Laurisa White Reyes's Blog, page 101
March 15, 2015
WHAT I'M READING NOW...
I always have at least three books going at the same time, one on my iPod in the car and a minimum of two scattered around my house. Maybe that's why it always takes me so long to read them all.
So here are the books I'm currently reading:
Eleven-year-old Kaden has managed to stay under the radar for most of his life. With the exception of Kubla, a pet crow, Kaden doesn't have any friends his own age and he's okay with that. After all, friends can ask inconvenient questions. Questions like Why do you live with your grandmother and where is your father? Questions Kaden doesn't want to answer. Apart from school and a few trips to town, Kaden and Gram keep to themselves, living a simple life at their cabins outside the small community of Promise. But now Kaden's life is getting a lot more complicated. He's starting middle school, which brings its own set of problems for a boy who doesn't fit in. And then he learns that his father, a man he has never known, is getting out of prison and moving to Promise. After years of being the outsider at school, Kaden is given a chance to come out of his shell when Yo-Yo, a new boy, moves to the area and offers friendship. But can Kaden trust him? Will Yo-Yo be a real friend after he learns about Kaden's father? The true meaning of friendship, love, responsibility, and loyalty is explored in this novel for middle-grade readers.
A mysterious island.
An abandoned orphanage.
A strange collection of very curious photographs.
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.
A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.
On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane's bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.The lieutenant's name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he'd been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will. Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.
The third Captain Underpants adventure like you've never seen it before -- in FULL COLOR!
George and Harold have played a trick or two on nearly everyone at Jerome Horwitz Elementary. When their latest prank causes the school's cranky cafeteria ladies to quit, Mr. Krupp hires a trio of unusual replacements -- who happen to look an awful lot like aliens! Will that curtain-caped crusader, Captain Underpants, save the day once more? Or will those outer-space cafeteria ladies have him for lunch?
So here are the books I'm currently reading:
Eleven-year-old Kaden has managed to stay under the radar for most of his life. With the exception of Kubla, a pet crow, Kaden doesn't have any friends his own age and he's okay with that. After all, friends can ask inconvenient questions. Questions like Why do you live with your grandmother and where is your father? Questions Kaden doesn't want to answer. Apart from school and a few trips to town, Kaden and Gram keep to themselves, living a simple life at their cabins outside the small community of Promise. But now Kaden's life is getting a lot more complicated. He's starting middle school, which brings its own set of problems for a boy who doesn't fit in. And then he learns that his father, a man he has never known, is getting out of prison and moving to Promise. After years of being the outsider at school, Kaden is given a chance to come out of his shell when Yo-Yo, a new boy, moves to the area and offers friendship. But can Kaden trust him? Will Yo-Yo be a real friend after he learns about Kaden's father? The true meaning of friendship, love, responsibility, and loyalty is explored in this novel for middle-grade readers.
A mysterious island.
An abandoned orphanage.
A strange collection of very curious photographs.
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.
A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows. 
On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane's bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.The lieutenant's name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he'd been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will. Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.
The third Captain Underpants adventure like you've never seen it before -- in FULL COLOR! George and Harold have played a trick or two on nearly everyone at Jerome Horwitz Elementary. When their latest prank causes the school's cranky cafeteria ladies to quit, Mr. Krupp hires a trio of unusual replacements -- who happen to look an awful lot like aliens! Will that curtain-caped crusader, Captain Underpants, save the day once more? Or will those outer-space cafeteria ladies have him for lunch?
March 13, 2015
New Romance Anthology!
* Book Review: SAND by Hugh Howey
* Guest Post by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod
* Excerpt from CAMP OMIGOSH by Wade Bradford
Readers will be delighted with nine sweet, contemporary romance novelettes in
Sweet & Sassy: Hidden Identities
. In this charming anthology, you will fall in love again and againPRE-ORDER FOR 99 CENTS!
THE BEST OF ME by Paige Timothy
Becky is a cancer survivor who has been blogging about her journey. She's shocked to find that Josh, her one-time love and now-famous oncologist, is the main speaker at the symposium she’s been asked to attend. Has fate given them a second chance at a future together, or just a shot at miserably ever after?
SECOND-HAND HEARTS by Jo Noelle
When Elena sees Chase for the first time, his turquoise eyes and tousled blond hair convince her that she might believe in insta-love. Just in time, her brain takes over, reminding her that her business is in trouble, making the future uncertain—not a good time for love. But being with Chase is as easy as following her heart, until she finds he has a secret big enough to break it.
FIRST LOVE, SECOND CHOICE by Lindzee Armstrong
When wedding planner Keslee gets asked on a date by her long-lost high school crush, Bryce, everything should be perfect. But Bryce mistakes Keslee for her deceased twin sister, Jadyn. And she doesn’t correct him. Now they’re unexpectedly working together. Keslee knows the charade can’t last much longer, and fears she’ll lose Bryce forever when she tells him the truth.
HACKED by Stephanie Connelley Worlton
NSA data analyst Samantha Perry never knew being an introverted computer geek could get dangerous until she digs a little too deep into a greedy blackhat’s business, forcing her to change her identity and relocate. She risks everything to try to close the case, but may end up putting a nail in her own casket. And if she doesn’t, Seth, her hot new neighbor, just might.
TO LOVE AND PROTECT by Ruth Roberts
First Son Daxon Hayward has refused a secret service detail since the day his father was elected President. This time the threat against Daxon is very real, and his father plants an undercover agent to protect him, Lorelei Davis who is capable and beautiful. She’s received her assignment: Protect the First Son, don’t let him know she is an agent, and don’t fall in love.
CLOSING TIME by Candice N. Toone
Chef Will Morrison can’t help himself after watching Kelsey sit alone at a table waiting for a blind date. When he steps in to save her from being stood up, he expects to exchange dull first-date pleasantries, but finds himself drawn in by her quick wit and spunk. Will hears himself confirming plans for a second date only to realize that she still believes he’s someone else.
SINK OR SWIM by Laura D. Bastian
Shelly can’t believe she’s fallen for another cheater. The last few weeks at the gym swimming next to Brandon had almost convinced her she could date again. Brandon’s excited to be back home with a career that can finally hold a candle to his twin brother’s success. When Shelly suddenly turns cold, Brandon can’t help wondering if it has something to do with his brother.
WRITE AND WRONG by Kaye P. Clark
Jon Patterson is burned out. After publishing a series of blockbuster novels under his pen name, he’s hit a brick wall. He escapes to a rural town in Idaho where he meets Abby, the local librarian. She ignites his imagination and quickens his heart. Without the pressure of his pen name, Jon is free to be himself. But will he lose Abby when she learns his secret?
