MMGM: Destiny Rewritten by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

Date Published: February 19th 2013
ISBN: 0061625019
Genre: Middle grade, contemporary
Publisher:Katherine Tegen Books Harper Collins Children's
Themes: self-discovery, friendship, poetry, Emily Dickinson, middle school, destiny 

Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N

About The Book: Eleven-year-old Emily Elizabeth Davis has been told for her entire life that her destiny is to become a poet, just like her famous namesake, Emily Dickinson. But Emily doesn’t even really like poetry, and she has a secret career ambition that she suspects her English-professor mother will frown on. Then a seeming tragedy strikes: just after discovering that it contains an important family secret, she accidentally loses the special copy of Emily Dickinson’s poetry that was given to her at birth. As Emily and her friends search for the lost book in used bookstores and thrift shops all across town, Emily’s understanding of destiny begins to unravel and then rewrite itself in a marvelous new way.
In her third novel, Kathryn Fitzmaurice again weaves a richly textured and delightful story about unexpected connections, about the ways that friends can help us see ourselves for who we truly are, and about the most perfect kinds of happy endings: those that happen just on time. —Goodreads

First Line: My destiny was decided in a secondhand bookstore the day before I was born when my mother, Isabella, found a book of poems.

One Great Line: Aunt Nora— "Her poems were like gifts to us. We never wiped them off. We'd find a section of the mirror with nothing written on it to brush our teeth or comb our hair rather than erase them." 

What Others Are Saying: "Aptly set amid the hippie ambiance of Berkeley, Calif., and peopled by offbeat, but believable characters, Fitzmaurice’s story deftly mingles Dickinson, Danielle Steel, a budding crush, and protesting tree sitters while maintaining suspense that leads to a satisfying ending." —Publishers Weekly

"Emily’s engaging first person narrative chronicles her daily life, her wonderfully quirky family, her musings on fate, her growing sense of self, and her one-way correspondence with her favorite write, Danielle Steel. The books idyllically happy ending may have its critics, but most young readers will find it entirely satisfying." —Booklist

Book Bloggers Weigh In

twenty by jenny

Waking Brain Cells

Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

What I Thought: Awesome! I'll say it again, awesome. If you haven't had the chance to read one of Fitzmaurice's books you are missing out on some of the most sensitive and insightful middle grade authors. She might as well use a paintbrush because the images her words create are incredible. Add to that complex characters, not just the protagonist but all the characters that surround Emily are fascinating people and I would know them if I met them on the street. This is definitely, going on my list of favorite reads for 2013!

My Analysis:

1. POV: First person: Emily Elizabeth Davis
2. 335 pages
3. The Hook: She hooks the reader right from the first line by putting the question into the head of the reader, What is her name? How did her mother decide on her name? You want to know...
4. Inciting event: Emily Dickinson's book of poems goes missing and her mother told her that is where she could find the name of her father.
5. Plot and Pace: Every chapter is full of mischievous action and emotion. The humor also adds to the pace. The plot had several sub-plots creating complications all along the way.
6. Voice: Emily's voice is very distinctive and she has several quirky ways of communicating and describing things. I also loved Emily's perspective, always unique and age appropriate. 

About The Author: 

Kathryn Fitzmaurice

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Who: When Kathryn was thirteen years old, her mother sent her to New York City over the summer to visit her grandmother, who was a science fiction author. After seeing how her grandmother could make the characters in her books into whomever she wanted, Kathryn decided that she, too, wanted to become a writer someday. Years later, after teaching elementary school, and taking many classes, she now writes full time and lives with her husband, two sons, and her dog, Holly, in Monarch Beach, California.

Check out my review of The Year The Swallows Came Home Early and interview from 2011, here.

Find more great reviews by clicking on the other MMGM reviewers in my sidebar.

Next Week: Alligators Overhead by C. Lee McKenzie

MMGM: The Green Man by Michael Bedard

 Release Date: April 10, 2012

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About the Book: Teenaged O – never call her Ophelia – is about to spend the summer with her aunt Emily. Emily is a poet and the owner of an antiquarian book store, The Green Man. A proud, independent woman, Emily’s been made frail by a heart attack. O will be a help to her. Just how crucial that help will be unfolds as O first tackles Emily’s badly neglected home, then the chaotic shop. But soon she discovers that there are mysteries and long-buried dark forces that she cannot sweep away, though they threaten to awaken once more. At once an exploration of poetry, a story of family relationships, and an intriguing mystery, The Green Man is Michael Bedard at his finest.

First Line: In the middle of the night the phone rang, wrenching O from a dead sleep.

