YA Pick: The Voice in My Head

The Voice in My Head
by Dana L. Davis
Ink Yard Press
2019
308 pages with Questions for Discussion
Resources
ISBN: 9871335998497

The Voice in My Head is a WINNER!

Twins Violet and Indigo have always been close, but since Violet's diagnosis, Indigo feels pushed away. Her pretty, popular, perfect twin is dying. There is no cure, and worse, Violet has decided to die on her own terms: with dignity. Choosing assisted suicide and her death date puts her twin Indigo into a panic. How can Violet  think about leaving her? And why would she choose death? How will she (Indigo)  navigate without her sister? Feeling lost, Indigo climbs a building, considering suicide herself. Before she lets go, she hears a voice in her head. She realizes she doesn't want to die after all. Choosing life, Indigo tries to save herself but falls.

Waking up in the hospital, Indigo tries to make her family see it was an accident. As the voice in her head keeps her company, Indigo decides to take Violet to The Wave, a remote rock in Arizona where the voice tells her Violet will make the trip and live. Violet has her own rules. The entire family packs up with the help of a preacher and the church bus and travels to the desert. The family each reads Violet a letter, and little brother Alfred asks Violet (when she dies) to promise to be his best ghost IRL (Alfred talks in text lingo!)

The voice in Indigo's head is comic, irreverent and sounds just like Dave Chapelle. The voice tells Indigo that God is omnipotent and can do what she wants. She can make a bet if she wants because she's God. At one point, God responds, "duh." Indigo tells the voice there's no way God would say Duh, but the voice retorts that it invented language and it can say whatever it wants.

Alfred, Indigo, Violet and God (Dave Chapelle) are characters that will stay with readers long after
closing the pages. The bond between sisters and the entire familial vibe is so perfect that Davis better be looking to bring this story to screen, and no one is better at it than her! (Dana L. Davis is an actress and Hollywood insider).

The Voice in My Head is on its way to award season! I predict several state awards including Texas Lone Star list (grades 6-8) and/or Texas Tayshas list (grade 9-12). I predict The Voice in My Head will be on @Cybils Fiction shortlist and top 10 Teen Fiction (and I'm never wrong)!

Highly, highly recommended grade 7 and up. Suicide, assisted suicide, and death. Discussion questions are included as are resources for suicide prevention. The family is religious and God plays an important part in this book. The Voice in My Head is perfect for private and parochial schools and church reading groups. No profanity, violence or sex.

FTC Required Reading: I received the book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

YA Pick: Dumplin'

Dumplin'

by Julie Murphy

Balzer + Bray

2015

371 pages

ISBN: 9780062327185

 

Advance Praise for DUMPLIN':

“I’m obsessed with this book. Wickedly funny, heartbreakingly real, full of characters to love and cheer for.Dumplin’ is such a star.”
—Katie Cotugno, author of How to Love and 99 Days

“Dumplin’ should be required reading for anyone who has ever felt even slightly uncomfortable in his or her skin. Julie Murphy’s star continues to shine with this groundbreaking, poignant story that will surely change lives.”
—John Corey Whaley, award-winning author of Noggin and Where Things Come Back

My Review:

Intelligent, witty, and beautiful, Dumplin' is testament to the strength of one tough Texas teen who won't be written off. She won't listen to haters. She won't let people shame her or shut her down. She won't let her mothers constant digs get her down. Using her moxie, Willowdean shows the town of Clover City that she is a teen tour-de-force to be reckoned with. Willowdean's mom is the Bluebonnet Pageant director and an ex-crown holder herself. In fact, her whole life has been a let down compared to winning that darned crown. It is literally her crowning achievement. She wishes her daughter would diet, so that she can be the beauty queen. She wants her daughter to be willowy and beautiful like she was in her youth. Instead of celebrating the smart, sassy and sweet daughter that she has, she longs for the outer shell--the shell that society is so enthralled with.

Willowdean has been crushing on hunky athlete Bo who just so happens is her co-worker at the burger joint. When he begins flirting with her, Will is surprised. Pleasantly so. They share a few sweet kisses and soon they seem to be in a "relationship."

Willow decides to make a point. Even though she is not considered "beautiful" due to her weight, she is going to enter the Miss Bluebonnet Pageant to make a point--fat is beautiful. Will triumphs against all odds and proves her point to her mother, to the audience and most importantly, to herself.

I loved the positive statements in Willow's personality. She owns herself, fat and all. As Willow puts it, "That cute, little fat girl is a beauty queen."

