T2T Tour: Leila Sales and Giveaway

Welcome to Day 6 of Leila Sales's Mostly Good Girls tour! Check out the Traveling to Teens homepage to find earlier days or which blogs are next for the tour! (You can also find out who's also giving away some MGG copies!)

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6. HUMOR WRITING – PART FIVE

Thus far on my blog tour, I’ve shared with you four tips for humor writing: agreement, using gifts, the rule of three, and callbacks. Today I’m going to give you some cautionary words:

5. WATCH YOUR DIGRESSIONS.

A brief and well-placed digression can be hilarious. A poorly used digression is out-of-control boring.

For example: Mostly Good Girls opens with the following paragraph:

Poor Mr. Thompson. Mr. Thompson is my precalc teacher, and he is also the only male at the Westfield School. Unless you count Mr. Roebeck, the bio teacher, which I don’t because he is approximately two million years old and the only man-like thing about him is that he wears neckties.

In my first draft, this paragraph went on for SO MANY SENTENCES longer. Something about how Annie Lennox also wore neckties, so maybe this isn’t even that masculine a characteristic anyway, etc.

I cut these lines because they were a digression. They were boring. The joke was already there, and the added stuff about Annie Lennox or whatever I was on about was serving only to make the joke less punchy. Once you’ve hit a joke, it’s time to move right along.

It can be hard to know when you’re on a worthwhile digression, and when you’re just babbling. Sometimes the only way to know is after you’ve written it all, and then you read it through with fresh eyes. If your laugh line comes three sentences into a paragraph, then the sentences after that can be cut.

A good question to ask yourself about digressions is: Is this really what my character is thinking about at this moment in time, or is this me, the writer, trying to get in there and insert my own funniness? Readers almost never want to hear the author talking to them, no matter how clever he thinks he is. They want to hear the characters!

I’m saving one final humor writing tip for my next blog tour post. Get psyched for it.

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And thanks to Simon and Schuster, Books by Their Cover has a giveaway for the hilarious Mostly Good Girls!

T2T: Hunger

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Grade: 3.8 / 4 stars out of 5

Lisabeth Lewis has always thought herself to be too fat; always counting the number of calories per meal and how many sit-ups, push-ups, or hours on the bike should she do to counteract the calories. Just when she was tired, too tired of life, Death comes knocking on her door and giving her the job of Famine. 

Hunger is a small book—novella?—but packs a lot in. The story is told through a point of view of a girl dealing with anorexia and self-denial. The folklore (or was it mythology) of the Apocalyptical Horsemen brings another dimension to the novel that was definitely new and creative. Hunger was a novella of irony where Lisa, the Horsemen of Famine, who has trouble dealing with her own hunger, helps the world with theirs. But the greatest was how becoming Famine helped Lisa discover her own problems with anoxia.

I think another aspect that I really enjoyed about Hunger was the friendships and family members that surrounded Lisa. It many cases the readers find a lack of family support or people questioning the health of the main character. In the cases of novels involving anoxia and bulimia we follow the healing process and not the coming-to-terms process.

My questions are, however, how did Death come to choose Lisa as the bearer of Famine? Whatever happened to Tammy, Lisa’s friend who was bulimic?

Cover A

Source: ARC from Graphia for Traveling to Teens Tours

Published: October 18, 2010 paperback

Order via Amazon

a portion of the proceeds from Hunger will be donated to National Eating Disorders Association

T2T Tour: The Ivy

The Ivy by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur

Source: ARC from Greenwillow

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

Callie finally made it to Harvard, but making it is just one step of the battle. She may have won the battle to get into Harvard, but there’s still a war.

The Ivy stood out as a novel for its perfect timing just days before or after school started. Some part of the brain wonders the ‘what if’ question: what if I made it to an Ivy League school? And if The Ivy by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur is a reflection of that ‘what if’ I can safely, or at least half of me, say that I am happily enough not to attend.

Ever wonder what happens beyond those gates, doors, and buildings? The answer: booze, sex, and drugs. Oh and a little killer envy and backstabbing gossip. The Ivy reads more like a MTV reality TV show than an intellectual entertainment novel. It’s like watching a lion kill its prey in real life: fascinating and dangerous to your health. I was surely fascinated with The Ivy the first several pages and the first couple of chapters then I slowly realized this was it: a drama-filled, neurotic novel that leaves you wondering if it stepped over boundaries.

A likes B, but B is in love with C, and C doesn’t know what she wants. And oh, there’s also D, E, F, and G, but they’re mostly there for the good booze and fun sex. You kind of wonder throughout the whole novel if they use condoms or talk about STD testing because of how frequent these people do the deed then you realize it is a major buzz-kill and all the characters are fictional so you just go with the flow. (How come Callie doesn’t have sex with ____ but does with ___ and calls it “bliss”!? It doesn’t connect in my head!)

The Ivy is a battle ground rather than a school where it’s clawing your way to the top of the social hierarchy. This is the in-between session of the “Gossip Girls” crew going to college; bring out those claws baby. But Kunze and Onur throw in a couple ginormous multi-syllable words that will you scratching your heads and a few stress filled scenes as Callie decides her classes and extracurricular activities. They also include family emails, school papers, and quick little paragraphs debriefing Harvard homework. On a side note, one of the roommates/side characters speaks French 90% of the time. Seeing as how I do not speak French and am too lazy to look the words up I cannot tell if it’s correct.

And now I am leaving with a few messages:

• !@#%%$# ← gets annoying
• WHERE’S THE FREAKING THIRD BALL!?
• All the characters I like do not get a spotlight ever. Makes me sad.

