Review: Walking the Dog by Linda Benson

I'm finishing up my list of dog-centered books, and it's been a very entertaining trip. The timing is working out well, too, because at this moment my son is watching an old Elvis movie in which the King is piloting a helicopter over the Hawaiian Islands. His chopper is currently filled with a charter of dogs, and his only human passenger just spilled an entire box of doggie treats in the floor. Chaos is ensuing, but I digress.

My final read in the dog-lovers  genre is Linda Benson's YA/MG novel, Walking the Dog. The story certainly didn't disappoint me, but, tell me, who could resist this face?

When I saw the cover, I knew I had to see what was inside. Here's a short blurb to whet your appetite:

Jared is smitten when his teacher seats the new girl, Sophie, right next to him. Even with the scar running up the side of her face, Jared thinks she’s the most beautiful girl in the entire fifth grade. But why did she transfer here so late in the year? Rumors say something bad happened to her.

Jared and Sophie become friends while walking the guidance counselor’s new puppy, but when his parents object to this arrangement, Jared fabricates a series of elaborate lies to meet Sophie on the sly. But little brothers can be pests. First Petey lets the orange cat loose at the animal shelter where Jared and Sophie have been secretly walking the dogs. Then Petey turns up missing. 

And Sophie's past finally catches up with her.

Ms. Benton has written a very enjoyable story featuring two young people who are each struggling with their own issues. Jared is dealing with feelings of guilt that center around his younger brother, Petey. Then he voluntarily takes on another load of guilt by going against his parents' wishes with regard to Sophie. I try to avoid spoilers, so you'll have to read the book to see how he handles those feelings.

Although Jared is the main character of the story, Sophie holds her own as a secondary player and I found myself rooting for her from the very beginning. Her life is one that is all too familiar with many young people today, and I couldn't help but fall in love with her gritty, persevering attitude. My only regret is that she didn't venture out farther on the proverbial limb and become more vocal in her denouncement of the treatment she had been subjected to. But one of the reasons I enjoy reading so much is knowing that all authors add their own unique voice to their work, and I respect and admire Ms. Benson for keeping Sophie true to character.

Walking the Dog has a lot going on in it for such a short read. Ms. Benson did a great job of maintaining several different microcosms throughout the novel and keeping each one separate, but at the same time allowing them to overlap enough to keep everything cohesive. I think it would be quite easy for even the youngest readers of middle grade fiction to follow the story with interest, but varied and contemporary enough to hold the attention of the upper end of the age range as well. 

Walking the Dog is Ms. Benson's fifth novel and her third with Musa Publishing. I find her writing to be smooth and uncluttered, and I sincerely appreciate that ability in a fairly new indie author. I have already added two more of her novels, The Girl Who Remembered Horses, and Six Degrees of Lost, to my ever-growing list. I hope we'll be seeing many more offerings from Ms. Benson, and I wish her well in all of her writing endeavors.

Happy Reading!

Cordelia Dinsmore

Review: Wolven by Di Toft

As I stated earlier, my October reads so far have been canine-centric. That's a good thing, because I love dogs, but Wolven wasn't quite what I was expecting based on the cover art.

The main "dog" character in this tale is actually a creature called a wolven, which is a little difficult to describe. He appears to be a dog, but can morph into a human boy and has telepathic abilities. I was expecting a light, silly read filled with calamitous adventures focused around a boy and his dog. It started out that way, but soon became something I wasn't expecting.

I don't want to include any spoilers, so I'll simply say that had I read this book at the recommended ages of 8-12, I would have had nightmares for months. Admittedly, I'm still a chicken when it comes to the horror genre, and don't watch scary movies at night, alone, but this book had some rather frightening scenes. In contrast, it was also sprinkled with some hilarious descriptions that made me laugh out loud, especially the description of one villain's mouth and its similarity to a cat's behind. But the bad guys in this book were exceedingly bad, and I worried for a while as to where it all might end.

Having said that, I still found it to be a well-written tale and a great read. Timely, too, since Halloween is quickly approaching. But my suggestion is that you read it for yourself and make your own decision.

Happy Reading!

Cordelia

Review: Little Dog, Lost

Life has been busy lately, so blogging, and writing in general, has taken a temporary back seat. I've also been working  on my Reading Challenge 2012 commitment, so my writing time has been spent reading what others have written. There are just so many hours in a day.

