tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9586552091478712902024-03-13T21:18:09.352-07:00Room on the Shelf<b>Because there's always room on the shelf for more young adult and children's literature.</b>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-30631500115544606752012-02-17T19:48:00.000-08:002012-02-17T20:02:02.516-08:00Taking a Personal MomentSo, many of you may have noticed that I haven't been posting for about year. It's been a bad year for me. Divorce, financial problems, etc, etc, blah blah blah. But the good news is, I'm back. :)<br /><br />The good news for you? I will be contacting the winners of the book giveaway from (ahem) quite awhile ago. So be checking your email (or facebook or whatever information you may have included) in the next week to see if you're a winner!<br /><br />I love you guys! Thanks for being so supportive!<br /><br />CherylynneCherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-67374723972480365312011-03-26T12:16:00.000-07:002011-03-26T12:20:48.723-07:00The Dreaded First PageLet's discuss the bane of every writer’s existence: Your first page.<br /><br />1. <strong>Plant your hook:</strong> While in a bookstore or library, chances are that the reader is going to give your novel the one-page test. If you don’t grab them in the first page, you’re done. Maybe your manuscript gets incredible on page 37, but if they don’t read page one, they’ll never get there. You MUST have something that makes your reader say, “Why?” or “How?” or, if you can do it very very well, “What?!” (The “What?!” approach is what made me read The Book Thief. The first page was pretty, but made no sense. I had to read more. I don’t recommend this for most authors, but like I said, if you can do it well…)<br /><br />2. <strong>Set the genre of your novel:</strong> You can hope that the publishing company gets it right and gives you a title and cover that will clue any reader into what genre you’re in. But I don’t trust anyone when it comes to that kind of information, and since I have little to no control over titles or covers, I want to make sure my readers are not duped on the first page. If it’s a romance, bring in something romantic. If it’s science fiction, make sure we see something scientific-y. If it’s fantasy, we need to see some hint of magic. Think this isn’t important? Think back to all the novels you started but didn’t finish. Why? Usually it’s because the first page made you expect something that was not delivered in the novel itself. Don’t become the book that gets returned to the library before the reader hits page 50.<br /><br />3. <strong>Don’t start with a dream:</strong> One of the most commonly broken rules. But let me tell you why. It has to do with Rule #2. Many times, these are designed to fool your reader. You start with an intense nightmare, tons of action, lightning-fast pacing…then the reader is dumped into a quiet book about a lonely girl in the Midwest who likes to pick dandelions. There’s a ditched book waiting to happen. And it’s a problem in two ways: first, the readers that pick it up will never finish it, and therefore never recommend it to friends, because they want what the book promised. Second, the readers that would like a quiet book about a Midwestern flower picking girl will never pick it up, because they’ll see a first page that looks like it dropped out of a James Bond movie. When you fool your reader on the first page, no one wins.<br /><br />4. <strong>Don’t start with a flashback:</strong> This has to do with the fact that kids like to read “up.” They almost always prefer a book with a main character who is just a few years older than themselves. So if they open your novel and find it’s about a four-year-old, there’s a good chance they’ll just toss it. Tell us who your character is now, not who they were then. Now, is there ample opportunity to show us their life history later on? Absolutely. But leave it off the first page.<br /><br />5. <strong>Ditch the prologue:</strong> I know. We can all name at least twelve books off the top of our heads with prologues. But there are very few prologues that are necessary, and even fewer that are done well. Prologues have many problems. For one, many prologues are just a lazy way to info dump, to tell us in long, dragging soliloquies about the world so that they don’t have to find more creative ways to actually work it into the manuscript. Or it’s a sneaky way to work in a flashback at the beginning, which is against Rule #4. Or it’s a way to fit in what is essentially a short story that happened in your world centuries ago, and has little to nothing to do with your character…but it’s fast paced and exciting, and it will keep your reader reading in order to find where that story ties in. My advice? Save the short story for your website. Don’t fool your reader into thinking that the characters in the prologue are main characters in your story. And don’t hide important information in the prologue, because studies have shown that most teens will just skip it anyway.<br /><br />6. <strong>Introduce characters slowly and clearly, and keep your pronouns straight:</strong> You know your characters backwards and forwards, and you know that Riley is a girl who happens to be a tomboy. But your reader doesn’t. Be particularly careful if you have gender-ambiguous names, or characters that are doing activities not necessarily associated with their gender. I’m not saying that readers are sexist, but when we don’t have strong reason to believe otherwise, we will always fall back on stereotypes. And if you throw in more than three characters on the first page, I can almost guarantee that your reader will get lost. First pages are not normally read carefully. I always speed through the first page, because I want to know where the novel is going. And if your reader is not going to be careful, you have to be. Make it very clear who is who, and your reader will soon fall as in love with them as you are.<br /><br />7. <strong>Avoid driving, sleeping, watching TV, or eating:</strong> This is a pretty easy one to fix. These are all passive activities. And in case you didn’t know, passive=boring. These activities are pretty boring when you do them in real life, and they’re definitely boring to read about. Now, at some point, your character will probably have a need to do some, if not all, of these things. That’s fine. But keep it off the first page. And when you take them out of the car or off the couch, you’ll be amazed at how interesting your character suddenly becomes.<br /><br />Above all, have fun! The worst first page you could possibly have is a blank one. As long as you write something, anything, you’re on your way to an incredible story.<br /><br />Haven't signed up for the WIFYR newsletter yet? Make sure to get on the list! <a href="http://www.wifyr.com/">www.wifyr.com</a>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-45264794940105524062011-03-18T19:26:00.000-07:002011-03-18T19:35:31.663-07:00Author Interview: Claudia MillsCongratulations to all of our winners! I will be contacting you within the next couple of weeks. But for right now, I would like to post an interview I conducted with the brilliant Claudia Mills, who I am honored to assist at this year's <a href="http://wifyr.com/">Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Conference </a>in Sandy, Utah.
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<br />Claudia has a Ph.D in philosophy from Princeton and is a professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She is the mother of two boys, and has written over 40 books for children. And all of her books have been written between 5 and 7 in the morning with a mug of Swiss Miss at her side. She is one of the most brilliant and genuine people I have ever had the privilege to meet.
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<br />But enough of me. Read the interview so you can fall in love with her yourself.
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<br /><em>Could you tell us the story of your first rejection letter? </em>
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<br /></em>It came in seventh grade. I had written a love poem to my first sort-of boyfriend, and I gave it to him. Shortly thereafter, he broke up with me, and I happened to see a list he had written of things he wanted in a girlfriend: “Not blond. Not emotional. Does not write poetry.” So I count that as rejection letter number one. After that there were too many to remember, all run together in my memory, but then came the one I remember best. I was in my mid-20s, working in NYC as a secretary/editorial assistant at Four Winds Press/Scholastic. Weary of uninformative standard rejection slips from all the other New York publishers, I decided to try sending one of my manuscripts to my own house, under a pseudonym, so I would have a ringside seat to watch the proceedings. Like all my other submissions, it was rejected. But this time I was the one who had to type the rejection letter.
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<br /><em>You have a Ph.D in philosophy from Princeton, which is, to say the very least, no easy feat. How do you feel your educational background has affected your writing? </em>
<br />Well, it really hasn’t affected it in the way most people, including me, would have expected. If I heard that some children’s book writer had a Ph.D. in philosophy, I would expect that person to write high fantasy, epic struggles between the forces of good and evil, each page studded with nuggets of deep philosophical wisdom. I don’t write that kind of book. I write books like 7 x 9 = Trouble!, where a third grade boy is struggling against . . . the times tables. Still, in all my books I care about the small, central truth about the universe that my character discovers by the end of the story. And writing an opus as major as a doctoral dissertation made me able to believe that however daunting the writing task, if you just keep writing one page, and then another, and then another, at some point it really will get done.