UNDERCOVER LOVER by James C. Duckett
Agent Johnny Anderson is struggling with an investigation that could make or break his career. However, it’s love at first sight when beautiful and witty Hannah moves into the neighborhood. Will Johnny lose Hannah when she finds out his cover story is a façade? As things get hotter between them, his love for her might endanger her life.
PRE-ORDER FOR 99 CENTS!
March 11, 2015
STUCK IN YOUR STORY? TRY ROADMAPPING?
A friend of mine has been working on his novel for years but has yet to complete it. “I just get bogged down,” he told me recently. “I don’t know where the story is going.”
Does this sound familiar?
Too many potential writers have partial manuscripts lying around, and I say potential because an unfinished manuscript is nothing more than a good idea—and unless you’re Nora Roberts or Tom Clancy, all a good idea is good for is collecting dust. It will never sell.
We all have good ideas. The question is how to turn that brilliant concept for the next bestselling novel into a complete manuscript?
Some writers manage to get their novels down by writing as they go, a process called pantsing (referring to writing by the seat of their pants). But this doesn’t work for everyone. If it did, there would be no such thing as writers’ block and no partial manuscripts cluttering our hard drives.
The other popular method of writing is called plotting or roadmapping—planning a story in detail from beginning to end before the actual process of writing begins. I’ve written novels using both methods, and each has positive and not so positive aspects. However, for writers who have hit a brick wall, plotting might be just the ticket to put you back on track.KNOW YOUR DESTINATION
Writing is like driving a car. If you were to get behind the wheel without knowing where you want to go, you may very well wander aimlessly around town. You could end up on the same roads you drove down before. Without a destination in mind, you might never leave your driveway at all.
Most of us, however, know before we ever get in the car where we plan to go. We look up the address and get directions. We may print a map, or even check the traffic before we head out. Without proper planning, our journey would waste time and cause frustration.
Writing a novel is no different. Every story is a journey with a specific destination. Writers can avoid common obstacles such as writers’ block and meandering storylines by knowing their destination and planning the route before they start writing. I call this planning process ROAD MAPPING.
ROADMAPPING
Road Mapping requires patience on the part of the writer. Like the traveler who wouldn’t just jump in his car and take off without knowing where he’s going, so the writer ought not to rush into writing before she’s good and ready. There are four simple steps to Road Mapping. They are: brainstorm, outline, summarize, and chapter breakdown.
Brainstorm When I get a good idea for a novel, I never rush over to the computer and start writing. I may jot down a sentence or two so that I will remember it later, but after that, I let the idea mull around in my brain for awhile. I spend as much time as I need to develop the characters and plot details, often writing my thoughts on sticky notes. I like sticky notes because I can move them around at will, organizing all those seemingly random ideas into a linear storyline across my bedroom wall. This is the time to work out the entire story from beginning to end. Knowing how the story will end is vital. Only once I am certain of my destination will I move on to step number two.
Outline I earned my degree in English eons ago, and I often joke that my diploma has done nothing for me but line the bottom of my hope chest. However, I did glean one very useful skill from all those years of study. I know how to write an outline. In high school and college, I had to write outlines for countless essays. (You probably did, too.) Later, as a newspaper and magazine columnist, I wrote outlines for the articles I published. An outline is perhaps the easiest way to visualize an entire novel from start to finish on a single piece of paper. Just as with any 5 paragraph essay, I break the story down into 5 sections: the hook (how my story begins), 3 plot points (these are the three biggest moments of conflict in a story—much like you’d find in a movie screenplay), and the conclusion (how the story ends—the destination).
Synopsis Once my outline is finished—what I refer to as a story’s skeleton—I am ready to flesh it out in my synopsis. This is where the actual writing process begins. I describe the characters and storyline using complete sentences and paragraphs and plenty of detail. It is almost like writing a short story version of my novel. This can take anywhere from three to twenty pages, and can be used later when submitting to agents and publishers.
Summarize The final step is to breakdown the entire novel into individual chapters or scenes. Each chapter is assigned a number and a title that reflects what occurs in that chapter. The titles are for quick reference while writing and revising the manuscript and are eventually deleted from my completed manuscripts. I include a brief (no more than a paragraph) description of the setting, events and conflict for each chapter.
LET THE WRITING BEGINOnce these four steps are complete, I am ready to write my novel. I like to write at least 500 words per day, but I don’t always write scenes in order. By referring to the chapter summaries, I can choose any chapter I like and write that one. I save each chapter as a separate file using the chapter number and title as the file name. (ie. 01-Exile; 02-Found; ect.) Later, if I need to rearrange the chapter order, all I need to do is rename the files.
IN CONCLUSION
Getting to the end of a story is not as daunting a task as it may seem. All it takes is a little pre-planning. Know your destination. Take the time to plan your route. Then pull out that incomplete manuscript, blow off the dust, and GET IT DONE.
March 9, 2015
BOOK REVIEW: SAND by Hugh Howey
*
Excerpt of CAMP OMIGOSH by Wade Bradford
* Win a copy of THE CRYSTAL KEEPER by Laurisa Reyes
* Review of RUNNING OUT OF NIGHT by Sharon Lovejoy
SAND
Hugh Howey
Broad Reach Publishing
Science Fiction
The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes. Here in this land of howling wind and infernal sand, four siblings find themselves scattered and lost. Their father was a sand diver, one of the elite few who could travel deep beneath the desert floor and bring up the relics and scraps that keep their people alive. But their father is gone. And the world he left behind might be next.
Welcome to the world of Sand, the first new novel from New York Times bestselling author Hugh Howey since his publication of the Silo Saga. Unrelated to those works, which looked at a dystopian world under totalitarian rule, Sand is an exploration of lawlessness. Here is a land ignored. Here is a people left to fend for themselves. Adjust your ker and take a last, deep breath before you enter.
MY REVIEW:
I loved Howey's mind-blowing dystopian best-seller, WOOL. And SAND was just as riveting! How does this man come up with ideas like these???
Vic and her younger brothers are divers. But in a world lacking water, they instead dive into the sand where entire cities lay buried, waiting for looters to bring their long lost treasures to the surface. This world is so realistic, so vivid, I found myself getting completely enveloped in it. Hugh Howey is a master of his genre. His writing is all at once poetic, literary, and yet sharp and intense. If you haven't read WOOL or SAND, you are really missing out on an adventure of a lifetime.
Read my review of WOOL here: http://laurisareyes.blogspot.com/2014/08/book-review-wool-by-hugh-howey.html
CONTENT RATING:
Profanity: High (Excessive)
Violence: High
Sexuality: Moderate
* Win a copy of THE CRYSTAL KEEPER by Laurisa Reyes
* Review of RUNNING OUT OF NIGHT by Sharon Lovejoy
SANDHugh Howey
Broad Reach Publishing
Science Fiction
The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes. Here in this land of howling wind and infernal sand, four siblings find themselves scattered and lost. Their father was a sand diver, one of the elite few who could travel deep beneath the desert floor and bring up the relics and scraps that keep their people alive. But their father is gone. And the world he left behind might be next.
