Young Adult Review Guidelines

When I review YA books I review them first as a reader just as I do with any other book. I'll give you my opinion on characters, writing style and the plot plus I'll let you know the type of book it is, whether paranormal romance, adventure, etc. After I review the book for those things, then I will let you know how I felt about it as a parent. I may love a YA book myself, but that doesn't mean I think it should be read by all teenagers. I will always tell you what age group I feel comfortable recommending the book to.

To give you a little background on how I know the minds of teens and preteens, I have three children who are now 10, 15 and 16. My 15 year old is reading at his correct reading level, my 16 year old is reading at college level. All three enjoy different types of fiction and non-fiction. I don't consider myself an overprotective parent, but at the same time my husband and I do put limits on our teenagers when it comes to movies, television and books. Every parent knows their own kids best, so I can only make recommendations based on what I feel is appropriate.

If you ever have a question about the content of a book I've reviewed and want me to be more specific just leave me a comment or email me and I'll be happy to share more.

~Moonsanity

YA Humor: Twilight Fans & The Librarians

Libraries are one of my favorite places to hang out, and have been since I was a kid in grade school. Librarians are cool. They are excited about reading and books. They are varied in age, and they aren't mild mannered much of the time because they have to deal with patrons who demand a turn at the computers, the copier, and worst of all, they have to deal with fans of the Twilight books. One day I was pondering what would happen if someone didn't return their copy of Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer, especially now that the movie is due out in June.

I'm willing to bet it would go like this:

Cool Librarian 1: Hey, did that copy of Eclipse come in yet?

Cool Librarian 2: No, and I am NOT a happy camper. The next patron on the list has come in SIX freaking times this week to check on it. SIX. This last time she threatened to prick me with her Twilight pin. Damn, she is stressed.

Cool Librarian 1: Let me try calling the patron again. (She picks up the phone. She has the number memorized.) Alas, she gets a voice mail, and has to leave a message.

"Hello, this is the head librarian AGAIN. We really need you to bring in that copy of Eclipse. The Twilight moms are threatening violence. We will wave your over due fee. Hell, I'LL pay your fee if you will drop the book off today. Pleeeeeeaaaassse."

A WEEK LATER

Cool Librarian 2: Please tell me that copy of Eclipse is here. I have three Twilighters out front and they are hissing at me. Apparently there are no copies within a 50 mile radius, and they are tired of waiting. Their eyes are black and I swear they are crouching like they are going to lunge at me. I'm frightened.

Cool Librarian 1: Sigh. I'll try calling again. (She gets a voice mail once again.)

"This is the library AGAIN, and I must insist you bring the copy of Eclipse in TODAY or I will call Charlie over at the police station to take action. This is getting serious. We can no longer hold off the Twilighters on the waiting list and YOU will be responsible for any violence on their part."

Cool Librarian 2: (Running and out of breath...) HELP ME...they just threw some kind of sparkly crap at the front desk. Patrons are crying, it's all over the place. One chick is threatening to whip off her Twilight shirt if we don't order another copy of Eclipse. There are CHILDREN out there and she's going to fricking strip!

As you can see the situation is dire. Things escalate and the police are called. The Twilighters are taken to the station to cool off; their families are called. The library closes early and an arrest warrant is issued for the woman who has the copy of Eclipse. Can you blame them? NO ONE should hog a copy of a book in the Twilight series, especially the THIRD book for Pete's sake.

The lesson: Return your library books. Be considerate. Lastly, NEVER fool with a Twilight reader, things could turn ugly.

~Moonsanity

YA Week: Vampires, Witches & Fae

Today is the official start to our first themed week! Young Adult Week will run today through next Sunday. You'll find our YA Contest Extravaganza, interviews, reviews, humor and opinions galore. Let's start out with the contest details.

THE PRIZES:

First Prize:
Bite Me! by Melissa Francis
Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz
Evernight by Claudia Gray
Poison Ink by Christopher Golden
Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Second Prize
Cart and Cwidder by Diana Wynne Jones (Book 1)
Drowned Ammet by Diana Wynne Jones (Book 2)
Daughter of the Sea by Berlie Doherty

All of these books are very gently read and will be shipped out by me after the winners are chosen by the Random Number Generator on Monday, April 12th in the morning after I log on to my blog.

THE CONTEST RULES
The rules are fairly simple. Starting today with this introduction post, each comment will be an entry in the contest. The comment must be something more than 2 or 3 words, interacting with each post in some way; opinion, agreement, additions, etc. Each person can comment ONCE on each post. At the end of the week I will assign each comment a number, and pick first from those numbers for the 1st Prize and again for the 2nd Prize.

Example: If you comment once on each post during YA Week, and there are 14 posts, then you'll be entered 14 times.

I'll sort through the comments and delete duplicates, spam, or skip my own comments if I reply to someone. I'll go down the line from today through the week and number all the comments in order. Leave your email if it's not connected to your profile.

