Review of Slug Queen Chronicles by S. O. Thomas

Cricket could always see colors around objects, but she always thought it meant there was something wrong with her. Until her birthday when Cricket's Dad gave her mother's journal to her as a gift. From the journal, she discovered that her mother saw the colors too, meaning Cricket wasn't as odd as everyone thought. But when the colors she saw started indicating bad and strange things, she knew something was wrong. And after a creature replaces her baby brother with aslumgwump, things really started to get out of hand. When no one else seemed to notice the difference and Cricket was blamed for the strange happenings, she made it her mission to put things back the way they were. Cricket must find her brother and return him before everyone she loves, including her parents and her best friend, turns against her and her baby brother is gone forever.

The Slug Queen Chronicles was a great imaginative story with inventive ideas. While it was a little heavy on details at times, Cricket is a fun and inquisitive main character. I would have loved to have seen Cricket encounter more difficult challenges, but she asks lots of questions that the reader is asking right along with her. The world Cricket enters to rescue her brother, takes things from the known world and flips them sideways that gives the book a similar feel to Alice and Wonderland. And the illustrations at the start of every chapter are a lot of fun. I would recommend for readers looking to escape to an imaginative world.

Review: Stu Truly

STU TRULY by Dan Richards is the kind of pleasant book that many readers will enjoy. Stu’s biggest problem is how his middle school friends (and Stu himself) seem to be discovering an interest in girls all at once. When Becca, an interesting new girl at school, declares herself to be a vegetarian, Stu unthinkingly tells her he’s one as well, even though his family owns the butcher shop in town and he loves meat. (This isn't much of a spoiler; the book cover features Stu dressed up like a rack of ribs.) I started off thinking the contrast between these two perspectives and how they’re approached makes the book an interesting classroom read aloud possibility, maybe during a nutrition unit. Soon that part of the story takes something of a backseat to the escalating middle school boy/girl drama, though it continues as a plot driver throughout.

The premise hinges on a lie told in the beginning by Stu, which ultimately feels out of place since he doesn’t come across as a habitual liar during the rest of the book. The carnivore vs. vegetarian plot gets the characters interacting, and it’s fun watching all of their relationships change as the school year continues. There are a good number of minor characters here, which requires the reader to pay attention to what is going on and who is doing what. The story doesn’t do much to break any long-held gender stereotypes, and even has a few moments when it subtly reinforces some — Stu and his friends occasionally say doing something “like a little girl” as a joking insult, which reads as dated considering the target audience.

STU TRULY will fit with middle grade books featuring fast-talking, comedic narrators trying to charm their way out of their problems. Usually this is something that doesn’t do much for me personally, but Dan Richards frequently pulls it off with some genuinely funny lines that don’t always rely on overused tropes. 

Book Review: Al Capone Throws Me a Curve

If you’re familiar with the Tales from Alcatraz series by Gennifer Choldenko, her newest release, AL CAPONE THROW ME A CURVE will be a welcome continuation. If you aren’t familiar with the series, you should correct this very soon.

At the center of the action is Moose Flanagan, a young teenager on the verge of starting high school with dreams of making the baseball team. Moose’s father works in the corrections system so his family is one of several who live on Alcatraz Island. Moose’s parents have a lot to cope with from the politics of the island and the people who live there, trying to raise a family when everything is a ferry ride away, and caring for Moose’s older sister Natalie, unrecognized as affected by autism in the 1930s, when the story takes place.

Moose is a typical kid surrounded by an interesting cast of characters, both from his life tied to the prison and away from it, each operating with their own agenda — some of which are easier for him to read than others. He has a lot to responsibilities placed on him and difficult decisions to make as the story unfolds, all of which speak to the maturity of the character. His love of baseball is still front and center as one of his largest motivations throughout the book, keeping him solidly anchored as the kid that he is. Moose's relationship with Natalie is shown as both protective and loving. Knowing first-hand how acknowledging and accepting differences and valuing diversity have become important parts of character education in schools today, this relationship would be a wonderful example for kids to read about. 

