Losing Control and Liking It: How to Set Your Teen (and Yourself) Free, by Tim Sanford.
Not going to lie, having a 17 year old in the house has been a challenge. This book has some good advice, but it's HARD to do. Control issue... who, me?? Nah, never...
For Darkness Shows the Stars, by Diana Peterfreund. A science fiction retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Instant sell for me. And it was just as good as I'd hoped, familiar characters with their own unique twist and provoking new events and issues. This is sophisticated YA.
Cinder, by Marissa Meyer. A science fiction retelling of Cinderella. Anyone see a trend here? Take a classic story and put a futuristic twist on it and I'm hooked. Imagine a cyborg at a ball. This is entertaining YA.
Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott. My all-time favorite writing book. The one I always go to when I'm in a writing slump, to get motivated again. Except, I'd given my copy away to another writer friend a couple years ago. How did I last TWO years without this book? Writing slump, BE GONE!
Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman. If there is anything that can a trump of SF retelling of a classic, it's an original story about dragons. And oh my is this one original! The blurb just doesn't do it justice. DON'T READ THE BLURB. I read the blurb and rolled my eyes - uggh, this doesn't sound original at all. Dragons who can transform into humans? Didn't Sophie Jordan write that idea first? (Firelight). But dragons - I have hard time resisting dragons! So I read the first two chapters. Oh my. Oh MY! What a voice these dragons have! Someone really took some time to actually THINK like a dragon, and the results are amazing.
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. I bought this book last year, and gave it away because it's so good, I felt compelled to pass it on so others might discover the great sassy Southern voice of Minny and the bitter/wise voice of Abileen. Just recently I discovered I missed their voices, so I just bought another copy for myself.
So from my list of purchases, you can see I'm a writer in a slump with control issues who wishes I could transform into a dragon and blast all my problems away with a little science fiction twist and a Southern accent, just to keep everyone guessing.
Or something like that.
What book(s) have bought/borrowed lately? What made you pick it up?
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