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<br /><em>Since you work basically two full-time jobs (as a professor at the University of Colorado and the mother of two boys), your writing time must be very limited, yet you manage to produce a steady stream of novels. How do you manage to maximize the writing time you have so that it's as productive as possible? </em>
<br />You cannot allow yourself to spend very much of your precious writing time on delay, denial, and self-doubt. It took me twelve years to write my dissertation, and of that entire span of time, literally two months was taken up with actual writing. The rest was spent telling myself I couldn’t do it, that it was impossible and hopeless, that it would never be finished, that I would go to my grave with the dissertation undone – including weekly visits to a therapist who specialized in working with people who couldn’t finish their dissertations, etc. Now when I write my books, that’s the part of the writing process I try to eliminate. Well, yes, but how? For me, what helps most is what I call “trusting the process,” which also means “trusting my writing group friends.” I just write the chapter, and then let them tell me whether it’s working or not. I heard one grownup-book author give a talk, and he told the audience that he had revised one scene of his book 88 times. The audience gasped with awe. I was unimpressed. “Don’t you have a writing group?” I asked him. “Well, no,” he said. “Well, they would have saved you 80 of those revisions,” I told him. And I was right.
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<br /><em>I've heard that you write with a pen and notepad instead of on a computer. What does this do for your writing process? </em>
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<br /></em>This is going to sound a bit strange, but it’s almost as if my pen is a magic wand. Truly, I don’t think about my writing when I’m not actually doing it; when I sit down to write each day, I don’t have the unfolding scene planned out in any detail more than, e.g. “Sierra confronts her father” or “Second encounter with Luke.” Everything that happens in the book happens only as I actually write it. And it’s my pen that makes it happen. I don’t think it would happen on the computer. It doesn’t have that same magic power. I also love the coziness of curling up with pad and paper on the couch. Computers don’t seem as cozy.
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<br /><em>You started writing when you were very young, and never stopped. What do you feel are some of the best strategies for inspiring children to write? </em>
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<br /></em>I think the two things children need to be inspired to write are opportunity and encouragement. I was lucky enough to have parents and teachers who prioritized writing and who praised me for my early successes at it. I was going to leave my answer at that, but then yesterday I saw the best strategy for inspiring children to write that I have ever seen in my whole entire life. While I was meeting with a fellow writer at a local café, in came an entire class of third graders, wearing their idea of beatnik garb (tie-dye shirts, hippie beads), and carrying notebooks. I inquired: it was a third grade class trip from a nearby elementary school – the kids were there to sit in the café, with their hot chocolate and croissants, and write poetry. And for the next hour, that’s what they proceeded to do. What child in that classroom would NOT be inspired to write?
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<br /><em>You manage to jump effortlessly from writing for one age group to writing for the next. How do you deal with the difficulties of writing for different age groups? </em>
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<br /></em>I have the same process and approach in writing for any age group. I think we’re all the same, really, whatever our age. When I teach freshmen at the university, I tell myself, they’re just big fifth graders. And graduate students are just VERY big fifth graders. And kindergartners are just very little fifth graders, or maybe fifth graders in the making. At any age, we want to connect with characters we care about, and with a story that matters to us because it matters to them. And I think we also want to come to see the world just a little bit differently from how we saw it before we began reading.
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<br /><em>What is your very favorite recent read in middle grade novels?
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<br /></em>Well, my favorite author in the world, Carol Lynch Williams, has been mainly writing YA lately, so this isn’t a recent book of hers, but I will always love <em>If I Forget, You Remember </em>for its dazzling ability to blend hilarity and heartbreak on the same page, sometimes even in the same sentence. I thought last year’s Newbery, <em>When You Reach Me</em>, was the best Newbery in years . And I’m a huge fan of Jeanne Birdsall’s Penderwicks series.
<br />Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-78092187875750939512011-02-12T11:10:00.000-08:002011-02-27T16:09:00.955-08:00BIGGEST BOOK GIVEAWAY EVER!!!50 BOOKS!<br /><br />That's right, I said 50. I am giving away 50 books. 50 amazing young adult books.<br /><br /><br />I am also giving away SIGNED copies of the New York Times bestselling novels <em>Matched </em>by Ally Condie and <em>Fablehaven</em> by Brandon Mull. Yes, SIGNED. I watched them do it. :)<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8eR31SgUNvkw_mNJzbNldLJz0WaQr1aAhuMgijcZ4dsF3KxsROXqXYvsfnmBGiv_Y60H_eHEcPUBtNNeoXEEiBKfsuiU_37AXZ7sb1QYcbDS8MoSmAhSUE2MCMlYsRgA5955NnAXiL4/s1600/matched.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 182px; HEIGHT: 280px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573261318776702978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8eR31SgUNvkw_mNJzbNldLJz0WaQr1aAhuMgijcZ4dsF3KxsROXqXYvsfnmBGiv_Y60H_eHEcPUBtNNeoXEEiBKfsuiU_37AXZ7sb1QYcbDS8MoSmAhSUE2MCMlYsRgA5955NnAXiL4/s320/matched.jpg" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHp2J8ZwTAXyxZPNAc2iQ0x8wBWlx53M5ONJ_9kHNcJwm5Jhs7EhTzfG5adQ_E_mtbw49RoAaLjeJ8FiFJB9DeA1PRx3nnGlkHGTH3knRux3ONuybfTOisz0sdQSaT2NgwtbU3Jzn1-o/s1600/fablehaven.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 185px; HEIGHT: 277px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573261611347049106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHp2J8ZwTAXyxZPNAc2iQ0x8wBWlx53M5ONJ_9kHNcJwm5Jhs7EhTzfG5adQ_E_mtbw49RoAaLjeJ8FiFJB9DeA1PRx3nnGlkHGTH3knRux3ONuybfTOisz0sdQSaT2NgwtbU3Jzn1-o/s320/fablehaven.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="right"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHp2J8ZwTAXyxZPNAc2iQ0x8wBWlx53M5ONJ_9kHNcJwm5Jhs7EhTzfG5adQ_E_mtbw49RoAaLjeJ8FiFJB9DeA1PRx3nnGlkHGTH3knRux3ONuybfTOisz0sdQSaT2NgwtbU3Jzn1-o/s1600/fablehaven.jpg"></a></p><br />Here are the ways to enter:<br /><br />1. One comment will get you one entry. Yay!<br /><br />2. Promoting my blog (must include <a href="http://cherylynne.blogspot.com/">http://cherylynne.blogspot.com/</a> )will get you one extra entry for each venue you promote it on (twitter, facebook, blog, etc.) You must include links! you can only promote it once on each venue, though.<br /><br />3. Promoting the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers conference (a.k.a. WIFYR) will get you TWO extra entries for each venue (must include <a href="http://www.wifyr.com/">http://www.wifyr.com/</a> or the link to the video <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kgQp9FocO4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kgQp9FocO4</a>) Again, you must provide links.<br /><br />4. If you have signed up for either a morning workshop or the afternoon workshop at WIFYR, you will get an extra FIVE entries!!! Please note, the fee for the conference is non-refundable.<br /><br /><br />5. If you have signed up for Claudia Mills' morning workshop (my class!) you will get an extra TEN entries. That's right. Because it's my contest, and I say so.<br /><br />The contest will end at midnight on February 26th. *<br /><br />EDIT: Due to some extenuating circumstances, I'm now extending the contest for two more weeks! The contest now ends March 12th at midnight. So get those entries in!<br /><br />Because there are so many ways to get extra entries, however, I do need to put a limit on how many books one person can win. Each person can win up to five books.<br /><br /><br />And here's the list of books you can win! I feel obligated to say that this list is subject to change, although I doubt it. If anything, it might get longer if I find other books that I have to give away.<br /><br /><br />Good luck!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><em>Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters </em>by Natalie Standiford<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyDLEsyLWne8K29snzuGzWuvqdREt3C1YQsFkl-SBAB0lXHnhvjWUSr_NgkR2L-oUNfLnUCGYVJxGuXAKXC1wZfv6w1S4kz0Kyoib5tYBblHGCckBpZBz3N7-EXplHEuX7D82eKrULSs/s1600/confessions.