Thursday Trailer...I Heart You, You Haunt Me

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

Another Lisa Schroeder book...the first I read sometime last year. And the first verse novel I had ever read! But I could have used about another 200 pages of it because I absolutely thought it was great. How do you let go of someone you loved when that someone is a ghost that haunts you?

Isn't the book cover lovely?

Totally YA Tuesday...Alex Awards

The Alex Awards are given to 10 Adult Fiction books with strong crossover appeal for young adult audiences. So they are not "Totally YA" but great reads none the less for the young and old (like me...although I go crazy for YA either way...so I don't know if I'm part of the old). Maybe Young at Heart is a better word for old! I've only chosen a couple to showcase--The Most Relevant and The Most Entertaining (based on my opinion).

The Most Relevant: The Good Soldiers by David Finkel (non-fiction)

In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. He called it "the surge." Among those listening were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers. About to head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them.

Fifteen months later, the soldiers returned home forever changed. Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter David Finkel was with them in Bagdad almost every grueling step of the way.

What was the true story of the surge? Was it really a success? Those are the questions he grapples with in his remarkable report from the front lines. Combining the action of Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down with the literary brio of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, The Good Soldiers is an unforgettable work of reportage. And in telling the story of these good soldiers, the heroes and the ruined, David Finkel has also produced an eternal tale--not just of the Iraq War, but of all wars, for all time.

The Most Entertaining: Souless (The Parasol Protectorate) by Gail Corriger

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

Manic Monday Mini-Review...The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Have I told you how much I love The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (2009)? I'll admit I did not want to read it because I had recently been on a string of fantasy books and was getting tired of how some of them did not match up to raving reviews on the back of the book jackets. But I didn't realize it was about zombies. Goodbye vampires, fairies, and magic! Zombies are the new thing. I guess I am a sort of zombie fan since I really like that whole clone of zombie movies out there like 28 Days Later, I Am Legend, and so on. But this book is better than all of those! I'll save the long review for later because right now I just want to get you all to read it.

Quote: From Beginning of Novel

My mother used to tell me about the ocean. She said there was a place where there was nothing but water as far as you could see and that it was always moving, rushing toward you and then away. She once showed me a picture that she said was my great-great-great grandmother standing in the ocean as a child. It has been years since, and the picture was lost to fire long ago, but I remember it, faded and worn. A little girl surrounded by nothingness

Summary:

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village—the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.

When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Oh, but the book is about so much more. The book jacket never mentions the bittersweet love affair between Mary and the brother of her betrothed. Nor does it mention her struggle with selfishness and loss and love and death and escape. Nor the "coming-of -age" aspect so prevalent in the book.

When you finish reading it...read it again. When that is not enough...wait anxiously for March 2010 when her companion novel will be released--The Dead-Tossed Waves. Absolutely love that title!

My Overall Rating? The Ultimate Post-Apocalptic Romance and Zombie Page Turner.

Sunday's Are For Blogging...Texas Winters and Zombies

Rant: Short Texas Winters...why? Our winter is pretty much over. I don't foresee any dips in the weather from here on out and I predict we will just slip into Spring by February. It feels like perfect Spring weather today and I guess many of you out there would love to be here right now....way below San Antonio...way down here by the Mexican border. But, when it's pretty much hot all year, two months of cold weather is not enough. And it's never like straight cold weather...our cold weather comes in spurts like 2 or 3 days of cold followed by a "warming trend." So much for my wool coat, boots, scarves, and hats. Starting around Novemeber, people start layering on the winter clothe the minute the temperature falls to the 60's. I'm one of those. Besides, I usually feel cold anywhere I go. Which leads me to my classroom...hot when its hot, cold when its cold. The cooling system doesn't kick in when it needs to, but then all of a suddent turns on when its freezing cold outside. It's like kids who wear sweaters year round even here in 100 degree weather and then wear flip flops on super cold days. Why can't they get it right?

Rave: THE FOREST OF HANDS OF TEETH!

I can not stop gushing about this book. I am a huge fan of I Am Legend... the book by Richard Matheson and the movie with Will Smith, although they have different endings. Can't say which ending I prefer, but I do love that small, very small element of romance in the book. Huh? Romance? Well, that's what I call it when Robert Neville has an emotional, intimate moment with a woman name Ruth...really, it's more like a moment truth, but if it had been possible for them to be together, I believe they would have. She regretted allowing Robert Neville to test her blood. Well, that is just my opinion. Ok. Enough I am Legend. You know, I wrote a whole paper on this book last semester, so I can go on and on!

