Reading books together is an incredibly easy and, not to mention, enjoyable way to be present and engaged with kids.
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Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Ages 0-3, Ages 4-8, Ages 9-12, Book Lists, featured, Grandparents, Lane Smith, Roaring Brook Press, Knopf Books for Young Readers, Reading Tips, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Barney Saltzberg, Quest for Literacy, Family Books, Lee Wildish, Dial books, Todd Parr, Holly Schindler, Jean Reagan, Best Kids Stories, NorthSouth Books, Danny Chatzikonstantinou, Todd Tarpley, Add a tag
Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Vesper Stamper, Jennifer Donnelley, Darlene Beck Jacobson, My Writing and Reading Life, Sharon Creech, Ages 9-12, Historical Fiction, Chapter Books, Author Interviews, John Green, Books for Girls, Kate DiCamillo, Floyd Cooper, E. B. Lewis, Doris Ettlinger, Peter Brown, Holly Schindler, Natalie Zaman, Joanne Rocklin, Charlotte Bennardo, Yvonne Ventresca, Add a tag
Darlene Beck Jacobson has loved writing since she was a girl. She wrote letters to everyone she knew and made up stories in her head. She loves bringing the past to life in stories such as WHEELS OF CHANGE, her debut novel.
Add a CommentBlog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Young Adult, Chapter Books, Thrillers, Books for Girls, Holly Schindler, Teens: Young Adults, Add a tag
Feral by Holly Schindler is a haunting psychological thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think you know.
Add a CommentBlog: A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: reviews, mystery, harper collins, supernatural, 2014, post traumatic stress syndrome, Holly Schindler, Add a tag
Feral by Holly Schindler. Harper Collins. 2014. Review copy from publisher.
Serena is the dead girl, but it's her story that starts the book.
Claire is alive, having survived a brutal attack months before. She's the new girl in town, arriving at the same time Serena's body is found.
Claire finds herself drawn into the mystery of Serena's death: was it an accident? Or was it murder?
The Good: The cats. Oh dear lord, the feral cats.
I thought I was going to say that the scariest scene was Claire's attack. A confident teen, walking home alone in the dark, chased and surrounded and beaten and left for dead.
But then I think of the feral cats, the ones that went after Serena's dead body and that scene, and the later scenes were the cats seem to come after Claire, and I think, no, that's the scariest scene.
This is a mystery, yes, about what happened to Serena. The reader, from the start, knows what has happened: "The body belonged -- or really, the body had once belonged -- to Serena Sims, a B average junior who loved her best friend, the sound of the rain, writing for the school paper, and her mother's chocolate mayonnaise cake with homemade icing, a family specialty. . . . Seventeen and dead: it was the worst kind of vulnerable." Serena is dead, but she is somehow still present, still feeling everything. And sharing all that, every bump and thump as her killer drags her body and dumps it. And then the cats come.
But there is only so much that Serena shares with the reader.
Then there is Claire: still recovering, physically and psychologically, from her attack months before. She is drawn to Serena's death for many reasons, one of which is that everyone else seems to believe that Serena's death is accidental. It turns out that Claire's new house was one that Serena lived in years ago; the first teens she meets are friends of Serena's; the local feral cat is the cat Serena fed.
As the story progresses, as Claire chases down the truth, Serena's ghost -- if that's what she is -- grows unhappier and unhappier with her own death, and more dangerous.
One more thing: the setting is fabulous. The town, Peculiar, Missouri,
How all this comes together was something I didn't expect, and made me go back and reread the first few chapters to see what clues were there. Part of me doesn't want to give away what that is, but part of me wants to give it away so you can understand when I say: Brilliant. You had me, you convinced me, and when I realized the truth of what was happening -- yes. That's true and real. Well, maybe not real, because at the end? I'm not sure what was real or not, what was Claire's fears, what was a haunting. But I do know this:
Damn, those feral cats are scary.
