Who says you can’t have an author guest post on a site more than once? Today I have the wonderful opportunity of welcoming back a favorite author of mine to There’s A Book, Catherine Ryan Hyde. Her most recent YA book, Jumpstart the World, was a favorite read of mine last year and it’s now being released in paperback. To celebrate there will be a huge giveaway I’ll get to later, but until then I thought it would be fun to have Catherine talk a little about one of my favorite characters from the book, Elle. So, without further hesitation on my part, Catherine Ryan Hyde…

Elle. Like Her or Not.

Yesterday evening I was checking something on the Amazon page for the new Jumpstart the World paperback. This sentence jumped out:

“Elle herself is not only deeply troubled but also an extremely unlikable character.”

It wasn’t a reader review. It was Booklist. I’d read it before, but not for a while. I read it again. Then I read the review above it, from School Library Journal. I had to laugh at this:

“Elle is a likable, well-developed character with whom teens will identify.”

Okay, well…that’s no big surprise. We all know there’s no such thing as review consensus. For that matter, there’s no likeability consensus for real people in the real world.

Many readers have noticed likeability issues with Elle. Most of them like her anyway. It’s an interesting phenomenon, liking someone when they’re not at their most likeable. Personally, I’m for it. I wish we’d all do it more often.

Elle’s going through a rough patch when we meet her. To put it mildly. Her mother is kicking her out of the house in favor of a new boyfriend. She not on the street—her mom pays her rent—but the rejection level is the same. Elle’s mom values beauty above all, and Elle knows in her heart she’s not beautiful. At least, not the kind of beauty in question.

A few readers asked what happened to Elle’s friends from the old school. They’d have kept in touch. Right? Why didn’t I write about that? If they’d kept in touch, I’d have written about it. It’s a comment on the fragile nature of Elle’s friendships. Turns out her friends can live without her. Or maybe she’s just too quick to let them try.

Elle is hurting. And she has no idea how to be a friend. That’s not always pretty.

Elle’s clunky. She says the wrong thing at the wrong moment. She can feel the wrongness as it comes out, but can’t always figure out how to say better things. She isn’t initially a very good friend to her new LGBT friends at school (the only ones who reach out to her). She doesn’t care that they’re gay, she just worries people will think she is. And yes, when she finds out her new love, Frank (an older guy with a long-term girlfriend, who she knows she can never be with anyway), is transgender, she isn’t a very good friend to him, either. She doesn’t judge him for being a transman, she just isn’t sure what that says about her.

Eventually she figures out it says nothing about her, except that she knows a nice guy when she meets one. Besides, Frank pays attention to her. She needs that. As her friend Shane points out later in the book, “Kids need attention. They’ll pay anything.” Frank doesn’t extract any price for Elle’s love. He just can’t be quite what she expected, at a time in her life when she desperately wants someone—anyone—to be just who she thought they were.

There’s an old Swedish proverb: “Love me when I least deserve it, because that’s when I need it most.” Frank does, and so do most of Elle’s new friends. The question is whether the reader will offer her the same understanding.

When I write a character I know might be hard to love, I (almost without realizing I’m doing it) give the reader a quick window into what’s good about them. Right up front. In my adult novel Electric God (hey, Elle’s more likeable than Hayden—at least she doesn’t break jaws and get thrown in jail) it was the tenderness as he buried his old dog, and the way he rescued the baby possum off the highway. In The Year of my Miraculous Reappearance, before I subjected you to Cynnie’s bad choices, I made sure you saw how much she loved her little Down’s Syndrome brother, Bill.

In Jumpstart the World, it was the cat. Elle picked the ugliest, least adoptable cat from the shelter, because, “He was about to be given the death penalty for not being beautiful. Someone had to come along and love him just the way he was. I was that someone.”

Jumpstart is a novel about whether we can love people the way they are. People think it’s about transgender acceptance. It’s about acceptance, period. About whether Elle can accept a variety of gender-nonconforming characters into her life, but also about whether other people can accept Elle, even when she does so much wrong.

Elle makes mistakes on the road to becoming a decent LGBT ally. But she’s willing to admit her mistakes. And learn from them. And her heart is in the right place.

Some will focus on the heart. Others will focus on the mistakes.

Notice nobody ever flat-out says, “I’m lonely, I’m scared, I don’t know how to do life. I don’t known how to weather it when something hurts. Too many people ran out on me.” We just push everybody away and say we’re fine on our own.

