Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn Wall - Book Review

If the measure of a good story is the desire to turn each next page, then Sweeping Up Glass is a good story. Told in the first person by Olivia Harker, an authentic and relatable voice, and set in Southern Kentucky, in a time when segregation was a fact and civil rights had yet to be spoken of, Sweeping Up Glass is a genre straddling southern, historical, mystery that considers the wounds of hatred, the intricacies of family, and the complexity of pride, loss and redemption.

Olivia’s story begins in the present as someone has injured a wolf on her rural property. As she and her grandson Will’m contemplate the wolf’s care, the story quickly turns to past tense as Olivia recounts her life growing up with her kindhearted pap and her institutionalized mother. Olivia’s strong will propels the story through first love, unwed motherhood and depression era farm life.

The best part of Sweeping Up Glass is undeniably the voice of Olivia Harker, youthful and strong, proud and misguided. The excellently drawn setting of depression era Aurora, Kentucky adds depth to Olivia’s tale, with a mixture of sweeping rural grandeur and a provincial way of life.

Though associated to several great southern writers in early reviews, two small bumps keep Sweeping Up Glass from landing securely in the Faulkner or Flannery O’Connor arena. The present-past-present switching proves a bit ungainly, and though only briefly slowing the momentum of the telling, it keeps the story from having a fully realized tautness. Further, the ending builds to a mountainous crescendo and then flies by too quickly with a few characters in need of a fuller resolution, a few bows too neatly tied.

So small are these bumps as Sweeping Up Glass does most of what makes a southern mystery so endearing: keeps the pages moving at breakneck speed that mystery lovers need, includes a whiz-bang with a twist ending and paints a time when a small community was the whole of the world.

Recommended for lovers of the southern tale or those seeking a rural-defined mystery.

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Sweeping Up Glass will be released on August 4, 2009.

Preorder Sweeping Up Glass Here

Author's website HERE.

To read an excerpt or download a reader's guide visit the Random House
Sweeping Up Glass site HERE

Thank you to Library Thing for my advanced copy.

© 2007-2009

Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan - Book Review

Assigning a genre to Of Bees and Mist is difficult. Part fable, part magical realism set in an imaginary world, Of Bees and Mist believes in fortune tellers, ghosts and mysterious occurrences while simply telling the chronicle of a family. And though basically a tale of family and marriage, Of Bees and Mist resides pleasingly close to the realm of the fantastical.

Merida grows up in a house devoid of love. Her father is distant and often cruel. His evening wanderings stir the pot of anger within Merida’s mother. Merida knows the anger originates in a fleeting memory of screams and flashing light, but no one will tell her the secrets her parents keep. A cold and angry mist surrounds Merida’s home and she soon finds warmth in the arms of the dashing, young Daniel.

But Meridia’s marriage begins with a rocky start as she quickly learns that things in Daniel’s home are little better. Meridia’s mother-in-law, Eva, rules her family with iron will and Meridia will soon have to choose between Daniel and his dysfunctional family.

While Of Bees and Mist seems a simple family saga, debut author Erick Setiawan dazzles the page with so much more. Borrowing elements of various cultures and set in a fictional land, Of Bees and Mist is filled to the brim with ambiance and imagery. There’s always something brewing just below the surface, compelling the reader forward, and hinting at a hidden purpose, a moral waiting to be mined.

Of Bees and Mist does contain a few missteps that, though not completely distracting from the telling, must be noted. Several characters are never fully developed or dropped from the tale too easily. While the story is ultimately Meridia’s, these characters were fleshed out enough to deserve a bit more closure. And though noting the tongue-lashing that might follow: the novel also thinly veils some stereotypes. There’s a wicked, money-driven gypsy named Ahab and the women seem to use spell-like behaviors to manipulate the weak men. This could be explained by the fact that Of Bees and Mist is ultimately the story of three very strong-willed women.