Well, The Forest of Hands and Teeth...this is like 700 years after the world has been taken over by The Return. I wouldn't doubt if the film version of this book (if there's ever one) is titled The Return. Imagine the end of the Will Smith in I am Legend...where Ruth and her son find the fabled colony of survivors. Now imagine a new society beginning there--a society of a much simpler time, surrounded by a wall. And all around, out there, is the forest where the zombies live....that is The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

How do you live with zombies all around? With their low moans as part of the background noise and just a gate away from your life of normalcy?

I didn't know what to expect from this book, and I didn't know how much I would love it. It is captivating from the beginning. The back of the book described it as a "post-apocalyptic romance" but it's more than that. The romance is not really what it's about. It's about the continuation of humanity and collective memory. The world is not what we create but what we continue and what we all share in common experiences retold throughout generations of time and those things that can not die but only conitnue in those who come after us.

It's sci-fi, it's zombie, it's romance, it's action--the all around great writing, engaging protagonist, worst-case-scenario, and hope after all is lost kind of story. As Kung Fu Panda says, it's pure awesomeness!

Check out the book trailer on the post below this one!

Thursday Trailer...(on Friday--oops) The Forest of Hands and Teeth

I have had two very busy days, but...here it is Thursday Trailer!

All I can say is OH MY GOD! for The Forrest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. It is my "NEW" favorite book. I just absolutely loved it! This is book will be my focus for all of next week because that's how much I love it!


Teen Book Video Award 2008 Finalist (The Forest of Hands and Te - For more of the funniest videos, click here

This book trailer was a Teen Book Video Award Finalist...isn't it awesome?

Totally YA Tuesday...YALSA Literary Awards

Here they are...the winners of YALSA's 2010 Literary Awards. But I left out the Alex Awards because today is Totally YA Tuesday and the Alex Awards are about adult books with teen appeal (they are not purely YA)


William C. Morris Award (Best Book for First Time Author)

Winner: Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan

Fifteen-year-old Blake has a girlfriend and a friend who’s a girl. One of them loves him; the other one needs him. When he snapped a picture of a street person for his photography homework, Blake never dreamed that the woman in the photo was his friend Marissa’s long-lost meth addicted mom. Blake’s participation in the ensuing drama opens up a world of trouble, both for him and for Marissa. He spends the next few months trying to reconcile the conflicting roles of Boyfriend and Friend. His experiences range from the comic (surviving his dad’s birth control talk) to the tragic (a harrowing after-hours visit to the morgue). In a tangle of life and death, love and loyalty, Blake will emerge with a more sharply defined snapshot of himself

Finalists:

Ash by Malinda Lo

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

The Everafter by Amy Huntley

hold still by Nina LaCour


Michael L. Printz Award (Excellence in Young Adult Literature)

Winner: Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Cameron Smith, 16, is slumming through high school, overshadowed by a sister “pre-majoring in perfection,” while working (ineptly) at the Buddha Burger. Then something happens to make him the focus of his family's attention: he contracts mad cow disease. What takes place after he is hospitalized is either that a gorgeous angel persuades him to search for a cure that will also save the world, or that he has a vivid hallucination brought on by the disease. Either way, what readers have is an absurdist comedy in which Cameron, Gonzo (a neurotic dwarf) and Balder (a Norse god cursed to appear as a yard gnome) go on a quixotic road trip during which they learn about string theory, wormholes and true love en route to Disney World. Bray's surreal humor may surprise fans of her historical fantasies about Gemma Doyle, as she trains her satirical eye on modern education, American materialism and religious cults (the smoothie-drinking members of the Church of Everlasting Satisfaction and Snack 'N' Bowl). Offer this to fans of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy seeking more inspired lunacy.

Honor books:

Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Punkzilla by Adam Rapp

Tales of the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973 by John Barnes

Both of these have been on my TO READ LIST stored inside my brain for quite some time. I hope to get to them soon. But right now I am wrapped up in The Forest of Hands and Feet by Carrie Ryan and I am enthralled, literally enthralled by it right now.

