendly villagers with secrets of their own. How long will the children stay in Solemano? The Men in Black who guard/protect them cannot (or will not) say.

Has Komar Romak discovered their hiding place yet?
Can the Young Inventors discover enough of Solemano’s secrets to protect themselves?
Will they ever see their parents again?

This second tale in the Young Inventors Guild series takes readers far away, into an imaginatively peopled land of puzzles and parallels as the brilliant children who first met in The Atomic Weight of Secrets  must work together to save themselves and the world. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Save

Gated, by Amy Christine Parker (book review) – safe from evil world…perhaps

Sep23

book cover of Gated by Amy Christine Parker published by Random HouseInside the gates, it’s safe.
Outside, the evil world will end soon.
Or maybe it’s the other way around.

The messages that Pioneer began receiving from The Beloved in space during 9/11 have sent an entire colony of families to create their own Armageddon-proof underground Silo against the coming endtimes.

Inside the Community’s gates, Lyla’s mother still mourns a long-ago kidnapping, shooting practice uses human-size targets, and no outside TV, radio, or magazines are allowed in – sanctuary or captivity?

Doomsday cults are nothing new, but Lyla’s future is now, and it’s not at all what Pioneer promised!  What a page-turner!

**kmm

Book info: Gated / Amy Christine Parker. Random House, 2013.  [author Facebook page]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Pioneer comforted Lyla’s parents after her sister’s kidnapping and the 9/11 attacks, led them to establish the Community to survive the imminent endtimes, will keep them safe from the world’s evils… maybe.

Lyla has grown from shy little girl to inquisitive teen in this pastoral place of horses and friends and meadows and shooting practice on human-shaped targets. Yes, Pioneer expects everyone to defend the Community when the Earth’s rotation reverses soon and these chosen ones go into their underground fortress to wait out the chaos.

Despite Pioneer’s efforts, the Community hasn’t completely escaped the notice of nearby townspeople during their monthly supply runs. In fact, the sheriff has just come for a visit to make sure everyone is within the gates of their own free will.

When Lyla is chosen as tour guide for the sheriff’s teenage son, she begins thinking about the outside world and finds Cody in her dreams (even though Will is her intended now).

A small mistake on her part leads to disastrous results as Pioneer shows the Community outside news that confirms his prophecies are coming true now!

“This is not a drill!” Pioneer thunders – but Lyla doesn’t want to believe that the endtimes have arrived in this novel about belief, lies, and faith.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Boxers & Saints, by Gene Luen Yang (book reviews) – two views of war, graphic novel style

Sep18

book cover of Boxers by Gene Luen Yang published by First Second Booksbook cover of Saints by Gene Luen Yang published by First Second BooksChina at war with itself in 1900,
tradition versus new beliefs,
cultural identity versus change.

We may have heard of the Boxer Rebellion or Uprising because of its unusual name (and inevitable juvenile snickers about the word ‘boxer’), but didn’t realize that Western countries were eyeing China for conquest and colonialism in the late 1800s.

Now this pair of  well-scripted and evocatively drawn graphic novels examines the larger conflict from the viewpoints of two individuals whose paths cross once (or was it twice?), neither of whom can realistically expect to win the fight of their lives.

Yang uses a muted palette for the drabness of village life, reserving strong colors for battles when Bao and his disciple-brothers and sisters transform into all-powerful Chinese gods and for Joan of Arc’s appearances to Vibiana. The boxed set of both books is gorgeous; check out the spine art’s continuation of the cover sequence.

When is it too late to change your beliefs? When is it too soon to stand your ground, despite the odds?
**kmm

p.s. I wrote and scheduled this post before the National Book Awards‘ long-list was announced on 16 September – congratulations, Gene!

Book info: Boxers / story and art by Gene Luen Yang, color by Lark Pien. FirstSecond Books, 2013.   Saints / story and art by Gene Luen Yang, color by Lark Pien. FirstSecond Books, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site – Boxers]  [publisher site –  Saints]  [book trailer for both books]   Review copies and cover images courtesy of the publisher.