The caption for the book reads: Get in or Get Over it. Does that mean I'm over the series whereas others will get in and stay in?

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Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur are graduates of Harvard University, where they were roommates for four years.

This review is part of Traveling to Teens tours.

Blog Tour: The Exiled Queen

The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima

Grade: 4 stars out of 5

Haunted by the loss of his mother and sister, Han Alister journeys south to begin his schooling at Mystwerk House in Oden’s Ford.   But leaving the Fells doesn’t mean danger isn’t far behind.  Han is hunted every step of the way by the Bayars, a powerful wizarding family set on reclaiming the amulet Han stole from them. And Mystwerk House has dangers of its own. There, Han meets Crow, a mysterious wizard who agrees to tutor Han in the darker parts of sorcery—but the bargain they make is one Han may regret.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna runs from a forced marriage in the Fells, accompanied by her friend Amon and his triple of cadets.  Now, the safest place for Raisa is Wein House, the military academy at Oden's Ford.  If Raisa can pass as a regular student, Wein House will offer both sanctuary and the education Raisa needs to succeed as the next Gray Wolf queen. [description from Amazon]

This review is going to be much shorter than The Demon King, just FYI.

With The Exiled Queen, the plot begins to thicken and quicken as well. The world of magick unravels more and exposes several paths that some might not have foreseen. There are several introductions to numerous additional characters.

Cinda Williams Chima retains the flow of the novel and presses forward without a hitch in this sequel. One of the biggest concerns I had was if the transition would be awkward and clunky and delivered different than The Demon King. It wasn’t happily enough 

The novel focuses more on character development than with the big picture. Here is my analysis for the trilogy: The Demon King is the heavy-handed background and general set-up; The Exiled Queen is the development of characters; and the final installment will be the giant climax and pow. Stepping back, this formula makes sense. In the here and now, however, it is a bit unfulfilling unless you have all three books at the same time.

The characters are definitely a joy to read especially Han. Readers, prepare to be swooned. I love the dynamics of the relationship between characters even more so than individually. I love the shy talks, the familiarity that comes through with dialogue, and the strong sense of justice. In particularly I think it is possible to find a relatable character for each reader.

This review is far more general than I had hoped, but here is a little warning: be on your toes. Also prepare to cyber-stalk Chima once you finished.

Cover: B+

Source: Hyperion for blog tour

Published in hardcover: September 28, 2010

Purchase via Amazon

Cinda Williams Chima: On Gender Voices

I’m honored to be writing a guest blog for Books by Their Cover. But my glee is tempered by the fact that Yan has given me a really difficult topic—differentiating gender voice. Says Yan, “Is there a distinctive way how a male character would sound versus how the female mind/voice?”

No matter how I approach this, I’m going to get into trouble. (Cautiously pokes topic with stick. Topic explodes in face.)

Should an author take gender into account when developing character voice?

As if writing a novel isn’t hard enough!

DRY SCHOLARLY PART: Research into differences in communication between men and women suggests that women tend to use conversation for relational purposes—to connect with others. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to use conversations to get things done or to persuade others. Popular books such as Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus perpetuate the notion that men and women communicate differently.

I’m no expert, but actual experts have reviewed the research and concluded that true gender differences (biology) account for only 1% of variation in communications styles. The rest is driven by socio-economic factors, socialization, and expectations. http://www.awn.mtansw.com.au/gender_differences.htm

Not only that, but the content of women’s communications is changing as societal expectations change. These days, women’s conversations are as likely as men’s to focus on work and money, as opposed to men and appearance.

END OF SCHOLARLY PART

Full disclosure: I read none of that before I began to write.

Bottom line: it’s a minefield.

Some even say that it’s impossible for an author of one gender to write in the voice of the other. I once had a writing teacher who said that you can’t get into the head of a person that you’ve never been.

Well, that certainly narrowed my options! So I didn’t listen to her.

My first two books (The Warrior Heir and The Wizard Heir) are written from a male point of view. Somehow I felt more comfortable with that voice, maybe because The Heir Chronicles are contemporary fantasy, and maybe because I had two teenage males living right in my home. I have trouble keeping up with popular culture as it is—I knew nothing about what was au courant with teen girls.

And even when I was a teenage girl, I had trouble fitting in with conventional notions of what I should be thinking about and how I should be acting.

Still, it was suggested that I might want to use my initials (a la J.K. Rowling) since I was writing a book in a boy’s voice for an audience that includes boys.

I declined.

In The Dragon Heir, I used alternating point of view: a boy, Seph McCauley, and a girl, Maddie Moss. They have distinctively different voices, but it has more to do with differences in temperament and upbringing, not so much gender. Seph is a trust-fund child, raised in Toronto by a French guardian and educated in private schools all over the world. Maddie Moss grew up in Coal Grove, a small town in Appalachian Ohio. She is trying to break free of her hardscrabble roots and her mother’s low expectations. Maddie’s voice is the voice of my Appalachian ancestors.

The Seven Realms series is high fantasy. The action in The Demon King takes place in the medieval queendom of the Fells. Here, inheritance is matrilineal, with a rough equality between genders in society at large.

Again, there are clear educational and class differences between the two viewpoint characters. Raisa ana’Marianna is a princess—the heir to the Gray Wolf throne. She rebels against the prospect of a political marriage by taking risks when it comes to romance.

Han Alister is a reformed thief who grew up on the streets of the slums of the capital city. Though only a few miles divide them, they live in two different worlds, and speak dramatically different versions of the same language. Han’s use of thieves’ slang or patter makes his voice distinctive as the story begins. Han is something of a romantic player himself—because he knows he’s unlikely to survive his teens.

