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The Best Worst Summer — Review

rosihollinbeck

Thought for the Day:

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
~ Albert Einstein ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Sometimes we all need a nudge, and good writing prompts can be that nudge. HERE is a fun list of 50 Writing Prompts from The Mixed-Up Files…of Middle-Grade Authors.

Suzanne Lieurance has a good post HERE on Writers on the Move that is all about Location, Location, Location: Researching Places.

Margie Lawson has an excellent post HERE on Writers in the Storm called Ten “Not Absurd” Tips for Writing Fiction. She gives some great examples.

Gehrig & Abby at Yosemite

My grandson is visiting from Minnesota and has brought his girlfriend to meet the family. Seeing Gehrig, a life-long Giants fan, wear a Twins jersey makes me realize he really has adopted his new home! Needless to say, I have been otherwise occupied this week and continue to be, so I will fall back on my list of puns to take the place of any meaningful writing here this week. Enjoy! Try not to groan out loud.

I’m trying to organize a hide and seek tournament, but good players are really hard to find.

I got over my addiction to chocolate, marshmallows, and nuts. I won’t lie, it was a rocky road.

What do you say to comfort a friend who’s struggling with grammar? There, their, they’re.

I went to the toy store and asked the assistant where the Schwarzenegger dolls are, and he replied, “Aisle B, back.”

What did the surgeon say to the patient who insisted on closing up their own incision? Suture self.

I’ve started telling everyone about the benefits of eating dried grapes. It’s all about raisin awareness.

When chemists die, they barium.

Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.

I know a guy who says he’s addicted to brake fluid. He says he can stop at any time.

I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.

I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. I can’t put it down.

I promised to give away two books last week — The Genius Under the Table by Eugene Yelchin and Picturing a Nation by Martin W. Sandler. OfMariaAntonia is the winner of The Genius Under the Table and Carol Baldwin has won Picturing a Nation. Congratulations to both of you! I will get your books out soon. OfMariaAntonia blogs HERE and Carol Baldwin blogs HERE. Both are well worth your time to read, so please check them out.

The book I want to tell you about this week is The Best Worst Summer by Elizabeth Eulberg. I read and reviewed this fun middle-grade novel for The Seattle Book Review earlier this summer. This is a really sweet book with some terrific characters who will have you rooting for them as they face changes in their lives and try to solve a mystery. And doesn’t that great cover make you want to run right out and get a copy? I love it. Here is the review I wrote for SBR.

Peyton’s family moves from the only home she’s ever known and from her BFF Lily. It’s only four hours away, but it might as well be a world away. Peyton doesn’t know anyone in the little town of Lake Springs, it’s the beginning of summer, and she doesn’t even know how to meet anyone. Her dad asks her to dig weeds from the garden, and she finds a buried box, a time capsule two girls — Mel and Jess — buried in 1989. A cassette tape takes Peyton to the library to listen to it. There she meets Lucas who offers to help her unravel the mystery of the box. It is no easy task, but Peyton finds a new friend, and her summer is filled with friendship and searching.

Elizabeth Eulberg

Author Elizabeth Eulberg has written a real crackerjack of a story. Told in parallel chapters of Peyton’s story and Mel’s story, this one is a real page-turner. The writing is terrific and the characters capture middle-grade angst nicely. The family issues are very real and will speak to readers. Lucas, wheelchair-bound, perfectly shows how abilities overcome disabilities. This is a real winner. Don’t miss it.

I have no giveaway this week since I will donate the nice hardback copy I got to the school. Don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE. See you here soon!

Published by rosihollinbeck

19 thoughts on “The Best Worst Summer — Review”

  2. Gehrig has new allegiances both in baseball and girls! You must be so proud seeing him grow into such a fine young man. But really—the Twins? Must be the cold winters settling into his brain and causing the decision:)
    Your review has me clamoring to read this book. Such an intriguing plot with two viewpoints. I’ve added it to my list but it may be next summer before I can get to it. Thanks for featuring on MMGM.

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    1. He straightened me out about the jersey. It’s a Kirby Puckett jersey, so totally forgivable. He still bleeds Giants’ orange. I think you will like this book a lot when you get to it. Thanks for the comment.

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  3. Where do you get your jokes??! I cracked up out loud a few times, I have to admit. The description of this book really gave me pause when I read about the time capsule from 1989: that counts as history now?? (I’m getting so old!)

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    1. I collect my jokes from friends and from the internet. Glad you like them. I was at a conference a good ten years ago and an editor said the 1990s were historical fiction. I was gobsmacked. I guess I amold. Thanks for the comment.

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  8. This book and another MG book I saw reviewed this week sound like ones I might really enjoy—I haven’t been reading many MG prose novels lately, but I should maybe marathon these two and get some reviews up! Both storylines sound so excellent, and it’s so neat how one of them connects with the other via the time capsule. (I wonder if the characters from both timelines ever have the chance to meet…perhaps I’ll find out!)

    Also, I love all the puns—I skipped ahead slightly and didn’t notice the first one about hide-and-seek was a pun at all, which made it even funnier! And I’m so glad you’re getting to visit with your grandson and his girlfriend—I hope you enjoy that. I love the quote and meme too! Thanks so much for the great post!

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    1. Yes, the book is a fun one. I hope you get to read it. Glad you like the puns. I love puns. We had a great visit with my grandson and his girlfriend. They are great together. Thanks for reading and commenting. I appreciate it.

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  10. Pingback: Review / Genius Under the Table | Of Maria Antonia

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