​Title: Twice Upon A Time: Sleeping Beauty, The One Who Took the Really Long Nap
Author: Wendy Mass
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Length: 172 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
This is a fairy tale retelling based on Sleeping Beauty. In this story, the main plot of the original fairy tale holds true: Princess Rose is still cursed to fall into a one hundred year sleep when she pricks her finger on a spindle. However, this retelling follows Princess Rose and the Prince as they grow up.
 
Princess Rose faces the challenge of being perfect in so many ways, thanks to the gifts of the fairies. Additionally, she must live with overly protective parents who hope Rose can avoid the fairy’s curse by hovering over her and not allowing her to participate in any activities where she might hurt herself.
 
Meanwhile, we get to know the Prince as he grows up one hundred years later. He lives with his own challenge: a mother who has some ogre blood which causes her to feed, sometimes on humans, two times a month. He discovers a castle, eerily similar to his own, deep in the woods covered by briars and is drawn to enter it. Like Princess Rose, the Prince also has very little independence making it difficult to investigate the hidden castle.
 
My Review
This is was a fun book to read. The story was told in first person, alternating chapters between Princess Rose’s and the Prince’s point of views. I really enjoyed how the author developed these two characters so we got to know their personalities much better than in the original fairy tale. I especially enjoyed seeing how Princess Rose’s gifts of beauty, cleverness, grace, and perfection at singing, dancing and music could be its own curse by not allowing her to fail causing her to seek out activities where she might fail. Both main characters were very likable as well as each of their best friends.
 
This book is classified as Middle Grade and is therefore intended for ages eight to twelve, but I believe anyone interested in fairy tales would love to read this twist. Additionally Wendy Mass has written a few other fairy tale retellings that would likely be of interest to people who enjoy this story.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for books for my children to read.
 
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.  

​Title: Up to this Pointe
Author: Jennifer Longo
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: 355 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
Harper Scott is a seventeen year old that wants to be a professional ballerina. She has made a plan with her best friend, Kate. They will both dance for the San Francisco Ballet and share an inexpensive loft together and live in the city forever. However, it is clear from page one that something has gone wrong with The Plan because Harper has arranged to spend six months in Antarctica working as a science research intern. Thanks to her ancestor being Robert Falcon Scott, one of the first explorers to reach the South Pole, she has been given a coveted spot.
 
My Review
This is an excellent book that pulled me in from page one. The story was told in alternating chapters between the present, when Harper arrives at the McMurdo science station on Antarctica, and the past, 140 days earlier when she was preparing for the San Francisco Ballet audition. Therefore, I was anxious to keep reading to find out the reasons that led Harper to leave her life for six months.
 
I picked up this book because a local male author told me that he loved it, and it brought him to tears even though he didn’t care a bit about ballet. I had to laugh as I read it because it is a book that is definitely going to appeal more to girls, particularly teens although as an adult, I loved it.
 
The author does an excellent job at character development, particularly with Harper. Written in first person, it is easy to empathize with Harper who is vulnerable and raw with emotions. People will relate to this book because it is about losing a childhood dream and coming out on the other side. Even if ballet wasn’t your dream, so many children dream of near impossible to achieve careers, e.g. professional or Olympic athletes, artists, or musicians. And unfortunately, often during the teen years, reality takes those dreams away.
 
This book is classified as Young Adult and is therefore intended for ages twelve to eighteen. I plan to recommend it to my own twelve-year-old daughter but wouldn’t go younger. There are references to premarital sex and drinking although this is primarily something Harper observes among the adult residents of the science station. She does have a few drinks one night and kisses a boy. I don’t recall any foul language.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for good books for my children.
 
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.  

​Title: The Magicians
Author: Lev Grossman
Genre: New Adult, Fantasy
Length: 432 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
Quentin is a seventeen-year old prodigy who enjoys performing magic tricks. On the surface, he seems to have everything and anticipates being accepted into a prestigious college soon. However, he feels there is more to life and can’t enjoy what he has. He dreams of living in a place called Fillory, the fantasy world in his favorite children’s books.
 
