"Far away from here, following the Jade River, there was once a black mountain that cut into the sky like a jagged piece of rough metal. The villagers called it Fruitless Mountain because nothing grew on it and birds and animals did not rest there."
Special Delivery Book Anniversary and Selfish Holidays
Celebrating the 5 year book anniversary of Special Delivery:
What's Special Delivery? It's a children's book that I wrote when Mini Me was two years old and I was pregnant with Macy, my daughter who lived only briefly. One sleepless night I couldn't get these words out of my head as we were figuring out how to tell Mini Me that her sister was likely going to die.
Eventually, for Macy's funeral, we had five books printed at a local shop. And then, in 2012, we received a grant from Sappi Ideas That Matter to have the book published so that we could distribute them to other families, free of cost.
First Pages: The Fault in Our Stars
"Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death."
Unicorns versus Goats
I'm keeping with the unicorn theme for the next few book recommendations, thus locking in my other moniker as Dr. Unicorn/the Unicorn doctor. :D This time we're talking about Bob Shea's Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great in which a unicorn takes on a goat in a fight. Sort of.
First Pages: If I Stay
"Everyone thinks it was because of the snow. And in a way, I suppose that's true."
Uni the Unicorn and the Dream Come True
I had NO idea that there was going to be a sequel to Uni the Unicorn, especially as Amy Krouse Rosenthal passed away last Spring. However, I do know that the picture book publishing process is a long one and she likely finished this book several years ago. Having said that, I can't help but think that this is Rosenthal's swan song, and what a beautiful one it is.
First Pages: Book Scavenger
"Garrison Griswold whistled his way down Market Street, silver hair bobbing atop his head like a pigeon wing. He tapped his trademark walking stick, striped in Bayside Press colors, to the beat of his tune."
Mother of Dragons
Common Welsh Green Dragon from Harry Potter, Tsunami Dragon from Wings of Fire, and Mother of Dragons, not really from Game of Thrones :D
First Pages: The Hunger Games
"When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping."
First Pages: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
"The big question is: Is Origami Yoda real?
Well, of course he's real. I mean he's a real finger paper made out of a real piece of paper."
First Pages: Everything, Everything
"I've read many more books than you. It doesn't matter how many you've read. I've read more. Believe me. I've had the time."
First Pages: Eleanor & Park
First Pages: Eleanor & Park
"XTC was no good for drowning out the morons at the back of the bus."
First Pages: Twilight
As promised, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight is the second book in our first pages study session this month in honor of National Novel Writing Month. Why? Again because both the Harry Potter series and The Twilight Saga were instrumental in changing the face of children's book publishing.
"I'd never given much thought to how I would die--though I'd had reason enough in the last few months--but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this."
First Pages: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
First Lines: In the years I've participated in National Novel Writing Month in the past, I was part of a large group of women writers who would send messages of encouragement during the month. One of the first posts was inevitably "First Lines" in which we would share the first lines of the novel we were working on. I thought it would be fun to dissect and discover the First Lines/First Pages of some of the best YA/middle grade novels.
The first? Harry Potter, of course.
The Hate U Give Read-Along, Part 2
For this part of the discussion of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, I want to talk about family. Last post, I talked about the strong sense of community that Thomas wrote about. The center of it all is the Carter family. I mention it in our part one discussion, but I think this strong sense of community and family really comes into fruition in the second half of the novel.
Leo, A Ghost Story
It's the time of ghost and goblins and ghouls. And it's also the perfect time for me to recommend Leo: A Ghost Story to you all. Currently I've been fangirling (Is fanboying a saying too?) over picture books that have a very specific monochromatic color scheme. And picture books that are more than what they seem. Leo: A Ghost Story encompasses both of those things!
Fridays I'm in Love
On Fridays on my way to work, I see the same man walking toward the cemetery with a huge bunch of flowers. I only see him if I go to work after dropping off the girls, but like clockwork, he is there with his fisherman's vest on, and that bright bundle of flowers. Every time I see him, I can't help but smile. But it's a bittersweet smile.
The Hate U Give Read-Along, Part 1
Dr. Bookworm hosts her second epic 'read-along'. Come join our virtual book club in discussion ofAngie Thomas' The Hate U Give.
Still I Rise
Dr. Bookworm's take on Banned Books Week.
The Unicorn Doctor and Uni the Unicorn
One of my patients calls me 'the unicorn doctor'. It's true. And, it's oh so flattering.
In honor of my little patient, I'm going to do a review recommendation of Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Uni the Unicorn