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Top Ten Tuesday: Best Blogs to Follow

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TTTTop Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is a fantastic one: the best blogs to follow. I tend to follow several different kinds of blogs. I like finding other blogs that review clean books or which list content information. I think in part it makes me feel validated, and it’s always interesting to see the ways other sites break down the content information. I also like to follow what I’ll call a specialty blog, one that steers readers toward specific types of books– books about characters with disabilities, books by minority authors, etc. Then there are the good old trusty review sites where I find myself reading the reviews of books I’ve read and saying, “I know, right?!” and reading reviews of books I haven’t read and immediately adding the titles to my reading list. I should add lots of others to this list, but these are the ones far and above all others that I find myself returning to for inspiration, recommendations and ideas:

Reading Teen

I’ve probably been following this blog the longest out of all the others on this list. I’m not sure how I found Reading Teen, but I really love this site. I guest-posted a review of Panic by Lauren Oliver which you can find here. One of my FAVORITE posts by Andye is this one about sex in teen fiction.

Compass Book Ratings

When I first discovered this site, it was called Clean Teen Reads. I don’t visit as often as I’d like, but I’ve recommended it several times to readers who are looking for more specific content than I tend to give. For instance, regarding profanity, this site will tell you which words and how many times they’re used whereas I tend to give a more general overview.

Brown Books and Green Tea

This is a recent favorite of mine. I love the focus on multicultural books, but also the way the blogger breaks down her reviews and thoughts on books. She makes me think, promotes really interesting books for deep reasons, and when she recommends something, it’s top notch.

Disability in Kidlit

If I’m going to be honest, I have a real love/hate relationship with this blog. I LOVE the idea: books featuring characters with disabilities reviewed by someone diagnosed with the disability. This gives a really insightful look at what a story looks like from a very specific angle. And a lot of the time, I find myself thinking, oh, wow. I never considered that. However, sometimes I get frustrated because it feels like so many of the reviews are very negative and really expect authors to capture these disabled characters with absolute perfection, and the hammer falls hard on those who fail. I think it’s truly important that we have stories that feature disabled characters, but as an aspiring writer, sometimes I wonder if blogs like this might scare writers out of trying to include them in their stories? I don’t know. Honestly, I love having the perspective the bloggers bring to the table. I think it’s a really important perspective, and I think authors should strive to accurately represent their characters, disabled or not.

Author Laura L. Smith’s Blog

I often find myself encouraged and inspired by these posts. Like her writing, Laura’s posts are very authentic, but they still manage to pull us toward beauty and wonder. I love that. I need that in my life. She’s awesome. Go read her books, too!

Review: The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

The Girl in the Well is Me
Karen Rivers
Algonquin Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When tough circumstances force Kammie’s family to relocate, she’s determined to make the most of the change. She approaches the prettiest, most popular girls and attempts to join their group. Only what results is Kammie standing on a board that splits and sends her tumbling into a well. Trapped and slowly sinking further, Kammie begs her new “friends” to help her get out. As she waits for them to bring help (and wonders if they’ve simply abandoned her) she begins to think about the good times lost and the struggles her family currently faces. Then she begins to run out of air. Joined by hallucinations, some less than friendly, Kammie wonders if she’ll be rescued, or if her last view of the world will be the dark interior of the well and the small circle of sky above her.

At first I worried that a story about a girl trapped in a well would be sort of boring. I imagine it’s kind of the way people felt before seeing Rear Window when they learned that the whole movie was filmed on a tiny set about a man in a wheelchair. (Other than the scene in which he breaks his leg, we see the whole movie from his apartment. Crazy.) Anyway – this book was not as suspenseful as the classic Hitchcock film, but it never tried to be. Still, it was far from boring.

I liked Kammie pretty immediately. She’s a spunky narrator. You can feel how hard she’s trying to fit in and have a posse around her and how lonely and isolated she is since all the drama with her family has happened. You know she’s worth ten of each of the silly girls she wanted to be friends with, and she’s smart enough to realize it, too.

I thought her relationship with her brother was especially moving. I can’t think of a lot of stories with good examples of brother/sister relationships during that time of life when sibs sometimes grow apart, each seeking their own identity. I liked that this story captured that process so well, even if it was bittersweet.

