Young Adult Cross-Genre Review

Book: Uncommon Magic

Category: YA fantasy romance
Author: Michelle Scott
Author's Website: www.mscottfiction.com

Reviewed by Reading Vacation

Rating: four out of five stars

Review: Usually, in books, the magicians are in hiding because they fear the un-magical. Uncommon Magic goes against the norm to a world where magicians control everything and are looked up to as kings. Where inventions are against the law and inventors are put to death. How does an ordinary girl get pulled into the battle of the magical and un-magical? Between magic and inventions? Between love and family?

Fist, Mira. She will do anything for the boy she loves, Jess, who turns out to be a magician. She does not have the strongest girl power, but she does have some redeeming qualities. Sympathy for those suffering is one of those qualities. Even while the magicians were so downright mean to her, when they were in trouble, Mira still tried to help. Also, Mira is loyal to those she cares about, even though they sometimes don’t deserve it. Take Jess for example, he was a jerk to Mira, but she refused to give up on him. I don’t think I would have stuck around.

The magic is uncommon indeed. The magicians can start a fire that does not burn things. They also put on the most magnificent image shows out of thin air. Their magic isn’t all kittens and rainbows though. Magicians do the most horrible things to the un-magical. Magic is sometimes used to put someone to death, or make them suffer for a crime they may not have committed. That is why the un-magical were so upset.

You can see why a revolution was long overdue. The un-magical were prepared to deal with their unfair treatment, for which I applaud them. Magicians couldn’t stay in power forever, and now the people were realizing it. But, their methods were sot of uncalled for. I mean, did they need that many weapons to take down a few magicians. The end result was my favorite part of the revolution. I think both the magicians and the un-magical have a brighter future because of a few people who wanted to be heard.

-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Nonfiction for Teens Recommended

Snowflake Obsidian: Memoir of a Cutter
Written by The Hippie
www.SnowflakeObsidianBook.com
ISBN: 978-1-4502-6654-6
Publisher: iUniverse
Rating: 5/5 stars
Genre: Teen nonfiction

 Reviewed by Bensey originally for Amazon

I consider myself an avid reader and was skeptical before reading this book. However, once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. I related to the main character in so many ways and really felt that the author put a true voice to a beautiful soul who was figuring out how to love herself.

I loved the characters in the book, and more specifically the way that The Hippie was able to bring each of them to life and create a way that the reader appreciated each of them whether or not they were an emotionally stunted father or a shallow and back-stabbing best friend, or a drug-using soul mate. The Hippie brought an empathetic voice to each character. I found myself laughing during parts, crying during parts and praising the author's ability to overcome her own insecurities in other parts. I appreciated the way that she wrote about her experience with cutting; not minimizing the pain that she was in, but not over-dramatizing it either. It can be a delicate subject and I felt that The Hippie's vulnerability maintained the balance between self-torture and self-actualization during that time, as well as writing about the experience of overcoming it.

The Hippie's journey during "Snowflake Obsidian" is one that is refreshingly honest. I highly recommend this book.

-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Lyndsay Digneo Reviews New Chicklit Book

Title – Something Borrowed

Author – Emily Giffin
Author’s Website – http://www.emilygiffin.com
Genre - Chicklit

ISBN-10: 031232118X

ISBN-13: 978-0312321185

Reviewed by Lyndsay Digneo for Simply Lindsay

Reviewer Website (Blog) – http://simplylyndsay.blogspot.com/

Despite a lot of positive reviews, I was slightly hesitant to read Emily Giffin's first novel, Something Borrowed. The whole premise of the book, the main character sleeps with her best friend's fiancé, isn't exactly the storyline I usually go for. However, with the movie being released on May 6th and a lot of great recommendations from friends, I decided to take the plunge and read it. I'm so glad I did. Unlike other novels with an affair at its core, Giffin did a stellar job of turning the tables and made the reader sympathetic to the cheater.

Meet Rachel and Darcy. They've been best friends for years. Rachel is the perpetual good girl, who's worked hard for everything she has in life, and Darcy, well, she's that girl you know and sometimes scratch your head in wonder about how everything in her life has always fallen into place. However, on the eve of her 30th birthday, Rachel finds herself in bed with Darcy's fiancé. While she resigns herself to thinking it was a one-time, drunken mistake, the fling soon becomes a full blown affair. To make matters worse, as if it could get worse, Rachel is not only Darcy's best friend she is her maid of honor.

