Book Review: Ada: Legend of a Healer by R. A. McDonald

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Ada Legend of a Healer imageAda has bounced around from foster home to foster home since her mother abandoned her when she was very young. When she’s kicked out of her foster-home-of-last-resort, an aunt she’s never met agrees to take her in. But Ada discovers Jessie is not really her aunt. Plus, Jessie has strange healing powers that make her the target of powerful people who want to control her, and Ada does too. Through Jessie, Ada finally learns a lot about herself and where she comes from.

Ada begins a journey of self discovery that leads her from the Pacific Northwest to France as she searches for her mother and works to elude the people who would lock her up for her abilities.

Ada: Legend of a Healer by R. A. McDonald raises questions that can be debated by mothers and daughters: If I have the ability to help someone, am I obligated to do so? Is it moral to prevent people from dying when that places greater strain on the resources of the world and reduces the quality of life for many? If the government detains someone with special powers can it ever be for their protection or is it always exploitation?

Ada is a family effort, with author McDonald collaborating for editing with her husband and two children. Family members were models for interesting charcoal drawings throughout, and the McDonalds created their own publishing house, House of Lore, to print it. While that means the format and conventions don’t always follow those of a traditionally published book, the story is reasonably well told and the issues are important to discuss. This is the first in a new series.

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Book Review: All You Get is Me by Yvonne Prinz

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All You Get is Me imageAurora, better known as Roar, chronicles the world around her through the lens of a camera. Taking photos got her through a rough patch when her mother disappeared and her father decided to move from the city to become an organic farmer. So it’s no surprise that she has her camera with her to record what happens during a fatal traffic accident she witnesses on the way to a farmers’ market one Saturday.

The accident starts a chain of events that irreversibly changes Roar and the world around her the summer she turns 16. As she gets to know the families on both sides of the accident, she realizes it’s not easy to place labels on people or decide what’s right and wrong on important issues.

All You Get is Me by Yvonne Prinz has so much for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and over to discuss. Personal issues include those of family, abandonment, romance and self-discovery. Broader issues include U.S. immigration policy, illegal immigrant farm workers, and environmental concerns of farming. Even with scenes of underage drinking and issues about teen sex, the issues are tastefully handled and I think All You Get is Me is appropriate for girls in high school. I recommend it for book clubs with girls aged 14 and up.

Publisher Harper Teen provided me with a copy of this book for review.

Book Review: The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman

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the Big Crunch imageJune’s dad fixes things for companies in trouble, but once he’s done, he moves on to the next job. That’s why June has spent so much of her life moving from place to place and learning not to let friends get too close. Her dad’s mantra is to never look back, but she can’t help wishing for a place to settle down and stay for a while.

Minnesota would never be her first pick for that place, until she meets Wes. Wes has recently broken up with his girlfriend, and he doesn’t really want to get involved with someone new. He’s enjoying being his own person again, and not having to worry about how his girlfriend judged what he did. But he keeps running into June, and he can’t stop thinking about her.

The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman tells the story of June and Wes as they go through the ups and downs of a high school relationship. It’s full of issues that kids who date in high school have to deal with, such as how do I relate to my friends once I start dating someone, and how do I interact with my girlfriend’s/boyfriend’s parents. Hautman is good at turning even mundane questions, like will a car be available for a date, into something that’s revealing about Wes and June’s relationship.

It shows the two teens as both thoughtful and impulsive, concerned about what their parents think, but also willing to break the rules to be together. It should provide lots of topics to discuss for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and up. I recommend it.

Book Review: My Name Is Not Alexander, Story by Jennifer Fosberry & Pictures by Mike Litwin

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My Name Is Not Alexander cover imageAs a follow up to her delightful picture book, My Name Is Not Isabella, where a little girl dreamed about being like famous women in history, author Jennifer Fosberry has turned her attention to famous men and a little boy who dreams of being like them.

In My Name Is Not Alexander, a dad wakes his young son, saying, “Good morning, Alexander. It’s time for breakfast, and then let’s play ball.”

Alexander says, “My name is not Alexander!”

”Then who has been sleeping in my son’s bed?” asked the father.

His son tells him that he is “Theodore, the greatest, grandest president who ever was!”

