Lame-Duck Writing ... And CONTEST!

Post-elections, a congress that has "nothing to lose"  has gone into overdrive passing the Post-911 GI Bill, repealing a shameful "Don't ask don't tell," pushing for a vote on the DREAM Act (a bill that would give children of illegal immigrants a legal, and easier, road to citizenship) among others. In fact, they're in a mad scramble to pass through twenty pieces of legislation.
This, of course, begs the question: What the hell were they doing twiddling their thumbs for the past two years? Oh yeah. That's right. They were so worried about losing their seats in congress (which they did), they didn't do anything. It makes me wonder had they actually passed through these pieces of legislation their constituents would most likely support, they might still have their jobs come 2011.
Nevertheless, I'm thankful they're acting like the politicians we elected four years ago -- doing their jobs -- and makes me think about the kind of job I want to do as a writer.
I want to be (and strive to be) a lame-duck writer -- a writer that has nothing to lose; a writer who's determined to take some pretty big risks; a writer who believes that putting my heart, soul, imagination, and quirky ideas into each book I write will help me produce the best work I can.

So I want to tip my hat today to some lame-duck writers out there -- writers with gumption -- and to lame-duck agents, editors, and publishers (because  a writer won't get too far without them -- lame-duck or not). And to give you just a little glimpse of the wonders out there in the world of lit, I'm going to give one to two-line summaries of some of the coolest lame-duck pieces of lit out there. You just might recognize some of these novels that, by taking huge risks,  made huge splashes in the literary world.  Don't confuse simplicity for "easy" either. Some of the richest novels out there take risks being exquisite pieces of simplicity.

And, to make this interesting, in the comments section, write a note that you've entered the competition: Name that Lame-Duck Novel. Then send me an e-mail to info@heidiayarbe.com with the name of the novels you think I'm referring to. (In the RE line, please put Name that Lame-Duck Novel). The winner will get one of the novels plus a 20 page critique of his or her novel. (And if you're not a writer, I'll critique your friend's writing, husband's writing, postman's writing, cat's writing ... whatever!)
Contest Ends December 31 at midnight. (Okay, if you're up at 1:00 am on January 1st, entering the contest, I'll take it simply because that's madness. You should be doing something else!)

All of these novels have inspired me to take big changes in my own work. And these chances I take have always been backed by my agent, Stephen Barbara, editor, Ruta Rimas, and publishers Balzer & Bray. So for those of you grumblers out there saying publishing houses don't take chances. Ummm ... go to your library, bookstore, and open the pages. Be prepared to be amazed.


1. A string theory novel about a kid with mad cow's disease.
2. A Revolution era novel written in eighteen century language about a kid who's basically a living petri-dish for a bunch of radical philosophers.
3. A novel about a little girl whose father suffers from mental illness and mother is a work-aholic, enters  a wheeze-bag organ competition playing FOREVER IN BLUEJEANS.
4. Death narrates his experiences in WWII Germany.
5. A kid's obsession to discover the truth behind the mysterious death of the neighbor's dog leads him on a perilous journey.
6. A Siamese cat dreams about being a Mexican Chihuahua superhero.
7. A Sam Spade-style , hard-boiled detective novel about a middle school with an organized crime ring that deals in forgeries, stolen test papers, and more, where a kid is hired by the underworld boss to do a simple job.
8. A kid refuses to sell chocolates in the school's annual fundraiser.
9. An older father, who is a small town's preacher, writes a long letter to his son.
10. A genius is stuck in a body that doesn't work for him, and he thinks his dad wants to kill him.

Have fun! Have a Happy Happy New Year!!

This contest is open to anybody ... as of now!

A Book A Day: On the 21st - 24th of Christmas

I'm doing a chunk here because, well, if you haven't gotten your gifts purchased by now and are brave enough to brave the stores, I wish you the best and know that I really can't help much anymore!

So ... here's a smattering of books that are GREAT for kids of all ages (meaning grown-up kids, too). And, quite honestly, I can't imagine a better gift than the right book for the right person. So ... have at it!

