Most of the Cybils finalists for the middle grade fiction category were skewed toward the higher end of middle grade, more appropriate for the 10-12 crew than for kids who are 8-9 years old. That said, those of us who served on the nominating panel read — and loved — some wonderful books for the younger set. Candice Ransom’s Seeing Sky-Blue Pink is one of them.
This isn’t an action-packed book. There’s nothing nerve-wracking or edgy about it. But it’s a book that I would have read and loved with a passion when I was eight years old. I would have kept it on a special place on my shelf and wanted to do all the things that Maddie got to do.
Maddie is eight years old herself, and she’s got a lot to deal with when the book opens. She’s just moved to a new house in the country from her old house in town, and she has a brand new stepfather. He’s not the stereotypical evil step-parent. He’s loving and funny and kind, and he introduces Maddie to a delicious summer of new experiences in her new home that almost make up for the special sundaes she used to eat with her mother on their shopping days in town.
The characters in Seeing Sky-Blue Pink are likable and memorable. The language is simple and lovely. If you long for the days when kids enjoyed old-fashioned pleasures like staring at sunset skies, treasure-hunting in creeks, and building tree houses, you’ll feel right at home in these pages.
It’s confession time. I gave my 17-year-old nephew a pre-read book for Christmas. I read it really carefully, though and didn’t get chocolate on it or anything. At any rate, I’m not sorry, because the book was Eric Luper’s debut novel Big Slick, and it was fantastic.
In poker terms, a big slick is when you start a hand of Texas Hold ’em with an Ace and a King showing. It’s a strong starting hand, but in the case of main character Andrew Lang, things fall apart quickly. Lang is a boy genius of sorts — the youngest player at Shushie’s underground poker club, and he has a knack for the game. But he borrowed money from his dad’s dry cleaning business to enter a tournament and digs himself deeper and deeper in trouble with every page in Big Slick. Add to that mix some family tension, a really cute little brother, a loyal best friend, and a hot goth girl who works with Andrew at Dad’s dry cleaning business, and you have a seriously compelling plot.
This is a book that teenaged boys — and girls, since there’s a cool, strong female character, too — will love. It’s not one of those YA novels that you’ll want to share with most middle school kids, though. The language is intense sometimes, and there’s a pretty steamy romance scene. It’s definitely more of a high school title — and a perfect one for reluctant readers at that age.
Even though I’m not a poker player (okay…this is an understatement. I’ve been to Las Vegas exactly once, and the people gambling all around me made me nervous enough to break out in hives), I loved this book. Probably because it isn’t really just about poker after all. When all the cards are turned, Big Slick is a fast-moving, gutsy novel about finding your way in the world, making mistakes, and making good.
We’re expecting record high temperatures tomorrow, and it’s making me a little mopey. 54 degrees in January is just plain wrong. At least my family had a cross-country ski day over the weekend, at a state park where the woods truly are lovely, dark, and deep.
Whenever we ski these trails, we stop at a clearing and make our own “Stranger in the Woods.” Then we ski away laughing at what unsuspecting deer and squirrels will think when they meet him.
This poor guy will probably be snow soup by tomorrow night. (Sigh…) At least the thaw is only supposed to last a few days. We’ll be back below freezing by the weekend.
The Award “According to the Shameless Lions Writing Circle — the award was created to acknowledge “those people who have blogs we love, can’t live without, where we think the writing is good and powerful.” Each award recipient then presents the award to five other bloggers, helping to scream from the mountains the good news about the powerful posts that are produced every day in the blogosphere.” (Copied from Eric’s blog. I don’t know who he stole it from…)
As the legend of the great purple lion demands, I’ll pay it forward by honoring five of my favorite bloggers with a Roar:
Some of us are loud bloggers, chatting about everything and posting pictures all over the place. Some of us are quieter — bloggers of fewer words, but those words have a big impact. The two above have inspired me on more occasions than I can count.
Plus, how can you not love someone who posts a manifesto on her LJ?
What I’d really like to do is say thanks to everyone on my friends-list. You’re all an important part of my writing life, and I love sharing your funny stories, revision struggles, and happy news. Roar on…
contacted me a while back to invite me over to her blog for an interview, one of her questions threw me for a bit of a loop.
“What’s on your writing desk?”
What’s on my desk? I know she probably expected to hear about paperclips and stuff, but my attention span requires me to have things to play with when I get bored or stuck. They’ve become my writing “magic” in a sense. If you’d like to read more, head on over to Tori’s blog for the interview and even a picture or two.
And…did you know that Tori’s a finalist to be the next official YA Books Central Teen Reviewer? Click here to see the review that earned her that honor and to vote. And hurry, okay? The voting ends January 5th.
Today, I am not thankful for sub-zero temperatures that forced me to scrape the INSIDE of my car windshield this morning as soon as I breathed out. What’s up with that?
I am thankful for the following:
Everything I learned being a panelist for the Cybils this year for MG fiction. I’ll blog about this soon. (By the way, they’re running a trivia contest at the Cybils site that you ought to check out. You can win a pop-up version of The Chronicles of Narnia!)