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© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Blog: Biblio File (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Juvenile, author interview, Holly Schindler, Add a tag
As part of her blog tour for The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky, Holly Schindler is stopping by to talk to us about her book, writing, and other things!
Your previous novels have been YA-- what's the difference between writing YA and MG and why did you make the switch?
Actually, I started writing YA and MG at the same time. A bit of backstory: I got my master’s in the spring of ’01, and was encouraged to devote full-time attention to getting my writing career off the ground. I still wanted to do my part to pay my own bills, though, so I started teaching music lessons in the afternoons. And I was shocked at how familiar those kids seemed—as familiar as the kids I’d known when I was in school! They actually inspired me to try my hand at writing in the juvenile market; I dove in headfirst, trying both MG and YA at the same time. (The first books I published were YA, but I’d been writing MG all along as well.)
The main difference is that your characters have different abilities, which changes your plot to some extent. Something as simple as the ability to drive can change your book dramatically; a teen has access to a car, so they can go literally anywhere. An MG character has a bike—their “backyard” is much smaller than a teen’s. It changes the shape of the book.
Librarians are always on the look out for books with diversity--especially stories that feature characters of color that aren't about race, so it's worth mentioning that your main character Auggie and the mean girl, Victoria, are both African-American. However, this fact is very subtly coded in the text (and one reference to Auggie feeling like her skin looked like mud while Victoria's was fine imported chocolate) so readers might miss it. Can you talk a bit about diversity in middle grade lit, why you made your characters African-American, and why you wrote it the way you did?
My YAs began with concepts: in A Blue So Dark, I played with the idea of mental illness and creativity being linked; in Playing Hurt, I explored learning the difference between loving someone and being IN love. But THE JUNCTION began with a figure—Grampa Gus. I saw him as clearly as I’ve seen anyone in my life. When I first envisioned him, he was African American. But as I drafted the book, I knew I wanted a neighborhood to look every bit as diverse as the figures in Auggie’s yard. I wanted to show the different faces who were all in the same boat.
Your book deals with a lot of heavier topics--class, beauty, eminent domain, changing friendships, and missing parents, and deals with them well, but it's not a heavy book. Why were these issues important for you to discuss and what was your process for dealing with them without making the story a total bummer?
It’s funny—early critique of the book when I was attempting to shop it was that the original beginning chapters were a bummer. (I certainly didn’t think so, but I did go back and rework those opening chapters several times—even after the book was acquired—in order to make them feel lighter.) The trick is pulling the reader in early on so that they know it’ll be a delight to come to your book—not something they dread! You want to draw a reader back, make sure they will finish your book, be hungry for another read.
If you had Auggie's artistic talent what changes would you make to your house? (Personally, I'm all about colored glass in my windows!)
I’m with you on the colored glass! And the sidewalk—I’d love that, too.
If you could go back in time and talk to yourself when you were Auggie's age, what would your advice be?
Never, never, never be afraid to say what you think. Even when it goes against what everyone else is saying or doing.
What are you working on now?
My next MG—and my next YA, Feral, which releases on August 26! FERAL is my first thriller:
It’s too late for you. You’re dead.
Those words float through Claire Cain’s head as she lies broken and barely alive after a brutal beating. And the words continue to haunt her months later, in the relentless, terrifying nightmares that plague her sleep. So when her father is offered a teaching sabbatical in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out of Chicago, away from the things that remind her of what she went through, will offer a way to start anew.
But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire quickly realizes something is wrong—the town is brimming with hidden dangers and overrun by feral cats. And her fears are confirmed when a popular high school girl, Serena Sims, is suddenly found dead in the icy woods behind the school. While everyone is quick to say Serena died in an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it—for she was the one who found Serena, battered and most certainly dead, surrounded by the town’s feral cats.
Now Claire vows to learn the truth about what happened, but the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to discovering a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley. . . .
With an eerie setting and heart-stopping twists and turns, Holly Schindler weaves a gripping story that will make you question everything you think you know.
