Thought for the Day:
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday’s success or put its failures behind and start over again.”
~ Bob Feller ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
Even if we are writing fiction, we really need to check our facts. HERE is a post by Selina J. Eckert with good tips for doing so.
SmartBlogger has a great post HERE with 7 Tips That’ll Make You a Better Writer (with Examples!). Some are good reminders and all will help you write better, but you might want to ignore that thing about the comma police.
Janice Hardy has a wonderful post HERE that asks two simple questions that can really strengthen your story.
Last week I offered copies of Good Dog, McTavish by Meg Rosoff and Little Lunch: Triple Treats by Danny Katz to one of you. The winner this week is Liz Steinglass. If you don’t know Liz, she is a wonderful poet from Washington, D. C. You can read more about her and see some of her poems HERE at her blog. Liz, I will get your books out to you soon.
I don’t know how things are where you live, but the homeless population in the Sacramento area is large, and, sadly many are children. This is a problem middle-graders need to understand, so I was glad to see No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen come up for review from the San Francisco Book Review. Of course, I grabbed it. Here is the review I wrote for them.
It has always been just the two of them — Felix, 12 years old, and his mother, Astrid, whom he calls Astrid. Things have been tough for awhile, but when the last itinerant boyfriend leaves and they run out of friends to stay with, they find themselves living in a van. It’s just temporary, Astrid proclaims, but Felix knows Astrid has trouble holding jobs, especially when she goes into one of her slumps, and those slumps seem to be getting longer and more frequent. Still, Astrid has a way of making some things happen for Felix that are important to him. She gets him into a special French-immersion school he really wants to be in, and he loves it. Felix auditions for a TV trivia show that could change everything for them, but then the wheels start to come off.
Unfortunately, kids today face these kinds of problems far too frequently. Susin Nielsen has written a powerful story that will touch readers and reveal problems in today’s world kids need to understand. Nielsen uses great writing, terrific characters, humor, and heartbreak to keep readers turning pages. This book deserves readership well beyond her intended middle-grade audience.
There will be no giveaway this week. I gave the nice hardbound copy I received for review to the library at my granddaughter’s charter school. They have a tiny budget and really need books. Check back next time. I may have a giveaway then. If you are reading this in your email, please click HERE to get to my blog, then click on the title of the post, and leave a comment. And don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at the Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.
Rosi Hollinbeck 
Love this book! Susin Nielsen really knows how to write character!
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Indeed she does. Thanks for stopping by.
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Very good review Rosi!
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Thanks, Carol!
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I enjoyed all of your writer links and I actually got to read them in one sitting with this much needed day off. We too have a homeless problem and it effects all ages with rent at ridiculous highs. This contemporary story is one I have high on my list of books to read. Thanks for sharing it today.
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I think this story touches all of us. Thanks for the comment.
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This is a much needed book. I think it’s great you are donating it to your granddaughter’s school. The plight of homeless families is getting worse. I contribute to Mustard Seed School, part of Loaves & Fishes and Mary House here in Sacramento. MSS provides classes for the children of the homeless, since they have no permanent address and have a hard time attending regular classrooms.Mary House provides shelter for the women.
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Indeed it is needed, Elizabeth. Thanks for reading.
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What an important story. It will be a great addition to the school library! And, it reminds us that we all need to find an organization that we can support which will help people through crisis.
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Yup. We all need to do that. Thanks for the comment.
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I received this for Christmas from my daughter as I love the premise and can’t wait to read it. We have a homeless man that sits outside the grocery store and is seen walking pulling all his possessions. Our church helps him with a free little pantry.
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You will enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by.
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This sounds like such an important book. Thank you for the review. I’ll look for it at my book store.
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I hope you get a chance to read it. It’s worth the time. Thanks for stopping by.
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I am always on the look out for good books about homelessness. Thank you! It sounds like adults would benefit from reading Susan’s novel. It is a problem everywhere. With the loss of jobs, the face of homelessness continues to changes. Excellent review!
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Everyone would benefit from this book. It’s terrific. Thanks for reading, Patricia.
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What an important book. Kids need books about difficult topics like this. I definitely want to read it. Thanks for the shout-out! I can’t wait to received my new books. I will be sure to share them. Thanks for all your posts! I don’t know how you come up with great quotes, links, and books every week.
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Thanks for your kind words. It’s always nice to see you here.
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I am intrigued by this book. Will have to check it out.
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It is a good one. Thanks for comming by and commenting.
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Definitely going to search out this book, after your great review of it. Is there any city in America without a homeless problem? I send love and compassion to all those who, for any reason, do not have a roof over their heads. As an individual, and as a society, i/we need to do more to help.
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Yes, we all need to do what we can to help. It’s such a complex problem. Thanks for the comment.
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