One day Quentin is whisked through a secret portal to Brakebills where he is immediately tested and accepted. It is a school for magic located in upstate New York but is protected from discovery by magical spells that keep the school hidden.
 
At Brakebills, Quentin discovers magic is real. Over his four years at Brakebills he is immersed in a new world of friendship and magical spells. But once the novelty of magic wears off, Quentin is still unhappy and continues to search for something more.
 
 
My Review
This is an intriguing book and reminded me of Harry Potter crossed with The Chronicles of Narnia, but for a college-aged person. The first four-fifths of the novel read as light-fantasy. But the last fifth, when they crossed into Fillory, read as high fantasy.
 
I loved Quentin’s time at Brakebills and going through the magic curriculum with him. I felt Quentin’s excitement as he discovered magic was real. Personally, I would have liked the book to end during this time as I prefer happy endings.
 
However, that is not real life and the author did a great job of keeping Quentin true to his own depressive, precocious personality. I experienced Quentin’s disappointment when he realized magic did not make him happy. I felt his depression upon graduation when he was thrust back into the real world into a life of one non-stop drunken state. And then, when he got what he always dreamed of — a chance to go to Fillory, I felt his fear at discovering his ideal Fillory wasn’t what he imagined. Instead, it was quite dangerous and the humans did not always emerge victorious.  
 
I would like to read the next two books in the series to see where they take Quentin and learn if he can ever find true happiness.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for good books for my children.
 
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.  

​Title: Cinder, The Lunar Chronicles Book #1
Author: Marissa, Meyer
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi Fairy Tale Retelling
Length: 387 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
Cinder is a sixteen-year old cyborg growing up in New Beijing, one of a handful of Earth’s new empires created after WWIII. She is a skilled mechanic living with her stepmother and two stepsisters. She was adopted by her stepmother’s husband five years earlier although Cinder doesn’t remember anything of her first eleven years. Since Cinder is a cyborg, she is considered less than human and therefore is owned by her stepmother, similar to a slave.
 
Kai, the prince of New Beijing, is about to become emperor after his father dies from the deadly plague that is running rampant on Earth. Before his untimely death, the emperor was trying to form a partnership with Queen Levana, the ruler of the Lunars, a settlement on the moon. Kai agrees to marry Queen Levana in exchange for the vaccine developed by the Lunars that will stop the plague.
 
Meanwhile, Kai has fallen for Cinder yet doesn’t know she is a cyborg. With the help of the doctor who is researching cures for the plague, Cinder begins to discover more and more about her mysterious past and learns that someone went to great length to spare her life and hide her true identity.
 
Using her skills as a mechanic, Cinder discovers important information buried within the prince’s android, information about Queen Levana’s true intentions. Cinder needs to get to the ball in time to communicate this knowledge before the Queen uses her special powers to marry the prince.
 
My Review
My twelve-year old daughter recommended this book to me. I had never read a fairy tale retelling and didn’t expect to enjoy it. But I devoured it. The storyline was creative and unique and the characters were well developed and likable, aside from the Queen of course. In fact, I now plan to read more fairy tale retellings and am considering writing my own.
 
This book is first in series of three: Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress. Plus there are two companion books about the characters and the Lunar society.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for good books for my children.
 
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.  

​Title: George
Author: Alex Gino
Genre: Middle Grade
Length: 195 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
George is a fourth grader. Her friends and family see George as a boy. However, George knows he is really a she, but doesn’t know how to tell her friends and family.
 
When her fourth grade class plans to a put on a performance of Charlotte’s Web, George wants to play the part of Charlotte more than anything. But Charlotte is a girl’s part, so she doesn’t know if it’s possible to even try out. But George believes by playing Charlotte, she will be viewed as a girl for the first time in her life. 
 