My book talks:    BOXERS – Foreign powers want to take China’s wealth in 1900, but patriotic men (and women) will use fists, swords, and fire to reunite their country.

This graphic novel of the Boxer Rebellion traces the roots of the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist, a people-led army rising from impoverished villages, dedicated to getting justice for the wrongs committed by foreign devils, including Christian missionaries and Chinese converts.

Youngest brother Bao becomes strong and mighty through the Society’s practices, eventually leading them against foreign and imperial troops at Peking. When he allows the Red Lantern maiden warriors to join the cause and fight alongside men, some Brother-Disciples question his motives, though not the women’s killing skill.

Practicing martial arts and stern rituals, Brother-Disciples of the Fist feel themselves transformed into gods of Chinese legend as they fought to wrest the capital city from the ’round eyed’ foreigners uncontrolled by weak emperor Ching.

Yet time doesn’t stand still for gods or empires or young men who are visited in their dreams – the Boxer Rebellion ends just as this book portrays it.

Yang’s companion book, Saints, shows this historic conflict from the viewpoint of a Chinese convert to Christianity who escapes her abusive family to watch history unfold.

SAINTS – The God preached by foreign missionaries might rescue an unwanted daughter in 1900 even as a peasant army marches to kill all the foreign devils who want to drain China of its wealth and debase its heritage.

Four-Girl, born on the most inauspicious day of the year, doesn’t even merit a name as her grandfather blames her for the untimely death of her father. A devil, he calls her, and nothing she does is right. To fight back, she begins secretly learning about Christianity, since its missionaries are known as ‘foreign devils’ to everyone.

Escaping from abuse at home, Four-Girl receives the saint-name Vibiana when she is baptized and travels with the foreign priest to a town with its own church. Away from its orphanage, she sees visions of a slim girl in bright metal armor – the priest says her name is Joan of Arc, a champion of her Church and her country.

Now Vibiana knows she is being called to save someone, even in the face of the Righteous Fist army killing Christians and foreigners wherever they go as the Boxer Uprising begins.

Be sure to read Yang’s companion book, Boxers, to see how a peasant army tries to push out the foreign devils and their converts to reunite the China they love.  (Two of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Tumble & Fall, by Alexandra Coutts (book review) – Earth in asteroid’s path, the end?

Sep16

book cover of Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts published by Farrar Strauss GirouxAsteroids pass near the Earth often enough.
This Persephone one will hit us,
No doubts, no magic superhero rescue,
Now what?

As the collision date nears, families all over the world are faced with a crisis that’s not covered in any emergency preparedness manual.

In this novel, Sienna, Owen, Carly, Caden, Zan, and Noah each have their own ideas about what to do before it’s all over  – “Stand by Me” seems to be the island’s theme song, for sure.

If you knew we only had a few weeks left before the end of the world, what would you do? (Alexandra’s list is here)
**kmm

Book info: Tumble & Fall / Alexandra Coutts.  Farrar Strauss Giroux, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Just a week left to live… not someone in particular, but everyone, as an asteroid zooms toward an unavoidable collision with Earth. Who to be with, what to do or not do – how does a small island town cope with The End?

Sienna’s dad brought her from rehab to the summer home they’d avoided since Mom’s death, to her persnickety little brother Ryan, to the woman Dad is marrying so they could spend the end of the world together. The island kids have grown up, too, and Owen wants to make sure Sienna hears his band and their pal Carly singing while there’s still time.

Zan felt like the world ended 10 months ago when Leo died in a wreck. Now his little sister brings her a book found in his truck afterwards, little knowing that its receipt-as-bookmark holds a hidden message for a Vanessa, someone that Zan must find.

Kidnapped! Caden isn’t surprised that his selfish absentee dad used force to get him off the island, but why didn’t he grab sister Carly, too? He’s got to reach his family on the island before the asteroid disrupts the tides too much for boat travel.

