• Home
  • Style Guides
  • Blog
  • Author Index
    • A - H Index
    • I - P Index
    • Q - Z Index
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Subscribe
READING STYLE GUIDE

When the Moon is in the Seventh House

11/16/2017

0 Comments

 
Unfortunately, there can be no doubt that man is, on the whole, less good than he imagines himself or wants to be.
​Everyone carries a shadow ... Carl Jung

Moon Shadow​ by Erin Downing

Picture
"This whole night is karmic kismet"
Let’s start with a shopping cart containing an unusual assortment of items.
I headed to my local market to recreate the opening scene in Erin Downing’s Moon Shadow. Can you figure out the connection between the items pictured in my basket?
​
Read the first chapter of the book to discover how they are related. Or you can cheat and see the answers posted below. * We're on the honor system here.​
Can we discuss the cover? It is gorgeous. The graphic design element is powerful. Two figures under the spell of a glowing full moon. I love the moon’s subtle color shifts from red to gold to palest yellow. The overlapping O’s echo the lunar shape and mirrors the closeness of the two silhouettes. A striking introduction to the story.
I opened this book expecting a sweet tale of middle grade romance. Lucia and her friends are preparing to celebrate both her thirteenth birthday and the lunar eclipse. Her former best friend Velvet is throwing an eclipse party and they are invited. So we’re moving along here, checking off all the middle grade tropes: quiet misunderstood protagonist, divorced parents, boy-next-door who may be more than a friend, mean girl out for revenge. When...
​

WHOA! Things quickly take a turn that I was not expecting. I should have paid more attention to the word “shadow” in the title.
Picture
"I'm pretty sure everything shifted the night of the eclipse."
The pages go dark. Literally go dark: black paper with the white italicized text. But it's not just the visual change that is immediately apparent. The narration moves from Lucia’s engaging first person voice to a strangely detached almost other-worldly third person view when she is goes to sleep.
These dark pages are interspersed throughout Lucia's story of her contentious connection with Velvet, her developing friendship with two classmates, and her strained relationship with neighbor Will. She is also dealing with the fallout from her parent's broken marriage: mom moves away to Sweden with a new partner, older sister remains aloof, and dad seems to be paralyzed by this divorce. Now she's thirteen and trying to figure it all out.
Lucia tries to puzzle out what is happening when she appears to be asleep and yet another part of her begins to act out her subconscious desires.  What causes these episodes?  These strange interludes are forcing her to see another side of herself. Does she like who she becomes during her sleep-induced experiences? Who is in control here and what does she really want?  
Magic, shadows, dreams, and desires all come together in this spell-binding middle grade novel.  
* Cheat sheet: Sunny Delight, Sun Chips, Moon Pies, Starburst, star fruit are treats for the eclipse celebration occuring on Lucia's thirteenth birthday.
0 Comments

When Words are More Than Words

10/10/2016

0 Comments

 

The Raven King by Maggie Stievfater

“He was a book, and he was holding his final pages, and he wanted to get to the end to find out how it went, and he didn't want it to be over.” 
It was a sad day.  I was coming to the conclusion of The Raven King, the final volume in The Raven Cycle and the realization sunk in: the story of Gansy, Blue, Ronan, Adam, and Noah was coming to an end.
Finis.
My reading slowed down. I kept going back and rereading, postponing the inevitable day when I would have to read the final chapter, the final paragraph, the final sentence, the final word.
This series is magnificent. The prose is gorgeous.  The characters are so well delineated that they become "people you want to hang out with". The cycle is as sweeping and thrilling and achingly wondrous as I knew that it would be. 
Maggie Stiefvater's vividly painted palette of words continues to haunt me. Thank you Maggie, for creating The Raven Cycle.
Postscript: I am looking forward to the continuation of Ronan's story, with a new three volume series recently announced by Stievfater.
0 Comments

Sipping Summer

5/24/2016

0 Comments

 
A Clatter of Jars by Lisa Graff
Picture
A Clatter of Jars and A Tangle of Knots share a familiar vibe. Lisa Graff has crafted another middle grade tale with multiple story threads which intially seem unconnected, family secrets, a generous sprinkling of magic, and bonus recipes. Readers will appreciate the fact that instead of heating up the oven by baking cakes, they are treated to directions for concocting smoothies, punches, ice cream floats, and more.
Her original recipes add to the refreshing story line and are a delicious accompaniment to summer reading.
I lined up some jars in the kitchen and gave a few of these beverages a try.
The family opinion: Very tasty!