Manic Monday Mini-Review...The Nature of Jade

Sometime in December I told you The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti (2007) is one of my all time favorite YA books. It's a book I always go back to when I need inspiration in my future author aspirations and one I think of as a nearly perfect YA romance with just enough serious issues, likeable characters and romance.

Summary (from Simon & Schuster)

I am not my illness. "Girl with Anxiety," "Trauma of the Week" -- no. I hate stuff like that. Everyone, everyone has their issue. But the one thing my illness did make me realize is how necessary it is to ignore the dangers of living in order to live. And how much trouble you can get into if you can't.

Jade DeLuna is too young to die. She knows this, and yet she can't quite believe it, especially when the terrifying thoughts, loss of breath, and dizzy feelings come. Since being diagnosed with Panic Disorder, she's trying her best to stay calm, and visiting the elephants at the nearby zoo seems to help. That's why Jade keeps the live zoo webcam on in her room, and that's where she first sees the boy in the red jacket. A boy who stops to watch the elephants. A boy carrying a baby.

Jade is drawn into Sebastian's cozy life and before she knows it, she's in love. With this boy who has lived through harder times than anyone she knows. This boy with a past.

Jade knows the situation is beyond complicated, but she hasn't felt this safe in a long time. She owes it all to Sebastian, her boy with the great heart. Her boy who is hiding a terrible secret. A secret that will force Jade to decide between what is right, and what feels right.

Master storyteller Deb Caletti has once again created characters so real, you will be breathless with anticipation as their riveting story unfolds.


Quote

He stands and the baby does something that makes me laugh. He grabs a chunk of the boy's hair in each of his hands, yanks the boy's head back. Man, that has to hurt. Oh, ouch. But the baby thinks it is a real crack-up, and starts to laugh. He puts his open mouth down to the boy's head in some baby version of a kiss.

The boy's head is tilted to the sky. He reaches his arms back and unclenches the baby's fingers from his hair. But once he is free, he keeps his chin pointed up, just keeps staring up above. He watches the backlit cotton candy clouds in a lava-lamp sky, and it is then I am sure this is a story I'll be part of.



Deb Caletti's writing is so compelling and she has the ability to bring an authentic young adult voice to all of her characters in all of her novels. Even though Jade suffers from anxiety, falling for a boy with serious problems does not add to her anxiety. If anything her relationship with Sebastian brings a sense of calm to her life even when it seems circumstances are out of their control. I also love how the author deals with more serious intimacy. The readers know what happens in that moment without the author plunging into detail. I want my daughter to one day read my favorite books, but I do not want her to read anything explicit as some YA books tend to have when it comes to intimacy. My overall rating is The Kind of Book You Just Want to Stay in Bed With All Day and Relish Every Favorite Moment.

Of course I love her name...Jade de Luna.

Monday's Rant and Rave... Cowboys, Betwixt, The Spectacular Now

Mini Rant and Rave (for Sunday...supposed to be Sunday's are for Blogging!)

Rant 1: The Cowboys! I just have that song in my mind..."what hurt's the most, is being so close..." That's all I gotta say.

Rant 2: Books that say they are like a certain other book and end up not being like that certain other book. I'm thinking Betwixt right now. The back of the cover made comparisons with Twilight, but I found nothing similiar. Twilight is a romance with a huge, heavy chemistry between a girl and vampire. It's all about will they or will they not be together and if they are together at what cost? It's about PG-13 passion that hardly goes beyond a kiss--all the passion is pretty much bottled up since Edward has a likin'for blood, so you just can't go around necking and getting all worked up. It's the anti-climatic passion, but that's what makes it so passionate (even for moms like me). Well, Betwixt has too many story lines with too many characters, a weird middle section that doesn't make sense (I just didn't get the whole faery world set up in the book), some strong language here and there, and an ending that doesn't really bring anyone together. I wasn't crazy about the whole fairy dust thing either. Zero passion. The one couple that seems on the verge of passion end up caring about one another on more of a close sibling basis (like Luke Skywalker and Princess Leah). Definitely not Twilight, so why say it is?.

