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Linked — Review & Giveaway

rosihollinbeck

Thought for the Day:

“The first two, three, four weeks are wasted. I just show up in front of the computer. Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too.” 
~ Isabel Allende ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Every year, Writer’s Digest puts out a list of the 101 Best Websites for Writers. HERE is the 2021 edition.

It has been a long time since I posted anything from Chris Eboch, but she always has good stuff. HERE on Writers on the Move, she is sharing Part 3 of a three-part series on How to Write Vivid Scenes. It has the links for Parts 1 & 2, so you can read them through in order.

There seem to be a lot of posts about first lines, opening chapters, sagging middles, but not very many about how to end your novel. Rhiannon Richardson has a good post on that topic HERE at Good Story Company.

It’s a busy sports time of year for me. Baseball playoffs are great fun to watch, and I watch all that I can. I watched most of four games yesterday. My Giants had a great first game, and then the second game not so much. I have to say, I didn’t really expect a great result with LA putting Urias on the mound. He really is a lights out pitcher, and the Giants seldom have success against him. And I don’t think our manager did a great job of managing the game, sending pitchers in from the bull pen that I don’t even know why they are in the bull pen. Can’t win ’em all. And now hockey is starting as well. I am a big fan of the Sharks and love watching the games, but I have to be careful I don’t spend all me time watching sports. There are books to read and books to write and book reviews to write and blog posts to write! So I have to be careful to do those things too.

I had read about the book Linked by Gordon Korman on other blogs, and it sounded like a really good book. When I saw it on the list of books available for review from the Manhattan Book Review, I requested it right away. Fortunately, I got my requests in early and got the book. I think this will be a great book to read aloud in the classroom and use for discussions. The issues it examines are important ones, and Korman always writes books that are compelling for kids. Here is the review I wrote for MBR.

Lincoln Rowley, a seventh grader, is popular, athletic, and full of mischief. Sometimes his mischief crosses the line, like pouring manure through the door slot of the office of the university people who discovered dinosaur poop near their town and now are digging for bones. It was a stinky thing to do, and getting caught was worse. The quiet town of Chokecherry, Colorado, is shaken when a swastika appears on the wall of the middle school. There is only one Jewish student: the daughter of one of the university professors. The school immediately institutes special holocaust instruction, but more swastikas appear. The students decide to make a paper chain with six million links to represent those lost in the holocaust. Link discovers some interesting family history, and some real twists and turns make this book riveting.

Gordon Korman

Gordon Korman speaks middle-grade in a way few authors do. This book is written from the points of view of several characters in the book, and all their voices are spot on. The story is complex, funny, serious, moving, and completely believable. It will capture young readers (and others lucky enough to find this book) and keep them engaged throughout. This is a winner.

I have a gently-read ARC for one of you. All you need do is be a follower or subscriber (it’s free!), have a U.S. address, and leave a comment below. If you would like extra chances, please share the link to this post on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media outlet and let me know you have done that. And don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at the Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.

Published by rosihollinbeck

22 thoughts on “Linked — Review & Giveaway”

  2. I love all the goofy, realistic Gordon Korman books. Great review, Rosi. You pointed out all the exemplary elements of MG fiction where Korman excels. Loved your memoir story which inspires me to write about my relatives.

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  3. Thanks again, as usual, for your links! (Speaking of linked. Yeah, yeah, pun intended.) I really enjoyed the one on “endings”. As you know, I am working on my book’s ending RIGHT NOW, so this came at such a good time! Happy your teams are doing well.

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  5. LINKED was an enjoyable read and the culprit caught me by surprise. Korman always delivers a thought provoking and motivating story for young readers. Thanks for another set of great sounding links. I’ll have to catch them later tonight. I also overloaded on sports over the weekend and now I seem to b on catch up mode. Happy MMGM!

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  6. I enjoy this author’s books and this one sounds like his most powerful one yet with the topic. Thank you for sharing your ARC. I shared this post on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and tumblr.

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  10. I have recently started reading Gordon Kormon, and he has the middle-school voice mastered. I taught upper elementary for many years, and I recognize many of my students in his characters.

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  11. I’ve heard great things about Linked, and it sounds like such a compelling read! Gordon Korman is seriously excellent at writing books MG readers will enjoy, but still keeping them filled with depth and layers that older readers (such as myself) can enjoy too. I haven’t read his books in a long time, I’m afraid!

    I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the baseball and hockey games lately! There’s always so many things beckoning that trying to cram reading and blogging in is tough for me too. I love the meme, although it took me an unreasonably long time to get the joke—”summer-ize!” And the quote is excellent as well. Thanks so much for the wonderful post, as always!

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