YA Book Review and Giveaway - Skinny by Donna Cooner

When I heard about Skinny by Donna Cooner in the YA Editor's Buzz Panel at this year's Book Expo America, I knew it was one book I just had to get my hands on. Not only did this book sound like it was going going to be an enjoyable read, I felt that it might also turn out to be an important one.

Skinny is the debut novel of Donna Cooner and it will be released in October 2012. Aimee Friedman, the book's editor, described the book as one that "could change lives," that was written in an "incredible voice," that is "haunted," but also has "dazzle." She claimed that this "novel is both timely and timeless," with "rich characters" throughout.Does it sound like too much for one book to handle? I promise you, it is not.

Summary 

The novel is told in first person from the perspective of Ever Davies, a 15 year old girl, who is over 300 pounds and is haunted by a voice she has named "Skinny." Skinny tells Ever everything others are thinking about her, constantly calling her fat and unlovable in any number of cruel ways. The whispers of Skinny are enough to silence her beautiful singing voice which she knows is her great talent.

When embarrassment and frustration reaches its peak, Ever goes through gastric bypass surgery in order to live the life of her dreams. Ever's journey towards happiness is not solved magically overnight with this surgery. As readers, we are swept up in the challenges of Ever's day to day: what to eat, how to exercise, how to get her dream boy to notice her, how to behave in the new social scene around her and how to deal with the fact that the surgery did not silence Skinny.

My Review

I loved this book. I believe we all have a "Skinny" inside of us. Maybe our Skinny doesn't whisper to us about our weight or looks; maybe her chant is about our competence at work or school, or how (un)athletic we are. (My voice should probably be called "Sickly" since she's always talking about how my health is holding me back from everything - honestly, she needs to shut up!) With this singular truth, Ever's story hits home from page one - and for those readers who are struggling with their weight that impact will be tenfold.  Donna Cooner's writing in Skinny's lines is so steeped in reality that they deliver the stings only one's inside voice can.

Cooner's skills did not stop with Skinny's script. All of the characters in this novel come vividly to life. Ever is surrounded by a fairly large cast of characters of varying importance to the unfolding story; each and every one of these characters were given a rich description and persona. I never once found myself confusing one character for another. In fact, right now, days later, I can recall character names, personalities, and even styles from characters as important as the two boys in Ever's life - her best friend Rat and her dream guy Jackson - to those background characters like Gigi, a girl in the drama program and Wolfgang, a guy her step-sister had a crush on.

I have to agree with the book's editor when she claimed that this book has the ability to change lives. I believe, presented to the right person at the right time, Skinny can make all the difference in the world. For anyone who is insecure, particularly those young adults in the social high school scene, count Skinny as one of your must reads this Fall. This Fall won't be about fighting against the Capitol, the Dark Arts, or any other outside demons; with our new heroine, Ever Davies, YA readers will be learning to fight the most important battle of all: the one against their internal insecurities.

ARC Giveaway

A book this good has to be shared. Let's get the buzz going before it's big release this Fall! I have an Uncorrected Proof Advanced Reader Copy that I received at the 2012 Book Expo America that I'm looking to GIVE TO YOU! I'm opening this Giveaway up to the world - yep, that's right, International - so, don't let the borders bind you: use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter for your chance to win. 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

What Will You Do?

 

I just received my review copy of The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters from Quirk Books and I can't wait to get started on it. It is the first of a planned trilogy and this book trailer, released at the end of last month is what got me even more excited about it:

One question is raised: What Will You Do?

What if there were six months left, not just in your life, but in all life as we know it? Think about that for a moment. Really, now, what would you do?

If you have a plan, or you are curious to see what others have dreamed up, then go check out Quirk Books' "What Would You Do?" page for the The Last Policeman. You can submit your own response to the question there for possible publication, and read through the responses that are most popular so far.

For those of you that have been following this blog for a long time, you know that this type of "What if..." thinking is right up my alley!

