Bella Thorne's Autumn Falls Series....Teen Angst, Grief, Friendship, Teasing

 

Bella Thorne's 

Autumn Falls Series.... Review is for the First Book

According to the description on Amazon: "With her fiery red hair, new-girl outsider status, and tendency to be a total klutz, Autumn Falls definitely isn’t flying below the radar at Aventura High."

THAT WAS ME TOTALLY!!! ...and I also lived through a barrage of teasing about my name! So, of course I had to pick up this debut novel by Disney Channel's Bella Thorne - you know her as a dancer on Disney's "Shake It Up".

I am no longer in the prime range for this book but because I coordinate a Teen Author stage at a local Children's Book Festival I know what to expect from Teen & YA books.

It was an easy read and there is enough going on to keep any teen involved - recommended age is 12 and up but this book is safe for any tween or advanced reader over 10.

While this girl's life becomes crazy and goes completely upside down, there is a touching second story line involving Autumn's recently deceased Father - especially when she starts using his journal to voice her thoughts and dreams.

Topics - Teen Angst, Grief, Friendship, Teasing

Love this blurb from Seventeen Magazine, after all THAT is the audience for this book!
"You'll be obsessed with Autumn Falls. It has basically everything you could ever want: a lovable klutz for a main character, a total heartthrob, and just a touch of magic."


Description from Amazon:New friends, new enemies . . . can a magical journal change Autumn's crazy life? This funny and sweet novel by FAMOUS IN LOVE star Bella Thorne—is perfect for fans of Girl Online, Liv and Maddie: Cali Style, Descendants, and anyone looking for an entertaining read with just a touch of magic!

With her fiery red hair, new-girl outsider status, and tendency to be a total klutz, Autumn Falls definitely isn’t flying below the radar at Aventura High. Luckily, she makes some genuine friends who take her under their wing. But she also manages to get on the wrong side of the school’s queen bee, and then finds out the guy she’s started to like, funny and sweet Sean, hangs with the mean crowd. Now her rep and her potential love life are at stake.

When Autumn vents her feelings in a journal that belonged to her late father, suddenly her wildest wishes start coming true. Is it coincidence? Or can writing in the journal solve all her problems? And if the journal doesn’t work that way, is there a bigger purpose for it—and for her?

Filled with personal elements from Bella’s own life, AUTUMN FALLS is the first book in Bella Thorne’s new series! It has everything readers will love and relate to: a real girl trying to find her own inner strength and be the best she can be, with a hint of magic and mystery, and a steady stream of OMG-I-can’t-believe-that-just-happened fun.

About the Author - Bella Thorne is an actress and an emerging style icon, with over nine million likes on Facebook, six million followers on Twitter, and over fifteen million followers on Instagram. Her positive energy, her stay-true-to-yourself message, and her amazing family, plus the love of all the bellarinas/-os around the world, are the driving forces behind everything she does.

LUCKY BROKEN GIRL - Should Be Required Reading in Every High School

LUCKY BROKEN GIRL 

by Ruth Behar

 Should Be Required Reading in Every High School

I don't know if it is the timeliness of this book or just the heart of Ruthie, but this book touched me profoundly.

The author's timing couldn't have been more perfect, though as an Anthropologist I think she may have thought about the affect it might have this highly politicized world we are living in.

The story of Ruthie Mizrahi, a Cuban-Jewish immigrant who is just beginning to realize her "American Dream", is forever changed in the blink of an eye when an accident leaves her in a body cast. A richly painted book...while reading "Lucky Broken Girl", you achieve a vibrant, "fully colored" view of the world around her through Ruthie's eyes....a world that goes suddenly grey.

This book should be required reading in every high school - the historic setting will compliment any school lessons, and it teaches so many lessons that developing humans should learn:

Going beyond the tolerance of people different than us to embracing the things that make us different;
The ways in which a relationship changes when you go from parent to caretaker;
How when your world shrinks to the size of a room, the smallest gesture means so much;
The very real battle to find forgiveness;
...and the immensely fulfilling role the arts can play when we move the focus from ourselves.

If this freshman effort is any indication, I personally can't wait for more from Ruth Behar!

