Forgive Me, I Meant to Do it Review

Forgive Me, I Meant to Do it: False Apology Poems by Gail Carson Levine

Genre:  Juvenile poetry

Publisher: Harper Collins

Source: Sent by Publisher/ Shelf Awareness win

Book Description:

This Is Just to Say

If you’re looking for a nice happy book

put this one down and run away quickly

Forgive me sweetness and good cheer are boring

Inspired by William Carlos Williams’s famous poem ”This Is Just to Say,” Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine delivers a wickedly funny collection of her own false apology poems, imagining how tricksters really feel about the mischief they make. Matthew Cordell’s clever and playful line art lightheartedly captures the spirit of the poetry. This is the perfect book for anyone who’s ever apologized . . . and not really meant it.

Review:

This is a fun book of apology poems that are fun and snarky.  Here is William Carlos Williams’s poem that inspired Gail Levine

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast.

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold.

n  William Carlos Williams

This is a fun way to introduce kids to poetry and maybe inspire the poet in them.

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me an ARC of this book.

Happy Reading!

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Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mine is one p. 58 of Gone with a Handsomer Man by Michael Lee West

 I just knew they were sleeping together. In my girlish mind, I wondered if sex was a binding agent, no different from an egg wash that seals the edges of puff pastry.

Happy Reading!

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Sandstorm Review

Sandstorm by James Rollins

Genre:  Adult fiction

Publisher: William Morrow

Source: Personal Library

Book Description:

An inexplicable explosion rocks the antiquities collection of a London museum, setting off alarms in clandestine organizations around the world. And now the search for answers is leading Lady Kara Kensington; her friend Safia al-Maaz, the gallery's brilliant and beautiful curator; and their guide, the international adventurer Omaha Dunn, into a world they never dreamed existed: a lost city buried beneath the Arabian desert. But others are being drawn there as well, some with dark and sinister purposes. And the many perils of a death-defying trek deep into the savage heart of the Arabian Peninsula pale before the nightmare waiting to be unearthed at journey's end: an ageless and awesome power that could create a utopia . . . or destroy everything humankind has built over countless millennia.

There are terrifying mysteries hidden deep in the desert sands.

Review:

James Rollins books are a fun and thrilling ride.  I’ve read several of his stand alone books and some of this Sigma series.

If you’re a fan of Indiana Jones and action packed thrillers, then you’ll love this book.  This is the first in a series featuring the Sigma team, a specialized team that goes in a gets rid of potential problems for the US.

This book has political intrigue, history, archealogy and romance as well.  James Rollins is a great writer and you’ll not be bored and you may learn something.

Happy Reading!

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The Red Blazer Girls Review

The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour by Michael Beil

Genre:  Juvenile fiction

Publisher: Yearling

Source: Public Library

Book Description:

It all began with The Scream. And ended with . . . well, if we told you that, it wouldn’t be a mystery! But in between The Scream and The Very Surprising Ending, three friends find themselves on a scavenger hunt set up for a girl they never met, in search of a legendary ring reputed to grant wishes. Are these sleuths in school uniforms modern-day equivalents of Nancy, Harriet, or Scooby? Not really, they’re just three nice girls who decide to help out a weird lady, and end up hiding under tables, tackling word puzzles and geometry equations, and searching rather moldy storage rooms for “the stuff that dreams are made of” (that’s from an old detective movie). Oh, and there’s A Boy, who complicates things. As boys often do.

Intrigued? The Red Blazer Girls offers a fun, twisty adventure for those who love mystery, math (c’mon, admit it!), and a modest measure of mayhem.

Review:

What a fun book this was.  The Red Blazer Girls is a great choice for anyone who loves Nancy Drew.  The girls are smart, funny and end up getting in trouble while trying to help a family solve a mystery.

This book is well written and incorporates some math to help solve the mystery of where to find the ring.  I recommend this for girls 9 and up.  It’s fast paced and you solve the mystery along with the girls. 

Happy Reading!

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Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mine is one p. 330 of Sandstorm by James Rollins

The horns certainly appeared as a sharp crescent, protruding from the rock. Sand and dust cast from the excavation swirled into the chamber as the winds above grew suddenly more stiff, seeming to blow directly down through the hole in the roof.

Happy Reading!