Certainly though, these few qualms shouldn’t distract from this debut author’s first-rate effort. Of Bees and Mist is overflowing with storybook metaphors and magic. It will delight readers who enjoy magical realism and/or modern fables. Be sure to check out the well-designed cover after finishing the tale. You’ll find all sorts of symbolic elements there. Highly recommended by this lover of speculative fiction.

Preorder Of Bees and Mist Here. It will be released on August 4, 2009.

Check out the Book's Website Here

Watch author Erick Setiawan discuss the book on Simon & Schuster HERE

Thank you to Barnes & Noble for my advanced copy.

© 2007-2009

Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully by James Roy - Book Review

Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully is following a trend in children’s literature. Much like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life (previously reviewed here), Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully follows the hand-scribbled diary format. Not that this is a bad thing. This trendy format is especially enticing to reluctant readers and preadolescenct males, two groups in need of reading incentives. Add the convincing voice of Max Quigley to the format and you’ve got an enticing look at bullying from the bully’s point of view.

Max is an unreliable, sarcastic narrator. He thinks that just because he doesn’t physically hit anyone, he’s not really a bully. Max’s idea of a good time is picking on Triffin Nordstrom, or Nerdstrom as Max’s renamed him. But Max’s teasing goes too far causing Triffin’s mother and Max’s parents to form an alliance. Their concocted plan is twofold: educate Triffin in social skills while Max gets help with his slumping math scores. And even though Triffin may be a loner, he’s none-too-thrilled to hang with Max. This comes as a great shock to the ever-popular Max.

Author James Roy does several unique and successful things with Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully. He molds a character, one that could easily come off as unlikable, into a relatable, even if unreliable, voice. He sets the tale in Australia, which provides American readers a chance to learn some fantastic Aussie speak (Mum, mate, cheeky). He keeps the moralizing in check with short chapters, realistic dialogue and lessons learned through actions rather than telling. When Max begins to slide in the direction of empathy by the story’s end, Mr. Roy never allows Max to lose his core personality.

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Recommended for readers who enjoy the sort of potty-humor associated with Louis Sachar or Dav Pilky, 4th – 8th grade males and reluctant readers. For both classroom and library use

Book Trailer:


Thank you to The Picnic Basket for my copy

Buy Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully Here


Visit Author James Roy's Website Here

Book review originally published on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Road To Revolution! The Cartoon Chronicles of America by Stan Mack and Susan Champlin

The Road to Revolution! is the first in series of graphic novels, titled The Cartoon Chronicles of America, featuring fictional characters interacting within the specifics of American history.

Nick is a street-smart orphan-boy. Penny’s the indefatigable daughter of a Boston tavern owner. The British are everywhere, exerting their power over the colonists. Very quickly Nick and Penny are thrown into the heat of the action building up to the start of the Revolutionary War. The Old North Church lanterns, the midnight ride, the Battle at Bunker Hill as well as numerous American revolutionaries stumble through the fast-paced story. As Nick and Penny witness the revolution unfold, readers learn key information about this time in American history without the didactic feel of a textbook or even a nonfiction account.

The Road to Revolution! is an excellent addition for both classroom and elementary libraries serving students in grades 3-6 and is especially beneficial for reluctant readers or for use during units of study involving the American Revolution.


This title will be released on July 21, 2009. Preorder The Road to Revolution! Here

Author website: Stan Mack

Publisher Website: Bloomsbury USA

Author quote from Publisher’s Weekly: “…These stories will be straight, juicy adventure stories. The history will be solid but young readers won’t need to know the history to enjoy the books.” … And while all the books in the series will feature a young boy and girl, Mack emphasized that the girl will have an equal role in the narrative….”

Thanks to Media Masters Publicity for my copy. First published on Reading Rumpus.


© 2007-2009

The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine - Book Review

I read The Blue Notebook in one evening. And I didn’t like it. I wanted to look away. But like any rubbernecking scene, my eyes focused on The Blue Notebook and never turned, never stopped staring at the disaster unfolding across the page.