What Others Are Saying: “…Bedard provides a quietly compelling and satisfyingly atmospheric tale. With its shifting narrators, the tension builds slowly as readers catch glimpses of Emily’s unsettling dreams, her mounting anxiety and the gradual revelation of her story…. The book is a successful and engaging mystery while also offering much more…. It is a subtle and complex tale, filled with magic and mysticism, poets and dreamers, and unbreakable family ties … it will linger in the minds of more introspective readers and provide them with a richly rewarding reading experience.” —Recommended, CM Magazine


What I Thought: O, not Ophelia and quirky Emily are great characters and I enjoyed watching their relationship grow. When I picked this up I hadn't ever heard of the author or the fact that his prior debut fiction was the first in the series, but I didn't feel like anything was missing. The mystery permeated each page right from the first and weaved it's vines around tightly pulling me along until the very end. The subtle overtones of the Green Man mythology of death, rebirth, Spring and Summer could have been explored more deeply and only whetted my appetite for a new line of research. It can't be denied that Bedard is a wonderful story teller.  

About The Author: 
Michael Bedard
Publisher: Tundra

Michael Bedard grew up in a busy household in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. His first experience with writing came in high school when a teacher introduced him to poets such as William Blake, John Keats, T. S. Eliot, and Emily Dickinson, and he soon determined to become a writer himself. Studying both English and philosophy at the University of Toronto, Bedard graduated in 1971 and took a job in a university library. He also married and started a family. While working as a pressman for a small print shop, he found a publisher for his first two original fairy tale collections for children, Woodsedge and Other Tales and Pipe and Pearls.
From the outset, Bedard followed a challenging path as a writer. In both his early collections he made few concessions to young readers in terms of language. Although some reviewers complained, this adult tone is a quality Bedard has maintained throughout his fiction.

Debut Fiction: A Darker Magic
It began innocently enough with the discovery of an old flyer announcing a long-forgotten magic show held on Saturday, August 8, 1936. But since then, Emily and her teacher, Miss Potts, have been drawn into sinister and frightening shadows from another realm. In a life-and-death struggle, the unlikely pair must overpower the evil that lies waiting at the old railway depot. But time is running out. Again this year, August 8 falls on a Saturday and Emily's classmate, Craig Chandler, is in grave danger. He has befriended a mysterious boy and fallen under the spell of a darker magic.





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More interesting Green Man information here.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Eddie's War by Carol Fisher Saller

About The Book: "Eddie’s War by Carol Fisher Saller shows us the impact of WWII on a farm boy in the Heartland. True and tender."—Nikki Grimes
World War II. Hitler is threatening to take over the world. Eddie Carl thinks America should stop him-it's just plain right. But Eddie's just a kid, and the farm in Ellisville, Illinois, is a long way from the fighting.

Ellisville: where the big news stories are gophers in the graveyard and the new bank alarm. But then America joins the war and Eddie's brother Thomas goes off to fly a bomber. Suddenly the war doesn't seem so far away. And Eddie faces more grown-up problems at home: A fire at the Strothers' place, and his gypsy friend accused of arson. Grampa Rob, all stubborn and mean. Grama Lucy with her secrets. And that redhead Sarah, who definitely likes him-unless maybe she hates him. Somehow Eddie's in the middle of it all, trying to figure out what's right. Let Thomas fight World War II. Eddie's war is right here in Ellisville.

Eddie's War is a lyrical collection of prose vignettes linking Eddie, his family, and a small-town cast of Ellisvillians. Poignant and funny, this World War II story tells how a distant war affects the life of one boy in the Heartland. —Goodreads


First Line: In town Thomas pulled me by the hand

                       through the books.

One Awesome Passage: 
I shook his hand, stomach churning.
Don't do it. Don't go.
The thought of him going—
my heart hammered,
but somewhere in me 
a thrill
deep as I'd ever known.


What Others Are Saying: “In spare language and remarkably short sketches, carefully selected details effectively portray well-rounded, interesting characters. . . . Much more an emotionally resonant coming-of-age tale than a war story, this will be an easy sell for those seeking a quick, excellent read.” —Kirkus Reviews, Best Children's Books of 2011
     
 “Beautifully phrased and vividly revealing of character . . . an authentic window into the past that recalls the narrative power of Karen Hesse’s verse and the moral debate in Mary Downing Hahn’s Stepping on the Cracks.” —Horn Book

What I Thought: I have thoroughly enjoyed Saller's sensitive story of friendship and growing up during the 1940's. This historical fiction is easy to read, yet it's laced with deep moral issues that bring great appreciation for that time in history. I would highly recommend this as a companion to the study of WW2 because the insight into what middle grade kids were talking about and their thoughts about war. Making comparisons and correlations would lead to some great discussions. It has inspired me to take some time to find out about my father-in-law's childhood. He lost a brother in the war and I would love to be able to share those priceless stories with my children. 

About The Author: Carol Fisher Saller

Website
FacebookTwitter: @CFSaller
Publisher: namelos

The Chronicle Lingua Franca

Who: Carol Fisher Saller grew up in Peoria, Illinois, and as an adult moved around for some years before settling in Chicago. She works as a manuscript editor at the University of Chicago Press, helping to edit and maintain The Chicago Manual of Style and copyediting scholarly books. Her work as editor of the CMOS online led to writing The Subversive Copy Editor.

Interested in learning more about Carol and the creation of this book. Join me for an interview and Giveaway on March 28th! If you have any specific questions for her, leave them in your comments.


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