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I am delighted to welcome author Tony Bradman to MWD to celebrate the launch of the 30th Anniversary edition of his much-loved picture book Through My Window. We will be talking about it here as well as a … Continue reading ... →

Dr. Seuss’ ‘The Lorax’ nabbed the top spot at the box office this weekend (garnering $70.7 million — the best opening of the year so far — and becoming the best debut ever for a non-sequel animated film! Although the movie didn’t... Read the rest of this post

Ellen Emerson White is the author of Long May She Reign, a book I've included in my Best Books of 2007 (see sidebar). Readers may remember that I highlighted Ellen's books in my Under The Radar sequence this summer. You can imagine how happy I am that Ellen agreed to an interview for the Winter Blog Blast Tour!

As you read, you can see why I adore Ellen's books; as in her interview, they are a mix of serious and humor. I also found it interesting to think of Long May She Reign as a post 9/11 book, even tho 9/11 itself is not a factor in the book.


And someone who loves Buffy and Battlestar Galactica? And lives in New York City and is a Red Sox fan? How can you not love Ellen Emerson White? And it's not just me! Publishers Weekly included Long May She Reign in their Best Books of 2007. See the full PW starred review here.

Liz B: Your new book, Long May She Reign (October 2007), features Meg Powers, a character introduced in three books published in the 1980s, The President's Daughter (1984), White House Autumn (1985), and Long Live the Queen (1989.) Please tell us a bit about Long May She Reign.

Ellen: The book is very, very long--so, if you have orthopedic issues, please consult a medical professional before attempting to lift it.

It picks up approximately three months after Long Live the Queen ends. Since I am Not Very Bright, the earlier books are quite solidly set in the 1980s, or--to put it less politely--they are extremely dated. Which is why I am currently re-typing them, to bring them up to the near-future, since Long May She Reign clearly exists in a post-Bush world. All three of them are going to be reissued next spring.

As the book opens, Meg is not doing very well. (She said, with extreme understatement.) Her parents' marriage seems to be falling apart, her brother Steven is falling apart--and Meg has already fallen apart. So, all is not well at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Obviously, she's in tough shape psychologically, but she also hasn't healed from her injuries--and, it's clear, is never going to have anything close to a full physical recovery.

Everything is looking pretty hopeless, and since she really doesn't have any other options, or much prospect of ever leading a normal life, she ends up deciding to go away to college, after all--in lieu of staying in her bedroom permanently. And college turns out to be very difficult--but, interesting.

In case that all sounds too bleak, I must stress that there are jokes, also.

Liz B: Your fans have been waiting for a new Meg book since 1989. Why revisit Meg now? How did you get back into Meg's head?

Ellen: There are a lot of reasons. My own life took some unexpected twists and turns, which changed the way I look at things--and if you're a writer and you don't try to address that through art, you are in the wrong profession. Also, I'm a New Yorker, and I was here on 9/11--and there's no getting around the fact that the entire world as we know it is different now. I think this is a very much a book about people waiting, uneasily, for the next bad thing to happen--and I'm sure 9/11 plays into all of that, somewhere.

Plus, sometimes you want to write a book which is just too hard to write. It took me 3 1/2 years--to the exclusion of everything else--which was a great gift creatively, but maybe not the wisest choice from a practical "pay the rent" standpoint. As a reader, I am often frustrated by writers who seem to write the same book over and over--and I really enjoy writers who absolutely swing for the fences and try to be as ambitious as possible, even if the finished novel is--short of perfection. (The Virgo in me wants to faint when I type those words.) Long May She Reign was a tremendous challenge, because I wrote the best book that I am capable of writing. 110% effort. Left it all out on the field. All of those good sports cliches. But, it's a little disconcerting to realize that you have absolutely exhausted the full extent of your abilities--and that the book is still flawed. But, what can you do?

I thought I had grown out of Meg years ago--but, no, she popped right back into my psyche in about a second and a half. The voice, the rhythm, the mind-set--all of it. And she is just as grouchy as ever. I thought that Rebecca, the lead character in a couple of my other novels, was my true alter ego--but, writing about Meg just felt like coming home.

A character from my very first novel (not a great book, but I was only 18) is a major character in this novel, and to my surprise, Susan (a less well developed character originally, and certainly much less likeable and approachable) also came back as soon as I started typing. She and Meg are an absolutely combustible mix, and that aspect of the book was really fun to write.

Liz B: Politics have always played a big part in the Meg Powers books, what with Meg being the daughter of the first woman President. But the media is also a huge part of Meg's life, especially now that she is no longer famous just for being "daughter of." What are your thoughts on today's media, and teens caught in the spotlight?

Ellen: An eleven year old I adore refers to everyone over 18 as "an elderly dude"--and sometimes, I think she might be right. The Internet has changed everything--especially, it seems, people's grasp of the concept that there is such a thing as Too Much Information.

But, given Meg's inherent New England reserve--and the fact that she has always had to be so very careful every waking moment of her life--makes it easier to fit her into this new world, without having to change her at all, really.

The media has become omnipresent, and often, irresponsible--but, I can't really complain
since I read the New York Post regularly, and watch American Idol, and just generally participate in the fun of tabloidization. So, I'm nowhere near the moral high ground on this subject.

It's very sad that so many starlet types in the public eye (especially a Lindsay Lohan, who is
actually talented) are crashing and burning, but sometimes, I think they're so addicted to the fame and attention, that they're embracing the constant coverage and exposure, despite the fact that it mostly makes them look ridiculous. Even Andy Warhol might be flummoxed by today's media climate.