The dialogue and Moose’s narration are refreshingly straightforward, sidestepping the contemporary affectations common in much of middle grade, which makes it all come across as even more genuine. The strong and measured descriptive language establish a sense of place in each location of the overall setting, making the reader feel they would recognize areas they may have never seen before. 

Without giving anything away, the events of the book all come together in the end with very high stakes for Moose and his family, in what will be a surprising challenge for a middle grade audience but completely realistic in the context, and skillfully written. AL CAPONE THROWS ME A CURVE was the kind of book that pulled me forward to finish reading in a day, though I wish I’d allowed myself to spend more time with it. It’s a good thing there are three earlier books in the series I can always revisit! 

To help us celebrate the release of her new book, author Gennifer Choldenko agreed to answer some questions about the Tales of Alcatraz series and her other work!

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Thanks for giving us the chance to ask you a few questions, Gennifer! To start with, I think you should know one of my students recently said AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS is the best book ever written. What's it been like spending so many years working with a series that has such widespread popularity?

The best book ever?  Wow, please tell your student thank you from me!  And thank you for inviting me to be a part of your blog. (Side note - I did pass on that thank you, and her jaw dropped open when I said it.)

One of my greatest pleasures is when a teacher brings me his or her highlighted, underlined, dogeared copy of Al Capone Does My Shirts. What an honor it is to sign those books!  And of course, I love getting letters from readers.  My favorite kid reader letters encourage me to keep writing.  “You are a good writer.  Me and my friends think you should write another book.”  Though my all-time favorite letter went like this:  “I tried to write to Roald Dahl but he was dead.  So, I had to write to you instead.”

I've read that AL CAPONE THROWS ME A CURVE could be the last book of the series. How much of the series did you have planned from the beginning? Were you always hoping or intending the story would become a series, or did those plans evolve as opportunities and new ideas came along?

When I started work on Al Capone Does My Shirts I had been trying for six years to get a second book published.  I called myself a “one trick pony”, because it really looked like: Moonstruck: The True Story of the Cow Who Jumped Over the Moon was the only book I’d ever have published.  While I was researching and writing Al Capone Does My Shirts  I thought that this was a bigger idea than I could fit into one book.  But the idea of writing a series of unpublished books, seemed crazy, even for me.  After I’d been working on Al Capone Does My Shirts for a year, Penguin bought my first novel: Notes from a Liar and Her Dog.  But even then, a series seemed out of reach.  So, no I didn’t plan out the series.  I took it one book at a time. 

If AL CAPONE THROWS ME A CURVE does turn out to be the final book of the series, how do you feel about bringing it to an end?

This series has definitely been a labor of love.  The books have been challenging to create, but I’ve gotten so much out of writing them.  I feel like all the books in the Tales from Alcatraz are a part of me I’m not sure I’m ready to let go of.   

I'm surprised (and impressed) that you've been able to sustain this series while writing so many other books as well. Has your writing process been the same regardless of the title, or was there anything different in the way you approached writing the Tales from Alcatraz books?

Every book comes to me in a different way and that changes my process.  Generally, though, research is involved.  For me, research is like putting Miracle-Gro on my ideas.  Since I live in the San Francisco Bay area, I have spent many many days on Alcatraz.  I’ve worked on the island.  I’ve read every book I can get my hands on.  I’ve interviewed dozens of people who were guards, prisoners and the sons and daughters of guards.  I am a member of the Alcatraz Alumni Association.  I’ve been to every Alcatraz Alumni Day on the island. 

One of the great privileges of writing these books has been the opportunity to do first-hand research.  When you write historical fiction, it is a luxury to be able to walk your setting and see buildings that are similar to the way they were in the timeframe you have chosen for your book.  That’s probably the biggest difference between my Alcatraz novels and my non-Alcatraz novels. 

I like writing other novels in between the series books because then I can come back to Alcatraz with the same excitement I had when I wrote the first book.  Having so much time elapse between books, isn’t a great marketing strategy.  But it is how I was able to make sure each book in the series was as compelling as Al Capone Does My Shirts.   