As the story follows Rachel, Darcy, and Dex, that's Darcy's fiancé, and their friends through the summer, the lines of right and wrong get blurred. As easy as it is to say cheating is wrong, Giffin makes a subtle but strong case that there are "no moral absolutes."

At 29, I'm about the same age as Rachel and Darcy. I found myself relating to them and laughing along side of them throughout the entire book. One of my favorite scenes of the entire book was the night of Darcy's bachelorette party. Darcy spent the night at Rachel's apartment as Darcy wanted to relive the days of childhood sleepovers. If you ever had a best friend that was like a sister to you, you'll relate and feel bond between Rachel and Darcy. They truly have a history filled with good memories, and that's what makes Rachel's situation all the more intriguing and difficult.

The focal point of the novel is a heavy one, but the story itself is another segment of growing up. We grow up learning right from wrong, but the truth of the matter is "the world is not that black-and-white." Sometimes it takes us until we're 29 going on 30 to fully learn the lesson and realize that there are always tough decisions to make. And of course when it comes to matters of the heart, sometimes, we learn that a man should never be something borrowed.

-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

THE Book for Book Lovers

Title: The Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life

Author: Nava Atlas
Publisher: Sellers Publishing, Inc. South Portland, ME
Publishing Date: 2011
ISBN 13: 978-1-4162-0632-3


Reviewer: Mindy Phillips Lawrence


Nava Atlas is a well-known cookbook author. The Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life is a departure but in it, she offers us the ingredients twelve famous female writers combined to serve up their writing lives. Through family problems, depression and social misconceptions, they wrote. They persevered in order to say what they were compelled to say. Because they did, we now know the works of Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontё, Willa Cather, Edna Ferber, Madeline L’Engle, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anaïs Nin, George Sand, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Edith Wharton and Virginia Woolf.
Atlas talks about the “universal yearning to set thoughts to paper.” Literary Ladies explains how each writer showcased in the book made space in her life to accomplish that goal. It wasn’t easy.
Harriet Beecher Stowe raised seven children and had to supplement her husband’s meager income by publishing her articles. Yet, she found the time to produce Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a book that rattled a nation.
Edith Wharton was on the other end of the economic ladder. The phrase “keep up with the Joneses” pertains to her family. It was Wharton’s family with whom the elite struggled to keep up--both socially and economically. Although she had money, time and ability, her family thought the pursuit of writing was an embarrassment to their station in life and not worthwhile for a socialite. She still forged ahead to win a Pulitzer Prize.
The information about the authors comes from their diaries, letters, journals memories and interviews. From these sources, we learn about how they struggled to find and maintain their own voice, master uncertainty about their abilities and balance their family lives with the need to write. It breaks down forever the fallacy that writing is easy work.
Chapters in The Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life include Becoming a Writer, Developing a Voice, Tools of the Trade, Conquering Inner Demons, The Writer Mother, Rejection and Acceptance, Money-Matters and Farther Along the Path. At the end is a section on Sources, Notes and Acknowledgements which gives additional information for deeper study. The only thing the book doesn’t have is an index, which would come in handy.

Nava Atlas not only wrote this book but also illustrated it, and did it well. She is an accomplished illustrator with work in several gallery collections. Writer, artist, cook, mother, she herself is an example of the persevering woman. But even as gifted as she is, Atlas said about her early writing life, “I thought I lacked ability when the writing got hard.” It’s so easy not to see the big picture.
Twenty-First Century women still have the same challenges as did the Literary Ladies. They must figure out how to write, get a publisher, make a living as a writer while raising a family and, in most cases, hold down a full-time job. Atlas’s book motivates modern-day female writers to carve out time from the same twenty-four-hour day the Literary Ladies had to pursue their craft. The Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life offers them the ingredients and motivation to bake up their OWN literary masterpieces. That’s why this book is so important to read.

