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Holiday Gift Guide

December 22, 2009 in Reviews | 14 comments

I read a lot of books in my line of work. Most of them are unpublished, sure, but I still have to make time to keep up with the market. I read tons of ARCs (Advance Reader or Review Copies, sent by publishers to reviewers, bookstores and librarians before the book’s release date… I get them through bookseller friends or at industry events) and already-published books. I used to do a lot more in terms of book reviews on here, but now I think I’ll put together lists of my recent favorites a few times a year. In the spirit of Christmas, here’s a quick and dirty last-minute Holiday Gift Guide with recommendations for some things I’ve read lately and loved.

Support the industry you want to work in by buying two copies of each of these… one for the favorite teen in your life and one as research for yourself, the writer!

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flashburnoutcoverFLASH BURNOUT
by L.K. Madigan
Young Adult (336 pages). Houghton Mifflin, 2009.
ISBN: 978-0547194899

For Readers: You don’t need lil’ old me to recommend this book to you. It is a PW Flying Start, a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award and beloved by everyone. But I will anyway, because it is just that good. You will love Blake’s voice. The main character manages to be hilarious and poignant from one moment to the next, a feat that’s not easy to pull off. Author L.K. Madigan has crafted a story where you’ll be frequently put-off by Blake and his choices, but you’ll be rooting for him anyway, all while laughing your ass off. There are some sexual situations, so this might be a good fit for the older teen set.

For Writers: This is what I mean when I say “voice.” A lot of you are still confused on that subject, or you want to see it in action. Just read this.

buckfeverBUCK FEVER
by Cynthia Chapman Willis
Middle Grade (240 pages). Feiwel & Friends, 2009.
ISBN: 978-0312382971

For Readers: I feel like I have to include BUCK FEVER here because I don’t usually cover a lot of MG and I don’t usually cover a lot of boy MG especially. This book features an unlikely hero, a boy who isn’t one of those self-conscious nerd geniuses like the character in FOOD, GIRLS, AND OTHER THINGS I CAN’T HAVE (Read my review). He’s sensitive and shy and genuinely wants to make a difference in his world and to belong to his family, neither of which he’s been able to do very well so far. A sensitively-written novel that’ll appeal to both girls and boys, this MG pits its hero against a really big moral choice… and, in my opinion, that’s the heart and essence of middle-grade right there.

For Writers: If you’re writing more literary or more old-fashioned middle-grade, pick up BUCK FEVER because it puts to bed the myth that these kinds of books have to be slow and boring. There’s a lot going on and the pacing moves briskly. There’s also a great mix here of internal conflict, of the main character and his struggles to define himself and to live up to his father’s expectations, and external conflict, with a local hunting family and the deer that he’s supposed to kill. Yes, it’s a hunting book, and that will turn some people off, but it’s still worth a study.

timothydragonTIMOTHY AND THE DRAGON’S GATE
by Adrienne Kress
Middle Grade (368 pages). Weinstein Books, 2009.
ISBN: 978-1602861091

For Readers: Hilarious hijinks ensue in Adrienne Kress’ second book. Middle-grade readers who want just the right touch of whimsy and don’t want to dip their feet into wizards and dragons will love the author’s unique take on fantasy/adventure. This will appeal to both boys and girls — a rare feat — and will leave readers clamoring for more. Good thing they’ll find it in Kress’ debut ALEX AND THE IRONIC GENTLEMAN, which shares characters and plot with the follow-up. Well worth a read!

For Writers: This is another example of great voice. Kress’ work is a study in the self-conscious narrator. What do I mean by that? It’s a narrator who is very much a part of the story him- or herself. They break the fourth wall, make asides to the reader and otherwise participate. The narrator’s voice colors everything. Kress’ books are also great middle-grade adventure novels with pirates, theatre, quirks galore. They’re over-the-top and they’re romps but there’s also some serious craftsmanship going on. This style worked very well for Lemony Snicket and, if you want another hidden gem example, definitely pick up TIMOTHY.

goodbyerobotHOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT
by Natalie Standiford
Young Adult (288 pages). Scholastic Press, 2009.
ISBN: 978-0545107082

For Readers: I have made no secret of my burning love for this book. It slays me. If I had read it in my incarnation as a geeky, profoundly introspective 15- or 16-year-old, it would’ve changed my life. I think it has pretty much done that anyway. This book is truly for those special readers: the observers, the quirk-ridden, the deep thinkers, the lonely hearts, the painfully awkward. And that’s an amazing thing. I think this simultaneously heart-warming and heartbreaking story is one that will reach out of the pages and grab its readers, never to let them go.