Beauty queens everywhere will love this book, fat girls will love this book, anyone who ever looked at a body part and hated it will love this book, Anyone who loves Texas, Dolly Parton, country music, bluebonnets, pageants, little towns, greasy burger joints, and pick-ups will love this book.Texans will love this book, heck, everyone will love this book.

Recommended grade 8 and up. Kissing, talk about "doing it," talk about virginity, profanity no worse than on primetime television, talk of beer money.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my library. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Middle Grade Book Giveaway and Review: The Girl in the Well Is Me

I have THREE copies of The Girl in the Well Is Me up for grabs. For your chance to win, simply post a comment to the blog. Be sure to include your first name, city, state, and email. Deadline for posts is Thursday, February 18 at noon MST. Winners will be chosen on that date randomly by Randomizer. Check your email shortly after noon MST. Winners have 24 hours to respond to my email. Books will ship from the publisher. Publisher is able to ship to U.S. addresses. Good luck and start posting! Pamela


The Girl in the Well Is Me
by Karen Rivers
Algonquin Young Readers
2016
224 pages
ISBN: 9781616205690

Available March 15, 2016

Praise for The Girl in the Well Is Me:

"A brilliantly revealed, sometimes even funny, exploration of courage, the will to live, and the importance of being true to oneself. The catastrophe draws readers in, and the universality of spunky Kammie's life-affirming journey will engage a wide audience. Moving, suspenseful, and impossible to put down."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“I dare you to pick up this riveting novel without reading straight through to its heart-stopping conclusion. Karen Rivers has penned a dazzling voice, at once hilarious, heartbreaking, and searingly honest. The Girl in the Well Is Me is a triumph.”—Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal-winning author of The One and Only Ivan

“A gripping story that doesn’t shy away from dark places but explores them with heart, humor, and light . . . This book will spark thoughtful conversations about choices, consequences, and what makes us who we are.” —Kate Messner, author of All the Answers

“Funny, surreal, occasionally heartbreaking…a compulsively readable story.” —School Library Journal

“This is a fascinatingly well told story that strongly reminded me of Libba Bray’s Going Bovine, but with a completely believable middle grade flavor.”—Teen Librarian Toolbox / School Library Journal

 

MY REVIEW:

Poignant, profound, and heart-warming, The Girl in the Well Is Me will speak to readers on every level. At times, laugh out loud funny, at times grippingly sad, at times over the top optimistic, at times irreverent, at times harsh, but at all times rich in voice and full of heart and character.

Kammie Summers  is a spunky eleven  year old uprooted from a comfortable existence  in New Jersey where her life was full of a loving family, shared jokes, expensive ice skating lessons, riding lessons and all the trappings of a upper middle class family. It all comes crashing down when her  father is arrested for embezzlement. Now Kammie  lives in a dusty town in Texas with her mother and brother in an old  trailer where  her mother is suddenly hoarding cats and her father is in prison. Kammie's mom works two jobs and her once fun and friendly older brother turns into  a  teenager with an anger problem. Kammie's grandmother recently passed away but Kammie fondly remembers all of her wit and wisdom. Kammie longs for her other life in New Jersey, her normal life. In Texas, she has nothing; all her dreams are dashed. There is no more laughter in her home. Their trailer isn't home; Texas isn't her home.

Kammie tries to make friends with a popular triad of mean girls who pretend they want her to join their group, but they trick her into standing on a piece of wood on the ground. The wood breaks, sending Kammie into an abandoned well. At first, Kammie is mad at the three girls. She knows they did it on purpose and are probably  laughing. As the hours pass and the girls seemingly abandon Kammie, she begins thinking about everything that brought her to this place, this well, where she could quite possibly die. Kammie begins to get claustrophobic and that makes her worry about her asthma. She can't have an asthma attack in the well, and even if she had her inhaler with her, she wouldn't be able to reach it. She can't move her arms at all; they are pinned to the sides of the well. As oxygen in the well begins to dissipate Kammie hallucinates about a coyote who speaks French and zombie goats and dying. She thinks of her dog Hayfield and cries. She cries about missing her grandmother, and about her dad and his lies, she cries that everyone over eleven is a liar.

Readers will LOVE Kammie. She has great heart, resiliency, strength and character. She holds a mirror up to the adults around her and shows their flaws. She holds that same mirror up for herself and realizes that she is a grape...and not a raisin like the liars--she wants her dad to be a grape.

Karen Rivers has crafted an intelligent middle grades read that should be a must read for all ages. Book clubs will have so much to discuss after reading this little gem. I expect the author to be inundated with state and national honors this year. Kudos, Karen Rivers!