In The Exiled Queen, both Han and Raisa are on the run from dangers at home. They leave the Fells, coming together at the Academy at Oden’s Ford, a school that draws students from all over the Seven Realms. For the first time, Raisa encounters gender bias on the part of some of the faculty and other students.

Han asks the girl he knows as Rebecca to teach him to pass as a blueblood. His voice gradually changes as he learns to negotiate the higher levels of society.

So—back to the question: Should an author take gender into account when developing character voice?

My answer: it depends on the context.

In The Dragon Heir, Madison Moss’s mother has a traditional view of gender roles, and tries to force her daughter into them even as Maddie rebels. All of this takes place against the backdrop of a star-crossed romance between Maddie and Seph and a rebellion of the magical guilds.

In the Seven Realms series, Raisa ana’Marianna hasn’t been socialized to meet the gender expectations we know. The conflicts between Han and Raisa are driven by the growing attraction between them and the magical, societal, and class barriers that keep them apart.  Oh, and a whole lot of other stuff.

So, in developing gender voices, consider—where and when does the story happen? Has your character been socialized to meet certain gender expectations and roles? Is this a period piece that takes place in the 1950s or Victorian England or a post-apocalyptic future world? What are the personal attributes of your character? Is he or she likely to rebel against socialization and expectations, or conform to them?

What is your story about? Does the conflict derive from differences in men and women and how that affects relationships? Or is the focus elsewhere?

My opinion is that gender does affect voice—but compared to other factors such as class, education, context, and socialization, it’s pretty far down on the list.

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The Demon King is now available in paperback, and The Exiled Queen released September 28. Excerpts from each of my books are available on my website, www.cindachima.com. Help for writers can be found under Tips for Writers, including a document called, “Getting Started in Writing for Teens.”

I blog at http://cindachima.blogspot.com/, where you’ll find rants, posts on the craft of writing, and news about me and my books.

Blog Tour: The Demon King

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

Grade: 3.8 / 4 stars out of 5

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for himself, his mother, and his sister Mari.  Ironically, the only thing of value he has is something he can’t sell.  For as long as Han can remember, he’s worn thick silver cuffs engraved with runes.  They’re clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he’s never been able to get them off.

Raisa ana’Marianna, Princess Heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight.  She’s just returned to court after three years of relative freedom with her father’s family at Demonai camp – riding, hunting, and working the famous Clan markets.  Although Raisa will become eligible for marriage after her sixteenth name-day, she isn't looking forward to trading in her common sense and new skills for etiquette tutors and stuffy parties.

Quite honestly The Demon King is a fantasy adventure readers' dream come true.

The novel is told through two perspectives, Han and Raisa, where they each live separate lives in two distinctively different worlds. This enables the reader to fully grasp the dynamics the political and physically world. A world that stretches from the countryside, to the alleyways, and to the crevices of the castle. Even without the aid of a map one can easily picture the world in the mind through the descriptions and hints.

This separation of worlds also creates this juxtapose that the reader finally sees in the end as Raisa travels throughout her land without the carriages and guards and Han discovers the truth behind the silver cuffs.

However, The Demon King is definitely on the slower side in terms of pacing and development. It becomes obviously clear that The Demon King is the first installment of a series and that it is merely the set-up for the main plot. It’s a tedious read, I will admit, with loads of background information and history contexts that will leave readers frustrated. [Trust me, I had my brother read the series first and whenever I asked how he was liking the novel, he kept saying that there was no plot yet.]

But do not give up just yet. The novel does reward the reader in time.

Because I find this statement hilarious I have to just say it. My brother calls Raisa a slut. While I will not go as far as calling Raisa a slut, I did find Raisa to be promiscuous. She has had her fair share of kisses at the age of 15, which is the opposite of what I had pictured for a princess: pure, shy, and sweet. Instead Raisa takes charge and has a firm desire to be a good queen to her people. Lessons taught to her from the other side of the family—the clan side—where girls can become warriors.

It is different a modern twist to the novel where girls can more than one first kisses just as boys do (especially Han).

The Demon King does have plenty of twists, some predicted right from the very beginning and others that came from left-field (ensue: holy WTF!). Though it could just be me. See, now that I think about it, a lot of it makes sense. Okay I am totally losing my train of thought and gibbering along nothing.

I would definitely, positively recommend this novel for readers who enjoy fantasy novels with 80% action and 20% romance. The Demon King is a detailed orientated novel that has its pros and cons.

Cover: B+

Source: Hyperion on behalf on blog tour

Published paperback: August 31, 2010

Purchase via Amazon

T2T Tour: Rise of the Fire Tamer

Rise of the Fire Tamer by Kailin Gow

Source: author for blog tour

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory meets Narnia in Rise of the Fire Tamer. Five avid fans of the game Wordwick are invited to the creator’s home and test drive the newest game. They find out that this game is all too real. Armed with weapons and their choice of words, they fight to the end.

Rise of the Fire Tamer creates a new world much like that of Narina with wondrous creatures and deadly traps in Anachronia. But the biggest plus for Rise of the Fire Tamer is not the actual storyline, which by the way is unique by itself, but for the educational bonus the reader gets. Rise of the Fire Tamer is full of SAT words that would provide a much more fun way to learn. There are context clues from when the gamers speak the word and an action occurs with a glossary in the back as the last resort.

Kailin Gow writes strong heroines and heroes that hold its own various strength; not all brute strength, but intellectually as well. Gow forces against stereotypes and goes a different route with the characters to create memorable personalities (likable or unlikable is not a major concern for these gamers).

