Best Newer Books from Preschool to Teen

I recently listened to a panel of librarians, authors and children's media specialists talk about my favorite thing.....books. The moderator asked this esteemed group of experts what the best new releases were and their recommendations.

So now, I am telling you what they are, because who doesn't love book recommendations?

For Children:
The Dark, by Lemony Snicket - I am a big fan of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events and this recommendation, for younger readers, caught my attention. This is a picture book for children ages 3 to 6 that casts Dark as a character, who leads a frightened child into the basement.

The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever, by H. Joseph Hopkins. This is another picture book, recommended for children ages 5 to 10. This is the story of Kate Sessions, an activist who helped transform San Diego from a desert to a lush, leafy city.

Henry's Freedom Box, by Ellen Levine. This is the dramatic story of a slave who mailed himself to freedom. It is recommended for children ages 4 to 8 years old, but I want to read it.

For Middle Grade and up:
Stubby the War Dog, by Wisconsin's very own Ann Bausum. This is the story of a stray, stump tailed terrier who helped win WWI.

Wonder, by R.J. Palacio. Of course! I have been hearing about this book so much and it happens to be promoted by my local library system. The story is about Auggie, a 10 year old boy with a facial deformity starting at a mainstream school.

Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli. This recommendation broke the rules, as Stargirl was published in 2002 and isn't a new release.  It is still a great story about the problems with popularity and first love. For ages 12 and up.

Happy reading!

New Release: My Tethered Soul by Dorothy Dreyer

Happy book birthday to MY TETHERED SOUL, by Dorothy Dreyer, just in time for fall reading. This is the second book in Dreyer's spooky fantasy/paranormal Reaper's Rite series. MY SISTER'S REAPER introduced Zadie and the Reaper in May 2013 and earned five star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon for its originality and storytelling. 

Book Blurb for MY TETHERED SOUL

It’s been months since Zadie faced her sister’s Reaper, months during which she’s been under her mentor’s magical protection. But now that she’s turning seventeen, that protection is about to run out.

When dark forces lure Zadie to wander at night, she’s manipulated into committing unspeakable acts. With her friends and family at risk, Zadie must try to use her powers to break free from the Reaper’s grasp, or surrender to the Reaper’s Rite, which can only lead to death.

Excerpt from MY TETHERED SOUL

My body shook, knocking my teeth together. Why was the bed rocking?

“Zadie, wake up.”

My eyes were slits as I pushed Mara away. I was entirely too tired to get up yet. “Five more minutes.”

“Zadie, come on.”

“What do you want?”

“There’s mud all over the floor. Footprints.”

I scrunched my forehead up, my eyes still not all the way open. “What? What are you talking about?”

“There were muddy footprints all over the floor. I wiped the ones up in the hall so Dad wouldn’t see, but there are more here in your room.”

My eyes widened. I sat up and focused on my bedroom floor. Sure enough, a trail of mud led up to my bed. Panic jump-started my heart as I realized someone could have been in my room while I slept. But the footprints only led up to my bed, not away from it.

I grabbed my sheet and ripped it off of my body. “Oh my God.”

.......

For more about Dorothy, her books, and a $30 Amazon Giveaway, visit her website at http://dorothydreyer.com

Burning the Manuscript

Writing is supposed to be a work of passion, so it should not be weird to wish to set a manuscript I spent months on, possibly year or more, on fire. I am sure Hemingway did that, or somebody. I am at that point tonight, looking at the messy, boring, ill connected collection of scenes I called a novel.

Four months ago, I thought that novel was amazing. A year ago, I was sure it was ready for publication. A perfect work of art that needed minor tweaking.

I was blinded by love of the story. Truly blinded. It took two years for me to see the flaws. TWO YEARS! I often hear the advice of setting the work aside for a month, three months, maybe even six months. I set it aside for a year, and still thought it was brilliant.  

Now you understand why I don’t have another book out. If it was out, it would be crap. It needs a major renovation, but I can see it now. I see the flaws I didn’t before. I can make it sing. But how lovely it would be to see the old version set on fire and burned into ashes. Like a phoenix, the story would rise again and be way better than before. It has to be. That version was crap. I don’t know why I ever liked it. 

Summer Reading List

How are you doing on your summer reading list? 

Summer days are filled with baseball games, swimming lessons, and supervising small people at the pool, giving me plenty of time to read, but nothing too heavy as I need to pay attention to the game and keep children from drowning. 

I recently read a translation of Dante Alighieri's Inferno, which is the first part of a trilogy depicting a descent into hell, then purgatory, then paradise. I didn't bother to read the last two parts of that comedy. Reading his depictions of hell are quite fun and decadent, and involve a lot of gruesome things. I read this in preparation to read Dan Brown's Inferno. That book is not as fun, and quite frankly, the mystery is getting annoying. Maybe I am not a mystery lover.

Also on my reading list: 

Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell. I hear a lot about this author. She may be the next John Green. There is talk of a movie coming out on this book. I better read it first!

Wonder, by R.J. Palacio. I have had this on my list for awhile and it was chosen by my local library system for their reading program, so there are plenty of copies available. The main character has a craniofacial deformity, which is a problem that has pulled at my heart. In school, it is hard to look different, and I want to read this kid's experience when looking different is part of who he is. 