Kammie’s memories of her life before falling in the well are definitely what keeps the story moving between rescue-related events. Rivers unwinds bits and pieces of this nameless tragedy that shattered Kammie’s life, and it was easy to chase those hints and flashes down looking for what really happened to this remarkable girl.

I thought the tone and the brief use of profanity made it a heavier read than most other middle grade books. Don’t get me wrong – I thought the story was great. See below for more specifics on content.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One swear word is repeated several times in a sentence as Kammie realizes the dire situation she’s in. There are a few crude references to bodily functions.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Kammie thinks about her grandma, who has died, and wonders briefly if she’s in Heaven.

Violence
Girls play a prank on Kammie which leads to her falling into a well. Kammie sustains serious injuries due to her fall.

Drug Content
Her father drinks alcohol.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Top Ten Tuesday: When You’re In the Mood for Folk and Fairytales

Blogger's Favorites, Fantasy, Lists, Middle Grade 8-12, News and Fun, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Top Ten Tuesday is a Weekly Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is about finding books to fit our moods. Recently I read a post about some fairytales with a new twist, and it made me think of a few that I’m excited about. I’ve posted a list of books based on Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and stories about Merlin before, because I LOVE folk tales and fairytales retold. But this will be a fresh new list. Most of these books I’ve already read and reviewed, but there are a few I haven’t gotten to yet but am super excited to read.

Top Ten Folk or Fairytales Re-imagined

A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston – In this stunning retelling of the story of Scheherazade, a girl uses her ability to tell stories to battle a dark force controlling the king, her husband. Read my review.

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale – I stayed up all night reading this book during the final days of my grandmother’s life. Hale crafts an incredible story world in this heartwarming tale of friendship and love based on the Grimm Brother’s tale Maid Maleen. My review here.

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee – This tale inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen was one of those books that completely took me by surprise. I loved that Foxlee set the story in a museum. My review.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer – Okay, you knew there was going to be at least some mention of the Lunar Chronicles on this list. I was really hesitant to pick up an entire novel with themes from the story of Red Riding Hood. And then Scarlet and Wolf pretty much became my favorite TLC characters. Read my review.

Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund – This was a recent read for me, though I’d been meaning to get to it for the longest time. I’m a huge fan of The Scarlet Pimpernel, so I was nervous to read a new interpretation or story inspired by this great tale, but I’m so glad I did. I loved the sci-fi elements and how Peterfreund grafted them into the story. Here’s my review.

The Door by the Staircase by Katherine Marsh – Themes from Russian folklore, anyone? I’m so in. I haven’t read this one yet, but you’ll soon be seeing more about it here on The Story Sanctuary as I’ll be participating in a blog tour here in a few weeks.

Nightingale’s Nest by Nikki Loftin – I enjoyed this sweet middle grade story inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Nightingale.” My review.

Traitor’s Masque by Kenley Davidson – I haven’t read this one yet, either, but it looks really good, and I’ll be reviewing it soon. It’s a tale inspired by Cinderella. I’m really excited to read it.

The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley – This is kind of an oldie but definitely a goodie. It’s a retelling of Robin Hood with a wee bit of a feminist slant. (Seriously… do the men actually do anything in this story? I guess they do, but the women are usually behind them making it actually work…) Still, it was a nice read.

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury – This is a re-imagining of Aladdin in which the genie is a girl and falls in love with Aladdin. So a bit of a twist there. I’ve read the first several chapters in a sample from NetGalley, and I’m desperate to read the rest.

What’s on your list of mood-related reads?

Review: You Were Here by Cori McCarthy

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

You Were Here
Cori McCarthy
Sourcebooks Fire

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Jaycee intends to spend the anniversary of her brother Jake’s death the same way she spent the last one: exploring an abandoned building with her brother’s best friend. Jake’s death fractured Jaycee’s entire community, and even though it’s been five years since his death, her relationships remain in the same ruined condition as the broken mental institution she visits.

Her friends are determined to reach her, though. Even Mik, with whom Jaycee feels a powerful if wordless connection. As grief pushes Jaycee closer and closer to the edge, her friends realize the only way to save her is to join her and look into the face of all they lost the night Jake died.

This might be my favorite book so far this year. (Yes… I know, I just reviewed Winter! And it was great! But…. This book is something special.) I loved each of the characters. They felt desperately real, hopelessly flawed, and I couldn’t help rooting for them to work through the angst and grief and all the things that have been holding them back.