 
My Review
I loved this book and breezed though it quickly. The language and content is definitely geared toward a young middle grade audience, but the story appeals to all ages, children and adults alike. (My twelve-year old liked it too.)
 
I am far from an expert on transgender issues, but I believe the story of George becoming Melissa was told in a realistic way. It was not easy for her to share this news with her friends and family. She had some support, but she also had to deal with bullies and a mother who was unwilling to hear what she was saying. The story hints that telling her friends and family is just the beginning of a long road ahead.
 
The characters were well-developed. George was a very likable protagonist and the author did a great job of getting into her head even though this was told in third person. Kelly, as her best friend, is the type of friend everyone deserves. The mother, the brother, the bully, the teacher, and even the principal all played unique roles and represent the variety of people one might encounter in real life with their varying levels of acceptance of transgender youth.
 
The story was sweet and held my attention, even as an adult. It an emotional read and moved me to tears a couple times, both happy and sad ones. I just wanted to reach into the book and give both George/Melissa and Kelly a big hug.
 
Although the story was about a transgender girl grappling with coming out as a girl to her friends and family, the message about being yourself can be applied in a much broader sense. I highly recommend George to both children and adults and hope eventually books like these will be on the shelves of all schools and libraries.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for good books for my children.
 
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.  

​Title: Delirium (#1 of the series)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Length: 441 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
Lena is a 17-year old girl counting down the days until she can get cured once she turns 18. She lives in Portland, Maine in an alternate present where Love has been declared a disease in the United States. Therefore, many cities, including Maine, has closed their borders to uncured adults. As Lena and most Maine residents believe, once you have the cure you will be happy and you won’t need to suffer pains and symptoms associated with Love.
 
Lena’s mother committed suicide when Lena was a young girl because she was in Love and the cure did not work for her. Thus, Lena grows up with her Aunt and cousins, taking a strong viewpoint that Love is the disease that ripped apart her family. Lena believes in following the rules as well as the cure. However, her best friend Hana prefers to live on edge. She goes to parties and listens to unapproved music.
 
During the months leading up to her procedure, Lena meets Alex. Alex is cured as confirmed by a visible scar, so it is okay for Lena to talk with him. As her attraction for him strengthens, she learns that he is not what he appears to be. He is really an uncured and was born in the Wilds—the area outside the boarders. Lena begins to break the rules to spend time with Alex. The more she is with him, the more she begins to questions the rules her society has put in place. Perhaps Love is not a disease.
 
My Review
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love the character development. Lena, Hana, and Alex were all very likable characters. And the descriptions of many of the minor characters were quite amusing.
 
I also enjoyed the world building. All the rules fascinated me. Each chapter began with a short quote from a book printed in their society that showed the reader Lena’s world without bogging down the text with all that information.
 
Although it was long, it was a fast paced book and hooked me from the beginning. I am excited to read Book #2, Pandemonium. There is also a book called Hana that takes her view during the Delirium time period.
 
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.  

​If you are planning to publish the traditional route through a mid-large publisher, you will need to look for an agent. The first step is creating a prioritized list of agents, so you will have that as reference as you begin to query. There are lots of resources for finding agents including websites, agent listing books, and even the dedication page of your favorite novels.
 
A great place to start is querytracker.net. This website lists close to two thousand agents in one easily searchable place. It is user friendly and easy to narrow your list quickly by filtering by genre, location, agents taking queries, and many more.
 
I found this website much more useful than the book I had purchased. The book may have been more inclusive, but it would have been a lot more work to transfer the data to the computer where I created my own excel spreadsheet. QueryTracker offers a free program, which is all you need to begin. But once you begin to query, paying the $25/year is well worth it if you want to have some idea when your targeted agents will review your work and how they generally respond.  
 
Another benefits of a website such as QueryTracker is the agent’s contact information is included, so it’s an easy click to begin your research. Not to mention, there is some basic data about each agent on his or her profile page within the program.
 
