Interview with Tom Tancin

Check out this interview with Tom Tancin...here's a sneak peek:

How much of your writing is based on your own experience as a child or teenager?
My Time Warriors series is science-fiction but it teaches the reader about friendship and the challenges you face to keep the friendship alive. It also shows the importance of friends and families. That is based on the fact that my friends and family helped me face the most challenging time of my life. When I was in middle school and high school, my dad was battling a lung disease. He was given 5 years to live and put on a list for a lung transplant. My friends and family were there for me and helped me through that time. And they never left my side. My dad eventually got the transplant and is living a pretty normal life now. So I think that the relationship aspect of the series came from a real life challenge and translated into the sci-fi challenge that is so big in the series.

Winners of Jibberwillies at Night

Can you tell I'm trying to get some stuff done today LOL? Here are some more winners for you...the winners of Jibberwillies at Night are...

Tara Oshinski
Vikki Gremel
Juliann TIgert
Mary Hollifield
Winnie Smith
Bev Yakymiw
Margaret Smith
Gwendolyn Bruno
Tamara Merritt
Sharon Davis

Please note that this prize will be mailed out directly by the publisher. Thanks and congrats!

Winners of 3 Willows

The winners of the 3 Willows contest are...

Molly Capel
Melissa Palmer
Kori Wey
Catalina Ananias Fellay
Julia Marie

Please note that the publisher will be mailing out this prize directly. Thanks and congrats!

Winners of Eternal

The winners of the Eternal Giveaway are...

Hatice Akcay
Vanessa (poodle649)
Beth Revis
Erika Lynn Carrubba
Eve Datisman

The publisher will be mailing out your prizes! Congrats!

Earth Hour Tonight!

Want an excuse to curl up with a good book by candlelight tonight? It's no excuse, really - it's a simple, wonderful way to take action against globalwarming! Earth Hour is a worldwide event happening TONIGHT. Here's how the official event website describes it:

"This Saturday 28 March at 8:30 PM you can vote Earth by switching off your lights for one hour - EARTH HOUR."

Visit EarthHour.org to learn more.

Leave a comment telling me which book you read tonight!

Book Review: Heroes of the Valley

Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud is truly a tale of epic proportions, reminiscent of the Norse Sagas of feats of extraordinary strength and bravery. It is the story of the twelve Houses that populate the Valley and the Heroes who fought to protect their valley.

Halli was born into the House of Svein. He did not look like a Sveinsson, being short and stocky. A ‘midwinter’ baby, he is destined to a short and danger filled life. He believes all the heroic stories and imagines himself involved in equal adventures. When his favorite uncle is killed by Hord the Hakonsson, Halli vows revenge. This sets off a series of events pitting the Sveinssons and Haksonssons that will have a dramatic impact on the entire Valley.

Stroud, author of the Bartimaeus Trilogy, a group of books definitely worth reading if you like fantasy and magic (which I do), has done a wonderful job in Heroes of the Valley. The interesting thing is that Stroud includes, at the beginning of each chapter, the saga of Svein the Hero. This is in contrast to the adventures of Halli. The characters are marvelous, the action non-stop and the descriptive writing puts you in the middle of everything. Heroes of the Valley is a wonderful saga and a coming of age story.

2 Picture Books

My review of Big Rabbit's Bad Mood and Little Oink.

Review: At Face Value

What do you do when you have a crush on someone who's out of your league?

Cyrie's smart and funny but really self-conscious about her big nose, so she'll probably never tell her good friend Eddie that she's got a crush on him. When her best friend Leyla falls for him as well, she agrees to help her get the guy by writing emails to him for her. But when Eddie falls in love over email, which girl is he in love with?

Find out how this re-imagining of the modern classic Cyrano de Bergerac deals with the theme of not letting anything hold you back from what you think you deserve. Read my review here.

Patrick Carman Webcast Event

Bestselling author Patrick Carman, creator of the multimedia ghost story sensation SKELETON CREEK, will participate in two LIVE web-cast events on Monday, March 23rd at 10:00AM PST and 4:30PM PST during which he’ll talk about SKELETON CREEK and answer viewer questions. Visit the site below during the webcast and participate in the LIVE Q&A.
www.mogulus.com/skeletoncreektv

About SKELETON CREEK:

SKELETON CREEK is a multimedia ghost story (the first in a two-book series). It engages middle-grade readers through a combination of written story and more than an hour of original online videos produced by Patrick Carman’s own PC Studios in Walla Walla, Washington. The story is broken into two parts, created by the book’s main characters, best friends Sarah and Ryan who, after a mysterious accident injuring Ryan, have been separated by their parents. The book is Ryan’s story, which he chronicles in a journal for Sarah. Meanwhile, Sarah sends Ryan messages via videos (links to nine videos appear interspersed throughout the book, accessed online with passwords provided in the book). Together, the book and videos reveal three things: the past is dangerous, the present is haunted and the future is deadly.
For more information please visit: http://patrickcarman.com/main/skeletoncreek/

About PATRICK CARMAN:

Patrick Carman is the author of The New York Times bestselling Land of Elyon series, and Elliot’s Park, a chapter book series for younger readers. Among his forthcoming projects is Book #5 in the bestselling multiplatform The 39 Clues series. Carman lives in Walla Walla, Washington. Visit Patrick Carman at www.patrickcarman.com.

