My YA Book Review for Kidliterati.

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Madness Underneath (Shades of London #2) Maureen Johnson.


A YA paranormal. With secret police!


Rory Deveaux, the Louisiana girl in London, is back at Wexford Academy after a fixed twit of fate. Her crew Boo, Callum, and Stephan reunite to try and stop the madness that lies underneath London town. Rory’s new skill plays a huge roll in the current challenge she must face that lurks beneath the cracks in the pavement. She’ll need to trust those skills and use them before all hell breaks lose. Enemies come from unexpected places, and Rory will have to learn for herself, who to trust. An exciting adventure of teen ghost sleuths.


I read The Name of the Star (Shades of London #1) where Rory goes after a modern Jack the Ripper, albeit a ghost. I love Rory’s voice, her crazy family history and her quirky over-talkative nature, especially when she became nervous. A trait I could definitely relate to.  Rory has to deal with a lot since the first book, and this second addition to the series lives up to the first and pumps it up a notch.

The pressure and separation from all that is normal in Rory’s life is excruciating as she takes you through it. You feel her pain. But Rory has a lucid sense of humor. I love Maureen Johnson’s writing, very lyrical and real. Her characters are well drawn, with the simplest descriptions, making the story feel very much alive. Every character breathes life—even the ghosts.

Rory spends much of the first part of the novel trying to figure out what to do, and if she’s making the right choices. He schoolwork becomes over bearing; the weight of her problems, heavy, and she must make choices. She meets new people, some of which offer surprising alternatives to the life she’s leading. There are some wham-bam surprises that left me reeling, and heartbroken.

I’d recommend this book to all young adults who love ghost stories--with secret police! Those who enjoy reading books where the teens get the work done and dispel the world of disruptive, lingering ghosts, for the guys higher up who hide behind suits. This series is a little like Scooby Doo, for big kids. Which, I really, really like. I CANNOT wait to dig into The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London #3), and mend my sorrow.


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Projects fueled by Holiday Gifts and Coffee!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

    This weekend is a busy one. Hubby and I have waited until the last possible minutes to gather our Christmas goodies for family and friends. I have ideas, but is there time to get the work done?  

I'm making super easy coconut and dark chocolate balls as a gift and handmade fragrances I've made in the past. This year I have vanilla beans that have soaked for two years--and do they smell GOOD!

But I also wanted to paint pictures for family and friends, who are always asking me. I started building a website for my watercolors and I hope to get it up and running this weekend. Too much to chew? --Possibly. This morning it all seems possible, but then again, coffee is fueling this ambition. 

 Hibiscus in watercolor by karen lee

Here's the link to the coconut dark chocolate recipe video. I made these for my kids - - and you never saw faster fingers on the move. They were SO EASY & Delish!
Plus, there's no cooking involved. 

Coconut Dark Chocolate balls.

      


     What last minute whipper-snap-up gifts are you making this weekend?  

My Reaching Readers Post for Kidliterati

Reaching Readers by Asking Questions and taking them shopping --for BOOKS! Want to know what caught this 8th grader's eye and imagination from the bookshelves?

Follow the link . . .

Kidliterati   

Review: Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman

Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first heard about Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman from the online writers conference WriteOnCon. Peggy was one of the middle grade panelists. I was so blown away by her clear, haven’t-quite-heard-it-like-that-before, insight into kid lit—I just had to read her book. Besides everyone was saying how wonderful it was. And it was!

Sky Jumpers is a middle grade adventure set in a world recovering form the green bombs of World War III. The bombs destroyed almost everything and the only thing that matters in this new town of White Rock is inventing, so the world can regain some of what they’d lost. This new world is somewhat familiar, but very different.

The deadly compressed air of the Bomb’s Breath is a remnant of the War in this post apocalyptic world, and it changed everything. “When the green bombs hit, they left behind side effects. Besides new plants, metals having different properties, weather patterns changing, and the existence of the Bomb’s Breath, the green bombs destroyed any ability to create a stable magnet.” The bombs also left behind a deadly sickness.

I connected to the main character, twelve-year-old, Hope. She longs to invent, but can never get her due credit, and maybe inventing isn’t her greatest strength, the way taking chances is. And taking risks, like jumping off cliffs into the Bomb’s Breath, may be what saves her town from something even more horrible than what the Bomb’s Breath has left behind.

The second time I sat to read this—without interruptions, I couldn’t put it down. My adrenaline raced throughout, and I was eager to find out what would happen when the bandits invaded demanding antibiotics the town of White Rock invented. I felt for many of the characters in this book: Hope’s friends, her family, and community. How they all worked together in the aftermath of the War, and with the new terror taking over their village.

Hope comes up with an idea no one else had thought of, using one of her most potent abilities: leadership. The action heats up and we hope for the best till the end. I was left very satisfied after reading this story. I even shed a few tears. This is a great read for kids who love adventure and danger in their fiction. Hope is a character I rooted for and loved and would follow into another adventure.


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National Novel Writing Month.

I say, why the heck not?

I'm querying my tween magical adventure book and trying to figure out what to do with my YA thriller novella, while in the middle of revising my MG light Sci-Fi from #CampNano back in July.

So when my writing group said, hey we're getting busy with NaNoWriMo, I was like, gosh, I've got so much to work on already, but I can't miss out. (I said this in July, too.) I hate missing the party!

I'd plan to finish my Jazz Age Psych/Thriller (don't know if it's NA or YA, because I've only written about three chapters, and can figure that later--much later. Like, after my sloppy draft is planted in this 3rd dimension, or are we in the fourth? That's another topic.), at some point anyway. Why not get in on the action, even if I only get my usual ten handwritten pages a-day, or twenty, as I did in July. Anything is better than nothing. Right? 

Haven't made any notes. I barely have an outline. But I sing Jazz. I'm use to improvising. I dig it. Love it. I also have a mad show tonight. Tomorrow may be filled with eye pain and strain. But I'll come in swinging my pen, and try to figure out words counts along the way.

That's a whatta I'ma gonna do!  Hope you will too. It's my first time. If you're searching for writing buddies, you can find me at karen8Lee. I like writing buddies.

Here's to Halloween Eve and the madness that's sure to follow through November. Who's idea was it to begin the day after Halloween anyway? Ah, well. Let's ROCK IT!

A Very Busy Librarian Talks About the Books She Loves.

My interview for the Kidliterati blog with Jefferson Market Librarian, Rebecca Schosha, can be found here:

A Very Busy Librarian Talks About The Books She Loves.

She talks about the books kids love. Great reads for your TBR list!

Enjoy!

Kidliterati Blog is Coming!

They are coming, and they are taking over... well, they're taking over to help you find kidlit books for MG and YA readers. Interviews, Book Reviews and more from the perspective of 24 kidlit writers!!  And it's gonna be AMAZING!

I'm so excited to be a part of it!  That little MG beta reader group that was started oh, almost two years ago, has grown. Oh, have we grown.

Several are recently agented, a couple have sold to publishers, and it's just cRaZzY exciting times all of us, growing and learning together--A truly inspiring and encouraging group. I'm lucky to have met them, and in awe of their skills and talent.

You’ll have the opportunity to get excited by kidlit, too. Our blog launches Wednesday, July 10^th… 

See our sweet badge ---->

Yep, it’s a club. And you’re all invited!  Follow along; there are lots of Goodies on the horizon. Give aways: Books and critiques and stuff for the kids, for the readers and for our community.

Hashtag on twitter #july10

See you in the feeds.