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Man Seeks God Review

Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine by Eric Weiner

Genre:  Adult non- fiction

Publisher: Tweleve

Source: Public Library

Book Description:

When a health scare puts him in the hospital, Eric Weiner-an agnostic by default-finds himself tangling with an unexpected question, posed to him by a well-meaning nurse. "Have you found your God yet?" The thought of it nags him, and prods him-and ultimately launches him on a far-flung journey to do just that.

Weiner, a longtime "spiritual voyeur" and inveterate traveler, realizes that while he has been privy to a wide range of religious practices, he's never seriously considered these concepts in his own life. Face to face with his own mortality, and spurred on by the question of what spiritual principles to impart to his young daughter, he decides to correct this omission, undertaking a worldwide exploration of religions and hoping to come, if he can, to a personal understanding of the divine.

The journey that results is rich in insight, humor, and heart. Willing to do anything to better understand faith, and to find the god or gods that speak to him, he travels to Nepal, where he meditates with Tibetan lamas and a guy named Wayne. He sojourns to Turkey, where he whirls (not so well, as it turns out) with Sufi dervishes. He heads to China, where he attempts to unblock his chi; to Israel, where he studies Kabbalah, sans Madonna; and to Las Vegas, where he has a close encounter with Raelians (followers of the world's largest UFO-based religion).

At each stop along the way, Weiner tackles our most pressing spiritual questions: Where do we come from? What happens when we die? How should we live our lives? Where do all the missing socks go? With his trademark wit and warmth, he leaves no stone unturned. At a time when more Americans than ever are choosing a new faith, and when spiritual questions loom large in the modern age, MAN SEEKS GOD presents a perspective on religion that is sure to delight, inspire, and entertain.

Review:

I listened to Eric’s first book Geography of Bliss and enjoyed it.  When I saw this one I had to read it.  Like Eric, I’m a seeker, and found this book helpful and thought provoking.  It is funny, as only Eric can be, and will appeal to anyone searching or not.

Eric’s travels take him to people who are considered the best to teach him what he wants to know.  He is usually skeptical and wary of putting too much stock in some of the ideas presented to him, but he keeps an open mind. Ultimately he discovers that

God is to religion as food is to a menu. Both the menu and the religion suggest a variety of options, and while the waiter can make recommendations, ultimately the choice is ours. To say you know God because you are religious is like saying you have dined well because you read the menu.

No matter what you believe you’ll see part of yourself in this book.  I enjoyed this adventure as much as his search for bliss

Happy Reading!

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Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mine is one p. 18 of Man Seeks God by Eric Weiner

  There is a long tradition of retreating into nature in order to find oneself: Thoreau, Gandhi, that South Carolina governor who hiked the Appalachian Trail. They didn’t freak out over a few missing bars, and neither will I, no sirree.

Happy Reading!

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I Am J Review

I Am J by Cris Beam

Genre: Young Adult fiction

Publisher: Little Brown books for Young Readers

Source: Public Library

Book Description:

When J reached adolescence, he quit the swim team and began covering his body with extra clothes to hide the fact that he had been born a girl. At 17, J dreams of being accepted as a boy, binding his breasts and despising his monthly periods. His close friend, Melissa, a cutter, tries her best to understand and support him. His parents are confused, angry, and sad. He runs away from home and enrolls in a special school for gay and transgender teens, where he makes a helpful friend, a transgender girl. He also embarks on a shaky romance with Blue, a straight female artist who believes J is a boy and to whom he must eventually confess the truth. When he learns about testosterone and how it can help with his transformation, he is overjoyed, despite the obstacles he faces in getting the drug legally. Finally, J turns 18 and is able to begin getting his shots. He applies to and is accepted at college to study photography as a transgender young man, and holds out hope that one day his parents will accept him as well. Beam is the author of the informative adult book, Transparent: Love, Family and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers (Houghton, 2007). This novel is just as impressive. J is an especially vivid character, and the supporting characters are carefully drawn. Told in third person, the story is believable and effective due to insightful situations, realistic language, and convincing dialogue.

Review:

This is an important book that everyone should read. If you want to understand what it’s like to be a transgender teen, then find this book and share it with your family, friends and anyone you meet.

I love how J is trying to be “normal” and coming to terms with who he really is.  His friend Melissa misunderstands what transgender means and he struggles to help her and his parents understand that it’s not in his head or that he is gay.

This is a powerful and important read and I highly recommend it as a great family discussion to help understand what it means to be born with the wrong body.

Happy Reading!

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Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mine is one p. 131 of I Am J by Cris Beam

  It was their first hug, and J felt a heat rising up his neck, under

Blue's cardigan, which he was wearing as a scarf. Blue jumped back and

was hopping from one foot to the other to fight the cold.

