MIXED FEELINGS — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“You either write or there’s silence. It’s that simple.”
~ Gregory Galloway ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

We would all like to hear some really good publishing news, but maybe it’s better to have a realistic picture of what is going on. HERE is a terrific article by Vicky Weber on My Literary Life that will give you that picture. It’s not all bad news.

Every once in a while, I decide to take up embroidery or take an art class or something “artsy”, but it never goes very far. It does, however, seem to get me back to writing when I’m stalled. HERE is an interesting article from Writer’s Digest by Kimberly Behre Kenna that addresses this.

Whenever I take a webinar or go to a conference, editors and agents always talk about voice. HERE is a great article by Janice Hardy on Fiction University with 5 Ways to Develop Character Voices.

It has been a while since I’ve been here. I had quite a wonderful trip since I last wrote a blog post. I visited seven major league baseball stadiums — Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Guardians, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cincinnati Reds. That leaves me with one park left to visit to finish my quest to see a game in every major league park. I’ve lived in California for fifty years, and I’ve never seen a game in the San Diego Padres park. Go figure. I will finish soon. I flew into Miami and rented a car. During my time away, I drove 3135 miles, visited twelve states and Canada, all to see eight baseball games. Kinda crazy. I didn’t just go to games, though. I had the chance to visit with dear friends Doug and Paula near Tampa, with great friends from my trip to Italy last fall, April and Julie, in South Carolina, and in Atlanta, I met up with good friend and childrens’ poet Charles Waters (I’ll be reviewing his latest book soon) and my good friend Becky from school (we were in school from second grade through high school). In Appomattox, Virginia, I saw my grandson Richard, whom I hadn’t seen since he was in middle school. He is married with four children, and we had a great visit and dinner. Washington DC was special because my beloved Giants were there when I was there, so my daughter Maggie came from NYC and my other daughter Sara flew out from California for a girls’ weekend and a couple of ball games. That was great fun. My flight from Cincinnati didn’t connect with my second flight out of Salt Lake City, so I got to spend five hours in a hotel there. It has taken most of this week for me to catch up on sleep and get my internal clock back to California time.

I don’t read many graphic novels, but sometimes the review list has something that catches my eye, and it’s a graphic novel. When I saw MIXED FEELINGS by Sara Amini and illustrated by Shadia Amin it had themes that interested me, so I ordered it up. This story works really well as a graphic novel, and I think it will find a great audience among middle-grade readers. Here is the review I wrote for the Manhattan Book Review.

Sara is beginning sixth grade. With a Colombian mother and an Iranian father, she doesn’t always find it easy to fit in. The first day of school, she wakes up with what, to her, seems like fur on her legs. She’s supposed to wear an outfit that matches her BFF, Monica, and it includes shorts. Then she finds out Monica doesn’t have any classes with her, and Monica is hanging out with another girl, Aneliese. Sixth grade isn’t looking so exciting anymore. Until Sara finds the drama club, that is. On a stage, you can become whoever you want to be. And maybe you can make some new friends along the way.

Middle school is such a hard time for kids, especially those who feel like they don’t fit in. Author Sara Amini seems to have a good understanding of the problems kids face during those tough years. The dialogue is spot on, and the problems are realistic. She has crafted a compelling story that young readers will be captured by. Fun, brightly-colored illustrations by Shadia Amin fill panels on every page and will keep readers engaged all the way through. Young readers will like this and relate to the story.

I have a gently-read ARC to give to 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) with a US Address, 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 an extra chance. And please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.