Seven Days to Goodbye--And a Giveaway!

What do you get when you mix together a week at Edisto Island with your best friend, connecting to guys for the first time in your life, meeting a young autistic boy who falls in love with your service dog, and the thrill of protecting a loggerhead turtle's nest? You get the ingredients for Sheri Levy's debut novel, Seven Days to Goodbye. 

Faithful blog readers will remember that I blogged about Sheri's path to publication last spring. Today I'm pleased to review this book for middle school girls and offer it as a giveaway.

Trina, the 13-year-old protagonist has been training her service dog, Sydney, for a year. Her beach vacation doubles as a fun time introducing her Australian Shepherd to the ocean but it is bittersweet; Trina knows it will end by returning him to his kennel for his final training. This heart-tug theme is woven through out the book as Trina wrestles with knowing that her job is over and wondering if she could ever take on training another puppy.

In this sweet coming of age story readers will sympathize with Trina as she tries to figure out how to gain more independence from her parents; how to relate to a best friend who is quickly smitten by Peyton, a guy they meet in the beach; and how to talk to Chase, Peyton's brother--who just might be interested in her.

For me, one of the most touching parts of this book is Trina's interaction with Logan, Chase and Peyton's autistic seven-year-old brother. Together Trina and Sydney are able to relate to Logan in such a way that helps him begin to communicate better. Here is an excerpt from their first meeting on the beach:

I called to Logan.

He did a one-sided skip toward me.

"Do you want to practice calling Sydney?"

He nodded and his eyes rose for a moment.

"Say, 'Sydney…Come.'"

Logan clapped and bounced.

I patted his shoulder and said, "Stand. Don't move. Then Sydney can listen."

After a couple more hops, his hands grabbed his shorts and squeezed. He gulped short breaths of air and then shouted, "Syd-ney." He started to clap and then put his hands back on his shorts and said, "Come."

Sydney raced to Logan.

I said, "Good boy, Sydney."

Logan's eyes caught mine before he bowed his head.

I finished saying, "Logan, you did great."

Logan held a treat in front of Syd's face. "Good doggie. Good Syd-ney."

I tingled inside. This was a perfect example of Sydney's talent. I stretched taller, seeing the happiness in Logan's face. "Can I hug you, Logan?" (p.69)

Sheri's background in teaching children with special needs as well as her own experience with rescue dogs is infused into this book. If you are interested in receiving a gently read autographed copy, including an opportunity to download a free e-book version, please leave me a comment by 8 PM on October 16th. If I don't have your contact information, make sure you leave that too. U.S. addresses only. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I Saw and How I Lied

Congratulations to Donna Earnhardt who won last week's giveaway and will receive Gretchen Griffith's picture book, "When Christmas Feels Like Home." Don't be discouraged if you didn't win. Next week Deanna Klingel will share her winning query letter along with a chance to win "Cracks In the Ice."

Today, I want to share my thoughts on the 2008 National Book Award winner What I Saw and How I Lied; a book which could easily be subtitled, "Things aren't always as they seem." 

I was attracted to this audio book since my work-in-progress Half-Truths deals with the theme of family secrets. Set in 1947, author Judy Blundell, tells the story of 15-year-old Evie Spooner, who uncovers a series of lies which her beloved mother and step-father tell.

Her step-father, Joe Spooner, is a World War II veteran who marries Evie's attractive mother, Bev. In a moment worthy of being mentioned in the pages of LIFE magazine, Bev is rescued from a life of being leered at by men in order to give Evie a "normal" father like every other girl has.  

But what Evie doesn't realize, is that Joe brings baggage -- in the form of money from goods that were stolen from the Nazis who stole it from the Jews-- to the marriage. 

When 23-year-old Peter Coleridge follows the family to a vacation in Florida, Evie falls head over heels in love with him. Joe reluctantly admits that Pete served with him in the war and Evie doesn't understand Joe's resentment to Peter. Caught up in her own "first love" Evie doesn't see how her mother also sneaks away to see Peter. 

Blundell creates two believable stories: the "top story" of a young girl's infatuation, what she does to gain her crush's attention, and how she innocently sees the world; and then the "underside" story of events which leave her parents accused of an heinous crime. Evie comes of age as she recognizes that events can be portrayed, explained, and even legitimized -- all depending on your point of view.   

Blundell did an excellent job of depicting life immediately following World War II and the aftermath which both veterans and their families faced. In the author's note at the end of the book, Blundell explains how she immersed herself in the music and literature of the time period. Her diligence to details shows. 

Since I am also writing a post-World War II book that deals with lies and deception, this book challenges me to authentically portray my characters' struggles. 

