Engaging novel about a teen standing trial for murder

Posted on June 29, 2013 by KelliB

Crush. Candy. Corpse. by Sylvia McNicoll; published 9/1/12; ISBN 9781459400627.

Crush Candy Corpse cover shot

Crush Candy Corpse image from worldcat.org

In Crush. Candy. Corpse., high school senior Sunny is just trying to find a volunteer opportunity to meet graduation requirements. When she’s not allowed to count volunteering at a hair salon for credit, she settles for the option of assisting at a retirement facility. While there, she realizes that these senior citizens have limited freedom, just like her. She finds she’s actually kind of good at this and begins forming friendships with the residents. When an Alzheimer’s patient dies, Sunny is accused of performing assisted suicide.

The story unfolds through alternating between trial proceedings and Sunny’s journal entries. Ms. McNicoll presents an engaging tale exploring ethics, health care philosophies, and the fine line betwen right and wrong while showing that all teens have a talent, they just have to find it (and be supported in finding it).

Posted in Book Review, Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Next J. K. Rowling? Forbes to highlight new author in July; “The Bone Season” premieres Aug 20

Posted on June 28, 2013 by KelliB

I usually try to keep my posts focused on either teen book reviews or emerging technology topics, but it’s fun to see stories about up-and-coming authors, if only to be reminded that the past-time of reading is still going strong.

Bone Season cover image

Bone Season Photo courtesy amazon.com

In the upcoming (July 15th) issue of Forbes magazine, they’ll be highlighting a new fantasy author, 21-year-old Bloomsbury publishing intern Samantha Shannon. After reading its synopsis, I’ve already placed a hold on The Bone Season, first in a seven-part series about “clairvoyants in a dystopian future struggling against a totalitarian government and its supernatural overlords”. The book is due to be released on August 20th.

ISBN:  9781620401392

Online article about Ms. Shannon can be found here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/06/26/is-21-year-old-samantha-shannon-the-next-jk-rowling/

Posted in Book Review | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rick Yancey’s “5th Wave” – If you pick it up, you’ll not want to put it down

Posted on June 26, 2013 by KelliB

5th Wave by Rick Yancey; Pub date May 7, 2013; 978-0399162411.

cover page 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Cover Image for 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

I was glad to see that the suggested age group listed in the Product Details section for Rick Yancey’s 5th Wave was “12 and up”, because I imagine there will be scads of adults who’ll love this epic science fiction tale as much as the intended teen audience does.

I like books/authors that place you in the middle of [well-written]gritty, graphic, breath-taking action from the get-go because then you just have to know the resolution given the intense intro (I just started another book that begins similarly by putting you into a dark situation: Blythe Woolston’s recently-published Black Helicopters, 9780763661465)…we see in the present a teen woman who handles herself like a seasoned war veteran, and there’s someone — or something — in the convenience store where she’s stocking up on supplies. And it just continues to get more and more interesting.

While some readers might become confused with the multiple POV’s and setting/time switching back and forth, a quick jotting down of who the characters are might help. I only suggest this because the book is worth the read and I’d hate to see the multi-POV be the reason people don’t finish it.

I don’t even know how much I want to disclose to entice you to read it simply because I don’t want to give any part of the story away – the series of events should be experienced firsthand. My only complaint is that the final sequence felt a bit overlong, and I would have preferred more retrospection/reflection/emotion from Cassie on the final page. However, I will not fault the entire great ride because there was a bump while parking the car.

Highly recommended for those who likes science fiction, dystopian novels, love-of-family-I’ll-do-anything-to-save-you scenarios, and the Ender series. It abounds with great action sequences, cool ideas for emerging [or old alien technology…lol] technology, and lots of evil aliens to root against (and some evil humans, too).

I can see why Mr. Yancey’s Monstrumologist series has been recognized so widely: Printz Honor Book, Yalsa Readers’ Choice List – Best Book for Young Adults,
Kirkus’ Best Teen Books, Booklist Editors’ Choice for Youth, Los Angeles Times
Book Award Finalist—Best Young Adult Literature, Tayshas Reading List (Texas
Library Association), NCTE’s Walden Book Award Finalist, Garden State Teen Book
Award Nominee, Teen Choice Book of the Year Nominee, Pacific Northwest Library
Association Young Readers Choice Award Nominee.

