L.E. DeLano's Blog, page 9

My letter “K” pick for the A to Z Book Challenge was Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann.

I love to watch true crime stories and documentaries, but I have to admit I don’t read them often. Since this challenge is about pushing out of my reading norms, I wanted to give this a read. The story is not only horrific in the sheer number of murders, the underhanded way they were perpetrated, the cover-ups by multiple parties, but also for the rabid hatred and greed that motivated it all.

This is also one of the earliest big cases solved by the newly formed FBI, in conjunction with other investigators. The plot concerns the serial murders of members of the Osage tribe in Oklahoma. These tribespeople had one thing in common besides their ancestry: wealth. There’s an old adage in just about every crime movie or documentary – follow the money. There’s almost always a money trail that trips somebody up and this story is a prime example. This particular Osage tribe owned land that was found to be sitting on top of a large reserve of oil. The federal government paid a handsome sum to the land-owning tribespeople that made them very rich, with a continued stipulation of payments in perpetuity.

As is the case in a lot of small racist towns where people are barely scraping by, a lot of white people were really angry that they were missing out on the money and that oil field was sitting on land they so generously gave to the Osage (after they took it from them in the first place and raped and murdered their people for decades, but of course, that’s not the way these yahoos saw it). The sheer number of not only murders but conspirators leads to a richly woven story with a hellish ride to the finish full of reveals and twists that will have you turning pages with one hand as the other sits firmly over your mouth.

I’m giving this one four stars, mainly because the pace is very slow until about 3/4 of the way through, and early on the plot meanders a bit too much for my taste. That being said, once it gets going it’ll grip you and hold you to the end.

My letter “J” pick for the A to Z Book Challenge was JOYRIDE by Anna Banks. This book had a lot of promise. The rich, popular boy falls for the studious nobody girl from an immigrant family – but it just fell short of the mark in a several places.

First of all, Arden, the rich boy in this equation, is the son of the local sheriff and loves to play what he considers “harmless” pranks on people – a pastime that he shared with his late sister, whom he grieves deeply. He enlists Carly to be his partner in crime after he pulls a gun on an elderly man in the parking lot of the convenience store where Carly works the night shift, then promptly steals her bike to make his getaway.

Despite this turbulent beginning, they end up hanging out and becoming pranksters together. True, Arden was only faking the robbery on the old man–who happened to be his uncle–to keep him from driving drunk, and he did give Carly’s bike back and help her get a better-paying job. But Carly is a smart and careful girl. We are told this over and over again. She keeps her head down, her grades up, and she saves every single penny of her money to give to her brother so they can buy covert passage to get their parents back into the U.S. after they were deported. She will not do anything to jeopardize this.

This is where the narrative hits a roadblock for me. No matter how charming and helpful Arden has been with Carly, he is still the son of the sheriff who deported her parents. Is she really going to risk getting on the sheriff’s radar by romancing his son? Or by doing a drive-by throwing firecrackers at the mayor’s house for fun? I find that very hard to believe.

Of course, all of this ends up becoming a giant mess that jeopardizes not only their relationship, but everything Carly has been working for regarding her parents. This all resolved very quickly and a little too conveniently for me at the end. In addition, the story is told in alternating points of view between Carly and Arden, and when Carly holds the chapter, we’re in first person, present tense (common in YA), but when Arden gets a chapter, we switch to omniscient narrator, present tense, which makes his chapters read more like a stage script or screenplay. It’s jarring and kept me from really connecting with Arden like I might have if she’d just had him talk to us in first person.

Overall, a compelling plot with shaky execution. I’m going three stars on this one.

My letter “I” pick for the A to Z Book Challenge was I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jennette McCurdy. This book was a tough one. It’s never easy to read an account of child abuse and it’s after-effect, and McCurdy doesn’t hold back her punches while retelling the detailed examinations of her anatomy in the shower each day and the emotional manipulation and stage-mother-on-steroids antics of her mother. Her sneering disdain for most of the Hollywood machine is evident in every line. The fallout of this sort of childhood followed her into failed relationships, alcohol abuse, and torment as she tries to segue from child star to working adult actor and even a dabble in country music before she throws it all of, distances herself from her toxic mother, and begins to reclaim her life.

