Book Review and Giveaway: Far World Water Keep by J. Scott Savage

13 year old Marcus is not having a great day. First bullies try to beat him up and then he finds out that an evil otherworldly power wants him dead. Before the evil’s emissary can strike him dead, Marcus is pulled from Earth to another world, a magical world called Far World, by Kyja, a girl his age. He discovers that Far World is in danger, and it’s up to him and Kyja to save it which they can only do by getting the four elementals to work together. And so they set off on a quest fraught with danger and with the evil power and its minions nipping at their heels.

This is the first book in a series, so it details only the beginning of the quest: to find Water Keep, where the water elementals live. Marcus and Kyja face a variety of obstacles, some which feel slightly derivative (the Unmakers remind me of The Neverending Story’s The Nothing, the talking forest trees are similar to the Ents in Lord of the Rings), but the pacing is great and the story speeds along nicely.

Both Marcus and Kyja are appealing main characters though Kyja is just a tad too noble to be completely believable. Marcus’s character is the best thing about the book, and what elevates it from your run of the mill quest story to something more special. Marcus is disabled and confined to a wheelchair or forced to crawl. He has his moments of self-pity and self-doubt, but he’s able to overcome these to find the hero within. Disabled kids have a strong role model in Marcus and the rest of us gain a deeper understanding of the disabled experience.

Far World: Water Keep will be in stores on September 12th.

If you would like a signed copy of Far World, just let me know by this Saturday September 6th in the comments. The most impassioned plea gets the book.

Exciting Book Contract News

Daniel’s about to be a published children’s picture book illustrator! In fact, Harper Collins has offered him a two book deal to illustrate manuscripts written by Audrey Vernick. The first book will be released Summer 2010 and will be called “Is your Buffalo ready for kindergarten?” and the second is set to launch Summer 2011 and will be called “Teach your Buffalo to play the drums.”

So how did this miracle happen? Well, it all started with SCBWI (The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). We joined a couple of years ago when we first started working on our joint picture book project (still a work in progress). This year we decided to go to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and to SCBWI’s 2 day pre-fair conference. Daniel submitted 3 of his daily drawings (view them here, here and here) to the first look session (a panel of art directors from major publishing houses) and got great feedback. So great that most of the AD’s asked for his card…but because he wasn’t expecting anything to come of it, he didn’t come prepared. All he could give them was a link to his daily drawing blog.

Well, about 3 weeks later, Daniel got a cryptic comment on his blog from Martha Rago, Art Director at Harper Collins. Daniel wrote to her and she said she had a project that needed a fresh, quirky perspective and she’d like to see what he would do with it. Because he doesn’t have any sequential drawings in his portfolio, he would have to illustrate three spreads from the manuscript to prove he could handle it. So he did, sending in his samples at the beginning of May. At the end of July, the good news came – the team at Harper Collins loved his illustrations and they wanted him not only to illustrate the book he “tried out” for but also a second one with the same buffalo character.

And now that he has his foot in the door, and is officially a freelancer (as of today) that can concentrate on illustration, things are really looking up. And we are both on cloud nine.

Book Review: In the Woods by Tana French

20 years ago three children went missing in the woods near Dublin and only one was found – with no memory of what happened. The found child is now Detective Rob Ryan who keeps his past a secret. When a case comes up in which a murdered 12 year old aspiring ballerina is found in the same woods, Rob has the chance to solve both current and past mysteries.

In the Woods is a great literary thriller in the vein of Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories and Laura Lippman’s What the Dead Know. The two mysteries at the core of the narrative are both compelling and the plot twists and turns satisfactorily. The best part of the novel for me was the exploration of the close friendship between Rob and his partner Cassie. Although they met on the force, they have such a brother/sister camaraderie that everyone assumes they’ve known each other for years. Rob can crash at Cassie’s anytime, they imbibe and converse into the wee hours, and can set each other off into a fit of giggles with one look. But the case gets under Rob’s skin badly, and there’s a deep sense of foreboding as the story moves along that something irreparable is about to happen.

