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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Guest Post: Mary Lowry of The Earthquake Machine

The lovely Mary Lowry has written a book called The Earthquake Machine that you all should check out! She's agreed to guest post about her inspiration for the book. Don't forget to read her bio--it's full of amazing jobs she once held, like a forest firefighter. No wonder this book is full of adventure.

Inspiration for THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE

 Unlike Rhonda, the protagonist of my novel THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE, I have sweet parents who’ve always encouraged my love of reading.

But at a young age, I realized I wanted to have real life adventures that were as wild and fantastic as the ones I read about in books.

At 21, I joined an elite, Type 1 Hotshot crew of forest firefighters and traveled all over the American West battling wildfires.

Between fires seasons I went to Costa Rica where I river rafted through rain forests, sea kayaked, climbed an active volcano, and dove off of waterfalls.

Like Rhonda/Angel, I traveled all over Mexico by bus. Then I moved to Colorado and became an apprentice carpenter. After that, worked in a domestic violence shelter and on the National Domestic Violence Hotline, where I committed myself to helping women and children make it through a difficult transition to a safe and happier life.

I want my novel THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE to inspire women and girls to push themselves to take risks, live life fully, and support each other along the way.

Book synopsis:

  The Earthquake Machine

The book every girl should read,

and every girl’s parents hope she’ll never read.

--GET "THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE" HERE--

The Earthquake Machine tells the story of 14 year-old Rhonda. On the outside, everything looks perfect in Rhonda’s world, but at home Rhonda has to deal with a manipulative father who keeps her mentally ill mother hooked on pharmaceuticals. The only reliable person in Rhonda’s life is her family’s Mexican yardman, Jesús. But when the INS deports Jesús back to his home state of Oaxaca, Rhonda is left alone with her increasingly painful family situation.

Determined to find her friend Jésus, Rhonda seizes an opportunity to run away during a camping trip with friends to Big Bend National Park. She swims to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and makes her way to the border town of Milagros, Mexico. There a peyote- addled bartender convinces her she won’t be safe traveling alone into the country’s interior. So with the bartender’s help, Rhonda cuts her hair and assumes the identity of a Mexican boy named Angel. She then sets off on a burro across the desert to look for Jesús. Thus begins a wild adventure that fulfills the longing of readers eager for a brave and brazen female protagonist.

AUTHOR BIO:

Mary Pauline Lowry has worked as a forest firefighter, screenwriter, open water lifeguard, construction worker, and advocate in the movement to end violence against women. Due to no fault of her sweet parents, at 15 she ran away from home and made it all the way to Matamoros, Mexico. She believes girls should make art, have adventures, and read books that show them the way.
 


Monday, February 27, 2012

Must Read Monday (#17)

Fans of Fiction
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So I have some sad news, my lovely blogger buddies who come here faithfully on Mondays. I'm pretty much up to my eyeballs in yearbook right now (have to submit 276 pages in the next three weeks to meet my deadline), so I must discontinue this meme.

If anyone wants to take over, please contact me via Twitter @fansoffiction or email, fansoffiction@hotmail.com. I can let you have my subscription for the linky widget (it's still available for a few more months).

You all are so dedicated and creative. I think part of the reason why this meme didn't have more participants was because it wasn't a question that was super fast or easy to answer. It definitely takes time to create an acrostic! Thank you for taking the time-- it made my heart happy.

I've had so much fun writing these each week and hopping around to see yours. Even after the yearbook's done, I should concentrate on my own writing a little more than blogging. Maybe one day you all can receive my first ARCs (fingers crossed!). I'll still be reviewing, of course. I'll make an extra effort to visit your blogs and comment on your reviews:)

Have a great week!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Review: The Word Gang





"The Word Gang" is the story of three kids in school who start using big words to be disruptive.

Kalisha Jackson is a girl with a stomach-churning secret - she cut school for a year and never got caught A new year begins. Kalisha decides to go back to school. While waiting for the bus she sees an old man struggling with a cart full of groceries. She stops to help and meets Albrecht Spinoza, a man who can speak seventeen languages, but who's had no one to talk to since the death of his beloved wife, Rosa. 