That said, I have to wonder where all of their parents are. A rich and famous teenager is still a teenager. It would be nice to see them get a little sensible, adult supervision.

Insofar as the book is concerned, I think Meg's father is a tremendous grounding force in their lives. He's a much more complicated (and sometimes less nice) man than he may appear to be, but there's no question that he is doing everything he can to try and help his children lead something reasonably close to normal lives.

Liz B: Let me be the first to say, I would vote for President Katharine Powers.* (I'd also vote for Laura Roslin, but I don't think they would be running against each other.) I love the insider look at politics; but I also am a bit in awe about the character that is Katharine Powers; meaning, not just who she is but how you portray her. Can you talk a bit about her as a character?

Ellen: Wouldn't Katharine and Laura have one hell of a debate? I'd pay to see that.

When I originally finished the President's Daughter, I was only twenty. The President is much easier to write, now that I'm very close to being her age. She makes sense to me, in a whole different way.

The irony is, that she's actually a wonderful, loving parent--although she gets no credit from anyone--including herself--for being one. I would love to write a book from her point of view, but there are only 43 Americans who would be capable of doing that effectively, and only four of them are still alive, so I guess it's not going to happen. Boy, I'd love to do that book, though. The only way I could ever use her as a main character would be if I wrote a book which takes place when she's Meg's age--and, I don't know. It would be a challenge, but the idea is not without appeal.

I'm blessed in Long May She Reign, since about twelve different characters would be capable of carrying their own books--and I can't imagine what it would be like to see Meg from someone else's point of view. Steven, and Susan, are both viable possibilities for that, though.

But, the President. Hmmm. I love the President. I love it that I genuinely believe that she would have no trouble running the world--but that she is also a very nervous and apologetic person. Well-meaning. Insecure. Sensitive. But, I also like it that she's arrogant, and short-tempered--and has that ruthless, ice-cold streak which surfaces every now and then.

I think that she and Meg mirror each other in so many interesting ways--and yet, Meg is also so very much like her father. Actually, all three of the children are such complicated mixes of their parents--and it was a happy surprise for me when Neal leaped out of his former "I am a cute child" persona in this book, and became a full-fledged, quite pivotal, character, in his own right.

This doesn't really answer any questions about the President, though, does it? She's--elusive. Even for me.

Liz B: Tea Cozy readers are fans; and as fans, they are curious about the creative process. You've written over 25 books, covering everything from picture books to adult mysteries. How does the writing process differ for the different books you write? While writing Meg Powers, for instance, was it a challenge that in earlier books Meg was drinking TAB and watching Hill Street Blues and now she's surfing the 'Net and has an iPod? (And as a total aside, I just saw that Hill Street is now available on DVD. Yay!)

Ellen: Sadly, only the first two seasons of Hill Street are out now, I think--but, maybe the others are coming soon.

I can't really explain my process, because I fall into the idiot savant category--with a very heavy emphasis on the "idiot" part. It's very similar to sports, really, because the minute
you start thinking too much about how you do it--you can't do it anymore.

If I suddenly became independently wealthy, I would spend the rest of my career writing an adult novel every two or three years (spending that entire period working; not lounging about, eating Doritos), and never do anything else. But, as a Buddhist once said in a book I read (I paraphrase), there's nothing wrong with living in the moment--but, you should still open an IRA. Which, in the early 21st century, sums up a novelist's life pretty accurately.

I like some of the books better than others, and some of them are written under pseudonyms--for a reason. And, in some cases, I regret the pseudonyms, so it's a complicated mix for me.

Liz B: Not to be all greedy, considering that the new book is a brand new book, arriving in stores in October. But, can you share with us any current writing projects?

Ellen: I just finished re-typing the President's Daughter, and am on a very short deadline
to do the same with the other two. Back in the day, I used an actual typewriter for those books, so they don't even exist on a floppy disk or anything.

It's very strange to revisit one's twenty-year-old writer self, I must say. I'm not changing anything at all--they are the exact same books), but some of the anachronisms just had to go. Sadly, Meg no longer drinks Tab--she drinks Coke. What can you do? And I assume Coke isn't going anywhere. I didn't feel like changing the TV shows--but now, she's watching them on DVD, and considers them "old." The Internet didn't exist in the first three books--but,
obviously, it does now. That kind of thing. And I think that the President is sort of a "Barack Obama with experience" type. Youngish, attractive "rock star" of a candidate, who you just know must have given the keynote address at an earlier Democratic convention--and leaped into the national spotlight. It makes perfect sense to me that she's someone the Party would have gotten behind--because I would, too.

After that, I'll be doing some less demanding works-for-hire (NYC is expensive!), and then, I have to do the long overdue second adult mystery. Around the time that the first one came out, my life was unexpectedly derailed for a few years--and it's been a challenge to find a way back to that group of characters. Many of my loved ones have said that they think Dana is more like me than any of the other characters I have ever written--but I disagree, since from a writer's perspective, she's so very polite and private that even I find her a bit impenetrable.

Liz B: On to the pop culture; and with this blog being named for a Buffy quote, you knew there would be some pop culture talk. Battlestar Galactica. I never expected to fall so in love with BG, especially since I loved the original. (In my defense, I was 12.) TV sure has changed since The Brady Bunch! What are some of your favorite shows?


