I did that brain fart thing and forgot I blog on Tuesdays now. *head thunk* In fact I was laying in bed (enjoying the humidity-NOT!) and letting my mind wander. Book 3 has been calling me to start from scratch and reinvent my previous ideas. This morning those ideas started percolating. *fist pump* I’ve been reading some fabulous articles on writing lately and it’s really helped me to grow with my writing. I love that inspiration and great content are out there for the taking. *hugs whole world* But I digress–back to my brain fart. I’m lying in bed with my brain whirring away when BAM!
**BLOG POST ALERT**
I forgot to write my Tuesday post. Now it’s like–oh, crap–what do I write about? *No you can’t have coffee until you finish* But *insert whiny voice* All I really I want to do is concentrate on the last of my revisions and continue to day dream and mind plot my next novel. I can’t be witty or helpful when that much of my brain is in use. In fact sometimes I can’t be witty and helpful with a lot less of my brain in use. But this must get done ASAP! So, I flip to YouTube, looking for a life-altering vlog that will make you forget my incompetence and I find this…
And I know it doesn’t have anything to do with anything, but I found it pretty darn amusing. And since it isn’t even hump day yet, its very humid, I’m tired because I’ve been up since 6am plotting and I planned on revising in a park around my kid’s schedules today and it’s RAINING–I’ll take the little things. Enjoy the chuckle. What would be your criteria for naming hurricanes and what would you name the next one? Have you been day dreaming about your plots? Any great writing advice or inspiration that you’ve been reading about?
While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women’s concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her?
Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival.
Praise for Rose Under Fire
* “Wein masterfully sets up a stark contrast between the innocent American teen’s view of an untarnished world and the realities of the Holocaust. [A]lthough the story’s action follows [Code Name Verity]’s, it has its own, equally incandescent integrity. Rich in detail, from the small kindnesses of fellow prisoners to harrowing scenes of escape and the Nazi Doctors’ Trial in Nuremburg, at the core of this novel is the resilience of human nature and the power of friendship and hope.” –Kirkus, starred review
* “Wein excels at weaving research seamlessly into narrative and has crafted another indelible story about friendship borne out of unimaginable adversity.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review
Kimberly’s REview of ROSE UNDER FIRE:
Sometimes great books are hard to review. There is just so much to love and respect you don’t know where to start. ROSE UNDER FIRE is one of those books. EVERYONE SHOULD BE READING THIS BOOK–teens, parents, grandparents, teachers. All human beings over the age of fourteen should be reading this book.
I didn’t believe that Elizabeth Wein could capture more of my respect and adoration, than she already did by writing CODE NAME VERITY, but I tip my hat and touch my heart in deference to what she has created. The world is a better place because her books are in it.
Don’t let this one pass you by. Make the effort.
You can find out more about ROSE UNDER FIRE and Elizabeth Wein HERE.
Looking for more great Bookanistas Book Reviews? Here’s what we’ve been reading…
In what capacity has the Holocaust touched your life? I read The Diary of Anne Frank many times while growing up. I also was able to visit two concentration camps (Dachau and Auschwitz) while my husband and I were stationed in Germany. These experiences have stuck with me and I am glad to be a part of the people who don’t want to forget how easy it is to lose our humanity. How do you stay connected to this piece of our history?
I try very hard to stay attentive to the “coincidences” in my life. I’ve come to believe that the people and things that cross my path on a regular basis are there for a reason. And my life has changed for the better since I’ve started to accept that there is a bigger purpose for all things–even the little ones.
I can’t remember what blog or conversation sent me to purchase a copy of FAILING FORWARD: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success by John C. Maxwell but it ended up on my Kindle. I also don’t know why I had the sudden urge to pull it out the other night and begin reading it, but WOW! It was exactly what I needed. A reminder that success is not a product of avoiding mistakes, it’s the ability to pick yourself up and use the experience to move forward.
This got me thinking about a poem that I had hanging in my locker all throughout high school. I even used part of it as my senior quote…
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned
too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
Author Unknown
You might be wondering why the universe is sending me these messages, but I’m not. (I told you–I pay a lot more attention than I used to LOL!) It’s because I’m finishing a revision, working on a draft and playing with a secret little writing project in the middle of a lot of other big changes in my life. And this translates into…I’M SCARED. Unknowns are kinda frightening. At least they scare the heck out of me. I have big dreams and what if I can’t reach them? I want to be amaze-balls. Yup, I said it. I’ve never wanted to be ordinary. I’ve wanted to be extraordinary. I’ve always wanted to change the world. And the reason I haven’t really done it up until now is not because of the million and one excuses I can drum up at the tip of my tongue. (I’ve used them often.) It’s because I haven’t always been listening to the universal memo…
EVERYONE FAILS. THERE IS NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT IT.