Although investigating murder can be a heavy topic, there are moments of lightheartedness and humor. The scene where Rob and Cassie interview the murdered girl’s sister’s alibi is downright hilarious. I also like how Rob describes the two years he bummed around between boarding school and Training College: “I’m not exactly sure what I did for those two years. I know this is one of the unthinkable taboos of our society, but I had discovered in myself a talent for a wonderful, unrepentant laziness, the kind most people never have after childhood. I read a lot. I always have, but in those two years I gorged myself on books with a voluptuous, almost erotic gluttony.”

In the Woods is now available in paperback with a gorgeously haunting cover. Tana’s second novel, The Likeness, is out in hardback and I can’t wait to read it.

Library Thing Tuesday (16) + Pic of Emmy

Today's topic: LibraryThing authors. Who are your LibraryThing authors? What books of theirs do you have? Do you ever comment on an author's LT page? Have you received any comments from an author on your LT account?



These are my LibraryThing authors and the books I own/have read:


Randy Alcorn (RandyAlcorn) Deadline


Meg Waite Clayton (megwaiteclayton) Wednesday Sisters


David Ebershoff (Debershoff) The 19th Wife (read my review)


Mary E. Pearson (MaryEPearson) Adoration of Jenna Fox (TBR)


Jayne Pupek (JaynePupek) Tomato Girl (read my review)


Michelle Richmond (michrichmond) No One You Know (read my review)


J Scott Savage (jscottsavage) Farword (currently reading)


Melissa Walker (mewalker) Violet on the Runway, Violet by Design, Violet in Private (read my reviews)


Bill Walsh (wfwalsh) Lapsing into a Comma


Sara Zarr (sarazarr) Sweethearts (read my review)


I commented on Sara's page to tell her that I reviewed Sweethearts and she commented on mine with a thank you. Jayne invited me to join the Algonquin Readers Round Table. Meg thanked me for reviewing her book on LT. Michelle commented here on my blog and Melissa comes around here every now and then and comments.


I do think it's quite a nice feature and fun to see what books authors are reading.

What about you? Do authors ever comment on your blog or LT page?


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So, because Dawn (and I am sure a few others) missed Emmy last week, here she is in all her book loving glory:

I've had to push all the books back because her favorite trick was to jump behind the books and send them crashing down to the floor. As you can see, I love all those "The Art of " type books especially for animated movies and especially for the concept sketches they include.

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Don't forget to enter my contest to win one of 3 copies of The Big Splash by Jack Ferraiolo. It's the best time you'll ever have in a middle school! There are also details on that post about how you can get a free Squirt Gun (very useful - even if it's just to water plants).

Reviewer X's Young Adult Weekly column is back (YAY!) and now has a contest attached. This week you can be entered to win The Brothers Torres if you send her an e-mail by August 30th.

Monie is giving away an ARC of the graphic novel American Widow. Enter by August 31st.

The 3 R's is passing on some of her winnings from the big Hachette giveaway. Enter by September 5th.

And don't forget to get your nominations in for Book Blogger Appreciation Week. They close on August 31st and there are lots of categories including Best YA blog, Most Eclectic Taste and tons more. It's a great way to support your favorite sites. I'm doing a write-in nomination for Best Meme Host for our dear Tuesday Thingers host Boston Bibliophile. Who's with me?

Book Review: Like a Thorn by Clara Vidal

Melie feels like she has two mothers. Rosy Mother is sweet, loving, vivacious, and likes to bake cookies. Dark Mother is taunting, angry, impatient, and likes to dig her talons into Melie’s skin. Naturally Melie prefers Rosy Mother and would do anything to get her to stay, including trying to be as good as possible, performing strange rituals, and playing sick.

The slim volume chronicles Melie’s gradual descent from a normal 9 year old into a 14 year old suffering from deep depression and a serious obsessive compulsive disorder, both stemming from the emotional abuse she receives from her mother (who seems to have psychological problems of her own). The relationship between Melie and her mother is obviously toxic and both would benefit from therapy, but no one seems to notice or take Melie seriously.

This is a fascinating, almost trance-like look into the mind of someone suffering from mental illness, but it’s very one-sided and stacks the sympathy deck overwhelmingly in Melie’s favor. I would have liked to have seen the mother’s problems addressed as well to understand why she had such a split personality.

