Time to Read!

A better title would be: TIME TO WRITE ABOUT WHAT I'VE BEEN READING.

But that's way too long.

Happy February, everybody!

Mondays always remind me that there's a whole group of you out there carefully documenting your week's reading.  #IMWAYR days are fun!

And what I've been reading is fun, too. 

Although I'd read the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) and I'd heard earlier versions as Barbara worked on this one, in honor of its true launch date, I reread Barbara O'Connor's latest middle-grade novel, HALFWAY TO HARMONY. 

Oh, those characters!

And her writing. Such a perfect ear. Such an economy of words. Every little detail belongs exactly where she's put it.

I dare you to open the first chapter, meet Walter, then his new neighbor Posey, and not be hooked.

 

When I watched the launch party interview with Amy Cherrix from Malaprops in Asheville, I remembered so many great writing tips! 

I've heard Barbara say it before but the next time I sat at my desk, I tried hard to put one into practice:

RESIST THE URGE TO EXPLAIN.

Many years and many critique groups ago, my friend Leslie Guccione created a little note, beautifully drawn and decorated, for my bulletin board. 

R.U.E. 

Way back when, Barbara's blog did a series of Writing Tip Tuesdays. If you're a new writer, or heck, even if you've written forever, they're great reminders. 

Here's one: http://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/2012/08/writing-tip-tuesday.html

And another: https://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/2008/02/writing-tip-tuesday_26.html

 (On the subject of repetition, Barbara reports, Sol Stein says, "One plus one equals a half."
If you think the reader won't "get" something unless you repeat it, then maybe you haven't written it right the first time.)

So I've always known this important bit of writing advice. Barbara's the champ at doing it and at explaining it. Read her novels and you'll see!

The other middle-grade novel, JUST LIKE THAT, skews to the upper end of MG and had me slowing down, re-reading, putting sticky notes on pages, and marveling at Gary Schmidt's skill in storytelling. I always pick up BookPage at my local library and I almost always agree with their reviews.

Forewarned, somebody dies at the very beginning. Somebody, if you know and love Schmidt's books like I do, you'll grieve right along with his friend. But the book is such great storytelling, such amazing writing, so gripping in many places, that grieving didn't detract from my loving this book.

If I'm honest and attempting to read like a kid, or even like a school librarian, my prior self, I did have a couple of issues. One, I wondered if it would have been a better book if there weren't two narrators whose stories, though often intersecting, were very different. But I think stronger readers will just go with that flow.

And some very minor plot points- like would a middle-grader, even back in the 60s and even at boarding school, be allowed to come back to school before it begins? And, yes,   she's staying with the headmistress (though she kind of bailed on the two kids in her care.)

<side note for copyeditors:  https://www.dailywritingtips.com/bail-out-vs-bale-out/ >

 

 

Other good grownups books I've loved since last posting for #IMWYR :

1. Hamnet (five stars! *****)

2. Another (I've read several during this too-long pandemic)  Laura Lippman novel- my warm-glass-of-milk at bedtime books

3. The Keeper of Lost Dreams, which I mostly enjoyed though I'm not a fan of ghosts/ spirits, even when they take a minor role.

 

 

 

Books! Books! Books!

And hey, it's Monday!
I can join the IT'S MONDAY, WHAT ARE YOU READING gang.

I've been thinking about Boy v. Girl books. I don't like that division but I'm willing to admit that there are some girls and some boys who like certain types of books better than others. Often, publishers push this with their cover designs.

But recently at our monthly workshop for the Tampa Bay area SCBWI group (The subject matter of the workshop taught so well by Nancy Stewart was Genre Jumping. We explored ways to connect your books and keep your readers, even if the books are different genres or sub-genres.), somebody asked if it was okay to write a boy character if you're female. And vice versa.

I can't imagine a hard and fast rule about this.
Having read many books written by male authors, with female protagonists, that I loved, I don't want to restrict this, not even a little bit.
(Hello, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise! Written by a guy!) 

The best book I read this week might seem to lean toward being a boy-ISH book. 
I don't think so! Such a good book- for anybody!
ON THIN ICE.  
Loved Esme, the female supporting character, written by a guy of course. (She has a clever connection to the story. Excellent plotting!)
Some of the many things I loved about ON THIN ICE:
1. It's funny. The main character has so many issues-- physical, emotional, family-related, school problems. But he pretty much keeps his sense of humor through everything. 
2. It's fast-paced. I have a ton of admiration for writers who know how to do this.
3. The cover is totally cool. 