Kalisha is late the first day setting off a conflict with her teacher, Jack Ralston. She's been stuck in something called "Project Restart," a strange new program in which the penalty for not doing well is a special classroom in Juvenile Hall. Mr. Spinoza gives Kalisha a copy of the Compact Oxford Dictionary. But the more "big" words Kalisha learns, the less everyone understands her and the madder Jack Ralston seems to get. Which to Kalisha and her new friends sounds like fun - and a great way to destroy Project Restart.


That is, if they don't get "trammeled," "proscribed," or "incarcerated," first.
-         
        - Goodreads

Stats:

-          Format: ebook
-          Publisher: Precipitation Press
-          Release Date: December 8, 2010
-          File Size: 490 KB

Favorite Quotes:

  "Kalisha felt safe in a library, hidden in the tall book stacks. She once called them “canyons carved by a flood of ideas” in a poem."

“Remember Kalisha, the third definition of a word can be as important as the first.”


"Each word was like a miniature history lesson."


“The more one studies language, the more one learns the power of words. The power to attack. The power to destroy. Ordinary people do this.”

"All words are ordinary, once you know them."


Review:
The Word Gang by Mark McKenna is about a girl named Kalisha who is placed in an experimental program for troubled students called Project Restart.  She had skipped almost the entire school year the year before and this was her new school’s response to dealing with that.  While Kalisha had reasons for skipping school (her parent’s divorce, her best friend had a baby and dropped out, being responsible for taking care of her younger siblings), she knows that it was wrong and that her parents will be disappointed in her when they found out.  She is nervous about returning to school but finds comfort after meeting an elderly man named Mr. Spinoza.  Mr. Spinoza is a widow who is wrapped up in writing his “philosophy” and has become a recluse.  The pair find common ground over their love of reading and learning new words.  

In Project Restart Kalisha meets a couple of boys that she quickly becomes friends with-- BD and Sahmbaht.  Both have their own issues and reasons for being in this classroom.  After Kalisha stands up to Mr. Ralston (the vice principal and powerhouse of the program), they become eager to join her.  They begin referring to themselves as “The Word Gang” and learn outdated and difficult words to use in class.  Mr. Ralston doesn’t understand what they’re saying and implements a new policy that bans the use of “mocking language.”  Their continued use of these words sends them on the fast-track to being kicked out. 
 
I really liked the idea of this book.  It’s nice to read about students who find enjoyment out of reading, even if the root of it is to embarrass their teacher!  I have to say that the book kind of lost me right away in the beginning with the fact that no one had noticed that Kalisha had skipped a whole year of school.  Are there really school districts that don’t turn these cases over to the juvenile court system?  The book jumps to the differing perspectives of the characters and shows their inner monologue; this was a good way to get the background on everyone.  Another problem that I had was that the teenagers’ thoughts and dialogue didn’t seem realistic a lot of the time (for “troubled youths” none of them really behaved that way).  BD in particular threw me off; it seemed that he was talking about his father’s alcoholism and abusive behavior every time he spoke to someone when at the beginning of the book he was very private about this topic.  I found that all of the main characters’ attitudes and behaviors changed quickly after very little happening in their lives.  

I absolutely love Mark’s website (www.thewordgang.com) and the extra information that he provides.  There is a free Readers’ and Teachers’ Supplement to the book that contains descriptions of the characters (I almost think it might be better to start with reading these and then read the book), synopses of all of the chapters, footnotes, discussion topics, and common core writing assignments.  This is a great start for any teachers who want to include the book in their classroom reading.  He also goes into detail about how he became a writer and the long process he went through.  It’s nice being able to make a connection to him and know how passionate he is about his work.





 

Must Read Monday (#16)

Fans of Fiction
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The goal of the Must Read Monday is to find share your love of great books with others in the hopes that they'll add a new title to their To Be Read list.