The novel is fast-paced and borders on predictable, but there is a slight twist at the end. It’s very much a true action adventure tale where the scenes are easy to follow, but enjoyable nonetheless.

However I still have many lingering questions and overall reluctance with the “game” though the sequel may answer them. The flow was also quite...odd. At the end of each chapter, the reader gets an insight to their minds. Overall the narration is focused solely on Gem but these short bursts of change of narration at first had me confused then slightly irritated. There is also the editing. I believe that my copy is an ARC; I hope that it is because there are some words that are missing letters (“her” was meant to be “here) and skewed formatting where there are extra lines between paragraphs or not enough lines.

Stop by the Traveling to Teens homepage for the rest of the stops

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Kailin Gow is the author of over 40 books. She is also an adventurer, having traveled all over the world, conducting research, and collecting stories. Some of the more interesting places she's been to are: Dracula's Castle in Transylvania where she was presented with a sketch of Dracula, The Stanley Hotel in Colorado where she saw something quite odd, the lost city of Pompeii where both her cameras were drained of battery, St. Petersburg where she held an hour-long conversation with a Russian soldier who didn't speak English and she didn't speak Russian, and the orphanages of Thailand where Kailin distributed toys and books to and hugged hundreds of disabled orphans.

She holds a Masters Degree Communications Management from USC's Annenberg School of Communication, and Bachelors Degrees in Drama and Social Ecology from UC Irvine. She is a mother, a mentor for young women, and the founder of the social group for girls teen and young adult girls called Shy Girls Social Club at shygirlssocialclub.com.

More EDGE books.

Blog Tour: Maid of Murder

Maid of Murder by Amanda Flower

Source: author for blog tour

Grade: 3.3 stars out of 5

India Hayes has been a bridesmaid several times already (but never the bride), but this wedding may be the most exciting yet. The bride—a childhood friend of India’s—Olivia Blocken is killed just before her wedding and the main culprit is her brother who asked Olivia to meet him by the fountain just before her death. All the trails lead up to Mark: ex-boyfriend still pining for Olivia and a rendezvous that led to death, but India is determined that Mark had nothing to do with Olivia’s death. 

Maid of Murder, while it may sound odd, biggest asset for me was not the murder mystery, but the cats. That’s right: the cats. Not just ‘a’ cat, but two cats: Templeton and Theodore. Two freaking awesome cats that duke it out in the bedroom with claws and biting fur flying everywhere. Before you call PETA on me, I am not into animal cruelty, but this scene was freaking hilarious. Or maybe it was just the dialogue that was funny?

Okay, back to the novel. The mystery aspect as very straight-forward and is a classic mystery—one that I already solved when all the characters were introduced mind you. There is no extremely challenging or “original” I could say to Maid of Murder, but it still provided a light-hearted (as far as a murder mystery can be light-hearted), delightfully fun read.

The characters themselves were caricatures: exaggerated, bigger-than-life, but funny as heck. We have Ina, the landlord for our heroine, so proud of her Irish heritage that her apartment is completely green and her lawn covered her ornaments. The parents: the mother is a Reverend and the father fell down the roof paralyzing his lower half, but they are both huge activists. Picket signs, chaining themselves to trees, chants, the whole shebang. The sister: pregnant with twin girls and very loud. What’s not to love?

In all, Maid to Murder is a well-paced mystery novel that is humorous, but still leaves lingering desires for a sequel.

Cover C-

You can find more information about the tour and the next stops at the author's website.

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1. Your novel features two cats that held my undivided attention from the start. Can you tell me a little more about your cats and if they were your inspiration of Theodore and Templeton?

I’ve received so many compliments about my cat characters, and I’m thrilled because they are two of my favorite characters in the book too. Both cats are based on my own cats. Templeton is based on a black cat that I had growing up, and Theodore is based on a Maine Coon cat I’ve had since I was fifteen. He’s now fifteen-years-old himself, and in his prime, he tipped the scale at twenty-seven pounds. He now weighs eighteen due to old age and a strict diet. Unlike Templeton and Theodore, my two cats grew up together and rarely fought. However when they did it was usually an all out war as I described in the novel.

2. Are you an avid fan of crime solving dramas? What is your favorite? I'm partial to NCIS.

Right now, my favorite crime solving show is Castle on ABC. It’s about a mystery writer who helps the police solve crimes. The characters are quirky, and I love the banter between the main characters. During the opening credits, the main character does a voiceover that says, “There are two kinds of folks who sit around thinking about how to kill people: psychopaths and mystery writers.” Every time I hear that I chuckle because it’s true.

3. Do you see a little of yourself in India Hayes? After reading your biography I realize that you both are academic librarians for a small college.

It’s true India and I share the same occupation, and I do see some of myself in her. For one, we both share a heartfelt affection for flip-flops. As far as her occupation goes, many things that happen to her in the library have happened to me. We differ the most in our personalities. India’s phlegmatic and takes all of the craziness that happens around her in stride. I wouldn’t be that calm about it. I certainly would never try to solve a real murder. I’d happily let the police do that.

4. Where is your favorite destination to travel?

This is a tough question because I’ve been to so many wonderful places all over the U.S. and the world. If I had to pick, I’d say America’s National Parks. I have a National Park passport that I get stamped at every park I visit. I have friends who can attest to the crazy lengths I will go for a National Park stamp. I started visiting the parks because I read Nevada Barr’s mysteries. Her protagonist is a park ranger. Because I enjoyed her books so much, I wanted to see the places she described so beautifully. I’ve been to many of the big parks, such as the Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Arches, but I’ve also visited many of the lesser known ones. This summer, I visited Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I loved it and am ready to go back.

