The Book Review Club (April 2012)

Well, it's that time again! The first Wednesday of the month. Which means The Book Review Club is up and running. Please scroll below my book review to find links to the rest of the reviews. It's quite a varied lot this month. Our goal is to add to your to-be-read book pile. And make it dangerously high. :)

IN THE PATH OF FALLING OBJECTS

by Andrew Smith (older young adult)

The cover is probably enough to get you to read this book:

Two brothers. One psychopath. A beautiful girl. The road trip from hell.

In a nutshell: It's 1970, and Jonah (16) and his younger brother, Simon (14), are abandoned by their mother. They leave their ramshackle home in New Mexico to head to Arizona in the hopes of finding the rest of their family. They set off with a whopping $10, a backpack of clothes, and letters from their older brother who's doing a tour in Vietnam. Oh, yeah, they also have a gun. Jonah and Simon take a ride from Mitch and Lilly. Mitch is a psychopath. Lilly is pregnant and desperate. Things escalate from there. The book is interspersed with letters from the older brother. The story is fast-paced and told from multiple perspectives.

What I loved: The relationship between the brothers was authentic. They loved each other, but there was some some very real antagonism. The characters acted and sounded like teens. There's a ton of conflict in this book. A ton. At times, my stomach actually hurt. It was that good. And I always love a book with mutiple viewpoints.

IN THE PATH OF FALLING OBJECTS is pretty violent. I wasn't bothered by it, but I wouldn't give this book to a younger teen to read.

Here's Andrew Smith's website.

And now, ta dum, onto the amazing reviews below. Please click through.

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Stacy Nyikos: JEFFERSON'S SONS by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (middle grade)

Staci of Life in the Thumb: THE LIGHT (MORPHEUS ROAD #1) by D.J. Machale (middle grade, fantasy)

Sarah Laurence: THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT by Jennifer E. Smith (young adult)** includes an author interview **

Cassandra of Misadventures of a Teenage Writer: DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver (young adult, dystopian)

Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness

ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Patti Abbott: THE LIFE BOAT by Charlotte Rogan

Linda McLaughlin: CRUCIBLE OF GOLD by Naomi Novik (fantasy)

Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: PERFECT ON PAPER by Janet Goss (women's fiction)

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: NOT IN MY FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS by Terrence Rundel West

Scott Parker: GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD by Michael Chabon (adventure)

NONFICTION REVIEWS

Kaye of the Road Goes Ever Ever On: STEALING SECRETS: HOW A FEW DARING WOMEN DECEIVED GENERALS, IMPACTED BATTLES AND ALTERED THE COURSE OF THE CIVIL WAR by H. Donald Winkler (historical)


Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. I'm out of town today, but will have access to the internet at some point. Thank you so much for your reviews!

My Town Monday: Library Panels, San Diego

(L to R) The suspects: me, Cindy Pon, Laura Preble, Marlene Perez, Mary Pearson. This is pretty much a local yokel panel, although Marlene actually lives a little north of here, in Orange County. Oh, and, thank you, Mary, for the photo. I remembered to charge my camera, but then forgot to put the battery back in. This is only one of many reasons why I'm not a professional photographer.


As previously mentioned, last Friday, I was on an authors' panel at the extremely cute, has-an-ocean-view Encinitas Library. It was part of the San Diego County Library's Book Festival. Very fun! And Marisa Lowe, the teen librarian from my very own branch, did a super job moderating.

There were several things I liked about this event. I think we did a good job answering the questions. We were having fun, and I think that made the experience fun for the audience as well. I'm not particularly talented at speaking off the cuff, so I'm glad I had a chance to practice this. In terms of writing, it was interesting to see what we had in common and how we differed.

And I LOVED the little personal connections I made with the other panel members. Laura Preble and I have 16 year old sons who were in the SAME class from fourth through eighth grade! Marlene Perez and I both have four kids, are at least slightly sleep-deprived and like Thai food. I'm aiming to be as thoughtful and professional and put-together as Mary Pearson. Also, I want a skirt like hers. Oh, and Mary can drink a lot of iced tea. Cindy Pon? Well, she has a wicked sense of humor, is refreshingly honest and has no sense of direction.

Andrew Smith, Cindy Pon, Laura Preble, me

This is Saturday's author panel at the Poway Library. Also a very fun time and I enjoyed meeting Andrew Smith. As the only male around, he kept us on our toes. Plus, he had some GREAT one-liners. Which I will probably steal.

I'll be at the Santee Library (9225 Carlton Hills Blvd, Santee, CA 92071, (619) 448-1863) with Cindy and Laura for a discussion on writing (informal and fun, I hope) and book signing this coming Friday, Oct. 23 @ 5:30. In fact, I have a little surprise gift for each of them.

Click here for links to more My Town Monday posts