Snow Day

Another Sunday! It's snowy and cold in these Canadian parts and I'm supposed to be resting, so it all adds up to a day of reading and relaxing. Not so bad.

Started a non YA book last night, So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman. Gorgeous writing and enjoyable storytelling so I'm all in for today!

The past week I got back to Book 6 with Sourcebooks Fire. Also working on some MG outlines for Mermaid books. That's fun and different channelling my inner 11 year old vs my inner teen.

I also went to a lovely old private school in Calgary and did 4 presentations to four different classes. The classes were separated by gender, so I did Grade 8 boys, Grade 7 girls and then Grade 9 boys and Grade 9 girls.  It was interesting how different the classes were, a good show of the stages of teen years. 

As I predicted the Grade 9 boys were kind of bored with me and the Grade 9 girls were in the same reading space.

The biggest surprise were the Grade 8 boys.  At the end, for fun, I showed them a really great review quote, followed immediately by a really terrible quote, on the same book.  Just to show an example of the subjectivity of reviews and how different people respond differently to the same work. Well. The Grade 8 boys were so defensive of the poor reviews and really were quite offended on my behalf. So cute. Such a great lesson to me about writing characters in the right voices. 
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Here's what I showed them. They stood up for me fiercely!

Ø“Bravo to the author, Janet Gurtler for writing a novel with perfectly flawed characters and a realistic plot that effortless flowed. I have nothing bad to say about this book.”

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Ø“I'm almost offended at how crappy this book was. “
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Ø"Rich in characterization, Gurtler's novel wrestles with some serious issues and explores different means of coping (or escaping) yet manages not to be overwhelming or bleak. Just right for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jodi Picoult, this is a strong debut that attempts to answer the question, What does it really mean to live?" - Booklist

Ø“This book was one of the worst books I have ever read.”
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Ø"Cute and quirky, with sentimentality reminiscent of Judy Blume, this is a book for the keeper shelf – one that readers will devour again and again!" - RT Book Reviews
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Ø“I was surprised to find to find this book on the LA Times summer reading list: I'd been pretty unimpressed myself. ”
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