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 185px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 280px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573264500493788834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyDLEsyLWne8K29snzuGzWuvqdREt3C1YQsFkl-SBAB0lXHnhvjWUSr_NgkR2L-oUNfLnUCGYVJxGuXAKXC1wZfv6w1S4kz0Kyoib5tYBblHGCckBpZBz3N7-EXplHEuX7D82eKrULSs/s320/confessions.jpg" /></a><br /><em>Love Drugged</em> by James Klise<br /><br /><em>Perfect Shot</em> by Debbie Rigaud<br /><br /><em>Losing Faith</em> by Denise Jaden<br /><br /><em>The Girl Next Door</em> by Selene Castrovilla<br /><br /><em>After The Kiss</em> by Terra Elan McVoy<br /><br /><em>Sweet, Hereafter </em>by Angela Johnson<br /><br /><em>Butterfly </em>by Sonya Hartnett<br /><br /><em>Abe in Arms</em> by Pegi Deitz Shea<br /><br /><em>Myself and I </em>by Earl Sewell <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQCC_6iV7tDM6mLjy_wWBSCW7WlUpfOCBaDeNvpCqXD_FqluuW6Z-XLCyBCwiQo_gTVOy02Z-5MdZ6YMF5WhHC6ZNESOPLExx_FCz3ubYxiGv5gdbmClknRRQH150DQJJWZIQqGP_UzI/s1600/cum+laude.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 179px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 280px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573265680347693826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQCC_6iV7tDM6mLjy_wWBSCW7WlUpfOCBaDeNvpCqXD_FqluuW6Z-XLCyBCwiQo_gTVOy02Z-5MdZ6YMF5WhHC6ZNESOPLExx_FCz3ubYxiGv5gdbmClknRRQH150DQJJWZIQqGP_UzI/s320/cum+laude.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><em>Addicted to Her</em> by Janet Nicholas Lynch<br /><br /><em>Sweet 15 </em>by Emily Adler & Alex Echevarria<br /><br /><em>China Clipper</em> by Jamie Dodson<br /><br /><em>Flying Feet </em>by James McCann<br /><br /><em>Rhythm and Blues </em>by Jill Murray<br /><br /><em>Bamboo People </em>by Mitali Perkins<br /><br /><em>Survivor's Leave</em> by Robert Sutherland<br /><br /><em>The Man of Mystery Hill </em>by Tracy L. Carbone<br /><br /><em>Compromised </em>by Heidi Ayarbe <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_Ef7sN3ZjL5yk_6_ceyNnwcxBa7qSXzID4WuWadG2l7dl05Awkj49R_eEqMUkDBWtzoBiTTTHd-xTjDYo_tCENYiFy9hhIFQnfXX3uThJL9KjRK60YK4du-ZUigADHAUOwA4VkigFYg/s1600/daughters.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 185px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 278px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573266145192153762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_Ef7sN3ZjL5yk_6_ceyNnwcxBa7qSXzID4WuWadG2l7dl05Awkj49R_eEqMUkDBWtzoBiTTTHd-xTjDYo_tCENYiFy9hhIFQnfXX3uThJL9KjRK60YK4du-ZUigADHAUOwA4VkigFYg/s320/daughters.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><em>Joe Rat</em> by Mark Barratt<br /><br /><em>Anxious Hearts </em>by Tucker Shaw<br /><br /><em>Rose Sees Red </em>by Cecil Castellucci<br /><br /><em>The Daughters</em> by Joanna Philbin<br /><br /><em>The Last Summer of the Death Warriors</em> by Francisco X. Stork<br /><br /><em>Life, After</em> by Sarah Darer Littman<br /><br /><em>The Secret to Lying</em> by Todd Mitchell<br /><br /><em>The Tension of Opposites</em> by Kristina McBride <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF387M5SQ1A5ru4n8YLfeiAyFUF4lAEDcFyfS2tsLqcXCoGkVRC9vt1WYoE10hYxf8PYEZ25x-2Ysn_IkbmNbjE_WyR-uixxY4LzQiVGzLbgc1mABw5V0dajj7uKV8v_TnVEsM8C1h0jE/s1600/wildthorn.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 185px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 278px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573266977030387266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF387M5SQ1A5ru4n8YLfeiAyFUF4lAEDcFyfS2tsLqcXCoGkVRC9vt1WYoE10hYxf8PYEZ25x-2Ysn_IkbmNbjE_WyR-uixxY4LzQiVGzLbgc1mABw5V0dajj7uKV8v_TnVEsM8C1h0jE/s320/wildthorn.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><em>Dangerous Neighbors</em> by Beth Kephart<br /><br /><em>Ghost Dog Secrets</em> by Peg Kehret<br /><br /><em>The 10 p.m. Question </em>by Kate De Goldi<br /><br /><em>Runaway Storm</em> by D.E. Knobbe<br /><br /><em>So Over My Head </em>by Jenny B. Jones<br /><br /><em>Every Little Thing in the World </em>by Nina de Gramont<br /><br /><em>Beat the Band </em>by Don Calame<br /><br /><em>Those Girls </em>by Sarah Lawrence<br /><br /><em>Call Me Yubbie </em>by Joe Wojcik<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGVslunShNRabPKOBlzQmC64c2sXg18eVp0TPo6fzVyrTlDeGh2_U3XyxXrUvloWmmeu6UCZUHV5eZ4LWGo-mK4LmWaleU0XCGEOOgaPKh1hKE8qdzzPtxN2Zc45WBcQhg9cRVIXKhZc/s1600/after+the+kiss.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 185px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 278px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573269608802893154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGVslunShNRabPKOBlzQmC64c2sXg18eVp0TPo6fzVyrTlDeGh2_U3XyxXrUvloWmmeu6UCZUHV5eZ4LWGo-mK4LmWaleU0XCGEOOgaPKh1hKE8qdzzPtxN2Zc45WBcQhg9cRVIXKhZc/s320/after+the+kiss.jpg" /></a><br /><em>Bright Blue Miracle </em>by Becca Wilhite<br /><br /><em>Cum Laude </em>by Cecily von Ziegesar<br /><br /><em>Stringz </em>by Michael Wenberg<br /><br /><em>The Fiddler's Gun </em>by A.S. Peterson<br /><br /><em>The Summer I Got A Life </em>by Mark Fink<br /><br /><em>The Summer of Skinny Dipping</em> by Amanda Howells<br /><br /><em>The Heart is Not a Size </em>by Beth Kephart<br /><br /><em>Scars </em>by Cheryl Rainfield<br /><br /><em>Wildthorn </em>by Jane Eagland<br /><br /><em>Change of Heart </em>by Shari Maurer<br /><br /><em>Something Terrible Happened on Kenmore</em> by Marci StillermanCherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-70584262289551727582011-02-09T18:38:00.000-08:002011-02-09T18:51:50.902-08:00Relaunching...again.Yes, I am once again relaunching my blog. I'd promise that this is the last time, but I can't guarantee it.<br /><br />But this time, the relaunch is coming with a HUGE giveaway. I mean HUGE. Details to come this weekend.<br /><br />In the meantime, you can get an extra entry into said giveaway by commenting on this post BEFORE Saturday. Just a comment. I'd love it if the comment said something about how beautiful, intelligent, and just plain amazing I am, but any comment will do.<br /><br />And since I don't want this post to be a complete waste, here's some information that you may find useful. Remember the incredible conference I was at last year? It's back again. Utah's Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Conference will be held in Sandy from June 13th-17th. It's an all-star cast this year, and spots are filling up fast, so if you want to get in, you'd better hurry. <a href="http://wifyr.com/">http://wifyr.com/</a><br /><br />And if you're more a video person, you might remember this one from last year:<br /><br /><object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2kgQp9FocO4&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2kgQp9FocO4&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-67990087335848929772011-01-05T08:47:00.000-08:002011-01-05T10:19:48.787-08:00Incredible Synchronicities<p></p><p>synchronicities: 1. the quality or fact of being synchronous<br /><br />2. the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events (as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality —used especially in the psychology of C. G. Jung<br /><br />--Merriam-Webster Online<br /><br /><br />This list of similarities and coincidences among the 2010 Cybils YA Fiction nominations is humbly submitted to you by the 2010 Cybils YA Fiction Panel. It is no way to be considered completely exhaustive, as we are certain nominated books and coincidentals will have been missed. This list was originated out of amusement as the seven panelists read their way through the 182 titles. If you know of a nominated title that should be included in one of the synchronicities below, please feel free to submit it in the comments! To get the entire list, you’ll have to visit all seven of the panelist’s blogs.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Featuring a Car Named Holden: </strong></p><p><em>A Little Wanting Song</em></p><p><em>Butterfly</em><br /><br /><br /><strong>Featuring Twins: </strong></p><p><em>The Twin’s Daughter</em></p><p><em>Dangerous Neighbors</em></p><p><em>Will (not ‘featured’, but reappearing)</em></p><p><em>Jackie’s Library Teen Events<br /><br /></em><br /><strong>Fiona Apple: </strong></p><p><em>A Little Wanting Song </em></p><p><em>and ???? (we know there's one more...help, readers!)