List of honors taken from the 5th Wave item page @ amazon.com

Posted in Book Review, Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Starla and Eula – a beautiful pair (Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall)

Posted on June 23, 2013 by KelliB

Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall [9781476707723]

Pub Date July 2, 2013; ARC received from NetGalley

WhistlingPTGStarla, a nine-year old girl with red hair and a temper to match when she encounters injustice, has continually been told she’s nothing but trouble. Abandoned by her parents (her father’s an oil-rigger gone for long stretches of time and her mother ran away to seek fame and fortune as a Nashville country music star), she’s forced to live with her abusive, bigoted grandmother.

After one silly punishment too many by grandma Mamie after standing up to a neighborhood bully, Starla embarks on a quest to reunite with her absentee mother so that they can become a family again. Along the road she meets her adult counterpart, Eula, an African-American woman who’s also a victim of domestic abuse and doesn’t realize her own true worth.

Because she doesn’t want the child traveling alone, Eula makes the generous/dangerous decision to accompany Starla to Nashville. Dangerous because the story is set in the early 1960’s, a time of blatant racism and a burgeoning civil rights movement; a time when a black woman and white child seen together could evoke murderous wrath. Along the way, they encounter people and situations that allow them to come to an understanding of who they really are, what they really believe, and where their place is in the world.

Whistling Past the Graveyard is a heart-wrenching and heat-warming story that takes hold of you and doesn’t let go until the end. I liked them both and hope they fared well after our observation of their lives ends…and I really want to know what Starla grew up to be!

Cover image from amazon.com

Posted in Book Review, Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sea Change by S. M. Wheeler (YA Fantasy)

Posted on June 21, 2013 by KelliB

A brand new release, I’ve not yet read this book but wanted to share because it seems such a promising fairytale adventure…I’m always enticed by a good fairytale.

The following quote is a mashup of three separate reviews that hopefully captures the full and fantastical extent of this debut novel.

Sea Change cover image

Sea Change cover from Publisher’s Weekly

From Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal Reviews:

“Wheeler’s stunning debut is a sophisticated fantasy whose lush descriptions, lyrical dialogue, and engaging structure are reminiscent of the very best fairy tales. Lilly, a nobleman’s daughter, is a solitary, resourceful, and intelligent girl, her face covered by such a potent birthmark her talents remain forever hidden to the gaping eyes of others. She has one true friend while growing up: Octavius, a gentle kraken who is closer to her than her emotionally distant parents ever could be. When Octavius is captured and sold to a circus, Lilly embarks on an epic journey to win back his freedom. Her selfless pursuit leads her to a troll in need of female organs, a witch in search of her skin, a duo of bandits looking for companionship, a landowner endowed with mystical capabilities and bewitching beauty, and Octavius himself, trapped in a circus side show. Also involved are automata, an undead corpse, a magic coat, and a mule that has been transformed into a boy named Horace, who has magic power.”

I discovered this book thanks to its ultra-cool book trailer at http://booktrailers.ning.com/video/sea-change-by-s-m-wheeler-book-trailer

My hold has been placed 🙂

Posted in Book Review, Fiction | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Fanastic Sports Read for Teens Girls and Guys: Shredded by Karen Avivi

Posted on June 16, 2013 by KelliB

I know nothing about BMX bike-riding, so I wasn’t sure if this book would hold my interest. I’m happy to report that Karen Avivi has created a thoroughly enjoyable (and educational) story. Through Josie’s eyes, we see how much courage it takes for female BMX trick riders in a sport that typically thinks of females as “less-thans”.

All the reactions felt true: the jealousy of her boyfriend, whom she can out-trick, as well as other males who rankle at females who aren’t scared to ride a 50-foot drop half-pipe; Josie’s parents and older “real-sport” (football and baseball) brother frustratingly thinking that BMX riding is just something Josie needs to “get out of her system”, not something she’s as passionate about as a guy would be; the excitment of other girls who want to learn to ride.

It’s so nice to have a non-whiny, non-shallow female lead who understands that hard work is necessary for succes! Josie’s awesome personality,  bravery, and stick-to-it-iveness simply begs you to root for her the whole way through, and I was proud to see the positive impact she and her friends and teammates (both genders) made in getting girls excited about the sport. Ms Avivi does an outstanding job of taking intricate tricks and describing them so that readers like me who, know nothing about the sport, can picture what the rider is doing, greatly enhancing the enjoyment of Josie’s journey.

