My new book, Sass & Serendipity is loosely based on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Because of this, it has been referred to in the media as a “romance.” But is it? Maybe. Sorta. It’s difficult to say. How does one distill any novel – with all of its various characters, conflicts, moods and themes – into one word?
As the title implies, Sass & Serendipity is dichotomous by nature, so I’ve resisted calling the novel a romance. To me that would imply that the main plot revolves around two characters falling for each other, and my story’s major focus is on two sisters. Yet I must acknowledge that the romantic subplots are what hold everything together. It is each girl’s pursuit of (or retreat from) love that allows her to better understand and love her sibling.
Gabby is the elder of the Rivera sisters. She habitually says she doesn’t believe in love and thinks it’s an excuse young people use to go crazy. Meanwhile, Daphne, the younger sis, craves love. And not just any love, but true love. Epic love. The love of fairy tales, romance novels, and classic ballads.
On the surface, Gabby appears to be the stronger of the two. She works hard, makes excellent grades, resists peer pressure, and keeps her emotions in check. Daphne, on the other hand, is impulsive and forgetful, and will break rules and forego all responsibilities to be with the boy she adores. Each girl makes choices that lead to tumultuous results, and end up reexamining their views on love. At the same time, readers might find themselves reconsidering their initial perceptions of the sisters.
Let’s face it – showing deep feelings for someone is a risk. It leaves you open to extreme joy, but also extreme hurt. Yet in a way, there’s always a gain, because taking such chances, no matter how it turns out, can’t help but bring self-knowledge and growth. Thus, the tough-talking, hardened sister really isn’t the strong one here. Daphne may be young and starry-eyed, but she’s willing to make herself vulnerable in her quest for true love. That takes courage. And Gabby, with all of her emotional shielding, is revealed to be the more scared and sensitive of the two.
I work romantic elements into my stories because such events are a significant part of the teen experience, as well as life in general. Even if the main story has nothing to do with passionate love, a romance-centered B-plot can relieve tension, round out characters, and create conflict that leads to personal growth. People learn from people, and the deeper the feelings they have for each other, the bigger the stakes and potential pay-off.
So let my book be called a romance. It might not be a love story in the traditional sense, but it is a story about love.
A Sassy Giveaway
Sass and Serendipity
Sense and SensibilityThree lucky winners will each receive one copy of Jennifer Ziegler's SASS & SERENDIPITY along with Jane Austen's classic, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY.
In the body of the e-mail, include your name, mailing address, and e-mail address (if you're under 13, submit a parent's name and e-mail address).
One entry per person; prizes will only be shipped to US or Canadian addresses.Entries must be received by midnight (PDT) on 8/5/11. Winners will be selected in a random drawing on 8/6/11 and notified via email.
Card, Orson Scott. The Pathfinder. Simon Pulse, 2010. 18.99. 657p. 978-1-4169-9176-2
All of his life, Rigg has believed he was an only child. That his gift was one of a kind. That his father, was his father alone. His father had homeschooled Rigg. He taught him about the world, about trading, about life. The day Father died, he told Rigg to find his Mother and his sister. Was everything Father ever taught him a lie?
Rigg and his best friend, Umbo, set out to find Rigg's family and, hopefully, uncover the true story of Rigg's life. The Pathfinder includes time travel, a little romance, lots of adventure and science fiction. It's two stories in one. We follow Rigg as we recovers his history and we follow Ram as he creates it. I did a combo audio and book on this one because it was involved and very fascinating. It's book one in a series and book 2, Ruins, is set to be released March 2012. Can't come soon enough!
"It would just be like she was a leper, and leprosy really wasn't so bad once you made it part of your routine."
"They were plastic flowers of words -- but they looked nice on the surface."
"This is what it is to live in the world. You have to give yourself over to the cold, at least a little bit."
Hazel’s parents are divorced and she lives with her mom next door to her best, and only, friend Jack. She was adopted from far away and has always felt like an outsider at school. Jack is the only one who's paid her attention. Until one day he doesn’t. This snowy day Jack gets hit in the eye and leaves school for the day. But, overnight he changes. Then he disappears. When Hazel finds out what may have happened to Jack, there’s only one thing she can do. Rescue him. Hazel is an avid reader and knows how fantasy novels work: find entry to the other world, go there, get help, solve problems, find friends, come home. Unfortunately, the real world doesn’t always work like books. Wait, isn’t this a book?
Ursu takes the (previously unfamiliar to me) story of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen (1844)and brings it to life. Breadcrumbs weaves the tales to together into something more familiar and relatable than Andersen's original. Jack and Hazel’s friendship comes to life, something you don’t see between Gerda and Kay, the original boy and girl. This makes Jack’s defection all the more heartbreaking. We understand why Hazel wants to rescue him and we root for her along the way. Get this one!
I;ve never watched Bones nor read the Temperance Brennan books, but I've heard of them. That's why I wanted to read this one. I'm also looking for a book for our next One Book, One School; somehting appealing to 10 to 14 year old boys and girls as well as staff members. This could have been the book. These smart bored kids break into a science lab to use the equipment and find a wolf cub being imprisoned there. They kidnap the cub and try to raise it in an abandoned bunker on their near deserted island. Then they start investigating. Well, someone does NOT want them nosing around. The action ensues from there! And there is a lot of action. Plus, they get infected from the wolf cub and now they have these cool powers. Alas, the book appears way too long. I'm hoping they re-format for paperback in time for me to suggest it!
The Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards posted their 2010 shortlists ! These are the books the Round 1 Panelists felt not only had distinguished writing but kid-appeal too.
I'm a panelist in the YA category so won't talk much about these books.