I disagree with the publisher's suggestion that this is a book for 9-12 year olds. I think the hint at sexual activity, violence, and the complicated family allegiances make this more appropriate as a young adult book. 

The Ballad of Jessie Pearl & A Giveaway!

The only thing that I didn't like about Shannon Hitchcock's debut novel, The Ballad of Jessie Pearl, (Namelos, 2012) is that it ended. The fact that I wanted to know what happened to Jessie, proves that this well-written historical fiction is a must-read for young adult girls, as well as their mothers and grandmothers. 

The time is 1922 and the place is rural North Carolina; a time when young girls are fortunate to graduate from eighth grade and not many leave home to pursue higher education. It's also a time when young men like Jessie's beau, J.T., leave sharecropping on a tobacco farm to earn more money at the Reynolds factory in Winston. 

When Jessie's sister Carrie is diagnosed with tuberculosis soon after giving birth to her first son, Ky, Jessie has no choice but to drop out of school to take care of the house, Carrie, and Ky. Carrie dies and Jessie is caught between her desire to help her family and her dream of becoming a teacher. Throw her powerful feelings for J.T. into the mix, and you have a wonderful stew of conflict portrayed in this scene when J.T. announces his decision to leave:

"You're leaving me?" I ask.

"It's not like that," J.T. Says. "I'm goin' so I can save money. So that I can take care of you someday."

I stomp my foot in the dirt. "Let me tell you how it really is. You're going because you don't want to be a sharecropper like your pa. I didn't enter into your decision. And don't pretend like I did."

J.T. nods. "You're partly right. I don't want to be a sharecropper, but I still want to marry you someday. I shouldn't have to choose."

I give him a sad smile. "You already did. I can't leave here. I promised Carrie I'd take care of her son."

.....

J.T.'s hands ball into fists. "Why do you have to make me feel so guilty? If you had the chance to leave for teacher's college, you'd take it."

Ky whispers and I jostle him on my hip. "Would I? I just don't know anymore. The feelings I have for you tie my heart in knots." (p. 76-77)

The Ballad of Jesse Pearl is a coming of age book similar to another excellent young adult novel, A Northern Light. I appreciate how both writers portray realistic characters and conflicts for the time period in which the girls lived.

Poetic images fill the pages of a story taken from Shannon's own family history. 

Anna and Crawley Hennings,
Shannon Hitchcock's great aunts.
Crawley's life, sickness and death, was the model for Jessie Pearl.

Watch this book trailer, created by Wendy Hostetter Davis, and you will see a glimpse of this beautiful story: 

I am giving away a copy of the ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) along with a copy of the annotated discussion and activity guide. You don't have to be a teacher to win, but you might consider passing along Jessie Pearl to your favorite classroom after you read it. The giveaway will end on Monday morning, February 4th.  To enter please:

• Share this contest on your social media of your choice and leave me a comment with your email address. 

                  OR,

• Sign up to follow my blog and then leave me a comment with your email address. 

Riot: Multi-Racial Read #6

This powerful novel written in screenplay format, takes place during four hot days in July, 1863. Walter Dean Myers layers conflict after conflict into this little known story about the riot between African Americans and Irish immigrants in New York City. 


On the national level, the Civil War rages and Abraham Lincoln has just instituted the first draft law. Wealthy businessmen can pay $300.00 to any man willing to take their place on the battlefield. Tensions are high as Irish immigrants compete with blacks for jobs. 


Into this hot stew of passions and emotions, Myers places Claire, a 15-year-old light-skinned daughter of a black man and an Irish woman. Her struggles for racial identity and adulthood scaffold this dramatic narrative.


Here are some of the poignant questions which she asks during these tumultuous days. During the riots she asks, "If it's my skin that makes me unsafe, can I take it off and put it in the drawer somewhere until the streets are safe again?...Can I change [my skin] like I change my dress or my apron?"


To her mother she asks, "Where is this safety you're talking about? And if I'm black and you're white, where is this family you're talking about?"


As she muses about her own experiences during the riot she says, "I just wanted to be a human being...without a race or a place in life. What is so wrong with that?" And, "Our skin made us targets, not our hearts."


She realizes she is growing up when she says, "I'm finding a black woman where there was only a girl before."


She thinks about the future, after the war, and asks, "Will we be trapped in our skins? Forever held to being different because we are not white?"


Towards the end she concludes hopefully, "If we can't go back, we should try even harder to go forward."

******

I listened to the audio book which was enhanced by sound effects of the street scenes and period music, including a moving African American spiritual. The interview with Myers at the end was also insightful. I would recommend Riot for girls and boys of ages 12 and up; it will enhance American history classes as well as discussions on prejudice, immigration, economics, and race relations.