Because it’s so well-written, and in my opinion combines the best of what constitutes plot-driven and character-driven stories, I think any gender and any age would enjoy this book. Definitely going on my “Recommended” list!

Posted in Book Review, Fiction | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

IdeaPaint + Evernote Saves all that Brainstorming Work

Posted on May 26, 2013 by KelliB

What happens when you combine brainstorming/mindmaps and Optical Character Recognition?

IdeaPaint +Evernote_70_70_c1 = Ultra Cool

IdeaPaint is a high-performance paint that transforms virtually any smooth, flat surface (walls/tables) into a dry-erase board.

You can then take a picture of that “whiteboard” and upload it to your Evernote account, where the hand-written image is converted into a searchable OCR document. All those tagwords you and your colleagues wrote during your mind-mapping session become searchable metadata, and all those diagrams you drew are saved for posterity (and possible future brainstorming sessions) thanks to Evernote capabilities.

 

Posted in Metadata, Online Resources | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon offers New Option for Self-Publishing

Posted on May 26, 2013 by KelliB

Much to the happiness (I’m guessing) of authors who haven’t had the luck or connections to have been adopted by a major publishing house, Amazon will soon launch “Kindle Worlds”, a new fan fiction platform for independent authors.

kindleworlds screenshot from amazon.com May 23, 2013

Screenshot as of 5/25/2013

I’m curious to see the results. New authors can write stories based on another author’s work (known as the right’s holder) — and both earn money. What happens if an untalented (as deemed by the majority of readers) expands on something like “Ender’s Game”? Could drek taint, or even destroy, the original work’s “amazing-ness”? Will some authors be surprised by their possessiveness once someone else starts playing around with their characters, having them act in ways the original creator would find abominable? (“Jonathan would never do that!”)

I was surprised enough last month when I found out that some authors were allowing crowdsourcing to embellish published works – this takes that kind of ornamentation to a whole new level.

From the story:

Amazon Publishing will pay royalties to both the rights holders of the Worlds and the author. The standard author’s royalty rate (for works of at least 10,000 words) will be 35% of net revenue. As with all titles from Amazon Publishing, Kindle Worlds will base net revenue off of sales price—rather than the lower, industry standard of wholesale price—and royalties will be paid monthly.

In addition, with the launch of Kindle Worlds, Amazon Publishing will pilot an experimental new program for particularly short works—between 5,000 and 10,000 words. For these short stories—typically priced under one dollar—Amazon will pay the royalties for the World’s rights holder and pay authors a digital royalty of 20%.

Interesting times.

Posted in Digital Books, Online Resources | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

2013 Top Teen Reads Nominations – YALSA

Posted on May 17, 2013 by KelliB

Readers of ages 12-18 can vote online from Aug 15 to Sep 15 @ www.ala.org/yalsa/reads4teens

Teen bookfinder app: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/products/teenbookfinder

Link to pdf of the 28 nominated titles: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/sites/ala.org.yalsa/files/content/teenreading/teenstopten/2013%20TTT%20Nominations.pdf

Video of the 28 nominated titles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPgBooghc5E&feature=player_embedded

 

 

Posted in Book Review, Fiction | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Baker & Taylor Launches E-Reader App

Posted on May 7, 2013 by KelliB

The world’s largest distributor of books, digital content and entertainment products, Baker & Taylor announced yesterday the launch of their own eReader app. I wondered what the catch was…what do I need to do to get it? How would/could their eReader app fit in with the other two tools libraries are likely to use: 3M and Overdrive. Is it intended to be a competing product or is it just another tool for library customers?

From the article on Digital Book World:

” Baker & Taylor, the world’s largest distributor of digital and physical books and entertainment products, has released a new, free application for tablets and smartphones called axisReader, which allows patrons of libraries with the Axis 360 digital media platform to seamlessly discover, checkout and read ebooks in EPUB and PDF formats on their mobile devices.  The axisReader will be available alongside the existing Blio ereader, which provides a fully-accessible ereading experience to Axis 360 users.”

If your library subscribes to the Axis 360, you will have access to this reader. To find out if your library is a subscriber: http://www.btol.com/axis360/find-a-library.htm

 

For more info on Axis 360: http://www.btol.com/axis360/

Posted in Digital Books, Online Resources | Tagged , , | Leave a comment