###
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Tweeting Help for Those with Something to Sell

Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers
Subtitle: Tweaking Your Tweets and Other Tips for Integrating Your Social Media
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Author's Blog: http://www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com/
129 pages
ISBN: 9781451546149


Originally reviewed by Aaron Paul Lazar for Amazon

Carolyn Howard-Johnson has written another excellent guide, this time it's suitable for anyone selling a product. I happen to be a writer, and learned a great deal about tweeting to improve book sales. For example, I never knew what "Retweets" were or that one could request them. Written with a straightforward, easy to read style, this is a great reference book. I particularly loved this quote "So let's think freely and with confidence that our good deeds will come back to us. If we act accordingly, we can successfully use all kinds of sites on the Web." Carolyn's positive and optimistic outlook shines through in this book - coupled with astute common sense and experience. Buy it today!
~Aaron Paul Lazar is the author of three lyrical and addictive mystery series. His latest book, FireSong, was just released as an eBook. FireSong: What would you do if your country church was hit by a rogue tornado during services? When the twister unearths the body of a missing churchgoer, Gus LeGarde is led into a bizarre underground labyrinth where he discovers the shock of his life and potential links to the Underground Railroad.

 
 
 
 
 
 
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

The Tech Disease: Getting Over Addiction

Title – The Digital Diet:
Subtitle - The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance
Author – Daniel Sieberg
Author's website link - http://www.danielsieberg.com/
Genre or category - technology
ISBN – 978-0307887382
Publisher -  Random House

The Digital Diet is a 28-day plan that’s meant to reawaken our awareness of technology in our lives, provide tools and gadgets to improve life, and instill the right motivational/practical formula for managing it in the future. It can be tailored based on age, profession, hobbies, and a person’s particular electronic poison and includes a self-assessment, a detox phase, and a week-by-week guide to building time for technology back into your routine.



The 4 Step Plan

Step 1 – Think - Consider how technology has overwhelmed our society and the effect it’s had on your physical, mental, and emotional health.
Step 2 – Boot - Take stock of your digital intake using Sieberg’s Virtual Weight Index and step back from the device.

Step 3 – Connect - Focus on restoring the relationship that have been harmed by the technology in your life.
Step 4 – Vitalize - Learn how to live with technology – the healthy way, by optimizing your time spent e-mailing, texting, on Facebook and web surfing.

Kirkus Review -

Former CBS and CNN technology correspondent recognizes what is lost in a multitasking, digitally obsessed world and outlines suggestions to help people reclaim their lives.

Spending hours on the computer with minimal productivity? Is social-networking a daily necessity, or has the purchase of the latest games, gadgets and apps become routine? Life does not have to be beholden to technology, writes Sieberg, who encourages technology users to take control. The author, an Emmy-nominated journalist and self-rehabbed gaming and social-network addict, urges the plugged-in public to recognize the impact technology is having on their self-esteem, relationships and health. Technology, writes the author, should allow people to work smarter, not harder. It should provide them with more down time, but not consume it. Rather than berating people for their tech obsession, though, Sieberg shares his own fall into compulsive computering and his subsequent struggle to make time off-screen. He outlines his four-step, 28-day plan that instructs readers to take back control through “positive computing” and constructive time-management. The author is aware that one size does not fit all, and he provides a flexible tech cleanse that readers can employ as they see fit. Packed with helpful tips, examples of exercises one can do while incorporating their gadgets and recommendations for apps and software that help achieve positive technology management, Sieberg sets the reader on a path for success.

Take control over technology with this energetic, engaging and uplifting read.

~ For much more information about Daniel Sieberg and The Digital Diet: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life visit http://www.danielsieberg.com/.

~ Virtual blog tour coordinated by Nikki Leigh and Promo 101 Promotional Services - http://www.bookpromotionservices.com/



----- The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

You Always Knew "Swum" Was a Word, Right?

Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers: The Ultimate Frugal Booklet for Avoiding Word Trippers and Crafting Gatekeeper-Perfect Copy
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
HowToDoItFrugally Publishing, 2010
55 pages, e-book and paperback
Also available for Kindle
ISBN: 1450507654



Reviewed by Dawn Colclasure

Is there a difference between “childlike” and “childish”? Actually, there is. That's just one of the things I learned when reading Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, which is a companion volume to her other book, The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success.

Reading this book reminded me of the first book in my Revisions series, which is scheduled for publication this spring (and notice that it is “spring” and not “Spring”). In the editing section of that book, I show the difference between popularly confusing words, such as lay/lie, this/that, who/whom and farther/further. In the first part of this book, “Trip-You-Up Words,” Carolyn explores word pairings (or even triplings) of words commonly confused with each other.