Two of these books are on my Goodreads Mock Printz shelf but I've only read one on the list. I must say, there are some major upsets in this category. The Amazing Dancer, aged 15, has read 3 on the list!
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
***Special thanks to Christy Wong of Tyndale House Publishers for sending me a review copy.***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Best-selling author Sandra Byrd has published nearly three dozen books in the Christian market, including her latest series, French Twist, which includes the Christy Award finalist Let Them Eat Cake (WaterBrook Press, 2007) and its sequel, Bon Appétit (WaterBrook Press, 2008). Many of her acclaimed fiction and nonfiction books target the tween and young adult markets. She has also published a book for new moms entitled Heartbeats. Several of Sandra’s shorter works have appeared in periodicals such as Relevant, Clubhouse, Pockets, Decision, and Guideposts. For the past seven years, she has shared her secrets with the many students she mentors through the Christian Writers Guild. Before turning to full-time writing, Sandra was an acquisitions editor in the ABA market. She lives in the Seattle, Washington, area with her husband and two children.
List Price: $6.99
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (March 4, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1414325975
ISBN-13: 978-1414325972
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
I hung back at the doorway to the cafeteria of my new supercool British school, Wexburg Academy. Most of the lunch tables were already packed, and the room was buzzing with chatter. The populars, whom I'd secretly nicknamed the Aristocats, commanded an entire table right in the center of the room. Their good looks and posh accents made up the sun around which all other tables orbited. The normal kids were in the second circle, arranged by friends or clubs or activities. The drama table was on the outer edge of the room, and so were the geeks, the nerds, and the punk wannabes--way out there like Neptune, but still planets. Most everyone had a group. I didn't.
Okay, so there was one table with lots of room. The leftovers table. It might as well have been the dark side of the moon.
No way.
I skipped lunch--again--and headed to the library. One of the computers was available and I logged on, desperately hoping for an e-mail from Seattle.
There was an e-mail from my grandmother reminding me to floss because British dentists only cleaned adult teeth.
Spam from Teen Vogue.
An invitation to join the Prince Harry fan club--I opened it and gave it a quick scan. I'd consider it more later.
And . . . one from Jen!
I clicked open the e-mail from my best friend at home--well, it had been my home till a couple of months ago--hoping for a lunch full of juicy news served alongside tasty comments about how she missed me and was planning stuff for my next visit home. I craved something that would take me the whole lunch period to read and respond to and remind me that I did have a place somewhere in this universe.
From: Jen
To: Savannah
Hey, Fortune Cookie, so how's it going? Met the Queen yet? LOL. Sorry I haven't written too much. It's been so busy. Samantha took the position you'd been promised on the newspaper staff. She's brand new, but then again you would have been too. It seemed strange without you at first, but I think she'll do okay--maybe even better than okay. And hey, life has changed for everyone, right? Things are crazy busy at school, home, and church. We hang out a lot more now that a bunch of us are driving. Will write again in a few weeks.
Miss you!
Jen
A few weeks! My lungs filled with air, and I let it out slowly, deflating like a balloon with a slow leak. I poised my hands over the keyboard to write a response but just . . . couldn't. What would I say? It had already been weeks since we'd last e-mailed. Most of my friends texted instead of e-mailing anyway, but texting across the Atlantic Ocean cost way too much. And the truth was . . .
I'd moved, and they'd moved on.
I logged off the computer and sat there for a minute, blinking back tears. Jen hadn't meant to forget me. I was simply out of her orbit now.
I pretended to read Sugar magazine online, but mostly I was staring at the clock, passing the time till I could respectably head to my next class.
Five minutes before class I swung my book bag onto my shoulder and headed down the hall. Someone was stapling flyers to the wall. “Hi, Hazelle.”
“Hullo, Savannah.” She breezed by me, stapling another pink flyer farther down the wall. We had math class together--oh yeah, maths, as the Brits called it--first period. I'd tried to make friends with her; I'd even asked her if she'd like to sit together in lunch, but she'd crisply informed me that she sat at the table with the other members of the newspaper staff.
She didn't bother with small talk now either, but went on stapling down the hall. I glanced at one of the flyers, and one sentence caught my eye right away: Looking for one experienced journalist to join the newspaper staff.
I yanked the flyer off the wall and jammed it into my bag. I was experienced. Wasn't I?
A nub of doubt rose inside me--the kind that popped up, unwelcome, anytime I tried to rationalize something that wasn't exactly true or right.
This time I swallowed it back. I thought back to Jen's e-mail that kind of felt like a polite dismissal. I lived in London now.
It was time to take matters into my own hands.
My Thoughts
Asking for Trouble by Sandra Byrd is the first in a new YA Christian fiction series. It could actually be read by 5th/6th graders up. I thought it was interesting how Byrd portrayed Savvy as a normal teenager with temptations she didn't always resist. Asking for Trouble finds the family transported to London and trying desperately to make friends and fit-in. While most of the book centers on Savvy, we get a glimpse into the lives of her family also.
I liked how Savvy tried a variety of clubs and didn't give up even
when things didn't work out. The family also went to a variety of churches trying to find the one they wanted to make their own. Even with all of that and Savvy finding and reading her bible, not everything wrapped up neatly in the end.
Now, I did feel some of the dialogue was a little bit adult like here and there and it would throw me a bit. It was mostly when the nine-year-old, Louanne, was talking though. "So, Sav, do you have an article in today's paper? I noticed you brought a bunch home in your bag." - that just seems more like something an adult would say. I also didn't understand the importance the Au Revoir bag, I get that it's fashionable but, was it necessary to get a "named" bag? Maybe that's something that will come to light later.
For the most part, this was a good read and I give it three copies. I'm going to put it in the library and see what happens!
Virals by Kathy Reichs
