Wow! Another year down ... Book blogging has continued to be tons of fun for me. I love reading books, writing reviews, exploring your blogs, reading comments, writing comments - everything. Thanks for hanging out with me this year. I hope you keep coming back throughout 2010 and beyond!

Here's how my reading year played out (according to a highly-respected statistician me):

Total books read: 140 (25 more than last year)

Of those:

104 were fiction; 36 were non-fiction

71 were adult books; 36 were middle grade/children's books; and 33 were YA (I don't count picture books as part of my yearly total)

106 were written by women; 30 were written by men; 2 were written by a male/male team; 1 was written by a male/female team; and 1 was written by various authors

124 were written by Americans, 11 of whom are African-American, 1 of whom is Indian-American; and 1 of whom is Chinese-American.

5 were written by Canadian authors; 5 by English authors; 3 by Irish authors; 1 by a German author; and 1 by a Jamaican-born author.

10 of the books were written by LDS authors.

71 of the books I read were review books (51%); 47 came from the library (34%); and 22 came off my personal bookshelves (16%).

The books I listed as favorites are:

The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo
In Their Own Voices by Rita J. Simon and Rhonda M. Roorda
Second Chance Pass by Robyn Carr
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
The Likeness by Tana French
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Honolulu by Alan Brennert
Schooled by Gordon Korman
Paradise Valley by Robyn Carr
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty
The Name of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
If You're Reading This, It's Too Late by Pseudonymous Bosch
Savvy by Ingrid Law
I'll Never Be French (No Matter What I Do) by Mark Greenside
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
Willow Run by Patricia Reilly Giff
The Body Finder by Kimbery Derting
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Marley & Me by John Grogan
The Book of Story Book Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup
Invisible i by Melissa Kantor
How to Write A Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey

My conclusion? My reading is not nearly as impressive as I think it is :) I feel like I spent every second of my spare time reading, but I only finished 140 books. Hmm ... and I didn't read as diversely as I wanted to. I guess it's not surprising that most of the books I read are by white American women - since that's what I am - but I feel as if I should be branching out just a little.

How did your reading go this year?

I've asked you all to tell me your bookish resolutions for 2010; here are mine:

- Mail out books to the winners of past contests. I'm doing this today since my husband has the day off. Yay!

- Read more. I'd really like to get up to 200 books a year. Do you think I can? I don't know. We'll see.

- Go easy on the challenges. Once again, I failed all the challenges I signed up for this year. It was only 1, but still ... This year, I'm only going to allow myself to sign up for challenges with no deadlines. Those are the only kind I seem to complete :) I also need to work on my own, personal challenge, My Light and Fluffy Fluke-a-Thon.

- Host an event. Again, this will just be a personal thing, but I'm pretty excited about it. My plan is to celebrate Black History Month (February) in a big way. I've discovered several new African-American authors this year, and I'm hoping to find lots more. Since adopting my daughter (who is bi-racial), studying black heritage/culture has become important to me. It may not be possible to post a review every day in February, but I'm sure as heck going to try. If I come up with some good giveaways, we'll do that, too. Sounds fun, right?

In order to be reviewed during Black History Month, a book needs to be either: 1.) written by an author who is Black or bi-racial; 2.) about a Black person/have a Black main character; or 3.) about a subject relevant to Black history, heritage or culture. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I'm going to list "proposed" books on BBB's companion blog, More Bloggin' 'bout Books, so you can see what I've got in mind.

- Interact more with my readers, blogging friends. My Google feeder is so overloaded that I may never catch up, but I'm going to try.

- Keep on having fun.

To support herself, Goldy takes on cleaning jobs. And amateur sleuthing. Fortunately, suspects in Korman's case are not hard to find. The real question is who doesn't want to kill the philandering OB/Gyn? There are his two ex-daughters-in-law (one of whom is Goldy), his alcoholic wife, a host of clients, and at least one person obsessed with making him pay for the mistakes of his past. While trying to ferret out information from the residents of Aspen Meadows, Goldy realizes that her two "roommates" know a lot more than they are saying. Exactly how she's going to get her moody preteen son and her lazy, young renter to spill their guts is a mystery in and of itself.