Welcome to the world of Sand, the first new novel from New York Times bestselling author Hugh Howey since his publication of the Silo Saga. Unrelated to those works, which looked at a dystopian world under totalitarian rule, Sand is an exploration of lawlessness. Here is a land ignored. Here is a people left to fend for themselves. Adjust your ker and take a last, deep breath before you enter.
MY REVIEW:
I loved Howey's mind-blowing dystopian best-seller, WOOL. And SAND was just as riveting! How does this man come up with ideas like these???
Vic and her younger brothers are divers. But in a world lacking water, they instead dive into the sand where entire cities lay buried, waiting for looters to bring their long lost treasures to the surface. This world is so realistic, so vivid, I found myself getting completely enveloped in it. Hugh Howey is a master of his genre. His writing is all at once poetic, literary, and yet sharp and intense. If you haven't read WOOL or SAND, you are really missing out on an adventure of a lifetime.
Read my review of WOOL here: http://laurisareyes.blogspot.com/2014/08/book-review-wool-by-hugh-howey.html
CONTENT RATING:
Profanity: High (Excessive)
Violence: High
Sexuality: Moderate
March 5, 2015
GUEST POST: THE LONG REST - IT'S FOR THE BEST! by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod
* Pre-Order CAMP OMIGOSH by Wade Bradford!
* Book Review: Running out of Night by Sharon Lovejoy
* Book Review: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
The Long Rest: It’s For the Best!
Guest post by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeodauthor of the Write Kids’ Books blog .
How do you feel about your stories once they’re written? Do you read every word in adoration, or glance away from the screen so you don’t have to look at it? Some writers are totally in love with their manuscript the minute it’s finished. Others can’t stand it; they’re simply sick of the thing.
Which one are you?
Whichever group you’re in, or if you fall somewhere in between, there’s one thing you should do when you finish your story. Set it aside for the Long Rest.
How do you make tea? You probably don’t just dip the teabag in the water and pull it out. You have to let it steep for a while or else the water has no taste. Same with your story: you have to let it steep.
Take me, for example. I’m in the second group. The minute I finish a story, I can’t even bear to look at it. I feel like I’ve been wallowing with it in the mud and I’m eager to get out and wash off my feet.
So I do. I get right out of that story and let it sit somewhere for all that mud to dry.
But even if you’re totally in love with your story, the Long Rest is important. Even if you want to spend all your waking hours preening over each word, put it down and distract yourself. Walk away. Write something else. Let it steep.
How long should you stay away?
I can’t tell you that, but it should feel like a long time. Maybe that means two weeks; maybe two months. I had a collection of short stories I stayed away from for ten years until I found it on my hard drive again.
Since self-publishing is so easy, it can be tempting to write the thing, run a spell-check or hire a cheap editor, and then put it out as a Kindle book. (In fact, if you hire an editor, even a cheap one, you’ll be well ahead of most Kindle writers out there!) That’s not enough.
In a traditional publishing company, many eyes will read your story; many hands will make changes. Since you don’t have a large staff, you must be those eyes, those hands. And the only way to do that is to give yourself time.
When you come back to your story after the Long Rest, you’ll be renewed and recharged. You’ll see it in a new way. Its good points and bad points will be clearer, its rough edges and shining moments more apparent than they were when you were immersed. You’re ready (at last) to start self-editing.
You know it’s been long enough when you open up a story and say, “I wrote this???” You may say it in wonder, or maybe in disgust.
With your new objectivity, you’ll also be a better editor of your own story.
Reading the story again as an editor, you’ll feel free to change anything. You might discover that that scene description you were so in love with just a few weeks or months before is actually kind of tedious. Or you might even surprise yourself. Maybe that dialogue that felt so clunky as you slogged through writing is actually kind of poignant.
But none of that can happen without the Long Rest.
None of us is a perfect writer or editor and, more importantly, none of us is both simultaneously. Give yourself a break. Take the time that you need. Let your story steep. Then slip out of writing mode and slide on that editor hat, sharpening your red pencil to make your (well-rested) story as perfect as it can be.
# # #Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod is a freelance writer and blogger who lives in northern Israel. She’s written over twelve books for kids along with two books for authors: The Seven Day Manuscript Machine: Edit your children's book to genius in only a week and Writing the Bible for Children: How to write blazing Biblical stories and picture books for kids . Make your own writing dreams come true at Write Kids’ Books.
March 2, 2015
WINNER OF THE KINDLE FIRE ANNOUNCED!
* Pre-Order CAMP OMIGOSH by Wade Bradford!
* Book Review: Running out of Night by Sharon Lovejoy
* Book Review: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Congratulations to the winner of THE CRYSTAL KEEPER BLOG TOUR GIVEAWAY! Barbara Montag has won a KINDLE FIRE HD 6! She has 3 days to respond to my email before an alternate winner is selected. Thank you to everyone who participated.
If you didn't win, you can still download EXILE: THE CRYSTAL KEEPER, BOOK I for FREE!!!
Kindle
Nook
Kobo
a Rafflecopter giveaway
March 1, 2015
Book Review: Running Out of Night by Sharon Lovejoy
* Gift Author Wade Bradford to Your School!
* Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
* Win a KINDLE FIRE HD 6!!!
Middle Grade Monday is a weekly collection of blog posts assembled by author Shannon Messenger. For a complete list of posts, visit Shannon's blog HERE.
______________________________________________
RUNNING OUT OF NIGHTSharon LovejoyRandom House Children's BooksAges 9 - 12
Every day is a misery for a nameless, motherless Southern girl who is treated cruelly by her pa and brothers. Her life changes forever when a runaway slave named Zenobia turns to her for help and shelter. Longing for her own freedom, the girl decides to run away, and she and Zenobia set off on a harrowing journey. Along the way, Zenobia names the girl Lark, after the bird, for her ability to mimic its song.
Running by night, hiding by day, the girls are pursued by Lark’s pa and brothers and by ruthless slave catchers. Brightwell, another runaway slave, joins them, and the three follow secret signs to a stop on the Underground Railroad. When the hideout is raided and Zenobia and Brightwell are captured, Lark sets out alone to rescue her friends.
MY REVIEW:
I love this cover. That's what made me first open the cover. And the story definitely lives up to expectation. The story of these two girls who run away from their respective abusive enslavements in search of the Underground Railroad and freedom grabbed my attention from the first line and kept me turning pages all the way to the end. Running Out of Night is well-researched and does not hold it's punches when it comes to the inhuman abuse endured by slaves and abolitionists alike. This is a story that respects this pivotal era of American history, a story that reveal the pain, the courage, and the hope that eventually changed the world.
