HOW TO SAVE A LIBRARY — Review

Thought for the Day:

“Writing is not like dancing or modeling; it’s not something where, if you missed it by age 19, you’re finished. It’s never too late. Your writing will only get better as you get older and wiser. If you write something beautiful and important, and the right person somehow discovers it, they will clear room for you on the bookshelves of the world — at any age. At least try.”


~ Elizabeth Gilbert ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

I do a lot of research, but Kathy Steinemann has a good post HERE about something I hadn’t considered before — how to use literature from other periods to make yours more authentic.

For some reason, I hadn’t thought about the problem Janice Hardy writes about HERE in this Narrative Nugget about plot holes. We all have them. This will help fix many of them.

There is always off-stage action in a story, but determining how much of it should be revealed on the page and how to convey it can be a conundrum. HERE is a wonderful post by Kathryn Craft on Writer Unboxed called Mining Off-Stage Movement. Don’t miss this one.

Christmas is nearly upon us. I hope you all have a lovely time with your loved ones through the holidays. I am going to take some time off from blogging to do some family things. My older daughter, Maggie, is appearing in a new rendition of Come From Away at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. (If you click on that link, it will take you to the theatre site. In the photo, Maggie is on the left, guitar in hand and foot in the air.) It turns out the show originated at Seattle Rep, and they have brought it back with added songs as an actor/musician show. You can read a couple of reviews HERE and HERE and see more photos if you like. On New Year’s Eve, I will take a train to Seattle and will spend a few days there seeing the show, and then Maggie and I will drive home together. Our family will celebrate Christmas when we can all be together in January. I will get back to blogging after that. Happy Holidays to you.

Last week, I offered a gently-read hardback of INCREDIBLY PENELOPE by Lauren Myracle to one of you. The winner this time is Danielle Hammelef. Congratulations, Danielle! She is always kind enough to share my link for an extra chance, and this time it worked. Thanks for doing that. I appreciate it. I’ll get your book out soon.

When I saw the title of HOW TO SAVE A LIBRARY by Colleen Nelson on the review list for the Los Angeles Book Review, I knew I had to have it. What could be much more important than saving libraries? I am a huge library user and proponent. When I was teaching, I gave out extra credit very sparingly, but all my students could get extra credit points at the beginning of the year if they brought in a library card in their own name from their local public library. Many of my students told me they had never been to their library before! Anyway, I requested HOW TO SAVE A LIBRARY for review, and enjoyed every word. Here is the review I wrote for LABR.

Casey hasn’t lived anywhere for very long. He and his father, a librarian, move often because Dad seems to want a fresh start. Casey dreams of living in one place and actually owning a couch that won’t fit into a pick-up truck. They have been in the small town of Cornish for a year, and Casey loves it. He had made a good friend, Addison, at the library when he first got to town, but an unfortunate incident ruined that. He didn’t know how to make it right. When needed repairs for the library turn out to be so expensive, it may have to close, and Casey and Addison find themselves thrown together in a last-ditch effort to save the library.

Author Colleen Nelson has written a very engaging story that is filled with middle-grade drama, some nasty bullies, great friendships, and family issues that will keep young readers turning the pages right to the end. The writing is excellent and the language accessible for young readers. The dialogue is snappy and completely appropriate for the characters’ ages. This would make a wonderful classroom read-aloud as it would engender great discussions. Don’t miss this one.

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