But I'm excited to share my Monday books this week for #IMWAYR
First - the fabulous REFUGEE by Alan Gratz.
This weekend, my friend and fellow Tampa Bay writer Shannon Hitchcock and I presented a session at the annual Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME) conference. Our topic was Tackling Tough Topics with Books.
REFUGEE fits beautifully into the books I shared with the librarians.
You can learn about the story, the starred reviews, the accolades REFUGEE is receiving on the author's website, HERE.
(This would make a great book for a faculty Book Group discussion. So much talk about!)
For my blog readers who are considering writing from more than one Point of View, this is a master class. The way Gratz weaves the three characters' stories together with little gems of connection. Brilliant.
The way he ends each small chapter with a punch of micro-tension, ditto.
Sharks, storms, sinking ships, escapes from every disaster you could imagine!
And the characters practically step off the page and live with you.
Highly recommended.
I listened to an old favorite as I drove to and from FAME.
It's one of the books that made me want to write historical fiction. I've read and shared it many times, but I'd never listened to Mildred Taylor's ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY, and if you've got a long drive, it will make it zip by.
(Unless you have to stop and frantically write things you love about the writing.)
The Christmas scene when the Logan children open their books breaks my heart, every time. The award-winning audio is beautifully read. I loved it!
The other two books I shared at the FAME session, if you're curious...
These authors tackled their tough topics with grace and humor and glorious writing.