CONTENT RATING:
Profanity: NoneSexuality: NoneViolence: Moderate
* Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
* Win a KINDLE FIRE HD 6!!!
Middle Grade Monday is a weekly collection of blog posts assembled by author Shannon Messenger. For a complete list of posts, visit Shannon's blog HERE.______________________________________________
RUNNING OUT OF NIGHTSharon LovejoyRandom House Children's BooksAges 9 - 12 Every day is a misery for a nameless, motherless Southern girl who is treated cruelly by her pa and brothers. Her life changes forever when a runaway slave named Zenobia turns to her for help and shelter. Longing for her own freedom, the girl decides to run away, and she and Zenobia set off on a harrowing journey. Along the way, Zenobia names the girl Lark, after the bird, for her ability to mimic its song.
Running by night, hiding by day, the girls are pursued by Lark’s pa and brothers and by ruthless slave catchers. Brightwell, another runaway slave, joins them, and the three follow secret signs to a stop on the Underground Railroad. When the hideout is raided and Zenobia and Brightwell are captured, Lark sets out alone to rescue her friends.
MY REVIEW:
I love this cover. That's what made me first open the cover. And the story definitely lives up to expectation. The story of these two girls who run away from their respective abusive enslavements in search of the Underground Railroad and freedom grabbed my attention from the first line and kept me turning pages all the way to the end. Running Out of Night is well-researched and does not hold it's punches when it comes to the inhuman abuse endured by slaves and abolitionists alike. This is a story that respects this pivotal era of American history, a story that reveal the pain, the courage, and the hope that eventually changed the world.
CONTENT RATING:
Profanity: NoneSexuality: NoneViolence: Moderate
February 22, 2015
Book Review: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
* Gift Author Wade Bradford to Your School!
* Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
* Win a KINDLE FIRE HD 6!!!
Middle Grade Monday is a weekly collection of blog posts assembled by author Shannon Messenger. For a complete list of posts, visit Shannon's blog HERE.
____________________________________________________
THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE
Kate DiCamillo
Candlewick
Ages 9 - 12
Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely
And then, one day, he was lost.
Kate DiCamillo and Bagram Ibatoulline take us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hobies' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle -- that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.
MY REVIEW:
I have had this book on my shelf for years but never read it. I started to a couple of times, but it wasn't the sort of story that really interested me. But when I was looking for a good read aloud story for my 7-year-old son, I finally took it down.
This is a perfect bedtime story for children. The language is simple and direct, yet beautiful. The interior illustrations are elegant and complex. My son loved the story of Edward's journey from owner to owner, from loss to love. It is a sad story at times. Perhaps a little too tragic for very young children. But it has a happy ending.
Like The Velveteen Rabbit, I believe DiCamillo's tale will live on in the hearts of many generations to come.
CONTENT RATING:
Profanity: NoneSexuality: NoneViolence: Mild
* Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
* Win a KINDLE FIRE HD 6!!!
Middle Grade Monday is a weekly collection of blog posts assembled by author Shannon Messenger. For a complete list of posts, visit Shannon's blog HERE.____________________________________________________
THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE Kate DiCamillo
Candlewick
Ages 9 - 12
Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely
And then, one day, he was lost.
Kate DiCamillo and Bagram Ibatoulline take us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hobies' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle -- that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.
MY REVIEW:
I have had this book on my shelf for years but never read it. I started to a couple of times, but it wasn't the sort of story that really interested me. But when I was looking for a good read aloud story for my 7-year-old son, I finally took it down.
This is a perfect bedtime story for children. The language is simple and direct, yet beautiful. The interior illustrations are elegant and complex. My son loved the story of Edward's journey from owner to owner, from loss to love. It is a sad story at times. Perhaps a little too tragic for very young children. But it has a happy ending.
Like The Velveteen Rabbit, I believe DiCamillo's tale will live on in the hearts of many generations to come.
CONTENT RATING:
Profanity: NoneSexuality: NoneViolence: Mild
February 20, 2015
GIFT an AUTHOR to your SCHOOL!!!
* Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
* Win a KINDLE FIRE HD 6!!!
* Book Review: FAIREST by Marissa Meyer
Wade Bradford, author of Why Do I Have to Make My Bed? (Random House) has just announced his debut middle grade novel CAMP OMIGOSH!
CAMP OMIGOSH will be published this May by Skyrocket Press, a new small publisher of innovative and creative books for kids and adults!
To make this book become reality, Skyrocket Press has just launched a KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN to raise much-needed funds for the project.
How You Can Help
Wade wants to visit YOUR SCHOOL !
For a donation of $250, Wade will SKYPE any classroom anywhere and spend a full hour interacting with your students about books, writing, and what it takes to become an author.
For a $500 donation, Wade will visit your school IN PERSON! (Southern California)
For $800, Wade will visit ANY SCHOOL IN THE US!!!
In addition, Skyrocket Press will donate 5 signed copies of his book to your school library.
Just imagine how excited your students will be to meet a published author. Give them a gift that really makes a difference. GIVE THEM WADE BRADFORD!
For as little as $5, you can also get one of the many other CAMP OMIGOSH REWARDS!
$ 5 - CAMP OMIGOSH Ebook
$ 25 - Print copy signed by Wade Bradford!
$ 50 - 2 Signed print copies & a POSTER!
$100 - A CAMP OMIGOSH BACKPACK, poster & 2 signed copies!
PLEASE SUPPORT CAMP OMIGOSH HERE!
CAMP OMIGOSH is already well underway! The book is in the final stages of revision as we speak, and the cover will be revealed the first week of April! All we need to get the book into kids' hands is your support.
Please consider backing CAMP OMIGOSH, and please share! In the meantime, enjoy this excerpt from the book...
EXCERPT
Blat! Thup, thup, thup, thup!
The flat tire slapped against the asphalt. The bus lurched from one lane to the next. Mr. Warren's cheesy welcome letter flew out of my hand -- and I hadn't even gotten past Tip #1. Sleeping bags and backpacks rained down from the overhead storage racks. A canoe paddle slapped me in the face, knocking me out of my seat. I tumbled down the aisle on my hands and knees, crumpling into a ball each time the bus veered out of control. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Just a few moments ago we were all bouncing along on our way to camp and now we were about to die. What a miserable way to begin my summer vacation.
I scrambled to a different seat, bumping into a blond girl who seemed eerily calm. While everyone else was screaming their lungs out, she was staring out the window. How can she be sightseeing at a time like this? I peered over her shoulder to see a jagged ravine and a raging river far below. We were going to plummet over the edge.