5. And a little something odd to keep you on your toes ;) If you were to find yourself killed, would you rather come back as a: ghost; vampire; zombie; werewolf?

A ghost? Naw—too spooky.
A vampire? Nope—too toothy.
A zombie? Pass—too creepy.
A werewolf? No, thanks—too furry.

Thank you for the interview, Yan!

TLC Book Tour: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwama and Bryan Mealer

Source: Harper Perennial

Grade: 4.5 stars out of 5

Stop by William's blog as well as the rest of the blog tour stops.

In a lifestyle where the amount of crop harvested accounted for everything, "The slightest problem in weather, fertilizer, or seed productivity could tip families off the edge into hunger" (79). That was the life of William Kamkwamba. Education has always been a luxury that many could not afford and because of the famine, William is one of many drop-outs. He later seeks out the library as a source to fill his crave of education--self-educating himself. This is where William first learns of windmills and is inspired to create one. It forever changed his life.

William is the boy who harnessed the wind and channeled it into electricity. He is the boy who intrigued several, captivated many, and inspired thousands. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is an emotional impacting novel that gives the readers' a taste of the harsh African life. Before the "uplifting" part came, it is a depressing and harsh reality that many only know so little about.

Having taken a course that focused several months on child soldiers in African and corrupt governments, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind brought back that time for me. Along with the heart-wrenching famine that killed thousands, still creating a horror scene with precise diction in written form, I struggled to maintain a separation from my learnings and  the novel, but it was hard. In my mind, not only did I picture the arid land and skeleton framed beings struggling about, but splashes of red lined the picture. Blood, anger splotches at the corrupt government.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind commands attention and sucks the reader in, compelling a one-sitting read. It has a narration of a great storyteller: captivating the audience, installing a sense of fear, creating tension, an emotional link, and ending with a grand moral and an uplifting morale. Weaved throughout the novel, there are tidbits of Kamkwamba's childhood and culture. Below is a crude diagram of the novel: the main line is the general plot, sometimes going off tangent that takes time.

In a sense The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a memoir, just one that is written by someone else, of William Kamwamba's entire life, not just the windmill part.

One of the biggest highlights of the novel is the accompanying pictures. However I struggled a lot through the actual "windmill" building aspects. It just completely flew over my head. I also wished for a glossary at the book of the novel as a reference for many of the words.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind was extraordinary. A novel that I would suggest others to at least reach the 100th page.

Blog Tour: The Fixer Upper

The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews

Source: Harper for TLC book tours

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

Dempsey Killebrew has no other choice but to move to Guthrie, Georgia when her boss is caught in a political scandal of bribing a US Congressman. Her father just inherited a house in Georgia in which he wants Dempsey to renovate to flip for profit when she gets fired from her job and her reputation in D.C. is in shambles. But the house is in need of much more than a sweep of the broom and a little Windex and Dempsey plans to tackle this project head-on with Michael Jackson on her iPod. The FBI is at her door though demanding Dempsey to help them get her boss to confess and put him firmly behind bars or else she risks getting herself in jail for 15 years with a heavy fine. And let's not forget that Guthrie is a small town where everyone knows everybody's business.

The Fixer Upper was a book that I had procrastinated on reading. I cleaned the house, read a couple of other books, reviewed plenty more and finally, grudgingly, began reading. The Fixer Upper gave off this sense of heavy, boring, full of legal and house cleaning information, but it was surprisingly easy to read and time escaped me.

The legal and political aspect of the novel were straight forward, to the point, and just enough to make the reader understand without taking up paragraph after paragraph worth of pages. The house flipping, on the other hand, was pretty hefty in terms of going in depth and filling up pages. I particularly did not mind it much because I enjoy watching DYI shows, but some readers will find themselves frustrated at the details.

The characters were a bit off putting for me especially Dempsey. It seemed to me that she had an Electra complex where she liked men who reminded her a bit of her father; particularly in the age category. It seemed to be a reoccurring theme in The Fixer Upper: older men dating younger woman. Her father marries a woman who is only 4 years older than Dempsey and Dempsey finds herself attracted to men who are about her father's age. It gets into a creepy factor when Dempsey describes men whom she finds attractive and then brings her father up. But it gets better (in a good way, not in a sarcastic way), trust me. I do find many of the characters likable and easy to relate to at times.

The Fixer Upper is ultimately a fun, great read that helps time to pass by quickly. It is dramatic and scandalous and enjoyable to read.

Find out more stops to The Fixer Upper tour here. You can find Mary Kay at her website and her twitter.

The Fixer Upper is now available in paperback.

The Double Blog Dare Tour

Alison Dare, Little Miss Adventures and Alison Dare, The Heart of the Maiden by J.Torres and Jason Bone

Source: Tundra Books for blog tour

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

The Adventures of Alison Dare follows an unstoppable (a.k.a stubborn) girl named Alison Dare. She's always curious, and whenever bored, creates a new adventure for she and her friends, whether they want to or not. However, sometimes curiosity kills the cat (or is that how the saying goes?) and Alison gets in more trouble than she bargained for. Though with a renowned archaeologist mother, a superhero father, and an international superspy uncle, she should be used to it.

There are actually a couple stories in one graphic novel. Sometimes it halts one story to begin another one then goes back to the original first story to build suspense (it works). The story lines are simple and easy to follow even for a first time reader of Alison Dare such as myself. The same applies to the artwork--simple but gets the job done.

I think out of all the adventures I read, the most favorite one has to be where the nuns of the school (I think Alison attends an all girls Catholic school?) battle a group of ninjas. It has me laughing from the bizarre scenario.

Alison Dare is a quick, fun, and easy read for all ages and for both genders.