Like a Thorn was published in France in 2002, and was released in English translation this year in June.

Book Review: The Smart One by Ellen Meister

Three sisters all with their own role in the family: Bev, our narrator is “the smart one”, older sister Clare is “the pretty one”, and younger sister Joey is “the wild one”. Each is struggling to define themselves beyond these set roles with varying degrees of success. Bev wants to move away to escape her family’s disapproval of her career choices, Clare flirts with having an affair because her own husband doesn’t make her feel beautiful anymore, and Joey tries to stay clean and off drugs. Throw a couple of hot guys, a midget couple, and a murder mystery in to the mix and you have a novel that is as messy and unpredictable as real life.

There is a lot to like here: some laugh out loud funny scenes, well drawn characters, and sharp dialogue. The murder mystery is inspired by something that really happened on Long Island and gives the narrative a nice anchor. Trouble is, there were also a few things I didn’t like so much. There were a couple of incredibly preposterous scenes (i.e. the “Letterman” scene and a car wreck that induces burns without further mention of these burns) and love interest Kenny did some things that really rubbed me the wrong way. But what bothered me the most was the frequency with which the author goes off on unnecessary tangents that distract from the plot (and frankly made reading a chore).

I was drawn in by the cover (I just can’t resist apples), daunted by the length (358 slow going pages), driven to finish by my commitment to the Blog Stops Book Tour (go there for links to more blogger reviews), but ultimately disarmed by this story of three sisters and their bond. I am still thinking about them a few days later. My verdict? A tough read, but charming nonetheless.

Book Review, Contest and Author Interview: The Big Splash by Jack Ferraiolo

Matt Stevens, Middle School Private Eye, is hired by Vinny Biggs, Franklin’s Underworld Boss, for a seemingly simple job. But in a school where one well placed squirt gun shot can “kill” your reputation forever, Matt has only a few days solve a case with “more twists than a candy addict on a swivel chair.”

The Big Splash is a clever mafia/crime underworld spoof with a fast paced, twisty plot and a big heart. You have the boss and his goons who deal in forged hall passes and the like, his femme fatale squirt gun assassin Nikki Fingers (think a 12 year old Angelina Jolie), kids who dared to cross the boss and are now on the “outs” (social death), and even Pixy Stixers, kids who will do anything to get another (sugar) fix.

I absolutely adored the writing, the humor, the characters and the realizations Matt came to during the case such as, “Waking up at 5:00 means you’re industrious, an early riser; waking up at 4:45 means you have trouble sleeping.” And “Once you’re convicted by a jury of your peers, it’s hard to get a new trial.” And my favorite (because it is sooo true): “I had recently come to realize that it was extremely rare to find friendships in which doing nothing special was the most fun thing you could ever hope to do.”

I loved this novel so much that I begged author Jack Ferraiolo to let me share it with my readers. He’s agreed to provide 3 signed copies of the hardcover that comes out today! But before I get to the details, let’s have a little chat with Jack.

What is your one line pitch for The Big Splash?
The Big Splash is like a hardboiled detective novel meets Goodfellas set in a middle school.

Yes, your book does read just like a noir mafia movie – is it safe to assume that you got some inspiration from other classic films like The Godfather?
Yup, it’s safe... The Godfather 1 and 2 (let’s not talk about 3), Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, Double Indemnity, Bugsy Malone...Also, old radio shows from the forties (particularly Pat Novak For Hire and Jeff Regan, Investigator). And of course, everything written by the “Big 3”: Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Ross Macdonald.

Were you witness to the kind of humiliating take-downs that occur in your book when you were in middle school?
Worse. And that was just the teachers...you should see what the kids did to each other. By the end, everyone in school had been humiliated, and there was nobody left to be the bully. It was an interesting philosophical conundrum, akin to one hand clapping or empty forests full of falling trees.