"Everything is under control!" the bus driver screamed at the top of her lungs. The brakes screeched, just a few notches below dog whistle range. Camping supplies slid down the aisle as the bus tilted on two wheels, sending sparks flying as the big yellow vehicle scraped against a metal barrier, the only thing preventing us from a one-way trip to the bottom of a cliff. The bus Ka-Chuncked back down on all four wheels and then spun like a drunken ballerina. Three times around. Then we stopped. Amazingly, no one died. Nobody was even hurt. Some of the younger kids whimpered and sobbed. A few older ones shouted “that was awesome!” but you could tell deep down we were all scared. Me included.
"You can let go now," said the blond girl. I was holding her hand without even realizing. "Sorry," I mumbled. I couldn't tell if she was annoyed or amused, but I quickly let go. She looked about thirteen, my age. Her eyes were a deep green with flecks of amber, and I probably would have kept staring into her eyes for a long, long time but she stood up and said, "Let's get off this bus before it explodes."
* * *
"Everything is perfectly fine!" screamed the bus driver. She was the first one off the bus. The rest of us quickly followed. The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the bus was the crisp fresh air. It smelled wonderful. I used to live in Orange County, in a town called none other than the City of Orange. And during the summer, the California smog sets in, and every night the sky turns the color of the town's name. The air pollution can get pretty nasty. But here at the edge of the Rocky Mountains, everything looked and felt different. The puffy white clouds floating in the insanely blue sky looked like a painting from one of those museums my mom would sometimes drag me through. Even that deadly ravine next to the bus seemed beautiful now.
We really were in the middle of nowhere. This was the loneliest road I had ever seen. There were two other buses about a mile ahead of us. They parked along the side of the road, and must have been wondering what happened to us. About two minutes passed before we heard a vehicle approach. It sounded like a lawn mower. But it turned out to be a rusty, frog-green Ford Pinto. I had heard about that type of old car before, but I had never seen one in real life. I thought they had gone extinct.
The car puttered down the road, cruising at jogging speed, and stopped in front of the bus. A tall man with short brown hair stepped out and put his hands on his hips like a general surveying his mistakes after a battle.
"Your cheap tires nearly got us killed!" shouted the bus driver.
"Do we have a spare?" asked the tall man. I recognized his voice. He was the guy from last week, the so-called “Camp Leader” who spoke to some of the kids and the parents during the orientation meeting. At the time, he seemed kind of boring so I didn't pay much attention. He covered the standard introduction stuff: safety, respect, life challenges, blah, blah, blah. The meeting ran long so I zoned out. It didn't help that lots parents asked a bunch of dumb questions like, "Does your campground have indoor plumbing?" and "Why do we have to sign this waiver?" My mom didn't ask anything. She was happy with the price. This was the least expensive summer camp she could find. And she was happy I was going to be away for the summer. "Look underneath, and you'll find another tire,” replied the bus driver. “But it's just as shoddy as the rest of the rubber bands you got wrapped around these axles." She lit up a cigarette. She had curly gray hair and a wizened, wrinkly face that told me she had been bus driving for the last forty years.
The man smiled politely at the bus driver. He looked like the kind of guy who was very patient. I'm good at spotting the patient people. I'm also good at finding their breaking point. At least that's what my mom tells me.
He looked at us. "Hello campers," he said cheerfully. "Sorry for the delay. I am Mr. Warren." Some of the kids murmured hello. Most of us kept our mouths shut.
"Don't worry," he added. "You'll be back on the road and arriving at Camp Omigosh in...” he checked his watch “...approximately eighteen minutes.” He looked at our driver. “And please, Ms. Finkle, don't smoke in front of our campers." She took one last drag and then crushed the cigarette butt under her boot. Mr. Warren pulled out a walkie-talkie. "We're all okay. Just be a moment," he said. I assumed he was talking to the drivers of the two other buses at the bottom of the hill. "Maintain your position."
Mr. Warren investigated the damaged tire. "Now, I just need a jack and a, um, one of those what-do-you-call-it…"
Ms. Finkle laughed. "A tire iron? Son, you don't know a thing about cars, do you?"
"I'll take care of the repairs, Ms. Finkle. Please keep an eye on the children. Make sure they don't fall into the ravine," He went back to his ancient Pinto to get a tool box. Ms. Finkle sat on a stump.
Since we had time to kill, I took out my lucky deck of cards and scoped out the other kids to see if I could spot a “mark.” Most of the kids didn't know each other, so they sulked alone, playing video games or kicking gravel onto the road. Some of them were complaining into their phones, telling their parents everything that had happened so far. One girl yelled into her phone, "I don't want to be here!"
I noticed two kids that looked like twins. They wore matching baseball caps. They argued over a pair of baseball cards. Good, I thought. Baseball fans collect stuff. And people who collect stuff have money. I found my first mark.
I shuffled my deck and set out three cards: two aces and the queen of hearts. I flipped them around, studying them intently as though I was an artist working out his next masterpiece.
Pretty soon, the Baseball Hat brothers walked over to watch me at work. "What are you playing?" asked the twin on the left.
For a moment I didn't say anything, I was so lost in the cards. Then I finally replied, "It's a game called Find the Queen."
"Looks easy," said the other twin. He was already bored. They were about to leave when I said, "Yeah, you probably shouldn't be playing this. It's not a game for kids."
"What do you mean?" one of them asked.
"It's a gambling game. You know, like in Vegas. People win a lot of money if they are good at it."
"Are you any good?" they asked at the same time.
"I wish," I replied. "I've been getting better, but I still need a lot of practice. Yesterday I lost three bucks."
"Will you teach us how?" asked the one on the right.
I asked, "Do you got any quarters?"
The twins fished for loose change in their pockets while I shuffled the cards.
* * *
Ten minutes later, a crowd of marks surrounded me. Thanks to my sleight of hand and a Queen of Hearts no one could find, I had won a Ken Griffey Jr. baseball card from the 1990s, eight crumpled dollar bills, a handful of loose change, two candy bars, a golf ball, a Spiderman comic book, and a half-eaten peanut butter and banana sandwich. At first, I let the twins win the first few times. It built their confidence, and gathered a crowd. Pretty soon every kid was itching to play, and willing to bet something of value. But then I was on a winning streak, and the more they lost the more they wanted to play. Right after I won the golf ball, it looked like the Camp Leader was done changing the tire. I was about to pack up the game when the blond girl with those mean emerald eyes weaved her way to the front of the crowd.
"I'll play." She slapped down a twenty dollar bill. "Unless that's too much for you."
Everyone gasped. The crowd looked at me, anticipating my next move. "All right," I announced, "last game. Find the queen." I showed her the queen of hearts and flipped the card face down. Then I tossed around all three cards at lightning speed.
Normally the “Mark” would be following the cards very closely, but this girl just locked eyes with me. When I stopped and asked "Where's the queen?" she didn't hesitate. You aren't supposed to let the players touch the cards; they should just point. But she was too quick for me. She grabbed the middle card and showed it to the other kids.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, Ace of Spades. You lose." Then, she pealed away the trick card to reveal the queen hiding underneath.
