R.L.S. Hoff's Blog, page 9

Sam’s too smart to fall for the captain’s daughter–or to get stuck in the greenhouses. Isn’t he?

Get your free Hope Gardens chapters HERE.

Hope Gardens is a story in the Golden Terrace Colony Universe (This is also the world of Leaving Hope). The remainder of the story is coming out chapter by chapter in R.L.S. Hoff’s twice-monthly(ish) newsletter (You can sign up to receive it here.)

Hope is still a couple of generations away from Shindashir, but the ship is already nearly worn out. Sam’s family lives in one of most delapidated sections, and he knows they’ll likely have to move to an even more crowded area soon. With his academic skills, Sam’s his family’s best hope for changing their fortunes.

He knows all that, and still Sam is strangely attracted to two things that could derail his hopes to land a scholarship and good job that will pull his family out of poverty—the greenhouses (a dead-end work detail if anybody ever saw one), and the captain’s daughter (a thoughtlessly rich beauty who couldn’t possibly bring him anything but trouble).

Sam must do right by his family, but he also can’t help his greenhouse fascination—or his growing interest in Eleanor.

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New Kid, by Jerry Craft was 2020’s Newbery award winner. Like other Newberys, it is incredibly well-written, and rich in detail. It has well-rounded characters and a tale that tugs on my heartstrings.

Unlike any other Newbery I’ve read, it is also a graphic novel.

The artwork is gorgeous, and I particularly love the art within the art. (This graphic novel tells the story of Jordan Banks, a young artist, so some of the spreads are meant to be Jordan’s work.) I love the way the book explores this part of Jordan’s personality. I’m fascinated by the ongoing argument in his family about what role art should play in Jordan’s education. Jordan’s family (or at least part of it) regards creative endeavors as a sideline in the business of life. Naturally, I relate to Jordan’s frustration with that.

I also relate to Jordan’s struggle with being the new kid in a school despite some obvious differences between our experiences. Jordan’s racial background and the nature of his prestigious private school add complexity to his struggle. In some ways, this story reminds me of The Hate U Give because Jordan, like Starr, has to navigate two very different cultures as he attends a private school far from his neighborhood.

All in all, this is a great book. I strongly recommend it for anyone who likes graphic novels, art, or realistic stories about starting a new stage of life. I’ll be looking for more of Jerry Craft’s books in the future.

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Pure joy–someone in the neighborhood set off fireworks to usher in New Year 2021. It’s a festive sound, even if the dog doesn’t like it much.

That sound captures what many of us are feeling. We celebrate the end of a very difficult year. We are full of hope that this coming year will be better.

However, the quiet time journey I’m embarking on this morning encourages me to “consider it pure joy” whenever I face trials of many kinds. Last year was significant in my family (and many others), for being full of trials. Which means, if I did it right–this could have been a time marked by joy–pure joy. One where I let perseverance work in me to produce maturity.

So, that didn’t happen. Like many others, I spent a lot of time whining rather than cultivating joy this past year. So have my kids.

How could I expect anything different, given the example I’m setting?

With a new year comes new opportunities, though. So, perhaps now is my time. It’s not like our difficulties have all completely ended. There are probably plenty of chances in the coming months for me to practice some perseverance and learn how to be full of joy even when my circumstances don’t make that easy.

Who knows? Maybe some joy will spread to my kids, too.

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I’ve read A Christmas Carol before, of course. When exactly, I can’t remember–perhaps it was for school.

Reading it again, I’m impressed by the wealth of detail. The world comes alive with the meager coal in Bob Cratchit’s fireplace, the door knocker that morphs into Marley’s face, and the pictures of revelry outside Scrooge’s window (and the bleakness within).

I also love the characters in this book. Scrooge bristles with complexity. As we pass through his past and linger in his present, we see that he’s more than the crusted, money-grubbing, crab he has become. Others, too, have intricately-woven personalities. Scrooge’s nephew delights. Bob Cratchit and all the other Cratchits make joy with hardly any wherewithal.

The thing I might like best about A Christmas Carol, though, is the way it champions the potential for redemption in everyone. If Scrooge can change, there’s hope for us all.

If you haven’t read this in a while (or never read it), I recommend picking up a copy. The digital copy I picked up from Amazon is free, and I’m sure it’s available at most libraries.

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Children’s author Julie Hedlund challenged participants of her 12 Days of Christmas for Writers series to post 2020 SUCCESSES (rather than resolutions) on our blogs this year. She believes traditional New Year’s resolutions come from a place of negativity. They focus on what DIDN’T get done or achieved in the previous year.  Instead, she suggests we set goals for the New Year that BUILD on our previous years’ achievements. I decided to participate in this Anti-Resolution Revolution! Here is my list for 2020:

Published Leaving Hope .Published Songs of Healing .Wrote and sent out a bi-monthly newsletter beginning in June.Finished and revised a draft of DragonPets: The Sacrifice.Wrote two new picture book manuscripts

6. Revised two (different) picture book drafts.

7. Put out a new chapter of Hope Gardens at least twice a month.

8. Learned how to format manuscripts for Kindle, epub, and print.

9. Held a fun book launch party.

10. Designed a covers I like for a Channillo channel and for Hope Gardens.

11. Made a book trailer.

12. Started networking with readers and other authors on a variety of social media sites and other platforms.

13. Received multiple four and five star reviews for my books on Goodreads and Amazon.

How about you? What are your 2020 Successes? I’d love to hear them, so if you’re willing to share, please leave a comment with yours (or if you’ve done a blog post like mine, feel free to link to it in the comments.)