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS.
I will now let the Colombian holiday black hole swallow me up and will resurface after the 25th ... Hopefully in one piece. (mentally and physically).
Many many wishes for a healthy and happy holiday, whatever you choose to or not to celebrate. Just have a healthy December and New Year!

A Book A Day: On the 20th Day of December

LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL by Jo Knowles addresses something I think very few YA novels address -- abusive relationships between friends and the complexities of this abuse. So many females have dealt with a kind of abusive relationship but rarely has the abuse between two female friends been explored in literature. Actually, I can't really name another novel that does such a phenomenal job. Jo Knowles just knocked this out of the park. The relationship between Leah and Lainey is strained, secretive, hurtful, but there's genuine caring in it, too. What struck me hard, when I read this novel,  is that the relationship between Leah and Lainey's relationship is so so similar to that of some friends I grew up with. It was eerily close to a reality I saw a great friend of mine live. It also does an amazing job of showing the chain-effect of abuse; why a person who is abused abuses. This is a tragic novel, but I felt like it was honest and Knowles didn't take any shortcuts in exploring the friendship between Laine and Leah. 

For: mature YA. This is a great novel for parents and teachers of teenagers. It's also a great novel for anybody trying to understand abuse and loss. Read LESSONS with your teen, too, because of the countless discussion points.

A Book A Day: On the 19th of December

Sherman Alexie is a master. This semi-autobiographical novel is about a year in the life of Arnold Spirit, AKA Junior, who lives on the rez (the Spokane Indian Reservation) but decides to go to school in Reardon with the rich "white" kids when he's fourteen years old. This makes him a kind of traitor to his reservation school and a novelty in the rich white school, and Junior's found himself in no-man's land, trying to find a place where he'll fit in. The novel explores Junior's struggles with self-identity, tribal identity, community, family, and how he can overcome the poverty in which he lives regardless of handicaps from birth (born with water on the brain), social class and race. It's tragic, witty, never indulgent, and always, always insightful. Junior's sense of humor is phenomenal -- making me laugh through tears at times when most of us would just throw in the towel and give up. I only wish I had access to a novel like this growing up because it might've helped me understand, even just a little, what the rez kids that went to my school went through.

For: Middle school and up! This is a great novel for any kid who's just trying to find his or her place in the world, trying to understand where he comes from and where he's expected to go. I loved this novel. I LOVED Junior. I loved his best friend, Rowdy. My heart broke. I laughed (lots). And I felt like I understood things a little better about what reservation life is like and the kids who live there. Read this!!

A Book A Day: On the 18th of December

Can I just say, "Wow!" ?
Wow
This book was phenomenal. I loved, loved, loved how Donnelly used music to define Andi. I loved the parallels between modern-day New York and the French revolution in everything from the haves vs have nots, Andi's red-ribboned necklace, the way Truman dies ... everything. Jennifer Donnelly has done the funkiest, best historical fiction novel I've ever read, weaving the French Revolution, the life of Alex and her personal loss with Andi's modern-day drama, depression, and personal loss. Everything about this book was surprising including the romance. I tend to be a non-romance reader, but Andi's romantic interest in this novel is perfect. He's imperfect, sexy as hell, a musician and fascinating without being over-the-top broody and dark and perfect. I guess that's a great way to describe this novel: surprising. What a breath of fresh air to read something so perfectly plotted but with enough twists to keep me wondering.

For: young adults (probably thirteen or fourteen and older), history buffs and anybody who loves historical fiction, music lovers, people who DON'T like historical fiction (because this is such a great story, you'll forget we're talking about the French Revolution), and anybody who's dealing with loss, trying to understand and work through something that seems bigger than them.

A Book A Day: On the 15th, 16th, 17th Day of Christmas ...

Okay.
I got a little itty bit behind. So I'm going to recommend three books to make up for the lapse!!