"Cheater," she announced, unsurprised. Everyone groaned and started snatching back all of their stolen treasures. Some kids kicked gravel at me. Others called me a four letter word. The Baseball Hat Twins punched me in the arm, one right after the other.
Mr. Warren must have sensed that a mob was forming. "I know you're anxious, campers,” he called from the other side of the bus, “so let's get moving."
Everyone scrambled back on board, but the blond girl just took her time, placing her twenty dollar bill back into her novel, like some extravagant bookmark. She smiled at me, happy to have ruined my day.
"I was going to give it all back," I said. I must have sounded pathetic.
"Why?" she asked, but she didn't wait around for an answer.
"It's how... " I was about to explain that it was how I made friends. Interest them with some card tricks. Disappoint them when they lose their stuff. Impress them with my generosity when I give back the winnings. That's how I became instantly popular in the fifth grade. It even worked in military school. But it didn't work on the bus ride to Camp Omigosh. As the rest of the kids filed onto the bus, I gazed into the woods. Everything seemed peaceful in the forest. A cool wind made the trees look like they were waving to me. Calling to me. Part of me, wanted to wander off and never get back on that stupid bus.
"Hurry up and get on," hollered Ms. Finkle, anxious to leave. “The last thing we need around here is another dead kid haunting these woods.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, but I suddenly realized I was now the only kid standing outside. When I hopped back on the bus, all the kids booed me. Some of them threw things. I barely dodged the half-eaten peanut butter and banana sandwich. As I made my walk of shame, I realized there was only one seat available and guess who was sitting there? That's right. The blond girl.
"Hello, loser," she said without looking up from her book, but I couldn't help but notice that she was smiling. "You owe me twenty dollars." Broke again, I thought. I handed her my worn-out twenty dollar bill. She seemed surprised that I actually paid up.
For a while, I just stared at the floor as the bus drove down the hill. I could hear Mr. Warren's Pinto sputtering behind us. A few minutes later, our bus joined up with the other two, and we continued down the road as if nothing had ever happened.
"Whoa!" shouted a kid in front of me. "There it is."
"Are we already at the camp?"
"No," he replied excitedly without looking back at me. "Straight ahead, into the cliff. Plummer's Tunnel. It's the fourth longest mountain tunnel in North America. It's an engineering miracle, and someday I'm gonna--" Then he noticed he was talking to me -- the kid who swindled him -- and he clammed up. He glared at me through his thick glasses and angrily placed his prize golf ball into his shirt pocket.
"Sorry about--" but before he could let me finish, the kid sat back down.
The tunnel zoomed toward us. I held my breath, just out of habit. When I was a little kid, Mom and Dad and I would go on these long road trips from one big city to the next. Every time we would go through a tunnel we would hold our breath and lift up our arms to hold up the tunnel ceiling to keep it from falling on us. The memory made me realize we hadn't been on a family trip in a long time.
We drove through the tunnel and darkness swallowed the bus. It was pitch black. This didn't seem like a fourth place tunnel. This felt like the world's record breaker of long tunnels. In the darkness, I wondered what the bus driver had meant about some dead kid haunting the forest. Suddenly I noticed something that made me breathe again. The blond girl grabbed my hand and held on tight.
PLEASE SUPPORT CAMP OMIGOSH HERE!
* Win a KINDLE FIRE HD 6!!!
* Book Review: FAIREST by Marissa Meyer
Wade Bradford, author of Why Do I Have to Make My Bed? (Random House) has just announced his debut middle grade novel CAMP OMIGOSH!
CAMP OMIGOSH will be published this May by Skyrocket Press, a new small publisher of innovative and creative books for kids and adults!
To make this book become reality, Skyrocket Press has just launched a KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN to raise much-needed funds for the project.
How You Can Help
Wade wants to visit YOUR SCHOOL !
For a donation of $250, Wade will SKYPE any classroom anywhere and spend a full hour interacting with your students about books, writing, and what it takes to become an author.
For a $500 donation, Wade will visit your school IN PERSON! (Southern California)
For $800, Wade will visit ANY SCHOOL IN THE US!!!
In addition, Skyrocket Press will donate 5 signed copies of his book to your school library.
Just imagine how excited your students will be to meet a published author. Give them a gift that really makes a difference. GIVE THEM WADE BRADFORD!
For as little as $5, you can also get one of the many other CAMP OMIGOSH REWARDS!
$ 5 - CAMP OMIGOSH Ebook
$ 25 - Print copy signed by Wade Bradford!
$ 50 - 2 Signed print copies & a POSTER!
$100 - A CAMP OMIGOSH BACKPACK, poster & 2 signed copies!
PLEASE SUPPORT CAMP OMIGOSH HERE!
CAMP OMIGOSH is already well underway! The book is in the final stages of revision as we speak, and the cover will be revealed the first week of April! All we need to get the book into kids' hands is your support.
Please consider backing CAMP OMIGOSH, and please share! In the meantime, enjoy this excerpt from the book...
EXCERPT
Blat! Thup, thup, thup, thup!
The flat tire slapped against the asphalt. The bus lurched from one lane to the next. Mr. Warren's cheesy welcome letter flew out of my hand -- and I hadn't even gotten past Tip #1. Sleeping bags and backpacks rained down from the overhead storage racks. A canoe paddle slapped me in the face, knocking me out of my seat. I tumbled down the aisle on my hands and knees, crumpling into a ball each time the bus veered out of control. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Just a few moments ago we were all bouncing along on our way to camp and now we were about to die. What a miserable way to begin my summer vacation.
I scrambled to a different seat, bumping into a blond girl who seemed eerily calm. While everyone else was screaming their lungs out, she was staring out the window. How can she be sightseeing at a time like this? I peered over her shoulder to see a jagged ravine and a raging river far below. We were going to plummet over the edge.
"Everything is under control!" the bus driver screamed at the top of her lungs. The brakes screeched, just a few notches below dog whistle range. Camping supplies slid down the aisle as the bus tilted on two wheels, sending sparks flying as the big yellow vehicle scraped against a metal barrier, the only thing preventing us from a one-way trip to the bottom of a cliff. The bus Ka-Chuncked back down on all four wheels and then spun like a drunken ballerina. Three times around. Then we stopped. Amazingly, no one died. Nobody was even hurt. Some of the younger kids whimpered and sobbed. A few older ones shouted “that was awesome!” but you could tell deep down we were all scared. Me included.
"You can let go now," said the blond girl. I was holding her hand without even realizing. "Sorry," I mumbled. I couldn't tell if she was annoyed or amused, but I quickly let go. She looked about thirteen, my age. Her eyes were a deep green with flecks of amber, and I probably would have kept staring into her eyes for a long, long time but she stood up and said, "Let's get off this bus before it explodes."
