Book Review Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow

I eagerly awaited this book since I sort of have a writers crush on the author. Nathan Bransford was a literary agent with an amazing blog that taught me tons about the whole publishing world. He is no longer an agent, but his blog still has all kinds of helpful information. See his blog HERE

I was able to get the local library to get a copy of this book and was so excited to read it. When I did, I enjoyed it, but not as much as I had hoped to. I don't know what it was that felt lacking for me, but as I thought about it, I wondered if it was because it is a middle grade novel instead of Young Adult (the category I've found myself reading most frequently of late)
It is still an enjoyable read, and I think it's worth looking into.

Here's what the book has to say about itself:

Space travel is all fun and games until someone breaks the universe.

Jacob Wonderbar has been the bane of every substitute teacher at Magellan Middle School ever since his dad moved away from home. He never would have survived without his best friend Dexter, even if he is a little timid, and his cute-but-tough friend Sarah Daisy, who is chronically overscheduled.

But when the trio meets a mysterious man in silver they trade a corn dog for his sassy spaceship and blast off into the great unknown. That is, until they break the universe in a giant space kapow and a nefarious space buccaneer named Mick Cracken maroons Jacob and Dexter on a tiny planet that smells like burp breath. The friends have to work together to make it back to their little street where the houses look the same, even as Earth seems farther and farther away.

Here's what I have to say about it.

I liked the characters in it. I did giggle in places. The planets they visit are wildly imaginative. A planet with 30 second days, and 30 second nights. A planet entirely populated by scientist, a planet of substitute teachers. The planet where the King of the Universe lives sounds nice and too perfect. The space ships are fun and I'd love to be able to trade a corn dog for one myself.

Jacob, and his friends Dexter and Sarah have a great friendship, but find it tested as they go through some of the experiences in outer space. There are parental issues brought up. There are friendship problems brought to light and how to deal with making choices you are willing to live with, but done in a way that isn't too preachy.

I know that Bransford is a fan of the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and a few places in the book reminded me a lot of that series.

Some places in the book confused me and I believe or hope they'll be cleared up in some of his follow up stories. I believe there are 3 planned for it.

Overall, it's a fun book and I'm sure the middle grade audience it was written for will love it. I enjoyed it, but at times found myself analyzing it as an adult instead of just letting myself really get into it.

Check it out for Amazon HERE

Check out Barns and Noble HERE

Check out his website again HERE

It's been a long time, but it hasn't been wasted.

I haven't posted in almost a month, and I didn't realize it was so long ago. I've been doing some reading, and writing, and parenting, and living, and so on. I probably have had time to do a post, but I haven't done it so now I'm setting a goal to do at least once a week. I did plan to post a couple times a week, and do some book reviews as I've completed books, but it just hasn't happened yet.

So I'm going to do a book review once a month, and do a post about writing once a week. Beyond that, we'll see what happens. Like I mentioned before, I am a mother. I have 5 kids that are more important than the extra things I'd like to do. Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely selfless. I will still do many things that make me happy. Some of that involves my kids and husband. Some of that will be writing related.

Writing does make me happy. The prospect of trying to get an agent, or have a publishing house makes me nervous. Putting my work out there for others to see isn't what gets me. It's the fact that the publishing industry is so subjective. My work might not be what they are looking for at the time, though that doesn't mean my story is bad, it just means it isn't for them.
That's okay. I still like it. And I'll keep writing more and more. Who knows, maybe someday, the whole world can read my thoughts.

Laura

So you've written a book... Now what?

Yeah, I know I know, you sell it. Or publish it. Or so on.

But really, what do you do once you've written the final words and tagged on "THE END". Well, just because you wrote those final two words, it doesn't mean you are done. You have to go over it and over it and then over it one more time.

Once you've corrected every single little error you can find, then you give it to someone else to read to tell you whats wrong with it. And though family and friends are great at giving you positive feedback, or at least neutral feedback, you need someone who will tear it apart for you and tell you what is wrong. And not only what is wrong, but WHY it is wrong. Is there a problem with your plot? Is your character pretty boring, or irritating, or not likable enough to keep the reader engaged? Then you also hope this reader will tell you what is RIGHT about it. Every writer wants to hear praise, but it's the best when you can get praise for what you did well, along with suggestions on how to fix what is wrong with it.

My most recent manuscript was finished toward the end of July (just before my baby was born) I let it sit for about a month while I enjoyed my newborn. Then got back at it in September and worked on fixing what I could find wrong with it. I sent it out to about 5 readers who took the time to look through it and tell me what they liked and didn't like. Then I spent another month applying those edits. I sent it out again to 4 other readers and back to 1 of the first 5 to have another look. Now I'm in the process of fixing it again. And can I tell you this version will be so much better than the first one I had finished in July. Critique groups are so so so so so important.