You can wait to build your agent list until your manuscript is finished or you can begin a couple of months before you are ready to query, perhaps during one of those times you have set your book aside to rest. Depending on how detailed you want your initial list to be, this process can take a few days or several weeks. If you are putting together a list months in advance, you may want to simply learn enough about each agent to decide if they are a potential agent for your work or not and prioritize them in some manner.
 
By putting together a list in advance, you will save yourself work when you are ready to begin to query because you won’t be starting from scratch. Researching agents can be data overload, so it’s not a bad idea to break up the process. Agent research will also motivate you to finish your manuscript. After spending months or years editing, it is exciting to finally see the next step and envision working with the agents you are researching.
 
Regardless of when you begin, your agent list should always be a work in process. New agents are joining the industry continually and submission requirements continue to change.
 
Thank you for reading this post. I hope you found it helpful.

Title: A Snicker of Magic
Author: Natalie Lloyd
Category/Genre: Middle Grade, Magical Realism
Length: 311 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
Felicity Pickle is an eleven-year old girl who is constantly moving from place to place with her mother and her younger sister. She struggles each time she begins school and has a difficult time speaking to strangers and making friends. Instead, is blessed with a unique talent: she sees words floating around people and objects telling her what they feel. Words such as hope, love, lonely, stormy, etc. These words may float or dance or come in any color or even be full of sparkles. Felicity collects her favorite words and writes them down in her journal.
 
At the beginning of the story, Felicity’s family moves to Midnight Gulch, Tennessee where her mother grew up and her aunt still lives. The residents say there used to be magic in the town, but it left about 100 years before after two magical brothers fought. In Midnight Gulch, Felicity is finally assigned a teacher than understands her. She also makes her first friend, Jonah. Felicity keeps seeing the words, Yes, Yes, Yes and realizes that she wants her family to settle in Midnight Gulch more than anything. She is fascinated by the stories that people tell her about its magical history and wants to learn more.
 
With Jonah’s help, they hatch a plan to keep her family in town. Felicity signs up to read a poem at the Duel for her school. To speak in front of a crowd and to get her family to finally stay in one place is going to require a snicker of magic.
 
 
My Review
This was a beautifully written book. Each page reads like a piece of poetry. The author paints a picture on each page so it is easy to see each scene with Felicity’s words hovering in the air. I believe it is a book to be read slowly so you can soak up the imagery.
 
The story is sweet about a girl who wants what most of us take for granted: a place to call home. Her friend Jonah’s goal in life is to make people in town happy. It is a feel-good story rather than a fast paced book. I believe it will appeal to both middle grade boys and girls who may identify with Felicity’s struggles. But I believe there is a larger audience: people of all ages who want to escape for a few hours into a beautiful story.
 
The main characters are well developed and many unique people are introduced. I particularly like that Jonah, her best friend, is in a wheelchair. However, the book is not about that. There is only a mention here and there about his wheelchair. Instead, the story concentrates on his friendship with Felicity and his big heart. I imagine this would appeal to people with their own disabilities to see someone who might be a bit like them, but prefer to be treated as a regular person rather than someone special simply due to their disability.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult and Middle Grade writer, I am constantly reading YA books to improve my skills. 
 
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.  

​Title: Openly Straight
Author: Bill Konigsberg
Genre: Contemporary YA
Length: 320 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
Rafe Goldberg begins his junior year at Natick, an “all boys” boarding school in Massachusetts. He was an openly gay 16-year old from Boulder Colorado where his community had accepted him since he came out in eighth grade, and his parents truly celebrated his diversity. However, he found the gay label got in the way of people seeing him and prevented him from being just "one of the guys". He wanted to take a break from being gay, so he researched other schools and begged to transfer to Natick.
 