For more information on Skeleton Creek or to arrange an interview with Patrick Carman, please contact Samantha Wolfert at swolfert@scholastic.com or 212/343-6847.

Operation TBD Contest at readergirlz!

Dear readergirlz -

The time has come for a contest! Actually, five weeks of contests!

Here's the deal: each week from now until Support Teen Literature Day on April 16th, we'll be awarding a package of books to one winner. To enter, you just comment at the readergirlz blog (comments on older posts count - a point for each comment!) and get an extra ten points for taking up the week's challenge. Get ten more any time by becoming one of our blog followers! Do this by going to the blog - look at the column on the left-hand side and scroll down until you see the Followers section, then sign in / click Follow!

Report your post at the readergirlz blog with the URL (and get eleven points!). We'll keep track of the comments and urls and award the winners each week. Books! Prizes! And you'll be supporting teen lit and hospitalized teens across the country.

This week's challenge:

Post the Operation TBD trailer on your blog. Spread the word about Operation TBD!

Remember, for your posts to count toward the contest, you must post at the readergirlz blog. Hope to see you there!

Jen Calonita's giving her books away!

To celebrate the releases of Paparazzi Princess (the newest entry in the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series) and Sleepaway Girls (a stand-alone novel out in May), author Jen Calonita is giving away three copies of each book at her blog!

To win, all you have to do is comment at her blog. Winners will be chosen at random TOMORROW, March 18th. Good luck and enjoy the books!

Read an excerpt of Paparazzi Princess!

Read an excerpt of Sleepaway Girls!

Review: Duke Ellington: His Life in Jazz, by Stephanie Stein Crease

Duke Ellington: His Life in Jazz, by Stephanie Stein Crease
A great addition to any library, this already comprehensive biography also includes 21 fun activities that will appeal to kids of elementary age on up.
Read the review here!

Tales from Outer Suburbia, by Shaun Tan

This winsome and wise book is masterfully illustrated in woodcuts, pen and ink, and oil paintings. Tales from Outer Suburbia is a must-read book, for everyone from 9 to 99. Shaun Tan, the author/illustrator of the acclaimed graphic novel, The Arrival, has created an evocative, delightful book with his short stories and stunning illustrations. You can read my review (posted today) at http://yabookscentral.com

Discover what lies at the end of the map of Outer Suburbia...

Review of Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception

The first time I read Lament, I picked it up intending only to skim the opening pages. They were so compelling that I couldn’t keep myself from consuming the whole book in one greedy bite.

Deirdre Monaghan (Dee) is an extremely talented musician. She arrives at a local competition full of anxiety, but set to play her harp and get it over with so she can return to her "ordinary life.” That’s kind of a problem, since she is anything but ordinary. Dee has abilities she doesn’t even know about yet…and they aren’t the normal kind.

Read more here...

Review: Wintergirls

Lia is basically starving herself to death. Despite two admissions into rehab, Lia is back to her old tricks: making her parents think that she's eating, counting calories, missing classes. Her friend, Cassie, was recently found dead, alone in a sleazy hotel room. She called Lia 33 times the night she died and Lia didn't answer the phone. In Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson brings into stark reality the drama of eating disorders. You live Lia's life-the calorie counting, the deception, the nightmares. You experience Lia's parent's anxiety and concern.

Anderson has written a riviting book, one that should be read by parents and teens alike.

Tropical Secrets

My review of Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle is up now. It is a GREAT book. Highly recommended.

March contests!

Be sure to check out the March contests!

Enter to win one of 5 copies of Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald or 10 copies of Me, Penelope by Lisa Jahn-Clough!

Book Review: Dishes

Danny is living with his father, Jack, in Ogunquit, Maine for the summer, maybe permanently. His parents were seventeen when he was born, unmarried and unready for a family. Jack left Danny and his mother, who continued to live with her parents. She still does. It’s time for Jack and Danny to connect.

Jack hasn’t changed much in twenty years. He’s still pretty much like a teenager, leaving Danny to himself most of the time. They both work in the gay bar Dishes (Danny as a dishwasher and Jack as a bartender) and they both are straight.

Jogging one day, Danny meets Mercy and there’s a connection. But Mercy thinks Danny might be gay, especially considering Hector, a waiter, keeps flirting with him. Danny ultimately convinces her that he’s straight.

Dishes by Rich Wallace is a very innocuous romance story, meaning it was fun to read but nothing makes it stand out. You’ll enjoy it while you read it but you probably won’t remember it after a month or two. While it deals with homosexuality, it certainly doesn’t break any new ground. It’s an easy and fast read (only 145 pages). The characters are fun. The action is reasonable. If you’re looking for a short diversion, try Dishes.