Winner of the November Reading Challenge Giveaway!!

It's the end of the month and time to announce the winner of this month's reading challenge giveaway.

The winner of these two books is...

Ashley!!

Congratulations!! I'll get your books out to you asap. As for everyone else, stop by tomorrow to see what I'm giving away next month!

Winner of the November Book Giveaway!

I was supposed to announce this yesterday, but was still getting caught up on a bunch of things and forgot. So, here is the winner of these two books...

Jennifer!!

Congratulations!! I'll get your books out to you asap. For everyone else, stop by this saturday to see what else I'm giving away!

Five Things I'm Thankful For

Hope all you Americans out there had a great Thanksgiving with yummy turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and pumpkin pie! :)

 

I got a nasty stomach flu virus the day before Thanksgiving, which almost derailed our plans. I haven't been laid out by an illness so thoroughly in years. It wasn't pretty. Fortunately, it was a 24 hour thing and I was able to go visit my grandparents and other immediate family for the weekend. It was so good to see them that it inspired me to make a list of the top five things I'm thankful for:

 

1. My husband. For too many reasons to list. :)
2. My kids. They're great, and they took care of me when I was sick, and even made a point not to get overly energetic and refrained from arguing with each other. Which is good, because I couldn't even get out of bed. :)
3. My family. They're the greatest.
4. My friends. They're fun, supportive, and interesting. I'm lucky to have met them.
5. My agent. There's none better.

Even though I don't have everything I want, I have a lot. And I'm grateful for it all.

 

What are you thankful for?

Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

My kids are home all week for Thanksgiving break, and I'm still intensely focused on my WIP, so I don't have a post for today. Instead, I wish everyone in the US a very happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots of turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. I know I will. :)

Apparently, you should avoid the fish, though...

Um...yeah...guess I'll stick with turkey...

See you all next week!

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right? If your brother's been accused of a terrible crime and you're the main witness, then you banish all doubt and defend him. Isn't that what families do? When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her at a party, his world of work and girls begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the crime, but says he didn't do it, her world of revision, exams and fitting in at a new school begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide.
This story shows the aftermath of an accusation of date rape in a very realistic way. The focus is on the families of the parties involved, rather than victim or the accused rapist. People don’t tend to think about how rape can send shockwaves through families—both the victim’s and the accused rapist’s. Sometimes bringing them closer, sometimes tearing them apart. I thought this was brilliant, and the story did a great job of capturing the ordeal that both families go through.

All the characters are interesting and multi-dimensional. No one is all victim or all bad guy or all supportive sibling. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Everyone has moments of reflection and remorse. In other words, everyone is human. They all seemed real to me.

The story surrounds Mikey and Ellie, siblings to Karyn and Tom—the victim and accused rapist. Mikey listens to his family bash Tom, saying his whole family so rich they’re above the law. Ellie listens to her family bash Karyn, saying she was begging for it with her short skirt and drinking too much, and regretted her choice the next morning so she went after Tom and his money. It was really interesting to see the immediate loyalty each family shows, and also interesting to see this loyalty manifested by attacking the other side. That rang true to me. I imagine this would happen often in real life.

Both Mikey and Ellie set out to protect their siblings, which is how their paths cross. Against all odds, they like each other, but the obstacles between them are huge. I really liked how their romance unfolded, and how each grew and changed as they got to know each other. This story really focuses on how they deal with their broken families, and also come to terms with each other. The trial is in the background, and I’ve heard some readers complain that we don’t get more information about it. But I was okay with that, because this wasn’t Karyn’s story. Or Tom’s. I really liked how Mikey and Ellie end up, and I liked how some things were left up in the air. That’s more how real life is.

I haven’t read Downham’s first book, Before I Die, yet. But I will. You Against Me is so poignant and well-written that I can’t wait to read more of Downham’s work.

Inspirational Quotes

I'm completely entrenched in my current project, and didn't get a chance to finish today's post. So I've got some more great quote for you. Enjoy!

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.
- Mark Twain

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.
- Robert Frost

Great writing leads constantly into surprises, and the writer should be the first one surprised.
- Bernard Malamud

Most bad books get that way because their authors are engaged in trying to justify themselves. If a vain author is an alcoholic, then the most sympathetically portrayed character in his book will be an alcoholic. This sort of thing is very boring for outsiders.
- Stephen Vizinczey

To get the right word in the right place is a rare achievement. To condense the diffused light of a page of thought into the luminous flash of a single sentence, is worthy to rank as a prize composition just by itself...Anybody can have ideas—the difficulty is to express them without squandering a quire of paper on an idea that ought to be reduced to one glittering paragraph.
- Mark Twain

Some critics will write 'Maya Angelou is a natural writer' — which is right after being a natural heart surgeon.
- Maya Angelou

I would never write about anyone who is not at the end of his rope.
- Stanley Elkin

The person who finds the time [to write] is the one who is going to become a writer. The person who doesn’t, won’t.
- Meg Cabot

I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.
- Jorge Luis Borges

There's a great power in words if you don't hitch too many of them together.
- Josh Billings

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
- Scott Adams

When I start a book, I always think it's patently absurd that I can write one. No one, certainly not me, can write a book 500 pages long. But I know I can write 15 pages, and if I write 15 pages every day, eventually I'll have 500 of them.
- John Saul

Writing comes more easily if you have something to say.
- Sholem Asch