A performance-art installation called “the Forgiveness Machine”,
Optimists building an amphibious ark,
Secrets kept and secrets uncovered.

The days until collision tick down, and these teens, their friends, and their families must each decide how to live fully until The End.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Counterfeit Family Tree of Vee Crawford-Wong, by L. Tam Holland (book review) – family secrets, lies & love?

Sep11

book cover of Counterfeit Family Tree of Vee Crawford-Wong by L Tam Holland published by Simon SchusterHalf-Chinese, half-Texan,
Parents won’t discuss family,
Who is Vee? He’s not sure.

Yep, one of those “write about your family history” assignments which make adoptees, foster kids, and those with fractured families cringe, and Vee decides that writing fiction is better than flunking for writing nothing.

I traveled in China a few years ago, so I can mentally see and smell and hear the inauspicious family trip that Vee, his Texan mom, his Chinese dad, and his best friend-girl take to Dad’s hometown searching for Grandfather Wong.

Grab this basketball-loving, dysfunctional family times two, coming-of-age tale today at your favorite local library or independent bookstore.

When it comes to skeletons rattling the family tree, should you ignore, hide, or celebrate them?
**kmm

Book info: The Counterfeit Family Tree of Vee Crawford-Wong / L. Tam Holland. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Basketball, girls, and sad irony – life for Vee was okay. Inventing his family history for a school paper turns things upside down, and his Chinese dad and Texan mom may not see the humor in it, especially when they all go to China on a wild grandfather chase.

Yes, they gave him a name that couldn’t be mistaken for Chinese. No, Dad and Mom will never talk about their parents, ever. Yes, Vee loves basketball more than anything, but passion doesn’t equal talent. No, he is not going to fail honors history merely because he has no known family history to write about!

Getting cut from JV team is awful, but being named manager of the girls’ varsity team could be alright. It’s odd being around Adele outside history class where she hangs out (Mr. Riley helped her out of a tough spot once, she says) – maybe Vee is misreading the extra attention she pays him, or maybe not.

Vee’s best friend Madison’s Chinese is much better than his, so she helps him “reinvent” family information for the history paper and writes a letter to his dad as if from his long-estranged grandfather in China. This extra-credit detail sends the Crawford-Wongs (plus Madison) to Dad’s home village in search of family healing, and what a strange trip their journey becomes!

What if they really find Grandfather? What if they don’t?
What caused Mom’s parents to cut off communication?
What does senior Adele see in Vee (or is he imagining things)?

Complicated family history plus misunderstandings at school (on and off the court) might make Vee wish he’d never written that paper or might let him finally discover who he is, at last.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Getting back in the swing of things (or, Jetlag gets me again)

Sep6

Texas woman in sarong standing in front of Hindu temple BaliBefore I left for IASL2013 Annual Conference in Bali on August 20th, I had several book recommendations written and set for release on BooksYALove on different days while I was away (betcha didn’t even know I was gone), but only through September 2nd, the date of my return to the USA.

Surely, I’d be able to get the next review written and links prepared by Wednesday Sept. 4th…  nope. Jet-lagged.

Now I’m trying to get back in the reading-writing groove again, after nearly 2 weeks of traveling-meeting-presenting. Hopefully, I’ll be back on track by Monday.

Here’s a photo of me at Besakih Temple, the holy “mother temple” for Hindus in Bali, just so you know I was really there.

And yes, it’s hotter and more humid right now in Houston than it was in the tropical paradise of Bali!
**kmm

Are You Experienced? by Jordan Sonnenblick (book review) – time traveling back to Woodstock

Sep2

book cover of Are You Experienced? by Jordan Sonnenblick published by Fiewel and Friends3 days of peace and love,
Music too memorable to resist,
Woodstock.

Time travel with Rich as he meets his own dad as a teenager, hears Jimi Hendrix play his “Star-Spangled Banner” for the crowd, and tries to discover what he got sent back in time to accomplish.

Are You Experienced? embraces those three magical days whose musical and cultural legacies influenced generations – and its book birthday is tomorrow!