Oh, The Blue Notebook was compelling, had a well-voiced narrator and moved swiftly. The writer did a fine job with his pen and even donated his U.S royalties to The International Center For Missing and Exploited Children, but even this fact created a wearing sadness.

The Blue Notebook is told in flashback through the first person voice of Batuk, a fifteen-year-old prostitute living in Mumbai. Batuk’s day consists of living in a nest, making sweet cakes with the various men who pay for her services and writing in a blue notebook she has managed to hide from her pimp. Batuk learned to write while hospitalized as a young girl. This was before the party her family threw for her, the one right before they sold her, before the highest bidder violently stole her nine-year-old virginity. Though based on a real prostitute the author encountered while traveling in Mumbai, The Blue Notebook is fiction.

Still, it exists. The very thought that Mumbai’s sex slave trade is real gives depth to the matter-of-fact voice of Batuk. Mumbai is a metropolis, India’s financial powerhouse, a city with vast resources and educational opportunities. How does this savage slavery still exist? How can a young girl be completely thrown away like a piece of meat?

And though I read it on vacation - when breezy summer reads are expected, Batuk’s story is so devastatingly heartbreaking, it would be a crime to look away.


*Recommended for increased awareness and readers interested in modern tragedy. Not for the weak stomached.

*Buy The Blue Notebook Here

* Thanks to Library Thing for my advanced reading copy.

© 2007-2009

Goblins by Royce Buckingham - Book Review

What makes a good book for teen boys? How do you get a reluctant reader invested in a story? Which factors will entice the most challenging reading student to pick up a book?

With Goblins!: An UnderEarth Adventure, author Royce Buckingham has answered some of these dilemmas.

He begins with an action-filled opener – a goblin has escaped the UnderEarth. He features identifiable protagonists - twelve-year-old Sam on the brink of juvenile delinquency and seventeen-year-old PJ, stuck in a nowhere small-town while he visits his policeman father. These two form an unlikely, but appreciable, dynamic duo as they follow the Guardians of UnderEarth on a battle to keep the goblins from finding the tunnel that leads to our world.

Additionally, author Buckingham, propels the reader from one battle scene to the next. Goblins! action not only begins fast, it is spooned out in small doses. Chapters are kept short and descriptive language is limited. There are bloody battle scenes, bravery and death. Still, before the story ever gets a chance to venture into a weighty realm, the author throws in a few laughs.

And though the telling might flow easily and prove enticing to even the most reluctant of readers, Goblins! hides some decent themes within it. PJ and Sam demonstrate fortitude and make the right choices when making the right choices count most.

Goblins!: An UnderEarth Adventure, aimed toward the middle-grade male – even though the cover art appears to be too juvenile for that crowd, is a story many reluctant and action-adventure story enthusiasts will devour.

Here's the book trailer for good measure:

Thanks to Jessica at Planned Television Arts for my copy.

Originally published on my children's literature & reading education site: Reading Rumpus

© 2007-2009

Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez - Book review

Apolonia (Lina) Flores lives in Corpus Christi, Texas with her father. She has a best friend and a would-be boyfriend. She enjoys science, playing volleyball on her middle school team and collecting socks. She’s also Mexican–American, has recently suffered the loss of her mother and grown frustrated with her widowed father who has literally, and metaphorically, buried himself in books.

Navigating the wearisome waters of change alongside Lima is her best friend Vanessa, whose recently divorced mother has developed her own coping mechanism – making confetti filled eggs called cascarones. Lima’s boyfriend isn’t immune to difficulty either. He must deal with a speech impediment and the taunting that accompanies it. Confetti Girl features characters who are all dealing with life’s struggles.