Ellen: I don't even know what a tea cozy is--but I want one. (I pretty much have the entire series committed to memory--and think Giles may, in fact, be the Ideal Man.) Firefly never really worked for me, but I had a lot of fun with Angel, even though I think it was a mistake to turn Cordelia into an otherworldly being.

And, "Going Through the Motions" was the best song in the musical, I think.

I love Battlestar Galactica, and am delighted by the way to which gender is entirely irrelevant, insofar as the characters treat one another. I didn't find the show until its second season--but, I adore Laura Roslin, to the degree that I even (gulp) blogged about her.

Mostly, I watch the Red Sox (and the Patriots), and CNN, and C-Span--because I am very, very boring--but I never miss American Idol, to which I was introduced by two evil and manipulative children who got me hooked on what I consider to be television crack. (and yet, one does not want to hear an eight year old happily telling people in a crowded elevator precisely that--and realizing that he is directly quoting someone who should have let her inner-edit button
operate before popping out with that one.)

It was very wrong that Melinda Doolittle didn't win.

I thought Martin Sheen and Stockard Channing were wonderful--but had very mixed feelings about the West Wing. Once Buffy went off the air, I no longer had a show To Love--so I was very happy to find BSG. (actually, I thought the final seasons of Buffy were extremely problematic--and that no villain ever measured up to my beloved Mayor, but it was a great, great show.)

And I love, love, love the Emma Peel episodes of the Avengers. No one has ever been cooler--or ever will be.


Liz B: Thank you so much!

Winter Blog Blast Tour for Thursday:

David Mack at Chasing Ray
Paul Volponi at The Ya Ya Yas
Elizabeth Knox at Shaken & Stirred
Ellen Emerson White at A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy
Jack Gantos at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
David Levithan at Not Your Mother's Book Club
Micol Ostow at Bildungsroman
Laura Amy Schlitz at Miss Erin
Kerry Madden at Hip Writer Mama
Sherman Alexie at Interactive Reader

and as Wednesday somehow disappeared:

Lisa Ann Sandell at Interactive Reader
Christopher Barzak at Chasing Ray
Julie Halpern at The Ya Ya Yas
Micol Ostow at Shaken & Stirred
Rick Yancey at Hip Writer Mama
Jane Yolen at Fuse Number 8
Shannon Hale at Bookshelves of Doom
Maureen Johnson at Bildungsroman
David Lubar at Writing & Ruminating
Sherman Alexie at Finding Wonderland

*Meg's mother.
**The president in Battlestar Galactica.

Q&A with Ellen Emerson White

Minor spoilers for the new book, Long May She Reign.

Favorite line? New England preppies always dress the same.

Ellen Emerson White has written a number of books about Vietnam; the Echo Company series, written under the name Zack Emerson; a book written under EEW, about a nurse in Vietnam who has a tough time adjusting to life back home; and two Dear America books.

The Echo Company Series (as Zack Emerson)

Welcome to Vietnam (1991)
Hill 568 (1991)
'Tis The Season (1991)
Stand Down (1992)

The Plot:

These books introduce Michael Jennings. Michael is a pretty normal 18 year old; college wasn't for him, so he decided to hang out, work at the ski lift. Problem is, it's 1968 -- so he's drafted. And now he's in Vietnam. He doesn't really know why or care why he's fighting. He just wants to do his time and go home. And he knows he should have gone to college, but he didn't see himself as college material, and now he's paying the price, isn't he?

The Good:

God, I love Michael. As with most of EEW's characters, he's funny and a smart aleck. And smarter than he realizes.

Welcome to Vietnam starts almost as bad Vietnam war movie. Micheal goes to Vietnam! It's hot! He lugs a lot of stuff around, people fire at him, he fires back. Some race issues crop up. He bonds with the other guys in Echo Company. And you think, yes, EEW did her research and did it well, but it seems, kind of, I don't know? Clean, despite the dirt and the leeches and the jungle rot. And then, towards the end of the book, BAM.

"The sound of the explosion sent everyone diving to the ground, looking for cover. And at first, when -- stuff -- rained down, Michael wasn't sure what it was. Then, he realized who it was. Who it had been."

Finnegan had been standing next to JD, the dead soldier: "Finnegan, who had been closest to him -- yeah, more ways than one -- didn't seem to be hurt, but he was covered with -- stuff. With what was left of this best friend." Michael takes his canteen, and starts washing off the remains. He fills a body bag, with EEW using very few words but packing quite the punch, especially as Mike and another soldier pretend the bag is heavier than it is. So that no one realizes just how little is left of JD.

It's real. It's death and dying and blood. And EEW doesn't shy away from any of it. And what she has done is take you into the experience; just as Michael (and the reader) has the lull of "ok, this isn't so bad after all, I can make it" BAM.

No. It's not OK. It is that bad.

This is one of the few war novels I have read that respects the soldiers and their experiences; that doesn't play politics about the issue of war. And is brutally honest about the soldier's experiences.

And, yes, they are soldiers. They curse and say f*ck and tell dirty jokes. (Actually, while I was reading this, and seeing it was a Scholastic imprint, I was thinking, damn. Much respect on my part that they didn't remove the f*cks.)

The other three books continue the story of Micheal's first months in Vietnam; his first battle, meeting nurse Lt. Rebecca. Phillips. It ends -- if not happy, then optimistic, because he's met Rebecca and most of his friends are alive. His tour is far from over. But it's right before Tet, and everyone knows that nothing is going to happen during a major holiday, so Michael and Echo Company are on "stand down," enjoying a vacation. And the series ends. Most readers realize what happens after the series... the Tet Offensive. It's like ending the story of a happily married couple as they set sail on the Titanic.