<br /><br /></em><br /><strong>Finding a Friend’s Dad’s Impressively Large Porn Collection: </strong></p><p><em>Exit Strategy</em></p><p><em>Half Brother<br /><br /></em><br /><strong>Grandparents as Caregivers: </strong></p><p><em>Harmonic Feedback</em></p><p><em>The Sky is Everywhere</em></p><p><em>What Mama Left Me</em></p><p><em>Sellout</em></p><p><em>When I was Joe<br /><br /><br /></em><strong>Historical: </strong></p><p><em>The Agency 1: A Spy in the House</em></p><p><em>The Agency 2: The Body at the Tower</em></p><p><em>Anxious Hearts</em></p><p><em>The Brothers Story</em></p><p><em>Butterfly</em></p><p><em>Bright Young Things</em></p><p><em>Cate of the Lost Colony</em></p><p><em>City of Cannibals</em></p><p><em>Crossing the Tracks</em></p><p><em>Dangerous Neighbors</em></p><p><em>Faithful</em></p><p><em>Firefly Letters</em></p><p><em>The Fiddler’s Gun</em></p><p><em>Folly</em></p><p><em>Freaks and Revelations</em></p><p><em>Half Brother</em></p><p><em>Hellie Jondoe</em></p><p><em>Joe Rat</em></p><p><em>Life, After</em></p><p><em>Prisoners in the Palace</em></p><p><em>The Red Umbrella</em></p><p><em>Revolution</em></p><p><em>Something Terrible Happened on Kenmore</em></p><p><em>Three Rivers Rising</em></p><p><em>The Twin’s Daughter</em></p><p><em>We Hear the Dead</em></p><p><em>Wicked Girls</em></p><p><em>Wildthorn</em></p><p><em>Woods Runner<br /><br /></em><br /><strong>Homelessness Caused by Mother Relying on Boyfriends for Housing: </strong></p><p><em>Harmonic Feedback</em></p><p><em>Sorta Like a Rock Star<br /></em><br /><br /><strong>IEDs: </strong></p><p><em>Things a Brother Know</em></p><p><em>Sweet, Hereafter<br /></em><br /><br /><strong>In-n-Out Burger Love: </strong></p><p><em>Harmonic Feedback</em></p><p><em>Amy and Roger<br /></em><br /><br /><strong>Isabel Allende: </strong></p><p><em>Split</em></p><p><em>This Georgeous Game<br /><br /></em><br /><strong>“It is what it is” as a coping phase:</strong> </p><p><em>Myself and I</em></p><p><em>Stringz </em></p><p><br />Want to find out how many featured snake bites in Australia? Stockholm Syndrome? Lunchtime oak trees? Go check out the rest of the list! There are some surprises on there, I promise....<br /><br /><a href="http://apatchworkofbooks.blogspot.com/2011/01/synchronicities.html">Amanda (#1-10)</a></p><p><a href="http://3tnar.blogspot.com/2011/01/more-cybils-fun-ya-fiction-list-of.html">Ami (#11-20)</a></p><p><a href="http://interactivereader.blogspot.com/2011/01/synchronicities.html">Jackie (#33-42)</a></p><p><a href="http://theya5.blogspot.com/2011/01/synchro-what-or-what-i-read-for-past.html">Justina (#43-52)</a></p><p><a href="http://interactivereader.blogspot.com/2011/01/synchronicities.html">Kelly(#53-63)</a></p><p><a href="http://melissawiley.com/blog/2011/01/04/synchronicities/">Melissa (#62-72)</a></p><p></p>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-67836447489798136032010-12-05T20:16:00.000-08:002010-12-05T20:35:05.460-08:00Book Review: Lynn Visible by Julia DeVillers<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF1xK8dHaA6GuniZCJ_oHSXKExmxlLlzyKaTm_I_g80m2bc5-7jJv6TzWcWROF7N-reVYJUsUjC1VglI1IyC6jCDXKizsOftdQXU7v_1iWYVkNvQZtZdm8RORlS8xDVwQXlKoZ0tNSPmA/s1600/lynnvisible.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 185px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 279px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547422467841744994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF1xK8dHaA6GuniZCJ_oHSXKExmxlLlzyKaTm_I_g80m2bc5-7jJv6TzWcWROF7N-reVYJUsUjC1VglI1IyC6jCDXKizsOftdQXU7v_1iWYVkNvQZtZdm8RORlS8xDVwQXlKoZ0tNSPmA/s320/lynnvisible.jpg" /></a><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div>DeVillers, Julia. <u>Lynn Visible.</u> New York: Penguin Young Readers Group, 2010.</div><br /><div><em>There we were. Taylor smiling, in the outfit I’d put together, looking very happy.<br />And me, also looking very happy. In my navy-and-white plaid shirt. And my hot pink tutu skirt that flared out superwide. Belted with a wide black leather belt. I also wore my navy-and-white knitted knee socks. On my head was a vintage black fedora wwith a large hot pink bow. And on my feet, sneakers that I’d hacked up and filled in the holes with tulle I’d trimmed off my skirt. And a necklace I’d made from old pink-and-red Polly Pocket shoes.<br />Yes, I know what you’re thinking. That’s what she’s wearing the first day of school?<br />You won’t be the only person thinking that today.<br /></div></em><br /><div>When it comes to fashion, Lynn is either a genius who is decades ahead of her time, or she's crazy. If you asked the popular girls in school, they'd tell you the latter. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>But that doesn't stop Lynn from dreaming about being the new It girl in the new GlITter Girl competition....the prize being featured in the hottest fashion magazine in the world. Will she face the same rejection she's dealt with her whole life? Or will she finally be validated?</div><br /><div><br />Cute, very cute. Great for the tween girls that are really into fashion. Predictable? A little. But still, you can’t help but cheer for the main character and all the shenanigans she gets herself into. </div><div>Perfect for girls that are still a little young for Meg Cabot, but too old for Fancy Nancy. </div><div> </div>Book #17<br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Lynn-Visible/Julia-DeVillers/e/9780525476917/?itm=2&USRI=lynnvisible">Buy this book now!</a></div>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-87715934043791643192010-12-05T20:08:00.000-08:002010-12-05T20:11:49.531-08:00Nameless Book Review #6Book #13<br />Set in a historical period that FASCINATES me, I had high hopes for this one. But no. It spends a ridiculous amount of time avoiding conflict and instead focusing on the historical facts. Worth reading if you want to read a textbook, but otherwise…<br /><br />Book #14<br />I am so disappointed in this novel. It started with an AWESOME premise. AWESOME. I thought this would be one of my top favorite books this year.<br />Then, about halfway through, I discovered a subplot. A subplot that the author obviously wanted as the main plot. Except that it was too boring, so she had to demote it. And as soon as she introduced it, the main plot unraveled. The resolution was BORING. After all that build-up, for nothing? And the subplot took over. And guess what? I DON’T CARE.<br />So, read the first half, and write your own second half.<br /><br />Book #15<br />Definitely full of fun and girl power. But it went a little over-the-top. Oh, what the heck. It went WAY over-the-top. Really cute idea, but then it went crazy. Anything that wasn’t over-the-top was a complete cliché. If it were me, I would have knocked down the character’s age by a few years and marketed it to 8-year-olds. But for YA? It’s a failure.<br /><br />Book #16<br />I should have loved this novel. I really should have. The main character could have been based on me. And this is a dream I’ve had most of my life.<br />But I didn’t. Because quite frankly, it was kind of dumb.Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-27298552477254679402010-12-01T20:40:00.000-08:002010-12-01T20:45:26.980-08:00Best Hunger Games Video EVER!<p><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Z_jw3z68TW0?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Z_jw3z68TW0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object></p><p> </p><p>I think my title says it all. I could just watch this video over and over and over again. </p><p>If you're wondering where my reviews are, they're coming. I promise. I'm on book #60 of the Cybils and I'm reading about 4 hours a day...I just haven't had time to post the reviews. BUT I WILL! </p><p>And stay tuned...publishers are sending me more free books than I know what to do with, so sometime in the new year I will be having a HUGE giveaway. At least 50 or so books. :)</p>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-9877047711035961562010-11-25T07:54:00.000-08:002010-11-25T08:02:09.450-08:00How Many Have YOU Read?Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.<br /><br /><br /><br />*Bold those books you've read in their entirety.<br /><br />* Italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read only an excerpt.<br /><br />*Bold and italicize books you have read more than once<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen<br /><br /></strong><br /><br /><strong>2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien<br /><br /></strong><br /><br /><strong><em>3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte<br /><br /></em></strong><br /><br /><strong><em>4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling<br /><br /></em></strong><br /><br /><strong><em>5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee<br /></em></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>6 The Bible (Old Testament Only)<br /><br /></strong><br /><br /><strong>7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte</strong><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell<br /><br /></strong><br /><br /><strong>9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman<br /><br /></strong><br /><br /><strong>10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott<br /><br /></strong><br /><br /><strong>12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy<br /><br /></strong><br /><br />13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller<br /><br /><br /><br /><em>14 Complete Works of Shakespeare<br /><br /></em><br /><br />15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien</strong><br /><br /><br /><br />17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger<br /></strong><br /><br /><br />19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger<br /><br /><br /><br /><em>20 Middlemarch - George Eliot<br /></em><br /><br /><br /><strong><em>21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell<br /></em></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald<br /><br /></strong><br /><br /><strong>24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>25 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams<br /><br /></strong><br /><br />27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll<br /><br /></strong><br /><br />30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame<br /><br /><br /><br />31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens<br /><br /></strong><br /><br /><strong>33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>34 Emma -Jane Austen<br /><br /></strong><br /><br /><strong>35 Persuasion - Jane Austen<br /><br /></strong><br /><br /><strong>36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis<br /></strong><br /><br /><br />37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini<br /><br /><br /><br />38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres<br /><br /><br /><br />39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden<br /><br /><br /><br />40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>41 Animal Farm - George Orwell<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown<br /><br /></strong><br /><br />43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez<br /><br /><br /><br />44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving<br /><br /><br /><br />45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy<br /><br /></strong><br /><br />48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding<br /><br /></strong><br /><br />50 Atonement - Ian McEwan<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel<br /><br /></strong><br /><br />52 Dune - Frank Herbert<br /><br /><br /><br />53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen<br /></strong><br /><br /><br />55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth<br /><br /><br /><br />56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon<br /><br /><br /><br /><em>57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens<br /></em><br /><br /><br /><em>58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley<br /><br /></em><br /><br /><strong>59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon<br /></strong><br /><br /><br />60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck<br /><br /></strong><br /><br />62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov<br /><br /><br /><br />63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas<br /></strong><br /><br /><br />66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy<br /></strong><br /><br /><br />68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding<br /><br /><br /><br />69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie<br /><br /><br /><br /><em>70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville<br /><br /></em><br /><br /><strong>71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>72 Dracula - Bram Stoker<br /><br /></strong><br /><br /><strong>73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett<br /></strong><br /><br /><br />74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson<br /><br /><br /><br />75 Ulysses - James Joyce<br /><br /><br /><br /><em>76 The Inferno - Dante<br /></em><br /><br /><br />77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome<br /><br /><br /><br />78 Germinal - Emile Zola<br /><br /><br /><br />79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray<br /><br /><br /><br />80 Possession - AS Byatt<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><em>81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens<br /></em></strong><br /><br /><br />82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker<br /></strong><br /><br /><br />84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro<br /><br /><br /><br />85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert<br /><br /><br /><br />86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistr<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><em>89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle<br /></em><br /><br /><br />90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery</strong><br /><br /><br /><br />93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks<br /><br /><br /><br />94 Watership Down - Richard Adams<br /><br /><br /><br />95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole<br /><br /><br /><br />96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><em>100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo<br /></em>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-21125296399720484432010-11-14T17:42:00.000-08:002010-11-14T17:54:59.926-08:00Book Review: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2Bskgo84CSuz4GoLZvTgqN_j9MkpM9cv090Tpzl50F6RI1I23DCbIE7-gwLDu_HR3o5JipJ3Ym7PVkfGg_ufFe5urSMclLHlHuVTbRW5FgARkUkJxtmS3bnFaaK9DsnNHWF6S0K4XPY/s1600/revolution.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 185px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 274px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539588718825170498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2Bskgo84CSuz4GoLZvTgqN_j9MkpM9cv090Tpzl50F6RI1I23DCbIE7-gwLDu_HR3o5JipJ3Ym7PVkfGg_ufFe5urSMclLHlHuVTbRW5FgARkUkJxtmS3bnFaaK9DsnNHWF6S0K4XPY/s320/revolution.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Donnelly, Jennifer. <u>Revolution.</u> New York: Delacorte Press, 2010</div><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div><em>"Take it down," I said, my voice cracking. </em></div><br /><div><em>Dr. Becker held up his hands. "Okay, Andi, If you would like me to take the picture down, I will." </em></div><br /><div><em>"Now."</em></div><br /><div><em>"Damn it, Andi! Who do you think you're talking to?" Dad shouted.</em></div><br /><div><em>"I can't do it right now," Dr. Becker said. "I need maintenance to do it. But I give you my word that it will come down, all right?"</em></div><br /><div><em>I nodded stiffly. It was something. Some small win. I couldn't protect my mother from Dr. Feelgood but at least I'd saved her from Thomas Kinkade. </em></div><br /><div><em>The traffic jam gives a bit. We pick up speed and few minutes later, we're on the outskirts of Paris. The road to the city is lined with shabby stone houses, used-car lots, falafel dens, and hair salons, their signs all shining garishly in the dark. </em></div><br /><div><em>"It might do you good, you know," my father is saying as we hit the Boulevard Peripherique. "It might take your mind off things." </em></div><br /><div><em>"What might?"</em></div><br /><div><em>"A change of scenery. Paris."</em></div><br /><div><em>"Yeah. Sure. My brother's dead. My mother's insane. Hey, let's have a crepe."</em></div><br /><div><em>We don't talk for the rest of the ride. </em></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>After Andi's brother died, her family essentially fell apart. So when her father swoops back in and sends her mother to a psych ward and drags her off to Paris, she is not happy. </div><br /><div><br />Then she discovers a guitar that’s over two centuries old. And with it, a diary that reveals a side of history that no one has ever heard before. </div><br /><div><br />Brilliant concept. I LOVED the diary parts. As well as the music reports. The character is smart and creative, and it’s difficult not to adore her, even though she can be pretty snarky.<br />I wasn’t thrilled with the way it ended, but overall, it’s definitely worth your time. And if you love European historical fiction, you can’t miss out on this book. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Revolution/Jennifer-Donnelly/e/9780385737630/?itm=2&USRI=Revolution">Buy this book now!</a></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Book 12--done!</div>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-10855127961268953502010-11-12T19:49:00.000-08:002010-11-12T20:24:47.159-08:00Book Review: Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Vps-oQmPDYMZ2VJbAcack5j0wnXK94HmXm-Z2ja7ADRDomKA3zGIwproMvVCZ2tKBdz_spL7q1UbGuLc4_DRECMFTnQfEiwE5O1FzTLcke4H7e1xlRs4oDMXylptCRtAD_4LHI7cMTc/s1600/Bright+Young+Things.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 185px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 279px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538883746969259618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Vps-oQmPDYMZ2VJbAcack5j0wnXK94HmXm-Z2ja7ADRDomKA3zGIwproMvVCZ2tKBdz_spL7q1UbGuLc4_DRECMFTnQfEiwE5O1FzTLcke4H7e1xlRs4oDMXylptCRtAD_4LHI7cMTc/s320/Bright+Young+Things.jpg" /></a><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div>Godbersen, Anna. <u>Bright Young Things.</u> New York: HarperCollins, 2010.</div><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div><em>The faces of each guest turned toward the bride, and though some of them tried to smile, their eyes seemed to say, I know what you’ve done.