I can't give really solid plot outlines on these novels because I read them all when I was in fifth and sixth grade, and this is what I remember about each. (But the point here, is, I read all of these books nearly thirty years ago and I STILL remember them and how they made me feel.)

A VIEW FROM THE CHERRY TREE by Willo Davis Roberts gave me nightmares. I STILL remember the scene where the boy realizes which man has the cat scratches on his arms. I was horrified and terrified and, well, had really bad dreams.
Susan Cooper's phenomenal THE DARK IS RISING series made me want to be magical. I remember reading the books and daydreaming that I was one of the children in the books with magical powers. (Like I said, this is pretty vague because I don't remember the plots, what powers they had or anything. I just remember how much I LOVED them.)
Cynthia Voigt's HOMECOMING made me cry. I so so wanted those kids to find more work to do for their grandmother every day. I hated and loved the grandmother and I loved, more than anyone, Dicey. She, to that point in my life, was the strongest female character I'd ever read about. And I loved how she was willing to do anything to keep her family together.

All of these books were recommended to me by the librarian at Bordewich Elementary School. I remember I'd go into the library, get a book, then pretty much return the next morning for a new one. The librarian always had one waiting for me. And I think I owe a lot of becoming a writer to her. She broke the mold giving me challenging, amazing books to read.

So, all of these books are GREAT for any middle grader. In fact, young adult or adult. I've got some catching up and re-reading to do!

A Book A Day: On the 14th Day of December

 

Reading hour, book club, author talks, book clubs, writing workshops, art clubs, summer reading programs, origami, knitting clubs, movies and more ...

And it's free??

What better gift than to take someone you love to the library and share an hour there every couple of weeks ... every month? What better gift than time??

So, GIVE A LIBRARY CARD because you're giving time. Plus, you can have all those books I've mentioned before plus a billion more ... FOR FREE ...

A Book A Day: On the 13th of December

 

Today I'm recommending one of my old favorites, ALL THE NAMES. Jose Saramago is the only author I have ever "known" that can write an entire book without referring to a single character by name -- except for Senhor Jos -- the main character who works at the Central Registry Office, cataloging the names of every birth, marriage or death of every man, woman, and child in the unnamed city where Senhor Jos works. 

Senhor Jos is like any cog in the wheel of bureaucracy until he becomes obsessed with "the woman". Information about this woman gets mixed up in some clippings Senhor Jos steals for his personal collection. (He's a model worker except for the fact he steals, at night, birth certificates of famous people and copies them down, returning them to their rightful files in the morning. While doing this one night, "the woman's" information falls out of a file he's stolen -- obviously having been misfiled).

He can't stop thinking about this woman and Senhor Jos's quest to find out about her life -- something he's never cared about before (anybody's actual life -- just their births and deaths) -- means everything to him, putting him at odds with everything he's ever believed in, everyone he's ever worked for, and he's willing to take incredible risks to discover the truth about this woman's life (a woman he doesn't know but needs to know).

ALL THE NAMES is, hands down, one of the most fascinating, tension-filled novels I've ever read. And who says you need Jason Bourne to get your blood boiling? Give me a 50-year-old bureau clerk obsessed with an unknown woman over Bond, any day. In ALL THE NAMES you've got way more than gadgets and muscle and hot women. You've got magic -- Saramago-style, of course. 

For: I'd give this to any government bureaucrat (just because they're probably relate on some level), anybody who loves great literature. It's definitely a more sophisticated read with adult angst, eccentricities, and a proverbial descent into the "metaphysical labyrinth" (PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY) -- this probably isn't for your teen reader. Unless they're DQ from LAST SUMMER OF THE DEATH WARRIORS ...  This is, though, total awesomeness in literature in every shape and form. This is how it's done.

A Book A Day: On the 12th Day of December

 

This past fall I discovered the most incredible books illustrated by Caldecott-award winner David Diaz and became an insta-fan, bought three, and won't give them to my daughter. (Two are signed, so I figured she'll get them when she's older, anyway). That said, I read them to my daughter all the time. ALL. THE. TIME. 