Sip summer as you try to unravel the secrets hidden in A Clatter of Jars.



Lily's Watermelon Limeade Float

Picture
"reminiscent of all the best birthday parties
"Memory is a curious thing. Some details stick in our minds like peanut butter on crackers, and refuse to budge, as much as we might wish they would. Other memories - heavy ones sometimes, ones that seem unbudgeable - can be plucked right out when we least expect it. Lost memories leave remnants, of course, flavors that linger in the mind, but it's difficult to taste things when you don't know they're there."
​
All memories have a flavor, although not everyone can taste them."

Chuck's Frozen Mint Hot Chocolate

Picture
"reminiscent of a cool swim on a hot day"
"Some memories hit like a wallop, all of sudden, and hard. Other times, for no reason that anyone can explain, memories take much longer to sink in. They seem to meander a bit before choosing which mind to settle into."

​"There was a hint of something lingering in her mind. A memory, perhaps, although Jo could only catch the flavor of a few remaining tendrils."

Renny's Orange Cream Smoothie

Picture
"reminescent of quiet nights on empty piers"
"Chuck clenched and unclenched her hand, trying to push away the memory of that look on Ellie's face, sad and small and stricken. But it was stuck in Chuck's mind like peanut butter on crackers."
  "Jars.  Lily saw, searching the water...The sight was delicious and frightening both at once..."

Companion Book

Picture
A Tangle of Knots is the obvious choice here. It is included on the 2013 National Honor Book Award longlist and an absolute charmer!
Another Lisa Graff book to love.
0 Comments
    Author/Illustrator Index
    Get the latest updates delivered directly to you inbox:

    powered by TinyLetter

    Category

    All
    Activity Books
    Adventure
    Africa
    Alphabet Books
    Animals
    Anthology
    Art
    Asian
    Audiobook
    Author-interview
    Author-profile
    Awards
    Bilingual
    Biography
    Black Lives
    Board Books
    Book Awards
    Book-club
    Book Stores
    Book Trailers
    Classroom Connections
    Comics
    Coming Of Age
    Cosplay
    Creativity
    Diversity
    Early Readers
    Fairy Tale
    Family
    Fantasy
    Food
    Friendship
    Girls
    Grahic Novel
    Grief
    Halloween
    Historical Fiction
    Horror
    Humor
    Immigration
    Informational-books
    Latinx
    Lgbtq
    Library-activities
    Literacy
    Magical-realism
    Maker
    Math
    Memoir
    Middle Grade
    Music
    Mystery
    Mythology
    Native American
    Nonfiction
    Own Voices
    Picture Book
    Poetry
    Prose-and-comic
    Read Aloud
    Reading
    Reading Writing Connection
    Realistic Fiction
    Romance
    Self Acceptance
    Series
    Social Issues
    Sports
    STEM
    Storytelling
    Texas Connection
    The-margin-project
    Translation
    Wordless
    Ya Lit

    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    Barbara Moon

    I like talking about books and  interesting ideas. I like thinking about how books affect my life. Not particularly interested in giving out stars or in rating books. 

    Audio Publishers Association
    2013, - present  Audies judge 
    American Library Association Book Awards and Lists 
    ​2017 YALSA Award Nominating Committee
    2016 Excellence in Nonfiction 
    2014 Margaret Edwards Award
    2012 Odyssey Awards.  
    2009, 2010, 2011 Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

    Professional Reader
    Picture
    Frequently Auto-Approved

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.