So highly recommended I will shout it from the mountaintop (Mt. Franklin), READ this book immediately. It is truly that outstanding. It is a blessing that I was able to read and review the ARC; I am so lucky. Thank you, Algonquin!

Recommended grade 4-up and every reader of every age. This book will speak to you about life, love, truth, forgiveness, and family.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

 

 

Texas Library Conference: Taking Texas By Storm

 

Texas Library Conference

Austin, Texas

April 14-17, 2015

 

That's Naomi Bates (on right) and me, Pamela Thompson (on left) right before we sit down to interview the keynote speaker,  New York Times best-selling author David Baldacci! What a thrill!

You can find David's books at any bookseller and almost always on the Top Ten list. David has recently entered the YA market with the release of his first YA title, The Finisher. I reviewed it last year and interviewed David with a group of librarians and book sellers.

Naomi filmed the interview at TLA and  that I'll post it  to the blog soon.

David Baldacci is a practiced speaker. In the keynote, he was entertaining and witty. A crowd of 4,700 librarians attended the conference this year and everyone enjoyed the keynote. He talked about writing and being a famous author and how it's not that different from anything else. He admits he often wrote his finest fiction when practicing law (big laughs from the audience). A case of mistaken identity where a woman mistook him for the other lawyer turned writer, John Grisham, also got big laughs. Baldacci spends his time writing and in charity work. His charity "Wish You Well" donates books to food banks. Baldacci says we all need food to eat in order to survive, but "we can do better." Books are food for the soul.

As for the rest of the conference, it was equally entertaining. Whether networking with other Texas librarians or chatting up the authors, the conference was a blast! I stopped by to see Nikki Loftin, (author of Wish Girl)  and congratulate her on a fantastic book. She was Texas sweet. She jumped up and hugged me and thanked me for my review. Wish Girl is the BEST middle grade book I've read in years and I told Nikki that I see many awards in her future. Nikki said that she was turning the guest bedroom in her house into the "Pamela Thompson suite" and invited me to stay with her any time I'm in Austin. How Texan is that?!

A road  trip to Austin would never be complete without bluebonnets. They were blooming everywhere! The hill country sure came out for me. Bluebonnets as far as the eye could see! Like Wish Girl, the bluebonnets are a love letter for Texas.

Magical Pick: Wish Girl

Wish Girl
by Nikki Loftin
Razorbill
2015
256 pages
ISBN: 9781595146861

Prose so poetic it's majestic and magical! Wish Girl is the most promising middle grades book of the year. This one is the real deal and it is the next childhood classic read. The Texas Hill Country sings off the pages. Nikki Loftin has written a love letter to the Texas countryside and all I have to say is: YES! Loftin makes me proud to say she's a Texas girl.

Peter Stone is a quiet boy who prefers his own company. Having relocated from San Antonio, Peter now lives in a two story farm house in the middle of the Texas Hill Country. The nearest neighbor is about a mile away but Peter doesn't care to play with any children. One day while out wandering neighboring fields, he nearly gets bit by a rattlesnake but doesn't bother to tell his parents. They would just yell at him. If he tried to explain, they wouldn't listen. They never do. Since his dad lost his job, his parents always fight. Peter feels alone and unloved.

Out in a meadow the next day, Peter meets a girl about his age. She says she's a wish girl and her name is Annie Blythe. She wants to be an artist. Peter has never met anyone like Annie. She's funny and fun but she does have a temper. Annie tells Peter that she thinks the valley is magic and he has to agree. It's almost as if the valley can hear them and does what they want.

Later, Peter finds out that Annie is sick; she's a wish girl because that's what she calls being selected by the "Make a Wish" program. Peter vows to himself that he will keep Annie safe and help her with her art. The kids spend the next week playing in the valley, hiking and making art projects using twigs, vines and even river mud. Through Annie's eyes, Peter sees the unspoiled beauty of nature around him. Only outside the valley can really bad things happen.

Powerfully evocative imagery and a  sweet, tender friendship make this book a classic. Like "Bridge to Terabithia" the boy and girl characters find friendship where they least expect it. By creating their own secret world, the pair discover themselves. Keep your box of tissues handy; this one is a tearjerker.

Highly, highly recommended grade 4-7. Anyone who enjoys a magical book will enjoy reading and rereading Wish Girl.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

 

Just back from the Texas Library Association conference of 2014! Over 7,000 librarians, bibliophiles, teens, readers, writers, publishers and book people descended upon San Antonio, Texas, and had the best time ever!