Happy Reading!

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Guest Post by Marissa Meyer

Hello everyone,
  Today I want to welcome a guest post by the author of the book Cinder. 

How Cinderella Became a Cyborg




In early 2008, I entered a writing contest in the Sailor Moon fanfiction world with a short story

called “Luna v. 4.2.” The story was a futuristic retelling of Puss in Boots, one of my favorite

fairy tales. Though I had limited experience with the sci-fi genre, it turned out to be surprisingly

fun to write about a world with robotic talking cats and space travel.



I would later come to find out that only two entries had been submitted for that writing contest…

and my sci-fi fairy tale didn’t win! But it did give me an idea that I couldn’t shake. I was struck

with the inspiration to write an entire series of futuristic fairy tales. To my knowledge it hadn’t

been done before, and the potential for fun characters and world-building set my writer’s heart to

racing.



So I started to brainstorm ways to techno-fy my favorite tales. “The Little Mermaid” with space

aliens or “Rumpelstiltskin” with androids, etc. I was having bundles of fun coming up with crazy

ideas, heavily influenced by Star Wars, Firefly, and Cowboy Bebop, but none of the stories

seemed to be solidifying into full-fledged novel concepts.



Then, one blissful night, I had that coveted lightning-bolt moment just as I was falling asleep.

And I saw her.



Cinderella… as a cyborg.



I envisioned a girl with a robotic hand and foot. A mechanic who earns her keep fixing broken

computers and hovercars rather than mopping floors. Android friends instead of mice. Perhaps

a spaceship instead of a pumpkin carriage. A wise old scientist instead of a fairy godmother. A

wicked stepmother, yes, but another villain too… someone even more cruel and terrible. Maybe

a wicked queen…



My imagination started to bubble over and I scrambled out of bed to write it all down.



The idea persisted over days and weeks and months, growing in leaps and bounds. Though

I’d originally though the series would consist of separate, stand-alone novels, my Cinderella

character started to make her way into the other characters’ lives, and my evil queen’s minions

began seeping into Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel. The stories all began to interconnect

until the plot as a whole became much more epic than I could have foreseen when I first wrote

that silly short story that had started it all.



And so The Lunar Chronicles was born, a four-book adventure that combines fairy tales with

space opera. And so Cinderella became a cyborg.



Marissa Meyer lives in Washington with her husband and three cats. She's a fan of most things

geeky (Sailor Moon, Firefly, color-coordinating her bookshelf...) and will take any excuse to put

on a costume. Cinder is her first novel. Follow her on Twitter: @marissa_meyer.
 
Happy Reading!
 
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The China Gambit Review

China Gambit by Allan Topol

Genre: Adult fiction

Publisher: Vantage Point (Jan. 1, 2012)

Source: Shelf Awareness win

Book Description:

In Canada, Francesca, a young American reporter, is brutally murdered to stop her from publishing an explosive story. She has learned that Chinese General Zhou has orchestrated a conspiracy with Iran to stop the flow of imported oil to the United States. General Zhou’s goal: To leapfrog China over the United States for world economic and military supremacy. And the ruthless General will do anything to accomplish that goal. 

Craig Page—a daring and resourceful former CIA agent, now fighting terrorism in Europe—is determined to find out who killed his daughter, Francesca. Joined by the gutsy Elizabeth Crowder, Francesca’s editor, Craig peels back the conspiracy layer by layer, ultimately learning that General Zhou has a partner in the scheming CIA director, Kirby, who forced Craig out of the Agency.

The action moves from Canada to Tehran, Beijing and Washington, and finally to Aspen, with Craig and Elizabeth narrowly escaping repeated attacks in their attempt to prevent a catastrophe for the United States. It’s exciting and exceedingly timely, with attention focused now on China’s growing strength and power in the world. At the same time, Craig must bury his personal loss, as he confronts his adversaries trying to kill him.

Review:

This is the first of a new series and I look forward to more from Allan Topol. If you like spy thrillers and lots of action, then you’ll love this novel.

If you’re a lover of John LeCarre and the Bourne books you’ll find lots to enjoy in this book.

Craig and Elizabeth team up to discover you killed his daughter and the journey takes them to Canada and China and along the way they start to be attracted to each other. The political intrigue is like something that could happen in today’s political climate. 

I highly recommend this book to any who loves action, political intrigue and spy novels.

Happy Reading!

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