That's it! No extra entries, but if you would like to become a follower, or have my blog delivered by email I would appreciate it greatly. When I reach 100 followers I will run a contest for that too:)

Enjoy the week and good luck!

~Moonsanity

May Your Easter Be Whimsical

If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older. ~Tom Stoppard

Let the rain kiss you.
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby.
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk.
The rain makes running pools in the gutter.
The rain plays a little sellp-song on our roof at night--
And I love the rain.

~Langston Hughes

The Winner of Our Lovely Fish Is...

What? You didn't know we were giving away a fish? Really? Hmmm....


*snicker* Okay, I had to do something for April Fool's Day. You caught me, there is no fish. Instead I drew a winner for the mass market copy of Demon Possessed by Stacia Kane. The handy Random Number Generator came up with Number 8:

Bookie who said:

My minions need to be big and strong and know how to cook. Sexy and can whip up a meal. Perfect!

I've emailed Bookie and will send her address to the publisher. Thanks to everyone who entered and left their comments expressing what type of minions they would like if they could have them. I didn't give my answer so I will now:

If I could have minions I would make them fairly small and fast so they could clean house, do laundry and catch my cats in the act of peeing, transporting them to the litter box before the pee hits the floor. Wouldn't that be lovely?

~Moonsanity

I'm Prolific...and Giddy

Jackie over at Literary Escapism gave me the Prolific Blogger Award. According to the award creators a Prolific Blogger is one who is intellectually productive… keeping up an active blog that is filled with enjoyable content. Since I consider Jackie's blog to be one of the best book blogs I've run across, for her to give it to me is making me giddy. Seriously, how cool is that?

-Every winner of the Prolific Blogger Award has to pass on this award to at least seven other deserving prolific bloggers.

-Each Prolific Blogger must link to the blog from which he/she has received the award.

-Every Prolific Blogger must link back to this post, which explains the origins and

motivation for the award.

-Every Prolific Blogger must visit this post and add his/her name in the

Mr. Linky, so that we all can get to know the other winners. (Click here

for the Mr. Linky page.)

I am giving this to seven other bloggers that are certainly prolific, as well as fantastic:)

KC Books

Cym Lowell

Kindle Vixen

Bibliofreakblog

Word for Teens

My World...in words and pages

Lisa Loves Books

~Moonsanity

A Time Travel Romance Review

Flirting with Forever
Author: Gwyn Cready
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Mass Market Paperback, 448 pages
Authors Website
Available at: Indie Bound, Powells, Barnes & Noble

SUMMARY: Art historian Cam Stratford is about to make a name for herself with her sexy tell-all "fictographies" of 17th century painters, but she's more familiar with her subjects than her readers can imagine. Thanks to a time portal she's discovered, she has caused quite a stir in the Great Beyond. To protect their members' reputations, the Guild representing dead artists convinces playboy Sir Peter Lely, portraitist to Charles II and a man with his own dark secrets, to sabotage Cam's project. A few hours posing on Peter's modeling chaise lead to a night of seductive passion--then Cam returns home and discovers his betrayal. But before she can turn her angry pen on her lover, Peter makes a surprise visit, transforming Cam's 21st century life into chaos of classic proportion.

I accepted a copy of Flirting with Forever from the publisher because I wanted to give time travel romance a chance. The paranormal romance books I usually read tend to have killing, and possibly maiming, as part of the plot, so this was a switch for me. During the first part of the book I felt as if I was getting to know the characters and the author's writing at the same time. It was as if I was rolling around the words in my mind, like you would a new wine, swishing and tasting. By the time I was halfway through the book I realized I DID care about the two main characters. I wanted them to be happy, and together. I liked Cam, the main female character from the start because she's smart and witty, but not snobbish or full of herself as some people within the art world tend to be. It took me longer to warm up to Peter, the male lead character. Actually, it wasn't until he time traveled to present day that I really saw what kind of man he was. I loved the way he looked at our modern society as compared to the 1600's.

Flirting with Forever is a fun, romantic read, but at the same time it really has a fascinating look at the differences between modern artists and historic painters, including techniques and attitudes. The author wove these ideas throughout the book so it didn't take away from the plot, but added to it's charm.

There are also lessons in human nature that involve family, love, and seeing the whole truth, not just what is perceived on the surface. There are two very steamy, and erotic scenes in Flirting With Forever that had me holding my breath. Each was very different from the other and the author had my undivided attention both times.

The time travel aspect of the story was fascinating, as well as humorous in many instances. Flirting With Forever is a mix of historic and contemporary romance. I think fans of either genre will enjoy this book.

AUTHOR'S FABULOUS SHOE CONTEST
Win a pair of designer Michael Kors shoes ($165 value*) in the Flirting with Forever launch contest! Ends 4/11/1010 Details of the contest are here: http://www.cready.com/shoes_contest.php

~Moonsanity