Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books Set in a School



Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.   

August is winding down and here we are at the last Top Ten Tuesday of the month. I love this week's topic, and knew exactly how I wanted to take it when I read we had a School Freebie. So, here are my...

Top Ten Books Set in a School


Hogwartz is just as much of a character as any of the students and faculty that resides within its walls. I could never tire of reading more about this magical school.


This is a sequel to A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It tells the story of the girls left behind at Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies. The author was totally captivated by the characters in the original, and her passion for the material shines through.


As I said in my 2011 review of Vordak the Incomprehenisble: Rule the School, I don't suffer from writer envy, but I totally wish I wrote this one. Vordak wants to create a powerful ray to turn all the water to ice, but due to an unexpected error, he winds up at Farding Junior High. One of the funniest books I have ever read.


Nate Rocks the School is another funny story that I enjoyed. Now in fifth grade, Nate Rocks must step in when the class trip to New York City is in danger of being canceled. 


The Red Sheet is one of my all-time favorite YA novels. The main character, Bryan Dennison, a self-centered jock and obnoxious bully, wakes up one day a totally different person. He can't remember what caused the change or who he was before, but the target of his bullying isn't interested in anything the new Bryan has to offer. 


This middle grade novel tackles the topics of censorship and cyberbullying. The Truth about Truman School is a novel about what happens when two students, frustrated by the censorship of their meaningful articles for the school newspaper, start their own unofficial newspaper with few rules and a notice that there will be no censorship. This approach quickly creates a situation of cyberbullying and many lives are changed as a result. 


Sophie Washington: Secret Santa is a middle grade novel that primarily takes place at Sophie's school. A mysterious Santa has been mailing packages to Sophie, but there is no secret Santa exchange going on at school, so she can't imagine who it could be. A side plot includes the issue of bullying. 


This is one of my favorite middle grade novels. SLOB is the story of Owen Birnbaum, a genius inventor who created a TV that shows the past. A tragedy led him to overeating and now he is the target of bullies. A new kid that he refers to as the school psycho tortures him, and when Owen's cookies disappear from his lunch, he creates a new thief catching device. What Owen learns along the way, however, is that science doesn't have all the answers. 


When my girls were younger, I saw Dork Diaries as the female answer to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. My girls read both series, but I much prefer Dork Diaries because the characters grow and change more than Greg and his crew. The series starts off with Nikki Maxwell starting a new school, meeting her new soon-to-be BFFs, and clashing with a mean girl. 


Monster School is a poetry collection of zany seasonal happenings that reminded me of Shel Silverstein's work.  

What do you think of my list of books? What are some of your favorite books set in a school?

Monday, August 29, 2022

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Aug 29

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday. 

 


It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date

It is hard to believe the end of August is here, but welcome to the final August 2022 edition of It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday. I hope you had a nice weekend. 

With college move-in behind us, we are working on our new normal. I have detested that phrase since the pandemic started, but here I am using it to talk about life without our baby home full-time.

Thankfully, she is doing well. Classes started and during downtime she has been to the beach or gone out with a few friends. I am also thankful that my hectic work schedule has kept me busy. She texts me when she needs something, and I text her the daily Travis photo as she requested, but I am doing my best to let her dictate how much we talk. 

The Lil' Princess will receive her first care package from home with things she forgot to take with her, and she will find a little surprise from home tucked inside. Next care package will go out this coming week with surprises from her sister's recent trip to the Outer Banks. 

I've been in more of a reading mood lately, but can't say I've accomplished as much as I would like. My review of this writing craft book appeared here last week.


I finished Big Red. My review will appear on September 23. 


I started reading this seasonal title this week.


On September 27, look for my First Chapter Review of this middle grade fantasy novel at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection
On September 28, my review of this business book will appear here.  


In October, I will be reviewing this historical novel.



After that, it is probably these.









Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

No books in my physical mailbox this past week, but I grabbed three Kindle books. Two of them Kindle freebies. The other one I had a promotional credit that covered the cost.




That it from my neck off the woods. Hope you all have a great week. I look forward to seeing what books you've been reading. 