The story gets continued in The Road Home, which is Rebecca's story. Rebecca, the army nurse that Michael met. It starts up after the series ends ... which means hello, Tet Offensive, plays a major role. And you find out what happens to Michael and his buddies. I'll tell you this: Michael doesn't die. But be careful about getting to attached to the others.

The Road Home (1995)

I read The Road Home first, even tho it was written after the first four books and is set after the first four books. That's because the first four books were published under a different name -- Zack Emerson.

So, I read The Road Home without reading the first four books; and The Road Home made perfect sense. It worked wonderfully as a stand alone. While I tracked down the other titles because I'm a bit obsessive compulsive that way, I didn't have to read them to understand the story.

I've said it before, and I'm saying it again: EEW's newest book, Long May She Reign, stands alone. Just like The Road Home stands alone. Another similarity between the two: both are "crossover titles," with appeal for both adult and teen readers.

Since I have proven my obsession with EEW's writing, why, you may ask, did I not read the first four books? Because they were published under the name Zack Emerson and I didn't know about them.

The Road Home
The Plot:

Rebecca Phillips is wrapping up her tour in Vietnam as an army nurse. She's been thru a lot; she's seen a lot. Friends have died; she's seen things ... she's done things ... the scars are physical and mental.

And home... home isn't just getting into an airplane and going back to the house you grew up in. It's going to take a lot to finally be "home."

The Good:

One of my three favorite books by Ellen Emerson White. It also features one of my book boyfriends, Michael Jennings (so many book boyfriends, I'm like the blog equivalent of Bill Henrickson, except with multiple book boyfriends instead of multiple wives). Michael was a soldier Rebecca met in Vietnam. She's trying to make sense of her life (and of Vietnam), and so she decides to visit him. Thing is, he's as scarred and messed up by Vietnam as Rebecca, maybe more so.

Plus, Michael and Rebecca... it had been an odd mix, he's younger, she was an officer. It was a wartime thing, right? Or was it something more....

Why is this a favorite? For some of the same reasons that China Beach is one of my favorite series, ever. By exploring the Vietnam War thru the POV of a female, and of a nurse, there is the horrors of war combined with the healing of medicine; the mixed emotions of saving the lives of soldiers, only to have the soldiers go out, risk their lives again, or to kill. And the details, of triage, of deciding who lives and dies, who gets morphine and who doesn't, who dies alone or dies with lies of "it's going to be OK."

Rebecca goes from naive and hopeful to scared, afraid, bitter.

EEW does a masterful job of showing both that war is hell AND respecting the soldier. Based on when her books were published, EEW is in my age group; yet, when my mother read this book, she was convinced that EEW had to have grown up during the Vietnam era, because EEW captured the times and the conflict so clearly. And then she continues it thru past the "happy ending" of going home... and shows just how hard that adjustment was.

And, of course, there are Rebecca and Michael. A bit of an odd couple; she's older, she was a nurse, he's a few years younger, he never went to college. Yet, they share not just the experience of Vietnam, but also a sense of humor and way of looking at the world. A sense of humor almost lost, but waiting to be rediscovered. The only problem with this book? It ends.

EEW revisited not just the Vietnam War, but the year that Michael is in Vietnam, in her two Dear America books, The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty: United States Marine Corps Khe Sanh, Vietnam, 1968 (2002) and Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: The Diary of Molly Mackenzie Flaherty, 1968 (2002).

For the record: how, you may ask, can the Dear America story tell of the Vietnam war without those things present in the Echo Company / The Road Home books? The f*cks and drugs and prostitutes and violence other things? Because the gimmick is Patrick isn't just writing a diary; he's been told to write it with the knowledge that his youngest sister will read it. So Patrick leaves stuff out.

These two books, written for younger readers, are significant in EEW's work for a couple of reasons.

First, they are one of the few companion Dear America series; Patrick and Molly are siblings, and these books tell about the same year from their two different POVs. Hm, you see; just as EEW did with Life Without Friends and Friends for Life, reviewed earlier this week.

Second, they contain references to the earlier books. I know! Because it turns out that Patrick is friends with a soldier in Echo Company. And this other soldier isn't a big part of either Patrick or Molly's stories, but it does give the reader some information on another one of Michael's friends who made it home.

The friend? Finnegan.

Oh, and Patrick, Molly, and Finnegan are all from Boston.

And remember, in Friends for Life, (which is set in Boston) Susan's boyfriend? Patrick? Patrick's last name is Finnegan.

I don't care what Ellen says in the comments about coincidences, I'm convinced the Finnegans are connected. Also? Just because I love Rebecca & Michael, and because EEW does the Madeleine L'Engle/ Sarah Dessen thing of mentioning people from other books, I know wonder if these two will pop up somewhere.

Links to other Under the Radar Recs will be added after work.

Big A, little a: The Deep by Helen Dunmore

Bildungsroman: The May Bird Trilogy by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Finding Wonderland: The Avion My Uncle Flew by Cyrus Fisher

Not Your Mother's Bookclub: A look at some recently revised classics

Fusenumber 8: Stoneflight by George McHarque

lectitans: Gentle's Holler and Louisiana Song both by Kerry Madden

Chasing Ray: Kipling's Choice by Geert Spillebeen

Interactive Reader: A Plague of Sorcerers by Mary Frances Zambreno

The YA YA YAs: Resurrection Men by TK Welsh

7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Such a Pretty Face: Short Stories About Beauty edited by Ann Angel

Ellen Emerson White: The Friends Books

Friends for Life (1983)
Life Without Friends (1987)

As I mentioned in my intro for the week, EEW's first book, and the first book of hers I read, was Friends for Life. (And, at press time, not only could I not find an image online, but I could not find my digital camera to take my own photo.)