* * *
"Everything is perfectly fine!" screamed the bus driver. She was the first one off the bus. The rest of us quickly followed. The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the bus was the crisp fresh air. It smelled wonderful. I used to live in Orange County, in a town called none other than the City of Orange. And during the summer, the California smog sets in, and every night the sky turns the color of the town's name. The air pollution can get pretty nasty. But here at the edge of the Rocky Mountains, everything looked and felt different. The puffy white clouds floating in the insanely blue sky looked like a painting from one of those museums my mom would sometimes drag me through. Even that deadly ravine next to the bus seemed beautiful now.
We really were in the middle of nowhere. This was the loneliest road I had ever seen. There were two other buses about a mile ahead of us. They parked along the side of the road, and must have been wondering what happened to us. About two minutes passed before we heard a vehicle approach. It sounded like a lawn mower. But it turned out to be a rusty, frog-green Ford Pinto. I had heard about that type of old car before, but I had never seen one in real life. I thought they had gone extinct.
The car puttered down the road, cruising at jogging speed, and stopped in front of the bus. A tall man with short brown hair stepped out and put his hands on his hips like a general surveying his mistakes after a battle.
"Your cheap tires nearly got us killed!" shouted the bus driver.
"Do we have a spare?" asked the tall man. I recognized his voice. He was the guy from last week, the so-called “Camp Leader” who spoke to some of the kids and the parents during the orientation meeting. At the time, he seemed kind of boring so I didn't pay much attention. He covered the standard introduction stuff: safety, respect, life challenges, blah, blah, blah. The meeting ran long so I zoned out. It didn't help that lots parents asked a bunch of dumb questions like, "Does your campground have indoor plumbing?" and "Why do we have to sign this waiver?" My mom didn't ask anything. She was happy with the price. This was the least expensive summer camp she could find. And she was happy I was going to be away for the summer. "Look underneath, and you'll find another tire,” replied the bus driver. “But it's just as shoddy as the rest of the rubber bands you got wrapped around these axles." She lit up a cigarette. She had curly gray hair and a wizened, wrinkly face that told me she had been bus driving for the last forty years.
The man smiled politely at the bus driver. He looked like the kind of guy who was very patient. I'm good at spotting the patient people. I'm also good at finding their breaking point. At least that's what my mom tells me.
He looked at us. "Hello campers," he said cheerfully. "Sorry for the delay. I am Mr. Warren." Some of the kids murmured hello. Most of us kept our mouths shut.
"Don't worry," he added. "You'll be back on the road and arriving at Camp Omigosh in...” he checked his watch “...approximately eighteen minutes.” He looked at our driver. “And please, Ms. Finkle, don't smoke in front of our campers." She took one last drag and then crushed the cigarette butt under her boot. Mr. Warren pulled out a walkie-talkie. "We're all okay. Just be a moment," he said. I assumed he was talking to the drivers of the two other buses at the bottom of the hill. "Maintain your position."
Mr. Warren investigated the damaged tire. "Now, I just need a jack and a, um, one of those what-do-you-call-it…"
Ms. Finkle laughed. "A tire iron? Son, you don't know a thing about cars, do you?"
"I'll take care of the repairs, Ms. Finkle. Please keep an eye on the children. Make sure they don't fall into the ravine," He went back to his ancient Pinto to get a tool box. Ms. Finkle sat on a stump.
Since we had time to kill, I took out my lucky deck of cards and scoped out the other kids to see if I could spot a “mark.” Most of the kids didn't know each other, so they sulked alone, playing video games or kicking gravel onto the road. Some of them were complaining into their phones, telling their parents everything that had happened so far. One girl yelled into her phone, "I don't want to be here!"
I noticed two kids that looked like twins. They wore matching baseball caps. They argued over a pair of baseball cards. Good, I thought. Baseball fans collect stuff. And people who collect stuff have money. I found my first mark.
I shuffled my deck and set out three cards: two aces and the queen of hearts. I flipped them around, studying them intently as though I was an artist working out his next masterpiece.
Pretty soon, the Baseball Hat brothers walked over to watch me at work. "What are you playing?" asked the twin on the left.
For a moment I didn't say anything, I was so lost in the cards. Then I finally replied, "It's a game called Find the Queen."
"Looks easy," said the other twin. He was already bored. They were about to leave when I said, "Yeah, you probably shouldn't be playing this. It's not a game for kids."
"What do you mean?" one of them asked.
"It's a gambling game. You know, like in Vegas. People win a lot of money if they are good at it."
"Are you any good?" they asked at the same time.
"I wish," I replied. "I've been getting better, but I still need a lot of practice. Yesterday I lost three bucks."
"Will you teach us how?" asked the one on the right.
I asked, "Do you got any quarters?"
The twins fished for loose change in their pockets while I shuffled the cards.
* * *
Ten minutes later, a crowd of marks surrounded me. Thanks to my sleight of hand and a Queen of Hearts no one could find, I had won a Ken Griffey Jr. baseball card from the 1990s, eight crumpled dollar bills, a handful of loose change, two candy bars, a golf ball, a Spiderman comic book, and a half-eaten peanut butter and banana sandwich. At first, I let the twins win the first few times. It built their confidence, and gathered a crowd. Pretty soon every kid was itching to play, and willing to bet something of value. But then I was on a winning streak, and the more they lost the more they wanted to play. Right after I won the golf ball, it looked like the Camp Leader was done changing the tire. I was about to pack up the game when the blond girl with those mean emerald eyes weaved her way to the front of the crowd.
"I'll play." She slapped down a twenty dollar bill. "Unless that's too much for you."
Everyone gasped. The crowd looked at me, anticipating my next move. "All right," I announced, "last game. Find the queen." I showed her the queen of hearts and flipped the card face down. Then I tossed around all three cards at lightning speed.
Normally the “Mark” would be following the cards very closely, but this girl just locked eyes with me. When I stopped and asked "Where's the queen?" she didn't hesitate. You aren't supposed to let the players touch the cards; they should just point. But she was too quick for me. She grabbed the middle card and showed it to the other kids.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, Ace of Spades. You lose." Then, she pealed away the trick card to reveal the queen hiding underneath.
"Cheater," she announced, unsurprised. Everyone groaned and started snatching back all of their stolen treasures. Some kids kicked gravel at me. Others called me a four letter word. The Baseball Hat Twins punched me in the arm, one right after the other.
Mr. Warren must have sensed that a mob was forming. "I know you're anxious, campers,” he called from the other side of the bus, “so let's get moving."
Everyone scrambled back on board, but the blond girl just took her time, placing her twenty dollar bill back into her novel, like some extravagant bookmark. She smiled at me, happy to have ruined my day.