Mixed into this brutal narrative are the warm and lingering lines of love – for her iCarly costar Miranda Cosgrove (who seems to be one of the few true friends in Jennette’s life), her father and siblings, her love interests, and yes, even her mother, and that makes the story all the more poignant. Jennette, despite all the pressure and abuse, loved her mother, and deeply. But it’s also true she’s glad her mother is gone.

I’m going to give this one four stars out of five for only one reason: I listened to this on audiobook. McCurdy is a talented actress and a great human being, but she is not an audiobook narrator, and it shows. Maybe it’s because she was too close to the source material, but her reading is perfunctory, rushed, and devoid of emotion to the point of nearly being robotic. She should have asked Miranda to do her a favor on this one, or let the publisher find a capable voice artist.

The IABX Children’s Book Expo went down this past Saturday and I had a great time meeting readers and other KidLit authors. Despite this being the first time this book festival took place, we had a terrific turnout. This event was put together by author Renaee Perrier-Smith, and she and her team of volunteers did a terrific job organizing and keeping the festival running smoothly. The kids all had a terrific time, and there were all sorts of prizes and goodies to be had.

If you missed it this year, be sure to mark your calendar for next year – you’ll be glad you did!

My letter “H” pick for the A to Z Challenge is THE HIDING PLACE by Corrie ten Boom. I must confess this pick is a bit of a cheat in that I’ve read this previously, but it was a looooooong time ago (6th grade). Someone in my church passed her copy on to my mom and I commandeered it when it was clear she wasn’t going to read it.

Concentration Camps and Holocaust stories aren’t exactly ideal elementary school reading material, but I always read above my grade level and I remember this book made a huge impression on me at the time. I wanted to do a re-read to see if the story still stood up over time for me, and if the emphasis on Christian themes would overshadow the rest for me, now that I’m no longer eating, sleeping, and breathing Evangelical Christianity.

I’m happy to say that while Ms. ten Boom leans heavily on her faith throughout the narrative, I never felt like she was beating me with a bible, and her story is still as riveting and heart-wrenching as I remembered. From the day she bravely closed the secret door to hide her Jewish boarders from the Nazis who came to their home, then walked out the door to prison (deliberately leaving her packed bag of clothing and supplies behind because it was leaning on the secret door), then months of maddening solitary confinement, we feel every ounce of her fear and helplessness. When she and her beloved sister Betsy are shipped off to Ravensbruck, a concentration camp in Northern Germany, we watch her determination to survive despite overwhelming daily cruelties and heart-wrenching losses. When she’s finally released out of the blue, we live her wary confusion and weep with her at the kindness of strangers who helped her transition.

I have since learned that Ms. ten Boom was released due to a clerical error and one week later, all women her age at the camp were killed. Obviously, she was meant to carry this story to the rest of us, and she does so with clarity, empathy, and strength. I’m giving this four stars out of five, only because the story does meander at times, but otherwise, still a solid and worthwhile read.

June 10th is a little over a week away, and I’m prepping for the IABX Children’s Book Festival. If you’re in NJ/NY area you won’t want to miss this. Check out the fun:

FREE ADMISSION & PARKING

Free books and supplies to the first 100 Children

Arts & Crafts

Yoga Sessions

Bouncy House

Prizes & Surprises

Be sure and stop by my table for some giveaway items and to get a signed copy of my books! Hope to see you there!

My letter “G” pick for the A to Z reading challenge was a book that’s been on my TBR list for a long time (too long a time) – GEEKERELLA by Ashley Poston.

This is a fun twist on the fairytale. We follow the delightful and spunky Elle, who lost her mother very young and has recently lost her father. She now lives with her wannabe-socialite stepmother, one vapid influencer of a step-sister, and one step-sister who’s afraid to take sides. Elle’s parents were minor celebrities within the fandom of a popular sci-fi TV show back in the day, and Elle was raise in the fandom and still relates heavily to it as a connection to her parents.

When Hollywood decides to reboot the franchise with a new movie starring the shallow, pretentious Hollywood heartthrob Darien Freeman, she sees red and takes to her blog. When a misdirected text has her conversing with a great guy and fellow fan – one who also grew up on con culture, she finds herself falling and oops! Of course, it’s Darien. Elle has to struggle with her own misconceptions, her fury over Hollywood trying to mess up a good thing, her vicious step-sister and abusive step-mother, and her own self-doubts and fears for her future.