Friends For Life

The Plot:

Susan, a senior in high school, has just returned to Boston after living in NYC for several years. She thinks this is made of awesome, because finally she'll be back together with her two best friends, Colleen and Patrick. But then Colleen turns up dead of an overdose. And everyone believes it to be true, saying Colleen had changed, you've been in NYC, you don't know.

Susan knows her best friend. She knows it wasn't an overdose. So what's a girl to do? Years before Veronica Mars avenged Lily Kane, Susan went undercover to prove not only that Colleen was murdered -- but also who did it.

The Good:

I had forgotten that EEW's first book was a mystery; so that her later All Emergencies, Ring Super (an adult mystery) wasn't a new genre. (Yes, it's a good book, set in Manhattan, and per the author's website, a sequel is being written.)

Even if mystery isn't your cup of tea, you'll enjoy the pop culture references, one liners, the humor. The real characters. Plus, a good plot as Susan risks everything for her best friend. As you can see from what I'm focusing on here, what I like about EEW is what I like about Meg Cabot and Sarah Dessen.

So, Susan goes about trying to solve the murder of her best friend. And, since no one believes her, it means she goes "undercover," acting as if she got in with the drug crowd in NYC so is looking for that at her new school (which was Colleen's school.) Susan discovers who the local drug dealer is, gets in with that crowd (bad & wild on the inside, preppy looking on the out), and almost gets murdered. Beverly is one of the bad crowd; and the one who tells the teenage drug dealer psycho murderer that Susan isn't the new girl in town, but Colleen's old BFF (because, surprise, Beverly went to the same middle school as Susan & Colleen.)

So it was with great surprise that I picked up Life Without Friends and discovered Beverly's story. Yeah, the girl you hated in the first book!

Life Without Friends

The Plot:

It's still high school, and it's set following the events in Friends for Life. Beverly ended up doing the right thing in the previous book (see, she was actually trying to stop psycho boyfriend, but didn't know how) but that doesn't excuse or erase her dating psycho boy, being involved with the drugs and the wildness. Psycho boy killed people... and Beverly did nothing. When Beverly acted, the result was Susan almost getting killed. The reader is primed to hate Beverly.

Yet.... you don't. Told from Beverly's point of view, Beverly is regretful, sympathetic, and lonely. She is at the same school, and everyone thinks that she's no better than her murdering ex boyfriend, so needless to say she has no friends.

LWF is about Beverly trying to figure out how it all went wrong; why she was seduced by psycho boy and his lifestyle, why she is so alienated from her family, why she made the choices she did. She is "without friends" not just because the entire school hates her, but also because she feels she cannot trust herself to make friends.

It turns out that Beverly is a nice kid. Acts a bit tough, but really isn't. With the same sense of humor as Susan and Colleen; these three should have been friends. But they're not. What with Colleen being dead and Susan almost being killed, and if Beverly had just spoken up about her psycho boyfriend hitting her before any of that, Colleen would be alive.

Beverly figures she doesn't deserve friends. Doesn't deserve happiness.

Her father, realizing that "hey, maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, what with my new wife and new kid and all" is trying hard to fix things. So, he's become very strict (tho, as Beverly notes, it's easy for her to live with his strictness what with the "no friends.") And, she's going to a shrink.

And then, one boring afternoon as she sits reading in Boston Commons, she meets Derek. He's working there, taking care of the grounds; he is not part of Beverly's world of rich kids, private education, Ivy League colleges. Very blue collar. Not her type at all; since her type is psychos who beat her up and the kill people, while Derek is, well, nice. (Derek is, btw, an awesome book boyfriend.)

The Good:

You do not have to read one book to read the other. They are companion books, not a series. Why is this important? Because, technically, EEW's latest book (Long May She Reign) is the 4th in a series. But, as is proven here, EEW writes companion books, meaning, no, you don't have to read the other books to read the new one. And this, her first time doing so, works brilliantly.

I like EEW's nuanced families; again, in books it is almost easy to have the eevill parent (who is evil because they are poor parents, have remarried, have jobs, like make up, etc.) (I originally wrote "YA books" and then realized I've read plenty of adult fiction that has one-note evil parents, with the eevillness based on some pretty shallow foundations.)

What I like here is that Beverly's father is both to blame for things and yet, it is also clear that Beverly is responsible for her own actions. Yes, her father is emotionally distant; he is more invested emotionally in his "new" family. (As an aside, don't you just love people who, rather than working to make things right with their first set of children, instead have a second set and view that as a second chance? Yeah, me neither.) Beverly's mother died (in what may have been a suicide), and her father didn't handle that well, either.

It is stellar of EEW's writing that the distant dad, the pretty young second wife, and the beloved new "I'm doing it right this time" baby brother are all, well, nice. And multi dimensional. In other words, EEW creates flawed characters. Who try. Who fail. Who succeed.