Goldy's renegade investigation is gaining her a great deal of attention. Detective Tom Schulz obviously finds her appealing, while the killer just wants to shut her up. Can she get to the bottom of the crimes before she finds herself in a shallow grave?

Probably because I read it over a period of 6 months or so, Catering to Nobody seemed really disjointed to me. I enjoyed the characters, especially the sassy Goldy, but I found the plot pretty predictable. Writing wise, I'd call Diane Mott Davidson average. The book includes seven recipes, none of which look that great to me. All in all, I found the book disappointing and probably will not pick up any of the other titles in the series.

I feel as if I've already lowered my standards pretty far, and yet I'm still disappointed in this genre. Will I ever find the perfect culinary mystery series? Or should I just give up and admit the genre's not for me? Thoughts?

Grade: C

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for language and references to adult situations

To the FTC, with love: Bought this mass market paperback from Border's. Wish I could say it was worth the money.

If Stephen King hasn't convinced you yet, maybe Carrie Jones will: Maine is one spooky state. King introduced us to a car that came to life, pets that return from the dead, a psycho fan who holds her favorite author hostage, and all kinds of other freaky residents of The Pinetree State. In the grand tradition of her fellow state mate, Jones gives us a chilling tale about even more strange creatures.Need, Jones' YA tale of the supernatural, convinced me what King already had me suspecting: the bitter cold just does something weird to those people up north.

Wow! I don't know about you, but I've been busy this week. With last-minute Christmas shopping, houseguests, a cousin's wedding, my birthday (which was wonderful, thanks!), our annual day of doughnut-making, and lots of parties and such, I'm exhausted. And it's not over yet. I hope you're all having a wonderful week full of family, friends and holiday fun.

Remember my old organizing system for review books? No? Take a look below. This was what my TBR (To Be Reviewed) pile looked like - well, this is about a third of it, but you get the idea. Piles. Literally. My little work space was packed full of them.


Anyway, I thought you might like to see my little nook. Ignore the very bare, very white walls. Trust me, it will look perfect ... eventually. Notice, though, all my beautiful review books. You can't really tell from the picture, but this desk is massive, around 6 feet long and 8 feet high. ALL of my review books fit on it. I may have overloaded the shelves just a tad - I notice in the photo that they're sagging a little even though I had them reinforced. Hmmm ... Anyway, adult fiction books are on the top shelf; the middle holds YA fiction, with adult non-fiction on the sides; and the bottom has children's books, with books for giveaways on the left and my library books on the right. On the surface of the desk (to the far left) are my writing/reference books and the magazines I just never seem to get to in a timely manner.

I just can't get over being able to see all my review books. *Sigh* Incidentally, my 7-year-old bookworm used all the empty boxes from my old system and constructed a set of "bookshelves" for herself. Like mother, like daughter, huh?

So, yesterday was a very bookish day for me. Remember Alexander and the No Good Horrible Day? It was a lot like that. I started the day in the dentist's chair getting a brutal teeth cleaning, then got my blood drawn by a phlebotomist named True, and it only got better from there. Of all the no good horrible things that happened to me though, guess what was the worst? I forgot my book at home. I know, right? Stuck flipping through magazines when I could have been doing some real reading. Not that I don't love magazines - I do, as you'll see in a moment - but books always come first. Ah, well. That's just the way my day went. Hopefully, today will be better.

I'm still feeling overwhelmed and scatter-brained - I'm afraid this post is really going to reflect that. Sorry in advance. I just wanted to mention a few "bookish" things:

- If you caught my review of Saving Sammy by Beth Maloney (you can read it here), you will want to watch The Bonnie Hunt Show today. Beth will be there to talk about her experience with her son's OCD, which she detailed in her book. You can find more info here.

- I've only had a few people enter my giveaway for Donna VanLiere's The Christmas Secret. Click here to sign up, then tune into Lifetime, which will be playing the three movies that were made out of VanLiere's Christmas books. On December 13, The Christmas Shoes will air at 4, The Christmas Blessing at 6 and The Christmas Hope at 8. You can see the full schedule for its holiday movies here.