For Writers: “Quirky” is such a cheap word now. Too many people think they have what it takes to write a truly quirky character and instead they emerge with a mish-mash of incomprehensible traits that don’t make a fleshed-out person. Natalie Standiford has created characters who are almost too real. Their interests, their passions, their needs are achingly authentic. They are truly quirky, without being cute or contrived about it. And they don’t harp on their quirks or their loneliness, like most other characters do. I don’t know exactly what lesson a writer can take from this book. I’ve taken so many, over several rereadings, that I really do urge you all to just read it and discover it for yourself.

gothgirlGOTH GIRL RISING
by Barry Lyga
Young Adult (400 pages). Houghton Mifflin, 2009.
ISBN: 978-0547076645

For Readers: Kyra won’t be for everyone, but those who read her and resonate with her will carry her voice and her story for a very long time. Lyga’s angsty, fully-formed character has been waiting for a chance to tell her story and I can’t imagine a better one to showcase her side of things. Despite some very difficult and emotional moments throughout, the ending resonates will a rare, well-earned hope.

For Writers: Barry Lyga is a guy. But he writes an edgy teen girl with all the skill and conviction in the world. Many writers ask me if it’s okay to step so far outside yourself to find a character’s voice. Guy writers, especially, worry that they won’t get credibility writing from a girl’s POV. And I think that’s a valid concern, especially for men writing a first-person woman (I think women writing from a guy’s POV have it slightly easier in terms of criticism, as did L.K. Madigan in FLASH BURNOUT, above, but that’s another bucket of fish). If you are finding your current first-person protagonist is a stretch for you, pick up GOTH GIRL RISING and see how seamlessly the writer a) maintains the writing voice he’s well-known for, and b) slips on a whole new skin.

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And for the love of goats, go buy these at your local independent bookstore or online at IndieBound.org.

For other books that I have loved this year, click on the “Highly Recommended” tag in my blog sidebar. You’ll see things I’ve reviewed and loved from earlier.

Disclosures: This list includes friends as well as ABLit clients. Books have either been purchased by me, obtained at BEA, passed along from friends, or sent to me by the author in ARC form.

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Review: Shiver

July 23, 2009 in Reviews | 6 comments

by Maggie Stiefvater
Young Adult, 400 pages.
Scholastic Press (2009)
ISBN: 978-0545123266

“Once bitten, twice shy” does not apply to Grace. Ever since an amber-eyed wolf rescued her from his pack, she has been combing the woods for him, reveling in his silent gaze every winter.

What Grace doesn’t know is that her wolf has a name, Sam, and a human body, but only after the temperature rises past a certain degree. She also doesn’t know much she will love him. Or that this year is his last as a human before the cold wins out and he becomes a wolf forever.

Can their love thaw him for good? Better yet, how could Grace have survived her own wolf bite without turning were? Does that mean there’s a cure?

Edward who? SHIVER is poised to usher in the Age of Werewolf and dominate the glut of vampire and faerie books on the shelves. The only difference between this novel and some of the paranormal romance out there is that it’s actually good. Well-written, haunting, imagined so well and so completely that the world, the love, the wolves, and Grace’s self-deprecating and funny voice are all achingly real.

Maggie Stiefvater (author of LAMENT and the upcoming BALLAD) delivers a love story full of obsession, danger, high stakes and simple, nuzzle-your-face-in-the-hollows-of-his-neck bliss. That’s pretty much the epitome of how any great romance feels, and she captures all angles, from the stupid fights to the hope, against, in this case, some pretty long odds, that love is enough to overcome any obstacles.

And, unlike some romances out there, the two characters aren’t drawn together by inexplicable invisible magnets. There is a very real and visceral explanation for Grace and Sam’s love, and it dovetails with the rest of the book both emotionally and plot-wise, which is so refreshing.

Overall, a well-written, raw and powerful love story that just so happens to have tons of fierce werewolf action and mythology. Seriously: what more could you possibly ask for?

SHIVER officially comes out August 1st but lots of stores and Amazon are selling it early. Here are some links: Shop Indie Bookstores, Amazon.

For Readers: Read it. Now. Before all your friends start talking about it and you feel left out. There’s something here for everyone. Paranormal action, heart-melting romance, high school drama. It’ll take a couple hours to get through and you won’t be able to stop. For me, that’s the mark of an excellent story.