What are you currently reading?
The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing
What are you currently watching?
RAKE. THE AMERICANS. (Not really kid-friendly, eh?)
What are you currently listening to?
The SteelDrivers. Will Hoge (he’s my favorite, actually).
Thanks for stopping by Holly!
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Blog: Biblio File (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Fiction, Juvenile, Holly Schindler, Add a tag
The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky Holly Schindler
Auggie likes her neighborhood and going to the dump with her Grandpa Gus, a trash hauler. But her school has closed down, and she and her friends have to go to a different one, in a neighborhood with a lot more money. Suddenly, the fact that Auggie and her friends don't have new things is a big deal. Suddenly Auggie's best friend would rather spend time with Victoria, who sneers at Auggie and Grandpa every chance she can. Victoria's father is on the town council and he's started the House Beautification Committee and everyone has to comply. Auggie has some grand ideas to make her house beautiful, but not everyone agrees with her idea of beauty.
I haven't read any middle grade in a while--my time on Outstanding Books for the College Bound really focused my reading on teen and adult, mostly adult, titles. This was a great re-introduction to the age range. Schindler really captures a lot of Auggie's confusion and the delicate politics of a 5th-grade classroom and changing friendships. I loved Auggie's voice and the brave face she put on. There is A LOT going on under the surface of this story, and some very BIG ISSUES are touched on--class divide between Auggie's neighborhood and the rest of town, eminent domain (the House Beautification Committee will never be happy with Auggie's neighborhood for spoiler-y reasons), the fact that Auggie lives with her Grandpa while her mom is out in California becoming a star. But despite these big issues, it's not a downer book. The story is told through Auggie's voice, and a lot is about her artistic vision for making her house beautiful, making it into its own work of art.
Also, I should note, Auggie's town is very diverse and Schindler writes race with a very sublte hand. Auggie and the mean girl, Victoria, are both African-American. But race doesn't play a role in the story.
Book Provided by... the author, for inclusion in her blog tour.
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Blog: Adventures in YA Publishing (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Holly Schindler, WOW Wednesday, Add a tag
When I got my master’s in ’01, my mom invited me to stay home and devote full-time effort to getting a writing career off the ground (my lifelong dream). I figured it’d take a year or so to write a novel, then it’d sell (I was lucky enough to have placed poetry, short fiction, and literary critique in journals when I was in college, and was under the grand delusion that selling a manuscript would be a breeze for me), and in oh, two years or so, I’d have money in the bank, and I’d be off and running.
Okay, seriously. You can stop laughing now.
The truth is that it I spent the next seven and a half years writing and submitting manuscript after manuscript…after manuscript. In that time, my friends from college finished up PhDs, started teaching, doing research, became professionals. I often felt like all I had was a deep gash in the drywall where I’d spent months upon months banging my head against it. And rejection slips. Hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of them—more than a thousand in all.
Enter the holiday season of ’08. That’s when my YA, A BLUE SO DARK, was under submission at Flux. I spoke to Brian (Farrey, acquisitions editor at Flux) for the first time just before Thanksgiving, and though I tried to play it cool, I spent Christmas on pins and needles, tied up in knots, hoping that finally the acceptance I’d been working toward for so long would appear.
Appear it did, just a few days after the new year. And literally two hours—I swear it’s true—two hours after I accepted the offer from Flux, the phone rang. On the other end of the line was an agent who was raving about a middle grade book I’d sent earlier that fall. With an offer of representation.
I accepted (Deborah Warren later sold my debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, to Dial, and is still my agent). After that initial phone call, though, in the winter of ’09, I just stood in my kitchen, dazed, wondering how it could have happened. Seven and a half years I’d been seeking a book deal, seeking representation. And in the course of two hours in one day, I had both.