Julie Berry, the writer friend and crit buddy who will not let me get away with including a preachy, overstated paragraph about peace in my Champlain manuscript, no matter how many different places I try to sneak it in. She’s always nice about it, too.
The fact that I’m done with my revisions for Champlain & the Silent One (as soon as I remove that one preachy, overstated paragraph from the Author’s Note)
A writing retreat in my near future. This year, I’ll be attending Kindling Words for the first time. I’ve heard amazing things about this retreat, and I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. (Okay…the truth is I’m also nervous, since I’m going by myself and won’t know a soul there, as far as I know.) But mostly, I’m looking forward to a late January weekend of quiet writing and conversations about craft
Beginnings are hard for me. I’m much better with middles.
When I’m starting a new writing project, I tend to think about it for months before I put words on paper. I invite the characters over for hot chocolate, hang out with them, ask them about their relatives. I dream about them. I start weaving plot threads together in my brain. I’m good with all that. But heaven help me when it’s time to sit down and write Chapter 1.
So here we are, two days into the New Year, and I’m just getting around to posting some writerly goals. I’m beginning late, but beginning…
I’m going to give myself permission to slow down. When I have a draft finished or even a second or third revision, it nags at me to get back to it until it’s done. That can be a good thing. But sometimes, what a story needs is a little distance and perspective, and you can’t do that the day after a revision. It’s okay if my next novel takes longer.
My writing schedule works for me. I get in a few hours a night after the kids are in bed, and they’re productive hours, so I’m going to stick to that schedule. I’m going to make sure the other side of writing (blogging, answering emails, promotions, paperwork) doesn’t get in the way of telling stories. I love Laurie Halse Anderson’s advice to keep that part of your writing life in a little box — give it, say, half an hour a day — and then don’t let it out. I’m going to try to hold myself to that.
I’m going to blog more about process. I love reading about other people’s writing process, but I’ve noticed that I’m pretty stingy when it comes to sharing my own.
I will strike a better balance when my second book comes out next fall. When SPITFIRE was released this year, it was thrilling and a dream come true and wonderful in so many ways. But my schedule just about swallowed me whole, and I found myself yearning for more family time and more writing time. Sales for my first book have been beyond what my publisher expected, so I’m glad I did so much to promote the book, but now I have a better idea for what works and what doesn’t.
I’ll remember to take time for wonder. To remember that moments like these…
Central Park, November 2007
Baker Mountain, Saranac Lake, NY – October 2007
Atwater Market, Montreal, October 2007
Anzo-Borrego Desert State Park, CA – August 2007
Copperas Pond, Wilmington, NY – July 2007 (Yes, that’s me)
Lake Champlain, my back yard, June 2007
…are just as important for a writer’s soul as the time spent at the keyboard.
May your 2008 be full of moments, words, and beauty.
It’s been hard keeping this a secret, but now I can share the goods! Here are the Middle Grade Fiction Finalists for the 2007 Cybils. Comments after each title are my personal thoughts. I was one of seven panelists who whittled a list of 75 nominated books down to the eight you see below. For the official blurbs and links to more reviews, please go to the Cybils site and see ALL the results for categories posted so far.
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban Harcourt
If you read my review this fall, you already know how much I love this book. The voice of 10-year-old Zoe Elias is one of the greatest voices I’ve ever read in a middle grade novel. She’s strong and funny and insecure and so, so lovable. This is a story with heart — lots of it. And the central message about perfection and just giving life your best shot is one that kids need to hear.
Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata Atheneum
“Is Mrs. Messner crying over there??” One of my students was worried while I was finishing up this title during our lunchtime silent reading session. Cracker is a tear-jerker and a fantastic dog story, for sure, but more than that, it’s a story about loyalty and about rising to the occasion. I was SO happy this one made the finalist list. My full review is here.
Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis Dial
Emma Jean isn’t a typical kid. She’s analytical, detached from her classmates, and going through life with more smarts than heart until she decides to reach out to a fellow 7th grader. That changes everything and launches Emma Jean into a journey that might as well be to the North Pole; it takes her so far from her comfort level. Again, voice made this book magical. My full review is here.
Leap of Faith Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Dial
This was one of the last Cybils titles to show up at my door, but I’m so, so glad I read it. Leap of Faith stands out for a few reasons. It deals with religion, which isn’t often tackled in MG literature without being overly preachy, or on the other side of the coin, overly cynical. Leap of Faith strikes a perfect balance with a story that it funny, real, hopeful, and uplifting without ever feeling contrived. It’s fun to read and kid-friendly, too — a great, great book.
Leepike Ridge N.D. Wilson Random House
Despite some difficulties getting this title, those of us who were able to find copies loved it and argued it onto the finalist list. I reviewed it right after I read it, so I’ll point you to my original thoughts, when I was still lost in the world of underground caves, lost treasures, and a wonderfully heroic main character. This one is a fantastic ride.