<br />Lest their looks cut her, Cordelia reminded herself that she was only half one of them. While her mother had been raised in Union, the other half of Cordelia came from some glittering, far-off place, and like Letty, she was too big for the town she’d grown up in. Letty was right, Cordelia now realized with some relief, to have insisted on a veil. Not only to protect her from the guests’ stares and the judgment in their expressions, but also because of John, who was now reaching for her hands. His eyes were shining, but she couldn’t meet them. She didn’t want any memory of the happy, expectant way he was gazing at her. </em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div>Cordelia and Letty believe that their destinies lie far beyond the dull small town they've been raised in....they belong in New York City. Letty is going to be an actress, a singer, a star. And Cordelia is determined to find her father. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Beautiful prose. And I love that it's a historical fiction set in the 20's, we don't see much of that. Lots of twists and turns, you're never quite sure what's going to happen next. The characters were just reckless and stupid enough to make me happy...it made them real. Especially since they admitted they were being stupid. Then did it anyway. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>If that doesn't ring true as a teenager, I don't know what does. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>If you're a huge fan of <em>Chicago,</em> then this is a great book for you. I can't wait to see what happens in the rest of the series. </div><div></div><div><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Bright-Young-Things/Anna-Godbersen/e/9780061962660/?itm=2&USRI=bright+young+things">Buy this book now!</a></div><div></div><div>Yay for Book #12! I'm so excited to be liking books again!</div>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-48749644793183284372010-11-11T19:44:00.000-08:002010-11-11T19:48:36.152-08:00Nameless Book Review #5Yep...I was right about Book #11.<br /><br /><br />The first twenty pages were so abominable that there wasn’t much chance of it being redeemed. Don’t get me wrong, it tried. The middle parts were decent. But then the ending got all screwed up again. That whole incest subplot? It did NOT work for me. It came out of the middle of nowhere, and had no reason to be there. Nothing was even remotely resolved. When you write a novel from alternating POVs, there must be a REASON. Especially if you’re just going over the same old ground over and over again. There was no reason for the POVs, and there was no reason for the novel in general.<br /><br />I've heard good things about Book #12, though...Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-10408896739364942802010-10-21T20:23:00.000-07:002010-10-21T20:25:48.959-07:00Nameless Book Review #4Book #10<br /><br />Not impressed….the slang constantly took me out of the story. Also, I didn’t realize the setting until I was halfway through the book. The plot was fairly uninteresting, though it did pick up a little at the end. And why were there three mini-climaxes? I want one big climax! Come on, people, give me a solid story arc!Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-42754977342521254692010-10-20T20:53:00.000-07:002010-10-20T21:20:24.284-07:00Nameless Book Review #3Okay...so I can't tell you what I didn't like about Book #9, because that would give away what book it was. <br /><br />I'll just say this...It's been awhile since I've been this excited about a concept, and I was SO disappointed. *sigh* <br /><br />Books #10 and #11 aren't looking too promising either, but I'll push through!Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-88813538326071963702010-10-17T21:19:00.000-07:002010-10-17T21:29:16.395-07:00Book Review: The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwxPK0GNaQYGOC440P75OWAYOfDus3fy-UJGcX8QVVXL6c3Gi0eBars4nhBihErB4FVBSpsDhMbepp6lpEC80fuaVC5FSRIxxJ_jOwGVQ52qqZ8wgfZSlFLpqkUtJnnwOZ82XfyAws64/s1600/twins+daughter.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 185px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 278px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529238185625751842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwxPK0GNaQYGOC440P75OWAYOfDus3fy-UJGcX8QVVXL6c3Gi0eBars4nhBihErB4FVBSpsDhMbepp6lpEC80fuaVC5FSRIxxJ_jOwGVQ52qqZ8wgfZSlFLpqkUtJnnwOZ82XfyAws64/s320/twins+daughter.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Baratz-Logsted, Lauren. <u>The Twin’s Daughter.</u> New York: Bloomsbury, 2010.</div><br /><div><br /><em>I could her her step growing closer to the doorway, and I rose from my seat thinking to go to her, to warn her somehow first—although warn her of what exactly, I couldn’t say—but her energetic glide was too quick for me and as she blew into the room, the woman who had been seated across from me rose as well. </em></div><em><br /><div><br />I stood between them looking from one to the other: the one who was dressed and coiffed in a way that showed she had every advantage in the world—my beautiful, gorgeous mother—and her mirror image, but dressed and coiffed far differently. I can say with near certainty that I am the only child in the world who can claim she was there the first time her mother met her twin. </div><br /><div><br />My mother fainted dead away. </div><br /><div><br /></em></div>Lucy’s mother and her Aunt Helen were separated at birth…but now Aunt Helen has found her twin, and is determined to find her rightful place in society.<br /><div><br />But there are darker motivations at work…and if Lucy fails to uncover them, she could become the next victim. </div><br /><div><br />Another one that I loved!! It’s sort of like Little Women meets Edgar Allen Poe. Creepy. Twisted. Brilliant. </div><br /><div><br />I kept thinking I had it all figured out. I kept being wrong. It had my favorite feature of a well-written novel…not one wasted word. Everything was there because it was essential to the climax. This is the first novel of this length that I’ve ever seen do that. It was so incredibly impressive to me. </div><br /><div><br />I loved the characters I was supposed to love, I hated the characters I was supposed to hate, I was confused about nearly everyone else…just as the author intended. I fell for every red herring, like I was supposed to. It was amazing, knowing that the author could control me the way she did. Brava, Lauren Baratz-Logsted. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Yay for Book #8!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Twins-Daughter/Lauren-Baratz-Logsted/e/9781599905136/?itm=6&USRI=the+twin%27s+daughter">Buy this book now!</a></div>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-22563076793907133102010-10-17T20:10:00.000-07:002010-10-17T20:25:13.244-07:00Book Review: Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdepfed6-zTW57koDiA-8PQwz93Xwrn1aoAJWxog3IWH-uHL0qA4EKNaKLa-Mai_dzQyeY3pok0UNSuvDy-KRD7uiMf7MtJsoj5wZh9MdNo0reRO2ksiXbBiEl_A-chSrFnI_B1qs8jU/s1600/not+that+kind+of+girl.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 185px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 261px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529221527967516242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdepfed6-zTW57koDiA-8PQwz93Xwrn1aoAJWxog3IWH-uHL0qA4EKNaKLa-Mai_dzQyeY3pok0UNSuvDy-KRD7uiMf7MtJsoj5wZh9MdNo0reRO2ksiXbBiEl_A-chSrFnI_B1qs8jU/s320/not+that+kind+of+girl.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Vivan, Siobhan. <u>Not That Kind of Girl,</u> New York: Push, 2010. </div><br /><div><br /><em>“Hey! Come on, Natalie. I’m only kidding with you.” His smile lengthened into a sneer. “You could</em> never <em>give me a hard-on. You’re like…dick repellant.” </em></div><br /><div><br /><em>Anger burned hot through my body, and I gripped the sides of my chair. Mike Domski wanted to hurt me, and the best way he knew was to call me ugly. I hated that, despite the fact that I would rather eat vomit than touch a hair on Mike’s head, it worked. It took all my self-control not to hock the biggest, wettest ball of spit right between Mike’s eyes.<br /><br /></em>Natalie has the perfect plan for senior year. She’s going to get elected to student body president, still get perfect grades, and get into every college she applies to. She and Autumn will stay just as close as ever. And no boys will get in the way.<br /><br />Then Spencer comes along…a girl who isn’t even remotely afraid to show off her sexuality. And Natalie finds herself wanting to save her, to show Spencer what people are saying, and convince her that taking your shirt off in the middle of a crowded hallway is the wrong way to get attention. Which should be easy—if Natalie could stop getting distracted by a boy that is wrong for her in every way.<br /><br />I loved this novel, and I’m not sure why. I know I definitely related to the main character…but I’m pretty sure that to most people, Natalie would be sort of unlikeable. Hmm. I’m not going to think about what that says about me. <img class="gl_link" border="0" alt="Link" src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" /></div><br /><div><br />Also, I loved the take on feminism. Both sides of the argument are brought up, and I think they’re dealt with well. It’s clear that the author is on one side of the fence, but I think you can read it and not cross over.