LWF is one of my three favorite EEW books because of Beverly. She has been wounded; she has a lot she has to change about herself and how she interacts with the world; and it would be so very easy for her not to change. Not to keep on going. But she does; and not in some Pollyanna way. Rather, in a smoking her cigarettes, sharing a beer with her stepmom, and saying the F word way. (I have to say, in rereading this book, I was surprised at how frequently Beverly used the F world. And EEW is less squeamish than I in print; yes, Beverly says it. But, frankly, if my exboyfriend beat the crap out of me and then murdered my classmates, I'd be saying f*ck, also. Plus, the hows and whens of Beverly's language changes during the book; she's careful what she says in front of her brother. It's like she's trying to be tough but secretly? She's as nice as the rest of the family. You so want to be her friend. )

One last point: You know how one of the great things about Sarah Dessen is sometimes she refers to characters from one book in another? EEW does it, and just as well. I'm not saying it because of these two books being related... but because some of the characters in these two books get mentioned in other books she wrote. I'm afraid to say more here, because I loved discovering it on my own. But if you twist my arm, I'll reveal all in the comments.


Other Under the Radar Recommendations will be posted this evening.

Shaken & Stirred: The Changeover and Catalogue of the Universe, both by Margaret Mahy

Big A, little a: A interview with Helen Dunmore

Jen Robinson's Book Page: The Treasures of Weatherby by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Bildungsroman: Swollen by Melissa Lion

Finding Wonderland: Lucy the Giant by Sherry L. Smith

Miss Erin: A discussion of Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye and an interview with author Kaza Kingsley

7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Billie Standish Was Here by Nancy Crocker

Fuse Number 8: The Noisy Counting Book by Susan Schade

Chasing Ray: Juniper, Genetian and Rosemary by Pamela Dean

lectitans: Who Pppplugged Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf

Writing and Ruminating: Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown

Semicolon: Christian Fiction

MotherReader: It's Kind of a Funny Story

Recommendations From Under the Radar: Ellen Emerson White's The President's Daughter series

It wasn't easy picking what books to include this week; there wasn't enough time to do them all, and in all honesty I prefer EEW's books for older readers (the teen and adult stuff.) So I focused on three "sets", as it were; the President's Daughter series, since the most recent volume is being published this year; the Road Home and related books, because it is one of my three favorite EEW books; and Friends for Life / Life Without Friends, because LWF is another one of my three favorite EEW books and because, well, you'll see when you read the post.

The President's Daughter series is made up of four books:

The President’s Daughter (1984)
White House Autumn (1985)
Long Live the Queen (1989)
Long May She Reign (2007)*

Before I go book by book, let me say: Meg Powers (the President's daughter) is funny. In typical, trademark Ellen Emerson White style most of the humor is sarcastic or an observation. It's a connection that is made that the reader gets and laughs in recognition. It's not that the books are funny; it's Meg who is funny. And not in a "I'm a comedian" way; it's very much in the manner of Melinda from Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Tho, actually, I seem to remember Meg's brothers and parents commenting on her being a comedian...

Anyway, as you read the below plot descriptions (presidents, shootings, and kidnappings, oh my!) remember: it's all told thru the point of view of someone who is smart and who uses humor as a coping mechanism. So you'll find yourself laughing out loud.

The President's Daughter

The Plot:

Meg Powers is 16. And she's pretty happy with her life in Massachusetts. Great best friend, good friends, gets along with her family. She's pretty average, fairly typical. OK, so Mom is a Senator, but really? Who cares about that in the real world?

The press may not care about a Senator's daughter. They do care about the daughter of a woman running for President ... especially when she is a serious contender. Meg's mom has not only announced she is running for President... it looks like she's going to win.

The Good:

Meg is a great character; very real, and with a wicked sense of humor. The relationship with her mother is extremely complex; Meg loves her mother. Meg admires her mother. But it is not an easy relationship. Meg's mother has made choices; choices to go into politics, to be a Senator, to run for President. To have children. Her mother's juggling act is not easy, especially when it comes down to what is best for the country versus what is best for her children.

What is also great about Meg's mother is that she is full of shades of gray and insecurities. She is an accomplished woman (hello, President of the United States.) She isn't perfect; and EEW never "fixes" this. A lesser author would have turned the mother into a monster because she doesn't fit the "traditional" role of what a mother "should" be (gasp, Meg's mom doesn't make cookies! Meg's mom isn't Carol Brady perfect! Meg's mom values her career and her children!). A lesser author would have created Quick Fixes with everyone happy in the end.

The issues between Meg and her mother continue to be explored in each book of the series. Rarely have I read such a nuanced, realistic, understanding and forgiving mother/daughter relationship. Don't get me wrong; it's far from perfect and sometimes I want to take Meg's mother and throw her out the window (especially in book 3.) But more on that below.

I'm not giving anything away by saying, Meg's mom wins the election. (The series is called "the President's daughter", not "the -person-who-ran-and-lost-and-is-still-a-Senator's daughter.") (If you think that is funny, then, you will find Meg funny. That was my attempt at Meg humor.)

Another good thing about this book is the look at politics; and, as a quick look at the author's website and blog will show, the author herself enjoys politics and knows what she is talking about. (One of my pet peeves is authors who believe that since they write fiction, the "make it up" rule applies to everything: medicine, law, politics, etc.)

White House Autumn

The Plot:

Meg seems to have finally made a new life for herself in DC; new school, new friends, adjusting to the Press. Then Mom, aka the President, gets shot.