I’ve done it myself. That’s how I know.

Imagine a world where nobody’s willing to love you in spite of yourself. I’d hate that. So I’ve created, I hope, a book which gives us a little more stumble room.  It’s not about whether Elle can accept Frank. It’s about whether we can all accept each other.

- Catherine Ryan Hyde

To celebrate the paperback release of Jumpstart the World, Catherine Ryan Hyde is giving away a set of each YA book she has written (six signed hardcovers)! To win you need to find words on the blog partners’ website, and visit Catherine’s site on Sunday (or after) to input the sentence you have found and unscrambled. Catherine will choose the big winner by drawing a name from the correct entries. I’m the first stop on the scavenger hunt so make sure to stop by the following locations throughout the week:

Catherine’s blog
The Story Siren
Bookalicious
Chick Loves Lit

Giveaway!

In addition to the scavenger hunt I’m also offering three signed paperback copies of Jumpstart the World to three There’s A Book readers thanks to Catherine. Thank you! Please fill out the form below and good luck!

Find the Paperback for Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our various affiliate relationships.

Can You Survive: Jack London’s Call of the Wild: A Choose Your Path Book by Ryan Jacobson
Published by Lake 7 Creative (Distributed by Adventure Publications)
Pages: 160
Ages: 9-13
Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository
Publishers Summmary:

It’s been called the best dog story ever written, and you can experience it like never before. This is Jack London’s Call of the Wild, masterfully adapted into a choose your path book. You’re the legendary sled dog, Buck. You face his same challenges. You make the choices. You decide what happens. Will you survive?

Can You Survive: Jack London’s Call of the Wild takes a classic piece of literature and turns it into an adventure not only for the characters, but the reader. As you follow along Buck, the part St. Bernard and part Scotch shepherd dog, you are taken into the cold often brutal world of the Alaskan wilderness. As you make choices you decide whether Buck will live or die as he comes up against foes that include other dogs, man, wolves and a variety of other forces of nature. Will you and Buck make it to the end to answer the call of the wild? Only your choices can decide both of your fates. Can You Survive: Jack London’s Call of the Wild is an adventure for readers everywhere.

It’s been almost a year since my last “Choose Your Own Path” read when I read Lost in the Wild also by Ryan Jacobson and I was just as eager to read this one as I was his previous story. This one, obviously based on the classic novel by Jack London, was in my opinion much much more interesting. It did take a couple of chapters before I was really engrossed in the story, but after that I was excited to see how I’d be able to help Buck on his journey across Alaska. Perhaps because I’m not normally an “adventure” reader the original book didn’t hold much appeal to me, but this new take on it actually gave me something to look forward to as I turned the pages by providing me the opportunity to interact with the story.

Author Ryan Jacobson has yet again created a thoroughly engrossing “Choose Your Own Adventure” style story that is not only exciting and entertaining, but very well written. Can You Survive: Jack London’s Call of the Wild is the story of a dog named Buck who struggles to survive against the threats found in the Alaskan wilderness and his only hope is you as the reader. This would certainly be a book I’d recommend to reluctant readers, especially those who love a good adventure or the outdoors. In addition, I’d also recommend this as a companion read with the classic for teachers and students alike as opposed to something like Cliff Notes; it could easily ignite an interest in the story without handing readers all of the details at once. Can You Survive: Jack London’s Call of the Wild by Ryan Jacobson is the first in a new series of “Choose Your Path” books that are sure to be huge hits with young readers everywhere.

The1stdaughter Recommends: Ages 9 to 15. Adventure awaits both characters and readers alike. A fantastic companion read to it’s classic counterpart when read in school. Perfect reading for adventure seekers, outdoors enthusiasts and reluctant readers.

Find Can You Survive: Jack London’s Call of the Wild: A Choose Your Path Book by Ryan Jacobson at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Make sure to visit all the stops along the Can You Survive this blog tour? beginning with the last post from Teach Mentor Texts and tomorrow’s post at One Librarian’s Book Reviews. You may even be able to win a copy of this fantastic new book from Ryan Jacobson!

Giveaway!

As an added bonus the author, Ryan Jacobson, has provided one Signed copy of Can You Survive: Jack London’s Call of the Wild: A Choose Your Path Book to giveaway to one There’s A Book reader! Please fill out the form below and good luck!