Your job is to create intrigue for other hoppers. What makes your book so swoon-worthy? What do you absolutely have to mention so they'll read it?

On your post, you'll make an acrostic puzzle (think of it as an overview/book blurb type of thing).

For specific ways to build your puzzle, click here, but pretty much any style of acrostic is welcome.

When you leave comments on other posts, be sure to mention whether you're adding that book to your TBR pile, and what part convinced you to do so.

It's all about powers of persuasion, people:) You might have to think a little, but channel that inner-creative goddess (or god).

Winner of Must Read Monday Week #15:
Eve Quinn @ Eve Quinn's Notebook (The Hunger Games- Peeta)

I'm totally a Gale supporter, but Eve painted the perfect portrait of Peeta. I love that the last line left it open. If I hadn't read The Hunger Games, I'd wonder whether or not they explore their relationship. My favorite line: Eloquency, intelligence, and kindness his greatest arsenals to defend her. Lyrical and poetic, as always Eve Quinn!
Remember, you must follow the winner to participate this week!

This week's topic:  A character you love to hate
(Let's be honest, if an author can write well enough to evoke such strong emotion, he or she is meant to be an author, so we want to read their book!) 

Mine:
Tall
Handsome
Ethereal

Kind to let the girls dance when
Each is supposed to be mourning the loss of their mother.
Escape is what he
Provides-- to a magical silver world,
Endless grace, ghostly shadows, dancing waltzes. He teaches Azalea the
Right moves, but his sinister secret leaks out--his name becomes a promise.  

Here's my review, if you need more convincing.
*Next week's topic:
A book you read in one sitting (or as close as you could get with eating and potty breaks:).

Guidelines:
  • Must become a follower to participate.
  • Follow the winner from last week to participate.
  • Grab my button to place in your post.
  • Make sure you have a backlink in your post to each weekly post I put up, not just to my website.
  • Where it says your name please include name @ blog name Ex: Jenna @ Fans of Fiction
  • Your exact post URL is the one that goes in the linky box, not your website.
  • Don't just hop around; leave comments! We all love reading what others have to say.
  • Enjoy!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

In My Mailbox (#16)


This meme is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. It's a chance for book bloggers to post about what books they received over the week.
Books I bought:



Signed books donated by generous authors (a million times, thank you!) for our high school's Swine Week charity- Oklahoma Project Woman (so these aren't mine. They're being put into a basket which I most definitely will bid on):
 




Sarah Ockler's giving all three of her books! She is one of my all-time favorite authors.

Jennifer Echols said I can pick one. Any advice? I've only read Going Too Far, and I'm not sure if I want to scare parents by the title of that one. The book basket will be up for silent auction.
 

Julie Kagawa is donating one of her books from the Iron Fey series! 
 

Janette Rallison said she'll send a few, but I'm not sure which titles yet (hers are spread throughout; my computer wasn't cooperating).
If you haven't checked out Brodi Ashton's new release yet, Everneath has great mythology incorporated!


But I Love Him- one of my favorite contemporary reads of 2011!
 Hooray for hilarious Robin Benway! I can't wait to see which one she sends us. These books will make you laugh out loud.










(A student obtained this one from the House of Night series, signed by P.C. and Kristin!)

What did you get this week?

 

Monday, February 13, 2012

No Must Read Monday today...

I know that this might result in a bunch of you stomping around and ripping up bits of paper, but I'm playing catch up on grading today. Thus, no Must Read Monday:(

Thank you for being loyal and stopping by to check though. I actually shouldn't even be on here right now. In fact I need to get off in 3...2...

Sunday, February 12, 2012

In My Mailbox (#15)

In your mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. It's a chance for everyone to display the books they bought, checked out, or obtained over the week:)
Incarnate
Glamour
This week I have books donated by authors for my school's Swine Week auction. My 2nd hour is making a book basket, and so far, we've been promised signed copies of the following books! All proceeds go to Oklahoma Project Woman, which provides breast education, mammograms, and surgical procedures for women without health insurance (see below's post). *If you have any ideas of authors to approach that might be generous, let me know!