In EL BARRIO (written by Debbi Chocolate), Diaz mixes photography with colorful acrylic paintings creating the magic of a Harlem neighborhood during a little girl's quincenera (15th birthday party). I love the magical words and rhythm of the text and Diaz's colorful interpretation of the words jump out of the page. The other two, I just bought because I love his work. I was drawn to both books and right away knew they were his.

I haven't seen, and intend to look for it, SMOKY NIGHTS, the picture book he won the Caldecott for. But in the meantime, I really recommend any of his books if you want to add Latin color to your child's (or yours, as is in my case) bookshelf.

For: Anybody. Everybody. A GREAT hostess gift, stocking stuffer, birthday present ... you name it. GREAT GREAT COLORFUL stylized wonderful works of art in 32 pages.

A Book A Day: On the 11th Day of December

SKY BLUE ACCIDENT (ACCIDENTE CELESTE) by Jorge Lujan and Piet Grobler is, far and away, one of my favorite books ever. On the way to school, the main character falls off his bike and runs into the sky, keeping some of its broken pieces in his pocket. Whimsical illustrations of flying teachers, lost clouds and a moon directing traffic bring the words to life. SKY BLUE ACCIDENT, a bilingual book with both English and Spanish on the pages (translated to English by Elisa Amado) loses nothing in translation. My favorite line is "Lost clouds stumbled around, bumbling into corners,"

For: Any child. Teachers that have bi-lingual classrooms. Parents who want a book they won't get tired of reading. (Honestly, as much as I appreciate her, some days I think if I have to say, "Swiper, no swiping" one more time, I'll go mad.) It's also a great book for artists or people who just love beautiful books!

A Book a Day: On the 10th Day of December

I'm a little bit excited about sharing this book because it's one of the most gorgeous picture books I've ever, ever, ever seen. A MOONLESS NIGHT (originally published in Hebrew) is written by Shira Gefen and Etgar Keret, illustrated by David Polonsky. A MOONLESS NIGHT is the story of Zohar, a little girl whose Daddy turns out the light, telling her not to be afraid because the moonlight will shine in her window.
But the moon is gone. And Zohar is scared and decides she has to find the moon so she can sleep.
This book is phenomenal. Its illustrations are out of this world. Her journey is dark and scary but one probably 90% or more of the children around the world can relate to. And the ending is a delightful surprise.

For: I tried reading this with my daughter when she was two and a half, and she got scared. I'd probably buy this for three or four year olds. I'd also buy it for anybody who really loves beautiful picture books that have both amazing stories and illustrations ... Or anybody who, at one time in their life, was afraid of the dark. Plus, it's not a very known book. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen it in any bookstore I've visited. So spread the word. Ask for this book. It's GORGEOUS!

A Book A Day: On the 9th Day of December

I automatically assume everybody's read this book because it's so powerful and important, but then I thought, Okay. Somewhere around 300K books are published in any given year, so it's possible that you haven't read this book, and I really think YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK.

Why: (Information from RAINN (Rape, Abuse Incest National Network), www.rainn.org

WOMEN
1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape).
17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape.
9 of every 10 rape victims were female in 2003.
While about 80% of all victims are white, minorities are somewhat more likely to be attacked.
 
Men
About 3% of American men — or 1 in 33 — have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.¹

• In 2003, 1 in every ten rape victims were male.²
• 2.78 million men in the U.S. have been victims of sexual assault or rape.¹

 CHILDREN:
15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.

• 29% are age 12-17.
• 44% are under age 18.
• 80% are under age 30.
• 12-34 are the highest risk years.
• Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.

7% of girls in grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.

• 3% of boys grades 5-8 and 5% of boys in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.

In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse.

• Of these, 75% were girls.
• Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7.

93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.

• 34.2% of attackers were family members.
• 58.7% were acquaintances.
• Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.

Victims of sexual assault are:

3 times more likely to suffer from depression.
6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
13 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
26 times more likely to abuse drugs.
4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.