Rave: I love books with male protagonists. And not 3rd person books, but 1st person narratives. It must be because the books shelves, especially when it comes to YA or romance or YA romance, are full of female heroines. I know how females think so I relate pretty well to them, but it's so fresh when the main character is a male and just lays it out like it is. And when a writer can get a girl to connect to a boy's voice in a novel, it's just awesome. That's the kind I especially like--when the voice is so authentic that you get into this character's head even though he is nothing like you. Case in point...The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp. The story is told from Sutter Keely's point of view and it's right on with a teenage boy's perspective.

Quote: As soon as we start, she clicks into a more confident mode. But it's na sort of soft confidence. A kind confidence. She could easily start coming off all superior or even ridicule me for my mathematical idiocy, but she doesn't even come close to that. She doesn't need to. Here in the realm of bboks she's self assured. She has some of the control she doesn't have anywhere else. Adn you know what? If I was a better listener, I'll bet she could get me to understand some things that Mr. Asterhole never came close to.

Love it! Sutter has a way of taking the edge off any serious or semi-serious topic or passage by saying something so "guy-like" or just right out funny. He's candid all right. I'll save some other quotes for the real review.

I guess there is nothing so "mini" about all that I wrote!

Thursday Trailer...Chasing Brooklyn

I am in love with book trailers...I don't know how long they've been around, but now it almost seems wrong to have a book and but not a book trailer to go with it. Whenever I finish a novel, any novel...I wan't a spectacular book trailer!

Well, I'm sure you guys can tell I'm trying to step up my blogging efforts. I've got Sundays Are For Blogging, Manic Monday Mini-Review, Totally YA Tuesday, and now Thursday Trailer. Hmmm...I need to throw in a few contests and then I will feel like a real book blogger. Can I keep it up? I really, really hope so!

Look at what I found today...it was barely uploaded on YouTube several hours ago.

A Book Trailer for Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder.




Love the premise, love the verse novel (a novel in poem form), and love the trailer!

Totally YA Tuesday: Favorite

Not ready to write a complete review of a YA book so I thought of something else...favorite quotes from a YA book!



Top 10 Favorite Lines from Breathe by Penni Russon



1. In the day he is merely a shadow of his nighttime self. (a beautiful line in the prologue...make you want to know about this character named Trout)



2. Yep, a year ago, Trout had known exactly who he was, and by far the most importantthing about him, his most distinguishing feature, the thing that dominated his unspectacular universe, was a girl... (so true that sometimes what defines us best is someone else...usually of the opposite sex)



3. She had not loved him, but he had love her, and for years that had been enough, that unrequited, familiar, slightly excruciating but not especially risky love. (wow...I remember feeling that way at some point during my teen years)



4. There was a particular smell in the math classroom, like old rubber and stale air and past students, as if the heater had stored up the same smell from previous years and then released an older, more unpeasant version of it. (wow...I can still smell it!)



5. The sun. Old fire burning. Caster of shadows, illuminating difference, speaking an ancient language of presence and absence, light and air, having and lacking. (this is like something I would totally write...if you've ever read anything of mine...this is basically what it often sounds like)



6. At bedtime Trout realized that Undine no longer shared his hemisphere. But still he was surrounded by her. (love that last part! But still he was surrounded by her...love how the word still is before the word he)



7. It was, she thought, kind of sexy to be inside someone's brain, especially when their brain was as wild as this. (like this idea)



8. He returned the kiss, tentative and blind, fumbling his lips inexpertly on and around hers. His tentativeness made the kiss all the more arousing; she tasted his uncertainty like sweet, warm wine. (love how the lines go from something innocent to something sultry)



9. Suddenly it seemed less astonishing, less of a coincience that they should be together and more to do with design, a pattern that had been laid out for them. And right now it didn't feel like a cosmic joke. It felt...comforting. (I believe in fate and destiny)



10. The moonless night leaked from the sky into the sea and blackness enveloped Undine; only in the village did the occasional light twinkle. (love idea of the night leaking...like dark ink)

Hmmm...Looks Like I Gotta Move Sundays are for Blogging to Monday! The Blue Girl

Another late edition of Sundays are for Blogging! Maybe will have to rename it Manic Monday Rants and Raves...better idea...maybe I should have Manic Monday (so named after a classic 80's hit by The Bangles)--with mini-reviews of YA books.

I think I will go with Manic Monday Mini Reviews--reviews of books you may have missed these last few years.

I will get on back on Sunday with my Rant and Rave.