"I was going to give it all back," I said. I must have sounded pathetic.
"Why?" she asked, but she didn't wait around for an answer.
"It's how... " I was about to explain that it was how I made friends. Interest them with some card tricks. Disappoint them when they lose their stuff. Impress them with my generosity when I give back the winnings. That's how I became instantly popular in the fifth grade. It even worked in military school. But it didn't work on the bus ride to Camp Omigosh. As the rest of the kids filed onto the bus, I gazed into the woods. Everything seemed peaceful in the forest. A cool wind made the trees look like they were waving to me. Calling to me. Part of me, wanted to wander off and never get back on that stupid bus.
"Hurry up and get on," hollered Ms. Finkle, anxious to leave. “The last thing we need around here is another dead kid haunting these woods.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, but I suddenly realized I was now the only kid standing outside. When I hopped back on the bus, all the kids booed me. Some of them threw things. I barely dodged the half-eaten peanut butter and banana sandwich. As I made my walk of shame, I realized there was only one seat available and guess who was sitting there? That's right. The blond girl.
"Hello, loser," she said without looking up from her book, but I couldn't help but notice that she was smiling. "You owe me twenty dollars." Broke again, I thought. I handed her my worn-out twenty dollar bill. She seemed surprised that I actually paid up.
For a while, I just stared at the floor as the bus drove down the hill. I could hear Mr. Warren's Pinto sputtering behind us. A few minutes later, our bus joined up with the other two, and we continued down the road as if nothing had ever happened.
"Whoa!" shouted a kid in front of me. "There it is."
"Are we already at the camp?"
"No," he replied excitedly without looking back at me. "Straight ahead, into the cliff. Plummer's Tunnel. It's the fourth longest mountain tunnel in North America. It's an engineering miracle, and someday I'm gonna--" Then he noticed he was talking to me -- the kid who swindled him -- and he clammed up. He glared at me through his thick glasses and angrily placed his prize golf ball into his shirt pocket.
"Sorry about--" but before he could let me finish, the kid sat back down.
The tunnel zoomed toward us. I held my breath, just out of habit. When I was a little kid, Mom and Dad and I would go on these long road trips from one big city to the next. Every time we would go through a tunnel we would hold our breath and lift up our arms to hold up the tunnel ceiling to keep it from falling on us. The memory made me realize we hadn't been on a family trip in a long time.
We drove through the tunnel and darkness swallowed the bus. It was pitch black. This didn't seem like a fourth place tunnel. This felt like the world's record breaker of long tunnels. In the darkness, I wondered what the bus driver had meant about some dead kid haunting the forest. Suddenly I noticed something that made me breathe again. The blond girl grabbed my hand and held on tight.
PLEASE SUPPORT CAMP OMIGOSH HERE!
February 19, 2015
WIN A $25 GIFT CARD - FEARLESS JOE DEARBONE!
About the BookTitle: Fearless Joe Dearborne | Author: Lisa Whitney Mitchell | Publication Date: July 11, 2014 | Publisher: Independent | Pages: 198 | Recommended Ages: 8+ Summary: Some might say he’s courageous, while others would say he’s daring, maybe even a little crazy. But when Joe Dearborne risked his life and ran into a burning building to save a puppy, the local newspaper referred to him as “fearless”—and that’s a pretty big title for a sixth-grader to live up to.Plus, Joe already has plenty else to worry about. After other daring feats in the past, Joe promised his father he wouldn’t do anything dangerous again, and, alas, he’s just broken that promise. But whatever trouble he expects to get into with his father, and despite the dangers he’s triumphed over in the past, nothing could prepare Joe for what he’s about to encounter when a cold, bitterness creeps into his home. A mysterious and peculiar woman named Mrs. Chill has just been hired to care for Joe while his father is away on business. In no time, however, Joe discovers that she’s up to more than cooking and cleaning, and she has plans to destroy his family. Joe’s effort to save them results in perilous, sometimes humorous, encounters, and leads him on a journey through the threatening wilderness where he faces his greatest challenge yet.
The Buzz About the BookBe sure to check out the Book Review Blitz Wrap-Up for Fearless Joe Dearborne were you can read excerpts from the 40+ reviews generated through the blitz. Here are some of the things reviewers had to say about Fearless Joe Dearborne :
Leigh Shearin: "Children from age 8-12 should love this story. It is full of suspense and excitement, but also provides well-disguised learning opportunities, which should please parents as well. I simply can't say enough good things about this wonderful debut novel. Lisa Whitney Mitchell has come out fearlessly, treating us all to what could become an iconic novel!"
Heart of a Philanthropist: "This reader was impressed with how many subplots are in Fearless Joe Dearborne. It is a short easy read. The book can easily be finished in just a few reading sessions. If you are looking for a good mystery embedded with humor, this book is for you! Recommended for 9-13 year old readers."
Identity Discovery: "I thought this was a fantastic book. Each chapter starts with a word being defined and then the word is used within the chapter. I absolutely love this aspect. It not only is an entertaining story, but it helps kids to learn new words and how to use them. The character development really showed Joe's transformation. I loved it."
Christy's Cozy Corners: "There is so much to love about this book...The storyline, setting, characters and pacing make this a great book for your kids to read alone or with you. I know I enjoyed it, so I recommend reading it with your child. I highly recommend it!"
1:25 am Reviews: "I read this entire book in one sitting. I just couldn't bear to put it down because there was never a dull moment!!"
BeachBoundBooks: "This is such a fantastic story. There is so much going on to keep children entertained throughout the book... The story teaches children about character and believing in yourself."
Bookworm for Kids: "Of course, I'm always a fan of shorter adventures. The 135 pages invites even hesitant readers to take a peek and get swept away in the fun. In other words, I can recommend this to boys and girls who love adventure, a few chills and tons of fun thrown in."
Sunshine, Bubbles and Books: "One of the strongest points of this book is how it shows the difference between being brave and being fearless. Often books portray recklessness as a positive trait... as a mother, I love that this paints it in a more realistic light. That there are consequences to actions."
A Leisure Moment: "This story is filled with adventure and mystery which can be inferred through the book cover... The attention to detail, along with the description of events really creates an atmosphere of a great story that upper elementary/middle level students will truly enjoy!"
Brooke Blogs: "I enjoyed the story as much as my 12 year old daughter did. This was a quick read and a page turner that we didn't want to put down until we were finished."
About the Author: Lisa Whitney MitchellLisa Whitney Mitchell lives in Florida with her husband, two sons, and their dog. When she’s not writing, she practices law. Fearless Joe Dearborne is her first novel.
* $25 Book Blast Giveaway *
Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice) Contest ends: March 18, 11:59 pm, 2015 Open: Internationally How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Lisa Whitney Mitchell and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com. a Rafflecopter giveaway