Alison Dare battles the fire-breathing glow-in-the-dark dragon!

Alison Dare as she heroically leaps over spikes!

Alison Dare as she triumphantly defeats the Evil Old Lady Who Lives In A Shoe!

Alison Dare as she fights against a new evil-doer--herself! EVIL CLONES!

(Yes I know, she's quite busy isn't she ;P)

Find more Alison Dare at the other tour stops!

TLC Blog Tour: The Truth About Delilah Blue

The Truth About Delilah Blue by Tish Cohen

Source: Harper Perennial for blog tour.

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

Delilah Blue Lovett has always been a bit of an outsider, ever since her father moved her from Toronto to L.A. when she was eight, claiming Delilah's mother no longer wanted to be part of their family. Twenty now and broke, but determined to be an artist like her errant mom, Delilah attends art class for free--by modeling nude at the front of the room, a decision that lifts the veil from her once insular world. While she struggles to find her talent, her father, her only real companion, is beginning to exhibit telltale signs of early-onset Alzheimer's. And her mother, who Delilah always assumed had selfishly abandons them, is about to reappear with a young daughter in tow...and a secret that will change everything. Delilah no longer knows which parent to trust--the only one she can rely on is the most broken person of all: herself.--from the back of the book

With an emotional immature mother and a father who will do everything for his little girl, The Truth About Delilah will wreck havoc on a reader's immediate response on responsibility. They made side with the mother who has been hunting for her daughter for years with milk cartoon ads, news shows, and websites or the father who believes that an environment of artistically lazy-bums living off a wealthy trust fund a.k.a. smokers, druggies, and just lazy-bums is not good for a child growing up. My heart goes out to the father who has early signs of Alzheimer's who has been through thick and thin for his daughter some might say that taking her away from a mother may offset that good attribute.

Then there's Delilah who cast in a whirlwind of lies and confusion. She inspires to become a famous artist yet lacks the proper training and sense of center. A reflection of her family life. Delilah makes the perfect character to be dissected and reconstructed in both words and in painting.

While The Truth About Delilah Blue makes this reader giddy with the psychological impact, the time sequences and warping loses my focus. The prologue of third person to second person point of view left things off shaky start from the start that took several pages in to confirm my initial assumption and understanding. I also wanted more of the background information of the father and mother instead of assuming once again what had occurred. The ending, as well, leaves a dramatic finesse but lacks clarity and finality.

Head on over to the TLC website from the other stops in the tour.

Pretty Monsters Review and Interview

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link

Source: Penguin for tour

Grade: 3.8 stars out of 5

“Through the lens of Link's vivid imagination, nothing is what it seems, and everything deserves a second look. From the multiple award-winning "The Faery Handbag," in which a teenager's grandmother carries an entire village (or is it a man-eating dog?) in her handbag, to the near-future of "The Surfer," whose narrator (a soccer-playing skeptic) waits with a planeload of refugees for the aliens to arrive, Link's stories are funny and full of unexpected insights and skewed perspectives on the world. Her fans range from Michael Chabon to Peter Buck of R.E.M. to Holly Black of Spiderwick Chronicles fame. Now teens can have their world rocked, too!”--from Barnes and Noble

Pretty Monsters is a gothic collection that may or may not serve as bedtime tales should the parents like to explore the unique. Its strange world with sharp-tongue, witty, yet sometimes hostile characters leaps from pages. There are plenty of stories to choose from so there will be something to please every palette. Of course there is the cream of the crop with some stories better, like The Faery Handbag, than others.

It’s hard to rate this collection of stories because it is a collection; I loved some, but others were not my cup of tea. There were also times when syntax threw me off, but each was vividly created that trouble caused can be forgiven.

With its odd yet delightfully addicting narration, Pretty Monsters is a book dying to be picked up!

Cover A

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Interview with Kelly Link:

1. Is there an overall theme connecting each story?

All of the stories are about encountering the uncanny, or the unexpected: monsters, ghosts, wizards, gods, aliens, babysitters. All of them, except for "The Specialist's Hat" were originally written for young adults. When we were putting together Pretty Monsters, I wanted to include "The Specialist's Hat" in any case, as I hoped (somewhat immodestly) that it was the kind of ghost story that Helen Hoke used to put in her anthologies.

2. Do you find writing short stories easier or harder than writing full length novels?

I've never written a novel. I hear that they take a long time. Having said that, some short stories are easier to write than others. WIth about half of the stories in this collection, I finished a close-to-final draft within a few days. Other stories took over a year to write. I don't know that one method makes for a better story than another, but guess which stories I still like best. Also: I'm curious if readers would have an idea of which stories came quickly, and which were a slog.

3. Name a few inspirations for some of the short stories.

Joan Aiken; M. R. James; H. P. Lovecraft; H. R. Wakefield; Angela Carter; Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow's anthologies, as well as those of Helen Hoke; Robert Westall; Nicholas Stuart Grey; Diana Wynne Jones; Ursula K. Le Guin. (Just to name a few.)

There are a ton of writers, though, whose work I've loved, but who I'm not sure I can claim as influences. Terry Pratchett, for example, Mary Elizabeth Pope, and Michael de Larrabeiti's Borrible trilogy. Joyce Ballou Gregorian, and P. C. Hodgell, and Patricia McKillip. Those last three are writers whose work I read all in a pile, around the same time, when I was a teenager. And then reread and reread and reread. I still read Joyce Ballou Gregorian's Tredana trilogy every few years, mostly because she died much too young, and so there are only those three books. They mean a ton to me.