As the day goes on Alexander switches his name and character to be Thomas Edison, Chief Joseph, Fred Astaire and Jackie Robinson. Once, he even says he’s Daddy, someone else to admire for sure.

I really loved the eclectic mix of men Fosberry chose for Alexander to admire. Each achieved great things in his own way, and the historical facts included about the “Men Who Changed the World” are included in the back. These can be great discussion starters with young readers, both girls and boys.

Mike Litwin’s illustrations are fun and creative. Their colored-pencil-like rendering could also be a way to encourage your kids to get out their own colored pencils and start drawing. It’s hard to go wrong adding this book to your list for your own kids or as a gift for any young ones you know.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. Please see me review policy for more info.

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Book Review: Sean Griswold’s Head by Lindsey Leavitt

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Sean Griswold's Head imagePayton Gritas has just had the shock of her 15-year-old life. Not only does her dad have multiple sclerosis, but her parents and her older brothers have known for months, they’ve just opted not to tell her.

Suddenly Payton, who normally follows all the rules and gets top grades, is in full rebellion. The school guidance counselor recommends she focus on something, anything, to take her mind off her family situation for a while until she is less emotional about dealing with it. The fun, and trouble, starts when Payton chooses her focus object: Sean Griswold’s head.

Because of the alphabetical proximity of their last names, Sean has sat in front of Payton every school year since third grade. She hasn’t really paid him much attention before, but suddenly he’s her assignment, and with the help of her friend Jac, she’s intent on finding out everything she can.

Sean Griswold’s Head by Lindsey Leavitt is at turns funny and emotionally insightful and thoroughly enjoyable. The more Payton finds out about Sean, the more she wants to know. Eventually she has to deal with her fears for her father’s health, her feelings of being betrayed by her family, and her growing interest in Sean. She learns a lot about making judgments about people without knowing them very well. She also discovers a lot about her self and figures out how to confront her fears instead of running away from them. I recommend Sean Griswold’s Head for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 12 and up.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book for review.

 

Connect With an Author Through Skype—Lindsey Leavitt Tells You How

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Lindsey Leavitt photo

Lindsey Leavitt photo by Jennie Slade

Today’s guest post is from Lindsey Leavitt, author of Princess for Hire and the newly released Sean Griswold’s Head. Here, she shares her experience about her Skype visits with mother-daughter book clubs and offers advice for hosting a Skype visit of your own.

Six eleven-year-old girls sip hot cider from an antique tea set. Their mothers’ sport tiaras and pink feather boas. I’m wearing pearl earrings coupled with… pajama bottoms. Not that the girls’ know this. I’ve positioned my webcam so they don’t see my “work pants,” only my office bookcase and my well-dressed upper-half.

We’re having a lovely Skype-an-Author book chat about my book, Princess for Hire. Skype allows me to meet with school groups, libraries, and mother-daughter-book clubs across the country. I don’t have to travel, or even get a sitter (as a west-coast author, my kids are often still asleep!). And the best part for the group is—I’m free.

And I’m not alone. Many technology-savvy authors are jumping on board to include free 20-30 minute skype sessions with readers. To find out more, check out the Skype an Author Network.

Longer sessions are also available for a fraction of an author’s usual speaking fee. Authors do Q&A sessions or presentations on revision, rejections, and author lifestyles (yes, sometimes I hold up my foot to show my slippers). And if you have a favorite author, especially those who are a little more new and still trying to build up a fan base, send them an email. You never know who will say yes.

Below are some tips on hosting an Author Skype visit of your own.

1. Tools: You’ll need a computer with a webcam, and to register for Skype (www.skype.com) If you haven’t used Skype in the past, do a test run with a friend before the big day.  Also, make sure you add the author’s username to your Skype friends.

2. Preparation: Read the book. You can also read the body of work of a favorite author over a few months and Skype with her after. Have each participant write out a question or two on a note card beforehand. Sometimes the girls get nervous and blank out, so this keeps the conversation going. And see if the author has a website—many questions are already answered on their bio or books page.

3. Set up: Set the computer in a place that everyone can see the author, but also allows the author to see the readers and engage with the audience. Some authors will be more willing to Skype if they know they’re speaking with more readers (read: More book buyers), so combine with a youth group, library group, or have regular members bring along a friend.