DESCRIPTION via Amazon:

“A book for anyone mending from childhood wounds.”—Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street

In this unforgettable multicultural coming-of-age narrative—based on the author’s childhood in the 1960s—a young Cuban-Jewish immigrant girl is adjusting to her new life in New York City when her American dream is suddenly derailed. Ruthie’s plight will intrigue readers, and her powerful story of strength and resilience, full of color, light, and poignancy, will stay with them for a long time.

Ruthie Mizrahi and her family recently emigrated from Castro’s Cuba to New York City. Just when she’s finally beginning to gain confidence in her mastery of English—and enjoying her reign as her neighborhood’s hopscotch queen—a horrific car accident leaves her in a body cast and confined her to her bed for a long recovery. As Ruthie’s world shrinks because of her inability to move, her powers of observation and her heart grow larger and she comes to understand how fragile life is, how vulnerable we all are as human beings, and how friends, neighbors, and the power of the arts can sweeten even the worst of times.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Ruth Behar (www.ruthbehar.com) is an acclaimed author of adult fiction and nonfiction, and Lucky Broken Girl is her first book for young readers. She was born in Havana, Cuba, grew up in New York City, and has also lived and worked in Spain and Mexico. An anthropology professor at the University of Michigan, she is also co-editor of Women Writing Culture, editor of Bridges to Cuba/Puentes a Cuba, and co-editor of The Portable Island: Cubans at Home in the World. Her honors include a MacArthur “Genius” Award, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Senior Fellowship, and a Distinguished Alumna Award from Wesleyan University. Much in demand as a public speaker, Ruth’s speaking engagements have taken her to the United States, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Cuba, Spain, Finland, Israel, Italy, Ireland, Poland, England, the Netherlands, Japan, and New Zealand. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Support the Orange County Children's Book Festival During #IHeartOC Giving Days- April 27th & 28th

Show your support of the Orange County Children's Book Festival and your local community by participating in #IHeartOC Giving Days running on April 27th & 28th - that's right now!

Your donation to this Orange County Community Foundation sponsored event helps us continue getting books in the hands of children in need and foster confidence through literacy, working to instill a true joy of reading!

DONATE WITH THIS LINK
https://iheartoc.org/npo/orange-county-childrens-book-festival

The more you give the larger the portion of the $400,000 bonus pool OCCBF will receive. Learn more: https://iheartoc.org/faq

...and don't forget to join us for the  

13th ANNUAL ORANGE COUNTY 

- CHILDREN'S BOOK FESTIVAL - 

- SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25th - 

ORANGE COAST COLLEGE IN COSTA MESA, CA

http://kidsbookfestival.com/

https://www.facebook.com/OCCBF

#OCCBF #MiddleGrade #TeenYA #MeetTheAuthor - Schedule of Author Presentations and Book Signings at OC Kids Book Fest!

 ....AND OUR EMCEES FOR THE DAY - DEREK TAYLOR KENT WILL BE INTRODUCING YOU TO OUR MIDDLE GRADE AUTHORS AND JESSICA LOVE WILL INTRODUCE THE TEEN AND YOUNG ADULT AUTHORS!

#OCCBF - Orange County Children's Book Festival - Sunday - Sept. 28th!

As you know by now I am the chief author wrangler for the Tween, Teen and Young Adult Stage at the #OCCBF - the largest free book event for kids!

The Orange County Children's Book Festival serves children of all ages 

from Picture Books to Teen & Young Adult - hosting over 40,000 people 

on one Sunday a year at Orange Coast College!

We foster confidence through literacy and work to instill a true joy of reading! 

With SIX big Stage areas there will be something that speaks to every attendee....

The Stages in Order:

The Animal Stage 

The Cooking & Fitness Stage (Premiere)

The Illustrator Stage 

The Main Entertainment Stage 

The Middle Grade, Teen & Young Adult Stage

The Story Teller Stage

#TeenYA #MeetTheAuthor - Kiersten White To Present At The Orange County Kids #BookFest #OCCBF

Kiersten has has been quite prolific in 2014  with THREE new books!

IN THE SHADOWS with artist Jim Di Bartolo

From the remarkable imagination of acclaimed artist Jim Di Bartolo and the exquisite pen of bestselling author Kiersten White comes a spellbinding story of love, mystery, and dark conspiracy, told in an alternating narrative of words and pictures. 

Cora and Minnie are sisters living in a small, stifling town where strange and mysterious things occur. Their mother runs the local boarding house. Their father is gone. The woman up the hill may or may not be a witch. 