Thank you so much to the author, Ryan Jacobson, for providing a copy of this book for review! Connect with him on Twitter and on his blog, Author vs. Monster!
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our various affiliate relationships.

Razzle-Dazzle Ruby by Masha D’yans
Published by Scholastic Press
Pages: 20
Ages: 4-7
Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository
Publishers Summmary:

Ruby can make the ordinary extraordinary! Come skate on a shimmering pond, roll a giant snowball, sled down a snowy hill, and create soaring snow angels with her as she becomes a snow queen and transforms a typical winter day into a gleaming-beaming fairy tale. Combining glorious watercolors, elegant paper engineering, and whimsical storytelling, this joyful novelty picture book is sure to enchant children and adults.

Littlebug Thinks It’s Lovely: “Sparkles, snowflakes, snowmen and swirls! It’s so so pretty. My favoritest parts are making Ruby skate across the ice and make snow angels. I could move her around all day long! Her little doggie is so cute too! You know what the best part is though? Ruby’s coat is pink!!! I love pink and so does Ruby. I really want some stripped tights like hers too, those would be so neat!

“Razzle-Dazzle Ruby is such a fun book and it’s so pretty too! At the very end you get to help Ruby get cozy at home and my favorite is taking off her coat. You should try it too, I think you’d have a lot of fun!”

Mom’s Two Cents: “Imagination abound as Razzle-Dazzle Ruby sets out on a day of adventure and fun in the snow wonderland near her home. Battling fierce snowmen and braving the wintry day she stumbles upon noblemen and even a knight. With each page interact with Ruby by pulling, turning and spinning to make each scene come alive for little ones and adults alike.

“Normally I’m not at all a fan of books that require pulling or turning to make pages come to life, but Razzle-Dazzle Ruby by Masha D’yans happens to be an exception to that rule. My reasoning for my usual dislike rests squarely with my children’s interactions with them in the past. In most cases books with pulling things get torn to pieces in a matter of days, it’s terrible and I hate to contribute to that kind of damage to a book so I normally avoid them. But you know what? Littlebug loved this story so much that she has been overly cautious with it. It’s adorable! She’ll pick up the book with the utmost of care just to insure that no harm will come to it’s gorgeous pages. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading it (nearly everyday mind you) and interacting with the imaginative adventure Ruby goes on.

“Just in time for winter to be here Razzle-Dazzle Ruby is sure to please readers of any age. Filled with the gorgeous illustrations of Masha D’yans readers entire a world of blustery snow and whimsical delights. This is certainly a book both of my kiddos enjoyed, but most of all Littlebug. Let me not fail to mention either that I personally enjoyed the illustrations so much that I’d consider purchasing a print by D’yans for Littlebug’s room. D’yans is an incredibly talented artist and I’m excited to see what else she comes out with next. As for Razzle-Dazzle Ruby, it shows young readers there is magic to be found every day you step outside your front door and you never know exactly what to expect but it will certainly be an adventure.”

The1stdaughter Recommends: Ages 2 to 5. Take kiddos on an interactive adventure they will cherish and may even ask to be read each & every day.

Giveaway!

As an added bonus the publisher, Scholastic Press, has provided me with two copies of Razzle-Dazzle Ruby to giveaway to two There’s A Book readers! Please fill out the form below and good luck!

Find Razzle-Dazzle Ruby by Masha D’yans at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Thank you so much to the publisher, Scholastic Press, for providing a copy for review & giveaway! Find them on Twitter as well as Facebook.
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our various affiliate relationships.

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright, Illustrated by Barry Moser
Published by Peachtree Publishers
Pages: 256
Ages: Middle Grade
Publishers Summmary:

In this playful homage to Charles Dickens, unlikely allies learn the lessons of a great friendship.

Skilley, an alley cat with an embarrassing secret, longs to escape his street-cat life. Tired of dodging fishwives’ brooms and carriage wheels, he hopes to trade London’s damp alleyways for the warmth of ye olde Cheshire Cheese Inn. He strikes a bargain with Pip, an erudite mouse: Skilley will protect the mice who live at the inn, and in turn, the mice will provide Skilley with the thing he desires most.

But when Skilley and Pip are drawn into a crisis of monumental proportions involving a tyrannical cook, an unethical barmaid, and a malevolent tomcat, their new friendship is pushed to its limits. The escalating crisis threatens the peace not only of the Cheshire Cheese Inn but also the British Monarchy!