Finally, do you have any recent middle grade favorites you'd recommend people read (after they finish AL CAPONE THROWS ME A CURVE, that is)?

I love: One Crazy Summer, Goodbye Stranger, Hello, Universe, The Hired Girl. I can’t wait to get my hands on: Bob and Ghost Boys. 

Thanks for your time, Gennifer! Good luck with the new book and the ones to follow!

Thank you! 

Finding Your Voice

We all know it when we read it, but how much we enjoy it can also be a very subjective thing: 

The novel's voice.

When querying to get an agent, problem with voice is some of the most common feedback an author can receive:

Thank you for giving us a chance with this. I’m sorry to say I don’t think it’s one for me. While this has some nice points, when I take a on a new project I need to feel such a strong connection to the voice, I’m afraid I’m not quite there with this. Of course, it’s a really subjective business. Another agent may well feel differently. (an actual rejection letter I received in early 2014)

Thank you for sending me your query. I am sorry not to invite you to submit your work or to offer to represent you. The material just didn’t grab me, and you deserve an unequivocally enthusiastic agent as your advocate. (another actual rejection letter!)

Sometimes, authors' submissions get rejected because of the plot — for example, submitting a book in which the heroine falls in love with a vampire or a book discovers he's actually a wizard — most often it's not the book's plot, but the author's voice.

Other books, I pick then up and can't stop reading. And in many cases, that's not simply because of an excellent plot or a well-formed characters, it's because of the author's voice.

For example, I could read Erin Entrada Kelly all day long.  Her latest book, YOU GO FIRST, sang to me from the first paragraph onwards:

Twelve-year-old Charlotte Lockhard balanced an unopened Dr. Pepper upright on her hand and thought: This is what it feels like to hold my dad's heart.

Same as the Dr. Pepper.

Brilliant huh? Well, she is the most recent Newbery Medal winner, so no great surprise there.

How about Jason Reynold's fantastic voice in GHOST:

CHECK THIS OUT. This dude named Andrew Dahl holds the world record for blowing up the most balloons . . . with his nose. Yeah. That's true. Not sure how he found out that was some kind of special talent, and I can't even imagine how much snot be in those balloons, but hey, it's a thing and Andrew's the best at it.

These authors and their characters do not sound remotely alike, but you know straight away that these are characters you want to get to know. And you can tell you are in the hands of experienced authors who make the cadence of their words a joy to read.


Easy for them, you think. How do I make my own voice better?

First of all, YOUR voice is your way of looking at the world. And while your characters' voices will change from book to book, once you mast voice, your readers will always have a sense that they are reading a book by an accomplished author with a point of view.

How can you improve your voice?

1. READ VORACIOUSLY

Sometimes I run into authors who don't read in their genre. Which a) I don't really get at all, since I assume that if you want to be a middle grade author you love middle grade books; and b) doesn't allow them the opportunity to learn from other authors.

My best advice is to read widely within your genre, with a special focus on award-winning or critically acclaimed books, and an equal dash of the popular.

Early on, I'd even copy a page out of a particular book, so I could get a sense of the cadence, or rhythm of the story. I highly recommend this, because it will help you with your writing immensely.

2. READ YOUR WORK ALOUD

Everyone tells you to do this, but not everyone does this. It is critical. When you read your work out loud, you immediately find the awkward syntax, the boring bits, the unresolved nature of your writing. I also read drafts on my kindle. For some reason, seeing it in book form makes a tremendous difference to how I perceive my own work.

3. KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY

Early on, writers stumble around in the dark, unsure of how specific to be. Their work lacks thematic direction and that shows in their voice. The more you understand what it is you want your story to convey, and who you think in the story should convey it, the easier it will be to find your voice.

4. EAVESDROP!

Yes, I know it's not polite to listen in on conversations, but if you're writing about eleven year old girls, you're going to want to get a handle on them. I've been known to wander the mall and pause now and then to listen to a bunch of kids talking. And though I remember my own kids at that age very well, I also rely on my friends' kids, too.