The Good:

Those resentments that were bubbling away in The President's Daughter boil over. Meg and her younger brothers are worried about their mother; but they also have to suffer, because with an assassination attempt, security increases as does the attentions of the press.

These are situations under which Meg has no control; it's a harsh reality of her life, and of anyone's life, that sometimes our choices are narrower than we'd like.

Also good: the bits about the press part, because EEW really gets the pitfalls and problems of the press; the image that is presented by politicians and celebrities, the relationship between the press and those they report on. It's especially interesting to see the impact on those who have not chosen to be in the spotlight -- the "children of".

Long Live the Queen

The Plot:

It's the end of Meg's senior year, and as she walks out of school bullets start flying, her secret service agents are shouting, she's getting pulled into a van. She's been kidnapped. The kidnapper is brutal and sadistic. It's going to take every bit of strength and determination that Meg has to survive.

The Good:

This is the book where things get -- serious. Books 1 and 2 are much more about Meg "reacting" to situations; this, tho, is all about Meg. And Meg proves herself, to the reader, to the kidnappers, to the world, over and over again. (You can even tell from the titles the shift of focus from the books being about a "daughter of" to the books being about Meg; the first two titles are really about Meg's mother, while the last two titles are about Meg herself.) I mentioned yesterday two of my three favorite EEW books; this used to be a top three (until I read Book 4!)
The kidnapping -- it's tough. And Meg's escape from the kidnappers is made of awesome. The book also includes Meg's immediate post-kidnapping healing and attempts to re-connect with family and friends.

Even though Meg does not choose the spotlight, now, for the first time, it's something she has done that gets her into the media. But, of course, all she did was get kidnapped and survive. Survival includes having had teeth ripped out (because it turns out they had tracking chips in them -- look at the date of the book to see how ahead of the curve EEW was with that!); and taking a rock to her hand in an attempt to free herself from handcuffs. (See, she needs to get her hand small enough to slip thru the handcuffs, so she figures if she breaks the bones she can do it.)

EEW does two things that are rather unexpected. First, the President refuses to negotiate. So Meg's life really is at risk. And the thing is; Meg gets why her mother does that. Meg can even respect that. But, it doesn't help; it doesn't help Meg, it doesn't help their relationship. Second, the kidnapper isn't caught; neither is it discovered just who, or what, is beyond the kidnapping. (Aside from making this scary-real, it also stops the book from being dated.)

Despite the drama of this -- and the action -- LLTQ is also very internal, as Meg struggles to survive first her kidnapping, then her escape, and, finally, a return to "normal life."

While LLTQ ends on an upbeat note, what has happened to Meg is just too drastic to be summed up neatly in one book. Hence, the latest book, years in the making: Long May She Reign, which is about Meg's attempts to live a "normal" life by going to college.


Since book 4 is so new that it's not out until October, it hardly qualifies as "under the radar," which is why I'll be reviewing it next week. (And one of the reasons I'm reviewing the earlier books, and EEW in general, is because I do not want LMSR to be "under the Radar.")

One thing to note: LMSR stands on its own. You don't have to read these other three books (and, I proved it by giving it to my mother without letting her know about the other books in the series; and she had no problems following the action.) It is, also, a book that is a crossover title; with as much appeal for those over 18 as for those under 18. (And I keep wanting to say more about LMSR and then cutting it because otherwise this would be the longest post ever and I'd have nothing to say next week!)

As I was wrapping this up, I realized all the things I had not mentioned: like, for example, Preston, who is one of the coolest people in a book. He starts as Mom's press secretary and becomes very close to the family. While there are many crying moments in book 3, one of the best is when Preston tells Meg he taped her favorite TV show for her while she was missing. (I know I have fans reading -- who remembers the show?)

And Meg's brothers! She has two brothers, Stephen and Neal, who are spot on; one moment pests, one moment adorable. (Another eye-filling-up moment is when Meg is thankful that it was she, not one of her brothers, who was kidnapped.)

And, how EEW has her main character age and mature so that the books age; instead of shifting from J to YA, as some series do, this series shifts from YA to adult.

Final note: according to the author's website, the first three books will be reprinted Fall 2008! Yes! So if you cannot get your hands on the books now, make a reminder to yourself to get them next Fall. And in the meanwhile: NO, you don't have to read the first 3 books to read the last. But, having read the last, you'll want to read the first 3.

Other Under the Radar Recommendations:

Big A, little a: The Tide Knot by Helen Dunmore

Jen Robinson's Book Page: The Zilpha Keatley Snyder Green Sky trilogy

Bildungsroman: Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn: A Discussion Part 1

Chasing Ray: Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn: A Discussion Part 2

lectitans: Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn: A Discussion Part 3

Finding Wonderland: The House on Hound Hill by Maggie Prince

Miss Erin: The Reb & Redcoats and Enemy Brothers, both by Constance Savery

Bookshelves of Doom: Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher

Interactive Reader: Shake Down the Stars by Frances Donnelly

Chicken Spaghetti: Pooja Makhijani guest blogs with Romina's Rangoli by Malathi Michelle Iyengar

Writing & Ruminating: Dear Mr. Rosenwald by Carole Weatherford

Shaken & Stirred: Elizabeth Knox and the Dreamhunter Duet

and Semicolon has been visiting some "under the RADAR" titles.