For Writers: SHIVER will take paranormal romance to a more serious and realistic level. Some of the specimens out there now have been following some old cliche that throws two unlikely but insanely hot partners together and goodness forbid anything wrench them apart, even if they have very little in common. This convention goes out the window here. The characters have great motivation to be together, the love between them feels very real (both the good and the bad of it) and they take the notion of sacrifice to an entirely new level. If you’re writing teen or paranormal romance, just know that the bar has been raised, and then go buy the book that’s raising it.

This novel is also written in very compelling alternating POV chapters, so if you’re working with two or more narrators, especially if one is a guy and one is a girl, check it out and see how Maggie does it. It really is very well-crafted.

Disclosure: Maggie is an ABLit client.

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Review: Kiss of Life

May 5, 2009 in Reviews | No comments

by Daniel Waters
Young Adult, 416 pages.
Hyperion (2009)
ISBN: 978-1423109235

Phoebe and the gang are back and tensions at Oakvale High School run higher than ever. Since there are no human rights for zombies, Peter gets away with Adam’s murder. And Adam, completely different from the handsome, agile football player he used to be, must navigate his new afterlife. As more and more people try to eliminate the zombie menace, the differently biotic and Phoebe, their biggest supporter, must decide how to live and whether or not to go, ahem, underground.

In this sequel to GENERATION DEAD (see my review), Phoebe Kendall makes a very difficult choice between Tommy Williams, the articulate, intelligent zombie, and Adam, who loved her all through his life and who she must take care of in his living death. He isn’t nearly as mobile or developed, but Phoebe breaks this off with Tommy because Adam is where her heart belongs. Tommy, meanwhile, hits the road and leaves Phoebe and beautiful zombie Kelly in charge of his MySoCalledUndeath.com blog.

Meanwhile, a more radical group of zombies, led by the disgruntled Tak, start wreaking havoc to get back at society. The anti-zombie movement, which Peter has gotten mixed up in, of course, uses these pranks to frame the zombies in even bigger crimes, including a murder. As police and the FBI crack down on zombies and the formerly zombie-friendly Oakvale High bans them from lunch and then from classes, the community is thrown into turmoil. Even the supposedly friendly Hunter Foundation may not be what it seems. After a particularly vicious attack on the zombies, Phoebe and her friends need to find a place where they belong, and fast.

I really enjoyed GENERATION DEAD and KISS OF LIFE definitely kept my interest. However, not as much happened in this follow-up compared to the first book. It was pretty much the same formula repeated, only with danger coming from more people, not just Peter and a few anti-zombie radicals. Now it feels like the entire country is against the undead. Other than that, there is still the love triangle between Tommy, Phoebe and Adam, but it is just as uncertain by the end as it was in the first book. Phoebe loves Adam and we believe it, but their romance still has a doomed air about it.

Obviously, Waters is setting us up for a third book as he leaves many strands untied after the climactic human vs. zombie battle. We especially want to know what happens to Kelly, one of my favorite characters. Another interesting thread we get here is narration from Adam in his post-zombie state, where we can see his slow but steady progress toward movement, speech and thought. Watching his emotions develop is something I particularly enjoyed and it really settled the question of whether or not zombies can feel. Overall, a solid sequel that continues to raise interesting social issues, but nowhere near as interesting as the first.

Daniel Waters’s KISS OF LIFE comes out May 12th, 2009. Pre-order a copy today or pick it up at your favorite indie bookstore. Here are some links: Amazon, Shop Indie Bookstores

For Readers: KISS OF LIFE is a good sequel for GENERATION DEAD fans. The world feels familiar by now and the dangers are still the same: zombies vs. zombie-haters. I wish there were more elements introduced into this world. The Hunter Foundation reveal was interesting and definitely hinted at but I don’t think enough was done (yet) with that storyline. Still, the franchise is good enough that I will read the third book. Just a caveat, I don’t think you’ll be very impressed with KISS OF LIFE if you haven’t read GENERATION DEAD first.

For Writers: Take a look at how Waters uses Adam’s narration throughout the book. Adam starts with halting, one-word sentences that illustrate his zombiefied condition and ends with some pretty developed prose. It’s a good narrative technique to master, especially if one of your POV characters is undergoing some sort of radical change. Just remember: “Style imitates content.” More on that later.

