“Failure is the opportunity to begin
again, more intelligently.”
~ Henry Ford~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
Wonder
why your work was rejected? Anne R. Allen has an entertaining post HERE to
answer that question.
If
you are going to get writing advice, why not get it from one of the most
prolific writers on the planet. Aerogramme Writers’ Studio has a post HERE
called Stephen King’s “Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully
-- in Ten Minutes.”
That
old bugaboo, the synopsis, generated this excellent post at the Write Practice
HERE by Monica M. Clark.
No giveaway last week, but I will have one this week, so please keep reading. I usually stick to middle-grade books, but this one really is young adult. What can I say? Sometimes I do read other kinds of books. And this is such a good book, I think a lot of you may choose to stretch your reading wings a bit and include this on your list. It is The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos. Here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.
Harry is
only eight years old the day bullies tie him to a tree and leave him there in a
thunderstorm. The tree is struck by lightning, catches fire, and Harry’s life
is forever changed. If he had trouble with bullies before this deforming event,
things only get worse. When he is in middle school, he is befriended by popular
Johnny, who rescues him from some bullies and suggests they start a band. They
find two other guys to join them and practice and play their way through high
school, until they are good enough to start playing for pay. Suddenly, the bass
player drops out. When auditioning for a replacement, they find beautiful
Cheyenne. This, again, changes everything for Harry.
“My tongue tied itself
in a neat little knot and a bowling ball dropped from my esophagus to my
stomach. My fingertips and toes went numb.”
Len Vlahos
structures this wonderful novel as if it were a college application essay, and
this works really well. Harry’s voice is clear and absolutely
appropriate for a
guy at eighteen to tell his story, and the structure allows Harry the ability
to speak directly to the reader in ways that an ordinary novel structure would
not. The writing and story are very strong, and this exceptional story should
reach an audience far beyond the young adult segment it targets.
 |
| Len Vlahos |
I have a gently read hardback copy of this terrific book for one of you. To win, all you need do is have a
US address, be a subscriber or follower and tell me that in a comment
you leave on this post. If you are reading this in your email, click
HERE to go to the blog so you can leave a comment. If you would like
extra chances, please spread the word by posting the link on a Tweet,
blog post, Facebook, or any other way you like. Let me know what you
have done in your comment, and I will put in extra chances for you for
each that you do.
Don't forget to check out Shannon Messenger's wonderful blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways.
