The first friend I ever made in blogland asked if I’d like to do an advance review for her book, House of Diamonds, that will come out in October. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity and then worried because I’ve grown into a rather impatient reader after a three year, plot-driven diet.

That being said, I enjoyed the book. It’s not escapist fare, but rather a slice of life–a realistic slice of LDS family life.  I enjoyed it more than the prequel Uncut Diamonds. In an interview I did with Karen, she said she planned on being more plot-driven in her next novel. She delivered on this promise. I like how she alternated chapters to bring out two different plot lines.

The main character Marcie is LDS, has seven young children, and aspires to writing a novel. So yeah, I really related to her. I laughed out loud at the suggestions her writing group gave to set aside one to two hours EVERY day to write. I think any busy mom with a dream could relate to Marcie. I also cried with Marcie’s sister when her newborn was diagnosed with some serious medical problems.

I admired that Marcie held on to her dreams, but realized that the top priority for this time and season in her life was being the best mom to her children. Marcie was more at peace with herself in this book and that’s perhaps one reason I enjoyed it more than Uncut Diamonds.

I also found a great quote I’ll be hanging on my fridge:

I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down . . . (Nehemiah 6:3) 

You all will have to read the book to understand what that’s all about!

Thanks, Karen!

House of Diamonds releases in October.

FTC disclosure:  The author provided me with a free ARC to review. My opinions are my own and not influenced by receiving a free book.

Genre: Adventure

Ages: 11-15

Here’s Frank’s latest book. (He’s the author of the awsome Hashbrown Winters series that my family enjoyed reading. I interviewed him here.) I can’t wait to read his new book. And isn’t is lucky I have a couple of children’s birthdays coming up this spring?

The Kirkus review had some nice things to say about this book:

If you’re in the Salt Lake area, stop by the Sandy Barnes and Noble tomorrow night where you can meet Frank in person, congratulate him on his new hardcover book, and even buy yourself (or child) a copy.

Guardians of the Hidden Scepter Release Party

Thursday, March 10

6:00-8:00 pm

at the Sandy Barnes and Noble (10180 South State Street)

Guardians of the Hidden Scepter by Frank L. Cole

Amber never dreamed her archaeology class would turn into a top secret mission that would take her across the globe, but when her teacher goes missing, Amber realizes it’s up to her to protect the Hidden Scepter or risk unleashing an ancient power too terrifying to imagine. This guaranteed page-turner from the bestselling author of the Hashbrown Winters series is perfect for the adventurer in your family.

This is Tamara (with her husband). She’s one of the first friends I made in blogland, and is a new author. Her book Perilous came out last November. I bought and downloaded the ebook version of this book using my husband’s iPad. The only problem is he takes it to work everyday so I’ve only read two chapters! Two chapters!

Originally, I wanted to review her book here. However, since it’s taking me forever to read her book, I thought instead I’d just let  you all know about a new YA thriller. The prologue hooked me.

Jaci Rivera has plans for her sophomore year: go to regionals with the track team, make the honor roll, and eat too much pizza with her best friends, Callie and Sara. Her biggest concern is Amanda, the pushy girl who moved in a few months ago.

What she doesn’t plan for is catching a robber red-handed, or being kidnapped. The desperate thief drags her and her friends 2,000 miles across the Canadian border. They escape from his lair, only to find that he has spies and agents watching their path home, waiting to intercept them and take them back.

Then Jaci finds something out about her family. Something which irrevocably connects her to their kidnapper, and makes her question their chances of escape.

Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction (Age 9 and up)

Amazon.com Review

The evacuation of Jews from Nazi-held Denmark is one of the great untold stories of World War II. On September 29, 1943, word got out in Denmark that Jews were to be detained and then sent to the death camps. Within hours the Danish resistance, population and police arranged a small flotilla to herd 7,000 Jews to Sweden. Lois Lowry fictionalizes a true-story account to bring this courageous tale to life. She brings the experience to life through the eyes of 10-year-old Annemarie Johannesen, whose family harbors her best friend, Ellen Rosen, on the eve of the round-up and helps smuggles Ellen’s family out of the country. Number the Stars won the 1990 Newbery Medal.

I first read/heard this book in college when John Smith, my Teaching Reading professor, read it aloud to our class. I fell in love with it, bought it, and have read it to all the elementary students I taught and my own children. You know it’s a good story when you can read it that many times and never tire of it. Any book by Lois Lowry is a good pick. If you like dystopian fiction you may also enjoy The Giver as much as I did.

About the First Book: Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians

A hero with an incredible talent…for breaking things. A life-or-death mission…to rescue a bag of sand. A fearsome threat from a powerful secret network…the evil Librarians.

Alcatraz Smedry doesn’t seem destined for anything but disaster. On his 13th birthday he receives a bag of sand, which is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians plotting to take over the world. The sand will give the Librarians the edge they need to achieve world domination. Alcatraz must stop them!…by infiltrating the local library, armed with nothing but eyeglasses and a talent for klutziness.

“Readers who prefer fantasy with plenty of humor should enjoy entering Alcatraz’s strange but amusing world.” -School Library Journal

These books are fun, fun, fun to read. They are high adventure and silly at the same time. It’s written in the quirky voice of the Alcatraz Smedry the thirteen-year-old protagonist. Each chapter starts with the narrator speaking directly to the reader and then plunges back into the fast-paced story. Brandon Sanderson is a masterful storyteller and this series is much more lighthearted than his adult fantasy books which are also amazing.

There are four books in the series. The fourth was just released Wednesday.

