The Boy on the Bridge

I finished Natalie Standiford's newest YA novel just in time for the party!

And what a terrific book launch it was. So much fun at McNally Jackson Books on a Sunday evening that I forgot to take pictures.
But there was cake and Bingo. A really big crowd.
Natalie read rexcerpts from her high school diary. Hair, clothing, friendships were revealed...
Proving once again that all writers notice important details at an early age, right?



I'm a big fan of her previous books, especially HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT. Which I blogged about here.

Natalie bases her new novel, a romance with a hint of mystery, on her own experiences as a U.S. college student, studying in Leningrad in the early 1980s.

Check out these pictures!
http://www.nataliestandiford.com/the_boy_on_the_bridge_119061.htm

Those specific details Natalie's so great at kept me turning pages, wondering how the heroine would resolve her dilemma. I was completely captivated by THE BOY ON THE BRIDGE.

How's this for a quick character reveal:
"Binky Binkowsky, the yellow-haired girl with the moon boots..."

or this, for a perfectly-painted picture:
"Alyosha lived on the outskirts of the city, the second-to-last metro stop on the Red Line. He led her past an empty supermarket, down a winding path lined with piles of grey snow like Styrofoam..."

Don't you feel like you're right there? I predict teen readers will adore this book. 



Related posts: Baltimore

My review of another of Natalie's books, in which I reveal I'm a family friend.
And here's a photo I took on a recent visit to friends and family back in Baltimore. Kind of says a lot about my former hometown. I know Natalie would approve.
(And besides, I don't have any pictures taken at the Book Party. Or of Leningrad. For that, and to buy the book, check that link up there to Natalie's website, please.)

(Thanks to our publisher, Scholastic Press, for the review copy.)

Free Books!

In honor of a certain birthday, I'm going to spread some gifts around.
I have some of the BEST books of the year on my shelves.
Mysteriously, I have more than one copy of a couple of them.
And I'm willing to share.

Since I'm taking a forced break from blogging as I head to the land of pitiful internet where I'll read and reflect and stay off Facebook and blogs for a bit, this giveaway will last a week.

And here are the goodies I'm going to mail to one lucky winner.

1. DOUBLE DOG DARE. If you don't know Lisa Graff's books, this is the perfect back-to-school place to begin. And teachers? It's bound to be one of the most fun read-alouds. I'm particularly fond of the dare involving green hair. But there's a lot of depth to the story, the characters, the writing.

Here's a link to a really good interview with Lisa on Barbara O'Connor's blog.  Complete with pictures and videos.


2. Scholastic sent me two copies of Carole Geithner's IF ONLY.  I'll include one in your winning package. Click here for a link to the author's website, including an excerpt from the book. A serious topic, well-handled.

3. Last but far from least. My Baltimore connection, Natalie Standiford's newest: THE SECRET TREE. The bloggers at Waking Brain Cells called it the "ideal summer read."  I agree.
Check out their review right here.

All that's required of you is a comment. Feel free to share this.
The books will be whisked off anywhere in the USA.
Winners announced on August 15, when I re-enter the world of connectivity.

Baltimore's Best- Natalie Standiford

I lived there for a while and loved the city of Baltimore. Great friends. I had an amazing library and great colleagues at work. The food's fabulous. What's not to like about Charm City.

True confessions. Amongst my dearest friends were a family named Standiford. Yep, that's right: Natalie's aunt and uncle, and I even knew her parents fairly well. But until recently, I hadn't put two and two together to realize what terrific books Natalie Standiford writes. I adored How to Say Goodbye in Robot. Loved it.

Her new book just hit the shelves and Baltimore might as well be a featured character, a starring role. What I appreciate about both of these recent reads is how much teens really love them. Click here for a fun interview, with pictures of Natalie as a teen herself.

A lot has been written lately about grownup readers who love the Young Adult genre. With books like Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters, it's easy to see why.

Now, I know that Natalie's family is nothing like the Sullivans. Nothing. But I'm not saying I didn't know these people when I lived there. That's how authentic the book feels. Debutantes. Wealthy relatives. Neat old houses. It's all there. Anne Tyler for teens, I kept thinking as I read this one.

Note to family members. I will never blog like Jane Sullivan and neither will you, right?


Related post: Goodbye in Robot: One of My Favorite YAs of the season

Goodbye in Robot

I'm big on setting in fiction, especially in books for kids. I think it adds a necessary element, grounds characters in an interesting place. I like reading books set in places I've lived or am at least familiar with. Plus I'm reading a lot of YA books for some reason. I have one assigned review, one I chose because I'm working with the writer, and this one because I'd heard so much about it.

So for many reasons, I couldn't wait to read Natalie Standiford's HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT.

And I loved it. Yes, it helped that my former home- Baltimore- is the setting, and since Natalie Standiford grew up there, she's nailed the city. The bookstore/ bar, the neighborhoods, even a high-rise apartment building filled with bluehairs (where I just happened to live for a couple of months, sans blue hair, many years ago). Even Morgan & Millard's drugstore/coffee shop, the first strip shopping center in America (1896), makes an appearance.

Using the late-night radio show as a device to move the story along and help us understand the characters was pure genius. What a teen-friendly way to write. Loved their on-air names: Kreplax and his Future People! What an oddball.

The story will appeal to kids, and this novel deserved its Cybil-finalist award. Two high school kids, mostly midfits, find each other. Ho-hum, you might think. Now that's been done before. But these two are so appealing, so unusual, that nothing you know about out-of-it high schoolers applies. Robot Girl and Ghost Boy (their radio names) defy all stereotypes.

It's a love story, a family saga, a tragedy, a mystery, a story filled with hope. One of my favorite Young Adult books of the year. I'm still scratching my head a bit over exactly what constitutes a Cybil Award-winning book, but don't we do that each year with all the awards? Some we love, some we hate. Some we feel don't deserve any acclaim at all. Criteria, like personal taste, seem to change with each year's new committee, and there's no changing that.

But HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT is a book kids will love, their parents will be happy to read, teachers will approve. It spans a very large reading area, wide appeal. Truly well-written, truly fun to read. All good!




Related posts: Baltimore
Cybils Finalists