I LOVED how McCarthy uses images to tell the story. One character’s experience is related entirely in pictures of graffiti he’s posted in places the characters travel. And Mik – the boy who rarely speaks – had his story told in graphic novel panels. I’ve never seen that done before, but it really captured that silent-but-present feeling that he brought to the story. He was my favorite, but he doesn’t have a huge lead over some of the other characters. They were all just great.

One of the things I thought was great about this story, too, is that even though it’s all about how Jaycee idolizes her brother and how tragic his death is, the tale also goes into some of the way that keeping that lost person on a pedestal can become unhealthy. Sometimes our memories get warped and we only want to remember the good parts, which can sometimes be damaging. I also liked how the story dealt with the loss of this one person, but showed how the accident had more of a global effect on the community.

Despite all the things I loved, there’s some mature content in this novel. Check the information below to see if it’s the right read for you or one you feel comfortable recommending.

Profanity/ Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
Natalie and her boyfriend Zack have had sex. At one point, he wants to go to a party, and she uses the promise of sex to deter him from going. They disappear into the woods to have sex at one point, but the event isn’t described. One night she puts herself in a compromising position with a boy known for taking advantage of girls. She’s too drunk to know if anything happened between them, but it’s possible that she slept with him.

Jaycee wonders about Mik’s romantic history. He’s older than she is, and she worries that he has more experience than she does. He patiently answers her questions, but doesn’t offer details. At one point they reach under each other’s shirts and touch for a moment.

Spiritual Content
Jaycee dwells mostly on things from Jake’s life and very little on whether he’s in heaven or somewhere now that he’s gone.

Violence
There are a couple of skirmishes between the boys. Nothing grisly. One boy’s older brother picks on him relentlessly. One girl has issues with cutting. It’s only mentioned peripherally.

Drug Content
Zack really likes getting drunk. Natalie drinks too much at a party and pays some serious consequences. Jaycee and Zack drink together in an abandoned building. Jaycee gets buzzed pretty easily because she doesn’t usually drink.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Across a Star-swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Across a Star-swept Sea (For Darkness Shows the Stars #2)
Diana Peterfreund
Balzer + Bray

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Persis Blake has two lives. In one, she’s the center of high society and the Albion queen’s best friend. In the other, she’s the Wild Poppy, rescuing prisoners of the neighboring kingdom’s revolution. When a refugee connected to the head of the Galatean revolution shows up seeking asylum, Persis can’t help but suspect his motives. Justen, a Galatean medic and scientist, carries a secret with him into exile. One that could provide the Galatean Revolutionaries with an even more powerful weapon. Persis and Justen begin to fall for one another, but there’s just one problem. Their love could jeopardize everything.

I bought this book years ago on pure name recognition. I’d been in an email loop for young adult writers with Diana Peterfreund (go TeenLitAuthors!) and her contributions to the group stood out to me as being really helpful. So when I saw this book on the shelf at Barnes & Noble, I was like, hey I like her! And I picked it up.

Once I realized it was a story inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, one of my favorite classic tales, I was nervous. I mean… I LOVE that story. And I love the movie with Jane Seymour. So I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the story for pointing out things that didn’t translate well into this sci-fi setting.

How wrong I was. It was obvious to me in reading this story that Peterfreund is a huge fan of The Scarlet Pimpernel. There were moments where I literally put the book down and turned to my husband exclaiming something along the lines of, “I can’t believe she put this in the story! It’s absolutely classic TSP!”

The biggest change of course is the addition of all the sci-fi elements. Instead of Madame Guillotine, we have a drug that causes brain damage. Revolutionaries force this on their imprisoned enemies and treat them as slaves. Within the context of the story, it really translated well. I liked that it raised some big moral questions and still maintained the urgency needed to fuel the Wild Poppy’s action. I loved that Across a Star-swept Sea reversed the gender roles of many of the characters.

The point-of-view of each character was really well-done, too. When I was in the POV of a soldier, it felt like being inside a military mind. When I was in Justen’s POV, I watched him break down situations the way a scientist would. When I was in Persis’s POV, I watched her struggle with all the competing parts of her identity.