I'm glad she included information on the difference between "anxious" and "eager.” I trained myself to stop using "anxious" in a positive way (such as, "I am anxious to see you again") by remembering that the "anx-" prefix is similar to "anxiety." Thus, "anxious" is similar to being filled with anxiety. So would I be feeling anxiety at the prospect of seeing a friend again? Not if it's a good friend! So the correct word is "eager."
This made me laugh: "The sidekick baseball announcers are big on commentary. My gawd! Those statistics and opinions! They go on ad infinitum." (Page 20) One thing Carolyn is known for is her wit and sense of humor. It was pleasant to see this side of her shown in her book.


I wish she had included the difference between compliment/complement. On the other hand, readers must remember that this itty bitty book is only a “companion” volume to her larger, in-depth book on editing. You’ll also find more editing tips on her blog, “The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor." If a word pairing is not covered here or in her book, chances are good she has taken it on in her blog.
She doesn't exactly explain why there is a difference between "hope" and "hopefully," and why using "hopefully" in the common way it is misused is incorrect. (I was surprised to learn this, myself.) Again, however, check with her book, or her blog.

I really appreciated reading this: "In English, we get to make up a word now and then as long as we don't do it at the threshold of a gatekeeper." (Page 28) So true! And very good advice. One thing about being a logophile (lover of words) is that we like to “take breaks” from our quest for proper grammar and have fun with the object of our addic—er, I mean, “affection.” One way we do this is to make up words, and it’s such fun to make up words. Sometimes, I’ll write out silly words just to pass the time, and the results can sometimes pique my interest or cause me to chuckle. (And Carolyn will be pleased to know that I have use “pique” as her booklet instructs.)

I'm glad she pointed out the difference between “i.e.” and “e.g.” as well as the importance of inserting commas on either side of "i.e." and "e.g." She didn't, however, note that the periods are likewise essential. I’ve seen many people use them as “ie” and “eg.”

Some readers of this book, and many others like it, may reach the conclusion that Carolyn must always have perfect grammar and never make a mistake. Unfortunately, this is a widespread opinion of such authors and writers. Even some may believe such a thing of Mignon Fogarty ("Grammar Girl"). However, these writers are only human, and humans are prone to make mistakes. Even grammarians make mistakes. Editors make mistakes all the time. Carolyn reminds her readers of this by sharing an embarrassing goof in using the wrong word in the title of a poem she shared with her class, concluding with: "This experience gives me a chance to remind you to be forgiving of others when they error; your turn is sure to come."

I was grateful to learn the difference between "podium" and "lectern." I know I have misused "podium" a time or two. Now, thanks to this "great little" book, I'll be sure to remember which word is the correct one to use!

And now for the "curious word of the day." Cue the fanfare! The curious word is: Swum. Yes, "swum" is indeed a word, Carolyn notes. To be honest, I've always, always seen either "swim," "swimmed" or "swam." But never "swum." It made me wonder if there is a difference between "swum" and "swam." ("Swam" is still a word, right?)

I love how she points out the popular mispronunciation of words, some of which even I am guilty of. It is not "mischievious," but "mischievous." It is not "verbage" but "verbiage." Likewise, she points out the popular way sayings are repeated incorrectly. It is not "could care less" but "couldn't care less." It is not "tie you over" but "tide you over." In one of my manuscripts, a character is guilty of often quoting popular phrases incorrectly, and we’ve all gotten a chuckle or two when someone does this in a TV show or movie. Still, it's nice to know the correct way to say such a thing for what you really mean.

This “great little book” of editing tips gives readers a down-to-earth and refreshing approach to better grammar and usage. Grammarians bemoan the incorrect wording of the sign “ten items or less” and chuckle over a sign advertising “tattoo’s.” (Whose tattoo, exactly?) While we are imperfect writers living in an imperfect world filled with grammar mistakes and mispronunciations, it’s editing books like this that helps us get one step closer to writing, and speaking, clearly and succinctly.

Author of the following books: November's Child, Take My Hand, 365 TIPS FOR WRITERS: Inspiration, Writing Prompts and Beat the Block Tips to Turbo Charge Your Creativity, BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents, Love is Like a Rainbow: Poems of Love and Devotion, Songs of the Dead, co-author of TOTALLY SCARED: The Complete Book on Haunted Houses


~Reviewer Dawn Colclasure is an author of Totally Scared: The Complete Book On Haunted Houses where she shares everything you ever wanted to know about haunted houses, and the ghosts who haunt them! http://totallyscared.webs.com/ .She is a contributing writer for SIGNews. Learn more about her at  http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/ . Tweet with her at www.twitter.com/dawncolclasure and follow her book review blog at http://writedmc.livejournal.com/.


-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :