The Drover's Quest: High Drama in the New Zealand Alps (Review and Giveaway)

From the jacket copy, courtesy of HarperCollins New Zealand:

Rumour is flying around the west coast gold fields that Tom McGee has struck it rich and found a nugget of gold as big as a man's fist. So no one is surprised when next his campsite is found wrecked and abandoned. Men have been killed for a lot less on the tough goldfields of 1860s New Zealand. 

But one person is convinced Tom is not dead. His headstrong daughter, Charlotte. Solving the mystery is not her first task, though. First, she must get to the coast. A skilful horse rider, she disguises herself as a boy and joins a cattle drive across the Southern Alps. To survive the dangerous drive over Arthur's Pass and to keep her identity hidden from the vicious trail boss, she'll need the help of her dog, her horse, and her father's friend, Tama. She knows she can do it - she has to - but what will she find? And will her new American friend, Joseph, help or hinder her quest? Charlie is in for the ride of her life - and the stakes couldn't be higher.

Ever since I reviewed Susan Brocker's "The Wolf in the Wardrobe," I've been a big fan of this New Zealand author. Her latest, THE DROVER'S QUEST, (Harper Collins, 2012) doesn't disappoint. It starts off with a chilling scene of presumed murder and gallops along as Charlotte sets out to discover what's happened to her father. "Charlie" is an appealingly brave character and an accomplished rider, but it's danger all the way as she joins a cattle drove across the Southern Alps. Truly, it could be death at every juncture.

Brocker's love for animals shines throughout. The dogs and horses are every bit as brave and intelligent as their human companions. I kid you not that my heart was in my throat on several occasions. Brilliant, tense adventure.

Teachers, this would be an excellent book for your middle grade library. (My son's 7th-grade teacher had a fantastic library because she had a curriculum where the students were expected to read at least one novel from every continent. This would have taken care of Australia.) Set in 1866, there's mention of gold rushes, Maori folklore, New Zealand geography, and even--in the character of Joseph, who is part Cherokee--mention of the Civil War and life for Native Americans.

So, because I'm a kind and generous soul, and I want other people to experience Susan Brocker's storytelling, I'm offering up my signed copy of THE DROVER'S QUEST. Just leave a comment here, and I'll choose a winner on Friday the 24th at 9 p.m. PST. 
May the Mayhem be with you!

Best Middle-Grade Covers of 2012!

Project Mayhem Team Member, Yahong Chi, posted on Wednesday about what draws us to a book. Of course I read the jacket flap, but what initially attracts my attention is a great cover. A striking cover can cause you to buy a book you'd normally not read and a weak cover can cause you to pass by a book you might go gaga over.

I'm a visual artist, as well as a writer, so maybe that has a little to do with my obsessive cover love, but I deem we all see fantastic book covers and immediately reach for certain books. 

Below are some of my favorite covers of 2012. You'll notice most of these covers are hues of blue and green. Hopefully red toned covers make a come back next year. I hope my publisher is reading this, because I love red! ;) Take a look at these brilliant covers below and then tell us about your favorites!!

What kid wouldn't go nuts over this cover of Artemis Fowl, The Last Guardian? It's hip, cool, and edgy, with the just the right amount of fantasy. GQ meets Harry Potter!

Next we have The Drowned Vault, Ashtown Burials II. This cover combines mystery with fantasy and creepiness, but at the same time using a dazzling blue color forcing your eyes to land on it. Definitely something I would pick up!

Here we have Caught, The Missing Book 5. Similar color scheme to the Artemis Foul cover, yet completely different feel. This gives a sense of mystery and fantasy, at the same time harking back to the past. It screams, "You better read me or you will soon regret it!"

I love the cover of The Last Dragonslayer because it's downright quirky and utterly unique.  You can tell right away this story is going to be far more than some medieval prince slaying a dragon! Yes, bring on the quirky! When it comes to new dragon books originality is key!

What can be said about this haunting cover of The One and Only Ivan? It's simple, yet so complex. Displayed on a stage, under a spotlight, you can tell Ivan (the gorilla) is hurting in some way, but you're unsure how. Even though he's a gorilla, you just want to give Ivan a hug and rescue him from whatever pain he's enduring.

I love covers like The High-Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate. They are primitive in nature and entirely cool! What self-respecting nine-year-old wouldn't want to read it?

I adored the cover of A Tale Dark & Grimm and the companion book, In A Glass Grimmly, is no exception. Something about the shadowy silhouettes against the rich color is just a winning combo to behold!

Okay, so there are some of my top picks from 2012! How about you? What 2012 middle-grade books have you read or seen that dazzle you? Did you ever buy anything based on the cover? What would you like to see more of? Do you think sometimes publishers make mistakes in their cover selection? If you don't have a favorite 2012 cover, then tell us your favorite middle-grade cover of all time! 

Thanks all! Hilary

Before reading: have you already made up your mind?

Found here.

There's always a kind of book that calls to you, one you're positive you will enjoy just from the summary. For example, I read the copy for Kathleen O'Dell's historical middle-grade fantasy The Aviary and fell in love on the spot. (Read it yourself and let me know what you think!)

Then there are books that don't sound quite up your alley. They might surprise you, you know, but really, it comes down to whether you're willing to invest some time into starting something that probably won't hold your attention.

Those are the basic judgements you mentally make before reading any book. But there are more, subtler factors that go into deciding your opinion of a book before you've even cracked open the covers.