- Remember how fascinated I was by Dave Cullen's Columbine (read my review here)? The only thing I still didn't get after reading it was how the shooters' parents could have been so oblivious to what was happening in their sons' lives. According to Cullen, those parents refused to be interviewed; thus, no one knew much about them or their relationships with their sons. In November's issue of Oprah Magazine, Susan Klebold tells her story for the first time. You can read it in its entirety here. Interesting.

- Did you read my extensive response to Shannon Hale's thoughts on the responsibilities of writers and readers? In this month's issue of The Writer, novelist Randall Silvis states my thoughts exactly (and much more eloquently than I did):

... It is not the reader's job to work hard; it is the writer's job to work hard to provide the reader with an evocative experience...

The notion that the reader is in any way responsible for a story's effectiveness simply can't be justified except on a purely egotistical level. Because the truth is,we read fiction primarily for enjoyment - whether it is the delight we take in a writer's use of language, the vicarious pleasure of watching a new world unfld, or the titillation of being perched on teh edge of our seats nad leaning forward with all senses cocked. So why should we as readers be forced to struggle to comprehend a story when we can be quite confident that the writer, unless she has spend the last 30 years in Tibet learning how to levitate, is probably not going to reward our labors with some startling insight?

The best that any of us can hope to do with our writing is to present to the reader a piece of the world, and to do so with honesty and clarity and gratitude. The best we an hope to do is to extend an invitation to the reader to see and feel the worlds we create inside our heads. The irony of writing is that , although conducted in solitude, it is an act of communion between the writer and her readers. Not a contract that impries a conscious mutual agreement, but an inexplicable connection between hearts that will probably never meet. (15-16)

- Speaking of writing, I mentioned The Marshall Plan for Novel-Writing by Evan Marshall in my last post. I discovered this book a couple of years ago while browsing for writing books at Borders. It's quickly become my favorite, because it boils the whole mysterious process of fiction writing down to an easy-to-follow formula. I have used the workbook several times to outline stories. Well, Marshall let me know that he has now developed software that makes the workbook even easier to use. I'll be reviewing it soon, but you can get a sneak peek here. I told Marshall that chatting with him is like meeting my favorite rock star - really, I love him that much.

- Finally, check out Bookreporter.com's Second Annual Holiday Blogs feature, in which a bunch of authors - including Barbara Delinsky, Sandra Dallas, Kristin Hannah, Donna VanLiere and more talk about the holidays.

P.S. Yes, some day I will post a real, live review of a work of fiction ...

See, totally random. Have a great day, anyway!

(Teensy tiny image from Barnes & Noble)

The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them) by Jack M. Bickham is exactly what it says it is - 38 chapters on errors many writers make on the road to publication. As a novelist (according to Wikipedia, he wrote the book that inspired The Apple Dumpling Gang - I used to love that movie!) and writing professor, he looks at book creation from the standpoints of students, beginning writers and professionals. If you're expecting the book to reveal the great mysteries of what publishers really want, you're going to be disappointed. Bickham focuses on the basics: clear story goals, tight plot structure, dynamic characters, etc.

The most instructive chapter for me is 27: "Don't Criticize Yourself to Death." The following really gave me something to think about:

The most common formof lethal self-criticism, it seems to me, is often heard in the young writer's wail, "This story I wrote is really dumb!" Or, "This whole plot line is dumb!"

What writers who uter such lines are relaly saying, I think, might be paraphrased as follows: "This is the best I can do, but I'm deathly afraid it isn't slick and clever enough, and therefore you are going to think I'm a stupid person for having written it."

Such fears are as much a part of writing fiction as headachs, wads of crumpled paper on the floor, and rejection slips. When you write fiction, whether you realize it or not (and at some level you probably do), you are risking revelation of your dreams and deepest emotions. It's frightening to reveal yourself this way, even indirectly. Further, the act of writing is tied very close to a person's ego structure; I have seen students shaky with even a brief paragrpah of factual material. "Criticize my work, criticize my personal essence," the feeling seems to be. The most humdrum piece of writing somehow represents the writer's worth as a person sometimes. Small wonder, then, that the writer of a story or even (horrors!) a novel often gets worried sick - literally - about whether the reader may think it's dumb. Because if it's dumb, the writer is dumb. And if the writer is dumb, he is also, ipso facto, worthless, an object of potential ridicule ... doomed.

Thus, it's perfectly natural for you to worry that some character or bit of dialogue or plot line you just wrote may be "dumb."