But hidden within the individual problems of the characters lies a positive message. A story filled with as much heartache as Confetti Girl might easily venture into the melancholy. It never does. Confetti Girl is a story of happiness. Happiness after losing a loved one. Happiness after divorce. Happiness for friendship and love. Ever so quietly, author Diana Lopez, fills the story with significant moments of authenticity.

These moments are hammered out through plot devices that meld seamlessly within the telling. Lima use the keen dichos her mother has taught her to navigate the difficult as the author uses them to highlight chapter themes. Lima ends up writing her own reflective life’s synopsis when she’s supposed to be writing a synopsis of Watership Down for the English class she’s failing. But the most significant device is the cascarones – confetti filled eggs bearing good luck wishes. The fragility of the egg mixed with the flamboyancy of the confetti makes for a superb and poignant addition.

The author’s style is light and often humorous. She writes the best sort of multicultural story: an authentic one. Confetti Girl is the tale of family that happens to be Mexican-American. It never ventures into stereotypical or seems culturally didactic. This gives added meaning for both Latino readers, who might find added elements with which to identify, and Non-Latino readers, who might learn something new or find something in common with Lima and her family.

The ending scene, where a celebration in confetti filled cascarones ensues, is priceless and provides a perfect ending to an uplifting tale of overcoming the fragile parts of life with confetti joy.

Themes include: friendship, family love and overcoming adversity

Thank you to Little Brown-Kid Publishing and whomever sent me this??? I dropped the ball recording where it came from, but I'm REALLY glad you sent it :-)

Originally published on my children's literature & reading education site: Reading Rumpus

© 2007-2009

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly - Book Review

The Book of Lost Things jumps out at you. The cover art is beautiful and the premise enticing. Heaps of praise have been handed to it. And the website? Well, it's a shimmering site to behold. Yet, is that enough? Can a fancy website and a ton of praise bear out the book’s worth?

Protagonist David is a twelve-year-old boy who has recently lost his mother. If this weren’t enough, his father has remarried and the woman is pregnant. David’s father has moved them all to his new wife’s countryside home where it's safer from the German WWII bombings in London. In this respect, The Book of Lost Things begins as a fairly standard tale.

But David’s new attic bedroom has a shadow that continues to both taunt and entice. The books that have long afforded David an escape no longer captivate him. A Crooked Man seems to be beckoning, and soon David has entered a world of danger and horrors.

It is David’s entry into the world of the Crooked Man that turns The Book of Lost Things from standard to unique. Fused with both Grimm-like fairy stories and Oz-like wonders, where David must rely on his own wits to bridge the gap between child and adulthood, The Book of Lost Things begins to shimmer much like its elegantly designed cover and website.

The Book of Lost Things seems an all-out bildungsroman: David must make the arduous journey to adulthood while maneuvering through a land of sometimes-conflicting characters. His progress on the other side of the journey is marked by maturation and personal growth. And while the characters David meets seem to be pulled straight from a Grimm’s tale, they are also timelier. They are a twisted version of a Grimm tale, a more psychologically charged foil. The dual settings, WWII and the fantasy world David enters, are both dark and evil-filled places. David’s quest will be a difficult one (as are all journeys out childhood’s door) and his respect and understanding of the bookish will be his saving grace.

David’s love of books and his escape into them, both real and analogous, is the underlying theme in The Book of Lost Things. In many ways, the entire story is an ode to books. Author Connolly's own love of tales must be considerable as his familiarity is brimming. In fact, the only real flaw in the writing is the inclusion of so many references that they become somewhat distracting, causing loss of momentum as the reader pauses to reflect on the origins.

The Book of Lost Things begins with a great opening line, "Once upon a time -- for that is how all stories should begin -- there was a boy who lost his mother," but it ends with an unnecessary epilogue. Readers do not need the know the everyday nuances in adult David’s life. It detracts sorely from the magic the rest of the tale holds and muddies the poignancy of David’s quest and triumph.