I'm all the way up to the nineties in my book challenge count, so I'm hoping to reach my goal of one hundred books ahead of time. Then I can devote more time to blogging and working on my next novel. Of course, in the middle of trying to finish the one, ideas have begun crowding into my brain for the next one. That can be very distracting, if you're as single-minded as I am.

I have read some very good books lately, though, in my non-productive time. Several of them feature one of my favorite animals, too. I'm speaking of dogs, and even dog-like creatures.

While perusing the choices at my friendly neighborhood library, I discovered Little Dog, Lost, by Marion Dane Bauer, and the title, paired with the charming cover art (by Jennifer A. Bell) was irresistible. I had to bring it home.

I don't recall whether or not I've read any of the many books Ms. Bauer has written, although the odds are good that I have read at least a few because she's been rather prolific and successful as an author. But this one, small book has convinced me that I want to read more of her offerings. It is delightful in every way.

The cover art is adorable and says so much all on its own. A happy scene of a park with blooming flowers and butterflies flitting about. In the background, life is happy with ice cream sharing, dog-walking and bicycle-riding. Even a bakery - who doesn't get a happy fuzzy while gazing at beautifully-decorated cakes?

And in the foreground, a complete contrast to all the sunny happiness, is the most pitiful little dog you'll ever encounter. Everything about him screams out sadness. And the only one with a clue to his misery is a tiny bunny peeking out from the colorful flowers. Are you crying yet? It gets worse once you open the cover.

The book is written in verse, and I think that is a very clever tool the author incorporated, because it serves as a way to encourage reluctant readers to pick it up. The same as graphic novels, the layout of the pages makes it more appealing than pages filled with print. There are also several pages of illustrations sprinkled inside, which earns it additional bonus points to young readers. But the story itself is well worth the short time needed to read it.

The story itself is a bit predictable. As the title tells us, the little dog is lost, but his sorrowful tale begins long before he actually becomes lost in his new neighborhood. He escapes the confines of his yard and can't find his way back. But he isn't the only one lost. The author does a wonderful job of showing us we can be exactly where we've always been, and still be lost. It's a sweet, endearing story of loneliness and longing, and love fulfilled. It works well as a read-alone, but I think it would be lovely as a read-aloud for a class of 3rd thru 6th graders.

I'll be back again - hopefully in a more timely manner than I've managed lately. But I still have several books remaining on my list, and I hope to succeed at NaNoWriMo this year - which I've never managed to complete before.

Happy Reading!

Cordelia

Never Too Old to Learn New Things

It may be true that we're never too old to learn new things, but I, for one, find it much more difficult to learn as I continue to age. I still retain the capacity to learn, but figuring out the tools with which the younger people are learning is giving me fits. My three-year-old granddaughter can figure out video games that dumbfound me.

Today, however, I did learn something new, and useful. It's probably been around for some time, but it is new to me as of this date. I'm speaking of the ability to check certain books on Amazon for specific word usage. 

This knowledge may be of no consequence to many people, but as a parent who likes to stay in tune with my young reader, it's invaluable. I read a lot of middle grade and young adult books, and when I find something that I think will appeal to one of my kids or young friends, I recommend it. But I may be in the middle of another book when my son brings something home from the library, and I like to know what he's reading.

Recently I read an MG book that had quite a few expletives tossed in - for flavor, or shock factor, or just to make it seem more realistic - I don't know the reason. I didn't find them so shocking that I wouldn't want my kid to read the book, but it did surprise me a bit. I was under the impression that slang curse words that are easily recognizable were mostly frowned upon for MG. Running across one or two interspersed in the text won't stop me from reading, but it does sort of make me cringe. And when I stop to cringe, I'm pulled out of the story, and that isn't such a good thing.

While at the library this morning, I talked with one of the children's librarians about a book that did not contain any foul words, but I thought it was definitely more in the YA age group that MG. There wasn't a single character, living or dead, under the age of fifteen, and the dead kids were relating some exceedingly graphic stories of how they died. Perhaps that isn't anything to be concerned about, but the tone of the book just didn't resonate at MG.

