Annie Cardi's Blog, page 3
April 13, 2018
Friday Fifteen
Happy Friday, guys! It’s been a while since my last Friday Fifteen, but I’ve been busy with the work life and the writing life, and the throwing the squeaky toy for Bodo the Dog life. Fortunately, this is the Friday before Marathon Monday, aka the best day of the year, so I’m super excited to head into the weekend. Let’s get things started with a few book reviews in fifteen words or fewer.
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
A fantastic look at disability, friendly, struggle, and strength. As a runner, I’m a fan.
Summerlost by Ally Condie
A sweet and sad and real middle grade about loss and family. Loved the setting.
Paperweight by Meg Haston
A sensitive, real portrayal of a girl battling an eating disorder. Recovery is complex here.
February 16, 2018
Friday Fifteen
Happy Friday, guys! I feel like every time I write one of these, I want to start with “it’s been a week” but that’s fully the truth. Good things from this week: getting a haircut, chocolate caramel oreo pie, Olympics figure skating, and nice weather for walks. Let’s get the weekend going with some book reviews in fifteen words or fewer!
I’m Just a Person by Tig Notaro
Frank, funny, and touching discussion of sexuality, family history, and how we cope with illness.
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
Ishiguro’s perfect combination of a restrained narrator and emotional anguish, set against post-WWII Japan.
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
A great sequel to Cinder; Scarlet’s voice captured me and I fully ship Scarlet/Wolf.
October 15, 2017
Covers, Skates, and Dessert Pizza – Any Way You Slice It Cover Reveal!
When I was in middle school, I took skating lessons with my best friend and her brother. They were legit good skaters, whereas I was just happy to learn the basics, but I loved being at the rink with other skaters, trying out new skills and feeling a little magical as I swished over the ice.
So of course I’m super psyched to share the relaunched cover of Any Way You Slice It by Kristine Carlson Asselin, which not only features life at the rink, but also family struggles, a new crush, and yep, pizza. Plus the book has a gorgeous new cover, which I get to share with you:
[image error]
If you live in the MA area, you can help celebrate the relaunch of Any Way You Slice It on Saturday, November 18. In the meantime, you should pretend you work with Penelope at Slice Pizza and make her dessert pizza:
[image error]
ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT – Penelope’s Dessert Pizza
CRUST
*1 can(s) crescent rolls
1/4 c butter, cold
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c flour
pinch of salt
GLAZE
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 Tbsp butter, soft
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
1-1 1/2 Tbsp milk
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400.2. First things first, roll out the crescent rolls into 8 triangles—be sure to use an ungreased cookie sheet. These babies are pre-greased so you don’t need anything else.
3. Cut in the butter to the mixture of sugar, cinnamon, salt and flour to form crumbles. Use a fork or a pastry blender or your fingers! Be sure the butter is COLD for best results. Try not to eat too much of the crumble, but it will be tempting. (Licking fingers is excusable.)
4. Sprinkle the dough with crumbs and throw those bad boys into the oven for 8 to 12 minutes.
5. After it all cools, cut into smaller triangles and drizzle with glaze.
6. And now the fun part: EAT and Enjoy!
If you make these, take a picture and post with #AnyWayYouSliceIt and don’t forget to tag
@KristineAsselin w/ all your pizza photos.
Thanks to Kris for letting me share the Any Way You Slice It goodness. Can’t wait to snag a copy of my own!
*Penelope would have you know that using a pre-made dough is cheating; I am super with you, Penelope. But whatever way gets you pizza is a win in my book.[image error]
October 13, 2017
Friday Fifteen
Happy Friday the 13th, guys! This morning I got to take Bodo the dog on a walk that partly included a nearby cemetery, so I’m feeling the spooky vibes this morning. Here’s to a good fall-y weekend, and some micro-book reviews.
I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Touching and well crafted, but I kept thinking–is this really YA?
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Funny, smart, and thoughtful. One of my new favorite YA contemps.
The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas
Couple twists didn’t quite work, but a fun thriller, with a female relationships at its core.
October 11, 2017
Coming out in Kid Lit
Today is National Coming Out Day, which got me thinking about LGBTQIA+ representation in YA and children’s literature. While there certainly can be more stories featuring realistic, nuanced representations of LGBTQIA+ characters (protagonists! friends! heroes! parents! etc!), I’m heartened by the books young readers do have today, to let them know that their feelings are valid and that they can be the main characters of their own stories.
Which means that, of course, I need to share some of my recent favorite reads featuring LGBTQIA+ characters.
Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard: a great look at sexual identity and gender identity, as Pen struggles against her family and friends’ ideas of what it means to be a young woman. I also loved the minor characters in this. #teamblake
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown: a twist on the coming out story, as very out Jo hides her sexual identity when she moves to a small, conservative town.