Stay tuned for my review of this book, sure to be coming soon. In the meantime, if you are looking for mor information on it or its author, Ben H. Winters, then check out The Last Policeman website.

Any first thoughts about what you would do?

What are your impressions of this book trailer?

 

GENESIS from GNT My Book --God

The following post is taken directly from my hand-printed Reader's Journal. I will be sharing these reflections each week on the Rivera Runs Through It blog. The date at the end of each post is the date of the original writing, which is typically the date I completed the book. The reflections are short, but represent my initial reactions to a book, a brief summary of the book or the questions it raised for me at the time. I hope you enjoy this segment in my blog and feel free to comment on what you read here.





GENESIS from GNT My Book --God

I have decided this Lent I will read the Bible. I doubt I will finish by Easter, but I have set the goal. The Book of Genesis had its highs and lows for me. I enjoyed the stories - Creation, Noah Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, etc., but I found it very difficult to follow the chapters about descendants and such. I can see why people read this book over and over again - it's hard to remember all of the details of every story. I've only completed Genesis and I've already forgotten the details of the creation!

Dated: 03/07/04

The Story Behind this Book

In 1999, after his boot camp and training, the first place my brother was stationed as a United States Marine was in Pensacola, Florida. My mother, my boyfriend (now husband) and I took a road trip down from New York to go visit him in his first official home away from home. While there is a book worth of stories that can be told from that trip, the one that I am thinking of now is the seed planted that lead to me reading this strange black-covered Bible. 

I saw a sign. Well, I saw a bunch of signs. Not the mystical religious type; actually giant billboards on the side of the road, from God. Did you see them? I thought they were just awesome. Black backgrounds with white lettering, each sign contained a simple statement or question and was signed "-God." I wondered why I hadn't seen them anywhere else, or where they came from, but they were not marked in any way for me to find any information.

I never forgot the signs and one day I was hanging out in the book store when I saw a black book with simple white type on it saying "My Book -God": I couldn't help but laugh. The book looked just like the signs and, when I started flipping through it, actually had pictures of the signs inside it, along with the story of the "God Speaks" campaign:

In 1998, an anonymous donor contacted an advertising agency with an idea for a local billboard campaign that would create a spiritual climate and get people to think about a daily relationship with a loving and relevant God. The agency came up with the idea of creating a series of quotes from God to be placed on billboards.

The billboards would be simple and easy to read—black boards with white type, and all “signed” by God. No logo. No address or phone number. Not religious or condemning. Just straightforward messages that would rightly represent God.

There was something so "user friendly" about these signs. These billboards reminded me of the God I had always imagined was in my corner. So, while the idea of reading the Bible always seemed to be too daunting a task, with this particular book, I felt that it could be possible.

That was 2004. It is now 2012 and I can tell you that I still have not finished reading "The Book" cover to cover, but it is always on my to-read list. I'll tell you one thing, though, just in what I have read so far, I have gained a new perspective of the role of this piece of literature in my religion and in my culture and it is fascinating.

Have you ever read the Bible cover to cover? If so, what edition?

Have you seen the "God Speaks" billboards?

For those who believe in God, does the "God Speaks" campaign represent the voice of God as you imagined Him/Her?

4 Book Match Ups For What To Read Next

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish which I found out about thanks to Amber over at Me, My Shelf & I. There's a new book-related top ten list every single week and it is a great way to get to know other book-loving bloggers! Everyone is welcome to join in the weekly linky party, even if you can't think of TEN for a certain Tuesday (just think of as many as you can!), just make sure you link back to The Broke and the Bookish if you do!

This week's topic is:

TOP TEN BOOKS IF YOU LIKED X AUTHOR 

No big surprise that I couldn't pull through a complete top ten this week since I only made it to number five last week, but this week's topic was just as challenging for me! One of my issues with this particular list (which you will probably pick up once you start reading my suggestions) is that it is difficult for me to categorize an author as one type of writer throughout the sum of their career; while some works may be similar in tone, voice and message as others, I tend to veer away from authors who consistently present me with the same type of story every time I grab up one of their books. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but for the most part I have found this to be the case in my reading habits.