Unbeknownst to Skilley and Pip, however, they have a secret ally: a famous author who scribbles away many an afternoon in ye olde Cheshire Cheese Inn…

As Charles Dickens sits whittling away his ink and paper an unexpected story unfolds before his eyes. An Inn known for it’s marvelous cheese and of course it’s expected inhabitants, mice. When the alley cat Skilley is informed by his rival, Pinch, that there is need of a mouse catcher at the inn it seems the perfect place for a cheese loving cat in want of a home. Before he knows it Skilley is welcomed, but before too long he’s acquired a new mouse friend and an even angrier enemy. An unlikely pair, Skilley and Pip discover that friendships are not always predictable and that secrets & power can be held within even the smallest of creatures.

Astonishingly delightful. Those would absolutely be the two words I’d use to describe this surprisingly enjoyable tale. I say surprisingly because I’m not generally one to enjoy animal narrators, but this is certainly an exception. This is a story not only with references to the great Charles Dickens, but filled with stories of friendship and love.

The Cheshire Cheese Cat is definitely a story I’d recommend to young readers as early as age seven and possibly even younger if read with a parent who can inflect the enthusiasm the story deserves in its telling. Not only will they love the excitement of the rivalary between Skilley and Pinch, but they will also learn lessons about kindness, friendship, honesty and even a new word or two. Pip is a very unlikely character, as a mouse who can read and write, he helps both Skilley and the reader to learn new words in nearly every chapter. What was delightful about having Pip as the teacher was that it never seemed forced and that is without a doubt something that young readers will appreciate.

Through the story telling abilities of Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright and the delightful illustrations of Barry Moser the story of two unlikely friends comes to life in The Cheshire Cheese Cat. A story filled with friendship, adventure and even a few educational bits here and there make it a story that young readers and their parents will fall in love with almost instantly. I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to read it, not only myself but also to my son. Even at the young age of four he was completely enthralled with Pip and his friend Skilley. It’s a story I recommend wholeheartedly and cannot wait to keep reading to my own two kiddos!

The1stdaughter Recommends: Ages 8 to 14. A tale of friendship and strength in unlikely places. This is a story young readers will love reading and having read to them.

Find The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright at the following spots:
Amazon
Powell’s Books
Indiebound
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

Thank you so much to the publisher, Peachtree Publishers, for providing a copy of this book for review and giveaway! Connect with them on Twitter, Facebook and follow the rest of the tour on their Blog!
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our various affiliate relationships.

Giveaway!

As an added bonus the publisher, Peachtree Publishers, has provided me with one copy of The Cheshire Cheese Cat to giveaway to one There’s A Book reader! Please fill out the form below and good luck!

Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane and Illustrated by Jane Manning
Published by Harper Collins Childrens
Pages: 32
Ages: 3 to 7
Publishers Summmary:

Over in the forest Where the trees hide the sun Lived a big mommy monster And her little monster one.
“Scare!” said the mommy;
“I scare,” said the one.
So he scared and he scampered Where the trees hide the sun.

From monsters to ghosties to goblins, everyone’s favorite beasties haunt and howl and rattle their way through their forest home in this silly, spooky twist on the beloved nursery rhyme “Over in the Meadow.”

The Turkeybird and Littlebug Count it Out: BOO!!!
“Did we scare you? We hope so! We’ve been taking lessons from this little monster and his mom in the book and now we think we’re ready for trick or treating.”
Littlebug: “But I don’t have a costume yet!”
Turkeybird: “That’s okay, mom will make you something really neat. I think I’m going to pick the zombie from the book!”
Littlebug: “You can’t pick the zombie! That’s what you dressed up as last year! I like the mummy best of all in the book.”
Turkeybird: “Well, maybe I will pick the skeleton or the goblin, but I think you should be a witch. That would be perfect!”
Littlebug: “As long as I can be the number six witch! That’s what I want!”
Turkeybird and Littlebug: “We can’t wait for Halloween! Our mom said we could count all the fun spooky Halloween things in this book everyday until we go trick or treating and that’s the best part of Halloween. What are you going to be for Halloween? If you don’t know yet maybe you should get this book to find something! We love it!”

Mom’s Two Cents: “Cackling, rattling and howling at the moon all of the spooky creatures in Little Goblins Ten are getting ready for the biggest day of the year, Halloween. From one to ten they count up until they’ve perfected their talent that will ensure their success on the big trick or treat day. With monsters & bats and ghosts & goblins each and every Halloween creature is practicing and waiting for their own chance at Halloween fun!”