Almost just as disturbing as these statistics is the fact we're still not talking about this with our kids. Just this past fall at YaleUniversity, some fraternity pledges stomped around campus shouting rape chants like: No means yes, and yes means anal. (among other things). What's more disturbing, besides the fact these are our "best and brightest" and these young men had absolutely no scruples about glorifying rape so they can make a couple of tail-gate party buddies, was the school's "boys will be boys" reaction.
Rape isn't funny.
Rape isn't a joke.

It gets worse ... way worse.  For instance, an associate professor of management at Missouri State University, Wes Scroggins, characterized SPEAK, the book I'm recommending, as soft porn. Whoever thinks rape is a turn on and pornographic is a sick, sick, sick individual. The thing is, he's a professor. He's respected. People will BELIEVE what he spews because he has a few letters after his name.

So an amazing, amazing campaign began on TWITTER: #speakloudly. Writers, educators, professionals, and more came forward bravely sharing their stories about rape and sexual abuse because this is something we don't talk about enough or LOUD enough.

So for December 9th, I'm recommending the phenomenal novel, SPEAK, by Laurie Halse Anderson

I don't only recommend this for girls. This is a must-read for parents, young men and women. It's one of those novels that needs to be read, and I wouldn't wait until my kids were fourteen to do so. Read this together with your children -- both boys and girls -- as soon as they hit middle school. I know. So young? Shouldn't we preserve their innocence?
Um. No.
Because our jobs as parents are to give our kids the means to survive (see above statistics).
Is it uncomfortable? Hell yes. But do you want to give your kids the tools and strength to come forward and talk about this if, God forbid, it ever happens to them? Absolutely. Because silence is the killer here. Silence is what perpetuates vicious cycles of abuse, pain, and destruction.

So please read this with your children LOUDLY and #speakloudly. Speak often. Please.

Lighting a Candle: Making a Wish

Taking a break from A Book A Day to share with you a celebration of lights. My holiday wish for you (besides great books, of course) is love, peace, health, happiness and lots of gratitude. And when all else fails, spike the egg nog.

A Book A Day: On the 7th Day of December

Who wants to be fifteen forever?
NOBODY ... Well not anybody who isn't totally masochistic (or a sparkling God of marble). Doug, AKA Meatball, is accidentally turned into a vampire and is stuck in his chubby 15-year-old, not-very-likable body. He and and his best friend Jay, total Comic-con goers and dorky to the core,  are doing everything they can to investigate Doug's new problem and figure out a way for him to stay alive while not having to eat people. (He's surviving sucking cow's blood in a field on the outside of town)
I thought we'd been vampired out, but this amazing, hilarious read by Adam Rex who doesn't take himself, or much of anything else, too seriously is such a breath of fresh air. It had my laughing out loud. (Some of my favorite scenes are with Doug and Jay testing vampire lore. Jay pulls out a crucifix and Doug just stares at him, bored. Then Jay, because Doug is Jewish, tries to do a Jewish star to no avail.) Absolutely funny. That said, it takes a pretty dark, Gothic turn. Go figure! A Gothic, freakish, and pretty gruesome vampire tale. Isn't that how they're supposed to be? On top of that, Rex is a master of characters and Doug is truly not a nice guy a lot of the time, taking his insecurities out on his best friend. And the sub-plot of Sejal, an Indian exchange student (Kind of like Edward's Bella but with a personality) determined to be Goth, who got sucked into a Cyber existence is pretty fascinating, too. She became a cyber bully, losing herself in a world of chat rooms and cruelty. And what she sees in Doug isn't far from where she was.
Though a funny read, it had some fascinating threads that real teens deal with -- some pretty amazing insights.

For: Teens ... of all ages who are obsessed with or anti-fantasy. And for anybody who says they'll never read a vampire novel. (There are non-vampire readers out there! I was one of them.)