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

First, get over the cover. I’d heard lots of good reviews about this book and was quite excited to read it. Then I saw the cover. For the record, the cover photo is not anywhere in the book. Yes, Grace Divine, the main character, wears a purple wrap just like the one pictured, but it’s over a white dress which is never removed in any scene. Chalk it up to marketing–which coincidentally nearly made me skip this book if I hadn’t trusted those recommending it.

One of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much was the realistic family life it portrayed. It was refreshing to  read about a main character operating within the framework of real family life. So many YA books have teenage main characters with absent, stupid, or self-absorbed parents. Not the case here.

Oddly enough the story unfolds inside a pastor’s family. Despain has an intriguing explanation for how and why a paranormal world developed  within a Christian theology making the subject matter seem not so dark. She definitely explores good, evil, and forgiveness.

Coming December 28: The Lost Saint: A Dark Divine Novel

Some of my most favorite gifts to both give and receive are books. So from now until Christmas I’ll be sharing a variety of my favorites. Today’s pick is a children’s picture book. The pictures are as fabulous as the story (not surprising since it’s a Caldecott Honor Book).

From Booklist:

Bear and Hare are involved in a gardening partnership, with industrious, clever Hare reaping all the vegetable profits.

From School Library Journal:

Lazy Bear sleeps through every planting season, so conniving Hare makes a deal. He and his family will work Bear’s land and split the crops in half. He’ll even let Bear choose which half he wants?”tops or bottoms.” Bear chooses tops so Hare plants root crops, leaving Bear with a useless harvest. A furious Bear insists next time he’ll take bottoms so Hare plants corn . . .

It’d be really nice if the book could be enjoyed by everyone in this wild bunch. Please leave your ideas in the comments. Thanks!!

I have not been disappointed. While I am far from having cooked every recipe in the book, my family has liked every single dish I’ve made. That is nothing short of a miracle.

Liz offers suggestions for side dishes to accompany her main courses. These suggestions are a good start to rounding out the meal. However, I always have to add another vegetable or two–but that’s simple enough.

She assigns a food theme to each day and uses that to plan meals for two weeks at a time. Her theme nights all revolve around the type of cuisine being served: Italian, Mexican, Grill, Pizza, Comfort, etc. I have used themes for quite some time, but mine are based more around the type of meat or the craziness of that night’s schedule: quick and easy, slow cooker, ground beef, chicken, with Mexican and Italian thrown in there.

I liked her cuisine-style themes, but it’s not a good fit for our lifestyle. I’m still working on meshing her themes with mine. For example, I need to make sure I throw in a ground beef night or two or I’ll end up with a freezer full of ground beef at the end of the year and nothing else. Also, I have one (at least) insanely crazy night each week where dinner has to be in the slow cooker so we can all eat whenever it is that we’re home that night. For me, I have to look at the week’s activities before I can plan dinner.

I have loved cooking out of this book. The recipes are simple and EVERYONE eats them.

The Thorn is author Daron D. Fraley’s debut novel. You can read about a chance to win this book and a $25 Barnes and Noble gift certificate over on his blog.

Back cover copy from the book:

Three tribes are at war on the planet Gan, unaware that the sign of Christ’s birth on an unknown world – Earth – is about to appear in the heavens.

During a bloody skirmish with Gideonite troops, Jonathan of Daniel spares Pekah, a young enemy soldier, gaining his trust forever. These two distant brothers from estranged tribes covenant with each other to end the war being waged by a self-proclaimed emperor, and soon discover the intentions of a far more dangerous foe named Rezon – a sinister general bent on ruling those he can bring into subjection and destroying all others.

In the end, Pekah’s selfless bravery is the means by which all the tribes are united. But there are dissenters, and Rezon escapes a well-deserved fate. When the promised heavenly signs appear, will there be peace at last, or will the malefactors once again threaten the safety of them all?

The first time I read about the premise of this book I was intrigued. Over the years I’ve wondered about the other worlds we know exist and how they too believe and follow Christ who was born on our Earth. Mostly I stop there and place those wonderings on a shelf for later. I’m interested to see how Daron imagines this other world taught to believe in Christ. The Thorn will be released on March 16 at this launch party:

Tuesday, March 16, 2010 – 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Valor Author Lollapalooza Book Launch
A world of difference…
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
The Gateway
6 Rio Grande Drive
Salt Lake City, UT

New books by authors Michele Ashman Bell (Young Adult-Coming of Age/Romance), Tristi Pinkston (Mystery/Comedy), Karen E. Hoover (YA Fantasy), Daron D. Fraley (Speculative Fiction) and Kimberly Job (Romance) will be released at this book launch event as well. All these authors will be in attendance and signing books.

I’m particularly interested in one other upcoming release. Karen E. Hoover’s Sapphire Flute has been touted as clean gripping YA fantasy. Since I’m a parent of a couple of YA readers that’s important to me.

It has been 3,000 years since a white mage has been seen upon Rasann.

In the midst of a volcanic eruption miles outside of her village, Ember discovers she can see magic and change the appearance of things at will. Against her mother’s wishes, she leaves for the mage trials only to be kidnapped before arriving. In trying to escape, she discovers she has inherited her father’s secret–a secret that places her in direct conflict with her father’s greatest enemy.

At the same time, Kayla is given guardianship of the sapphire flute and told not to play it. The evil mage C’Tan has been searching for it for decades and the sound alone is enough to call her. For the flute to be truly safe, Kayla must find its birthplace in the mountains high above Javak. The girls’ paths are set on a collision course…a course that C’Tan is determined to prevent at all costs.

So there’s a few new choices if you’re looking for something to read.