Can you tell us a bit about the origin of the idea for the book and your road to publication?
I remember driving home from work one night, listening to an episode of Pat Novak for Hire in my car, and thinking that I’d love to write something like that...something fast and sharp and tough. For some reason, I thought it should be set in a middle school... I think it was because when I was a kid, I wanted to navigate my world as an adult would... I wanted my own mode of transportation, my own space (like Matt’s office), and my own place to grab something to eat (like Sal’s bar in the book) outside of adult jurisdiction, where I didn’t have to explain the who, what, or why of my being there...

So great, I had a book idea...I bought a bunch of steno pads and wrote it out long hand. When I finished, I stood back to admire my accomplishment. Unfortunately, I didn’t stand back far enough. It stunk. Luckily, I knew it stunk. Unluckily, I had no idea how to fix it. So I boxed it up and put it out of sight. In that time period, I worked on a couple of shows (O’Grady and WordGirl) in which I was forced to write and rewrite scripts under really tight deadlines. It was like going to writer’s camp.

One morning, out of the blue (about 3 years after the “Steno Pad Debacle,” as I like to call it), I woke up with the beginning of The Big Splash in my head. Rather than pull out the stenos and be embarrassed (which might have shamed me into not writing ever again), I decided to start from scratch. I finished the book in two months.

As to being published, I did a lot of research on sites like Ms. Snark, Evil Editor, and the Verla Kay Blue Boards. Then I did what most writers do: I sent out query letters to agents, got a bunch of full and partial requests, went with the agent who made an offer and I connected with the best (the amazing Stephen Barbara)... Stephen suggested some revisions, I revised, he sent it out and received some strong interest really early. The book went to auction, and Amulet won the bidding. My editor (Susan Van Metre) is incredible: sharp, funny, and full of great ideas. I’ve been very lucky.

Stephen Barbara is amazing. I am seriously going to read everything he agents. But back to you… You just won a daytime emmy award for your writing on the animated series WordGirl. Congrats! What was the ceremony like? Did you get to meet some celebrities?
Thank you! The ceremony was unbelievable... Black tie at the Lincoln Center in New York City. It was exciting... glamorous... I was more than a little out of my element. There weren’t really any “celebrities” there, as this was the ceremony for all the people behind the scenes on a production (writers, lighting designers, make-up people, etc.). However, I did see Elmo and Alex Trebek, and now I suppose I’ll begrudgingly admit they aren’t the same person...

Is your writing process any different when you write for TV as opposed to when you write a novel?
Yes and no. I approach it with the same discipline: start at the same time every morning, get the first draft out as quickly as possible. It’s all about rhythm and momentum. The difference is that scripts are more short, sharp bursts, whereas writing a novel is like long-distance running: pace yourself, try to string together longer scenes, describe everything (as there won’t be any visuals to help you out...). Either way, I’m a huge believer in the healing power of the revision process...which is drastically different between the two...

What projects do you have in the works? Will we ever see a Big Splash sequel (I hope so)?
I think the Big Splash will have a sequel...still waiting to get the official word. I stepped down as the head writer for WordGirl to have more time for other projects... although I’m still writing individual scripts. I’m also trying to invent a machine that will keep pace with (and hopefully tire out) my 2-year old daughter. It involves 16 hamsters, 12 pots of coffee, some Bon Scott-era AC/DC, and about 1400 rubber bands. I’m on the verge of a technological breakthrough...I can smell it...

Thank you so much Jack for stopping by!

Check out Jack’s websites http://www.bigsplashbook.com/ (where you can get a FREE squirt gun while supplies last) and http://www.jackferraiolo.com/ (where you will see a site still under construction).

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
Simply leave a comment on this post for your first entry. Sharing a middle school memory of your own will get you an extra entry. Linking to this contest from your blog (or Facebook/MySpace) will get you 2 extra entries. For each comment you make on any of my reviews, past, present, or future you get 1 extra entry (for a list of books read this year, look at my sidebar). One of top three commenters during the contest period is guaranteed a book (raising your chances to 1 in 3) while the second two winners will be randomly chosen from all eligible entries. So comment away. And trust me, it’s worth it!

Contest open for two weeks until Midnight CST September 3, 2008. US and Canadian residents only.