The thing is, though, I can’t attribute that incredible day to luck or holiday magic. That day is the result of hard work. Period. That day happened because I really did read every sin Add a Comment
Blog: readergirlz (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: holly schindler, a hurt so dark, playing blue, Melissa Walker, Add a tag
Holly Schindler is here to talk about two of her novels, A Blue So Dark and Playing Hurt. They have really different feels (Playing Hurt makes me want summer back!--and A Blue So Dark has a much eerier feel--I love underwater covers lately).
Here's Holly to talk about each cover:
"While the covers of my YA novels—A BLUE SO DARK and PLAYING HURT—are both stock images, the end result is pretty night-and-day different, as is the content of the books (A BLUE SO DARK explores the possible link between mental illness and creativity, and PLAYING HURT features a romance between two former athletes.)
"The covers have two completely different functions. A BLUE SO DARK is a metaphorical cover; it speaks to the emotional content of the book. It’s a poetic representation of what happens in the book. PLAYING HURT is a literal interpretation.
"I love both covers—but of the two, PLAYING HURT’s my favorite, because I think it better steers the book toward the right readership.
"When A BLUE SO DARK was released, it was frequently purchased on Amazon by readers who also purchased paranormal titles..."
Read the rest of Holly's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.
Blog: Valerie Storey, Writing at Dava Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Writing for Young Adults, Holly Schindler, Add a tag
Today I'm giving a big welcome to Young Adult novelist, Holly Schindler--my first guest blogger! Holly is the author of A Blue so Dark and the recent Playing Hurt.
My introduction to Holly and her books came through the children's writing network, Jacketflap.com. A little later I found Holly at her web site, hollyschindler.com and at her blog, hollyschindler.blogspot.com.
Holly's books are are what I consider top-of-the-line young adult writing: a strong and realistic voice, sophisticated detail, unforgettable characters, and an authentic identification with her young readers. In my opinion, it doesn't get much better than that! Here's what Holly has on her book covers:
A BLUE SO DARK:
Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura’s dad lef
Blog: readergirlz (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: author chats, a blue so dark, holly schindler, reach out reads, Add a tag
Blog: I Just Wanna Sit Here And Read! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Blog Tour, playing hurt, holly schindler, Add a tag
Publisher: Flux (March 1, 2011)
ARC: 312 Pages
Genre: YA Contemporary
Book from The Teen Book Scene (click banner for other blog tour stops)
From Goodreads. Star basketball player Chelsea "Nitro" Keyes had a full ride to college—and everyone's admiration back home. Then she took a horrible fall during senior year. Now a metal plate holds her together and she feels like a stranger in her own family.
That summer, Chelsea's dad hires Clint, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player and "boot camp" trainer, to work with her at a northern Minnesota lake resort. As they grow close, Chelsea finds that Clint's haunted by his own tragedy. Will their romance end up hurting them all over again—or finally heal their heartbreak?
Review by Kate
PLAYING HURT, by Holly Schindler, is a lovely story about two teens who meet each other during a rough patch in their lives. Both have lost a piece of themselves and their relationship blooms to possibly fill that void and become whole again.
This was a sweet book. I immediately bonded with Chelsea and her drive to be the best in doing what she loved. As an athlete myself, I could never imagine not being able to play sports again. And Chelsea was at an important point in her life where her future hung in the balance. I really felt bad for her when she got hurt, and her revistation of the issue over and over was really sad.
Clint was definitely at an even stance as Chelsea. They were both athletic and equally had a rough past year. Besides him being absolutely gorgeous (character crush!) he was down to earth and a perfect match for Chelsea. Their initial chemistry was electric and only grew from there. Chelsea is a very strong character, especially since she was an athlete, and I felt Clint's personality suited her better than her boyfriend, Gabe. When everyone else was avoiding the issue and pitying Chelsea, Clint was there to make her face it head on.
Schindler's writing kept me engrossed until the very end. Overall, this was a romantic and charming story about two strangers meeting and having a life changing experience.
