THE MONARCHS OF WINGHAVEN — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”

~ Octavia E. Butler ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Dialogue is hard to write and keep fresh, but one important factor is how you use dialogue tags. HERE Fran Hodgkins has a good tutorial on that topic.

We often see movies or TV shows that begin with something that happens later in the story, and then flashes back to show how we got there. Janice Hardy, who knows a thing or two, doesn’t think it’s a good idea, and HERE has a post to tell us what is The Problem with Flash Forwards as an Opening Scene.

We have to make our characters act believably, and Nathan Bransford has a great post HERE called “Let characters’ emotions spill in unpredictable ways.” It’s worth your time.

We are getting closer and closer to Christmas, and that means I’m going to take some family time and won’t be posting for two or three weeks. I have all my shopping done. Everything I ordered has arrived. I haven’t wrapped a thing. Ugh! Wrapping is not my favorite thing to do. But I will muddle through. Next Sunday is a busy, busy day. It is not only Christmas Eve. It is also my daughter Sara’s birthday with a big birthday dinner. My other daughter, Maggie, will arrive from Florida (she is there doing a show) with a stopover in Minneapolis, where my grandson Gehrig will get on the same plane. So there is cooking to be done and an airport pick-up to make. It is the first time in a few years we will all be together for Christmas. Maggie and Gehrig will only be here for a week, but I’m very excited to have them home. We will eat too much, stay up too late, play lots of games, and generally enjoy ourselves. I wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannuka, Happy Kwanza, and a Happy New Year. I’ll see you on the other side.

I occasionally receive an offer from the publicist at Walker Books, a division of Candlewick Press, offering me some review copies of upcoming books. The beautiful cover of THE MONARCHS OF WINGHAVEN by Naila Moreira caught my eye, so I read a little about it, and it sounded like a book I would enjoy. I’m glad I had a chance to read it. It has important messages, interesting characters, and a great story.

Sammie loves nature and the science found in the great outdoors. She has found a special place near her new home. It is a great open field with some woods and a pond that is filled with birds and bugs and all kinds of flora and fauna, and it is largely untouched. But her mother says she isn’t supposed to go there on her own. It could be dangerous. Still, Sammie hasn’t made friends at her new school and a bully is targeting her, so going to the field where she studies nature and makes drawings and notes in her notebooks is especially important to her. She loves her time there, even if she has to hide what she’s doing from her parents. Then one day, someone else is there. It is a boy with a camera, a loud, brash boy who is invading her special place. But over time, Sammie and Bram become friends. They name this special place Winghaven and swear it will be their place and their secret. But other people find their way there including the bully from school and a real naturalist from the university. Most importantly, a developer wants to invade! Can Sammie and Bram save Winghaven, not just for themselves, but for all the wildlife there?

Naila Moreira has written a compelling novel middle-graders (and others!) will enjoy and be inspired by. The characters are very well-rounded and realistically flawed. There are times in the book that Sammie is not a very likable character, but she is always real. There are important issues addressed in the story, issues young people care about, and there are realistic ways the characters address those issues, gaining some wins, which is pretty inspirational for young readers. The writing is lovely, the setting is terrific and nearly becomes a character, and the story will keep pages turning. This is an important book and deserves wide readership. It won’t be out until May, but you can win my ARC and read it early.

I have a gently-read ARC for one of you. All you need to do is be a follower (it’s free and easy — see the top, right corner of the post) and leave a comment. If you share the link to this post on social media, please let me know in your comment, and you will get extra chances. And please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.