What did you get this week?

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Putting Together a Book Basket...




So I'm very excited about a project my 2nd hour English class is doing! For Swine Week, my high school's main fundraising event for a chosen charity each year, we are raising money for Project Woman. It's based out of Tulsa, OK and it provides breast health education, mammorgrams, and surgical procedures for women without health insurance. Two years ago, the kids raised over $527,000 for the Jimmy Everest Cancer Center, and last year they raised $418,000. It's incredible to see them work toward a goal and surpass it, all for charity.

Getting back to the project...we're putting together a book basket for the silent auction during Swine Week. I'm having my students write a letter to their favorite author explaining what Project Woman is about and why they'd love an autographed copy of the author's book to include in this basket. We haven't written our letters yet, but I've been to the local bookstore in Edmond, Best of Books, and they graciously donated a signed copy of Hereafter.

I need your help! Any ideas of things to include in our book basket, especially if no authors respond? Do you have any recommendations of authors I can contact that might contribute a book?
Since we're in Oklahoma, we'll probably contact people on the Sequoyah list of award winning books. If you were to bid on a book basket, what would it have to have in it???

Thanks for your suggestions:) Even the non-readers in my class are getting excited about contacting authors. I will most likely end up bidding on the basket...which my kids laughed at.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Must Read Monday (#15)

Fans of Fiction
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Thanks for stopping by! I'd be doing a lot more posting if I wasn't so busy with work. Luckily, during the post-game show of the Superbowl, I've found a few minutes to come up with this week's Must Read Monday! (It's a total bummer that the Patriots lost:(  )

The goal of the Must Read Monday is to find share your love of great books with others in the hopes that they'll add a new title to their To Be Read list.

Your job is to create intrigue for other hoppers. What makes your book so swoon-worthy? What do you absolutely have to mention so they'll read it?

On your post, you'll make an acrostic puzzle (think of it as an overview/book blurb type of thing).

For specific ways to build your puzzle, click here, but pretty much any style of acrostic is welcome.

When you leave comments on other posts, be sure to mention whether you're adding that book to your TBR pile, and what part convinced you to do so.

It's all about powers of persuasion, people:) You might have to think a little, but channel that inner-creative goddess (or god).

Winner of Must Read Monday Week #14:

Kristan @ Lost Amongst the Shelves (Hollowland)

I've never been tempted to read a zombie book. Her acrostic did it for me! My favorite lines:
"Life has become desperate, outrunning gangs of survivors, escaping polygamists cults
And fearing a bite all for a little boy with the immunity." Love all the parts of the plot she pieced together in both these lines! The polygamists cults part definitely makes me curious...
Remember, you must follow the winner to participate this week!

This week's topic:
(a little twist) A fictional character you'd want as your best friend (the acrostic can be the name, but make sure to mention the title of the book in your post)

I definitely was thinking girls, but then this guy popped into my head, and he was such a good friend to the main character, I had to choose him. If things happened to stretch past the BFF level, well, I wouldn't have minded:)
Here's mine, from Jodi Meadows' Incarnate:

                He sees her as Special, even though she has no soul
            Gentle, caring, an Amazing musician,
He saves her, not only froM drowning, but from herself

Here's my review! This is a new one you do not want to pass up. It has dragons, mythology, reincarnation...I could go on.

*Next week's topic: (since I'm liking this character thing...) A character you love to hate
(Let's be honest, if an author can write well enough to evoke such strong emotion, he or she is meant to be an author, so we want to read their book!) 

Guidelines:
  • Must become a follower to participate.
  • Follow the winner from last week to participate.
  • Grab my button to place in your post.
  • Make sure you have a backlink in your post to each weekly post I put up, not just to my website.
  • Where it says your name please include name @ blog name Ex: Jenna @ Fans of Fiction
  • Your exact post URL is the one that goes in the linky box, not your website.
  • Don't just hop around; leave comments! We all love reading what others have to say.
  • Enjoy!