Tears of a Princess by Laura Thomas is the upper middle-grade sequel to the novel Tears to Dancing. It follows the main character’s best friend, Natasha, as she deals with the news of her parent's divorce and accompanies Bethany on a mission trip to Mexico that changes her perspective forever.Although some elements of the novel were… Continue reading TEARS TO PRINCESS: A Review of "Tears of A Princess" by Guest Blogger, Mara Scudder
REVIEWTears to Dancing (Dancing Bear Publishing: 2012) by Laura Thomas is an intimate book tracing one young ballerina’s struggle with losing both her parents and her ability to dance in a traumatic car crash. The protagonist, Bethany, takes center stage in this character-driven novel. Few outside forces (aside from the car crash) affected the protagonist… Continue reading TEARS TO DANCING: A Middle Grade Review by Guest Reviewer Mara Scudder
Last week I reviewed Sally Apokedak's young adult fantasy, The Button Girl. This week, I'm happy to provide an interview with her about the story behind writing this thought-provoking novel for Christians, non-Christians, young women and adults.INTERVIEWCAROL: How did you come up with the ideas for this book? SALLY: I had a hippy friend who had named… Continue reading The Button Girl: An Interview with Author Sally Apokedak and Autographed Giveaway Part II
Congratulations to Jo Lynn Worden and Julian Daventry who won copies of DRIVE from last week's blog post. ****** I am always honored when an author asks me to host their cover reveal. So, when Lisa Williams Kline asked if I was interested, of course I said yes! Her latest book, ONE WEEK OF YOU,… Continue reading ONE WEEK OF YOU- by Lisa Kline's new YA novel and a Giveaway!
Congratulations to Connie Saunders who won THE WOLF'S BOY. Please note that since this is a review of an audio CD, the following quotes might not be exactly correct; I did my best to capture the words. ********* REVIEW What do you do if you find out that your father had an affair eight years… Continue reading Just Fly Away: An Audio CD Review and Giveaway
Cleopatra Edison Oliver is a fifth grade force to be reckoned with. Her superpower is the art of persuasion and she is convinced that she can not only create and market personalized hair clips ("Tell the world who you are!") to every girl in her grade, she's sure that her idol, talk show host, Fortune… Continue reading Cleo Edison Oliver in Persuasion Power: A Review and Giveaway
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a good title is worth at least as much. WHEELS OF CHANGE (Creston Books, 2014), Darlene Beck Jacobson’s debut middle grade novel, is exactly what it purports to be: a novel about change. And of course, about wheels. The story, based loosely on Jacobson’s grandmother, shows… Continue reading Wheels of Change: A Review, Autographed Giveaway, and Free Skype Visit!
Congratulations to Sandra Warren for winning Augusta Scattergood's book, MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG. ****** Here's the question: On a multiple choice test, which would you choose? a. Kirby Larson's newest book, Audacity Jones Steals the Show (Scholastic, 2017), is about an eleven-year-old girl ("Audie to her friends") who makes an elephant disappear. b. Audacity Jones is about Cypher,… Continue reading Audacity Jones Steals the Show: Review, ARC Giveaway, and a Mini-Lesson on POV
I'm honored to share a cover reveal for a tween book that will be released next month. TWICE BETRAYED, by my fellow Highlights Summer Camp participant, Gayle Krause, will be available on March 28th from Trowbridge Books. Isn't this a gorgeous cover? Here's the blurb for the book: The thread of friendship is stretched to the breaking… Continue reading Twice Betrayed: A Cover Reveal and ARC Giveaway!
Time travel. The Civil War. Multi-cultural. Horses. Romance. There aren't many books that fit such a wide variety of categories--but Turning on a Dime by Maggie Dana does just that. Samantha DeVries' father is Lucas DeVries, a third-generation American of Dutch descent and master horseman; her mother, Gretchen, is an African American and a history buff who… Continue reading Turning On a Dime- A Review and a Giveaway!