I've posted before about my love for Ellen Emerson White's writing. So, when Colleen at Chasing Ray came up with the idea for Recommendations From Under The Radar, the first and only author I considered was EEW. EEW began publishing in the mid 1980s, and most of her YA work is (sadly) out of print, and, accordingly, is overlooked. Over the past decade, most of what she has published has been picture books and children's books; but, she returns to books for older readers with a new book coming out in October. So I thought, what better time to explain why I love EEW's books? And, over the next week, I'll be reviewing several of her books, including some of the YA titles I mention below.

EEW's first book, Friends for Life*, was published in 1983. I was 17; and found out about her book from an essay she wrote that appeared in Seventeen. EEW wrote about writing, and why she wrote, and about being published while in college. I was impressed enough by the essay that I tore the article out of the magazine and kept it for years. (I went looking for it in connection with this post, but couldn't find it; even Ebsco doesn't go back to the early 1980s, so I cannot get a copy that way.)

I also paid a visit to the local bookstore. This was the early 1980s. Most teen sections were slim pickings; back then, there was a certain "I hope nobody notices me looking here at books that are much too young for me"ness about teen sections. Especially when one was 17 (or was it before my birthday? Was I still 16?)

So I bought the paperback of Friends for Life. And fell hard for Ellen Emerson White.

Why? The dialogue and the humor. Her characters think and talk like I do; sometimes, they think and talk the way I wish I did. I'm not always that quick or that funny.

Her characters are sometimes sarcastic; they are also honest and vulnerable. Over and over, I believe her characters to be real; fully formed; I would recognize them on the street. They are flawed, they are funny, they are a mix of good and bad. They are complex.

Of course, dialogue and characters alone aren't enough to make a book, and a writer, great.

EEW has great plots, all starting with a wonderful "what if ... " premise.

What if.... your best friend was murdered? But no one believed it?

What if.... your mother ran for President? And won?

What if.... your boyfriend killed someone?

What if... you were a nurse in Vietnam, and when you returned home no-one understood what you had gone thru?

EEW takes these situations, adds action, and believable characters doing believable things.

Dialogue. Real to life characters. Humor. Interesting plots.

EEW is up there with Meg Cabot and Sarah Dessen.

Why, you may be asking yourself, have I not heard of her before?

Let's go back to when she was first published: the early 1980s. The YA/teen book world was not what it is now; both in terms of respect for the authors and the book, and in advertising and marketing. As I recall, most of EEW's early books came out in paperback first, which means that they get pretty beat up which means they are weeded which means it can be hard to find them in the library. And, as I mentioned above, back in the early 1980s teen sections were practically non-existent and were viewed as strictly an under 14 area. These were also the days before the Internet. Before big book tours for teen authors. In addition, EEW was, and is, a private person.

Another reason EEW is still under the radar is she has used different names for different books. Her fabulous Echo Company books,** about a teenager drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam in the late 1960s, were published under the name Zack Emerson. Her picture books are published under Nicholas Edwards.

Plus, EEW suffered from bad timing. Just as the YA/teen book world exploded, EEW's YA titles had gone out of print and she wasn't writing YA anymore. Instead, there were picture books (Santa Paws) and Dear America books (Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady; Kaiulani: The People’s Princess, Hawaii, 1889; The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty: United States Marine Corps Khe Sanh, Vietnam, 1968;** and Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: The Diary of Molly Mackenzie Flaherty, 1968**).

Some of the books I'll be talking about over the next several days are out of print. It is worth it to track them down via Interlibrary Loan or used book stores. Plus, since here latest book, Long May She Reign, is due out in October and involves characters from other series, I am hoping that if her new book does well, we will see these titles being reissued; I am hoping that we will see more EEW books. And I am hoping that finally Ellen Emerson White gets the same type of recognition as Meg Cabot and Sarah Dessen.

* Will be reviewed Thursday.

** Will be reviewed Friday.

Today's Under the Radar Books:

Big A, little a: Ingo by Helen Dunmore

Jen Robinson's Book Page: The Changeling and The Velvet Room both by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Bildungsroman: Girl in the Box by Ouida Sebestyen

Finding Wonderland: A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles

Miss Erin: Girl With a Pen and Princess of Orange, both by Elisabeth Kyle

Fuse Number 8: The Winged Girl of Knossos by Erick Berry

Bookshelves of Doom: The Olivia Kidney series by Ellen Potter

Chicken Spaghetti:The Natural History of Uncas Metcalfe by Betsey Osborne

Writing and Ruminating: Jazz ABC by Wynton Marsalis

The YA YA YAs: Massive by Julia Bell
*******
Image supplied by Little Willow.

Long May She Reign by Ellen Emerson White, ARC, pub date November 2007, Feiwel & Friends. Since this is a 48 Hours Entry, bare boned links

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

after the 48 Hour Challenge is over, I'll blog just enough more to let you all know that whether or not you've read any other EEW titles, you MUST read this book.

And then I'll follow up closer to the pub date with a more detailed review.

And then after the pub date, I'll review all those OHMYGOD moments.

In the meanwhile:

Was it as good as I prayed?

yes, oh yes.

All 708 pages.

All I have to say is.... when is the next book coming out?

Title: Long May She Reign

Author: Ellen Emerson White

Length: 708 Pages

Age Level: Upper YA/ crossover to adult

Plot: Meg Powers, teenaged daughter of the first female President, recovers from a brutal kidnapping. I laugh, I cried.

Edited to add: Time spent reading? It was a lonnng book that while went quickly (a real page turner) was also one I wanted to savor (hello, EEW!!!!). Plus, while I began at 8 on Friday, I had to go to work and other stuff. So I think this baby took me about 7 hours.