​Title: The Game of Love and Death
Author: Martha Brockenbrough
Genre: Historical Young Adult Romance
Length: 329 pages
 
 
Summary 
The book opens in 1920 when Love and Death begin a new game. Love picks a Caucasian baby, Henry, as his player while Death picks a black one, Flora. Who will win? Fast forward seventeen years. Henry is now an orphan living with his friend’s wealthy family in Seattle. Playing his cello brings him happiness. Flora lives with her grandmother and sings in the jazz club she co-owns with her uncle. She dreams of becoming the first black pilot to fly across the world.
 
Love and Death’s pawns now begin to interact. Love needs Henry and Flora to choose love above all things. As Love’s player, this comes easily for Henry. However, Flora fights against her feelings for him because she knows falling in love with Henry is not the smart thing to do as a black woman in 1937. Little do they know there are greater beings throwing aides and obstacles their way, in the form of people, as they fight to for their players to win their game.
 
The majority of this book takes place in the spring and summer of 1937.
 
 
My Review
This was a very interesting book. I highly recommend it as a book club read as there are many aspects and layers to discuss. Even the question, who is the protagonist? could lead to a lengthy discussion. I also believe the book would appeal to both women and men, unlike typical romance novels.
 
I love that the book is so original, which makes it memorable for me. The only other book I’ve read with a similar character is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (another great read by the way) where Death plays the narrator. However, the story is completely different. The Game of Love and Death is told in third person from a variety of points of view, primarily Love, Death, Henry and Flora. The chapters are very short which leads to faster reading.
 
I listed the genre as historical young adult romance. It was listed as different genres depending on the website, so I included them all. I believe it would appeal most to readers who enjoy romance novels because love is the focus of the book. I listed it as historical since it takes place in 1937, and the author did her research to make sure the setting was appropriate. However, learning multiple facts about the 30’s was not the focus. As for Young Adult, it would be classified as such because the protagonists are both 17 years old. However due to the times, the characters, Flora in particular, do not behave as today’s teenagers. Flora is living an adult life with adult responsibilities. Therefore, I expect today’s adults would identify more with these characters than today’s teens. But the content is perfectly appropriate for a younger reader.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I am constantly reading YA books to improve my writing.
 
If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request.    
 
Thank you for reading this post.  

​One of the best activities an aspiring author can do is attend conferences. Conferences can vary significantly. Some are huge, and some are intimate. Many are geared towards writing whereas others are focused on literacy.  
 
Below, I have listed what I consider to be some of conference’s greatest benefits:
 
Increase Skills
Most conferences have lectures or working sessions designed to improve skills. These skills could run the gamut from structuring your novel to developing your social media platform.
 
Pitch Sessions
Some conferences offer pitch sessions where you can meet several prospective agents or editors in a short period of time and present your manuscript’s pitch. Many authors have found great success taking this route rather than the traditional query approach.
 
Network
Conferences are an excellent way to meet authors, agents, and editors. You may get to mingle with authors you have admired for years and get a book signed. You can also meet people who may become your future beta readers or a likeminded person to reach out to when you need encouragement.
 
Inspiration
It is hard to leave a conference without feeling inspired to keep writing and feel that you are part of a great industry.
 
Two weeks ago, I attended my first conference, the Children’s Literacy Conference in Bellingham, WA. Although it was geared to a broader audience than just authors—I was seated between a librarian and a teacher—I listened to four established authors speak. I heard their stories, their struggles, and advice. I left motivated to get back to my computer to keep working.
 
I look forward to the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference in July, which will have a different focus.
 
I encourage you to research the conferences coming to your area. Or if you have the time and money, make a trip of it.
 
Thank you for reading this post. I hope you found it helpful.

​Title: A Great and Terrible Beauty
Author: Libba Bray
Genre: Young Adult
Length: 403 pages
 
 
Summary 
This book begins in 1895 in India on Gemma Doyle’s 16th birthday when she begins to get visions just prior to her mother’s suicide. Fast forward a few months and Gemma and her father have relocated to London, and she is sent to the Spence Academy for Girls, a finishing school.
 
At Spence, Gemma continues to be plagued with visions. She also meets Felicity and Pippa. At first, these girls do pranks to see where Gemma will fit in socially. But soon, though blackmail Gemma becomes part of their crowd along with her roommate Ann. Through her visions, Gemma finds a buried diary and learns to travel to the realms, a dream-like place between Earth and the afterlife. By bringing her new friends to the realms, they form a special bond. In the realms, their dreams can come true. They can be beautiful and loved and have an independence that girls could not have back in the 19th century. They can even do magic such as turning leaves to butterflies. 
 
Gemma finds her mother in the realms and learns many secrets of her mother’s past. She also learns that the realms were closed off from the world because of a terrible incident that happened twenty years before. Gemma now has the power to re-open the realms and bring some of the magic back to the real world. But doing so has dangerous implications since an unknown person by the name of Circe wants to have the magic and power for herself.
 
Aside from the first chapter, this book takes place during the fall of 1895.
 
 
My Review
I was immediately immersed into Gemma’s worlds at both Spence and in the realms. At Spence, I felt their claustrophobia of being stuck not only in a boarding school, but knowing they would never have independence as women even after graduation. In the realms, the author did a great job painting a picture with all of our senses, and I could feel the independence and power that was not available to women in the real world at that time.
 
The four main characters were well developed. Ann was the poor mistreated orphan with no self-confidence. Felicity had a magnetic personality yet wasn’t wanted by her own family. Pippa was the beauty who wanted true love rather than an arranged marriage. And Gemma was the one who had the power and thought differently from the others. Many readers will likely identify with one of their unique personalities.
 
The book was written in first person from Gemma’s viewpoint, so it was easy to get into her mind and be part of her internal struggle of what to do with her visions and newfound power. Should she follow or mother’s advice and warning about Circe, or should she give into her friends’ wishes to have some magic for themselves?
 
It was fast-paced and original. I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next. Fortunately, when you finish this book you can read book 2, Rebel Angels and book 3, The Sweet Far Thing. I immediately picked up Rebel Angels and so far, it is just as good.
 
Although it was Young Adult, the language was sophisticated and held my interest. I even found myself having to check a dictionary frequently, partly because so many terms have changed in the last 100 years.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I am constantly reading YA books to improve my writing.
 
If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request.    
 
Thank you for reading this post.