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Review: Generation Dead

May 4, 2009 in Reviews | 1 comment

by Daniel Waters
Young Adult, 416 pages.
Hyperion (Hardcover, 2008, Paperback, 2009)
ISBN: 978-1423109228

All of a sudden, dead teenagers aren’t staying that way. Now these kids — call them zombies, undead, living impaired or the politically correct term, “differently biotic” — seem to be descending on Oakvale High School. Phoebe and her friends Adam and Margi are here to witness the new revolution unfold. Their friend Collette comes back after drowning. Sensitive zombie blogger Tommy Williams joins the football team. The Hunter Foundation, a research society for the differently biotic, sets up camp and offers an Undead Studies class. All the while, a different kind of unrest is boiling, led at school by Peter, the quarterback, who thinks the dead should stay dead. Ministers cry “Apocalypse!” and the living figure out that the differently biotic can be killed.

As Phoebe falls for Tommy Williams, who isn’t like the other zombies, who can move and smile and speak without the trademark hitch in his voice and maybe even feel, Peter comes up with a plan to put the zombies in their place (six feet under, all over again). When the undead congregate at a Haunted House on the outskirts of town for a party, Phoebe must choose between Tommy and her very human friend Adam. Little do they know that Peter and his shotgun are about to make that choice much more difficult.

People get their yaya’s in many different ways. For me, I love trashy-yet-intelligent books like THE LUXE series and catching up on the occasional VH1 reality show (Tough Love and Tool Academy, anyone?). While I like reading the mind-blowing books, like yesterday’s THE CHOSEN ONE, which I can’t stop thinking about, I really can enjoy a fun, trashy novel every once in a while. That’s what I was thinking when I picked up GENERATION DEAD, so my expectations were pretty low. Imagine my surprise when it surpassed my wildest hopes as a really, really enjoyable book that I couldn’t put down!

Not only is this a high school love story, but it verges on creating a reality where there is a believable and dangerous battle for zombie civil rights. It gets totally political and I loved it! For a book with such a fluffy cover, it manages to explore prejudice and hate issues pretty deeply and ends with a predictable but emotionally charged scene of deadly sacrifice. I know my credibility with the intellectuals out there is about to take a nosedive, but life can’t be all serious, all the time. Neither can undeath!

Tired of inarticulate, slobbering zombies? There’s no better way to develop a reverence and passion for zombie rights than picking up GENERATION DEAD and its forthcoming sequel, KISS OF LIFE!

GENERATION DEAD is out in paperback as of April, 2009. Its sequel, KISS OF LIFE, is coming out May 12th and I’m posting my review of that tomorrow. Here are links for GENERATION DEAD in paperback: Amazon, Shop Indie Bookstores

For Readers: A breezy and addictive read that manages to go surprisingly deep below the surface. Follow Tommy, Kelly, Phoebe, Margi and Adam and be sure to read Tommy Williams’s blog, MySoCalledUndeath.com, which is still maintained with regularity. If you find yourself tempted to sport an “All My Friends Are Dead” shirt after reading, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Perfect for paranormal fans, beach reading, reluctant readers and zombie fans everywhere.

For Writers: Yes, I will make a recommendation that writers read this book. The writing is actually just fine and carries the story very well. What I love about this book (and about THE LUXE series) is that Waters uses alternating POV’s in chapters and sections to really ramp up the tension. We get to see the good guys advancing toward their goals and then the bad guys plotting, all from their own unique POV’s. If you’ve never written in alternating POV, it’s a challenging but dynamite way to raise stakes and increase tension.

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Kidlit Author Interview With Heather Duffy Stone

April 22, 2009 in Interview | 1 comment


Today, we’ve got a fantastic interview for you from our Kidlit Book Club pick of the month author, Heather Duffy Stone. Since her debut novel, THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO TELL YOU, deals with such intense and honest emotions, I wanted to find out more about what her process was when it came to writing these types of scenes. Enjoy!

Kidlit: All three of your main characters in the book, Noelle, Nadio and Keeley, have intense feelings about sex. From Noelle’s disappointment and Keeley’s experience to Nadio’s complicated inner struggle, how did you go about writing these scenes? What did you want to convey?

Heather Duffy Stone: This is a great question. I have to say these scenes were easy in the sense that I knew that the book was going to be about the intensely complicated nature of first sexual experiences. I felt very strongly where the characters were coming from and I pulled on experience. I mean not just my own.