EXTRAORDINARY IS WHAT HAPPENS AFTER FAILURE.
Why have I fought this concept so hard for so long? Why do I forget it sometimes, even when I know it? I have no freaking idea. My guess is that being scared is a pretty big, life defining thing. But I’m seeing steady growth and change in myself. I find the beauty of failure quicker and hold it longer than I ever have. And I’m appreciative of all the little reminders that cross my path and help me to keep failing with style. And because I like to share, it would make me feel good to be your push in the right direction today…
Fail forwards.
Don’t quit.
Don’t forget how far you’ve come by picking yourself up and dusting yourself off. Think about your most epic failure that turned into something amazing. Define your biggest loss that turned out to be your silver lining. You all know mine–when I lost my dad I woke up and decided to stop failing myself. The most beautiful, bittersweet, epic moment ever.
For today’s Bookanistas Review, I have fellow Bookanista Tracy E. Banghart and her very intriguing YA novel BY BLOOD.
For 17-year-old Emma Wong, spending a summer in England should be a dream come true. Gorgeous scenery? Check. Lots of hot guys with accents? Yes, please.
Throw in an estranged mom, annoying new stepdad, and drooling baby half-brother, and it’s a disaster even her favorite cherry red leather jacket can’t fix. Even worse, there’s (hot) live-in research assistant Josh to contend with. The only thing more embarrassing than drunk-kissing him hours after they meet? Knowing he’ll be witness to her family’s dysfunction all. summer. long.
But when Emma meets a mysterious girl who happens to be a Druid, her vacation suddenly promises to be far more intriguing than she anticipated. Powerful rituals, new friends, an intoxicating sense of freedom…and Simon, the sexy foreign stranger she was hoping for. It’s all a perfect distraction from dirty diapers and awkward family dinners.
Trouble is, intriguing doesn’t often mean simple. And Emma is about to discover just how not simple her life really is.
By Blood is a novel about the ways that blood can bind us to others – or tear us apart.
Kimberly’s Review of BY BLOOD:
I really enjoyed BY BLOOD because it walked the line in several unique and wonderful ways. So many books tend to sit in a predictable pocket, but this one did several things I really, really enjoyed.
*My favorite thing about BY BLOOD was that Banghart wrote an ethnic MC that was subtle and natural. We often talk about not just raising kids who are accepting of differences, but rather raising kids who are color blind because they look deeper into a person to discover who they are. In my opinion, Emma Wong was written from that beautiful color blind perspective. Banghart created a feisty, fun and flawed character that carried me through the whole story because she was simply a great character.
*Another thing I really enjoyed about BY BLOOD, was how it was a contemporary novel with a paranormal feel. I think it was very innovative for Banghart to have the depth of an emotionally darker contemporary, the heat of a steamy romance, and the magic, intrigue and mystery of a paranormal through the exploration of the druids. I would consider this a great hybrid read.
*Lastly, the setting was fabulous. You can’t read BY BLOOD and not want to go to England immediately. I wanted to visit pubs, eat the food, see the art and just walk the cobblestone streets.
Can’t wait for MOON CHILD (By Blood 2)
Coming August 2013!
Before Emma’s adventures in Oxford, her best friend Diana came face-to-face with a killer…
Diana Calvert is so over high school. Who cares if Olivia hates her? And David needs to forget about having a crush on her STAT. Even Emma’s crazy fashion choices can’t keep Diana entertained. All she can hope for is a dance scholarship to a college as far away as possible from too-small, too-boring, too-nothing-ever-happens New Freedom, PA.
Then Diana meets Nicholas Woodhaven. He’s pale, angry…yet weirdly charming. The more time they spend together, the more she wonders who – or what – he really is. Because he isn’t anything like the other guys she knows. Not with the whole only-going-out-at-night thing. And living with his creepy aunt. And not going to school.
Just when Diana thinks she’s got Nicholas all figured out, people in her small, nothing-ever-happens town start dying. She has to wonder – can she trust him? And even more alarming – could she be next?
A murder mystery with a paranormal twist, Moon Child is best read under the covers with a flashlight…if you dare!
