PRSB Lit. and Music Review August 2008

PRSB Lit. and Music Review August 2008

PRSB Lit. and Music Review July 2008

PRSB Lit. and Music Review July 2008

PRSB Lit. and Music Review June 2008

PRSB Lit. and Music Review June 2008

PRSB Lit. and Music Review May 2008

PRSB Lit. & Music Review May 2008

Midnight Brunch by Marta Acosta

Review by Crystal (Click here for more reviews at Crystal’s Myspace)
Milagro De Los Santos fell in love with a very skilled plastic surgeon. Little did she know he had a blood disorder that some people considered vampirism. She accepted Oswald for who he was and wanted to be with him always.

In the back of her mind she felt like his family was always keeping secrets from her. Oswald’s mother made it a point to let Milagro know how unhappy it made her that the two of them were together.

Spying on Winnie’s baby’s naming ceremony, Milagro discovered something was very wrong. What language was Mr. Egghead speaking? It sounded like a car crash. Just as she was about to burst in and interrupt the ceremony, Ian Ducharme covered her mouth and filled her in on what was supposed to happen.

Ian was off limits because she was in love with Oswald. But that didn’t stop Ian from trying to charm Milagro every time he got the chance. Or from sending her little gifts she kept hidden in the closet from Oswald knowing it would highly perturb him.

Milagro desperately needed a break from the madness so she took a road trip; and ran into an old friend from F.U. College. Turned out he was looking for a screen play writer, and that was right up Milaro’s alley. Until she met Tom and had been forced into being his assistant. He even swam naked in her pool!
There is so much drama in this story but it is wickedly, side splitting hilarious! I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book. It does have its serious parts but the way Marta refers to Willem cracked me up ever time!

You ssshould check out thisss book (you’ll understand the extra s’s if you do) I am sure it will be worth your while, especially if you’re looking for a laugh.

I give Marta 5 giggling hearts for Midnight Brunch. There were times my husband thought I was crazy because I genuinely laughed at what Milagro got herself into.
You can find Marta on myspace at: www.myspace.com/martaacosta

Dancing With Dragonflies by Jack Francis Gorfien

Review by Crystal (Click here for more reviews at Crystal’s Myspace)
Dancing with Dragonflies is a fable written for children and adults of all ages. It may be read out loud in less than 20 minutes, making it a good length for a bedtime story.The tale is about a princess and a knight named Lirona and Zohar. They meet while on separate journeys and continue on different paths in search of treasure. With the help of a little magic supplied by a mysterious old woman called Adamina, they find themselves where they first met, and continue their journey together to discover something more valuable than any precious gem. Among other things, he book encourages the ability to see opportunity, and the courage to act upon it. It also advocates work, balance, cooperation,perseverance, and self-determination. The words and whimsical illustrations work together to form a contemporary trip into the past and future. –Jack Francis Gorfien

That is exactly how the book goes. It is a very child friendly book, the words are not too hard for a smaller child to understand. The colorful pages are bright and sunny. My son is too young to understand but he loved trying to grab the images on the page because they are very appealing to the eye.
This is such a cute story of always looking for something but never finding it, until a little old woman stuck her two sense in! This is a very good read for bedtime stories or just for fun.
I give Jack Francis Gorfien 5 hearts for this cute little story about a princess and a knight.

You can find Jack on myspace at: www.myspace.com/dancingwithdragonflies

Sweet Moon Dreams by Rose Marie Wolf

Review by Crystal (Click here for more reviews at Crystal’s Myspace)
Werewolves do exist and in this book they are always on the run. Hunters are breaking into the PRDI building stealing files on the werewolves they are protecting only to hunt them down to kill them. One hunter named Marcus comes dangerously close only to be killed by the hunted, Rose. Never killing anyone in her life, Rose is distraught and sickened at what she had done. The hunter left his mark on her shoulder in the form of a silver bullet. Thank goodness silver bullets don’t kill werewolves in this story.