Blog: I Just Wanna Sit Here And Read! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: playing hurt, holly schindler, Interview, Blog Tour, Add a tag
Kate: For those of you who haven’t read your story yet, please tell us about yourself:
Chelsea: I’m a ball player. Have been, ever since my dad put me on his shoulder to dunk that first basket.
Was. Was a ball player. I guess I’d have to say ball has always been what defined me. First I was a ball player, then I was an EX-ball player. It’s tough being an ex when that’s ALL you are. When there’s nothing to replace the thing you used to be…
Kate: What was your dream career when you were little?
Chelsea: I guess every athlete has a second life, after ball. But I never thought about that. I knew basketball was my ticket into college, even when I was still in elementary school. By the time I was in high school, and I was showing up in USA WEEKEND Magazine—the issue highlighting the top athletes in the country—I started to think, maybe ball doesn’t have to end with college. Pro ball isn’t the same for women that it is for men, but I still thought—why NOT pro? There was ball—and there was nothing else. Until my accident on the court…
Kate: How did you meet Gabe?
Chelsea: I can’t remember the exact moment I met Gabe, honestly. It happens that way a lot in a small town, I guess. Seems like you’ve always known everyone. But Gabe was a little distant because he was beautiful—one of those object-of-everyone’s-desire types. And suddenly, out of nowhere, he was following ME around. Texting ME. Since he covered the sports for the Fair Grove High paper, he was always at my games. Watching ME. It was a little like finding out a movie star was in love with me. So of course I said I’d go out with him…And when I got hurt, he stuck by me.
Kate: What is your idea of a perfect boyfriend?
Chelsea: I thought it was Gabe. Honestly. I really did. Who WOULDN’T think Gabe was the perfect boyfriend? Only, for some reason, around the time of graduation, I’d started to get uncomfortable. I couldn’t explain why, exactly. But something was off.
Kate: What attracted you to Clint?
Chelsea: There was just an instant spark with Clint. An immediate attraction. He’s beautiful, of course—as gorgeous as Gabe, just in a different way. Darker than Gabe. More muscular. Athletic looking. Maybe that was part of the attraction. Maybe part of me pegged him for an athlete right off. Maybe part of me needed to be with someone who had known ball the same way I had. Someone who hadn’t just written about it, like Gabe. Someone who had lived it.
Kate: Besides all the romance, did you find your time on vacation with your parents to be healing for your body?
Chelsea: Yeah. Actually—I did. My dad and I had barely spoken after my accident. Nearly an entire year we’d gone, without really talking. And suddenly, after a three-week vacation, we were back to being close again.
And Brandon—he was pretty peeved at me over vacation, but later on…after everything that happened with Gabe…well, we’d never been closer, me and Brandon. I don’t think our relationship will ever go back to being just straight brother-and-sister again. I think we hit that point where we started being friends. It’s a good feeling…
Kate: Do you think you will play basketball competitively again someday?
Chelsea: I don’t think I’ll ever be able to physically play co
Thanks for sharing your story, Holly. It reminds me how important it is to be persistent and believe in myself.
I definitely needed some inspiration this morning. Thanks, Holly!
This is exactly the story that I needed to read this morning. This has really encouraged me-you have no clue! Congrats Holly!
"I really think that’s what luck is really made of: the ability to recognize your own shortcomings, the willingness to listen to advice, and the sweat of some insanely hard work."
Ditto and congratulations!
Wow. That number 1,000 keeps going through my head. You are the definition of perseverance. I'm so glad you never gave up, and bravo to your mom for her support! Amazing and inspiring story.
Inspiring story! Thanks for sharing your journey with us, Holly! : )
What a great and inspiring message. Thanks!! It always helps me to hear these when I'm facing rejections.
Thank you so much for sharing your story, Holly. This year more than ever, I've been discouraged as a writer. After years of coming close to book publication, but never quite getting that final acceptance, I've become tired of paying the price. Recently I took a couple of months off to rest and start up my portrait business as an artist, but after reading your post, I realized that there's still something in me that needs to tell the stories that are my own. : )