It's natural - but it's also dangerous ... So stop it. (77 & 80)

While I didn't find Bickham's book nearly as entertaining as How to Write A Damn Good Novel, I still found it instructive. The chapters are short and to-the-point, but still cover a lot of ground. Much of what he says, especially about scene structure, reminds me of another of my favorite writing books, The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing by Evan Marshall.

Like How to Write A Damn Good Novel and The Marshall Plan, Bickham's book was written in the pre-Internet years. I wonder how the CyberSpace Age has changed the craft, if at all. What's your opinion? And what other writing books should I be reading?

What I'm finding from all these books is that writing fiction really is a no-brainer. Follow the formula and voila! You've got yourself a book. All you published authors make it look so easy ...

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: G

To the FTC, with love: I bought this one with my own hard-earned money, and I didn't make it reviewing books. Actually, I didn't make it at all ... my husband did. And not by book blogging, either.

Are you getting any reading done in December? I looked back at my post outlining the reading I planned to get done before the new year, and laughed. So. Not. Happening. My reading has been almost totally eclipsed by the craziness that is December. I've been putting up Christmas decorations, thinking about getting cards mailed, shopping for gifts, and dealing with a very full schedule. I love this time of year - the cool weather, the Christmas lights, the feeling of joy and giving in the air - so why do I start and end the day feeling overwhelmed and headache-y? I swear, next year I will be more organized so I can actually ENJOY the holidays.

I really don't have anything to complain about, though - I have a beautiful home; a wonderful, healthy family; strong faith in God; and more blessings than any one person really deserves. Life's good - I just need some Tylenol and a nap :)

Anyway, on to the important stuff: books. I'm reading Back Creek by Leslie Goetsch, and really enjoying it. Goetsch does a remarkable job of pulling you into the setting, not only with the way she describes everything but with the very pacing of the story. I feel like I'm living creekside - it's actually very calming, something I need desperately right now. I'm hoping to have a review up by the end of the week. We'll see if it happens ...

In other news, I'm still waiting to hear back from Beth, who won a copy of Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz. Beth, will you please email me (blogginboutbooks[AT]gmail[DOT][COM]) your address? If I don't hear from her by Sunday, I'll have to choose another winner. To the other winners, I will get your books out as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience.

Speaking of giveaways, I have some fun ones coming up. You know Invisible i, which I've been raving about? I'm going to have copies up for grabs soon. I'm also planning a little something-something to celebrate my 500th post on BBB (this one is #495), so keep checking back for more fun and free books.

While we're on the subject of free books, I'm giving away a little holiday cheer today. I was going to wait until I read and reviewed it, but that may not happen this year, so here goes: I have 2 copies of The Christmas Secret by Donna VanLiere to give away. This is the 5th in her series of holiday books, although I'm not sure "series" is the right word since the stories aren't interrelated as far as I can tell. I've never read VanLiere, but her books seem to be sweet and heartwarming. You can find out more about the author and her work on her website (link is above). Deadline for this one is my birthday, December 22. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what Christmas "secrets" you hope to find under your tree. Dream big, people! Blog, Tweet or announce the contest in some other way, and I'll give you an extra entry (1 extra entry per post, Tweet, or whatever). Contest is open internationally. Good luck!

(P.S. Copies of The Christmas Secret are courtesy of The Book Report Network. Thanks, Anne.)

I rarely say this, but the only thing I don't like about James N. Frey's How to Write A Damn Good Novel is the title. I mean, it's catchy and all, but leave it laying around the house and you're going to get some flak. My 7-year old said, "Mom, I can't read cursive very well, but I'm pretty sure that book has a bad word on it." Then, my 11-year-old hit me with, "Mom, if a book has bad words in it, why are you reading it?" Ahem. My response of, "Because it's a @!$! good book" didn't impress them. In reality, I mumbled something more along the lines of, "Oh, uh, yeah, hm ... good point."

Anyway, Frey's novel-writing tutorial (first published in 1987) covers the basics of fine storytelling in an engaging, easy-to-read manner. It's a slim volume, but it hits all the important points, like: working with a solid premise, telling the story from the most interesting viewpoint, the necessity of continually increasing conflict, writing snappy dialogue, and plenty more. If it's been awhile since you've taken Writing 101, I suggest reading this book - it provides an excellent refresher course. There are several other books in Frey's "Damn Good" series, all of which I'm putting on hold at the library right now.