Thomas and Charles are brothers who’ve been exiled to the boarding house so Thomas can tame his ways and Charles can fight an illness that is killing him with increasing speed. Their family history is one of sorrow and guilt. They think they can escape from it . . . but they can’t.

THE CHAOS OF STARS

Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of Paranormalcy, is back with The Chaos of Stars—an enchanting novel set in Egypt and San Diego that captures the magic of first love and the eternally complicated truth about family.

Isadora's family is seriously screwed up—which comes with the territory when you're the human daughter of the ancient Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris. Isadora is tired of living with crazy relatives who think she's only worthy of a passing glance—so when she gets the chance to move to California with her brother, she jumps on it. But her new life comes with plenty of its own dramatic—and dangerous—complications . . . and Isadora quickly learns there's no such thing as a clean break from family.

Blending Ally Carter's humor and the romance of Cynthia Hand'sUnearthly, The Chaos of Stars takes readers on an unforgettable journey halfway across the world and back, and proves there's no place like home.

ILLUSIONS OF FATE

Downton Abbey meets Cassandra Clare in this lush, romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.

“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.

Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray.

#TeenYA #BookReview - Linda Buckley-Archer's The Gideon Trilogy

The Gideon Trilogy 

3 Books - The Time Travelers;  The Time Thief;  

The Time Quake

by Linda Buckley-Archer

5.0 out of 5 stars Tired of Your Tweens and Teens Reading Vampires & Werewolves?

If you have been with us since the "The Time Travelers" you may recall that book one in "The Gideon Trilogy" ends with a bang!!! Just as Peter & Kate are about to return to their own time with Kate's father Dr. Dyer, Peter is thrown aside by the 18th century villain "The Tar Man".

...and Book Two picks up the story with the Tar Man learning to work with technology to further his evil goals and raise him to a position in society that he could never have attained in the 1700's. Meanwhile, Kate takes matters into her own hands and goes back to rescue Peter and ends up taking his father back in time with her.

...unfortunately, the coordinates are changed and they end up going back to an England where Peter has lived and grown to manhood.

In Book Three - The Time Quake it all comes to a head...with not one but two of the best villains I've read in awhile!

First - Lord Luxon and his attempt to manipulate a key point in history...his plot - the growing effect of the time quakes brought about by use of the anti-gravity machine. Kate takes on the role of an Oracle able to see the future as her tie to the physical world grows more tenuous each day; experiencing the "fast forward" effect more and more and is finally reduced to binding herself to Peter, who she realizes is her "ground."

...and Second "the Tar Man" who's decision in the end will determine whether the time quakes splinter the world.

Each sequel was even better than the last book and if this ever hit the big screen it would give Harry Potter and Twilight a run for the money!!! SHHHHH - don't tell but, Time Travel teaches history!

From Amazon:

In 1763 Gideon Seymour, thief and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric and from the gaping hole fall two curious-looking children. Peter Schock and Kate Dyer have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine. Before Gideon and the children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine, and Peter and Kate's only chance of getting home. So begins the saga of Gideon Seymour, The Tar Man, Peter Schock and Kate Dyer. Book One lays out the foundation of the possibility of Time Travel. Stuck in 1763 London is a challenge without all the modern conveniences. How will Kate, a strong-minded girl from the 21st century, cope with what is expected of a young maiden in 1763? Will Peter ever forgive his father and find a way home? What has the Tar Man done with the machine? Book Two finds Peter stuck in 1763 while Kate is desperately trying to find a way to get him home. Kate begins to suffer from side effects of time travel. Meanwhile, the Tar Man is wreaking havoc in the 21st century as he found a way to use the time machine for his own personal gain. Will Kate get Peter back? Can Gideon stop the Tar Man before changes time? The final book 3 has both Peter and Kate stuck in 1763 after creating yet another time machine to try and get Peter home. Now time is splintering due to too many changes brought about by the greed of Lord Luxon, the master of the Tar Man from 1763. This brings in the question of possible parallel worlds. Can 2 worlds exist at the same time? What will happen to Peter and Kate's world if changes continue? Can the Tar Man and Lord Luxon be stopped? What will become of Gideon? The possibility of time travel has always been an inspirational mystery for many writers. This complete set of 3 books addresses several questions and some seemingly plausible answers. There is on-going adventure and excitement on every page.