At the beginning of the school year, Rafe is immediately drawn into the soccer crowd and is labeled as a jock for the first time in his life. He relishes being part of a group that had always shut him out . He also becomes friends with his eccentric roommate, Albie, and Albie’s openly gay friend, Toby. As the weeks go by, Rafe develops a tight friendship with a jock named Ben. Ben is different from the rest of them. He is smarter and philosophical and doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks of him. As their friendship deepens, Rafe realizes he loves Ben but doesn’t know how Ben feels. It’s complicated by the fact that Rafe is hiding his true identify from all the students at Natick.  
 
All the while, Rafe’s English teacher, Mr. Scarborough, asks each student to keep a private journal to record his thoughts, so Rafe’s essays are peppered throughout the book. 
 
The book takes place between September and December.
 
 
My Review
This was an excellent book. It was not only a fun, entertaining read, but I came away with a greater knowledge of the challenges of being labeled as different. (The book focused on gay versus straight, but through Bryce, the only black in their class, you also learn some of Rafe’s challenges are shared by others perceived as “different”.)
 
Written in first person, the reader gains access to a teenage boy’s thoughts about being gay. Given that Rafe had been openly gay back in Colorado and was now hiding it, he was able to constantly reflect on the differences of being gay versus straight in a way that you may not see in a book told from the viewpoint of a person just coming out or openly gay. Also, Rafe’s parents are very involved in the LGBTQ community, so Rafe is a far more educated gay male than the average 16-year old. Finally, through his essays the reader gets an even deeper view of his experiences.
 
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.  

​Title: Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Contemporary New Adult with Fantasy Excerpts
Length: 445 pages
 
 
Summary 
Cath and her twin sister, Wren, move away from home to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Until now, they have been inseparable and Cath wants to remain that way. However, Wren insists it is time to become independent, so they have separate roommates in separate dorms. Cath is miserable. Not only does she miss Wren, but she is stuck with a hateful roommate, Reagan, and her boyfriend who is always hanging out. Meanwhile, Wren is partying it up with her own roommate and loving college life, growing farther and farther apart from Cath.
 
During her freshmen year, Cath learns to live on her own, make a couple of friends, and find her first real boyfriend. She also has to deal with having a father with mental illness living on his own back at home as well as dealing with a mother who is trying to get back into the twins’ lives after leaving them ten years earlier.
 
Cath does have one activity that brings her great joy. She writes fanfiction for the hugely popular Simon Snow series (think Harry Potter). Unknown to everyone at school, she is a famous author in the fanfiction world, often getting tens of thousands of hits on each chapter she writes.
 
Between each chapter of Fangirl, we see excerpts from either one of the seven published Simon Snow books or from Cath’s fanfiction, so we slowly get to see the magic world that Cath would prefer to live in.
 
The book takes place over the course of a school year in 2011-12.
 
 
My Review
I truly enjoyed the story of Cath discovering herself away from her twin at college. The author did a great job with character development, and I got to know Cath, Wren, Reagan, Levi and her father very well. It portrayed an authentic representation of the unique challenges of college for a small segment of people: the extremely introverted ones who distance themselves rather than participate in the social aspects of school.
 
What was unique about this book is the author inserted 1-2 page excerpts between each chapter from the Simon Snow series or from the fanfiction that Cath was writing. Each of these excerpts tied in with the chapter that preceded it. I would have liked to analyze each of these pages more. Unfortunately, I tend to plow through books so probably lost a lot of the meaning in those scenes. Also, I don’t love fantasy, so at first they were distracting and I read through them quickly to get back to the main story. I would recommend that you take the time to get to know the Simon Snow characters right from the beginning and you will get much more enjoyment and understand from these pages.
 
It was also interesting to me to learn more about fanfiction. Although I am a diehard reader, I have never known much about this type of writing.
 
Although the book is written about girls in their freshmen year (thus New Adult), I believe the content was appropriate for a younger reader as it is much milder than you would find in many YA books. There were references to alcohol, but Cath and her father frowned on drinking, particularly when Wren ended up with alcohol poisoning. Through her sister there were references to sex, but Cath herself only kissed her boyfriend.
 
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.