She handles it all with unapologetic geekiness, fierce determination, and heartwarming vulnerability. And the book takes all the great tropes of this story – the pumpkin carriage (now a vegan food truck) the dress and slippers (part of her mother’s prize-winning con costume) and the ball (the costume ball at the con) and works them all in seamlessly and with such marvelous description I really want to see that on screen! The story is told from both Elle and Darien’s viewpoints via alternating chapters, and I just plain fell in love with them both.

Is it silly? Yup. Is it a light read? You bet. I’d heard a lot about this book and expected a fun, fluffy YA read with nerd humor and romance and it did not disappoint. This is a fun romp through fandom and con culture, sprinkled with a cast of colorful characters, quirky humor, heart-fluttering new love, and poignant moments that bring all the feels. Four stars.

My letter “F” pick for this year’s A to Z Challenge was FAIRY TALE by Stephen King.

As usual, Stephen King has written a tome, and the writer in me stands in flabbergasted awe at the sheer extent of his imagination, his carefully crafted prose, his gift for creating captivating characters. Fairy Tale isn’t your usual Stephen King tale, yet it is absolutely, authentically his.

In the story, we get to know young Charlie Reade, an honest, if currently aimless young man who befriends the elderly and reclusive Mr. Bowditch and his beloved dog Radar. Through a heartfelt and interesting slow build that culminates in the death of the elderly curmudgeon, Charlie takes custody of Radar and inherits Mr. Bowditch’s house and belongings, including a literal pot of gold and the creepy, padlocked shed in the backyard (I’m not kidding when I say “slow build” – it’s nearly one hundred and fifty pages before something otherworldly happens).

Aided by a final audiotape tell-all by Mr. Bowditch, Charlie discovers the secret passage under the shed that leads to the magical land of Empis, where he encounters all sorts of fairytale characters and monstrous creatures, and becomes the hero who aides a princess in freeing her kingdom from a horrible curse/plague. That’s as much detail as I will go into because, guys – this is Stephen King. There are so many twists and turns and moving parts in this tale it would take me six separate blog posts to break it all down for you.

This isn’t a book report, and FAIRY TALE is no classic fairy tale. As always, Stephen King built a world I want to explore with a protagonist I want to be friends with, side characters that captivate, and monstrous things and situations that kept me awake at night. The narrative, despite its meandering pace, held my interest to the last page and beyond. It’s a solid five stars from me.

If you’re near East-Central PA this Friday and you’re looking for a place to find some great children’s, middle-grade, or YA reads, head to Lititz, PA for Lititz Second Fridays and stop by Aaron’s Books at 35 East Main Street between six and eight p.m. They’ll be hosting authors from the local chapter of the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and yours truly will be among them. We’ll all have books to buy, swag to share, and pens ready to sign copies.

While you’re inside be sure and peruse the rest of the store – Aaron’s has something for everyone! Then walk the streets of a quaint little town and enjoy the hospitality of all the local merchants. You’ll have a great evening.

Hope to see you there!

My letter “E” book for the 2023 A to Z book challenge was EVERSHORE, by Brandon Sanderson. This is a companion book to the SKYWARD series (which I highly recommend) and it did not disappoint. While the series protagonist, Spensa Nightshade, is off spying on opposing alien forces in STARSIGHT, then running from the terrifying Delvers in a bizarre alternate dimension known as The Nowhere in CYTONIC, her fellow Skyward Flight squad members from book one are desperately in search of a way to attain hyperspeed and leave their prison planet, all while battling the domineering Superiority, who is determined to exterminate the human scourge.

EVERSHORE is one of three companion books that give a record of Skyward Flight’s time and activities behind the scenes. This book centers on Jorgen, Skyward Flight Leader and Spensa’s love interest, as he rescues the admiral and tries to forge an alliance with the Kitsen against the Superiority – all while trying to control his erratic new-found Cytonic powers.

None of that will mean a thing to you if you haven’t read the series, so go ahead and do that if you haven’t already. You’ll be very glad you did. Sanderson (aided by Janci Patterson), as usual, skillfully crafts a universe we want to be a part of with compelling, valiant, multi-faceted (and frequently hilarious) characters. Jorgen’s character has had the most growth of the group, and this book just cements my desire to see where he goes and how this story ties up. I’m giving this four stars – mainly because I feel all these companion stories would have been better served woven into the main narrative. I feel like we missed something not seeing them as part of the main series books.