The librarian thanked me and said she would read through the book to make a determination, and then pulled a YA book up on Amazon. She showed me how to look inside the book. This is what made me do a little happy dance. It doesn't work with all books, but there is a feature on many of them that allows you to check for certain words in the text. She brought up one rather spicy slang word, and it brought up a hundred and one instances where that word was used in the text. It also showed exactly where each instance of that word was used, so that one could see the context of how it was incorporated. She didn't even type in the really bad word, but I saw enough to know that there were a lot of instances of that one in there, too.

I'm not complaining about the words in YA books. I'm simply excited to know that I have a way of checking out the context of books before I purchase them. Sometimes excerpts and reviews don't give us that.

Perhaps I'm just an old, behind-the-times reader who has little to look forward to, but I like learning about new technology - when I can understand it. This is something that even I can do.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead. Check out this little gem on Amazon if you haven't, and let me know if it helps you.

Happy Reading,

Cordelia

I'm Featured Today on the Euterpe Blog Giveaway

Just wanted to remind everyone that I'm the featured poster on the Euterpe Back-To-School Giveaway Extravaganza today.You can get there by clicking on this link. http://euterpe-ya.blogspot.com/

For simply leaving a comment on the Euterpe's post - not here - you have an opportunity to win an ebook copy of Michaela's Gift in the format of your choice.

But in addition to that, I have some other fun prizes that might come in handy at this time of year. The prizes included are:

A lockermate magnetic dry erase board with 3-way mirror (plus pen)
4 mini notebooks or memo pads
a packet of brightly colored staples
a rope eraser
4 metallic gel pens
4 glitter gel pens
3 glitter glue sticks
8 pack of markers
a pencil box to store it all in
a box of Bottle Caps
and six beautiful magnetic bookmarks

So hurry on over to the Euterpe blog and leave a comment. It will only take a moment, and you could win it all.

Happy Reading,

Cordelia

Euterpe Blog Back to School Extravaganza

I’ll be away from my computer for much of this week, but I wanted to stop by for a quick message about a great and fun opportunity for readers out there. The Euterpe imprint for Musa Publishing is conducting a giveaway promotion that includes free books, fun posts, and an assortment of exciting prize packages. To read all the news, just click on this link.

There are special blog posts all week on the Euterpe blog site. I’ve listed the schedule below, and even though I am late for yesterday’s post, if you go to the link I have provided, you should be able to backtrack and find it, and register for the prizes.

Monday, September 10^th, Summer Adventures by Mindy Hardwick. This post includes a prize package provided by Ms. Hardwick.

Tuesday, September 11^th, My Summer Vacation by HL Carpenter, and Back to School with Kaitlin Bevis.

Wednesday, September 12^th, School Days by L. K. Mitchell. Includes another prize!

Thursday, September 13^th, My Dog’s Tail by yours truly. I’ve included a prize pack that includes a few items that Michaela might have used in her art creations.

Friday, September 14^th, New School Year Top 10 Rules to Live By, by Dusty Crabtree.

I believe most, if not all, of the above giveaways include either an author ebook or a physical copy of their book, as well as the other prizes listed. In addition to these Euterpe blog posts, there are also several guest blog posts included. As follows:

Monday, September 10^th: Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing by Martina Boone: The Things That Travel With You by Jennifer Mason-Black
Wednesday, September 12^th: Muse, Rant, Rave by Melinda Collins: Stacy York's Top Ten Teen Movies by Margaret Lesh (includes a prize pack)
Friday, September 14^th: Myth, Magic, & Mystery by Susan Sipal: Ye Olde Caves of Nottingham by Sharon Ledwith (includes a prize pack).

And if that isn’t enough to keep you busy for a while, there’s more! Euterpe is also giving away two awesome prize packages. This is an opportunity for each member of your book club to receive a free copy of a novel, including a discussion guide and a Skype interview with the author. The giveaway is conducted through Rafflecopter, so it requires a few keystrokes on your part, but that’s little cost when you consider the possibilities it can afford you. The two novels included in these giveaways are Stained Glass Summer, by Mindy Hardwick, and Persephone, by Kaitlin Bevis.

So if you want to sign up for the chance to win any of these great prizes, simply follow the link I provided near the top of this post. It will take you directly to the Euterpe blog.