MANIC MONDAY MINI-REVIEW...The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint

Synopsis : Kirkus Reviews, September 2004

Readers always know what to expect in a de Lint fantasy: supple, sinuous writing in a contemporary setting laced with fantasy neatly hardwired in place. Set in de Lint's fictional locale of Newford, the first-person narration trades off among three protagonists: Imogene, Maxine, and Adrian. Imogene had been hoping for a fresh start at a new high school after a dangerous past that included sex, drugs, and gangs: she's smart, funny, and knows how to work the odds. Maxine, under her overprotective mother's thumb, follows the rules but longs for just a little freedom. She and Imogene bond right away when their school's head cheerleader marks them for persecution. Adrian is the nerdy ghost of a dork who died at school and can't quite leave yet. Fairies like the evil twins of the wee free men, Imogene's not so imaginary childhood friend Pelly, and a shadow world impinging on this one conjure up satisfying elements of Buffy the Vampire Slayer-there's even a helpful British librarian named Ms. Giles. And yes, the tattooed and pierced Imogene does turn spectacularly blue in one of the many page-turning plot points. (Fantasy. YA)

Quotes:

"Don't forget - no one else sees teh world the way you do, so no one else can tell the stories that you have to tell."

***

"Everybody has a soul." I turn to Pelly. "And that means you, too."

"I'm not so sure of that," he says. "What does it feel like?"

"Having a soul?" I look at Maxine, but she only shrugs. "I don't know," I tell Pelly. "I don't have anything to compare it to- you know, what not having a soul would feel like."

We fall into a kind of awkward silence. I don't know about the others, but I'm working on what a soul is and not coming up with a whole lot. I mean, I just always thought of it as me- what I feel like being me. But surely Pelly feels like himself, so that means he's got a soul right? But if that's not your soul, then what is?

It's weird and not something you really think about, is it?

What do I think...The cover intrigued me while at the same time put me off because I wasn't sure I wanted to read about a fairy that looked like the typical, slightly rebellious teen with a punk look going on. And, although the story caught my attention from the first page, most of the story was a let down. I found myself "fake reading" the rest of it, but nonethelss I know what happens and I was able to find a few things I really enjoyed. To me the best parts are the beginninng and the end. In the first couple pages, the narration captivates the reader through Imogene's description of the fairy tales of our past coming to life in the middle of the night . At the end, I love when Imogene escorts Adrian, the ghost, into the eternal resting place greeted by an elaborite, massive arch. It makes you consider what your celestial future will be.

So, why was it a let down. I'm not sure, but maybe it's because I wanted the rest of it to be as imaginative and lyrical as the beginning. But all in all I crown it 2 Thumbs Up...which means The Book that Begins Strong and Has Some Enticing Elements But Just Isn't My Cup of Hot Chocolate.

Book Contest at Hooked on YA Books

Great contest at Hooked On YA Books!

It's a Happy New Year contest and the prize is any book released in 2010...yes, any book released in 2010.



Good luck!

Hmmm...think I'n getting an idea for my own contest. I might borrow her idea.

Late Totally YA Tuesday-Before I Die...Let Me Love You

Before I Die by Jenny Downham is a must read book. However, it is not for the younger reader due to serious subject matter and instances of strong language and adult situations. It's a crossover YA novel for teens and adults and falls into the "Edgy YA" category. To me it is also more literary than the typical contemporary fiction for teens. It takes you to the edge of the end--a teen girl's struggle with leukamia, the debilitating effects of disease, her loss of life just as she has discovered life. My favorite part happens to be the saddest part, but the writing is dream-like, like someone going in and out of consciousness, like someone saying goodbye through fragmented thoughts. The ending is experimental fiction at its best. And it's gut-wrenching with lucid language and mysterious and unbearable, yet beautiful.

There are certain things we all want to do before we our lives are finished. I could easily list about a 100 things with the top 5 all having to do with my family, loved ones, and friends. But, I'm 36 and I know what really counts. But what about when you're 16? Tessa's got her list and pretty high up on her list is losing her virginity. She expects to lose that part of her that defines her as inexperienced, but she doesn't expect to find life-altering love. As the book progresses, she finds more and more things to add because when life is ending, all of a sudden there is too much too let go. How does she say goodbye to the most important relationships in her life with her father, mother, brother, and boyfriend?