Read The Book of Lost Things, because it’s a really good tale, but skip the last chapter. The luminous praise, website and cover reflect the magic that lies within its pages.

© 2007-2009

Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renee Russell - Review

I don’t want to compare Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. All the reviews are doing that. It’s not really fair because the only things the two books have in common are the cartoon diary format, middle school setting and engaging voice of an authentic protagonist. I always feel like comparing books is a cop-out and besides, Dork Diaries stands on its own merit.

Nikki Maxwell is an eighth grade diarist who likes art. Some days Nikki writes an excited ode to being a teen and on others a dramatic account of being a big dork. She's recently moved to a new school where fitting in just doesn't seem to be in her cards. Her diary entries are filled with mean girls, party invitations she'll never get and cute boys.

Nikki Maxwell is an every-girl and her voice is one that many middle school girls will love. They’ll understand Nikki and they’re going to love her manga/anime inspired artwork. Her self-deprecation (dork!) and middle-school worries (fitting in, parties, friends & a cute boy!) mirror their own.

On the fringe of her thoughts are her parents, grandmother and little sister (true to the mind of a teen), and even though Nikki’s family doesn’t understand her and they seem to be no assistance with her social standing, author Rachel Renee Russell never ridicules them.

Instead, Nikki uses her own resources to maintain a pick-yourself-up mindset. And though Nikki is a positive voice for young girls, Dork Diaries never ventures toward the sermonizing that can turn young readers away. It’s Nikki's authentic voice that serves the commonsensical, even as she grapples with her desire to be included by what she sees as the shallow, but popular, crowd. The true friendship themed ending is all the more poignant since it’s delivered by a believable voice. I see many opportunities for Nikki Maxwell sequels.

Original Review (along with a contest) posted on Reading Rumpus


© 2007-2009

Saints In Limbo by River Jordan - Review

Saints in Limbo is the sort of novel where simply telling the premise shortchanges the story. The protagonist is an old small-town widower. The supporting cast includes a lackluster mailman, an everyday bar maid, a teen runaway and a spinster teacher. Not the sort of folks one expects to enthrall a reader. Yet, Saints in Limbo is filled with action, romance, supernatural horror and magic. Categorizing it proves near impossible. Singing its praises seems to simplify its depth.

Velma True, a recent widower, anchors her world with thread. She's afraid to wander very far from her home since her husband’s death notice arrived, nearly claiming her soul right out front at the mailbox. Since then, she uses threads anchored to her porch to get the mail or water her yard. But while the shifting sand of Vera True’s life is merely an illusion, the man who appears on Velma’s porch is not. The supernatural fellow comes bearing a birthday present for Velma, a rock with powers that will almost claim Velma’s life - which is something she’s not so certain she values any longer.

Saints in Limbo reveals Velma’s ephiphany not only through reflective, psychological back-story, but also by finding the magic still left in Velma’s everyday life. It's tempting to call Saints in Limbo magical realism, but it swerves too far from the real for that, especially once the supernatural creatures show up. There's a reluctance to assign the romance genre because the romance that evolves within the story is middling. But Velma's romance with her husband, told in flashback supernatural sequence, is bona fide. If a genre must be applied to Saints in Limbo, then sothern Gothic possibly comes closest to fit.

As Velma jumps between past and present, the supporting characters stories begin to emerge. Author River Jordan is a southern character writer, which can serve to slow the pace that the action-inducing magical rock beats forth, but it’s that building of character that grounds the story in realism and invests the reader. And even though the heart-string tugging surprise can be seen coming a mile away, it’s still poignant when the reader likes the recipients.

At story’s end, River Jordan leaves us with a message of hopefulness. Velma learns that there is both a place for remembering the past and a hope for the future, one where new chances abound. Mystical, life affirmative and affecting, Saints in Limbo is recommended for readers who enjoy magical realism, southern Gothic and character-driven stories.

Thanks to Random House's WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for my copy of Saints in Limbo


© 2007-2009