1. Summary. Sure, you might've decided that you like the sound of the book. But your decision was founded on the book's summary, right? And that summary was written by a copywriter, whose job is to sell that book. If winged mermen are on trend, maybe they'll emphasize that aspect of the book, even if it doesn't play a large part. Thus a book's summary is only as good as its writer.
2. Hype. It's everywhere, thanks to ye old Internet -- less so for MG authors than YA (anyone notice that all-out marketing campaign/Internet takeover for Veronica Roth's Insurgent?), but it's definitely present. Take R J Palacio's Wonder. I wouldn't have picked it up if our own Michael Gettel-Gilmartin hadn't talked it up -- but when I did pick it up, I expected much more than if I'd found it myself.
3. Series. Sequel-itis happens a lot. If a debut was critically acclaimed, you might go into the second book either expecting more of the same awesomeness, or fearing the book won't live up to the first -- or a mixture of both. (This is especially true for trilogies: it's that dreaded middle book.) Or if it's a last book -- how much of a happily-ever-after do we get? I face this worry right now with Eoin Colfer's last Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian. I'm both anticipating and fearing reading it.

Other factors include publisher (e.g. I don't expect great things from Simon Pulse -- but don't let them know), author (my friend Audrey would give her pancreas for Markus Zusak's unreleased The Bridge of Clay) or even yourself. Maybe you've gorged on contemporary and you just want to read a sci-fi, which makes the next contemp that crosses your desk the unlikely victim. Or you've had one bad experience with a verse book that's soured other verse books for you.

Of course, you might go into a book completely blind, free of judgement. And there's nothing wrong with that, either. But it seems to happen less and less these days,

What do you think? How much affects your opinion before you read?

--Yahong :)

Why Reread a Book?

I’m coming up for air from my writer’s cave  to face the real world again as fall draws near, and it’s struck me that my reading time during this intensive writing period has been mostly rereading old favorites.  I had big plans to read some of my huge stack of never-read books, but as I got more into my new stories, I couldn't bring myself to pick them up. I have been doing quite a bit of reading for research of material I haven’t read before, but my free-time reading has been almost exclusively books I read before. When I’m really concentrating on my own writing, somehow I can’t take in a brand new world of another writer’s imagination, and it’s more relaxing to retreat to a familiar place in a book I’ve read before.

I know some people say they never reread. I’ve always done so. It started when I was young out of necessity. My family weren’t big readers, so besides a few books of my own and my brother’s, we had a set of encyclopedias, which while interesting, didn’t always make for scintillating reading.

Before I was old enough to get to the library for myself, I reread my library books until they were due back. It was just a normal thing for me and it never occurred to me that other people didn’t reread.

Friends of mine now sometimes despair if their child wants to read the same book over and over. I say let them. There’s no harm in it. Some educators and child psychologists believe children reread because it provides them a feeling of security. In the world of a child, who learns and experiences new things each day, retreating to a familiar book is comforting. Adults reread for many reasons, sometimes going back to book not read for many years to see if it remains as they remembered it. Often it doesn’t, because the reader has changed, making his or her lenses in which the book is viewed very different. Patricia Meyer Spacks, after retiring from teaching literature, spent a year rereading dozens of novels, and has documented her project in a book titled ON REREADING. It’s fascinating to read of her reflections on books she chose, some of which she didn’t like the first time she read them.

I have some books I reread at least once a year. The list has changed over time a little, but in general, these are the ones I return to:

Pride and Prejudice

Dune

Either The Hobbit or one of The Lord of the Rings trilogy

One of the Harry Potter books (Both my children are on a Potter kick right now. My son is rereading them and my daughter is getting through them for the first time. She’s on the sixth. I’m rereading the seventh.)

The Mary Stewart Merlin trilogy

Anyone else have a list they’d like to share?

~Dee Garretson

The Wind Is Not a River

The Wind Is Not a River by Arnold A. Griese is an amazing piece of historical fiction set in a place that is often overlooked in World War II studies— on Attu Island at the edge of the Aleutian Chain.

From the back cover:

A quiet Sunday morning, June 8, 1942, on the lsland of Attu, off the Alaskan coast. Sasan and her younger brother, Sidak are on their way to church when they realize that their village will soon be taken over by the Japanese army. Escaping the invaders, they helplessly watch the capture of the village. Now, hiding out in the hills, they must take their food and shelter from the land the same way their Aleut ancestors did. And when they discover a wounded Japanese soldier on the beach, their belief in the old ways, which Grandmother taught, is put to a crucial test.

Ages: 7-10

Pages: 128

List Price: $9.95

Cover: Paperback

Published: 11/1/1995 (originally published in 1978)

ISBN: 1-56397-564-5

ISBN-13: 978-1-56397-564-6

I first devoured this book several years ago and hope to work it into my classroom this year. If you’re looking for an exciting story with well-developed characters that will provide you with a window into a unique time and place, then I’d recommend The Wind Is Not a River.

I’ve also read and enjoyed another of Griese’s middle grade novels, At the Mouth of the Luckiest River where “a physically impaired Athabaskan boy defies the odds and becomes a great medicine man in this true story set in nineteenth-century Alaska.” Library Journal gave it a starred review.

These are both classic Alaskan middle grade novels with really cool illustrations by Glo Coalson.

If you have one, share your favorite MG historical fiction, or one you really enjoyed, in the comments!! I'd love some more titles.

And my little piece of news, my young adult novel, Sacrifice Area, which is set in the future in Alaska, was awarded second prize in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association’s 2012 contest in the young adult/middle grade category.

Thanks for stopping by.