**kmm

Book info: Are You Experienced? / Jordan Sonnenblick. Feiwel & Friends, 2013. [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: One perfect chord on a classic electric guitar and Rich zooms from 2014 and world’s strictest parents to 1969 and Woodstock! Dad will never believe this, except he’s there, too, as his teenage self…

Why his mom and dad are so controlling, Rich will never know, especially since they were hippies and musicians back in the 70s. Dad still gets choked up about his big brother dying of an overdose at 18, but does he ever show Rich any affection? Of course not.

Sneaking into Dad’s always-locked den closet, the teen discovers a vintage electric guitar and a note about playing a special chord… Boom! Suddenly, Rich is on the road to the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969, picked up by David, Michael, and Willow – his own dad, uncle, and uncle’s girlfriend! Claiming the name Gabriel, he hangs out with them for the whole weekend of peace and music.

Living through all the amazing music played live by bands who’d become legendary, wishing for a cellphone to record it, a long late-night talk with Jimi Hendrix – amazing. Getting to know Uncle Michael (whose name grown-up Dad never even says) and his cool girlfriend – awesome. Meeting beautiful Donna and seeing David/Dad so excited about the trip and the music – priceless.

Michael is really worried about something and is trying to hide it from David – but he might talk to Gabriel.

How many of these people at Woodstock will get drafted for the Vietnam War?
What did Jimi mean when they talked backstage?
Is Gabriel/Rich ever getting back to 2014?

Time travel, recreational pharmaceuticals, rock and roll, dysfunctional families, mud, mushrooms, and music – welcome to Woodstock… the Jimi Hendrix song as title says it all.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant, by Tony Cliff (book review) – swashbuckling adventuress of 1807!

Aug28

book cover of Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff published by First Second Like Indiana Jones in the 1800s!
Except she’s a noblewoman,
and an expert swordfighter,
and has a much more “flexible” sense of honor.

Should this be your first meeting with Delilah Dirk, prepare yourself for miraculous escapes, gymnastic evasive maneuvers, and well-timed explosions.

Alas, the Agha of Constantinople did not believe the intelligence reports about her skills… but circumlocutious Lt. Selim still has his head to prove it’s all true.

Just published yesterday as a full-color graphic novel, this swashbuckling webcomic translates so well to the printed page – I had as much fun re-reading it to write this recommendation as I did the first go-round! Read 12 pages of Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant here and you’ll be hooked, too.

Here’s hoping that Delilah will have many more adventures for Canadian artist/author Tony Cliff to share with us (and that Lt. Selim can stand all the excitement).
**kmm

Book info: Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant / story and art by Tony Cliff. First Second Books, 2013. [Delilah site]  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: The Agha’s court of Constantinople in 1807 is hardly the place for a genteel young lady, but then again, adventuress Delilah Dirk is clever, skillful at fighting, and not at all genteel. Just ask Lt. Selim after she rescues him from execution and launches the tea-master into dangerous adventures with her.

Yes, Delilah is related to half the royal families in Europe. Yes, she has trained in weaponry and personal fighting skills her whole life. No, Selim is not fond of flying in the air (how does her ship do that?) or riding horseback for days on end (sorry, bad pun) or being nearly killed by Zakul’s minions repeatedly after Delilah steals her uncle’s treasure back from the pirate warlord.

Delilah insists that she can accomplish this task without Selim – he’s seen her swordwork and knows she’s right. But since Selim owes her his life, he tries to be helpful on her headstrong mission, while brewing the best teas on the entire Aegean Peninsula or Greece or wherever else they land.

Can they ‘liberate’ the treasure?
Will Selim survive the attempt?
What else does Delilah have up her sleeveless flight gown?

This uproarious, mile-a-minute graphic novel adventure features stellar use of color to invoke moods, fantastic drawing that brings emotions and motion to life, and sound effects (GRABB! DODGE’D!) that put an original spin on classic-comics traditions.   (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)