Since I've been fooling around with my own novel, I found this passage particularly funny (it's long, but worth the read):


I've been dreaming of writing a novel since around kindergarten, so I've read dozens of books about creating fiction. Somehow, I missed the gem that is James Frey. I love How to Write A Damn Good Novel, bad words and all.

Grade: A-

If this was a movie, it would be rated: PG for some language and sexual content

To the FTC, with love: Although an author (Janette Rallison) recommended this book, I bought it with my husband's hard-earned money. He fervently wishes I was being paid for this review. As do I.

So, let's talk cover art. What do you think of the one above? It's cute, right? The lady's smiling, she loves her dog, everything's hunky dory. You're expecting something Marley & Me-ish, right? Wrong!

I almost never start a book without reading the blurb on the back, but apparently I didn't do that before I cracked open Jacqueline Sheehan's new novel, Now & Then. Judging from the cover alone, I expected a sweet, heartwarming dog story. What I got, at least in the first couple chapters, had little to do with sweet and nothing at all to do with animals. Confused, I turned to the plot summary, where I discovered that the book in my hands was actually a time travel adventure story. Believe me, that's the only thing that kept me turning pages. I couldn't wait to see how the book's rocky 21st Century start segued into a "mystical, charming, and fantastic" tale of 19th Century Ireland.

Despite a rough transition, the story took a definite turn for the better once it hit 1844. Sheehan warmed to her subject, bringing old Ireland to vivid life. Her American characters bugged me throughout the entire book, but the Irishmen and women were, for the most part, friendly, lovable folk. I enjoyed the middle of the book, all of which took place in The Emerald Isle, much more than I liked either the beginning or the end.

Wow, I must be tired because this review is all over the place. Let me back up ... Now & Then stars thirty-something Anna O'Shea, who is touring an Irish castle when the book opens. She's newly divorced, devastated by her husband's unfaithfulness and her apparent inability to bear children, and exhausted from her work as a lawyer. A vacation is just what she needs. Near the end of her trip, a strange old woman gives her a wrapped gift, which she pockets and promptly forgets. Back in Massachusetts, Anna hasn't even had time to unpack before she's rushing to the hospital. Her brother's laying in a coma following a severe car accident. Since Patrick is unconscious, it's up to Anna to retrieve his teenage son from the New Jersey jail that's holding him on suspicion of committing grand theft auto. When Anna gets 16-year-old Joseph back to her apartment, things quickly go from bad to worse. Before she's really had a chance to process what's happening, Anna's waking up on a craggy shore in the middle of the night wearing nothing but her ex-husband's boxer shorts. Joseph is nowhere to be found.

Anna receives a rude awakening when she realizes she's been thrust into Irish life circa 1844. Getting home will prove to be difficult, as will almost everything else she experiences. She's frantic to wake up from her nightmare, find Joseph and get him back to his injured father. How? She has no clue. She's not even sure he survived the trip to the past. All she knows is that she has to stay alive somehow despite threats of small pox, starvation and the crushing poverty in which she now finds herself. With the help of some kindly rescuers, who are not exactly what they seem, Anna discovers great truths about her family and herself.

Everybody likes a good adventure story, right? So, what did I think of Now & Then? I'm going to do this Melissa (at One Librarian's Book Reviews)-style:

What I liked: Once I got into the story (around Chapter 10), I enjoyed it. It had some surprise elements that kept it fresh and exciting. While I didn't care for any of the American characters, most of the Irishmen/women completely won me over with their charm and pluck. I also found the folksy mysticism of the Old Country interesting.

What I didn't like: Now & Then begins oddly, travelling in strange, contrived directions. It's rough, choppy and just ... disjointed. Around Chapter 10, the story finally comes together. The ending, though, fails to wrap things up in a clear and logical manner. Sheehan's hurried explanations of the whole time travel thing felt cheap and unsatisfying.

So ... yeah, I'm kind of on the fence about this one. Do I wish I'd abandoned it at the 50-page mark? Not necessarily, I just wish the story had come together better. It didn't. Ah, well ...