4. In your opinion, is the cover for Pretty Monsters a good representation of the book?

I love the cover for Pretty Monsters. It's by Will Staehle. The interior illustrations are by Shaun Tan, who is also the author of The Arrival and Tales From Outer Suburbia. Cover art matters a lot to me -- Shelley Jackson painted the cover illustrations for my first two collections, as well as putting together spot illustrations for each of the stories in Magic For Beginners. I run a small press -- Small Beer Press-- with my husband, and working on covers is one of my favorite parts of publishing.

Deception Review and Giveaway

Deception by Lee Nichols

Source: ARC from Bloomsbury

Grade: 3.8 stars out of 5

"When Emma Vaile's parents go missing while away on a mysterious business trip, her brother's very cute best friend, Bennett Stern—Emma's knight in J. Crew armor—arrives unexpectedly to whisk her away to New England. There, Emma settles into his family's museum-like mansion and enrolls at an old-fashioned private school. Emma has memories of Thatcher that she can't explain—it's as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Finally, Emma confides in Bennett and learns she is a ghostkeeper, a person who can communicate with ghosts. Bennett brought Emma to Thatcher to protect her, but now he needs her help tracking an otherworldly murderer."

--from author's website

Deception by Lee Nichols exceeded my expectations though I will admit my expectation was not as high as it should be. Deception is a giant ball of yarn that you just have to continue unraveling, untwisting, and discovering that perhaps something was accidently rolled into it as well.

The romantic tensions were palpable and the characters’ likability soared. There’s something about each character that defines that person uniquely while still maintaining a believable and go-to personality. While development may be a problem there is plenty of space to grow in this series.

Despite this I found the plot to be idealized to be coincidental as in unexplained and a tad “perfect”. My biggest issue with the book, however, was how lightly death affected the characters in the novel. While there may a sentence here and there reflected some of the guilt and grief of deaths, it goes almost wholly unmentioned again.

Cover B-/C+

P.S. You can find other stops to this book tour at Nichol's website (see above). But I'm pretty sure you're eager for this so leave me a comment about a forbidden love. It could be from a book, a movie, an actual event you've partake in. Contest is for US mailing address and will end on the 25th:

(note the last question is not required. you can leave it unanswered if you do not plan to leave a comment ;))

Read, Remember, and Recommend

Read, Remember, and Recommend: A Reading Journal for Book Lovers by Rachelle Rogers Knight

Source: Publishers (because my blog is under the resource section yay! and for tour)

Read, Remember, and Recommend is a personal book journal; a log of what you've read, some books you might want to read, and resources to visit to find new reads!

Aside from the tabs, there is a table of contents page, which outlines the entire journal for you. Rachelle Knight makes it a priority to organize the journal for an easier time yet still adding vibrancy with bright colored dividers.

What I love most about this journal is its table of awarded books. It lists the title, the age recommendation, and whether you own it, was recommended to you, if it's a to-read books or you want it. This is great for parents because you know exactly what your children is allowed to read or should not read. Parents can keep a log for their child's progress and gives the children a sense of accomplishment to say 'wow I really read that many books'. Keeping them motivated is essential. It can, however, backfire because there is a great deal of titles, awards, table after table after table. And while this may be a preference because I can't imagine the cost would be behind this, but I would have liked to see various colors in the key map regarding age groups: juvenile nonfiction=gray; juvenile fiction=darker gray; fiction=even darker gray; nonfiction=black.

The next sections are the "Journal Pages" where you list the books you've read, some words that you didn't know and should define later, thoughts when you read the book and so forth. I read more books than the typical person would so the space given for the books you've read is small. The table spans for about 4 pages; in an estimation that would be about a year's worth of titles, maybe less, for me.

Rachelle Knight has a creative mind I tell you that! I think I laughed out loud when I saw the "Loaner List" section. I've been lending out books more frequently than rather and often times to more than one person. So this section is extremely helpful to me because my brain needs all the memory cell it has.

But again I would just like to reiterate that this journal is perfect for new and younger readers (despite slightly going against what the title of the journal states). The last few pages, before the index, are literary terms. It mentions various types of characterization , denouncement, plot devices, metaphors, types of point of views, irony! and so much more.

Parents should really consider this journal for their children. It's helpful, informative, and safe (look no paper cuts yet! ;P). Bibliophiles might find themselves running out of space and should consider buying new journals yearly (but I wonder if there'll be replacement pacts...). Just don't try to mail these journals in the mail.... My spine is not functioning as it should be (since I know how it should look, but it doesn't want to stay in that position) and I'm finding things that stick out being heavily creased.

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P.S. Have you entered the giveaway to win your own copy of this journal? If you haven't be sure to! Just follow the link and type in your email address--it's that simple.

Traveling to Teens: Rachelle Knight with Contest

Hi guys, welcome to the next stop for Rachelle Knight's online blog tour promoting Read, Remember, and Recommend--a reading journal.

You guys can find more about Rachelle at her blog Bibliobabe and follow her at twitter: @bibliobabeblog

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1. Have you yourself read all the books listed in the journal?

No! But I am making good progress. I read at least two books a week and have been doing so for a long time - so I am making a good dent in all the lists.

2. How did you go about choosing your symbols for book awards?

Good question! The symbols are very important to the journal, in my opinion. I feel very strongly about showing the accolades each book has won - in an effort to give full recognition to the author's achievements. It was actually a lot of work picking the symbols! There are so many awards and only so many symbols that can be seen with that small of a font. I did a lot of research and there was a lot of back and forth with my publisher before everyone was happy with how they all looked. It's something that most people wouldn't think about - but was a definite labor of love!

