in the path of falling objects: the sandwich book

There’s no prison worse than “I promise.” A promise can carry you through tough times. Or cause them. Jonah and Simon, two abandoned brothers, set out to rendezvous with a third brother coming back from Vietnam. The only guarantee they have of meeting up with him is in his letters. The boys hitch a ride [...]

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crossing the tracks by barbara stuber

You’ve been to the party–today you get to hear about the book, Crossing the Tracks by Barb Stuber. It wasn’t Iris Baldwin’s idea to leave her home in Atchison. Just like it wasn’t her mother’s idea to die and leave Iris alone with her father. This particular summer, Iris’ father decides to hire her out [...]

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master writer #2–laura manivong, escaping the tiger

Last Friday I started a blog-series in which I look at kidlit books whose authors have mastered some aspect of their writing in a particularly stupendous way. This week it’s Laura Manivong’s Escaping the Tiger: Straddling the Middle-Grade /Young Adult market, Escaping the Tiger tells the story of one family’s escape from communist Laos. 12-year-old [...]

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master writer #1–jennifer brown, hate list

I have a brilliant, new idea. No, no, come back! For the next weeks I’m going to profile different kidlit books whose authors have mastered some aspect of their writing in a particularly stupendous way.  These are the books I go to when I’m stuck in revisions and need a refresher course. First up: The [...]

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book report #11: letting boys be boys

Wow. Just finished Ghost Medicine, by Andrew Smith. Did I mention, “Wow” ? This is YA Guylit for manly men.  As the cover promises, the story is about friends, enemies, heroes and blood. But it’s…so…mindful.  It’s downright…now don’t take this the wrong way…lyrical. Wait!  Come back here!  I didn’t say it was sappy.  Or girly. [...]

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book report #10: evolution of a fairy tale

We all know the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Girl goes into the woods to bring her poor grandmother some sustenance, wolf tries to eat her… But there’s a whole book about that “yadda yadda yadda”. Little Red Riding Hood UNCLOAKED: Sex, Morality and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale by Catherine Orenstein is [...]

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book report #9: writing disasters

No, this isn’t about garbled dialogue or a 200,000 word manuscript.  Or typing a hilariously scathing reply to an inane memo from your boss, and instead of sending it to your cubicle buddy you hit “reply all”. We’re talking actual, matter-of-factual horrors.  I’ve found the perfect book for writers of action-adventure-tragedy, middle-grade, YA or adult.  (I love obscure but useful reference [...]

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book report #7: where the wild things are, and aren’t

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. If you’ve never heard of this book, let me be the first to welcome you to earth: As a child, I read this book.  Once.  I hated Max.  I thought he was a naughty little boy.  He scared me more than the Wild Things did.  He was [...]

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book report #6: nerds are real characters

If you’re going to write a YA novel with a less-than-popular teen character, you’ve got to read  the book American Nerd: The Story of My People  by Benjamin Nugent. Nugent confesses to being labeled  a nerd in high school.  But he doesn’t rest his expertise on his personal experience. He looks at the nerd in scholarly studies, interviews, popular culture, [...]

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book report #5: what’s so dang funny?

I can only afford so many conferences a year, so when I saw The Portable Writers’ Conference, edited by Stephen Blake Mettee,  I drooled a little. There’s a lot of jewels in here: Unforgettable…Creating memorable characters…by Sara Ann Freed                                            Can These Bones Live?…Writing good period dialogue…by Leonard Tourney Slice Yourself a Piece of Mud Pie…Writing for the [...]

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