Tracy E. Banghart is a cheesy movie–loving, fantasy football–playing (go Ravens!), globe-trotting Army wife who began “practicing” her craft at the age of five, when she wrote her first story. She loves visiting the international friends she met while pursuing her MA in Publishing and spends a portion of every summer at her family’s cabin in Canada, where she finds inspiration and lots of time to relax on the dock. She lives with her husband, son, two lazy dogs and one ornery cat. When not writing or spending time with her family, she is on a mission to bake the perfect cupcake.
You can find out more about Tracy E. Banghart and BY BLOOD here…
After reading the BY BLOOD summary and my review, what intrigues you the most about Banghart’s book? How do you feel about hybrid style books that are putting a twist on some of our favorite things. What other books have you read that have ethnic characters that in your opinion do it right?
I just finished another amazing book by my fellow Wolf Pack Sistah, Daisy Whitney. Check this out…
Available: September 3rd 2013 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Seventeen-year-old Julien is a romantic—he loves spending his free time at the museum poring over the great works of the Impressionists. But one night, a peach falls out of a Cezanne, Degas ballerinas dance across the floor, and Julien is not hallucinating.
The art is reacting to a curse that trapped a beautiful girl, Clio, in a painting forever. Julien has a chance to free Clio and he can’t help but fall in love with her. But love is a curse in its own right. And soon paintings begin to bleed and disappear. Together Julien and Clio must save the world’s greatest art . . . at the expense of the greatest love they’ve ever known.
Like a master painter herself, Daisy Whitney brings inordinate talent and ingenuity to this romantic, suspenseful, and sophisticated new novel.A beautifully decorated package makes it a must-own in print.
Kimberly’s Review of STARRY NIGHTS:
One of the biggest things that I love about Daisy Whitney’s writing (and I love a lot) is just when I think I know who she is as a writer, she redefines herself. Often, for authors, this kind of an evolution is a by-product of an ever changing market. I don’t feel that’s true for Daisy. I think she is a sponge in her own life, soaking up a million people, places and things that are interesting. And then she writes about the things she loves and the things that fascinate her. She writes about the questions she has and the things that must be witnessed. She writes what she knows and what she needs to know. And then luckily, she shares it with us.
It is obvious that STARRY NIGHTS was born from Daisy’s love of art and her desire to share the magic she feels, not only for paintings, but for artistic expression in general. Her passion for her topic was infectious and it raised my curiosity about some pieces that weren’t in my vocabulary before. This book could be used, to great collaborative effect, with art and english teachers.
I was also fascinated by Daisy’s take on Renoir. I think that in our society, we often have a tendency to confuse the artist with the art. When we have a big name Hollywood star, an athlete, artist or politician we love, it’s hard to look past our adoration for their craft or skill when their private life raises red flags. What to do about such real life discrepancies is a topic for another day, but what I loved was that Daisy subtly raised the question.
Additionally, I’m a big fan of books that step outside the typical take on the paranormal. I believe there’s a lot more magic in the world than we open ourselves up to. STARRY NIGHTS is different than anything else that’s out there and that is a wonderful thing. It creatively crafts elements of paranormal intrigue with something that in today’s day in age, could literally become a lost art. STARRY NIGHTS makes reading and learning about art history really cool. I’m also a huge fan of Daisy’s funny bits. If you read STARRY NIGHTS, one of the best payoffs is finding out what the Mona Lisa has been thinking all this time. It’s hysterical and adorable.
And on a little side note, I loved that every night when I curled up in bed, I got to go to Paris for a little while. I walked the streets, saw the sights, smelled the coffee and tasted the food. I can not wait until I get to revisit Paris and bring my kids. And I know, when I go and walk into the Musee d’Orsay and the Louvre, thanks to Daisy Whitney and her STARRY NIGHTS, I’ll be waiting for the art to come alive.
By day, Daisy Whitney is a reporter and ghostwriter. At night, she writes novels for teens and is the author of THE MOCKINGBIRDS and its sequel THE RIVALS (Little, Brown). Her third novel WHEN YOU WERE HERE released in June 2013 (Little, Brown), and her fourth novel STARRY NIGHTS (Bloomsbury) hits shelves in September 2013. When Daisy’s not inventing fictional high school worlds, she can be found somewhere north of San Francisco walking her adorable dog, watching online TV with her fabulous husband or playing with her fantastic kids. A graduate of Brown University, she believes in shoes, chocolate chip cookies and karma. You can follow her writing blog and new media adventures at DaisyWhitney.com. (I don’t rate books on GoodReads, nor do I check the site so please friend me on Facebook instead.)
Enter to win my ARC of STARRY NIGHTS by Daisy Whitney!!!!!
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