Another novel I finished last week that took me by surprise. Mostly because I knew so little, really nothing, about the history behind it.
Here's a bit of the review I wrote for UNDER THE BROKEN SKY by Mariko Nagai.

Natsu lives on a farm in Manchuria where she and her young sister are lovingly cared for by their father. But when he’s conscripted into the Japanese army and the Soviets occupy their country, Natsu and Asa must make a grueling escape. The 1945 Soviet occupation and the loss of  the woman who’s cared for them create an unbearable situation, and the older sister sells Asa to a Russian woman. A detailed Afterword enhances this period in history and the resulting refugee experience.

I suspect this story will be new to young readers and to many adults. Suggested for ages 10-14. 

I'm rereading LIZZIE BRIGHT AND THE BUCKMINSTER BOY by Gary Schmidt. Everything he writes astounds me. I'm wowed by his perfect use of "close first" person. A POV I really love but man, is it hard to write well!
 

For the first time in eons, I read a bunch of PICTURE BOOKS. 
All so very good. More on these soon.

Grownup books I've been reading:
New to me, author Ann Cleeves's RAVEN BLACK. Because I'm still on a British detective/ mystery kick and I'm getting in the proper mindset for the new Starz series, Dublin Murders based on the books by Tana French. 
Also, THE LAST ROMANTICS for a book club. Jury is out on this one. A fast read, but I saw the plot twist coming a mile away. Hate when that happens...


And now it's time to scurry around all the fun IT'S MONDAY WHAT ARE YOU READING POSTS, which you can find and link to HERE.

A Read and a Re-Read

This weekend I had the opportunity to chat about A HANDFUL OF STARS with a young reader in my acquaintance. She'd added it to her list of summer reads. She liked the length, the story, the characters. I'd read it so long ago, I had to reread parts of it so I could have a halfway intelligent conversation.

 


And then tonight on a delightful walk, I thought about Cynthia Lord and some excellent advice she gave to a roomful of writers a few years ago.

When I went back to my blogpost about that conference (see above for link), it cracked me up. I named no names and kept my details to a minimum. But it was a remarkable event for me and I'm forever indebted to Naomi Milliner (who has just published her first and fabulous middle-grade novel) for setting me up with a critique with the agent who now represents me and has been a friend since that first morning we chatted.  

Some things have a way of working out really well, don't they? How lucky for me!

Cynthia told us to get in touch with feelings from your younger self. To sit and remember. Not necessarily the same, specific event or action or moment that evoked those feelings, but the embarrassment when you wore the wrong dress to a party or your big brother caught you doing something you shouldn't have, or the way your heart ached when your parents split or your grandmother died. Or as my friend Susan recently told me when I reached out with wringing hands to vent about how hard it is to write strong emotions: 
 
 ...the trick is to get in touch with the emotion from our memories. Really in touch, with a time in our lives that recalls the same sort of joy, anger or pain that our characters are experiencing. So in touch that if we need to write pain, we’re willing to hurt all over again to express honesty on the page.

This writing emotion things is harder than it sounds, Cynthia and Susan! 

But I've been thinking about it as I read another book, filled with strong emotions as well as humor. Gary Schmidt is one of my favorite authors. I've loved everything I've written by him. THE WEDNESDAY WARS is one of my favorites. How's this for a first line:

Of all the kids in the seventh grade at Camillo Junior High, there was one kid that Mrs. Baker hated with heat whiter than the sun.
Me.

And now, there's a new middle-grade novel to read and enjoy. 
Have you read this one? 

 

Cricket? (the game not the bug)  A butler?
Really, Mr. Schmidt, where do you get your amazing ideas.
But it's not all candybars and laughs. There are some really sad things happening in Carter Jones's world. 

I've read a lot of interviews with this author. This one, about Writing the Hard Stuff, via SCBWI, says a lot.  

I'm still thinking about what he says concerning the trust he gives his readers:  "... the reader has a lot of work to do to figure out what is going on, and so has to become invested in doing part of the work of the novel."

If you don't know what SCBWI is, and you're even remotely interested in writing for kids, click on the link and check out the website. Those funny initials stand for the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, by the way.