Grade: C

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for language, sexual content and mature themes

To the FTC, with love: This one came from TLC Book Tours, for which I prepared this review. Obviously, the price of the book (free) didn't do much to influence my opinion.

The other night, my kids wanted to watch Disney's Ratatouille. It's not my favorite Pixar film (all those rats - ewww), but it's still a fun one. I've seen the movie a few times; evidently, I never paid attention to the ending. The story concludes with Anton Ego (voiced by Peter O'Toole), the most fearsome restaurant critic in Paris, reading the review he writes about Gusteau's. The speech is so interesting, and definitely applies to us book reviewers. Here's a YouTube video of it as well as the text of what he's says (I transcribed it myself, so there may be errors):



"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.

But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends ...

Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere."

Interesting, right? What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Discuss.

Have you ever read a book so fun, so imaginative, so clever that you wish you'd written it yourself? That's pretty much how I feel about invisible i, the first book in Stella Lennon's new series (I'm definitely book-crushing over here). If you haven't heard of Lennon, there's a good reason: she doesn't exist. The name encompasses a group of YA authors (including Laurie Faria Stolarz and Peter Silsbee) who will alternate writing the books in this series. Invisible i is by Melissa Kantor, who's penned popular YA novels like If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? (my review is here) and Confessions of a Not-It Girl. Its September debut launched a unique, interactive fiction experience called The Amanda Project. Readers can follow the mystery in the books, then hop online for more clues, puzzles and fun. But, I'm getting ahead of myself ...

Invisible i concerns Callie Leary, one of the ninth grade's popular I-girls. Even though she doesn't consider herself model-beautiful like her friends, she's somehow part of their very in group. They can talk about everything - clothes, makeup, cute guys - well, everything except what's really important, like the fact that Callie's world is falling apart. How can she admit, even to her best friends, that her mom took off and her dad's drinking himself into a daily stupor? How can she tell the group, at least one of whom lives in a sprawling McMansion in the best community in town, that she's afraid she'll come home to no electricity, no food, no house? They wouldn't understand.

When Callie's summoned into the vice principal's office, she receives a shock: her friend, Amanda Valentino, is missing. As if that isn't strange enough, Amanda decided to spray paint the vice principal's car, implicate three other students (including Callie) in the prank, then disappear without a trace. Callie thought nothing about Amanda could surprise her - after all, the girl wore outrageous costumes, couldn't speak without quoting something, worked math problems like some kind of genius, and flitted around at all hours without any parental supervision whatsoever - but this really takes the cake. The weird thing is, as Callie and her supposed cohorts clean the paint off the VP's car, they all come to the same conclusion: Amanda must be trying to send them a message. But figuring out what that message is becomes a strange, frustrating quest. Is it possible that none of them really knew her at all? Clearly, the question they should be asking is not "Where is Amanda," but "Who is Amanda?" Clues keep appearing out of nowhere, but they don't seem to be leading anywhere.

As the search for Amanda consumes Callie, she knows she has to keep her interest hidden from the I-Girls. They would never understand her friendship with Amanda, a girl they'd quickly labeled "freak," and they definitely wouldn't get her desire to play Nancy Drew with super nerds Hal Bennett and Nia Rivera. The more Callie searches for her friend, the more she realizes how much she misses the free spirit who, she's realizing, made a huge impact on her life. Along with Hal and Nia, she's determined to answer the big questions: Who is Amanda Valentino? Where has she gone? What does she want from Callie, Hal and Nia? And most important of all: If she needs help, why doesn't she just ask?

I've been wracking my brain for anything I didn't like about this book and well, I got nothin'. The plot gallops along at a perfect pace with plenty of curves and cliffs to keep it exciting. It's not all action, though - the story has a surprising amount of depth. It delves into the importance of being true to oneself, not being too quick to judge, and looking behind the mirages so often created by wealth and popularity. All of the characters, even the most minor ones, come off as complex and intriguing. The author creates a very real, very absorbing story that just gets everything right. Kantor's got me dying to know: Who is Amanda Valentino? Sequel, come quick!