Excerpt:

I wish I had a boyfriend. I wish he lived in the wardrobe on a coat hanger. Whenever I wanted, I could get him out and he’d look at me the way boys do in films, as if I’m beautiful. He wouldn’t speak much, but he’d be breathing hard as he took off his leather jacket and unbuckled his jeans. He’d wear white pants and he’d be so gorgeous I’d almost faint. He’d take my clothes off too. He’d whisper, ‘Tessa, I love you. I really bloody love you. You’re beautiful’ – exactly those words – as he undressed me.

I sit up and switch on the bedside light. There’s a pen, but no paper, so on the wall behind me I write, I want to feel the weight of a boy on top of me. Then I lie back down and look out at the sky. It’s gone a funny colour – red and charcoal all at once, like the day is bleeding out.

Summary:

Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is Sex. Released from the constraints of ‘normal’ life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallised in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time finally runs out.

Tessa needs those she loves the most to go to the edge with her...and they do.

Late Sunday's Are For Blogging on Monday...Book Jackets, Cowboys, and Movie

Sorry, but had so many things to do before going back to work on Monday (like grading) that I was not able to rant and rave about anything...

Rant: Why is it that some book jackets refrain from telling you when the love story or romance of the novel is based on a gay relationship? There is an audience for that kind of love story, including many teens and adults, but it is not for everyone. When I pick up a book, I want Edward and Bella, or any other passionate relationship between a boy and a girl. I'm not saying that I do not read books with gay characters because I have and I do, such as Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You by Peter Cameron (which is a very well written and engaging, by the way). And yes the homosexual life experience is a relevant topic to explore through literature and writing and novels, but let me ask you this...do people who are involved in gay relatonships prefer stories with homesexual romance or heterosexual romance?

One of the books I checked out for the Christmas holidays was Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby. The book description on the jacket leaves the impression that there will be a romantic connection between a boy and girl both involved in horse training and riding. But that is not the case. I did finish reading it but felt let down because it was not what I expected. The book jacket needs to give some kind of indication as to which people will be involved in any romantic connection. Also indicating the relationship will be between two boys or two girls will not keep the book from being read by a wide audience. Actually, by doing that the book will fall into the right audience and gain a good following without having to conceal any plot elements.

Here is summary...what do you think?

For Alex Ford, dressage is an oasis. In the stable, he can slip into his riding pants, shed the macho cowboy image, and feel like himself for a change.

For Cleo O'Shea, dressage is a fresh start. She's got a new boarding school, absentee parents, and, best of all, no one to remember her past. . . .

They're an unlikely pair. Cleo's looking for love, but Alex has a secret he's not ready to give up, and a flirtation with Cleo is the last thing on his mind. But you can't find romance before you know real friendship, and sometimes the last person you'd ever think of as a friend ends up being the one you need the most.

Susan Juby's trademark humor brings life and laughter to this remarkable story of relationships, mixed signals, and the soul-searching that sometimes takes two.


Rave: Ok. This is totally not book related...Let's give it up for the Cowboys! Woot! Woot! I've got my Witten jersey on today (#82 for all you non-Cowboy/NFL fans). It just seemed like they were never going to regain the glory days of the 90's and the Triplets (Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmit Smith). And I was getting of tired of Tony Romo's pretty boy persona and their inability to get in the playoffs! But we are in and Romo is finally getting into gear.

Rave 2: Have you watched The Changeling with Angelina Jolie? Wow is all I can say. It was one of those movies you can't stop watching because there are so many plot twists and unexpected turns and it is all based on a true events. I stayed up until about 2 AM one recent evening even though I was so sleepy. It takes place during during the 1920s and 30's and initially paints a picture of an idyllic period in history--a time when everything seemed safe. And then the unthinkable happens--a parent's worse nightmare, police corruption against civilians and women, horrific crimes, and graphic images of mental asylums and death row. And through all this, Angelina Jolie delivers a stellar performance...her acting was amazing, changing from a woman who is demure because of a male dominated society to a woman who challenges the status quo and stands up to the entire LAPD. The costuming, the set pieces, the cinematography...all of it is authentic and relevant to the drama that unfolds. And the title? Well, in fairy folklore, a changeling is a fairy who is left in place of a human child...an imposter. Hmmm...I will let you make the connection when you watch the movie.