Thought for the Day:
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
~ Will Durant ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
As writers, we have all heard Every Word Matters. Writing Forward has a good post HERE on exactly that topic.
Louise Harnby has a wonderful post HERE on using anaphora to strengthen your writing. I LOVE the examples she gives.
K. M Allan has a terrific post HERE that will give you 8 Early Draft Cuts for a Stronger Manuscript.
Last week I offered a gently-read ARC of Whistling in the Dark by Shirley Hughes to one of you. This week’s winner is Nancy. Congratulations, Nancy. I will get the book out to you soon.
This week I would like to tell you about A Long Line of Cakes by Deborah Wiles. This is the first book I have read by this author, but I intend to find some of her other books and give them a read. I like this one a lot. Here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.
The Cake family are itinerant bakers — moving from one place to another so often they can hardly remember where they’ve been. When their beat-up van pulls into Halleluia, Mississippi, five Cake boys, four Cake dogs, and Emma tumble out the back and help their parents unload their lives and set up housekeeping in their new, but temporary, home. Emma mourns the fact she has left yet another best friend behind and has no friends in this new place. Is it really worth making a new friend if she will only have to soon leave her behind? Her brothers find a baseball field and suddenly have new friends, but Emma is more wary. If she thought they could finally settle down and stay, she would love to have a friend, but can they? Just this once?
Author Deborah Wiles has written a heartwarming story that adds to her popular Aurora County series. Wiles seems to know a thing or two about how difficult it can be to navigate a new place and build and keep friendships intact and being part of a strange and wonderful family. Her writing is snappy and filled with warm humor. This is a winner.
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 with a tiny budget. 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 
Good review of what I am sure is a good book. I’m glad you are helping your granddaughter’s school. Schools should be palaces of learning with HUGE budgets. By the way, I’m thrilled to have won a copy of Whistling in the Dark. WooHOO!
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This looks wonderful! Thanks for the review!
And that quote!!! 🙂
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Glad you like the quote. Thanks for stopping by.
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What a great idea for a book!!
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It is a fun one.
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Glad you enjoyed this enough to look for other books by this author. It sounds like a great read.
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So much fun. I just hope I can find time for more of her books.
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I hadn’t heard of this one. With relatives in Mississippi I’m going to track a copy down. Love the premise and the characters sound perfect.
All of your links look engaging, but I had to bookmark them for a look later in the week. Too many commitments! Thanks for the post.
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I know all about too many commitments, Greg. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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It sounds like a good story problem for sure. I’ve taught in classrooms where some families were so transient they would return to the same school many times. (And actually, when I was young, my family moved around quite a bit, too, so I can relate to the problem personally.) For kids going through that experience, there aren’t a lot of novels out there. This looks like a much needed addition to young people’s literature.
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I couldn’t agree more. And kids will love this one.
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Deborah Wiles and her novels are new to me. Moving is so hard on children, so many readers will identify with this story. I understand the family’s name is “Cakes” but is their cooking involved? The cover makes me wonder. Your reviews are a tease. Glad you’ll donate this to your granddaughter’s school.
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I am limited to two-hundred words in my reviews, so teasing is about all I can do! Thanks for the comment.
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This may sound odd, but I love the layers (ha!) in the title, and the way they seem to show the story off from different angles. Sounds like a fantastic read, so thank you for the heads up!
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You’re welcome. Thanks for the comment.
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I’ve never heard of this book but it sounds very interesting. Thanks for introducing to everyone.
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting. It’s always nice to see a new reader here.
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This sounds like a sweet story (pun intended). Thanks for sharing!
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Haha! Yes, it is a sweet one. Thanks for stopping by.
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This is my fist time hearing of this book. I have read another book by this author- Love, Ruby Lavender. So glad you enjoyed this book so much. Thanks for sharing.
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I actually have a copy of Love, Ruby Lavender in my TBR pile. It’s moving up and I hope to get to it soon. Thanks for the comment.
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