Another thing to work on once you get the story written is to work on a query letter, and also a synopsis so when you start sending it out to agents or publishers they can get a quick look to see if it's something they want to see more of.

So I've written a book. And now I'm fixing it up. Writing a summary/synopsis of it. Writing a query. Daydreaming about how wonderful it is and how quickly it will sell and make me untold amounts of money. Feeling completely inadequate about the whole process and enjoying it all at the same time.

One more thing. If you've ever wanted to write a book. GO FOR IT! It's hard work, but it sure is fun. And the writing community is so wonderful.

A Book Review: Two Souls are Better than One by Karen E. Hoover

This was a fun read.

It's quick and easy and entertaining. It's geared to younger teens and I think they'd love it. Those who like Harry Potter, the Percy Jackson stories, Fable Haven series and the Far World or 13th Realities would probably like this too.

Here's what the book says about itself:

Barely thirteen, Jeremy James Johansen has had more than his share of trouble. His father disappeared without a trace and the police believe he murdered his lab assistant, though his son knows it isn’t true. His dad can’t even handle a knife, let alone a bow and arrow.
A year later Jeremy stumbles across a portal to another world and gets pulled through—but not as himself. Somehow he swaps bodies with the man on the other side before the portal disappears.
Captured by a dragon and a man in black who insists on calling him father, he tries to escape, only to plummet to his death. He awakens in his own bed, believing it was all a bad dream. The problem is there are holes in his memory he can’t fill.
In time, he discovers that the portal holds the answers not only to his forgotten memories, but most importantly, points him down the path to finding his father.

Here's what I have to say about it.

Jeremy was a fun and believable character. He has hopes and dreams, but lots of flaws and problems too. When he ends up going to the other world and swaps bodies with a magician there, the description of a boy's soul or consciousness inside an old man's body really made sense. He couldn't run like he used to 'cause things hurt. Karen really did a good job making me believe Jeremy was really experiencing something completely foreign to him but possible nonetheless.
Then since he plummets to his death in that old body he returns to his own, but the soul of the magician (who was in Jeremy's body) has no place to return so he stays with Jeremy's body. I loved how Karen had the two struggle to come to terms with this yet it didn't ever get over the top or strange.

I loved the magic in this story. Magic in the other world is completely normal, and science is top order in our/Jeremy's world, but Jeremy begins to use magic in our world since the magician sharing his consciousness teaches him about the possibilities out there. It was fun to have two worlds to go back and forth between and Karen did a good job keeping me guessing on what was going on while still giving me enough information I could piece things together to understand what would come next. Besides dragons, there were shapeshifters, Pegasus, and other mythical creatures.

I'm looking forward to the next in the series since she left it off in such a way that Jeremy is still in some trouble, but I have hopes things will work out well for him.


Karen's website is HERE

Amazon link HERE

Barns and Noble link HERE

Book Review I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells

Holy smokes this book was WOW.

I hadn't really heard a lot of this book other than it was really good. So I was listening to the podcasts Writing Excuses (you should totally go listen to them if you are interested in writing at all, great stuff) and Dan Wells is one of the authors involved on that podcast. I had to make a run to the library and I decided to see if this book was available. Miracle of miracles, it was (Though I had to get on the waiting list for the next 2 books)

I started reading it right there in the library while my kids browsed their section and played with the toys in the children's area. It started out so gripping, I didn't want to pack up my kids to go home. I would have stayed right there in the library reading it if my kids hadn't started to get a little bit noisy.

Here's a brief summary of it. John Wayne Cleaver lives in a small town in a small apartment above the towns mortuary. His mother and her twin sister are morticians and John has an obsession with dead bodies. He's also what you'd call a sociopath. He doesn't connect with living people at all, and is very aware of his faults and strangeness. He has another obsession with Serial killers, knowing the details of many cases throughout history. He worries he might become one so he sets up rigid rules for himself to avoid it. He studies people in order to try to blend in, but the way Dan Wells creates this kid and gets him involved in the strange murders that happen in his town make you at once disturbed and delighted in his evolution.

I don't want to give any spoilers, but I have to say that I was relieved when something about the bad guy made him less evil in a way and I even found myself caring for him. It's a gripping read and I'm not one to like horror novels. I stay away from things I worry will give me nightmares, but this book worked for me.

Pick it up today.

Dan Wells website HERE

Amazon HERE

Barnes and Noble HERE

or find it at your local bookstore

Book Review The Healing Crystal "Heir to Power"

This book was huge, but I loved every page.

When it first arrived in the mail, my mom was visiting and picked it up. She scanned the back, asked me about it and when I told her I got it to read and do a blog review of it she nodded her head and put it down. Then she picked it back up and started reading. I haven't seen my mom read a book before. Sure magazines, kids books to me when I was little, medical journals. (She's a nurse recently retired) and maybe it's because I haven't really been home to see her reading, but she started one night at my house, stayed up late reading it and was about 1/4 the way through by the time she had to head back home. She asked if she could borrow the book and bring it back since she'd be coming back for Thanksgiving.