The keynote speaker was James Patterson, prolific author and uber-prolific collaborator with other writers. I was prepared to not like James Patterson--just a pre-conceived notion on my part.  To my surprise, Patterson was charming, funny, wise and caring. His website ReadKiddoRead helps connect parents and kids with books. He has also pledged $1 million to independent books stores to help keep kids reading and is running a contest for college bound students. They can win gift certificates called College Book Bucks to spend at independent books stores. For more on James Patterson, check out his website

Publishers brought tons of ARCs to Texas and readers were scooping them up. At last count, I escaped with 142 books! Can't wait to start reviewing! Right now, I'm really excited about I Have a Bad Feeling About This by Jeff Strand.

 

After reading Strand's A Bad Day for Voodoo and finding it hilarious and uproariously, ridiculously hysterical, I am a Strand fan for life. I was lucky enough  to meet Jeff last year in Fort  Worth at TLA where he sat on a panel and talked to teens about funny books.

 

One event that was off the chain was Speed Dating with  YA Authors. Participants sat at tables and 40 YA authors rotated to each table every seven minutes or so. I was lucky enough to sit with Jonathan Maberry, Jonathan Auxier, and Eoin Colfer. In the next post, I will post all my author photos and photos of all the free books I took home with me to share with you and my library.  

Austin Teen Book Festival

I'm off to Austin for the Austin Teen Book Fair. More information and a list of authors.

It's huge attracting YA authors from around the country. We plan to see as many YA authors as possible. My daughter and I were able to get media badges and will be able to interview a couple of exciting authors. Then we plan to go on the Austin Duck Adventures. It's a tour that takes visitors all over downtown Austin including the capitol (in the background of the picture above) and the famous music venue, Sixth Street, where more musicians have been discovered that any place (well, almost), then the bus becomes a boat and takes tourists on Lake Austin! More information about the Duck tour

Later, we plan to eat at the world renowned Ruth's Chris Steak House. I've always wanted to eat there but never had the chance before. They are supposed to have the best steaks in the world. I will be the judge of that!

I'll post about the festival and all that was seen and heard upon our return.
Pamela

Non-Fiction Pick: Texas Got It Right!

See a story about the book here

Texas Got It Right!
By Sam Wyly & Andrew Wyly
Foreward by Walter Isaacson
Melchor Media
2012
176 pages with index
Full color photos

Okay, I admit it. I am a bit biased being a Texan and all, but Texas Got It Right! This quick read pays homage to that pioneer, secessionist spirit Texans are so proud of, and for good reason, it turns out.

Did you know that Texas has the most miles of public roads of any state? Texas has the greatest number of airports and miles of frieght railroads? Did you know the convenience store was invented in Texas and the fast food hamburger—our very own Whataburger born in Corpus Christi? If you folks have never had a Whataburger, you’re really missing out. Their green chili double cheeseburger is simply sublime!

Not only #1 in freight, Texas has become #1 in exporting kerosene, cement, concrete, molasses, crude oil, aluminum ore, gasoline, plastics and sorghum. Texans, at heart, are still cowboys, and Texas leads the nation in beef production. Texas leads the nation in energy production and produces more wind energy than anyone else as it does in shale gas and natural gas.


As enterprise and industry come to Texas so do people. “In the last decade, 850,000 Americans moved to Texas, while 1.5 million fled California.” New residents flooded into Houston and the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro areas to seek employment. Corporations are leaving California in droves and moving into Dallas and Austin areas. J.C. Penney, Bubba Gump Shrimp, and Tenet Healthcare have all become Texans companies. Apple and Google have expanded or moved their headquarters to Texas, too.

Texas has always been known for its wild-cat spirit and maverick ways, but was celebrated by General George S. Patton who said, “Give me an army of West Point graduates and I’ll win the battle. Give me a handful of Texas Aggies, and I’ll win the war.” Texas A & M Aggies sent 14,000 troops into WWII and 29 Aggies became generals.

Texas can also brag about being home to Whole Foods, Mary Kay and Southwest Airlines. The home of America’s team--the Dallas Cowboys-- is in Texas. Friday night lights happen every fall Friday in Texas towns all over the state, and colleges clamor for Texas high school players.

All in all, Texas Got It Right!
Highly, highly recommended for any fact or trivia lover and any Texan will eat this up!
FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Guy Pick: Aristotole and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Simon & Schuster
2012
368 pages

Blogger's Note: (Although I live in El Paso and the author is a local writer and professor, that is not the reason I read and reviewed the book. It sat on my shelf for about a month before I picked it up. The first chapter drew me in with its palpable teen angst and well-depicted teen characters Dante and Ari).