4. Discussion: I’ll often have the group call me right after they’ve just discussed the book as a group. More questions come up this way and it makes the author portion more organic. See that each member has a chance to interact with the author.

5. Make it fun: So this is pretty much a no-brainer, but have fun with it. If the author’s book is on aliens, make alien sugar cookies. Include all the great things you usually do at book club. Authors love to see our books celebrated.  And after the visit, a thank you note is always appreciated.

Tomorrow I’m posting a review of Sean Griswold’s Head. While I haven’t read Princess for Hire yet ,  Booklist has a lot of nice things to say about it:

“Fifteen-year-old Desi feels she is wasting her life in Idaho, between her job at the pet store, where she has to wear a groundhog costume, and her bitter ex-friend Celeste, whose father was sent to jail by Desi’s attorney dad. So when Desi is offered an enchanted position as a “sub” for real princesses, why would she say no? With a desire to help these girls—whether it’s an older sister’s crash diet or a rite-of-passage ceremony—Desi gets in some hot water and in the process discovers some important truths about her own life. With creativity and a sense of humor, this first novel is a delightful romp. The provision of magic makes all things possible, and the sense of place is vividly realized. Fans of The Princess Diaries (2000) and Ella Enchanted (1997) will be pulled in by Desi and her refusal to accept the status quo. Fortunately for them, Leavitt’s first novel is not her last—she is working on a sequel. Grades 5-8. ”

The sequel, Princess for Hire: The Royal Treatment, is due out in May.

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Book Review: The Quest of the Warrior Sheep by Christine and Christopher Russell

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The Quest of the Warrior Sheep imageSal knows all the prophecies from her favorite poem, “Songs of the Fleece,” but she doesn’t know much about modern technology. That’s how she misinterprets a cell phone falling on her head from a hot-air balloon as a struggle between the great Lord Aries and his nemesis, Lambad the Bad.

Under Sal’s direction, the sheep leave their farm near London on a quest to return the Baaton (cell phone) to the great ram with the golden horns where he lives in the north. That’s when the fun really begins.

The Quest of the Warrior Sheep by Christine and Christopher Russell will have you laughing out loud as you follow the adventures of five sheep and their human pursuers. One is sure they have been abducted and altered by aliens, two want to retrieve the cell phone and destroy incriminating evidence it holds, and Tod and Gran just want to get their sheep back.

These sheep have quite a few adventures, all resulting from hilarious misunderstandings by both ovines and humans. As the quest continued, I didn’t see how the story could possibly be resolved, but the authors serve up a satisfying ending for all…well, almost. You’ll have to read it to see. This is the first in what promises to be a delightful series aimed at readers aged eight to 12. I highly recommend it.

Book Review: The Candidates by Inara Scott

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The Candidates imageDancia Lewis spends her time trying to be ordinary. She knows she has a mysterious power that helps her protect people she cares about, but it also can hurt others. Dancia tries to control that power by not having close friends and trying not to care about anything at school. So she’s surprised when she’s offered a full-ride scholarship to attend high school at prestigious Delcroix Academy, where the super-smart children of super-wealthy and distinguished families go.

Even though most of the kids at Delcroix are nice and talented, her new friend Jack convinces her that something is not quite right. He believes there’s a sinister reason behind the tight school security, and he’s sure they’re being watched wherever they go. Dancia also begins to suspect that she may not be the only student at Delcroix with special powers. She works to find out the truth, and finds a few surprises along the way.

Delcroix Academy: The Candidates is the first in a new series for young adults by Inara Scott. It blends the concerns of normal teenage life with that of intriguing superpowers that can be used for good or evil. Dancia makes an interesting heroine who is learning how to have a social life for the first time and trying to determine her interest in both Jack and Cam, who appears to be perfect. Areas for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and up to discuss include making friends and being a good friend, the attraction “bad boys” may represent, and learning how to be true to yourself.

As the first in a series, Delcroix Academy: The Candidates went just far enough to satisfy my need to feel completion at the end of the story, while still dangling the promise of the next book. I, for one, can’t wait for the second book in the series.

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