Thursday, August 25, 2022

Book Review: The Foundation of Plot by Elena Hartwell


Beginning writers. Accomplished writers. Writers looking to brush up on your skills or seeking motivation. If any of these apply to you, The Foundation of Plot by Elena Hartwell might be just the thing. 

Hartwell's The Foundation of Plot appears to be part of the planned A Wait, Wait, Don't Query (Yet!) series. If so, I can't wait to see what the future brings. 

In The Foundation of Plot, the reader opens to find they are back to basics--which I find is often good and inspiring--followed by a writing exercise. The book continues along with solid, engaging information followed by writing exercises. (Side note: This is one of the first writing craft books where I actually performed the exercises as I read.) 

Some covered topics:


  • Multiple Points of View
  • Dropping Readers into Action
  • World-Building 
  • Building a Scene
  • Common Elements of Structure
I said in my First Chapter Review of this book, I like the format of The Foundation of Plot and how concisely it is written. This encouraged me to work through the exercises and complete them. 

Writers at many levels will find great value in The Foundation of Plot.

Highly recommended!

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B2TY6JY2
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Elena Hartwell (June 6, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 93 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8986020600
  • Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | IndieBound


Section of Chapter One: The Foundation of Plot


Raw doesn’t mean terrible. It’s just not ready for prime time.



Foundation—story structure—underlies everything that writers produce. No matter how avant-garde a literary work might appear on the surface, dig deep enough and a skeleton lies underneath.


Solidifying that underlying foundation can come at any point during the writing process. It could be in an outline before writing a single sentence, much as a carpenter uses a blueprint to build a house. Or it could be during a rough draft, determining the foundation through trial and error with character and action, like a dancer experimenting with choreography while the music plays.


What’s important is that the process suits the writer for each individual project. For one project, a writer might benefit from building an outline first, while another project might evolve better with an organic method, discovering the foundation during a first draft. 


There’s no right or wrong about writing from an outline or relying on an organic process—only that the writer finishes that often stubborn first draft. Some writers mix and match, starting by writing organically, then creating an outline partway through, or changing the original outline completely as scenes begin to unfold. Or writers might create a simple outline, then figure out the bulk of the project while building the scenes on the page. 


It’s never too late to make repairs. Even after multiple drafts, a writer can still improve a manuscript’s foundation. 


Regardless of when the writer pays attention to foundation, the manuscript will continue to evolve through each rewrite. From the first inklings of an idea to the final, polished manuscript, writers—whether they know it or not—shape and reshape the foundation of their work. 


One concept that will be useful before going deeper into foundation is the difference between story and plot. Once that concept is clear, it may be easier to identify what does or doesn’t work in a current project.


Story Versus Plot


As used in this guide, story is all-encompassing. It includes what happens before a book starts, everything in all the scenes, and everything that occurs off the page. It even includes what happens after the manuscript is finished, when the reader’s imagination runs wild after “the end.”


Plot, on the other hand, is made up solely of the events on the page.


One error writers make in their early—and sometimes even late—drafts is to include parts of the story that aren’t necessary for the plot or leave out scenes a reader most needs on the page. This comes back to foundation. Those errors would be like using either too many joists to hold up a floor—making it heavy, cumbersome, and expensive—or not enough joists—causing the floor to fail the first time it bears weight.


In both of those instances, the writer has confused story and plot. 


Falling in love with our own words, our characters, and the scenes that play out in our heads are constant dangers for writers. We want to include everything we research and invent. Sometimes this causes us to start too early in the lives of the characters and include scenes that are potentially beautifully written and explore behavior, motivation, and backstory but don’t move the plot forward. We love our characters and believe a reader will be just as curious as we are about every aspect of their lives.


Readers, for the most part, want to follow a series of connected events leading to a satisfying conclusion. They don’t want to read a series of unconnected events that send them in circles or down alleys that ultimately lead nowhere. 


That is not the same as sending a reader down a wrong path for dramatic effect, as in a mystery where the detective follows the wrong lead. That experience can add to the plot, as a wrong lead can increase suspense. But it can be a problem if a detective goes down a wrong path and learns nothing from it.


Readers want each road the writer takes them down to add to the overall story—even when that road teaches the protagonist what they don’t want or what won’t solve the problem at hand.


