MMGM: THREE TIMES LUCKY (Review and Giveaway)

This one doesn't release until May 10th, but I'm giving away my ARC to one lucky commenter. ;o)

THREE TIMES LUCKY, by Sheila Turnage, refers to how Mo (short for Moses) is lucky that, when she was a baby, her mother's tying her to a makeshift raft saved her during a terrible hurricane, lucky the Colonel was handy to save her from the flood, and lucky that Miss Lana decided to keep her. The reader is lucky that Mo has spent so much time piecing together her past that she's practically a detective; by the end of the fifth chapter there's a murder to be solved, and her best friend is the only real suspect.

And this isn't one of those stories where you find out it was just an accident or a misunderstanding. Those tend to make me crazy. There's at least one seriously scary person running amok in Tupelo Landing, and Mo has to figure out out who the bad guys are before they hurt or kill the people she cares most about. THREE TIMES LUCKY is a wild ride. I loved it: beginning, middle, and ending. Oh, how I loved the ending! If you're into middle grade and murder mysteries, this book is a happy combination.


As I mentioned before, I'm giving away my ARC to one commenter. This contest is open internationally and will close at midnight on Thursday. I'll announce the winner on Friday. If you'd like to read about more Marvelous Middle Grades, the following people would love to oblige you:

Shannon Whitney Messenger (our founding mother)
Joanne Fritz 
Shannon O'Donnell 
Barbara Watson
Michael Gettel-Gilmartin
Natalie Aguirre
Deb Marshall
Karen Yingling


Have a Marvelous Monday! 

Have You Read INCARNATE?

If you haven't read INCARNATE, by Jodi Meadows, you'll want to find a copy. I won mine by participating in the treasure hunt that I mentioned in my last post. This story kept me up into the wee hours of the morning, and then, as soon as I had a moment to myself the next day, I picked it up to read the ending all over again. I wish I had the sequel, not that she leaves you hanging. She doesn't. I just wanted more. Some things, they make you happy, you know?

There are so many things I loved about this book, but explaining them would spoil it. For instance, page 104 is so perfect that I read it three times, but it's only perfect because the previous pages led up to it. I loved the personality quirks of the characters, but there again, you'll want to discover those on your own. I will tell you that music is important. My favorite line (a response to X telling Y not to die): "And leave you alone with my piano? Not a chance." There isn't an emoticon to convey how that line made me feel, but maybe your favorite line will be different.

The premise: Ana is born into a world of people whose souls are reincarnated. Everyone remembers their past lives, everyone but Ana. She's new. She's replaced one of the the old souls. And you can see how it would follow that logically it might be frightening for the others to realize they could cease to exist. There might be some resentment. Some fear. But there might be others who will accept her for who she is.

And there might be a lot of scenes that center around playing a piano. :o)

Did I mention that there's a blurb from Robin McKinley on the back of the book? *sigh* "INCARNATE has an eerie and intriguing premise and I am looking forward to seeing where Jodi Meadows takes it next."

Yeah. What she said.

On a more personal note, my hand is NOT broken. I'm typing and playing the piano again, and I wanted to share a piece that I'm working on. No, I'm not inflicting my playing on you, but Mitsuko Uchida's version of Mozart's Sonata in A Major, K. 331 is lovely. The bit in my lesson book is only the beginning of this, but even that little bit is uplifting, peaceful and energizing at the same time. I love playing it.

Are there any books or songs that just make you feel happy? If so, please share in the comments! :o)

   

Monkeys, Wrenches, and Mount Doom: The Problem With More

The problem with taking more time for one thing (or more than one thing) is that it means taking that time from something else. That is why I tried to balance my Mores with Lesses, and I still think it could work. I just need better self-control (especially when it comes to the internet).

But have you seen Jodi Meadow's INCARNATE Theater Treasure Hunt? It's kind of like getting sucked down a rabbit hole (in a good way). You have until February 6th to play. :o)

Speaking of monkeys and wrenches or monkey wrenches or wretched monkeys, if exercising is one of your Mores, make sure you're getting enough iron. Yeah. Working out so much that you make yourself anemic (sick and exhausted) is counter-productive. I know. You probably could have told me that. But I'm feeling a lot better now that I'm taking iron supplements. Unfortunately, the boy picked up a wicked cough, this week, and now everyone is snuffling. And I may have broken my hand, yesterday, but really, I hope not. Le sigh.

On a more positive note, I don't hate the revision I'm working on at the moment. The last couple of months have been rough, but I've given myself permission to save draft six (as is) and move on to draft seven. This allows me to use the delete button (copiously) without feeling like I've wasted the last two or three months of my life.

It's funny. This laptop has never had a nickname, but ever since the conversation that led to abandoning draft six, I can't help calling it Mount Doom. :o)

Have a great weekend!  

MIDNIGHT IN AUSTENLAND Winner

First of all, I want to thank everyone who entered this contest. Reading your comments made me smile. I felt like I could relate to each of you, whether you wanted to design your own fabric or learn to draw or play a musical instrument or slam dunk a basketball. I let Daxton pick the winner out of a bowl this time, and he chose Pica (who wants to learn a new language). So, Pica, please e-mail me your address, and I'll order your copy. Hopefully it will get there by the release date.

Thanks again, everyone! I really hope that you go after the dreams you listed in your comments. And I hope you get your hands on a copy of Shannon Hale's MIDNIGHT IN AUSTENLAND. It's wonderful. :o)

MMGM: DARTH PAPER STRIKES BACK

I'm cutting back to one Marvelous Middle Grade Monday a month (on the fourth Monday), this year, mostly because I felt like, last year, they took over my blog.

