UNSTUCK — Review

Thought for the Day:

“I don’t need time. What I need is a deadline.”
~ Duke Ellington ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

The Kill Zone is a blog with eleven writers in the thriller genre. But even if you aren’t writing thrillers, they have some great posts. HERE is a post by Dale Ivan Smith about Finding the Right Title: Words of Wisdom. It’s a good one.

I always learn valuable information when I run across articles for scriptwriters. HERE is a great article by Jon James Miller from scriptmag.com about Backstory: How Much Baggage to Give Your Heroes and Villains.

Narrative distance isn’t something I’ve really thought about, but I ran across the article HERE on The Historical Quill called Narrative Distance: What it is and How to Control it, and I realized it is pretty important. The article has excellent examples.

I won’t be posting for a while. I’m not sure just how long it will be. I will be hitting the road on Tuesday, and I will play it by ear looking at the weather and how I am feeling. My first stop should be Kansas City for a Padres vs. Royals game, but there is a fifty percent chance of rain right now, and the Royals don’t have a covered stadium. All the terrible storms that have been hitting the Midwest worry me. It looks like it’s going to be a tough summer weather-wise, but I can only go on my way and do as many of my planned activities as I can. In any case, I should be home and back to blogging around June 18. And I would appreciate it if no one did any rain dances until I get back!

Last week, I offered two books — GUT REACTION by Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt and HALF MOON SUMMER by Elaine Vickers — to one of you. Thanks to so many for sharing my link! This week’s winner is Susan Uhlig. Congratulations, Susan! I will get your books out to you soon. If you don’t know Susan, she is a children’s writer from Washington state. You can read more about her HERE.

The title of UNSTUCK caught my interest when I saw it on the list of review books for the Seattle Book Review. I certainly had heard of Barbara Dee, but I hadn’t read any of her books. When I saw it was about a young writer who was stuck in her writing (a condition I can relate to), I knew I needed to read it. I think a lot of young readers (and some older ones) will connect with Lyla and the problems she is facing. Here is the review I wrote for SBR.

Lyla is a writer. She’s always known that. She has a whole fantasy novel in her head, one with witches and magical beings, in a strange world with a dangerous quagmire and a one-toed beast, so when her seventh-grade ELA teacher announces they will be working on creative writing, Lyla is thrilled. Now she will finally get her novel on paper. Maybe it will even be a series!

But writing is different from imagining, and Lyla is stuck. She tries lots of things her teacher suggests to get unstuck, but to no avail. And she finds she is trying to impress certain people rather than just writing. And there is the pressure of a contest coming up as well as family drama and friend drama. It’s a lot.

Barbara Dee has written a compelling story many middle graders will relate to, especially those with older, successful siblings or those going through friend problems. The situations are quite realistic and the dialogue and characters are all believable. But it is hard to keep rooting for a main character in a rather long book who is often not very likable, and Lyla is that. Still, many readers will like this one.

Please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.