AIR — Review

Thought for the Day:

“Talent is like electricity… Electricity makes no judgment. You can plug into it and light up a lamp, keep a heart pump going, light a cathedral, or you can electrocute a person with it. Electricity will do all that. It makes no judgment. I think talent is like that. I believe every person is born with talent.”
~ Maya Angelou ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

If you are feeling a little poetic during April (Poetry Month), the article HERE from Writer’s Digest by Robert Lee Brewer will be invaluable. It has 168 poetic forms with links to definitions and examples.

Julie Glover has a great post HERE on Writers in the Storm with 10 Common Corrections I Make When Copyediting. You can save some money finding these yourself.

You can always find good content on Anne R. Allen’s blog. The post HERE by Ruth Harris is something I hadn’t really considered, but I should. She writes about 9 Ways Clothes and Accessories Can Energize Your Plot and Define Your Characters. It’s good!

They say, “No news is good news.” Well, I don’t feel like it. I have no news. No new test results have come in. No news from the doctors. I’m not feeling any worse or any better. But baseball season opened this week, and I certainly have enough energy to watch my beloved SF Giants play. That has brightened my days. But I don’t have much energy to write a lot, so you get lightbulb jokes this week. Enjoy.

How many introverts does it take to change a lightbulb? Ugh! Why does it have to be a group activity?
How many writers does it take to change a lightbulb? Two. One to screw it most of the way in, and the other to give it a surprising twist at the end.
How many black belts does it take to change a lightbulb? None. Black belts aren’t afraid of the dark.
How many actors does it take to change a lightbulb? Just one. They don’t like to share the spotlight.
How many cats does it take to change a lightbulb? None. They have servants for that.
How many polite New Yorkers does it take to change a lightbulb? Both of them.
How many reindeer does it take to change a lightbulb? Eight. One to screw in a lightbulb and seven to hold Rudolf down.
How many surrealists does it take to change a lightbulb? A fish.
How many wizards does it take to change a lightbulb? Depends on what you want to change it into.

A couple months ago, I read a review of AIR by Monica Roe on Carol Baldwin’s blog. I put it high up on my TBR list. It sounded exciting and heartfelt and just plain good. Then I received an email from Monica Roe asking if I might like to have a review copy. YES, please! Thanks, Carol. for suggesting to Monica that I might like to review this, and thanks, Monica for reaching out. I love this book.

Emmie is twelve and spends her waking hours in a wheelchair due to a birth defect. Her mother tragically died in a car accident a couple years ago, but Emmie and her dad muddle through sharing chores and having each other’s backs. Emmie has an awesome best friend and next-door neighbor, Ale, who is a beekeeper. Emmie and Ale have a business together, selling pine cones, fat sticks, Spanish moss, and handmade wheelchair bags. Ale is saving for a new bee colony, and Emmie has a strong, built-for-speed, new wheelchair in mind. But when Emmie has a fall on a classroom ramp (totally not her fault), the principal thinks she needs an aide. The last thing Emmie wants or needs in her life is an aide. Her dad doesn’t back her up. Her mother would have fought tooth and nail. Then the principal gets the idea that they should have a fundraiser to buy Emmie her new wheelchair. Sounds good, but soon Emmie realizes the true cost of letting that happen.

This is such a good book. I never found myself feeling sorry for Emmie. She really is a person with a different way of moving, and that is just what she should be. She makes good decisions and bad decisions and plenty of mistakes. There is a hint of middle-grade romance, plenty of friend drama, parent drama, grandparent drame, and even community drama. The writing is great. Roe is clearly in touch with her middle-grade self. Her dialogue shows that nicely. The characters are well-rounded and engaging, and the story is simply terrific. I sure hope this book is widely read. Kids will love it, but so will the adults lucky enough to find it. Go find a copy!!!

There won’t be a giveaway this week. I’ve already passed this one along. Please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.