I was pretty busy with NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)so I told her, "Sure. Take it home, but make sure you bring it back because I have to read it for the blog book tour." SHE LOVED IT! I kept asking her about it and she said things like it's interesting, it's good, it's fascinating. She never told me what happened, letting me discover it for myself but the fact she read it and didn't put it down after she began told me it was something good. She's even checked out the second book in the series on Amazon.

Now to tell you what I thought of it. It was great. It starts out interesting from the very beginning. The story is about a sixteen-year-old girl who is the next in line to lead a small colony called the Survinees. She will be the one to hold an ancient religious artifact called the Healing Crystal. She is also destined to marry a handsome guy who has been training to be the support he needs to be to her leadership. But... She starts to have feelings for someone else.
This book has so much going on in it that you'd almost be confused if I told you all about it, but as you read it, it is so clear and easy to follow. But let me try to sum it up.

Kairma is next in line to lead the colony, but since she had a childhood illness that left her looking like the race of almost albino looking men, the people in her colony almost fear her. She's nervous about what's expected of her, her younger sister Kinter wants to be the one in line for the power. Kairma is supposed to marry Naturi when she comes of age within the year, and he's willing, but then she starts to have feelings for a guy who happens to be her big brothers best friend.

Meanwhile, a traveling archaeologist from the outside world discovers their colony and is almost put to death since no one in the outside world is allowed to know the secret of their colony (The Healing Crystal), but the matriarch (Kairma's grandma) decides not to kill him, but hopes he'll bring his woman back to help increase the numbers of the colony since disease and infertility have wiped out the colony and they don't want to have inbreeding going on.

Some of the people go to the outer civilization and see what they've been missing in the hundreds of years since their colony has hidden themselves while those in the colony discover a hidden vault in the mountain near a monument with four faces carved into the mountain. (Yeah, that place) In this vault are things that you would recognize, but the Survinees don't know what it is and as they try to interpret what they find you begin as a reader to piece together what might have happened.

It's considered a science fiction book, but it reminded me of old west meets lost tribe that has remained unchanged over the centuries. It's science fiction because it takes you to the future but makes it feel like you've gone back in time or to an alternate universe.

Though they try to keep their life the same it has been for so long, the outer world can't be stopped from influencing their colony.

I like the last sentence of the blurb on the back of the book: "A battle is raging between insider and outsider and Kairma holds the power to bring peace, but is she strong enough to save the world she loves?"

Kairma is a great Main Character and I really liked how Michele Poague developed her. The interactions between characters are great. The story line is creative and complicated in just the right amounts. I really can't wait to read the next one in this series.

It's a wonderful read and I highly recommend it.

The link to buy it on Amazon is HERE


Michele Poague's website is HERE

A book review. Faithful Fit, and Fabulous

A book review of Faithful Fit, and Fabulous by Connie E. Sokol

I saw this book on the authors blog a couple months ago and loved the title. I wanted it right away so when I had the chance to get a copy of it to do a review I jumped at the chance.

The thing that surprised me was that instead of it being a fix all right away kind of book, it flat out tells you not to try to do it all at once. I had a little bit of a hard time with that since I want answers, and results right away. (I just had a baby a few months ago and am still waiting for those last stubborn pounds to disappear) I know I know, I need to do the work and exercise to get it off, but I still want immediate results. But after reading this book, I think I have a better chance at success in weight loss, managing my life, fitness, motherhood and so many other things than if I tried to change things immediately.

Connie Sokol basically gives us 8 chapters of ideas to correspond to a particular issue or challenge or even developing particular habits. She recommends you read only one chapter a week so as to not overwhelm yourself by trying to jump right in and then burn out. I of course read the whole thing over the space of a couple days while holding a baby more often than not. The ideas in there are simple, yet sound. I've applied a couple, found I was already doing something similar to what she suggested, or thought my way of doing something worked just fine and that I didn't really need to change it since it worked.

She doesn't promise ridiculous results. She tells you what she did. How it worked for her, (or not) and what she wished she would have done differently. It's like learning how to do something along with someone who has been there, done that, but is willing to let you still do it your way.

I don't normally read self help books, but I really enjoyed this one. I liked the thoughts and quotes she used from respected religious leaders. I liked how she had it broken up into manageable chapters and sections so I can easily go back to the one I want to focus on at any particular time. By doing the things one by one, and adding the next one when I'm ready for it I'll be much better off than just wishing things were different for me.

This would be a good book to check out if you are interested in making some changes in your life. And by the slow and steady adage you will be more likely to find success than all the New Years Resolutions you can remember making over the years.

To find her website go HERE

To order her book go HERE