Library Thing Tuesday (15)

Today's question: LT and RL (real life)- do you have friends in real life that you met through LibraryThing? Have you attended any LT meet-ups in your area? Would you be open to attending meet-ups or is LT strictly an online thing for you?

I haven’t yet met any LT friends in RL and none of my RL friends is on LT (despite my urging), but I’d be totally open to meeting up.

I’ve actually met a lot of online friends in person and a few have even become best friends, Steve and Jeremy for example. I’ve had a ton of people contact me through my Virtual Tourist profile or through SCBWI and a lot of times we meet up for a drink or dinner. Just last week we had a lovely dinner with South African SCBWI advisor Jenny Hatton and her husband and she brought us 3 South African picture books and two YA novels.

Naturally, we’ve met a lot of interesting people this way. Like Wiley who sleeps in airports all over the world and has a photographic memory of every airline meal he’s ever eaten. Or the US military guy who was on leave from his post in Afghanistan who stood me up because he thought an enemy Afghani was tracking him and he didn’t want me to end up as collateral damage. Or Mei from China, a wedding photographer who came all the way to Kansas to attend and photograph my wedding (they turned out great by the way).

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CONTESTS:

Win a signed copy of Penelope Przekop's Abberations at Bookish Ruth. Ends August 31st.

Fashion Piranha is having a Neil Gaiman extravaganza. Enter by August 31st.

Book Review: Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi

The hard core sci-fi cover might make you think otherwise, but Zoe’s Tale is chiefly an empowering yet sweet coming of age story about 17 year old Zoe, both player and pawn in a complex interstellar battle between the Colonial Union (the human alliance) and the Conclave (an alliance of roughly 400 alien species). If you’ve read The Last Colony, I guess you probably know how it all turns out since this is apparently a novel with a parallel timeline told from a different perspective. If you haven’t, no matter, as this exciting tale can stand on its own.

Zoe, her adopted parents, her two alien bodyguards and about 2000 settlers from 10 different human colonies are sent off by the Colonial Union to colonize a new planet called Roanoke (and anyone who knows American history will appreciate the irony of the name). As it turns out, the Colonial Union has plans that don’t have the best interests of the colonists at heart. But fortunately, Zoe is not the type of girl who goes down without fight, especially when the lives of her parents, her new best friend Gretchen (with whom she has a great sarcastic rapport) and her new boyfriend Enzo’s lives are at stake.

I like sci-fi, but I’ve never been big on books where alien races make up a big part of the narrative because of all the exposition you normally have to slog through. Author John Scalzi is wise to keep this to a minimum and the aliens he does introduce even manage to be entertaining (picture big spider like creatures at a hoedown and try not to laugh). Don’t let the star trek like premise turn you off, because Zoe, an ordinary teenage girl asked to be extraordinary, is worth getting to know. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Although this isn’t a YA novel, Publisher Tor is actively courting the teen market. And with a heroine as appealing and strong as Zoe, I think they just might succeed.

Zoe’s Tale comes out this Tuesday August 19th.

Book Review: Rules for Saying Goodbye by Katherine Taylor

Kate Taylor escapes Fresno to attend a New England prep school and eventually ends up in a rent controlled New York apartment and having a series of overseas experiences. It’s difficult to give more of a summary because this reads more like a book of anecdotes than a cohesive novel. But Author Katherine Taylor (no doubt drawing inspiration for many of her stories from real life) excels at telling a good yarn – and the ones she tells you could sit around and listen to all night.

That said, this is not the kind of novel that lends itself to quick reading. In fact, it took me two weeks to read it and I read other books at the same time, something I just don’t ever do. It’s the kind of book you can read a few chapters of at a time without feeling lost when you put it down and pick it up again later – a perfect bedtime book.

My favorite parts were the hilarious chapter 15 (detailing a funeral no less) and her 11 rules for saying goodbye, a chapter that comes after she breaks it off with a boyfriend who’d risk her dying of altitude sickness rather than stop short of reaching the summit of an alp. An excerpt from rule eleven: “Do not go back to retrieve things you have forgotten, like your climbing shoes or laundry you left in the dryer. Once you are gone, be gone for good.”

Rules for Saying Goodbye is now out in paperback.