And finally:

5. KNOW WHO YOUR CHARACTERS ARE

In my latest book, I have a girl from 1915 who cannot sound like the kids from 2018. At the same time, there are things about being twelve or thirteen years old that will always be universal. The most important thing is to know who your characters are. What do they love, hate, worry about, are afraid of, and cherish? What motivates them? Are they shy or boisterous? Are they frustrated or happy-go-lucky. Your characters' personalities and the kind of story you are telling (see #3) will shape the right voice for your story.

In the end, it all comes down to writing with authenticity and clarity, and then writing and writing and writing in order to make your work as excellent as it can be. If you do all that, I promise: your writer's voice will strengthen!

Good Luck!

How are we doing?

Our first blog post went live a little over four years ago. Since then we have amassed 360 blog posts with over 1200 comments. And we are quickly approaching 2,700 followers on twitter and 200,000 page views. But I don't spout these numbers to make your head spin or to toot our own horn, I bring them up to show the incredible community that has been built around the Middle Grade Minded Blog.

I don't think the group of us who banded together in 2013 to form this MG community, ever imagined we'd be here today let alone see this blog grow into what it has. I've been here since the blog's inception, but I know none of this would have been possible without our bloggers and without each and every one of our readers. So for that, first and foremost, I want to say thank you! Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, and thanks for making me think in new and different ways.

 

And because of that, I wanted to reach out to the readers of this blog and see what you all were thinking. We've seen a lot over the four years, bloggers moving on, new ones joining us, signing with agents, book deals, cover reveals, book reviews, author and agent interviews and so much more. So I ask the readers now...

How are we doing?

1. What do you enjoy most about the blog?
2. Is there anything we aren't doing that you'd like to see?
3. Is there anything you don't enjoy as much?
4. Are there any additional thoughts you want to share with the MG Minded team?

Sounds off in the comments with your thoughts, or email us at MGMinded at gmail dot com.

And from the bottom of my heart, again, thank you for stopping by the blog, reading our posts, commenting, sharing them, and making this an awesome place to share our love of Middle Grade Books. Here's to many more years of sharing that MG Love.

 

Sowing Seeds of Greatness

We all long for a simple recipe for the perfect story. Unfortunately, creativity doesn’t usually work that way. Writing is a messy, exciting, mind-blowing adventure, which is exactly why we love it and why it sometimes kicks our trash. 

Writing

The seeds for a great tale can be found just about anywhere—floating on the wind like dandelion clocks, at the breakfast table sprinkled on a bagel, spinning through a movie like maple tree helicopters, or in a squishy pile in your very own backyard. 

The problem is these seeds often sprout stories far different from what we’d expect. This is one instance where the apple really might fall far from the tree. It might even roll down the hill and morph into a carriage. But that is part of the joy of writing. 

If you’re prepping for a new story, seek inspiration in real life. Take a walk. Watch a movie. Just don’t zone out. Keep your notebook handy and jot down ideas, however commonplace or strange. You never know where they’ll take you once you start writing.

Exercises

Here’s a couple prompts to get those creative juices flowing.

Pick whatever color first comes to mind. Think of an emotion. Then look around the room (or alternatively, out the window), noticing the first item/person/animal you see that has your chosen color on it. 

Spend ten second visualizing that person or object. How is the emotion you considered connected to that person or object? Are they feeling that way? Did they provoke that emotion in someone else? Why? How? Now take what you’ve got and develop it into a 500-word piece answering the question—“What happens next?” 

Remember, keep it active!

Now, take this piece or another short piece you’ve written and twist it. For instance, you could change an element of the story, rewriting it with a fantasy or sci-fi overlay. 

Or add a new character who is vastly different from the others you’ve included and see how things play out. Change the POV or gender of the main characters. Choose a minor character and rewrite the scene from their perspective. 

There are tons of ways to do this. Whatever you do, you will find your story becomes something else altogether. Sometimes it will spawn several stories. You may stumble upon a compelling theme and really make it shine.