<br /><br />The voice was vibrant, the characters are memorable, and the overall plot is done well. I had some trouble putting this one down. As a warning, there is some sexual content. I thought it was tasteful, but I can definitely see some controversy for conservative areas or younger readers.<br /><br />Back on track with Book #7!<br /><br /><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Not-That-Kind-of-Girl/Siobhan-Vivian/e/9780545169158/?itm=1&USRI=not+that+kind+of+girl">Buy this book now! </a></div>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-28843034255594832912010-10-14T20:15:00.000-07:002010-10-14T20:20:58.276-07:00Nameless Book Review #2Book #6<br /><br />Ugh. That's all I have to say. <br /><br />I'm just kidding. I always have more to say. <br /><br />It was predictable, it was BORING, and it was utterly unoriginal. Nothing I hadn't read before. I finished it, just to see if it would redeem itself...it didn't. I was so happy to get to the last page. It reads like a first draft, and I'm wondering if an editor ever got a chance to even glance at it. <br /><br />Seriously, how do these books get published?Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-54448823672050604252010-10-13T20:24:00.000-07:002010-10-13T20:29:32.567-07:00Nameless Book Reviews #1I didn't love the last two books that I read for the panel. I'm not going to tell you which books they were...but I am going to say what I didn't like.<br /><br />Book 4:<br /><br />Well, first off, I wasn’t thrilled with the character’s voice. I thought it was weak, especially at the beginning. And I know that she’s supposed to be all depressed and detached from everything, but I don’t think that’s an excuse to not have voice. Also, the plot was cliché, and a little didactic at times, to be perfectly frank. When are we going to see a well-done bullying plot?<br /><br />One of the biggest problems for me, though, was how in-depth it went with tips on suicide. Don’t get me wrong, I hate censorship, but when I find myself deciding which method is best for me, something is wrong. Teens are much more susceptible to that kind of suggestion than I am.<br /><br />Another thing I didn’t like was that the character wasn’t saved by any realization of her own, but by other characters that decided to like her, and not back off no matter how badly she treated them. Most teens won’t have that, and by not having it, will decide to go through with killing themselves.<br /><br />I did find myself relating to the main character, though. I liked her. I thought she was sad without being annoying, and I liked that. Love interest was also very likeable. Every girl’s dream.<br /><br />Basically, potential, potential, potential, and nothing more.<br /><br />Book 5:<br /><br />Again, lack of voice bothered me. It’s told from three different points of view. If you’re going to pull that off successfully, the voices need to be RADICALLY different. I could kind of tell, a little bit, but…not enough.<br /><br />Also, the title promised more than it delivered on. I needed something juicy, something unexpected, something that would make me gasp. None of that happened. It was cute, it was interesting, but it wasn’t exceptional in any way.<br /><br />It did have an EXCELLENT premise. It was the mystery that pulled me through the entire thing. It was just the execution that bothered me.<br /><br />Let's hope I do better with Book 6!Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-16384925999787281982010-10-11T16:46:00.000-07:002010-10-11T16:52:48.495-07:00Book Review: Stolen by Lucy Christopher<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnn6I1tRKgkUlUdAeqYvjeIW_AEE4_xxQs7TSKpcnpseFJ87QirX6p8zx3yw8ENxM0LgMjPbQS5GxdDw8uXRt8vY45hb-Ov5Vy1OzMH19e-J9NxjqHOKODnAeipSKZHkC8C2VJAmr-uCU/s1600/stolen.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 183px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 280px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526940598908990418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnn6I1tRKgkUlUdAeqYvjeIW_AEE4_xxQs7TSKpcnpseFJ87QirX6p8zx3yw8ENxM0LgMjPbQS5GxdDw8uXRt8vY45hb-Ov5Vy1OzMH19e-J9NxjqHOKODnAeipSKZHkC8C2VJAmr-uCU/s320/stolen.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Christopher, Lucy. <u>Stolen.</u> New York, Scholastic, 2010. </div><br /><div><br /><em>“I had to take you.”<br />The bed creaked and my body rose a little as you sat down on the mattress. I dragged myself away. I tried pushing my legs to the floor, but still they wouldn’t go. The whole world seemed to turn around me. I was going to slide off. I pointed my head away and expected to be sick at any moment. It didn’t come. I hugged my legs toward me. My chest was too tight for crying.<br />“Where am I?”<br />You paused before answering. I heard you take a breath, then sigh it out. Your clothing rustled as you changed your position. I realized then that I couldn’t hear any other sounds, anywhere, other than yours.<br />“You’re here,” you said. “You’re safe.”</em><br /><br />At first, Gemma thought Ty was cute. It was flattering, really, to have a hot older guy hitting on her.<br /><br />Then the world started to get fuzzy. And when she woke up, she was so far from home that she might as well have disappeared from the face of the earth.<br /><br />Brilliant. Utterly brilliant. This is now on my list of all-time favorite books. Every word counts, subplots and descriptions double as foreshadowing and symbolism. The storyline is gripping, pulling you through every single page…and since there aren’t any chapters, it’s easy to lose track of time.<br /><br />Ever since I finished it (in one sitting) I’ve been thinking about it. Over and over and over again. I can’t get the characters out of my head. I’m DESPERATE to talk to someone about it, debate about the ending, the meaning, the themes…what fantastic discussions you could get out of this.<br /><br />Basically…YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK.<br /><br />Wow, how is it possible that each Cybils book I read is better than the last? This streak has to end sometime.<br /><br />Book 3—Done!<br /><br /><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Stolen/Lucy-Christopher/e/9780545170932/?itm=1&USRI=stolen">Buy this book now! </a></div>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-88521124797443586292010-10-09T23:05:00.000-07:002010-10-09T23:38:21.831-07:00Book Review: Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcIFrSBvz279MPpLj_yGCWeBhrO6Wev6_QVu81n4a5Hd-V5_1ctYRQ9a6HWKEZK6Anb4cF8FQ9OeDTvcb5U_VzjYI_csJN-E_QX3niRRyGVICKFAwyMMxXPCzN-xvYiPpi3QE6zuFOsJc/s1600/half+brother.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 185px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 280px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526300171414455570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcIFrSBvz279MPpLj_yGCWeBhrO6Wev6_QVu81n4a5Hd-V5_1ctYRQ9a6HWKEZK6Anb4cF8FQ9OeDTvcb5U_VzjYI_csJN-E_QX3niRRyGVICKFAwyMMxXPCzN-xvYiPpi3QE6zuFOsJc/s320/half+brother.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Oppel, Kenneth. <u>Half Brother</u>. New York, Scholastic, 2010.</div><br /><div><br /><em>Some of this I’d heard before, but it did sound exciting. It was like something from a sci-fi movie. One day people would read about it in Popular Science, and I could be a part of it. I caught myself nodding as Dad carried on, his eyes bright, his hands grasping at the air for emphasis.<br /><br />“And that’s why the project’s whole design is so radical,” he said. “We’re trying to teach another species our language. Human language. So we need to raise Zan like a human baby, so he can learn language just like a human would. No cages. No labs. He’s one of us now. He has a crib and clothes and toys. And most important, he has a family. He has a mother and a father—and a big brother, too.”</em> </div><div><br />Ben’s father is a renowned behavioral psychologist who’s just gotten his big break. Finally, a university willing to fund his experiment—to try teaching a chimp sign language. But in order for that to happen, the chimp must be raised as a human, which means Ben finds himself with a new baby brother. </div><div><br />Brilliant. This is one of those books that rings true in every way. The characters, the family dynamics, the emotions…I feel as though I’ve lived through this. I didn’t think there was any way Oppel could steer around animal rights discussions without sounded didactic, but he did. All sides of every argument were presented flawlessly. He manages to work in deeper themes without ever losing the tension. </div><div><br />This is great for discussions, perfect for book clubs. I would rate it as 13+ due to a few (very) mild sexual references. </div><div> </div><div>Definitely a book to put on your "to be read" list. Go ahead and try not to fall in love with Zan. Really. I dare you. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Book 2 of the Cybils....Done!