3. Was the packaging of the journal planned ahead? Instead of a planner-like format with a spiral wire, have you considered a regular notebook style?

Another great question! When I first published the journal under my own publishing company, Bibliopages, both the fiction and teen versions were notebook style. This is another thing most people wouldn't think about - bookstores don't like to carry books that are spiral bound because

they can't be shelved with the spine out (no one would know what they are). Shelf space is expensive real-estate in bookstores and having to shelve books face out takes a lot of room. But, I don't like journals with hard spines because they are much harder to write in and you can't fold them back. I think the solution Sourcebooks came up with fits all the criteria - the journals can be shelved with the spines out and the reader gets the value of the spiral for easier use.

4. How do you keep track of these literary resources like teen blogs?

To come up with the initial list of teen blogs in the Resources section of the journal I started with a few blogs and then followed their blog rolls to find others. I kept these in a list (and now on my own blog roll) and check back periodically to see if they are still active.

5. Do you personal have a GoodReads account or Shelfari account or any other online book tracking sites?

I use Goodreads. I do post all the books I read on it, but the value to me is the social interaction it affords - I like to see what others are reading. I like seeing other reader's reviews of books I have read - it always gives me another perspective.

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(Sorry about the fuzzy pictures. I had to turn the flash off and my hands are naturally shaky)

Know you have a vague idea of what are some of the components to this journal and its image, but if you want the physical journal enter the contest to win one for Books by Their Cover's readers!

You might also want to check out the stops to this tour at T2T's weebly blog! My review for this journal will be up very shortly :)

After the Moment

After the Moment by Garret Freymann-Weyr (May 18th 2009—Houghton Mifflin)

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Summary: “Maia Morland is pretty, only not pretty-pretty. She's smart. She's brave. She's also a self-proclaimed train wreck.

Leigh Hunter is smart, popular, and extremely polite. He's also completely and forever in love with Maia Morland.

Their young love starts off like a romance novel—full of hope, strength, and passion. But life is not a romance novel and theirs will never become a true romance. For when Maia needs him the most, Leigh betrays both her trust and her love.”

Review: After the Moment felt to me like I was looking in a private affair through a glass window. Captivated but knowing that it was bad to be watching. Because of this I felt a disconnection between all the characters. Like I know of them, but I don’t know them.

I would agree with some that After the Moment was slow and a tad on the boring side. It felt that I was fluttering along the novel waiting for something, anything, to happen. It would touch on many subjects, never breaking free of that one barrier to make it astounding. There was a lot of buildup, a lot, to reach the climax. I felt that the climax could have been dragged a bit longer for a better impact but it still manages to shake the reader (especially with the gruesome fist to fist fighting).

There was a lot of potential behind this book. Some came through others needed to be expanded more. The ending for me was bittersweet.

Cover B-

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Thank you Trish for allowing me to be the first stop of Garret Freymann-Weyr’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS. Check out the other stops:

Tuesday, October 20th – Eclectic Book Lover

Thursday, October 22nd – Cindy’s Love of Books

Tuesday, October 27th – The Brain Lair

Wednesday, October 28th – Luxury Reading

Thursday, October 29th – Pop Culture Junkie

Monday, November 2nd – Steph Su Reads

Wednesday, November 4th – Bart’s Bookshelf

Thursday, November 5th – A Striped Armchair

Tuesday, November 10th – The Bluestocking Society

Thursday, November 12th – As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves

Monday, November 16th – Starting Fresh

Tuesday, November 17th – Beth Fish Reads

Thursday, November 19th – Book Addiction

Monday, November 23rd – The Novel Bookworm

Tuesday, November 24th – All About {n}

Ice

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst (October 6th 2009—Margaret K. McElderry)

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Summary: “When Cassie was a little girl, her grandmother told her a fairytale about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King and was swept away to the ends of the earth to become a prisoner of the trolls. Now that Cassie is older, she knows that this was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives with her father at an Arctic research station, she is determined to become a scientist, and she has no time for make believe.

Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie comes face to face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned in the troll castle. And that he can bring her back--if Cassie will agree to be his bride.

That is the beginning of Cassie's own real-life fairytale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey across the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knew will be swept away, and everything she holds dear will be taken from her--until she discovers the true meaning of love and family in the magical realm of Ice.”

Review: Ice was…odd. Coming from me well that’s odd by itself. One reason why I found it so weird was because [highlight to see text]:

Of the fact that she mates with the polar bear. Granted I understand that he’s a shape-shifter who isn’t really a polar bear but, still, most of the time we see him he’s a polar bear. Thus I’m used to identifying him as a polar bear and not a shape shifter.

Then there were times where I felt that the pacing was off. In retrospect the beginning and middle were fine but compared to the ending, the middle then felt sluggish. The ending seemed too fast for me. It all makes sense when you step back and recap the entire book but while I was reading it, it came to my attention that climax and resolution was really short. And during that time I also had this slight peeve:

She gave birth. I mean it was so quick; squat, push, and pop goes the baby. I understand that Ice is a fantasy book but this was just so unrealistic. Again it might just be a pet peeve to me and I’m probably dumbing this down.

At any rate Ice was filled with detailed description, wonderful imagery, and a concept that’s sure to surprise many. I think the author took quite a big gamble with this book as it’s not the norm of vampires, werewolves, or magicians so I give kudos to that. That and the fact that she’s incorporated such a huge crisis the world is facing—the melting of the polar ice caps and the extinction of the polar bears.

Overall: Durst created a world like no other: Magic versus reality.

Cover B+

You can't tell how gorgeous this cover is online. It's shimmery, shiny, and silvery.

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This has been brought to you by Traveling to Teens.