This week, I am (respectfully) disagreeing with those reviewers who didn't like Tom Angleberger's DARTH PAPER STRIKES BACK as much as they liked his THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA. If you haven't read the first one, you can click here for my review.

I put off reading this one because I didn't want to be disappointed (sequels are often disappointing), but this one is delightful. Seriously, if my middle-school-aged self had gone to school with Dwight, there's a good chance I'd have been crushing on him. I thought the ending even more brilliant than the first book's. The way Angleberger portrayed the student interaction with the various teachers and administrators reminded me of E. L. Konigsburg's THE VIEW FROM SATURDAY (my favorite Konigsburg novel). Angleberger captures the emerging independence (problem solving), the cruelty, the awkward compassion, and the defiant loyalty that set this age group apart. And he does it with humor.

I highly recommend this one, especially for Star Wars geeks. It even includes a 5-Fold Origami Yoda that converts into a 10-Fold Darth Paper. But . . . read THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA, first, you must.


If you'd like to read about more Marvelous Middle Grades, the following people would love to oblige you: 

Shannon Whitney Messenger (our founding mother)

Joanne Fritz 

Shannon O'Donnell 

Barbara Watson

Michael Gettel-Gilmartin

Natalie Aguirre

Deb Marshall

Have a Marvelous Monday! 

   

MIDNIGHT IN AUSTENLAND Giveaway

Happiness is curling up with a new Shannon Hale novel. Really. One of my blogging friends shared her ARC of MIDNIGHT IN AUSTENLAND, by Shannon Hale, and I totally loved it. Not as frothy as AUSTENLAND, this one still made me laugh out loud. A lot.

I hate spoilers, so I'll keep the description short. Set in Pembrook Park, a place where women can go for a "Jane Austen experience," MIDNIGHT IN AUSTENLAND is part murder mystery (though whether the murder happened or not is part of the mystery), part romance, and part satire. If you're a fan of Austen's NORTHANGER ABBEY, I think you will especially love it. But I also think this one is more likely (than AUSTENLAND) to appeal to someone who's never read anything by Jane Austen. Charlotte was just so easy for me to relate to.

Reading the novel made me think about how it can be hard for us to say "no" to other people, and yet we tell ourselves "no" all the time. For instance, I've been wanting to take piano lessons for most of my life, but I'd always told myself that I didn't have the time or money. Well, for the most part, we determine what we have time and money for. I already had a piano, and I was signing my son up for lessons. So, I started taking lessons in August, and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. I'm not a prodigy, but I love it. Also, when I was in college, I really liked latin dancing (one of those Spanish major things), so when one of my friends started teaching a Zumba class, I wanted to try it. But I told myself "no." Why? I'm not really sure. I started going last week, and it is seriously fun. I come out of the class humming and dancing and in a much better mood than I was when I went in.

Now, I'm not advocating debt or sugar comas, but . . . just try it. Take something you've been putting off, something that will enrich your life, and work towards it. You're worth it.

Oh, and I'm giving away a pre-order for MIDNIGHT IN AUSTENLAND. You don't have to be a follower. To enter, just tell me (in the comments) something you'd really like to do. And if you leave a link in the comments, I'll give you an extra entry for sharing. That's two possible entries per person. The contest is open internationally (as long as The Book Depository ships to your location), and it ends Monday, January 23rd (Chinese New Year), at midnight.

:o)
    

More or Less

Amy Sonnichsen won the picture books! Congrats, Amy! You can thank Gwenyth for choosing your number. :o)

So, 2012 just happens to be the year of the dragon, and I just happen to be . . . a monkey.

Okay, not really. I am a dragon (What are you?), but by Larry's reasoning, a dragon could be a monkey. So far, this year is looking better than 2011. Dragons make everything better. Nope. I'm not prejudiced. It's true. ;o)

At the beginning of the year (or the month, week, or day) I usually make a to-do list to give me direction. I don't beat myself up for not crossing everything off. It helps me prioritize and evaluate how different areas in my life are going. For instance, last year, I crossed off nearly all of my writing goals, but I didn't do so well in the health area. Because of this, I'm taking a more aggressive stance on exercise (which apparently I can't spell when I'm tired), diet, hydration, and especially sleep. Not getting enough sleep is my worst bad health habit. I'm something of an insomniac (with kids and a day job).

I started brainstorming and came up with something I've never had as part of my "New Year's Resolutions" before. It reminded me a bit of playing "What if?" Only, I kept it simple. I compiled a "More or Less" list, and it looked something like this (but longer):

More music
More poetry
More reading aloud
More gardening
More playing with my kids
More exercising
More sleeping
Less internet
Less sugar

You get the idea. I could write whole posts explaining each of those, but I won't (not this month). I won't be on the internet as much this year (if I'm sticking to my resolutions). I'll still be around. I'll still post, but I may schedule a month in advance to let myself play hooky. My writing brain (especially the part that writes poetry) and my blogging brain don't always get along. Also, I've noticed that my kids all want more Mom Time than they're getting, and I need to do something about it. Internet time isn't essential. It just feels that way, especially when I'm tired.

You might not even notice a difference (other than I'll only be posting MMGMs once a month), but hopefully I will.

May your 2012 be filled with More (whatever yours might be).