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Half-Brother/Kenneth-Oppel/e/9780545229258/?itm=1&USRI=half+brother">Buy this book now!</a></div>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-90620424733319090832010-10-08T13:17:00.000-07:002010-10-08T22:59:16.277-07:00Book Review: Girl, Stolen by April Henry<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fhEODT8xtAVcIkyAS32H9K_gFJlMv8Sk-KYU59DCdLGmwCVTitt0tzqa8NfU7n7IHJZ-6AKcZcs89d51i35ocqTk0ewOmaeD4TtZ62B0f38Mav_iid-TtJiEyScCO6NkLMI9nIiSAvA/s1600/girl+stolen.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 185px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 274px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525921214942782978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fhEODT8xtAVcIkyAS32H9K_gFJlMv8Sk-KYU59DCdLGmwCVTitt0tzqa8NfU7n7IHJZ-6AKcZcs89d51i35ocqTk0ewOmaeD4TtZ62B0f38Mav_iid-TtJiEyScCO6NkLMI9nIiSAvA/s320/girl+stolen.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Henry, April. <u>Girl, Stolen.</u> New York: Henry Holt & Company, 2010. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><em>"Who the hell are you?" His voice broke in surprise.</em></div><br /><div><em>"What are you doing in Danielle's car?"</em></div><br /><div><em>Their words collided and tangled. Both of them speaking too fast, almost yelling.</em></div><br /><div><em>Sitting up, she scrambled back against the door, the one farthest from him. "Stop our car and get out!"</em></div><br /><div><em>"No!" he shouted back. The engine surged as he drove faster. </em></div><br /><div><em>Cheyenne realized she was being kidnapped. </em></div><br /><div><em>But she couldn't see the guy who was kidnapping her or where they were going. </em></div><br /><div><em>Because for the last three years, Cheyenne had been blind. </em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div>Cheyenne was just supposed to wait in the car for a minute while her stepmother ran in to pick up a prescription. Instead, she ended up being kidnapped and held for ransom. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The story picked up fast and didn't let down for a minute. I loved the twist of the kidnapped girl also being blind. Everything, literally, was working against her. And yet she was still strong, a great role model for girls. Cheyenne has that Nancy Drew-ness about her, always analyzing her situation and finding the best way out. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I also loved the complexity of Griffin. Great character. I absolultely fell in love with him. (Should I say "He can kidnap me any day?" No, I shouldn't. Okay. I won't.) I love the way April Henry shows us his character...instead of saying "he wanted to be a better person than his father" she has him clean the kitchen, something the father would never do. <em></em></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>This is perfect for fans of Caroline B. Cooney and Lois Duncan. It's a thriller, fun of action and thought-provoking situations. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>And Book 1 of the Cybils is finished!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Girl-Stolen/April-Henry/e/9780805090055/?itm=1&USRI=girl+stolen">Buy this book now!</a></div>Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-88710761824831999102010-10-08T12:53:00.000-07:002010-10-08T13:15:02.354-07:00Cybils 2010!So, for those of you who don't know, I've been chosen as a panelist for the 2010 <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Cybils</span> award on the Young Adult Fiction panel. <br /><br />*uncontrollable shrieking and jumping up and down*<br /><br />Ahem. Yes, I'm very excited. <br /><br />So, let me tell you a little about how the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Cybils</span> are going to work. First, people nominate books. And by people, I mean YOU. If you haven't nominated your favorite book of the past year yet, then you need to. Just <a href="http://cybils.com/">click here</a>. You have until October 15<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span>!<br /><br />Then we read, read, read. We've already started. This is the part I plan on chronicling here. Every book nominated is required to be read by at least two people, and at least 50 pages need to be read. After that, we battle it out to come up with a shortlist of 5-7 titles. <br /><br />Those titles go to the Round Two judges. They have to read all of the books shortlisted, and then they will make a decision about the winner. <br /><br />Are you all psyched? I'm psyched! This is going to be awesome!Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-80686420851949482382010-09-27T15:52:00.000-07:002010-09-27T16:12:23.574-07:00Why Edgy Books BELONG in Young Adult FictionIn celebration of Banned Book Week, I thought I'd talk about why teens <em>should</em> (not just "should be allowed to" but "should") read edgy books.<br /><br />Let's face it, the teenage years are difficult. You feel like an adult, but adults treat you like a child. You're supposed to make decisions that will affect the rest of your life before you've even figured out what kind of person you're going to be. Peer pressure is a constant in your life, and everything that you either give into or walk away from determines your reputation, and your reputation is everything. Add to this the fact that your hormones are completely psychotic and over-the-top, and...well, let's just say that you couldn't pay me enough to relive those years. <br /><br />Now, I can see why parents don't want their children reading certain books. They're trying to protect them, keep them from learning about particular evils in the world, keept them as pure as possible for as long as possible. <br /><br />I hate to break it to you, though, but teens have already been exposed. Unless your child never leaves the house, never speaks to peers, never watches TV or listens to music, they've been exposed. I was hearing explicit sex jokes in the third grade. Being fairly innocent, I didn't know what they were, and just laughed along with everyone else in order to fit in...I didn't actually understand those jokes until years later. <br /><br />"Well, I can't stop that kind of exposure, but books are something I <em>can</em> control, so I <em>should</em> control it." I disagree. The difference between books and movies or lewd jokes is that books generally work themselves out. They take these issues and work through them. Edgy YA that is done well is a constructive way of working through these kinds of problems. Even if the character makes the wrong choices, we are able to watch it, from a safe distance, and point out exactly what they did wrong. <br /><br />Now consider how much more likely a teen is to make the right decision when they've essentially "lived through" the wrong decision. <br /><br />No matter how much we would like them to, teenagers are VERY unlikely to come to adults to figure out their problems. They want nothing to do with adults. How limited will they be if they only have the advice from their peers? I admit, edgy YA books are a hidden way of getting teens to take advice from adults. And as long as the moral isn't heavy-handed or didactic, TEENS WILL LISTEN. <br /><br />I really think we need to change our views on edgy young adult fiction. It's not damaging our teens. It's giving them an opportunity to work through bad decisions and difficult times without negatively affecting their lives.Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-958655209147871290.post-88546123887197688962010-09-17T01:00:00.000-07:002010-09-17T01:00:03.101-07:00The Other Views: Love Triangles in YA<a href="http://karenmkrueger.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/in-love-with-love-triangles/">http://karenmkrueger.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/in-love-with-love-triangles/</a><br /><br />"After all, why have one boy when you can have two?"<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://sueysbooks.blogspot.com/2009/09/on-love-triangles.html">http://sueysbooks.blogspot.com/2009/09/on-love-triangles.html</a><br /><br />Fun list of the top ten YA love triangles of all time.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/04/bizarre-love-triangles">http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/04/bizarre-love-triangles</a><br /><br />A student comes one day with a "Team Jacob" water bottle and the next day with a "Team Edward" shirt...<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.loveromancepassion.com/the-1-reason-women-love-triangles-in-romance/">http://www.loveromancepassion.com/the-1-reason-women-love-triangles-in-romance/</a><br /><br />The #1 reason women love triangles in romance. I think that says it all.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.persnicketysnark.com/2010/05/love-triangle-are-we-gender-biased.html">http://www.persnicketysnark.com/2010/05/love-triangle-are-we-gender-biased.html</a><br /><br />"We want the protagonist to choose the right guy...for her. Sometimes we get confused and like the right guy...for us."Cherylynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723483883896147526noreply@blogger.com2