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee: bi, gay, and asexual representation in this super fun and touching historical adventure. I’m psyched for the sequel, which will follow Felicity!
George by Alex Gino: one of the sweetest and most sensitive coming out stories, about a young trans girl who just wants to be Charlotte in her school’s production of Charlotte’s Web.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: one of my new favorite contemporary YAs, about theatre and friendship and first love and figuring out who you are and how to share that with the world.
As I Descended by Robin Talley: in case you want some classically-inspired scares and intrigue with your representation, this one’s a female take on Macbeth, starring two young women at an elite boarding school.
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour: one of my new favorites full stop, this is a fantastic look at first love and friendship and loneliness and grief and reaching out to those we love.
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo: a powerful and hopeful story about a young trans girl trying to make a new start for herself.
Other books you’d add to this list? Share ’em in the comments! In the meantime, remember–you are valid and you deserve love.
September 22, 2017
Friday Fifteen
Happy Friday, guys! I’m sorry I’ve been so MIA recently–things have gotten busy with work and life and Bodo the dog. One of the things that’s been keeping me busy has been a web design class, which is awesome and maybe means I’ll update this site sometime in the near future. In the meantime, here’s a look at what I’ve been reading, in fifteen words or fewer:
Chime by Franny Billingsley
Fun and creepy, with a great voice, while also being about gaslighting and abuse.
Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
Interesting blend of contemporary MG and fantasy. Major middle school friendship feels.
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown
Sweet and touching story of family, religion, and coming out. Also manages to subvert expectations.
September 1, 2017
Friday Fifteen
Happy Friday, guys–and happy September! Suddenly it’s felt like Boston realized fall is coming, and I feel like everything should be baking and books and coziness. (Okay, that’s how everything should be all the time.) Let’s get the long weekend started with a few fifteen-word-max book reviews!
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
Absolutely loved this quiet look at grief and love and family and mistakes and hope.
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
I adore Woodson’s writing, and this novel for adults is both heartbreaking and hopeful.
Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
Should definitely be a movie, ala True Grit. I love a girl out for revenge.
August 30, 2017
Links Galore
Lots of links I’ve been saving:
Query critiques, signed books, Skype visits and more for Hurricane Harvey relief.
An awesome post on Mary Sues and the pressure we put on female characters.
The witty, wise, and whimsical E.B. White.
On addiction and library services.
As if Porter Square Books wasn’t already awesome enough, now they’re inviting you to a bookstore sleepover.
A real plaque for a fictional person.
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these librarians from their patrons.
How Harry Potter changed publishing.
Revising the summer reading list.
And speaking of summer reading lists, check out Lin-Manuel Miranda’s.
Cultural appropriation is never appropriate.
The miraculous act of reading.
Take a literary road trip across the United States.
Getting objective and creative with your revision.
From one of my dearest friends, thoughts on growing up with Harry Potter.
Twenty-five easy steps to be a contemporary writer.
Margaret Atwood and Junot Diaz on dystopian societies and the contemporary landscape.
Reason #482 why you should adopt a pet: to .
Love and lemonade.
The calendar of book launch marketing.
August 25, 2017
Friday Fifteen
Happy Friday, guys! It’s been a week of travel, good friends, good food, eclipses, and books. Looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home, and of course more books. Let’s get the weekend rolling with a few fifteen-word (or fewer) book reviews.
Flying Lessons and Other Stories, edited by Ellen Oh
Lovely and heartbreaking and genuine collection of middle grade stories featuring diverse voices and authors.
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
A powerful and disquieting story about one girl’s struggled to survive Stalin’s Gulag.
P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
I’m fully Team John Ambrose McClaren. Sorry, Peter, you’re not good enough for Lara Jean!
August 15, 2017
My Heart’s in Charlottesville
[image error]When I was preparing for a book event in Charlottesville last year, my mom said, “Your hometown!” It’s not where I was born or raised, and it’s not where I live, but it’s the home of my heart. I spent four wonderful years there while attending UVA, and go back every chance I get. It’s a special place in my life
So hearing about the violence and hate this weekend deeply hurt me. I was sickened to see white supremacists and Nazis waving torches on the steps of the Rotunda, to see the hate in their faces, and, worst of all, to see that people died and many others were injured as a result of this hatred.
Charlottesville isn’t a perfect place, but it’s the home of my heart. Right now, I’m feeling similar to how I felt after the Boston Marathon bombing–it’s an attack in a place I love, on values I hold dear.
My heart is with those who live in Charlottesville and saw their city shaken by bigotry, and the UVA students who will return to Grounds in this climate. I have faith that you all will stand firm on the side of love and justice and inclusion. Hate and violence have no place in the places we love, and it’s up to us to stand up for what’s right.