In fact it was very much the experience of growing up and of hearing friends’ stories and talking friends through different experiences. I wanted to convey the truth of first relationships. I think Keeley and Nadio cared about each other deeply but they were coming from different, and very uncertain places. I think Noelle and Parker did not have a relationship based on love or trust, but it was certainly based on a mutual physical attraction. I wanted to convey that both of these things are very real and valid.

KL: The triangle of relationships between the three main characters makes for a lot of intense emotions: love, hate, jealousy. Does this “threesome” relationship come from something in your own life?

HDS: Wow. Well, yes and no. Everything I write comes from some kind of experience. And I actually have been part of a lot of friendships where two parties end up falling in love. But mostly I wanted to write about the two sides of ourselves that pull us in different directions—hence the twin thing.

KL: Without giving too much away, there is also a breakdown and cry for help in your book, including a time when the character isn’t exactly clear-headed. How did you handle writing this scene? Did you have any concerns about broaching the topic of possible suicide?

HDS: I didn’t have any concerns—this scene had to happen. I felt comfortable and confident writing it and, again, I wanted to convey only truth. I did not want to sugar coat anything. I have a graduate degree in Counseling, so maybe I have added confidence writing about these kinds of scenes—but at the same time I certainly worry. I knew there was not going to be a clear fix or a happy ending to this story. But life is often the same way.

KL: Nadio has a complicated relationship with his role as a man and other males, especially his estranged father. What was it like writing from his perspective? How did you make his experience and his relationship with manhood and with his father so truthful?

HDS: Writing as a teenage boy was so hard. In some ways, Nadio is the character I’m closest to. He is most like me I think and it was very easy to write his inner journey sometimes. But he was definitely way too feminine in the early stages. Some of my readers just kept underlining scenes. “Too girly, too girly”. He is still very sensitive, but I think he is undoubtedly a man now… thanks in huge part to my critique partners!

As far as manhood, I think I was able to convey trying to grow up—to fill expectations and be yourself and protect and take care of people without giving up too much of yourself. I hope I was able to do that. I think we can all relate to that same kind of searching.

KL: Did the book begin with either narrator or was it always going to be two POVs? Which narrator was easier to write? Did you ever find yourself writing more fluidly in one or the other?

HDS: Actually, the book began seven years ago with Lace (the mother). It was a third person adult novel about her. But my perspective and my interest changed gradually. Then it had three narrators—Keeley was actually a narrator. But the story belongs to the twins. I loved writing both of them—it really fed two sides of my story, and my needs as a writer, but I think I could also appeal to different kinds of readers too.

KL: You made the choice not to use any quotes or a lot of dialogue tags. Can you talk to us a little bit about the thought process behind this?

HDS: It’s not very exciting. It just felt completely unnatural to punctuate dialogue in this story. Noelle and Nadio are so overwhelmed, so uncertain about speaking certain truths out loud, and sometimes aren’t even making the distinction themselves between what they’re feeling and what they’re saying. I just wanted the reader, in some way, to feel this with them.

Thank you so so so much for having me, Mary. This was so fun!

THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO TELL YOU is Heather Duffy Stone’s first novel, it came out with Flux in March, 2009. Order it right here or pick it up in your favorite indie store. You can check out Heather’s website here and join the dedicated Kidlit Book Club page we have by clicking here.

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Changing Your Manuscript’s Tense, Point of View

April 19, 2009 in Advice, Revision | 1 comment

A writer makes many decisions when it comes to approaching a manuscript. We have to decide on our characters, our plot, our setting, our descriptions… all that content jazz. We also have to decide several storytelling issues. Is this story going to be told in past tense or present tense? Will it be told in first or in third person? If it’s going to be in third person, will it be third person limited or third person omniscient*? Which character’s POV** will tell the story? Will I have one POV or multiple POV’s?

And on and on. Sometimes I wonder why I didn’t take up brain surgery instead.

Believe it or not, though, almost every choice I’ve ever made about a manuscript has been wrong at some point. That’s totally okay. It’s a huge pain in the butt and you wonder if you are just the densest person on the planet when you realize your error, but there’s only one thing you can do: change it. (There’s also Secret Option B: eat a sheet pan of tiramisu.)

In terms of difficulty, here are the above changes, ordered by degree of difficulty from easiest to hardest:

  1. Tense
  2. First to third or third to first
  3. Third person limited to third person omniscient or vice versa
  4. One POV to multiple POV’s or vice versa

There are tons of changes a writer makes to a manuscript, of course, but the above four are the big “universal” changes that are likely to affect the entire thing. I’ve repeatedly, REPEATEDLY, made the first two changes to several manuscripts. In fact, with one manuscript, I went from first to third and then back again to first, like a total dunderhead.