No longer safe from the hunters Rose and her fiance Jason hightail it to the safety of the PRDI community. It does not take long for the hunters to find them and plan a mass murder to get to Rose. Why was Rose so important to Simon the leader of the hunter operation?

Jason is alone in the same room as Simon, and getting beat up pretty bad. Jason’s mind keeps reeling; why is he faster than I am? I am a werewolf there is no way he can be faster than me. Jason knew there was something different about this hunters scent he just could not quite figure it out. But the real reason may shock you! As Jason lay unconscious….what has become of Rose? Did she make it out or…..? I don’t even know the answer as there is more to come!

I think Rose Marie Wolf did a very good job on this story. It was difficult for me to get pulled into it. Though it was the middle of the story when it really got interesting and pulled me in. It defiantly left me wanting more in the end. But I have to rate this 4 hearts as it was difficult to get into. But I very much look forward to what may come. You can find Rose Marie Wolf on myspace at:http://www.myspace.com/rose_marie_wolf

Top Ten Uses For An Unworn Prom Dress by Tina Ferraro

Review by Crystal (Click here for more reviews at Crystal’s Myspace)
High School is all about the dances, Home comings and Proms. Girls go out and spend outrageous amounts of money on the perfect dress only to be worn for one night. Then end up hanging the dress in the back of the closet only to be forgotten. But what happens when you get dumped before the prom because your dates girlfriend moved back to town? If you’re like Nicolette Antonovich you hang it on the back of your bedroom door and secretly try it on when you are in a bad mood just to feel better and dance to the Beatles.

This is a great story filled with lots of high school drama, the prom date with the dimples who dumps you two days before the prom so he can go with his perfect girlfriend that shows back up after moving away. Your best friends brother is starting to stir up little feelings inside of you that were never there before. And the betrayal of a best friend just to keep your feelings from being hurt even more. Lets not forget the fights between said dimple guy and the best friends brother. Those were always exciting, halls would buzz with the rumors for days.

I enjoyed reading this YA novel by Tina Ferraro, she makes me remember high school all over again. I actually got chills while reading this book; I could not help smiling along and getting worried about all the same things on Nicolette’s plate. This would be a great read for all those freshman to senior girls because this could happen to them. Being left with an unworn prom dress. But the question is does she ever get to wear it? I guess you’ll just have to buy the book to find out! I give Tina 5 hearts and great reviews! You can find Tina on myspace at: http://www.myspace.com/ferrarotina

Institute of Children’s Lit. Chat w/ Harold Underdown

For more than 35 years, the Institute of Children’s Literature has offered the premier writing course, books, and a newsletter to adults interested in learning how to write and be published for children and teens.

This site offers our Writing Aptitude Test, and information on our monthly Children’s Writer newsletter and on our very popular Children’s Writer Guide annual review of the field. In Rx for Writers our Web Editor, Jan Fields, provides articles on the writing life, tips on honing your writing, online interviews with experts (including transcripts), open chat rooms for all experience levels from beginning to working writers, and weekly announcements of new articles and upcoming interviews.

May 22, 2008: “Down the Publishing Path” with Harold Underdown

Harold Underdown Chat with Institute of Children’s Literature

At the next Guest Chat in our ICL Chat room, May 22, they will be talking with editor Harold Underdown, the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books about how publishing works and ways to make it work a bit more smoothly for you.

Currently an editorial consultant in New York, Harold Underdown has served as editorial director for Charlesbridge Publishing, as vice president of editorial for iPicturebooks, and as a children’s book editor for Orchard and Macmillan. He is also a popular speaker at writer’s conferences. And his website — The Purple Crayon — is a must see resource for writers.