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I’ve often heard that Sarah, Plain and Tall is a very good book, but somehow I hadn’t read it before.

It’s a deceptively simple story, short, with easy-to-read language. Despite its simplicity, the story packs a big emotional punch.

Sarah, who is in fact plain and tall, comes from her home near the sea to the Nebraska prairies. She’s supposed to marry Anna and Caleb’s father, but there’s a trial period. She, naturally, misses her home, and Anna and Caleb worry that she will leave them–as their mother left them (quite unwillingly, we’re sure) by dying not long after Caleb was born. It’s a melancholy story, with lots of yearning underneath the surface.

Though this isn’t my favorite of the Newberys I’ve read recently, I like it. I would recommend it, especially for those who like historical fiction and those who struggle with reading but want decent stories. To find more of my book reviews, check out the bookshelf tab of my website. You can also connect on Goodreads or Librarything.

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An excerpt from Hope Gardens Chapter Twelve

Hope Gardens Chapter Twelve came out in the R.L.S. Hoff Newsletter this morning. The excerpt above comes from that section of the book. In case you have trouble reading in the image, it says:

Mom jerked her head up from her tablet. “What’s this about Eleanor Mackey?”

Sam glared at his sister. “Eleanor and I were working together yesterday in detention, but we weren’t messing around. We stopped a leak and probably saved this season’s wheat harvest.”

“Maybe so, but that girl is trouble, Sam.” Mom set the tablet down and turned to the cupboard to grab nuts and dried fruit for their lunches.

Sam rolled his eyes.

If you’re interested in reading more, you can sign up for my newsletter and get a copy of the whole story to date by clicking on the cover below. (What do you think of the new cover, by the way? You can let me know in the comments.)

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Marissa Meyer has written another fabulous book with Cress. Book Three of The Lunar Chronicles lives up to the high standard set by Cinder and Scarlet. (My daughter would say it surpasses it. Cress is her favorite.)

Like the two previous books, this one is a fairy-tale retelling–in this case of Rapunzel. For an isolated shut-in, Cress turns out to be a remarkably active and resourceful main character. Her mad computer skills save her (and others) dozens of times, but it’s her ability to make friends after so much isolation that’s truly impressive.

Also like the first two books, this one is full of action and life-changing revelations. When Cress’s rescue goes a bit awry, all the characters get thrown into life-threatening crisis. It’s hard to imagine how the problems could intensify–and yet they do, throwing our heroes into ever-increasing danger.

With Cress on board, this little team of outcasts and misfits may just have a fighting chance at overthrowing the evil empire from Luna that seems intent on ruling the Earth.

Maybe.

In any case, I’m looking forward to the next book, and I strongly recommend this one for anyone who likes YA sci-fi and fantasy (and anyone who enjoys good fairy-tale retellings). For other reviews, check it out on Goodreads or LibraryThing.

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I read Bridge to Terabithia once long ago, and my memory of it was fuzzy–only that it was a very good book, and that it made me sad.

When a student needed to read it for a class, I was glad to pick up a copy and read along. And, having read it again, I have to say that I still think it’s a very good book. And it still makes me sad.

I love Jesse–and feel convicted by him. Like him, I fear what the people around me think–and feel both crippled and embarrassed by my lack of courage. Like Jesse, I have siblings I love–and sometimes want to throttle (less so now that I don’t live with them, but I remember that feeling).

And, then, of course, there’s Leslie–the child of the city and imagination who changes everything. I love the way Leslie brings Jesse along with her flights of imagination, and the way the two of them challenge each other to experience things beyond their normal.

I also love the way this book deals with hard things with both honesty and compassion. In this particular strength, Bridge to Terabithia excels beyond most books I have read. I highly recommend it for anyone. It might be even better than some of the other Newbery award winners I’ve reviewed here, like Holes and Hello, Universe.

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I have always loved Advent–the time to slow down, take stock, and prepare for the coming of the Lord.

Also, I get to sing some of my favorite songs. And light candles. I love lighting candles.

Somehow, though, I’ve failed to spread my excitement to my children. Part of the problem, I suppose, is that we haven’t been as consistent with it as my family was growing up.

Plus, I don’t play guitar, the way my dad sometimes did during Advent times when I was a child. And my kids mostly don’t like singing.

But, maybe, also, I’ve failed to tell this story right–because it’s an amazing story. God himself came to Earth as a human–starting as a tiny baby just like every one of us. He didn’t come for a few moments or hours, but for a lifetime. A lifetime filled with poverty and hard work, rejection and humiliation. It ended with a painful death (though that wasn’t the end of the story, just the end of his earthly life). He did all of that for us.

So, I’m getting some help. I love the Advent Project from The Center for Christianity, Culture, and the Arts at Biola. And I’m trying out a new Advent reading plan on the Bible app I have on my phone. (It’s the Youversion one.) And I’m thinking up ways to help my teens connect with this story they might not know as well as they think they do.

I want to be ready.

This year is a new opportunity. What better time to try again to tell this story right?

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