So, it's Monday again. Almost September. 
Hats off to my teacher and librarian friends who are saying goodbye to summer. I so look forward to hearing what you're reading with your students and to seeing the photos of your classrooms and your new libraries and your clever displays to inspire your readers. Enjoy!

 


 

Last Chance! Gary Schmidt's new book!

OKAY FOR NOW. Going, going, gone. Check earlier posts for details.

Late tomorrow, I'll track down a neighborhood kid or a friendly pet, stuff all the names in a brown paper sack and draw one of my lucky commenters. Winner announced on Saturday.

Facebook and blog comments- all count!
Good book to read, donate to your library, give as a gift. And I'll include an extra bonus book or two from my ever-growing stack of review books!

Consider it a celebration of Summer Reading.

Reading the Paper... OKAY FOR NOW

Today's New York Times Book Review features a special section on children's books. Libba Bray's Beauty Queens, books about cats and dogs, picture books, YA, quite a variety-- including Richard Peck's review of OKAY FOR NOW.  (For those of you who don't care to click over to his review, bottom line--he liked it a lot.)

I think this quote speaks to the only criticism I've heard about any of Gary Schmidt's books-- that he has too much far-fetched activity swirling around his protagonists.

“Okay for Now” is crowded with more incident and empowerment than any eighth-grade year or novel can quite contain. Events stretch credulity. At one point, Doug turns up briefly on the Broadway stage, playing a female role, no less. But Schmidt is a master of the unlikely.

Love that "master of the unlikely" thought!

Next week, I'll be drawing names for a copy of this book. Just leave a comment on this blogpost, or the previous post about OKAY FOR NOW. Or on my Facebook page. Your name will be entered.

You can decide for yourself if Schmidt is a master of the unlikely.

FREE FREE FREE FREE

My first ever giveaway!


I have a hardback, brand new copy, graciously supplied by the publisher, of Gary Schmidt's new novel.

Here's my review, just published on the Christian Science Monitor.

If you leave a comment here or in a comment to this post my facebook page, I'll put your name in a brown paper sack (see cover) and-- in a week or so-- you could be the winner.

The Wednesday Wars

Not a new book. But such a great book!
I'm rereading Gary Schmidt's Newbery Honor book from 2007 in anticipation of reviewing his brand new, which he's calling a companion to this one. More on that soon.

If you've a middle-grade kid in your life, rush right out and get your hands on this book. I'm laughing a lot. But there's also the writing- oh the writing!

Let's just start with the main character's name: Holling Hoodhood. Now I'm a sucker for names- the wackier the better. (I recently named, unnamed, and renamed a character Sister Cockersole, but that's another long story...) So right off the bat, I'm crazy about Holling. Then he gets stuck with a teacher, all by himself, in her classroom every Wednesday while the rest of his class is carted off to Hebrew School or the local Catholic Wednesday afternoon Catechism classes. Not Holling; he's a Presbyterian. So what does he do? Or rather, what does the teacher decide he's to do? Shakespeare.

Here's his take on that:
(convinced he's missed a sporting event he really had his heart set on because he's bargained to play a role with the local theater company)

I almost cried. Almost. But I didn't, because if you're in seventh grade and you cry while wearing a blue floral cape and yellow tights with white feathers on the butt, you just have to curl up and die somewhere in a dark alley.

And what he has to say about Much Ado About Nothing? Hilarious!

This is not one of those reviews that gives the story away. Oh, no. The story's much too good for that. Let me just add that it's hard for me not to like a book about Diagramming Sentences. Or a kid whose take on diagramming sentences includes the phrase "No native speaker of the English language could diagram this sentence." Yes. Mrs. Baker is a teacher with complex participle phrases on her mind. For that alone I'd love her.

Great book. Read or reread it. For those of us participating in the Historical Fiction challenge? The Wednesday Wars is set during the Vietnam War era, significantly so. I think surely it qualifies.

Historical Fiction Challenge

I'm taking the bait. I hope it will not be difficult. My To-Be-Read stack is toppling over, but I notice there are at least two on there that will qualify for this Book Challenge, so I'll bite. My first review will be of a middle-grade Newbery Honor book of recent vintage: The Wednesday Wars, by Gary Schmidt. Set during the Vietnam War.

Stay tuned.

And wish me well.