If ever you’re faced with one of these huge changes, take heart. The only way to do it is to put your head down and power through. Besides, every single time you read through your work, it gets stronger. You’ll notice a sentence that sounds off, you’ll see that some new thread could easily be woven into the story here, here and here.

Also, there’s a great psychological effect to making these huge, whole-MS changes… you’ll get comfortable with ripping it apart and making it messy for a little while. After that, you’ll be more willing to do bigger revisions, if it comes to that, which it most likely will, and you’ll handle them with more aplomb! And doesn’t everyone want more aplombfulness in their lives? =)

* In case you’re wondering. Third person limited is narrated in the third person (he ran down the hallway, etc.) but it follows one character (most likely the main character) the closest. It can also see into that character’s thoughts and feelings but not anybody else’s. Third person omniscient, which is more difficult to pull off successfully, follows many people, can access all of their thoughts and feelings, and gives them equal weight.

** POV stands for “point of view.” Every time you follow someone’s thoughts or feelings, as in, say, the third person limited example above, you are in their POV. A book can primarily follow one person or have multiple POV’s (usually broken up into sections or new chapters, as in THE LUXE series by Anna Godbersen), and this term applies to books written in both first and third person.

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Review: This Is What I Want to Tell You

April 12, 2009 in Reviews | No comments

by Heather Duffy Stone
Young Adult, 240 pages. Flux (2009)
ISBN: 978-0738714509

Senior year ushers in brand new complications for twins Nadio and Noelle and their friend Keeley. Noelle is struggling to find love as Keeley and Nadio discover their feelings for each other.

Nadio, meanwhile, revels in his newfound girlfriend but is crushed by the guilt of keeping secrets from, quite literally, his other half. He wrestles with his feelings for Keeley, who has her own complicated past, as well as his relationship with an estranged father he never knew. As Noelle contemplates how to keep her grip on reality from slipping, Nadio tries to decide what it means to be a man and how to keep his fractured family together.

Achingly real, full of love, tenderness, heartbreak, disappointment and hope, THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO TELL YOU’s characters are thrown into a wicked triangle of emotion. Keeley doesn’t want to keep any more secrets, she also doesn’t want to move too fast after an experience she had over the summer. Nadio is stuck between the two most important people in his life as he battles the idea of his father for his identity. Noelle gasps and sputters her way into a half-hearted love affair, where her expectations of the man, Parker, are much more than he can ever realize.

Heather Duffy-Stone writes in a lyrical, sparse style. Some of her descriptions of this small college town and adjoining big city are lush but the dialogue is short, sinewy and power-charged with subtext and emotion. She is also unafraid to tackle the issue of jealousy between best friends in a way that seems very truthful. Whether Noelle covets Keeley’s romantic life, Keeley’s time spent with Nadio or the advantages of Keeley’s family wealth, the emotion is deeply founded and unflinchingly honest, even at its ugliest. That’s admirable.

Overall, a quick, engrossing read of expectations, revelations, love and family. One of my favorites so far this year.

Get your own copy of This Is What I Want to Tell You today! Heather Duffy Stone’s debut is also our Kidlit Book Club selection for the month of April. If you’ve read it, head over to the Book Club page to join the discussion!

For Readers: This book will appeal to literary readers as well as those who like the more commercial stuff. There’s lots of drama here, but it is real, based in truth and experience. You won’t find the petty high school politics, nor will you get RoboParents and their endless lecturing, like in some less imaginative fare. More serious, word-geek readers will appreciate the writing style and some of the dark subjects discussed. Do be warned, though, that some situations and themes in this book are serious in nature and would resonate best with more mature readers.

For Writers: The characters here are so fully fleshed out and mutli-faceted that I wanted to listen to them think for much, much longer. In this short book, however, Heather Duffy Stone has managed to pack in quite a lot of development. Writers will love reading the two POVs, especially Nadio. I can’t remember the last time a male POV written by a woman has caught this much of my attention and refused to let go. Writers would also do well to study the powerful triangle connection between the protagonist. A pair of characters in opposition can be very effective. Put a third character in there and make them bounce off each other? You’ve got fireworks. If this isn’t in your TBR pile yet, what are you doing reading this review? Go get it!

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