A Book A Day: On the 6th Day of December

Marcelo Sandoval  is a bright, handsome 17 year old who's going to work at his dad's law office for the summer. A pretty basic expectation for any teen with the exception that Marcelo has Asperberger's Syndrome. Marcelo's world, up until this summer, has been a kind of utopia. He's surrounded by children and peers with special needs; he sees a specialist for testing once a year; he lives in a tree house and his parents and sister live according to his rules.Until his father strikes a deal with him.
Marcelo studies in a special school, and his father wants him to transfer to the public high school for his senior year. If he completes the summer job, according to the "real world" expectations his father has, Marcelo can choose where he wants to study his senior year.
Stork has created one of the most memorable characters in literature. We're invited to live inside Marcelo's private world, one in which he hears music and obsesses about God, religion and creation. Marcelo works at a law office and becomes a kind of moral compass not only for this particular story, but for the reader. I couldn't help but ask, "What would I do?" Because of Marcelo's special world view, his mind doesn't get muddied by the gray area adults often live by, justifying the unjustifiable. His approach to problems is similar to that of a child, though his intelligence is far from child-like. Marcelo's real-world problems include ethical dilemmas that are incredibly personal, falling in love, and potentially risking his father's career.
I loved this novel. I loved this character. And I'm so so happy to see that Francisco X. Stork has another novel out this year, THE LAST SUMMER OF THE DEATH WARRIORS, that is on my shelf for when I want something extra special to read.

For: YA -- twelve and older, parents and teachers of kids with high functioning autism spectrum disorders and Asperger's

A Book A Day: On the 5th Day of December

Jennifer Brown's HATE LIST is very different than any other school shooting novel I've read in that it turns the spotlight onto the girlfriend of the shooter, Valerie. Valerie came up with the idea of a hate list, a list of people and things she and her boyfriend hated; Valerie was there, at Nick's side, when the shooting began; Valerie should've known this was going to happen.
Valerie didn't.
There are so many things I loved about this novel, but the thing I loved most was its honesty. Many of the kids Nick wanted to kill and did kill were mean. Really mean. And hateful. Nick had been victimized for years in the schools. And he was loved by a girl who isn't allowed to mourn him. The heinous crime he commits doesn't change how kids treat each other, and nobody feels better these kids died -- especially Valerie, the one who wrote the hate list. And add to that the kids who got in the way, the teacher who died protecting kids and couldn't calm Nick down, the chaos in the cafeteria during the shooting, the media hype afterward.
Brown doesn't take any shortcuts, and this novel forces the reader to take a step back and think about who we condemn because of their associations.
I commend Brown for taking on such tough subject matter and turning it on its head. It's an incredibly powerful novel.

For: Mature teens, teachers, administrators, parents ... It's an important novel for a base to talk about bullying and how to deal with it.

A Book A Day: On the 4th Day of December ...

I am undoubtedly the last mother of a little girl on the planet to discover this absolutely joyful, wonderful, witty and funny book series. FANCY NANCY written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser makes me laugh. She's sooooooooo uber feminine and over-the-top that it's almost sickening, but I can't help but adore her, her fancy words, her silly predicaments, and the way she just charms the heck out of me. And the vocabulary is awesome. My almost three-year-old now says things are disastrous and melancholy. Hey, if that's not good enough incentive to read this, I don't know what is.

I'm including TEA FOR RUBY by Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser because of RPG. The illustrations are super close to FANCY NANCY and the book could possibly be confused for the same series. TEA FOR RUBY is charming. It's a fun read. My daughter loves it. But I don't as much as FANCY NANCY because Ruby doesn't have the same spunk as Nancy. The illustrations, though, are gorgeous. Obviously! And TEA FOR RUBY is a great way to remind my daughter to say please and thank you. It's a sweet book.

Either way, both books are great for: little girls two to five years old. I don't mean to be exclusive on this, but I don't think lots of little boys would enjoy the books as much.