Splintered, by A.G. Howard. The main character is the descendant of Alice, in which Alice in Wonderland is based. I am a fangirl of Lewis Carroll's creation and love to read about crazy people. 

So, what is on your reading list? 

The Not Writing Guilt

I haven't written a word in about a month. Before that, it was sketchy. I was working on revisions, halfheartedly. Mostly I have been letting story problems tumble around in my head and reading more.

My creative juices have been exhausted with a move. In the last two weeks, I have washed every dish, bowl, cookware, silverware and other kitchen gadget and accessories I own. I washed every piece of fabric in the house, from pillows to towels to clothing to jackets I don't even plan to keep. After sanitizing everything I own, I have to find a place for it to live in our new house, which is another challenge. To add to the chaos, I got a new computer on Mother's Day, and have been trying to make that transition. Getting a new computer is like a death to me. I have to lay the previous computer to rest and set up the new one. I hate that process. For months while still working on "Divided Moon," I was working with a computer that would shut down after 20 minutes of work, yet I would insist I was not ready to change computers, not until the work was done.

In spite of all this chaos, I have niggling guilt in the back of my brain for not writing. I have a fount of ideas, and actually recovered a notebook filled with plot, character sketches, a timeline and scenes for a horror novel I was too afraid to write before. I think I am ready now, if only I could get my house and office in order.

It will come, and I remind myself that a writers' downtimes are periods of collecting data. I have definitely been collecting data in the last few weeks. No words on the page, but ideas are bubbling as I examine my WIP, this lost WIP, my goals and other writing related things that don't involve actual writing.

I suppose I write this piece to remind myself, and all writers, that we are working, even when we aren't. Banish the guilt of not putting words on the page every day, as contemplation of story problems and planning other projects is also work. I also remind myself that when life gets in the way, I should pay attention, because it could be fodder for work. We have to live in order to know enough to create.

Book Review: Cinder

This is no fairy tale. Cinder, the debut young adult novel by Marissa Meyer and the first in her Lunar Chronicles series, is a clever, futuristic retelling of Cinderella….except I like this one better.  This Cinder doesn’t need a prince to save her, although one is making his intentions clear. She has a plan of her own that is interrupted when she has to save Earth.

Many elements of the fairy tale give the story a familiar feel. Cinder has an evil stepmother who puts Cinder to work and prohibits her from attending the ball. She has two stepsisters, although one of them is heartbreakingly charming. Cinder is dirty, not from cleaning the ashes from the fireplace, but because she is a mechanic and working with grease. Then there is the ball, and a twist to the lost shoe I saw coming, but loved all the same.

What is different is this story takes place in the future, when gasoline cars are ancient relics. Cinder isn’t entirely human, but a cyborg. I am not a frequent reader of science fiction or fantasy, so I wasn’t sure if I should know what that is. As far as I could tell with Cinder’s focus on her gloves and boots, she has some metal parts.

The story is predictable at times, which is fitting for a fairy tale retelling. We all know how the story goes. Yet there are surprises in every chapter that make this a light and enjoyable read. 

(Almost) A Year of Simple Living

Last summer, we decided to relocate the family to be together, moving from a 2200 square foot house to a two bedroom apartment in a new city.  It was a big change. Three boys sleep in one room, with about one foot between the beds. The garage is too small for our cars, so we were scraping windshields every morning all winter. We all learned patience and bladder control with one bathroom, five people, and a cat. Even the cat had to wait for the bathroom from time to time.

Tomorrow morning marks the end of our journey as we close on a new house in our new city.

Although I had doubts along the way, more than a few, the experience of living small has been something that changed all of us, probably forever.

1) Never underestimate the importance of a couch. We didn’t have furniture for the first five weeks in the apartment. Not having a decent place to sit in your place is harder (no pun intended) than any of us thought. We bought bean bag chairs, but they went flat after three weeks or so.

2) Same for a yard, or a square of driveway. People grill out in front of their garages, surrounded by a line of other garages in a parking lot pretty far away from a table. I hate it when the kids play outside, as all they have is the parking lot, which is not safe.

3) We don’t just love each other, we like each other, too. There has been no privacy for any of us in the last nine months. We laughed more often than we thought possible and grew closer. Perhaps because for some time, we were the only people we knew in town.

4) Being together is what is important. The darkest days were when the cat went missing. While it was hard to be away from him, not knowing if he was ok was what made a couple of us cry in the night. His return was the happiest of days and melted even the most cat hating family member. (Otis loves you too, Dean).

5) I don’t need half the stuff in my kitchen. I couldn’t bring everything, since the kitchen in the apartment is 1/3 the size of that in my house. I took the essentials. The only thing I truly miss is the George Foreman grill. Yeah, it surprises me, too. I miss it more than a microwave.

We won’t move first thing tomorrow, as I have some things to do to this house before we move our life and excessive stuff in. It could be a few weeks, perhaps as much as a month. I think I should leave a note of apology on the door of the apartment directly under us upon moving out. They put up with a lot with us.