(To learn more about The Amanda Project, check out its website. You can get additional clues, hang out with other Amanda devotees, even write your own stories [some of which will be published in the subsequent books or in an online 'zine]. I don't know if I like the idea of story people hopping out of their books and into my computer, but it's an interesting concept. You'll definitely want to check it out. Oh, but read the book first - you'll be glad you did!)

Grade: B+

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for mild language and a teensy bit of innuendo

To the FTC, with love: This is another gem from HarperTeen. Thanks, guys!

You can tell I'm feeling all sentimental inside, because I really don't want to say anything bad about first-time novelist Heather Justesen. Judging from her photos and blog, she's like the nicest person in the world. This makes it so much harder for me to say this about her debut novel, The Ball's In Her Court, but the fact remains: Someone should have edited the heck out of this novel before it came anywhere near publication. I know. It's a harsh thing to say. And the two readers who reviewed the book on Amazon did not agree with me at all. So, here's the good, the bad, and the really, really ugly (in my humble opinion, of course); you can judge for yourself.

The Good: I like the premise of the book:

Computer programmer Denise DeWalt has an enviable life - she's got a loving adoptive family, a great job, fierce basketball skills, and now, a handsome, very interested man. Rich Jensen seems perfect; even though he's her boss, she finds herself attracted to his kind, easygoing manner. He obviously feels the same way, but Denise can't stop the panic that rises in her every time he tries to get close to her. If he only knew about her tumultuous childhood, he'd realize she's not the perfect Mormon woman he's seeking. If he knew what she'd been through, he would run away as fast as he can. Flashbacks and nightmares plague her every waking moment - if she can't stop them by facing her past, she could lose everything, including the only man she's ever loved.

When I read the synopsis of Justesen's book on her publisher's website, it intrigued me. Both the adoption and foster care issues appealed, especially since issues like those are rarely addressed in LDS fiction. I love it when authors trade cookie-cutter perfect Molly Mormon heroines for characters who are more true-to-life. It makes for far more rounded, interesting story people. Since Justesen and her husband have fostered 15 children, she definitely has an insider's view of the foster care system. It shows in this book.

The Bad: Did I mention the editing? It's not so much the misspellings and typos that bugged me as the content. The story's in desperate need of condensing, shaping, and tightening. It reads more like a first draft than a final version. Flat characters need to be fleshed out; run-on sentences, paragraphs and pages need to be whittled down; and all the dull telling needs to be transformed into vibrant showing. I think its length could also be cut down by half. It dragged on so long that I kept telling my husband, "This book just doesn't end." A good editor would have a field day with this book. I wish one would have, because The Ball's In Her Court could have been a much more engrossing, effective novel.

The Really, Really Ugly: There's a HUGE coincidence in the ending of the book that just made me roll my eyes. The "surprise" is not just contrived, it's obviously, ridiculously contrived. Not that I was loving the book up until that point anyway, but still ... ugh.

The Upside: Since this is Justesen's first novel, we can expect her to improve, right? I believe there's a sequel to The Ball's In Her Court coming out soon. Also, my opinion isn't the only one out there (It's not? Really?) - you can get different perspectives by reading reviews here, here and here. Finally, I haven't been feeling really well this morning, but the book trailer gave me a much-needed laugh. It's hysterical. Sorry, but it is.

I know, I know, I'm a terrible person.

My friend and I are planning to attend the LDS Storymakers Conference this April. Do you think I'll survive? I have a feeling I'm going to be beaten up by an angry mob of LDS authors. In my defense, I can only say that it's never my intention to ridicule any book or author. I always try to "grade" books fairly, pointing out both the book's positives and negatives so that readers can judge for themselves whether or not it's the kind of book they want to read. I've gained a reputation as an honest reviewer who tells it like it is (just call me Dr. Phil) - I don't want to let down my readers, so that's exactly what I do. Always remember that my opinion is not the only one out there (Really? It's not?). My real aim for this blog is to promote books and reading. If I've learned anything, it's that no two people are ever going to read the same book the same way. To each his own, I always say.

Authors, you can take comfort in the fact that you've got a published book to your credit and I don't. Plus, you know where I'll be come the end of April. I'll be the one in body armor.

Grade: C-

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for mature themes

To the FTC, with love: I got this book for free from Cedar Fort. Obviously, that didn't influence my opinion of the book.