Poignant, deeply touching, and sensitive, this tender coming of age story centers around two fifteen year old boys: Dante and Ari. It's not easy being fifteen and it's not easy being different. Ari says, "I was fifteen. I was bored. I was miserable." Sounds familiar, right?

Dante and Ari share their dreams and fears, beautiful poetry, good books, and deep conversations. They know they're not like other boys. They are intellectual, thoughtful, and quiet; they are the "good" boys. They cry over a wounded bird. They don't run in a gang, or do drugs, or cause trouble.

Ari wrestles with his family's demons, too. His father is a Vietnam vet who never quite came home--at least not mentally. He's hard to get to know and doesn't talk about Vietnam--ever. Ari's older brother Bernardo is in prison, but it's another topic the family never discusses. Ari feels that his family has too many secrets and wishes someone--his mother or his father--would tell him about Bernardo or about why his dad is so broken.

Dante's father accepts a position in Chicago and the two friends are separated for a year but stay in touch through letters (it's 1987--pre-email era). Ari is happy to see Dante when he returns but a little wary, too.

When Dante gets jumped by a group of neighborhood thugs, Ari makes things right. Dante's parents confront (nicely confront) Ari about the boys' "relationship."

The secrets of the universe aptly describes the struggle both boys face with their questions: Who am I? Why am I the way I am? Am I normal? What is normal?

Their questions are answered and the family secrets are spilled. Love is not necessarily gender specific; love wears many faces and blossoms sometimes in unexpected ways.

Highly, highly recommended for grades 9-up. Mature situations, discussion of sexual topics, language, LGBT

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Austin Teen Book Festival October 1, 2011

The third annual Austin Teen Book Festival is right around the corner! We have 29 authors of YA lit booked to present on panels and sign books! Scott Westerfeld will be the keynote speaker. Many ya authors will speak and sign for teens Saturday, October 1.

Please help spread the word to other middle & high school librarians in your district and to all of your tweens and teens.Please post the event on your web sites, blogs, school list-serves, tweet you peeps, and talk it up to your students. Hope to see you there!

Festival web site: www.austinteenbookfestival.com

Middle School Pick

Crosswire
by Dotti Enderle
Calkins Creek, 2010
142 pages

Historical fiction at its best, this novel delivers the story of drought stricken Texas in 1883. Jesse lives on a small farm with his older brother Ethan and his mom and dad. Life is tough, but the boys don't complain--it's how things are back then--work all day and go to bed dog tired every night. Crops are dying and it's tough keeping enough water for the stock and the family. Everyone is praying for a good rain.

Then when it can't get any worse, wirecutters cut barbed wire fences and use water on private land to water their cattle. Jesse's family wages war against the wirecutters. Every drop of water is precious, and the thieves need to be caught.

Ethan gets in trouble with a gambling debt and steals from the family's savings. He is disowned and kicked out of the family home. A mysterious drifter shows up and gets a job on the farm, but Jesse is suspicious of his intentions--and rightly so.

Enderle has an ear for Texas dialect and her characters come to life through dialog. Jesses says, " That devil sun..."; Ethan says, "Think those scoundrels will come back tonight?"

Quick reading. Reluctant readers will probably have no trouble with this book. Cover has appeal for young readers and Jesse will be a character they like.

Recommended grades 5-8.

FTC Disclaimer: I got this book from another librarian who received it from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.

High School: Mean Girls Pick

The Debs: Love, Lies, and Texas Dips
by Susan McBride
Delacourte Press, 2009
293 pages

Think Mean Girls with a Texas swagger and a Houston drawl. The storyline follows four debutantes as they prepare to be Rosebuds--the creme de la creme of Houston's country club set.

There's Jo Lynn, spoiled, pampered, beautiful, cunning, and two-faced. Jo Lynn--the girl with an eye for designer duds and Vera Wang dresses. Jo Lynn--the girl with the perfect quarterback boyfriend who dreams of quarterbacking at Texas Tech.

There's Mac, the nice girl.

There's Laura, the girl who always has to be second best to Miss Perfect, Jo Lynn.


There's Ginger, granddaughter of one of the staunchest debs in memory. Ginger--who has to maintain the family name.

The drama unfolds as the girls prepare to be presented at the event of Houston society: The Rosebud Ball.

What happens when false rumors are posted on myspace? Will someone have to step down?

Girls who love gossip and drama will love this read. It's like Gossip Girl, Texas style.

As a good ol' Texas girl myself, I enjoyed looking at how the uber-wealthy live.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL. Recommended for grades 10-12.
Sex, some language, adult situations.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from a fellow librarian. I received no monetary compensation for this review.