For more prompts, try http://boredmuse.com

Editing

As always, write in genius mode. You know what I mean. Write in a frenzy of brilliance, not worrying too much about perfect wording or stellar spelling. Just let the story spill out in all its ugly glory. 

Once you’re done (and the story has rested for awhile, days even), go back and see what you’ve got. This is when you put on your ruthless editing hat, rip out your blood-red pen and scribble away. 

Better yet, try a strategic approach. Go through your piece with a critical eye, searching for the true story hiding within. Sometimes the skeleton of an intriguing tale is already there, waiting to be fleshed out with similes, metaphors, powerful themes, and enhancing detail. 

Sometimes the skeleton is too jumbled up to put together into anything meaningful. But in that case, there’s almost always some glimmer of inspiration there, some new seed to plant and nurture into something beautiful (or scary, whatever your preference).

The point is, the seed is just the beginning, just a way to get your creative juices flowing. Don’t feel constrained by the start of the story or even its inspiration. In the end, you are the artist. You determine where the story takes us. Unless, of course, you happen upon a really headstrong character, who has a mind of their own and takes you on an adventure you’d never dreamed could come from your own mind.

Either way, you’re writing, you’re loving it, and at the same time, sowing seeds of greatness in your readers. In any genre, this is important, but especially in middle grade fiction. 

Our readers are clamoring for entertainment and encouragement, they’re on the cusp of defining themselves and are hungry for inspiration. They need to witness characters wrestle with problems and rise above themselves. As do we all.

What are some of your recent sources of creativity?

Why I Write Middle Grade

A Wholesome Escape 

When I was growing up, C.S. Lewis regularly lured me into Narnia, all the way through high school. Every finals week, in fact. Battles with witches and hags involving grand forces of good and evil really broke up the monotony of studying.

Middle Grade fiction has a great capacity to draw readers in and entertain them for the rest of their lives. We all nurse a soft spot for our favorite early novels. They provided an escape from the sometimes harsh realities of life and an introduction to new places and ideas.

I'm a kid at heart and easily relate to 8-12 year olds. They’re fun, silly, inquisitive, and apt to pop off with unexpected comments and connections. When I teach creative writing to 4^th and 5^th graders, their insightful questions and wild imaginations always keep me on my toes. The middle grades are a crucial time of development, where tweens are discovering their interests and trying out new aspects of their personality. I love working with and writing for this age group because it’s a chance to help them see themselves as brave, courageous, loyal, and strong.

Middle Grade Fiction Inspires

My favorite MG novels taught me to believe in myself. If Karana could use her wits and courage to survive alone on the Island of the Blue Dolphins, I could use mine to solve drama between friends. If Meg from A Wrinkle in Time managed to save her father and brother from an evil telepathic brain, I could build love in a family torn apart by divorce.

I still relish the wonder found in MG novels, how they tackle tough issues in ways 8-12 year olds can understand. And frankly, the rest of us, too. Who hasn’t cried their way through Bridge to Terabithia, only to find peace at the end?

This is what I hope to create as a MG writer, books that enchant young readers, drawing them into a lifetime of reading. Books that inspire and motivate, opening their minds to whole new worlds.

Middle Grade is a time of wonder, a time of discovery, where our understanding of the world expands. What better time to explore fictional worlds as we’re struggling to understand our own? And who ever outgrows that struggle?

When I first started writing, I experimented with various genres, trying to find the right fit. Then my husband said, “Why don’t you write what you love?”

Well, now I do and I couldn’t be happier.

A Little About Me

My pen name is R. H. Roberts, but you can call me Renee. I'm Mom to seven awesome kids who don't mind eating burnt pizza when I'm writing (or so they say). I love cats, monsters and the sea, but not necessarily all together. Whenever I can, I SCUBA and snorkel to research for my upcoming underwater fantasy novel. I'm thrilled to join the blogging team here at Middle Grade Minded! Come say hello at my blog.

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