“It should come as no surprise that one of the holidays I loved the most as a child was Halloween. With it’s costumes and of course, pillow cases full of candy, there was always something to look forward to. Now as a parent of two children who are suddenly getting very excited for this time of year, I’m feeling very nostalgic. Enough so that I may just have to grant Littlebug’s wish of a witch costume…especially if it’s one as cute as the witch’s in Little Goblins Ten.

“After a couple of readings of Little Goblins Ten the rhyming and sing-song sounds of the book came to life. Both Turkeybird and Littlebug can’t help but point to each of the creatures on the page and attach names of people they know to each one. Primarily because we each need a costume, so why not? And the illustrations are fantastic, so it’s easy to see how they would be drawn to each of the characters. Halloween can be a scary time for kids, but it’s nice to see a picture book with beautiful illustrations that are still a little spooky, but not frightening to young kiddos.

“Little Goblins Ten was yet another Pamela Jane hit in our home and I’m positive it will continue to be. As both the Turkeybird and Littlebug get a little older it’s not only fun to see them excited about the upcoming holiday, but perhaps even more excited since they have begun to anticipate words and numbers in a book like Little Goblins Ten. The pattern established in the writing by Pamela Jane may be difficult for some at first to read aloud, but I promise that after two or three readings you won’t have any problem. You may even catch a child or two mouthing the words right along with you. This is the perfect book for the spooky Halloween season with little ones who look forward to not only the candy, but the chance to be excited about counting and cackling like a witch!”

The1stdaughter Recommends: Ages 2 to 7. Beautiful illustrations and delightful writing make this the perfect picture book pick for young readers who may also enjoy numbers as well.

Also, being that it’s getting close to that fantastically spooky time of year and we’re huge fans of Pamela Jane’s books be sure to also check out our review of A Vampire Is Coming to Dinner? as well as our 20 Question Interview with Pamela!

Find Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane and Illustrated by Jane Manning at the following spots:
Powell’s Books
Indiebound
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

Thank you so much to the publisher, Harper Collins Childrens, for providing a copy of this book for review and giveaway as part of TLC Book Tours! Connect with them on Twitter and on Facebook!
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our various affiliate relationships.

Giveaway!

As an added bonus the publisher, Harper Collins Childrens, has provided me with one copy of Little Goblins Ten to giveaway to one There’s A Book reader! Please fill out the form below and good luck!

Amulet: The Last Council by Kazu Kibuishi
Published by Graphix (An Imprint of Scholastic Press)
Pages: 224
Publishers Summmary:

Emily and her friends think they’ll find the help they need in Cielis, but something isn’t right. Streets that were once busy are deserted, and the townspeople who are left live in crippling fear. Emily is escorted to the Academy where she’s expected to compete for a spot on the Guardian Council, the most powerful Stonekeepers. But as the number of competitors gets smaller and smaller, a terrible secret is slowly uncovered—a secret that, if left buried, means certain destruction of everything Emily fights for.

Amulet is a series I’m not going to attempt to sum up. Being that I’ve only read this most recent in the series it’s hard to summarize without giving away too much of the story. Let me just say that I was impressed. Not only was the story compelling, but the graphics & illustrations were astonishing. Take a look at the interior spread provided by the publisher:

Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s a bit of a mix between a strictly comic book style and manga which blends to make a very stunning story. Not only does it pop while reading it, its also enjoyable from a reading stand point. Teenagers and tweens will especially appreciate the fast paced story and creative characters. I was incredibly impressed to discover this fantastic new world to explore and can’t wait to read more of the Amulet series as soon as possible!

The1stdaughter Recommends: Ages 10 and up. Enter a creative new world with a cast of characters that come to life through the amazing storytelling of Kazu Kibuishi. Perfect for tweens and up!

Giveaway!

Thanks to the publisher, Scholastic Press, I have two copies of Amulet: The Last Council by Kazu Kibuishi to giveaway to There’s A Book readers! Make sure to fill out the form below which also contains the details about the giveaway and good luck!

Find Amulet: The Last Council by Kazu Kibuishi at the following spots:
Powell’s Books
Indiebound
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

Thank you so much to the publisher, Scholastic Press, for sending a copy for review & giveaway! Find them on Twitter as well as Facebook.
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our various affiliate relationships.