Remember, you can also email any questions you would like to ask Harold.
Just send your questions to WebEditor@institutechildrenslit.com.
Come and learn more about children’s book publishing, May 22.
For help with our chatroom software, check out this article: http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/ws01/howchat.shtml
This chat will be held at these times and places:
——————————————————————————–
Down the Publishing Path
Thursday evening, May 22, 2008
9-11 p.m. Atlantic
8-10 p.m. Eastern
7-9 p.m. Central
6-8 p.m. Mountain
5-7 p.m. Pacific

Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario

Review by Ana Rosa
Somewhere, in a small town in Central America or Mexico, a child is studying a photograph of his mother who left for “el Norte” when he was barely old enough to remember. But he does remember. Perhaps he will sleep in her bed tonight, or bury his face among her discarded dresses, or even attempt to conjure her memory by daubing on her perfume, as if the lingering scent could call her back. But the years pass and his mother never returns, so the child can’t help but wonder if she ever really loved him. As time passes, the loneliness and longing for his mother never leaves him. So one day, he sets out to find her on a solo journey that will take him thousands of miles from home, traversing the continent entirely on his own. He will carry with him just this worn and much-handled photograph, along with a single piece of paper containing his mother’s phone number in some distant American city. To reach her, he will hitch a ride on “El Tren de la Muerte” — The Train of Death —along with thousands of other children like him, all searching for their mothers or trying to escape the grinding poverty back home. During the journey, some of these children will be swept off the trains onto the tracks, where many will lose their lives or their limbs. Others will be hunted down like animals by police and violent gangs of thugs and thieves. Most are likely to be beaten, robbed, bullied, and possibly raped (especially if the child is a girl), and all of them will be frightened, hungry, thirsty, cold and desperately alone. Many will make the trip more than once — Enrique attempted the same journey seventeen times — and all due to a desperate longing to be united with the mother who left them behind, who is now little more than a distant memory — an idealized image in a photograph.

This is Enrique’s story and the story of thousands of immigrant children like him. Sonia Nazario tells their stories in a very intimate and moving portrayal of one child’s story in Enrique’s Journey. She informs us that some 48,000 children from throughout Latin America attempt this dangerous crossing into the United States every year. Most come looking for their mothers, who were forced out of necessity to leave their children behind while they look for work in the United States. Some of these mothers find jobs taking care of other mothers’ children and cleaning their homes.

I remember meeting one such mother when I worked for a refugee organization in San Francisco. She was a Peruvian living with her five-year-old daughter in the Tenderloin, one of the seediest and most dangerous neighborhoods in the city. She had left a son behind in a small pueblo near Lima when he was little, and he had grown to be a teenager in her absence. She hadn’t seen Ramon in over five years, but of course, she thought about him all the time. Elena and I met twice a week to help her adjust to American culture and learn English for her job. One day, I got to her apartment after walking past the numerous drug dealers and prostitutes that inhabit the Tenderloin. Her daughter Yosselin cautiously answered the door. When I walked in, Elena was sitting on the floor, crying and cradling the phone with both hands. Her son had just called her to tell her that he was near the border of Mexico and Arizona. He was preparing to cross over. Elena was frantic. Even with my limited Spanish, I could tell that she was trying to convince him not to cross. “Es demasiado peligroso!” (too dangerous), she told her son. (Thousands of immigrants die every year crossing the merciless Arizona desert.) Ramon made it safely to his mother’s side in San Francisco, but thousands of immigrant children never do. I can never forget the events of that day. It was a tremendous education for me. And this is a story that gets played out every day in the immigrant community — yet, it’s a story seldom told in the mainstream media.

This is truly a remarkable story. Sonia Nazario won a Pulitzer Prize for her reporting, which was first serialized in the L.A. Times. To get to the heart of the reasons why immigrants choose to make this dangerous crossing, Nazario undertook the same treacherous journey herself. She went from Tegucigalpa in Honduras to North Carolina, riding the rails on “El Tren de la Muerte” along with hundreds of other children. Following in Enrique’s footsteps, she finally meets his mother, whom she interviews, along with the family he left behind. Enrique’s Journey has been compared to Tom Sawyer or an American-style Odyssey by some critics. But this is a true story. And it’s a story you should know — the kind of story that seldom gets told. If I could recommend just one book that everyone should read, it would be this one. Enrique’s Journey provides something often missing from the debate around immigration: a very real and human perspective on the lives of immigrants in the United States — a study in courage and sacrifice.