Here is my paltry list of four "If you like X, then you should check out Y" authors and books:

1. If you liked C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series, then you should check out the Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins Both of these series take normal, everyday kids dealing with their own human struggles and thrusts them into a mysterious land just beyond th reach of our own. Adventures ensue once the children make it to their respective "other worlds" and lessons are always learned on their paths.

2. If you liked Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon, then you should check out the Marcelo in the Real World Each of these novels takes a look at a protagonist who has been labeled as learning disabled in one way or another and then is challenged to assimilate into the mainstream world. As each of these characters take us on their respective (and very different) journeys we, as readers, are left wondering what our world truly has to offer. 

3. If you liked Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, then you should check out Susan Beth Pfeffer's The Last Survivors series. The similarities in these tales is that all of these books are about survival in extreme circumstances. They all look at the stark contrast between that which we are used to having around us and that which it takes to survive. While Paulsen's tale can be a lonely one as it follows one boy's struggle, Pfeffer's places her protagonists in a survival scenario that is not separate from the people in the everyday lives. 


4. If you liked Elie Weisel's Night, you should check out Art Spielgalman's Maus. While the latter is in a completely different format - its a graphic novel - it is brilliantly done. It is one of the greatest graphic novels ever written and is one of the great artifacts that shows the depth and richness of storytelling the media of graphic novels make possible. The writing is wonderful, the story is classic, but the art and artistic choices add even more to the discussion.

Have you read all of these books?

Do you have more to suggest?

What are you best author match ups?

Writing Prompt - Modeling Your Favorite Author

A couple of weeks a go I read a fantastic book called So, You Want to Be A Writer by Vicki Hambleton and Cathleen Greenwood (the review is on its way!). It is geared toward a young adult audience, but I, personally, think it is an invaluable resource to anyone thinking about jumping into the writing profession. Amongst a number of other resources and tips, there is one section of the book which provides writing prompts. I would like to attempt one that has captived my attention and share it with you. The suggestion/prompt is to "Use an Author as a Model" (p.67), here is a description from the authors of what it entails:

Try looking at the first few paragraphs of a favorite book. Choose three sentences and copy them, substituting new names and mostly new verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Keep the basic sentence structure the same.[...] Keep going after you've written these first few sentences, using your author as a model whenever you'd like. [...] This technique is like learning to ride a bike: at first, you need someone to hold the back of your seat. But once you get going, you can do it all by yourself. Once you've gotten started, let go of the original author's plot and characters, and let your story go off on it's own adventure.

 I'm going to give this a shot with one of my favorite authors, J.K. Rowling, using Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as my jumping off point. This might be a little awkward because the first paragraph has only two sentences, the third sentence will be in the next paragraph. Here's the model I am going to use:

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.

Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.

OK... here is my new version. I'll put all my changes in italics:

Mr. and Mrs. Roddington, of number one, Rodding Ranch, were proud to say that they were extremely important, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything banal or mundane, because they just didn't hold with such simplicity.

Mr. Roddington was the director of a firm called Fulfillment, which made dreams come true for those who could afford his lofty price.

Wow. I told myself I was going to stop writing at the three sentences, but I can definitely see how this prompt works. I'm curious about the Roddingtons now! I want to write more. What is this "Fulfillment" firm all about? How lofty is Mr. Roddington's price? I have to be honest with you, I sat down in front of my computer with no idea of what the heck I was going to write today. That's why I pulled out the prompt section of the So, You Want to Be A Writer book in the first place and now, here I am, three sentences later, with some new characters lurking about in my brain. What fun!

Fellow writers, you have to try this out. It's fun and easy. If you do, share your link in the comments below! You don't have to use Harry Potter, go ahead and use whatever book you like.

What do you think of the Roddingtons?

Have you used a writing prompt like this one before?

Would you use a prompt like this one in the future?

What kind of writing prompts get your juices flowing?