Review of First Frost by Liz DeJesus

Way back in 1953, a song was introduced in the pop charts entitled Young At Heart. Frank Sinatra crooned the lyrics, and he must have worked his magic, because according to Wikipedia, it became a million-selling hit. Pretty impressive.

In case you aren’t familiar with the lyrics, I will tell you that the song begins by telling us that fairy tales can come true. That’s a pretty exciting idea for many young girls, because who doesn’t want to live a fairy-tale life? Hmmm. Interesting question. But before you make any snap judgments about it, perhaps you should look into the life of Bianca Frost.  She could give you some ideas about a fairy-tale life that you may not have considered.

Bianca Frost, by the way, is the heroine in Liz DeJesus’ latest YA release, First Frost. Here’s a little information about Liz.

Liz DeJesus was born on the tiny island of Puerto Rico.  She is a novelist and a poet. She has been writing for as long as she was capable of holding a pen. She is the author of the novel Nina (Blu Phi'er Publishing, October 2007) and The Jackets (Arte Publico Press, March 31st 2011). Liz is currently working on a new novel.

Author's Links:

Website

Facebook

Purchase First Frost

Also, in case you haven’t read all the great interviews and reviews Liz has already received regarding First Frost, I wanted to include her book blurb so that you can get a better idea of what the book’s about.

 For generations, the Frost family has run the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts, handing down guardianship from mother to daughter, always keeping their secrets to “family only.”

Gathered within the museum’s walls is a collection dedicated to the Grimm fairy tales and to the rare items the family has acquired: Cinderella’s glass slipper, Snow White’s poisoned apple, the evil queen’s magic mirror, Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted spinning wheel…

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Frost wants none of it, dreaming instead of a career in art or photography or…well, anything except working in the family’s museum. She knows the items in the glass display cases are fakes because, of course, magic doesn’t really exist.

She’s about to find out how wrong she is.

Hmmm. When many of us think of fairytales, our thoughts turn to beautiful princesses, handsome and dashing princes, and, of course, a happily-ever-after. To make it interesting, we have to throw in a villain, of course, but one that can eventually be overthrown so that all ends well. At least, that’s what Disney has taught us.

Whether good or bad, over the years, fairytales have lost most of their gruesomeness and are much tamer than the stories the brothers Grimm first produced. That makes them much more pleasant for bedtime reading to our young children. But with First Frost, Ms. DeJesus has restored some of the fright factors in her tale. Her characters are not at all the stereotypical puppets one often expects in a fairytale, either.

I enjoyed this tale quite a bit. Bianca is a reluctant heroine, and those are often the best kinds. She’s tired of being a slave to the family business, and often resents her lot in life. After all, she’s a teenage girl, and wants a little excitement and variety. She should remember the old saying about being careful what you ask for, especially when there may be witches in your background.

I loved the character of the prince. I don’t want to give anything away, but he was a pleasant surprise for me, and Ms. DeJesus did an excellent job of painting vivid word pictures of his rather unique personality.

I also learned quite a bit in reading First Frost. Ms. DeJesus referenced several old tales that I had either forgotten or was not familiar with, and it was a nice addition to the story.

I will warn, however, that her villains are capable of quite unscrupulous behavior, and sometimes their actions bring about rather chilling results, so this isn’t something I would recommend for younger readers. Also, there is some offensive language that, although probably typical of a YA audience, I wouldn’t encourage for the younger set. She has listed the genre as YA, and I just don’t want any of my readers to get the impression that since it’s fairytale based that it would be a good choice for the younger readers.

My very favorite aspect of this story is the way Ms. DeJesus has showcased the power of love. She has tied the main characters together with heartstrings that are almost overwhelming at times with their sheer strength. I commend her for the way she accomplishes this with her word choices in the critical scenes. And she doesn’t limit these feelings to just Bianca and her prince, but has left us with no doubts that Bianca is truly the princess of this fairytale, and most definitely deserves her happily-ever-after.

I wish to thank Ms. DeJesus and Rachel Marks for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. I don’t consider myself an official reviewer, so I don’t ever rate the books I choose to review. I do, however, limit my reviews to books that I would personally recommend to a friend.

Happy Reading,

Cordelia Dinsmore