A Book A Day: On the 3rd of December

Wow.
Just wow.
Yeah. You're going to need more than that. THE BONESHAKER by Kate Milford was my inauguration into the world of steampunk lit and, quite frankly, I'm hooked. Automatons, making deals with devils, Harlequins that gave me nightmares are all part of this intricately woven tale about Natalie Minks -- bike rider extraordinaire who just can't seem to ride the Chesterlane Eidolon (the boneshaker) her dad fixed up for her. A tomboy with spunk, Natalie and her friends are the first to go to see what Dr. Jake Limberleg's Nostrum Fair and Technological Show is about. Her friends have fun running around, exploring the maze of tents and shows, but for Natalie something just doesn't seem right. While Natalie's determined to figure out how his automatons work, certain that Dr. Limberleg isn't your everyday swindler, the entire town is sucked in by his magical cures -- even Natalie's brother and father who go to get a cure for her mother.
The stories her mother told her growing up about the townspeople -- like the old blues singer making a deal with the devil at the crossroads and winning among others -- start to make sense. Natalie gets dizzying visions of the past that tie into the evil that has come into her small town. And we take the bumpy ride with her on the boneshaker all the way to the end. Imagine Charlie Daniel's The Devil Went Down to Georgia mixed with a bit of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes add a splash of punk and you've got THE BONESHAKER.

For: Though it's tagged for middle grade readers, I'd say it's probably for older middle graders (with great vocabularies), young adults and up. The prose is phenomenal though quite sophisticated which might frustrate some younger readers. And it's a really dark novel that grapples with good, evil, soul selling and more -- great for discussion with your kids, but probably for more mature readers.

A Book A Day: On the 2nd of December

SCONES AND SENSIBILITY by Lindsay Eland is pure magic -- beginning to end. And it's such a nice break to read something that deals with important issues: relationships and divorce and heartbreak and more -- but in a way that we don't feel like we're reliving the bleak world that flashes before us on CNN.
Polly Madassa is a hopeless romantic, and, let's say, was probably born in the wrong century. She's determined to model her life and purpose after those of the likes of Anne of Green Gables and Jane Austin's characters in Pride and Prejudice, and being so out of touch with today's reality makes Polly's madness even more likeable. She's determined to fix what, well, isn't broken, encourage romance to bloom where a weed wouldn't grow, and in doing so makes a big mess out of her own personal relationships.
This is one of those magical books that is like exhaling. It's so much fun to read. Eland's gift for describing food is fattening because, trust me, on every page you'll be craving something new (As Polly's summer job isn't meddling but actually delivering her family's baked goods around the small beach town), and what better time to crave than Christmastime?

For: Middle grade and pre-teen readers. Anybody who loves Jane Austin and romantic books. Anybody who just needs a smile!

A Book A Day: On the 1st of December ...

Tired of the damsel in distress? How about a hot soccer star in distress being saved by the wallflower werewolf?
That caught your attention! CLAIRE DE LUNE by Christine Johnson is such a great change of pace from what we typically think of as fantasy/werewolf/vampire novels. Claire, on her sixteenth birthday, is feeling an itch. Popular kids are at her party. Matthew, the most popular guy and star of the soccer team is there, too, and flirting. But her itch isn't that. It's because she's a werewolf. (As if being sixteen and having a budding romance with the high school soccer star isn't hard enough -- just think of all that extra HAIR).
Anyway, Claire's "normal" is finding out she comes from a lineage of werewolves and is inducted into the pack. On top of all this new found knowledge about her particular "issue", a rogue werewolf is on the loose, killing people, and Matthew's dad is an agent with the Federal Human Protection Agency looking to attach his rising star to trapping werewolves.
It's a fun read with romance, drama, the typical teen angst that comes from being a teenager + a werewolf (atypical, indeed, but we can definitely relate to Claire not feeling quite right in either skin). I especially love the way Johnson turns all the werewolf lore on its head ... And who said it was a man's world?
I can't wait for the sequel to come out in 2011.


For who: (Yes. I do realize it should be WHOM but WHOM feels so ... "correct") Twelve and up. Kids who love romance and fantasy and a little combined. (Nothing is too heavy handed. Definitely appropriate for adolescents of any age).