Louisiana’s Song Kerry Madden Viking
Louisiana’s Song is the sequel to Gentle’s Holler, which I haven’t read, so I was a great test of whether this book could really stand on its own. It does. It stands tall and strong as the mountains in which the story is set. Louisiana’s Song is beautiful and real, with a huge family of characters who make you want to move right in. This is a book filled with longing, as the outspoken Livy Two wishes for her father’s quicker recovery from the accident that caused his brain injury. It’s also a book filled with hope and thankfulness — for morning dew, fairy houses, and the love of family. It’s beautifully written and an absolute joy to read.
Miss Spitfire Sarah Miller Atheneum
Miss Spitfire takes a new look at the Helen Keller story, through the eyes of her teacher, Annie Sullivan. As I discussed in my review this fall, Sarah Miller does an incredible job taking us inside the mind of the teacher who committed herself so fiercely to giving Helen the gift of language. This is a surefire hit for Helen Keller fans and for anyone who loves a good story, well told.
The Wild Girls Pat Murphy Viking
There were several books in my pile of Cybils nominees that struck me more personally than most, and this was one of them. I really wish the main characters in this book were real because I’m longing to go hang out in the woods with them and write stories and catch salamanders. This book is transporting and empowering and wonderful. You can read my full review here if you’d like to hear me gush some more.
A big, BIG, congratulations to the authors on our finalists’ list — and to all the authors whose books were nominated. Over the past two months, you’ve filled my brain and my house with marvelous stories and characters I love enough to invite to dinner. Thanks for sharing your stories with us all. And many, many thanks to those publishers who were able to provide review copies to make our job as panelists easier.
To the judges for Middle Grade Fiction – Happy reading because you’re going to LOVE these titles. And good luck – because I can’t imagine having to pick just one.
I grew up the youngest of four kids in my family. When I was little, my parents and older brothers and sister used to wake me up to celebrate New Year’s with the grownups at midnight. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I didn’t know any other eight-year-old who got to get back out of bed at 11:50 to ring in the new year with carrot sticks and cheese and crackers. We’d all shout “Happy New Year!” and clink our glasses and sip sparkling grape juice. Then I’d go back to bed. I LOVED being awake at midnight.
That routine faded once I was old enough to stay up without a nap, but I always thought it was just the greatest tradition. One day, home from college for a family Thanksgiving, I mentioned how great it was that they always woke me up at midnight. My sister looked at my mother. My brother looked at my sister. My mother looked at my father. They all looked like they were trying not to laugh.
“What?” I said.
“She doesn’t know,” my sister said, holding her hand to her mouth.
“WHAT?”
Turns out, it was never really midnight at all. They put me to bed at eight, got into their pajamas, set ALL the clocks ahead, and dragged me back out of bed at 8:20. We partied, and I went back to bed at 8:30, happy as could be. I was livid when I found out and swore I’d never, EVER do something like that to a child of mine. From the time J and E were five years old, they’ve been allowed to stay up as late as they want on New Year’s Eve.
But then this year rolled around. For the past week, a stomach virus has been raging through our house. My husband got it today. The rest of us are on the mend but still run down. There was NO WAY the kids were staying up. None.
“Hey!” I said. “I have a fun idea. Since none of us can really stay up that late tonight, let’s pretend. We’ll set the clocks ahead to say midnight when it’s really eight o’clock, and we’ll count down and have sparkling grape juice and confetti and everything!”
The kids were in bed by 8:30. I’ll be headed there soon.
Happy New Year, everyone!
(And stop laughing, Mom. At least I told them it wasn’t really midnight.)
I heard something on the radio this afternoon that made me so, so sad.
Vandals trashed Robert Frost’s summer home in Ripton, Vermont last night. Underaged kids — police think maybe up to fifty of them — broke into the historic site and had a party there. They smashed windows. Broke his furniture and burned it in the fireplace. Then vomited on the floor. CNN ran a story with more details here.
Robert Frost is my favorite poet, one of the writers who taught me to love words and the way they go together. Our family visited that summer house a few years ago and hiked the Robert Frost Trail nearby. The building is nothing fancy — a simple two story farmhouse in the Green Mountain National Forest — but you can feel Frost’s spirit when you step onto the property. A feeling of simplicity and peace. What happened there is so ugly and so wrong.
This isn’t an action-packed book. There’s nothing nerve-wracking or edgy about it. But it’s a book that I would have read and loved with a passion when I was eight years old. I would have kept it on a special place on my shelf and wanted to do all the things that Maddie got to do.
It’s confession time. I gave my 17-year-old nephew a pre-read book for Christmas. I read it really carefully, though and didn’t get chocolate on it or anything. At any rate, I’m not sorry, because the book was Eric Luper’s debut novel Big Slick, and it was fantastic.
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A Crooked Kind of Perfect
Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam
Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree
Leap of Faith
Leepike Ridge
Louisiana’s Song
Miss Spitfire
The Wild Girls