Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Book Reviews’ Category

Book Review: Awake, an anthology to benefit The Trevor Project

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , on February 10, 2012 |

I picked up Awake a while back while doing research for my next book, set when Dan is 13. The chance to read some short stories showcasing the point of view of LGBTQ teens seemed like a perfect opportunity. And I was intrigued by the idea of an anthology benefiting the Trevor Project. The collection [...]

Read Full Post »

Book Review: Conflict and Suspense by James Scott Bell

Posted in Book Reviews, writing process, tagged , , , on February 3, 2012 | 8 Comments »

James Scott Bell is well-known among writers for his useful, practical wisdom on improving our writing and story structure. Conflict and Suspense is the fourth writing book of his I’ve purchased, the third one I’ve read, and like its predecessors, it’s going to be a mainstay in my writing library. I have two bookshelves of [...]

Read Full Post »

Review: A Thirty-Something Girl by L.M. Stull

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , on January 27, 2012 | 2 Comments »

L.M. Stull’s debut novel A Thirty-Something Girl has a fascinating main character: Hope has been living a lie, covering up what she sees as her imperfections until they come crashing down around her on her birthday. Hope has hit rock-bottom, and we get to follow her on her way back up. I had to read [...]

Read Full Post »

Review: Shine by Lauren Myracle

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , on January 20, 2012 |

Lauren Myracle’s Shine drew attention after the National Book Award fiasco back in the fall, and while the situation was unfortunate at best, it drew lots of attention to a well-deserving book. Shine is a gem of a young adult novel, compelling in its ability to wrestle with difficult issues while entertaining. Myracle’s rural Southern [...]

Read Full Post »

Review: Story Engineering by Larry Brooks

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , on January 13, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Larry Brooks has created a must-read writing book in Story Engineering. His approach to storytelling uses six Core Competencies to build structurally sound, compelling narratives. Brooks lays out the plan well and makes it simple to understand, though there’s no guarantee it will be easy to execute. While dozens of writing books exist, this is [...]

Read Full Post »

Book Review: Farsighted by Emlyn Chand

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged on December 30, 2011 | 4 Comments »

There’s nothing more frustrating as a reader than really, really wanting to love a book — and not quite being able to. I loved the description of Farsighted by Emlyn Chand, even though paranormal isn’t my usual fare. The concept is great, a blind teen with second sight who must try and prevent the death [...]

Read Full Post »