A detective determining who isn’t the culprit can be just as important—and satisfying in its own way—as when the detective catches the killer. 


Readers may not be able to put this concept into words, but we’ve all heard comments like, “it took several chapters before I got into it” or “the writing was fine, but nothing happened at the beginning” or “I lost interest halfway through.” Those are instances when a writer likely included material the reader didn’t need—no matter how good the quality of the writing.


Don’t confuse well-written sentences with a well-written book. High quality paints and canvases and excellent brushstrokes can still turn out an unsuccessful painting. A solid manuscript is more than just well-written sentences, beautifully crafted paragraphs, or even interesting chapters. A solid manuscript has a clear story arc, with each scene in each chapter adding to the whole and building a solid foundation.



Find Elena Hartwell Online:

www.ElenaHartwell.com
Writing Blog: The Mystery of Writing
As Elena Taylor: ElenaTaylorAuthor.com
Goodreads
BookBub - @elenahartwell
Instagram - @elenataylorauthor
Twitter - @Elena_TaylorAut
Facebook - @ElenaTaylorAuthor   


I received a paperback copy from the author through Providence Book Promotions. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.



Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Completed Series I Wish Had More Books



Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  

Welcome back to Tuesday. We made it home in the torrential rain yesterday. We have been in a drought situation all year, so rain is good. I would prefer a week's worth of rain not arrive all in one day, but let's not be choosy. 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is all about series of books that have been completed, but loyal fans wish more books were on the way. So, here's my...

Top Ten Completed Series I Wish Had More Books


This was the last book in the Sullivan Boys series by K. M. Daughters. Once all the siblings' stories were told, the series ended. I really wish there were more.


This one might seem lame. With book spinoffs, television shows, and museums, bonnet heads can get their Laura Ingalls Wilder fix. I just wish she had written more fiction based upon the Wilders' married life.  


I had the privilege of providing a back cover endorsement for this novel by Kathi Macias. This award-winning series spanned three books and told the stories of life and death faith-based stories. These are amazing stories of extreme devotion. 


The Left Behind series is what got me back into reading fiction after many years of reading non-fiction exclusively. The authors wrote prequels for this series, but after Jesus comes back to earth, that is the end. I'm not sure what else they could have written, but I wanted more.



Vannetta Chapman wrote a cozy mystery series about a bishop with a special gift. This trilogy left me wanting more of all these characters and their community. 


I haven't read political thrillers in a while, but would love to see more of Grossman's Executive series. 


Here is another trilogy where I wanted to spend more time with the characters. C. W. Gortner is so talented. I really need to read something by him again soon. 


My wanting more books out of this Civil War trilogy makes no sense because it is about a specific period in time with specific characters. I loved this series and still wish it carried beyond the end of the war. 


Yvonne Prinz wrote a fabulous trilogy of a pre-teen and her imaginary friend. When I wrote about the last book, a Clare television series was in development for the Canadian Family Channel. I expected more books, but they never came. I am disappointed. 


I can't be too sad about the Tradd Street series ending, because Karen White has already published the first book in its spinoff series and the cover for book 2, which comes out in May 2023, has been revealed. Still, I liked Melanie as the main character. I hope I like Nora as the protagonist just as much.

There are a couple more I could add to the list, but I don't know if they are officially over yet. 

So, what are some series you wish hadn't ended? What would you like to see happen to your favorite characters? I look forward to finding out. 

Monday, August 22, 2022

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Aug 22

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday. 

 


It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date

Happy Monday! I am scheduling this ahead of time because we are driving home from North Carolina today. The Lil' Princess is now at UNCW and we are hopeful her transition goes well. Here are a few photos from the weekend.


Right before we left her at school and headed home


Last minute shopping



Riverwalk in Wilmington

As far as my reading world, I finished Big Red. Totally loved it. Look for my review on September 23.


Look for my review of this writing craft book here on August 25.


On September 27, I will feature a First Chapter Review of this book at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection

In October, I will be reviewing this book.




I will be working on this Christmas book in between. 


After that, it is probably these.









Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I picked up this Kindle freebie last week.


What did your reading world look like last week? Any new reads you wish to share?