If you liked These Broken Stars, I think you should definitely check out Across a Star-swept Sea. Though it’s the second in a series, I think it’s fine to read as a stand-alone. I do want to go back and read the first book, but I didn’t have any trouble following this book without having read the other one first. I hesitate to compare it to the Lunar Chronicles – both are great, and I highly recommend them. The writing felt different to me, but still really good. But yes. I think if you liked the fairytales-gone-sci-fi elements of Cinder, you’ll probably like Across the Star-swept Sea.

Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A couple of intense kisses.

Spiritual Content
A brief comment stating that some believe a global misfortune is due to the gods taking revenge on humanity for attempting to perfect themselves.

Violence
There are a couple of quick skirmishes between soldiers, but most of the violence deals more with the use of a weapon which reduces one’s mental capacity. It’s a punishment that revolutionaries use against imprisoned enemies. The story follows discussion about whether there are just instances to use such a weapon. I loved the exploration of this topic and felt like the moral consequences were clearly stated.

Drug Content
See violence. A pill contains the ability to reduce one’s mental capabilities. Also, this society has the ability to temporarily supplement or enhance genes to change the way one looks. It’s still fairly new, fairly controversial, but several characters use the technology to create disguises.

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Top Ten Diverse Reads

Blogger's Favorites, Lists, Middle Grade 8-12, News and Fun, Young Adult/Teen 12-18,

Top Ten Tuesday is a Weekly Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is top ten books which are outside the normal scope of what we read. I am pretty territorial about my reading time, so I pretty much stick to young adult and middle grade fiction with a few nonfiction books thrown in for sanity sake. This made the topic was a little tough for me. One of the things I’ve realized over the last year or so is that sometimes I need to be purposeful about choosing books with narrators who are different than me. Whether that means different in terms of race, gender, identity, or experience. Here are ten books that I really enjoyed in which the narrator and I, though we share many other qualities, have some obvious differences.

Top Ten Diverse Reads

  1. Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson – This novel in poetry captured me immediately. I loved the lyrical feel of the lines and Lonnie gripped my heart right away. My full review here.
  2. Dream Things True by Marie Marquardt – I loved the way Marquardt made me see the life of an immigrant family from the inside. The story challenged some ideas I’d had and made me reevaluate them. Definitely the mark of a good book, in my opinion. My full review here.
  3. Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas – Moritz, a blind boy with supernatural ability to hear his surroundings, pretty much had me at hello. I couldn’t help being drawn into his tragic story and hoping for him to find his way through it. My full review here.
  4. This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp – This one was a tough read for me. It’s about a school shooting and revolves through the point-of-view of several characters connected to the shooter. Nijkamp fills the pages with a large, diverse cast of characters and manages to make each seem real and authentic. This is a must-read for anyone looking for stories with that kind of diversity. Read my full review.
  5. On a Clear Day by Walter Dean Myers – This is another story with a diverse cast of characters. Myers is an author I’ve been really wanting to read more. I read several reviews claiming this isn’t his best work, but I enjoyed the story. My review.
  6. Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman – If you follow Children’s Literature at all, you don’t need me to tell you how amazing this book is. I was blown away by how cleverly the story is put together and how heartbreaking it is to watch it unfold. If you haven’t read it, seriously, grab a copy now. It’s incredible. Read my review.
  7. Sold by Patricia McCormick – This was another tough read. It’s about a young girl raised in an impoverished town in Nepal whose family sells her into prostitution. Though the horrors of her life are not much described in the story, it’s easy to imagine what it’s like for girls who truly do live this life.  My review here.
  8. Wonder by R. J. Palacio – If you’ve been around The Story Sanctuary long, you’ve probably heard me talk about how much I love this book. It was so good that when I finished, I immediately bought copies for other people. Every character leaped right into my heart, Auggie not least of all. So good. My review.
  9. Blue Gold by Elizabeth Stewart – This is a recent read. I loved the way Stewart humanized the plight of so many nameless refugees and factory workers overseas. I never felt preached at. Instead, it was like opening a window and looking into lives so different than my own. Read my review here.
  10. Li Jun and the Iron Road by Anne Tait – I suppose in more ways than one, this book was outside my usual go-to read. It’s a historical tale, which I’m not in any way opposed to, I’m just more often drawn to contemporary or fantasy stories. I liked that it gave me a window into history that I really didn’t know much about before picking up the book. It’s about the construction of the railroad in Canada. My husband and I visited Vancouver as part of our honeymoon trip, and I would love to go back to that area and learn more about it. This book only helped fuel that fire. My review.